by Alan Black
The larger of the two stood over the body of its dead companion, grunting and sputtering. The other Hyrocanians in the group ignored both the killer and his victim, each going about other tasks at hand as if nothing had happened. The killer flicked off the pencil and, still shouting, waddled away disappearing into a building.
Arnold and Triplett were pale with shock. The killing was brutal and apparently done without warning as the smaller creature just ambled by. No other Hyrocanian bothered to look at the victim. They just left the body on the ground where it lay oozing all manner of fluids.
Allie said, “I’m not much of an xeno-anthropologist, but that doesn’t look like diplomatic, peaceful solutions are high on the Hyrocanian’s list.”
Stone would have answered, but he kept his eye on Whizzer. Whatever shock the scientist felt dissipated as the man split the displayed screen showing the killing on half and the compound video just before the explosion on the other half. Both videos showed a fatter than normal Hyrocanian shouting and grunting at other obese Hyrocanians. Whizzer rolled dials back and forth until he had a small snippet on both screens where the Hyrocanian shouted the same thing. Everyone got excited. Stone wasn’t so sure. Similar random video tidbits of humans might generate the same noises, yet the meaning would still be too obscure to be useful. It would be like two humans shouting “bank”, “mine”, or “watch”. Homonyms were far too common in human languages to assume two such words wouldn’t exist in alien speech since Whizzer ignored the majority of the Hyrocanian’s speech.
Stone stopped and tilted his head, twisting it back and forth, listening to many of the screens at the same time. Slapping his forehead with his palm, he realized he was trying to smell the videos. Unless he was willing to broadcast he had new abilities, or that he was insane, he needed to carefully phrase his next question.
“Whizzer?” he called out. “When you have a moment, please.”
Allie patted him on the thigh. “Don’t shout, Stone. I have a headache.”
Stone frowned. “Not funny! I heard the joke before. Are you backing out on our after lunch deal?”
Allie snorted a laugh. “Lunch was the joke, you goober. We aren’t likely to even get much for supper.”
Stone thought about complaining. He’d been offered sex and it didn’t look like he was going to get it. He grunted in frustration and would have said something, except Whizzer skipped over to him just then. Instead of sniping back at Allie, Stone asked, “Whizzer, are we sure the Hyrocanians have the same ears we have?”
Whizzer replied, “Of course not, young man. You can clearly see they are hinged to rotate and—”
Stone interrupted. “No, doctor. I don’t mean the ear flaps, I mean the inside. Do they hear the same way we do?” He vaguely remembered something from biology about humans having a couple of tiny bones inside their ears that vibrated, but he couldn’t remember how many or what they were called. There were a few times he wished he had paid more attention to his studies, not just pushing information into his head to pass the test.
The scientist looked askance at Allie. “I would assume the military has gotten their hands on Hyrocanian bodies after combat for autopsies, but none of that information is available to the civilian scientific community.”
Allie replied, “We haven’t gotten Hyrocanian bodies like you would expect, Doctor Wyznewski. Most of our confrontations have been space battles that don’t leave much in the way of soft tissue. The Hyrocanians are as loath to let us have their dead as we are to give them ours.”
Stone said, “I don’t want to start an argument between you two as to who knew what when. I just wanted to ask if it is possible for the Hyrocanians to speak or hear in a different range than we do?”
Whizzer chuckled, “Good question, young man. We can’t assume …” His voice had started to have a lecture quality, but it faded away and he slapped his forehead with his palm. Turning and racing away, Whizzer started spinning dials on the display, running them back and forth seeking different frequencies.
Stone’s stomach rumbled and he tilted his head back. He could barely hear the sound from Whizzer’s display, but it rolled past a few frequencies that buzzed irritably in his ears. It didn’t take long before other displays began rolling frequencies seeking his alternate theory that maybe Hyrocanians heard and spoke in frequency ranges not used by humans. There were a few frequencies that really set his back teeth to aching.
