“All the teams must have at least one representative. That’s just one of the many rules the Allies have concerning non-member populations. You need one person you can talk to and ask questions about the Allies, so they send a representative. It doesn’t mean the Allies are hostile. If they were, they wouldn’t send a scientific team to study you.”
“I’m not convinced of that. You might as well know the truth up front. If I wanted to ask questions about the Allies, I could ask you or any one of your friends here. You belong to the Allies. I guess you know what it's like. I don’t need a special representative for that. If you ask me, it proves the Allies want to evaluate our planet for possible conquest.”
Rose gasped. “Conquest! The Allies don’t conquer people or planets. We’re an egalitarian democracy. All our member planets join of their own free will, and they can leave whenever they wish. Every planet and every people on those planets determines their own form of government and their involvement with the rest of the Allied populations.”
Rowan never took his eyes off Rose’s face. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for that. We don’t know much about your Allies, and we will observe your team very closely to draw our own conclusions about them.”
“I can’t blame you for that. I would do the same thing in your position, but I must ask you to put aside for the moment the simple fact that we are a female-dominated people. I understand you are a male-dominated people. That alone could start us off on the wrong foot, but it does not mean the Allies bear any hostile intentions toward you.”
His lined face broke into a smile. “Believe me, Commander, I wouldn’t dream of holding that against you. I am very glad you came to visit us. We look forward to learning as much about you as you will learn about us.”
Rose relaxed. “Please, call me Rose.”
“Come inside, Rose. I can see you’re cold out here. Come inside and get warm.”
The Krataks led the way, still walking shoulder to shoulder in a straight line, with the team following, also in a line. “If this is your middle son and this is your youngest son, where’s your oldest son?”
Rowan didn’t turn around. “He’s not here at present.” He stopped in front of the two women. “This is my wife, Fay, matriarch of Clan Harkniss, and this is my daughter Haya Assan, Callan’s wife.”
Rose shook hands with both of them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Fay bowed to her, but Haya hung back. The four men walked under the entrance arch into the Keep, and Haya took her place behind Callan. Rowan guided the whole party down a huge passageway chiseled out of black rock. It plunged into the mountain’s very heart. Shafts cut into the ceiling let sunlight in so they could see where they were going. The team looked all around them on every side.
Tapestries and pictures painted on stretched animal hides hung on the walls. The elaborate designs consisted of swirling wave motifs and intricate labyrinthine interlocking geometric shapes. The designs exactly mirrored the changing patterns under the Krataks’ skin. Tribal symbols of animals and birds fitted into the patterns.
The medallions the men wore on their bucklers carried the same intricate designs, but no man’s medallion exactly resembled another’s. Each one bore an image unique to that man.
The passage dropped farther and farther underground and left the world of light and air far above. At the very bottom, it widened into a hall so huge Rose couldn’t see the side walls. Shafts too numerous to count let light in from the ceiling, and heat radiated up through the floor. The black walls should have made it cold as a prison, but the enormous chamber proved surprisingly temperate. Rose loosened the zipper of her parka. She would have taken it off had she had known where to put it.
Rowan faced the team. “We meet here for meals, but for now, Haya will show you to your quarters. Rohn will take the men the other way. I hope you don’t mind if we keep you separate, at least until we learn to trust your intentions.”
“Not at all. Each of us has trained to work independently of the others, and we will prove to you, through our actions, that the Allies mean you no harm.”
Haya came to Rose’s side. “If you’ll follow me this way...”
Rose gave Ben a nod, and he went with Tanner and Whitney. They followed Rohn away into the dark. Rose, Reyna, and Moira followed Haya.
Moira whispered to Rose. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to let them separate us? They could be dangerous.”
“It’s the only way we can get them to trust us. If they were dangerous, we shouldn’t even be here.”
“Aren’t you worried about Ben? What if they try to subject him to some barbaric ritual?”
“If they have any such ritual, they’ll try it on Whitney and Tanner first. Now stop whispering. That will make them more suspicious than they already are.”
Rose hurried to catch up with Haya. “Excuse me, Haya. We left all our equipment outside. We'll have to go get it after you show us our quarters.”
Haya rounded on her. “What equipment are you talking about?”
“It's nothing technological. We know Kratak has no technology, and your father and the other patriarchs communicated very clearly with the Allies our team would only be welcome here if we left all technology behind. We would never trespass on your hospitality by bringing it against your will. We only brought notebooks and spare clothes and a few very basic medical tools.”
Haya started walking again. “In that case, you can go get your things whenever you wish. They'll be perfectly safe outside.” She cast a much softer glance in Rose's direction. “How do you plan to communicate with the other team in Assan Keep without your technology?”
“We won't communicate with them. Both teams are completely cut off, not only from each other, but from the Allies until the Command sends a shuttle for us at the end of our year's study.”
Haya showed Rose her full face, and her smile sent shivers down Rose's spine. “I guess that means you're completely at our mercy.”
