Bartoc Secret

by Clara Woods

  She suppressed a groan. The hatch was missing—again—and the Bartoc construct had been wedged into the side of the hull, partially blocking the exit. The bulky stinger and pedipalps had kept it from plummeting into space. Lenah wished it was gone. She would prefer to never see anything from Saltoc again. Bile rose up her throat, and she swallowed it down with difficulty. She took determined steps forward, ducking under a large pedipalp and stepping into the bright sunlight.

  Not a single cloud shrouded the perfectly blue sky. It looked utterly peaceful. But Lenah thought that the air smelled even dustier than it had before. She averted her gaze from the rubble covering most of the landing strip and walked toward the starport’s only building that lead right onto the town’s perfectly straight main street.

  Many of the houses were gone; a ship had crashed into the water reclamation facility, where a wet puddle indicated how much of the precious liquid had seeped into the soil. And everywhere were the faces and limbs of the Muha Dara who had fought here.

  Down the road, she finally saw the first sign of survivors. A group was digging through the rubble with shovels. A cart was receiving the debris, then driving it out of town.

  A middle-aged man, his bare chest glistening with sweat, turned when Lenah and her group approached. It was Thuat Jones. He seemed to have aged a decade; gray dust covered most of his face, but it couldn’t hide his deep frown. When he saw Lenah, his grim features lightened, and he lifted a hand in greeting.

  Lenah waved back. She kept herself from breaking into a run, relieved to see him alive and unharmed.

  Uz caught up to her, and together, they walked in front of Penelope, Jann and the other Strikers toward the group of workers. Thuat came forward as well. When they stood mere meters away from each other, he grinned, showing white teeth. He dropped his shovel and wrapped Lenah in a hug. She stumbled, surprised by the show of emotion. “You’re alive, Lenah Callo,” he said, stepping away from her.

  “So are you. What happened here?”

  Thuat closed his eyes. “Battle. It doesn’t matter now. But tell me how you got out of Saltoc. We thought you were dead.”

  “You know about that?” Uz asked.

  He nodded. “The Cassidian Ralika told my wife.” His voice broke at the last word.

  A shudder went through Lenah.

  Uz stiffened. “Where is Akimi?” she asked in barely a whisper.

  Thuat shook his head. He looked away, lifted his shovel, and moved it from one had to the other. “She was killed bravely protecting our world.”

  “She is with the spirit of the Elders now,” Uz said with a breaking voice.

  Lenah extended a hand toward Thuat, then let it drop. “We are very sorry about your loss,” she choked out. “And that Corinna and I weren’t here to help.”

  Thuat smiled again—a sad smile—then he let his gaze roam behind Lenah. “Who do you bring?”

  She managed to smile back. “Mind mages from Saltoc.”

  His eyes widened and his face showed real happiness. Penelope and Jann stepped forward.

  “These are the mind mages Penelope and Jann Striker,” Lenah introduced, “and a few of their family members. They have come to find a new life here and to fight a war with us.”

  Thuat looked straight at Lenah. “That is the first good news I’ve had in days.” He shook hands with Penelope and Jann, who hesitantly stretched out their arms as if they were unfamiliar with the custom.

  Thuat went on to shake everyone’s hands, uttering a welcome to each of the Strikers. When he was done, he let his gaze roam over the whole group. “You left with one more person,” he said. “Where is Corinna Cheung?”

  Lenah met his eyes. “She didn’t make it.” Her ears rang. Speaking the words, here—back home, in her sector—made them so much more real. It was an absolute certainty Corinna had remained in Saltoc, burned in an underground furnace. Tears sprang to her eyes.

  Lenah tried to blink them away. But more kept coming, and she averted her gaze and stared down at her empty hands instead.

  A hand landed on Lenah’s shoulder. Cassius. She leaned into him, feeling the heat of his skin, and it helped somewhat. Her friends trusted in her, believed that she could win this war; and if they believed, so could others.

  Lenah looked back into Thuat Jones’s eyes. “She died for this purpose, for getting this group of people free and back here into the Cassidian sector. I am here to make sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”

  Something flashed in Thuat’s eyes. He looked at the Strikers. “You are our honored guests.”

