Protector of the Realm

by Gun Brooke

  Rae stared at Kellen while her mind examined their current situation. She pushed thoughts of running out of oxygen to the back of her mind. They still had hours before this became a concern. "You mean we're trapped in here?"

  "The vault has only one entrance," Kellen said. "However, my father also installed an extra exit. It can't be opened from outside, but if we're lucky and the tunnel hasn't collapsed... Over here."

  Rae dragged the casing with the discs with her, tugging the shoulder strap over her head and securing the locking mechanism. In a remote corner Kellen tried to drag a bookcase along the wall. Despite her superior strength, it wouldn't budge.

  "H'rea deasav'h!" Kellen cursed as she renewed her efforts. "It hasn't been used in a long time."

  Rae positioned herself at the end of the bookshelf. When Kellen began to tug, she shoved against the cool metal surface with her shoulder and dug her heels in. At first the shelf seemed to be stuck, but then it unlocked and moved out of its shallow socket.

  "It's moving," Kellen grunted. "Again."

  Disregarding her aching shoulder, Rae pushed, her feet slipping on the dusty floor. When a thirty-centimeter gap appeared, Kellen let go and tried to press herself through. She disappeared, and several unnerving seconds went by before Rae could hear her voice.

  "It's safe to come through, Rae. It's pitch black. Turn on your flashlight."

  Rae switched it on and attached it to her wrist, then barely made it through the gap before the shelf slid back into place. She felt a tug and stumbled forward, afraid the casing with the discs would get caught. "Now it went easy enough," she noted with exasperation.

  The tunnel smelled of earth and decaying root systems, but when Rae let her flashlight scan the closer surroundings, she saw it was in reasonable shape.

  "All right, lead on." Rae watched Kellen's pale features in the dim glow of the flashlight before she turned around and began to walk. As Rae followed, she wondered what was happening to her crew outside. Had Owena and any of the others still been in the tunnel when it collapsed? Pushing the destructive thought away, she focused on Kellen, scanning the floor of the tunnel with her flashlight to avoid tripping.

  The tunnel became increasingly narrow, and in some places they had to walk sideways so they wouldn't get stuck. In several places roots had penetrated the tunnel from above, forcing Kellen to duck.

  "I suppose this was how your father honored the secret-passage traditions of your people, and combined it with necessity for an escape," Rae mused.

  "Yes, my father was particular about always having more than one option or solution to the matter at hand. He made sure Tereya and I knew exactly what to do in case something happened to him. He showed me this exit from the vault, but this is the first time I've walked through it. He didn't want us to use it unless absolutely necessary, to prevent anyone from finding out."

  "Where does it exit?"

  "Behind the stables...or what's left of them." Kellen's voice trailed off. "I kept eight maeshas in there. They probably all burned."

  Placing a hand briefly on Kellen's back to show her support, Rae spoke softly. "I know it's heartbreaking to think about. Let's just hope the stable hasn't collapsed on top of the exit." Rae motioned with her chin toward the ceiling of the tunnel. "I'm afraid bad things are going on up there."

  They moved as fast as possible through the narrow passage. Protruding roots tore at Rae's uniform and ripped the resilient material. After another ten minutes they reached a narrow staircase made of stone, and Kellen let her flashlight sweep up the steps.

  "It looks undamaged," she murmured.

  "Yes, let's go." Rae took the lead and began to climb the stairs. Counting them as she ascended, she realized the tunnel that led from the back of the vault had taken them deeper underground. It took forty-eight steps to reach the top, where a small ledge allowed them to stand side by side below the hatch.

  "How do you open it? Just push?"

  "No, there's a safety device, a handprint sensor. It will engage a hydraulic system and unlock it." Kellen brushed dust and dirt from the area to the left of the hatch. A faint light appeared, and Kellen pressed two buttons to activate the sensor. The outline of a hand appeared on the surface of the sensor, showing Kellen where to place hers. As Rae waited impatiently, she began to plan where to attach the small explosives she wore in her belt. Glancing around the rim of the hatch, she was startled by a sudden hissing sound when the hatch unlocked. It unhooked from large clasps and opened about three centimeters.

  Rae climbed one more step and pressed her face to the opening, squinting at the sun on the horizon.

  "I can't see much," she muttered. "Let's push it open a little farther."

