Through Alien Eyes

by Amy Thomson

  She sat up very slowly, taking a deep breath. Moki’s :olor was a neutral pale green tinged faintly with blue.

  “Thank you,” she said to the guards. “Moki feels bet-ier now. We will need food and water.”

  Moki opened his eyes. His skin flared orange momen-arily, then settled down to a dark, reassuring blue. He was “[[– • ing]] to be brave. Juna smiled at him and gently squeezed his hand.

  “You must come with us now, senhora,” her guard said.

  Juna nodded. “It would be helpful if we could link every uy. Unless we do, Moki will become hysterical and [[fear-~.il]]. He’s still very much a child.”

  Moki, recognizing the cue, grabbed Juna’s hand as she [[^cood]]. “Please, siti, don’t go!”

  “Shhh, Moki. I have to. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Will you be brave for me until then?”

  Moki cast a fearful glance at the guards. “I– I’ll try. When jre we going to go home?”

  “I don’t know, Moki,” Juna told him. “We’ll have to be :rave for now. Maybe later they’ll let us go, and we can [[*ee]] Mariam, and Netta, and Isukki again.” She felt her own : rntrol begin to fail at the thought of her family.

  “You must be very proud of yourselves, kidnapping an nnocent child,” she said, standing up.

  “Senhora, that innocent child killed one of our best [[■en]],” the sergeant told her.

  Moki’s eyes widened in dismay, his skin clouding over [[-ah]] grey. “I’m sorry. He surprised me. If I’d known what is happening, I would have just put him to sleep.”

  “Moki reacted instinctively,” Juna explained. “His stinging reflex used to stop predators. He would not do it on purpose.”

  “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry,” Moki repeated.

  The guard just shrugged, and held out his hand. “You—just come now, senhora.”

  She turned and looked at Moki. “I will see you as soon as I can, bai.”

  “Be brave” appeared on his chest in skin speech. Juna wasn’t sure whether he was telling her to be brave or reassuring himself.

  “If you try to escape, or harm any of my men, we will hurt your”—the sergeant paused as if saying the word was distasteful—“mother. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes,” Moki said, his skin flaring orange and red with fear and anger. He glanced at Juna. “I will be very careful,” he said in skin speech.

  The sergeant took Juna’s elbow and led her out of the cell, followed by the two guards at the door. Instead of turning left, toward her. cell, they turned right.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “You will see,” her guard said. “Come.”

  They stopped at another locked cell. With a jangle of keys the sergeant opened it. The other two guards stationed themselves beside the door, their pistols drawn.

  “Ukatonen!” Juna cried.

  He was unconscious. His skin was a strange silvery white, and there were cuts and dark patches on his skin. It took Juna a moment to realize that the dark patches were bruises. He was too far gone to heal the damage they had done.

  “What have you done to him?” she demanded.

  “He would not cooperate. It was necessary to use force,” the guard told her.

  Juna squatted next to him. “Ukatonen, it’s me, Eerin. Wake up, en.”

  His eyes slitted open; the pupils were different sizes. “Eerin? Is it really you?” he said in skin speech, the words faint and fuzzy around the edges. “They hit me on the head. Hurts. Can’t think. Can’t heal. Need help. Moki?”

  “He’s here too. Shall I bring him?”

  Ukatonen started to nod, then stopped. He flickered agreement in skin speech. “Please. Soon.”

  Juna stood. “He’s badly hurt. We need Moki.”

  “I will send for the doctor,” the guard said.

  “No,” Juna said. “A doctor could kill him. Moki can heal him. But we need him quickly.”

  The sergeant stepped forward, and caught her chin in a painfully powerful grip. He dragged her to her feet and twisted her head up and around to look at him. “I am in charge here,” he told her. “I could hurt you. It would be wise not to forget that.”

  “Do you want him dead?” Juna asked. “Moki is the only one who can heal him.”

  The sergeant jerked her up on tip toes, and squeezed her jaw so hard that she thought it was going to break. He let her go with a sudden shove that sent her reeling into the wall. He spoke into a comm unit at his belt. “We will bring him,” he told Juna.

