Shanna

by Bill Nolan

  “You did me a favor, you know. If I had stayed here, I don’t know for sure what would have happened to me, but I know I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be Tovena. I still blame you, because you sold me into slavery, and you had no part in the chain of events that freed me. Now I have a better life than I could have had here, but that happened because of Robert Allen, not you.”

  There was a knock at the door. “Please let my friend inside,” Kamci said, in a voice that sounded more like an order than a request. Joff opened the door.

  Chofma stepped into the little room. He nodded to Joff, who stepped back a few steps. It was a common reaction. Chofma has a more muscular build than the average among the To’Ach’an, and he adds to it with a shaved head and general demeanor. He is overtly threatening in his appearance. “Well, Kamci,” he said in the To’Ach’an language, “I just wanted to make sure you were OK. It looks like you have things under control.”

  Kamci replied in To’Ach’an, “Thanks for checking. I’m about done here.” She switched back to Empire Common. “Well, I’m going now. I don’t know when I’ll see any of you again, so take care of yourselves. Oh, and Joff, if you sell any of my other brothers and sisters, someone will be by to settle up with you. I mean it.” She was through the door before her parents were really sure the conversation was over.

  Chofma turned to face Joff. “You’d do well to listen to her. Robert Allen loves her like a daughter, and so do the rest of us. She had enough unhappy times before we met her, so if you do anything to make her unhappy again ― well, let’s just say it would be a mistake. You understand me, don’t you?” Joff just nodded. Chofma took a step toward him. “You really should answer me when I ask you a question. You’re not being deliberately rude, are you?”

  Joff’s voice was almost a croak. “No sir, I didn’t mean to be rude, and I understand, sir.” Without another word, Chofma was out the door and gone. He found Kamci waiting for him around the corner.

  “Well, how did it go?” Chofma was genuinely concerned. He knew how hard this had been for her to do.

  Kamci grinned at him. Although his question had seemed casual, she knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. “I’m fine, really. You don’t need to worry. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I had feared. You know, my dad used to terrify me. I used to have nightmares on Wotara about him coming to beat me.”

  “Had any of those dreams lately?”

  Kamci grinned again. “Not since I came to Shanna. If I were going to fear somebody it would make a lot more sense to fear you, or Robert, or someone else in Shanna. Now there’s a rough crowd. People cringe just hearing your names, but I’ve never felt that way about any of you since the first few minutes I was there. If I’m not going to be afraid of you or Robert, I’m surely not going to be afraid of Joff.”

  “He’s just a bully, and you’ve gotten too big and strong to bully. Besides, I don’t want you afraid of me, Kamci. I have some other emotions in mind. There’s no hurry getting back to Shanna. We could take an extra couple of hours.”

  Chofma’s first attempt to get her onto his bed had been the day she turned sixteen, and he hadn’t been the only one that day. His approach was characteristically direct. He didn’t play games or get coy. He just asked. He made the same suggestion regularly, and had never shown even a touch of irritation at her refusals.

  Kamci had told him she couldn’t do anything without Robert’s permission, thinking it might discourage him. She had forgotten how impossible it is to frighten a To’Ach’an. Chofma had just asked whether she would prefer to call Robert herself or have him do it. So far, she had resisted her urge to say yes, although she wasn’t sure why. She liked Chofma a lot, and some of the other women reported he was great fun to be with in that way. She made a decision.

  “Alright,” she said, “But you’ll have to call Robert. I still have to get his permission.”

  When they were back in the skipper, Chofma used the comm to contact Robert on Shanna. “Well, Robert, Kamci has agreed that we can take a couple of extra hours getting back to Shanna, but she needs your permission. Here she is.”

  Robert smiled at Kamci. “Are you sure? I need to hear you say it.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “OK, but take it easy on him, and see Crylth or Podara as soon as you’re back in Shanna. I’ll tell them to expect you.”

  An hour later, Kamci couldn’t understand why she had waited so long. What a waste. She said as much to Chofma, but he just laughed. “You weren’t ready before, that’s all. Today you were. I was prepared to be as patient as necessary.”

