The ten Na-Dina rose up, rifles held in their talon-hands. The Camp volunteers also stood, their expressions determined but worried. Gordon didn't blame them. He was scared, too.
He checked to make sure his blaster was secure in his holster, then led the way down the loading ramp. At the bottom, he stared out to where she'd been.
She was gone.
Where are you, Mahree?
Mahree crawled out from under the boulder where she'd hidden when two smugglers had walked by on a patrol of the perimeter. She stood up cautiously and waved at Gordon, saw his expression change from anxious worry to joy.
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Oh, God, she thought, what are we going to do? I think I'm falling in love with him! But I can't be!
He hurried up to her, followed closely by Pokeel, nine of her Guards, and six volunteers from Camp, including Etsane and Khuharkk', who ran together.
They were screened from direct sight of the hut by scrubby brush, but still they hunkered down and spoke in whispers. "You moved. Why?"
Quickly, she explained. "But I don't think they have posted guards on the perimeter," she added. "They just did that one sweep."
"Here, put this on," Gordon said, holding out the second blaster. Mahree hesitated, then quickly complied, turning her pulse-gun over to him. Quickly, he handed it to Greyshine.
Mahree looked at Pokeel. "Chief Marshal, the four pulse-guns are flexible weapons, from stun to disrupt, which kills. Our two blasters are like the light of Mother's Eye. Nothing will stop them. They can even penetrate the hull of the transport out there."
She paused and wet her lips, then gratefully took a swallow from a canteen Gordon offered her. They were all huddled around her, the hot sun of midday reflecting off metal, fur, and scales. "If possible, I favor stunning the smugglers. Unless they use deadly force."
Gordon frowned. "Mahree, they're carrying only blasters. That's deadly force anytime one fires."
Pokeel's ears flared questioningly. "Range. What's the range of your weapons?"
Gordon spoke first. "A kilometer for blasters. Three hundred meters for pulse-guns. Both make a noise when fired." The Na-Dina Chief Marshal nodded, then pointed at the scanner eyeshade hanging around Mahree's neck. "Is that a far-viewer? Like our hand scopes?"
"It is," Mahree said, removing the eyeshade and holding it out. "Would you like to use it to scout the slaver camp?"
"Yes," Pokeel said, taking the eyeshade and arranging it on her domed head with little difficulty. "This works by blink-control?"
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Mahree shook her head admiringly. The Na-Dina Marshal had clearly been watching her and the other CLS volunteers when they used the devices during ruin surveys. "It does. Enlarges or decreases by powers of ten. Range displays across the top of the shade."
"Good," Pokeel said. "Please wait for a brief span while I survey our target."
They waited respectfully until the Na-Dina Marshal reappeared.
"Philosopher, Ambassador, there is a standard small-unit tactic for this situation. It is called Flank, Decoy, and Attack. I recommend we use it now."
Mahree looked at her. "Please explain. And tell us where and how you want the camp volunteers deployed."
Pokeel nodded, a human mannerism she'd quickly adopted. "Very well.
Bites-Hard, you will take one other Sister, circle around this Crestline, and approach from the opposite side of this valley. You will be unarmed." The other Na-Dina flattened her ears, but did not protest. "The two Sisters will approach the encampment, behaving as if they are herders in search of lost nokseem ."
Bites-Hard fluttered her ears in the Na-Dina sign of acquiescence and comprehension.
"Your appearance will draw the Sky Infidels out of their sky vehicle and the stone house, and around to the far side of the Sky craft. Most or all of the Infidels will then be looking away from this side of the valley. We shall attack from this direction, when the maximum diversionary effect is achieved.
Understood?"
"Yes, Marshal!" Bites-Hard said, and, as they watched, she beckoned to another Sister. The two left their weapons and slipped away into the brush to begin their circle of the little valley. The Marshal turned back to Mahree and the archaeologists.
"Ambassador, your people will take the left flank, with you and Philosopher Gordon staying close enough to me for voder communication. I suspect radio com unit broadcasts could be detected by these Sky Infidels. Correct?"
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Gordon nodded swiftly. "Correct. Radio silence." He turned to pass the word back.
