by Cary Caffrey
"It's them, Magistrate. It's the Independents. That's who attacked you."
"Can you be so certain?"
"These soldiers are from the same force I came across last night. I suspect they've been tracking me for some time."
"It's him, isn't it?" Suko said. "It's Jones. He's trying to kill you."
Sigrid shook her head. "No, Jones won't kill me. He needs me. This…" She picked up the shattered faceplate then cast it aside. "This is just a tap on the shoulder. He's trying to get my attention. And I'm afraid he's got it."
~ - ~
Sigrid was amazed at how quickly and effectively Lady Godelieve was able to organize in the aftermath of the attacks. Food and clothing were promptly distributed to those who had lost everything. Medical treatment was made available to the hundreds of injured, and temporary shelters were prepared for the hundreds of homeless.
Suko scooped Sigrid back into her arms only to carry her toward one of the many mobile hospitals that had been set up. There, she set Sigrid down on one of the handful of cots laid out in neat rows. The few doctors they had were busy tending to patients, so Suko cared for Sigrid herself.
While the entry wounds of the flechettes were small and barely visible, the damage beneath the skin was far more severe than it looked, thanks to the incendiary compounds. Taking the medkit from her belt, Suko held the small but powerful device over the burned area of Sigrid's thigh. The wound was analyzed, cleaned and sterilized; numbing and healing agents were injected and applied where they were needed most.
Feeling 400% better already, Sigrid lay back, watching as Suko cared for her, methodically wrapping her thigh and then her arm in sterile white bandages.
"You needn't bother," Sigrid said. "I'm fine, Suko."
"No, you're not."
"You are such a mother."
"I am no such thing." Suko tied off her bandage, a textbook field dressing, and cinched it tight, making Sigrid wince.
"No," Sigrid said. "I don't suppose you are."
"Now, if I leave you here alone, can I trust that you'll rest?"
"Wait. Suko, don't go." Holding Suko's hand, Sigrid patted the cot beside her, inviting her to sit. "We need to talk."
"Uh-oh," Suko said as she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. "Nothing good ever came out of any conversation starting with 'we have to talk.'"
"You know, you're the second person in days to say that to me. But don't worry, it's not that kind of talk. There's something I need to ask you."
"Oh?" Suko said. "I think I like that even less."
"Suko, when-when you saw those tanks this morning, you knew what they were. What I mean is, you knew who they were."
Slowly, cautiously, Suko nodded. "I did."
"They were Kimuran, weren't they?"
Again Suko nodded.
"And not just Kimura—not from Aquarii. Those were Lady Hitomi's personal troops, the ones loyal to her, the ones who defected to serve her on New Alcyone, weren't they?"
Suko gave a long sigh. "Yes, Sigrid. They were from New Alcyone."
"When I found you in the woods yesterday, I saw the look on your face. You were ready to kill me. Those tanks were ready to kill me. And they tried bloody hard. Suko, I need you to tell me, what did I do? To you, and to them? If I've killed anyone or hurt anyone, I need you to tell me. Truthfully. I need to know."
Suko shook her head, though her hand tightened firmly around Sigrid's. "Truthfully? I…I don't know. So much has happened, Sigrid—"
"Then tell me what happened. Please, Suko."
Reluctantly, Suko nodded.
"After Bellatrix, when the Independents took you, we came after you. All of us, Sigrid. Every girl, every ship. Everything we had. All we wanted was to find you and bring you home. We thought we knew where to look. Jones, he had a wife. She was sick. The Independents must have thought you were some kind of cure. We were certain they'd take you to her. We looked for you on Earth. But, Sigrid, you were gone. She was gone. They moved you, but we didn't know where. We never stopped looking for you. You have to believe me!"
"I believe you, Suko. I do."
"But…we never found you. It was years, Sigrid. There was nothing—no word! That's when it started. Someone was killing the members of the Council. One by one, someone was taking them out, burning all their enclaves. We heard the rumors, Sigrid. They said it was you. I didn't believe it. None of us did. But…then word came. Procyon."
