Princess Timushi's Party
The river crossing went without incident. The water in the river was fairly low, giving the river beasts no chance to dine on those crossing the bridge. Spirits among the servants was lifted as the column started up the winding road toward the more settled highlands. The warriors, however, became more skittish, knowing that the chance of an ambush or attack grew as they neared the capital city.
“Hopefully the river crossing was the last bit of excitement before reaching the capital, my Lord Castellan,” the Princess commented as they walked side-by-side in the middle of the procession.
“Yes, Your Highness, but then things will become truly exciting.”
“Then things will be brought to a conclusion, my Lord. I cannot say that I am not anxious to be done with this entire affair. One way or the other, this will be my last trek across the wilderness.”
“To be sure, Your Highness. Once you claim your mother's throne you will be cared for and coddled for the rest of you life. You should savor this trip through the lands you will soon rule over.”
“Lands that I will not see again in person. Strange, don't you think, to live every day planing and struggling to win the throne, knowing that success will mean becoming a captive in my own palace?”
“No one gets to chose her position in life, my Princess. It is a worker's lot to labor, and a warrior's lot to fight and die. A princess's lot is to seek the high throne and, if she succeeds, spend her life giving birth to the next generation of her subjects. We are all born with our futures charted by fate.”
“More like by genetics and nurturing in the egg chamber and crèche. None the less, I shall endeavor to enjoy these last few days of freedom. This is, after all, the adventure of my life.”
“Yes, Ma'am. And it is your subjects' great fortune to share that adventure with you.”
Main Lounge, Peggy Sue
Dorri and Zeke entered the main lounge through the second deck doorway. Having finished their tasks, they were searching for their respective siblings and had been sent to the lounge by Chief Zackly. Sitting at a table in front of the large viewport were Shadi and Mal, both drinking hot beverages from heavy china mugs.
“So here you two are, goofing off I see,” said Dorri in a haughty tone. She seldom left a chance to tease her sister pass by.
“Unlike you, we are good enough at our work to finish early,” was Shadi's retort, the smile on her face saying it was all in jest and she was happy to see her little sister.
“Hey,” said Mal in greeting, to which Zeke replied with a noncommittal grunt.
“Are you two always so talkative?” Dorri said to her escort.
“We're twins,” Zeke replied, “we have a psychic bond and don't have to waste a lot of words like other people.”
Mal just nodded. The two sisters looked at each other.
“See, you two do it too!”
“We're sisters,” said Shadi. “It's well known that sisters are closer than brothers when it comes to sharing each other's thoughts. We can have whole conversations without saying a word.”
Both brothers rolled their eyes, then all four laughed.
“So sit-down and tell us how your day went,” said Mal, motioning toward the two empty chairs at the table. “Shadi and I have been slaving away carrying spare parts and tools to repair teams all over the ship.”
“Yes, Mal and I are now intimately aware of every nook and cranny within the Peggy Sue.”
“Well, Zeke and I were down in the bowls of the ship regrowing shield circuitry and rewiring power runs.”
“Yeah, we had to cut into the inner hull and then nanoweld the holes back shut. By the time the nanites were done you couldn't even tell we had been there.”
As the two newcomers took seats at the table, Jimmy Tosh came over to take their order.
“Welcome to I and I lounge,” the barkeep said with a dazzling white smile. “Can I bring you someting to drink, or maybe a snack?”
“Hi, Jimmy, just a cup of tea for me,” answered Dorri. She and her sister normally took their meals in the main dining room while the two Marines generally ate in the crew lounge on first deck.
“Could I get a cup of coffee?” Zeke asked shyly.
“Comin' right up, mon,” Jimmy replied and hustled back to the bar.
“Why is he always so happy?” Zeke asked.
“Because he's always vaping ganja oil,” replied his brother with a smirk.
“Ganja oil?” asked a puzzled Dorri.
“You know,” said her sister in a hushed tone, “qínnab híndiyy.”
“Marijuana? I didn't know there was marijuana on board.”
