Home of Mickey Minner

It is sometime in the future or, perhaps, the past. The planet Organi is under attack by the mercenary forces of the Alliance, a conglomerate of mining interests that want to exploit the natural resources of Organi just as they’ve done on countless other planets throughout the universe.

Organi’s defenders are the Mainlanders who inhabit the planet’s west hemisphere, an area dominated by a solid mass of land stretching from one pole to the other. And the Islanders who inhabit the east hemisphere, a large oceanic area dotted with thousands of islands none bigger than a hundred clicks long. The Mainlanders are a people recently transplanted from their traditional home planet of Retha after eons of abuse and exploitation made it uninhabitable. Yet the Islanders are a people that have called Organi home for hundreds of generations. The two groups are separated not only by their choices to live on opposite sides of the planet but also by their cultures and histories.

Though their differences are strong, the Mainlanders and Islanders have joined forces to form the Confederacy and fight to prevent Organi from being stripped of everything of value and beauty only to be left a barren uninhabitable wasteland.

Thus, as is always true when greed becomes paramount in the hearts of some, a war is fought to protect a way of life.

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Once covered by a thick forest of tall pine trees, the Xantrop valley had been home to a multitude of animals living on the valley’s rich foliage or within the pristine waters of the river flowing through it. But the Xantrop River no longer flowed in the channel it had followed since before Organi was populated by the Islanders. Its waters were being diverted into a holding canal where the precious liquid could be suctioned up by Alliance water transports then transported to other planets in the galaxy that had poisoned or otherwise destroyed their own water sources.

The once tranquil valley itself was now an unnatural abyss, stripped of its beautiful forest by the mammoth and highly efficient tree processing machines the Alliance created to ravage forests leaving nothing of value behind. More than five men tall and twenty men long the mobile lumber mills were capable of chopping down more than ten trees at a time, then immediately stripping the trunks of any unwanted limbs and bark which was burned in the machine’s furnace. The trunks and usable branches were run through a labyrinth of laser beams that efficiently cut the wood into boards which were then stacked into cargo transports that trailed behind the machines. Operated by robots and powered by the debris-fed furnaces, the processors work non-stop quickly decimating a forest to leave nothing behind but a thick pale of black smoke hanging in the air and deep ruts gouged into the ground by the heavy traction wheels.

Occupying the once lush but now barren valley was Beta II, an Alliance prisoner-of-war camp and home to both Mainlanders and Islanders that had been taken prisoner in battle. Roughly thirty paces long and half as many wide the camp sat in the middle of the deforested valley, surrounded by high mountainous ridges of snow-covered peaks and rocky crags.

Sitting on the steps of her hut, Sergeant Teragleli Arhina reached up to roughly run long fingers through unruly sandy blond hair and gave her scalp a good scratching. She stretched her arms over her head, twisting her back to limber up unused muscles. Life in a prisoner-of-war camp was full of too many long days with little to do and her usually supple body was showing signs of the forced inactivity.

Far in the distance the sergeant could hear a low, unmistakable rumbling. Turning her head to look in the direction of the clearly recognizable sound, she spotted bright flashes of explosions that could only mean one thing – another battle was raging. How much longer she wondered could the Confederacy hold out against the seemingly overwhelming Alliance forces. Each battle meant more prisoners for the camp and it was already over-crowded.

Unable to do any more than wonder, Sergeant Arhina stood, turning away from the sights and sounds of the battle to enter her hut, knowing she was in for another long day.

The afternoon calm was shattered by the scream of powerful engines thrusting dozens of Confederacy tasars through the sky. Flying in a tight formation, the airships burst from the low hanging clouds that had been hiding them and roared toward their target. In answer to the tasar attack, missile launchers were pointed skyward and fired as rapidly as the awkward guns allowed.

Captain G. Tarphan Midd, piloting one of the tasars, broke from the rest of the formation in an attempt to knock some of the missiles from the air before they could reach their targets. An expert pilot, she quickly positioned her tasar into a perfect spot to take out the first missiles but when she pressed the button to fire her weapons nothing happened.

“Damn it, Gunney,” Captain Midd shouted over her right shoulder. “You have to lock and load the weapons BEFORE I can fire them.”

“I’m trying, Captain,” a young soldier nervously cried. “But it’s my first time doing this.”

“I know, Gunney,” the captain softened her tone. Combat was not the best place to have to get on the job training but the shortage of qualified gunners made it necessary to place the recruit in the tasar’s rear seat on this mission. “Just concentrate on locking in the weapons and let me take care of everything else. Okay?”

“Yes, Captain,” the soldier tried to relax by blowing out a long breath.

“Good. Now lock in all the ground rockets we have and DUUCKKK.” Captain Midd punched a button on the control panel in front of her causing the tasar to veer sharply to the left. “Damn,” she muttered when the radar screen showed she had not avoided the missile locked on her tail. “Gunney, belay that last order. Lock in a blast star and make it quick.”

Touching the weapons display in front of him, the gunner shakily performed the necessary actions to fulfill the Captain’s command. “Locked,” he triumphantly cried out.

“Good,” Captain Midd looked out the windshield of the tasar, computer displays were okay but she liked a good old fashion visual of a target. “Hang on to your lunch, Gunney,” she chuckled, pressing the button to release the blast star and at the same instant punching in the command for the tasar to start an immediate vertical climb.

“Ugh,” was all the gunner could manage to force out of his throat as the tasar heads straight up into the sky leaving his stomach several thousand feet below the rest of him.

“Gotcha,” Captain Midd yelled when the radar screen displayed a blank spot where the pursuing missile had just been. “All right, Gunney,” she called to the young soldier, “lock in the ground rockets and let’s get this mission over with so we can go home.” She reversed the direction of her tasar, flying it directly downward towards the planet’s surface.

The gunner, his skin tone slightly green, struggled to keep his stomach from emptying as he fingers the weapons display. “Locked,” he said weakly, wishing he could be any place else at this particular moment.

A quick look at her map display showed Captain Midd that her present location was approximately fifty clicks from her intended target. Her eyes flicked over to the radar screen that, thankfully, remained empty of enemy rockets. Next she looked at the screen displaying the positions of the other tasars accompanying her on this mission. ‘Damn,’ she thought silently, ‘only half as many as we left base with but we still should have enough to destroy the target.’ “Here we go,” she set the tasar on a flight plan that took it parallel to the terrain below them.

Looking out the tasar’s windshield, the captain saw the target coming up fast, a small cluster of buildings in a treeless clearing uncluttered by any living organism for hundreds of clicks in any direction. Confederacy command received intelligence naming this location as the main Alliance transfer center. If it could be destroyed the Alliance forces would be unable to prepare any more harvested resources for transport off the planet and, thus, preventing ability of the Alliance to fulfill its trade contracts. No trade meant no profits. No profits meant no capital. No capital meant no funds to continue hiring mercenaries to fight against the Confederacy. Which meant no more war.

As her orders instructed, Captain Midd focused her attention on one building set off a little from the others. Locked in on the target, she was bothered by the seeming lack of any visible protection for such an important site. Not to mention that no cargo ships or transport carriers could be seen anywhere in the clearing. She saw the other tasars releasing their weapon loads and as she followed suit the knot growing in the pit of her stomach continued to tell her something was wrong. She flew directly for her target, the cannons situated on the bottom of the tasar firing rapidly. Her eyes followed the rockets until they struck the target, literally cutting the building in half as they exploded on impact.

Captain Midd sensed more than saw the danger, a ball of flame seeming to burst out of the ground and head directly for her tasar. The speed of the object was too great to outrun and Captain Midd knew she had no choice but to hope for the best. “Prepare for incoming, Gunney,” she yelled, punching in every avoidance maneuver she could think of to escape.

All fail.

“Eject, Gunney, EJECT.”

An instant after Captain Midd pulled the ejection release her tasar disintegrated into a billion pieces.

“Cruiser coming,” Sergeant Arhina heard the shout from where she sat inside her hut. Stepping out of the dark hut, the sergeant paused to allow her eyes time to adjust to the harsh sunlight before looking towards the front of the prison yard where an Alliance prisoner transport was pulling to an abrupt stop on the other side of the security barrier.

Several soldiers, interested in the transport’s arrival only because nothing else of interest ever occurred in the camp, hurried past the hut on their way to claim a better viewing spot. Some passed without acknowledging the sergeant but those wearing identical uniforms as hers took the time to salute, their right arms sharply bent at the elbow with a fist thrust against their breastbone. Sergeant Arhina returned each salute just as precisely.

“Hope there isn’t too many of them,” a soldier said as he walked by, “don’t have many empty bunks left.”

Sergeant Arhina silently agreed with the man, her eyes scanning the prison camp’s crowded yard. At the sound of the transport’s heavy door being slammed shut, she turned her attention back to the new arrivals and was surprised when only one prisoner could be seen being helped out of the transport.

“Damn, is that who I think it is?” Recognizing the new prisoner, a Mainlander soldier quickened his steps.

“Sure as hell looks like her,” another soldier laughed.

“Oh, hell,” the first soldier groaned, “wonder where they picked her up. And why the hell they had to bring her here.”

Intrigued by the exchange, Sergeant Arhina bounced down the steps in front of her hut, ambling along behind the others. Normally, she didn’t go to meet the transports, as she didn’t feel the need to scrutinize the prisoners entering the camp. Though she was the highest ranking Islander in the camp, she held no official position within the camp’s command structure and left any indoctrination to the camp’s Mainlander officers. Besides she knew that any Islanders would seek her out and had found it more comfortable meeting them in a more personal setting without the commotion usually surrounding their arrival at the camp.

As the sergeant reached the soldiers crowding near the barrier where the transport was parked, some of them offered to let the sergeant pass through to the front. But she smiled in acknowledgment of the gesture while shaking her head to refuse, content to stay where she was at the rear of the assembly.

“Get back,” a burly Alliance prison guard growled at the swarm of prisoners. “Clear a path or I’ll shoot her where she stands and leave her carcass for the tigers to finish off.

Knowing the guard meant what he said, the prisoners quickly shuffled back clearing a path for the soldier to enter the prison yard.

“That’s more like it,’ the guard sneered as the prisoners retreated.

The prison camp was surrounded by a fence consisting of a single strand of specially designed conductive wire strung on posts spread ten strides apart. When power was fed through the wire, a highly charged vaporizing field was created for several strides in all directions around the thin cable. Any thing or person to be careless enough to come into contact with the invisible barrier would be vaporized within the blink of an eye. It hadn’t taken the prisoners long to figure out that any attempts to penetrate the invisible barrier meant an instantaneous death.

Where the prisoners gathered, a crude portal had been fashioned by two posts placed on either side of a gate which was just wide enough for a single person to pass through. Approximately, four strides in front of the gateway, a metal box was mounted on top of a short post pounded into the ground. Reaching up, for a small chain hanging around his neck, the guard pulled it free of his shirt. Firmly grasping the key at the end of the chain, he inserted it into the lock in the box cover and swung it open. Punching a code into the keypad secured inside, he waited for the bell tones signaling the power to the deadly security barrier had been shut off. The guard pushed his prisoner forward to the gate.

“I know you’re curious,” the Alliance guard addressed the prisoners as he pulled the gate open. “So I’ll give you the good news. The captain here is the only survivor after thirty of your tasars tried to destroy a worthless group of empty buildings. Go on,” the guard violently shoved the soldier through the breach as a murmur of frustration rippled through the prisoners at the information. “Your pals are waiting to welcome you to your new home.”

“Why looky there,” a soldier standing near Sergeant Arhina snickered as the new prisoner stumbled trying to regain her balance, “if it isn’t Captain Midget.”

When several other prisoners laughed at the man’s comment, Sergeant Arhina felt the hackles on the back of her neck bristle.

“With the rate your side is losing tasars, it won’t be long before this war is over and you find yourselves working in the mineral mines. Just a little something for you to look forward to.” Laughing contemptuously, the guard closed the gate and reset the security code before locking the box and climbing back into the cruiser. Moments later, he sped away leaving a choking cloud of dust as the only evidence he was ever there.

After regaining her footing, Captain Midd glanced at the encircling sea of faces looking for any familiar ones. She wasn’t too surprised when she recognized several of the soldiers staring back at her. Nor was she surprised when none stepped forward to greet her. Disappointed, but not surprised.

Straightening up to her full five foot six inch height and seeming to sense an impended confrontation, she asked, “who is in command here?”

“Captain,” a lanky soldier stepped out from the others, his right hand raising to his forehead in more of a wave than a military salute. “I’m Lieutenant Hovart, ranking Mainlander officer and Commander of Beta II.”

“Lieutenant,” the captain’s return salute was razor sharp in contrast. “You can consider yourself relieved. I will be assuming command of this camp.”

“Captain,” the lieutenant’s voice betrayed his annoyance with the order.

“Is there a problem, Lieutenant?”

“No, Captain,” the lieutenant scratched his nose. He didn’t hide his displeasure from his features as he carefully considered his response. “Just think you might want to know what you’re taking on before you make any brash decisions. Being in charge of a prisoner-of-war camp isn’t exactly something you can just show up and do.”

Captain Midd took a deep breath before answering. It wasn’t the first time her abilities had been doubted by someone who knew nothing about her. “Lieutenant,” she began calmly, “military code states that the most senior officer shall assume command of any military facility. Does it not?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“This camp qualifies as a military facility, does it not Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Captain.”

With the knowledge that the lieutenant wasn’t the only soldier in the crowd questioning her capabilities, as well as her authority, the captain kept her voice steady and free of emotion.

“And I am now the most senior officer in this camp, am I not?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Then I’m assuming command. I ask again, Lieutenant, is there any problem with that?” Captain Midd’s eyes bored into the vexed soldier.

“No, Captain.”

“Good. Now that we have that settled, I’d like to get some shut eye. I haven’t slept since before the start of my mission. So if you would be so kind as to show me to the officers’ quarters before I collapse. Once I get some sleep, I’ll want to talk with you and the Islander camp commander about the operations of the camp.”

“I’m the only commander in this camp.” Finding himself once again at the receiving end of the captain’s cold glare, the lieutenant quickly revised his comment. “I mean, I was the only commander.”

“You were ranking officer of the Mainlanders,” Captain Midd studied the faces of the soldiers surrounding her as she questioned the lieutenant’s claim. “But I see several Islanders among you. Who is their officer?” Receiving no response, the captain sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it. But her attempt to calm her rising anger wasn’t as successful as she had hoped. She was tired and frustrated and on her absolutely last nerve and when she finally spoke all of that and more boiled out of her. “Who is the commander of the Islanders, Lieutenant?”

“That would be me, Captain.” Seeing the exasperation on the captain’s face and the irritation on the lieutenant’s, the Sergeant decided to answer the question. Making her way through the soldiers to where the captain was standing, she said, “Sergeant Teragleli Arhina.” Stopping in front of the captain she smiled, executing a proper Islander salute with her fist to her chest.

“Sergeant,” Captain Midd returned the salute with a rigid right hand to her forehead. “You are the highest ranking officer of the Islanders?”

“Sergeant is as high as we go,” Arhina nodded as she answered.

“You don’t have officers?”

“Didn’t feel a need for them, Captain,” the sergeant shrugged.

“Alright,” Captain Midd accepted the response. “Shall we continue this conversation in the officers’ quarters?”

“Um, Captain,” Hovart uneasily shifted his weight from one booted foot to the other while doing his best to avoid looking directly at his new senior officer.

“I’m afraid what the Lieutenant is struggling to tell you,” the Islander interrupted the embarrassed man, “is that I don’t bunk in the officers’ hut.”

“Lieutenant,” Captain Midd eyes narrowed as they again bore into the man, “make room for the Sergeant immediately.”

“Actually,” Sergeant Arhina spoke before the lieutenant had a chance. “Space being kind of short in most of the huts, it would be easier if you shared mine. There’s an empty cot in it.”

Captain Midd considered the offer as well as the woman that made it. The sergeant was several inches taller than herself, with a head of unruly blonde hair and a friendly smile that seemed to spread quickly and easily across her face under a pair of gleaming deep turquoise eyes. She stood tall showing off a trim body that was a little thin for her height and the captain assumed that probably had a lot to do with living in a prisoner-of-war camp. She instantly liked the sergeant and decided to accept her offer rather than continue standing in the heat to argue with the uncooperative lieutenant.

“Very well, Sergeant, lead the way. Lieutenant, I’ll expect a complete briefing about the operation of this camp as soon as I get some sleep. Understood?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Islander huts are over there, Captain,” the Sergeant said, motioning toward the eastern end of the camp.

“The Mainlanders and Islanders don’t share quarters?” the Captain asked, astonished that such division would be necessary in a camp full of soldiers that were fighting side-by-side to save their homes.

“No,” Lieutenant Hovart grunted as if the answer should have been obvious.

Sergeant Arhina remained silent, she didn’t approve of the policy but it was the way the camp had been organized when she arrived and she never felt it her place to try to change it.

“Well,” Captain Midd muttered, turning away from her junior officer and the crush of soldiers behind him, “we’ll have to see about that.”

“That would be up to you, Captain,” Hovart muttered.

The Sergeant glanced at the disgruntled lieutenant. ‘This spitfire has sure riled up the troops,’ she smiled to herself, turning to follow the captain.

“Same old Captain Midget,” someone grumbled after the women. “Always trying to make everybody play nice.”

Captain Midd tensed at the comment but didn’t break stride as she marched across the prison camp.

Sergeant Arhina found herself having to hurry to catch up with the quick striding Captain. As she followed behind, she studied the new camp commander. She wasn’t tall but not short either, despite the unusual nickname some of the Mainlanders had for her. Her frame was lean and well toned which was to be expected of a seasoned military officer. Shoulder length chestnut hair framed a oval face whose most striking feature were a pair of mahogany eyes that the Sergeant had already seen could sparkle when the woman smiled or bore a hole clear through you if she was irritated. The captain intrigued her and she was looking forward to learning more about the beautiful woman.

“Captain,” the sergeant called out stopping the officer’s misdirected progress. “My hut is over there,” she said, pointing to an unassuming structure sitting slightly apart from rows of identically sized huts.

Wordlessly, Captain Midd adjusted her steps.

As the women walked, now side-by-side, the Captain noticed that every Islander they encountered made a point of properly saluting the two ranking officers. On the other hand, the Mainlander soldiers were a mixed bag. Some smartly saluted the pair, some gave them a lackadaisical impersonation of a salute, and a small group made it obvious that they did not feel the pair deserved any respect at all.

“Damn, I hate having to constantly prove myself to these military lifers,” the Captain muttered.

“Excuse me,” Sergeant Arhina glanced over at the Captain.

“Oh,” the Captain Midd paused while another group of soldiers walked by. “Don’t mind me,” she said after considering it might not be the best way to start her command by grousing openly about the soldiers she may one day have to depend on to carry out her orders. “I just need some sleep. My brain has turned to mush.”

The Sergeant nodded as if she understood which in some way she did. It would take a blind man not to see the open hostility some of the Mainlanders directed towards their new commander.

“Door’s open.” The women had reached the hut and Sergeant Arhina motioned for the Captain to climb the steps first. “Bunk to the right is yours,” she said as soon as they were both inside.

“Thank you,” Captain Midd made a beeline for the cot. “But to be honest, I’m so tired I could fall asleep on the floor.”

“I think you’ll find the cot a bit more comfortable,” the Sergeant laughed. “I’d offer you a hot shower but we only get those once a week and you missed yesterday’s.”

“Oh, boy,” the Captain dropped onto the edge of the cot to remove her boots. “Sure hope you can stand me for another week, I’m pretty ripe already.”

“Don’t worry; we’re all pretty ripe by bath day.”

With her feet free of the heavy boots, the Captain stood back up, removing her uniform jacket and looking around the hut for a place to hang it.

“Don’t have a closet,” the Sergeant seemed to read her thoughts. “But I’ve fashioned a couple of hangers to keep things off the floor,” she handed the Captain a shaped piece of wire.

“Thanks, Sergeant. Teragleli wasn’t it?”

“Yes, but you can call me Terri. That’s what my family and friends call me.”

“Thanks,” the captain smiled greatly relieved she wouldn’t have to get her tongue around the native woman’s name every time they talk.

“It is a mouthful, isn’t it?” the sergeant chuckled when she saw the relief on the captain’s face.

Midd’s face reddened with embarrassment, realizing the Islander had understood the reason for her relief. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Arhina said, nonchalantly. What about you, Captain? I already figured out you don’t think much of being called Midget.”

“No,” the word was spate out. “I’m sorry,” Midd sat back down on her cot, then laid down. “It’s been used by the lifers ever since I put on that damn uniform. Their way of getting even with me for spoiling what they thought of as a private club, I guess,” she explained as her tired body relaxed against the thin mattress.

“You’re not regular military?” Terri asked, settling on her own bunk.

“No,” the Captain sighed. “When the war started, I wanted to do my part so I joined. The lifers didn’t take too kindly to pilots being made instant officers. Not to mention that I have a tendency to try and do things by the book,” she yawned. “Anyway, to answer your question. When we don’t have to use our titles, name is Tarphan but my friends call me Tarp. Feel free to do likewise.”

“Will do, Tarp.” Hearing no response, Terri looked over at the captain to find her fast asleep on top of her blankets. She stood, pulling the blanket off her cot and carrying it the few strides across the room to the other cot. Carefully, so as to not wake the officer, she spread the blanket over the sleeping woman. “Sleep well, Tarphan. You’re going to need all the rest you can get.”

Terri studied the sleeping woman for several minutes before turning away to go outside and give the captain some privacy. She also wanted to see if she could gain any insight as to how the Captain received her unwanted nickname by listening to conversations among the prisoners in the yard. But she didn’t have to go far for the answer. As she turned away, her eyes fell on the jacket hanging on the wall next to the captain’s cot. Above the left breast, standing out in bright white letters against the jacket’s dark blue material was Captain Midd, G.T.

“Wonder what the G stands for,” Terri murmured as she left the hut.

‘You’ll never know’, Tarp thought to herself. Rolling over onto her side, she opened one eye to watch the sergeant leave.

“Think that guard was telling the truth, Advisor?” an Islander soldier asked as soon as Terri exited her hut.

“About what?” Terri asked, stepping down to the ground.

“The Alliance destroying thirty tasars.”

“Don’t know.” Terri considered the question as she continued walking in a direction that would put her directly in contact with the vaporizing fence. Just before she entered the deadly vaporizing field, she changed her direction so that she was paralleling the barrier.

A path, worn into the ground by a multitude of uncounted boot steps, encircled the prison camp and several times a day the sergeant walked this perimeter. She told herself it was to keep her muscles toned, but she knew it was mostly just to pass the time. She nodded a greeting to the Islanders joining her.

“The guards usually exaggerate anything they tell us,” Terri finally answered the question. “There is no reason not to believe this guard was doing the same.”

“Yeah,” one soldier agreed, “they said they took out a hundred last month at Glentown but Pleicy said only fifteen tasars were actually on that mission.” The soldier named a prisoner who had arrived shortly after the battle. “And most of them made it back to base.”

“And don’t forget the time they told us over fifty were shot down trying to reclaim Batter’s Landing,” another soldier added.

“Right,” the first soldier answered. “The Alliance only shot down one tasar that time.”

“Best not to put too much credence in what the guards say,” Terri said as following the footpath. “It’s not in their best interest to be truthful.”

“You’re right, Advisor,” a soldier acknowledged. “What about the new commander?” he changed the subject, curious to know what the sergeant thought of the recent arrival.

“What about her, Steevl?”

“Doesn’t seem to be like the others.”

“No,” the sergeant agreed as she walked.

“Think she’ll try to put a end to the separation? I heard some of the Mainlanders talking and they say she doesn’t believe in separating Mainlanders and Islanders. They say that she thinks if we are to share Organi, we must learn to live together.”

“A wise woman,” Terri murmured.

“Advisor,” another soldier asked expectedly, “do you think she’ll force them to mingle.”

“I think,” Terri smiled at the soldiers walking with her, “we should continue our walk in silence. It does little purpose to anticipate the future. I’m sure Captain Midd will inform us of her intentions as soon as she has had a chance to observe the camp’s operation. Let’s give her time to speak with Lt. Hovart.”

“He shows her no respect,” an older soldier spoke for the first time.

“Yes, he calls her Captain Midget,” a young female soldier snickered.

Terri stopped and gazed at each of the soldiers accompanying her. When she spoke, her words were soft but those who heard understood her message.

“It is wrong to speak of another in such a contemptuous manner. I am sure Captain Midd does not appreciate to be treated so disrespectfully and it is my wish never to hear that phrase again spoken by an Islander in this camp.”

“Of course,” the female soldier bowed. “My sincerest apologies.”

Terri reached out, placing a reassuring hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I speak only what I know to be right.” Wanting to be sure the young soldier understood her words were not meant to censure but rather to show that she should be aware of another’s feelings, Terri waited for the young woman to meet her eyes. When she did, the sergeant smiled and gently offered, “shall we continue our walk?”

“Yes, Advisor.”

“Damn,” Lt. Hovart glared as he watched the sergeant begin one of her many daily walks. “Bad enough we got that Advisor in camp,” he sneered. “Just what we need now is Captain Midget.”

“Come on, Lieutenant,” another soldier standing nearby asked, “she can’t be that bad can she?”

“No?” Hovart focused his glare at the soldier, “when Midget was learning to fly the tasars, she kept asking why the Islanders weren’t being trained to fly. Can you imagine that? Islanders flying tasars.”

“Might not have been too bad an idea,” the other soldier shrugged. “Way the Confederacy keeps running out of pilots, we could use the help.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Look, Hovart, we all know you don’t like Islanders,” the soldier continued. “Why, I don’t know considering they’ve never done anything to you. Heck, you never even seen one until the war started. But the Captain is in charge now and if she says we need to get along with them, I don’t see what harm it can cause.”

“You get along with them if you want,” the lieutenant turned away from the soldier, “but I’m not trusting any Islander to watch my back.”

“You’re in a prison camp, Hovart,” the soldier laughed, walking away to leave the lieutenant alone with his tirade. “Doesn’t look like having a Mainlander watch your back did you much good.”

“Fool,” Hovart grunted.

“So what do you plan to do?” another soldier asked the disgruntled lieutenant.

Hovart muttered, “if I could figure out a way to get through that damn fence, I would leave this camp to Captain Midget. And good riddance.”

“But you can’t,” the soldier grinned. “You’ve been trying for how long now?”

“Got to be a way.”

“In the meantime?”

“In the meantime,” the lieutenant brushed the soldier aside, “I plan to see what’s for chow tonight.”

Captain Midd’s eyes slowly blinked open as she stretched her limbs to loosen the sleep-tightened muscles. She didn’t know how long she’d slept but whatever the length of time it didn’t seem to be anywhere near what her exhausted mind and body required. She considered rolling over and letting sleep reclaim her but her sense of duty refused to allow the action and she reluctantly pushed herself upright.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the cot, Tarp looked around the hut she would be calling home for who knew how long. The first thing she noticed was that she could easily cross the room in any direction by taking six long strides. Her cot was pushed up against the wall on the north side of the square hut and a second seemingly uncomfortable looking cot occupied a similar position on the west wall. A poorly built table and matching pair of chairs were pushed against the south wall, closer to one corner of the room than the other. The remaining wall contained the only entrance to the hut, with the door set slightly off center in the wall. The corner of the room between the hut’s door and the unsteady table was separated from the rest of the space by walls that rose only half way to the ceiling. A drape hung across the small cubicle’s opening and it didn’t take much imagination to guess that the partitioned corner contained the hut’s toilet facilities.

Except for the cots and table, the room was unfurnished and unadorned. No windows broke the planes of the walls, the dark interior brightened only by a single quartz lamp hanging from a wire hooked over a beam supporting the ceiling. The lamp was turned down low and Tarp wondered if her missing roommate was responsible for that. Standing, she pulled the borrowed blanket off her cot and carefully folded it before returning it to its rightful place on the sergeant’s cot.

Padding to the middle of the room to allow plenty of space, Tarp began a series of stretching exercises she performed every day to keep her body limber. She was in the middle of her routine when the door silently opened and the sergeant peeked inside.

“You’re awake,” Terri smiled, pushing the door fully open so she could enter the hut. “Hope you slept well. Those cots aren’t exactly known for being too comfortable.”

“Like a baby,” Tarp lied, not seeing any reason to complain about the uncomfortable mattress. She tried to continue her exercises but with a second person now inside there wasn’t enough room and she gave up.

“I’m sorry,” Terri quickly stepped back towards the open door, “I can wait outside.”

