by Mason, Jolie
He pulled Nina down in the underbrush, signaling to her to stay still, as he sighted the men on the road, one looked closer at his scan.
“Men, spread out. We’ve got sigs on scanners.”
The slavers’ commander shook his head nervously, so this wasn’t a slave hunting party. This was war. Ra’dan prayed to the goddess it wasn’t them on the man’s scanners, but short range scramblers were never foolproof. He counted four heavily armed men, plus the commander. Too many to fight with Nina along. Neither of them moved for a long time as the men banged and pushed their way through trees and bushes. One, eventually, moved closer to the two of them, and then still closer. Ra’dan silently slipped a large knife from a sheath at his waist.
The burly slaver smelled of sweat and roasted pig, as he crept closer to the two of them. The wind blew strong toward them allowing him to scent the man. Ra’dan poised himself to cut the man quickly and bring him down. Just as Ra’dan prepared to lunge and get the man around his throat, two silent arrows whiz through the air. One into the man near them, and one into the commander some distance away. A faraway shout sounded to signal another man dead nearer the road, then they heard boots running away on hard-packed dirt.
Ra’dan leaned into Nina. “They’re here. Stay down.”
He turned, still squatting behind cover and shouted in the old language. “We’re coming out!”
He didn’t move until he heard the returned, “Then come!”
He stood with both hands in the air, showing his knife in an open palm. “I have my woman with me”, he said blindly into the trees. He wouldn’t see the warriors till they were good and ready. He waited.
“Show her!”
He looked at Nina. “Hands up. Stand slowly.”
She did just what he said, trying to keep the worried expression off her face.
Qu’lan, a Sorian healer stepped from behind the largest tree. Ra’dan had expected one of them to emerge from that spot. It was where he’d have been. The man looked at him perplexed. “You have a human woman?”
Nina could follow the conversation in standard. “I am Dr. Nina Quell.”
The older man looked closer. “You are the sister of the people, yes. What are the two of you doing leading enemy patrols into our camps?”
“We didn’t lead them here”, Ra’dan said waspishly. “We came from the North. We’re here to bring the people news. Where is Nessa or N’alen? Ba’Shan?” Anyone in charge would have done, but Ra’dan really wanted news of his family.
The old man nodded. “We will take you to them. Is this good news for a change?”
Ra’dan looked the old man in the face and shook his head. The old man sighed and turned his face away. “This way. It is a long walk. We have meat to take back with us.”
They followed the thin frame of the local healer through the trees while his companion fell into step behind Ra’dan who kept Nina in front of him. Trust wasn’t his strong suit just now, and to trust someone with Nina’s life in the jungle besides himself was a bit beyond him today. Even his people, because Ra'dan recognized most of his people had never met an Ari or a Nina among the humans. Many of his people would look at her and only see a human. The longer this war went on, the more that would be true.
*****#*****
Nina’s eyes followed the trees up and up. Rope ladders dangled from the heights of the oldest trees. Yet, the foliage grew so thick that unless you were on top of the small village, you would likely miss it. They’d, ingeniously, returned to living rough as their ancestors had centuries ago. It was one of the things she’d loved about the culture of Sor. They never left the jungle too far behind. It was more than a place. It was at the heart of who they were and who they would become. She could still hear building going on farther in the darkness of the trees.
You would think that Nina would have a vast history and culture, being as she was, a child of the empire of planets, but she’d only seen empty words and inequities in all her years at court. The eons of bloody Imperial history never moved her the way sight of this small village did. Nina didn’t think she’d belonged in that world. She belonged in this one, she thought, looking at Ra’dan walking behind her.
He smiled a small smile to hide his worry and anxiety for her benefit. She waved her hand at him playfully so he smiled wider, then looked away to protect his tough guy image. Nina felt that thrill to her soul that she could make such a serious, somber soldier smile with joy. She caught the sparkling lanai in her hand, letting it sit cool in her palm. Since coming to this planet, she had never felt more a part of something than she did with this man.
