Page 59 of The Warrior's Oath
“Oh, wait! I didn’t mean like that,” she backpedaled.
Korvin glanced at her, a curious look in his eye as the gears churned behind them. Something was up, definitely, but he wasn’t ready to spill what it was. For now, it seemed, she’d just have to wait.
It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at the open clearing where the Raxxian compartment had landed. No trees were broken in this instance as there had been ample room for it to touch down unhindered. This time, though the air was still and quiet, the ship’s door stood open.
Korvin gestured for her to stay low as he scouted the craft. Nyota crouched behind cover, watching him dart forward, somehow almost blending in with the landscape despite lacking any actual camouflage. Perhaps it was the way he moved, or maybe his runes were playing some kind of trick on her eyes. Whatever it was, the last thing she saw was his knife in his hand before he vanished into the open door.
She stayed there silently for several minutes, her ears straining to filter out the sounds of nature her enhanced senses were now picking up. It was distracting, but she was just starting to get the hang of it when Korvin squatted down beside her.
“Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!” she hissed.
“Apologies. And thank you for keeping your voice down.”
“How the hell did you do that? I didn’t see you come out. You’re good, but you’re notthatgood, are you?”
A slight grin of amusement creased the corners of his lips. “Nothing like that. There was a damaged section of hull we could not see from here further up on the craft. I exited through it and circled back.”
“A hole in the ship? So everyone was dead, then?”
“No, actually.”
Nyota felt her heart quicken. “You’re saying there are survivors?”
“There were, yes. The compartments inside, if sealed, would have survived the extremes of re-entry. And from what I have seen, well, it would be best to show you. Come.”
He rose to his feet, taking her around the ship via the tree line before cutting back into the clearing. He stopped well short of the ship on a slightly muddy patch of ground away from the rocks.
“Why’d we stop?”
“Look,” he said, pointing at their feet.
She saw the footprints almost immediately. Big, clawed ones stood out, the weight of their owners sinking them deep into the soil. But there were others as well.
“Are those running shoes?” she gasped, bending down for a closer look. “These are from Earth. Humans made these!”
“Indeed. And they headed into the woods in that direction.”
“Were they captives or were they escapees?”
“The ground is still wet from what must have been a regional storm, but it would seem the prisoners made theirs first, fleeing the downed ship before the Raxxian retrieval team arrived.”
“Then we’ve got to find them.”
“Agreed. But there is something else,” he said, pointing toward the rockier ground.
Nyota looked hard until she saw what he was talking about. A boot print, larger than a human’s and shockingly familiar. She’d seen that same pattern before, left by her companion when they first arrived.
“One of your people?”
He nodded.
“Is it your friend? Your general?”
“That I cannot say. But a Nimenni survived this landing and is out there somewhere and I must find him.”
“So we go looking,” Nyota replied, energized, terrified, and shockingly ready to face danger if it meant finding another human.
“We shall. But we must be exceedingly cautious. The Raxxians are tactless brutes aboard their ships, but on the ground they are fierce and skilled adversaries. We would do well not to underestimate them.”
