Upon a Savage Shore Ch. 02

"You go up there and stop when you can call to them," he told his prisoner. "Tell them to throw their weapons out where I can see them and then they come out with their hands raised above their heads. I'll take them prisoner. If they resist, I'll kill you all. Understand?"

"You take them?" she asked uncertainly. "You take me. Male, take me. Take now?"

"If they surrender, I'll take you all," he told her, hoping she understood his meaning.

"All?" she said sounding impressed. "Male strong?"

"Strong enough," he growled. "Do you understand?"

"They no fight," she said. "You take all."

"That's right," he confirmed. "They no fight. I take all. Now go."

As the little cat moved towards the lean-to Liam rested the rifle across the log and sighted down its barrel. He would nail the ones in the shelter first and if the little one made any hostile moves he would shoot her as well.

When his prisoner got close enough to call to the wounded jZav'Etch she stopped and screeched something at them. The one that was laying down rose to an elbow and the one that had been tending to her leg pulled herself up, leaning heavily on one of the lean-to's poles. She called back to his prisoner and they exchanged several sentences before the injured jZav'Etch turned back to the soldier, apparently discussing something.

Liam switched the safety off, ready to blow them to hell and gone if he had to.

Finally the injured jZav'Etch called back to the little one and after a moment he saw the rifles and the pistols get tossed out of the shelter. The little one hopped up and down excitedly and turned to shout back to Liam. He didn't understand her words, but it sounded as if she were happy.

Cautiously, Liam rose from behind the log and edged towards the shelter. He did an active sensor sweep, finding that there were only three jZav'Etch in the area. He noted there were other large animal signatures nearby, but none seemed to be coming his way. The crash had likely disrupted the local wildlife enough to drive them off for days.

When he got to where the little cat was still standing he saw her face split into a pleased grin.

"Take now?" she asked.

"Later," he grumbled and pushed her ahead of him towards the lean-to. Under her trousers he could see her short tail twitching again and she had changed the way she walked, somehow making it more of a suggestive strut.

"You are the one who killed Am'a'all?" asked the injured jZav'Etch, still leaning against the pole. She spoke in near flawless English.

"If that was the name of the marine who came after me, yes," Liam told her, holding his weapon at the ready.

"I am M'pel E'kmel," she said. "You would call me a commander. I was in charge of the flight."

"I'm Sergeant Liam Carter," he replied. "I don't know the equivalent rank among your people."

"A sergeant?" she said, obviously dismayed. "A sergeant killed Am'a'all? Truly remarkable."

"It was a tough fight," Liam admitted. No harm in telling them the truth. Am'a'all had gone down hard and there was no shame in that.

"This one says you will take us," Commander M'pel E'kmel said, amusement suddenly twinkling in her eyes. "I think she may have misunderstood your intention."

"I think she has, too."

"She told me you said 'Ka' chasck' before taking her prisoner."

"That's what we were told to say if we were going to take prisoners."

"I see," the commander smirked. "Your pronunciation is off. Badly off."

"I don't know much of your language," he admitted.

"Ka' chasck means you claimed her," Commander M'pel E'kmel said with an easy smile. "It is a male's right to attempt to do so during war. If the female does not wish it she will continue to fight. This young one seems to have been impressed with you."

"Even though I'm a human?" he asked puzzled.

"As far as she is concerned, she is human now as well," Commander M'pel E'kmel said.

"What?" he asked.

From within the lean-to the other jZav'Etch asked something.

"Tem'Ma'tel wishes to know if you will allow her to recover before you take her," Commander M'pel E'kmel said, her smile sly. She was enjoying some joke Liam did not fully understand.

"I think I've had enough of your smirking, Commander," he said and raised the muzzle of the rifle to point at her belly.

"Forgive me, Sergeant," she replied instantly and dropped her head in a bow. "I was injured in the crash. I am on pain suppressors and not myself. Shall I explain?"

"Go on," he said evenly.

"Ka' chasck is very similar to Ka' a Chisq," she said, not looking up. "Ka' a Chisq means you are taking a military prisoner. One who will be treated as a soldier and imprisoned until the end of hostilities. It is not dishonorable for a soldier to accept such an offer. Ka' chask is as I explained. A male may attempt to claim a female in combat if he has the advantage. If the female accepts, she mates with him and becomes a member of his family. In your case, Klat' eil' Da is now a member of the Human clan as well as your mate. I believe she is very flattered you chose her. She saw you kill a powerful warrior, a captain among my people. She is small, even for one of her kind. She could not expect many interested mates. Few of those would have been acceptable to her family. But you are large and have proven yourself in combat. You would be very impressive to have as her mate."

"So she," he paused before he said something else stupid.

"She said you would not mate with her before coming here," Commander M'pel E'kmel said. "I told her you were wise to complete your mission and she forgives the insult."

"And what about the two of you?" Liam asked indicating the other jZav'Etch with a nod.

"I know more of your culture than either of them," she said. "Tem'Ma'tel would not accept being held prisoner in this situation. We outnumber you. She would try to kill you if you decide to not take her. I will not attempt to do so. It is better to have four to hunt and gather than three. I will not require you to take me."

"Commander," Liam said uncomfortably. "Even if I wanted to, I don't know if it's possible for me to do that with your kind."

She stifled a snicker and then went quiet, catching her breath. Finally she looked up and said, "It is possible. I know several females who have taken Humans as their bond servants. There are not many males who have taken Humans, though. I know of none that have taken them for that purpose."

Liam blinked at the revelation. He should just kill all three and be done with it, but now that they were his prisoners he was obligated to see to their safety. This was turning into a bigger mess than he had ever imagined. Wouldn't it have been better if he hadn't landed on this island? Or even if the male had simply killed him? What was he going to do with the three of them? This was a lousy place to stay even for one night. It looked as though the lean-to had been cobbled together only hours ago. Was it even finished yet?

