Harvesting Rue

by Candace Smith

  After another few minutes, Dawn said, “Rue, this is too easy. I think these guys are used to being ridden. Several more have joined the herd from the banks while we’ve passed and they don’t seem the least bit afraid of us.”

  “So? It just makes it easier for us.”

  “No, I don’t think so. What’s the only reason horses get together in the evening and head back…”

  “To the stable to be fed,” Rue finished, and her face went white. “Oh shit… and they’re headed south. We gotta’ get off, Dawn.” Rue looked around and saw that they were wedged into the middle of the rolling file. They would be crushed if they tried to bale off. “Crap, Dawn, there’s the curve.”

  “Throw the rest of the fruit in front of them,” Dawn yelled.

  “What?”

  “The fruit. They’ll bolt for it and maybe we can jump behind them.”

  From the bank before the curve, the warriors from the bar sat on their hizbins, staring in disbelief. “Fuck, are those the pets?”

  “Gotta’ be. We don’t have anything out here that looks like that.” Maripan squinted. “I think I see collars on them.”

  “Shit, they’re riding in with the vistans… right into the rebels’ camp,” Telan muttered. They were stuck on the wrong side of the river with a high ridge of cliffs blocking their path. They either had to climb the bank to go over it or head back to the bridge that crossed to the other side.

  A clamoring came from behind them, and the group turned to see Isari riding his squawking hizbin with the other two warriors just behind him. “Rue…” he yelled. His long dark hair was layered with dust and waving wildly behind him. Isari watched the women throw zanulla fruit into the water and the vistans shot towards it in a frenzy, banging their huge swollen bodies into each other. The warriors clenched their jaws anticipating the small pets being crushed in the melee when they stood up on the pink backs and dove into the river.

  “They can swim? I did not see any gills and the report did not mention it.” Varpin watched in astonished amazement while his pet stroked smoothly to the other bank.

  “They still could not rationalize to come this direction for protection,” Isari noted. “The holograms might have been a mistake. It seems they have deduced only enough information to get themselves into trouble.” He looked over to Telan. “Is the closest bridge still by the Lampur dam?”

  “Other than that crazy thing the rebels built. That’s just in front of us.”

  “Rue,” Isari called over. “Wait there. It will take us some time to cross over to rescue you.”

  “Ya, ya, ya,” Rue muttered. “Dawn, can you see how those things are rigged up? Does the strap go around the beak?”

  “No, I see a mouth open. I think it goes between it like a regular horse bridle.” Dawn thought the bird-horses were fascinating. “Unless we find some already tied and tamed, I don’t think we’ll catch any.”

  “Well, I guess we know where the tamed birds will be, so we’re heading to the south caves after all.” Rue tossed her wet ponytail over her shoulder and walked towards the rocks with Dawn, while the warriors on the other bank gawked at their alluring figures under the clinging shalus.

  “Where did you say they were from?” Maripan murmured.

  “Some primitive planet,” Isari answered in frustration when his pet ignored his order. “The Harvesters have it on the commission list every two hundred years.”

  “I’m going to have legal see if they can alter that schedule,” Maripan replied. Fuck, even if they did not survive the claiming, the pets were arousing. The worse that could happen was that he would end up with another Alidan if it was pulled. Maripan shifted his eyes to Isari. “I can feel your frustration, brother. When we catch your pet, if you would like to trade for my Alidan…”

  “Fuck no,” Isari muttered. He watched his pet climb the opposite bank. “Shit.” He cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “Not south, pet. The rebels are there. Go the other way and we’ll meet you by the bridge.”

  “They still don’t get it, do they?” Dawn said.

  “I don’t think they have a lot of information on us. Isari seems amazed when I figure things out, and he thinks it’s an accident and that I can’t process what I’ve learned. When they come to the realization that we’re more intelligent than those gray lumpy things they’re used to, they’ll stop underestimating us. That’s when things are going to get tough,” Rue predicted.

