That day, they had an opportunity
to wash more thoroughly. Luuboh and
Gaalet stepped outside together, leaving Evgeny and Mikala alone in the
outpost. The two Humans each took a turn
removing their clothing, scrubbing the garments in the sink with some soap, and
giving themselves a thorough sponge bath.
The process helped as much for morale as for hygiene.
This
was handled separately and with the courtesy of privacy. Though Evgeny and Mikala had resigned
themselves to intimate sleeping arrangements, they weren’t at the blasé level
of military comrades. Evgeny also hadn’t
ruled out a romantic relationship, particularly given their similar pasts,
professional paths, and lack of alternatives.
Such thoughts were a bit premature after only two days and a bit inappropriate
given the circumstances, but present nonetheless.
Mikala
went first, by virtue of greater need.
Thus, Evgeny was forced to grab his still-damp clothing and dress
rapidly when the Mauraug patrol returned early.
Voshtig entered the common room first,
pushing a bound male Human before him. Despite
the man’s battered condition, Evgeny recognized him immediately: Wallace
Harmon, his fellow Defense surveyor.
Wallace had been assigned the southern stretch of the Human-Mauraug
border. It was no surprise for him to be
the next Human found in this region. He
had probably had similar thoughts to Evgeny’s, heading north and possibly a
little east in hopes of meeting up with other survivors.
What was surprising was his
condition. Had he met with an accident? More likely, the Mauraug were to blame. Wallace had a noticeable limp as he staggered
in ahead of Voshtig. His thick arms were
bound behind him with black nylon cord, familiar from the Defense supply
kit. His dark brown shirt was darkened
further with blood, dripped from his broken nose and split lip. More blood speckled his sandy hair. He had bruises blooming on his pale cheeks as
well. He coughed weakly as he spotted
Evgeny, preparatory to speaking.
Evgeny spared him the effort by
volunteering first, shouting in Mauraug:
“What the hell? This is Wallace
Harmon. It is on Defense patrol, same as
me. What happened to it… and why is it restrained?”
Soloth cocked its head and opened
its mouth to respond, but was preempted by Suufit's bluster: “Your comrade attacked
us. It is fortunate we spared its
life. Although I…”
Wallace himself managed to
interject, in stilted Mauraug, “Spared life? Dung!
Blew up cart…”
Both respondents were quieted by the other
two Mauraug. Voshtig shoved Wallace to
the ground. The Human narrowly avoided a
concussion by catching himself on his shoulder.
Soloth dealt with Suufit by attempting to cuff the bigger Mauraug on its
ear. Suufit, alert to attack this
time, raised an arm and blocked Soloth’s slap before the hand caught its
head. The force of the blow still rocked
Suufit back and likely injured its wrist.
It staggered back, holding the wounded arm in its opposite hand. The two rivals stared at one another for a
long moment, weighing the options between escalation and surrender.
In the meantime, Evgeny darted
forward to check on Wallace, who had not moved after landing on the floor. The other man was only dazed from pain,
breathing normally - if obstructed by blood and swelling - and conscious. Evgeny turned Wallace onto his back, forcing
him to lie painfully on his hands but otherwise helping to stabilize his
shocked system.
Mikala stepped forward into the
room, seeming to lean upon one of the wooden chairs for support. Evgeny recognized the stance: she now had a
shield and weapon ready at hand. If
necessary, he could back her play by tripping up one of the three Mauraug. Likely that would be Voshtig, if they took
advantage of Soloth and Suufit brawling.
None of these contingencies were
necessary, though. Suufit submitted, lowering
its eyes and stance. This time, Soloth
followed up with a backhand across the cringing subordinate’s nose. Dark blood welled up and dripped from one
broad nostril.
“I will ask if your input is
required,” Soloth reminded Suufit. It
then turned to Wallace, catching Evgeny in the same glare. “The same applies to you. This new refugee fired upon us, that much is
true. We returned fire, but only its
vehicle was damaged. Most of its
injuries came from jumping clear of the burning wreckage. Any idea why your comrade would attack us?”
Wallace cleared his lungs and head
enough to reply, “Thought you Apostates.”
Evgeny nodded, “I wouldn’t have
been expecting a large, armed group of Mauraug myself, except that Mikala had
advance knowledge. If I had been alone
and saw you three together, I might think you were with the raiders.”
