They had no water which was the hardest part. All the transport’s water had been used to staunch a small fire their burners made when Dooley blasted a hole in the hillside. Now they had to trudge down to the lake to bathe and get water for the transport. Since the path was so steep and treacherous, Dooley and Kellac had the job of hauling most of the water. Lorl couldn’t carry the little one up and down the steep hillside safely so they were stuck at the transport, and Kellac thought the steep path was too treacherous for Gema while carrying heavy water bags.
Shortly after the midday meal one day Gema followed Kellac down the steep path. It was narrow, which helped because she often needed to grab onto a branch or trunk. The soil was powdery and the dried pine needles made the slope slippery. She skidded a foot or so and bumped into him. Kellac stopped to steady her, taking the moment to take a deep breath of her scent. Despite the swampy smell in the air she still smelled delicious to him.
“Careful,” Kellac said, his voice soft. He was walking ahead of her since the path was too narrow for two to walk abreast. They continued on down to the lake.
They were going to get more water, but the real reason was to spend a little time alone. Their plan to build a log hut was ruined by the steepness of the slopes around them. Also at night there were some large predators so unless they built an extremely sturdy shelter, nights wouldn’t be safe.
Gema slapped a stinging insect. “We are going to be covered with bug bites,” she warned him.
“It’ll be worth it.” He grinned at her. They had a span of time alone and he planned to make good use it. It had been days since they had been together.
They got to the small muddy beach and Kellac spread out the heavy tarp he’d carried down the hill. Dooley had grinned when he’d found Kellac pulling the tarp out of a storage compartment in the hold. He quickly rolled out the heavy tarp he’d carried down, something the mud wouldn’t seep through easily.
Gema sank down on the tarp and gave him a teasing look that made his heart speed up. She was as excited about some alone time as he was.
“We should keep our shirts on,” she said as he flopped down next to her. “Less bug bites.”
“As long as I can pull yours out of the way.” He was eager to see her, taste her.
Gema slid down her pants and sank back on the tarp. “Get down here and cover me up,” she said.
He did. “Seems like we never have a situation where we can just relax and enjoy each other. Always have to hurry.” He played with a strand of her hair and then brushed a kiss over her full lips. He didn’t want her to feel like he was using her for fast relief or something. “When we get off this planet we will have time. I’ll take you somewhere nice. Luxurious. Where we can spend all day in bed.” While he spoke he stroked her breasts, confined by her bodice. He wished he could take it off but the insects really were unrelenting.
“That would be nice Kellac. Special. But this is special too. Just being away from the transport and alone together is good.”
He kissed her. He knew they needed to talk more. The ship could arrive soon and decisions about where they’d live would have to be made. It was difficult, though, because as much as he loved his family he wasn’t sure how they would accept Gema. He sighed against her neck. Time to think about that later… Right now she was warm and sweet smelling, her kisses showed she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Kellac saw a smudge of mud on her face. The flush from her climax still colored her cheeks, and her eyes caught the light in the dappled sunlight coming through the trees. She was enchanting. “You deserve some place beautiful. Not a grass bed or a tarp on the mud. When we get to New Prague I’ll have my rooms decorated to compliment your beauty. And everything will be soft and sweet smelling.” He slapped an insect on his forehead. “Let’s clean up and get indoors!”
They washed quickly in the lake and Kellac folded the tarp and flung it over his shoulder. “You go first. If you lose your footing you’ll run into me.”
They headed up the steep slope, Kellac careful not to walk too fast and crash into Gema.
There was a rustle from the side of the trail, and then a large brown shape leaped out of the brush. Kellac grabbed for his sidearm, hampered by the tarp which he threw at the beast. He shoved Gema behind him. “Run.”
She crashed through the trees to the side of the path. As the beast charged them, Kellac realized she couldn’t run down the steep path without falling. It was large and hard bodied, with long lethal tusks. Kellac blasted it with his firearm but it didn’t stop, just swerved away. Directly toward Gema. Gema screamed as Kellac roared, firing again. She tripped, slamming into a rock outcrop and then flopped downhill. Panic filled him as he realized she was unconscious with blood flowing down her face. “Gema,” he screamed.
The beast was moving slow. He finished it off with another pulse. Some kind of hairy boar. Deadly. Twice Gema’s weight.
Kellac crashed through the brush and found Gema, unconscious, a bleeding wound on her head, a leg at an odd angle. “Please Starmother, not dead,” he sobbed as he knelt beside her. His hands shook as he felt for her pulse.
Relief flooded him. She lived. How would he get her back to the ship? He took off his shirt and covered her to keep her warm in case of shock and also to keep the ever present insects from feeding on her exposed arms and face.
He hit his com. “Dooley. Dooley! Gema is hurt. Need the first aid kits and transport board.”
To his relief Dooley came right one. “On my way. Where are you?
