The Fifth Civilization: A Novel

by Peter Bingham-Pankratz

  “Kotarans,” David said.

  “Kotarans, Kotarans,” Nikrun said, pointing to the lightning bolt. Two Mountains pointed to the rough figure he drew, and in unison most of the creatures repeated the word “Kotarans.”

  “Kotarans.” Two Mountains repeated, slowly. Those were the name of the evil creatures they had encountered. Already he hated the harsh sound of it.

  ***

  A squawk came over Grinek’s com. “Commander, we’ve found something.”

  “What is it, Roh?”

  “About a kilometer and a half from the site of the ambush, our terrain mappers pinpointed a network of caves. From the air we can’t see anything, but they’re the only logical shelter nearby, and they’re within walking distance of the crashed shuttle. The freighter survivors may be inside the caves.”

  “Why didn’t you see the caves earlier?”

  “We hadn’t thoroughly scanned the area, Commander. But we have now. I want to recommend I take a party and wipe them out.”

  “Do it. If we find some trace of the Earthmen or natives in the caves we’ll know they’re using them. But be cautious about it, Roh—throw some grenades in first.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  ***

  Those in the cave heard the hum of the ship, which frightened the two natives and made them crouch low. They looked around for the strange noise, then moved up the angled opening to peer out the cave. Roan touched Chief and shooed him back.

  “Bad, bad,” he repeated, as if talking to a child to discourage him. Chief, however, stopped from what he was doing and didn’t expose himself from the cave.

  “Kotarans,” Roan repeated, then put his finger to his lips and shushed them. If the Kotaran ship had spotted them, they’d be done for with a few cannon strikes. That they had not yet been obliterated indicated the noise could be just be a scout ship. Some Kotaran ships were known to carry smaller vessels and they should hope it was one of those. Roan kicked the side of the wall, condemning himself for foolishly staying in these caves. They should’ve moved into the forest long ago, away from the shuttle crash site.

  “That’s them. Do you think they know we’re here?” Duvurn asked.

  “I don’t know,” Roan said. “Probably.” Grabbing the binoculars, he crawled out to the very edge of the cave entrance, trying hard to stay in the shadows. He was able to see a craft—a boxy one resembling a human freighter—make a pass above the cave and land just overhead, causing the walls to rumble and sending dust and rocks into the cavern. The Kotarans had landed on the tops of the cliff face, and if they didn’t want to blow them up, they were going to come down here and try and smoke them out.

  “They landed above us,” Roan said, for the benefit and horror of all. He slid back into the cave. On the ground was the rifle, the only source of weaponry they had. Roan knew it was well-charged, and he hoped it would last for a little while. He picked it up, and it gained the admiration of the natives, who no doubt had seen its power and were excited to see it in action on their side.

  “We have to leave here,” Moira said, gathering her shoes and a medical bag. “It’s the only way we’ll survive.”

  “No,” Roan said, harshly. “Now is the time we fight.”

  Chapter 42

  They had to be quick about a plan. The constant rumbling above them stopped and was replaced with the distant thumps of the boots of soldiers. How the Kotarans were going to climb from the top of the cliff to the caves was anyone’s guess. Doubtless they’d found a passage and were now marching to kill the humans. After a brief conference, conducted with pantomime, Roan sent Chief and his warrior friend back outside. They and the rest of the natives scampered into an adjacent cave. The Kotarans wouldn’t expect both sides to be allied, so fortunately they had the element of surprise on their side. But Roan knew surprise was nothing if you were far outgunned and outnumbered.

  Rocks and dirt fell from the cave walls as the Kotaran boots pounded closer. After a few minutes, Roan could hear the far-away voices of Kotarans speaking a language he had no hope of knowing. Duvurn, his bodyguard, Sundar, and Moira hid themselves in the dark recesses of the cave. David crouched near the entrance, watching with his excellent eyes. And Roan squinted in the sunlight of the cave, aiming his weapon at the entrance, waiting for the first Kotaran to come in his line of sight.