“Yeah,” added Mal with a knowing nod. “The Captain allows those who favor reefer over grog to use e-cigarettes to inhale cannabis extracts. I think our cook and bartender is always a bit high.”
“That would explain some of his more fanciful culinary creations,” Dorri commented with a look of enlightenment on her face. After a few seconds of hesitation, she spoke again. “You know, since we are all here together, there is something I think we should talk about.”
“Oh?” the brothers said in unison while Shadi subtly shook her head 'no'.
“Why not, Shadi? We are as alone as we ever get aboard this ship.”
The sisters had been hanging out with the twins more and more frequently in recent days, to the point where Dorri suspected that Shadi and Mal were becoming closer than just friends. Dorri had shared her idea with Shadi a while back, but the opportunity to talk with the two brothers had not presented itself until now.
“OK,” said Mal, “now you have to spill the beans.”
“Spill the what? Oh, figure of speech. OK, I will. You know that the four of us are the only survivors of the colony on Paradise.”
“Yeah, some paradise,” said Mal.
“We were lucky to escape with our lives,” added Zeke.
“Hear me out.” Dorri gave the others a stern look before continuing. “I've talked with the scientists in Dr. Ogawa's section and they are pretty sure that, having observed the black death that attacked the colony, a way of getting rid of the contagion can be found.”
“OK, so what?” asked Zeke, while Mal nodded thoughtfully.
“So, I think that we four, as the only living survivors of the colony can stake a legal claim to the planet.”
The brothers were speechless as Shadi glanced nervously from one to the other. Eventually, Zeke broke the silence.
“Claim the whole planet... yeah.”
“Do you have any idea what a whole, habitable planet would be worth?” asked Mal, as the idea sank in.
Just then Jimmy arrived with two steaming mugs for Zeke and Dorri.
“Here you go, if you need anyting else just give a shout.”
“Thanks, Jimmy.”
Dorri smiled at the Jamaican, who nodded and happily returned to his work.
“So, you two. What do you think? Would you like to share a planet with Shadi and me?”
Chapter 20
Mizuki in the Jungle
Having worked her way through the treetops until the ground below was free of ants, Mizuki descended to the forest floor and resumed her quest. As she searched for the road by the river she gave thanks that her evolutionary ancestry was shared with apes and monkeys—being able to climb nimbly from branch to branch while escaping the army of ants saved her life.
As she neared the river the plant life seemed to be changing. There were large plants growing out of the loamy soil, with slick curved openings that narrowed to vertical throats. From those openings came odd smells, perfume mixed with rotting flesh, a most unpleasant odor. Walking on a fallen log next to a particularly large pitcher plant a strange creature blocked her way.
Mizuki had never seen an animal like the one in front of her. It had the head of a toad attached to a fat lizard's body with splayed legs and a stubby tail. With an overall length close to two meters the beast probably outweighed her and the l
ook in its eyes was definitely along the lines of “now how do I swallow this thing?” Mizuki reached over her shoulder and drew her katana.
Her sword had barely cleared its scabbard when the toad lizard's mouth opened and a long pink tongue, capped by a fat fleshy tip, shot out. Striking her in the right thigh, the tongue hit with the force of a mule’s kick, knocking Mizuki back a step. The impact ruined her sword stroke and she only managed to nick side of the fleshy appendage.
The cut inflicted on the right side of the creature's tongue caused it to hop to its left—right onto the slick curved surface of the giant pitcher plant. Madly scrambling in an attempt to escape the plant, the amphibian slid into the flared opening and out of sight. Unfortunately, its adhesive tongue was still affixed to Mizuki's thigh.
The dead weight of the falling toad lizard pulled Mizuki over the plant's flared lip and into its throat. Reacting in the blink of an eye, the swordswoman reversed her grip on the katana's handle, holding it point down with the curved sharp edge facing away from her body. As she was pulled over the lip, she drove the sword into the surface of the plant with all her strength. When things reached equilibrium, Mizuki was left hanging from her sword, with the still affixed toad lizard hanging by its tongue from her coverall leg.