Whizzer shouted in excitement. Almost everyone clustered around him as he explained the Hyrocanians listened and talked in multiple frequencies. Not everyone was as excited about that as the group of marine NCOs studying a video of what looked like a surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile launcher.
Spacer Dollish had wandered off to vomit after scanning a video of Hyrocanians eating. The view made more than one human queasy. The four–armed freaks fed by forming a circle. One of their number threw in a dozen two-legged, piglet-type creatures, some of whom ran and others just sat awaiting their fate. First one Hyrocanian and then another, dashed forward at some unseen signal, grabbed a piglet and began ripping it apart, biting huge chunks of its flesh while it squealed, crying out in pain. The Hyrocanian tossed odd bits of dripping flesh to its companions.
Stone caught a whiff of chocolate and peppermint. Jay and Peebee were bounding over and around rocks, coming back from their lunch of leaves and grass. He could smell their contentment. After watching the Hyrocanians feed, Stone was almost tempted to become a vegetarian like his drascos. Except, he had an urge for a double cheeseburger with bacon and a fried egg.
TWENTY-SIX
Stone woke in darkness, not at all like earlier in the unlit darkness of the cave, but night had settled over him. There were a few fires scattered about the canyon and dataport screens twinkled across their hideout like stars on a moonless night. He had seen pictures of stars in the night sky and didn’t want to see them in real life. When trapped on Allie’s World for the first time, he always managed to be inside their escape shuttle before night fell. He glanced upward in hesitation. The camouflage tarps were still in place, blocking his view of the night sky.
The darkness was lighter for some unknown reason. He’d experienced many dark nights on Allie’s World, enough to know nights were normally darker, at least they were when viewed through a shuttle viewscreen. He was able to see almost as well as he did during the daytime. There seemed to be fewer shadows and the existing shadows blended and flowed together with lesser shadows.
Listening to quiet murmurs of conversations, light tinkling laughter, and muted dataport sounds was like trying to make sense of the wind moving through the trees and bushes. He could pick up snippets of conversations if he concentrated, most of what he could hear were personal conversations of the “put on something else” or “and then he said—” variety.
There was a small cluster of scientists around Whizzer. Their conversation was easy to hear but difficult to understand. They were using words with more syllables than Stone was used to using. Their dataport sound was dialed down to a quiet whisper, but loud enough the whine of multiple frequencies set Stone’s molars to complaining. Most of the civilians were sleeping wherever they had stopped to rest. Stone smelled mint wafting in the air, along with a sharp rancid grease odor mixed with a light hint of pepperoni and jalapeno pizza. He smiled. Triplett was still directing a load of hostility in his direction, but Private Melanie Tighe was nearby, though he thought the marine might be sleeping as her scent was faint and regular.
Someone had dropped a blanket over him while he slept. The night air was too warm and he kicked it away. Allie was also gone. He listened but couldn’t hear her or catch her wet, dark chocolate scent, so she must be too far away. He was propped up against Peebee. She wasn’t asleep but lying much more still than normal. Her neck was twisted around her other knee resting on one of Jay’s knees, she was staring at him. Jay was snuggled in close, resting her own head on her other knee. She was sound asleep.
Peebee
said, “Mama sleep more?”
Stone shook his head, “No, Peebee. I’m awake now.” It didn’t feel strange speaking to his drascos, he’d been talking to them since they were babies. It did feel strange having them talk back. In his study of humans and their pets he’d read numerous reports of people becoming so attached to their non-human companions they believed they could communicate. Studies and experiments had tried to teach, train, or enhance dozens of animals to speak. They had all failed with varying degrees of disappointment. Yet, no matter how many scientific studies proved pets didn’t talk, many pet owners swore their pets could communicate, non-verbally if not by telepathic means.
