To Clan and Conquer (Clan Beginnings) (13 page)

“Have you been in battle yet, Tranis?  A real battle, with men screaming and dying all around you?  Friends … lovers falling before your eyes?”

The agony in Degorsk’s voice had affected Tranis, making him want to fix things for the emotionally wounded man.  He wondered if this was this the usual response of the Dramok leader instinct for a suffering Imdiko.  He had little experience with the nurturing breed outside of his Imdiko father, who had never seen battle nor known real trauma.

Tranis stepped from behind his podium.  He looked at Lidon who was wrapping up assigning the recon team.  He wondered if the Nobek knew about Degorsk’s past.

He said, “I will meet you in the shuttle dock, Weapons Commander.”

Lidon stepped from behind his podium.  “I can walk with you, Commander.  I have the teams alerted.”

Piras’ gaze was glued to his readouts.  “Make it fast.  Communications is now reporting two more colonies and defense stations have gone silent in the last hour.  With the closest help from the fleet days away, we need to find out what’s going on before anymore of our border is affected.”

Tranis and Lidon spoke at the same time.  “Yes, Captain.”

Tranis left the bridge.  The limping Nobek was only half a step behind him as he entered the ship’s transport.

* * * *

Lidon and Tranis were the first off the security team’s shuttle when it landed on the colony’s surface.  The atmosphere here was one of the few that didn’t demand containment air.  It was nighttime on the moon, dim even for sharp Kalquorian vision.  Lidon peered in the gloom for any sign of trouble, though lifesign of anything larger than his foot had been lacking in the immediate area.

All the Nobek could see were the hulks of shelters and buildings nearby.  He could smell well enough though.  The acrid stench of burnt things filled his nostrils.

Degorsk trooped off the second shuttle, his medical staff following him with emergency aid kits.  In the wash of light from the shuttle’s open hatch, Lidon saw the Imdiko scowl.  His voice carried easily through the dreadful silence.  “How the hell are we supposed to find anyone?  I can barely see a damned thing.”

Lidon drew a handlight from his belt and turned it on.  Tranis and the security team followed suit, and moments later so did the medical corps.  In the stark beams, half a dozen blasted shelters leapt into view, along with a few identifiable shreds of shuttles.  Most of what surrounded them were blackened ruined things, things that weren’t easily recognized.  Not one building or piece of machinery had been left intact.

Lidon called to his forces.  “Move out and find the mine shaft openings.  Remember, you’re looking for survivors.  Identify your targets before firing on anyone.”

The security detail divided into squads and trotted away, their handlights bobbing through the ruined colony.  Lidon followed at a limping walk with Tranis at his side.  A moment later, Degorsk drew abreast of them, his medics trailing behind in a wide-eyed knot.

Tranis growled, “This isn’t a mere Bi’isil expansion detonator attack.  This was something big.”

Lidon nodded, his skin crawling at the evidence of monumental force all around him.  “A city-killer weapon.”

Degorsk swallowed audibly.  Lidon glanced over at him and was reassured by the look of purpose on the doctor’s face.

“No bodies?” the Imdiko asked, his tone level.

Lidon said, “Mostly vaporized.  I’m seeing bits and pieces here and there.”  When Degorsk’s light moved down to illuminate the ground better, Lidon grabbed his hand and forced it up again.  “Don’t look, Doctor.  There’s no point in sickening yourself over body parts you can’t help.”

His com went off.  One of his staff, a capable Nobek named Arin, spoke.  “Recon team to Commander Lidon.  We have energy signatures from one mine shaft.

“Acknowledged.  On our way.”

Tranis drew a breath.  “If there is energy, there’s hope.”

Degorsk muttered, “I’ll take it.”  Louder, he told his following staff, “Medics, stick close.  We’re going in.”

Lidon could see the dark maw of the hole in the landscape where a couple of Nobeks waited to escort them into the shaft.  He said, “Watch your step, everyone.  These are active mines and footing will probably be dangerous.”

