“Are one already,” Aria pointed out. “Besides. Rather be prisoner of war and alive, or left on uncharted planet and dead?”
“Ah...Point taken.” Jack thought for a few more moments. “One other thing. How do I know you won't just kill me when you've got help on the way?”
Aria looked genuinely surprised by that question. “Kill you? Why?”
Jack cocked an eye at her. “Uh...You've already threatened to do that several times. I wouldn't call it out of the realm of possibility.” He crossed his arms. “I've got to know that I'm going to be alive at the end of this little journey.”
The Ailian leaned back from him, smiling again. Jack realized that she was appraising him again, as though seriously considering the idea that killing him would be a possibility. She touched a hand to her nose where he'd bashed her earlier, brushing away a small bit of crusted blood. Then she crossed her arms, nodding to him.
“You have spirit,” she pronounced, repeating what she'd said earlier in the morning. “You are not soldier, but still a good fighter, I think. You have fear, but you are also smart. This is good.” Aria leaned forward, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye. “You help me, assist me well, and I not kill you. You trust me on this, yes?”
Jack snorted with laughter. “I don't think I trust you.” As Aria's face darkened, he held up a hand, cutting off the low, threatening growl that she was beginning to make. “But you sound sincere to me, and at this point I really don't see any other options. I'd rather not die alone, so I guess we'll go together.” He smirked. “It can't be any worse than hoofing it by myself.”
Aria's face lightened again, and she grinned. “Good choice.” She reached out a hand to him, crooking her fingers. Sharp claws extended, and she hooked them around the cord binding his feet together, cutting it and freeing his legs. Aria stood up, turning her back to him and going to the packs. Jack stretched his legs out in front of him, working the soreness out of his muscles. With a grunt he stood as well, following her.
“Here,” Aria said, handing him the smaller of the two backpacks. “Carry this. Not too heavy, is it?”
Jack grabbed the pack from her and hefted it onto his back, placing the straps over his shoulders. The bag was brutally heavy, but he thought he could manage it, and it would get lighter as their trip went on and they began using up the supplies. Anyway, he didn't feel like irritating the Ailian by complaining about it, and complaints wouldn't do any good. “No. I can handle this.”
“Good,” Aria said. She strapped the larger bag to her back easily. Over one shoulder she slung Jack's rifle, securing it to her backpack with a clip so that it wouldn't swing as she walked. She picked up her own, larger rifle, holding it across her chest. Jack waited expectantly.
“Aren't you forgetting something?” he prompted her.
Aria pondered that for a moment. “No. Not think so.” She checked herself over, making sure that her pack was secure on her back and checking her weapon to ensure that it was loaded. The Ailian shrugged as all seemed well. “Seem fine to me.”
Jack patted the empty holster on his belt. “Don't I at least get my gun back?”
The laughter from Aria in response to his question echoed around the clearing. Her laugh was rather melodious, with an undertone of a purring, rumbling noise. He would have found the sound pleasant if it wasn't being made in such a condescending manner. She shook her head at Jack as though he was a simple child making a ridiculous request of his parent. “Of course not.”
“Why not? Who knows what we'll find out there? I need to be able to defend myself.”
Aria shrugged again, still chuckling. “Like you say. Not trust you.” She thumped him on the back, nearly sending him sprawling on the ground from the weight of his backpack. “You carry supplies, I carry weapons. Not worry. We stay together. You get in trouble, I protect us.”
Jack wasn't sure he liked that at all, but he wasn't really in a position to argue the point. “Um...If you say so, Aria.”
“Very good, Jack. We go now, yes?”
“Just one question before we go.”
Aria sighed, tapping her foot impatiently. “Quick question, I am hoping.”
“Yeah.” Jack adjusted the strap on his backpack, taking in the slack so it sat more securely on his back. He looked up at her. She really was quite a bit larger than him, especially since she was carrying a pack nearly twice the size of his. “If I'd said no, what would you have done?”
Aria looked down at him, grinning widely. “What you think? Smart soldier does not leave enemy alive at her back.”
Smirking, Jack nodded. “I had a feeling you'd say that.”
