“Yes, ma’am, that’s an affirmative.” He dug out a microblanket from his pack and unfurled it for her. “Here, wrap yourself in this. It’ll put a cushioned layer between you and the cold ground and keep you warmer.”
“What about you?” She stifled a yawn.
“I’ll be right here. Soldiers don’t sleep deep, don’t worry. Nothing is going to catch us by surprise.” He waited patiently while she curled up on the cave floor and dropped off to sleep. So far, so good. He hoped the next segment of his half-baked plan would go as well. Good thing he excelled at inventing on the fly.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sara squirmed, trying to get comfortable but a rock dug into her back. What was a rock doing in her bed? Memories flooding her consciousness as she surfaced from a vague dream, she gasped and sat upright, heart pounding. Frantically she assessed her surroundings, puzzled at first to be in a cave, dimly lit by a handlamp on the floor close to her. As the confusion lifted, she saw a battered service blaster lying next to the light and grabbed it, although she had no idea how to make it work. “Johnny?” Keeping her voice low, she called out but the cave was empty. Nothing but echoes of her rescuer’s name. Had he told her he was leaving? Her memories of last night were inexact but she clung to how calm and reassuring he’d been. Competent. If he’d left her by herself, he must have been sure it was safe to do so.
Clutching the blaster, she took cover behind a rock close to the one where she’d been seated when he performed first aid on her injuries. The wall securely behind her, she held the blanket like a cape, cradled the weapon, and tried not to shiver.
She heard sounds at the cave entrance and a low bird call. Sara bit her lip and kept quiet.
“It’s only me.” Johnny came into the chamber. He looked straight at the spot where she crouched, hiding. “Safe to come out. I brought berries.”
“You went out to gather berries?” She stood and did her morning stretches to loosen her muscles.
He glanced at the blaster. “I’ll teach you how to use it today while we wait. I thought you might enjoy some fresh food with the energy bars for your breakfast.” He extended the pouch full of shiny green globes to her. “They’re tart.”
Taking one, she cautiously bit it in half and her face lit up with pleasure at the tangy juice. “These are good.”
“I also checked our back trail, make sure we weren’t being followed,” he said, taking a handful of the berries and sitting on the boulder he’d taken as his ‘chair’ when they’d arrived hours ago. “So far so good.”
“A sensible reason to venture outside.” She laughed, realizing he was teasing her a bit. “So we have to kill an entire night in this cave?”
“You can probably use the rest,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I’m guessin’ it’s been pretty intense for you since you were captured.”
“Yeah.” Swallowing hard, she took the canteen he extended to her and drank a few sips of water to loosen her throat. “You could say that.”
“I’ll check your feet before we march tomorrow. If you can’t sleep, I do have a pack of cards.” He fished in his pack and brought out a tattered deck.
“The cards look marked to me,” she said.
“Are you accusing me of being a cheater, ma’am?” He made an exaggerated face of surprise and tsk’ed. “We can keep the stakes low. Can’t let you clean me out of all my pay. But playing cards is a time honored way of passing the time in between sorties in the military.”
“If you say so. You’ll have to teach me the rules. I can only play kids’ games.”
So the night proceeded. Johnny played hand after hand of various games with her, keeping score with his AI, arguing over points and rules, and laughing. He showed her how to use the blaster before going outside to patrol the perimeter close to midnight.
“Promise not to shoot me when I come inside after I patrol,” he said, mock seriously.
“Do your pretty bird whistle thing again.”
He pursed his lips and repeated the bird call.
“Yes, exactly. I’ll know it’s you and I won’t shoot.”
Face serious, he rose, assessing her for a moment as he settled his knife and remaining blaster in their places. “I’ll be gone a while but I promise I’ll be back.”
“Okay. I’ll be here. Be careful.”
“Careful is my middle name,” he said as he faded into the gloom outside the reach of their handlamp.