  The warriors turned and jogged the hizbins back to the dam and crossed over the bridge. Isari knew that the trail to the rebel encampment was far south, and even Rue would have to figure it was best to avoid them. They figured they would catch the girls well before they got to the rebel camp. The warriors were wrong.

  “That’s the rebel camp?” Dawn asked in amazement. She looked down to where a dozen scruffy men were meandering around a small clearing. One began throwing food to the vistans, one guarded a small path, and one… one was feeding the bird-horses. Leather gear was hanging from the fence they were corralled behind.

  Rue could see there was no way down from the rocks, and the path down to the camp disappeared into the distance. “The warriors will catch up to us if we try to find the beginning of the trail down.” She looked behind them. “I think our best bet is to go back to the river and swim in. No one is watching from that direction.”

  “There’s still a dozen of them, Rue.”

  “The warriors will think we’re up in these cliffs, so I think we’ll be safe going in after dark.”

  The girls made their way back to the river and quickly hid behind a boulder as the warriors passed overhead. “Shit, that was close. Come on.”

  Dawn followed her to the water. “I thought we were waiting until dark.”

  “I don’t think we’ll have to. When the rebels see the warriors on the cliffs, that will keep them occupied.”

  The girls sank into the calm water and stayed in the shallows, following it south. When they were within sight of the camp, they crept out and hid. While they waited, they pulled the shards from where they were secured in the bands holding their hair and they cut some more leather off their boots. They secured the material around the wider ends of the shards with some strong stringy vines creeping down the rocks beside them.

  “You know, if you weren’t here with me, I probably never would have left those rocks, Rue.” Dawn was amazed by how calm she was. She was always overly cautious before.

  “Nah, I don’t believe that, Dawn. Maybe it’s another side-effect of the stuff they marked us with, but you’ve come up with most of the suggestions that have gotten us this far.” Rue heard a yell from in front of them. “Guess it’s on.”

  The girls peered around the rock and they saw the unkempt men saddling the birds. Dawn paid close attention to how the halters were secured. “We won’t have time to put the saddles on. Cripes, I hope those feathers are soft.” She thought of her bare bottom jostling on prickly spines.

  Rue watched the group of men mounting the birds, and quickly scanned their outfits. “They don’t have weapons,” Rue whispered.

  “What?”

  “The warriors. They don’t have weapons. I thought that the big guy meant they didn’t use them for this chase thing… but I don’t think they carry weapons down here.” Rue gave Dawn a hopeful smile. “That should give us a little advantage against their size.”

  The rebels took off as a group up the path, leaving three birds wandering around the pen and squawking after their companions. The girls crept towards them, watching the trail in case one of the rebels returned. “Shit, they’re big.” Rue looked at the sharp beaks and dagger-like claws, rethinking the decision to ride them. “Maybe we should use those fish again and just move further south.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to work,” Dawn replied. The vistans were rolled onto their backs with their full pale pink bellies pointed at the sky. A few were even snoring.

  “Birds it is,” Rue agreed.

  It
was surprisingly easy to halter the birds because they had been trained to lower their heads. The series of straps on the saddle rigging made no sense, so they decided not to waste time on them. The birds seemed nervous when they were led outside the corral and beside the fence so that the women could climb on. “I hope they steer like horses,” Rue said nervously. Shit, they’re big. She followed Dawn’s lead and tucked her shalu under her bottom. The feathers were pretty soft, except where new ones were growing in after being broken off by the saddles.

  “Let’s head east,” Rue suggested. “There might be more bands of rebels further south.”

  “No problem.” Dawn settled on the bird and let go of the fence post. “Ready?” Dawn gave a light kick to the bird and it took off up the trail at a sprint. “Cripes!” She pulled back on the reins and it had no affect. Turning it seemed to work the same as a horse… or maybe it was just following the trail. Whatever the reason, they could not get the birds to slow down.

  “Whoa, dammit,” Rue shouted. She could already see the men at the rear of the column of rebels and the bird was not responding when she yanked on the reins. “Whoa, birdie.” The two hizbins continued at top speed. “Dammit, Dawn. How the hell do we stop these things?”

