Marine's Queen, The

by Susan Kelley

  The marines worked without small talk, bringing things into the firelight from the shadows deeper in the cave. Tar poured water into two pots. Then Roz dropped dried leaves into one and some type of dehydrated beans into the other. They nudged the pots close to the flames and set two long metal spoons nearby.

  Joe emerged from the shadows and handed each of his men a folded piece of camouflage material. They walked out of the cave without a word.

  “Don’t waste time with casual conversation, do they?” Acacia picked up one of the spoons and stirred the pot of beans.

  Riba used the other spoon to carefully flip the sizzling meat strips. Callie barely had time to worry about the marines out in the cold when they returned. She gasped as loud as the other women.

  Water glistened on their bare chests and legs. Ice crystals stuck up from their short hair and shone on the lengths of cloth they’d wrapped around their waists.

  “Cold bath?” Acacia asked around a choked laugh.

  Callie saw the humor, but she couldn’t close her mouth enough to laugh. They were magnificent! Her gaze followed Joe as he and the other marines walked into the shadows in the back of the cave. He reappeared wearing clean pants and a loose shirt, clutching an armful of metal mugs. His feet remained bare and his hair as mussed as it could be in its short fashion.

  He sat beside Callie and handed out the mugs. Using the hem of his shirt, he lifted the hot pot of tea and poured some in each metal cup. Callie’s watched his lean, tanned hands expertly serve the beverage like any trained maid.

  Joe sipped the hot tea and then offered the mug to her. Her fingers brushed his. The sharp intake of his breath drew her gaze back to his face. In the firelight, his eyes seemed almost black, their depths as unfathomable as the deepest opal mine.

  “Thank you,” Callie whispered.

  Joe turned away, but she continued to stare at him. She tried to look beyond the perfection of his features and noticed dark circles beneath his eyes. His normally erect posture seemed less stiff. She looked around at the other men and saw they all slumped a little.

  “Yalo, take the first watch,” Callie ordered. “Joe, you and your men rest tonight, and we’ll share the sentry duties.”

  Joe started to speak but Callie spoke over him. “We know how to stand guard. I’ll take second shift, and Acacia will spell me. Grace, you have the last.”

  “I can take a turn,” Riba insisted, shifting her infant on her lap.

  Callie’s spirits rose as love and pride for her companions swelled in her chest. The trial of the last few days had found them still loyal and strong. She smiled and gestured toward the meat cooking over the fire. “What is this?”

  “Goat meat,” Vin answered after a long moment of silence.

  “It’s a really small goat,” little Glory said.

  “We gave the rest to the boarks.” Joe’s voice was as cool as the air from the cave opening. “Thank you, Lady Callie, for the offer, but we’ll stand watch. It’s one of the duties we were created for.”

  * * * *

  Joe checked the tarp across the opening and then swept his gaze over the sleepers. Despite the women’s offer to share sentry duty, they all sprawled in exhausted slumber. He understood little of civilians in general but figured women surely were softer than men. But Callie and the others had endured the rugged trek to reach the hills. Even the children had survived and perhaps thrived. Were all little people so hardy?

  He stepped carefully over the prone forms and added more coal to the fire. With the tarp to keep out most of the night air the cave stayed quite comfortable. With more than an hour left in his turn at guard, Joe leaned against the wall near the entrance. His thoughts drifted to the immediate future.

  They would reach the main camp soon. He and his men scraped a living from the spring-fed valley, hunting, fishing and harvesting native fruits and grains. Using parts from their crashed ship, they’d rigged a solar-powered heating and cooling system for a small barracks but their lives had been mere survival. Now everything would need to be expanded.

  He heard Callie rise, her scent floating before her. His body reacted to her nearness, forgetting the fatigue weighing on him.

  “Joe?”

  He turned and straightened. The firelight shone behind her, framing her body in a golden nimbus. Her light brown hair hung free to her hips, providing his first sight of the true beauty of the mass. It swung as she walked and drew his eyes to the lush curve of her hips.