“No,’ Tarp shook her head, smiling at the other woman. “Please stay. Besides, it’s more your hut than mine.”

“Nonsense,” Terri left the door open and crossed the room to her cot. “We both call it home now. So if you ever need some privacy, just say so and I’ll leave for a while.”

“If you agree to do the same,” Tarp stepped to the open doorway, leaning against the rough frame, “it’s a deal. How long was I asleep?”

“About sixteen hours. Go ahead and close it,” Terri said, misunderstanding the other woman’s reason for moving to the opening. “I got in the habit of leaving it open during the day. This place can seem pretty depressing as dark as it gets in here.”

“Oh, no,” Tarp looked over her shoulder at the sergeant. “I don’t mind it being open. It’s just that I still haven’t gotten used to the longer days here on Organi. Back home they were only about a half as long. If I’d slept that long there, it would be tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Terri scooted back on her cot so she could lean against the hut’s wall, “I understand that there are many differences between Organi and your home planet.”

“Many,” Tarp agreed, continuing to stare outside. Far to the east above the distant mountains, she could see the double moons of Organi rising in the darkening sky. “For starters, Organi has two moons, we only had one on Retha.” Tarp’s stomach growled loudly as she spoke. “Sorry,” she smirked, turning to face the sergeant, “guess it’s been a while since I ate. When is the next meal served here?”

Quickly pushing up from the cot, Terri was abashed that she hadn’t considered the captain would be hungry when she awoke. “I’m so sorry,” she said solemnly, “I should have had something prepared for you. We can go to the food hut, the cooks always have something available,” she explained as she hurried to the door to leave the hut.

“Hey,” Tarp reached out to stop the Sergeant as she tried to hustle past. “It’s okay, really. I don’t expect you to anticipate my needs just because I’m the camp commander.”

“No,” Terri smiled sadly at the captain, “not because you are the camp commander. But because you arrived in camp after a long journey and it would be expected you would have needs to be seen to. My sincerest apologies,” Terri dropped her head, bowing to the captain to acknowledge her thoughtlessness.

“No apology is necessary,” Tarp was somewhat troubled by the Sergeant’s behavior. “Just lead me to the food hut. Suddenly I’m extremely famished and I’m afraid I’ll start eating the blanket on my cot if I don’t find food soon,” the captain laughed as her stomach growled even louder.

“Follow me,” Terri rushed out of the hut.

Still confused by the Islanders unusual demeanor, the captain did as she was instructed and followed the sergeant outside.

As the women walked across the open ground in the center of the camp, Tarp studied the layout of the compound. From what she could see in the growing darkness, the prisoners were contained in a rectangular area surrounded by the security barrier. The center of the camp was relatively open with two distinct groupings of huts occupying either end. Tarp noticed that the huts nearest to the one she shared with the sergeant were more evenly spaced and of uniform size while the huts at the far end of the camp were haphazardly spaced and varied greatly in size and shape.

Two much larger huts sat in the middle of the camp and Terri was leading her to one of those buildings, which Tarp assumed to be the food hut. She wondered the purpose of the other large hut and was about to ask when the sergeant provided the answer.

“Watch your step,” Terri said as she carefully stepped over a small ditch with a trickle of water running along its bed. “That’s the food hut,” she indicated the large structure they were approaching. “And that’s the shower hut. An automatic timer turns on the pump once a week. We have six hours for everyone to get showered, so there’s no time for more than a quick scrub and rinse. The food and shower huts are open to both Mainlanders and Islanders.”

“Why the separation, Sergeant?” Tarp asked again, being careful to use the woman’s title since there were several other prisoners nearby.

Terri shrugged as she climbed the steps leading up to landing in front of the door of the food hut. “I believe your soldiers feel more comfortable that way, Captain.”

Tarp followed the sergeant up the steps, “do you agree with the arrangement?”

“It was not my place to question the arrangement. I arrived after it had been put into place.” Terri pushed open the hut’s door and entered the surprisingly large room.

The interior of the hut was open with long rows of tables and benches occupying most of it. A counter stretching the length of the room separated the eating area from the kitchen and several prisoners were working their way along the counter selecting from a variety of food choices for their meals. Terri led Tarp to the end of the line and the women wasted no time filling their trays.

“We can eat here or take it back to the hut,” Terri offered as they reached the end of the counter.

“Perhaps back at the hut, Sergeant” Tarp said, looking about the room and seeing that only a few of the tables were unoccupied. “I’d like to talk.”

“Alright,” Terri nodded in understanding as she walked across the room to the door. Her path took the women past the table where Lt. Hovart was eating.

“I suppose you’ll be wanting that briefing now,” Hovart grumbled as Tarp approached.

The captain paused to respond, “soon, Lieutenant. But first I’d like to eat. And since it’s so late in the day, perhaps we can plan on you giving me a briefing first thing in the morning. That is if you don’t have any other plans.”

“Whatever,” Hovart didn’t bother to look up from his meal. “Not like I have much to do around this place now that you took command.”

“Very well.” Not having the energy or inclination to deal with the lieutenant’s insubordination right then, Tarp continued for the door.

“It must be strange,” Captain Midd said as she set her tray on the table in their hut. “Being here where there is so little water or vegetation.” She hadn’t failed to notice the lack of any plant life within the prison camp or on the valley floor surrounding the camp.

“I will admit it has taken some getting used to,” Terri set her own tray on the table before carefully sitting on one of the chairs. “We are used to lots of trees and flowers on the Islands. But it’s the sea that I miss the most.”

“I’ve heard that the Islands are very beautiful,” Tarp gingerly settled in the other chair. “I’m sorry to say that I had not had the opportunity to visit them before the war started. It’s sad that the Alliance has now chosen to harvest Organi.”

“Why do you think they have come here now?” Terri asked quietly as she began to eat.

“What do you mean?”

“By Galaxy Law, the Alliance must be asked onto any populated planet. For generations, the Alliance has sought permission to harvest Organi. But their requests have always been denied.”

“You think a Rethan asked them here?” Tarp was startled by the sergeant’s question that sounded distinctly like an accusation against the Mainlanders.

“What do you feel?” Terri looked at the captain, gentle brown eyes revealing no accusations, only a genuine interest in the captain’s answer.

Perplexed with how the question was phrased, Tarp took the time to consider her feelings before answering.

“Regretfully, I feel,“ Tarp acknowledged, “you may be right. When Retha became uninhabitable and we were forced to look for a new homeland, it was decided that those who chose to travel to Organi would make a fresh start without the traditions and practices that had resulted in our own planet being destroyed. On Organi we would no longer value wealth and power, we would no longer be controlled by a governor elected by only the most wealthy amongst us. Instead we would live simply, using only what we needed to survive. On Organi, we would all be equal with every member of the community having a vote in all decisions. When we came here, we would work for the good of all. Our days would be spent growing our own food, making our own clothes and shelters, and caring for our elders and younglings.”

“And what were you to do?”

“I flew shuttles on Retha. Since that skill would not be required here, I volunteered to help maintain the planting and growing machinery. And I would help in the fields when needed.”

“Did you enjoy this change?”

“Very much,” Midd said with a hint of despair in her voice. “I finally felt like I was doing something good with my life.”

“But not everyone felt as you.” It was spoken as a fact not a question.

“No. At first, everyone seemed willing to go along with the plan. But as the days passed, some began to complain about the work. They were too used to having things done for them on Retha and they wanted to revert to the old ways. Luckily, they were a small minority and their demands to change our new customs were voted down.”

“Yet they remained unhappy.”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Terri,” Tarp pushed her tray away, suddenly wasn’t as hungry as she had been just moments before. “It’s very possible that one or more of them contacted the Alliance.”

“What have you done to be sorry for?”

“If we hadn’t come to Organi, your home would not be threatened like it is. The Islanders must hate us.”

“We do not,” Terri gently returned the tray to its proper position in front of the captain.

“How can you say that? I’d hate us, if I were you.”

Terri smiled, “to hate another is to hate yourself. To be at peace, you must trust in yourself and those around you.”

“But we have ruined everything for you. You no longer have any control over the land your people have called home for generations.”

“We cannot control what does not belong to us,” Terri told the distressed woman.

“I don’t understand. You don’t own the islands?”

“The islands were a gift to us from Mo-tah. We live on them but we do not own them.”

“Yet you fight for them.”

“We fight for Mo-tah,” Terri explained.

“Mo-tah?”

“Mo-tah provides the ground we live on, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. She gives us fire to warm us when we are cold and cool breezes to cool us when we are warm. She allows us to eat the fruit of her plants and the fish in her sea. She is our Mother.”

Tarp gazed at the sergeant for several minutes before softly replying. “On Retha we had books that told of a time long ago when the people worshipped Gaia. They called her Mother Earth and honored her for giving them the very things you say Mo-tah gives to you.”

A comfortable silence fell in the small hut as both women contemplated the similarities of the two traditions and what, if any, importance could be deduced from the coincidence.

Deciding a change of topic was in order, Terri returned to the beginning of their conversation. “I didn’t know what to expect of the Mainland when I was told I would be coming here to defend Mo-tah. But I never expected it to be so different from the Islands.”

“You’ve never been on the Mainland before?” Tarp was surprised by the revelation. She had just assumed that the Islanders would be familiar with the entire planet they inhabited.

“No,” Terri shook her head. “The Mainland holds dangers we are not used to on the Islands. It is not safe for us.”

“Like the tigers?” Many times, Tarp had listened to the hunters complain of the large cats that roamed the Mainland and made it dangerous to hunt the game animals for the Rethan settlements. She hoped never to have a face-to-face encounter with one of the ferocious animals.

“Yes, the tigers are best to be avoided. But it is also the vastness of the Mainland that we do not understand. Our Islands are small and most can be walked across in a single day. We are familiar with them. The Mainland stretches from the top of Organi to the bottom and is so wide that even a tasar cannot cross it in a day. Such a distance is unknown to us.”

“But in all the time your people have lived on Organi, you never wanted to explore the Mainland?” Rising from the uncomfortable chair, Tarp picked up the plate from in front of her and moved to sit on her cot. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Terri followed the captain’s lead. “I rarely use the chairs. I don’t find them very sturdy.”

“I can see why,” Tarp glanced over at the unsteady pieces of furniture. “Please continue.”

“Our history talkers tell stories of Islanders setting off to explore the Mainland. Sadly none of them returned home. Over the years, our Advisors recommended that the expeditions be stopped.”

“Advisors?”

“Yes, they guide my people.”

“I’m sorry,” Tarp frowned, a confused look on her face. “Are they like your leaders?”

“We have no leaders,” Terri explained. “Advisor is an honored position passed from mother to daughter. We attempt to live our lives in harmony with what Mo-tah provides us. When there is a dispute or if someone seeks guidance, an Advisor is consulted.”

“She tells you what to do,” Tarp suggested.

“No,” Terri shook her head. “An advisor listens and then speaks what she knows to be true.”

“How does she know what is true?”

“Advisors have the wisdom of all who have come before.”

“What happens if someone doesn’t agree with what the Advisor says?”

“I don’t know,” Terri smiled serenely. “It has never happened.”

“Never?”

“No.”

Thoughtfully, Tarp chewed the last bite of food, digesting both the food and what she had just learned of the Islander culture. “I wish we could be more like that,” she sighed.

“You don’t have those who guide you?” Terri asked.

“No, not in the way you mean. On Retha, the elected governor named judges to hear disputes and decide who was right.”

“This governor was the one with the most wisdom?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Tarp laughed. “Usually the one with the most money. That’s why we decided to change how we did things here.”

A soft tapping on the hut’s door interrupted the women.

Terri pushed herself up from the cot. “It is time for my last walk of the day. I shall be careful not to wake you when I return,” she said as she gathered their dirty dishes. “I will return these on the way.”

“Thank you. Please don’t worry about waking me, I probably won’t be asleep anyway.”

“We’ll see,” Terri smiled, her eyes twinkling as if she knew the opposite to be true.

Tarp watched Terri exit the hut. It is only then that she noticed several Islanders waiting outside in the moonlight. They all saluted the sergeant before greeting her warmly.

“May I take those?” one of the soldiers reached for the trays Terri carried.

“Thank you, Meeka,” Terri smiled, “we will walk slow so you may join us.”

“Thank you, Advisor,” the soldier hurried off toward the food hut to return the dirty dishes.

“Advisor?” Tarp whispered. “Terri is one of their honored ones?” As she watched the sergeant lead the others away from the hut, she wondered what other surprises her unusual hut mate had yet to reveal.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand, Lieutenant,” Tarp addressed her obviously unhappy subordinate. Since finishing their morning meal, she and Terri had been sitting in their hut with the lieutenant as the soldier gave his new commander a rundown on the operation of the prisoner-of-war camp.

“What’s that?”

“Why have you not attempted any escapes from here? Do you know how much it would mean to the Confederacy chances if these soldiers were to return to the battle?”

“Are you crazy?” Hovart leapt to his feet, staring at the captain. “You have eyes. You’ve seen that the camp is surrounding by a vaporizer fence. You can’t dig under it. You can’t jump over it. And you sure as hell can’t go through it. Any escape attempt would end before it ever got started. Besides with the way the war is going, there’s no reason for us to even try. What with the way the Alliance is shooting down our tasars and destroying our bases, they’d be nothing for us to fight with. So what difference could we make even if we got out?”

“That’s just it,” Tarp told the discouraged soldier. “The war is not going bad for the Confederacy, that’s just what the guards want you to think. In fact, we have more tasars than pilots and gunners. And there are more arriving every week. It’s the Alliance that the war is going bad for. It’s running short of supplies and mercenaries after stretching itself thin trying to protect all the planets being harvested. Organi is not alone any more in fighting the Alliance. Other planets, following our example, have begun to resist the Alliance. Believe me, Lieutenant, the soldiers in this camp would make a big difference.”

“Come on,” Hovart protested. “You heard the guard say they shot down thirty tasars when they brought you in.”

“That was just talk,” the captain countered. “I left with a squad of eight tasars. About half of them sustained some damage and had to return to base camp before the mission was completed but mine was the only tasar shot down.”

The lieutenant groaned in acceptance of the truth of the captain’s statement and dropped back down into the chair. “Don’t make much difference anyway. We can’t get through the fence. I’ve tried.”

“But,” Tarp started to argue.

“No, Captain,” Hovart immediately interrupted, “there is no way to get through that fence alive. And I’m not about to order soldiers to their deaths just to prove it to you.” He slammed his fist on the table to emphasize his position.

“Lieutenant,” the captain growled, “you’re out of line.”

“Excuse me.” Terri had been sitting quietly on her cot while the captain and lieutenant talked but seeing that both were getting angry and their discussion was about to escalate into a heated argument, she decided to speak. Calmly she offered, “both of you have valid points. Perhaps we should take some time to reflect on what we’ve learned today before we continue this discussion.”

Lieutenant Hovart glared at the Islander. He had not wanted the woman to be a part of the briefing to begin with and now he bristled at her composed attempt at telling them what to do. “Look,” he snarled, “you may be some kind of mystical, mumbo-jumbo priestess with the Islanders but don’t try and use that tranquil tone on me.”

Tarp turned to see how Terri would respond to the caustic outburst. She wasn’t too surprised to see the sergeant sitting calmly on her cot, smiling at Hovart. She smirked, aware the sergeant’s affable demeanor was driving her second-in-command nuts.

“I think the Sergeant is right, Lieutenant,” Tarp said before the lieutenant could continue his attack. “I would like some time to think about what you’ve told me. Perhaps we should call it a day.”

“Fine with me,” Hovart stood abruptly, knocking over the chair he had been occupying. “You know where to find me. Just do me a favor,” he snapped striding to the hut’s door without bothering to right the overturned chair. “Leave her outside next time. Way the Islanders think she knows everything drives me crazy. And how she just sits there smiling, like she doesn’t have a care in the world. Don’t know how you expect to win a war with that,” he jabbed a finger in Terri’s direction, “commanding half the troops.”

“That’s enough,” Tarp ordered the soldier. “You will show the Sergeant the respect her position deserves. And you can keep your bigoted opinions to yourself in the future, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir,” Hovart seethed at the rebuke.

“You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir.” With a sloppy salute, the soldier turned on his heel, yanking the door open with enough force it slammed against the wall. “What a pair,” Hovart muttered as he stomped down the hut’s steps, the door swinging wildly behind him. “A midget and a soothsayer. No wonder we’re losing this war.”

Tarp grabbed the door in mid-swing, latching it before turning to face Terri. “Sorry,” she shrugged, mortified by the lieutenant’s outburst.

Terri grinned, “it is not the first time I have heard the Lieutenant’s name for me. I’m just grateful it isn’t something worse.”

“How do you remain so calm?” Tarp began to pace about the small hut, attempting to burn off the negative energy built up over the last few minutes. “I wanted to kick him right out the door. But you just sat there smiling.”

“Would it have helped the situation to do as you wanted?”

“Of course not,” Tarp continued her pacing.

“Then why do it.”

“It would have made me feel better,” the captain grumbled.

“Would it?”

Tarp stopped her pacing to stare at the sergeant who was doing her best to suppress a laugh. “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“Now you know why I walk around the camp so often,” Terri laughed at the woman’s attempts to pace about the tiny room. With having to avoid the cots, table, and upturned chair, the captain was barely able to take more than one step in any given direction.

Tarp stood in the middle of the hut, her body twisting at the waist as she surveyed the room’s tight proportions, “guess I do.” Seeing the humor in her predicament, she began to laugh with Terri. “Going on one of your walks any time soon?” she giggled, dropping onto her cot all the pent-up anger suddenly gone.

“Definitely,” Terri chuckled.

“Think I could join you?”

“You are always welcome.”

“Thanks,” Tarp lay back on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. “So what now? If we can’t escape, do we just wait here until the war is over?”

Ignoring the question for the moment, Terri asked, “you said that the Confederacy has more tasars than pilots. How is that possible?”

“Easy,” Tarp sat up so she could face Terri as she responded. “The Confederacy has friends in the galaxy. And, like I said, there are other planets joining the fight against the Alliance. Tasars are being made in a secret location and a transport lands on Organi weekly with a new shipment.”

“A full transport of tasars,” Terri whistled softly. “That must be some manufacturing plant. But something that big would be hard to hide from the Alliance, where is it?”

For some reason, Tarp didn’t hesitate in answering the sergeant’s questions even though few people, for security reasons, knew the information she was about to divulge.

“On the planet Quaza, at the far side of the galaxy. It was harvested by the Alliance a few generations ago and is devoid of life. The tasars are being made in a deep underground chamber, which has been surrounded by a sponge shield. The shield is lifted only for the empty transports to arrive and loaded ones to leave. It is literally invisible to the Alliance probing vessels.”

Probing vessels were specially designed robot controlled ships that roamed the galaxy probing planets and other stellar bodies for any resources that might be profitable for the Alliance to harvest. After the war on Organi started, their probing sensors had been reconfigured to also search for any military facility or weapons stockpile. Sponge shields absorbed the probing signals and returned false negative responses to the probing vessels’ sensors.

“Where are these tasars stored once they arrive on Organi?”

“That’s the hard part,” Tarp shook her head. “Since there aren’t enough pilots or gunners, we can’t move them once they’re unloaded. The probes find many of them and they are destroyed before they have ever been flown. I just wish it was possible to get all these soldiers back to their bases and the tasars. It would really make a difference for the Confederacy. Not to mention the land and water tanks that are sitting idle waiting for trained crews. It could mean a quick end to this war,” she said dejectedly, dropping back onto her cot. “If we could get out of this damn prison camp.”

“Ah,” Terri leaned back against the wall, a pleased look on her face. “Lieutenant Hovart may know many things about this camp but there is one thing he doesn’t know.”

“What’s that?” Tarp raised her head just high enough off the mattress to look at the smug Islander.

“Cruiser coming,” someone shouted outside the hut.

“Come on,” Terri pushed herself up from her cot, reaching out a hand to the captain. “I’ll show you what I’m talking about.”

Taking the offered hand, Tarp allowed herself to be pulled upright to face the sergeant. It was the closest the women had been to one another and the energy flowing between them was unmistakable.

Tarp felt a rush of heat between her legs and started to speak but stopped when she realized she didn’t know what she wanted to say.

Terri lifted the hand she continued to hold so she could study it. Slowly her eyes lifted to gaze into Tarp’s. “You are an interesting woman, Captain,” she sighed. “There is much about you that I would like to learn.”

“How many prisoners this time?” a soldier’s shout interrupted the moment.

“Come,” Terri continued to grasp the captain’s hand as she led her outside. “We don’t have much time.” Instead of taking Tarp to where the other prisoners were gathering around the camp’s gate, she led her around the back of their hut and to the stretch of the vaporizer fence behind the food hut. Their movements were hidden from the approaching cruiser and other prisoners by the large building.

“Hovart is right, this fence can’t be breached,” Terri told Tarp as she knelt to pick up a small stone. “Except...” she peered around the corner of the food hut to observe the actions of the guards at the gate. Suddenly she turned back around tossing the pebble at the fence. “When they bring in new prisoners and the power is shut off.”

Tarp watched the stone pass unharmed through the vaporizing field to bounce a few times on the bare ground outside the fence before coming to rest.

“But if you know this,” Tarp looked at Terri. “Why haven’t you tried to escape?”

“We shouldn’t stay here too long,” Terri sneaked another peek towards the front of the camp where a couple of new prisoners were being shoved through the gate. “Let’s go back to the hut.”

“Tell me why Hovart didn’t know about this, Terri,” the captain demanded as they start back to their hut.

“The guards tell us that the fence is always on, only the field around the gate is deactivated when they bring prisoners. They’ve even thrown things at it to prove it. But never when the gate was open. I thought about that and one day I did as I did today. The stone passed through.”

“Then why have you not escaped?”

“The guards are never the same. The number of prisoners they bring are never the same.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The timing must be perfect. It is impossible to know how much time before the field is reactivated,” Terri explained as she climbed the steps back into their hut. Once they were back inside and the door securely closed behind them, she continued, “for an escape to work, you must be ready to leave as soon as the alarm is sounded that a cruiser is coming. You would have to go through the fence the instant the guard deactivates it. If you miss-time your attempt.”

“Poof.”

“Yeah, poof.”

“Is the barrier deactivated at any other time?”

“No.”

“How are supplies brought into camp?” Tarp asked, knowing that food and other essentials must be delivered to the prisoners.

“A transport comes two or three time each moon cycle. But it hovers over the camp and supplies are dropped from it. The barrier is not deactivated.”

“So the only time the fence is deactivated is when prisoners are brought into the camp.”

“Yes.”

“Knowing this, why have you never tried to escape?”

“One cannot escape alone. It would take another to watch the guard and say when the field is deactivated. If they were wrong,” Terri paused. “I could never ask that of another.”

Tarp easily understood the sergeant’s reluctance to ask someone to carry the consequences of that responsibility if the timing turned out to be wrong. She hesitated for a moment to consider what other options there might be. “Would you be willing to do that for me?”

“You would trust me with your life?” Terri gazed into Tarp’s eyes.

Without any hesitation, Tarp replied, “yes.”

“Why would you risk what most would not?”

“Because I came to Organi to get away from the greed and destruction the Alliance has wreaked on most of the galaxy. I wanted a new life. A life lived within the natural surroundings without the need to control them. And if we can stop the Alliance here on Organi, I think there’s still a chance to have that. I have to try. Otherwise,” Tarp’s voice dropped to almost a whisper as she added, “I could never live with myself for letting this happen to Organi.”

Terri saw the pain written on the other woman’s features and, in her heart, she shared the captain’s anguish over the possible future of her home planet. “Then I will help.”

The women remained quiet for several minutes, well aware of what they had just agreed to risk. Neither wanted to rush past the moment without giving the other a chance to change their mind.

“What happens if an escape is successful? Will the guards know the camp is short a prisoner?” Tarp finally broke the silence.

“They never count us,” Terri said. “They just assume that any missing prisoners must have been vaporized by the barrier.”

“Works for me,” Tarp grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “I say we take the chance and be ready the next time a cruiser comes. That means, we have some planning to do,” she stood to pace around the room. “I’ll need to know the best place to go through the fence, so I the guards can’t see me. I’ll need to make some kind of pack to carry food. And try to find something I can use as a weapon. And,”

“You cannot do this alone, Tarp,” the sergeant interrupted her planning. “You must tell Lieutenant Hovart.”

“I can’t depend on Hovart to know about this,” Tarp stopped pacing to look at Terri. “You know what he thinks about me. I can’t chance him telling the whole camp about my crazy plan. You’ll just have to tell him afterward that I tried to make it through the fence and failed. Believe me, you won’t have any trouble convincing him of it.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. If you are to do this, Hovart must know. He may not be the most tactful man...”

Tarp snorted at the comment.

“But,” Terri continued as if she hadn’t heard the Tarp’s retort, “he is a good soldier and will need to resume his position of commander with you gone. It would be better if he knew of your plans and could help.”

“He’ll be glad to be rid of me,” Tarp defiantly leaned against the wall beside her cot. “Taking back command won’t cause him any problems.”

“Do not judge the lieutenant too harshly,” Terri sighed as she sat on her cot. “Hovart is a man that needs to feel he is doing some good. When he commanded the camp he could feel that. When you arrived, he lost his purpose.”

“Hmm,” Tarp murmured, uneasily. “Guess I never looked at it that way. So what are you suggesting?”

“Hovart should know what is happening. If you make it through the fence, you will need someone to make sure the guards’ attention does not stray from the gate while you move away from the camp.”

“You could do that.”

“No. I do not go to the gate when prisoners arrive.”

“You were there yesterday when I arrived.”

“Yes,” Terri smiled. “So I was.”

“Are you sure about this, Captain?” Lieutenant Hovart was sitting on one of the chairs in his hut as he talked with his commanding officer.

“Yes.”

“But if you’re wrong.” Hovart left the sentence unfinished, it wasn’t really necessary to complete it.

“I don’t think I am,” Captain Midd said quietly from where she sat on the hut’s other chair. “The Sergeant has shown that there is a flaw in the camp’s security and we need to take advantage of that.”

“But you could be killed,” the lieutenant had seen what the vaporizer field could do and as much as he didn’t care for the woman sitting across the table from him, he sure didn’t wish that on anyone.

“I understand that,” Midd sighed, she didn’t want to think about that possibility. “But knowing what these soldiers returning to the battle could mean to the Confederacy makes taking the chance necessary.”

“Alright,” Hovart wasn’t as convinced as the captain but she was still in command. “What do you want me to do?”

“Sergeant Arhina has agreed to be my lookout, so that’s covered. I’ll need you to make sure the guards are kept busy at the gate. And that no prisoners see what I’m doing and do anything to alert the guards.”

“Let’s say you make it through the fence,” Hovart rubbed the back of his neck, “then what? The valley is a flat lot of nothing out there. How do you plan to get away from the camp without being seen?”

“The gully,” Terri spoke for the first time from where she sat on the lieutenant’s cot listening to the conversation.

“That gully isn’t very deep,” Hovart visualized the small ravine where a creek flowed into an underground holding tank used for storing the water used in the shower hut. It was the only cleft on the otherwise flat valley floor. “You’d have to crawl along the creek bed to keep out of sight and I’m not sure that will even work.”

“No,” Terri stood and walked to the open doorway of the hut to look outside. “She’ll have to hide in it until nightfall. She can crawl to the bend and then wait.”

“That means crawling almost half a click,” Hovart calculated. “That’ll take half hour or more. If she was to be seen...”

“That’s where you come in, Lieutenant,” Tarp was tired of being talked about as if she wasn’t in the room. “Your job will be to make sure I’m not seen, by anyone.”

“Okay, so you hide in the ditch until nightfall. Then what?”

“Then I’ll make my way to the trees that still cover the foothills. From there, I’ll head up into the mountains. If I can get to that pass in the west and if I have my directions straight, there should be a small base on the other side.”

“That’s a lot of ifs, Captain. And the mountains are full of Alliance patrols, not to mention tigers. How do you plan to get past them? You won’t have any weapons?”

“I’ll just have to find a way,” Midd started to lean back on the chair’s rear legs then thought better of it since the lieutenant’s hut was as haphazardly furnished as her own.

“Damn, Captain,” Hovart muttered. “You’re talking about going through a fence that can turn you into nothing in the blink of an eye. Hiding out in a shallow ditch for hours to avoid being seen by any passing cruisers; crossing the valley and avoiding the Alliance patrols and any tigers out looking for an easy meal. And then finding a pass you hope is where you think it is. Don’t you think that’s a bit much, even for you?”

