The Fifth Civilization: A Novel (30 page)

Grinek didn’t want to make the trek back to the bridge to
issue commands, but he believed that if he didn’t, more incompetence would
emerge. He decided not to show weakness by taking a seat, so he instead
supervised each crew station as they went about their business. When he got to
a new station, he peered over the shoulders of his crew, using his knowledge of
their positions to make sure they were completing their tasks correctly. All
appeared to be giving their maximum output. The ship had left the savannah and
was heading now to a more southerly continent where it was still night. If the
Earthmen had landed there, they would catch them.

The
Hanyek
shook
violently as the gravity of the planet, combined with their speeds, put immense
strain on the hull. Without question, they were creating a sonic boom over
thousands of kilometers, frightening the inhabitants—if any—and
perhaps leaving them cowering in terror. Grinek’s heart rate increased at the
thought. His training at the academy had told him that harnessing the power of
all senses, especially sound, was the key to making your subjects run for
cover. And his crew wondered why he had the voice of a junkyard
tik
.

“We are coming to the continent now, sir.”
 
The real-time display of what was
happening outside appeared on the viewscreen. Like a time-lapse recording, the
light snuffed out quicker and quicker as they traveled west: the sky started
off blue, darkened to red, then finally snuffed out in black. In just minutes
they had gone through one whole day of the planet. Grinek realized only then
that he was hungry, it being late in the day according to the ship’s Kotaran
calendar.

“I have a spot to set down, sir,” said one crewman. “It is
near the suspected landing site of the shuttle.”

“Do so.”
 
There
were chirps and beeps of buttons in reply. “Any more signs of life?”

“We were going too fast to tell, sir, but our thermal
detectors may have picked up some movement on this continent. Unless we
investigate, it could just be animals.”

“Our priority is the Earthmen. Once we deal with them, we
can deal with the natives, if there are any.”
 
Grinek’s stomach growled again. “You
know what? It is a fine day for hunting. Once we’ve dispatched the Earthmen, we
should look for some animals to do likewise. Earthman meat is far too
disgusting to be the first dinner I have on this planet.”

***

The warriors had been on the hunt for a few hours, lying low
and moving through the semi-marked paths just outside the camp. Since they were
traveling in such a large group, no
kegars
attacked, though they had to be wary of startling a large pack of sleeping
duexi
. If those behemoths stampeded,
they wouldn’t even stop for their own kind. In the past, entire villages had
been wiped out by those creatures.

Two Mountains, at the head of the group, scanned the woods
up ahead. All appeared calm in the night. They were in the foothills of the
first mountain, hours from the Sun Valley, and their feet stung like each step
was a thorn. It wasn’t that they weren’t used to walking—long hunts
happened almost every night, and Heddan feet had thick pads which allowed for
greater endurance. But they were headed uphill on rocky terrain, and that was
not a common way of traveling. Normally, these mountains were off limit for all
but the bravest of traders with the Gohorma.

Someone tugged at Two Mountain’s shoulder. It was one of his
seconds, a much older warrior named All Roar, who had a drooping face and red
kegars
tattooed on his cheeks. If Two
Mountains had not been named smallchief, All Roar would likely have been
assigned the honor.

“Two Mountains, you have not said a word since we went off.
How do we know you are leading us in the right direction?”

“Truthfully, my second, I don’t.”

“What?”
 
All Roar
looked hurt by this, bearing his fangs. He almost appeared as if he should
spear his superior right then and there. Two Mountains regarded this look with
concern and tried to explain to the man.

“All I know is what I saw. A star or light fell out of the
sky and landed in this direction, close to the Sun Valley. I am simply leading
us on this way because I believe we will come across it.” Or it will come
across us, he thought.

The rest of the thirty warriors had stopped behind them to
listen. A sense of weariness had hushed the group, who began to put down their
sacks to relieve their spines. The discussion between Two Mountains and All
Roar had been co-opted as a time to rest.

“So you are saying,” continued All Roar, “That you have no
divine power.”

What a strange statement. “I never said so, second. I was
simply chosen by the Chiefs to lead you. Where would you get such an
impression?”

“The Chiefs do not choose someone for no reason,” another
voice said. “They pick someone for a special task because God has told them to.
Divine influence, or dreams, or perhaps a sudden intuition are the usual
causes. But choosing a random, lowly warrior to lead a group—never.”

All Roar continued this line of reasoning. “You saw the
image and reported it to the Chiefs. Then they chose you to lead. Don’t you
believe this was for a reason?”

