Fractured Prophecy

by P J McDermott

  “Okay, fun time’s over.” She called Jess and Gareth back to reality and whistled for Sikona to join them.

  CHAPTER 9

  Honor and Faith

  They removed all traces of their presence at the waterhole and resumed their journey as before, keeping parallel to the Scarg tracks.

  By mid-afternoon the following day, they reached the foot of the mountains and began the ascent. When evening fell, they found themselves confronted by a sheer cliff face towering three hundred feet over their heads. Hickory reluctantly decided to wait until morning before attempting it.

  She searched her backpack for the SIM amplifier Brandt had given her and examined it. Her instructions were to call for extraction when she achieved her goal, or if she deemed it impossible to continue the mission. She was concerned about the time it was taking to reach Kaffur. The Admiral had allowed her a week to infiltrate the city and recover the Sword. Already, they were more than halfway through the allotted time. If Hickory didn’t contact him in the next few days, he would assume the mission was a failure and that they were all dead.

  They risked a small fire in the lea of a large boulder, out of sight of any curious night-time eyes. Flames flickered redly against their faces as they huddled around the warmth.

  Hickory wanted Sikona to tell them more about the planet and its people. Anything that added to her knowledge would help if and when they entered Kaffur. “Your people, have they always been a warrior race?”

  The Bikashi stared into the fire and said, “On my planet, some histories are written down, other histories are passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation. This is what my father told me when I reached my fourteenth birthday, and my name was entered into the rolls of my caste. These are the same memories passed on to him by his father and told to his father by his father back for sixteen generations.” He paused, his eyes flicked from one to another, resting on Hickory. “In the time before the war, Auriga was the most beautiful garden in the universe. It brimmed with life, vitality, color, and music. None went hungry or homeless, and the Bikashi people were known for their generosity and peaceful ways.”

  Gareth uttered a snort of disbelief, and Hickory gave him a warning look.

  Sikona met Gareth’s eyes. “It is hard for an outsider to understand what drives the Bikashi. You must remember we are no longer a numerous people. Our species has struggled to survive.” He paused, his features unreadable. “And some unsavory things were no doubt done to ensure that survival. The war changed many things, but we still practice meditation from an early age and value honor, tradition, and family above all else. Every community holds ceremonial contests of skill and strength.

  “When a Bikashi man-child comes of age, his arm is scored with a ritual knife to remind him of the conflict with the Goshe and the need to remain vigilant.” He rolled up his sleeve to display two parallel cuts on his forearm. “Only those who are selected to be soldiers are trained in the art of war and later conscripted into the armed forces. It is at that point they are issued with laser weapons and body armor.

  “My prowess with the knife was only average, but I had an affinity for words and would read anything that came to hand; philosophies of war, training manuals, learned works by the ancients, anything I could get my hands on. I had dreams of becoming an educator, but my family were impoverished farmers, so my father indentured me at an early age to work in the science factory.”

  Hickory nodded. It explained a lot. Sikona had a very different background from the Bikashi troops she’d faced on Prosperine.

  Jess interrupted. “Are females trained to be soldiers?”

  “No, Jess. There is no tradition of female warriors in Aurigan history, although I suspect we are weaker because of it. My sister remained at home, working on the farm. None but selected males are given the honor of fighting for the Warlord, and they are expected to demonstrate bravery in all things. A soldier will use a laser weapon to stun their enemy, then attack with his sword. Their training prepares them to fight hand to hand. In that way, they do their family and their opponents honor.”

  “Honor?” Gareth couldn’t help himself. “You talk a lot about honor, Sikona, but Vogel had no honor. He was a cold-blooded murderer who delighted in torturing his prisoners.”

  “Some individuals sacrifice personal honor for that of Auriga. I believe Vogel may have been one such, but I can assure you he did not, could not, take pleasure from doing so. Such a thing is impossible for any Bikashi soldier.”

