by Andi Feron
“Okay, but realize we need to leave urgently. I will leave you with the soldiers who will be leading your village. The rest of us need to be on our way.” John kept it professional, but I recognized his subtle hints at annoyance.
“Hopefully, we will see you there. I make no promises that we will return your women to you. We will be too busy protecting ourselves to protect them. You don’t seem to care too greatly for them anyway. I’m not sure how you could expect a woman to be able to match the strength and intelligence of a man, or to be able to do anything at all for us. By the time they gather their wits, half of my village will be destroyed.” Matthew stormed off to talk to his village.
John divided the teams. Talon, Morgan Colin, and one of the soldiers we picked up would be the second team. John, Lila, Gabriel, and the other two soldiers would be taking the third village. The last village was quite larger and needed more assistance. I wasn’t sure how John determined who would be on what team but I figured he had his reasons. The others set off for their assignments, and we would meet them after the long trek to the mountain fortress.
Matthew’s village contained fifty-three people. He was pushing twenty minutes when his people finally showed up with all the items they could carry. There were fifteen children, and Allie suggested they move them to the middle for better protection. This was met with disapproval from Matthew, and I realized any instructions were going to have to come from Deron. Deron led the way, I was in the middle, and Allie was at the back. The back was most likely where Khalbytians would attack from. Even if Matthew knew this, he didn’t care because he wanted a man leading them to the mountain fort.
“Our colony women know their place. Obedient with no mind of their own. They mind their men and don’t strive for bigger things. They raise our children well and take care of us men. They would never think to fight as soldiers.” I was close enough to the front that I could hear Matthew talking to Deron.
“Wouldn’t you rather equip your women to protect themselves?” Deron asked.
“Why when our men can protect them?”
“If you can protect them, why do you need our team to escort your villages?”
I smiled and told myself to buy Deron a drink next time we were out. Something I valued about the men on our team was they never doubted Allie, Lila, or me. They especially never degraded our intelligence or skill. We had nothing to prove with any of them.
Diversity made us stronger. Instead of taking Deron’s words seriously, Matthew carried on with his ideals. “Women do not have the strength, intelligence, or aptitude to protect themselves. We were promised your team would have all of that, then they sent women as a good portion of your team.”
“Next time, you can feel free to protect yourselves and you won’t have to concern yourselves with the capabilities of our women who have proven themselves in battle, missions, and countless other endeavors in the Loctorian-Khalbytian war.”
“Soldiers must be scarce for the council to even let women into the fight.”
“I think maybe the council is a bit wiser than yourself,” Deron said.
“Maybe the council is all female. Would explain the poor decision making. You know back when I was…”
“Shhh!” Deron halted the group.
I knew to pay attention. Deron’s senses picked up on something, and I hushed the children next to me.
“I know you believe differently, but…”
“No, silence. Something is coming,” Deron whispered.
Deron ran swiftly to the back next to Allie and scanned behind us. Matthew followed him and huffed and puffed from his short-distance run. It was clear Matthew would need to be protected more than his women would.
Matthew looked Allie over closer and said, “This one doesn’t even have a weapon.”
Allie smiled. “Weighs me down.”
“Probably best. Wouldn’t want to die from your miscalculated shots.”
Pink dust swirled up and the dark forms of Khalbytians bounded toward us. I made it to the back and projected to get a better look.
“About forty of them,” I said.
They were approaching at a rapid speed. I convinced several Khalbytians to take themselves out, and Matthew looked stunned. Gunfire hit the group. Everyone began to scream, and some ran in panic. Khalbytians took that opportunity to pick the colonists off one by one.
“Stay together. Stay calm,” Allie instructed everyone before she launched straight at the Khalbytians, dodging gunfire and Khalbytian claws.
She melted each one she passed. Matthew’s jaw gasped open, stunned by her courage and skill. Deron was hand-to-hand and I was continuing to project delusions and chaos into the minds of the Khalbytians. The three of us took care of the onslaught before they reached most of the group. Allie walked over to the few colonists who were injured and healed them all.
“Well, your women were certainly full of surprises,” Matthew said.
Deron shook his head. “Maybe if you gave yours a chance, they would surprise you as well.”
We made it to the mountain fort, and Talon’s group was already there. We were getting the two groups settled when Allie’s com device went off.
“John?” Allie answered. There was a pause then she said, “Okay, be right there.” She hung up and turned to me. “Seems the village they got to has already been raided with mass casualties. John needs me to heal everyone.”
Talon and I decided to go with Allie in case there was trouble. Allie often struggled with directions, and Talon worried she would get lost even with her scanner. His ability was much more reliable than the scanner anyway. We made it to the village in fifteen minutes.
John greeted us, “We’ve laid out all the bodies to make it easier for you to heal, and we’ve triaged the injured so you can decide the best order to proceed.”
“You guys are spoiling me.” Allie smiled, which evaporated when she saw all of the bodies.
I was concerned that it would be too much for her, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was too. She would never say if it was and she would attempt to help everyone.
