Scout's Honor: A Planetary Romance

by Henry Vogel

  I smashed the translator’s head with the pommel of my sword. He fell in a heap as I ran toward the prisoners. I dodged through the trogs, ready to Boost if any of them attacked me or tried to block my path. None did. Maybe they thought I was leading the attack. Maybe they were too afraid of me to lift a spear against me.

  Breaking through the ranks of advancing trogs, I held my hands up and willed the trogs to stop.

  “No!” I shouted, waving my arms. "I didn’t order this! Go back!”

  The only trog who understood human speech lay unconscious twenty meters away. The only human who spoke trog couldn’t be trusted to speak to the trogs, even if he had been conscious. And the approaching trogs didn’t understand a word I said. For all I know, they thought I was urging them on. Or maybe they thought I was crazy. But hundreds of trogs bore down on the captive citizens of Faroon!

  Chapter 81

  The screams of terrified people filled my ears. The advancing trogs, spears lowered, filled my vision. The threat of Boost Burnout filled my mind. The sorrow that I would never see Callan again filled my heart.

  Above the screams, I could hear the roaring of my blood, ready for one last Boost.

  A few meters to my left, a trog stumbled and pitched forward! One in front of me dropped his spear and clutched his arm! A third toppled backward!

  All along the advancing line, trogs screamed and fell as crossbow bolts rained out of the brightening morning sky! The roaring I’d heard over the screams hadn’t been my blood, after all! Vibrations shook my insides as I looked up.

  A shadow fell across me as Martin Bane’s airship rumbled overhead,. Martin leaned against the rail, directing the firing of at least two dozen of his crew. They fired crossbows in rotating volleys, keeping a steady stream of quarrels raining down on the trogs. His airship was so low I could count the rings on Martin’s fingers. His fleet flew in formation to either side of his ship. Each of the other airships also had rows of airmen firing crossbows!

  Bane spotted me and sketched a salute, all the while keeping his attention on the firing line.

  “Drive ’em back, lads!” he called. "And watch out for that young man waving the sword about like a fool. Her Highness will be quite put out if we damage him!”

  Confused, frightened, many of them wounded, the trogs were driven back by the aerial onslaught. The two outer flanks of airships pulled ahead of the others, encircling the trogs and driving them into a packed mass at the center of the park. One trog finally made a big show of throwing down his spear and dropped to his knees. Those around him followed his lead and it spread until all of the trogs knelt, unarmed, inside the circle of airships.

  “Cease fire!” Bane bellowed.

  The airmen stopped shooting but they all kept their crossbows cocked and trained on the trogs.

  I ran over to the Great One. He was groaning but was still laying where I’d left him just a few minutes before.

  “Get up!” I said, grabbing his arm and pulling. "Now, tell your army to put their hands on their heads and wait for further orders.”

  The big trog spoke and the trogs did as I’d instructed.

  I looked around, trying to spot the translator. I didn’t see him anywhere. In all the confusion, the translator had escaped!

  Chapter 82

  “You look like you’ve lost something, Rice,” Bane called from above.

  “Not something, someone. A man who was working with the trogs and speaks their language,” I said. "He’s got steel gray hair, a white beard, and was bare-chested. Can you see anyone like that from up there?”

  Bane and some of his crewmen looked, but it was a futile hope. The park and town square were filled with people looking for loved ones, shouting thanks to the airship crews, jeering at the trogs, and crying for lost loved ones. Besides, it was probable the translator had run into the city. He could be hiding anywhere by now. I had no illusions that Bane would find him.

  “No sign of anyone matching your description,” Bane said, after a few minutes, “but I’ll have my crew keep watch.”

  I had a feeling allowing the translator to get away would come back to haunt me, but I’d deal with him if he ever turned up again. I had far more things to worry about right now.

  “Drop a line and come on down,” I told Bane. "We’ve got some planning to do.”

  After Bane and some of his men were down, I said, “You cut it a little close there at the end. Did it really take you that long to defeat the trog airships?”

