by S. H. Jucha
Willem was translating for Nyslara, whispering into her ear. When the conversation turned disastrous, her ears twitched and then laid back.
“Would this stop the land hunters from taking the People?” Long Eyes asked.
“No, there are many nests of the Dischnya, as they are called,” Alex replied.
“Are all their Firsts offering themselves to us?” Dives Deep asked.
“No, the People are offered only this one.” Alex gave Nyslara a push forward.
The queen stumbled, her legs failing to support her, and Wave Skimmer reared up on his walking legs, distressed at his enemy’s proximity. He snapped his claws in warning and was pleased to see the female land hunter fall to her knees. The fear evident in her eyes was the same look of horror the land hunters displayed when the Swei Swee swamped their mobile platforms and knocked them into the dark waters.
“Little Singer promised the Star Hunter First would destroy the land hunters,” Wave Skimmer whistled in frustration.
Ginny’s piercing whistle brought every entity up short. “Wave Skimmer must be past the age of sentience,” Ginny chastised, which produced angry whistles and warbles of humor from the Swei Swee. “Wave Skimmer was told that the Star Hunter First would not let the land hunters hurt the People any more. I didn’t say he would destroy them.”
Wave Skimmer lowered his walking legs farther, which brought him closer to the land hunter, causing the female to scuttle back until she was near the feet of the Star Hunter First. He snapped a single claw at her. The gesture was beneath the dignity of a First, but decades of fighting the land hunters and protecting his hive had driven him past the point of observing the People’s first contact courtesies.
“Little Singer whistles the truth. That’s what she said, but it wasn’t what I hoped to hear,” Wave Skimmer apologized. “Will the Star Hunter First protect the People of this world, as Little Singer says he protects the hives on his world?”
“What will Wave Skimmer do with the life of this land hunter?” Alex asked, focusing on the negotiations.
“Before the land hunters came,” Wave Skimmer whistled, “we lived lives of contentment, lives of peace. It has always been the People’s hope that we could return to those times, someday. If the Star Hunter First can bring peace to this world and protect the People, then Wave Skimmer pledges to follow as he directs us.”
Dives Deep spun around and addressed the Firsts, relaying a summary of the communications and Wave Skimmer’s pledge to obey the human leader.
Wave Skimmer faced the host of Firsts and whistled, “Will the hive leaders follow the Star Hunter First?”
Unfortunately, a resounding chorus of assents was not forthcoming. Many whistled questions and Wave Skimmer fielded one after another.
Monitoring the tone of the questions and answers, Alex could see that he was losing the Swei Swee’s approval. Given time, it might come, but it would be much later.
Another of Ginny’s whistles caught everyone’s attention, and Wave Skimmer, Long Eyes, and Dives Deep spun around, heeding a Singer’s pure sounds.
Ginny marched out into knee-deep water, and Alex sent a command for everyone to hold.
“If your hive has a Singer, raise a claw,” Ginny whistled. She waited, but not a single limb was lifted into the air. She glanced back at Wave Skimmer and his claws were lowered. “Was my request misunderstood?” she whistled with a touch of derision. Warbles of apology filtered back to her. The Firsts had heard her, but the Little Singer was pointing out a great lament of the hives.
“When the People were chased permanently into the dark waters, our Singers, over time, traveled the endless waters, and the hives produced no more of them from our younglings,” Wave Skimmer whistled.
Ginny waded over to stand beside Wave Skimmer. She was forced to stare up at the giant First, but her hands were on her hips, and the eyestalks of the leader were drooped in sorrow. She turned to face the assembled Firsts, who floated in the shallows, and whistled shrilly to them. “You have no Singers, because the People have no harmony. Your lives are spent in hiding. The Star Hunter First offers you a way out of your misery, but you warble like younglings. What will it take for you to agree to our help?”
The Firsts threw questions at Ginny, but she stood resolutely in the shallows refusing to respond. When she had enough, she raised her hands for silence and received it. “I will grant a favor to the People of this world, if you will embrace our help. I will stand on this shore, every evening, and sing for the hives.”
