“There's all sorts of things I can do you don't know about,” I joke, taking the steering wheel from him. “Relax, call the Queen. I'll be good to you, Jensen.”
Where the heaven and stars did that come from? Flirting with him? It must be the adrenalin of the fight; I've always been a bit loose lipped when it comes to the rush of fighting. Still, Jensen gives me a smirk back and sits down on one of the narrow seats behind me, taking out his communicator. “Jensen to Audra.”
“Where the heaven and stars have you been? You had me worried!”
“Sorry, had a little problem with the locals. We're pursuing Ambaris and Tauria, heading out towards the river. They may have another man with them, a 'fat guy,' we were told.”
“Jensen? It's Tauren. Mogar and I have been coordinating here, that's probably Cassell. Local law enforcement in the Narrows says that he's been running drugs through the area, and he's an ex-slaver.”
“I'll say,” I mutter. “Bastard was one of the biggest in the capital, and I don't mean his waistline.”
Jensen looks over at me, nodding. “Seems Kelbara knows the name. Also, I have a report that Ambaris said something about codes. Any idea?”
“None. We'll check it out. Hunt them down, Jensen. Tauren out.”
Jensen puts his communicator away and gives me a look. “Who's Cassell?”
“Like I said, ex-slaver, bigger bastard. He ran a lot of stuff with Ambaris through the Narrows. Cassell always was in excess of the legal limits on the number of slaves he was keeping, he knows how to hide people. If he and Ambaris have hooked up, we've got a problem on our hands.”
Jensen nods, then gets up. “Then let's catch up as fast as we can. Push the throttles as much as you dare.”
Chapter 4
Jensen
When we go around the bend and enter the main river, there's no sign of Ambaris' boat, and I get up, stretching before I check my powerlance. The Gauss rounds and tracker darts are fully loaded still, but my batteries are half gone, this model of powerlance was designed for battlefield use, where plasma charges aren't as useful as they are in tight quarters.
“Is there a power point on the control panel?” I ask Kelbara, who I see is steering with just her left hand. I look more closely, and see that she's wounded, her tunic sleeve is ripped on her right arm. Anger flashes inside me, and I slam my hand down on the side of the boat, upset. “What happened?”
“I just got scratched during the fight, that's all,” Kelbara says, but I can see whatever it is hurts her badly. “Really. And yes, there's a power point.”
“Then have a seat. I'll plug this in, then we're going to get you patched up,” I urge her, controlling my frustration. Where'd that come from? I've had people hide wounds from me before, I've never gotten this upset about it. “I think the boat owner put a medkit under the passenger seat over there.”
Kelbara turns the controls over to me and I set the boat to stay in the middle of the now hundred-meter-wide river, full sensors going the whole time. I also reduce speed a little, I know it might not be the best choice but I can't take care of Kelbara and steer at the same time. Finally, I find the power point, it's slightly damaged but I've stuck powerlances on worse, and jiggle around the connection until the charge light comes on. “Well, at least that's set. All right, show me where it hurts.”
I go over and kneel in front of Kelbara, helping her off with her armor so that I can take a look at her arm. I can't see much with her tunic the way it is, so I take out the bandage scissors from the medkit and cut the sleeve away, exposing her well-muscled arm to me. She might be tiny for a Tamarian woman, but there's a reason she's strong.
“This is deep,” I chide her, cleaning away the blood that's covered her from the middle of her bicep to the elbow. “Another half centimeter, you'd be looking at surgery.”
“It's fine,” Kelbara says, trembling as I hold her by the elbow and clean the wound, hissing slightly when the antiseptic hits the wound. “I'm fine.”
“Bullshit,” I shoot back, my look stern. “Kelbara, you're hurt. Now hold still, and stop trying to be a damned tough girl.”
She goes quiet, saying nothing as I finish cleaning the wound and apply the wound sealant and the skin regeneration cream before winding a bandage around it, tying it off. “I... I'm sorry.”
