by Susan Kelley
“Their ship?” Callie shook her head.
“Yes.” Joe felt the familiar confusion sweep over him. Why did Callie not act the way he expected so often? He was tired, sore and now frustrated.
“You mean we can go home?” Riba asked.
“Yes.” But Joe looked only at Callie, trying to figure it out. None of the women seemed overjoyed.
“How … how did you capture their ship?” Callie asked.
“We killed them.” Joe turned away and walked out. His men waited outside, their spirits as low as the day they’d been sanctioned.
“When do they want to leave?” Vin asked.
“I don’t know.” Joe wondered if he looked as lost as the rest of them did. “We had our time with them. It’s best for them to go back. They have lives waiting for them, something better than this.”
They all paused and looked around the little village they’d built. One of the women had transplanted some kind of wild flower in front of the houses. Who would care for them now? Yes, the women deserved something better, better than recon marines.
“Let’s clean up,” Joe ordered. They obeyed like the good soldiers they were. They walked together to the pool rather than the bath house they’d constructed for the women. Five men matching strides. Five marines alone once more.
Chapter Nine
“Webb, could you leave us alone. We need to talk.”
Webb agreed and slipped outside into the cold dark.
Riba picked up Sally and gave the baby her breast. “Everyone probably thinks we’re dead.”
“I’m sure Dania replaced me by now,” Yalo said.
“I have to go back,” Callie said. “Dania has to wait a year to have me declared dead if there’s no body for proof. But I would guess she’s already working on a deal with Hadrason Mining. She’ll sell Giroux into slavery to Geoff Hadrason and his company.”
“All the same problems wait us as before we crashed here,” Riba said. “Hadrason will resume his pursuit while Dania plots with him. Things we know or suspect but can’t prove.”
“It had to be Hadrason’s thugs that attacked us and caused our crash,” Yalo said. “Fortunately, we all survived, but who knows if we’ll be as lucky next time. You can bet Dania and Hadrason have put even more spies in place. I don’t know how I’ll protect you.”
Callie’s heart thumped with excitement as everything clicked into place. “I have the best protector in the known universe.”
“While we’re here, but how can Joe help you…?” Yalo’s voice trailed off, and she shook her head. “He can’t go back with us. They’ve been sanctioned.”
“I have a plan.” Callie smiled, hoping they didn’t see her doubts. A queen had to be strong.
* * * *
Joe wanted to lie on the sand and sleep, but his personal desires never interfered with what needed to be done. The sooner the women were off the planet, the quicker things would get back to normal.
“Sir, we need to eat and sleep.” Vin had worked so closely with Joe for years, he could almost read his mind.
“The morning is soon enough, sir,” Roz said.
“I need some time to check the ship and make sure they can fly it, sir,” Mak said. “I intend to be thorough. Could take me a few days.”
Only Kam seemed unable to come with a reason to delay the departure. He shrugged when Joe looked his way.
“Let’s eat.” All the things they said were true, and Joe didn’t want to point out they were only putting off the dread.
A feast waited for them. Fresh rolls, spicy gamebirds, seasoned tubers and tea cold enough to numb the teeth. Eating well and often was part of their training. Despite Joe’s low spirits, he ate three helpings before he noticed the women only watched.
A subtle tension hung over the room. Webb shrugged when Joe gave him a questioning look. Callie stared at a mug of tea, her thoughts seemingly far away.
“How soon do you want to leave?”
Callie started at Joe’s question and lifted her gaze to him. The excitement dancing in her eyes crushed the micronic kernel of hope he’d carried. Why had he ever expected she might want to stay?
She leaned close to him, staring at him with the unflinching intensity he thought of as her queenly expression. “As soon as we pack.”
He nodded and looked down at his plate. The sight of the delicious food now sickened him.
“Joe.” Callie put her hand on his wrist. “When we return to Giroux, my situation will be the same as before we crashed here, perhaps even worse. I have enemies who hope to trap me into marriage, some who want me dead, and other who would enslave my people and strip my planet of its resources.”
“Then you should stay here where it’s safe.” Joe cursed himself as soon as the words slipped out. Callie’s startled look made him cringe inside.
“I can’t. I have an obligation, a duty, to serve Giroux. Their economy depends on me. I can’t leave them on their own. I need to go back, and I need to have protection while I do my duty.”
Joe waited, sensing she was telling him something. But the only thing he understood was that she was determined to leave.
“I want you to go along as my protector, my personal guard. We’ll leave everyone else here until we get everything straightened out.”
“We’re under a death sentence,” Joe reminded her. Was death worse than living another fifty or sixty years alone on this planet?
“I’ll work to overturn it. No one can arrest you while you’re under my rule on Giroux.”
“You don’t know how much they want us out of the way.” But Joe’s thoughts raced. Could it work? Could he be Callie’s captain, serve and protect her forever?
“I’m afraid Joe is right,” Webb said. “There are a lot of people who would be in trouble if the truth about their trial and conviction was exposed.”
“It will come out whether you come with me or not because I’m going to insist there’s an investigation. Now are you going to be there to protect me, or will they try to silence me without you between them and me?”
