Warriors' Providence (Cadi Warriors Book 2)(96)

"Shit!" She whispered. "We've got a problem then. My comm only crackled as we landed. Something is interfering with them."

Madhava's face turned even more serious than it already was. He stepped back into the passage and tapped on his communicator.

"Ashtoret report on the status of the ship." Madhava tried to contact their ship's secondary pilot on his comm.

Nothing but a crackle. Madhava swiped a finger along the display.

"Cyprian report." He reached out to one of the other starship captains.

Still nothing.

"We're blind. I wonder if that last communication when we landed even reached anyone." Madhava nearly snarled.

That caught Dagaa and several of the Toufik’s attention.

"What's going on?" Dagaa asked.

"We need to get this show on the road. The comms aren't working." Providence replied.

"Stone hurry it up. Let's get the first group loaded." Dagaa growled.

The Toufik males didn't need to be told twice as they quickly started ushering their people up and out of the subterranean rooms.

"We've got a hundred and eighty people here." Dagaa stated as they ascended. "It’s doable if we can get them transported to the ship in time."

Providence nodded. That had been her concern too. She quickly did the math. If they could pack twenty people on each transport that would be exactly the three trips she'd estimated.

Once back up on the surface the males quickly assisted the females into the three transports. Each female held a child on their lap till the rota was filled to capacity.

"We travel side by side. That way we can gesture to each other if there's a problem." Dagaa instructed.

Providence strapped in and revved the transport up. Immediately she noted the added drag as she pushed the vehicle to move over the barren terrain.

Providence prayed this didn't take longer than what she'd estimated as she looked to the north. The sky was getting increasingly dark off in the distance. Even since they'd departed the starship, she'd noticed the wind had subtly increased and shifted direction coming now more from the north.

Providence looked away. She had to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Be aware of the looming perils, but focus on what has to be done, otherwise you're defeated before you even near the goal." Providence parroted the wise words her father once told her.

Thirty minutes later they made it to the belly of the starship and though the wind had been at their back, it had still taken longer than she hoped. Everyone unloaded double time. Jorg was on hand, as well as Tytus and his assistant, taking the babes and helping the females up the ramp.

"Ashtoret." Dagaa quickly approached the other pilot who'd come out of the starship.

"I've got no word from anyone." Ashtoret looked extremely disturbed.

Dagaa nodded grimly.

"We noticed the comms are down. The other captains are on their own, goddess help them. They know what to do. We have to get this done and get the hell out of here. We have three loads. You and Tytus be ready to leave the instant we are loaded with the final group."

No sooner was the last Toufik off the large rota then they were off again, headed back to the colony. Providence pushed the transport hard. She'd gotten used to the way the wind buffeted the craft attempting to send them off course. Providence steered the nose of the rota into the gale just to get it to travel straight.

The next load of Toufik were wisely waiting and ready when they finally arrived. The alpha males loaded the older members of their clan, the single females and what Providence assumed were teenage males into the vessels the moment they landed. Providence was glad the Toufik had organized so quickly and weren't foolishly clinging to objects they'd be forced to leave behind.

Stone gestured to Dagaa as he leapt off her rota. Dagaa nodded and waved his arm at Providence to take off, leaving Stone behind. Providence looked from Stone to Dagaa in confusion. She shook her head. She couldn't leave Stone. You don't leave a member of your team behind.

It wasn't until Stone started running towards the distant plateau with the clan males following that she understood what was happening. He was leading them closer to the ship. The Toufik were fast despite the gusts that assailed them. They may not traverse the entire rugged terrain, but they'd be closer, making it easier to pick them up on the last foray.

As Providence passed by the scores of Toufik males, she awed in the way they wove and leapt over the broad ravines in the sandy plain. Seeing the direction Stone was leading, one of the local males had taken the lead, clearly more familiar with the landscape. It was probably a good thing. Providence thought back to their earlier discussion of pockets of deadly gas.

As the three rota neared the plateau a large ship descended in the sky. It was the Agurtzane come to help. At this point Providence didn't know how much help they'd be since they couldn't exit their large water-filled star cruiser. At least they were making an attempt.