Chapter 27
My talk with Adak had lasted hours. He wanted to know everything; how many sytos I’d seen, the state of their camp, the Kwin’s plans. I gave him as many details as I could remember. His pregnant mate sat beside him, furiously scribbling everything in a notebook so we wouldn’t forget anything.
Turochs didn’t have a written language, but Penny was determined to record every possible snippet of information, just in case it gave us an advantage.
Adak had set up a large map on a table, bright colors marked the streets and buildings we’d scavenged from, small metal pins showed places we’d encountered percers, and now a cluster of blue tipped pins showed roughly where the syto camp lay.
Looking at the map, I was glad I wasn’t Adak. He’d taken on the role of chief with a grim determination I respected. But it was responsibility I didn’t envy. His mate was pregnant, and nearing her time, and with Amy’s coming son, the sytos were even more of a threat.
“Uriish has been asking for jobs,” Penny murmured, her pen tapping thoughtfully against her lip. “He could take the shuttle out and scout from above.”
“They’ll recognize the shuttle,” Adak pointed out, his hands on his hips, his one good eye fixed on the cluster of blue pins.
“Sweetie, they know we’re here,” his mate said gently. “It’s only a matter of time before they find us.”
Adak sighed. “I’ll talk to Uriish. Male to male, the sytos don’t stand a chance, but they have weapons we don’t.”
Penny cleared her throat and wrote something down. Adak shot her a look and his tail twitched.
“I am aware of your friend’s thoughts on the matter, mate.”
She lowered her notebook. “Then listen to her. The guns aren’t really tech, and using the tools you have isn’t a moral issue. The sytos aren’t evil because they have ships and ranged weapons. They’re evil and they have the technology to be a threat.”
Adak’s tail lashed and I wondered if the pair would notice if I crept out to find Jessa.
“At least arm the humans and Gigi,” Penny said. “Or do you really want us completely helpless if something goes wrong?”
“Do you need anything more from me?” I interjected.
“You can go,” Adak said, still staring at his mate. “Your syto is resting in the back of the big store.”
I retreated, leaving the section of the building Adak had claimed for planning and making my way to the larger store that most of the mated pairs lived in.
The large metal shelves that had filled the space had been pushed to the walls and arranged to create small rooms and afford the females some privacy.
Curtains hung in place of doors, and there were several couches and large chairs arranged in the middle of the building for relaxing away from the ever-present chaos outside.
Amy sat in one of the chairs, a bottle of water trembling in her hand, her eyes fixed blankly on the far wall.
“Amy?” I paused beside her, noting the labored way she was breathing and the white knuckles of the hand she had clamped to the arm of the chair. She blinked up at me, and grimaced.
“Hey, Tovis,” she said in a pinched voice. “Looking for Jiith? He’s back-” she stopped with a harsh inhale and closed her eyes. “Back in the corner,” she finished belatedly.
“Should I get Kes?” I asked warily.
“Nope,” Amy gasped out, the open bottle fell from her hand and splashed across the blue rug under the furniture, but Amy didn’t appear to notice or care. “I’m good, it’s just cramps and back pain, and I’m a little-” she sucked in a breath and her skin paled. “-a little nauseous.”
“I’m getting Kes,” I decided. Everyone in camp was protective of the pregnant females, and Amy was clearly in some kind of distress.
“No,” she insisted. “I’m fine. I swore I wouldn’t get everyone excited until I was one hundred percent sure something was happening, and I’m-” she bent over and groaned out the next words. “-not...sure...yet.”
When I didn’t reply, she shot me a glare and waved at the back of the building. “Go check on your friend, if I’m still feeling like this in a few minutes, you can get Kes.”
“A few minutes,” I reluctantly agreed, backing away from the panting female.
I strode toward the back corner where a thin curtain had been hung up and pulled it aside. Jiith lay on a thin cot, a jug of water beside him, and a blanket covering his body.
He opened his eyes when I approached.
“You’re alive,” I said, striving to sound cheerful and not think too hard about Amy struggling on the other side of the curtain.
“I’m alive,” he confirmed, his voice barely a croak. “Your band has been surprisingly hospitable.”
“I told you they would be,” I said, looking him over. The blanket hid most of his injuries and it was dark this far from the open doors, but his color looked better, and his tentacles were more active than the last time I'd seen him.
“Hearing it and believing it are two different things,” he muttered.
“Has Gigi or Uriish visited you?” I asked, wondering how our two sytos felt about another of their race joining us.
They didn’t spend much time together, but it was hard to tell if that was simply because their personalities differed so much or a natural wariness that came from both being defectors.
“Idjiij did,” Jiith said, reaching for the water jug. “He’s more turoch than syto now.”
“He is,” I agreed. Gigi had taken to our customs with enthusiasm, if he were a different color it would be impossible to distinguish him from one of us.
“How is your mate?’
“Tired,” I said. “But happy to be safe and near other humans.”
I forced myself to linger for a few minutes, helping Jiith sit up so he could eat and noting the injuries he wasn’t hiding anymore. He’d done an admirable job of forcing his damaged body to keep moving but it was clear that any more travel would have killed him.
When I heard a gasp from the other side of the curtain, I excused myself with a promise to return soon. I hurried back to Amy and found her standing in front of the chair and staring at a large wet spot where she’d been sitting.
“You can get Kes now,” she said shakily. “My water just broke.”