Only Human

by Chris Reher

  "Probably because there is a big hole in your back." She leaned down to him. "Shut the khamal."

  He lifted his hands with effort and touched her face. Once the mental link between them had come apart the ache in his head began to subside.

  "Better?" She dabbed at his cut lip. "Can you walk?"

  It was a slow, tedious process to help Tychon back to where the sandrunner waited by the river. By the time the sun began to make the day's short journey across the sky, Nova had cleaned his wounds and sponged his body. She winced each time she found a new cut beneath the layers of dried blood and dirt on his skin. Most of his pain had receded, now consolidated into a dull headache.

  "Sleep now," she decided while she twisted his hair into a braid to keep it from his lacerations. "We can't go on today."

  He nodded and wrapped his arms around a blanket that served as pillow. They watched Greah play by the river with the sandrunner, his musical laughter drifting over to them.

  She ran her fingers along his spine as he drifted off, pleased to hear something between a purr and a contented groan when she touched him.

  "I'm sorry you had to go through this," he said. "I still can't believe it happened."

  "You didn't know it was me."

  "I meant what I said," he said. "Back... back there. You mean that much to me. I can't lose you." He smiled crookedly. "I haven't known you all that long, Greenie, but I've been in your head. I like it in there. And I don't want anyone else in mine."

  She stretched out beside him and kissed the part of his mouth that wasn't bruised. "I'm not going anywhere."

  * * *

  Nova kept Tychon sedated throughout the short day and the following night, working with the meager supply of medication to ease his injuries and reduce the swelling of his bruises. He woke only to receive more painkillers and, once, a bowl of soup. His normally silent sleep was disturbed by nightmares and he mumbled and moaned as he dreamed.

  She dozed fitfully, unaccustomed to Shaddallam's swift rotation. She woke whenever he did, maintaining her watch over him, anxiously checking his temperature. During a lucid moment he told her that Kiran was close by, still on the planet. But it was clear that until he was well enough there could be no thought of going on.

  Greah, perpetually restless, returned to the empty town, successfully breaking into a few more of the buildings, enjoying his role as thief and provider. He liberated a further supply of medication and food as well as blankets and a few decent bottles of berry wine from the abandoned stores of loot. Unlike Tychon, Nova welcomed a few good swigs of the delicious liquid.

  Nova awoke upon the next daybreak, not at all sure of where she was but finally feeling rested. She stretched, looking for Greah. It seemed that he had gone on another raid. The bird squatted nearby, observing her silently. She moved around Tychon and carefully started to re-bandage his wounds.

  He hissed softly.

  "Sorry. You awake?"

  "Hmm. How does it look?"

  "Good! Well, at least not awful. It's healing. You'll have a mess of scars, though. I don't think we can get you blasted in time." She prodded gently at a fine strip of tape that sealed a deep cut under his eye.

  He sat up to stretch his limbs. "But I'm alive, thanks to you. That thing on my back would have killed me, too, if the gun hadn't. Remind me to get you promoted if we ever get back to Targon. I'll overlook the fact that you beat the shit out of a superior officer."

  Nova grinned. "Can you travel today?"

  He nodded, touching his lips. "I've got a loose tooth."

  She reached for the medi-kit. "You want another shot?"

  He pulled her arm back. "No! I've been out of my head long enough. It's not something my people appreciate."

  "Awake, are you?" Greah appeared, as usual out of nowhere. "Is it time to decide how we're gonna go on from here?"

  Nova turned away from Greah. "What... is... that?" She pointed over her shoulder into his direction.

  He held aloft two small carcasses. "Real food! I thought you wanted some."

  "Get it away! I have seen enough blood." She helped Tychon to his feet.

  "Looks good to me," Tychon said, dropping his blanket. Nova winced at the sight of his injuries. "I'll just go and powder my nose."

  "Powder his nose? Why?" Greah asked.

  Nova smiled, watching Tychon walk into the river. She began to dig through a heap of clothes that Greah had found and judged to be roughly of their size. Most of it was various men's bits and pieces, mainly Centauri or Bellac and little of it very clean. Still, it looked less likely to have originated in Union territory than her own clothes. She decided to keep her Shaddallam boots, having grown rather fond of their fit and style.

