Maude spent most of the day sleeping in the medical tent. She'd occasionally startle awake just to remember Curtis's words and attempt to comfort herself.
Around noon she drifted off, and had a dream about running at the base of a collapsing sand dune. A voice in her head told her that she was going to suffocate, there was no way to out run the sand. When it finally collapsed onto her head, she managed to burrow her way out of the dirt only to to be face to face with a skeleton bleached and white on the ground. A familiar voice said "I miss you too." She reached out to push herself away from the bones, and began to fall back into the suffocating desert floor.
The dream forced her awake and upright in bed. She then squinted over at the open door and as her eyes adjusted she focused on a familiar finger sitting in a chair over by the entrance.
Boyd smirked at her slightly, stood up, and stomped out the cigarette she was smoking just to replace it with another one. She then put her elbow on her hand and walked over confidently. "Maude, Maude, Maude. I've been thinking about you. Do you know what I've been thinking?"
The red headed woman then looked up from her bruised face and said "That you're going to leave me alone and let me sleep off this beating you arranged for me?"
Boyd closed one eye and regarded the woman beneath, "Hmmm? No, I've been thinking about your future with the Legion. How you must have had a great shown great promise for polishing dog kennels. I know that might be hard to turn down, but I was wondering if the NCR couldn't convince you to confess your crimes as a spy and traitor...for...lets say, a life sentence instead of death."
Maude found herself laughing at the Lieutenant. She then covered her mouth and felt her head throb from the exertion.
The dark haired woman did not flinch at the laughter, she just stood their smoking, and watching Maude. The silence was immediately uncomfortable, and Maude found herself struggling to find words to make it end. Eventually she just rolled overly slowly and said "I guess you're having a hard time thinking of something new to say to make me uncomfortable...I'm innocent Boyd. Get used to it."
Foot steps then began to move from the entrance to the cot where the two women were talking. Maude turned her head to see Lt. Boyd looking at a very annoyed Captain Curtis. The two soldiers locked eyes for several seconds until Curtis opened his mouth dryly and said, "Lieutenant, I thought you would be here...When you weren't in your office I just knew you couldn't pass up a chance to annoy this woman. Your disobedience is annoying but it makes notifying you of what I'm about to do easier.
He paused and then looked at Maude somberly, "Maude Anderson, Colonel Hsu has considered your position for some time, and come to the decision that you will not be handed over to the Crimson Caravan, but rather sent back to the Shady Sands for trial. You will leave tomorrow with two armed soldiers that are returning to California for reassignment. You will be mirandized and placed under conditional arrest before you leave in the morning, is that understood?"
Lt. Boyd smiled a little bit, obviously pleased that even though she had not extracted a confession, someone else probably would. She looked over at Maude, who was half sitting up and staring wildly at Curtis. He frowned at how she was masking the feeling of betrayal she now held deep inside. Boyd then addressed the Captain, saluted, and walked out, leaving Maude and Curtis in silence once again.
"Do you understand what you are going to face Ms. Anderson? You will be tried, and the result of a conviction will be death," Curtis mused in a manner that seemed official but also hinted at something unspoken between them.
Maude then nodded her head slowly and said "I understand...I just hope that the Republic will have mercy on me."
Curtis then chuckled a little, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving Maude with a million second guesses and worries. If she were really sent to Shady Sands for trial she would face a jury of patriotic peers that would love a chance to stone a traitor. Fear crept up the red head's body, moving into her face and causing the blood to drain away. She grabbed the edge of the cot she was in and started to cry hysterically. The doctors came over, buzzed like flies, then eventually gave her some pills to calm her down and moved on, becoming watery blurs behind closing eyelashes.
The next morning she was awoken by two guards. Groggy they helped position her to stand, had her change into a plane brown pant and shirt set, and mirandized her. She felt her emotions well up as they frisked her and moved her out into the blinding sun. She squinted, then focused on the soldiers around her. She noticed the patrolmen looked at her as if she was some kind of foreign body, some kind of creature forged from blood and ice, not meant to inhabit the desert. She hung her head and met two prison guards who attached hand cuffs to her, that lead about 4 feet from the Brahman they would be leading to Shady Sands.
One of the men she would be traveling with lifted his hat and greeted her in a professional manner, and introduced himself as Steve. She just nodded and kept looking at the dirt. He then checked her bindings and introduced her to her other tanned brunette traveling companion.
The trio traveled half a day down the road towards the Mojave Outpost to take advantage of the easy break between the mountains. Their was a dry wind that stirred up the dust on the road, which whistled, and made the only sound outside of footsteps.
Suddenly Steve reached over and nudged the other man, who nodded and pulled the Brahman towards a fork that moved away from an outpost. They moved the group to a point they would not to be easily spotted, stopped the procession, and grabbed Maud's hands unchaining her wrists.
"Why...why are you doing this?" Maude grabbed her wists and rubbed them, enjoying the feeling of blood accessing areas previously cut off by metal.
Steve then smirked a little bit, his sun baked lips cracking as they slid into deep dimples. He pulled a laser pistol from his side and shot several rounds into the Brahman, killing it instantly. Maude gasped and moved backwards as the two men then moved on top of the creature, cutting it open, slicing bags, and spreading the pack contents in the dirt haphazardly.
They then turned to the woman in their company, and were caught in her large scared eyes for a second. They then motioned her closer and gave her a pack full of water and food they had removed from the Brahman.
"You'll be responsible for your own food and water consumption, it should be dusk by the time we get to the Cove," Steve remarked reassuringly.
"Yes...The cursor will be waiting for us," the other man remarked.
Maude took the pack and slung it over her shoulders slowly, feeling the pain from her bruises, and trying to make more sense of the men's actions. She then looked up at the two and nodded, words failing her.
"The hand of Cesar is strong and encompassing. You should be grateful that he has chosen to save you from slavery when the Profligates finally fall at the hands of his Legion. He has bestowed you with a mark, that will assure your status as a free woman fit for marriage. It is your reward for saving one of us, and providing him with intelligence. We recognise you did this at great risk to yourself. Come now, we have much walking to do."
Maude then looked down at the jet containers and other supplies scattered around the ground. Steve followed her eyes and said "Empty." Maude opened her mouth and let an "oh" escape her lips. The men adjusted their packs and began walking south. Steve informed her that his real name was Adriane. She listened to him and the other man swap stories of what they had been doing for the NCR, and wondered how many people were secretly working for Cesar.