Conflict and Courage (35 page)

It was Peter’s
turn to nod.

“That is Jim’s
dilemma. A mass of conflicting information and intelligence.”

“So we wait,”
Kim concluded, “at least the slavers are giving us a break; no
attacks anywhere the last few weeks.”

“Why doesn’t
that fill me with confidence?” asked Peter.

Kim looked at
him.

“Point taken.
They could be anywhere, couldn’t they? They’ve never let up before.
I wonder what they’re up to.”

Kim stood
up.

“That’s all for
now Peter. Stay close by though, when the rest of the Ryzcka arrive
no doubt they’ll have questions.”

“Yes ma’am,”
Peter saluted and left.

Kim Douglas
watched him leave, resolving to make enquiries of her own. The best
people to ask, she decided after some thought, would be Alan de
Groot and her own Slei’s litter-mate Kiltya. The pair had been
under her command until a scant few months ago when Francis and
Asya had recalled them to the stronghold. They had rather lost
touch in the intervening period; Kim thought it might be a good
idea if Slei made contact again.

* * * * *

“What kept
you?” asked Kath of Tara as she and Kolyei arrived at her daga deep
within domta Afanasei. “You usually come and visit us long before
this.”

So Kath
Andrews-Rybak welcomed her friend as she dismounted.

“Well,” Tara
temporised, then blushed.

“Oh come on
in,” laughed Kath, “I was only teasing you. Matvei told me you were
on your way and I know you’ve had other fish to fry. Peter gone
back to his Ryzck then?”

“He left last
week and I’ve been indulging in a streaming cold in the head.
Janice told me not to come and see you until it was better,”
answered Tara as she followed Kath into the large inner room; it
had to be large, as well as housing Kath and James, it was home to
their four foster-children (James and Kath had been looking after
them since the deaths of their parents during the Battle of the
Alliance), the Lind of Kath and James and
their
large
family.

“Janice told me
you were expecting a baby,” said Tara eyeing Kath’s rounded tummy,
“I’m so pleased for you and James.”

“It was a
surprise,” admitted Kath with a laugh, “all the medicos had said I
couldn’t and now ...”

“Here you are,”
finished Tara.

“Here I am,”
Kath agreed, “but if I’d known the process would be so
uncomfortable ...”

“You’d have
done it anyway?” ventured her friend.

Tara knew from
Janice that Kath wasn’t having an easy time of it and had hinted
that the time was fast approaching when bed-rest for Kath would be
necessary. For now, Kath was taking it easy, any exertions having
been forbidden to her.

Tara waved Kath
to the huge couch in the corner of the room.

“I’ll get the
kala.”

Soon the two
old friends were sitting gossiping. Kath and Tara had always been
close, ever since they had bonded with their Lind Matvei and
Kolyei, the first two humans to do so. Now that Tara was grown up,
their friendship was closer than ever.

“Tell me about
your adventures in the west,” pleaded Kath, “and about Emily and
Brian’s little boy, his name’s Alexander isn’t it?”

Tara smiled,
“he’s gorgeous. Haven’t you seen him yet? I’d have thought Emily
would have brought him over since you can’t ride anywhere at the
moment.”

“Not allowed to
walk anywhere either. In fact, she’s bringing him round to see me
the day after tomorrow. She would’ve come today but I wanted to see
you first. Matvei says Ilyei sounded a bit edgy when they
spoke.”

“I think Emily
feels that if the south do attack, as Jim thinks they might, she
should leave Alexander with her parents and join Winston and the
Holad at the stronghold, she’s a qualified Vada medic, remember.
That’s what’ll have unsettled Ilyei.”

“You’re
probably right,” said Kath, “you always could get to the root of
things. I’d have thought Holad training would have been right up
your street as well as Emily’s. I was surprised when you
didn’t.”

“I don’t like
the sight of blood,” grinned Tara, “some medic I’d be fainting away
every time I had to tend a wound.”

Kath changed
the subject and Tara was soon regaling her with tales of the
journey west. Caught up in the story she managed to put out of her
mind the threat of war and Kath listened fascinated. Tara told good
stories; they were always guaranteed to keep her listener’s
attention.

She didn’t
notice James and the three youngest foster children arrive and
settle down at her feet to listen.

