Warrior's Valor (12 page)

“We can safely assume by now that the space vessel crashed into the village.” Emeron raised her hand. “The Disian leaders are no fools and are well aware of the technology used outside their territory. But a lot of the common people will be traumatized, especially the children, who know nothing of modern technology.”

“Some of them could also be orphaned at this point,” Mogghy said. He rubbed his neck quickly. “We should move in from the south and make sure the locals know we're not the enemy, but here to help.”

Dwyn nodded, automatically standing next to Emeron. “Will they attack us if they believe we're responsible for the crash? They might think it's some sort of aggression.”

“No. They won't,” Emeron said. “They don't do things like that. Besides, they use their weapons only for hunting.”

Dwyn hoped Emeron was right. She wasn't looking forward to being anyone's prey, mistakenly or not.

“Let's go.” Emeron motioned for Dwyn to keep close to her.

They walked fast, now following a much wider path where Dwyn saw traces of narrow wheels. Someone had driven a vehicle here. The smoke made her cough, and soon Emeron ordered everyone to pull on their facemasks. Relieved, she drew a couple of deep breaths. Her head became clearer, she could focus better, and now she saw the outline of Disian structures.

The wooden houses at the edge of the village were stunningly beautiful, with elaborate ornaments carved in the logs. The windows were golden, and the doors shimmered in every vibrant color imaginable. However, there were no people in the street at the outskirts of the village. They jogged toward its center, and as they approached they encountered a dense crowd. Villagers were shouting over the noise, but just as many were standing still with their eyes closed and their hands pressed together, palm to palm, as in prayer.

Dwyn couldn't help but stare. Very few images were available of the Disians. The pact made it impossible for news crews or anyone else to bring cameras into the woods. The surveillance bots could be used, but normally only along the perimeter. Not sure what she had expected, she scanned the people standing nearby who seemed oblivious to Emeron's team.

The Disians were tall, if the ones she saw were average for their race. Both men and women wore their black hair long, and it ran down their backs like waterfalls when it wasn't tied back in a braid or ponytail. Their garments ranged from white to tan, embroidered with softly shining pearls and beads.

Suddenly the large crowd parted and an older woman limped toward them, her long hair almost white. On her hip, she carried a little girl, perhaps two years old, whose hands were wrapped in bandages. The woman spoke in a guttural voice.

Mogghy shrugged helplessly and pointed in Emeron's direction. The woman turned around and paused briefly. She held the child and merely looked Emeron up and down. Dwyn had no idea what the wordless exchange could mean.

Emeron bowed marginally, a mere dip of her head, and took off her mask. “
Ylams, herona Pri. Hordos avasti
.” She gestured toward Dwyn and the rest of her team. “
Megos foshme, deos avasti
.”

Staring at Emeron, Dwyn realized that she had spoken to the old woman in Disianii. It didn't make any sense, and everyone else in the unit except Mogghy stared at Emeron as if she'd just fallen from the sky.

The old woman nodded slowly and replied in flawless Premoni, the official language of the SC. “
Imer-Ohon-Da
. It has been too long. And now you return when mayhem has struck us.”

“Pri. Yes, it's been a long time. I'm here to help. Show us the crash site, please.”

“Nobody is left to save.”

Emeron shifted and her body tensed. “Nobody? Everyone on the ship died instantly?”

Pri shook her head and hoisted the child farther up. She looked tired, and without thinking, Dwyn reached for the child. Growing up in a collective had ensured she was not only used to dealing with children, but also prepared to pitch in whenever needed. The little girl looked at her with huge black eyes, but allowed herself to be lifted by a stranger. Dwyn hugged the little one, tucking her in under her chin.

“Thank you. She was becoming heavy,” Pri said.

“I'm happy to help.” Dwyn motioned with her chin toward the origin of the smoke. “How long ago was the crash?”

“Dear child, our concept of time would mean nothing to you. Enough time for us to count our dead and wounded. That is all I can say.”

Dwyn didn't know how to reply and was grateful when Pri refocused on Emeron.

“To answer your question, Imer-Ohon-Da, no, everyone did not die. Some of them walked through our streets on foot, carrying weapons and firing at the ones trying to put out the fires. They dragged some of their wounded along. Still, I suppose they could have left dead comrades inside the ship. They appeared to be without honor, and it is likely they would not care to tend to the dead.”

“Do you remember how many of them? In what direction—Pri.” Pri swayed, and Emeron managed to grab her before she slumped to the ground. “You are exhausted. Direct us to someone we can help organize a search-and-rescue unit.”

“Amiri. Over there,” Pri said, and pointed at a woman striding toward them. “We have elected her to succeed me as our speaker.”

“Does she speak Premoni?” Emeron asked.

“Yes.”

A man and a woman arrived, and the man placed his arms around Pri, helping her stand. They looked at Emeron with curious eyes, but didn't say anything.

“Are you the reason this has happened to our village?” Amiri stood before them, hands on her hips. Her black hair lay in unruly tresses around her shoulders, and her anger and frustration were evident in her voice.

“No. We were in the forest on an assignment, abiding by the pact, when my superior officer issued an order for us to pursue a fugitive and his mercenaries.”

“How do I know you're telling the truth?” Amiri was obviously not impressed.

“Pri can vouch for me.”

This statement seemed to get through to Amiri, who blinked a few times and looked at the old woman, who was now sitting on a crate a few steps away. “Pri?”

“Yes, Amiri. You can trust her. She is one of us.”

Dwyn had begun to suspect Emeron and the Disians were connected, which made her animosity toward this place and its people even more intriguing.

“Very well.” Amiri motioned for them to follow her. “This way. The vessel crashed into several homes down this street.”

