“And the stuff in those clouds that would make it hard to breathe.” Richard nodded as he included the other principal hazard, grateful that this would mean a much easier task for his wife than having to go back into the cave to work on the Narlav mothers there, one by one.
***
Three days passed, with the refugees camped together in the Assembly Room, enjoying the food, the comfortable beds effortlessly created and the exclusively ground or low altitude views of Earth that Judy and Penny-Lee showed them – views of the countryside, hills, fields, valley, lakes – to help them understand and look forward to the impending move. Latt befriended the Narlav mothers one by one as Kirrina ‘gifted’ them in turn with both the language they should rightly have already known and the language of their next destination: New Leeds. He found their general character to be a reaffirmation of balance and order in a Galaxy of seemingly innumerable upturned tables. Judy was fascinated by the children and compared the familiar three human ones – a toddler boy and four and five year old girls – to the ‘miniature’ Narlavs, which reminded her of Paranak. She was amused by the fact that, when the human children were brought out of the darker corner of the cave where the Narlav mothers had hidden them, they were as naked as the Narlavs. Logical, really!
The search continued – first, the cave system was checked carefully to make sure no one was overlooked, but all that was found was an obstructed chamber entrance – blocked by lava which had cooled and solidified. As this was the location where the mothers and children had been ‘corralled’, it was deemed prudent to cut through the new rock and check out the cave beyond. The discovery – not unexpected, but still emotionally devastating – of several Narlav mothers and two youngsters, all long dead, was a tragedy that Paranak found tough to accept. Karen had let him know the story that had come to her from Saarab, during her initial epic merge with her. He had been ashamed to hear that the two very young Narlav males and four very old ones apparently tasked with keeping the females and youngsters fed on a very specific diet had tried to keep the entire ‘herd’ in the cave, despite what had to have been a sure knowledge that the lava would kill them all. Only Saarab’s determination to keep her child alive had changed that prospect. She had persuaded most of the mothers – all with the limited hand gestures and grunts which were the totality of their communication skills, to rush their guards and break through before the lava completely blocked the entrance. The bodies of those guards were embedded somewhere in the new rock barrier; their fixation on keeping the remaining charges ‘safe’ had meant that they had died slightly before the females and children. The ‘Controllers’ had been swallowed up by the molten rock; their charges had been overcome by noxious fumes, rendered unconscious – a kinder death, if that can be contemplated, when both modes were unnecessary.
Moving on from this ‘game changing’ discovery in the hope of other finds, various members of the expedition were assigned to be pilots, allowing Kirrina to spend more time with the rescued ones. They flew Citadel in a gradually increasing series of circles from this ‘oasis’, using every skill available to detect further survivors – but without success.
Though no other living creatures were found, Todd and Spencer did find a pair of ‘Aircars’, or something a little reminiscent of that wonderfully practical style of Arshonnan atmospheric craft. One was slightly bigger than Magic Wagon, the other a size halfway between that Aircar and Stork or Seagull. After a couple of hours of work, the multi-talented personnel brought from Earth managed to get both back into normal operating condition, and this allowed a more efficient, three-pronged search of the planet to be commenced. Although Todd and Spencer had found the craft and were the ones who piloted them initially, it was soon more likely that Judy and Latt would be found manning one, and Jane and Penny-Lee the other.
Richard and Karen became increasingly concerned about the progress – or lack thereof – that might be occurring back on Earth. Hanging over them was the fact that they had already stayed longer than they had intended. They increasingly felt that their focus needed to be on getting Earth ‘back on its feet’ again and they intended to take the refugees with them when they returned there, as so far the search had discovered no credibly habitable ‘islands’ in the sea of pollution with which Rhaal was almost uniformly enveloped.
But, what of the search for survivors? It was obvious Latt wanted to continue this and equally obvious that Judy would stay to help him.
