by Mia R Kleve
“I get it,” she said. “I don’t get out at all.” She laughed lightly. “Trade me.” She held out the freshly prepped pole, which he accepted with a grin. Ceili wasn’t very big for a Human. Her eyes glinted with the same blue as the ocean where sunlight shone. She constantly tucked hair behind her right ear and dimples creased her cheeks even when she wasn’t smiling, which wasn’t often. She was likeable, he decided.
“Fishing’s great so far,” he said.
“It can be very therapeutic.” Ceili reeled in the line, inspecting what was left of his bait. Sure enough, something had carefully munched the bait while Gra’dn digressed into his story.
“Put this one out there,” she pointed to an area in the bay that was hidden from direct sunlight. “Let it sink for a quick minute then slowly bring it back in. Lift it, then let it fall, then lift it again.”
Gra’dn eagerly obeyed, casting, then reeling in the line, just like she said.
“Great, now watch closely and keep going,” she said, coaching him softly. Humans had populated the waters on Krifay for decades with species of fish from Earth, which had adapted to the differing environments below the surface. She hoped just one would play nice. Please make it a whopper, too.
A second later a massive hit took his line low into the water. The reel screamed as line ripped past the bail.
“Wahoo!” Gra’dn yelled, gripping the pole with both paws but doing nothing with the reel.
Ceili burst out laughing so hard it was impossible to talk. The big Oogar became frantic, trying to wrap his paws around the base of the pole while whatever he’d hooked fought like hell, yanking the fishing boat forward. She nearly lost her footing as the boat jerked against the anchor. Finally, Gra’dn remembered what she’d taught him and started reeling like an insane person, still hooting.
Ceili grabbed a net as he brought the fish closer. He’d managed to hook a decent-sized bonefish. “Nicely done,” she said.
Gra’dn’s cheeks burned from grinning so hard. “Dinner’s on me!” he announced, excited to get his first catch in the boat. The fish leapt from the water, glinting in the sun, twisting and flexing in the air. More fishing line tore from the reel. He held fast as his catch smacked flat into the water, tugging hard, trying to dive deep and away, but it was right at the boat and in plain view. Ceili positioned the net, and Graydon pulled it up.
And the fish slipped the hook, the line going slack and his pole losing its arch. His excitement fizzled like an untied balloon.
Gra’dn fell silent, his hopes dashed like a child who’d dropped his ice cream. Ceili put a hand on his forearm as he stared at the water with an expression of shock.
“We have an old saying from way back on Earth that my parents told me. There are more fish in the sea.” She smiled.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” he said.
“Happens to the best of us.” She patted his arm again. “Reel this one in for me?” She took the spent pole from his grasp and gestured to the rod she’d braced on a mount so she could grab the net.
With a sigh, Gra’dn took the other pole and began to reel it in, but the line went taught and another fish broke the surface. “Look, look!” he yelped.
Ceili laughed. “Set the hook this time.” But she knew that fish was good and hooked even as he gave the line a quick pop and began dragging the doomed bonefish toward the boat.
“You’re really good at your job.” Gra’dn couldn’t quit grinning.
“Thanks. It’s good fun, but it gets a little old, you know? There’s a whole expanse of universe out there. I’ve always longed to go to that Peacemaker Academy. I envy you, getting to travel from planet to planet, meeting new races and seeing new worlds. Mine is really small.”
“Actually, I’ve been staying pretty close; same sector for a few years now, tracking an illegal shipment. You should travel.”
“I don’t see that happening. This might just be my lot in life. I promised my parents.”
“They must be very proud of you, running the whole show here on Krifay.”
“I think they are. They’re great people from a great family. I was named after my great, great grandmother.”
The bonefish barely moved as she scooped it up with the net, resigned to its fate and spent from fighting. She handed Gra’dn the net and took the pole in exchange, then worked the hook free from the fish’s mouth with a pair of needle-nosed pliers with practiced skill.
