Warrior's Valor (30 page)

“I will not disobey orders, Rae,” she said gently. “And I will not get myself killed. We'll rescue Dahlia. Besides, I have so much to live for, haven't I?”

Two blinks later, Rae was back behind her command mask and nodded approvingly. “We all do, Kellen. Thank you.” She glanced at the gan'thet rods at her belt. “Those new?”

“No, only enhanced.” Kellen touched the rods briefly. “I had a metallurgical expert outfit the ends with an alu-carbo alloy when we were on Earth. I didn't tell you since you sometimes seem uneasy regarding my gan'thet skills.”

“Oh.” Rae looked stunned. “I never knew you felt that way. I'm sorry.”

Kellen noticed Rae had not denied it. “It's part of who I am.”

“I know. We're going to have to talk about this when we get back.” Rae tugged at her weapon's harness. “Right now, I'm not oblivious to the possibility that your gan'thet skills may give us the edge we need to make this mission a success.”

“I'm ready.” Kellen grabbed her plasma pulse rifle and moved to Rae's left side. Rae's concession was small, but it would have to do for now. She looked around to assess everyone's status. Owena was ready and leaned against her modified plasma-pulse rifle, one arm around Leanne. Her weapon was a prototype—thin, 130 centimeters long, and able to fire at great distances with high accuracy. It could cascade plasma-blasts and was also equipped with a laser-knife at its tip.

Owena gazed down into Leanne's eyes, and the way Leanne returned the naked glance made Kellen long for Rae's embrace and at the same time feel annoyed with herself for letting personal thoughts and longing surface. She looked away. Theirs was such a private moment in the midst of the ongoing madness.

On the other side of the path, next to a fallen tree, Emeron seemed to be trying to hold Dwyn in place. Towering over her, Emeron shook her head with an expression of total frustration that made her stark features even more chiseled.

“You heard the admiral, Dwyn,” Emeron said. “All civilians must be kept safe and that means you too.”

“I won't be left behind while you go risk your life.” Dwyn spoke in an almost menacing tone. “I'm
not
going to sit here and hide.”

“I know you don't want to, but Admiral Jacelon made it clear. Besides, you're in no condition to travel as fast as we have to, to make it there in time. I'll come back for you as soon as—”

“Don't you dare patronize me. I've walked just as fast as everybody else—”

“For stars and skies, Dwyn.”

Kellen studied Emeron's face and realized that her frustration bordered on anger. She strode over to them. “Commander, Dwyn, it's almost time to go.” She looked calmly at Dwyn's flustered face. “Dwyn, I know you're not feeling well, but we need you to do something.”

“You do?” Dwyn frowned. “I mean, of course.”

“Oches will be on standby with the communicators and will need assistance. Make sure that you, Yhja, and Trom are well hidden and safe with enough ration bars and water. I want you to handle the short-range communicators, be a relay station of sorts, for when the admiral decides to end radio silence. You won't be far behind us. We expect you to advance to these coordinates,” she said, and pointed at the map on her handheld computer.

Dwyn hesitated, and for a moment Kellen thought she'd refuse and demand to be part of the reconnaissance team.

“I see,” Dwyn said, finally. “I don't think that'll be a problem.” She began to turn, only to stop and look at Kellen. “I'll do everything I can to help Ensign Noor keep Yhja and Trom safe.”

“Do you have a weapon, Dwyn?” Kellen asked.

“Yes. The pulse didn't affect my sidearm.”

“Excellent.”

Dwyn looked at Emeron with a stern expression that softened only when Emeron briefly touched her arm. “You will be careful, won't you?” she whispered.

Kellen turned her back to them, knowing that yet another personal moment was unfolding.

“Yes,” she heard Emeron murmur. “I will, if you'll do the same. Promise me.”

“I promise.” Dwyn's voice was so filled with emotion, she hardly sounded like herself. “I better get ready.”

