“Do so now,” Commander Steinman ordered softly. He watched as Eric walked away, then went back to the kitchen. The doctor was exactly where he had left her. “Doctor Allerbech, see to Jenkins as best you can. Then aid Lieutenant Ian in her investigation. We need those answers as soon as possible.” He turned away when the doctor nodded. Surveying the wreckage of his outpost, he frowned.
“All hands on deck!” he snapped, watching as spines stiffened and people came to their feet. “I want this area thoroughly policed. Every bug body is to be taken to the Life Sciences team. If any of you start to develop any unusual symptoms, report immediately to Doctor Allerbech. Move people.”
The Stellar Navy of the Confederated Star Systems had drawn on the best traditions of all branches of the homeworld’s militaries, and all of them had emphasized hard work as an antidote for shock. It took less than an hour for the camp to once again look like a CSS-SN outpost. Commander Steinman nodded to himself as his people once again started milling about. The sound of someone clearing his throat to his left drew his attention. “Carlson?”
“Sir, I’ve done my best to analyze these pictures, and I didn’t find much. The only anomaly I found was a wisp of mist near a rocky outcropping approximately two clicks southwest.”
Commander Steinman nodded. “You’ll take a walk tomorrow, Eric. For now, settle your people and see if you can get some sleep. I’m sure Ian will wake us if she finds anything.”
*
The morning sun found Szekely once again looking into the stranger’s camp, and he was puzzled by what he saw. The stench of the ragna was everywhere, yet there were none of the denuded corpses that he had expected. Indeed, there seemed to be just as many of the creatures as there had been the day before. He could even recognize several individuals, especially the three with the blood-blue hide.
This time he kept to the ground, stealthily creeping up to the edge of the clearing for a better look. Then something horrible happened.
*
Jen Ian had finished her analysis of the bugs and found their bite to not be poisonous. However, their blood was. Jenkins had died because she had smashed the bug that bit her into the wound. Several others were sick for the same reason, though none of them had suffered the extra bites that Jenkins had.
With the question of poison answered, she had decided to see if she could find any other bugs in the area and was creeping through the underbrush when she came face-to-face with the biggest ferret she’d ever seen. A scream ripped from her throat as she lunged backwards and started scooting her butt across the ground towards the camp, screaming the whole time.
The creature reared back on its hind legs, raising its head more than three meters into the air in the process. It spread its front legs wide, displaying the claws at the ends of its fingers.
The sailors who had been trained with small arms immediate raced to her aid, weapons in hand, but a voice kept them from firing on the creature.
“Hold your fire!” Commander Steinman bellowed. “All hands, hold your fire! Keep it covered, but don’t shoot unless it attacks.”
*
When Szekely found himself nose-to-nose with one of the creatures, he froze. That didn’t help much. The creature squalled like a kitten that had had its tail stepped on and kept on squalling as it clumsily scuttled away.
Fearing that he’d done something unforgivably rash, he stood and exposed his belly and throat, holding his arms out to the side in the universal sign of non-aggression. Several of the other creatures came running toward him, also in non-aggressive stances, but they carried something in their front hands that looked like weapons of some kind.
Hearing one of the creatures bellow, he looked over toward the camp and saw the three blue creatures coming toward him at a walk, not a run like the others had, and thankfully the one he’d stumbled upon had stopped squalling.
Szekely kept his non-aggressive pose as the blood-blue creatures approached. They were all retaining their upright posture as well, and he began to relax. Raising his muzzle toward the sky, he briefly exposed his throat, then brought his head down and said, {“Greetings, strange ones,”} to the seeming leader.
*
Commander Steinman saw the creature raise its muzzle and then it chittered at him. And it was definitely to him that the sound was directed. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he stepped forward and said, “We come in peace.” Oh, geeze, I didn’t really just say that!
The creature chittered and snapped a few more times, then it squatted down on its haunches. It was still more than two meters tall when it was sitting. Commander Steinman was again certain that the creature was addressing him, but it just sounded like a bunch of clicks, squeaks and growls. Looking around, he decided to try a different form of communication.
