Scout's Oath: A Planetary Romance (Scout's Honor Book 2)

by Henry Vogel

“It doesn’t matter why he’s keeping it secret, just that he is.” I shook my head. “A better question is how he’s keeping a place the size of a tammar pit secret?”

  “There are a lot of tunnels down here. No one knows them all. Each day, the pit workers are blindfolded and the king personally leads them to the site,” the herald replied. “He’s threatened to execute anyone who tries to follow. Only the king and few of his guards know where the pit is.”

  “That’s brutal, but I bet it’s effective,” Martin said.

  “How long before the king leads another work party to the pit?”

  “How should I know?” The herald sounded truly offended. “I am a herald of the court, not one of the lower classes!”

  “That means you’re pretty useless to us, aren’t you?” Martin smacked the herald with his sword’s pommel. “What do you want to do now, David?”

  “I don’t quite know,” I responded. “I do find the whole idea behind a hidden tammar pit really odd. If King Rat wants to draw us into the open, why not announce a time and place for the big event? He’s got to know I’d try to stop him from feeding his slaves to the tammar!”

  “Maybe King Rat is trying to confront us without the rest of the tunnel rats knowing about it? If he fails to capture us, only a few people would know his trap failed,” Martin mused. “I don’t know. That kind of plan is way too convoluted for my tastes. Of course, even you must admit you are known to take a very direct approach to problem solving. Maybe King Rat is counting on the shroud of secrecy to draw you into his trap?”

  “If he’s counting on that, let’s give him exactly what he wants.”

  “I knew you were going to say that.”

  “Yes, you’re very smart, Martin. So, if you were King Rat, where would you build the new tammar pit?”

  “I would put it right where the old one was,” Martin replied. “I’d make some changes—install a cage to keep the tammar from getting loose again—but otherwise, I wouldn’t change much from the way it was before.”

  “I bow to your intimate knowledge of criminal affairs.” I inclined slightly in Martin’s direction. “Let’s check it out.”

  “What about these guys?” Martin waved toward the unconscious guards and herald.

  “Leave them. I don’t want to stop and search for rope. Besides, as far as the herald knows, we believed his story and that’s what he’ll report to King Rat. That’s assuming they even report this at all.”

  An hour later, we peeked down a dimly lit hallway toward the entrance to the old tammar pit. Six men guarded the doors. Martin had been right!

  Chapter 29

  David

  “David Rice, you’ve just found the tammar pit!” Despite the whisper, Martin still managed to sound like some kind of advertising huckster. “What are you going to do now?”

  “Feeding you to the tammar has a certain appeal, right about now.”

  “Tsk, tsk, my boy. Is that any way to whisper to your best friend in the whole galaxy?”

  “I’m going to go with ‘yes’ to that question.”

  “Perhaps this attitude explains why you had to crash land on a lost human colony to find a wife and a best friend. I recall advising you to work on your people skills when we were back in Faroon. It grieves me that you chose to ignore it.”

  “Then perhaps it’s best if I stop inflicting my presence on you, dear friend. You asked what I’m going to do now? I will wait for those guards to escort the blindfolded workmen home from the construction site, slip inside, and find a hiding place within. Meanwhile, you are going to slip out of the tunnels and report to Callan.”

  “Oh, that is so not going to happen, David. I would face King Rat, all his guards, and a tammar, while I was armed with nothing more than a soup spoon, rather than face Callan and tell her I left you alone down here.”

  “Coward.”

  “When it comes to your wife, damn right I’m a coward! If I bring you back in one piece, I might get a peck on the cheek as thanks. Might. But if I leave you down here to die alone in these tunnels—even free and armed, as you are now—searchers will never even find my body! When my name is spoken within the palace, it will be in hushed whispers, serving solely to remind others the peril of interfering with your wife’s love life!”

  “Don’t be melodramatic. Callan would never do that!”

