“Glad you are safe, Legatus Edmonton,” Juan Lorenzo said as the fleet was given an update. “We were very concerned when we saw the command hover go down.”
“It would have gone badly for us if the eighth and the serpent forces had not pushed through the enemy to us.”
“We saw how well the serpents fought and with what discipline. Centurion Marshal did an admirable job training them.”
Christopher Slone now broke into the conversation, “Consul, what is the condition of Centurion Marshal?”
“Christopher, I am told he is stable but still very critical. The next few days will determine the outcome. Meanwhile, how do we bring this to an end?”
The Legatus continued, “We are still vastly outnumbered. From what I have been told by Sly, there are millions of vipers on this planet who could contest anything we do. Short of using nuclear weapons on their cities, we will have to hold the mountain as we evacuate the hatchery through the hanger level.”
“We are not authorized to wage all out war against part of our allies. Make whatever arrangements are necessary for removal of the hatchery and then we will leave with Sly and any serpents who want evacuation,” Consul Lorenzo said. “I will be coming down to the mountain with marine troops to start the removal. But we can only store a small number of eggs and it will still be a month before the transports arrive.”
“Yes, Consul. Legatus Edmonton, out.”
The Legatus waved over the primary centurions of each cohort for a discussion. Also present were Sly, the Slones and Tavia with Hatch. As soon as they were all present, the Legatus began, “The Consul is coming down shortly with marines to help arrange for removal of the hatchery. The problem is we cannot move the eggs until the freighters arrive to transport them, and that is still a month away. We have to hold out with what we have until then.”
All present nodded and the Legatus continued, “First of all, casualties. How many and how bad?”
The centurions called over their chief medics to report, which they did with usual Romani efficiency. The gist of the report was the first cohort suffered 15% casualties and the eighth lost 12%. Compared to this the serpents trained by Centurion Marshal suffered a staggering 98.5% casualties with 85% of those deaths. This was indeed a war of annihilation. The Romani had no idea what the casualty percentage was for the vipers, but for every dead serpent, there were three dead vipers. The problem lay in the fact that the serpents only had themselves and the Romani with no expectation of aid for at least a month.
“Alright,” Legatus Edmonton said, “How do we end this?”
They all looked to Sly for the answer and they could see her lips quivering as she formulated a response. “Sss. The vipers will not stop until we are dead and they will not allow us to move the hatchery.”
“Then what can we do?” The Legatus asked.
“There is an old law of the serpents that has not been used for almost a hundred generations. It is how we used to chose a World Mother when we were less civilized. We all know of this law and it can be invoked at any time. It is called the Law of the Talon.”
The native Romani all looked at each other and nodded. The newly joined Romani such as the Slones and Tavia looked puzzled. The Legatus cleared up the confusion. “It is the Lex Unguibus and means the contenders fight to the death with the winner becoming the new leader. Ancient earth humans also had such customs.”
“That sounds barbaric,” Tavia blurted out and immediately looked at the line of body carriers bringing the dead to the lava. “Then I guess what we do is also barbaric.”
“That is the nature of war,” The Legatus said to no one in particular.
Sly could not see her future, but she realized, to get there, she would have to do what was needed to spare her friends. She could not understand why the Romani would risk all to save her clan, but she also knew that her friends could die if she held them to the promise. There was only one way to end this, and Sly knew what she had to do. She looked at the Slones and Tavia, who she loved like her own hatchlings, and she thought of Centurion Marshal who may still not survive.
“Sss. Romani friends. Sly knows what she must do. This must end or all serpents will be dead and our home world will be ruined. I will contact the Mountain Clan and demand the Law of the Talon.”
“Sly, that is a last resort. We can hold out and move the hatchery. We have a fleet in orbit. Let us help you rescue your clan.” Alaya pleaded.
“Sss. Sly can survive but not all of my clan can leave. And once we are gone, what will happen to them?”
The Romani knew she was right, and had to admit there were few options. Sly turned to her communications tech and ordered her to put a message through to the Mountain Clan. In the message, she demanded adherence to the Law of the Talon and expected the mother of the Mountain Clan to be honorable and stop the slaughter. Now they all awaited an answer, but it was taken as a good sign that no more attacks occurred that day or the day after.
As they awaited the answer, the serpents and the humans worked side by side to repair some of the damage done by the recent fighting. They repaired all of the electronics in the main cavern and repaired the blast doors. For the first time in their history, the Praetorian Guard had taken casualties, six dead and five wounded. Up to this point, their duties had been mainly ceremonial. No one knew how they would hold up in combat, but they did their job and did it well.
