The First Colony: Book I: Settlement Chronicals

by W. J. Rydrych

  The unseasonably warm sun beat down providing a welcome warming of their backs as they watched the activity below. Barco lay watching, his eyes, in spite of his advanced age taking in everything. What he saw fit what Eric had told him about New Athens. The sun glinted off the metallic looking buildings rising from the ground, making them look like they were on fire. The vehicles moving around the town and in the fields, and above all the ship moving on the water beyond, presented a picture which intruded on Barco's view of what the world should be. It was strange, it was different, it was alien. Barco lay unmoving, letting the picture with all its details store itself in his mind for later retrieval, either by himself, or by some other Shaman during a subsequent dream state.

  Nothing below should have been a shock to Hath, but it was. Up to now New Athens had been a picture which Hath had built based on Eric's description. Now he saw a reality. Machines moving on the land, on the water, and earlier he had seen them moving in the air. Buildings that sprouted from the ground and intruded by their size and appearance. And people moving around, more humans. Hath had never known fear, but the feeling of apprehension in his stomach was an uncomfortable reminder of the power of the humans shown at the place of ceremony. The feeling of apprehension wasn't so much for himself but for his people. How, if the humans proved to be unfriendly, could he and his people ever oppose them?

  Suth watched the activity below, eyes devouring every detail. He watched with a cold hunter's detachment as he would a herd of antelope. He lacked the concern that was evident in Hath; except for Eric he had never encountered humans, and Eric didn't impress him as very formidable. He had confidence in his own and his peoples abilities as hunters, and the Torgai had never been defeated. When challenged by the Kraa they had destroyed them. And the humans, in spite of their weapons, were neither as numerous nor as fierce as the Kraa. Suth didn't doubt that the Torgai were masters of their world.

  Suth was a skeptic. He disagreed with the decision to make contact with the humans, and had argued for a sudden attack by the combined clans before the colonists had time to prepare. He was confident that, in spite of their weapons, the Torgai could overwhelm the colony by sheer weight of numbers. Now, noting the ease with which the colony could be approached he was even more confident. Well, he would watch and wait, and store in his mind all the information he could obtain on the colony. If war came he would be ready; and he was sure war would come.

  Eric watched the colony below with mixed emotions. He was afraid for the Torgai. He knew his people and their history, and how unpredictable they could be. Now, when faced with the native Torgai population, how would they respond? Eric was afraid he knew. Smiles to begin, creation of an increasing dependence by the Torgai, and finally isolation or annihilation. If faced with choosing sides, which way would Eric choose? He was no longer sure.

  Eric reached out his hand and touched Hath's arm to draw his attention. Meeting Hath's eyes they both got slowly to their feet as they prepared for the final leg of the journey. For the final descent to New Athens Eric would take the lead, with Hath following. As they started down the slope two of the Torgai supported Barco who had decided to walk the final distance instead of being carried. The pace was slow and measured to allow Barco to keep up.

  At first the activity in the colony below remained unchanged, the colonists, if they noticed the approaching figures at all, assuming they were merely a party of colonists returning. Then one or two of the colonists stopped and shaded their eyes as they watched the approaching group. Within minutes the activity below changed as the group descending from the ridgeline came into closer view, some of the colonists stopping to watch and point, while others ran into the various buildings. Then activity speeded up as other colonists joined the group outside of the buildings to see what the excitement was about until the yard around the buildings was filled with people.

  As Colin sat in his shirtsleeves in his office he idly brushed at a late-season fly buzzing around his head. The screen the aerial views of the rugged mountains far to the east; magnified to display any details he wanted to examine.

  This was the first detailed reconnaissance of the forbidding eastern range, made possible by the attachment of auxiliary fuel pods mounted on one of the scoutplanes. The mountains were unusually jagged and inhospitable, and were clearly fairly young when judged by the standard of mountains on Earth. Several instances of recent volcanic activity were evident, such as lava flows and fairly recent craters. Where high tree cover existed it was skimpy, limited by the exposed granite heights, creating a tree line far below the summits. The higher peaks were permanently snow covered, often jutting above the clouds. While the elevation at which the scout flights were taken was limited, a good general view of the area was provided.

  Several interesting items had been called out by the photo analysis team which is why he had spent the morning pouring over the results. While they had not located any direct sign of Torgai settlements they had located what appeared to be a pathway leading into the mountainous heights, in places appearing to be cut into the sheer cliffs. The height of the mountains and the cloud cover, as well as the fact that they were near the limit of the scout plane range and elevation, had kept the scout plane from determining where the pathway led.

  Colin zoomed in as he examined various parts of the pathway. Some of the steeper parts of the path appeared to have steps cut into the sheer side of the mountain, and at the higher altitudes the trail was blocked by snow. Where did the pathway lead, he wondered? A manned expedition was called for to investigate, but that would have to wait for spring and after the current expedition returned from the south. Until then he didn't have the manpower or the talent to spare, and additionally the winter weather at those altitudes ruled it out. Colin pulled his attention away from the viewer, drawn by excited voices just outside his window. Pushing himself from his chair he went to the window and looked out, his eyes following the direction the scattered groups of colonists were looking.

