A Year and a Day

by Gail Daley

  Katherine kept them waiting until the afternoon of the next day because she had more important things to concern her. Once the convoy moved into the protection of the canyon, the wounded had to be settled, camp set up and all the loose animals located and sorted. A meal prepared.

  The bodies of the dead Wilders had been collected and searched. The next afternoon, a makeshift dais was set up on a wagon seat so everyone could see Katherine as she passed judgement. As First Daughter, Juliette sat on the footrest below Katherine’s seat. Zack leaned up against the wagon wheel with his arms folded. Several guards stood off to one side, fully armed. Their presence and Zacks were mute testimony to Katherine’s authority. From youth to middle age the defeated Wilders were a sorry sight. Their wounds had been tended, and they had been fed but that was the only amenity that had been provided them.

  "Your name and station," Katherine demanded of each prisoner.

  Only two of them were willing to provide that information. Her eyebrows rose. "Very well, if you prefer to be buried in an unmarked grave so your families will never know happened to you, I can arrange for that to happen," she told them. "If you provide me your name and station, I will see that your family is notified of your sentence."

  "Does that mean you intend to kill us?" one of the youngest asked.

  Katherine shrugged. "You threatened my child," she reminded them. "You are charged with attempted kidnapping, murder, endangering children and raiding. The penalty for that ranges from death to work in a labor camp for 10 years. However, I am not without mercy. If you can show that you were forced to take part, I will consider mitigating circumstances."

  She waited a few minutes and then turned to her people. "Is there anyone here who can speak for them?"

  A hostile silence from her clan answered her. "Very well," she said, turning back to the prisoners. "You stand accused of acts of murder and piracy. The sentence is death. Make your peace with God. Tomorrow at dawn you will be executed."

  She nodded to the guards. "Turn them to face the Clan." After they had done so, Katherine addressed her people. "You have heard the sentence and seen the prisoners. Is there anyone here who claims Blood Right?"

  Beside her, she felt Zack stiffen. An uneasy silence covered the waiting Clan, then a girl about fifteen stepped forward. "I claim Blood Right!" she cried, pointing to one of the women. "She killed my aunt two years ago."

  "Give us your name and state the circumstances," Katherine spoke the formal words.

  The girl drew a deep breath. "My name is Zora niMcClellan and my aunt was Bethany niMillier. She was killed in a raid on Seven Trees Station two years ago."

  "How old are you?"

  "I am old enough to claim Blood Right. I am fifteen."

  Katherine nodded. "Very well, you have the right. Be ready at dawn tomorrow." She turned back to the crowd. "Anyone else?"

  Three more of the clan stepped forward, each claiming a family member slain.

  Katherine gestured to the leading guard. "Take them back to the sealed dome until tomorrow morning. See they have food and water."

  As the prisoners were led away, Katherine looked down at Juliette’s white face. "Sentencing someone to die is never an easy decision, Daughter. Do you understand why this was necessary?"

  "I think so," Juliette said soberly. "They would have killed us, and they tried to kill Violet." Juliette hesitated. "What did those people mean when they claimed Blood Right?"

  "Claiming Blood Right means they have the right to administer whatever punishment has been handed down by the Lady. Here it means they will do the execution themselves."

  Juliette looked back at her. "What happens to the ones no one claimed the right for?"

  "I will have to carry out the sentence because I cannot ask anyone else to do something I am unwilling to do myself. I passed the sentence, it is my duty to see it carried out. Those outlaws killed and wounded several of our people and would have killed or injured Violet. As leader here, it is my duty to protect my people from harm and to see that those who harm them are punished. In Lady Corrine’s absence, it became my duty to protect and enforce our laws. Someday, as First Daughter if you are acting in my place, you may have to do the same."

  She looked into Juliette’s big eyes and smiled reassuringly. "Don’t worry. This is not a burden I will place on you before you are ready. Why don’t you check on how Roderick and Rupert are doing preparing dinner?"

