by neetha Napew
Teddy shrugged, so reminiscent of Alec that Kelly had trouble keeping a straight face. “Grrbble . . . the hrrss did not like me on its back. It took time for it to fall me off as I clung tightly.” Well, Kelly thought, since he’s all right, there’s no need to make an intergalactic incident out of this. “So you’ve found snake eggs, have you, Teddy? Do you like them?” and she grinned because his eyes sparkled and he dropped his jaw.
“Gracckle. Very tasty indeed. May I take some back?
My dam would find them as tasty as I do.
Alec gave an exasperated snort. “We’ve been trying to get Teddy to move, but he’s stuffing himself.”
“Can we get started home now?” asked Hrrunival. “It’s not much fun sitting around watching someone else eat when you’re hungry, too.”
“You’ll be hungrier by the time you’ve ridden home,’ Kelly began, thinking that would be adequate discipline for this escapade.
Just then the horses neighed in alarm and began pulling at the reins which tied them to a driftwood log.
“Kelly, look out!” Jilamey cried, pointing violently even as he reached for whatever hand weapons the heli carried.
As swiftly and inexorably as a tsunami, a medium-sized tiddler boiled over the ridge of the south-facing dune, flowing its leaf-patterned sinuous body towards them with incredible speed.
Because they were beside her, Kelly gave her two children a shove towards the heli before she reached for Teddy who hadn’t even risen at Jilamey’s warning cry. Hrrunival and Hrruna each grabbed one of Ourrh’s hands and began hauling him to safety. But Teddy first had to rock himself to his feet, even with Kelly yanking at him.
The snake, feeling the vibrations, moved in on them.
“Oh, fardles, Teddy, GET UP! That thing wants you for lunch!” Out of reflex she pulled out her belt knife, jumped in front of Teddy and faced the oncoming snake. She just hoped Jilamey had a snake rifle in his heli. The worst she could do to the snake with her knife was deflect it briefly.
But Teddy had to be protected.
Then the snake was close enough to stare directly in her eyes, pinioning her almost hypnotically. She didn’t recall ever being this close to one on foot before or armed with the most inadequate of weapons. Kelly stared with helpless fascination as its maw opened, the jaw unhinged as it widened, showing its extraordinary gullet. Gunfire, deafening in the usual silence of the dunes, startled her and the snake. Sand kicked up almost in her face and there was the smell of explosive propellant in the air. The snake was distracted.
“Move away, Kelly, so I can get a clear shot!” Jilamey shouted.
He was sighting down a heavy calibre hunting rifle. “You know I’m a lousy shot.”
“I’ll forgive you,’ she shouted back, “if you kill it!’ Kelly and Teddy dodged, getting out of the direct line of fire. The entrepreneur fired again, this time catching the snake in the tail, causing it to thrash back and forth in pain. Then it raised its head and stretched wide its jaws again, moving toward Jilamey. Teddy needed little urging from Kelly now, as she hauled him to the top of the nearby ridge and slid down the far side. They both lost their balance in the loose footing and ended up rolling down into the next valley.
“Aaaaaaggghhh!” Teddy cried, his vodered voice echoing in her ears. Above, below, beyond, behind her, she heard the repeated boom of the rifle discharging.
She was still trying to spit sand out of her mouth and clear her eyes when Jilamey slithered down beside her, a wisp of smoke curling up from the bore of the rifle.
“It’s OK. It’s as dead as I could get it.” Kelly got her eyes clear of sand but that didn’t seem to help. She was at the bottom of a gully covered with sand, and there were a dozen people, their features foreshortened by height and darkened by the sun behind them. In a moment, they combined into four, then two, then one Jilamey. She released the fierce clutch she had on the Gringg cub and rose to her knees.
Teddy unrolled easily and waddled to his feet. “That was fun,’ he said.
“I want to come back here and roll down hills again.”
“Teddy, not here!” Kelly said firmly. “This is the breeding ground for those snakes. You could have been killed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me to defend myself from it? I was not afraid and I am strong enough to have rendered it harmless,’ the cub said calmly.
