by Mia R Kleve
Valk stood. “Well, if that’s it, I might as well get started.”
“Not quite,” interjected Rains.
“Peacemaker Rains—”
“Colonel Valk. I suspended the administrator but haven’t revoked the ConAg contract. According to that contract, in the event the civilian administrator is suspended, administration cedes to the senior military representative who is also a contracted party. You have made it clear that your presence on Avbo is that of an observer only. The only military contract in effect for Avbo currently is the Durst defense contract. Specifically, that contract names the Tortantula.”
Tikki looked startled. “That would mean…”
“Yes,” said Rains. “Congratulations, Administrator Tavvi.”
“Shit!” said Tavvi.
* * *
Rains looked up from yet another report and sighed. Tavvi looked down at him. “Don’t start, Peacemaker. You stuck me with this job then offered to help until your ship shows up, so help and quit complaining.”
Rikki and Tikki came in pushing a cart piled with boxes. “Gathis’ staff found another load of records. Where do you want them?”
Tavvi pointed to a corner. “Over there.”
Rains stood and looked out the window. It shattered in a hail of gunfire.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
“Cover!” shouted Rikki.
“That’s an XT-12!” said Tikki, referring to the Flatars’ preferred hypervelocity pistol.
Tavvi peeked through the door. “It’s Gathis, I can see her across the way.”
“Sit tight,” said Rains. He could hear the CASPers powering up in the next room.
Rains spoke into his comm. “Louie, we’re taking fire.”
“On it, Peacemaker!” said Louie.
“I got this!” said Tavvi as she scrambled out the door. Rains watched the Tortantula charge across the intervening distance. Gathis tried to run, firing wildly. Tavvi weaved from side to side as she ran. She reached the opposite building, ran halfway up the wall, and used it as a springboard for a spectacular leap. The terrified former administrator stopped abruptly to find herself the landing zone for an avalanche of angry Tortantula. Tavvi crushed the Veetanho with a wet splat!
Louie yelled over his speakers, “Get out! Sniffers are picking up explosives!”
As Rains, Rikki, and Tikki scrambled through the door into the courtyard, Louie entered the room by simply walking through the wall. The security suite on his CASPer identified the package as one of the document boxes on the cart. Louie grabbed the box, then crashed through the wall where the shattered window was. He got a running start toward the least populated area of the base then triggered his jump jets on full. He hurled it away from him at the top of his arc just as the bomb exploded sending Louie tumbling from the sky.
Louie’s CASPer fell in a crumpled ruin on the tarmac. The concussion crushed the tough armor like an old beer can. The hatch was sprung and Rains could see Louie struggling against the haptic system. Rains called up Louie’s vitals on his slate as he ran toward the wreckage. Not good. The base has a med facility if we can get him there, he thought.
“Rains to Rikki. Louie’s alive! We need a medic here NOW!”
“On the way, Peacemaker. Standby.”
Rains reached Louie and pried the hatch the rest of the way open.
“Peacemaker. Ev’rybody all rig—”
Rains could see Louie fading in and out as the medsuite in his CASPer tried to stabilize him.
“We’re all fine, Louie. You saved us. Just rest, the medics are on the way.”
Louie had managed to free one arm. He reached out and grabbed the front of Rains’ uniform.
“You tell my little girl I done good. That Daddy loves her!” His gaze fixed on Rains’ badge.
“Trees. My Sabine love dem trees. You ever see dem white cypress in the bayou? Dey call ‘em bald ‘cause they lose their leaves in winter. It’s a conifer but wit’ leaves like lace that turn copper in fall. Oh, Jackson, dey shine in the sun like Sabine’s hair…”
Rains looked at Louie’s vitals again. There was nothing he could do. They were going to have to cut Louie out as it was. Where the hell are those medics?
“Dem wide ol’ bases standin’ in the water, Jackson, but the core o’ them trees go on forever. Dey stand in the wind an’ rain and sun an’ don’ nothin’ topple ‘em down. Dey reach straight out o’ the bayou an’ grab dem stars. I grab ‘em, too, Jackson. For my girl an’ my friends. You be like dat, too, Jackson! Don’ you let nothin’ topple you down!”
