“Did you like being a missile tech?”
Harry shook his head. “I told you; I never wanted to be in the Army. When my wife and daughter were killed in a food riot while I was gone, I decided it was time to leave the military…so I did. The Terran Union considers me a deserter, which I am, and being a deserter warrants the death penalty. If they ever catch me, they will kill me.”
“Well…wow,” Mio said. “I would never have guessed you were a Tur…I mean, a Terran Union soldier.”
“Most people don’t know,” Harry said, a wry grin on his face. “It isn’t something I’m proud of, nor something I want to advertise. People might wonder about my loyalties. Let’s just keep it our little secret, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks,” Harry said as he hobbled off. “Now, I better go back and lie down before I fall down.”
* * *
Mio eyed the small brown box critically, disdain and disgust written all over her face. With a shudder, she finally tossed the meal packet back onto the pallet, to join the 10 or 12 remaining boxes there.
“If you don’t eat, you’re never going to grow up to be a big, strong raider like me,” Dan said from behind her. He reached down and picked up the packet Mio had dropped as well as the one next to it.
Dan turned the first packet over. “Spinach, egg, and cheese omelet? Bah, you can’t go wrong with that!” He sat down on a nearby log and broke it open with apparent gusto.
“If eating that crap is what it takes to be a raider, then I’m not sure I want to be one.”
“Mrffy?” Dan asked through a mouthful of food. He swallowed, then said, “That’s too bad. I’m leading a mission this evening, and I was going to make sure I brought you along. If you’ve given up on being a raider, though, I guess I’ll have to do without.”
“Really?” Mio cried, her eyes opening wide. “I get to come tonight? What are we doing?”
“Well, not everybody likes these things,” he said, nodding to the second meal pack as he tore it open, “and we’re almost out of them, so we’re going to hit one of the food storage facilities in town.”
“You’re going to take me on a raid in town?” Mio asked. All the Terran soldiers were in town. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, I know it’s dangerous,” Dan said, shrugging, “but we have to eat, and that’s where the food is.”
They need me, and I can do this. Dad would want me to be strong. “Okay,” Mio said after a pause. “What can I do?”
Dan smiled. “I’m glad you asked, because I have something only you can do…”
* * *
Mio’s eyes darted from side to side as she crept along the wall of the building. Although terrifyingly nerve-wracking, the raiders’ approach to the town had gone smoothly. The guards and patrols had been where Dan had briefed the group they would be, based on his reconnaissance of the town over the last several nights.
When the expected gap in the sentry coverage had appeared, the group had run from the cover of the trees to the first buildings, and they were now working their way further into the town. Every step took them closer to the Terran soldiers—and their deaths, if they were caught.
Mio’s eyes paused as they drifted past the hooded figure in front of her, drawing strength from Diego’s presence. She would be strong, if for no other reason than to show Diego that she was more than just a little girl; she was a raider, worthy of his notice. He stopped suddenly, and she almost ran into him, her arm scraping along the building they were passing as she tried to stop.
Diego spun at the noise her arm made with a finger over his lips. “Can’t you be quiet?” he mouthed. “There’s something up front.”
Mio looked past Diego and saw Dan with his hand up in a fist. She knew it was Dan; he had a large coil of rope over his shoulder. She looked back at Diego and nodded silently, not wanting to make any more noise. Diego turned around, and Mio focused her attention on Dan, who she realized she should have been focused on all along. He remained frozen, watching something only he could see. Mio thought she could hear a pounding nearby, but realized it was only her heart, and she tried to take some deep breaths to calm herself. It wasn’t that hot out, but sweat matted her hair and ran down her back.
After a couple of seconds more, Dan waved them forward again, and the procession began moving. In addition to Dan and Diego, three more men followed Mio, and she looked back to see if they were coming. She couldn’t see the third man, but the two right behind her were close by, carrying the gigantic ladder they would need once they arrived at the target.
Mio’s legs were unsteady as she sprinted across the next street, and she had to force herself to concentrate for fear of falling face-first when she reached the curb on the other side. Somehow she kept her legs moving and made it to where Diego waited at the next building. She hadn’t seen a Terran yet, but her eyes shifted about wildly, looking for the troopers she knew were nearby.
“Easy,” Diego whispered, putting a hand on her arm. “We’re almost there.”
Mio drew strength from the contact and nodded once, trying to hide her fear. Did the rest of the men feel as scared as she did? If so, they didn’t show it. Perhaps they had done this more often and were more accustomed to it. Mio didn’t know how they could be so alert; it seemed like she had to concentrate on all her body’s functions, just to keep them working properly. Breathe in. Breathe out. She was afraid she’d pass out if she didn’t keep remembering to tell herself that.
They raced across two more side streets, then Dan stopped again. Mio saw his hand go up this time and stopped on her own, without running into Diego. Progress, she thought with a small smile.
She looked around. Although most of the first buildings they had passed looked like houses, they had now entered a more industrial area where the buildings were bigger. The lights on the street were further apart, and the only illumination on the side of the building was from the smaller moon which was less than half full.
