A World for the Taking Ch. 09

*****

The suns were rising. The big one was just cresting the top of the hills to the east. In another minute it would be casting long shadows across the valley and seconds later the smaller one would add its lesser light. Tammy fidgeted, brushing a stick out of her way so she could set her knee on the ground more comfortably.

"Suns are just about up," she said tensely into Roy's pad. "You remember what you're supposed to do?"

"I set off the bombs when you say," said Jean over the link.

"I open the door when the last one goes off," said Yoshi.

"And all three of us come charging out, making for the wood line by the big walnut," finished Jean.

"And you're sure F`reet `du Hom knows what's going on?" Tammy demanded.

"As sure as we can be," Jean replied.

"And you've got Boudi?" asked Tammy.

"Tied her lead to Tinkerbelle's saddle," confirmed her sister.

"Alright," sighed Tammy. "When I..."

From way up north in the valley thunder rolled. There were no clouds overhead and Tammy's eyes snapped to the sky above Waimea. She could not see the town from her hiding place, though.

"What was that?" Jean asked urgently.

"I think it's one of their ships," Tammy said immediately.

"F`reet `du Hom is saying something," Yoshi cut in. "She seems scared."

"We should go, Tammy!" Jean insisted, clearly frightened.

"Not yet!" Tammy snapped, afraid her sister would panic and go before they were ready.

Seconds dragged past and the noise from down the valley grew. Tammy's tail flicked uncertainly. All the fur down her back was on end. She looked up into the branches of the big black walnut tree at the edge of the tower clearing to be sure Roy was where he was supposed to be and saw him looking back at her. She couldn't make out his features in the pre-dawn dimness but she could see he had the rope ready to hand.

"Tammy?" Jean squeaked over the pad.

"Just a few more seconds, baby sister," Tammy replied, heart in her throat. "Almost time."

The big sun was half way over the valley rim and the upper edge of the small one was showing. The noise to the north was definitely getting louder. Tammy waited until the shadows had washed down, driven off by the coming light. She put the pad to her mouth and silently counted ten.

"Now, Jean! Now!" she barked into the mic.

Even before she said her sister's name the explosives went off in one mighty crack. Bits of stone sliced the air and shrieks of alarm rang from the woods not a hundred meters to her north. There were a couple cries of pain mixed in, thankfully. That would mean fewer Dusig to deal with. Roy began firing into the woods with deliberate regularity. More cries of pain came to her and then she saw the door of the tower swing open. Tammy stuffed the pad inside her shirt and took up her rifle, scanning the woods for targets.

From the tower's door burst Jean, F`reet `du Hom and Yoshi upon their steelies. The animals charged at full stride for the walnut tree. Blinded by the rising suns the Dusig fired wildly at the fleeing fugitives. Tammy saw movement in the trees and fired. One Dusig pitched over backwards, tumbling down hill through the underbrush. Another rose up with his weapon aimed and dropped instantly. Roy had put a round through his skull. The fugitives were nearly to the trees, not slowing when a viridian bolt struck Yoshi. He screamed in agony and pitched from Little Gertie's back. F`reet `du Hom yanked back on her reins, spun Duchess around and went back for the boy. Roy's fire became more intense as he tried to suppress the Dusig. The jZav`Etch pilot leaned out of her saddle and hauled Yoshi up and across the pommel with one arm. He was screaming and thrashing weakly the whole time. That meant he was alive, at least.

As soon as the fugitives were in the woods Vemmo waved them down the path and rushed to follow them to where Gamble was waiting. Roy and Tammy continued to fire into the Dusig position, but the enemy soldiers had finally recovered from their surprise and were now pursuing with a semblance of order and discipline. They moved from cover to cover, not exposing themselves for more than a second or two.

Tammy was hampered by the need to support her rifle across a tree limb, but she still hit one plumb in the chest. The big 12mm bullet split the armor plate and threw the soldier off his feet. Another one was slapped to the ground by one of Roy's bullets. The Dusig were firing back now. They peppered the walnut with a dozen bolts, sending small limbs raining to the ground. Roy fired off another quick spray of bullets and took the rope in his strong hands. Tammy increased her fire rate to cover her lover as he swung down through the forest shadows. A few bolts pursued him, none coming close. Once Roy was out of their line of fire Tammy became their target. She tried to give as good as she got. There were simply too many of them and she was driven from her hiding place.

