She understood that well enough, but there wasn’t a standard conversion from minutes to spans like there was for inches to centimeters. But the way Kragyn explained it to her, she did get the gist. There wasn’t much need to keep to a specific time on Julconi. Fighting in the pit was the only thing Kragyn did on a regular basis. The first match started right about sunset, so no time keeping device was needed.
Kragyn grabbed a couple protein bars for them to eat on the way.
The shuttle was visible when they arrived and opened automatically when they walked up the ramp.
“Good day, Commander,” Pazel greeted, inclining his head to both. “How do you stand it; this heat is unbearable?”
“We try not to spend too much time outside during the hottest part of the day, and we live in an old mining cave with a constant water supply,” Kragyn explained. “Water’s the main thing. A body can sweat out water as fast as you can take it in with this heat. We carry water whenever we leave the cave.”
“Are there only two major communities on this continent?”
“As far as I know,” said Kragyn. “I’ve never been far from here since I was dumped here. If not for the early mining operation I doubt there would be a village here.”
“The information we have says there are about eight thousand people in and around this village. What about the mines around here?”
“A couple closer to the village are occupied. I went deeper into the hills and checked out several mine caves before I picked mine.” Kragyn said.
“So, you really don’t have much more information on the inmates here than we do?” Pazel said.
“Well, I was not in any frame of mind to make friends when the Sargans dumped me here. The thugs in charge picked fights with me, testing me out. After I gave a few of them a good beat down, their boss sent someone to ask me to fight in the pit.”
“That hardly seems fair with the kind of training we have,” Pazel laughed.
“They are not all thugs with only street fighting skills. Some of them are warriors, bigger and stronger, and I took a few beatings.”
“Do they fight to the death?”
“Yes, but not all the time. Most of the time we fought until one of the fighters was knocked out. But I had some kills, too. Not since Reanne arrived, though.”
“Do you think we will be able to get a hundred or so people worthy of settling on Farseek out of this bunch.”
“I think so. Some females really need to be taken out of here who have been forced into sexual slavery to stay alive. There’s a cave not too far from here that we could hide them until you’re ready to transport them.
“The best time to reconnoiter in the village is just before sundown when things start to cool down. They have these light stones they use to mine that help to see your way around in the village. Some people come to the pit that don’t really belong here either.”
“I certainly will defer to you on this because you have been here all this time.”
“It’s in our favor that the Sargan’s just delivered a new group of inmates. I’ve been to every landing since I got here. Except for females, these inmates are more concerned about getting their share of the supply drop, so they don’t pay any attention to the new males. As long as you’re wearing standard prison issue, I doubt you will draw undue attention,” Kragyn continued.
“I doubt we will have any trouble finding people who want to leave this hell hole,” said Pazel. “The problem will be to keep the pick-up site from being mobbed.”
“I know of three locations where women are being held to trade sex for whatever their owner wants. But we will have to break them out because they are kept as prisoners,” Kragyn said. “I haven’t seen any evidence of weapons beyond crossbows, knives, and the occasional sword. How soon do we have to get this done?”
“We estimate ten rotations before Dread One arrives with the Kurellis, the massive transport ship they stole from Tegliar station,” Pazel said. “Wait till you see it. It’s a real beauty with room for ten thousand people.”
“Between the three locations and the pit, my guess is that we can get about fifty women from those locations.”
“We should ask Varnis,” Reanne put in. “He told me how he was stolen from his planet just like I was. He didn’t even kill anybody. The guy he helped escape did so they sent Varnis here.”
“I agree,” Kragyn confirmed. “We should go to the village now to recon, so you reconcile the air shots of the village with the ground side view. Bring plenty of water, and we’ll take it slow.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I just don’t know how you take this heat,” said Pazel. It must be 106°.”
Reanne didn’t know what he really said, but it translated to a standard measure to her. “That’s why the streets are mostly empty,” she said. “Some of the buildings have air conditioning units but no way to run them.”
The locals were used to seeing Kragyn with Reanne, and he was not willing to leave her behind. She had gotten to know some of the pit fighters’ women while he was fighting his matches and some of the street vendors as well. With no legal tender, they traded supplies and things they made from whatever materials they could scavenge.
Dezron Village #2 might have been a pleasant little community during the mining days. It was laid out in square blocks on either side of a central main street. Reanne could almost picture it as a pristine, cozy yet modern village. The buildings were made of metal prefab panels that locked together then insulated from the heat with a lightweight masonry air infuse polymer.
Once the government officials left, and the inmates took over, village upkeep stopped. A few old-timers remembered those days at least fifty years before Reanne landed there. That was time enough for the buildings to show signs of wear and the streets to become strewn with trash from the packaging of the supplies delivered to them.
The paved streets were covered in a thick layer of dirt from regular dust storms a few times a year. None of the robot street sweepers were left behind when the officials pulled out. The only reason there was still power at the fight pit was that removal of the solar array, and underground storage batteries were more trouble than they were worth. By then, that setup was obsolete.
