by Rob Buckman
“For god sake! Pull me up!” Her Ladyship snarled, hanging onto the lip of the cave for dear life and looking at him over the edge, the falling water inches from her back. Panting from exertion Mike crawled back and pulled the sodden girl into the cave, dropping her into a wet heap on the floor.
“God! That was stupid! You could have gotten us both killed!” She began the moment she got her breath back. “I’m sure there were easier places to get to and hide.”
“That may well be,” Mike panted, “but also easier for them to find us. Here we’re protected from inferred searches, and I doubt that any of the search team are willing to make that climb just to see if we are in here.”
“I still say it was a stupid idea.” She disentangled from the harness, struggling to her feet. “Now what are we suppose to do?” She asked, straightening up too quickly. That got her a knock on the top of her head from the low hanging roof and dumped back on her butt.
“Shit!” She yelled, holding her head.
“Stay down and wait until I switch my light on for god's sake.”
“Now you tell me!” She moaned.
Turning the light down low, Mike switched it on and looked around. He whistled in surprise. At some time in the past water must have found its way through a crack in the cliff, cutting this cave through the living rock. He stood up, bend over and walked in. As it turned a corner, he turned the light up to full brightness, but the cave went on as far as the beam could reach.
“This’ll do perfectly. It will give us a chance to rest and those people following us to lose interest, I hope.”
“You sure it's safe? I mean, what if water comes down this hole, or whatever?”
“Don’t think so,” he answered, looking around, “water hasn’t been through here in ages.” He bent down, and picked up a few twigs. “See, these are bone dry.” He showed her what he meant, crumbling a small branch to dust between his fingers and thumb.
“If you say so, but I for one am not convinced.”
Mike just shook his head and started gathering wood as they walked deeper into the cave. He made the mistake of giving her the light, and just at the wrong moment she swung it in the opposite direction, plunging him into complete darkness. First, his head crashed into a low overhand and as he stumbled back, he fell over the edge of a small depression and landed on his back.
“For Christ sake woman. Will you start thinking about someone else beside yourself for a change?” He yelled. She came back and looked over the edge, shining the light right into his eye.
“Did you fall down and hurt yourself, Ensign?” She asked sweetly, giggling in delight. Mike struggled up, almost reaching out to grab her. He stopped, not sure what he'd do if he did.
“Grrrr!” He growled, "just keep the light pointed straight up or down, that way the person in front or behind can see where they are going.”
Now his head and back hurt just as much as the rest of him, and he groaned softly as he climbed to his feet and gathering up the firewood. Struggling under the burden, he tried to ignore the pain and her, but he was fuming. After several tried the damp firestarter caught, a small yellow flame curling up around the dry twigs and powdered bark. He gradually added larger pieces, and the bright red and yellow flames began throwing shadows and heat across the walls. On impulse, he pulled the wet papers out of his pocket and looked at them. Whatever they were, they were important, and rather than risk them falling back into enemy hand’s he shrugged and dumped them into the fire over the protest of her Ladyship. Heat radiated in a widening circle and for that he was thankful as she was starting to shiver with cold. Stripping off his jacket and shirt and laid them out to dry, keeping an eye on the direction of the smoke as he did. With the slight draft from the direction of the falls, the smoke slowly vanished up the tunnel. The Lady Ann in the mean time just sat huddled up with her back to the opposite wall, arms wrapped around her drawn up legs, shivering and saying nothing for once. Hopefully the smoke would dissipate before it reached the surface, but right at this moment, he didn’t care. He sat down and leaned back against the wall with a sigh, but her slight cough got his attention.
“Well, Mr. Gray, are you just going to sit there and watch me freeze to death, or are you going to let me get undressed and dry my clothes? Maybe you’d like to ogle me like some back world yokel again?”
“No Miss, I guess not.” He sighed. Climbing to his feet, he walked back down the tunnel towards the falls and sat down around a bend.
“I suppose you have some other brilliant plan for getting us out of here?” She called, her voice sounding snippy again. “So far, all I’ve seen you do is get us into one mess after another.” Mike picked up a piece of wood and flexed it in his hands, wishing it was her neck.
She kept up a constant stream of chatter while she undressed and dried her clothes, most of it directed at his incompetence and the situation they were in. Blaming it all on him at the same time. Mike swung the three-foot piece of wood through the air, listening to the swishing sound it made. It would be perfect for another purpose, he thought, like clubbing her over the head. He pushed the thought away. He was an officer and a gentleman now. Still, the thought came back, and the madder he got, the more it took hold.
“I take it, you DO know where your ship is, and how to get there?”
“ENOUGH woman!” He snarled, and jumping to his feet. He threw the chuck of wood aside and stomped his way back to the fire. She heard him coming, and looked round.
