Escape from Grace - Chapter 8

          Evgeny Lerner’s mother used to say, “Laž ima kratke noge.”  Literally translated, it meant, “A lie has short legs.”  What she actually meant was, “I’ll find out if you lie, so don’t bother.”  He was reminded of that warning now.
         
          Hopefully, his current lie had enough head start on the truth to reach New Gethsemane.  At that point, he would most definitely be found out.  He needed to find a new strategy, before then, to either manage or escape the Mauraug.

          The latter would ideally involve separating the Mauraug from Mikala and Wallace.  Evgeny hated the idea of abandoning his fellow colonists.  Then again, Mikala probably could manage her own escape.  He shouldn’t disregard her abilities, given her training.

That still left Wallace as his responsibility.  The other Human was moving more easily now as the outpost’s remaining crew readied themselves for departure.  That ease had more to do with the painkillers and stimulants Luuboh had administered than any real recovery. 

A long walk would not help Wallace’s injuries, although extended bed rest and sedation would not have been an ideal prescription, either.  At least Wallace’s induced wakefulness would give Evgeny a better chance to discuss matters with him.  They could start slowly and work toward future plans, assuming they could find a few moments away from the Mauraug’s hearing.

A few additional doses of drugs and medication had been stashed in Luuboh’s pack, to keep Wallace on his feet for the full trek.  Walking continuously without stopping, it would take most of a day to reach New Gethsemane.  They would need portions of two days.  They would need to stop that night for rest and safety.

In this case, safety meant not walking off the edge of a canyon in the dark or blundering into hazardous plant life.  Any dangerous native animals in the colony zone had long since been relocated when possible or exterminated when necessary.  Crabdogs were something of an exception, since they were useful culling predators and more pest than threat.  Given the opportunity, they fled from equally sized beasts like Humans or Mauraug.

The season was temperate enough that they had no current weather concerns.  It might get a bit hot at midday, but they should be at New Gethsemane around that time tomorrow.  Rather, it would be hot for the Humans.  The Mauraug would find the day pleasant. 

Exhaustion and dehydration were their primary threats.  The former could be managed by controlling their pace, eating and resting when necessary.  That put a limit on how quickly the group could reasonably travel.  The latter was dependent on their supply of water.  Each pack held a pouch with roughly two and a half liters of distilled water from the Mauraug outpost’s well. 

It had been tempting to bring a small, portable condenser unit.  The appliance could draw about a half-liter of water out of the atmosphere each day, but was impractical in this instance.  An actual liter of water would take up less space and add less weight.  It only made sense to take a condenser if they would be gone three days or more.  Bringing the device would raise justifiable suspicion about how long Evgeny really planned to be away from the outpost.  In some ways, his short-legged lie hampered his ability to effectively run away.

Suufit and Gaalet were armed with their own, personal weapons.  Evgeny and Wallace’s standard-issue projectile guns had been confiscated by Soloth and taken with the advance party.  Luuboh apparently owned no firearms.  However, Evgeny did find a small sonic stopper in the storeroom and claimed it by right.  It looked something like a black conical lantern with a mesh cover on its base.  The device was traditionally used to discourage wildlife using a brief, powerful vibration that shoved targets back physically, rattled their teeth, and popped their eardrums.  It was meant to be used in small doses.  A protracted blast could damage bodies and other susceptible substances, albeit at the cost of significant battery charge.

Additional first-aid supplies, food rations, hand tools and portable electronic tools like their compads filled most of their remaining pack space.  The comm system was regrettably too large to bring along, although Gaalet did disconnect several of its more vitally irreplaceable elements to carry personally.  It did not explain whether it feared the devices might be somehow stolen or if it planned to rebuild a working system when they reached New Gethsemane.  Perhaps both were true. 

As each sapient finished loading and hoisted his or its pack, Evgeny sent him or it to the exit.  First went Suufit, who continued to give Evgeny sour looks as it trudged past, upward and out.  Second was Gaalet.  Evgeny asked Luuboh to watch Wallace as he walked out, to make sure their patient wouldn’t have any trouble with blood pressure changes, vertigo, etc.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Evgeny called with his best attempt at nonchalance, “I should make sure the vent access is sealed and the generator switched off.  I’ll join you in a moment.”

Luuboh turned at the front hallway and gave Evgeny an eye-popped stare of surprise.  “You are sneaking out the back way?  Really?”

Evgeny didn’t have to try hard to muster disgust, retorting, “No, but if you are worried, someone can wait for me there.”

Luuboh rolled its shoulders, muttering, “You do not trust me to take precautions?  Fine.  It is your problem if Suufit gets restless and decides to take issue.”  With this dismissal, it nudged Wallace forward and up the stairs.  The other Human had watched their conversation in evident confusion, no doubt worsened by the buzzing haze of artificial alertness.

Evgeny was already aware that he had limited time alone.  Nonetheless, he walked casually to the back of the main room.  He had to make certain Luuboh was not only out of visual range but also unable to overhear his activities. 

Evgeny counted out thirty seconds, until he was certain all three Mauraug were past the outer door.  Then he scrambled into the room where the Humans had slept and lifted the metal bed frame at one corner.  He popped off the plastic endcap of the hollow tube that formed the bed’s leg. 