When her story
came to an end she was urged to tell more but claimed she couldn’t
speak another word until her throat had had a rest.

“Which is what
Kath should be doing right now,” said James with a merry twinkle at
his wife, “Matvei will be home soon and Rozya and the ltsctas are
on their way in too.”

Engrossed in
her reunion with her oldest friend, Tara hadn’t even asked where
they were.

“Hunting
lesson,” said James by way of explanation, “they are almost three
summers old and Matvei said it was time they learned.”

“You’ll stay
for supper?” enquired Kath.

Tara was only
too happy to agree, her and Peter’s daga was a lonely one with
Peter and Radya gone.

“You can tell
me about the others,” she agreed, “it seems that I’ve done most of
the talking today. Now it’s your turn. What of Alan and
Kiltya?”

So began yet
more extensive gossip.

Eleven years
prior to this day, only months after the WCCS
Argyll
had
landed on the planet, twelve Lind had ‘persuaded’ twelve children,
Kath and Tara among them, to run away with them. Those twelve pairs
had become known as the ‘Children of the Wolves’, the first to form
lifelong mind-to-mind bonds. They had formed a tight-knit family
unit, with Kath, as the oldest, at its head. The survivors were all
grown up but they still made the effort to visit Kath as often as
they could, duties permitting.

“Alan and
Kiltya are fine,” said Kath, “they’re with the Second Ryzck, they
were transferred a few months ago.”

“When did you
see them last?”

“They passed
through on their way to pack Jalkei where, I presume, they still
are spending their leave time.”

Tara’s eyebrows
rose in surprise.

“Pack
Jalkei?”

“Alan,”
continued Kath, “has formed an attachment with a young lady in his
Ryzck. Luckily Kiltya and Enlei feel the same way and the four of
them intend to spend their time with Enlei’s family. I can see the
news pleases you.”

“Relieved more
like,” admitted Tara. “I was worried about how Alan would react to
the news of me and Peter finding each other so to speak.”

“No need to
fret about that now. He was ecstatic when they left.”

“I’m glad for
him,” was Tara’s simple comment.

Ever since the
first months, when the children had ‘left’ Settlement and Tara had
helped him come to terms with his grief at the death of his family
and siblings, Alan had kept a barely concealed deep adoration for
Tara within him; one that, with the passing years, had not
diminished in the least despite the fact that Kiltya and Kolyei had
repeatedly expressed a sexual disinterest in each other. Kolyei’s
heart always had been in Radya’s keeping.

Kath knew that
Alan had been deeply unhappy about the situation.

“Have you met
her?” urged Tara, “will she make him happy?”

“They are very
much in love, she’s quiet, introspective, much like Alan, but her
feelings for him are genuine – yes, I believe they will be
happy.”

“What about the
others?”

“You heard
about Brenda?”

“Yes,” answered
Tara with a gulp. Out of the original twelve ‘Children of the
Wolves’, five were now dead. The twins Bill and Geoff, Thomas and
Moira had been killed at the Battle of the Alliance and Tara had
learned of the more recent death of their fifth while she and
Kolyei had been in the west, “how is Yvonne taking it?”

Yvonne, Brenda
and the long-dead Moira had formed an inseparable threesome in
these early days.

“Not well,”
admitted Kath, “she’s with the First Ryzck; they’re in Argyll at
the moment. She feels Brenda’s death and fears she’ll be next.”

“When this
emergency is over I’ll have a talk with her,” Tara promised, “I
might be able to help.”

“If anyone can
it will be you, you were always the one we went to with our
problems.”

“And Mark; what
of him and Aya?”

“He’s with the
Tenth, has been from the first.”

“I’ll see him
soon then,” said Tara with satisfaction. “Word is their Ryzck is on
their way here. I like Mark, he’s always been fun to have
around.”

The Tenth Ryzck
arrived at domta Afanasei the following day. They had made good
time and were eager to set down their travel packs at the dom and
go visit their friends and relations.

For none was
this more true than for Tina, Eitel and Mark and their respective
Lind partners. Tina couldn’t wait to see Tara again.

