Defending Hippotigris

by Smith, T. L.

  Yinet didn’t answer me, but Gerret leaned forward. He tapped areas around the map and I recognized their community, then others. He kept marking other locations and it took a minute or two for me to realize none were within the zone. I couldn’t see why, it looked just as untamed as the rest of their world. Tall mountains with a few pastoral valleys and forest from rim to rim.

  “You’re taking us someplace you don’t go. Is it safe?”

  “No danger.” Yinet turned her face away from the map, starring out her window. “Wait.”

  I gave Schaeffer a look and after a year he still understood it, shutting down the display. Yinet wasn’t angry, but looking at the map upset her.

  Lizzy gave me a subtle nod, agreeing this had to be dropped for now. She was quick to fill the awkward silence. “Now that you’re back we can start planning this wedding.” Schaeffer groaned and turned back to the cockpit. “Shut up!” She snipped at him. “He doesn’t see why we have to do this.”

  “He’s a guy.”

  “No, it’s not that.” He grumbled from the cockpit, not turning around. “You keep talking about family. Part of why we were picked for this mission is that we had no family.”

  “Well, you made a family. You’ve been living with most of these people for years, sharing secrets, sharing experiences. That’s what makes families and they want to share this.” She swung her chair back to me. “Besides, it’s not all about you.”

  “Schaef, buddy.” Remy stroked my arm. “Once these sisters get their hearts set on something, they team up.”

  “Like I haven’t figured that out?”

  “Then stop fighting it. Rank has no privileges here. The only answer is ‘yes, dear, whatever you want’. I heard Gerret snicker and Remy looked over to see his friend nod. “See, it’s a universal rule.”

  “So, back to the wedding.” I couldn’t resist. “I know you put it off to spring.”

  “Well, I had to wait until the two of you got back. And it’s too cold right now. I want someplace special, either the rock or the plaza.” That got Yinet’s attention. Lizzy sat a little straighter, opening up her computer and sending a picture of the plaza to the hologram. “The rock is where we all met, but your home is where we really came together. And it’s so beautiful in the spring.”

  A few taps and the image advanced to show the rapid blooming of flowers around the edges of the plaza and the few places vines were allowed to climb the face of the cliffs.

  “Oh, that is so pretty. I can see a wedding there.” I’d missed the entire year and had no clue what spring in the mountains looked like. “As long as no one minds a bunch of humans showing up.”

  “We are honored. Human and Parredet together.”

  “There, that was easy.” I knew Lizzy wouldn’t use her wedding as a diplomatic ploy, but the thought crossed my mind. “Maybe there’s some Parredet customs you can incorporate.”

  “Maybe…” I could see Lizzy’s creative side kicking in. “Yinet, we’re going to have to sit down and exchange stories.” She leaned back to look at Schaeffer, grinning. “Maybe you better have a chat with Gerret so you don’t get any weird surprises.”

  “Yes, dear… whatever… you… want.” Gerret snickered again, strangely wicked enough to make Schaeffer look back. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”

  “Hey, you only get married once.” I gave Schaeffer a wink. “Till death do you part.”

  “Like even that matters.” Remy tapped his chest. “I’m still here.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  It took nearly two hours for us to reach the coordinates, Gerret pointing Schaeffer to fly around the zone and land on the southern rim of a particular string of mountains. As we dropped altitude we saw other Parredet, waving us towards a clearing.

  I could see Schaeffer squinting to survey the ground, but they’d done a good job smoothing it out for us. He settled down in the center. Snow flurried up around us, but fluttered down again quickly. Yinet unbuckled and gathered up winter gear from the bench behind her.

  While we had spent almost a year on the planet before finally communicating with the Parredet, they never showed themselves during the worst three months.

  We’d originally assumed the Parredet went into some type of hibernation. Now we knew they just hunkered down, since any travel had to be by foot. She pulled on hide boots and a heavy fur coat. Gerret joining her.

  “I take it we’re going for a hike?” I looked to Remy. “Will the terrain be difficult?”

  Yinet pulled her hood up, only her eyes showing as she tightened it around her face. “No. Gerret will lead Remy.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Remy pulled on his parka. “The braces work now.” He tossed me my parka. “Let’s go see what’s here.”

  Despite their bickering, Schaeffer was bundling up Lizzy, making sure everything was tucked in for the cold. He snuck a kiss before pulling the strings around her hood. It was odd to see how he’d gotten used to the displays of affection. “I’ll be with Gerret and Remy.”

  I almost laughed as Lizzy waddled towards us. Though Schaeffer found gear her size, she was just too tiny under all the insulation. She mumbled something, following Yinet to the wind buffer at the rear of the shuttle. We all fell in behind Lizzy, stepping out into the cold and snow.

  Tramping through the drift reminded me of Colorado, except for the sasquatch-shaped Parredet closing in on our group.