As nimble as most Humans with four good limbs, the cat girl slipped down the steep slope between the trees, dodging bolts. She turned and fired her rifle one handed just to keep the enemy's heads down. Vemmo chimed in with Roy's pistol, sending half a dozen rounds whizzing over Tammy's head. Someone scream in pain and the small, logical and temporarily nearly useless part of her brain was surprised he had hit anything. She darted past the Vespan, motioning him to follow. With a last flurry of shots he did, scampering lithely behind her.

"Are we ready?" she demanded as soon as they joined the others. "Where's Roy? How's Yoshi?"

"Yoshi's dead!" wailed Jean. She was still on Tinkerbelle's back, sobbing, tears flowing down her face.

Tammy's gaze darted to F`reet `du Hom on Duchess. Yoshi was bent over her saddle and she was using the jZav`Etch medical kit on his wound.

"Oh shit!" gasped Vemmo and he leapt into action. "Let me see!"

Unable to think what else to do Tammy turned her attention back up the slope. They had to get away from the Dusig. Suddenly she realized the sound of the ship was definitely getting closer. Worse, it sounded as if it was moving faster. The Dusig were coming! They were going to blow them up! They'd all be killed! It was so unfair. Where was Roy? If she were going to die she wanted to be with the man she loved.

"Tammy!" Roy called, stumbling through the trees. He was using his rifle as a crutch.

"Roy?" she cried, leaping to his side to support him. "Are you hit?"

"No," he croaked, grimacing in pain as he took a hurried step towards Gamble. "Twisted my ankle. Stepped on something. Rolled out from under my foot."

"You clumsy dolt," she sobbed and kissed him. "Yoshi's dead."

"He's dead?" Roy demanded, his own injury forgotten.

"No he is not!" Vemmo said. His hands were working on the boy's wound. "But we all will be unless we get out of here. She had the wound stanched and I have given him something for pain. We must go! That ship is getting closer."

Sounds from up the hill told them the Dusig were closing and Roy hauled himself into his saddle. Tammy all but threw Vemmo onto Little Gertie and then bounded onto Boudi's back. She spun her mount around and took out her pistol.

"Go on, Roy!" she said urgently. "I'll bring up the rear."

Roy didn't argue. He thumped Gamble in the sides and rushed down the deer trail deeper into the woods. The big stud had been able to rest for several hours between the time they had found the tower and their dawn attack. He was much refreshed and a mild dose of stimulants, enough to have killed several Humans, had fully roused his senses. The other steelies, seeming glad to have the stud back among them, followed eagerly.

Tammy held Boudi back, sent a few pistol rounds at the first Dusig she glimpsed through the trees and then dashed after her friends. All the while the sound of the powerful engine grew until it overpowered all other sound in the valley. A massive report blasted above the trees. It was followed almost immediately by a shower of debris. Tammy ducked her head and raised her good arm, guiding her mount with her knees as pieces of the transmission dish showered down around her. She almost lost her seat when Boudi leapt a two meter wide gully that cut the trail. She held on and centered herself even as Boudi bounded up and over a large stone. She wanted to know where the Dusig were, but dared not look back for fear of taking a tumble.

It sounded as if the enemy ship was right overhead. Any second she expected to be blasted to perdition. Hope and fear warred within her breast as she desperately tried to catch up to her friends. She had no time to weep or even regret her choices. If this was the end, she simply wanted to be with Roy. And there they were! On the trail ahead she saw them milling about as Vemmo tried to climb back on Little Gertie. He had dead leaves clinging to his clothes and the crest of short feathers atop his head. Apparently he'd fallen from the old steelie.

"Roy!" Tammy called, trying to be heard through the all oppressing sound of the ship's engine. "Roy!"

Tammy reached them just as Vemmo remounted. She pulled back on her reins, stopping next to the big red haired young man and leaned out of her saddle to hug and kiss him, perhaps for the last time. The enemy ship was almost directly over them now and they could all feel the waves of anti-gravity washing across them. It began to drop, sliding from side to side on the column of artificial gravity. The pressure from all those tons of ship began to weigh heavily and looking up they could see the turret on the chin of the huge shuttle rotate to bring the cannon to bear.

"I love you, Tammy," Roy roared above the noise and kissed her deeply.

Tammy held on and hugged him tight, expecting to be disintegrated any second. It had almost worked. At least they had gotten the message out. That was something. Their families would be rescued. There was a chance of that which there would not have been if they had not made this decision.

Suddenly there was a change in the sound of the enemy ship. It grew much louder for an instant and then it was streaking away at high speed leaving the fugitives stunned to be alive.

