A message appeared on the screen, flashing imperatively, emitting loud beeps.
“What’s it say?” she demanded.
“It’s asking who is using the terminal. Put that operator code in again,” he said, scrambling to his feet.
Carrie typed in the digits but the message and the beeping tone remained the same.
“I don’t think it’s working this time,” she said.
A second message flashed on the screen.
“Unauthorized use of transmitter. Security breached,” he read as a klaxon began to sound.
Hurriedly, he switched off the machines, pulling the lead free of the port.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said urgently.
They shoved the cables into the improvised cases, latching them shut.
“There’s a quicker way out,” said Carrie. “It avoids the main doorway. I picked it up from him.” She indicated the still unconscious soldier.
“We’ll still have to leave by the main gates, though. Let’s go.”
They headed down the corridor at a run, the klaxon wailing like a banshee all around them.
As she ran, Carrie was mentally searching ahead. Suddenly she slid to a stop, grabbing Kusac by the arm and pulling him back against the wall.
A door on their left began to open. She grabbed for her gun, pulling it free and firing just as a Valtegan stepped into the corridor.
The burst of energy clipped the soldier’s upper arm, making him screech in pain.
“Damn,” she muttered, taking aim and firing again. This time the Valtegan went flying backward without a sound. The smell of charred flesh filled the corridor.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, slumping against the wall, the gun hanging limply from her hand. She felt sick to the pit of her stomach.
Kusac, mentally checking beyond the door, shook her firmly by the arm.
War, Carrie, he sent.
Carrie took a gulp of air through her mouth and straightened up, trying not to look at the Valtegan she had just killed.
They waited a moment but neither of them could sense anyone else.
Let’s go, sent Kusac.
They checked visually at the doorway, closing it before continuing their mad dash. Carrie looked the other way as she passed the body. Finally the corridor curved to the left, ending at a metal door. They skidded to a halt. Hearts thumping and chests heaving, they gasped for breath. Over the sound of the klaxon, they could hear the pounding of many feet coming from behind.
Carrie nodded as Kusac glanced quizzically at her. He opened the door.
“Wait,” she said, tugging at his half of the computer. “Leave it,” she said.
He put it down and turned to look through the partial opening. Hearing the gun go off he jerked his head back round. The two cases were smouldering ruins.
Why?
They’re useless now, to us and the Valtegans.
Cautiously, they stepped through the doorway, closing it behind them. A short blast of his gun and Kusac had sealed the mechanism shut.
They stood once more in a corridor of the main complex.
“Where is everyone?” whispered Carrie as she led the way down the right hand side.
“Probably guarding sensitive areas and all the exits,” he replied.
Suddenly, she felt her arm seized by a clawed hand, and she was violently pulled to one side. She lost her footing and swung helplessly round to crash into the chest of a Valtegan soldier.
Nonretractable claws pierced her sleeve, penetrating through to her arm. Then she was released, only to be pulled round to face Kusac, the soldier’s right arm pressed firmly across her throat. Automatically, she dropped the gun, her hands going up to clutch at his arm.
“Drop weapon” hissed the voice almost in her ear.
They both froze.
The arm across her throat tightened.
“Drop weapon!”
The orange light seemed to intensify as the noise of the klaxon began to fade. She saw Kusac drop his gun.
She could hear screams and smelled again the acrid tang of blood. Struggling, she tried to get away from her captors but there were too many. Too many, and they were holding her down, and, oh, God, but it hurt!
A Valtegan face swam into view, one she recognized. But he was dead, wasn’t he? Hadn’t Kusac killed him in the forest?
She blinked, managing to move her head a little and the visions faded. There was no one but Kusac in front of her and there was no blood—yet. This was the Base, not Geshader.
Again she blinked, her senses beginning to clear as she forced the memories back. The fear remained.
Kusac came up out of his crouch, ears laid flat back and tail lashing.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I kill woman now, yes?” grinned the soldier.
“No,” said Kusac with suppressed fury.
“Hands behind head,” the Valtegan ordered, the grin fading.
Kusac raised his arms, overlapping his hands behind his head. “Let her go,” he said. “You don’t need her. You have me.”
“Have both,” snapped the soldier. “New Alien and woman.” He lowered his gun and fired.
“No!” shrieked Carrie, lashing out with her left arm. Desperately, she twisted in his grip, half strangling herself before her right hand found the handle of her knife.
She heard Kusac’s grunt of pain and the sound of him falling as she jerked her knife free, bringing it up to bury it in the Valtegan’s chest.
He coughed, staggering backward, dragging Carrie with him. She pulled the knife free and stabbed him again, this time upward in the exposed throat.
He stiffened, the arm that held her tightening in a spasm before releasing her. The other hand, gun forgotten, clutched at the blade, pulling it free. Blood spurted out and he began to choke, drowning in his own gore.
Whimpering, Carrie backed off, watching as he crashed to his knees clutching his ruined throat. His mouth gasped for air he couldn’t get as he slowly toppled forward and lay there.
A noise from behind made her whirl round.
“Get the weapons first,” said Kusac, his voice taut with pain. “Then get me something to bind my leg.”