  “Moki and I will be tired and hungry afterwards. We will need to eat,” Juna explained. “This kind of healing lakes energy.” Her chin felt as though it had been caught m a vise, but she refused to rub it.

  The guard nodded grudgingly. “Food will be brought, as well.”

  Moki was escorted in. “En!” he cried, his skin flaring red and orange. Juna laid a hand on Moki’s arm before he alarmed the guards. “He is badly hurt, and needs allu-a.”

  “I will do what I can, siti,” Moki said.

  They linked. Ukatonen’s normally powerful presence was barely detectable. Juna could feel Moki’s anger surging strongly. She contained it before it unbalanced the fragile link. She felt Moki pause, and get control of his anger. It showed a new level of maturity. Juna let her approval of this maturity expand into the link, reinforcing her barm’s confidence.

  Moki began examining Ukatonen’s head injury, and Juna felt his confidence begin to falter. Even without allu, Juna could tell that it was very bad. A pungent coppery aura filled the area around the wound. The damage had affected Ukatonen’s ability to repair it. He literally couldn’t focus well enough to constrict the necessary blood vessels, and the bleeding had increased the pressure inside his skull.

  After putting Ukatonen into a deep, healing coma, Moki constricted the arteries that fed the injury. This helped stop the dangerous buildup of pressure inside the enkar’s skull. As the pressure eased, Moki set about repairing the damage. It was delicate, careful work. Monitoring Moki, Juna could feel his fear and frustration build, but it did not affect the care with which he worked. At last, exhausted, he broke the link.

  “I’ve done what I know how to do, siti,” he told her in skin speech. “The rest is beyond my skill. There is damage. I don’t know how much or how permanent it will be.” He glanced down at Ukatonen, lying unconscious on the mat. “I can repair the bruises and cuts, but it would be best if I rested first.” He paused, then went on: “I wish Ukatonen were awake. Maybe he could tell me what to do. But I’m afraid to wake him. He would only try to fix the problem, and that would make blood flow to the injury. It’s best to keep him unconscious for now.”

  “You’ve done well, bai.”

  Moki just looked at her and shook his head.

  “How is he?” the sergeant asked.

  “We’ve done what we can for now. He’s stable. We need food and a chance to rest before we do more work.”

  Food came. Juna ate mechanically, not tasting it, her eyes on Ukatonen. When they were finished, Moki sat, eyes hooded, his skin a muddy roil of turbulent colors.

  The door opened, and the two guards at the door visibly stiffened as a short, black-haired man swaggered in. Someone important, Juna concluded.

  “How is the injured one?” he demanded.

  “The little alien and Dr. Saari have been working on him, Commandante,” the sergeant rapped out.

  He looked at them. “Well?”

  “Moki’s doing the best he can,” Juna said. “We don’t know yet how extensive or permanent the damage to Ukatonen will be. We are resting before we do more healing.”

  “I see. How long will it be before you know?”

  Juna looked thoughtful for a moment. “We’re not sure,” she said. “At least several days. Possibly a week or more. What do you want with us?” she demanded.

  The man frowned. “We will tell you when we are ready to tell you.” He glanced at the sergeant. “Carlos, show Professora Saari that we are in char
ge here.”

  The sergeant slapped her. Hard. She stumbled back several steps, dizzy, her head ringing. Moki had turned bright red, and started forward.

  “Don’t hit my mother.”

  “Again, Carlos.”

  This time Juna was prepared, and rolled with the blow. It hurt, but it did not stun her.

  “No!” Moki cried.

  “Again, Carlos. Harder.”

  This time he slugged her hard enough to knock her down. She hit their dinner trays, and they scattered with a metallic clatter. Moki flew at him claws out, spurs forward.

  “Moki, stop!” Juna called through the ringing in her ears.

  Two guards wearing thick leather gloves grabbed Moki, pinning his arms down against his sides. He started to struggle.

  “Stop!” Juna called again. “Moki, please, stop.”

