Serpents and Vipers

by Donald Nicklas

  Chapter 12 – The New World Order

  The viper that had functioned as a second to the Mountain Clan Mother now helped Tavia get Sly to her feet and bring her to the door of the ring. She then gently let her down to waiting serpent and human medics. The humans were amazed at how quickly all animosity was put aside and the civil war was over. Sly had lost a lot of blood, mostly from the upper thigh wound. This was dressed quickly and the blood was staunched by the salve the serpents seemed to put on everything. Within a half hour, Sly was able to stand, with a little help. The ring had been removed along with the body in it and representatives of the former enemies came to present Sly with the staff of the World Mother. The staff was made of wood and appeared to be very old. Climbing around the staff were overlapping renditions of four serpents, one higher on the staff than the last. These represented the four clans. At the top of the staff was a sphere that was carved to represent the home world. Sly gave the staff to Tavia and told her to go as the representative of the World Mother and lead the remaining Mountain Clan back to the capital city to await Sly’s arrival. Not only Tavia, but also all of the humans were now in shock. As her first act as World Mother, Sly gave a human girl representative control of her world. As always, Tavia proved up to the task and went with the Mountain Clan representatives to the beach, the ever present Hatch in tow. The Legatus gave her a hovercraft to transport her the 100 kilometers to the beachhead and from there to the capital. Sly was then taken into the mountain for additional care but her serpent stamina and healing power had her back on her feet in a few hours.

  While Sly was being patched up, Tavia flew to the beach and had the pilot land her hovercraft in an open area. She stepped out, carrying the symbol of power and the representatives of the Mountain Clan explained to those present that the World Mother was alive and healing well and would soon enter the capital. Until then, the human female, a member of the Sea Clan, would represent the World Mother and she understands the serpent tongue. The last part raised some commotion in the ranks and one of the clan came to Tavia and asked her command in the serpent tongue. Tavia answered and told them to return to the capital and await the World Mother’s arrival. She had a heavy human accent with her substituted sounds that Hatch explained, but they were impressed that humans would take the time to learn their language. It also impressed them that the new World Mother would have such trust in humans. It began to dawn on them that their late Clan Mother might have lied to them about the humans.

  The Mountain Clan began to evacuate the island and Tavia reentered her shuttle and asked if the representatives of the Mountain Clan would again accompany her to the capital. Tavia was learning the nuances of politics and appearance. She also knew that the serpents, like the Romani, valued honor and courage along with wisdom and knowledge. It was important to show the serpents that the humans had full faith in the power of their alliance. Therefore, Tavia ordered her hovercraft back to the mountain and asked the Mountain Clan representatives if one of their craft could take her the remainder of the way to the capital. She could tell that the request made an impression, especially since she was now the only human among the thousands of serpents on the beach. With all deference, she was led, along with Hatch to a serpent shuttle and the pilot was told to take her directly to the administrative portion of the capital. Tavia took her place in the shuttle, holding the staff in her left hand and a handhold in the right. As always, there was no place to sit in the ship. She could look over the shoulders of the pilot and see the expanse of ocean leading to the mainland. They covered the area quickly and were soon over the capital. News of the outcome of the contest had reached the capital and all Hill Clan members were again allowed free access to the city. Since they knew how the government worked, they had immediately begun preparation for the arrival of the new World Mother. The main administrative building was in rubble from Captain Artok’s attack; therefore, they set up a temporary audience hall in a building next to the collapsed one. The shuttle landed in front of the destroyed administrative building and a large crowd stood to the side away from the building and in front of the temporary audience hall. As the shuttle door opened, Tavia could see the welcoming committee as well as the workers clearing the rubble around the old building. First, the Mountain Clan representatives came out, followed by Tavia and Hatch. As soon as the serpents saw the staff, they bowed their heads. When they again raised them, they were shocked to see it in the hands of a human. To the serpent senses, the staff gave Tavia an aura of power over her usual human aura. However, the serpents were confused. Did this mean that the humans had conquered them, as they had feared for generations? Tavia knew, despite her young age, what she said now was critical. She quickly had Hatch explain the sound changes needed to allow Tavia to speak in the serpent tongue. Serpents adapted quickly and they knew this meant the human could understand them. Tavia climbed onto a small platform that was brought over for the purpose. She began to speak in her heavily accented serpent language.

