by Dale Musser
“Any idea where we’re headed?” I queried.
“Yes – to Jomang. It’s one of the larger cities near the equator. It’s where we will find Howebim’s brother.”
I had never bothered to ask anyone about Goo’Waddle, assuming it was more or less like Ryken, Plosaxen or possibly even Alle Bamma, and I certainly didn’t anticipated anything like what greeted us on the surface. Goo’Waddle was roughly the size of the planet Mars in my native solar system. It was a young planet, mostly flat, with only some low mountains or hills situated around a huge circular sea that covered about one tenth of the planet’s surface.
The circular sea, I was to learn, was created by a large asteroid impact many millions of years earlier. Goo’Waddle had a very high water table; one had to dig only about two meters to reach the water level. Before the asteroid impact, the planet most likely had little to no surface water. Even now the depth of the water was only a few meters. The soil was mostly a sandy loam that covered the entire surface of the planet, which was fairly level, except the area around the rim of the large crater, where the low mountains were slowly eroding into little more than hills.
At some point early inhabitants began carving out large canals for use in commerce and transportation; apparently long before anyone now living on the planet could recall. There was no real way to date the canals, as they were constantly being dredged, deepened, and widened, due to the relatively loose sandy soil that constantly eroded into the waterways and threatened to block the passages and intersections. It was believed that the earliest canals had existed for over ten thousand years. In some locations, small harbors were carved into the islands to form docking areas; usually these became the locations of towns and cities. Only a few of the largest islands had actual designated areas where spacecraft could land.
The only place any rock material was found was in the vicinity of the impact crater; most of it was small. Minerals, as they existed on Goo’Waddle, were mixed into the sandy soil and were not easily mined or extracted; so the planet relied heavily on importing such materials to sustain their development. On the other hand, the terrain and mineral properties of the soil, in conjunction with the temperate global climate made Goo’Waddle an excellent planet for agriculture.
Along the equatorial regions major food crops were grown and, as one moved toward the polar regions, the crops gave way to grassy islands where animals were raised for meat, leather and wool. Nearer to the polar regions grew giant forests that produced lumber and other wood products as well as nuts. These commodities were in high demand on the nearby planets of Yentum and Ryken, as neither produced much in the way of food, due to the rocky soil and uneven terrain, which made them more suitable for manufacturing and mining.
Oddly, in spite of all the water in the canals and sea, Goo’Waddle had no fish or aquatic life. There had been abundant sea life at an earlier time; but it all died off as a result of heavy pollution from sewage and other wastes dumped indiscriminately into the planet’s canals. Most of the planet’s drinking water was filtered with various types of equipment; the rest of the potable water was acquired from rainwater. Water used for agricultural purposes, such as irrigation, depended on the crop; crops intended for food use were irrigated with filtered water or rainwater, while crops used for fiber or non-food purposes were irrigated directly with the polluted canal water. Crops that received the canal water grew more robustly — probably because of the nutrient and mineral content.
Our landing at the Jomang spaceport went without incident. Kerabac was able to locate and secure a vacant warehouse space on the spaceport property, where we quickly unloaded our cargo for storage. Instructions were given to Norkoda take the RASSON BEDAN up into orbit and keep it cloaked until it was needed. We were relatively sure the Brotherhood would be looking for the ship on the surface – and we didn’t want it found.
We then transferred our currency to what on Earth would be the equivalent of a safety deposit box in a local banking facility, while Endina made arrangements for a place to stay.
Fortunately, there was no shortage of small rental estate listings, as cartels had been buying up the bulk of the estate land, more or less driving the original owners out of their shrunken estate homes to other planets where they could pursue a more luxurious lifestyle. The offer of an additional financial bonus to the real estate agent made it possible for us to lease a place late that same night and, while we didn’t have any furnishings, we at least had a place to stay.
It was dark when we arrived at the estate, so it wasn’t possible to see much of the exterior of the place or the surrounding area. The air was very humid and carried with it a slightly putrid smell that reminded me of the swamps on Earth. There was a large wall that surrounded the property; Endina had to enter a keypad security code provided by the agent in order to pass through the estate’s large metal gate. The gate swung in slowly and we filed in to find a short promenade to the main house, which was completely dark. Once at the house, Endina entered a second security code that allowed us to open the main door. As soon as we crossed the entry, lights came on throughout the first floor. The house was huge.
“It looks we have power,” I said.
“The agent who leased us this place said that the estate has its own fusion power cell. It was included in the rental price,” Endina explained.
On the way to the estate, Endina had also related what she learned from the agent. Although there was an outbuilding for the many slaves that once worked the estate, after the sale of the bulk of the land to one of the agriculture cartels the structure was no longer in use and a smaller area within the main house was set aside for the few remaining domestic slaves that the previous owner had kept for personal use. We managed to locate this area and, as with the rest of the house, we found it to be barren of any furnishings. Discolored areas on the walls indicated where paintings or tapestries once hung. I had seen some statuary outside, but there was none inside the house, though there appeared to be places where some may have stood at one time.
