13. Molly
13
MOLLY
W e wouldn’t have long. Allison, ignoring the tampered data and working with what she saw for herself, estimated that the storm would hit in just a couple of hours, and Karnac thought the attack would come on the leading edge of that.
“They will watch the broadcast, so we can bring them in early,” he said. “As soon as there’s any change to the programming, any warning to the Joint Colony, they will attack at once. But if we change nothing, they’ll wait till the storm hits and try to take us out before we can raise the alarm.
“Why do they even care about us?” Zeng Ru asked. Handsome, rugged, muscular, he looked like the action hero to save us all. Unlike some of his fans, he knew the difference between an actor and the real thing well enough that the coming fight terrified him. “I mean they don’t need the station, they can just hit the colony, right?”
Alf chuckled and shook his head. “There is a reason that revolutions target the radio and tv stations. Think of all the Prytheen down there, some of whom might support a change in leadership. If they can broadcast from here, their numbers grow — and with them, their chances of winning.”
Zeng nodded unhappily, and we went to work. Dragging heavy equipment to every door and window, we left only a few useable. That meant that we only needed to defend those, but it also trapped us. Well, running away into the storm would kill us, anyway.
Not that going up against a pack of Prytheen warriors was much safer.
Allison had more grim news: since its last maintenance cycle, someone had disassembled our sole laser rifle. Someone — and it had better be Harmon, because if there was a second traitor we were fucked — had pulled it all apart and removed several vital components. Nothing that we couldn’t replace with a bit of effort, but we didn’t have time. Even unconscious and locked up, Harmon fucked with us.
“Karnac,” I said, trying to think of anything to better our odds, “Is your blaster in working order?”
Confused by the question, he frowned adorably. Just watching him brought me hope, or something more. We were together, which meant that we’d get through this, something inside me said.
“It is,” he said, “but you know that it can’t hold a charge on this damned planet, do you not?”
“Yes, I know, but I have an idea about that.” I grinned and his frown just deepened. “What’s its power draw when firing?”
“I do not know in human units,” he said, then grinned. “High. Do you think you can get it to work?”
“Sort of, maybe, if I hurry.” I held out my hand for the blaster, only for him to bring my hand to his lips and kiss it instead.
“Then let us go,” he said. “We’re more likely to get it done if we work together.”
An hour later we stood behind a barricade, watching the storm approach. Heavy snowflakes battered against the window before us, and the icy wind whistled around the station. They’d be here soon, if they weren’t already creeping up by stealth…
That kind of thinking does no one any favors, I told myself sternly, gripping my weapon and keeping my eyes on the approach. The blaster was heavy, too heavy for me, but if it worked, I’d forgive its weight. Cabling ran from it to the ceiling, limiting my movement but drawing power from the station.
Everyone else gave us a wide berth, looks of horror and fear on their faces when they stared at the frankengun. Their caution was justified — Karnac and I had only had time for the shortest of tests, and who knew what firing it at power would do?
“There,” Michiko called, pointing with her left hand, her right holding a sledgehammer. I wasn’t convinced it was a great choice, but it had the advantage that if she connected, her opponent would know it.
The shadows in the snow that she pointed to meant nothing to me, but as we watched, they became clearer. A pack of Prytheen walked out of the storm, a dozen of them lead by an older warrior. Not that I was about to discount him as a threat because of his age: he carried himself with the grim, determined stride of someone who knew exactly how dangerous he was.
“I’m up,” Karnac said behind me. “With luck, I may settle this on my own.”
I turned to embrace him, my heart aching already. If he went out that door, I might never hold him again, might never feel his skin on mine.
If he stayed, though, he wouldn’t be the man I loved. “Be as safe as you can, and come back to me, khara.”
The last word slipped out without me thinking about it, but now that I’d spoken it, there was no going back. It felt right, a perfect description of our feelings for each other.
It had a hell of an effect on Karnac, too. He swept me up into his arms, swung me around, kissed me firmly on the lips. His golden eyes gleamed, and neither of us was breathing normally when he put me down.
“You mean that, khara?” he asked, half-exultant, half-suspicious. Well, I couldn’t blame him, not after how long it had taken for me to come around and accept the truth. I nodded, kissed him again, and stepped back.