“No,” Teague shouted. He would have leapt to stop Ginny from continuing to utter her promise, but two heavy hands held his shoulders pinned in place. When Ginny first waded into the shallows, Z was told by Alex to prevent Teague from interfering.
“The shores of these plains will be a place of guaranteed refuge for the People,” Ginny added.
There was a stunned silence from the Swei Swee. The only sound was the gentle lapping of waves on the beach.
When Nyslara heard the translation of Ginny’s offer, she marveled at the courage of the young alien, and the heat of that emotion forced her to her feet, as she sought to regain her dignity. “Fierce pup,” Nyslara commented to Dassata.
“Ginny reminds us all of what it takes to win peace,” Alex replied.
“Now, what say you, Firsts?” Wave Skimmer whistled loudly. He spun and dove cleanly under Little Singer’s legs, and Ginny’s rear end plopped down on his carapace. She grabbed the leading edge, laughing loudly. The First raised her up, as high as his walking legs would go, and his eyestalks were bent straight forward, daring the other Firsts not to accept Star Hunter First and Little Singer’s offers.
Whistles of approval cut the air. The promise of the Star Hunter First was intriguing, but the People had endured a century of pain and devastation, and it made them leery that their safety could be ensured. But the opportunity to hear a Singer again was too tempting to resist, and, if the Little Singer stood on the shore, the Star Hunter leader would ensure her protection, making the shore safe again for the People.
As Ginny was bounced on the back of Wave Skimmer in celebration, Alex leaned over and whispered to Nyslara, “What can I say, Queen of Tawas Soma? The Swei Swee have refused your offer. Your life wasn’t payment enough for the losses they’ve suffered.” Alex received a small amount of satisfaction from the confusion written on the queen’s wrinkling forehead and rippling muzzle after Willem translated his words.
Wave Skimmer returned to the shore, and Alex helped Ginny down. Her face was flushed, and she was grinning ear to ear with her success.
Celebrate now, Ginny. The reality of what you’ve promised will sink in later, Alex thought, smiling at Ginny’s moment of joy.
“Return to your hives, Wave Skimmer,” Alex whistled. “When I’ve secured the promise of peace with every land hunter First, you will be informed.”
“A member of my hive will stand guard just beyond the shallows each day,” Wave Skimmer whistled. When Alex nodded, the First whistled and his males dove into the waters behind him. Faster than Nyslara could have expected, the entire assembly disappeared, diving to the safety of the shallow’s bottom, while they made for the dark waters.
“Everyone aboard,” Alex shouted.
Z released Teague’s shoulders, and Ginny fairly skipped up to him, but Teague’s angry glare wiped the joyful smile off her face. Ginny would have said something to Teague, but he whirled and stomped off to the traveler.
“Well, that moment of celebration was short-lived,” Renée commented to Alex. “My son is not demonstrating his best side.”
“And it will probably get worse,” Alex lamented, as he indicated to Nyslara to return to the ship. �
��But my concern is with Ginny. The Swei Swee agreed to follow my lead because they would have access to a Singer, and you can bet that they believe they’ll be safe because we’ll ensure her safety. This surely can’t get any more complicated.”
“Let’s hope not, Dassata,” Julien commented drolly. “But for the life of me, which promises to get shorter every year I spend in your company, I must admit that my mind is boggled by the intricacy of this puzzle, and I await Dassata’s most enlightening solution to the dilemma.”
“You’re boggled?” Alex growled.
“Interesting word … conjures up all sorts of impressions, don’t you think?” Julien replied and gave Alex a brilliant smile but received a scowl in return.
* * *
Inside the traveler, which was returning to the Sojourn, emotions roiled again.
Teague sat opposite Ginny, in a four-seat section, rather than sitting next to her. Renée took Teague’s usual place and was in an earnest discussion with Ginny about her promise to the Celus Swei Swee.
Julien glanced at Teague. The youth was fuming, and he refused to look at Ginny.