Mahree watched as Pokeel waited until Gordon finished; then the Na-Dina pointed at the Crestline. "My Sisters and I, we will form a skirmish line on the right flank. Half will stay there to cover us as we run downslope to the corrals. The rest of us will run like Long-Necks and hope to reach the captives before the slavers on the far side of the transport become aware of our approach."
Mahree's heart beat fast. The plan made sense, but it also depended on luck, timing, and the expectation that the slavers would not kill the two Guard Sisters on sight, but let them approach. She accepted a replacement scanner eyeshade from Gordon, whose grim expression matched her feelings. She followed after Pokeel as the Marshal led them, with everyone crouching, up to the Crestline of the ridge.
Overhead, Mother's Eye beat down, baking the rocky ground with a dry heat that drove moisture from her neck, made her bound-up hair itch, and sapped her energy levels. She took another drink of water and washed down a salt pill, and noticed many of the others doing the same thing.
Etsane and Khuharkk', she observed, were sticking close together as they prepared for the raid. Gordon moved into place beside her, blaster in hand, his expression grim and determined.
She gave him a glance, reached out to squeeze his hand briefly, and whispered, "Stay safe, Gordon."
He nodded. "You too, Mahree."
Together, they endured the waiting.
Etsane crouched behind the Crestline, waiting for the two Na-Dina Guard Sisters to come over the far ridge and head down to the valley bottom, there to decoy the slavers. To her left, Khuharkk' crouched on all fours, his long-muscled arms flexing, his lips pulled back to display sharp canines, his manner very feral, very deadly, and very honorable. He met her gaze, his violet-hued eyes bright with something alien.
"May we both achieve Honor," he growled.
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"Yes," Etsane said. "May we both fight well."
The Simiu turned his gaze back to watching the poor captives huddled below in the corrals. She did the same. It was horrible to watch them suffer from the sun and the heat. Mahree had said they'd been given water only once since landing, and most seemed half crazed with thirst. Two Heeyoon wandered up to the edge of their corral, motioning to one guard for water.
The guard instead reached out and touched them with his stun-prod, sending the gray-furred beings reeling back to fall on the dusty ground of the corral. They lay there in the merciless glare from Mother's Eye, twitching feebly from the effects of the stun. The other slaves stared at them, drugged into indifference.
"The Guard Sisters approach," Khuharkk' said softly. Etsane lowered her scanner eyeshade, blinked to telescopic, and watched as the two soldiers ambled down the far slope, their blue-scaled tails dragging listlessly, as if they'd been out hunting for lost herds the entire morning.
Etsane stretched and flexed her muscles, getting ready to run. She'd done track in school, and, though not of Olympic quality, she'd always been the fastest in any competition.
Reaching down, she took three quartz stones from her bag, loaded one into her sling, and held the other two in reserve in her left hand. "Khuharkk'," she whispered, "do you think there's a pilot inside the transport? I see four guards on the ground, and the Anuran amphibian inside the cargo lock.
Look! They've spotted the Sisters!"
"I see!" Khuharkk's hackles rose up in a ruff of thick orange fur. "And yes, there is likely a pilot on standby, in the
transport. I would order such a thing if I were in charge of a Fight Group."
Etsane watched as three of the four ground guards moved away from the corrals, circling around the gray tube of the transport, and headed out to meet the two Na-Dina. A new movement showed in the cargo hold lock.
"Look! The Anuran is coming out, too."
Khuharkk' was panting with eagerness. "Just a little farther,"
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he urged the slavers. "Go. Go around the ship's tail end. Go!"
Etsane scanned the ground between her and the nearest corral. The distance was a long five hundred meters. The ground was mostly open and grassy, with only a small boulder scattered here and there. Most boulders were tiny, not big enough to hide behind. A very few were person-sized. One of that size lay on the far side of the valley, close to the approaching Na-Dina Guard Sisters.
Almost ready... any moment now...
She tensed, waiting for astamari Mitchell to give the word to rush.
