Heart Of The Sun Read Free Page B

the markings of a Karalian ship. A dozen Karalians hustle off of the ship and it floats away, back up into the atmosphere. Alan can’t help but notice how heavily armed the Karalians are; in addition to their usual staves and charms, each man carries a gun of Human design. Stolen from the dead, no doubt.
    The Karalians form up in front of their leader, who barks at them in their own language. Without Vash’s translation jewel, I can’t understand a word. Still, the way they’re armed, the way they’re standing... They don’t look like soldiers on a rescue and recovery mission. They look like... like exterminators. Alan’s fears are confirmed when the leader draws a line across his throat. Have they come for me? Do they even know Vash is here? I have to get back to him. He’ll know what to do. Maybe he can talk them down. They are his own people, after all. Uneasiness rolls in his stomach along with the hunger. Maybe, after what happened yesterday, he’ll hand me right over to them. I wouldn’t blame him. Still, I have no other options. I can’t face a dozen heavily armed men alone and expect to win. I have to trust that Vash can get over his distaste of me.
    He starts off through the trees, getting a head start while the soldiers are still talking and the drop-ship’s engines cover the sound of breaking twigs. He finds the facility’s door and lets himself in.
    “Vash! Vash! Come quickly!” His yells echo off the walls of the empty facility, but there’s no response. Perhaps he left last night. What if I’m all alone now? He rushes down the hallway, checking each door in earnest and coming up empty, his fear growing as he starts to run out of corridor.
    “What’s the matter?” Alan turns to see Vash emerging from the last door, clad in his light battle armor. He’s never been so relieved to see anybody and clutches at Vash’s arms as he recounts the story of the soldiers in the forest. 
    Vash seems to pale considerably. “You need to run,” he says. “You need to get as far away from here as you can. We cannot hold off Karalian commandos.”
    “We? Vash, these are your people! Haven’t they come to take you home?” Vash’s face only seems to pale more at Alan’s question, the red birthmarks standing out against his white skin.
    “They’ve come for me,” Vash explains, “but not to take me home. They’ve come to execute me.”
    “What?” Alan’s eyes widen. “You’re on the run from your own people? Why?”
    “Why?” Vash laughs dryly and shakes his head. “I thought you would have figured that out, human. I am kast’ka . He looks down at the floor as he says it. “On Karalia that is nothing less than a crime punishable by death. Our birthrate is so low that we lose ten people for every one that is born. There’s a high percentage of kast’ka on Karalia, almost thirty percent. We make an effective scapegoat for those looking to blame the death of Karalia on someone.”
    “The commandos are near,” Alan says, pulling Vash from his reverie. “We need to act now.”
    Vash shakes his head. “There are no actions we can take,” he says. “The game is up. I have run as far as I could go, and gotten much further than I ever expected. It was foolishness to dream that I could ever reach a place of safety.”
    “You were going to defect?”
    “It is of no concern now. You must run. If they find you here, they will execute us both.”
    “I’m not going.” Alan draws his gun and reloads it. “You saved my life. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for your kindness. Besides, I owe you an apology. For yesterday.”
    “None is required,” Vash says. “I’m not used to the way Humans see sexuality. That is all.”
    You were ashamed of your actions. That’s why you despised being caught. That’s why you were so angry, why you wanted me to feel ashamed, isn’t it?
    “I don’t want you to die with me,” Vash says. “This is not your war. Karalian internal politics do