Hankura and Chelle helped organize the women into smaller groups. These groups moved through the compound and proceeded to assassinate the rest of the guards. They were easy to take by surprise because they never expected an attack from within. With the guards out of the way, Hankura and twenty-nine women lay waiting for the other two companies of dog soldiers to return. One company had gone into the desert on a reconnaissance mission. The other company was guarding the male prisoners who were on a work detail outside Elran to construct a makeshift landing pad.
Just after dark, Hankura heard the whine of a transporter engine, announcing the return of one Tregan company. Except for the company guarding the men, no others were due back for several days. As the big air transporter drew near, the escapees dove for cover. Hankura watched anxiously as the vehicle settled to the ground at the center of the compound. He waited nearly two full minutes, expecting armed soldiers to start filing out of the vehicle. Nothing happened.
The Aledan frowned. Then he began to suspect why no one came out. Holding his laser poised, he got up. Chelle put her hand on his thigh and looked up at him with a silent question. As he shared his suspicions, she frowned, too. Hankura moved forward slowly, hesitated outside the portal, and cocked his head as though he were listening. Then he pressed the button to open the hatch. Even his suspicions hadn't prepared him for what he saw. He stared for several seconds in disbelief.
"It's all right," he called softly to the others. "They're all dead."
Once past the initial shock, Hankura didn't bother to ponder who had killed the Tregans and sent them back to Elran. He took it for a lucky break and climbed into the transporter, avoiding the bodies as much as possible. He collected all the weapons he could find. Combined with the others he'd collected, there would be enough hand lasers and ion rifles for everyone strong enough to handle them. Since he started the escape, he had simply fallen in charge of the situation. Now, as ranking officer from the Searching Star, he took firm control of the operation. He set up a plan of action and sent some of the women to find and distribute food to the others. Soon the other company would bring the rest of the prisoners back to camp. He wanted everyone to feel as strong as possible.
The wait was tedious, but Hankura knew they needed the time to eat and rest. Most of the others were too anxious to rest, and sensing their anxiety made it hard for Hankura to remain calm. Finally, they heard the whine of two more Tregan transporters. This time they were larger ones full of prisoners and guards. Hankura used his psi to signal Captain Beras and Delmran. Then, he waited some more.
Behind some rubble across the compound, Communications officer Dana waited patiently with two Zevian women for the transporter to be unloaded. As the men started to file out of the craft, a Tregan guard started beating a young man. The Zevian woman beside Dana raised her rifle and took aim at the Tregan. The man being beaten was her younger brother. Dana understood her feelings, but she put her hand on the woman's shoulder just in time to keep her from firing.
"Wait."
When the last man was closed safely inside the barracks, Hankura signaled them, and Dana let the Zevian woman kill the Tregan still in her sights. There was pandemonium as the Tregans tried to dodge laser fire coming from all directions. This only hastened their demise.
When the weapons' fire stopped, Luran jumped up from her hiding place and ran toward the men's barracks. She flung open the door and shouted:
"Look alive, you men! We're getting the hell out of here!"
They needed no further invitation to come pouring out of the building as the other women drifted into the compound. As the men came outside, they began searching the little group for loved ones. Some found them, and some didn't.
Luran waited impatiently beside the door for her mate, Cran. She knew he was there; she could feel his essence. As he strode through the doorway, Luran threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely.
"You look awful," she choked as a lump rose in her throat.
"You've looked better, love," the big man rasped. "But it's good to see you---to hold you. I thought I would never get to hold you again."
As he leaned back to look down into her face, there was a feral light in his violet eyes that she had never seen before. She felt the burning hatred raging in his thoughts.
"If I could just kill one of those lizards . . .." For a moment, Luran saw herself through his eyes---stringy blond hair, blackened eyes, bruises on her throat, pale white skin. He couldn't feel her pain as she felt his, but he could see it in her amber eyes. Luran could feel his anguish compound her own.
"Cran, don't. I'll be all right. We're alive, and we're going to get out of here," she told him fervently. "They hurt you, too." Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she wiped them away with the heel of her hand. "Come on. Let's get on with this before I really start blubbering." She tried to give him a smile, but couldn't quite master it.