Rose stopped in her tracks. “That's right. I can't think of any better way to prove to you the Allies are your friends.”
“My father and the patriarchs made the decision to let your teams come here and study us, but not everyone agrees with their decision. We’ve been alone on this planet for eons. We don’t need the Allies. Our whole way of life has been disrupted since we first made contact with you people. Most people on Kratak would be very glad never to see your faces again.”
“I’m sorry they feel that way.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m just telling you. As my father said, you might as well know right out front where you stand with us.”
“Thank you for telling me. I can only continue to reassure you and everyone else the Allies are a peaceful people. We never wanted to disrupt your way of life, unless you want to join our Alliance, in which case you’ll be seeing a lot more of us.”
“That’s what everyone is worried about. We don’t want to join your Alliance, and we hope this scientific study, as you call it, isn’t the first step toward that happening.”
“It won’t happen unless you want it to.”
“That’s what you keep saying.”
“It’s true. You can take my word for it.”
“I hope you’re right.” Haya opened a heavy wooden door in the passage wall. “Here’s your room.”
Rose stepped toward it and turned to Reyna and Moira. “I’ll meet you in the main hall later, and we’ll go get our equipment.”
Chapter 2
As Rose entered her room, light flooded the chamber through a diagonal shaft cut into the black rock wall. The moment she looked up into the shaft, the perfect silhouette of the dragon soared past and vanished. She was determined to ask someone about it the first chance she got. Where did it come from? Was it the only one on the planet? How could it be? There must be a population of them here. They must breed in the mountains around the Keeps.
She turned her att
ention to the chamber. Everything around her fascinated and aroused her curiosity so much that she forgot about the dragon. Rich colored tapestries like those she saw at the entrance lined the walls. The light reflected their colors so the whole room gleamed with a sparkling shimmer. Gossamer curtains surrounded a giant canopy bed near the window, and piles of embroidered cushions and quilts invited the sleeper to make herself comfortable.
Rose sat down in a stuffed armchair by the bed. A magnificent embroidered gown like the ones Haya and her mother wore lay draped across the foot of the bed. Rose fingered its ruffled skirt, but she didn’t pick it up. These people better not expect her to start dressing like them. She had no intention of giving up any of the privileges and freedoms of an Allies Commander, just because she signed up for a year to study this backward, feudal race.
What kind of woman would wear a dress like that? It served no function but to restrict her movements and confine her indoors. Those men must have come up with this absurd costume. No self-respecting female would wear it voluntarily.
Still, it was a very beautiful dress, much nicer than the crisp uniform and practical attire of the Allies. Perhaps Fay or Haya made it by hand specially for their alien visitors. Rose's heart warmed to the dress when she considered that. She saw no sign anywhere in Harkniss Keep of servants or any other subclass. The Krataks did all the work themselves, so someone in the family she just met went to a lot of work to make this dress. Perhaps Rose might wear it once or twice, just to fit in with her surroundings. She certainly didn't want to disrupt anything.
The same heat radiated up through the floor and filled the whole structure with pleasant warmth. Rose peeled off her parka and put it on the chair. Then she rolled her shirt sleeves up to her elbows. Her scientist's mind analyzing everything. Submerged lava flows rising under the mountain must heat the building, she thought to herself.
She paced around the room and examined every detail. This Keep had to be centuries old, with expert construction and design. She would have to talk to Tanner about it. Nothing else like it existed in the galaxy. The Allies didn’t build buildings that lasted that long. Everything in Rose’s world was designed to function for a few years and then to be replaced by the newest, greatest invention.
Enough time must have passed for the others to return from their rooms to main hall, so she let herself out and walked back the way she came. She saw no one until she came to the great hall, where Rohn and Callan stood with their heads together in whispered conversation.
Callan excused himself when Rose appeared, and Rohn faced her. “I trust you found everything to your satisfaction.”
His deep rumbling voice vibrated her very bones. She’d never heard anything like it among any of the men she knew. That deep rumbling male voice had died out long ago. Only a few expert singers could still produce those bass notes. Her heart skipped a beat. “Very satisfactory. Thank you very much for your hospitality.”
He shifted his eyes to stare off somewhere over her shoulder. Did he intend to stand there silent, as though she wasn’t there? She couldn’t let that happen. “I’m supposed to meet my friends here. We want to go back up to the surface to fetch our equipment.”
“I can take you up there now, if you wish.”
Rose brightened up. “Thank you, Rohn. That’s very kind of you.”
“We want to extend every courtesy to you and your colleagues.”
She fell in at his side on the way back up the long passage. Already she sensed the ice melting between them. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, Rohn?”
“What is it?”
“These medallions you men wear. Do they have any special meaning?”
“They represent the person’s identity. They announce to everyone around you who you are, which Clan you belong to, and anything else anybody cares to know.”
She studied his medallion, but she couldn’t get very close to it without blocking his path. “Interesting, but doesn’t your family already know who you are and which Clan you belong to?”
