The Fifth Civilization: A Novel

by Peter Bingham-Pankratz

  Moira motioned to the Sikh, and he reluctantly closed the gull-wing doors.

  “No!” Roan screamed.

  Moira closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “What are you doing? We have to wait!”

  David placed a wing on Roan.

  The Bauxens were too far away to get on, and they were likely going out into the vacuum of space. At least they were too drunk to feel anything. Joseph had run around the fat aliens, but it was too late for him, too. The red lights stopped, and everything began to float: Bauxens, cargo containers, anything that wasn’t tied down. Roan got a glimpse outside the cockpit window and saw that the bay doors were opening, and that Kel had rotated the ship upside-down so the bay was facing the planet. It was going to be a straight shot to the nightside of the Planet below.

  “I’m sorry, Nick,” David said. Roan shrugged off the Nyden’s arm. He said nothing as the shuttle shot out of the cargo bay.

  ***

  “As the Emperor Yunyek said upon unifying Kotara, ‘Life is made up of killing blows.’ And now, here it is.”

  Grinek saw the derelict ship’s orientation had reversed and it was causing a firestorm in the atmosphere. The death strike had to be launched quickly, and Grinek had to do so with a flourish. He pressed his finger down on the button and watched on the big viewscreen as two of the Hanyek’s missiles blazed out of their banks and rocketed straight for the ship. In two seconds, they both rocketed through the several thousand clicks between ships.

  One missile struck the rear engines, the other a segment just to the front of the vessel. There were two fiery bursts, and Grinek let out a wide smile, knowing full well that this was the end. Barely a second passed, and then the Colobus imploded on itself, the bright impact of the missiles instantly puffed out by the cold vacuum of space. The ship ignited and was torn apart, and what was once whole suddenly turned into a million jagged pieces, colliding into the atmosphere and burning.

  ***

  All on the shuttle lurched forward as their craft was hit by the shockwave of the explosion. Outside the cockpit windows, bits of the Colobus flew past and incinerated themselves in the atmosphere in front of them. Alarm lights flashed in the cockpit, flame and sparks outside, and tap-tap-tapping as the remnants of the Colobus slammed into the rear of the shuttle. Combined with the stench of alcohol and the body odor of Duvurn, the sensory overload was too much.

  Roan made the mistake of looking out the window. They were through the atmosphere now, in the gravity of the planet, and descending through the clouds. Moira and Sundar were rapidly working to stabilize the ship, but Roan had no idea if they were crashing or simply going to make a hard landing. They sliced through some clouds, moisture collecting on the windshield. Below them unfolded a hilly and forested terrain, shrouded in darkness.

  Roan vomited.

  ***

  The bridge erupted with joy. Cheers and commendations and the stomping of the right foot that indicated success. Grinek lifted himself out of his seat and roared mightily, a roar that would no doubt be heard throughout the Hanyek. With the help of interstellar communication, he was going to make it heard all the way to Kotara.

  The weapons officer still appeared on-edge, but it was probably only a residual feeling from having to watch his Commander use his equipment. Grinek clasped him on the shoulder and stared deep into the man’s eyes. He showed fear, but Grinek only found this humorous.

  “Don’t worry, you have done well!” Grinek let out another cry. The weapons crewman gritted his teeth and began trembling, fearful of what was to come next. But Grinek only pressed even firmer on the man’s shoulder. “I will remember to tell Kotara about you, and about how well your weapons systems worked. A promotion is coming your way, specialist!” Grinek would have used the officer’s name, but he didn’t remember it, so he let go of him and faced the bridge.

  “A promotion for all of you, in fact!” And the bridge crew gave out another cheer, thankful that they had survived and no doubt glad to have escaped Grinek’s wrath. The Commander moved back in his seat and sat down, planting himself once again as the firm regent of the Hanyek.

  “Prepare to send a message to Kotara! I want to gloat.” A crewman immediately went about following the order. Grinek eyed the viewscreen, watching the debris of the Earth freighter burn up in the atmosphere above the nightside of the planet. Whoever was down there was certainly getting a lightshow.

