Warriors' Providence (Cadi Warriors Book 2)(95)

Dagaa nodded to Providence, seeing that she was ready, and started opening the spaceship's large hangar doors. The crack of light widened as the entrance split open to reveal the barren planet beyond. As Dagaa's nosed out of the loading bay, the wind instantly jostled the transport sending it bouncing as it skimmed the rocky plateau.

They followed each other in tandem leaving the ship. Providence held control of the large rota, occasionally gritting her teeth, as strong gusts attempted to knock it around. How did the Toufik even manage to hunt or forage in weather like this?

It took them longer than expected to descend the rocky precipice and traverse the sandy rugged terrain to the shore, where the Toufik resided. Providence timed it, taking account for the longer return trip once they were fully loaded. They could comfortably make three trips in the time window allotted before the mega storm descended.

As they neared the shore, Providence saw close to a hundred Toufik gathered, their heads swathed in scarves that covered their eyes, nose and mouths. The ends of the drab colored sashes whipped wildly in the brisk wind.

"If this is all of them, they will easily fit in the starship." Providence mused. "Though it will still take at least two trips to get all of them there."

She did a quick head count and retracted her earlier comment. There weren't any youth present. This couldn't be all of them. The population of this planet had been decimated but surely there were still children. Providence shook her head as the weight of what happened here sat heavy on her shoulders.

Providence set the rota down at the edge of the barrows projecting from the earth. Providence noted that they were indeed portals to some type of underground cavern, now that she could see them better. It made sense. The Toufik would be protected against the elements underground.

"Stone we should get the masks and goggles." Providence said to her hairy companion.

Stone nodded making the gesture of agreement she'd learned. He didn't have the turban, like his fellow Toufik, to protect his face.

Her comm crackled a bit as she retrieved the gear. Providence looked at her communicator wondering if she'd hit it while digging in the transport compartment. Providence put on her mask, blessing Tytus and Jorg for their ingenuity in altering the items so they would fit her. Jorg, like a true medic, had been able to rapidly sew together the parts Tytus had salvaged from other equipment.

The first thing Providence noticed, as she raised the glass dome on the transport, was the stifling heat. She felt like she was breathing in an oven. It quickly dried her mouth and sinuses. Providence pulled the cloak she wore tighter around her. It sounded foolish to wear a long-sleeved garment in this heat, but it served many purposes. Not only did it insulate her body and prevented her skin from frying in the sun, more importantly it protected her from the scouring sand that whipped through the air like thousands of minuscule wasps. Already her hands and cheeks were feeling chapped and abraded.

No wonder the Toufik were hairy and didn't speak. If their environment had been similar to this long enough, it would have shaped the people just as surely as it shaped the landscape. Their hair acted like her cloak, and who could speak with their mouth constantly covered, plus you'd lose a lot of moisture opening your mouth all the time in this heat.

Providence descended behind Stone. Instantly the gathered Toufik approached, unafraid. A few males stepped forward, their hands going a mile a minute, till Stone gestured for them to stop. He made the gesture for rescue, and the crowd of hairy beasts went into a flurry of sign language amongst themselves.

Providence looked over at Dagaa and Madhava who had immediately flanked her once they stepped onto the gritty earth. They too were swaddled in their cloaks. Even their chests were covered which was an unusual sight.

Stone made a series of gestures to Dagaa, who nodded. Their group followed one of the alpha males heading for the nearest burrow in the ground. Once inside the wind stopped altogether. Providence noted the baked earth bricks that lined the passage down as she pulled off her goggles and mask.

At the bottom of the dim passage a room opened up. It was lit by a few torches on the wall. Providence could see the long room was attached to others by a tunnel on each end. She took off her hood, shaking the sand from her hair.

There were more people down here than had surfaced. Females, children and elderly had stayed below ground. It was quickly appearing that they would indeed meet their ship's capacity.

"Why didn't you respond when I asked you to stay on the transport till Dagaa, Stone and I had assessed the mood of the gathered males?" Madhava asked as he leaned into her.

Providence looked from Stone and Dagaa communicating with the lead males, to Madhava.