Primal Estate: The Candidate Species

by Samuel Franklin

  The whole ship must be falling with me. I’m in a falling ship. When will it hit, he wondered? Utu thought that perhaps the entire Provenger ship was somehow in trouble, and that if it was falling, perhaps he wouldn’t need to destroy anything. In fact, he needed to get out of the ship before it hit. He had his finger over the green control, ready to transport back, when he wondered whether or not the fall would destroy the ship.

  He thought of the last mammoth he ever saw go down during a hunt. It fell to the ground and everyone cheered. They thought it was dead because it didn’t move. Some made the mistake of stopping the attack. They got in too close and were killed.

  Perhaps it would not be destroyed. Maybe he should continue the plan to make sure the ship was damaged, and between disabling the ship’s power source and the impact, the ship would be smashed.

  Utu decided to continue as planned but to proceed as quickly as possible. He looked out the nearest window and saw, perhaps, only a quarter of the ship. It was truly massive. He had no comparison. The ship filled the entire view straight out the window. It was only when he looked up that he saw the stars. “Those things must be the spoke,” he said aloud, looking back at the massive structure directly out the side window. Grabbing a railing under the window, he crushed his face to the pane. Looking to one side, he followed its length as far as he could.

  “That must be the big wheel,” he observed of the massive arch that curved away from him in the distance.

  Then he turned his head and looked in the opposite direction.

  “That must be the small wheel,” he said of the arch that looked to be at the center of the larger outside arch. “Destroy a section of the small wheel.”

  Utu pointed the gauntlet in the direction of the small wheel and activated the beam. Nwella had set the range for distance, and Utu was glad to see that it didn’t damage the wall in front of him, but he could tell something was being destroyed. He could see and hear his corridor vibrating. He pressed his face to the glass again and looked as far as he could in the direction he’d fired. He thought he saw material moving free of the rest of the ship.

  Utu then looked directly out the window, at the spoke immediately to his front. It seemed very distant, but it was difficult to tell. Utu again steadied himself on the rail so he wouldn’t float around, took aim, and again activated the beam. The spoke in front of him looked blurry for a moment, and then the section receiving the beam burst into a cloud of crumbled pieces.

  “Oh, yes!” Utu said with excitement. He waited a moment to determine if he could see the inner wheel and the spoke it was connected to start to move. Everything was so massive he couldn’t be sure if he saw movement. He could see the next spoke through the gap in the section he had just destroyed and decided to proceed with a shot at the second one. With these three sections destroyed and the ship still falling, certainly the whole thing would break apart, he thought. Utu took the third shot and marveled as the next spoke blew to pieces even more violently than the first.

  “Hasta la vista, baby!” Utu quoted from a movie he’d enjoyed. He touched the green control and found himself standing in Rick’s living room.

  Deep in the mountains of Idaho…

  Synster and his entourage had been at Kylamity Base for two days giving a tour to members of the Project Council. He’d brought his sixteen-year-old son, Beyn, with him for educational purposes, as well as his two trusted associates, Layrd and Streyn. When Rick disposed of that troublesome Ryvil, Synster didn’t want any of his best Provenger to be suspected.

  The tour consisted of a half-day presentation on the progress of the Project. It highlighted the adaptations made to the harvest strategy to accommodate the additional time and resources that were needed to compensate for the inorganic development of the subject species. The council members understood that something unexpected almost always happens with these projects, especially when dealing with living entities. It was the superior project director who successfully overcame those issues. It appeared that the quotas were being met and the Project was on track.

  The group had attempted a hunting trip in the mountains of New Mexico, as it was too cold in Idaho that time of year, but they had been stymied by foul weather. They were getting a tour of the full capabilities of Kylamity Base when they learned they would be there longer than they’d planned.

  They all simultaneously received an alarm on their com-monitors. The message was simple. A catastrophic structural failure of unknown origin had caused considerable damage to the Provenger Nation Ship. According to protocol, to reduce power usage, all transports between ship and planet were indefinitely suspended pending further notice. They were reminded that if they were in an area not yet neutralized or in any region of Earth conducting field work, they were to immediately activate their cloak for the next hour and their shield for the next five hours.

  “Damn,” Synster said out loud, to the surprise of everyone present. They were all equally disturbed by this development, but Synster’s outburst seemed to them unprofessional. Even though they had conducted drills for this type of thing, it had never actually happened, and they were all on edge.

  “Father, do we have to cloak and shield ourselves?” Beyn asked.

  “No, son. We’re in a neutralized area. Only those conducting field work need to do it.” Synster turned to the others. “Provenger, we should probably go to the main deck and wait for further information,” Synster commanded as he turned quickly and strode away from them. “Ryvil,” he seethed under his breath.

  Back at Rick’s house in Cortez…

  Utu smiled at Rick and Nwella. They had been patiently waiting for him, pacing the room. Carson was sitting on the couch, still trying to figure out what was going on. Because of the minimal time dilation of Utu’s transport, his absence seemed a little bit longer for Rick and Nwella.

  “How did it go?” asked Rick, feeling encouraged.

  Nwella rushed to his gauntlet to see how much power he had remaining and stepped back. “A little,” she said. She was going to remove it but feared Utu might suspect her of something.

