Ben had obviously spoken with Vrk again since he'd tossed her into the tree, and they stood on either side of the injured, their weapons pointing down.
The other Caruson soldiers under Vrk's command stood behind the wounded at the back, also with their laz held across their chests, ready to lift and fire, and Ben's five teammates covered the middle ground, two on one side, three on the other, the injured miners making the center of a rough square.
Vrk spoke again and then looked at Ben.
“I want you to know I agree with Commander Vrk. You will regret any harm you do now until the end of your days.” Ben raised his voice so the Caruso could hear him clearly, even those at the back of the units, most of which were now fully under cover of the forest.
She understood Ben's reasoning. What choice did he and Vrk have but to try to appeal to the soldiers' consciences first? If they fought, the injured miners would be the first to die.
They had nothing to lose.
The leader of one of the units took a step forward, and shouted at Vrk, his hand lifting off his laz to chop at the air.
Vrk answered, calmer, and swept his hand toward the injured miners. Explaining why he'd done what he'd done, she guessed.
She wondered what trouble the warship he'd originally called in to help him was in. They had shot down the runner, they'd destroyed the comms satellite. And they'd refused to kill Vrk and his team.
The commander challenging Vrk obviously didn't like what he was hearing. He pointed to Ben and the other Arkhorans, chop, chop, chopping away with the flat of his hand.
Vrk responded, arms out in a gesture that Tally thought must be universal. It said, well, then, kill me if you have to. Go ahead.
He smacked his chest with his palms. Opened his arms up again.
She gripped her branch so tightly it hurt as the commander slowly raised his laz, took aim at Vrk's head, and then jerked back.
For a confusing moment, Tally didn't understand what had happened, until she saw the raised laz of one of Vrk's soldiers, and the hole between the eyes of the Caruso who'd raised his weapon at Vrk.
It seemed she wasn't the only one in shock.
There was a single, quiet moment where the only sound was the hammering rain, and then the gloom under the trees lit up with the staccato flare of laz fire.
Her gaze went straight to Ben.
He had leaped to the side, rolling toward her tree as the Caruson aimed at their own people.
“Ben!”
He looked up at her, and she pointed to the runners. There were no Caruson soldiers below her anymore and she jumped, grabbing a lower branch and swinging herself forward to land on the ground.
Ben ran, bent over, toward her, and she took off across the field.
It was almost completely dark now, and she had to hope no one would notice them as they ran toward the runners.
Ben caught up with her after a few strides.
“One pilot outside,” she gasped, pointing at the middle runner. She pushed back hair plastered to her face by the rain and ran around the runners, coming in from the back.
Ben moved ahead of her a little, and took the ramp first. He slowed as he made his way through the cargo hold, and she stopped completely, mouth open, at the rows of smooth metal cylinders lined up and secured to one wall.
There was no one on the bridge, and Ben gestured her in, standing aside to let her take the pilot's chair. She hit the sequence to close the door first, and noticed from the corner of her eye that Ben took up position in the cargo bay, laz trained at the door, to make sure no one jumped in as it lifted off.
The sizzle as he fired made her flinch, but she didn't look back and see who he'd had to shoot.
The engines had been set to a low idle, not turned off, and she revved them as she pulled up.
Ben came to stand behind her, one hand on her shoulder.
Her first target had to be the runner in the air, and she fired over it, to get its attention.
It turned on its axis, something she hadn't worked out how to do yet, and she shoved her runner into reverse, drawing her target away from the treeline, from the forest.
If she hit it and it went down where it was hovering, it could kill everyone.
It followed her, and she felt a quick flash of guilt as she realized the pilot must think she'd simply been trying to get his or her attention. Whoever was flying it thought she was Caruson.
The comms unit beside her lit up and someone spoke Caruson in quick sentences, the volume getting louder.
By now, they were a safe distance from the forest, and she shoved down her guilt and fired.
The runner exploded in a ball of flame, veering off to one side. She couldn't help the sound that came out of her throat, and Ben's hand squeezed her shoulder.
She drew in a deep breath and forced herself to move on, to aim at the runners on the ground. It was almost too easy.
“They're both hit,” Ben told her. “Are there search lights on the front of this?”
She looked for them, letting the little helpers have their say, and then switched them on.
Caruson were pouring out of the forest, and while it was difficult for her to read their facial expressions, she had to think they were shocked.
She fired again, this time just in front of them, and some threw down their weapons.
It seemed strange to her that they would give in so quickly, but then Vrk came from behind them, and she had to assume the Caruson leader had somehow gotten the better of them, trapping them between the runner and his soldiers. He was bleeding from a shoulder injury, but he still carried his laz.
Tally slowly lowered the runner. She still hadn't mastered the landing and she wobbled them down to the ground.
She went limp against the chair, tipping back her head.
Ben looked down at her, slowly lowered his forehead to hers.
“How are you flying this?”
