Free Never Surrender (The Empire's Corps Book 10) by Christopher Nuttall

the colonial militia had cleared the bandits out, either killing the bastards or sending them to a labour camp; now, the resistance had turned it into a base for their operations.  The settlement had already been very well hidden, but the resistance had brought in camouflage netting and hundreds of other surprises, just to keep it safe and secure.  A handful of scouts, male and female, were charged with gathering food for the settlement, without leaving any trace of their presence.  Darrin had never quite stopped envying the children who’d been born on Meridian ...
     
    “Into here,” Austin said.  “I’m afraid we are going to have to ask a doctor to look at you.”
     
    “I quite understand,” Jasmine said, as they stepped into a large building.  “I think you should check Kailee first, though.”
     
    “Of course,” Austin said. 
     
    Darrin smiled as he saw the interior of the building.  The scouts had laid blankets on the floor and turned it into a sleeping cabin, then installed a table at one end of the room.  A stove sat at the other end, where a young man was cooking stew; there was no point in risking a fire when orbital sensors might pick up on it and wonder why someone was using a fire, hundreds of miles from any known settlement.  Austin motioned for Jasmine to put Kailee down on the blankets, then headed over to the cook.  They exchanged a few brief words, then the cook passed Austin the spoon and headed out of the building at speed.
     
    “We should be safe here, for the moment,” Austin said.  “Kailee can have one of the blankets, if she wishes to cover herself.  We may also have some clothes for you all to wear ...”
     
    “Never mind that now,” Jasmine said.  She was pacing around the interior of the building, like a caged tiger.  “We need to plan our next move.”
     
    “Food first,” Austin said, firmly.  “Darrin, can you get some bread and cheese from the storehouse?  And tell the doctor and Scoutmaster Clarence that we need them.”
     
    “Of course,” Darrin said.
     
    He headed out the door and down towards the storehouse, passing a handful of scouts on the way.  It shamed him to realise that the young men and women - the oldest was fourteen, he thought - knew more about survival than he did, even now.  Earth hadn't had a Boy Scout Chapter for centuries, ever since the drive for more and more safety had forced the scouts to cut back on their activities until there was nothing left.  He couldn't help feeling that it had been a dreadful mistake.  Earth wrapped its children in cotton wool - or at least tried to - while Meridian gave them adult responsibilities from a very early age.  And Earth’s crime rate had been appallingly high, while crime was almost unknown on Meridian.  It hadn't taken him long to realise that there was definitely a connection there.
     
    Scoutmaster Clarence looked up at him as he entered the storehouse.  He was a tall man, wearing a pair of spectacles and a uniform that couldn't disguise his heavyset bulk.  On Earth, he might have been considered overweight, if he’d felt like claiming disability benefits for himself; on Meridian, it was clear that most of his size was muscle.  Darrin had wondered, at first, why he led the scouts.  It hadn't taken him long to realise that Clarence was respected as well as liked by his followers.
     
    “Darrin,” Clarence said.
     
    “We need bread and cheese, then you and the doctor have to come meet our guests,” Darrin said.  “They made it out of the camp.”
     
    Clarence’s eyes narrowed.  “You’re sure they actually escaped?”
     
    “I believe so,” Darrin said, and explained what they’d seen.  “It would be a great deal of effort to fake such an escape, if they were intended to infiltrate us.”
     
    “True,” Clarence said.  “Still, we must be careful.”
     
    ***
    The stew smelled very good, but tasted better.  Jasmine practically inhaled the first bowl, then