  Lenah cleared her throat. “Is there a place they could stay?” she asked hesitantly, looking at the destruction around.

  Thuat nodded, then turned and handed his shovel to a young man. “Please excuse me for a while.”

  “Yes, Commander,” the man said, accepting the tool.

  Thuat waved Lenah and her group forward, and they walked toward one of the few houses still standing. It wasn’t Thuat’s, which stood further down the road and was partially caved in. Parts were burned as if an explosion had destroyed it.

  Lenah had never seen the Cava Dara deploy any explosive weapons and was about to ask, but Thuat had already knocked on the door of a simple one-story building made of desert stone. At the third knock, the door opened, revealing one of the most beautiful women Lenah had ever seen.

  “Ellit,” Thuat said. “I know you are full, but we have visitors.”

  41 Penelope’s Guess

  Lenah’s crew and Penelope Striker walked down the street in silence, having left the other Strikers in the care of Ellit who had opened her home to survivors. When they reached Thuat’s house, details of the destruction came into view. The large entrance had collapsed, broken furniture and plants lay scattered all over. Thuat didn’t go inside, instead he took them around the house.

  A tent stood there. It was round, set up on stakes, and so tall even Uz, Cassius and Martello would not have to bend.

  “Glad I still had some first settler gear,” Thuat commented when he noticed them staring. “Come on in.”

  Apart from a bedroll and a small mobile stove and fridge, the inside was empty.

  “Tell us what happened here.” Lenah faced Thuat once they had settled on the floor, and he offered each of them a glass of water.

  Lenah couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten or drank something; it must have been breakfast in the Striker’s underground base. That was over a day ago. She was still wearing the leftovers of the old Striker suit, though she had left the arm pieces and helmet at the Star Rambler and put on her own shoes.

  Knowing that Juan’s World wasn’t blessed with water and having seen the water facility destroyed, she didn’t dare ask for a bath. The others didn’t either.

  Thuat settled cross-legged in front of Lenah. He sighed. “A large swarm turned back when we kept giving fire. They were trying to get into the Saltoc sector, attacking the border. As you know, we kept attacking in spite of their lack of interest in us.”

  Lenah nodded.

  “After a while, several thousand Muha Dara and about one hundred Cava Dara turned back.”

  Persia choked on her water. “One hundred Cava Dara?” she blurted.

  Thuat nodded grimly. “Yes. We had no chance. They are hard to hit and quickly got through the planetary defense system, which just couldn’t keep up. Once through, Juan’s World didn’t have enough defenses.”

  Lenah wasn’t too surprised. No one seemed to have an idea how to kill the Cava Dara.

  “People kept shooting at them, even threw flames. But instead of killing our adversaries, we burned down our town.” Thuat took a deep breath. “I wasn’t there to help them.”

  “Where were you?” Persia asked.

  Thuat looked at her, pain written all over his face. “It was right after discovering that Wise Ralika—I believe you know her—had come for my wife.” He drank the whole mug of water in one swift gulp, then hurled the cup through the tent. It clank
ed against a metal beam and fell to the floor.

  No one spoke. Lenah was curious, but she didn’t want to push.

  “They killed her because she was with me. Married to a human. And because Wise Ralika killed my wife, I wasn’t with my colony when they needed me.”

  “There’s nothing you could have done against one hundred Cava Dara,” Lenah said softly, trying to make her voice sound final. She meant every word.

  She didn’t even know what she and the Strikers could do.

  “Where are the Elders?” Penelope asked. “Are they fighting?”

  “Elders?” Lenah asked her.

  The young woman nodded. “The Elders must hate them; after all, the Cava Dara were created to destroy them.”

  Uz shook her head. “The Elder Cassidians are all dead.”

  Penelope’s shoulders sank. “Oh,” she mouthed. “Were they killed in this war?”

  “They have been gone for eighteen thousand years, Penelope,” Uz said. “The Cava Dara killed them all long before humans ever came to this sector.”