Kelly started to protest and then realized that the Gringg cub was probably a lot stronger than she and might well have been a match for the tiddler. But snake-killing was not likely to be considered a desirable occupation for a species that said it did not like violence.
“Well, I knew Jilamey had a rifle and I certainly don’t tvant to risk your hide on any snake wrestling!”
“Oh, that is what one does with these snakes? Wrestles?
I like wrestling. I’m good at it,’ and Teddy looked disappointed that he had not been allowed to show his prowess.
“Fardles!” Kelly muttered under breath and continued to desand herself. “Actually, Teddy, I think your dam expected you to play with our young, not wrestle the wildlife.” She got to her feet and extended her hand to the cub. “But let’s leave here now, because I really don’t care to run into anything bigger than that one.”
“How big do they come?” asked Teddy, intrigued.
“That one was small - a tiddler. Some of them are immense, the ones we call Great Big Mamma snakes are much, much bigger.” She indicated girth with her hands.
“Oooh,’ Teddy said, impressed.
When they got to the top of the dune, he exclaimed in dismay. “It smashed all the eggs.” There was yolk all over the place and crumpled shells for, in its death throes, the snake’s dead body had convulsed, completely destroying the nest.
“We’ll find more for her another time, Teddy. Come on. Your mother’s waiting for you at the ranch. Let’s go.
Kelly gave him a gentle shove towards the heli.
“You didn’t mention the mda,’ Alison muttered at Alec as they watched the snake’s death throes.
“Do you want to be grounded for the rest of your life?” Alec replied.
“Well, no “Then, shh!”
“Well?” Jilamey asked, steadying her through the sand to the heli.
“Well, what?” Kelly asked. There was sand down the back of her blouse, inside her trousers, and inside her boots. She was itchy and thirsty, and she didn’t know whether to skin her children alive or just never let them out of her sight again.
“My second snake,’ Jilamey asked, plaintively, pointing to the twitching corpse. The children were admiring it and arguing amongst themselves over its length and probable weight. “After nine hunts and not for want of trying, I have slain another snake. Might it count towards the Coming of Age ritual?” Kelly laughed, her voice echoing over the empty land.
“Oh, I’m afraid not, Jilamey. I wish it did, you were so heroic.
But it’s got to be an official kill or capture during the Hunt itself, or we’d have poaching during the early season by obnoxious youths who want to make sure they qualify. Cheer up,’ she said, seeing his crest-fallen expression. “It’ll be good enough for a feast. We’ll have a barbecue. Grizz’ll enjoy fresh snake steak, and so will I. I only have to defrost the sauce.
Jilamey brightened. “I like barbecued snake!” When the snake’s corpse finally settled to an occasional twitch, they heaved it into the heli. It exuded a slightly musty odour but the trip back to the ranch wouldn’t take that long.
“You five go straight home, now,’ Kelly said, shaking her finger at them. “No diversions, no detours. Got that?” Two “Yes, Moms’ from the twins and meek “Yes, Aunt Gelli,’ from the three Hrrubans.
She let a grin break the scowl of disapproval on her face. “I’m just glad you’re safe,’ she said, kissing each one in turn.
“I just wish they hadn’t fibbed about those comms. This could have been very serious,’ Kelly said softly to Jilamey as he lifted the heli. Teddy had his nose pressed
tight against the plasglas, watching the kids ride off.
“They don’t lie as a rule, Kelly,’ Jilamey said. “Could there have been a minor malfunction?”
“I’d prefer that explanation but it doesn’t work.” She sighed. “Well, nothing really bad happened.” At the house, Grizz was on her feet, a living tower, waiting for the heli to land. Making a most peculiar-sounding ululation, Teddy climbed out of the aircraft almost before it had set down and hurtled towards his dam.
She embraced him fiercely, throwing him up in the air without effort and neatly catching him as he squealed with delight. Jilamey whistled at the careless exhibition of strength.
“And we’ve got a special treat for you,’ Kelly shouted over the slowing rotors as she walked towards the Gringg, “fresh Doonarralan snake, courtesy of Jilamey’s hunting skills. We’ll have a real feast tonight.” The captain shook her head. “Morra. Please to take me immediately to the Government offices. I have had an urgent communication from Eonneh. There is trouble. I must be there.”
