Salene's Secrets (22 page)

Tonka lowered his head to his paws and his ears drooped.  “
Within the span of one Standard hour my entire pack was killed.  Save for myself, of course, as you can see.  I was spared only because it was my day to patrol the top sector, near the escape hatch, and I could not leave my patrol sector until my replacement arrived.  He didn’t arrive because he was dead, but I didn’t know that at the time.”

Salene placed one fist over her heart and bowed her head.  Tonka’s head tilted questioningly.  “It is the way of the Jasani to express sorrow for another’s loss in this manner.”

“I thank you, Salene,”
Tonka said.

“How did you manage to escape once you found out what was happening?”

“Oberto saved me.  He told me what happened, and stopped me from returning to the main level where the Nomen were overseeing the removal of the dead Brun by the human workers.  He wanted to hide me in a maintenance closet, but I refused.  I knew that the moment a Doftle reviewed the security cameras, I would be found and killed like the rest of my pack, so I saw no point in hiding.  Then he told me that he and a handful of others were planning an escape, and invited me to join with them.  I agreed, of course, and entered the closet.  That night, while the Nomen were celebrating their easy victory and disposal of the Brun, I gave Oberto the security code for the food and supply lockers.  After they gathered as much food and as many blankets as they could carry, I led Oberto, his second daughter, his grandchildren, and ten others out of the silo through the escape hatch after giving Oberto the code to override the alarm. 

“After our escape Oberto and I traveled back to the silo regularly to keep watch.  As far as we could tell they never came looking for us until today.  Someone must have eventually realized that there were a dozen too few workers.”

“Now that the Nomen are running things, does that mean that there are no Doftles here, on this world, at all?”

“To the best of my knowledge, yes, that’s what it means,”
Tonka replied. 
“But not being on the planet doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s going on here.  They were never far away, and they were always watching, though I confess that I’ve no idea how they managed such a feat.”

“The space station,” Salene said, looking at Jinjie, who nodded.

“The what?”

“Space station,” Salene repeated, then tried to think of a way to explain it. “Do you understand space, Tonka?”

“Somewhat.  I know that there are other worlds, and that the Doftles can travel back and forth between them.”

“Good, that helps,” she said.  “A space station is like the spaceplanes the Doftles and Nomen use, only much, much larger.  Instead of traveling through the air like those you’re used to seeing, it travels in space on a path that keeps it near this world.  In that way, the Doftles are not on this world, but neither are they far away.  We know from experience that the Doftles make heavy use of space stations.  There was one not too far from this world.  Our ship, the
Ember
, was about to crash into it when Jinjie and I were ejected, as I told you earlier.”

“Does that mean that the Doftles are dead?”

“I don’t know for certain that the
Ember
actually crashed into the space station, but I suspect that it did.  As to whether it was destroyed or not, I’m afraid I haven’t a clue in the cosmos.  I’m sorry.”

“That’s all right.  It was a hope.”

“How many Nomen are in the silo?  Do you know?”

“Ten,”
Tonka replied. 
“Once every fifth day the air transports visit the silo, which is many times more often than the Doftles did.  They stay one day and one night, replace the Nomen who’ve been there for the previous five days, then move on.”

“Why do be Doftle change routine?”
Jinjie asked.
  “Do be not like Doftles.”

“No, it’s not,”
Tonka agreed. 
“Oberto suspected that it was an effort to prevent the Nomen from becoming friendly with the captives as we Brun had done.”

“How many humans work in the silo?” Salene asked.

“About one hundred,”
Tonka replied. 
“That’s not counting children under the age of eight.”

“They force children of eight to work?”

“Yes,”
Tonka said
.  “It used to be six, but the children are so small and weak now that they had to increase the age to eight.  It’s one of the reasons Oberto was so determined to escape.  If Mali is returned to a silo, she’ll be required to work.”

