“I want you to treat Zell like a Rraussha today. I have my reasons,” Shabs said calmly. “You can trust him as you trust me.”
“That’s… not a good idea, I’m telling you. I’ve seen this kind of thing end badly every time. I can see he’s a Wild One. They are the most dangerous.”
“We need to go into the Wilderness. He’s my expert for that.”
Sshirr shook his head and sighed. “Don’t blame me if this ends in trouble.”
“Do not worry, Sshirr. I know what I’m doing.”
“Let’s hope you do.”
Zell exchanged a look with Shabs and shrugged mentally. “I would like to walk point all the way to the hole in the Fence.” He saw Sshirr grimace and explained. “That way we won’t miss any tracks.”
“That makes sense. Let’s go.”
The Sanctuaries had been arranged in a half circle, and the one that had been attacked was in the middle. Zell walked along the Fence of the first Sanctuary, his eyes scanning the ground. He reminded himself to always be aware of the Dile behind him and not to give him any wrong ideas.
After reaching the section of the second Sanctuary, he stopped and pointed. “This is where the megaboar reached the line of the Fence. It came from there, and followed the Fence until it found the hole. I will mark this place, and then we can continue on to the hole.”
He took a dead branch and rammed it into the ground where the tracks led out of the forest. Sshirr just grunted.
Zell hunkered down and pointed out the tracks for him. “See those half-moon depressions here? Those are from its front claws. They are heavier on the front end, with that massive chest and muscle, carrying the large head, which is why the front claws leave deeper impressions. And here the claws are splayed a little because this is a wet spot, and that shows me exactly how fast it was walking here. This megaboar was going somewhere, probably following a scent, it wasn’t just rooting around for anything.”
Sshirr stared at him. “How do we know you’re not talking nonsense?”
Zell stood and shrugged. “I’m not, but since I’m the only tracker here, you have to chose to either believe me or not.”
The Dile paled. “You are quite bold for a pet.”
“I said, treat him like a Rraussha, Sshirr.” Shabs sounded patient. “I know that’s not easy for you.”
Zell decided not get into that argument. Instead, he turned and walked along the Fence, with Shabs following him closely. Soon, they reached the hole in the Fence.
Two supports had been flattened, along with the densely woven material between it. It had been torn away from one pole on one side, and ripped on the other side. Broken wires dangled from each side of the hole.
Sshirr stared. “Fence doesn’t break like this.”
Zell nodded. “I think the megaboar could have trampled this if it had a reason to, but it couldn’t have cut the wires.”
Sshirr gave him a look that clearly said ‘smartass’, but he nodded as well. “Shabs, you got yourself some sabotage here. You said you never got the alarm about the circuit?”
The Rraussha nodded grimly.
“Maybe you should check your logs and your crew. Because cutting this wire must have triggered that alarm.”
While they were talking, Zell scanned the ground next to the hole, both inside and outside of the Fence. He knelt and picked up some tubers, the same plants that Girma had shown him. He showed them to Shabs.
“Do those grow naturally here?”
Sshirr whirled. “Why wouldn’t you know? You’re the Wilderness expert.”
“Because I have never been here. We tend to stay as far away from Dile habitat as we can.”
Sshirr growled low in his throat. “Why do you care about those roots anyway?”
“Megaboar love them. They are perfect bait, and Shabs said that megaboar don’t usually roam here. So it makes sense this one was lured to the hole. That’s dangerous work. Well, maybe not. Maybe they could have dropped the tubers from an aircar.”
Sshirr’s mouth dropped open. “He’s using your name, Shabs!”
“Yes. And I think his idea about luring a megaboar here with tubers is quite fascinating.”
Zell stepped through the hole into the Sanctuary. A small heap of tubers was on the ground, some of them half eaten. “And here’s the rest of the bait. That pile is big enough to make any megaboar very happy. It must have smelled that through the Fence. That was a good reason for it to break in.”