He wondered, did he hear Peebee in a different frequency than humans could hear? There wasn’t any use denying his hearing had changed somehow along with his sense of smell. Maybe Peebee was talking to him through thought transference, putting the words directly into his mind. If that was the case, he could receive her thoughts, but not transmit out. Snorting, he realized the most probable conclusion was that he was insane or in some drug addled coma and the whole thing was a dream.
It couldn’t be a dream. There was a rock under his butt, sharp enough to feel discomfort, just not enough to hurt. Reaching up, he patted Peebee on the head, realizing his skin still felt thick, tougher, almost like he was calloused from head to toe, not just on his hands. Peebee’s gnarled, rusted pig-iron, sandpaper hide didn’t scrape his hands as he petted her along her head and neck.
“Mama, I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry. It’s night and not safe to go out to the forest. Aren’t there any bushes inside this canyon for you to eat? What about that bush right there?”
“Humans like that bush to hide.”
Chewing on Peebee’s response made him wonder more about being insane. Wouldn’t he make sense to himself if he was really crazy and just talking to himself? Did she mean someone wanted the bush as a privacy screen? There didn’t appear to be much in the way of any place to get away from other people.
“What are they hiding from?”
Peebee said, “Humans not like us, not like me and sister Jay with Mama. Always together. Humans hide from each other, but not want to be alone.”
Stone nodded, “Humans are always alone in their heads. They always want to be alone, but never to be left alone.”
Jay rumbled and whoofed as she woke up. “I have to poop.”
Stone sighed. He might as well take them for a walk. He stood up slowly. Still feeling uncomfortable with his new height, he stretched, picked up the blanket, shook it out, folded it carefully with sharp military precision, and set it on the top of a nearby rock. He did it without thinking how his short time in the military had changed his habits. A few short years ago, when crawling out of bed on the Golden Boulder, he wouldn’t have bothered to pull the covers up, much less make the bed with any sort of attention to detail.
“Peebee, do you have to poop, too?”
Peebee wonked. “Eat first, poop later.”
Stone said, “Well, let’s go see if we can go outside. I can’t promise, but we can see what the marines on guard duty say.” He led the girls down the slight slope to the wall. He could see the marines on watch, studiously watching the forest and the canyon rim above them. They didn’t pace back and forth like marines did on guard duty in entertainment vids.
“Excuse me.” He spoke quietly, because it didn’t seem to a wise thing to sneak up on an armed marine and startle him.
The marine in well-used armor spun about and said, “Sir? I am Sergeant Li. What can I do for you?”
“How is the forest, Sergeant Li?”
“Quiet and clear, sir. It seems the local critters are slow to move back into an area stripped clear by those crab-things.”
“That would make sense. There isn’t anything left for the carnivores to eat and the first few herbivores would be easy pickings.”
“That is the prevailing theory here on the wall, sir.”
“Are the latrines open for use?”
“The Major’s orders close them at sundown, sir. If you can’t hold it,” the tone of his voice implied that real men can control their own bowels, “there is a bucket or two down behind those bushes off to the side.”
Stone nodded at the thought of bushes to hide behind. “Well, Sergeant Li, forgive me if I am wrong, but I don’t remember you from the Ol’ Toothless or Lazzaroni Base.”
“No, sir.”
“Well, it isn’t me that needs to use the latrines, my drascos need to go. Have you ever been around drasco poop?”
The marine chuckled, “Is it that bad, sir?”
“No, Sergeant. The fragrance isn’t bad. Your two buckets won’t be enough for one of my girls.”
Sergeant Li’s response was interrupted by Corporal Tuttle bouncing up to them. She skidded to a stop in a small shower of pebbles and dust. Her faceplate popped open. “Ensign Stone, you can’t go wandering around in the dark without letting me know. Lieutenant Vedrian would take my other hand if I let something happen to you.” She waved the stump of her missing hand in his face as proof of Allie’s vengeance.
Stone said, “I’m sorry, Barb. I need to take the girls out for a walk.”
Tuttle replied, “No sir. Major Numos said we stay behind the wall after dark. Safety first.”
