by Francis, Ron
“They won’t be bothering us again.” Josiah offered cheerfully, even though he knew Jesse could tell he was in a lot of pain. Jesse helped him back to the camp and he was met by the Princess. She was still terrified from the ordeal, but she had to see how Josiah was.
"Are all the men from your planet as brave as you and Colonel Marcos?" She asked in awe of what he had just done.
"Only the Marines, ma'am," he joked while he winced.
Jesse laid him down on the ground and called out to Kimi, “We need some first aid here, Kimi. One of the tigers got a good shot in on him.”
At least there are two dead tigers out there now, Jesse thought. The other tigers he knew were prowling around them would most likely feast on the dead tigers before coming after any of them, so they should be safe for the rest of the night. He planned on taking precautions anyway.
Collette put Josiah’s head in her lap as she begged his forgiveness. “I’m so sorry, Josiah, you warned us not to stray from the camp, and we did. The Princess had to find relief and was too shy to go near the camp with the men. Please forgive us. Now you are hurt because of us.”
“Don’t worry about it, just please do not wander off again. If you or the Princess needs to…um, you know, bring Kimi and Commando with you, alright.”
“We will, and thank you for saving our lives.” Collette leaned over and kissed his forehead then helped Kimi take his shirt off.
Kimi looked at Jesse and said, “These claw marks are pretty bad, we really need to get Josiah to the recovery pod, but the healing balm I used on you should help. Apparently, it has medication in it to keep the wounds from becoming infected.” Kimi cleaned Josiah’s wounds and sterilized them. She felt terrible each time he winced in pain as the sweat rolled off his head. She knew he had taken a tremendous risk, but the whole reason they were here was to save Princess Rayelle. It would have been tragic if they had gone to all of this trouble, only to see her get eaten by a Pandaran tiger. When she applied the balm, Josiah cried out in pain, and his cry startled her.
“I’m sorry, Kimi,” he smiled weakly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“There is no need for apologies, Josiah,” she replied, although she suspected he had only spoken to ease the awkward silence. “I will be done here soon, and then you will sleep.” Kimi’s tone let him know that it wasn’t a request. He couldn’t have argued with her if he wanted to. After she finished bandaging him up, he helped him get his blood soaked shirt back on. It was ruined, but it was the only shirt he had, and the jungle nights on Pandara were known to get cold. She gave him a painkiller and made him drink a good amount of water. Kimi and Jesse then helped him into his tent, and covered him with a blanket.
Princess Rayelle looked at Kimi and Jesse, and offered to sit in the tent and keep watch over Josiah. They agreed and decided everyone should get some rest. Jesse knew he needed it.
“I will take the first watch,” Kimi offered. “Wassan, you have second watch, then Bosar and lastly Honus.” She purposely left Jesse out of the rotation because even though he was trying to hide it, she knew he was hurting. Everyone nodded their understanding, and then things went quiet as they all tried to get some rest in the threatening jungle. She didn’t imagine any of them would sleep very well.
______
Captain Blade was excited to be in the Pandaran Jungle. The natural predator in him enjoyed the challenge of not only finding and capturing Colonel Marcos, but fighting through all the dangers likely to present themselves along the way. He had one of the men bring a portable transmitter that could relay a message through his ship straight to Garrinoras. He needed to constantly keep Garrinoras updated because he was not happy with Jaketh’s actions. He knew it was because his boss believed himself to be best qualified to make any important decisions should the opportunity arise. The Mannagore Captain wasn’t exactly in a position to refuse him. He was fairly certain that Garrinoras had commanded one or all of the ships’ captains to kill him if he failed to procure Colonel Marcos. As Garrinoras face appeared on the tiny screen of the portable transmitter, he began in greeting.
“Mighty Garrinorasss, we are almost five kilometersss into the Pandaran jungle. I have thirty-five men with me. We have left Jaketh behind. He did not wish to enter the dangerousss jungle at night, so we are at an advantage.”
“Very good, Captain Blade,” Garrinoras nodded, “How long until you have them in your grasp?”
Blade paused a moment as if the question hadn’t occurred to him. “They landed eighty kilometersss into the jungle. They have to be coming thisss way because the next closet city to them is almost six hundred kilometersss away. I estimate he traveled fifteen kilometersss after their shuttle went down, and we have travelled five. If he travelsss twenty-five kilometersss tomorrow, we should find him sometime tomorrow evening.”
“Very good, Captain Blade, keep me posted on your progress.” Garrinoras added as he ended the transmission.
He handed the portable transmitter back to one of his men and called Yartan over. “Make sure the perimeter isss secure. We will need all of our men to capture Marcosss, and I do not wish to lose any to thisss jungle.”
“Yes, Captain,” Yartan replied as he immediately began barking out orders. Blade smiled as his men tightened up their grid. Yartan will make a good captain someday, he mused as he watched his men getting into their proper positions.
______
Almost five hours later, Jesse woke up. He actually wasn’t in that much pain. He looked up to see Collette staring at him. She leaned down and kissed him on the lips. He backed away and she whispered, “What is wrong, Jesse? You deserve a reward for your heroics.” She leaned in to kiss him again, but Jesse put his hand up.
