Omniphage Invasion

By Claudette Gilbert

How does a starship pilot, trapped on an alien world with no memory of his past, save the woman he loves? Jak has loved Tessa for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately, the last four years are all that he can recall. When Tessa—the beautiful, clever Hired Companion—pleads with Jak to protect her from the local crime boss, there's no way he can refuse. But the trouble only gets deeper when they get mixed up with the heiress of one of the Thousand Families of Terra who's trying to discover the host body of a sientent bacteria before it destroys everyone on Shadriss. Can one man save them all? If it means winning Tessa, Jak will find a way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claudette Gilbert
• Release date: Jan 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458148650

Claudette Gilbert

I've been a writer for most of my life. I started writing fiction when I was in grade school--with illustrations done in crayon! As an adult, I became a technical writer and wrote instruction manuals, procedures, and user guides for several different companies. But fiction has always been my first love, especially science-fiction and fantasy. I love to spend time with my computer on my lap and my cat, Baby, beside me as I explore the "what if."

Book preview

Chapter 1: Jak

Big and broad-shouldered, no one came near the lean, scar-faced stranger who sat alone in a dim corner of the bar. His name was Jak and nothing more. He had no family name, no clan to claim, and on Shadriss that made him less than nothing. His clothing attested to his poverty—scuffed boots, work pants, and a vest worn for the sake of its pockets. Worse, his red hair and green eyes marked him as alien among the dark, slight people of Shadriss.

Shadriss had been a thriving colony once, although there were few signs of that now. That had been nearly four generations ago, when the Confederacy ruled the region. Today, all was a failing mix of old Confederacy technology and barbarism. If not for the trade in ancient alien artifacts, there’d be no starships landing here at all.

Jak eyed the crowd warily as he sipped his mug of the Regent’s ale, given free this feast day to honor the coming mating of the Twin Moons. In two weeks both moons—children of Nish, the war god—would be full in the night sky, and Leath, the male moon, would eclipse Liss, his sister, in the mating. It was easily the most important date on the calendar of Shadriss. Even more, this particular mating marked the Joining of the young Prime with the God Core and his elevation to Overlord of Shadriss.

Jak squinted against the multicolored light from the holo screens that flickered throughout the bar. Mounted on the dozen pillars that held up the two stories overhead, the screens showed scenes of the ongoing ceremonies that preceded the Joining. The ever-changing images cast colored light on painted faces, cascades of dark curls, and slim-fingered hands that Jak knew would be equally quick to grip a knife or to pick a pocket.

The Pit was a dive; the kind of bar where many went in and some never came out, but no one there bothered Jak. The long scar that ran from right temple to left cheekbone pulled up his lip in a permanent snarl so that what had never been more than a passable face was now something too ugly to look at for long.

Tonight, the Twins were full, abet still two weeks from the eclipse of their annual mating, or so the priests told it. Mating moons or too much free ale, it seemed to Jak that tonight everyone in the Pit was a little edgier, a little louder than usual. Like most of the people in the city of Namdrik, Jak had come here for his share of the feast day bounty. He was out of credits and out of options. He’d long since passed through anger and despair into numb acceptance. Now, as he approached what he was sure would be his last days in this life, he watched and waited, hoping to see the one person he cared about on this forgotten ball of dirt.

While he waited, he pretended to watch the holos. He’d rather have see the usual sport and sex shows, but today all the screens showed multiple views of the ceremonies taking place in the temples, especially in the capital city of Tekena. For nearly two thousand years, since the first settlements rose on Shadriss, the priests in their temples had celebrated this festival. The nearest screen showed the Regent of Shadriss, dressed in n’Chall blue and wearing the traditional wide-brimmed had with its veiling cascade of silver beads. The man hidden beneath the costume poured offerings of water, wine, and ale over the head of the statue of sweet Lady Ur. No doubt, the goddess needed the bath. In Namdrik, the river Ur reeked of the sewage that washed from the Great Market, where the merchants set up their tents each day and left their trash to be sluiced into the Ur each night. Tekena, home of the Black Palace of the Overlord, would be no sweeter.