She and Khuharkk' were stationed at the outer edge of the left flank. If they moved ahead of the rest of the group, they would not interfere with anyone's aim. They were both fast, she knew. If only they could be quick enough to stop the remaining guard from turning on the rescuers and slaves with his blaster!
Etsane thought of her father, of his carved wooden staff, of the tribal scars on his cheeks, and of how he had been a fierce believer in freedom for all.
Father, help me to free these people, she prayed silently.
Suddenly the order came. "Go!"
Springing to her feet, Etsane raced like the wind.
Khuharkk' bounded down the grassy slope and surged forward on all fours, glorying in the challenge he faced. Here was an Honor Challenge that would bring Honor to his entire clan!
Etsane raced along beside him, her two feet flashing as her long bare legs propelled her forward, nearly matching his own four-footed gallop. He admired her for her speed; few humans could run with a Simiu the way she was doing.
Ahead of them, a few of the captives were staring at them, a slow, reluctant hope dawning on their faces.
He angled his forward rush so as to keep the bulk of the stone hut between him and the single guard, a Dmian, whose back now faced them. Briefly, he felt relief that the sole guard on this side of the transport was not one of the 219
two Heeyoon or the heavyset human. Both species had excellent hearing, and they would have heard them earlier than the Dmian.
Off to his right, the other rescuers hurtled down the slope. Professor Greyshine and Doctor Strongheart were in the lead a bit, despite their age.
Heeyoon could run almost as fast as Simiu. And, truth to be told, they had the lungs for long-distance running, which he did not. Natual ran respectably, though he did no better than the talon-footed Na- Dina. They bounded along like the Earth kangaroos he'd seen in a wildlife holo, but the aliens battled more wind resistance than he or others who ran close to the ground. Ttalatha ch'aakki was a masked blur of cream and chocolate fur, her narrow tail stretched out straight behind her. Mahree and Doctor Mitchell held the center of their line, doing well for humans of their age, but still more than a hundred meters behind him and Etsane.
She was running easily, twirling her sling as she readied it for her toss.
Though it was a weapon, Khuharkk' had grown to admire her skill with it.
Khuharkk' fixed his attention on the stone hut, alert for the sudden emergence of an unseen smuggler. If anyone was unlucky enough to emerge from that doorway, he was ready.
Etsane kept her eyes on the back of the Drnian guard, who held a blaster in one hand, a stun-prod in the other. The male stood halfway between the stone hut and the front end of the transport, behind which moved the three other guards and the Anuran overseer, who were still walking out to confront the Guard Sisters.
She fixed her eyes on the middle of the guard's back. Her readings about Drnian physiology had told her that Natual's people had a spinal cord that was very similar to human anatomy. A direct hit at the base of the neck or the spine--depending on how her target was standing--should prove
incapacitating.
She revved the sling to high spin. She and Khuharkk' were now more than halfway to the corrals and the guard,
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approaching at a slant from the left side. The others were now far behind.
Eying the distance left, she decided she was close enough to make her first shot. A little under two hundred meters ... at that distance, she seldom missed.
Aiming with her shoulder, she spun, and snap-tossed.
Khuharkk', seeing her throw, angled toward the hut. Still running, Etsane reloaded her sling, spun the stone, and threw again just as the first stone hit the Drnian guard right in the middle of his back.
His blaster fell to the ground, but, as he doubled over and fell to his knees, he managed to hang onto his stun- prod.
"The hut!" Khuharkk' shouted. "Someone's inside!"
Etsane's second stone hit the left shoulder of the Dmian, causing him to drop the stun-prod. The alien's big red eyes stared at them in shock. His mouth opened--he was going to warn the others! Quick as thought, Etsane spun her third stone, snapped it forward, and watched with satisfaction as it hit the Drnian's bulging forehead. "Yes!" she breathed to herself as the guard toppled over bonelessly.
Motion blurred on her left.
A tall, skinny human rushed out of the stone hut with a blaster belt in hand, at first running toward the fallen guard, then turning when he heard their pounding footfalls. He wore only shorts, as if he'd been asleep. With fear-widened eyes, he struggled to loose the blaster from the holster. Khuharkk'
hit him in a deadly parody of a football tackle. They rolled over and over, and she could hear nothing except his screams and the Simiu's growls.
