enough of an idea of where they might be to mounta concentrated search. So far, so good--though if things stayed thisway, it would work against them later, when the Marines landed and theywanted to be found.
That was more than a day away, though, he thought as the sun began toset. He rigged a door out of blankets, to block any lamplight thatmight get past the turns in the cave. He should have done that thenight before, he told himself, but it simply hadn't occurred to him; itwas just luck that they'd gotten away with his lack of foresight.
The night passed, but more slowly than he'd realized would be possible.Tarlac was delirious for several hours, and Dave spent most of thattime wrapping him in cold-water-soaked blankets, wiping his face, andtrickling water into his mouth. Shortly before dawn, to Dave'scombined relief and worry, delirium deepened into coma and Dave'sfatigue forced him to take advantage of the silence for a nap.
When he woke, he heard aircars again. They sounded closer than theyhad the day before, and worry turned into fear. The rebels might notbe wilderness experts, the way Nemra's Rescue Service people were, butit didn't take that kind of expert to tell the difference between amountain-prowler's yowling and a sick man's fever-induced cries. He'dbeen concerned about that all night, but hadn't been able to doanything about them--and now it looked like the rebels knew at leasttheir general location. Only the general location, he hoped, sincethey were still searching from cars. That was standard procedure forthe Rescue Service, at least, so he tried to ignore them while he caredfor his patient.
He'd gotten used to the smell, for which he was grateful. That and thefact that Tarlac was beyond the reach of pain were the only good partshe could see. The poison was spreading steadily, but--as long as hekept the oozing fluid cleaned off, and kept Tarlac's temperature as lowas he could--slowly. Maybe slowly enough that he'd live through thenext twenty-four hours, if Dave could keep going that long. And if hedidn't have to leave the Ranger alone to play decoy.
He frowned, thinking as he worked. Playing decoy if the rebels gotclose had been his idea, and he was still pleased that Tarlac hadthought it a good enough one to agree with. It still would be, and itwould work, Dave thought, if Tarlac were strong enough to be leftalone--and preferably were able to defend himself, just in case. Buthe'd put Dave in charge precisely because he wasn't able to do forhimself!
It was scary being responsible for someone else's safety, Dave wasrealizing. Especially when you were a commoner, the someone else wasroyalty, and a powerful noble--a crazy, traitorous noble--would stop atnothing to recapture him. Dave glanced across the cave to the smallledge where he'd put the disruptor--out of the way, but easy to getto--and shivered. The only alternative he could see to playing decoy wasusing the cave as a fort if the rebels found them, and that didn'tsound much better now than it had the first time he'd thought of it.One disruptor without even a single spare powerpack wasn't much tobuild hopes on. He'd do what he could, of course, but he stillcouldn't help wishing he hadn't ventured into Lord Robert's camp andgotten himself into all this!
He sighed. He had gotten himself into it; now, if he could, he'd getboth of them out. The first step was to get the Ranger to as muchsafety as the cave held--which meant the spring. Good thing it wasn'tfar!
Half an hour later he'd filled his emergency containers with a day'sworth of drinking water and settled Tarlac as comfortably as possibleinto the runoff stream. It wasn't ideal, but at least it would keepthe fever down and the injuries mostly clean while he did what he couldto make the cave defensible.
He discovered quickly that he could do very little. Wood from fallenlimbs and whatever brush he could cut with the stolen hunting knifewould provide little protection from stunner fire, and none at all fromthe blasters or disruptors he thought the rebels were likelier to use.And there wasn't enough loose rock--in sizes he could move, anyway--toblock the cave entrance. He supposed he could use his disruptor toenlarge that crack in the wall just inside the cave mouth, but thatwould be asking for trouble; the rebels couldn't possibly miss thatkind of energy release. And he didn't dare waste his firepower onthat; he didn't have much to begin with. He'd just have to hope therebels didn't find them, and retreat to one of the side passages forshelter if they did.