  “It wasn’t an easy job, Rice. We had to find ways to beat the trogs without harming the human crews on the airships,” Bane said. "It took a while, but I thought it was what Her Highness would want.”

  “I can safely say Callan will be pleased with your actions, both against the airships and against the trogs,” I said. "Mentioning Callan, I need to let her know everything worked out. I’ve got a crossbowman on a nearby rooftop who can take word to her. His name is Tal. Can you send someone to get him?”

  Bane picked a crewman and I told him where to find Tal.

  As the crewman ran off, Bane asked, “Have you got any idea what you’re going to do with all those trogs?”

  “Yes, tell now,” said the Great One.

  “I’m going to send them home and have them return to their tribes,” I said. "They’ll be unarmed and escorted by some of our airships.”

  “As long as the escorts will continue to receive the same pay rate, there won’t be any problems,” Bane said.

  I turned to the Great One, “As for you, if you ever lead an army against humans again, I will personally kill you and have any who follow you hunted down like animals.”

  “Warrior’s threat. You make good Great One,” the trog said. He started walking toward the sitting trogs, "I tell them.”

  We were turning back to our planning when we spotted Bane’s crewman returning at a run.

  “I checked the roof,” he said, gasping. "All I found was a puddle of blood!”

  Chapter 83

  Bane and some of his men came with me to check out the scene on the rooftop. The puddle of blood lay right where Tal had been kneeling when last I saw him. The blood had to be Tal’s, but who had attacked him and why had they taken Tal with them?

  “Everyone spread out and look for a club or something similar. It will have blood stains on it,” I said.

  “Wouldn’t the attacker have kept his weapon?” Bane asked.

  “Not if all he had was a club,” I said. “Tal had a sword and crossbow, nice upgrades over a big stick.”

  One of Bane’s crew found the blood-stained club on the ground below the roof and it told the whole story. It was one of the table legs Sarn had used to fight the trogs last night. Only one person had been in the bar when we’d left.

  Gort.

  “I know who attacked Tal,” I said. “I’m sure the guy enjoyed clubbing Tal, but I’m his real target.”

  “You seem to make enemies everywhere you go, Rice. Maybe you should work on your people skills,” Bane said. "What did you do to irritate this guy?”

  “I ruined his little gang, which included Tal at the time. Then Tal whacked him with a chair and came over to my side,” I said. "Tal knows where we’ve been hiding and Gort strikes me as the viciously persuasive type of thug. I’ve got to make sure Callan is safe. We can search for Tal after that.”

  “Want me to come with you?” Bane asked. “Or some of my men?”

  “No,” I sighed. "The situation between the trogs and humans isn’t stable. All it takes is one person deciding to get a little revenge and we’d have a massacre on our hands. I need you to keep it under control.”

  Bane nodded, then surprised me by pulling my Onesie out of his pocket.

  “If you’re going to go alone, you’d better take this,” he said. At my incredulous look, he grinned, “It wasn’t ruined, just depleted. And in pieces. Yes, I lied. Raider, remember?”

  Pocketing the gun, I ran off. As I got closer to the hiding place, I scanne
d for blood or signs of a struggle. I didn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean anything. I had to assume Gort had gotten here ahead of me.

  At the door, I tapped out the signal we’d agreed on and then pushed the door open.

  Gort sat against the far wall, Tal’s crossbow aimed at me. Raoul was nowhere to be seen.

  “It’s him,” Gort said.

  Raoul’s voice came from my left, probably from the corner nearest the door, “Shoot him!”

  Chapter 84

  The scene inside the hiding place seared into my brain. Tristan, Nist, Milo, Sarn, and Tal sat huddled against the far wall, hands bound behind their backs and eyes wide. Milo’s sister Kim lay in the small bed beside them, her hands tied to the bed. She watched it all through heavy-lidded eyes. Gort crouched in the left corner, a feral grin splitting his face as the crossbow tracked toward me. Raoul was somewhere to the left of the doorway. I didn’t see Callan at all. Raoul was probably holding a knife at her throat.

