Quest for Freedom Page 20

  The E’treuns concluded that the soldiers used the star maps from the rockdome to locate populated planets. Originally, the maps were used to locate uninhabited worlds for gem processing and trade centers, but the Morgee revolt put an abrupt stop to those plans.

  Legends stated that ancient gods had colonized the nearby worlds, creating sister planets and peoples. The stories the translators told fascinated Janai, because they explained the similarities among all the races. Of course, the modern E’treuns thought of the gods as simply an ancient race with space travel technology, if the legends were true at all. But to primitive E’treuns, they would certainly have seemed god-like.

  Janai’s heart raced with excitement that the Morgee might be dying out. As a healer, it was against her teachings to wish harm on others but she couldn’t help herself. The thought of freedom for all the slaves pushed her healing instincts back where the huge, unfeeling aliens were concerned. She practically danced out of the last meeting with the thought that the recent scarcity of soldiers around the free-zone and in the rockdome meant the beings had no way to repair themselves. Or to procreate.

  “You seem in a good mood, Healer,” a voice said, bringing Janai back from fantasies about the Morgee’s demise.

  She turned to her Aknidean friend. “Just a little daydreaming, Vala.” She slipped her hand into Ash’s.

  Vala’s yellow eyes studied her. “We’ll bust’em up.” She widened her eyes slightly.

  Janai laughed, amazed at how many times her friend had caught her off guard with remarks like that one. Vala seemed so serious and her physical appearance intimidated many of the children who didn’t know her very well. When she said something that seemed completely out of character, Janai couldn’t help laughing, partly at Vala’s expression and partly at other’s reactions to the girl. Ash was chuckling, too, when Blal’k and Pethe joined them.

  Blal’k blinked his vertical eyelids. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. Let’s eat.”

  “I’m starved,” Pethe said. The girl had finally gotten some rest and the dark rings around her eyes were lighter now.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in the kitchen, old one?” Vala said to the Ronarian.

  He turned to her, looking as though he were about to give a tongue-lashing, then his face softened. “Very funny, Vala. You should get a comedy act together. We could use the entertainment.”

  She simply shrugged as the group made their way, chuckling, to the eating chamber. Once again, dinner shifts were over and the group was eating late. After retrieving their plates from the service counter, they sat on the stone benches near the end of one of the long tables. Ash sat on Janai’s left and Vala on her right. Blal’k and Pethe took seats across from her.

  “Better eat as much as you can, now,” Blal’k said. “We’ll be living on roots and grasses soon.”

  Janai made a face. “Don’t remind me.” She gave him a sideways look. “But we’ll have you to cook all those jumpers Vala’s going to kill for us.”

  “In the kitchen, as usual,” Vala said.

  “Would you rather have Janai do the cooking?” Blal’k asked her. A round of no’s sprang up at the table.

  “Hey,” Janai said. “I’ll have you know I make a mean pain tea.”

  Blal’k blinked at her, “We’ll need it if we have to eat your cooking.” The others laughed.

  “Very funny. I guess you’d better not do anything stupid like get yourself killed then.”

  Her last comment reminded them of the seriousness of the coming mission and they continued their meal with small talk about the weather and other insignificant things.

  ****

  Janai tossed and turned all night and the next morning she felt agitated. Only one more day in the free-zone before the mission. Today they would pack and chart the runners’ drop off. Janai wished she didn’t have to leave. She felt safe here. If only there were someone to take her place.

  Nerves knotted her stomach but she pulled herself out of bed and headed to the large bathroom. Pethe was in the bath when she arrived, along with several younger girls. Self-pity doesn’t look good on you, Janai chided herself when she saw Pethe’s face. Despite appearing rested last night, Pethe looked tired this morning. The other Kritine girl had lost two rescued friends. Janai undressed and got into the bath.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she said, once she realized the girl had been crying.

  Pethe turned to her. “Yes. I do.”

  Janai nodded her understanding, and the two bathed silently to the sound of chittering younger girls. After getting dressed, they made their way to breakfast, and Janai tied her damp hair behind her head as they walked down the dimly lit corridor.

  “About time, you two,” Ash called when they entered the eating chamber. “You girls must be the cleanest beings in all the free-zone.” He smiled, but Janai could see the worry behind his eyes.

  Divia was here with a few of the other elders and she stood. “Can I have your attention, please?” She waited for silence before continuing. “Tonight we’re going to have a celebration for our Freedom Team. They’ll be leaving at dark tomorrow night and the other elders and I thought it would be a nice idea to have everyone together before they go.”

  In case we don’t come back. And this was just the first phase of this mission. Ash squeezed her hand.

  “A party?” someone cried.

  Divia smiled. “Yes.”

  Cheers rose throughout the eating chamber, and Janai’s ears rang at the sound of metallic utensils tapping the stone tables. After a few moments, the sounds died back to their normal levels. But there was excitement in the voices now and energy in the room. An arm draped around her shoulders and she turned a worried face to her promised one. He forced a smile and brushed a stray curl from her face.

