by S. H. Jucha
“I can’t see how he wouldn’t, my queen, now that we know the ceena whistling is a language. The Haraken’s four missing crew must have come in contact with our ceena, since the large male appeared to be waiting to signal the Haraken shuttle. And who knows what information was exchanged between them before the rescue. Also, I spoke in detail to Simlan and Hessan, asking them to recall if our captives ever asked about the ceena. Simlan recalls Hira taking down shell plates in the storeroom. He said that when Hira lifted them in the air to look at the bottom, she seemed disturbed.”
“So Hira recognized the origins of the plates,” Nyslara confirmed.
“Undoubtedly, although it could be said that we came by them naturally … after their deaths.”
“Plausible, unless the Harakens know something different. Have the soma ever found dead ceena on the shore?”
“Not that I know, my queen. Our soma had to capture and kill them.”
“Then you have your answer, Commander. Dassata knows. He’ll probably not even bother to keep the meeting tomorrow.” Nyslara sat down heavily on a small stool, enabling her to wrap her tail around its base.
Pussiro felt awkward, standing above his queen, so he squatted on his haunches. “If Dassata does come, what will you say?”
“For that, my trusted Commander, I have no answer.”
* * *
Just before Celus reached its zenith over the plains, Alex boarded a Sojourn shuttle. He didn’t quite have his way, concerning the size of the landing party. Franz sat pilot and Orly copilot. The twins sat behind Alex. Pia and another medical specialist sat near the back of the main salon with a host of equipment. Captain Escobar, Sergeant Latimer, and Corporal Daubner sat near the hatch, as if they were ready to repel boarders. Completing the entourage were Julien and Willem, who sat across from Alex.
Alex was grumbling to himself. His entourage looked more like an invasion force than a negotiations party. Despite the extended size of his escort, Alex set some hard ground rules for them. The majority of the people were to remain either aboard the shuttle or close to it. “This will be a tough conversation for the queen,” he told them. “We will be discussing a sensitive subject, one she won’t wish to have in front of underlings.”
“I’ve reviewed much of the information about the local hives, captured by our Swei Swee, Teague, and Ginny,” Willem said. “It does not bode well for negotiations. To quote Wave Skimmer, he expects the Star Hunter First to eliminate the land hunters.”
“Nyslara carries the burden of generations of her people, which have hunted the Swei Swee. It’s an unfair predicament for her,” Julien said.
“The plains are running out of food, as far as I can tell,” Willem added. “And judging by Wave Skimmer, the Celus Swei Swee have migrated out into deep waters, as far away from the Dischnya shoreline as they can get.”
“Which begs that nagging question: Why are the Dischnya ignoring the forests?” Alex asked.
“They aren’t indigenous to this planet, Alex,” Julien said. “There is a high probability of microbes in the humid environment of the forests that might be dangerous, if not deadly, to the Dischnya.
“Possible,” Alex agreed. “Willem, whether we stay for an extended time or not, I want some mission information collected immediately. Map the continents closely with an eye to discovering the Dischnya’s habitat range.”
“Your intent, Dassata?” Willem asked. When Alex groaned at the use of his title, Willem replied, “As we are about to meet the queen, I’m merely adopting my role as translator, including the title by which she will refer to you.”
“Acceptable reasoning, Willem, if you were human,” Alex replied. “But you’re a SADE and can switch your role in the wink of an eye, if not faster.”
“Then I’m uncovered,” Willem said, adopting a sad face and hanging his head.
Alex looked at Julien, who wore a huge smile and was sprouting sprinkles from the crown of his head to fall in a fountain’s pattern to his shoulders.
“A wonderful performance, was it not?” Julien asked.
“We thought so,” said Alain. Étienne and he were leaning over Alex’s seatback. They had been warned by Julien to watch Willem.
“I’m practicing my acting,” Willem said, perking up and smiling at the twins for their compliment.
Alex grinned and shook his head in astonishment. Which human aspects the SADEs chose to adopt constantly amazed him, and, of all humans, he knew them best. Sometimes, Alex truly understood why other humans failed to comprehend the SADEs’ mannerisms. There was no telling what they might copy next. They were still experimenting with their freedom and would be doing so for the rest of their long lives.
* * *
The traveler’s cabin lights brightened, but Alex didn’t move.
Everyone aboard remained seated. Bethany glanced at Xavier, he signaled with his hand to stand down and stay in place.
One of the intimates of Alex’s world, Pia, was busy chatting with her lover, Mickey Brandon, who was aboard the Rêveur.