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll stand watch.”

  He froze, wanting to prolong the contact. “Go back to sleep.”

  “I can’t. I know you’re exhausted. Let me take my turn.” She stepped closer, warmth and something soft in her eyes, reminding him of the look Riba often gave her child.

  Agile thought deserted him as always when she spoke to him. She licked her lips and called his attention to her mouth. The first woman paid to bed him had spent hours teaching him the pleasure of kissing, among other things. She’d found amusement at his complete ignorance. Joe wanted to kiss Callie more than he wanted his next breath.

  “Go back to your bed, my lady.” He couldn’t help the roughness in his voice.

  “Joe, I’m sorry about what I said before. I don’t think you’re a robot.”

  Her reminder cooled his undisciplined thoughts. She owed him no apology for her harsh words.

  “I was shocked you had no family name but later when I thought about it, I understood.”

  Unusual anger rose in Joe but he kept his voice quiet and even. “Lady Callie, you understand nothing about me as I comprehend little about you.”

  “But we need to change that.”

  “Why?” Joe turned away from the questions in her eyes. “We’ll be soldiers, protecting and hunting for you. You will be … women, and do whatever that entails.”

  “Being a woman isn’t an occupation. Together….”

  Joe spun back to face her. “Not together.”

  Her hand went to her throat and her eyes widened. Fear? Of course she feared him. Why did he expect different? Should he forget her disdain and distrust because she sometimes spoke to him as a person instead of a piece of expendable hardware?

  “Callie.” He couldn’t find words to dispel the tension suddenly between them.

  She moved back quickly. “You’re right. I should go back to sleep. You stay here and be a soldier.”

  Joe watched her settle back onto her bed. She turned her back to him. He’d been trained in enemy tactics and even psychology but had never turned his lessons on himself. Why did this woman tilt his emotions off kilter? He’d been taught to feel nothing, his emotions schooled out of him. But now foreign feelings plagued him.

  “Help me, Unon,” Joe murmured as he leaned back against the wall. The idea of prayer to some superior spiritual being discomforted him even after all these months, but he needed help. “I’m so lost.”

  * * * *

  “They drilled a hole in the ceiling through yards of stone so smoke wouldn’t fill the cave. Then they stocked it with coal from another rock formation not far to the south.”

  “How do you know all this, Yalo?” Callie sipped water from one of the metal mugs. The spring water remained achingly cold even now with the sun glittering on its surface.

  “Vin told me.” Yalo shot Callie a puzzled glance. “How else would I know?”

  Callie shrugged. “I didn’t know the two of you were sharing information so freely.”

  Yalo looked toward the pool. The other women worked at washing their clothing, wearing loose shirts and too-long pants borrowed from the marines. Glory splashed in the shallows, chasing the silver fish darting around her legs. “It wasn’t a secret. I need to learn everything I can in case something happens.”

  “What do you mean?” Callie wondered at the lines of worry creasing Yalo’s forehead.

  “Someone might come after us or something could happen to the marines. I need to be able to take care of us.” />
  “You’re right, of course. I guess I’m surprised Vin volunteered all this.”

  “He only told me about this wing camp.” Yalo’s gaze shifted to Vin. He stood on the other side of the pool, using a short pole and line to fish. “He’s opened up a little since the first day.”

  “You mean he’s less rude?”

  They both laughed drawing Vin’s gaze. It lingered on Yalo for a moment before returning to his fishing.

  “Did Vin tell you how long they’ve been here?”

  “Nearly six months, Earth time. There are two more marines and their unit doctor at the main camp. We’re waiting here for them. Didn’t Joe tell you any of this? I saw you get up and speak with him last night.”

  “We talked of other things.”

  “Other things?”

  Callie didn’t want to mention her momentary fear of Joe when she’d sensed his anger. Having the marines cook dinner and prepare tea easily misled one into forgetting they were bred and trained to be killers.

