The base shook from another bombardment. Cainen felt himself slam into a wall and collapsed to the ground. As he fell he noted that neither Aten Randt nor the other Eneshan soldier had moved so much as a fraction from their position.
“This is not an appropriate time to debate the issue, Administrator,” Aten Randt said. The flat affect of the translation device gave the comment an unintentionally sardonic quality.
Cainen began to protest again, but Sharan gently took hold of his arm. “Cainen. He’s right,” she said. “You need to get out of here. It’s bad enough any of us are here. But you being found here would be a very bad thing.”
“I won’t leave you here,” Cainen said.
“Cainen,” Sharan said, and pointed at Aten Randt, who was standing by, impassive. “He’s one of the highest-ranking military officers here. We’re under attack. They’re not going to send someone like him on a trivial errand. And now is not the time to argue anyway. So go. I’ll find my way back to the barracks. We’ve been here a while, you know. I remember how to get there.”
Cainen stared at Sharan for a minute and then pointed past Aten Randt to the other Eneshan soldier. “You,” he said. “Escort her back to her barracks.”
“I need him with me, Administrator,” Aten Randt said.
“You can handle me by yourself,” Cainen said. “And if she doesn’t get the escort from him, she’ll get the escort from me.”
Aten Randt covered his translation device and motioned the soldier over. They leaned in close and clacked at each other quietly—not that it mattered, as Cainen didn’t understand Eneshan language. Then the two separated and the soldier went to stand by Sharan.
“He will take her to her barracks,” Aten Randt said. “But there is to be no more argument from you. We have wasted too much time already. Come with me now, Administrator.” He reached out, grabbed Cainen by the arm and pulled him toward the stairwell door. Cainen glanced back to see Sharan staring up fearfully at the immense Eneshan soldier. This final image of his assistant and lover disappeared as Aten Randt shoved him through the doorway.
“That hurt,” Cainen said.
“Quiet,” Aten Randt said, and pushed Cainen forward on the stairs. They began to climb, the Eneshan’s surprisingly short and delicate lower appendages matching Cainen’s own stride up the steps. “It took far too long to find you and too long to get you moving. Why were you not in your barracks?”
“We were finishing up some work,” Cainen said. “It’s not as if we have much else to do around here. Where are we going now?”
“Up,” Aten Randt said. “There is an underground service railroad we need to get to.”
Cainen stopped for a moment and looked back at Aten Randt, who despite being several steps below him was nearly at the same height. “That goes to hydroponics,” Cainen said. Cainen, Sharan and other members of his staff would go to the base’s immense underground hydroponics bay on occasion for the greenery; the planet’s surface was not exactly inviting unless hypothermia was something you enjoyed. Hydroponics was the closest you could get to being outside.
“Hydroponics is in a natural cave,” Aten Randt said, prodding Cainen back into motion. “An underground river lies beyond it, in a sealed area. It flows into an undergound lake. There is a small living module hidden there that will hold you.”
“You never told me about this before,” Cainen said.
“We did not expect the need to tell you,” Aten Randt said.
“Am I swimming there?” Cainen asked.
“There is a small submersible,” Aten Randt said. “It will be cramped, even for you. But it has already been programmed with the location of the module.”
“And how long will I be staying there?”
“Let us hope no time at all,” Aten Randt said. “Because the alternative will be a very long time indeed. Two more flights, Administrator.”
The two stopped at the door two flights up, as Cainen attempted to catch his breath and Aten Randt clicked his mouthpieces into his communicator. The noise of battle several stories above them filtered down through the stone of the ground and the concrete of the walls. “They’ve reached the base but we’re holding them on the surface for now,” Aten Randt said to Cainen, lowering his communicator. “They haven’t reached this level. We may still get you to safety. Follow close behind me, Administrator. Don’t fall behind. Do you understand me?”
“I understand,” said Cainen.