“He will do that?”
“To T’ming, life is cheap, easily bought and paid for.”
“Why doesn’t someone do this to him? From the other provinces?” a voice asked.
“Many have tried. All have failed. Perhaps one will succeed one day, T’ming lives in perpetual fear that will happen. So he guards himself well. Very well.” He turned to the Sky Lady. “You have the power to kill him. Will you do so?”
“No. That is not honorable on our part.”
“Even with what he has done to you, to your people, to your ships?”
“Yes. Those who injured us, suffered the consequences. We go no further in our own defense.”
“Then there is no hope for you on this planet.”
Lori looked out at the group before her. Borrelia said what she’d thought he’d say, and more, actually. She had no idea T’ming’s power and corruption so permeated the seemingly advanced society of the planet below. After a moment, she said, “So what say you?”
A few called for a return to the planet, for a confrontation with the evil one. She asked the bigboys, the Pokoniry, and the humans, if they wanted to do that. Some did, some did not, and she knew she was in a dilemma.
The illi-illi would undoubtedly go along with what ever she decided, and so would the Anawoka, most likely such was the power of their support, even devotion. The other humans might not, some might. The bigboys were unafraid of a fight, but knew it would cost the people of the planet dearly afterward, and that would offend their honor. They’d probably agree with her, too. The Pokoniry, no sissies in a fight, either, did not seem to share a concern for those they’d leave behind, but had already suffered one of the casualties, and did not wish for more. The Kobi were in it for the money, they’d go along with trading, even wanted it, if everyone one else would too. But they didn’t sound like they wanted a full scale war, or even some battles, and the casualties that would ensue, for the sake of some trading.
Lori decided. “I will leave this place, leave this planet to itself, until such time as it develops a system of honor that enables it to deal with others such as ourselves in a peaceful, or at least, nonaggressive manner. I will not force anyone who wishes to stay to leave. You may do so if you wish. But you stay on your own, we will not return to rescue you. And I hesitate to think what might happen to us all, if the wild ones below get a hold of our ships, our weapons, our technology.”
“They know of it, they’ll figure it out for themselves, sooner or later.”
“Yes, but probably later. Maybe much later.” Lori took a breath. “So I will depart, with the Koyaanisqatsi. Will you stay, or leave with me?”
Immediately, the illi-illi said, “We will go,” and so did the bigboys, both of their captains. Captain Maxokova, of the Russian starship Victor Trochkov, speaking for the other humans with him, nodded, saying, “I will, too.” That left the Pokoniry. They conferred among themselves, finally Captain Ida-maia said, “To leave is a sign of weakness, and disgraceful. We do so only out of concern for what might happen to anyone on the surface we might otherwise deal with, and not from fear.”
“I understand that, esteemed captain, and I praise your honorable decision.”
“What of those in the space station–they fear the wrath of T’ming, and will be defenseless once we depart?”
“Yes, a concern. I will ask Captain Igan to leave a scout ship in orbit nearby for a time, to observe the planet, and protect the station. Borrelia, what is the likelihood of an attack on the station from the planet?”
That she would ask him shocked him into silence for a moment. He stammered, “The spaceport, all is...gone, no damaged, in bad shape, no shuttles...serviceable. Nothing will leave the surface for many brights. The station is likely to starve before another...visit from below.”
A voice said, “We discussed this with the scientists, they say they are self sufficient to a large degree, only needing water, which we supplied earlier today. They have some armament left, and will defend themselves should they be attacked. They understand their situation.”
“Very well,” the Sky Lady said.
Borrelia clenched his anus again, more from wonder than nervousness. He sat, amazed at what he’d just seen, just witnessed. People speaking on their own, free to make their own decision, yet, now, no doubt, fully committed to doing what the Sky Lady wanted them to, anyway, and not from fear, or coercion, and not half-heartedly, or with plans to sabotage something along the way. Or so he thought. Amazing, truly.
The Sky Lady said, “Notify your navigators, your engineers. We light the engines in two hours, and we will depart this place then.”
“What of this one?” someone said, pointing to Borrelia.
Lori looked at him and said, “Borrelia I thank you for your insights into the reality of the planetary situation. We will leave here now. Again, I offer you the choice of returning to the planet, anywhere you wish, or remaining on board with us, and going away to a new place.”
“Where do you go, Sky Lady?”
“We go to the planet Uta, there to trade, and visit, and explore, and tarry a while. You may come with us to that place, and live there, with your family, if you wish. There are others of your kind already there.”
Borrelia did not have to think that offer over. “I accept your offer of travel to Uta, and will ride there with you. With my thanks, and the thanks of my family. To you, I owe my life, and theirs as well.” He bowed deeply.
The murmur of approval from the assembly he recognized without the translator, and knew he’d done well.
“Very well. We depart in two hours.” As the group broke up, the Sky Lady came to him and said, “Borrelia, will you and your family dine with me this day? We may do so as soon as we are underway. There is much I’d like to speak to you about.”
“Sky Lady, we will be honored to join you,” he said, and bowed again.
The guide escorted him back to the room with his family, and he told them all that had happened.
“So we leave this cursed world, and its petty despots, too?” his son said.