Etsane swerved toward the corrals, where a dozen captives were aware enough to have struggled to their feet. Three humans, two men and a woman, gathered up the few rocks lying in the front corral. Nearby, the two Heeyoon captives who'd been hit with the stun-prod did the same. Other captives were alerting their fellows to the rescue, cautioning quiet. She waved at them, her hands motioning them to lie flat.
"Down!" she hissed as she skidded up to the nearest
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corral. "Get down," she said in Mizari, hoping some of them knew the language. "There's going to be shooting!"
One of the men, a young man in his twenties who showed a red welt across one cheek, Asian eyes, and grim anger, nodded at her. "Right!" He turned from collecting rocks to urging and gesturing the captives to lie flat.
Etsane rounded the corral grouping, coming to a stop by the front corral entrance. After collecting the unconscious Drnian guard's blaster, she climbed over the metal gate and crouched behind its open framework, determined to keep the slavers from harming her charges. Behind her pounded the footfalls of Mahree, Doctor Mitchell, Greyshine, Strongheart, Pokeel, Natual, Ttalatha and the other Na- Dina, closing rapidly.
Scrieee!
Etsane flinched as a blaster fired on the far side of the slaver transport. Oh, no! Had Bites-Hard been shot?
"Dishonorable coward!" yelled Khuharkk' as the skinny human spun away from the Simiu's claws and teeth, leaving behind trails of red blood and the blaster belt. The wounded guard headed for the rampway leading up to the open lock of the cargo hold.
Etsane reloaded her sling, thought of knocking him out, then let him escape as the two Heeyoon crew-guards rounded the nose of the transport, double streaks of gray fur as they ran toward Khuharkk'. She turned to aim her sling at them, but one of her comrades fired a pulse-gun, its blue bolt of electrical fire passing over the corrals to hit the nearer Heeyoon, who fell unconscious.
The other Heeyoon moved toward Etsane, one paw-hand drawing his blaster.
It never even occurred to her to use the blaster--instead her reaction was automatic, just as it had been back in the hills above Gonder. Snap! Her stone hurtled toward him, but the alien, warn
ed, had a Heeyoon's quick reflexes, and he managed to dodge her throw.
He aimed his blaster at Etsane, who froze. "Now you die!" he snarled in his own language, which, unfortunately, she understood all too well.
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Blap!
Without warning, he staggered backward, blood spouting from his chest as one of the Na-Dina Guards scored a mortal hit. Etsane looked back the way she'd come, unable to see her savior. But she did see the others running up to the back corral and spreading out to defend the captives. Mahree, Teacher Mitchell, and Pokeel were a tight threesome.
"Look out!" cried one of the human women behind her. Etsane whirled, saw where the woman was pointing.
The Anuran overseer and the remaining Drnian guard ran around the tail of the transport, only to be confronted by Khuharkk' and a mass of Na-Dina Guards kneeling on the ground, rifles at the ready. The other human slaver guard, a bearded man, suddenly darted into view. "I'll cover you!" he shouted.
The Anuran and the Drnian lowered their blasters and bolted for the loading ramp. The human glared wildly at the slaves, and then, deliberately, aimed his blaster at the terrified people huddled on the ground.
Scrieee!
The man uttered a high-pitched shriek that was cut short, and suddenly half his body was no longer there. Etsane gasped in horror as the remaining half crumpled and fell.
She fought back nausea.
Blap, blap, blap! That was the rifle fire from the Sisters. Their bullets kicked up dirt just behind the fleeing Anuran and the female Drnian guard, who angled to keep the front corral between them and the rescuers as they ran toward the transport's ramp.
The Drnian male whom Etsane had downed suddenly appeared, running behind them.
A well-placed Na-Dina bullet dropped him in his tracks.
The Anuran and the Drnian had made it--zigging and weaving, they'd reached the rampway and dashed up it, just as two pulse-gun shots ricocheted off the hull of the ship.
Suddenly a high-pitched hum sounded as the unseen pilot switched on his main drive.
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