Give Me the Man Pt. 06

A few minutes later the three friends had assured themselves that there were no other invaders in the open, that the two they had killed were all that had come from the second flying machine. This one differed from the flat-bed one they had first captured, for it had a covered body, a hatchway in the side open and inviting. Ardan and Jandol looked at each other.

"There may be others inside. I'll go first," said Jandol. "Be ready to fire." He inched forward, moving along the side of the flying machine and peering cautiously around the hatchway. There was no activity that Ardan could see. Jandol moved inside and Ardan and Leara moved quickly forward, taking up positions each side of the hatchway.

"Ardan, Leara, come inside. It's safe. There are no enemy here." Jandol's voice was excited.

"What have you found?" Ardan said, scrambling into the machine.

"Weapons, those tube things they use. A lot of them. Must be fifty or sixty of them."

"We can use those!" said Leara, her tone excited. "We don't even have to load the machine, it's already done. With this, together with the other flying machine, and the Terran one if we can get it to go - "

"We should be able to, the instructions were all in those pictures and it seemed simple," Ardan said thoughtfully. He turned to his friend. "Jan, do you think you could fly this thing at night?"

"The controls seem to be the same as the other, so I guess, yes." He glanced sideways at Ardan. "Which group?"

Ardan shrugged, frustration evident. "We only know of two. The Hinazi at Ansel Crossing, and my own people at Vilna Station. There must be others."

"I would suspect you two want to supply your own people?"

Ardan nodded. "Yes, simply because they are our own people."

"I feel the same way," said Jandol. "There must be some of my own fighting, surely?"

"I would expect so," said Leara. "We all come from peaceful areas, but we know from our histories that our people can fight when they have to, like now. Go home with that flying machine, Jan. See what help you can give to your people."

"I've been thinking," said Ardan. "And counting. There are sixty-two of these tube weapons. Why not take a third each, and make up the balance with weapons from the Terran cache. We’ll take four of those big guns in the cache. Tanart's Hold is the biggest of our three home areas. Take two of the big guns, Jan. Leara and I will take one each." Ardan paused. "I think sleep is out. I feel certain that invader was using a communication device, so I think we can expect other flying machines. I only hope it said only that the machine had been found. Luckily we hadn't started loading, so there was no evidence of us."

"You try to get that flying machine of the Terrans working. I'll bring this one along to the cache. I'll show Lea the controls and she can come back for the first one we captured while you and I start loading. Make sense, Ardan?"

"It makes excellent sense. Be careful in the dark; I'll go and open the cache again."

"Before we go, let's move these bodies and pile some rocks on them. If any of those creatures come this way let's give them as few clues as possible."

"Good thinking," said Ardan. "Let's do it."

The bodies hidden, Ardan made his way quickly to the cache and soon had the door open. He was studying the manual for the flyer when a bump outside followed by a reassuring call told him the first of the invaders' machines was ready. In a moment Jandol came in, grinning.

"What's so funny?"

"Leara. I think she's a natural born flying machine driver, or whatever it should be called. I showed her the controls and she flew the first one along. I think she's discovered that those things are tricky to stop. We hit the wall. I didn't think pretty girls like Lea even knew language like she used." Jandol chuckled. "She's gone back for the other one. I'll start loading weapons. What have you got for each one?"

"We don't know how much weight the flying machines will take, and while individually the weapons aren't heavy, they will be in bulk, so we can't take all of them. In fact, we probably shouldn't, we may need to come back for more. We'll take seventy of those energy weapons, the long ones. You take thirty, Lea and I will take twenty each. We'll each take twenty of those long projectile weapons. Share out the ammunition on the same basis. Thirty of the small hand weapons, we'll take ten each. As soon as I've figured this thing out, I'll give you a hand. Lea will be back with the other flying machine in a minute or two. Get her to help you move those big weapons."

"Those round things? What about those?"

"Try to share them out in the same sort of proportion as the other stuff, but leave some. Leave a lot. We can’t carry too many, in any case."

"Right," said Jandol. "I'll get started. Good luck with that thing."

