Nova (40 page)

No, the question could be encapsulated in a single name that
tumbled over and over in her mind and heart.

Diana
.

Avara unquestionably cared deeply for Diana, had loved her
as a friend and extended family for years, and since becoming lovers, their
relationship had certainly been blossoming to something much more. At another
time, Avara was confident there would have been no question at all as to
whether or not she would be fully committed to Diana and Diana alone. The issue
was, when she considered her relationship with Diana and the very real
possibility of building a life with her, Avara knew in her heart that “
at
another time
” really meant before meeting K’llan Z’arr.

Avara finally admitted to herself that she was afraid;
afraid of K’llan Feeding once more, and
not
because she was scared of
the emotive and spiritual sharing the act would result in. No, she feared that
the link between them would be even further magnified, and with it, the very
present and persistent attraction.

Serros had most certainly not forgotten the expression of
mutual arousal that had occurred the last time, and the taste and touch of
their passionate exchange sprang to the fore of her thoughts with alarming ease.
The reality was, that Avara also knew it would be only too easy during Feeding
to take the exchange a step further.

And what kind of an asshole would that make me?

Despite the lack of formal commitment between herself and
Diana, she knew that if she did let go, if she was sexually intimate with
K’llan before she’d sorted out her murky feelings and spoken to Diana, she’d be
the kind of asshole that wouldn’t be able to look at her own reflection in the
mirror at the start of each day.

Feeling the renewal of some semblance of solid ground, Captain
Serros shook her head slightly and came fully back to the present. “Only with
frequent dunkings. Why do you think I insisted upon the onboard pool on
Excalibur
?
Speaking of which, did you note the scent of water when we awoke?”

“Yes; heavy, yet not like water in the air.”

“Yeah, that was my thought too. I think there may be a water
source relatively nearby, along our current trajectory.”

“Looks like you may get a bath after all, Captain.” Z’arr
teased, face and eyes alight with a humor that bespoke the beauty of the
woman’s soul as much as her physical self.

“It’s important to have dreams, Lieutenant.” Avara responded
with a half–smile, sincerely enjoying the connection she shared with the Vosaia,
despite the more complicated undertones.

“Why don’t we quicken the pace a bit then?”

“My thought exactly.” Serros responded, and they picked up
their fast walk to a determined jog.

It was clear that their Arca SPs’ had not led intuition or
senses astray when, after five or so more hours of travel, the two heard the
ringing rush of water over rock. With deliberate care they made their way
through a particularly thick patch of thorny bramble and tumble–stones until they
found themselves at the edge of a steep plateau and sight matched sound and
scent.

Before them was one of the most spectacular nature–wrought
sights Avara had ever observed. Spanning a length as long as the eye could see
and with a width of well over five miles, was a massive water–cut ravine. Enormous
walls of exposed strata shot down at least two miles below them and proudly
framed brilliant, turquoise waters that tumbled towards the east.

Low cataracts were visible along the waterway’s track. Here
and there, green defiantly speared rust and lighter mauve colored rock and loose
earth along the river’s edge. Heat shimmered off stone like some sort of divine
blessing, and the buzzing of nearby insects blended with the insistent murmur
of the waters below them.  

Drinking in the magnificent panorama before them, without
even thinking about the action, Avara reached and found K’llan’s hand. The
Vosaia’s fingers tightened within her own as the two stood together without
speaking.

“Looks like you are indeed going to get your bath and swim.”
K’llan finally remarked several minutes later, interrupting the spell of beauty
that the vista had laid over them both.

“Seems so.”  Looking beyond the loveliness of the view,
Avara added a moment later, “The canyon is also going to slow us. It’s got to
be two miles down, then we have to cross and make our way up again on the other
side.”

“It will not be easy.” K’llan affirmed. “Alternatives?”

“Mm. No matter what, we’re going to have to cross at some
point to reach the outpost. Why don’t we head up a mile or so and see if we can
find a more agreeable place to make our crossing? Shouldn’t put us too off–course.”

“Very well.”