Wounds also had a few days to heal and everyone was starting to feel more hopeful. On the third day after issuing the challenge, motion sensors detected movement outside the mountain. The blast doors had been closed, so the mountain was again sealed. All eyes in the cavern were now glued to the monitors. Out from the jungle came a party of three vipers carrying a small tree with roots in front of them. The Legatus asked about the meaning of the tree and she was told it is the serpent equivalent of a flag of truce. Before the humans could ask any more questions, the blast doors began to open. Humans would have been concerned with possible treachery and not immediately opened the doors, but the serpents had no such concern. Despite the viciousness of their civil war, they did not expect treachery on a grand scale. They accepted treachery on a small scale, such as assassination, but not under a symbol of truce. The Legatus quietly passed the word for the humans to keep their weapons handy but not assemble into formations. Surprisingly, Sly herself, all alone, went out to meet with the truce party. Much to the humans’ relief, there was no treachery. Sly spent close to a half hour taking with the viper delegation and then they parted ways. When Sly returned to the mountain, she conferred with her commanders and then came over to the Legatus and the others. The humans could see her lips undulating and waited for her to speak.
“Sss. The Mountain Clan mother has agreed to battle tomorrow. If Sly wins, the mountain clan will join the sea clan and there will be no more clans. Sly will be new serpent mother and we will request to join the Romani federation.”
Consul Lorenzo had come down after the battle and he was with the human leaders when Sly made this announcement. The humans were stunned. If Sly wins then the serpents would apply for member status rather than allied status. This would change human-serpent relations for all future generations. However, there was still a question hanging in the air.
“Sly, what happens if the Mountain Clan mother wins?” Consul Lorenzo asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“Sss. If Sly lose, then humans go home and no more contact between humans and serpents.”
This was a shock. From a military point of view, it meant no more invisibility, but from a greater point of view, the Romani had become so accustomed to the serpents among them, they often forgot they were not always part of the Romani world. All living Romani had been born into a world filled with serpents. What had been a simple rescue mission to move a hatchery had now become the fulcrum on which galactic relationships were balanced. How had it gotten so bad? Why did the Mountain Clan so hate the humans, when they never even had contact with them?
“Sly, is there no way this can be resolved?” Alaya asked.
“Sss. There is not, if we want a complete end. As long as the Mountain Clan Mother lives, there will be no peace.”
“Sly, do you know why the Mountain Clan started this?” This time it was the Legatus asking.
“Sss. The Mountain Clan has always feared humans. We are weak compared to humans, and cannot fight to protect ourselves, if humans invade us.”
When Sly was finished, Lorenzo chimed in, “Sly, where did they get the idea we would attack you. We take every measure to make certain that serpents feel at home on our world and working with us in space. Have we done something to make serpents feel uneasy about our alliance? As far as defending yourselves is concerned, if all the serpents here had attacked only the humans here, we would not have stood a chance.”
“Sss. Small groups they do not fear. What they fear is bombardment from your ships against which we have no defense. You could destroy our cities and we could only die.”
If this is what serpents thought of humans, then no matter who won the contest, the alliance was in jeopardy. Christopher Slone asked Sly, “What have we done to cause such concern?”
“Sss. My friends, my clan does not think this way, but my clan is the only one that has contact with you. Long ago, all clans went into space and we watched humans grow from cave dwellers to star sailors. All clans watched how you always turned on each other and they feared your entrance into space. When the corporations were left to themselves, they waged two wars that saw destruction of many cities. This is what caused fear and why we retreated to our home world. Our ship was damaged near Romani space by accident and we never thought humans would show us the kindness they did. The clan debated offering humans an alliance, and finally it was thought best to make friends than enemies. We like humans, but the mountain clan never wanted the alliance and was always angry they lost vote. They were finally strong enough to defeat the other clans. They wanted to make war.”
No one had ever heard Sly say so much at one time. It was, as if she wanted to say all she could before she died. Some things still needed to be discussed. “Sly,” Lorenzo began, “you said your species was dying because your planet is dying. What if we could help you reverse that. Nova Romae is a planet with all climates, like yours once was. We have the plants and animals to repopulate your temperate zones and push the jungle back. This way we can restore the missing elements in your world.”
“Sss. If Sly wins tomorrow, I will ask for help with this. However, Mountain Clan Mother will not listen to anything humans say. She is poisoned to human speech.”
“Then all of Nova Romae wishes you success tomorrow.”
“Sss. Will humans stand with serpents as a symbol of our friendship tomorrow?”
“Just tell us what to do.”
Sly nodded and moved to other matters with her clan. Serpents signified a conversation was over simply by leaving as if it had never begun. Serpents and humans worked together through the night. There was still an enormous number of wounded and dead in the cavern and the plaza. The Romani and serpent medics had become so used to working side by side; it began to feel as it had always been that way. All hoped this was the beginning of a new understanding and not the end of a bright future. In the plaza, serpent and viper medics worked side by side taking care of their wounded. By agreement, the serpents disposed of all the viper dead in the lava. Apparently, this was the normal method of body disposal among the serpents. The most severely wounded had been taken care of the first day. Those needing medical facilities were taken up to the fleet. Serpent medics helped the humans set up facilities they could use, since combat had destroyed much of theirs in the volcano. On the ground, the less severely wounded were ministered to and soon there was a fighting force of just over 200 serpents reporting for duty.
