Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  Two minutes’ brisk walk, interrupted by a short pause to adjust the straps of her sandals while the sergeant forged ahead, and Andi came around a curve in the road to run right into Wilson’s outstretched hand. “Stop, don’t look.” He made an effort to grab her around the waist and turn her back.

  Annoyed, she evaded him then saw the burnt-out hulk of the shrine straight ahead. Charred bodies lay everywhere, in and beside the ruins. She realized the rebels must have herded all the remaining survivors into the shrine and burned it to the ground, shooting any who tried to escape. Doubling over as cramps assaulted her, Andi threw up the hard roll she’d eaten earlier, retching until she had the dry heaves. Wilson supported her, keeping her hair out of the way.

  “Andi?” Deverane had come from somewhere to stand beside her. He gently touched her arm. “You all right?”

  “No, I’m not all right. How can the rebels do such unspeakable things?” She rubbed her abdomen gingerly, sore from the vomiting.

  Deverane gathered her against his broad chest, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. “Go ahead, let it all out. You’ve been so stoic. I figured the emotional dam would break sooner or later. Shh, it’s okay.” His hands stroked softly through her hair. Andi sighed, lowering her head, listening to the reassuringly steady beat of his heart through the uniform shirt. Shuddering, she concentrated on breathing in and out slowly, regaining her self-control.

  “I’ll get the others, sir.” Wilson draped the two packs over his arm and left.

  “We’ll be going out by the west,” the captain said, over Andi’s head. “No need for anyone else to have to look at this today. The three of us are enough.”

  Deverane tightened his arms around her. Andi was acutely conscious of how the two of them stood pressed together, their bodies meeting. I want to linger in his arms forever. Let him keep all the bad things of the world at bay. But we need to be going. I’m not staying in this village after dark. She took a deep breath, the constriction on her chest easing, and moved away. “Hadn’t we better get going, join the others?” She risked a look at him. He still watched her with a warm, tender look in his eyes. Andi made her voice stronger, more positive. “I’ll be all right.”

  “Take your time.” Deverane reached out and tilted her face with a gentle hand on her chin. His gaze locked onto Andi’s for a long moment before his hand fell away, and he looked at the trail beyond her. His impassive military demeanor snapped back into place. “I want to be well away from here by dark.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” She walked down the dusty street behind him, hurrying to catch up with the rest of their party.

  Andi found Sadu, cooing and laughing as he rode in a complicated harness on Abukawal’s back. The toddler was clearly delighted by this newfound perspective on the world.

  Latvik saw Andi eyeing the carrier. Grinning, he pointed his thumb at his own puffed-out chest. “Found it next to one of the overturned carts. I figured it had to be for a baby.”

  “Makes managing him on the trail much simpler, yes?” Abukawal said with a wide smile, apparently enjoying Sadu’s happiness.

  Deverane said, “I checked the shrine thoroughly. Whoever did this made a special target of the priest and his comlink. What happened here was a well-planned attack, not random, mob-driven slaughter. Doesn’t look like these poor people had any warning and little chance of defending themselves. A few tried—I found the bodies of several Naranti rebels. The Shenti villagers managed to exact a little payment before they died.”

  Andi took a swig of water from her canteen, swirled it in her mouth then spat it out into the dust. “Good.”

  Chapter Four

  Hours of hiking later, Deverane approved Latvik’s choice of camp site. The place was a small, rocky plateau jutting from a sheer cliff with a peaceful lake rippling on two sides. An unlimited field of vision from the summit allowed the soldiers to watch for any raiding parties, or anyone on the trail. “This is the most defensible place I’ve seen all day,” he said.

  Wearily, Andi set about feeding Sadu some dinner off to the side of the plateau so the others could construct a camp without a toddler underfoot. Sadu dined with noisy satisfaction on fruit that Andi sliced in small bits, using one of the deadly combat knives. She mixed the raw juice with water from the canteen and got him to drink some. He toyed with a hard roll, enjoying the process of shredding it into crumbs, a few of which made the journey into his mouth. In the middle of tearing at the roll, the toddler fell asleep and the bread fell from his chubby hand.

