Elvene

by P. P. Mealing

  Elvene nodded; what he had said up to this point made sense. ‘Okay,’ she responded. ‘But can I suggest that we move them off this island; after all we have the ability.’

  ‘They may not want to leave, Elvene.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right, but I think they would be better served if they lived on a larger land mass.’ She could see he wasn’t convinced.

  ‘My main concern, Roger, is that after we leave, they have no protection. The worst possible scenario is that we leave and the marauders arrive in our absence.’

  ‘Yes, but let’s face it, irrespective of Michael’s dream...’

  ‘It’s Myka,’ she interrupted.

  ‘Sorry, Myka. Irrespective of his dream, the chances are remote, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘Yes, on the evidence so far, the chances are remote. But the problem is that the only evidence that the Kiri have is Myka’s dream, and that is what they will base their judgement on.’

  ‘Elvene, I know you’ve been here for some time, and what’s more, they saved your life, but don’t you think our evidence is a bit more substantial than theirs?’

  ‘Have you ever heard of Sitting Bull?’

  ‘Who is he?’

  ‘He was a North American Indian of Old Earth. He defeated Custer at Custer’s last stand. It’s taught in the Academy.’

  ‘I think I know. It’s a lesson in underestimating your enemy because you believe you have superior firepower.’

  ‘Yes, and also about letting your ego and ambition override your rational judgement in a battle situation.’

  ‘What has that to do with the current situation?’

  ‘Nothing. It’s Sitting Bull I was talking about; he was the Indian Chief who defeated Custer.’

  ‘And…’

  ‘He had dreams or visions, which was a part of the North American Indian’s religious beliefs. He dreamt of that battle and its outcome. He also dreamt of his own death: that he would be killed by one of his own people. That also came true.’

  ‘Sounds like self-fulfilling prophecy to me. Or at least one of his people decided to make it self-fulfilling. Besides, I’m sure he had a lot of dreams that never came true.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right, but at least two of them that concerned matters of life and death did. Just be aware, Roger, that the Kiri will take this as seriously as any American Indian.’

  Roger nodded his head. He thought it best not to get into an argument with her over this.

  ‘What’s your relationship with this boy?’

  He caught her by surprise and it showed on her face. ‘He saved my life, Roger.’

  ‘So you feel an obligation to him.’

  Elvene relaxed a little. ‘I feel an obligation to the whole tribe.’

  Roger seemed to relax a little himself. ‘Okay. When we go to the Council, we will tell them that we will leave in the next day or so, and we will explain to them that when we leave, we should take any threat of the marauders away with us. We won’t say anything about an airlift unless they bring it up.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘By the way, I’d still like to fly over the archipelago before we go.’

  ‘I’m sure we could raise that, and I still think it would be a good idea to take at least one of the Elders.’

  Roger nodded his head and stood up to leave. They were both somewhat relieved that they had reached an amicable agreement.

  After Roger left, Elvene decided she needed to go and talk with the Elders. But as she approached the beach on foot, she saw Myka, and he came up to her.

  To Elvene, Myka’s face always appeared seriously concerned or contagiously happy with almost nothing in between. But it always said exactly what he felt, and that was a feature of his attraction to her. She thought it had been some time since she had seen him happy.

  Myka forewent any introductory greeting. ‘I told my father. He said he would talk to the Elders.’

  Elvene’s face had a pained look of its own. She put a hand on his shoulder, almost as his father had done, and this surprised him.

  ‘Myka, I’m going to have to leave here soon.’

  Myka nodded. ‘Yes, I know.’

  ‘I do not like to leave you like this, but…’ She just shook her head, then she pulled him to her and hugged him.

  This was such an un-Kiri thing to do, like kissing, that he felt awkward and didn’t know how to respond.

  She let him go and stood back. ‘I must spend some time with you.’

  ‘After the Council tonight, come and stay with us.’

  ‘Yes, okay.’