“I have to try.” The captain knew the man had some valid concerns but it would be worth the danger if she were to be successful. “The Confederacy troops are out there facing the Alliance with less than the best we have to fight with. Stop thinking about how much you don’t believe I’m capable of making it and start thinking about what it would mean if I do.”

“It’s your skin, Captain,” Hovart shrugged. “Tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it. If you make it, you’ll be a hero. If you don’t, guess there isn’t much anyone can say to me about it. They’ll just figure you took on too much again, like you always do.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” Tarp scowled.

“Whatever,” the lieutenant grunted. “When do you plan to go through with this?”

“The next time a cruiser comes with prisoners and they have to deactivate the barrier. We’ll need to be ready to move the instant the cruiser is spotted.”

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out. Try to give you as much warning as possible.” Hovart stood and held out his hand, “don’t think you have much chance, Captain. But good luck.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Tarp stood and took the offered hand into her own. “I expect you will be available to resume command of the camp once I’ve gone,” she smiled as the man grinned happily.

“I’ll do my best, Captain.”

Tarp walked to the doorway and started out of the hut, Terri let her pass before following.

“Islander,” Hovart snapped to stop Terri from leaving.

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

“You make damn sure your timing is right when you give the signal. If the Captain fries, so will you,” he warned.

“I have no intention of letting Captain Midd fry, as you put it,” Terri shuddered at the thought of the woman being caught in the vaporizing field. “I assure you, Lieutenant,” she said as she turned to leave the hut, “my timing will be perfect.”

“Damn straight, better be,” Hovart muttered. As he watched the women walk away, his mind went back to the day he had seen the true power of the vaporizer fence. It was the same day he had discovered the importance of the sergeant to the Islanders.

The prisoner being removed from the cruiser was not making it easy on the guards as he fought against their efforts. Once outside the restrictive confides of the cruiser, he surveyed the prison-of-war camp and began laughing.

“You call that a security fence,” the prisoner pointed at the single strand of wire circling the camp. “I’ll be out of this place before you’re halfway across the valley.”

“You aren’t the first to make that boast,” the first guard shoved the prisoner forward. “And you’ll end up just as dead as them.”

Hovart and the other prisoners gathered inside the camp tried to shout warnings to the new prisoner but he would have none of them as he continued to taunt the guards.

“Want to put a wager behind your words, little man,” the prisoner sneered.

“Sure,” the second guard smirked.

“Okay, what’s your bet?”

“I bet,” the first guard said as he and the other guard stepped up to the prisoner grabbing his arms in a vice-like grip. “That by the time I’m done saying this, you’ll be nothing but a memory.”

Caught off guard by the guards’ quick movements, the prisoner was unable to stop his body from being thrown at the single strand of wire he had so recently ridiculed.

“NO!” Hovart screamed as the guards hurled the prisoner towards the vaporizer fence. His eyes locked on the prisoner’s for a mere heartbeat before the man no longer existed.

Arms rotating wildly in a fruitless attempt to regain his balance and stop his momentum, the prisoner’s hand entered the field and was instantly vaporized. His eyes widened in horror as the realization of his imminent death penetrated his confused brain as more of his body vanished before him.

“Anybody else want to test the fence?” the first guard asked the stunned prisoners. “Didn’t think so,” he chuckled when he received no positive responses.

Hovart, like most of the Mainlanders, turned away from the scene of the prisoner’s death. He was surprised to see the Islander walking towards him and his eyes followed the woman as she passed. The Islanders gathered beside the security fence waiting for the sergeant to join them before kneeling in the dirt and bowing their heads. After several minutes, the Sergeant lead the Islanders in standing then began to silently walk back to their side of the camp.

“What the hell was that about?” Hovart rudely grabbed the sergeant’s arm as she walked by.

The other Islanders instantly surrounded the lieutenant.

“Remove your hand from the Advisor,” an Islander commanded the lieutenant and several others repeated the demand.

“What Advisor?” Hovart had never seen the Islanders act in such a threatening way. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“They are speaking of me,” the sergeant calmly unwrapped the lieutenant’s fingers from around her arm. “As for your soldier,” she told the Mainlander, “we prayed to Mo-tah to protect his spirit as he left this life.”

“Mo-tah? What the hell is that?” the lieutenant asked angrily, he was getting extremely nervous having so many Islanders crowded around him. “Get away from me,” he swatted at the surrounding soldiers.

“You are in no danger,” the sergeant assured the frightened man. With a nod she signaled the Islanders to step back. “We meant no disrespect. Mo-tah is our mother and we honored her by asking that she protect his spirit.”

Hovart looked nervously at the Islanders backing away from him. “You some kind of holy person?” he asked the sergeant.

“No. I am just a woman. I have no special power.”

“Not what it looks like,” Hovart continued to watch the retreating Islanders who continued to defer to the sergeant.

“I am honored to be called Advisor,” the sergeant humbly explained. “They mean you no harm if you do the same. They only wish to protect the wisdom of Mo-tah.”

“If you say so,” Hovart wasn’t too sure what the woman had said as it made little sense to him. “Look, just keep them on your side of the camp and everything will be fine.”

“Very well,” the sergeant nodded then walked away, leaving the bewildered lieutenant shaking his head.

“Sure hope you know what you’re doing, Captain,” Hovart muttered as he closed the door to his hut.

Using a tray she had used to carry her most recent meal, Terri carried sand into the hut and spread it on the table.

“What’s this?” Tarp asked, looking up from the blanket she was sewing into the resemblance of a pack.

Without answering, Terri smoothed the sand before beginning to draw.

“Okay,” Tarp put down her work and stood to investigate Terri’s activity. “Guess I’ll just have to come see what you’re doing since you won’t tell me,” she gazed down at what was obviously a map of the camp and surrounding valley.

“It’s a map,” Terri continued to draw in the sand.

“I see that.”

“This is the gully,” Terri pointed to a line that started at the back of the camp and ran straight for a short distance before sharply curving to the right. “And this is the bend you will hide behind.”

“Where does it go from there?”

“This way to the foothills,” Terri extended the line, tracing the creek’s winding route across the valley floor.

“How do you know that, Terri? You can barely see as far as the bend from the camp.”

“When I first arrived in camp, I climbed on top of the food hut. It’s the tallest building,” Terri explained. “I wanted to see if there was a way out.”

“So, you did think about escaping?”

“Yes. I thought if we could get high enough, we could jump over the vaporizing field. I borrowed a plate from the food hut and threw it as high and as far as I could.”

“What happened?”

Terri turned, facing Tarp she smirked, “let’s just say, there was one less plate to wash that day.”

“Gotcha,” Tarp smiled back. “I take it, you took a look around while you were up there."

“Yes. Other than the creek gully, the valley floor is flat without any places to hide. It’s probably why the Alliance chose it for a prisoner-of–war camp.”

“Wouldn’t think it would matter considering they have the vaporizing fences.”

“They are surely aware of the field’s one flaw. They must have wanted some place where they could easily find us if the field’s activation were to fail for some reason.”

“Hmm,” Tarp studied the map.

“Do you know anything about the mountains around the valley.”

“Not much,” Terri began to draw in the formations. “Just what I can see from here. There is the pass here you think is the one that leads to the base camp. And I think there is another here,” she disturbed the sand with her finger. “The cruisers always come from that direction and returned the same way. They must have a camp somewhere in the area or there is a way through the mountains that they use.”

“Probably right on both counts,” Tarp muttered. “Guess that should be an area to avoid once I get out of here.”

“Tarp, we need to go over what you’ll do if you do get through the barrier.”

“When I get through the barrier,” Tarp correctly.

“When,” Terri agreed, smiling.

“Okay,” Tarp smiled back, “what do we need to talk about.”

“Well, first how do you plan to go through the fence.”

“Oh,” Tarp thought for a moment as she returned to the cot and her sewing. “I guess I figured I’d just run for it and duck under the wire when I got to it.”

“No,” Terri walked over to join Tarp on the cot. “That will take too long. We don’t know how much time the power will be off so you can’t waste any time stopping to duck under the wire. You’ll need to run as fast as you can and dive over it.”

“Won’t that take more time having to pick myself up on the other side?”

“Good point. What if you tuck yourself into a ball when you clear the fence? Your momentum will roll you back up onto your feet and you can continue running without losing much time.”

“Tuck and roll,” Terri tried to visualize the movement. “It might work. Think we could practice that without someone getting suspicious?”

“I’ll just say it’s another of your crazy exercise regimes,” Terri snickered. To the amusement of many in the camp, Tarp had been doing her daily exercises outside due to the cramped interior of their hut.

“Boy, no one will question that will they?” Tarp laughed with Terri. “Okay, I tuck and roll over the fence. What next?”

“Well, if Hovart can keep the guards attention focused on the gate,” Terri began to think. “You should be able to run alongside the gully for a ways before jumping into it. That would save you some time and would be a lot easier than having to crawl against the flow of the water.”

“How far?”

“Fifty strides. No more.”

“Okay.”

“And speaking of having to crawl in the water, how do you plan to keep that dry,” Terri poked a finger at the pack Tarp was making.

“Good question.” A knock at the hut’s door prevented her from answering further.

“Just a moment,” Terri rose to stop anyone from entering. She didn’t want whoever was outside the door to see the map or what Tarp was doing.

“It’s me, Captain,” Lieutenant Hovart pushed open the door, quickly closing it behind him.

“Is there a problem, Lieutenant,” Tarp questioned the officer.

“No.” Spying the sand-covered table, the lieutenant stepped over to investigate. “Good idea,” he nodded, “to know what you’re getting into. Looks like your day on top of the food hut is starting to pay off,” he told Terri.

“What do you have there?” Terri asked of the package under the man’s arm.

“Oh,” Hovart carried the package over and dropped it on the cot next to Tarp, several smaller items spilling out of it.

“What’s all this?” Tarp asked as she picked up one of the smaller packages.

“I figured the new commanding officer would like to have an up-to-date inventory. So I spent the morning going through the meager supplies we have on hand,” Hovart was clearly proud of himself. “Found a few things that I thought you might be able to use. Not really sure why the Alliance even left some of this stuff around here but since they did, you might as well take advantage of it.”

“Moisture bags,” Tarp opened the package to reveal a dozen of the watertight sacks. “This is great,” she exclaimed. “What else?”

Hovart leaned down to identify the rest of the gear, “extra blankets, couple of shirts I found, and some socks no one claimed. I figured you’d be needing dry ones once you get clear of the creek. Some old towels that can be ripped into bandages and what medical supplies I could take from first aid without anyone noticing they’d gone missing. And this,” he held up a jagged piece of metal scrap about the length of his forearm and as thick as one of the chair legs. One end was blunted but the other end had been fractured leaving a sharp jagged point. “It isn’t much but it can serve as a weapon until you find something better.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Tarp took the piece of metal from Hovart. “I really do appreciate you going to all this trouble.”

“Trouble will be worth it, Captain, if it means you get us out of here.”

“Believe me, Lieutenant,” Tarp smiled at the man who she knew felt she had no chance to succeed. “I won’t stop until I do just that.”

“Yeah,” Hovart shrugged. “At least, you’re willing to try. I better be getting back. Don’t want the troops thinking I’m getting too friendly with you.”

“No, we don’t want that,” Tarp chuckled as the man left the hut as quickly as he had entered it.

“Told you,” Terri sat beside Tarp, examining the delivered items.

“Told me what?” Tarp looked quizzically at Terri.

“You could trust him.”

“Ha,” Tarp leaned over, bumping shoulders with the Islander. “He’s just glad to be getting rid of me. One way or the other.”

“Don’t Tarp,” Terri said harshly. “Don’t even joke about that.”

Caught off guard by Terri’s brusque protest, Tarp didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry,” Terri moved to stand but she found herself held in place by the captain’s surprisingly strong grasp.

“Terri, listen,” Tarp pushed aside the items on the cot so she could scoot closer to the sergeant. “I have no intention of dying in that vaporizing field.”

“I know. It’s just,” Terri paused.

“It’s just what?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t say anything. This is important to you and I should be supporting your effort not trying to talk you out of it.”

“You haven’t tried to talk me out of it.”

Terri looked into Tarp’s eyes, “that has been what my brain has told me to do. In my heart,” Terri paused again.

“In your heart?” Tarp quietly asked.

“In my heart, I don’t what to lose you.”

Reaching up, Tarp gently placed her hand against Terri’s cheek and smiled when the Islander leaned into her touch. “We’ve only known each other a few days, Terri.”

“Yet,” Terri reached up, cupping her hand against Tarp’s. “I feel something for you. I don’t know where these feelings may take me. But I do know that I don’t what to miss what may come. You must promise me that you will survive. And that you will return,” she leaned forward until her forehead rested against Tarp’s.

“I promise,” Tarp breathed. “I’d like to know what may come, too.”

Sergeant Arhina lay on her cot staring up at the ceiling. As had happened several times in the past few days, the events of a certain morning continued to replay in her mind.

From the top step in front of the hut she had stood and watched with little interest as the Alliance cruiser approached the camp. And had almost turned away to re-enter her hut when the prisoner was pulled from the transport. It was the shouts of the other prisoners that had kept her watching and she would never forget the look on the unnamed man’s face as he was thrown into the vaporizing field.

It was not the only death in the vaporizing field the sergeant had witnessed. A couple of times, tigers had thought the camp offered easy meals and found out too late that the soldiers were not as vulnerable as they appeared. But it was the look of horror on the soldier’s face that haunted the sergeant’s dreams. She hoped that when the time came, Mo-tah would guide her in timing her warning correctly so Tarp’s death would not prove her nightmares true.

The sound of the hut’s door opening, startled Terri and she blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, were you sleeping?” Tarp asked, entering the hut.

“No,” Terri wiped at her eyes, “just thinking.”

“About him?” Misunderstanding the cause of Terri’s tears, Tarp remembered being awakened the night before by the sergeant’s anguished crying. Leaving her own cot, she had sat beside the upset woman gently rocking a sobbing Terri while she told of the soldier’s horrific death.

“Yes.”

“It won’t happen to me,” Tarp said, sitting on the edge of Terri’s cot. “You won’t let it.”

“You must run as soon as I tell you,” Terri rolled up onto her elbow, her face betraying her concerns. “Once you are past the fence, you must keep running for at least fifty strides up the gully before you start crawling. Then you must keep crawling until you reach the bend. Only then, can you stop.”

“I know,” Tarp smiled, trying to relieve the sergeant’s concern. “We’ve gone over this a hundred times.”

“You must stay below the level of the gully sides. The cruisers have scanners and they’ll spot you if you have even a single strand of hair showing.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

Terri gazed up at the woman who seemed to be taking the risk lightly, “please, Tarp, you must do as I say.”

“I will. Believe me, I won’t do anything to get recaptured. And I’m definitely not going to stay anywhere near that vaporizing field. When you give me the word, I’ll be running as if my life depended on it.”

“It will.”

“I know,” the captain smiled again. “You just be ready when I come back.”

“I won’t breath until I see you again.”

“Well, breath a little,” Tarp laughed. “You don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

“Are you sure about this?” Terri asked, not for the first time.

“Cruiser coming,” a shout was heard outside in the camp before Tarp could answer.

“Too late now to worry about that,” grabbing her pack, Tarp was already running for the door with Terri on her heels.

As the rest of the soldiers hurried for the camp’s gate, the two women ran for the opposite side of the camp where the gully was the closest to the vaporizer fence. Hidden behind the food hut, Tarp bounced nervously on the balls of her feet while Terri peered around the corner of the building to watch the guards.

“Cruiser stopped,” the sergeant informed the waiting captain. “Guard is getting out. Get ready.”

Tarp quickly adjusted the pack on her back before tensing into a sprinter’s crouch, prepared to run for the fence as soon as the Terri gave the word.

Terri, wiping at the sweat breaking out on her forehead, watched the guard approach the box where he would enter the code to deactivate the vaporizer field. She waited as the man stepped back to listen for the tones announcing his code had been accepted. As soon as the first chime sounded, she screamed, “GO!”

Tarp bolted into motion, her legs pumping beneath her driving her boots against the ground to propel her forward. Reaching the barrier, she didn’t hesitate in thrusting her body lengthwise to soar over the wire. Tucking into a ball as she dropped to the ground, Tarp rolled back up onto her feet running away from the fence and for the gully. Counting her strides as each boot pounded the hard dirt, when she reached fifty she leaped into the relative safety of the ditch.

Keeping her body as low as possible, Tarp immediately began to crawl along the stony creek bed. The gully was shallow and narrow with fast moving water covering its rocky bottom and she struggled to keep her pack above the rushing water. It was only when she heard the distinct sound of a second body plopping into the creek that she realized she wasn’t alone. Stopping abruptly, she twisted her head back, looking over her shoulder to confront who ever was following her.

“Keep moving,” Terri smirked at the puzzled but pleased captain. “We can talk later.”

“That we will,” Tarp said, turning back around. She could already feel bruises started to form on her palms and knees as she moved as rapidly as possible, crawling over the sharp rocks and other debris that lined the creek bottom. “That we definitely will.”

As soon as Terri shouted at the captain to start running, she had turned to follow her. It wasn’t a decision she had consciously made but rather one her body seem to make for her. Before she had time to question what she was doing, she was flying through the air over the wire fence. Landing hard on her shoulder, she struggled to her feet and raced after the captain. Diving into the gully, she dropped into the cool water and began crawling behind the other woman. When Tarp looked back to see who was chasing her, the sergeant couldn’t help but smile at the look on the captain’s face. It was then that she knew she had done the right thing by following her.

Being careful to keep their bodies as low beneath creek’s shallow walls as possible, the women continued to crawl even after they reached the bend that marked their initial destination. They labored against the current until they came to a spot where the ravine widened just enough for them to get out of the cold water and still remain hidden from any cruisers traveling in the valley.

Tarp pulled herself up onto the dry spot of ground, inching as close to the ravine’s side as possible so the sergeant would have room to also pull her body out of the water.

“You should have told me,” Tarp muttered as the exhausted women lay side-by-side, the hot afternoon sun already at work drying their wet clothes.

“I didn’t know,” Terri rolled her head so she could face the captain.

“What?”

“I didn’t know,” the sergeant shrugged. “When I told you to go, my legs just seemed to start running after you. By the time I figured out what I had done, I were diving into the gully.”

“You could have been killed,” Tarp’s voice was soft and filled with genuine concern.

“I did nothing more than you,” Terri gently reminded the other woman.

“It’s different.”

“How?”

“You’re important to your people.” Tarp turned her face away from the sergeant before continuing. “No one would have missed me if I didn’t make it.”

Terri heard the pain in the words and reached out cupping a tender hand around Tarp’s chin, she turned the captain’s head back to face her. “I would have missed you,” she whispered.

The women said nothing for several minutes, content to simply stare into each other’s eyes.

“Now what?” Terri asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Well,” Tarp lifted her head just enough to take in their present situation. “We can either lay here in the sun and wait for dark or we can keep going and try to get as far as we can by nightfall.”

“What do you think?”

“We keep moving. The more distance we can cover now means the shorter distance to the foothills when we get out of here.”

“Okay,” Terri rolled over on her side to re-enter the water. “Oof,” she groaned as she placed her weight on her injured shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Tarp asked, worriedly.

“Hurt my shoulder when I hit the ground after the fence,” Terri explained, rolling back onto her back.

“Let me take a look.” Unable to sit up without giving away their location, Tarp rolled onto her side to put her in position to examine the injury. “You were supposed to tuck and roll,” she groused as she gingerly poked around the bruised tissue.

“Looks easier than it is,” Terri grumbled. She had watched Tarp practice the maneuver and complete it seemingly effortlessly. But her own attempt to tuck her long body into a ball before hitting the ground had been a disaster. She was glad the captain running in front of her hadn’t witnessed her feeble attempt to duplicate the smaller woman’s smooth movements.

“Sometimes, it helps to be small,” Tarp smiled. “Doesn’t appear that anything is broken but maybe we should stay put for a while.”

“No,” Terri shook her head. “I can continue. Besides the cold water seems to help, it doesn’t hurt as much.”

“Okay, let’s go. But if it starts to cause you problems, say so and we’ll stop.” Tarp didn’t want to stay unless they really had to. Waiting around always made her crazy, she’d much rather be moving even if they weren’t sure what they might encounter in the shallow ravine.

“Deal,” Terri agreed as she slipped back into the creek.

Tarp let Terri get a few feet ahead before she slipped into the water and began to follow.

The women worked their way along the creek bottom, glad to have the rocks and stones give way to softer sand the further from camp they crawled. And the creek deepened a little making it possible for them to pull their buoyant bodies upstream without having to damage their hands, elbows and knees any more than they already were. A couple of hours before sunset, Terri suggested they find a place to leave the water so the warm sun could dry their clothes and Tarp readily agreed.

They pulled themselves out of the creek where a long, flat boulder projected out from the gully’s mud wall. It would provide a haven from the water and the heat absorbed by the rock during the long day would make quick work of drying their clothes and warming their chilled bodies. It was also with welcome relief they noticed the gully sides had deepened, provided enough height that they would be able to sit on the boulder without fear of being seen by any passing Alliance cruiser.

“Clothes will dry faster if we take them off and spread them on the rock,” Terri said as the women climbed up onto the boulder.

“Good idea,” Tarp shook off the pack and started unlacing her soggy boots. “Let me help,” she said when she saw Terri fumbling one-handed with the buttons on her shirt.

“Thank you,” Terri smiled, grateful for the help. She couldn’t wait to get off her drenched clothing and let the sun’s warmth at her wet skin.

“How’s the shoulder,” Tarp asked as she unbuttoned the shirt.

“Sore,” Terri groaned in pain when the captain tried to pull the shirt free.

“Sorry, but I can’t pull it out of you pants. You’ll have to loosen the belt first.”

Terri reached down to unbuckle her belt and found she couldn’t release the swollen leather.

“Here, let me do it. Lay back and I’ll take your boots and pants off.”

Cold, tired and starting to feel a lot of pain from her warming shoulder, Terri didn’t argue. She let the captain help her lay back on the warm stone.

Tarp moved quickly to untie the sergeant’s boots and pull them free along with the socks she wore. Then she released the belt buckle and pulled off the wet pants. With her trousers removed, the captain helped Terri sit back up and easily removed the shirt. She spread the wet clothes out in the sun before setting to work removing her own wet clothing and spreading them out to dry. As she settled back down beside Terri, her stomach growled.

“Good thing we packed lots of food,” Tarp laughed reaching for the pack she had discarded moments before.

Since deciding Tarp would attempt her escape, the women had used their trips to the food hut to carefully select food that the captain could take with her. They had added several days worth of hard biscuits and crackers, cheese, and dried meat to their trays and carried it back to their hut along with their regular meals. All of it had been wrapped in the waterproof containers Lieutenant Hovart had somehow managed to obtain from the meager supplies the camp was given by the guards.

“Guess with two of us, we’ll have to ration it though,” Tarp said as she handed a couple of crackers and a piece of cheese to the sergeant.

“I’m not hungry,” Terri fibbed but her own growling stomach gave her away.

“Yes, you are,” Tarp picked up the sergeant’s hand, placing the food in her palm. “Eat.”

“But we did not prepare for two when we...”

“Look, Terri,” Tarp knew what the woman was about to say and didn’t want to hear it. “You’re here. We can’t change that now so let’s stop worrying about it. If we’re going to make it, we have to eat while we can and keep our strength up. Besides I’m sure we’ll be able to find food once we get into the mountains. Luckily, the Alliance hasn’t stripped those forests yet.”

“But,”

“No buts. Eat. Then we rest. I want to leave this gully as soon as it’s dark enough so that any soldiers out for an evening walk around the camp won’t spot us. Go on,” she lifted Terri’s hand to her mouth, “eat. Please. I’m not going to unless you do,” she threatened, hoping it would convince the reluctant woman that there was enough food for both of them.

“Alright.”

“Good.”

Tarp helped Terri redress as soon as their clothes dried. Unable to stop her eyes from gazing the naked body before her, she said nothing as she slid the material over the sergeant’s skin.

“Do you like what you see?” Terri asked after seeing the look on the captain’s face.

“Very much,” Tarp smiled. “You are a very beautiful woman.”

“You are not shy about looking at my body,” Terri observed.

“Should I be?”

“I have noticed that some Mainlanders do not find pleasure in seeing another unclothed.”

“Don’t know what they’re missing,” Tarp teased. Finished with dressing Terri, she pulled her own boots on and tightened the laces.

“But it is true, is it not?”

“Yes. Most don’t believe that the body should be exposed except to one’s mate.”

“And you.”

“I love women,” Tarp grinned. “And I love looking at them. Clothed or not.”

“Especially not, I think,” Terri laughed.

“Especially not,” Tarp agreed. “Here, let’s eat this before we go,” she passed some dried meat and cheese to Terri.

“Do you have no family on Organi?” Terri asked remembering Tarp’s earlier comment about no one missing her.

“No. My mother and father believed in the old ways. They refused to come to Organi and believed me a fool for doing so.”

“Any other family?”

“No,” Tarp scooted down to the edge of the boulder, cupping her hands under the surface of the cold water and lifting them to her mouth to drink. “I am an only child. What about you?”

“My father died when I was quite small. I have three younger sisters and four younger brothers.”

“Wow,” Tarp looked over her shoulder at the sergeant, “big family.”

“Yes.”

“What about your mother?”

“I hope she is well.”

“Uh?” Tarp was puzzled by the answer.

“She was very ill the last time I saw her.”

“I’m sorry,” Tarp shuffled back to where Terri sat, resting a comforting hand on her arm.

“Thank you.”

“She is an Advisor?” Tarp asked, remembering that Terri said the honor was passed from mother to daughter.

“Yes.”

“How many Advisors are they?”

“We are the only family honored by Mo-tah.”

“Terri,” Tarp exclaimed, shocked by the revelation. “You’re too important to your people to be here. If something should happen to you,”

“Mo-tah will protect me.”

“Especially with you mother ill,” Tarp continued, having not heard Terri’s response.

“Tarp,” Terri placed a finger against the captain’s lips. “Mo-tah will protect me. Just as she has my mother. It is by her wish that we remain or pass from Organi. We serve until she calls us.”

“But what will happen if both of you die?”

“Mo-Tah never calls us at the same time,” Terri said, as if the war raging on the planet could not affect that possibility.

“But if your mother dies, what will your people do until you return?” Thinking of the Islanders in the prison camp, Tarp asked, “aren’t you afraid of leaving them?”

“They know that I do what is best for them. They will await my return.”

“You sound pretty convincing.”

“Because it is the truth.”

“I can tell I have much to learn about you,” Tarp looked up at the darkening sky. “Figure I’ll have plenty of time for that on our walk over those mountains.”

“As I will have to learn about you.”

“Well,” Tarp stood, lifting the pack and strapping it to her back, “should we get started.”

It didn’t take long for the women to discover they were unable to safely run across the valley floor in the darkness. What appeared from the camp to be relatively smooth ground turned out to be a rough, uneven, and deeply rutted surface that, in order to avoid injuring themselves, the women were forced to walk across. Only breaking into a slow trot whenever the landscape allowed.

“At this rate, we’re not going to reach the foothills by morning,” Tarp observed, walking through another rut left behind by the Alliance tree processing machines. “It’ll be hard to find someplace to hide during the day but we better start looking.”

“I believe that there is something that will serve that purpose not too far from here,” Terri squinted to try to see further in the darkness.

“Where?”

“Over there, I think,” Terri pointed a little to the right of the course they had been traveling.

“What is it?” Tarp strained to see where the sergeant was pointing but nothing stood out to her eyes.

“Come on,” Terri starting walking without answering.

“Okay, but the sun will be coming up over those mountains in another hour,” Tarp said as she followed. “So we better find what you’re looking for soon.”

As they walked, Tarp saw what appeared to be a shadow taking shape in the blackness. She stopped to get a better look at the illusion, “What’s that?”

“Looks like our hiding spot,” Terri quickened her steps towards the dark shape.

“Hold on,” Tarp grabbed Terri’s arm, holding her in place. “We don’t know what that is. It could be an Alliance cruiser waiting for us to walk up to it.”

“They don’t like to travel at night,” Terri lifted Tarp’s hand from her arm but kept holding it. “They’re afraid of the tigers.”

“Aren’t you?” Tarp looked around as if she would be able to spot the elusive cats in the dark.

“Terri, we can’t stand here until the sun comes up. It’s an Alliance tree processor that’s been abandoned out here ever since I’ve been in the camp. Come on, the sooner we get to it, the sooner we’ll be able to find some place safe to hide for the day.”