  “And make preparations for landing. We have some exploring to do.”

  Chapter 32

  While waiting for the Chiefs to convene—they had to be roused from sleep or brought back from their hunts—Two Mountains witnessed another spectacular sight in the sky. He was certain that this time others saw it, too.

  He paced impatiently in the Consultation Clearing and basked in its roaring fire until the Four Chiefs arrived. They were as indignant as their scrunched faces and sunken eyes allowed. There was Violet Sky, whose body was covered in dark blue hair; Falling River, who was tall and thin and always wore the skin of a sea warbler; Jumps At Dawn, who was short and fat but whose memory was considered the best; and finally the Elder Mother, Talks With the Wind, who was quiet but generally considered the wisest.

  A log served as their stool. It was customary for the Chiefs to sit while the one who requested the meeting stood before them. Each sat according to age—Violet Sky on the left to Talks With the Wind on the right—and they briefly chatted amongst themselves before addressing Two Mountains, conversing in voices so low the warrior could not hear.

  Finally, finished with their greetings, all turned to Two Mountains. Talks With the Wind was the first to speak.

  “Two Mountains, it has been a while since we saw you before us. Is all well with your family?”

  “Yes, Elder Mother, all is well.”

  Falling River crossed his arms. “Your child? Is he well?”

  “She, my Friend,” Jumps at Dawn corrected. “Two Mountains has a daughter.”

  “Oh. Please forgive me, Two Mountains.”

  “No offense given,” Two Mountains said. He didn’t much care for Falling River anyway, the man having been his tutor in his youth and one who believed in strictness as a lifestyle. Two Mountains remembered the climbing lessons he was given when he was very young, when he’d tried to scale a rock face and the rope broke, causing him to fall on his back. Falling River berated him in front of the other pupils for not checking the tautness and called him “Falling Mountain” for days. Such things stuck with you.

  “Very good,” Violet Sky said. “Now that we know you are well, what issue have you brought before us today? What is so urgent that we must converse so early?”

  “Indeed, I was having a good dream,” Jumps at Dawn muttered.

  Falling River revealed his fangs with a grin. “Did your old mistress visit you in it again?”

  Violet Sky put his hand between the two to silence them. They complied. “Please, my Friends. This young hunter has come before us. Let’s listen to what he has to say.” The man pulled out a stalk of the qiba leaf from his trousers and placed it in his mouth. As he chewed, the toxin inside would give him a mild high and allow him to concentrate. Unlimited qiba was one of the perks of being a Chief.

  “My Chiefs,” Two Mountains began, “In the past hour I have witnessed unusual events in the sky. Perhaps you have noticed it as well. Earlier this night I was hunting duexi at the edge of my enclosure and I noticed a burst of light above us. I thought it was an ember from my fire or a star, but then I saw that a star had formed from this burst of light and was moving across the sky. I followed it with my eyes until it disappeared from the horizon, near the Irefol Range.”

  “Interesting,” Violet Sky said. “But this was not the only thing you saw, was it?”

  “No, My Chief. Not ten instants ago, as I was waiting for this meeting to convene, I noticed something even more extraordinary in the sky. Instead of one light, there were two, and green streaks of light burst from the first to t
he second. The second dot of light then disappeared in a bright red flash, and I saw a light like a meteor fall just beyond the two mountains.”

  There were murmurs among the chiefs, save for Talks With the Wind, who was gnashing on her own qiba. Evidently, this was news of great significance.

  “Are you sure you did not simply see a meteor?” Falling River said. “We can’t be too alarmist in times like this. If you did indeed see a meteor, then there is nothing to worry about, because God has simply sent down another child to be born in a nation far away.”

  “No, My Chief, it was not a meteor, and it was definitely not a comet or anything I have seen before. This whole event was new to my eyes. In fact, if I hadn’t known any better, I might’ve said it looked like two stars fighting.”

  “Two stars fighting!” Jumps at Dawn cried. “Preposterous, Two Mountains. The stars are not alive. They are simply the lights of God, meant to aid us during our awakeness period.”