Mikala tensed. Evgeny could hear her chair rattle. He hoped this information would earn Wallace
some pardon, but he knew Mikala was upset at being identified as a spy.
Soloth flared its nostrils and
smacked its lips in consideration.
“True, there is no way to tell a heretic by sight.” It shot a peculiar knowing look at the other
two Mauraug, both of whom shifted uncomfortably at its gaze. It shifted its attention back to Wallace.
“You have two choices. Submit, and your comrades can tend your
wounds and include you in my terms of parole.
Defy or threaten further, and suffer further. I do not murder; that is how you can tell me
from an Apostate. But I will make you
regret disobedience. Do I have your
submission?”
Wallace stared blankly. Evgeny was concerned about the man’s mental
state until he realized Wallace hadn’t understood fully. Not all of the Defense scouts had the same
fluency in Mauraug. Evgeny gave a
clearer translation of the ultimatum, and Wallace grudgingly agreed.
“Untie it,” Soloth instructed
Evgeny. Evgeny lifted the other man into
a chair and struggled with the knotted cord.
Eventually, he just pulled out a pocket knife and sliced through the nylon. Wallace stretched his arms cautiously,
rubbing his hands awake, all the while staring with bleary defiance at Soloth.
The Mauraug boss snorted and turned
away from the Humans. Addressing
Voshtig, it instructed, “Take Suufit and Gaalet and make another patrol. There may be others coming from either
side. Find them before they find us.”
This time, Voshtig bash’Kenet
pushed back against its superior. “Why
are we bringing everyone here? I do not question your wisdom in capturing
these Humans, nor in maintaining our perimeter.
But every additional body increases our likelihood of being noticed and
reduces the time left before we run out of food. Why not send the refugees to some other site
and let them draw away the enemy’s attention?”
“For now, I consider these Humans
potential assets,” Soloth answered, generous with discussion for the moment,
“If I am proven wrong, so much the worse for them. Perhaps I will consider your plan if the cost
of additional guests rises above their value.
However, I will decide when
that balance has changed.”
Voshtig lowered its eyes and hands
in assent.
Evgeny risked seizing the moment to
add, “You have not yet seen our real value.
Everyone is worried about having enough supplies, but we could add to
the resource pool, not just take from it.
We are Defense, we are trained for the land and for combat. Aside from scavenging, we could help with patrolling and raiding. We might
even dig up some resources the Apostates haven’t found.”
He had Soloth’s interest. Unfortunately, he also had its hackles
up. “I did not ask you…”
“No, but you should have. Apologies, but I am trying to help, not
criticize.” Evgeny was aware he was
using Wallace’s injured body as a shield.
Otherwise, Soloth might have slapped or grabbed him after his second
interruption.
He pushed his luck once more: “I
can understand not trusting us, especially after this... misunderstanding. But we are being wasted, sitting around here.
If you put two Mauraug and one Human together on a patrol, what are we
going to do alone? You double your patrols and
double your defenses, for the same cost.”
Soloth was quiet for a few seconds
after Evgeny finished. Then it spoke:
“Done?”
Evgeny thought about it a moment,
then agreed, “Done. For now.”
Soloth snorted. “I thought you should finish sticking your
head out all the way before I take it off.
You are right, of course, but wrong in assuming I never considered these
plans. Unless you have more to offer, I
cannot overlook your presumption.”
“More? Of course there is more. We are not inferior. Wallace is hurt, but I think either Mikala or
I could match any of your subordinates in a fight… not you, of course. You are Dominant, no question.”
The implied challenge drew a yelp of protest from
Mikala, but Soloth pursed its lips in amusement. “Maybe we can test that, though a true
challenge is not always physical and a fight will leave at least one party
damaged, perhaps both. I would rather
not have anyone crippled… unless you force matters. Anything else?”
Evgeny saw the trap too late. Either he committed them to the service of
the Mauraug or else consented to more severe punishment. Either he offered up something of real,
undisputable value, or else Soloth could no longer defend the Humans to its
begrudging subordinates. Soloth was
restraining its urge to physically retaliate in order to call Evgeny out,
demanding that he show his full hand.
To abuse the metaphor further,
Evgeny flipped a hole card, gambling on an asset he had never confirmed but
only inferred. He turned to Mikala and
said, “Go ahead, tell it.”
