by Chris Hechtl
“Thanks.”
“Oh I'm not doing it for your benefit, sonny; those are precious rounds. And don't drop the rifle; if you break it, I'll skin and salt your hide.”
“Yes, sir,” Jethro said, stifling a chuff of a laugh as he followed the others.
<(>~^~<(>
They got to the carcass, made certain it was dead, then slit the throat to drain the blood. They kept having to sharpen their knives to gut the animal and skin it. The flies started in after an hour. “Great,” the bear said, spitting. He took a break to wipe at his drooling nose. “I'm getting too old for this shit,” he growled.
“Ah hell, you know you love it,” the husky panted, still working. It seemed like one of them was on break or on watch while one worked and the third was sharpening a knife. They kept at it for nearly two hours before backup finally arrived.
“Finally. Where the hell have you been?”
“Didn't anyone tell you not to kill it on a hill?” the human leader said, panting as he got to them.
“Yeah well, try telling him that,” the bear said as they finished breaking the carcass up into usable chunks to move. “We've done the hard part.”
“Awesome,” the leader said, coming up to them. He looked the carcass over, brushing flies away. He turned back to the four men with him. They were all sturdy, but that was still a lot of meat to move.
“We'll get it to the bottom then to the trail to the southwest. It's muddy, but we should be able to get a cart in there.”
“I'll help. I'm too big and too damn old to be beating the bush anyway,” the bear said sitting on his haunches. “You two think you can handle it from here?”
“No problem,” Jethro said, hefting the rifle.
“Get on it then. We're burning daylight. I want smoked venison by tomorrow,” the bear growled.
“Yes, sir,” the panther said, nodding dutifully. He was used to taking orders from a bear it seemed.
“Don't get … oh hell, never mind. Just get it done,” the bear growled.
<(>~^~<(>
A half hour before sundown they got the second moose, another bull. This one was a bigger one, with a massive white mark on his rear haunch. Jethro had taken his time targeting it and had, to his chagrin, missed on his first shot. The second had hit, and he'd thought it wasn't a kill shot until the bullet got the message to the brain of the running animal that it was dead. Then it seemed to teeter and fall all in one motion.
It had fallen in a thicket of thorns though, so they'd called in backup and then did their best to drag it out and cut the bushes away. The husky had spent the entire time cursing over the luck. He didn't seem to have his heart in it though; he seemed more amused than tired. Excited even Jethro judged.
The bear's arrival had spooked the husky. “Damn near scared the bejeezers out of me! Don't do that!” Jethro had seen him coming on his HUD and kept working.
When they returned to the village, the husky took charge of the rifle, unused round and brass without comment. He was dismissed despite being fatigued and hungry for his efforts. “He did fine.”
“Outsiders aren't welcome at this time,” a black and brown husky said, eying him. “No offense but you are not welcome here. Come back at another time to play … tourist.”
“Outsider or not he's doubly earned the right to be here,” the bear said. The husky elder looked up and nodded. Some of the natives were wary of him participating in the feast, but the two elders insisted he had earned the right despite being an outsider.
Groups were streaming in from the surrounding area. Fisherman, even a few selkie. The newcomers each took turns speaking their name through a wood carved figure with a hollow mouth. They stood behind it and announced their group, then moved on.
There were some speeches going on, and the beat of drums and smell of cooking meat filled the air right along with the drifting smoke. He turned to his left to see dancers lining up; each was dressed in outfits of buckskin, furs, beads, and feathers.
A bonfire had been started in the middle of the village square. Jethro didn't care, he just wanted to eat and unload the chip. He went over to where a trio of male selkies were talking to a female.
“We had the bait ball going; the dolphins had moved out onto the perimeter after getting their fill. The birds were dropping. We had skates and stuff all around. It was chaos I'm telling you! We were picking at them pretty good, even with the nets ….”
“Oh, sardines? Are you crazy? That's when the sharks and the white death come! You know that!”
