She looked down at Eric, sleeping quietly, his mouth going a little, sucking in his sleep. No, this was better, relaxing, quiet. She took a deep breath, let it out. This was great, really. A warm breeze, the low swish-swish of small wavelets, an occasional bird flying slowly by, some animal or something calling in the dim forest beyond the beach, and now, she noticed, even a few crab-like things, scurrying about in the water and out of it, but not coming too close to her.
Her eyes focused on her wounds and bruises, the one still covered by a dressing. Time here to give all these bodily insults a chance to heal, too. The walk today was great, she thought, no fresh cuts or scratches, thanks mainly to the nice trail hacked out by the scouts, and maybe no new, and exotic diseases or anything to catch. A large splash out in the lagoon caught her eye, and she looked up. A big fish or something, after its dinner. Or just leaping for joy in the early dim. Who knew. So strange, this world. Yet so familiar. This could be the south Pacific, for all anyone knew. But it sure wasn’t, the sky was way too different.
The vast vista to sea kept her attention as she sat there, holding her son, enraptured by it all, tired, anxious even to get back to bed, but unwilling to leave such a fascinating, and totally alien, scene. And no rush, either, she could sleep as long as she wanted, into the morning, or whenever.
No doubt, the watchers fretted, seeing her sitting here motionless, let them. She glanced to the right at her air car. It sat there, nearby as always, motionless, too, of course, probably watching her, or at least, aware of her presence. She’d visit it before she went back to bed.
The tide must be going out, the water was further away, and a whole flock of tiny, dark birds now worked the swash line, rushing back and forth, like some miniature sandpipers back on Earth, probing and feeding in the sand. The crabs had vanished. She watched the birds, too.
With a fullness to her bladder, she released it as she sat there, feeling it rush out, and sink and disappear in the sand where she sat. Now, that was neat, she thought, looking down, to see just a fresh damp spot, quickly fading, between her legs. She remembered the pleasure there earlier today–yesterday–and felt a little stirring. Maybe she should wake Hunter, see if he was up to another screw. No, not till morning. He was always erect then. Maybe she’d take advantage of it again. She smiled at the memory of the day, at the feel of him inside her, and longed for it again. How he worried about her, too, and of hurting her more, or again, and so he held back on everything, it seemed. At least that’s what she hoped it was.
She looked at her scarred, healing body. Yeah, little wonder he worried about touching her. Well, she’d just have to touch him then, lead him on, and he’d be OK. She hoped.
A coolness descended, a breeze drifting along the shore with a chill in it. Clouds began to descend from the hills, they’d get a shower again before long. Lori stood up, brushing the sand off her bottom, noticing the guards watching her, two of them, and several figures in the open end of the support tent, too. She walked to Eagle One, and said good night to it, standing outside, holding the sleeping baby against her. She promised a visit tomorrow, and maybe a little flight, a ride somewhere, maybe around the island. The air car said, as always, it was at her service. She lingered a moment, wishing, wanting–something–to say or do, but did not know what. So she patted it, and slowly returned to the tent, waving to the watchers, and returned to bed, Eric next to her, glad to pull up the thin sheets onto her bare body.
The sound of rain on the wind ruffled tent lulled her to sleep.
Long, lazy, pleasant days passed, the suntime slowly shifting as human days ran on Uta time. She hiked somewhere every day, sometimes west, sometimes east. She flew Eagle One every day, too, visiting two nearby islands, but found the one with their camp more comfortable. One afternoon, they all took target practice with the military hand weapons, from the small needle guns of the Pokoniry, to the heavy machine lasguns of Major Morales’ troops. Lori fired her own pistol into the sea, watching the bullets kick slim, bright jets of water high into the air, as the gold colored cartridges flew off to her right, to gleam on the sand.
Hunter smiled at her as she lowered the handgun, and said, “Nice shooting.”
Lori holstered the pistol, and said, “Sure is fun when no one’s shooting back.”
They swam and snorkeled each day, soon finding the little niches where interesting sea life lived. With no need nor desire to wear clothing, their tans deepened. The Anawoka removed the last of her dressings, on the top of her right breast. That skin, pink and new, burned easily in the sun, and she needed to keep a thin covering on it, a light shirt, left unbuttoned. In the days that passed that skin, too, tanned slightly, enough to blend in with the rest of her body.
Lori lost track of the number of days spent on the island, but figured it might be around ten, when she asked Hunter, “Getting bored yet?”
He hesitated, said, “Well,” then, “No, not at all.”
Wrapping her hands around his arm, she said, “I sorta am. Guess I’m ready to get back into the real world. And I’ve promised the illi-illi I’d go trading with them. Tell the guards we’ll leave in the morning–our morning. I just want one more night of tropical splendor. You up for that?” she asked, moving a hand to his penis.
“You got it, lady,” he said, laughing.
