I’ll share a few of the most common insults used to counter those hurled by some of the more offensive species, and some that might get thrown your way.
Gorsaurians are for the most part nasty pieces of work. They have a limited amount of insults they use, probably due to their limited intellectual capabilities. They will call Humans(Hunans in their speech since they are incapable of pronouncing the standard letters B, F, M, P, V, and W) Noogu, which is a species of diminutive dung flinging primates on the Gorsaurian homeworld. They also like to use this in conjunction with go dunko, meaning shove your head into your own posterior, and kra norga, meaning dung head. Hey, noogu, go dunko kra norga is a common insult hurled by the lizards, and about as imaginative as they are capable.
Insulting a Gorsaurian is easy. Looking at them, smiling, greeting them with a common hello are likely to offend them, but if you well and truly want to be sure of earning their ire, try the following. Lipless, a crack about their inability with certain letters(see above), Jugrun-tow meaning cold-blooded in the Gorsaurian language and a reference to their less developed and non warm-blooded cousins.
Morloks are masters at insult and are hard to offend, but calling them a goblin and punching them while they launch a counter insult is a good way to start a fight. It’s best to get to the fighting portion early with Morloks, because they can enrage you to the point you’ll not be clear-headed when the punches start flying, and that’s not a good thing. Trust the Cap’n on this one.
Tykos come in two flavors: Tribals and Lawless. Tribals are generally like Humans insult-wise, so what might offend you will probably offend them. Lawless on the other hand are much like Gorsaurians(see above), almost anything will tock them off.
Thuntos are susceptible to armpit and hygiene comments because of their six arms, an obvious target, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it. They’ll throw six different offensive hand gestures your way, so all’s fair and all that. If a Thunto makes an unrecognized hand gesture in your direction, you can safely assume he or she is inviting you to bring physical violence upon them. Remember, you can always apologize later if you were wrong.
There are thousands upon thousands of other insulting words, phrases, gestures, and other actions available, but there isn’t room here to delve into them. Just remember what I have said before, language is always a problem. One friendly word in your lingo is a death threat in somebody else’s, so be alert, be ready, be armed, and above all, be cool, Endeavoring Spacers.
. . .
Ord maintained a brisk pace, but one Ursula had no difficulty keeping. The giant was no professional tracker, but his skills developed on Gizzen hunting small animals made following a herd of Orks, Gorsaurians, and a Tyko an easy task.
Several hundred meters down the road, they came to a spot where the remaining bounty-killers had stopped and gathered for a time. Five distinctive sets of large footprints led up a rise and back in the direction of where the fight took place. The rest continued down the road as before.
“Gorsaurians,” the giant said pointing up the incline.
Ord drew his data pad from a pocket and tried to contact Teller, but met no success. A call to Ho resulted in the same. Ursula tried her device with the same results.
“Do we go back?” Ursula asked.
Ord shook his head. “We go after the rest. They may circle through Jing’s Town to look for Lance. Until we know, we follow.”
“Teller should know enough to watch his twelve?”
Ord nodded. “Yes. Fighter pilot. Should be ingrained.”
. . .
Teller looked at the tracks in the dirt and guessed they were following about a dozen Humans. “They’re walking at a normal pace. You up to a little jog?” he asked.
“Chasing mercenaries…,” Jessop said with a shake of his head. “Yes, let’s go.”
The two men trotted in a steady gait while keeping their eyes on the tracks and the road ahead. After a few minutes, Teller grabbed Ned’s arm and slowed. He pointed at the ground.
“Lizard tracks.”
“Gorsaurians? Zatto survivors?”
“That’d be my guess. I didn’t see any of Wego’s band of killers head this way. Came off the high ground to the right and went up the road. They’re between us and Gotmil. Those tracks are on top of the mercs’ boot prints.”
Jessop nodded in agreement. “Then we need to be careful.”
“It is too late hor that,” a hissing voice said. Three Gorsaurians stepped from the shadows of a jutting rock just ahead, heavy hand blasters pointed at the two Humans.