“Yeah well, we forgot. And we were hungry. So, we were hitting it pretty good when all of a sudden I saw this gray and white flash coming at me …,” the male said, using his long flippers to describe his motions.
“You are so pulling my fin!”
“No I'm serious! I had a weight belt on. That's what saved me, I looked down at it, saw the thing coming at me from the corner of my eye and let go of my net and dropped.”
“You dropped?”
“Yeah, it expected me to go up. I went down instead and had my spear up. I slashed it in the mouth and it went off. It circled back though, and if not for Maurice here, I'd have been a goner for sure.”
“Hello,” Jethro said.
“Go away,” the male said, not even looking at him. “Can't you tell we're talking here?”
“Look, sorry to bother you ….”
“Then don't,” one said, eying him. He seemed to be sized up and then the selkie turned away. He was some sort of sea lion judging from the size. But the other three were a blending of species.
“Look, I've got a chip for one of your people.”
“Good for you.”
“Do any of you know Kirima? I'm supposed to deliver it to her or the village elder.”
“She's fishing. If she's not dead,” the female said. “You'll be able to see her two hours before sunrise or a half hour after sundown. She'll be tired though,” she warned.
Deflated Jethro mumbled a thanks and went over to sit at his seat. It wouldn't have worked anyway; he wasn't sure he could trust one of them to give Kirima the chip. They could have destroyed it or sold it.
He watched with disinterested eyes as a brightly painted wooden wolf mask and blanket were bestowed on a female tigress. She took it and held it up for others to see and admire. Something was said of a numaym, but he didn't understand the significance. There were several other speeches but the murmur of voices around him lulled him into a tired sort of trance. He woke from it amused to watch the fire start and the dancing commence.
A female touched his tail. He turned to her. She wasn't alone, two of the human elders and a husky were with her. “You are a Marine?”
“Yes. Active duty Marine. Gunnery Sergeant.”
“Active duty?” the husky wrinkled his nose.
“Active duty means I am a full time Marine. A reservist is someone who is part time. They spend part of their time doing civilian jobs and things,” he indicated the village, “… and other times on duty. The old method from Earth was one weekend a month, two weeks a standard year. During that time they train and work on jobs or perform tests or other duties.”
“They then go home?” the human elder asked.
“Yes. They have most of the benefits of an active Marine. But if there is war or an emergency, they are called up to service. An emergency like a storm, flooding, or other disaster,” he explained.
“Ah.”
“Interesting.”
“But you said you are active duty? Yet you are here?”
“I have a lot of leave time. That's time off. I used some of it to get time off two weeks ago, and then due to a scheduling conflict I was told I could have more time off now. I decided to take it to run this errand.”
“Errand. You mentioned Kirima,” the husky said. When Jethro looked at him he flicked his ears. “Word gets around quickly.”
Jethro slowly nodded. Scuttlebutt he thought, scuttlebutt in its different forms. “Yes. A friend and
war brother of mine asked me to relay a message to her since he knew I was coming here eventually. For some reason his other messages haven't been getting through to her.”
“The mail has been very slow,” the elder said. “We have heard little from anyone outside of the communities. Nothing from off-worlders.”
“Huh,” Jethro said, filing that bit of information away. That was odd.
“So, you can go on leave?”
“Yes. Like a vacation. Marines and sailors can also get liberty for various reasons. Like good work, or if a family member has an emergency or …” he motioned to the potlatch.
“Ah.”
“Marines learn all sorts of things. In time they will want to settle down. When their contracts or careers are up, many may return home. They will bring with them knowledge and hopefully credits. Credits they'll use to build new homes or improve old ones,” Jethro said.
“Hopefully. We have no use for the net credits though. Ones and zeros,” the male elder said with a shake of his head. “It would be good to see our children again, if only to know they are all right,” he mused, looking at the purple star specked sky.
“Home is where the heart is,” Jethro said quietly.
“So you consider this your home now?” the husky asked, clearly amused. Other natives looked at him with amused expressions.
