Mazal looked up at the sun, seeing its position in the sky. “I would say at least two or three standard hours.”
“Good,” James said, smiling at Mazal and placing an arm around the Jirina’s broad shoulders. “I’m starving. Let’s go find some food.”
#
Tumaani, James, Kieren, Gianni, and Zanth were sitting around a table in the basement bunker of the damaged building that the Rajani had set up as their headquarters. Mazal was standing directly behind James with his arms crossed. Kieren was sitting between Gianni and James, holding their hands so that they could both speak and understand Talondarian Standard without using the clunky translating device.
“Thank you for coming to this first meeting,” James began. “I know how much things are…strained…between your species.”
Zanth leaned forward. “I am here only because I trust Kieren.”
Kieren blushed and smiled, looking down at the table. “Thank you, Zanth.”
Gianni broke contact with Kieren. “What am I, chopped liver?”
“Shut up, Gianni,” James told him without looking at the other man. “You’re not helping the situation.”
Gianni raised his hands in a fending off gesture, smiling. “Sorry, Boss.” He once again took hold of Kieren’s hand.
“This course of action cannot continue, James,” Tumaani said. “My people have lived by the teachings of Ruvedalin for two thousand years. Yes, we have made mistakes in the past. Yet, to continue with this brutal killing is a larger threat than anything the Krahn Horde could do to us.”
“Then why are we here?” Gianni asked.
“Gianni—” Kieren began.
Gianni broke contact with her once again to speak English. “No, Kieren, I want to know.” He grabbed her hand again. “Why were we brought all the way out here to fight for a species that won’t fight for itself? If you wanted to give up so badly, then why drag us into it?”
“Believe it or not, he does have a point,” James said, looking at Tumaani. “We cannot win this fight alone, even with the powers afforded us by the Johar Stones. We need you to help us.”
Tumaani looked down at his hands for a moment. He then quietly spoke, still not raising his eyes. “You don’t understand.”
“Then tell us,” Gianni said. “We want to help you.”
“Tell them, Tumaani,” Zanth said to his former master. “Or I will.”Tumaani looked at James. “You don’t know what we Rajani are capable of. You have not seen what we could…what we have done. The worlds that we have—” He stopped a moment and leaned forward. “Don’t you see? We’ve devoted our entire lives to peace for two thousand years, and yet, the flame of our fury has only been hidden, it has not been extinguished.” He looked at his intertwined fingers, held before him on the table. “If we continue along this course of action, it may blaze once again, stronger than ever.”
“Once that happens,” Zanth said. “No one will be safe. Not even your home planet, Kieren.”
“You would condemn your species to extinction,” James continued. “Rather than take the chance of returning to what you once were over two thousand years ago?”
“Yes,” Tumaani answered, sitting up straighter. “I would.”
Gianni threw up his hands. “Well, that’s just great. He’s crazy.”
“I understand your concern,” James said, ignoring Gianni. “But I guarantee you, if something is not done soon, your species, as well as Zanth’s and Mazal’s, will face extinction or slavery. That’s a fact.”
“I see,” Tumaani began, sighing, “that I no longer have a choice. You, James, have reawakened my people’s thirst for battle. I cannot stop them now. I can only hope to keep them under control.”
“Like you have kept us for so long?” Zanth asked. “I tell you now, we will no longer stand for it, Tumaani. We’ll fight, with or without our former masters. Even against them, if need be.”
“Zanth, I know what your species has gone through,” James said. “On Earth, my people were once in a very similar position. Nobody wants to be treated as a second-class citizen. All I’m asking is that both of you agree to help fight for your planet. And when we kick their ugly asses off it, then you must fight to keep the alliance we forge between your two species. Do you accept these terms?”
“Long have we relied on the Sekani…and on the Jirina, for that matter,” Tumaani said. “We have grown lazy, and we have grown even more arrogant. I give my word that I will work to set about changing our ways. The Rajani must become more self-sufficient.”
“Tumaani,” Zanth replied, “I know you to be a good and wise leader. But until I see proof that my species will be free, I can guarantee nothing.”
“But will you fight alongside us all?” James asked. “Will you fight for your planet?”
Zanth smiled. “Oh yes. We will fight. To the death of us all, if it comes to it.”
“Let’s all hope that it doesn’t come to that,” James said. He turned to look at Mazal, who was still standing behind him. “And you, Mazal. Will you please sit down? You are not my servant.”
“But James,” Mazal said, “I owe you my life.”
James was smiling now. “Fine. If that’s true, then I order you to devote yourself to the benefit of your species. Please, sit down. You are among equals here.”
Mazal reluctantly sat between James and Tumaani.
“I would ask that you all go to your respective groups,” James continued. “If we’re to form a plan of action, then we must know who will fight, and who will not.”
“That is reasonable,” Zanth said.
“I…agree,” Tumaani replied, still looking unsure.
James turned to Mazal. “Mazal?”
“The Jirina will go where you lead,” Mazal said.
