Stray (34 page)

Eighth Squad, who had been asleep all morning, came down to the water's edge with Fourth Squad and practiced the martial art which is the basis of their close-combat.  That was a lot of eye-candy for me, heh.  In terms of fire power, Ruuel's one of the weakest of the Setari, but knowing his talent set I wasn't the least surprised that he seemed able to avoid the blows of anyone matching with him.  Eighth's captain, Kanato, had him breathing hard though, which I greatly appreciated.

They'd kept a businesslike atmosphere during the training session.  Ruuel was his usual tersely-efficient self, of course, and both captains only made suggestions for improving weaknesses, gave the occasional nod of approval, and then dismissed their squads.  They were standing together talking when Kajal, trailed by Nise, strolled down to the grassy bit of bank they'd been using as a practice ground.

"Sticking with the easiest targets still, Ruuel?"  he asked, that really rich voice making every word double-mocking.  "Why not try a real challenge?"

Ruuel barely spared him a glance.  "You're on duty, Kajal."

"Is the complete absence of threat here a real concern?  These continuing excuses begin to smack of cowardice."

"Take it however you like."  Total indifference.

Ruuel walked off, and though Kajal looked really pissed he didn't do anything about it.  Drama falls flat.  Doesn't surprise me in the least that Kajal's like that, though I'm not sure why Ruuel refuses to spar with him.  I expect Kajal wouldn't care unless Ruuel had beaten him in the past.  Who knows?  One thing I've never been is competitive – I'm too lazy – and I don't really understand the people who are. 

Monday, March 24

Machismo redux

Moonfall started out as a real non-event for me since I wasn't involved in it at all.  The greysuits had set all sorts of instrumentation monitoring and scanning different parts of the village, particularly the rooftops, the amphitheatre and the platform.

Third Squad had been sent into the near-space to observe from there, which was considered the most dangerous facet of the experiments, so they'd sent Eighth Squad to support them.  No-one was allowed in the town during the beginning of moonfall, and then they were going to send in a few test subjects and Fourth Squad.  Theoretically Fourth Squad were going to avoid getting drunk, though I had my hopes up.

The moon rose late and I was tired of sitting around in the chill.  But it was pretty to watch from a distance, and I was very glad that the night hadn't gone the way I'd expected it to when we set out on this mission: me getting extremely drunk while everyone watched.  After a while I bored of the light show and sat at a table outside the mess tent reading until people started to trickle back; greysuits and greensuits, Third and Eighth Squad, and then a disappointingly sober Fourth.

All in all I don't think they learned anything momentous.  Certainly not how the whole thing works.  People started to drift off, Eighth heading out to take up their guard posts while Ruuel and Taarel did their usual stand together talking quietly and looking like they're very much on each other's wavelength.  I was busy trying not to watch them, and also realising that I hadn't arranged an excuse to spend the night in the infirmary.

"You've managed to be awake all day," Taarel said to me, coming over as Ruuel started off.  "Quite out of character."

"Trying to make habit of it," I said.  Taarel somehow always makes me feel a bit young and embarrassed.

"Working with the night-day cycle here is very interesting.  It makes it considerably more difficult to keep shifts."

I was looking at Taarel, and didn't see the start of it, just the way her eyes went wide.  I turned because there was a scuffling noise behind me, and there was Kajal taking a kick at Ruuel, who simply leaned out of his way, and did the same again when Kajal aimed a blow to his face, before moving abruptly backward out of reach.

"Report to the infirmary, Kajal," he said.  "You've inhaled too much aether."

"Fight, you cursed gelzz," Kajal spat.  "Are you so afraid I'll prove the better?"

"I haven't the faintest interest in measuring myself against you."  Ruuel looked and sounded supremely bored.  "The only thing you're proving is your own insecurity."

Kajal went all out then.  And he was fast, really good (in as much as I am feebly able to judge, which is not at all).  Ruuel just kept moving out the way.  Quite a few of the Setari and random green- and greysuits had noticed but kept back.  Taarel looked irritated, which is unusual for her, but she didn't interfere.  Finally, there was a blur too fast for me to follow and then Kajal was sailing through the air and twisted to a landing just in front of the tables.  The grass is trampled muddy there, and he didn't come down too hard.