“What?” she answered, genuinely
bewildered.
“About the cache,” Evgeny
prompted.
He had wondered where Mikala was
going when they met, on a route aimed somewhere south of New Gethsemane. His best guess was that the clandestine
scout had an equally undisclosed fallback site somewhere outside of the
settlement. That site might be no more
than a rock or copse where she would meet a contact. It might be a campsite. In those cases, Evgeny’s gamble would fail,
painfully. Alternately, some faction in
New Gethsemane might have built a bunker or other shelter just like the Mauraug. Mikala might indeed have a supply cache
outside the settlement, in case of emergencies.
Either way, they might have a bargaining chip to play.
Mikala caught on to Evgeny’s
meaning and did some calculating of her own.
She answered slowly, in Terran standard, “I have no earthly idea what you are talking about... Cache of what?”
Her exaggerated denial matched the
phrasing from a popular comedy movie.
The choice of expression signaled clearly enough to Evgeny that she was
playing along, pretending to deceive in order to convince Soloth that her
eventual confession was the truth. They
just had to hope that the Mauraug were not fans of Terran humor. Unfortunately, Evgeny wasn’t sure if she was
lying about lying. Maybe there wasn’t any cache… but they were
certainly going to pretend there was.
“Come on!” Evgeny prompted, “The
secret Defense cache, the one you were going to visit when we met! This is no time to keep secrets.”
Soloth looked blandly at the ‘arguing’
Humans, its brows arched. Wallace, struggling to hold himself upright in the oversized Mauraug chair, gave
them a bleary look of confusion.
“Okay, fine,” Mikala shouted with
convincing exasperation, “It’s not like I can get there without help
anyway. Besides, there’s only enough for
one person, and someone is probably already there, guarding the spot and using
everything up.”
Soloth was drawn in enough to ask,
in their language, “What spot?”
Mikala answered directly, against
protocol, “South of New Gethsemane. There’s
a secondary survey site where the settlement could have been. Same aquifer, similar arable land, but
rougher and with less access to mineral resources. There’s a hut left over from one of the early
survey visits, pretty well overgrown.
Covert stocked it with supplies in case a fallback position was
needed. Like I said, it’s probably in
use, just like this place… if the Apostates didn’t find it, of course.”
She had gotten talkative very
abruptly. Either she had a lot of real
information to share or was making up a story with impressive speed.
Evgeny filled in the rest in Mauraug, stealing
the conversation back in case Soloth took offense to being lectured by a
‘subordinate’.
He added, “Going there might draw
attention. So it is an unknown asset
with unknown risks. Still, like I said, here
is proof that we can contribute, if that is what it takes to get respect.”
Soloth answered facing Evgeny,
speaking Mauraug again: “Coordinates. I
will forgive this omission when it gives the location. I will scout the site and retrieve its
contents… if any.”
“You will need to take Mikala, in
case the site is held against you,” Evgeny offered, “unless you want another
wasteful conflict.” He gestured toward
Wallace to emphasize his point.
“Are you dictating me terms?”
Soloth spat. It grasped one of the metal
stools on its side of the common table.
“Perhaps you need a reminder who decides matters here.”
Evgeny came perilously close to
shouting down the authority-obsessed Mauraug, but controlled his own temper
well enough to manage the situation. He
dropped the volume of his voice and increased the pitch, and spoke while
looking at Soloth’s chin rather than eyes.
“No. I am providing information useful to all of
our survival. This is information you did
not know to request. At first, I was
disputing your subordinate’s argument that we would be better used as decoys. Now, I am making sure my argument is proven
valid. You are not sure you can trust
us. I am trying to fix that. Please listen.”
“I have listened,” Soloth grumbled
with unexpected surliness, “but I
decide how to proceed. When I speak, all must listen. Any dispute there?” It looked around the room, starting with
Evgeny. When that Human nodded assent,
Soloth continued to scan around the room, staring down Suufit and Voshtig, then
Mikala and finally Wallace. Each lowered
their eyes and gave appropriate gestures of confirmation.
Soloth gave orders rapidly, as if
to confirm its decisiveness. “I, Karech,
and Voshtig will go with… Meke’laa… to this facility and claim whatever we find
there. Suufit, Gaalet and Luuboh will
remain here with the other two Humans.”
