Arnica

by I. Christie

  They heard we were here and gathered at a coliseum in Galu on Octuple, the 4th continent, to find out what we were about. Major Hali and Envoy Boreon met with them.

  It went so bad the group requested that the local authorities protect them from Emperor'sLast Chance and reported them hostile to Arnica. Through secret negations with the monk S'hamatase from Ilo and General Mcarn, Lt. Mcarn took a small group of special forces to remeet with about a hundred of them to find out what went wrong with Hali and Boreon's meeting and assure them we are here only to capture and take back the MS."

  "What did Major Hali say to them?"

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  "He threatened them and their families back home if they did not honor their contract with the colony company that sent them here. He and the envoy are company men for the DeLan family. Hali is an enforcer, a covert agent of theirs."

  "Helgas moon," Alexandra muttered. "I thought the DeLan family name was now defacto in our neck of the galaxy."

  "It was ruled unfair that the entire family be blamed for what a small group had done in their name. However, as we found out, they are going about business with the same disregard for galaxy law. Lt. Mcarn thinks that this is a major investment of theirs."

  "So you've located two trouble makers. What are you doing with them?"

  "And a few more of their agents. Most of them are in sleep. Someone is still stirring up trouble on the ship and tried a few times to get their friends out. Until we have the situation under control shipside, our visits planetside are limited."

  "What about cabin fever?"

  Cpl. Wetfoot shrugged her shoulders. "If anyone wants to visit, they go through the Captain and a review board. A local monk decides where they can go, for how long and of course, if they can go. It's not all that difficult to be down here. You just have to remember the rules; do no conscious harm in thought or deed."

  "Well, the rules sound easy enough to practice, for the colonists too."

  "Well, there's the problem, Commander. Some of the colonists were not nice people to begin with. That's why the general brought SF troops with him. About ten stan years ago, more than a dozen convicts were on their way to the prison colony on Hinterweild. The dozen worked for an outlawed group that were on the DeLans payroll.

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  Somehow, their sleep pods were switched with legitimate colonists on their way to Arnica. It was a slick switch and well planned. So, we have this outlaw group and the religious fanatics, all sent here by the DeLans. It complicates our primary mission to gather the MS and clean up whatever mess they may have made."

  "Helgas moon. What a headache. So, I take it you're with special forces, the SF?"

  Cpl. Wetfoot nodded. "Yes. Lord DeMonte did not trust Lt. Vanstar as your sole bodyguard so our lieutenant made sure someone would be accompanying you wherever you went." She smiled in the dim light.

  Alexander took a deep breath and glanced toward Vanstar who appeared to be waiting. "I see."

  "More than just that, Commander. Queen M'Lu made a special request for you to be allowed free travel, however, no one but a select twenty in the SF knows about it. The message was sent to Lt. Mcarn under FYEO. He was hoping to ask you about it before you left but…"

  "Oh, joy." In the darkness Alexandra stared at the silhouetted figure of Wetfoot.

  "So this group of colonists are a key to a lot of people's plans and they're too stubborn to want to participate in anybody's but their own. The woman, E'l…is there a way for her to get her speech back?"

  "Her voice was restored by our doc but she won't use it. I can't blame her. Every time she escaped from these people, they have always found her, and made each return more torturous. They cannot kill her or physically maim her other than take her voice 315

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  because she carries the hearthstone, but they have been torturing others in her place and not always their own villagers."

  "Hearthstone? You mentioned that before."

  "It's a healing stone, among other things. The holder is the only one that really knows all it can do. E'l won't talk about it, but I think these men are trying to force her to use it as a weapon and she refuses."

  Vanstar joined them. As if by prearrangement, the Corporal left them to watch over E'l.

  "Commander. Have you wondered if we're getting any closer to getting out of this place?" Vanstar scratched her leg and then her arm.

  "Lieutenant, did you get bit by something?"

  "No." In the dim light, Alexandra thought she was blushing. "I'm just…nervous.

  Us not doing anything but walking in the dark and those colonists. Their thoughts are driving me crazy and I don't exactly know how to shut them up."

  "So, no giving back?" Alexandra asked, curious why she had changed her tactics.

  Vanstar shrugged. "I was tempted, but that guide of ours, she suggested I try something else." She scratched her arm again.

  "Bullies are frightened people who let their fear get the upper hand," Alexandra caught the annoyed look Vanstar gave her.

  "Commander, just point me where the job needs to be done. Tell me what the rules of engagement are, and I'll get it done to the best of my ability."

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  "That's what it's about Vanstar, only, some people don't tune their receivers to the right frequency."

  That earned Alexandra an irritated look.

  Gi motioned that it was time to resume their journey. Alexandra noticed that Jer still had not readjusted his pack straps as she had recommended. He was stubbornly leaving them unevenly balanced, which was probably giving him a backache.

  They moved through long tunnels that were both steep and winding, and up and down dark passages of stairs. They lost all track of time and only knew distance in sore muscles and thirst. After an undetermined amount of time, E'l's lamp flicked out, but Gi kept the group moving.