  “My name is Tavia MacDougal and I am a member of the Sea Clan and representative of the new World Mother.”

  There was a lot of commotion to this statement and Tavia was wise enough to allow it to run its course before continuing. “It is the wish of the World Mother that all be prepared for her arrival shortly. Until then, it is her wish that I act as her representative. Though I speak your language to the extent that a human can, I will need the help of all of you, no matter what Clan you belong to, to bring peace back to the home world.”

  This last statement was met with the serpent equivalent of applause, the stamping of the right foot several times. As Tavia stepped down from the platform to meet with the government representatives, there was a commotion coming from the vicinity of the collapsed administrative building. Tavia turned to Hatch and told her in human speech, “Hatch, go and see what that is about.”

  Hatch, who was turning into a strapping young serpent, ran over to where the rubble was being cleared. She saw they had pulled several male and female serpent bodies from in front of where the entrance had been. Now they were removing a female body very slowly from the rubble. Hatch thought she saw the body twitch. She ran over and recognized that it was Captain Artok and she was still alive after three days under the rubble. Hatch ran over to Tavia and told her of the miracle. Trying to maintain a dignified walk, the teenager moved as quickly as possible to Captain Artok’s side and knelt down next to her as the medics tended to her. All around could see how much this human cared about a serpent and this did a great deal to change impressions. After a short time, Captain Artok regained consciousness and the first image she saw was Tavia kneeling with the staff of the World Mother in her hand.

  “Sss. Lady Tavia, it is good to see you, but I must be dead. You cannot be the World Mother of the Serpents.”

  “Rest, Captain Artok, I will explain when you are stronger. You did well.” Tavia told the medics to make sure the Captain gets priority treatment and they took her away immediately. Tavia now went over to the group of serpents she assumed were part of the administration and asked them to lead her to the seat of government. They led her to the temporary audience chamber, and this being a serpent world, there was, of course, no seat.

  Tavia spent the rest of the day working with the administrators, trying to get things back on track. She knew she was just a placeholder and so did the serpents. What she did not know is, when Sly gave her the staff, she also gave her absolute rule over all serpents. Nothing impressed the serpents more than the fact that Tavia remained humble, asked for, and took their advice on all things serpent. Tavia never once wielded her power. As the day moved to its end, and a long day it had been, a Romani gunship came over the horizon and flew into the center of the city. It was the repaired command ship. Tavia went out to meet it and when the door opened, Sly stepped out. Tavia could see her old friend was still hurting from her wounds, but she would live to rule her world. Tavia immediately went over to Sly, bowed her head and when she came up she extended
the staff to Sly. As Sly took the staff, Tavia said in human speech, “Thank you my friend. I rather scout a thousand worlds than rule one. I am glad you are the World Mother.”

  “Sss. Friend Tavia, you have done well. In communications, all speak well of you and you have done much to make our alliance stronger.”

  Next to exit from the shuttle were the Legatus and the Consul. Tavia immediately snapped to rigid attention. The serpents near her realized these must be human leaders. “As you were, Primary Scout Tavia MacDougal,” The Legatus said and Tavia stood at ease.

  “Well you have had quite a day, Tavia. How did it feel to be ruler of the serpents?” Consul Lorenzo asked.

  “Frightening.”

  “Well, don’t fret, Tavia. It is just as frightening to rule humans.”

  “Consul, Captain Artok survived and is in the medical facilities.”

  “Now that is good to hear, Tavia,” Lorenzo replied. “I like her.” The Consul and Legatus then moved over to where Sly was standing with the group of administrators who had helped Tavia govern.

  Next, the Slones exited the shuttle. Alaya smiled and said, “There’s our World Mother. Can we speak with you or are you still governing?”