  By the time Tychon returned and had dressed, Greah had prepared their food and was roasting it over a smokeless fire. Even Nova's untrained sense of smell was enticed by the aroma. Tychon bit into his portion, hesitated and shot her a warning glance. She tried hers and found it generously seasoned with the bitter herb that Greah seemed to favor. She sighed and ate, too ravenous to really care anymore.

  "They're still on Shaddallam but getting ready to move." Tychon said between bites. "There are a few more bases here, not as well hidden but heavily guarded. Tharron keeps himself well protected. He's crazy, by the way."

  "I know that. The man's a maniac!" Nova said.

  "No, I mean he's really crazy. Insane. I know enough K'lars to know when one of them is missing a few chips. I think he really believes that he is saving his people from persecution by trying to ram his head against the Union. He is almost harmless. We could have taken him out years ago and all of this would be over."

  "But what of his people? They would continue to fight us."

  "I doubt it. He is little more than a figurehead. I saw their faces when he was speechifying. They don't believe his rants but they pass it on to the masses. While he is attacking Union settlements and blowing up churches, they set up their drug labs and smuggling operations and organize raids just for the loot. I think Tharron does not even know they're doing all that and setting him up to take the blame. If he were gone they'd all disappear. Who wants to look after an army of Rhuwacs?"

  Greah sighed. "I almost feel sorry for him. To be so insane and used and shunned."

  Nova frowned. "He is still a murderer. We have to stop him."

  "He should have been stopped years ago," Tychon said. "Now he's got himself a new pistol. I'm sure even his own people are worried. He's gotten too powerful. It's happening and I'll bet they're wishing he'd just kept on being a nuisance. He is much more than that now. I think they're ready to make a move."

  "What move?"

  "Jelani is here. He arrived a few days ago."

  "Jelani! Here?"

  He actually cringed. "Jelani is a Shantir."

  She gaped at him, taken aback by this revelation. "You knew that? And you didn't think that might be a problem?"

  Tychon shrugged. "The idea that any Shantir would go to Tharron is an absurdity to me. Unthinkable. And to even consider that Kira's own uncle would do that just didn't occur to me. He needs Kira intact if he wants his seat on the council."

  "Did you see Kira?"

  "While I was being beaten into a bloody mess? I can only be glad that he didn't see me."

  "That's true. So what happened with Jelani?"

  "He met with Tharron for quite a while. They must have reached a decision. They said something about Shad Arion."

  "Shad Areen," Greah said. "A rebel stronghold not far down the river. The city still functions, no one has been expelled. But he keeps hordes of rebels there."

  "That's why so many of them left on foot. I figured that it was close by. I guess then that Shad Areen is our next stop." Tychon grimaced when he unfolded his long limbs and paced around their camp to test his legs. He began to load packs and parcels onto the sandrunner.

  Nova turned to Greah. "You know it wouldn't be fair to ask you to go further with us. You were hired to lead
me to Shad Laika, not to get killed for us."

  "You're not asking. I am offering! Do you really think I'm gonna go home now?"

  Tychon laughed. "No, we can use every fighting body we have."

  "You used to live in Shad Areen, didn't you?" Nova asked Greah.

  "Yes. It's a big town, lots of people. I know folks there that can help us." He wrinkled his forehead into a thoughtful expression. "You know, I've wondered why your Union doesn't just blast in here. You must have more firepower'n Tharron. Why don't they send your armies?"

  "Why would they? They don't even know for sure that Kira is here. And until we can reach one of the other Eagles, we have no way of telling them. But even then it's not that easy. No other sector is crawling with rebels as much as this one. We couldn't get a fleet as far as K'lar without Tharron knowing about it. Besides, we can't just march in here and risk your people in some big battle. That's not what the Union is about. So we’re on our own for now." She began to scatter their fire, damping it with loose soil. "And we’ve got their hostage to worry about. When Tharron sees me he'll wish that our regular army had landed on him. Let's move. We'll want to get to Shad Areen by mid-morning."

