Colony

by Lori Beery

  I repeated my attempt to communicate with the bird. I followed the same procedure I had tried while on duty. If nothing else, the exercise gave me something else to consider.

  ***

  Amerzan awoke. Something had disturbed him. He sniffed the air, but he detected nothing out of the ordinary. Yes, he smelled the hairless tree-dwellers infesting his home. Sadly, that was not new.

  He turned his gaze toward his home. It was not visible because the rock of his current roost blocked his line of sight. He knew the small one would be on his mountain top, as well as the shorter walker who must also be a leader. That one reminded him of the walker during the bright lights. He was convinced that both walkers were leaders of the hairless tree-dwellers.

  The dim light walker would be easier to capture. The creature wouldn’t see him because the darkness would hide him as he swooped down, grabbed the creature, and retreated. But, would the walker be able and willing to help me? How would we share information?

  Something brushed his mind. He caught a glimpse of himself flying in a clear blue sky. There was something else – a question? Bird? Amerzan shook his head. The wisp of thought faded into images of the hairless tree-dwellers scrambling over rocks. Then, the pictures faded away into nothing.

  Puzzled, he wondered what had just happened. Did one of the intruders try to communicate with me? Why? What was the message? He tried to figure it out, but he didn’t understand what a bird was.

  He pushed himself to his feet and launched himself into the air. He beat his wings to gain altitude. Seconds later, he landed on the highest point of his current roost. He now had an unobstructed view of his mountain.

  ‘Hairless tree-dweller, we have much to discuss,’ he sent toward his home. He waited, but there was no response. He repeated his message. Again, there was no response. He continued to wait, but there was nothing except the breeze in his fur and feathers.

  He shook himself and returned to his sleeping area. He considered the message he had received. It hadn’t made sense to him. It was weaker than the first tentative mental contact of a fledgling. And yet, he had heard it. The creature was much farther away than a fledgling would be for their first mind touch.

  For the first time since discovering the invaders, Amerzan had hope that he could learn what he needed to win back his home. Perhaps, he could reach the hairless tree-dweller during the bright lights. He let himself drift off to sleep.

  ***

  At guard training, we reviewed mountain-climbing skills. Although we did this every few weeks, it was a nice refresher for those of us going on the expedition. Not unexpectedly, rappelling took up a great deal of our time.

  The exercises proved to me that I knew what I was doing. I wished the scientist could’ve practiced with us, though. I knew I could help them, but I wasn’t sure I would know what to do if one of them panicked in the middle of climbing. Bad stuff always happens when people panic. Couple that with the fact that everyone else weighs more than me. How do I keep them safe?

  “Is something wrong, Ky?” asked X-tee. My worry must have been plain on my face.

  “Umm… yes,” I said. “We are going to be helping the scientists rappel and climb, right? Since everyone outweighs me, I need some tips and tricks to keep the person I’m helping safe. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Glad you asked,” he replied, his eyes twinkling. “Marta, you pair off with John. The rest of you choose a partner, one that gives you a disadvantage. For instance, go with someone who weighs more than you or is taller or shorter than you, and then, work through the exercises again.”

  My heart jumped into my throat when I realized X-tee was going to be my partner. X-tee is a big guy who weighs at least forty-five kilos more than me and is thirty centimeters taller. Talk about a partner who gives me a disadvantage. Gulp! But this is exactly the situation I need to learn to handle.

  He and I worked slowly through the exercises. At each step of the process, we discussed the dangers and possible solutions. We tested all of our fixes. Most worked, but a few of them sent us crashing to the ground. Happily, we didn’t fall very far and, miraculously, I didn’t get crushed under X-tee. Sadly, that didn’t mean we didn’t get bruised.

  Once we had found solutions that worked, we tried the drills all over again. This time, we both reached the bottom following a controlled descent. I was so excited. I bounced happily from foot to foot. For the first time, I felt I could safely assist my charges!

  “Nice work, Ky,” praised X-tee with a hand on my shoulder.