Jak didn’t believe in the Lady Ur, the Great Nish, or even the Lost Gods whose worshipers were dust and whose names were forgotten. Those deities seemed too small, their priests too involved in unending power struggles to have any meaning for the likes of him. He watched the crowd and smiled a little with an irony too bone-deep to be bitter, while bits of other lives fluttered through his mind like leaves on the wind. Only his own past remained hidden from him. If ever he could remember who he was, where he’d come from, maybe he’d remember a god he could believe in. For now, he’d give lip service to the gods of Shadriss and enjoy the free ale their priests provided.

He took another careful sip, grimacing at the taste of the dregs of the murky liquid in his tankard. He wished they’d hand out food instead. He was hungry, but with no money to spend, he’d stay that way. He was stranded on Shadriss, a one-port cesspool with no use for a down-on-his-luck pilot. Or no use that Jak was desperate enough to agree to.

Jak raised his empty tankard, gesturing to a passing priest of Nish. A belly full of ale was better than a belly full of nothing. Red robed from head to foot, black cloth mask covering his face—or maybe her face, Jak couldn’t tell—the priest moved toward his table. He held a ladle in one black gloved hand and a bucket of ale in the other. Without speaking, the priest poured one scant ladle into Jak’s tankard.

Is that all? Jak demanded. If they were going to give alms, they could at least do so with a free hand. Is Nish running out of worshipers? Is the temple so broke you can’t provide a full tankard? Okay, maybe he wasn’t so resigned to his fate as he’d thought. Challenging a red-robe was likely to lead to a knife in his throat, at best.

Jak saw a flash of eyes behind the mask as the priest glared at him, then began ladling ale into the tankard. He didn’t stop until the ale slopped over Jak’s fingers and onto the floor. Then he stood back, glaring silently from behind the mask as if daring Jak to ask for more.

To the honor of Nish, Jak said. He smiled, leaning forward into the light so the priest could see him clearly. With his scarred face, his twisted smile frightened children. Add red hair and green eyes—demon hair and demon eyes here on Shadriss—and he was enough to make grown men pause in their tracks. Hastily, the priest stepped back and turned to find another thirsty worshiper.

Jak sat back, his grin fading along with his anger. He was in trouble, but that was nothing new. Four years were all he remembered of his own life, four years trapped on Shadriss. In that time, he’d been in danger more often than not. The memories of other lives that drifted through his mind often ended in death, so maybe now it was his turn to take that final journey.

He scowled as he rubbed work worn fingers over the side of his jaw. The scar that slashed across his face was just one among many. He had other scars, no doubt from fights and accidents, from battles he couldn’t recall. The memories that sometimes swept over him were fragments of other people’s lives, not his own. He’d discovered that strong emotion was the trigger: fear, anger, even love. It was as if the feelings woke some echo in his soul. When they came, the memories swept him up into other times, other places, into other lives. For the time that he was caught, Jak was that other person—man or woman, young or old—and his own life was gone as if it had never been. He’d never told anyone about the memories, about the difference in himself that he called the strangeness, not even his beautiful, clever Tessa.

He’d come here hoping to see her, at least for a while. She’d told him earlier that she might stop in at the Pit tonight. Even as Jak thought of her, he saw her step into the room like a dancer stepping onto the stage. The sleeveless sapphire silk dress she followed her lithe figure like a caress. A shawl of blue swirls embroidered with gold wrapped her shoulders. Most of the men and many of the women watched her walk across the floor to where Jak sat. Despite the dim and flickering lighting of the bar, she went to him as directly as if he were sitting under a spotlight. Sometimes, he had the feeling that she could find him no matter how dark the corner where he hid.

Hello, Jak, sweet man.

She bent to kiss his cheek in greeting, and her dark hair brushed his face. He was caught in the scent of her perfume, a scent like the first flowers of spring when the river Ur ran high, and memories welled up in him.

