Worlds Apart (Warriors of Risnar)

by Tracy St. John

  Despite the protection from the ground troops below, shots continued to ping off the dartwing. The craft gave a sudden lurch, and the console in front of Anneliese flashed a myriad of blinking purple and red lights. The vessel listed hard to the side, its wing on Anneliese’s right dipping down so that she was almost parallel to the ground.

  “I take it we’re hit,” Anneliese said, her tone casual now that she was in for the worst.

  “We’re going down. Brace for a bumpy landing.” Nex’s voice was as calm and as grim.

  The dartwing flew in an arc, curving down fast toward the grasses that waved as if to warn them off. They would end up on the side of the copse opposite the Risnarish troops trying to defend them. “Shit,” she muttered. It was Afghanistan all over again, except trucks didn’t plummet from the sky. She had a feeling a crash landing would be on par with exploding.

  “Here we go!” Nex yelled.

  Somehow, he managed to level the dartwing out just before they hit. They came down hard, the impact reverberating throughout Anneliese’s body. A flare of pain shot through her lower back. Then the dartwing twisted in one direction, wrenching her. She screamed through gritted teeth as her hip blazed agony. The craft struck something, and it jerked in the opposite direction, bouncing Anneliese’s trick knee against the side of the cockpit. The joint flashed a warning spasm. The pain came close to distracting Anneliese from the sight of a wing snapping off the vehicle. The separated part tumbled end over end above her head, passing close enough that she felt the breeze it made. The damned thing had nearly decapitated her and Nex.

  Wing gone, the dartwing fell on its side and finally quit moving. Anneliese noted the open cockpit faced the grasslands, its belly providing cover against the stand of trees. Then instinct took over. She moved, heaving herself free of the downed craft. As soon as she was clear, Nex yanked his larger body out. They crouched behind the dartwing, looking over each other with wide eyes, making sure they were both in one piece.

  A series of whistling projectiles flew overhead. More pounded the underside of the dartwing. They were alive but far from out of trouble.

  Nex yanked open the longest pouch on his belt and pulled out what looked like a flashlight with no glass or bulb. He popped up and aimed at the trees. White streaks sizzled out of it in a narrow beam.

  “Have you got another of those?” Anneliese yelled when he ducked down to avoid a barrage of shooting.

  “Stay down! I’m a trained fighter.” He adjusted something on his weapon.

  “So am I. Give me a weapon!”

  Nex glanced at a small hatch within the cockpit, which Anneliese hadn’t noticed by her right leg as they’d flown. Instead of saying or doing anything that would arm her, he jerked up and sent another stream of flaring white projectiles at the enemy position.

  Cursing under her breath, Anneliese reached for the hatch and pulled it open. She found another flashlight-shaped tube and grabbed it, making sure she didn’t handle the business end of the weapon.

  She watched Nex fire. He seemed unaware that she’d furnished herself with firepower. After she was sure she understood how to use the weapon, Anneliese poked her head up and noted the dozens of gray-skinned drones emerging from behind the trees.

  How many times had those mechanical bastards tortured her on behalf of their makers, the Monsuda? Anneliese’s lips pulled into a snarling grin. The moment of payback had arrived.

  She brought her weapon up and fired on the front line. With no sight on the tube, she was off by a mile. She adjusted and tried again, taking out a silently advancing drone. It tumbled over, its huge black-lens eyes turning milky white as it started to smoke.

  Nex’s shocked voice rose above the sizzling pops of their weapons. He sounded affronted. “Hey! Women don’t fight.”

  “Your women, maybe.” Anneliese ducked as the drones leveled boomerang-shaped weapons in her direction. Scatter-shot whistled over her head as she said, “How about shutting up and learning how we do it on Earth?”

  * * *

  Nex didn’t know whether to be horrified or in awe of Anneliese as they continued to exchange fire with the steadily advancing drones. He offered no more protests that she shouldn’t fight. If she hadn’t joined in, they would already be dead or captured. Once she had a handle on how her shooter operated, she had deadly aim. It was obviously not the first occasion she’d fought off an enemy. She rarely missed her targets.

