Chapter 35
Legatus Giaus Caesar was in the radio room, listening to the chatter between the forts north of him and the events unfolding and wishing he was a part of it when a miles came storming in yelling a report.
He lunged to his feet as the impact hit him; the gate to Patria had been opened by the other side.
He grabbed his jacket and ran out to see what was going on, forgetting to call it in for the moment.
He got to the battlements and took the binoculars from the guard to see the plateau. But he didn't need them; the area of stone was flat except for the gate equipment and sheds. In front of the gate were two strange vehicles, unlike those that had brought the king and his people. Both were smoking. He called out to his men to get them out before the vehicles caught fire or something unfortunate happened to the occupants.
~~~^~~~
Général de brigade Jean Lois Peroit retched in his suit as he clawed the top cover off. They'd been warned that traveling through the gateway was terrible, but that was an experience he didn't want to repeat.
He looked at the lead vehicle and saw a couple of the people inside fall out of the vehicle, vomiting on the cold ground. The French general managed to get control of his nausea with difficulty and climbed out of the vehicle.
Others followed him; they had no choice if they wanted to breathe. Each of the two hummers were packed with people. They each wore Faraday coveralls, shiny from the Mylar. They were supposed to help protect against the worst of the effects. He had no idea if that was accurate or not.
Twelve people had been crammed into each of the vehicles, twice their usual number. Their gear was supposed to come in a truck, but apparently, it hadn't come through. He turned and grimaced. “We …,” he coughed and then inhaled, noting it was bitter cold out.
He finally got things under control and ordered the drivers to move the vehicles and the people to get out of the way of any incoming vehicles. The people helped those who were still struggling with the debilitating effects.
He saw the group of natives coming and grimaced. None of his troops were in any state to put up any sort of resistance. Not that it was apparently necessary; the natives helped them to the side and to sit down.
“The vehicles are dead!” Lieutenant-Colonel Raoul Maurin called out. The driver of the lead vehicle had the hood up; he cursed and kicked the tire and then shook his head.
The general grimaced. “Push!” he said, waving to them. “Them too!” he said when the natives hesitated.
He turned and tried his radio, but it didn't work. He finally went and found a rock and dashed out a quick note, wrapped it around the rock and then threw it through the gate.
“Not as we expected,” the colonel said in French as he came over to the general.
The general shook his head. He took a moment to survey the area. The natives helped push the lead vehicle.
“Put your backs into it!” the sergeant ordered the second group.
Once the area was clear, he made another note and threw it through the gate. A few minutes later two Ma-Deuce trucks came through the gate. The first stopped suddenly so the second rammed it from behind. They skated forward until they rolled to a stop.
He grimaced at that jolting ride as the colonel waved the people forward.
The four people in each truck cab practically fell out of the trucks.
When the colonel came back, he was shaking his head. “The electrical systems are fried. The lead truck's air brakes locked up,” he said with a wave. “The Ryans people, they were right,” he said.
The general nodded.
The eight additional people were not welcome to him. Well, the soldier drivers, yes; the six scientists, not so much. Though he did appreciate the doctor.
He looked over to where a bunch of natives were looking out over the water. He turned and grimaced at the sight of the storm. It was a big one and moving in their direction.
“I think we need to get under cover. Soon,” he said dryly.
The colonel looked at him, then the storm as the general nodded his chin to it, then grimaced. He turned and put his fingers to his lips to whistle, then waved to the men to get them organized.
~~~^~~~
Gaius got the group into the fort just as the storm front hit from the southeast. The energy from the gate had drawn it in; once it was overhead, it turned into a full blizzard with howling winds. He knew they'd be snowed in. He went to the radio room anyway and tried the radio but found it was down; he couldn't hear anything at all. He set a trooper to listen anyway.
~~~^~~~
Doctor Nelly Ramirez worked with the native medic to treat those who were still having trouble with the transfer. Most of the soldiers were all right. It was the driver of the first vehicle and the three scientists that had the most injuries. Two were complaining of symptoms of whiplash from the hit. She checked them over carefully.
That kept her busy while the general and others did whatever they were supposed to do.
She wasn't happy about the mission. She had managed to pretend enough to get on it though; she had been keen to see a new world no matter the risk. Especially with everything going on back home. She had imagined the arrival a bit differently though.
~~~^~~~
The colonel reported that their four vehicles were all deadlined. They had managed to push and tow them to the outskirts of the fort. According to the sergeant, the electrical systems had been fried.
That included their radios. That was a problem; it complicated their already complex mission, the general noted sourly.