As it had seemed so natural to do so, it was really only then
that Avara realized she was still holding K’llan’s hand. Almost reluctantly,
Serros released her grip, then nodded towards the more open edge of the
canyon’s cliff–side that they were standing upon. “Might as well begin.”

A little more than a mile and a half later, the two found a
promising, if narrow, switch–back trail that plunged down the canyon’s side. Probably
a once active and now dead tributary that was initially formed by the same
ancient, proterozoic, strata–uplift that had fashioned the main canyon gorge
itself. As they had spied a four toed, padded imprint in the pebbly soil, the
trail was clearly used by some form of animal life.

After a brief discussion, Serros and Z’arr began the decent
down the path, carefully choosing their steps and foot placement in the
dangerously loose sediment. The going was both slow and quite strenuous, and
despite their best efforts, more than once they found themselves skating downhill
in a barely controlled slip–slide of rock and sand.

By late afternoon they took a pause for rest in a small
gully and, scanning their progress and remaining distance, Avara noted that
they had made it about half–way down the cliff–side. The sound of the waterway
below them was no longer a gentle murmur but a muted roar, and the smell of
water washed away most other scents except for sun–baking rock.

The generous swallow of hydro–fluid Avara consumed was a particularly
welcome respite from exertion and the pounding heat. Sweat streamed down the
back of her neck and tracked maddeningly into her eyes. It was a constantly
returning nuisance that was only slightly more irritating than the dust and
grime that chaffed at her skin at all clothing contact–points.

Feeling a prickle of unease, Avara returned her canteen to
her harness attachment a moment after K’llan. They were more than a little
exposed on the steep and ridiculously narrow path upon which they moved, and
the reality made her uncomfortable.

Noting the position of the triplet of suns, Avara turned to
K’llan and declared, “We need to reach the bottom before the day is out.”

“Agreed. Spending the night huddled on a rock the size of a toboggan
does not seem the wisest course.” Z’arr responded, her opinion regarding the
lack of appeal at the idea clearly reverberating in her voice.

“Let’s con…” Avara’s words were lost as the
zip–ping
of bullet fire spliced through the canyon with a deafening crack that bounded
throughout the natural chasm’s walls. The first shot was followed by another
even as the duo dropped down into their gully.

K’llan’s cry of pain tore at Avara’s heart like shrapnel
from a grenade blast. Casting a frantic gaze at her companion, Avara could see
a bloom of blood spill along her neck like paint down a white–washed wall. Pistol
already drawn and held at the ready, Avara grabbed K’llan’s shoulder and
literally hauled her closer with a single heave, pulling Z’arr in–between her
body and the scant rock–cover they possessed. Two more shots cried through the
air and sparks flared briefly to life from durexium bullets striking surrounding
stone.

Drawing her own pistol, K’llan rasped through gritted teeth,
“I am fine Avara, just grazed.”

Captain Serros felt a soul–infusing rush of relief even as she
scanned for their attackers. Based on the pattern of fire, she was certain the use
of the plural was correct. The heat of the day making thermal vision less than effective,
Avara accessed her both her SP and TXL to enhance her visual range to an extent
and acuity equal to the most advanced binoculars on the market today.

Yet again, a third chorus of shots echoed, the bullets
missing where her foot had been just a split–second before.

There!

Three Karukai were positioned behind a stony outcropping
across the gorge, about a mile away and half again above Serros and Z’arr.
Zooming in with a thought, Avara caught a glimpse of a rifle barrel and the
determined, crimson–eyed gaze of a woman with a dark–scarf wrapped around a
bare head. Right before she pulled the trigger.

Scarf–woman’s shot missed again as Avara hastily ducked once
more behind their shelter. “Three across the gorge, one o’ clock and twenty–six
hundred feet above; Karukai.”

“Based on the array of shots, there must be more of them.”
K’llan whispered, fingering her trigger in anticipation. Her neck was still
bleeding freely, but as she had said, it did appear to be mostly a
superficially wound.

“Agreed. Let’s even the odds a bit.” With the comment,
Serros deftly snatched one of the K–Grenades affixed to her bandoleer and made
to thumb the activation button.

