“Yes,” she told Osipa. “Your babies are doing wonderfully.”
With an exasperated snort Paula walked away and only avoided bumping into Thalia by dint of much wriggling and contortionist-like movements.
“You okay?’ queried Thalia, laughingly putting out a helping hand to steady her.
“No I’m not,” said Paula. She made up her mind. “Thalia, may I talk to you for a minute? In private.”
She drew Thalia away into a dark corner of the cave. There she told her about her suspicions.
“I’m glad you came to me,” said Thalia once Paula’s narrative had wound to a close. “Artem’s out there with Hael looking for evidence that one of you has left a trail for the enemy soldiers to follow.”
“Their correct name is paratrooper but we usually just call them soldiers. Them and us. Soldiers and rebels - simple.”
“You sure you’re not from Stronghold? Stronghold is what our headquarters on Tak is called. Artem calls the enemy ‘them’ too.”
“I’m sure he does,” laughed Paula. “And I think I would have known if I came from this place you call Stronghold. Is it different than these doms I hear people talking about?”
“This is a dom,” explained Thalia. “It’s a temporary domta, the home of a rtath, a pack home. Stronghold is something else entirely.”
“Stronghold is your home, isn’t it?”
As she rattled on, telling Paula about the differences between doms and domtas, Thalia was wondering if she could truly, really, trust Paula. She liked her but she was getting so confused with this ‘who is the spy’ thing she was beginning to feel she could trust nobody.
: You can : Josei informed her.
: Why? :
: Because Slei says you can :
Thalia blinked.
: Slei … and Paula? :
: Stranger vadeln-pairings have happened in the past. We’ve vadeln-paired with princesses, professors and thieves, even a murderer or two :
: Does she realise? :
: Not yet so don’t say anything. Slei wants it to be a surprise :
: It’ll be a surprise all right. They don’t even know you’re all telepathic yet but tell him I won’t say a thing. I’d like to be there when it happens though :
“Right Paula,” she said. “Tancred or George? Mikey thinks George and I tend to agree with him. What do you know about George?”
* * * * *
Artem, Hael and their Lind arrived back to find Thalia and Paula deep in conversation at the cave entrance. The returning four had matching grim faces.
Artem didn’t need say anything. He merely nodded in Thalia’s direction.
Paula burst into silent tears, distraught that a person she trusted would have betrayed them.
Artem was brought up to date with all the news, including, via the telepathic link between his Larya and Josei, Slei’s surprising declaration and the fact that it was a secret. He was quick to tell Thalia and Paula about what he and Hael had found.
“About twelve kellrans back the way we came,” he informed them. He held up a little, blue, circular disc, “we found this.”
“It’s a message tablet,” said Paula. “May I?”
Artem dropped the disc into her outstretched hand.
She examined it thoroughly. “I can’t open it,’ she explained, “because I don’t know the necessary password, this edition has a vocal one, but I can tell you that there’s no way to tell who it belongs to. Wait, what’s this? There’s something scratched on the surface. Looks like a word. S-C-H-O-R-S-C-H. I’ve not got a scarbie what that means. It’s not the maker’s name, the law states that these tablets only need to have their planet of origin stamped on them. I can see the stamp clearly, Riga. It comes from Planet Riga!”
“Do any of the other four come from Riga?” asked Hael.
“George does but we’ve all visited there at one time or another so that won’t tell us anything. It’s certainly not proof of his guilt. I believe Tancred lived on Riga for a number of years when he was a young man. Astrid, she did her internship there. They’ve got a large zoological observatory. Marcel, I don’t know.”
“It is looking a lot like our spying miscreant is George,” decided Artem. “Well, I’m certainly not going to accept his kind offer to go on our little jaunt to the enemy’s base.”
“When are we going?’ asked Thalia.
“Tonight. I dare not leave it any longer. I think we’ll leave young Christel and Samei here as well. She’ll be disappointed I know but I can’t in all conscience leave Tavin and Whufflya here alone with the very real probability of a dangerous spy in our midst and Whufflya the only Lind. There’s no time to confront George before we go. I’ll have Larya bespeak Whufflya and Samei privately and warn them to be on the look out for trouble. Christel will understand.”
Thalia sincerely hoped she would and not take it as an attack on her abilities after their conversation about Rodick.
“We’ll inform everyone about the news that we’re going tonight,” said Artem, taking the message tablet back from Paula and slipping it into his pocket.
“They’re expecting it,” said Thalia. “Everyone’s been getting prepared since Ail noticed that you and Hael had left on a sortie and told everyone. Artem, let me tell Christel first, before you start barking out orders.”
“Barking?” He looked affronted but Thalia saw the rays of laughter round his eyes.
She was giggling as she went to find Christel.
* * * * *
To Artem and Thalia’s surprise George wasn’t at all put out about being left behind.
“I’ll get to catch up on some sleep,” he told them cheerfully and spent the next bell or so helping everyone get ready.
Tavin and Mikey helped Paula put on Slei’s harness.
“It’s easy really,” Mikey told her as he made sure the saddle pad was well secured.
“You buckle yourself in,” explained Tavin. “Once you have then nothing short of a miracle will remove you from Slei’s back.”