When Pia saw Alex stand, she quickly signed off. Security gathered at the hatch, and Étienne and Alain bracketed Alex.
Alex still wasn’t sure how to approach the upcoming and difficult discussion with Nyslara, but he figured he still had time since they had arrived early. However, an open comm from Franz announced that the queen and commander were waiting at the agreed-on spot, and Alex wondered what that meant if the two of them were more anxious than him.
Bethany and Keira exchanged quick glances. Keira’s expression said surprise; Bethany’s said doubt.
Alex exited the traveler and strode, with his ground-eating stride, across the 50 meters to where Nyslara waited. Julien, Willem, and the twins kept pace with Alex, while security fanned out to provide three points of coverage.
“Dassata’s people are on the defensive. They’re anticipating trouble,” Pussiro hissed to Nyslara.
“And why shouldn’t they?” Nyslara replied. “They’ve discovered that we’ve hunted their nest mates since we’ve been on this planet.”
“I urge you to reconsider, my queen,” Pussiro said. His words whined like that of a pup.
“You have been a most faithful commander, Pussiro. I need you to stand by me one more time. Without you by my side, I believe I might fail at this crucial moment.”
“But we don’t know what Dassata will say, my queen. Your actions might not be necessary.”
“I know what he will say, Pussiro, and I have this one, and only this one opportunity, to end this for the good of our soma.”
Pussiro would have pleaded further, but a hand signal from Nyslara silenced him, as Dassata approached.
The SADEs stopped 3 meters away from Nyslara, and the twins flanked the group, but Alex marched right up to Nyslara.
The queen had never expected anyone to approach her so closely, especially not an alien. Dassata was a muzzle’s length from her nose, and his eyes drilled into h
ers. They smoldered with pain and indignation.
Pussiro was shocked by the confrontation, but it was obvious that Nyslara was right. Dassata not only knew of the Dischnya’s past, but his queen had only this one opening to save the nest.
Nyslara slowly reached up and removed her feathered headdress, handing it to the commander. Next, she unfastened her beautiful cloak and laid it over Pussiro’s extended arm. Then something Nyslara never thought she would ever do in her life — she fell to her knees and spread her arms out to the side, palms toward Dassata, imitating the Haraken gesture of surrender.
Alex heard Nyslara’s words, but they were enveloped in such husky tones that he couldn’t understand them.
Nyslara rose. She was tempted to step back from the alien face, but her courage never faltered, and she kept the muzzle-close distance. Dassata continued to stare at her, probably deciding the means by which he would take her life and whether he would destroy her nest before or after her death.
Nyslara’s hopes that her sacrifice would be accepted began to fade as the silence dragged on. I will be the last queen of the Tawas Soma, Nyslara thought, but I want my soma to live. She’d prepared Pussiro to proffer the nest to Sissya, the queen of a large nearby nest, when she passed. Sissya was a young queen, and the possibility of more than doubling her nest size could overwhelm her. In that instance, her Pussiro would be a welcome addition, especially since Sissya was without a mate.
Julien sent an image of caricature starships, shrieking, as they sped out of the Celus system.
Julien’s droll sense of humor made Alex’s lips twist up at one corner. It would have become his lopsided smile, but he was trying to prevent a display of teeth. “Oh, black space, why me?” Alex moaned, and there wasn’t a Haraken within hearing distance who wasn’t commiserating with him, but, nonetheless, chose not to relieve him of the responsibility.
“Nyslara dies. New queen kills ceena,” Alex said, accusing Nyslara of an empty gesture.
“Nyslara dies. Tawas Soma is no longer,” Nyslara replied calmly.
Alex looked at Willem in confusion, and the SADE stared back, his expression blank.
Pussiro barked a command, and Simlan and Hessan exited a hideout tunnel entrance and came running, each carrying a few short, sharp sticks. They hesitated slightly at the sight of Pussiro holding the queen’s garments, but hustled to her side, when she uttered a command.
Soon, Simlan, Hessan, and Willem were on the ground drawing and talking.
Alex lamented privately to Julien.
At one point, the discussion on the ground became animated, then heated.
When Nyslara’s warriors jumped up, she was prepared to interject, but Pussiro touched her elbow lightly, and she closed her jaw with a snap.
Simlan and Hessan walked over to a broad section of bare ground and drew a group of small figures. Then they moved to a new area and repeated the action. Simlan motioned Willem over to them, and all semblance of a two-party arrangement degenerated as everyone stood around the threesome, who was engaged in an earnest discussion.
