Collision Course (Class 5, #6)

Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

Ecdre called down to Gerna and the others, and Rose could hear the excitement in his voice.

“More of my warriors are coming.” Gerna stood and began to pace.

A few of the warriors rose from their places by the fire and ran out in the direction of the bunker.

“They are going to help those who are injured,” Gerna said when Rose sent her a questioning glance.

Ecdre called out again, and Rose looked at Gerna expectantly, waiting for a translation, but instead, the other warriors rose to their feet, and Rose could hear the whirring of their wings.

Were they being chased by the Kimol, or even the Bandri?

She got to her own feet, wincing at the stiffness in her legs and lower back.

Suddenly, everyone relaxed a little and the first cluster of warriors arrived, carrying an unconscious friend between them. Then a second group arrived, on the heels of the first.

They were exchanging information in quick bursts, some using the language she had access to via the translator, some using the dialect that they used when they wanted privacy.

She caught the words ‘protection’ and ‘assistance’, and then suddenly five Grih came through the narrow gap between two stones.

The moment the soldier in front stepped through, she knew.

Before he even lifted his visor, she was moving.

He caught her, and she gave a sudden, choking laugh at his grunt when he took her weight.

She was smaller than him, but in comparison to the Grih, her bone density made her much heavier than she looked.

It was a running joke between them.

And then, as fast as the laugh left her throat, she began to sob.

He picked her up, swinging her carefully into his arms, and then moved to the fire and took a seat. She sat across his lap, her face in the crook of his neck, and cried like her world was coming to an end.

She dimly remembered that she had done this once before. A long time ago when she’d first been rescued from the Tecran and she had been coming to grips with her new reality.

This time, she cried because her reality had been restored.

Or, at least, it had made a step in the right direction.

“Rose.” Dav said her name like a plea, and she forced in a hard, shuddering breath to get herself together.

Dav’s hand was on her bump, and at that moment, the baby kicked. Hard.

“Sorry about the crying jag.” Her voice caught as she reached for calm. Dav squeezed her gently, and she glanced up at him, saw he was not ready to speak. His eyes were hot and his lips were pressed together as he tried to tamp down his emotions.

She turned to look at the group that surrounded them.

Gerna was watching her carefully, and the four Grih who’d come with Dav stood to attention, looking almost desperate to find a threat to eliminate.

They had all retracted their visors, and Rose nodded to Nortega. She regularly sang to Nortega’s little girl, Sebi, along with Gyppal and his friends.

“Your reaction was . . . unexpected.” Gerna said.

The Grih all snapped to attention at the Tecran translation of her words that came from the slim device set on the ground by the fire.

“This man is my partner,” Rose explained. “The father of my child. I am very happy to see him.”

“I guessed that.” Gerna slowly sank down to sit close to the fire again. “Your ways are very different from our own.”

Rose leaned her head back on Dav’s shoulder and gave a sigh. “It would be stranger if they were the same.”

Gerna blinked, and then made a strange sound. It took Rose a moment to work out she was laughing.

“Very true. Your warrior and his team helped my own warriors. If he does not speak this language we are using between us, please give him my thanks.”

“I understand it.” Dav tightened his hold on Rose and then kissed her temple. “Please thank your warriors for leading the way to Rose. I think we helped each other.”

“I am so glad you’re here.” Rose lifted her head and Dav leaned forward to kiss her. She spoke in Grihan. “Is there a way off this moon right now?”

He held her gaze, and her breath hitched at the fury that sparked in his eyes. “Not right now. Our contact with Sazo and the Barrist has been severed. We think the new satellite Sazo put into orbit has been destroyed.”

“I promised the Hasmarga that we will give them a lift off here and take them back home.” She gestured to the group. “They were taken prisoner by the Kimol and forced to work as slave labor in a mine on this moon.”

All the Grih sucked in breaths of outrage.

Dav’s eyes narrowed. “That’s all the excuse I need.” She felt his arms harden around her.

“We don’t have to play nice anymore?” Nortega said.