I am a young man lying on the grass with my first love in my arms beneath me. I smell the scent of her, and it is the scent of springtime, of green growing things, their sap full of sunlight, and moist earth where countless tiny lives churned to make it fertile. Her skin is warm and soft and wondrous. She smiles at me as I bend to kiss her.

Then Jak shook himself and was back in the Pit as Tessa slid gracefully into the chair next to him. He was glad that she hadn’t noticed his lapse. At least her scent had stirred only a brief fragment of memory.

Tessa was Veloran, from a colony that had spent the past fifty generations breeding for perfect beauty. She’d told Jak that by the standards of her people, she was badly flawed; but for him, just looking at her was enough to stop his breath in awe. With an elegant motion, she shook back the jeweled bracelets that banded her left arm from wrist to elbow. They were the mark of her profession, gifts from her clients, and their number and quality showed her high standing. She was a courtesan, a Hired Companion of the first rank, once a slave, then a brothel girl, then a well-paid, much-desired companion. Now, she could choose her customers and the services she provided them. Jak had never been able to understand why, when she could have anyone she wanted, she had chosen a man like him for her friend. For reasons of her own, she’d dragged his wounded body out of the alley where she’d found him and then nursed him back to health.

And of course, Jak loved her.

Chapter 2: Tessa

There he was, sitting in the shadows on the far side of the room. Tessa let out a small sigh and smiled to hide her relief. Never let fear show; she’d learned that rule early and well. She crossed the crowded room to him, ignoring the noise and the flashes of light from the holos. People who recognized her smiled and called out with invitations to join them. Tessa shook her head and made a pretty face that managed to combine thanks with regretfully declining the invitation. She wove between dancers and priests until she reached the table where Jak waited.

As always, her eyes first went to his pilot’s medallion, gleaming golden on the smooth, tan skin of his bare chest. A pilot, her own personal pilot; he’d always been her one small chance of escaping this dead-end existence. Tonight, he was her only protection from the trouble she’d brought on herself. She felt as if she were being stalked by a moki, as if she’d fallen into the Ur and was swimming just ahead of a school of ravenous banderri. No, it was worse than that, much worse.

She sat down and her smile widened as Jak reached behind his head to tighten the leather thong that held back his red hair, as if that might make his unkempt mane presentable. He wore it long, Shadriss-style, although he omitted the beads and braids and colored ribbons the dandies sported. He’d never told her how he felt about her, but Tessa knew anyway. It was her business to know how men felt. Dark and slender, as graceful as a snake and just as deadly, she knew the effect she had on men. She looked over at the big man with the ugly, scar-ruined face. She needed Jak, but it was just business. That was all she would permit herself to feel.

I’m hungry enough to eat a lamnan whole, Tessa said as she took the chair across from him. With him, she avoided the sophisticated banter that she used with her clients. She allowed herself to speak like the simple girl she’d been before the slavers took her. How about you? Have you eaten?

Jak grinned, clearly amused at the vision of her eating one of the huge, six-legged hauling lizards.

I’ve had enough, he lied.

No doubt that was yesterday. Why was he so stubborn about taking a little help from her? Or maybe it was the day before. You haven’t had much work for the past couple of months.

She knew he couldn’t argue with that. She was still unhappy that he’d insisted on leaving her care. And even though he’d had a hard time surviving on his own, he seldom let her help him. It made it harder for her to keep track of him. She wanted him to be dependent on her, but Jak seemed to take some stubborn pride in doing everything for himself. Still, he looked grateful when she beckoned to a thin, nervous boy who hurried over.

Tessa ordered enough food for both of them. More than enough, actually. She had to break herself of this urge to take care of Jak. Annoyed with herself, she scanned the crowd while they waited for their dinner. She was very aware that while she watched the others, Jak watched her. It brought her an odd sense of pleasure, very different from what she felt when she knew she had a client’s regard. How could she expect to manipulate this man when she couldn’t even keep control of her own feelings?

