The Between (Earth Exiles Book 3)

by Mark Harritt

  They found Matki propped up against a big rock with a multitude of hides cushioning him from the hard surface. Balia and Olmla were both fussing over him, trying to get him to eat one of the Turinzoni prepackage meals. He frowned as he took a bite, but then his frown turned to a big smile when he saw the team walking to him.

  He waved, and put the meal to the side, “Guys, you save me again!”

  Tom was in front, “What’s the matter Matki? You don’t like grey man food?”

  Matki looked at the meal and shook his head, “No, I don’t like them at all. The meals you gave me when we first met spoiled me. I will forever compare any ‘processed’ foods by those.”

  Everett laughed, “Man, there’s a whole bunch of military that would completely disagreed with you about that. Or, at least there used to be.”

  “You’re just upset that the Turinzoni don’t have any M&Ms in their meals,” Mike said, smiling.

  Matki nodded, “There is nothing that I have ever tasted that could even come close to your ‘chocolate.’ It is a disservice to the world that such a thing can never be duplicated.”

  Mickey walked over and squatted down next to Matki, to look at his leg, “Okay, one more time there, cowboy. I’m going to take a look at the leg again.”

  Mickey did a quick, but through, examination, “Well, good news is, I think we can do without this large, complicated mess.” He pulled out some gauze squares and some surgical tape, “It’s healing nicely. I want you to put a square of gauze on when you go to sleep, so that you don’t get dirt on it at night. The rest of the time though, it wouldn’t hurt to let some air get to it.” He looked up at Mike, “Mike, let me have the translator. I got to give Balia some instructions for Matki’s care.”

  Matki looked hurt, “You don’t trust me to tell her.”

  Mickey grinned, “I know you Matki.” He took a finger and waved it back and forth to indicate Mike, Everett, and Tom, “You’re just like these guys. You’re going to push the envelope, and soon, you’re going to try and get up and walk because you’re bored just sitting here. So, I need to tell your wife that you don’t get to get up and walk around for two weeks. And when you do walk in two weeks, you need help to do so. I don’t want you to cause more damage to the muscle when it’s healing so nicely.”

  Jendi spoke, sticking his chest out, “No need translator, Mickey. You speak, I translate for you.”

  Mickey looked at Matki, “Can he do it?”

  Matki nodded, “Oh yes, he can do it. He understands very well what you say. He just has problems speaking, but he can translate for Balia very well.”

  Mickey smiled at Jendi, “Okay kid, you got it.” He started with his list of conditions for Matki’s convalescence. Jendi translated for his mother.

  When he was finished, he looked at Matki, “Did he get it all?”

  Matki sighed, “Yes, unfortunately, he did.” Matki motioned for Jendi to come closer, patting the ground next to him. Jendi sat down next to his father, and Matki put his arms around Jendi and pulled him close so that he could kiss the boy on top of the head. Matki said something to Jendi that Mike couldn’t understand. Jendi blushed, and Balia and Olmla both laughed.

  Matki looked up at Mike, smiling, “I called him my good little traitor.”

  Everett pointed at Jendi, “Looks like we’re going to have another good translator soon.”

  Matki nodded, “Yes, we are. And that is something I need to talk to you about.”

  “What’s up, Matki?” Mike asked.

  Matki looked at his son, then looked up at Mike. He was very serious when he spoke, “You are going to try and free the other villagers?”

  Mike nodded, “If possible, then we’re going to go in and try to get them.”

  “You will need to take some of our hunters with you, then.”

  Mike was confused, “Why do we need your hunters?”

  “Mike, if you go into the slave pens, the people there, the other villagers, will not see you as a friend. They don’t know you. Especially if you are wearing the black suits. In the black suits, you look even more alien than the Turinzoni do.”

  Mike frowned. Matki had a point. The one piece helmets made the security team look like faceless robots. No doubt, the villagers would be afraid of them. They might even try to fight the security team.