Knowing what she wanted without having to be told, K’llan
offered a grim smile of approval and then quickly moved to the side of their
shelter and fired off several rounds.

Predictably, the Karukai reacted by ducking lower, giving
Avara the time she needed to call upon her DSA and pour every last iota of
strength she had into a single arm–throw reminiscent of a pitcher tossing a
fast–ball.

With the speed of a launcher, the grenade soared through the
air to unerringly strike into the outcropping the three hid behind. The resultant
explosion of the strike rocketed through the canyon with the deafening boom of
a starship battery and almost instantly, a cascade of super–heated rock burst
into the air and then spilled down the cliff face as if smote from the earth by
a giant out of myth made real.

Thanks to her SP, Avara clearly heard the screams of the
three Karukai as rock and kobalt tore into their bodies and launched them
tumbling down the cliff–side to smack into water–kissed sediment and rapids
below.

“I don’t see any others, but there were.” Avara announced a
few minutes later after a series of careful scans across, below, and to both
sides of the canyon. “Too bad we don’t have any hand–drones.” Their supply had
been melted along with half their arms and their armor in the
TS
Ardent’s
explosion.

“True. I do not see any targets either. Meaning, we are in
somewhat of a situation.” A frown tugged at the corners of K’llan’s naturally
blue–blushed lips.

“Yep. Whether we pick our way up or down, we’ll be nothing
short of fish in a barrel for them to just nick off at will.” Serros remarked,
withdrawing the Salu–Salve spray from her first aid kit.

“We could wait for nightfall.” Z’arr suggested as the Shield
used her fingertips to gently turn K’llan’s head for a better angle and then
apply the spray to the neck–wound. The coagulant immediately stopped the
bleeding and Avara could feel the Vosaia’s relief as the numbing agent of the medicine
kicked in.

Heads close and her fingers tingling at the contact, Avara
found herself locked in place by glittering, violet eyes. She fought the sudden
urge to cancel the spare space that separated them and close her mouth upon
K’llan’s.

Adding to the weight of the moment, Avara could empathically
read the same sentiment vibrating forth from the other woman, coupled with a sense
of loaded yet surprisingly patient invitation.

Damn! What the Hell is wrong with me? I
never
lose
focus like this, smack in the middle of a dangerous mission scenario.

“Um, I don’t think… I don’t think our chances would be
significantly improved by waiting for nightfall, especially if any are Arcas. Or
even just have binocs.” Serros finally managed to say.

“Yes, quite true. Where does that leave us then?” K’llan
responded, and Avara could feel a flash of self–directed irritation bounce
across their link.

She feels it as well.

Shifting her focus fully to the task at hand, Avara felt a
rakish grin pull at her mouth. “Well, I’m thinking we use our Arca DSA’s to
increase our speed, agility, and ability to handle a jump.”

“But, Avara, the distance to the bottom will still be too
great, even for you as an Arca Savant.” Serros could hear real apprehension in
Z’arr’s voice as her mind tackled the scenario.

“Not if we both activate K–Shields.”

K’llan half laughed and half snorted in response. “You are
not jesting, are you? No, of course not. I wonder if all Humans are as insane,
or if it really is just you.”

“Depends who you ask, I suppose.”

“Mm. More creative expression, then? There’s not even glass
involved.” Z’arr’s tone was one of fond exasperation.

“I don’t like to limit myself.”

“I’m sure. Well, as I cannot think of a better alternative,
your particular brand of ‘creative expression’ seems to be rubbing off on me.”

“Excellent! My plan is coming together nicely then.” Serros
quipped as she secured the med kit and checked the rest of her gear. “Even
though we will have only a minute or so protected by our K–Shields, with a few
well timed jumps, we should be able to make the water and then speed ourselves
far enough away to safely manage the climb up.”

Also inspecting her equipment to ensure that she wouldn’t
lose any on the way down, Z’arr warned, “The timing will be quite tricky.”

“But doable; main thing is we can’t lose one another.”