Doona Trilogy Omnibus

by neetha Napew

  These features were only now visible, Todd noticed. The matte surface provided unusually good camouflage of such details.

  The shuttle circled a third of the way around the big ship’s central “trunk’ until they found what seemed to be an airlock lens, probably the same one that the probe had approached and entered.

  Triangular panels shifted slightly to the left, forming an iris-like opening. As Frill resolutely piloted the ship towards the aperture, Todd had the eerie sensation of being swallowed, engulfed, ingested in one insignificant bite. Smoothly the tiny ship sailed through the enormous circular hatch.

  From each of the shuttle ports, the passengers stared at the size of the chamber into which they were moving. The landing bay was a virtual cathedral with shining, metallic walls, at least one hundred metres long - and high. Several craft rested in dry dock inside. Each was in size equal to a Spacedep passenger ship. The largest was as big as the administration building that contained Todd’s office in the Human First Village. At the far end of the bay was a set of double doors both tall and broad, made of a translucent grey material. Behind a clear window set high in the left wall the party could see a vast console with rounded viewscreens glowing blue. The maintenance equipment and freight-loaders were made for bodies a good deal bigger than any Hayuman or Hrruban. Beside a low console not far from the landing deck, Todd noticed a man-sized device with the Spacedep insignia on the side: the missing probe. It was still signalling feebly, its coloured lights drowned by the brilliant illumination in the bay. The strangest thing about the control console was that there was no sign of a chair. What were these 230 kilo creatures? Giant snails? Frill set the craft down on a lighted circle in the shadow of a ship twice the size of an Alreldep scout. The shuttle touched down with a hollow boom.

  “Amazing,’ Hrriss said, voicing the thoughts in all of their minds.

  “Ourrr hosts must be immenssse.

  “Seems like,’ Jilamey murmured, his mouth hanging open. Ken Reeve just looked around him and grinned in pure joy.

  While the party surveyed their surroundings, the airlock wheeled shut behind them, and hissing sounds arose.

  Greene felt a surge of panic. He was beginning to remember the source of his knowledge of the ship. It had been on a tape sent to Spacedep by an exploration team. He couldn’t recall any details yet, but he associated the memory with violent death. For once, he hoped he didn’t remember too many details. He struggled and won the battle with that moment’s weakness.

  Formless shadows passed back and forth behind the grey glass doors. As soon as the hissing stopped, the medical man checked his sensors. All the passengers checked their suit telemetry.

  “G-force is 0.5 over Earth normal. What’s the atmosphere? Can we breathe in here, Lauder?” Greene asked, his voice hollow in the bubble helmet.

  “It’s a nitrox mix, plenty of oxygen,’ Lauder said, carefully, reading the sensors in the control panel. “Reads like a class-M combination. I mean, I’d call it safe if we came across it on a planet.”

  “No trace elements?” Ken asked.

  “Some,’ the medical man admitted, checking his instruments.

  “Nothing noxious in any concentration. No bacteria known to be harmful to Humans or Hrrubans, at least in this section. 1 won’t give the atmosphere a hundred per cent clearance, though, simply because I haven’t run a lab analysis on it yet. Keep using the rebreathers.”

  “So ordered,’ Greene said, with a sharp nod.

  “Let’s go,’ Todd said.

  Frill released the hatch and he climbed out. The ambient temperature in the bay seemed slightly cool. Ken put part of the chill down to the room’s having just been open to vacuum, and his trembling to excitement. The bay was Lauder stepped cautiously on to the deck and avoided the lighted circle. He bent over his scanner. “I wonder if this is what our hosts breathe or if they just made it up for us?” Hrriss followed the tech. “I wonder where they are,’ he said, craning his neck to look up at the high ceiling.

  A roar sounded over an unseen intercom, startling them all with unintelligible syllables. The shadows behind the door grew denser, darker, larger, giving an impression of vast size.

  “That sounds like the overture,’ Todd said facetiously.

  “Here come the players.” already warming up.