“You’re alive,” she said, staring at him.
“He wasn’t trying to kill me,” he said, “just disable me.” He looked down to where both his hands encircled his injured thigh in an attempt to stem the blood. “Which he’s done. It would have been worse if you hadn’t attacked him.”
Still she didn’t move.
“Carrie, we’re sitting targets,” he said patiently. “Get the weapons and let’s get out of here.”
“Yes,” she said, finally moving to retrieve her gun. She stopped by the body and picked up her knife. Blood covered the handle and now her hands.
Carrie, sent Kusac, I need to bind my wound.
“Yes.” She wiped her hands on a fold of her robe and bent down to check the soldier’s uniform. The material was soft enough. Using the knife, she ripped off a strip from the lower edge of his tunic and hurried over to Kusac.
She knelt beside him, cutting part of the strip off to form a pad which she pressed over the gaping wound. The rest of the material she quickly used to bind her makeshift dressing in place. Concentrating on one job was helping her refocus her mind on the here and now.
“Don’t make it too tight,” he warned, wincing as he tried to flex the muscle while she knotted the binding.
She helped him stagger to his feet.
“This is becoming a habit I must break,” he said wryly, leaning against her for support.
“Can you walk?” she asked, handing him his gun.
“I’ll have to,” he said, letting go of her. “Which way?”
“There should be a junction to the left about two hundred meters down there,” she said, indicating the way they had been heading. “The side exit is about another hundred meters beyond.”
“Let’s go.” He staggered a couple o
f steps then collapsed against the wall.
“Gods, give me a shoulder injury every time,” he said, trying to joke about the pain as Carrie was instantly there to help support him.
“Why can’t I feel your pain?”
“The filter I put in,” he said, blinking his eyes in an effort to stop the inner lids closing.
“Let me take some of it.”
“No. I can’t use my Talent in this state. We need you to check for Valtegans.” He pushed himself off the wall, keeping a hand against it for support. He began to limp down the corridor.
“Keep checking,” he said.
They made it safely to the junction and as they turned the corner they saw the side exit ahead of them.
“I’m picking up large numbers of Valtegans outside,” she said, “but we expected that. None around here at the moment. You wait here and guard the junction, I’ll take a look at the exit.”
He nodded, too exhausted by the pain to talk.
Carrie began to edge down the short corridor. On the right hand side she could see a door. She stopped, not sure whether there was anyone in the area behind it or not. There were so many Valtegan presences that it was getting hard for her to be specific.
The door swung wide and without even thinking, Carrie fired a continuous burst through it. She stopped only when Kusac, the skin around his nose and eyes gray with pain, touched her on the shoulder.
“There’s no one alive in there,” he said quietly. “There’re noises coming from farther up the corridor behind us. I’m afraid they may have gotten that door open.”
Carrie lowered the gun and nodded, moving toward the exit.
As luck would have it, the door was transparent. Backs to the wall, they peered through. In the glow of the perimeter lamps, they could see the comer of a low bunker some five hundred meters distant.
“There’s a group of Valtegans out there, round the far corner,” she said, pointing. “Also some on the other side of the building. We’d be out in the open for most of that run.”
Kusac looked at her. “There’s no way I can do it, Carrie. I’m too slow with this injury. Can we reach Skinner from here?”
Carrie activated the wrist comm.
“Skinner, do you read me?” she said urgently into the tiny pickup. “Come in, Skinner.” There was only a distorted hiss.
“Too much interference from the building,” said Kusac. “Check behind us for Valtegans.”
“They’ve found the body,” she said after a moment. “If we get outside, we may be able to reach Skinner on the comm. At least we’ll be better able to defend ourselves from the ones inside. It’s our only chance,” she said, looking up at him. “One way or another, we go together, Kusac. I’ll not be taken alive.”
He nodded slowly and pushed himself upright.
“I’ll need to lean on you until we get out.”
She moved closer so he could put his arm across her shoulders. Briefly, his hand touched her cheek.
She pushed open the door and they edged out into the night, keeping close to the wall. The bunker seemed so near now.
Kusac leaned against the wall and adjusted his grip on the gun.
“I’ll watch the door, you keep an eye on that area,” he gestured to the end of the building.
Carrie nodded, stepping carefully past him. The static from her wrist comm peaked loudly then faded.
“Come in, Skinner,” she said, raising it to her mouth. Again the static peaked and fell. She looked at Kusac and shrugged.
“Leave it on,” he said, turning back to watch the doorway.
She inched forward, getting closer to the edge.
“Here they come,” warned Kusac.
She swung round, dropping low to present less of a target.
The door opened and a Valtegan leapt out, ready to shoot. Kusac was faster and the soldier dropped to the ground.
Pressing his back to the wall for support, Kusac slid down till he was kneeling on his good leg.
A hand came out, pointing a gun in their direction. Carrie’s shot hit it and the gun exploded in a flare of energy that made both of them blink for several seconds.
She moved up behind him.
“They’re coming from the other side,” she whispered before turning round again.
The gun shook in her grip. She brought her other hand up to steady it and took a deep breath.