  They walked along the beach together.

  ‘I must go and talk to the Elders,’ she said, ‘Let them know that all four of us will be there.’

  Myka said nothing, and they left the beach to go to the village.

  From the vantage of his ship, Roger watched them through binoculars. When they were out of sight, he looked around to make sure that he had been the only one watching.

  The Council was called in the evening after everyone had eaten and the sky was not yet black but stars or planets could be seen emerging in the twilight vault. Large fires burnt around the perimeter of a communal clearing and some people carried lamps. This time everyone sat on plaited grass mats under an open sky. Elvene expected that the whole adult male contingent of the tribe was there. Lin and herself were the only women present from what she could see. There was no one younger than Myka there, and his presence was requisite, because not only did he know the outworlders’ language, but his dream was the sole reason for the gathering.

  Elvene and her colleagues sat at the front of the gathering, opposite a sort of stage that had been especially constructed for the occasion.

  A group of six Elders sat facing them with Myka sitting in a place of honour, second from the end. The Elder next to him, and closest to Elvene, rose to start proceedings. Before he spoke, he walked over to one of the fires at the front and threw a handful of something into it, which created sparks and a pungent smell. Elvene had no idea what it was and assumed that it had cultural significance for the Kiri people.

  He walked back to the centre of the stage and addressed the gathering in Kiri. When he’d finished he turned and looked at Myka; it was his cue to stand and address them in Universal.

  ‘This Council has been called because of a vision I had, which revealed to me an invasion of an enemy on this island and on my people. According to the Ocean Woman, this enemy is an enemy of her people. Her enemy is now our enemy, and the Council has been called so that we can decide what we need to do.’ When he’d finished he sat down.

  Elvene realised that everyone now expected her to speak. She looked at Roger before standing, then, on an invitation from the convening Elder, she stepped up on to the stage and faced the people. She spoke to them first in Kiri.

  ‘I have discussed this with my friends, and we believe that this enemy is not interested in the Kiri people or this island. This enemy is only interested in us outworlders. We believe that if we leave this island and this world, the enemy, which Myka saw in his dream, will not come here.’

  A murmur arose in the crowd, but Elvene held her hand up for silence, then she repeated herself in Universal for the benefit of her colleagues.

  One of the Elders on the stage stood and asked a question. ‘You are telling us that Myka’s dream will not come true?’

  She repeated his question in Universal before answering. ‘Myka’s dream will come true if we stay here. It is only by leaving that we can take this danger away from you.’

  The first Elder then spoke. ‘Can you promise us this?’

  ‘No, I can’t.’

  Again there was a nervous murmur from the gathering at her feet.

  ‘But it is only because we are here, that this enemy could become your enemy. It is only by leaving that we can change things back to the way they were before. Myka’s dream is a warning to us. If we heed the warning, it can be averted; if we do not, then the consequence
s will be disastrous.’

  She repeated all this to Roger, Essayas and Lin, but meanwhile the gathering appeared unappeased. To her surprise, Myka rose to his feet and asked the convening Elder if he could speak. He spoke in Kiri, then in Universal.

  ‘What if we leave the island instead?’

  Elvene looked at Roger in an effort to let him know that she was as surprised by this suggestion as anyone else. The Kiri audience, on the other hand, were more perturbed than ever.

  ‘Where would we go?’ someone called out, and the convening Elder held up his hand for silence which was quickly obeyed.

  Elvene spoke directly to Roger. ‘Do you want to say something.’

  Roger shook his head.

  ‘We can offer them transport,’ she said.

  ‘It has to be their decision,’ was his response.

  The Elder turned to Myka, ‘What are they saying?’

  ‘They could help us, but only if we decide.’

  The Elder turned back to Elvene. ‘Please explain what you are saying.’

  Elvene looked at Roger, then addressed the larger audience.