There, blessedly, was the crystalline memory bead holding the sole copy of his Brin, Matilda.  If Evgeny would feel guilty about abandoning Mikala or Wallace, he would be heartsick to leave behind his lifelong companion.  Pocketing the bead as securely as he could, Evgeny snapped on the endcap and gently lowered the bed frame to the floor.

From there, he hastened to the galley, opened the vent door, and scrambled into the access passage.  He let the cover latch securely behind him before walking cautiously down the dark, cramped vent tunnel.  At the far end, he did genuinely check that the outpost’s generator was powered down.  Besides avoiding fuel wastage, turning off the generator reduced the likelihood of anyone detecting the facility while it was unguarded.

Taking such precautions wasn’t wasted effort on Evgeny’s part.  On one level, he needed to keep acting like part of the multi-cultural ‘survivor team’, as if he expected to return to the outpost with salvaged supplies.  At another level, he was keeping bridges intact in case he was forced to return, if his escape plans failed.  At a deeper, perhaps unacknowledged level, Evgeny didn’t want to sabotage the Mauraug, even if he hoped to be rid of them.

Evgeny didn’t personally despise the Mauraug.  They were individually capable sapients, not dumb brutes.  They were clearly organized enough to spread throughout their region of space.  Sometimes, they managed to be personally agreeable.  In fact, some of them – Luuboh, for instance – seemed potentially likeable.  The main thing that bothered Evgeny was how the Mauraug culture had drifted into a festering backwater and rooted itself there.  Their obsession with strength and Dominance tainted everything, from their interstellar relationships to their personal interactions.  Their religious fanaticism was fed by that tendency and reinforced it in turn.  So many things Humans valued – art, romance, artificial intelligence, peaceful camaraderie – had been sacrificed at the altar of Dominionism.  The Mauraug reminded Terrans of distasteful cultures from their own home planet’s distant past. 

To be honest, some parts of the not-so-distant past had echoed those same aggressive themes.  If Humans were really fair, there were valuable aspects of their own heritage that had been abandoned in favor of a particular cultural structure.  Still, Terra didn’t have slavery and right of conquest as acceptable public policies, not anymore.  Humans didn’t feel particularly hypocritical about opposing such practices within the Collective. 

So, Evgeny felt justified in his private rebellion.  He had no qualms about returning to the waiting Mauraug with an expression of mocking defiance, as if to say, see, I’m not going anywhere, and shame on you for thinking otherwise. 

What he did say was, “Let us start.  We can clear twenty klicks before dark if we keep a steady pace.  Gaalet, keep a compad at hand in case we get a local call.  I will set the route.  The rest of you, keep up and conserve your strength.”

After that speech, little needed to be said.  They started to walk west, crossing the dry streambed.  Past that landmark, they wound through tall, dry grass that quickly obscured their view of the outpost’s stone façade.  Tire tracks in the dust and a crushed trail in the grass still marked the route taken earlier by Soloth’s party.  They followed the white sun as it descended, knowing it would reach the horizon before they did.

 

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During the first day’s travel, Evgeny twice found excuses to fall back and speak with Wallace, under the guise of checking his health.  After the second ‘checkup’, he decided not to press further; the implied lack of confidence in Luuboh’s medical skills seemed to insult the small Mauraug yet again.  For a permanent dweller in the under-caste, it certainly could be prickly about issues of precedence.  Evgeny supposed that if he were Mauraug, he would not or at least should not care if any subordinate took offense to his actions, least of all if Luuboh bash’Gaulig minded.  Hell, he would be within his rights to punish any implied objection.  But Evgeny was not Mauraug.  For one thing, that meant he couldn’t push his borrowed Dominion too far.  It also meant that he did care what Luuboh thought, both in an emotional, empathetic sense; and in a practical, mercenary way: the omega was a useful ally among the ‘enemy’. 

So, Evgeny limited his exploitation of the ‘checkup’ excuse.  On his first visit, he and Wallace exchanged sanitized summaries of their experiences between the original Apostate attack and the subsequent clash between Wallace and the Mauraug scouts.  Wallace’s narrative was limited not only by the proximity of Mauraug listeners but also by a lack of focus caused by exertion and medication.  As a result, there were few revelations. 

Wallace’s story started similarly to Evgeny’s: he had been working his way south down the border, surveying and recording.  He noticed the Apostate ship flying overhead, albeit from a greater distance than Evgeny.  His A.I., Reynard, similarly monitored communications as long as he was able, reporting and interpreting the tragedy for Wallace’s understanding.  Wallace drove north until he spotted Evgeny’s trail, then followed that east until he was ambushed by the Mauraug.  One of their shots struck the saddlebag holding Reynard's compad, disrupting the A.I. and effectively killing him.

The similarities reassured Evgeny somewhat.  The two Defense scouts followed similar thought processes and made similar decisions; thus, Evgeny’s choices were not foolish.  What could he have done differently: held still?  Returned to New Gethsemane, to take his chances against a ship-full of Apostates?  The only differences affecting their outcomes were Evgeny's meeting with Mikala and his earlier and easier encounter with the Mauraug.  Instead, Wallace arrived later, meeting a different group of Mauraug, alone.  He had also lacked Evgeny’s calm and diplomacy (if those traits were interpreted charitably, rather than as surrender and deception).

