Only Human

by Chris Reher

  Nova switched her pistol to her left hand and retrieved a new weapon from among the folds of her robe. She aimed at the bottom of one of the pillars; Tychon took the other.

  "Mark."

  Anders ducked when the supports exploded in a cloud of dust and flying bits of masonry. For a moment nothing much happened, but then the floor above began to groan under the weight of those waiting in ambush. Tychon scooped Anders off the steps and hefted him over his shoulder. He lurched drunkenly for a moment before finding his balance. They raced up the stairs as the ceiling caved in, bringing with it the startled Rhuwacs. Nova fired into the avalanche of bodies, feeling like she was poking into something nasty, like a nest of rats. She kept firing as she burst from the cellar door and leaped for the hallway, avoiding what was left of the floor boards.

  Tychon followed, slowed by the burden he carried. Anders had closed his eyes tightly, wishing he had a gun and the strength to aid their escape. He felt like a large target fixed onto the Delphian's back.

  In the hall, Nova stood against a wall to let Tychon hurry past, shooting at Rhuwacs huddled in doorways. She moved after him, stepping backwards, her gun blasting into the rebels' hiding places.

  Something whizzed by her head, lifting strands of hair in its wake. Nova glanced around to see a metal arrow embedded in the wall behind her. A Rhuwac now stood in the middle of the hall, fitting another quarrel into his crossbow.

  “Flash!” she yelled in Delphi mainvoice, unsure if Tychon had made it out of the building yet. She slapped the butt end of her pistol into her palm. A quick twist of the barrel activated her wide flash. Her finger squeezed the trigger. A blinding flash of light ground into her eyes despite the hand she had clapped over them. When she looked around, the Rhuwacs lay dead, dying or blinded forever. She whirled around to join the others in their retreat across the square outside. She heard angry shouts, could almost feel enemy fire bite into the stone walls around her. She kept her eyes on Tychon’s figure, aware that from several points to the right and left, unseen allies held back the Rhuwacs that followed.

  Ahead now she saw some of the large, robed natives waiting in the sandblasted alley. They held two of those furred mounts that she had seen earlier. Even from here, she could see the whites of the beasts' eyes as they pranced nervously amid the noise and confusion of the battle. It had apparently not occurred to anyone that she had never navigated a non-mechanical vehicle in her life.

  Tychon slung Anders across a saddle, climbed aboard the skittish animal and galloped toward the waiting planes. Nova sighed. Well, today was a good day to learn to ride. She motioned one of the men to help her. He lifted her quickly and threw a single rein to her before he slipped away into the murkiness to help cover her retreat. Desperately, Nova prodded the animal with heels and hands, glad that it was at least pointed in the right direction. With a squawk, the beast jumped forward and then picked up speed. Nova laughed out loud in fear and hope. She bent low over its neck to present a smaller target, wondering where the brakes were.

  They made it out of the alley and into the open where the Eagle waited, obscured by drifts of sand. Happily, she saw some of the natives run toward her, intent on stopping the galloping animal. She slid off its back and raced into the ship's open cargo bay.

  * * *

  Once aboard the Eagle and away from K'lar, Anders was stowed in Tychon's bunk, sponged relatively clean, and examined for damage by a strangely silent Nova. His nose was broken under a thickly swollen yellow and purple bruise but none of his injuries were particularly threatening.

  "You'll be fine, Captain. You need sleep. And food. Sleep first."

  He looked up at her, still keyed up from the escape and basking in the sure safety of the Eagle. "When I saw you flying down that staircase I thought I had died and was seeing angels." He grinned at Tychon who had entered the cabin with a drink in his hand. "You wouldn't know what an angel is, you heathen."

  "You are calling me a heathen?"

  "Who's the bird?" Anders took the cup, still looking at Nova.

  Tychon frowned. "My senior and only officer, Captain Nova Whiteside, Hunter Class Pilot."

  "Aw, go on," Anders yawned. "She's much too pretty to be risking her neck with you out here." He sank back into his pillows. "What do you need a Hunter for on this bucket, anyway? Must be nice, having your own..." He was asleep.

