Chapter 23
T’raat
I coughed up dirt and swatted at arachnids and rodents as Ann guided me and this latest group of Xalanite refugees through the tunnels. We, H’rran, and X’nit had thus far evacuated no less than fifty Xalanites in this manner, but many still remained at the intake center.
We had started our evacuation in time to save some lives, though not swiftly enough. AXL, alerted to our presence by a well-meaning Xalanite guard, opened fire on the residents as soon as we were spotted. Metal projectiles and incendiary devices flew through the air all around us. Many Xalanites were killed in the initial attack, and many more became so disoriented by the battle that they lost us in the resulting confusion.
Ann’s escape route thankfully survived the initial onslaught, and it did not seem that we had been spotted entering the ancient tunnels. A few more trips, and we might get the rest of the survivors to safety.
I lost track of H’rran in the chaos. One moment we were side by side, and the next she had disappeared. I feared the worst, but I could not waste time searching for her yet. Once I’d secured Leigh’s safety, I focused my priorities on saving the Earthbound Xalanites. Any other goal, besides staying alive to see Leigh again, became secondary.
Staying alive, it seemed, would be a challenge. I had already torn open my wound from the fight to rescue N’kal and X’nit and had acquired several new injuries. A deep laceration in my thigh was the most critical, but X’nit had sacrificed one of his bandages to provide me with a temporary tourniquet. I would not die from that wound so long as I sought timely care after we finished here.
Ann fared much better than I, though I suspected it was in part because she was human. The others of her species seemed less inclined to shoot a human than they did Xalanites.
X’nit, I feared, would not make it.
Ann’s mate had already sustained considerable damage before we began our rescue ventures. His added injuries after our arrival at the intake center might well prove deadly. Ann asked about his health regularly, but I was aware of at least three broken bones and four deep cuts that he hid from her beneath his long, black garment-for-trenches, as well as a few smaller, deeper projectile wounds.
We were joined by a retired Xalanite field medic, a man named Breen. I briefly allowed myself to feel relief, but X’nit still brushed off his injuries. He did not notify Breen of his most dire wounds, instead shaking his head and declaring himself fit for further combat. I watched him limp along behind Ann, barely able to hold his weapon for all his shaking, and a dread pit formed in my abdomen.
We were nearly done clearing the intake center, but evacuation was not our only goal. Once we had cleared the intake center of the resident visiting Xalanites, we planned on hunting down the AXL members responsible for the carnage and eliminating them. The human term “extreme prejudice” came up during our planning. Director Ann did not intend to allow any guilty AXL villains to survive.
I understood her need for vengeance on a personal level, but I also understood from a leadership aspect. If Ann ever regained her position of power in the AARO, it would not behoove her to allow her opposition to flourish. Swift, decisive retribution was necessary.
After the last Xalanites were evacuated, we returned for a final sweep of the compound for any stragglers before we pursued AXL.
I was overjoyed to see H’rran again when we emerged from the tunnels, but when I viewed Leigh with her, armed in Xalanite battle gear from head to toe, my knees buckled. I fell to the ground, terrified that the next bomb or projectile would target her.
“Leigh …”
Her name caught in my throat, but she turned towards my voice all the same. The way her face lit up at the sight of me, the way her legs pumped furiously as she ran to me, the way she tackled me with a cry of joy—My mind tried to reconcile the relief at seeing her alive with the horror of seeing her here, in this place, with gunfire and active explosions. What was she doing here?
As I fought to regain the ability to speak, Ann took over.
“What in the hell are you doing here, Leigh?” She put her hands on her hips and scowled. “We left you with your father, where you were safe.”
“Yeah, you left me,” Leigh retorted. “Left me behind. While I was sleeping, I might add! That was some sketchy stuff, Aunt Ann, and you’re just lucky H’rran came to get me. I might not have forgiven you guys.”
Ann rolled her eyes. “You look ridiculous in that getup. Isn’t that Xalanite vest a bit too roomy for you?”
Leigh met her aunt’s glare as she pulled a Xalanite grenade from one of the molded cups of the garment. “I found a way to fill it.”
“Leigh!” I finally found my voice. “Those are dangerous.”
“Yeah, for the people I’m throwing them at.”
I cupped her cheek in one hand. “My love, you could be hurt here. I had sought to protect you, to keep you safe from harm. Why did you come?”
She smiled and kissed my palm. “You couldn’t keep me away, silly. You and me, we’ll get this done together. Everything from now on we do together. Got it?”
Returning her smile, I pulled her into a gentle embrace. “Understood.”
Breen interrupted us by clearing his throat. “Ahem. You have opened your tyr’il’ s wound, lady Leigh.” He pointed at my leg, which indeed oozed fresh black blood. “If I may, I should tend to that.”
“Do we have time?” Ann asked as a projectile whizzed past her. “There’s still live fire here.”
Leigh climbed off me and tossed her grenade at the nearest group of attackers with a strange sweep of her arm. They scattered, but they were too late. Pieces of their bodies littered the ground in a wide arc.
“There. Less live fire. Now fix him.”
X’nit let out a low whistle. “Your aim is excellent, Leigh.”
“Softball state champions three years in a row,” she said. She repositioned herself to get out of Breen’s way, but she did not leave my side.
