Calan tried to calm his racing heart. His head pounded with the blood rushing to it, as he swung head downward. His perilous position was made worse by his exhaustion, his limbs trembling from the sheer strain. Finally he heard the troopers move away, but still he waited. When no further sounds came to him, he gritted his teeth and gripped the rope tightly with both hands, while his feet fought for purchase on the slippery rock face. The wind whipped around his lean body, threatening to tear him from his precarious perch. With teeth clenched at the strain, he slowly began to pull himself upwards. His muscles screamed with the pain and it would have been so easy to let go, to stop the pain, but he kept on. He finally reached the top and threw himself over the lip. One hand stiffly released its grip on the rope to scrabble over the rocks, fingertips sliding into cracks and gripping. Another heave brought his upper body over onto horizontal ground. He lay for a moment breathing heavily, and then with another painful heave he dragged his legs up, rolling away from the drop. He lay on his back, chest heaving, eyes closed, sweat cooling on his brow.
Finally he moved again, rolling over with a groan of pain and managed to get to his knees. He looked around and could see no sign of the soldiers. At least they had gone for the moment. He had to get back to the city. Things were going wrong - he could sense it. He didn't know if they had been betrayed, or if the Federation had simply clamped down to try and stop their activities. Either way it was getting dangerous.
He carefully rolled up his rope – what had been his lifeline. Equipment was precious and he wasn't about to leave it behind. He forced himself into a ragged trot; every step painful, jarring his battered and bruised body. His eyes scanned the land around him as he went, searching for danger. He saw none and reached the perimeters of the township. Here he slowed and carefully made his way forward. He found his hidden pack and quickly used some water to wipe the worst of the grime from his face and hands. Then he threw a clean tunic and cloak over his dirty one. He raked fingers through his long hair and tied it back. Now he might just pass in the general population. Camouflaged as such he entered the town and made his way to the rebels' secret quarters. There would be more work to do.
Veril brushed her hair out of her eyes. It was always escaping the tie that held the rest back. The wind simply pulled the loose tendrils and blew them back into her field of vision. She turned to the man next to her. "It's really a lovely place." she said.
Zev grunted and shrugged. "I suppose. It's a lot greener than Betafarl." He looked around also. "Not much to do here though."
"I don't mind," Veril said. "It's nice to have a bit of time free."
"Is Kerran all set?" Zev asked.
Veril nodded. "The last of the cargo was off-loaded this morning and she picked up those components you wanted. Will you be able to get it working now?"
She was referring to a simply reader device Zev was putting together to try and access the delicate and damaged computer parts they had salvaged from Xenon. He had decided it was too risky to use the standard equipment that they had on board and so had slowly bought and built what he thought they could use. They were all eager to find out what, if anything, was on those parts.
"It should do. If it doesn't, I don't know what else to try. Apart from going to some top centre and asking them to read it, which would be a big risk. I would rather not do that."
"Me neither. So when do we go?"
"Kerran said tomorrow. We may as well enjoy a quiet evening before heading off." They both turned and walked back towards the city.
Evening found the three of them in a small eating house. Not the most expensive, but not the cheapest. They weren't poverty stricken so were able to eat well when they set down on a planet.
Veril noticed Kerran glancing fugitively around them, as she had been all night. She leant forward to speak quietly. "What's wrong?" she whispered. Zev also leant forward to hear the exchange.
Kerran quickly looked back towards them. "Nothing." she said hurriedly. Veril cocked her head to one side and waited. Kerran sighed. "Look, honestly, there's nothing wrong. At least that I can see."
"But?" Zev said.
Kerran rubbed the back of her neck and frowned. "I don't know. Just a feeling. I'm all tense as though I'm waiting for something bad to happen." Veril glanced around carefully. The room looked perfectly normal and at peace, yet she trusted Kerran's instincts. "Look, I'm probably imagining it."
"You know you're not." Veril assured her. "Let's assume that you are right. What do you think is going to happen?"
