Kathy knew Le'ha was there but she barely saw the image of the colorful woman as she hovered directly in front of her looking into her eyes. Le'ha lifted Kathy off her feet and then gently laid her down.
"Dave?" Kathy asked.
"Ey me nun pekoo jastay va. Nyet nue qumahn." Le'ha replied, and gently smiled.
In her vision, Kathy kept seeing Dave, kissing her and touching her. Throwing his head back and sighing. She recalled looking deep into his wide open eyes where she could see the depth of their mental connection. Both of them were stunned at the emotional union they had shared.
Her eyes refocused. She, and all the SUBs and Bios were on their backs on the ground. The Bios had slept; the SUBs had been in some bizarre dream state induced in some unknown way.
Kathy sat up on one elbow and looked to her left where Dave was pulling himself up as well. Their eyes meet and he reached out and touched her hand and smiled.
The voice of a bio brought Kathy and Dave back around. "Is everyone awake, now?" A pretty young bio called out, and everyone looked toward the pond. There stood the young woman and all the wounded, now totally healed and gently smiling.
Chapter 25
The Ruse
Over Kathy's and Dave's heads, holding out her hands to assist them to their feet, stood the imposing figure of Le'ha. "Did I not tell you that all their hurts will be healed?" she asked.
Kathy walked up to a young woman whom she knew had been shot through the hip and had been in great pain. The woman lifted her leg several times and smiled at Kathy saying, "It's all better, ma'am."
Standing next to her was a young man whose right arm had been badly mangled, the bones broken and crushed. But Kathy's examination of the limb showed it to be completely healed with no indication that it had ever been injured. As Kathy looked the man over he took her hand, "Ma'am, even my wisdom teeth are back." He was truly dumbfounded.
Kathy wheeled around with a startled expression on her face and looked to Le'ha. "This is not possible."
"I have told you Kathee; with Lu'aya all things are possible."
Kathy stood on her tip toes and shouted, "Where is Doctor Haythornwaite?"
"I am here!" the doctor called out from her right. He was examining some people on the pond's opposite side.
"Explain this to me Mr. Scientist," Kathy demanded.
The doctor was clearly in awe. "I…I cannot, I've never seen anything like this. Not only are these people cured, but organs that were surgically removed have been restored. I—" he pulled the glasses from his face. "I think I will quit medicine, it is now obsolete."
At the insistence of the E'meset, the uninjured Bios drank the water and instantly all felt refreshed and new.
Le'ha approached the doctor and pointed to his face. "You must have that before your eyes so to see?" she asked.
"My glasses? Yes, I chose not to have the surgery because—"
With a motion, almost too fast to see, Le'ha removed the doctor's respirator and pulled his glasses from his face. She took the back of the doctor's head in her left hand and, with her right, pressed a handful of the algae into his eyes.
"What?" the doctor gasped. "No, don't—"
Le'ha removed her hand. Another E'meset handed her a clay jug with pond water in it. She tilted the doctor's head and washed his face. When he opened his eyes his jaw fell open as he scanned the chamber around him.
Kathy pressed his respirator back onto his face and adjusted its fit. “Lieutenant," his voice was trembling. "I can see. I can see as I have never seen before!"
Kathy turned to Dave. "This is what Wilmington and the IIEA are pedaling back on Earth. This is what they want, but don't know about. They are getting it indirectly by rendering it out of the blood of the E'meset."
"Then we can end all this by telling them about the algae," Zolna declared.
"Oh, no!" Dave was emphatic. He looked at Kathy. "Remember back on the fish when Reggie, Sir Gawain, asked us if the IIEA knew what was in the water? He asked us if they were mining the mountains and then he looked tellingly at Bess and Jerry. They knew then what we know now. And they knew that if the IIEA found out, they would strip mine these mountains. Hell, they'd tear apart the whole planet to get at this stuff. No, for the same reason the people in the fish didn't tell us, we can tell no one about this place."
"Reggie didn't tell us because he didn't know if he could trust us," Kathy declared. "He left the decision up to the E'meset." Then she turned to face Le'ha. "He left the decision up to you."
"Kathee, you are a nine'ana Hopeerlun E'meset, and you are my arensa, my sister. Of course, I trust you. I trust both of you."