  “I gave the staff back to Sly as soon as I could. I hope the Romani give us a scout ship soon so we can get back into space.”

  “I am not sure that will be your destiny,” Christopher said. “The Consul has plans that must first be cleared with the Senate. A lot will depend on how smoothly the transition to Sly’s leadership goes.

  Fortunately, serpents were not humans. Once leadership was established, there were no more disputes. Sly wanted the humans to feel at home on her world and she invited them to come down and mingle with the serpents. The fleet was put on a shore leave rotation and Sly assigned members of her Clan who could speak human to give tours. There was damage from the civil war and the rescue, which the humans offered to help repair. Sly thought it a good idea for serpents and humans to work together and this led to better understanding. After several weeks of cooperation, the serpents agreed that the late Mountain Clan Mother had deceived them and the humans were not the threat they were made out to be. Captain Artok recovered and was amused that Tavia had been her ruler for a day. Tavia visited the captain daily and they became closer friends than before. Of all the humans in the galaxy, Tavia was the only one who could boast an ever-growing circle of serpent friends.

  The day Sly won her contest, several message capsules were sent out. One went to the relief fleet ordering them to stand down and await further orders. Fortunately, they were only a few systems out from Nova Romae and the capsule was able to find them. The second capsule went to Nova Romae with several requests for the Senate. The rescue fleet would remain in orbit around the serpent world until they received the Senate’s response.

  A week after Sly’s contest, a shuttle came down from orbit with a routine transport of troops and crew for shore leave. On the shuttle was a weak but healing Centurion Marshal. As he was helped down from the shuttle door, the serpents saw him and immediately came over and bowed deeply. One of the commanders came over who could use human speech and said, “Sss. Centurion Marshal, we are all filled with joy that you have survived. You fought better than our best fighters and are one of our Clan now, just as the Slones and the Lady Tavia.”

  “I am honored to be part of your Clan, but I am not half the fighter your troops are. The Romani would be well served to have serpents in our legions. In truth, I was not sure serpents could stay in formation and follow orders.”

  “Sss. Centurion Marshal, I was also not sure my serpents would do that, but they took courage from how you fought for us and wanted to make you proud of them.”

  “Tell them I am truly proud of them and I am sorry we lost so many brave souls.”

  “Sss. They are now one with the planet. They are at peace.”

  The serpents helped the Centurion into the mountain and they spent the rest of the day and night in celebration. Soldier’s camaraderie crosses systems and species. The night was spent in drinking a strange concoction favored by the serpents and a bit strong for a recovering human. Between toasts, there were tales of the recent battles with each telling becoming a bit grander than the last. More than war stories were happening here. Serpent and human were bonding, as they had not in the three hundred years of their common history. When Centurion Marshal awoke the next morning, his serpent drinking partners were already awake and very amused at the difficulty with which he moved around and avoided light. The serpents did not seem the worse for wear.

  It took the message pods a round trip of six weeks to return. In that time, most of the damage done in the battle was repaired. Humans and serpents worked side by side to bring everything back and make some things better. Sly was consolidating her power. She sent a global message as well as ships to all of the mining colonies still inhabited. The message was clear and simple; from this day forward, all serpents belonged to only one Clan and that would be called the Serpent Clan. All serpents now had access to space and to all other activities. Clans would no longer hold serpents back or categorize their duties. However, the big changes awaited word from the Senate.