  Hath-Boc knelt in a half-crouch before the viewer on the table, the chair pushed to the side to make room. Much of his time was spent in the library pouring over the computer archives with their photos of Earth. While he had started to learn to read the human's writing his ability was far too limited to make out much from the printed material, but the films, they were magical. The buildings, the machines, the masses of people, and the views of the vast expanse of farmland were a constant fascination. And with the films he could listen to the audio which accompanied each film which either described the content or which was the actual voice of the people shown. From this he could both learn from the images and gain familiarity with the language.

  Hath-Boc's concentration was broken by the sound of noisy footsteps in the hall outside the library. Voices were shouting and people were running toward the front entrance. Hath-Boc rose to his feet and walked limpingly out into the hall and out the front door where the humans were gathered in excited groups.

  The pace of the column of Torgai slowed as it neared the clusters of people near the buildings who were now either standing in silence watching or talking excitedly among themselves. As they entered the village compound Eric saw Colin move out from the cluster of people near the administration building and walk toward him, motioning the others to stay back. Eric smiled to himself. Everything seemed to be under control. Maybe it would work out after all.

  December 13, Year 2 . . . .

  Eric slouched in a chair watching Colin standing staring out the window into the central square as he sloshed the ice cubes round and round in his nearly empty glass. Across the table John Bachman tapped his pencil nervously on the edge of his writing pad. Carter leaned back in his chair, the back supported by the wall. Colin seemed lost in his own thoughts.

  The morning and most of the afternoon had been spent in meetings with the Torgai delegation with Eric acting as their spokesman. The discussions had been difficult, with each group having problems comprehending the ideas expressed by the ot
her. The Torgai had little comprehension of the idea of land ownership and, aside from their dens which were private refuges, all Torgai were free to hunt on and use any land anywhere; although, from their dealings with the Kraa they understood the concept of separate areas. The meeting had broken up only minutes before with Eric, John, Carter and Colin staying behind to continue the discussion.

  "It won't work, you know," John said, looking from Colin to Eric and back. "Make all the promises you want, but neither you nor anyone else will be able to keep them. Future boards will do what they think best."

  Carter pushed his chair forward. "Unfortunately, John’s right. But an agreement now could give us decades of peace, and it'll be decades before we need space beyond what we have now; immigration will always be limited."

  Colin turned from the window and leaned against the wall, "it's hard to disagree with any of your arguments, but right now I'm not about to jeopardize the colony by starting a fight we might not be able to win. Or a fight that will be too costly to us even if we do win. We work out an agreement for division, and let the future take care of itself."

  Colin sat down, and turned to Eric, and in a softer tone said, "I hope you're right and we can come to some peaceful solution. But remember, from what you told us of their council many of the Torgai also want to destroy us, and they may still decide to try to do that. We're here to colonize this planet, and that is damn well what we will do. I'll do everything I can to work out with the Torgai some type of co-existence, but you know yourself that as the colony increases there will be friction. We can't fit into their culture, so can they change to fit into ours? I hope so."

  "Changing the subject," Colin said to Eric, "what about Buchan and Yasu and their team? What kind of reception do you think they got?"

  Eric shook his head slowly, "I'd feel better about it if Hath or Barco had been there, or if Barco had left one of his apprentices behind so he could at least warn them. I'm not sure how they'll react."

  Then, looking at Colin, "when do you estimate they should arrive?"

  "It's been over six weeks now," Colin said, "and from where you said the village was I expect they should be there by now, or at least very close. Well, there's nothing we can do about it now."

  Getting to his feet, Colin started to gather his papers together, "a long day tomorrow," he said, "and I've still got work to do." Adding to Eric, "will you see that your friends have everything they need?"

  Elsewhere . . . .

  Hath and Suth crouched in the corner of the conference room where they were housed, Barco residing on his sleeping robe. The other Torgai crouched or lay on their robes, seemingly paying no attention to the conversation. Hath-Boc had moved to the conference room to be with the other Torgai, and sat silently a short distance from Hath.

  "I don't trust them," Suth said, "their eyes don't seem right when they talk. And they don't look either strong or prepared. The hunters from my village could overrun them before they knew they were under attack. And I don't trust your Eric. He only wants to give the humans our land, and soon they will want more and more."

  Hath looked at Suth, "They have teeth you haven't felt. My people have. Their weapons would cut your hunters down before they could cross the compound."

  "Not," Suth countered, with what passed for a smile among the Torgai, "if we catch them by surprise. We were able to get here undetected. We could do it again."

  Hath shrugged, "in any case, that isn't our instruction. We're to find out if we can live in peace. Not look for war."

  Barco sat, eyes darting from one to the other as he followed their conversation. During the conference that day he had said little, preferring to watch and listen, and draw what he could from what wasn't spoken; the attitudes of the humans. And the reading had been mixed. Most of the humans in the meeting appeared friendly, but some clearly were not. A feeling of apprehension was apparent, but then that had been on both sides. Maybe tomorrow, Barco thought, they will feel more at ease with each other.