“Listen up.” Rae hoisted a small back-strap security carrier onto her shoulders. Like all of their packs, it held only ammunition, water, meds, and med kits. Her own contained the same. “Reconnaissance team is moving out and base team will follow shortly. You all know your duties and I can tell you this. I'm certain we'll be successful. To be absolutely clear, unless I break radio silence, no communication.”

“Yes, ma'am,” both teams echoed.

Kellen walked up to Rae, who'd begun to head out as soon as she finished speaking. “If we're not delayed, we can reach the Sacred Space of Light within forty-five minutes. The terrain seems to be dryer and the path is widening.”

“It might be smarter to stay off the path, but that will delay us unnecessarily. It might mean the difference between failure and success. For us, for Mother—”

“I think speed is key,” Kellen agreed. She glanced back at the others and saw Owena and Emeron walking in silence next to each other a few steps behind, both of them holding scanners and keeping track of their surroundings.

“All right, let's pick up some speed.” Rae began to jog down the path, her lithe, compact form moving easily despite the fact she'd been on her feet for so many hours already. Kellen joined her, and behind her she heard the other two women do the same.

*

Weiss had made them wait at least half an hour before she returned to guide them into a large clearing. Surprised to see an empty space in the middle of the jungle, Dahlia sank onto the silken grass, her aching legs refusing to cooperate any longer. The grass smelled of something between lavender and lemon, and she inhaled the invigorating scent deeply.

The two men carrying M'Ekar put the stretcher down next to her, half in the shade, and she looked with concern at the once-so-formidable man. His face was a blotted pattern of pale and red. She felt his forehead and yanked her hand back with a gasp. He was burning up and tremors reverberated through him. He obviously had a high temperature, and if he was shivering, it was climbing still.

“He needs water.” She rose to her knees and waved at Weiss. “Kyakh, you have to give him some water.”

“There's no water left. He'll have to wait with the rest of us until our backup arrives.”

“Are you telling me that nobody has a single drop of water?” Dahlia was parched too, but she wasn't dying of gangrene.

“Yes. That's what I'm saying. I distributed the last among you half an hour ago.”

“Big mistake,” Dahlia muttered. “I certainly didn't get any, and neither did he or anyone else. If you question your precious
Ms.
White, I'm sure she'll say she gave it all away, but you know as well as I do what a ruthless liar she is.”

The calm expression on Weiss's face darkened, and she strode toward White, who sat in the shade of a tree. A muted, but obviously heated, discussion followed, and then Weiss stormed off to the center of the clearing. She opened her small back-strap security carrier and pulled out an object that she placed on the ground. Pulling at a thin metal rod, she extended something that resembled an antenna.

A faint moan from M'Ekar diverted Dahlia's interest back to him. “Are you awake, Hox?” she asked, and bent over him. She removed her jacket and placed it around him, even if she realized he needed to cool off. It was unbearable to watch him shiver like this.

“Madame Diplomat,” he whispered huskily. “I am not worthy of your attention.”

“Hush. Conserve your energy. I just wanted to see if you were conscious.”

“So thirsty.”

“There's no more water. I'd look for berries if I knew what was edible in this damn forest. Not that they'd let me.”

“You are too kind.” He coughed, and to her dismay small droplets of foamy blood streaked the corners of his mouth. She wiped them away with her shirtsleeve.

“Just rest. Help will come.” She was telling the truth, she thought with gallows humor. If a search-and-rescue party didn't get here, then Weiss's backup would arrive. Either one would bring medication and water.

“I brought this upon us.” M'Ekar spoke hoarsely. “My hunger for vengeance destroyed me. And you.”

“Shh.” Dahlia couldn't believe the twinge of pity that filled her when she witnessed his remorse. He was too sick to fake it, she thought, and like so many other people, he didn't recognize the truth until it was too late. Even she was losing faith in her rescue and expected Weiss's backup to descend from the sky any minute.

