JORR (Jim Able: Offworld Book 7) by Ed Charlton (ebook reader ink .txt) 📗

“Keep still,” said Tamric as he held the bio-scan against one of the parallel cuts. “Perhaps we spoke too soon. The Gul’s claws may have a healthier population of bacteria than the mud. Of course, some of these bacteria could be your own. We didn’t decontaminate ourselves before we abandoned the flier. We will have brought our own populations with us.”

“Wait till we start defecating along the trail. You and I could be fathering whole new evolutionary branches over the next few days.”

“Here’s the antimicrobial gel. Rub it in well. You’ll scar, but hopefully not die.”

“Thanks.”

Jim applied the gel and winced, guessing that Tamric was, by nature, an optimist.

Chapter Two

It was the first time Ajeer had seen him in a rage. She had heard about his rages often. It was terrifying; it racked her body with electric discomfort. She knew she could not move. She had to stay still and calm. He needed her, and this was her duty. Now, when all the others had fled the room and the furniture had stopped rolling, this was her moment.

Into the awful silence she said, “The spirit is close. Call on the spirit now.”

Instead, the Raeff uttered the kind of profanity heard only in the army barracks.

She gritted her teeth and tried again. “Into this place the spirit moves; do not let it pass by without acknowledgment.”

He swung round to her and grabbed the back of her neck, his claws extended. “For my whole life I have heard a voice saying such things. But that voice was old and wise. You are a pretty girl pretending to be what you are not.”

It was her turn to feel anger. She growled and bared her teeth. “Never forget that I am a Luminant! You know of only your own life. I know of every Raeff that has gone before! I speak with the voice of tradition. I may be young, Loff, but I have years of study and devotion to my credit. It’s about time you acknowledged that!”

He blinked in surprise and released his grip.

She put a single claw to his chest. “I may be here to comfort and assist you, but never think that I’m some kind of ornament! If I tell you that the spirit is here and you should be listening, you do it!”

He laughed but did not move. He looked into her eyes and drank in the seriousness and ferocity he saw there. “You would have been a wonderful challenge as a wife!”

He brushed aside her arm and walked away.

“So why does the spirit speak to me but not to those who work for me? Why does the spirit not guide those fools who let that craft burn? Why does the spirit not guide my troops away from stupidity? Illuminate that for me!”

“You know the answer.”

She waited as she had been trained to do.

He sighed. “Yes...I suppose I do. I have been chosen; they have not.”

“Indeed, you must not judge them by the same standard. They try, but they do not see things as you do.”

“What do you think I should do?”

She was elated at his tone. This was the first time he had asked her, as an equal, perhaps as a friend, for her thoughts.

“Did they say the aliens were dead?”

“They can’t get the cars out of the mud without heavy equipment. That will take time to arrive.”

“Do you fear that they live?”

“Fear?” He glared at her again, but it passed quickly. “No, it’s not a matter of fear. No alien spies can interfere at this stage.”

“Then move on.”

He nodded, and she breathed more easily.

Chapter Three

As soon as dawn came and there was enough light to see by, Jim unpacked his gear. He brought out a helmet and the collection of infrared sights he had thrown into the backpack as an afterthought. He was glad he had insisted on Tamric’s superiors loading weapons in the flier; he regretted that almost all of them had been destroyed.

He worked for almost an hour, taping the sights to the sides of the helmet and wiring them into the display inputs.

Tamric watched in silence. Jim put the helmet on and switched on two of the four sights. The view through the visor was not clear. He could see the glowing blob of Tamric and the vague haze of the sunlight coming through the holes in the boat, but almost no detail.

“If I may guess...” began Tamric, “your work is less successful than you hoped.”

“I...you’re right. These systems aren’t really compatible. It was a long shot.”

Jim took off the helmet and shrugged.

Tamric was shaking his head. “Jim, you are the experienced agent. I am a junior monk with much to learn. I was proud to be entrusted with this mission. I was also overwhelmed by the importance of it. Watching you just now has given me an insight into how Daum Robertus has been training me—preparing me—for this. Indeed, I see more clearly now the depths of the teachings of the Praestans Rapax.”

“Wait a minute. You’ve been watching me all this while just to tell me how much I suck? Is that it?”

Tamric laughed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. But we agreed that your method was unsuccessful.”

Jim narrowed his eyes at the monk. “You’ve got a better idea?” He tossed the helmet over to him.

Tamric sat cross-legged with the helmet in front of him, but he did not touch it.

“For us, it is of prime importance to do all things well. All our methods, all our teachings, are held up to that one test: does this enable me to do something well or better than before? It is who we are. It is what we do.”

He paused to stare at the helmet, perhaps avoiding Jim’s annoyed glare. “In any task, it is of first importance to meditate upon the purpose. Without a true understanding of that, there can be no sure progress, no sure achievement. In this case, the purpose is simple: to see clearly through the gloom