“No, my friend,” James said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “From now on, they go where you lead.” They smiled at one another.
#
Kieren was in her small room at the Sekani compound, crying. The room had a makeshift door for privacy; it had not yet been fixed up for her to live in by the Sekani. The door was set in place in the doorway, but wasn’t attached by a hinge. She and Gianni had been sleeping in the large building on cots among the Sekani, but since Zanth had invited her and Gianni to live there as his guests after the first meeting between the Rajani, Jirina, and Sekani, they were each given their own rooms to stay in. There was a knock on the door, and she quickly wiped her eyes with her hands, not wanting anyone to know she’d been crying. If word spread among the Sekani that the human woman was crying, it could look bad, or maybe even cause them to lose confidence in her. “Yes?”
Gianni stood in the open doorway. He closed the door as much as possible and turned to her. “Hey. Are you all right? I, I heard you crying.”
“You know,” she began, “when we got into this, I thought we would be doing this great, heroic deed. We were going to free a whole planet from oppression and slavery to an evil race. But…the Rajani were once the bad guys. They could be again, for all we know.”
Gianni sat next to her on the small wooden pallet that was the only furniture other than the even less comfortable-looking cot in the corner of the room. “I know. It’s hard to know who we’re fighting for, or why we’re even here. But I want you to know something.”
“What?” she asked, wiping away another tear as it streamed down her face. She was aware of how close he was sitting next to her; could feel the warmth from him in the chill night air.
“No matter what happens,” Gianni said, “we’re all here for you. I’m…here for you.”
“Gianni—” Kieren began.
Gianni stood up abruptly. “Yeah, I know. Sorry if I got a little corny.”
“Don’t do that,” Kieren said.
“Do what?” Gianni asked, unable to look at her.
“Don’t close yourself off from me,” Kieren said. She stood and placed her hand on the side of his face. “Just tell me that everything will be all right.”
They embraced, almost cautiously, before settling into it. Kieren rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“I promise,” Gianni whispered.
They stood there a moment before he pulled back. She looked up at him, noticing how long his hair and beard were getting. She thought it made him look older, but it also softened his features. He had always had a hard look to him, from the first time she had seen him on the starship. “Thank you,” she said. “I needed that.”
“Uh, anytime,” he said. “I…I should be going now. I need to get some sleep.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” he said softly, looking into her eyes once again before turning away. He moved the door out of the way and replaced it again once outside the room.
“Goodnight,” she said softly, not knowing what to think about him. It was a long time before she fell asleep.
#
Later that night, Gianni was sitting alone in his room in the Sekani compound, having walked slowly away from Kieren’s place, kicking himself the entire way for blowing it once again with her. He was tired. Tired of fighting Krahn; fighting with the other people who were crazy enough to have come along on this trip, and tired of fighting himself. He had always been something of a loner, which was difficult, coming from a large family of Italian Catholics. He had four younger siblings and too many cousins, nieces, and nephews to keep track of without a spreadsheet. But he’d always been the outsider; the one who, as a kid, played on his own when the family got together, or later, when he’d grown old enough to have his own car, arrived late to those same family gatherings, and left early.
He’d always had trouble with relationships, and things were no different now, light years away from family and friends. Maybe he was too proud, or just rubbed people the wrong way. He had never been one to cater to other people’s wishes or demands. Tact was also a foreign word. Most of the time it suited him fine, not having to care about what other people thought of him. He lived his life the way he wanted. But there were times—not too often, but they came up—when he found it difficult to interact with others, even when he wanted to. The worst part was the fact that he felt strong emotions about Kieren and didn’t know how to express them.
Kieren was usually who he was thinking about at any given moment of the day, and it was driving him crazy. She was definitely not like the girls he was used to spending time with back in New York, or even after he’d moved to Detroit. He couldn’t let her know that he felt like some teenager with a crush, though. He had too much self-respect for that. So instead, he made an ass of himself most of the time they were together. He threw his hairbrush down in disgust and looked at himself in the mirror. You’ll never change, he thought. But he could see that he had changed, at least physically. He’d lost weight and gained muscle since coming to Rajan.
Physical exertion and a lack of food supplies had helped toward that. He’d been a little overweight back on Earth—too many rich Italian meals and cannolis—but now he was probably in the best shape of his life. The interstellar war diet, try it and see the results! he thought sardonically. He hadn’t cut his hair since leaving Earth either, and it was starting to get long. He’d worn it a little long before, but now it hung past his neck and would fly into his eyes if he didn’t keep it bound. He’d also grown a mustache and goatee. It was difficult to keep up on the personal grooming in a war zone.
At least he was usually so tired at night that he didn’t think much about those he’d left back on Earth, and he didn’t dream much, or if he did, he didn’t remember anything. It was cold comfort, at best.
#
James lay down on his cot, ready for bed. He was feeling the exhaustion seeping in from all that had happened to him in the last few days. Since crash-landing on Rajan, it seemed like he had hardly been able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time.