Nyslara stood beside Dassata in the narrow corridor between the ship’s chairs. She no longer braced herself, having already become accustomed to the lack of motion during the alien shuttle’s flights. She couldn’t understand what the individuals were saying, the ones who held Dassata’s attention, but it was obvious that they were focused intently on Zhinni.
To Nyslara, Teague looked like a pup, whose food was taken from him. The youth was seated directly beneath Nyslara, and she could smell the mix of scents rising from Dassata’s progeny: anger, fear, and the desire to mate.
Nyslara glanced at Dassata, who was eyeing his progeny with frustration. With a leap of intuition, Nyslara suddenly saw her world through his eyes: the nests fighting one another for dominance, the Dischnya hunting the ceena, and both sides composed of a multitude of leaders, most of whom would be reticent to accept a truce. She looked behind her and caught Willem’s eye, and he immediately came to her side.
“Fellum, I would speak a sentiment to Dassata,” Nyslara said.
Willem missed understanding the keyword in Nyslara’s statement, and it took a few exchanges before Willem comprehended the entirety of Nyslara’s wish. He ducked his head and covered his mouth, as the nature of her comment struck home.
“I will be pleased to share your words with Dassata,” Willem said. “Alex, the queen wishes me to convey an observation to you.”
Alex, who had been listening intently to the exchange between Renée and Ginny, turned his attention to Willem.
“Nyslara believed her role as queen to be a most challenging one, perhaps the most difficult one on this world. Now, she understands that honor belongs to you, and she happily grants you that honor.”
To Nyslara’s surprise, those within hearing of Willem’s words, barked harshly, bared their teeth, or made gurgling sounds in their throats. That Dassata displayed his teeth, with the odd twist of his short lips, as he gazed up at the ship’s ceiling and that Willem had covered his teeth when he heard her request, gave Nyslara a sudden insight into the aliens’ behavior.
Among the Dischnya, aggression was always beneath the surface, which is why the soma within a single nest practiced self-control and observed the amenities. Nyslara realized these aliens had little or no fear of one another. Fingers could point and teeth could be bared without concern. She glanced around her and saw Dassata’s soma were focused on him, observing his reaction. He tried with difficulty to hide the expression spread across his face and failed to do so.
Then Nyslara mentally leapt to make one more interspecies realization. A leader, such as Dassata, would not be that way simply because he landed on her world; he must have always been that way. And, if Nyslara expressed a wish to never wear his cape of power, then it was most likely that his soma would have said the same thing, perhaps many times. Inadvertently, she’d spoken an old truth of the Harakens.
Understanding what her comment meant to those around her and basking in relief of a reprieve from a watery death, Nyslara loosed a loud bark and bared her teeth wide at Dassata. Suddenly, those around her repeated their raucous sounds with even greater enthusiasm, much like warriors celebrating a victory when the amenities could be ignored, and Nyslara joined them, barking and hissing.
That’s when Nyslara saw Dassata’s control burst. His attempts to observe the amenities for her sake were over, excused by her own display, and he echoed the sounds of those about him. The timbre of Dassata’s sounds were those of the Dischnya’s drums, beat to summon the soma to defend the nest.
Soon after, quiet returned to the shuttle, and Nyslara was left with much to contemplate.
* * *
After exiting the ship once more into the Haraken’s cavernous room, Nyslara found herself seated at a table with many of Dassata’s key people. The special stool she used during her meal now had a place at this table, or, at least, she thought it was the same one. The odd thing to Nyslara was that while all maintained their places at the table, including her, Dassata felt no such desire. He stalked the room as if he was looking for something. It reminded her of Pussiro when he worried over a battle plan. Recall of her wasat gave Nyslara’s heart a momentary twinge. I should have made you my mate when there was still time for us, Nyslara thought.
Alex stopped his pacing and eyed the table. His people — Renée, Julien, Asu, Reiko, Willem, and Xavier — waited patiently for him. Unfortunately, his efforts to wear down the cabin’s decking hadn’t produced any insightful ideas that would resolve the planet’s thorny issues.