“Lets go over
now,” she suggested, shoving arms and armour on to the racks all
higgledy-piggledy, in such a manner it is safe to say that, if
Grant decided to hold an inspection, she would be in deep trouble.
But fate was kind to her for once and Grant merely remarked that it
would be best done before morning assembly as he dismissed them
with a laugh.

“What’s up with
him?” queried Tina as she, Eitel, Mark and their Lind sped hotfoot
and hotpaw for Tara’s daga.

“Don’t you
know?” gasped Mark as he panted to keep up, “he’s got a girlfriend
here.”

“Grant has a
girlfriend? And who was misguided enough to pitch on him? Is she by
any chance both blind and deaf?”

“Neither,” was
Mark’s reply with an answering grin.

“Do I know
her?”

“Violet
Randall.”

“She’s only a
kid,” exclaimed Tina.

“I believe
she’s almost eighteen.”

“Never! How the
time flies. I remember her as a knock-kneed little girl in
pigtails.”

“She’s
blossomed, believe me.”

“I never heard
she’d paired with a Lind.”

“She hasn’t,
she’s training to become a vet like her dad.”

The reunion
between Tina and Tara was full of tears and laughter. Eitel and
Mark stood well back from the effusions until the first raptures
were over, only then did they provide Tara with the opportunity to
welcome them in their turn, submitting to being hugged tight.

“It’s good to
see you all,” Tara declared, her eyes sparkling. She grinned at
Tina and Eitel,” and to see you both together at last. When did it
happen and what took you both so long?”

“Last summer,”
declared Eitel with an answering grin, “and look who’s talking.
Took you and Peter longer than us. What’s your excuse?”

Eitel believed
in carrying the war into the enemy’s camp wherever possible.

“There were
reasons,” she answered with dignity, “but ‘nuff said,” she drew
them into the daga, “tell me all your news. Kath is expecting us
tomorrow by the way, she can’t manage over to us, doctor’s
orders.”

“Is she hurt?”
was Mark’s concerned enquiry.

“You’ll see,”
was Tara’s enigmatic comment, she didn’t want to spoil Kath’s
surprise.

Mark grunted,
but he knew better than to press the issue when Tara had that
certain secretive gleam in her eye.

Tina glanced
over at their Lind as they entered. Their reunion was in full
swing, Kolyei’s welcome was not perhaps as demonstrative as Tara’s
but they were clearly enjoying themselves. Soon, Tina knew, Kolyei
would take his friends off to hunt and they would probably not
return until dusk fell, maybe not even then. She hoped Tara had
spare bedrolls. She didn’t much fancy a night tramp back through
the unfamiliar woods to the dom.

The sun was
high the next morning when the four made their way to James and
Kath’s daga. As they rode, Tara pointed out changes in the domta
since Mark’s last visit.

Tina and Eitel
had been a tad diffident about accompanying them, not wanting to
intrude but Mark shushed them. “Kath asked me and Aya to make sure
you came. There’s only seven of us originals left now and with
Peter, Alan and Yvonne away, Tara feels the deaths of the five
keenly and Emily and Ilyei still don’t like thinking about Thomas
and Stasya so please come and help keep up the numbers. Emily is
bringing Alexander and I know you’d like to meet the little chap. I
certainly do. Tara says he’s the spitting image of Brian and that’s
something I want to see.”

“Freckles and
all?” laughed Tina.

“Freckles and
all,” he affirmed.

“Heard from
Duguld lately? Has he found his mother yet?”

“He’s at the
stronghold, I can’t rightly remember what Ryzck he and Ganya are
with and no signs of his mother, unfortunately. I think he’s given
up hope.”

“Has he still
got that blasted trumpet with him?” asked Tina, “how I remember the
ghastly noises he made with it when we were in training.”

“His playing
has improved, I’ll say that much and yes, he still carries it
everywhere he goes.”

“I’m relieved
to hear it,” smiled Tina, referring to Duguld’s reported increase
in proficiency with the instrument.

It was not a
quiet party. To the human guests were added the Lind. Rozya and
Matvei’s ltsctas were there and they were a rumbustious lot.

Their first
litter, who the children had known when they arrived at the domta
in the beginning, were adult now and long gone but the second
litter had nine summers, gangly with adolescence and now there was
a third. These ltsctas were under a summer old and gambolled and
growl-played in the sun, watched over by their indulgent
parents.