  The Slones returned to their dreadnought, the Invicta, as soon as hostilities were at an end and they had seen Sly take her place in the capital. The Consul and Legatus also stayed aboard the Longinus. The Slones were now finally able to visit the children’s area. As soon as they entered, little Olivia came running over to them and stretched out her arms to be held. Alaya picked her up and tears welled up in the mother’s eyes. Olivia had grown so much in the time they were gone. Alaya was not sure how she felt about constantly leaving her child, but she also knew that a sedentary life was not for her. She and Christopher hugged her and took her back to the captain’s quarters. There would be plenty of time to spend with her as they await the Senate’s response. Christopher spent time on the bridge as Paul McMann gladly relinquished the captaincy and returned to the navigation console. There was little to do in orbit, so only a minimal watch was kept and everyone who wanted to could put in for shore leave. For the first time humans and serpents were mingling on the serpent home world. So far it was working. The shore patrol had to arrest several humans for fighting and the serpent police had to do the same. What was encouraging is that in all of the brawls, there were serpents and humans mixed on both sides and the fights were over competitions and not prejudices. Also gratifying was the fact that the serpents left their claws in and their tails behind while fighting with the humans. Despite that, there were still some minor injuries on both sides, since even a clawless serpent packs a punch. For six weeks, humans and serpents were learning a lot about each other. Tavia had also started a language school on her own initiative. Serpents learned human speech in the morning and humans learned the modified serpent speech in the afternoon. In the evening, they all got together and practiced on each other. There was much amusement. However, thanks to Tavia’s outreach, friendships were developing. Consul Lorenzo also took note, as did Sly.

  Just over six weeks from the end of the civil war, the Slones were called to the bridge. A message capsule had entered the system and was transmitting a code for the Longinus. Lorenzo was already on the bridge of his ship and ordered the communication tech to open the capsule, a euphemism for sending the response code to receive the encrypted information. The message was received and Lorenzo ordered the Slones to join him at the serpent capital. After the short trip to the surface, the Romani leaders asked for an audience with the World Mother. They received immediate admittance and saw that Sly was fully involved in ruling her world. The Consul and the Slones walked up to the small platform on which Sly stood and formally asked permission to speak. Though they knew Sly would not have minded a less formal approach, the Romani leaders had determined to keep all official contact formal to show the serpents that they respect their customs. In private, Sly was still Sly.

  “World Mother,” Consul Lorenzo began.
“The Senate of Nova Romae has sent a response.”

  Sly looked at the Consul, “Sss. What is it that the Senate of Nova Romae has responded?”

  “The Senate would like to offer Romani help to terraform and return the serpent home world to its original state and create temperate zones. They would also like to bring temperate flora and fauna to replace the missing elements in the serpent biome.”

  “Sss. The serpents would be very grateful for this.”

  “The Senate also approves the immediate admission of the serpents into the Nova Romae federation. After 300 years, it is the least we can do. Some Senators will arrive with the terraforming teams.”

  “Sss. This is more than we could have hoped for, especially after how badly the former Mountain Clan treated the Romani.”

  “None of that was your fault. We will do all we can to help you make sure this does not happen again. You will have to decide how you will elect or appoint a Senator to represent the serpents and you will need an ambassador to act as liaison to the Romani. This is an unusual situation since serpents have been so much a part of our lives and military for three human centuries.”

  “Sss. In the name of all serpents, I thank the Senate and People of Nova Romae.”

  Tavia had gone over the formula response with Sly, who did not want to do anything to offend the Romani. This was a pivotal day in Romani-Serpent relations and form was very important, especially with the serpents watching. The civil war was over and all submitted to Sly’s leadership, but that does not mean that all were won over. The former Mountain Clan had spent much time spreading misconceptions about the humans and those had to be cleared up with actions. Consul Lorenzo hoped that helping to restore the missing elements in the serpent biome would seal the deal.

  After the formalities, all parties went back to repairing damage and keeping watch for any treachery. One of the greatest difficulties the humans faced was getting over their own humanness and realizing that treachery was rare among the serpents. Whereas the losing side in a human war may build up a resistance, serpents accepted all outcomes as absolute. The treachery of the Mountain Clan Mother was an aberration and her genome would be analyzed for abnormalities. The serpents had strengths and weakness, but one of their strengths was genetics. As a routine developed, the serpents began to appreciate the humans in ways they had never expected. The human medics wanted training in serpent medicine and the serpent medics treated them as equals. The language classes were going well and there was more and more exchange of ideas and cultures. By the time the terraforming fleet arrived, serpent-human relations had hit a point of equality. One of the best signs of this was that serpents now believed humans might not be less intelligent.