“Nyslara, do the queens meet in conference?” Alex asked. He waited while Willem worked out the subtleties of the question.
“The queen says that if it was permitted to display herself, as the Harakens do, she would be barking with laughter,” Willem replied.
“I take that as a no,” Alex said, staring at Nyslara, whose lips rippled with humor.
“According to the information we’ve gathered,” Julien said, “the Dischnya are latecomers to Celus-5 or Sawa Messa, as they refer to it.”
“Which begs the question: What were their societal traditions on their home planet?” Asu asked.
Nyslara listened to the ship’s leader speak. She was captivated by his color, so deep and dark. He sat beside Dassata’s mate, and the two of them were in contrast in more ways than she could have imagined. Alien soma, she thought with a small shake of her head.
“Nyslara,” Alex said, “did the queens meet on your home world?”
“It’s called the Fissla,” Willem said, glancing back at Nyslara to ensure that he was reproducing the term correctly. Nyslara had pronounced it by sliding her long tongue in her mouth. “It would appear to be similar to a council or assembly.”
“Why not here?” Xavier asked.
“According to the stories of the first queens to land on Sawa Messa,” Willem translated, “a Fissla was formed but fell apart when the flights of new soma and supplies ended. Soon after, the queens focused their efforts on defending their territories from the incursions of other nests.”
“Did the Dischnya live above ground on Sawa Messa, in the beginning?” Reiko asked, pantomiming walking her fingers above her hand.
“Nyslara says yes,” Willem explained. “As fights between nests broke out, the soma dug tunnels to protect their resources. Later, they dug rooms to keep the females and pups safe. Soon, the entire nests were living below ground.”
“What stops us from calling a new Fissla?” Asu asked.
“Nyslara wishes to know what reason could be given the queens to tempt them from their nests,” Willem replied.
“Do you communicate with the queens in any way?” Renée asked.
When Willem translated the question, Nyslara became animated and launched into an extended explanation. At one point, Willem signaled Asu for his reader. He showed Nyslara that she could draw on the instrument with a stylus, but that onl
y confused her.
Something the queen was saying about a warrior’s face gave Willem an idea, and he sent an image of Hessan from his crystal memory to the reader. Nyslara lit up when she saw her warrior’s face. She picked up the stylus, bent over the reader and began drawing. Her lips rippled at the pleasure she felt, playing with the alien toy.
When Nyslara finished, she commented to Willem, who filled in white where Nyslara pointed. She looked up sharply at him, since he hadn’t touched the stick or the instrument. Tentatively, she touched her temple and Willem nodded his agreement. Nyslara blew out a huff and continued pointing at portions of her drawing, and Willem filled in the blocks as required.
“Emissaries,” Willem said, handing the reader to Alex and sending the image to everyone at the table. “What the queen has drawn is a ceremonial mask worn by each individual to announce to a nest’s lookouts that they come in peace to speak with the queen.”
Alex examined the image of Hessan wearing an elongated mask of blue and white stripes. “It stands out,” he said.
“How many nests does an emissary visit?” Reiko asked.
Nyslara held up a single finger on each hand, as she answered Willem’s question.
“One emissary to each nest,” Reiko said, recognizing the pantomime, and Willem affirmed her guess.
“So the queens have a means of communicating, using emissaries, but that doesn’t supply us with a means of enticing the queens to the Fissla,” Alex said. He didn’t realize that he was staring at Nyslara, as his mind pondered the problem.
For her part, Nyslara was entranced by Dassata’s eyes, which peered into her. A thing she occasionally bestowed on her soma and her commander was forgiveness. She never thought she would be seeking it for herself, especially not from an alien leader.
Images of Sissya and Chafwa came to Nyslara’s mind. Two more different queens, she couldn’t imagine — Sissya, young and impressionable; Chafwa, aging and intractable. The question Nyslara asked herself was how she might entice the likes of both of them to a Fissla. Suddenly, an idea occurred to Nyslara.