“Kusac, is there a Sholan afterlife?”
“Huh? Yes. Yes, there is.”
“Take me with you,” she said.
A loud explosion split the night air, the glow visible from where they crouched.
“What in hell was that?” exclaimed Kusac.
Carrie’s wrist comm burst into life.
“Skinner here. Come in, Kusac.”
Carrie looked at her wrist in disbelief.
“Answer it,” said Kusac.
“Carrie here.”
“We know where you are. What’s your status?”
“Kusac’s got an injured leg, he can barely walk. We’re pinned down, with Valtegans on both sides of us,” she said, the relief in her voice audible.
“Stay put. We’re on our way.”
“Keep watching,” Kusac reminded her. “We aren’t safe yet.”
In the distance, they could hear the sounds of fighting.
“The Valtegans at the front have scattered,” said Carrie. “What about those in the building?”
“Still there.”
They listened to the sound of gunfire and energy weapons getting gradually closer.
“Get down!” hissed Kusac, flinging himself down and away from the wall as the door burst open. Two Valtegans appeared, shooting indiscriminately down the side of the wall before disappearing back into cover.
Kusac raised his head and looked around. Carrie lay in a huddle beside the wall. She was much too still.
“Carrie!” There was no reply. He reached mentally for her and was instantly swamped by a blinding headache, but he couldn’t sense her.
Pushing himself up onto his hands, he crawled toward her, heedless of the pain from his injured leg. Reaching out, he shook her by the shoulder. She sprawled limply on her back. Blood darkened the hair on one side of her head.
Touching her brought the confirmation he needed. She was still alive. Pulling himself closer he began to gently feel her scalp with his fingers. There didn’t seem to be any depressions. He glanced at the wall. Several chunks were missing. She’d obviously been hit by some of the fragments.
A noise from the door drew his attention. He looked for his gun and discovered he’d left it behind. Where was Carrie’s? Frantically, he glanced around till he saw it lying beyond her, out of reach. He froze, turning his head as a Valtegan emerged from the doorway, gun trained on them.
The soldier grinned.
Something whanged past his ears, hitting the soldier square in the chest. The Valtegan seemed to crumple in on himself before the force of the impact swept him off his feet, flinging him to the ground.
“Get your head down, Kusac,” came Davies’ voice from behind.
He leaned forward over Carrie’s head, protecting her, too.
There was a muffled explosion followed by a blast of hot air.
“That should sort them out,” said Davies, crawling up to them. “What happened to Carrie?” he asked, catching sight of her as Kusac sat up.
“She’s been hit by pieces of masonry. She’s unconscious, but I think she’ll be fine.”
“Shit. You’re in a mess, too,” the Terran said, looking at Kusac’s leg. He thumbed his wrist comm.
“Davies to Skinner. We need that groundcar over here fast. We’ve got two casualties, neither serious, but they aren’t walking anywhere. I’m at the main building, forward of the bunker on the northwest side.”
“Copy.”
Another figure emerged from the night to join them.
“Hear you need help,” said Hughes, throwing a packet to Davies. “Vanna gave me some field dressi
ngs. You see to Kusac. I’ll check Carrie.”
Quickly and efficiently, Davies removed the saturated wad that still miraculously covered Kusac’s wound and replaced it with a sterile dressing.
They could hear a series of muffled explosions followed by one large one.
“Sounds like they got the groundcar pool,” said Davies.
“What?” asked Kusac, twisting round to look at Carrie.
“We used your explosives to rig some rather nice little bombs. I used one on your friends in the doorway,” he said.
“As well as taking out the main radar installation so that when the Sholans arrive the Valtegans will be blind, the others hoped to have enough left to destroy some of the groundcars. From the sound of it, they got enough of them to set up a chain reaction.”
Kusac turned back to look at Davies.
“You took out their radar?”
“Yep. You heard the first explosion? That was it. Now they can’t tell anyone what’s happening, nor know when the Sholans arrive. And with some thirty groundcars destroyed, they’re going to have a hell of a job moving troops about Keiss.”
Kusac turned back to Hughes. “She’s coming round,” he said, seconds before Carrie began to stir.
Hughes gave him a startled glance.
“How is she?”
“She’s fine. Just a couple of nasty cuts on the scalp and a lump or two. We’ll check her out for concussion when we get her on board the groundcar.”
They could clearly hear the whine of the groundcar’s engines now, and within moments, it came into sight round the back of the bunker, settling down a few meters from them.
Carrie moaned and tried to sit up.
“Easy now,” said Hughes. “You got a nasty bump on the head.”
“Kusac?” she mumbled, looking owlishly around.
“Here,” he said, taking her by the hand.
“Are we safe yet?”
“We’re safe.”
“Time to go,” said Hughes, getting to his feet and picking her up in his arms. She let go of Kusac’s hand.
Davies got up and helped Kusac to his feet, supporting him as he limped the few meters to the vehicle where Vanna and Jo helped pull him inside.
Hughes brought Carrie down to the back of the vehicle to join them and Vanna began to do her own check on both their wounds.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she said apologetically, “but ...”
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