  “I understand. You’re right. What do you propose?”

  “Caul and Geonti are used to you, and know your tactics. Plus, you are used to them. They have both asked to be allowed to go with you when you free the villagers.”

  Everett spoke, “Matki, Geonti’s girlfriend is in there. He’s emotionally involved in this. It’s not a good idea to send him in there.”

  Matki raised his hand, “I know, and I have told him this. We’ve talked about what he might find in there.” He dropped his hand back down to his lap, “But, he is a good man, a good hunter, and a good scout. He has a steady hand, and is very good under pressure. He has given me his assurance that he will be, how do you say it, ‘professional.’ Caul has vouched for him as well.”

  Ordinarily, Mike wouldn’t even consider it. But, they had a lot of limitations in this world. Geonti was a known, and more importantly, reliable factor.

  Mike nodded, “Okay, we’ll take him.”

  Matki dipped his head to indicate his appreciation, “Also, I have two more men to send with you. Caul will be in charge.” He put his hand on Jendi’s shoulder, “And, we are going to send our best interpreter with you as well.”

  Mike didn’t like that idea at all. It must have shown on his face, because Jendi’s expression cratered. Mike shook his head, “Matki, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. It’s going to be very dangerous inside the Turinzoni compound.”

  Mike looked at Jendi, “Jendi, don’t get me wrong. You’ve proven yourself to be very resourceful and brave. But you’re still too young.”

  Matki looked at his son, then back up at Mike, “Mike, when you first went into combat, had you ever done so before?”

  Mike smiled, and shook his head, “No. You know that isn’t possible. However, I’d had a year of training before I went to Iraq the first time.”

  Matki nodded, “Mike, there are no other men that I trust more than you and your team. Plus, Caul and Geonti will be with you. I know that Jendi is in capable hands. You will need a translator, though, so that you can train the two new men, and to talk to Caul and Geonti. Let us face it. That little electronic translator has its limitations. And this, it is too important. You will need as much help as possible. Since I can’t go,” Matki spread his hands over his wound, “I’m sending the next best thing.”

  Mike looked at Jendi. Jendi looked down at the floor. Mike knew where Matki had gotten the idea from.

  “Tell you what, Matki. We’ll take Jendi with us, but,” Jendi looked up with hope in his eyes, “I’m not going to take him into the Turinzoni compound with us. He will come with us back to our compound, and help us train there. Then, he can stay with Jen and the others at the compound while we go on the raid.”

  Matki smiled, “That is a very good idea Mike. Is that good for you, Jendi?”

  Jendi nodded quickly, happy just to be a small part of the mission. Balia, however, looked very unhappy. Matki noticed Mike looking at Balia, “No, she is not happy about this, but she understands that Jendi is becoming a man, and has more responsibilities.” Matki paused, “Mike, we,” he motioned to the people around him, “are facing an unknown enemy. I want Jendi to get as much training as he can. From you and your people, and if possible, from Shar as well. Our future is uncertain. The more training he gets, and by extension, the more my people learn, the more likely we are to survive whatever may come.”

  Mike nodded, “I can respect that.”

  He walked forward and offered his hand to Matki, “Well, Matki. I can only hope that I will see you again soon.”

  Matki smiled, “You will my friend. I am not going anywhere. Mickey has made sure of that for me.”
>
  Mickey smiled.

  “Besides, you need to bring my son back to me.” Matki looked around at Everett, Tom, and Mickey, “I will see you all again, very soon.”

  Each member of the team stepped forward to shake Matki’s hand.

  They went back out to the aircraft, and found Caul waiting for them. Caul held one finger up and said, “Soon.”

  Mike smiled. He was going to have to make more of an effort to learn the local language since they were all learning his.

