Thunder shoved her and Tem-aki, slapped his hand on the top of the nav-stick, and effortlessly shifted it. “Go,” he said. “Do whatever is needed.” She tentatively loosened her grip. His biceps rippled as he applied more pressure. “I can hold it.” Raine relinquished her hold. The stick held steady.
She entered the diagnostic code.
Thunder glanced at Tem-aki. “Restore your circulation, then help Raine.”
Tem-aki shook her hand and flexed her fingers. “What can I do?”
“Go below,” Raine said. “Check to make certain everything is secure.” Tem-aki jumped into the open hatch and landed with an audible thud. Raine blinked away the shock of having the enemy do her bidding, then turned her attention to the analysis stream, which began scrolling across the monitor.
“What can I do?” Brock asked.
“Communicate,” she snapped. Without taking her attention from the data, Raine tilted her head toward the com-unit. Spirit, she’d just ordered nobility!
Brock ignored her offense, grabbed the com-unit and input his code.
Mouth dry, Raine focused on pinpointing the damage.
It seemed like a thousand years, then abruptly the cockpit steadied and the warning lights went out. Thank you, Spirit.
Tem-aki climbed up, a relieved look on her face. Thunder’s grip remained steady on the nav-stick and Brock’s tone was soft as he finished transmitting their location and signed off. To think that she owed her life, and possibly the lives of everyone onboard to the enemy. Except, she could not think of Thunder as an enemy – his uniform, yes, but not the man. Raine swallowed and turned her attention to Brock.
He gave her a lop-sided smile. “Despite all odds, we’re alive.” Brock glanced at Shay, then down at the oxygen level gauge. “Blue ten confirms that Vilecom’s orbit has altered from an inward to an outward spiral.”
Raine studied his solemn expression and understood what he hadn’t said. They had saved the planet, but they would die. She inhaled, imagining that she could already detect the thinness of the remaining air.
“Guerreterran marker buoy scanned,” Nambaba intoned.
“This is Alif Sector.” Relief tinged Tem-aki’s tone.
Raine jerked. Could those be the same asteroids she had pursued the mooncalf through? A glance at Thunder’s single-minded attention to piloting Nambaba through the rocks confirmed that he’d had secondary reasons for helping her control the ship. He wanted to go ‘home’.
Tem-aki leaned forward, her eyes wide, her finger pointing at a large rock. I was in that crevasse establishing the mineral content of this field when you chased the madrox past me.” Her face twisted into a sad smile. “My instructors told me to go to warp and get away from energy-sucking beasts. I couldn’t believe anyone would actually chase one.”
“Guerreterran warriors are taught to run?” Raine echoed before she contained her disbelief.
Tem-aki laughed. “I’m a geologist.” She turned from the screen and studied Thunder. “How did you get my brother’s envirosuit and GEA-4? That mess in the storeroom is the same android he was testing, isn’t it?”
Despite Nambaba’s stability, Raine felt as if reality was spinning out of control.
For the first time since he’d taken over the stick, Thunder’s attention wavered from his course. He glanced at her, confusion in his expression. “GEA-4 is here? I dreamed she dissolved in a shower of fire.” His expression became hopeful. “If we can return to my world, she can explain X-plow-sives and there is still hope of saving everyone.”
Raine frowned. She’d made him a promise and he’d kept his part They had enough air to reach the burned husk where she’d found him, but not enough to leave him there to complete whatever his mission was and get everyone else safely home. She looked at the others. As her mother had walked toward her reclamation, she’d made her swear to protect Shay and Preston. She’d done her best to keep that vow. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “If we turn back, someone can meet us halfway,” Thunder’s jaw clenched and he glared at her. “If I take you there, everyone else will die.” Tears blurred her vision. A possibility came to mind. “Does your ship have enough oxygen for us to wait here for rescue?”
“There is air beyond the shape-shifter’s portal.”
“Ancient magic! “Reed’s awe-filled tone sent gooseflesh rippling over her spine.
“Could we all go there?” Coral asked.
