“You better be retreating, Fuzzy Butt,” Cool Evening Breeze said over her Torque.
“Got a bit of a situation here, Breeze,” Hendriks replied. “Home in on me and see for yourself.”
“Squad 1 on me,” called Cool Evening Breeze. “The rest of Bird Squad set charges and retreat.” Cool Evening Breeze grumbled to herself as the Torque guided her toward Hendriks. He actually wasn’t that far away, and she got there in under five minutes. The tall marine was staring into a room. “What the … spirits save us!” she exclaimed.
The room was crowded with cages, and nearly every cage was populated with one or more creatures. All the creatures were the same: a meter in length with a snakelike body; a triangular head with two large forward facing eyes; no visible ears or nose; a mouth like an inverted triangle; and two short forelimbs that ended in a stubby three-fingered hand. The entire creature was covered in brown and gray feathers.
Cool Evening Breeze looked at the creatures and was about to turn away when one of them reached out with a stubby hand and warbled.
“Sound analysis suggests meaning,” her Torque chimed. The creature warbled again. “Best translation: ‘Help.’”
“Oh crap,” Hendriks spat. He went over to the nearest cage and ripped the door open. The creature cowered against the back. Hendriks reached in and pulled the creature out. “Don’t bite—I’m trying to save you.”
“How many are there?” Cool Evening Breeze asked. She started making a quick count. “Everybody grab four or five.”
“But Lieutenant, they’re animals,” a Rynn protested.
“Animals don’t say ‘Help,’” Cool Evening Breeze shot back. She pulled open the cage of the one that warbled. She waggled a hand, and the creature grabbed with its own hand. “Cool Evening Breeze to Nieth.”
“This is Nieth. Why aren’t you retreating?” came a voice. “You’re running out of time.”
“No time to explain. Just send over two shuttles. Stat,” she ordered.
There was a pause. “Shuttles on their way.”
“Good,” said Cool Evening Breeze. “Set up a quarantine zone in the hangar.” By this time, she was loaded down with a half dozen of the feathered creatures. Hendriks had twice as many. Between her, Hendriks, and the rest of the squad, they accounted for all of the creatures. “If any bolt, do not chase,” she ordered. “Let’s get as many of these to the shuttles as we can.”
Amazingly, by the time they reached the shuttles, not a single one of the strange creatures had bolted. More amazingly, once they were placed in the shuttle, they all clustered against the back. “I don’t know if you’re sentient,” Cool Evening Breeze said half to herself, “but you’re damn close.” She and the rest of the squad took seats. “Let’s get out of here,” she said.
The shuttle retreated from the Polig-Grug ship. “Cool Evening Breeze to Bird Squad, do we have a casualty count yet?”
“Not complete yet,” replied one of the company members. “Latest report is three dead, eight injured, eight missing.”
“Spirits, that’s almost 20 percent,” Cool Evening Breeze said in horror.
“Considering none of us ever fought a space battle, let alone against the Polig-Grug, I think we did pretty damn good,” Hendriks replied. He looked at his watch. “Any moment now.” He smiled sadly. “I got similar numbers from Ape Squad.” He looked at his watch again. “There should have been …” A flash of light through a port window interrupted him. “Right on time.”
One of the feathered snakelike creatures crept over to the window and looked out. It hooted and warbled. Soon the rest were warbling. The same creature crawled over to Cool Evening Breeze and warbled. “Torque?”
“Insufficient data. Possible translations: food, we, question. hungry, we, question,” replied the Torque.
“I think they’re either saying they’re hungry or wondering if we’re going to eat them,” Hendriks offered. “Considering that they probably were meals, I’d guess the first.”
Cool Evening Breeze nodded. “You may be right.” She looked down at the strange creature. She slowly reached into a pocket and pulled out a ration bar. She peeled it out of its wrapper and offered it to the creature. The creature looked at it and then slowly took the ration bar. It retreated to the cowering group and offered it to one of them. The second creature also looked at it and then bit off a small piece. It made a grimace but kept chewing.