  “I know what I saw, My Chief. I am simply reporting to you what happened, and ask that you interpret it.”

  More murmuring and discussion. Falling River and Jumps at Dawn were smiling and quietly conversing, while Violet Sky had his hand to his chin, lost in thought. Two Mountains believed that the two in the middle had made up their minds and were ready to dismiss the story, so it all hedged on the two Chiefs at the end. Knowing the proper protocol, Two Mountains stood firm, his hands clasped in front of him, feeling the warmth of the fire. May their decision be quick.

  “This could be an omen,” Violet Sky said. “We know the sky shows us omens, and it predicted the earthshake last winter as well as the drought three summers ago. A prophecy as unique as this one, though, should cause us concern. It is so different from what is normal that it defies immediate interpretation.”

  Falling River laughed. “My friend, please, why do you persist in such matters? We have never seen anything like this before, and so why would God choose to reveal himself to a hunter, and not a Chief like ourselves? Sense is not being made. If I recall, Two Mountains, you have been rather lax with gathering food?”

  “My Chief, I was out hunting when I saw the heavenly display! Surely that must account for something.”

  “Perhaps. Or you could be trying to make excuses for your lack of prowess in the woods, and conjuring up stories to encourage suspicion!”

  Jumps at Dawn let out a small howl and shushed his colleague. “Easy, my Friend. We must talk to the encampment and see if any others saw what he saw as well. Therefore, we can determine if he’s telling the truth or not.”

  Two Mountains was beginning to feel desperate, wondering if the Chiefs were all not conspiring against him. What had he done wrong—sure, he was lax in hunting, but many were! The animals were moving away as the settlements expanded, and that wasn’t his fault. Perhaps what he did see was an error in his eyes, a trick being played on his mind. A visit to the herbalist would be appropriate—

  “He is telling the truth.” It was Talks With the Wind. Slowly and carefully, the Elder Mother spat out the remains of the qiba and stared distantly into the fire. Shadows waved across his face.

  “How can you be sure?” Falling River asked. “Did you see it yourself?

  “Yes. Right before this meeting convened, I was studying the sky, as I always do when the moonlight is low. The incident happened in the Constellation Yavenway. I did not see all of what Two Mountains described, I only noticed the bright red flash. However, I do remember a burst of green out of the corner of my eye, and I did see one light moving across the sky. Another, brighter light did indeed come to ground, and it came down beyond the double peaks. Perhaps it landed in the Sun Valley.”

  “My Friend, you could have said something before!” Jumps at Dawn chided.

  “I needed to hear the boy out. And, of course, determine in which direction you were prepared to put him on trial.” As she said this, Talks With the Wind grinned at her friends, and there was a twinkle in her eye as he addressed the middle two chiefs. Shamed, they put their hands together and heads down, while Violet Sky watched this unfold with fascination. “Now, Two Mountains, while it is not necessary, would you like to give your interpretation of the events?”

  “M-My interpretation, Elder Mother?”

  “Yes. I am interested to hear.”

  Two Mountains cleared his throat. Rarely was a commoner asked to give his interpretation to the Chiefs, especially not to Talks With the Wind, whose word was usually as solid as a boulder. “Elder Mother, I do not presume to know the way of the Sky, but if the stars are the lights of God, and a light coming to Earth means the birth of a child, then this could mean a star has been sent from Heaven down to Earth. I have heard many stories over the years. As I’m sure you are aware, the elders of the Iso Iso Nation spoke of a Messenger of God coming down to visit in the time of their ancestors, and I believe it is possible that has happened again.”

  “Ah, very nice, Two Mountains, but you are only putting one and one together. That is, you are going off what you know of our beliefs about the stars, and then reaching a logical conclusion. But what if what we know is wrong? What if our conception of the stars is not the truth? Go back to what you said about the two stars fighting. What might that mean?”