  An explosion. The cave shook, more rocks fell, and there were muffled screams and coughing with the civilians behind Roan. He knew that no one was seriously hurt, so he didn’t look back, instead keeping aim at the door. The Kotarans had blown up a nearby cave to draw them out.

  More voices. Roan imagined what they were saying: someone reporting that they hadn’t found anything in the cave, and they should move on.

  Another explosion. No one was prepared for this one, either, and it apparently happened in the cave next door. Rocks tumbled in their cave, and Roan prayed the entrance wouldn’t collapse, but a few larger rocks came loose from the ceiling. They tumbled down into the cave like marbles down a staircase Above, more voices spoke, sounding like they came from just outside the cave. Nothing here, move on to the next one, Roan imagined the voices saying.

  Footsteps were distinct. The Kotaran language was now crystal clear. Silhouetted by sunlight, the shape of two Kotarans appeared at the cave entrance, holding the recognizable shape of rifles in their hands. Words were exchanged, and a Kotaran reached for something on his body.

  Roan fired.

  His first shot felled the Kotaran on the right and his second the one on the left. Cries and shouts came from outside the cave. Roan fired again, hoping his shots would prevent any more Kotarans from sticking their head in the cave. But he knew he could only hold so long.

  “Everyone, hunker down in the corner, now!” Something bad was coming soon. Despite not knowing what “hunker down,” meant, David and the Bauxens huddled with the humans against one of the walls of the cave. Roan continued his firing, singeing the sky outside, his faith in the battery pack concrete. Any second now he expected a grenade and the end.

  Luckily, the cross-cultural communication of both he and David manifested itself dramatically. A set of arrows, silhouetted by the sunlight, shot past the entrance of the cave. More shouting could be heard, but it wasn’t just Kotarans this time—it was the war cry of the natives, a shrill call, echoing in the cave, more akin to a hawk flying overheard than anything else. Flashes of energy fire mixed with the frantic feet of soldiers. There was an explosion. A close one. It rattled the walls of the cave and was likely another grenade. But the war cry came again, and another round of energy bolts, and that only indicated the Kotarans were having a hard time killing these warriors.

  Gripping the rifle, Roan ran up the slanted entrance of the cave and into the fray. He hoped the warriors’ arrows didn’t find his back. Two Kotaran corpses lay at the entrance, burnt holes in their chests. He put his back to the cliff wall and scanned around with this rifle. The Kotaran soldiers had moved up to the cliff ledge above him and were volleying shots to the cave that served as the natives’ position. Roan exposed himself just enough to get a bead on one. He pulled the trigger. A burst hit a Kotaran in the chest and without a scream his body careened off the ledge, just like in the Western holofilms.

  As swiftly as the violence started, it ended. Birds in the trees wailed at the sound of the commotion. Roan hugged the wall and ran to the start of the ledge that ran above the caves. Every few feet he darted a glance above and behind him, in case a Kotaran sniper was tracking him. He passed the two caves obliterated by the invaders. When he reached the second ledge, he saw two Kotarans and raised his rifle in defense. But while both were upright and leaning against the wall, both had multiple arrows in their chests. Their rifles lay dropped at their feet. In the ferocity of the torrent of arrows, their bodies had been propped up by the cliff face.

  The killing wasn’t over, Roan knew.

  Across the cliff face, in a cave entrance opposite the ledge, a group of natives
emerged with their bows drawn. They scanned the cliff. Roan saw Chief among them, and was glad he survived. It would’ve been a nightmare to teach a new warrior what they’d discussed. The natives, on alert, nimbly walked over to the two dead Kotarans at the cliff entrance. Roan found his way back down the ledge and joined them in their examination of the otherworldly corpses.

  “Scary beasts, aren’t they?” Roan asked, receiving no answer. Chief bent down over the fallen Kotarans and ran his fingers over the body. When he reached the head, he grabbed the snout and examined the soldier’s teeth like a dentist. Other warriors crowded around this spectacle. They murmured and bared their fangs as they gawked at the dead creatures, tugging at their ears and tails.