“I cannot tell you why,” Two Mountains said. “There is no
special power imbued in me, I think. Perhaps it is simple, uh,
luck
, that I went to the Chiefs. Right
now, I cannot claim to be guided by anything under that what I remember, and
that is that the light came down near the Sun Valley.”

“If that is so,” replied the second, “Then why are
you
leading us, and not a more
experienced warrior?”
 
There were
murmurs of dissension among the group. People banged their spears. Was this
move some kind of tactic? All Roar’s ruse to rise up the warriors in mutiny? By
questioning his divinity, these people had suddenly opened up Two Mountains for
attack. Earlier in the night he considered himself something special, having
been anointed by the Chiefs. Now he feared he might die with spears in his
back, and worse, never learn what the omen in the sky foretold.

All was forgotten when the sound came.

Imagine the loudest waterfall, and increase its speed
three-fold. Some warriors covered their ears, some dove behind trees for cover.
Two Mountains thought it was the roar of a
temulen
,
angry and approaching on its hind legs. But he saw no such animal and the sound
grew louder. At its peak, a violent wind blew through the trees. Then the
second became more distant, reducing to a low rumble and finally disappearing.
Heads looked in all directions for its source.

“I saw something,” one of the female warriors said. “There
was a giant bird in the sky.”
 
Two
Mountains grabbed his bow, aiming it upwards, scanning the stars. To him,
nothing appeared to have changed. A giant bird would explain the wind, though,
since some of the larger
englens
were
known to send leaves and dirt in the air as they swooped low to catch prey in
their talons.

“I saw the giant bird as well,” another warrior said. Two
Mountains believed both were telling the truth and accepted that a bird, or
something
large and winged, flew over
them. But nearly all winged creatures made use of the sun sky, not the moon
sky. He knelt and sunk his head in thought.

All Roar came close to Two Mountains’ ear and whispered.
“Two Mountains, I fear this bird was a warning. I believe he was even the
Messenger from God himself. By flying over our position, he meant to warn us to
turn back and not try and find him. Why do you think he let out that great
call?”
 
Slightly trembling, the
second darted his eyes around the forest, and in the sky, as if expecting a
sudden attack. “We should return.”

“Frightened, All Roar?” Two Mountains asked. He was
skeptical that this bird was the Messenger of God, and this could be of some
advantage to him. By being fearless and curious, he could spur the group to
continue on without hesitation.

“Yes, Two Mountains, but not of battle. Of God.”

“God is not something to be afraid of,” Two Mountains
chided. He stood and gestured to the thick foliage before them. “We must press
ahead. If this bird was from God, he was not clear in his intention. If he
meant to warn us, why only pass over us once? If he wanted to welcome us, why
make such a big deal out of it? Obviously, there are too many questions to
continue debating. Forward it is.”

“So you don’t think it was a warning?” a female warrior
asked.

“If it was, God didn’t make a very good job of it.”
 
This provoked some laughter, and Two
Mountains let his feet do the leading. He quickened his pace just a tiny bit,
which encouraged the others to follow suit. Dry leaves crashed beneath their
feet, clattering as they marched ever closer to the Sun Valley.

Located precisely at the coordinates indicated by the
Hanyek
’s computer
was the crashed hulk of a shuttle. Grinek assumed the shuttle had
escaped the exploding
Colobus
but had
been so egregiously damaged that it impacted hard against the surface. The
tactical cruiser circled the remains, detecting no thermal readings of life,
and then landed on Grinek’s orders at a clearing in the brush a half-mile from
the crash site. Some trees were felled in this process, but Grinek believed
they wouldn’t harm the aesthetic value of his first steps.

As before, the exit ramp lowered and the crew gathered to
watch Grinek set foot on this planet. Just ten minutes previously, they were in
the sand and the searing hot of the savannah; now, they were in the darkness
and cool of a more moderate climate. Grinek wasn’t going to let any jarring
disparities ruin the ceremony, however, nor was he going to tolerate any further
unexpected announcements. Interruptions would be punished with death. With
bated breath, the crew watched, camera rolling, as Grinek struck a pose at the
top of the ramp.

“For the glory of the Emperor, for the glory of Kotara, and
for the glory of the future,” he said, deliberately facing the camera. Grinek
had decided this was a much simpler phrase, and his own construction, not one
based on old proverbs. History would likely judge it less clumsy and more
succinct than the last one. He turned to face the surface and descended the
ramp, the surrounding nightscape illuminated by the bright landing lights of
the
Hanyek
. These were images that
would not be ruined by bad lighting.

His first steps on the planet were in mud.

