by Nate Johnson
The Eundai was oblivious. Instead, he was completely focused on Nick. When Nick still didn’t respond, the guard screamed and brought the staff down on Nick’s shoulder. The resounding crack made Amanda’s insides turn over.
She caught a quick wince on Nick’s face, but still, he didn’t fight back.
Why? What was he doing? Was he afraid that if he somehow won the match, it would endanger the others? Was he sacrificing himself?
No. She couldn’t allow that, stepping forward she started to tell him to fight when Professor Robinson reached out and pulled her back. His quick shake of his head and stern look told her to let Nick do what he must.
Biting her lip, she watched as the Eundai guard hit Nick on the hip. Just enough to get a reaction. But still, Nick didn’t react.
The guard shook his head and glanced back towards Grundal for further instructions. Obviously wanting to know if she should kill this animal.
Before Grundal could give further directions. Before anyone could blink, Nick erupted into action.
Amanda gasped at the blur before her. Nick’s foot kicked out catching the guard on the side of the knee. Before the monster could react, Nick twisted and brought his staff around like a baseball bat and caught the Eundai in the gut.
The guard grunted as he fought to get his breath. And still, Nick moved, bringing the butt of his staff down onto the guard's foot.
A nasty crack burst into the room. Filling the space with the sickening sound of bones breaking.
Nick didn’t stop there. Again, before the guard could bring up any defense, Nick punched him square in the snout with his fist. A strong blow that made the guard step away and start to fall backward.
While the guard began to fall, Nick calmly reached over and grabbed the sword hilt at the guard’s waist and let the Eundai’s momentum pull the sword from the scabbard.
Amanda brought a hand to her mouth. It had happened so fast. So violently. Like two wild beasts fighting.
She couldn’t bring her mind to fully process what had just unfolded in front of her.
Nick stood in the middle of the room. A sword in his left hand, the staff laying at his feet. His knees bent, ready for the next attack.
A sound behind him made him twist away from Grundal. Amanda’s heart jumped. The sound had been young Gryopic. The boy had circled around behind the fighters, obviously to get a better view.
Grundal gasped and reached out a hand.
Nick froze.
Gryopic, his eyes as big as melons, stepped back. Obviously surprised to being confronted with a sword-wielding alien.
It was only then that Amanda realized how close the boy was to the open square that led to their dungeon.
“No,” she yelled.
Gryopic stepped away again, his foot hovering in mid-air.
Amanda saw in his eyes the moment he realized what had happened. His arms began to windmill as he fought to keep his balance.
But it was too little, too late. Everyone in the room saw what was going to happen. The boy would fall down the hole, probably to break his neck on the stone below.
Her heart broke with the pending tragedy unfolding before her. This young boy was not to blame. The universe was once again being mean and caprices.
She would never understand how he did it, but from nowhere, Nick jumped over the fallen guard and grabbed the boy.
Gryopic had lost his footing and was falling into the hole when Nick’s strong hands grasped him around the wrist. Grunting with the force, he pulled the boy back up into the room and set him down in front of him.
Amanda stood there in complete shock, her mouth open and her eyes fighting to register what she had just seen.
Nick put his hand on the boy's shoulder and looked up at Grundal.
The Headman stood transfixed, his eyes shooting back and forth between his son and the sword in Nick’s hand then up into Nick’s eyes.
Swallowing slowly, he held up a hand, stopping any of his guards from taking action.
Amanda held her breath. What would happen next? Would Nick hurt the boy? No, surely not. He wasn’t that kind of man.
The room was as quiet as an abandoned moon as everyone waited. The tension was as thick as fog and seemed to have removed all the oxygen from within a dozen yards.
Nick stared back at Grundal for a long moment. Amanda could tell it was one of those male on male staring contests that she would never understand. Only this time, Nick held the power, and he was making sure Grundal knew it.
Then, stepping back, Nick gently pushed the boy towards his father and said, “Not enemy,” in the Eundai language as he tapped his chest and dropped his sword with a heavy clang that echoed off the walls.
Chapter Twelve
Nick held his breath as he waited for Grundal to make his decision.
Dropping the sword and giving up the boy had been his only option. There was just too many guards and nowhere to run.
Grundal stared back at him for a long moment as he held his son close. Nick could tell there were a dozen different thoughts bouncing around inside that alien head of his.
At last, Grundal took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
Nick caught the meaning. Man to man, they were even.
Grundal said something to Grynd in a low whisper. The second in command hissed back. Obviously upset at Grundal’s decision.
Ignoring him, Grundal turned to the room and said, “You are welcome to stay until the arrival of your friends.”
Nick felt a ton of bricks being lifted from his shoulders. That could have gone so different, he thought.
Glancing at Doctor Simpson, he asked, “That fixed enough for you?”
The Doctor huffed but was interrupted when Grynd stepped away from Grundal, approaching them with a serious frown and motioned for them to follow.
The Professor held up his hand, halting the procession before turning and running down the steps to their former home. Within moments he returned holding the four space suits.
