Jeannie gaped. How was she supposed to address such an immense subject, especially given her feelings about the matter? Yet Mekay’s intense attention told her this was a big deal to him. She supposed she should at least try.
Her words coming slow and unsure, she told him, “Most people on Earth believe in a higher being, I suppose. An all-powerful creator that brought us to life and watches over us.”
“It sounds similar to our beliefs. And you all contain a piece of this creator?”
“I guess so. We’re told we have souls, which survive our bodies’ deaths. If we’ve been good to each other, we enjoy an eternal paradise when our lives are over.”
Mekay nodded. He acted pleased with her answer. “Yes. That is right.”
Jeannie thought she should end it with that, but the old anger rose. Its sudden appearance, as heavy as a brick, made it hard to breathe. She had to dislodge it before it choked her.
“I don’t believe in any of it. I don’t think there is any such thing as God.”
Mekay and Gurnal looked at her with mild surprise. Jeannie waited for angry shock or horror to follow. It was what usually came after such an outburst. Her sisters had disappeared from her life as completely as her parents had when she’d spoken the blasphemy in their presence.
Yet Mekay’s initial startled reaction gentled into compassion. “Something bad happened to you. Something hurt you so profoundly that you have come to reject the idea that there is great kindness in the life beyond.”
Jeannie wondered at the soft gazes with which he and Gurnal regarded her. She said, “That doesn’t bother you? I mean, you believe in a higher power. I’m not insulting you by not sharing that belief?”
Mekay shook his head, a caring smile drifting over his lips. “Not at all. Your lack of faith does not endanger my certainty, so why should I be insulted?”
Gurnal gave her a gaze of such profound understanding that she could have wept for the kindness. “Many have their faith shaken at some time or another. The All-Spirit knows your pain. It understands only the greatest agony would lead you to separate yourself from it. It doesn’t fault you for that, so how can we?”
Jeannie looked down at her hands. Only then did she note how her fingers twisted and twined in her lap, telling the men of the anxiety that had followed her declaration.
“People from my planet tend to take it personally when someone doesn’t believe as they do. I’ve been called every name in the book for losing my faith.”
“Then their perception of Spirit is incomplete. But that is the case for all of us on this side to some degree or another. We are limited in our bodies, in our imperfect understanding.”
Mekay added, “We catch a glimpse here and there of the truth and yearn for more. This is the blessing, to keep searching. To keep finding clues to what lies beyond.”
His words were the usual religious mumbo-jumbo Jeannie had heard time and again. They slid right past her. However, she felt great relief to not be judged and condemned. She liked Mekay and Gurnal better than before.
She told them, “You really are good people.”
“We have our moments,” Gurnal said. Jeannie and Mekay laughed at his dramatic sigh.
Chapter Eight
Kren and Arga joined the men gathered near the barrier. Nex gave them the report on the Monsudan drones sighted in the woods on the other side.
“Monitors verify they’ve been lurking nearby. A couple came right up to the shield, which was when they were sighted. They fell back at our approach.”
Bort snarled, showing sharp canines. “They know better than to try our defenses. What are they up to?”
Kren had already decided to tell them everything. Their lives depended on him, and he was not about to shortchange his men. “I suspect they may be after Jeannie.”
The men bristled. It gave him a boost to note they wanted to see the Earthling protected.
Pon scowled. “Please tell me that Elder Mekay didn’t determine that poor little female is theirs.”
Arga shook his head and the men relaxed. “We’re finally getting some answers now that Mekay is unraveling her language. She was somehow abducted from her world, a world we know nothing about. We’re still trying to figure out how since Monsuda don’t have interstellar travel.”
Nex smiled. “Then there’s no reason to exterminate her.”
Kren got a sick feeling inside. Absolute honesty, he reminded himself and said, “We hope her story is true. Her real identity has not been determined.”
Arga countered doggedly, “The Monsuda experimented on her and do so with other members of her race.”