“Quiet!” Todd shouted, waving the crowd down. “One person, tell me what happened.” His office was full of angry people. Bad news had travelled all over the colony in the time it had taken Mike Solinari to inform him of the incident. Admiral Sumitral had come on the run from his office when he heard the commotion. Second Speaker arrived shortly afterwards, with Captain Hrrrv and several of the visitors from Hrruba behind him. The rest were Rraladoonans of both species, all arguing at the tops of their voices. In the middle of it all was the Gringg male, Cinnamon, who said nothing and sat despondently waiting for whatever would happen to him.
“Mike!” Todd said. “The rest of you, quiet!”
“My two assistants and I were showing Cinnamon around the veterinary hospital,’ Mike began, shouting at first but lowering his voice as the others stopped talking to listen. Dr Adjei, head of Veterinary Services, stood at Mike’s shoulder behind Robin. “He was our special visitor today. I had morning surgery so I left Cinnamon with my assistants, Dr Gross and Intern Errrne. They took him around the place and ended up at the corral where we were holding about thirty animals, mostly geldings. I heard a howl and came running. The Gringg, Cinnamon, was in the corral,’ and here Mike shot a furious glance at his erring employees, “with the dead mare at his feet.”
“He killed it,’ Bert Gross burst out.
“With one punch!”
“You’re out of order, Gross,’ Todd told him sternly.
The plump woman from Humanity First! pounded on Todd’s desk and thrust an accusing finger at Cinnamon.
“This monster should never have been allowed to go unsupervised among decent beings! It could have been one of us!”
“It was an accident,’ Robin Reeve said firmly. “Cinnamon has repeatedly said so.”
“I will recompense for its loss,’ Cinnamon said, miserably. “I will adopt its youngster and nurture it.”
“It’ll need a foster mother of its own kind,’ Mike Solinari explained but the spontaneity of Cinnamon’s offer softened his harsh expression. “There’s a couple of mares who have lost their foals. We can put the colt in with one of them. That part’ll be all right.”
“But he killed “Ma’am, it’s upsetting, but can we put the incident in perspective?” Todd asked politely.
“What perspective is that, Reeve?” Greene asked, sardonically. He stood with fingertips poised on Todd’s desk, not as loud or insistent a gesture as the angry woman’s but somehow much more menacing. “That one of these gigantic aliens of yours killed a horse, or that he did it with one blow? They can break necks with the same effortlessness that you or I would use to brush away dust.
You’ve sown them among the population of a civilian planet like poisonous weeds. Where in this perspective do we find responsibility?” “Oh, very picturesque, Commander,’ Robin Reeve said, applauding with sarcastic exaggeration.
Greene showed no signs of impatience or temper.
“As Admiral Barustable has repeatedly requested, these creatures should be sequestered.”
“Locked up like wild beasts?” Hrrestan said, shaking his mane.
Unrrreasonable. You would not lock up a Hayuman for killing a hrrss.
You would fine him and set him frrree. So would a Hrruban trrrbunal.”
“Only in cases where malicious inzenz does not exist,’ Second Speaker Hrrto said. He was as far away from the Gringg as the dimensions and crowd in the room would allow. Mllaba was not present. Neither, Todd was relieved to observe, was Barnstable. “Ze question now remains if ze Gringg intended to kill.”
“Why would he?
And let me remind you that, in our laws,’ Todd said, “as in yours, a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Prove that Cinnamon acted in malice.”
“Our laws forbid violence,’ Eonneh protested, making his way forward to stand beside his colleague. The room seemed to shrink around them. The animal rights woman from Terra let out a squeak of surprise and retreated behind Mike and Robin, who exchanged a glance of disgust.
“I am sorry,’ Cinnamon repeated, staring at his big paws reproachfully. “I strove only to push away the hrrrss’s attack. It hit me with its feet, here.” He showed a torn patch on his coat where the mare’s hooves had struck his chest and the gash on his broad muzzle. “I did not realize I had struck it so hard until I heard “And somehow he imitated the precise sound of a bone breaking. Everyone in the room shuddered. “I grieve to have killed a harmless animal, especially one prized so highly by our new friends.