  He wasn’t convinced the threat had passed. At least, he knew that more than five soldiers could fit in a scout ship. There were probably more on top of the cliff, out of sight—and they knew what happened. Roan craned his neck to the top of the cliffs, but couldn’t see any movement up there, nor did he hear any bootsteps. They were hiding, wherever they were.

  “We need to get out of here,” Roan said, and tapped Chief on the soldier. He hoped Chief got the message when he pointed to the top of the cliff. Impending doom was coming from above, and boy, was it angry. The natives seemed to get his message and he followed Roan to the offworlder’s cave.

  “All clear!” Roan called down. “But we’re going to have to get out of here now. Head into the woods.” The five survivors of the Colobus worked their way up the rock-strewn cave entrance and out into the sunlight, like groundhogs emerging from a season of seclusion. Duvurn noticed the charred walls of the nearby caves and gasped, while his bodyguard cowered behind him in terror. Those two were such a pitiful sight. It was a wonder they’d managed to make it on the shuttle to escape.

  “Anyone hurt?” Moira asked. She was staring at the corpses of the Kotarans, but Roan didn’t know if he’d let her treat them, even if they were alive. You don’t help your enemy when you’re on the run.

  “I’d ask Chief, but he doesn’t seem to be in the talkative mood. If they have wounded, we’ll know soon—but right now I want to get us all under the cover of those…” He stopped, then looked back up at the cliff. Why worry about hiding and transportation when there was a ship parked on top of that cliff? He hadn’t heard a rumble of a takeoff. If the Kotarans made their way down, then surely their group could make their way up and take the fight to them. The kangas were going to find they were brimming with surprises.

  “Take this com.” He pulled one out of his pocket and gave it to David. He and Moira were the only ones he could trust with such a thing, anyway. “Get back in the cave. Here, take this rifle.”

  Roan handed the Bauxen rifle to David, who just waved his hands when Roan offered the gun. He then offered it to Moira, who said she’d never used one in her life. Roan finally motioned for Sundar to take it, but he said he was forbidden from firing one. Religion, you know.

  “Doesn’t anyone here approve of killing?” Roan asked. He had no choice but to hand it to Duvurn’s bodyguard. “You better use that thing wisely,” Roan said to the alien, who spoke no English.

  A Kotaran rifle lay on the ground next to one of the fallen beasts. Roan picked it up and checked the charge bar on the side, which indicated that it was nearly full. That weapon was military grade, anyway, and much better-made than the Bauxen one. It was going to serve him well.

  With a wave, Roan called for the natives to follow him. They spoke among themselves, briefly, then followed Roan up the ledges and paths of the cliff face. One of the natives reached down and picked up the other Kotaran’s rifle, examining what he no doubt considered an intriguing firestick.

  ***

  “Commander, we’ve been attacked by the Earthmen.”

  “What? Roh, what’s going on there?”

  “They were in the caves, as we thought. My party is not responding.”

  “Can you see them?”

  “The Earthmen are on the bottom of the cliff, hiding in the caves. We cannot see them from here.”

  “Godsdamn it. Why weren’t you on the hunt? I trusted your ability in dispatching these Earthmen!”

  “Fox’Lo curse me, Commander. I was monitoring progress here. It was a mistake.”

  “Kill them, you hear me? Specialist, if you fail me, there’s no one else I can count on to do this job. And if you kill them you will be rewarded greatly in this life, I swear it.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  ***

  Nikrun was mad as a kegar, climbing up the ledges and faces of the white cliffs, making sure to hold his lightning club in front of him. Though Two Mountains had absolutely no idea what the man thought was on top of the cliffs, he knew it was dangerous, otherwise he would not have asked the warriors to come along. The warrior leader did not look down the cliff face lest it give him fear; he was already fearful enough of these strange creatures to let heights scare him.

  They were close to the top. Muffled voices could be heard from above the edge of the summit, and Nikrun went to the ground, hiding behind a bunch of boulders. Two Mountains crouched as well, his warriors following his example. They all bunched behind the boulders. Danger was very close now.