“Where are the other vehicles? The ones Ryans brought with him?” Doctor McEntire, one of the scientists demanded. “I thought they'd be here! The RV, the others?” he demanded.
The general snorted.
“What, you just expected them to sit here and not use them?” the doctor said from her place near one of the injured.
“I expected them to have some sort of transport for us,” the sociologist insisted with a sniff.
“For us? They had no idea we were coming,” Doctor Ramirez said stiffly. “As to transport, we can ask. I have a feeling it is going to be local mounts.”
“Local mounts?”
“Yeah. How are your riding skills, Doctor?” she asked humorously as she pointed to the branacks in a nearby paddock. The general looked in the indicated direction and then his jaw worked.
“Personally, I'd rather not emulate Han Solo with a Tauntaun. The winter here is a tad unpleasant. Much like Hoth,” the woman said dryly.
“There is no other transport?” the general asked, turning to the native leader. The man was in an approximation of a winter uniform. When he frowned, the general scowled.
“They don't understand you, General,” the doctor sighed. She turned and asked the question in Latin.
The legatus' face cleared. He shook his head and then explained that there were machines that fly.
When the doctor translated that, the general frowned. “Machines that fly? They have aircraft? Since when?”
“It's in the report,” the colonel murmured, coming over to him as a servant began to issue them mugs of some sort of stew or hot drink. Several of the men gulped theirs down. The weather in the Atlantic was cold but the weather on the alien world was proving brutal. More than one person wished they'd remembered to keep track of the seasons. Only their survival gear and the fact that they were in the crude log fort was keeping them warm.
“Just another thing to lay at Ryans' feet,” Doctor McEntire growled snidely.
Doctor Ramirez shot him a look and then turned away.
“There are aircraft?” she asked.
Giaus smiled. At least one of them spoke his language. He understood a few of their alien words but not enough. “We have made more. They fly near,” he said, making a motion with his hand. “Not here though.”
“Ah.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that they have made more aircraft but the
y don't fly here. Nearby though,” the medic explained.
The general frowned thoughtfully.
“No one is going out in this weather anyway,” the colonel stated. “Personally, I'm not thrilled about flying on a native-built plane with native pilots who had been medieval peasants less than a year or so ago,” the colonel drawled.
“I'm betting none of the aircraft can handle this weather. Landing on ice?” Doctor McEntire said. “You won't get me on that sort of deathtrap!”
“Never mind,” the general said with a shake of his head.
“You are sure?”
“We're sure. I'll arrange my own transport,” he growled, already considering what he had to do. He had to wait for the weather to clear though. “Until then, where can we sleep?”
Giaus frowned as the doctor asked the question. He nodded. “This way.”
He wasn't sure what to make of the new Terrans. He wasn't sure if he liked them or not.
Chapter 36
Kattegat
Siegfried returned to Kattegat and the castle with men and supply train during a clear spell. His aunt and mother had berated him mercilessly over committing himself to that course of action. They'd wanted to write him off, but he was the dominus. They'd bitterly agreed to follow his lead rather than be thrown out. He knew they were relieved when he'd left them again for the capital.
He wasn't sure if his mother wanted to see him again or not. At the moment, he highly doubted it. That hurt. It hurt a lot.
He was committed though, so he had to see it through. It would be all right; he'd be the bridge between the rebels and Zara. He just needed to convince Zara to see reason, to see the proper path and take it with him.
Or, barring that, force her onto the path and reason with her later. She would come around. He knew she was stubborn but she had a breaking point. Everyone did. It was just a matter of finding it. At the least, getting her pregnant would make her more passive. He was sure of that.
~~~^~~~
Stephan was mocking of Siegfried's arrival. Siegfried scowled. “Look, I held up my end. Do you want the supplies or not?”
“Oh yes, of course, my lord,” the drott said mockingly. Some of the guards snickered. Some of the men with Siegfried touched their weapons. Instantly rifles were pointed at them, and the air seemed to chill even further.
“Down,” Siegfried said, reining his mount in with one hand as he waved the men down. “I'll accept the insult, just stand down,” he ordered. Reluctantly, the men took their hands off of their weapons.
“Your Garmr need to learn to heel properly. And they need to know who their true master is. But we'll work on that,” Stephan said, eyeing them. He finally waved them in but took a tithe of goods in passing as they passed.
~~~^~~~
Siegfried complained to the domina about the lout when she met him in the courtyard of the castle. She just shook her head and turned to her steward to have him oversee the unloading.
“You'll want to see the princess?”
“Yes of course. But I want to point out, I held up my word,” Siegfried said, jutting his chin out in challenge.”