"What happened?" wondered Vemmo. "They left."

Looking up Tammy saw the shadow of the ship was gone. She felt no pressure from the gravity field. What had happened, she wondered silently. She looked to F`reet `du Hom only to see the pilot was as perplexed as she was. The answer came in the form of a trio of sleek black shapes slicing through the air kilometers above the valley. Bright flashes from their tips sent lances of viridian light through the clear sky. Distant cracking snaps came to their stunned ears and then the black shapes were out of sight somewhere to the north. F`reet `du Hom let out a throaty, wild cry of triumph that startled everyone. She rose up in her stirrups, her fist raised above her head like a statue of victory incarnate.

"What's going on?" Jean asked weakly. She had drawn Tinkerbelle up next to Duchess and had her hand on Yoshi's back.

"I believe we have just won the war," said Vemmo. "Never mind. We must find a place where I can tend to Yoshi's wound properly. Somewhere flat would be best."

"Those soldiers are still out there," warned Roy. "Jean, take them on down the trail. Find a good place. Tammy and me will lag back here and make sure you aren't followed."

Jean did not argue. She reached out and tried to take Duchess's lead strap. F`reet `du Hom stopped her, though. She shook her head and lifted the unconscious Yoshi onto Jean's mount, settling him gently across the cantle of her saddle. Jean leaned over and kissed the jZav`Etch on the cheek before turning Tinkerbelle down the trail and trotting quickly away. Vemmo followed, apparently intent on saving the off-world boy's life.

"Well, we did it," said Roy into the silence.

"They did it," Tammy replied, indicating the younger teens disappearing between the trees.

"I guess so," he agreed, smiling.

"Roy," she said. "Let's get married."

"Married?" he asked, smiling. "I like the sound of that. You sure you want to be the wife of a clumsy dolt?"

She leaned over and kissed him deeply.

"I might be the only one in the valley who can keep you from breaking your neck," she said when their lips parted.

"What's your pa going to say?" he teased.

"Probably that he's been expecting it," she snickered and kissed him again.

*****

Epilogue

Tammy was sitting in the infirmary beside Roy on an examination table. Roy's wounds and his broken ankle had already been attended to and now it was Tammy's turn. The settlement's surgeon, Dr. Alice Connelly, had already replaced the emergency splint on the girl's arm with a real cast. With proper rest and some good food Tammy's arm would heal in a few days.

"I'm not sure how much of a scar you're going to have," Dr. Connelly said judiciously, examining the wound on Tammy's scalp. "I've got the splinters out and got everything sealed up. Your fur will hide it, regardless. Thankfully there was no fracture to your skull and no epidural hematoma. You got lucky."

"Good thing I have a thick skull," joked Tammy.

The doctor snorted, amused.

"What about her ear?" asked Roy.

"Again, I don't know," said the doctor. "I think we'll be able to fix it. Probably will have a scar, but I doubt anyone will notice.

"I'll be fine," Tammy said and glanced at the window onto the hall. "What about Yoshi?"

Yoshi was undergoing surgery across the hall. Jean was hovering outside the operating room with Deborah holding her hand. Bob and Mike were out helping with recovery efforts. A lot of people were going to have to rebuild after what the Dusig had done to the community.

"Can't lie," Dr. Connelly said. "I wasn't sure he was going to make it. Mr. Vemmo did well with that emergency kit. I guess company training pays off. Anyway, it looks like the shotgun saved his life."

"The shotgun?" Roy asked, surprised. He'd seen the hole through the weapon's barrel.

"Yep," the doctor said and began wrapping a bandage around Tammy's head. "It absorbed some of the energy and spread the physical impact of whatever those alien guns shoot. Scary stuff. I've never heard of anything like them."

"I guess it's a good thing those guys couldn't shoot worth beans," Roy said. He frowned and glanced at the window. "Maybe I shouldn't say that."

"It's a very good thing," agreed Dr. Connelly.

They all looked up when the door cycled open. Two tall female jZav`Etch entered the examination room and paused, glancing from one Human to the other before settling their gaze on the girl.

"F`reet `du Hom!" Tammy said in greeting, pleased to see her friend.

"T` Emmi Car`tovah," replied the jZav`Etch pilot with a wide smile and vibrating whiskers. She looked to the jZav`Etch beside her.

"I am Tel `Ett Lofetar," she said with a thick, purring accent. "I am specialist of communications on San`do Cla`veen. Ship that come to fight Dusig."

"You speak English," Roy said, surprised.

