Free The Siege of New Terra (Star Sojourner Book 7) by Jean Kilczer

and climbed it. The air smelled bittersweet with the tangy scent of wet foliage. Somewhere, a birdlike creature chirped out a song that probably told other creatures to stay out of his territory. Above my head, silver-rimmed clouds sailed a sapphire sky, riding the wings of a gentle breeze.
    I leaned my head back and sighed.
Beauty above me,
Native American people had said of their lands on Earth,
beauty around me. Beauty beneath me.
But they had been decimated by the European colonists and their military force, their homes ripped away from them, their land given to settlers, and a conscious effort made to exterminate them. I sighed as I looked around.
    Now it was happening again, here.

Chapter Seven
    I jumped, and realized I'd fallen asleep. The day was waning. A molten sun burned clouds with rays of fire to the west. I felt stiff from my cramped position as I climbed down the branches and walked slowly back to the gorge, waiting for night to sheath me in its black fold. The forest was coming alive with hunters and prey, chirping and grunting.
    If the mercs found the jeep, chances were good the area would be staked out, waiting for me to return.
    I took the stingler from my waistband, lifted the jacket hood over my light hair, crouched, and moved stealthily across the leafy floor, avoiding branches and even twigs.
    Gone! The jeep was gone. The woods were silent, but I had no doubt that men were positioned around the gorge.
    I retraced my steps, then turned south. Spirit had said it was fifty miles to the Orghes' Village. I had covered about twenty with the jeep. It would be a long hike, but I had my trusty compass to keep me on course, until…
    * * *
    Until I came to the top of a cliff about ten miles into my trek. Below, rolling waves broke against the jutting boulders.
    “What the hell…” I checked my compass again. It pointed due south, into the mouth of the sea.
    Spirit! What were you thinking? Spirit.
    I was thinking, Terran, how pleasant it would be if you would grant Silva and I the privacy we crave.
    Well, your compass points are screwed. I walked due south and–
    Oh. I see. You came to the sea.
    Nice that you noticed.
    I might have been a trifle off…yes, it's southwest. Just continue west along the coast.
    Are you sure this time?
    What did you say, dear?
    I asked if you were sure.
    Not you. Silva, my luscious, just a short interlude. Terrans are a demanding lot, especially this one. West, Jules! As in your Westward go the dragons!
    That's–
    He broke the link before I could muster a retort.
    I walked across a high plains desert through the night and came to an escarpment at daybreak overlooking the Orghes' Village below. I was tired, hungry, but mostly thirsty. My legs burned and I was staggering.
    I laid down and studied the village. Simple wooden houses were scattered throughout a flat plain, with mountains looming above eastern woods, and fields of grain to the south. I wondered if it was native or grown from imported seed.
    Drying meat and fish hung on racks. Animal skins were stretched out on frames next to stacked dugouts.
    It was difficult to make out the individual people, and Chancey had my graphoculars, but as day brightened, the scene below sharpened like a developing photograph of centuries past.
    The Orghes were furred beings, ranging from black, to brown, tan, golden, and ivory. They moved with a hunched, swaying gait. I got the impression that they could run on their broad hands and feet, if need be. They wore loin cloths and animal-skin capes that reached to the backs of their knees.
    Children with short, uniformly silver coats, ran, shouted, and swung easily into trees and from branch to branch. One hung by a hand and kicked a child passing beneath him. The child sat in the dirt and wailed. I watched an adult go down on all fours and chase the fleeing kicker into the woods.
Not too different from human kids,
I thought.
    Cook fires flared within rounds of rocks that dotted the village