  Dawn was gripping the bouncing bird with her thighs. “Don’t know,” her voice quivered. The running steps were jarring, and without a saddle to steady themselves, the two girls had one hand gripping the reins, and one clutched into the feathers on the birds’ necks. They hizbins continued to race towards their friends and directly into the band of rebels.

  “Oh shit.” Rue looked beside her and she saw that Dawn had her eyes squeezed shut. She returned her focus to the front, just as their birds barreled through the rear of the column of shocked rebels.

  Lines of worry creased Isari’s forehead. “We should have spotted them by now.” He was concerned that the pets had found the trail to the rebel camp, and that Rue had made the wrong decision again.

  “Holy shit,” Maripan yelled. He pointed at two hizbins emerging from the path, racing at top speed with the pets riding them. It was a sight he would never forget.

  Varpin’s eyes widened in panic as he watched his little commission bouncing on the back of the bird. “Hold on, pet. I’m coming,” Varpin screamed, and he bolted towards them.

  “Dammit,” Isari muttered, sincerely regretting giving Rue two days to study the holograph. He turned the hizbin towards his pet, and the rest of the group took off after them. As alarmed as he was, Isari was entranced by the sight of her lean, tanned legs tightened around the bird, with her breasts bouncing up and down under the thin covering of her shalu.

  The rebels had been focusing on the invading warriors. They were surprised by the attack, but it seemed the men were only glancing towards them. They were obviously looking for something else. The ‘something else’ came ramming through the rear of their file on the bare backs of hizbins, and the rebels looked at the exotic pets in shock. They increased their speed to go after them, completely ignoring the threat of the warriors.

  The warriors’ path joined with the rebels, and they ended up racing beside each other while the girls continued at breakneck speed. The warriors and rebels exchange crashing blows from the backs of their birds, and Rue risked a quick look back. “Shit.” She raised a jerking finger at Isari, distracting him for a moment and giving the rebel beside him a chance to punch his jaw. Rue winced. “Oops.”

  The strike momentarily dazed the big man, and the unexpected jerk on the reins caused his bird to bump into the file behind him. It was all the time necessary for the rebel leader to race forward, out of the pack. He was closing on the pets, whose birds were beginning to tire after racing all the way from the corral.

  Dawn’s bird tripped and she went flying over its head. Rue dove off when she saw her fall and she ran over to her. “You okay?”

  Dawn scrambled up. “It just knocked the wind out of me,” she panted. Even though the birds had stopped, they had no time to climb back on. The rebel leader was almost up to them.

  “Guess we fight,” Rue decided, and she pulled her shard of glass from her hair.

  Dawn stood behind her, and when the rebel dove off of the bird he landed directly on Rue’s sharp weapon. It pierced into his side and he stood staring at the buried glass in astonishment.

  The other men came to an abrupt halt, and when they saw the injured rebel leader their battering fists stopped. Rue and Dawn backed up. The men dismounted their birds and circled the rebel leader, staring in shocked silence at the buried glass.

  “The pet is mine,” the wounded leader gritted out. He had decided the exotic was far preferable to an Alidan, even if she might end up being pulled. He turned to Isari. “You gave her a weapon.”

  Isari shook his head, and said, “I did not.” His eyes narrowed on the glass stuck in the rebel’s side and he recognized the fruit bowl. “Shit,” he whispered. “How the hell did she get that off the ship?”

  “Dawn, what’s happening?” Rue asked. The scene made no sense to her. She expected the men to continue fighting each other, and had planned to use the distraction to get away.

  “I don’t know. Something big, I think.”

  Isari turned to Rue, disbelief in his voice. “I told you we do not use weapons.”

  Rue looked towards the sky, shaking her head and silently asking for help comprehending the situation. She lowered her eyes and stared at Isari. “What the hell kind of warriors don’t use weapons?” she asked in exasperation.