Dwyn had almost forgotten that she was carrying the little girl and let go of her only when a man approached, nodding for her to pass the child to him. She followed the rest of the team, grateful for the mask. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for the Disians, who apparently didn't own, or use, such equipment.

The farther they went, the harder her heart hammered at the sight of the burned homes. Disians were still digging through what remained of the wooden houses, and the sight was so tragic, she had to swallow bitter tears and force herself to keep walking.

“This is as far as I can go, without breathing protection,” Amiri said, and stopped, coughing. “We have attempted to recover our dead, but some of them are merely ashes.” Sorrow and fury were etched on her strong features. “If you are one of us, you know how this desecrates our beliefs. We need to clean and bury our dead the first night. Their souls will roam and not—”

“Yes. I know all about your beliefs,” Emeron said with disdain, then turned to her unit. “All right, people. As gruesome and tragic as this is, we have to go in. I want Noor and two more to go back with Amiri, to help with the wounded. The Disians are skilled at internal medicine, but since we brought our med kits, we're better with trauma. Dwyn, I want you to go with Noor—”

“No. I go where you go. If there's a toxic spill, I know more than you ever will about how to deal with it.” She didn't wait for a response but handed over her medical equipment to Noor. She thought she glimpsed admiration in the stern ensign's eyes. “Good luck,” she murmured.

“You too.”

“All right. But stay
close
.” Emeron's tone made it clear this wasn't a suggestion.

They slowly advanced down the street, and Dwyn pressed her mask tighter to her face. She had seen some terrible things in her life, but this was one of the worst. She walked next to Emeron, unwilling to show any weakness. Emeron needed her expertise whether she realized it or not.

The nearer they got to what Emeron called ground zero, the less there was left of the structures. “It's miraculous anyone in the spaceship survived, if the crash site looks like this,” she murmured.

Emeron shook her head. “We don't know what kind of ship it was. If it had the latest dampeners and crash-stabilizers, who knows? Make sure your weapon is easily accessible.”

“All right.”

Two large trees lay across the street, and Dwyn climbed over them, the massive trunks almost as tall as she. She slid over the second one, her heart pounding so hard she felt the pulsations all the way from her chest to her temples. Glowing, smoking debris lay everywhere, and she saw no traces of any Disians on this side of the tree trunks.

“Over there.” Emeron pointed to their left. “It looks intact, though charred.”

The space vessel was far larger than the shuttle-size ship she had envisioned, at least eighty meters long and perhaps twenty-five meters tall. It had ploughed through several houses and now rested against a dense grove of trees where it lay slightly askew, the half-open hatch on its belly clearly visible.

“It's a state-of-the-art cruiser, ma'am,” Mogghy said, and pulled out his scanner. “Its hull is outfitted with mirror-ceramic alloy, which makes it hard to trace via long-distance scanners. No wonder the SC had problems finding it.”

“But that's used only on prototypes.” Emeron frowned.

“And for good reason,” Dwyn added. “The composite used to attach the mirror-ceramic is highly poisonous. The facility where it's manufactured and used has to be extremely cautious, which makes it almost impossible to get permission to produce it.”

“But when you're operating outside the law and under the radar, it's not undoable.” Mogghy moved in and Emeron followed suit. Dwyn stayed behind them as the rest of the unit fanned out on either side of her.

“These criminals must be well connected,” Dwyn said, out of breath as she tried to keep up with the others' longer strides. “If they can outfit their ship like this, undetected, there must be quite a covert operation going on.”

“Probably on some of the pirate-infested asteroids. Who knows what they have buried inside them,” Emeron said. “It's their latest scheme. They pretend to have a legit mining company and work the asteroids, and what do you know—a weapons storage facility or a place to modify illegal ships.”

“Wouldn't surprise me if this ship is tachyon-mass-drive capable.” Mogghy frowned as they had to stop. The heat was unbearable at this distance, and Dwyn wondered how the people on board this ship had managed to get away.

“Tachyon-mass drives are illegal as well,” she said. In fact, the propulsion in question made it possible for the vessel to travel at an unfathomable speed through space. The drives, however, polluted space in irreparable ways, which had caused the SC to ban them.

“Bet that's at the top of Aequitas's list of things to keep track of,” Emeron said, crouching as she tried to get closer to the ship. “Damn it, this is too hot. If we go any farther our suits will be burned off our backs.”

“Is there any way to contain the damage to this area?” Oches asked as he joined them.

“It's fairly contained. The Disians must have cut down those trees to create a barrier of sorts.” Emeron surveyed the area. “Until the ship cools off, we can't investigate it. We should go back to the center of the village and see what we can find out from witnesses, and also help where we can.”

“Shouldn't we go after the culprits who did this?” Mogghy gestured toward the ship. “They could be a long way from here by now.”

Emeron smiled joylessly. “I don't think so. You noticed how much slower we traveled compared to normal circumstances? They're wounded, or at least some of them have to be. They're not moving fast, and they're not used to this forest.”

“And they'll leave traces all over the place,” Dwyn said. “I agree. We should stay here for the night.”

Emeron looked surprised, which Dwyn found puzzling. Perhaps because they usually argued?

“Agreed, then. Noor and the others should have assessed the situation in the village by now, so let's join them. Oches, we better communicate with headquarters and report our findings.”

“Aye, ma'am.”

Dwyn was so tired when they began to walk back, she was afraid she might not be able to climb the tree trunks. She pulled herself up, but slipped twice. She was about to fail a third time when Emeron extended a strong hand and hauled her up. Trembling now, she slipped twice more trying to climb the second tree trunk and clenched her teeth in annoyance at this sign of weakness. She dug deep and found the strength to grasp Emeron's hands and managed to stand. Tree sap made the logs slippery and she clung to Emeron, who wrapped an arm around her waist.