  However, the drones were numerous. They didn’t feel pain or fear. Even as several fell, more kept coming without slowing their pace.

  When it became clear he and Anneliese were going to be overrun within a few seconds, Nex told her, “Wide-range burst.” He showed her how to change her shooter’s settings, and she followed suit without hesitation. They jumped up and opened fire again. The spray was wide, taking out more drones at once, buying them more seconds in hopes the Cas warriors would reach them before they were overrun.

  As half a dozen drones went down with each shot, Anneliese whooped with glee. “Now we’re talking! Why weren’t we using this setting to start with?”

  Nex ducked behind the dartwing again to avoid the scatter-shot that was being fired close enough to pierce his armored hide. “The power drains faster. We’ll run out of bullets and accelerant much sooner.”

  He tried to concentrate his full attention on the fight, but more and more, despite the danger, he wanted to watch Anneliese. Cool and calm as any warrior, she responded to the situation with seasoned concentration...and remarkable skill. He didn’t know many Risnarish men who possessed her level of confidence and expertise under fire.

  Anneliese popped her head up during a lull in the scatter-shot and fired a few more rounds before she was forced to duck down again. The pained grimace twisting her face sent Nex’s hearts into overdrive. He thought she’d been hit, but saw no blood. “What happened?”

  “Nothing. Keep fighting!”

  He saw her jaw clench before she rose clumsily to follow her own directive. As she did, Nex heard the distinctive sizzling sound of more Risnarish plasma shooters. They were no longer on their own.

  “Hang in there. Help is coming.”

  “About damned time. I was starting to think I had to save your planet for you.” Anneliese kept firing, though the drones were now turning to the greater threat arriving behind them.

  Nex grabbed her and forced her down. “You don’t want to be taken out by the men who’ve come to rescue you,” he said as the bedlam of full-on fighting burst through the air.

  “Ha! I was just getting started on wiping those walking garbage cans out. Your friends are taking away all my fun.”

  Moments later, the firing stopped. The silence that followed was deafening in comparison. Nex looked at Anneliese. She pretended to yawn.

  She was something else, but he’d been sure she’d shown pain earlier. “Are you okay?”

  “Sure. Let me know when a real fight breaks out, huh?”

  He laughed at her sally, relieved she was fine. He filled with admiration. A woman warrior. She amazed him.

  Though he could have stared at her in awe for the rest of the waning day, Nex peeked instead over the broken dartwing. Striped warriors advanced on the broken, burning remains of the drones. He recognized the largest of the men, a golden and white figure leading the way. “Nex Clauhahz here!”

  Jape Ihucas Bolep yelled back, “You’re clear to come out.”

  As Nex stood, the head enforcer for Cas Village headed in his direction, kicking smoking drones out of his path as he came. To Nex’s amusement, the grin he wore was a match for Anneliese’s. Jape was a born warrior, no doubt about it.

  “Is the Earthling unharmed?” the bigger man boomed. His skin, a true burnished gold color that made Salno look faded in comparison, glinted in the setting sun’s rays.

  “I believe so.” Since Jape wasn’t close eno
ugh for the translator to note, he repeated the question. “Anneliese, are you all right?”

  His hearts froze as she struggled to stand, her face drawn in real pain.

  “Anneliese!”

  “It’s nothing. Just help me to my feet.” She grunted, her teeth clenched.

  Jape came around the dartwing at a run, apparently clued in that something was wrong. “Was she hit?”

  Anneliese scowled at him as she straightened on one leg, not putting any weight on her left side. She shoved Nex’s hands as he reached to help. “I wasn’t shot. These are old war wounds aggravated by the crash.”

  Jape blinked at her. “Women don’t fight wars.”

  Anneliese gave him a look that told Nex she might want to prove him wrong. Since she still held a plasma shooter and there were no more drones for her to use it on, Nex believed it best to move along. Even though he was sure Anneliese would never consider Jape a likely target.

