CHAPTER 11:KARRASS

A day off! Most of the ships currently docked were either being repaired or modified. He works on disassembling scrapped ships and the are no new vessels scheduled for landing until the following day. Karrass hadn't had a day to himself in a long time. Not since he had first dropped his rank and left the military once and for all.

He went in as usual and reported for duty only to be told he wasn't needed for the day. He quickly finished up his left over work from yesterday and made a brief round to make sure all of the previous day's repairs were on line. He was greeted stiffly be his older subordinates and with admiration by the younger ones. After he had ascertained that all was to his specifications, he headed home.

As he walks, Karrass thought of all the things he could do to amuse himself for the rest of the day. Tahaylik worked for a government higher up, so there was no chance that he would have a moment to spare. He did have other friends, but they were more in the way of bragging buddies and he never had anything to brag about.

Karrass is in too good of a mood to hear other men's exploits. They always talked about the girls that they barely got away with doing. Their favorites were the teenagers. It was a thrill to have a girl that was off limits. They were almost as much fun as their superiors' wives. Premarital relations were heavily punishable and the penalty was left up to the father of the girl in question. It never came to the loss of life, but the punishment usually equaled the father's idea of what his daughter's future would have been worth.

I could always do with a little extra sleep, Karrass muses. He weighs the option against finding his friends and sleep wins. Since seeing Mariel on a brief, but regular basis, his opinions about females have changed. He is just thinking that he hasn't seen her at all this week when he catches a movement out of the corner of his eye. Someone is stumbling in his general direction.

He is compelled to stop and watch her valiant struggle to rise. He has no idea who this dirty, ragged girl is or what she is trying to accomplish. He feels profound pity for her, whoever she is, and makes a start towards her to offer his aid. The closer he gets, the worse she looks. It is obvious that she is one of those homeless wretches, family fed to the war machine.

There is something about the way she carries herself (when she isn't falling) that strikes him as familiar. The girl is proud despite her miserable appearance. He stops to ponder this and to ruminate on who she might be. At first, he thinks her to be Mariel, but he dismisses it as wishful thinking.

There's no way she would have come this far on hoof. They live on the completely opposite side of the base. If she had come through the base, surely she would have stopped long enough to say hey. What if the rumor is true and she did run away from home? Surely she would skirt the base to avoid being discovered. He shakes it off. Even if she had run off, her family would have been frantic to find her and would have by now.

If only, Karrass thinks. She is an enchantress and he has been under her spell from the start. Because of her, he would take a chance and help this girl.

He walks over to her. She stares up at him, wild eyed, and abruptly looks down to study a hand. Karrass came to stand just behind her. He notices that one of her ears is cut, making a wedge-shaped slice. She also has a few scratches, but they are obscured by the mass of clotted fur. He can't tell what is blood and what is dirt. Several burrs are also lodged in her fur.

>Hi,> he said gently, >are you alright?>

>Fine,> she answered, obviously lying.

>Do you need help?> Karrass solicited, trying hard not to smile. She crouches down further, trying to hide in the grass.

>No.> She is being very short with him. He doesn't like the fact that she feels like she can be so curt. He is about to do her a favor after all. She is being too familiar with him.

He tries to lean around to see her face, but she anticipates his every move and is ready to parry.

Finally, he has had enough. >Turn around,> he demanded. If she wouldn't comply, he would have to coerce her into showing him her face. After a few more attempts, he gives up completely and reaches for her. She leans away to avoid his hand. Karrass hates to humble her so, but seeing no other way to achieve his objective, he catches her buy the chin with his thumb and forefinger like he would a common trollop. He jerks her face toward them with a neat flick of the wrist.

Her countenance is undeniable.

>Mariel,> he whispers in shock as his hand drops from her face.