  “You can fight, little one, but every time you do, we hurt the professora.” He nodded at Carlos, who raised his arm. Juna rolled in time to avoid the worst of the blow, but it still stung.

  “Stop,” Juna said. “We understand. If you continue to beat me, I will be unable to help heal Ukatonen.”

  That seemed to stop the commandante. [[“Enough, Car-

  – Do as we say, Professora. And see to it that the sick

  e gets better quickly. Your lives depend on it.” He turned -.d walked out, not waiting for an answer. Carlos followed him.

  The other guard, the kind private who had first brought

  : food, shook his head philosophically. “Ah, senhora,

  u should not have spoken so to the commandante. He . _r, be a hard man.”]]

  Juna got up slowly, still disoriented by the blows. Each movement made her aware of new aches and bruises. The guard began picking up the utensils. He glanced up at her. “Senhora, why don’t you and the little one rest in your cells while we clean up here?”

  She shook her head, and winced at the pain the motion caused. “We should look after Ukatonen.”

  “He’s asleep. If he wakes up, we’ll send for you. Go on, we can’t clean up properly if you are here.” It was phrased as a request, but it was clearly an order.

  Juna reluctantly agreed, and the guards showed the two of them into Moki’s cell. As soon as the door shut, they sat on the floor and did what they could to repair their injuries. They were too exhausted and numb to try to raise each other’s spirits. They were too tired to do more than stop the pain and swelling. They broke the link and fell asleep on Moki’s thin foam mattress, curled around each other for warmth and reassurance.

  Ukatonen felt Moki and Eerin trying to salvage what they could of his bruised and battered brain. They had been working on him for at least two days now, and there was nothing more that they could do. The injured brain tissue could be regrown, but the skills that had been stored there were gone. Still, the two of them kept trying, and he was powerless to stop them.

  Ukatonen could no longer control the link. When he reached for the familiar strength of his presence, there was almost nothing there. If he worked slowly and carefully, on a calm patient, he could still heal. But his presence was weaker than that of a new bami. He could no longer calm a frightened person with the force of his will, or hold a dissolving link together. He had lost an ability that had taken a long lifetime to learn. He tried to imagine a village chieftain’s reaction to his laughable presence, and darkened with shame.

  He was crippled, and a crippled enkar was useless. His injury would cause all the other enkar to lose face. It was time to die, but Moki and Eerin would not let him go.

  When Moki and Eerin allowed him to wake up, he explained this to them, as gently as he could.

  Ukatonen, you have a duty to me and to Moki,” Eerin ^i when he was through. “You must live. We need you.” Why?” Ukatonen asked, not looking at her.

  “Because there is something that they”—she motioned[[ li ]]her head to indicate their kidnappers—“want from. If you die, so do we. I would not want a death that dishonors you so.”

  Ukatonen sat silent for a while, thinking through her words. He was tired of carrying the crushing load of duty, ured of being an enkar, but she was right. They needed him. Finally, he looked up at her. “You would make a good enkar,” he admitted.

  “I would not want to carry such a burden as that, en,” Juna said. “I am human and we are allowed a few imperfections.”

  “What do they want?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, en. I’ve been afraid to find out. It may not be something that you can do. I will not ask you to violate your honor to save our lives.”

  Ukatonen looked at her. “Don’t be silly, Eerin. You already have.”

  Eerin looked down. “You’re right, en, and I am sorry.”

  He reached out and brushed her shoulder affectionately. “We will do what we have to do to get out of here.”

  “It may not be that easy, en,” Moki said in skin speech. “These are people without honor. They may not let us go, even when we do what they want.”

  “Then either they will die, or we will die,” Ukatonen replied in skin speech. “If there is a chance to escape, we will take it.” He held out his arms, spurs upward. “Let us link. I will not be much help, but it will bring us closer to harmony.”

