by Chris Reher
An excited babble of voices reached them, speared by a high-pitched wail that sounded the same at the edge of every battlefield. The rebel guards stood aside to allow another stretcher to enter, carried by several harried civilians. A distraught older woman seemed to want to help and impede their progress all at once.
“Come,” Djari said and rushed toward them. He waved at the men to carry the stretcher to an open spot on the floor where a stained mattress had only recently been vacated. Nova helped to transfer the injured youth, wincing over the lack of clean supplies for these people.
The boy, his hair a wild pattern of blue and violet streaks, howled in pain and weakly fought to keep them from checking his wounds. “Hold him down,” Nova snapped to one of the men. She tore the blood-soaked shirt to reveal a bullet wound. The woman behind her cried out at the sight. Nova grabbed a handful of bandages from someone and pressed them into the wound. She looked over to Djari kneeling beside her and saw that he understood the hopelessness of this injury. “That’s not an Air Command weapon,” she said quietly. They raised the boy’s shoulder and she felt beneath him. “Shot in the back.”
“We can’t help him,” Djari said. He glanced up at the woman. “I’ll try to find something for the pain until…” he trailed off and stood up. For a moment he just gazed over the rows of pallets. Perhaps he meant to say something more but then he turned and walked away.
Nova covered the boy’s injuries and then motioned to the woman who had come in here with him. The others had gone, leaving only the quietly weeping Bellac at his side when Nova turned her attention to another casualty.
And so it went. Victim after victim needed medicines they did not have, water they had to ration, equipment that just did not exist in this part of town. Nova did what she could, using her rudimentary training to patch up laser burns, bullet wounds, lacerations and broken bones. There were just two actual doctors here and a handful of medics. Even the basic scanner in her lost data sleeve was more adept than the single diagnostic tool they had here. She worked at Djari’s side to move victims, clean equipment and tools, carry out the doctors’ orders and distribute what little food was brought in by the locals.
“Sunshine,” Djari whispered when, hours later, she walked past him to fetch more saline from their meager stores. He gestured urgently.
She squatted beside him to peer at an unconscious Bellac that had just been brought in. Her hair was dyed a muted tan color and she wore a patched set of fatigues. Nova whistled soundlessly when Djari parted the rebel’s jacket to expose a belt studded with concussion charges. Unfortunately, the weapon they belonged to was not also with her. They worked quietly as if seeing to some injury while slipping the blunt cylinders into Nova’s trouser leg. She flinched when she felt Djari’s fingers brush over the bare skin of her calf but he had been working with the ill and injured for so long that he probably didn’t even notice.
She rose, hoping the charges wouldn’t rattle as she walked. Djari caught her hand. “Bring back a splint for her arm.”
She looked down at the Bellac, frowning.
Djari squeezed her hand. “She’s not a rebel right now,” he said. His soft grey eyes shifted to their patient. “She’s someone who’s going to be in a whole lot of pain when she wakes up. Let’s not add to that.”
“Are all farmers as big-hearted as you are?”
His brows drew together and he released her hand. “Sometimes I think it’s only us farmers that care about any living thing these days. Would I do anything less for her than I would for some livestock?” He patted a damp cloth on the woman’s face where a massive bruise was forming. “Would anyone risk this if they didn’t have some reason, some cause, whether I understand it or not?”
Nova nodded. “I’ll hurry.” She made her way to the corner where Reko was resting uncomfortably on his pallet.
He tried to sit up when she lowered herself beside him but soon gave up. “Nice of you to visit,” he said.
“How are you doing?” she said, tugging on the cuff of her trousers.
“Like there’s someone chewing on my ribs. Doc doesn’t think they can stitch that up. Going to be one hell of a scar.”
“Maybe it’ll be a dashing one. You can brag about it.”
“What have you got there?”
She briefly held up one of the charges. “Are you up to a bit of tinkering?”
“I think so. Not exactly my field, though.”