The time Penny-Lee and Jane had spent with the human and Narlav children quickly made them honorary ‘aunts’, but rather than giving them a desire to return to Earth with them, it convinced them to ask Richard for permission to stay on Rhaal, man the second ‘Aircar’ and help Latt and Judy search the entire planet for survivors.
The ‘night’ before Richard and Kirrina had decided to bid farewell to the despoiled planet, they sat in their room and talked for a long time about the situation. Although they became distracted by their own circumstances before they had officially declared to each other what they would decree, when they woke the next morning intertwined as usual, looked into each other’s eyes and delved deep into each other’s psyche, they realised they already knew what had to be done.
***
“I have asked the crews in Rattletrap and Rustbucket to rendezvous with Citadel, for everyone to gather – sorry to temporarily put the brakes on the search – but we had to, because we have put off this decision for long enough; this ship must return to Earth,” Richard began. He had dressed himself in his favourite semi-official outfit, his Captain’s uniform: a dark grey, close-fitting jacket which hung to his hips, stars on the shoulders, black dressy trousers with an impossibly crisp crease and a quarter inch white line down the outside seam, and what looked like patent leather shoes.
“As you know, I have certain authorities as your Captain. All ship’s captains do. I could direct you to drop this search – part of me is tempted to do just that – there seems little likelihood of another enclave of survivors even existing, let alone being discovered – but I know what it means to Latt, and after all, I have the same motivations driving me about what I want to do for our poor frozen Earth.” He looked at Penny-Lee, then Jane, knowing they were already aware of what he was about to say and enjoying the anticipation on their faces. “Two of our crew have volunteered to remain here and run the second finger of the search. We all know who will run the first finger.” He looked at Latt and Judy and saw the relief on their faces as it became more obvious to them that he intended to let them stay.
“I have analysed the planetary scans, such as they were, of our initial high-altitude survey and the areas that we have already checked. This data leads me to predict that the entire planet can be pretty well combed in a period of about forty Earth days. That’s twenty five Rhaal days, but as you’ll be atmospherically mobile, you can give yourself fourteen hour search patterns in daylight areas and start again at the end of each twenty four hour period, almost as if you were performing the search on Earth.
“So, I authorise this mission, promising that, bar war or natural disaster, we will return to pick you up on the 26th Rhaal day from tomorrow,” Richard announced.
There were a number of cheers, some of them from the Narlav mothers.
“There is one condition I must insist on being met first.” Richard looked at Latt and Judy. “In one hour, I expect you all – every human, that is – to present yourself here, appropriately dressed, to celebrate the marriage of Latt Jusstinalss and Judy Brisson. Feel free to make full use of the Pool rooms to prepare yourselves. I expect the very highest standards of dress and protocol to be met. I’ll be back here in forty minutes to supervise and savour the prelude and then I’ll conduct the service.” Captain Fletcher bowed to the stunned couple as the others in the room reacted with clapping and cheers, and walked down to the far end of the Assembly Room, shimmering out of sight with a sense of finality.
After he left, the clapping became even louder, rising to a rapi
d peak, accompanied by whistles, cheers and ever more boisterous cries of ‘hear, hear!’, ‘about time!’ and ‘well-played!’
***
“Thank you for assembling, everyone. Some of the wording for this event is derived from traditional vows – at least for Earth – sorry, Latt, I know that such luxuries haven’t been known on Rhaal for a long, long time.” Richard looked down at the solitary Rhaal-born human adult, taking in the effect of the outfit he had chosen and the message broadcast by the expression on his face. He looks like the least reluctant bridegroom I ever saw under a shotgun! “Other wording, I composed with the assistance of my own wife, alone – ruthlessly spurning the somewhat irreverent, irrelevant or just plain silly suggestions of several other people, who I insist will remain nameless!”
Chuckles from the congregation, mostly from the culprits guilty of the outrageous phrasing proposed for the service, met this part admission, part apology, part declaration. Richard surveyed the widely differing members of the gathering as he continued. “First, I must talk about how important this ceremony is, and why.” With this sentence, he looked at the Narlav mothers at the back of the congregation, hoping that they would be touched by the meaning of the event, before returning his attention to the couple before him.
