Depths of Blue

by Lisa MacTague

  “You all right?” Jak asked, wondering at her reaction.

  “I’m fine.” She waved him off. “Tired, hungry and my hair is a snarled mess. Aside from that, everything’s peachy.”

  “Hungry we’re working on, fixing tired’ll come. I’m afraid the only thing I have to help with the hair is this.” He held up the knife.

  “Absolutely not,” she huffed. “There is no way I’m letting you near me with that. I don’t need a haircut like yours.”

  He looked wounded out of all proportion to the gibe. “There’s a good reason for my haircut,” he muttered, sliding a hand through the short strands. They stuck up at all angles and looked vaguely like a haystack she’d seen in an agricultural history book. As a farmer, one of her adoptive mothers had developed an obsession with ancient agricultural history and had acquired all sorts of texts on twentieth century farming.

  “I’m sure there is. It looks fine on you, but I don’t think I could pull it off.”

  “You’d be surprised what you can pull off when all your choices are shit.” He stood up abruptly. “I’m going to take a look around the perimeter.”

  “Okay…” Had she offended him? She thought she’d paid him a compliment, but he seemed to disagree. Well, she wasn’t about to worry about it. She’d told him he had a roughness about him. Something was bringing the edge of his personality closer to the surface. It couldn’t be easy, dragging a strange woman across the countryside. She still wondered why he’d bothered. He’d really stuck his neck out for her and for no good reason that she could see.

  A few minutes later Jak came back to the fireside. The sunlight that broke through the canopy was rapidly dimming as the sun started to set.

  “We’ll have to share the knife.” He sat back down, removed his pieces of meat from the fire and wrapped two of them with some broad leaves he’d brought back from his trip around the camp’s perimeter. He blew on the third piece to cool it down and carved a rough slice off of it.

  “It’s still hot,” he warned as he handed over the knife.

  “Got it,” she said. Frankly, she was surprised that he hadn’t planned to cut the meat for her. Who knew what trouble she could get into with his knife? She might just take him hostage and then…Then nothing, she told herself firmly, wondering why all she could think of was the bare expanse of shoulders she’d glimpsed the other day. She would hold him for a small ransom, then get off this blasted planet.

  Their dinner passed in silence. She was in no mood to talk, not after his earlier abrupt departure, and he made no effort to engage her. If he wasn’t going to try, then neither was she. As they were both finishing up, rain started to fall.

  “Right on time,” Jak said. “It rains most afternoons or evenings in these parts.”

  “Of course it does. Why should we get a break now?”

  “It’s all right. That’s what the shelter is for.” Jak stood up and kicked dirt over their fire. A cloud of smoke rose from the pit as the fire was quickly snuffed. Torrin made her way over to the tiny haven and ducked inside. The interior was a bit bigger than she thought, but they would be packed in cheek to jowl. Jak entered right behind her. With his height or lack thereof he didn’t have to duck far to clear the opening. He settled himself cross-legged with the rifle across his knees and faced out the entry. Torrin eyed him ruefully. The way he was positioned she would either have to sleep half out in the rain or curl herself around him. She didn’t want to get soaked again, not now that she finally felt like she’d dried out completely. There was nothing for it, and she settled herself down.

  “Don’t mind me,” she murmured, shaping herself around him. He shifted slightly to give her a little more room. His body heat made up nicely for the absence of the fire. Slowly she relaxed and eventually gave up trying to avoid leaning into him. As she finally unwound and gave in to her fatigue, her last awareness was of Jak’s body relaxing against hers. She smiled.

  Chapter Nine

  Jak had to wait until Torrin’s breath lapsed into the regular rhythms of sleep before she could allow herself to relax. The woman was driving her to distraction. Torrin was constantly watching her. Her own obsession with Torrin was disturbing, but it all paled in comparison to the panic she’d felt when Torrin had gone over the side of that precipice. She hadn’t thought at all but had just thrown herself into the water after the tumbling woman.