“Don’t you dare come here, I’m not dressed!” She yelled indignantly. “Who do you think you…”
“I’m the leader of this bloody rescue operation, no matter what you might think.” He snarled. “From now on you will do what I say, when I say, and without question or comment, do you understand!” He yelled. Noticing in passing, she was wearing his combat jacket, and it was a little large for her.
“You can’t talk to me like that. I’m a King’s messenger and not under your command!”
“At the moment you are. Under my command, that is.” They stood nose to nose, glaring at each other. Neither giving an inch.
“It's my responsibility to get you out of here in one piece, with or without your cooperation.”
“If you think I’m going to take orders from some snotty nosed Ensign, you…”
“I said, without question or comment, do you understand?” He growled. For a moment, the Lady Ann took a step back, realizing just how far she’d pushed this young man.
“Yes!” She snapped through gritted teeth.
“Yes, what!” He growled.
“Yes Sir!” The ‘Sir’ sounded as he’d used steel tongs to pull it out of her.
She looked as cute as hell standing there like that in just her panties and his jacket, and he wouldn’t be alive or human if he didn’t respond to it. Images of what he might do in another situation flashed across his mind, his face bright red with embarrassment as he shook the thought away.
“Can I have some water, please?” She gritted out at length.
“Sure, help yourself,” He handed her the canteen cup and pointed down the tunnel, careful to keep his eyes away from her body. “Just don’t fall in!”
She pouted slightly, but took the cup and stomped off down the tunnel. Mike sighed as he removed his boots, wondering how long it was going to take to get back to his ship. Inside this cave, or tunnel they were completely out of radio communication, even if he dare use it. Outside, he could at least switch it on and listen to local radio traffic. That might tell him what was going on. He sighed again as he dug a pit in the sand for his hip and lay down. A slight sound made him look up, and he saw her coming back towards the fire.
‘Damn!’ He thought, despite her plain face, she looked so desirable like that, her body playing peek-a-boo from inside his jacket as she walked towards him.
She hadn’t bothered zipping it up, and the bottom only just covered her hips. The firelight played on the white flash of her panties as she came towards him,
and Mike shook his head. Whoever ended up with her would have his hands full. She was willful to the point of being unmanageable. Any relationship with her would be hell on earth. She'd probably drive the poor guy to drink before a month was out. In the end, he rolled over to face the wall so he wouldn’t have to look at her, settling down to sleep.
* * * * * *
The Lady Ann sat, still mad, but the water had cooled her down a little. His word still stung, and she swore to herself, she’d get even with this uppity young Ensign before she was finished. What right did he have to yell at her like that?
‘All the right in the world’ a little voice said in the back of her head.
A slight smile crossed her lips, then, and she was glad he was facing the other way so he wouldn’t see it. Looking back, she could see where she’d pushed him to the point of distraction, and it was a wonder he hadn’t blown his top before this. She wasn’t even sure why she kept needling him, she just did. She sat there, her knees drawn up, her chin resting on her folded arms and looked at him. He wasn’t the most handsome man in the world, or many worlds for that matter, but he did have a strong face. By Earth standard, he was too big and too rough, but then again, what could you expect from someone who came from a colony planet? She listened to his soft breathing, blushing slightly as she thought about his looking at her body while she hung in that tree. ‘God! He must have seen everything, and it was a little stupid of her, to go wandering off like that. She shook her head slightly, amassed at her stupidity, trying to remember what she’d been thinking. Thankfully, he'd found her before the man had done any worse than whip her. She paused for a moment, going back to the moment. Ensign Gray killed that man in a knife fight, hand to hand. She cocked her head to one side and looked at this strange young Ensign again.
‘Now where would a lower young Ensign in the Royal Navy learn how to knife fight?’ It wasn’t as if it was something taught at the Naval College.
It spoke of training, on his home world maybe? Also of his confidence in using it instead of pulling out his side arm and shooting. That of course would have brought any of the man’s friends nearby running to see what had happened. As he’d pointed out and something she hadn’t considered at the time. There was a hidden dimension to this young man, and it intrigued her. One moment confident, the next, unsure of himself, a duality. She wiggled her toes in the firelight, feeling warm and cozy at last. Her jump suit was dry now and it only took a moment to pull it back on. Holding the jacket, she looked at him, then at her sandy bed. Carefully, so as not to disturb him she moved over and covered his back and shoulder before lying down on her ‘bed’ on the other side of the fire. She looked at him with a smile. Would he yell at her again if she misbehaved? She wondered. Having any eligible young men yell at her was a novelty, as few dared. He was definitely not impressed by her title, or her position as a King’s messenger, so what did impress Ensign Gray? Placing a few sticks on the fire, she closed her eye and drifted off to sleep thinking about him. Both managed to sleep undisturbed, though Mike did half wake up a couple of times and put more wood on the fire, an automatic response born of many hours spent outdoors.
