hand comes out to grab my arm, and I’m so on edge that I respond before I think. I whirl around, breaking the contact. My hand lands on my laser pistol before I realize Amber’s dark eyes are growing more shocked by the second.
Taking a step back, I stretch my neck in a vain attempt to relax. “Don’t ever sneak up on a soldier, Amber. It’s a really bad idea.”
Holding up both hands in front of her, she acknowledges my words. “I noticed that. Are we really doing this?”
I jerk my chin to the right. “Three clicks on the other side of the tarmac there will be a vehicle waiting for us, one capable of supersonic speeds. With any luck we’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
“Thank you so much for doing this. It means the world to us.”
I’m not really sure who ‘us’ is, but I assume she’s including her little friends in that thanks. I nod stiffly and reply quietly, “Let’s head out. I don’t like burning daylight.”
Stepping out in front of her, I begin a steady pace. Amber manages to keep up and we move silently across the tarmac without drawing notice. Once we’re on the other side, we pick up the pace to a light jog.
Though images of Borak getting loved on by that woman, Penelope, still swirl around in my head, I keep shoving them aside in favor of focusing on the mission. It occurs to me that since we encountered the Sonadraid near the temple before, they might have been staged somewhere nearby. I quickly deduce that if this idea has popped into my head, the Draconians probably investigated that area first. Since no one has sounded the alert that the Sonadraid have been found, I assume they found nothing. Therefore, my anxiety about bringing Amber out here by myself clicks down a notch.
This is just an old fashioned smash and grab operation, I tell myself. We’ll just buzz in there and I’ll stand guard while Amber gathers up her little friends and then we’ll haul ass outta there. It sounds simple enough, but in real life things rarely go down as planned.
Since I couldn’t very well walk out of the Draconian base loaded for bear, it’s a good thing that Earth Gov always fills the rear hatch with all the best armaments. I like to work with weapons I’m familiar with. It makes killing bad guys so much easier. Glancing over at Amber, I see she just might be mistaken for a child by aliens that didn’t know better. She’s waif thin with long black hair fluttering around her shoulders. They wouldn’t know she’s got a backbone of steel just by looking. A lot of aliens underestimate humans that way.
For just a second I wonder what it would feel like to be sheltered by a strong warrior like Borak. I could forget about this endless fighting, political intrigue and curl up in front of that big stone fireplace he’s mentioned. After a lifetime of keeping everyone else safe, having someone take that burden off my shoulders almost makes me choke up with emotions. Maybe that’s what drew Chantel to Korak. It makes sense that she would be tired of soldiering as well.
I tug my respirator tighter around my face as I glance over at my traveling companion. Though Amber’s not wearing an armored uniform, she has fitted herself with nostril filters and goggles. It gives her more freedom of movement. My respirator is built into my armored form suit. I like that it seals out dangerous gasses as well as particulate matter. Plus I’m old school and don’t like change, particularly of the gear my life depends upon in a field situation. I can’t even guess how many field problems I’ve had in my almost two decades in the military. God, has it really been that long? This is turning out to be one hell of a last mission.
We work our way around one of the many ridge lines, and I see the tiny jet has been covered with brown camouflage netting. We rush forward, and I begin yanking the cover off. With Amber’s help, we have it uncovered within minutes, and I put my hand on the door scanner. After a few beeps it pops open.
Amber is impressed. “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
I grin, motioning her through the door. “It’s relatively new tech for Earth Gov. I chose this particular transport because it’s the fastest thing we’ve got.”