  Watching Torrin struggle against the river and almost break free of its grip only to be thrown into the rock had been excruciating. When her head disappeared below the level of the water, Jak had swum after her with a strength she hadn’t known she possessed. She’d always been a competent swimmer, but she knew she didn’t have the skill or strength to rescue somebody from whitewater rapids. Her body had taken a pounding during the rescue attempt.

  The tightness in her chest disturbed her. It was probably from inhaling river water during the rescue. She hoped it wouldn’t slow her down. At this point it was mostly an annoyance, but she couldn’t afford to let on that something might be wrong.

  The other woman showed a lot of interest in her though they’d only just met. Jak wasn’t entirely certain how to deal with her inquisitiveness, especially when it touched upon topics she wasn’t prepared to discuss. Her bringing up her family had definitely been a mistake. Still, she shouldn’t have melted down when Torrin pushed her on Bron. Even after two years that emotional wound refused to heal.

  Slowly her tense muscles released, and she leaned slightly into Torrin’s warmth, contentment seeping into her. When the sun had gone down she’d switched over to night vision and she could clearly see Torrin deep asleep every time she glanced down. She looked so peaceful, so different from the way Torrin’s eyes had blazed into her own when Jak had told her in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t be getting her hands on a weapon. Jak chuckled quietly as she recalled the indignation written across Torrin’s face and in her voice. She found that she actually enjoyed seeing the other woman riled up. The fire of her personality was marvelous to see.

  Also marvelous to see had been the curve of Torrin’s buttocks from beneath the much-too-small jacket Jak had given her to wear. Then there was the inner slope of her breasts, rounded and firm…Jak felt a little guilty for looking when she had promised not to, but it wasn’t like she’d meant to.

  Her attraction still made no sense to her. She’d never felt any attraction to women before. That sort of behavior was an aberration; the Devonite scriptures surely condemned it. Of course, she’d never felt any kind of pull toward any of the men she knew, but it wasn’t like she’d had much contact with women either. She glanced down at Torrin’s prone form again and reached out to smooth a lock of auburn hair away from her face. She froze a second before touching her skin. It hadn’t been her intention to do that. Her hand trembled slightly where it hovered over Torrin’s brow. She only wanted to touch her, to feel that smooth skin under her fingers, to connect with someone as she hadn’t been able to do for far too long. Unable to resist any further, she gently stroked the auburn strands back from Torrin’s forehead.

  The other woman stirred slightly and sighed, leaning slightly into Jak’s hand. She allowed her hand to linger a little longer, then pulled it back with regret. Women didn’t have these kinds of feelings for each other, and there was no way she wanted Torrin to know how she felt. She didn’t want to see disgust on Torrin’s face when she realized what kind of a deviant Jak was. It was better for both of them if she could only throttle down her immoral urges. Still, Torrin’s skin had felt so soft and supple. She imagined she could feel Torrin’s warmth clinging to her fingertips, and she brought them up and ran them over her own cheek.

  With an emphatic shake of her head, she sat up straight and pulled herself away from Torrin’s sleeping form. Torrin scooted in and pressed herself back against Jak’s side. She sighed and held herself up as rigidly as she could, determined not to get too comfortable around the other woman again.

  She sat that way for a while, s
hifting only when her legs started to cramp. She tensed and released each muscle group individually, exactly as she did when she was waiting for a target to expose itself on a long stalk. Her eyelids were sliding closed of their own volition and she caught herself nodding. After the third time she almost nodded off, she pulled the packet of stims from the breast pocket of her jacket and popped one under her tongue. Fortunately they were stored in a watertight container and hadn’t been destroyed in the river. With the stimulant racing through her bloodstream there was no worry that she might fall asleep. She tried not to think about the side effects and instead concentrated on keeping an eye out for any danger. She wasn’t too worried about Orthodoxans. Their unanticipated trip down the river had actually been a great way to throw those bastards off their trail. However, the wildlife in these areas was ferocious and the predators hadn’t had enough human contact to have learned to fear them. Animals like the aetanberan would view the two women as food.