Grinek checked the bottom of his boots. They were caked in sludge.
Each soggy step made a
squish
that
was audible up the ramp and on the film, and Grinek clearly had inadvertently
ordered the ship to land near some swamplands. No matter. He wasn’t going to
let on what his feet were experiencing and he was sure the sounds of the mud
could be edited out later. The urge to make another historic statement was upon
him, and nothing would deter that.

The cameraman had become the second Kotaran to set foot on
the planet, followed by Roh and a small group of Kotaran officers. They
gathered around their Commander and waited in anticipation for his next
statement.

“We have landed on Somoresh,” Grinek said, instantly naming
the planet and thus claiming it for Kotara. That mincing Nyden had given him the
idea to use the name Somoresh. In ancient Kotaran mythology, that was the name
of the land where life originated. Every schoolchild learned it, even as modern
science proved the marsupial ancestors of Kotarans evolved on the Yel
continent. But it was a calculated name, destined to stir passion among the
populace yet devoid of any overtly religious connotations.

“Cut the camera,” Grinek ordered, and the cameraman
responded immediately. Now he was free to speak with candor to the assembled
men. “We’ve landed in some despicable swampland. Godsdamn this fucking planet.
Why wasn’t this filth detected from orbit?”

“We could film this again, Commander, at a better location,”
the cameraman said.

“No! We’re not doing it a third time. What we have recorded
is what the propaganda films will show. We can always film more later. Right
now, we have to find those Earthmen. I want them dead without hesitation. I
won’t allow any prisoners.”

“It will be done swiftly, My Commander,” Roh breathed, with
relish.

“Well, perhaps they can suffer a little, Roh. It is up to
you.” Grinek moved away from Roh and addressed the rest of the assembled men. “The
next plan will be to find any natives and analyze them. I would have thought
we’d have been greeted by hordes of them by now. But if we need to collect a
dead specimen, so bet it. Next we must collect some native animals, some for
eating and some for analysis. When that is finished, we will take soil samples.
I want this planet dissected in our science labs.”

“Yes, Commander,” came a chorus of replies.

“Excellent. There isn’t any time to waste. The shuttle was
in that direction, correct?”
 
He
pointed to an area in the forest, and one of the crewmen from the bridge
responded with an affirmation. “Good. I want to go there and investigate
myself. Roh, come with me. You and you…” He pointed to another crewman and the
cameraman. “Come with me. The rest of you head back to the ship and start
scanning for any signs of life.”

Everyone did as they were told. One of the crewman had been
so helpful as to actually
think ahead
,
and brought along several pistols and a few of the pulse rifles that the
military had been so eager to test. At the moment there weren’t any signs of
anyone to use them on, but that Grinek had a suspicion that would change soon.
Grinek, Roh, and the two other Kotarans cut through the foliage, making sure
not to snap a twig or branch to let their presence known. Such things were
taught at the academy, but Grinek knew them from his days under the sylvan
canopies of Degmorra.

Exhilaration overcame Grinek. A voyage into the unknown, a
trek through the savage jungles of another world. Such a throwback to the hikes
of his youth—no, this was much greater, much more significant. Now his
hikes had the weight of history and the promise of glory. No Kotaran had ever
been so far from home before, scouring a wild wasteland where anything could be
the enemy. His body tingled with the thrill of danger.

They reached a clearing. The remains of the shuttle were
visible through the trees, its silver shining in their searchlights. It
appeared to be a luxury craft, a ten-seater, with a sleek design now ruined by
mud and blackened by fires. There was no question the shuttle was inoperable,
but was there anyone inside? Grinek noticed the cameraman was acting timid,
hiding in the back and perhaps wary of an Earthman ambush. If he didn’t need
his film for propaganda purposes, Grinek would admonish the man for being a
coward. The Commander charged his pulse rifle and moved unflinchingly toward
the shuttle. The whine of the rifle’s energy pack should have been enough to
scare anyone inside.

He reached the craft and found a depression that indicated a
door. It was partially open, but appeared stuck in the mud. Grinek tugged on
it, and Roh came up alongside to help him dislodge it. With a heave, they
forced the door open. Lights blazing at the front of their rifles, Grinek and
Roh charged inside, ready to meet fire or find the corpses of Earthmen and
Bauxens.

There was no one. Just wrecked seats and broken glass.

Grinek kicked a cushiony chair and it fell off its hinges.
Either the shuttle had departed on its own, which was unlikely, or the Earthmen
had crawled out of its wreckage and into the woods. Looking at the floor, he
saw signs of that now: depressions in the carpet, scratch marks on the ground,
and a door partially open on the opposite side of the craft. He went through it
and jumped to the swampy soil, and when he inspected the dirt with his gun
light, he saw faint tracks leading to the woods. Some were smeared in the mud.
They had tried to cover their tracks.