She tucked all but one of the cylinders under his blanket. “Easy. Open this end; I’ll try to find you something to pry it with. There will be two wires in there, leading to this ring. Pull out the one that looks coppery. Might be hard to see in this light, so be careful. It’ll make the thing explode on impact without the gun. Convert only half of these, just in case we do get our hands on a pistol for it.”
He looked doubtful. “Can those explode on me?”
“No, you have to bash them hard enough to break.”
“So you say. Are there a lot of rebels here?”
“Hard to say. Some are easier to spot than others. They’re not talking much if they are.”
“Try to get some intel, anyway. I feel totally useless lying around here, not knowing what’s going on out there. Did I hear Rhuwacs earlier?”
“Yeah, there are a few of them outside, making sure we don’t leave. There are two other Union soldiers here, both badly burned and going nowhere. At this point I’m guessing we’re all hostages. I’m not hearing a lot of artillery now.”
He nodded. “Maybe they’re talking. I sure would like to see the inside of a real hospital right about now.”
She rose to return to work. “You and a few dozen others. I’ll bring you some water.”
The hall had grown dark and stifling once the promised sand storm reached the town and the windows were shut tightly against it. Thankfully, the weather also seemed to have halted the battle and the arrival of new casualties diminished. Nova helped to deliver a baby amidst the chaos; a new experience that left her both shaken and amazed. Hours passed and they seemed like days. Blood, tears, filth. Nova moved numbly through her chores, resolved to let her body do the work and keep her mind from taking in what she saw here. She felt completely unequipped to comfort those who came in more shell shocked than injured and left those to the more gentle ministrations of Djari and his people.
His capacity for caring for these broken and frightened people seemed infinite. Nova found herself watching and, she realized, learning more from him than the doctors. His smile was sincere and applied at just the right time, his touch soothing and cool, his voice calm. His patience remained when Nova herself wanted to shout at a hysterical husband or snap at a helper for making errors. But he was as fatigued as anyone else here and she saw an expression of despair and even anger creep over his face more and more frequently.
Not wanting to act the officer among these people, Nova finally enlisted Coria’s help to organize the exhausted workforce into shifts so that some of them could get some rest.
At long last, she was able to return to Reko’s corner to check his wound.
“What’s going on, Nova,” he mumbled when she replaced his bandages.
“Still the same. Did you get those charges done?”
“Yeah. Under my knee. Get anything useful?”
“Not much. Air Command is sniping at the front line to keep them busy but the bombing has stopped. Rebels keep shoving civilians and Rhuwacs at them. We’ve seen this before.” She looked at her hands that burned and had turned rough with the use of the harsh disinfectants. She had seen battle and she had been part of it. What she had not seen were places like these, hidden away behind the front line where people came to die, to have shattered limbs removed, to await arrest by Air Command who rarely backed out of a battle once begun. To know that they existed was a long way from living in one.
He nodded and accepted a cup of water. “Command’s not going to risk pissing off the governors by taking the town back by force.” H
e squinted up at her. “No offense, Lieutenant, but you look terrible.”
“Thanks,” she said. She pulled up a blanket she had found somewhere and curled up beside him. “I could sleep for a week. What do you think Command will do with this place?”
“Wait them out, maybe. Cut off food supply. By now they’re probably evacuating as many of the locals as possible. Could end up dropping a little dust if the weather clears.”
Nova groaned. The dust he referred to would, when dropped from overhead, blanket the town in a relatively fast-acting aerosol drug that would temporarily incapacitate rebel and civilian alike. Its effectiveness depended on how intent their enemy was on taking revenge on the locals before succumbing to it. She had been deployed for that tactic just last year, over Tannaday. It had left her feeling intensely unclean.
“It’d be a last resort,” he said. “They won’t like the idea of more coilers in here somewhere and the storm isn’t going to let up for a while. We’re definitely looking at no-fly. Did you get anything useful from the rebels?”