"I am learning," Tel `Ett Lofetar said, smiling pleasantly. "I translate for Pilot. She wants to tell things she has learned."

F`reet `du Hom held up a hand sized device with a small screen and crossed to the examination table so Tammy could see it. On the screen was displayed the image of a female jZav`Etch that looked a lot like Tammy except her fur was a little more yellow and the tips of her ears were white instead of brown. F`reet `du Hom said something. Tammy took hold of the device and looked intently at the image.

"Pilot says this is your mother," said Tel `Ett Lofetar. "Her name was Casz` Car` Besk. Navigator on exploration ship, T`eomo Ra`Heth. Ship no report many years ago. Lost. jZav`Etch do not know what happen to it."

"This is my mother?" whispered Tammy, her voice thick with emotion.

Dr. Connelly stepped away to busy herself with something and Roy put a comforting arm around his girl. Tammy leaned into him, tears starting from her eyes to wet the fur on her cheeks. F`reet `du Hom laid a gentle hand on the girl's cheek and spoke again before pressing a button on the device to reveal another image. This one was of three jZav`Etch, Tammy's mother, a large male and a baby, posed like a family portrait.

"The male is your father," Tel `Ett Lofetar said softly, seeing the girl's reaction. "Captain of T`eomo Ra`Heth. Name was jZem` Bok`tovar. A good captain."

"And the baby?" Tammy asked, already knowing the answer.

"Is you," Tel `Ett Lofetar said with a smile.

"Where did she get these images?" Tammy asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Found data card in pouch on belt," said the communications specialist. "Not military card. I think your word is 'personal' data. Maybe 'private' data."

"This was in the belt?" asked Tammy, surprised. "That little flat thing in with the food bars?"

"Yes," said Tel `Ett Lofetar. "Pilot say she find and keep to give you. Had no machine to show before. You keep this machine. Captain say it permissible. Say good for you to have."

Tammy threw her arms around F`reet `du Hom and wept as only a lost child could. She hugged the pilot and F`reet `du Hom hugged her back. Roy sat quietly beside his girl, a hand gently stroking the fur on the back of Tammy's neck. Gradually, when the shock of emotion passed, Tammy collected herself and released her hug.

"Thank you, F`reet `du Hom," said the girl, her words thick with emotion.

"T` Emmi Car`tovah, okay?" the pilot asked, smiling down on her.

"I'm okay," Tammy said, nodding. She looked to the communications specialist and asked, "What does Car`tovah mean?"

"I do not know translation for English," said Tel `Ett Lofetar. "Is your name. T` Emmi Car`tovah. T` Emmi is child name. Name for when mother or father talk to child. Not full name. Only parents allowed to use. jZav`Etch not the same as Humans."

F`reet `du Hom spoke and glanced at the specialist.

"F`reet `du Hom says she has told my captain you will stay here," Tel `Ett Lofetar said. "Captain does not like. Does not think it is good. He says you can come with us. Come back to Hegemony. Be with our people. Come home."

Tammy pressed her lips together and her tail flicked hard. After the briefest of pauses she leaned hard into Roy and kissed his cheek before turning back to the specialist.

"This is where my people are," she said firmly. "Thank your captain. Tell him I am already home."

*****

"She remains?" Captain Aka`Tem`al asked from his chair by the console in his cramped quarters aboard the light carrier San`do Cla`veen.

"She will remain," replied F`reet `du Hom. "She has found a mate."

"A mate?" he asked, scowling. "Among Humans?"

"A brave and courageous mate, Captain," she said. "He bears the scars of battles and toil, though he is yet young among his people."

"Does he, indeed?" Aka`Tem`al murmured thoughtfully. "You have been among these Humans. How do you find them?"

The pilot considered, recalling all she had been through with the young Humans and T` Emmi Car`tovah.

"They are brave," she said. "The ones I was with were brave, at any rate. Even the least of them. A youngster, hardly more than a child, thought of the plan to call for aid. He was at times trying. However, when claw met flesh, he was brave. He now bears his own scars."

"Are they honorable?" asked the captain seriously.

"I judge them by their actions," she replied without hesitation. "T` Emmi Car`tovah's parents raised her as one of their own. Her adoptive father, Bob Mackey, rescued her and saw to her mother's burial. Can we judge them by other standards than that?"

Captain Aka`Tem`al looked thoughtful for a time, his tail flicking uncertainly. He scratched at an old battle scar above his left eye and nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Pilot," he said, finally. "You may go to your quarters. I imagine you need a good deal of rest."