Reanne had learned through the grapevine that the pit fights were started by the prison officials. Both the officials and auxiliary workers made money on betting on them. There was still wagering on the matches, but the wagers were paid off in the form of food and supplies, and homemade weapons.
The only other thing of value to be traded were the fluorescent rocks that lit the caves like the one where Reanne and Kragyn lived. There were still small pockets of them left deep in their cave. The Sargans could have left the power generator when they pulled out, but they didn’t want the inmates to have a comfortable life.
Life could have been a lot worse had Kragyn not found her. She had seen too many unsavory males who she might have had to fuck to stay alive. Other women suffered more than she did, especially the ones in the brothels.
Instead, she had Kragyn, her soulmate, to love and protect her. She had gotten pretty good at defending herself from training with him. She even surprised him a couple times, having learned the lessons he taught her. Landing on Julconi was turning out to be a lucky break.
In just a few days her life would change again, Kragyn assured her for the better. They would be together back in space. Life would sure be different on a military warship.
She glanced at the man walking at her side. Even in this horrible place, life on Julconi hadn’t been as bad as she feared. Roughing it in their isolated cave was not unpleasant. Every time she looked at him, she felt the pull of his sexual attraction, but there was also this potent unspoken knowing between them. That was solmatu.
It took about an hour for them to stroll through the village on the ruse of showing a newbie the lay of the land. They moved slowly in the sweltering heat. Even then Pazel was showing signs of heat stress by the time they headed
back to the troop shuttle.
Once they got into the hills, Kragyn steered them into the closest cave to get Lieutenant Degatu out of the sun and the oppressive heat to rest. This cave didn’t have the nice layout of the one she shared with Kragyn. There was no place to sit except on the floor in the dirt, but it was a good fifteen degrees cooler a few dozen feet in.
“I am damn glad that we are only going to be here for a few more days… And I am pleased we're getting you out of here, too,” said Pazel.
“It took me months to get acclimated to these temperatures. Reanne had trouble with the heat too. Where she lived on her world was never this hot either.”
“You know, I was so excited that we found you, Commander, that I forgot to tell you. Dread One rescued four Earth females when they rescued Governor Guryon’s daughter,” said Pazel. “On another world, they rescued an Earth man and a Narovian feline humanoid. Near as they can figure, their interstellar Alliance is on the other side of the Sargus Empire from the Consortium.”
“Do they have coordinates for Earth?” asked Kragyn.
“The Narovian knows them in relation to his star system, but can’t pinpoint his system in relation to this sector.”
“The Picans that kidnapped us from Earth must know,” Reanne said.
“Are you hoping to return to Earth,” Pazel asked.
“Not without Kragyn. I was hoping to find a way to let my family know I am alive and well. It’s been over a year in Earth time since I was taken. I’m sure they must think I’m dead, and they will never know what happened.”
“That Narovian told my father that the Alliance was preparing to open formal relations with Earth. His Alliance has been fighting slavers stealing people from Earth for almost four-hundred years.
“He was taken from Earth while he was a covert Law Enforcer for the Alliance.”
“So, you think if they open relations with Earth, people there will learn that alien abductions are real,” Reanne said.
“The other Earth women are certainly hoping the Narovian can help put them in contact with Earth as well. Apparently, they wish to become Farseekans now. All but one has found a mate as you have.”
“I hope I get a chance to meet them one day,” said Reanne.
“It probably won’t happen for a while because we’re going to Dread Four,” Kragyn said. “But we could probably set up a com-chat with them when they’re in range.
“They were also victims of the Picans,” Pazel added and slowly stood up. “I think I can make it back to the shuttle now. I want to report back to the captain to see if he wants us to continue recon here, or go to the Julco continent to help the other teams search for our people.”
“I know we talked about pulling the women from the brothels and putting them in one of the caves for a few days,” said Kragyn as he got up too. “I think it would be more efficient to pull them out of the brothels just before the shuttle will arrive to pick us all up. We can go in just after dawn while they are asleep, neutralize the guards and roust the women.”
“They will need clothes,” Reanne said getting up as well. “One of the women who came to the pit with a fighter won her. They don’t allow them to wear clothes, so most of them don’t have any.”
“Kurellis is fully supplied to issue shoes and clothing on arrival. We won’t have the opportunity to get that before we evacuate them.” Pazel started toward the exit.
“You should have a supply of compact, thermal blankets.” Kragyn took the lead, and Pazel brought up the rear. “They can wrap up in those, and they will be protected from the sun for the hike to the evacuation point.”
“Yes, we do.” He took out his com and made a voice memo as they walked.
When they reached the shuttle, Pazel turned to Kragyn, and they clasped arms. “I will com you when we finish helping Faigon’s team on Julco. Com me, if you have any new information or if you need anything.”
“You do the same. See you when you get back.”
As Lieutenant Degatu walked up the shuttle ramp, Kragyn draped his arm around Reanne’s shoulders. They walked in silence for a couple minutes toward their cavern home.
“It’s going to be a long nine rotation spans,” he said. “I never even dared to hope we would get off this damn planet.”
