Warriors' Providence (Cadi Warriors Book 2)

by Stephanie West

  What they did have, were the sensible cargo rota. The wagon-like transports couldn't fly, but they could hover and move swiftly over rugged terrain that would've been impassible by a normal car or bus back home. And they were light enough they shouldn't disturb the potentially deadly Swiss cheese landscape.

  "I agree it's our only option." Providence nodded to the guys.

  The ship touched down roughly ten miles from the colony adding to the swirling sandy debris as it landed on the rocky plateau. Thankfully the surface held. Unlike the surrounding landscape the ancient shrinking sea hadn't worn away the rocky edifice.

  "I'm sending a message to the other ships and the Agurtzane letting them know we've landed. I don't know if the Agurtzane are going to be willing to even bring their ships into this atmosphere." Dagaa commented out loud as he stood and strapped on his communicator.

  "You've got the ship Ashtoret. Monitor the weather and orbit and keep us apprised." Madhava instructed the secondary pilot as he entered the control room.

  "May Kali be with you." Ashtoret wished them well.

  Providence unhooked her harness then also attached her little computer to the holster on her forearm, before following Dagaa, Madhava and Stone back to the loading bay. Providence released one of the three cargo rota from the magnetic breaks, securing them to the hull floor. The thing instantly levitated, ready and waiting. The sight of it still amazed her.

  "I will take this transport, Madhava that one, and Providence you will go with Stone. I want you to stay in the center of the caravan as we approach the colony."

  Providence and Stone nodded. Again the guys were being protective, but this wasn't the time to comment, nor did Providence really begrudge their concern for her, given the current dire circumstances. This portion of the rescue was all about team work and watching each other's back till they got the job done.

  Providence hopped into the rota and did a quick last minute check of the gear they'd already loaded, before strapping into the pilot seat. She tapped on the controls raising the bullet proof glass shield that would protect them from the elements once they exited the starship.

  Dagaa nodded to Providence, seeing that she was ready, and started opening the spaceship's large hangar doors. The crack of light widened as the entrance split open to reveal the barren planet beyond. As Dagaa's nosed out of the loading bay, the wind instantly jostled the transport sending it bouncing as it skimmed the rocky plateau.

  They followed each other in tandem leaving the ship. Providence held control of the large rota, occasionally gritting her teeth, as strong gusts attempted to knock it around. How did the Toufik even manage to hunt or forage in weather like this?

  It took them longer than expected to descend the rocky precipice and traverse the sandy rugged terrain to the shore, where the Toufik resided. Providence timed it, taking account for the longer return trip once they were fully loaded. They could comfortably make three trips in the time window allotted before the mega storm descended.

  As they neared the shore, Providence saw close to a hundred Toufik gathered, their heads swathed in scarves that covered their eyes, nose and mouths. The ends of the drab colored sashes whipped wildly in the brisk wind.

  "If this is all of them, they will easily fit in the starship." Providence mused. "Though it will still take at least two trips to get all of them there."

  She did a quick head count and retracted her earlier comment. There weren't any youth present. This couldn't be all of them. The population of this planet had been decimated but surely there were still children. Providence shook her head as the weight of what happened here sat heavy on her shoulders.

  Providence set the rota down at the edge of the barrows projecting from the earth. Providence noted that they were indeed portals to some type of underground cavern, now that she could see them better. It made sense. The Toufik would be protected against the elements underground.

  "Stone we should get the masks and goggles." Providence said to her hairy companion.

  Stone nodded making the gesture of agreement she'd learned. He didn't have the turban, like his fellow Toufik, to protect his face.

  Her comm crackled a bit as she retrieved the gear. Providence looked at her communicator wondering if she'd hit it while digging in the transport compartment. Providence put on her mask, blessing Tytus and Jorg for their ingenuity in altering the items so they would fit her. Jorg, like a true medic, had been able to rapidly sew together the parts Tytus had salvaged from other equipment.