  Pretty sure. She looked angry.

  Nex asked the head enforcer, “Can you provide us transport to the village? Obviously, my dartwing isn’t going to fly us there.”

  Jape consulted the compact palm processor he’d pulled from its pouch on his belt. “We’ll have to be quick. The satellites show more drones are heading in. They’ll be on us within the next five minutes.”

  Nex shifted anxious eyes to the Earthling. “Can you walk, Anneliese?”

  He saw she couldn’t. Not fast enough to get behind the village’s containment barrier before they came under attack. She took experimental steps, wincing with every stride. She had her stubborn face on, however. “I’ll make it.”

  “Let me help.” He reached for her.

  Once again, Anneliese slapped his hands away. “I’m fine. I’m used to this nonsense.” She turned toward the village, the borders of which were half a mile distant.

  Jape stared after her. He said to Nex, “She’s an odd one. But then, I can’t say the other Earthling female made any sense to me either.”

  Nex could see his point. Jeannie had blown up a portal. Anneliese refused help that she obviously needed—and she fought like a man. Strange, spirited creatures, those aliens.

  Anneliese stumbled a little, her knee nearly buckling beneath her. She caught her balance and turned on them both with an irate look, as if they’d been the reason she’d come close to falling. “Are we going or not?”

  She lurched onward, not waiting for an answer. Jape shook his head. “I’ll call in another dartwing for you to use. It’s the only way to move her to the village before those drones show up.”

  “Thank you, Jape.” Nex hurried after Anneliese, determined to force her to stop before she fell and broke her neck.

  Jape snorted behind him. “Earthlings. What a weird species.”

  Chapter Six

  Anneliese was spared the indignity of falling on her face or ass despite her bad leg’s determination to give out on her. A dartwing arrived moments after she’d started for Cas, probably courtesy of the huge golden Risnarish god Jape. He must be a person of importance, judging from how the other warriors call out to him. She was too far to hear what they said, but their speech was delivered in the cadence of questions. She recognized the familiar tones of soldiers asking for guidance.

  Anneliese realized she was being foolish to refuse help from Nex. Pride had reared its ugly head, triggered by the rampant belief Risnarish men apparently held about women not being able to fight. That, along with a couple of other issues.

  The pain and growing lameness of her bad leg pissed her off, making her snarl at Nex and Jape. They only wanted to help. Unfortunately, it reminded Anneliese that she was in danger of being forced to rely on others in the not-so-distant future.

  It was her job to be strong. To protect the weak. Anything less was unacceptable.

  She would have fought the ignominy of being carried by Nex to the bitter end, would have overexerted herself as she had before until she couldn’t walk at all. The arriving dartwing salvaged her mobility and dignity. Anneliese saw no shame in letting Nex pilot her to the medical facility in the temple.

  The temple complex amazed her, and Anneliese insisted on a tour. Nex argued, frowning at how she limped at his side as they entered the smallish structure attached to the massive dome.

  Poor fellow didn’t realize who he was tangling with. Anneliese bullishly countered his refusals, hobbling in what she hoped was the right direction. When it became apparent she was determined to have her way, Nex compromised.

  “I’ll show you the central temple. Then you have to go to Medical.”

  “Great. Astound me with Risnarish wonders.”

  At first, Anneliese was disappointed. Nex guided her to the central temple, around which other smaller domes clustered. The central temple was awe inspiring enough with a vast, open space, but Anneliese gave it only a cursory glance, due to the pain that declared her foolishness in not going straight to see a doctor. The circular central part was delineated by fluted columns that reached from the floor to the ceiling far overhead. The size was astonishing. Beyond that, the temple was rather plain. It could have at least possessed tiered seating or decorative statues—anything to fill up the swath of emptiness.

  “Nice place for a game or party,” she concluded, ready to move along. She needed to find some pain relief.