  Tychon snatched the cup from his hand. "That worked fast, didn't it? I may have put too much in that."

  Nova gathered the medi-kit and returned it to the tiny galley. Tychon found her there, staring vacantly into the cold storage compartment.

  "Are you all right?"

  She shrugged. "Tired, but wound up. Was a big day. I'm not exactly fond of shooting people, whatever their cause."

  "They were only Rhuwac."

  "Is that how you deal with them?" she said, thinking of the guard whose neck he had broken. "With your bare hands?"

  He shrugged. "It did not feel as good as it should have. It never does." Tychon took Anders' unfinished drink and propelled her to the lounger. "Here, drink this, it will help you relax."

  She followed his advice, knowing she would not find sleep without it. "Don't you ever get uptight? You never seem to be out of control."

  "It’s… unseemly for a Delphian. We try to keep our heads together."

  She was silent for a moment, beginning to feel drowsy. "What’ll you do when you run out of Rhuwacs? Will your mission be accomplished?"

  He shrugged. "This is my life, Greenie. There is nothing I want on Delphi."

  She stretched out on the lounger. "But it's home. You must miss it."

  "Sometimes. My mother often complains that I'm not home enough."

  "Home," Nova mumbled. "I've never had one of those."

  He took the glass from her unresisting fingers and pushed her sleeping figure away from the edge of the bed. When he had covered her with a blanket he retreated to the cockpit and programmed a course for Anders' base on Delphi.

  Under his touch, Eagle Seven soared noiselessly, its converters absorbing the cold vacuum as a whale consumes plankton. He would cross the reach tomorrow; at this point he doubted that he would find the state of serenity he needed to make the jump.

  But Tychon did not yet crave sleep. As always, the dim silence of the cockpit soothed and, as always, he was amazed by the comfort that the thin shell of his ship provided against the dead emptiness outside.

  Two people now slept peacefully in this shelter, uncaring of the power that hurtled them onward. Their trusting presence aboard made the vigilance of the Eagle all the more awesome. Tychon was happy to share this wonderful piece of machinery with them, this machinery that had been his home for years.

  Tomorrow, the ship would awaken them as it had been told to do. Nova's cheerful restlessness would enliven the in-flight days when solitary comfort could otherwise turn easily into loneliness. Anders, Tychon knew, would bring laughter and a welcome break from routine.

  Smiling, he wondered why he had preferred to fly alone for so long.

  * * *

  Anders had recovered enough after a long, healing sleep to join Tychon and Nova for breakfast. Nova chuckled when he entered the main cabin dressed in some of the Delphian's clothes. Both shirt and pants were too long in sleeve and leg while looking uncomfortably tight about the waist. But he looked rested, his blond hair cropped back to mere stubble, and a ready smile was on his lips.

  "Are you laughing at my attire or my broken nose?" He bent over the reflective surface of the map table that also doubled as dining area.

  "Your nose can be repaired," Tychon reminded him, sipping tea. "You will just have to live with that body of yours."

  Anders turned to Nova. "And what are you doing with the friendly giant here? Us Humans not good enough for you?"

  Nova glanced at Tychon, embarrassed.

  "Space slop!" Anders exclaimed. "I never dreamed I'd ever be happy to eat freeze'n nuke again! No way did Ty cook this. He's inept. Will y
ou marry me, Nova?"

  "Eat slow if you want to keep it down," Nova warned, amused and concerned. "And Tychon did make that."

  "You wouldn't believe the shit they serve on K'lar," Anders chewed slowly, savoring the precooked, nutrient-balanced meal. "Has sand in it. Seriously, they can actually digest the stuff! How's that for roughage? Can't say I liked it there much. Had a couple of cellmates for a while but we didn't have any cards. And the Ruwwies aren't much for playing Lo-G ball, not like Tychon Of The Mighty Backhand here. Wasn't a total loss, though." He drained his cup and held it out for more. "Happen to overhear back there that they're planning an assault on Targon. Search and destroy, mainly. I doubt that they've a definite target."

  “Targon! When?"

  Anders shrugged. "Didn't come up. Soon, I suspect."

  "Do they know that you know?" Nova asked.