  The first thing Providence noticed, as she raised the glass dome on the transport, was the stifling heat. She felt like she was breathing in an oven. It quickly dried her mouth and sinuses. Providence pulled the cloak she wore tighter around her. It sounded foolish to wear a long-sleeved garment in this heat, but it served many purposes. Not only did it insulate her body and prevented her skin from frying in the sun, more importantly it protected her from the scouring sand that whipped through the air like thousands of minuscule wasps. Already her hands and cheeks were feeling chapped and abraded.

  No wonder the Toufik were hairy and didn't speak. If their environment had been similar to this long enough, it would have shaped the people just as surely as it shaped the landscape. Their hair acted like her cloak, and who could speak with their mouth constantly covered, plus you'd lose a lot of moisture opening your mouth all the time in this heat.

  Providence descended behind Stone. Instantly the gathered Toufik approached, unafraid. A few males stepped forward, their hands going a mile a minute, till Stone gestured for them to stop. He made the gesture for rescue, and the crowd of hairy beasts went into a flurry of sign language amongst themselves.

  Providence looked over at Dagaa and Madhava who had immediately flanked her once they stepped onto the gritty earth. They too were swaddled in their cloaks. Even their chests were covered which was an unusual sight.

  Stone made a series of gestures to Dagaa, who nodded. Their group followed one of the alpha males heading for the nearest burrow in the ground. Once inside the wind stopped altogether. Providence noted the baked earth bricks that lined the passage down as she pulled off her goggles and mask.

  At the bottom of the dim passage a room opened up. It was lit by a few torches on the wall. Providence could see the long room was attached to others by a tunnel on each end. She took off her hood, shaking the sand from her hair.

  There were more people down here than had surfaced. Females, children and elderly had stayed below ground. It was quickly appearing that they would indeed meet their ship's capacity.

  "Why didn't you respond when I asked you to stay on the transport till Dagaa, Stone and I had assessed the mood of the gathered males?" Madhava asked as he leaned into her.

  Providence looked from Stone and Dagaa communicating with the lead males, to Madhava.

  "Shit!" She whispered. "We've got a problem then. My comm only crackled as we landed. Something is interfering with them."

  Madhava's face turned even more serious than it already was. He stepped back into the passage and tapped on his communicator.

  "Ashtoret report on the status of the ship." Madhava tried to contact their ship's secondary pilot on his comm.

  Nothing but a crackle. Madhava swiped a finger along the display.

  "Cyprian report." He reached out to one of the other starship captains.

  Still nothing.

  "We're blind. I wonder if that last communication when we landed even reached anyone." Madhava nearly snarled.

  That caught Dagaa and several of the Toufik’s attention.

  "What's going on?" Dagaa asked.

  "We need to get this show on the road. The comms aren't working." Providence replied.

  "Stone hurry it up. Let's get the first group loaded." Dagaa growled.

  The Toufik males didn't need to be told twice as they quickly started ushering their people up and out of the subterranean rooms.

  "We've got a hundred and eighty people here." Dagaa stated as the
y ascended. "It’s doable if we can get them transported to the ship in time."

  Providence nodded. That had been her concern too. She quickly did the math. If they could pack twenty people on each transport that would be exactly the three trips she'd estimated.

  Once back up on the surface the males quickly assisted the females into the three transports. Each female held a child on their lap till the rota was filled to capacity.

  "We travel side by side. That way we can gesture to each other if there's a problem." Dagaa instructed.

  Providence strapped in and revved the transport up. Immediately she noted the added drag as she pushed the vehicle to move over the barren terrain.

  Providence prayed this didn't take longer than what she'd estimated as she looked to the north. The sky was getting increasingly dark off in the distance. Even since they'd departed the starship, she'd noticed the wind had subtly increased and shifted direction coming now more from the north.

  Providence looked away. She had to concentrate on the task at hand.

  "Be aware of the looming perils, but focus on what has to be done, otherwise you're defeated before you even near the goal." Providence parroted the wise words her father once told her.

  Thirty minutes later they made it to the belly of the starship and though the wind had been at their back, it had still taken longer than she hoped. Everyone unloaded double time. Jorg was on hand, as well as Tytus and his assistant, taking the babes and helping the females up the ramp.