Her voice is rough, and I look into her eyes, seeing that somehow I've hurt her. Also, her eyes are pretty, big and green, they light up her face which is somehow a lot more delicate and feminine than the way she acts, or the muscular arm that I'm still holding. “Kelbara.... why didn't you say you were injured?”
“Because growing up, I wasn't allowed to say I was hurt,” she finally says, pulling away from me. She gets up and goes to the other side of the boat, watching the water slip by as she loses herself in her memories. While she does I check on the boat's systems, calling up Tauren.
“Tauren, this is Jensen, come in please.”
“I'm here Jensen. Have you found them?”
“No, we're following as best we can. I advise sending hover patrols or satellite observation of the river, in case they turned the other way. Kelbara says that Cassell knows this area very well. Also, she was wounded getting away from the docks, you might want to send some patrols through there to remind them who is in charge.”
Tauren chuckles, and I understand. For most of the time I was the leader of the Resistance, I was always the 'nice guy,' at least as much as Tauren knew me. For three months, I've worked with him to try and bridge the gap between Tamarians and humans, to find peace in the streets. And here I am advocating a show of force. But Tauren doesn't know all of my internal history, or some of the things I had to do before he and I met. “I'll send a company of Guard down. Is Kelbara all right?”
“She'll be fine, she's a tough trooper. I will check in when I have information, Jensen out.”
I close my communication link and look over at Kelbara. She's still staring out at the water, and I feel bad. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. “Kelbara?”
“Yes?” she asks, not looking at me.
“Come here, please. I'd like to talk, and I don't know how to turn on the autopilot on this thing.”
Kelbara gets up and comes over, stepping behind the screen that shields the pilot from the wind. “Yes?”
“I wanted to say I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings,” I say, looking her in her eyes and forcing myself to be calm. “That wasn't what I wanted to do.”
“I know,” she says quietly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking down. “It's just that, growing up, Ambaris never wanted a girl, he wanted a boy. So he raised me like a boy in a lot of ways, and that meant I had to be tough, tougher than any of the men who worked for him. I had to be. I had to look out for myself. I didn't have anyone looking out for me, and to be honest, you're the first person to show me any concern. It's difficult for me, I'm supposed to be strong and tough. I'm supposed to be one of the boys, but around you I feel....”
Her words trickle off, and she turns her head to look up at me. I don't even know what I'm doing, I lower my head by pure instinct and we kiss. It's strange, I didn't mean to do this, but my hands move on their own, pulling her tight to me and kissing her harder. The fact is, regardless of what my mind is thinking, my body wants her, and the way she's reacting, she wants me too. Suddenly a bird calls overhead, tearing through the veil of the moment and she steps back, unsure. “Jensen....”
“You're hardly one of the boys, Kelbara,” I tease. “At least, no man's ever kissed me like that. Take the controls for a bit, I need to see if this thing has a toilet.”
I go below the tiny deck, finding there actually is a toilet on this thing, but I don't really need to use it. What I need is to get my head right. I'm in the middle of a mission, to track down not only Kelbara's father but Tauria, both of whom are vital symbols to the Slaver Rebellion. I'm in a boat, in the middle of the river, chasing down a man who was an experienced slaver and mercenary.... and I'm kissing his d
aughter.
But I liked it. I honest to stars above liked it. The way her body felt, firmer than most of the other women I've kissed, those big green eyes and delicate features on her face.... it was nice.
Maybe Audra and Mogar are right, maybe I am attracted to Kelbara. At first, when Audra and Tauren told me they were in a relationship, I didn't tell them, but I didn't approve. I thought that while it might be something for some people, for me to be attracted to a Tamarian.... yet it seems I need to adjust my point of view, and to evaluate my own prejudices.
After the mission. Kelbara and I can talk about this, after we find her father and Tauria. In the meantime, I need to control myself, and her. She's only eighteen, I can understand being eighteen, but I can't let it happen again.
I flush the toilet and go up on deck, finding Kelbara at the controls. When I approach she blushes, a deeper shade of pink that is.... control, dammit!