“Okay,” Tarp reached back, pulling the makeshift dagger from the top of her pack where she carried it. “But you stay behind me. With your bad shoulder, you won’t be much good if we have to fight.”

“Yes, Captain,” Terri stepped behind the smaller woman, bowing at the waist. “Lead on.”

“A funny soothsayer,” Tarp groused good-naturedly as she moved toward the shadow. “Maybe Hovart was right about you.”

Tarp cautiously approached the silent machine, the dagger held tightly in her right hand. Stopping periodically to listen for any sound of activity, the captain silently eased her way along the side of the massive machine. She reached the back end of the processor and slipped between it and its trailing lumber carrier. Again she paused to listen.

“Okay,” Tarp whispered to Terri who was standing a stride behind her. “Doesn’t seem to be any Alliance guards.”

“Now what?” Terri whispered back.

“Let’s see if we can find a way to get inside of it,” Tarp looked up at the wall of metal beside them. “We’ll be safe from their probes inside.”

“Any ideas?” Terri asked as she craned her neck upwards. “This thing is really big,” she said in awe of the tree-eating monster.

“Yeah,” Tarp agreed. “The Alliance has to have a way to get the robots in and out of this. Come on,” she turned to walk along the machine’s side, her eyes scanning for any opening. “There must be some sort of door to get inside.”

“Sun is coming up,” Terri observed as she followed the captain. “That should help us spot something.”

Tarp was studying the various irregularities on the surface of the machine’s side. Her frustration mounting as none of the possible openings looked big enough for the women to get through. Just as she was about to move to the front of the mammoth piece of equipment, she spotted what appeared to be a door located high above her head near the top of the processor. “There,” she pointed for Terri to see. “Now all we have to do is figure out a way to get up there.”

“Well, you could stand on my shoulders,” Terri offered, her head tilted upwards as she studied the situation.

“Still won’t be enough.”

“They must have a way to reach up there.”

“You would think so,” Tarp was running her hands over the machine’s covering. “Must be a release or something,” she muttered as she searched for a hidden panel.

“Or once they finish building them, they never need to go back inside.” Terri joined the captain in her search. “Maybe that’s why they just left it here when it stopped working.”

“Doubt that. Even the Alliance couldn’t afford to just replace these with new ones if something goes wrong.”

“What’s this?” Terri asked as her hands felt a slight difference in the temperature of the metal surface.

“What?” Tarp asked, unable to see anything out of the ordinary where the sergeant’s hands rested.

“Feel here,” Terri said. “It feels warm. Like the quartz lamp back in the camp hut.”

“Yes, it does,” Tarp smiled at the sergeant. “Now we just need to find a way to get it to open. The Alliance uses quartz crystals for power, just like we use quartz crystals in our tasars. The crystals produce a small amount of heat as they work. My guess is that there’s some sort of control panel under here.”

Tarp began to investigate at the area around the warm spot with her dagger, seeking any weakness. Carefully feeling around the suspected panel, she forced the sharp point of the dagger into the metallic skin of the processor and slowly began to cut into the machine.

Leaving the captain to concentrate on her work, the sergeant leaned her back against the processor. After a few moments, she began to feel something poking uncomfortably into her back. Shifting her weight back onto her boots, she turned to see what was causing her irritation. A small button no bigger than a thumbnail was raised slightly above the surface of the processor’s side.

“Wonder what this is?” Terri mumbled, poking the button.

“Don’t!” Tarp cried out, jumping back and raising her dagger, ready to protect them from any impending attack.

“What’s wrong?” Terri asked, her head jerking around to see what had caused the captain’s concern.

Tarp didn’t answer as she waited to see if Terri’s action had activated any hidden Alliance security alarms. “You can’t just go around poking buttons you find,” she groused, relaxing when no Alliance guards materialized from inside the processor. “At least, give me some warning before you do anything.”

“Oh,” Terri grinned. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Tarp smiled back. “It just scared me when the door popped open. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

Both women looked into the small opening that Terri had caused to be revealed. A single toggle switch rested inside.

“Well, do we try it?” Tarp asked.

“Don’t think we have much choice,” Terri said as the sun cleared the mountain ridges in the south and began to light the valley with its strong rays.

Tarp looked over her shoulder at the rising sun. “No, it doesn’t appear we do.” Turning back around, she reached inside the box and flipped the switch.

At first nothing happened. Then just as the women were beginning to think that the switch was not the door access they were seeking, a slight whirring sound started from deep inside the processor. Tarp stepped back, pulling Terri with her. They watched as a slot opened below the door and a ladder slowly emerged, dropping down to them. When the ladder stretched all the way to the ground, the whirring stopped and the women were left in silence.

“Shall we?” Tarp asked, stepping up to the ladder and testing its strength. “Seems sturdy enough.”

“You go first,” Terri nodded. “I may be a little slow with my shoulder.”

“Why don’t you stay here until I check things out. I’ll come back down and help you once I get the door open,” Tarp knew Terri’s injured shoulder must have tightened up during their escape and was sure it had to be causing the woman a lot of pain. But the sergeant had not spoken one word of complaint all night.

“No, I’ll be fine,” Terri assured the captain. “Besides, we’re safer on the ladder than the ground. Alliance cruisers only scan from the ground up to the height of the tallest person. Up there we’ll be above any scans made by passing cruisers.”

Knowing the sergeant was right, Tarp reluctantly agreed. “Okay, but if you have any trouble.”

“I’ll let you know, Midge,” Terri grinned at the officer. “Let’s go, I’m tired and the sooner we get inside this thing, the sooner we can get some sleep.”

Tarp paused at the use of a shortened version of her hated nickname. Somehow the word coming out of the sergeant’s mouth held none of the contempt or scorn the original term always conveyed. Deciding she liked the sergeant’s modification, she started up the ladder. “Okay, let’s get inside this monstrosity.”

After the difficulty they had in locating the release button for the ladder, Tarp was surprised to find the door unlocked when she reached it. Pulling it open she, stepped into the cramped cab to gain solid footing before turning to help Terri who had been hauling herself up the ladder using only her good arm.

“Here,” Tarp told the sergeant, “give me hand.” She took a firm hold on Terri’s hand and forearm, giving the injured woman welcome support as she climbed the few remaining rungs of the ladder.

“Not much room in here,” Terri said as she stepped inside to join Tarp. “We could throw some of these robots outside.”

“Better not,” Tarp commented, looking around at the idle androids. “They might have some kind of sensor devices on them.” She pushed the door shut then shrugged off the pack, setting it on the floor out of the way. We probably should just figure out a way to be in here without disturbing them.”

“Okay,” Terri agreed, placing her back to the door and sliding to the floor. Rubbing her sore shoulder, she stretched her legs out in front of her.

“How you doing?” Tarp asked when she saw the grimace on the sergeant’s face.

“Sore,” Terri smiled but she couldn’t hide the pain reflected in her eyes.

“Why don’t I take a look,” Tarp knelt beside Terri.

“It’s okay,” Terri smiled again, failing in her half-hearted attempt to assure the captain.

“Terri, please let me take a look,” the captain asked quietly as she began to unbutton the woman’s shirt.

Terri didn’t argue when Tarp gently pulled her weight away from the door so she could slip her shirt off.

“Nasty bruise you got yourself,” Tarp pursed her lips together in sympathy at the sight of the dark purplish-black skin tone. “It could use some salve which we unfortunately don’t have,” she pulled the shirt back into place. “We’ll just have to find a soft place for you to sleep while we’re here.”

“Don’t think they equip these things with cushy mattresses for the robots,” Terri teased, gingerly leaning back against the door. “It’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

“Well, in the meantime, we’ll figure something out,” Tarp declared reaching for the pack. “Let’s eat then get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day and I have a hunch this place is going to heat up like an oven before long.” She removed some bread, cheese and dried meat from the pack, handing half to Terri and placing their canteen on the floor between them.

“Thank you,” Terri accepted the meager meal. “Looks like we may have to take turns sleeping,” she said as she mentally measured the small amount of unoccupied room in the cab.

Tarp scooted around so she could see what Terri was talking about. The cab was approximately half the size of the hut they had shared in the camp. Control panels covered by a wide variety of oddly sized and shaped lights, buttons and switches lined each side. And robots, frozen in place when the processor’s power failed, were positioned in front of the panels. A narrow strip of floor, no more than one stride wide, beginning at the door and ending at the opposite wall was the only available room for the women.

“You lay down first,” Tarp decided, turning back around to face Terri. “I’ll keep watch in case any Alliance cruiser comes to take a look.”

“And what will you do if one does?” Terri asked, skeptically.

“Well,” Tarp slowly smiled. She knew as well as the sergeant that the women had no chance of escaping from a cruiser if one was to locate them on a scan. “I guess we’ll just have to hope one doesn’t.”

“Yeah,” Terri grinned.

“Still, there’s only room for one of us to sleep at a time,” Tarp said, slipping her jacket off and folding it into a rough pillow. “So go ahead and stretch out,” she handed the pillow to the sergeant.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Go on.”

Terri nodded before scooting along the floor until she was far enough away from the doorway to lay down. Placing the folding jacket under her head, she tried lying on her back but that only made her shoulder ache. She rolled over onto her stomach but immediately regretted the action. Rolling onto her side gave her some relief but after a few minutes her shoulder began to protest.

“Wish I had something to lay my arm over,” Terri muttered, sitting back up to look around the room. Seeing nothing that would serve her purpose, she laid back down.

Tarp agonized as she watched Terri struggling to find a comfortable position. When the sergeant groaned in pain as she lay back down onto the floor, the captain could no longer remain idle. “Will this work?” she asked as she lay beside Terri and carefully lifted her injured arm to drape it over her waist.

“Perfect,” Terri sighed at the instant release of pain she felt in her shoulder.

“Good,” Tarp smiled when the sergeant snuggled closer to her in order to gain an even more comfortable position.

“Thanks, Midge.”

“You’re welcome. Sleep well.”

Receiving no response, Tarp glanced down at Terri to find the woman already fast asleep. Smiling, she bent her arm up placing it under her head and quickly followed the sergeant’s lead.

Terri woke first. She had been dreaming of her island home and it took her a few moments to realize where she was and why. A soft sigh coming from the captain reminded her that she was draped comfortably over the other woman and she smiled. She knew she should move and let Tarp sleep in peace but for some reason she just couldn’t make herself break the connection. As she debated with herself, she felt the captain stirring beneath her.

“Ugh,” Tarp grunted, feeling how stiff her body was from lying on the hard floor of the processor’s cab. When Terri began to roll off of her, she instinctively reached out to hold her place.

“I should move,” Terri protested, barely struggling against the Tarp’s hold.

“I like you where you are,” Tarp said, tightening her grasp on the sergeant. “How did you sleep?”

“Very well, considering,” Terri shifted so she could look at Tarp. “What about you?”

“Like a baby,” the captain smirked. “You seem to have an interesting effect on me.”

“Oh, really.”

“Mm, mm. For some reason, having you in my arms seems to relax me,” Tarp grinned. “I think we should make a habit of sleeping like this.”

“Oh, you do.”

“Yes. What do you think?”

“I think,” Terri smiled, “I would like that very much.”

“Good.”

The women, not in any hurry to change position, spent the next several minutes enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed together. Each considering the direction their relationship seemed to be going and deciding there was not much reason to do anything to stop it.

“We should get up,” Tarp finally murmured as she gazed into Terri’s eyes.

“We should,” Terri agreed but stayed where she was.

“Terri, we really should get up.”

“Alright.” Reluctantly, Terri rolled onto her back.

“Watch out for the robots,” Tarp reminded. “We don’t want to set off any alarms.” She pushed herself into a sitting position and got her bearings before standing. “Give me your good arm,” she reached down to help the struggling sergeant.

“Never realized how much I use both arms,” Terri muttered as she allowed Tarp to pull her upright.

“How is the shoulder?”

“Seems to be a little better,” Terri gingerly rotated the injured joint. “Doesn’t ache as much.”

“Good. Wish we had some salve to put on it.”

“What now?” Terri asked, wanting to change the subject away from her injury.

Tarp smiled at the sergeant understanding the reason for her question. “Let’s try to figure out how long we slept. Then I guess we don’t have much choice but to wait for sunset.”

Terri had walked to the far end of the cab where a small window was located. Looking through the dirty glass, she commented, “doesn’t look that far to the foothills from here. We might be able to make it without being seen if we keep the processor between us and the camp.”

Tarp stepped to where their pack was resting, bending down to lift it. “Maybe,” she carried the pack to the center of the small cab where they had the most open space, “but a passing cruiser would pick us up on their scanners.”

Terri twisted her head to be able to look at the sky through the tiny opening, “looks to be about mid-day. It’s going to get hot in here this afternoon,” she said as she turned away from the window.

“I’m trying not to think about that,” Tarp settled on the floor with the pack in her lap. “Let’s get some food inside us before it gets too hot to eat.”

“Do you think we could use any of this to contact a Confederacy camp?” Terri was carefully easing her body between two robots to study the panels of buttons, switches and unlit lights.

“Maybe but I’m afraid to try.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know enough about their communication systems. I think we probably have a better chance of alerting the Alliance to our location than contacting one of our bases.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Terri carefully stepped away from the robots to join Tarp. “It’s better we don’t chance it.”

“Can I help?” Tarp asked as the sergeant began to sit.

“No, I can do this,” Terri easily settled beside the captain. “It’s getting up I have problems with.”

“Well then, I’ll just have to make sure I’m around to help you,” Tarp handed some cheese and dried meat to Terri.

“Thank you.” Terri took a bite of cheese and slowly chewed as she thought.

“You look awfully serious,” Tarp said when she saw the look of concentration on the sergeant’s features.

“I was just thinking about what you said back in camp.”

“About what?”

“How much of a difference it would make if we could free all the prisoners.”

“It would be huge.”

Taking another bite of cheese, Terri remained silent.

“What are you thinking?”

“What if they were other prison camps?”

Tarp looked at Terri questioningly, “are there?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Terri, please tell me what you’re thinking,” Tarp pleaded, frustrated with the other woman’s hesitation.

“The guards wanted us to believe that we were in the only one. But I’ve always wondered why they would have named it Beta II if there were no others.”

“Do you really think there might be other prison camps?” Tarp was excited by the possibility of even more soldiers to be returned to the fighting.

“I once heard talk about others. The pump on the shower hut stopped working. When they came to fix it the workers spoke of having the same problem at the other camps.”

“What did they say? Did they say where the other camps were?”

“The guards made them quit talking before they could say much. But I think there may be a camp to the north, over the mountains, and one somewhere near the sea.”

“Doesn’t narrow it down much.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Tarp reached over, placing a reassuring hand on the sergeant’s leg. “Terri, if those camps exist and they hold as many prisoners as Beta II, the Alliance would never be able to counter an attack of all the tasars we would be able to put into the air. No wonder the Alliance keeps their locations so secret, they must realize how disastrous it would be to have them liberated.”

“Can we do that?” Terri asked, hopefully.

“We’re sure going to try,” Tarp smiled. “Let’s finish eating then look and see if we can find anything in here we want to take with us. Once this tin can starts to heat up, we aren’t going to want to do anything.”

“Okay,” Terri nodded as she popped her last bite of cheese into her mouth.

Even before the sun had disappeared behind the mountains, the women were climbing down the ladder to escape the stifling heat inside the processor. Once on the ground, Tarp readjusted the pack she carried while Terri pushed the button to re-track the ladder and hide any evidence that the processor had been entered.

“Come on,” Tarp started walking away before the ladder was halfway up the processor’s side.

Terri hurried after the captain.

Although the air was still quite warm, it was so much cooler than what the women had endured inside the processor that they were unaffected by evening’s heat. They quickly fell into a pace faster than a walk but slower than a run as they hurried across what remained of the valley floor between the processor and the foothills, and the welcoming forest covering them.

Terri felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise in warning. She quickly looked for hiding place and spotted a deep rut not two paces in front of them. Grabbing Tarp, she pushed the captain to the ground in the bottom of the depression then flattened her body beside her. “Lay still and as flat as you can,” Terri hissed as Tarp looked at her for an explanation. “Cruiser.”

An Alliance cruiser speeding across the valley several clicks from the women’s location suddenly stopped.

“I don’t see anything,” an Alliance soldier stared at the sensor display.

“There was something there,” another soldier pointed at the display. “I’m sure of it.”

“Tiger?”

“I don’t think so. There were two blips and tigers always travel alone.”

“So where’d they go?”

“Don’t know. Let me intensify the probe and re-scan,” the second soldier entered a series of commands and both men studied the display.

“Nothing.”

“I know what I saw.”

“Okay, you saw two blips. They aren’t there anymore and it’s almost full dark. You want to stay here arguing about this or can we get back to camp? If it was a couple of tigers, I don’t want to be out here alone trying to fight them off.”

“Tigers travel alone,” the other solder repeated, unwilling to give up so easily. “I think we should go check Beta II. See if any prisoners are missing.”

“Are you crazy?” the first soldier laughed. “You think a couple of prisoners managed to get through the vaporizing field?”

“Field could have malfunctioned,” the second solder groused, his eyes still trained on the display before him. “It’s happened before.”

“That’s why they’ve got alarms on them now. You saw a couple of shadow blips,” the first soldier turned away from the display and returned to his own panel of controls. With a flick of a few switches, the cruiser was again moving rapidly across the valley floor.

“Something is out there,” the second soldier grumbled.

“And I have no intention of sticking around and finding out what it is. You can make out a report when we get back to camp and they’ll send out a search party tomorrow. If you’re lucky, you might even get to go along.”

The second soldier shivered at the possibility. Being on a search party meant being sent out on foot patrol for days at a time. The prospect of meeting a tiger in the dark wasn’t something he relished. “If I’m lucky,” he muttered, “they’ll send you.”

“Are they gone?” Tarp whispered when Terri began to push up from the ground.

“Yes, they left several minutes ago. I wanted them to get out of range before we move.”

“How do you know that?” Tarp sat upright, brushing dirt off her face and uniform.

“I heard the cruiser engine,” Terri said as she started to stand.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Tarp jumped to her feet then reached down to help the sergeant. “You must have some pair of ears on you.”

“It is one of Mo-Tah’s blessings,” Terri explained.

“Remind me to thank her when we get a chance. Right now, let’s get to those trees before any more cruisers come by. At least in there, they’re probes won’t be of much use.”

“Right behind you.”

Even with the rough terrain, the women broke into a trot anxious to be off the valley floor.

The forest covering the foothills offered a welcome change of landscape for the women. Instead of the barren valley floor, they found themselves surrounded by lush vegetation. Tall evergreen trees stretched up high above them, their canopies unseen in the night’s growing darkness. Thick grasses and fields of wildflowers carpeted the ground, softening their steps. And the air changed from dry to moist making it easier to breathe and was filled with the sounds of life. Night birds warbled and small animals could be heard scurrying about in the thick underbrush.

“It’s dark in here,” Terri murmured nervously as she brushed against an unseen obstacle.

“Too dark for us to keep walking,” Tarp stopped, laughing when the sergeant walked into her back.

“You could have said you were stopping,” Terri grumbled.

“Thought you’d hear me with your radar ears.”

“Funny.”

“I think we better just sit for a while until our eyes get used to the dark,” Tarp shrugged off the pack and set it on the ground. “I’d hope we’d get more light from the moons.”

“Wrong time of the cycle to depend on that,” Terri tilted her head upward in a fruitless attempt to see the solar bodies. “They’re pretty low in the sky right now to cast much light.”

“Here, sit,” Tarp yanked on the sergeant’s pant leg from where she was already sitting. “Let’s hope there aren’t any tigers on the prowl tonight.”

“Why do you fear them?” Terri asked as she settled beside the captain.

“Why?” Tarp asked, puzzled.

“Yes.”

“Well, three reasons,” Tarp decided to humor the Islander by responding with what to her was an obvious answer. “For one, they’re big. For two, they’re deadly. And for three, they can eat me. And you, for that matter.”

“Have you ever seen one?”

“No.”

“Yet you still fear them. Why?” Terri leaned back against a tree.

“When we first came to Organi,” Tarp began to explain, scooting back so she could also rest against the tree, her shoulder touching the sergeant’s. “We needed to replenish our food supplies before our crops began to grow. The hunters we sent out to find what they could, returned with stories of tigers attacking them and taking the meat they had been carrying back to our village. Each hunting group we sent out was a little larger than the last.”

“I see.”

“Have you ever seen a tiger?”

“Once,” Terri remembered thinking how majestic the animal had seemed. “One came near the prison camp one day, a female I think. She was large, almost as long as I am tall without measuring her tail. And beautiful,” the sergeant visualized the sight as she continued. “Her body was shiny as if she had spent hours brushing the hairs of her coat. And her powerful muscles rippled underneath it, her movements smooth as glass.”

“What happened?”

“She approached the vaporizing field. We tried to warn her against coming closer, some even threw rocks at her but they were destroyed before they could reach her. Sadly, I think the noise only served to attract her.”

“She died,” Tarp softly asked when Terri stopped speaking.

“Yes,” Terri reached up to wipe away a tear falling down her cheek. “She was so beautiful. I prayed to Mo-Tah to protect her.”

“I’m sure she did,” Tarp wrapped her arm around Terri, pulling her close. “Let’s just hope we don’t meet one up close and personal.”

“Do you think that is why our adventurers never returned to the Islands?” Terri asked, laying her hand on Tarp’s leg. “We did not know of the tigers?”

“Perhaps,” Tarp placed her hand on top of Terri’s, entwining their fingers. She knew the sergeant was speaking of the Islanders that generations before had set out to explore the Mainland but had never returned. “But there are always dangers when you explore someplace new.”

“Yes,” the sergeant nodded, “to face what is unknown is a challenge we all face.” Her words seemed to convey a different meaning than the subject at hand.

“It’s easier if you have someone to face those challenges with,” Tarp answered as if she too was thinking of another possibility.

“Midge.”

“Hmm.”

“When this is over, I will return home to the Islands and my people.”

Tarp felt her heart drop at the prospect she might eventually lose what was beginning to grow between herself and the Islander.

“I’d like you to come with me,” Terri whispered, almost afraid to voice the words.

“I’d like that,” Tarp smiled in the darkness, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

“Watch your step here,” Tarp warned Terri.

The women had continued their journey as soon as their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the forest. Cautiously, they picked a path through the trees until eventually crossing a faint, dirt track. The faint trail appeared to travel in the direction they needed to go, towards the top of the mountain range surrounding the valley, and they decided to follow it.

The narrow path forced them to place one booted foot directly in front of the other as they climbed steadily upward. It was slow going as they picked their way over the fist size rocks that littered the ground, catching their boot toes on their sharp edges. As the path took them further from the valley floor, the rocks turned into stones and then small boulders they had to step over and around. Both women were panting heavily from the exertion.

“Midge,” Terri gasped, bending at the waist. “I need to rest.”

Tarp stopped, glad for the excuse to catch her own breath. “Okay,” she gasped, pulling the canteen free and handing it to the sergeant. “We’ll stop at the first good spot,” she studied the trail in front of them, disappointed to see no favorable camping spots. The trail they stood on was bordered by thick underbrush affording no possibility of stepping off the narrow route.

After taking a drink, Terri passed the canteen back to the captain, “let’s hope we find something soon. My legs feel like I’m dragging a few of those boulders behind me.” She stretched out her exhausted legs and felt the muscles protest the effort. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so tired,” she groaned as she tried to work a cramp out of the back of her thigh.

“Guess neither of us is used to climbing mountains,” Tarp grunted, returning the canteen to its place on the pack.

“We have few of them on the Islands,” Terri blew out a long breath, happy to feel the cramp start to ease.

“We had lots of mountains on Retha but I never thought of climbing one. Now I’m glad I never did. Shall we keep going?” she asked, not wanting to move forward until the sergeant was ready.

“Yes,” Terri hoped that walking would prevent any more cramps from forming.

The women continued to struggle uphill for almost a full click, then the trail widened and leveled and the women were grateful for the easier travel it allowed. As they walked, they started to hear water tumbling over rocks and listened as the sound grew louder.

“Think we’ll find some place close to that,” Terri asked.

“Hope so,” Tarp cocked her head, frowning. She was trying to pinpoint the location of the water but the sound was bouncing off the numerous trees making it impossible to discover the direction it was coming from. “Canteen is almost empty,” she muttered.

The trail dipped unexpectedly and they found themselves at the edge of a small creek.

“Whoa,” Terri cried out in surprise as she came to an abrupt stop to keep from striding into the water. “Wasn’t expecting that.”

Tarp wrapped an arm around the tittering woman and held her tight. “I think we found our stopping place. Look,” she pointed across the creek to a small clearing under the branches of several evergreens. The ground beneath the trees was somewhat level and covered in a thick layer of pine needles.

“What are we waiting for?” Terri smiled at Tarp who was already looking for a dry way across the creek.

“Follow me,” Tarp took a couple of step along the creek bank before stepping out onto a stone in the middle of the rushing water. A moment later, she stood on the opposite side of the creek, her arm outstretched to aid Terri’s crossing.

Terri stepped onto the rock then took Tarp’s hand, “thanks.”

Tarp kept hold of the sergeant’s hand as the women turned to explore their campsite. Choosing the flattest piece of ground, Tarp shrugged off the pack and knelt beside it. Pulling out their only blanket, she spread it out on the ground.

“We’ll have to take turns sleeping tonight,’ Tarp said as she helped Terri remove a few pebbles and broken tree limbs from underneath the blanket. “I’ll take the first watch,” she immediately offered. Even in the darkness, she could see the weariness on the sergeant’s face and the tired slump of her shoulders. “I’ll wake you in three hours.”

“Two,” Terri said as she smoothed the blanket back down after clearing the ground beneath it. She appreciated the captain’s offer but knew that three hours was more than half the time to daybreak.

“Two,” Tarp readily agreed. It would be useless to argue with the sergeant and she didn’t have the energy to even try. She settled on a large boulder near the creek where she planned to sit while the other woman slept. She placed the jagged piece of metal that served as their only weapon beside her on the stone.

Terri lay on the blanket and rolled onto her side, keeping her injured shoulder off the ground. “What are you doing?” she asked when she saw Tarp sitting so far away.

“Keeping watch.”

“Do you have to do it over there?”

“Seemed like the best spot,” Tarp said looking around. She could keep watch on the sleeping sergeant and had a clear view of anyone who might come down the trail on the opposite side of the creek.

“Come over here.”

Without question, Tarp pushed off the boulder. Grabbing the makeshift dagger she walked to the blanket.

“Can you keep watch from here?”

Tarp twisted her neck, looking over her shoulder at the boulder she had just left. From the campsite, she had an equally good view of the creek and trail beyond. “I suppose,” she shrugged as she turned back to the sergeant.

“Good,” Terri grinned. “You sit here,” she patted the blanket beside her. “That tree will provide you a nice backrest and I will get to sleep on my pillow.”

Tarp chuckled as she followed the sergeant’s orders. “Don’t think my legs will offer you the same comfort.”

Terri snuggled up against the captain and draped her arm over her legs. “You’re right,” she mumbled, “we better figure out a better way...”

As the sergeant’s voice trailed off before she could finish her thought, Tarp knew she was asleep. “Sleep well, Terri,” she said, reaching down to flip the unused portion of blanket over the sleeping woman.

Tarp woke to the wonderful feeling of fingers slipping through her hair. “You’re supposed to be on watch, soldier,” she grumbled playfully, rolling over onto her back and stretching out her tired muscles.

“I’m keeping watch,” Terri smiled down at the captain. “I’m very capable of keeping watch and playing with you hair all at the same time.”

“So I see,” Tarp sat up, smiling at the sergeant. “Hear anything?”

“Not sure. Everything is so new to me, I can’t tell if it’s a sound I should be concerned about or just the normal activity of the forest animals.”

“Yeah,” Tarp grinned, sheepishly. “Kinda had that problem myself.” Looking around their campsite in the early morning light, she smiled, “it’s pretty here, isn’t it.”

After walking most of the night on the narrow overgrown trail bordered by the thick forest, the openness of their campsite was a pleasant sight. They had slept beneath the protective branches of half a dozen huge evergreens, the trunks that looked so dark at night were beginning to turn bright red in the morning sunlight. The nearby creek gurgled as its clear water flowed over the rocky creek bed and Tarp was surprised to see the sides of the creek were covered in wildflowers. Birds were beginning to wake and the early morning stillness was soon filled with their songs.

“Yes,” Terri’s eyes followed the captain’s. “Very.”

“Terri,” Tarp turned to look at the sergeant, her face serious with concern. “We have to stop the Alliance. We can’t let them destroy this.”

