“I did receive a briefing in the flyer on the way here from the lab,” Fallyn said. “It was definitely made clear to me who’s in charge. But as active duty military, it’s my responsibility to report to you.”
Jadrian knocked on the door and next minute a human carried in a huge tray full of covered dishes and nutrient drink containers. Fallyn caught a whiff of a delicious aroma and realized with shock how hungry she was. The woman set the tray in front of her with a murmured, “Welcome to the valley,” and then left as quietly as she’d arrived.
“Please go ahead and eat,” Taura said. “We have an exceptional chef, Sandara. I’m told she ran a marvelous restaurant at the Amarcae Seven colony, although no one’s ever explained to me how she ended up there. We all know how she ended up here of course.”
Fallyn knew. There’d been absolutely no mention of this woman she was now speaking with, however. Uncovering the various dishes to buy herself time, she was amazed at the variety of the offerings. “Is this special for me or do they cook like this every night?”
“Try the fresh rolls with berry jam on them,” Taura suggested, snagging one for herself. “We’re fortunate this valley is teeming with wildlife and the lake is equally full of fish. We’ve got a huge kitchen garden going, and then of course there are local fruits and berries. And we pick up rations when we take down a lab, but we’d rather not rely on those. Did you meet Walt by any chance? Or Gabe?”
“Gabe was the pilot who brought me here. I didn’t meet anyone named Walt.”
“Well I was an undercover agent, doing work we don’t talk about even here, and so it was quite accidental I have the highest rank.” Taura made a face and filched a handful of green berries from the tray. “Walt thinks it’s mildly hilarious I outrank all the other humans because strictly speaking, I’m not in the military. He’s active duty Special Forces but was being sent in as reinforcement for my mission so he’d have been under my command technically, loaned out to me as senior officer in the field.” She shrugged. “Although actually, Jill Garrison outranks everyone but Aydarr. She’s his mate and second in command in the valley. Even the Badari obey her.”
In her mind, Fallyn sifted the data she had on the colony and remembered Jill was a retired Special Forces technical sergeant with a lot of combat action on her record so it made sense the soldiers respected her. “I was told she freed the Badari?”
“Yes, the Khagrish made the mistake of seriously underestimating her. She took excellent advantage of their lapse and escaped. Jill’s a force of nature herself so she’s a good match for the Alpha. And it’s satisfying to see a human woman at the top of the pack with him, frankly.” Taura smiled. “She’s garnered a lot of goodwill and respect all of us benefit from.”
“And she found an alien Artificial Intelligence?” Fallyn was trying to stitch together what she’d been told on the flyer.
“MARL. You’ll meet him tomorrow. He’s been most anxious to meet you, ever since the first rumors were picked up hinting a Sectors scout ship had crashed. He’s craving astronavigational data.”
“I met MARL 20—he was with the squad who rescued us. Quite the unusual robo.”
“MARL and his progeny are much more than robos, way more advanced than any Sectors AI.” Taura made a dismissive gesture. “But that’s all for tomorrow. You need to refresh yourself, get a clean set of clothes and have a good night’s sleep. Nicolle, the valley administrator, decided to give you a room in the women’s dorm. She thought you might prefer the situation for now, rather than being isolated in your own cave.” Head tilted, she studied Fallyn. “Did you have other accommodation in mind?”
A bit puzzled at first by the question, Fallyn wondered with a rush of embarrassment if the woman was delicately trying to find out if she’d expected to share a bunk with Reede. “I’m happy with whatever accommodations are available, ma’am. I’m used to roughing it although I can’t say I ever slept in a cave before.”
“No need to call me ma’am. We don’t pay attention to military rank or forms of address here. These caves are unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. MARL provides heat and light and the dorm cave has its own mineral hot springs pool for bathing. I’ve asked for Stores to send a runner over there with clean clothes. I do need to request you to stay at the dorm for now, no wandering around, not without a Badari escort. The Alpha is most anxious you be protected.”
