Valkyrie Hunter
Chapter 32

I turned to watch them passing they looked so hopeless and destitute. I was shocked to see men amongst them. Valkyrie males or I assumed they were, they certainly didn’t have the distinctive shape I’d associated with Valkyrie females. They wore hoods and kept their heads down. They were the first I’d ever seen anywhere. Things must have been really bad the other side of the bridge for them to be here. It reminded me of all those images of our own human past. Earth’s history was littered with examples like this. Unbidden sadness well up inside.

“Can’t you do anything to help them?” I asked Xenai desperately.

“That we can do,” Xenai assured me. “But we don’t have infinite resources.”

I did understand her predicament. “We appreciate any help you can give us?” I winced at my gaff I wasn’t Valkyrie I’d never be. But I was lying to myself, I was as far as Miranda and those that knew me on Alfheimir thought. “Medical supplies, food and this might stretch things a couple of your telepaths.” I was worried she’d deny me that. “Mother Rika Svertingdottir thinks there may be rebels hiding amongst the refugees. I’m certain there are. Don’t ask me how I know that. It’s just a feeling I am getting.” I waved towards Korja’s Militia and the diminutive Lori standing with them. “I can’t put this all on Lori.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I trailed Xenai back to the lines of Marines and those few Militia that had remained. The others were supervising the refugees trying to keep them moving and on the road. Lori looked at us as we approached.

“Lori?” I said to her.

“Gwen this is hopeless too many minds to process. I’m getting a killer of a headache.” Lori rubbed her temples.

“I’ve got you help. Captain Xenai has offered to help us.” I indicated Xenai.

Lori stared at Xenai. “Are you level five or six?” she asked Xenai directly.

Xenai told me once telepaths could sense other telepaths. Or like me those whose minds they couldn’t read.

“I’m only a level two and I’m finding difficult to cope. How do you do it I’m finding this overwhelming?” Lori pleaded with Xenai.

“I’ll show you how to cope and I’m sending a couple of my fellow tepes to help. Let me show you how to skim.”

Xenai reached to Lori and clasped hands. They stood there communing for several minutes. Finally they dropped hands and Xenai stood back.

“Thank you,” Lori said sounding relieved. “I can cope with that.”

Xenai glanced across to me. “I have to go. I’ll get help to you as soon as I can.”

I watched Xenai walk back to her shuttle my head full of regrets. I continued watching as it lifted off and flew away into the clouds. I looked around as Lieutenant Thorda approached her Marines trailing behind her. She snapped a salute it was a lot easier to see her face now that she taken her helmet off. I saluted back mirroring the Confed salute she had done.

“Lieutenant Thorda what are your orders?” I asked her.

She glanced at her Marines a puzzled expression on her face. “Ma’am we are to assist you in any way we can but we can’t participate in any combat actions.”

I got that.

Thorda continued. “We are permitted to return fire if fired upon.”

“That’s all I can ask of you,” I responded. “Could you assist the refugees, Captain Xenai is sending supplies.”

“That goes without saying.” She saluted again. “Permission to go about our duties?”

“Permission granted?” I replied. I wondered how much of that was the benefit of Korja’s Militia. “And stay frosty.”

“Aye ma’am.”

With that I headed over to where Lori was standing a grim expression on her face and her lips tight.

“How can they do that to their own people?” she said without even looking in my direction.

“Easily,” I said. It appeared humans weren’t the only ones that treated their own blood with such disdain. “The strong always prey on the weak.”

“We T’Arni don’t.” She spat on the ground. “We remember what it is like to be slaves and powerless.” Her eyes narrowed. “Together we are free!”

I knew that quote it was everywhere the T’Arni were. Not a village, town or city didn’t have a statue to someone they called the First Citizen.

For the next few hours Xenai was good to her word shuttling down supplies, medtechs and the two telepaths she had promised. I was hoping to see Xenai again but she had a ship to run and I understood that. We spent time amongst the throngs of refugees fixing wounds, handing out ration packs and reassuring them that they were safe. As the sun was setting and the last of the refugees were on the road to the camp I headed back to bunker while Thorda’s Marines headed back to the a drop ship that had landed earlier in the day. It was a sort of Command Post for them.

Korja was waiting for me as I entered the bunker.

“Commander,” she addressed me formally.

“Captain Korja,” I replied just as formally.

She smiled thrusting a mug of steaming coffee towards me. She must have been watching for me and had sent down to the mess hall for it. I regarded it carefully. I hated to be so suspicious, but with what had happened to me lately with food and drink I had to be careful.

“It looks like you need this?” she said giving me the mug.

I did wonder about her ulterior motives. “No alcohol!” I said without thinking. “Sorry,” I apologised.

“I can put some in if you want but it will ruin an excellent brew?”