“Your name has an unusual spelling,” he said, poking at the fish.
“So, the story goes that my great-great-grandmother was conceived during a ceili back in Ireland, on Earth, where that side of my family hails from.” She gave him a half-smile. “Charming, right? Being named after rowdy dance party sex. Ha, ha, joke’s on me.”
He smiled wide. “Actually, I do think it’s charming.” He lugged the fish toward the hatch she held open and watched as it darted to the bottom of the live-tank.
“Keeps them fresh until we get back to process them,” she explained. “Ready for the next lesson?”
“Yeah!” He clapped his paws together. “There’s more? This is great.”
“You’re going to love it. We’re going spear fishing in the shallows.”
* * *
Gra’dn imagined Ceili was the type of Human who would never starve, no matter what planet she found herself on. She handled a spear like she’d had extensive training with one, and not just for the purpose of fishing. She hurled one so fast and with such precision he couldn’t help but be impressed. The top of her head barely came to his chest, but she was lithe and quick. He made a mental note not to piss her off while she had a spear in her hand.
She glanced about into the trees as they passed on their way to what she called “shallows” to fish with spears, almost like she was looking for something moving in the brush. The island of Tayah was covered in canopies of trees of various types. He could only imagine the creatures living there.
“Lots of wildlife around?” he asked, trying to get the feel of the light fishing spear she handed him.
She laughed as she tugged on a line securing the anchor. “Well…yes. More than I expected, anyway. I grew up here and this place keeps it interesting lately.”
Without warning, Ceili stepped right off the side of the low boat deck and stood thigh-deep in the water. She grinned at him. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” Gra’dn said, pulling in a deep breath. He tipped his legs over the edge and let himself slide into the water, then retrieved his spear from the deck.
Ceili waded toward a raised bit of sand a few meters out. He followed, looking into the crystal water for anything she might be planning to stab with her stick.
“This is the most basic way people used to fish on Earth,” she explained. “Spearfishing advanced and so did the equipment used, and it can be viewed as more of a sport these days.” She slicked water from her bare legs and waited for him to trudge onto the sand with her.
Once Gra’dn stood beside her, his attention was immediately drawn by glinting scales beneath the surface on the other side of the sand bar they’d come to.
He followed Ceili’s lead as she walked into the pool, carefully so he didn’t disturb the fish around them. Quietly, she raised her spear and sunk it into the water and withdrew it quickly with a thrashing fish on the end. She deposited it into a bag strapped to her waist and nodded to him, signaling that it was his turn.
He concentrated on trying to stab the fish by his feet while Ceili hurled her spear farther into the shallow pool, then retrieved the fish from where it had been hit.
“It takes some practice,” she said when she returned.
Gra’dn managed to miss for quite a long time until her coaching finally paid off.
The afternoon flew by as they filled their hip packs with the small fish. A bank of clouds roiled in from the horizon line of the sea beyond. It was time to get back before the storm hit.
Soon enough, he found himself back at the tour office
with a big package of freshly fileted fish, battling sadness that the day was done. Ceili busied herself with finalizing his payment at the counter while he glanced around.
“Your receipt has been sent.” She smiled at him, handing over his Yack.
He slid a handful of chits across the counter as a tip. “Today was good fun.”
The words poured from his translator and Ceili had to wonder what the sentence would sound like in his native tongue.
“I have to meet Meln. Would it be okay if I came back for another trip, and maybe a tour of the fish paste facility? Meln and I both love the stuff.”
“Certainly. I also have diving tours, and we could kayak—” She stopped talking and considered his bulky form. Either he wouldn’t fit on the kayak or he’d be a full-time swimmer. He didn’t look like he was one for good balance.
“I’m not much for swimming.”
“I can’t believe you’re one for fishing, either, but you’re getting really good at it.” She had to wonder why he’d enjoyed it so much. He was a merc. Now, that was excitement. Why would he want to hang out on her uneventful little island rather than engage in the adventure his job provided? But whatever.