  Mike and the rest of the team figured out what Caul was trying to tell them when Geonti showed up with two more hunters following him. They were introduced as Dind and Leth. You could tell that the two were related. They had similar features, and Mike would find out later that they were brothers, Dind being the older of the two. Even though Dind was older by about three years, Leth was stockier than he was. That was just about the only way that Mike could tell the two apart. Leth and Dind had been two of the hunters that had done the initial scout of the areas for the resettlement of the refugees. Tom met the four at the ramp and cleared their rifles before they entered the transport.

  They waited for their last passenger. Balia, Olmla, and Desci were walking him to the aircraft. Balia was making a great effort to keep her emotions in check, but Olmla had tears running down her face. Desci didn’t care or probably didn’t understand what was going on, and spent the next few minutes running up and down the ramp. Jendi said his good byes, and got hugs from his mother and sister. He walked up the ramp and talked sternly to his brother, who ran back down to Balia. Jendi had showed up with his usual kit, but he had two new additions. He had a Turinzoni knife on his belt and rifle cradled across his arms.

  Mike smiled at Jendi, “Look at you. You’re a warrior already.”

  Jendi grinned at Mike, “I learn, warrior, from you.”

  Tom took the rifle from Jendi and cleared it, then handed it back to Jendi. Jendi walked onto the aircraft, and one of the magazines slipped through his belt to land on the metal floor of the aircraft. Tom picked it up and opened one of the pockets on Jendi’s backpack and put it in there. He grabbed the others out of Jendi’s belt and put them in there as well.

  “So they don’t fall out.”

  Jendi bobbed his head in agreement, and walked over to sit down next to Geonti. Tom made it a point to show the hunters how to set their rifles down, pointing toward the ramp door, under their seats. That done, they were ready to go.

  Jendi looked back at his mother, and waved. Caul called out to Balia. Mike understood what he said this time. Caul had told her not to worry, that we would take good care of Jendi.

  Mike walked up to the front of the aircraft, “Shar, I need the map, please.”

  Shar pulled out the map and gave it to Mike. Mike pinched the corner and waited for the display to load. Then, at that point, he had no choice. He had to trust the man.

  Mike pointed at the map, “We need to go here.”

  Shar looked at the map, and then touched the location that Mike had indicated, and touched their location next. A straight line appeared on the map, with writing above it.

  Mike pointed at the writing, “What’s that?”

  “That is the azimuth we need to travel on.” Shar pointed at a display on the instrument display panel, “I enter it here, and put in the approximate distance, then the display will warn me when we are getting close to the location.”

  Mike nodded, “Okay, how do you zoom in on this thing?”

  Shar put his fingers on the location of the compound, and then slid them apart. The map zoomed in. It was old imagery. Mike couldn’t see any indication of the compound wall, though it was not exactly in focus.

  “Shar, this bowl is our compound.”

  Shar looked at it, “I don’t think it will be a problem landing there.”

  Mike shook his head, “No, I don’t want you landing inside of the compound. At least not initially.”

  Shar tilted his head and looked at Mike, “Why not?”

  “Because there’s a very good chance that they would shoot us out of the air.”

  Shar contemplated that scenario, “That would not be good.”

  Mike smiled, “That’s an understatement. So, what I want you to do, after you locate the compound, is land up here, on this plateau behind the valley. There’s a large open area there, big enough to land your aircraft. Then the team and I are going to try and make contact before we fly down into the valley.”

  Shar looked at the plateau behind the compound, “Actually, that is a good idea. Then I can go forward and look down into your compound and take a look for landing hazards.”

  Mike put his hand on Shar’s shoulder, “You realize that I’m showing you the location where my home is, right?”

  Shar turned and looked into Mike’s face. His expression grew serious, to match the expression on Mike’s face.

  Mike continued, “You know what will happen to you if you betray my family, right?”

  Shar nodded slowly, “I’ve seen what you do to your enemies.”