“I like Oberto more and more,” Salene said.  “I don’t understand why the humans don’t all escape, though.  Surely a hundred humans can overpower ten Nomen.”

“That is true, Salene, but then what do they do?  There is nowhere for them to go except out into a world they’ve never even seen and know nothing about.  They would have no food unless they could break into the food lockers, and even that would not last forever.  They’d have no shelter, either, and they knew that they’d be hunted, eventually.  Only a very few had the courage to take such an enormous risk, and Oberto took those with him when he left.”

“Was Oberto born in the silo?”

“No, he wasn’t
,” Tonka said.
  “He was brought here as a young man, and had knowledge of technology.  The Doftles make an effort to bring in people like him every dozen years or so. 
New blood
, they call it.  Before we left the silo Oberto warned all of us that there was a good possibility that the Doftles or Nomen would use infrared to find us, and he was right.  He said he didn’t care.  He wanted his grandchildren to know what it was to look at the sky, and live free.  That was all that mattered to him.”

“How long were you free?”

“Six full cycles of the moon, and part of another.  Long enough for me to know that Oberto was right.  Freedom matters.  Freedom, and promises.  He asked that I watch over his grandchildren and, if possible, try to help the Khun who were taken from the clearing, along with anyone else who wished to be free.  I promised that I would, and I cannot break my word.”

“Did you say the
Khun
?” Salene asked, startled.

“Yes,”
Tonka replied.  “
All of those who agreed to leave the silo with Oberto were of the Khun.  You know of them?”

Salene nodded.  “A number of people who also call themselves
Khun
were used as mining slaves for many centuries on a world called Garza.  My sister, Tani, helped them to regain their freedom, and she is now married to their king.”  Salene paused to sip her tea, but she’d already made her decision.  “I’ll help you attempt to free your friends from the silo, Tonka.”

“Not all of the people in the silos are Khun,”
Tonka said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Salene said.  “No matter who they are or where they’re from, I will help you free them.”

“
Why would you take such a risk for people you don’t know?”

“Because I was taught to help those in need wherever I find them.”

“That is very kind, and extremely generous of you, Salene,”
Tonka said.
  “But for your sake I must warn you that no matter where you go on this world, the Doftles will eventually find you.  If you’re unable to leave here after freeing the people from the silos, you may want to rethink your decision.”

“I appreciate the warning, Tonka, but I don’t actually know if, or when, we can expect to be rescued,” Salene replied.  “Even if the
Ember
is found, no one will know where we are unless I can send out a signal.  There’s a transponder in that pack, but I need to modify it before we can use it.  Otherwise it would be like telling the Nomen where we are.” 

“I’m sorry, Salene but I don’t know what a transponder is.”

“It’s a device that will allow me to send a signal which, hopefully, will be picked up by one of our ships.  I’ll need to make some changes to it so the signal can’t be picked up by just anyone, but I need a clear night sky for that so we’ll have to wait for the storm to pass.”  She tilted her head.  “I have a strong feeling that we will be found, eventually.  When that happens, we’ll be able to get some help from my people to free those in the other silos.”

“
Really
?” Tonka asked, his ears popping straight up. 

“Yes,” Salene said.  “The Doftles are no friends to the Jasani, nor are the Nomen.  I believe that an organization called ICARUS will wish to help as well.”

“Oberto once tried to explain the concept of miracles to me,”
Tonka said. 
“I’m afraid I was unable to grasp the meaning.  After all you and Jinjie have done for me and the children today, I begin to understand.”

For the first time in a very long time, Salene blushed.  “That’s very kind of you Tonka,” she said after her cheeks had cooled.  “But we’ve only done what our hearts told us was right, and it was no hardship for either of us.  When we finally do leave this place, I ask that you consider coming with us.”

Tonka was startled by the offer, and a little confused. 
“You know nothing about me, Salene.”

“Does it matter?”

“
Humans don’t always appreciate an animal that can think,”
he said, his ears drooping once again as he rested his chin on his paws.
  “I would not wish to bring criticism down on you in return for your kindness.”

