Quest for Freedom Read online

  Janai led the ground team with ample light from the two large waning moons. The third and smallest could not be seen. Eerie shadows danced along their path as a slight breeze rustled through the trees. Dampness was in the air and she breathed in the scent of wet greenery. The familiar energy rumbling was always louder near the rockdome. They had several hours until first light, but that wouldn’t matter once they were inside. The bright lights there would put them in danger of Morgee soldiers, despite the time of day.

  She had to concentrate to keep her heart rate steady. She let a hand drift to the light-fire weapon secured around her waist. Her sinsabe hung next to the crescent weapon and she sighed at the thought that she carried instruments of destruction and healing together.

  She heard Ash’s words in her head. Someday, this will be over, and you’ll be only a healer.

  “I know.” She looked at her promised one, forced a smile, and adjusted the small pack on her shoulders.

  As they got within sight of the dome, they went over instructions one last time and Ash kept Pethe informed. They were after weapons this time. They were useless against the Morgee without them.

  “All right,” Janai said once they reached the dome entrance. “You all know where to go and what to do.” She drew her weapon and the others mirrored her. “Be careful and stay out of sight.” Her last statement wasn’t needed, since no one wanted to be captured, but she couldn’t help herself. Her healer and protective instincts seemed to be exaggerated whenever the Morgee were nearby. The others simply nodded, and she took a deep breath to steady her trembling nerves. “Let’s go.”

  Ash triggered the slab entrance to open and the large group entered almost single file into the tiny room. The rumbling became only a soft hum when the entrance closed behind them. They proceeded down the tunnel. Once they reached the cylinder room, they split up into several groups and went through other doorways revealed to them by the E’treuns. Some of the Morgee were in the recharging cylinders, so they would only be a threat if released.

  How many? Janai sent to Ash.

  His eyes became unfocused for an instant. Only two.

  Ash, Vala and Blal’k stayed with Janai and they crossed into the hidden tunnel near the lighted panel. The dome was quiet except for the familiar hum and this made Janai nervous. Very nervous. What it they walked into a trap? She shoved that thought away before Ash could even respond. They followed the tunnel to the room with the shower cylinders and searched for a hidden panel the elders had told them about. This panel would reveal another opening, leading to a holding cell for children waiting for transport to the slave camps.

  “I found it,” Blal’k said in a loud whisper. Janai and the others followed him through the doorway, which closed behind them.

  Vala shifted an earflap. “Where are the captives?”

  The large room was empty, except for a couple of benches, and smelled of the sweet liquid the Morgee used to drug the children during travel. Janai’s stomach turned at the scent and she swallowed hard. Ash looked sick as well.

  Suddenly, there was a noise behind them, beyond the entrance. Without a word, they crossed into the next tunnel that would keep them hidden from the Morgee. They watched as a single soldier entered the holding cell and retrieved a small cylinder from the far corner of the room. He then left.

  With effort, Janai pushed away panic and led her group through the tunnel to the next chamber, one of the ancient E’treuns’ living areas. As they rounded the last turn, she stopped abruptly.

  What is it? Ash sent as he bumped into her.

  Through the protective wall that allowed them to see into the room, Janai counted numerous adolescents and young adults. All too large to fit into the narrow digging tunnels. Several E’treun beds lined the walls. A child cried and a young Ronarian woman turned in her direction. Janai gasped. The woman was holding an infant. A young man made his way to the woman’s side and embraced both. Three others had infants and toddlers near them.

  Janai’s heart raced and her face grew hot with rage as realization hit her like a Morgee fist. She cursed. The soldiers didn’t kill the older children they took from the camps. They were breeding them to create more slaves! Ash squeezed her shoulder as he mentally told her he was sending the information to Bast, the E’treun messenger who acted as his guardian.