The other major difference in their fates was the destruction of Reynard versus the survival of Matilda.  Evgeny did not admit to this distinction.  Instead, he told Wallace the same version of his tale that the Mauraug had already heard.  His A.I., like Mikala’s, had been left in New Gethsemane, her survival unknown.  Wallace looked skeptical at this.  It was rare for a Defense member to survey without their Brin close at hand.  He blessedly did not ask about the discrepancy aloud.  He might have grasped the deception, but more likely he could not quite articulate the mismatch between his expectations and Evgeny’s statement.

They exchanged their stories while they walked.  Luuboh remained close by, seemingly mindful of Wallace’s status rather than obviously eavesdropping.  Still, between Wallace’s evident fatigue and the limits imposed by self-censorship, there was little more they could discuss at the time.

Their second conversation began as dusk fell and the travelers sought a place to camp.  Evgeny walked over, ostensibly to discuss ideal bedding arrangements with Wallace.  Again, Luuboh played chaperone.  They had not brought shelters, per se, but each pack contained a small tarpaulin that could be opened into a larger envelope to hold an individual sleeper.  The layered covering would discourage pests, repel rain, block light, and maintain temperature to some extent.  Evgeny helped unfold Wallace’s ‘sleeping bag’ as they spoke.

“Did you hear anything about evacuation or a shelter?”  Evgeny asked Wallace eventually.

“No.  I hoped you knew something from your Dad…,” Wallace answered, pausing rather than completing the thought.

Evgeny shook his head.  “Nothing they told me about,” he admitted with some slight bitterness, “I don’t know whether that means there wasn’t any shelter and Council was just unprepared, or if there was a shelter but they wanted to keep it secret.  I’m hoping for the latter, and that it wasn’t kept a secret too well.”

“More likely the former… but there’s still reason to hope.  Some people might have gone into the mines.”

“Right.  That is more likely, although we also have to hope the Apostates didn’t hunt them down in there.  What are the odds they were just raiding for materiel and not aiming to exterminate colonists?”

“No way to know.”  Here, Wallace paused and turned to look directly at Luuboh, half-wrapped in its own bag not far away.  He called out, “What do you think?  Would Apostates be more likely to sabotage or steal equipment, or would they prefer to kill everyone first?”

Luuboh made a show of opening its eyes and turning to face the two Humans.  It replied slowly, “Do not ask me.  I have no insight into the mind of a heretic.  If you are asking about the likelihood of survival for your families and friends, then I would say it depends on how difficult they made it to kill them.  I cannot imagine that even heretics would take time to chase a few escaped sapients when easier, stationary targets are still close by.  I imagine they would want to cause maximum damage to the colonies in the limited time available.  That is, assuming they acted consistently with their stated goal to discredit and overthrow Dominionism.”

Evgeny gestured agreement and said aloud, “That’s something like what I was thinking.  Given a chance, lots of the colonists could make finding and shooting them difficult.  Clearly, the Apostates weren’t interested in chasing after us, no matter Soloth and Suufit’s paranoia.”

Wallace grimaced, settling back into his uncomfortable bed.  “I can’t think much about politics right now, Human or Mauraug.  Let’s just sleep and see what we see tomorrow.”

Luuboh snorted, adding, “Agreed.”

That request ended Evgeny’s second attempt to discuss matters with Wallace.  What he really needed was an opportunity to scheme privately, to let Wallace know the truth about their position.  He needed to prepare the other man to move quickly when the opportunity arose.  He needed to warn Wallace that they were not expected and could not expect a warm welcome when they did encounter Soloth’s group.  Evgeny needed to explain his reasons both for surrendering to the Mauraug and for parting with them afterwards.  He also needed to reassure Wallace that leaving the group would not mean inevitable death for either of them, particularly not for the injured Human.  For one thing, he did have an A.I. to guide them, to facilitate communications with satellites and ships if available, and to help them make use of any resources they found in the remains of New Gethsemane.  Hell, the protection of that Brin, by itself, should motivate Wallace to join him in deserting the Mauraug.

It would make matters much more difficult if Wallace hesitated, or worse, resisted, when the chance came to part from the Mauraug.  Evgeny would try again in the morning.  Maybe Luuboh was a heavy sleeper.  Unfortunately, after the day’s exertions, Wallace would probably be difficult to rouse, himself.

 

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           In fact, it was Evgeny who had to be prodded awake by Luuboh, several minutes after dawn.  The Mauraug, distinctly diurnal, were early risers.  Even Evgeny, who prided himself on his vigorous routine, normally waited until full morning light.
 

The Mauraug also wanted to start moving as soon as possible.  Suufit was most explicitly restless, making a point of asking how long “the Humans” would need to be ready.  Evgeny only scowled back as he folded his bedding, stowed it and lifted his pack.  Luuboh administered a wake-up dosage to Wallace, followed by a cup of water and a ration bar.  Evgeny ate during this time, also.

Twenty minutes after Reveille, they began to walk.  Evgeny intentionally started slow, not to spite Suufit but to allow Wallace some time to warm up.  Wallace was still having some trouble with his right leg, which was stiff and would not extend fully.  The bruises on his face and arms were dark and deep, but did not impede his movement. 

Evgeny himself needed some stretching and movement to restore his circulation.  Between the previous day’s trek and the rough sleeping conditions, he was starting out sore.  Wallace had to be in agony, at least until the analgesics kicked in.  The Mauraug betrayed no signs of discomfort, but Evgeny suspected that was because he did not know what to look for.  What was the difference between the normal Mauraug gait and a stiff-legged version?  How did they subtly reveal pain they were struggling to mask?