“North side of path, more than halfway down. Just yell.”
Dooley had a cool head. He remembered to brace her neck before they moved her, just in case. Other than her head she wasn’t bleeding externally, though the way her leg was swelling and bruising she had significant damage there.
“I’ll try to move the bone in place before we put the splint on. It’s inflatable so will keep swelling down. It’ll be easier to do while she’d unconscious.”
Kellac felt sick to his stomach and sat back, breathing hard. “A boar,” he finally said while Dooley worked. “Crashed through the brush right at her. Shot five pulses into it before it was dead.”
Kellac didn’t remember the rest of the afternoon clearly. He and Dooley got Gema inside the transport and Dooley worked on her leg a bit longer. She didn’t wake.
“Why doesn’t she wake?” Kellac asked an hour later, distraught.
Lorl and Dooley glanced at each other. Dooley cleared his throat, uncomfortable. Lorl spoke, softly. “Kellac, the leg we can fix, sort of. But we can’t do anything for head injuries.”
“She’s going to die? But she didn’t roll that far. Maybe thirty feet.”
“She’d not PureGen, Kellac. She’d a bit more fragile. And it all depends on what she hit. How she hit.” Lorl wrung her hands and glanced at white faced Gema, still strapped on the transport board. A dressing had been placed over her forehead and her leg was in an inflatable splint, but that was the most they could do.
Kellac slumped on the floor next to Gema and gently took her hand.
“Healers!” Dooley barked out, causing Lorl and Kellac to stare at him. “‘Herders, Healers, Youngling Teachers, Hunters, Crafters and Rare Foreseers.’” Zh Cle’ nursery rhyme about abilities. Learned it as a child. And it turns out there are true herders, maybe there are healers.”
“There might be healers at the Farradae settlement?” Kellac looked up, hope in his eyes.
“Might be.”
Kellac leaped to his feet. “Let’s go. Lorl, you radio that contact you made and tell them we are coming with a seriously wounded woman of some Zh Cle’ ancestry. Ready the ship.”
They rushed around, securing belongings. Lorl brought her son and his gear from the hold where he played and buckled him into a seat. Then she radioed the Farradae contact,
“Rivier. This is Lorl from the transport on the northern continent.
She had to repeat several times and Dooley got the ship
into the air.
“Rivier acknowledges you.”
“We have a seriously injured member. A young woman with some Zh Cle’ ancestry. We have set her broken leg but do not have the medical ability to treat a serious head injury. We wish to bring her to the Farradae. Will your people help her?”
There was a pause. “Affirmative. We will help. Land on the beach south of the village. We will have transportation waiting to take her to our healing center.”
Within the hour Dooley landed the transport on the white sand beach. Kellac jumped out as soon as the engines were off. Men and women dressed in white moved forward in some kind of floating boat. They entered the transport and secured Gema to a padded board for transport.
“May I come? I will not cause problems.”
They allowed Kellac to accompany them.
“We will bring food and fire to the beach for the rest of your party, but we request that you remain here with your ship.”
“Certainly,” Lorl said.
The medics left with Kellac and Gema. Soon a small group of men came to the beach. The first Zh Cle’ man that got out was tall, muscled but thin, with broad shoulders. In the setting sunlight his hair was nearly the color of the orange sky. His eyes were deep set, piercing and blue green like the sea. The hard beetle-like wing covers on his back were bright iridescent green, and he had a long sectioned tail that ended in a lethal looking barb.
“Lorl of Toph?”
She held Ulric tighter. “I am Lorl. This is my son Ulric. And Dooley, our pilot.”
“I am Rivier.” He said his consonant r with a roll, and something shivered down Lorl’s spine. “We welcome you. By morning we will have arranged for housing for you in our village. We have a number of guest houses for our brethren who live in the countryside. One will be prepared for you. But rest assured the beach is a safe location. You need have no fear of spending the night here.
“Do you have your needs met? We have brought you fresh food, water and other beverages,” he continued.
“Thank you. We are fine. Especially with the food and drink you’ve arranged. It will be a nice change from our packaged meals.”
Lorl had a sudden feeling of disengagement, as if she was speaking in a dream. Was this truly her life? On a beach on an alien planet, chatting with a Zh Cle? Who I find attractive? She scrubbed a hand over her forehead, trying to regain her composure.
“We will leave you to eat and rest. When we know of your friend's condition you will be notified.”
“Um, Rivier?” Dooley said. “I’m sure we will be safe for one night, but we are afraid an enemy ship might be able to zone in on this transport.”
“The cyborgs you told us of?”
“Yes. But they do have another weapon, very deadly one. I wouldn’t want to draw them to your city. We had this ship burrowed into a hillside.”