“I doubt that somehow.” She rubbed her arms and glanced at the ominous shadows the fire cast in the cave, like formless monsters waiting to pounce. When Johnny was here with her, he filled the space with his personality. She suspected he exerted himself to keep her mind off her experiences with the pirates, which was probably a good idea. She didn’t need to be having constant anxiety attacks.
In the morning he did another reconnaissance run, sliding into the cave with a cheerful whistle. “All clear. I think we should get going now. Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be. I want to get off this planet and go home.”
“Let me check your feet, make sure you’re good to go and then we’ll head out.” He made quick work of rebandaging her feet and then packed his gear as she put her shoes on.
“I can carry something.” She watched him fastening the pack. Did he have every piece of gear known to man inside? Or else an AI manufacturing what he needed in the blink of an eye? Sara smiled to herself at the concept. “I want to help.”
“Thanks, but I mostly need you to walk, ma’am,” he said, adjusting the pack on his back. “Terrain’ll be pretty steep today I’m afraid. If it gets too hot, we may hole up for a few hours in the shade at midday and then hike into the night. I have enhanced night vision so I promise not to lead you over a cliff.”
“It’s a deal.” She liked his sense of humor. His small jokes and careful teasing put her at ease. His size and competence at any task he undertook gave her hope she might actually escape this nightmare.
He left the cave first and stood by as she emerged into the crisp morning air. Taking a deep breath, she found herself perched on a ledge above a small canyon. Sara swallowed hard, tried to ignore her fear of heights and made herself study her surroundings.
Johnny leaned in. “No bad guys anywhere near, I promise.”
“Is my terror so obvious?” The tremor in her limbs worked against her determination to project good cheer.
“Give yourself time to heal,” he said. “I’ll lead the way, step where I walk and you’ll be ok. It’s a short climb into the valley and we’ll be marching along the streambed most of the day. Tell me if you get tired and need a break.” Johnny gave her a stern look. “No heroics. We have to pace ourselves. This trek is gonna take two weeks at best.”
“I promise.” She watched him lower himself over the lip of the ledge and drop a few feet to the incline below.
“Your turn. I’ll catch you.”
Hoping he’d at least enjoy the view, Sara forced herself to take one step and then the next, rotate and crawl over the edge derriere first. He steadied her at the waist with his strong hands, ensuring she had a safe landing on the loose soil. She bit her lip as his grip brought panic rising in her chest but he released her and continued the descent after one searching glance.
He’s not the enemy. He’s been nothing but a gentleman. “Idiot,” she said to herself under her breath as she skidded the final few feet into the flat canyon bottom.
“Did you say something, ma’am?”
She shook her head, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. “No. Ready to march, sir.”
“Technically speaking sergeants aren’t addressed as sir.” He grinned and set off in a northerly direction and she scurried to keep up.
“Then stop calling me ma’am.”
The day passed in a blur, as she followed in his footsteps. She could tell he attempted to set the easiest possible path for her and he called numerous breaks, usually as she verged on collapse. He had to be keeping a keen eye on her conditi
on, to be so accurate about when she needed the rest. The idea was oddly comforting. Despite his encouragement, however, she didn’t want to keep asking for rest stops. She wanted to get home, out of this nightmare.
“How are your feet?” He stowed the canteen in its place.
“Not as sore as I’d expected. I would have worn much more sensible shoes on the ship, if I’d known there’d be cross country hiking involved,” she said.
“We’re nearly to the cave I have in mind for tonight’s camp. Another hour at the rate we’re going.”
“How come there are so many convenient caves?” she asked, continuing to trudge along the path he set.
He shook his head. “I ain’t a geologist, no idea. Whole planet is riddled with them. When I was stationed here we used to joke the place probably had a hollow core, all the caves leading into one big pit. We had a mandatory briefing once about the geology and the way the continents formed here – I’m no expert so I kinda let it go in one ear and out the other. Not useful to the mission, too much like school.” He grinned at the memory. “Mike and I used to do a lot of patrols in this general area.”
