Nova (45 page)

 Finally, her alto unusually rough with tightly checked
emotion, Avara asked “What is it K’llan? Our link… what is it called?”

“
Nyeria
.” Z’arr’s response came quickly enough and
her voice was composed, but Serros could read K’llan’s attempts to mute her own
turbulent feelings.

 “My understanding is that the Vosaia term for a… Life–Mate,
is
Iyan
, yes?”

“Correct.”

“Then,” Serros began, hesitant if she should ask, or even
how
to formulate the question that was driving mind and mouth forward. “What is the
difference?”

 Shaking her head slightly, naturally pale face even more wan
in the suffused sunlight bathing the tent walls, K’llan spoke slowly, as if each
word was a fragile treasure. “In one sense, there is no difference, and the two
terms hold the same meaning. In another, there is all the difference in the
world.”

When it seemed that the Lieutenant was going to say no more,
Serros announced “I do not understand, K’llan.”

Instead of directly answering the question, K’llan almost
forcefully caught Avara’s gaze. “Are you sure you want to know, here and now?
Are you ready?” Her tone was caution and challenge both.

“I think I need to know.” Captain Serros answered seriously,
not shirking the slightest from the intensity of those violet eyes.

“And what about Diana Adeline?” The question was spoken
without malice or jealousy, just simple awareness and smothered discomfort.

“As I said before, my relationship with Diana is separate
from… what is occurring between us, and I intend to keep it that way until I
understand.”

"Mm.”

At the Vosaia’s lack of cosignature to Avara’s declaration,
Serros added, “Please, K’llan.”

“Perhaps.” Z’arr replied thoughtfully, and though Avara
could still sense worry clouding K’llan’s
nya
, a moment later it was
clear she’d reached a decision, the constant tension of the situation and
Avara’s plea tipping the scales.

“
Nyeria
means ‘soul–bond’ and ‘soul–bonded.’ Our link
is
Nyeria
;
we
are
Nyeria
, and to be
Nyeria
is to be
Iyan
.”

In some ways, Avara felt like she was held fast in
restraints and watching as a tide of bullets were unerringly slicing through
the air towards her, that she was unable to remove herself from danger yet
fully aware of its approach and expected impact. “But we’ve known each other
for only a short period of time and … we’ve not been romantically intimate.”

“Yes, and it is, as far as I know, almost unheard of that
our connection formed so very quickly and without specifically being sexual.”
Avara could hear the unspoken ‘
yet
’ hovering between them as loudly as
the blaring cry of a trumpet. Given the fact of arousal that had almost been effectuated
twice now, Avara hardly felt like she could legitimately contradict the
unvoiced suggestion.

 “Nevertheless, it did.” K’llan continued, acknowledging the
Human’s confusion. Now that the long avoided discussion had been initiated, she
plunged forward, driving towards clarity. “It means that our souls, our life–energy,
what Vosaia call
nya
, are linked and fused at a psychic and physical level,
and over time, the bond will become more profound.
Nyeria
is extremely
rare, even among my people, and yet once formed, it is as indisputable as it is
unbreakable.”

Despite the internal warring dance of thought and feeling, Serros
felt a curious kind of quiet, internal lassitude at K’llan’s pronouncement; words
forming confirmation around what had been nameless, but not unidentified. Watching
K’llan, her long blue lashes curling above lilac colored eyes, Avara could feel
desire swelling, want for the woman before her that was undeniably physical,
but was also so much more. She could also feel the danger of that want here and
now. Danger to her sense of self, to what she held to be true and to some
sense, sacred. She just didn’t know how to properly communicate everything she
was thinking and feeling to the Vosaia sitting scant inches away.

“Do not, Avara. There is no need; I already know.”

Though at this stage she felt she shouldn’t be,
nevertheless, K’llan’s words startled her. They were spoken with such
conviction, such certainty, that Avara could find no doubt in their sincerity.
K’llan
did
know, did understand, and as she had sensed during Feeding,
despite the patent strain it was causing for her, the Vosaia would be
infinitely patient in regards to Avara reaching resolution.