Slapping his back again, Aria started walking, heading in the direction of where her ship supposedly would be. “Come. Midday soon, I think. Will be hot. Need to be moving.”
Jack watched her as she walked off, her tail swishing with the sway of her hips. She seemed a lot more confident than he was, or maybe she was just good at hiding her true feelings. The Ailian had to be just as nervous as he was, even though she'd obviously seen far more of war than he had. Anyone would be apprehensive going off into unknown territory. Both of them far from home, and far from anyone who could give them aid. Jack shook his head.
I just know I'm going to regret this.
Hitching up his pack, he hurried to catch up to the briskly walking female, as they left the clearing and headed into the alien forest. Off in the distance, he heard a long, dull roar.
- 3 -
“Hang on...Gotta...Gotta sit for a minute...”
Turning her head to look, Aria gave a quiet growl of frustration as she halted for the second time. She walked the few paces back to where Jack had taken a seat, perched on a large rock in a spot shaded by the thick canopy of trees overhead. Jack swung his pack off his back, setting it on the ground next to him. He took off his hat, then wiped the sheen of sweat off of his forehead before putting it back on.
“Second time you stop today,” Aria said to him. She sat down on another rock near him. Jack noticed that she wasn't even breathing hard. “I maybe regretting bringing you along.” Aria laid her rifle against her seat, taking her tail in one hand and picking a few stray bits of dry leaf out of her fur.
Jack withdrew a water bottle from his bag and unscrewed the cap, and he took a long pull. “Look, Aria, you might be used to this kind of thing,” he said, “but basic training was ten years ago for me, and since I retired from the military I never really did much in the way of camping or hiking. I'm just a little out of conditioning.”
The Ailian glared at him. “You make excuses. You show me conditioning just fine this morning.” She pointed a finger at her nose, which was still slightly swollen from where he'd headbutted her. “You just lazy, I think.”
“I'm not as strong as you, and you know it,” Jack insisted. He thought it not an unfair point to make. “You can think whatever you want. This planet is hot and it's muggy. You can't drive me like a slave and expect me to not need to rest every now and then.”
“Every now and-!” Aria waved a hand back towards the direction they'd come from, exasperated. “We walk less than four hours! You stop twice.”
“And I'm carrying a pack that's got to weight a hundred pounds at least,” Jack reminded her. He took another swig of water. Though slightly warm by now, it was nonetheless refreshing. “Be thankful I've
only
stopped twice.” He wiped his mouth, putting his water bottle back, then jumped as he heard a rustling in a nearby clump of bushes. “What the hell was that?”
“Quiet,” Aria said. She picked up her rifle slowly, aiming it carefully at the bushes.
The rustling continued for several seconds, and then the bushes parted. Aria started to squeeze the trigger, but she stopped when she saw what had been causing the noise. A small, four-legged creature emerged from the vegetation, one of a species that they had seen several times since starting into the alien forest. The animal was about a meter long with a short tail and long black fur. It had a flat face, and a small pointed tooth protruded from each corner of its mouth. Though they seemed to be curious, Jack and Aria had quickly discovered that they were harmless. The ones they had seen had been more concerned with nipping leaves from the low plants than bothering them.
As they watched, the creature slowly approached Aria, sniffing the air and gazing at her with shiny black eyes. It got within perhaps two feet of her before it stopped, its nose twitching. Baring her teeth, Aria growled at it, and the little animal's fur stood on end before it turned around and shot off into the woods. Jack grinned, a little amused by the display.
“That wasn't very nice of you. Poor little thing.”
Aria turned to him. “Better for us. Small animals attract big animals. Haven't seen big animals yet, would prefer not to.” She stood back up. “We start walking again, now, yes?”
Standing up as well, Jack sighed. He picked his pack up and strapped it back on. “I suppose. Lead the way, your majesty...”
******
The forest had grown dark before Aria finally called a halt. Jack was wiped out, and he was grateful that he could finally take a real rest. His relief was short-lived, however, because Aria immediately put him to work setting up an overnight campsite for them. While she gathered up some fallen wood to build a fire, Jack put together the tent and dug out a small hole as a makeshift fire pit. After the wood was gathered, Jack got the fire going and they both sat down to eat.