“Security detail, return your weapons to your holsters. Then back away slowly, keeping your hands in clear sight.”
Chief Cunningham stifled a curse. “Sir, look at it! It could rip you gullet to gonads before we could reach our weapons again.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take, Chief. But I’m betting against it. I want you to take a close look under its chin. See that blue gem, set in silver? It took intelligence to do that. I’m not going to risk blowing another first contact, not even if it means my own life. You got that, Chief? I may be taking a wild leap, but I think this is a native of this planet. If so, we will not risk harming it.”
Chief Cunningham nodded and holstered his weapon, then backed away with the rest of the detail.
*
Szekely was puzzled by the creature. It had replied, he was sure of it, but the reply was slurred and totally undecipherable. He tried again. {“I mean you no harm.”} Szekely noted the actions of the creatures and was puzzled. They seemed to be displaying non-aggression, but the actions of the golden creatures fairly shouted threat. The blue creature seemed to have some authority though, and the others obeyed, walking backwards in empty-handed peace. Almost fainting with relief, he eased himself down to his haunches.
The blue creature looked at him for a moment, then dropped to the ground, surprising him by how far it went down. Why, it couldn’t be half its original height sitting like that. What strange creatures! And he’d found them. He, Szekely of the Selexis Cavvelat, had found a new species. A new intelligent species. Feeling greatly daring, he leaned down and took his normal sitting position. That move put his head more on a level with the stranger.
*
Commander Steinman tensed when the native lowered itself toward him, but stayed where he was. When the native stopped with its head level with his, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then it raised one hand and held its fingers splayed. Steinman immediately noted the three fingers and opposable thumb configuration, as well as the long, wickedly curved claws. He held his own hand up so the native could compare. The native’s muzzle came forward and it sniffed his fingers, then the head quickly withdrew and the native seemed to sneeze.
Without lowering his hand, Steinman slowly pulled it back and sniffed, but he couldn’t detect any unusual scent. As he looked closely, though, he saw something that he hadn’t noticed before. There was a trace of blue under his index fingernail.
Turning his head slightly to the side, he said, “Ian, bring me one of those bugs and a scalpel. Move slowly, keep your hands in plain sight at all times, and for God’s sake, don’t startle it. Its teeth are nastier looking than its claws.”
“Sir!” Lieutenant Ian answered and darted back to her lab station. She raced back, then slowed and circled out to the side a bit so the ferret-native could see her clearly. Handing the items to the commander, she backed away, carefully not smiling, and stopped just behind the commander’s shoulder. “Don’t smile at it, sir. Bare teeth are aggressive in every species except primates.”
“Noted,” Commander Steinman said as he opened his palm to display the bug. The big native reacted as he’d hoped. It almost jumped back away from the nasty little thing and sneezed again.
&nb
sp; *
Szekely couldn’t believe that the creature could stand the smell of the ragna on its digit, but it didn’t seem to even notice the stench. Then it said something to the squaller and that individual hurried to bring something from their camp. When he saw that it was a dead ragna, he almost fled. Didn’t they know what the ragna did when one of them was killed?!
The blue creature set the ragna on its leg and held up a shiny object that looked like some kind of silver ornament. Szekely leaned forward and sniffed, but only smelled the metal. Then the creature did something so strange that it took a moment to register. It cut its own flesh on the back of its hand with the ornament, exposing a thin red line and filling the air with a sharp, hot-copper scent. It took a moment for him to realize what he was seeing and smelling. These creatures didn’t just look different: their biology was like nothing on this world. No creature on Savalin had red blood. Everything, from the bottom-dwellers that these creatures so closely resembled to the Cavvelat themselves had blue blood. That meant-Szekely bolted back into the underbrush as fast as he could move, racing away from the strange creatures like a kitten with a scalded tail. This was beyond him, beyond anything he was willing to consider. This was a situation that the Overfathers needed to deal with.
