Duty, Honour, Love

An ATV transport loomed up ahead four huge balloon tires and a beak like front end. It stood high off the ground there was an elevator platform at the back to help with loading. Jane stumbled along with the rest of the crew unhappy with her lot. Her head bowed low only seeing the steps she was taking fully swamped by her misery. She had caved in when Mark had surrendered all she wanted was to sleep and for all of this to go away. Her head buzzed with a tension headache she stomped down her anger with herself. Suddenly she looked up at a shout. They had spit the crew into groups of nine somehow she had got separated from Allie after promising reluctantly to keep her with her. There was some sort of argument and Allie was crouched on the floor refusing to move the Confed soldier was prodding her with his gun. Suddenly rage that had been simmering away inside her boiled up burning away the misery. Before anyone could stop her she was moving she vaguely heard another shout behind her.

“Enough!” she roared and put herself between the Confed soldier and Allie. “Leave her alone you Confed bastard!” she yelled at the soldier her fists balled tight.

He stepped back his weapon raised and pointed at her.

“She’s with me!” she pushed him back her mind remembering another young girl cringing on the ground her mother standing over her a whip in her hand yelling at her to conform.

“Ma?” Allie whimpered sounding terrified.

The Confed soldier said something intelligible she didn’t understand.

“Lay a hand on her again and I’ll break it off!” she snarled calling to her pent-up anger. She could see he was about to fire and behind her she could hear the angry muttering of the crew.

Suddenly the Confed lieutenant intervened pushing the soldier aside. She said something to him Jane didn’t understand and he backed off lowering his weapon.

The Confed lieutenant gestured to Allie indicating that she should go to Jane.

Gratefully Allie scrambled up and hugged her.

Jane softened her voice. “Come with me Allie in here you are safe.” She looked at the Confed lieutenant. “Thanks,” unsure if the woman understood her.

The lieutenant nodded then gestured the platform at the back of the ATV. Jane understood that clear enough. The last sight she had as she boarded close on Allie’s tail was the lieutenant berating the soldier. The snap of her fingers clear enough that the soldier was in the dog house. What came, as a shock to Jane was the Confed lieutenant climbing up into the ATV and sitting in the seat opposite her. The rest of the crew taking the seats beside Jane. There was enough room on both sides for at least two rows of seven.

Mark was the last to board Karasena had asked him not to interfere. Karasena had laid a restraining hand on his arm and spoken to him in quiet tones.

“Please let Dee handle this she knows what she is doing.”

He noted she had asked him and not ordered him. With regret in his mind he sat only to jump up again startled brushing his rear.

“Sorry,” Karasena apologised unsure why she did it. “That should have been properly cleaned.”

“That’s ok,” Mark replied pulling a husk of grain from his pants. It was an aravi husk he rolled it around his fingers trying hard to control his emotions too much of this place reminded him of home.

“We help out with the harvest,” Karasena explained wondering why she was explaining she didn’t have to say anything he was the enemy yet some part of hoped he wasn’t.

“I know the feeling,” Mark said he closed his eyes remembering times long ago.

Karasena leaned forward interested. “You do?”

“My family had a bakery we used to help at harvest time to assess the quality of the grain. My father insisted on the best for his bakery.”

“Bakery?” Karasena asked. The one in Hawthorn was called ‘Trembles’ she had been there a couple of times.

“Yes we have a family run bakery on Paranova our speciality is aravi rolls with kokimoro sauce.”

Karasena’s stomach rumbled at the thought. Her two favourite foods the sweet red kokimoro berries and aravi bread. Suddenly she halted the way her thoughts were going he was the enemy yet here she was chatting to him like he was her friend. She clamped her teeth shut angry with herself and not understanding why. The ATV powering up saved her from any further conversation. Her comms bleeped interrupting her thoughts a chill ran through her body, she hadn’t heard a peep out of the WM sensors. “Ino?”

“Urgent comms from Mayor Guy,” Ino stated.

“What’s he want,” Karasena muttered. “Ok Ino put his comms through.”

“What, the meaning of this!” Guy demanded when Karasena received his comms.

“What is?” Karasena replied uncertainly.

“The Terrans are invading!”

Karasena snorted her patience wearing thin. “The Terrans aren’t invading. You do know this your chief should have warned you. Their ship crashed. Just be thankful the captain had the presence of mind to choose an unoccupied area to crash into!” She wondered who had told him about the Terran landing. She had called the chief and asked if she could use his militia if needed. “Who told you?” she spoke sharply.

“It’s all over the news?”

“Oh,” she wasn’t sure if Guy had heard her sarcasm. “The Terrans crashed.”

“But…” Guy spluttered. “The news said there was a major battle with lots of casualties!”

“The only casualties were Terrans and that was before the ship crashed. They surrendered to me without a shot being fired!” Karasena snapped her comms off as her temper frayed. She called Ino. “Ino?”

“Ma’am?”

“If the mayor comms me again put him on hold indefinitely.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Karasena leaned back frustrated. She had kept the chief informed but for some reason the mayor either ignored the chief or had his own separate agenda. She glanced across to Mark regarding her intensely although he couldn’t see her face because she was wearing her helmet, something about her body language must have alerted him.

“Problems?” he asked her lightly it didn’t match the concern in his eyes.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she replied regretting telling him but it felt so natural like it was meant to be.

She wished Dee were here instead of electing to travel with Jane Walberg. The sudden movement of the ATV stopped her from saying anything further. Mark settled back and drifted off to sleep exhaustion taking over. Karasena watched him sleep too full of regrets. Wishing that they had met under better circumstances and hating herself for feeling that way.