Kathy paused a moment as the gravity of those words sank in. Le'ha trusted her with the very existence of her planet.
Kathy then asked, "Sister, tell me, what happened to us all a minute ago? Do the stones bring on hallucinations or induce unconsciousness? And how is it we SUBs were also affected?"
"Kathee, you and the SUBs are not metal all the way through, are you? You must have a heart."
"No heart, but elements of our original brain are a major component to our cybernetic brains."
"I hear, but do not see your words. Sister, nothing here touched you. Lu'aya must know your heart before help is given. You were entered by the spirit of Lu'aya and you were found good. The first Ukse, those who came in the fish, were not found to be good."
Kathy squinted at Le'ha a moment then asked, "With Wilmington stealing and killing to acquire your essences why has Lu'aya not seen his evil?"
"The Wilmington Hopeerlun has not been here. But none need enter his heart to read him. Lu'aya has found his heart."
"Then why does not Lu'aya stop him as he did the first Ukse?"
"Kathee…Lu'aya sent us you. Lu'aya told us to look and see…to seek and find."
Kathy paused a few moments then stepped forward and took Le'ha's hand and whispered, "I have found something. Something I've never had before, and I found them here…on your world. Le'ha, I now have both love and friendship…and in a very real sense, I have you to thank. Le'ha, we are going to stop Wilmington, or we will die in the attempt."
Le'ha knelt and hugged Kathy again. Tears were in her eyes. "My people must know that as they are fleeing our lands in fear…you brave few are fighting for them."
"How many can you call on to help us?" Kathy asked.
"I have these three hands and more. I have ten hands a handful. All are Mets-so and Mets-sa. All are brave, and will be good So torrie, you say fighters of war."
"We say soldiers," Dave replied, "or better, warriors. And if I read you right you have five hundred thirty warriors available."
"Warriors. This is a new word for us, Dave."
"Le'ha, I am so sorry we gave it to you."
"So, what's our next move?" Zolna asked.
"That's an outstanding question, Zolna," Kathy remarked. "First thing I'm gonna do is promote you to sergeant, effective immediately."
Zolna lit up like a Christmas tree. "Ah…thank you ma'am."
Kathy looked to Dave. "Well, honey…what are we going to do now?"
"When we left New Roanoke, the mission was survival, escape and evade, in short to run away," Dave observed. "But with this…this miracle, the situation has changed, all of our wounded are healed, and thus our fighting strength increased. I propose we drop the plan to travel all the way south to the factory. Now we need to get away from here in such a way that Wilmington won't see us leaving the cave. Not that I think he could find his way through that labyrinth we passed through, but I don't want him to even know it's here. I'm sorry now we left the vehicles where we did.
"I have no doubt Wilmington is still out looking for us - he's dogged if he's anything. And he's probably got the majority of his force with him.
"What we have to do is draw him farther away from the city then pop up in his rear and get back into New Roanoke before he becomes aware. And with Indra's help, we take the city back.
"Just like
our own Bios, Wilmington's mercs can't remain outside forever. He's going to need food, water, and his respirators will eventually need replacing."
"Sounds like a plan," Kathy agreed.
"Yeah," Zolna shouted, "if we have to go down…might as well go down swinging."
"That's the spirit, Sergeant!" Dave said.
"I was being facetious, sir."
"Dave," Kathy asked, "how do you plan to draw Wilmington away from here?"
"Simple, our E'meset friends go out into the forest to get Wilmington's attention, make a big show, and Wilmington will follow. He has to destroy us or his world comes to an end. The E'meset move fast and can disappear if they have to. Once Wilmington is far enough away, say near the ruins of the village of Vahn'Ha Poh, then we make our move back to New Roanoke."
"That might just work," Kathy replied. "But the E'meset will be in a bad place once the mercenaries catch up to them."
"Then we will not be caught," Le'ha proclaimed. "My people will do this thing while your people go back."
"Wait a minute, sis. Have you stopped to think—" Kathy started to object.
"Honey," Dave stopped her, "they know the forest and can vanish like ghosts. They'll be fine."