With Crespi, the head of the on-planet Ixixil delegation, she began exploring west, with a number of natives, including Joshii and Tarue, and their kits. She always let them make the first contact with frightened inhabitants of the mostly small villages they found well beyond the explored reaches of the nearby parts of the continent. She put Eagle One to work analyzing scans of the surface, telling it to look for larger settlements, and it soon found several on the far side of the planet, one rivaling the size of Karufa. A quick reconnaissance there revealed a number of interconnected cities, small, but obviously prospering, and missed in all previous landings. Visits by cambots, then illi-illi scout ships showed some sophistication in urban development, and active market areas.
But as ever, it seems, the landing proved contentious, as city leaders, perhaps even more religious than previously experienced, sought to drive off the invaders from the sky, and those obviously identical, though speaking in unknown tongues. Lori landed an air car in the center square, and left it there, let the chantings and stoning and even fire assault the plasteel outer shell, until the native enthusiasm for destruction waned. By then the Anawoka had a working knowledge of the local dialect, and could begin the slow process of accumulation to things new and modern, and unthinkable to the natives. With the UN reps away and busy on Magadana, Lori did not worry about their fretting over impacts to primitive peoples.
With a smattering of trade goods paving the way, and building the desire and need for more, the natives soon overcame their hostility, particularly with generous gifts, and involvement in agreements with the local priests. The dramatic appearance of strange beings, human and illi-illi, always caused a new, mini-panic, but that soon eased, and trade flourished. With the many basic and useful tools, wheeled carts and tri-bikes, the illi-illi could hardly satisfy the demands, at whatever level of value they set. The illi-illi ships began to fill with the gold and goods of far Uta, and their trading materials declined as well.
Lori kept busy with rides in the air car, especially for the children, knowing they were the key to future trade and development. At each city, she sought out a small cadre of likely air car pilot prospects, and when found, arranged for training, and eventual orientation to traveling half way around the planet, to the landing fields and trade centers at Karufa, so she returned there frequently. The supply of air cars dwindled precipitously, and Lori began to think that it may be time to end trading, and begin to prepare for departure. The Koya would not be back for two months, at the earliest, but much remained to be done. Finally, she had some time for exploration, and she wanted to do a lot of that in the weeks to come.
Between visiting new towns, she and Eagle O
ne did explore other parts of the planet, recording the many unusual natural features found on Uta, as on other worlds, each fascinating, some amazing, a few incredible. She cataloged them all, a travel documentary on the disks. Overall, her pleasure and pride in using Eagle One for its unique abilities pleased her immensely.
Sleeping in back at the former temple late one bright, Lori awakened to Hunter’s gently shaking.
“What?” she said, sleepily.
“Captain George is back, and he wants to see you, as soon as you’re, well, whenever you’re ready.”
“OK,” she said, getting up. “Man, he’s way early. What happened, anyway? Invite him to breakfast with me, if he wants. Or I’ll see him afterward, whatever is good for him.”
The captain waited for her on the open dining patio, standing as she entered, smiling and offering a hand for her to shake. Balancing Eric on one leg, she sipped the coffee the Kobi brought to her, and asked, “So what’s up, that gets you here before breakfast? Good or bad?”
Sitting again and without waiting, Captain George said, “All good. They want you back. Back on Magadana. King V’ming asks for you every time we see him, which is often. Others there, too.” Lori made a little face, which George noticed. “I know it’s not your favorite place, but things are different there now. Amazingly different.”
“Trade goes well?”
“Excellent”
“Anybody killed lately?”
“No, none, no trouble at all, just competition on who will get to see us, and make deals. We’ll all have ten years of orders to fill...”
“Mostly for air cars, I presume.”
“Oh, AG technology for sure, but other stuff, too.”
“They don’t need me for that.”
“No.”
“What, then?”
Captain George looked at her, nodded to the Kobi on the offer of more coffee, and said, “Symbolic, I think. Perhaps a guilty conscience. But more importantly, they want, they need you, as the leader of the expedition, to approve, and endorse the deals being made.”
Lori shook her head. “That’s up to the individual captain, the traders, and others. I have no control over what sort of business is being done, deals, and whatever.”
“Yes, I know.”
“So, what, then?”
George grimaced. “It seems a few, no a lot, really, of the traders, are saying that, well, words to the effect, ‘The Sky Lady must approve....’ whatever,” and he made an outward gesture with his hand. “I think it’s so they can give you some credit for bringing everyone here, and to rub in and remind the natives of the shoddy treatment you–and everyone else, actually–received when we first arrived. To their benefit, perhaps.”
“That’s crazy. I have nothing...” Lori stopped. No one argued with her, Captain George for sure. She sighed. “Well, you know, I was planning on going back there, with you, when we leave, if you wanted, but you’re rather early, you know. Too soon to leave. We’re not done trading here, you should see the places we found, this planet is far from empty, and the stuff–man. Well, not as good as from Magadana, but nice, primitive, and much more limited, the scarcity and uniqueness will drive up the value, the illi-illi will prosper...” She sipped her coffee, nodded as some fruit appeared, and moved Eric to her other breast again.
“Man, he’s getting big,” George said, smiling at the boy.
“Yeah, starting to bite, too.” She took some bites of food herself, and said, “The bigboys, too, are exploring like crazy, actually found a gold strike on another northern island, and are digging it like mad. They’re ecstatic.”