Arriving at the central point of the village there were only a few dozen people milling about the fire pits and preparing food for the day. Men were hunched over cleaning fish or gutting fowl. The air was saturated with the small, insignificant sounds of life being conducted. Ra'dan was drawn into a circle of men before those fires, while she was left to watch him.
Something settled into her spirit like a small seed. It grew into a sure knowledge. It was him for her. He took her breath as he stood talking with the elders of the small village the rebels had built in the trees. Broad, proud shoulders that could carry any burden gracefully tapered to his long, strong legs covered in the boots of the Bell uniform. His hair gleamed so pale and yellow like sunshine on a fair day.
She caught the odd look from the eldest of the men. A human wife might be more than some of them could take, given the situation, so she said nothing, letting Ra lead the way through this particular crowd. She didn’t know many of the men. Her clinic brought in mostly the women and children, and, by no means all of them from the area. Who knew how they'd really feel about her in the end? She'd been a friend to these people, however, humans were usually the cause of any suffering she'd alleviated. Tending the wounds those of her kind inflicted might not be enough for some.
Her eyes wandered about the tree houses, the stilted platforms leading to rope bridges and nets. It reminded Nina of a fairy tale setting with sparkles of sunlight glinting off the glossy leaves and palms making them shine. She watched as even the small children swung down and over the ropes to reach the ground, laughing.
She heard her name from a distance and looked around for the source. “Nina!”
A hand waved over the heads of a small party exiting a brush wall. “Nessa!”
Nina ran to the other girl to embrace like old friends. She looked healthy and hale, but the doctor in her began a serious interrogation. “How are you eating? How are you feeling?”
Nessa laughed at her. “I’m fine. Stop for a moment. What are you doing here? I s the Empress coming?”
Her heart pinched in her chest, as her smile fell away. She shook her head. “That’s a long story, but your brother has a plan.”
“Ra’dan? He's here? You look so different.” Nessa stood taller than Nina, but she leaned in to look Nina over carefully. She knew what she’d find. The front of her blond hair had been tamed into small, tightly pulled triangles leading down into two braids on either side of her head. The family bead nestled near her left ear. “Goddess”, she whispered. “Ra’dan?”
Uncertain, Nessa looked at her friend. This could be a great moment for her, or it could number among the worst of her life, depending on how Nessa reacted to her human friend loving her Sorian brother. Nina hardly saw the differences, except in the features of his face, his body, that bewitched and attracted her. She wasn’t naive enough to believe that everyone would share her feelings. She just hoped.
“You’re speechless. Nessa”, she said. “That’s new.”
A surprised sound rushed from the girl’s pale lips. “How?”
“We’ve been together a lot. It sort of happened.”
“Just give me a moment. It’s the last thing I expected.” Nessa sighed, not wholly pleased. Nina met Ra’dan’s gaze as he stood with the men. His expression said clearly that he felt her feelings and was, to say the least, displeased. She'd tried to suppress the hurt
blooming in her chest, knowing it could cause problems. He said something to the group of men, then headed for her and his sister. Nina sent a silent plea to him not to overreact, which she knew he understood plainly, because his eyes never left her own.
When he reached her, he wrapped her up tightly, as though to protect her from the inner turmoil she felt like fluttering insects in her belly. He swept a hand over her hair down to her chin. “You are well, Star?”
“I’m fine”, she said softly on a huff of breath. He studied her face.
“You are not.” Nina buried her face in his shoulder, completely at a loss. It did no good to lie to him. He felt what she did, if it was strong enough. This was. Disappointment, betrayal, sadness at the injustice of it all. It was plenty strong enough. She loved these people. Rejection from them would be a bitter pill to take.
