Salene's Secrets (50 page)

“Jinjie do be helping,” he said from Tonka’s back.

“Thank you, Jinjie,” Talus said.  “This is a good solution, Salene.  The biggest problem we have now is getting there and setting up before that storm reaches us.  Keeping people dry after the rain hits will be easier than getting them dry after we set up camp.”  He turned to Tonka.  “Do you think we can reach the grove in time?”

“At the pace we’ve been moving, yes, but it will take most of the afternoon,”
he replied.

“That’s a relief,” Salene said.  “We should speak with the people first and let them know what our plan is in case they have some objection, or better ideas.”

“I’ll take care of that,”
Tonka offered. 

“Thank you, Tonka,” Salene said.  While they’d been talking Jon had contacted Captain Royce and was speaking to him about what they’d need.  He turned back to them as Tonka and Jinjie walked away.

“Royce says the manifest shows four more nine man shelters, and half a dozen six man shelters in the hold.”

“With the shelter you guys have, that’s enough for everyone,” Salene said with relief.  “What about tents, Jon?” Salene asked.

“There are twenty tents, and since thermal sheets are so thin and lightweight, there are several hundred of them in various sizes.”

“If they have enough thermal sheets for us to make a ceiling to cover the shelters, we won’t need the tents,” Talus said.  “Tell him what we want to do, and ask him to figure out how much we’ll need to accomplish it and send it down to us along with enough rope to tie them to the trees.  We’ll also need blankets, sleeping bags, containers for eating and cooking, and probably more, but we’ll let him know exactly what we need once we get an idea of what the people already have.”

“Don’t forget water purifiers,” Salene added as Jon started to walk away.  He nodded, then began speaking rapidly as everyone started to get ready to move on.  “We can stay in the petrified wood tree, can’t we?” she asked Talus in a low voice.

“Yes,
Zerura
, if that is what you wish,” Talus replied, watching Tonka and Jinjie return.

“It is,” she said.  “Do you think the people will mind?”

“I don’t think so, but if they do it’s not our problem,” Talus said.  “We’ve freed them, and we’re providing them with shelters, protection, and whatever else they need.  That does not mean we must sleep with them.”

“I know, I just don’t want to insult anyone.”

“They will not be insulted,”
Tonka said. 
“They appreciate and admire all of you, but they will be more comfortable with each other for now.”

“Thanks, Tonka, that makes me feel better,” Salene said.  “I know we’ve only been together a couple of days, but I feel like the eight of us are a family.  An unusual family, true enough, but a good family.”  She looked up at Talus.  “Do you mind?”

“Mind?” Talus asked with a wide smile.  “No, Salene, we do not mind in the least.  We feel the same way.  The uncles and Aunt Ash have always welcomed us as part of their family, and we love and honor them for it.  But this is
our
family.”

“Jinjie not do be having family for many centuries,” the Jotunn said as he leapt from Tonka’s back to Salene’s shoulder.  “Until now.  I do be thankful, and my heart do be full.  But do be also worried of Rayne.  Me do be pledge loyalty to her.”

“Rayne won’t feel abandoned or betrayed that you’re a member of our family, Jinjie,” Salene said.  “I promise you that.  And besides, you can still be loyal to her while being family to us.”

“You do be right, Salene,” Jinjie agreed, smiling.  “Lady Bear do be only happy for Jinjie to be happy.”

“That’s right,” she agreed.  “And while I do have family, a very good one that I love very much, I was still completely alone just a couple of weeks ago.  Alone, and lonely.  But I’m not alone anymore thanks to all of you, and I love each and every one of you.  Like you said, Talus, this is
our
family.”

“My pack was my family, and I shall never forget them,”
Tonka said, his ears drooping for a moment.  Then he lifted his head and straightened his ears. 
“Oberto was my good friend, a man I admired, and will always remember.  But I have missed having a family of my own.  Until now.  I too feel as though we are family.  It’s a feeling I treasure, and do not want to live without again.”

