Assignment: Avalon

Chapter Ten: A New Hope

Two hours after the attack, Melodan gathered in the village green with the other survivors for Rand's council of war.

By that time, they had counted the grim toll exacted by the Skyforcers. Tara's message of love to Mark went undelivered; he was dead, too. So were ten others—five men, three women, and two children, who had been kept home ill from school and died in their burning hut with their mother.

A gray, sour-smelling veil of smoke hung over the valley as the diminished and dispirited Free Forcers huddled together, surrounded by the smoldering ruins of their homes. Melodan's scorched hands still throbbed slightly, but no blisters had formed. She'd gotten off lightly. Almost everyone else she could see bore some more obvious mark from the attack; burns, bruises, or bandages. A few severely injured men and women lay on the ground a few metres away, their occasional moans punctuating the silence of the others, who stared blankly at Rand, seemingly sapped of strength and emotion alike. Even the children were quiet, clinging to their surviving parents.

Rand rose, face bleak. "Our situation is critical," he said baldly. "Our crop is lost. Winter is coming on. Skyforce could return at any time...and Groundforce must be on the way." He paused, looking from face to face. "We must leave this valley tonight."

"But the children," a woman said. "And the wounded..."

Rand turned toward her. "Will you throw yourself on the Strator's mercy?" he snarled, so savagely that Melodan was taken aback. He spread his arms, taking in the destruction around them. "This is the Strator's mercy!"

The Free Forcers looked at one another uncomfortably.

Rand glared at them. "When we first fled the Battlefield, we learned the art of hiding. Skyforce and Groundforce both pursued us—and we evaded them. We can do so again." He pointed north. "We can hide in the caves where we hid fifteen years ago. There is water and game. We can survive!"

"Not through the winter!" a man protested. "A few weeks, maybe—"

"A few weeks will be enough." Rand glanced at Melodan, back at the others. "Our hand has been forced. We can no longer bide our time, hoping our few contacts in the City and among the tekfarms can build our support to the point where we can lead a revolution. Perhaps that was a fool's dream.

"Instead, we have a new hope—desperate, but one that could free us forever." He turned and nodded, and Melodan, her heart suddenly pounding, stood up.

"You have allies among the stars," she began. "They have suffered as you have today. They will help you—if we can contact them.

"Eventually someone will come looking for me, but it could be weeks or months. We can't wait. Not only because of what happened today, but because the Preceptorate is already here, and will soon be here in force—and what you have suffered under the rule of the Strator is only the beginning of the suffering the Preceptorate will bring.

"To prevent that, I must warn the Revolutionary Space Force. That means I have to get into the Spaceport control tower. It will have an emergency dimspace transmitter. Using it, I can warn my people, and within days they can be here with a force that will make all the planes of all the Cities on Avalon look like a swarm of—of skreekers." She paused. "But to get into the Spaceport tower we'll have to infiltrate the Skybase."

Muttering ran through the crowd. "How?" shouted someone. "Knock on the gate?" There was bitter laughter.

"Something like that." Melodan looked at Kyla. "A Skyforce pilot is going to let me in."

#

Kyla stared back at Melodan, for a moment not understanding what she meant; then it hit her.

Melodan thought Tor would help them get into Skybase.