Jess grabbed hold of her arm and helped her to a sitting position. “Are you all right? What happened?”
“Is something coming?” asked Gareth, glancing around.
Hickory remained bowed with her head in her hands. “There’s a profound sense of loss emanating from Yatzi women and children all over the island. They are telepaths and when Anyar’s tribe relayed the news she is missing and presumed captured by the Bikashi hunters, the shock radiated with such intensity it felt like a needle driven into my skull.”
She took a deep breath and rose to her feet. “There is anger, yes, but mostly the Yatzi feel an enormous sense of despair. Silver is attempting to round up his people to search for his daughter but without much enthusiasm. I think though, that when the tribe recovers from the initial shock, they will pursue us. Anyar was being groomed to lead the tribe. She is a terrible loss to them.”
Sikona had gone quiet. Now he said, “Why don’t we leave her for the tribe to find? This would be best for Anyar, the Yatzi, and ourselves.”
Hickory hesitated. It made sense. “I will talk with her. But if she wants to come with me, I’ll not abandon her. She is a friend.” Hickory’s face was drawn, and she felt the onset of a massive headache. She groaned.
Jess recognized the symptoms and held out a capsule. “Here, take this. It’ll help.”
Hickory closed her eyes and concentrated on the turmoil of the tribe. She found Silver and sensed sorrow and a deep regret he hadn’t been more inclusive of his daughter. “I think they’ll remain at their camp tonight. It’s getting too late for them to conduct a search now. They’ll look for her in the morning.” She swallowed the pills with a little water. “How is Anyar?” she asked.
“Awake,” said Jess. “But she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”
#
Next morning Anyar professed herself much recovered. Gareth and Jess built a travois, intending to carry her. <> she protested.
Hickory was still in two minds whether they should risk bringing Anyar with them. The tribe would pursue them, at least for a while. Silver will be here soon. You can wait here and guard the prisoners until he arrives. You’ll be safe and the tribe will welcome you back as a hero. You can be with Ogrid again.
Anyar’s brows lowered and her neck extended to its full length. <
Hickory was surprised to also perceive a firm resolve to find out the fate of the Yatzi taken by the Bikashi.
It may be dangerous, my friend.
<
Anyar would not budge. If Hickory left her behind, the young one would follow them and possibly do herself more damage.
Can you let your people know you are safe?
<
Hickory sighed. Stay on the stretcher.
They gathered the fallen weapons and searched the Bikashi for anything edible, shouldered their packs and set off at a trot, Jess and Gareth carrying Anyar between them. Hickory sensed the Yatzi villagers were on the move at last. It wouldn’t take them long to find the skirmish site and the Bikashi they’d left behind. She worried whether killing the prisoners outright would have been a kinder fate, but couldn’t bring herself to do the deed in cold blood, and wouldn’t ask Sikona or Gareth to commit murder. She rationalized the Bikashi would at least keep the tribe occupied until they were well away.
#
The climb was tough and left no breath for talking. The subject on Hickory’s mind was one she wanted to keep between the Alien Corps operatives anyway, so they communicated via their SIM.
What was Sikona on about telling Corban we were his prisoners? Gareth asked the critical question.
Don’t know, but I didn’t like the sound of it, said Jess.
Hickory was blunt. I want him to give me straight answers. If he’s a traitor, we’ll need to deal with him tonight, but I want to wait until we’re settled and Anyar is asleep. I don’t want her upset.
They arrived at the summit at twilight. Stars emerged, rotating overhead. Hickory counted seven moons from tiny to the massive remnant of Gosche, half eaten as though by a stellar dragon. They set up camp in a hollow in the rock and used the camp stove to warm up their rations.
“Sikona, we need to talk about what went down during the ambush.” She sat cross-legged with a Bikashi rifle resting on her lap.
Sikona looked at Jess and Gareth, then glanced at the weapon before raising his gaze to Hickory. “Who wants to begin?” he said
Hickory lifted her hand to stop Gareth leaping in. “Will you tell us the truth?”
“What is truth? I will tell you all I know. You will decide whether to believe me or not.”
“If I do not, then I will kill you.”
“I expect nothing less. Ask your questions.”
Hickory deployed her sense of empathy. It had been a long time since she’d used it to determine whether someone was telling her the truth or not. She’d sworn never to scan the feelings of a friend because she felt it was an intrusion on their privacy, but this was different. She’d apologize later if Sikona turned out to be straight. “You said your family was persecuted by Jolphyr, but you told Corban you’re working for Jolphyr. Which is true?”
The Bikashi sucked the air through his teeth and struck his breast. “Everything I told you about my family and Jolphyr’s treatment of them is true. I have never lied to you, Hickory, but sometimes you didn’t ask the right questions.”
Hickory’s mind blazed, and she rose to her feet, the gun pointed at him. “So, you admit to keeping the truth from me, and you do work for Jolphyr, don’t you? How can that not be a lie?”
Gareth leaped to his feet and crouched over Sikona. “The guy’s a treacherous Bikashi bastard, that’s how. I never did trust him.”