Teller considered going for his weapon, but knew the odds were stacked against him. He also knew that if the Gorsaurians worked for Zatto Oblust, they wanted the cases.
“You mean too late for that, lipless,” Teller replied.
The Gorsaurian growled.
“What are you doing?” Ned hissed. “They’ll take that as an insult!”
“Oh what don’t they find insulting?” Teller said out of the side of his mouth. “Anyway, it’s part of the plan. When it’s time, back my move.”
Ned grumbled.
“Cases, noogu,” the lizard said. “Here are they?”
“Where, you cold-blooded moron. Where are they, that’s what you meant to say,” Teller said in a mocking tone. The Gorsaurians bristled at him, prompting the knockabout to smile. “Say, you look familiar.”
The lead Gorsaurian hissed. “You shot leg on Turgis. Cases.”
“I thought so. I didn’t recognize you at first because of the limp. You didn’t learn your lesson.”
The lizard showed his teeth, but didn’t respond to Teller’s prods “Cases. Ha’ guns this tine. Cases.”
Teller laughed. “You do ha’ guns. You have credits? I’ll sell them to you, but you have to say please. I dare you.”
“Gorsaurians do not ask,” the leader said pointing a claw at the knockabout. “They do not say klease, Hunan. They—”
Teller burst into laughter.
The three Gorsaurians shook with rage, the two subordinate lizards looking at the leader.
“Teller…,” Ned hissed.
“Wait,” He whispered in return. He pointed at the lizards. “Hey, gimpy, your two sisters there are about as ugly as I’ve ever seen.”
The lead Gorsaurian realized Teller’s insult would prompt his subordinates to kill the Humans, something he planned on doing, but only after they recovered the data cases. “Not yet!” he growled in his own tongue. It was too late, the two lizards turned toward the Humans and raised their weapons.
Teller crouched, drew, and fired in one smooth motion, attacking the lizards left to right. He fired twice before the rightmost Gorsaurian let loose a shot, the bolt burning a hole in the air between Teller and Ned. Teller’s third shot was as accurate as the first two and the third lizard hit the ground before the first stopped moving.
Ned’s hand rested on the butt of his blaster, still in his belt, as he looked on in shock and amazement. All three lizards lay dead where they stood. He turned toward Teller as the knockabout slid his weapon back into its holster and let out a long breath.
Teller pointed past the dead Gorsaurians and said, “Let’s go.”
Jessop shook his head as the two moved toward the vanquished lizards. “What, no twirl of the blaster?”
Teller ignored the crack.
The pair’s data pads notified them of incoming commo traffic. It was Ho.
“I am approaching the top of a ridge. I believe it is the land feature the warbots will be on if they are searching for ships. It passes near several of the landing areas if the map’s representation is accurate.”
The two men heard the Mech’s voice clearly, but there was considerable noise on the com band. Ho heard the same interference when they replied.
“Maybe it’s the magnetics the beings in Jing’s Town mentioned,” Teller said.
“Possibly,” Ho answered, “but it seems generated. I would need to analyze it to be c
ertain and would require the Lance’s facilities to perform a thorough check.”
“We can hear one another clearly enough for now,” Teller replied. “Stay in touch.”
Not long after, the Jing’s Town ground station broadcast. “Well, since nobody’s making a run for it and satellite sensor-scanners say the Big Black is clear as day. I’m guessing I was right. A bunch of bullyboys decided to hash something out on peaceful little Meltan. As long as they stay clear of Jing’s and stay away from my ale, I say we enjoy the show.”
“I agree,” came a reply from somewhere in town, “but just in case, I’d keep the plasma lances warmed up. That ought to keep them clear.”
Teller looked skyward for a moment and snarled. “So they didn’t keep anyone up there. A little late to run now though, unless you want to leave the other three down here to fend for themselves.”
Ned glared.
“I was just thinking of your arm.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Ned replied with some irritation.