“We won’t, Midge,” the Islander answered just as seriously.

Nodding, Tarp stood up. “Do you want to eat here or on the move?”

“Much as I think we should get moving as soon as possible,” Terri managed to stand without the captain’s help. “I think we should eat here. I can barely talk on the trail, I don’t think I can eat and pant at the same time.”

“Thought you were capable of doing two things at once,” Tarp teased, reaching down for the canteen.

“Depends on the two things,” Terri smirked as she took the canteen from the captain’s hands and turned to walk to the creek. “And my motivation.”

“Hmmm,” Tarp considered the sergeant’s words as she watched her kneel next to the creek and refill their canteen. “I see your shoulder is better,” she said when Terri stood upright with little trouble.

“Much,” Terri swung the injured arm in a circle to show how improved it was. “Barely aches this morning.”

“Good,” Tarp smiled, glad to hear the news. “Dried meat, cheese, and bread,” she pulled the items from the pack, placing them on the blanket. “I think we should start collecting anything edible we see. Berries, nuts, those sorts of things. There’s probably a lot out here that we can eat but we’ll need to be careful when we try something for the first time, don’t want to get sick.”

“Okay. I can help with that,” Terri sat on the blanket. “We grow lots of plants on the Islands. And if we watch what the animals eat, that’ll help. If they don’t eat something, we probably should leave it alone.”

“Good idea,” Tarp agreed. “We should use them for alerting us to danger too. If the forest animals aren’t alarmed then we probably don’t need to be either.”

“Right.”

“Told you there was something out here,” the Alliance soldier grumbled, studying the recently made scrapes on the side of the tree processor.”

“Those scratches don’t prove anything,” the second soldier muttered, wiping sweat off his brow as he leaned against their cruiser doing his best to stay in the shadows and out of the heat.

“What about the boot tracks around here?”

“They could have been left by workers when they were trying to get that thing running. Heck, it’s been sitting out here so long who knows how many people might have been around here.”

“Only cruiser tracks are ours,” the first soldier pointed out what both of the men had already seen. “How do you explain that? Think the workers walked out here?”

“Who knows,” the second soldier grunted, he was not happy to be standing in the hot sun listening to his companion. After returning to their camp two days before, the man had reluctantly accompanied the other soldier as he reported the brief appearance of the two unidentified blips on their scanners. Questioned why they hadn’t immediately investigated, he had done his best to downplay the importance of the sighting. Unfortunately, their commander had seen matters differently and both men were told to return to the location of the sighting with orders to find out what or who had been picked up by their scanners.

“I think we should take a look inside,” the first soldier said as he reached for the button to release the ladder.

“Listen, Stoderd,” the second soldier frowned, his eyes scanning up the side of the mammoth machine to watch the ladder appear. “You mouthed off to the Colonel and said there was somebody out here. Why he sent me back here with you, I’ll never know but one thing for sure I have no intention of doing much more than taking a quick look around then going back and telling him we made a mistake. You want to climb up into that tin can, be my guest.”

“Okay,” the first soldier grabbed hold of the ladder and started to climb skyward. Reaching the door at the top of the ladder, he pushed it open and entered the control room. Stoderd watched as he disappeared inside. After several moments, the solder stuck his head back out of the doorway, “get up here, Kampo. Someone’s been in here and not very long ago.”

“Damn,” Kampo muttered, pushing himself away from the side of the cruiser and shuffling to the ladder. “You better not be chasing another ghost blip,” he grumbled as he climbed.

“I’m not,” Stoderd said as Kampo joined him inside the control room. “Look,” he pointed to a number of sharply defined boot prints in the layer of dust on the room’s floor. “Those can’t be more than a day or two old. And look there, it looks like they slept in here. Probably that night I saw the blips on the scanner.”

“Damn,” Kampo grunted. “Now what?” he asked even though he already knew the answer.

“Now,” Stoderd said triumphantly, “we go after them.”

“Who do you think they are?” Kampo asked as he followed the tracks around the room. “Can’t be from Beta II, we would have heard if the vaporizing field failed. Besides if it had, they’d be more than just a couple of them running around.”

“Only one way to find out,” Stoderd said as he began to climb back down the ladder. “Come on,” he called to Kampo who was warily examining one of the robots.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Kampo called back. “Things still give me the willies when I’m around them,” he shivered as he took one last look at the idle androids before following Stoderd.

Terri stood gasping for breath, “how much further do you think?”

Standing a few steps behind her, Tarp looked to where the trail topped the ridge they were ascending. “Hard to say,” she panted, “another half a click maybe.”

“Think this is the last one?”

“Sure hope so,” the captain sighed, staring at the steep trail ahead of them.

Since leaving their overnight camp, the women had been climbing steadily as they followed the narrow trail they had stumbled upon the day before. Several times they had labored up to the top of what they hoped was the last steep incline only to find other ridgelines waiting beyond. They had no idea where the trail was leading them but they also had no option but to follow the rocky path that twisted and turned as it made its way through the forest. The terrain was uneven with sudden dips and steep inclines that made traveling difficult and discouraged them from leaving the trail to try to make their own path through the thick underbrush.

“I’m going to need to rest soon, Midge,” Terri said as she gazed up to their immediate destination, the top of the ridge.

“Why don’t we try to get up there,” Tarp tipped her head in the direction of the crest. “If it’s like the others, the trail should level out for a piece and we’ll find someplace to get off our feet.”

“Okay,” Terri grunted as she turned away from the Captain and forced her tired legs to carry her up the trail. “Sure hope we find water soon.”

Tarp didn’t answer as she followed the sergeant, their empty canteen hanging from the pack she carried.

“Great. Just great,” Kampo groused as he pulled two heavy packs from the storage compartment of the cruiser. “This is just how I wanted to spend the next few days, chasing a couple of ghost blips into the forest.” He dropped the packs on the ground at his feet then reached back into the compartment for the laser rifles fastened securely inside a weapons locker.

“Can’t take the cruiser into the forest,” Stoderd explained unnecessarily, joining Kampo. “What are you doing?” he asked when he realized the other soldier was setting the laser rifles to their maximum strength. “That’s high enough to kill ten men.”

“I’m not setting them for men,” Kampo grumbled, continuing his work. “I’m making sure they’re ready if we meet up with one of those tigers. I don’t plan to give them a chance to get me.”

“Keep your rifle pointed away from me,” Stoderd said, leaning over to lift one of the packs off the ground on onto his back. “I don’t want to end up dead because you panic if we happen to see something.”

“Just make sure you’re not standing between me and a tiger,” Kampo grinned wickedly at the man he held responsible for being here in the first place. “Because I won’t wait for you to get out of the way,” he warned as he handed over one of the rifles.

Stoderd studied his companion for several seconds before accepting the rifle. “Somehow,” he muttered as he slung the weapon over his shoulder and turned for the woods, “I believe you won’t.”

Kampo chuckled as he settled the remaining pack on his back. Choosing to carry his rifle in his hands rather than over his shoulder, he followed Stoderd. “I surely won’t,” he declared as he trotted after the other soldier.

Terri, her head bent down as she focused only on finding firm footing for her next step, was several feet over the crest of the ridge before she realized the ground was no longer sloping steeply upward. She lifted her head, “Midge, look,” she cried excitingly when she discovered she was standing atop the highest summit in the long string of ridges they had climbed.

“Yeah,” breathing heavily, the captain stepped up beside the sergeant, “I see.”

“We made it,” Terri exclaimed, whirling around in a full circle pleased to see nothing blocking her view. “We made it,” she smiled at Tarp, stopping her spin when she was facing the captain.

“Yes we did,” Tarp smiled back. “Looks like its all downhill from here.”

“Wherever here is,” Terri smirked.

“Well,” Tarp studied their surroundings. “I’d say here is about midway between Beta II which is way back there,” she swung an arm back in the direction they had come from. “And the sea way over there,” she swung her other arm in the opposite direction where she could barely make out the distinct deep blue coloring of water.

“The sea,” Terri turned to look where the captain was pointing. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen it,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Tarp stepped forward, her outstretched arms wrapping around Terri, “you’ll see it soon. I promise.”

The women stood silently for several minutes, Terri comfortable in the captain’s embrace and Tarp content to hold the sergeant while she composed herself.

“Let’s get out of the sun,” Tarp finally suggested as the afternoon sun was beating down on the women standing in a small clearing.

“That sounds good,” Terri smiled, wiping at her eyes. “It’ll feel good to get off my feet.”

“Come on,” Tarp took hold of the sergeant’s hand, leading her off the trail to the shade of some tall trees. “Sit,” she said, shrugging off the pack before she also took a seat on the ground. “Hungry?”

“No,” Terri leaned back against the rough bark of a tree, “but I could sure use a drink.”

“Maybe we’ll find a creek when we start down,” Tarp sighed. “In the meantime, put these in your mouth.” She handed Terri a couple of pea–sized pebbles that she had plucked off the ground.

“What for?” Terri asked suspiciously, examining the stones resting in the palm of Tarp’s hand.

“They’ll keep your mouth wet,” Tarp explained as she placed a couple of similar sized pebbles in her own mouth. “It’s not much, but it should help until we find water.”

“Too bad Hovart couldn’t find more than one canteen,” Terri mumbled around the rocks she was warily placing in her mouth. Moments later, she was surprised when she could feel moisture forming on her dry tongue. She looked over to voice her appreciation only to see Tarp leaning back against the tree, her eyes closed as she savored a similar pleasure. Not wanting to disturb the captain she relaxed back against the tree, her eyes darting aimlessly from one point of interest to the next. Amidst the jumble of forest sounds she slowly became aware of another, faint but recognizable.

Terri pushed herself up onto her knees, a smile spread across her face as she assured herself that she was indeed hearing what she thought she was.

“What’s wrong?” Tarp asked, sensing the sergeant’s movements.

“Nothing,” Terri leaned over and kissed Tarp’s temple before pulling the canteen free of the pack. “I hear water.”

“Where?” Tarp asked, already halfway up to a standing position.

“Over here,” Terri said, walking towards a section of slope heavily covered in shrubs and vines. She forced her way through the thick growth, the captain following on her heels.

At first, the women found nothing as they moved deeper into the vegetation but they knew by the growing sound of moving water that they were getting close to the source.

“There you are,” Terri called out when she spotted a small spring. It’s crystal clear water bubbling up from deep beneath the planet’s crust to fill a small depression before flowing into a small channel that directed it to some destination far below.

The brush around the spring made it difficult for the women to access the needed water but after a few minutes of whacking at the bushes with the jagged piece of metal they carried as a weapon, Tarp cleared a small opening for them. Plunging their hands into the spring, the women used the makeshift cups to lift the cool liquid to their mouths and moaned as it slid down their parched throats.

“I never thought water could taste so good,” Tarp sighed as she dropped her cupped hands under the pool’s surface. Lifting her hands, she tilted her head back, pouring the water into her waiting mouth.

Terri squatted at the edge of the pool, filling the canteen. She lifted the full container to her mouth, letting the water rush inside. What she couldn’t swallow washed out, soaking her shirt but she didn’t seem to mind. Her thirst finally satisfied, Terri plopped back onto the ground. “That is the best water I’ve ever tasted,” she wiped droplets from her chin.

“Won’t argue with you on that,” Tarp dropped onto the ground beside the sergeant. “Sure glad you’ve got such good hearing,” she grinned at Terri.

“Is that all you like about me?” Terri teased.

“Nope.”

“What else?”

“That, sergeant,” Tarp tapped the tip of Terri’s nose, “is something you’re just going to have to wait for the right time to find out. Right now, I think we should fill the canteen and get back under cover. You never know when an Alliance transport might be overhead.”

“Hmfpt,” Terri grunted, knowing the captain was right to be cautious but she would have liked an answer to her question. As Tarp took the canteen from her and leaned over the pool to fill it, the sergeant’s eyes were drawn to something unusual.

“Midge, what do you think that is?” Terri stood up. Shading her eyes, she looked down slope at an odd shadow barely distinguishable from the other shadows in the forest below them.

“What?” Tarp asked as she also stood.

“Down there,” Terri pointed, “in the trees. See that shadow, it almost looks like a building of some sort.”

“I don’t see it,” Tarp squinted as she tried to see where the sergeant was pointing.

“Just to the right of that split tree.”

“I see it,” Tarp nodded. “At least, I think I do. Can’t really see much more than a shadow though.”

“Think we should take a closer look?”

“Yes but let’s wait. It could be an Alliance outpost of some sort and I don’t want to just go walking up to it if it is. It’ll be dark in a couple of hours and it’ll be safer to approach it then.”

“Okay. What do we do until then?”

“Sleep,” Tarp said, pushing her way back through the thick bushes to where they left their pack. “I’ll take first watch.”

Terri followed Tarp back to the safety of the trees. She pulled their blanket from the pack and spread it out on a small grassy patch of ground. “Okay, but I’ll need my pillow if I hope to get any sleep,” she grinned as she settled on the blanket waiting for the Tarp to join her.

“I see you’re a woman of habit,” Tarp laughed, sitting beside the sergeant so the Islander could snuggle against her.

“Definitely,” Terri sighed happily, draping herself over the captain.

“Now what do you have to say?” Stoderd asked as he examined the campsite.

“Okay, you were right,” Kampo grumbled. “Somebody is out here,” he knelt beside the creek refilling his canteen. “Happy?”

“Yes,” Stoderd studied the boot prints on the ground. “Looks like the same print we found around the processor.”

“Okay, they’re out here,” Kampo walked up to the other soldier. “Still don’t know who they are or why they’re here. Could be a couple of Alliance scouts for all we know.”

“Could be,” Stoderd looked at Kampo, his disgust with being straddled with the soldier evident in his eyes. “But I doubt we would have been sent out here to find them if the Colonel thought they were Alliance scouts.”

“Maybe,” Kampo glared back. “Come on,” he turned to follow the boot tracks as they left the campsite. “Still a couple of hours of sunlight, let’s not waste it. I want to see the look on your face when we find them, and they’re nothing but Alliance scouts or a couple of Mainlanders trying to avoid serving in the Confederacy forces.”

“Jerk,” Stoderd muttered as he followed Kampo.

With the sun dropping from the sky, the women cautiously moved down the slope towards the mysterious shadow they had spotted earlier. Careful to keep the numerous trees between themselves and their objective, Tarp led Terri into the twilight.

“Damn,” Tarp blew out a long breath when the setting sun suddenly lit up the part of the forest that obscured the shadow to reveal a building painted in dark browns and greens. She stopped behind a tree to take in the unexpected sight.

“Think it belongs to the Alliance?” Terri whispered from behind the captain.

“Don’t know.”

“I don’t see any guards.”

“No. No movement at all,” Tarp murmured. “Interesting. Let’s move closer.”

The women continued, moving silently from one large tree or boulder to the next until they came within a few strides of the building.

“No windows,” Terri observed as they studied the structure which was slightly larger than the meal hut back in Beta II.

“Got to be some way inside,” Tarp started to work her way around the perimeter of the building. “I don’t believe it,” she stopped suddenly causing Terri to collide into her. “Sorry,” she smirked as the sergeant grabbed on to her to regain her footing.

“It’s okay. What don’t you believe?”

“That,” Tarp pointed at a symbol she spotted when she moved around the corner of the building. It was painted on a small box to the side of a door.

“That’s a Confederacy depot symbol.”

“I know,” Tarp smiled as she stepped out from the cover of the trees. “And if this is what I think it is, we just hit the jackpot.”

“Jackpot?” Terri questioned.

“The lottery. Pot at the end of the rainbow,” Tarp tried again but knew by the look of befuddlement on the sergeant’s face that she wasn’t making her point. “We just got very lucky,” she tried again.

“Oh,” Terri smiled, finally understanding. “How?”

“Let’s see if we can get inside and I’ll show you.”

“I’m sure that door is protected by a Command Security code,” Terri said as the captain reached for a panel next to the entry.

“Well, let’s hope my master override code still works.”

“Your master override code? Midge, why would you have a Command Security code?”

The captain didn’t answer as she pulled open the panel to reveal a panel of buttons marked by numbers and symbols. Punching in her code, Tarp grinned when a loud click announced the door had been unlocked. “Shall we?” she asked, pulling the door open.

“You didn’t answer my question, Captain,” Terri stayed where she was standing.

“I know I need to explain that to you but we don’t have time right now, Terri. Please trust me on this. Let’s go inside, please.”

“I expect an answer,” Terri told Tarp as she walked past her and into the building.

“I thought so,” Tarp looked gleefully around the room after pulling the door shut behind the women. “Now, we can cause some trouble.”

Terri stood in awe as she looked at a room full of Confederacy tasars. “Is this one of the secret stockpiles you told me about?”

“Must be,” Tarp walked up to the closest flyer. “Boy am I glad to see you guys,” she patted the underbelly of the tasar.

“Midge can you fly one of these?”

“Sure. That is if their crystal batteries are installed and charged up.”

Looking around the room, Terri saw no opening big enough to get one of the tasars out of the building. “But how will you get it out of here. And how did they get them in.”

“Up there,” Tarp pointed up at the ceiling as she ducked around the nose of the tasar. “Roof opens up.”

“Ah.”

“Terri, see if you can find a tool box around here. I need to get into the battery locker.”

“Okay,” the sergeant began a search of the room for the requested item. “Going to be too dark in a few minutes to see anything,” she said as she searched.

“Well if the battery is in here and charged, we’ll be able to use the tasar’s lights to see.”

“Here’s something,” Terri called out when she spotted a small tool box resting on the floor under another of the tasars. She leaned down to pick it up, “and look what else I found.”

Tarp looked over to see Terri walking back to her surrounded by the glow of a crystal lamp. “Good girl,” she smiled when the sergeant handed over her discovery. “Let’s get this cover off and see what’s inside.” She opened the toolbox, rooting around inside of it until she found the correct tool to help her remove the battery’s cover.

“Well?” Terri asked, anxiously as Tarp pulled off the cover and peered inside.

“We’ve got a battery and,” Tarp grinned as she connected the cables hanging loose inside the compartment to the battery. “We’ve got power. Ready to go for a ride?”

“You bet,” Terri grinned back, “anything to keep from having to climb any more mountains.”

“Alright,” Tarp replaced the cover. “Let’s find the release for the roof so we can get out of here.

It didn’t take the women long to find the control panel for the roof and after Tarp again entered a series of commands the roof opened to reveal a sky full of stars.

“Come on,” Tarp ran for the tasar. “Opening that is probably going to set off some alarms someplace so we better get out of here quick.” She scrambled up onto the wing of the flyer and pressed the release to open the cockpit hatch. Stepping into the pilot’s seat, she immediately began punching in commands into the control panel.

Terri ran after Tarp and followed her onto the tasar’s wing. Once the captain had settled into the pilot’s seat, she stepped into the gunner’s and pulled the safety harness tight around her body. It would be her first flight in a tasar and she wasn’t taking any chances. A few moments later she would be glad she had taken the precaution.

“Ready?” Tarp called back over her shoulder as she watched the control displays blink and flash as the tasar’s systems came on line.

“I think so.”

“Okay,” Tarp hit the button to close the hatch. “Here we go,” she punched in a series of commands.

The tasar’s nose began to lift up until the flyer sat at a sharp angle pointing skyward. With a punch of a button, Tarp initiated the tasar’s engine and the women were propelled out of the building at a speed that forced them back hard against their seats.

While Terri wondered if she would ever be able to move again, she listened to Tarp’s shouts of joy as the tasar burst from its hiding place to blast into the night sky.

The captain put the tasar through a series of turns and flips just for the fun of it before leveling out and slowing the speed of the tasar until she could decide on what course to set. “You okay back there?” she asked of her silent companion.

Terri wasn’t sure if the tasar was still spinning or if it was her spiraling brain but all she could see was everything around her moving in directions and at speeds that didn’t seem possible.

Tarp took a quick peak over her shoulder to see the sergeant looking a distinct shade of green. “Oh, oh,” she muttered, horrified that her actions had caused Terri obvious distress. She immediately looked for a place to land the tasar and see to the suffering sergeant.

“What the heck?” Kampo looked up through the trees to try and see the source of the sound. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Sure looks like it,” Stoderd said as he followed the tasar’s flight overhead.

“What is a Confederacy tasar doing here?”

“More important,” Stoderd frowned, “is where is it going? And why?”

“What do you mean?”

“If it keeps flying on that course, it’ll fly right over the cruiser.”

“So what?”

“You want to explain to the Colonel how a tasar managed to destroy our crusier?” Stoderd shouted as he took off running, Kampo less than a step behind him.

Tarp set the tasar down in a small clearing not too far from where they had camped their first night in the forest. A distance that had taken the women almost two days to cover on foot had only taken a few minutes for the tasar. As soon as they were safely on the ground, Tarp opened the hatch and leaped out onto the wing so she could get to Terri.

“Hey,” Tarp said as she leaned over the queasy sergeant. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry,” she softly patted the Islander’s cheeks, “I didn’t think about you never flying before. Oh, Terri,” she cried.

“I think I’ll be okay,” Terri said even though she wasn’t too sure. “I just need to sit for a while. At least until everything stops spinning.”

“Lean back and close your eyes,” Tarp urged.

“You really should warn someone before you do that stuff, Midge,” Terri groaned as she followed the Captain’s instructions.

“I’m sorry. I forget that not everyone enjoys flying as much as I do. I have a reputation for needing gunners with strong stomachs.”

“I can understand why.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“No,” Terri forced open one eye and was pleased to see the world had stopped spinning. “Woo, that was quite the ride, Captain,” she grinned at the upset officer.

“Sorry,” Tarp shrugged, embarrassed.

“Can we stay on the ground for a while?”

“Yes, it’s too dangerous to fly any more tonight. Especially since we don’t know where we’re going.”

“Good.”

Seeing that the sergeant was regaining color to her skin, Tarp began to relax. “Guess we can set up camp here. We have the means to start a fire if you want.”

“Is that safe?”

“Well,” Tarp looked around but the dark night prevented her from seeing much more than shadows. “We’re not too far from the valley so I guess it’s possible that the light could be seen by any cruiser that might be out tonight.”

“What about any transports flying over?”

“Those too.”

“Guess we do without a fire,” Terri sighed, thinking how nice it would be to sit beside a fire with the captain.

“Guess we do. We could sleep inside the tasar, it might be safer.”

Terri thought about spending the night in the cramped confines of the flyer and decided she’d rather take her chances sleeping on the ground. “No, I refuse to give up my comfortable pillow now that I’ve found it,” she smiled, letting the captain know she was forgiven.

“You sure?” Tarp asked, glad the sergeant was letting her off so easily.

“Yes,” Terri unbuckled her safety harness and began to stand. “But you will probably have to help out of this thing, my legs are still shaking.”

“That I can do,” Tarp reached out, her arms steadying Terri as she stepped out of the tasar. She helped her to the ground and made sure she was comfortable before returning to the tasar to get their blankets and some food.

“What are you thinking?” Tarp asked the woman she was holding in her arms. They were lying on a blanket with another covering their bodies, having found the tasar fully equipped with weapons and emergency supplies they were making good use of. A lasar rifle rested against a tree within easy reach of their positions and the remains of their evening meal still occupied a corner of the blanket.

Terri had been quiet for some time. “Nothing much,” she said as she turned to snuggle closer to Tarp. “I was just wondering about that trail we followed.”

“What about it?” Tarp asked, nuzzling the sergeant’s hair.

“I was wonder who made it.”

It was a question Tarp had considered many times but had never wanted to voice. “You don’t think it was an animal trail?”

“No,” Terri sighed as Tarp tightened her arms around her. “It was too defined. That trail has seen some heavy use, too heavy for animals.”

“Hmm.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well,” Tarp considered her answer. “We know the Mainlanders didn’t make it. We haven’t been on Organi long enough to do it. And it wasn’t made by the Islanders since they never leave the islands. Doesn’t leave many possibilities.”

“Do you think the Alliance made it?”

“Doubt it. They seldom travel on foot.”

“The Confederacy?”

“Same as the Mainlanders, there hasn’t been time.”

“Someone had to make it.”

“How much do you know about the Mainland? I mean besides the expeditions that never came back.”

“Not much.”

“It’s possible that there are others living on Organi?”

“Do you really think so? We’ve never encountered any others.”

“The Mainland is pretty big and we’ve barely explored the area around our settlements. And if they never went to the islands…”

“We’d probably never know they were here.”

“Right.”

“But if they are here why have we not heard of them now. The war would surely affect them as much as it does us.”

“Maybe they only live in the more isolated areas of the Mainland, like the mountains. If we hadn’t been escaping from Beta II, we never would have been in these mountains and we never would have found the trail. And it’s possible that they are no longer on Organi. By the looks of that trail, we were the first ones to use it in a long time. Maybe whoever made it left a long time ago.”

“Maybe.”

“But?”

“I feel they are still here. Somehow, I feel they are protected by Mo-Tah.”

“I don’t know about that,” Tarp shifted, attempting to squirm out from under the sergeant. “I’m going to clean up that food and check the tasar. Then I think we should get some sleep. I want to get going first thing in the morning.”

“I’ll help,” Terri sat up. “You check on the tasar and I’ll clean this stuff up.”

“Okay,” Tarp agreed.

“Midge?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we going in the morning?” Terri asked as she gathered up the food remaining from their meal.

“Well, we have two choices,” the captain said as she climbed up on the tasar’s wing to check the cockpit. “We can start looking for a Confederacy base.”

“Or?”

“We can go back to Beta II and see if we can destroy the vaporizer field and free Hovart and the others.”

“Think we can?” Terri asked as she placed the food back inside a storage compartment at the rear edge of the tasar’s wing.

“Can what?”

“Destroy the field?”

“We know it has at least one weakness. Maybe we can find another,” Tarp dropped off the wing beside the sergeant. “Need help?”

“No, all done,” Terri said as she straightened up after securing the compartment’s door. “What’s that?!” she cried as the ground shook under their feet and the dark sky lit up with bright flashes.

“Tasar ground rockets,” Tarp dove to the ground under the tasar, pulling Terri with her. “Something is getting blasted, and close.”

After several minutes, the blasts stopped and the ground stilled. A distant roar announced the departure of the unseen tasars as they left the scene of their attack.

“Maybe there is somebody living in these mountains,” Terri said as Tarp helped her to her feet.

“Maybe,” Tarp muttered, a far-away look in her eyes as she visualized the building they had entered hours before. And the ruins that most likely remained after the tasar attack. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Beta II?” Terri asked as she dusted dirt off her clothing, referring to their destination in the morning.

“Beta II,” Tarp agreed.

The sudden rumbling of the ground under his boots caused Stoderd to lose his footing on the rocky path. Off balance he thrust his arms out, grasping for anything solid enough to stop him from tumbling head first to the ground.

“Hang on,” Kampo grabbed his stumbling companion, steadying him.

“What the heck is going on?” regaining his footing, Stoderd jerked around to look back up the trail where large explosions could be heard.

“Not sure,” Kampo cried out as he dove for cover beneath the thick shrubbery alongside the trail. “But I don’t think I’d stay out there much longer,” he inched deeper under the flimsy cover as more rocks were rumbled loose and started to tumble down the trail.

“Damn,” Stoderd growled, feeling his feet slipping underneath him. He stubbornly fought to maintain his footing on the trail as he watched bright flashes of explosions change the night back to day far above them. “What was up there that the Confederacy would want to blow up?”

“Whatever it was,” Kampo started to crawl out of his hiding place as soon as the explosions stopped, “it sure isn’t there any more.”

“Think it has anything to do with that tasar we spotted?”

“Probably, you don’t see them flying around alone too often.”

“Now what?” Stoderd asked, unsure if they should go back up the trail and see what had been the target of an obvious attack or continue downward towards their unprotected cruiser. Either way, he was sure that they’d probably find trouble.

Kampo considered the question as he picked thorns out of his uniform and brushed off the dirt and ground litter. Satisfied he had cleaned as much unwanted debris off his pants and jacket, he turned to face Stoderd and found his attention drawn to the black cloud of smoke blocking out the moons’ light above the trees where the trail crested a ridge. Shaking his head at the knowledge his exuberance to chase a couple of ghost blips in order to impress his superior had landed him in a situation that could possible get him killed, he turned away and started down the trail. “Come on,” he muttered, “let’s get to the cruiser and go back to base. Whatever is going on up here is too much for the two of us to handle.”

“Now you’re talking,” Stoderd smiled. He hurried to catch up with Kampo, slapping the disgruntled soldier on the shoulder when reached him. “Let the Colonel figure all this out while we enjoy a nice long, hot bath.”