Jackson heard the med teams arrive, but he’d felt the tension leave Louie’s grip. He stepped back to let them work, but Louie LeBlanc was gone.
* * *
Rains comm chimed. “Turunmaa to Peacemaker Rains.”
“Rains here. Good to hear from you, Turunmaa.”
Captain Lorm took over the channel. “Peacemaker Rains, we are inbound and should arrive within four standard hours. Please confirm your status.”
“Captain Lorm, status is operational. We had some problems here. I’m uploading the details now. What’s your mission status?” asked Rains.
“Mission successful, we have two stasis containers of nopf’h for delivery. Mr. Delacroix can give you the details.”
“Thank you, Captain. Please take the Turunmaa to the plateau base. We’ll take the Durst shuttle and meet you. I’d like to wrap this up.”
“Acknowledged,” said Lorm.
Amos’ voice came across the comm. “Jack-son! We fill those container with nopf’h! Dey little ones are mean an’ dem big ones are more mean! If dem Xiq’tal are lookin’ for a fight, we got this righ’, I gar-on-tee! Is Louie there? I can’ get him on comms.”
Rains swallowed hard. “Amos.”
Rains heard Amos pause. “Aw, Jack-son. No, what you tellin’ me?”
“There was a bomb. Louie grabbed it and ran. He was too close when it detonated. He saved our asses, but he didn’t make it. I’m sorry.”
“Damn it, Jack-son! You was s’posed to take care of my men!”
“I know, Amos. I tried. Louie took care of all of us.”
“Ah, Jack-son. I always tell ‘im no be a hero. You tell me you got the bastard who done ‘im!”
“I didn’t; Tavvi did. Gathis didn’t go easy.”
“Good!” said Amos. “I’ll see you Jack-son. I have to figure out what to tell Louie’s family.”
* * *
The Turunmaa landed at the plateau base, and Amos and his crew unloaded the stasis containers. Rains arrived from Durst with the Cajuns and Rikki, Tikki, and Tavvi. Rains figured they had a right to see if Amos’ idea would be enough to patch things between the two groups. The Cajuns caught up over the comms as the groups reunited but stayed back to cover the perimeter just in case there were any surprises.
Amos joined Rains and the Flatar. Tavvi, as usual, didn’t have much to say.
CrRkkt walked across the beach with Sebastian and another Xiq’tal Rains didn’t remember seeing before.
Rains began, “Hello, CrRkkt, Sebastian. Did you receive the information about the nopf’h we sent over?”
CrRkkt replied, “Yes Peacemaker, the statistics are promising. We are concerned that they may eat the echin, but if they prefer the tainted ones, they are an acceptable compromise. Your file also did not include the reproductive information.”
Rains pulled up another file on his slate and transferred it.
“My apologies, CrRkkt. Until recently we didn’t have all of the information to send to you. What we have is in the additional file I just sent. What we know is the nopf’h’s aggression is linked to territory and they defend it once established. They are aquatic but able to spend short periods out of the water. Otherwise they’re scavengers and ambush predators. They should have no problem adapting to the conditions here; they prefer salt conditions and should leave the echin breeding grounds alone. They show hive or pack behavior when small but become solitary as they grow.
<
br /> “Nopf’h are asexual. They reproduce by explosive fissiparity—basically when they get to a certain size the chemical processes in the nopf’h’s metabolism build up hydrogen in its body and it explodes. The pieces then grow into new nopf’h, but they have to hit that stage of their lifecycle to reproduce. If they are killed earlier, they are just dead, so you have a way to control how many are in a given area.”
CrRkkt held up a claw. “Enough, we are satisfied you’ve provided what information you have. Your message said you have brought twenty of the small creatures and two of the large ones. Release several of the smaller specimens and let us judge for ourselves.”
Rains entered a command on his slate, and the doors of the nearest container opened. Three of the smaller nopf’h left their tanks with wet plops and began crawling sluggishly out of the container to lie on the wet sand.
