Immaculate Deception -- Chapter 4: Durance

     Dr. Khetyr had never seen EL-Vashti like this before. She was pacing the interrogation room like a rabid beast, denches from striking. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes wide and unblinking. If her interrogation of Crais went on for another microt Khetyr was certain she would crack, perhaps even killing him. He couldn't allow that. High Command would examine their records and have them all up on charges and executed.
          Crais had lost his anger and fear from the previous day, sitting calmly as though at a command function. This had the effect of driving EL-Vashti even harder as she struggled to break him, humiliate him into displaying his emotions of the last round. The crueler she became, the gentler and more charming Crais' expression, the softer his voice and respectful his replies.
          In the two cycles Khetyr had been with EL-Vashti's team, not once had he seen her so evenly matched. Crais was beyond all her efforts. She was beyond relenting to the fact of his innocence. This was a stalemate that would cost them all their lives.
     "You mock my authority, Crais?" she spat leaning in close to his face.
     "I would never think of it, Regulator," Crais smiled. "I recognize your authority and respect all efforts you are making to solve this case."
          Her eyes were merciless as she stared into his. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. One more microt and she would crush the life out of him.
     "Pardon, Regulator," The Information-Retrieval Tech said quietly. "A Priority One message from High Command, Security three zelka."
     "Not now!" she snapped at him, not breaking away from her stare down with Crais.
     "It is coded for immediate viewing, sir." The Tech insisted.
     "This is a trick of yours isn't it, Crais?" she snarled into his smiling face. "You've called in your favors with High Command to have my team pulled off your back. It won't work. IAD has the final say. You will admit your guilt!"
     "I've done nothing of the kind, Regulator." He assured her calmly.
          EL-Vashti continued to glare at him for several tense microts before spinning away to snatch the communiqué chip from the Tech. She jabbed it into the communications console and waited. Nothing happened. Her Tech cleared his throat as he came to stand beside her. Trembling, head bowed he spoke softly.
     "It is coded for both you and Captain Crais, sir." He said haltingly.
     "What?"
     "Yes, sir." The Tech affirmed before backing away from her.
          EL-Vashti spun to face Crais with death in her black eyes. She was quivering with rage and her face had gone more pale than usual. She motioned roughly to the two secondary Medical Techs behind the chair.
     "Release him!"
          The Techs hurried to comply, one working on either side to free Crais' hands and feet, and removing the probe pads. Crais stood with great dignity, smoothing his hair and adjusting his uniform. He sauntered toward the communications console, eyes never leaving EL-Vashti's face. It was obvious he knew what was coming and did not wish to miss her reaction.
     "Clear this room." EL-Vashti ordered.
     "With respect, Regulator," the Information-Retrieval Tech stammered. "The communiqué is also coded for witness by the entire team."
          She bit her tongue against any reply. She had some pride left and would not let this zannet gloat over her failure. She turned to the console, placing her hand in, thumb on the sensor template. Crais mirrored her slowly as though savoring every microt of her defeat. She turned a look of pure hatred on him, finding him still smiling at her, eyes filled with unadulterated elation.
          The image of Admiral Menkena spun to face them, coalescing into glowing red clarity.
     "Regulator EL-Vashti, you and your team are hereby discharged of your mission to investigate Captain Bialar Crais. By order of High Command, he is forthwith cleared of all suspicion, accusations and charges." The old woman pronounced dourly, her scarred and wrinkled face nearly as pale as her silvery hair.
     "Furthermore, the following order has been set down from Genetics Directorate. You, Regulator Liliina EL-Vashti and you, Captain Bialar Crais have been selected for procreation. You are hereby ordered to mate to produce offspring for the ranks. You are to begin immediately. When your pregnancy has been confirmed, Regulator EL-Vashti, you will return to IAD for reassignment to a maternity confinement unit until after the birth."
          The image of Admiral Menkena spun and dissolved as Crais removed his hand from the console. EL-Vashti's hand remained, her entire body shaking with rage. She had gone ice cold with shock and found she could not move. Crais straightened his uniform again as he walked away from her.
     "When the Regulator has recovered from the surprise of this. . .honor," Crais instructed the team members smugly. "Bring her to my quarters."
          Before he could get out of the interrogation room EL-Vashti was on him, shrieking and fists swinging toward his face. Her momentum caused them both to hit the deck in a tangle of intertwined limbs. Landing on top of him, she locked her hands around his throat. He effortlessly brought one knee up hard and quick into her solar plexus. She fell away gagging, gasping for breath.
     "This unseemly attack will go unreported, Regulator." He smiled as he rubbed his throat. "I will consider it your natural reaction to the shock of our selection for one another."
          He rose slowly looking down at her, the smile on his face now dark, eyes filled with menace. He straightened his uniform and smoothed his hair before speaking again.
     "My order stands," he said. "Clean her up and bring her to my quarters. . .in magcuffs if you have to."