Stunned by the challenge she’d issued, Joe believed she didn’t understand the seriousness of what she proposed. “You can’t do that. It would be a death sentence for you, all of you.”
Callie’s eyes danced. “Not if you’re with me, and they stay here. No one will know where they are. We’ll go after your enemies and mine.”
Joe’s men stared at him with hope in their grim expressions.
Webb still looked doubtful, but the doctor always advised against risks. “The marriage ceremonies of yesterday have no credence if you go back. Callie, you’re putting everyone in danger.”
“Being queen isn’t a safe occupation.” Callie gave Webb a frosty look. “I didn’t think being a marine was either.”
Joe lifted his hand to forestall the doctor’s retort. “My concern isn’t for my life, Callie. I’m worried my presence increases the risk to you rather than protects you.”
Callie stood up and glared down at him. “I asked you once before about your duty. You left unfinished business behind. How many innocents have died by the hands of those that wrongfully accused you? Isn’t your first obligation the protection of civilians?”
Joe nodded, enthralled by her magnificent outrage. His body responded with an inundation of lust so powerful his breath caught in his chest.
“Then quit whining, marine, and get your gear packed. You work for me now.”
* * * *
Callie didn’t hurry as Joe expected. The women insisted that the marines fly the pirate cruiser to Camp Haven. Then they cleaned it, claiming it stank of unwashed men. It did.
“Roz, can we take my swing along?”
Joe looked over at the marine pushing the little girl on the plaything they’d built for her. Her voice was a music Joe didn’t think he’d ever forget. Parents were the richest people in the world.
“No, little lady,” Roz answered. “I’ll make a better one when we get to your home, but w
e’re going to stay here for a little while longer.”
“I don’t have a tree like this one.”
The marines spent the evenings studying the history files the women had of Giroux and asked dozens of questions of the women. Joe didn’t think he could ever be prepared to face Callie’s home world and live among so many civilians.
Mak joined Joe near the boarks’ pen. “Joe, we polished the drive crystals and flushed the flash tubes. It should run like new.”
Joe nodded, wondering how the boarks would fare in the wild after spending nearly a year in domestication. Wondering how he would fare in domestication.
“Joe, do we have lots of storage room?” Callie called from the original barracks she shared with him.
Joe walked over to join her, automatically checking the positions of his men. Kam climbed up the west slope to relieve Vin on guard duty. They didn’t know if someone might come looking for the dead pirates. The Rector Freemen were a criminal gang of unknown size but many speculated they numbered in the thousands.
“The cargo hold should be big enough for whatever you want to bring.” Joe inhaled, catching her scent. “Thirty pirates traveled in that ship. There’s lots of room.”
Callie glanced around. “I feel like I’m leaving home.”
Joe took her elbow and led her away from the buildings. The high heat time was more than an hour away. They stopped near the lake. The water gleamed an identical blue to the sky. Far away to the east, a thin line of purple marked the horizon. He let go of her, wishing he had the right to touch her whenever he wanted. They hadn’t exchanged wedding vows like the others and now there was no reason for it. Soon Callie would take her place as queen of Giroux.
“Did you want to talk about something?” Callie sank onto the bench Kam had made along the bank.
“You say this planet feels like home. Not long ago, you said something about making this a colony of Giroux. You can make it official.”
“I can’t stay here.”
“I know.” Joe sat beside her and gestured at the small scattering of buildings. “We’ve created a settlement, catalogued native flora and fauna. I believe intergalactic law counts that as colonization. You can claim this entire planet for Giroux.”
“You’re right. You’re thinking like a diplomat already. There may not be much of value on this world, but territory is always worth something.”
Joe pondered whether she made sport of him with diplomat remark. Was it an insult? “This planet isn’t worthless. We found deposits of crystallized iron.”
“Crystallized iron? I’ve only seen one small piece of it in my whole life.”
The rare element was used to fuel ships and power energy systems for entire cities. One nugget might heat homes for thousands of people for a year. “My queen, you have a fortune to load in your ship.”
* * * *
“We’ll be fine,” Callie assured Joe again. “You’re only a day away. Roz and Kam can hold anyone off for that long.”
Joe swept his gaze around the compound. She wondered what his blue eyes saw when he looked at it. Even though she slept in his arms every night, she often felt she knew him as little as she had the first time he’d climbed into her ship.
“I could leave Mak here too.”
“Joe, we’ve discussed this. You can work faster with three people.”
Joe didn’t look happy but he didn’t argue. “Roz.”
“Sir?”
“Full rotation.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll be back in three days.”
“Don’t worry.” Callie was warmed by Joe’s concern. She didn’t doubt his desire to keep her safe and his endless lust for her or her for him. “Go collect our wealth, Captain.”
Joe tapped a fist to his heart and signaled the others. He didn’t look back as they rode the boarks out of the valley.
Yalo joined Callie, staring after the departing men. “We have everything loaded except the elixir and whatever the marines bring back.”
“Yalo, when you return to Giroux, do you intend to make official vows as Vin’s wife?” Callie wished she and Joe had completed their own words even if they had no meaning in the outer world. She wanted him tied to her.