A couple members of the squad pulled out their own ration bars and offered them to the feathered creatures. These were accepted in the same cautious manner. None of the rations were eaten until the one that had sampled it warbled, and then the rations were carefully broken into roughly identical pieces.
“I wonder if they’d make good troopers,” Hendriks mused half to himself.
“Not smart enough,” Cool Evening Breeze replied.
“Officers, then?” Hendriks asked.
“Not dumb enough,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. She and Hendriks laughed. “Thanks, Fuzzy Butt,” she said. “I needed that.”
“Any time, Feather Head,” Hendriks replied.
One of the feathered snakelike creatures slithered over. It held the upper part of its body erect, and its motion was more like a sidewinder rattler than a typical snake’s. It stopped just out of arm’s reach—Hendriks’ arm’s reach. It warbled at Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze.
“Best translation: event/action question,” whispered Hendriks’ and Cool Evening Breeze’s Torques.
“Now what?” asked Hendriks.
“Within parameters,” replied the Torque.
“Torque—try to translate the following: We will not eat you.”
The Torque warbled.
The creature warbled back.
“Best translation: Death/dead/us you question,” replied the Torque.
“Torque translate: We will not kill you,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. “But we are not sure what to do with you.”
The Torque warbled to the creature.
The creature warbled for a long time.
“Best translation: Eaters home have/take. People Eaters hide. Eaters People find. People hide/hide. People hungry/scared. Little time/duration no people.” The creature warbled some more. “Big split-tail say/talk/speech not Eaters, kill Eaters. Not know/sure/understand. People scared.”
“Crap,” Hendriks exclaimed. “Torque translate: There are two kinds of split-tails—human …” he pressed a hand against his chest and then pointed to Cool Evening Breeze “ … and Rynn.” He continued, “We are enemies of the Eaters. We call Eaters Polig-Grug.”
The Torque warbled.
“That’s a lot to translate, Fuzzy Butt,” Cool Evening Breeze cautioned.
“I think they’re smarter than we think,” Hendriks replied. “Hey, I think he just said Polig-Grug.”
“Best translation: Polig-Grug Eaters are, statement.”
The creature warbled some more.
“Human split-tail Polig-Grug enemy, Rynn split-tail Polig-Grug enemy. Split-tail People enemy not know/sure, People friend not know/sure,” the Torque translated.
“You’re right, Fuzz Ball, they are smarter than we thought,” Cool Evening Breeze said. “Torque translate: We understand why the People say they don’t know. Understand we also don’t know about the People.” She paused. “We ask that you stay here until we are sure.”
The Torque warbled.
The creature warbled back. “People stay here/this place.” It raised its hands and then slithered back to the rest of them.
“We’d better go talk to the captain,” Hendriks said. “You realize we’re gonna get reamed, don’t you?”
“At least my conscience will be clear,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. “Let’s go see the captain.”
36
WHAT WAS INTENDED
“Let me see if I understa
nd this,” Captain Kasumi chirped angrily. “You found a bunch of … things in cages in the Polig-Grug ship and brought them here, on this ship?” she snapped. “How many of these … animals are there?”
“They call themselves the People,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. “In their language, that sounds something like Alsoo.” Her crest rose. “Which sort of proves that they are not animals.” She locked gazes with Kasumi. “Yes, they are primitive. But they have a language. They appear to have a culture. And they’re scared and lonely, and spirits weep, if I left them you might forgive me, but I couldn’t.” She forced her crest to lower to something less combative. “And there is one thing you are not considering,” she said.
“And that is?” Kasumi questioned angrily.
“They are exactly what the Polig-Grug had intended for us,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. She matched Kasumi glare for glare. It was Kasumi who looked away first.
“Are you willing to take responsibility for our … guests?” Mel asked.
“We both will,” Hendriks replied. “With your permission, we’d like to start on that immediately.”
“Let it go, Core Sister,” Mel said to Kasumi. “They’re right, and you know it.”