The meal, as each meal they'd had since setting off, was packaged rations mostly from cans. As much as human technology had advanced through the centuries, Jack had to admit that one area which was still lacking was military food. At least the canned varieties were marginally better than the cardboard-packaged meals-ready-to-eat, commonly known as MREs. Jack thought that “meal” was a rather strong term to apply to the MREs. Plastic tubes of peanut butter, bags of beef jerky, and pouches of crumbly pound cake weren't his idea of fine cuisine. As they ate, he was about to comment on it when Aria beat him to it.
“Ta'kri...
,” she muttered, looking in disgust at the unappetizing mush she was forcing herself to eat. “Human food not good at all. No wonder you all so short.” Her pointed ears twitched at a noise off in the forest, but whatever it was didn't seem to be close and she turned her attention back to her meal.
Jack shrugged. “Well, it's military food. It's meant to fill you up, not pleasure your taste buds.” He choked down another bite. “I imagine it's the same with the Ailian military.”
Aria stared at him for a few seconds, then she gave a low rumbling chuckle, presenting him with one of her tight little smiles. There was something almost friendly about it. Almost. “True enough, I think.”
For the rest of the meal they ate in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest. Both of them were appreciative of the campfire; while the daytime had been very hot, the night was quickly growing cooler. Jack knew it would be a good idea to keep the fire going all night. Luckily, Aria had gathered enough wood that he figured that wouldn't be a problem.
Swallowing his last bite, Jack set the empty can aside. “You know, ah...there's a question I've been meaning to ask you.”
“Mm?” Aria twitched her tail, looking a little curious. “A question?”
“Yeah.” He crossed his legs. “I was wondering how you learned to speak English. There aren't many humans who can speak Ailian, and I never bothered to try to learn when I was in the service. Not more than a few words I picked up here and there, anyway. But you speak English really well.”
“Oh...” Aria shrugged, and she rubbed the back of her neck. For the first time since he'd met her, she looked a little embarrassed. “Thank you. I not very good, really...”
“No, I'm serious, you speak it a lot better than I would have expected.”
“Thank you,” she said again. Aria took a final bite from her can, then she set it down. If she had any more of the foul mixture, she might be sick. “Well...Sometimes when Ascendancy raids human colony, take prisoners. Force prisoners to teach us language.” She rubbed the back of her neck again. “Need to know language to understand human radio signals. Threaten death if they refuse. Not many say no, yes?”
“...I guess they wouldn't.” The small amount of friendliness that Jack had been starting to feel quickly evaporated. “You Ailians seem to have a talent for threatening to kill someone if they don't do what you want.”
Aria bristled at that, and Jack was taken aback by how vehemently she responded to his words. “And humans have talent for taking what not theirs!”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked. He clenched his hands. “If you're referring to our colonial expansion, we had no idea that any of the planets we colonized were in Ailian space. We didn't even know that there was any other life out there!” He pointed a finger accusingly at Aria. “And your people attacked us without any warning at all.”
“Attack
was
warning!” Aria shot back. “Humans should have left. Instead you keep expanding, keep fighting. We have to take war to next level to protect what is ours!”
“And we had to keep fighting to save our colonists' lives!”
“Pah! Ka'la se te nai!”
Aria stood up, striding quickly past Jack. “Stupid. Is like arguing with child.”
“And where are you going?” Jack called, looking over his shoulder.
“Sleep.” Aria knelt in front of the tent, unzipping the flap. “I stay awake much longer, I do something stupid. Humans make me angry.” She crawled inside and zipped the tent back up, but not before tossing out Jack's sleeping roll. Obviously, she meant for Jack to sleep outside again. As long as that meant Jack wasn't going to have sleep next to an angry tigress, that was just fine with him.
Shaking his head, Jack turned back towards the fire, watching the flames dance as the burning wood crackled. He reached for the pile of firewood and tossed a few more sticks into it. He stared at the conflagration until his eyes started to water, and then he leaned back, tipping over until he was lying on the ground. Jack looked up at the sky through the treetops, where stars were twinkling peacefully.
