The impression that the tube wasn’t a weapon was reinforced when it placed the smaller end of the tube in the corner of its mouth, and lowered its hand. As it started walking towards her, she couldn’t help but grin. It looked like it had one of the twentieth century cigarettes dangling out of the side of its mouth, as she often saw in the old flat image movies, made decades before the nasty smoking habits died out.
It stood vertical on its legs, and they bent at the knee as a person did as it walked. It swung its arms slightly with each step, and the long toes pointed slightly out to the sides as it walked, with a slight sway side to side as it moved. It moved very sleekly, with a slightly sinuous motion of its slender body. It never took its eyes off her, but its blinking grew more frequent as it grew closer, the yellow eyes always locked on her. The increased blinking probably indicated an understandable nervousness.
As it came within about fifty feet, she noticed that a middle finger on each hand was at least an inch longer than the other three. An opposable thumb appeared to be a bit longer than a human’s was, at least in proportion to the other slender fingers, and it had narrow hands and feet. It looked as if it would have dexterity at least as good as a human’s hand, and from the smaller hand and finger size, might be better able to perform more delicate work.
There was a six-inch knife in a belt sheath on its right side, although it had removed the tube now hanging from its mouth from its waist pouch using its left hand. There was no way to determine handedness yet, if it indeed had any preference.
She saw it look past her, apparently looking at the shuttle and those outside of it, a half-mile behind her. It was walking a well-used path that curved to stay centered between tree trunks, but it stepped off into the loose dead needles to walk directly towards her, rather than follow the cleared path that curved back to where she now stood in the intersection of paths.
Through the Link, she heard Marlyn’s voice. “When it left the path, it kept you directly between itself and the shuttle. I think it’s aware of the fact that we are armed.”
Maggi, too close to the Prada to make remarks it could overhear, merely nodded once. The large ears were swiveled more forward, rather than to the sides as she had seen in the previous orbital surveillance pictures. She could see its big yellow eyes flicking from her to the shuttle behind her, and its walk gradually intersected the path again about twenty feet from her, and it came to a stop.
She noticed that a loop to hold the knife in the sheath was hanging loose, and the right hand was held close to the weapon in a casual manner. It was a caution she might have taken in its place.
In low Krall, she asked it a question. “Are you a Prada clan leader?”
The top of the bandit mask-looking eye rings lifted slightly, as it did something like a human raising their eyebrows. It didn’t speak, but moved its head forward and back an inch, the nose pointed at her. That could have been equivalent to a human affirmative nod, or a negation for that matter. However, it suggested it might have understood the question, no matter the answer.
She continued in low Krall. “I am called Maggi, and my clan is called human. What are you called, and do you have a clan name?”
In a voice considerably higher pitched than what Maggi was trying to imitate in low Krall, the creature answered her also in low Krall. “My people are all called Prada. I am leader, Wister, of the Sither clan. Why are you here? You must leave our lands.”
So, it’ll be low Krall to start with Maggi thought. The Prada language could come later. Assuming Wister’s order to leave the Sither lands could be changed right now, and giving up the deep voice attempt, she spoke in a normal tone.
“We came from Koban,” she pointed up, knowing Koban wasn’t overhead or visible in the daytime sky. “We came to explore this world and to meet your clan.”
“I have been to Koban. Your kind did not live there. You lie. You must leave our lands or the rulers of Koban will eat you.” It accused, repeated the order for them to leave, and warned them of consequences, presumably from the Krall.
“The Krall have left Koban, and we live there now. We came to meet you, and to help you.”
“Leave now, or you will be eaten.” It moved its head forward and back, as if emphasizing the truth of its last statement.
“Do you threaten all that come to you as allies with harm? We can give you science to rebuild your civilization.” There didn’t seem to be a Krall word for “friends,” so she said allies. She also didn’t know how to say the equivalent word for technology, which they were offering. Telling them they had something to give them might alter the hostile stance.