  “This is where village-wide meetings are commonly held, along with some larger celebrations,” Nex said.

  The view through the dome was incredible, at least, especially when the huge blue planet Nex told her was named Cadi began to rise in the darkening sky. As the gas giant climbed the endless heavens, Anneliese could imagine angels wandering down to stroll between the temple’s alabaster columns, meditating in the quiet space. Maybe she’d stroll, too, and find tranquility once her hip and knee stopped making her life miserable.

  Nex led Anneliese to the connected medical dome. While not coming close to the eternal grandeur of the central temple, the medical dome was impressive in its own right. Anneliese approved of the serene foyer. With its fountain, plush flooring, and artfully scattered plants, it was more similar to the lobby of a high-end hotel than a medical facility. The lighting was a soothing glow. There was a humming sound, the exhale of numerous musical voices, that eased the mind. The hint of antiseptic cleanliness was almost lost under earthier floral notes that encouraged deep, even breaths. The VA facility back home could take a page or two in creating a calming environment like this.

  Nex checked her in with who she supposed was the Risnarish equivalent of a receptionist. The room the brown-white-black-striped female ushered Anneliese into—with no waiting at all—was just as serene. It could have been a spa retreat, if not for a bank of computers along one wall.

  Anneliese and Nex sank into seats on the deep, comfortable bench to await the doctors who were to remove the tracking device embedded in her shoulder. She took the time to appreciate the sedate grass-green walls, flanked with trees where the floor had been cut away to allow for natural growth in the well-lit room. That was, until she realized she’d rather appreciate Nex.

  “Tell me we get to catch our breaths and spend some time together after they finish pulling the tag out of my shoulder,” she said.

  His smile warmed her from head to toe. “I have every intention of it.”

  Anneliese estimated she and Nex had waited all of two minutes, most of which was spent gazing at each other, when two females entered the room. Nex introduced them as Drs. Trez and Irnla.

  Trez was almost as green as the walls, with darker emerald stripes. Irnla was a light beige that was almost Caucasian in its coloration. Her stripes were ivory and deeper brown.

  Anneliese’s curiosity overcame her. Hoping the question wouldn’t cause offense, she asked, “Why are the Risnarish so many different colors? I swear that no two of you are the same.”

  None of h
er companions found the inquiry rude. In a throaty voice, Trez said, “It comes partly from genetics. However, environment plays a large part as well.”

  Irnla nodded. “You will find that most residents of Cas are pigmented in such a way that would allow us to camouflage ourselves in the grasslands that make up our region. There are a wide range of colors in our environment, however. You are right in that no two of us are the same, which is where the genetics play a part.”

  “My biological father originated from an island village that receives much more rain than Cas. My coloring is indicative of that,” Trez said, smiling down at her green skin. “However, breeding with men from Cas removes such influence within two generations. The children I birthed blend better with this region than I do, and their children will match perfectly to it.”

  Nex noted, “We’ve noted differences in Earthlings as well. No two are exactly alike. You and Jeannie are different from each other.”

  “Maybe, but races on Earth have particular characteristics common to different groups.” Anneliese eyed the rich, verdant coloring of Trez’s skin. “Are you treated different here because your skin is not typical for Cas?”

  Trez blinked uncertainly at her. “I am Risnarish. The color of my skin has no bearing on that. Why should I be treated differently?”

  Anneliese smiled ruefully. “No reason at all. So...we’re removing this thing that lets the Monsuda grab me at will?”

  “It is why you’re here. We will start.”

  Anneliese watched in amazement when part of the padded floor rose on metallic legs to become an exam table. She was helped up on it by the two women while Nex remained on the bench. Anneliese was grateful for the tank top she’d worn under her blouse. It kept her from being exposed while the two doctors painlessly removed the tiny tracker from her shoulder.

  It wasn’t that she would mind getting naked with Nex. Anneliese noted she was all too ready for that, despite knowing better.

  Him and his hot bod, caring disposition, and crazy-yummy kisses.