“I do. And once you come back safe and sound, we’ll talk about our future.”
I’d swear I felt the rush of joy that went through him when I said that.
“Then I shall return swiftly,” he told me, striding to the door and out into the cold. I turned back to the window and watched Karnac walk down to meet his fellow Prytheen.
“Good to give a man something to come back for,” Allison said. “Nicely done.”
I gave her the finger, blushing. Somehow it hadn’t registered that every one of my colleagues was watching our exchange. “Shut up or I’ll test the blaster on you.”
“Ooh, I see the grumpy Prytheen is rubbing off on you,” Allison replied, unmoved by my threat. I met her gaze, and she winked, subtly inclining her head to the rest of the crew. All of them watched me with amusement. The tension in the air lightened just a touch, and I turned my attention back to the outside.
So I’m a tool to raise morale, I thought. Fair enough, if it worked. We might need it.
Our conversation was cut short by a bark from Amy’s companion Labrador. She’d been in charge of monitoring the radio — Karnac had gone out with a microphone, so we could hear what was going on.
“Vindar,” Karnac’s voice came through loud and clear. “I hope you are well, and your pack has fed. This is Silver Band territory and you are welcome as long as you come in peace.”
Vindar’s voice was old, tired. “We are well, and there is good hunting. I hope you and yours have too? If not, we have food enough to offer. Come join us.”
They spoke Galtrade, thank goodness. Presumably making sure we could all understand what was going on.
“We have plenty of food, Vindar, though you seem to be hunting in our territory,” Karnac replied. “Come join us, and we can hunt this land together.”
Definitely a ritual exchange. Were they offering each other the chance to surrender without losing face? With thirteen Prytheen they not only outnumbered us, but only Karnac was up to fighting one of them on an even footing.
Vindar sighed heavily. Looking at him, he seemed old though not weak, a grizzled veteran of a thousand battles who might have slowed down but was no easy target for the younger warriors. A little shorter than Karnac, a little broader, he wore knives everywhere and silvery bands around his right arm.
“You know I cannot accept,” Vindar said. “And you know that your pack is too small to fight mine. Join us, feast with us, and no one here need die.”
Karnac snorted at that. “You underestimate us, I think. Even if we cannot stop you, we will weaken you. Without the element of surprise, Auric will tear you apart.”
“Karnac, I do not know you. I do not know your humans. But I can count. Perhaps it’s true that you can hurt our chances; none of you will live to see your triumph. Do not throw your life, and the life of your khara, away on a hopeless cause.”
“All you need to do is stop the attack, walk away if you will not join.” Karnac refused to back down or show weakness, and I hoped he knew what he was doing.
“I cannot. Auric defied the Council of Alphas, stood against his brothers and sisters of the Silver Band to protect the humans. He is a traitor, he cannot lead us, and I will remove him.”
“Attacking the humans was wrong. Auric stood up for our honor when he defended them.” Karnac’s blunt words made Vindar wince. “I can do no less, especially when my khara is amongst them.”
“Then there is nothing more to say.” Vindar sounded disappointed by that.
“There is one more thing. If we have to settle our differences by combat, let it be between the two of us. No need for others to die.”
“Agreed,” Vindar said, and leaped.
I’d expected something more formal, maybe with seconds or at dawn or something. Prytheen dueling wasn’t like that, or at least it wasn’t between these two. Vindar’s knives sliced through empty space as Karnac jumped out of the way, rolling to his feet, and drawing his sword.
Just in time to parry one of the daggers Vindar threw at him. The other sliced into Karnac’s left arm before spinning off into the snow. Vindar already had another pair of blades in his hands, closing on Karnac before he recovered.
I covered my mouth and wished I could look away. The two were well matched, swift and smooth and brutal, and my heart stopped each time they closed for a flurry of cuts. The ringing of blade on blade came through the transmitter loud and clear, each exchange making me wince as I tried to match sound to action.
“As you can see, Karnac has the edge in speed, but Vindar’s experience is telling,” Allison’s voice caught my attention with the name of my khara, and I turned to see her standing next to the barricade, a camera drone focused on her, Tulla riding on its back. A second drone watched through the window, recording the fight itself.