  Over the next couple of weeks, several other men in Shanna made the call to Robert. Kamci was making up for lost time. In the To’Ach’an culture, sex is a recreational activity, and they like to play. Among the To’Ach’an (like the Empire, and many Earth cultures, such as England), the age of consent is 16, but in Galactic years, which are about two months longer than Earth years. Before that, a boy or girl is untouchable, but most To’Ach’an girls and boys lose their virginity on their 16th birthday. (Earth equivalent age is a bit less than 19 years old.)

  Unlike many cultures, virginity has no special significance, and monogamy isn’t expected. To’Ach’an don’t have children by accident, and the bond between two who are chosen is a mental one. It is not compromised by recreation with other friends.

  Sisters and Other Conflicts

  Jane was quite surprised to hear from her sister Jenny. The call came after they had been back almost two years. Jenny was a couple of years older, and had never gotten along with Robert. In fact, she had tried her best to convince Jane not to marry Robert in the first place. Once the To’Ach’an had opened Earth for trade, Jane had called her a couple of times, but the conversations were always brief. This time it sounded like she really wanted to make up.

  “Hi, Jane, how are you and Robert doing?” Without waiting for an answer she went on. “Jane, I’m sorry about the distance between us. A lot of things have happened, and a lot has been said, but I’d really like to put all of that behind us. I’m holding a family party, and I’d really like you to come. Will you come? It will be this Saturday at 4:00. Please come.”

  Jane didn’t really have any conflicting plans, and she did want to mend the rift with Jenny. She decided to go. “Saturday would be good for me. I’ll be there.”

  Thanks, Jane,” Jenny said, “It’ll be great. Oh, you know how Tom feels about guns. You’re not going to wear a gun, are you?”

  “No, I’ll leave all the ray guns and stuff at home. I’ll see you there.”

  At the last minute, Leida decided to come along. The party was going well, and Jane was having a great time. Tom seemed to be a little distant, but he and Jane had never really gotten along.

  It was about 6:00 and just getting dark when Jane saw Tom walk up behind Leida. Without warning, he swung a short piece of rope with a padlock tied on the end. It caught Leida right above the temple, and she went down limp onto the sofa. At the same moment, Jenny opened the front door, and three men in military uniforms charged through.

  Jane slapped her e-beacon and was on her way to help Leida when she stopped. Two of the men had rifles, and they were pointed at Jane. The third one had a pistol, and he told Jane to settle down. “Take it easy, honey, and nobody will be harmed. You have my word.”

  Jane backed into the corner between the wall and dining table, and the third man covered her with his pistol. She looked at her sister. “Why are you doing this, Jenny? Why would you and Tom commit suicide like this? You know you’re already dead, don’t you?”

  Tom was the one who answered. “We had to do this, Jane. I’m sorry, but it was the right thing. This gang you’ve joined is destroying our country. It has to stop. That’s why I agreed to help the General here. He promised us you wouldn’t be hurt.”

  Jane was surprised by her own calm. She actually took a moment to consider why she was so calm. She concluded that it was because she knew the three armed me
n weren’t a serious threat to her. That was when she realized deep inside that she was truly To’Ach’an.

  Jane turned to the General, still covering her with the pistol from about 6 feet away. “Is that true, General? I won’t be hurt? You have a painless way planned to kill me? What about Robert? What about all of the others? You can’t kill just one or two To’Ach’an. You know that.”

  The general said, “Don’t worry about Robert. That’s being taken care of right now. Are you going to come along peacefully, or do we have to get rough.”

  Jane laughed out loud. “Oh, I think you’ll have to get rough.” Jane glanced over at Leida. The two soldiers were watching her, but she still looked out cold. Her hand was limp, but was limp in the shape of the sign for ‘ready’. “Come on, General, let’s get rough.” Jane picked up a plate like she was going to throw it.

  As she swung it, both of the soldiers glanced at her to see where she was throwing it. Leida came off the sofa like a broken spring, and the first soldier went down with his larynx crushed. The second was still snapping his head back around when the heel of Leida’s hand smashed up into his nose, driving the bones into his brain.

