As the barrier disappeared with a sizzle and residual sparks, Aydarr stepped forward, blanketing the cat with his power. The beast lay on the floor, flanks heaving. “Leave the cell,” he said to the woman, keeping his focus on the Badari beast.
“I should stay with him.” Her protest was instant. “I can help you with taking care of him.” Hands on her hips, she paused a few feet away from Aydarr. “You are going to rescue him too, aren’t you? If not, let the two of us go on our own and we’ll be fine.”
“He’s in good hands with us, I give you my word,” Aydarr said, working hard to keep a growl out of his voice. There was no time for complications—his troops had to clear the site—but he admired her concern for the beast. “I need you to travel with the other humans, and we’ll bring this one with us.”
The human woman continued to be stubborn, retreating a step. “I want to be with him. You can’t separate us.”
“Lady, we’re running out of time here and I’m not leaving either of you behind. You can go on your own or I can order my men to stun you both and we’ll carry you out. This situation isn’t up for discussion.”
She stepped out of her chosen spot, walked slowly past the cat, pausing to stroke its head, bending to whisper in the cat’s ear, a private murmur Aydarr’s enhanced hearing caught. “I think we can trust these men but, as soon as I get wherever we’re going, I’ll find you.”
As soon as she was outside the cell, Mateer wrapped her in his own shirt, which visibly upset the beast and the animal rose and snarled. The enforcer paid no attention but rushed Elianna away, heading outside to reach the flyers.
She will come to no harm. Aydarr reinforced his control over the animal. He stepped forward and laid one hand on the cat’s head, flooding the chaotic mind with a command to sleep. A moment later, the unusual Badari closed its eyes and slumped to the floor. “Stun him now, lowest possible charge,” Aydarr said over his shoulder. “We’ll have to restrain and muzzle him for the flight to the valley.”
He stepped away so his men could handle the task.
“What are we going to do with the poor bastard?” Darik asked, handing his Alpha a nutrient drink. “I hate like hell to see us running a zoo for Badari changelings.”
Aydarr considered his options. “Maybe Timtur will have useful ideas,” he said, naming the pack’s healer. “Or maybe our AI can find relevant records to help us undo whatever the Khagrish did to him. He’s not one of ours, which means someone else is creating Badari on this planet. We have a new priority, to find that lab and destroy it.”
“He might have been created here,” Darik said, although his tone was dubious.
“I doubt it. We’d have found more of them. And the essential equipment was lacking.”
“Should I send an order ahead to prepare a suitable cage?” The other Badari grimaced as if he’d swallowed something disagreeable. “He can’t be allowed to roam free.”
“No, I agree. Send the order to Nicolle—she can organize anything. Impressive skills, your mate.” Aydarr took his weapon and the squad cleared the building, leaving several men behind to transport the huge cat.
Darik grinned and nodded in acknowledgment of praise for his mate, who’d managed a spaceport on her original home world but now served as Aydarr’s assistant. “I was Goddess-blessed when I fell for her.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the prison wing. “Do you think this guy we’ve rescued has feelings for the human the Khagrish placed in his cell? Is that even possible?”
Aydarr refused to engage in idle speculation although he had his suspicions. “We’ll need to debrief the woman, see what she knows. He certainly was fixated on protecting her.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
As the giant man carried her at a run from the cell block toward a waiting flyer, Elianna debated whether to tell him more about Kierce and who he really was. The fact she’d given her word not to reveal his story without his permission gave her pause. Guilt assailed her like a cold wind at being removed so easily from his presence and not adequately defending him. But surely these were his people, right? The facial resemblance and body structure similarity to how Kierce appeared as a man was unmistakable. They’d know what to do for him. “The tiger will be all right?” she asked in Basic, shouting a bit to be heard over the continuing explosions. The mission objectives for these rescuers apparently included blowing up the entire lab facility. “You won’t leave him behind?”
