by Saxon Andrew
Dat watched her walk away and felt something inside him break into thousands of pieces. He waved the waiter away and stared out at the lake next to their table. The lights from the city across the lake twinkled on the surface of the water and looked like thousands of tears and he fought his as he thought about what had just happened. He was still there two hours later when his communicator beeped, “Yes.”
“Fleet has asked you to arrive early.”
Dat sighed, “I’m on my way.”
• • •
Jill looked at Dat’s records again and pulled up the record of the fleet maneuvers and saw that it had taken place the next day. She also saw that he was promoted to Full Captain the week before she said goodbye. He didn’t use his new rank to stop her from walking away. He knew he was not a priority for her and allowed her to leave without making her feel bad. He might have stopped her if he had told her about his promotion…but he didn’t.
Jill reached inside her uniform and pulled out the locket with Dat’s picture inside. Engraved inside the cover was, “Dat and Loree”. She gripped it in her right hand and cried again for the thousandth time. Some lessons come hard; this was one that still haunted her. Jack and Bucket remained silent. They had seen this many times before and had exhausted anything that could be said to comfort her. Over and over they heard her say, “I was so dumb, so dumb.”
• • •
Dat dropped toward the planet in a Dark Matter Field. It was linked to his mind through one of the rings and he watched as the surface grew larger. He used the repulsive force to direct him toward a large community near a river where the microprobe had landed. He came in quickly toward a field just outside the outer edge of buildings and slowed just before hitting the ground. He kept the field around him and walked toward the community. He noticed that he had estimated the weight reduction perfectly. The field was soft but he left no footprints. The dark matter field allowed air to flow through a tiny opening and the air smelled sweet. There was no industry on the planet to affect it and it was clear and clean. Two other small openings fed views of his surroundings directly to his brain. He decided to wander around and get a feel for the inhabitants before he lowered the field.
The first thing he noticed was that the locals were identical to humans. They weren’t just similar, they were identical in appearance. He knew they were different internally but it was surprising just how close the two species appeared. He looked around knowing that he was going to have to find a way to feed himself. He saw a market near the center of the community and he turned toward it. He walked over, avoiding coming into contact with any inhabitants around the tables and waited for an opportunity. It came when a farmer turned his back and he absorbed a handful of small berries through the field. He raised one of them to his mouth and tasted it. It was really quite good. He watched the farmer selling his produce and sat down against a wall listening to the conversations taking place at the table. The famer had the pasted on smile of most businessmen until a young female approached his table. The farmer’s face began scowling. “I’d like some fruit and leaves.”
“I don’t know that I want to sell you anything.”
The young female stared at the much larger man and said, “I see my father has come and had a discussion with you about trying to get me killed.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Your son arrived just as I was starting to pay for my purchases and I know he had seen the Master’s shuttle arrive; it was in clear view of your home. You deliberately delayed me hoping I would be embraced by a Master. I hope you refuse to sell me anything. I’d love the opportunity to take this up with the Community Elders.”
Dat saw the farmer’s expression change as he accepted the young woman’s payment, “You have no proof of that. You and your father are being silly.”
The young woman leaned forward and put her face an inch from the farmer’s, “You will never have me. I’ll die first.” The young woman turned and took several steps before she stopped, turned around, and said, “I’ll also take this up with the Elders if you ever petition them to have me.”
The farmer’s scowl returned and the female turned and walked away.
Dat stood and followed the female up the hill. She knew about the relationships that governed the behaviors of the population and the, what did she call them, Masters? He listened to people greet the young female and learned her name was Gresha. He could understand the farmer wanting her. She was beautiful by any standards. Her blonde hair and violet colored eyes were gorgeous. She was about five feet ten inches tall and was perfectly proportioned. Heck, she was better than perfect. He wondered if he was following her because of her beauty but dismissed the notion. She was a different species. He did see that most of the males she passed stopped and watched her as she moved away. He followed her to her home and saw a giant male standing outside.