With Avara nodding once in silent acknowledgement, Captain
Serros and Lieutenant Z’arr silently lay back on their respective bed rolls.  Both
women let sleep catch her while they could indulge, before the driving claim of
tomorrow grasped them. Their souls were touching as dreams took them and
offered respite from the ordeal of survival, need, and question alike.

CHAPTER 23

Moving at an unrelenting pace, Serros and Z’arr quickly left
the river filled canyon far behind, continuing their sojourn to make the
Karukai outpost and hopefully, the means to escape Dantis. Within a few days
the landscape began to shift once more, gradually metamorphosing from the red–rock
filled broken lands that had become the norm, to first a smattering and then a vast
sea of familiar gray–green savannah grass.

The change was a welcome one, for though still quite warm
under the planet’s three suns, the climate cooled just a bit, offering a
modicum of respite from the previously blasting heat of the rock–lands. Other
than a couple of brief jakhri attacks, the journey sped by uneventfully. Day
slipped into night and day again, as the duo fell into the almost hypnotic
rhythm of straight–coursed travel.

Avara found that the meditative set of mind and body acted
as a soothing balm for plaguing questions of the heart. It was with a sense of
jarring startlement that Captain Serros was knocked out of the dream–like
travel state that had come over both of them when, some six days after leaving
the gorge behind, they finally reached their long–sought objective.

Cresting a small hillock, the two
Excalibur
crewmates
were greeted by a sun–hazed, ovoid–shaped, durexium and pale blue glass
construction of tan and cream. Momentarily amused by the notion, Avara thought
the structure vaguely resembled an oversized beehive. Next to the main, center
positioned beehive building were four much smaller constructions of exact
design. The entirety of the small complex was situated to the west of the trebling
stream that they’d been following.

Scans revealed that there were also several power generators
scattered around the facility, which made sense since the station was so
isolated. Still, the number of generators represented an enormous amount of
energy given the small size of the facility.

To the west of the main construction was a landing pad and
the most squat building of the lot, obviously a mechanic’s station, though
based on its dimensions, it could only serve the most basic needs. Avara also
noted with great interest that though there were no shuttles, there
was
a squad of seven starfighters, Karukai
Scorpions
, resting on the pad.

More, atop the flat base of the central building’s roof was
a large, silvery Comm array, shimmering in the mid–afternoon light. Finally,
though foot–traffic was light, the glint of afternoon sunlight highlighted the
crimson armor of patrolling soldiers like glowing holo–adverts.

After silently retreating to a safe distance, Serros and
Z’arr made themselves comfortable in a small clearing and set to strategizing. The
Quorum Shield Operative couldn’t help but issue a satisfied grin as she remarked,
“Well, here we are; objective one complete. Congratulations, Lieutenant.”

Laughing in return, Z’arr replied “And congratulations to
you, Captain.”

“Now, to how we’re going to get off this rock and back to
Excalibur
.”
Serros commented, stretching her arms then fingers in anticipation. “I didn’t
spot any security fields and there’s no defensive wall, which is all to our
favor. Unfortunately, I
also
didn’t note any QGST capable vehicles.”

“Yes, meaning the starfighters are only useful if we know
for sure that
Excalibur
is still in system and within range.” K’llan
confirmed. “It has been over three weeks since the
Ardent
exploded; do
you think the crew is still searching? Or by now, would they have us listed as
presumed dead?” Genuine concern colored the Vosaia’s voice as she posed the
question neither had broached during their seventeen–hundred plus mile trek
across the surface of Dantis.

Slowly shaking her head, Avara answered, “If there was even
a faint chance, neither Marcus nor Diana would ever leave the system without
definitive proof that we were dead.” Her tone held absolute, unwavering
confidence, and yet, rubbing her brow thoughtfully, she added, “However, if
they
thought
they’d obtained irrefutable evidence or,
if
Excalibur
was seriously threatened, they may have jumped system.”

“And such is not unlikely, given the location of the Karukai
Outpost here on Dantis that a threat has made itself known to ship and crew.”

