Deadly Cargo (Jake Mudd Adventures Book 1) Page 9

  "He's with me," she said.

  One of them nodded again. She glanced upward and waited for the scattered green lights to read her face. The door slid open and she entered. Jake followed.

  CHAPTER 20

  "I 'd heard you'd returned to us."

  Nadira approached the man and the two extended an arm, grasping each other's forearm, as Jake had seen her do with Tay.

  "I'm sorry I failed to retrieve it," she said.

  "No one else could have done it then. I'm sure," Hodin said, placing his hands on his hips, hanging his thumbs off the thick leather belt he wore.

  Jake took the man for a soldier. He noted Hodin's tactical boots, the right one with a formidable blade sheathed on the side, and the gear strapped to his belt — a couple of tools tucked into leather cases looped onto it, on the other side a blaster, about the same size as Jake's. It bore marks and scratches. Far from a ceremonial show piece. It had seen action, and dished out a fair bit, he would wager on it. Jake's assessment solidified as he spotted several scars on the man's arms and one on his neck. He knew knife wounds. They had that in common. Mostly it was the man's gaze. Eyes revealed a lot about someone. Those that had seen death too many times had a peculiar look. Pain. Anger. Resolve. Pain and anger belonged to everyone. But, in war, those eyes that didn't harbor resolve belonged to dead men.

  Hodin stepped toward Jake. "This must be the one they found you with near the caves." He paused, taking measure of Jake. "Not sure why they brought him back here."

  Jake took a step toward Hodin and offered his hand. "Jake."

  Hodin looked at Jake's hand, but didn't shake it. "You aren't one of us."

  Nadira spoke up to break the tension. "I brought him into this mess. And, he saved my life. He may help us infiltrate Kharn's base to get the weapon."

  "Nadira." Hodin glared at her.

  "Relax, Hodin. He knows. He's the one that brought it to Daedalon."

  "In my defense," Jake said, "I didn't know what the package contained."

  "We don't need his help," Hodin said, looking Jake over as if unimpressed. "And I don't need the distraction of looking after someone."

  "Don't get worked up," Jake said to him. "I haven't agreed to help."

  Hodin looked more at ease.

  "Though," Jake said, looking at him, "you probably need me to get the job done."

  Hodin grimaced.

  Jake grinned.

  Hodin clenched his fist.

  "Take it easy," Nadira said.

  "You heard her," Jake said. He grinned wider. Call it a test or a dance. Wolves maneuvering for dominance.

  Hodin lunged at Jake, swinging his fist.

  Nadira moved farther back, though she was already out of the line of fire.

  Jake bobbed left and leaned, avoiding the blow. Then he sidestepped, countering with a punch to Hodin's lower ribs. He stayed his follow up, waiting to see what Hodin would do.

  Hodin exhaled and sounded a heavy oomph, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the punch.

  The two stood poised, a few feet apart, each sizing up his opponent. Jake grinned, and so did Hodin, giving a nod.

  "Cut it out, you two!" Nadira stepped in front of them, her arms thrust out to keep them apart.

  Jake and Hodin dropped their fists and stood up straight.

  Nadira glared at each of them, back and forth. "Why do I get the sense that you two enjoy this sort of thing?"

  "Guilty," Jake said, dipping his head slightly toward her.

  "Apologies, Nadira," Hodin said. "We'll see if he's up to the task. We can run him through some of the tests the other men had to undergo." Hodin looked at Jake. "Unless you aren't up for it."

  Jake rubbed his side, pretending he had been hit in the ribs instead of Hodin. "I still haven't agreed to go along, but I'm curious to see what passes for a challenge here, and I have some time to kill."

  "Hodin," Nadira said, "will the team be able to get into the base? They'll be expecting us now."

  "We've got a doozy of a distraction planned." Hodin moved to a table at the back of the room. "Take a look." He leaned over the table, placing his hands on a large paper that covered the entire surface.

  Jake and Nadira joined him to see what he had.