  "What's going to happen when our lamps go out?" Jer demanded, his voice tinged with fear, echoing down the passageway.

  "Your eyes will adjust," Alexandra told him.

  "We're not dumb soldiers that just march until we fall over a cliff or we're dead, you know?"

  "Neither are we, so you fell in with a good group. Unless you're trying to say you are tired and would like another rest." Alexandra thought about how much easier it was to command military personnel when there was dissention in the ranks. She would have a face-to-face to get to the bottom of the soldier's problem before setting down rules. At this stage, it made no difference, Jer and the others still considered women second class citizens.

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  "If that's all that is needed for us to stop," Sys'mara spoke up, "I'll say I'm tired and need a rest…a long one."

  Alexandra lifted her blue light and flashed a light that bounced against the cave wall where the leaders could see it, though Alexandra was sure Gi knew everyone's condition. She could see Cpl. Wetfoot's figure coming toward her.

  "Commander, Gi said there is an opening up ahead. We can set up camp there."

  Cpl. Wetfoot then headed back up the line. She seemed nervous about something and was constantly walking from the front to the back of the line as if afraid someone may be lost.

  Alexandra found that interesting since that was something she would expect more from Vanstar than Cpl. Wetfoot. That made her study Vanstar's back as she plodded on. She was not even snapping at the men to stop their complaining. Was she adapting?

  The opening was a breeze way that connected four tunnels. Water could be heard off in the distance. Gi found a stash of logs and kindling. She pulled two cuts of wood out, much to the dissatisfaction of the men.

  "We only need it for cooking," she explained as she readied the fire for their meal.

  Alexandra had retreated to an intersection where t
here was only a faint breeze, carrying the scent of flowers. She closed her eyes and evoked a protection circle around her, asking for the guardian of the cave to assist. She needed to feel Gari's presence.

  She recognized Gari but she had changed. Their connection was strong but someone was interfering with it. Suddenly it was disconnected. Gi was quickly at her side.

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  "You must not contact your mate," she told her in a low voice. "There are some who will use your connection to hurt you and her. Only touch her when you are in a temple protected by the High Priestess."

  "Where is she?" Alexandra asked softly.

  "She is helping some people flee from their imprisonment by colonists from your galaxy. She is underground looking for a way out. But she has a Dwarf with her. He shall steer true. "

  Alexandra smiled in the dark at the figure before her. You don't look the same.

 

  "Oh." Her thoughts went over the implications. She felt like slapping her forehead in mock dismay with herself. "Our thoughts," she nodded. They all needed to change their way of thinking. Well, if she lost connection to Gi she had Cpl. Wetfoot's generations of mining experience genetically imprinted to guide them to an exit.

 

  I should have figured it out before it got to this. The difficult part is to lift the

  mood without causing further animosity.

  Rather than pushing on, Gi noted the group's exhaustion and set up a small camp.

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  Alexandra and the group slept restlessly. For Alexandra, it seemed like every soldier that had been in her command and died on her watch had something to say to her.

  Wearily, she rolled to her feet and went to join Vanstar who was huddled near the fire.

  "Gawds but I don't want to be a channeler," she muttered as she dropped near Vanstar.

  Vanstar merely grunted, seeming to be caught up in her own issues. "Damn place.

  We need to get outta here before I go screaming up the tunnels and throw myself into an abyss."

  Alexandra glanced at her, her own discomfort forgotten. "Can you hang in there for a few days more?"

  "A few days? I can't even figure out what time of day it is…night, day, noon or is this the same day, maybe we only think we're passing through time."

  That was uncharacteristic of Vanstar. Alexandra studied her profile in the flickering light. "Hmm. You have a point there. Since this planet has their own way of going about their business and meting out justice…"

  Wetfoot was in the corner speaking to Gi who was listening more than speaking.

  Gi had the group breaking camp shortly after a liquid breakfast. The men grumbled loudly at being rushed; however, Gi kept a fast pace, taking advantage of the path that was flat. The first of the men's lamps went out about five standard minutes into their walk and then the other two quickly followed.

  "Wait! Wait! We can't see!" a panic stricken Jer's voice incited the others to loudly shout out their fears.

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  "Stop!" Alexandra commanded. "And be quiet!" she added in a lower voice as Jer's excited shouting echoed up and down the tunnels. There was another noise echoing, and it was not from Jer's yelling.

  "What…what is that?"

  "Creatures of the mountain," Gi told them unworried.

  "We don't know what's down here. We should not have come with you! You don't even have the right equipment!" Amonic told her angrily.

  "What equipment might that be?" Vanstar asked curious about their fear.

  "Guns, weapons that can kill whatever lives in these tunnels," he explained.

  "Whatever lives in these tunnels it's their home, not ours. We are just visitors or trespassers, depending how they see it. We can't just start shooting at…" she let out a few expletives. "Where did you get the gun, Jer?"

  Vanstar quickly confiscated it and frisked the others. She found small knives hidden in their boots and one other gun that was not allowed on Arnica. "Can't trust civilians with weapons." Vanstar turned to E'l. "Got anything?"