Tranis started walking a little faster, moving ahead of Lidon.  The weapons commander put his hand on his shoulder, tugging him back.  Tranis jerked his head around to stare.

Lidon offered him a tight smile.  “Commander, if I may?”

Tranis blinked and slowed, letting Lidon take the lead with obvious reluctance.  “Of course.  My apologies, Weapons Commander.”

“Not necessary.”  Lidon led the first officer and the rest of the group, as was demanded for security reasons.

He had no doubt Tranis was able to take care of himself, even defend himself against any possible hazards around them.  However, Lidon was in charge of security for this mission, so he was required to place himself in danger ahead of his commanding officer.  It was a matter of protocol and pride.

And if Tranis didn’t like it?  Well, he’d just have to get over hanging behind a slower, lame Nobek.

They headed into the pitch-black mine shaft, their handlights only thin beams in the oppressive darkness.  Sounding put out, Degorsk asked, “If there’s still power, why aren’t the lights working?”

Lidon had never heard the Imdiko sound so peevish.  Something was really bothering him.  Knowing the doctor’s background from having researched him, Lidon had a good idea what that something might be.  It must have been terrible to watch would-be clanmates killed right in front of him amid the carnage of a major battle.

Keeping his tone mild, Lidon said, “The power readings are coming from further ahead.”

A few moments later, a wall of stones leapt into view.  Several members of the recon team clustered at the foot of the cave-in.  Two more, including Arin, had climbed up the sloping debris, looking into a small hole up high.  Dim illumination spilled from the opening.

Arin called down to them.  “We’ve got survivors behind this, Commander.  Forty-six people managed to get far enough inside to escape being killed, but many of them are injured badly.”

Lidon ignored the sick feeling in his gut.  He told Tranis and Degorsk, “There were over five hundred miners here.”

Degorsk’s lips curled.  “Fuck.  Can we get through?” he yelled to Arin.

The Nobek scrambled down to the shaft floor with an ease that disgusted Lidon.  “We can just squirm in, I think.  We’ll need something to blast this mess loose to get the casualties out though.”

Lidon looked at the loose footholds of the cave-in.  No way his braced leg could handle the climb.  He inwardly cursed his crippledness while coolly issuing orders.  “I’ll work on getting some explosives to knock this down.  Meanwhile, I suggest the commander takes his team in to treat the injured.”

Tranis nodded.  “Agreed.”  He huddled with Degorsk to discuss how the medical team would continue on.  Without Lidon.

The weapons commander firmly set aside his anger that he couldn’t do his job.  He told Arin, “You’re in charge of security on the other side of this.”

“Yes, Commander.”  The young lieutenant looked pleased.  He’d been putting in for harder work and more responsibility.  Lidon liked him much more than his immediate second.

Still, the kid needed to know how much responsibility he was shouldering.  Lidon leaned close so only Arin could hear him, letting his fangs descend in clear warning.  “Let nothing happen to the first officer or the medical team.  Not one scratch, Lieutenant.”

The near smile disappeared from Arin’s face.  His back stiffened and his shoulders went back.  He jerked a firm nod, all business.  “Yes, Weapons Commander.”

Lidon stepped back, and Arin took point, ascending the blockage once more and shoving his body through the hole at the top.  Tranis followed, climbing the wall with agility.  Another couple of Nobeks went up, then a very pale but stoic Degorsk.

The Imdiko paused to crack a weak joke at Lidon.  “You could always ride up on my back.”

If the statement suggesting Lidon’s weakness had come from anyone else, the Nobek would have beaten the man senseless.  But it came from Degorsk, and there was definite panic in the doctor’s eyes.

Lidon gave him an evil grin.  “I’ll ride your back, all right.”

“Tease,” the Imdiko shot back.

He looked up at the hole overhead, swallowed, and started his climb.  Lidon reached up and tweaked his backside.  His grin got larger at Degorsk’s gasp and the startled look he shot Lidon.  At least it got some of that fear out of his expression.

Lidon quoted, “‘The journey to a warm hearth is worth the all-night ride though it last until daybreak.’”