  As the General swung his pistol toward Leida, Jane went from motionless to full charge in an instant. She never actually made a decision to act, and the people watching her would later say that they never saw her move. She was in one place and then in another, with no time lapsed in between. The General may have perceived the danger, but he had almost no time to react. As his head came back around toward Jane, her left thumb buried itself in his right eye socket, crushing the eyeball. He went over backwards, with Jane on top. Her right hand speared into his other eye, and her right knee smashed into his groin. Her left hand was coming forward for another blow to finish him when Leida caught her arm.

  “Later, Jane. We want Podara to talk to him first.”

  Jane snapped to her feet and went for Jenny. Leida held on to her arm. “Not now, Jane. She’s your sister. Besides, we need Podara to talk to Jenny and Tom, too. Later, if the two of them need to be dead, somebody will handle it for you. Let’s go.”

  Jane looked at her sister. “You are very lucky Leida was here. None but a To’Ach’an warrior could have stopped me from killing you. Now you get to live a little longer.”

  Leida was smiling. She had seen Jane’s face, and she had felt the strength and speed of her. She knew, with certainty, that she had not stopped Jane, and could not have done so. Jane had chosen to stop, and had so chosen while the battle lust was still upon her. Not all warriors could think so well when the battle lust raged. She knew, deep in her core, that if the two of them fought, Jane would win. That was why Leida smiled. She had seen the birth of a great warrior.

  Now they just had to get out of this alive.

  It took Jane and Leida about five minutes to get everybody settled down and into a group ready to move. Only one man, a second cousin, started to make a fuss. Leida looked deep into his eyes, batted her lashes a few times, and murmured, “We are only leaving dead people behind. Are you sure you want to stay?” The stark difference between her words and the seductive way she said them made quite an impression. He decided to come along.

  Podara was in a skipper named Chosante when Jane’s e-beacon went off. She headed in immediately, crashing down through the atmosphere at a speed that broke almost every window in a one-mile circle. Chosante’s sensors easily picked up six Empire Hata class planetary fighters in the vicinity of Jenny’s house. There were also two helicopters overhead which were quickly obliterated.

  The Hatas were a problem. One-on-one, Chosante was more than a match for a Hata, but the six all came up to attack. Chosante yelled to Shanna for backup while she bored into the fray. Podara jinked randomly as Chosante screamed right through the Hata formation. Chosante took a glancing plasma beam, but Podara blotted two of the Hatas out of the sky.

  The other four were waiting for her turn to kill Chosante, but Podara executed a complex barrel-roll outside loop and they missed. She killed another one coming out of the turn and shot toward them. One pilot misjudged while trying to dive out of the way and crashed. Podara got another one, and the last Hata fled. Podara could have pursued and caught him, but wanted to get to Jane and Leida. She was on the ground moments later.

  Jane and Leida were ready, and it took less than three minutes to get everyone inside. Two minutes after that, they were in vacuum. The first thing Jane had done after getting into Chosante was to tell Shanna to warn Robert. “Already done,” was the reply.

  Robert and Jonu had been going into a mall in Tucson when Shanna’s warning reached them, not that it really mattered. Someone had decided that Robert was more dangerous than Jane, so the plan was to simply kill him. A few seconds after Shanna’s warning, two Suburbans screeched to a halt, and six soldiers jumped out of each, armed with Uzi machine pistols.

  It was clear that they had expected an easy kill. Somebody should have told them that two To’Ach’an against 12 ordinary soldiers was like killing baby seals. Their guns were still coming up when the pellets arrived. In less than a second, the 12 were all dead and the Suburbans were burning. Only one of the soldiers actually managed to fire his weapon, but he was firing as he fell, and his shots went wild. One of them struck a little girl.

  Shanna slammed into the atmosphere to provide air cover. There were three military helos closing on the mall, and a heartbeat later, three balls of flaming wreckage were falling to the ground.

  The attacks on Jane and Robert came a few minutes apart, but the actual fighting occupied only a few seconds total.