"But—" Kathy was struggling. She knew the plan was a good one, but she feared for the E'meset, particularly for Le'ha. Wilmington was mounted on vehicles, and he had air support.
"Kathee," Le'ha laid her hands on her shoulders, "we know how to hide from Ukse eyes. Do not be afraid."
Kathy looked at Dave. "I'm going with her."
"Excuse me?" Dave was thunderstruck.
Kathy took him by the arm and led him aside. Whispering low enough that not even a SUB could hear her. "Baby, I can't ask Le'ha and her people to do this for us without sharing the danger with them."
"Then I'm coming too," Dave insisted.
"Who are you leaving in command of the CDF?"
"The general—"
"If you haven't noticed, the general is feeling his age, and so he's looking to you. Dave, I have to do this, and you know it."
"No, you don't. It doesn't make any sense. Le'ha, of all people, will understand our desire not to be separated."
"And what about the rest of our new allies, what will they think?"
"Kathy, I've been looking for you all of my life. Now that I've found you…just don't go getting lost in the woods."
Kathy kissed him, and they returned to Le'ha. "It's decided, I'm coming with you."
Le'ha looked from Kathy to Dave then back again. "You Ukse are a very strange people," she commented, shaking her head as she'd seen the Ukse do.
○O○
Kathy discussed the plan with Le'ha and asked for suggestions.
Le'ha looked at Dave, "I will send with you Koma, a member of my hunt for many rains, he will show you how to return where you entered and—"
"Le'ha, I'm sorry," Dave interrupted, "is there another way out? I'm afraid the mercs may have found our vehicles by now and might be there to welcome us."
"Yes, Dave, there is a way. Koma will show you," she looked down on Kathy. "My sister, we will go for long times this way through ancient tunnels. Then we will come up and go into the village of Vahn'Ha Poh…or all that is left of it. Here did the village elders die protecting the children from the first Ukse. Here we will call to the Wilmington Hopeerlun, and when he arrives, we will be gone."
"Dave," Kathy said, "when we arrive at Vahn'Ha Poh we'll start a fire and ensure its smoky enough to be seen for some distance. That signal will tell you we made it to the village and get Wilmington's attention, as well. That'll draw the mercs away from you, then we can both head back to New Roanoke as quickly as we can. I'll see you soon, darling."
Dave took her into his arms and kissed her. His embrace was firm, strong, and comforting. She knew he did not want to let go and she did not want to be released. His kiss was gentle and filled with trepidation. He looked into her eyes and whispered, "Be careful."
"I will; you too," she replied softly. "I love you."
Slowly, Dave relaxed his grip and let her go. He looked up at Le'ha and asked, "Take care of her for me."
"I will take care of my sister for you, Dave," Le'ha smiled and turned. Kathy turned, but looked over her shoulder at Dave. She walked alongside Le'ha and together the two began their mission of deception.
○O○
Kathy walked along side Le'ha for several kilometers in silence. The only sounds were the light footfalls of the thirty So torrie E'meset that followed behind them through the cavern.
Kathy was lost in her thoughts, thoughts of a life with Dave here on Antyllus. Will we live together? Perhaps he'd want to be married as Cassie and Mitch are? What if he wanted neither marriage nor joint domicile? What if he wanted joint domicile without marriage? No, if he wants me, he is going to commit and marry me. That’s final. Decision made, she said to herself.
Le'ha broke the silence. "You and Dave have mated?"
"Say what?" The question took Kathy by surprise.
"You and Dave, sudamine. You are nine'ana, Dave is Kariecardy. Do not Hopeerlun E'meset nyadah when in sudamine?
"Oh, brother…I'm starting to better understand you. Let me answer you like this…we have brought each other great pleasure, but we have not touched."
"Oh, sister, I understand you less," Le'ha replied.
"It's difficult to explain, Le'ha."
"No, sister, nyadah is easy to explain. When my Hondar lived, he and I went many times to the soft blue fields and there he would embrace me, and I him. His lips were like—"
"Le'ha!" Kathy stopped her. "I'm sorry, Le'ha, but you see, Dave and I have not yet lain in the soft blue fields, and… Let me ask you a question. Your people call yourselves E'lawvat E'meset, what does that mean in my language?”