She turned and studied him, and then her eyes cut to the men. There was only a dozen but they were there. “So you did,” she said. “Come on, you can get warm and change and then we'll talk.”
~~~^~~~
Zara heard the distant sounds of men outside in the courtyard. She looked out and noted a familiar form dismounting from one of the beasts. So, Siegfried had returned. She felt fresh anger at his betrayal.
She saw him look up to her window but she kept to the shadows so he couldn't see her.
He stared for a long moment and then ordered his men to be taken care of and the supplies on the pack animals unloaded.
She turned away, hugging herself. Despite heat rising from below, the tower chamber was still cold. She could just barely see her breath. Initially, she wrapped herself in blankets. She kept reminding herself that heat rose. The fire in the fireplace was out; she'd run low on firewood and had decided to ration it.
She came to realize that if it was cold in her chamber it must be cold below. She wondered briefly if the rooms below had been abandoned or if the traitors were having trouble gathering supplies. They'd put a lot of men out with weapons. She shook her head.
Once a day she kept up with her yoga and katas. That helped pass the time and it helped warm her up. She remembered something Charlie had said, getting the muscles moving made them generate some heat. It was only when she sat still that the cold sank in.
She did a bit of yoga and even some Pilates but got a bit lightheaded from the lack of eating. She was forced to eventually quit and huddle with her imps under a blanket on the bed.
She was surprised when Domina Rasmussen and Siegfried came. The sounds of footsteps on the stairs were her first clue. She finger-combed her hair to straighten it and then waited on the bed. She made sure her imps were sleeping.
“See?” the domina said, nodding to the woman. “She's fine,” she said. She did stop to examine the princess minutely though.
Zara noted they were both dressed in winter wear despite being indoors. That was interesting. She envied their heavy fur cloaks. She refused to admit it though. It would be nice for them to dig up her winter wear, but she doubted it was anywhere in the castle by now. And she knew better than to think of either of them as nice.
“Princess,” Siegfried said, nodding. “My mother made this for you,” he said, holding out a package. She looked at the basket but didn't reach for it. He hesitated and then set it down on the bureau.
“Nothing can be done about the room? It is cold in here,” he said turning to the domina.
“I have ordered wood but we're short. If you wish to provide more for her, than you can arrange it yourself,” the domina said.
“And food. She looks like she has lost too much weight,” he said.
Zara brushed her forearm in an unconscious move.
“Please, send the food to my people in the dungeon or wherever you are keeping them,” she said quietly.
The domina blinked in surprise at her and then her eyes narrowed.
Siegfried looked from one woman to the other.
“You are that concerned for them?” the domina asked.
Zara nodded. “If it is as bad here as there, then many are in danger if not dead.”
“I'll see to it,” Siegfried said. “It wasn't supposed to happen this way.”
“If you have more food then you can donate it to the cause,” the domina said looking at him.
Zara's eyes narrowed as a suspicion came to her. She was curious if the woman would admit it. She had nothing to lose to ask.
“I'm curious. We knew a local dominus or domina was behind the attack on my convoy. Only someone who could command men could have organized that group. Domina Berg evaded the question; and it was clear when we visited her that she didn't have the resources. But, Augustus found out Sir Petersen had been a border lord to your lands. It was you,” she said, looking at the woman directly. “You were the one behind that attack.”
The domina smirked. "What if I was?"
"I'm just curious. I like to know who my enemies are."
"Then I guess I will keep you guessing," the older woman said nastily. She turned and realized she'd had an audience and then cursed herself for not thinking. She was obviously tired.
Zara glanced at Siegfried. He looked ill suddenly, no doubt realizing who he'd gotten in bed with. "No, I think you answered that question. I have others, but they will keep."
"They'd better," the woman growled as she turned in a whirl of her cloak and skirts and stormed out.
“Coming ?” she demanded from the landing.
Siegfried gave Zara a long look. She defiantly stared back.
“Go, your mistress calls,” Zara said softly.
Finally, his eyes fell. He turned and left without further word.
~~~^~~~
“You must not pay
any attention to what was said there. She was trying to push us apart. I wanted to make her feel some pain,” the domina said as they went down the stairs.
Siegfried followed the woman. He didn't want her falling on him should she misstep. A part of him hoped she did. He wanted to push her, but her soldiers were right behind him and another ahead of her. He knew better.
“I misspoke. I know it now,” she said. “You know how it is; we're all under a great deal of strain.”
He nodded when she looked back at him to gauge his response but didn't commit himself to say anything. His mother had said he should have left the capital and not gotten involved. Now he was trapped, as much a prisoner as the princess was.
Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2) Page 48