“He’ll be fine,” the soldier said, flicking her a brief glance. “He’ll have to exfil on a later flyer though, as the Alpha told you. Can’t mix him in with humans. Aydarr would never break his word.”
The firm answer was reassuring. She and the man carrying her reached the landing pad and a crowd of humans stood in a bunch ahead, guarded by more of the towering soldiers.
“Can you walk?” her escort asked.
“I could have made it here on my own two feet, since you’re asking me now.” She ignored the quaking nerves in her gut. “I’m fine.”
He brought her to the edge of the more or less orderly queue lined up to board a flyer, while another craft hovered overhead, and he set her on her feet. “Stick with the crowd, you’ll be taken to the sanctuary valley in a few minutes and assisted in your adjustment to life there.”
As Elianna looked around in a daze, clutching the borrowed shirt, the man gestured sharply to one of the other Badari nearby, who came running. “We found her in the other cell block. Make sure she gets on the flyer and doesn’t wander off. Not sure what’s been done to her.”
“I’m fine. And grateful for the rescue,” she said hastily, appreciative of the courtesy which led him to speak in Basic for her benefit. “Thank you.”
The man who’d carried her gave her a quick nod and headed toward the prison wing before she could ask him when she’d be able to see Kierce again.
A raised voice cut through the chaos. “Elianna!”
Hearing her name, she pivoted and scanned the crowd. Suze came running toward her, shoving through the ranks of humans. the two women embraced, both in tears. Elianna was relieved to see her friend again and overjoyed to be out of the lab. She hoped she wasn’t being too trusting about these new arrivals but seeing a few humans in uniform, mixed into the ranks of the invaders and acting as equals was reassuring.
“I thought we’d never see you again,” Suze said. “What happened to you? What did they do?”
“If you ladies could keep moving, please.” The nearest soldier was polite but firm. “We’re on a deadline here.”
“The guards put me in another cell, with an—an alien, and they were hoping it would kill me.” Elianna shuffled forward with her friend toward the aircraft. “But the alien was lonely and made me a companion instead. I’ve basically been sitting in a cell, playing solitaire.” And waiting to be tortured to force Kierce to comply with their demands. “How about you?”
Suze eyed her up and down. “I’m guessing it wasn’t as simple as you’re letting on. In our cell the Khagrish kept taking more and more people every day. Most didn’t come back. But I saw a few of the missing being loaded onto another flyer while we waited here today, so maybe there are more survivors.” She shivered. “The guards took me to a lab once or twice, but all the lab techs did was test my reflexes, simple stuff, nothing too awful. “
From the way Suze hugged herself protectively and the shadows in her eyes Elianna surmised more had happened than her friend was describing, but she didn’t want to ask questions right now. “Who are these people rescuing us, do you know? Where did they come from?”
“Don’t you know?” Suze eyed her as the women inched forward on the flyer’s ramp. “Seemed like you were getting special treatment—didn’t your rescuers tell you anything?”
“I was the only one in our cell block. The only human anyway,” she clarified. “The soldiers were in a rush to get me out of their way and to a flyer. Hurry up and wait.”
One of the Badari moved in behind her to cut off the line.
Elianna turned. “What’s the rush, soldier?”
“We gotta clear the site before the enemy mounts a counteroffensive,” he said. “Don’t worry—we’re good at what we do. We’ll get you to safety.”
The soldier stepped off the end of the ramp, which immediately began to rise. Elianna crowded Suze into the main body of the shuttle.
“Sorry a few of you are going to have to be standing room only,” another Badari announced, cradling his pulse rifle as he leaned against a bulkhead and watched the newly freed humans jammed into the confined space. “The flight takes about two hours but then you’ll be able to eat, rest, get medical attention, I promise.”
Automatically, Elianna shifted her weight as the shuttle banked sharply, eliciting gasps from many in the crowded passenger area. She wondered who was flying this craft. She had so many questions about this rescue and where they were going, but the nearby soldier didn’t seem inclined to chat. Another stood at the bow, blocking the entrance to the cockpit.
