She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 18

Åse and Helvig were waiting for them when they got back to the main camp. "Ready to go back?" Jake asked.

"Did you hear?" Åse hissed.

"What?" Jake asked. Chatura and Abioya were with them and Pierre and a half dozen others joined them as they made for the truck, to head back to the worker's camp for the evening meal.

"Devaki," Pierre said, with a knowing nod. "They say zie ran off. Command is pissed."

"Zie doesn't answer to command," Jake said. "Zie is kurgara. They answer to their own command."

Åse gave him a searching look. "What happened? You know, don't you?"

Jake smiled, happy to be the one in the know. He paused in front of the truck and faced the crowd. "I do. Get in, I will tell you on the way back."

They filed up. As Jake reached the cab they were all sitting, watching him expectantly. He swung into the driver's seat. Abioya took the co-pilot seat.

"Let Abioya drive," Helvig said. "So you can spill."

Pierre laughed. "Jake is American. They can drive and talk. They are practically born driving in that country."

"It's not that bad," Jake said. "Just a big country is all. You've got to drive."

"No, no, I read this," Pierre went on with his joke. "Americans are born in cars. The mothers pop them out and shove them in a car seat with their very own steering wheel." There was a smattering of laughter at this.

"Enough," Åse barked. "Devaki? Did zie?"

"Zie went to help some boy," Jake said.

"Said hir mission parameters weren't limited by geography," Abioya said, a measure of pride in his voice. "Right is right whatever side of the border you are on."

"To where?" A voice asked.

Jake thought, trying to remember what the boy had said. "Freetown, I think."

There was a gasp from his audience. "The capital," Pierre said. "They say the president has declared martial law."

"Yeah," Jake said. "The boy said the police and military had his grandma trapped in their ghetto." He chuckled, remember the intense look on the boy's face. "Said Princess Sarasvat needed to come right away."

"Sarasvat herself?" Åse said with a laugh.

"He was very insistent. Was going to give her a talking to, I think, for not helping them sooner," Jake said.

"But what will they do to hir?" Helvig asked. "Devaki that is. If the soldiers catch hir."

One of the consortium workers snorted, not sharing her concern. "Zie is kurgara. What makes you think they will catch hir?"

"Are they that good?" Pierre asked.

"You have that movie with the laser sword guys," Chatura said. "We have kurgara."

"But the kurgara are real," a woman said. "Wanted to be one, once. Then I found out how hard they train, how many biotech enhancements they undergo. No thanks."

"I heard you had one enhancement," another girl purred.

The crowd erupted into nervous laughter. Jake wondered exactly what sort of enhancement she was talking about.

"Kysta!" Helvig barked.

"I believe the Americans say, 'get a room.'" Åse said.

Jake suddenly realized that they were talking about some sexual enhancement. He blushed.

The first woman spoke again, her voice casual. "This is a room. And when Jake gets back to camp, you can all go somewhere else."

"We sleep here," Helvig protested. "Find another."

Pierre shrugged. "I'll sleep like a baby, knowing some hot girl on girl action took place on my bed."

This was greeted by another round of laughter and by Åse hitting him repeatedly with Jake's pillow.

As they climbed out of the truck and made their way towards the mess hall, Åse fell into step beside him. "Seriously though," she said. "What do you think command will do?"

Jake shrugged. "You've seen what they do with enemy soldiers," he said. "Doing work for the common good, housing them in prison barracks."

Åse gave him a sharp look.

Before she could misunderstand further he went on, "I mean if that's what they do with the worst of the worst, what can they do to hir? Zie hasn't hurt anyone."