Jethro cocked his head, thinking about it. He pulled his tail in and wrapped it around his waist. Bast looked at him on his HUD as well. “No, I … well, I don't honestly know anymore. Anvil isn't home anymore I suppose. Lately I haven't stayed in any one place to set down roots.” He flicked his ears a bit then gave a human shrug.
“Ah.”
“A lot of my clan have relocated here. I visited them last week or at least some of them. They are a mess though.” He shook his head. “I helped them get here, but I don't know what I was expecting. More I guess. They were all freeloading off of another friend.”
“That's not right to take advantage of family.”
“But it is how it is. I know you know that.”
“True,” the elder said with a sigh. “I have seen it many times. And for those who cannot work, they have many excuses. But their belly gets hungry come winter.”
“And then they prey on those who did scrimp and save,” Jethro said, shaking his head. “I don't know who is the more fool, the fool for being lazy or the fool for enabling them.”
“Both as equal fools I suppose.”
“I wonder how it is on the other planets. Some of the Neos I paid tickets for have relocated to Gaston or Seti Alpha 4 or beyond but …,” he shrugged.
The elder nodded. “All that discounted Navy transport for dependents. That explains all of the recent Neo arrivals in our area.”
Jethro eyed the elder. “I thought you folks were isolated?”
The elder looked at him mildly. His eyes squinted a bit and he shrugged. “We hear talk. We listen.”
Jethro nodded. “Ah. I see.”
The elder gave him a wise appraising look. “It is good you see. And we see the good things many of your people do and the credits they spend,” the elder said. He nodded to Jethro then had to leave to attend to other people. Jethro watched him go.
He looked out around the bonfire and idly listened to the chatter around him. He could see them relaxed; the families long since torn apart by distance coming together again. He saw the new couples, longing for that sort of relationship. “Yeah. Mating. Fun,” he said softly to Bast. “I always wondered when I'd get around to that. Perhaps never,” he said, flicking the tip of his tail.
He was overheard by another of the human elders behind him. He cleared his throat.
“There is someone for everyone out there. Be patient young one.” He turned to see the elder's eyes gleaming in the darkness. He nodded again to him. “Will you be moving on in the morning?”
“I'll be going to that selkie colony. I should be back in a day or so,” Jethro replied. “After I deliver the message, I'll yes, be returning to base.” He winced internally. He hated telling others his itinerary.
“Ah. Well, I will see you then,” the elder said, nodding politely to him as he moved on.
Chapter 8
Jethro found his way to the beach Deja had indicated in the directions on the chip. He wasn't thrilled about searching all the continent's beaches for the colony. Fortunately the locals knew where they were and pointed him to a path where he could meet the Neoseal colony. At the land entrance to the beach, an elderly Selkie named Yoksolo told him to go on his way. He muttered a lot and didn't like the trespasser.
“I'm here to pass on a message from Deja.”
“We don't like outsiders. Leave.”
“As soon as you tell me where Kirima is so I can give her the message I will do so,” Jethro said.
The male looked at him with rheumy eyes. “When I was elder, I wouldn't allow such disrespect,” the selkie growled, rising up straight. He had some mass to him but it hung on his body. He'd lost a lot of muscle in recent times. He couldn't hold the pose for long though, he started to cough right away. He hunched over.
“Are you okay?” Jethro asked, suddenly concerned. He didn't like the sound of that cough.
“Just go. Go away,” the elder said, waving a flippered hand. He clutched at a spear like a crutch, doing his best to remain upright. “Damn cough,” he said weakly, sinking to a rock. He pulled out some glass bottle and took a sip of something. From the smell it was some form of rotgut Jethro surmised.
Bast shook her head as Jethro turned away slowly. She put a clock up over the Selkie's form and made the hands spin fast indicating his time was running out. Jethro nodded and moved on into the village.