  Martin heaved a dramatic sigh. “No, she wouldn’t harm a hair on my head. Instead, her eyes would fill with unshed tears, she would put on a brave face, then she would tell me your death wasn’t my fault. What’s worse is that she would mean every word of it.” Martin shuddered. “I’d rather be flayed alive than face that!”

  “Okay, okay. You can stay with me.”

  Martin grinned. “I knew you’d see the sense in my position, lad!”

  We hung around watching the doors to the tammar pit for hours before anything happened. At least no one else wandered the halls, this being King Rat’s big secret location and all. Finally, blindfolded workmen came out of the pit.

  Watching the guards form around the workmen, I said, “What I don’t understand is why use the blindfolds at all? The first time the workmen see the location, they’re bound to recognize it.”

  “I can think of two reasons. First, it serves as a reminder to the workmen to keep their mouths shut about this place. Second, if anyone sees the guards escorting the workmen, the blindfolds reinforce the secrecy surrounding the project. But don’t ask me why King Rat is bothering with all this hoopla, unless he’s just paranoid. You do seem to have that kind of effect on certain people.” Martin shook his head as if disappointed in me, somehow. “It all comes back to people skills, David.”

  Martin and I faded into the shadows of a side passage and watched the guards and workmen walk right past us. We waited five minutes before slipping down the tunnel and into the tammar pit. Burning torches filled sconces around the walls, making it easy for us to see how busy the workmen had been.

  A steel cage stood in the center of the pit. A long, caged passage led from the main cage over to the far wall. The caged passage ended at a large door, surely used to let the tammar into and out of the cage. A double–gated cage entrance—similar in idea to the airlock in a spaceship—allowed guards to put victims into the cage without letting the tammar get its claws on the guards. Always the considerate ruler, King Rat had even ordered bleachers built around the cage. What was next, souvenirs and popcorn?

  Distant voices interrupted our inspection of the new construction. The voices came from outside the pit, but they were growing louder by the second.

  “King Rat must be in a hurry to complete this place. It sounds like he’s ordered a second shift of workmen,” Martin observed

  “We’d better hide!”

  “Good idea, David. Where?”

  I looked about the pit. There was no place to hide!

  Chapter 30

  Callan

  When I had a chance to talk to the translator, I discovered he was the son for whom the tribal elder sought to purchase a wife. Tristan took great relish in relating the tale of the haggling over my bride price to the two of us. I smiled at the translator to show I was not offended.

  Despite my smile, the man immediately prostrated himself before me, his arms outstretched and his nose touching the Pauline’s deck. “I humbly beg pardon for my father’s foolish and insulting attempt to buy you, Lady Death!”

  “No apology is necessary. Fathers excel at embarrassing their children. Rise and think no more about it,” I said. “And please call me Princess Callan or Your Highness—not Lady Death.”

  The man rose to his feet. “As you command, Lady Death.”

  His face turned red and he threw himself to the deck again. “I humbly beg your pardon, Lady– um, Princess Callan!”

  “It was a mere slip of the tongue. Think nothing of it. Rise.” I began to see why this man was still single. “What is your name?”

  “Treb, Your Highness Princess Callan.” He bowed deepl
y from the waist. At least he didn’t drop to the deck again.

  As the Pauline rose into the air, the squadron commander brought his ship alongside.

  “Have you concluded your business with this desert tribe, Your Highness?”

  “I have, Captain Dorrin. Is there something you wish from me?”

  “Most definitely. I wish Her Highness would finally see fit to share the particulars of her plan with her squadron commander. I wish those particulars would include any further destinations you have in mind. It’s so much easier to give proper orders to the airmen when one knows where one is going.”

  Lovely. My mother had chosen a prickly rules stickler to command my escort squadron. No doubt, mother hoped he would keep me from doing something she would call ‘unwise.’ A pedantic captain selected to counterbalance my impulsive nature—yes, it had Mother’s fingerprints all over it.