“We don’t have any diplomacy to protect,” Dav said. “Indiscriminate loss of life is still problematic. Self-defense is still the only valid excuse. But do not put yourselves in danger in an effort to not take a life. And that’s an order.”

“What has your people so angry?” Gerna asked.

She leaned back against Dav’s shoulder. “They are angry to hear how you have been treated by the Fisone. I told them we need to take you with us when we get the chance to leave and get you back home.”

There was a murmur from the warriors, and Gerna fluttered her hands. “We thank you. It warms me.”

“What are we going to do to get off this cursed place?” Ecdre was crouched above them, still keeping watch on the rock.

“The Fisone have destroyed the satellite we have put into orbit to communicate between our ships and ourselves,” Dav said. “We will have to wait for our people to launch a new one, and then we can organize a place to be picked up.”

“Do we surrender then?” Ecdre asked, his focus on Gerna.

“Why would we surrender?” Nortega asked.

“Because we have no supplies,” Rose said. “No water or food. And Gerna is pregnant, like me. Her eggs need warmth or they will die.”

Dav lifted her from his lap, set her down next to him. He fumbled for his bag, pulled out a water pouch. “Drink.” He looked tightly controlled.

She took the water, and her throat ached in relief as she drank. “Gerna?” she asked, holding out the pouch.

Gerna shook her head. “We do not drink water the way you do. We get our liquid from our food.”

The rest of the team rifled through their packs, and offered a variety of food to the Hasmarga, but they shook their heads at everything they produced.

“This is not good for us. We need succulent plants.” Gerna fluttered her hands. “But we thank you for the offer.”

“Maybe they will have to surrender,” Wangao said. “But I don’t think it’s safe yet.”

“Some of my warriors have offered to go back into the bunker and try to retrieve the food we had in the hall.” Gerna glanced behind her, and Rose saw a group of four had assembled. “They were able to get two weapons off the downed guards, did you take any that we could use?”

Dav and Nortega each pulled a Fisone weapon from their packs and handed them over.

With a bow to Gerna, the four jogged to the gap in the rocks, and disappeared.

“Well, if we’re staying, let’s get more fuel for the fire,” Rose suggested.

Dav’s team looked happy to have something to do, and they and the warriors wandered off to collect wood.

“Here’s a protein bar.” Dav held it out to her, and even though she’d never previously been a fan, Rose took it and bit into it with a smile.

“So much better than the gel stuff I’ve been forced to eat since I got here.”

“Gel stuff?” Dav asked.

Rose shrugged. “I have no idea what it’s really called or what it is. I haven’t actually been fed anything by my captors. I managed to scrounge everything I ate for myself.”

Dav said nothing and she sighed and leaned against him.

“It is so good to see you. I was getting very grumpy about our separation.”

He looked down at her and ran a hand over her hair, pulling her in even closer. “I’m not ready to find anything about this amusing yet.”

She sighed again. “I understand. But seeing you has made a lot of things I’ve found intolerable so much better. My sense of humor is coming back online.” She thought about it. “Unless I go into labor down here. Then all bets are off.”

“On Guimaymi?s Star, I love you, Rose.” Dav lifted her back onto his lap. “These last few days have been the worst of my life.” He was quiet for a beat. “I hate these fuckers. I tried to remind myself that I was representing the United Council, but now they’re known slavers and they didn’t even treat you with the basic rights of a sentient being, I don’t have to care so much about that anymore.”

Rose closed her eyes. “I’m with you, there.” She rested quietly for a few minutes. “What about Sazo?”

“Sazo wants to strafe the Fisone home planet to get them to let you go.”

Rose lifted her head. “What did they say to that?”

“That they could hurt you in return.” Dav’s voice was tight. “He decided against it, after that. But he’ll remember the threat.”

He’d remember it, all right. Rose wondered if the Fisone had thought it through. Because after she was back onboard the Barrist or home on Sazo’s ship, he’d have no reason to hold back.

She’d have to think about whether she would try to stop him or not.