When Rauph had asked him to be the leader of the small band of humans, he had no idea that he would become the military leader of the entire resistance. But there was really no one else who would or could do it; he could see that from the meeting earlier that night. It had been over two thousand years since the Rajani had gone to war. No living Rajani had studied battle tactics or trained for fighting. The same went for the Sekani and Jirina. Hell, the Jirina were not even warriors by nature, and never had been in their known short history on Rajan, from what Mazal had told him.
So far, the resistance had been fighting and winning skirmishes with pure numbers, not out of any type of sound tactics or plans. James sighed as he turned over on his side on the cot. It wasn’t very comfortable. He decided he’d have to try and come up with a better plan of battle going forward. They had been able to defeat random bands of Krahn and small outposts, but the main body of the Krahn forces were still entrenched in the inner sections of the city, and the resistance had not dared come out in the open as a large fighting force, for fear of the colony ship that was still somewhere overhead, waiting. If that thing opened up on them, they wouldn’t last long.
He finally began to fall asleep, his last waking thought, as usual, about Yvette and wondering if she was still alive out there somewhere. He was heartened by the fact that Gianni and Kieren had survived their crash on Rajan. There was still hope that he and Yvette would be reunited soon.
#
Dreben was just lying down for the night when he heard the ship flying over the farm, becoming louder by the second. He rose quickly from the bed and looked out of the room’s single window, but could see only lights in the darkness above the farm. He walked out of his room to the main bunkroom, where the other Rajani slept at night. The Sekani and Jirina farmhands slept in a separate building closer to the orchard. Dreben saw that a few of the hands were sleeping, but most were still awake.
Terin, who was the senior hand under Dreben, walked over, a worried look on his face. “What is it, Dreben?”
“I don’t know,” Dreben answered. “A ship of some sort. Everyone stay calm.” He walked to the front door and slowly opened it. He could see a small ship landing in the middle of the jubka field. “Blast it,” he yelled as he saw it crushing at least four rows of seedlings.
He was about to run out and yell at the pilot when the rear hatch of the ship opened, and three figures emerged. He could tell right away that they weren’t from Rajan; and that they were armed, as well. He watched as they ran toward the other bunkhouse, which was about a hundred standard feet away from where he was standing.
“What are they doing?” Terin whispered from next to him, causing him to jump.
“I don’t know,” Dreben answered, giving his friend a scornful look. “Why don’t you go ask them?”
“When pulkos dance,” Terin said. “Did you fail to notice their weapons?”
“No, I saw them,” Dreben said. “We need to figure out how to get them to leave without anyone getting hurt.”
Just then, a shot rang out from the other bunkhouse. “Blast it,” Dreben said.
“Too late,” Terin said.
Dreben saw two of the figures come out of the bunkhouse, followed by the third, who was carrying the body of a Sekani over its shoulder. They walked quickly back to the ship, and it swiftly lifted off the ground and flew away.
“Well, let’s go see who it was at least,” Dreben said to Terin. They walked over to the bunkhouse. Dreben walked through the doorway to see that there were overturned bunks and a spatter of gore on one wall, with a streak of blood leading down to the floor. The Sekani and Jirina were huddled together in the far corner, a look of shock on all of their faces.
“They killed Joran,” a Jirina named Gamel said, a look of shock on his face.
“Blast,” Dreben said softly. “All right, I want all of you to grab your clothes and gear and bring it over to our quarters. We’ll all sleep there tonight.”
“I don’t think I could sleep after
this,” Terin said, looking at the red smear on the wall and floor.
“Needless to say,” Dreben said, “we’ll all be safer if we’re in one place together. We’ll post a couple of guards.”
“And arm them with what?” a Sekani named Maden’ta asked. “They had weapons. They killed Joran!”
Dreben could hear the panic in the Sekani’s voice, bubbling below the surface and threatening to overwhelm him. He knew that if it happened to one of the Sekani, there was no telling how the others would react. “Everyone just calm down and listen to me. We’ll have to come up with something,” he said. “Right now, it’s important that you just get your stuff and bring it on over to the other bunkhouse.”
He turned to look at Terin. “Terin, I need you to go back to the bunkhouse and start making room for them. It doesn’t matter where everyone sleeps, just make sure there’s a place for all of us.”
“What are you going to do?” Terin asked.
“I’m going to find some weapons,” Dreben answered, though he was unsure what he could come up with on the farm. Despite the lack of real weaponry, though, he knew that anything was better than what they had now. Whoever it was that had attacked them would get a surprise if they came back. But he hoped with all of his heart that they didn’t.
Chapter 11
James had grown a beard in his time away from Earth. It was difficult to find a shaving implement in a society where no one shaved. His was salt-and-pepper in color, and it made him look ten years older, he knew. Not to mention Yvette had hated it back on the ship. She’d actually offered to shave it by using her powers, but the thought of it had not appealed to him in the least. Best not to think about her now, he told himself, looking in the mirror that Mazal had found for him, weeks before. It still surprised him when he woke up in the morning and looked in the mirror to see the beard.
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