  “Take it out,” she said.

  Removing the bolt from the gauntlet, Utu began to brief them. “When I got there, the ship was already falling, so I figured they were in trouble from something already. The damage I did would only add to it,” Utu reported.

  “What do you mean they were falling?” Nwella asked.

  “The ship was falling, the whole thing, with me in it.”

  Not quite understanding what Utu was talking about, Rick quickly asked him, “Did you take the shots that you needed?”

  “Yes, of course, but I hurried a bit. I didn’t want to be in the ship when it hit.”

  “Hit what?” Rick and Nwella asked in unison.

  “The ground?” Utu asked, sheepishly.

  Nwella started shaking her head. “This is my fault.”

  “Utu, there is no ground. The ship is in space. You don’t fall anywhere in space.”

  “I felt like I was falling.”

  “Did you take the shots you needed?” Rick asked, frustrated.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Did you see destruction?”

  “Oh, yes! What’s wrong?”

  “Utu, the falling feeling you had wasn’t you and the ship falling,” Rick explained recalling the sensation of skydiving and rapid descent in aircraft. “It was zero gravity.”

  “He’s never experienced it before. It’s my fault. I was rushed, and I forgot to tell him,” Nwella confessed.

  “Oh, Hell! I almost left before taking any shots. I figured, what could survive a fall that far?”

  Everyone collapsed in the chair nearest them. “If he’d come back then, there wouldn’t have been enough energy in the bolt to complete the job,” informed Nwella.

  Rick’s nerves were shot. Now, he had to complete the assignment Synster had given him, he reminded himself. Shouldn’t winning a gunfight, digging a grave, almost shooting a friend, and dis
abling an interstellar space ship be enough for one day?

  “I need to start thinking about this thing I’m doing later,” Rick said, glancing at his watch. “Nwella, how do we know he got the job done? What I mean is, how do we know the ship is disabled?”

  “Well, really, the only way we’ll know is if they don’t come after us. If it was successful, all scanners would have shut down automatically. If they had done that, they wouldn’t have had the time to detect this bolted battle gauntlet. Also, Rick, by protocol they would order the suspension of all transports between the ship and Earth, to save energy, and have Provenger remain in place, for safety,” Nwella explained.

  Well that should make it easier to get to Ryvil, Rick thought. “Nwella, how do we know when or if your father has heard about all this? I mean both your situation as well as the ship?”

  It finally sunk in for Nwella where her father was. “Oh, Rick, Synster is here on Earth. Things happened so fast, I’d forgotten.”

  “Yes, I know. That’s why I still have to go through with my assignment. This project of yours is still ongoing. I guess they won’t be harvesting, right? …without the power to transport all those people? Right?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose,” Nwella responded, fairly certain of herself. “With that power source gone now, they’ll be conserving all energy sources just to keep basic systems running. Except for the use of the bolted battle gauntlets, all ship-to-planet transports are powered by the primary source, which we think Utu just destroyed.”

  “Oh, yes. Don’t worry. I destroyed it. Don’t doubt me just because I thought the ship was falling,” Utu said, feeling a little inept, “or because I wasn’t up to speed on the whole spoke wheel thing.”

  “So they can still come here with the battle gauntlets?” asked Rick.

  “Yes, as long as it has a bolt. There are plenty of those. They won’t want to use them, though. Now they’ll need them to power systems on the ship. The important thing is to keep that bolt,” Nwella emphasized, pointing to Utu, “out of that gauntlet. We never know when they might recover their ability to see it. As long as their main power source has been destroyed, they will have lost their opportunity to find us. We should be safe.”

  “Be that as it may, I don’t want to risk it. Everybody, pack up what you need for a few days. Carson, take everyone to Denver. You know that town. It’s pretty big. Maybe you can hide there better, and the Provenger might be less likely to make a scene coming after you. I’ll stay for this other assignment. You’ve got three minutes. Let’s go.”

  Rick also wasn’t completely sure he’d be successful, and if he wasn’t, they’d all be safer somewhere else.

  Everyone was working frantically at stowing some things for the trip. Shainan was roused and feeling better. She was talking quickly, mostly to Utu in whatever language it was that they spoke. Utu occasionally said something to Nwella in the same language. Maybe this will all work out, Rick thought. He made a note to himself to ask the name of the language. It was pleasant to listen to. Since they all spoke it, he thought maybe he should try to learn it. It would be their own little tribe’s private language.

  Rick was in his room grabbing some things for Nwella to wear when he realized they could buy whatever they needed along the way. Then he heard the door creak. Looking up, he expected to see her. But it was Utu.

  “Do you have a second?” Utu asked.

  “Sure. Sorry about almost shooting you. I really didn’t want to do it. I don’t know if I would have.” Rick added with all sincerity, “You are like a brother to me.”

  “You had your reasons. It was a difficult moment. Hopefully we’ll never be in such a situation again. Sorry about the whole wheel and spoke panic. I felt really stupid,” Utu admitted.

  “No worries. It was something we couldn’t have anticipated.”