Unable to pull herself from the plant with her assailant still stuck to her leg, Mizuki let go of the sword's hilt with her right hand and retrieved the survival knife from her belt. Reaching down she began sawing away on the lizard's tongue. After what seemed an eternity of hacking and cutting the tongue finally parted, freeing Mizuki and sending the toad lizard to whatever well deserved fate awaited it in the depths of the pitcher plant. A faint splash sounded from the depths of the carnivorous flower.
Keeping the knife in her hand, Mizuki swung to the right and sank the stout blade into the almost frictionless material of the pitcher's flared mouth. Pulling herself higher using her grip on the knife, she managed to slowly extract her sword from the plant's flesh. Lunging forward she again sank the long blade into the curved surface.
Repeating the process she finally reached the edge of the deadly pitcher, only to find that her efforts had drawn the interest of another member of the local fauna. Staring at her with multiple pairs of eyes, was a hairy grey spider.
“Chikushō!” Oh shit!
Princess Timushi's Party
“We lost no one crossing over the bridge, excellent.” In the grand scheme of things a few workers or even warriors meant little. Still, a ruler must care for her subjects, or so Timushi had been taught. Queens were revered by their subjects, it seemed only fair that she be concerned about her subjects' well being.
“Luck was with us, Your Highness,” replied the Castellan. She was just making conversation. The only losses that concerned the Castellan were among the warriors—about the common workers she cared not a whit, they were the Majordomo's problem.
“Just five more days journey to go, prior to arriving at the capital.”
“Yes, Ma'am.”
“And does not the repeated appearance of strange flying creatures give you concern, my Lord?” This said in a lowered voice.
At least twice a day for the past several days, strange apparitions flew by, low on the horizon, almost at the limit of vision. What the flybys portended was unknown to both the Princess and her Castellan, but neither thought them harbingers of good fortune. It was as though the creatures were following the column, monitoring its progress.
“Whatever evil magic animates them, the flying creatures stay well away, for which I am grateful. Neither the warriors nor the servants seem to have noticed them.” The last thing we need is panic among the drudges, the crusty old warrior thought.
There were many specialized castes among the Formicidians, each with different physical attributes suited to their duties. Common workers had no need for good distance vision and large eyes would have been a vulnerability in a warrior. Only members of the higher castes sported large compound eyes—architects, engineers, scientists and so forth. The Princess had the largest eyes of all; glittering, golden compound eyes shaped like canted almonds on her heart shaped head.
“Yes, but still I can see that an enemy would have the advantage of us if they were able to track our every move.”
“If one of them would pass close overhead I would have the archers try to bring it down, though such a result is not a certainty.”
“Indeed, it might make it angry. After seeing what my dear sister's sorcerers did to my palace from the air, perhaps it is best to count our blessings and leave well enough alone.”
“Perhaps. But the question is moot as long as the creatures only appear briefly on the horizon. I will tell the warriors to be on heightened alert for an ambush as we draw nearer the capital.”
“A prudent precaution, no need for them to know why our risk may be heightened.”
“Precisely, Highness.”
HQ, Fakkaa Expeditionary Force
The situation, in military parlance, was fluid. Reconnaissance flights showed Princess Timushi's column within five day's march of the capital with no major impediments in her way. The vanguard of her sister Reishi's party was a similar distance from its objective. Meanwhile, hurried preparations for landing reinforcements from the Fakkaa fleet were underway.
“Lieutenant, how soon will the reinforcements be ready to deploy?”
“The first shuttles will land in another day cycle, Commander. It will take a couple of hours to disembark the troops and their equipment. Then they will need to be briefed on the operation and the terrain they are expected to operate in.”
“Very good. Once they have landed, I want a squad of fresh commandos to prep for an insertion in front of the enemy princess's column. Right now both claimants to the throne are in a dead heat. I want to drop in a blocking force to slow down the competition a bit.”