“You’re showing a lot of spirit. That’s exactly the attitude that’ll get us through.”
Ned glared again. “You know, my arm doesn’t hurt as bad as I thought it might.”
“That’s the medpac at work. Give it time, then the pain comes. You’ll need a doc or someone with inebriants and pain-dampers because in the not too distant future, that wound will be howling at you.”
“Then we should make this quick.”
“The sooner the better.”
Teller looked over his shoulder at the path behind and saw a group of large and distant figures descending from the slope that edged the road. He snarled and pointed. Ned grimaced at the sight and the pair quickly rounded the corner ahead to avoid being seen. They found a long and arrow straight stretch of road ahead, the Gotmil mercenaries in the distance. Not far ahead and to their left was a sloping cut that led into an old worksite.
“We can’t get caught between these two,” Teller said pointing in both directions.
“Down there,” Jessop said with a point down the cut. “Hide in there and let those behind us pass by.”
Teller nodded in agreement, thinking of nothing better. He led the way. A short distance in, he slowed and looked around. The cut was perhaps fifty paces wide and cluttered with old machinery and junk. Fissures and notches cut by erosion scarred the sheer walls on both sides, while tall and dilapidated buildings loomed from behind degraded retaining walls above the cut. “This is not just a cut, it’s a small canyon,” he said, pointing deeper into the furrow.
“They are one and the same.”
“I’ve always felt a canyon is larger than a cut.”
Ned sighed. “Have it your way. Can we find a spot to hide now?”
The pair moved farther into the cut and knelt behind a rusting X-framed box that stretched nearly halfway across the canyon. They watched the opening and waited for the bounty-killers to pass.
A couple of minutes later, a group of five Gorsaurians slowed and then stopped at the opening to the canyon.
“Lizards,” Teller whispered.
The Gorsaurians spoke briefly and then moved into the cut toward the two men.
Ned groaned quietly. “Why us? Why’d they pick us?”
“Why do you think?” Teller hissed back. “Bad luck, the universe hates us, or maybe the lizards would rather fight us two rather than twelve mercs. Whatever the reason, we need to deal with these monsters and fast. Gotmil’s moving away from us as we speak.”
“The Gorsaurians. Are they Zatto or Norg’s group?” Ned asked.
“It’s Wego’s group now, but yeah, they’re his. I’m betting Zatto’s out of the game.”
“Five of them.”
“I can count, Ned.”
“How do we deal with them?”
“We kill them.”
“They have shoulder-fired arms. Blasters?”
“You got it. Heavy blaster muskets. More range and punch than we have. We can’t let them get too close, but we need to get them within range of our hand blasters. I’ll try for the lead lizard, you track the next in line. Fire when I do.”
“Got it.”
The five lizards made their way down the canyon, winding their way through the junk. The Gorsaurians were spread out and Teller soon realized he could not let all five move into range unless he was willing to allow the lead lizard to come dangerously close to them. He wasn’t willing and chose to fire as soon as the second in line moved into range.
Teller fired, staggering and felling the lead Gorsaurian. The second lizard dove for cover before Ned could fire, as did the other three bounty-killers.
The lead lizard regained its feet and started to raise his weapon when Teller fire again. the lizard staggered and fired a wild shot, but stayed upright. A third bolt from the knockabout’s blaster put the Gorsaurian down for good as the other four lizards returned fire.
Most of the shots were wild, but those few that hit near the two Humans made it abundantly clear the X-framed metal structure they were behind was not proof against heavy blaster musket bolts.
“There,” Teller said with a point at a nearby indent in the canyon wall. “It’s better cover than where we are now.”
The pair fired a few wild shots as they ran. The Gorsaurians’ fire was equally inaccurate as bolts flew high and wide past the men.
“We’re safe here,” Tell said as he peeked at the lizards from the new position. Bounty-killer shots hissed past and gouged dirt from the walls nearby.
“Our definitions of safe must differ, yours and mine.”
