by S. H. Jucha
When the three, Celus-5 Swei Swee reached the shore, they extended themselves fully on their walking legs and focused on the land hunters, not on Alex or Ginny.
The moments dragged on. Nyslara stared at the giant ceena in front of her. She recognized intimidation when she saw it. Having met the ceena once before, this time she managed to contain her fears. Her concern was for her wasat, whose rapid breathing she could hear, and whose anxiety she could smell.
Wave Skimmer’s eyestalks split. Two remained focused on the land hunters, and two swiveled to take in the Star Hunter First, who stared straight ahead toward the horizon. Little Singer was likewise ignoring them. Eventually, Wave Skimmer, who tired of elevating his walking legs to the fullest extent, lowered himself to the more comfortable bent-legged position. A quick warble to his companions caused the three of them to sidestep to the left to align in front of the Star Hunter First.
“The Star Hunter First greets Wave Skimmer,” Alex whistled.
Wave Skimmer whistled his own greeting.
“Only one First chose to attend today?” Alex asked.
“We see only one female leader of the land hunters comes today,” Wave Skimmer whistled in reply.
“Is it the decision of the Firsts that they will not offer a greeting ceremony to the land hunters?” Alex said, asking for confirmation.
“The Firsts don’t trust the land hunters. The Star Hunter leader has promised protection for the People, and the Firsts wait to see how he will provide that.”
Willem kept a running translation of the conversation between Alex and Wave Skimmer for Nyslara, and the queen recognized the same resistance from the ceena, as the chona offered Dassata. Faced with such reactions from both parties, she had visions of the Harakens loading into their ships and returning to their world.
“Your two species act as if they rule this planet,” Alex said, switching to Haraken, and both Ginny and Willem translated. “The two of you should remind your peoples that you’re all strangers to this planet. You didn’t originate here.”
When Wave Skimmer heard Ginny, he whistled indignantly. “The People were here first.”
Willem had just finished the Swei Swee translation for Nyslara when the queen replied, “Perhaps not. Who inhabits the green?”
Alex glanced at Willem, who hadn’t relayed Nyslara’s reply. Willem’s expression indicated he was in a fugue. Not again,” Alex lamented. “What?”
Willem finished his review of the entirety of his Dischnya data before he replied. “Nyslara indicates that the Swei Swee might not be the first people on the planet,” Willem replied. “She mentions the greens, which I take to mean the forests that border the plains to the north and south, and she indicates one or more species reside there.”
“Do the People know of others who reside in the tall trees that border the shore?” Alex whistled.
Wave Skimmer warbled in confusion, asking Alex to clarify his request. In turn, Alex questioned the queen for more details, but it was her wasat who knew the old stories.
Pussiro related the events that took place soon after the Dischnya’s first landings. On Sawa, their original home, the soma had preferred the open territories for their cities before the heat of Nessila forced them underground, where vast reservoirs of water provided support. As the first transports arrived on Sawa Messa, the nests dug deep wells in the plains searching for similar reserves of water. The wells were partially successful, but the soma never located the huge caverns filled with lakes of fresh water, as they had on Sawa.
Hoping to find abundant game in the tall greens of their new planet, hunters were dispatched by the first queens. As Nessila’s light brightened and waned, the hunters, who had been sent out in pairs, never returned. Larger parties were sent to either recover the lost ones or discover what had happened to them, but they never returned. Fully a third of the first five nests to land were lost before a halt was called to sending hunters into the green, and the queens agreed that the space was to be placed off-limits to all soma. The nests would have to make do with the small animals that roamed the plains and the numerous ceena that inhabited the strip of land where the plains met the great waters.
“Are there any stories, Pussiro, told by the Dischnya of seeing the inhabitants of the forests coming out onto the plains?” Alex asked.
Nyslara and Pussiro both said they had heard of none.
“Could the hunters have been taken by a sickness?” Willem asked.