“Barb, not only am I the governor, but I own this whole planet. I think I can take a chance with two drascos and a wall full of alert marines, I’ll be safe.” He looked up on the wall. “Sergeant Li, you’re scanning with your suit’s full capabilities, right?”
“Right, sir.”
“And you will be able to see me and my drascos if we don’t go too far into the trees, right?
“Yes, sir. Farther into the trees than you would imagine.”
“Good, then I’m taking Jay and Peebee out to poop and get a midnight snack. You are to give me warning if I’m in danger, but you are not to come after me, understand? You too, Barb.”
Tuttle snorted, “Like frak, Ensign Stone. Lieutenant Vedrian said I’m your shadow and even wounded, she’s still a hell of a lot scarier than you’ve ever been. I’ll disobey you long before I disobey her, sir.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Watching Jay and Peebee strip trees and bushes started an ache in the deep, empty pit of Stone’s guts. He didn’t want to rush them, but he didn’t give them time to dawdle and play. Eating, pooping, and eating some more was enough. When they started to wrestle each other, throwing ten-foot logs at each other, wonking, jumping, and rolling in the dirt, he shouted at them and turned toward the safety of the wall, followed closely by an alert and armed Corporal Tuttle.
He wasn’t as worried about safety as much as he was starving. The hunger was more than the usual peckish feeling, or “yeah, I could eat something” type of hunger. If he didn’t eat something soon it felt like his belly button was going to be rubbed raw against his backbone. It didn’t matter how late the hour was, he planned to hunt down Spacer Dollish. He was getting desperate enough to eat a survival nutrition bar, if there were any left at this point. He’d barely stopped himself from sniffing and chowing down on the same leaves his drascos shoveled into their open mouths with such wild abandon.
He was halfway back to the wall when Jay and Peebee raced past him. They didn’t run to the small gap used as a door by the humans, Jay leaped over the wall wonking excitedly. Peebee hit the wall at a full on run. It shivered, but held. She scrambled up and over the wall, her claws digging divots in the rock giving her hand and footholds. Her tail spike snagged a small gap between two stones and ripped a section of the wall down around the sentries’ feet. The drascos flopped down at the base of the wall and sat waiting for Stone to join them.
Stone’s entry was more sedate as he scrambled up to the gap.
Sergeant Li met him at the top. Rather than allow Stone to climb through, the marine’s massive gloved hand grabbed him by the collar, yanking him up onto the parapet. “Welcome back, sir.” Tuttle vault
ed over the top, landing with a grunt of pain.
Stone nodded wanting to go look for Dollish, however, Li had his faceplate up and obviously had something else he wanted to say. The man smelled of spearmint with a touch of lemon. Stone could tell Li wanted to be honest, yet he was concerned how he might be perceived.
“Permission to speak freely, Governor Stone?”
Stone nodded, but held up a finger. “Corporal Tuttle, what was that?”
Tuttle said, “What was what, Ensign Stone?”
Stone shook his head. “You know what, Barb. A jump up this wall shouldn’t have given you more trouble than taking a second deep breath.”
Tuttle nodded. “Small jump, yes sir.”
“Then why the grunt when you landed?”
Tuttle shrugged. “Just landed a little odd—”
Sergeant Li interrupted. “Nonsense, Corporal. When did we start telling lies to our officers? Governor Stone, all of the uninjured marines in suits stripped out our on-board medical supplies and gave them to Doc Menendez for the seriously wounded.”
Stone smiled. “That sounds like something marines would do.”
“Ooo-rah, sir. Corporal Tuttle dialed back her own meds to the bare minimum to keep infection away from her severed hand and to keep the pain manageable—barely. She gave the rest to the medical corps.”
Tuttle started to respond, Stone waved her quiet. “And I have you wandering around at all hours of the night? Okay, Corporal Tuttle. This is a direct order, whether you want it from an ensign, the planetary governor, or just a friend: go get some rest. Jay and Peebee can watch over me for a while.”