  Utu sat on the edge of the bed. “I need to tell you something. I’ve known about it for some time now but didn’t know how to tell you. I think it might be an asset to our cause.”

  “Is it something that can help me in about an hour?” asked Rick, thinking about his approaching revenge against Ryvil.

  “I don’t know, but it’s something you should be aware of. I realized it when you pulled your gun on me. If you’d shot me without knowing, well then, you never would have known.”

  Rick was starting to get interested.

  Utu continued, “When Shainan and I made love for the first time, that’s when it happened.”

  “Yes, I know. You’re a stud in bed. But I don’t think that will be enough to scare away the Provenger.”

  Utu smiled and shook his head. “No, it doesn’t have to do with the sex, but I think our emotional state had something to do with it. I’ll cut to the facts. We found ourselves in the past.” Utu waited for Rick to respond.

  “What?”

  “Yes, we found ourselves back near our village. We saw our village and our tribe. We’ve done it many times since that first time. I’m just not sure if we were really there, because I didn’t recognize anyone and they wouldn’t speak to us when we tried to talk to them. I’d like your help trying to figure this out.”

  “You probably dreamed it. Are you sure you were awake? Did you both have the same dream?”

  “We know it wasn’t a dream; it was too real. I think we were really there. Since we’ve done it, we’ve never had anyone here to watch to see if we’re gone. Am I being clear?”

  “Yeah, you’re wondering if your bodies disappear or something.”

  “Yes, exactly. If I really am going back in time, I think we could use this to our advantage. But since I couldn’t speak to anyone, I’m just not sure if it was real or if it would have any value.”

  “Utu, it probably was just a dream, maybe what’s called a waking dream. Maybe you and Shainan have some kind of connection where you can share these memories and they seem real. I don’t know. We’ll have to look into it. When I get back.”

  “Rick, I think I could take you.”

  “We don’t have to have sex, do we?” Rick faked a little nervous laughter, and Utu chuckled with him.

  “No. Shainan and I have done this without sleeping together. Just short trips. We were always worried about getting stuck there. We didn’t know anyone,” Utu said with a shrug. “It seems like our tribe is here now. Thank you, Rick. I just wanted to tell you.”

  Rick finished burying Marcus, the Harley, and his revolver; a simple matter of pushing the pile of dirt, created from digging the hole, back over him with the front end loader. Rick thought about the possibility of disintegrating the whole mess later using Provenger technology, possibly with the gauntlet.

  He went inside to put on his gear. Already fully outfitted in his green camouflage utilities, the rest of his equipment was waiting on the kitchen table. Rick had gone over the plan in his head, wondering whether or not he should tell Nwella what he was about to do, wondering if that would make her an accomplice and subject to any Provenger discipline. It was difficult trying to work out all these issues. What he needed was a consultation with a Provenger lawyer. Fortunately, none had hung their shingles in Cortez yet. He was glad he hadn’t told her. Now that they were gone, he could focus.

  He’d said goodbye to all of them in a rush, explaining to Carson exactly where to stay in a very nice hotel downtown. Rick pulled his son aside. “Carson, I don’t know exactly how long I’ll be gone. I want you to stay gone for the next three days. Leave your phone off. Don’t turn it on to call me unless it’s life or death. They might be able to track you. After three days, come home. I’m going to keep the dogs here, at the house. If I’m not here when you come back, depending on how they act or don’t act, you’ll know how bad it might be. Send Utu up to check. First, drive by the house. If everything is okay, I’ll leave a shirt hanging over the front gate. Remember who you have in the car. Two ancient humans, one with authority issues that can talk circles around most people, except regarding wheels and things like that. Just keep in mind
he’s smart but he doesn’t know a lot about a lot of things. And then Shainan who can’t talk at all and is supposed to be from Armenia and deaf. Neither of them have really ever been out of the house except Shainan that one time with you. They’ll both be very interested in everything they see, and you’ll have to keep a close eye on them. Understand?”

  “Sure, Dad. Keep track of them. I understand.”

  “You also have an alien who currently looks like she’s been through a nuclear accident. So please, drive slowly. Make sure she wears her hat. You really don’t want to get pulled over.” Rick gave Carson five thousand in cash and made sure the others had their ID and another thousand dollars each. He also stowed a few pounds of gold under the liner in the trunk.

  Nwella had been lucky in her timing. The Provenger, in addition to allowing her the surgery to enable her to grow hair, had also created an identity for her to include birth certificate and other identification. Nwella and Rick were both unsure if they’d had time to make the documents valid on Earth.

  Rick sent them away in a flurry of confusion and tears. He promised to be careful and see them again.

  An hour later, Rick had used the gauntlet to transport himself to a hill above a small mountain town in the Andes. He instinctively took cover behind a boulder and surveyed the area. The rolling countryside was sparsely treed yet still green enough to make his camouflage appropriate. He should have been placed no further than three hundred and fifty yards and uphill from Ryvil’s location. All he had to do was find him.

  Rick immediately recognized that the terrain was very similar to the areas where he would predator hunt in canyon country. This was his most important predator hunt yet. He couldn’t afford to fail now, especially after all they’d been through and all the luck they’d had. He was hoping it hadn’t run out.