  Jess interrupted before Gareth could respond. “What about Jolphyr, the guy who murdered your family—do you consider him to be an honorable person, after what he did?”

  Sikona blinked at Jess, then lowered his head and was silent for a few moments. “Jolphyr’s goal was to rid the planet of a despot. But…how he went about it…” He swallowed. “That…that did him no honor, and I will kill him because of it.”

  Hickory did not doubt his intent or his ability to carry out his threat. The Bikashi was tall and muscular, and his time with the Dark Suns would have equipped him with the necessary skills.

  Sikona looked at each of the Earth people in turn. “Aberrations occur in all social structures. The Bikashi are no different from Earthmen in that regard.”

  Hickory nodded. Again, Sikona had jarred her preconceptions of the Bikashi, as much by his evident emotion as by his words. “I respect your beliefs, Sikona, but I have trouble accepting the Bikashi are as honorable as you say given their history in the federation.” She hesitated, tasting an almost heretical thought. “But I agree others might see Earth society quite different from how we see ourselves.”

  “But, but—” said Gareth, then lapsed into silence. Earth’s history was against him.

  As Hickory pulled the blanket over herself, she wondered about Sikona. Could she trust him? His words sounded fair, and so far, he’d proved himself a reliable companion. He certainly presented a different picture of the Bikashi from how she’d thought about them until now—treacherous, implacable, and cruel.

  The Teacher had shown love and compassion for all people, even the Pharlaxian rebel leaders who had tried on several occasions to kill him. What would he say of the Bikashi?

  She thought of Vogel. A hero of his own people, a villain to those of Earth, especially Gareth. Sometimes a leader must do unpalatable things, things they don’t espouse to but necessary for the greater good. But there’s a limit to how far civilized people will go for the common good. I wonder how far Sikona would go in his pursuit of justice? Would he sacrifice the lives of others, would he give me up to the Warlord?

  #

  The wall was even more dizzying in the morning light. A distinct overhang would make its ascent almost impossible. Gareth shivered just looking at it. “You know I’m no good with heights. I’ll never be able to climb that.”

  Jess pursed her lips together. “We have rope. I believe we could get you up there, boyo, but the problem as I see it is, we don’t know what’s waiting on top.”

  “Let’s walk along the cliff face and see if we can find a safer path,” said Hickory.

  They spent the morning clambering over scree and through the wind-twisted bush. By noon, their legs and backs ached, but they saw no signs of an easier way to scale the mountain.

  Traveling in the lead, Sikona stopped and pointed below them to where the Scarg tracks now verged toward the rock face. “There must be a passage through the range. We should follow the tracks as far as they go and hope they lead us to the other side.”

  Hickory searched the area through her spyglass. None of the beasts were in view. “Let’s go.”

  They descended to ground level where the Scarg passage was clearly marked. Blood stained the earth and gnawed bones littered the ground. Eating on the march, thought Hickory, then was staggered to discover the remains of a campfire. These guys are more advanced than I gave them credit for.

  Gaining control over fire had changed the course of human evolution. The same thing
could be happening here. Fire allowed early humans to keep warm, cook food, ward off predators, and live in harsh climates. It had important social implications too, encouraging groups of people to gather together. From the footprints, it was clear more than one band had stopped here for a meal. She kicked at one of the burnt bones.

  “I wonder what they eat,” said Gareth, looking down at the embers. He glanced up at Hickory and raised his eyebrows.

  “Best not to think about it,” said Hickory.

  Jess crouched to examine the tracks. “Two bands. One headed into the mountains, the other towards the sea. They look like relatively fresh footprints. One to two days old at most.”

  Sikona looked at the sky. “It will be sunset in a few hours, and there may be more coming. I wouldn’t like to bump into them in the dark. We should move on.”