Procyon.
The word sent a shiver along Sigrid's spine. First Jaffer, and now Suko. Something had happened there. Something terrible. Sigrid squeezed her hand, urging her to continue.
"It was Miranda—"
"Special Agent Kane," Sigrid said. "Yes, I remember."
"She had information. The CTF—they were building something on Procyon. Some kind of new weapon. It was supposed to finish off the Independents once and for all. Miranda was convinced the Independents were going to use you to attack and take it out first. But not just the weapon, Sigrid. Everything! They were going to destroy Procyon itself."
"And you went to stop me. I understand."
Suko turned to her and her eyes were red and wet with tears. "No! No, Sigrid. We didn't go there to stop you. We weren't trying to kill you. Sigrid, we were trying to rescue you."
Sigrid held hard to her hand. "I was there, wasn't I? You found me."
"You were. I saw you myself." Suko shook her head and laughed, though her tears flowed freely now. "You can't imagine how I felt. I'd been searching for you for so long. And then to find you! Only to…"
"Did-did I try to hurt you? Suko, I'm so sorry."
But Suko shook her head again. "No. No, you didn't. But you looked at me, Sigrid. I saw you! You looked right at me. But…Sigrid, it was like you didn't know me. And then…you were just…gone."
"Whatever happened, whatever I did, Suko, you must tell me."
Suko sniffed loudly, wiping her nose on the back of her arm. "It was war, Sigrid. You know Procyon. There were soldiers everywhere. They were trying to kill you. All of them. But they couldn't. You were too fast. You were always too fast for them. I tried to stay with you—I tried to follow. But there were too many of them. They started to come for me. I think they thought I was working with you. In a way, I suppose I was. I wasn't going to let them kill you. But I lost you in the fight. And then word came: the Atomics. We had no choice. We had to leave. The others did. I stayed behind. Victoria and me."
"You stayed?"
"I wasn't going to lose you again, Sigrid. I couldn't."
"But you did," Sigrid said, and Suko nodded.
"After Procyon, that's when I knew they were controlling you. That's when I knew I lost you. You were gone, Sigrid. They took you from me, and you were gone."
Suko reached up and pulled the shoulder strap of her halter back to reveal the faded mark of an entry wound, a bullet hole. Four more centimeters down, it would have proved fatal, blasting through her heart. It was a miracle she'd survived at all. There was only one reason for Suko to reveal this particular wound. Sigrid had done this to her. She was the one who shot her.
"Then…I really did try to kill you."
"No! Not you. Don't you ever say that! It was him, Sigrid. It was Jones. It was the Independents. It was the Council—it's this bloody fucking war! They did this. Not you. It was never you." Suko gathered her into her arms, holding her so tightly Sigrid thought she might never take another breath.
"I'm the one who should apologize," Suko said at last. "I'm the one who gave up."
"If you did, it's only because I gave you cause. Not just you—all our sisters. My God, what must they think? I betrayed them, Suko. It's no wonder they want to kill me."
"They're afraid. They don't understand."
"And now they're trying to kill me."
Suko wiped the tears with the back of her fist. "It would appear so."
"Excuse me, Ms. Novak? I'm so sorry to bother you."
Sigrid looked up to see a young woman approa
ch. It was Roos Van de Berg, daughter of the magistrate. She approached them slowly, as if not wanting to disturb the two girls sitting next to each other with their hands clasped firmly together.
Sigrid wiped her eyes and waved her closer.
"No, it's all right. Please."
Even with her injuries, Sigrid was struck by how much Roos looked like her mother. She was quite tall, even taller than Suko, and her hair—at least what was sticking out from the tight bandages wrapped around her head—was a bright golden color. Her face still showed the bruising from the events of two nights ago, and her arm was in a cast and tied snugly in a sling, but her eyes were bright and alert, especially where Sigrid was concerned. Something Suko took careful notice of.
"Suko, this is Roos, the magistrate's daughter. Roos, this is Suko—"
"Her lover," Suko said firmly, rising to stand between the taller girl and Sigrid.