“Collette, I can’t,” he began.
“Why, am I not pleasing to you?” She inquired with a flirtatious smile. She was obviously a woman used to getting what she wanted. She knew Jesse wouldn’t be able to resist her for long.
“It’s not that, Collette, you know men think you're beautiful,” he continued.
Kimi couldn’t sleep, and was surprised when she heard Jesse’s voice, barely above a whisper, coming from his tent. She knew she shouldn’t listen in on what he was saying, but she couldn’t help herself. There was nowhere for her to go, so she listened intently.
“You admit that I am beautiful,” Collette noted. “Then what prevents you from wanting to be with me? Are you secretly in love with the Princess, like every other man I know?”
"What? No, what have I done that would make you think that?"
Now Kimi was really interested in this conversation, Jesse had told Suzy he had no interest in anyone. Now it was the moment of truth. Here in the jungle, in his weakened condition, with a beautiful woman staring him in the face, what would he do? She also wondered why she cared.
“I’m interested in someone else. It’s kind of complicated right now, but she’s really the only one I can think about.”
“But she is not here, and I am. Please allow me to thank you properly. She will never have to know, and I promise you will enjoy my thanks,” Collette continued in a sultry voice.
“I’m sure I would," he started." Collette, you’re fantastic, but my mind would be on someone else, and you deserve better than that."
Listening to this conversation was killing Kimi. She had been the one to shut the door on him because she was hurting. Now, he might just wind up with someone beautiful and persistent like Collette, or even the Princess because of her hastiness. Listening to Jesse now, she couldn't understand for the life of her why she had closed the door on them. Why had she not just told him they should take some time, and then wait and see?
“The best way to get your mind off someone else is to find someone new.” She smiled a smile that almost had him. Her long, blond hair glowed in the moonlight coming through the opaque ceiling of the tent; her tan skin complimented her green eyes perfectly. She was really beautiful, and tempting, but he continued to persist.
She gasped, “You mean it’s Kimi? Does she know how you feel?” Jesse nodded that she did and Collette continued. “Does she feel the same way?”
“That’s where it’s complicated. I know she did, but things happened and I might have ruined it,” he replied.
“If you don’t even know where you stand with Kimi, then why turn me down? With me, it would never be…complicated. It’s not like you two are together, you wouldn't be doing anything wrong.” She smiled again, but he continued to politely turn her down.
“Kimi means too much to me, Collette. Even if it takes us a while to figure it all out, she’s definitely worth waiting for.”
Collette seemed a little disappointed as she said, “So, you are a man of integrity as well as a man of courage.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Now I know you are truly worthy of the Princess. You have both my respect and my thanks for saving us.” She stood up to exit the tent; she knew Jesse must really be focused on Kimi for him to have the strength to turn her down. She only hoped Kimi knew how lucky she was.
"Wait a minute, so you're telling me this was all a test?" Even in a whisper he could not keep the shock out of his voice.
"Rayelle is my best friend; when someone comes into her life, I have to be sure of their intentions because I do not wish for her to get hurt. I would have enjoyed it had you agreed to my proposal, but I would have known you were not worthy of her."
"But I have no intentions." He was confused and tired as he spoke.
"Maybe not, but if you ever do, at least I know you are a man of honor." With that she flashed a mischievous smile and then she was gone.
Kimi couldn’t believe Jesse had just turned Collette down. Collette was better than Cassie in every way, and he had turned her down cold. He had said it was because he still had feelings for her. Now she knew she had been too hasty in shutting the door on them. She wondered if she would ever be able to open it again.
Chapter Ten:
______
Suzy was just about finished feeling sorry for herself. Collin and Bessa had tried to cheer her up. It had worked a little, and they were right. Apparently, Holt had been fooling everyone on Hyperia for years. She decided to cut herself a little slack. She also decided that the next time Jesse offered to check out a guy for her, she was going to let him. It had been almost two days now, and while her cuts and bruises were healed, she was finally feeling much better. She knew she was going to have to be at her best for her crew, the soldiers that went with them and the Princess. They were only a day out from Pandara now, so she would likely be getting some visitors soon.
"Suzy, how is med-bay looking?" Collin called down from the bridge.
"Not bad, acting Captain Torrensede, The medbots have been able to put everything back together that Holt damaged. Either that or they have brought a new piece in from storage. The recovery pod is fine, I think Holt wanted that undamaged. Med-bay is fully functional."
"Thanks, Suzy, and good work. Bessa will be down in a few minutes to watch over things so you can go check on Shadow."
"Thanks, Collin, um...I mean, Captain." She smiled for the first time in over a day.
Collin looked around the bridge; it almost seemed foreign to see so many people but none of the ones he knew. He had taken two full squads of Hyperian soldiers plus an additional four for the bridge crew. This way he could deploy the full twenty-four without compromising the function of the ship.
______
The Queen entered the throne room, looked at the King and asked, "Has there been any word?"