  Mike grinned, and the mood changed, “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”

  Shar didn’t understand the colloquialism. Mike grinned, circled his finger in the air, and pointed up. Shar nodded, and punched the start button. As Mike walked back to take a seat, Shar suddenly wondered what he had gotten himself into. One moment, Mike could make Shar feel like the man was about to slit his throat, then in the next instance, they seemed like they’d been friends forever. Sometimes it was hard to pin Mike down. One thing Shar knew, though, was that the last thing he wanted to do was cross the man.

  The engines started spooling up, and Mike could feel the vibration through his feet. Balia grabbed Desci and pulled him back from the aircraft. They walked away, and Jendi watched until he couldn’t see them any longer.

  Shar hit another button, and the ramp began to lift. The ramp shut, and then Shar grabbed the controls. Mike felt the aircraft lift off.

  In for a penny, in for a pound. Despite his words with Shar, the man was an unknown quantity. Somehow, Mike didn’t think that Shar was doing this out of the kindness of his heart. There had to be another reason the man was helping them. Hopefully Mike would be able to figure out his true motives soon. Now, however, Mike had no other choice but to trust Shar, and hope that he didn’t betray them. They had no choice. There was no other way to get the old Earthers out of the compound and move them to a safer place, not with the Ancient in the area and more Turinzoni on the horizon. Mike just prayed that he wasn’t leading the Turinzoni to Jen.

  The team had talked long into the night about trusting Shar with the location of the compound. They’d gone over all the pluses and minuses. It all boiled down to the singular reason that they’d started out on this trip, the fact that the location that the compound was in was untenable. It was too dangerous there.

  And now, with Shar and the aircraft, they had the chance to get the entire group out of the old compound, and away to a safer location. They could even do reconnaissance further north to see if there were better locations.

  They could always cut another set of tunnels back into the cliffs. This course of action worried Mike, though, and Everett concurred. Rob had been the structural engineer. Without Rob, there was a good chance that they could accidently bring a mountain down on top of themselves.

  Still, there were other solutions. It wouldn’t be too tough to build wooden or stone buildings. They didn’t want to leave too big of a footprint though. With the Turinzoni in the picture, camouflage would be very important. They would have to find a place that was defensible as well.

  A fixed location was a dangerous idea, though. They could run into the same problem that Matki’s tribe had. They could put all that effort into building new homes, then have to leave them in a hurry. But, they needed a fixed location so that they could set up the fabrication facility. They also needed food, raw materials.

  Mike sighed. He was thinking too far ahead. First,
go home, see Jen. Then worry about the Turinzoni compound. Then, a new home where they could find food to eat. After that, they could sort out how they were going to set up fabrication and the data systems.

  One thing in their favor, though. If they went far enough north, they should have a lot fewer problems with the dragons. Colder climate meant that the beasts would only be a problem for part of the year, and then, probably only the spawn, since they were at a higher elevation as well. But that meant a much shorter growing season.

  Things were getting too damn complicated. There was another layer to all of this as well. The Dostori Rev, whoever the hell she was. Why did she want this planet? Why was she sending the Turinzoni to this continent to enslave the indigenous population? It looked like Mike and the old Earthers had stepped into the beginning of a new war. Or, an old war with a new front. Somehow though, Mike didn’t think it was as simple as that. There was something driving this expansion.

  They needed more information. If they got lucky, when they went into the compound, they could snatch some intel as well. Shar said they had computer systems, or at least, it sounded like they had some kind of computer system. Maybe they could put Bobby, Randall, and Weitz on it. Mike didn’t know if they’d be able to hack the grey man computer system, or, if their systems were even compatible. He’d let the computer whizzes figure that one out.

  Either way, whatever it was, Mike and the team were going to train Matki’s people in guerilla warfare. The Turinzoni may have had it easy against the other tribes, but they wouldn’t find Matki’s people as easy to enslave.

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  Rich sped back through the warren of tunnels. He passed people with quizzical looks on their faces, wondering why he was rushing.