“Good morning, Father.”
“Did he give you any problems?”
“No, just pretended innocence. He is really a Master’s finger.”
“That he is; let me know if there are any problems.”
She hugged the big male, “I will. Dinner will be ready shortly.”
“I’m going to have to miss it. I have some repairs to do on Hemel’s door before sunset.”
“I’ll delay until you finish.”
“That would be good, Daughter.”
• • •
Dat understood the farmer’s scowl. Gresha’s father could have broken him in half. He locked in the coordinates of her home and moved away. He saw an older male and discovered he was a community Elder when one of the females said, “Good morning, Elder. Dat followed him and entered a central building with him, slipping in just before the door was closed. There were twenty other males present and he sat down and leaned against the wall. He took some of the berries out of his pocket and munched on them. The males were talking casually and he took a moment to link with his ring and viewed the community from overhead. The scanner focused on the town and he saw that it appeared to be thriving. Construction of new residences was taking place and there were numerous inhabitants working in the fields around the community. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary for a primitive society. He broke the link when he heard one of the men say, “We must find a way to give us warning.”
“You know that is forbidden, Jaden. We all feel your loss but the community could not endure the consequences if we violate that rule.”
“Surely there is a method that wouldn’t be detected by the Masters.”
“They would know about it as soon as they found no one in the streets. They may not know how we’re doing it but they would act. They are far too smart to be fooled. We aren’t even allowed to shout that they’re here. If they hear anyone giving a warning, ten homes will be killed.”
“I thought the number was now up to thirty homes.”
“That’s why I brought it up; it appears a new ship is now coming here and doesn’t know about the earlier violation.”
“I still don’t understand how they called that scream a warning. Everyone screams when they are embraced by a Master.”
“I know and they encourage that, but Reba had not been embraced. She stumbled upon a Master and screamed.”
“The Master killed her.”
“Yes, but only after chasing her down. We don’t make the rules.”
“Does anyone have a guess when they’ll return?”
“That is fools work. I think they watch us and choose the best time to catch us outside.”
“You act like this is a game.”
“For them, it is. Why else would they not break into our homes? You know our doors could not keep them out but they do not pursue anyone once they make it indoors. If you look at all the rules we’re forced to follow, it is definitely a game for them.”
One of the Elders shook his head, “Have any of you heard about the farmers’ treachery with Gresha?”
Dat leaned in closer to hear.
> “We have but they have not brought the issue before us so we should avoid discussion until it is.”
“He’s your nephew. I hope you’ve spoken to him. The community would frown on losing her due to the actions of one of our own.”
“He’s been blinded by her beauty. He won’t make that mistake again.”
“I trust you’re right. He’ll be locked out if it happens again.”
The Elder Males nodded, “As he should be.”
“Is his son ready to take over his fields?”
“Probably; but if he isn’t, someone else will take ownership. I am deeply ashamed at his actions. He knows the consequences.”
• • •
The meeting turned to economic issues on pricing various crops and Dat reflected on what he had heard. The Masters enjoyed the chase. They were predators. He wondered if their behavior was just something they enjoyed or if it was driven by genetics. If it was genetically driven, they could never be stopped from preying on others. That would mean they would have to be destroyed. Negotiation would never work with them if their fundamental behaviors were predatory. He had to find out. The opportunity to find out presented itself in a most unexpected way.
• • •
Dat spent the next three days following Gresha around the community. She was clearly a community favorite and was stopped and spoken to wherever she went. Dat learned a great deal about the dynamics of the community just listening to those that spoke with her. He learned that most of the males in the community really wanted to have Gresha as a mate but were unwilling to cross the farmer. He began to like the young female and saw that her spirit was alive and she was loved by those around her.
He followed her home one afternoon and heard her father said, “I’ve been asked by the farmer to allow him to speak with you.”
“I don’t want to hear anything he has to say, Father.”
“The Elders want this bad blood between our families ended. I suspect he wants to apologize and you should go and accept it.” Gresha started complaining and her father held up his hand, “You know we can’t prove what he did. Now go and do it.”