“I know it’s a lot. Do what you can, that’s all anyone expects,” John said.
“Let’s do the injured first. Bringing them back is more difficult. I don’t want to burn out before being able to help as many as I can.”
Crying and screaming flowed as the prominent sound as we approached the tent opening. The sight overwhelmed my heart. Children clung to their mothers sobbing while others were writhing in agony. There were so many. The Khalbytians had attacked the largest village before any of us could get there to help them.
An elderly man held a blood-soaked cloth over half his face, and his visible eye seemed unfocused. Khalbytian gashes were prominent on foreheads and abdomens. Merciless brutality ripped through all that had been within the vicinity of Khalbytian claws. A tear fell down my cheek, and I actively allowed myself to feel the horror so that scenes like this would never numb my humanity.
Allie began with the children. I wished I could help Allie, as there was an instant pull to end their suffering. She talked to each one, telling them they would soon feel better and not to be scared. She took the time to explain everything and made sure they were okay with her proceeding. Many hugged her when she was done. I projected stories for the waiting children to keep their minds off their surroundings. Allie healed everyone and returned to the mass grave.
Allie went one after the other, not stopping between each person. As she neared the last row, she seemed to be slowing, and I could tell she would need a long nap. There were three left when she stumbled back and sat on the ground. Her nose started bleeding, and an instant flashback to Helen dying made me want to stop her.
Talon’s thoughts matched mine. “I think you’ve done enough, Allie.”
“No, I need a break… is all,” her speech slurred.
John placed his hand on her shoulder. “I think Talon is right.”
“I’m fine, you two. Gi
ve me a minute,” she mumbled. Allie took a brief break and then healed the remaining three. “Everyone?” She rested her head on her knees.
“Yes, everyone is healed,” John said.
“I’m going to take a nap then.” Allie flopped onto her side.
I scanned her to make sure she was simply sleeping, then John radioed Colin to bring the transport cart to get her back to the ship. He carried her to the medical tent and covered her with a blanket. About an hour later, Colin arrived to take her to the ship.
The rest of us helped get the colonists settled, and Matthew thanked us. I wondered if he was humbled by the fact that a woman had saved so many of his people. I hoped he would treat the women in his colony better and even help them gain the skills to fight back against Khalbytian attacks. In this war, we needed everyone.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
John-December 16, 2014
I would be glad when the colonists were settled, and we could return to Saturn base. Dealing with the colony leader Matthew proved difficult. His lack of respect for the women on my team was something that hadn’t sat well with me.
My team worked on ship checks, making sure everything was ready for us to depart. I went to check on Allie who still slept from burn out. The scanner indicated she was doing well. I went back to navigation to get an estimate on departure. My com device went off.
“John, are you still on Fon-435?” Admiral Parks asked.
“Yes, ma’am. We are getting ready to depart.”
“What’s your team’s status?”
“Team is in good shape, and the mission was a success. One for sickbay. Althea Cooper with ability burn out, but stable.”
“If she’s doing well I have one more mission for you on the planet.”
I internally groaned. I would rather have my fiancée back in sickbay where the nurses could care for her properly and Jasper could monitor her. She was medically stable, and that meant I had to put my personal feelings aside and carry out my duty.
“She’s doing fine now. Just sleeping. Probably will be for a while,” I said.
“Our intel has told us Khalbytians are attempting to set up base a few hundred kilometers from the position of the mountain base. We need you to go and destroy their efforts. With Allie down, I know you won’t be able to heal injuries, but I think your team can manage.”
That was easy for her to say while safe on Saturn base, but it made sense to deal with it now rather than having the Khalbytians destroy the work of the mission we completed. I told everyone the plan, and I felt their disappointment. Everyone was looking forward to getting home. I wished we were able to use the ship to fire and destroy the new Khalbytian base in one swoop. The ship was poor at firing in low atmosphere, plus the power of the weaponry could cause unstable planetary events.
For this reason, we would have to go hand-to-hand again. Eventually I hoped the Loctorians would have the ship issues ironed out. Talon led us to the base, and we set down far enough away to go undetected. The entire base was surrounded by the strange, blue cacti that Lila had told us to avoid, but that would be nearly impossible.
“The plants. How poisonous are they?” I asked her.
“I don’t think they will cause serious damage, but they appear to have hallucinogenic properties. May drug us up for a bit and impair our function.”
“Okay, everyone, try to avoid the cactus plants the best you can,” I instructed my team.
Seraphine projected and let us know there were about a hundred inside. I told her to try and take out as many remotely as possible, and I would do the same. We got through a couple dozen before they realized the threat was really outside. We were now in battle. Things were going well until I saw a Khalbytian shove Talon right into a cactus plant. I knew that was going to happen to at least one of us. Colin was next, as he had his arm slammed into one.
We knocked through all the Khalbytians and Talon did a sweep. He seemed to be fine. Maybe you had to eat the cactus to experience any side effects. Talon informed us all was clear. I asked for an assessment of injuries. Colin, Deron, and Talon all had cactus injuries. Lila’s arm revealed a nasty weapon burn and Gabriel’s leg had been sliced into. Other than those things, we were no worse for wear.