He spent the next few anxious hours alternating between Tarlac and thecave entrance. The Ranger was doing as well as Dave had dared lethimself hope, but rebel cars were moving by more often, and seemed tobe centered closer to the cave. Once, he could have sworn he glimpsedan Imperial Marine troop lander, but decided that had to be wishfulthinking; if the Marines were getting ready to land, the rebels shouldbe running for cover, not continuing to search for escaped prisoners.
A little after noon, what he'd been dreading happened. Half a decaderebel aircars descended, and moments later he heard shouts and thesound of people forcing their way through brush. He checked thedisruptor one last time, then moved back to the side passage he'dchosen. He wasn't as frightened as he'd thought he would be in such asituation, even though he was certain he'd be dead soon. He was moreangry at the unfairness of the whole situation than anything else, andhe intended to make the rebels pay as heavily as he could for their twolives.
Waiting for the rebels to get to the cave entrance, Dave had a vividmemory of his mother's amused disgust at war holos. "In combat, theidea isn't to play fair," she'd said more than once. "The idea is tostay alive while killing your enemy. You don't let yourself be seen ifyou can avoid it, and you certainly don't warn your enemy that you'regoing to shoot!" Well, he had the best cover he could get, and hedidn't plan to issue any warnings. All he needed now was a target . . .
Light flooded the cave, and someone called out. "They're here! I seebloodstains--"
That was as far as he got; Dave fired toward the light. It went out,and there was a sharp "crack" as air imploded where the rebel had been.
There was a brief silence, then someone cursed, and half a decadeblaster-bolts seared past Dave's hiding place, about chest-high. Hedropped to the cave floor and fired back without looking.
The exchange of fire continued for several minutes, with the onlyresult Dave could notice being that the cave was getting uncomfortablyhot. Then he heard yelling, and the incoming fire stopped abruptly.Moments later, an amplified voice called out. "You in the cave--thisis Captain Heidi Chiun, Imperial Marines. Come out with your handsup."
Dave started to obey, then hesitated. He thought he'd seen a trooplander, yes--but he wouldn't put it past the rebels to try trickinghim, since they hadn't yet managed to kill him. "Send one of yourpeople in here," he called back. "If you're really Marines, you'll besafe in power armor, and I wouldn't shoot anyway."
"Hold your fire, then." Dave heard crunching steps, like somethingmassive moving, then the light from the cave entrance dimmed. "I'minside," another voice said.
Dave risked a look around the corner, then stood with a sigh of relief.The person at the entrance was wearing power armor, which satisfied himthat she was what she was supposed to be. "I'm tossing the gun out,"he said, doing so. Then, raising his hands, he stepped out of cover."Boy, am I glad to see you! Ranger Tarlac needs a medalert team, witha lifepod."
"He's here?"
"Yes, sir--I'll show you."
"Wait one." Dave couldn't hear what she said next, but what hismother's stories had led him to expect was confirmed when she said,"They're on the way. Let's go."
Dave led her to his patient, not at all surprised when she sworebitterly before picking up the unconscious man. "The team'll meet usoutside--they'd never get a pod in here."
"Yes, sir." Dave led the way again, blinking as he emerged from thedimness into bright afternoon sun. A couple of decade Marines in powerarmor were guarding the perimeter of a new clearing, while several morein camouflage battledress held a number of rebel prisoners at gunpointnear one edge. The medalert team had obviously been in readinessnearby, because a lander with medical markings was already settlingtoward the clearing's center.
An armored Marine with captain's bars and "Chiun" stencilled on herhelmet gestured the one carrying Tarlac toward the medical lander, thenturned her attention to Dave and stood silently looking at him forseveral moments before she removed her helmet and smiled. "You'd beDavid Scanlon, then?"
When he nodded, surprised, she gave him a half-bow--people in powerarmor didn't offer to shake hands--and said, "Captain Heidi Chiun.Pleased to meet you. Now that we have Ranger Tarlac safe, an assaultgroup will be hitting the main rebel camp. The Empire owes you somepowerful