"Give up this game, Kajal," Ruuel said, his voice incredibly cutting.  "I won't hold back if you try to play it again."

It was a pity Kajal was facing in my direction when he stood up.  I saw the change in his face when he realised who I was.  Taarel saw it too, and said: "Don't be an idiot," but it was too late; she wasn't quick enough to block him.  His hand to my shoulder knocked me into the table and then he really was a blur.

Ruuel rolled with the blow to his face, not fast enough to avoid it altogether.  Nor the kick to his stomach, the smash to his knee.  And yet the second bout ended the same way, with Kajal sailing through the air and this time slamming hard into the ground in front of the tables.  Ruuel walked over to him, and it was very easy to remember that the Setari were trained killers as he stood looking down at Kajal, face haughty as hell.  But all he said was: "Infirmary," and walked off that way himself, limping.

I don't know what the fall-out from that's going to be.  It's not like the greensuits came and marched Kajal away.  Does aether effect count as enough of an excuse?  I decided not to mention the really nice bruise on my arm where Kajal pushed me into the table, and this morning everyone was acting as if nothing had happened.

I'm just glad to be heading back to Tare.  Eighth Squad have been left behind as guards, taking it in pairs since there's been no sign of any Ionoth attacking the settlement.  They think the Ddura is 'based' there and thus keeps it far clearer than the rest of the planet.  I'm listening to the faint change in the hum of the ship as we prepare for take-off and trying not to be too obvious in watching Third and Fourth Squad in their pods.

Ruuel has the
best
black eye. 

Out of the box

We had a side-mission before we returned through the rift gate.  I didn't find that out until we were on the way there and Taarel started the mission briefing.  We were going to look over the second of the towns with 'circle roofs' which the satellite had found.  I was assigned to Fourth Squad, who were going despite Ruuel's slight limp.  Sefen from Third toted a drone which floated along behind him like a kite.

This town was on a river, not a lake, and the
Litara
didn't land, but sent us out in a small flyer-shuttle-thing and then, I guess, flew around in a circle.  The town looked so similar.  Almost the same plants, a similar layout, central amphitheatre, blockish houses.  But at the same time, very different.

"Threat."

We were well away from the edge of the town, following the remains of a road in the process of being undermined by the river.  I'd been looking doubtfully at the very large number of paw prints laid over each other, so wasn't particularly surprised.  Sefen of Third indicated the first of them, standing well uphill.  Muina's version of a wolf, perhaps, though it was more like a border collie than the pictures of wolves I've seen.  Black and white, not long-haired, ears upright – a bit larger than border collies and not nearly so amiable-looking.  Not snarling, but watching in an attentive way, and the Setari wouldn't be talking threat unless it was thinking about attacking us.

"More ahead," Ruuel said, glancing at Taarel.

"We're not here to clear," she said.  "Respond to attacks."

That was an uncomfortable journey.  The dogs didn't attack, but we kept seeing them on the tops of buildings and at the end of streets, watching, following.  I was left with a strong impression of organisation and intelligence, and Auron and Ferus stuck very close to me.  To my relief it looked like the dogs didn't like the amphitheatre.  Since the main reason we were there was to check out the platform, the emptiness was a big advantage.

The platform room, other than suffering from a lot of ground grot, was just the same.  The Setari took some touch readings, and set up the drone, and then the Ddura arrived.  Completely hysterical.

"Different Ddura," I said, under all the Hhhhhaaaaa!-ing.

"In the ecstatic phase," Ruuel said, using text over the interface.  They all kept talking in text after that, which I thought was nice of them.  And better still that Fourth Squad took me back up top while Third finished the final tests.  It was still horribly loud, but nothing like as painful as being in the same room as the platform.

There were a ring of the dogs at the upper tier of the amphitheatre, just watching.  Stephen King had come to town.  I tried to figure out which dog was the pack leader, but there were quite a few candidates.