  Chapter 3

  AT THE END OF THE HALL, THE GREY GLASS DOORS PARTED and slid soundlessly into the walls. Todd and the others waited, mouths agape, as their hosts entered the landing bay. For all their height and girth, they made little sound when they moved.

  “Stars!” whispered Frail, his voice sounding hollow and unimportant through the sides of his plastic helmet.

  “Mother always said I’d meet someone bigger’n me.” The first of the aliens to enter, a bulky creature covered except for its face and the pads of its forepaws with thick, long fur of light honey brown, stood just over two metres in height. Its face had a square muzzle with a black leathery nose and black-fleshed lips, and two deep-set eyes the colour of red wine protected by thick, smooth-skinned eyelids fringed just at the edges with more honey hair. Todd was amazed to see that its facial features were arranged in the same way as a Hayuman’s or a Hrruban’s.

  Its shoulders sloped from a thick neck towards a huge ribeage, and downward over a powerful lower body supported by very short but thick legs. It wore a pouch-laden belt and ornately decorated collar cut from a scaly hide of some kind. Todd thought it resembled snakeskin but what a snake! If the size of the scales was any kind of a clue, it had been equivalent to a Great Big Mamma Snake. The alien blinked at the visitors curiously before standing aside to make way for the other two. The being behind it, identical in appearance but black-brown in colour, was nearly two and a half metres tall. It too wore a collar, this one more elaborate than the first alien’s. consisting of woven strips punched and stamped with complex designs. From one side of the collar depended a loop of decorated hide that circled the upper part of the big alien’s arm. Todd wondered if the attachment might serve some specific purpose, concealing miniaturized devices, or was it a mark of rank, or both?

  The third alien, of the same dark brown as the tallest being, but with a white patch on the throat that covered part of its chest like a bib, was just over one metre high, and wore only a simple belt and collar of scaly leather.

  With plenty of hairy fur to protect them from weather, the aliens had as little need for clothing other than as ornamentation as the smoother-coated Hrrubans. The three moved forward with commendable grace, until they were within ten metres of the party. Then they stopped in a line facing the landing party, regarding their visitors with calm, wine-coloured eyes.

  At first, Todd was taken aback by their sheer size.

  These creatures were terrifying, as if animal giants out of children’s story books had come to life. Suddenly, their appearance struck Todd as hilariously funny. He felt a childish urge to break into giggles.

  “It’s the three bears!” he whispered under his breath to Hrriss.

  “I sure hope they don’t want me to tell them a story.”

  “I do not undrrrstand,’ Hrriss whispered. Inside his helmet, his ears were laid back tight against his round skull.

  “Earth fairy tale. They look just like bears, creatures that were found on Earth up to the last century - ugh!

  Tell you later.” He stopped talking as Ken elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Shush! You notice? They don’t want to appear aggressive,’ Ken said. He smiled widely at the beings, and let the set of his shoulders hang loosely. “They’re waiting for us to close the distance.”

  “Wait a minute,’ Greene said, grabbing Ken’s arm.

  “Consider the size of them!”

  “They’re friendly,’ Ken said, calmly taking the man’s hand away. “They’ve brought one of their young along to show us they mean us no harm - in fact, that they trust us. You’d never bring a baby where you intend to be the aggressor, nor where you expect threats.”<
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  “That’s a baby?” the medic asked, agog.

  “It must be,’ Ken assured them. “IAx,k at the way it’s acting.” Todd understood completely what his father meant. The small alien was more awkward than the large ones, and kept looking up at the tallest one for reassurance. “That’s his - or her - cub.”

  “Well, I don’t know - - - Frill murmured, unsure. He swallowed nervously. The medical man stood with his mouth hanging open while his telemetry gear went wild making recordings.

  “Keep your mind on the job,’ Greene said, peevishly.

  “Come along!”

  “Yes, Commander,’ the two navy men replied. The group moved closer to the aliens, and stopped three metres away as the medic faltered once more. The three creatures watched them calmly, waiting.