“Please follow me, Dooley. I want you to give this information to the Grandmother’s Counsel.” He turned and looked straight at Lorl, into her eyes, and she pulled in a sudden breath. “You will be safe, Lorl of Toph. I will leave guards who can assist you if needed.”
“Of course.”
Dooley climbed aboard the float boat, leaving Lorl alone. After a few minutes two men came in a float. They set up a small table loaded it with food, two folding chairs and placed a circular pot with a grate in the sand. They lit the pot and flames danced merrily,
“The flame will last all night, so you can eat without concern for the dark. We will remove the food after you have had a chance to eat. The beach is safe. Our children play here daily.” One of the guards, a middle aged man who looked entirely human, spoke. “Your child can run and play.” He turned and went back to the cobblestone road that ran parallel to the beach.
Lorl peaked at the food. Bread, meats, fruits and vegetables. She tasted several items and was glad the food pleased her palate. “Come Ulric, let’s eat and then we will play in the water.” Ulric’s eyes widened with excitement and she smiled. The poor kid had a hard time playing, stuck on the transport with no toys.
Chapter Thirteen
Kellac sat in a waiting room in what looked like a modern hospital. Surely they could handle a broken leg and a head injury. Or maybe keep her stable until the New Prague ship came. He sat alone while the sun went down. Alone and perhaps expecting the worst news of his life, even worse than when his brother Kaistril disappeared. He dropped his head back against the chair and closed his eyes.
“Sir? Sir? Your wife is out of surgery.”
Kellac registered two things with an equal amount of shock. Gema was out of surgery and—wife. He stood so fast his head whirled.
“Yes, how is my wife?” The term seemed to fit, like a missing puzzle piece. How stupid could he be?
“Gema is doing well. Her leg will be fine, we were able to repair the greater part of the old damage. She will need extensive exercise and perhaps a small surgery at some point to finish repairing that injury.”
“Her head injury?”
“Her concussion was serious. We have applied medical interventions and we believe any lasting damage will be minimal. But she will need to remain in the hospital for several days. She may need to additional medical support, depending on what we find about her memory ability in the days to come. She woke briefly and spoke a few words, her speech was not harmed. A Zh Cle’ healer will remain with her all night, to prevent the injury from becoming worse.”
“How could it become worse?”
“It would not be good if the injury swelled a great deal or bled internally.”
Kellac felt ill. Even PureGen medicine couldn’t regenerate brains. “Is she awake now?”
“She did wake and ask for you. She will probably be in and out of sleep for some time.”
“May I see her?” He could hardly wait.
“Follow me.”
Gema was in a narrow bed, with monitors flashing. Her face was so white her tiny golden freckles stood out. A Zh Cle’ woman sat near her, her hand held just over the dressing on Gema’s forehead but not touching it. The Healer, he assumed. It made him feel comforted. If her talent worked as well as Gema’s herding ability, then Gema was going to heal.
“Are you awake, Gema?” Her eyelashes fluttered when he said her name.
“Kellac,” she said, barely audible.
“I’m right here and won’t leave you. The Farradae worked on your leg. You have a concussion so you need to rest. I’ll stay right here. You’re going to be fine.”
“Hold my hand?” Her speech was a little slurred.
“I will remain here holding your hand.” He brushed a finger over her wan cheek and then across her lips, in place of a kiss. Her eyes fluttered open only for a moment but her lips curved into a tiny smile as he took her cold little hand. She squeezed him gently.
“Everything will be fine Gema. I’ll be right here.”
While she slept and healed, Kellac made plans for the future.
***
The day after arriving at Farradae, as the locals called it, Dooley took the transport back to the forest location. A Farradae flyer accompanied him back to the village. He enjoyed the journey so much on the small solar air boat he made arrangements to spend time at the solar boat shop, learning about the technology and how to fly them.
Lorl wanted the two children still in stasis woken so the Farradae moved the tubes outside her small, white, flower covered house. By morning she could take the children, two sisters, inside to wake in the bright clean little house. Kellac and Gema would move in next door with Dooley, eventually, when Gema got out of the hospital.
A week later Lorl sat on the periphery of the city square near the beach, her son on her lap, her new daughters, four year old Olani and six year old Sola, running in the sand near the water with a group of small Farradae children, some Zh Cle’, some Terran. A cool ocean breeze wafted her face, hot in the afternoon sun. Lorl gave Ulric another sip from the mug of fruit tea, which he gulped down in appreciation.
The forest beyond the city was odd. It scared her. She didn't like wilderness, especially alien wilderness, but there was no reason for her to ever venture into it. Lorl kept her gaze on the village, beach and sea beyond. There was no doubt about it, she was a woman who appreciated civilization. And Farradae was a well organized, prosperous city. Children went to school in the mornings, played or worked with their parents in the afternoons. There was no shortage of food or clean water and medical care was advanced.
Alien Blood (Diaspora Worlds) Page 13