Relieved by the return of his modern technology, Tom had the PA resume speaking for him. “It was so pleasurable to bathe and speak with you all. We hope that we can one day visit your city and speak with more of your wonderful people.”
Both Threck laughed and Amoss replied, “Ah, the sweet perfection of your garb’s voice again! Indeed, it is elegant and contenting, but I almost prefer the strange pitch of your true voice. As to your moistening desires, your wish is ours to bestow! Let us be off to the city.”
Oh no.
Tom considered his response, searching through Minnie’s list of formalities for an inoffensive decline.
ANGELA: As fun as moistening desires sounds, please, no, my stomach is killing me. We need to take our reinitiation meds and get some calorie bars in us. As nice as possible, as firm as necessary, tell them we’re not going to the city right now.
* * *
Three hours later…
Amoss pointed to the towering steeple. “Welcome, Syons People, Tom and Angela, to Threck City!”
2.5
The Sea Threck, or Seekapock, as they preferred to be called, enjoyed three things: eating, rolling in mud, and talking. Their seemingly calm demeanor and relative silence upon first meeting Aether and Qin had been wholly uncharacteristic.
Away from the beach, beyond a sand berm, Skinny had led the group to a vast area shaded entirely by enormous, table-shaped fungi called wects. These “trees” were endemic in southern Threck Country, and from orbit appeared as some strange pink snow or ground cover. It was only after sending a probe to investigate that Angela had discovered their true nature and form.
Aether gazed up at the caps’ undersides 10-15 meters overhead. The wects’ gills hung like fuzzy icicles atop dense, trunk-like stalks above the real ground: a swampy marsh where mudworms thrived—a perfect symbiosis in which falling spores fed the worms whose excrement, in turn, nourished the fungi. It had been an ah-hah moment for the mission. The Threck had clearly evolved from a 100% aquatic species, but what had brought their ancestors—like humankind’s fin-walking forebears—out of the water? Even now, millions of years later, the Threck struggled daily with life on land. It was here, Angela had theorized—or a place much like it—that early Threck found an evolution-fostering sanctuary. Frequent rains and storms kept the fertile soil moist, and the pink wects supplied perpetual shade as primitive Threck gorged themselves on mudworms. Minnie believed that the tall trunks had inspired Threck City’s Romanesque columns.
Aether labored through the knee-deep mire, her boots sticking with each step. Behind her, Qin was experiencing the same frustration, as evidenced by the groans and his breath streaming through their open channel into her ear. She lowered the volume. Qin’s struggles were now replaced by the buzzing drone of a hundred chattering Seekapock. Flopping around in the sludge like fish washed ashore by a rogue wave, the masses seemed to be in the throes of food-bingeing ecstasy.
Aether’s Livetrans app couldn’t keep up, rapidly framing the heads of the talkers, one after another, as Aether read the words.
LIVETRANS: So good … more … never stop … delicious … great satisfaction … more.
Treading carefully through the mob, Aether was sure she was stepping on tentacles, but no one seemed to mind. Bodies grazed her legs as she tried to keep up with Skinny, who, cognizant of her guests’ slow progress, would take two broad strides, then turn and wait.
“Just over here,” Skinny assured. “Easier if you move faster.”
Aether trudged on without responding. She sent an M to Qin.
AETHER: Were you able to get through to any of the others?
QIN: Yes. Zisa. They’re at the rally point.
AETHER: Everyone?
QIN: Sorry, no. Z and P at rally point. T and A went off with Threck.
AETHER: Any other details on that last bit?
QIN: That’s it.
Finally, they arrived at a drier area, like the bank of a mud lake, where a few less-animated Seekapock sat draped over stumps and rocks, nibbling on fish from a basket. They, too, wore the usual mud-soaked cloaks.
“You, Orange People,” one of them said as she grabbed a thin, white, pancake-shaped fish and stuffed it up between her leg tentacles like a feeding elephant. “Skinny tells you live in egg and travel ocean.” Before Aether could finish composing a reply, the eater went on, “And you think us all Threck. You Threck friend?” She turned to Skinny. “Why it no answer? You say it speak.”
