Challenging Saber (18 page)

“Extend their shifts,” Prymorus ordered, staring at Dakar over the rim of his glass. “I also have a mission for you.” Dakar’s lips tightened, but he didn’t say anything. “I want you to kidnap the Trivator Councilman’s woman.”

Distaste flashed across Dakar’s face and a bored expression settled over it. Prymorus watched in amusement. He was curious to see how lucky the Kassisan was at infiltrating the Trivator forces. He was also testing the Kassisan. The male was always arguing with him about the mine workers.

“I believe you killed her when you blew up the fortress,” Dakar finally said with a wave of his hand to the hologram. “That might be a rather messy mission.”

Prymorus sat back in his chair. “Not that one, she was not his woman, merely one under his protection. I want you to kidnap Razor’s female.”

Dakar grimaced. “It would be better to kill me now,” he replied dryly. “How do you propose I kidnap this woman? If I remember correctly from the reports, the last time someone tried to kidnap a Trivator’s woman, it ended badly – for the Waxian stupid enough to try it. What is the use anyway? Both Razor and Hunter are dead. The fortress, remember?”

Prymorus’ lips tightened. “Are you refusing?” He asked in a quiet tone that held a hint of malice in it.

Dakar released a deep sigh. “The Drethulans hired me to make sure you Waxians were following through with their end of the agreement. I do not work for you or any other member of the Waxian forces. The fact that I saved your ass last night was beyond my normal job guidelines. I simply did it so that production of the needed ore would not be delayed. Do not attempt to order me around, Waxian. Your species aren’t the only ones who enjoy killing.”

Prymorus placed his empty glass on the table and stood up, his hand moved to his side where he kept his laser pistol. His focus remained glued on the steely-eyed male still sitting across from him. His fingers moved to his waist, but paused. Sweat beaded on his brow. The Kassisan was too confident, and a feeling that he was suddenly in mortal danger washed through him. His hand relaxed back down to his side.

“Be careful who you threaten, Kassisan,” Prymorus growled in a soft tone. “The Drethulans can always replace you.”

Dakar casually rose out of his seat, his own blaster in his hand. The smug smile on his face was not reflected in his eyes. Prymorus’ fists clenched by his side; he had been right. The bastard probably had his weapon trained on him the entire time.

“All of us are expendable,” Dakar replied, not bothering to sheath his weapon. “I suggest you not forget that, as well, Achler. The Drethulans are expecting an update.”

Prymorus watched as Dakar’s gaze flickered to the hologram image of the fortress once more before he stepped away from the table. The Kassisan didn’t turn all the way until he could step out of the room. Prymorus leaned forward, placing his hands on the table in front of him in aggravation. He angrily stared at the map.

“I want a report from the patrol,” he ordered, turning his attention to one of the men directing movements at the communication console. “Tell them to sift through the rubble until they find every single one of the Trivators’ bodies.”

“Yes, sir,” the man replied, turning and conveying the message to the patrol team.

Taylor handed a nutrition pack to Lonnie. She smiled down at the boy. He returned her smile, but it quickly sagged in the intense heat.

“It will cool off in a couple of hours,” she murmured.

“I know,” Lonnie replied.

She picked up several of the drink packs and carried them to where the men were standing, looking off into the horizon. Her eyes swept over Saber’s tall form. Pleasure and pride washed through her. A rosy blush that had nothing to do with the heat suffused her cheeks when he turned and watched as she struggled to climb the small sand dune.

“I know you guys are big, tough warriors, but I also know that dehydration doesn’t care about that,” she said, smiling up at them.

“Thank you, Taylor,” Hunter replied, reaching for one of the packs.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, sensing the tension in the air.

Saber nodded to the horizon. Taylor turned to see what he was looking at. Her eyes widened when she saw the thick, black sky. She had been on the planet long enough to know what it was – one of their intense storms. There had been a half dozen of them in the last six months. The worst ones happened in the Western region, but the East was not immune to them.

“Oh, shit!” Taylor breathed out. “That’s a whole lot of sand.”

Ace chuckled, reaching for one of the water packs. “Yes, it is,” he replied, ignoring the low growl of warning from Saber.