Gresha was angry and her father saw it in her face but she turned and walked away. Dat followed her and wondered what was going on. He hurried and arrived at the farmer’s table ahead of Gresha. There was a large crowd gathered purchasing his produce. It appeared he had lowered his prices in honor or what he was going to do. Gresha waited for the customers to be served and began glancing at the sun. It was getting lower in the sky and she was not going to run a risk of being caught out in the open at dark again. Dat saw that the demeanor of the people had changed as the sun dropped in the sky. Their smiles disappeared and they had a look of fear about them. It was clear they feared darkness.
The farmer saw her getting ready to leave and indicated for her to wait for just a moment. He finally turned and said, “I am sorry for what happened before. I truly meant you no harm. I just love seeing you and found it difficult to let you leave. I apologize for what my behavior caused.”
“You apology is accepted.”
“Just a moment, Gresha; why do you not find me acceptable?”
Gresha turned and was stunned by the question. This beast couldn’t be serious. She then told him of all the cruel things she had witnessed. She finished saying she could never be attracted to one with such an evil heart. His attempt at having her killed by a Master only proved to her how evil he was.
The farmer and Gresha heard a door slam and they turned and saw the farmer’s son waving his arms. Gresha looked and saw everyone was running toward their homes and knew that the Masters had returned. She began to turn to run but the farmer grabbed her arm and held her in a vice like grip.
“LET ME GO!” The farmer saw many of those running away saw him holding Gresha’s arm and knew that he would pay a price for his actions. He gripped her arm with both hands and smiled wickedly at her. Gresha screamed, “You’ll die for this. Let me go!”
“I don’t care if I die as long as you die first.”
Dat looked at the sun and saw that it was too close to the horizon. Gresha would never make it home before dark. He turned and looked at the farmer’s evil smile and drew back his arm and hit him as hard as he could right between the eyes. The farmer’s head snapped back and his eyes glazed over. Gresha wrenched free just before he hit the ground. She turned and started running up the hill as fast as she could but she knew she’d never make it home before darkness fell.
• • •
The Farmer finally regained consciousness and felt himself lifted off the ground. He saw the Master holding him and knew Gresha was not going to die first. His neck was gripped so hard by the Master’s arm that it broke. His death happened faster than he deserved.
• • •
Dat ran behind her and decided to intervene. He extended the field twenty feet in front of him and ran until it was pushing Gresha in the back. Gresha felt someone pushing her from behind and glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone. Her speed picked up and she was amazed at how fast she was moving up the hill. She arrived a hundred yards from her front door just as darkness descended and she picked up speed as she sprinted toward her home. Thirty feet away from her door a Master appeared in front of her and wrapped her up in four of its arms. It lifted her off the ground as two of its arms wrapped around her arms and legs while another wrapped around her neck to prevent her screams. The black creature’s three eyes were glowing red as its small mouth widened. Gresha was paralyzed with fear.
Dat saw the Master move in from the side of the building and knew Gresha was not going to make it. He almost fired on the Master but barely managed to restrain himself. This was a large Master. It had to be one of the largest he had seen in all the scans he had viewed. He didn’t know what made him do it but he moved to the left of the two and leaned an arm out against the building. He estimated he was forty yards from them and saw the Master start lowering Gresha to its chest. Dat turned off the Dark Matter Field and said, “Hey, Blacky!” The Master’s body whipped around while the arms holding Gresha remained in place. Dat said, “Yeah, you.”
The Master’s three eyes all focused on Dat, “You dare speak to me.”
“I don’t know any other way to get your attention. I’ve often wondered if you were all that and now I think I know you aren’t.”
Gresha could barely breathe but felt the powerful arm around her neck slacken just a little. She saw the young male leaning against the building and was just as shocked as the Master at what she saw.
Dat smiled, “You’re big and bad but you’re really not as bad as you think you are. You have to sneak up on those you kill. That’s the only way you can capture them. If anyone sees you coming, you couldn’t catch them.”