  Juliette hopped down and ran toward the encampment. When Zack lifted Katherine down off the wagon, she leaned into him for comfort. "I hate this part of my duties."

  He said nothing, just held her and stroked her hair.

  After a few minutes, Katherine stood back. "I’m a little worried about Rupert and Violet’s reaction to the execution tomorrow. Do you think you could take them and Jelli up to the rim in the morning? They seem to have the most empathy, and the further away from it they are, the better I think."

  "Shall I take all of them?"

  Katherine took a deep breath. "Well, Juliette is First Daughter so she will have to stay, but maybe it would be best if you took the others too."

  "That is a heavy burden to put on a child, Katherine," he said.

  "I know," she said, "but I wasn’t much older when I had to witness a sentencing and execution myself, and I survived it."

  They stayed at Blue Talon Canyon for a week, gradually moving different herds of animals across the valley and into the underground shelter next to the Lodge. They were almost finished when the first Swarms of small stinging insects made landfall just as the last of the herds and flocks were being moved into the underground animal shelter. The swarms arrived in dark waves of insects, sometimes two or three thousand each and they covered an area like a blanket. It was miserable work. To keep from being stung, everyone simply pulled their hats netting down to cover their heads. The herding dogs and horses wore mesh bags over their heads and ears to help protect them from the stings and burrowing insects.

  As each animal in the herd passed through the entrance to the shelter, there was a hissing buzzing sound and dead insects fell in heaps by the doors. "If we let the little buggers in with the stock, it would defeat the purpose of coming down here for shelter," a clanswoman staffing the entrance explained to Zack and the children as they followed the last herd up to the opening.

  "You don’t leave the door open after we’re all inside do you?" Zack questioned as he dismounted. He handed off his pony to Roderick to take down to the stable area.

  "We close the main roll-up doors, but the bug screen stays on," the woman responded. "Just in case some poor soul was caught outside, they can get inside the screen and then contact us on the com. We decide then if we want to let them inside or not."

  Previously the underground catacomb had echoed with emptiness but now it resounded with the noise of complaining animals and yelling wranglers. The wagons used by the Roundup were shunted over to the side. Once he knew everyone was inside the shelter, Zack stayed to watch as the doors slid down, sealing it off from the bugs and winds. The early Vensoog colonists had learned the hard way that a dome’s rounded edges caused the winds to slide around round structures where they would have torn apart structures built in other shapes.

  "How long will we need to hide in here from the bugs?" Zack asked Katherine.

  "Well, those itty-bitty ones are just the beginning. They’re lunch for the larger bugs that follow them. We are usually down her for about three weeks. Then the storms will come in, and they usually last about the same. A lot of the larger native Vensoog animals like the Sandie’s and Nessies and some of the birds hibernate during this season."

  Passover

  THREE WEEKS later Clan members who weren't permanent Lodge residents had moved into the living quarters on the second floor of the massive dome. During Passover, most Clan residents rode out the storm in their own quarters. Passage from one dome to another was done through three underground tunnels. The herds and flocks brought in during Roundup were c
onfined to a series of corrals around and above the lake. The rest were kept in the sheltered ravines of Blue Talon Canyon.

  Katherine was giving the children and Zack a tour of the Lodge’s Command Center on the top floor of the dome above the cavern. Katherine and Corrine had flipped a coin to decide who would handle their official duties during the day and who would take over at night.

  “This is our command center during the Passover Storms,” Katherine explained to Zack and the children, showing a tier of virtual screens, each with a person monitoring it.

  “It’s a little old-fashioned compared to what you probably used in the military,” she added to Zack, "But they still work.” She moved to the first virtual screen. "This is Joyce; she handles our storm watch so we can know exactly when the leading edge of each storm will reach us.”