  “He needs a nap, Andi.” Lysanda picked up Sadu and stood. “Where is his bed?” Her voice was querulous and thin. “Where’s the nursemaid?”

  Surprised, Andi shook off a flash of irritation. She can complain all she wants, if it means she’s coming further out of shock. “You’re the nursemaid tonight, Lysanda.” Putting her arms around the woman’s shoulders, Andi guided her to the bedrolls. Making sure the Tonkiln siblings were safely curled up on a shared sleeping bag well away from the edge, she tucked them both in under a lightweight but warm military-issue blanket. She sat next to them, holding Lysanda’s hand, crooning the only Zulairian lullaby she knew over and over, something about fuzzy baby birds, until both were asleep.

  Tired but satisfied, she joined the others around the small fire that Deverane had reluctantly agreed to let them light as the sun started to set. Andi scrubbed a hand tiredly over her face. “I feel like an instant mother.”

  “You do it well, ma’am.” Wilson handed over a cup of steaming soup.

  The metal cup warmed her chilled hands, the return of feeling soothing. Before sipping, she inhaled a deep, appreciative breath of the steamy tomato aroma. “I have younger brothers and sisters. I practiced on them.” Andi glanced around, Deverane’s absence making her uneasy. She’d come to rely on his calm presence. “Where’s the captain?”

  “He and Abukawal went to cover our back trail for a mile or so before it gets completely dark.” Wilson poured himself another cup of the soup and blew to cool it off. “He’s concerned about pursuit.”

  Pulse skyrocketing at the idea, Andi said, “Does he actually think the insurgents will be determined enough to come all this way after us?”

  “Hard to say.” Dipping half of a roll into his soup, he took a bite, apparently considering her question. “Depends if they think you and the captain survived the fire, and if they had some agenda about capturin’ you.”

  “Me?” Andi swallowed a generous mouthful of the savory soup, the warmth and spice taking away some of the inner chill.

  “We were specially detailed to extract you,” Wilson reminded her. “Someone somewhere in the chain of command must think you’re a high-value target. Deverane doesn’t believe in takin’ chances, which is one reason he and I’ve survived so long in the field. He’s always three jumps ahead on what the enemy might do. Drink up, ma’am, and then you should probably turn in, too. Lot of hard ground to cover tomorrow. Captain’ll want to start at daybreak.”

  Andi finished her soup, draining the last drops. She clambered stiffly to her feet. “I want to help with guard duty tonight.”

  Wilson cracked a slight smile. “You’ve done a nice job, ma’am, for a civilian. You managed to keep the Tonkilns from causin’ us any difficulty on the march. I know the captain appreciates it. I think we can cover the duty for tonight. Better you get some sleep.”

  “All right then.” She couldn’t summon the energy to protest. This is one time I’m going to give in gracefully. I’m almost too exhausted to stand up. “Good night, Sergeant.”

  ***

  Somewhere after midnight, Andi woke from a terrible dream, sitting upright before she was even fully awake, clutching at her throat. She’d been dreaming about Lady Tonkiln’s death, reliving the fight with her attacker.

  Disoriented, she stared around at the campsite for a full minute until the night air calmed her racing pulse. Lysanda and Sadu lay curled up together. Two soldiers slept across from
her on their portion of the plateau. Somebody was snoring. Andi shook out her makeshift pillow, shut her eyes tight, trying to quiet the riotous thoughts in her head by thinking of something else. The scenes of the slaughtered village kept re-running in her mind, interspersed with the memory of witnessing Lady Tonkiln’s shocking murder. Finally, she cursed and sat up, pushing her hair off her face. Captain Deverane perched on the edge of their rocky plateau, alternating between gazing off across the lake and out over the jungle on the other side. The twin moons laid down silvery paths on the water’s surface. One of the big pulse rifles lay across his lap, and his blaster was close by his side.

  His turn for guard duty, apparently. One of the others must be out patrolling in the jungle, watching the trail.

  A breeze stirred her hair. Clearly, I’m not going to get back to sleep for a long time. If at all. Wrapping herself in the shawl, she picked her way through the other sleepers to join the captain.