“This is the place,” Dan said as he walked past her. Dan brought the men with the ladder forward and had them set it up against the side of the building. Each of them stepped to the side to help hold it in place.
Mio looked up; the side of the building rose over forty feet into the darkness. She pressed her knees together to keep them from knocking.
“Ready?” Dan whispered.
Mio nodded, not sure she could reply in a steady voice.
“Okay, follow me, but not too close.” Dan turned and went up the ladder, which creaked ominously in the silent night. Once he was five steps up, one of the men holding the ladder nodded to her.
Mio didn’t think she wanted to be on the ladder at the same time as Dan; it continued to groan as it flexed under his weight, and she wasn’t sure it would hold them both. The man nodded again, more urgently this time, so she set her rifle against the wall, stepped up to the ladder, and put her hand on one of the rungs.
“Good luck!” Diego whispered from the side.
An unbidden smile crossed her face. “Thanks,” she whispered back, glad he couldn’t see her face redden in the dark.
The smile came back as she climbed the ladder. Diego had wished her luck. Her eyes darted back down to see if he was watching, and she had to lean forward to embrace the ladder; she hadn’t realized how far up she was!
She didn’t want to let go of the ladder to keep climbing but realized that staying there didn’t do anyone any good, especially her, so she concentrated on looking up, only up, and began climbing again. She reached the top without falling off, and Dan’s strong hand was there to help guide her off the ladder onto the roof.
Mildly inclined, the surface was flat with no tiles, so her footing was secure. She took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth; she had been worried about falling off.
“Come on,” Dan said, and he led her across the roof to the other side. He took the rope off his shoulder, wrapped it around her and through her legs, fashioning a seat for her, then knotte
d it off. “Ready?” he asked.
Mio looked up and gave him a thin smile. “What if I said, ‘not really’?” she asked.
“I’d say, ‘we don’t have time for you to not be ready.’”
Mio nodded. “I was afraid of that,” she replied. She sighed and stood a little straighter. Her dad would be proud of her for this later. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Dan guided her to sit on the edge of the roof, with her feet dangling into the darkness. She couldn’t see the ground below. Even though she knew it was a long way down and would have been scary to see, it would have been better than hanging over the blackness.
“N-now what?” Mio asked.
“Now roll onto your stomach and slide off.”
“I…I don’t think I can,” Mio said looking down. She was unable to take her eyes off the blackness and could feel it seeping into her heart, pulling her down to her death. If she went off the edge, she would fall! She laid back on the roof, paralyzed.
With a shock, she felt her hips lift off the roof—Dan was lifting her up with the rope! She had to untie herself! Her hands went reflexively to the rope, and she sat up, but her legs didn’t touch anywhere—they dangled into the nothingness that waited past the edge. Mio looked around wildly and realized Dan had stepped forward; she was now dangling over the edge. She froze, not wanting to do anything to make Dan lose his grip on the rope.
Dan began lowering her, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
“How’s that?” Dan asked in a whisper.
Mio opened one eye halfway. A small grate waited in front of her, about eight inches away.
“Are you close?”
Mio closed her eye and nodded.
“Are you close?” Dan asked again, a more urgent tone to his voice. “I can’t hold you forever.”
Both of Mio’s eye sprang open. Couldn’t hold her? Dan wouldn’t drop her, would he? Not intentionally, she realized, but he was holding all her weight as she dangled next to the building. If she didn’t do what she was supposed to, he would either have to pull her up soon or drop her. She didn’t think she could let go of the rope, but she didn’t want to be a failure in her first mission, and she certainly didn’t want to fall to her death.
Her dad would want her to try. Tentatively, she released the rope with one of her hands. She didn’t fall.
“Last chance,” Dan said. “Are you close?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m working on it.”
Keeping one hand securely on the rope, Mio opened the cargo pocket on her hip, pulled out the screwdriver and started unscrewing the screw on the right. It backed out easily, and she released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Now that she was doing something, hanging in midair didn’t seem so bad. Not that she was going to look down again any time soon.
Once the screw was wiggling, she put the screwdriver back in her pocket and finished removing it by hand. Putting it in the same pocket, she used the motion to pull the screwdriver back out again. She couldn’t reach the left screw with her right hand, though, so she placed it between her teeth while she changed hands.
The rope secure in her right hand, she started on the left screw. It was a little harder to withdraw, and she almost dropped the screwdriver once, but she finally got it started.
“Can you hurry?” Dan asked.
Mio was already going as fast as she safely could, but when she realized the rope was starting to shake, she leaned forward, released her right hand, and began turning the screwdriver with both hands.
She made it two more revolutions before the screwdriver slipped out of the slot and fell out of her hands. She made a grab for it, then grabbed back onto the rope as she almost fell forward and out of her rope “seat.” The screwdriver made a dull thud as it hit the dirt below her.
“What was that?” Dan asked.
“I dropped the screwdriver.”
“Can you still get it?”
“I think so.” Mio reached out and began turning the screw by hand. It backed out the rest of the way, and she put it in her pocket.