  Two hours later, the trail led them into a narrow canyon barely fifty yards from side to side. The setting sun was obscured by the high walls, and they walked most of the time in shadow along a winding track. The air still felt cold, but not as icy as before, and in the ravine, they were protected from the wind. The sand felt soft underfoot, which made for tough going, and an hour later it was dark. They set up camp for the night and went foraging for kindling.

  Later, around the campfire, they heard a screech that grew in intensity until it seemed as though it was directly above their heads. The sound faded. “That’s the first bird we’ve come across since we got here. At least I think it was a bird,” said Gareth.

  “Possibly, although other creatures manage to survive in this place,” said Sikona. “I’ve seen a snake or two as well as some burrowing animals, and there were several small snarks in the pool you swam in yesterday.”

  “Snarks? Is that a type of fish?” asked Jess.

  “Snarks eat fish and sometimes bigger game, but these were quite small.”

  “How small?”

  Sikona held his hands wide apart.

  “Why didn’t you warn us?” She stared at him coldly.

  “They were too small to do much harm, and besides, I did not wish to interrupt your copulation foreplay.”

  Jess’s jaw dropped. “Copu…?”

  #

  Hickory had trouble finding sleep. In her half-dream state, she conjured up a vision of the snark: the front half of a crocodile, the tail of an anaconda, with a call like a hyena. Shivering, she pulled the blanket up to her neck and turned on her side.

  The snark’s eyes broke the pool surface and focused on the Kelpi. Bonni was happily paddling in the oasis, unaware of the danger. The snark sneaked closer to the dog and Hickory tried to warn it, but no sound emerged from her mouth. The snark pounced, and Bonni shrieked.

  Hickory sat bolt upright, then slumped over. She ran her fingers through her hair. Damn Sikona and his snarks. She looked around. Her companions were all sleeping deeply. She tried to settle once more, but it was no use. The stars shone bright overhead, and a moon had begun to creep over the edge of the ravine. She calculated it would remain visible for the next half hour, at least. I need to pee.

  She buckled her S-F knife to her belt and headed further into the canyon. After a few minutes, a magical transformation took place. Where before the ground had been barren, now exotic plants sprouted along the edges of the canyon walls. As the moonlight grew brighter, shoots burst from the ground and expanded rapidly into adult forms. Three feet tall in only minutes, these bore round silvery leaves with a single flower head consisting of bright red petals and a long stamen.

  Hickory walked on and found many more of the alien plants sending tendrils across the floor of the canyon. Flowers bloomed everywhere, releasing clouds of pollen spores into the sky. A melodic vibration accompanied the release. She stooped to examine the flower heads and saw tiny insects crawling inside. Pollination. Life will find a way to survive in the strangest environments. She resisted the urge to pluck a flower.

  Hickory was about to head back to camp when she heard a squeal from up ahead. What was that? An animal? She hesitated. God knows what she’d find out here. A rogue Scarg perhaps? She heard a cry of pain and reached out with her empathic sense. There was no aura of imminent danger. Keeping close to the canyon wall, she crept around the next bend and craned her head to see. A Scarg had become trapped in quicksand.

  She reached to touch it with her mind, then stopped. The animal was quite safe—at least for the moment. The more it struggled, though, the lower it would sink. But only up to a point.

  Like any other mammal, the Scarg would be composed mainly of water with an overall body density approaching one gram per milliliter. Quicksand had a heavier concentration of about two grams per milliliter. Sinking any more than halfway was therefore physically impossible. The Scarg was already up to its thighs in the quicksand, but it wouldn’t descend much further. The animal didn’t know this, of course, and its struggles agitated the mixture of sand, water, and clay, making it more liquid, thereby allowing the animal to sink a little lower. Eventually, the beast would tire, and its struggles would cease. The sand would then solidify, making it almost impossible for it to escape.

  Hickory examined the Scarg. It looked like a younger version of those that had pursued them. It was trembling with fright and despair. She knew there were ways to extract a trapped person from the sand, but that depended on communication and understanding between the rescuer and the victim. And she really did not want to attempt to make that connection with a Scarg.