Simlan drew an “x” through one group of figures, and Hessan drew a line from that bunch to the other. All the while, Simlan chattered away, and Willem heated crystal in an attempt to understand the Dischnya concept.
Both Alex and Nyslara sought to interrupt at the same time. Following his mother’s teachings, Alex gestured to the queen to speak first. But before Nyslara could utter a word, Willem exclaimed, “I understand.” He uttered a few phrases to Simlan and Hessan, who thumped their chest with open palms, signs of approval.
“Well, Dassata, the situation has gotten much more complicated,” Willem said.
“Of course it has,” Alex grumped.
“If Nyslara dies without a daughter, and, at present, she has none, the matriarchal succession of the nest ends. That was the reason for the queen’s statement that, upon her death, the Tawas Soma will exist no longer. Her nest will be offered to another queen.”
Alex stared at Willem, and the SADE could only say, “I’m afraid so, Ser. In fact, Simlan and Hessan don’t even know the total count of nests. Apparently, the Dischnya have continued to spread across the plains for generations.”
“How many nests, Nyslara? How many queens?” Alex asked.
“Thirty-six by name,” Nyslara replied.
“By name?”
“Thirty-six queens and nests known by name to Nyslara,” Pussiro explained.
“How many names not known?” Alex asked.
“More, not many,” Pussiro replied.
“Why don’t you know?” Alex asked the commander.
“Each queen … each nest fights to defend its territory.”
Alex sighed as if the weight of Celus-5 had fallen on his shoulders. Nyslara’s offer of sacrifice was useless, even if he had been prepared to accept it, which he wasn’t. Now, Alex had no idea how many of the nests hunted the Swei Swee or if the queen, who inherited the Tawas Soma, would take up the killing even if her nest never participated in the first place.
Nyslara saw Dassata whirl his finger in a circle at her. “Nyslara, come,” she understood Dassata to say, as he turned and marched off toward his ship, his soma following in his wake.
“Do nothing until you hear of my death, Pussiro. I believe Dassata will not fail to inform you,” Nyslara said. Pussiro sought to hand her robe back, but she shook her head at him, and then, with a ground-eating lope, caught up to the alien peacemaker.
Pussiro watched his queen disappear with the aliens, and he held her headdress in front of his face. Many rises of Nessila ago, he had detected a mating scent from Nyslara when he was in her presence. It was faint, but it was there. Pussiro knew he would have had to give up his mates and pups to accept Nyslara’s offer, but he was aware of a sub-commander, who admired them. He was an excellent warrior, without mates of his own, and his battle-scarred body proved his worthiness.
-18-
Queen’s Sacrifice
Closely following Dassata, Nyslara climbed aboard the shuttle. The interior was oddly comforting, reminding her of the nest’s tunnels. However, near the front of the ship, Dassata halted, eyeing the vessel’s chairs and glancing down at her tail, which was wound around one leg. He moved his shoul
ders in some sort of gesture, which she didn’t understand, and simply remained standing with her.
Nyslara braced herself against the ship’s movement by grasping the top of two chairs, but since Dassata stood with his arms folded, she released her grip and imitated him.
“Tell me about queens, about daughters, and about nests,” Alex asked.
Willem, who stood behind the queen, broke the complex request down into its parts and amplified each point for Nyslara.
For a half hour, the conversation continued as Nyslara explained the succession of queens, the fate of the soma if the succession was lost, and the constant struggles between the queens to protect their nests and precious resources.
The more Nyslara explained, the more questions occurred to Alex. But their discussion was interrupted by the brightening of the main cabin’s lights.
Nyslara heard Dassata say that they were to leave, and he gestured behind her. The soma, the Harakens she reminded herself, were leaving the ship by the same exit. So the aliens aren’t perfect and invincible, Nyslara thought, a huff escaping her muzzle. Even their technology breaks down. Nyslara was feeling a little more confident, until her great claws touched the hatch steps, and she looked around.
Everyone behind Nyslara and on the Sojourn’s deck waited while the queen assimilated what had just happened.
Pia eyed Nyslara’s neck, the fur bristling. Culture shock, in the worst way, she thought with sympathy.
It was several moments before Nyslara could collect herself and descend the hatch steps to the deck. Her claws made a clacking sound against the ship’s metal alloy. The smells in her muzzle were foreign: the ship, the Harakens, and things she couldn’t even identify.
Alex’s implant chronometer told him it was three hours before evening meal, and he intended to continue his education with Nyslara on the Dischnya before the meeting with Wave Skimmer tomorrow.