“Ooh, that swing from Karnac nearly turned the tide. I think… YES, Vindar’s bleeding, that cut will slow him down a bit.”
I guess we all have our own ways of coping, I thought as I turned back to watch and tuned her out. Vindar was bleeding, but so was Karnac, blood staining the snow around them. My heart pounding, I resisted the urge to open fire on Vindar. My mate wouldn’t forgive me if I stole his kill, and the rest of the Prytheen would rightly see it as a reason to attack.
But I’d never forgive myself if I let Karnac die. I shifted my grip on the blaster as I watched Vindar dart forward, blades flashing. Karnac stepped back with the beautiful precision of a dancer — but just too slow to avoid a cut to the face. I yelped in terror, watching Vindar press his advantage. He couldn’t quite land a killing blow, but each cut slowed my mate down, made the next easier.
Fuck, come on Karnac, I thought, trying to think of something to do, some way to help. Karnac staggered back, sword swings too slow now, and Vindar pushed that advantage, getting in close. Blood sprayed, I opened my mouth to scream.
Karnac’s headbutt came as a surprise to us all. One moment he was on the back foot, the next he launched himself forward, head slamming into Vindar’s. Dropping his sword, Karnac grabbed both of his opponent’s arms as he hammered his head into Vindar’s again. Vindar tried to twist free, but no luck.
Allison’s voice shifted behind me, getting more and more excited. “Yes, I think Karnac has it, Vindar’s down. He’s down! What a comeback. And now Karnac’s opening his mouth, baring his fangs… oh my.”
I didn’t need to ask what had upset her. Karnac bit down on his enemy’s neck, his sharp teeth digging in as he shook his head violently. Vindar’s blades dropped from his grip and he choked out a word in Prytheen.
Instantly, Karnac released him and stood, roaring something into the darkness. Vindar remained on the frozen ground, pressing a hand to his bloody neck and as I watched he stopped moving.
“Yes, yes, it looks like it’s all over,” Allison’s commentary continued. She looked as calm as a statue carved from ice, but her voice came out fast, high-pitched, the voice of someone on the edge of panic.
I’m sure she’ll clean that up in post, I thought. That was a trivial distraction from the important job of congratulating Karnac on his victory.
No kisses until he washes out his mouth, though. I shuddered at the memory of that bite.
“Wait, what’s this?” Allison spoke on autopilot, careening over the edge into full-blown panic. “They, the rest of the Prytheen, they don’t look like they’re surrendering.”
Stopping short of the door, I whirled back to the window. The rest of Vindar’s pack charged in, a dozen of them against my one beloved. He snatched up his sword, bracing to receive the attack, though it was obviously futile.
Karnac would die while I watched.
“Like hell he will,” I snarled, snatching the untested blaster up and pointing through the window. Too big for my hands, it wasn’t easy to aim, but I had nothing to lose.
The heavy trigger clicked as I pulled it back, and around us the lights flickered out. In my grip the blaster whined, heated up, and then fired.
A rush of super-bright orange and white slammed through the window, shattering the hardened glass and throwing it out. My shot missed, but where it struck the ground, the snow exploded in a shock wave of steam that flung two of the attacking Prytheen off their feet.
Karnac took advantage of the confusion, hacking another’s neck open while the enemy were distracted. That got the rest charging again, two switching targets to rush me. Why do Prytheen have to be so fast, I wondered. The blaster burned in my hands, and the system hadn’t reset yet. Karnac was bogged down with fighters, he wouldn’t be able to reach me in time. I’d die alone.
But I wasn’t alone. Alf shouldered his way in beside me, improvised spear he’d made from a boom mike’s pole jabbing toward the window. Michiko joined me on the other side, holding her sledgehammer high, ready bring it down on the head of whoever stepped through the window frame.
Behind me, Amy and Rod gathered, pointing their spears over my head. Improvised weaponry, yes, and the people holding them didn’t have a clue how to use them. But they were performers enough to look frightening with weapons in hand, and the window wasn’t that big. Rushing through would be sure to get the Prytheen stabbed, even if they didn’t get killed.
They pulled up short, taking a moment to reassess their strategy. A moment too long — the lights snapped back on over my head, the blaster thrummed to life in my hands, and my finger squeezed the trigger. The blast cut one of the Prytheen in half before he could react, and I turned the beam toward his companion.