“What happens if I need to get off in a hurry?”
“You use this quick release strap here between your legs. One pull and the straps holding you loosen and fall away.”
“I can see the advantages,” Paula observed.
“It also means that if you are hurt Slei can get you away without worrying if you’re going to fall off. I remember as a boy I watched horse cavalry in training. They seemed to fall off quite a lot. I suppose that’s why I remember it so well. For a four year old, watching grown men clattering to the ground is funny.”
Tavin was grinning as he recalled the memory.
Mikey guffawed. “I would have liked to have seen that.”
“You’ll probably never get the chance young Mikey. There are only a few hundred horses on Tak and no need for horse cavalry,” Tavin informed him, patting him on his head.
“We’ve got the Lind,” Mikey beamed.
“That’s right. Now Paula, mount up.”
Paula managed to get herself on to the saddle with so many grunts and wriggles that Max and Mikey began to think she must have had some training as a contortionist. Mikey bit back a smile. He was learning a modicum of circumspection and realised if he was to laugh out loud it would embarrass her. He liked Paula so he fought his battle against the laugh and won.
He and Tavin began buckling her in.
“Is that comfortable?” Tavin kept asking and she kept nodding. At least it didn’t feel uncomfortable and she certainly felt secure.
“You can get someone to help you adjust them during the first rest break,” said Tavin, “or call out. They’ll stop and help.” He stepped back, just as Artem appeared at her side and Mikey went off to check that Thalia and Josei had everything they needed.
“Ready to go?” asked Artem.
“Sort of. It feels funny though. I’ve never ridden anything before in my life.”
“No horses where you come from?”
“No. There are some on Riga but none
on New York. That was where I was brought up. New York is a very technologically orientated planet and much of it is built on. There are not a lot of places where a person can enjoy the outdoors.”
“Sounds absolutely terrible to me,” said Artem. “Me and Larya would hate it.”
“Oh, you could never take Larya there.”
“Then I will never go,” he said simply and Paula looked confused. She was still not aware of the extent of the ramifications of the bond that existed between vadelns and their Lind.
“I’ve brought you your laser rifle,” said Artem handing it to her. “I was going to lend you Tavin’s firearm but we thought you’d be happier with what you are used to. Marcel tells me that you are a good shot. I’ve got a bit of an idea about how you might be able to use it. I’ll tell you more on the way.”
“Thank you,” said Paula, taking it and placing it over her shoulder after a quick, sidelong glance. She examined it. “Though what use it will be is anyone’s guess. The energy meter is sitting at below a quarter full, which is a bit strange when I think about it. Before we left the enclosure they were fully charged and we haven’t used them since.”
“George or Tancred I presume.”
“You think one of them emptied them? It could be possible but I’m sure one of us would have heard or noticed.”
“Would you rather have a firearm? They’re simple to use.”
Paula thought for a bit then decided she didn’t want to deprive Tavin, Max or Christel of theirs. They might need them.
She replied in the negative.
“Then take this knife,” said Artem, offering her his spare.
She accepted it with profuse thanks, which Artem shrugged off.
“I’ve got another. You’ll be riding beside Zeb and Vya. He’ll correct your seat and make sure you don’t get too stiff. Hold on to the neck ruff or that strap if it makes you feel more secure and grip with your legs. You’ll soon get the hang of it.”
Will I? was Paula’s agonised mental wail.
She felt a lingering, whispering feeling inside her mind. It sounded rather like a laugh. The feeling was rather nice.
* * * * *
After a few kellrans Paula decided that she didn’t want to learn how to ride a Lind. Agony was far too mild a term for what she was experiencing.
She decided that indescribable torment was a far better analogy as Zeb helped her to dismount at their first rest stop.
Slei nudged her with his snout and she immediately felt better. Her muscles still hurt but in some peculiar way she was better able to manage the pain.
Eventually they arrived back at the cavern they had used as a base when rescuing Max. Before they entered they scouted around making sure the enemy hadn’t found it but there were no tracks so they went in.
Artem was not the only one to wonder about this. Anyone with only a modicum of tracking skills could have, should have, found their tracks and investigated the cavern’s dark depths. He concluded that the enemy were not looking for them, at least not yet. But why?
It worried him. He called over Thalia, Paula, Jim, Hael and Rodick.
“They’ve not been here and I’m wondering why as I’m sure you all have. Paula, can you think of a reason?”
“I would assume that they have no need to,” she answered.
“Precisely.”
“It is because their space ships are returning,” decided Thalia. “It’s the only logical explanation. They’re going to sit tight on the hilltop and wait. Then, with their back-up they’ll emerge and start to hunt for us.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” agreed Artem. “So, what do we do about it?”
“How many of these ASPC’s do they have - in total?” Thalia asked Paula.
Paula thought.
“We were told by our allies that the second sighting contained two space ships, one larger than the other,” said Artem helpfully.
“One of them must be one of their large battle cruisers. Their colloquial name is battlewagons,” Paula answered after some thought. “They carry one large ASPC and you said there was one of those on the hill. Yes?”
“That and two smaller ones.”