"Or we both do." Cran cupped a big hand gently to her cheek and kissed her forehead. When he let her out of his embrace, she handed him one of her laser guns. He examined it briefly and nodded, then drew her close to his side. They walked to the corner of the earthen quadrangle where Captain Beras was organizing their final escape procedure.
Now that Chelle was freed, Hankura was glad to relinquish command. He and Chelle were needed to tend the sick and wounded.
Sixty-four of the ship's crew was all that survived out of one-hundred-forty-five. Twenty-five crew women had died in the initial attack, and two had been murdered in the Tregan prison camp. Only sixteen were left. Sixty-four crew and some seventy Zevians were left to carry out the daring plan for escape made by Captain Beras, Engineer Cran, and military combat specialist Delmran. They were going to steal a Tregan warship to take the crew and the Zevians, who had never been in space, off Zevus Mar.
Two Tregan transporters were loaded with dead Tregans to get them out of sight. Hankura helped some of the men drag two dead Tregans from the third transporter. Then they used this craft to carry themselves and the rest of the escapees to a sheltered spot near the Tregan warship. When the transporter landed, Beras sent Cran and Delmran ahead to stalk and secure the ship. The other three groups walked quietly a dozen meters behind them in the cloak of darkness.
Some twenty Tregans stood less than fifty meters from the far side of the ship. They were getting ready to settle in for the night. Cran found the switch to open the hatch, while Delmran covered his back. By the time the main group arrived, Cran had the main hatch open, and the loading ramp extended. Delmran stood watch while Cran ran to the bridge to study the foreign controls. Captain Beras arrived with the second smaller group. He ordered Luran and Lesta to find quarters for the Zevians.
Chelle and Hankura brought up the rear of the last group. They were assigned to help Lesta and Luran to settle the Zevians into temporary quarters and search out any food and medical supplies they could find.
Kal, the second engineer, reported that the ship was fully functional and heavily armed for battle. As Jabe established a force field around the ship, the others found duty stations that corresponded to those they'd held on the Searching Star. Dana and Farlden deciphered the ship's com system and began contacting the various stations for reports.
When Kal fired up the engines for lift off, the Tregans commed to confirm launch orders. When they were given no response, they stormed the ship. Jabe increased the force field perimeter and wiped them out in mid-step.
"Too bad, fellas. You owe us a few, anyway."
Beras called for general quarters and ordered lift off two minutes later. Once they had broken free of Zevus Mar, the grizzled Captain turned to Delmran. "How long do you figure before they launch a ship after us?"
"Half an hour---if we're lucky."
"Then tell Kal to switch in those secondary boosters, and get some people on those blasters before we hit trouble."
"Dana, try to raise one of those Kena Warriors. Find out how soon we can expect to rendezvous with them," he went on firing orders. "And tell them we've commandeered a Tregan vessel, so they don't become overzealous and blow us out of the sky."
"Yes, sir," she said. "Commander Sager on telcom, sir. Press blue-four."
Beras moved to the screen and jammed his thumb against the blue button. The image of a younger man filled the screen. "Sager, all I want to know is when the hell are you going to get here?"
"Maximum thirty minutes, Captain Beras."
"Well, you'd better kick in all the thrust you've got. I've already lost two-thirds of my crew. Those left are in no condition to be running this ship---let alone face combat. Why in fifty years of service, I've never been in such a mess as this---not even in the Sargus Wars . . .."
"I understand, sir. Will do." The image disappeared.
"Captain, we have two ships tailing us on the scanner."
Are they gaining on us? He demanded, not bothering with cumbersome speech. A grade 9.7 Psion, he never needed to talk unless he chose to. Most of the Normals preferred it, except in tense situations when it was important for them to get and understand orders just as quickly as possible.
"No sir---but we aren't losing them either."
Cran, see if you can help Kal and Tarig get more power out of those engines.
"Sure, Captain." Cran hurried to the down tubes.
Meanwhile, Hankura and Chelle came up to the bridge with food wafers for the male crew members who hadn't eaten before their escape. It was the same food they were fed in the prison camp, but Hankura told the men to eat it anyway to give them strength for whatever lay ahead.
