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Chrissy bit back a response. The thought of Thorodoth killing her fellow humans didn't sit well with her, but she was soldier enough to understand and not argue.
"If things go well, we will have peace talks soon," she said instead.
"Gods willing," Thorodoth responded, surprising me. He wasn't the least bit as vengeful as his father. I wasn't prepared to like him, a Vandall, but he was a male worth getting to know better.
We walked a different path than the one that brought us here, and I contemplated the wisdom of risking cutting another path that might be detected versus using the same and wearing it down, leaving more marks to be found.
When possible, Chrissy and I walked hand in hand, taking comfort in the other's closeness, unwilling to start our fight again.
About two hours later, the foliage began to break open and Thorodoth stopped us. Up ahead, I caught sight of a large fenced-off area made from a kind of metal I had never seen before that reflected even in the weak Carmac sun's rays. Behind it stood several metallic buildings I could only partially make out because of the fence. What stood out most, though, was what I assumed to be the humans' spaceship. Long and gray, it looked aggressive, but also like a beached whaross.
The fence was broken up by tall towers at regular intervals on which dark shapes moved back and forward, scanning for intruders.
"Alright, here goes nothing." Chrissy drew her shoulder blades back and straightened her posture. She took off the furs and handed them to me. It was nearly imperceptible, but I noticed the slight tremble in her hands. I took and kissed them.
"It's not too late. Nobody would think any less of you if—"
She raised her hand to stop me. Then she reached up and pulled my head down for a kiss.
"I will be back soon," she promised.
Everything inside me screamed at me to hold her back, to not let her go and tie her up if necessary, but I couldn't do that. She was right. If we could solve this by just talking to the Terran Confederation, it would be much better for everyone involved. I just hated that she was the one doing it.
Before she turned her back on me, I grabbed her hand and pulled her against me one more time. Crushing my lips to hers, I kissed her deeply, putting all my emotions into it.
When we broke the kiss, she looked up at me with liquid pooling in her eyes before her expression changed to one of resolution and she gave me a tight nod. Without another word, I watched the kallini who meant the world to me walk out toward the human fortification.
The further she walked, the more vulnerable she appeared. The fortification she walked toward seemed to swallow her up, and I hoped it wasn't an omen.
Far ahead, the FOB's walls parted and a mechanical transportation the likes of which I had never seen before emerged, making its way straight toward Chrissy.
I felt a hand on my arm, Thorodoth, ready to keep me back, and I realized the ten warriors he had brought hadn't been just for our protection but to restrain me in case I would force Chrissy back.
Annoyance warred with approval for the Vandall, although he didn't seem to realize that it would take more than eleven Vandalls to hold me back should I decide to grab Chrissy.
TurningmybackonKendryx was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. A part of me argued that maybe Kendryx's idea of following through with my plan first and talking after hadn't been so bad after all, but then I thought of all the men and women who would be forced to spend their lives here on Thyre without a chance of returning to Earth. No, my plan would have to be a last resort.
I sensed Kendryx's eyes on me as I walked toward the FOB, which appeared bigger than the last time I saw it. They must have added more and expanded the wall. Just like they would add and expand into Thyre territory until they would swallow the entire planet and destroy it like they had done to Earth.
Resentment grew inside me. What right did we humans have to spread through the universe like a plague and destroy everything good we found?
The first settlers who came to Thyre had the right idea; they had bargained with the khazar and the warlords, made treaties to be able to stay. The Terran Confederation was just moving in, set to conquer and take what wasn't theirs.
It didn't take long for the outlooks to spy me and alert FOB command. Minutes later, a large Humvee left through the giant gates and made its way toward me. Resolutely, I took a deep breath, trying to channel Colonel McGuire, who had been replaced by Chrissy over the last months. Surprisingly, I found that Colonel McGuire was a stranger to me when she rose inside me.
The Humvee came to a screeching halt in front of me. Soldiers jumped out with guns drawn, and I lifted my arms into the air. "I am Colonel McGuire, stand down!"
"Colonel McGuire?" Sergeant Hap Bannister squinted his eyes at me. "We thought you were dead, ma'am."
"Well, I'm not, so pull your goddam gun out of my face, Sergeant," I ordered.
"Stand down," Bannister ordered his soldiers, who lowered their weapons. I recognized a couple of their faces, realized how young most of them were, and that this was why I had been reluctant to implement my plan just yet. These men and women deserved every chance I could give them. Whatever the Terran Confederation planned, it wasn't the soldiers' fault; they were being duped just as I had been.
Looking at them now, after having been with the Vandalls and Thyres for so long, they seemed puny to me. Without their fancy guns, cannons, missiles, and bombs, they wouldn't stand a chance against the warrior species.
I climbed into the Humvee and settled into a seat.
"General Svelvick will be glad to see you alive, ma'am," Bannister said as he moved into the back.