  Jake recognized topographical lines on the map. Two groupings of what he assumed were buildings were indicated on the paper, on opposite sides of the layout.

  "They'll be plenty busy," Hodin said.

  He began to explain for the next ten minutes how the Waudure forces would launch a multi-pronged full-scale assault on the Cracian base.

  Their primary forces would move straight toward the base, overtaking and subduing any Cracian scouts as the Waudure advanced. It would be critical to cover as much ground as possible before the Cracians learned of the attack. With only one front to defend, they would move many of their forces toward the advancing Waudure. The hope was that the overconfident Cracians, trying to crush the Waudure, would advance beyond the natural rocky defenses surrounding the outskirts of their base. This would make them vulnerable.

  As they did this, the Waudure would have a second force, which would flank the Cracian forces from the north. This would be an unconventional one, comprised of crag beast riders and a number of creatures native to the Untamed Lands that the Waudure have enlisted for aid. The creatures, whose description Jake could hardly believe, were still wild, but they could be guided sufficiently by the Waudure, who had long dealt with them. And, though the beasts lacked higher intelligence, they had enough of a mind to know the Cracians were their enemies.

  Hodin, Nadira, and the rest of their small team, would move east with the primary assault. When the Cracians engaged, Hodin's infiltration team would break off from the main force and move southward before circling back up to make their way into the Cracian base.

  While explaining everything, Hodin filled Jake in as to the types of weapons systems the Waudure and the Cracians had. He also discussed the pace different units could move and the distance they would cover before the Cracians discovered the attack. Jake asked quite a few questions, to which Hodin gave extensive answers. By the end of the presentation, the two had bonded over their mutual understanding of military strategy and tactics. Jake's knowledge impressed Hodin, and their posture toward one another shifted to one of mutual respect.

  "There's one critical point to remember," Hodin said. "If our team fails, we won't get another chance. We are going to lose a considerable number of our forces in the main assault. In fact, there's a chance the Cracians will use the opportunity to counterattack our base, if they can determine the origin of our forces."

  "And," Nadira said, "if we fail, they'll finalize the weapon."

  "Then it will all be over anyway," Hodin said.

  "Your plan's mostly solid," Jake said. "There are a few details you may want to reconsider."

  "So, you've done this sort of thing before?" Hodin said.

  "Too many times. Years ago, but it's the sort of thing that never leaves you. No matter how many of the memories you try to forget."

  Hodin nodded.

  Jake offered a few suggestions, such as the division of forces in the main assault into multiple groupings instead of one, to make them more difficult to target. Hodin agreed with most of the ideas, and marked up the map accordingly.

  "You should come with us," Hodin said.

  Nadira touched the back of Jake's hand that was nearest her on the table. "We could use you. I've seen how you handle yourself."

  "Let me think about it," he said. "It's not that I don't care what happens, but I came here with other plans. I need to get back to my ship."

  "Our assault happens in two days," Hodin said. "We need that much time to get everything in place. If you're in, meet me at the training arena outside the barracks in the morning. Nadira can give you directions."

  "You'll have my answer in the morning," Jake said.

  "Let's get something to eat," Nadira clasped Jake's hand, "and I can show you around
a bit. Then I'll take you to your room for the night."

  He nodded to Hodin before turning his attention to Nadira. "Lead the way."

  CHAPTER 21

  J ake watched Nadira open the pod transport door and step out into the massive underground cavern. He turned back to the large pod dash window in front of him and took in the view of the dome. It rose high into the air and looked like a sky. The rock of the cavern ceiling only faintly showed through the glow of blue light, the same sort as that from the crystals in the tunnels. Here the glow covered the entirety of the cavern's ceiling.

  He heard and watched Nadira inhale the fresh air. Then she stepped away from the pod door. He sat looking through the glass. The cavern extended several thousand feet across, he guessed, and as wide. Vegetation covered the whole of it, at least on the ground.

  Nadira jutted her head back into the transport pod. "Are you going to get out?"