To Evgeny directly, Soloth
commanded, “Treat your comrade’s injuries.
Luuboh will help. We do not need
any dependents here, that much is true.
After that, report to Gaalet. It
should be ready to modify the communications array to expand our
reception. I want to know if the
Apostate ships are speaking to one another.”
Evgeny allowed himself an inward
smirk. Matilda could have answered that question readily using only his compad.
The compad already contained a sophisticated communications array,
including an amplifying receiver and decryption software. Matilda could use these miniaturized
resources to their maximum effect. Instead,
Gaalet had wasted two days trying to cobble together the necessary
interfaces between various components to handle the same tasks secondhand.
The only advantage of the larger,
higher powered system was its greater range.
Granted, that could be useful for advance warning if new ships arrived
in the system. Even so, patching Matilda
into the same system would give them that advantage plus flexibility plus a
means to reach any intelligent satellites that might have survived. The Mauraug were once again wasting resources due to
their prejudices.
“Understood,” was all Evgeny said
aloud. They were making progress, albeit
slowly. Wallace’s arrival, however
rough, was an asset in Evgeny’s favor.
Soloth had apparently taken his offering at face value, without making
an issue of the source of that knowledge.
Implicit in the order to work with Gaalet was an acknowledgement that Evgeny
was technically capable. He could build
on that confidence and continue to demonstrate his other skills. Hopefully, by the time the group had to take
action, Soloth would not waste its Human associates as perceived inferiors.
There were two major hazards
ahead. The first was the group of other
Mauraug. From what he had learned from
Luuboh, Evgeny felt confident both he and Mikala could supplant Gaalet and
Karech. Their intellectual limitations
had to be evident to Soloth, and neither seemed particularly physically adept,
possessing no more than the usual advantages of greater Mauraug body mass
compared to the Humans.
Wallace would be limited if a
physical showdown became necessary.
Fortunately, Evgeny’s initial inspection had found no broken bones or
deep cuts. There were some serious
bruises, broken cartilage in his nose, and several lacerations… probably from
shrapnel. Evgeny wasn’t sure if the
other man’s knee was only sprained or torn more severely. He wasn’t going to be sprinting anytime soon,
either way. Still, he might be able to
maneuver well enough with a support wrap, and they could repair a sprain in a
day or two with proper medication.
The equation became more complex
when Evgeny considered opposition from Suufit or Voshtig. Both lacked mental handicaps – if not
emotional ones – and both had sufficient physical power to make short work of a
Human opponent. Suufit might be slowed
by its additional weight, but it would also be more difficult to injure. Voshtig’s cybernetic arm was a built-in
weapon by itself.
Politics might be the only arena
where Evgeny could supplant those two.
He could easily prove himself a more reliable lieutenant than the
fractious Suufit. Unless he was being
misled, he had also picked up on a current of distrust between Soloth and
Voshtig. The trouble was, playing on
interpersonal stresses took much longer than other strategies. For now, he would have to remain vigilant and
hope for an opening he could exploit.
Evgeny also wished he could confer
with Mikala privately and coordinate their strategies. Even in their shared room, at night, there
was no door and at least one Mauraug awake at all times. Now, Soloth was cleverly separating
them. Hopefully, Mikala was forming her
own ideas about how to proceed. Evgeny
also had to hope her plans would converge with his own. So far, they had supported one another
admirably.
Soloth continued, sparing them no more
time for thought. “Karech!” it
called. The summoned Mauraug entered the
common room from the bunk area. Even if
it had been spending its downtime sleeping, the commotion in the adjoining
chamber had undoubtedly woken it. Either
way, it was already dressed in a default black jumpsuit.
“Arm and prepare for travel,”
Soloth advised Karech, “Meet me and Voshtig in the entryway. We will take both runners.”
“Suufit,” Soloth continued, turning
to look at its subject, “I will take a compad.
Gaalet can reach me if necessary but only if necessary.
You are in authority here until I return. Maintain watch, but otherwise the schedule is
your own… conserve energy, huh?”
The implied insult was not
missed. Suufit flared its nostrils in
reaction, but avoided comment otherwise.
“Let us move,” Soloth
concluded. Its sudden drive to action
made sense to Evgeny. Their enforced
idleness at the outpost was wearing on everyone. Soloth was capitalizing on the disruption as
much to provide a distraction as to accomplish other practical goals. It actually did not matter – at least not
right now – whether there was a treasure under the X Mikala and Evgeny had
drawn.