The King looked sad as he replied. “There has been word, my love, but it has done little to comfort us. Reece was able to obtain some information on Golaran. Apparently, Colonel Marcos was able to manage a rescue attempt even after being betrayed and captured.”
“That’s great news, isn’t it?” She wondered as she asked the question.
“Yes and no,” The King started. “After the escape, word has it that they were forced to crash land in the Pandaran jungle.”
She stiffened at the mention of the crash landing.
“The jungle is very dangerous, and not many people survive it. If they are there, it would seem only a slightly better option than being captured,” The King concluded.
The Queen could take it no longer. She burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” She cried. “I just miss Rayelle so much. I’m so scared that we are never going to see her again." The Queen continued to sob as the King leaned in to console her. With Torav in the room, he was supposed to maintain protocol, but he decided his wife needed his comfort more. He put his arms around her and she leaned into him as she continued to cry.
Soall entered the room at nearly a run; he noticed the somber display unfolding and stopped a respectful distance away. The King noticed Soall standing off to the side of the throne room's entrance and motioned him to speak.
"There is an urgent communiqué for the King's ears only." He recited the words the King had told him to speak should he find anything of interest pertaining to the final traitor.
Dominus excused himself from his wife's embrace with the promise of returning shortly, and followed Soall out of the room. As Torav made to follow, he waved him off and followed his young advisor to an empty transmission room fifteen meters down the hall.
"I stumbled upon a cloaked figure making a suspicious transmission from the lowest level of the palace foundation the other day, Your Majesty. I decided to place some recorders around the area in case he came back and this was picked up nearly an hour ago."
As the recording played out in front of him, the King was beginning to get more and more frustrated. "How could this be going on in my own palace?" He exclaimed.
"I am not sure, Sire. I did check the logs but the access files to the sub levels have been erased. I tried to narrow it down by noting people's position relative to the access point, but there were still over a hundred possibilities. I'm sorry, Sire, I'm afraid I am no closer to finding the traitor."
"No, Soall, you have done well," he encouraged. “There are only thirty or so people with the ability to delete information from the palace security logs. I shall send you that list and you will cross reference it with the list of people who were near the access point at the time of deletion. Mr. Gavin was correct; the final traitor must be someone well-placed indeed. You are dismissed, Soall, check in with me in two hours, and hopefully we will have a much smaller suspect pool." As Soall left the room, the King hurried back to continue consoling his wife.
______
Kimi took the lead through the jungle. She had a great sense of direction, and neither Josiah nor Jesse were one hundred percent. They had all gone through the battle on Golaran and the crash landing on Pandara, but Jesse had been injured in the fight that freed them, and before the battle he had been tortured for several hours. Josiah had been injured by the tiger last night, and was still in a good deal of pain. She imagined it hadn’t been one their favorite days. Still, they both pressed on without complaint, and without slowing the group down. Everyone was on full alert for the many dangers the jungle presented. Jesse knew they could not afford to lose anyone if they were to successfully complete their mission.
When Kimi brought the procession to a halt, everyone knew it was time for a quick lunch break. She decided it would also be a good time to change Josiah’s bandages. She did not want his wounds to become infected. Princess Rayelle helped Kimi take off his shirt and she then had him sit down. She gently removed the bandages, wincing sympathetically every time his reaction indicated pain, and then she prepared to put more of the antibacterial healing balm on his shoulder. As soon as she made contact, he cried out in pain.
“This is the last time you can put this stuff on me,” he grunted through the pain. “So make sure you pour it on.”
Kimi put some more on, and he
cried out again. “Why is this the last time? I didn’t figure you as one to be afraid of a little pain, Josiah,” she teased.
“It’s not that,” he replied though gritted teeth. “By the next time I need it, we’ll be too close to where Jesse estimates Jaketh and Blade will be. I wouldn’t want to give away our position, and get us all captured with all my screaming and carrying on.” He smiled weakly as he looked down, waiting for Kimi to finish bandaging him up.
“I hadn’t thought of that, I am sorry for teasing you, Josiah.”
"Don't worry about him, it'll take a lot more than a Pandaran Tiger to take down the great Josiah Jackson," Jesse called out playfully.
His smile disappeared as she looked over at him with a smile and said, "I wouldn't be too happy, Colonel, you are next."
He lifted his shirt and winced in pain as she removed his bandages, the Pandaran's horn had really torn up his side. He grunted but did not cry out as she applied the balm. She knew he was in a great deal of pain as she put a fresh bandage on him. She smiled, and he forgot his pain while he looked at his beautiful friend tending his injuries.
She noticed him studying her and blushed a little, “What is it?” She asked, smiling and hoping she knew what he was thinking.
“Nothing,” he smiled as he looked away.
While Jesse was getting his wounds treated, Josiah glanced over to Princess Rayelle. She was upset as she saw his injuries and he wanted to comfort her. “It’s alright, Princess, it’s not as bad as it looks, and now I’m gonna have a nice scar to show off to the ladies.” He tried to be enthusiastic and knew it worked a little when the Princess came over and smiled as she grabbed his hand again.