She heard Nessa’s reproachful voice. “She surprised me, that’s all. I wasn't expecting you to have taken a mate, let alone a human one. Everything is fine.” Nina watched Nessa take it all in, his protectiveness, his arm around her, and Nessa's lips tightened in a thin, disapproving line.
“It isn’t. You have hurt her.” He was angry, but Nina shushed him firmly.
“Stop it. You can’t control others' feelings, Ra’dan. Just stop. It’s fine. I’m a big girl.”
“It’s just a shock,” Nessa said, halfheartedly.
Without looking at her, Nina said sadly, “I understand entirely. It doesn’t make any difference. I’m your doctor, and I’m still his wife, bond mate. Nothing changes.” She said it calmly, but it was a lie. They both knew it. Nina wasn’t good enough for her brother. The thought of Dr. Nina Quell, sister to the people, as her brother’s mate disgusted Nina’s best friend in the universe. She hadn’t realized how much this kind of thing could hurt. It felt like a raw wound in her heart, but she meant it. For her and Ra, this made no difference.
“Lalel….I”, Nessa began, but Nina shook her head, stopping her.
“Don't call me that. Please”, she pleaded. “Just don't call me that.”
Ra’dan’s eyes were stormy as he pulled her closer. “You come with me. They’ve sent runners for the other men. We’ll meet and tell them what we know.”
Nina nodded, but looked one more time at Nessa. “Do you have an infirmary yet?”
She nodded once at Nina’s question. “Good. Tell them to gather any sick or wounded and bring them there tomorrow morning. I’ll see them there.”
Whatever else she was, she was a physician. Ra’dan kissed her forehead and tugged her to walk with him back to where he’d left the elders standing to be with her, to comfort her. “It means nothing”, he whispered fiercely.
She shook her head. “It means something, Ra’dan. It means I’ve cost you your family, your place among your people.”
“If loving you can take these things from me, then they are worth next to nothing. You have sacrificed everything for these people. That alone should be enough to make them accept us.”
He clutched her to his side as if he saw enemies all around. Perhaps he did. Nina wasn’t as sure of her place among the tribes of Brin anymore either. If Nessa could see her as some dirty, unnatural secret to be kept, then maybe the others were more likely to turn on her than she thought.
They were directed to climb a shallow stair up to a ladder made of vine rope. Nina had never climbed quite as high as they wanted her to this time. She realized they were going straight up to a round, open pavilion in the heart of a great banyan tree. Ra’dan climbed behind her, allowing her to go at her own pace and encouraging her, until she popped out onto a platform filled with warriors, mostly male and most surprised to see her there. Dark, carved tree limbs formed the railing she used to pull herself up.
Na’len approached from the center of the group. “Doctor. I am glad to see you well.” He smiled at her warmly, easing some of her discomfort and giving her a small hand up onto the platform.
“How are the children, Na’len?”
He lowered his head a fraction. “They miss their mother. We haven’t been able to get close to the holding area for the slave ship.”
“Perhaps there is hope,” she said nodding behind her to where Ra’dan emerged athletically over the side of the ladder in a leap. Of course, she thought, because he’d grown up on these things, and climbing through the inner passages and tube systems of a starship was a necessary skill for a spacer.
Na’len nodded respectfully to Ra’dan, and said something in the old language. She looked at her mate who beamed relief at the reverently said words. Ra’dan caught her questioning gaze and said, “He offers blessings of the goddess on our bond, and the same joy he has known with his mate.”
Nina smiled at him and curled into Ra’dan’s warm shoulder. “Thank you, Na’len.”
It was a kindness she hadn’t expected, and she was indeed thankful for it as they followed the gathering crowd into the large open room with no furniture anywhere. The oldest man she’d ever seen raised his arms for silence, and the whole room obeyed without question. The switch from sound to silence registered so profoundly with her that she waited for the man to shout out his news, but he spoke softly.
“We have news from outside.”
He looked to Na’len who looked to Ra. “There is civil war coming to the Imperium.” Ra’dan said it baldly. Whispers rose among those gathered. Na’len nodded.
