Nikhil(4)

Silence reigned for several moments before Craig stepped forward again and answered. "No."

"Then after our Healer has cleared her, if she wishes to rejoin you, it will be allowed. Now," Craig's mouth snapped shut at the General's glare, "outer coverings are being brought for you. They will protect you from the conditions here on Pontus. Once you put them on, you will be escorted to the loading area where the other survivors are waiting. You will be taken to our base," Treyvon paused, letting his gaze travel over them. "Unless you wish to remain here."

"We don't," they immediately responded.

With a nod, Treyvon spun on his heel and left the cave.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

"What do you think, Jen?" Craig asked quietly.

Jen carefully stepped out from where she'd been hiding since they'd heard the unmistakable sounds of battle. She hadn't been able to see who had come in, but she had been able to hear them.

"I don't think there is much we can do, but what the General says. He seems to be the one in charge here."

"But..."

"We can't stay here, Craig. You know what Mac and I discovered outside this mine. We'll never survive such harsh conditions, and besides that, we can't just abandon Mac."

"What about you? What if they discover you're female too?"

"We'll deal with that if or when it happens. Right now we need to get to Mac." The sounds of someone coming closer had the men turning as Jen ducked down so as not to be seen, but she could still peek out between the bodies.

"Humans," the male seemed to sneer. "I am Warrior Parlan. General Rayner has put me in charge of making sure you get to the transport. These," he lifted his arm before tossing what he held on the floor, "are coverings. Put them on." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at them.

Slowly Craig moved forward, keeping an eye on Parlan as he picked up the coverings, then stepped back to hand them out. What they discovered was the 'covering' was actually a cape with a large hood. It would be perfect for disguising Jen.

"Hurry up!" Parlan ordered angrily. "Everyone is waiting!"

Jen pulled the heavy cape on as quickly as she could. It was obviously made for a Kaliszian, as its sleeves hung a good distance past her fingertips and there was, at least, an extra foot of it pooling on the floor. But it had a hood and she quickly raised it, letting it fall forward covering her face. Lifting as much of the excess length as she could, she nodded to Craig that she was ready.

Craig and Paul flanked Jen as they followed Parlan through the tunnels, each gripping one of her elbows helping her keep up even though she knew the fast pace was hard on them too. They finally slowed as they passed through the mine's entrance and into a rapidly darkening landscape.

"Parlan!"

"Yes, Commander." Parlan turned to Gryf who was standing a few feet away.

"Get them on the transport! There's a ground storm coming in!" he ordered then turned to speak with another warrior.

"Yes, Commander!" Parlan turned back and began shoving them along. "Move!"

Jen sat as far back in her seat on the transport as she could, with Paul and Craig's thin shoulders doing their best to block others from seeing her. Looking across the room, she saw several Jerboaians huddled together against the opposite wall. She wasn't sure if they were the same ones that had arrived with them because large patches of their fur were missing. When Kaliszian warriors began to file in, she pulled her hood down even lower, hoping to go unnoticed.

"Is everyone accounted for, Commander?" Treyvon demanded.

"Yes, General," the Commander answered.

"Then get us out of here."

"Yes, General."

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

"How is she, Luol?" Nikhil asked, still on his knees beside his True Mate.

"Better than I expected. The good news is that the repair unit was able to scan her and diagnose what she needs to recover."

"So what is not good?"

"What's not good is that she is severely underweight. While her overall health seems good, her body has been severely stressed and depleted of some very vital nutrients. It will take time for the unit to replace what she has lost."

"What about her other injuries?"

"Don't worry, Nikhil. The deep repair unit will easily fix those. How long did the Zaludians have her?"

"I do not know."

"Are there more like her?"

"I do not know that either. I left as soon as I discovered her."

"It probably saved her life. She wouldn't have survived much more abuse."

"Abuse? She was abused? By who? The Zaludians can't..."

"No, Nikhil! Not that kind of abuse! I'm sorry that my words caused you to believe your True Mate had been sexually abused. The deep repair unit found no evidence of that."