“Of course. No problem.” In her estimation so far, the situation in the valley was complex but under tight control. Fallyn’s head was whirling a bit but Taura had more instructions and admonitions.
“Don’t explain yourself to the other women in the dorm either. Aydarr doesn’t want any word getting out that we have a Sectors scout in our midst.” Taura sighed. “Certain information has to remain need-to-know only and your status is one of them. Just say you were a crew person on a hijacked ship and claim your memory isn’t so clear, after the tough events you went through and people will accept the statement. Some people want to talk about what they endured with the Khagrish and others don’t so everyone understands.”
“Were you one of the people who sent the fastlink message?”
Taura made a face. “One of the worst experiences of my life frankly, but it had to be done.” She rattled off her military ID and then added the Amarcae Seven colony identifier. “Does that set your mind at rest, lieutenant? We’re the real deal here.”
“I had to make sure.” Fallyn stopped herself from adding ‘ma’am’ in the nick of time. “So if Aydarr’s the Alpha and Jill Garrison’s his mate, who else is in the command structure?”
“Aydarr has two lieutenants. The Badari call them enforcers. Mateer is the top of the hierarchy and you’ve met the other man, Reede.” Taura raised her eyebrows. “The Alpha sent in the best available to find you. Reede’s one hell of a soldier, tough as nails, never fails to accomplish his objective from what I’ve seen. All the Badari are deadly, don’t get me wrong, but Reede is on a whole other level. He has quite the reputation. No one’s going to challenge him for dominance.”
Fallyn had questions but being honest with herself, knew they were personal, not operational so she held her tongue.
“All right, if you’re done eating, let’s get going over to the dorm cave,” Taura said. “The kitchen will send a staffer to retrieve the tray and the dishes. Everyone works in the valley.”
“What will I be assigned to do?” she asked as they left the conference room and rejoined Jadrian. “I can learn to fly one of the shuttles. Obviously I’m combat qualified.”
Taura exchanged a quick kiss with her mate and the three of them headed down the hall toward the main entrance. “It’ll be up to Aydarr,” she said although Fallyn again had the distinct feeling there was something Taura was aware of and wasn’t sharing.
Well Command’s prerogative was to keep secrets. She’d know soon enough what she was being assigned to do while the authorities here looked her over and decided to brief her on the Chimmer ship Darik had already let slip they owned. If it was kitchen duty though, she might make a fuss.
As the excitement of escaping from the lab wore off, Fallyn’s aches and pains made themselves more apparent and she reluctantly took one of the meds Dr. Madarian had given her for just such an eventuality. The dorm cave was a marvel, with prefab modular rooms inside a giant cavern. As promised silvery AI units stationed here and there provided heat and light, and Fallyn soaked for a long time in the soothing water of the mineral pool.
Clean clothes had been delivered to her room by the time she arrived and she marveled all over again at the efficiency with which the valley was run. Reviewing her mental files, she knew the woman ‘Nicolle’ everyone kept referring to was from the colony and had been the spaceport manager, so Fallyn assumed the woman had now applied her considerable talents to organizing life in the valley.
A couple of women in the dorm introduced themselves to her but as Taura had said, no one pressed her for any details of her capture or her escap
e. As Fallyn was putting on the big tee shirt she’d been given as a nightgown, a young woman knocked and popped her head in. “I’m Bettira, sorry not to have said hello sooner but I was on intake duty at the landing field, working with the new people who were rescued today.” She smiled with pride. “Rescuee orientation is my primary job here in the valley—I’m on Nicolle’s admin staff—but when we don’t have newcomers to work with, I do other odd jobs.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Fallyn said, waiting to see why the woman had made a special point of seeking her out. “My congratulations on how smoothly the operation runs here, given the situation.”