The Master’s eyes grew brighter and its body began a slight bobbing motion. “Do you wish to die that much?”
“Well, I guess if you called in the others to help you, I probably would but I don’t think you could do it alone. You’re just not fast enough to catch me.”
The Master forcibly threw Gresha aside and she slammed against her front door. Her father opened it and dragged her inside. Gresha struggled to her feet fighting the pain of hitting the door and put her ear to the door and listened. She had never seen that young man and he had just saved her life. Why would he do it? Her father stood over her and also listened in. Her mother huddled in the corner.
Dat watched the huge Master start bobbing faster and suddenly it issued a scream that permeated the entire community. Suddenly, Masters began running in and one of them approached Dat from behind. The large Master shouted, “Do not touch that one! That one is mine!”
The Master moved around Dat and joined the twenty Masters surrounding the obvious leader. The Master squealed to the others and all of them began bobbing up and down. They were obviously excited at what the leader had told them. The large black creature turned back to Dat and Dat said, “Do you honestly think they will stay o
ut of this? If it even looks like I might escape, they’ll interfere.”
The Master’s head turned and it said in the inhabitant’s language, “If any of you interfere in any way with my pursuit of this meal, I will kill you myself.” The large Master looked at the others and they stopped bobbing when they were in his view. As soon as it turned back to Dat they started bobbing again. It was easy to see they were barely able to contain their excitement.
The Master looked at Dat, “If you are easily caught, I am going to kill you slowly. If you manage to make this worth my time, I’ll kill you quickly with no pain.”
Dat took his arm off the wall and turned sideways to the large black creature. One of those beside the Master raised one of its black arms and suddenly lowered it. Dat turned and sprinted down the street. One of the Master’s arms extended at an incredible rate. Three arms on the Masters body disappeared into its body and added their length to the one arm moving at Dat. Dat turned the corner and heard the arm hit the far wall of a residence. He sprinted up the avenue and activated the scanner function in his left ring. He saw in his mind the Master pull the arm back in and move up the street at a speed that was faster than Dat thought possible. It made the turn at the end of the block without slowing down and Dat knew that this was a chase for his life. If the Master had not extended his arm and had started immediately running he might have been close enough to grab him. But Dat was at full speed and he opened a gap between them as he ran up between the buildings lining the street. The squeals of the Masters rang out in the night and the inhabitants hiding in their homes wondered what was going on.
Dat saw in the overhead view of the community that he was rapidly approaching a dead end. He saw two streets moving in opposite directions and he decided to take the left one. A hundred yards ahead on that street was another street branching off that was not a ninety degree turn but a curved path. He turned right and looked over his shoulder and saw the Master had closed the gap. Boy it could turn fast! He sprinted and one of the Master’s arms shot forward and pulled a piece of his shirt away. Dat began opening the gap again as he bore into the curve and sprinted out into the next street. He forced himself to slow down slightly or he was going to be out of breath quickly. He maintained a smooth gait and saw the Master was not gaining on him. However, the next turn was going to be a real problem. He examined the overhead view and saw that just around the corner of one street on the left was a large pile of boxes. He knew the Master would make the turn without swerving and he sprinted left and added as much speed as possible. He heard the Master hit the boxes and he immediately turned up a small alley on the right. He sprinted up to the end of the alley, stopped, bent over, and tried to catch his breath. He watched the overhead and didn’t see the Master. He moved out of the alley into the middle of the street and waited for it to appear. Suddenly another Master standing close by started squealing. Dat looked at the squealing Master as four of the pursuing Master’s arms wrapped him up. Dat wasn’t lifted off the ground and no arm was put around his neck. The Huge Master turned to the Master that squealed and slammed two of his arms into its head which immediately splattered. “I SAID NO INTERFERENCE! I could have found him without your help. The Master put Dat on the ground and said, “You may move to the end of this street and we’ll start again.”