  Chapter Fourteen

  The dense, moist forest of the Shad Laika basin slowly gave way to lower, less concentrated vegetation that made their going easier. They moved as quickly as possible at a forced pace between rest stops. Frequently, the travelers came upon narrow paths leading to the river or spotted signs of now deserted campsites. Greah, in his role as native scout, examined each one carefully, explaining how many had slept at each fire, what they had eaten and how many guards they had posted.

  Nova grew more irritable with each stop. The nomads of Shad Laika were of no interest to her; Greah would find a more receptive audience for his findings in the bird trailing behind them.

  She tapped her foot impatiently when Tychon bent to listen to yet another of Greah's long-winded reports.

  "Strange," Tychon said when they at last continued on their way.

  "What?" Nova ducked under the branches of a tree, turning to lead the bird through. "Shouldn't we try to hurry a bit?"

  "Greah said that there was a road, sort of a highway leading into the town, half a kil north of here. Yet these people keep to the side and don't even follow the same trail. It's like they don't want to be seen."

  "So? I wouldn't, either."

  "Yes, but these camps were made by Greah's people. They have no reason to hide from the rebels. Tharron doesn't take them half-serious. They post guards like they were on the run or had something to hide."

  "Maybe they do." Nova tugged on the Runner's leash. "Come on, you!"

  Greah appeared beside them and tapped the bird's legs. It seemed to understand this and moved faster. "That's because they're afraid of the beasts Tharron keeps around himself. When they have nothing to do, Tharron lets them run around out here to keep things in order. He doesn't care what they do when they find people they don't like."

  "Rhuwacs," Nova said. "They don't like most people."

  "That's them. If they catch us out here..." his young-old face contorted into an expression of terror and he gripped his gun to his chest as though to ward off the evil spirits Tharron had brought into this world.

  Nova resisted an impulse to crouch down to hug the small man. Instead, she gripped his shoulder, reminding herself that he was not a child in need of comforting. But the look on his face was one that she had seen on an infinite number of people left to the devices of Tharron's dogs. "Even Rhuwacs know what your gun is for," she assured him. "Don't be afraid."

  He shook his head. "I met them and I'm still alive. But my people... maybe you don't understand. We do not kill other... other sentients. Not even our worst enemy. We kill only for food and to make leather. That's the way it was written when Jyn Laungh made this world for us. No killing. That's why we build walls around our cities. To keep, uh, strangers out. The people from the south." He hesitated. "They don't keep out strangers that come from above."

  "But you carry a gun! You have killed," Nova exclaimed. Seeing Greah in such despair worried her.

  "Against his nature," Tychon said. "Greah's people aren’t the only race that doesn't kill their own. They found other means to settle things. It just wasn't necessary before our glorious Union showed us all how to live. And die. And now Greah will fight for his people, as do Delphians that now fight for the Union. It has to start somewhere."

  Nova took her eyes off Greah's unhappy face to glower at Tychon. "You're saying that this is the Union's fault? All of this?"

  "Are we not teaching these people how to kill? Maybe Tharron is just an inevitable by-product. You put someone in power and someone else rebels against it. Now we're involving people that should be left alone to worship their harvest gods and to think that the only thing that flies is a bird. The Clan Council of Delphi saw all that long ago. Maybe they are not so wrong in opposing what you call progress. Without the Union, Tharron would never have left K'lar."

  "You are part of this Union!"

  He nodded. "So I am. That doesn't make this right." He nudged the gun strapped to her thigh. "You don't even think about killing anymore. How do you know that you've got the right to kill anyone? Because they're rebels? You are of a warrior breed developed by the Centauris. You are no more Human than I am Delphian."

  "Why are you talking like this?"

  Tychon glanced at Greah, not entirely sure why he was talking like this. "Maybe this is getting to me, finally. If it weren't for us, people like Greah wouldn't have to worry about people like Tharron."

  "Of course not! If it wasn't for us, Tharron would be in control and being eaten alive by Rhuwacs would be a way of life and certainly nothing to fuss about!"

  "Tharron wouldn't be here. He wouldn't have Rhuwacs. You're not listening..."