“Let me touch bases with Meln. I’ll be in touch about setting up another tour, if that’s okay.”
“Sounds great, Gra’dn. It was good to meet you. I had a great day.”
“Me, too. Earth fishing is everything I read it would be.”
* * *
“Just a few days old and look at how big you are,” exclaimed Ceili, rubbing the flat spot above the hatchling’s mouth. It made a soft cooing sound, as it chewed a fish head she handed it from a bucket of production scraps. Owning a fish paste company had more than the obvious perks.
“I think I’ll call you Steve.” She didn’t like thinking of him as the thing that grew monstrously in her auxiliary warehouse. Or the beast that loved to suck down buckets of fish guts. But Steve was who he was, she guessed. What he was, was the real question.
She squatted down to rub his head some more as he tipped the bucket of goo over and went to work gulping down the mess. Steve changed each time she came to see him. His body grew long. He held the legs attached to his middle thorax folded tightly but he used his forelegs like arms, using the pincers at the ends to grasp food. Yesterday she’d noticed a bulbous stinger on the end of his tail, which had wagged furiously when he first saw her.
She sighed, scratching at the plates over his compound eyes. Maybe one of these times she’d come in after work and he’d be gone, having left through the interior slip, swimming off to find his way to one of Krifay’s jungle islands or misty rain forests. He seemed the type of being to belong there.
She stood up and slid the last bucket toward him, which he intercepted with a rather dexterous one-armed grab while finishing up the rest of the last bucket.
“Have a good night, Steve.” He didn’t look up but kept cooing and gorfing slime. Ceili walked to the old front office area to hit the mat for a few staff katas before bed.
During the next week, Ceili and Gra’dn sent messages to one another to set up Gra’dn’s next tour. The first message was odd and random, and she wasn’t sure if it was Gra’dn or not. She answered tentatively in a professional tone in case it wasn’t him. The only way she knew it was him was the reply he sent after she’d confirmed his booking: “Can’t wait to try the fish paste.”
* * *
Fishing was nearly a bust due to heavy cloud cover and a choppy breeze that grew into gusts strong enough to cast a thick spray into their faces. They caught one pan-sized fish that was the Krifay equivalent of a small halibut, which seemed to make Gra’dn extremely happy. “I’ll pack that one up for free and get you a refund for the crappy tour,” she said, holding out a basket. He set the freshly cleaned fish inside with extra care and took the basket from her hands with a dopey smile showing fangs through his hairy face. Ceili shook her head with a chuckle.
“What?” he said, laughing. “This is dinner. And who knows when I’ll get to come back and fish again. Earth fishing is the best.” He helped her gather the fishing rigs and bait bucket while she attempted to keep her salt-soaked hair out of her face. “No deal on the refund, either. If you must, let’s consider it a credit toward my next tour, whenever that might happen.”
“Deal,” she said. She set the gear down, giving in to the wind and sea spray. She pulled a length of cord from her jacket pocket, scraped her soaked hair out of her eyes, and bound it in a tail on top of her head. Gra’dn was already on the dock with most of the gear.
“Looks like you’ll get your fish paste tour after all,” she said. “It’s a good day to check out the facility.”
At the plant, Gra’dn marveled at the process which took loads of freshly caught seafood through different phases, ending up in fist-sized jars moving on a conveyer belt to be labeled and sealed into cartons. He ate his fill, sampling as they stopped at different process stations. Usually bored out of her mind by that time, Ceili enjoyed watching him. He really was a big goof. She had to wonder what sort of a switch it took to make someone like Gra’dn pivot to his business side, to step into his role as a merc.
He placed two wrapped jars in a satchel that rested above his left hip as they exited the last of the long string of warehouses. The squall had let up a bit, but the wind still created a fine mist that doused them.
A tone sounded from one of the many pieces of handheld technology he had strapped to him. As he reached for a pocket on his belt, Ceili said, “Hey, I need to go inside here for a couple. Wait here?”