  “We don’t seem to communicate as well as you and Vin. Did Vin mention how long until the others arrive?”

  “They’ll be here tomorrow before the hot time,” Joe said from behind them. “Tar left this morning to carry my message.”

  Yalo cursed, and Callie yelped in surprise.

  “Don’t sneak up on us like that.”

  Joe frowned at Callie. “I wasn’t sneaking.”

  Callie sighed. “Why do we have to wait for them?”

  “They’ll bring more supplies and enough mounts for everyone.”

  Surprised at the ease of drawing answers from him, Callie tried another question. “And someone will go back for our things?”

  “Yes.”

  “Please sit with us.” Callie gestured at a boulder facing her and Yalo.

  Joe stared at the rock as if flesh-eating beetles covered it. He sat slowly, looking as if he might jump up and run away at any moment.

  Yalo’s lips twitched, and Callie struggled to hold in her smile. “How did you find this refuge so far from your crash site?”

  “We spotted it before our sensors went dead. We had the general direction.”

  “Are there buildings at the main camp?” Callie was content to wait and see but she wanted to keep Joe talking.

  “You’ll see for yourself soon.” Joe stood up. “We’ll make the necessary additions when you tell us what you need. I must help Vin before the hot time arrives.”

  Yalo waited until Joe moved away before laughing. “I swear, my queen, he’s afraid of you.”

  “I don’t think he’s afraid as much as confused.”

  “That’s the best condition to have a man in.”

  “If you want to have him at all.”

  “Do you?”

  Callie watched Joe throw a line into the water. Lab invention or not, Joe intrigued her. Did she want him as a woman wants a man? Did her body not react to his male allure? She sighed. “You know wanting has little to do with the Queen of Giroux’s choices with men.”

  Chapter Five

  Sleep eluded Callie for some reason. She sat up and noticed the others already slept except for Vin standing watch near the entrance. The coal fire kept the cave comfortable if not quite warm. Glory sprawled half on Roz’s chest. She’d insisted on having her mother on one side of her and the marine on the other.

  Across the fire, Joe dozed on his back with one hand behind his head and one flung toward the fire. He’d occupied himself out of her sight for most of the day. She’d slept poorly after their brief confrontation the previous night and now something prevented her rest again.

  Ignoring the warnings of her instincts, Callie climbed over Yalo to Joe’s side. She eased down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. The muscles of his chest tightened, and his breath hitched.

  Callie froze, holding her own breath. Joe’s outstretched arm slowly folded around her shoulders. She relaxed and settled closer to his warm body. He shifted and took his arm from beneath his head. He lifted the edge of the cover he laid on and pulled it over her.

  The heat of the fire warmed her back and Joe heated her front. Heaviness filled her limbs and eyes. Not even her overstuffed bed at her castle had given her such comfort. Sleep would no longer be denied even though she longed to stay awake.

  * * * *

  Joe walked to meet Kam, Mak and Webb. Tar rode well to the rear, leading three extra boarks.

  Since the first bitter cold hint of daylight, Joe had found things to do outside the cave. A dozen game birds roasted over a low fire inside the cave, almost ready for the mid day meal. Waking with Callie curled around him had left him with loads of frustrated energy to work off. Why had she come to him last night and how did a man ask a lady such a question?

  “Sir.” Kam jumped lightly from his boark despite his massively muscled body. He was the tallest and heaviest of the marines but still as agile as any of them.

  “Anything left of their cruisers?” Mak asked in way of greeting. Joe expected no less from his science mechanic.

  “Maybe. You can check it after we settle the civilians.”

  Webb dismounted with less grace. “Any of them need my help?”

  “Don’t think so.” Joe helped unsaddle the boarks and carry their packs into the cave. Vin and Tar took care of the extra mounts.

  “Greetings, ladies,” Webb said with a large grin as they entered the cave. “You must be the queen Tar told me about.”

  Hot emotion flared in Joe’s chest when Webb took Callie’s hand between both of his. The feeling expanded when she smiled back at the doctor.