“Well organized,” she said to Suze in a low voice. “Like he said, they’ve obviously done this before.”
“You ladies might want to go ahead and sit in the aisle,” the closest soldier said to her. “It’ll be more comfortable, especially if Flo has to make any more evasive maneuvers.”
“Is Flo the pilot?” she asked. The name meant nothing to her, which was a bit disappointing. So far she’d hardly seen any of the crew members from her ship in the crowd, except for Suze. She’d briefly entertained the forlorn hope one of her own ship’s pilots might have been pressed into service to do the flying.
“Human pilot, right. Used to be in your Special Forces.” He seemed happy to share the information as if hoping to reassure them.
“Care to answer a few questions for us?” she asked.
“You’ll have a full debrief at sanctuary valley,” he said, his face impassive as he straightened and stared above her head, checking the rest of the passengers. “We’ve found it’s simpler to tell everyone the same thing at the same time. Cuts down on rumors.” Unbending a little, he added, “But you’re safe now. The Khagrish can’t get at us in the valley.”
The statement was meant to be reassuring but Elianna didn’t take the information at face value. What kind of protection could her rescuers have and how impregnable was it? Her mind was full of questions but, primarily, she wanted to know about Kierce. This soldier wouldn’t have any information on the tiger since he hadn’t been part of the team in the cell block. Leaning uncomfortably against the nearest row of seats, the flyer’s deck hard under her, Elianna settled in for the duration of the flight.
When the flyer landed and the passengers told to debark, Elianna and her fellow humans were directed by two more Badari to sit on rough wooden risers off to the side of the landing field. Young Badari males passed out bottles of nutrient drink and, once the group was seated, a human woman took her place in front of the attentive crowd.
“I’m Jill Garrison, originally from the Amarcae 7 colony, ex-Sectors Special Forces and currently second in command here,” she said, her strong voice projecting easily. “Welcome to what we call Sanctuary Valley. All of us humans here were kidnapped from colonies or ships in the Sectors by the Shemdylann pirates at the behest of the Chimmer. We were all brought to this world to serve as subjects of experimentation by the Khagrish.” Jill gave them a tight smile. “Most of you know this already but bear with me.” She indicated the large soldier standing at her side. “The Badari people were also held prisoner here for centuries by the Khagrish. We’ve become allies, managed to break out of our original prison together, and found safety here. I’m not going to bore you with a lot of details today. But let me assure you of two things—one, the valley is heavily guarded and protected, and the Khagrish cannot recapture you. Two, the Badari are deeply committed to this long term war against the Khagrish and equally invested in rescuing the human prisoners.”
“When can we go home?” a woman shouted from the crowd, the voice desperate.
Jill shook her head. “Better start thinking of this as your home. A new colony begun under hardship conditions. I won’t sugar coat it—we have no idea where we are in relation to the Sectors and, to date, we’ve been unsuccessful in establishing contact with anyone off planet.”
Gasps and murmurs rippled among her fellow survivors. Suze grabbed at her hand and held on tight. Elianna patted her shoulder gently and took a deep breath. “I guess I kinda already knew the answer,” she said in a low voice. “I sure didn’t recognize any of the stars.”
The speaker raised her hands for quiet. “The immediate next steps are to get you all processed, given new clothes, and established in rooms at the dormitories.” She tilted her head and tried hard for a lighter tone. “We live in caves here, by the way, but very nice caves. All the amenities.” She turned to the left and another human woman stepped forward. “This is Nicolle, head of administration in the valley. She’ll get you going on orientation.” Jill and her escort departed. Another Badari soldier stepped up to flank Nicolle.
Nicolle was as intense as Jill had been. Elianna realized despite the constant reassurances of their safety, life here had to be fraught with pressure. The idea of forming a new colony was nice and placating to an extent, but they were at war. And if no contact had been made with the human authorities in the Sectors, this small bunch here was fighting the entire combined might of the Khagrish and the Chimmer beyond them. Not good odds.