He nodded, keying a handheld slate. Since they were at the warehouse anyway, she might as well feed Steve. Ceili walked to the door right in front of them and keyed the first lock, then the other two.
* * *
Moments later, Gra’dn’s call ended. He gawked around for a short while, but it was getting late and he needed to get going. The door was unlocked so he peeked his head in.
“Ceili?” he called.
She didn’t answer so he entered the warehouse. Just inside was a partitioned area that had the look of an old office. A door hung open on the far side of the room so he kept calling and looking for her.
“Ceili? I have to meet Meln. I don’t want to just take off…” He passed a thick mat and a rack with dumbbells of various sizes and a jump rope hanging over a towel rack.
Finally, a light laugh echoed toward him from farther in. He smiled and walked into the open expanse of an empty, old shipping warehouse and stopped dead. A small Canavar—and “small” was completely relative because they grew to be much larger than the warehouse it stood in—obviously recently hatched by its size, caught a fish head Ceili tossed to it. The top of the thing’s back was taller than Ceili and it was at least ten meters long. Ceili laughed and patted the deadly beast’s head, sliding a bucket toward it with a foot.
It appeared calm. Gra’dn didn’t want to change that, for her sake.
He needed his weapons. Backing away quietly, he stepped right into a wooden staff that fell through his paws when he tried to catch it and bounced around on the concrete floor with a horrid clatter. He stilled the noise by stomping on it.
Ceili turned to see Gra’dn in the doorway, “Um, so ‘wait here’ doesn’t mean ‘stay put’ where you’re from?” she teased.
Gra’dn lost his composure. “That’s a Canavar!
“A what?”
“They’re illegal!”
“He’s not illegal,” she said with a snort. “He’s…he’s a baby!”
* * *
Steve began twisting his head in a bobbing figure eight, obviously growing fearful and defensive. To Ceili, at least. Gra’dn looked as if he wanted to smash Steve with a giant boot heel. Ceili patted one of the Canavar’s forelegs in an attempt to calm the creature.
“Ah, it’s getting agitated, Ceili. Come away now, please.” He waved her toward him with both hands.
“He’s not agitated, he’s scared.”
<
br /> Gra’dn changed his stance but continued to gesture for her to move away.
“You’re scaring him!”
Gra’dn spoke rapidly but tried to stop shouting. “Ceili, there’s a reason they’re illegal. That thing eats people. And everything else. I don’t know, maybe it’s not there yet, but you are its favorite food! It will lay this cute little seaside town of yours bare in under an hour. Please come out here with me?”
Ceili looked from Steve, who had reared up onto his rearmost sets of legs and was weaving his head far above them at a fast rate, his compound eyes on Gra’dn, who waved even more furiously. She didn’t move. Gra’dn pulled a mean looking handgun from the pack he always wore on his hip.
“Hey!” she yelled. “There’s no need—”
“Ceili, step over here with me. Now,” Gra’dn said, though gritted teeth.
Ceili squinted. So, that’s what it looks like. Pivot achieved.
Suddenly Steve dropped his forelegs onto the concrete in front of her, shielding her from Gra’dn, who was clearly the one who was agitated. It was a scary move. Ceili glanced up at the creature’s underbelly, which reminded her of the bottom of a crab. Each time Steve moved, chitinous plates expanded and contracted. The creature let out a piercing scream that crescendoed into a screeching roar. Her hands shot up to cover her ears. For the first time since she’d rescued the egg from the ocean, she felt a pang of fear.
Gra’dn backed to the open door. “I don’t know how it got here, but I have no choice but to report this to the guild. I don’t want to leave you here like this, but if I shoot at that thing and only wound it, that will be the end of you, Ceili Murphey.”
“I’ve never seen him act this way,” she said. “He’s just upset. He’s never seen another person—being, I mean. He’ll calm down.”
But Gra’dn shook his head and stepped back.
