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wall.
    “Yes.white man, Tonto.not fail. Tonto thought…to help ungrateful Ranger after completing…task.”
    “Lone Ranger not impressed,” Jake grunted as he pushed off again towards the cave.
    With only twenty-five yards left to cover, Jake slipped and went to one knee, as his right leg slid slowly out from under him. He leaned away from the sliding leg, grabbing hold of a jagged mound jutting out of the surface. His leg stopped sliding, as Jake stayed still. Working it back up into a position he could push off with, he regained his feet. Each of the jarring steps over the uneven ground had evoked a muffled groan from Adrian.
    “Are we there yet?” Adrian whined comically. “Can’t…you…go any faster?”
    Jake chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t push your luck, Tonto.”
    Jake cleared the entrance to their refuge. Adrian had left one of their portable illuminators inside, so he did not have to stumble around in the darkness. He turned when he reached one of their chairs, and eased Adrian into it. She cried out involuntarily as her wounded ankle grazed the chair base. Jake went over and turned on the portable heater. Although he dripped sweat from every pore, and had soaked through his inner clothing, he knew what would happen in the near freezing temperatures. He helped Adrian out of her clothing and used the pre-coated field dressings out of their first aid kit to bandage her wounds. Along with the healing mix, the dressing contained a pain analgesic. The pain, etched in her face, eased as the bandages did their work.
    Jake helped her get dressed again, and then peeled out of his sweat soaked clothes. While they dried by the heater, Jake heated some of his special tea elixir on their makeshift stove. It had already been made up and sealed in a container to be easily dispensed. Jake wiped himself down quickly with a towel and some of the water they had stored. He brought another towel with some water on it and wiped Adrian’s face and neck off. Her eyes looked clearer and almost pain free. She reached up and cupped his face with her hands.
    “How long before they start hunting us down?”
    Jake knelt down in front of her and put his hands over hers. He took the right one away from his face and kissed her left palm. He gently squeezed her hands and stood up to get them some tea. He returned shortly and handed Adrian her cup. She leaned back and sipped it gratefully. Jake sat down next to her.
    “How long ago did you send out the message? A Force Cruiser should be here before they can even get enough energy to cry over their downed ship. You remember your first day on Casserine. How do you think them boys are handling our little gravity setup here after preparing to steal a warehouse full of solid fuel for the last few hours. You can bet seeing their ship blown out of the sky didn’t help their moral.”
    “Jake, I know you had everything planned down to the.”
    “Last detail,” Jake finished for her. “Yea, I did, until someone decided a change in my plan would be appropriate in the middle of a battle. Now, when did you send the message?”
    “I sent it as soon as you called in from the tracking station. I have some bad news Ke-mo sah-be, they can’t get a cruiser to us right now. An ion storm hit the base, and they have no idea when it will let up. They said we were on our own until it ended.”
    “Uh oh.”
    “I thought maybe if I got the information to you in time, you would not have shot down their ship. They could have taken the fuel cells and been on their way. It’s possible they knew about the ion storm and decided to take advantage of it.”
    “I believe you have deduced correctly about them knowing when the storm would hit,” Jake agreed. “Tour reasoning in wishing to warn me, so I could just wave at them while they flew off with the stores I guard, tells me you do not think much of the Lone Ranger’s mission here on Casserine.”
    “Okay, I admit it. I thought your plan to