  My sole advantage was that neither Raoul nor Gort had seen me Boost. Raoul had heard about it, but he’d run away before I Boosted in the alley.

  Boost!

  The twang of the crossbow stretched as time slowed. I fell backward, raising my hands as if to ward off the bolt. I caught the bolt just before it struck my head. I cried out as if I’d been hit, masking the sound as I snapped the bolt in two.

  Dropping Boost, I lay on the ground, twitching and thrashing as if suffering the throes of death. The movement distracted Gort as I scraped the bolt tip across my forehead, just above my right eye. Blood welled and ran profusely, as head cuts always do, and I held the back end of the bolt over my right eye. I hid the bolt tip against my left forearm then let that arm flop to the ground. I kept my left eye open and stared at a spot on the ceiling.

  “Well, what happened?” asked Raoul.

  “Got him through the eye,” Gort crowed, hopping up and capering about.

  From the left, I heard Callan moan as Raoul said, “Stop celebrating and make sure he’s dead.”

  Gort approached cautiously and saw just what he expected to see. He grabbed my foot and dragged me into the room. I kept my stare unfocused.

  “David!” Callan shrieked.

  Raoul had been holding a knife to her throat but he let it drop when he saw me. Callan broke free from his grip and dropped to my side. Perfect! She was blocking the view of both the prince and the thug.

  I thrust the bolt tip into her hand and whispered, “Stab Raoul or Gort. I’ll take it from there!”

  Chapter 85

  Raoul grabbed Callan’s arm and pulled her back against the wall. Right next to him.

  “That is enough, Callan,” he said. "These histrionics over the death of a mere guard are beneath you! A woman of your station must stand aloof from the petty concerns of your subjects.”

  “You are an insufferable prig, Raoul! I will make you pay for all that you have done to me and mine,” Callan said. "In pain and blood, I will make you pay!”

  Callan stabbed the crossbow tip into Raoul’s thigh and then twisted the shaft after it had sliced through muscle. Raoul screamed as blood soaked his pants leg. Callan spun away from him and he fell to the floor.

  Gort, who had cocked and reloaded the crossbow, raised it to take a shot. The whine of the Onesie echoed in the small room as I fired from the hip. My hasty shot hit Gort’s crossbow and it exploded into a thousand pieces. Splinters ripped into Gort’s face and neck. Gort opened his mouth to scream and blood gushed from it. He fell back into the corner, his body quivering as his life drained onto the floor.

  Raoul was rolling back and forth holding his wounded leg, his face white with pain, when I pressed my sword to his throat.

  A line of blood welled under my blade as I said, “Please, Raoul, give me an excuse to end this. Any excuse at all.”

  Raoul’s knife clattered on the floor and I swept it away with my foot, sighing, “I guess you’re not as stupid as I thought, Raoul. What a pity.”

  Callan picked up Raoul’s knife and set to cutting the bonds holding our friends.

  Tristan came straight over to tend to Raoul’s leg. He was rubbing his wrists and shaking his hands, trying to get feeling back in them.

  “Bring my bag, Nist. I’ll remove the shaft once my hands stop tingling.” Gesturing toward Gort’s still-jerking body, he added, “Milo, cover the body with a spare blanket.”

  Once all the bonds had been cut, Callan ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. She pulled me close and kissed me hard.

  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks and soaking into my shirt.

  I held her tightly and said, “As you wish.”

  In a stage whisper, Milo said, “Kim, he keeps saying that to her but I think he means something else. Am I right?”

  “Oh yeah, Milo, you’re right,” Kim replied in another stage whisper.

  “Then why doesn’t he just say what he means?” Milo asked.

  Why indeed?

  I looked into Callan’s eyes, still shining with tears, and said, “I know very little about your country, Callan, but Mordan claims my heart because it claims your heart. Mordan holds my oath because you hold my oath. Mordan is my country because it is your country.

  “Callan Debah Lois Antrulta Ziliah Villas, my life has no meaning without you. My heart has no purpose without you. I love you,” I said. "Will you marry me?”