“I have never lied to any of you. Jolphyr promised to restore the honor of my family if I lured you to Auriga. I accepted, and from the beginning until now I have been in his employ, but my intention is as I told you. When I come face to face with the Science Directorate, I will kill him. I would have killed him earlier, but he was guarded at all times. After he is dead, the Sword will be yours to take, Hickory.”
“You swear Jolphyr has the Sword?”
“By the blood of my father, I swear he has the casket. I cannot swear to him having the Sword.”
Hickory could sense no evasion from Sikona on that point. Either he’d told her the truth, or he was well trained to mask his feelings. “Why did you deceive us? Why not tell the whole story from the beginning?”
“I was afraid you would not take me with you. My family honor can only be redeemed by Jolphyr’s death at my hands.”
Hickory couldn’t deny this. There was no way they would have gone on the mission with a known double agent. “And this is why you have protected me on our journey? So you can get access to the Directorate?”
Sikona’s head drooped. “After a time, it seemed the right thing to do, but I am ashamed to admit it wasn’t always so. I needed to keep you alive. Otherwise, my mission would fail. That was my plan. Even my discourse with Corban was aimed at improving our chances of getting to Kaffur. There would be no benefit for me in you being arrested by another.”
Jess swept the hair from her forehead. “What I can’t understand is why you trusted Jolphyr. Would he really accept you back into Aurigan society?”
Sikona grunted. “There was never any chance of that, Jess. As soon as Jolphyr had what he wanted, I’d be disposed of.”
Hickory relaxed and sat down again. She placed the rifle by her side, still within reach. There were other questions to be asked, but she was satisfied he was telling her the truth as far as it went. She felt he had been as open with them as his Bikashi nature would allow. At least, she could sense no duplicity, but she couldn’t help bu
t wonder what other secrets he might have
Gareth frowned at her. “Cap, surely you don’t believe this stuff? I mean, why did he ask Corban to call Jolphyr if he didn’t want us arrested?”
“I wanted to find out whether Corban was in direct contact with him, whether he was under orders to find and arrest us. His reaction says he wasn’t, which means they were on an illegal hunt and stumbled upon us by accident.”
“And what about you? Have you been in contact with Jolphyr? Does he know we’re here?” Gareth arms were stiff, his hands clenched.
Sikona handed him the data prism. “There is a micro transmitter inside. I used it to report our progress. Once, while you were asleep before we crossed the isthmus, and again at the swimming hole. The battery is depleted.”
Gareth ejected the transmitter and crushed it under his heel. He turned to Hickory. “It’s dead now, but Jolphyr might already have sent a goon squad.”
Hickory shrugged. “Hopefully we won’t be so easy to find without the transmitter. But we should still be on our guard.”
“Our problem is, now they’re expecting us,” said Gareth.
#
Hickory spoke with Jess and Gareth on their SIMS. What do you think?
Desperation makes people do desperate things, said Jess.
Everything he says seems logical, but I still don’t trust him. I say we kill him now, said Gareth.
Hickory looked at the ground, her forehead wrinkled. She was unsure. She wanted Sikona to be telling them the truth, but his actions to date gave her mixed messages. If what he said was true, he was betraying Jolphyr, which didn’t fill her with confidence he wouldn’t bite her hand in the future, given the need and the opportunity. So, untrustworthy then, but his actions were logical, and he was desperate to restore his family’s honor, which is laudable. He had reasons for what he did. What sort of person is Jolphyr to incite such hatred, and why does he want me specifically?
The billy came to the boil and Hickory stirred in some leaves. “I hope, Sikona, I’m right in my assessment of your character. You’ve opened my eyes to the Bikashi culture, and I’m better prepared to meet the enemy because of it. You’ve helped to keep us safe to this point, whether inspired by your personal mission or because we were dependent on each other, I don’t know, but I think it has drawn us together. I give you credit for that. We will proceed as before, allies with a common purpose.”
Sikona nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself.
Not so, Gareth. “And I’ll be watching, Bikashi.”
CHAPTER 12
H2S
A low-lying fog had descended overnight, covering them with condensation. By the time they’d broken their fast and packed their swag, it lifted, and the slopes of the mountains could be seen sweeping down to the barren plains below. In the distance, a silvery surf broke on a golden beach.
Hickory found Anyar sitting on a rock, munching on a root and staring at the ocean. She half-turned as Hickory approached. <
That is the ocean. People on my planet go to the ocean for recreation. They swim in the saltwater, build castles in the sand, and sunbake on the beach. She projected the images to Anyar but could see the Yatzi was confused. She changed tack. How are your wounds, let me see? Carefully she peeled back the dressing on her arm. That looks to be healing nicely. Can you stretch your arm?
The youngster stretched and flexed her arm without any obvious discomfort. Her wounded abdomen, too, was a healthy pink color. Hickory applied more salve and redressed the wounds. You are recovering well.
<
When you first lay on the travois, I sensed you wanted to come with us because you felt you owed me a debt.
Anyar stretched her neck high. <>
I also had the impression you wanted to find out what has happened to your captured tribe members.
Anyar hesitated. <>
It will be a hard journey. Are you fit enough?