"Oh, um, yes." Roos was forced to take a step back. "Pleased to meet you."
"Roos, I mean, Lady Van de Berg," Sigrid said, peering around Suko. "Should you really be up? I'm fairly certain the last time I saw you, you were in a coma. Do your doctors know you're here?"
"No. But it's all right. I'm-I'm fine. A little dizzy, maybe," she said and leaned on the edge of the bed. "But I couldn't let you leave without seeing you. My mother told me what happened, Ms. Novak. She told me how you saved my life. I-I don't know what to say."
"There's nothing to say, Roos. I would never let them take you."
"No, I don't suppose you would." Roos looked down at her and Sigrid saw the girl's cheeks flush red. "You really are the Night Witch, aren't you? I can see why my mother named you Lady Protector."
This time it was Sigrid's cheeks that flushed. "Yes, I've been meaning to talk to her about that."
"She also told me about the other girls."
"Other girls?" Suko asked, and Sigrid hushed her.
"She told me what you are," Roos blurted. "And what they are—what I am."
This part came as a surprise. She hadn't expected the magistrate to tell Roos, at least not until the marquis was dead and their contract was done.
"I want to go with you, Ms. Novak," Roos said. "I want to go to New Alcyone. I want to be like you."
"Sigrid?" Suko said. "Is there something I should know?"
Sigrid gave a long sigh. Be like her. Was that even possible anymore? After what Suko had told her, her plan of returning home seemed hopeless at best. She suddenly felt tired, though it wasn't the lack of sleep or the battle, not even her injuries. It was everything. Jones. Kimura. New Alcyone. Where on Earth was she supposed to start?
Fortunately, she found herself rescued by yet another visitor. It was Colonel Bhandari. He entered the medical tent, standing by the flap as he scanned the sea of injured. It only took him a second to spot her and he marched directly to her bed. He was carrying a large equipment satchel, which he dropped next to her cot.
"Good," the colonel said. "You're well."
"She will be," Suko said.
Without looking at either of them, he unzipped the satchel, revealing its contents.
"Ah! Guns. Bombs. Blades," Suko said. "Everything a girl needs for an evening on the town."
"Not just weapons, Ms. Tansho. I also had this made—as per Ms. Novak's instructions."
Reaching into the satchel, he pulled out a rather conspicuous-looking garment. He held it in front of his torso as if modeling it. It was a jet-black one-piece coverall made of a fine, micro-thin material. While simple to behold, it was, in fact, a marvel of textile engineering.
Sigrid sat up instantly, taking the garment in her hand. She was pleased to see Colonel Bhandari had followed her directions to the letter. The sizing was perfect, matching her measurements down to the millimeter, but more importantly, he had copied the formula to perfection.
Lady Hitomi had designed this material herself. It was made up of strings of highly conductive nano-fibers. While quite thin, the material was immensely strong, and more importantly, Sigrid could interface with the material directly. With her PCM, she could direct the fibers to turn any color she wished, creating an effective camouflage, or for shorter durations, turn virtually invisible.
"Colonel, I am very impressed," Sigrid said, running her hand along the side seam. Your skills as a seamstress are a wonder to behold. Or is it seamster? I was never sure."
"Runs in the family. My brother's mother's sister's great-aunt was a master seamstress." The colonel was standing with his arms tucked behind his back, and Sigrid didn't have a clue whether he was teasing her or not.
"Well, I still say it's marvelous."
"I shall leave you to dress, then."
"Colonel!" Sigrid said, rising stiffly. "I wanted to thank you."
"For what?"
"This morning. If you hadn't shown up—"
"I retrieved a fellow soldier from the field so that she might continue the fight. Nothing more. A warrior requires no thanks, Ms. Novak."
"Still," Sigrid said, and she rose on her toes to plant a gentle kiss on the warrior's cheek, "I am in your debt. You have my thanks. Whether you require it or not."
~ - ~
"I think you made the old warrior blush," Suko said once the colonel was out of earshot.
"I think you may be right. Here. Give me a hand."
