Without warning, an ear-splitting roar descended over their heads. Echo shielded her eyes as a colossal spaceship slid by not more than two hundred meters above; a powerful down-blast of hot air almost knocked them from their vantage point.
Back at the tree line, they watched as the vessel settled in front of Ben's ship. At least four times the size of the other tollean craft, the new arrival's sheer weight drove its landing skids inches into the hard gravel surface, it’s bulk dominating the landing field. Everything about it marked it as a capital warship.
The boarding ramp dropped and a handful of aliens disembarked. Two of them crossed to the office, spoke with the guard and then walked in the direction of the mining compound.
“Shit,” Ben cursed under his breath. “My job just got a lot more complex.”
“Serves you right for not leaving someone inside your ship, you know,” Echo said. “Why did you all get out, for the Gods' sake? That was stupid.”
“Yes, you're right, but after months in space, you want to walk about whenever you can, and we thought the place was deserted.” Ben did not mention he had disagreed with his captain’s decision.
“So, you weren't being careful enough.”
“It wouldn't have made much difference. We couldn't have lifted off without re-setting the engine circuits. Even if some of the crew had remained inside, none of us would have left without the others.”
“Okay, so where do we go from here?” Despite Ben's furrowed brow and grim-set mouth, it pleased Echo he could not now sneak back to the camp. For her, the need for him to stay trumped all else, and whilst she understand his impulse to rescue his ship and crew, the plan was never going to work.
“I'll wait until the cruiser leaves. It might only be a quick turnaround. I'll go down later.”
“What if it’s here to take your friends away? They won’t be there.”
For a moment Ben said nothing, peering down at the alien warship, then, “Yeah ... I know.”
Echo groaned, rolling on her back. “You're determined to kill yourself, aren't you? You can't get in and out again without being caught, and where is it going to get you? What about me? Once you're dead, I'm stuck here until I die!”
A single tear crept down her cheek; gently Ben reached across to wipe it away. “I’m not going to leave you here, but this is more important than either of us. There’s a new weapon down there, and we have to know about it. Do you understand?”
Echo did not reply, fighting to maintain her self-control. “I'm going down to the town,” she finally announced. “We need supplies and more food, thanks to you. Come with me. You can't do anything here anyway.” Without waiting for a response, she crawled away into the brush. Ben sighed, and then followed.
Silence hung like a pall over the old settlement as the pair crept through the overgrown gardens at the rear of the buildings. Echo had not been this close for some time, but she was confident they would not encounter any of the aliens. For a few minutes, she squatted by the hedgerows behind her old home, watching and listening for signs of movement.
Located only a short distance from the PX store she intended to visit, the house made a convenient shortcut to the town center. Approached the corner of the structure, she peered towards the road, making sure they were alone. At the remains of the now overgrown herb garden, she paused by her family's grave markers.
Ben noted the paleness of her face. “Your folks?”
“Yes.”
“So you buried them by yourself ?”
“Yes. My mom was inside, and Dad was up at his office. I used a tractor from the mine to bring him here.”
“Whose is the third marker?”
“My little brother. He was in the schoolyard.” For her, finding Robby and her friends had been the hardest moment of all.
Ben looked down at the graves. He knew well how the Tolleani operated: after murdering every human in a colony, they left as quickly as they came. Not needing every planet immediately, they worked on a 'scorched world' policy, clearing each star system and removing all traces of humanity as the war front moved forward.
Echo wiped a hand across her eyes. Turning away, she struck out towards the PX store with Ben close behind, leaving her family in peace.
“What's that?” Ben pointed to a dull grey patch at the far end of the road.
“I burned the neighbours' bodies. I wanted to dig a big grave for them all, but I couldn't drive the big bulldozers from the mine. I gave up on the idea and cremated them instead.”
With the return of the monsters, Echo had feared the ash would betray her presence, but the invaders appeared not to notice. They stayed in the compound, and rarely entered the town.
Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. “At least you gave your people some sort of closure,” he said, wiping her cheek with a finger. “Good job!” He wondered if it had been the smartest of ideas, but accepted that in her place he would have done the same.
The supply depot was one of several public buildings and business houses surrounding the small communal plaza, an open dirt space forming the hub of the town.
At the center of the square, a monument stood in memory of the first miners who founded the community. Now the statue was blasted and broken, used for target practice by the aliens during the initial attack. Years ago, Echo researched it out of boredom; one of those men built the cabin she now called home, and dug the exploratory mine in the cliffs behind it.
At the rear of the buildings, she approached a door hidden by a large water tank. “Stay here and keep an eye out,” she said, entering without waiting for a response.
Inside the deathly silent building, she took a breath of the humid air. The conditioners had failed long ago, and a faint, musty odour of decay filled the room. Thick dust, blown in through door cracks and broken window panes, evidenced her footsteps as she moved about the floor, picking her way through the dim, cavernous interior.
There were things she needed, more so since Ben was now here. She found shampoo, soap bars, a small mirror and scissors, placing them in her satchel with the fruit and vegetables gathered on the way into the town. To those she added safety razors and a shaving stick, expecting Ben might prefer them to a paring knife.
