CHAPTER 24
Major Perrin awoke with a start. One arm was bent and bound to his chest; the other had more than one IV line plugged into it. He blinked until his eyes managed to focus on the ceiling and the tops of wall lockers.
“Ah, right on time.” Lambert leaned forward from the one seat in the small cabin. “The medics said your sedatives would wear off about now.”
Perrin bent his head forward and looked over his body. He wore a white smock with tight socks around his feet and lower legs. His left arm ended halfway below the elbow in a plastic cylinder.
“Well . . . that I am aboard the same cabin I occupied on the Izmir implies that we escaped Dahrien. How many made it aboard? Things were in doubt when I was hit.” Perrin smacked dry lips.
Lambert gave him some water from a squirt bottle.
“Of the four-hundred-and-eighty-one men of Bretton we brought to Dahrien by the Izmir, three hundred and nine made it back aboard,” Perrin said. “Saint receive them.”
“Saint comfort them,” Perrin said. He looked down at where his left hand should’ve been. “A whole career dreaming of leading men into combat and when I finally get there . . . my first battle lasts only a couple of minutes. I can still feel it. Can even open and close fingers that aren’t there.”
“The men have been most worried about you,” Lambert said. “Bugging the medics for updates and such. I must say, Easton, I didn’t know you had it in you. No complaints by me.”
“Hmph.” Perrin shimmied back onto a pillow and propped his chest up. “Nor I you. How did you manage to pull all this off?”
“I sold my soul to the devil.” Lambert’s hands gripped the handle of his cane. He gave Perrin a quick rundown of the deal with Harris and Mehmet. “Though like any deal with the devil, there are caveats and loopholes. We’re not on course to Bretton just yet, but to some outpost named Ulvik where Harris believes he can bluff his way to enough fuel to get us home.”
“Do you believe him?” Perrin asked.
“We don’t have much of a choice, do we? Civil war has broken out across the Hegemony . . . though I don’t think it’s quite right to call it ‘civil.’ The Hegemony was a very weak glue holding a lot of different peoples together. Peoples that hated each other. We’ve just reverted back to the natural order of things. Tribe killing tribe. Clan against clan. Though the Skien warlord that threw the first stone into the whole castle of glass is a bit of a wildcard. We’ll have to beg, borrow and steal our way home . . . or fight for what we need. As such, I have high hopes that Harris can get us what we need and we’re not shedding blood for our own ends. I’d rather hold my head high when we walk under the Hero’s Boughs again.”
“And what must we give this Harris to get us home?” Perrin asked.
“Like any intelligence officer, he’s out to save his own hide. I’m sure Governor Engelier will grant him a stipend and an apartment at the very least for getting us home. Though, he’s likely more valuable than that if his connections and knowledge of power brokers is to be believed,” Lambert said.
“I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a bargain,” Perrin said.
“Indeed, but I still don’t trust him. He’s . . .” Lambert shivered for a moment.
“The men? Are they situated? Our equipment needs to be secured and—” Perrin tried to get out of bed and fell back, woozy.
“They’re just fine.” Lambert gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Rather easy, actually. We just put everything back where we had it. I gave the officers a general idea of what to do and let the NCOs do what they do best: organizing and controlling the soldiers. Though what to do with the Wolverine tank has been a project. Very nice find, I rather like it.”
“You brought it with us?” Perrin gave him a confused look.
“Was I not supposed to? It’s taken up a sizeable portion of the cargo bay, but we had room for it.”
“I thought . . . I was going to leave it behind, but it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. How long until we drop hyper at Ulvik?” Perrin asked.
“Two more days. I’ll handle the battalion while you rest. You’ve earned a day off,” Lambert said.
“Bugger that, the men need to see me up and about and in good spirits or they’ll—” Perrin tried to sit up again and froze, his abdominals tight. “—why is the cabin spinning? I’m floating. Did we lose power to the gravity . . . things?”
He eased back down, one hand gripping the sheets.
“At least a day off. The men are assembling a prosthetic hand for you. It might end up being little more than a hook, but do try and appreciate their efforts. Captain Mehmet’s preparing a meal for you from his personal stores once your eyeballs aren’t floating in medications.” Lambert stood and hobbled toward the door. “I’ll let the medics know you’re awake.”
“Lambert . . . well done.” Perrin raised his stump to him.
“Bah, you did better. Thank me when we’re home.” Lambert nodded at him and opened the door.