  Yinet led us out of the clearing and onto a path cut through the trees. Curiosity was killing me as to where they were taking us, but I already knew not to keep asking. The Parredet couldn’t be rushed into anything. Besides, they couldn’t be taking us far.

  I told myself that as my toes started going numb. I glanced back to check on Remy, knowing he couldn’t tolerate the cold, regardless of thermal enhanced braces.

  Yinet caught me, pointing ahead of us where the path led through two massive boulders. “Not far.” Two Parredet moved around us, running up the last twenty meters. “They will prepare for Remy.”

  “Thank you. He still needs time to heal. It will be a difficult winter, but we both felt we had to come back.” I glanced at him again. “Part of the healing process.”

  Yinet’s upper body seemed to nod, urging me to keep going.

  We finished the last few meters in silence, reaching the crest of the path, only to find it ran downhill from here. My first thought was to protest, for Remy, but Yinet didn’t even look in that direction, instead turning onto a side path that wrapped around one of the boulders, dropping to broad steps. I caught up. Turning another corner, there was the entrance to a cave.

  Lizzy and I stopped to look at the face of the cliff, seeing none of the carvings that told their story. Yinet beckoned us into the cave as the males descended the steps. We entered, grateful to find a warm chamber behind a heavy woven curtain. I recognized Parredet Clan Mothers already gathered around a crackling fire.

  Unprepared for this meeting, I stalled, waiting for Remy, walking with him to the roaring fire, helping him strip off the heavy boots and coat. A young Parredet offered Remy a blanket and took our gear back to hang at the door.

  Remy already saw the protocol and took a seat at the second ring, first ring for the females. Probably just as well, he was as sensitive to heat as he was cold. In true Parredet fashion, no one spoke until all the males joined their mates. Until everyone was seated.

  Lizzy took a spot between me and Yinet, a habit even before I left. Funny, before I’d had twinges of jealousy about their relationship. The year off had certainly helped me integrate my personalities into one. I even took my married name, Col. Shara Batista now. I turned to look at Remy and he smiled, letting me know he was fine, to stop doting.

  I was drawn back to the circle when a song started, a ritual before the Clan Mothers started their meetings. It was their way of turning off everything except the purpose of the meeting, though I had yet to hear of any conflicts in the Parredet. We had a lot to learn from them about ma
intaining peace.

  We sat quietly through the song, curious, but anxious as I looked at the faces of the Parredet. They all looked serious, solemn. Had we done something wrong? The song ended and that anxiety rose as all eyes shifted to me.

  Yinet broke the awkward silence, nudging Lizzy. “You bring the book?”

  “Always.” Lizzy reached into the pack tucked between her feet, pulling out her artist pad, digging for an art pencil until Yinet gently took the pad from her.

  Yinet flipped to the early pages. “In another age, we lived different. We lived to hold, to take. We paid for greed.” She held up the page Lizzy had drawn from the caves, depicting their ancient city.

  The group was quiet, bowing their heads. “We fled terror.” She flipped to another page. “Our home.” The picture showed the exodus of her people from a city crushed by war. “To find our…vetra.” She tapped at her chest.

  “Souls.” Lizzy whispered to us.

  Silently, looking at the drawing, I felt a similarity to stories of our religious past, to the exodus of Gomorrah where a few fled their homes to save themselves from God’s vengeance.

  “We fled. Build future free of war. Never return to downfall.” She pointed to the city, then circled the valley it encompassed.

  As she told us this, Gerret translated to those Parredet who didn’t understand our language. Many of the Clan Mothers nodded, barely glancing at the art work.

  Yinet lowered the pictures, staring at me. “Your people are young. You follow path of danger. For rock.” She pulled a lump of the ore from her pocket. “Enemy follow you.”

  “We won’t bring them back.” I looked to Schaeffer, getting a nod. “We found those responsible and seized their operations.”

  “People leave, new people arrive. In time, people die.”

  I knew she implied the future we had no control over and I dropped my eyes. “No, I can’t give absolute guarantees. I can only hope, as time goes by, that those in power uphold the laws we have in place now.”

  I glanced to Schaeffer again. “We came here looking for the ore, but now that we’ve proven this world isn’t open to us, we’ll have to leave. We’ll keep looking.”

  “If you do not leave?”

  I looked up at her. “We have no choice. This is your world. At most, with your permission, we can maintain communications and learn more from each other.”

  A murmur passed around the gathering when Gerret translated my words. Yinet hushed them, her eyes focusing on me harder. “You hunt ore.” She raised her hand to imply space.

  She lifted the picture of the valley. “You find ore here. We never go here. You live here. Learn here. Learn danger of vetra going too far. Parredet protect vetra of friend, human.”

  I looked at her, then at the faces of the other Clan Mothers. “Are you offering us this land, to stay here?” No one reacted, except my own people, heads turning to look at each other in as much confusion as I felt. “You’re going to allow the Alliance to colonize and mine the ore?”