We boarded the ship and I confirmed with Admiral Parks that we were now cleared to return to Saturn base. We would be dropping off the three extra members at Pulsar base and would go home from there. Colin started laughing hysterically, and Deron joined him. They were both super loud and didn’t stop. Apparently, we weren’t out of the woods with the cactus wounds yet. Talon still seemed fine.
“Colin and Deron, get to medical bay. You’re off duty until base,” I ordered.
“We’re fine.” Colin cackled.
“Yeah, we’re fine, just they look so funny.” Deron snorted and pointed at the consoles in front of him.
“Who looks funny?” I asked him.
“The squirrels! They are running all over the controls. How have we not crashed?” Deron howled with laughter.
“What do you mean squirrels? I think those jumping lights are pretty funny. They are all over people’s heads. Like bouncy balls.” Colin joined Deron with boisterous laughter.
“Come on, guys. You’ll have to watch your squirrels and lights back in medical bay.” Morgan led them both out.
“Talon? How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Great! Enjoying looking at both my wives at the moment.” His response caused me to look at him, and it took me a minute to realize what he’d said.
He stared at Seraphine with a ridiculous grin. “Look at them, they are beautiful.”
Seraphine snapped her head up at his words. “Talon, what other wife?”
“See, they also have the most beautiful voice. Here and there.” He pointed to the sides of Seraphine.
“Okay, big guy. Medical bay for you.” Seraphine pulled Talon from his chair.
“Will you guys be there?” He sounded half out of it.
“We’ll walk you there.”
“Perfect.”
Seraphine led Talon out, and Morgan returned to let us know Seraphine was going to watch the stoned posse. We landed on base, and medics were waiting for our injured, including Allie. Nurses hooked Allie up to her usual IV, tubes, and wires. After I was sure she was settled, I walked back to talk to Jasper to hear the report on my team. I heard yelling.
“Why do you put that woman-stealing asshole next to me?!” Colin yelled about Gabriel.
He was sitting in the triage area, and Gabriel was getting stitched up on an exam table nearby.
“I’m going to let that one go because you’re high.” Gabriel wasn’t able to resist saying something back.
“I’m going to punch you across the room!” Colin stood up and tried to punch Gabriel but missed by a good foot.
The nurse stitching Gabriel up yelled for security, and I came over and held Colin back, who then accurately punched me in the jaw. Security came and helped restrain him. We took him to a private room away from Gabriel. I knew Colin was impaired at the moment, but I also knew his emotions came from a real place.
I didn’t want to lose Colin or Gabriel on my team, but this needed to be resolved. This was the issue with forming relationships within military teams, but the Loctorians did what they wanted. I was sure this was partially because they didn’t understand human relationships as well as they thought. The rest of it was their manipulation of humanity over the obsession with their visions. Relationships not forming within our team seemed impossible anyway. We worked closely, faced death, and celebrated life together. We were a family, and that meant emotions ran high concerning each other.
“Jasper, what’s it looking like for the cactus plant being out of their system?” I asked.
“They should be good by tomorrow.”
I followed him in to check on Talon. Talon had his head in Seraphine’s lap, smiling at her.
“I love you. You’re beautiful.” Talon sounded dopey.
Seraphine half smiled, and half looked desperate. “Yep, love you too. Jasper, fix him please.”
“Unfortunately, it just needs to cycle through. Couple hours maybe.” Jasper grinned.
“How’s Allie?”
“Good. Settled in sickbay,” I replied.
Talon jumped up. “Where’s my sister? She’s the best. I really need to tell her that so she knows it. That she’s a good sister.”
“She knows it, Talon. We all know you love us,” Seraphine said, and he hugged her tightly, looking pleased about what she told him.
I left Seraphine to deal with Talon’s vigorous affection. I needed to go to a mission debriefing with Parks. I walked home to get a shower and already missed Allie. I tried to get some sleep, but the coldness of an empty bed sent me to sickbay. I read to Allie before sleeping in the chair next to her. I wanted the war to be over so I could have her with me every night.
During the day, I kept busy with war reports and the gym. I needed to keep up my physical aptitude.
*
On Saturday, I met Talon for our weekly sparring. The cactus had worn off about a day after we arrived back. Seraphine told him she needed a day at the spa. She loved him, but he had smothered her a bit. We sparred back and forth and ran the base obstacle course together. Talon always pushed me further than I otherwise would have extended myself. I thought I would ask his opinion on the Colin/Gabriel situation. I told him what happened in sickbay.
“I think we need it officially squashed or it’s going to continue to bite us on missions. They either need to cool it with each other or one is going to have to transfer.” Talon was in line with my thinking.
“Yeah, I agree, but I don’t like the idea of losing either one of them. I guess we’re going to have to talk it out.”
My com device went off.
“Hey, Jasper. Allie okay?”
“Yes, she’s awake, sort of,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“Everything is fine. Just come to sickbay when you can.”
“What is it?” Talon asked.