A Matter of Honor (Privateer Tales Book 9) Read online

  PATROL

  Yishuv Settlement, Planet Ophir

  The morning sun had not yet fully risen as Eliora looked over her training group. The council hadn't completely accepted Captain Gian's request for a citizen army, but had agreed to allow volunteers to receive training.

  "Trainee Popette, where are the three vulnerabilities of an Ophie?" she asked, walking down a more or less straight line of two score.

  "There are four acceptable soft vulnerabilities: groin, just above the groin into the chest cavity, throat beneath the chin but above the armored collar and the heel, as you demonstrated on the mountain," a late-teen girl answered. She held her arms stiffly to her side as she stared forward.

  Eliora moved on to the next trainee. "Jesse, how is a long sword best utilized?"

  "Defensively. It is effective at deflecting an Ophie's club strike. Otherwise it is acceptable for a jabbing attack, ideally in a vulnerable location, less ideally in a direct thrust to the rib cage where the heart is located centrally, but lower by a hands-breadth than a human's," a blond, twenty stans old farmer answered.

  "Coral, how is a katana used to deflect an attacking club strike?"

  "The katana is not an appropriate weapon for deflection, it is best used for slashing or thrusting," a middle-aged woman answered.

  "Correct. Coral why would someone choose a katana over a long sword?"

  "It requires less strength, but must be used quickly and confidently, often upon first being drawn from its scabbard."

  "Saya," Eliora corrected.

  "Yes, ma'am. Saya," she said.

  "Okay everyone. Pads on. You have thirty minutes with the practice swords using the first two forms. Take it seriously. This is as much strength building as it is training your muscles to use the swords. When you're in battle, these forms must become second nature to you," Eliora said. "Any questions?"

  "Ma'am?"

  "Trainee Coral?"

  "We were promised real swords. It's why most of us joined."

  "First, we would never practice with real swords. They are too valuable and dangerous. Second, the smithy is working as quickly as they can. As you know, they're supplying protectors first. I've been assured we'll start seeing swords within four tendays," she said.

  "What if the Ophie attack before we get them?"

  "I won't lie to you. If Ophie breach our walls, you are vulnerable without steel weapons. This training will make you strong and capable when those weapons become available," Eliora said. She stepped back and scanned the score of volunteers that had assembled. They'd been practicing for a month and there had been improvements, but it was disheartening to see just how unprepared her charges were for combat. "Now, let's get to it."

  "Eliora, I apologize for calling you out on this. It's just… there are rumors," Coral said.

  "They are not rumors. I have seen firsthand the Ophie scouts in the forest. You must train hard so you will be ready."

  The middle-aged mother of two nodded her head in acceptance and joined her cadre in pulling on their pads for practice.

  In the distance, Eliora saw the bouncing lights of an approaching vehicle and waited for its arrival.

  "Merrie, have you finally decided to join us?" Eliora asked as the vehicle pulled to a stop.

  "Not yet. I've too much work to do and not enough hours in the day."

  "I don't have much time to talk. What brings you out this morning?" Eliora asked.

  "I have presents and need your help," Merrie said.

  "Can it wait? I'm training right now."

  "It's about your training. I've made five compound bows; I think you could start training your volunteers with them," Merrie said.

  "They're extra? What of the protectors?"

  "Merik convinced the council to allow us to make a big run of the bow components. These are extra and we should have enough for your entire squad by the end of tenday," Merrie said, removing the oilcloth from the cargo compartment.

  "I only see two score arrows. Are there more?" Eliora asked.

  "That's where I need your help. I've convinced two of our carpenters to supply the wooden blanks, but we need many hands to run them through the shapers and apply feathers and heads," Merrie said.

  "I will make it a condition of receiving training on the bows. You will have your help. When would you like them?"

  "I've set up shop at the old tannery. I need someone I can train on the equipment and who will take responsibility for teaching others," Merrie said.

  "I know just the person. Trainee Coral, would you join us?"