It wasn’t particularly important now, although the physical condition of the Mauraug might be relevant later that same day.  Evgeny wondered if he could somehow weary the three others while keeping himself and Wallace fresh.  He probably couldn’t get away with ordering the Mauraug to carry them, although the thought was amusing.

Evgeny did manage some slight advancement on his plans as the morning dragged closer to midday.  Wallace gasped out a request for a halt.  The group paused for water and a small meal as Luuboh ministered to Wallace.  Evgeny took this opportunity to hang nearby under the pretense of supervision.  He asked question after question until Luuboh’s irritation blossomed into exasperation.  Finally, the de facto medic asked if Evgeny would prefer to check the patient’s vitals directly. 

Evgeny retorted that he would, in fact, and Luuboh could busy itself elsewhere.  It wasn’t the most subtle way to get a moment alone, but it worked.  Any suspicion Luuboh might harbor was temporarily overridden by its annoyance. 

“When we get to New Gethsemane, follow my lead,” Evgeny whispered hastily, as close to Wallace’s ear as he dared lean while ‘checking vitals’.  “I have a Brin hidden.  The other Mauraug won’t be there, just us and these three.  Be ready to run when there’s an opening.”

Wallace gave him back an incredulous look and mouthed silently, Run? 

Evgeny nodded and whispered back, “Best you can at the time.  I’ll try to give us a big lead.”  He patted his co-conspirator on the shoulder, drawing a wince. 

That exchange took up all the time they had.  Luuboh returned, having either completed its rounds or cooled off enough to become suspicious again. 

Evgeny handed back the borrowed medical monitor.  He tried to sound genuinely grudging while saying, “I’m not sure I got everything right.  You have more experience, even on my own species.”

Luuboh blinked but accepted the tool – and the implied compliment – gracefully.  “Not so much experience as study, but more of that, yes, I expect so.  We can go soon, I expect also.”

The implied question was as close to an accusation as the Mauraug omega dared.  Evgeny ignored it for several good reasons. 

Their conversation was the last chance for discussion until their arrival.  The rest of the remaining daylight was spent on a grueling hike directly toward New Gethsemane.  While the growing heat favored the Mauraug, the increasingly familiar territory favored the Humans. 

As they approached, Evgeny realized with dismay that he should be seeing an antenna tower.  That landmark was certainly gone, likely collapsed early in the Apostate attack.  He wondered how much closer they would need to come before any standing buildings rose over the horizon. 

The first construct that broke the horizontal plane was not part of the settlement.  Instead, a blocky, angular shape began to loom ahead.  It was taller than any building the colonists had erected and also closer than any part of the settlement.  While some of the buildings had been metallic, none were so dark and pocked as this shape. 

Closer still they walked.  The shape resolved itself into more familiar lines.  It was a ship, one large enough to potentially hold a hyperspace drive but still small enough to survive atmospheric entry and planetary gravity.  Not a warship, not with that structure, though possibly still armed.  Not military at all, unless the Collective or one of its members was hard-pressed to build its fleet.  It had freight compartments but was small for a freighter; there was apparent passenger space, but it was no liner.

Suufit felt confident enough, first, to say what they all came to realize: “A salvager.”

Evgeny agreed, aloud: “Quick enough to get here first, big enough to load up cargo.  Could be legitimate rescue…”

Suufit interrupted to complete the thought, “… could be pirates.”

This close, they had already been spotted.  That left a choice between two alternatives: approach the ship or else retreat.  If they left, did they circle around to another side of New Gethsemane or else back away entirely?  Evgeny knew that one reasonable course would be to circle left, further west, and try to meet with Soloth and its team.  That gave them a larger force with which to approach the ship.

Taking that course would also give the salvagers more time to react.  They could simply climb into their ship and be completely safe from any Human/Mauraug team, no matter how large.  They might decide to load up whatever they had collected already and leave the planet.   Worst, they could prepare an armed response and kill or capture the later intruders, if they were criminally inclined. 

Evgeny decided to hurry and catch the ship’s crew spread out.  A quicker arrival gave them more chance to see who the visitors were and what they were about.  Was this a Collective crew?  Representing a single culture?  If so, which?  A Human crew would be an asset to Evgeny’s plans; they might be more easily persuaded to side with him over the Mauraug.  A mixed-culture crew could be Collective… or pirates.  Hell, a Human crew could just as easily be pirates than Terran nationals.  He would have to assay the situation quickly, in any case.

“Let us go see who is here,” Evgeny ordered.  He strode forward, making obedience more necessary.  Let's go together, or let me go alone.  Gaalet followed readily, followed more cautiously by Luuboh, then grudgingly by Suufit, and finally, painfully, by Wallace.  They had no time to question even if they wanted to do so.

Yet Evgeny did hear speech.  Suufit was grumbling something under its breath, protesting too quietly to hear.  It knew there was no chance it would be reprimanded just then, or perhaps it was just too winded to complain any louder.  Gaalet also spoke quietly, but it spoke to its modified compad.  Calling Soloth, no doubt.  While not strictly disobedient, the Mauraug had not been instructed to contact anyone, either.  It, too, was taking advantage of the emergency.