One thing about communicating with text is it's only my grammar which sounds bad.  I don't have to worry about my dreadful pronunciation and can write a lot before I transmit it.  When Third Squad came up to join us, I sent: "These maybe descendant domesticated working dogs.  Similar type to species my planet.  Very intelligent animal.  Very strong herding instinct."

"How many of the animals on Muina resemble those of your world?" Ruuel asked.

"Hard to tell with birds, bugs.  The sheep, the cats, these dogs.  Domesticated animal.  Otters, not domesticated animal, though did see once documentary people use them to fish.  And the people, of course."  I was tempted to ask what he thought of my idea that the Muinans had originally been Terrans, but decided I could live without that being on the mission log.

The dogs 'saw us off', totally like a tribe making sure strangers left their territory.  That was their town, just as the first town belonged to the cats.  Had belonged.

I was thinking about that a lot and watching scenery as we flew to the rift gate when Tsaile Staben sent me a channel request, a thing which surprised me since she was back at the first town and because bluesuits as a rule don't talk to me.

"Devlin," she said, when I opened the channel.  "It is traditional for the person who discovers a location to name it.  The town where you were located was provisionally named at your retrieval, but the new settlement now needs a label.  What will it be?"

"Pandora."  I didn't even have to think about it, just translated it into Muinan text.

"Recorded," she said, and closed the channel.  Bluesuits make Ruuel look chatty.  A few minutes later the new name popped up on the settlement's map, giving me a fine sense of power.

Eeli had left me alone for the start of the flight back – I'm pretty sure Taarel gave her a lecture about bombarding me with questions, especially when I'm in headache recovery mode – but not long after I spoke to Tsaile Staben she came up to the corner of the observation lounge area where I'd parked myself and asked how I was feeling.

"Is good," I said, smiling at her eager expression.  She really is too sweet and funny.  "Would go lie down if headache drug wasn't working."

She lit up.  "I wanted to ask about the name of the settlement.  Is Pandora the name of someone special to you?"

I laughed at that.  "Don't know anyone name Pandora."

Ferus from Fourth strayed over.  I never seem to have these conversations without an audience.  "Do I get to guess too?  Maybe it's the name of the place you live on your world?"

"Is creation myth from part of Earth called Greece," I said, suspecting Ferus of wanting to make a few entertaining suggestions.  "Pandora was first woman, made by the gods.  They gave her a box, told her she must look after it, but never open it.  No-one ever seems to invent sensible gods.  Pandora couldn't resist, lifted lid a tiny crack to peek into box.  But lid burst open and all the bad things in the world came flying out – hate, misery, greed.  Pandora frantically try and shut box, but too late.  Pandora in tears, seeing way she wreck the world–"  I broke off, because Eeli obviously had no trouble working out why I'd called the settlement Pandora and was looking incredibly hurt and upset.  I shouldn't underestimate her.  "Story not over," I said, patting her arm.  "Pandora in tears, when she hear noise from box.  Something still inside.  A voice, pleading to be released, make her brave enough to open box again.  The last thing in box is Hope, which is the thing which makes possible to endure all the bad things."

I smiled at her.  "Is story of doing something irreversible.  I unlock Muina.  Bad things will come of that.  But good things too.  Point of name is that cannot be undone.  Been feeling very small, thinking about that."

"What bad things?"  Ferus asked, rubbing Eeli's shoulder.

I pulled a face.  "Did you look at building they making there?  Great big box.  Tarens don't know how live with outside any more."

That made Eeli laugh, and surreptitiously wipe her eyes.  "It's a right name, isn't it?  One that fits."

"Thought so when Tsaile Staben asked me.  Was thinking of those dogs, and the cats at first town, and other animals on this planet.  For them, would be better if box stayed shut?  Even though Seventh Squad make bad joke about killing them, the cats at Pandora won't be let stay at amphitheatre.  They already starting move away because not like so many people where kittens are.  That been their place for centuries.  Feel sorry for them.  But this world belong you.  Not my place to say, no shouldn't be here."