“Orange People take time before speak. I think maybe they slow think.”
When they both appeared to pause, Aether activated her synth. “Peaceful greetings to you. We use egg for travel only. We are from—” Aether’s response went on, but the seated Seekapock interrupted, addressing the others.
“It sound like Threck with perfect speak. I dislike.”
“It does,” another agreed.
“Where it get speak like Threck?” the first asked Skinny.
“Aether,” Skinny said. “Eeko wish to know how you learn Threck words.”
Aether wasn’t sure how to answer. Clearly these people had some quarrel with the City Threck. But then, once more, they just went on eating and talking, as if their questions had been rhetorical.
“Is it big eye head, this?” Eeko pointed at Qin’s visor, then reached closer, about to touch the helmet.
“They no like touch,” Skinny said as she slapped away the outstretched arm. “I think this like shell. Orange shell but sandy flesh inside. Here, Aether and Qin.” Skinny plucked two fish from the basket. “You will eat this.”
Aether and Qin both accepted the offerings in their hands, but neither moved to eat.
“Go on, now you eat. Move shell and eat fish.”
“We are thankful for this kind offering,” Aether said. “But we cannot eat food that is not from our land. It hurts us inside. Do you understand?”
“It ask if understand,” Eeko said. “It like Threck in one way more. Why you bring these here, Skinny?”
Skinny twisted and rolled both arms toward Eeko. The translation appeared in Aether’s fone like any spoken words would.
LIVETRANS: Be gone. You are purposeless.
Skinny held out an arm to Aether, the end curled inward. Aether took gentle hold and Skinny pulled her from the scene.
“They not respectful,” Skinny said as they went. “These is typical Seekapock. These is lazies. They sit all day and eat what is brought until no more food. No work for anything since long time. These no listen when Eeahso teach.”
Qin, huffing, “Where’s it taking us?”
Aether glanced back and saw him keeping up as the three of them moved farther and farther from the muddy area, the pink wects gradually shrinking to bush size, beams of sunlight piercing through.
Aether agreed with Qin’s concern. “Skinny, where are we going now?”
“Imick. We join with Eeahso then show you difference of Seekapock and Threck. Good night for you, I think. Seekapock first imick is special.”
Qin, in Aether’s ear again, “You know we’re completely out of EV range now, right? If anyone tries to reach us—”
“I know. And we didn’t bring our SSK packs.”
“I still have that fish, if you’re hungry. Just pretend it’s a tortilla. With guts. And bones. And arsenic.”
Aether turned round and slapped the fish out of Qin’s hand. “I’m going to mute you.” She flashed a grin. Good to see Qin relaxed enough to joke.
She triggered her reply to Skinny’s last statement. “What is meaning of imick?”
Skinny stopped abruptly and spun round to face Aether. The club that Aether held (or club that held her) remained wrapped around her hand, the animate pasta plate of cilia all coiled around her fingers, and Aether felt the arm stiffen to keep her from slamming right into Skinny.
Qin had no such block and Aether felt his hands hit her back. “Whoa, what? Sorry!”
“You know not what this mean? Imick?” Skinny’s fac
e was only centimeters from Aether’s visor, eyes wide and unblinking.
Aether sent “No” and observed the close-up view of Skinny’s flesh. Where the mud had dried and flaked off, the top skin layers appeared semi-transparent with a thousand little bumps, like gecko skin.
After a lengthy stare-down, Skinny’s eyes popped down and up and she took a step back, laughing. “This is good. Very good, but curious.”
Skinny released Aether’s hand and continued strolling through the well-worn jungle path. Aether and Qin shared a puzzled look before resuming.
“Very curious,” Skinny repeated without a backward glance.
Aether noted the continued use of associated arm movements, but reversed for Aether to see them.
“I know what Eeahso say …” Skinny went on. “Eeahso say, ‘How Orange People learn Threck words but not know Threck or Seekapock?’”
Aether didn’t answer. If pressed, she would tell the “modified truth,” as outlined in the exigency first contact procedures. But Skinny hadn’t actually asked.