“No it will be ok,” I tried to assure her without digging myself into a deeper hole.

“What’s the current situation?” I asked her. I changed subjects not wanting to insult her with my fears. If she wanted me dead she had plenty of oppitunity at any time before this. With the lowering of the sun the flood of refugees had become a trickle.

“The situation is good,” Korja said. “Better now the TCA have taken over dealing with the refugees.”

I noted that she was calling the refugees, ‘refugees’ echoing my name for the civilians fleeing the conflict across the bridge. I wasn’t going to pull her up for repeating my words I given up trying that myself. I gathered my thoughts. “What’s the situation on the bridge?”

“It’s night no one crosses in the dark.”

No one would if they had any sense. I had no idea why the Valkyrie would build a bridge and not put in any guide rails. One misstep and a hundred metre plunge to the valley floor. “Daylight?”

“We’ll see. Now your coffee is getting cold.”

I took a tentative sip my worried more about poison than the taste. I took more this was really good coffee better than anything I’d tasted anywhere within the Confederacy. “Hey this is good?” I said surprised.

Korja grinned. “I’d hoped you’d like it. Terran coffee I swapped it for ten kilos of kreas.”

I knew what kreas was, dried voedi coated with herbs and spices and heavily salted before being air-dried. It would be better than the ration packs aboard ship. Well anything would taste better than ration packs. They may cater to your nutritional needs but they weren’t pleasant. Which was why Xenai tried to get as much fresh food as she could while the ship was in orbit. Her crew appreciated her efforts as did I. I felt stupid going around suspecting everyone. I took another sip the taste of the coffee a reminder of the planet I was born on a home I longed to go back to. I t was a hopeless fantasy as long as the Black Stripes still remained. I finished drinking the coffee. “Thanks,” I said to Korja.

She smiled taking the empty mug off me. “Now we wait for dawn.”

I hated this part the wait, I could see why veterans hated this time. I cracked a yawn. “Sorry.” I apologised.

“Grab a meal and get your head down.” It had been a long day and tomorrow looked as if it would be long one again. At least we had the Alliance to back us up this time.

My quarters had been a former storeroom. Wide enough for my bed and little else. The room was as long as my Valkyrie bed and just wide enough for me to slip past and undress in an undignified way half in and out of my bed. I wrestled myself out of my clothes and slipped into bed in my underwear. I’d find something clean in the morning. I don’t know how long I’d slept for, when a hand on my shoulder woke me.

“Commander?” Korja said sounding urgent.

I opened my eyes and jerked up alert and ready for action. “Captain Korja?”

“The TCA commed we have vehicles incoming.”

Whatever dregs of sleep I still had drained away with her statement. “How long?”

“Thirty minutes.” With that she left.

I dressed quickly not bothering to change into anything cleaner. The last thing I strapped on was the holster holding my pistol.

The bunker was a hive of activity as I entered. Korja was directing her Militia to combat positions everyone looked grim. I walked straight to her. She was standing next to the comms console. A Valkyrie sat at it carefully monitoring the screen in front of her one hand on the earpiece on her ear.

“Sit rep?” I asked Korja sounding suitably military.

“TCA have ID the vehicles as MRECVs.”

Or in non-military parlance armoured tracked vehicles that fired missiles. I couldn’t understand why the Confeds gave their equipment such longwinded designations. Whatever they called them it meant problems for us.

“That’s bad?” A dumb question but I had to ask.

“For us yes, we don’t have any heavy weapons to counter them.” Her hand flicked to several of her Militia handling bundles of explosives. “We can do some damage if we can get close enough.” From the sound of it she doubted they could.

There was nothing I could have said to that so I took up my place at the weapons port and looked out.

Dawn had come and plated the bridge in the red glow of sunlight a foreboding of bloodshed to come. Two of those MRECVs drove across the bridge. Clan Bondedottir pennants fluttering from their aerials. For a moment I thought they were going to drive their way through but they halted at least five metres from the border post on the Bondedottir side. I continued watching a flurry of activity at the back of the foremost MRECV. A Valkyrie emerged completely naked her arms held well away from her body almost like a bad computer animation.

“Naked?” I said surprised.

“Yes to show us she is here to talk and to show us she is unarmed,” Korja said to me.

Well there was a first for everything I supposed.

“Commander?” the Valkyrie at the comms console called out. “Bunker One says that they want to speak to whoever is in charge.”

“That would be you,” Korja volunteered me.

“I’m not Clan.”

“Which is why you’ll be ideal. There been too much bad blood between our Clans.”

I heard the logic in her voice unfortunately the logic part of my mind agreed.

“Ok you win. Just be ready to pull me out if this goes south.”

“Goes south?”

I just sighed and headed out. I was getting a bad feeling about this.

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