Starlight Gleaming Ch. 09

The commander smiled at me, shaking her head. "You have no idea. The avalanche has started, Ranji. At least you have allies. The trick will be seeing if you can ride it out and avoid being swallowed up and crushed." She glanced back at the Group Captain who watched us from the table. "We'll talk more later."

"Thank you. And if it means anything, I much prefer the woman I met yesterday."

She gave me a curt nod. "So do I," she whispered. Turning away from me, speaking in Queschua, she announced, "Corporal Sowitwee, please wait by your officer. When the others in his party return, you will be leaving with them."

"My kit, sir?" he asked.

"Work it out with Lieutenant Kandikan later. For the rest of the week, this building is off limits. Clear?" She leaned over and spoke briefly to the Group Captain, then went through the doors into the building's interior.

Most of the condemned men wrote feverishly. Two sat on the ground, waiting patiently to die. Between the dogs and the two troopers in the powered armor in the room, and all the guards outside, there was no hope for escape.

A few minutes later, Janetta and her crew came out. All of her crew looked pale, even Zinja. Ixma was shaking, her mother holding her up. "Don't lose it, girl! Not in here!" Zinja muttered.

"Kandikan." Her voice clipped, Janetta barely looked at me as she strode past and out the double doors, her crew right behind her.

"Come on, Sowitwee." I hurried after them.

Outside, standing in the grass, Ixma heaved, her mother holding her steady. "Sorry, Mama," she whispered.

"Don't you no never mind, girl." Focused on her daughter, Zinja's own color was coming back.

Janetta gave a black look at the doors of the Dispensary. "Zinja, as soon as she's done, get her in the HueCac and head to the hangar. Cholan, Kandikan, with me!"

In the parking lot, Janetta put her hands on the hood of her vehicle and took a couple of long breaths. I folded my arms and leaned against the front panel beside her.

"You okay?"

"This is so fucked! I've seen a lot of blood. Gods of North and South, I've had to defend myself in the temples before. Twice with the Eagles and five times with the Jaguars." I raised my eyebrows at that revelation. She continued. "Death for traitors is suffocation, not being flayed alive! That's for the annual agricultural sacrifice, not for executions. This was wrong on so many levels. My crew didn't need to see that. I got the blood I wanted, but I feel totally manipulated."

"What happened?"

"Those shots we heard? The door to the room where they killed him was open. I closed it as we passed, so they wouldn't have to see it. On the way back, the door was open again. Those .. priests were in there. Licking up the blood from the table like dogs! They must have cut the muscle wall. The guts of the dead man burst, pushing him right off the table and onto the floor. Intestines and blood everywhere. And they laughed. They actually laughed." Dropping her voice, she had a look of pure disgust. "Worst of all, both of those sick fuckers were hard, Ranji. I feel dirty from seeing that."

Cholan, standing nearby, suddenly dropped to her knees and leaned over, losing her dinner, too. "Shit," she muttered. Then she heaved again.

Janetta immediately crouched beside her, her hand on Cholan's back. "It's okay, Sergeant. It's not easy to see the first time. Ranji? There's a water canteen in my bag in the back of my HueCac. Get it, will you?"

I found it right away. She opened it and handed it to Cholan. "Rinse your mouth out. Then take a drink." While Cholan did as she was bid, Janetta continued. "Sergeant, you stood up to that hard bitch and spoke your mind. Most would have held their tongue, too intimidated to say anything. You were brave, Sergeant. I am proud to have you on my Flight Crew. Damned proud."

Cholan laughed weakly, then sat down. "Don't feel very brave, sir. Don't feel much of anything at the moment." She leaned over and heaved again. "Oh, gods."

Janetta rubbed her back. "Sowitwee? Get in that ChoCac there. We're leaving soon. Cholan, when you are able, I want you to get in, too." Zinja and Ixma arrived. "Zinja, swing by the Commissary and pick up supplies. Two cases of millet beer. Two bottles of blue metl juice. Two cases of bottled water. And two boxes of crackers. Ixma and Cholan will need something to help settle their stomachs. If we need more supplies, they can wait until after shift. Got it? Good. Here, take my canteen. Have her rinse out her mouth and take in some water. We'll put them to work, get their minds off this, Zinja. See you at the hangar. Up, Cholan. That's a girl. Lean on me if you need to. Ranji, drop us off at the hangar before you do your own errands. We started pre-flight earlier, but there's more for us to do. I want my bird completely checked over before I hit sky tonight."

We helped Cholan into the back seat. Janetta climbed into the front passenger seat. I slipped into the driver's seat and flipped on the power. The electric engine quietly hummed to life. Janetta looked like she wanted to talk, but she glanced at our new passenger and held her peace. I reached over and took her hand, kissing her wrist. "I love you, Lieutenant Tlacotli."

"Shut up and drive, Kandikan." She pulled her hand away, but I saw the hint of a smile tease her lips.

The trip to the hangar was quiet. Janetta had to direct me as I'd only been there once, in the dark, while stuffed in the back of her two-seater on the night I'd arrived. And, truth to tell, I was a bit pre-occupied then.

At the hangar, I moved to give Janetta a hug and kiss, but she held out her hand. "No, Ranji. Not right now."

"Why?"

"Because, you idiot, I will lose my focus. Tonight is my first day back in the air, and want my shift to go one hundred percent flawless. Captain Tanosca will be looking to see how I do, and I want -- no, I need this to be perfect. No distractions. Understood?"

I nodded. "Safe flight and safe return, Janetta."

"Thank you. Come on, Cholan," she said. "Zinja will be here soon with crackers and water to help settle your stomach. I know you don't feel well, but we need to finish checking out my bird."

"Yes, sir." Cholan still looked unsteady, but better than she did outside the Dispensary. She powered on the diagnostic computer and hauled the data cable over to the access panel.

I climbed back into the vehicle and drove south toward the Naval port. At the gate, I asked directions to the hospital. Once we parked, I wrote on the back of Sowitwee's pass all my contact information: name, personal phone, office phone, and address. Then I went in with him to find his wife.

When we found her, Nariya was out cold, sedated from the drugs. The nurse told Sowitwee to not try to wake her or to move her. A cast on her leg. Huge Nu-skin patches over her neck, chest, and all over her left arm. The nurse helped him move a chair next to her bed. That's when he lost it, holding her hand with the intravenous drip while he cried, thanking the gods that she was alive and they were together again.

I reached into my wallet and pulled out two twenty credit notes and set them on the bed by him.

Wiping his eyes, he looked up, puzzled. "Sir?"

"I don't know anything of your situation other than what Commander Orchid told all of us. Like as not your financials are still locked down. You're going to get hungry later and maybe want to get something nice for her. Flowers or something. Don't protest," I told him. "Focus on her. I'll see you in two days, Corporal."

It was all he could do to nod gratefully, then he went back to the woman who obviously was his world. I was grateful that my own brave warrior was hale and hearty.

Down in my ChoCac, I sat in the driver's seat, still in the parking slot, thinking over what had happened since this morning. Avalanche was a good description. But Orchid had told me it was just starting.

"Seven hells," I said. Then I yelled it, pounding on the steering wheel. And still it didn't seem enough.

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