Still walking and facing forward, Skinny said, “How Orange People learn Threck words?”
Of course.
Aether began composing the outlined reply, though leaving out Minnie’s bit comparing the crew’s research to Threck scientists.
Our people are learners. We study all things on the ground, in the sky, and in the water. Threck words are one of the things we have learned.
She followed Skinny over a large fallen plant, rereading and fine-tuning the message.
“Eeahso worry for spies,” Skinny said. “Threck send spies always. Spies in big group you earlier see, no questions, they there always. This why imick only for most trusted, proven Seekapock.”
Aether bounced the message to the drafts queue and rushed out an appropriate response. “We do not wish to intrude upon sacred rite reserved for special Seekapock. Remember, we were simply traveling the ocean before you brought us, and as much as we enjoyed meeting Skinny and others, we would be happy to resume our journey.”
Skinny halted again and faced Aether. “This be most clever way to deliver spy. Most clever … Eeahso would say.” Skinny paused for a beat and then laughed, speaking quickly once more. “I know you not spy! Orange People learn Threck words from farmers of north! This correct?”
Aether thought quickly. “Orange People have had contact with the farmers.”
“I am smart!” Skinny said, and walked with new spring.
* * *
They didn’t have time for all this right now. Qin had made reference to his level of hunger and/or discomfort at least six times in the past hour, not counting any of the more general “how much longer” type questions. Even though Qin was two years older than her, Aether felt like a bad mother leaving home without snacks for the kids, and without a clue how long the excursion would last. Now, lying prone in a thatch of potentially hazardous vines, the sun having just set, and Epsy’s rapid rotation hastily lowering the shroud of darkness upon them, Aether began weighing the risks of ditching Skinny.
“Do you know what we’re waiting for?” Qin whispered, though with their visors down, no one could hear them speak.
Aether pointed. “If you switch to therm and zoom out beyond that sand plain, you can see a small group of Skinny’s friends slowly creeping up the slope. Looks like they’re about to take down a Threck guard.”
“Ah yes, I see. What’s the guard guarding?”
“I’m guessing the harbor. Or maybe the city in general.”
A few meters ahead, Skinny’s eyes poked just above a low wall of piled stones, watching her friends near the guard. Without a backward glance, she lifted an arm, spinning it in a specific gesture to Aether.
LIVETRANS: Wait. Not long. Wait.
If they were really about to attack the city, this might be the perfect opportunity for Aether and Qin to sneak away. Just wait for Skinny to be fully distracted. They certainly couldn’t beat these people in a foot race. Then again, what if she simply told Skinny, directly, that they had to go? That they would return soon? Aether didn’t get the impression that this idea would swim. Thus far, she and Qin had existed somewhere between semi-willing guests and unacknowledged hostages.
Were Zisa and Pablo still okay at the rally point or had they, in an attempt to help others, ventured out of the safe zone? How long before Qin’s (or her own) reinitiation pains became overwhelming? What if Tom and Angela were in some sort of trouble? And of highest concern—though Aether didn’t wish to acknowledge that her priorities had personal impetus—how long would it take to track down, travel to, and rescue Minnie, John, and Ish? How long could they survive out there?
“Aether,” Qin said. “You see that?”
Aether looked up to see the guard being subdued by two Seekapock. Aether closed her bio eye and zoomed in just in time to see one of the attackers shove a sharpened stick up beneath the guard’s head, where the mouth was hidden, and where the rigid shell skull offered no protection for the Threck brain. The guard was dead.
“Imick!” Skinny called, and leapt up.
She grabbed Aether’s hand once more, heaving her to her feet with little care, and dragged Aether into the wide open.
A high whistle screamed from the torch-lit city, and a few seconds later, a second whistle joined in the alarm.
“Quickly!” one of the Seekapock shouted from the wall, and others appeared from the line of shrubs where Skinny had them hiding.
These Seekapock carried large baskets out into the starlight, scurrying across the sandy field, and up the sloped wall. Big splashes as a few dove into the water on the other side. Shouts and more screeching alarms from other guard stations. Skinny laughed with exhilaration, running too fast for Aether to keep up, but remained clung like a shackle around Aether’s wrist and hand. Aether’s feet tripped, dragged, managed a step or two, and tripped again. She felt like a ragdoll in a rambunctious little girl’s hand.