  Penelope’s eyes widened, then she shook her head. “The legend says they are just sleeping, waiting for better times.”

  Uz pressed her lips together. “If that’s true, they won’t want to come back now.” She put down her cup. “It can’t be true; Cassidians would have long taken care of them.”

  “That’s why they are hiding,” Penelope said. For the first time, she sounded as young as she was. “That’s what father always said,” she choked. “They are in stasis in the ice of Thorlo, so they can never be found again. They never expected anyone to settle there. But my ancestors did, and that was not eighteen thousand years ago.”

  Zyrakath hovered closer to the young woman. “What is on your world now?”

  “Farming,” Lenah answered his question. “It’s a giant minnen factory. No one ever found any Elders in stasis chambers there, Penelope.”

  Penelope shook her head more vehemently than before. “We have to go find them. They are at the poles. No one farms there. It’s ice.”

  “No, Penelope,” Lenah said. “We have a war to fight and finally more mind mages to fight it. We are going into battle, not to find any obscure Elders.”

  Thuat gave her a grim shake of the head. “There are two things that you don’t know,” he said.

  Lenah’s heart stuttered.

  “An enormous force of Cava Dara has been sighted,” Thuat said. “They are coming for Arcadia.” He swallowed. “It’s tens of thousands. Buntus is taking the remains of his army and any ship in the sector with a gun to intercept them.”

  “We already knew that,” Lenah said. “Just before Wise Ralika brought us into the Saltoc sector, Corinna told us. We need to make urgent repairs to our ship and need a bigger transport for all the mind mages, but we’re ready to leave and join.”

  “That’s the other problem,” Thuat said, looking uncomfortable now.

  “What problem?” Lenah asked when he didn’t continue.

  “There’s an arrest warrant for all of you. For causing a mass breakout from the asteroid 14.666 mining prison.”

  Martello put his glass down on the floor so hard it spilled. “They can’t do that.”

  Cassius laid a hand on his grandfather’s arm.

  “I take it that you did cause those prisoners to escape,” Thuat said, giving Lenah a cold stare.

  She swallowed.

  “You won’t be allowed to join the battle on your own terms,” Thuat continued. “And I will need to turn you in.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Persia shouted. “I’ll turn myself in. I don’t care.” Her voice grew more heated with every word. “But they will not get Lenah.” She got up and took several steps toward Thuat, who hadn’t moved at all.

  He sat on the floor, looking as if this was amusing him.

  “Lenah has to lead the Strikers into battle. If you want her, you’ll have to go through all of us first.” Persia stopped in front of Thuat. Cassius sat up, and while he didn’t get up, Lenah knew he was ready to jump into action any second.

  Thuat moved his arm. In the blink of an eye, Cassius was right next to Lenah.

  But Thuat simply lifted his hands, palms up. “I will have to turn you in,” he said slowly, “unless…” He cocked an eyebrow at Persia and Cassius. “Unless you take me with you to win this war.”

  Persia gasped but didn’t relax. Nor did Cassius.

  “Persia, Cassius, sit back down,” Lenah said firmly. Her gaze was locked with Thuat’s, but she heard Persia and Cassius sink down to the ground. Both were still in a position to intercept should he make a move toward Lenah.

  “Why?” Lenah asked him.

  He laughed, a humorless sound that didn’t become him. “Because I’m stuck here, with no chance to avenge my wife or fight the battle that I missed. I want to—need to—rip off as many Cava Dara heads as I can.”

  Silence fell.

  “Do you have a ship to take us all?” Lenah asked when several seconds had ticked by.

  Thuat’s eyes sparkled. “I do.”

  “If I can prove to you there are Elders alive, will we go to Thorlo?” Penelope picked up her point again as if the situation with Thuat hadn’t happened. “You can ask any of my relatives; we know it’s true.”

  To Lenah’s surprise, Thuat didn’t laugh at her. He wrinkled his forehead as if in deep thought. “Why do you think that would be a good use of our time?”

  Penelope sat up straighter. “If the Elders help, we can fight all those Cava Dara at once. If it’s just us, we’ll lose no matter how many mind mages we are.”