Now came the hard part. She had to wiggle the grate out without making enough noise to draw attention to herself. Mio stuck her fingers into the grating; they were just small enough to fit between the louvers. It was stuck. She really needed the screwdriver to get it out far enough to get any purchase on it. Maybe if she was on the ground and could brace herself, she might have enough strength to remove it, but here?
No way.
Unless…unless she let go of the rope with both hands and used her legs to brace herself on the building’s wall while she did it. The rope was twitching harder now; it wouldn’t be long before Dan had to pull her up or let her go.
She had to do this. For the other members of the resistance counting on her, as well as for her dad. And especially for Diego, who had wished her luck. She let go with both hands and stuck her fingers into the louvers. Trusting Dan to hold her, she pulled her legs over to the wall and walked them up to where they were just outside the vent on both sides.
Summoning her strength, she pulled as hard as she could. The vent pulled out! Well, not all the way, but it came out at least half an inch. She could do this. Bracing herself again, she pulled, and the grate came out another inch. One more try, she thought. She got her legs positioned, but before she could pull, the vibrations in the rope stopped.
Dan was going to pull her up! She would be a failure. Before he could bring her back up, she yanked on the grate again. Her fear gave her extra strength, and the grate came off in her hands, along with the mechanism that ran the vent attached to the back of it. Unready for it to pop off so easily, and not expecting the extra weight of the machinery attached, she went over backwards. I’m going to fall!
Reflexively, her knees grabbed hold of the rope, keeping her from sliding out of the seat, but the weight and the bulk of the machinery in her hands was too much for her to hold in one hand—she couldn’t use her hands to pull herself back up, and was left dangling, nearly upside down, with the vent mechanism held to her chest. She couldn’t grab the rope with her hand, nor were her stomach muscles strong enough to right her.
“Help!” she whispered.
The rope was pulled up a little, and two hands grabbed onto her legs. They didn’t pull her up but helped guide them as the rope lifted her higher. Another pull and the feeling of sideways motion, and the roof came up under her back. Dan lowered her until she was flat on her back.
“Wow,” Diego said in a whisper. “That had to be scary.”
Mio opened her eyes. Diego was in front of her; it had been his hands on her legs that guided her back up.
The presence of Diego and the close contact with him didn’t help slow her hammering heartbeat, and all she could do was nod silently.
“I mean, hanging upside down like that? That would have scared the crap out of me,” Diego continued. “I would’ve dropped the vent; I know I would.”
Mio heard a different note in Diego’s voice—admiration. She had done something worthy in his sights! She smiled and ventured a word. “Thanks.” It almost came out with a giggle, but whether the giggle was from fear or excitement, she wasn’t sure.
“I’ll take that,” Dan said, reaching for the vent.
Mio didn’t say anything, nor did she release the vent. She was too caught up the in the look of respect in Diego’s eyes.
“Really, I’ll take that,” Dan repeated. “We need to be going.”
Mio shook her head to clear it. “Okay,” she said, letting go. Her eyes returned to Diego’s. “How did you get here?” she asked.
“I heard the screwdriver you dropped hit the ground, and I thought you might need it.” He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the tool. Handing it to her, he added, “That was kind of clumsy.”
“Yeah,” she replied. “Dan told me to hurry, and I went too fast. I thought he was going to drop me.”
“I just might have dropped you when you pushed off like that,” Dan said. “I wasn’
t expecting that big pull and was almost out of strength. Luckily, Diego showed up right before that and helped me hold the rope; together we were able to keep from going over the side.”
“Oops, sorry,” Mio said. Then it dawned on her. “You saved my life,” she said to Diego.
“Well, if you look at it like that, maybe I did,” Diego replied, “but I was really just helping out where I could.”
“Harry told me that one time,” Mio said. “Everything everyone does to help is important…I think I get it now.” She nodded; it all made sense. Even pitching in on small things could have big consequences.
“Good,” Dan said, “because I need you to go back down there and finish what we came here to do. We’re running out of time.” He looked into the street, and Mio followed his eyes. A truck waited on the other side where there hadn’t been one before, it’s lights out. “We’re behind schedule,” he added. “We’re running out of time—our ride is here, and it won’t be long until they’re noticed.”
“Okay,” Mio said, sitting up. “I’m ready to go. Lower me down.”
“All right,” Dan said, “but I won’t be able to hold you as long this time; my arms are about shot, and Diego has to go rejoin his group.”
“I know,” Mio said. “I’ll be faster.”
“Aren’t you scared to go back over the edge?” Diego asked. “Especially after you almost fell last time?”
“A little,” Mio admitted. “But this is my part to play, and I can do it. Go back to your group; I’ll have the door open soon.”
Diego smiled. “Good luck—no, better luck this time,” he said. Without waiting for a response, he turned and headed for the ladder.
“Ready,” Mio said. “Lower away.”
“It would be better if you could just slide off,” Dan said. “That way I don’t have to move around while I’m holding your weight. It would be safer that way.”
Slide off? Into the dark? Every fiber of her being said no, but Mio nodded. “Okay,” she said.
She pulled up her rope harness, making sure everything was properly positioned, then flipped onto her stomach. “Here I go.”
The Mutineer's Daughter Page 19
