Chapter 16

"Don't be too proud of yourselves," called a clear, feminine voice. Even above the soft patter of rainfall on the muddy ground, the voice carried easily on the damp air, and echoed off the edge of the forest.

The mechanic-turned-corporal, Daran Gholla, stood captivated by the words of the beautiful female general as she spoke to the assembly - had she really come from the stars? He found himself, as always, entranced by her voice, her every movement.

Still, on that particular morning, he found his attention divided; he hung on the words which rang through his ears, and yet there was a part of his brain bent inexorably in another direction...

"The pirates were an easy enemy to defeat," continued the voice. "We had the advantage in numbers, and we forced them into surrender without taking a single casualty. We arrived in time to protect this village, and fortunately, we were able to assure that every single person who woke up here this morning will wake up here again tomorrow morning."

Daran felt a lump form in his throat at the last words; he had been witness to the dramatic revival of the villager all had taken for dead. Glancing around, he notice that a number of the other soldiers were discretely wiping a hand across their eyes at the memory. In the eyes of many of the men, and all of the girls, the general had elevated herself to the rank of goddess for the duration of the campaign.

"Be happy! We did a good thing here today. Be very happy about that. Be proud of what we are doing, and the people we're saving. But don't make the mistake of being too proud of yourselves yet."

In spite of himself, Daran's eyes flicked for the hundredth time toward the gathered ranks of slaves-turned-archers. He saw the girl at once, her face still just as pretty as it had been two days before - had it only been two days? - but her petite figure now assuming a new posture: one of solid resolve and self-assurance. When the girl had tugged on his belt in the streets of Namitan and invited him into her room, he followed because he had been intrigued by her smallness, and by her youthful innocence. And now, seeing her, seeing how she had changed in the short time...

"The pirates weren't enough to test this army. The real test is coming, and everyone standing here must be ready for it!"

"Hey..." whispered the man standing to Daran's left. "What a babe, huh?" He nodded toward the lone figure addressing the host. "What I wouldn't give to get her alone..."

"Yeah, no shit," Daran whispered back. He only managed to muster half of the male bravado necessary into the whisper, and the other man gave him a curious glance. Daran looked at the female speaker, studied her. His eyes drank in the flowing, black hair, the smooth, exotic features, the graceful contours of her body. She was simply too perfect for words to describe; he found that he could not even hold an image of her in his head if it was of a sexual nature: such a thought would only pull the alien goddess down. What would he do in a room alone with her? - nothing short of worship. His eyes flicked toward the short, blond archer again; her, on the other hand...

"Oh yeah, I see where you're going," came the knowing whisper when the other man followed Daran's gaze. "Wouldn't mind bagging that one myself."

"Just shut up," muttered Daran, angry that he had been so easy to read. It occurred to him that if another man could read his thoughts that easily, his wife would also know. He felt a slight pang of guilt at the thought of her, back in the home they shared beneath the waves, while he feasted his eyes on the young, tanned flesh standing at attention to his right. Since that first tug at his belt, his mind had run in circles about the image of that girl, about the possibilities - he did not even know her name. His wife had to know his thoughts during the previous day, and during the previous night while they made love; yet, she gave no indication, no reaction of any kind. Daran was confused, and he glanced at the small girl once more...

"Right now, time is working against us," continued the voice. "Captain Dalo!"

"Sir!"

"Assign a unit of ten of your men to stay in the village and help with cleanup. When they're finished, they'll take our pirate prisoners North to the capitol."

"Yes, sir!"

"Captain Nunez!"

"Sir!"

"I need a unit of twenty to go to the pirate headquarters in the Wastes. I believe they'll find prisoners from the Hai Lei army locked in the cages there."

"Yes, sir!"

"Captain Lei!"

"Yes, my love?" Suppressed giggles from the corps of archers followed the response.

"Sweetie, will you be so kind as to spare a couple girls who can show the way back to the Wastes?"

"Of course I will, baby." The giggles subsided, and neither speaker showed the slightest sign of blushing.