  "Ashtoret." Dagaa quickly approached the other pilot who'd come out of the starship.

  "I've got no word from anyone." Ashtoret looked extremely disturbed.

  Dagaa nodded grimly.

  "We noticed the comms are down. The other captains are on their own, goddess help them. They know what to do. We have to get this done and get the hell out of here. We have three loads. You and Tytus be ready to leave the instant we are loaded with the final group."

  No sooner was the last Toufik off the large rota then they were off again, headed back to the colony. Providence pushed the transport hard. She'd gotten used to the way the wind buffeted the craft attempting to send them off course. Providence steered the nose of the rota into the gale just to get it to travel straight.

  The next load of Toufik were wisely waiting and ready when they finally arrived. The alpha males loaded the older members of their clan, the single females and what Providence assumed were teenage males into the vessels the moment they landed. Providence was glad the Toufik had organized so quickly and weren't foolishly clinging to objects they'd be forced to leave behind.

  Stone gestured to Dagaa as he leapt off her rota. Dagaa nodded and waved his arm at Providence to take off, leaving Stone behind. Providence looked from Stone to Dagaa in confusion. She shook her head. She couldn't leave Stone. You don't leave a member of your team behind.

  It wasn't until Stone started running towards the distant plateau with the clan males following that she understood what was happening. He was leading them closer to the ship. The Toufik were fast despite the gusts that assailed them. They may not traverse the entire rugged terrain, but they'd be closer, making it easier to pick them up on the last foray.

  As Providence passed by the scores of Toufik males, she awed in the way they wove and leapt over the broad ravines in the sandy plain. Seeing the direction Stone was leading, one of the local males had taken the lead, clearly more familiar with the landscape. It was probably a good thing. Providence thought back to their earlier discussion of pockets of deadly gas.

  As the three rota neared the plateau a large ship descended in the sky. It was the Agurtzane come to help. At this point Providence didn't know how much help they'd be since they couldn't exit their large water-filled star cruiser. At least they were making an attempt.

  The second group of Toufik unloaded a bit more slowly with the elderly aboard. Some of the Toufik females from the first group were there to assist them. Providence took one slow moving female's arm as she descended the rota leading her to the starship ramp.

  Dagaa approached the Agurtzane vessel on the other end of the narrow plateau as the hairy occupants made it off his transport. Dagaa was halfway there when suddenly the Agurtzane craft lifted off the plateau and whirled midair. He was nearly knocked off his feet from the sudden turbulent gust.

  Providence gasped. Thank god he wasn't any closer to the cliff's edge.

  "What in the name of Kali?!" Madhava bellowed standing next to her at the foot of the ramp.

  A loud barrage struck nearby.

  Providence cried as debris flew. Madhava snarled tucking her behind him. Providence glanced from behind his back to see one of the transports had been entirely obliterated. Tytus' assistant lay with one of the old Toufik males, he'd been assisting, not far from the wreckage. They didn't look good.

  She looked up in time to see a ship firing a red laser, much like a massive disrupter blast, at the Agurtzane ship.

  "It's the Jurou Biljana!" Madhava growled.

  Providence tried not to panic. She looked to see Dagaa racing to his fallen comrade. Providence held her breath, he was out in the open, exposed. Jorg rapidly pushed past Providence and Madhava, heading the same way.

  "Get inside!" Madhava yelled over the din of gunfire and roaring wind, as he raced to assist the others.

  Granted she was vulnerable crouched at the base of the hull, but Providence was frozen to the spot, staring at the scene, her heart beating staccato in her chest. She'd witnessed carnage and injury on more than one rescue mission. But never before had she been faced with enemy fire, a looming storm to end all storms, and the men she loved, more than life itself, risking their tails, all at once. It was taking all she had to keep it together.

  The Agurtzane narrowly avoided the next strike, returning fire of their own, sending out a pulse that looked like a blue shock wave. The blast knocked the attacking Jurou Biljana vessel back, but didn't seem to damage it. Their shields rippled like a rock dropping onto the surface of a pond.