Qin’s panicked voice, “What should I do?”
He’d stepped out of the shrubs and stood behind the low wall. At least he could escape.
“Go!” Aether shouted as Skinny hauled her up the hill. “Get to the rally point!”
Skinny stopped at the top of the rise and someone yelled at her. “Why you bring this here? Take away!”
Aether looked up as she struggled to her feet and saw the distinctive cloak and thick arms of Eeahso. The leader was the one that had killed the first guard. Now, from her new vantage point, Aether could see they were standing atop the harbor’s inner levee, and several Seekapock farther down the wall were detaching lines from their anchors, and pulling. In the water below, thousands of distressed fish jumped and flipped at the surface as a net tightened around them.
Toward the city, Aether could see in the torchlight a stream of armed Threck pouring out the arched entrances, shouting, “The food bays! Thieves! Stop them!”
Eeahso slapped Skinny’s arm and Aether fell back. “Let this go! Join the others! Delay the guards!”
Skinny looked down at Aether for a beat, then toward the guards running along a raised walkway. She made a quick series of gestures before rushing off. “I will return for you, friend.”
Now, only Eeahso and Aether remained at the corner of the levee.
Eeahso eyed her for an instant, then called to the Seekapock as they loaded basket after basket with flopping fish. “Hurry! A moment more, then go!”
Aether planted her hands on the ground, pulled her feet beneath her, and scanned the area for the best escape route. Only a meter away, Eeahso didn’t appear to care what Aether was doing, focused instead on overseeing her mission. A series of “clangs” rang out from the other end of the levee where it met the city’s outer walkways. The Threck guards’ long, bronze blades had crossed various Seekapock weapons.
It was time for Aether to go. To the southwest, she could see a mostly clear path that led around the high city wall and, presumably, into an inland jungle. If she were Qin, that’s t
he way she’d have gone—the only option, really, that didn’t lead back to the Seekapock camp, the ocean, or the fight in progress. She pulled her MW from its holster, stood, and—
Crack!
Something struck her helmet from behind—hard—and she fell forward, toward the steep slope, falling a full 140 before chest and visor crashed into unyielding cement. Wind knocked from her, she slid, scratching downward another few meters before slowing to a stop. She sucked in air, rolled onto her back, and saw a Threck guard standing over her, long, curved blade held at the ready.
She couldn’t hear anything, but “What is it?” appeared in Livetrans.
In a blur, a series of tentacles flashed by her on both sides, and she caught a glimpse of Eeahso at the top of the levee, hurling curses as she fought off two guards. “Filthy smug Threck! Die, unthinking fools!”
The Threck above Aether kicked her in the side and stabbed down at Aether’s knee—right on the kneecap. Fortunately, the suits had a tough mid-layer of ballistic material, and the Threck weapon was blunt-tipped, but it still felt as though someone had dropped a cinder block on her leg.
Vomit suddenly threatened. Bile seeped into the back of Aether’s throat. She swallowed deep and tightened her grip on the MW, pinky and thumb depressing the safety toggles. Was it set to non-lethal? She couldn’t remember, and the guard above her appeared poised for a blow to Aether’s head. Could the Threck weapon shatter a visor? She didn’t think so, but what if it struck her throat?
Bwop! … Bwop-bwop!
The guard flew backward, smashing to the ground, then rolled limp and heavy over Aether’s downward inclined body. But Aether hadn’t fired.
Qin.
“Let’s go!” Qin in her ear.
Aether glanced up and saw him standing at the base of the slope. She looked down toward her feet and saw a guard’s weapon take off one of Eeahso’s arms with a powerful slash. The tentacle coiled and thrashed and twisted on the ground. The other guard fighting Eeahso turned her attention to Aether and Qin, and before Aether could think or say anything, Qin popped off four more rounds, sending both guards flying out of sight. Successive splashes revealed their fates.
Exigency Page 18