Sunset in Silvana (Da'ark Nocturne Book 1) (19 page)

All this had taken some time, and Tanya was beginning to cramp up, but as her left thigh began to spasm, she became aware that Slimmest had stretched out alongside it, purring intensely.  Her muscles relaxed and a feeling of mild euphoria seeped over her.

When the search was complete, the troops reassembled and returned to their vehicle, where they sat around waiting until the mechanic deemed it was ready to depart.  There was a slightly unhealthy whine from the hovercraft’s engine when it was started, but it managed to raise itself uncertainly on its skirts and limp away down the valley, escorted by the hoverbikes.

“I think we should go back now,” Tanya whispered to Iain, as soon as it was out of sight, but he shook his head.

“We need better intel,” he told her.  “You go back – I’ll take it from here.”

“Be careful – if you get caught, we’ll all be for it.”

“Trust me.”

A thought struck her.  “I do.  You know, you seem different now you’re yourself again.  The rest of us have changed a little, but you seem to have a completely new personality.  A bit more serious, but definitely an improvement.”

“I feel different,” he said pensively, “almost as if ‘Ivan’ wasn’t the real me.”

“It wasn’t,” she said. “That was one of the things I discovered back at the Medical Centre. You were given a different drug to the rest of us – Methaqualude.  It affected your personality.”

“Hmm…  That makes sense. I remember this medical I had some years back – they warned me at the time that I was allergic to most hypnotic drugs.  Perhaps the security guys felt they had no choice.  Anyway, I feel like myself now – not that I didn’t before…  Now, give me any money you’re carrying.  I might need it.”

Tanya raised an eyebrow, but he just gave her a crooked smile.  She passed him all the cash she had on her, and turned to crawl back up the slope.

:
Keep an eye – and your nose – out for anything we can use to supplement our supplies,
: she sent to Slimmest as they made their way slowly and carefully back towards the cave.

They slithered up the slope, but had only found a few wild asterberries and a handful of sage-grass by the time they neared the path up the cliff.  Tanya had resigned herself to finding nothing really useful when Slimmest sent :
There’s something in here.
:

Tanya looked around and saw the cat sitting by a large thicket.  :
More fruit?  Or perhaps some edible roots?
: she asked. 

:
No,
: the cat sent.  :
Fresh meat – very tasty.
:

:
I’ll go round to the other side so I’m hidden from the village,
: Tanya told her.  :
You chase it out that way and I’ll try to catch it.
:  She crept around the thicket, trying not to disturb their prey, detecting the pungent scent of ammonia as she did so.

Expecting something the size of a squirrel, or at the most, a small goat, she knelt and drew her knife as she heard a rustling in the undergrowth.  The bushes parted.  She raised her knife – and was confronted by a massive, disgruntled boar with red eyes and long curved tusks.

For what seemed an age, they watched each other. 
Dammit,
she thought,
I’m no match for that thing.
  She moved her free hand slowly toward her holster.

The hog pawed the ground, and shook its snout.

Perhaps I can get it to leave me alone.
Tanya sent out waves of calming thought, but the boar appeared no more gruntled than before. She sighed. 
Someone has to pay for disturbing its ablutions – and I’ve been elected.

The animal threw back its head, gave a loud squeal, and launched itself at Tanya.

Had she not been psionically talented, Tanya would have been badly gored and trampled.  As it was, she did the only thing she could: she blurred.  The boar seemed to slow almost to a standstill as she drew her pistol and fired three times in quick succession.  The bullets flew lazily between those piggy little eyes and buried themselves in the animal’s brain.

Wild boars, though, are easier to kill than to stop, and this one was too stupid to realise that it was already dead.  On it came.

Tanya tried to dive out of its way, but, despite her inhuman speed, getting her body to move took just too long, and, as the carcase passed her, its right tusk opened a large gash in her thigh.  Its final revenge complete, the boar collapsed in the dust and lay still.

As Tanya cursed under her breath and tried to stem the bleeding, Slimmest wandered up and looked at her with wide, innocent eyes.  :
My mistress would have brain-blasted the brute...
: she began, with a degree of self-satisfaction.

“Your mistress isn’t here,” Tanya said aloud through gritted teeth.

The cat gave a pitying look, and Tanya became aware of a glow beneath her furry chin.

“Thank you, little sister,” Tanya said as the agony abated, “but please, next time, warn me.”

:
I shall have to make allowances,
: the cat sent as she sat down next to Tanya.

Something suddenly struck Tanya.  :
You healed my wrist, didn’t you?
:

:
In a way.  I do have a talent for healing, but not as good as yours, so I added yours to mine.
:

:
You could do that?  Despite the drug?
:

:
The drug doesn’t remove your talents – it just stops you using them.  And I could only do it because we’ve done that sort of thing together before.
:

:
We have?  When?
:

:
You’ll remember in time.  Now, shall I go and get help?
:

:
Yes, please.  I’ll need aid with skinning this carcass, if nothing else.  ‘Talk’ to Bartes, and ask him to bring my medical kit, and something to put the meat in, but tell him to be careful, and to wait until he’s certain no-one’s going to come and investigate.  I did make rather a lot of noise.
:

:
As you wish.
:  The cat got up and trotted back towards the hidden camp. 