     "Security three zelka confirmed, proceed." The voice of Pollivar's aide resounded in the darkness of the bedchamber.
     "Magistrate, I must lodge a formal protest." EL-Vashti said hoarsely over the secured IAD channel. "Crais has subverted my investigation by going to the Genetics Directorate. I don't know what favors he called in, but he's had us selected for procreation. I cannot allow this!"
          Silence was the only reply from the audio-only comm unit.
     "Sir, I demand that this travesty be reversed immediately," she said stridently. "A member of one of the Founding Four cannot be mated to a first-genner. It is not to be tolerated. I demand that. . ."
     "You demand, Regulator?" Pollivar's voice interrupted frostily. "You are in a position to demand nothing."
    "Sir, I know it is within your power to reverse this decision." She replied more respectfully.
    "It is," Pollivar admitted tersely.
    "Then for all that's honorable, countermand the selection. Free me from this degradation and reinstate the charges against Crais." She pleaded.
    "EL-Vashti," he said slowly, deliberately leaving off her title. "You have made many enemies in your time with IAD. While it is common to have enemies in this field, most of us know how to cover our backs against these things. In your haste to shove your highborn status down the throats of every living being you come into contact with, you failed to protect your back."
     "Magistrate!" she hissed.
     "Evidence has been provided to me that should put your neck on the executioner's block." Pollivar informed her. "Be glad that Crais decided to be merciful and take this tack to secure his revenge."
     "Magistrate Pollivar, I demand..." She snapped but was cut short.
     "Save your energy for the mating ritual," he told her coldly. "You'll need it."
          The light on the panel before her went out indicating the communication had been terminated. She sat silently in the dark for a long time. Waiting and hoping that something, some idea would come to her that could save her from Crais' revenge.
          She'd underestimated his cleverness; discounted that he might have connections back at High Command, or with First Council. It never occurred to her that a first-genner would be able to secure such a selection from Genetics Directorate. Had she considered every path his commoner's mind might take, this was one maneuver she would never have foreseen.
          The door chime startled her. She had locked herself in her quarters, waiting for Khetyr to arrive. Hoping against hope that he would have an answer. Fear tightened her gut. What if it wasn't Khetyr? What if Crais made good on his threat to have her brought to him in restraints. It was within his rights.
     "Who is it?" she barked, shivering in the darkness.
     "Sir," the voice of her Information-Retrieval Tech was strained. "Captain Crais has sent a squad of commandos to escort you to his quarters."
          She flinched and pulled her knees into her chest as she sat on her bed. She had to stall. They probably wouldn't hurt her, but commandos could easily stray from orders. She caught her breath and called to her Tech.
     "Send Dr. Khetyr to me immediately," she ordered. "After I have conferred with him, I will go with Crais' commandos."
     "I'm here, sir," Khetyr answered. "Unlock the door and allow me to enter."
          EL-Vashti did as he asked, raising the illumination in the room only slightly. She locked the door as soon as it closed behind him. His face was filled with concern as he came to stand in front of her. Without a word he slipped his arms around her, putting his lips to her hair.
     "Jinn, I can't go through with this." She whispered. "I can't let that trog touch me, impregnate me. It would be a crime against my House."
     "Lil, you don't have a choice." He said softly into her ear. "Those commandos are not going to take no for an answer anymore than Crais will."
     "Then do something," she said pulling away and staring hard into his eyes. "Give me something so I won't conceive. I cannot have a child by that frelling zannet."
     "Give me a microt to prepare the syringe," he replied getting up from the bed. "Just act as though nothing were wrong. Go along with whatever he says. If you haven't conceived by the fourteenth attempt, he will have to release you."
     "Jinn," she said, her voice breaking. "Thank you."
     "I don't want this any more than you do, Lil." He said sadly.
          She watched him leave, locked the door behind him again and prepared herself for the ordeal ahead.