  The familiar steady clinking of Morgee boots made Janai’s hair rise. At first, the sound was muffled. Then a doorway appeared at the far side of the living chambers and a young, blonde Earth girl, wearing a necklace of gemstones, entered the room, followed by two Morgee soldiers.

  Janai’s heart leapt into her throat. Sarah.

  The girl had survived. She’d recently entered adolescence and had grown tall since Janai had last seen her on the day the Morgee took her. Some children could have babies at the young ages of thirteen or fourteen Earth years, but why would they need Sarah with all of the older ones that were available? Janai shot a puzzled and worried look to the others. Her hidden group watched in silence as Sarah stepped forward and the others cowered, huddling their little families close.

  Sarah walked up to the Ronarian woman with the infant. “Where is he?” When she didn’t get an answer, she looked briefly at the soldiers then slapped the young woman hard across the face. “I said where is he?” The woman simply bent her head and cradled her now wailing infant. “Search the room.”

  Janai’s stomach knotted and she nearly fell over when the Morgee followed the girl’s orders. They were also learning the children’s languages, something they’d never shown an interest for in the past. The Freedom Team looked at one another, and Janai suspected they were all thinking the same thing.

  Soon, one of the soldiers pulled a squirming child from a panel underneath one of the beds. He appeared about four cycles old, almost the same age Krav’n had been when Janai rescued his camp.

  “Mommy! Daddy!” the boy cried in his Ronarian tongue.

  “No!” the young woman yelled. She and her mate started after the boy but one of the soldiers held them back. Janai stiffened.

  Sarah flicked her hand. “Take the brat to the camp.” She turned on her heel and followed the two soldiers out.

  The young Ronarian couple collapsed in each other’s arms, crying along with their infant. Janai seethed with anger. How can Sarah turn on us like that? She’d been in the camps. She knew what life was like there. What is the idiot girl doing? And why are the Morgee following her? Janai stood stunned for a moment.

  “We have to get them away from here,” Vala said.

  The Aknidean girl’s voice jolted her from indecision and she began to think rationally again. Ash’s comforting hand on her shoulder sent a wave of strength through her. There was another hidden panel in the living quarters. She wondered why these people hadn’t found at least one of them and attempted to escape. She sucked in a deep breath, pulled to full height, shifted her pack, and placed a hand on the doorway. Janai waited while the illusion shivered away to reveal her hidden group. One of the young adults gasped when he saw her, and she put a finger to her lips then motioned for them to follow. The little families glanced nervously over their shoulders to the doorway where Sarah and the others had gone.

  “It’s all right,” Janai said. “We’re here to help. Come with us and we’ll get you out of here.”

  “We can’t,” a young Earth man said. “They’ll kill the others if we leave.”

  An Earth girl, small, but about Janai’s age, stepped forward. “They have my brother. The leader said she’d have him killed if I try to escape.” This girl didn’t have any children around her and Janai wondered if she was recently taken from the camps.

  The girl’s words finally penetrated her thoughts. “The leader?”

  “That blonde girl with the Morgee is their leader. She’s been giving speeches and gathering followers from the older kids in the camps. If they refuse, she locks them up. We refused to follow her orders, so she put us here. There are others being held somewhere
in this place. The leader moved in a couple of days ago. I think it’s so she can watch us.” She motioned to the area where Janai’s group had just come through. “We know about these tunnels but we can’t leave or she’ll know.”

  Vala stepped toward the doorway. “Where are the others?”

  “Still in the camps. Some of them. Others are here somewhere.”

  “They took my son.” The young Ronarian man who’d been cradling the woman and infant stood tall. He was fighting tears.

  Blal’k uttered something under his breath and Janai turned to him. “I can’t believe Sarah would do such a thing, Janai. They must be threatening her.” He blinked several times and his voice was almost pleading. “She would never do this on her own.”

  Janai remembered how hurt and depressed Blal’k had been when soldiers re-captured Sarah. The two had been like siblings and he’d taken her disappearance very hard. “Sarah’s been gone a long time, Blal’k. We don’t know what’s happened to her. But right now we have to get these people out of here.”