“Our warriors have great stamina,” Pussiro replied. “If they had fallen prey to an illness, they would have struggled back into the open, but, according to the stories, none were ever seen again.”
“A queen warns her heir that the green represents violent death to the Dischnya, and the soma are never to venture there,” Nyslara added.
“Stories say the lookouts kept listening posts near the green and were to report any sounds of creatures, but I’ve never heard any tales that told of warriors hearing voices, speaking any sort of language,” Pussiro continued. “The stories say that the warriors only heard the cries of animals and beasts that hunt them.”
Alex looked up and down the seashore, trying to fit the pieces of information together. So much about this planet’s recent history, as related to him, did not make sense.
“Wave Skimmer, where did the People build their dwellings?” he asked.
“Here where you stand, Star Hunter First,” Wave Skimmer whistled in reply. “Many annuals ago, the shore extended several lengths farther into the waters. Soon after the hives were hunted and migrated into deep waters or caves, the sea bottom shook and cast a giant wave at the shore. The land and our dwellings were taken by the endless waters. Out where the shallows give way to the dark waters, you’ll find the remains of our dwellings.”
While Alex had been turning his head to regard the coastline, Long Eyes spotted the shaved portion of Alex’s head and the faint red lines of his surgery. “Has the Star Hunter First been injured?” he warbled.
Alex’s hand went to the site of the wound, but he shrugged in answer to Long Eyes’ question.
“Dassata’s injury was delivered by one of the queens and her wasat,” Nyslara volunteered, after she heard the translation.
The Swei Swee rose high on their walking legs, alarmed by the news. “By whose claws?” Wave Skimmer demanded.
Alex sought to cut off this line of conversation, but his translators had their own thoughts on the subject and were busy supporting the exchange.
“Her name was Chafwa, and she broke the rules of the queens, bringing weapons to our meeting and attacking Dassata,” Nyslara replied.
“Where’s this leader now?” demanded Dives Deep, his whistle shrill and his hunting claws snapping.
“The queens passed judgment on her, her wasat, and her emissary warrior. They’re dead,” Pussiro replied.
When Willem provided the translation, the Swei Swee lowered their posture and regarded Nyslara with different eyes, tweeting their approval of the queens’ decision.
Wave Skimmer’s eyestalks bent to examine the shaved area on Alex’s head, and he warbled humorously, “Hard like the shell of the People.”
“It appears, Alex, people the worlds over have a common opinion about your skull,” Julien remarked.
“If there’s to be no ceremony, then we’re leaving,” Alex whistled.
A sharp whistle from Wave Skimmer halted Alex just as he turned around. “Little Singer promised the hives. We wish to know when she will sing.”
Alex glanced at Ginny, who looked back at him before she faced Wave Skimmer. “If I sing to the hives tomorrow as the light fades, how will the People make it to safety in the dark of the night?”
Twelve eyestalks bent to stare at Alex, waiting for his response.
Boxed into a virtual corner, Alex relented and whistled his reply. “The Harakens will protect three coves of the shore … this one and one in e
ach direction,” he said, pointing up and down the coastline, “until such time as the People have a greeting ceremony with the land hunter leaders.”
“That is not what Little Singer promised the Firsts,” Dives Deep whistled angrily.
Alex walked over to stand directly in front of Dives Deep. His face was close to the Swei Swee’s mouthparts, forcing the male to bend his eyestalks in a steep curve to keep Alex in sight.
“Little Singer is a youngling,” Alex whistled so harshly that Dives Deep leaned away from him. “In the hives, do the younglings not make errors, and do the males and matrons not forgive them? She will sing for the hives, and I will protect three coves while she does.”
Alex moved to stand close to Wave Skimmer, who, as a First, refused to be cowed by Alex’s nearness. Whistling and warbling softly, Alex said, “Convince the Firsts that a greeting ceremony is in their best interest. One day, I’ll forgive Little Singer her promise, as any First would forgive a youngling’s mistake, and take our protection away.”