  ***

  "I would like to take my squad on a patrol outside the wall," Eliora said.

  She sat with Second Protector Shem and Captain Gian at a table in a room atop the barracks. The weather had turned cool, barely reaching ten degrees at full sun. It was a time of low activity for the Ophie, who, like earth reptiles, did not move as quickly in the cool weather.

  "Bakers and housewives?" Shem asked.

  "Two of them, yes, but I'd put Coral against any archer in the protectors. That is, except you, Shem," she said. "It's one thing to train behind these walls, but it's too academic."

  "What happens when one or more of them doesn't come home?" Gian asked. "Will it not ruin your training program? You've already had setbacks."

  "You are right, of course. I'm down to eight. I know they look unlikely as fighters, but they're stronger now. They need to take this next step."

  "Where would you take them?"

  "Pessach reported seeing a partial pod of Ophie on the mountain path yesterday," she said.

  Gian was incredulous. "You would put them into combat?"

  "Where there are two, there are five," Shem said. "It is the way of the Ophie."

  "Then have a regular patrol follow us. We cannot hide behind these walls. The Ophie grow bolder and we grow more cautious."

  "I will agree to patrols, but I am not sending your trainees against a pod of Ophie. You will venture no more than a kilometer from the wall and there must be a protector with them at all times," Gian said.

  "This is ridiculous. It's hard enough with all the new recruits and now you'd have us babysit these… these…" This sputtering protest came from Shem.

  "Citizens," Eliora helped.

  "Fine. Citizens. They will get us killed," he spat.

  "I understand your frustration, Shem. Let's not forget, we would all welcome more recruits," Gian answered. "If Eliora's trainees prove capable, it is an interesting way around the council's restrictions and would be a welcome relief. It will not hurt us to do a trial."

  Shem nodded. "That should not be too disruptive if Eliora babysits them. Do you truly believe they are ready, Eliora?"

  "That is what I seek to find out. We all know that until tested in battle, one can never tell. I have already chosen my squad leader," she said.

  "That carpenter, Dael? He's a big one," Shem said.

  "No. He would be a good choice though, both strong and intelligent. I chose the baker, Coral, who has raised two children with no father."

  "You wouldn't!" Shem exclaimed. "That woman is no fighter. She is in terrible shape! Who would follow her?"

  "That woman gets up every day and runs thirty minutes before practice. She then works the entire day, while keeping track of two her children. Her success will inspire others," Eliora said.

  "Her death will leave two orphans," Shem said.

  "Don't you think she knows that? It is people like Coral that we need. She knows exactly what she has to lose."

  Gian put his hands out, placating them. "Alright, knock it off you two. This is Eliora's decision and I'll expect a full report next tenday. Now, tell me about that pod on the mountain trail…"

  ***

  Eliora woke up earlier than usual the next morning to prepare for what would no doubt be a long day. She'd stayed up late the night before, poring over maps of the surrounding area.

  "What's up chief? You're here early," Coral asked, still breathing ha
rd from her run.

  "We're going on patrol this morning," Eliora said.

  "As in, outside the wall?"

  "That's right. You up for it? I need five volunteers to fill out the patrol."

  "Do squirmunks bark? Of course, I'm in. You know, I heard a patrol spotted a couple of Ophie up the hill two days back."

  "Captain's put a leash on us. We're not to get more than a kilometer from the wall," Eliora said.

  "How far up were those Ophies?"

  "Just past the two point six marker."

  "Shite. We won't even get close," Coral said

  "Really, you want to run into Ophie?" Eliora asked.

  "I had to watch an Ophie rip my David in two, which left me to raise two girls on my own without their father. There was no remorse in that monster's face, just a mindless, focused, killing machine. If it were to me, we'd be out hunting them every minute of every day," Coral said.

  Eliora was set back. The woman's deep seated hatred shocked her.

  "You know, I've fought them," Eliora said. "They're fearless and extraordinarily strong. What if your daughters were to lose their mother also?"