The Tregan ship carried only minimal medical supplies, and Chelle, the only healer aboard, was too weak to heal herself. Luckily, none of the crew or the Zevians were injured seriously during the escape. Hankura, Luran, and Lesta tell me that the Zevians are near panic. When you finish passing rations, go down and help get them settled.
Right, Captain. Chelle will stay with me if you don't mind. Beras understood they weren't ready to be separated.
The Zevians were quartered temporarily in a mid-ship conference room. Luran and Lesta hadn't exaggerated. Hankura and Chelle could see how upset the Zevians were as soon as they walked into the room. All talking at once in angry, frightened tones, the refugees were on the verge of rioting.
"Chelle, Chelle!" Tira exclaimed. She jumped up and ran to embrace Chelle, chattering excitedly in Zevian. "We're so glad to be out of prison, but traveling in space frightens us. Where are we going? What's going to happen to us?"
Fifteen days was plenty for a high-level telepath to learn the Zevian language.
"It's going to be all right," Chelle replied. "We're trying to out-run some Tregan Warships. Soon, we'll rendezvous with the Kena Warrior, and they will take us to Kena Starbase."
"But, our home is on Zevus Mar. What'll we do on Kena?"
Chelle sighed. "Tira, I don't know all the answers. I'm sure the Federation will send you back to Zevus Mar when it's safe. Right now, just try to keep everyone seated and help them to stay calm. We're doing our best to keep you all safe."
"All right, Chelle. I'll try." Tira nodded solemnly. A thin, tired looking, olive-skinned man came to her side. Tira turned and took his hand. "Marn, this is Chelle. I told you about her. She is the one who healed my nose after the Tregan hit me. She and her friend Kaara were good to me."
Marn nodded curtly. Chelle sensed that he didn't trust her as completely as his wife did. She was both fair-skinned like the Tregans and a Psion. "I'm grateful for what you've done for Tira. I just hope the effort isn't wasted."
"What do you mean?" Chelle asked and understood before he spoke the words.
"After this is all over, we'll have to go back to Zevus Mar and pick up the pieces---if there is anything left," Marn said angrily. "This never should have happened. Sector Four is Federation Territory. All the signs pointed to a Tregan invasion, and the Federation did nothing to stop it until now. And now, it's too late."
Marn swore, and tears came to his eyes. His grief touched Chelle and made her remember her own. Her eyes also grew moist as she understood how Marn had lost most of his family---his eldest wife, his parents, and two children. Tira and the two children who escaped with them were all he had left. Chelle nodded and brushed two tears from her face. She took Marn and Tira each by one arm and led them to some stationary seats along the wall. She settled them there with their two sons.
Then she sensed Hankura's unspoken beckoning and turned. He was striding across the deck toward her. Chelle, I just got word from Delmran. The secondary boosters have shut down, and the Tregans are gaining on us. We have to fight.
She frowned, and then a stricken look filled her eyes as she understood the rest:
The deck lasers aren't working by remote. Delmran wants me to go up and see if I can work them manually before we need them. Seeing her worry, Hankura gripped her shoulders and hugged her close for a moment. There isn't anyone else. I don't want to leave you either---have to--- the whole top side open to attack.
Chelle nodded her head against his shoulder and clung to him for just a second longer. Come back safe---no life without you.
"I'm coming back, love. Count on it." He drew his finger gently across her gaunt cheek remembering how beautiful she was the first time he saw her in the forest back on Earth. He intended to see her that way again.
Then he turned and walked away from her while he still could.
In the cramped quarters of the upper-deck battle station, Hankura scanned the controls for the big guns. It took him only a few moments to find the problem. He had seen the same kind of circuit malfunction in his own spaceship's computer system. There were no spare circuits to be found, so he had to manually lock in the remote. He still wasn't sure it would work, so he stayed at the station to work the turret lasers from the manual control panel if the backup system failed. He reported his intentions to Captain Beras over the com.
"Nice work, son," Beras responded. "You'd better find a pressure suit and get into it. That battle station doesn't offer you much protection, the hull could be breached. If that happens, I want you out of there on the double."
"I understand," Hankura said. There were two pressure suits hanging from the bulkhead on his right. Either would fit. He glanced at the control panel, then got up and took one down to put it on.