“We’ll see,” Yalo answered. “If we clear their names, the Galactic Ministry might force them back into service. The marines might want to go.”
“Has Vin said that? I can’t believe they would want to go back.”
Yalo shrugged, her expression troubled. “It’s what they know. Do you think they’ll be content as body guards after spending their lives traveling around the universe and fighting the nastiest fiends known to man?”
“They don’t seem bored,” Riba said as she joined them. Sally sat on her hip, her chubby fist stuffed in her mouth.
“I’m sure there are many women who will try to draw their interest when we get home. They’re a captive audience for us here.” Yalo looked down at herself. “I probably look like a goddess to Vin on this desert world, but how will I measure up next to the fine ladies of the council?”
Callie considered her own appearance. Her hair that Joe discreetly played with after they made love was a common light brown, not the red or golden locks many men preferred. Her height turned away many men, and her form tended toward hardy rather than slim and petite. Not even Joe’s large hands could span her waist. She had reached thirty-three years on her last birthday, no longer a graceful youth. Her features, though even, were considered plain.
Riba spoke as Yalo walked away. “I’m afraid to go back. I’m glad we’re staying.”
“What?” Callie stared at her cousin, surprised by the tears hanging in the corner of the brown eyes so like her own. Riba always seemed so calm and strong.
“I’m afraid for you and Joe. If Yalo is right about the attack on us, Hadrason will come after you again. Who knows what he’ll try next.”
“Joe won’t let him try anything.”
“That’s if Joe isn’t taken away to serve his sentence in the mines. You could be taking him back to hell, Callie. I don’t think I could bear knowing Kam is dying a bit at a time on the Nye moon.”
“I won’t let it happen. They’re my marines now, and no one can take them away. We’ll have wealth and the power of the elixir to hold over the council. I’ll buy their freedom if I have to.”
“You might have to,” Webb said as he joined them. “Can you ladies help me pack the elixir so we don’t lose any to breakage? You going to need all the leverage you can get if you’re taking on the Galactic Ministry and Hadrason Mining.”
Callie lagged behind. She would get vindication for Joe and the others somehow. She owed them that. But then what? How would she keep them on Giroux afterward? Have them swear allegiance? Would that hold them?
She only knew she couldn’t let Joe go. He was born to lead, and she needed someone like him at her side. The king’s throne had sat empty since her father’s death. Perhaps it was time to fill it. Unlike Yalo, Callie didn’t intend to give her man a choice.
* * * *
The crystallized iron deposit hid beneath a less valuable jumble of pink marble. Not many people knew the rare mineral often formed beneath the weight of marble. Some ancient natural phenomenon had lifted the wealth to the surface.
Joe and his men took turns using the laser saw to cut the iron into convenient sizes one man could carry. Even the high-powered laser needed a long time to slice its way through the hard substance.
Being away from Callie made Joe nervous. Pirates, vicious rodents, and deadly storms were only the dangers they knew about. Any number of other deadly things might lurk in the desert. He could tell Vin and Mak shared his unease, seeing it in the haste of their work.
“Do you think that’s enough?” Vin wiped his brow. Hefting the heavy ore was hard work even as the day cooled with the setting sun.
“It will have to do. We’ll start back before first light.”
They set up their sleeping sacks, hurryin
g as the temperature dropped rapidly. The boarks grunted as they dug their sleeping holes.
Joe looked around their camp before settling in for the night. The night sky of Crevan sparkled like a flawless diamond held under a light. The stars alone provided more illumination than some moons did for their parent planets. The twinkling lights reminded him of Callie’s eyes when she spoke of going back to Giroux.
He zipped his sleep sack closed, the warmth enveloping him almost at once. It was a lonely bed without Callie beside him. That alone was enough to assure his presence by her side when she made her return.
It might cost him his life, either in defending her or in a renewal of his sentence to the prison moon. Would he even get to spend his last nights in her arms? Another fear nagged at him. Going with Callie would immerse him in the world of civilian society. He’d be surrounded.
* * * *
They packed the crystallized iron in the hold along with most of the elixir. All the useable weapons they’d captured had been cleaned and prepared for firing. Most would remain on the planet with those they were leaving behind.
“Don’t worry, sir,” Roz said. “We have enough firepower to hold out against anything less than a regiment.”
Joe didn’t like it. “Vin and Yalo will return in six days.”
“At the most,” Vin added.
Joe reminded the men of all their emergency strategies, knowing Roz could handle it. But being responsible for women and children added worries.
“We’re ready to go,” Callie said as she and Yalo came up behind them. The women and children exchanged hugs and teary smiles.
“If I don’t return,” Joe began, but Kam shook his head.
“You’ll be back, sir. Queen Callie will protect you.”
“I’m going to protect her.”
“From the men who want to capture her, but she’ll protect you from the damned politicians,” Kam insisted.
“They might be the same people,” Mak mumbled.
Joe added that to things he must worry about. How could he tell enemy from friend? “Make sure you’re ready to flee if you must. Hoard enough crystallized iron to fund your way and keep one of the ships at your hand. If I end up on the Nye mood, I don’t expect to see any of the rest of you end up there with me. Take care of the women and children.”