"Everyone else, we head farther North. The Hai Krun army is already ahead of us, on two fronts. They outnumber us by two thousand, all of them well-trained soldiers. The Hai Lei army is already captured or killed, and their soldiers are kept prisoner too far away to help us."

A sober hush fell over the already quiet host as they absorbed the words.

"We are on our own! We are the only thing standing between our friends and their destruction! That is the test! That is what lies on our road North, and that will be the source of your pride once we have finished!"

A heartfelt cheer went up.

"Captains, send your assigned units forward. Everyone else, back to the boats! We leave at once! Dismissed!"

The body of soldiers broke ranks; most of the movement was in the general direction of the river. Daran turned, paused to adjust the straps of his pack on his shoulders. Then, he saw the broad form of Captain Nunez approaching. It occurred to Daran that the captain was built in similar proportions to most of the pirates, though he was clean shaven and his skin was clear, untouched by ink.

"Gholla," said the captain.

"Yes, sir!" answered Daran.

"You're in command of the unit going into the Wastes. How many men do you have already?"

"Fifteen, sir."

"Fine. Take five from Ranad's unit and go talk to the general."

"Yes, sir!"

The army was makeshift, thrown together hastily in a day. Daran was not a regular, and his corporal status was accorded him solely based on his skill with the knife, not as the result of any real military experience. He knew his place within the ranks and followed orders well, but to be singled out for a specific mission? Was the priority of the mission to Ninev so low that it did not even warrant a sergeant? Not even one of the regular corporals? But, after all, he had been assigned the larger twenty-man unit... His thoughts were cut short as he approached the stunning figure with black hair, his men in tow.

"Corporal Gholla, reporting as ordered, sir!" said Daran, offering a stiff salute.

"Corporal?" came the reply with a raised eyebrow, then: "Well if the captain wants to send a corporal, I'm not going to argue. The only thing you should have to worry about is any stray pirate guards left behind at the headquarters. Ask your guide to point out their guard positions when you get close."

"Yes, sir!" Daran said, personally amazed that he had been able to manage those few words in the presence of those dark eyes.

"Honey?" came another voice from behind.

"Yes?" answered the general.

Daran turned to see yet another exquisite creature gliding toward him, silver-blonde hair flowing behind her as she walked. And there, walking a pace behind, was the pretty girl at whom he had glanced so many times that morning.

"Leah here volunteered to go by herself," said the archers' captain.

"Are you sure?" asked the general, turning her brown eyes on the small girl. "You can take a friend with you if you like. It might be a long trip if you're the only girl," she added with a dazzling smile.

The small girl shook her head, said: "I'll be fine. I just want to help out." Her voice was small, but confident. "I'm sure the other girls would rather be shooting arrows into bad guys anyway."

"All right, if you say so." The general gestured toward Daran, said: "This is Corporal Gholla. You'll be taking him back to the pirate headquarters."

"I know," said the girl with a slight flush. "We already met."

"Ahh," came the reply with another raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. "Just remember what you're doing and don't get carried away."

At that moment, surrounded by three beautiful females on one side and his unit of fighting men on the other, Daran wished he could have been anywhere else. He hoped the redness in his cheeks was not a noticeable as it felt. Then, another female face added itself to the group, this one more familiar.

"Jaide... I mean Captain..." said Sira.

"What is it, honey?" asked the silver-haired captain, turning.

"I'd like to go also, if that's alright." Sira glanced nervously at Daran before continuing. "We both made a promise to his daughter before we left that we'd look after each other."

The captain and the general shared a look, then the captain said, "That's alight with me." To Daran she said, "You seem to be popular with my archers. Make sure you bring these two back in one piece, I'm getting kind of attached to them. And make sure you both keep that promise."

"Yes, sir!" said Daran, answering both the captain and the general at once.

And so Daran Gholla found himself in the company of the only two former slaves that he had met during his stay in Namitan.

