Chapter 32
Tuvo
They were going to have to return to the compound.
Tuvo stood with Inacio, watching the males – and a couple of the females – of the village train.
They were practicing a basic fighting drill that he used to put new recruits through back when he had still been involved in training in the military.
It was a long time ago, but the skills were still there, and the humans were eager to learn.
But their eagerness did not make up for a fundamental lack of claws, or fangs, or time.
Humans were a clever species. Despite all the disadvantages against them, despite how soft they were, how defenseless, they still thrived.
And in such astounding numbers. He knew of no other sapient species that was so prolific.
There was no reason for such a delicate species to survive, much less thrive, in any sort of environment.
But they did so because they were clever and inventive.
Where they lacked natural defenses, they made armor to cover themselves.
Where they lacked natural weapons, they made tools to supplement their weakness.
They could certainly learn to fight, but it meant nothing when he considered the weapons that would be brought to bear upon them.
Tuvo could still feel the bullets under his skin. Sitting in his body. His wounds were healing, and they were doing so over the fragments of metal that had peppered him from their guns. A lesser species would have died. Any of these humans would die.
The only solution, then, was to arm them in a way that would put them on more even footing with their enemy. And the only way to get those arms was at the compound.
Of course, that came with the possibility that the Three Rings might have returned, but it was a risk he felt was worth taking. It might be the only way that these people would be able to defend themselves if the group came here.
He told Inacio, through Hattie, his plan that night, and the older human male looked unhappy but not unwilling to go through with it.
“It’s not a bad idea,” he said, “but none of my people know how to use those weapons.”
“I do,” Tuvo assured him. “I can’t. My hands are too big.
But I can teach you how to shoot. How to defend yourselves.
I just need a couple males to come with me.
We’ll be able to move quicker than when I came here before.
We’ll gather as many weapons and as much ammo as possible, then return and start training. ”
Inacio looked thoughtful, but before he could say anything, a commotion near the front of the village caught their attention.
They turned as two males – both carrying large sacks on their backs – walked into view.
They were males Tuvo hadn’t seen before and they were smiling and chatting with everyone right up until they saw him. They stopped dead, shocked.
“They are your people?” Tuvo asked Inacio.
He grunted and nodded. “We take turns going to the nearby town. The two who were preparing to go leave tomorrow, just in time for these two to get back. Then, they’ll switch when they return. They’ll have brought news. One moment.”
Inacio stood and walked towards the males who were clearly being told what Tuvo and Hattie and Keith – who was chatting with a few other males – were doing here.
“You really want to go back?” Hattie asked, looking up and back at him. She was in his lap again, because he refused to allow her to sit anywhere else.
He had denied himself his mate for far too long. He didn’t want to spend a single moment separated from her anymore. Which was what made this decision difficult. But these people had been good to him and protecting them had to be a priority.
“I’ll be fast,” he promised her. “The males move very quickly through the trees. By my estimate, if we stay off the road and take the direct path, we can get there and return in only a couple days. We’ll be back before you can forget how to take me here.”
He patted her lower belly with a possessive squeeze.
She laughed, covering his hand. “That’s not even what I’m thinking about. I’m more worried about you. What if something happens? What if you get shot again?”
“I won’t. I know what I’m running into this time. I know to keep watch for them. I’m not First Warrior for no reason, Hattie. Trust in me, hm?”
She sighed, shoulders slumping. “I do trust you. I just…”
“What is it?”
She shook her head quickly. “Never mind.”
“No, what did you-”
“Tuvo!” Inacio was jogging their way, a worried look on his face.
Tuvo stood and set Hattie on her feet.
“What is it?” He asked, looking between him and her, waiting for the translation.
“He says, the others, the ones who came with us were…” She suddenly stopped, eyes widening.
“What? Hattie, what is it?”
She looked at him, tears forming. “He said, everyone was attacked!”
“What?”
“H-He said… He said everyone, while we were separated, that they were all attacked. That they’re probably hurt or dead or-” Her voice broke with a sob as she covered her mouth, shaking.
Tuvo took her in his arms, sharing a grim look with Inacio.
The male was already speaking, giving her details that only made her shake harder.
He pet her back, hating that she was hurting, but needing her to focus. This was the kind of thing that couldn’t be communicated through simple words and hand gestures.
“Hattie, kyrya, tell me what he said.”
She sniffed, clutching onto his arms as her head fell back.
“He doesn’t know exactly what happened. The guys, they weren’t trying to get information.
They just heard about it in rumors. Everyone was talking about it.
That our plane was missing, that the others were all separated and hurt.
And… Oh, god, Tuvo, I didn’t even consider the others.
I didn’t even think that they might have been attacked too.
What if someone was hurt? What if they were killed?
!” Her voice broke and he clutched her tight as she broke down.
“Hattie, listen to me. Okay? Are you listening?”
She sniffed but nodded.
“Romival is the smartest domini in the universe. Havali leads the peacekeepers on Turv. And Atem? You know Atem. Do you think there is any person or group on this planet that could be a threat to our Dominani?
She shuddered and shook her head, but her heart wasn’t in it.
Tuvo took her by the chin and forced her to look at him. “They’re fine, kyrya. I promise you. We can do nothing for them, but we don’t need to. They took care of themselves, I know it. We can only focus on this moment. On these people. They do need us, and we can help them. Okay?”
She nodded, but her lip was still trembling as she tried to hold back her sobs.
He looked up and inclined his head gratefully to Inacio. The older male nodded back before stepping away, giving them a moment so Hattie could gather herself.
Tuvo held her until she stopped crying and only then did he release her. He brought her to the females that were cooking so she could lose herself in the task. He found it even more important to protect this village now.
Rodger’s actions weren’t the result of just him and the Three Rings. If everyone had been attacked at the same time, the moment they were separated, then the betrayal ran much deeper than that. And it had to come from their security team.
The very idea that Bertrand, a male he had thought was something of a friend, had sent them all to their deaths struck him directly in the chest.
And if it were true, the male would die.