He looked directly at Shabs. “It would be interesting to see if someone from the Sanctuary put them here. Or was ordered to do so.”
Shabs’ skin developed dark blotches. “I trust my crew.”
Zell shrugged. “I would look at the newest ones, and those that might be in trouble. Those would be most easily persuaded to… sabotage.”
“Of course.” Shabs sighed. “Well, that has been very interesting. I think we can walk back through the Sanctuary. Unless you want to track it back into the forest?”
Zell shook his head. “We know it was lured here, we know it was alone. Young males often are. The next clues will be in the hub building.”
“I agree.” Sshirr glanced at Zell. “Let’s go.”
It was very clear for Zell to see how the megaboar had meandered through the Sanctuary, rooting here and there. He pointed those places out to the Rraussha and the Dile.
And then they reached the place of the fight. The ground was churned, and Zell was shocked at the amount of blood still visible. Maybe he had been hurt more badly than he thought.
“That was quite a fight,” Sshirr said, scuffing the ground with his feet.
“Yes.” Zell wasn’t about to elaborate, and gave Shabs a quick look.
“Let’s go,” Shabs said. “Our task here is done, and I’m just grateful that beast didn’t kill anyone.”
“Who killed it?”
Zell hid a sigh. That was one thing he didn’t want the Dile to know.
“One of my people,” Shabs said. “They got it in the throat.”
“Ah, that explains all the blood. Lucky fellow.”
“Indeed.”
Shabs led them to the central building and into the meeting room. He made all of them settle in chairs.
“First of all, thank you very much for coming, Sshirr. I would not have felt safe out there without you.”
“You’re welcome, Shabs. And I have to admit this is a disturbing incident. It’s good there are no megaboar around at the moment.”
“Would you be willing to guard the repair crew? For a fee, of course.”
“Quite willing. You need that hole repaired as soon as possible. And you know, I’d like to see the head of that beast if you still have it around, just to get an idea of its size.”
“Sure.” Shabs led them to a cold store room. The rough hide had been stretched out on a frame, the meat had been cut up and the head rested in a shelf. The tusks were still in place, and one of them had blood on it. Zell remembered the pain when it had torn into his leg.
“That is quite a beast, Sshirr said admiringly. “I would like to congratulate the man who dispatched it.”
“He’s right here.” Shabs sounded defeated.
The Dile whirled. “You killed it, Shabs? Why didn’t you say so?”
“Because I didn’t.”
Sshirr stared at Zell and hissed. “I should execute you on the spot. You are much too dangerous to walk around like this.”
Zell took a deep breath. “I’m quite rational. I’m loyal to Shabs. And I don’t feel sudden urges to kill Diles, either.”
“This is a Wild One, Shabs. Don’t you get it? They are walking time bombs. And they know how to kill. I have encountered enough of them to know.”
“So you have Hunted Wild Ones?” Zell controlled his fury, while Shabs paled.
“You never said you were a Hunter,” Shabs whispered.
“Well, I am, and I’m proud of it. And that’s why I know that you are making a huge mistake here.”<
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Zell lifted his hand as Sshirr and Shabs stared at each other heatedly. They looked at him.
“Just imagine for a moment that you were on the run from ten or more Wild Ones,” he said quietly. “Hunted by them, knowing very well they have superior weapons and will kill you in the end, because the territory to hide in is fenced in and limited. Oh, and they love to make your death spectacular and painful. Would you not try to take as many with you as you could? Would you not fight them with everything you had?”
Sshirr growled, but he actually considered the question. Then he took a deep breath. “You do have a point. I have never seen it this way. Yes, I probably would.” He sighed.
Zell nodded. “We learn to kill because we live with megaboars and other dangerous animals. We have to kill to survive and eat. That is part of the life in the Wilderness. It doesn’t mean we go out and kill just for the sake of killing.”
Sshirr paled. “Remember who you are talking to.”