With Suko's aid, Sigrid dressed, taking care to properly arm herself for what felt the first time in a long while. She wouldn't be caught unawares again, especially where tanks were concerned. The twin wrist-mounted TOG (tube-launched, optically-tracked and guided) micro-missiles would make certain of that. They were heavy, but she felt better for them. A pair of balisongs along with her ōdachi longsword rounded off her complement of blade weapons. And of course, the twin Markov 18 mm hand-cannons sat in their clips at her hips.
Before departing the medical tent, a team of doctors did their best to remove Victoria's six-centimeter probe that was still lodged inside her head. But the physicians were at a loss. Sigrid's technology was simply beyond their capabilities, and with the access port fused shut, there was little they could do for fear of damaging her further. Besides, it didn't appear to be impeding her. If there was a pain in her head, it wasn't the fault of Victoria's probe. It was Harry Jones.
With the colonel's satchel in one hand and Suko holding her other, Sigrid stepped from the tent back out onto the crowded street. And just in time to hear the distinct rumblings of a large transport hauler thundering toward them. Dozens of people were forced to make way as the two big rigs approached them.
It was Jaffer, with Victoria and her cargo trailer in tow not far behind. It was with a deep sigh of relief that she saw all the refugees had made the trip intact. Dropping the satchel at her side, Sigrid half-ran, half-limped toward them, eager to greet them. Nuria saw her first and leapt from the back of the flatbed. Nuria ran toward her, ready to throw her arms around her, but when she saw Suko, she thought better of it, choosing to shake Sigrid's hand in greeting instead.
"Lady Sigrid."
"Nuria."
One by one, the refugees hopped off the cargo carrier. By now they'd heard of the attack, but it was something entirely different to see it for themselves. Sigrid saw the looks on their faces, their wide eyes. She had promised them safe haven, but was that even possible? Hadn't she just delivered them from one battlefield to another?
While she was busy worrying about them, it was they who came to calm her. One by one, they came to thank her, shaking her hand, for they were free, and while the Crossroads might be a war zone—for the indentured working poor—this was just another day on planet Earth.
"You'll take care of them," Sigrid said to Nuria. "See that they're all fed and sheltered."
"Of course. I'll see to it straight away."
Powering down the rusted heap of a truck, Victoria popped the hatch and hopped down beside them.
"Is there breakfast? I'm famished."
"Read my mind," Jaffer said, coming to join them. T
hen he glanced around at the wrecked buildings and smashed machines of war. "Though I'm not sure what's still open."
"I'm afraid there isn't time," Sigrid said. "I need all of you prepped and ready to get underway. That means you too, Jaffer. The Crow's Nest is fifteen hundred kilometers from here. I believe that gives us just enough time."
"Time?" Victoria asked.
"Time to get to Portillo. We have to be there by tonight."
"We can make it," Jaffer said, mulling over the distance. "If the weather holds, and if the roads are clear. The rains are pretty harsh this time of year."
"Good. It's 10:42 right now. I want to be rolling by 11:00."
"And you're still sure about this?" Suko said. "That Jones will actually be there?"
Sigrid frowned. "I'm not sure about anything. But my informant was very specific. At least his patron was. Harry Jones will be in Portillo tonight."
"Then so will we," Jaffer said. "Don't worry, Sigrid. We'll make it."
As the others rushed to tend to their duties, Suko leaned over to her; her lips brushed her ear as she whispered to her, "Your informant was wrong about one thing, you know."
Sigrid turned to her sharply. "Suko, I—?"
"Harry Jones won't just be in Portillo. He's going to die there. He'll die, because I'm going to kill him."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The Road
"Very nice," Suko said as she inspected Jaffer's cargo transport.
They were back in the paddock, going over the final preparations for the journey. Suko, with Jaffer at her side, made a circle of the newly modified transport. She was taking stock of the defensive measures and modifications the Consortium mechanics had retrofitted, and from what Sigrid saw, Suko looked suitably impressed. She let her hand run along the newly attached armored plating. She even paused to kick the tall, studded tires.