Taylor wrinkled her nose at Saber. “So, what are we going to do?” She asked with a worried frown as she handed the rest of the men their packs. “It is too dangerous to remain outside. The sand will slice through us.”

“There’s a cut in the sandstone,” Razor said, focusing in on the area. “Hopefully there will be a cavern cut out in the rock face. The nomads in the area use them.”

“Can we make it in time? What about the skids? I thought they needed to cool off,” she said, turning to look at Saber.

Saber’s grim expression was enough of an answer. They didn’t have a choice. If they didn’t make it, they would die. Turning, she jerked to a stop when she saw a line of dust rising in the distance in the direction they had come.

“Saber,” Taylor whispered, staring in horror.

She vaguely heard the men’s soft curses. They were trapped; in front of them, the massive sandstorm; behind them, the patrol.

“Let’s go,” Saber growled, grabbing Taylor’s hand and pulling her back toward the skids.

She half ran, half slid down the slope of sand to the bottom. Her gaze swept the area, focusing on Lonnie, who was lying in the shade under the catamaran. He crawled out when he saw them running toward the skids.

“What is it, PT Taylor?” He asked in a frightened voice.

“We’ve got to go, sweetheart,” Taylor replied in an urgent voice, releasing Saber’s hand so she could help Lonnie back onto the skids.

Lonnie looked around confused and frightened. “I thought the machines needed to cool,” he said.

“They should be cool enough to get us where we need to go,” Saber replied, turning and sitting down on the edge.

“Go!” Hunter shouted.

Taylor glanced around at the determined faces. Her lips curved into a nervous smile when she saw Dagger wink at her. She wrapped her arm tightly around Lonnie and held him when the skids jerked forward. Her eyes remained glued to the patrol moving rapidly across the desert floor until the skids passed over the dune.

The landscape began to change. This area was more sand and less rock. It would make the journey more difficult. A half hour into their race across the dunes, Taylor almost lost her balance when the skid Cain was operating jerked and died. The sudden loss of power caused the catamaran to tilt to the left.

“Stop!” Cain yelled.

Razor turned, nodding when Hunter spoke to him. Dagger glanced over and shut down his skid. Saber jumped off the catamaran before turning to help Taylor and Lonnie.

Taylor shielded her eyes from the spray of sand that was kicked up by the growing storm. She stepped closer to Saber so she could hear what was being said.

“The engine’s gone,” Ace was saying in disgust. “Between the heat, sand, and weight, we are lucky we got this far.”

Trig looked off in the distance with a grim expression. “There’s no way we’ll make the canyon.”

“What about the other two skids?” Saber asked.

Dagger shook his head. “Mine was overheating,” he admitted. “We’d have been lucky if it made it to the next rise.”

Taylor saw Saber glance down at her. His mouth tightened into a straight line as he looked behind them, then at the storm. Her hand instinctively reached for his.

“Razor, what about your skid?” Saber asked.

Razor’s turned his gaze to Taylor and Lonnie. Taylor’s head was already shaking when she saw the intense focus reflected in them. She knew what he was going to say.

“No,” she whispered, her throat tight with fear. “No, I won’t leave you guys here.”

“It will get Taylor and Lonnie to the canyon,” Razor replied in a calm voice. “We’ll pack enough nutrition packs to last her and the boy several days.”

“No,” Taylor said again, turning to Saber. Her eyes filled with tears. “No! I’m not leaving you guys here.”

Saber turned to her and gripped her arms. “You have to,” he murmured in a soft voice. “Think about Lonnie, Taylor. You have to get him to safety.”

“What about you?” She asked, brushing an irritated hand over her cheek. “If I take the only working skid, there is no way you or the others will survive.”

“The Mountains of the Crescent Moon are on the other side of the storm,” Saber said. “Get to the canyon. We’ll ride out the storm here. Once it is over, I want you to make for the mountain. We’ll catch up with you.”

Taylor shook her head again. “You have the storm in front of you and the patrol behind, how are you going to make it through that?” She asked stubbornly.

“Think of the boy,” Saber repeated, glancing at where Lonnie stood watching them.