Claudius Pulcher went over to the Consul Lorenzo to present an intriguing plan. “Consul, I would like permission to take the 200 serpent troops and combine them with my cohort to make a reinforced cohort. I think both troops could benefit.”
Lorenzo gave this some thought. Since it looked like there would be no more fighting for now, this was not a bad idea. Let them train together. “Permission granted.”
On the night before the contest, word was received that Centurion Marshal was out of the woods and would make a full recovery. The news was met with great joy from the serpents. They had a deep affection for the centurion. Soon the dawn came and it was time to move into the plaza and prepare it for the final contest. Sly had explained the rules to the Romani. The plaza would fill with serpents at the mountain end and vipers at the jungle end. All who could fit into the plaza would witness the outcome. Sly and the Mountain Clan Mother would fight on an elevated platform that was set up in the middle of the plaza. The platform was metal and not padded. It stood approximately five feet above the plaza and was circular, as serpents liked that shape, and had a diameter of 25 meters. This left ample room for maneuver. There was a high, transparent wall around the platform to prevent escape. Only one combatant would leave the platform. No weapons were allowed.
Humans and serpents left the mountain and formed a shield wall across the mountain end of the plaza near their side of the platform. The vipers came out of the jungle and formed an irregular line across the jungle side of the plaza. Had the platform not been there, it would have looked like a battle was about to start. The Slones were near the front, center of the line with Lorenzo, Tavia, Hatch and Sly. Sly had asked Tavia to be her second to open and reseal her side of the platform wall. Lorenzo looked at the legionary line and saw how well the serpents fit into the shield wall. He wanted Sly to win, not only because she was a friend, but also because he wanted this new relationship to continue and evolve.
There was a slight commotion in the ranks of the vipers and a viper came out who looked a lot like Sly. There was some darkening at the base of the neck but otherwise, they could not tell a difference. It was hard for humans to tell serpents apart.
Sly turned to Tavia, “Tavia, it is time. Please open the door for me.”
Tavia did her duty and opened the door as the viper second opened the other door for the Mountain Clan Mother. The Slones and Lorenzo were struck by the total lack of ceremony. Serpents get right down to business. Sly had told them that the fight would start when the combatants chose.
Sly and her opponent were now in the ring and the doors were closed and locked. As they looked at each other, they began to converse in their serpent tongue, but did so quietly that none could hear.
“Why does the mountain clan want the total destruction of all clans?”
“We want no contact with the humans. They will destroy us.”
“They want to help us. They can make our world thrive again and they can make us strong again.”
“Read the archives. They are monsters who devour each other at every opportunity. How long do you think before they would turn on us?”
“Only you and your clan have turned on us.”
Talk ended with the Mountain Clan Mother leaping at Sly. Sly was ready and side stepped, managing to lash out with her tail scouring the left arm of her opponent. The wound was shallow and the viper landed and quickly turned to face Sly. Sly had the claws on her feet retracted but those on her hands were fully extended. The viper lunged again and this time they collided in the center of the ring as each lashed out with claws and teeth. Deep gashes began to bleed on both fighters as their tails whipped up and came down. The viper’s tail punctured Sly’s right upper thigh and this would slow her down. Sly’s tail came down but it was blocked by the viper. Suddenly the viper pushed against Sly with all her might and she fell backwards. The wound of her thigh caused her to lose footing and fall on her back, with her tail extending out one side. The viper now leapt across the ring with the intention of coming down hard on Sly, but Sly was ready for her. As the viper came down, the claws on Sly’s feet came out and she slashed upwards and split her opponents belly open. As t
he entrails began to pour out, Sly’s tail came up and impaled the chest. The viper fell on top of Sly and neither moved as the stunned onlookers wondered what to do next. From where the humans stood, both serpents looked dead and tears began to well up in Tavia’s eyes. When she saw the viper second open her side of the ring, Tavia did the same. They both went over to the combatants. Tavia had no fear of the viper in the ring with her. She was willing to accept the idea that serpents as a species were not treacherous. Tavia was the first to reach the combatants and tried to pull the Mountain Clan Mother off Sly, but she was too heavy. The viper second came over and made a slight bow to Tavia. She then reached over and pulled the Mountain Clan Mother off Sly. There was no question she was dead. However, if Sly was also dead, there was still no resolution and Tavia wondered what would happen then. As she reached down and cradled Sly’s head, the viper with her was moved at seeing the affection a human had for a serpent. As Tavia cried, her tears began to fall on Sly’s face and the wetness must have brought her out of unconsciousness. Sly opened her eyes and looked around. The viper second suddenly reared up and let out a long trumpet followed by some rapid barks. As if they were a single organism, the vipers in the plaza and the surrounding jungle dropped to one knee and lowered their heads in submission. After a short time, they stood up and moved away from the jungle back to the beach. There they stopped and waited for orders from the new World Mother.
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