  When she arrived back at camp, the others were awake and searching the surrounding area for her.

  When she explained about the Scarg, Gareth was enthusiastic. “You communicated with the Charakai, and you did it with the Riv-Amok too, eh?”

  “Yes, but the Charakai were primitive creatures able to be influenced, and the Riv Amok was a telepath. I couldn’t control him at all because he was too intelligent.”

  “Hickory, we’ve got to try. Think about what we might learn if you can reach the mind of this creature.”

  “It’s worth a go,” said Jess, nodding her encouragement.

  Sikona eyes narrowed in puzzlement. “This is one of the creatures who wanted us for their dinner,” he said. “I do not understand why you would save it, or how. It’s an animal. Let it die. We should not delay our journey for such as this.”

  Hickory felt Sikona might be right. They should leave the creature to its fate. And anyway, she didn’t think she would be able to see into the mind of the Scarg. Why should I even try? The mutation I carry has brought me little but grief. She looked into the hopeful eyes of Gareth and Jess and couldn’t deny them. She sighed. “I tend to agree with you, Sikona. But there’s no harm in having a look at it. We can decide whether to help or not when we know a bit more.”

  #

  The animal had stopped its struggles by the time they arrived. It was now waist deep in the mire, its shoulders hunched and its head hanging low from its long neck.

  Gareth reached into his pack and took out a rope. He whispered to Hickory. “If you can keep the Scarg relaxed, I’ll lasso it and drag it onto its back. Then if he kicks a bit, or at least tries to move his feet, the sand will liquefy again, and we should be able to pull it out.”

  Sikona lingered at the edge of the group, his face tight. “You’d better be ready to restrain it. If it gets free, it will likely attack.”

  Jess gave him a glassy stare and threw a rope at his chest. “That’s our job, big boy. If it looks like he’s going to charge we need to get more rope on him. The three of us ought to be able to restrain him.”

  Hickory motioned for silence, and moved a dozen steps closer, but still behind the creature. She communicated via her SIM to Gareth and Jess. I’m going to try to reach him. If things go well, I’ll signal you, Gareth.

  She sat on the sand and brought to mind her childhood mantra to prepare for the attempt. It was critical she didn’t frighten the youngster. Sitting in the lotus position, Hickory took a deep breath. I am calm and peaceful like the boun
dless ocean. I am open-hearted and free as the wind.

  She found the empathic receptors located beneath the gamma-blocks placed in her cerebellum when she was sixteen and tried to replicate the anger and rage she’d felt when she’d discovered her power over the Charakai, the bird-reptiles, on Prosperine. Why did Kar leave me? It was unfair. He said he’d be with me ’till the end of time itself. Instead of anger, she experienced profound sadness. Taking several deep breaths, she changed tack and brought to mind the memory of the shark attack on Bonni. She felt the power begin to build. Electrical impulses gathered pace, speeding from her SIM to the hippocampus and auditory centers of her brain and back again, faster and faster.

  Her head buzzed, and nausea overcame her. She retched and abandoned her efforts to reach the Scarg. I knew this was pointless. I haven’t communicated telepathically with any creature since Kar died. Her attempt to use the memory of Kar to stoke her anger filled Hickory with shame. Anger was never his way. She recalled the Teacher’s lessons on using love rather than fear or rage to activate her gift. ‘The first thing you must do is have faith in me. I can teach you, but you must open your heart as well as your mind.’ He would be disappointed to see her give up so easily.

  She began once more, delving deep within to locate the source of her emotional energy. She concentrated on bringing to mind the marvelous experiences and positive influences in her life: her recruitment by the Corps and the excitement of being chosen for her first mission; her friends, Kar, Gareth, and Jess; her role models, Maria and Talya. Blinding flashes of energy increased in intensity behind her eyes until she felt as though her mind and heart would break free of her body.