          Lt. Teeg stood silently in front of his desk as Crais listened to the exchange. Having his personal server place the surveillance device in Khetyr's uniform tunic was a masterstroke. Now not even the most intimate microts between the physician and his Regulator escaped recording. He had obtained enough damning information to have them executed ten times over.
     "Lieutenant," he said softly. "Have the IAD physician brought to me immediately."
     "Yes, sir." She replied, leaving without Crais noticing.
          The noble born nixar thought she could outmaneuver him. She obviously miscalculated the cunning a first-genner could muster once cornered. Crais had not sweated blood to attain his position in the Fleet only to have a scheming bureaucrat smash it to bits for her own aggrandizement. A lifetime of clawing his way though dren, over and around the bodies of those in his way, taught him to think faster and on many more levels than the average soldier. He would win this battle as he had so many others. EL-Vashti was outmatched and didn't even realize it yet.
          She soon would, he mused smiling coldly. She soon would.



          Khetyr rummaged quickly through his pharmacopoeia. He began aligning bottles alongside his syringe in a neat row. It would take a particular mixture of drugs to accomplish the effect he desired, while also remaining undetectable from the scans Crais' physician would undoubtedly perform. He moved quickly and deliberately, drawing amounts of the variety of drugs into the syringe. He was concentrating so on his task that he failed to hear the door to his lab slide open.
     "Take him," Teeg's voice ordered to the sound of commando boots running into the room. "Intact, please."
     "What is this!" shouted Khetyr before the first commando grabbed him. A second quickly forced a gag into his mouth.
          He struggled for a few microts until the grasp of the commando became too painful to bear.
     "Captain Crais wishes a word with you doctor," Teeg informed him.
          She made one curt motion with her head for the squad to drag Khetyr from the lab.
          His eyes were wild but he no longer resisted the hold. He followed, tripping, trying to keep up with the commandos' swift pace. He watched as they passed dozens of Mhultaan crewmembers who studiously ignored his plight. As his mind raced he realized this was probably nothing new aboard Crais' vessel. First-genners were capable of anything, which is what made them both unpredictable and unreliable. Cold terror gripped him and he expected the worst.
          Khetyr nearly fell as he was shoved into Crais' quarters. He staggered before the desk and winced as the gag was roughly removed from his mouth. He wiped his lips and chin with the back of his hand and stared into the cold eyes of the captain.
          Crais signaled the squad to leave and motioned Teeg to stand beside him. She silently handed him a small remote communications device, her eyes never leaving him. Khetyr had been right about one thing; Teeg was Crais' devoted sycophant. She would stop at nothing to gain his approval, even participating in this farce of impregnating EL-Vashti. It was clearly a situation she fancied for herself, however. Seeing the two together, that much was obvious.
          The silence scared Khetyr most. He remembered that EL-Vashti always enjoyed using silence. It was the not knowing that caused the most fear, she said. He was experiencing her theory first hand. He continued to stare at Crais, afraid to look away, waiting for what was in store. He watched as Crais depressed a small button on the remote, trembling at the thought of what it might activate.
EL-Vashti's voice filled the room:

     "If he wasn't so popular with High Command, Jinn, I swear I would have cut his tongue out right there just like I did with that commando a cycle ago."
     "You need to try to accept the fact that Crais is innocent," Khetyr's own voice chimed in.
     "I don't care about innocence or guilt anymore, Jinn. I just want to bring him down."

          Khetyr was both outraged at the obvious subversion of their jamming technology and frightened by what he heard. It was their death warrant. The entire team would be court-martialed and executed for this.
          Crais depressed a second button, his lips pursed in an almost childish pout as he watched Khetyr's reaction.

