I felt my men in flashes as I sat and sewed. They were taking a rest, while another part of their division took patrol. Their dreams were full of fighting and the wild prior day. I did feel their comfort in that their group had kept the aliens away from the compound. That success Let them sleep peacefully as the sun shone.

It was later in the day when the fighting started again. It was different this time. The women had their ships waiting and went after the aggressors as soon as they breached our atmosphere. From what my men saw, it was Like watching stars explode in the sky.

The falling bits of alien craft streaked through the sky and slammed into the ground. Burning metal covered the desert around the compound in places. The smell, at least according to Kein, was horrific. He could barely stand the odor and kept his nose and mouth covered. On and off I felt his disgust at the rancid stench.

The women's counter measures made the alien attack scatter. In their rush to escape the Paterian women's ships, the aliens accidentally found some of the rebel camps, including ours. It brought the fight to our door.

The alien ships were damaged, many of them, and they crash landed in the jungle around us. The strange creatures evacuated their burning ships only to be attacked by the fierce, native creatures. Racks, scars, and the like saw the aliens as a new food source.

The aliens scrambled to find somewhere to hide from the creatures and unfortunately they stumbled onto our camp. The land outside the entrance was marked with trails where the men walked to the crops the men planted. If you were on foot, which the aliens were, the illusions didn't protect us. We heard the war cry as they found our hidden entrance.

The men and women left behind to defend the camp did their job well. The aliens were cut down before they breached our defenses. Rose and I waited in the infirmary again, but this time there was something to do.

Men and women were brought to us injured, I thought, beyond repair. The Healers in the camp politely scoffed at my ignorance. There was much that could be done for them.

The men were hesitant to have anyone around their injured family, but I was considered a Healer. They didn't fight when they saw it was Rose or me approaching them. Humans had a strange knack for healing it was believed. Rose and I knew we were naive about healing, we just cleaned the wounds thoroughly so the real Healers could do their job efficiently.

The men took our cleaning and the Healer's care. The beaded women from the camp that came in injured fought it a little. Most still had the undercurrent of belief that an honorable death was preferable to needing help with one's healing. Strength was measured by personal ability and accepting help meant defeat. All of us acting as Healers sought to dissuade them of such thoughts.

“Live to fight another day," I begged them over and over again as I washed the dirt from their wounds. "There is still much fighting to be done. If you survive today, you can fight more tomorrow."

The argument seemed to settle their upset to quiet grumbling. The beaded women took our help and rested. They would do what the Little human said and live to fight another day. It was unprecedented, but so was the volume of this fight and I had made a good point.

The true battle for healing started when the first women without beads was brought in. The Large woman and her Sisters had followed a crashing ship and fought the aliens when they disembarked. One woman had Lost an entire wing, another was cut deeply down the middle, and the third had severe damage to her face and one eye.

Thom and his Brothers had seen the women fight and destroy the aliens, despite their injuries. Our men could not stand to see such women die from the Racks that lay in wait around the fighting. Thom's transport swooped in and loaded the women to bring them into the camp and safety.

The hall we were in exploded in dissension as the females were brought in and laid on warm slabs. The men and women we were healing could not decide if this was the right thing to do. Despite their injuries they sat up and argued. Thom had endangered the camp some said. He was following The Great Harmonious Spirit, others called. The three women just lay bleeding and looking around.

I watched the women closest to me as her head bled profusely. A large portion of her face appeared disfigured. I saw the metal sticking out from one eye and knew it needed prompt attention. Grabbing a pail and a fresh cloth, I approached her from her good side.

"Ma'm, my name is Ciara and I am from Earth. I only wish to help you heal. If you will let me help, you will live to fight another day. The planet cannot lose good fighters when we can prevent it. Allow me to clean your wound," I requested crawling up onto her slab.

The woman stared at me with her functional eye for a moment before agreeing.

Quickly, but diligently, I cleaned the wound. The rest of the room didn't matter as I did my job. Hopefully, they would have worked it out and a Healer would complete what I started. These women now knew where we were, so we might as well help them.

Everyone must have agreed. Tyle's young family had been left here to assist the Healers and provide protection inside. He and his Brothers came and placed a support under the wings of the unbeaded women. It made it easier for the women to Lay on their backs as we worked on them.

The woman I was working on seemed surprised as the boys touched her to position her body. Tyle’s family wasn't hesitant or fearful as they pushed the support beneath her wings. They instructed her how to move to help them and then moved on to their next chore. I could see the amazement in the woman's face, but she stayed silent.

A Healer I knew well appeared as I finished cleaning. He addressed the woman and explained what he would do. I knew this man. He was older and I'd found him to be quite particular, so I didn't leave and stayed in case he needed my help. I thought he would be aggravated if he had to ask for it Later.