  Ken steeled himself. “I feel inferior, inhibited, and intimidated, as Kiachif would say if he was here,’ he said. “The sheer size of them! One of us has got to take action.” He swallowed, and put a hand on Todd’s arm. “Well, as the first and most successful xenolinguist in Earth history, we’ll see what sense I can make out of whatever noise they make. Wish me luck, boys.”

  “Youcan do it, Dad,’ Todd said, firmly. He clasped his father’s arm, imparting confidence.

  “Find out everything you can about them,’ Greene added. “Tell them as little as possible about us.” Todd shook his head pityingly at Greene. The man had absolutely no idea how long it took to establish the most superficial linguistic exchange.

  Ken opened his arms wide in a gesture he hoped projected friendly intent and walked right up to the furred trio.

  “Greetings and welcome to the skies of Doonarrala,’ he said, speaking as cheerfully and enthusiastically as he could though his heart was pounding in his throat. “We come in peace. We hope you do, too.” Echoing his gesture, the three aliens opened their upper limbs and stretched their flexible muzzles up and back so that their teeth were showing: sharp, white stalactites almost as long as a human hand.

  “Fardles! Now, those are fangs!” Jilamey whispered. His face was pale but his eyes glittered in fascination.

  “We must be very careful, Captain,’ the Gringg linguist said, glancing upwards at her. He was nervous about the possibility of disease, though he had been assured by the ship’s physician that an alien species was unlikely to carry germs that could infect them.

  Still, he, like all the others aboard, were volunteers. If it cost their lives to discover the truth about this species, so be it.

  The linguist swept the hold with one more nervous glance, to reassure himself that there was nothing there to discourage these small interesting beings. “One of them approaches. Remember there is certain knowledge we must not reveal yet.”

  “I know what to do. Is it a female or a male, Eonneh?” Captain Grzzeearoghh asked, looking Ken up and down curiously. “These creatures are all so skeletal! And so small and weak!”

  “It is difficult to know. But since some of them wear garments under those protective shells and some do not, that is clearly the demarcation. The unclad one’s body configuration slightly resembles our males, so that must make the tall ones female.”

  “So they have a female linguist or first speaker, Grzzeearoghh noted. “How interesting. We shall have to converse much on the divisions of labour among gender once we have established communication. But she moves like a Gringg, slowly and carefully. I am glad. I find hurry so disconcerting.” The captain raised her head and called out a command that made the aliens at the other end of the hall jump. “Rrawrum?

  Have you sent the message notifying home world that we have been contacted and are carefully following procedure ?”

  “I am getting it done now, Captain,’ Rrawrum “5 voice echoed overhead in the cargo bay, a little loudly to Grzzeearoghh’s mind. She would have to ask the technician to correct the sound level when she had a moment.

  It was making their visitors nervous. Every care must be taken to put them at their ease. The strangers should have no cause to see us as a threat. My cub should help to reassure these small aliens, she thought.

  “Tell them also that we are beginning contact.”

  “As you wish, Captain.” “Mama,’ Weddeerogh interrupted, as Ken stopped a metre away.

  “What is she doing?”

  “She is identifying herself, I think,’ the captain said, patting her cub on the head. “A pity their voices are so soft.

  I was not paying attention!” Ken activated the recording unit at his side and put his hands to his chest. “My name is Ken Reeve. Ken Reeve.” He extended one hand slowly toward the largest “bear’ and pointed. “And you?” He gave the words the strongest interrogative tone he could.

  The massive head swung towards him, and the rubbery lips receded behind the teeth again in a passable reflection of the Human’s smile.

  Ken was impressed by the flexibility of the aliens’ faces, and their ability to imitate expressions.

  Todd was right: they did possess a superficial resemblance to Earth bears. Their colouring, shape, and musculature was very much like that of the ancient species Ursa. They seemed to be made for defence, armed with heavy claws -and a thick, loose skin. And they were so unconsciously powerful. If they proved to be unfriendly, they could tear him apart without trouble. The likeness was not exact, of course. These beings had tails about the length and thickness of his forearm, covered with shaggy hair. What purpose did the appendages serve? Balance? Defence?

  He studied the faces closely. They had been growling among themselves.

