Chapter 11
Two hours later
They hadn’t managed to talk much while they traveled the dark tunnels. The few times he tried to say something, it came out wrong and she became angry, making the atmosphere very uncomfortable. He was glad that they would soon arrive to their destination so that they could actually put a little physical space between them. He needed to regroup and figure out another way to reach out to her.
While traveling in the tunnel, they could use the cart’s lights, but when they neared a tribe location, they had to turn them off. It was always a tense moment of worry that their presence would be seen. As they approached the next tribe, they turned the lights of the travel cart off again, moving quietly to find a good place to park. Corey recognized the area they were in.
“This is a smaller tribe, I think there were maybe fifteen people living here the last time I passed through.”
“Is the tribe leader Drastan-friendly?”
“Leadership changed over, so I’m not sure who the new tribe leader is. If he or she is allowing Drastan healers to work here, then I would assume they are friendly to the Drastans.”
“We’ll need to proceed with caution. I’ll find out what I can from the Drastan healers,” Nix offered.
“While you do that, I’ll look around and see if I find someone who has information about the resistance.”
“Be careful,” she said, reaching for his hand. She gave it a quick squeeze before letting go.
Corey was surprised by her touch and it warmed him. “You too.” Corey wanted to take her in his arms and never let her leave him, but there was no time. They needed to find the guy that had attacked them before he managed to disappear again. He could get them a good lead on the resistance leader.
He had to let Nix do her job. It was hard, though, letting her go off alone. His instincts screamed at him to go with her, but he couldn’t tell if it was just a personal feeling or one related to the mission. He didn’t like the way things stood between them. He wished they could have talked more on the way there, cleared the air between them, so his head would be clearer for the mission. Hopefully, once this mission was over, they could work out their issues, because he really didn’t want to give her up, not now. Maybe not ever.
*****
Nix had turned back once to watch Corey walk away. She hated that things were so tense between them. On the way there, she’d spent so much time thinking about how to open a conversation between them, but she didn’t know what to say. She knew they needed to have a serious talk, but maybe it was best to wait until after this misson was over. She had to have a clear head to do her job.
She moved quietly, keeping her head down as she walked toward one of the Drastan warriors standing guard near a new construction site. She was glad to see that these warriors were taking their duties seriously.
“Hold there. Who are you and what business do you have here?”
She pushed the hood to her jacket back to expose her face. The warrior didn’t look like he recognized her and she didn’t recognize him. He must be from one of the other ships in the fleet.
“Be at ease, warrior. I’m Lieutenant Nix Saber from the command ship.”
The warrior looked at her doubtfully as he used his handheld computer to take a picture of her face for facial recognition. It took a few seconds before it confirmed her identity. He looked up at her. “I’m Warrior Davens. What can I do for you Lieutenant Saber?”
“First, do not report seeing me. I’m here by request of Commander Estro and it’s imperative that my presence is not revealed for now.”
“Are you alone?”
“I can’t answer that, for safety reasons.”
“I am to report anything unusual to my superior.”
“I can appreciate you wanting to follow protocols. I just ask for discretion. Hold off reporting our interaction.”
“Hold off for how long?”
“A day, if possible.”
“I will give you twelve hours before I report your presence to my superior. Any longer and I will be subject to discipline.”
She nodded. “I understand. There is another thing you can help me with. I am in search of an injured human who came to this tribe yesterday to have Drastan healers work on him.”
“I’m sorry, I was off duty yesterday.”
“Did the human register with the healers?” she asked. It was a new safety measure the commander had implemented that anyone coming in for treatments must register their personal information with the healers. That way, healers would be able to follow up with humans who received treatment. Many humans travel from smaller tribes to be treated.