“Then it’s unanimous,” Salene said, smiling widely without even noticing the pull of the scar on her face.

“Are me and Tab part of the family too?” Mali asked hesitantly.

Salene looked down in surprise, a lump rising in her throat at the hopeful, but cautious expressions in both children’s’ eyes.  Even though she was now their mom, they obviously still worried about being left out.  Once again she tried to think of some way to reassure them for good, but all she could think of was to keep doing what she’d been doing all along.  “Of course you are, honey,” she said.  “You’re very important members of our family.” 

Tab and Mali smiled, apparently needing no more convincing than that since they happily returned to their lunches.  A short while later, when everyone had eaten and rested, Talus announced it was time to get moving again.

“Tonka, can me and Tab ride on your back for a while?” Mali asked. 

“Of course,”
Tonka agreed readily. 
“If Jinjie won’t mind putting those holding straps on so you don’t fall.”

“Jinjie do,” he said, already waving his hands with a flurry of orange sparks.  A moment later Mali actually walked up to Talus and asked him to help her up.  Grinning from ear to ear, Talus lifted Mali onto the Brun’s back, then gave the top of her head a quick kiss which earned him a brilliant smile from Mali and Salene.  Kar set Tab in front of her and kissed him as Talus had kissed Mali.  Salene wanted to laugh out loud at the happiness that seemed to radiate from not just the children, but from her men as well. 

“By the way, Tonka, how did the people react to the idea of camping in the trees?” she asked.

“They’re quite happy and relieved to know they will have shelter for the night,”
Tonka said. 
“I would add that, even though they’re used to working long hours every day, they’re not used to walking like this.  Between the walking and the fact that most of them have not slept for a couple of days, they’re energy is fading.”

“Is there another place we can camp that’s closer than the river?”

“No, there isn’t,”
Tonka replied.
“I’ve considered very carefully, but you were correct that the best place is the grove where we camped last night.  I also told the people how long it would take to reach our destination.  They understand that it won’t be easy, but they’ve decided that they’ll walk there no matter what it takes.”

“They are not short on determination or courage,” Talus said.  “If it takes us longer to get there than we expect, then that’s the way it is.  Once we reach the grove, the people can rest while we put the shelters together and set things up.”

“They’ll be glad to help with that,”
Tonka said. 
“They would prefer to help, actually, if you’ll but show them what to do.”

“Don’t worry, Tonka,” Talus said.  “We’ll teach whoever wants to help, and we will be patient.”

“Of that I had no concerns,”
Tonka said. 

They’d walked a little less than an hour when Talus stopped and looked up into the sky behind them.  “There,” he said, pointing to a thin white streak high up in the pale blue sky.  Everyone watched as the streak slowly grew longer, and thicker. 

“Why is it moving so slowly?” one of the men asked.

“It isn’t,” Talus replied.  “It’s just so far away that it looks that way to us.  The closer it gets, the faster it will appear to move.”

They continued to watch in silence as the streak grew, moving faster and faster as Talus had said until all of a sudden it seemed enormous.  Even though they’d been waiting for it, the moment it hit the ground was still shocking.  Everyone ducked a little, then straightened in relief.  A cloud of thick dark smoke rose in the distance, and after a few seconds the sound of the explosion reached them. 

Jon’s hand terminal beeped and he took it from his belt, then tapped his vox so he could speak with Captain Royce.  A moment later he disconnected and faced the crowd who’d shifted their attention from the distant smoke to him.  “The
Aegl
tracked the missile launch and got a reasonably good fix on the location and orbit path of the satellite that launched it.  They laid down laser area fire and scored a direct hit.   The satellite’s been completely destroyed.”

A wave of relief swept through the crowd.  Talus considered telling them that there was no telling how many such satellites were orbiting the planet, but Salene caught his eye and gave her head a tiny shake.  He thought for a moment, then decided she was right.  What good would it do for them to worry about something that they couldn’t change?  He nodded to Salene, then turned his back on the smoke still rising in the distance and resumed walking.