Kerran shrugged and rubbed her face again in an almost nervous reaction. Veril noted this. Whatever was going on was affecting Kerran badly. She wasn't normally the twitchy type.
Kerran then straightened her shoulders and her face set with determination. "Okay, we'll assume I'm not imagining things. I don't know what's going on, or what's going to happen. I just have the feeling that it's going to be big and dangerous. When it starts, be ready to move, and fast. Follow my lead. All right?" Veril and Zev nodded. "Then let's finish our meal. We might need it." They set to eating quickly, now all three covertly watching their surroundings.
When it did happen, they were the only ones not caught completely by surprise. Kerran spotted the movement first, the dark forms of Federation troopers at the backdoor, guns up. She reacted instantly.
"Down!" she snapped to her two companions, following suit herself, kicking at their chairs and overturning their table to offer some protection.
They were not a moment too soon as the Federation opened fire on the patrons. There were screams and cries, smoke and fire, moans and the metallic smell of blood. Looking around the room, gun in hand, Kerran fired upon a trooper coming through the crowd. Veril and Zev were also armed, and they weren't the only ones.
"This way!" Kerran shouted and dove towards a side window, shooting the glass out as she went. Veril followed as Zev provided some covering fire, before following them.
As he landed and rolled, shots sounded around him as Kerran and Veril exchanged fire with the Federation troopers. They crawled along under cover, trying to escape. A shot sizzled past Kerran's face from behind and she dove for cover as did the others as more shots came. They were pinned down.
"Damn!" Kerran said, stealing a look in the other direction to see the Federation closing in. They were trapped.
Then other shots, aimed at the Federation, came from the side. The three troopers were finally felled, two going down to their unexpected assistance and Zev took out the last. A figure moved out of the shadows and beckoned them urgently. "Come on!"
"Can we trust him?" Zev asked.
"Do we have a choice?" Kerran snapped and set off running.
They followed their rescuer down the alleys, through the darkness. Twice they dropped back into the shadows as Federation squads went past. There were sounds of fighting all around them. This was obviously no small, one-off attack. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath. Veril saw their rescuer hammer on a door nearby. It cracked open, before opening fully. A man spoke urgently to their benefactor, who turned to them. "Where do you want to get to?" he asked sharply.
Kerran looked up. "The spaceport - we've got a ship."
"Can you make it?"
Kerran looked around her and grimaced before answering honestly. "Don't have a clue where we are."
He nodded and turned back to the other in the doorway. "Get word to everyone. Head for the hills or get off planet as soon as you can. Hand out the forged papers. Hide and don't get caught. You'll get no mercy from the Federation."
"What about you?"
"I'll get these off-worlders to the spaceport and try and join you."
"Then take a communicator." The man disappeared for a moment and returned holding out a small device. "Keep in touch and let me know where you are. Watch yourself."
"You too." They clasped hands before the door closed.
He turned back to them and motioned. "Let's get going. We've got to get to the other side of the city and there's no guarantee you'll be able to get to your ship, but I can take you as far as there"
"They'd better not have damaged my ship!" Kerran muttered darkly.
They were silent as they sped along the streets. There was panic everywhere, people running aimlessly, bodies scattered across the ground, intermittent fighting. Three times they were caught in skirmishes, and were forced to shoot their way out, once having to retreat and backtrack, choosing a different pathway. They finally reached the outskirts of the landing field where they paused. They were all breathing heavily. Kerran was peering at all the activity below her, trying to make out the Wasp. She finally spotted the ship. From this distance it appeared alright.
"Why are you helping us?" Veril finally found the breath to ask their new companion.
"Saw you were off-worlders."
"Hardly a reason," Zev put in. "There are plenty around."
The man shrugged. "I know, but I noticed you in the restaurant."