“Not much. Sounds like they’ve pretty much used up the Rhuwacs they brought. The tether hasn’t been compromised but that’s no surprise. Someone said that one of the transformers got blown, though.”
“Any objective?”
“Same crap. They’re trying to get Bellac’s governors to give up on the Union. Refuse the alliance and keep the jumpsite neutral. Without a Union relay station at the gate. As usual, they’ve got nothing to bargain with.” Nova closed her eyes but an image of a little girl that had come in earlier kept appearing behind her lids. There had been blood in the stiff little braids on the child’s head. “I have no idea why this blew up today, though.”
“Yes, seems odd. Unless someone really fouled up, I don’t see the win here.”
* * *
Nova awoke a few hours later to the sound of roars and curses outside. There were no windows at this end of the building but she made out Rhuwacs and the voices of their handlers. She pulled her blanket over her head for a moment to block the ugly noise, hoping what she was hearing didn’t mean the end of a captive’s bid for escape.
She sat up, eventually, blinking and rubbing eyes that stung from exhaustion and the dust still hanging in the air from last night’s storm. The light of dawn had found its way into the hall and some of the others moved among the injured, waiting for their turn to sleep a little. She rose and bent over Sergeant Reko. But he had not awoken to the noise and when she touched his face it was hot and dry. She cursed quietly and checked his injury.
“Morning, Sunshine. How is he doing?”
Nova looked up when Djari joined her. He didn’t look like he had slept much these past few hours, either, but his striking smile seemed to brighten this corner. “Got infected,” she said and bit back another profanity. For some reason it seemed to her that this man probably didn’t care much for foul language even among soldiers.
He checked Reko’s temperature by touch. “Maybe today we’ll get out,” he said. “It’s been quiet.” He shrugged when another Rhuwac bellow seemed to shake the walls. “Except for them, anyway.”
“Your optimism is spooky, you know that?” Nova dipped a cloth into a basin of almost clean water to cool Reko’s face.
He watched her use the rag to wipe the back of her own neck. “What else is there?” he said quietly and she wished she hadn’t spoken. “How else can you live like this? How can anybody?”
“Nobody is supposed to.” She hesitated before placing her hand on his arm. “You’re right, we’ll get out. These things run their course.”
He gazed at her without speaking and somehow that made her blush. Glad for the inadequate light, she dropped her eyes and pulled her hand back to fuss with Reko’s bandages. “So what’s a Human civilian doing all the way out here in Shon Gat? You seem a little out of place here.”
“I am,” Djari agreed. “I was born on the base at Siolet. My father was killed when I was still very young. My mother eventually took up with a Bellac farmer and moved out to the Tangmak Rift. Anai root and some livestock.”
“You’re a long way from Tangmak.”
“Know why I’m here?” He looked as if about to reveal a great secret. “Trying to get to the skyranch. I’ve asked for work up there. I already talked to some administrators. I know what Bellacs like and I know how to grow it. I’ve been studying up on moisture recyclers, hydroponics, soilless farming. I had a little lab and got interested in organic chemistry. I’m practically hired already!”
“You’ll like it up there, I’m sure,” she said, touched by his excitement. “I’ve lived on a skyranch or two. They try to make them interesting enough for the workers and engineers. It’s like a little town up there. And with the jumpsite so close you’ll meet some interesting people.”
The sound of harsh voices startled both of them. She peered into the gloom to see several Centauri and a few Bellac, all seemingly in good shape and not part of the medical team, walk among the injured. One of them was barking orders at the others.
“What could they want now?”
“That tall fellow is Phann Arter, one of their leaders. He came in from Camomas with his group a few days ago. Looks like they’re removing the rebels that can walk on their own. Maybe they’re leaving. Or maybe they’ve run out of fighters.”
“Air Command isn’t likely to let them leave. By now the town will be surrounded.” She scowled. “None of these here are in any shape to fight.”