He was faster, diving behind a snowbank for cover. Not a great choice: the blaster’s beam struck the snow and exploded it, then carved through the chest of the exposed Prytheen.
And then it died in my hands. Dead as the station itself: the weapon had eaten all our stored power, and I couldn’t hear any of the thousand little noises the station usually made. It didn’t matter. The remaining Prytheen turned tail and fled, Karnac leaping on the last of them and driving his sword deep into the man’s chest.
Two more cooling corpses lay beside Vindar. My mate hadn’t been idle.
“Did—did we win?” Amy stammered. Rod laughed, clapped her on the shoulder, and pointed at Allison, who was still addressing the camera. Talking about our victory, she made it sound like we were a sports team. I half-expected her to do a deep dive into our stats and season records.
“Of course we won,” Rod said, slipping an arm around Amy’s shoulders. “You can hear all about it on the news.”
I stepped out of the shattered window, trying not to look at the remains of my kills as I found a path that avoided the blood. It didn’t do me much good — Karnac swept me up in a powerful hug as soon as I reached him, spinning me round and round.
“You are magnificent, Molly my khara,” he called out to the heavens. “Magnificent and deadly and smart.”
I winced, his hug making my ribs creak. “And you, Karnac, are covered in blood. Put me down.”
He laughed but complied, setting me down in the snow. I looked down. Yep, this jacket was done for, smeared with blood.
“Don’t worry, none of it’s mine,” he said, as though that should be a huge relief to me. I smacked his arm, aiming for the wound Vindar had left there.
“So what’s this then? Or this?”
He winced, mock-glowered, then gave up and laughed. “Yes, very well, khara. It’s mostly not my blood. Satisfied?”
“Not even slightly,” I grinned. “But we’d better get out of these bloody clothes, hey?”
Just the thought of it made me tingle, my body on fire with a need for Karnac. I saw his breath catch too, his eyes widen, the unconscious flexing of his hands as he thought about catching me, stripping me… great, now that’s all I can think of.
It wasn’t an unpleasant thought, just the opposite in fact.
“Help me get Vindar inside, and then we’ll go clean up,” he growled, stooping to lift his fallen foe. I blinked, but grabbed Vindar’s legs, and together we carried him into the break room. Questions followed as the other colonists clustered around him.
“Isn’t he dead?”
“Should we finish him off?”
“How did you do that?”
Karnac ignored them all, laying out Vindar on a pair of tables and looking at the neck wounds. Nodded.
“He will need at least a full day in the healing trance before he can wake,” he said. “Do not disturb him in the meantime.” With that, he shooed the crowd out. All except for Allison, who stood staring fixedly at the older Prytheen.
“Will he be all right?” she asked in a tone I’d never heard from her. Vulnerable, worried.
“Vindar will make a full recovery, do not worry. As long as he’s not woken from the healing trance too soon.”
“I’ll make sure of that,” Allison said, nodding decisively. “Go on, you two need to clean up and get some power running before we all freeze.”
Karnac nodded and bustled me out into the hallway, leading me towards the washroom. Halfway there, he started to shake with suppressed laughter.
“Are you sure Vindar will be safe with her?” I asked, frowning at this very un-Karnac-like behavior. “Allison can be vindictive…”
“He’s safe, beloved,” Karnac answered. “I’ve seen the look on her face before.”
“Oh?” I frowned, unsure what he meant. “I certainly haven’t.”
Karnac didn’t answer right away. He had to force the unpowered washroom door open, reminding me that there was no power. I shivered, hoping that the water tanks were full and heated. Karnac either didn’t think of that or didn’t care. Stripping, he strode into the shower and I couldn’t help staring at his ass as he went.
Okay, yeah, getting in there with him was worth the risk of a cold shower. I ditched my clothes as quick as I could.
“You wouldn’t have seen it,” my khara said as I joined him in the shower. “It’s the same look you have on your face when you look at me.”
I froze in place, trying to process that. All that came to mind was at least she won’t be banging another of the staff for once.
Warm water engulfed us, Karnac’s hands drew me to him, and I stopped thinking about anything else.