  He undid the safety harness and tossed it over his shoulder before standing up.

  Bracing himself with one arm on the chair for a moment, he held his other hand over his stomach. He slowly turned his head toward her. "I really hate these things."

  "Come on, tough guy," Nadira said, moving away from the door.

  He stepped outside. The ground felt noticeably less rocky and looked less red in color than the other parts of the Waudure base. He drew his gaze from his feet upward, out over the vista. The cavern struck him as unfathomably large.

  "Amazing." He stared into the distance.

  Nadira watched him and smiled, giving him time to take it in.

  He scanned the valley before him, darting his attention here and there.

  They stood on an elevation outside the tunnel they'd traveled. To his left and right a few more such tunnels opened into the cavern. The whole of it rested underground, but the light and heavy plant growth throughout the entire space made the place appear to be topside at dusk.

  A hundred feet below them, and at least a few thousand feet in every direction, lay forests and gardens. In the distance, a shimmer caught his eye. He took it to be a pond or reservoir, a sizable one.

  Dozens of Waudure were in the gardens, working the soil, and tending to the plants.

  "It took a long time to get to this," Nadira said. "When the first of us fled the Cracians, we nearly died in the Untamed Lands. But as we found the subterranean passageways and took to them to avoid the hunts, we made our way through the tunnels looking for refuge. Then we found this."

  "It's astonishing."

  "It wasn't what you see now, but there was enough plant life, fed by the water, for a start. There's a spring beneath the pool. We cultivated the cavern, bringing in more seeds from excursions deeper into the Untamed Lands. With this resource and the safety of the caves, it was decided we would remain below."

  "Can we get closer?"

  "Follow me. I'll take you down."

  They took a trail that descended steps carved into the side of the cavern. Several minutes later they set foot on the valley below. He felt the warmth and moisture in the air. She led him through orchards and clusters of plants the likes of which he'd never seen. Each bore fruit or fulfilled other edible or medicinal needs, which she described to him. He sampled a variety of the crops as they strolled among them.

  He realized the Waudure had built a new way of life here. They'd gone from fleeing captivity and persecution to creating a new home, a burgeoning society.

  She introduced him to many of the people who tended the food forest. Men, women, and children who all, he learned, dedicated their days to looking after the bounty that sustained the entire base.

  One of them offered him a sample from the collected harvest, picking a strange-looking fruit from a basket and handing it to him.

  "Thank you," he said to the woman, before tasting it. As he bit into it, the juices of the brown lumpy fruit tingled the inside of his mouth.

  He felt dizzy for a moment.

  Nadira said something to him. He watched her mouth move, but he heard no words coming from her.

  Her face appeared blurry.

  Poison. That b…

  CHAPTER 22

  J ake woke to the smell. Dank. Earthy. A bitter taste coated his tongue. Slowly, feeling came to his limbs. The air around him and the floor beneath him radiated warmth. Then he remembered the fruit the Waudure woman had given him. He opened his eyes and willed some energy into his body, so he could get off the ground. His own skin still felt distant somehow, but the blurriness had left his eyes.

  Whispers of smoke lingered in the room. The same blue light shown down from the rock ceiling, but more dimly than elsewhere in the caves. Three figures sat on the ground before him, a few feet away. Between them and him, a small pile of smoldering plants — the source of the smoke, and the smell.

  The three were Waudure, he could tell. Much older than any he'd seen thus far. Two men and one woman, she was the most distinct, with her long neck and her slightly large eyes. Wrinkles. Tired skin. Frail-looking bodies. If he had to guess, he’d say they were ancient. But two things didn't settle with his take on them. Each of the three wore a wry smile and had eyes dazzling with life and energy. Hard to get a handle on it, but he felt their piercing gaze. It was unsettling.

  He pushed himself halfway to a sitting position. "You've maybe a few seconds until strength returns to my limbs to tell me what's going on. Otherwise, I'm out of here and I don't mind putting any of you down on the way out."