  "What has waiting done for us? We've waited three centuries to be rescued by a world that's forgotten us. In that time our technology has slowly but surely rotted and failed. It is as if we're waiting to die. Not me. I say we take the fight to them. Let the Ophie fear us for once."

  Eliora couldn't help but smile. The once soft, mother of two, was ready for the war Eliora could feel coming. They would need many more like Coral if they were to survive.

  "Good. I've slayer-tipped arrows, ten for each of us," she said.

  "That is more than enough," Coral said, standing up straighter, exuding confidence Eliora was glad to see. She'd need it.

  Twenty minutes later the entire group assembled. It was big for a patrol, Eliora preferred a smaller, quieter group, but it would have to do.

  "We'll break into pairs," Eliora instructed. The patrol strode two-by-two down the deserted street. "Under no circumstance will you leave your partner. Do you understand me? I don't care if you have to tinkle or toot. You are to call out if you see trouble. The Ophie are better at tracking than we are because their senses of smell and hearing are considerably better. That said, their eyesight is poor. At fifty meters, they might as well be blind."

  "I hear they smell like old socks," Popette said. "Is that true?"

  "Mold. Yes. Ophie live in hovels with four others in a pod. It's believed the same Ophie live together their entire lives," Eliora recounted. It wasn't the first time they'd heard the information, but she knew they needed something to keep their nervous minds engaged.

  "Keeper of the gate," Eliora called.

  "Ho, Eliora." A man poked his head over the edge of the wall.

  "Bashi – We're going out on patrol. Open the gate and please enter it in your log."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  And so, that was how they started every day. The citizen patrol, led by Eliora, quickly became a fixture of conversation within the village. And for two tendays the patrol went out at the crack of dawn only to return two hours later with nothing more than a new appreciation of the terrain around the small village.

  Halfway into the twenty-third patrol Dael raised his fist, his arm held at a ninety degree angle from his body. It was an oft-repeated gesture as the lead saw or heard something that caused them to question what they were running into.

  Dael breathed a sigh of relief. The movement he'd picked out on the side of the hill at thirty meters was simply a buckthorn, a fifty kilogram, furred game animal. It wasn't the first time they'd run into one of the animals that morning and Dael started to lower his arm.

  Eliora's heart raced. She picked out what Dael missed. The buckthorn had been spooked by something up the hill. She flapped her right arm rapidly trying to gain the patrol's attention and then held her fist up and then down, angled from her body. Contrary to instinct, rapid movements weren't easily picked up by Ophie, but verbal communication could be. Her hand signal called for the patrol's archers to step forward.

  Coral grinned grimly as she nocked a slayer-tipped arrow. She was one of four archers who had been chosen for long distance shots. They'd run this same drill a dozen times, each turning out to be a false alarm. This time, it felt different and something in Eliora's posture raised the hackles on Coral's neck.

  Eliora pointed at her own eyes and then up the side of the hill. The Ophie had set up along the patrol's path, blending into the surrounding hillside almost perfectly. It was odd to see the large reptilians, completely unaware of the fact that they were being observed. Coral counted two. At thirty meters it was a long shot, but well within her range. Her hands shook with excitement and the blood rushed in her ears.

  Eliora knew they couldn't ignore the easy targets, but two standing alone didn't make sense. Ophie traveled in pods, rarely splitting up. She directed the archers with hand signals to take aim on their enemy, understanding dawning on her in a single terrifying moment of clarity. The brush behind them exploded as three Ophie charged into the open space. The patrol had walked into a trap.

  Coral breathed out to release the tension just as the world exploded behind her.

  "Trap!" Dael exclaimed. Coral's patrol partner dropped his bow and pulled his heavy long sword.

  The Ophie that Coral had targeted turned his head swiftly, looking down the hill in her direction. It had heard Dael and was alerted.

  It took all of her courage not to turn around to the sounds of battle behind her. If there were two ahead, it meant there would be three behind. The rest of the patrol should be able to handle them. If not, they'd have an even more difficult time when the bait pair also arrived.