  She shook her head but Lt. Vanstar searched her anyway. She found nothing.

  "Let's get this understood right now," Alexandra began in a soft voice. "We are visitors here. I'm leading this group, which you chose to follow, so you will abide by my rules. Now, I will give you about twenty stan minutes to let your eyes adjust to the darkness, then we move on. The guide to walking in the dark is to put out a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you. If you need a privacy break, either Lt. Vanstar or I will make sure you don't go astray."

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  A loud screech silenced the group. Then a high pitch keening sound came from Jer.

  "Shut up! I can't hear from which direction it's coming," Lt. Vanstar barked.

  Whatever it was, it came rushing down the tunnel at them, first hitting them with a choking odor, then knocking E'l down. Cpl. Wetfoot picked E'l up and pulled her to stand beside Alexandra while Vanstar yelled at the men to gather with them but they were pressed against the wall. The four women were attacked again as the energy seemed to be focused on them.

  Alexandra was momentarily taken back by the familiarity of the dark cloud of despair and anger. While the fear from those around her escalated and fed the cloud, Alexandra repeated a mantra that calmed her. Cpl. Wetfoot and then Vanstar chanted it until the cloud dissipated.

  "What in bloody moon was that?" Lt. Vanstar asked angrily, glaring at the men who rose from their corners slowly and hesitantly joined the women.

  "Where's our guide?" Cpl. Wetfoot asked concerned.

  "It went for her first," Vanstar commented. "Commander, do we look for her or wait here for her to reconnect with us?"

  "I say build a fire. It will scare that demon thing away," Jer contributed.

  "There isn't any kindling around here," Alexandra pointed out. "Why don't we continue up this tunnel and see if we can find another one of these grottos where Gi had been finding kindling stored. We may find her there waiting for us as well."

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  However, whatever had attacked them was waiting at the next opening where by the gusts of wind and sounds it was a large cavern opening. It started by brushing against each of the women, knocking them into the wall. When it came to E'l, it knocked her to the other side and by the sounds of it, she landed somewhere with a splash. The continued splashing indicated she was still alive.

  "Commander?" Cpl. Wetfoot asked over the ruckus of the men's shouting.

  "Go after her, Corporal," Alexandra ordered.

  The soldier jumped off the edge of the path and landed with a splash. Just as she leaped the dark energy dissipated.

  "Corporal?" Alexandra leaned over the ledge she found with her feet. Vanstar kept a hand on her elbow to steady her.

  "We're okay, Commander! But there is no way back up. Nothing to grab onto."

  "I'm not jumping in the dark into any water!" one of the men stated firmly, as if guessing what Alexandra was going to suggest. The other men agreed quickly.

  "The river is strong. We'll get out where we can," Wetfoot's voice echoed up to them.

  "Carry on!" Alexandra affirmed, and turned to Lt. Vanstar and the men. "This may be the same river we keep crossing. If so, we may meet them further on. Let's get going. Hopefully we'll meet up with them soon."

  Vanstar grabbed Wetfoot's pack that she had discarded near the cliff edge.

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  The men started up the tunnel quicker than they had previously been traveling.

  Alexandra held back, tou
ching Vanstar's sleeve in the dark.

  "You want to say something to me, Commander?"

  "Have you noticed some interesting things about that dark cloud that keeps after us?"

  "Commander, I can't see anything in this darkness much less a dark cloud," she reported exasperated. "I just know that something kept knocking me down when I was trying to run interference for the civilian. I feel like I've been run over twice by a Vic tractor."

  "I don't feel that bad but certainly bruised. What it is, is a form of energy …and it was directed primarily at E'l."

  "Energy? Like formless?" Vanstar returned impatiently. "Can't you come up with something I can wrap my hands around?"

  "Maybe that's what we don't do…fight it. I know that doesn't make sense, especially since E'l was passive through the attack and she got dumped in the river."

  Alexandra sighed to herself. But maybe that is the better route…the river.

  "I'll tell you what I did notice, whatever it was did not even go near the men,"

  Vanstar pointed out.

  "I noticed too."

  "I don't trust those guys about anything."

  "So, let's join them and see if we can pick up the others. I don't want them to be there first."

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  As they moved further away from the river they could hear mutterings echoing in the tunnel. Then suddenly shadowed shapes appeared before the two soldiers.

  "Arrhhg! Bloody damn demon shifter! Ya nearly scared the life out of us!" roared one of the men. The other two joined in angrily, shouting so the echoes became agitating.

  Alexandra wondered what scared the men back toward them. She really believed that the energy was created by their thoughts. It seemed kind of strange for the men not to be aware of this when they had been living on this planet for over ten stan years. Would it go after them as well? If it did not have anything to feed off it would. She remembered the black cloud of energy that used to follow Alan Fermin around and what had happened to her when she chose to ignore it.

  "That's the first time you three have moved so fast. You actually left us behind,"

  Vanstar answered sarcastically.

  "Is there something further up that we need to worry about?" Alexandra asked.