“The little helpers. They seem to . . . understand technology.”
He lifted his head, brushed a kiss on her forehead, and stepped back.
“I don't know what we're going to do with the Caruso. We can't keep them prisoner. And the Galaha still has two warships circling it.”
“Go out and speak to Vrk.” She patted the control panel. “Signal me if I need to open fire again.” She wouldn't let her voice wobble. She lowered the door, and he nodded and brushed a last kiss on the top of her head before he walked out the back.
“Ask Vrk to ask one of the other Caruson what those cylinders are,” she shouted after him over the hammer of rain, and he turned to look at her again, nodded, and disappeared into the night.
Tally sat for a moment, just looking blindly out of the big window.
It was more or less light now, thanks to the burning wrecks on either side of her, as well as her own search lights.
She caught a glimpse of Sari, and then Enn, and felt a little lighter with relief.
The sound of boots up the ramp got her out of her chair, looking wildly for a weapon.
“It's me.” Handel lifted both hands as he walked through the cargo hold.
She shook a little as the adrenalin subsided and leaned against the pilot's chair.
“Ben asked me to give you an update.”
“How bad is it?” She didn't understand how any of them were okay after the way the Caruso had opened fire.
He lifted his shoulders. “It was mainly between Vrk's soldiers at the back, and the units that were lined up at the front.”
Something in his voice told her he wasn't exactly broken up about that.
“We hit the ground, and neither side seemed interested in us, or the injured miners.” He turned thoughtful. “Even then, I don't think their hearts were in it a second after they started shooting. They regretted it almost immediately.
“When the runner moved away, they stopped firing altogether.” He shrugged again. “I don't think they know what to do. They're very conflicted.”
“What's g
oing to happen to them?”
Handel shook his head. “I don't think anyone knows what to do now. Ben's suggested all the weapons be transferred to this runner. It'll make killing each other harder. And we'll go off to the supply station.”
“Yes.” She should sound more enthusiastic about that. It had been her plan all along, but she didn't want to know if Frangi had made it. Right now, she could have. She could be fine.
Going to the supply station would tell her for sure.
And all she could remember was the gray under the golden brown of Frangi's skin. The blood.
“Vrk wants you to go check the mine site.”
She bit her lip, and wondered what there was to find there now. She shook her head. “We need to get to Frangi and the others.”
Handel nodded. “So, Raxian Expeditionary Force.” He was staring at her.
“Yes.” She couldn't help the defensiveness in her voice.
“I didn't know it was a special forces unit.”
She shrugged, although her heart was beating double-time at the thought of his scrutiny. “We aren't Arkhorans.”
“Meaning?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“You have a reputation for being a bit . . .” She lifted her hands. “Boastful.”
“Boastful?” He tilted his head.
“Arrogant,” she clarified.
“How did you pull yourself out of that runner into a handstand?” He shook his head. “A fucking handstand.”
“It was hard, my arms were jelly afterward, but I didn't have a choice. That was the only angle I had. The only way I'd fit through.” That was the bare truth. Even if she was leaving what he really wanted to know out.
He shook his head, still unconvinced, but she turned away, suddenly aware she hadn't been keeping watch on what was happening outside.
She heard Handel jog back out behind her, and lifted her shoulders to get rid of the tension she felt talking to him.
She saw Garner on the hover, moving out of the forest toward where Ben and Vrk were standing.
Vrk had one of the new soldiers with them, and they were in urgent conversation. The soldier pointed to her runner, and Vrk turned to look at it, a deep frown on his face.
Garner started waving one arm around, steering with the other. Ben was staring at him, listening, and then he turned toward her, but Vrk put out a hand, stopping him, and said something that made Ben wrench himself away and sprint toward her.
She frowned at the look on his face, glanced down at the scanner, and saw it was registering something big moving down through near-space.
She froze.
The Caruson warships must have been monitoring what was happening here. And at least one of them was going to finish the job themselves.
Chapter 43
Seconds. Ben had seconds to warn her.
And instead of getting out of the runner, Tally was lifting off. What the hell was she thinking?
The ramp was closing, but he leaped up, hooked a hand at the top, and swung his body up, slid down the other side.
The runner lifted and banked left, and he staggered to his feet, and ran to the bridge.
Tally was hunched over the controls, her face a tight mask.
“Why?” he asked.
“I was hoping the warship would follow me, and everyone could scatter.”
Ben gripped his hair in frustration, because she was right. It was following her. The scanner told the story all too well.
And she didn't even know the worst of it.
“Those cylinders are a new bomb the Caruso have developed. They can torch a whole planet.”
“They were going to burn Veltos to the ground?” She almost whispered it.
“Vrk said they wanted to be sure they'd killed everyone. It was just lucky the bombs were on your runner, not one of the three you hit, or we'd all be dead.”
She was silent for what felt like a long time.
“You should have stayed out,” she said.