“It's true. I gambled. I thought if I took you back to Onotharat with me, they'd reinstate me as ambassador, perhaps even promote me to a higher rank. I spent all my days and nights on Jasin planning with young Desmond. He's dead.” M'Ekar coughed again, and more blood foamed around his lips. “I saw the same ambitious hunger in him as I did in myself at that age.”

It was all true. Dahlia couldn't contradict him, and she couldn't forgive him for his actions either, but part of her pitied him.

“Quiet. I'll go ask Weiss if any of her crew can look for signs of water around the clearing.”

“Thank you.” M'Ekar closed his eyes. He still trembled, but his body seemingly didn't possess even enough energy to keep that up.

She rose and walked on shaking legs over to Weiss, where she stood with two of her crew members. Nobody stopped her, but Dahlia saw White shift her weapon on her lap, pointing it directly at her.

“What?” Weiss looked impatiently at her.

“Since nobody has any water, and we actually don't know the ETA of your backup,” she said, careful to infuse disbelief in her voice, just enough to make Weiss glare at her, “could you let a couple of your crew scout for water close to the clearing. Surely a brook or something must run through here. Everything is so lush, and we more or less walked in water mixed with mud the last few hours—”

“Get back to where you were sitting,” the man next to Weiss snarled.

“Wait. She has a point, actually,” Weiss conceded. “Take two crewmen and as many bottles as you can carry and go look for water. I don't think we have very long to wait, but it's good to be prepared.”

“Aye, Captain,” the man said, taking his frosty glance off Dahlia. He waved to one young man and one woman, and they began to gather bottles from the rest of their shipmates.

“You have your moments,” Weiss said ironically. “I can't quite grasp why you'd bother to worry about M'Ekar, though. He's meant nothing but trouble to you.”

“True. I suppose that's the difference between you and me, Weiss. I may have a reputation as a tough bitch and instill fear in quite a few people who've had to deal with me in negotiations, but ultimately I have a code of conduct, a humanitarian point of view that you lack. Granted, I've seen faint glimpses of something resembling humane traits, but you quickly shed them. Only your cohort in crime, White, surpasses you when it comes to being ruthless.”

“Really.” Weiss snorted. “You're very perceptive.”

“White can't help herself. She's a sociopath. You are not, which makes your actions even more reprehensible. If you think it's strange that I pity M'Ekar, you shouldn't. He's as twisted as White, a product of his upbringing and disposition. You are calculatingly committing these actions out of greed, or perhaps even lust for adventure, I'm not quite sure which. You aren't pitiful, Weiss Kyakh. You're worthy of nothing but contempt.”

Dahlia turned and walked back to M'Ekar. Sitting next to his stretcher, she wiped his chin and cheeks as he coughed. She didn't know if the trauma he'd been subjected to or the gangrene eating away at his body caused his inner bleeding. But she was sure that if help didn't arrive soon, it would be too late for him.

Rae stopped and instinctively raised her fist. Behind her, Kellen, Owena, and Emeron stopped also. Listening intently, she motioned for them to step away from the wide path and into the dense undergrowth. Next to her Owena scanned the immediate area. She held up three fingers and pointed northeast.

“Weapons?” she mouthed inaudibly, knowing that Owena's scanner could detect faint traces of plasma-pulse residue.

Owena ran another scan and nodded solemnly, holding up three fingers again. She acknowledged the signal and reached for the scanner, which Owena handed over so she could examine the readings. The three individuals were about fifty meters away and not as closely grouped together as she would have assumed. They moved in what had to be a search pattern, and for a moment she allowed herself to hope that her mother had escaped. But if that was the case, surely more than three people would be out looking. Dahlia was their treasure trove.

“All right,” Rae whispered, “here's what we'll do. We'll split up in pairs. Kellen, you and Owena start in from the left flank, Emeron and I from due south. Let's find out why these people are so far away from the rest of their gang. I'd like to apprehend them without a single shot and without them alerting their associates. All right?”