  "Come, you two!" Greah stepped between them. "Don't carry on so. Let's get on, maybe if we manage to catch Tharron, both your Union and his people will leave this planet and save me the trouble of having to show my kinsmen how to kill. I will only need to invent a harvest god." He turned to walk ahead again, soon swallowed up by the undergrowth.

  Nova followed him, a little annoyed with Tychon. More than that, she worried over Greah's revelation concerning his people. She had begun to count on them for help in overcoming Tharron and his army. In her mind she had seen a battlefield of nimble-footed, heavily-armed Greahs pitted against the slow Rhuwac soldiers. She had seen castles taken by force and planes burned on the ground. They would not fight? Was that not an instinct to most things that crawled, swam and walked? She recalled Tychon's words. Of course she had been trained for this! Killing one's enemy was what war was all about, was it not?

  "Can you believe it?" she grumbled, more to herself than to Tychon. "They won't fight! We're going up against Tharron, just the three of us. The only chance we'll have is that he'll laugh himself to death. We'll–" She nearly fell over Greah who had come to an abrupt halt in the middle of the path, straining forward, listening.

  She dropped into a squat at once, her gun in her hand before her thoughts had caught up with the reflex. Something about Greah's stance called for absolute caution. His gun, too, was no longer on his back. Nova looked behind her to see the bird standing still, Tychon's hand clamped around its beak.

  She squinted to see through the thicket in front of them, soon making out five Rhuwacs, broad backs turned toward them.

  Nova shifted her weight left to show Tychon the direction she would take. They were too close now. The bird could never be moved quietly. She prayed that none of the Rhuwacs would sense them, smell them perhaps.

  Something in their midst seemed to occupy them. Nova strained her eyes to discern one Shaddallama lying motionless on the ground while another one, this one female, cowered at his side, fearfully staring at the Rhuwacs.

  Nova turned to Greah, about to send him back to calm the sandrunner. But he had already discovered the object of the Rhuwacs' interest.
Before she could restrain him he had launched himself at the beasts with the fiercest of battle cries.

  * * *

  Jelani reclined comfortably on Tharron's open patio, enjoying the fragrant air that wafted over the garden. Again, Tharron had confiscated the most palatial house of the beleaguered city for himself. Complete with little native servants, Jelani remarked to himself, nothing too good for our leader.

  He mused over this. He was calling Tharron 'our leader' now. Did that make him a rebel? He doubted this. He was a Shantir. Neutral. Totally neutral. And about to be part of the most wonderful miracle the galaxy had ever seen!

  He watched the K'lar giant idly. Oh, he was in a state again! Just look at his underlings cringe and cower as he rages. And had he just kicked that little servant? Such a vulgar, crude man. A voice loud enough to shake the walls!

  Jelani fanned himself, wondering if he should call for one of the refreshing berry drinks he enjoyed so much. He was no longer afraid of Tharron. Tharron needed him; there was no one else who could give him the Tughan Wai. So why whine and quake at Tharron's feet?

  Of course, Tharron was one thing. Pe Khoja was quite another. Jelani's face clouded. Pe Khoja, Taelros and others like them despised Jelani, that much was clear. The reason for their loathing was less definite. It worried the Shantir and he stepped with caution around them.

  Tharron strode over to Jelani's lounge."Get up, wizard! You have work to do."

  "I studied with the boy this morning and then sent him to play. He is such an exceptional child! But we must be careful. I suggest two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon."

  "Forget your study. We have been discovered. It wasn't enough to move to Shad Areen. We must leave this planet."

  Jelani rose. "Where are we going?"

  "As far as orbit. It is time to fight. Give me the Tughan."

  “That is impossible! It should take months to prepare him. The child is not ready."

  Tharron regarded the Shantir with the same amused curiosity that showed when he tried to converse with Kiran. "There are two Union battleships on a direct course for Shaddallam. They will be here by tomorrow. I’m sure they have enough of your Delphi wizards on board to turn your brains into dog food. My people estimate over four hundred combat fighters. A couple of Eagles are already buzzing around this planet, just hoping to intercept our escape.”