  When they put their shoulders underneath the hatch and pushed, the heavy door slowly swung open. They were about two meters from the large pile of burned rubble that had once been Kellen's stables. Rae pulled out a scanning device and gripped it tight as she interpreted the readings. "I see at least twenty-five life signs in close formation fifteen degrees left."

  "Look." Kellen tugged at Rae's arm and pointed up and to the left. "Onotharian ships. Those are hunter-class vessels. They must be equipped with cloaking technology."

  Rae holstered the scanning device and heaved herself up over the edge, careful to stay low. Crawling, she hid behind what looked like the door to the barn. Made of metal, it had been distorted and scorched by the fire, but not destroyed. She hoped it would protect them from the Onotharians' sensors.

  Kellen mimicked her motions, edging close to her.

  "We have to alert Captain de Vies," Rae said in a low voice. Not daring to use the communicator, she felt in her pocket for her pager and pressed her thumb on the fingerprint sensor. "Let's hope Lieutenant Grey found a way to reach him already. From what I could detect using the scanner, the Onotharians are taking our people aboard their ships."

  "They'll end up in one of the asteroid prisons," Kellen said huskily. "It'll be the last we see of them if they do. We can't let them recloak and take off, Rae."

  "We won't. Come on." Rae rose and moved quickly along the far side of the barn. She reached for the small plasma-pulse weapon on her hip. She knew she couldn't take out all of the Onotharians but was determined to create a diversion to buy Captain de Vies more time.

  As they reached the last corner of the barn, Rae inched forward and quickly counted the Onotharians holding her crew at gunpoint. She raised her hand toward Kellen, who moved in behind her, using her fingers to indicate nine Onotharians were within sight.

  Rae watched as a tall man dressed entirely in black herded her crew toward one of the ships. Realizing it was just minutes before Owena, Leanne, S'hos, and the rest of the away team were lost to them, she made a split-second decision. "Here. Cover me." She handed Kellen her second plasma-pulse weapon and leaped into action.

  Sprinting across the area between the barn and the house, Rae fired at the guards who stood by the ramp that led up to the ships. They fell to the ground instantly, and the surprise attack seemed to stun the Onotharians enough for Rae to advance farther. She heard the familiar hissing sound of a plasma-pulse weapon from Kellen's direction, and the tall man grabbed his shoulder as he staggered to the side.

  Owena, standing closest to the man, threw herself at the guard behind her and overpowered him with a forceful kick toward his knee while she ripped the plasma-pulse rifle from his hands. Turning in a violent spiral, she launched a kick that sent him flying.

  Rae ran toward the only undamaged part of Kellen's home, the north side of the veranda. Hiding behind the railing, she fired continuously, taking out four more guards. Leanne was tossed to the ground when a guard crashed into her, but she pushed free and grabbed for his weapon. Still on the ground, she fired toward the closest Onotharian ship, creating a plume of smoke from its port nacelle. Rae gasped as the shadow of yet another tall man fell over Leanne.

  "D'Artansis, look out!" Rae yelled as the man she had pegged as the Onotharian leader direct
ed his weapon toward the pilot. Leanne spun and threw herself to the left, dodging the beam by mere centimeters.

  His face radiating cold outrage, the man scanned the direction the voice had come from. Rae knew she was in trouble when he spotted her. Kellen laid down cover fire but missed when all of a sudden the Onotharian leaped through the air and landed on his feet farther to the right. He raised his weapon again, firing at Rae's position.

  She rolled to her left, seeking shelter behind two barrels. Splinters of wood exploded next to her when the Onotharian blasted them into pieces. Blood ran down the side of Rae's neck, but she ignored it and checked her weapon. She had enough power to make a last attempt.

  Crawling back to the left side, where the railing began, she saw through it how her crew were fighting the Onotharians with their bare hands. Knowing they were fighting a losing battle unless someone with firepower assisted them, she risked poking her head up and aimed at a female Onotharian who held S'hos at gunpoint. As the laser-pulse beam from Rae's weapon hit the woman in the chest, Rae saw S'hos fall to the ground and remain there.

  "No!" Rae kept firing, taking out two more guards before another blast from the Onotharian leader hit her shoulder. Dizziness threatened to overcome her and she struggled to stay vertical. Using her uninjured arm, Rae tried to reach the relative safety behind the barrels. The laser-pulse fire kept coming, hitting her leg and then her midsection. She felt no pain now, only numbness, which surprised her, since she'd been shot before.