  “We’re not going with you,” the Ronarian man said, flatly. “Not until the others are safe.”

  Janai studied the slightly older group and understood that they meant to stay. She wouldn’t risk Krav’n’s life for her own freedom.

  “Please,” the Earth girl said. “Find my brother and the others and get them to freedom, then you can come back for us. The soldiers won’t hurt us as long as we do what we’re told.” She made her way to Janai and placed hands on her shoulders. “Please.” Her brown eyes were moist and pleading.

  Janai swallowed her frustration and gave the girl an understanding look. “What about the children?” She motioned to the little ones.

  The Earth girl dropped her hands and shook her head. “They have to stay here.” Then she gave Janai a hopeful look. “The Morgee won’t take them until they’re older. They’re no good in the mines right now.”

  She’s right, Ash sent. They’ll probably be safer here for the time being. He placed a hand on Janai’s shoulder. We’ll come back for them.

  “We’ll be back for you. For all of you.” Janai sent them a comforting thought and bit back the anger that was rising in her chest.

  “I know.” The girl’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Freedom Team.” She held her head up. “Yes, we know who you are. You’re famous in the camps.” There was a noise behind the door. “You have to hurry.” She ushered Janai’s group through the other hidden doorway.

  Janai and her team watched as the doorway shivered into illusion behind them. A Morgee soldier entered the living chamber and placed a large tray of food on a table then turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

  The Earth girl turned toward the hidden panel and smiled wearily, revealing crooked teeth. She mouthed the words, “Good luck.”

  34 ~ A New Generation

  The Freedom Team crept through the tunnel, leaving the others behind. As they rounded the next corner, Vala stopped and extended her earflaps.

  “What is it?” Janai said quietly.

  “Voices ahead, in the next room.”

  Ash pulled the rockdome map from the hidden, breast pocket in his jumpsuit and flattened it out on the floor. The others crouched near him. “That’s another holding chamber.” He pointed to a small area on the map. “There should be children here.”

  Vala shifted her earflaps. Janai studied the girl’s face and pulled herself from the cold floor. Ash put the map away and the team headed toward the next illusion doorway.

  They stopped a couple of feet away, the illusion transparent from this side, and stood quietly observing. Ash had been right. There were six children ranging in age from about twelve to fifteen Earth years. Though they were young, they were tall, some almost fully grown. Grown enough to have trouble squeezing into the small tunnels at the dig sites. Some huddled in the corners, talking too softly for Janai to hear, while others sat on the benches. Their jumpsuits were clean and they appeared to be well fed.

  The far doorway opened and Sarah entered. Her gemstone necklace glimmered in the artificial light. A Morgee soldier stopped near her. This soldier wore gold insignia on his helmet, something Janai had never seen in the past. She had never seen him before, either. At least, not that she remembered. But she knew the insignia. The free-zone elders wore it, a wavy pattern with a line running diagonally through the center. It roughly translated as friendship, or cooperation, something modern E’treuns cherished.

  “My friends.” Sarah returned a smile that sent a chill through Janai. The girl motioned to the soldier standing next to her. “We feel you’re ready for your first mission to the camps.” The lilt in her voice reminded Janai of the times Sarah had told stories during their escape. “You’ve had food and rest and seem to be strong enough now. We’re pleased with your training. You’ll make fine soldiers.”

  What? Ash winced at the force of that thought and Janai sent an apology.

  “Your gear is ready,” Sarah continued. “There’s a transport waiting in the docking room.” Her blue eyes scanned the group of children. “It will take you to your assigned camps. You’ll be paid in gemstones at the end of each day. That way you can purchase shelter and extra food for yourselves and any siblings you have.”

  “Where are they now?” one of the children asked.