As she and her companions were guided off the risers and organized into a line for individual orientation, she watched the people in her vicinity. Most seemed to be in shock. This morning they’d been helpless prisoners, with no hope, waiting to be tortured in meaningless experiments, and now the men and women were free but apparently could never go home.
And the rescued humans were expected to do their part, as she learned. The valley people had a tent set up and each new arrival was shuttled through a rapid, cursory medical exam. A few people were shunted to the side for treatment in a separate field clinic, and Elianna watched two taken away at a rapid pace on antigrav litters. “Where are they going?” she asked Bettira, the woman assigned to interview her.
“We have a small hospital,” she said. “A top notch human doctor, a nurse, a few medics, two Badari healers. Although the healers don’t usually work on us humans.” Eyeing her handheld, Bettira made a quick note. “You’re Elianna McNamee, yes? Date you were captured? What was your occupation and where were you when kidnapped?”
She gave a date, guessing from Bettira’s quickly suppressed frown she’d surprised the woman. “What did I say?”
“As nearly as we can calculate what the current date is, you were kidnapped five standard years ago. We have residents from various times in the past two or three decades because the Khagrish keep their experimental subjects in stasis envelopes until they need more people for new protocols. And we believe their allies have been doing an ever increasing amount of raiding along the Sectors’ frontier.” Bettira eyed her. “You okay?”
Elianna had to swallow hard, blinking against the vertigo she was experiencing. Five years. Five. Years.
She tried to shake the shock off and remember the other questions. “I was on board the Mackenzie. I’m the assistant engineer. Well, I was.” She looked at the forest growing right up to the edge of the landing area, and the dark blue lake sparkling in the sun. Beautiful but primitive. And Jill had said they were living in caves. “Not much call for those talents here, I guess.”
“You’d be surprised. We have a lot of tech stolen from Khagrish labs.” Bettira grinned. “Although many of us are learning jobs outside our specialty. The valley needs us all to pull together if we’re going to survive. The more people we rescue, the heavier the load on resources here.”
More to make conversation than anything else, Elianna asked, “What did you do in the Sectors?”
“Advanced cybernetics for the Amarcae colony. But for now I’m on Nicolle’s admin team, and I rotate through other assignments as needed when the admin duties are light.” She made a face. “It was kitchen duty last week and, let me tell you, the chef is a hard boss to please.” Bettira met her eyes to make sure she was paying attention. “So, here’s the deal, the next week you’ll be housed in the newcomers’ section of the women’s dormitory. There’ll be a detailed debriefing meeting to find out what you saw and heard at the Khagrish lab, and we’ll supply more details and context about the valley, the Badari and the war. Handhelds are available at the dorm, and you can go at your own pace if you’re impatient, or you can attend the briefings we offer. Everyone goes through mandatory weapons training. Different levels of intensity depending on individual capabilities, but we all have to be ready to defend the valley if needed, and we can always use more soldiers if a person shows the right aptitude.”
“I can fly a shuttle,” Elianna said. “A human shuttle anyway.”
“Good to know. Definitely a transferable skill. Our team of pilots is pretty thin.” Bettira made more notes.
Leaning back in her chair, Elianna too stock of what was going on in the tent, where several other ex-prisoners were being interviewed. “Why won’t anyone answer questions today?”
Bettira laughed. “We’ve found people are too much in shock on day one to really take in information, unless they’re ex-military. Civilians like me tend to need a few days to adapt so we’ve developed a week of graduated phase-in. Otherwise we waste a lot of time repeating ourselves. You’re reacting pretty calmly, though. What did you want to know most?”
Elianna wanted to establish the command parameters of the situation. “The Badari run things?”
“It’s their planet.” Bettira shrugged. “The guy in charge of everything here is Aydarr, the Alpha.”
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