  The three of them entered into allu-a. Ukatonen could feel the others’ instinctive pause as they waited for his powerful presence to fill the link, and then their grief as they realized that it was no longer there. He struggled to break the link, but Eerin held the link together, blocking his escape. He was surprised at the strength of her presence. Even without allu, she could hold him in the link. He tried to block her as she enfolded him, searching for his pain, but he couldn’t stop her. She found the darkness and pain and loneliness inside him, and forced it to the surface. He struggled against it. There was too much pain to face all at once. He tried to make himself go unconscious, but Moki blocked him. Imagine, an enkar of his experience being blocked by a mere bami. He raged angrily, and impotently against them.

  Then Eerin and Moki enfolded him, lifting him out of his pain. Exhausted, he let himself drift, surrounded by Eerin and Moki’s caring. He was a leaf floating on the river instead of being the river itself. It was like being a bami again. He eddied in the warm currents of their presence, stilled and at peace.

  Ukatonen’s cell door opened, and he was escorted out. The guards marched him past a row of featureless cell doors and out into the open air. He blinked in the sudden, bright sunlight, flaring his nostrils wide, taking in as many smells as he could. They were surrounded by rain forest, separated only by an expanse of closely mown grass and a barbed-wire fence.

  It was odd. Two years ago, such close confinement would have driven him into greensickness. Now, he was too preoccupied with surviving to notice the grim sterility of his cell. Still, the scent of the forest roused a wave of longing so intense that he stumbled and nearly fell. One of the guards jerked him upright and pushed him along the concrete breezeway.

  He was led toward a door into another building. A guard opened the door with a stiff salute to his escort. They walked down a long hallway, and into a bright, sunny room. A man lay in a bed, surrounded by guards and subordinates. He was the focus of everyone in the room. Moki and Eerin were waiting. One of the guards had a gun pressed to Eerin’s head. Ukatonen fought back a sudden flare of anger. He breathed deeply, forcing himself to be calm.

  The man in the bed looked at them. His eyes were pale and cold and hard. Ukatonen knew with a sudden clarity iiat this was the man who was responsible for their kidnapping. The cold eyes flicked away, back to Eerin.

  “Dr. Saari, I am Sefu Tomas.”

  Eerin’s eyes widened at the name. She knew who this man was, and he frightened her.

  “I am dying. You are here to heal me. If you do not, you will be killed. If you do, then you will be freed. Your lives for my life. It is that simple.”

  “How can we trust you?” Eerin asked.

  “My people respect me because
they know I am a man of my word. I would not jeopardize that trust by violating my word, even to you.”

  “You understand that I have vowed to stop healing people,” Ukatonen said. “It is a matter of honor.”

  Sefu Tomas looked faintly surprised. “Interesting. A race that eats its own children speaks of honor.”

  “And a man who kills and kidnaps members of his own species speaks of honor,” Ukatonen replied calmly.

  Tomas looked at Ukatonen. “I could have you killed.”

  Amusement flickered over Ukatonen’s skin. “But you need me,” he replied. “Your life for our lives.”

  “You could be hurt.”

  “I could choose to die,” Ukatonen said.

  “I could hurt the little one, or Dr. Saari.”

  “They, too, could choose to die. You need us all,” he said. “Dr. Saari needs to be in the link. We draw strength from her.”

  “You could use one of my men,” he said. “Any one of them would gladly give his life for our cause.”

  Ukatonen looked at Tomas’s men. They shifted uneasily under his unwavering gaze. “Perhaps if I had not been injured, that would be possible. Now, though, we need someone experienced. Someone who will not panic in the link. I no longer have the strength to control their fear.” He looked back at Tomas. “It would be foolish to have done all this, and then die because one of your men didn’t know what to do.”

  There was a long silence. Ukatonen and Tomas regarded each other appraisingly.

  Tomas laughed. It was a long, deep laugh that broke the building tension in the room. Even the lines on Eerin’s face eased. In that moment, it was obvious what drew men to follow Tomas.

  “We will have to trust each other, then,” he told Ukatonen. “You will heal me, and you will have your freedom. Yes?”

  Ukatonen looked at Eerin and Moki for a long moment, then nodded.

  “Good. When do we start?” Tomas asked.

  “We can begin now, if you are ready,” he replied.