A passing priest of Nish poured a tankard of ale for Tessa and topped off Jak’s drink. The priest seemed strangely wary of the big foreigner.

What have you been doing to the red-robes?

He made innocent eyes at her. Not a thing, he said. I just asked for a full measure in my tankard, and I got one. He took a drink and returned her question. And what have you been doing? I thought the festival was one of your busy times.

Oh, it is. She rearranged her shawl and touched the bracelets that covered her left forearm. When she was alone, she sometimes counted them. I’m meeting someone here later tonight. I just wanted . . . .

Her voice trailed off. This wasn’t how she’d planned to approach her problem. She was glad to see the boy arrive then with their plates and a platter of steaming lamnan filled full almost to overflowing. Tessa smiled at him. He blushed as he set the platter down.

For you pleasure, mistress.

Their waiter was young, but he was man enough to react to her and see that she had the best of service. Then, she turned back to Jak and, even over the sounds of the bar, she heard Jak’s stomach growl when he smelled the spicy meat with its peppery red sauce. She was sure that he hadn’t expected to eat today. The sight and scent of the food distracted him from their conversation, and Tessa could only be glad. She’d do this her own way once he’d been fed and was feeling grateful.

I’ve been thinking, Jak said. He fingered his threadbare vest trying to sound casual, as he swallowed with a gulp that was half hunger, half nerves.

That’s unusual, Tessa teased as she heaped food from the platter onto his plate and then a more modest serving onto hers.

Actually, I came here tonight to say goodbye to you.

Tessa’s well-groomed eyebrows arched in surprise, and her hand stopped halfway to her plate. Goodbye? You’ve found a ship, a berth? He was leaving her? Her pilot was leaving? No, no, no! She needed Jak. He was the one person on all of Shadriss who would help her. Only years of training and her stubborn will kept the expression of dismay off her face.

Jak shook his head and took up his fork, waiting for her to start before he began eating.

No berth. No one on this backwater planet wants to hire a starship pilot. No more moki hunters either.

I’ve heard that you were a most excellent guide.

If he didn’t have a berth, where was he going? Where could he go?

I did all right when hunting in the Waste was in fashion, he said.

Tessa remembered to take a bite of her own food, and Jak was silent for a few moments as he eased his hunger. The rich, spicy meat was like sand in Tessa’s mouth, but Jak had plenty of appetite. Yes, she thought, it had been a couple of days since he’d had a full belly. She watched the light from the nearest holo as it flickered over his scarred face, hiding the devil green of his eyes and demon red of his hair. That coloring caused him problems on Shadriss, she knew, marked him out immediately as someone to keep at a distance. Then he swallowed a final bite of the lamnan and leaned back in his seat.

But that’s finished now, he continued. The young lords are tired of risking their lives stalking moki. They’d rather hunt things that don’t hunt back. No more wearing moki fangs around their necks to show everyone how tough they are. And part of me is glad that’s over. Killing moki for their meat and hides is one thing; slaughtering the lizards to make ornaments from their teeth and leaving the carcass to rot is just wrong.

He paused to take a drink from his tankard. Tessa found herself nervously fingering her bracelets and had to force herself to stop. Refusing to give in to her rising panic, she pasted a look of polite inquiry on her face and waited to hear what he had to say.

Tessa, I haven’t had a job as a guide for weeks. Nobody wants unskilled labor. That’s me, in case you didn’t recognize the description. He smiled at her, and the scar twisting it into a sneer. I don’t know how to do a damn thing that’s considered useful on this low-tech world. So, I’m going to head down river and hire out as labor to the farmers.

Please, don’t go, Jak. Working for the farmers will only last until the crops are in, if that long.

No, she ordered herself, don’t beg! But she would not allow him to do this. She took another bite of lamnan and forced herself to swallow it. She knew what it was like to be an outsider. People on Shadriss considered her beautiful, but on her home world, it was a different story.