From around the craft, the cameraman appeared, his own light
searing into Grinek’s eyes. The Commander gave the signal to cut the recording
off. This would be another event edited for content. Such humiliations would
not reflect kindly on him.

“What now, Commander?” Roh asked, hopping down from the
craft and hoisting his rifle over the shoulder. There stood the four of them, embarrassed
by the absence of their enemies and alone on an alien world. This was something
that was going to be corrected, and soon.

“Now, Roh, we hunt.”

***

Two Mountains spotted the light first. He wanted to say it
resembled the light of campfires, but the intensity of this light was far
greater, and there was no swaying associated with dancing flames. Therefore,
the light on the treetops had to be stationary, had to emit from some object.
The closest approximation he could think of was the light from the moon and the
sun, which changed only as the object moved through the sky.

The hunting party was camped for a midnight meal at a
clearing in the woods. Some of their hunters had managed to capture and kill
four
matangas
, small ground critters
that were slow enough to meet the pointy end of a spear. At the moment, they
were being roasted over a crackling fire. Such a meal was not enough to fill
the more than two dozen stomachs that made up the party, but it nicely supplemented
the dried meat they had brought along on their knapsacks. With any luck they
could find more creatures along the way. Two Mountains’s teeth tore at a
particularly tender leg of
matanga
as
he studied the light in the distance.

A female warrior came to his side. “Two Mountains,” she
said, “I don’t believe we are going to discover what this heavenly being is
trying to tell us on this journey. Clearly, if it wanted to tell us something
about God, it would have talked to us directly and not waited to come find us.
When you want to be alone, don’t you walk out in the woods to be away from
other people?”

Two Mountains remembered his brother and his death by the
kegars.
He swallowed his
matanga
leg and stayed focused on the
distant light. “My warrior, if what we are dealing with is a Messenger from
God, he could easily have made himself invisible. God can do anything, can he
not? And yet he chose to be visible to many witnesses in the camp. As far as we
know we are the only settlement in the area, so we are the object of his
attention. Either he wanted us to be seen, or he’s not from the Heavens.”

“Do you believe in the God?” the warrior asked. Two
Mountains pondered this question. He’d been asked it before, and had wondered
about it since. Much that had happened this day had made him question the roots
of his beliefs. He decided to give the only answer that thought appropriate.

“Yes, I do. But God, after all, makes sense. What we have
just witnessed does not. We have to investigate further—that is the only
way to proceed.”
 
The female warrior
nodded and turned to rejoin a group gathered around a fire, warming themselves
and eating. Two Mountains returned to gazing at the light.

***

They were talking. The Nyden and Sundar Kher.

Obviously, they’d seen something.

Roan checked the energy reading of his Bauxen rifle. Its
charge was good. Its condition was excellent. The thing was bulky, but Roan
knew he could handle it. He had lots of experience.

And he wanted to kill.

David gave the binoculars to Sundar. Slid his body back down
the angled dirt mound into the mouth of the cave, where Roan had his back to
the wall. The Nyden’s head reflected the pink of the sky, the pink of the
sunrise that was slowly makings its way across the forest.

“There’s no question, Mr. Roan. It’s the Kotarans.”

Roan nodded. Of course. They’d heard the ship overhead.

Roan checked the rifle again. Once again the power pack
whined. The thing was ready to go. He noticed a smudge on the power gauge.
Wiped it a little bit. There, now it was fine.

Sundar moved down the mound to the beginning of the cave.
Brushed off his clothes. He was turning out to be a competent officer.

“They must’ve found our shuttle,” Sundar said. “We’re safe
sheltered in this cave, but it won’t be long until they find us.”

Roan nodded again. Nothing the two of them were saying was
anything new. The Kotarans were after them, still. With all their technology,
it was only a matter of time before they found the cave. With daylight fast
approaching, the odds of the survivors being found only increased.

No matter. Roan clicked the power pack a third time on the
rifle. It again whined in an affirmation of its charge.

“I’m ready,” Roan said.

David gave him a strange glance. Tilted his head. “Pardon?”
he asked.

“I’m ready for whatever the kangas throw at us, David. We
all should be.” He speared the butt of the rifle into the dirt. Looked out at
the sky, where the stars were fading away into light. Yes, the Kotarans were
coming. Roan hoped they would. The killing should have ended on Bauxa. But it
continued in orbit. With the
Colobus
.
With Kel.

There was going to be blood.