  They were on a ledge just below the cliff top, which had branches and roots sticking over the side, bunched up and coiled. The roots didn’t appear green or healthy, which indicated that the soil on top was long devoid of any plant life. Such a place was symbolic of the death that these invaders had brought, Two Mountains considered. Ahead, Nikrun pointed at Two Mountains and motioned for him to come over. He’d been observing something just beyond the boulder and Two Mountains guessed he wanted him to see it to.

  Two Mountains quietly crawled to him. He peered over the boulder, wary of what he would see.

  Some strange and very large enclosure had been constructed on the top of the cliff. Two Mountains wondered if it was the source of the noise he had heard earlier in the caves—the enclosure looked like several sharp-edged huts thrown together, but the material was of a kind he had never seen. What looked like smoke came off from underneath it, and what looked like two large tree trunks stuck out from its sides.

  Two Mountains wondered if the enclosure was actually a creature. Perhaps it was a giant bird, like the one they had seen during the night. The smooth, shiny surface of the side, reflective like water, could be skin.

  “In the name of God, what is that?” Two Mountains whispered. Not understanding, Nikrun didn’t reply. He only grabbed Two Mountains by his fur and moved him away. For a brief second, Two Mountains saw why: the shape of what the outlanders called a Kotaran appeared from behind the weird enclosure.

  Nikrun said something that was not understandable. But his motions were. The pale man held up his lightning club and pressed on the side. The club gave a high-pitched noise and light shown on the instrument. Nikrun moved his mouth into an upward position, and moved his head up and down. This was the gesture of affirmation to these people, or so Two Mountains had gathered.

  He knew what Nikrun signaled. It was time for an attack.

  ***

  Roan moved the rifle behind the boulder, found a Kotaran, and fired. Simultaneously, he heard the war cry of the natives behind them as they unleashed arrows in an arc above the boulders. But they couldn’t stay here long or the Kotarans would pulverize them. Roan charged out from the boulder, heading to an outcropping of rock on the opposite side of the cliff that could provide cover. He prayed the natives followed his lead. As he ran and hid behind the outcropping, he drew the fire of several Kotarans, but he was too fast and they missed.

  He provided covering fire as the natives ran over to his position. Bolts impacted the ship, striking and pinging against metal. The Kotarans struggled for cover. Obviously, they hadn’t been expecting such an ambush. Yeah, we’re a little tough for a bunch of humans, aren’t we? Then Roan remembered the natives. They were definitely not humans.

  As long as the ship didn’t take off,
they were safe. Roan peeked behind a corner and let off a few more shots, giving him time to observe the smoke under the craft. There wasn’t much of it, which indicated the ship was probably idling. Right now its occupants were too busy fighting for their lives to make off with it, and that was for the best. If Roan could capture that ship, the balance of power would change ever so slightly.

  ***

  “We are being attacked by some natives, Commander.”

  “Roh, by the grace of your Fox’Lo, destroy them! We’re sending a team there now.”

  “I will kill them or die in the attempt.”

  “You won’t die, Specialist! There is no need for martyrdom.”

  “If that is the will of the three Gods, Commander, then it must happen.”

  ***

  Just as the ringing in Roan’s ears had gone away, and it appeared as though the last Kotarans were killed, one more rushed around the side of the Kotaran craft and toward the outcropping where the warriors lay hidden. He fired some shots from a pistol, preventing Roan from getting off some of his own. The human ducked behind the rock, the image of a running Kotaran burned into his mind.

  The Kotaran somersaulted onto the top of the rock wall, roaring and screaming. Native warriors bellowed a heavy yell, too, as if responding to the Kotaran. They aimed their arrows, but the Kotaran was quicker. Another somersault and he landed behind the rocks and in front of the warriors. Chief went down first, his bow slashed by the Kotaran scythe. He tumbled to the side but Roan couldn’t tell if he was badly hurt.

  Roan aimed his rifle at the Kotaran’s back, but as if sensing this move, the Kotaran used his tail to bat away the rifle. This flung the weapon from Roan’s hands over the edge of the cliff. The beast then pivoted to face Roan. At this point, Roan noticed that the warrior attacking them now was the same one they’d kept on the Colobus for a month. This kanga face was one he could remember.