“Yeah,” Kampo grunted, shaking off the other soldier’s hand and quickening his steps.

“Midge,” Terri whispered, gently shaking the sleeping woman. “Wake up.”

“What’s wrong?” the captain’s eyes snapped open and she immediately pushed herself into a sitting position.

“I think I hear something,” the sergeant whispered, handing the laser rifle to the captain. “It sounds like someone is moving around not far from here.”

“Can it be a tiger?” Midd asked, raising the rifle into a ready position against her shoulder as she stood.

“I think I hear talking,” Terri pointed into the darkness to alert the captain to the direction of the voices.

“Okay,” Midd nodded. “Let’s move back into those shadows and wait to see what happens,” she said quietly before leading the sergeant to her chosen hiding spot.

The women slipped between two large boulders at the side of the clearing where the tasar sat. Terri knelt at the captain’s side providing Midd unobstructed movement if she had to swing the rifle to aim at a threat.

“Should have taken the other rifle out of the tasar,” Midd grumbled quietly, chastising herself for the unarmed sergeant beside her.

Terri wrapped her hand around Midd’s leg, squeezing gently to let the captain know she was okay. She froze when she heard a man speak.

Rounding a sharp bend in the trail, Kampo’s boot caught the top of an exposed tree root hidden in the darkness. He stumbled a few steps before finding solid footing. “Maybe we should find a place to wait until morning,” he said as he felt a slight twist in his ankle. “Won’t do us much good to break a leg before we can get back to the cruiser.”

“Yeah,” Stoderd agreed, rubbing a bruise on his arm where he had walked into an unseen tree not long before. “How about over there?” he pointed at a small clearing barely visible in the weak moonlight that penetrated the forest trees.

“Any place I can sit down and not walk into something,” Kampo began to move towards the opening.

The men had walked several steps into the clearing before they spotted the dark outline of the tasar.

“Is that what I think it is?” Kampo stared at the attack craft.

“Must be the one we saw before,” Stoderd spoke quietly as he eased backwards away from the tasar and back into the forest.

“Where you going?” Kampo asked, reaching out and grabbing Stoderd before he could escape completely.

“Where do you think? Let me go before whoever was flying that thing sees us.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Kampo tightened his grip on his companion. “If we can capture that the Colonel will forgot about us not finding what we were sent out here to find.”

“Are you nuts?” Stoderd cried, struggling to free himself. “Whoever was flying that thing must be around here just waiting to blast us.”

“We’ve got rifles, too,” Kampo reminded Stoderd. “And I’m not leaving that tasar just sitting there. If nothing else we should make sure it can’t be flown away from here.”

“Damn,” Stoderd quit struggling. He knew Kampo was right. “Alright, let’s blast the damn thing and get out of here,” he shrugged his rifle off his shoulder. “Set yours at full force and we’ll hit it together.”

“I don’t think so,” Midd growled at the men. She and Terri had watched as the two men walked into the clearing directly in front of them where she had a clear shot at the enemy soldiers. “Put down your weapons,” she ordered.

“To your right,” Stoderd screamed, whirling in the direction of his unseen adversary and firing.

Feeling the heat of Stoderd’s rifle blasts rush past his head, Kampo dropped to the ground before he was caught by the indiscriminate firing. “You idiot,” he yelled as he pointed his rifle and fired. “You could have killed me.”

“Shut up,” Stoderd yelled back as he too dropped to the ground. “You got us into this.”

Terri moved as soon as she heard Stoderd’s shout of alarm. Using her legs to propel her backwards behind the safety of the boulders, she grabbed Midd around the waist pulling her along.

Midd landed on her back with the sergeant stretched protectively around her. “Terri, I can’t fire back from this position,” she protested directly into the sergeant’s ear. “Roll off me and let me get up.”

“No,” Terri held firm as a rifle blast struck the boulder above them and rock chips showered down on the pair.

“Hold your fire,” Kampo shouted at Stoderd who was blasting away at anything and everything around them. “No use using up the batteries until we know what we shooting at,” he said as he glared into the blackness surrounding them and the clearing.

Hearing Kampo’s command Terri scooted off Tarp. “Come on,” she whispered as she crawled to the back of the large boulders.

Midd flipped over onto all fours, quickly crawling after the sergeant. Once they were safely behind the boulders, she looked around for a protected place she could position herself to attack the Alliance soldiers.

“Up there,” Terri pointed to the top of the boulders sheltering them.

“Can’t,” Midd whispered, “too high for me to climb.”

“I’ll give you a boost.” Clasping her hands together, the sergeant leaned over offering a foothold for the captain.

Before placing her boot in the sergeant’s hands, Midd leaned forward placing a tender kiss on Terri’s lips.

Caught off guard by Tarp’s action, Terri jerked back in surprise.

“Sorry,” Midd mumbled, misunderstanding the sergeant’s response.

“Don’t be,” Terri slipped a hand behind Tar’s neck and pulled her close, the ensuing kiss was short but full of emotion. “Be careful,” she sighed, bending over and reoffering her clasped hands.

“I will,” Midd smiled, placing a boot into the foothold. “Stay hidden,” she whispered as the sergeant lifted her up so she could reach the top of the boulder.

Using the momentum of Terri’s boost, Midd scrambled onto the boulder. Carefully inching forward, her eyes scanned the clearing around the tasar. She had a pretty good idea where the soldiers should be but knew they would have had time to move while she and Terri had taken the time to kiss. She smiled at the memory, knowing that as soon as she could she would expand on the experience. Angry voices focused her back onto the matter at hand.

“I say we just blast the tasar and get the heck out of here,” Stoderd grunted at his companion.

“No,” Kampo argued, “we need it in one piece.”

“It isn’t worth us getting killed.”

“They must not have any weapons,” Kampo countered. “They haven’t even fired at us.”

“Believe me,” Stoderd raised his rifle to his shoulder, taking aim on the tasar. “You don’t fly one of those without having some weapons.”

“Don’t shoot,” Kampo cried as Stoderd locked his rifle scope on the tasar.

Midd took a second to calm her breathing before squeezing the trigger on her rifle. The recoil on the laser weapon was almost unfelt as she took aim on the second objective and squeezed the trigger again. Studying her targets through the rifle’s scope, she was satisfied when neither one showed any signs of movement.

“I’m coming down,” Tarp called down to alert the waiting sergeant.

“Are they?” Terri asked when Tarp dropped to the ground beside her, having no need to finish the question.

“Yes,” Tarp answered as she eased back around the boulder, her rifle at ready just in case she had misjudged the efficiency of her aim. “Let’s hope they were the only ones,” she said as she stepped out from between the boulders into the clearing.

The women carefully approached the soldiers. As soon as they were close enough to see the men in the faint moonlight, it was apparent that both men were dead from the rifle blast each had received.

Midd gazed at her victims, swallowing hard to keep down the bile rising in her throat. Her body began to shake and the tears flowing from her eyes were making it difficult to see. Slowly the captain sank to her knees, dropping the rifle to wrap her arms around her stomach as it emptied its contents.

Terri knelt beside Tarp, picking up the discarded rifle should it be needed in the next few moments. With her free hand, she gently rubbed the captain’s trembling back.

Tarp wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. “I, uh,” she started.

“It’s okay,” Terri murmured as she continued to rub.

“I’ve never done that before,” Tarp’s voice caught as she said the words.

Sensing that they were no other immediate threats to their safety, Terri sat down pulling Tarp into her arms. “You fly a tasar, Midge. You must have killed before,” she said, softly.

“But,” the captain’s voice was rough and shaky, “I’ve never seen them. I just push the button and then fly away before I see what happens. I’ve never really thought about what happens when the bombs strike,” she cried. “I’ve never seen the people I’ve killed.”

Terri could do nothing but hold the woman as she cried, her body racked by deep sobs.

The sun was beginning to lighten the sky by the time Tarp started to regain her composure.

“Midge,” Terri spoke softly to the woman wrapped in her arms, “are you alright.”

“Yes,” Midd sighed. “Guess I made a pretty big fool of myself, huh?” Tarp twisted her neck so she could look into the sergeant’s eyes.

“No,” Terri smiled. “Taking a life should never be easy, even when it is necessary to protect yourself.”

“I know,” Midd whispered, turning away from the sergeant. “I’m ashamed to say that I stopped thinking of the Alliance soldiers as people. It was easier to think of them as just parts of a huge, monster machine that had to be stopped. But seeing them lying there… Seeing the fear in their eyes and knowing that their death must have been the last thought they had,” she paused, her throat so thick with emotion she couldn’t continue.

“You will have to kill again,” Terri murmured, “to protect Mo-Tah.”

“It doesn’t bother you,” Tarp asked, surprised by the Advisor’s declaration.

“My heart cries with each death,” Terri explained. “But Mo-Tah is my mother and I must protect her. If I could choose, I would choose not to kill but I did not choose for the Alliance to come to Organi. They have come to destroy the home that I love and the people that I love,” she said, cupping a hand against Midd’s tear-streaked cheek and gently pulling the captain’s head around. “My heart cries for those who die but it is the hurt of those that fill my heart that brings the most pain.”

Tarp sighed as she listened to the sergeant’s words. “Terri, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“I certainly hope so,” Terri smiled, placing her lips against Tarp’s.

This time the women took their time exploring each other’s lips, the kiss quickly deepening until tongues explored waiting mouths. The need to breath being the only reason the women broke apart, both panting heavily.

Tarp slumped against Terri, “guess this isn’t the time or place to take this any further.”

“No,” Terri blew out a long breath as she tried to control her racing heart. “I’m afraid it isn’t.”

“Guess we should get back to what needs to be done.”

Terri blew out a second breath, her heart refusing to settle. “I don’t think I can do much of anything as long as you are in my arms,” she smirked.

“Guess I could move,” Tarp offered half-heartedly.

“I prefer you don’t,” Terri tightened her hold.

“I prefer I don’t too,” Tarp chuckled. “But we do need to take care of those soldiers and get back to trying to free Hovart and the others.”

“About those soldiers,” Terri glanced over at the bodies. “Do you think they were alone?”

“My guess is if they had any friends,” Tarp said as she removed herself from the sergeant’s arms and stood up. “We’d know it by now,” she reached down a hand to pull Terri up beside her. “My question is how did they get here? Alliance soldiers don’t usually travel on foot unless there are a lot of them.”

“You think they have a camp nearby?” Terri asked as she was pulled upright.

“No. Again, if they did we’d know by now,” she said, placing a kiss on Terri’s lips. “They should be a shovel in the tasar’s supplies. Why don’t you look for it while I see if they are carrying anything worthwhile.”

“Want me to do that?” Terri offered.

“Thanks,” Tarp smiled, understanding the unspoken reasons for Terri’s offer. “But I think I should do it. Go on, the shovel is probably in one of the lockers near the tail,” she said as she walked the few steps to the men that so recently had hopes and dreams and a future she had now taken from them.

“Okay,” Terri said as she watched Tarp approach the soldiers. She could tell by the slump of her shoulders and the hesitation in her step that the next few hours would not be easy on the captain. She turned for the tasar, determined to find the shovel and get the men buried as quickly as possible.

“Except for their weapons and a few personal items, the only thing they were carrying was this,” Tarp pulled a small object from her jacket pocket, holding it out to Terri who was placing the shovel back into its storage compartment.

“Access key?” Terri asked, glancing down at the thin, rectangular item resting in the palm of the captain’s hand.

“That’s my guess,” Tarp placed the key back into her pocket. “Did you secure their rifles?”

“In the forward compartment,” Terri answered, closing the door of the compartment she had been working in. “More room up there for them.”

“Good,” Tarp turned to look around the clearing, wanting to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind. Thinking of what might lie ahead for them when they attempted to free the prisoners in Beta II, she muttered, “sure good use a gunner about now.”

“I can do it,” Terri told her.

Tarp turned back around to see the sergeant start to climb up onto the tasar’s wing. “You?”

“Yes.”

“How would you know about being a gunner?” Tarp asked as she grabbed Terri to prevent her from going any further. “Wait a minute,” she scrutinized the sergeant. “You never told me how you ended up in that prison camp. Or what you’re trained to do as a Confederacy soldier.”

“You never asked,” Terri grinned, leaning back against the wing.

Tarp placed her hands on the edge of the wing on either side of Terri then leaned forward until she was nose-to-nose with the smirking Islander. “Well,” she growled.

Terri raised herself up just high enough to place a quick kiss on Tarp’s lips, “I was training to be a gunner.”

“Really?” Tarp leaned back. “I didn’t know they were training Islanders for the tasars.

“I was in the first class,” Terri said.

“About time they started that,” Tarp shook her head. How many arguments had she had with Confederacy command urging them to make better use of the Islanders? She thought of all the time that had been wasted trying to convince her commanding officers to put aside their prejudices.

“Yes,” Terri broke into the captain’s thoughts. “It seems that Mainlanders don’t believe we have much ability,” she said of the attitude openly displayed towards the Islanders.

“Not all Mainlanders think that,” Tarp pressed her lips together in an apologetic smile.

“I know, sweetheart,” Terri wrapped her arms around Terri, holding her tight. “Give me a few minutes to speak with Mo-Tah for those soldiers. Then we can go.”

“I’ll come with you,” Tarp smiled. “I think it’s time I meet your Mo-Tah.”

“She’d like that,” Terri grinned. “She’d like that very much.”

“Ready?” Tarp asked as she checked her control panels one last time before lifting the tasar into the air.

“Yes, but remember you promised no flips and rolls,” Terri said anxiously from behind the captain.

“Nice and level,” Tarp promised as she punched in the commands to raise the craft as she just described. “Once we get above the trees, we can scan for any other Alliance activity in the area. You might want to get the ground missiles ready just in case.”

“Um, okay,” Terri said as she studied the maze of buttons and switches in front of her.

“You okay back there?” Tarp asked, hearing the confusion in the sergeant’s voice.

“Ah, here you are,” Terri said when she spotted the specific buttons she was looking for. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Terri?”

“Yes.”

“How many tasar flights have you actually been on?”

“Counting the one yesterday?”

“Yeeesss,” Tarp drew out the word, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“This will be my second.”

Tarp entered a series of commands that stopped the tasar’s motion and held the machine in place hovering several feet off the ground. She twisted as much as she could in the tight confines of the captain’s seat in order to look at her new gunner. “I thought you said you were training as a gunner?”

“I said I was in the first class,” Terri explained. “The instructors weren’t convinced we could handle operating in real tasars so they started us in mock trainers on the ground.”

“Idiots,” Tarp muttered as she listened.

“I had just completed the class and was scheduled to start training in a real tasar when I was captured.”

“What happened?”

“My mother’s illness worsened and my sisters asked me to return. The shuttle I was on stopped at a small island not too far from my own. Alliance troops were waiting for it.”

“You never got to see your mother?” Tarp asked, quietly.

“No.”

“I’m sorry, Terri.”

“It was Mo-Tah’s way.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Mo-Tah knew it was more important that I go to Beta II.”

“Why would she think that was more important than being with your mother?”

“Perhaps,” Terri smiled at the agitated captain, “she knew who I would meet there.”

“Who? That chauvinist Hovart and his close-minded followers?”

“I doubt it.”

“Then who? Who could you have possibly met in that prison camp that would be more important than your mother?”

“Not more important, sweetheart,” Terri grinned. “But just as important.”

“Who? Uh? What?” Tarp stuttered as she slowly began to understand. “Oh,” she grinned, sheepishly.

“You are so cute when you go off like that,” Terri laughed.

“Am not,” Tarp groused, twisting back around and releasing the tasar from its holding pattern.

“Are too.”

“Careful, gunney,” Tarp growled, playfully. “Or you’ll be saying goodbye to your breakfast in the near future.”

“Midge, you promised,” Terri cried, fearful the captain would put the tasar through a series of loops and spins just to prove she could.

“Be good then.”

“Okay,” Terri relaxed back into the gunner’s seat. “But you are cute.”

“What do you think?” Tarp asked.

The tasar was hovering over an Alliance cruiser the women had spotted at the edge of the forest.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone around it. Do you think it could have belonged to those soldiers?”

“Good bet,” Tarp agreed. She guided the tasar to the ground not far from the cruiser, being careful to keep the nose of the craft and its weapons pointed directly at the Alliance vehicle. “Only one way to be sure. You stay here. If you see any movement that signals this is a trap, fire the missiles.”

“Tarp, I can’t do that with you out there.”

“Sergeant,” Midd hardened her voice, “that’s an order.”

“Yes, Captain,” Terri almost cried when she said the words. No matter what Tarp commanded her to do, she would not cause the death of the woman she was falling deeply in love with.

“Don’t worry,” Tarp softened her voice as she stepped out on the wing, a rifle held at ready in her hands. Before jumping down from the wing, she took a moment to smile at the sergeant. Winking, she said, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“You better be,” Terri whispered as she watched the captain cautiously approach the cruiser.

When she wasn’t greeted by a barrage of laser blasters, Midd relaxed a little as she moved closer to the cruiser. If they were lucky the cruiser would be empty, it’s soldiers buried in a forest clearing several clicks away.

Tarp reached into her jacket pocket for the key taken off the dead soldiers. “Here goes nothing,” she whispered as she slipped it into the code box alongside the cruiser’s access door and heard a muted click as the door’s locking mechanism opened. Reaching for the handle she said a silent prayer that she wasn’t activating a destruction code. Holding her breath, she pulled the door open a few inches than paused. Taking a breath, she pulled it another few inches and paused. Finally, the door was opened wide enough for Tarp to peer inside the cruiser. “Empty,” she sighed.

Tarp stepped inside the cruiser, thinking its interior was quite roomy for having a crew of only two. She moved to the front of the cruiser and saw that the control panels had not been locked down. “A little lacking when it comes to following procedure,” she commented to the missing soldiers. “You must not have expected to be gone too long.”

“Or they didn’t think anyone would come along to find it,” Terri said as she stepped into the cruiser.

“Thought I told you to stay with the tasar,” Tarp said as she lowered her rifle. Upon hearing the door creak as the sergeant pulled it open, she had whipped around, rifle at ready and fully intending to shoot whoever entered the cruiser. “Seems you also have trouble following procedure.”

“I got worried,” Terri shrugged as she moved to where Tarp was standing. “Now what?”

“Think you can drive this thing?”

Terri moved closer to take a good look at the control panel, a frown forming on her lips.

“Look,” Tarp pointed at a button. “This button makes it go and that one,” she pointed at another, “makes it stop. You can adjust your speed with this dial, the farther you turn to the right the faster you go.”

“Okay,” Terri said, not at all convinced she could control the cruiser once it got started. “What are you thinking?”

“We take this to Beta II. I’m sure Hovart could find a use for it and it would help having it around on their walk back to a Confederacy base.”

“What about the tasar?”

“I’ll fly it to the camp and let them know what’s going on so they don’t think you’re Alliance soldiers coming for a visit.”

“What if another cruiser comes along?”

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Tarp assured the sergeant. “If any come around, I’ll take care of them. All you have to do is get this to Beta II.”

“Okay,” Terri set in one of the two seats in front of the control panels. “How do you start it up?”

“Push that button there while you hold this one down,” Tarp instructed.

“How do you know this?” Terri asked as she prepared to follow the captain’s instructions.

“These aren’t much different from the shuttles I flew on Retha. These just don’t get too high off the ground is all. All set?” she asked as she felt the cruiser’s engines come on line.

“Let’s see,” Terri rubbed her hands together. “This one to go.”

“Right.”

“This one to stop.”

“Right.”

“And this one for speed.”

“Right. Just be sure to slow down long before you get to the camp. Don’t want you accidentally going through the vaporizer fence. Pull the lever just under your right arm that will open the cover on the windshield.”

“Being able to see would be good,” Terri said as she pulled the level and watched the view in front of her go from nothing to bright sunlight.

“Okay, I’ll meet you at Beta II. If you run into any trouble, just stop where you are and I’ll come to you.”

Terri nodded, “be careful, I love you.”

“Love you too. See you soon.”

By the time Tarp had returned to the tasar and lifted it into the air, the Alliance cruiser was well on its way towards Beta II. Tarp followed behind, watching the jerky motion of the cruiser while the sergeant got comfortable with its controls. As soon as the cruiser began to travel smoothly over the rough ground, Tarp sped ahead to the prison camp setting a command in her radar scanner to keep track of the cruiser’s movement and sound an alarm should the vehicle stop.

It didn’t take Tarp long to reach the prison camp and she smiled when she saw the excited movements of the prisoners once they recognized the tasar for what it was. Midd set the tasar down near the prison gate but at a safe distance from the vaporizing field. She pressed the release handle and waited for the cockpit cover to slide out of the way before stepping out on the tasar’s wing.

“Captain, is that you?” Lieutenant Hovart shouted over the other prisoners.

“It is, Lieutenant,” Midd jumped down from the wing, her boots kicking up dust as she approached the single string of wire that marked the invisible barrier. “Have you kept my camp in good shape?”

“Sure have, Captain,” Hovart smiled. “Glad to see you made it.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“Shame the Islander wasn’t as lucky.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Midd grinned.

“The Advisor,” one of the Islander prisoners rushed forward, “is she alive?”

“Careful there,” Midd warned the prisoner. “Don’t get too close to the fence.”

“The Advisor?” the Islander asked again.

“That’s her,” Midd pointed to a cloud of dust approaching the camp.

“That’s an Alliance cruiser,” a Mainlander soldier shouted.

“You sell out to the Alliance, Midget?” another soldier sneered.

“Shut up,” Hovart ordered before the Captain could respond.

“But that’s an Alliance cruiser. How’d she get her hands on one of those if she isn’t one of them?”

“Yeah,” another soldier added, “she sure didn’t have it when she was here before.”

“That’s a Confederacy tasar,” Hovart shouted back. “She didn’t have that either. So shut up until the captain can tell us what’s going on.”

The soldiers quieted but several could still be heard voicing opinions on the sudden appearance of the captain and the looming arrival of the sergeant.

“What is going on, Captain?” Hovart asked as he turned back to face the officer.

“It’s a long story and we don’t have time for it right now. As soon as Sergeant Arhina gets here, we’re going to find a way to deactivate the barrier and get you out of there.”

“You really think that’s possible?” Hovart asked. Months before he would have laughed at the woman’s pronouncement, writing it off as just another of the Midget’s outlandish ideas. But not now. Not after he’d seen the woman escape through the vaporizing field and return with not one but two heavily armed machines that could very possibly make her claim come true. No he had to admit, if only to himself that, there was much more to this woman standing in front of him then just someone to make fun of and ridicule. And if she was able to do as she said, he would be very glad indeed to have her back.

“Well,” Lieutenant Hovart scratched his chin as he considered the options. “Blasting it won’t do much good, the bombs will just be destroyed by the field.”

“Do we really know that?” Tarp muttered, leaning against the wing of the tasar. She and Hovart were standing on opposite sides of the vaporizing barrier waiting for Terri to arrive in the Alliance cruiser. The rest of the prisoners were gathered around Hovart, the Islanders standing a few feet to the side of the Mainlanders.

“Stands to reason, Captain,” Hovart continued scratching his jaw. “It destroys everything that comes into contact with it.”

“Hmm,” Tarp’s eyes traveled the length of the thin wire stretched between regularly placed wooden posts that made up the only visible sign of the field. “Key is to cut off the power through that wire,” she said more to herself than the other soldiers.

“What about the control box?” a Mainlander soldier called out. “Can’t you try deactivating it?”

“Too risky,” Tarp responded. “The Alliance probably has a security alert on it. If the wrong code gets entered or someone tries to mess around with it, it’ll set off alarms at some Alliance outpost.”

“And we’d be crawling in Alliance guards before you know it,” Hovart added, his voice clearing revealing his disgust at what he considered an unnecessary question. “But what if we blast the box itself?” he asked.

“Still too risky, I think,” Tarp said, looking up when she heard the sound of the cruiser’s engines getting near. “Ah,” she smiled, “here comes the Sergeant. Maybe she’ll have some ideas.”

“Whatever we do,” Hovart turned to watch the approaching cruiser, “we better do it quick. Tomorrow is shower day and the Alliance guards could be showing up at any time to turn on the pumps.”

“Right,” Tarp frowned at the unwanted complication. “Lieutenant, why don’t you organize the soldiers. Everything that needs to be done to leave the camp should be started. You’ll need food, extra clothing, and containers to carry water. The cruiser can only carry about seven of you, so the rest will have to walk.”

“Gotcha, Captain,” Hovart nodded. “I’ll get them started right away.”

“Good,” Tarp smiled, pushing herself off the wing and moving in the direction of where Terri was easing the cruiser to a stop. She quickened her steps when she saw the cruiser’s door begin to slide open.

“Advisor,” several of the Islanders whispered the word as if they were seeing a ghost when Terri stepped out of the cruiser.

“It is good to see you again,” Terri smiled at the Islanders standing in the prison yard.

“We were told you were dead,” an young soldier murmured. “We thought Mo-Tah had called you to her.”

“Yes,” Terri smiled sadly at the soldier as she walked closer to the barrier.

“Careful, sergeant,” Tarp reached out, stopping Terri’s progress when she moved past her. “Don’t get too close to the fence.”

“I won’t,” Terri patted Tarp’s hand, her way of letting the captain know she would take no chances with the deadly fence. Turning back to face the waiting Islanders she explained, “I am sorry for your despair but Lieutenant Hovart was not trying to deceive you when he told you that. He had no way of knowing we had survived our attempt to escape.”

“Not to mention, I wasn’t expecting you to follow the captain,” Hovart grumbled, returning from issuing his orders to the other prisoners.

“I am sorry about that, Lieutenant,” Terri grinned, “but I did not know myself that I would do that.”

“Hmptf,” Hovart grunted. “Look, I know you mean a lot to your people, Sergeant, and you need time to explain things to them. But we could sure use their help in preparing to leave this place.”

Terri nodded. “We’ll talk later,” she told the Islanders. “Now you need to follow the lieutenant’s orders.”

“Of course, Advisor,” an older soldier answered for the group. “We are glad that Mo-Tah protected you.”

“Thank you.”

Tarp waited until the Islander received their orders from the lieutenant and moved away to comply before she again brought up the subject of destroying the barrier field. “Sergeant, do you have any ideas as to how we can eliminate that fence?”

Terri studied the obstacle as she spoke. “It has always bothered me as to where the power source for the vaporizer field was hidden.”

As Tarp listened a grin slowly began to spread across her face. “You’re absolutely right, Sergeant. There are no power relay stations anywhere in the valley which means…”

“Which means they probably got it buried right under us,” Hovart shook his head in disgust. “All these months and we’ve been standing on top of it the whole time.”

“Not quite, Lieutenant,” Tarp said, knowing the man was thinking he could have hastened his escape by digging down to the hidden power source and destroying it. “Crystals aren’t too reliable when they don’t have a direct and open link to whatever they’re powering. Burying them would block the link, so without any transfer stations close by my guess is that it isn’t too far from the control box. But I doubt they would have buried it on that side of the fence.”

“Which probably means these posts…,” Terri said from where she was standing near the wooden posts that served as a gate into the camp. It was also where the single strand of wire comprising the fence emerged out of one of the posts and the other end, after circling the camp, disappeared into the other.

“Are hollow and serve as the conduit from the crystals to the wire,” Tarp continued the sergeant’s thought. “And whatever code they enter in the control box must do something to break the connection.

“Cutting off the link and deactivating the barrier,” Terri completed the thought.

“Sneaky buggers,” Hovart muttered as he listened to the women. “But how far down to the crystals? You could be digging for days.”

“Captain, do think you could adjust the scanners in the tasar to answer to the lieutenant’s questions?”

“I think that’s a real good possibility,” Tarp nodded, she was already climbing onto the wing of the tasar. “Lieutenant, get everyone between the food and shower huts and keep them there. As soon as I get locked on the exact location of the crystals, I’ll hit it with a couple of ground piercing missiles. Sergeant, move that cruiser away from here so it doesn’t get damaged.”

Terri ran for the cruiser while the lieutenant began to herd the soldiers inside the camp to the marginally safe zone between the camp’s largest buildings.

Tarp took time to bend over the gunner’s control panels and lock the required missiles into ready position before climbing into her pilot’s seat. Moments later the tasar was lifting off the ground as Tarp maneuvered the craft into the proper position and correct angle for it’s scanners to be aimed directly at the area of ground she hoped hid the power supply for the vaporizer fence.