The colony on Velora had been founded to breed for a very specific type of beauty, and her sapphire blue eyes were too far from the desired gray-blue, her black hair was too dark, and she was much too short to meet the standards of her people. Any one of those imperfections might have been allowed to pass as an unfortunate blemish, but all three together were too much to bear, or so her father had thought.

With an effort of will, Tessa brought her thoughts back into their usual disciplined order. The past was gone; she lived in the present. And if she wanted to keep on living, she had to talk Jak out of this absurd idea. It was suicide! They would both die!

I need you here. Really, I do.

Oh, wonderful, Tessa, she chided herself; you’re as subtle as a lamnan cow in heat. She put one hand on his wrist and saw him catch his breath. So much emotion, she thought, just from a simple touch. She ignored the way her own heart beat faster. Jak’s words come out in a growl.

I don’t want your charity, Tessa. And when work for the farmers runs out, I’ll find something else.

But they both knew he was lying.

It isn’t charity I’m offering, she said.

His pride was going to kill them both. She tightened her hold on the heavy bones of his wrist. He was big, he was strong, and she needed his help. She’d planned to tease him into helping her, to trick him if she had to. What was she thinking? This was Jak. He didn’t understand anything but honesty.

I’m in trouble, Jak, she blurted, bad trouble.

What do you mean? She had his full attention now, and he’d stopped talking about finding work among the farmers.

It’s Bolon, she said. He wants me to be his mistress. He offered me an exclusive contract, luxury apartment, plenty of spending money, and no other clients. She looked at Jak, her sapphire eyes defiant. I told him he couldn’t buy five minutes of my time.

You turned down an exclusive contract with the Regent’s bastard?

Tessa nodded.

Oh yes, she had. Bolon was the bastard son of the Regent, Graff n'Chall. Bolon ruled the criminal underworld of Shadriss while his father reigned over the rest from the Black Palace at Tekena. She’d known the big man was used to getting his own way, but she’d never thought that he’d react so violently to her rejection. Now, Jak was the only thing that stood between her and Bolon’s wrath.

Bolon is a big man, bigger even than you. But inside, where it counts, he’s small and twisted. There’s no way I’ll ever let him touch me.

The underworld leader had always been always odd, but these past few years he’d gone from cold to outright crazy. She’d tried to avoid him, but her business depended on her being noticed. She had a corps of people who were paid to talk about her, about the beautiful, the clever, the daring Tessa. She chose her clients with care, and she made sure that they appreciated the privilege of being able to buy her time. She would not be Bolon’s mistress.

I’m a free woman now, not a slave, she said, as much to herself as to Jak.

Once again, she ran her fingers over the many, jeweled bracelets that nearly covered her left forearm. Not a slave, she repeated to herself, not a slave any longer. She might sell access to her body on occasion, but it was her body to sell or not, as she chose.

But you’ve really pissed him off.

Oh, yes. He was very angry. She’d expected Bolon to be angry. What she hadn’t expected was homicidal rage, a seething blackness that threatened to destroy her. He didn’t say anything, just went quiet, and then started playing with one of his toys.

Tessa took another drink from her tankard, making a moue at the bitter taste.

Just watching him play with those children’s toys gives me the shudders. There’s something seriously wrong with that man.

And all that wrongness was aimed at her. She reached out and took Jak’s hand in both of hers. His hand was warm, the skin roughened by work.

I need a bodyguard. I need you, Jak. You’re smart, when you take the trouble to use your brains. You’re quick, and I’ve never seen anyone who can match you for strength.

Jak shook his head, but he didn’t pull away from her.

Tessa, I’m only one man. Bolon has his whole gang. n’Tau alone is probably more than I can handle.

Tessa frowned. n’Tau the Gambler was Bolon’s right hand man and one of the deadliest fighters in crime lord’s organization. Could n’Tau kill Jak? Another flash of fear went though her, but she shook it off. Jak didn’t give himself enough credit. She needed Jak’s protection. He owed her his life. She’d found him. She’d nursed him back to health. Never mind that it had been the sight of his pilot’s medallion—gleaming atop