  “Thank you, Sir,” I said. I couldn’t keep from smiling. “Thanks for the help. Sorry about the crashes.” I added the last feeling remorseful that we both wore bruises.

  “If this is the worse that happens to us on this expedition, I will be very happy,” he told me. “You should go ice those bruises, get your gear together, eat, and rest. You still have duty on the roof tonight.”

  “On my way, Sir,” I acknowledged.

  It was then that I noticed we were the last two in the room. I had been so focused on acquiring working solutions; I hadn’t realized how quickly time had passed. It was almost lunchtime.

  I turned back to X-tee. “Care to have an icing party followed by lunch?” I asked.

  “That sounds cool,” he responded, his face split by a grin that lit his eyes.

  “Punny,” I commented, matching his grin with one of my own.

  An hour later, X-tee and I were devouring a large meal. I was amazed at how much food I could put away, especially after a workout. By the time I was beginning to sip on my drahl, X-tee was savoring the last of his as well as a piece of pie.

  “I had an opportunity to speak with Elder Palm,” said X-tee. His words brought to mind our previous conversation in our Commons. He had been going to ask Elder Palm if anyone in the settlement had telepathic abilities. I lifted a brow in question. “According to the settlement records, we don’t have anyone with the capabilities. The few we had on record didn’t survive,” he added.

  “So, we will have to muddle on,” I murmured. “I wonder if Dr. Locus has found a way to test if the bird is telepathic or not.”

  “Hmm – I will check on it while you turn in,” he told me. Struck by an extreme case of Déjà vu, I turned to stare at him. “You have duty tonight, and you need to get your gear together for the expedition. In case you forgot, we are leaving at dawn,” he added reasonably.

  “True enough,” I responded. “I should tell you that I have been trying to ‘think’ at the bird. I tried it near the end of duty last night and just after I turned in. My attempt was unsuccessful as far as I can tell.”

  “We kind of thought it would be a long shot,” he said.

  “Yes, we did,” I agreed. “I felt super silly.”

  He smiled in commiseration. “Maybe you have to be closer to it,” he suggested. “I’ll run the info past Dr. Locus. See if he can suggest a method for you to try.”

  “Thanks,” I told him. “I’ll go get ready for the expedition and duty. See you at dawn up on the roof.”

  “You’d better,” he growled with dancing eyes. I smiled, gathered my stuff, and made my exit.

  ***

  The sun hadn’t appeared above the horizon yet, and I was on the rooftop with all my gear. I was in the company of my fellow guards. We were waiting for the scientists to arrive.

  I was both excited and antsy this morning. I couldn’t stay still like John or X-tee. Both of them were leaning against the stone rail, arms crossed over their chests, motionless. They looked very relaxed. I, on the other hand, was trying to vent my restlessness by only shifting my weight from foot to foot. I wanted to jump up and down or run down to Dr. Locus’ lab to see what was taking so long. Waiting for something to start was not my strong suit. Surprisingly, I could be still when I was hunting. I guess I expected to wait when I was hunting. But this, this was different. I expected everyone on the expedition to be excited to participate too. Maybe they figured this was their sho
w and we wouldn’t leave until after they arrived. That would be true, but I hoped they didn’t think dawn was synonymous with early morning. If it were, the expedition wouldn’t get underway for a few more hours. Wow, that was a depressing thought!

  I looked back at John and X-tee. X-tee patted the top of the rock wall next to him. He wanted me to lean back and relax? I sighed heavily and walked over to him.

  “I talked to Dr. Locus about testing the bird for telepathy and methods to try to reach it,” he told me in a quiet voice. I lifted my brows at him, wanting him to continue. “He said you had to focus on one thought and think it at the bird.”

  “That’s what I’ve been doing,” I responded, exasperated. “I was hoping for more. Guess I have to settle for confirmation.”

  “Afraid that’s all I got.”

  “Ky, why don’t you try to reach it now?” suggested John. “It appears we have a little downtime.”

  John grinned as my surprise bloomed across my face. I shifted my eyes to X-tee, who was also smiling.