He and his men shouldered their packs and began the march West to Ninev. They made their way through the thick line of trees that separated the village from the road, and as they stepped into the open on the opposite side, they saw a sight that none of them soon forgot.

All of the remaining pirates, less than one-hundred-seventy, were locked inside their own cages. They had been bound hand and foot with unmercifully tight ropes, and piled atop one another more densly than even they would have piled their captured slaves. The entire lot of them was made to fit into just two of the cages - cages intended to hold the petite bodies of farmer's daughters, now forced to hold easily twice the number of broad, stout men.

As the group of soldiers approached, Sira let out a yelp and, before Daran could reach out to stop her, she darted forward.

Daran cast a glance at the other girl, Leah, who remained at his side; she could only offer a shrug in reply. When he looked up again toward the cages, he saw that Sira had drawn a short bone knife.

"Sira!" shouted Daran. "Stop!"

But the girl had already plunged the knife through one of the eye sockets that had been pressed close to the bars; a muffled cry of pain came from inside the cage as the bloody knife was withdrawn. Daran ran forward, reached out his hand in time to stop a second strike. With a hand on the girl's elbow, he tried to pull Sira back, but she slumped, sagging to the ground.

"Sira," said a worried Daran. "What were... are you alight?"

The small shoulders shook. Daran realized the girl was crying. With a gently hand on the shoulder, he guided her to her feet and led her away from the swearing bunch of captured pirates. Still holding the bloody knife, she refused to raise her eyes to meet his.

"That..." began Sira, her voice shaking between sobs. "... that was... I recognized his face..."

At once, Leah threw herself on the other girl, wrapping her up in a hug of surprising strength. "It's okay," said Leah, running a hand through the girl's hair. "It's okay, it's over."

The body of twenty men stood to the side, astounded by what was happening, not knowing what to think or do. Daran glanced at them, shared the sentiment, gave the shaking shoulder another supportive squeeze.

Sira looked up, her eyes red. "That was one of the men that... that..."

When she couldn't finish, Leah spoke for her. "One of the pieces of shit that raped her before we escaped." Sira gave a bitter, sobbing nod into Leah's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," offered Daran weakly. "I didn't know."

"I don't know who raped me," whispered Leah. "I never saw their ugly faces."

Another long sob, the Sira said, "I'm okay. Let's just get out of here." She gave Leah a final hug of gratitude, and the girls separated.

"Are you sure?" asked Daran, reaching to wipe a tear from her cheek.

"Yeah." A sniff. "I will be anyway."

With nothing better coming to his mind, Daran said to his men, "Okay, let's move out." The soldiers, glad to be leaving the uncomfortable scene, to put their mind on their task rather than the emotional outpourings of two teenage girls, quickly fell in step, and the party began to move Southward down the road. It was only a few paces into their journey that the red-eyed girl offered up a suggestion that had somehow escaped the minds of the twenty men.

"Wouldn't it be faster if we took some of their horse carts instead of walking?"

Daran stopped in mid stride, flashed the girl a look. He smiled, said: "Right, you are."

So in the end, the corporal decided they should take as many empty carts as possible, which would hopefully leave enough room for any prisoners they found, even if that meant some of them riding inside the cages. Of the twenty horse-drawn carts standing alongside the road, eighteen of them began the slow process of turning back to the direction from which they had come, this time with a new set of drivers at the reigns. Daran drove the lead cart; Leah sat on the bench to his right and Sira to her right, resting her head on the offered shoulder. They all pulled their hoods up against the dripping trees, and sat back at the wheels began to bounce down the rough dirt road.

The carts shook and rattled as the horses ploughed ahead; the wheels bit down into the mud, and at times it seemed as if the horses were dragging the carts rather than pulling them. Branches drooped down from trees on either side of the road, heavy with accumulated rainwater, and the drips sent giant splashes off the backs of the horses and the wooden surfaces of the carts. With the skies cast gray overhead, the were no shadows in the wetness, and the flat appearance of the forest backdrop took on a resulting lifelessness that lowered the spirits of even the twenty men who had never before seen a forest.