Calan looked at the three strangers before him – the pretty blond, the intense brunette, the red haired man. They seemed an unlikely combination, but that hadn't been what had caught his attention. He, too, had been eating at the restaurant. He frequently went there, as did many of the rebels. They could pass messages unobserved there, not to mention the fact that the food was good also. Tonight he had felt uneasy. Actually, all day he had. Things just felt wrong, but the day had progressed normally. However, by evening, he was jumpy. Still nothing happened and he was at pains to hide his unease.
That was what had drawn his attention to this group. They seemed to be the only other people to be aware that something wasn't right. Not so much by their actions – it was only if you were watching them extremely carefully that you would have seen the covert glances, the careful watchfulness. No, it was the emotions that his telepathy had picked up. The dark-haired girl positively radiated unease and tightly strung nerves.
He hadn't seen the Federation troopers until she had reacted to their presence. Again, it was her emotional state that alerted him. The lurch of fear, anger and reaction from her was enough to make him fling himself to the floor without a conscious thought. Her instincts had saved him also. Many others had not been so lucky.
He had lost them in the resulting turmoil and found himself outside, fleeing for safety. Then through all the emotions tumbling around him, he picked up a familiar one – hers - and so had come across them, trapped. He could not have simply walked away. So here they were.
He continued his conversation with Zev. "You appeared to be uneasy. I wasn't sure why. Then everything started."
Kerran turned. "Things felt wrong. We didn't know we were going to end up in the middle of a full-scale war."
Calan grimaced. "Neither did we."
She turned back to the field. "The ship seems okay. Wont know for sure till we get down there." She turned back to him and held out a hand. "Thanks for your help. You'd best leave us now."
He nodded, clasping the offered hand, acknowledging the wisdom of being on his way. He was unprepared for an almost electric shock that shook his body, an almost instinctive feeling of recognition, as though every cell of his body was responding to her. And the strangest thing was that she obviously sensed something also, by the startled widening of her eyes.
Her lips parted as though to speak but before she could say anything there was a loud whump! behind them. Spinning around to stare at the spaceport a billowing fireball erupted into the sky.
"The bastards are destroying the ships!" Zev snarled. Kerran didn't hesitate a moment longer, but slithered down the hill and headed at a dead run towards Wasp.
"Kerran!" Veril shouted from behind, following.
"If we don't get to the ship, we're stuck here!" She threw back over her shoulder, not slackening her speed. She was dimly aware of their rescuer at her side, his long legs catching her up, but all her attention was on her ship and the Federation troops getting closer to it.
Another explosion signalled the death of another ship, the heat blast hitting her face. She fired at the few troopers near the ship. She reached the outer door and punched in the code, hearing the others firing. She squeezed though the small gap, leaving remnants of cloth and raced for the flight deck. She punched in co-ordinates, began the take-off sequence, scanned all stations. As the engines revved up, she raced back to the hatch. The firing was intense now as the troopers realised they had one trying to escape. Half a dozen glowing bonfires signified more burning ships. She shot down one trooper and snapped. "Everyone inside!" and then kept firing. The engines note was taking on a higher pitch. Veril and Zev followed her instructions, the stranger remained where he was.
"Come on!" she shouted at him.
"I've got to get back!" he shouted back. She grabbed his shoulder, ignoring that self same electrical spark the contact caused.
"You can't get back! You'll never make it! And you're no good to anyone dead!"
He stared at her fierce face and finally acknowledged the truth of her words. He pulled out his communicator as she returned to shooting at the troops.
"Bar, do you read me? Bar?" he shouted, then holding it close to his ear, to strain to hear over the noise. Finally there was a crackle and a broken voice came through.
"Calan? Is that you? Where are you?" More static as Calan keyed the sender.
"Bar, listen carefully. You've got to take over. I can't get back. I'm trapped at the spaceport. I'm going to try and get off-world but I won't be able to get back. Don't give up. Ever."
"Calan…."
"Bar, there's nothing you or anyone can do. Take care. Out." He looked at the communicator in his hand, placed it on the ground, then fired point blank at it, turning it into a mere molten blob. He touched Kerran's shoulder.