  He shook his head. "Didn't let on that I knew their language." He leaned toward her. "I speak Grunt, you know."

  "I'll send a report," Tychon said and left the table.

  "So, tell me, Nova, how about taking up commission on my base? It's on Delphi but we've got some Humans there. None as pretty as me, though, once I get my nozzle fixed. It'll be a party!"

  She shook her head, smiling. "I like this work."

  He leaned back, slapping the tabletop in mock exasperation. "Risking your butt every day with this madman? Not healthy at all. Come stay with us on Delphi. You can trade laser burns for politics. That's practically the same thing. It'll be a vacation compared to this."

  "I hardly know you!"

  He winked. "You will."

  Tychon returned from the cockpit. "Don't listen to any of his exhaust. He has more women than he can keep organized and I need an able pilot more than he."

  "Yes, but I'm out of Terrans and your blue beauties won't come near me."

  Tychon shrugged. "They have good taste." He lifted a hatch to the engine chamber. “I’ll be cleaning sand out of my filters for a while. Try not to run off together.”

  Anders smiled after him affectionately, then leaned back toward Nova. "So you two kids aren't playing nice-nice? Is that all you are to him? An able pilot?"

  "Of course that's all! What are you suggesting?"

  "The moment I saw you two together I thought you were making it."

  She rose. "We're not making anything. He can hardly get his wife out of his head."

  "Delphians mate for life,” Anders shrugged. “But that doesn’t make him a monk. You two might as well get cozy."

  She cleared the table by stacking their trays in the recycler. "You are getting awfully personal."

  He pointed at himself. "Do I offend? I am merely trying to be objective."

  "And interfering."

  "Is it because he’s blue?" Anders' voice suddenly carried a nasty chill. For the first time this morning the smile had left his face. "Because he's Delphian you think I'm talking nonsense? Because his hair is blue? Because he'll live longer than you? Not on this job; you guys are on a suicide ride. So they can play with their heads better than we can. What difference does that make? I've known Ty for a long time. He looks at you in a way he looks at very few people. He just has no use for most of us, Human or otherwise."

  She picked up some of the weapons they had used yesterday and placed them on the table. He began to disassemble one of them, looking for traces of K’larn dust in the works.

  “Well maybe that is it,” she said. “I am Human. I know how Delphians feel about off-worlders. He has no use for me, either.”

  “If you’re going to work with him, you’ll need to stop trying to figure out what he’s thinking. Delphians have a knack for hiding what’s going on in their heads. You won’t ever know what he’s feeling if he doesn’t want you to.”

  “Yeah, I noticed he’s hard to read.”

  “He tries to get along with us Humans. More than most of them do. I think he thinks we’re pets or something. Throws us a bone now and again.”

  “And so you think he’s interested in this Human? I doubt it! He's been around for seventy years. What could he possibly find interesting about me? He’s certainly not going to risk his commission with an officer under his command.”

  "Seventy-two, but it's all relative. And don't cite me rules about fraternizing out here. That didn't stop the brass from making you bunkmates.”

  "Rules exist for a reason."

  He shrugged. "Depends where you break them. It'll never be acceptable on Delphi. They would never greet one of us as equal, no matter how polite they are. The last thing they want is for a Delphian to prefer an off-world mate instead of choosing one of their own.”

  “Oh? Are they worried about half-humans overrunning Delphi?”

  “Impossible, in any case. You’ve got the right parts, but not the right genes. Delphians are just a bit farther up the evolutionary scale. I think the reason they don’t want us running off with their own is their weird reproductive cycles. For such an old civilization, Delphi has an amazingly low population, probably because they live so long. I think this is also the reason why they don't want the Union around, taking their people off-planet. They just don't have as many babies as other races to replace them all." He lowered his voice. "That means they like to mate as often as they can. I hear they're extremely virile.”

  Nova snapped gun parts together with renewed efficiency. "I don't know why we're even discussing this!"

  He watched her, amused by her indignation. "Because I'm trying to interfere and match make?"

  "Don't bother!"