Shay bounced with frustration. “Why is everyone acting so weird? The ship is steady.”
Brock hugged her. “It’s the only way we can all survive.” He gestured to the oxygen level. “The ventilator is damaged and our options are limited.” Shay shook her head in denial; Brock hugged her tight.
Comprehension filled Thunder’s expression. Raine squinted at the air numbers and made a quick mental calculation. “Can we get to this portal quickly?”
He fluttered his hand in a perhaps movement. “I am not certain which rock I was on.”
It was their best chance for survival. “I can find it.” Before she could change her mind, she grabbed the nav-stick and set a course for the desolate planetoid. She peeked at Brock, surprised that he was allowing her to find a solution to their dilemma, but all his attention was on comforting Shay.
“Are there more of the ancients where we’re going?” Reed asked. Thunder arched a brow. Reed frowned. “Do many wear the feathers of glory in their hair?” A trembling finger rose to hover a foot away from one cluster of tiny matted feathers.
Thunder chuckled. “The right to wear the plumage of birds is a right reserved for peacekeepers.” He frowned. “Though I am the only one who clings to the custom.”
Reed blinked in confusion.
“Feature? Birds?” Tem-aki echoed. “On an asteroid?”
He shook his head. “It’s hard to explain, but within two sun risings, you can be with Larwin.”
“Dead.” Tem-aki’s tone mirrored Raine’s worst fears.
Thunder frowned in confusion. “When he loaned me the air suit, he was very much alive.” Tem-aki gasped, then yelped with delight and threw herself into Thunder’s arms and kissed his cheek.
As his arms wrapped around the smaller woman, a jolt of scorching emotion burned through Raine and it was all she could do to keep from yanking Tem-aki off Thunder.
Molars clenched, Raine turned to the control panel and forced herself to focus on their course.
Chapter 28
Thunder stared at the heap of raw rock littering the matte black surface of the planetoid. It appeared even worse from inside the helmet of the borrowed enviro-suit, than it had from Nambaba's monitor. He blinked, but nothing looked the same. Granted, the scene was as desolate as the one he’d encountered when he came through the final tunnel of the Star Bridge, but nothing was the same. Where was the sheer cliff with the cave opening at its base?
He turned his back on the rubble and looked at the stars. They were in a different pattern, too. Thunder gritted his teeth and looked at the ship. Five faces were framed in the monitor, their expressions containing varying degrees of tension. If he didn’t find the tunnel, they would all suffocate.
It was up to him, just as saving Chatterre had been, and still was, up to him. Perhaps if he couldn’t find the tunnel, the dragons couldn’t either. He swallowed the harsh laugh over such a ridiculous thought and turned back to the rock pile. In his peripheral vision, Tem-aki began moving debris aside. Had she found the opening with her magic tool?
When he started helping her move rocks aside, she stopped and gaped at him. “Why are you helping me? Is the path to that tunnel clear?”
“I hoped you would use your box to help me find the place.” His gaze moved to the magic box.
“My tri-corder?” He inclined his head toward the amazing box. She plucked it from her waist and tapped a bump. The small silvery screen blazed teal, then displayed a scarlet sequence of numbers. Tem-aki gasped, moved as quickly as possible, away from the spot, where he felt the mout
h of the cave should be, and then fell to her knees, her posture reverent. She swiped away a layer of black dust to reveal smooth, silvery metal. “I’ve found Larwin’s ship.” Tears filled her voice.
“Your brother is not there. He resides on the other side of the portal.” Thunder glanced around the bleak site. “I cannot find the portal because of the fallen rock. If your box can find a ship…” His voice trailed off. If her magic held the answer, his world could be saved.
Tem-aki sat back on her heels, then slowly stood up. “You find the opening for Larwin’s ship and I’ll try to find your portal.” The clear bubble surrounding her head revealed the doubt in her expression. “Is there any special mineral content?”
Hope waned. “It is only a very long empty tunnel, with fragments of old wreckage.”