"What will you do with us?" asked the commander.

"How badly injured are you?" he asked.

"I twisted my knee, several pulled muscles and many bruises," she replied. "Nothing that will not heal in time."

"And what about her?" he asked indicating Tem'Ma'tel.

"A clean wound," M'pel E'kmel replied. "I believe your doctors would call it a 'through and through'. Very painful. Much blood loss. She is strong, though and will likely be up in a week. I have done the best I can for her, but I am no medic."

"Alright, Commander," Liam said. "Go to the back of the shelter and sit facing the entrance. Take... uh... Klat' eil' Da with you. Tell Tem'... Tem'Ma'tel that I am going to have a look at her wound. I won't harm her further as long as she doesn't try anything."

The jZav'Etch followed his instructions. Tem'Ma'tel, having agreed to his inspection of her wound, watched Liam carefully as he knelt beside her and took out his medical kit. The seal on the leg of her trousers was opened from her ankle to her thigh exposing the odd combination of human and feline anatomy he had expected. What he hadn't expected was how human it actually looked. He'd seen dancers with less shapely legs.

Liam opened his medical scanner and passed it slowly over her wound. Commander M'pel E'kmel had been correct. It was a clean wound. The four millimeter slug had not struck bone and had not tumbled upon entry. The EP 12 had been set to defeat armor and there had been nothing to sufficiently resist the projectile. The entry and exit wounds were virtually the same size. The scanner suggested an antibacterial injection and a dose of pain killers in addition to what had already been done. Liam took a hypogun from his kit and was about to administer the injection when Tem'Ma'tel snatched his wrist in her six fingered hand and held it firmly. She frowned meeting his eyes unblinkingly.

"Medicine," Liam said but not in a threatening manner. He couldn't help but notice how striking the jZav'Etch soldier was. She had silky short fur and fiery golden eyes like none he had ever seen. Though not human looking, her face did not look precisely like that of a cat, of course. jZav'Etch were not related to cats, coming from a different planet than Earth.

Very slowly she released his wrist and allowed him to inject the medicine. He produced two pills and opened his canteen. Miming opening his mouth, putting the pills in and drinking water he offered them to her. She frowned at him. He opened his mouth and pointed at her. Still frowning she opened her mouth, exposing the sizable teeth of her kind. Careful to not startle her, Liam placed the pills on her tongue and then handed her the canteen. She reluctantly swallowed the pills then handed the water back to him.

"She can't walk on this," he observed.

"No," replied Commander M'pel E'kmel.

"And you can't go far in your condition, either."

"I cannot," she said.

"And this is a shitty place to make camp," he observed and stood. "And my place is no better if I have to bring the three of you with me. I don't suppose we could shelter in your ship?"

"The power core is exposed. Radiation flooded the whole thing. We barely got out in time," Commander M'pel E'kmel told him. "These few things you see here are all we were able to salvage. What will you do?"

In answer he took his pack off and removed a cloth tube. From this he produced a folded stretcher. He snapped the frame out and made sure the joints were set before laying it on the ground next to Tem'Ma'tel.

"Klat' eil' Da," he said and waved the small cat to him. She got up and stepped over. Liam turned her around and opened the fastenings of the cargo straps, letting her hands loose. She said something and M'pel E'kmel chuckled.

"What was that?" Liam asked.

"She said you could leave them on if you prefer her like that," the commander chuckled again, the pain medication still having its effect. "She is quite young and mischievous, even for her people. She is still waiting for you to seal the compact."

"She is going to be waiting a long time," Liam grumbled. "Tell her that she and I are going to lift you two on this stretcher. Tell Tem'Ma'tel to climb on and then you come over here and join her."

"You don't really think the two of you are strong enough to lift both of us at the same time?" the commander demanded suppressing her mirth.

"You'd be surprised at what we can do with the right motivation."

When Liam did not elaborate, Commander M'pel E'kmel crawled across the floor and sat on the stretcher, then told Tem'Ma'tel to do likewise. The soldier moved painfully into position so that the pair of them sat back to back with their feet pointing at opposite ends. Liam touched a button on the corner of the stretcher and it lifted a dozen centimeters off the ground. Anti-grav impulsers had been in broad use in the CP for several generations and the stretcher was among the most practical applications.

"Impressive," said M'pel E'kmel and chuckled for no reason.

"It's designed to carry a marine in full battle kit across most terrain," Liam told her. "The two of you together aren't much heavier. If we were in different country I'd just have Klat' eil Da pull you with a rope, but there are too many logs and rocks to get over. She'd dump you off for sure."

"And how will the difference in your heights affect the journey to wherever we are going?" asked Mpel E'kmel.

"When we start going uphill, I'll stay downslope from her."

Liam motioned for the small cat to lift her end while he lifted his. When Klat' eil' Da held the stretcher at waist height he looped one of the cargo straps through the corners of the stretcher and adjusted his grip until the stretcher was level.

"Tell her we're going back to the place she and the male found me," Liam said. "It's easier to defend than this place and should give pretty good shelter if there is a storm or something."

"And the equipment we leave here?" the commander asked.

"We'll come back for it later, unless you have rations or water," he replied. "We can take those now."

After loading a small pack of food and two jugs of water on the stretcher they set out. Liam walked in the rear with the rifle over his shoulder. He was more worried about encountering more predators like the ones he'd seen near his pod than he was about keeping an eye on his prisoners. For the moment, he reckoned, they needed him enough to keep them from killing him. Like it or not, they were all in the same boat.