  A tall, light-haired woman glanced at them, nodding a greeting before returning her eyes to the screen in front of her. "I estimate we have about three hours before the first one hits,” she told them, gesturing to an arc line with a ragged edge on the screen. "This one looks like about a Class seven. It will be rough.”

  "Thanks, Joyce,” Katherine nodded and moved on to the next screen. "This is Karen. Karen looks out for our various animal sections, to make sure no trouble starts. How does it look, Karen?”

  The woman with the short black hair and friendly smile turned to face them. "Well, the Ostamus are antsy, but everyone else seems calm. Your little Sand Dragon settled right into sleep, so I reckon she’s down for the duration.”

  "That’s a relief,” Katherine grinned at her, remembering how difficult it had been to get Violet to agree to allow Jelli to take her place in the subterranean cavern. Then Violet had panicked when Jelli started to hibernate and it had taken the combined efforts of Katherine, Mistress Leona and Karen to reassure the child that Jelli’s ‘sleep’ was normal. Karen touched a section of the virtual screen and it revealed Jelli snuggled into a rock alcove with a sandy floor, away from the warm underground lake that served the Lodge. Violet was leaning back against the rock wall next to Jelli with her study tablet in her lap. A closer look showed she too was asleep.

  An older, woman was handling the next station which showed a view of the busy medical center. Cora was apparently checking out a strain on the arm of a man whose feather spattered pants showed he had lately been in the bird section. "This is Myrna; she coordinates with Cora, our senior medic about injuries during Passover.”

  The woman looked up and smiled. "So far, nothing serious. Mason there pulled a muscle breaking up a squabble between two Ostamu groups. We’ve had injuries come in with some fishers, but nothing to worry about.”

  The next virtual station showed the sheltered cove below the Lodge and the marina docking area. The water had already risen to cover the wharf. Several fishing vessels were moored with masts fastened down and their decks sealed. The last one was still unloading men and hauling supplies up the steps toward the safe room. As the crew from the fisher entered, Zack noticed the room door looked very much like an airlock on a ship. "Does that seal?” he asked the young boy monitoring the viewer.

  "Yes, sir,” the boy, Joseph, replied. "It has a double seal in case the rising storm water breaks past the first one. The second door leads into a tunnel running down into the cavern. That way late arrivals won’t have to risk traveling overland in the storms. Those storm winds can blow you away.”

  The crews passed swiftly through the room and headed down into the tunnel with their cargo. The Fleet Captain, Joel Margron, stopped at the room’s console, tapping the screen. A close-up of his bearded face came onto the command center screen. "Greetings Milady,” he addressed Katherine "On the way in we got a request from two Independent ships to take shelter in our harbor from the storm,” he said. "I Okayed it, but I have a bad feeling about them.”

  Zack tapped the boy on the shoulder and gestured for him to move over. "Any reason for that feeling Captain?” he asked.

  Margron looked at Katherine who nodded. "Captain, this is my new husband Zack Jackson. He has taken over security for us and he has a lot of experience with hostile situations. Please give him your full cooperation.”

  The Captains face relaxed. "Glad to meet you sir. They’re Independents with no Clan affiliation and when the Captain who contacted me was speaking, she was nervous as Hell. I had the feeling maybe she wasn’t in command of her ship any longer.”

  "Are all your people safe inside the tunnel?”

  "Well, except for the three on each ship who volunteered to man them during the storm.”

  Zack turned to Katherine. "Can we communicate with the ships directly from here?”

  She nodded, and Zack turned back to the Captain. "Okay. Give us the frequency of the ships you spoke to and get yourself into the tunnel. I will seal it after you. Before we let these people inside the Lodge we need to find out a little more about them.”

  The Captain nodded and headed into the tunnel. Behind him, the airlock door hissed as it slid into place.

  Zack opened a channel to the two ships that had asked for refuge. The woman who answered after a short delay looked a little battered. The Captain's shirt was torn and blood showed around the edge of the sleeve. A bruise covered one whole side of her face. Zack was unfamiliar with ship type injuries, but he was very familiar with the wounds coming from combat, and the Captain’s wounds looked like fighting injuries to him.