  “Don’t worry, my friend. Your younger brothers and sisters are taken care of. They’ll be allowed to join you in your chambers when you return from the camps. And as long as you work for me, they’ll be free from the mines.” She motioned for the others to follow and left the room.

  Janai watched silently as the room emptied in front of her and the far doorway closed. She turned to the others. “They’re turning children into soldiers?”

  Vala focused yellow eyes on her and relaxed her earflaps slightly. “They’re not all devoted to Sarah. I heard some of them talking about helping slave diggers escape. They joined so they could get access to the camps.”

  Janai studied her Aknidean friend for a moment. “And the others?”

  “From what I can tell? They are followers. They believe in what Sarah’s doing.”

  “And just what is she doing?” Janai stomach tightened when Vala shrugged.

  “I’ve sent the information to Bast,” Ash said.

  Blal’k had a stricken look on his face, his green skin pale, and Janai placed a hand on her Ronarian friend’s shoulder. “We’ll find out what’s going on.” She sent him a calming thought. She didn’t know what else she could do for him. Emotional pain was something she could not heal with her mind gift. He and Sarah had been close and this had to be hard on him. Janai turned back to the empty room and sighed. “What a mess.”

  “We have to get out of here before first light.” Vala shifted her small pack.

  “Where to next?”

  Ash was already studying the map. “This tunnel, then through the next holding chambers and into the weapons room. I don’t think there’ll be any soldiers to worry about. I sense them mainly near the captives’ chambers and in the regeneration room.” He ran a hand through his white hair.

  “All right, let’s go,” Janai ordered. “We’ll take any children we can, but I don’t want to risk others being killed. We’ll have wait about Sarah, until we know how many followers she has and what exactly she’s up to.” Her stomach tightened at the thought of the girl turning to the Morgee side.

  They quietly made their way through the tunnel and the empty holding chamber and stopped near the illusion door that led into the weapons room. The group scanned the room, while Ash used his messenger talents.

  “All clear,” he finally said.

  Janai triggered the illusion door and they crept to the bins where the light-fire weapons were stored. They found about two dozen of the black, crescent shaped objects, and in a matter of seconds, secured them in their packs. The next tunnel doorway was just across the room from them and they headed in that direction. Vala stiffened.

  “Morge
e?” Janai said.

  “No,” Vala and Ash answered in unison.

  Janai heard a noise outside the room, and the group scrambled to the illusion doorway and into the tunnel. They stood silently on the other side, while the protective wall shivered back into existence. Three adolescents entered the room and searched the bins for weapons that were no longer there.

  A Sitopan boy squinted at the brightness. “Are you sure this is the right room?” His veins rippled underneath the nearly transparent skin of his skull. He had bandages on two of his three arms.

  “Of course,” an Earth girl said. “Maybe Friend Sarah was wrong.”

  “Well,” the third one, an Earth boy, said. “We’d better find the weapons or she’ll have our hides. She’s edgy today. Or hadn’t you noticed?”

  “Oh, I noticed. We all noticed.” She held up one of the Sitopan boy’s bandaged arms. “He noticed up close.”

  The Earth boy muttered something and the trio left the room. Janai’s heart hammered in her chest.

  “Sarah’s out of control,” Vala said with a trace of irritation in her voice. Her earflaps pressed back against her head and her broad shoulders stiffened.

  “Yes, she is.” Blal’k’s vertical eyelids had narrowed to slits, and he had a determined look on his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before, Healer. Even if the Morgee were threatening her, she shouldn’t be doing these things to the other children.”

  Janai placed a hand briefly on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, too.” A flood of guilt washed through her as the memory of Sarah’s re-capture played in her mind.

  Then she heard her promised one’s mental voice. Don’t, Janai.

  She pushed the guilt away, turned to Ash, and caught the unfocused look of communication in his eyes.

  “We have to go,” he finally said aloud.

  They followed him through the tunnel and into another empty holding chamber. Janai stopped when she heard a noise. The others froze.