  ‘If you really want to leave the island, if that’s your decision, we have the ability to carry you through the air. But you need to discuss that amongst yourselves.’

  Elvene knew that this was such a foreign idea to them, that it was not a decision that could be made in one night.

  ‘Tomorrow, we can take a small group of you up into the air, and show you what we can do. But it is a big step for you to leave this island home; it contains a lot of uncertainty. You need to consider all of that.’

  She looked at Myka, wondering where he’d got the idea. Obviously, he’d never discussed this with anyone else. She wondered if it was something that had come to him on the spur of the moment. It was also obvious to her that this Council would not be able to decide anything as dislocating and eventful as a wholesale evacuation.

  As if reading her thoughts, the convening Elder spoke. ‘This is too big a decision to be made here in one night. Tomorrow we will choose some people to go in the Ocean Woman’s flying machine as she suggested. Afterwards we will have another Council, perhaps on our own.’ He asked Myka to repeat what he said in Universal.

  After this, the convener announced the Council closed.

  Before she left the stage, Elvene walked over to Myka and spoke to him in private. ‘Go home to your cave; I will come later. I need to escort Roger and his friends back to their ship.’

  Myka nodded to her, and watched her walk back to her friends. He noticed that Roger was watching her closely.

  Even though the Kiri could not understand his language, Roger waited till they were out of earshot before he spoke. ‘Do you really think they would leave the island?’

  ‘I don’t know. It’s a huge decision for them to make.’

  ‘Where did Myka get the idea from?’

  Elvene looked at Roger, but she couldn’t read his face in the dark. ‘Not from me, I can assure you.’

  ‘Why would he raise it?’

  ‘I’ve no idea; you’d have to ask him.’

  ‘I saw you talking to him on the beach.’ This time Roger looked at her. Essayas and Lin followed, but in their enigmatic way stayed out of the conversation.

  ‘So?’

  ‘So. I’m surprised you don’t know.’

  Elvene could think of a number of responses to this, but she decided to let them all go. They walked on in silence. They were now at the beach, but they were still too far away to see their ships in the shadows. There were no clouds and under the starlight, the water glittered in a random sea of stars. Even though there was no tide compared to Old Earth, the water was never still, and when there were storms there could be a heavy swell.

  Back at the ship, Roger asked the obvious question. ‘So, what happens now?’

  Elvene said, ‘We take them for a ride in one of our ships. It was an opportune time to raise it.’

  Roger nodded his head; Essayas and Lin stood nearby like sentinels.

  ‘To be honest with you, Roger, I don’t like the waiting. But at the same time I don’t like leaving either.’

  Roger was watching her face, then looked at his feet. ‘All Right, I will see you in the morning,’ and he entered his ship.

  Essayas and Lin both smiled and said goodnight before following him.

  Elvene walked over to Alfa and entered. Once inside she gave instructions should Roger or anyone call. After a short period she went outside again and hurried towards the beach. Once again, Roger watched her through his night glasses.

  Elvene had only been inside the Kiri caves once before; this time, the mood was more inviting. No one seemed surprised that she was there, yet a sense of privacy was going to be difficult for her to acquire. None of the little caverns were really isolated from one another and there wasn’t even a screen between them. Myka was obviously more comfortable with the arrangement than she was, and he took the lead in their lovemaking.

  He slowly undressed her and covered her in kisses. He made sure that she was completely comfortable and relaxed, before undressing himself. They held each other tight; Elvene felt so much at home with him now, so much at one, that the thought of leaving him was nowhere in her mind. She caressed his back, oblivious now to their surroundings. They stroked each other while lying face to face on their sides, but when they finally joined, she rolled him over on his back so that she could control him and feel his tension build beneath her. She heard him gasp, and then they both relaxed as he held her close against his face.

  Afterwards, Myka lay on his back and she lay in the crook of his arm, her forehead against his chin. He kissed her there. ‘I don’t want you to leave,’ he said in a low voice.