Fair enough.  Evgeny planned to get what he wanted out of this crisis, himself.  They could rebel all they wanted.  Only a Dominant Mauraug who planned to keep that position would be concerned about their insubordination.  Evgeny intended to stop leading as soon as the opportunity arose.

Escape from Grace - Chapter 7

            Surprisingly, the remainder of the day passed in peace within the Mauraug outpost.  Suufit stayed distant from the other four sapients, perhaps preferring to be left alone with its misappropriated rations or else anxious about mishandling its duties.  Evgeny left Wallace asleep, his rest reinforced by a light dose of sedative.  Luuboh interspersed visits to the patient among its usual custodial duties.  Gaalet and Evgeny worked in uneasy partnership, eased by necessity due to Soloth’s orders.  The constraints of potential engineering options provided a common ground that helped both sapients ignore their differences.

            Tension was evident in all those left behind.  Wallace woke frequently and tossed fitfully even when asleep.  Gaalet and Evgeny stayed riveted to their task, taking their supper at the worktable.  In addition to serving that meal, Luuboh found excuses to check up on them regularly.  Suufit wandered back and forth from the outside guard position to the storeroom inside.  As night fell, the stench of two species’ stale sweat had overwhelmed the air filters. 

Finally, the tinkerers’ work began to show results.  The communication system was capable of receiving and separating signals from increasingly distant sources.  Transmission was likely possible, as well, but the refugees could not yet risk being detected.  Gaalet and Evgeny agreed they were ready to link the makeshift comm to the outpost’s main generator and antenna. 

They enlisted Luuboh to snake a connecting cable to the generator room through the vent passage.  Gaalet pulled privilege to monitor the comm itself, leaving Evgeny employed as the relay between rooms.  Suufit bestirred itself when it noticed the increase in activity.  It hovered near the workroom, watching Gaalet tweak components before full power was applied. 

The initial test was anticlimactic.  The set pulled down only static and unintelligible fragments.  If there were any distant signals making their way through the ionosphere, from ships or broadcasting satellites, the comm system was failing to resolve them.  If the closer Apostates were talking between themselves, then the comm was failing even further.   More likely, all three sources were absent or temporarily silent. 

Suufit grunted derisively and turned back to resume its slow raid of the larder.  Gaalet, unconcerned by this null result, continued to tune the comm, increasing its resolution and searching the spectrum for potential messages.  Evgeny quietly made his way back to the workroom and eavesdropped upon the monomaniacal Mauraug.  He could hear Luuboh working its way back through the vent tunnel to rejoin them.  If nothing further happened, Luuboh would be shortly obliged to take its turn at guard duty outside.

A spike in one frequency caught Gaalet’s attention, and it switched the comm rapidly to that channel.  It took a few seconds more to select the correct decoding frame before the message’s content became available.  Fortunately, the system was designed to record, translate, and play back any significantly patterned stream.  No data was lost.  The decoding process was simplified by a reasonable guess: given the strength and directionality of the signal, Gaalet knew it must come from one of the Apostate ships.  As it had assumed, the communication was in Mauraug, using a familiar algorithm.  They caught an announcement followed by its responses:

“Monitoring detects two incoming ships.  They could arrive in five hours local.  Do we intercept or end operations?”

“Prepare to leave.  Load anything useful.  We depart in two.”

“Kaasech acknowledges.”

“Tennak acknowledges.”

Gaalet muttered to itself, “Rescue?  Or worse trouble?”

Evgeny agreed, unasked, “I know what you mean, but it is an opportunity.  The Apostates are running away, which leaves us a window to get into the settlements!  Hopefully, the new arrival is actually a rescue or will lead to one.”

Gaalet did not respond but continued to stare at the comm station, fiddling with its controls as before.  Evgeny was initially irritated about being ignored, then remembered Luuboh’s explanation about Gaalet’s social disability.  Likely the Mauraug had heard him well enough but was uncomfortable discussing the issue further. 

Evgeny’s comment did, however, draw the attention of the other two Mauraug.  Suufit and Luuboh approached the workshop at the same time.

The oversized second-in-command stepped well into Evgeny’s personal space and leaned into the Human’s face, demanding: “What was that?  The Apostates are leaving?"

Evgeny responded evenly, “It seems so.  Their communications say they saw incoming ships and have decided to flee rather than fight back."

“How do you know they were Apostates speaking?”  Suufit challenged him.

Evgeny wished he could look to Gaalet for backup.  He would have to support his claims alone.  “It was a strong signal… nearby and within this atmosphere.  The speech was Mauraug.  Gaalet decoded it fast.  I assume it was a familiar encryption.  Who else would be having that conversation?”

“Gaalet bash’Rubesh, is it correct?” Suufit asked directly.  The ‘graceful’ Mauraug kept its face turned away but blew out a breath in confirmation.

“So?” Suufit continued reluctantly, “You can tell Soloth when it returns.  It can scout Gorash’Bond next and see if the Apostates have departed.  Keep listening.”

Evgeny stared in incredulous anger.  Did this sapient’s sloth match its gluttony?  They needed to notify Soloth now, not the next day.  He was tempted to let Suufit return to its gorging and then sneak out at the next opportunity.  Luuboh might even help him escape, perhaps even join him.  They might reach Soloth at the Terran cache site if they walked fast.

