29
Tedesco Pass , Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
1 May 3052 (Day 1 of Operation Scorpion)
Kai waved Deirdre forward with an over-exaggerated motion of his right hand. "C'mon gorgeous. It's not that much further."
He looked up along the grassy pathway taking them to the top of the pass. It clung to the side of the foothills like an overwide ledge. To his left, granite outcroppings played hide-and-seek amid a pine forest much like the one through which they'd been hiking for the better part of two weeks. Up this high, the trees had begun to thin, but Kai liked walking in the open and feeling the dying sun on his face.
To his left, the land dropped away as if the valley floor had been snapped off and pushed down into the ground. Though some trees did extend up to and even above the level of the pathway and the plateau toward which they headed, the geography still gave Kai an unobstructed view of the area to the north and west of the pass. Way off in the distance, he could see Dove Costoso squatting like a chalkpit in the midst of the forest. Beyond it, the mountains where they'd begun their journey slowly nibbled away at the sun's red disk.
Deirdre caught up with Kai and took his hand. "I'm exhausted, Kai. I think it's the thin air up here."
"Exhaustion just makes you prettier." Kai kissed her nose. "And the air is getting to me, too. If we make it another one hundred meters, we'll be on level ground. We can stop for the night, and then tomorrow we can descend the other side and we'll be at Mount Sera."
Deirdre blew an errant strand of hair from her forehead. "Thank God. Had I known what this hike would be like, I would have surrendered in Dove Costoso."
"You might have had a partner in that," Kai sighed. Deirdre had slowed him down in the trip, but he couldn't have made it without her. I accepted responsibility for her, as she did for me. If we had not worked together, neither of us would have made it even this far.
Her eyes sparkled blue. "What? You mean I could be the demi-Precentor's guest right now?"
Kai turned around and dragged her up the bill. "Sure, you could be his guest. I'm sure he'd really appreciate your bedside manner."
"In his wildest dreams."
The MechWarrior smiled. "Well, we did leave him in bad shape, and Lord knows I've healed much faster due to your ministrations."
She slipped her arm around his waist as they reached the circular plateau. "You and I have a special rapport. I sincerely doubt I could ever care as much about Khalsa's condition as I do yours."
Standing near the western edge of the plateau, Kai shucked off his pack and laid the autorifle down on top of it. He pulled Deirdre into his arms and kissed her. "Could be I have a chronic condition, Doctor. You might have to tend to me for a long time."
"I do make house calls," she whispered back and drew him closer.
"I find this touching, but I am afraid, Mr. Jewell, Doctor Lear, you will have to quench your ardor another time."
Kai turned slowly and guided Deirdre wide to his left, yet away from the plateau's sharp drop. He knew instandy from the deep timbre of the man's voice that the speaker could only be an Elemental and incredibly huge. The man he found himself facing fit that description far more perfectiy than he had hoped. He wore his blond hair short and his arctic eyes seemed positively alien to the MechWarrior. His clothing consisted of only a pair of shorts and leather sandals.
Behind him, three other Elementals slipped from the trees on the plateau's south and eastern perimeter. One moved to cut off any chance of heading back down the way they had come while another blocked the trail out to the northeast. All three wore jumpsuits and carried knives, but none had their weapons drawn.
The leader pressed his right hand against his breastbone. "I am Taman Malthus, the Star Captain in charge of the Elemental Trinary Star here on Alyina. I wish to applaud your efforts at evasion. Tracking and capturing you has proved most challenging."
Kai could tell from the man's manner and tone that his words were meant as a compliment. "I appreciate that, Star Captain." Kai let his hand rest on the pistol at his right hip. "I would point out that I am armed with a pistol, so why don't you and your men leave now and things don't have to get nasty."
Malthus nodded in a matter-of-fact way that annoyed Kai. "It is a Mauser and Gray needle pistol. Given my size, it will take approximately three shots centered on my head or chest to kill me. In that time, because the projectiles do not have appreciable mass to deter me, I will cross the distance between us and carry you off the edge to your death below. At the same time, one of my aides will kill Doctor Lear."
"Your last hunter tried to use Deirdre against me."
"Did he?" Malthus straightened up. "He paid with his life for being stupid." The Elemental looked at Deirdre and indicated with a motion of his right hand that she should move away from Kai. She glanced back at him and he nodded his agreement. "I promise you, Mr. Jewell, that I will not use her against you. In fact, if you defeat me in single combat, you are both free to go on your way."
Kai snorted with derision. 'That was the same deal your Corbin offered me, though he repudiated it in mid-battle. Surely you can do better."
"Can and will." Malthus dipped his head in a salute. "I will arrange for a DropShip to take you back to your people."
The Mech Warrior hooked his thumbs through his gunbelt, "Dr. Lear, me, and all the prisoners of war in Firebase Tango Zephyr."
"ComStar will not like our taking their prisoners away from them, but anything that annoys Demi-Precentor Khalsa pleases me. Bargained well and done." Malthus turned toward one of his men. "You heard our agreement. You will see to it that my half of the bargain is met if Jewell defeats me."
"Aff, Star Captain."
Kai unbuckled his gunbelt and tossed it onto his pack beside the rifle. He took one step away from the edge, then stretched his right leg. "I trust you do not mind? Climbing that hill has stiffened me up somewhat."
Flexing thighs almost as thick as Kai's torso, Malthus mirrored his motion. "I would not want you at a disadvantage. As it is, waiting for you to reach this point has likewise stiffened me."
"How did you find us?"
The Clansman shrugged effortlessly. "We assumed you would be heading for Dove Costoso to lose yourself in the crowd. We cut across your trail, swinging north of the city. Consulting a map told us you had no real place to go except through this pass and out of the Costoso Valley. We have been waiting here since this morning."
As Kai shifted sides to stretch his other leg, he saw Deirdre staring at him. "You don't have to do this. You can just surrender."
The Elemental shook his head as his gaze bored into Kai's soul. "He is a warrior, woman. He is not yet captured, and freedom is within his grasp."
"Death is not freedom. Just surrender. I do not want you to die."
"In some ways, Deirdre, not fighting would be death." Kai started through some torso-twists. "Star Captain, if you kill me, make sure she does not go to Khalsa."
"Done." Malthus gave Kai an easy smile. "In honor of your having slain Corbin, I will make her a bondswoman of the Jade Falcons."
"This is stupid!" Deirdre appealed to Malthus. "Star Captain, make hima bondsman. Why kill him?"