“Then we can deduce then that they were all deployed on the surface. A battle cruiser carries a large ASPC and a small and the smaller star ships, their escort vessels, one small one only.”
“So if we destroy these then they will not be able to search for us down here except on foot?”
“They’ll have some two-person gigs,” said Paula. “I don’t know how many.”
“We either destroy these Quorkos of theirs …”
“Or incapacitate the people who drive them,” Thalia finished.
“Why don’t we do both?” inquired Katie. “Fire would be good.” She fingered her bow and arrow suggestively.
The others got her point immediately and Hael’s craggy face broke out into a lopsided grin.
* * * * *
The night was cloudy and as dark as thick, black-grey pitch.
Ranged round the hill were three groups.
Closest to the enemy base were the three vadelns who could fire consistently and accurately with bow and arrow. This group was made up of the twins and Katie. Their job was to shoot. The first arrow was coated with a thick, gluey substance made up of black-oil and blast powder. When the arrow hit the ASPC’s it wouldn’t bounce off, the arrow would stick and the oil would seep out. Black-oil was insidious stuff. It would stick to anything. If you got it on your clothes there was no point in trying to wash it off. All you could do was to throw the garment away. Artem hoped the men and women inside the vehicles would neither hear nor see them clatter on to the roofs.
The fire arrows they shot next would set them alight.
The heat from burning blast-powder was very hot and Paula, after she had watched it in action during the practice shot, believed it would burn a hole in the skin of the ASPC’s and make them un-flyable.
“The metal used on the outer skin is very thin,” she told Artem. “In the space between the inner and outer skin are the wires. They can pick up energy from the suns you understand, it saves on fuel. If you can burn through the outer skin, the wires will fry. With a bit of luck they’ll explode but even if they don’t the ASPC’s will still not be able to take to the air.”
Artem and Larya would lead the second, largest group.
Riding with him would be Jim and Avdrya, Thalia and Josei, Ail and Iya, Rodick and Anya, and Zeb and Vya.
Once the confusion and the burning started they would ride hell for leather up the hill, sweep over the hilltop causing as much death and mayhem as they could and ride down the other side.
The last two, Paula and Slei with Hael and Mariya, Artem had put together. They were to find a high foliage bush. Paula was to climb to the top and from this vantage point use her laser rifle to fire at the hilltop. When the rifle ran out of energy she would climb back down and re-join the three arrow shooters. From there they would ride to the rendezvous point and wait for the other two groups.
As they were about to separate for their assignments, Thalia told a surprised and amazed Paula about the telepathic abilities of the Lind.
“You won’t be able to ‘hear’ us, but remember, Slei might be able to tell you what he’s getting information about. Listen to him if he does. Hael, if he’s close by, can also relay.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We weren’t sure if we could trust you, any of you, so Artem ordered we weren’t to tell. I must admit I’ve had to bite my tongue a few times. It’s quite an advantage in a dangerous situation, especially in a battle.”
“It certainly negates the need for communits,” agreed Paula. “Slei can really do this telepathy thing? It sounds like something out of a fantastic soap opera.”
“What’s a soap opera? No, Don’t tell me now. We can talk once this is all over. Anyway, all the Lind are telepathic. It’s a part of them. If you listen very hard you might be able to ‘h
ear’ Slei.” There was no point in telling her that only a few humans could. It might inhibit her and of course, she was being very careful not to say anything about the impending vadeln-pairing.
With a wink at Slei, Thalia turned and left.
“Good luck,” Paula called after her.
Thalia didn’t turn round but she waved.
“Come on Paula,” said Hael. “Time to go.”
* * * * *
The twins already knew of a good place from which to fire the arrows.
: There’s a rise well within bowshot range with thick stemmed foliage growing on it : Kenlei informed Katie : The leaves are thick too, plenty enough to hide under :
: Lead on, Macduff! :
: My name is not Macduff :
: I know. It sounded right somehow. It’s from an old play I read at school :
: Idiot! We follow after Nalya :
The rise was all that the twins promised and more. Katie climbed the highest tree. As the most accurate bow shooter of the three her target ASPC was the one furthest away and she needed the height advantage the tree would give her. She reached a point about a quarter from the top, settled her body into a convenient niche and peered through the leaves towards the hilltop. With some difficulty she cleared away a thin branch and some leaves with her knife. They made a rustle as they dropped to the ground.
: Good. I can see it clearly and yes, the shot is perfectly manageable :
: I have told Nalya and Talya :
: How are they doing? :
: Jon is to your right. He says he will hit his Quorko slap bang in the middle :
: I hope it doesn’t slap. The idea is that the arrows settle down gently! :
: Do not fear. He is confident :
: Jack? :
: He too. His target is the big one and he says that if he doesn’t hit it he should be keelhauled. I did not know that the twins came from a seafaring family :
: He’s got two blast-powder arrows but tell him to make the first one count :
: Wilco. Remember to wait for my word :
Katie and the twins settled down. Grimacing, Katie drew the first of her treated arrows from her quiver. She liked her old quiver, having cared for it for many a long year, but it would be fit for nothing but the rubbish heap after this.