“Is Mike your usual partner on these missions? You’ve mentioned the name before.” She liked the conversation, distracted her from the endless marching. Johnny didn’t seem too worried about anyone being nearby to hear them, although they both kept their voices low.
“We’re a two man team, or were, back in the day. Special Forces uses teams of all sizes but the two man unit can slip in and out of tough spots; do recon, wet work, all sorts of jobs. Mike’s my cousin actually. We grew up together on Azrigone. We always had each other’s six, from the first, even as kids.”
She wondered about the term wet work but something kept her from asking too many specifics. Wet implied blood, which implied unpleasant possibilities. “Why was there such a military presence here?” She scrutinized the scrubby brush surrounding them and the rocky hillsides they were hiking through. “What could the Sectors possibly have cared about in this place?”
“The Mawreg had a couple of their client races trying to infiltrate. Farduccir was a good jumping off point for them and for us too, at the time, close to where the front was then. We had to deny them use of the planet.” Johnny held out his hand to assist her in climbing past a boulder in their way.
His hand was warm, callused, strong. She clung to his fingers a moment longer than necessary while she clambered onto the trail a moment later. “I’m glad you came back here.”
“The war shifted,” he said. “Mike and me got shipped out before the place closed down, reassigned to hotter spots. A long time ago. Never expected to see this ball of dirt again.”
She got the impression he didn’t want to talk about his military experiences. Fair enough. “I wasn’t much of a traveler before this trip. And when I get home, I’m staying put.” Sara made herself laugh. “I’m a researcher. I got a chance to do field work with one of my professors at a major Ancient Observer site in Sector 60 for a year. Then I did a little sightseeing on the way home. No one told me about the perils of traveling by cheap freighters. I thought I was being so frugal, having so much fun, storing priceless memories.” And she would not cry again. She bit her lip against the flood of emotion.
“Hey, you’re doing great.” She realized she’d stopped walking only when Johnny retraced his steps to reach her. “You need a break or can you push through for another half hour or so? We’re nearly there.”
What she wanted was another one of those big, reassuring hugs. He made her feel safe. But she couldn’t expect a tough soldier like Johnny to be her personal teddy bear and security blanket. “Sure, I can keep walking if you promise we’re about at the cave.”
“Sun’s going to set in a couple of hours,” he said, nodding to the west. “I want to be under cover by then.”
“Do you think the warlord is searching for us?” She walked past him, realizing it wasn’t a good idea to stop for too long, as her joints stiffened up.
“Probably not but I don’t want to be found by a routine patrol either.” He took point, moving smoothly ahead.
“Why would the warlord bother patrolling here? Doesn’t he just go out and take over space ships? Kidnap people for ransom?”
“The planet is sparsely populated, divided between a bunch of tough guys who fight over turf, over resources, you name it. When we were stationed here the local situation was fairly stable but my understanding is things got worse when the Sectors pulled out. The overheated economy collapsed and the dogs had to scrabble for scraps.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “The Sectors ain’t exactly popular around here. Made a bunch of unfulfilled promises.”
She considered the information. “Does that happen often? Reneging on our word?”
“The Sectors wants to keep the Mawreg out of the core of human civilization. The government will do whatever is required— the ends justify the means to Command. Places like this–” He waved one hand at the desolate surroundings. “Collateral damage.”
“Things I was blissfully unaware of.”
“Most civilians live in that state. No reason the ordinary citizen should know more, I guess. The cave’s up there.” Johnny pointed at the hillside.
“Steep.”
He must have heard the misgiving in her voice because he flashed her a grin. “Piece of cake. Just follow me.”
An hour later, Sara collapsed gratefully inside the mouth of the cave, leaning on a boulder and trying to catch her breath while Johnny camouflaged the entrance. “I hope the descent is easier than the ascent.”
“Gravity assisted,” he said cheerfully. “Have a cup of water. I’ll get a fire going in a minute.”