Bettira flushed with pleasure at the compliment. “The Badari like structure and Nicolle excels at providing it, so we have a win-win arrangement. I won’t stay more than a minute, I promise. I understand you’re a special rescuee. Nicolle asked me to make sure you get breakfast early in the morning and then you have a meeting with the Alpha and his command staff at nine.” Bettira shook her head ruefully. “The Alpha’s not a patient person so you’re lucky he didn’t want to have the meeting tonight. I think Dr. Madarian told him to let you have your rest. Anyway, I’ll be here at eight to go to breakfast in the dining hall with you. We keep Terran Standard Time since the planet’s rotation is similar, by the way.”
“Kind of you to escort me, thanks.” Fallyn wondered if she’d see Reede either at breakfast or at the meeting. If he was one of Aydarr’s right hand men as Taura had said, then she might. Otherwise she’d have to ask someone how to track him down in the valley. To say thanks for the rescue. But she couldn’t lie to herself. Yeah, right, any excuse will do. The big soldier had gotten under her skin, unlike any other man she’d ever met. There seemed to be quite a few Badari-human couples in the valley, so surely she and Reede could be friends at least.
Bettira showed up a few minutes before eight, dressed in utility pants, sensible shoes and a tee shirt, much as Fallyn herself was. “Ready to wade into the dining hall?” the woman asked with a friendly smile. “We have a Badari escort—he was waiting outside—and we’re to eat at the Badari table, he says. Which will make a lot of people jealous, let me tell you.”
As they walked toward the cave’s exit, Fallyn asked, “Why is it a big deal to eat at their table?”
“The Badari keep to themselves at meals, pretty much, and usually only their mates and really close friends among the humans get invited to sit with them.” A frown passed over Bettira’s face. “We had an incident in the valley not too long ago, a kidnapping of a mate, and the situation got pretty tense, which didn’t help matters. But we’re slowly getting back to normal.”
“Reede said something about us being mates,” Fallyn said, meaning it as a light hearted comment. “Maybe that’s why I was invited.”
Bettira stopped dead in the corridor and grabbed her arm. “Reede mentioned mates? Are you sure? Did he—did he claim you?”
“The idea seemed like a ploy to fool the Khagrish at the time, frankly,” Fallyn said, astonished. “I don’t know what you mean by claiming. The guys asked me that too, when we were out in the mountains.”
“You’d know if it had happened. Listen, I wouldn’t mention what he said to anyone else if I were you and especially not to the Badari.” Bettira gave an elaborate shiver. “Reede! Wow.”
“I think you’d better explain before I make a huge faux pas and offend my hosts,” Fallyn said, obscurely irritated with how the other woman was reacting to what she’d intended as a light hearted remark.
Bettira struggled with how to clarify her reaction, searching for the right words. “Mates are a touchy subject to the Badari, almost a sacred thing to them. Maybe Reede did use the term to manipulate the Khagrish where you were concerned but he wouldn’t want you to be talking about it. Not with other humans for sure.” Bettira’s brow was furrowed as she resumed walking. “And he’s a scary person. He’s an enforcer, you know.”
“He was a straight up soldier,” Fallyn said, finding herself disturbed at the critical tone in Bettira’s voice.
“Well yeah, they all are, but he’s stone cold. No mercy. Why do you think he and Mateer are called enforcers? Because the job is to enforce the Alpha’s justice.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this. Thanks for the heads up not to utter the word mate at breakfast.” Fallyn tried to shift the conversation onto smoother ground.
“Good idea.” Bettira nodded vigorously. “Here’s our escort, meet Halden.”
He was like all the other Badari, well-muscled, handsome, efficient and not an opponent she would have wanted to take on in hand to hand combat. The soldier was mostly silent as he and Bettira escorted her to the communal dining hall which, like everything else in the valley with a few exceptions was located in a cave, lighted and powered by more MARL units, or so she supposed. Fallyn was getting more and more eager to meet this alien AI. She hoped he’d be at her meeting with the Alpha in an hour.
Going through the food line, Fallyn was conscious of scrutiny and figured it was because she was new. When she walked to the Badari table with her companions, she heard whispers and saw they were drawing a lot of attention.
