Collision Course (Class 5, #6)

Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

Rose couldn’t really run.

She kept forgetting her body moved differently at this stage of her pregnancy.

Ecdre and Gerna solved the problem by each grabbing one of her elbows and lifting her easily as they ran.

And they could run fast.

They headed west, away from the bunker and in the opposite direction to whoever was doing the shooting.

Behind them, the ship shuddered and then fell over, and Rose chanced a quick look back.

It seemed as if the landing gear had been sheered off, and the ship lay at a steep angle.

“They fight among themselves,” Ecdre said. “That is good for us.”

“What about the rest of your warriors?” Rose asked.

“Ecdre told them we would run, and they should take the chance to do the same. They will follow our scent and find us easily enough.” Gerna didn’t even look back.

Up ahead was the start of rock formations similar to those Rose had seen near the Bandri’s watch station.

“There’ll be places to hide up ahead,” she said, and Gerna gave a nod and began to slow.

Both of she and Ecdre were sucking in deep breaths by the time they reached the labyrinth of stones and were able to get out of sight.

They lowered Rose to her feet, and she leaned back against a rock and rubbed her bump. “Thank you for the help. I couldn’t have made it without you.”

Gerna was leaning back against the rock, too, and her whole body shuddered.

“The rock has some warmth,” she said, her gaze on Ecdre. “But when it gets dark, that is another story.”

“By the time it gets dark, we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on,” Rose said. “There is no good long-term plan to stay out here. We don’t have food or water.”

Gerna shuddered again. “Should we have stayed?”

“We didn’t know where the ship would fall, so no. We are safe, and we are not under anyone else’s command for the moment. That is a good thing.” Ecdre pulled himself up on the rock Gerna was leaning against, lying on top of it and looking back the way they’d come.

“If we have to surrender later, we’re no worse off,” Rose agreed. “And maybe with them mixing it up with each other, we can find a way to leverage it to our benefit.”

As she spoke she realized she’d been using the translator without thinking, and she pulled it out of her pocket and lifted it up. “I don’t know what we’d do without this, but they could track us with it. At the very least they could listen in to what we are saying, or even change the words, like Pyre was doing before.”

Gerna took it from her, turning it over in her long, sharp hands. “It is useful, but comes with danger.” She tapped it with a long fingernail. “Before, when you were far away from Pyre, Ecdre said he sensed a different tone from you. A more honest tone. Your words and your expressions matched. Hopefully we are far enough away from the bunker for that to be the case now, too.”

Rose nodded. It would be easier to work together if they could communicate. “If either of us stop making sense, we need to signal to each other.”

“That is a good suggestion.” Gerna handed the translator back.

“Some of our people are coming,” Ecdre called down. He rose to his feet, made a sign with his arms, and dropped back down again.

Ten warriors arrived minutes later, also breathing hard.

They were carrying things carefully, and when they moved into the little rock clearing, they carefully laid the items down at Gerna’s feet.

It looked like they had stripped the bodies of some of the soldiers that had been guarding them.

“Weapons,” Rose mused, taking inventory. “What else?” She crouched down, and one of the warriors made a move as if to stop her.

Gerna said something soothing to him, and he stepped back.

“Sorry.” Rose realized she had blundered. “I’m just taking stock.” She gestured to the pile. “Were the soldiers unconscious or dead?”

Gerna asked in the language not covered by the translator, and a few soldiers responded. “Two were dead, one was unconscious. The rest ran away,” she said. “Does it matter?”

Rose nodded. “If they are dead by our hands, the response we get when we next meet them may be violent. If they were killed by falling ceilings due to the ship crashing, that would be different.”

Gerna gave a slow nod, spoke again to the warriors. “They say one was killed by falling debris. One was killed by my people, but they put him among the rubble to hide his body afterward, so it is possible the Kimol will assume his death was also caused by the crash. The one who is unconscious was shot by one of my people after they took the weapons off the two dead.”

“The unconscious one doesn’t matter,” Rose said. “He’ll live. Did he see your warrior kill one of the soldiers?”

Gerna questioned them again and shook her head. “They say not.”

“That’s the best outcome.” Rose began studying the collection of goodies the warriors had brought with them.

Gerna leaned closer. “Do you know what the other things are?”

Rose picked them up one at a time. It looked like there was a tiny flashlight. She turned it on, pointing it at a shadowed area, and then clicking it off. “Three lights. That’s good.” She set them aside.

She found four multi tools with blades and other implements, and then, with a crow of triumph, she found two lighters.

“We can make a fire,” she said, holding one out to Gerna.

Gerna took it, and then handed it back. “These aren’t meant for our hands. Can you work it?”

“Definitely.” Rose ignited the tip, and a tiny flame appeared. “Let’s find some scrub and wood.”

With a sharp command from Gerna, the warriors scattered, and Rose went to look for rocks to form a fire pit.

Soon there was a merry fire going, and Gerna came to sit as close to it as she could.

“How did the Kimol capture you?” she asked. “If the question isn’t too upsetting?”

Gerna shook her head. “We were traveling back to the home planet because I had discovered the joy of carrying young lives. We had been on the orbital we had originally built as a stepping stone to explore the galaxy around us, but when the Fisone attacked, we fitted it out as a way station for the fighters to defend the planet. I was stuck there for a while, but there was a break in the fighting, and it was considered a good time to leave.”

“And they scooped you up before you could make it down?”

Gerna nodded.

“They took me while I was traveling between one ship and the other. A distance of less than ten minutes.” Rose couldn’t help the bitterness she still felt about that.

“We were both wronged,” Gerna said. “You were traveling to reach a safe place for your baby?”

“I was actually traveling back home after a doctor’s checkup.” Rose sighed.

“I feel rage,” Gerna said. “I will have no mercy when the tables are turned.”

Rose stared into the fire, and noticed all the warriors were sitting around them now, and there was a pile of wood to one side. “Where are the other warriors?” she asked. “Were they captured again?”

“According to those who got away, they scattered into the passageways. We hope they can make their way out later and join us.” Gerna’s wings shivered as she leaned toward the flames.

Rose looked in the direction of the bunker. If they couldn’t find a better alternative, she, and Gerna, and the warriors might be forced to go back and join them .