Wave Skimmer’s mind raced through the conundrum he faced. To enjoy the voice of Little Singer, the hives would need to relocate to the coasts where they once lived. They would be safe only as long as the Star Hunter First’s people provided protection against the land hunters. But a sudden exit by Little Singer and her people would leave the hives defenseless. Many could die in the days it would take the People to move seaward again.
“Wave Skimmer forgives the promise of Little Singer. Younglings often whistle before they think,” the First said. “The word will be passed to the other hives.”
“Then the Harakens will protect the People until peace comes to this planet,” Alex whistled softly.
Wave Skimmer warbled his humor. “A First always protects his younglings. Your message will be the more favorable one to send.” The hives would lament the lost opportunity to hear a singer, but the promise of safety for one and all would be embraced.
When Wave Skimmer lowered himself until his belly was centimeters above the sand, Dives Deep and Long Eyes imitated him. The First extended his claws, the sharp points near Alex’s midriff.
Nyslara watched Dassata deliver the same teeth-bearing expression to the massive male ceena that she had received when he was pleased with her. A curious mannerism, Nyslara thought.
Alex balled his fists and struck Wave Skimmer’s claws with a loud thunk. Having been forewarned of the local Swei Swee’s habit of returning the strike, Alex had the good sense to swing his hands down and aside as the Swei Swee’s heavy claws smacked down on them.
Afterwards, the Swei Swee made for open waters, and Alex signaled his people to board.
* * *
The return flight for Nyslara and Pussiro was brief and quiet. When the interior lights brightened, Nyslara nodded to Dassata and led the way off the ship.
As the Haraken’s vessel lifted, Pussiro watched it climb silently into the sky, his brow furrowed. “The more Dassata speaks, the more alien I believe him to be,” he said to Nyslara. “He and his soma have simple choices. They could leave our planet or take it for themselves, but they do neither.”
Nyslara too watched the ship disappear, lost in her own thoughts. “You and I are in agreement, Pussiro. I find Dassata’s actions difficult to anticipate. In the beginning, I imagined him a powerful Dischnya so that I might determine his purposes. Now, I imagine him a pup, born without scent and grown to adulthood, who has no allegiance to queen or soma.”
“But he has soma,” Pussiro objected. “Willem tells of an entire world that follows him.”
“He adopts soma, like our warriors shelter the mates and pups of those who fall in battle.”
“So you believe Dassata to be a warrior?”
“The most terrible kind. He lives in here,” Nyslara said, tapping her temple, “visiting you while you sleep and comes to you when you’re awake if you’ve harmed his soma.”
“What I find difficult to understand is how his soma are made of so many types.”
“And soon to be many more.”
“How so?”
“Do we and the ceena not already look to him for our future?” Nyslara asked. She turned and walked slowly toward the tunnel entrance where two lookouts stood by, and Pussiro kept pace with her. Both of them were alone with their thoughts of what might become of the Dischnya of Sawa Messa.
* * *
Alex and Julien faced each other aboard the traveler. Alex was lost in thought, and his unfocused eyes stared through Julien.
“I wonder if I understand our circumstances correctly,” Julien said, breaking the silence. “The queens have temporarily halted their infighting, while they wait for a fulfillment of your promise to build structures to house forty-one nests … an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 aliens, of whom we understand little of their needs.”
When Julien saw Alex’s eyes focus on him, he continued. “Three of our ships, explorer, warship, and liner, are overhead, and together they are ill-prepared to provide the labor or construction services the queens require. The Swei Swee hives have been promised protection, but unless we stay, again with our limited resources, we can’t deliver on that promise.”
Now that Julien had Alex’s complete attention, Julien finished his list. “Now, we discover that someone or something, which probably originated on this planet, lives in the forest and is killing and possibly consuming the Dischnya. Have I forgotten anything?”