“So tell me about growing up,” I say to try and distract me from the way her light blond hair is being tugged by the hair, exposing the graceful curve of her neck and the fine line of her jawline in profile. What's wrong with me?
Kelbara blinks and tucks her hair behind her ear again, looking over at me and smiling shyly. “I... for a long time I thought that spending time with my father was just normal. I knew how to strip a Gauss rifle and field clean it by the time I was seven, soon after my mother left us.”
“What happened there?” I ask, sitting down on the small bench next to the pilot's station. I can watch the sensors from here, and that's the reason, not because it lets me look at Kelbara and her compact body.
“I didn't know for years, Ambaris wouldn't tell me. While he had a minor nobility from his bloodline, he'd originally married my mother at least partially because she was from a more established family. Then, when being a Guard officer didn't pay enough, and mercenary work wasn't regular enough, father turned to slaving and slave catching. It made him a very rich man,” Kelbara says, sighing. “It also drove a wedge between him and my mother that ended their marriage. Unfortunately, by then Ambaris had enough money that he was able to threaten my mother's family enough that they were unable to get me away from him.”
“So how'd you learn all this?” I ask, curious. “I mean I doubt Ambaris just told you.”
Kelbara shakes her head, making a curve in the river slowly. “No, I reached out to my mother behind my father's back. I mean, it's not that difficult to find out who I was born to. I'm Kelbara, out of Gwyndolen by Ambaris. Not that hard to figure out, you know?”
I chuckle, nodding. “I guess so. I wish I had that ability. Unfortunately, humans didn't have that sort of right until recently. Right now I'm just Jensen, brother of Audra. It'll take a few generations for my family's lineage to have any depth again.”
Kelbara nods, sighing. “I know. I hated that part of my life once I understood what it meant. I couldn't break away, but I started reaching out to my mother in secret. She told me a lot, but mostly it was a chance to reconnect with her. I've thought of going to see her, but first I wanted to be fully free from Ambaris. I want to... I don't know, atone for the evil in my bloodline. In what I've done, even if I didn't want to do it. I don't want to see her still tainted, that's all.”
I stand up, and without knowing why I put a hand on her shoulder. “We've all done bad things, Kelbara. I have ten years, thirty men who I've killed in the Arena for the Blood Moon Games to atone for. And I don't know how many more that died both in the Resistance and fighting the Resistance, and those over the past three months. We're both soaked in blood, Kelbara. But from what I see..... you're clean to me.”
Kelbara leans into my hand, and I slide in around her shoulders, standing next to her as the sun starts to dip towards the horizon off to our left. “We should pull over, drop anchor for the night,” Kelbara says quietly. “Up ahead are some caves and other hidden areas that Ambaris used when he was slaving. I can find them in daytime, but the night sensors will never see them, and it's been a long time since I have been there, I need daylight.”
I nod, not wanting to let go of her shoulder, but knowing I need to. “Okay. We should check them out. He's most likely picking one of them for at least a little while until he can get a pickup. Go ahead and select a harboring area, and I'll contact the palace, give them an update. Maybe we can get our hovercycles back out here.”
“They wouldn't be any good,” Kelbara says, slowly pulling away. “This area is heavy in halnocite deposits. It's why my father picked the caves and hiding areas he did. All shuttles and other hover based technology has to be at least five thousand meters in the air before it can work.”
I step back and reach for my communicator, impressed. “I knew there was a good reason I asked you to come with me, Kelbara.”
“I demanded I come with you.”
I smirk, turning on my communicator. “Don't tell me you've never heard of reverse psychology.”
“Jerk,” Kelbara mutters under her breath, and I can't help it, I laugh.
“See? There you go using it again.”
Chapter 5
Kelbara
“No, unfortunately while my father has regained some of his lucidity, the drug he was injected with is interfering with his memory engrams,” King Tauren says while Jensen and I share the last of the single ration pack we found on the boat. At least ten years old, it's not much, but better than going hungry. We'll have to waste time tomorrow searching for edible plants or somehow getting supplies if this keeps up, unless we can find a fuel point. “Mogar's trying to help him, but it will be a while. In the meantime, we have high altitude patrols over the entire river in shuttles. I know it's not great, but it's a start. We've also established a checkpoint on the river five hundred kilometers south of you, right before they enter the equatorial zone.”