There were several problems with that plan, foremost of which was abandoning the wounded Wallace to Suufit and Gaalet.  Their care would be minimal at best and outright abusive at worst.  Evgeny (and possibly Luuboh) would also have to travel without supplies, particularly since Suufit was stationed firmly in front of the rations.  Even if he tried to drag Wallace along, Evgeny could not procure medications to help his confederate travel faster or without pain.  Worse yet, if he arrived without Suufit or Gaalet to confirm his words, having left without Suufit’s permission, Soloth might not even listen to him.

Evgeny would have to risk an argument with Suufit.  He had to wager that when presented with all the information and a clear plan, the self-centered Mauraug would at least understand the inherent danger to itself from not informing Soloth sooner. 

Evgeny spoke up, catching Suufit in the midst of turning away.  “We need to call Soloth, ourselves, as soon as possible.  The Apostates are leaving because other ships are on the way.  There will be a three hour gap, two hours from now, when no ships are near Locust IV.  If we notify the scouts now, they might be able to reach New Gethsemane within that time.”

The Dominant Mauraug turned back on the outspoken Human with a predictable flare of outrage.  Its toes clenched the sandstone floor and its lips curled back.  When Suufit spoke, it used a tone of mockery that seemed excessive for addressing a genuinely insignificant subordinate.

“Such a clever little brother.  Only here two days and already advising its betters.  Soloth may indulge your whining, but I will not.  I will not risk our safety on your recommendation,” it sneered. 

Its next comment was directed to Gaalet: “We will send a message only if I decide it is necessary.  We are not under attack right now.  I intend to keep it that way.” 

Turning back to Evgeny, Suufit stepped further forward and shoved him roughly at his shoulder.  “Get out of the way.  Go back to scrubbing floors with Luuboh.  Or see if the other infant needs its medicine.  If you trouble me again, you will have to share its sickbed.”

Evgeny’s temper persuaded him toward its preferred response: conflict.  A fight was clearly necessary.  He would have to overcome Suufit in order to overrule its authority.

He retorted, “‘I will beat you up.’  You sound like Soloth.  You cannot think of an original threat.”

Suufit’s fur rose noticeably and its eyes narrowed.  It paused longer this time, obviously surprised to hear clear defiance from the ‘small’ Human.  Evgeny’s taunt was actually inaccurate.  In the time Suufit took to respond, Soloth already would have thrown Evgeny across the room.

Instead, the bulky beta howled further threats: “I can crush you if I choose.  I do not need Soloth’s permission to kill an inferior challenging above its position.  You are obviously insane and dangerous.  Abase yourself now and I will only break your arm.” 

“You will have to kill me… if you can.  Otherwise, I will still notify Soloth of your error.  I will enjoy watching it punish you.  It will be my revenge.  Make that call now, and I will not mention this conversation to anyone else.  I do not need to humiliate you.”

Evgeny misjudged his opponent’s personal restraint.  His last comment enraged Suufit too far.  The Mauraug swung a heavy arm toward Evgeny’s head. 

Though his emotional reflexes had been poor, Evgeny’s other faculties anticipated a violent response.  He sidestepped into the workroom.  Suufit not only missed its blow, it smashed its hand into the dividing archway between them.  It bellowed in pain and heightened fury. 

Gaalet scrambled away, trying to pull the comm system out of reach.  Tethered by the power cable leading out of the room, there was only so far the linked equipment could go. 

Evgeny realized he was in an advantageous position.  If Suufit recognized the hazard of endangering the comm system, it might be limited in its options to strike back.  Its anger already put it off balance.  Its overeating would slow it down and limit its endurance, not to mention making certain target areas more vulnerable to attack. 

All these advantages only opened a path to victory.  They did not offset Evgeny’s literal weakness: his relative physical strength.  Suufit could finish the fight with one well-placed strike or a successful grab and pull.  Once out of his corner, Evgeny could be smothered or crushed by Suufit’s bulk. 

Luuboh had disappeared.  While unlikely that it would assist either side, it might have wanted to witness the conflict.  Then again, it might prefer to stay out of harm’s way, both immediately during the brawl and shortly afterward, should Suufit have unspent rage remaining.  Gaalet certainly would have preferred to be elsewhere.

Evgeny was temporarily irrational enough not to share that urge.  The present danger was a welcome change from the previous days’ tense tedium.  He grinned in Human humor, not coincidentally reproducing one element of the Mauraug threat display.

Suufit worsened its position by overinterpreting Evgeny’s expression, overreacting to what it took as mockery.  It snarled and lunged forward into the workroom.  Carefully arranged wires and fasteners went flying as it bumped the table with its hip.

“Come on then, you fat idiot!” Evgeny taunted in earnest.  He would have preferred less simple insults, but his command of Mauraug was limited.  No surprise that Defense had avoided teaching trainees Mauraug vulgarities.

The childish barb worked well enough.  Suufit dove at Evgeny, attempting to trap him against the far wall.  Instead, the smaller Human simultaneously sidestepped, ducked, and put out a leg against Soloth’s foremost, supporting ankle.  It took most of Evgeny’s available strength, but he had judged the forces correctly.  Suufit’s foot shot out from beneath it, leaving its upper body with no support.  The heavy Mauraug fell forward, cracking its knees on the stone floor and dropping its head hard against the edge of Gaalet’s thin cot.