Latt, dressed in dark blue – a cross between Richard’s dress uniform, a three piece suit and the kind of vaguely mediaeval outfit found on a dignitary in a Fantasy novel – stood next to Judy, her right hand in his left. She was much more pleasant to look at (though he did look very distinguished). Judy had chosen something out a glamour magazine from eighty years back, something she had seen once many years earlier and smiled at, knowing with absolute certainty that it would never be her fortune to be at such a gloriously happy event, least of all as the bride. It was white, of course, with ruffles at the shoulders, a neckline lower than anything he had ever seen her in, revealing a little of the curves of her Medic-optimised body, a bodice of satin-like fabric that showed her very lovely figure to an extent that, likewise (apart from the form-fitting spacesuit worn for the last few days) had never been noted by any creature, human or Narlav, on Earth or any other planet in the Galaxy.
“Kirrina and I were married on Frontier Post Nine. You all know what special talents my wife is blessed with. Our wedding ceremony was presided over and witnessed mostly by others with those same talents. I am proud to say that Paranak was there, too.” He looked further back and saw the solitary male Narlav, standing tall – or as tall as is possible for that race – and was relieved to see that he was not wearing his famous sword, Laa-karvak. Probably realised he’d be constantly ‘Restoring’ various inquisitive children, after they tried out the sharpness of the edges! “As we concentrated on each other, somehow that gathering did so too. We found that we became so focused on each other, on that moment, that we could barely sense anything else. That was when we first became truly ‘one’.”
Richard paused, recalling – almost reliving – this with the recounting of it. His eyes wandered over the bridesmaids behind Judy – there was Penny-Lee, rather sparingly outfitted in a shoulder-less pale pink dress with a wide skirt – the effect was quite stunning – and Jane, in a pale green dress with a more kimono-like simplicity, though its silky material showed her figure off admirably, too. Behind them stood another pair of beauties, Violet, her natural darkness of skin set off by a deep purple – or violet – satin number with a full skirt and a deep ‘vee’ neck which clung to her curves just enough to maintain her decorum, and Karen. Richard realised his dramatic pause was becoming too extended, but he found he could not have looked away from this vision, even if his life depended on it. She is what my life has and ever will depend on! The platinum blonde had stacked her hair up, showing off her neck and neckline of the ultimate in flared and sparkling jumpsuits – a very dark grey being the colouring of the velvet-like material, the sparkles being her favourite representation of the stars near to the system of the long-lost, much-missed Arshonna.
“Ah… for Latt and Judy, that process may take a bit longer.” He smiled at them in turn, resuming his speech at last, much to everyone’s relief. “But it will come… and it will be so sweet for the wait. Now, I will begin!
“By the power vested in me as Captain of the merged vessels once known as Scout Craft Seven and Patrol Craft One and now referred to simply as Citadel, commissioned with Narlav prowess and very feminine human skill on a long-deserted Arshonnan outpost, I declare that Latt Jusstinalss and Judy Brisson are now to be joined in the institution of marriage. Those who have been with them through thick and thin from before this trip have known all along how much they love each other; it isn’t something they could hide from us.
“Despite this continually growing affection, Latt insisted that his own life – and incidentally, Judy’s too – would have to wait until he had returned to the planet of his birth to rescue his fellow former Forunians. At the time he made this promise, he didn’t know about the wonderful early history of his planet, only the sad tale of Narlav dominion that had overshadowed it for so many centuries.”
The grins that had shown at his comment about Judy’s lack of choice were soon eclipsed by the sadness brought to mind by the contemplation of centuries of Shaatak slavery.
“Now, here we are! Back on Foruna, more recently known as New Rhaal, the first human refugees rescued, and game-changing Narlav women – mothers – and children, new friends for the Galaxy of human and Narlav cooperation are present to witness this happy day, this vision for the future! We all know that Latt has fulfilled his promise. Now we will witness him repeat that process.”