  “Under condition.” Yinet bowed to the other Parredet. “We make pact.” She pointed to me, then lifted the pad of paper, showing the valley, pointing to the entrance of the cave. “All land here to Clan Mother Ara.”

  “Clan Mother Ara?” Lizzy snickered. “Now it’s your turn.”

  Schaeffer reached for his backpack. “We need to properly document this. We’ll need to set up a scan record of the area so we can map out the exact area being offered.” He tapped at his comm, then scowled. “Can’t get a signal in here.”

  “Excuse me.” I stood up before he could. Yinet tilted her head, confused. “This is more than I imagined. I’m… overwhelmed. Let me have a moment to process this.”

  Lizzy did a quick short interpretation, getting a sympathetic nod. “Schaef, I’ll call the ship and have them send the most recent scans.” My heart was pounding out of my chest, trying to process what had just happened. “Give me a few minutes.”

  He frowned, but nodded, giving me a squint. I could imagine his voice in my head, telling me to get my act together before I blew the deal.

  “Thank you. I’ll just be a few minutes. Lizzy, get a few more details for me?”

  “Sure, hon. Get your scans.” She gave me the same warning look, then turned to Yinet again to repeat the offer just made.

  I tried to block it out as I bowed to the Clan Mothers, grabbed my coat and made a dash out the entrance. I gasped from the burst of cold and the anxiety hitting at the same time.

  The wall of the cliff supported me as I bent over, taking deep breathes so I didn’t pass out. It took a minute to calm down enough to contact the ship, ordering the scans for the surrounding coordinates.

  While I downloaded the scans, I looked out over the valley. I couldn’t see the other rim because of clouds, but this had to be hundreds of miles of territory. They were giving this to us… no, giving it to me. Naming me Clan Mother.

  “You alright, babe?” Remy stepped up beside me.

  “No, I’m freaking out. They can’t do this.”

  “What, make a pact with humans?” He huddled up in his coat.

  “No, with me. It’s all hanging on me. I’m just a colonel, a cog in a huge wheel. I can’t represent all humans in this.” I clasped my head, sure if anything would bring Kazan back full force, this would do it. “I can’t accept. I can’t do that to you. I made you a promise. I almost lost you once before. I won’t let that happen again.”

  “You won’t.” Remy’s hands covered mine, pulling them away from my temples, replacing them with his own. “Take a breath and calm down. We’re in this together, remember, Col. Batista? This is what you came here to do.”

  He made me look at him, which didn’t help, his scars a reminder of what my secrets almost cost us both. “I made you a promise.”

  “Which you haven’t broken. What is really scaring you? Focus.”

  I did, pulling on everything I knew, everything Kazan knew, sorting out what I’d just heard. “What if we make a mistake? This is why we were looking for worlds without sentient life. What if we want to go home? What about having kids? And that doesn’t even take into account how the Alliance is going to take this. Colonization of an inhabited world? Me being the condition this all hangs on? Me in charge of a whole planet? That would drive them crazy.”

  “Whoa there, slow down, take another breath before you explode.” Remy grinned, unclutching my face to tuck his hands back inside his coat.

  “I don’t know which of those to respond to first. Hmmm… Let’s go with the Alliance. They want the ore. It could take years, centuries or never to find this stuff again. They’ll agree to the terms of the pact.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” That made sense. “But I’m one of the terms.”

  “Okay, so what? You’ve been in charge for a long time and you’re good at it. So cross that off the list.” He unfolded his arms long enough to make a slashing gesture.

  “It’s more than being ‘in charge’, I’m one of the terms. I’d be Clan Mother.”

  “So? It’s not like we’re taking over the whole planet. It’ll be a small colony. You’ve been doing it for years.”

  “I’m one of the terms.” I kept repeating myself, repeating Yinet. “Staying here is not in our plans.”

  “Ahhh, now we get back to me, and what I want.” Remy stepped up close, all but wrapping his arms around me.

  “Consider this. Our kids would be the first generation to grow up here, knowing humans aren’t alone in the galaxy, or the universe. They’d grow up living among Parredet. They’d be a whole new generation of humans. What more could I ask for them?”

  “You’re an engineer. You wanted to build the next generation of ships.”

  Remy shook his head. “I’ve never tried to fool myself into believing I’d ever be able to return to full duty. I’m not going to start now.”

  He let out a long sigh, as if giving up something he had been holding onto. Something he didn’t want anymore. “If give
n the choice between being given some patronizing job reviewing ship designs, or staying here and building something real with you and our children, there’s no contest. I want this. I want us to stay here.”

  “Really?” I huddled up against him. “All I want is you, over everything else, even this. If you want to stay here, then I do too.”

  I turned my head, laying it on his chest as I looked out over the massive range. “So, it’s going to be a strange new challenge for all of us.”

  “Yes. The 23rd century is going to bring us all new lives.”

  “And a new Alliance.” I looked up at the winter sun. “The Interstellar Alliance.”