My hosts assured me that the hrrrsses were eager to have friendship. I sought only to make friends with the beautiful animals.”
“Dr Gross,’ Todd said, keeping his voice level and consequently forcing the crowd to hush to hear him.
Inwardly, he was ready to roar with fury that a petty, though tragic, incident had given such fuel for trouble.
The veterinarian came forward and cleared his throat.
His face was red, and he nervously rearranged his hands from pockets to belt, to hip; his right hand twitched towards Cinnamon, and ended up scratching the nape of his neck.
“Well, he, I mean the Gringg, went right into the corral, and he started chasing the herd around and around.
Anyone with sense wouldn’t have done that. Then the mare charged him, defending her foal. He struck her down like swatting a fly’ “It is so,’ Errrne said, with a terse nod.
“Why didn’t you stop him?” Dr Adjei asked, his eyes narrowing, “When you saw the herd reacting? You had the voder.”
“Why would you leave ze Gringg alone in ze corrrrl in ze first place?”
Hrriss asked.
He had stood beside Todd, silent until now.
“Huh?” Gross looked at his Hrruban comrade. Errrne lifted both hands palm up, shrugging.
“I heard them.” A very soft voice came from within the muttering crowd.
“You were a witness?” Hrrestan asked, glancing around the crowd.
“Come forward.” A slender girl in a soiled coverall raised her hand.
“I saw. Juanita Parker. I work at the animal hospital.” Robin elbowed his way through the crowd to escort her towards the desk.
“Will you tell us what you heard?” Hrrestan asked her in a kind voice.
Nita blushed deeply, but Hrrestan kept his big, green eyes fixed on her deep brown ones. “Dr Gross invited the bear, I mean, the Gringg to see a herd of horses on the other side of the barn. I I didn’t mean to be eavesdropping, but the barn’s open all the way through, and there’s an echo.”
“No one’s accusing you of anything, Nita,’ Todd said, in a gentle voice. “You’re helping us.” The girl nodded, and swallowed nervously. “They told him to get into the corral and get close to the horses.
It was their idea. They were laughing about it. I didn’t realize that anything was wrong until I heard the stampede and then the mare screamed.”
“So you say that the two Rralandoonans led him to belie
ve the situation was controllable, and then failed to act responsibly and in time to prevent a tragic occurrence?” Admiral Sumitral asked.
“That’s a leading question!” Bert Gross protested.
“You watch too many courtroom videos, Bert,’ Ken Reeve told him.
“Will you answer, Nita? Just tell the truth.”
“Well, my dear?” Sumitral prompted.
Nita nodded, not looking at the men. “I think they were trying to play some kind of joke on. . . Cinnamon, but it backfired. That mare was very protective of her foal. We had trouble getting close to her and she knows us.
“So the mare reacted out of fear of a stranger,’ Todd said flatly.
“I think that sums things up pretty well, don’t you, Hrrestan?”
“I agrrree,’ Hrrestan said. “If it was not forr zis witness who has come brrravely forward, zeir dishonour would nevrrr be discovrrrd, since ze Gringg would continue to believe he was guilty of a crrrime.”
“We,’ and Todd included Hrriss at his side, “apologize, Cinnamon, that you were subjected to such infantile behaviour.”
“Hey!” Bert Gross protested.
Errrne hissed. Todd met their glares with a cool stare. Both of them suddenly found something else to look at.
“I’ll talk to the two of you later on,’ Todd said, his voice cold.
“But I think Dr Solinari might have something to say to you first.”
“You’re damned well right,’ Mike said, grimly.
“I have a restoration to make,’ Cinnamon insisted, inclining his big head. “I did not mean to cause a loss of life. I wished to make friends.”
“I am positive of that!” Todd replied earnestly.
“You are most courteous,’ Eonneh said, bowing.
“Is that all?” Greene asked. “You stand here and compliment one another ad nauseam, when this alien has shown the dismaying ability to destroy without effort?”
“Not at all,’ Todd said, as if he had noticed the Spacedep commander for the first time. “As Cinnamon has already offered to make restitution, what else could be demanded of him? A day in the stocks? A month of bread and water?