The offer was rejected. “We always have our science, and the Rulers will take what science you have, eat you, and give what you know to us to build for them. If you do not leave now, you will be eaten here.” The tube in the corner of its mouth lifted to horizontal, as it clenched it in the small teeth she could see behind the black colored soft lips. It looked like nothing more than a small hollow tube, with a slit near the top, close to the lips.
She heard Kap’s voice. “The metal tube appears to be similar to a breath driven, noise making device. The dimensions indicate it would be a high pitch sound maker. It does not appear to be a weapon.”
Maggi had already concluded that, but wondered what the purpose of the whistle was. Possibly, it was to trigger some action by the other members of the village on Wister’s signal.
“We are very strong on Koban, and have met and defeated some of the Krall. They no longer live there. We own their domes now.”
“You have said your last lie.” It puffed its lips and blew, but Maggi heard no sound other than air passing through the tube, a bit of spittle rising from the top slit.
Both Kap and Bradley spoke at once, Kap yielding the Link to the boy. “Maggi, I heard it blow a series of ultrasonic chirps. It’s a signal, so in light of the threats you perhaps should start back this way, I’ll cover you.”
As Bradley talked, Maggi saw Wister rotate his body position to his right, twisting his legs and hips to do so, without moving his feet. She saw his right elbow appear from behind his back as his left side turned towards her. He was doing something with his right hand while it was out of sight. His unsecured knife came to mind.
The Prada leaned away from her and lifted its left foot as it pivoted and pushed off with the right foot to leap the distance towards her. They had seen their lightweight forms leaping from limbs and walkways on recordings, and they easily had the ability to cover the twenty feet in two jumps.
Maggi said, “Bradley, don’t you dare shoot this fool. I have this covered.”
She stood still as the Prada started its second jump off the left foot, the right hand that surely held a knife concealed behind its back. It kept in a line between her and the shuttle, possibly aware of the rifle Bradley must now have leveled in their direction. Wister appeared ready to sacrifice itself in order to complete an attack on her. Curious, she thought, what was the whistle blast about? It appeared the Prada was going to do this all alone.
That was what she thought, until she heard the multiple yips, howls, and growls coming from among the trees to her left. She had intended to let the Prada reach her, but decided she needed to resolve his threat sooner, to be ready for whatever else he had summoned.
She shifted from the balls of her feet, where she had balanced herself as the Prada came at her, and she jumped towards him in her own leap, turning her right side towards him. Detecting her movement, he brought the knife hand around sooner while still in mid leap, as she anticipated. She could have simply pulled her Jazzer and stunned him, but decided a more physical demonstration was in order. It had been good enough for Carson against a Krall, so she knew this would be simple against a Prada.
She landed on her feet just as her left hand grasped his knife hand and pulled him forward, and she rotated to put her right shoulder into its midriff as she crouched down. She lifted him with her shoulder as he came in contact, and as th
e lanky body passed over, her right hand rose in a quick move to its crotch to grab fur, and apply more force to the body slam, as it landed on its back in the bare dirt of the path.
She heard the air whoosh from his lungs as he hit the hard packed ground with far more force than simply falling from five feet high. Her grip in the crotch fur also confirmed that it was almost certainly a male, if it fit the sexual dimorphism pattern found on quite a few planets. That was where some male and female animals developed reproductive organs, and often delivered live births similar to Earth mammals. Nature had proven repetitive in much of its evolution, with convergent features frequently encountered.
Plucking the knife from the hand of her stunned opponent, she bent and lifted the gasping alien by the scruff of his neck, using only her left hand. She tucked his knife into her own belt, and retrieved the whistle where it had fallen from his mouth. The growls were louder, and coming from what had been her left when she walked into the woods. She now could hear the sounds of many feet striking the ground and stirring the dry needles.
Marlyn called out frantically. “Drop him and run, he called some big spotted dog-like animals. I see at least four, coming from one side of the woods.”