“Never.” He clipped himself into the seat beside her. “You don't want me to ask it of you. Don't ask it of me.”
She hesitated a moment, then gave a tight nod.
She suddenly threw the controls right, and the night lit up around them, rain dancing in the light of a laz strike from a warship.
Beside them, the forest exploded.
The blast rattled the runner, and Tally seemed to fight the runner as she lifted them up, into the low-slung cloud and higher still.
It was the only choice. If they were hit too close to the planet, it would burn.
The higher they got, the safer. For everyone but them.
He looked over at her profile, set and steady.
“The little helpers happy about this? Putting yourself in danger?”
She gave a low, cynical laugh. Glanced at him. “No. But after you were captured, we came to an arrangement.”
He went still. “What sort of arrangement?”
But he knew there was only one answer. And it involved her risking herself for him.
She shook her head, lips tight. “It doesn't matter. It needed doing.” Her expression softened as she glanced at him again. “It was a good thing.”
He tore his gaze from hers, suddenly cold at the thought that they didn't know where the warship was.
But it was gone.
He checked again.
“Where could it be?”
Tally shook her head, her focus on sending them higher still.
They were close to the top of the atmosphere now, the clouds far behind them.
“That you, Guthrie?” The comms unit sprang to life.
Ben grinned at the temper in the voice. “Commander Reskit. What's happening?”
“We were in a tight spot with two warships, but then one raced off and came after you, and that left us with one, which evened the odds.” He paused. “I gather we can thank that little Raxian for the information Garner transmitted up to us, information from the Caruson on why they were on Veltos, and the basics on what they use that mineral for.”
Ben stopped smiling. “Her name is Tally Riva.”
Reskit grunted. “I know her name. She stole a runner right from under my damn nose.”
“She's flying this one now.”
“I guessed.” Reskit sounded touchy. “We're waiting for more of the fleet to arrive but the warship that ran off to deal with you is back, and it probably has something to do with the small fleet that arrived from Situ, towing a new satellite.”
Ben went still. “What are they doing here?”
“We obviously couldn't signal them once we got into this system to let them know about the warships, and someone very efficient at Situ decided to come right away and replace the one that was lost.” He sounded bemused. “We managed to put ourselves between them and the warships, and get them to come right in beside us, but now we're protecting them, and we can't maneuver like we could before.”
“You need us to be a diversion.” Ben stated it baldly.
“I don't know if you can be, but anything will be better than nothing. We've got support coming in at any time. I'm surprised they aren't here already. Captain Harris called for help before we even entered the Veltos solar system.”
Ben looked over at Tally, and she gave a nod. “We'll do what we can,” he said, and cut the commander off.
They were in near-space now but even so, when he looked down, far below, he saw the bloom of light.
“What do you think--?”
“One of those, maybe?” Tally gestured to the bombs in the back. “Dropped on the mine.”
Ben stood right up against the window to get a better look. “That would have been Enn and Va-Laya down there. If you hadn't gotten them.”
She nodded. “Do you think it will burn out? Can it really never stop?”
“I don't know.” Urgency gripped him, because the Caruson could not get away with this. Could not be allowed to go back down and burn more.
“How do they drop
them?” Tally asked. “They wouldn't put them on the ground in person, surely?”
No, they wouldn't. Not if they were this dangerous. He moved to the back, noticed the hatch on one side for dropping supplies.
“Question is, do they explode on impact, or do you have to set them?”
Tally came out the bridge and crouched beside him.
“Auto-pilot?” he asked, and she nodded, her hands moving over one of the bombs, as if learning the shape of it by feel.
Her face was set, her eyes closed. Like she was communing with it. Her whole body seemed to shudder in disgust.
“Here.” She opened her eyes, and turned the cylinder around a little, and brushed her finger over an area that lit up. It was flashing a word. “I can't read that.” Her voice was thick.
Ben shook his head. “Neither can I.”
She swiped her finger over it, and it changed, changed again, and then it was back to the original word.
He stood, put out his hand to pull her up, to get her away from the cylinders, because her reaction to them was extreme.
They seemed to make her sick.
He drew her back to the bridge, tapped the comms unit. “Commander, I need to know what a few Caruson words mean.”
He could hear Reskit's annoyance at having been cut off earlier in his commander's voice, but then the translator took over.
She gave him the terms as he read them out. Inert, Timer, Detonate on Impact.
He carefully set them all to inert, and moved back to the bridge.
“Got any ideas?”
She nodded. “The Galaha want a diversion, we can give them one.”
“There they are.” He pointed up ahead, and looming beside the moon were two warships. One was bigger than the other, and Ben guessed the smaller one had come after them earlier. The bigger one didn't look like it could easily dip into near-space and get back out again.
Tally opened up the engines, so the runner raced toward the big ships, and when they had almost reached them, he saw a runner just like theirs drop out of the launch bay of the smaller one, and head toward them.
Too slow, he hoped. The Caruson had noticed them too late.
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