  The response team from Shanna was on the scene at the mall moments after the firefight. Jonu was covering, and Robert was trying to check the little girl, while her mother was hysterically pounding her fists into his back. He was ignoring her, as his jumpsuit absorbed most of the blows. The girl looked to be about three years old, and the 9mm round had caught her right in the abdomen, shattering her spinal column as it tried to exit.

  Jonu had the response team pick up all of the weapons, what dogtags they could find, and the remains of the trucks. Meanwhile, Robert handled the loading of the child and her mother. They were all loaded into Shanna within three minutes. Chosante arrived with Podara, Jane, and Leida while they were loading. Podara handled the prisoners.

  The response team had put the child into a stasis bag. They were met by Ronal and Maria, who took charge of the child and her mother. The mother was screaming that her daughter wasn’t dead and to get her out of the bag.

  A few seconds later, as Shanna started rising through the atmosphere, she was hit hard by a multi-phased photon blaster, which is a sort of super laser. It was the ship Bankor, and Tocal Kaymorra. Shanna’s shields held, but she had to divert most of her power to defense. She tried firing back, but the demands of the shields and holding herself away from the planet as Bankor forced her toward it left little energy for weapons.

  Kaymorra hailed Shanna. “Tell Robert that if he surrenders, I will let most of his people live. He has ten seconds to decide, and then we will finish you.”

  Robert was watching the transmission. Shanna added, “It will be close, but I think we might make it. We need a couple of minutes, tops.” She was still firing back with what energy she could spare, and so Bankor had to concentrate his shields on the side facing Shanna. When the ten seconds were up, Bankor began firing at Shanna again. Trapped underneath him, in the fierce gravity well of the planet, Shanna’s options were limited, and she was just barely hanging on. Robert hailed Kaymorra, hoping to buy some time, but got no response.

  Shanna shut down air control and all lighting to conserve power, but it wasn’t enough. Her shields were failing, and she couldn’t stop it. She said, “I’m so sorry Robert. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Shanna. It was a good fight.”

  Jane had also begun to feel the power failing in the ship’s systems. She didn’t know how, but she could sense them somehow. It felt like a knif
e twisting inside her own guts. Without thinking, she reached out with her mind, searching for something, calling for help, and she encountered a Presence. She could feel the incredible strength of the mind, and she sensed a vast power held in reserve. She realized he was a star. In desperation, she cried out to him to help, and she heard him clearly in her mind, saying, “Be strong, tiny one. Meyoba says you can. You must be strong. You must be stronger than you have ever been before. This is why you have honed yourself. This is what you have prepared for. This is your time. It’s all up to you.” A moment later, a flood of energy reached her, and a searing pain surged through every part of her body. She felt consumed by fire, and her eyes could not see through the glaring brightness that surrounded her.

  The other people in the control area saw her begin to glow with a fierce, blue-white light, which quickly became too bright to look upon. Jane held out her arms, and tremendous energies flowed from her hands. Shanna opened conductors to soak up the coruscating beams of force, and her shields strengthened – not by much, but enough to hold on. For perhaps a minute, Jane stood frozen as the energy poured through her. The pain was more than she could comprehend, and she fought to stay conscious, but it was a losing effort. When she collapsed to the deck, the incredible flow ceased as quickly as it had started.

  Shanna’s shields started to lose power again when the flow of outside energy stopped, and she knew it was almost over, but as her shields began to collapse, Morkalla and Miko burst out of jump, right over Bankor. Bankor’s shields were concentrated on the planet side, facing Shanna, and Morkalla’s first shot sliced through the nearly unprotected rear of the ship, penetrating seven decks.

  Taken by surprise, Bankor made a mistake. He shifted his shields to the side facing Morkalla. Kaymorra was yelling, “What ship is that? Where did it come from?” Without hesitation, Shanna dropped her shields completely and let herself fall, allowing her to shunt all remaining power to her main batteries. She blasted a 60 foot hole completely through Bankor, taking out the control area, and killing Kaymorra. Bankor instantly surrendered and dropped his shields. Shanna managed to stop her freefall only about 1000’ above the Earth’s surface.