"Let's go." She nodded, fired off one last salvo, and they both disappeared up the hatch.
She sealed everything behind them as the ship began to shudder. By the time they reached the flight deck, the ship was beginning to lift and they just had time to strap themselves in as Veril and Zev guided it up and away. Fortunately for them there were no pursuit ships waiting. Perhaps the Federation had thought their surprise attack would catch everyone unawares. Or they just hadn't had time to warn any pursuit ships that a freighter was escaping the surface.
"What a mess!" Kerran said tiredly. She looked up at Veril and Zev, both smoke stained and begrimed. "So much for a last quiet evening." She rubbed her own tired eyes as the adrenalin faded, leaving her weary. She then looked at their passenger. "Looks like you won't be able to go back home. Is there anywhere we can take you?"
Calan turned tired eyes to her. "I don't know. I hadn't exactly been planning to leave. I'm not sure where to go now. I've been there for the past year. Maybe I should go home"
Kerran blinked in surprise. "I thought that was your home."
He shook his head. "No, I was just working there, helping with the resistance."
"So you want to go home?"
Calan slowly shook his head. "No, no, I don't, there's nothing for me there. I just don't know where else at the moment."
"Well," Kerran said after glancing at the others quickly for confirmation. "You're welcome to stay with us in the meantime. Without your help we wouldn't have made it."
Calan gave a heartfelt smile. "Thank you. I'll try not to get in the way." He paused a moment and then continued seriously. "But there is one thing I must tell you, and it may change your decision."
"What?"
Calan paused for a long moment before speaking, "I'm a telepath." he said slowly.
Veril's eyes widened in astonishment, "Really?" she said. Calan nodded.
Kerran frowned. "I didn't think there were any left."
"Oh, we're still around." Calan said wryly.
"So Auron wasn't the only planet of telepaths."
"No, it was. Well, at least as far as we know."
Kerran held up a hand. "Hang on, I'm getting a little confused here. You just claimed to be a telepath, yet have agreed that Auron was the only planet of telepaths."
"Yes." agreed Calan.
Zev looked over at them. "So what's the problem?" he wanted to know.
Kerran didn't take her eyes off Calan. "Auron and its entire population was wiped out by the Federation more than 20 years ago. He can't be from Auron."
Now both Zev and Veril were regarding him warily. Calan could feel their doubts, suspicious and fears.
"It's true. Auron was destroyed, but some of the gene banks were saved. We were sent to another planet and so far we've been able to stay hidden from the Federation. There're not a lot of us. As far as I know, I'm the first to leave and head off-world. Since I left, others may have, I don't know."
"But how did any of you survive? We'd heard it was plague and there was nothing that could be done. The Federation bombed the entire planet!"
"They did. At least that's what Franton told us."
"Franton?"
"Our…protector, geneticist, doctor, scientist, mother."
"Quite a job description!" Kerran said wryly.
Calan laughed. "It certainly is. She's an absolute wonder. Without her, there would have been no future for any of us."
"So how many of you got off?" Zev asked.
"Only Franton and Payter, as full grown adults. The rest of us have been raised through the gene stock they saved."
"But how did they find time to get to a ship and get off the plant if the Federation was there? Not to mention the plague." Veril wanted to know.
Calan looked at them. "Can I trust you?' he asked.
Kerran raised an eyebrow. "If you're a telepath you should know."
Calan grimaced. "It doesn't really work like that, but I'll explain it another time."
"So?"
Calan shrugged. "We just don't want the Federation finding out about us, or they might start searching to finish off the job they started on Auron. We don't exactly walk around with a sign saying 'Telepath Here!'."
"Well, we're hardly about to be telling the Federation about you. They're not exactly bosom buddies of ours." Kerran put in.
"And you haven't told us where your home is, so that's safe." Veril put in.
"True. Okay, the story goes that Franton and Payter were both cured of the plague and realised that the Federation was set on destroying Auron so they decided to save the gene banks. They would not have succeeded except they had some outside help."