“It’s because no one knows who you are and yet you’ve been invited to their table,” Bettira said, obviously figuring out what Fallyn was thinking.
Several of the big soldiers greeted them and moved to make room for the trio to sit. There were younger Badari seated across from Fallyn and she was fascinated at how much they resembled their larger pack brothers. The place was crowded but to Fallyn’s disappointment there was no sign of Reede and after Bettira’s reaction to what she’d said about him, she didn’t feel she could ask if he’d be coming to eat, or had already grabbed a meal and left.
There was good natured banter among the Badari and a few made an effort to include Bettira and even Fallyn in the conversation but for the most part she was content to eat the excellent food and take it all in.
“How are you doing?” Bettira asked, handing her more jam for the toast. “Need anything else to eat? We have to go in a few minutes or you’ll be late for the meeting and no one keeps Aydarr waiting.”
“I’m fine. Reminds me of the junior officers’ mess at my starbase actually. These guys have good camaraderie.” The easy atmosphere put her partly at ease, which was a good thing with the upcoming meeting with the Alpha, who was a huge unknown.
“Nothing fazes them, or not for long,” Bettira agreed.
Or they’ve gotten good at hiding their reactions after 800 years of captivity. Fallyn swallowed another delicious mouthful and washed it down with the tea her Badari hosts insisted she try. The beverage was a variation on what the team had served her while she was on maneuvers in the mountains, with a more minty flavor and she liked it. She decided to ask one question and see what result she got. “Was Reede here earlier maybe?”
“He doesn’t eat here,” said the soldier beside her, giving her a speculative look. “Gets his meals in the barracks. Did you expect to see him?”
“No, I wanted to thank him for the help he gave me at the lab,” she said. “I can connect with him later.”
“He wants to talk to you, he’ll find you,” the soldier said, not unkindly. “We do our jobs, no thanks necessary.”
That was the last thing anyone said to her before Bettira and her laconic escort pulled her away to walk to the small office complex which was well away from the residence caves. Fallyn took note of the guards stationed to keep anyone out who didn’t have a good reason to be there.
“There are areas of the valley off limits to humans completely,” Bettira said after passing through the sentry line. “But it’s a huge place so there’s no problem. We were lucky Jill found this sanctuary for all of us.”
“Good fishing in the lake,” their Badari escort said with the most enthusiasm Fallyn had seen him exhibit so far.
“I like to fish,” she said, trying to find a common area of interest. “We had terrific sport fishing on the planet where I
was based. Good eating too of course but they made you work hard to land them.”
He snapped his jaws, revealing his fangs ever so slightly. “We catch them bare handed in the water.”
Ok then….
“Here we are,” Bettira said, pausing at the entrance to the building, which was another patchwork of scavenged building materials. Gazing around Fallyn appreciated that the structure was well camouflaged and probably wouldn’t be easily seen from above either. “I’m not part of the meeting. If no one’s assigned to escort you to the barracks when you’re done, call me on the com and I’ll swing by to pick you up.”
“I can find my way to the proper cave, no problem.” Fallyn was amused at the idea a recon scout like her might need help to avoid getting lost, but of course she couldn’t explain to Bettira. “Thanks for all the help today.”
“My pleasure. The first week here can be pretty overwhelming.” With a wave, the other woman hastened away.
With her escort at her heels, Fallyn entered the admin building and then allowed him to direct her to the Alpha’s conference room.
Taura was already there, with Gabe and another man who she hastily introduced as Walt. They all shook hands and then took their seats.
“Aydarr will be here soon,” Taura said, “With Jill and MARL. Just an after action report, although they’ll probably have other questions. Permission given to speak freely, lieutenant. We have no secrets from the Alpha.”
She acknowledged the instruction as the door opened and a new group of Badari and one human woman entered the room, accompanied by a large floating orb, which flashed multiple colors across its surface in a dizzying display. Everyone rose and the Alpha came to shake her hand.
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