“Yes, Sir! I will inform the appropriate officers.”
The Lieutenant saluted, waving his right digging claws in the neighborhood of his forehead. He turned and waddled from the room. Fakkaa were neither swift nor graceful, being built for burrowing and covered with sharp quills. On the other hand, they were strong, low to the ground, and particularly hard to kill.
Finally, we are getting somewhere, the Commander thought. In one more day I will be able to reinforce the native column and launch an operation against our opponents. As long as there are no unforeseen complications, victory is within our grasp.
Mizuki in the Jungle
The gigantic spider raised two hairy legs and hissed at the Japanese astrophysicist hanging on the lip of the carnivorous pitcher plant.
“Kutabare! Enough!”
Releasing her grip on the katana, with a lung she grabbed the two closest legs on her left. Twisting her body, she flung the twenty kilo spider over her shoulder and into the pitcher plant. Another faint splash sounded below.
“Kuso kurae!” She yelled over her shoulder. Still incensed, as she pulled herself from the plant she swore in labored breaths.
“Why... is every... saitei thing... on this koitsu planet... trying to kill me!”
After spending several minutes catching her breath and recovering her composure, Mizuki staggered to her feet and resheathed her weapons. She limped off in what she hoped was the direction of the road, a piece of lizard tongue still adhering to her thigh. Another ten meters brushing aside large fern fronds, and Mizuki found herself standing on a wide, well beaten path—the road she had spotted from the ridgeline.
Walking to the middle of the road, the exhausted scientist looked both directions and then sank to her knees. Tears of relief blurred her vision, running hotly down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, Mizuki left out a primal scream, a roar of rage and defiance. For the next few moments the jungle around her fell silent, its denizens no doubt wondering just what sort of horrible monster could make such a sound.
* * * * *
Paralleling the river for several kilometers, Mizuki came upon a clear area that
had obviously been used as a campsite by a large group of somethings. A number of stone circles contained the damp ashes of campfires, all properly extinguished.
Must have been a disciplined group, she thought.
Finding a raised natural basin filled by a bubbling spring, Mizuki used the filter straw to drink her fill. The water was clear and flowing but there was no telling what microorganisms made the miniature pond their home. Laying her poncho out on the ground, the bone-weary survivor sat down and stripped off her boots—her left ankle was swollen and red inflammation showed around the two bite marks inflicted by the ant's mandibles.
That ant has been the only foe to get through my defenses so far. I guess I'll live, but best to put some antibacterial cream on it anyway.
Retrieving a tube of unguent from the first aid kit, Mizuki treated her wounds and then wrapped the swollen ankle with an elastic bandage. The weather was hot and muggy, no chance of catching a chill. Looking around the camp site, finding no threat and having a clear field of view, she arrived at another decision.
Standing barefooted, she stripped the blood and entrail encrusted jump suit from her body. Thankfully, the remnant of the lizard's tongue lost its grip and fell off during the hike to the campsite. Still, Mizuki's clothing was a mess. Standing next to the basin she propped her sheathed katana against the rim and proceeded to wash her jump suit. A fleeting thought passed through her mind.
Bobby would love to see me standing here in my underwear, all disheveled. Men find the strangest things erotic.
The thought of her lover almost made her breakdown, but she willed herself not to burst into tears. This was not just a matter of love, it was a mater of duty, of honor. Bobby would not rest until he found her, his honor demanded it. It was her duty to survive until he could come for her.
I know you will come for me Bobby, my love. And I swear to you that I will be alive when you do.
After hanging the jump suit on a bush to dry in the sun, Mizuki washed herself and cleaned up as best she could. Then the nearly naked woman sat on her poncho, slowly consuming a ration bar and massaging the spectacular bruise on her thigh where the toad lizard's tongue struck. The red sun was warm on her skin, drying the remaining drops of water. Under different circumstances this could have been a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. From where she was seated she could see a bridge across the river just upstream.
The Queen's Daemon (T'aafhal Legacy Book 2) Page 16