  “Of course, Captain! Nothing would please me more.” I gave him my most dazzling smile. The airship’s junior officers and airmen perked up and smiled in return. The captain continued gazing stolidly at me. “I would have gladly told you earlier, had you asked!”

  “And I would gladly have asked earlier, had my airship been fast enough to catch up with your little ship.” The good captain ground his teeth beneath his grimace of a smile. “But I am asking now, Your Highness.”

  “I am going to send an armed force into the tunnels of Beloren with the express intent of retrieving my husband and forcibly removing King Rat from his throne. The–”

  A real smile broke across Captain Dorrin’s face. “At last, someone is talking sense! My men are chomping at the bit to teach these tunnel rats a lesson, Princess Callan.”

  Behind Captain Dorrin, his men nodded enthusiastically.

  “Why did you have us come all the way out here, Your Highness? Does this tribe know of hidden entrances to the tunnels?”

  “I am afraid you have misinterpreted my intentions, Captain.” My words summoned Dorrin’s grimace back to prominence. “The force I will take into the tunnels must be one which cannot be traced to Mordan. David chose to surrender himself to King Rat to avoid drawing Mordan into a war with the city–states. I will not disregard the goal behind his sacrifice in order to rescue him.”

  “You wish to send a force of these desert tribesmen in place of my marines.” Dorrin’s tone was cold and formal in the extreme. “I see, Your Highness.”

  “Captain, were the consequences less dire, nothing would please me more than to have your marines storm the tunnels, slay the rats, and rescue David. I can think of no men I’d rather trust with David’s life.”

  Dorrin’s men straightened at the compliment, though their Captain appeared unconvinced.

  “And yet you will send desert tribesmen instead.”

  “I did not negotiate for a raiding party, Captain. No tribesmen will attack the tunnels in place of your marines.”

  “Then who do you plan to send into the tunnels, Princess?”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, Captain, but I believe a battle is half won if the mere sight of your soldiers strikes fear into the hearts of your enemies.”

  “Of course, Your Highness. And there are no men on Aashla who inspire more fear than Mordanian marines.”

  “You are quite right, Captain. But I’m not going to send men into those tunnels.”

  The good captain blew out his breath in exasperation. “Please pardon an old navy man’s ignorance, Your Highness, but who else could you send into the tunnels?”

  “Trogs.”

  “Trogs? Absolutely not, Your Highness! I forbid it.”

  Chapter 31

  Callan

  I gave Captain Dorrin the benefit of my most effective glare. It has everything; an arched eyebrow, folded arms, canted hips, a tapping foot, and smoldering eyes. Rob called it my Princess Glare and respected the effect it had on men. Other men, that is, as Rob was the one man completely unaffected by my glare.

  The airmen crowding the rail shrank back from their captain, as if they expected him to burst into flames under the weight of the Princess Glare. I held my silence and waited for the captain to capitulate before my wrath. Captain Dorrin stood his ground, hands clasped behind his back, meeting the Princess Glare with a calm expression.

  After nearly a minute, I admitted to myself that my glare was not working. What a horrible time to discover another man unaffected by it! Taking pity on Dorrin’s men, I dropped the glare.

  “You forbid me from pursuing my plan, Captain?” My tone implied my extreme disapproval of the captain’s temerity.

  “Even should it cost me my commission, I most assuredly do, Your Highness.”

  “My airship is faster than yours. We could simply outrun your squadron, Captain.”

  “Yes, but you could not pull away before I could order my men to attempt a boarding,” Captain Dorrin responded. “Considering the risks of such a maneuver, I am confident you will not force me to endanger the lives of my men.”

  He was right, damn him. I relaxed my stance, nodding my head. “You are quite correct, Captain. Would you, at the very least, come aboard and allow me to explain my reasoning to you?”

  “It will not sway my decision, Your Highness.”

  My arsenal of expressions was not limited to the Princess Glare. I reached into the arsenal and drew forth my Please Daddy look. That look had even worked on Rob—unless Mother was present. How fortunate she was far, far away.