  Epilogue

  “You’re sure these are edible?” Lorka asked Martello as he stashed a tall stack of desert crack pods into the common room’s kitchen closet.

  “Absolutely positive,” Martello rubbed his flat belly. “Eaten them all my life. Once, when I had to hide in a cave on Victory II for weeks, that’s all I ate. And look at me!”

  Lorka did, then frowned. “I guess you do look good for your age.”

  Martello winked at Lenah, who was waiting with the next stash of desert cracks in her arms. “Your mage is truly charming.”

  Lenah smirked. “Can’t be any better than my scholar who keeps calling you youngling.” She handed Lorka another bundle of the desert crop Thuat Jones had provided them.

  The hairy pods had been dried and pressed into a square, more resembling a furry and dirty pillow than actual food. She was constantly being ensured they tasted better than they looked. She’d decide tonight for dinner.

  Loud clanking from the engine room carried into the common room. Uz had been busy. They already had a hatch, and with all the replacements Thuat had supplied them, Uz assured Lenah they would be ready within the next day.

  A good thing.

  Lenah sighed. When she’d come back here to help in the war, she hadn’t expected to be branded a criminal. But, of course, she couldn’t argue against the claim. While letting evil prisoners escape had not been part of her plan, she had broken into that prison. She’d only wanted to get Cassius back, who had been falsely imprisoned there. She swore to herself she would deal with this but not yet. The war was more important.

  The common door room opened, interrupting Lenah’s grim thoughts. Cassius, his cheeks slightly pink, appeared. He smiled at her. “Uh, Lenah, could you come for a moment?” He sounded nervous about something.

  Lenah closed her eyes, dropped the remaining desert crack cubes, and followed him. What had happened now? She hoped that it wasn’t more problems.

  Faint voices carried into the corridor. A male—Doctor Lund—and a female. Lenah thought it was Penelope. “Is Penelope here?” she asked Cassius. The Strikers were all supposed to be staying with Ellit in Juan’s Town.

  He looked up. “Huh? Oh, yeah, they’ve been arguing.”

  “About what?”

  He shrugged, turning even pinker. “Didn’t pay attention.”

  Lenah frowned. That was not at all like Cas
sius. With his enhanced hearing, it would be almost impossible not to hear every word.

  They reached her cabin, and Cassius stopped. He swung his arm in a big gesture and opened the hatch. A soft light shone out of her room.

  Lenah’s frown deepened as she stepped through.

  She stopped dead in her tracks.

  There were candles.

  And something smelled like…was that flowers?

  Cassius closed the hatch behind them. His face turned bright red in the soft light of the two candles that were propped up on Lenah’s nightstand-desk combination. He cleared his throat. “Would you like a spa day?”

  “A what?”

  “A. Spa. Day.” Cassius pronounced every word slowly. “Well, maybe not a full day, but a nice and long massage.”

  Lenah gaped. “You did this to give me a massage?”

  He nodded.

  Lenah was in his arms a moment later. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me since…well, probably ever.”

  Cassius’s arms closed around her, and he kissed the top of Lenah’s head. “That can’t be true. I’m sure your family member boyfriends could give you much more than just a few survival candles and scented desert crack oil.”

  Lenah smiled against his check. “But they had their servants do it. They didn’t…how did you even get this stuff?”

  She felt him shrug. “I got the candles from Thuat. He has all this first settler gear in the back of his house.” He stroked her hair. “And the desert crack oil is from a local farmer.”

  Lenah stepped away from him to inspect a small container that was set on her mattress. It smelled amazing. “You said desert crack oil? Like the stuff we are going to eat?”

  A nod. “Yeah. Technically, you eat the fruit and the oil is from the bark of the stalk, but it’s the same plant.”

  Lenah snorted. “And, of course, you know all this because you use desert crack for everything on Victory II.”

  Cassius grinned. “Not everything, but it is pretty useful.”

  Lenah shook her head. “Food, massage oil. Can I use it as toilet paper too somehow?”