Furiously punching commands into her control panels, Tarp was finally rewarded with a faint red glow on one of the display screens surrounding her. “Ah,” she cried out, “there you are.” She reached over to her right, flipping a toggle switch and spinning a dial to full magnitude. “Lieutenant Hovart,” Tarp’s voice carried down to the camp through the speakers hidden under the tasar’s wings. “Do you have everyone in position?”

Hovart walked out from the shadows between the food hut and the shower hut. Raising a fist into the air, he pointed his thumb up signaling the captain he was ready.

Tarp took a look out the tasar’s cockpit to see the lieutenant’s signal. She then twisted her head to look out the opposite side and saw that Terri and the cruiser were safely waiting several clicks away from the camp.

“Alright, let’s give this a try. Everyone, take cover,” Tarp commanded, hesitating only a heartbeat before she pressed the trigger unleashing two powerful missiles racing to the ground below her. As soon as the missiles were released, Tarp punched in a series of commands that immediately guided the tasar skyward and out of harm’s way from the impending shock of the blast.

Terri watched from the safety of the cruiser, having raised its blast shields into position. Two bright flashes signaled the release of the missiles and she was glad to see the tasar abrupt departure instantly afterward. She barely had time to blink before she saw a large, dust cloud form where the missiles contacted the ground. An few seconds later, a tremendous explosion rocked the cruiser and Terri raised her arms up in front of her face, instinctively trying to protect herself from the debris slamming into the cruiser.

The concussion caused by the explosion blew apart many of the huts once used to house the soldiers and the air was filled with flying splinters and pieces of wood. One end of the food hut began to buckle as a corner support was knocked out from under the building. Hovart yelled for the soldiers huddled near the collapsing wall to move away, most didn’t need to be warned twice. Those who were slow to respond to his shouts were literally thrown clear of the danger by the lieutenant.

As the debris began to settle, soldiers emerged from their hiding. Many were disappointed to see the single wire of the fence still in place around the majority of the camp even though the gate was no longer in existence.

“Damn,” one soldier spit dirt out of his mouth, “should have known that Midget couldn’t pull it off.”

“Shut up,” Hovart growled as he bent to pick up a piece of board. With a flick of his wrist the small plank was flipped towards the vaporizing barrier. “Looks to me like the Captain did pretty good,” Hovart laughed when the wood flew through the fence to land in a cloud of dust on the other side.

“It’s down,” another soldier shouted as he tossed a rock at the fence and watched it sail through unharmed. Several other soldiers began to shout in joy as they too tested the barrier and found it to be ineffectual.

“Listen up,” Hovart shouted above the others. “Grab your stuff and get to the other side of the fence. Test the section you go through first then don’t waste any time getting past it. We don’t know if it got knocked out completely or for how long. Meet up where the captain is.”

“Nice shot,” Terri said as she exited the cruiser after moving it back to the camp.

Tarp was sitting on the tasar’s wing waiting for the soldiers to gather after they fled the confines of the prison camp. “Thanks. You okay?”

“Yes. Other than a bumpy few minutes, I was too far away to take any damage. And having the cruiser’s shields up didn’t hurt.”

“Glad you remembered them,” Tarp smiled at the sergeant. It was all she could do at the moment since the gathering soldiers probably wouldn’t understand if she wrapped her arms around the woman and kissed her. Which is exactly what she wanted to do.

“Me too,” Terri smiled back at the captain, not at all responding to Tarp’s comment about the shields.

Before either woman could say more, Lieutenant Hovart walked through the crowd of ex-prisoners. He stopped when he reached the front of the gathering, “camp is clear, Captain.”

“Good,” Tarp turned her attention back to the matter at hand, hoping she’d have sufficient time in the coming days to express her feelings to Terri. “Okay, we better get moving away from here as quick as possible. That explosion must have been picked up by Alliance sensors.”

Hovart nodded, saying nothing as he allowed the captain to give the orders.

“Hovart, I want you to take the prisoners and head to that abandoned processing machine at the foot of the mountains. You’ll find a trail a couple of clicks behind it in the forest. Follow it towards the top of the mountains.”

“Okay. Then what?”

“I’m not sure,” Tarp answered truthfully. “That’s as far as we got before we found the tasar warehouse. Hopefully, once you get over the pass, you’ll be able to spot a Confederacy base and head for it.”

“Any chance, we’ll find more tasars?”

“Doubt it,” Tarp shrugged, “we think it was destroyed after we got this one out.”

“So that’s what we heard a few nights ago.”

“Probably.”

“What about the cruiser?” Hovart asked. “Can’t take it into the forest.”

“I want you to pick six soldiers, Mainlander or Islander,” Tarp emphasized. “Let them take the cruiser and head for that low pass over there,” she pointed to the opposite side of the valley. “That’s where I’d put a passage route if I wanted a quick way in or out of this valley. Whoever you pick will need to be ready to fight because I’m sure they’ll run into Alliance troops sooner or later. Once they get clear, they can seek out a Confederacy post. Take the hand weapons with you, it won’t be much but it’ll give you some protection and the cruiser has its own arsenal. Whoever finds an friendly post can spread the alarm about the others.”

“What about you, Captain?”

“The Sergeant and I will take the tasar and do the same. By the way, Lieutenant,” Tarp said, seeing the smile on Terri’s face out of the corner of her eye.

“Yes?”

“The Sergeant thinks they’re may be other prisoner-of-war camps. Make sure you pass that on.”

“Alright,” Hovart looked skeptically at the sergeant. “Don’t suppose you have any idea where such camps might be?” he asked.

“In the mountains and by the shore,” Terri answered.

“Covers a lot of ground, Sergeant,” Hovart grunted.

“We don’t have time for this,” Tarp’s eyes narrowed and her voice hardened as she spoke to the junior officer. “Just pass on the information, Lieutenant. Let command figure out the details.”

“Yes, Captain,” Hovart nodded. He doubted the existence of other camps but he wasn’t about to bring the feisty captain’s wraith down on him for voicing that doubt.

“Someone’s coming,” a soldier shouted, pointing to a growing cloud of dust across the valley.

“Hovart, get moving. You won’t be safe until you get into the forest. We’ll get airborne and give you as much cover as we can,” Tarp said, scrambling up the tasar’s wing, the sergeant right behind her. “Get the cruiser out of here before they figure out we have it,” she shouted over her shoulder as she hopped into the pilot’s seat and began entering the commands that started the tasar’s engines.

Hovart picked six soldiers to take command of the cruiser before shouting orders to the other soldiers to begin running. En mass, the soldiers left what remained of the prison camp and hurried across the valley floor to the relative safety of the forest and the mountains. Hovart waited for the cruiser to speed away and the tasar to lift off the ground before he followed the others.

“All Mainlanders,” Tarp grumbled as she guided the tasar towards the dust cloud.

“What?” Terri asked as she tightened her safety harnesses. She was sure that the next several minutes were going to be full of lots of turns, twist and flips and she wanted to be secure in her seat. She just wished she had a way to harness her stomach in place.

“All Mainlanders,” Tarp repeated. “Hovart chose all Mainlanders for the cruiser.”

Terri hadn’t noticed which soldiers were directed to the cruiser and was amazed that Tarp had managed to take note of them with all the activity going on around them as they worked to get the tasar in the air. “That’s okay,” she smiled at the captain’s frustration over the lieutenant’s seeming reluctance to merge the two groups of soldiers together.

“How can you say that?” Tarp asked as she studied the screens surrounding her. “Lock the laser blasts in, will you?”

Terri punched a few buttons before she answered, “Locked and loaded.”

“So, how can you say that?” Tarp asked again.

“Not too many Islanders have seen the inside of a cruiser, let alone know what to do with one. So it’s probably better, under these circumstances,” she added, “that Hovart chose Mainlanders.”

“Um,” Tarp frowned, dropping the nose of the tasar as she prepared to make a strafing run over the convoy of cruisers racing for the camp. “Hang on, honey,” she warned as the tasar leveled out, flying a course that would take it directly over the convoy. Tarp started to tap a button, sending regularly spaced laser blasts at the cruisers. “Darn,” she grunted reaching the end of the line of cruisers. Following her commands, the tasar soared back into the sky performing several complete rollovers and rapid direction changes as she avoided the counter attacks from the Alliance soldiers.

“What’s wrong?” Terri asked through gritted teeth. Her hands were holding on to her safety harness so tightly that the knuckles had turned white.

“Wasn’t expecting them to have their blast shields up,” Tarp turned the tasar around, directing it back towards the convoy. “Lock in the ground missiles,” she shouted, “let’s quit playing nice with them.”

“We’re playing?” Terri’s voice shook with nervousness as she changed the weapon configuration as Tarp asked.

“Having the time of my life,” Tarp grinned, the tasar speeding down on the convoy for a second pass. “Let’s see what you do with these, boys,” she laughed, pulling the trigger.

The ground missiles struck the cruisers, having various levels of effectiveness based on the preparedness of the cruiser’s crews. One cruiser took the impact of the missile on its rear and, with the crew having failed to raise the shields protecting that end of the vehicle, was blown completely apart. Another cruiser had shields completely raised but a missile struck the ground directly next to its driving wheels. The blast was enough to force the wheels off their geared tracks leaving the cruiser unable to move.

“Two down,” Tarp shouted jubilantly, “two to go.”

“They’re splitting up,” Terri cried out. As Tarp guided the tasar back out of range of the cruisers’ weapon, the sergeant chanced a look at the convoy.

“I see them,” Tarp turned the tasar to follow the cruiser that was now chasing Hovart and the other soldiers. “Let’s get this one stopped before he can get to Hovart.”

“What about the other one?” Terri twisted in her seat to try to see where the other cruiser was going but the angle and direction the tasar was flying prevented her from being able to see anything.

“Looks like it’s going after our cruiser.”

“Shouldn’t we try to help them too?”

“Can’t do both at once,” Tarp was busy punching new commands into her controls. “I’ve locked a tracker beam on it so we’ll be able to find it. Get ready, here we go.”

Terri braced herself as the tasar flipped over onto its side as Tarp tried to get as much speed out of the small craft as possible.

“Lock in a blast bomb,” Tarp ordered. “I’m not taking any chances on them getting to Hovart.”

“Locked.”

Tarp pushed the controls maneuvering the tasar over until they were flying upside down. Then she flew the tasar up into a loop. Before the loop was complete, she rolled the tasar back over to bring it right side up just as they leveled out above the cruiser. A pull of the trigger and the blast bomb was released directly above the Alliance vehicle. Tarp raised the nose of the tasar and it shot straight up into the sky.

The women were unable to see the impact of the bomb but they felt the concussion of the blast as it caught up with the tasar and shook them violently. Tarp struggled to maintain control of the tasar so they wouldn’t be knocked out of the sky.

“Midge?” Terri cried out when the tasar flipped over, spiraling uncontrollably to the ground below.

“We’re okay,” Tarp calmly called back to the sergeant as she furiously punched commands into her control panels.

Terri took a firm hold on her safety harness as she tightly shut her eyes, unwilling to witness their impact with the rapidly approaching ground.

“Come on,” Tarp hissed through clinched teeth. “Come on.”

As if moving in slow motion, the tasar’s uncontrolled spin began to slow until it stopped altogether. Within a distance no more than a few lengths of the tasar, Tarp’s fist slammed against a button and the tasar’s nose lifted. The craft leveled for a brief moment before it sped skyward once again.

Tarp released her held breath in one long hiss. “Knew you could do it,” she grinned as the anxiety of the past few minutes was washed out of her.

“Are we alive?” Terri asked doubtfully, one eyelid barely opened enough to see.

“Most definitely,” Tarp laughed.

“You sure?”

“Very.”

With the tasar back flying level and the ground again some distance below them, Terri began to relax. Unwrapping her hands from the safety harness, she was surprised by how stiff and sore her fingers seemed to be. “Have I ever told you how much I hate to fly?” she glared at the back of the captain’s head.

“Don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned it,” Tarp smirked.

“Well, I hate to fly,” Terri shook her head in frustration. She knew how much Tarp loved to fly and recognized that this would probably always be a matter of contention between in the coming years. ‘Coming years,’ she thought, realizing the implications of what she was thinking. “I’d like to spend the next several years with you, Captain,” she murmured to herself.

“You say something, honey?”

Terri smiled. “No, nothing. How about we take care of that other cruiser and land this thing. I’d like to find where my stomach is hiding.”

“We’ll be there in a minute,” Tarp said as she spotted the cruiser in the distance. “And I’ll help you look for your stomach.”

“That’s good because I’m not sure my legs are going to stop shaking for several days.”

“I can help with that too.”

“I just bet you can,” Terri grinned. “I just bet you can.”

By the time the tasar caught up with the only remaining Alliance cruiser, it had already been put out of commission by the Confederacy soldiers in other cruiser.

“Doesn’t look like they need our help,” Tarp said as she eased the tasar onto the ground and opened the cockpit hatch.

Terri remained in her seat for several minutes just enjoying the lack of movement.

“You want to get out?” Tarp smiled at the sergeant as she waited for her on the wing.

“I think I’ll just sit here a while,” Terri responded, her eyes closed and her head leaning back against the seat. “Unless you need me out there,” she was really hoping that wasn’t the case since her brain was still spinning.

“Uh, no,” Tarp frowned. “I don’t think you need to come but,” she paused. “Hey, honey,” she bent down over the sergeant and lowered her voice, “are you okay.”

“I will when my head stops spinning and my stomach returns to normal.”

“I’m sorry,” Tarp mumbled.

“It’s okay,” Terri blindly reached out for the captain, her eyes still closed. “You did what you had to do. I’ll be fine.”

“Captain?” a soldier was standing beside the tasar’s wing.

“Yes,” Tarp answered but she kept her face turned to the sergeant.

“What should we do with the prisoners?”

“Prisoners?” Tarp turned to look at the soldier.

“Yeah, them,” the soldier pointed to a half dozen Alliance guards huddled together next to the wreckage of their cruiser.

“Set them loose,” Tarp said as she walked to the edge of the wing. “We don’t have any place to detain them. Unless you want to take them with you?”

“Prefer not to, Captain,” the soldier shook his head. “Barely enough room in that crate for us.”

“Set them loose, then. They can walk over and join their friends at Beta II.”

“Cut them loose, boys,” the soldier yelled to the other Confederacy soldiers guarding the prisoners. “Make sure you get their weapons and any communication devices first.”

“Anyone injured, Corporal,” Tarp asked as she dropped off the wing to stand beside the soldier, easily recognizing the man’s rank insignia on his shoulder.

“No,” the corporal started to walk towards the others with the captain following. “By the time they figured out we weren’t one of them, we had already done enough damage to their cruiser that they couldn’t do much fighting. What about Hovart and the others?”

“Never got close to them,” Tarp told him. “They should be close to the processor by now. They shouldn’t have any problem getting into the forest before any other Alliance guards show up.”

“Want us to check on them before we leave the valley?”

“We take care of that. I want you to get going as quickly as possible and get out of this valley before anyone else shows up. You may have trouble ahead of you and you don’t need to be wasting time or weapons here.”

“Hurry up, boys,” the corporal called out to the others after listening to the captain’s wishes. “We’ll be on our way in a few, Captain.”

Tarp nodded to the soldier before turning back to the tasar. She was concerned about Terri and didn’t see any reason to stay away from her any longer. “Good luck, Corporal,” she said as she walked away.

“Captain?”

“Yes,” reluctantly Tarp stopped to see what the soldier wanted.

“I just wanted to say thanks for coming back and getting us out of that camp. Tell you the truth I was real glad to see you and that tasar. Don’t know of many that would have come back after getting away. Takes a real soldier to know you don’t leave your buddies behind.”

Tarp hesitated a moment before responding. This was the first time any regular soldier had acknowledged her accomplishments. “You’re welcome, Corporal,” she smiled, unsure of what else to say.

“Come on, boys,” the corporal turned to join his comrades on their way back to the cruiser. “It’s time to see if any more Alliance soldiers who want to play.”

“Be careful,” Tarp called out to the men as the door on the cruiser started to slide into place. “Remember the important thing is you get back. Not how much trouble you can cause the Alliance.”

“We’ll see you back at command, Captain. And you can bet that I’ll tell them what you’ve done here,” the corporal added as he disappeared inside the cruiser.

“Doubt there’s anyone there who will want to hear that, Corporal,” Tarp whispered to herself as she turned to walk back to the tasar and Terri.

Terri, tired after hours of staring at nothing but her weapon displays, was grateful when Tarp announced a military station was visible in the distance. With the help of the tasar’s scanners and map displays, the captain had been able to guide them back to Confederacy Command.

“We’ll be on the ground soon,” Tarp told the weary sergeant as she pressed a few buttons on the panel situated close to her left elbow. Moments later crackling static was heard inside the tasar cockpit as the communication systems came on line. Tarp had not wanted to use them before spotting the station in case the Alliance was able to monitor their transmissions.

“Confederacy Command Station One,” a disembodied voice announced to the women. “You are ordered to halt your movement immediately and prepare for capture.”

“Don’t they know we’re on their side?” Terri asked, perplexed by the voice’s orders.

Tarp didn’t answer as she responded to the voice’s command, “Stand down, Command. I’m Captain Tarphan Midd of the Mainlanders and I have Sergeant Teragleli Arhina of the Islanders with me.”

“You’re emitting a signal from a destroyed tasar, Captain. Can you prove who you are?”

“Yes,” Tarp answered, prepared for the questions since she knew their tasar would probably be listed as destroyed along with the rest of the tasars hidden in the mountain depot. “Captain Tarphan Midd, Confederacy Command identity Zeb Lunar 3-5-7 Beta.”

As the women waited to see if the code would be accepted, Terri again wondered why Tarp would have a Confederacy Command identity. She remembered the Captain over-riding the security lock on the tasar depot using a Command master code. She also remembered that Tarp had promised to explain that to her but never had. And even though she realized they had been a little busy since that night, she couldn’t help feeling a little hurt by the Captain’s failure to confide in her. “There is much you haven’t told me,” she said quietly.

“What?” Tarp asked, confused by the sergeant’s sullen statement.

But before the sergeant could explain further, the disembodied voice burst back to life.

“Captain Midd, your code is accepted. We heard you had been taken prisoner.”

“Long story,” Tarp responded. “Am I cleared to land?”

“Yes, Captain. We’ll send you the bearings.”

“Just turn on the pad lights,” Tarp said as she peered out the cockpit window. “I think I’m capable of setting this thing down in broad daylight without locking bearings in.”

“Lights on, Captain.”

“Thank you. Will you alert the Commander to my arrival? I would like to talk to him immediately.”

“Already been done, Captain.”

“Good.” Tarp guided the tasar to the lit landing pad and softly set the craft down exactly in the middle of the circle. “We’re down,” she said to Terri.

“Midge,” Terri was already unbuckling her safety harness, “do you remember when we found the tasar depot?”

“Yes,” Tarp punched the button opening the cockpit cover and pushed herself up from her seat.

“You used a Command code to open the security door. And now you just gave a Command Identity code.”

Finally understanding what the sergeant was asking, Tarp stepped out onto the wing before turning to face Terri. She smiled apologetically, “I know I have some things to explain…”

“Welcome to Command, Captain,” a soldier standing beside the tasar wing interrupted the women. “Commander says if you want to talk to him, to come right away otherwise he’ll be too busy.”

“Yeah, I bet he will,” Tarp muttered under her breath. “Look,” she said to Terri, “as soon as we’re done telling the Commander what we know, I’ll explain it all to you. I promise.”

“Alright,” Terri smiled back. “But this time I’m holding you to that promise.”

“Deal,” Tarp’s smile brightened as she helped the sergeant out of the cockpit and off the wing. “Take us to Command, Lieutenant.”

“Um, Captain?”

“What is it?”

“Commander didn’t say anything about bringing the Sergeant.”

“This is Sergeant Arhini, Advisor to the Islanders. Don’t you think the General will want to welcome her to Command?” Tarp asked, her eyes narrowing and her voice hard.

“Um, well,” the lieutenant stammered.

“Take US to Command, Lieutenant. That’s an order.”

“Yes, Captain,” the lieutenant stiffened, “this way.”

Tarp grabbed Terri’s hand as they followed the lieutenant to a waiting passenger transport. “Boy, am I not looking forward to this,” the captain grumbled as she walked.

A three-story building showing signs of its hasty construction stood in the middle of the station. The wooden building was surrounded by sandbags piled high around its base and a wide courtyard fronted the structure. Few windows were visible on the wood plank walls and those were covered with blast shields which would prevent all but the faintest of light to penetrate inside. A stone wall circled the courtyard and building providing an added barrier to any potential invaders and it was through a portal in this wall that the women were being led. For Terri, it was hard to believe that this was the headquarters of the Confederacy Command but Tarp had been here before and wasn’t surprised at all by the ramshackle edifice.

“Captain,” a soldier wearing the insignia of a colonel met the women at the building’s door. “Please follow me, the General can only spare a few minutes.”

Terri was bewildered by the reception they were getting and even more bewildered by the fact that Tarp seemed to have anticipated nothing better.

The colonel stepped back inside the building, immediately turning and striding across a large, barren room to a stairway built against the far wall. Not waiting to see if the women were following, he started up the stairs to the second floor. Continuing down a long narrow hallway, the colonel climbed a second series of stairs before walking up to a door guarded by two soldiers. Pausing only long enough to rap his knuckles against the wood, he opened the door and urged the women to enter.

“Well, well, well,” a deep voice dripping with cynicism greeted Tarp and Terri as they entered the dark room. “Look who’s back.”

“There’s no time for this, General,” Tarp approached the desk the man sat behind. “We have important information. Information that could lead to a quick end to this war.”

“So I’ve heard,” the general sneered. “Alright,” he leaned back in his chair, his eyes falling on Terri for a brief moment before discarding her presence. “What is this important information you have for me?”

“Sergeant Arhina and I freed the soldiers in the Alliance prison camp Beta II. That means there are over six hundred Mainlander and Confederacy Soldiers on their way back to our bases.”

“How’d you manage that?” the general asked, his voice betraying the doubts he had to the truthfulness of Tarp’s statements.

“It’s not important right now. What is important is that Sergeant Arhina believes there are at least two other prison camps. If we could free them, that would mean hundreds more and maybe thousands more soldiers that could be returned to duty.”

“Last I heard of you, Captain, the Alliance had taken you prisoner. Now you appear out of the blue and tell me you freed an entire prisoner-of-war camp. How is that possible? Our intelligence said the camp was guarded by a vaporizer field. And inescapable.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Tarp cried out, frustrated by the general’s obvious unwillingness to believe her. “Please, Mica, you just have to believe me.”

Terri, surprised by the use of the man’s given name, looked at Tarp quizzically.

The general smiled insincerely, “make time, Midget. It’s not like you have anywhere to be.”

“Damn, Mica,” Tarp groaned, “do we have to go through this again?”

“Apparently we do,” the general smirked.

Knowing they were going to be there a while, Tarp looked around for something she and Terri could sit on. “I see you don’t have many visitors,” she commented as she walked to a corner of the room where some chairs where piled. Pulling two chairs out of the pile, she carried them back to the desk. “Here you go,” she offered one of the chairs to Terri before claiming the other for herself.

“Might I ask why she’s here?” the general leaned his chair back far enough to swing his booted feet up to rest on his desk.

“Mica, this is Sergeant Teragleli Arhina, Advisor to the Islanders,” Tarp said proudly, fully expecting the general to be just as impressed.

“Doesn’t really answer my question,” the general frowned.

“I’m sorry,” Terri said, starting to stand. In an attempt to relieve some of the tension in the room she added, “perhaps I should wait outside.”

“Perhaps you should,” the general agreed.

“No,” Tarp’s hand shot out holding Terri in place. “You have just as much right to tell this story as I do. After all, you did just as much as I did to free Beta II. And,” she turned to glare at the general, “she is a very important person to the Islanders. As important as you are, Mica, to the Mainlanders.”

“Hmpt,” the general grunted. “Whatever. You want her to stay, she stays. But can we get on with this.”

“Yes,” Tarp settled back in her chair, knowing further argument was useless. “I was captured by the Alliance and taken to Beta II where I met the Sergeant. The camp was surrounded by a vaporizer field but Terri had observed a flaw in its operation. By exploiting that flaw, we were able to escape from the camp. We fled to the mountains where we lucked upon a tasar depot.”

“That was you,” the general snarled, his boots dropping loudly against the floor.

“Yes,” Tarp continued. “We broke into the depot and took one of the tasars.”

“You do know that we had to destroy that depot,” the general leaned forward, his eyes boring into the captain. “Two hundred tasars, Midget. Two hundred. Do you know what that loss means to us?”

“If you will just listen to what we have to tell you, it won’t matter,” Tarp snarled back. “And technically, Mica, it’s only one hundred and ninety nine. The other one is sitting out there on a landing pad,” she pointed towards a wall, indicating the tasar on the other side.

“Don’t get cute with me, Midget. Two hundred tasars can’t be replaced that easily.”

“It’s not like you had pilots to fly them,” Tarp shouted. “But you would if you’d get over your dislike for me long enough to listen. Give me a squadron of tasars to go look for the other prison camps and you’d have enough soldiers for all the tasars you could put in the air. Not to mention, you’d have enough soldiers to crew every land and water tank sitting idle right now.”

“Give you a squadron,” the general laughed. “All I plan to give you is a one way ticket to Gephi Base where you can spend the rest of the war flying escort for supply convoys. And for you, Sergeant, I’m ordering you back to the Islands on the next transport.”

“You can’t do that, Mica,” Tarp jumped up to confront the general. “You have to find those other camps and free them.”

“What camps? Do you know where they are?”

“Not, exactly,” Tarp had to admit.

“Or that they even truly exist?”

“Well, no but…”

“Damn it, Midget. Except for your word, I don’t have any proof any of what you just said is true. I don’t even know you were ever in a prison camp, let alone broke out of one. I have no reason to believe your story about setting soldiers free and I sure as hell don’t have any reason to set you loose to go looking for these other prison camps you probably just made up. No, you’re going to Gephi Base and your sergeant can go back to her Islands. They’ll probably be glad to have her if she’s as important to them as you claim.”

“Don’t do this, Mica,” Tarp sighed, her emotions barely held in check. “Don’t make a mistake you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”

“The only mistake I made, Midget,” the general sneered, “was letting you come to Organi in the first place.”

Tarp slumped back into her chair as if the general’s words had struck her in the belly.

“Are you all right?” Terri asked, kneeling at Tarp’s side.

Witnessing the sergeant’s instant reaction to the captain, the general knew there was more between the women than just a professional relationship or an innocent friendship. “Not again, Midget,” he shook his head in disgust. “Not again.”

The words hit Tarp like a glove snapped across her face in pronouncement of a challenge. Her back stiffening as she glared back at the general, “you just can’t get beyond that, can you?”

“Midge?” Terri asked softly, seeing the captain’s anger building.

“I’m okay, honey,” Tarp said loud enough for the general to hear. “Yes, Mica, I’m in love with the sergeant and I hope with all my heart that she loves me as much as I love her. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Colonel,” the general barked.

The door to the room opened and the colonel stepped inside.

“Get these two out of my sight,” the general ordered.

“As you wish, General Midd,” the Colonel hurried into the room to escort the women out.

Hearing the general addressed by name, Terri’s head whipped around to look at the man who was upsetting her beloved. “He is your…?”

“Brother,” Tarp answered, sadly.

“See to it the Sergeant Arhina is a passenger on the next transport to the Islands,” the general continued to bark orders. “And have Captain Midd escorted to Gephi Base immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t Mica,” Tarp asked, uselessly.

“Get out, Captain. And if I were you, I’d make sure to stay as far away from me as you possibly can.”

“Let’s go,” the colonel addressed the women.

Terri stood up and waited to see what Tarp would do.

The captain stood, straightening her shoulders before delivered a sharp, precise salute in the direction of the general who was now standing, glaring at a wall with his back to the women.

“As you wish, General,” Tarp murmured before turning to walk out of the room.

“Transport station is this way,” the colonel said as he led the women back out the portal they had crossed through before their visit to see General Midd.

“We need to get our things out of the tasar,” Tarp informed the colonel.

“Very well,” the colonel agreed, thinking it was a reasonable request. He led the women back to the transport that had carried them from the tasar. Once they were all seating inside the transport, he ordered the driver to return to the tasar.

The women were silent during the short ride, the sergeant breaking the silence only after they were let off near the tasar and the colonel was escorting them to the craft.

“Are you okay?” Terri whispered to Tarp as they walked behind the colonel. Receiving no response, she glanced at the woman walking beside her. The captain’s body was rigid in perfect officer posture, her head held proud and her eyes facing forward. To anyone else who might chance a glance towards the captain, they would notice nothing amiss in the woman’s demeanor. But to Terri, she saw and felt the pain the captain was burdened with and her heart broke for the woman she loved.

