From The Stars

Chapter 3: Scouts

Krolia turned back for the cave, pulling her knife once again and drawing it to its full form. She waited just outside the entrance for him to emerge, swiftly lodging her sword in his chest plate. The armour cracked ominously but it was no match for her luxite blade and she cut through it like butter. If her arrival hadn't drawn the attention of the Garrison, this certainly would. Dragging the body back into the cave, she grabbed the other scout and placed them together at the entrance before heading back for the sole remaining pod. Kolt had managed to place explosives on two of the three fighters and when he hit that trigger they had both blown up. She thanked the stars the coward had chosen one of those to escape in.

The exploded pod was scattered across the landscape and there was no way to clean the debris, but the intact pod needed to be moved. She climbed inside and activated the lowest power engines, flying the pod ever so carefully into the cave and stopping just in front of the Blue Lion. Before exiting the pod she activated the shields and hoped they would be sufficient to protect it. Krolia dragged the portable console the scouts had brought with them back to the entrance and set the last of her explosives. The resulting blast would hopefully be enough to bury the bodies and conceal the mouth of the cave. Its particle barrier would protect the Blue Lion and she prayed this would be enough to conceal its location from the Garrison when they came to investigate.

She didn't pay much attention to her footings as she descended into the canyon; her haste made her careless and she inevitably placed her weight on a few loose rocks. The footing gave way and she tumbled down the remainder of the canyon's walls coming to a hard landing at the base. Heaving herself to her feet she groaned and shuffled over to Kolt's unconscious form dragging her badly sprained ankle in the dust behind her.

There was no blood, but that was to be expected with an Empire blaster; they cauterized wounds instantly. It was the only reason he was still alive. Had they been Garrison issue weapons, or any other Earth based weapons for that matter, he would have bled to death from his injury before she could reach him. As it were, the sniper had missed their target, hitting him in the right shoulder blade instead of the head as they were trained to do. Once again she thanked the stars for Kolt's luck, for her luck, and lifted him in a fireman's carry back to the hover bike.

For a moment she hesitated, unsure of what to do next. The options were either bring him back to their isolated desert home in the hopes that she would be able to dress and mend his wounds, or bring him to an Earth hospital for professional medical attention. The latter guaranteed his survival and gave the least opportunity for infection to set in, but it meant exposing herself to the Humans and leaving Keith alone with no one to know he was there. She couldn't risk it. If they took her then no one would be there to protect Keith. Anything could happen; a coyote could get in, he could be left alone for too long leaving him to starve or dehydrate, or he could injure himself trying to climb out of his crib. Or worse, the Garrison to go after him.

No, the Earth hospital wasn't an option, she couldn't risk the danger it put Keith in and she couldn't take him with her; the hover bike barely fit her and Kolt not to mention how incredibly dangerous it was for a 2 year old. She pulled her mate into her lap and flew the hover bike back to the house.

The moment the engine cut she could hear the sounds of Keith crying and her heart clenched tightly in her chest. Gently carrying him inside she lay Kolt on the old couch before rushing up the stairs to their son. His tear-streaked face greeted her when she opened the door to the nursery. He was standing in his crib, one hand on the rails and one clutching his purple kitty as he cried but the moment he saw her, little hands reached out for his mother. Scooping him up she nuzzled his head and purred to him, calming his panicked breathing and lulling him back into contentment. She stood there with him for a while, perhaps almost an hour, rocking him in her arms as she purred softly and stared out the window.