This injury alone was insufficient to put Suufit down.  Its anger drove it to try and rise.  As it put out its hands to push up from the bed frame, Evgeny stood.  He then leapt as high as the ceiling allowed, falling with knees bent and aimed for Suufit’s back.  He had to hope that some of the Mauraug’s internal organs were still organic and located in their original positions. 

This appeared to be the case.  At the least, Suufit did not have the benefit of Soloth’s reinforced spine.  Its back bent at an agonizing angle as Evgeny landed squarely below its ribcage.  It also lost its grip on the bed frame, and its head snapped back down to bounce against the mattress. 

With a horrifying retch, Suufit belched and then vomited up its ill-gotten gorge.  As much as he wanted to escape the disgusting sight – and smell – Evgeny remained astride the Mauraug’s heaving bulk.  He was merciful enough to let Suufit finish gagging.  Its abused body had rendered it unable to continue fighting for a few seconds.  However, when the eruptions stopped and Suufit started to show signs of recovery, Evgeny pushed again.

“Your judgment is poor.  You are unwise, Suufit bash’Topith.  Admit I am Dominant, both in mind and body.  Otherwise, your punishment continues.”

Suufit started to object, but its retort was cut off by literal bile.  It coughed and choked through another bout of vomiting.   Evgeny goaded by digging in his knees, punishing the thought of resistance even if the deed had been aborted.

“Gaalet bash’Rubesh is witness.  You cannot overcome me.  Should I call Luuboh bash’Gaulig to witness, also?”

Suufit managed to spit out, “No.  I yield.  Make the cursed…”  It was cut off again by heaving.

Not yet content to give up his physical position, Evgeny called over his shoulder to Gaalet, “Call Soloth.  Repeat exactly what we heard.  The Apostates may mistake it for their own message.  Let me hear any orders Soloth gives in response.”

To Evgeny’s relief, Gaalet did not offer its own challenge to his newly assumed authority.  It complied, broadcasting on the frequency Soloth had previously indicated to reach its own compad.  Gaalet relayed the Apostate message with nearly perfect conformity. 

There was no reply at first, leaving the three of them suspended in increasing physical and mental discomfort.  Almost a minute later, Soloth’s response grumbled through the speakers: “Message received.  Continue listening.  Wait for orders.”

Evgeny had hoped for a more active response from the Mauraug commander.  At the least, Soloth should be heading north at full speed.  Possibly, it was doing so but wanted to avoid broadcasting its location.  Evgeny actually wished it would have them abandon the outpost and join the scouting party.  His desire to check for survivors was surfacing from its enforced submersion.  He needed to know if his father and mother still lived. 

Likely the Mauraug also had family, friends, or at least colleagues they hoped to find alive.  Any individual’s survival was improbable, but not equally improbable.  Evgeny had reason to think his parents were slightly more likely to survive than most others.  The group's locations were also skewed toward New Gethsemane at the moment.  That was two points in favor of checking the Human settlement first.

Then Evgeny had a further revelation.  Soloth led by virtue of control over the only safe haven left on Locust IV following the Apostate attack.  It was Dominant over that site’s inhabitants by virtue of already being commander at the outpost.  If the Apostates were genuinely vacating the planet now, the need for a bolt hole was considerably reduced.  If Evgeny cared to gamble on the certainty of their enemy’s departure, he might make a case for disregarding Soloth’s authority.  He had given his submission only while he was in Mauraug territory.  No one said he had to stay there.

Granted, even if the Apostates did leave, deserting the outpost might still be problematic.  If the Apostates had stolen all the food supplies from both settlements, then this base was the only source of sustenance left.  Technically, his stolen Dominance gave Evgeny access to the storeroom’s ration supply, but abusing that privilege - as Suufit had - might force the Mauraug beta into a new confrontation.  For that matter, running away might prompt Suufit to recruit Gaalet and Luuboh to stop him… and once again, Wallace would be either a hostage or a millstone depending on whether Evgeny left him or brought him along. 

There was no good solution.  Therefore, Evgeny started thinking about evil solutions.

Climbing down from Suufit’s back, Evgeny stood a few feet away and prepared for a second round should his opponent choose to revisit their challenge.  Instead, Suufit remained prone, only adjusting itself into a slightly less uncomfortable position.  It breathed shallowly, trying to steady its bruised nerves.

“Get up,” Evgeny ordered, testing his newly won authority, “Go to the bunk room and clean up.  I assume you do not want another challenge right away, so obey me for now.  Rest and think about your mistakes.”

Suufit stared hatred at him, but indeed did not want to risk further pain so soon.  It staggered from the workroom and across the central area toward its bunk.  Evgeny could not see or hear a sign of Luuboh’s presence; the omega continued to keep itself conveniently absent.

This absence was convenient not only for Luuboh, but also Evgeny.  As his last gambit, Evgeny turned to Gaalet.

“Gaalet, I will take over monitoring duties now.  You will guard outside.  If you see Luuboh, notify it about the Apostates’ departure, Soloth’s orders, and my claim of Dominance.  Tell it to make Wallace Harmon ready to travel on short notice, if necessary.”

Evgeny’s reading of Gaalet proved correct.  The emotionally disabled Mauraug chose to obey without question, preferring to avoid confrontation in the currently uncertain situation.  It might have fought back if approached differently, but Evgeny’s solid assumption of command and clearly stated orders gave it an easy escape from distress.