“We get to have a fire tonight?”
“I think we’re far enough away from what passes for civilization on Farduccir. I’ll go hunting later; maybe we can have fresh cooked meat for dinner instead of those cold rations.” He cast an eye at the setting sun. “You rest and I’ll set up camp.” Taking the handlamp and tossing her the canteen, he walked past her deeper into the cave.
She pried the container’s lid half off when motion from the corner of her eye made her hesitate. A small flock of oddly menacing creatures were crawling into view on the boulder next to her. “Johnny? What are these?” She heard a strange buzzing sound as more gathered, clicking their front claws and curling and uncurling their arched tails.
“Stand absolutely still,” he said. “Rock scorps. They should be in deep hibernation at this season. Our amazing bad luck to find an active nest. Don’t worry; I’ll get you out of there.”
Unsure how much danger she was in but guessing from his tone the rock scorps were a threat to be taken with utmost seriousness, she followed his orders.
He moved toward her, motions smooth and flowing, keeping his attention on the creatures on and at the base of the boulder near her. Putting himself between her and them, he said, “Back up slowly.”
“Can’t you shoot them?” She forced herself to take one step and then another.
“The rocks in here have magtenatrite veins, blast’ll ricochet and kill you and me if I take a direct shot. We’re going to find another cave for tonight, let them have this one.”
“No argument from me.” She was even with the cave entrance and a moment later breathed a sigh of relief as she took two more cautious steps. “I’m outside.”
“Good.” He took a step to retreat.
Sara screamed as several of the creatures leaped from the ground, attacking his legs with their claws and arched stinger tails. He swept his own legs with a low blaster charge, swearing as he did so, and the scorps fell away from his body like charcoal hail. “Hit the dirt,” he yelled. In one continuous motion he dove sideways while sweeping the boulder with the blaster charge amped up full. True to his prediction the beam rebounded from the rock and streamed into the sky above her, where she lay prone, cheek pressed to the ground.
“Johnny? Are you ok?” She got to her feet but before
she could take more than a step or two in his direction, she heard the blaster go off again and then he came staggering out of the gloom.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked.
Leg bleeding, he limped toward her, the fabric of his utilities ripped below the knee. “I burned them all and the nest, didn’t see any more. Should be safe now.”
She cast a nervous glance at the recesses of the cave but then did a double take when she swung her gaze to Johnny. Pale, he was sweating, and leaned on the cave entrance wall with one hand. “You got bitten? Stung?” Putting her blaster away, she ran to his side, taking his weight as much as she could, while he leaned heavily on her.
“Twice,” he said as he eased onto the cave floor with her help, leaning a bit sideways against the rock wall. “Boots deflected a few but two found their mark. Might have burned my leg a bit too.”
“How bad is it?” He didn’t look good to her untrained eye. Sara stared at his torn, bloody left pants leg. “We—we better examine the bites, yes? Let me get the lamp so we can see.”
Not waiting for his consent, she ran for the handlamp. Behind her she heard fabric shredding and as she raced to help him, she saw he’d pulled his knife and was cutting the remnants of the scorched pants leg open. Flicking the light on, she gasped at the two ugly lacerations on his shin. As he’d said, the skin in the area also showed signs of a first degree blaster burn. His uniform must have provided a bit of protection. Sinking to her knees in the soft dirt, she clenched her fists. “Let me get the medkit and the water. I’ll have to wash those bites and put salve or something on the burn. How could you stand to turn the blaster on yourself?”
“Only way to kill them. Low beam. ” He caught her wrist as she rose. “I’m sorry, sneaky crustacean bastards took me by surprise. We’ll have to stay here tonight after all. Not gonna be able to walk.”
“Chelicerates,” she said automatically, her librarian’s brain correcting the technical term. I’m babbling. He sounded a bit delirious to her. Could the poison circulate through him so quickly? “It’s all right, soldier.”
Hostage To The Stars: A Sectors SF Romance Page 5