“If such a thing were to happen, I honestly wouldn’t care, but I can assure you that your presence on Jasan will not be a problem.”  Tonka’s ears popped up again with interest.  “As you noted earlier today, I’m not human.  I’m Clan Jasani, or
Klanaren
.  We are a race of shifters.”

“Shifters?”
Tonka asked curiously. 

“My parents look as human as I do until they shift into their alter-forms which are dracons.  One of my favorite aunts shifts into a loboenca…an animal that looks much like you, only with stripes.  And they’re much bigger than you are, too, as all Clan Jasani alter-forms are.  A sentient wolf, or Brun, won’t cause much of a stir on my world.”

“Do you shift into a…what was that word?  Dray-con?”

“Yes,
Dracon
,” Salene replied.  “It’s a mammalian dragon, and no, I don’t shift.  Females usually aren’t able to shift until after they mate.”

“I’d like to come to your world,”
Tonka said.
  “Very much, in fact.  To my knowledge I am the last surviving Brun on this world, so there is no reason for me to remain here.  But I must first try to free Oberto’s friends,
my
friends, who were taken from the clearing this morning.  I promised that I would do that, as well as look after the children, and I cannot go back on my word.”

“No, you can’t, nor would I ask you to,” Salene said.  She added a bit of hot water to her cup to heat her tea.  She was about to ask another question when that tickling sensation began at the back of her neck again.  Tonka and Jinjie sensed it too because they looked up at the same time as she did, then watched as Nia’s figure slowly took shape on the opposite side of the fire from the sleeping children.  She smiled down at Tonka, giving Salene the distinct impression that she wasn’t the least bit surprised by his presence.  Tonka, on the other hand, was quite startled and leapt to his feet, his head held low, his lips curling back to bare his teeth.

“It’s all right, Tonka,” Salene said.  “This is Nia, and she is not a threat.”  Tonka looked at Salene for a moment, then relaxed his stance.

“In that case, I apologize,”
Tonka said. 
“Why is it that I cannot smell her?”

“Because she’s not actually here in body, only in spirit.”  Tonka laid back down, his eyes full of curiosity now.

“Hello, Nia,” Salene said.  “I suspect you already know that this is Tonka of the Brun.”

“You’re correct, of course,” Nia said, nodding before she bowed her head to Tonka.  “It is a great honor to meet you Tonka of the Brun.”

“And I you, Nia,”
Tonka replied.

“You knew that we would meet him,” Salene said.  “Didn’t you?”

Nia nodded, her eyes going to the children for a brief moment before sliding back to Salene.  “I apologize for not telling you before, Salene, but as I explained earlier, I cannot speak of events that have not yet occurred.  I can encourage you, and I can help you so long as I follow certain rules that I am blood sworn to obey.”

“Blood sworn?”

“Should I break a blood oath, even unintentionally, I will die,” Nia said.  “But even if that weren’t the case, I would not risk so many lives in so careless a manner.”

“I understand, Nia,” Salene said.  “If we ask questions that you cannot answer, please just say so and we will accept that.”

“I thank you, Salene.”

“What can you tell us, Nia?  Can you tell us about yourself?  Who you are, where you are, how you’re speaking to us now?”

“I can tell you some of those things,” Nia replied.  “I am here, on this world.  The silo I am in is a great distance from where you are, but I can tell you no more about its location than that.  A large number of my people were stolen by the Doftle and the Xanti many hundreds of cycles ago.  We do not age, but we are as mortal as our fellow captives, most of whom are human, so there are not many of us left now.  The few of us who do remain would be happy to leave this state of existence and journey to the Light, but the fate of our home world, and our race, rests fully upon our shoulders.  Even so, we would not have had the courage to go on as we have if the coming of Firehair and Jakitu had not been foreseen.  It is a small hope, but when hope has been absent for so long, it is enough.”