“Yes, one most important item,” Alex said, appraising his friend with cool eyes. “Down below are three dark travelers. Since the Swei Swee are here, we can assume they and those ships came from the same Nua’ll vessel that attacked the Confederation. Both species, Swei Swee and Dischnya, possess too little technology to inform us of the vector the sphere took on its approach into this system. But there might be someone who knows.”
“So, does that explain why, under these most conflicting circumstances, we haven’t packed up and left this world to its own problems?”
“It occurs to me that Nyslara’s people on the next planet inward, Sawa, might have records of the sphere’s approach. If we can bring peace to this planet and elevate the nests into the light, as Nyslara says, the queens might aid our communications with their home planet’s people.”
“You seem to have dwelt on the Nua’ll’s last signal, the one Cordelia picked up before the giant sphere detonated.”
“And you haven’t?”
“Admittedly, all Haraken SADEs frequently discuss new suppositions about the Nua’ll sphere.”
“I’ve worried for two decades about that message and its possible contents.”
“Found formidable foe and extraordinarily rich worlds. Come quick,” Julien intoned in a strange voice, surmising the words he would have sent.
“Exactly,” Alex replied, “and myriad variations on that theme.”
“And what if we were to discover from which direction the sphere originated?”
Alex uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. “Could be an opportunity for another expedition, a military one,” he said, tapping Julien’s knee to underline his words.
“I don’t believe the Assembly would authorize that type of mission, Alex. They would be reticent to send their protective assets so far from home. And let’s not forget that twenty years of relative peace and safety have done much to calm the people’s minds and spirits.”
“I quite agree. We’d have to form our own expedition.”
“Our own expeditionary force? That would require an extraordinary amount of resources and time to develop.”
“Hmm, yes. Yes, it would,” Alex said quietly. He leaned back in his seat, and his attention drifted away.
Behind Alex and Julien, the twins regarded each other.
Alain knew what he was being asked. They were well-established and respected men on Haraken. But, despite that, administration of the plant’s security forces was not what they were trained to do. Alain sent
back, and his crèche-mate grinned at him.
-28-
Realignment
Teague paced his cabin, still smarting from a conversation with his mother. Usually the more understanding and gentler parent, he’d been caught off guard by her forthrightness.
“You’re acting less like my son and more like a stranger every day that passes, Teague, and your treatment of Ginny is abominable,” his mother had said. “Quit your pacing, sit down, and offer me an explanation that I can understand.”
“I don’t understand Ginny anymore,” he complained.
“Perhaps that’s because you expect her to follow you around, as she used to do. But that’s not what she wants. She wishes to be your companion, your equal.”
“But how can she promise the People she would sing every evening without consulting me?”
“Why should she ask your opinion about what she wishes to do? And why can’t you support her when she does make a decision on her own? As it is, Ginny won’t have to sing every evening. Your father has seen to that.”
“How do you know that?”
“How do you not know that, my son?”
Teague left his mother’s cabin feeling as if he had tumbled off the crest of a tall wave to be pummeled into a rocky bottom. He tapped into the Rêveur’s controller to track Ginny’s traveler, and when he saw it making for his ship, he decided to meet her in the corridor outside the bay.
Ginny exited the bay airlock beside Alex. When she saw Teague, she hugged Alex, whispered her thanks, and hung back to speak with Teague. It was the first time he had approached her since their argument began.
“I’m sorry,” Teague said. “I’ve been told by everyone I know and some I didn’t know that my behavior toward you has been extremely rude and foolishly stubborn.”
“That’s not true,” Ginny said, the corners of her lips trembling, as she tried to hide a smile. “I haven’t had the opportunity to add my voice to the list.”
“Fine … tell me,” Teague said with resignation.
“Not on your life,” Ginny said, wrapping her arms tightly around Teague’s neck and hugging him. “I’m just happy to have you talking to me again.”