Bradley broke in, “I see at least six, and one is closer to us than you are. We can pick them off as they expose themselves between trees, but you had better have your Jazzer ready, we may not get shots at them all.”
Maggi looked up around her, and saw the closest house on a tree just twenty-five feet away, built about thirty feet off the ground. However, it had a partly pulled up rope ladder that came within fifteen feet of the ground. “How about I use these brand new TG muscles to get off the ground, and we avoid killing any of their pets.”
Francis said, “Pets? You must not have seen them yet. A hundred pounds each, with gaping jaws. The closest is a hundred fifty feet away. Drop the Prada and go!”
She was moving as Francis talked, and finally saw one of the animals passing between trees. Now she knew where those splayfooted tracks came from, that she had seen with the Prada’s footprints. These were previously marsh dwelling pack hunters, and the Prada had domesticated them as pets and guardians. She knew all this the instant she had grabbed Wister’s knife hand by using her new Mind Tap ability.
The Prada leader was hoping to hold her close until the animals, out hunting with other members of the clan, ran back to help him. The hunters would have heard the shuttle, and of course sent the faster running animals back to the village. When his large ears detected their distant yips, he had blown the rally signal to draw them to him. They would tear apart any foreign threat to their owners.
Maggi carried him easily with one hand, even as he started to struggle when he regained his breath. His strong hands reached over his small shoulders and tried to pry the painful grip free from the loose fur near the back of his neck and shoulders. It was like trying to force open a Ruler’s iron grasp. He couldn’t budge so much as one of its fingers, while he was carried like an infant.
Wister saw the marsh dogs he’d called, coming to his aid as fast as they could run. He saw that Jelko, the fastest of the pack, would reach them first. He held onto his hope that this enemy of the Rulers could yet be defeated.
He was being carried, kicking but unable to call out, not with his skin and fur gathered so tight in back that he could hardly breathe. This was the smallest of the aliens, and he had felt safer approaching it. How much more dangerous were the larger representatives? He wished the Rulers were here, to see that he had tried to oppose this new enemy.
Jelko was almost to them. There was nowhere for this alien to run, since the ladders and ropes were pulled up for security. The ladder over his head wasn’t as high as it should have been, but still out of reach. The alien turned to face the speediest of the clan’s animal guards. With horror, he saw the unexplainably powerful alien pull a weapon from out of its clothing. It would kill their protectors, their hunter helpers, their beloved pets. He had to stop her. He kicked violently at his captor, and she touched the hand with the weapon to his own hand a moment. He experienced a mental flash in his mind of a marsh dog climbing a tree, and automatically visualized the low hanging ladder overhead, which the dogs could climb only with difficulty, if it were down.
The alien glanced up and into his eyes, as he was held aloft by one arm. Unbelievably, it returned the weapon to where it had been hidden. It shoved his body forward, placing him between the quickly closing Jelko and itself as it backed towards the nearest tree. If Jelko could hold it there at the base of the tree, when the rest of the pack arrived they would tear this enemy apart. The dog tried to dodge around Wister, and the alien flashed out a kick that was so fast Wister couldn’t really see it when it connected with the underside of the animal’s jaw.
Flying up and backwards without even a cry of pain, he feared Jelko had been killed by the kick, delivered faster than even a Ruler might be able to block.
Suddenly, he was jerked painfully by that grip on his fur and skin, as he was tossed skywards. Releasing him, the alien crouched and leaped up and caught the bottom of the rope ladder that had only been pulled halfway up, catching it with one hand. It reached out and easily caught him by the ruff of his neck again, just as he reached the height of the arc.
It pulled itself up by that one hand, Wister in the other, then another jerk as it yanked itself up another five feet one handed and caught another rung. It did this until, one handed, it had pulled him up to the board walkway and tossed him onto the planking. It pulled up and sat beside him, feet hanging over the edge. It looked down at the guard animals, leaping up and howling at the tree base, having just missed their prey.