“We’re not having holes burned or blasted through us right now.”
“But if we step out there we will.”
“Yes. We’re safe until they start putting fire in here or we find a way to turn the tables on them.”
“How do we do that?”
Teller glared. “I don’t know. I’m too busy discussing the definition of the word safe to come up with a solution.”
“Point taken,” Jessop said. He surveyed the area within the limits he could see as Teller fired a few shots to let the lizards know there was still hazard should they expose themselves. The engineer paused in thought for a fair bit of time before he spoke. “The three Gorsaurians on the road. Was that skill or luck back there?” he asked.
“You make your own luck sometimes.”
“That’s not an answer. Was it skill?”
“What are you looking for, Ned? Would a yes make you feel better?”
“As a matter of fact, it would.”
“Then… yes. How’s that arm?”
“I’ll live, but what do I know. I’m an engineer, not a doctor.”
“Yeah? I’m a pilot, not a brain, so get that grey matter fired up and think us a way out of here.”
“I believe I have a solution, hence my question about the lizards.”
“Let’s hear it. It better not be asking me to try to top what happened on the road.”
Ned chuckled and pointed at a cable that ran from somewhere above them to the top of a pole in the middle of the canyon. It ran through a pulley atop the pole and down to a block-shaped structure on the ground. “Just one target. That’s a tensioning device there at the end of the cable’s run. It’s keeping something above and to our right in place. See how taut the cable is? It might be the retaining wall we saw at the lip of the canyon. We drop that wire, and by we I mean you, we might cause a whole lot of something to come down on our antagonists.”
“What about us? That whole lot of something come down on us?”
“It’s a definite possibility.”
Teller shrugged, resigning himself to follow Ned’s lead. “Do you think a blaster bolt will sever the wire?”
“I was thinking you hit the pulley at the top of the pole. The stress on the pulley combined with the corrosion that seems to be common here makes it a weak point.”
“The pulley it is then.”
Teller brought his blaster up and to
ok in a deep breath, then let it out. He closed his non-dominant eye and took aim, then fired. The pulley split with a dull crack as the blaster bolt punched through, sending a shiver up the cable and drawing a few shots from the Gorsaurians.
Teller grumbled when nothing more happened and brought his blaster up for another shot, but a tap on his shoulder stopped him.
“Give time and stress their chance,” Jessop said.
A creaking sound came from the top of the pole, then the snapping, grating sound of tearing metal. A ringing pop signaled the end for the attachment point and the cable pulled free, sagging for a moment before tension pulled it taut again. The cable broke with a loud and sharp twang, one end whipping upward and out of sight, the other back over the pole and slicing into a jumbled pile of sheet metal.
From above came a rumble, then a thundering clatter as bending and snapping metal, rock, and dirt plummeted into the artificial canyon.
“Was that what you were expecting? I’m no engineer, but that sounds like a lot more than a retaining wall.” Teller shouted above the noise, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head as he cowered at the back of the indent while the world crumbled around them.
“Sometimes you must respect the process,” Ned yelled in return.
“That’s not an answer.”
“What are you looking for, Tell? Would a yes make you feel better?”
Teller laughed despite the noise and dust cloud that enveloped the pair. “Smoke you, old man,” he yelled before he stuffed his face inside his vest to avoid the dust. He was sure Ned was laughing.
. . .
Ord slowed as the roadway curved to the right. The high ground on both sides of the road made them blind to what lie ahead and warranted caution, as the pair knew they were closing on the group of bounty-killers.
Ord saw no sign of their quarry but tracks. A short distance past the corner, the tracks left the road to follow another right, this one a path leading into a jagged cut in the ground and one not on their map. They followed. A short distance down the path, Ord stopped and looked at the area ahead, guessing where the path might lead. A hill to their right obscured part of the view, the top of the cut higher than Ord’s head, but he could see enough of the neighboring high ground to realize erosion had caused a significant landslide.
The Knockabouts Page 37