“In Ukse it means the living people. Doctor Milnor told me your word is survivors. This we became after the war with the first Ukse, those from the fish. Before them, we were called, Cea Ahnato E'meset, the blessed people."
○O○
Dave, Koma, the nearly seven hundred CDF, and all their equipment started out in another direction into a tunnel whose path was taking them decidedly upward. At points, the ascent was nearly vertical, requiring them to rope all the heavier equipment up.
Dave was amazed at the strength and dexterity of their E'meset guide, Koma, who had voluntarily accepted a large, heavy, cumbersome load in addition to his own items—a native weapon, a rifle he had procured during the fight against the first Ukse, an Earth weapon, and additional ammo for both. Despite his load, the E'meset clambered up the stone face of the cavern's walls with ease.
The Bios, too, showed a remarkable strength and endurance. There could be no doubt this was the result of the blessing of the water.
As they got closer to the surface, Dave noted rainwater from above trickling down the walls, making the stones slippery and the vertical ascent that much more hazardous.
The climb was long, arduous, and muddy, but at last they arrived at an end of the tunnel. It ended in the side of an enormous sinkhole, a perfectly circular vertical shaft. The top, a hundred meters straight up, exited directly onto the surface, but the bottom was not visible even to Dave's eyes. This sinkhole was a big one, over sixty meters across. On the opposite side, Dave could see where the tunnel continued, but he could see no way across this chasm.
From above, a variety of large vines draped down into the sinkhole all hanging close to the walls. Dave saw no way to use them to swing across.
He looked at Koma, "Now what? Climb up these vines?"
"This place is Rayqua Coy; it was here before the world was born. In distant times, it demanded a sacrifice of flesh and bone. Without this sacrifice Rayqua Coy would devour the world. But Palotu Ayanya, he who brought order to fire, killed Rayqua Coy by sacrificing himself. He made his own body to burn and he jumped into the jaws of Rayqua Coy. Inside the beast, he fought with the soul of the great devourer. He embraced it and together th
ey burned, and so did Palotu Ayanya burn out the evil that threatened the world."
"That's a great story Koma, but how do we get across this thing?" Dave asked.
Koma adjusted the weight on his back and, without warning, he leapt forward, grabbing a vine two meters to the right of the opening. Hanging on to the vine, he walked as far to his left as he could, then grabbed the next vine. He got around to the opening on the opposite side where he beckoned Dave to follow.
With this many people and all this equipment, Dave knew this was going to take quite some time.
○O○
Kathy and Le'ha both saw the light ahead of them growing brighter as they advanced. They entered into a section of the cave that made a wide sweeping turn to their right. At its end, they saw the opening. The cave exited from under a massive stone, a mountain unto itself—a single rock perhaps the size of the great pyramid in Egypt. The opening was almost completely concealed behind a vast array of vegetation. Beyond the wild growth, Kathy could see the remains of the village of Vahn'Ha Poh. All about were what must have once been wooden structures with thatched roofs, now destroyed.
In the center of the village was a handful of stone buildings, not the least of which was a temple twenty-eight meters tall. The creeping arms of the forest already had a firm grip on the abandoned edifice.
The rains had recently stopped. Le'ha lifted her head and took a deep breath. "I very much love the smell of the forest after the rain. Can you smell it, Kathee?"
Kathy activated her olfactory sensors. Instantly, she received a breakdown of all elements and compounds in the air, then the scents came through. Le'ha was right. The air was like perfume. Kathy had missed such odors and decided to leave her olfactory sensors activated.
"Le'ha," Kathy indicated the mountain behind them, "the cave will be our rally point."
In response, she received a look of incomprehension.
Kathy tried to explain. "In the event anyone gets separated from us, they come here where we can find them. If we have to, we'll go back the way we came. Make sure everyone knows, will you?"
They moved into the ruins some meters to the north and east of the temple. Everyone began to gather wood in order to construct a bonfire. Kathy and Le'ha climbed to the top of the temple and looked west. It was from this direction that they anticipated the enemy would come. First the V-tols, then the foot soldiers mounted in their PCs. The old road was just visible below the hill on which the temple sat. It could just be discerned stretching off toward the west as a thin break in the vegetation.
The Vampires of Antyllus Page 35