Kren decided it was okay to be optimistic. “She’s convinced Elder Mekay, but the rest of the council has to evaluate her. Nex, when we’re done investigating this sighting, I need you to look over the scans you took. Check if she’s got a tracking implant somewhere on her body.”
Nex nodded. “Done. It may take a deep scan to determine that. Those trackers are tiny.”
Arga eyed the woods beyond their border. “Let’s see if any of the drones are still in the neighborhood. Armor up, men. Weapons, lethal force.”
Skin rippled on the men as they made themselves battle-ready. They went to the dartwings and grabbed their shooters, setting them for destructive strength. Then they marched in a line to the barrier and passed through.
Keeping wide enough distance between themselves so that a single firing sweep wouldn’t take out any of their own, they marched into the trees. They were silent as they walked, listening for movement.
The woods smelled of dirt and growth and fur. Kren detected another odor as well. The oily, metallic scent of drone. His nostrils flared, and his ears cupped as he searched for any indication of the enemy.
He despised the Monsudan creations almost as much as their masters. Soulless and emotionless, they did their creators’ bidding without conscience. Sometimes a Risnarish hunting or traveling outside his village stumbled upon a group of drones. If he was fortunate, he escaped and returned home to tell of it. If he was not quite so lucky, fighting to escape resulted in his death. And if he was really unlucky, he was captured and taken down into the underground hives, often to never be seen again. It was too easy to get lost among the endless, twisting tunnels of the Monsudan homes, which was why rescue missions were never launched for the few men lost to the hives each year. The Assembly forbade any Risnarish from going after the Monsuda, whether to liberate the captured or to stop the enemy’s predations. The opportunity for heavy losses was too great a threat.
Thinking of the law that prevented rescue attempts, Kren darted a glance at Arga. His partner wore a fierce expression, his lips pulled back in a snarl. His guardian Retav had disappeared two years ago during a hunting jaunt. The signs of a drone ambush had been easy to read when they’d gone looking for him, and all Arga’s petitions to go after Retav had been met with refusal from the council and then the Assembly. It had taken Kren and the other officers several weeks of guarding him to guarantee he wouldn’t go against the Assembly’s directive. Kren’s partner hadn’t gotten over the loss. Perhaps he never would.
Despite profound hatred of his quarry, Kren caught the thrill of hunting. Stalking prey spoke to some primitive part of him, and he let that instinct immerse itself in the seldom-realized pleasure. He put aside his hurt for Arga and fears for Jeannie as he tracked the drones.
The woods ahead were silent. None of the wildlife made the usual sounds. It might mean the drones had recently passed through. It could indicate they were still in the area. Kren peered in the gloom of the deepest underbrush, willing his sight to penetrate the shadows.
Arga charged forward just as Kren spotted a flash of gray in the scrub. A large group of drones, at least a dozen, rose up and sent a flurry of scattershot at the Risnarish.
The officers returned fire, threads of plasma bull
ets flashing white-hot in the air. Each projectile fired by the officers was guided by an inner mechanism to acquire drag just before hitting its target. Once a plasma bullet burrowed into its victim, it stopped, ignited, and burned the target up from the inside out within a matter of seconds.
Risnarish yells shattered the silence as the men directed each other. The officers shouted warnings of incoming scattershot spray as the drones stood their ground and fought back. Dodging from tree to tree, the Risnarish pressed forward, closing in on their enemies despite the heavy barrage. The burning drones made the cool autumn day hot and smoky within a minute of the first shot being fired. Kren blinked past the stinging sweat that dripped into his eyes. The sizzling sound of bullets leaving the tube-shaped plasma shooters filled his ears.
He caught a glimpse of Arga as his partner took out drones with savage glee. No doubt he thought of his guardian’s fate and enjoyed taking even this small measure of vengeance. If Retav had survived any length of time in the labs, he had probably endured the same tests in the very hive Jeannie had escaped.
