Page 36 of Warrior’s Mate

A pause. Footsteps. More distant crying. Then: "Green status."

Maelis exhaled.

"Listen carefully. There are empty produce pods in the bay."

Silence.

"You want me to put children in cargo pods?"

"They're climate controlled, padded, and they travel inside an enclosed transfer tube."

"Maelis—"

"The line exits at West Cold Storage. I have staff there."

The teacher hesitated. Kaiven leaned close to Maelis's comm.

"Teacher, this is Captain Daratu, Farseek Brigade. Registrar Torren's route is safer than attempting ground movement. Use the pods."

The teacher's breathing changed. Military reassurance, Maelis thought. Sometimes authority was useful simply because frightened people needed someone to carry certainty for them.

"All right," the teacher said.

Maelis gave instructions.

Six children per pod. Adult with each group where possible. Manual release disabled until West Cold Storage. Send identification list before launch.

When she ended the call, Kaiven was looking at her.

"What?"

"Produce pods."

"You wanted to walk through a Sargan patrol."

"I was reconsidering."

"No, you weren't."

"No."

They moved with the column. Fifteen minutes later the first confirmation arrived from West Cold Storage.

POD 1 RECEIVED. CHILDREN SAFE.

Pod 2 followed, then Pod 3 and Pod 4. Maelis read each message twice before allowing herself to believe the children were moving.

Kaiven did not comment. He simply touched her back once, briefly, between her shoulder blades. The contact lasted less than a second. It still sent warmth through her.

She looked at him. His hand had already fallen away. He had not assumed the right to keep touching her. That mattered too.

The last civilians entered the grain-storage complex shortly after midday. Inside, the temperature was cool and the walls thick. Grain bins had been sealed off, leaving broad service corridors where families could shelter out of sight from the air. Maelis coordinated food, water, sanitation, and medical space.

Kaiven coordinated perimeter defense. For nearly half an hour, they worked on opposite sides of the same problem without speaking. Then he found her near a loading manifest station.

"Drink."

He handed her a water pouch.