Once Gaalet had exited the room, Evgeny plugged in earbuds and ‘monitor’ the comm system without making it audible to the others.  He then quickly located the components necessary for transmission and disconnected a small, inobvious, but vitally necessary wire.  Now, any attempted broadcast from the comm would fail, hopefully without anyone’s realization.

Evgeny counted out five long minutes under his breath.  He was already going to stretch credibility tight.  No reason to push it any further.  Then he spoke aloud into the microphone: “Understood.  We will depart immediately.” 

He did not need to speak loudly.  Sound carried easily in the tight quarters.  Evgeny, himself, could easily hear Suufit stirring in the other room.  Luuboh finally appeared, showing at the doorway.

“I heard your instructions earlier,” Luuboh confessed, “but have not had time to see to Wallace.  I will prepare it right away.” 

The small Mauraug turned away to attend to that matter.  Evgeny was nonplussed by its easy acceptance of the change in hierarchy.  He supposed that, from the bottom, it was used to seeing every set of hindquarters as interchangeable.  That, or Luuboh might be getting what it wanted: escape.  Outside of the outpost, in the wilds of an untamed planet, it was at least less compressed by a stack of superiors.  There were also fewer floors to scrub out there… though the need for its talents at shelter and food preparation was greater.  Luuboh’s value rose along with the difficulty of survival without it, hence its relative comfort in a Spartan outpost on a colony planet.  In the wilds, it would be even more indispensable. 

Evgeny continued to play through his ruse.  He next went up the stairs to the exit door and cycled the passage open.  There stood Gaalet, watching the landscape through viewports in the outer stone door. 

“Soloth called back,” he informed it, “We are to meet at New Gethsemane at our fastest speed.  Come collect supplies and prepare packs for four of us to carry, with food for a fifth distributed among us.”

At this order, Gaalet did balk: “Why me and not Luuboh?”

Evgeny snapped back, “Because it is busy with the medical care I ordered… which orders you failed to relay.  Because it can handle that duty and you cannot.  Because I told you to.  Do you have another foolish question?”

He was deliberately manipulating Gaalet now, implying failures the Mauraug had not committed, pressing it to either obey or argue each point with him.  Of course, any argument would count as a further misdeed.  Evgeny, unlike Suufit or Soloth, understood that an unspoken threat of punishment sometimes works better than a specific ultimatum, especially when the victim already wants to avoid trouble.

Gaalet dropped its gaze and its hands in surrender and turned to re-enter the outpost.  Evgeny followed and shadowed the Mauraug until it entered the supply room.  He then strode to the adjacent door. 

He did his best to loom in the doorway, which for him was oversized.  Suufit bash’Topith was inside, stretched out on its bunk, a sheet domed over its shivering gut.  It looked up as Evgeny stopped.

“No time for recovery.  You can walk.  Get up, dress, and get a pack from Gaalet.  Soloth orders us to meet it at New Gethsemane.  We only have a brief time to scavenge the area before others arrive.  It wants all available sapients present to search.”

Suufit stood, slowly but more steadily than before.  It rumbled, “I do not believe you.  This is too convenient for you.  You wanted to go there already.  Now you falsify your own orders.  I will stay here… with your beaten comrade.”

“Gaalet!” Suufit bellowed, “If you are wise, you will ignore this false but lucky Human.  It only Dominates for a moment.  If you follow it, you will suffer for your mistake.  Possibly, you will die.”

“Oh?” Evgeny asked in mockery, “Am I lucky, or are you unbalanced, in both mind and body?  I did not want to involve myself in Mauraug social arrangements, but you forced me to act.  Think about the wager you are proposing.  I was right before.  If you had remained Dominant, you would have suffered for failing Soloth.  Now, I am Dominant.  If you are right, and I am wrong, then by leaving you properly obey me… and the fault for disobeying Soloth is mine alone.  But if you are wrong, and stay, you disobey both me and Soloth… you will be twice doomed.”

Any decent diplomat should have been able to sweep aside this screen of slanted fast talk.  Evgeny was counting on Luuboh’s characterization of Suufit: a spoiled child of privilege, an embarrassment stuck on Locust IV and given a sinecure command.  If he was any sort of qualified politician, he could shut down Evgeny’s con.

Instead, Suufit only continued to resist out of surliness and wounded pride.  It shifted from foot to foot for a few seconds, unwilling to concede but also unable to form a stronger argument.  Finally, it flared its nostrils in evident disgust: at Evgeny, at itself, and at their relative positions.

“Your fault alone,” it begrudged.  “We go to the settlement and nowhere else… and if Soloth is not there, we return.”

“When you get the strength to challenge me again, you can set conditions,” Evgeny rebuked him loudly.  “For now, do as I say, quickly and without trouble.  ‘The truly Dominant never explains and never apologizes.’”

Suufit bent its head and lowered its shoulders as it turned to pick up its gear.  Then it turned and fixed Evgeny with a squinted eye.

“I do not recall that saying of Sha’Bahn,” Suufit mused.

Evgeny smiled back with condescension.  “That is because it comes from a Human Prophet: Sha’Nuuayn.”

Escape from Grace - Chapter 6

            The second day of captivity started much the same as the first.  Evgeny, Mikala, and Luuboh woke, washed, and cooked.  Soloth, Suufit, and Voshtig left immediately afterward to patrol.  The Humans began cleanup. 

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.”