While Tanya waited in trepidation, hoping that her gunshots hadn’t drawn anyone’s attention, she cut away the ruined leg of her overalls and tore it into two strips.  She folded one into a pad and bound it over her wound with the other.  It seemed that the villagers were still too stirred up by their recent visitors to show any curiosity about the noise she’d made, and she remained undisturbed.

It was some time before Slimmest returned with Bartes in tow.  “What
have
you been doing?” he asked as he set Tanya’s medical kit down beside her.

“I thought we needed some fresh meat,” she replied.

“It seems like this beast had the same idea,” he said wryly, indicating the dead porker.  “Do you need any help with your wound?”

Tanya shook her head.  “The antibiotic I just injected should take care of any possible infections, and this stimulant will keep me going for now.  Once I’ve put a clean pad over the gash, we can butcher this damned hog.”

They hacked and slashed at the dead animal’s body – Tanya with perhaps slightly more violence than was absolutely necessary – and soon filled the containers that Bartes had brought.

“What shall we do with the rest of it?” Bartes asked.  “We’ve got all we can use.”

“I’ll take the tusks,” Tanya said.  “They should prove useful for barter.  We’ll have to bury the rest to conceal that we’ve been here.”

“We could always just hide it into the thicket.  I don’t think the locals come up here that often – at least I don’t see any signs of it – or of any scavengers that might give the game away.  I doubt anyone will find the carcase before we’re long gone.”

“You’re right,” she conceded, and helped him push the remains deep into the scrub and erase the signs of their presence.

The wound was still painful, so Bartes put Tanya’s arm around his shoulders and helped her limp back to their hiding place.  Anoushka was waiting anxiously just inside the net, and helped Tanya to sit down against the cave wall.  As she settled herself, she looked around: Bartes and Anoushka both seemed sympathetic, but Joseph’s look was amused, and RD’s smirk was frankly insulting.  When the latter opened his mouth to comment, she froze him with a look.  “Don’t – say – a – word,” she told him.  “And, yes, it does bloody hurt.”

Once the pain had subsided to a dull throb, Anoushka helped her change out of her ruined overalls.  A brief check of her thigh revealed that – mainly thanks to Slimmest – the bleeding had largely stopped, so she re-dressed the wound yet again, put on fresh clothes and re-joined the rest of the party.

Iain waited until the furore had died down before walking into the village as if he had business being there.  He received a few curious looks as he made his way to the tavern, but with an affectation of nonchalance he pushed open the door and strode straight in.  The atmosphere was agitated when he entered, but the animated chatter dwindled to silence as he walked up to the bar.

It was similar to so many working bars on so many planets: smoky, with grimy windows and indistinct pictures on the wall, including a map of Silvana.  Iain noted with interest that the flag on the corner of the map was that of the Telphanian province.

“What’s wrong, Comrades?” he asked.  “Never seen a logger before?”

“Sorry, my friend,” the barman said.  “We’ve just had a surprise visit that’s left us all a mite on edge.”  Indeed, at that point several of the patrons jumped slightly at a distant but distinctive sound.

Hell’s teeth,
Iain thought,
that was a pistol.  I hope nothing’s gone wrong. 
His mind raced. 
Whatever’s happened, I need to distract everyone here from investigating.
  “I saw them leave as I was hiking down the valley,” he said loudly.  “They looked loaded for bear.”

There was a mutter of agreement.  “We haven’t seen so many of those thugs – sorry, protectors of the people – since the invasion – uh, liberation.”  The barman reinforced his words by spitting into the sawdust on the floor.

“What were they after?”

“Wouldn’t tell us, would they, lads.”  Another mutter.   “Anyway, what can I do for you, friend?  I haven’t seen you round here before, have I?”  His look, while not precisely suspicious, was definitely wary.

“Well, it’s this way: me and my team have been working just upriver, and we’ve had pretty good fortune this trip.  We’re looking at a pretty hefty bonus when we get back to Tureskow, but that’s a mite far away, and we got a hankering for a little premature celebration.  The boss sent me down here to get some liquor, and I persuaded him to give me a little extra so’s you good people could toast our luck, so it’s drinks all round, Comrades.”

“That’s real neighbourly of you,” the barman said, and the atmosphere relaxed markedly.  “Though I wouldn’t use the term ‘comrade’ around here, friend.  People might get the wrong idea about where your loyalties lie – if you know what I mean.”

“Right – friend.”  Iain nodded slowly.  “You can call me Jan.”

“And I’m known as Frank.”

As the denizens of the bar gathered round Iain and collected their drinks, an elderly man peered closely into his face.  “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before, friend Jan?” he asked, and Iain inwardly cursed those damned posters, stamps, magazines – all the things that plastered his likeness before the public – a day’s stubble was hardly an effective disguise.