Ignoring the food section – anything remaining there was well beyond being useful – she turned to leave, but stopped when she heard deep, guttural voices from the square outside. Startled, but a little curious, she crept to a front window and peered over the sill.
Nearby, four Tolleani stood in the plaza, turning slowly as they surveyed the buildings. Echo's skin crawled. She detested these creatures to the core of her being, and now they were in her town; she had not seen them here since their return.
One of the intruders was familiar. The distinctive red and green uniform belonged to the camp commandant. Over the last year, he had become the focus of her hatred, for the deaths of her family and friends, and for all the years lost when she should have been making a life for herself.
She did not hold him personally responsible – she had not been close enough to see the alien who shot her father – but this one represented his race, and she had long wished for an opportunity to kill him, or at least try. A voice in her head screamed she had never had a chance like this before, nor would again. Chest thumping, she lifted her crossbow towards the window ledge, and then stopped. Her stomach dropped like a lead weight as a hand rested on her shoulder.
“Not the greatest idea,” Ben whispered as he knelt beside her. “They're armed, we aren't. You want to get us killed?”
Echo slumping to the floor and struggling to get her nerves back under control. “You frightened the life out of me!” He was right, of course. She could only take out one of them before the others reacted. If she tried, she and Ben would both most likely die.
Reluctant to let go so easily, she stole another glance over the ledge. The monsters stood in a small group near the center of the square, the commandant pointing out various features of the town to his co
mpanions, all of whom wore the tollean version of flight suits. Of all times, Echo thought, the monsters had chosen now for a guided tour.
They appeared human-like, and from the distance of the outcrop, she had at first thought them to be so. Close up, the differences were more obvious. Without doubt humanoid, they had two arms, legs, eyes and ears, but their hands had four digits with two opposing thumbs, one either side of two fingers.
Their feet were similar, with one large toe and two smaller ones pointing forward. The second larger digit on each foot, much shorter than the first, pointed out to the side. Both hands and feet had large, black claws. They did not wear shoes, but sandals, form fitted to their oddly shaped feet.
From the neck up, they were utterly alien. Fine, downy hair covered the skin, their faces devoid of emotion, like those of cats. The facial expressions never changed: they neither smiled, nor frowned.
The commandant guided his guests across the plaza to one of the funeral pyres, pointed to the blackened patch of ground, and then raised a finger to the forested hillside, prompting a frightening thought to enter Echo’s mind.
He knows I’m here! A shiver crawled down her spine as a pair of piercing, yellow, cat-like eyes turned in her direction.
Head down, she crept to the exit. Ben followed, closing the door as they left: an open door would invite investigation, and footprints lay everywhere on the grimy floor.
Halfway to the old homestead, a loud voice barked behind them. A tollean guard emerged from behind a storage shed and on seeing them, aimed his rifle and fired. A fountain of dirt erupted beside Echo as the needle blast ploughed into the roadway.
With Ben close behind, she dashed down the path at the side of her house. A second shot hit the front wall, sending dry timber splinters in all directions, and setting the old, worn structure ablaze. Seconds later, a third impacted the herb garden, ripping into the grave of Echo's family.
Her mind screamed in pain as she vaulting over the remains of the rear fence and into the tall grass. Not until she and Ben disappeared through the hedgerows did the firing cease. By the time the guards reached the fields, no trace of their quarry was visible in the tangle of vegetation beyond.
Deep within the forest, Echo collapsed and fought to regain her breath. Her confidence shaken and thoughts in turmoil, she realised now the commandant did know of her presence. The ash heaps were faint, washed away by the torrential rains over the years, but the grey stains still remained, with small pieces of blackened bone scattered everywhere. Echo realised now that she should have cleaned them up.
Ben dropping to the ground beside her, gasping for breath. “Our friend is aware of you after all, it would seem.”
“How? I stay hidden. The fires?”
“You left plenty of clues: those pyres, and your footprints. Whatever else those bastards are, they are not stupid. He added two and two, is all.”
“So, why hasn't he come after me before?”
“Lack of interest, I'm guessing. He doesn't view you as a threat ... can't be bothered chasing you without cause. Waste of resources, maybe. Problem is, the guard saw us together, so now they have twice the reason to come after us.”
Across the valley, smoke drifted up from the town. Echo’s home and the graves of her family, her last real links to this place, no longer existed.
After regaining their breath, she and Ben dragged themselves to their feet and made their way back towards the cabin. Thoughts continued to churn through her mind as they walked. She wondered how she could have been so stupid. The aliens knew of her presence all along, and had done nothing. She was little more than a nuisance to them. Not worth the resources. Not important enough to worry about!
Chapter 07
Later the same afternoon, Echo sat in a shallow pool not far from the cabin. With the over-long rat's nest masquerading as her hair now hacked into reasonable shoulder length respectability, she attempted to scrub away an eternity of accumulated grime. She wished she could wash away her back-planet upbringing so Ben would regard her more as an equal, but for now, the dirt would have to do.