“A Dile Hunter,” Zell said clearly and deliberately. “Someone who kills my kind for sport.”
“Your blighted pet is very good with words, Shabs.” Sshirr’s color went back to normal. “I may actually be able to respect him. And damn his ridges, I may not be able to enjoy a Hunt again.”
Zell shrugged and decided to try and to pull the Dile to their side. “I could take you on a hunt for megaboar, if you want an adventure. Without that weapon, though.” He indicated the energy weapon on Sshirr’s back with a nod.
“How do you hunt them?”
“With spears. We let them attack us and run onto the blades.”
Sshirr’s mouth dropped open. “That takes courage.”
“Skill and strength, mostly. But yes, it’s not easy to let them run up to you.”
“Is that how you killed this one?”
“With that technique, yes. Except I didn’t really have a useful blade.”
“What did he have, Shabs? There are no weapons in a Sanctuary. He wasn’t carrying a knife, was he?”
“Of course not,” Shabs said with a certain amount of pride. “Zell used their leather cutting tool. Not longer than my thumb. He turned it into a spear in moments, with two poles and leather string.”
Sshirr’s mouth dropped open again. “I tell you, this one is dangerous.”
“No. He’s just very good at protecting himself and others.”
“It was a very bad spear,” Zell explained. “It was too short, and the blade was almost useless, but it was the only chance I had. I was very lucky to catch it in the throat.”
“Why in the world didn’t you just run?”
“There were little children and old ones in the Sanctuary. They couldn’t run fast enough. The megaboar would have killed them. Someone had to buy them time, and I was the only one who could.”
“I see.” Sshirr nodded, and his eyes showed a little more respect.
Zell decided to turn the conversation to a safer topic. “So, would you like to hunt a megaboar with me?”
The Dile took a deep breath. “I have to admit I’m quite tempted. But… I’m not quite ready to trust you.”
Zell just nodded. “I understand.”
Sshirr sighed. “Well, I’d better be going. Let’s talk about timetables for the repair crew, Shabs. And watch out for this Wild One. You may have gotten yourself a good one, but my judgment is still out.”
“Thank you for coming.”
They walked to the entrance together, and Sshirr took off in his aircar with a wave.
Zell sighed. “It’s a pity he learned about my hunting skills.”
“You were very good with him.”
“Maybe. And maybe he’ll run straight to Ssasssal and make her demand my execution for running around Outside unrestrained in front of a witness.”
Shabs looked at him with disbelief. “Not Sshirr. He can’t stand Ssasssal.”
“Let’s hope so. And we still need to find the saboteur among your crew.”
Shabs’ skin darkened. “Yes. I will call a full meeting tomorrow. I want you and Girma to come to it. I hope that if you’re present, someone might give themselves away.”
“Whoever it is probably doesn’t care about Human lives.”
“Exactly.”
Chapter 21
The meeting started out quietly. Shabs insisted that Zell sat with him, while Girma was sitting in the back. A large number of Rraussha filed into the room, glared at Zell and chose seats.
Shabs took a deep breath. “Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming, especially those of you who are on a free day.” He nodded at them.
“I called this meeting because of the attack on one of our Sanctuaries. A megaboar broke into it. Thankfully, it was kille, before it could hurt any of the Breeders. I can also assure you that the Fence will be repaired shortly, with an Enforcer guarding the repair crew. That’s the good news.”
The Rraussha sighed and nodded.
“Now here is the bad news. The megaboar was lured to the Sanctuary.”
“What?” One of the Rraussha stood. “That’s impossible!”
“It must have been one of the Tribes!”
“They wanted to free the Breeders!”
Zell sighed.
“Yes, that could be one theory,” Shabs said after the Rraussha had calmed down a little. “And I would believe a Tribe could have done it, except it doesn’t make sense to kill the Breeders by sending a megaboar into their Sanctuary if you want to rescue them.”
“That’s true. They wouldn’t do that.” Several Rraussha agreed.