“The medallion identifies us when we gather with other Clans.”
“How often does that happen? I thought the Clans kept to themselves in their family Keeps.”
“We gather once or twice a year with the Clans nearest us. That’s how we choose mates from Clans other than our own.”
“That’s fascinating. Who decides where the new couple will live? Do they automatically go to the woman’s family, the way Callan did?”
“They always go to the man’s family. The new wife joins her husband’s Clan. Callan came here because Clan Harkniss had so few people we were in danger of dying out altogether.”
“Really? Why so few?”
“In most cases, the patriarch’s sons inherit the Keep. They bring their wives to live there and raise their children, so a Clan gets stronger and stronger with every passing generation. Clan Harkniss is one of the smallest Clans on the planet. Most other Clans have several hundred members living within a single Keep.”
“So, what happened? Why do you have only the one family?”
“My father’s two brothers were killed in a war with another Clan, so only he was left to inherit the Keep. The previous generations had a majority of daughters who moved away and left Harkniss Keep almost empty. That is the reason Clan Assan chose to make an exception and send Callan to live here with Haya.”
“I see. That’s very interesting. My friends and I are anxious to learn everything about your way of life.”
“It’s really not that interesting. We’re people like any other. I’m sure we have all the same foibles and eccentricities everyone has among the Allies.”
“Everyone has their own eccentricities, but that’s what makes them unique and fascinating. Take Tanner, for example. He’s spent his career studying alien races. I’m sure he will find your people no less interesting than the others.”
Rohn puffed out his barrel chest. “I don’t think I wish to discuss our way of life with your friend Tanner.”
“Why not? He’s a professional archaeologist.”
Rohn pursed his lips. “I don’t understand the men of your world. I understand the women much better.”
“Is that because the women are dominant?”
“If the women are dominant, that must mean the men are subservient.”
“They aren’t exactly subservient. Men among the Allies enjoy the same rights and self-determination as the women. Everyone does. Our laws guarantee them that.”
“Then what do you mean when you say the women are dominant?”
“We aren’t exactly dominant. I suppose I made a mistake when I said that, but women usually occupy the command positions in the military and political life. Women hold the top jobs, and we make most of the decisions in family life, too. That’s just the way it worked out, but the men wouldn’t argue with it. If a man wants to become a general or a leader or a doctor, there’s nothing to stop him but his own determination.”
“Do they lack the will to take those positions?”
“Most don’t bother. They would rather study or work in menial jobs like laboring or building. Those jobs seem to suit their temperaments better.”
He looked her square in the eye. “It seems to me you didn’t make any mistake when you said women are dominant. What happens when a woman gets pregnant and wants to raise her children?”
“Then she gets pregnant and raises her children.”
“Is the father expected to support her and the children by working as a laborer?”
“Of course not. That would be inhuman. We have social structures in place so mothers don’t have to worry about support while their children are young. The society pays for their support, and the women return to work when the children get old enough to spend time away from her.”
“That sounds very interesting.”
“It must be very different here.”
“Of course, it is. Women do not leave their family K
eeps, and they have their whole family to help them raise their children.”
“They’re very lucky.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it. Clan is everything on Kratak. I am as much responsible for raising Haya’s daughter Asya as Haya and Callan are. Asya has a home here for the rest of her life. I hunt food for her as much for my parents and any woman I marry and children I have with her. Asya receives food, clothing, shelter and anything else she needs. Then when she grows up and marries into another Clan, they will take care of her as one of their own, which she will then indeed be.”
“That really is fascinating. It sounds like a very civilized way of handling things.”
“We have to handle things that way. If a man dies in a war, he has to know his wife and children will be taken care of by the rest of the Clan.”
“How do the wars start? Don’t all the Clans have their own territories?”
Instead of answering, Rohn pointed in front of him. “Look there. Here we are.”
They came to the top of the passage where daylight flooded the Keep’s entrance. The sweeping expanse of mountains spread out to the farthest horizon. The sun slanted through the purple clouds and played across the treetops down in the forested valleys below. Rose caught her breath at the view.
At that moment, the dragon cut across Rose’s line of sight. It banked right in front of the Keep and swept up to the same mountaintop where she first noticed it. It folded its leathery wings against its body and crouched to perch among the rocks.
“What is that dragon doing there? Is that the only one on the planet? The Command never said anything about dragons on this planet.”
Rohn didn’t appear to hear her. “There’s your gear. I’ll help you carry it inside so your friends don’t have to come up to get it.”
He strode down the hill to the spot where the rocket shuttle had dropped off Rose and her team. Their duffel bags and backpacks all lay in a heap on the ground. Rohn picked up two duffel bags in each hand and slung them over his shoulders.
Rose trotted after him with no further thought for the dragon. She heaved her backpack onto her back and grabbed a duffel bag in each hand. She struggled under the weight up the hill after Rohn when the dragon let out a deafening roar from the peak behind them.
Damen (Dragons of Kratak Book 2) Page 80