  The stims were taking effect; she was becoming more alert by the minute. The biggest obstacle now was staying still. As the stimulant flooded her bloodstream, immobility was becoming almost excruciating. This was far from the first time she’d used the drug and she was well aware of the effects. If she needed to, she could keep absolutely still even as adrenaline coursed through her system, but she didn’t really need to at this point.

  It still rained outside, but she saw a likely chunk of wood not too far from the shelter. Carefully, she disengaged herself from Torrin’s slumbering embrace and slipped out into the rain. She grabbed the piece of wood from the ground near the now-extinguished firepit and ducked back into the shelter. In her absence, Torrin had shifted and now slept on her back, arm flung out into the spot Jak had occupied mere moments before. Jak gently shifted her arm over and sat back in her spot. To her disappointment, Torrin no longer snuggled against her. She missed the warmth and the contact. She’d had no extended physical contact in the two years since Bron had been killed. She hadn’t known that she’d missed that feeling of physical closeness to another human being until she had it again. Did it really count if the other person was unconscious? she asked herself. Either way, it made her feel better and she decided to go with it.

  She turned the piece of wood in her hands, examining it from all angles. It was weathered from its time exposed to the elements and was an appealing dark grayish color. It was slightly longer than her hand and a little wider. As far as she could see without starting carving, it was perfect for her purposes. She pulled the knife from its sheath at her belt and stuck the tip of her tongue between her teeth, bit down and started to whittle. As she carved away the outer layers, she could see that the wood was shot through with brilliant blue streaks. Excellent, the wood was Haefonian oak; it would hold up well to what she was planning.

  As the night passed, she alternated between keeping watch into the rain and darkness and whittling. The combat knife wasn’t exactly the appropriate size for serious woodcarving and she came close to slicing her fingers open on more than one occasion. Torrin slumbered away through it all, oblivious to Jak’s muted movements and the muffled oaths she uttered whenever the blade nicked a finger. To her relief the rain stopped a couple of hours before dawn. The ground would be damp, but not as bad as it had been during their flight from the compound. The area would recover quickly from the saturation of that night and would be much more stable.

  When the sun started to peek through the canopy, Jak slid out of the shelter. Torrin had spent most of the night curled around her. It had felt nice, but after a while it was all Jak could do to keep from touching her again. Whittling had helped to keep her mind off Torrin’s close proximity, but eventually even that couldn’t distract her from the woman. She unwrapped one of the hunks of aetanberan from the broad leaves in which she’d wrapped it and removed some slices in preparation for breakfast.

  She heard Torrin moving around in the shelter and grinned in anticipation.

  “Where did you get this?” Torrin asked as she left the shelter. She held up a wooden comb.

  “I didn’t get much sleep last night so I made it,” Jak said offhandedly. “You were all worried over your hair and didn’t like my other idea.”

  “You made this? It’s beautiful!” Torrin held it up to get a better look at it and ran a finger over the wood.

  “I’m glad you like it, but it’s no big deal. When you spend a lot of time hunting, you find stuff to do to occupy your time. And the thing about hunting in forests is that there’s a lot of wood around, so it’s kind of natural.” Jak cut herself off abruptly. She was babbling.

  “Well, it’s a big deal to me. This is the most thoughtful gesture I’ve ever had from anyone.”

  “You mean aside from rescuing you from some big hairy man who was gonna do awful things to you?” Jak asked wryly.

  “Well, yeah, I guess.” Torrin plopped herself down on the ground and started dragging the comb through her hair. Her auburn hair had gotten very tangled over the last two days. Based on the effort that Torrin was putting into it, the grooming was going to be difficult. Jak would have gone the knife route herself, but she had to admit that Torrin’s hair was an excellent feature. Not as excellent as those hips certainly or that ass. Unbidden, a view of Torrin’s bare breasts popped into her head. Her face heated instantly. She popped some aetanberan meat into her mouth and chewed, hoping Torrin wouldn’t notice her flaming cheeks. Being so fair-skinned wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Embarrassment always painted itself across her face in bright strokes for all to see.

