A Long Time Until Now (34 page)

CHAPTER 16

Dan Oglesby sat down late to dinner. Half of the team were dealing with night chores or asleep. He hoped his façade worked. He’d never been in combat until today, and he’d shot a man. The poor fucker didn’t have a chance, stick against bullet.

He wasn’t hungry, but he needed to eat.

Elliott joined him. The fireside was himself, Caswell, Barker and the LT.

“What is this?” he asked about the round little pod.

Barker said, “I’m not sure what it is now, but I’m pretty sure in ten thousand years it will be a very juicy melon.”

He must have looked disappointed.

Barker said, “Yeah, I know. There is nothing that looks like what we’re used to eating, except animals. Even the wild fruit back home has been adapted from thousands of years of agriculture.”

That wasn’t it, but if they thought that, it would help cover his thoughts.

“What are the Urushu eating?”

Caswell pointed into the near dark where a couple of fires glowed, “The men hunted an antelope. They’ve got windbreaks and a fire. The women have been plucking grass and building bed platforms.”

“So what’s the plan for them, sir?” he asked Elliott.

The LT almost grinned. “Plan? There ain’t no plan. They’ve got relatives upriver. They’re all grateful to us. They asked if we could go back for more, but I’m reluctant to try another face to face unless they come here.”

Dan said, “The Neoliths didn’t really want to talk.”

“The ones there didn’t. Here they did.”

Caswell said, “It may be they have different factions or that they came from two groups. It’s possible two villages had a joint hunting party. Or their attitude may vary on the strength they can present.”

Elliott said, “So we’re going to finish the wall. We may have to adapt to a goat pen inside, with hunting and gathering to supplement. But that would give us dairy, eventually, and hair for spinning into yarn. I’d like to thank Jenny and Gina for their input on that.”

“You’re welcome, sir,” Caswell said. Alexander was either in the vehicle or asleep. He wondered how she felt, having splashed that guy’s brains.

He didn’t want to remember that visual in the chill dark.

He ate in silence. The man had been about to stab a spear into him. Except his armor would have stopped it. Except the others would have joined in, too. Except they should have planned for that. Goddammit.

The melon didn’t taste like much. It was vaguely fruitlike. It might almost be cucumber or squash, but faintly sweet.

He finished, and climbed into the tepee to straighten his gear. He had privacy screens in his wedge, between poncho, a sheet and a towel. Barker’s space was on one side, and Ortiz’ on the other. The cloth worked okay to create walls, and they worked for visual seclusion, but you still knew others were there, and could hear them snore. Trinidad and Devereaux were halfway around the circle watching a movie on tablet.

He wanted to be actually alone, so he went back outside.

The sun was down, the sky beautiful, but he didn’t feel it. The Milky Way arched from north to south across the west, clear enough to show colors. They had an amazing wilderness.

He didn’t care.

Across the stream he heard chattering and calls. That was what the fight had been about. Getting those women free, and hopefully back to their families and friends. He walked past the fire.

“I’m going across the stream for a few, Sergeant Spencer.”

“Got it. You’re unarmed?”

“I have a knife. Is there a problem?”

“No, I don’t want to risk a rifle or a fight. It’s late, don’t be long.”

“I won’t.” He walked in close and muttered up to the hatch, “I don’t feel real good about killing a man, and I want to know they’re okay in the bargain.”

Spencer whispered down, “Okay at being recovered? They came along freely, but I understand.”

He crossed on the stepping stones, dull gray against black water in the starlit night. The creek bubbled under them. He took the short trail twisting up the bank and through the brush, and came out onto the rolling ground on the east bank. South was the goat pen, and he could smell it. Caswell, Ortiz and Dalton hunted east of here, but there was no game tonight. There were a couple of lean-tos, two small fires and several clusters of women. The three men walked around with spears. As he approached, they smiled and greeted him.

“Aa!”
Hi
.

“Aa.”

“Woo !xe?”
You good?

“Hm !xe, oo.”
I’m good, thanks.

He walked around the perimeter. They really didn’t take much space. No wonder those lodges could fit so many. Though this was a bivouac, and sleeping touching would help them stay warm since they had at most a hide wrap each. All their other possessions fit into a small pouch. The gear he had seemed like a trove by comparison.

On the third trip around, a young woman came up alongside.

“Aa,” she said with a smile, and a touch of his forearm. It sent a shiver through him. She had long fingers and met him at eye level.

“Aa.”

Her hair was braided around her head, she was his height and as lean as they all were, with firm breasts and a slim but curved ass. He still couldn’t define that skin tone. It was olive, café and tan all at once.

“Xi!e, kizh ae oong.” She smiled even more widely and laid a hand on his arm.

He didn’t know those words, but it came across as “My hero,” as lame as that was. Her smile was cheerful and inviting, and that tilt of the head said she was interested.

On the one hand, he was horny as all hell, and lonely, and goddamn he wanted a human being to touch.