  But other worries also intruded into Barco's mind. Hearing that the humans had sent an expedition to their village while they were gone. Now he wished he had left one of his apprentices behind so he could communicate to warn his people, but that was too late now. All he could hope for was that both his people and the humans used wisdom and avoided rash actions.

  Looking over at Suth, Barco couldn't help but think of what might happen if he were given his head. A strong leader but looking for the simple solution. And here there was no simple solution. The humans may appear weak but their weapons made them strong; and their resolution made them even stronger. No weak race would come across space to a new land, and no weak race could make the machines that they used.

  Cormandai shared Barco's view of Suth. In their final meeting he had, because of the importance of the mission, counseled Barco on Suth's lack of restraint. And the final decision about whether to make an agreement with the humans had been left in Barco's hands. Tonight he would mind-net with Cormandai and provide him his memories of today's meeting.

  December 16, Year 2

  Eric felt relieved. The formal meetings with the Torgai had led to a solution which he felt was workable. The colonists would keep west of the foothills of the barrier range and the Torgai would stay away from the New Athens area and any other settlements on the western coastal plain. Some exceptions were the humans would have access to the metal ore deposits in the foothills, the Torgai to the ceremonial island off the delta, and, to protect the area of the Kraa clan of the Torgai, the colonists had agreed to stay at least 500 kilometers south of the northern forests. For now the Torgai seemed willing to accept these limits and the colonists were too limited in numbers and resources to expand further anyway.

  Eric knew that the agreement could only hold for the short term, but at least it would hold off conflict for now; later, when the colony became larger, it might be a different story. His concern was that the Torgai, with their custom of free use of the land did or could understand how much many humans might resent any intrusions on what they considered private property; that, plus the propensity of humans to do what they pleased.

  That evening . . . .

  The light from the windows of the living quarters made long shadows of John and his companion as they crossed the courtyard to the hydroponics pod. Opening the pod door they went down the hallway to the small conference room where he found most of the others already present. John nodded to Carlton Andrews and Mark Cohn as he sat down, and looked around the room to see if everyone was present. The dozen persons there were his core supporters and represented the more militant elements in the colony. And Mark, who was also a member of the Johnsonites, or at least had contact with them. While Margo often supported him she hadn't supported him in his last confrontations with Colin, and John didn't think she was ready for the type of action he wanted, so she hadn't been invited.

  "Well, John, what do you think of the agreement?" Carlton asked.

  "For now we live with it," John responded, "at least as long as convenient. But we have to be prepared to take action when the situation allows. We really don't have a choice. The bulk of the colonists are solidly behind Colin for now. But wait until friction with the Torgai develops, which it will. Even," he added, "if we have to help it along a little."

  "When can we expect to hear from the expedition?" Carlton asked. "Eric seemed concerned when he heard they had headed south."

  John shook his head, "not sure. Without communications we won't know until they get back in scoutplane range. It's probably still too early though, even if they started back right after first contact. Sometime in the next couple of weeks is more likely."

  "How do you want us to proceed, John?" Carlton asked.

  "Keep up proselytizing," John responded, "when we're ready to move we'll need all the support we can get. But for now we cooperate with the decision. Just remember," John continued, "we now know the approximate location of two of the Torgai villages, one of which sounds like
it's their primary village. So now we now can take direct action against the Torgai if we choose and if the opportunity presents itself."

  In Colin's quarters . . . .

  Colin was reasonably happy with the agreement. At least for now it provided some breathing room, he thought. In the morning the Torgai would be returning to their villages where they would pick several Torgai to join Hath-Boc, who would stay in New Athens to act as an emissary. Eric would be returning with the Torgai, and would continue to live with them in Hath's village indefinitely, while Ken McDaniel would stay at Suth's village for the next year. Most of the Torgai had seemed cooperative and not at all hostile with the exception of Suth; a concern apparently shared by Eric, who had briefed him about Suth's militant view. That's one reason he had picked Ken McDaniel for Suth's village. He was an experienced scout, and would keep a watch for anything unusual.

  At least the mystery of the trail they had sighted in the eastern mountains had been solved. Eric said it led to Suth's village, although not passable during the winter months. Unfortunately, with the restrictions in the territorial agreement they had reached they weren't allowed to send an expedition or scout planes into the region to explore farther. Once Buchan got back they would plan out the next stage of exploration; maybe the southern hemisphere was the next logical step.

  The Torgai quarters . . . .

  Hath-Boc's reunion with Hath had been reserved, as was customary among the Torgai, but it was clear that Hath was happy to see him in spite of his injury and failure at the manhood ceremonies. Hath-Boc thought with amusement of their amazement when they saw him walking on two legs knowing he had lost one at the ceremonies. That the humans could make a new leg, even one he could put on and take off, they found startling. Both Barco and Hath had spent much time in questioning him about what he had learned and felt he should remain to learn all he could. One of the Torgai from Suth's village would also stay, later to be joined by others from the two villages. Hath-Boc was content. He was of value to his people and was listened to.