“It’s a void instead of solid rock?” Tem-aki sounded cheered. Thunder nodded. “Great! You find the access hatch, I’ll find the hole – that’s your idea of a portal, huh?” He concurred. What had she expected? That they would move through solid rock? “Strange.” Tem-aki shrugged. “From what you’ve told me, we’ll need to rig explosives to close the tunnel after we’re through.”
She grabbed her magic box and began tapping it with her clumsy-appearing glove, then she slowly turned in a complete circle, her attention never leaving the winking silvery face. After several moments, she began walking toward a high pile of rocks. If the tunnel was under that, they were goners. Thunder focused on revealing the sleek skin of Larwin’s ship.
ooo
An hour later, exhausted and low on air, Thunder followed Tem-aki out of the decontamination room, glad that the too-small area with its inexplicable locking doors was behind him. Not that he liked the rest of Nambaba's claustrophobic chambers with their smooth, featureless curved contours that made it difficult to tell floors from walls. He looked away from the bleak rugged rock landscape as Tem-aki peeled off her helmet as if the clasps were as simple as common laces.
How did she make such frustrating closures look simple?
First the climb up Sacred Mountain, then the water world – were the Gods were doing everything in their power to make him feel clumsy and incompetent? He gritted his teeth and resisted the temptation to rip the fabric.
Within a moment, Tem-aki was free of the cumbersome helmet and headed to the main portion of the odd ship, Shay asked, “Have you found it?” Her fear-laced tone reminded him that their efforts affected many.
“We need to move a few tons of rocks..." as Tem-aki's voice receded, Thunder yanked at the fasteners. It seemed to take the ornery things forever to part.
When he joined the rest at the big window, everyone was silently staring at the huge pile of rock. Thunder squared his shoulders. “We’ll need everyone's help.”
Brock turned toward him, his expression solemn. “There are only five environmental suits with enough air to make it through the wormhole.” He clasped Shay's hand in his, and looked deeply into her eyes, then turned to face the rest of them. “Shay and I have decided to return to Kalamar with Preston and help rebuild.” He glanced at the odd lumpy table. “We believe it is the best choice.”
Shay nodded. "But there is enough air in two of the suits for us to at least help move rocks for a while." She cleared her throat. “It is Brock's responsibility to lead Kalamar through this time of change.” She looked up to him, and added, “And I feel it my responsibility to stand by his side.”
“We will wed,” Brock declared.
“But you can't,” Preston gasped. “She isn't nobility.”
“True, but she is the one I love.” Brock looked Preston in the eye. “Without Vilecom and the dragons, everything will change. As soon as the moon moves too far away to make harvest practical, there will be no more eepyllihg and the economy will collapse.”
“That won't be the only change, or the quickest,” Reed said. “Without the moon’s heat, the world will return to ice.”
Brock nodded. “Exactly why Kalamar needs someone to help direct and organize the changes.”
Raine swallowed. “Then we need everyone who is able to suit up.” She bit her lip, then threw her arms around Shay. “Be safe.” Her gaze went to the obnoxious green-haired man. “I'll start moving rocks. It shouldn't be too horrible in low gravity.“She grabbed her helmet and gloves and sprinted toward the door.
Tem-aki, who had just sat down, sighed and got up. “I'll get the things we need out of my brother's ship.” She bit her lower lip. “The planet doesn't sound like it has precision tools and GEA-4 needs repairs.”
Thunder almost argued with her about not having tools, then thought of the amazing ones Larwin possessed, so remained silent. It would be good to see everyone, but he was not looking forward to Larwin's reaction about GEA-4's condition. He hoped Tem-aki could fix her and that seeing his sister would balance out Larwin's reaction over the damage.…He was especially looking forward to feeling land beneath his feet, the fresh scent of pines, the heavy, sweet taste of a pange for breakfast…. In fact, he was looking forward to everything in his normal life, except living alone.
As he struggled to put his contrary helmet back on, he thought about Raine, who seemed happy to leave Preston and Shay behind. While he could understand why she would not miss the green-haired one, he couldn't help wondering if she treated all relationships lightly. His next thought was that he wished he didn’t care.