“I just got you back,” Taylor whispered, staring up at Saber. “I swear, if you don’t come, I’m going to come looking for you…” She paused and looked at the other men. “I’ll come looking for all of you. Jesse, Jordan, and Kali would kick my ass if I didn’t.”

“Go, Taylor,” Hunter said, stepping up to her. “Jesse knows I will do everything I can to return to her.”

“Just as Jordan does,” Dagger said with a grin.

“And Kali,” Razor reluctantly admitted with a smile.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if she is going to make it, she and the boy need to get going,” Trig said in a grim voice. “It looks like the storm and the patrol are both determined to find us first.”

Taylor released a shaky breath and looked over to where Ace and Cain were unhooking the skids from the catamaran. Trig grabbed a box of nutrition packs and attached it to the back with some of the straps. Razor had picked Lonnie up and was carrying him over to the skid.

“Here, wear these,” Saber ordered, pulling his goggles off. “The cut in the canyon is programmed into it, as well as the base of the mountains. Find shelter and cover up until the storm passes. We’ll come to you on the other side of the border.”

Taylor reluctantly reached for the goggles. She glanced up at Saber before throwing her arms around his neck and pressing a hot, demanding kiss to his lips. Sliding her hands back down his chest, she stepped back and stared at him for a moment before turning and climbing on the skid.

“Be safe,” he ordered, staring at her like a dying man staring at a pool of water that was just out of his reach. “I love you, my
Amate
. I will come for you.”

“You better,” she retorted in a thick voice.

Her eyes glistened with tears. Reaching up, she pulled the goggles down to hide how much leaving him behind was killing her. Pressing the start button, she felt the skid power up. She twisted the handgrip and pressed down on the foot pads, gliding away from the men. She glanced at the rearview screen. The men were already preparing for the battle for their lives.

*.*.*

Taylor’s gaze flickered back and forth between the destination ahead of her, the storm, and the temperature readings of the skid. Without the extra weight, the skid was staying within the upper level of the normal range. She could feel Lonnie gripping her tightly around the waist, his head buried against her to protect it from the blowing sand.

She had slipped on extra clothing and wrapped a scarf around her head. She had done the same to Lonnie, but the sand still found a way inside her clothing. It also found the small unprotected areas of skin. The small granules stung when they struck.

Her heart lifted to her throat when the skid flew up the side of a dune and was airborne for a moment before it slid down the other side. She pressed the accelerator down as the wind grew worse. It was almost impossible to see now. She was forced to use the digital readout in the goggles. Turning to the left, she could see the entrance to the canyon up ahead.

The skid flew into the narrow passage just as a massive wave of sand rolled over, darkening the day to night. She could feel Lonnie’s arms trembling against her as she leaned from side to side. A cry of relief escaped her when she spotted one of the narrow caves that littered the canyons to the right.

She released her grip on the accelerator and tilted her feet back, slowly applying the brakes. Swinging the skid around, she ducked as she passed under the overhang and into the dark, cool cave. The goggles immediately switched to night mode, so she could look around her as she drew the skid to a stop.

It was barren, with a few piles of sand that had blown in along one edge. Shutting down the skid, she felt Lonnie release her waist so she could slide off the airbike. She reached into the front compartment and pulled out a torch. Twisting it, she pulled off the goggles and held up the glowing rod.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, her voice echoing in the shallow cavern.

Lonnie blinked and looked around. “Why doesn’t the sand blow in here?” He asked, sliding off the skid and coming to stand next to her.

Taylor glanced outside. Sheets of sand were blowing down the canyon, but the way the sand had cut into the walls, it had created a lip that steered the wind and sand away from the opening. Nature was a wondrous thing, no matter what planet a person was on, she couldn’t help but think.

“It’s just the way nature works,” she replied. “Let’s push the bike to the back of the cave. We’ll need the tarp to help keep us warm. I can feel the temperature dropping already.”

“Me, too,” Lonnie said with a sigh as he helped push on the back of the skid. “Do you think the warriors will be alright, PT Taylor?” He asked in a soft voice.

“Yes,” she responded.

She didn’t say anything else. She couldn’t at the moment. Just the thought of Saber and the others out there was enough to make her want to scream. She didn’t think her running around like a Dodo bird out in the middle of an alien sandstorm would help the situation.