“Yes, exactly; an only too plausible possibility.” Gesturing
a moment later with a definitive cut of her hand, Avara declared “If the latter
scenario did occur and
Excalibur
was under attack, Marcus and Diana
would return, but we simply do not know what the situation is. No, we can’t
assume
Excalibur
is still in system. We need to find out before
commandeering a fighter and traipsing off into space only to be stuck and
stranded once more, this time with the Karukai aware of our presence.”

“I concur. What is the plan then?”

“We could try knocking?” Avara suggested, a teasing cast to
her voice as she waited for K’llan’s response.

“If what you mean by knocking is blasting a path through the
front entrance, then no thank you.”

Laughing at the Vosaia’s dry tone and expression, the
Captain replied with a half–shrug, “Very well, if you insist, I suppose we
shall have to come up with an alternative.”

“Ha–ha; very amusing.” K’llan commented, knocking her
shoulder into Avara’s in playful rebuke. “I say the obvious answer is we need to
get to their Communications Hub within the outpost so we can attempt to contact
Excalibur
.”

“Agreed. Before proceeding, I think we need to gather more
intelligence regarding what we’re likely to face so we can avoid trouble and
make Communications.”

“Avoid trouble? Hmm. Well, that would be a change, anyway.”
Z’arr mocked Avara in return. “Reconnoitering then?”

“Reconnoitering it is.” Captain Serros confirmed.

In perfect concord, the duo retraced their earlier path and
set about observing the facility’s activities for the rest of the day and well
into the late hours of evening turned next morning.

It was clear that Outpost J2’s main defense was its remote
location and secrecy, for technologically speaking, security measures were
almost non–existent. There were no shield generators, ground cannon
emplacements, or anti–aircraft batteries to be seen. Similarly, the facility appeared
to be entirely absent of turf vehicles, from basic Hurricanes to EV Tanks.

Patrols of armored Karukai
were
well evidenced, however.
Avara and K’llan counted off at least three dozen separate individuals, with
who knew how many more based inside the Outpost. The guards seemed to be operating
in patrols of six divided into two person teams, the lot broken into three rotations
for each diurnal cycle.

Most significantly, Serros and Z’arr spied at least three Varda
sporting the black and gold, lightning slashed chevrons denoting their unique
status. In a society where ability immediately translated to public ranking, as
the most elite and highly trained of all Karukai soldiers, the presence of the
Varda was problematic, to say the least. Every Varda represented an adversary
more deadly than a company of standard Karukai soldiers or Mech Suit
specialists combined. Such individuals would each be an Arca IV, at the least,
and exceptionally skilled and battle tested.

Indeed, all ranked Karukai Admirals as well as the three
members of the Triarchy, the governing body of the Karukai Imperium, were
always
pulled from the relatively small pool of Varda, their accomplishments
incontestable.

Suffice to say
, Avara mused,
the Varda would have
to be handled with
extreme
care
.

Finally, Serros and Z’arr tallied a number of slaves rotated
out it groups of five and under heavy guard throughout the day. Amounting to just
under forty in total, they seemed to be well nourished, clean, and not put to
any sort of hard labor. In fact, each excursion consisted of a one–hour set of
exercise and a thirty minute period relaxation spent in a vaguely self–determined
way, either swimming in or exploring the steam, walking the immediate grounds,
or resting seated under the brilliant Dantis sunlight. The outings were clearly
intended as physical and mental release, which again bespoke of the particular
care the slaves seemed to be treated with. Also of interest, every known
species was represented, as well as gender, though age appeared to be more
youthful than not, ranging from early to middle adulthood. Other than in all
probability acting as a Feeding source for the base’s Karukai, the reason for
the prisoners and unusual consideration they were treated with, was as unclear
as it was atypical in application.

After a day and a half of observation and reconnaissance,
K’llan and Avara settled on their final strategy and prepared to infiltrate the
Outpost. With much consideration, they had decided that the best course to
avoid complicated encounters would be to very quietly take out two Karukai,
disguise themselves in their armor, and then slip inside the main facility with
the cycle’s final rotation.