  ****

  “Janai! Janai!” Tish, Penny and Krav’n called in unison. She heard them above the noisy, party voices and turned to see the little trio weaving through the others toward her.

  Krav’n wrapped arms around her waist. “Come and dance with us.” She placed a hand on his head ridges.

  “You, too, Ash,” Tish said, as she and Penny each grabbed hold of one of his hands and pulled him to the open space that had been reserved for dancing.

  Blal’k, Pethe and Vala were already there. Janai gave a surprised look to Vala.

  “What?” the Aknidean girl said. “You think I can’t dance?” Vala had danced at her birthday celebrations and Janai smiled.

  A group of children had turned several benches, bowls and utensils into instruments and played upbeat music with them. Janai guessed them to be trainees of the E’treun artists and she marveled at their talents. Her family had never been talented in the musical department and she wondered what it was like to have that gift.

  Everyone laughed, danced, ate, and celebrated until they were near exhaustion. It was late as Janai and her friends sat around the stone tables, talking softly amongst themselves. The guardians had hauled most of the little ones off to bed earlier in the night. Janai had smiled at the sleepy protests from the younger children. Krav’n sat dozing in her lap as she caressed his webbed fingers. The two little Earth girls sat on either side of Ash and leaned, droopy-eyed, against his arms.

  “First light is approaching,” Divia said, walking toward them. “You should get some rest before nightfall.” The elderly woman motioned to the three younger children. “Their guardians are ready to take them to the sleep chambers.”

  Janai Krav’n’s hairless, head ridges. “We’ll put them to bed.” The sleeping boy snuggled against her and she smiled down at him.

  “All right.” Divia narrowed eyes on her. “But don’t take too long. You need your rest.”

  Janai wanted this moment to last. Each time they ventured beyond the free-zone, they risked not coming back, and she felt a brief pang of anger at Divia for that reminder.

  32 ~ The Quest Begins

  At nightfall, after tearful good-by
es, the Freedom Team boarded the ground transport. Ash and Vala took their places at the control panel. Janai and Blal’k sat with the others, waiting their turn to drive. The E’treun mechanics had equipped the transport with a steering light, so they could make their way over the rough terrain even with no moons in the night sky. The light was dim enough not to attract unwanted attention.

  The ancestors purposely limited the Morgee’s vision in darkness, making it extremely difficult for them to function at night. Divia had guessed this was for safety reasons because her ancestors slept during the dark hours. Since the Morgee used the ground crafts, they’d only run in daylight. In the past. Now, things are different.

  The transport jerked at first then the two drivers got the thing moving smoothly into the night. The tension inside the small craft permeated Janai’s bones. They would attempt to steal another transport. The large ships the Morgee used for space travel couldn’t maneuver on the ground and remained at a docking station in orbit above the planet. If the Freedom Team could get all six ground transports, the soldiers would have a very difficult, if not impossible, time getting to the carrier ship in the mountains.

  The larger space ships the Morgee used to raid the other worlds had been used for transportation to the moons when the original mining began, and Janai was impressed they still worked after all these centuries. She fantasized about getting on one of the spaceships and taking everyone home. She still missed her parents, but after five cycles away from them, her hope of seeing them again waned. The Morgee killed many parents during the raids. A lump formed in her throat and she pushed the thought of her mother and father back into her memory. She couldn’t afford the distraction.

  Don’t torture yourself, Ash’s mental voice said, breaking through her thoughts.

  I’m all right. “Just keep your mind on what you’re going.” She hid a slight smile and the others gave her a curious look.

  Vala scanned the group. “You’ll get used to those two.” The girl’s earflaps shifted, indicating she listened for distant sounds. “They rarely make sense. Except to themselves.” She gave a sly, almost indistinguishable, smile to Janai then turned back to the illusion window and her control panel.

  “You just pay attention to your driving.” Janai heard a snicker to her left and turned a raised eyebrow to Pethe. “You have something to add?”

  Pethe cleared her throat. “Me?” She twirled a lock of white hair around her finger. “No, ma’am. Of course not.”

  “Uh-huh.” Janai gave the girl a sideways look.

  “Healer?” a voice said.

  She turned to a younger Sitopan boy seated across from her, a runner. His race was fairly new to the planet, and she’d only met a few of them over the past year. With his race’s ability to see in the dark, he was a treasured addition. He didn’t seem amused by the previous exchange. “Yes?”

  “Are we going to beat the Morgee?” His pink eyes were serious and he had all three of his hands folded in his lap, wringing them together.

  The boy’s question brought Janai back to the seriousness of the situation and she stole a glance at the front of the craft. “We’re certainly going to try. And we’ll keep trying until we bring them down.” She said this partly to convince herself.

  Her words seemed to comfort the boy and he relaxed a bit. He looked young, too young. Then she reminded herself that she was his age when the Morgee brought her to this planet and forced her to labor in the gemstone tunnels. She’d survived and others would survive, too.