Nopf’h had round, rubbery bodies about a meter in diameter covered with armored plates. Thick, meter-long tentacles grew from the joins in the plates, more or less randomly, but each creature had twenty or more. Each tentacle was tipped with a large claw, and as the nopf’h flexed them they could see rows of suckers concealing feeding mouths. Each had a central maw filled with teeth and a row of purplish eyes evenly spaced in columns on either side of the mouth. The disoriented nopf’h sat for a moment drooling and burbling to each other.
CrRkkt moved toward the beasts. The nopf’h sensed the movement and sprang into motion as whirling, flailing masses of tentacles, rolling madly down the beach toward CrRkkt and hurling sand in all directions. The Xiq’tal braced and raised his claws to protect his eyestalks but otherwise made no motion to check the nopf’h’s attack.
Two of the nopf’h reached CrRkkt. The first wrapped its tentacles around a leg and tried to climb the Xiq’tal’s body, while the other used its tentacles to bounce into the air, and it wrapped itself around one of CrRkkt’s fighting claws and fastened onto it with its central maw. Its claws scratched the Xiq’tal, but the sucker mouths were unable to penetrate the tough shell.
The third nopf’h rolled under Sebastian, then thrust itself up to his shell, trying to devour him from below. CrRkkt peeled the nopf’h from his leg with difficulty and passed it to the third Xiq’tal. His shell showed scratches and sucker marks where it had been attached. At one of the joints was a thin trickle of blue blood where a tentacle claw had scored a hit.
CrRkkt held up the nopf’h on his claw and looked at it closely, holding it just out of tentacle range. It burbled and reached for CrRkkt’s eyestalks while continuing to gnaw at his claw. Still holding the nopf’h, CrRkkt walked up to the group waiting by the container.
“Peacemaker Rains, I do not think the nopf’h will be an acceptable replacement for the echin in the hunt.”
Rains felt his blood begin to boil. “Can you explain why? They are certainly aggressive, and I can see that the small ones are able to do damage. The larger nopf’h should present a challenge and—”
CrRkkt interrupted, “I did not say we would not accept them, merely that they are not suitable for the Hunt. You did not tell us the creatures were so adorable. Do you know if anyone has tried to domesticate them?”
Rains felt a wave of relief. “No. CrRkkt. No one I am aware of has attempted to tame the nopf’h.”
The nopf’h gnawed harder at CrRkkt’s claw. CrRkkt rapped it on top of its body with his other claw. “No,” he said. The nopf’h stopped for a moment, then redoubled its efforts.
CrRkkt swiveled his eyestalks to Rikki, Tikki, and Tavvi. “I will miss our battles. You were worthy opponents.”
Rikki leaned forward. “We feel the same way, CrRkkt. Who knows though, it’s a merc’s life. Maybe we will fight on the same side next time.”
“The Xiq’tal would enjoy that as well. Until next time then. I will send troops for the containers.”
As the Xiq’tal turned to go, Amos stepped forward. “Hey, Se-bast-ion, I don’ know if you hear that Louie was killed in Durst. We gonna have a do tonight to say goodbye. You should come, if you want.”
Sebastian and CrRkkt looked at each other and something passed between them, then Sebastian turned to Amos. “I will come. Louie was the first Human I met and he gifted me with a place-name in honor of his child. I will join you in honoring him.”
Then the three Xiq’tal turned and walked into the water.
Tavvi was vibrating under Rikki and Tikki. “Are we done here?” the Tortantula asked.
“Yeah,” said Rikki. “Until tonight. Louie saved our asses, too,” she said.
“Good,” said Tavvi, vibrating harder. “It’s been a long day, and I’ve had a-nopf’h for a while.”
* * *
The “do” for Louie started quietly. Someone had set up a vox for music and played some very old songs, including “When the Saints Come Marching In.” Amos handed out bottles of Abt. “When we named the company, Louie wanted to call us the Saints but I thought that was temptin’ fate,” he said.
Later, the music changed, and the jazz flowed along with the Abt. Rikki and Tikki arrived back from Durst with several other Flatar and Tortantula from C Company that had become friendly with the Cajuns. Amos handed out bowls of gumbo to anyone who was hungry, and Cajun sauce was available for anyone who wanted a fire in their belly, including Sebastian, who had arrived with a container of echin nodules. “GalNet said it was traditional to bring food to Human remembrances,” he said.