  The rebel leader walked towards her, clutching his side. He stared at the unusual pet who could apparently reason. “You were told we do not use weapons?” he affirmed.

  Rue put her hands on her hips. She was tired and had had enough of this bullshit. “The big guy told us they don’t use weapons for this chase thing. Shit.” She looked down the column of men. “You guys are a foot taller than us. He never said that we couldn’t use them.”

  “You do not know why we do not use weapons?” he queried.

  Rue was seething with frustration. “Probably because your all huge macho assholes.” She kicked her terson covered foot through the sand.

  “But… but you pierced me and I had not even captured you yet.” The big man was completely distraught, continuing to clutch his wound.

  “Oh, for goodness sakes. You big baby,” Dawn said. She stormed forward and yanked the inch long spike out of his side. It trickled a little, but it was obviously a minor cut. She unwrapped the covering from the shard and pressed it against the wound. “Hold that for a few minutes and it should stop bleeding.”

  The rebel leader and his group stared in confusion. Never mind the pets had left the rocks and somehow ended up riding hizbins, now they were speaking to the warriors and daring to attack and touch them. “Isari, what kind of pets are these?” the man asked.

  “They are Primitives, Serpan. Varpin found them on the ‘Probable’ list and we were commissioning them for the first time.” Isari walked over to study the wound. “Are you all right?”

  Dawn and Rue were completely bewildered. The fighting foe were standing together in concern for the rebel leader. “I thought you guys were enemies,” Rue said nervously.

  Telan turned to her, still coming to terms with the fact that the pets would speak. “No. We are stuck for ten years on planet in rotation to protect it. Nothing ever happens, so every few months we trade places as rebels to keep our skills honed.”

  “You’re playing fucking army?” Rue collapsed to her bottom on the dirt and Dawn settled beside her.

  Maripan shrugged. “We get bored. Of course, we keep the rebel camp close enough so we can share drinks and discuss battle scenes.” It was obvious that Isari and Varpin were not going to trade the pets, and he decided he would cautiously contact Harvesting Procurement for their specifics.

  Rue was frustrated and tired, and she decided she could use a drink. She looked over to where the birds were shuffling and pecking in the dirt. “How do yo
u stop those things?”

  “You will not need to know that,” Isari stated. He stormed up to her and lifted her to a stand by her collar. “You are claimed.”

  Rue balled up her fist and punched him in the groin. “You cheated,” she stated. Her arm swept around the group of warriors and the hizbins. “You left all this stuff out of those movies. There wasn’t anything about the stupid army game you guys were playing, and no instructions on these damn birds.”

  Isari was doubled over with his hands on his knees, while several of the warriors winced in shared pain. Rue grabbed Dawn’s hand and pulled her up. “Come on.”

  Dawn shuffled after her, looking cautiously back at the warriors. “Where are we going?”

  Rue stopped and looked around her. They were not going to escape two dozen men. She climbed up on a bird and pulled Dawn up behind her. “I need a drink.”

  “You ease up on the reins to slow them down,” Dawn instructed. She had watched the other warriors when they dismounted.

  “Rue,” Isari gasped as he straightened. “Dammit.”

  Serpan walked up beside him. “Your pet attacked you? She’s marked.” Perhaps the saragus did not work on this species. He had never heard of a commission attacking a warrior, and the saragus should have the pet bonding to him.

  “Actually, it’s the second time,” Varpin said. He stared at the cut on Serpan’s side that had already stopped bleeding. “Oh, and you… she attacked you.”

  “They are small for a warrior species,” one of the rebels noted.

  “They are a companion species,” Isari insisted. “Nothing in their spec sheet says anything about them as protectors. Perhaps it was something they had to learn to exist on their planet. It was described as a harsh environment, but I assumed they meant the landscape and nourishment. They must have had to train to fight off other native species.”

  The girls were merely jogging to the north in the direction of the Lampur crossing. “Can you ride?” Varpin asked Isari. The warrior was finally straightening to a stand.