  The Freedom Team rehearsed their plans during the next hour or so while the transport slowly made its way around the backside of the mountains and toward the camps. A much longer trek than going to the dome. Janai’s backside was getting numb from sitting on the hard bench and she suggested the drivers switch. Vala and Ash halted the craft for Janai and Blal’k to take over. The drivers’ seats were ratted and only slightly cushioned but felt more comfortable than the benches. The others removed their straps and stood to stretch during the change of drivers.

  “I see,” Janai threw over her shoulder, “why you two didn’t offer to exchange seats with us.” The torn cushioned seat cradled her backside and she settled into her new role.

  Blal’k smirked. “I say we do the driving from now on.”

  “Keep dreaming, old one,” Vala shot back.

  Ash and Janai snickered. The transport jerked into motion as Blal’k and Janai got the thing moving across the terrain again.

  Another hour or so passed before they were at the first drop and the drivers switched again.

  Janai helped the two runners with their packs. “Be careful. You have the map, heat distributors, weapons, and healing herbs?” Freedom Team members knew simple herbal remedies and basic first aid, Divia made sure of that. The Sitopan boy and Earth girl nodded. Janai escorted them to the area for lowering. They both looked so young and her heart ached for them. “Luck be with you.”

  They kept their eyes on her as long as possible, while the transport tube lowered them to the ground. The drivers waited until the two runners were at a safe distance from the craft before moving on.

  Another couple of miles, they deposited the next two runners. After that, the first group of rescuers went down. The transport continued on, with almost complete silence from its passengers. They took the rest of the night getting people to their destinations. First light was approaching.

  Janai turned the transport back toward the cavern hideaway in the base of the mountains. Her group was here during the first mission to the free-zone but couldn’t figure out how to open the cave room from the outside. The button triggers were cleverly disguised as a small stone and a fallen leaf. The two needed to be pressed together for the opening to appear. This hideout was large enough to house the Freedom Team and their ship. Once off the transport, the group unpacked and settled in. The gold, cylindrical thing hovered silently near the entrance.

  Janai paced around the cavern, trying to shake off the numbness that had taken over her limbs. She took comfort in the illusion pictures that adorned the walls and was still amazed at the lifelike appearances of the artwork.

  The red-eyed, fanged creatures, which resembled what Penny and Tish called “big ugly dogs”, were actually friendly and frequently visited the free-zone during their migrations. There had even been incidents where a night caller had protected a group of children on their escape to freedom. They were no match for the spiny, flesh-eating snappers, but they were a formidable foe to the poisonous, slithering crawlers that seemed to be abundant on the planet. They had even shared their dens with escaping slaves. Something about the Morgee repelled the night callers, and the animals avoided areas when soldiers were present. A clue for the children to do the same.

  Blal’k used heat rocks to cook the food he’d brought with him. They would do night rescues and head back to the cavern before first light. They wanted to get as many children as possible out of the area before they attempted raids on the rockdome. The hot food would last a couple of days, then they would eat jumper jerky, roots, sour-grasses, and some hybrid, dry fruits from the free-zone the rest of the time. They’d brought plenty of water and had a source in the cavern itself, since it encompassed part of a natural stream.

  Janai took comfort in the gurgling sound as the waters passed through the cavern. Strong arms wrap around her shoulders from behind as Ash planted a kiss on her ear, making her hormones dance. She giggled and squirmed her way around to face him. “Stop that,” she chided.

  He laughed and gave her another kiss, on the mouth this time. He pulled away, looking satisfied. “We should look at the map again. Before we settle in for sleep.”

  She rubbed a tiny smudge from his cheek then pulled the map from a hidden pocket in the breast of her jumpsuit. The group studied the map and discussed the next night’s plans while eating their meal. When the bulb fruit bowls were cleaned and stacked to dry, they washed up for bed.

  Janai lay on her sleep skin and looked over at As
h. I hope this works.

  Me, too.

  She fell asleep to the memory of his handsome face.

  33 ~ Rescues

  The Freedom Team spent the next few nights picking up weary refugees, patching the injured, and transporting them back to the free-zone. Morgee still patrolled the rockdome, so the Freedom Team hid in a nearby area behind some trees. Since the transport could travel through the invisible fencing, the group could get the runaways safely across the dome area. But that seemed to be the easy part. The difficult mission was yet to come.

  Now that they had most of the Freedom Team accounted for, they could begin the raid on the dome. Most, not all. They’d lost a couple of friends to snappers. Janai shivered at the thought of the spiny, eye-less creatures that literally chewed a victim to death and had the ability to re-grow a severed body. The Morgee captured another leader when he attempted to distract a soldier near the dome, but his group escaped.

  After a day’s rest and a welcomed hot meal, the Freedom Team stocked up on supplies at the free-zone, said their good-byes once again, and headed out. They had little trouble getting to the second hideout in the mountains. This one was closer to the rockdome and almost identical to the first. They would be dropped off in the woods near the dome and proceed on foot from there.

  The two left in charge of driving the transport for pickup would hide in the mountain cavern until summoned. Pethe remained behind as a driver, along with an Aknidean boy, and Ash would call on her when they needed the ship for escape. With his sensitive hearing, the Aknidean boy with Pethe would be able to warn her of any approaching danger.