<
When they rejoined the rest of the team, Gareth was examining a map drawn on a sheet of canvas. “It should take us an hour to reach the top of the next ridge, and we could be at the seafront by late morning. Then what are we going to do?” he said. “The Admiral’s map indicates it’s fifteen hundred miles to the mainland by way of the poisonous sea. I don’t think I can swim that far, do you?” He smirked at Jess, who was staring into the distance, a faraway look on her face. “Jess?”
“Sorry, what did you say? I was just thinking. How did the Bikashi reach us here in the middle of this island, maybe two thousand miles from Kaffur?”
Gareth nodded. “They must have flown here.”
Hickory agreed. “If they planned to collect Yatzi pelts and return to Kaffur, there must be a Bikashi transport waiting somewhere to take them back. But there’s nowhere in the mountains a Bikashi jet could safely land.”
“The jet might have set the hunters down on the plains at the pole side of the island, but I’d put my money on the transport waiting at a Bikashi outpost somewhere in the south,” said Jess.
The more Hickory considered the problem, the more convinced she became they were heading in the right direction. There was no logical reason to think the hunters would approach the island from the north as she’d been forced to do. Jess was right, the jet would be somewhere on the southern coastline, and if there were a scientific outpost like Sikona had said, that’s where they’d find it.
#
From their vantage point high on the next ridge, the rising sun appeared like a sluggish yellow blob struggling to emerge from the vast, poisoned sea. They were only three miles as the crow flies from the water’s edge. Steam rose from the brackish water and crawled across the landscape, banking up against the feet of the mountains. The odor of rotten eggs wafted up to them on a light breeze. “Hydrogen Sulfide,” said Gareth, unnecessarily. He noticed their wry expressions, and continued with a rush, “Probably produced by the breakdown of organic matter as well as the rotting flesh of people and animals from the radioactive fallout. I’d say the sea has stayed poisonous long after the radiation moderated because marine deposits of crude petroleum and natural gas were ruptured during the war.”
“Saved your nerd reputation in the nick of time,” said Jess, laughing.
Gareth’s cheeks colored then he shrugged and grinned sheepishly.
Hickory checked her Geiger counter. “Rising, but still within tolerance levels. It’ll be okay provided we don’t stay on the planet more than a week or two,” she said. Gareth and I could probably endure it longer, but it’s risky for Jess’s baby.
Halfway down the mountainside, the greenery of the forests gave way to the ochre, browns, and yellows of the plains. Like the northern coast of the island, the ground was strewn with large boulders. Small leafless ferns with flimsy milky-white fronds grew in their shadows. Other plants with tight, closed flower heads swayed on ten-foot-tall dark orange stalks. Gareth dubbed them “tiger tails.” Intensely interested in everything around him, he unearthed an assortment of flat, creeping plants, and examined them. “Single-celled rooting structure, very primitive.” He cast his eyes around and nodded. “This could all be a renaissance of the first plants to emerge on this planet. They would have germinated under similar conditions.”
Hickory scanned ahead with the scope. “Very interesting Gareth, but perhaps we can forgo the botany lesson for now. There’s a small island about a mile offshore with what appear to be buildings on it. I can see a squarish tower that might be a comms station and a few dome-shaped structures.”
“It’s probably a research station for the scientists who come here periodically,” said Sikona.
“It could also be a temporary base for the hunters,” said Jess.
“Any humanoids? Can you see the jet?” Gareth shaded his eyes to peer at the island.
“If it were me,” said Jess, “it would be too well camouflaged. You won’t see anything from this distance.”
Hickory snapped the scope shut and put it into her backpack. “Lucky it’s not your jet then. It’s there all right—plain as day. I can’t see any signs of life. They may be inside, or the station might be unmanned.” She grinned at her team. “That jet could be our ticket out of here. All we need to do is get over there.”
#
They spent the next hour discussing how to reach the island. It wasn’t far as the crow flies, but they would need to navigate the sea and the hydrogen sulfide gas, which as well as being poisonous, was highly flammable.
Jess clicked her fingers several times. “What about a hot air balloon like we used in Avanaux? We might be able to fly over—”
Gareth interjected. “We don’t have enough materials. There are a few blankets we could sew together, and maybe we can find some reedy leaves to weave a basket, but the prevailing wind is in the wrong direction. Without an engine, we’d never reach the island.”
Jess jumped to her feet and grabbed Gareth’s arms. “No, not a balloon—a hang glider! I’m sure we can find enough materials to build three machines.”
Hickory completed the thought. “And in these light winds, we can launch from the mountain top.” It was a risk, but possible. Just. She explained the theory to Sikona.
He sucked air through his teeth. “I am heavy. Almost two-hundred pounds in your measurements, but if you say it can be done…I can think of no other way to reach the island. The worst that will happen is I don’t get off the ground, and we waste some time.”
Hickory didn’t dissuade him from the idea. A lot worse could happen. He might get a hundred feet into the air, and the glider falls apart. She and Jess had paraglided in Melbourne with Jess’s two girls. It had been fun. She’d enjoyed the feeling of freedom, but she’d been supported by a sophisticated harness suspended from an airframe made from durable, light aluminum alloy. This would have to be a lot more primitive.
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