"I'm hoping I don't need luck. Or skill, come to that," said Ardan, but mostly to himself, for Jandol was hard at work moving weapons. If I'm right, he thought, that green button should start this thing. He took a last look at the illustrations in the instruction book, took a deep breath and pressed the green button, rewarded with a faint vibration and hum as he sat in the control chair. Before him, indicator lights sprang to life on the control panel. Carefully, he put his hands on the controls and eased the lift lever a touch. At first he thought nothing had happened until he realised that he was now looking down at a box of spheres which had been at eye level a moment before. He stopped moving the lever and waited. Nothing changed. Encouraged, he moved the other control forward a touch and the flying machine inched in the chosen direction. He stopped the forward motion by easing the control back to its starting point. Now to turn, he thought, and nudged the control to the right. Without forward momentum, the machine revolved and in a moment had turned a complete circle. He eased all of the controls to their starting point and the machine settled back onto the floor of the cave.

Applause startled him and he turned to see Jandol and Leara watching him. Leara grinned and gave him a victory salute, both hands in the air. "Well done," she called.

Ardan grinned back at her. "Well done yourself." He vaulted over the side of the flyer and made his way over to her. "How was your own flying?"

She grinned. "Easy as pie! I don't think those things are all that intelligent, because those controls are very simple. If I took my hands off while it was in the air and moving, it slowed to a stop and settled down slowly. I think it's designed to put itself down if the flyer is injured."

"So why didn't the first one do that? Remember, it was maintaining its height."

"I think it was probably because that thing was still holding the control," Leara said slowly, musing. "As long as there's a hand on the controls it keeps on moving."

"You're probably right. Okay, let's get loading. If possible, I want them all loaded ready to go by first light."

It was hard, back-breaking slog but by first light all three flying machines were loaded and ready to go. Leara moved her flying machine away from the door to the cache and Ardan gingerly flew the laden Terran flyer through the doorway. They closed the cache and took a moment for some fruit and water.

"Which way should we go?" Jandol asked. "If we follow the river, we get to Jalx without any problems, but we probably bump into every invader in the country."

"Go West, until we reach Bel's Crossing, then follow the Jena river. It's wild country and there are few inhabitants, so the invaders probably won't have touched it. They only seemed interested in the populated areas. Once we reach the Xeni river, we can separate. You follow the river from there, Jan, and Lea and I will go over the ridge to Ansel Crossing, then over again to Vilna Station."

Jandol nodded. "It makes sense, and it means we're travelling together most of the day."

"There's one other thing," said Leara. "The horses. They're picketed near the foot of the Tower. What about them."

Ardan made a face. "We'll have to turn them loose. They should be okay, someone will get to them sometime."

Leara grinned. "We should ask the keeta to herd them home for us."

Ardan laughed. "The way things have been these last few days, that almost sounds normal." He shook his head. "I just don't know. Probably best just to turn them loose."

"First we get these flying machines off the plateau and down to the ground," said Jandol. "Then we have a hot drink. Then we start this journey. I suggest we fly low."

Ardan nodded. "But not too low. We don't want to hit anything."

"Unless it's an invader, and then we hit it very hard," said Leara, a determined expression on her face. "For the first time since those things arrived, I feel as if we have a chance."

Ardan reached out and drew her to him, hugging her fiercely. He kissed her. "Be careful," he said. "I don't want to lose you."

She smiled, a shaky smile. "Nor I you."

Ardan and Jandol clasped hands, Leara gave Jandol a brief hug and kiss, and the three friends separated to their respective machines. As they took their seats, Ardan signalled 'one', and pointed to Jandol, 'two', and pointed to Leara, 'three', and pointed to himself. The others nodded and Ardan and Leara watched as Jandol eased his laden flying machine off the plateau and over the edge of the Tower. In vivid contrast to the time it had taken them to climb the Tower, the three were on the ground within five minutes. Leara went to the horses and took off their picket lines. They put the saddles and tack into the flying machines and with a smack on the rump, sent the animals trotting off into the day.

"She's there," said Leara, pointing to the adult keeta who sat watching them from atop a rock.

"Where are the cubs?" asked Jandol.