“It looks like we will all be sleeping on the floor tonight. Tomorrow we’ll see to getting furnishings for the place. Endina, I’ll leave that up to you,” I said without thinking.
“Ahh…yes,” she said with a wide grin. “And then I can have you slaves positioning it about according to my whims.” She laughed, and I realized she was right. Anyone watching us would be expecting the slaves to be doing such chores, and the people who delivered the furniture would expect the slaves to unload the delivery vehicle and take the furniture inside. There would be talk if anything appeared out of the norm.
Fortunately, our location on Goo’Waddle was in a warm climate or, at least, the season was warm — if Goo’Waddle had seasons — so heat and blankets were not required. Endina took out her vid pad and said, “I won’t need to wait until tomorrow to order furniture. I should be able to find a place and order some now; maybe we’ll have it here first thing tomorrow. Most places in the city operate day and night.”
It was decided, for no other reason than we didn’t know what to expect, that someone should be on guard and alert during the night while the rest of us slept. Marranalis volunteered for the first watch; Kerabac said he would take second; I took the third; and Padaran would take last watch. Everyone more or less positioned themselves around the main room in the house and lay down on the floor to sleep. Kalana and I lay next to each other and were soon sound asleep.
I was in the middle of a dream when Kerabac woke me for my watch. It had been a strange dream about something chasing me through a dense fog. I felt small and afraid and I was hungry, thirsty, weak, and unable to go on. Even after I was fully awake, elements of the dream still haunted me. I did my best to shake off the lingering sense of vulnerability as I settled in for my watch. There seemed to be some diffuse light coming in through the windows of the darkened house, so I decided to investigate.
I quietly slipped out, thinking that we had forgotten to set the alarm on the house bef
ore we went to sleep. Once outside, I immediately noticed a dense but low cloud of fog, similar to that in my dream. The dim light of the moon showed through the fog and created an eerie surrounding that matched the heavy feeling of the air. I stood there in the silence for a few minutes and was about to return inside, when I heard a whimpering sound coming from somewhere nearby. I listened closely until heard it again, only this time it sounded more like someone crying. I crept quietly along the large porch that extended across the front of the house, keeping myself concealed in the darkness of the shadows while I traced my way toward the noise. The sound stopped, and I waited patiently, listening.
I heard a rustling of leaves, and then another whimper followed by more sobs and soft crying. I slowly moved forward until I could tell that the sound was coming from the shrubbery right in front of me just below the porch level. Carefully, I crawled to the edge and peered down toward the ground. There, in the dim light, I saw a small child of no more than perhaps ten or eleven, curled up in a ball in a small pile of leaves.
I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. My first instinct was to say something, but I wasn’t sure which of the many languages in my head would be the right one to use on this young lad. Something was not right. It was obvious that he was hiding, but from whom and why was a complete mystery.
I sat back to ponder this new development. As I tried to sort out what to do next, a figure came out the front door. There was enough light to see that it was Kala; she was apparently looking for me. I caught her attention and motioned for her to come to me quietly. Just as she arrived, the young lad stirred and made a whimpering sound again; it was becoming clear that he was in some sort of pain. Kala looked at me questioningly and I shrugged my shoulders. Kala crept over to the edge and peered down; and what she did next totally surprised me. She sat on very edge of the porch and softly began humming a tune that sounded very much like a child’s tune. Immediately, everything grew quiet in the bushes where the child was hidden.
After humming a few bars, Kala began singing very softly in one language and then another, “Come out, come out, my little one, we are your friends and no one will hurt you.” She sang this song perhaps a dozen times in different languages until, at last, we heard a rusting in the leaves; slowly a small head peered up over the porch to see Kala and I sitting there cross-legged in front of him.
At first he ducked back down, but Kala kept singing in the same language, “Do not be afraid, my little one, we will not hurt you, we will protect you, we will feed you.” Slowly, the head reappeared and looked at us a few minutes, glancing back and forth along the porch and behind him as though he feared someone was sneaking up on him.
At last, Kala stopped singing and very quietly said, “I am Kalana and this is Tibby. What is your name?”
The boy looked at us shyly for a few moments before saying, “You won’t send me back, will you? They will kill me if you do.”
“Who will kill you? And why would they want to kill you?” Kala asked.
“My masters,” the young boy said. “My arm is broken and they do not want a cripple to feed and care for. They would only throw me back into the canal to drown again if you return me.”
Kala turned to me with one of those, Do something looks.
“No one is going to throw you into a canal to drown,” I said. “We will protect you.”
“But you’re slaves, too,” he said. Obviously, he had noted our slave collars, Kala’s nudity and my loincloth. “How can you protect or save me?”
“Not all things are as they seem, my young friend. Come, let’s go inside. Tomorrow we will see to getting you some food; but for now, come inside where it is safer.”
When we entered the house, Kala turned on the lights so we might have a better look at our young friend. As he glanced around the room and saw Kerabac and Endina, he started to bolt and run for the door. It was only my blocking the door that stopped him. “It’s alright,” I said. “You’re safe here. They are friends, too, and they won’t hurt you.”