  He had clearly heard distinguishable syllables, some of them repeated. The creatures had long, agile tongues, suitable for pronouncing the complexities of a well developed language. It was disconcerting to stand next to beings who made him feel so insignificantly small, like a child among giants.

  The aliens must have sensed his discomfiture, for as one they rolled back off their feet and on to their tailbones. It was a graceful gesture, ending with the body being braced solidly with hunched-up rear legs and outspread tail. Their lower limbs were short in comparison to the length of the body, but they were heavy and solid, made for balance, not speed.

  “I am Ken Reeve,’ he said again, pointing to himself as he hunkered down, his best approximation of their new posture. He wondered if he should ask Hrriss to display his tail. “And you?” He extended his hand towards them.

  The largest of the aliens roared again, and waved a thick claw at him, turning it palm down and drawing it from the floor up to its head.

  Seeing that he didn’t understand, it levelled out the claw at its eye, and drew an invisible line out towards Ken.

  “What are they doing, Dad?” Todd demanded.

  He smiled, delighted. “Oh, I get you. You’re trying to equalize things. They want me to stay standing up, so that we’re all at eye level,’ he said over his shoulder. “Ken Reeve,’ he indicated once more to the aliens.

  “Grzzeearoghh,’ the largest replied slowly and carefully in its basso profunda voice. It sounded like the revving of an engine.

  “Errizz-eer-oh?” Ken repeated, uncertainly, trying to duplicate the growl.

  “Grzzeearoghh,’ the large one said complacently, wrapping its forepaws over its belly.

  The gesture made it look even more like the halos of Earth bears, and Todd suppressed a chuckle. Hrriss shuddered, his ears halfway back.

  “Their voices make me uncomfortable, he said in Low Hrruban. “Do they always speak at such volume? Spoken so loudly, the deep notes reverberate harshly on my ear bones.” He shook his head as if to relieve the pressure.

  “Hrrubans do not raise their voices unless they wish to attract attention or if they are angry. Could we have made them angry?

  “How could we? I don’t think they’re angry, or they wouldn’t be looking so comfortable like that,’ Todd said.

  “And with the size of those ribcages, I’d be surprised if they spoke soprano.” Ken tried the alien’s multi-syllabic name over and o
ver again until the large one smiled at him. “I think I’ve got it, chaps,’ he called. “Meet Grzzeearoghh. Looks like he’s in charge here.” Todd and Hrriss cheered. The aliens looked surprised but not displeased at the noise, regarding their visitors with polite curiosity. Beside Todd, the Spacedep men seemed to be making themselves as insignificant as possible, except Greene, who stood boldly pointing his recorder at the aliens. Jilamey was taking in the whole situation with awed joy “We’re communicating already! It’s too fascinating!” Grinning at Landreau’s genuine enthusiasm, Ken pointed at the medium bear. “Who?” While he was learning the complexities of pronouncing “Eonneh,’ the cub rolled off his haunches and waddled towards him.

  “Look out!” shrieked Lauder, backing away. The young medic’s face was pale.

  “What for?” Ken asked, breaking off his language lesson.

  “Hi, there, fellah,’ he said as the cub bent to sniff his shoes.

  While he waited patiently, the cub ran its shiny black nose up his suit leg, sneezing briefly as the acrid stench of the transparent plastic tickled its nasal passages. But it continued its olfactory examination, shoving its nose into Ken’s armpit and down his arm to his gloved hand. It sneezed again. Ken threw a shrug back towards his party.

  The cub meant him no harm. It was only curious, like any youngster. When they all unsuited, the bears were likely to get a few aromatic surprises.

  The cub threw both of its heavy upper paws up on to Ken’s shoulders and dragged his face down so that it could look at him. It seemed puzzled by the helmet. Ken rapped on the plastic bell with a fist, then waggled his head back and forth inside, trying to show that it was an artificial covering. The cub let out a series of pleased grunts that sounded like stentorian giggles, and let go of him. Ken hunkered down and extended his hand. It sniffed him, and squealed. He noticed that the black nostrils of the other two were twitching, but more discreetly. Scent must be important to them: a fact worth noting.