  “Well, Elder Mother, perhaps—though I don’t claim to know this—the stars are not the lights, as we have thought, but individual persons. Ancestors, or perhaps workers or soldiers of God. Maybe what we have seen is the beginning of a war among them, perhaps like that of the moon and the half-moon. One was slain by the lightning of another, and then fell to the ground—if indeed he fell to the ground.”

  “You have an active imagination,” Falling River said.

  “Yet he and Talks With the Wind saw it, not us,” Violet Sky reminded. “Two Mountains knows best, and he is simply interpreting.”

  “Indeed,” Talks With the Wind said. “Two Mountains, it is clear to me that what you have seen requires further study. I think on this occasion it would be best to ask around and see if what Two Mountains witnessed was seen by anyone else. Perhaps others noticed more than he. Later this night, we will convene a settlement meeting and discuss this. Then we might need to decide whether or not to try and find what landed in the Sun Valley.”

  “I most definitely agree,” Violet Sky chipped in. The two middle Chiefs nodded in approval and batted their whiskers, a sign of approval. Despite one’s personal opinions, Two Mountains knew that in the circle of Chiefs it was always best to appear with a unified voice. It was an egalitarian leadership, but Talks With the Wind was the closest that circle had to being a leader.

  “If there is nothing further, Two Mountains, then I suggest you go back to your hunt.” Another twinkle, one to rival the stars, glinted in Talks With the Wind’s eyes.

  “Yes, Elder Mother, but before I do, I was wondering if you had your own beliefs about what you and I witnessed.”

  The chief put another qiba stalk back in her mouth, gnashed it, then closed her eyes in contemplation. “In this matter, my guess is as good as yours. Further study is assuredly needed—nothing like this has ever occurred. But I thank you for your input.”

  “You are most welcome, Elder Mother. And peace to you all.” With a wave of their hands, they dismissed the young hunter. Two Mountains bowed and stepped outside the circle as the murmuring and conversation again began with the old men. Pride overtook him for bringing such an important matter to the Chiefs, and he was honored to have witnessed such an event as the one in the sky. He hoped that the omen indeed predicted a positive event to take place—he was still young, and had plans to be a mighty hunter. In a few minutes he would be home, and Snowy Island would be heartened to hear of the meeting.

  Chapter 33

  Below the Hanyek, green pastures bled into the bronze plains of a savannah. The cruiser glided a mile above the surface, as per Grinek’s orders, scouting the terrain of the largest continent for any life signs. So far, all Grinek saw was a resemblance to Kotara’s
desolate Timmeding Outback. He leaned forward in his chair to study the ground on the viewscreen, hoping to spot a sign of life.

  “Sensors!” he barked. “Are you certain there was no hint of habitation?”

  “No, Commander. We did observe some pack animals several miles behind us.”

  “Well, those couldn’t be the natives, could they?” There were clacks of approval from the crew. “So we have no sign of construction, not even of settlements?”

  “None, Commander.”

  This proved nothing yet. While their sensors detected no cities or masses of life forms from orbit, they had only done a close inspection of a small fraction of the planet. It was possible any advanced civilization would have a limited population and be confined to a tiny area. And even if there were no life, that didn’t mean life did not originate here. That would take much more scientific exploration.

  On the viewscreen, Grinek noticed a patch of trees that had almost a circular clearing, like a landing pad; he was excited for it not because of its shape but because he thought it would be a perfect grove to symbolically “land.”

  “There! That clearing, in the midst of that brush!” He pointed to the section and the screen immediately zoomed in on it. “Land there! That’s where we’ll make our record.”

  Grinek prided himself in bringing several of the highest quality cameras with him, straight from the Kotaran Propaganda Institute. A few of his men were trained to use them in a professional manner, and the machines would probably be the key tool of their exploration. The Emperor, the Council, and of course the populace on Kotara would all need to see with their eyes the actions of the intrepid explorers as they walked the surface of the Original Planet, or the Fifth Planet, or whatever it would be christened.

  Out of all the images that would eventually be recorded, the most important would be the first steps on this alien world. Naturally, Grinek would be the one to take those steps.