“Neither did I, but it looks like it’s really going to happen. We will just have to keep busy in the meantime.”
“After that nice long walk in the heat, I think a bath is in order… With some serious fooling around.” Reanne flashed him a sexy smirk, and he grinned too.
Chapter Nineteen
The evening the shuttle from Dreadnaught Four was due back to Dezron continent, Kragyn and Reanne went to the pit for the fights as usual. He didn’t have to fight until the fourth match because he was the champion so far. The winners of events one and two would fight each other, then Kragyn would take on the winner of that match.
Reanne was a little worried because there was a big, mean looking green alien that made her think of the Incredible Hulk if he were bald with horns. He was over seven feet tall and stocky with huge three-fingered hands.
Kragyn wasn’t worried. He had fought the Fegandan named Oxiraz before, and he knew his major vulnerability. His genitals were internal and sensitive in the rear. They only became external when he was in rut. A solid kick there would bring him to his knees.
Kragyn didn’t really want to hurt him, he had gotten to know Oxiraz over the time he’d been fighting in the pit. He was a good man, and Kragyn was going to get him off this planet because he didn’t deserve to be there. His crime; he accidentally killed an overseer who was torturing his friend. Oxiraz only meant to stop him. His friend was murdered, and Oxiraz was sent to Julconi.
Kragyn was in such a good mood, he just might let Oxiraz have the win. Meanwhile, he lingered at the bar to talk to Varnis who didn’t kill anyone to land on the Dezron continent of Julconi. He just pissed off the wrong people.
Kragyn and Reanne lingered at the far end of the bar waiting to get Varnis’s attention. They knew he would come to them after he finished serving the other customers. This night drinks cost two protein bars. That’s how Hoker fed the brothel women.
“Varnis,” Kragyn said when he finally made his way to their end of the bar.
“What can I get you?” Varnis asked.
“Nothing right now. I want to ask you a question.”
“What?” The barman looked like he was expecting a gag of some kind.
“If you had a chance to get off this dirtball, would you take it?”
“What’s the joke?
“It’s not a joke,” Kragyn said barely above a whisper. “You know I was military in the Consortium Farseek Brigade.”
Varnis nodded, looking at Kragyn intently.
“They are coming for us tomorrow. I can get you out, but you can’t tell anyone. If our ship gets mobbed, people could get killed.”
“I want to come,” Varnis murmured urgently, “but I can’t leave the kids.”
“How many?”
“Eight now. They don’t have anyone but Sprell and me to take care of them. The oldest is twelve and two are girls. You know what Hoker will do with them.”
Kragyn gave him a dark look. If Hoker knew they were female, he would take them. This was the first that Kragyn knew he had any girls under his protection. With their short military haircuts, at their age, they looked like boys.
“You bring them too. Go to the old mining excavation sector in the morning and bring the kids. There will be people there to guide you.”
“Where will they take us?” Varnis was trembling with excitement as he spoke.
“Farseek. It will be a good place for the kids. They are rebuilding what the Sargan’s destroyed,” Kragyn murmured. “You must tell no one. We are getting the women out of Hoker’s brothels, so don’t worry about them.”
Varnis nodded solemnly.
“Now, laugh like I just told you the funniest story you ever heard.” Kragyn grinned
after he said it, and Varnis threw back his head and laughed heartily. Then Kragyn turned to Reanne chuckling, and she laughed as well patting his chest playfully.” Kragyn took the opportunity to hug her and give her a quick kiss.
With only hours until the evacuation, his mood was buoyant. He felt utterly confident that they could pull off the escape. All ten of the Farseek Dreadnaughts were converging on the Julconi system. Companies of ground fighters from eight of them were preparing to deploy ground side on every continent evacuation site. The two other dreadnaughts would patrol the system as the first line of defense against the Sargans.
The rest of the dreadnaughts were already pulling into staggered orbits around Julconi. The passenger freighter Kurellis was in the lowest orbit to receive passengers as they shuttled. Kragyn and Reanne would be among the last to shuttle off the planet because they were going to Dreadnaught Four instead of the Kurellis.
When Kragyn saw Oxiris on the opposite side of the building watching the first match, he left Reanne at the bar and went to see him. The Fegandan had become a friendly adversary in the months since they had fought the first time.
“Hey, Oxiris looks like it’s going to be you and me in the last match.” Kragyn inclined his head as a sign of respect.
“Very likely.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Don’t ask me to go easy on you. I will try my best to beat you.”
“I know you will. That’s not what I want to talk about,” Kragyn assured him.
“Then what?”
“Would you like a chance to get off this gods’ forsaken planet?”
“Is this a joke?”
“No, but pretend that it is. Farseek Mercenaries are coming to get the Uatu slaves off the island. They will take anyone I vouch for. If you wish to come, I will sponsor you.”
Oxiris made a sound more like a cow bellowing than a laugh, but he was smiling. “I do.” He made the hideous sound again and slapped Kragyn on the back. Kragyn grimaced. He was not much of a fighter, but he was powerful.
Kragyn (Farseek Warrior Series Book 1) Page 10