  Deverane looked up as she walked over, patting the rock beside him in invitation. “Can’t sleep?”

  Shuddering as she sat, Andi rewrapped her shawl more tightly. “You’re surprised I’m having bad dreams? After everything we saw today? What time is it?”

  Reaching over, he tucked the fabric more securely around her shoulder. “Still middle of the night, I’m afraid. A long time to go until sunrise chases away the nightmares.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of. I’m drowsy but scared to risk closing my eyes for more than a second. There are a lot of vivid images forming a queue in my subconscious tonight. These kinds of things don’t affect soldiers, I suppose.” Leaning back, she tilted her head to look at him, eyebrows slightly raised in query.

  He continued to gaze across the rippling water and said nothing for a long minute. When he did speak, his voice was low and measured. “I went into the military because the abuse and slaughter of innocent civilians do bother me. At least in the service, I can do something to prevent atrocities.”

  Biting her lip, she looked away across the lake. “I’m sorry. Was I being rude? Maybe I’d better go back to bed and leave you alone.”

  “No, please stay.” He grabbed at the shawl, which promptly came off her shoulder again. Their hands met as he tried to reposition the wrap and she tried to keep it from falling off. “I apologize if I sounded abrupt.”

  She stared at him for a minute then smiled as she settled back down. “It’s all right. The last few days have been…rough. For both of us.”

  Deverane set his pulse rifle on the rocky surface and picked up the metal cup that had been sitting on the other side. “I’d offer you a cup of coffee, but since wakefulness is your problem—”

  Andi smiled ruefully. “I’d love some, but you’re right. That won’t help my insomnia.”

  He drank before setting the cup down, steadying it with one hand as it rocked on the uneven surface. “I have nightmares sometimes, but from my own private collection. Have you ever heard of Merenia 12?”

  ”Sounds familiar.” Racking her brain, Andi chased down the reference. “It was one of the first worlds the Mawreg attacked in Sector Fourteen, wasn’t it? A long time ago?”

  “Right. I’m the sole survivor.” He stacked a couple of small stones on top of each other, then toppled the tower with a flick of his finger.

  “You must have been very young.” What could it have been like, going through an ordeal like that as a child?

  “Maybe a year or two older than Sadu.” Deverane’s smile was the one Andi had come to read as a social gesture only, containing no amusement. He looked at her briefly, his eyes hooded, then turned his attention back out toward the lake. “My mother made me crawl into the storm cellar—Merenia 12 has huge tornadoes. Anyway, she shut me in there, and she ran to decoy the Mawreg away from me. She told me to wait until Dad came to get me.” Falling silent, Deverane picked up the blaster rifle again, checked the safety and the charge level.

  “Then what?” Andi reached out from under the enfolding shawl to lay a hand on his arm, squeezing gently. Maybe he needed to talk about it. And I have to admit I’m curious about the man beneath the taciturn warrior façade.

  Raising his coffee cup to his lips, Deverane gave her an unsmiling sideways glance. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

  Andi nodded. If it helps me understand you better, I’ll listen all night. “I’m a good listener.”

  “Well, the Mawreg slaughtered all the colonists. The old star destroyer Cassiopeia had been detailed to escort the next colony transport ship from Sector Command to Merenia. Her captain engaged the enemy cruiser in battle, which he eventually won by ramming those Mawreg bastards, sending them all to hell. Our ships at that time didn’t have the armament to do the Mawreg much damage any other way, you know? Suicide runs were the only solution.”

  Andi huddled inside the shawl, pulling it closer around her. The Mawreg are one scary subject. “I’ve read some journals of the early encounters. I know things were grim. At least now we have a new class of battleships capable of taking on the enemy and winning. What happened to you?”

  “The colony ship landed, put out a distress call,” he said. “While waiting for evac escort, her crew and the new colonists buried the victims.”

  “But they found you?”

  “I’d gotten out of the storm shelter somehow. I was sitting next to my mother’s body, holding her hand.” Deverane shrugged, but Andi thought maybe she saw a glint of unshed tears in his eyes. Next second, he brushed a hand across his face, cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “I remember that. I’ve no memory of how I got out of the shelter or much of anything else.”