  Chapter 86

  Leave it to Raoul to spoil the proposal I’d been rehearsing for the last two days.

  “Idiot!” said Raoul through clenched teeth. "Callan is betrothed to a Tartegian prince. She would never give that up for the likes of yargh!”

  “Oh, I am sorry, Prince Raoul,” Tristan spoke in a monotone. "My hand slipped. It’s probably because the ropes you used to tie us up cut off the blood flow to my hands. I do hope that didn’t hurt.”

  “Raoul, your counsel is neither sought nor desired,” Callan said. "I have already received far wiser advice on this matter than you could ever give.”

  “When could you have received that?” I asked. "I just popped the question!”

  “Days ago, under the city of Beloren,” Callan said.

  I remembered Rob pulling Callan close and speaking softly to her just before he gave me his sword. “Do you mean Rob’s last words to you?”

  Callan nodded, “Yes, that’s when he gave me his advice.”

  I said, “But he had already made his opinion extremely clear when we kissed on the airship, back before the sandstorm hit.”

  “He hadn’t known you very long then,” Callan said. “You’d been with us less than a day and had spent a lot of that time sleeping.”

  “That’s true, but he hadn’t known me very much longer when he died,” I said.

  “Rob always was a shrewd judge of character, David. You impressed him, and Rob wasn’t a man who was easily impressed.” Callan looked into my eyes. "What he told me was ’Marry Rupor if you must. Marry David if you can.’"

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raoul open his mouth. Tristan shoved a liquor bottle into Raoul’s mouth and turned the bottle up.

  “So, which is it? ’Must’ or ’can’?” I asked.

  Callan’s lips spread into a smile and she said, “Can.”

  Our friends cheered so loudly we couldn’t even hear Raoul’s outraged sputtering. Not that I was trying to hear him. I was too busy kissing my future wife.

  “David Rice?” a voice rose over the cheering.

  One of Bane’s men stood in the doorway.

  “How did you find us?” I asked.

  “I ain’t deaf, son,” he said, motioning at our cheering friends. "Cap’n sends his compliments and requests you join him at the town square.”

  “What’s happening?” I asked, fearing riots or worse.

  “Cap’n put ships out on scout duty after we won the air battle,” the man said. "One of the scouts is steaming back to the city with a Tartegian warsh
ip on its tail!”

  Chapter 87

  Damn the Tartegians! I didn’t even get to finish kissing Callan!

  “Tal, how are you feeling?” I asked, still holding my bride-to-be close.

  “I’m okay,” he said. "Gort didn’t hit anything important—just my head.”

  “Then you’re in charge of Raoul. You won’t need brains for that; just keep him quiet and out of sight,” I said. "I don’t care how you do it, just don’t do any permanent damage to him.”

  Tal grinned and gave a mock salute. Raoul sputtered with more outrage, which made me smile.

  To Bane’s crewman, I said, “Please get some more men and get rid of that body.”

  The crewman gave a much better salute than Tal and left.

  “Tristan, do you need anything?” I asked.

  “I’m fine, lad,” he said, “though Nist could use some help mending my airship. We’ll want the Pauline air-worthy so we can take Her Highness on the last leg of her journey home.”

  “I’ll see how many men Bane can spare,” I said. "Milo, come with us in case we need to send a message back here.”

  Milo grinned, falling in behind us as I took Callan’s hand.

  The park was bustling when we arrived. Bane had men guarding the trogs, men tending the sick and wounded citizens, and men patrolling the streets of the city.

  “What news have you got for us?” I called.

  Bane turned, his eyes immediately tracking to our clasped hands.

  Arching an eyebrow, he said, “I suspect you’re the one with the news. Am I correct in assuming congratulations are in order? Do you think her father will approve? And, of the utmost importance, do I get to kiss the bride-to-be?”

  “When my father hears what David has done for me,” Callan smiled, tilting her cheek so Bane could plant a kiss, “and what Raoul and his mother have done to me, I think he’ll come around.”