  “So, are my attempts common knowledge?” I asked suspiciously.

  “No,” X-tee replied. “John is my second, and I keep him in the loop on security matters. You must admit a giant bird is a security matter.”

  His words made sense. I hadn’t thought about John’s role in the guard, although he was the oldest military man that I knew. Sadly, knowing all of this didn’t make me feel any less self-conscious or awkward. I sagged back against the stone.

  “Okay, I’ll try,” I murmured. “No, comments from the peanut gallery please.”

  “Cross my heart,” said X-tee. John said nothing, but he drew his hand across his lips in a zipping motion.

  I nodded my acceptance of their silence, heaved a huge sigh, and turned to face what I hoped was the bird’s current roosting spot. As before, I formed a picture of the creature in my mind and thought, ‘Hey bird. I want to talk with you.’ I waited a minute and repeated the process. I continued sending my thought every minute for the next ten minutes. Then, I waited and tried to listen.

  I was about to give up when I thought I felt – puzzlement? Frowning, I concentrated on the feeling. It came from outside of my mind because confusion was not something I had been experiencing. If anything, I had been feeling awkward. Could this be from the bird? I sought to focus on the creature, but the sense of confusion slipped away from me.

  I turned to X-tee and John. Each of them met my gaze with raised brows. Patience strained towards the breaking point, X-tee asked, “So, what happened?” His voice was amazingly quiet. It was not a volume I expected from him.

  “I – I’m not sure,” I stammered. “I felt a bewildered sensation enter my mind. Then, it just - faded away.”

  Chapter 15

  The exuberant arrival of the scientists curtailed any further discussion. Derrick led the group, prancing as he approached us. I was pleased to note that the entire group buzzed with excited anticipation. And, I noted, the sun was just cresting the horizon. It looked like everyone was as enthusiastic as I was to get this expedition started.

  When Derrick and the scientists drew within three meters of us, X-tee and John moved toward them. By the time X-tee shook hands with Derrick, all the rest of us on guard duty had gathered around them.

  “Now that we are assembled, let’s get started,” said Derrick amicably.

  “Yes, let’s,” agreed X-tee. “I have six guards. I want two scientists to go with each guard except for Ky. Only one scientist will go with her. She will be guarding us as we climb over the side. She and the scientist with her will start over once I have both of my charges on the ground. I will take point until everyone is down. Questions?” He looked around the group for a moment. When no one said anything, he turned to me, “Ready?”

  While he spoke, I had not been idle. I had returned to the wall, strung my bow and nocked an arrow. By the time he had asked if I was ready, I was. “Ready,” I told him.

  My fellow guards had not been standing around, either. When X-tee had started speaking, they, also, had moved to the rock rail and started to get their gear ready for the descent. Before long, all that remained was for the scientists to choose their guards.

  I focused my attention on the terrain that would be our destination. The rocky ridge was covered in still, silent, shadows. The only movement came from the sunlight pouring through low places in the Eastern ridge and lighting up our side of the Northern ridge.

  My ears told me the scientists were sorting themselves out. Quiet footsteps approached my back. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the slender form of Timothy Balsam behind me.

  “I’d like to partner with you,” he said in his quiet tenor.

  “Glad to have you, Tim,” I responded cheerfully. “We’ll get started once Captain X-tee gets in position.”

  “Understood,” he told me as he moved to my right and looked out over the increasing sunlit land. “Looks like a beautiful morning.”

  “That it does,” I agreed. “Do you have climbing experience?”

  “Just enough to be dangerous,” he said with a smirk.

  “That covers a broad range of skill,” I remarked, my eyes scanning the rock below.

  “Ah – I’ve had a Teacher download and some practice,” he explained. “But I would not call myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination.”

  “Time for some more practice then,” I said as I replaced my arrow in my quiver and shouldered my bow. “The Captain is in position. Let’s move down to his rig and get started,” I continued, sweeping my arm to invite him down the wall.