  "You are mistaken, Jake Mudd," the man seated in the middle of the other two said.

  "Look," Jake said, "I realize I'm the outsider here, but one of yours brought me here. And then — What the hell was in that fruit?"

  "We couldn't know the calip fruit would have that effect on you. We meant you no harm. We've never seen that effect on a human. You aren't the first to pass through here, though it has been a long time."

  "So, I wasn't poisoned?"

  "You were poisoned," the man said, "but not purposely."

  Jake sat up the rest of the way. "Alright. Who are you? Where's Nadira? Why I am I here? And what's with all the smoke?"

  "The smoke has cleansed your body of the calip fruit's effect. Nadira is tending to other matters. We are the Waudure Elders. And, as for why you are here, that is the question you must answer for yourself."

  "I don't have time for this," Jake said, moving to stand up. He only made it half way to his feet before toppling over. He hit the stone floor with his shoulder, not bracing himself as he went down. The pain came through numbed slightly, but not completely. "Son of a bitch."

  The woman seated with the others spoke. "The smoke you're breathing is serving another purpose. We should have warned you not to try to get up just yet."

  Jake looked down for his blaster. "Where's my weapon?"

  She continued, "You don't need it here. It will be returned to you soon enough."

  Jake settled back into a seated position on the floor. He had bluffed about killing any of them, but he hadn't ruled out knocking somebody upside the head. That would have to wait. He was in no condition to do much of anything except sit and try to keep from falling over.

  "We know you are not of this world," she said. "And you do not know our ways."

  "I'm beginning to get the idea that I do," Jake said.

  "You care for Nadira." The woman said it matter-of-factly. It wasn't a question.

  "She's had a pass on me shooting her," Jake said, waving the smoke away from his face, "so far."

  The woman looked at the two men beside her and smiled.

  "I haven't decided about you three," Jake said.

  "We know that is not our fate," the woman said. "The question remains. Why are you here?"

  "Because your neighbor Kharn decided to order an illegal weapon to wipe all of you off the face of the planet. Not a nice guy, from what I hear, but maybe he has a point."

  The man to her left spoke to her. "Shall I do it now?"

  "Yes," she replied.

&nbs
p; The Waudure Elder took something from the opening in his robe and dropped the substance onto the pile of smoking plants and embers.

  "What's that?" Jake asked, still too weak to get up.

  "The answer to your question," the woman replied.

  As she spoke, the warm smoke rising from the pile changed in color to a deep red.

  "Don't be afraid," she said. Then she wafted the smoke toward Jake with her arm.

  The warmth of it wrapped around his cheeks. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words vanished from his mind. He looked at the red smoke as it danced in front of his face.

  Not again.

  Jake watched through the smoke as the three Waudure sitting before him sunk downward at the same time the ceiling of the cave swung into view. The thud pounded through the back of his head. Then the light faded.

  DARKNESS.

  Jake heard a wind. The sound grew into a howling storm. Bits of grit and sand pelted his skin. Drawing the muscles of his brow and squinting his eyes, he peered into the storm. The blackness turned to brown and gray and dust. The sand blew everywhere. A chill went up his spine. His lips quickly dried and cracked.

  He stood on a precipice, his feet planted, his legs braced wide. Through the massive dust storm, he caught sight of Nadira. She stood a few feet in front of him, closer to the drop off the cliff. Below her, behind her, darkness. And still the roar of the wind. He heard her cry, drowned mostly by the storm, but he could tell, it was his name she called out.

  She reached for him as her footing slipped. He extended his hand to grab hers. He would save her.

  Their hands touched. He heard her voice. "Jake."

  The torrents of sand crashed into his arm. Shards of ice. He struggled to hold her, to keep her from falling into the abyss.

  Her lips curved at the edges. She needed him to rescue her, he thought. Warmth swelled inside him. The sound of the storm faded.

  But then it turned on him. The roaring wind fought back. A terrible cold struck him. And he watched as his hand, still holding hers, turned to dust.