“They don’t need us to return to Seram Laut.”
“No, of course, but I like to keep on eye on them, anyway.” She started on her breakfast, which arrived, hot and savory. “Captain, I’m afraid I’m reluctant to go back to planet Magadana now. I’m in the middle of some fun exploration, and still need to finish up some trading with the illi-illi. I need to help the natives make some big decisions on what to do in the future, here. I hadn’t planned to depart quite so soon. I will go with you later, but not now.”
“Well, please think it over. I have a tape to show you, too, should have done that first, I guess, will you at least watch it, and then let me know what you can do for the expedition?”
Lori shot him a look from the corner of her eyes, her mouth going into a tight smile, as he played on her loyalty to the expedition. Her expedition. He smiled back at her. “You rascal,” she said. “If you can’t convince me, you bring in the guys from Magadana, and lay a guilt trip on me at the same time?”
Georges smiled, saying in feigned indignation, “Me?”
“Yeah, you. OK, leave me the video, I’ll think it over. But it won’t be immediately, that’s for sure.”
Lori looked at the video later that morning, she sitting on the veranda facing the rising sun with Tarue, Tari and Hunter, the air warm, the breeze stirring the hanging plants, and moving the small flowers nearby. Coffee steamed in a mug, and she sipped it once during the short clip. Hunter looked at her when it ended, his head tipped to the side, his eyebrows up. Tarue and Joshii remained silent, the kits leaning on their legs.
“We have seen the wrath that...”
“Wrath? You have never seen the wrath of the Sky Lady. Pray you do not, now, or ever. We, the bigboys, able to cross the great voids, with the nuclear power of countless suns at our disposal, tremble with worry at the thought of incurring the wrath of this human being, so much so that we have vowed never to oppose her in battle.”
King V’ming looked at her.
“Know this about her–with the flick of a finger, she slew that ignorant tyrant, Mackanima. And when the cowardly ones here tried to deceive her, and laid hands on her in a most dishonorable manner, and sought to imprison her, she destroyed them. She waved a hand, and fire and heat burned that building wherein they tried to keep her. She looked to the horizon at your air bases when they sought, in ignorance and error, to intervene, causing the earth and the air to burn for hours.”
The king said, “This excess, she did in wrath...”
“That was not her wrath! That was her displeasure. Her wrath, in keeping with the code of honor, she kept in check.” Leaning forward, she said, “Hear this, Mighty Ruler. Arouse the wrath of the Sky Lady, and your country, your world, your planet, your whole land, and air and water and cities and all that is here, will burn to a blackened cinder!” She drew back, looking at the cowed king.
The bigboy said, more softly now, “The Sky Lady deserves respect. Treat her as you would the most honored ambassador, the most respected elder, a cherished parent, the best of friends. You will then find all of that, and more, in her response. Do so out of honor, not out of fear, but however you treat her, do so with respect for a being whose courage is unlimited, and whose power has yet to be seen, nor tested, on this planet.”
“What would you suggest, honored guest? What must I, we, my people, all the people of the world, do, that we might honor this visitor, the Sky Lady?”
“How would you welcome the most honored and respected visitor from anywhere on the planet?”
“With a parade, and a banquet, and gifts, the finest we have, and music, all lasting one bright and one dim, or longer, countless citizens, marching, with music, and military parades and aerial displays of our air forces. More, do you think?”
The bigboy slowly nodded. “No, less actually, all that, though in a shorter span of time, a soft place for the Sky Lady to take her rest, she and her party. And no treachery. Avoid that at all costs.” The big boy looked at the king. “And one more thing–certain items of a personal nature were taken from her by the brutal guards at the prison. Find and return those items, and thereby reap the gratitude of the Sky Lady. A small matter, perhaps, but a measure of honor on your part, and the part of your people.”
“But all is lost, the fire, gone, melted, consumed...”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Verify what is lost, if that is
true, and offer amends if it is so. That, the Sky Lady might welcome.”
“You will invite her for us?”
“Prepare a suitable invitation, and the best I can promise is to deliver it. The Sky Lady is busy at another place, on another planet, and what she does, where she goes, is up to her. But as a person of high honor, she will consider your request, and reply in due time.”
The spycams left behind recorded the flurry of activity that occurred when the expedition’s delegates left. The king gave rapid orders, often speaking into two phones at once, and aides appeared and hurried to establish communications, and relay messages and replies as they arrived. He moved on into another section of the complex, one with many rooms, some equipped for video and radio transmissions. He reviewed, revised, and rehearsed an elaborate video invitation, which began with soft music and scenes of splendid natural areas of the planet, continued with a view of King V’ming himself, in resplendent finery, speaking to her, the Sky Lady, and more active music, and concluded with scenes of the people of planet Magadana, as the music swelled, and people amassed into a huge crowd, which filled an arena, everyone singing a song of longing and welcome, and finally the scene morphs into a rapid assent from the surface, zooming up and away from the planet, which shrinks, as the lens turns toward the stars of the cluster itself, and fades away.
T-47 Book II (Saxon Saga 6) Page 46