Their shots were accurate and the enemy fell one by one. At last Kren stood over the smoking ruins of the drones. He peered through the thick haze at the shadowy figures of his men.
“Sound off. Are we all still here?”
The men acknowledged they had come through alive and well. Pon admitted he had taken a glancing scatter hit, but that it was no big deal.
As resident medic, Nex called, “I’m on my way to check.”
Arga stomped to Kren, his striped face stretched wide with a triumphant grin. They thumped fists against each other’s armored chest.
Despite Kren’s enthusiastic acknowledgment, Arga gave him a knowing look. “We just kicked ass. What bothers you?”
“Why did the drones stand their ground against a force the size of ours? They usually hightail it back to their hive.” Kren rubbed his forehead. The smell of burning drones was giving him a headache.
“Why would they try the barrier at all when they know they can’t get through?” Arga spat on a nearby smoking carcass, and his saliva sizzled on the drone’s hot exterior. “This lot had a bad root command or something.”
“You’re probably right.” Kren shook his head at hindsight gained far too late. “It occurs to me that we might have taken one of them prisoner for interrogation. We need to find out if they were malfunctioning or if the Monsuda wanted them to push at the barrier. If it has anything to do with Jeannie, I need to know.”
Arga dragged in a breath. “That would have been the smart thing to do.” He looked over the smoldering bodies and made a face that spoke of his hatred. Then he raised his head and grinned at Kren. “They tried the barrier, knowing we’d come down and kick their asses. If they were ordered to do so, the Monsuda mean business. If they tried it once, they’ll do it again. We have to be ready for the next attempt.”
Bort had come over during the conversation. He snorted in disbelief. “You think the Monsuda are that stupid?”
A thrill of hope coursed through Kren’s body. “Desperate, perhaps. They could want Jeannie bad enough to send in their most valuable tools to be annihilated. I think Arga’s right. This won’t be their last attempt.”
He stared out into the woods, toward the north. Fifty miles in that direction, less than half an hour’s flight by dartwing, was the cave-like opening into the nearest Monsudan hive.
Was it just a glitch in programming? Or had they come after Jeannie? Kren vowed there and then that if their aim was to reclaim her, the Monsuda had better be ready to send in everything they had. He would not let them take her back to their labs.
Bort moved off, and Arga gave Kren a long look. “She’s starting to mean something to you.”
Kren shrugged. “Everyone who has met her likes her. She’s cute. Helpless. If she’s real, I want her kept safe.”
“Right.” Arga smirked. Kren avoided his gaze.
* * *
Kren returned to Mekay and Gurnal’s home, leaving Arga to direct fire suppression and cleanup. He walked straight into his guardians’ dome. He remained keyed into the system despite having moved out years ago. As long as he was unaccompanied by anyone not recognized by the entrance, he had instant access to the home he’d been raised in.
Mekay, Gurnal, and Jeannie were still in the visiting partition, just as he’d left them. Kren’s hearts filled with warmth when Jeannie smiled at him. Arga was right, of course. Kren didn’t understand why it was happening, but there was no doubt he was becoming attached to her. It was all he could do to keep from throwing his arms around her slight body. The relief and pleasure of seeing her again was that great.
Instead, he asked, “How is the language deciphering coming?”
Jeannie spoke up and the system translated smoothly, only a second behind. “Very well. The program understands many words now.”
Kren grinned. Good. Perhaps they would be spared more misunderstandings. Maybe she could discover he wasn’t such a bad guy even if he was a different species.
Her first question had nothing to do with personal matters. “What about the trouble you went to check into?”
His pleasure fell a few notches. “Several drones tried our defenses. We destroyed them.”
He kept his tone casual, not wanting to frighten her. Gurnal and Mekay knew how profound the news was, however. His guardians’ wide eyes and frowns greeted Kren’s statement.