Kasumi kept her face averted but nodded. “Go ahead,” she said to Cool Evening Breeze and Hendriks. “We’ll expect reports, and any damages come out of your pay.”
“You can have my entire paycheck,” Hendriks replied. “Come on, Feather Head,” he said. “We got some new recruits to train.” He and Cool Evening Breeze covered their eyes briefly and then left the bridge.
“Ten to one he wasn’t kidding about the recruits comment,” Mel said after they left. “You okay, Core Sister?”
“No,” Kasumi said quietly. “She was right, and I … I let my hatred of the Polig-Grug blind me.” Her crest flattened. “Spirits forgive me. I am ashamed.” She looked at her hands. “I keep expecting to see blood.”
“That’s a very human metaphor,” Mel said. “Hold on to that shame, Core Sister,” she said. Kasumi looked at Mel in surprise. “That’s your conscience speaking. As long as you can hear it, you are not lost.”
Kasumi nodded. “Any word on Franklin?” she asked. “Forgive me; I just did it again.” She returned her attention to her hands. “There were ten others who were as seriously injured and almost twice that many dead or missing, and all I can think of is the loss of one person.”
“Well, he is our most lethal weapons designer,” Mel began. “Ah, I see,” she said in realization. “We’re in a war, Core Sister,” she said. “But what’s the good of winning a war if you lose your soul?”
Kasumi nodded. “Yeah, that’s a hard one.”
Mel put an arm across Kasumi’s shoulders. “You may think this is strange, but I think you should try to talk to Grandma Mei.”
Kasumi turned her head to look into Mel’s eyes. “Do you really believe I am talking to your grandmother?” she asked.
Mel smiled. “I’m not the person who needs to answer that, now am I?” she said. “I am going to go talk to Morning Mist, and you are going to take a nap.” She pressed her forehead against Kasumi’s. “Even if Grandma Mei does not speak to you, a nap will do you good.” She stood and pulled Kasumi to her feet. “Now scat.”
“Yes, Mel.” Kasumi gave Mel a weak smile. “Thanks.”
“That’s what a good core sister does, right?” Mel said. “Go on.” She turned Kasumi around and gave her a gentle push.
Mel watched Kasumi walk away before saying, “Torque: status on Joseph Franklin.” She waited close to a full five minutes before there was a response. “Joseph Franklin will live,” the Torque reported. Mel gave out a relieved breath. “While Omiset will eventually repair the damage, the medical technicians are foreseeing an extended convalescence.”
“How extended?” Mel asked.
“According to the report that has been filed, the technicians will be keeping Joseph Franklin in an induced coma until the Omiset finishes reducing cerebral swelling. After which they will determine to what extent his higher cortical functions were damaged.” The Torque replied dispassionately. “The consensus is that he will achieve something close to a full recovery.”
“Something close,” Mel repeated.
The core of Red Clouds Paint the Sky, Black Rocks, Frozen River, and Light of Three Moons sat huddled together in their quarters. They had returned there after first seeing for themselves that Joseph Franklin still lived and listening to the chief medical technician. To a Rynn who was raised believing that Omiset could cure just about anything short of death, the medical technician’s somberly delivered report was almost a physical blow.
The small piece of shrapnel that had felled Franklin had entered through his neck and become lodged in the upper part of the medulla oblongata. Between the massive blood loss and the nerve damage, his injuries were at the very limit of Omiset’s ability to repair. He’d live, but at the moment that was about all the medical technician was sure of.
After a while, Light of Three Moons excused herself and made some tea. Rynn had become big fans of Earth tea, and nearly all Rynn had added tea to their daily diets. She was in the middle of her preparations when her Torque chimed, indicating a message. She accepted the message, and an image of Franklin appeared before her.
“Hi, Light,” the image said. “I programmed my Torque to send you this if I was separated from the Torque for more than twenty-four hours. So if you are receiving this, I am either dead or close to it.”