Captain Fletcher looked out over the congregation in the Assembly Room, noticing the youngest human orphan running across the back of the room, chasing a rolling Poosta, newly-provided clothes abandoned – again. He smiled.
“This is not a religious ceremony – I have no authority for that, and in any case we have many differing beliefs here. One thing we all believe, though, is that life is full of purpose and meaning. I think I can say that our presence here, on this troubled world, is an indication of our collective commitment to finding more purpose and meaning in our lives and the lives of those around us.” He looked at the happy couple, finding Latt was staring far beyond the confines of the room and Judy was trying to hold back her tears – and predictably beginning to fail at that doomed objective.
“Now! Latt Jusstinalss, do you desire this lady to be your wife?”
Latt nodded.
“It only works if you say it!” Richard advised him.
“I do!” Latt smiled, his glance straying to his fiancée’s glistening eyes.
“And Judy Brisson, do you desire this gentleman to be your husband?”
“I most certainly do!”
“Latt, do you promise Judy to always be the husband she desires, the only one for her to have and to hold from this day forward, in good times and in hard ones, to love and to cherish her for your life, whether it is gloriously long, as it may well be, or bitter-sweet short?”
“I promise you, Judy, I promise!”
“Judy, do you promise Latt to always be the wife he desires, the only one for him to have and to hold from this day forward, in good times and in hard ones, to love and to cherish him for your life, whether it is gloriously long, as it may well be, or bitter-sweet short?”
“Oh, I promise you, Latt… I promise!”
“I declare that these two are no longer Latt Jusstinalss and Judy Brisson, but Mr. and Mrs Jusstinalss! You may now kiss each other as husband and wife!”
And of course they did.
***
The next half day was an exceptionally busy period for everyone. Paranak, Penny-Lee, Todd, Spencer and Jane worked for several hours to transfer the workings – mechanicals and electronics – of one Pool Room and the mini-Medic associated with it – though not the pool itself – to the smaller Rhaal air transport affectionately known as Rustbucket. Richard and Karen, Terry and Violet helped with
other supplies that were transferred; several of the Narlav mothers pitched in too, being of immense help with their prodigious strength and astounding reach. The move of the Medic from the Assembly Room to Rattletrap, the larger of the two transport vehicles, ironically only took a little more than half an hour; the second Pool Room contents transferred with it – with its associated the mini-Medic – took nearly as long as the equipment for Rustbucket.
“We have plenty of other Mini-Medics, of course; we’ll get replacement units installed for these ones when we get back to Earth,” Richard told the rather gratefully guilt-ridden Judy when all was completed. “All we have to do is survive the few hours it will take us to get to the entry point for Grey Space.” He hugged her, remembering how exquisite she had looked in her dazzling white wedding dress. This uniform is quite the contrast – but she looks so fulfilled now! And I loved being the ‘control-freak’ Captain!
“Thanks, Richard.” Mrs. Jusstinalss was still grinning. She kissed him. “There! Just so you can’t say it only happened because of Beckie! And… I loved your ‘intervention’! We needed that swift kick. And now we can do some exploring after the day’s search, too.”
“Just give each other time.” Richard turned to Latt, refusing to comment on her revealing and very personal prediction. “You do have a slightly different background from each other, but nothing that softly spoken words and a good cuddle or two can’t overcome.”
“If you are delayed, well, we won’t worry!” Jusstinalss fiercely hugged his civic leader and then turned to Kirrina. “I heard – from Paranak – that on your special day you had a dress like Judy’s.”
“Yes, I did… she has good taste!” Well, if I wanted to be pedantic, it was the other way around. Karen kissed him and then hugged him as tight as she could. “Be careful,” she murmured into his ear. “It only takes one male Narlav to wipe you out. There could easily be just one.” She backed up and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. “There’s only one Latt. We need you back home – it is your home, now you have a Mrs. Jusstinalss.”
Cavalry Page 40