  “You’re not a marine,” Callie said.

  Webb laughed. “Not even close. I’m Doctor Lon Webb, at your service.”

  Sally gurgled and drew everyone’s attention to her and Riba. Joe wondered if he’d looked as shocked as Kam and Mak when he saw the infant for the first time.

  Glory wiggled from behind her mother and confronted the new arrivals. “She’s just a baby and can’t say a word.”

  “Unon bless me,” Kam murmured. “I didn’t believe Tar.”

  “Kam, show the civilians what you brought for them.” Joe’s order shook the newly arrived marines out of their stunned immobility.

  Kam pulled clothing and gloves out of a bulky pack and held them up for inspection.

  “What are they?” Riba took one of the large shirts from him.

  Kam’s brow wrinkled. “They’re our newest uniforms. You can wear them until we retrieve the rest of your things.”

  Riba smiled. “It’s perfect. I can’t wait to try it on. Hold Sally.”

  Kam stuck his hands out instinctively when she shoved the baby towards him. Sally fit neatly into his large hands. He cradled her like he held live explosives. With slow care he pulled her close so she rested against his chest.

  Joe held his breath as he watched. Though he’d been close to the baby he’d never touched it. Kam’s bravery impressed him.

  “Kam, why don’t you sit down,” Callie suggested, her voice strained and her lips curving up.

  Webb laughed, either at her words or at Kam. Joe didn’t like the doctor’s ease among the women.

  Kam sat, his wide-eyed stare locked on the baby. Sweat beaded on his brow and slid down the sides of his face.

  “You’re here less than an Earth minute, Kam, and already you’re in trouble,” Vin said. Kam’s magnetism for accidents was well known to all the marines.

  The women and men quickly devoured the meal of tender game birds and the added treat of dried fruit though the marines ate quietly while the women and children somehow combined eating, talking and laughter into a noisy chaos.

  As they finished Webb repeated his earlier question. “Is anyone in need of medical attention?”

  “Lady Callie took some thorns from a cactus vine,” Joe said when she didn’t volunteer the information herself.

  “I’m fine. Joe pulled out all the barbs. It hasn’t hurt since the first night.”


  “Still, I should check it. A piece could have broken off and become infected later. Let’s go outside in the sunlight where I can see.”

  Joe followed them out, signaling Vin to see to guard duties. Webb urged Callie to sit on a flat-topped boulder. The doctor knelt in front of her and lifted her foot onto his lap. He pulled off her boot and pushed her loose pant leg up to her knee.

  Anger pulsed in Joe’s chest as the doctor ran his hand along Callie’s calf. Joe clenched his fists and fought against the irrational emotion. Such illogical feelings wasted energy.

  “Looks like you did a good job here, Joe. I’ll….” Webb’s words trailed off when he glanced up at Joe.

  Joe turned his back on them, taking a few deep breaths.

  Webb cleared his throat. “You’re fine, just as you said, Lady Callie. I think I’ll check on the children to see if they weathered the crossing as well as you have.”

  Webb whistled a cheery tune as was his habit when the marines amused him. He’d swallow his tongue if he knew how much Joe wanted to knock his teeth down his throat.

  “You’re lucky to have a doctor with you,” Callie said.

  Joe turned in time to see her rolling her pant leg down. He remembered the feel of her soft skin beneath his rough fingers and her brave tolerance of the pain both from the thorns and the cure.

  “We’re an expensive product. The Galactic Military Council wanted to get as much use from their investment as possible.” Joe surprised himself with the disrespectful tone in his voice.

  Callie frowned and bent down to tug on her boot. “I deserved that, I suppose. Of all people, I should understand what it’s like to be judged on rumor and ignorance.”

  Joe remained silent.

  “My father was one of the leaders who pushed for prosecution of the scientists who created you.”

  “He succeeded.” Joe knew from overheard conversations of his superiors that the men who had chosen the donors and manipulated the genes to develop the marines had been imprisoned and banned from any kind of research.