“They’re Ruwallie Rasson,” he blurted out. “They’ll turn me in for a reward, or take me for a slave as well.”
“No they won’t,” I exclaimed. By this time, the noise we were making was waking up the others in the room.
“What’s going on, Tibby?” Kerabac asked, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and tried to focus. “Who is that you have with you?”
“I’m not sure who he is just yet,” I replied. “He’s not told us his name, but he appears to have a broken arm; and from the looks of him, he’s had it pretty rough.” In the light, it was possible to see the rags he was wearing on his gaunt frame. His ribs seemed to protrude through his skin. He was near starvation and body was covered in bruises and scars.
“By the stars,” Endina exclaimed when she looked at him. “He looks like he’s had the worst of it. I have a med kit in the transport outside. Let me get it and see to his arm and wounds.”
The young boy looked at us all with a stunned look on his face. “They are Ruwallie Rasson – and you can talk to them like that and they don’t shock or beat you?”
I smiled at him. “No, they do not. As I said, things are not as they may appear here. You are safe with these people; none of them will hurt you.”
Just then, Endina returned. “I’m afraid we have only minimal supplies, but I should be able to make a cast for that arm and treat some of the other wounds. If we were back on the ship, we could use the med unit, but for now, this will have to do. I wish now we had arrived in time to buy some food. As soon as I get him treated, I’ll place a vid order with a local food supplier and have them make the delivery first thing in the morning. I’ll have to order some cooking utensils and dishes, as well, since we have nothing to cook with.”
“Doesn’t your food replicator work?” the young boy asked.
“We don’t have a food replicator in the house yet; we just moved in,” Endina explained as she applied a sleeve-like object on the boy’s arm. Once it was in place and she went through the painful process of aligning the bone properly, she took a small UV light from the med kit and aimed it at the sleeve. Wherever the beam lit up the sleeve, it hardened instantly to form a rigid cast.
“There,” she said with some satisfaction. “That should do until we can get you proper medical attention.”
The relief showed on the boy’s face, but the pain of hunger still filled his eyes. “There is a food replicator in the old slave house,” the young boy said. “Now that you have the power on, it should work.”
“How do you know there is a replicator out there?” I asked.
“Before the Brotherhood stopped using this part of the estate, they used to keep us in the slave house out there.”
“Brotherhood? The Brotherhood owns this estate?”
“Yes, don’t you know? The Brotherhood bought this calgana last year to grow the plants to make their drugs. They own all the land around here; these fields are where they grow the plants. They use us slaves to harvest the crops.”
I turned to Marranalis. “Go check the slave quarters. If there is a food replicator there, see if you can get it working and bring something back for the boy to eat.” Marranalis nodded and left the house quietly.
“What is a calgana?” I asked.
The boy gave me a crazy look and answered, “You don’t know what a calgana is? Where are you from, outer space? Everyone knows a calgana is a section of land surrounded by canals!”
I glanced at Kalana and saw she was holding back a laugh. “Ahh… actually, we are from outer space,” I said.
The boy’s eyes widened. “So you really don’t know? Is that why you don’t act like the other people here?”
“That’s not a good thing to hear,” Kala chimed in. “If we don’t appear normal to this boy, we sure won’t fool others very long.”
“I don’t think the situation is quite the same. We weren’t trying to fool him; we were trying to help him.” I turned to the boy and asked agai
n, “What’s your name?”
“Tanden,” he answered.
“Tell me what happened to you, Tanden. How did you come to be a slave?”
“It was a long time ago,” he began. “One day, some men came to our home and they were angry with my father about something. There was lots of shouting and they hit my father. One man, who was a government official, told my dad he had to pay the men what he owed or he and all of us would become slaves to pay the debt. My dad begged the men for more time, but they refused. They told him they would allow him to remain free, but the rest of us would become slaves until he paid his debt.
“My sister was taken to work in one of the pleasure houses; I don’t know where they took my mother. I was taken to another pleasure house for men who want young boys,” he said, hanging his head. “It was next to where they had my sister and, at times, I could see her from the window of my room. When she was not with a man, sometimes they would let her walk outside in the enclosed courtyard. I never was able to talk to her, but we would wave at each other. I was there until a few months ago when they said I was too old and the clients no longer desired me. They sold me to the Brotherhood as a harvester.
“I am not as strong or fast as many of the older boys, so I was beaten for not producing enough. Yesterday, I was carrying a load of plants when I fell. One of the guards hit me hard with a baton. As I brought my arm up to protect myself, his next strike broke my arm. The overseer said I wasn’t worth the time and food it would take to heal me, and I was tossed into the canal to drown. I cannot swim; I struggled to breathe until I grabbed hold of a piece of floating trash and worked my way back to shore. By then, the overseers were looking the other way and I crawled to a culvert that empties into the canal from this house. I managed to work my way through the culvert to where it opens into the garden outside.”