  ‘Don’t think about it, Myka; this is our time and no one else’s.’

  He stroked her head through her hair and pulled her closer still. They didn’t sleep, but simply lay together like they were sharing silent thoughts.

  Elvene left before dawn, though when she exited the caves there was a lightening of the sky over the ocean. Despite everything that was happening she believed that she’d never felt more at peace. She knew it was something that she couldn’t hang onto, but for the time it lasted she was determined to indulge it. When she got to the beach, she stripped off and entered the water for a swim. This might be the last time, she thought. When the sun finally crested the waves, she got out, dressed and walked to her ship. She entered, and after drying herself off, promptly fell asleep.

  Elvene was unsure how long she’d been asleep when Alfa awoke her, but she knew it wasn’t long enough. ‘Roger wants to see you.’

  ‘Yes, he would.’ Her mind slowly cleared; she realised it was still morning. ‘Tell him to give me twenty minutes, and then to come on over.’

  Elvene showered and dried and put on new clothes. She prepared a hasty breakfast of synthetic cereal, carbohydrates and protein from her ship’s stores, and was eating it when Roger arrived.

  ‘Morning, Elvene, did I wake you up?’

  ‘Yes you did. I slept in.’

  ‘So I see.’

  ‘That obvious, huh?’

  Roger sat down and watched her eat.

  ‘Do you want some?’ She gestured at her food.

  ‘No, I ate some time ago.’

  He waited till she was more attentive and less distracted by her eating.

  ‘Tell me what do you know about this boy?’

  Elvene was immediately on the defensive. All their conversations kept coming back to Myka’s credibility.

  ‘He’s very intelligent, very good on the water, a more than competent fisherman, and a very strong swimmer for his age.’

  ‘But you know him better than this, Elvene. I’ve seen the two of you together; he’s the only one who can really communicate with you. Isn’t that so?’

  Elvene had stopped eating. ‘What do you want to know?’

  ‘I want to know why he’d be willing to leave his island home; the only
home he’s ever known.’

  ‘You may not believe this, Roger, but he’s never discussed that with me and I’ve never asked him.’

  ‘Tell me more about his dreams and visions.’

  Elvene recognised that Roger was in his investigative mode; she’d met this side of him before, when they knew each other less well.

  ‘I don’t know what else I can tell you besides what I’ve told you before. He dreamt about my arrival, he dreamt about me in the render’s pit, and now he’s dreamt about an invasion on this island. Maybe that’s why he wants to leave.’

  Roger knew that the direct approach usually worked best with Elvene. ‘Why are you being so defensive? What are you holding back? You know more than you’re willing to tell.’

  ‘That’s true, Roger. Basically, because you don’t believe him.’

  ‘And you do?’

  ‘As you pointed out, I have come to know him very well; not just him, but his family and his people. I know what’s important to them, I know how they think.’

  ‘Precisely, you know how they think. So tell me what I’m missing.’

  She looked away momentarily before answering, ‘Myka has other gifts.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘He has some sort of telepathic ability with animals.’

  ‘You have seen this, or he’s just told you about it?’

  ‘Well, we were being attacked by this flying creature; he called it a presperas in his own tongue, but it looked like a cross between a wolf and a giant bat. I was going to shoot it with my rappelling gun but he stopped me and he said that he’d sent it away.’

  ‘And you believed him, of course?’

  ‘Roger, the Kiri don’t lie the way we do, it’s almost like they don’t know how. I mean, I’m sure they do tell lies or at least withhold the truth, but they don’t lie about things like this. What’s more, Myka won’t tell the Elders about his ability, I’m not sure why.’

  ‘So he would lie to the Elders but not to you.’

  ‘I think, Roger, you are misconstruing what I’m saying.’

  ‘No need to get emotional, Elvene.’ Roger had adopted a manner not unlike a father with a recalcitrant child. ‘You’re very close to him, aren’t you?’