  "This is Lord Zackery Jackson, head of security for this Lodge. Captain, I understand you need to take refuge from the storm?”

  The woman slid a nervous glance over to the left, outside the viewer. "Yes. We need to get under cover from the Storm. We also have injuries—"

  "Very well. May I have your name and your ship’s name?”

  She licked her lips, took a deep breath, and said formally, "I am Marga Logan. This is the Ship Sea Runner and her sister ship, the Aphrodite. We are Independents and request shelter from the storm and care for our injured under the Sailors Covenant.”

  Zack nodded. "I understand. Have your ships arrived at our port?”

  "We are making landfall now.”

  "As soon as your ships have been battened down for the storm, take the steps to your left. There is a safe room and a medic station there where your injured can be treated by our robo-doc with assistance from our Chief Medic.” As he spoke, Zack had been doing a quick review of the plans for the Safe Rooms. "There is food and dry clothing in the room to the right. As soon as all your people are inside the Safe Rooms, the outer door will seal. We will send an escort to take you to a more comfortable area as soon as we can spare them. The Medic will contact you as soon as you enter the medic station.”

  He shut down the two-way viewing and motioned for the boy to take his place. "Keep an eye of them,” he instructed. "I want eyes covering all corners and sound as well. If they contact you again, have them wait and send for me.”

  The boy nodded, his eyes as big as saucers.

  The refuges entering the Safe Rooms seemed to be two groups. One group was in rough shape. This bloody and battered faction staggered into the Safe Rooms and headed into the Medic station. The other group looked tough, were carrying weapons did not try to help their wounded comrades. Several people passed by the door, but didn't enter the safe room. Katherine suddenly leaned in so she had a better view of the screen.

  “Zack! Look who it is,” she exclaimed.

  He too leaned in and they he nodded. "Looks as if you did see her that day in the channel,” he remarked.

  "That was Lister!” exclaimed Juliette. "What’s she doing here?”

  "Up to no good, probably,” Zack’s voice was dispassionate. Lister handed a knapsack to a man in the doorway as she passed.

  "Where does she think she’s going?” wondered Katherine. Even as she voiced the question, the screen monitoring the Top Side Landing Room came on. They could see Lister and about twenty others settling into the dome as if preparing for a long stay.

  "I woul
d guess she doesn’t intend to be trapped in the safe room,” Zack thoughtfully stroked his chin. "If I was planning something, I sure wouldn’t.”

  He turned to Lolli, the sub-security chief, "How secure from the storm is the Top Side Landing Room?”

  She looked contemplative. "Well, it’s fairly uncomfortable during a storm, but as long as the water doesn’t come up into it, it’s reasonably secure. There’s a good foundation and minimal power so they’ll have light and enough heat to keep from freezing, but that’s about all.”

  "I don’t like it. They’re planning something. If I wanted to attack this place, I’d wait until there was a lull in the storm, and then try to break in through ground level doors at either the main house or the barns where it’s easier to access.”

  "But if they really are planning an attack, why did she let any of her men get trapped in the Safe rooms?” the security officer asked.

  "I know!” Roderick exclaimed. "She handed off a knapsack to one of the men who stayed behind. I bet there are weapons in that knapsack!”

  "I bet they’re planning to blow the door into the tunnel!” Rupert finished excitedly.

  Zack smiled proudly at the two boys. "If that’s the case, what do you think we should do about it?” he asked, seeing a tactical teaching moment.

  "That’s a small room,” Roderick said. "if they set off a bomb in there, the concussion will get them too. Maybe we should just let them try it and hurt themselves.”

  "If they set off that blast it might collapse the roof and they aren’t the only people in there,” Juliette protested. "Some of the fishers might get hurt too.”