"There, see, beside the rock pile. They seem to be waiting for something." The humans watched as the adult keeta went to the cubs. It seemed to the watchers that the animals were in discussion and shortly afterwards the adult keeta went loping off in the direction the horses had taken. One of the almost-grown cubs came loping across to where Ardan stood beside the Terran flyer and sat, waiting. The other cub went over to Jandol.

"Male to male," mused Ardan. "No cub for you, Lea."

"Not yet," said Leara, "but I'm getting reassurance, almost as if they're saying, 'just wait a little'."

"I got that, too," said Ardan. "Okay, let's go." As he settled himself in the control seat, the keeta leaped neatly over the side and stretched itself out near him. "Okay, keeta, welcome." He looked over as he saw the other keeta follow Jandol through the hatchway of his closed-in machine. Leara looked over at him and shrugged. He waved, and pointed West, lifted the flyer twenty feet from the ground and pointed it towards the Bel river, ten klicks west.

By agreement, they kept the speed down, not wishing to take the risk of crashing, but even so it was an exhilarating trip, moving twice as fast as a galloping horse in almost total silence. Twice they saw humans fleeing for cover, but they were isolated, usually in ones or twos; they saw no big groups. They reached the river in less than half an hour and turned to follow it to its junction with the Jena. The Jena was an old river and had carved massive gorges through the mountains. There were occasional settlements at crossings but little along the route, passing as it did through such mountainous terrain. They slowed as the river widened, in softer country, before joining the Xeni river in its progress to the sea.

They separated there, Jandol following the river towards Tanart's Hold, while Ardan and Leara lifted their flyers up and over the ridge which separated the valley of the Xeni from the vale where Ansel Crossing stood. As the machines went over the ridge, Ardan pointed. There was a glade below, big enough to land the two flyers. The trees were polsi, tall, slender trunks, with bushy crowns. Ardan took his flyer down and coaxed it as far as he dared under the shelter of the treetops. Leara, realising what he was doing, set hers down nearby. Like Ardan, she took it as far under the trees as she dared.

Ardan stepped down and walked across to Leara's machine. She straightened, stretching, and made a face.

"I think I'm trying too hard," she said with a smile. "I'm stiff." She looked around. "Are we safe?"

Ardan looked at the keeta, which washed its face and appeared totally unconcerned. "Our friend seems to think so," he said.

"We need to try to get in touch with our people," said Leara, "But I have no idea which way to go."

"Keeta?" said Ardan. "Can you lead us to Leara's people?"

The keeta looked at him for a moment, stretched then headed off into the trees. At the edge of the clearing it paused, looking back. Ardan turned to Leara. "I think one of us should stay here. The Hinazi are your people, I think you should be the one to go. Take an energy weapon with you. They're lighter than the projectile weapons."

Leara nodded, taking the gun from beside her control seat. She came across and kissed him, briefly but thoroughly, then turned to follow the keeta into the trees. Left to his own devices, Ardan cut some brush and used it to conceal the rear of the flyer where it might be seen from the air, then did the same for Leara's machine.

The day passed slowly for him and he was beginning to think that he should have gone with her when there was a rustle in the bush beside him and a keeta's head appeared, then the rest of the animal. Startled, he realised this was not the male which had accompanied him in the flyer, but a female, about the same age as the male. Like the male, a young adult, probably looking for a mate. The female regarded him calmly for a moment, then stepped out into the open, lying down near him, head on paws.

"Hello, girl," he said softly. "Have you come to say hello?"

The keeta looked at him, but he sensed nothing. Another hour passed, then Ardan thought he heard something and tensed. The keeta was staring at an opening between the trees and in a moment the young male appeared, followed by Leara, who had a fresh cut on her arm and looked a little worse for wear.

"What happened?" Ardan said, anxious.

"Ambush. Two of those invaders. They were careless, didn't expect me to have such weapons as their own." Leara gave a savage smile. "Both dead. The keeta warned me."

"The cut?"

Leara grimaced. "I fell over a fallen tree." She gestured. "Who's your friend?"

Ardan glanced over at the female keeta, now busy making the acquaintance of the young male. He guessed that the mental abilities of the keeta helped in the process as in very short order the two animals lay down side by side, watching the humans.

"She came out of the brush about an hour ago. Just lay and waited, as if she knew the male was coming back." He looked up at Leara. "Did you find anyone."