“I have a different theory,” Shabs continued. “You see, the wires had been cut.”
Several Rraussha gasped.
“And there must have been an alarm, because that’s the way the system was set up. Except we were never told.”
Dead silence descended.
“I have gone through the back-up logs in my office.” Shabs was speaking very quietly, while Zell gathered himself.
“And I have found the record of the circuit alarm.”
More gasps.
“I know who was on duty at that time.”
The Rraussha looked at each other, their colors paling.
“If you own up now and tell me who paid you, I might just let you live.” Shabs’ voice was very clear, very calm, and very threatening.
One of them jumped up and raced to the door.
That was exactly what Zell and Shabs had been expecting.
“Stop him,” Shabs barked, and Zell was at the door in a flash.
The Rraussha ran into Zell and bounced back in surprise.
More Rraussha jumped up and tackled the one who had tried to run. Zell was relieved he didn’t have to move a finger and was thus not attacking a Dile, at least technically. Moments later, the saboteur was shackled to the wall. How ironic, Zell thought.
Shabs walked up to him. “Ssursha. That was very stupid. Tell me. Did you lure the megaboar here?”
The Rraussha shook his head.
“Did you put the tubers next to the Fence inside the Sanctuary?”
He lowered his eyes.
“Well, I supposed you ordered one of the Uncles to do that. I can easily find out.”
The Rraussha started to tremble. “Yes, Master. I did.”
“And did you cut the wires?”
“Yes, Master.” A mere whisper.
Shabs took a deep breath. “Why?”
The Rraussha’s skin turned almost black. Zell had never seen such a display. He thought it meant deep shame.
“I was promised a contract.”
“Ah. And you couldn’t afford a Chooman? I thought I paid well enough.”
“You do, Master. I’m still paying off my father’s debt.”
“Who offered the contract?”
Ssursha shook his head in utter distress.
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“She has my sister!” The Rraussha trembled. “Kill me! Kill me now, so my sister can live!”
&n
bsp; “Kill him!” another Rraussha yelled. “He betrayed us all!”
“If it is the ‘she’ I assume it is,”, Shabs said after a while, “then your sister will not live long, once ‘she’ finds out your deed has been discovered.”
The Rraussha stared at Shabs, then sagged. “Oh, Ancestors,” he moaned.
Silence fell. Zell could sense how uncomfortable it was.
Girma stood and walked up to the saboteur. “Who is more honorable,” she asked gently, “the Master or the ‘she’ you’re talking about?”
“The Master!” The response came without thought.
Girma nodded. “Yes. Right now, everything hangs in a balance, the crime, your life and the life of your sister. You may not be able to save her. However, you may be able to choose with honor.”
Every single Rraussha stared at her.
“What does a pet know about honor?” one of them whispered.
“What could be a choice with honor?” The Rraussha’s voice was a weak hiss.
“Choose the Master. Confess. Accept punishment. Cooperate with him. Help him bring down the one who acts with dishonor.”
“And my sister?”
Girma smiled a gentle, sad smile. “Would she choose honor?”
The Rraussha closed his eyes. “Yes.”
Shabs stood and walked to the shackled Rraussha. “I have an offer to make. Because this is larger than a fight between two high-level Rraussha. Because this is bigger than anything you all know.”
He turned to face his crew. “You wondered how a pet could know about honor? One who grew up in one of my Sanctuaries? Well, I can tell you.”
They stared at him.
“The ones we call pets, and Breeders and Studs, and yes, Wild Ones, the ones we use and kill without much thought, the ones we like to believe are merely smart animals, are not.”
Mouths dropped open.
“Girma has just shown you that Choomans understand honor. Zell here has demonstrated he can kill a megaboar single-handedly, a feat none of you would be able to copy.”
Now they gasped.
Zell felt extremely uncomfortable.
Shabs took a very deep breath. “Choomans are not animals. They are so clever because they are people. They are like Rraussha.”
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