* * * * * *
The next day, he explored the tunnel to see where it came out, finding it an easy climb. He soon came out on a rock ledge close to the river above the falls. Over the years it had cut its way down through the bedrock to form a shallow gorge. It now ran along the bottom some distance from the cave opening before plunging over the lip of the cliff. At one time, the river must have been at this level before it cut its way deeper into the soft rock, and part, if not all must have flowed down the tunnel. That would account for its size and shape, and the amount of driftwood accumulated in the corners. It also occurred to him that during a high water event, the river might still get high enough it would flow back down the tunnel. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to stay down there long enough to find out. Switching on his comm unit he listened to the local chatter, but other than telling him the search was still on, it wasn’t much help.
Switching frequencies he sent out a series of clicks, using the naval code, but it still took several minutes before he received a click in reply. At least now they knew he was alive and free. His guess was Conner Blake was staying under cover as well. There was no way he could chance blasting off planet right now as their intrusion has stirred up a hornet nest. Some of the radio traffic was coming from ships in orbit, so it was more a matter of doing nothing until the fervor died down. What they would do then or how they would get out of the system was anyone's guess at the moment. His priority was contacting his ship and let them know what was happening.
A burst transmission would do it, but it would limit the conversation somewhat. Working his way back down the tunnel, he sat down to work out the details of the transmission. The Lady Ann sat watching him, thankfully saying nothing. Clearly he was working on a plan to get them safely out of here, so she held her tongue for once. She did let a few sighs, bored with just sitting around doing nothing, until at last she stood up and wandered about the cave for a while. Deep in thought, Mike hardly noticed and didn’t comment when she took his small flashlight and went off up the tunnel, thinking she was probably answering the call of nature. In all, he recorded three transmissions, one to tell them where he was, approximately, the second that he was making his way back to the ships last know LZ. Barring any unforeseen delays, they should be there within two days, unless captured. At least it would give them some idea where he was, and where he was heading. He then recorded two additional messages in anticipation their response. One, in case they suggested coming to get them, which was not a good idea. That would expose the ship to unnecessary danger, and the second to tell them to meet him at the old LZ, or indicate a new one. After that, he sat back against the wall, satisfied that he’d done as much as he could for the moment and waited while his comm unit compressed the message down to a microsecond. It was only after ten minutes when she didn’t come back that he began to worry. Grabbing his light, he worked his way up the tunnel to the surface, but he couldn’t see her. That worried him, and pulling his sidearm, he ran the last few yards to the exit. A quick look out told him she wasn’t there, nor was anyone else, so he stepped out and looked around. Still nothing.
“Damn it! Now where the hell has she gone!” He fumed. Reaching the entrance, he found her, lying back against the rock in a niche, sunbathing.
“Of all the stupid, idiotic people…” He snarled, at a loss for word.
“Oh my!” She grabbed the jump suit beside her and covered her body. “Are you in the habit of sneaking up on people while they are sunbathing?” She snapped, blushing bright red.
“You shouldn’t be sunbathing at all! This isn’t a bloody holiday cruise!” He snarled. “Just what the hell do you think you are doing. Trying to get captured again, or just give away our position?”
“No… I…” She stammered.
“For God sake woman! Get back to the tunnel, NOW!”
“I wasn’t in any danger.” She huffed, trying to regain the initiative. “I would have heard anyone coming!” She exclaimed defiantly.
“Yes, like you heard me coming, right?”
“Well, you came out of the cave, and no one could see me here and I was cold.”
“And what about low orbit ships running and inferred search pattern?”
“Oh!” She muttered, biting the side of her lip. “I hadn’t thought about that.” He didn’t give her a change to get dressed, just grabbed her arm, and pushed her into the tunnel ahead of him.
“Of all the harebrained, stupid, idiotic, numskull things to do!” He wanted nothing more than to strangle her. “That has got to be the dumbest thing you could have possibly done.” He couldn’t make up his mind if she was dumb, or just didn’t think. How on Earth she became a King’s Messenger was a mystery.
“It wasn’t that bad.” She said defensively, stumbling ahead of him and clutching her jump suit to her breasts. “I was right by the ent
rance so I could duck back in if someone came near.”
“Wasn’t bad! Then what would you call it, sort of half bad, like being partially pregnant!” He snapped.
“Well, no harm was done, no one saw me.”
“How do you know, you were fast asleep when I found you!”
“No, I wasn’t, I just had my eyes shut. Besides, if you hadn’t snored so loud all night I would have got a good night’s sleep!” Her temper was getting the better of her, and she knew it. “I suppose you think you are going to lecture me again!” She stuck her nose up in a dismissive manner.