Chapter 29
Preston and Raine struggled to roll aside a large, cumbersome rock, then turned back to the impossibly huge task of moving the landslide, only to see an empty, blank space, large enough for one person at a time to crawl through. “Do you think that's it?” he asked.
“Only one way to find out.” With that, Raine stooped low and moved into the unknown. It was not any easy passage, but possible. When she got into the actual old mine shaft, it was huge, and she didn't waste any time telling the others that they were one step closer to their new slave-free lives.
Racing to get the supplies they needed, while saying goodbyes to loved ones and friends for what was probably the final time, made everything chaos.
Soon, the five of them were again, standing by the portal and watching Nambaba prepare to catapult away. What would Brock, Shay and Preston find on Kalamar? Would their return make a difference? Raine could only hope it would.
She tried to shrug off her doubts and fears, as she motioned for Thunder to lead the way. When he got in front of her, she realized that he had made a harness out of old webbing and made a sling to carry the android on his back. Anger flared at the way he'd taken her property, but it quickly cooled, when she realized that she had never actually owned the machine. Besides, if he had left it, Preston would have used it for his own parasitical reasons.
Since the passageway was wide and straight, Raine increased her pace and walked next to Thunder, finally able to ask him how he had healed Dalf, and why she had found him in such a desolate place. For over an hour, as they hiked down into the bowels of the planet, the questions and answers flowed, and the deeper they got, the more they unconsciously leaned toward each other. And the happier Raine was that she had saved him as well as the android, but no matter how honest and kind Thunder seemed, Preston's final argument, for her to return with him and Shay rang in her mind. Don't you realize that with Marsha dead, and Brock willing to acknowledge Shay as his mate, that we will become nobility? Isn't that what you've always dreamed of? Why do you trust this – this person? Do you really believe a survivable world exists in the bowels of that ash heap? How do you know the warrior you trust too much isn’t leading you into the bowels of hell? Do you really prefer to be dead or face the unknown?
Laughter from Reed and Coral distracted her mind from the swirling doubts. She looked back at them. Despite their ill-fitting enviro-suits, they were holding hands as they hiked down the long tunnel, and acting like they were having a great adventure as they looked at the increasing number of piles of debris, and joked about the fascinating historical finds they c
ould be making, if only they had the time.
As they moved even deeper, the passage got narrower and dustier, and they ceased to find much debris, but she also began to see where someone had drilled explosives into the slick sides of the old mine, and she realized Preston was right about this being a one-way journey. Raine hoped she'd made the correct choice.
She glanced back at Reed and Coral, who continued to act like they were having the time of their lives. Considering the existence that they had endured since their supposed deaths, this journey probably was a wonderful adventure. Yet Tem-aki, who trailed far behind, also seemed to be dealing with demon doubts.
In a big chamber, at the entrance of a noticeably more narrow area, Thunder stopped walking, and touched the smooth, slippery-looking wall. “This is the Star Bridge.” Raine touched the rock, which felt smooth as an oil slick. Thunder said, “Last year a madrox came this way, in the narrow parts, where it barely fit, the walls look like this.”
Had she just been told what had happened to the dragon Otami's crew had lost? Hot as the beasts were, it could explain why some parts of the walls looked as if a vast heat had softened them, then the scales of a passing dragon had smoothed and altered them.
She cleared her throat, and said, “One disappeared about that time. We kept expecting it to return, like the herd that went missing, but it never did… it happened on Otami’s shift, so I got promoted to chief dragon shepherd over him.” Since her promotion, he had been hounding her and trying to make her look incompetent. Another realization hit her like a fist in the stomach: when she had returned with her own wayward mooncalf, he had manufactured evidence against her, so that she'd been called into HQ. “When I returned with the mooncalf, I guess he couldn’t stand the loss of face.”
Thunder stopped walking and gazed down at her, an odd look on his face. “Who was in charge when we left?”
Thunder Moon: Book 2 of the Chatterre Trilogy (Chatterre Triology) Page 26