Degorsk scowled.  “That passage has nothing to do with … that.”

Lidon lifted a brow.  “Of course when your mount carries the warm hearth with him—” 

A couple of the medics waiting to climb snickered.  Degorsk shot them a vicious look that shut down the merriment instantly.  Lidon was impressed.

Degorsk got up to the hole and glared at Lidon.  “I suggest you study the Book of Life a little more closely so you don’t take its wisdom out of context.”

Lidon only continued to smile.  With a huff, Degorsk wriggled through the opening, his ass presenting a very nice show until it disappeared.  The conversation was over.

For now.  Lidon had every intention of re-opening the subject of riding Degorsk’s back at his earliest convenience.  Damned if he’d let Tranis have all the fun.

* * * *

Degorsk carefully climbed down the cave-in.  Tranis stood nearby, looking ready to leap and catch him if he fell.  Degorsk scowled.  He was perfectly able to take care of himself.  After Lidon’s humiliating grab and teasing, he wasn’t about to fall and let Tranis add to his embarrassment.

Still, it made something inside warm to think about the Nobek’s obvious flirtation.  And it helped distract him from what lay ahead.

I can do this.  It’s not hundreds of injured, dying men.  It’s just a few dozen, and I can save them.

The groans in the distance and the sight of bloodied miners waiting for his team still brought back the memories, though.  The bodies of those who hadn’t made it were stacked against one wall.  Maybe a hundred, he thought.  The rest must have been vaporized outside.  The sounds of agony seemed to double, and he had a vision of the stony, damp ground covered with body parts.  The dripping of moisture from the cavern’s ceiling made him think of splashes of blood splattered on the walls, slowly plopping rain on those below.

Degorsk pulled his shoulders back and made himself stop seeing the past.  He stepped up to the miners standing there, waiting for rescue.  “I’m the chief medic.”

A thick-bodied man in the middle of a group of about half a dozen nodded towards a ledge further back in the shaft.  The dim emergency lights showed prone bodies lying there.

Bloody, writhing bodies … layers of men and body parts…

“The worst of the injured are on that raised area, Doctor,” the miner said, drawing him back to the here and now.  “We got them off of the wet floor as best we could.” 

Degorsk turned to look over his staff.  They’d all arrived and waited for his instructions.   “We’re going straight to the men he’s pointed out.”  He pointed at two of his men.  “You two do a survey of all the injured, figure out who needs the most immediate care and assign accordingly.”

“Yes, Dr. Degorsk.”  They rushed off.

He looked to Tranis next.  “The moment that wall comes down, get my stretchers in here.  We need immediate evac of the injured.”

The Dramok nodded.  “It will be done.”

Degorsk joined his team, now swarming over the thick ledge.  Perhaps two dozen of the surviving miners lay here, caught and battered by the cave-in.  Bones were crushed.  Blood was everywhere.  There was an instant of slipstream, where Degorsk saw many more men, some with familiar faces that had branded themselves into his nightmares.  It was as if the past and present had come together to exist in this dark, echoing space.

Damn it, I’m a doctor.  I’ve got a job to do, so do it!

He narrowed his focus to the first body in front of him.  From there, he knew nothing beyond his duty.  He comforted the conscious, executed emergency efforts to stem bleeding and immobilize broken bodies, performed an emergency tracheotomy when one man experienced an allergic reaction to medication, and answered his team’s questions.

He was dimly aware of time passing.  Bits and pieces of conversation drifted to him, words to be filed away and thought about later.

“…some kind of battle drone, a configuration we’ve never seen before … hit us during the night when we were topside and asleep … only a few of us got down here …  cave-in from the hits … people still running in when it collapsed … a lot died in the first few hours … mine shaft was played out … had just removed the earth moving machines … couldn’t remove the cave-in to get out…”

The work he did was mostly lit by the strong but thin streams of the handlights and weak emergency illumination.  Degorsk felt he’d been in the dim confines forever when a hand closed on his shoulder.  He looked up from the unconscious man he’d just placed in a temporary stasis field to see Tranis leaning over him.