She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 24

Devaki knew she'd overstepped the boundaries on her mission. She fully expected to return to Bamako and be dressed down by her sergeant. Or have a note placed in her permanent record by one of the sub commandant secretaries. And be threatened with some shit duty for weeks.

Instead, she was flown not to Bamako but to Naurasathanas and the new temple base. She was ushered directly to Lakora Tawlin's office to be confronted by both Lakora and Captain Ganaka.

"Do you have any idea what a sensitive situation this is?" Captain Ganaka raged as soon as she presented herself. "By the Watcher, what did you think to achieve by rogue actions?"

He went on like this for some time. Zie had never been dressed down with such vehemence. Lakora watched on, hir face a mask. That worried Devaki far more than Ganaka's words.

He was pissed. He wanted her off this mission, sent back to the consortium. Zie had seriously miscalculated how angry he would be.

If Lakora agreed zie might find hirself dismissed from the order, sent...

They could dismiss hir but they couldn't send hir away, zie decided. Zie would be a civilian. Zie didn't care.

That was a lie, zie did care. It made hir heart ache to think of being thrown out of the kurgara.

But zie knew zie had done the right thing. Zie would go back as a civilian, keep helping Gabriel and his grandmother.

When Ganaka finally wound down, Lakora simply thanked him for his opinion. "Now I will speak to my kurgara alone."

There was a short staring contest. Ganaka clearly felt he had the right to stay, to see what sort of discipline Lakora was going to dispense. But braver men had tried to intimidate Lakora and Ganaka faired no better than the others. He gave a curt nod and left, still angry.

Devaki hoped that the pointed reminder about hir being Lakora's kurgara bode well for hir fate but Lakora's face was still a mask.

"Speak," Lakora said.

The words came in a rush, Devaki feeling more nerves than zie had felt in a long time. Zie told about the boy, hir trip and seeing the ghetto.

"Why?"

Devaki swallowed. She tried to channel Lakora's own calm self-assurance. "It was the right thing to do."

"This will likely be a long conflict. Do you think one backpack of rations and supplies will protect and feed an entire city of protestors?"

Devaki felt crushed. Zie stared at the ground and shook hir head, no.

"No," Lakora said. "They will need a lot more than that. A steady stream of supplies. I hope your contact can handle that."

Devaki risked a glance at Lakora. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sure he can."

"Good. You will be assigned to inventory, Bamako station. Make sure you are not seen off base, not one centimeter. And make sure the military officers know just how terrible your new assignment is, how pissed you are about it. Ganaka will wish to hear."

"Of course," Devaki replied, relief flooding through hir.

"You will be inventorying medical supplies, food and protective devices only."

"Of course, ma'am. I agree completely." 

This is the end of Part One of the story. We will continue next week with Part Two, Recruits. I hope you are enjoying the story and see you next week.