Amanda took two of the suits and the group followed the guard out of the stone temple and into the bright sunlight. The stoic crowd parted as they walked down the east path towards the far wall.
For the first time, Nick got to observe the city without having to worry about immediate death. Although if Grynd had his way, that might still happen.
As they had learned from their prior observation. The city was laid out in square rings. One set of houses, shoulder to shoulder set up against the wall itself with stone stairs leading to the top of the barrier.
Then a wide avenue and another ring of homes. The same pattern repeating itself with smaller and smaller rings, broken only by the four paths that led to the city gates.
Very efficient and very defensive, Nick thought.
Just before they reached the East Gate, Grynd and their escort turned right and led them down the path to stop in front of a home butted up against the wall.
Nick glanced up and down the street. Eundai stood there watching them, a woman was washing clothes in a bucket. Another woman leaned with her shoulder against a home while she watched two children play in the dirt.
Very tranquil, very domestic, Nick thought. Why here? why had Grundal selected this spot? Was being close to the wall significant? A dozen different questions ran through his head. And why weren’t these people upset about strangers living on their street?
One of the guards pushed the wooden door open then stepped back and motioned they should enter.
Amanda hesitantly stuck her head into the room then looked back and said, “It’s empty.”
Grynd folded his arms across his chest and sneered at them as they passed into the room.
Nick followed her in. Light crept in through the shutters. Enough to show one large bed to the side, big enough to accommodate a family of six. A table and two benches in the middle and a bucket full of water on another small table.
Nothing more. No artwork or knickknacks on shelves. No personal items. Nothing but
the bare necessities.
“Not exactly five stars,” Professor Robinson mumbled as he examined his new surroundings.
“I don’t know,” Amanda said. “After our last accommodations, this is a considerable upgrade.”
The guard stepped past them to open a door in the rear of the room to expose a small closet sized room with a stone floor and an open drain in the center.
Amanda shook her head, “The first thing we need to show them is the many benefits of indoor plumbing.”
“We are not going to show them anything,” Doctor Simpson said. “We are here to observe and learn.”
“Yeah, right,” Nick said as he sat on one of the benches. “Good luck with that. They’ve already learned that there is life amongst the stars. They’ve got my tool bag, and an Imperial escape Pod is sitting in the middle of their fields. I’d say we’re not very good at keeping secrets.”
The guard watched this banter back and forth then took an empty bucket and grabbed Doctor Simpson’s hand to lead her out of the room.
“What are you doing?” she yelled in her native language as she pulled her hand free.
The guard frowned for a moment, but obviously could tell what she meant as he replied in Eundai, “I am to show you where to get water. You should wash. All of you should wash, you smell.”
Amanda laughed, Doctor Simpson turned a dusty shade of white and refused to budge.
“I’ll do it,” Professor Robinson said in Eundai. “Lead on.”
The guard looked at him, then back at the older woman and shook his head as if to say ‘crazy aliens’.
While the pair were gone, Eundai, both male, and female, started arriving, their arms loaded with items. Blankets for the bed, each made of the fine silk-like material on one side and a coarse, burlap-like substance on the other.
These Eundai were followed by a group bearing food. Loafs of bread and cooked meats. The youngest of them shot him a quick look as she laid the basket on the table.
In any other time and any other world. That would have been a look of interest, he thought. The kind of look that a guy found very intriguing.
But this was Eundai, and she was a lizard for Christ’s sake. Get your mind out of the gutter and back onto more serious things. Like food, he thought.
“Yes!” Nick said as he tore off a large piece of bread and folded it around a heavy chunk of meat.
“We should test those,” Doctor Simpson said as she removed one of the small containers she’d retrieved off the Pod.
“I am testing it,” Nick said, “If I die, you know not to eat it. If I live, and if there is any left, then you guys can eat.”
He caught Amanda giving him a quick smile. She liked it when he gave the Doctor a hard time, he realized. She hadn’t really gotten over the betrayal.
What about him? he wondered. Was he still upset with Amanda for hiding her family connections? Not really, he realized. More disappointed. Not in her, but in the situation. He just wished he’d known earlier before he got his hopes up.
His mouth exploded with excitement as he bit into real food. Food with texture and feel. Food that satisfied a body’s needs.
The bread was course, not too finely ground, but good. It tasted like bread. In fact, it reminded him of a sandwich he’d had at a little joint on Pyre during their last liberty call.
The meat was salty, tough, and delicious. Like a cross between chicken and Valerian moose. Exactly what he needed. He wondered briefly which animal it came from, they had seen several different meat producing animals. Or had they used one of the draft animals. Too old or sick to continue working.
What was their status? he wondered. It was killing him. Were they honored guests or despised prisoners? Were they to be treated fairly and respectfully, or should he have eyes in the back of his head and expect betrayal and mayhem at every turn?
Professor Robinson stepped back in through the open front door, carrying two buckets of water.
“There’s a fountain at the corner of the wall,” he said. “Flowing water that is drained away, probably to flush the sewers.”
“That’s great,” Amanda said as she relieved him of one of the buckets. “But, I’m first,” she added as she grabbed a blanket off the bed and scurried into the back room.