Evgeny moved first, helping Wallace
to his feet and turning him toward their shared bunk. The wounded man could probably use some prone
rest. Mikala waited where she was until
the last moment. She and Evgeny
exchanged a meaningful look, although it was unlikely either had received the
full text of the message intended by the other.
Mostly, their expressions both reduced to: be smart, don’t antagonize, and you owe me big when we get out of this
mess.
The Mauraug turned and exited as a
group. Suufit would likely be going to
inform Gaalet and Luuboh of the new arrangements and schedule. Soloth and Voshtig departed to prepare the
runner carts. Karech stepped back into the
bunkhouse to retrieve its firearm and then stopped in the storeroom to
collect supplies for the expedition. Once
it was done, it gestured to Mikala.
Having no other personal equipment to collect, she followed.
“See you tomorrow,” Evgeny called
through the doorway at her back.
Mikala turned around briefly to
retort, “Sure. Out and back. No problems.”
Her sarcasm covered either nerves or anger, maybe both. Evgeny could not be sure how much she
resented him forcing matters.
Then she was gone, following Karech
outside.
Luuboh entered shortly
afterward. It joined Evgeny in looking
over Wallace, who was roused from an exhausted daze. The third Human had fallen quiet during the
conversation. Evgeny had assumed Wallace’s
silence was intentional, possibly tactful.
Now, he found himself concerned about the other man’s lethargy. Shock was still a possibility, along with blood
loss, internal injuries, or other unsuspected damage.
Lacking a full medical scanner, not
to mention first-hand knowledge of Human anatomy, Luuboh’s diagnosis had to
rely on simpler tools, basic logic, and Evgeny’s feedback. They quickly ruled out broken bones and found
no other swelling indicating immediately serious harm. When Evgeny checked their patient’s eyes,
Wallace grimaced at him comically.
“Nurse Koko has a pretty gentle
touch,” Wallace joked quietly, in his native American English.
As relieved as he was to get a
response, Evgeny frowned back at his colleague.
“This is Luuboh. It speaks good
Terran Standard and has been very hospitable, so behave.”
“I assume that was a ‘gorilla’
joke?” Luuboh asked over its shoulder as
it reviewed screening results from the blood sample it had dabbed from Wallace’s
split lip. “Glucose levels should be
above 1 gram per… liter, correct?”
“You’re ahead of me there,” Evgeny
admitted.
“Likely it’s low,” Wallace
confirmed, “I’ve been running hard on low rations the last two days.”
Luuboh nodded, “High ketones as
well. No surprise you are fatigued. Water and electrolytes tonight. Wait until morning to eat.”
“He’s weak after only two
days. Soloth may call we three
prisoners, but you’re all prisoners with us… at risk of starvation,” Evgeny
grumbled. “We can’t sit still forever. Pretty soon all of us will be too tired to
fight if that becomes necessary.”
“Do you think Soloth bash’Soloth is
unaware of this?” Luuboh asked, pinching
its nostrils shut in aggravation. It was
the first sign of pique Evgeny had seen in the normally placid omega. “You react to crisis with schemes; it reacts
with demands and threats. Different
responses but the same goal. The problem
is not our leader but its followers.
Their fear…”
Luuboh cut its tirade short as the
outer door opened again. Heavy footsteps
warned of Suufit’s return. The oversized
Mauraug stood in the common room’s doorway for a long moment, looking around as
if uncertain what to do next.
It settled on the storeroom. Stopping before entering, it turned abruptly
and fixed Luuboh with a jut-jawed stare.
“I am taking my fair share,” it grunted loudly enough
for all to hear, although speaking in Mauraug.
“Make up the difference however you want… from the Humans’ rations or your own, if you feel charitable. Any complaints to Soloth and you will be mopping up your own blood.”
Luuboh only bowed its head in
response and returned to Wallace, pointedly re-checking a dressing it had
already secured. It risked a sideways
glance at Evgeny, who grimaced in acknowledgement, giving a fair impression of
the Mauraug expression of disgust. He
then nodded and stood back.
“I agree with your diagnosis,
Luuboh,” he said aloud in Terran standard, “I’ll work out a suitable
treatment.”
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