He passed Selkie working on various things and going about their daily lives. Children played for a bit, but when they noticed the outsider they fled and hid. Some of the Selkie had drying racks of fish along the paths; others were bartering with people nearby. Everyone stopped to stare at him as he walked on. A few were working on canoes or other craft that were up on A-frame benches or rocks. They looked at him curiously. He asked a few where he could find the females, and they just pointed to the center of the village.
He went to the center of the “village,” a high spot on the beach where a large walrus selkie was holding court. “I am looking for Koko or Kirima?” Jethro asked. He noted recently manufactured equipment. There was a solar panel and some GPS gear. Even a satellite link with a screen showing the weather.
“Koko's dead. She died last winter. Who's asking,” the walrus said in a deep rumble. He flicked a flippered hand to Jethro. He looked like a mountain of flesh sitting on some sort of throne decorated in stuff found at the tidal line.
“I'm Gunnery Sergeant McClintock.”
“So?” the Walrus asked with an explosive snort of snotty spray. Jethro did his best not to flinch. “Is that supposed to mean something here?” He flicked a crab away and twitched his long bristly whiskers.
Jethro noted the necklace of triangular teeth around the Walrus's neck. “You look at this?” the Walrus looked down and touched the necklace with a stubby flippered hand. “A white death. I killed it and took his teeth as my trophy. If you don't want me to add yours to my collection, you best be gone,” he growled, eying the panther.
“I'll be about my business and then leave,” Jethro said.
“Do so quickly outsider,” the walrus growled. He immediately turned on his side, dismissive of him. After a moment he farted, Jethro shook his head and turned to a small female. “Ma'am, I hate to bother you ….”
“Then don't,” she said, hefting a child on her hip. He sighed. She shook her head. “Fine, ask.”
“Kirima?”
“She's out fishing. She should be in by sundown,” she said, pointing to the waters. He nodded.
He watched from a grass covered dune nearby as the village went back to work. Bast tuned his enhanced senses in on them. From time to time, he turned his eyes to the water but didn't see
anyone in the bay. He turned back to the village. From his vantage point, he could hear and see them at work. Some of the elders complained; they were not happy about the young who were interested in the outside world. But trading with the nearby villages more and more meant they had something to do, some way to get medicines when they needed it. Trade and regular contact meant that they were no longer in competition with them either. Though there was some talk about fishing boats that were plying the waters off the coast.
Bast turned Jethro's head in time for him to see bodies leaping out of the water as the sun began to set. It was an awesome sight. There were dozens of selkie, all leaping out of the water. Then he gasped as a selkie on the outer perimeter made a twisting leap out of the jaws of something truly massive with lots of sharp teeth.
“What the hell?” Jethro asked as the walrus rose from his throne and barked a challenge. Selkie rushed to the shoreline, motioning to those still in the water to get out quickly. Others rushed in with knives and spears.
Jethro rose quickly as another great beast tried to hit a selkie on the perimeter. It did an end-over-end flip but missed its target by the narrowest of margins. “Remind me not to go swimming here!” Jethro said.
Bast nodded. She put up an image on his HUD, a still of the beast and then zoomed in. She outlined it and then did a quick search and came up with an ID. It was a great white shark; the first had been over three meters long. The second seemed even bigger and fatter. “And they go out fishing in that?” Jethro demanded as some of the dripping selkie made it into the shallows. Many had small nets strapped to their backs or bodies.
He was surprised to see more than just Selkie in the group. There were a few otters as well. He cocked his head as the furry things held up their trophies above their heads.
“I think we'll give them a minute or two to get in and rest. I'd hate to get pounced on after swimming that gauntlet,” Jethro said as the last swimmer came in. The group cheered when they realized everyone had made it back home safely.
<(>~^~<(>
By the light of the fires and his own enhanced night vision, Jethro finally found his quarry. The female arctic selkie Kirima was amused and gratified by the message when she received it. He tried to stand off, to give her some privacy but she urged him to stay with a look. He knew she was tired. She smiled fondly though when she watched the message a second time. Apparently there was something going on between Deja and the arctic seal so some of Jethro's resentment over the errand burned away.