  He laughed. "Come, tell me that you don't find him tall, blue and handsome. How long do you think he can live with you and still keep his circuits from overloading? He is a healthy male of a compatible species. I've been aboard less than twelve hours and I'm mad about you already!"

  "You know, for a diplomat you're being most obnoxiously forward. Major Tychon is my commanding officer, we're trying to do a high risk job and neither of us has given any thought to anything but kicking Tharron's ass out of Trans-Targon."

  Anders clapped his hands. "Well said, Captain! Now write that down and recite it to yourself three times a day. Better make that four times when we're on Delphi. Their days are longer than the days in this tin box."

  She glared at him.

  "Don't be angry. I am only pointing out the obvious." He toyed with the flash modules scattered on the buffed surface of the map table. "I've known Ty all my life. Gave me my first ride on a solar cruiser. We had some big plans back then. He was going to do a couple of years for the Union and then we were all going to head into deep space. He's one of the best spanners I know - what's he doing chasing rebels? We were going to reach the end of the galaxy and then see where we can jump to next. I was going to find a new planet and start my own population with whatever space girls I'd find there." He smiled absently and found his way from his memories back to Nova. "Then Ty lost his wife to Tharron's damned Rhuwac lizards. He joined the Vanguard and we never talked about any of that again. I'd give a lot to see him care for his life again.”

  She looked toward the open hatch in the floor. "He told me about that day," she said. She pointed at herself. "But I am not looking for a lifemate, Anders. I am not interested in Delphian mating habits or whether or not he is free to take a second wife. Give it up!"

  Anders scrunched up his face in a thoughtful expression. “I’m not talking about lifemates, Nova. The word means what it is. He won’t ever take another wife. No matter what he says, he is Delphian and his affinity is to the house of Phera. He has Kira to think about. Nothing else matters.”

  She drew back. “I didn’t know that. I don’t know much about Delphi at all.”

  “I’ll teach you. If you touch this spot on their lower back they–"

  “Anders!” she tried not to laugh.

  He held up both hands. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry I brought it up. He'd be disowned, anyway. Forget I said anything."

  Nova turned away. "Fine! Consider it forgotten." />
  He winked. "It's a long trip to Targon, though."

  "You figured that we would head there, huh?" Tychon's voice reached them. He had overheard Anders' last words as he climbed up from the hold with the box of filters.

  Anders was still leering at Nova. "Yup, just telling the Captain how well I know you, Your Blueness."

  Tychon glanced from one to the other, noting Nova's tension. He clapped Anders' shoulder hard enough to be taken as warning. "If he had two mouths he'd talk with both of them."

  * * *

  Four standard days after Anders' rescue on K'lar Four, the Eagle descended on the sparsely populated, water-rich planet of Delphi.

  D'Elph'Pi, the proud natives had proclaimed this small orb to the first Terran-Centauri crew to land here. The unimaginative explorers were quick to spell the name in a more easily pronounced way. And, as with most off-world concepts, it was accepted by the blue-haired inhabitants with an indifferent shrug.

  "It's beautiful!" Nova marveled during their approach, mentally comparing the image on their screens to what she knew about the planet of her own origin.

  Large ice caps and vast oceans separated the landmasses, turning the planet into a colorful bauble fixed forever against the velvet backdrop of space. Bright cloud patterns abutted severe mountain ranges that, in turn, gave way to deeply colored lowlands. There were cold, flat polar regions but no deserts.

  Tychon understood her thoughts. "Those that have been there say she reminds them of Terra. Too bad that we will not have time to stay very long. Only enough to drop off our cargo."

  "Cargo? Me?" Anders exclaimed from where he sat on the steps behind them. "Hey, Nova, is he calling me cargo? Cargo! I should tell you about how we once smuggled Ty through Camelot Gate in a..."

  "Shut up or I'll make room for you in the bay," Tychon grinned, happy to be coming home.

  Nova was at first a little disappointed to see that the airfield here resembled any other Union installation. She had expected haughty, blue-robed natives to meet them. Instead, most of the ground crew was Centaurian or Terran. The two Delphians waving to them from the distant repair station wore the Union's gray uniform. Like Tychon, they braided their hair while working.