  They sat in companionable silence for fifteen minutes or so while Torrin struggled with her hair and Jak silently ate her breakfast.

  “You want something to eat?” Jak asked when Torrin eventually stopped worrying at her hair. It was quite a transformation. The redhead’s hair had taken on a life of its own, curling down around her shoulders in gentle waves instead of hanging in limp hanks. Jak’s fingers itched to reach out and touch it, but she proffered a slice of cold meat instead. Torrin accepted the offer gratefully. Jak couldn’t help but notice that she’d slipped the comb into the top pocket of her jumpsuit.

  “I’m going to have to really push us today,” Jak said regretfully. “We have a lot of ground to cover and since we’re taking the long way around, it’s going to take some time and it won’t be easy.”

  “Has any of this been easy?” Torrin asked around her mouthful of aetanberan. “Whatever we need to do, I guess. So have you reconsidered on lending me your pistol?”

  Jak sighed. This woman just didn’t give up. “No, I’m not giving you a gun, sorry.”

  “Had to give it a shot. So to speak.” Torrin smiled at her cheekily. “I thought maybe a good night’s sleep would put you in a better frame of mind.”

  “My frame of mind is perfectly fine, which is why you’re not getting a gun. Besides, the last time I gave you a piece of equipment, you dumped it in the river.”

  Torrin grimaced at her and seemed to be on the edge of sticking out her tongue.

  “I think we better get going,” Jak said quickly. She walked over to the shelter and quickly dismantled it, spreading the branches over a wide area. There was no point in advertising that they’d spent the night there. It would be fairly evident to a trained eye, but the Orthodoxans didn’t seem to have too many of those.

  As they set off she brought up her map of the region. They were moving out of the area for which she had detailed maps. They needed to keep north on a parallel path to the fence all the way to the coast and swing west from there. The fence didn’t quite extend all the way to the ocean, but the ends were especially well defended. Over the years, what little development had happened in the way of watercraft by either side had been quickly destroyed by the other, given the chance. Both sides still kept up strong presences against further incursions from the water. The Devonites still had some seaworthy vessels, but those never got anywhere near the front. The Orthodoxans might have had some of their own vessels, but Jak
hadn’t heard any confirmation of their existence. Sneaking through the fortified zone was their only hope, and it was a pretty slim one.

  Their way north was relatively uneventful as they traveled over slowly changing terrain. By the end of the day they’d descended from the mountains and were making their way through rolling foothills. They were able to make up a lot of time on the less challenging slopes. Jak was encouraged by their pace, and though she was usually rather dour when in the company of others, she found herself being unaccountably chatty.

  “So you know what I do,” she said as they made their way up the side of a low hill. “And I know you’re a smuggler. What do you move, exactly?”

  “I procure hard-to-get items for people in difficult situations.”

  Jak snorted. “That tells me nothing.”

  “I mostly smuggle illegal items for people who aren’t supposed to have them.” Torrin rolled her eyes, annoyed at having to spell it out.

  “That’s better. I know what that means.”

  “In my line of business it’s not always smart to spell things out so openly. Given that it’s usually at least partially if not completely illegal, it can be dangerous to advertise too openly. Those who need what I offer understand that.”

  Jak felt mildly insulted by Torrin’s last flippant statement. Apparently, the smuggler thought her too dim to understand what she did. “Well, if it’s so illegal and dangerous, why even bother?”

  “Well, for one it’s good money. There’s way more money to be made by these activities. That’s why they call it profiteering, I suppose.”

  “They? Who’re they?”

  “The League of Solaran Planets. They’re one reason I do this. Any chance I can get to stick it to them only makes the profit sweeter at the end of the day.”

  Jak was confused. She knew Central Command had been in contact with the League. The people she knew viewed the interaction as a promising development. League support would mean stability and as far as she was concerned that could only be good.