     "Jinn, I can't go through with this. I can't let that trog touch me, impregnate me. It would be a crime against my House." EL-Vashti's voice whispered.
     "Lil, you don't have a choice. Those commandos are not going to take no for an answer any more than Crais will."
    "Then do something. Give me something so I won't conceive. I cannot have a child by that frelling zannet."
    "Give me a microt to prepare the syringe. Just act as though nothing's wrong. Go along with whatever he says. If you haven't conceived by the fourteenth attempt, he will have to release you."

          Crais stopped the recording and carefully placed the remote device on his desk. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and deliberately, all the while considering Khetyr like a bug beneath a magnifier. He laced his fingers gingerly before him and cocked his head.
          Khetyr watched Crais and swallowed painfully with a dry throat. It was the killing blow. Though he had fought her about framing Crais, this action--willfully tampering with a lawful Genetics Directorate order--wrote his own death warrant.
     "I suppose you have nothing to say, Doctor." Crais smiled viciously.
     "What can I say?" Khetyr spat. "That you managed to break our surveillance blocking would mean little in the face of this. . ."
     "This damaging evidence?" Crais finished Khetyr's thought.
     "You obviously want something or you wouldn't have wasted your time bringing me here alone." Khetyr countered after a microt. "Is there some magic price I must pay to avoid our entire team being court-martialed and executed? If it's the betrayal of EL-Vashti, you can forget it. Kill me now."
     "Such brave sentiments," Crais mocked. "And so out of place for a Peacekeeper. You sound like a lovesick civilian mooning over his lost mate."
      "Frell you, first-genner!" Khetyr snarled. "You know nothing of loyalty or sentiment."
      "Perhaps you're right," Crais replied. "Perhaps that is why I am here in these grand quarters, in command of a carrier group and you are there. . .with your neck bared for the executioner's sword."
     "I will not betray EL-Vashti," Khetyr repeated.
     "Even if that betrayal meant saving her life?" Crais fairly purred.
     "Don't play with me, Crais." Khetyr snapped. "Spit it out."
     "I thought you and your kind enjoyed prolonging the agony," Crais smiled again, that horrible, malignant smile that made him so frightening.
          Khetyr's expression of naked hatred was the only reply.
     "Very well," Crais continued. "These are my terms. One, you will administer the injection as requested by Regulator EL-Vashti. However, instead of the birth control agent you were concocting to deceive my physicians, you will give her a fertility drug. Second, you will also administer a genetic enhancer to ensure that our union will produce male progeny."
     "And third?" Khetyr said sourly. "I sense another condition."
     "Only that you are all free to go without fear of repercussions if my first two conditions are carried out without delay." Crais concluded. "As a matter of fact, you will be leaving immediately after completing these tasks. You and your entire team, less EL-Vashti, of course."
    "If I choose not to comply?"
          Crais tapped a button on the remote device and Khetyr's voice resounded:
   
     ". . .then where will we be? Up on charges? Facing a Tribunal. . .with Crais making the accusations? We are not innocent, Lil. We would not survive it."

     "You have my personal guarantee that you will not survive it. None of you." Crais said with finality.
          Khetyr's eyes narrowed and he grimaced. If EL-Vashti were to discover his complicity she would banish him from the team, or worse. However, the very notion of her death on his conscience was a burden he couldn't face. Life for all of them with only humiliation for her as the price of this debacle seemed a small price to pay. Anyone could live through humiliation, even the arrogant highborn EL-Vashti. He nodded slowly, with resignation.
     "Very good," Crais said. "Lieutenant Teeg, escort Dr. Khetyr to our medical facility where my personal physician will prepare the injection for Regulator EL-Vashti."



          EL-Vashti was practically climbing the walls when Khetyr returned. He seemed frightened, his hands trembling as he administered the injection into her neck. She looked into his eyes, but he averted his gaze. She knew the notion of her being soiled by Crais weighed heavily on him as well. She would do everything in her power to wipe it from both their minds when they returned to IAD.
     "I'm sorry, Lil" he whispered. "We should've never taken this case."
     "It was a plot by Pollivar to wreck me," she sighed, wrapping her arms around him. "But, he won't win. No one can wreck an EL-Vashti."
          Khetyr nearly bit his tongue in half as he held her against him for what was probably the last time in his life. She would discover the truth and hate him for it. There would be no hope for it and certainly no genetic pairing for them in cycles to come. He nearly choked on the emotions he felt but hid them from her as she pulled away.
     "The drugs' effects are fast-acting. Even if you progress to intercourse during the first session, they will be effective." He informed her as he led her to the door of her quarters.
     "Thank you, Jinn." She whispered as she pulled his face to hers, kissing him tenderly.