"Who?"
"Some rebels. Ever heard of Avon?" Calan didn't miss the startled looks that passed between the three of them.
"It's happening again." Veril said.
Kerran frowned at her before turning to Calan again. "What's Avon got to do with all this?" she wanted to know.
"The Liberator came to help. They received a message from Auron requesting aid."
"I didn't think they had time to send out a buoy." Zev said.
"They didn't. The message was telepathic."
"Ah, of course! I had forgotten!" Kerran said, realisation dawning.
"What?' Zev asked.
"Cally, one of the Liberator's crew. She was from Auron. She was a telepath also!"
Calan nodded. "That's right. Her clone sibling managed to send a message and the Liberator arrived to help. At that time we didn't know it was all a Federation trap. Franton and Payter managed to get away on the Liberator and they helped find our new planet and set us up as a colony. We've not seen them since, though their legacy does go on."
"Yes, a planet is a pretty permanent legacy." Veril said.
"Not just the planet. Ourselves." Calan added.
"You mean the gene banks?"
"And their gene stock."
"What?" Zev questioned.
"They all gave gene samples before leaving. Every one of the Liberator crew is represented in our race. We've all descended from them."
"You mean, your entire population are the 'children' of the Liberator crew?" Kerran asked dumfounded.
"In a way, but it's so mixed that there are few 'pure' descendents."
"So who's your descendent?" Zev asked curiously.
Before Calan could answer, Kerran spoke up quietly, "Cally."
Calan looked at her intently. "How did you know?"
She shrugged "I… I just do. It's like you're familiar, half recognised."
"But that could…" Calan's voice ran off as he now read with all his senses. "You're connected with them!" he said stunned. He looked at both Veril and Zev. "You're all connected with them."
Zev answered for them "Bizarre, isn't it?"
"But… how?"
"They're our fathers. Mine was Tarrant, Veril's looking for Vila. And Kerran.."
Calan spun towards Kerran, cutting off Zev. "Avon." he whispered, his body tingling as his senses went out to her.
She jerked as though physically feeling his touch, and half shivered. She stared at him. "How do you know? How can you do that?" she whispered, looking at him with wide eyes.
He closed his for a moment before opening them to speak, moving towards her until he stood opposite. "My people have always believed in souls, that we never really die. I've always felt very close to Cally. I'm named after her. She's as much my 'mother' as your birth mother would be. I've always felt that she's never very far away. If that's true, if her soul or part of it survives in me, then it would recognise kindred souls. Souls of her companions, in you. In all of you."
"But how did you know that Avon was Kerran's father?" Veril asked. "You didn't know about us."
Calan continued to look at Kerran. "Once I asked Franton why did Cally remain on the Liberator, why she didn't stay with us, return to her people. She told me that Cally remained for one reason, one person. She didn't say who. All she said was that she had told Cally she had had a premonition that he would be the death of her, and Cally had simply said she had no choice but to follow him, that they were linked in a way she wouldn't understand. Cally never once mentioned love, or anything like that, just a bond that held them together, and Cally accepted that she would probably die by following that bond. I always wondered who could have held Cally there in that way, but now I know. I never thought of Avon at first. He was always described as so cold, impersonal, nothing like Cally, but it was him. All the time, it was him."
"How can you be so sure?" Kerran whispered to him. He slowly held out a hand to him. She looked at it as though it was dangerous then looked up to meet his eyes. Slowly she held out her own hand and raised it so their fingertips barely touched. There were no visual signs to be seen from that contact but Veril and Zev both felt the almost electric charge in the air.
Calan spoke softly. "I'm sure, because Cally's soul only responds to Avon's, which is in you. They both still live in us, and they are both still bonded and held by what ever link they had in their life."
He withdrew his hand and Kerran could only remain staring at him, trying to take it all in, accept it. She absently rubbed her fingertips and shuddered. This talk of souls, bonds and links made her nervous as few things did. She rubbed her eyes as though in the hope of erasing it all from her mind.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to say now." She looked up at Calan. "So what are we supposed to do?"