  Suddenly all the noise seemed far away. People were screaming, in outrage, in pain, but she wasn't concerned. Rae held her weapon close and curled up around it. Something warm gushed from the side of her neck, but she didn't care. Light-headed, she drifted in and out of consciousness. There is someone I'm supposed to mourn. Who is it? A contour of a face kept eluding her. Who is she? She holds my heart and I can't remember. Strange.

  Brutal hands tugged at her uniform, dragging her someplace where she tasted dust and dirt. Suddenly, they tossed her aside and she found herself staring into the barrel of an alien weapon.

  "Commodore. I suppose I should be flattered the SC would send one of its highest-ranking officers on a mission to my domain."

  Rae squinted in an attempt to focus on the man's face, but the bright sun behind his silhouette made it impossible to make out his features. She panted, shallow movements of her diaphragm, trying to breathe despite the pain. Raising her plasma-pulse weapon, she felt the bones snap in her hand when a large boot kicked the weapon away from her.

  The pain from her injuries hit all at once when the numbness lifted. Doubling over, Rae struggled against the haze that threatened to overpower her senses.

  "M'Aldovar!"

  The voice, deep and clear, echoed between the mountains surrounding them. Cold with rage, it thundered, shouting the alien name. The man hovering above Rae turned to his right. Rae lifted her head to warn Kellen. Unable to quite fathom what she saw, she stared at the vision before them.

  No longer dressed in SC-issued attire, Kellen stood in the whirling dust, lit up by the setting sun in all shades of orange. Dressed in her

  Ruby Red Suit, she held her rods in a deceptively passive position.

  "O'Dal," the man sneered. "I should've known." He raised his weapon and fired at Kellen.

  Moving faster than Rae's blurry eyes could track, Kellen raised one of her rods and the beam ricocheted off it with a low hum. Rae blinked. Fighting was still going on over by the ships, but the pain immobilized her, and she could only stare at her wife, now moving in on the man she called M'Aldovar. Did she wear the Ruby Red Suit under her coveralls? I never saw it. Of course, she wouldn't go into battle without it. A part of her brain, still untouched by the pain, appreciated the lethal beauty and grace before her.

  "I've looked forward to this day, O'Dal." M'Aldovar fired his weapon again.

  Kellen crossed her rods, again sending the beam in another direction. "No more than I." She ducked in a low, fluid motion, aiming at the man's kneecaps. One rod hit its goal. M'Aldovar grunted but managed to stay on his feet.

  "You're vermin, M'Aldovar." Another sweeping jump seemed to defy gravity. Kellen's body twisted and pivoted, the red suit glowing in the sunlight.

  M'Aldovar raised his weapon to fire, but this time Kellen kicked it out of his hand, and it landed only a meter from Rae. Crouching, Kellen changed direction before the man had a chance to collect himself. She sprang upon him with vehemence shining in her eyes. The rods split the air, one landing on M'Aldovar's left temple, the other stabbing him in the solar plexus.

  As he fell to the ground, the Onotharian fumbled along the edge of his left boot and yanked out a sharp object. Rae saw him aim it at Kellen and knew she had to act, no matter the pain.

  She clawed her way toward the dropped plasma-pulse weapon on the ground next to her. Groaning as pain seared through her, she extended her uninjured arm, determined to reach it—or die trying. She finally managed to wrap her fingers around it. Her arm trembled as she raised it. Rae aimed at the fallen man and fired.

  M'Aldovar stiffened as the beam hit him sideways in the chest. A gurgling sound came from his throat before his body hit the ground.

  Kellen stood motionless in a defensive position for a few seconds. Rae wanted to call out to her, to tell her to make sure M'Aldovar was out of action. Before she was able to even attempt to shout, Rae saw Kellen raise her rods, with a resolute expression on her face and her lips like thin, pale lines. Almost faster than Rae could detect, Kellen leaped, turned her body in a perfect arch above M'Aldovar's still form, landed securely on her feet, and slammed the rods onto each side of his neck. A sickening sound, like someone breaking a dead twig, reached Rae, but she could not wrap her dazed brain around it.