The dogs tried to climb the rough bark, using clawed feet and teeth, as they bit at the large ridges in the tree trunk to get as much as ten or twelve feet high, before a chunk of bark would break off or flake, causing them to fall back.
Treed like a raccoon by hound dogs, Maggi thought. Mean looking animals.
Per the mental images from Wister, the Prada leader cared a great deal about their welfare. He had feared the aliens might kill them. It was to calm her captive’s worry, which had driven her decision not to stun the closest animal. He had a particular fondness for that one, and didn’t know a Jazzer was nonlethal. She saw he was watching intently as the one she had kicked stirred and shook its head, making a yawning gesture to test its lower jaw. Maggi had not felt anything break, but felt guilty because the Jazzer would have been easier on the beast than the kick. However, if stunned by a full Jazzer charge, it would have looked dead for five minutes. No need to have an angry pet lover trying something rash to get back at her.
She pulled him around, forcing him to sit next to her, and she grasped his left hand in her right. She had been on the receiving end of this process a thousand times, but had never been a transmitter before. She sent the Prada images of the animals below, and some of humans interacting peacefully with animals, such as dogs, domestic cats, horses, and finally the rippers. The context of the images implied that these were not intelligent creatures from alien civilizations.
She was shocked to see that the Prada’s claim to have been to Koban was true, when it recognized the ripper image, accompanied by a memory of seeing a pride from the safety of a dome roof under construction. It was shocked in turn, that these aliens, the one next to him in fact, had often been in close proximity with rippers, and survived. Moreover, it sensed she loved some of them, and trusted them, just as he loved and trusted the animals below that wanted to protect him from her.
Marlyn was still worried when she Linked. “Maggi, we saw you climb up, but you are out of view from the shuttle at the moment. We can see your camera image, at a bit of an angle, and it looks like you are Mind Tapping the Prada. Everything OK?”
Maggi answered. “I’m sharing images with the local leader, named Wister. Damn, this TG1 ability is neat as hell. You have to let Rafe and Aldry upgrade you. I have been missing out on so much, and the abil
ity to kick ass simply can’t be overrated. Gee will it be fun when Dillon and Thad get back.” She shook her head to dispel the cheerful (for her) thoughts of their first uncomfortable days after they returned.
Tiger Lady my ass, she thought. Wait ‘til they meet the “mighty mite!”
Her diabolical chuckle bothered her Linked friends as much as it did the Prada leader.
Shaking off that last amusing thought as well, she continued. “Anyway, the leader here is worried. He fears we might kill the marsh dogs.” She paused in thought.
“Oh yes, I’m giving them a name too, based on where they apparently came from. Get over it Captain Discovery. You’ll get your chance to name the entire damned world.” She was feeling flush with new felt power. Before, all she really had was her mind and words to get people to do what was “best” for everyone. Now she had the advantages of speed, muscles, and telepathy, at least until the other SGs caught up with her.
“Please don’t hurt their pets,” she told them. “They feel about them as we do about rippers. If any of them come close to you, get into the shuttle until we straighten things out. I was about to drop my hostage and climb the tree using the rough bark. Then I checked the backstabber here via Mind Tap, and I wanted to know if the dogs could climb a tree. He knew they couldn’t climb without a ladder to help, and that the one overhead was mistakenly left hanging too low. I knew I couldn’t jump high enough to reach it while holding onto him, so I threw him up first, then jumped to grab the ladder. I gotta tell ya. It’s good to be so bad assed and strong. Now I’m ready to negotiate with this little shit.”
“I don’t know, he did attack you with a knife unprovoked, and sent a pack of killer hounds after you. You can’t trust him.”
“It’s a lifelong Krall slave issue, Marlyn. I certainly have not had time to probe him much, but he has a fear of not pleasing and obeying the Rulers, which have to be the Krall.
Koban: Rise of the Kobani Page 31