*
Commander Steinman froze when the native moved, then relaxed as the trail of disturbed branches quickly disappeared. “That could have gone better, but it went well enough. Communications, get me the captain!”
Captain Corban listened to Commander Steinman’s report with flaring nostrils, but no other sign of agitation. “And?” he asked when Steinman had finished.
“Sir, this native was obviously intelligent. How intelligent and how sophisticated, I can’t guess. It did react peacefully to our actions, right up until I showed it my blood. I think that’s when it realized that we aren’t from around here.”
“First Contact again! Damn it, David, lightning doesn’t strike twice very often. Is there any clue at all of where the native went?” The captain was leaning forward to the point that his face was filling the entire com screen.
“Eric has an idea that I endorse, sir,” Commander Steinman said and saw the captain’s face take on a slightly less agitated expression. “He took some photos, his kind, and one of them shows a strange mist off in the hills. He thinks it may have been smoke. If so, that might be our visitor’s camp.”
“Find out. Until then, everything is on hold as far as the survey is concerned. If this is an inhabited planet, we’ll probably be pulling out so a full alien contact team can take over. I also want the weapons collected and replaced by non-lethal stunners, though how alien physiology will react to ultrasonics is a question I hope we don’t have to answer.” The captain sat back and clenched his fists in frustration.
“We can’t screw this one up, David. Velvet Rabbit said there were nine intelligent species in this part of the galaxy, and this might be one of them. If so, I want to have our name redeemed by doing it right.”
“Agreed, sir,” Commander Steinman said softly. “Eric should be back with his answer in a few hours. He guessed the location of his mysterious smoke to be about two klicks away.”
“Keep me informed of all developments, no matter how small. Corban out,” the captain said and cut the connection.
*
Eric led Lieutenant Ian and Chief Cunningham through the forest at a slow walk. He had the digital camera with him and was taking as many pictures as the unit would hold, then downloading and starting again.
Everything about this planet that could be observed was being catalogued. Flora and what fauna that didn’t vanish was neatly captured on film, but they were being careful not to kill anything. The bugs from the night before might not be the only hive predators.
Eric had triangulated the position of the smoke, as he was now sure it had been, and soon reached the area.
“There, sir,” the chief said and pointed to a rocky outcropping. A crude door blocked the entrance to a cave.
Eric held his hand up to stop his subordinates and took three steps more before stopping himself. “Hello,” he said loudly. There was no response. “Hello in there,” he tried again, but again there was no response. Taking the last few steps, he pushed open the barrier and looked inside with the aid of a hand-lamp.
The cave was big enough to have held a dozen people. It had the look of an improved natural formation, with shelves and what might be a line of raised sleeping platforms along the walls. There was also a strange scent that burned his nose and made his eyes water.
“Yo, Chief, catch a whiff of this!” he almost shouted as he backed away.
Lieutenant Ian came forward and sniffed delicately, then sneezed. “That’s nasty. I’d compare it to burning camphor wood.”
“Ma’am, sir, I have an idea,” Chief Cunningham said softly and both officers turned toward him. “Ma’am, you just sneezed smelling something of that native. It sneezed when it smelled Commander Steinman’s hand. Maybe we’re allergic to each other.”
Lieutenant Ian shook her head, then paused. “I don’t know, Chief. Commander Steinman was close to it for quite a while and didn’t say anything about it smelling like that. It could be something other than the native that’s making us sneeze.”
“Could it be something the native burns for his fire?” Eric asked.
“Or could it be insect repellent?” the chief asked, then continued before getting an answer. “We did that. Human’s I mean. We used smoke to keep the ‘skeeters and chiggers at bay back before they invented chemical repellents.”
“You have a point, Chief,” Lieutenant Ian said softly, rubbing her cheek in thought. “I mean, why not? This is the native’s home territory. It must have some way to deal with the bugs. It was obvious that it knew what they are and what they do when Commander Steinman showed it the dead one.”