“I don’t think you could have, my friend,” Iain told him.  “I’ve never been up this way before.”

The old man shrugged, and took his ale back to his seat, muttering and shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t worry about old Michael,” said a voice on Iain’s left, “his memory’s not what it was.  He’s always seeing people from his past – some of whom have been dead for years.”  Iain turned and looked straight into the face of the portly security sergeant he’d last seen in the village square.

Somehow, he managed not to panic.  His heart threatened to burst from his chest, but he managed a smile and, without a tremor, replied, “Faulty memory is a problem we all face at times, Comrade Sergeant.  Why, my boss frequently forgets to pay me – or would if I let him.”

The sergeant laughed, and Iain joined him, though more in relief than in humour.

“Anyway,” Iain added, “I have one of those faces that a lot of people seem to recognise.  I’ve been mistaken for other people many a time.  I’ve even been confused with one of those Heroes of Pregeor – as if a common logger like me were anything like one of those pampered prima donnas.  I have to
work
for my living, let me tell you.”  There was a burst of sympathetic laughter, and one of the other drinkers slapped him on the back.  “But it’s a little surprising to see someone of your obvious importance here at this time of day, Comrade Sergeant,” he continued.

The sergeant cocked an eye-brow and wagged his finger at Iain like a schoolmaster.  “Now, what did Frank say about using that word?”

“But I thought…”

“Harry’s one of us,” the barman interjected.

“Yeah, well, anyway, I needed a drink after the visit of that lieutenant and his goons,” the Sergeant added.

“I’m surprised that they weren’t friendlier, at least to a fellow officer like yourself.”

The sergeant snorted.  “Huh.  They were as friendly as wild boar, and about as vicious.  City-bred bastards – I’m sure my words won’t leave this bar?”

“I’ve no time for them either,” Iain assured him, and others murmured their assent.  “That’s why I work out here.  Security men like yourself are much easier to deal with – you understand how to maintain order with the minimum of officiousness.”

The sergeant nodded his head.  “That’s what I told His Officership, but he hauled me over the coals because a couple of the villagers’ papers were a little out of date.  Now I’ll get a letter of reprimand from headquarters, and that’ll mean I can say goodbye to any prospect of a pay raise this year.”  He sighed heavily.

“You poor fellow,” Iain commiserated.  “Why don’t you join
us
?  Plenty of fresh air and healthy exercise – we make a reasonable living and answer to nobody but each other, most of the time.  The boss is a bit of a grump, but all in all it’s a pretty good life.”

“Don’t you go tempting Harry away from here,” the barman said.  “Like I told you, he’s one of us.”

“Yeah,” one of the other drinkers added.  “When the damned Zelynans took over they sent one of their own people to ‘supervise’ our little community.  Unfortunately, he had a little ‘accident’.”  There was a chorus of sniggers.  “They tried to foist another foreigner on us, and by some strange coincidence, he didn’t survive long either.  We’re too remote and unimportant to waste a third man on, so they got the point and appointed a local – Harry, here.  We really don’t want to go through all that again.”

Iain laughed, and Harry smiled and shook his head and hefted his considerable belly.  “I haven’t got the figure for ‘healthy exercise’, and anyway, I’ve only a few more years to retirement.”

“Well,” Iain said, “at least have another drink on me.  Do
you
know what that surprise visit was about?”

“They wouldn’t tell me.”  The sergeant bristled indignantly.  “They rousted us all out, checked our papers and for some reason, they stuck their fingers up our noses.”

“They seemed to be searching all the buildings very thoroughly as well,” Iain said.

“From the time they took, they must have.  They can’t have been looking for the usual sort of stuff, though, or a number of the people who live in this village would be in trouble.”  Glancing round, he caught the eyes of several of the drinkers, all of whom looked away in mild embarrassment.  “As would I for turning a blind eye to their little – frailties, shall we say?  Now all I’ve got to do is traipse around the outlying farms with these new security papers.”  He waved a sheaf of documents.

“So I suppose my mates and I will need some of those,” Iain said.

“I’ve got plenty of spares, enough for you – and them as well.  Let me know where you’ll be working next week, and I’ll come out and process you all.”

“We’re a couple of miles up the river at the moment,” Iain lied, “but we’ll be heading back for Tureskow after we’ve partied a little, so I wouldn’t bother yourself overmuch – we’ll get our new papers when we get back.  Mind you, it might help if one of us had them.  Perhaps you could process me now?”

“Why not?  Let me have your old papers and I’ll copy over the details onto one of these new sets.”

Iain feigned checking his pockets.  “Damn!  I must have left them back at the tractor.  You don’t often need them out in the woods, and I’m still not used to having to carry them.  Oh well – never mind.”

The sergeant shrugged.  “Don’t worry about that, friend Jan.  We’ve shared a drink and a confidence or two, so I know I can trust you.  We’ll do it from scratch: now, what’s your full name?”