  “Please?”

  My rising voice, subtly clasped hands, slightly canted head, and heavy–lidded eyes worked their magic. A paternalistic smile spread across the captain’s face.

  “Of course, Your Highness. Never let it be said I’m not a fair man.”

  As Nist brought the Pauline alongside Captain Dorrin’s ship, Tristan murmured, “What is your plan, Princess?”

  “Have you examined the good captain’s left hand, Tristan?”

  He did so. “All I see is a hand.”

  “Exactly!” Tristan still looked bewildered, so I added, “He wears no wedding band, nor is there any indication he has ever worn one. That means Captain Dorrin has no wife and, vastly more important, no daughters. I believe it is time to show the man just what he’s been missing.”

  Tristan shuddered, backing away. “Try not to destroy the man, Princess.”

  Captain Dorrin hopped over the Pauline’s rail. His body language screamed indulgence, making it that much easier for me to follow through with my plan.

  I bowed my head but, through upraised eyes, met Captain Dorrin's gaze. Then I released all of the emotions I’d held in check ever since the envoy’s ship carried David away from me. My voice trembled. My lips quivered. My breath caught with little hiccup sounds. My shoulders shook. My breast heaved. Tears streamed from my eyes.

  Ten minutes later, we steamed off in search of a trog settlement.

  Chapter 32

  David

  Martin and I had a minute, maybe two, to get out of sight before the work party and their guards entered the tammar pit. We cast about for someplace—anyplace—to hide. Work progressed in every corner of the pit—from the arena to the ascending rows of benches for spectators—but provided no place where we could conceal ourselves. Even the hole in the ceiling—the one through which a bound Callan had been shoved into the tammar pit—was sealed.

  “I only see one place to go.” Martin pointed to the center of the pit.

  The steel cage stretched from the floor to the ceiling, with both doors to the cage standing ajar. A cage–tunnel, for want of a better word for it, stretched from the large cage to a door in the back wall of the pit. No great leaps of imagination were required to figure out the tammar would enter and leave the pit through the cage–tunnel. Neither of us wanted to open that door, but we saw no other options.

  Martin and I jumped into the pit, ran through the two gates, then headed down the cage–tunnel toward the door.

  “Do you think we’ll find a tammar on the other side of the doo
r?” I asked.

  “I’d bet on it. Too many things have been going our way lately for there not to be.”

  “We’re trying to hide in a tammar lair while plotting to kill King Rat so he won’t force the city–states to invade Mordan, and that’s your idea of things going our way?”

  “We’ve had free run of the tunnels for several days and are seriously irritating King Rat. And we’re not dead yet,” Martin shot back.

  “When I relate this tale to my yet–to–be–conceived children, I do hope they find humor in your optimistic summation of our situation,” I replied. “Lord only knows, I do not.”

  “That’s hurtful, David. I’d even go as far as to say your words cut me to the quick!”

  “Better my words than a tammar’s claws, Martin. Or the swords and spears of a couple of dozen of King Rat’s guards and workmen.”

  With workmen’s voices drawing closer to the tammar pit entrance, Martin opened the door and we slipped through and into the lair. There wasn’t one tammar to be found beyond the door—there were four!

  Chapter 33

  David

  Martin and I froze as the torch light reflected from two pairs of large, alert eyes. The owners of the eyes regarded us with an unsettling intensity, heads up and ears pricked forward. Their bodies almost quivered with tension as the tammars sized us up. The other two tammars slept—a small blessing, since most predators wake in a flash, but a blessing none–the–less.

  Tearing my eyes from the tammars’ stare, I studied the lair. It was about forty feet across and maybe thirty feet wide, with a sloping ceiling that started just higher than our heads but was close to thirty feet high at the far wall. The only door in that wall was twenty feet off the floor and behind a barred catwalk. We definitely weren’t getting out that way.

  “Why am I so good at predicting bad news?” Martin whispered through unmoving lips. “Have you got any brilliant ideas?”