Light of Three Moons hurriedly paused the recording and ran into the main room. “Everyone, Joseph left us a message.” She restarted the message.
“If the rest of you are wondering why I sent this to Light, well, it’s because she’s the most level-headed of all of you,” Franklin’s image continued. “Yeah, yeah, I know Frozen River has no nerves, and it takes a lot to rattle Red Clouds, but honestly you guys get all crazy whenever you think I’m fixated.”
“What about me?” complained Black Rocks.
“And I know Blackie is complaining that I forgot about him.” The image smiled sadly. “I kind of hope I’m not dead, but I knew the risks when I signed on,” he said. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that ever since I met all of you, well, I’m not the same man I was. I hardly laughed before I met you, and now I laugh almost all the time. I was afraid to love, and now I worry I don’t love you all enough. I was afraid to live. I’m not afraid of living anymore. What’s funny is that I’m not afraid of dying anymore either.” The image briefly covered his eyes. “Remember me.”
Light of Three Moons, Black Rocks, Red Clouds Paint the Sky, and Frozen River all briefly covered their eyes. “You are not dead yet, Joseph Franklin,” Light of Three Moons declared. “But if that is to be, we will always remember you.”
The princess approached the Temple of Light. She reached the bottom of the steps and hesitated. The temple was unchanged, yet she felt unwelcome. She sank to her knees at the base of the steps. She started to cry, but abruptly and angrily wiped at her eyes. “No, I will not cry,” she said to herself. “I have chosen my path, and I must follow it to the end.”
The princess raised her head and looked up at the temple doors. “I am the princess. My thirst for water has turned into a thirst for blood. My hunger for food has become a hunger for the flesh of my enemies. There is no shelter for me.”
“My, my, such self-hate,” came a familiar voice. “Are you truly fallen so low?” The old monk walked down the steps as she spoke.
The princess nodded. “Yes, Grandmother,” she said. “In my search for vengeance, I forgot what I was truly fighting for.” She bowed her head. “I nearly became what I hated most in my enemies.”
The old monk raised a hand. Nestled in her palm was a tiny red and green snake. It seemed to be made of thousands of individual crystals. “Beautiful, is it not?” She extended her hand to the prince
ss. “Beautiful and fragile and in need of protection.”
The princess nodded. “And that is what I forgot,” she said. “Forgive me.” She reached out, and the snake crawled from the old monk’s hand into hers. “Forgive me,” she said to the snake. The snake crawled up the princess’s arm and then to her shoulder. Finally, it nestled against her neck.
The princess stood. “I am the princess. I, who have thirsted beyond thirst, forgot that others thirst as well. I who have hungered beyond satiation forgot that others hunger as well. And I who stand before you naked forgot that while I discarded my fine clothing, others have always been naked.”
“Remember always what you forgot, Granddaughter,” said the old monk. “And remember one more thing,” she said. “If you were truly lost, you would not have cared that you forgot.” The old monk smiled. “When next you see the Teacher, remind him of that as well.”
Kasumi walked into the main cargo bay of the Nieth. She hadn’t been in the bay since before the battle with the Polig-Grug, but she knew that the large stack of packing crates was not there originally. She examined the stack and quickly realized that it wasn’t a haphazard pile. First of all, it was symmetrical: two vertical towers of three crates flanked a central section in the shape of a stepped pyramid. Secondly, she could see a number of the Alsoo moving in and around the structure. It seemed that every one of the snakelike creatures was doing something.
She walked toward the structure. A number of the Alsoo surged out, each one carrying a sharpened wooden stick. They formed a defensive wall in front of the structure. The Alsoo were, as she had been told, snakelike from the waist down, and they moved in a manner that had been described as sidewinding. They held their lemur-like upper body perpendicular to the ground. They were feathered everywhere but the underside of their bodies and their owl-like faces. The feathers were thickest on top of their triangular heads.
Kasumi raised her hands to show they were empty. “I came to talk,” she said, and her Torque translated her words into the warbles of the Alsoo.
Redemption Song Page 27