Down on the bridge, Beras turned to Dana. Her once curly blond hair was matted and dirty, her cheeks sunken. His mouth compressed into a thin line. All of his crew looked as bad or worse. It worried him. Were they strong enough to face the battle ahead? They had to be.
"Dana, give Sager a status report," he began a new set of orders. "Jabe let me know the second they come into range. Delmran, get ready to fire as soon as they do. I don't expect them to take any prisoners after what we did down there. If they catch us this time, we're dead."
"Thirty seconds and counting, sir," Jabe said.
Perspiration broke out on the Captain's forehead---partly from tension and partly from physical strain. At eighty, he just wasn't as young as he used to be. He pulled out a ragged handkerchief and wiped his forehead. He'd never believed much in a supreme being in the past, but he decided it wouldn't hurt to say a little prayer just in case. They needed all the help they could get.
"Ten seconds---still counting . . ." Jabe called out. "Seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one. . .."
"Fire!" Beras cried, and Delmran's finger drove the button into the console.
All eyes went to the view screen, and no one seemed to breathe.
"We have a direct hit on the forward vessel!" Jabe shouted. "It's breaking up!"
He had barely finished speaking when the whole vessel gave a shudder. Momentarily, Kal came on the com. "Captain, that hit damaged the main drive engine. We're dropping power. The secondary thrusters will be expended in ten minutes. With the damage to the main drive, we can't recharge them."
"Damn! How long to repair the damage?"
"Half a day with replacement parts that we don't have."
"Sweet Mother!" Beras muttered. "Do what you can."
"The second ship is coming up on us in a hurry," Jabe said. He had barely finished speaking when they suffered a direct hit that shook the ship again. Some of the crew was knocked from their seats. Jabe scrambled to regain his post. "They're moving above us, sir."
"Zukam!" Delmran swore in an alien tongue. "I've lost the deck lasers again."
"Sir, Hankura is reporting the Tregan ship in visual range. He wants to know why we haven't fired." Dana interrupted.
"Tregan refuse barge," Beras muttered. "Fire at will, Hankura," he shouted into the com. They waited.
"A direct hit on the underbelly," Jabe reported, but their ship shuddered again. "Mother! The hull in the upper battle station's breached . . .."
"Captain," Dana said, "I don't get any response from Hankura. I can't feel his telepathy, either . . .."
"Goddess!" Delmran gasped as a shudder passed through the vessel with another hit. "The upper battle station is gone. Hankura . . .. Wait, I got 'im! He's okay. He got out in time and sealed off the section."
"Right," Beras nodded. "He's going down to the conference room to be with his wife." He paused. "Cran, how are we now?"
"Drifting, sir. We've barely enough power for life support. We can't fight off another attack."
Beras swore. Goddess, how could they have come this far, only to become a helpless target for the Tregans? "Where the hell is Sager?"
"I have visual on the Kena Warrior II," Jabe said. "They're closing on the Tregan vessel."
"Put it on audio, Dana," Beras commanded.
They all heard Sager's demand for surrender. The demand was answered by laser fire. In seconds, there was a silent, blinding flash. The last Tregan vessel exploded into debris.
Then, Sager's image came on telcom screen. "How's that for timing?" he asked with a smug grin.
"Too damn close, Sager!" Beras growled.
"I'm sorry. It was the best I could do. What's your status, sir?"
"This Tregan refuse barge isn't going anywhere without an overhaul."
"I see. Prepare for docking, then. We'll find temporary quarters for your crew, and I'll have a team take care of that ship. Starbase ordered us to haul it in so they can have a look at the competition. The Tregans have been hitting little colonies like Zevus Mar all over this sector. We've had our hands full. The Admiral sends his regrets that we didn't get the reports until after they hit your ship."
"Yeah, we fell right into it. We didn't have a chance," Beras said grimly.
"An explorer against that fire power, I guess not," Sager agreed. "How the hell did you manage to break out of there anyway? Tregans are a bunch of ruthless barbarians. We've seen too much of their work already."
"I know," Beras murmured. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "You'll have to talk to my Chief Medical Officer. He's the one who got us started."
"I'll be damned. A Medical Officer?"
"He's a unique man---nearly a grade nine telepath. You'll understand after you meet him."