  She pulled the bow back and felt the comforting clunk as the off-centered gear of the compound bow dropped the pull tension to a comfortable fifteen kilograms. She sighted along the arrow with both eyes, calculating the drop that she knew would occur with the distance. It was a shot she'd made hundreds of times before. Center mass, don't get cute, let the arrow do its job, she thought, repeating the steps to a successful shot.

  The roar of man and beast behind her was all but overwhelming. Coral concentrated, working to force the maelstrom from her mind, focusing on the bait Ophies jogging toward them. It was surprising how such a large being could move so gracefully over the rocks of the hillside. Their slow gait chewed up ground at a ridiculous pace. There were two of them and she knew she would have but one good shot. She would have to trust her patrol members to deal with the rest.

  An eerie calm fell over Coral as she watched the beast charge. It was almost beautiful how it so easily bounded from one boulder to the next. She felt its rhythm and knew what she must do. She would wait for it to leave the ground and time her strike to catch the beast on its way down.

  It was almost an afterthought when she released the arrow. Its short flight halted as it buried itself into the great beast. The repercussions were immediate as its next step faltered and the legs buckled, sending it crashing to the ground.

  Only then did her vision clear enough to see its companion, short meters behind, raise its great club as it bounded over its fallen pod-mate. Coral's mind, reeling from the exhilaration of a clean kill, searched for a solution, a way to nock a second arrow. There was no hope, she couldn't possibly reload fast enough. Her only hope was the katana hanging at her side. She reached for it, dropping the bow, but instinctively knew there wasn't enough time. The great club was already crashing down toward her. She'd stood her ground too long, zeroing in on her kill. That's for my husband, she thought, dropping to the ground, a final hope that the Ophie had overcommitted its swing.

  A bright flash of polished metal sparked as it deflected the great club. Dael's heavily muscled thigh pushed her out of the way as he stepped into the Ophie's swing. A great sound of metal on fire hardened wood punctuated the moment.

  Coral gathered her wits. The Ophie had missed, but Dael had chosen to save her life
instead of using his long sword to pierce the beast. He would very likely pay for his choice with his own. My life for his, she prayed. He would not leave his young wife if she had anything to say about it. She'd already talked with Dael about her children. If anything happened to her, he would see after them. If their fates were reversed, what could she give his wife? Nothing, except him.

  She rolled back to her feet and drew her katana and in a single motion ran it across the back of the beast's heavy thigh. A greenish blood deposited on the blade and the beast howled, but it didn't even stumble. She knew better that to strike at a non-vulnerable region, but she'd had the effect she was looking for as the Ophie turned its attention away from Dael.

  "That's right, you ugly pond sucker," she taunted. "I already killed your buddy. How 'bout you see if you can get a piece of me?"

  She knew it didn't understand her words, but it certainly understood the taunt. In return, it opened its mouth and clicked its jaw in what Coral could only assume was defiance. Coral held her blade back in position for a strike. She reasoned the beast would expect her to attempt to parry as Dael had. She would not. Her plan was simple, she would drive the point of the katana deep into its chest as it drove its club downward. She reasoned there was at least a small chance that she'd kill it, without also being smashed.

  Just before her katana point made contact with its chest, however, the strangest thing occurred. A green point erupted from its chest. She was already committed and drove her sword in with all her might. The club fell from the Ophie's large paw and it toppled over onto her. The green point, piercing her chest as it did.

  "Coral… Coral…" Dael called. "Answer me. Are you okay?"

  She tried to answer, but the weight of the corpse and the agony of what she realized was Dael's long sword wouldn't allow it.

  She screamed as he rolled the body away from her, the tip of his sword plowing a furrow through her flesh. The pain was too much and she blacked out.

  Eliora surveyed the scene of the battle. Popette and Melifan had been killed almost instantly when the Ophie had sprung their trap. They hadn't stood a chance. Coral, who was being tended to, was critically injured and there were other serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.