  Andi sat silent. I wish I dared to hug him. Or hug the little boy he had been. Sad, so sad. His closed-off body language didn’t suggest that he’d welcome any demonstration of her sympathy.

  The captain flicked the remnants of his coffee from the cup into the lake below. “After the Sectors authorities abandoned the effort to start a colony there, I was shipped to the Star Guard Orphanage. Standard procedure back then. I swore I’d get revenge on the Mawreg someday.” Coming out of his reverie, he gave her the more genuine, lopsided Deverane smile. “The Special Forces gives me plenty of opportunity to even the score.”

  Andi tried to do the math in her head, working back from the age she guessed he was. “So you’ve been in the Special Forces for what? Twenty years?”

  He shook his head. “Twenty-three years. The duty burns you out. I’m already past the average age for being deployed in the field, but I’m not interested in a rear-echelon desk job on some cushy planet.”

  Andi laughed out loud, then clapped her hand across her mouth, mindful of how sound carried at night. “No, I can’t see you sitting behind a desk. Not at all.”

  “I could retire. Ranch maybe, try farming. I don’t know. We get veterans’ acres as part of our pay. And bonus acres for certain assignments. Plus, I have a special allowance for being a survivor of a Mawreg raid. I could have quite a homestead. I can take my acres on any open planet.” He shook his head. “But the idea of putting roots down doesn’t appeal to me much. I feel safer on the move.”

  Wow, he is kidding himself if he thinks he’d be any happier farming than at a desk job. Guess I was right, here’s a guy who has to stay in constant motion. Why does that disappoint me so much? Andi stretched, tired of sitting curled up. “Well, if you can’t choose, Loxton buys veterans’ acres rights.”

  “Are you serious? They can do that?” He looked askance at her. “How is that legal?”

  “Don’t be so surprised. It’s a lucrative sideline for them. Loxton found, or created, some loophole in the Veterans’ Benefits Act.” Andi stretched again, easing the kinks in her back and loosening the tightness in her shoulders before yawning. “Listen to me, talking business with you after all we’ve been through.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  At her startled look, he smothered a yawn of his own. “See, it’s catching, and I have another hour on guard duty b
efore I can turn in.” Deverane laughed. “Think you can sleep now?”

  Andi made a dramatic show of closing her eyes, only to pop them wide open in exaggerated fashion.

  Face serious now, Deverane eyed her. “You really need to go try for a few more hours of shut-eye. A lot of hard territory to hike through tomorrow.”

  “Oh, my sore feet. And my aching back. I don’t want to think about more marching with that boulder you call a backpack.” She stood, dusting herself off. If he’s giving orders again, there isn’t going to be anymore personal chitchat. Maybe that’s just as well. “See you in the morning, Captain.”

  “Call me Tom.” He made the request in a casual tone and avoided meeting her gaze. “Special Forces doesn’t stand on too much ceremony, not like regular troops.”

  Andi nodded, pleased by his request. “Goodnight, Tom.” Enjoying the sound of his name on her lips, she walked away, toward the sleeping area. What am I thinking? Not a good idea to get too interested in a roving, hard-living military man. He just warned me himself he isn’t going to settle down. That came through loud and clear. And I have to move on from Zulaire for the good of my career anyway. With a sigh, she lay down, closed her eyes and strove for sleep. Mustn’t let these dramatic circumstances affect my good sense.

  ***

  .

  In the morning, Andi and the others packed the supplies and headed into the thick forest for a long day’s slow march. By midmorning, Tom told her they were less than half a mile from the transportway. “I have hopes of capturing or commandeering some vehicles, but we’ve got to avoid roving groups of rebels. Wilson, you and Rogers scout ahead. Check out the situation on the road and report back.”

  Working their way into the brush, the two soldiers disappeared from view. Grateful for the break, Andi sank down in the grass, getting out her canteen. I hope Wilson takes his time on that recon. She was lightly dozing when Wilson and Rogers crashed back into the clearing at a dead run. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up with a start, grabbing for her blaster.