Tonka’s comments about the people from the silo not being accustomed to walking prompted Talus, Jon, and Kar to slow the pace as much as they dared, and to keep a closer eye on them.  They spent time chatting with some of the men, learning names and getting to know them a little.  They also carried children, sometimes two or even three at a time to give their parents, or the children themselves, a bit of a rest.  Mali received much praise and approval from them when she offered to walk so that some of the other children could ride Tonka with Tab.  She walked beside Tonka to keep a close eye on the smaller children, her shoulders back and chin up, happiness radiating from her.

It was late afternoon when they reached the river where the grove of trees grew.  Everyone was tired, but more relaxed thanks to the Gryphons’ efforts.  A small clearing deep within the grove was selected as the best site for the shelters, and they were informed by the
Aegl
that they had about two hours before the storm reached them, which was a relief.

With nothing else to do while they waited for the
Aegl
to transport all of the requested supplies and materials down, everyone found a place to sit and rest.  Salene noticed that most of the children sat with the women in one circle, while the men sat apart with the Gryphons.  With Mali and Tab each holding one of her hands, Salene walked over to the women and was immediately invited to join them.  She sat down with Mali at her side while Tab decided to climb into her lap.

Once she and the children were settled, Salene realized that the women seemed nervous, which made sense after what they’d seen of her she supposed.  “My name is Salene,” she said.  “I believe you all know Mali, and Tab.”

The woman with the short hair that had spoken to her in the silo was the first to speak.  “We’re honored to meet you, Salene.  My name is Peg.”  She frowned as she glanced around the circle of twenty six women and children.  “Maybe giving you everyone’s names all at once isn’t a good idea?”

“I probably wouldn’t remember them all, and I don’t want to insult anyone because of my poor memory for names,” Salene agreed.  “I’m sure that as I get to know each of you, your names will be easy to remember.  As long as no one minds?”

“We don’t mind,” an older woman with gray streaked hair and warm brown eyes said.  “You could do just about anything you wanted at this point and we wouldn’t mind.  You saved us, Salene, and you freed us.  We are thankful beyond anything we can express.”

“It wasn’t me alone, but on behalf of all of us, you’re very welcome.”

She’d spotted some worried expressions among the women and thought she had a good idea of the reason behind them.  “Tonka told me that some of you are Khun.  Is that right?”

Several of the women nodded, though some of them seemed reluctant.  Salene smiled.  “It doesn’t really matter.  I’m just curious because I have a sister, Tani, who is Queen of the Khun of Garza.”

“Your sister is our queen?” Peg asked in surprise.

“I suppose that’s for you to decide,” Salene said.  “I know only that the people of Garza are Khun, and some of you are also Khun.”

“Then you are Khun?” the gray haired woman asked, frowning.

“No, I’m Clan Jasani,” Salene said, then smiled.  “I know you’re confused, and I don’t blame you.  Not too long ago Tani helped a group of people who’d been stolen from their home world centuries ago to be used as slaves by the Xanti and the Doftles.  They were forced to mine a metal that the Xanti wanted, and more recently they were forced to do the same thing by the Doftles and Nomen.  Tani helped them to fight the Nomen and take back their freedom.

“Their leader, a man named Ganzorig Khan who goes by the name Steel, and my sister fell in love.  He’s King of the Khun, and she is now Queen.  The world they live on, Garza, is a beautiful and bountiful place filled with animals, birds, forests, lakes, everything you could ask for.  But while the world is now rich in resources, it’s very poor in people.  There are only a few hundred of them on the entire planet. 

“I’m certain that Tani and Steel will welcome all of you with open arms, Khun or not.  They can teach you to grow your own food, raise livestock, build homes and whatever else you want or need to learn.  And they will understand you because they too lived under the rule of others, and they know what that means.  You can live in peace and freedom on Garza if you choose to go there.