Eye of the Ocean Book 3 Ji'jin Station

Eye of the Ocean – Book 3: Ji’Jin Station
wall as he bent over, his hands on his knees. Niv was by his feet, still
unconscious. He and Cici had carried him.
One of Alicia's hands automatically went to the long braid of hair and came up
empty of beads, but she shook her head. “There's been no sign that Rilla or
Ge'on'ni made it past the first cave-in. If they can, they'll come around, use a
different corridor rather than try to clear the rubble. All the ways eventually lead
inwards. They'll have maps same as we do.” Three times the corridor had been
sealed behind them and he thought her words were to share her fears that it
wouldn't be enough. “Kori, put a couple of beads set to blow up in front of the
warding field but we'll retrieve them if we don't have to use them.”
The Zimmer set the first at the base of the stairs, calling Op'ki'na to help her
with the second, closer in. The ti'Linn managed to hold the bead in a lower pincer
but Garm wasn't sure anything was being done. Alicia went to stand on the
guard's other side, the two women watched silently until the ti'Linn placed the
bead and moved back with an unsteady gait. One upper arm was tucked against
its side and wrapped down, a third of the length missing.
After a few clicking words in ti'Linn-native, Alicia left them to complete the
warding. She deferred to Kori on technical matters, but nothing else. He couldn't
pin point the exact time when she had taken over command, perhaps when she
had killed Heana. Or earlier, when his orders had failed. So... who are you, he
thought? A Law Clerk who used to be the San of an Empress? He had no
relevance here.
Slowly, Eunni got off the pack she'd half fallen on as soon as they had stopped.
The lines on her face were sunken into the skin. “We should eat as well as rest.”
She fumbled as she untied the top of the bundle. Hic'lic started with another, ticticing
the whole time, not bothering with the plain-tongue it knew quite well.
Without the Net to translate, its words were gibberish but Eunni seemed to
understand.
“Lunch, I suppose,” Alicia said, sounding less than enthused with the prospect.
“Lunch, definitely,” Bolda said, giving her a dirty look before going over to help
Eunni. Peecit trailed after him and stood there, apparently waiting to be invited to
help. After getting a bottle of water, Cici went to help Mirwin with Niv, the young
tass'altin was working the man's g’ta points at every chance he got.
Garm started over to Eunni, to be close really, his assistance wasn't needed. A
small wet hand fit into his. “Kori can handle things here,” Alicia said. “Come scout
ahead with me.” She still had the strap of her Zimmer rifle over one shoulder,
water bottle in her other hand. Sweat darkened blood stained her tunic and
pants, ash and blood the rest of her, except for a patch of almost white skin
around her mouth and a matching, if less clean patch, on the back of one hand.
“I thought that you'd want to stay.”
Laurel Hickey www.2morrow.bc.ca