Leara nodded. "I found an outlying scout. He said the main party is over towards the Crossing. They've lost a few men but they've captured some of those tube weapons. He says they seem to hold about thirty projectiles. After they're fired, the weapon is useless. They just don't have enough of them to make a significant difference. When I said we had more weapons I thought he wanted to marry me there and then!" Leara laughed. "He was only about fourteen, the poor boy was as shy as any male I've ever known. I sent him to tell the main party where we are. They'll come through the night and join us at first light. The scout said there are too many of the invaders over by the Crossing for us to try to get the weapons to them safely. They'll come to us."

"Do they know where we are?"

"I left Hinazi trail sign. They'll find us."

"Okay. It will be dark in a couple of hours. We'll rest up under the trees, I think. Out of sight of any flyers."

"I could do with a rest."

"Come on, we'll put the blankets down over there, take turns to rest."

"We can both rest. The keeta will warn us, won't you?"

Ardan sensed agreement and he made no further protest. He and Leara were both tired after working most of the night, followed by the strain of flying the unfamiliar machines and after a kiss and a hug they wrapped themselves in the blankets and were soon asleep.

It was almost dark when Ardan woke, uncomfortable, a burgeoning erection in his breeches making him uncomfortable. Leara was tossing and turning in her sleep and as he reached out to touch her, she woke, staring at him. A slow smile spread over her face and she reached for him. He was conscious somehow of her desire for him and their lips met in a fevered kiss, a kiss seemingly without end, burning them, lifting them. Leara clawed at him and he broke the kiss reluctantly. She lay on her back, staring at him, her eyes hot and he reached out slowly and began to loosen the ties on the front of her tunic. It was moments only before her breasts were bared, her nipples erect, swollen with her desire. He bent and sucked at her, his teeth closing gently over her nub, a shudder passing through her as her fingers dug into his hair, moving ceaselessly, pulling him to her.

His hand stroked over her breasts, caressing, his thumb rolling over her nipple, the hand moving to her other breast, repeating the caress, his lips following his hand, kissing, teasing. He stroked her belly and let his hand slide under the waistband of her breeches. Her hand stopped his.

"They're too tight," she whispered, "we'll have to take them off." She reached down, her eyes never leaving his, and loosened the fastenings of her breeches. "Pull them down," she said, her voice low, throaty.

He could feel her desire, her love, her want and he knew that she in her turn could feel his own need for her, the urgency which was blurring his vision. As she raised her bottom from the blankets he tugged at her breeches, revealing the wisps of pubic hair on her mound, releasing the heated woman smell of her to his nose. He came up to his knees and tugged off her boots, then her breeches, so that she was bare from the waist, her tunic open, lovely, wanting him. He quickly loosened his own tunic and tugged it over his head, loosening his breeches, pushing them down, his prick hard in the warm night air.

"I want you," she whispered, "I want you now! I want you in me!" Her legs moved, spreading themselves, opening her to him.

He moved so that he was kneeling between her legs and bent to her, breathing deeply of her, the rich aroma stimulating his erection even more, so that he was as hard as he had ever been. He extended his tongue and lapped the length of her slit, her juices salty-sweet on his tongue, hot, her woman-scent pungent. She tugged at him, pulling him up to cover her.

"In me," she moaned, her voice cracking in her desire for him, "in me now, please, Ardan, in me!"

He moved, his weight on one arm, his other hand taking a grasp of his hardness, pointing it to her. She reached down and guided him into her as he pushed gently in, her lower lips spreading in welcome. He braced himself on both arms, pushing gently into her, conscious only of a fierce desire for her. Movement caught his eye and he watched as the male keeta mounted the female, the two animals a bare spear's length away.

Leara winced and cried out as he encountered the obstruction of her hymen. Flustered, for this was a new experience for him, he made to withdraw slightly but Leara seized him by the hips and pulled him to her, pushing hard against him. Her hymen tore and a brief gasp of pain came from her but she tugged at him, urging him into her. He eased back to spread her juices and pressed into her again, and again, the juices easing his passage until he was in her as far as he could get, his balls slapping against her bottom as he rammed into her, her breathing fast now, gasps in his ears.