His Conquering Sword by Kate Elliott

a—?”
    David drew his slate out of its loop on his belt, unfolded it, and set it on the floor. He stepped back. “Receive,” he said into the air.
    Cara’s face materialized above the slate. Her image looked gritty and flat after the Chapalii display. “Charles,” she said. She smiled. He smiled back. “You’re well?”
    “I’m well,” he acknowledged.
    “Any news?”
    He lifted both hands. “Much news. You’ll hear about it when I get there.”
    “Ah. I’ll look forward to it. Bakhtiian is sending his niece back to escort you. She’s leaving tomorrow.”
    “As are we. We’ll look for her on our way.”
    “Goddess,” muttered Maggie, “how are we supposed to meet without any tracking equipment, over such a distance?”
    “We’ll have to trust that they know their way around,” said David softly. “Anyway, I’ve been teaching her to make decent maps.”
    Maggie snorted, but said nothing more.
    “I’ll pay no mind to the peanut gallery,” said Cara’s image, but she looked amused. “Have you ordered my shipment?”
    “Yes. Suzanne requisitioned it. Delivery downside is being arranged. I still think that given the potential for serious complications, Tess must at least return to Jeds for the remainder of her pregnancy.”
    “Charles, leaving aside questions of transport at this late date, I remind you that to remove her forcibly at this point would probably alienate her from you completely. You must trust to my judgment. With the additional equipment, with the antigen solution, and with the studies I’ve done on Bakhtiian’s chemistry and blood, I feel certain of a positive outcome even with complications.”
    David knew well what Cara’s promises were worth. She had never been a person to offer what she could not deliver.
    Charles frowned. “Perhaps if the experience is difficult and painful, then she won’t be so sanguine about remaining in these conditions.”
    “Charles!” David was appalled.
    Cara snorted. “I can’t imagine why you keep underestimating her stubbornness, Charles, since she inherited it from the same two people you did.”
    “You don’t understand, Cara. Maggie’s overturned the boulder and we’ve found a whole new ecology lurking underneath. I need Tess.”
    “You’re talking in riddles, my love. I’ll wait for the report. Have you gotten that fix on Hyacinth yet? Is it possible he’s still alive?”
    “Yes, in fact, Rajiv has the fix. It’s moving steadily, if slowly, northeast. They’ll make the plains soon.”
    A silence. “Well,” said Cara at last, her expression a mask of relief, “bless the Goddess for that, at least. May I tell the actors?”
    “Yes. Why do you ask?”
    “You’re rather close with information sometimes.”
    “Only when it’s vital. I’ll do my best to swing our route south so that we can pick him up. Anything else?”
    “Tess is fine. We’re heading west tomorrow toward the royal city of Karkand. If we have to besiege it, then doubtless that’s where you’ll find us when you get here in—what—I don’t know how fast you can travel.”
    “Not as fast as the messengers, but I’ll encourage our escorts to push the pace. Out, here, then.”
    “Out, here.” The image flickered and dissipated.
    “I wonder why Bakhtiian decided to send his niece back?” asked David.
    “She’s married now,” said Maggie. “And her husband is with us. That sounds like a reason. Doubtless he trusts her in a way he doesn’t necessarily trust a captain not of his own family. You’re a valuable hostage, Charles. Too valuable to lose.”
    “Am I a hostage?” Charles looked amused.
    “Don’t you think so? A hostage to force Tess’s cooperation.”
    Charles quirked a smile at her and paced back to stand next to Rajiv. “I rather thought it was the other way around. That Tess was a hostage for my cooperation.”
    “Are we really going to pick up the actor?” asked David.
    “If we can.”
    They all fell silent, waiting for