  Once at the rig, we each drew on a repelling harness and adjusted it for maximum comfort and safety. When I checked over Tim’s gear, I didn’t need to make any changes. All I did was test the locking and unlocking mechanisms and add an additional tether, my just-in-case line. Once done, we were ready. Over the side, we went. I had Tim start his journey downwards while I watched him. He looked like he knew what he was doing. He kept his descent to short, controlled increments. I started down but stayed in a position to act if anything unexpected happened.

  We touched down without mishap. I couldn’t miss Tim’s happy grin and dancing hazel eyes. I patted him on the shoulder and gave him a congratulatory thumbs-up. While he joined the others, I paused to stow my tether in my pack, settle my pack on my back, and nock an arrow. Then, I brought up the rear as we began our search for the former tree-dwellers.

  We trekked northwest, following the East side of the ridge. The terrain was rough and required constant attention. We found that the smoothest path was up against the spine of the ridge. But that didn’t mean it was easy. The path climbed steeply up and was broken by jutting slabs of rock to be navigated around or over.

  As we moved, I saw no other life forms. Abruptly, Marc turned away from our path and paused by a patch of sand that seemed to have accumulated in a shallow depression. He knelt to inspect the area.

  “Marc, what did you find?” I called to him.

  “Not sure,” he told me. “Maybe some animal signs.”

  Without another word, the scientists in our charge and I joined him. The sand was disturbed. To my eye, it looked like rain had drilled the patch. But Dr. Aspen, a xenobiologist, agreed with Marc.

  “So, Doc, what made those signs,” I asked curiously.

  “It looks like it might be from one of those swarming lizards,” he told me. “See, this mark looks like its claws as it walked through here, and this deep mark is its tail.” As he spoke, he indicated the various disturbances in the sand.

  I swallowed nervously. “Can you tell how long ago the lizard walked through here?” I asked worriedly. The lizards were difficult to deal with, and, this time, we didn’t have any kinetic rifles with us.

  Dr. Aspen shared a look with Marc. “It’s hard to tell,” he replied, looking at me. “Perhaps three or four days ago.” Marc nodded at his time estimate.

  I headed back up toward the ridge and tapped my comm badge as I walked. “
X-tee, this is Ky.”

  “Go ahead, Ky,” came X-tee’s voice into my ear.

  “Marc and Dr. Aspen have found signs of the swarming lizards,” I reported as I scanned the vicinity. I didn’t see any cracks or holes in the rock from where I stood. Even if the lizards lived nearby, they wouldn’t be an issue until dusk. Guess we’d be sleeping on a cliff face tonight.

  “Understood. Catch up to us and stay alert,” he told me.

  “Copy that,” I responded, turning to face the others. They had moved with me as I had been reporting to X-tee. Marc moved to take point. “Shall we proceed?” I said, more as a statement than a question, as I gestured for our three scientists to follow him. They complied, and I continued as rear guard.

  By the time we caught up with the rest of the team, it was time for lunch. Luckily for my group, the preparation was well underway. I sighed with relief.

  Turning in a circle, I looked for a likely vantage point to see anything advancing on our group. I saw a ledge up and to the left of the cook fire. It seemed to have easy access from the ground, so I headed towards it as I touched my comm.

  “X-tee, I’m headed aloft to stand watch,” I said.

  “Very good. John will relieve you after he eats,” he announced.

  “Copy that,” I responded cheerfully. The smell of the cooking food was making my tummy growl. Pushing my hunger aside, I made my way up to my look-out spot.

  The trip up to the ledge was a little more difficult than it looked. There was a span of almost two meters that I had to free climb. There were ready hand and foot holds, though, so it didn’t slow me down too much.

  Once on the ledge, I had an excellent view of our stopping place and the surrounding landscape. I saw nothing to warrant my concern. My people were safe.

  When I looked northeast, I realized that we were close to the point where I had seen a shadowy form land on the rock and scamper up it and out of sight while I was on guard duty. It appeared we were a hundred meters southwest of it. It shouldn’t take us long to get there. I was so looking forward to learning where that shadow had gone.