Rather than remarking on the astonishing turn of events, Mekay switched subjects. “Give me your CPP, and I’ll load the translator program for you. You can transfer it to the earpiece you use to speak to our friends on the neighboring planets.”
Kren was delighted. “I’ll have to dig up one for Jeannie as well. Except her ears are shaped much different from ours. No, a standard earpiece wouldn’t work, would it?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve given Jeannie an older processor I no longer use, so she can speak with you at any time. You can also load it on your home system or anywhere you take her.” Mekay motioned for Kren to follow him. He could have performed the task there in the visiting partition, so the younger man assumed his guardian wanted to speak to him privately. He followed without comment.
As they walked away, Gurnal’s gentle voice asked Jeannie, “You enjoyed lunch, didn’t you?”
“The second helping didn’t alert you? It was delicious. I don’t know what I’m eating, but you do an amazing job with it.”
Gurnal chuckled. “I will pack enough for you and Kren to enjoy it for dinner as well. It will mean a little less work for everyone after such an intense day.”
They continued to chatter, Gurnal keeping Jeannie distracted as Kren entered Mekay’s meditation space. The flooring was softest here, with many colorful pillows heaped against the walls. Years of burning aroma sticks to aid serenity had permeated the area with their heady perfume. The space always had an aura of calm, and childhood memories made it more comfortable still. Feeling a sense of peace stealing over him despite the recent battle with the drones, Kren handed his elder his CPP.
As Mekay tapped commands loading the translator into the device, he whispered, “Drones at the barrier? They must be after her. I can think of no other reason they would try our defenses.”
Kren let his gaze drift to the lovely creature smiling and talking as she followed Gurnal into the kitchen. “One of my men is checking the body scans we took of her. He might be able to determine if she’s got a transmitter implanted.”
“Excellent.” The warmth Mekay spoke with pulled Kren’s attention from Jeannie to his guardian. The smile on the elder’s face told Kren the good news before he spoke. “I’m sure your Earthling is of the Spirit. She shows all the signs, including the ones that can’t be programmed into an artificial entity.”
Kren closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. “Thank the All-Spirit.”
Meka
y nodded and then his expression firmed. “However, it is not my decision to make alone. I must inform the rest of the council about her. The Assembly will have to know about this as well. At the very least, Jeannie will need to be presented to the elders of Hahz for our judgment.”
Threads of disquiet wormed anew in Kren’s gut. “There is at least one elder who does not hide his aversion to anything connected with the Monsuda. She was not created by our enemy, but they have experimented on her. I mean no disrespect, but will those so harshly opposed to the Monsuda give her a fair hearing?”
Mekay took no offense, though the wisdom of the elders was seldom questioned. “Even the hardliners must consider all arguments. They will hear, especially since I am sure that Jeannie and her people are being victimized by our enemy.”
“Victims must not be penalized.” It was a basic tenet of the Risnarish.
“I’m sure she will win through. However, she will have to relinquish her modesty.”
“You mean, let the council see her without the clothes?” Jeannie wouldn’t be happy about that. Imagining her discomfort, he didn’t like the idea either.
Mekay shook his head. “I don’t believe the council needs to upset her that way. Perhaps she will not be offended to be examined by our scientists and physicians, however. It will be necessary to verify she is a naturally occurring creature, ordained to life by the All-Spirit.”
Kren’s protest was quiet but hot. “She is different from us. We cannot gauge her by our parameters.”
“She is more similar than not.” Mekay tried to reassure him. “Be of joy on that account. It will support her case.”
He appeared calm. Certain. Yet Kren still feared for Jeannie’s sake. What if the council or Assembly decided Jeannie was not of the Spirit? What if they thought she was an invention of the enemy?
He could not imagine going against the Assembly, that body of learned and wise elders. Yet he also could not imagine allowing Jeannie to be harmed if judgment went against her. Both ideas were unfathomable. His loyalty was being tested and he had no idea which side he would fall on if the unthinkable happened.
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