“Maybe not by your standards. But his people are fanatics.”
She stood up. “I can be pretty fanatical, too.”
“Where are you going?” he called after her when she strode into the main section of the hall and toward the bellowing Centauri. She did not reply; thinking about this would only change her mind.
“Are you in charge here?” she said to the heavily armed rogue. He was of a heftier build than was common among his towering but generally slender people, adding a frightening dimension to his surly demeanor. It took a moment for him to realize that she was addressing him.
“What?” he said, somehow making that word sound like a growl.
“I want to speak to someone who is able to do a bit more around here than point his gun at things,” she said. Djari had come around to the side and watched with an expression of sheer terror when the leader turned to face her.
“What do you have to speak about, Human?” the rebel said.
A Caspian strolled over to observe her with curiosity. He carried a medical scanner, apparently looking for those well enough to be removed from the clinic.
“What did Sius have to say?” the Centauri giant asked him.
“News,” the Caspian said, using his native language. “The place is totally deserted. Some flyovers but we’re not seeing any patrols on the ground. Looks like everyone is here now. Stoyan’s going to hit it tonight.”
Nova managed to keep her reaction to this information to herself. She squared her shoulders. “These people are suffering. Two more died last night. Look at this! We don’t have enough supplies to help them all. Some of them are your people.” She gestured at the thinly-furred rebel beside him. “None of the medics know how to treat Caspians. We’re running out of clean bandages and disinfectant. There isn’t enough food. The water is probably tainted. We need scanners and decon wands. We can only type Bellac and Centauri blood and there isn’t enough of that, either. By the end of the day we won’t even have enough pain meds to let them die in peace. This has to stop.”
Arter’s forehead lowered into deep grooves as he contemplated the angry woman before him. He turned to his companion. “I think that’s her. Has to be Air Command, with a lip like that on her.”
The Caspian nodded. His yellow eyes narrowed; perhaps he was worried about the information he had just slipped to his leader. “What’s your name, Human?”
“Speak so I can understand you,” she said. “Centauri or mainvoice will do.”
Before she could react
, he grasped her wrist to turn her forearm outward. She winced when he stabbed her with a small tool and then released her again.
“What was that for?” she said, rubbing her arm.
“Not a lot of Humans in these parts,” Arter said. “Your people are looking for an MIA soldier. Little pilot girl. Sound familiar?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. She watched the Caspian enter the sample he had taken from her into his scanner. An expensive scanner of the sort that could save lives. She glared at Arter. “That’s the kind of equipment I’m talking about.”
They ignored her until the Caspian tapped the display. “Yes, that’s her.” He reached out and tugged the scarf from her head to reveal her tousled red hair before activating a small device on his chest to take some video of her. His leader stepped outside the scope of the recorder. “Done,” the Caspian said after working with his equipment. “Sent.”
“You’re lucky Air Command wants you back, girl,” Arter said. “Seems they don’t want to talk to the likes of us until they know you’re alive. Where’s the other one?”
“Dead by this evening if you don’t listen to me and find us more to work with,” Nova said. “At least get us a scrubber so we can have clean water. Let us take the children out. Air Command will take care of them.”
The two rebels turned away.
“Dammit, I’m talking to you, Centauri!” she snapped.
The hulking rebel leader turned back, moving very slowly. His huge fist reached out to wrap around her neck. He tightened it. “We are a little busy, Human. And I’m not in the mood to be shouted at by a Union soldier. Do you get that or do I have to snap your scrawny neck?”
She did not take her eyes from his, nor did she struggle to get out of his iron grip. After a thoughtful silence, he let her go with a small shove.
When he turned away again he waved at some of his men. “Get them a scrubber and get whoever is left in this dump to find some food.” Impatiently, he snatched the scanner from the Caspian’s hands and thrust it at Nova before stomping to the exit. “None of the civilians are to leave. Get this place cleaned up!”