“Detection first,” I said. “The perimeter devices alert B2; B2 alerts me. Word goes out immediately. Everyone who can’t fight, like Celn and her children, old Maike, the three families in the east cluster, Aila and the younger ones?—”
“And the Pesh family,” Tregen added.
“All of them. They move to my house. Elevation, clear sight lines in three directions. They stay there until it’s over.” I had a hand on Maive’s back as we walked, as our relationship was commonly known by now and neither of us were inclined to hide it. I gestured to the stone building. “Your home, my dear, is where the Rivonok will likely go first. You’re the village leader. It’s the largest building. They’ll want to establish a visible position.” I kept my voice even, though it cost me.
She didn’t argue. She wrote something on the board.
“Everyone else stays armed and in position,” I said. “Hidden. We have spots throughout the forest and in the buildings. When the Rivonok cross the perimeter, everyone goes to their position. I want the village to look empty when they arrive.”
“It won’t look empty if anyone panics,” Pasek said.
“Which is why we’ve practiced.”
“We practiced twice.”
“Five times,” I corrected.
“Two went badly.”
“Three went well,” I said with a wave of my hand. “That’s the relevant number.”
He tilted his head and conceded the point.
The path curved toward the harbor. One of the fishing boats was out. The other one at the dock had been quietly loaded with supplies, like dried food, water, basic medical gear, in case evacuation became necessary after all. Maive had authorized that without making a declaration about it. She’d simply had it done. I truly appreciated her approach to leadership.
“The forest,” Tregen said.
“Explosives set in a grid across the north and west approaches. Far enough from the Junu trees that there’s no risk to them. If the Rivonok sends drones ahead, the anti-drone unit handles that first. Deactivates anything within range.” I had pulled the unit from theAndromeda’sown equipment. It was the most valuable thing I currently owned. “After the drones are down, anything that keeps moving triggers the grid.”
Tregen nodded. He had been in the assembly hall the day I’d laid all this out. He’d listened quietly and understood what it meant, and had decided to accept it anyway.
“And before any of that,” Maive said, “you talk to them.”
“I talk to them,” I confirmed.
Pasek looked at me sideways. “Do you think they’ll listen?”
“I think they’ll listen to the word ‘trade,’” I said. “They want thejunversyrup. They don’t want a firefight with an unknown defensive capability on unfamiliar ground. If I can offer them what they came for without a fight, some of them will take it.”
“Like the arrangement with the Durbok,” Maive said.
“That’s the offer I’ll make. A negotiated supply agreement. Nothing that compromises your independence—just a formal arrangement so they have something to bring back to whoever sent them.” I paused. “It may not work. But it costs nothing to try it first.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Tregen asked.
“Then the village opens fire from concealment on a force that doesn’t initially know where the fire is coming from, after at least part of it has walked through a mined forest.”
Pasek considered this. “That sounds favorable for us.”
“Considerably more favorable than the alternative,” I said.
Maive stopped.
I followed her gaze. Aila was sitting on the low wall bordering the market square, feet dangling, watching us approach. She had both arms crossed and had clearly been there a while, working herself up to something.
“Gilrox,” she said, as we reached her.
“Aila.”