     "Come," Crais commanded as his personal server helped him into more casual attire. His hair was loose about his shoulders and the soft fabric of the ritual tunic and trousers was vastly different to his uniform. He sighed and luxuriated in their comfort.
          A female Tech officer entered and stood respectfully before his desk, awaiting his acknowledgement. She was more than halfway through her term of pregnancy and ready for transfer to a maternity unit until after the birth. Her back was ramrod straight despite the weight of her large belly, her profile fine and proud. The ballooning of the maternity tunic over her abdomen was the only thing ruining the perfection of her otherwise delicate frame. Her gingery brown hair, boyishly short, was a fitting compliment to her elfin features.
          Crais motioned his server out of the room and stepped down into the lower level. He watched the officer carefully for a fewmicrots then took a seat behind his desk.
          Their recreation had been so enjoyable over the time they had known one another, they chose to yield a child. Unfortunately, it was female, dashing his hopes for a second generation upon which to found House Crais. It was not the woman's fault. Crais should have investigated her genetic background prior to the procreation. His emotions had come into play. Clearly a mistake, but one he was now fortunate enough to rectify in an unexpectedly perfect manner.
     "You requested me, Captain." She said, ever the professional. It was the thing he found most attractive about her.
     "Yes," he said softly. "It is obviously time for your transfer to a maternity unit."
     "Obviously," she replied, her sad, gray-green eyes glittering as she ran a hand over her swollen middle.
     "First, however, I have a very special assignment for you. Something outside your normal duties with the Leviathan Division." he said returning her smile. "The IAD team--with the exception of Regulator EL-Vashti--will be returning to their Directorate immediately. I need someone whose loyalty to me is beyond question to accompany them. . .assuring their safe passage."
          Her brow creased momentarily. "If that is what you wish."
      "I do," he said looking closely at her abdomen. The growing child within kicked mightily causing the uniform tunic to shift a bit.
          She laughed and stroked the area tenderly. "This one is a fighter. Much more of this and she'll grow up to be a commando."
      "Perhaps she will seek the command tract," he ventured solemnly as he gazed into her face.
      "Perhaps," she agreed. She fidgeted for a microt then said, "Bialar, I'm sorry that it is a daughter I carry. I know your desire for a son. . .and why."
     "That is irrelevant at this juncture," he assured her becoming cold, as he often did when her feelings for him became more than he could bear. "The IAD Regulator and I have been paired by the Genetics Directorate. Male children are the norm in House EL-Vashti."
          It was the slap in the face Crais intended, but she took the comment as stoically as if had he merely announced the time of day. She was strong, this lieutenant, a worthy replacement to the traitor Velorek. Pity House Larell generally produced a high number of female offspring, he thought.
     "Congratulations," she replied smoothly, any hint of jealously or anger carefully controlled.
          The doors to his quarters slid aside before either of them could say anything further.
     "Your pardon, sir," Teeg said formally, her eyes flitting briefly to Lt. Larell. "Regulator EL-Vashti is here under escort."
          The four commandos assigned to bring EL-Vashti to Crais guided her into the room and bracketed her where she stood a few paces behind Lt. Larell. She glared at Crais with a defiant smile on her lips.
     "As I was saying earlier, Lieutenant," Crais ordered, rising from his desk. "You are to escort the IAD team back to their Directorate immediately."
    "Yes, sir." She replied stiffly.
    "Very good," Crais said, waving a hand to dismiss her.
          Larell and EL-Vashti's eyes met for only a microt but in that brief interval a mutual dislike was obvious.
      "Why are you sending my team home, Crais?" EL-Vashti demanded.
      "Afraid to be alone on my ship, Liliina?" he asked in return, seeing the shock and disdain on her face at his use of her given name. He motioned for the commandos and Teeg to leave them. "Don't be. I promise to take the very best care of you."

          She flinched as his hands gripped her shoulders and his bearded face brushed against her neck.