Eric put the door back the way he had found it and backed away. “Back to camp. We have to tell Commander Steinman about this.”
*
Szekely had run as hard as he could, back over the hills to the home caves of the Selexis. He surprised the guardians as he burst through the brush and raced for the Cave of the Overfathers. He almost made it until he ran head-first into Kelesvin, his big brother.
{“You make unseemly haste, little Szekely. Did a ragna bite your tail?”} he asked with a laugh.
{“Far more than ragna have come to our territory, brother. Strangers, of a species I have never heard of, have come. I must speak with the Overfathers.”}
{“You are too young, Szekely. You know too little to come to such conclusions. Just because you know nothing of these creatures doesn’t mean they are not known.”}
Szekely snarled and saw his brother react in shock. {“Do not think you have the right to dictate to me any longer, Kelesvin. I am no longer a cub.”}
Kelesvin snarled and snapped his teeth together. {“You need manners, cub, and it is my turn to teach you.”}
{“That will be enough of that, kittens, or it will be I who does the teaching,”} a familiar voice said from the Cave of the Overfathers.
Szekely and Kelesvin turned to face the voice of their overfather and raised their muzzles to the sky, baring their throats in submission. Szekely lowered his head first and spoke quickly. {“Overfather Szefon, I have seen strange creatures in our territory, creatures that are beyond the knowledge of the Cavvelat.”}
{“Cub.”}
{“That’s enough of that, Kelesvin,”} Overfather Szefon snapped and Kelesvin brought both of his front hands up to cover his nose in contrition. {“Continue, Szekely. Describe these intruders.”}
Szekely did as he was asked and soon even Kelesvin was staring at him in wonder. {“It was when I smelled the blood that I realized that these were not creatures of Savalin.”}
Overfather Szefon looked at his fellow Overfathers, Jvel and Scelet, and got snarls of agreement. {“Lead us to this place, Szekely, but have a care for our aged bones.”}
Szekely led off at a moderate pace, but soon found himself trailing behind the aged overfathers. They follow my scent trail as fast as I made it, he thought as he kept on the tail of Overfather Jvel. It was very late in the day when they arrived at the emergency shelter Szekely had been using.
{“We must shelter here until dawn,”} Overfather Scelet said, looking at the small den in evident distaste.
{“We could approach the strangers, Honored Overfather,”} Szekely said and immediately regretted it.
{“You’d have us trapped by these unknown creatures and the ragna at the same time?”} Overfather Jvel snapped. {“Foolish kitten, that would be true folly. Always leave yourself an escape route.”}
{“Yes, Overfather Jvel. It was only that-I spoke in haste and did not carefully consider my words.”}
The old overfather looked at Szekely and relented. {“You’re an adventurous youth, Szekely. Age and misadventure teach caution. These creatures are far too strange to approach at nightfall. You saw no walls to protect them from the ragna. It may be that they are so strange that the ragna do not bite them. If that is so, then we would be bones before morning and they would still be a mystery.”}
Szekely hung his head, then motioned for the overfathers to precede him into the shelter. He had almost closed the door when Overfather Szefon snarled angrily. {“What is this?”} he asked, pointing to a mark on the floor.
{“They have been here,”} Szekely said in an awed whisper. {“They managed to follow my trail and find the shelter. That is a paw-print of their hind feet.”}
{“You said you thought they were an advanced people. It would make sense for an advanced people to wonder where you were from and where you went. I wonder the same things about them.”} Overfather Jvel went down on all fours and sniffed the track. {“I have never smelled anything like it. The scent is not that of any animal I know.”}
{“Now I grow increasingly dissatisfied with my decision to come here tonight,”} Overfather Szefon said, taking a platform near the door. {“Start the ravala wood burning, Szekely and hand out some meat. I think we should all sleep well tonight, for tomorrow will be an eventful day-one way or another.”}
Stories of the Confederated Star Systems Page 11