The Cajuns told stories about missions with Louie that grew more outrageous with every telling. As the evening wound down, Sebastian said, “It is time for me to return. I would like to honor Louie in the way of the Xiq’tal.”
Sebastian moved down to the edge of the sea, followed by the group. He raised his claws to the sun setting above the sea.
Then he sang.
The sound was complex, high and sweet, and the sounds soared over a deep thrumming produced by the Xiq’tal’s shell that blended with the sound of the waves. After a few moments. Sebastian dipped a bow to the group and, still singing, walked into the waves.
* * *
The sun was setting over the bayou, the red-gold light silhouetting the trees draped in Spanish moss and turning the feathery needles into halos. Rains sat on the mossy bank, watching the slow drift of water flow past the knees of the cypresses. He laughed as he spotted one of the bayou’s blue crabs climbing over the base of one of the trees. He inhaled deeply, smelling the water and what was left of the afternoon rain. The scent of Amos’ cooking lingered on the still air, and the sounds of laughter and instruments tuning up signaled the beginnings of another evening. This was his last night here, and he wanted to burn the details into his memory.
Jackson looked at his slate and called up the image of a blank peacemaker badge. He took yet another picture of one of the stately cypresses, applied the style that converted the image into an engraving, placed the overlay, then moved image after image over the badge’s blank surface. Nothing seemed right.
Rains had never given much thought to trees, though he’d known someday if he was confirmed, he would need to choose one that made the emblem of the Peacemakers uniquely his. He remembered what Louie had said about the cypresses, and so when Amos had invited him back to the Cajuns’ complex, he’d agreed, both to talk to Louie’s family and to see the trees for himself.
They arrived in the middle of a party. An animated woman with iron grey hair and eyes red from tears had greeted them with a smile, the lines of her face showing her years. She swept Rains into a hug, then handed him a bottle of Abt.
“You must be Jack-son,” she said. “Welcome home. I’m Louie’s Mama Bes. Amos tol’ me all about you, but I like to judge for myself. Come an’ talk with me.”
She looked at Amos. “I think dey need you in the kitchen.”
“Welcome to the Bayou, Jack-son!” Amos gave Rains a wink then headed off in the direction Bes had pointed him.
Bes took Rains’ arm and led him toward a group of chairs, calling over her shoulder,
“Sabine! You come meet Jack-son and have a set with us.”
A red-haired girl of about eight ran to Bes, holding a battered stuffed animal in one hand, and climbed into her lap, looking at Rains with wide eyes. The stuffed crab had seen better days.
Bes hugged the girl tight.
“Now, tell us about what happened with my Louie.”
* * *
The complex was home to around a hundred people. The Cajuns had an extended family that ran into all aspects of what they did. From the moment Rains was greeted by Bes, every person he met had tried to make him feel like family. He had talked to Amos about it. Amos simply shrugged.
“It’s what we do.”
Bes had found Rains standing to the side of one of the paths in the compound looking at a cypress.
“Louie like dem cypress, too.”
“They’re beautiful. It was one of the last things your son spoke about. That and Sabine. When I look I want to see with his eyes,” Rains said.
“The eternal tree,” said Bes.
“Yes. I read the heartwood is so strong it was used for building instead of steel. The wood is beautiful. They found trees buried over fifty thousand years ago that still smelled of fresh sap when they were cut. Louie said that nothing could topple them down because of the base.”
“He was right. They strong; stronger than you would believe. The base helps, but a single tree won’t stand alone. The thing that makes ‘em so strong is those bases, deep down under the water where no one sees, dey support each other. The knees protect the fish, and the birds come, and the moss grow. Dey shelter everything around them. Dey grow every day and the more dey grow the more shelter dey give. Dem trees strong because dey love. Even when it look all alone, it held up by what no one see.” Bes looked off into the bayou. “When they finally fall, the shelter let other things grow, but you read all that. You put your hands on this tree, an’ I tell you the rest. I can’t give you Louie’s eyes, but I show you his heart.”