Tarp slowed her steps to fall further behind the colonel. She wasn’t surprised when Terri matched her new stride. “Get ready to run,” she whispered without turning her head.

“I’m ready,” Terri whispered back.

“Excuse me, Colonel,” Tarp called to the officer.

“What is it, Captain?” the man asked as he stopped to wait for the women to catch up with him.

“Just out of curiosity,” Tarp smiled at the colonel, “would the tasar we flew here have been scheduled for servicing?”

“All tasars are serviced upon arrival. Need them to be ready at all times.”

“I see,” Tarp said as she walked up to the colonel. “Just one more thing.”

“And that would be?”

“Would you be kind enough to give my brother a message?”

“Of course.”

“Good,” Tarp stepped directly in front of the colonel. “Tell him,” she said, swinging a fist at the officer and landing a punch squarely on his chin. “To go straight to Tartarus,” she finished as the man crumpled to the ground. “RUN!”

Tarp could have saved her breath because Terri was already running for the tasar having bolted as soon as she saw the captain making a fist. Without breaking stride, Terri leaped up onto the tasar’s wing, wasting no time in climbing into the gunner’s seat. Tarp was on her heals and was punching in commands even before she had time to sit on the pilot’s seat.

Ignoring the shouts and threats coming for soldiers racing for the tasar, Tarp slid the cockpit cover in place at the same time the tasar lifted off the ground. “Sorry, honey,” she shouted over her shoulder, “but you better hold on.” With the warning sounded, Tarp lifted the nose of the tasar skyward and punched the craft’s engines online. The tasar shot into the sky, leaving the approaching soldiers only a cloud of dust to capture.

Tarp was studying the map displays as the tasar continued its abrupt climb. “You okay back there?” she asked as she studied one map in particular.

“I won’t say I’d be sorry if you wanted to slow down and level out,” Terri answered, her voice shaky.

“Oh, sorry,” Tarp grinned as she punched in commands for the tasar to do as Terri asked. They were well above the range of the laser rifles being aimed at them.

“Thanks,” Terri breathed a sigh of relief as her body was no longer pressed into her seat by the forces of the tasar’s sharp climb. “What now?”

“Now we see if we can find those other camps and set the soldiers free. But first, I have one last message for my brother. Lock in strafing rounds.”

“Midge, what are you going to do?” Terri cried out as the tasar’s nose dropped and it started to race back for the planet’s surface. Even as she felt her body being again forced back against her seat, her fingers completed the commands to fulfill Tarp’s request. “Locked.”

“Just a little good bye message,” Tarp gazed out the cockpit window, judging the distance to her target. “Raising shields,” she shouted as soon as she spotted the first rocket being launched from the Command station’s defense units. “Glad you want to play it this way,” she muttered as another rocket sped past the maneuvering tasar. “Makes what I’m about to do that much easier, brother.”

The tasar charged course to fly downward in a straight path giving the rocket crews an almost invisible target to aim at. When it reached a point where it seemed it would be impossible for Tarp to pull the craft out of its descent, she did just that. The tasar’s nose lifted and it began to fly a path parallel to the ground and on a course that would take it directly over the three story headquarters building. Tarp pulled the trigger sending thousands of strafing rounds into the structure. She chuckled when she thought of her brother diving for cover inside his dark office.

“How many of your lifer pilots can do that, bro?” Tarp shouted as she guided the tasar away from Command Station.

“Feel better?” Terri asked from the back seat of the tasar.

“Much,” Tarp said, but her voice betrayed that her true feelings were the opposite.

Terri was sitting on a blanket under a pine tree, leaning back against the rough bark of the tree as she waited for Tarp to join her. The captain was making sure the tasar, now hidden under a camouflage shield, was secure for the night.

After their unscheduled departure from Command Station, Tarp had flown the tasar back towards the mountains gauging it would be easier to hide in the unmapped areas of deep valleys and steep peaks. Once they had reached the uneven terrain of the foothills, Tarp had guided the tasar further into the mountain ranges many times flying barely above the tops of the trees blanketing the ground below. Shortly before dusk, she’d spotted a small clearing with just enough space to maneuver the small craft to a safe landing and had immediately taken advantage of it.

Once safely on the ground, Tarp helped Terri unload what would be needed to spend a comfortable night in the mountains. Before leaving the tasar for the last time to join Terri under the nearby trees, Tarp ran a check of the false signals she had programmed into the tasar’s probing fields as soon as they were out of range of Command Station. The false signals would prevent any probes, Confederacy or Alliance, from picking up the tracers from the tasar and would keep their hiding place secret. She looked at the screen showing the area covered by the camouflage shield and decided to double the shield’s coverage. Then, grabbing the remote control panel she had rigged while Terri set up their camp, she dropped off the tasar’s wing and walked towards Terri.

As Terri watched the captain approach, she could tell by the slump of shoulders and dropped head that this was no longer the confident officer who had marched out of headquarters just hours before. No, walking towards her was a very hurt and suffering woman. She opened her arms, inviting the captain to come into them and smiled when she did.

“I so love you,” Terri whispered as she wrapped her arms around Tarp, holding her as close as possible.

“I…” was all Tarp could say before the tears began to flood out of her eyes and her body shook with the accompanying sobs.

Terri started to rock their entwined bodies gently, encouraging Tarp to let her emotions run free. “Let the pain out, my love,” she soothed. “I’m here.”

It was some time before the sobs began to subside and the tears began to slow. By that time, Terri was laying on the blanket holding Tarp who was clinging to the sergeant as if afraid the woman would disappear if she let go. Slowly, Terri began to feel Tarp’s hold loosen.

“Thank Mo-Tah,” Terri sighed when she felt Tarp’s hands release their death grip. “I was afraid you were going to squeeze me to death,” she teased.

“I’m sorry,” Tarp wiped at her tears as she moved to roll off the sergeant.

“I didn’t say you had to move,” Terri pulled the sergeant back. “I was just losing the feeling in my arms.”

“You should have said something,” Tarp chocked out.

“No,” Terri bent her head to kiss Tarp’s brow. “You needed that. But I was beginning to worry about you. I’ve never seen anyone cry that hard, Midge,” she had been concerned the captain would hurt herself as hard as she had been sobbing. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You’re doing it,” Tarp tilted her head up to smile tearfully at the sergeant. “Just hold me.”

“Forever,” Terri smiled back. “Want to talk about it?”

“Guess I should, huh?”

“So much pain, Midge,” Terri murmured. “You should tell it to Mo-Tah.”

“I’m not an Islander,” Tarp needlessly reminded.

“You are why Mo-Tah sent me here. Never before has an Advisor been sent away from the Islands.”

Tarp pushed up into a half sitting, half laying position so she could see Terri’s face as they spoke.

“For many days and nights I asked her why she had done so with me. But she would provide no answer except to wait and all would be revealed. And then you walked into Beta II.”

“Fell in is a bit more accurate,” Tarp frowned at the memory of the guard’s rough shove that had almost caused her to fall face first into the dirt.

“Fell or walked doesn’t matter,” Terri smiled as she sat up, crossing her legs underneath her. “When I saw you, I knew why Mo-Tah had sent me from my Islands.”

“Love at first sight?” Tarp smirked, pulling her legs around so she too could sit up.

“Yes.”

“You’re quite the romantic.”

“Did you not love me at first sight?” Terri asked, wondering what the captain’s answer would be.

“Oh, yeah,” Tarp sighed. The second I looked into those beautiful brown eyes I was lost in them.”

“Now who’s the romantic?”

“Guess we’re a real pair, huh?”

“I guess we are.”

“I love you, Terri.”

“You better,” Terri laughed, “because after all we’ve been through, I’m not about to let you walk away from me.”

“Never,” Tarp leaned forward to place a tender kiss on the sergeant’s lips. “Never, ever,” she sighed as she pulled away.

Tarp reached up, running a finger around her tingling lips. “Good,” she said, meaning both Tarp’s promise and the sensation left behind by the kiss. “Now do you want to tell me what all that was about back there.”

“I do owe you an explanation,” Terri scooted back to rest against a tree. “Question is where to start.”

“How about how it is that your brother is the General and Commander of the Confederacy? And why he seems to…”

“Hate me so much?” Tarp added, bitterly.

“I’m sorry, Midge.”

“It started a long time ago, you’d think I’d be used to it by now,” Tarp said as she wiped away an errant tear.

“How does someone get used to being hated?” Terri asked as she scooted close to Tarp and wrapped an arm around her.

“Guess the truth is,” Tarp leaned against Terri, “you never do.”

Terri remained silent, there being nothing she could say.

“Our father was Governor on Retha, a very powerful man and one who saw nothing wrong with doing the Alliance’s bidding,” Tarp began. “Mica saw through his ways long before I did and tried to get Father to change. When he refused, Mica turned his attention on me and tried to tell me how the Alliance was destroying so many planets and, with Father’s help, even Retha. But I was too young to comprehend what he was telling me. He is several summers older than I am and I couldn’t believe Father would ever allow such things to happen. All I knew was that we lived in a large home and had an abundance of clothing and food. And I never failed to get anything I wanted as a youngling. It wasn’t until later that I discovered the truth of Mica’s warnings but by then he had already left Retha.

“When I was old enough, Father allowed me to travel to other cities on Retha. It didn’t take long to see that the cities were separated by hundreds of clicks of devastation. When I asked Father about them, he would tell be not to question what I couldn’t possible understand. But I did finally understand and I took my brother’s place in trying to get Father to change. He refused, as he had with Mica. It really wasn’t surprising considering his love of the power and wealth that his cooperation with the Alliance had brought him. So I did the only thing that was left for me.”

“You left Retha?”

“I tried. Mica had already established a colony on Organi and I asked to be allowed to join him. He refused to grant me permission.”

“His own sister?” Terri was shocked that anyone would turn away another, especially a family member. It was unheard of on the Islands.

“He had his reasons,” Tarp explained, the sadness in her voice almost broke Terri’s heart.

“What reasons could he have for denying his own sister?”

“He knew me only as someone who had defended our Father and his ways. He didn’t know I had changed.”

“Did he ask?”

“No,” the word was spoken so softly that Terri had to strain to hear it.

“What did you do?”

“I started to work against the Alliance on Retha, organizing opposition to the harvesting of our own planet. But we failed. When it became necessary to abandon Retha, Organi was on the list of available destinations but only if those who chose to come here agreed to stay out of Mica’s colony. He was afraid we would bring the Alliance with us. Turns out he was right.”

“Midge,” Terri said when Tarp didn’t continue. “That doesn’t explain the feelings he shows towards you. He even called you Midget. He must know how much you dislike that name.”

“Oh, he knows,” Tarp took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “He gave it to me.”

“How? Why? But I thought…”

“After I joined the military, I went to see Mica. I hoped that if he saw I was serious about defeating the Alliance it would help break down some of the walls between us. But as soon as he saw the name on my uniform, he started to laugh. Said it was appropriate for me to have to wear it that way. She glanced down at the name emblazoned across the left breast of her jacket: Midd, G.T. Tarp grimaced as her brother’s laughter still rang in her ears. “So you thought the soldiers got it from seeing it on my uniform?” she twisted her head around to face Terri who nodded in agreement.

“But…?”

“Why does he hate me?”

“Yes.”

“Because I love women.”

“But is that not accepted with Mainlanders?” Terri asked, shocked by the explanation.

“Tolerated is a better word,” Tarp explained. “But for some, like Mica, it is neither tolerated nor accepted.”

“So for that he treats you like he does?”

“He has always felt it brought him shame,” Tarp shrugged at the hundreds of bitter memories of her brother’s insults and ill-treatment.

“He must have known for many years,” Terri struggled to understand why anyone would find shame in love.

“Yes, he has known since I was a child.”

“Yet, he cannot accept.”

“No.”

“That makes no sense, Midge,” Terri sadly shook her head. “Mo-Tah says love is precious and should be accepted in all ways.”

“I’m afraid Mo-Tah and my brother would not get along very well.”

“You might be surprised,” Terri chuckled, “Mo-Tah has ways of winning over those who do not believe.”

“Well if she can get Mica to change, more power to her.”

“I’ll tell her that,” Terri offered.

“Please do,” Tarp laughed for a few moments before growing serious.

“What’s wrong?” Terri asked.

“After all this is over,” Tarp dropped her head to her chest, tears beginning to flow anew. “If the Confederacy wins, I have no where to go. Retha has been made unlivable and Mica will never allow me to stay on Organi.”

“You have somewhere to go, love.”

“I do?” Tarp raised her tear-streaked faced to Terri, hope burning in her eyes.

“Yes. I want you to come back to the Islands with me, your brother has no say on who we welcome there.”

“But what would I do? You don’t have transports or tasars or any machinery. There would be nothing for me.”

“There would be me,” Terri reached out, cupping a hand under Tarp’s chin and gently lifting her face. “I’m not asking you to come to the Islands just to live, Midge. I’m asking you to be my mate. To bond with me; to share my life and raise a family.”

“You want me to marry you?” A tiny smile lifted the corners of Tarp’s mouth.

“Yes, my love,” Terri grinned. “I’m asking you to marry me,” she repeated using the Mainlander term. “Will you?”

“But you’re an Advisor,” Tarp’s brow began to wrinkle into a frown. “I don’t know anything about that.”

“You don’t have to know anything. All you have to do is love me. Do you?”

“You know I do.”

“Then say you’ll bond with me.”

“I will.”

“I knew you would,” Terri whispered as she lowered her lips to Tarp’s.

This time the kiss was slow and the women took all the time they needed to express their feelings for each other.

Lieutenant Hovart stood in front of the desk in the Commander’s office. The general was standing with his back to the lieutenant as he stared out the shielded window of his office.

Hovart had arrived at Command Station a short time earlier and had demanded to be escorted to the Commander immediately. As soon as he had been ushered into General Midd’s office, Hovart informed the Commander of the liberation of the prison camp Beta II and of the general’s sister’s key role in that accomplishment. He now waited for the general to respond to the report he had just delivered.

While he waited, Hovart wondered as to the source of the parallel rows of strafing holes running down the middle of the general’s office.

“How many were freed?” the general asked, his tone low as he tried to rein in his growing anger.

“Four hundred and twenty three, sir,” Hovart replied, his attention returning fully on the general. “Most are coming here, should start arriving in a day or two. I came ahead when we spotted the base. A few took the Alliance cruiser over the mountain pass at the other end of the valley. Captain Midd thought that would be the most likely way to discover where the Alliance camps were.”

“We received word from Corporal Tankjey two days ago,” the general snarled. “He also informed me of Captain Midd’s role in your escape.”

“Couldn’t have done it without her and the sergeant, sir,” Hovart nodded to the general’s back. “Not too many would have dared to go over that fence, even if they thought the power was off. Took a lot of courage for them…”

“I get the point, Lieutenant,” the general growled.

“Have you heard from the captain?” Hovart asked, unsure as to why news of the prisoners’ escape would cause the general such obvious distress.

“The captain’s whereabouts do not concern me, Lieutenant,” the general whirled away from the window. “Colonel,” he shouted for his second-in-command. “Take the lieutenant to the map room,” he commanded as soon as the other office stepped into his office. “Have him pinpoint the location of the freed soldiers and send transports out to pick them up. As soon as you see to their health and get a hot meal into them, disperse them to the outlying bases as you see fit. That will be all.”

“Yes, sir,” the colonel answered. “If you’ll come with me, Lieutenant.”

“What about the captain?” Hovart refused to leave. “And Sergeant Arhina?”

“That will be all, Lieutenant,” the general turned back to the window.

“But, sir,” Hovart continued to protest.

“You have your orders, Hovart! Now get OUT!”

The lieutenant was pulled from the room by the colonel who knew better than to push the general any farther. “Don’t be a fool,” the colonel hissed as he yanked Hovart out of the room and slammed the door shut behind them. “You can’t do the captain any good from the brig,” he continued in a low voice so he wouldn’t be overheard. “Besides, she’s fine. At least she was a couple of days ago when she shot the General’s office full of holes.”

“She did that?” Hovart grinned as he pictured the captain bearing down on the command building, strafing rounds firing from the belly of her tasar.

“Yes,” the colonel led Hovart down the stairway to the second floor. “Showed up here in a tasar we thought had been destroyed, telling a story of freeing Beta II and wanting the general to give her troops to search out other prison camps.”

“What happened? Why isn’t she still here?”

“General didn’t believe her. He ordered her to Gephi Base to fly escort for supply convoys. And he ordered the sergeant back to her Islands.”

“Oh, boy. I bet the captain didn’t take too kindly to that.”

“Matter of fact, she slugged me in the jaw,” the colonel reached up to rub his still tender face, “and took off for their tasar. Before we could stop them, they shot the general’s office full of holes and disappeared. We’ve been looking for them ever since but they’re doing a real good job of hiding from our probes and reconnoiter vessels. Either that or the Alliance has recaptured them.”

“Let’s hope it’s the first, Colonel,” Hovart smiled.

“I’m with you but I don’t think the general would share that hope,” the colonel added as he pushed open a door to a room on the second floor. “Better we concentrate on picking up the rest of your freed prisoners and hope the captain can take care of herself because I doubt she’s going to get any help from Command.”

“Think he’d care more for his own sister than that,” Hovart mumbled as he followed the colonel into the map room.

The women had spent the past few days evading Alliance patrol cruisers and Confederacy scouting probes as they searched for another prisoner-of-war camp. So far their quest had been futile as they found little but uncharted and unoccupied terrain in their search.

“What’s wrong?” Terri asked when she felt the tasar’s momentum slow until the craft was simply hanging in the air, all movement stopped.

Tarp had been guiding the tasar to the head of another unnamed valley following the incline of the chasm’s slope, its gentle grade having gradually steepened as they climbed towards the summit. Now above tree-line the slope below them was sparsely covered with scrub brush and a few wind-bent and twisted trees, the safety of the thick forest having been left a few clicks behind them. Her eyes, which were keeping a constant vigil on the numerous displays and screens in front of her, paused when the tasar’s sensors detected an anomaly on the ground.

“Something is down there,” Tarp answered absently while tilting the tasar slightly off center so she could look out the cockpit’s window. She studied the ground trying to spot what the display screen told her was there.

“What?” Terri asked, unable to see anything from where she sat in the rear of tasar. “Is it a prison camp?”

“Don’t think so,” Tarp tilted the tasar even more over onto its side as she studied the ground below. “I’m going to set us down for a closer look. Better lock in a couple of decoy stars just in case we have to get out of here in a hurry.”

“Locked,” Terri completed the request.

“There isn’t much cover on this ridge,” Tarp said as she set the tasar down close to a cluster of distorted trees about fifty steps from the top of the ridge. “I’ve covered the tasar with a camouflage shield but we’ll be out in the open as soon as we move away from it. Keep your rifle ready,” she ordered, sliding the cockpit cover open and pulling her own weapon free of its resting place at the side of her seat. Before stepping out onto the tasar’s wing, she picked up the remote she had made in order to have access to the tasar’s displays and manipulate the tasar’s controls from a distance.

“What are we looking at?” Terri asked, joining Tarp on the wing.

“Over there,” Tarp pointed the barrel of her rifle in the direction of a small mound of rocks near the top of the ridge.

“Midge, that looks like it used to be a building of some sort,” Terri shaded her eyes from the morning sun to get a better look at what appeared to be the ruins of stone walls.

“I know,” Tarp said, stepping off the wing to land with a thud on the ground. “There’s a couple more on the other side of the ridge,” she said as she turned to help Terri off the wing.

Cautiously, the women approached the mysterious structure. The slope was steep and they were panting hard by the time they reached the stone ruins.

“Looks like it was a hut of some kind,” Tarp walked beside what had once been a circular wall of stones stacked taller than she stood. “This must have been a doorway,” she paused at a break in the otherwise solid remains.

“Wonder who built it?” Terri asked, looking at the jumble of rubble and debris encircled by the collapsed stones.

“Whoever it was,” Tarp bent over to pick up something shining in the sunlight. “They left a long time ago.” She studied a small rectangular piece of metal, pounded flat and with unusual markings covering one side. “Any ideas?” she asked, handing the metal to Terri. “I’ve never seen that kind of writing before.”

Terri stared at the piece of metal for many minutes before she answered. “It’s an ancient prayer to Mo-Tah,” she said, her voice full of emotion. “It hasn’t been used since the last party of explorers left the Islands.”

“Are you sure?” It wasn’t that Tarp doubted the Islander’s knowledge but she had been caught off-guard by the explanation.

“Yes. It asks Mo-Tah to keep the explorers safe and to return them home when they have completed their journey. Midge,” she looked at Tarp, tears in her eyes, “this means…”

“I know,” Tarp nodded, stepping closer to the Islander to look at the piece of metal. This time she gave it more than just a casual glance.

“What do you think happened to them?”

“Come on,” Tarp grabbed Terri’s hand and started to climb the remaining distance to the top of the ridge. “Maybe we can find a clue in the other ruins.”

“Do you think they’re still alive?”

Tarp twisted her neck, giving Terri a quizzical look. “How long do Islanders live?” she asked. “I thought you said it was several generations since the last ones left the Islands.”

“It was,” Terri laughed at the look on the captain’s face. “I believe Islanders’ life-spans are equivalent to your own. But I meant their children’s children.”

“Oh, good,” Tarp breathed a sigh of relief. “You had me worried there for a minute.”

A sharp beep sounded from the remote Tarp carried. “Probes,” she cried out, pulling Terri along as she started to run. “We need to find cover.” The women raced over the top of the ridge.

“There,” Terri pointed.

An arch formed by large stones carefully placed one on top of the next revealed an opening into a mound that looked unnatural on the barren ridge but the women didn’t have the time to consider its peculiar appearance.

“Go,” Tarp urged, running for the safety of the opening.

Terri led Tarp through the arch, diving into the darkness beyond without thinking of what might be waiting for them inside. Tucking her body into a ball, she hit hard-packed dirt and rolled until something solid stopped her progress. Before she could regain her bearings Tarp crashed into her, forcing her against the hard obstruction again.

“Sorry,” Tarp mumbled as she quickly freed her body from the sergeant’s. “You okay?” she asked, concerned she might have caused injury to her friend.

“Yes,” Terri, twisting around to get her feet underneath her, readied her rifle and leveled it at the opening they had just come through. “Can they find us in here?”

“Probably,” Tarp said reading the printout on the remote’s display, its faint glow barely visible more than a few inches from her hand. “But the dirt and stone should help shield us from the probes unless one of the scans goes directly over us. If it’s after us, it’ll be looking for us on the surface, not underground.”

“Who are they? Can you tell?”

“The identity code says it’s an unmanned Alliance scout probe and its several clicks away so chances are it didn’t pick up our heat signals before we ducked in here.”

“Wherever here is,” Terri murmured staring into the surrounding blackness. Being completely enveloped in a black void made her uneasy and she turned her attention back to the one thing that kept her from running back out to the comfort of the daylight just a few steps away. “What’s it doing?” she asked of the probe just to have the reassurance of hearing Tarp’s voice when she answered.

“Give me a minute,” Tarp grunted, concentrating on the remote’s display and unaware of Terri’s anxiety. After several minutes, she let out a long breathe in relief, “it’s passing without any course change. It didn’t pick us up.”

“That was close,” Terri released her own breath of relief. “Now what? Is it safe for us to stay here or should we get back to the tasar?” she asked, her voice a little unsteady.

“Let’s give it a few minutes to clear the area.” Hearing the catch in Terri’s voice, Tarp reached out in the darkness and was rewarded when her hand came into contact with the sergeant’s back. She stepped beside Terri and wrapped an arm around her waist. Feeling Terri lean into her touch felt good even if she couldn’t see her. “Nice roll, by the way,” she complimented, having caught a glimpse of the sergeant’s perfect tuck and roll before she had disappeared into the darkness.

“Much better than my first try at doing that,” Terri laughed at the memory of their escape from the prison camp when her attempt to tuck and roll had resulted in a badly bruised shoulder.

“Been practicing?”

“No, just lucky.”

“It’s gone,” Tarp said as a single chirp sounded from the remote in her hand. “Now what do you say to us seeing what exactly we’re standing in?”

“I’d like that,” Terri readily agreed.

“Hold on,” Tarp swung her rifle onto her shoulder, freeing up a hand to pull a crystal stick from her jacket pocket. Pressing her thumb against the depression on one end of the stick, she waiting as a soft glow grew stronger gradually revealing the women were standing in a circular room.

The room appeared to have been carved into the ground but having seen the outside of the mound, the women knew that wasn’t the case. Except for the stone entry the room was formed from dirt and mud with all the surfaces purposely rubbed smooth. The ceiling of the room was low enough that the women could easily have reached up and touched it and a knee-high bench circled the room at the base of the wall. Above the bench, at irregular intervals and heights, niches had been carved into the wall, each uniquely shaped, and a carved line connected each with the others. Though they probably held items of value at one time, the niches now were empty. Between and around the niches were several markings, their meanings lost over time.

“Don’t know what I was expecting,” Tarp stood in the middle of the room, slowly turning in place as she took in their surroundings, “but it wasn’t this.” The room had an eerie feel to it, almost spiritual, and she shivered slightly as she looked around.

Terri moved closer to the wall as she studied the strange yet oddly familiar markings, her steps eventually taking her around its entire length.

“What are you thinking?” Tarp asked seeing the pensive look on Terri’s face.

“It’s almost like I feel a presence in here.”

“What kind of presence?”

“I’m not sure,” Terri shrugged.

Tarp shivered again, she decided she’d feel better out in the bright sunlight even if it meant they might be exposed to another passing probe’s scans. “Maybe there’s something in one of the other huts that will make more sense,” she suggested as she turned for the arched opening, relieved when the sergeant nodded and began to follow her lead. She let the crystal stick go dark as soon as they stepped back out into the bright sunlight. “Strange place to put a village,” she frowned, looking around at the collection of collapsed stone structures of varying sizes. “By the look of the few trees that manage to grow up here, the wind must blow most of the time but they were too high for the forest to provide protection. And the ground is too hard and rocky to grow much in the way of crops,” she scraped her boot against the ground to emphasis her point. “I wonder how they managed to survive.”

“Mo-Tah provided,” Terri said, walking towards the ruins.

“Even Mo-Tah would have a hard time providing enough to sustain a village here,” Tarp muttered as she followed.

Their investigation of the remaining structures yielded nothing of value and the women started back to the tasar disappointed at their failure to find any answers to their rapidly growing list of questions.

“Midge, look,” Terri was hurrying to the beginnings of a trail at the edge of the village, unseen in their prior explorations. “It looks like that one we followed after escaping from Beta II. Do you think they made that one too?”

“Hard to say, hon,” Tarp followed the sergeant. “One trail looks pretty much like another,” she said but she had to agree the existence of the trails on a land mass where most occupants traveled by air did seem more than just an odd coincidence.

“Where do you think it goes?” Terri’s eyes followed the trail until it disappeared into the forest below the ridge.

“Hard to say but…” Tarp paused to gather her thoughts. At the back of her mind something was trying to make sense.

“But what?”

“I’m not sure but something about this trail…” Tarp squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force her thoughts to visualize. “A map,” her eyes popped open. “It’s a map.”

“Midge, what are you talking about?”

“Come on,” Tarp broke into a trot as she started in the direction of the strange mound at the top of the ridge.

Terri could do nothing but follow if she wanted to find out what the captain was thinking. When she entered the circular room she saw Tarp intently staring at the markings on the wall.

“Okay,” Tarp said when Terri walked up beside her, “for argument sake, let’s say that this niche represents the room we’re standing in.” She jumped up onto the bench and placed her hand beside a round recess. “And this line is the trail you discovered,” her finger traced the marking. “Then that trail must lead to this next niche or village or whatever these places were to the people who made them.” She was getting more excited as she spoke and Terri picked up on her enthusiasm.

“Then these markings must be mountains,” Terri pointed to what appeared to be a string of upside-down V’s that snaked past the round niche. “Because we know we are in the mountains here.”

“Good,” Tarp nodded. “And this could indicate a valley or low spot,” she had followed the marking for the trail to a pair of flat lines drawn parallel to each other.

“And this could be a stream or river,” Terri traced a series of squiggly lines near another niche.

“Or the sea,” Tarp suggested.

“No,” Terri shook her head as she walked to the opposite side of the room. “This is the sea,” she waved her arm in a sweeping motion along a large expanse of wall unadorned except for several irregular shaped carvings near the ceiling.