She was stroking his arm now.

On the other hand, he wasn’t supposed to, and who knew what diseases there were, and she had a strong body odor, and there was a crowd. Not to mention the likelihood of someone walking in on them, or seeing them in NVG.

Maybe if they sat down in this dip for a bit. He could at least cuddle with her.

He had a strong odor, too. There was some deodorant left, but why bother? Every day was filthy and sweaty.

She found his clothes fascinating, and almost broke buttons yanking at his shirt.

“Ni,” he said softly. “Hm !ka woo.”
I show you
. Context mattered more than word order, as did tone. He undid a button slowly and she reached over to trace the hole in the fabric with her fingertips.

Well, from there, she figured out his pants readily enough. The belt gave her fits.

He glanced nervously around to see if anyone could see them. The moon wasn’t up yet, but night vision would work fine.

There was a gaggle of women between them and the COB. Probably not by accident. Then there were still a few trees and shrubs, so he had some additional screening.

He had no idea what they considered romantic, or what she expected from him, but once his belt was released, she slipped hands inside his pants and around him. She seemed a bit confused, and her fingers traced around his circumcision scar. Of course, they didn’t do that. She looked up quizzically, then back down, then followed her fingers with her mouth. But even her warm shoulder against his hand was a sensual rush. Human touch was precious. In contrast to the cold air and long deprivation, it was a tumbling rush in his nerves.

Her lips were full, warm, wet . . .

He’d been afraid he’d be done in seconds, but the sensation made him shiver and almost cry. He let his hands follow the contours of her shoulders, her sides, her breasts and back to the warm skin of her neck, and shivered again. Between pre-Mob, deployment, and here, he hadn’t even hugged another human being in nine months.

Soon enough, his eyes pinpointed, his brain shut down, and waves of heat rolled over him. He realized he was clutching at her arms and straining.

He had no idea what she wanted in return, or what their culture expected. She sat up, smiled and leaned in to hug him, her lips brushing his neck.

He felt physically calm and sated, while mentally in an intense overload from the sensation of touching someone. But emotionally, he felt worse than before. No one else had this, and he felt as if he’d exploited the poor girl. Then, he wasn’t sure how old she was. It was unlikely she was eighteen, despite her amazing technique, but her people didn’t care about that; his did.
He
did.

He kept hugging her because it was cold now and she was warm and smooth and felt so good, while he got his pants fastened with one hand. There was quite a bit of grass in them, drawn up the back as he wiggled in.

He said, “Hm wi. Oo.”
I go (imperative tone). Thank you.
He clutched hands with her, and she hugged him again. It didn’t seem he owed her anything, and that fit what he’d seen in their camp. Sex was just something fun to do, and even their couples shifted around from time to time.

He walked past the screening group, who made a few comments that seemed friendly enough. The stepping stones weren’t very visible, but he found them and made it across.

Ortiz was on watch now, and Ortiz wouldn’t rat him out even if he’d seen anything. But Alexander was next to him.

“How are they doing?” she asked.

“Mostly calm, healthy.”

“Good,” she said. Her face was impassive, but as he passed by, she cracked a hint of smile and turned away.

Fuck. Busted.

From inside Number Nine, he heard her voice. She’d ducked down inside the turret.

“Oglesby.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Don’t tell anyone. You’ll just make them jealous.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

Her voice was musical as she said, “Boy, your expression is a billboard. Take a few minutes by the fire until fatigue kicks in.”

“Uh, roger that.” Thank God she was cool. He stepped up two steps, and whispered, “Er, what did you guys see?”

“I figured you got a blowjob, but I wasn’t shooting a porno, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Right. NVG on your camera?”

“You don’t think the LT trusts them this close to camp, do you? And then there’s the Neos, who may come back in force.”

“I didn’t ask her and I wasn’t trying.”

“Yeah. Well, as they say, don’t do it again unless you bring enough for everyone.”

“I didn’t think you swung that way,” he joked. She’d been married for years, right?

She said, “At this point, I swing modern human.”

“Right. That’s what got me. I just wanted held.” He giggled. It was hilarious.

She strangled on a laugh. “So go chill out. Well done.”

“Thanks. Uh . . . part of it was in response to the firefight.”

“More like an execution. Yeah. I’m not comfortable myself. That’s why I’m up here. I probably won’t sleep tonight.”

“Shot anyone before?”

“No. And I don’t regret it, but I regret that I don’t. It’s going to take some meditation and ritual to get the stain off.”

“I might join you.”

“For?”

“Meditation and ritual. I prayed a bit earlier, but I’m not very religious. It didn’t help.”

“Then mine probably won’t either, but I don’t mind if you try.”

“Thanks. And . . . thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now piss off.” But she said it with a smile.

His face glowed now. He had all kinds of emotions rushing through him. As exciting as that had been, he’d avoid doing that again soon.

And who was he kidding? He was a healthy male. If he got a chance, he’d take it.