“Yes, for now at least. Maybe forever.”
But his grandchild wailed, “I wanna go home.” Little could console her.
They waited, watching the world below them, as it slowly turned in review.
Another crew member arrived, cleared away all the food items, the little remaining, and secured anything loose. He guided them to seats, and showed them how to fasten their harnesses.
“This will not be required for long, it is a simple precaution when getting under way.”
“Will we be squashed flat?” the girl asked.
“No, you will hardly know that we are moving.”
Well, not so. They soon heard a building noise, and felt an increasing vibration. But both faded, lessening, and ended.
“That’s it?” Alexii said. “Nothing is changing.”
“No, not yet, but it will soon, and then very rapidly,” the crew member said. “We are underway, and you are free to move about if you wish. The Sky Lady will call for you soon.” He bowed slightly, and left.
As the minutes slowly passed they watched the world outside, but noticed nothing looking very different. A chime sounded, two people arrived, and guided the family out, down the corridor and into the elevator again. They arrived at the dining area, and were escorted to a reserved section, separated from the rest of the large room by a low railing. A white and gold cloth covered an oval table, already laden with foods, and decorated by exotic flowers and plants. They were like none ever seen before by Borrelia. His wife studied them closely.
“Please, gather at the table, the Sky Lady comes immediately.”
Borrelia motioned and distributed his family around the table, his wife to his right, the place of honor, his son to his left, the rest across from him, each at a place setting of fine china and crystalline goblets. They sipped at water, and nibbled at fruit on the plates, while they looked at the few other, very strange, cr
eatures in the far parts of the dining room. A slight change in the sounds in the room behind him made Borrelia look there, and he saw her again, that tall, ugly person, covered in blue except for her naked face and hands, walking impossibly on two much too long legs, and coming toward him. His granddaughter began to whimper, but was shushed by her mother. He and his son stood to meet her, and so did everyone else.
Lori stopped in front of him, and offered her hand. Briefed on the custom, Borrelia accepted it, held if for a moment. He began introducing his family: his wife, his son, and son-in-law, his daughters, and his granddaughter. Lori offered her hand, and each took it, shyly, some using their left hands.
To his surprise, the Sky Lady crouched down in front of Tannika, squatting as his kind might, and said, “Welcome little one. This must be very scary for you, but I assure you, you will be safe here, and maybe even enjoy traveling through space to a new world. And look, I have a present for you.”
From a small bag, the Sky Lady removed a colorful stuffed animal of some sort, again something never seen by the family. They stared at it as she held it before Tannika. The fur was soft, brown and tan, two dark eyes, ears, a mouth, looking not unlike themselves, except for the missing two arms.
“This is called a Teddy Bear, and it is a favorite among children on Earth, my home planet. It is like one of the animals that live in the forest there. Does it look anything like an animal on your world?”
But Tannika clung to her mother, and hid her face, looking away.
Lori stood, and said, “I know this is difficult here, for you all. Please let me know if anything might be done for you, to ease your discomfort in any way. And please,” she said, handing the doll to the mother, “keep this for the child, should she like to have it later on.”
Another human walked up, covered, except again for the face and hands, with a dark material, carrying a small bundle. Borrelia noticed it wore its mane shorter than the Sky Lady. The bundle moved, and gave a small cry. A babe, Borrelia thought. So this is the kind that bears their young? Not the one called Lady?
The new human passed the bundle to the Sky Lady. She said, “This is my husband, Hunter. And this is my son.” She turned the bundle, lowered some of the covering, and displayed the miniature person.
Borrelia rocked back on his feet, staggering, sinking down, landing on the floor in a thump. The others looked at him. His mind fluttered in confusion. The translators are correct, this one is the female, not the other. A female leader? And she is a mother, she bore a child, a male. And we treated her with dishonor and disrespect? We are shamed by our actions forever.
His women leaned forward to see the child, making soft sounds in their throats. Even Tannika perked up, standing taller, trying to see the infant better. Lori moved toward them, the child wiggling in her arms. She approached Borrelia first, lowering the child so he could see it. Like any baby creature, it seemed cute, what he could see of it all wrapped up in coverings, even devoid of fur, which seemed more appropriate than for the fully grown versions.
He moved away a little, and said, “Sky Lady, I am shamed by the action of my people, how they treated you when you visited our planet. Such behavior is disgraceful toward anyone, and especially so for a mother, with child. Never would I have allowed such to occur, had I the power to stop it in any way. I beg your forgiveness, now, for my failure, and for the dishonor shown to you by my people.”
He lowered his head, exposing his neck again.
“Borrelia, arise, it is done, and cannot be changed. I accept your regrets, and hold you blameless. Those responsible may yet be held accountable. You help by appearing before me, and in assisting me and my people to understand you and yours. Now, would you like to see my son, or is it better if he is kept away?”
Before he could answer, Umari, his wife, walked to his side, and said to Lori, “I should like to see this tiny person, so small, so miniature, yet so much like you. Is it so helpless, now, in its youth?”