  A new effort to speak made her cough, and something warm flooded the back of her throat. Behind her she could hear her crew battling the Onotharians. The noise changed, sounding farther and farther away. Slowly everything faded to black.

  Kellen regarded the fallen man with great satisfaction. In the deadliest of gan'thet maneuvers, she'd snapped M'Aldovar's neck. She moved her rods in the traditional victory pattern before tucking them into her belt, then glanced over at Rae, expecting her to rise. When she didn't move, Kellen felt her heart stop beating, then race out of control. She knew, without a doubt, that something was terribly wrong with her wife, and she forced her suddenly rigid legs to move, throwing herself to the ground next to Rae. Blood trickled from the corner of Rae's mouth, and Kellen couldn't detect any visual evidence she was breathing.

  When she felt a pulse on Rae's neck, her heart fluttered in temporary relief. "Rae, look at me. Rae?" She cupped her spouse's cheek, appalled at how cold and clammy it felt. Then she unbuttoned the tight collar and groaned in horror. Rae's blood coated her fingers. Examining its source, she wanted to cry with fear when she saw the deep laceration on the side of Rae's neck. Blood had soaked the shirt she wore underneath her uniform, drenching it as far as Kellen could see.

  Someone knelt next to her, making Kellen reach for the plasma-pulse weapon in Rae's hand.

  "How is she?" Leanne held on to her own injured arm. "Oh, saints, it looks bad."

  "We need S'hos here. He has medical training." Kellen's voice trembled. "Is the situation under control?"

  "Yes, for the most part. We have the guards at gunpoint and have immobilized three of their ships." A sound in the distance made Kellen turn her head. "Look!"

  Leanne following her gaze. "And here comes Captain de Vies, as delivered by saints and angels."

  The Freedom and Liberty approached rapidly, circling the area once before they landed on the other side of the stables. "S'hos!" Kellen called. "We need your help!"

  Another young ensign walked up to them, her face swollen with tears. "I'm sorry, Ms. O'Dal, Lieutenant D'Artansis." She wiped sweat from her forehead, unknowingly smearing dust over her face. "Ensign S'hos.. .he took a pulse beam straight to the chest.. .He's dead, ma'am."

&
nbsp; Kellen began to tremble. S'hos had been one of the few who was friendly toward her. He had taken care of her injuries and made bashful small talk with her during the journey to Gantharat.

  "The commodore's bleeding out, Kellen. We have to put pressure on her carotid." Leanne's voice was low and urgent. "Also, we have to get out of here. We don't know if the Onotharians had time to call for backup."

  "Rae!" a male voice exclaimed. Alex de Vies knelt next to Kellen, looking down at her. "Damn, she's in trouble. Let's get her aboard the Liberty immediately. Ensign Hammad has medical training. I'll assign her to go with you." Rising to his feet, he approached the men and woman keeping the Onotharians at bay.

  "Good job, people," Captain de Vies said. "Disable the last of their vessels and secure the prisoners. Then load the last of the casings and let's be on our way. I think we can count on this place swarming with Onotharian hunters very shortly."

  Kellen had pushed the palm of her hand against Rae's wound, to her despair feeling blood trickling between her fingers the entire time. "Leanne," she said huskily, "could you put pressure on her neck while I carry her aboard?"

  "Certainly." Leanne placed a gentle hand on the side of Rae's neck. "She's lost a lot of blood."

  Not about to comment on the obvious, Kellen lifted her wife in her arms, cradling her. Looking over her shoulder, she glimpsed an object lying discarded on the porch. "Captain de Vies, please grab the casing over there." She nodded toward it. "It's important. Rae risked her life for it."

  "I'll take care of it." Alex ran over to get the casing. "I'll keep it with me until we're back on Gamma VI."

  Kellen began to walk quickly toward the Liberty, not taking her eyes off Rae, who was barely breathing. "Should I put her down? She's getting worse."

  "No, keep moving," Leanne urged next to her, breathing heavily. "Ensign Hammad is over there waiting for us. We'll give her oxygen and medication when we're on the ship."

  Almost running now, Kellen took the ramp in four long strides. The Liberty did not have a sick bay; instead they put the unconscious commodore on the mess hall table. Ensign Hammad, a petite woman with piercing brown eyes, had brought an oxygen tank. She placed a mask over Rae's nose and mouth, and to Kellen's horror it immediately became pink from the blood in Rae's airways.