He shook his head and half smiled to reassure her, although he was no less disturbed by the developments. "Nothing. It doesn't place any obligation on either of us. It just means that the souls have recognised each other."
"That would mean, if it's all true, that Avon is dead."
Calan nodded. "I guess so." He looked at them all. "Don't you know?"
Veril shook her head and answered. "That's why we're together. We were trying to find out. All we had heard were rumours and the report of their deaths but we wanted to make certain, and find out what we could about where they went and their lives, I guess."
"Oh, I see."
Zev then spoke up. "Do you know what happened to Cally?"
"Only as far as she was on Terminus."
"Terminus?" Veril said. "That was the last place they were at before going to Xenon."
"Where's that?' Calan asked them.
Veril answered, "We learnt that the Liberator was destroyed in the vicinity of Terminus, and that it was an artificial planet. However, there's nothing there now. The planet is completely destroyed. From what we learnt they went from there and found a base on a planet called Xenon. They had another ship called Scorpio. They were betrayed and left that base and looks like they destroyed it when they went. We're not sure where to, so we've been trying to find out. It couldn't have been too long after leaving Xenon that they were reported killed."
Calan nodded "I would like to learn what happened to them, to be able to go home and tell them the truth. We owe them all a great deal."
"You can always come with us." Zev put in. "Another hand is always welcome."
Calan smiled. "Thank you. I would be grateful."
"What about the resistance movement back on Sutern?" Veril asked.
"It will go on without me. I would like to solve this problem first. The Federation isn't, unfortunately, going to just go away. It will still be here to fight, and as we search I may be able to contact other rebel groups, to see if there's any way of building it up again, of co-ordinating it better. I won't give up the fight. Someday the Federation will be destroyed."
"Others have tried before you." Kerran put in quietly from the back.
Calan turned to her. "Yes, and they've failed and died, but each time we also win a little. Not just freedom, but self respect, courage and inspire others to carry on the fight. In the end, we will prevail. That I do believe."
Kerran shrugged. Since beginning smuggling, she had drawn further away from the rebellion, losing touch with it and she had never truly been one for ideals. "Maybe." was her only answer.
"So," Calan said in a light voice, trying to lighten the mood. "What do you do for a living?"
Veril let out a small laugh, following Calan's lead. "We're smugglers. At least," she amended with a smile to Kerran. "Kerran is. Zev and I really just tag along."
Kerran tried to join the banter. "You pull your weight well enough." She turned to Calan. "We need to have an occupation that we can earn funds so we can keep on with our search. Smuggling's the best thing. It's relatively safe, in that you can move in secret, and we get to travel all around. That way we keep looking for more information. Zev's putting together a scanner to try and read some old computer data from bits we found at Xenon."
"You've been there?"
She nodded "We don't know if there'll be anything of interest in the data, or if there's any data at all but we're going to try. Otherwise, at the moment, we don't really have any leads to go on, and due to our unexpected departure from Sutern we don't have a cargo either. So first things first, we find ourselves a job."
"Sounds good."
"By the way, you'll have to bunk with Zev for the time being. It'll take a few days to convert one of the cubicles into another room."
Calan looked over at Zev. "Sorry to cramp your space."
Zev shrugged. "No problem. You'll have your own room soon enough. Hope you don't snore."
Calan smiled. "Not that I know of!"
"Come on then. I'll show you where you can freshen up." He looked Calan up and down. "We're about the same size so you can borrow some of my clothes. You certainly believe in travelling light."
Calan gave a half smile. "Sort of didn't have time to pack."
"Come on then."
"Don't forget you're on galley duty, Zev." Kerran called. He grimaced over his shoulder and then continued on, Calan following.
Kerran sat in a seat and rested her chin in her hands and stared morosely at Veril.
"Well?" Veril asked.
Kerran sighed. "Things just got a little more interesting." She sighed again.