Ambasadora (Book 1 of Ambasadora) (45 page)

“Sean!” She ran for the
downed men. The direct hit from the rocket left them bloody and lifeless.

She turned over body after body.
None of them were Sean. She looked for Yadira amidst the mayhem.

She helped another fragger from a
wreck further ahead. Fire from grenade launchers had sent them crashing to the
ground. Return cannon fire sounded from the ship. David and a combined force of
Armadans and fraggers laid down cover while Sara’s group struggled toward
safety.

Through the smoke, she spotted a
group unloading Sean.

Relief and a sense of
accomplishment swept over her. Her efforts to save him had been worth every
kilo of pain. Now she needed what was left of her strength to save herself,
vowing not to be abandoned in Palomin again. She stumbled and fell. Pain seared
through her belly and ribs, a fiery kick that felt like her insides had grown a
hundred times too large.

She didn’t have the strength to
stand up again, so she crawled on her elbows. A million little explosions pounded
through her abdomen, the pain pulsing through her was worse than if it’d come
from the rockets that ripped through the sky all around her.

“Sara?” David called to
her from behind a curtain of smoke.

She tried to respond, but at
first only raspy croaks issued from her dry throat.

“Here,” she managed.

David appeared on her left.

“I’m here,” she said.

Lifting her up into his arms,
David cradled her against his chest and rushed for the waiting load ramp. She
wanted to tell him about the pain, to slow down. Each of his wide steps brought
the taste of blood onto her tongue. She wiped her mouth, streaking blood across
her cheek.

He placed her on the cargo bay
floor. Medics ascended on her as the ship lifted off. Sara pitched forward and
vomited again. Rolling onto her side, she cradled her belly and rocked back and
forth on the metal floor.

“She’s bleeding out.”
Yul’s familiar voice rushed into her ear.

Several pairs of hands lifted her
onto a hovering stretcher.

Sara screamed as her insides
twisted, trying to discharge the mess that the irradicae had left behind.

Yadira held one of her hands and Tamasine
held the other. Sara squeezed them for strength. A steady ache pushed against
the walls of her belly. Yul pumped stim after stim into her system.

Her vision went dark. Frantic
voices tried to comfort her, to bring her back into the world. Pricking needles
on her skin gave way to numb coldness. She’d look for Sean on the Otherside,
but hoped he would live many long, happy years before he made his way back to her
there.

“I can’t believe it’s been
so long,” Sara said.

But Sean couldn’t hear her as she
changed the bandages on his knee. She’d move onto his wrist and fingers next, a
routine Yul had showed her last week when she had finally felt well enough to
stay on her feet for a few hours at a time.

Sean would finally be able to
wear a bone mender on his leg after this last surgery. The wrist would have to
wait. He’d had so many surgeries, so many scares. He remained sedated most of
the time, but occasionally he’d wake up and ask for her. She would hold his
hand and talk to him, usually about her family and her childhood, until he
drifted off again. The reconstruction took its toll on his body almost as much
as Faya’s torture.

She missed him, but he was alive
and healing, and they were together. Actually, they were all together, David,
Lyra, Tamasine and Markus, Yul and his pretty wife, hiding from the Embassy on
the fragger ship with Yadira and a dozen other fraggers, most from Sean’s contingency.
Sara’s contingency now. She took his place as node and worked tirelessly in the
campaign against Simon and his corruption. The fraggers had won at Palomin, but
their resources were limited, their leadership still fractured. Falling back to
reorganize in the V-side would allow them to prepare for the next stage.

Yadira walked in and put a hand
on Sara’s shoulder. Since Palomin, the two women had become good friends, as
had Tamasine, who resigned from the fleet in order to join the fragger
organization, much to Lyra’s disgust. “How’s he doing?” Yadira asked.
“His color looks better, no ugly black and blue patches anywhere.”

“He’s strong,” Sara
said, pride and adoration creeping into her voice. “He’ll be up and trying
to take his job back from me in no time.”

“Speaking of…We have to send
the message to the Embassy now,” Yadira said. “Sorry to pull you
away, but once we reach Archenzon, broadcasts will be impossible due to the
communications net and the embargo. Are you ready?”

Sara was ready. She volunteered
to be the face for their revolution. There was more danger to her than any real
power, but the cause needed a shell to embody their ideology.

The right shell, an empty one,
like hers.

She kissed Sean, realizing she
really wasn’t that empty anymore.

The first to be terraformed,
Tampa One was only halfway settled before its larger neighbor, Tampa Deux, was
ready for habitation. Home to large swaths of unspoiled wilderness, like
Archenzon, much of the moon remains a preserve for millions of species of
animal and plant life.

Heavily populated, even after
Tampa Three was terraformed, Tampa Deux’s popularity still grows because of its
infrastructure and planning.

The smallest of all the moons, it
was originally meant to be an exclusive world for Socialite families with the
most money; however, bad terraforming and rushed planning made this the least
desirable planet in the system.

This world was terraformed to
compete with Tampa Three as the optimal planet. Socialites left it to the
Armadans because they believed its potential wasn’t as high as Tampa Three, but
now Yurai’s size and wealth is rivaled only by Tampa Quad.

The most populated planet in the
system, Tampa Quad is the center of government and commerce. As the largest
moon, Tampa Quad boasts more inhabitants per square foot than any other, while
still maintaining as much wild space as Tampa One.

Deleine was the newest planet to
be terraformed, mainly so that workers could be close to the plethora of
uranium, iridium, and boxite mines there. The extensive mining has caused
health issues, especially among the less genetically diverse Socialites.

Heidi Ruby
Miller
writes stories where the relationship is as important as the
adventure. She loves romance, high-heeled shoes, action movies, Chanel, intense
music, and video games. Heidi also teaches creative writing at
Seton
Hill University
, where she graduated from their renowned
Writing Popular
Fiction Graduate Program
. The writing guide
Many Genres, One Craft
, which she
co-edited with
Michael A. Arnzen
, is based
on the Seton Hill masters program, and her novel
Ambasadora
was her thesis there. She is a member of
The
Authors Guild
,
Pennwriters
,
Broad Universe
,
SFR Brigade
, and
SFPA
. Find out more about Heidi at her
column
Geek
Girl Underground on IMJ
and at her blog:
http://heidirubymiller.blogspot.com
.

To review this book and check out all of Heidi’s other books
follow this link:
http://www.amazon.com/HeidiRuby-Miller/e/B002BM1M48
.