H’rran trotted over with a Xalanite medical kit in her hands. She handed it to Breen, and he began to work on my wound. H’rran assisted the medic while X’nit and Ann provided covering fire. Occasionally Leigh released my hand, but only long enough to fire at an approaching enemy human. Her aim with a more refined weapon proved just as effective as with the grenades. X’nit once again commented his praise, and Ann simply replied with, “Paintball.”
My nanites were slow to translate the names of the two activities, but finally I received their meanings and a general understanding of the rules. Interesting. Combat training disguised as games.
I winced as Breen used a cautery device to close my wound. Leigh squeezed my hand, and her touch helped ease the sting of the device.
Her touch helped make everything better.
While Breen bandaged my wound, I noticed that the gunfire and explosions seemed to be lessening in frequency. A quick glance at the remains of the intake center revealed several official Xalanite military ships landing at the periphery of the compound as our opponents ran for cover. Their arrival confused me. We hadn’t wanted to get the Xalanite government involved in a potentially inciteful operation; it was why we had chosen a retired military pilot to aid us rather than requesting active military aid. Who had summoned them?
As if she could hear my thoughts, Ann answered.
“I bet it was N’kal. He’s the only one with this kind of pull with the Xalanite government.”
That made sense, though it did not answer why they were summoned. “If he had desired to involve the Xalanites, why not do so from the beginning?”
“They probably thought you guys needed the added help.”
We turned towards Timber’s voice, the shock of her arrival written on our faces. With her were her husband N’kal, the human police officer, Marcus, and Leigh’s father. All four were armed and geared in the latest Xalanite battle finery, though Timber’s vest had clearly been tailor-made for a human woman. “When we saw how bad the fighting was on the news, N’kal phoned home for some reinforcements. It took a little bit of explaining, and we had to bargain a bit for the faster ships, but thankfully his dad and sister were amenable to loaning us some people.”
“Yeah,” Harrison said. “If Leigh had just given us a chance to explain, we could have told her they were on the way.”
Leigh blushed. “Well, maybe next time lead with that instead of scaring the crap out of me.”
“Somehow I doubt she would’ve stayed away even if she’d known,” Ann said dryly. “All that time wasted dropping her off.” She shook her head as though upset, but her face expressed mirth.
“Does this mean it’s over?” Leigh asked as Xalanite soldiers poured out of the ships, dispatching any remaining AXL members with precision.
“For now, the immediate threat is contained. There’s still a bureaucratic nightmare ahead of us though, not to mention dealing with dozens of displaced Xalanites that I’ve just illegally funneled through the Underground Railroad.”
“That was pretty smart of you, Aunt Ann. I would never have thought of that.”
The director grinned. “Do you really think I only set the Xalanites up here because the first one crashed in Upstate New York? Please. Give your old aunt some credit.”
“Does anyone else require triage?” Breen asked, holding up a hypodermal injector. “I have basic tools here now, but once the soldiers secure the site, I can borrow some of their equipment for more serious wounds.”
I turned to X’nit, who had taken a seat on the ground inside the tunnel entrance while we talked. His head hung in exhaustion, or perhaps in slumber, though it concerned me that he wasn’t responding. “X’nit? Come here. Let Breen treat your injuries now that the battle has ceased.”
He did not move.
“X’nit?” Ann’s voice had a slight tremor, which was unusual for the normally unflappable woman. “Honey, are you hurt?”
With Leigh’s help, I got to my feet and started towards him. “Breen, he has been hiding injuries beneath his outer garment. You should check him.”
Breen raced to X’nit’s side and tore off the trenching garment. X’nit’s head lolled back and forth with the motion, but he did not wake, and it was obvious from the amount of black blood seeping through his under garment that he had lost much of his fluids. The fact that he still breathed, labored though it was, seemed miraculous.
Ann leapt into action, running towards the nearest soldiers and shouting orders in Xalanite to bring a medic. Though she was no longer the official director of the AARO, she still had a commanding presence, and the soldiers wasted no time in obeying her.
Within minutes, Breen stabilized X’nit, and a group of soldiers brought a litter to carry him to a ship for more intensive treatment. Ann tried to follow them, but several humans—loyal to the AARO and the Xalanites, not more AXL spies—approached her asking questions. They wished her to lead them in the chaos following the battle, but Ann clearly wanted nothing more than to be at her husband’s side.
Timber stepped in and took over, instructing the humans to field all questions to her for the time being. Ann hurried off to the ship where X’nit had been taken, and Timber assumed charge of the field.
With nothing left for me or Leigh to do, we headed for one of the ships in search of a place to rest. Leigh was fairly fresh, but I needed to sleep. I had gone far too long without proper rest, and the exhaustion started to seep in. My body ached, and the wound in my leg throbbed. Thankfully, one of my former units had been assigned to this battle, and my comrades ushered me onto their ship and assigned me and Leigh to some spare quarters.
My mate wasted no time in getting me abed and tucked in. To my dismay, she did not join me under the covers.
“You need sleep, mister, not sex. When that leg is healed, we’ll talk.”
“Endorphins released during sex assist in Xalanite healing. It is a biological fact.”
She scoffed. “Bullshit.”
I grinned and nudged her shoulder. “You are the farm girl, yes? You would be the expert in bovine excrement, I suppose …”
Leigh laughed and gave my arm a light smack. “Jerk!”
We shared a laugh, then a kiss. I much preferred the latter.
“So,” Leigh said when we stopped for air. “Any other pressing matters to tend to before we plan our wedding?”