  "Goddess dammit Providence! Get in the ship." Dagaa ran towards her along with Jorg carrying the bloody unconscious male, one had his feet, the other his torso. Madhava was in the rear carrying the smaller elderly Toufik male.

  The Jurou Biljana ship blasted the Agurtzane again. This time the aquatic species were too slow. It was a head on strike, damaging the Agurtzane vessel. The blast also shook the starship the group of them were huddled beneath, nearly tossing them off the ramp as they moved into the loading bay.

  "What the hell do they want?" Madhava demanded.

  "Revenge, their old ship, slaves, all the above." Dagaa yelled over the din.

  As Providence stared out the hangar door, she noticed the Jurou Biljana wasn't firing directly at their former starship as they traded fire with the Agurtzane. The aqua-men took another major hit that echoed over the plateau. Providence's hands flew to her ears.

  "Get back." Madhava growled as he tugged Providence further into the loading bay.

  The Agurtzane ship reared back and shot up into the atmosphere abandoning them to their fate with the reptiles. Clearly they had had enough. They were only willing to help so much. Providence's heart sank.

  "Fucking HELL!" Dagaa snarled, voicing a similar sentiment to what she was feeling.

  "No doubt the moment we attempt to fire on the damn reptiles they'll blast us, cut their losses and run." Madhava shook his head.

  "We can't risk them damaging the ship or we're toast." Providence said as she angled her head to see the hovering Jurou Biljana ship.

  "Regardless the ship is still safer than standing out there like sitting ducks." Dagaa commented with a frown as he stared out of the ship.

  If things weren't so dire Providence would've laughed at the way Dagaa adopted human phrases.

  "We should be evenly matched once I get the shields up." Tytus added.

  "Oh god how are we going to get Stone and the others?" Providence stared out at the plain.

  "Madhav
a I need you to take our girl."

  Dagaa and Madhava traded a look that Providence didn't like one bit.

  "What are you talking about?" Providence yelled as Madhava lifted her up in his arms. "Dagaa what are you doing? Stop put me down!" She cried as she struggled to get free from Madhava's iron grasp.

  Dagaa cast her a final glance, his mouth tipping up in a mournful smile before turning and jogging down the ramp.

  "No Dagaa come back!" Providence struggled even harder, but Madhava didn't relent.

  As the bay doors were closing Providence watched Dagaa strip off his cloak, so he was entirely visible as he slowly walked towards the cargo rota. He was taunting their enemy. What did he hope to accomplish by this?

  "No. No. DAGAA" Providence screamed her voice breaking as the doors sealed shut.

  13 No Way Out

  Dagaa

  Dagaa heard Providence's cries as he walked away from their starship. The desperate strident sound tore at his soul. Never in Dagaa's wildest nightmares had he ever thought he'd hear his bonded scream for him in such a heart-rending way. His teeth gritted as he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, moving forward. The primal part of his psyche demanded he turn around and ease her pain, to rip to shreds the cause of her anguish.

  But Providence was the main reason he was doing this.

  He would make every effort to reach the Toufik, but he knew his chances were slim to none. More than anything Dagaa hoped like hell he could distract the Jurou Biljana long enough for Madhava to come up with a way to get the hell out of here.

  Dagaa's eyes closed as he heard the loading bay doors close, knowing the shield was now fully engaged.

  Dagaa surmised the Jurou Biljana saw him as he strode towards the two remaining rota. There was no mistaking he was a Cadi male. Their curiosity was obviously peaked since they hadn't fired on him quite yet.

  Several scenarios ran through Dagaa's mind as the brutal wind whipped him. Either the overgrown reptiles would destroy the rota and him along with it, then go after their old ship, or they'd ignore him and still go after the ship. Still Providence was safest in the starship unless the Jurou Biljana opted to take revenge and annihilate the vessel. But he doubted Madhava would allow that. If anyone had a chance against the Jurou Biljana, Madhava did.