Her mother’s teachings still lingered in her memory. She remembered how to make herself presentable, and for the first time understood why it was worth bothering, now that she had a reason to do so.
The life she always anticipated was a distant memory. Despite her always-high expectations, that future was gone, ripped away by a race of monsters she hated with deep-seated conviction.
Until now, it had always been possible the Tolleani had not confirmed her presence. That had now changed, but they were prepared to ignore her as long as she behaved like a good girl and did not upset them, or until they decided to remove her for some obscure reason of their own.
Echo swallowed hard, attempting to erase the lump in her throat. That she survived only by the forbearance of the aliens infuriated her, but the sudden comprehension of her unbelievable naivety hurt more.
Forcing her knotted emotions aside, she tried to relax. The late afternoon sun warmed her bare shoulders as she rubbed soap over her skin for the first time in months, letting the stream wash away the disaster of the morning. Not far away, Ben appeared on the bank walking deep in contemplation, glanced up, stopped, waved and smiled.
On returning from the town, he had collapsed on the old mattress muttering that after weeks in space, full gravity tended to knock a body about. Once he had fallen asleep Echo thought it safe to clean herself up, but now here he was, watching.
She pretended not to see him until he moved away under the trees. As he vanished towards the cabin, she stole a glance over her shoulder, her face burning from embarrassment. She realising her discomfort was childish; he had meant no harm, approached openly and without hiding, unlike her own earlier adventure.
Crawling from the water, she stretched out to dry, searching her memory for some meaning to today's events. The hope that this man would stay remained strong, but he had other plans. It was strange that his intentions should have such a deep affect on her.
All she wanted, had ever wanted, was to remain safe until rescue. With his vessel lost, and no chance of getting it back, Ben could not help her. Even if the aliens did know she was here, she had survived alone for years and would keep doing so if necessary. She was quite capable of surviving alone, and did not need a man to look after her. The other towns would provide a refuge. Another rescue would come.
In the back of her mind, Echo’s inner voice whispered otherwise. Ben had been clear about their chances. Getting here at all was fraught with difficulty, and unless he managed to retrieve his spaceship and return home, another might not come this way soon. This might well be her only chance to escape this exile, and so far, it was not going well. Perhaps she did need him!
The cabin was no longer a safe haven. The monsters knew about her, and if they decided to take the trouble, they would find the refuge with little difficulty. A guard had died during Ben’s escape, and the soldier in the town spotted him and her together. The Tolleani would come!
In the last twenty-four hours, Ben had done nothing to encourage her, but he was still the only man she had known in years. Try as she might she could not drag her thoughts away from him. Strong, beautiful, and kind, he attracted her in a manner she did not fully understand.
His presence made her happy. Yesterday she laughed for the first time in memory; when he was near, her body responded in ways she found enjoyable, but disturbing. Right or wrong, every time she thought back to the moment she spied on him in the stream, the memory gave her palpitations. Rolling on her stomach, she turned her attention to the hut, spotting Ben just inside the door. For now, her primary concern was to keep close to him.
Once the tollean ship left, he intended to rush back to the mine, and would be caught and most likely killed. The chance for rescue would be gone, and she would lose the first person to enter her life in four years. At that moment, the path became clearer. To hide alone was no longer an option; she would not let him leave her
behind!
She wished Ben would go with her to a safer place, but that was not going to happen. He would not take her with him to the airstrip, but she intended to accompany him as far as the outcrop. If the aliens caught him, and they would, she would go to his rescue. She did not intend to give him up easily.
Assuming the worst scenario, she doubted she had the courage to kill anyone, even an alien. If it became necessary, she would try, but if she failed, it was better to die now than starve later.
In the meantime, his mind might still be changed. There are always ways, her mother often said, for a woman to influence a man's actions. Whatever the outcome, she proposed to try, tonight! There was nothing to lose!
After sunset, Echo sat listening as Ben rambled about his home world. Barely acknowledging the trouble she took to clean herself up, the smile on his face nevertheless betrayed an awareness, and appreciation. As he spoke, she gave her fullest attention, more to the sound of his deep, masculine voice than to what he said.
More than ever focused on the planned mission, he explained his reason for making sure the ship was still serviceable: without it, they would not be leaving under any circumstances. There was no other way off the planet.
“I'll sneak down after dark,” Ben said. “Thirty seconds at the external console will give me all the answers I need, and then I can figure out a proper rescue plan for my crew.”
“Didn't you say your spaceship was broken?”
“Yeah, but we managed to fix it before they grabbed us. It’s almost as if they wanted us to. Everything should be fine now, as long as I can destroy whatever shut us down to begin with.”
“The monsters will be waiting for you.” Echo's stubbornness mounted. “They’ll catch you.”
“Maybe ... maybe not. Only two guards are stationed at the airfield as far as I can tell, and they don't leave the buildings unless they have to. The spaceship crews stay inside. Even though they know I'm out here I doubt they'll post extra sentries. Their mindset is really odd.”
Solitude's End Page 6