Nick could only smile. She was holding up well he thought. In fact, she was holding up a lot better than a pampered rich man’s daughter should. He was proud of her, he realized with a shock.
She hadn’t whined, hadn’t pouted or blamed others. She’d taken it all. As good as any spacer could have. You couldn’t really ask for more, he thought.
He’d started on his third sandwich when the back room door opened, and Amanda stepped out. Nick’s jaw dropped as he watched her push her wet hair aside and smile at the group seated around the table.
She’d magically transformed the blanket into a shimmering green serape that hung just above her knee. She’d cinched it up around her small waist with a bit of the burlap material. The girl was a genius.
“I almost feel normal,” she said with a smile as bright as a New Kansas moon.
“I’m impressed,” Professor Robinson said, indicating her fashion capability. “How did you do it?”
“I had to use the scalpel in the first aid kit. The outer cloth is very tight. I cut a hole in the middle, it doesn’t tear.” Nick noticed how her eyes lit up as she described her creation.
“Then, I cut away the inner rough material,” Amanda continued, “and used it as a wash cloth and this belt.”
“You look lovely,” the Professor said.
“I’ll say,” Nick muttered, unable to believe how gorgeous the woman looked.
“Thank you,” Amanda said to the Professor as she threw her dirty coveralls into the corner with the space suits. “We will have to wash everything later, once we’re clean and presentable.”
“My turn,” Doctor Simpson said, completely ignoring Amanda’s transformation. None the less, she did grab a blanket and held out her hand for the first aid kit.
Amanda joined them at the table, blushing slightly when Nick couldn’t pull his eyes away from her.
“So? What’s for dinner?” she asked before making a sandwich of her own.
Once Doctor Simpson and then Professor Robinson had washed up and changed into their own version of an Eundai serape. It was Nick’s turn.
Sighing, he gingerly rose from the bench and glanced at Amanda.
“What?” she asked, her eyes narrowing with concern.
“I um ... need your help,” he said as his stomach churned inside.
“With what?” she asked, obviously very curious.
“I can’t lift my arm to get to the zipper. That Eundai hits harder than you’d think. Everything has stiffened up.”
Her eyes narrowed with concern, “you’re hurt? I thought ...”
“I’m okay, I just need help with the zipper.”
“Of course,” she said as she rushed around the table.
“Just get it started. I can finish once it’s low enough for me to reach.”
She stepped in front of him, her hands reaching up for the zipper on his left shoulder as her eyes stared into his.
He looked down at her, lost for a long moment, as she slowly pulled the zipper of his uniform down to his waist.
The moment of almost intimacy was broken when she gasped.
“Nick, your bruised. How hard did he hit you?”
“Hard enough,” he said as he glanced at the black and blue and soon to be yellow bruises on his upper left arm and on his right shoulder.
She shook her head as looked at him. “How did you learn to fight like tha?,” she asked as she gently reached up to touch his wounds.
He fought not to wince as her fingers gently brushed his shoulder.
“I had four older brothers,” he said. “I learned early on that when I was overmatched. The only chance I had was to attack when they were distracted.”
She nodded as if she understood
. “Well, it will be days before the Nanos can fix them.”
“Thankfully,” he said. “Time is what we have a lot of.”
She smiled as she watched him step into the back room.
Once he was fully washed and semi-normal again, he took the blanket and examined it. The idea of a serape didn’t appeal to him. To constricting and not exactly in line with the local culture.
So, instead, he cut away the rough material, cut the blanket in half and wrapped it around his waist. Once, he had the right fit, he tied it off and stepped out in a sarong.
Amanda gasped and held her hand to her mouth.
“What?” he asked. “It fits in with the locals.”
“No that’s okay,” she said. “It’s nothing,” she added with a strange look.
Nick’s brow scrunched up as he tried to figure out what that look meant
“Yes, well, it works,” Professor Robinson said. “But, it is getting late, and I think we need to figure out the sleeping arrangements before it gets too dark to see.”
Nick nodded. The Professor was right, other than the torches in the stone temple. He hadn’t seen candles or lamps. Maybe the Eundai didn’t need them.
“I don’t care where you guys sleep. But I’m taking the bed, the side closest to the door.” Nick said as he folded his arms across his chest.
“We can’t all sleep in the same bed,” Doctor Simpson said.
“Why not? Rebecca.” Professor Robinson responded. “The thing is bigger than my stateroom on the Discovery.”
“I’m not sleeping next to her,” Amanda said. “I might end up killing her in my sleep.”
Nick smiled to himself, the woman was pure Valerian mountain lion.
“Then it is settled,” the Professor said. “Nick will have the side nearest the door. Rebecca the far side, against the wall. I will sleep between the two of you.”
“Really Amanda,” the Doctor said, “You need to get over this anger. What is done is done. It is not helping us.”
Amanda laughed. “You know what the worst thing about what you did is? You can’t even see how terrible it was. You may have ruined an entire culture. All for your own pleasure. You think you know what is best. That you are some kind of expert and everyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter. Well, you are wrong. Just plain wrong.”