“We'll find them, Tauren. I understand if you want to keep this under wraps,” Jensen says, chewing a cracker. “Is the capital talking?”
“No, the alarm was internal, and the patrols in the Narrows were explained as terrorist sweeps. The Lancers who went in with you actually did find some slavers to arrest, so that helped. Obviously, the less news we make with this the better.”
“If I may Highness, I disagree,” I interject, Jensen giving me a look of surprise. “Sire, Ambaris knows you want to keep this quiet. And I know Cassell, the man has connections through both the legal and illegal worlds on Tamaria. If you stay silent, Ambaris is going to try to spring it on you as a surprise, it's how he operates, it was his style when he did slave catching operations as well. He lets his prey walk into a trap, then strikes fast and hard. He spent many years without many troops, without many resources, so he had to operate this way, surprise and ambush with a heavy dose of using his prey's mental state against them. He probably sees your silence as you walking into another trap.”
“What do you mean?” Jensen asks, his eyes encouraging. I feel warmed that Jensen's giving me this chance to talk, and swallow my nervousness to continue.
“Right now, King Tauren maintains a high amount of support from not only the humans, but from the lower class Tamarians who felt taken advantage of by the slave owners. And for the more traditional upper class Tamarians, the scene on the palace steps where Joren passed the crown to you still carries a lot of impact. That can all be ruined if Ambaris and Tauria are able to go public before you do. If they can make a statement, a lot of those upper class Tamarians, they're going to have a rallying point, a way to twist Tauria's actions into some sort of legitimate rebellion. And they control the money, more than what the government can do on its own. Who's going to feed all those lower class Tamarians and humans if the rich upper classes stop supporting you, if they tell the people working for them in their factories or in their stores that they're out of work until the government changes? Then, there are some troops who may also feel the same way, sire. Even if ten percent of the army turns to the other side, when combined with the Slavers, that's a powerful fighting force. Jensen
was able to be a thorn in your father's side for years with far less.”
There's silence on the other side, and in the background I can hear a chuckle that sounds suspiciously like Mogar's before Tauren comes on again. “It seems I've underestimated you, Kelbara. I won't make that mistake again. Your wisdom is far greater than your years.”
I can't help it, I'm blushing, and to hide it I chew on my ration instead of replying. Jensen smirks and finishes up his conversation with King Tauren, including a short check in with Audra. “How's my nephew?”
“Why do you keep assuming it's a nephew? You could be having a niece you know.”
Jensen laughs and rubs at his stubbled cheek. In the soft light of the shallow cabin under the control area, he's sexier than ever this way. “Call it intuition, or maybe just I'm hoping. When does the autodoc say you'll be able to get a good prediction?”
“Not for another month, Jensen. So you're going to have to wait, just like Tauren is.”
Jensen hums, chewing on the last of his crackers. I'm glad he took them, I hate the dry, crumbly things, they carry too many bad memories for me. “Okay, okay. Just take care of yourself, Audra. I know how big a heart you've got, but save some of that for yourself and Tauren, you don't have to share all of it with the entire planet.”
“You know I have special places in my heart for Tauren... and you, big brother. I love you.”
“I love you too, Audra. Sleep well, I'm going to see if I can find a place to sleep on this boat. Jensen out.”
Jensen closes the communications link, smiling softly to himself as he does. It's a different look to Jensen than I've ever seen before. I've seen him look heroic, I've seen him in pain, I've seen him reflective. Most of all, when he looks at me he looks slightly perfect. Perfect body, perfect reactions, perfect thoughts with a nice frosty glaze to everything. This time though, he looks warm, introspective, and tender. Queen Audra's lucky to have him as a brother, I think.
Red Planet: The Revolt (Tamarians Book 2) Page 4