His thoughts turned to the war, and for the first time in eight years he found himself wondering what his life would have been like if he'd stayed in the Navy. Certainly he wouldn't be in the situation he was in now. Jack smiled as he remembered what life had been like, traveling with his squadron in their escort carrier. The life had been fun, in it's own way. They'd travel from planet to planet, usually along with a transport convoy or some passenger ship carrying minor dignitaries. He'd never had to be in what one would call a dangerous war zone. That hadn't been such a bad time, had it?
The night life for a fighter pilot had been pretty special, too. Every time he walked into a bar in uniform, people had turned to look at him and his fellow pilots, like they were celebrities or something. That was something that hadn't changed since the first human took to the skies in a theater of war. Those who flew craft into combat were seen as daredevils, and like all daredevils their bravery impressed the masses. None of the women who Jack had ever gone home with after a night of drinking had cared that he'd never seen a shot fired in anger. To them, the image and the fantasy had been enough.
I probably could have put in a few more years
, Jack thought as he lay there.
Saved up a little more, qualified for a better pension. Then I wouldn't have had to take a job like the one that got me into this mess...Or at least I could have found better work. A commercial passenger pilot, maybe even a cruise ship captain. Hell, I could have just stayed in for the long haul and gone on to be a fleet officer. Wouldn't that have been something? It could have been Captain Squier, Commander Squier...Admiral Squier? Nah...maybe that's stretching it a little...
Yawning, exhausted from the day, Jack sat back up. He retrieved his bedroll from where Aria had thrown it and brought it over to the fireside. Kicking his boots off, Jack unbuttoned his fatigue shirt, rolling it up to use as a pillow. He laid down next to the fire, making himself as comfortable as he could.
Aria might be pretty abrasive...but I do have to respect that she did this kind of thing for a whole month straight...
******
Perhaps two or three hours later, Jack drifted awake. He sat up, pleasantly surprised that there weren't any giant insects crawling across his face. Looking to the fire, he saw that it had nearly gone out, and the night was growing quite chilly. He got up from his bedroll and walked over to where Aria had stacked the firewood, and he retrieved several large sticks. Jack tossed them onto the fire, using another stick to poke them about until the fire started to build again.
Jack leaned back, propping himself up on his arms, taking a few moments to enjoy the fire's warmth and the quiet of the night. There was no noise from the tent; Aria seemed to be sleeping just as deeply as she had the night before. Not having to deal with her constant threats and verbal abuse came as a relief.
I had a feeling I might regret coming along with her,
Jack said to himself. He laid back on the ground.
But I guess I didn't have much choice, did I? It was either come with her or die.
With an irritated snort, Jack closed his eyes to try to get back to dreamland. The crackling of the fire was soothing, and the cheeping of something that sounded rather like a cricket echoed somewhere in the trees. Even so, Jack found that sleep was coming difficult to him this night. A small rustling noise came from the tent, sounding as though Aria was shifting in her sleep.
“...I need a piss.”
Standing up, Jack walked a ways away from the fire, a short distance into the trees. It was dark there, but a little light from the fire still filtered through. Finding a suitable tree, Jack unzipped his pants and got down to business. An unbelievable sense of relief washed over him. It was amazing how one could forget to see to the baser necessities of life under extreme stress. When he finished, he zipped his pants back up and turned to walk back to the campsite.
A soft noise nearby made him stop, and he turned towards it curiously. Emerging from a small clump of low plants was one of the little black creatures. The light from the fire illuminated its fur, which had a shimmering sheen to it in the darkness. The animal was gazing at Jack with just as much curiosity as he directed towards it. Slowly it started to approach him, moving cautiously with each step.
“Uh...Hey, there, little guy,” Jack said uncertainly. He turned towards the animal, which made it halt. Jack froze, worried that if he moved too quickly he'd set off some sort of defensive behavior. As small as the animal was, Jack still didn't feel like getting into a fight with it. As soon as he stopped moving, however, the animal continued approaching him. It was wagging its short tail back and forth.