“Na’len, may I ask a question?” Every head turned to look at her. She’d tried to be polite, but she had to know something. “You don’t seem surprised to hear about the situation with the Empire. What do you know?”
He smiled at her before he answered. “We knew nothing till now. In some of our... dealings with slavers, we thought they knew they could count on the Imperium. It is no surprise. Your sister benefits greatly from our continued servitude. I fear she is nothing much like you, Lalel.”
“Your dealings? Do I even want to know what that means?”
The men quickly averted their eyes, reluctant to explain torture to a woman, let alone this woman. “Never mind,” she sighed. Na'len had shown public support for her, and it appeared that among the people in this room, Lalel Nina still warranted respect. She'd worry about the torture issue later.
Na'len went on, “we have tried to get information about the holding area without success. The only thing we know for certain is what we can see from the outside, and what we knew about it from the days when it was ours. There is no way of knowing for certain how many men or where they are inside.”
Ra’dan cleared his throat. “There is another possibility.”
Na’len signaled for him to speak.
“The spaceport is their advantage on this world. The best way to drive them back is to take that ground.”
“I agree with you, brother, but we cannot get near it. And I promise you, I have tried.”
His face said clearly just how many men they must have lost trying. Na’len’s bond mate was still in enemy hands, and he had clearly been working to get her back to her children. His tired eyes told the story better than his words.
“We might not have to get to it. I have weapons being delivered by allies to our cause. In this shipment, I have requested a very powerful explosive. Remote detonation. Nearly impossible to disarm. It will be impossible for the slavers. The don't exactly have high end techs in the group.”
“We would still need to get the bomb into the port. How?” Na’len spread his hands. Ra’dan smiled wickedly.
“We let them take it. A small group of men can appear to be transporting a small weapons cache. We run, and let them take it. Once they see what we have in the boxes, they will take it back to their base of operations.”
“What if they don't take it?”
He shrugged. “Then we still have a big bomb. We just need to figure out how to deliver it.”
“Where are the people they’ve taken? That’s the only problem I see.” Nina asked
Na’len.
“They ar
e in a holding area south of the ships. It is a good distance, but still heavily fortified with men and guns. It used to be a warehouse complex.”
“We can worry about men and guns later when the ships are destroyed.”
Nina felt hope bloom. “If they can’t ship them off-world, we may have time to take the holding area.”
“Or they could kill them all.” Na’len spoke sadly. “Still, I see no choices beyond this. When?” It was clear he’d go tomorrow if it brought his mate back to him. The poor man was one of so many who had lost someone. She looked at Ra’dan and wondered about the future. It was an uncertain thing on Brin.
“I do not know for certain, my friend. I did not ask too many questions of the man I asked to do this. His risk is great enough. It will not be long. Of that, I am certain.”
Na’len nodded, then he waved over a young boy speaking to him in the old tongue. The boy gestured to Ra’dan to follow him. Ra reached out a hand to Nina which she took, feeling all the eyes of the crowd on the exchange. As was becoming his way, Ra folded her close to his side. He clearly had sent a message to the crowd. Get used to seeing this, it said.
It could be her imagination, but he seemed to pull her close and comfort her just when she needed it most. She’d been working with the people of this planet for ages it seemed, and never noticed marital bonds this... intuitive. Maybe, the people of Brin had grown accustomed to hiding realities, or maybe Ra’dan was just different. Either way, he read her like a book. She'd been feeling very conspicuous in the crowd. She still felt conspicuous, but she didn't feel alone.
The way farther down was not the way they’d come, she realized with relief. It was more a sloping bridge network down and around, until they came to obviously vacant housing, furnished only with rugs, hammocks and a single lantern hanging from the rough, board walls. The tiny space was very enclosed with only one screened window and a curtain acting as a door. It would keep the insects out, but, definitely, not the people.