Lori smiled, turned to her, while Borrelia slowly stood, rooted to the spot. She held the baby up, and told a little about him, his age, quickly figured in brights, and his expected development. The wife spoke quietly to the Sky Lady as she looked at the child, telling a little of her race, too, though Lori already knew all about the childhood of the Damai, from Tarue and her kits.
Then, easily, naturally, the Sky Lady passed the baby to Umari, who took it in her arms, cradling it, and singing to it softly. After a moment, she lowered it so all the rest of his family could see it better, as Borrelia stood, frozen in place by the wonders of the amazing creature standing before him.
Umari soon passed the baby back, and Hunter, the male, the mate of the Sky Lady, motioned for everyone to take a place at the table. Immediately, several of the fat, two legged aliens, really, there were so many, Borrelia thought, how does anyone ever keep them in mind, yet recognize one from the other, began offering various foods. He tried some of everything, after being assured it was known to be safe.
The room began filling up, mostly with the tall two-legs, though a scattering of all the other aliens appeared, even those impossible to believe giant bugs. Borrelia watched it all, speaking little, listening, and trying to understand. Just mere hours ago, he knew he would die. Now, maybe he has, and this is the afterlife? But no, the food felt hot, moist, good in his mouth, the water and wine cold, he breathed and listened, and spoke. And his family sat around him.
With the meal finishing, and the last of the plates cleared away, a Kobi came to the table, carrying a tray with cups and carafes on it. The Sky Lady introduced her, saying, “This is Tari, my assistant. She’s a Kobi. After we finish here, she will offer you a tour of the ship, and show you to quarters for your stay. She will check with you frequently, so please let her know if you have any needs that we might meet.” Lori introduced the guests, getting all the names correct.
Tari set before each a tiny cup, hardly big enough for them to hold and sip from.
“This is for coffee,” Lori said. “It is an extract from a plant from my native world, and is offered at the end of a meal, that one might linger, and talk for a while, if you wish. We have another, too, called tea. Both are ordinarily served hot, and are safe for you to take. Feel free to try either, or both.”
Borrelia tried them, a taste of each, decided he liked the heavy, woodsy flavor of the coffee, especially when laced with a sweetener, and sipped it, mimicking the Sky Lady and her husband. Tari remained at the table, squatting next to the Sky Lady, watching her, with an obvious devotion.
Wondering what might happen next, Borrelia found of all he knew of these aliens, he could never know all.
The Sky Lady turned to face Umari, and said, “My baby is hungry, too, and must be fed. The females do so in the first part of life. We feed them with secretions from our body, until they are grown enough to feed on their own. If this is offensive to you, you may depart, with no regrets. I understand how you feel about mouth feeding.”
That she knew, and worse, even mentioned it in mixed company, shocked Borrelia, though glancing at his wife, he saw she was leaning forward in curiosity. His shock was further compounded when the Sky Lady opened her body covering, to expose more of her hairless, bare skin. His ears drooped when he saw the bandaging there, but his breath froze in his own chest when she brought the baby to one of the large fleshy mounds, placed its mouth against the dark circle, and the infant began to noisily suck and grunt.
“You feed your baby from your body itself? It drinks of your blood?” Umari said.
“No, not my blood,” the Sky Lady said, pulling the infant away, who immediately began to wail and fuss. Leaning forward, Lori squeezed, and passed a squirt of whitish fluid into a glass, and quickly returned the baby to her body, which silenced it. “This is milk, it contains nutrients, and is made here, in my breasts. It is not blood.” She passed the glass to Umari, who took it, and looked closely into it. The glass passed from person to person, and finally to Borrelia. He could hardly
take it, or lift it, but did, looking closely at the strange fluid, rotating the glass even, as he might a dash of wine. Slowly he returned the glass to the table.
His mortification was complete, now, he knew, his ears drooping. He stared at the bandages on her body, her swollen, bare face, and was shamed to his core by how his people had mistreated her. This woman, this mother, who nourished her baby in full view, with milk from her injured body. How could we have done this to her? And she, the leader of this immense expedition, many starships and many more people, all came here, following her. We are truly an unworthy people, and she did right by leaving us to our own fate. He resolved to fully meet his promise to her of living a life of honor, and would do whatever that took. He vowed his fealty to this woman, this mother, for the rest of his days. He would tell her that later, in private, with his family present.
For now, he sat up taller, accepted another cup of coffee, and rejoined the talk around the table, often of babies and children, and the funny things they did.
But mostly, he watched the Sky Lady, feeding her son from her own body. Amazing.
Chapter 21 - The Return of the King
T’ming felt the fury building inside. Again! To be summoned in the midst of a long mating session with a new, young, and especially amorous female, this better be good.
He swept along, ahead of his guard detail, and rushed into the communications center, slamming the door against the wall. Everyone there froze, in total silence.
“Well,” he bellowed. “What is it?”
The OIC jumped, bowed, and said, “Excellency, you have won. You have driven the alien devils away. They are leaving.”
T’ming took a moment to think of that, let it seep into his mental matrix. No one else spoke. Suddenly, he wondered if that was good, or bad, seeing the opportunity to acquire the technology, and the arms, yes, especially the weapons, leaving, too.
T-47 Book II (Saxon Saga 6) Page 39
