The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (21 page)

Shayne stood with the military cricket team. The general looked relaxed, as he put on his batting pads, strapping them on before he ventured out to the centre. It took him a while to put the protective equipment on correctly; his stubborn pride did not allow anyone to help him. The military had won the coin toss and had elected to bat first.  The Air Vice-Marshal Danto Williams was already geared up and stood in the centre of the oval where he was stretching. The tradition went that the first up to bowl and bat was to be the Commander of the Defence Forces and the Acting Prime Minister. It would prove to be a show as both men were from countries that did not really care for Cricket; General Hendingson was a New American and large open sports were rare in the confined spaces of the cities of Mars, so they tended to participate in the smaller boundary sports such as basketball. The Prime Minister Cannoth Eastman was a politician from Alpha Centuri and though cricket was not the most popular sport there it was not the least either, most of Eastman’s problems was that he was a politician and was not really adept at doing anything other than avoiding questions.

The crowd cheered as both men were ready. The general held his bat more like a baseball bat, Williams cried out to him to put it down properly but he received a “shut up” from the general instead. Eastman came in for a short run and bowled but his ball went wide of Hendingson. The general swung for it anyway and managed to hit it to a fielder. The crowd erupted in laughs and cheers. The military were given a run for the wide ball and Eastman was advised to bowl underarm instead. The second ball came in straight but it was also slow and Hendingson smashed it and managed two runs. The general was not a young man; the oldest in the colony actually and he wheezed slightly at the few runs he made. He missed the next ball spectacularly with a wild and confused swing, but made up for it with a run on the fourth ball, leaving Williams on the crease to face the next ball.

Williams being Australian knew how to play cricket, but also took sport far more seriously than he probably should. He stood tall and confident; he banged his bat on the ground a few times eager for his first ball. Eastman came in with an under arm swing where he let the ball roll out of his hand, the Air Vice-Marshal jumped forward, well passed the safe zone of his crease and with a power swing he sent the ball hurtling along the ground out toward the boundary. Though the hit looked impressive the ball did not move very far due to the slow bowl from Eastman and so they missed out on the boundary; instead they settled for three runs. The general was back for the final ball from the Prime Minister and he was invigorated by the pull-shot made by his batting partner. When Eastman bowled again Hendingson followed suit and stepped out of his crease and swung wildly at the ball, Williams cringed as he watched his superior miss the ball. In the moment of fear that followed the general tried to turn and return to the crease but fell over sending his bat flying into the air where it promptly collided with the wickets; the crowd burst into cheers to see the general go out in such spectacular fashion. Hendingson meanwhile placed his forehead on the ground asking himself why he did such a stupid thing, Williams too was wondering why and had slapped his own forehead, but unlike the general he was laughing so hard that he almost fell over. Eastman was just excited that he got someone out, even if it had nothing to do with his bowling.

After that the real match began. A female soldier took Hendingson’s place and a very large engineer from Southern New Zealand, with more than enough native in him to frighten the small  female batter. He was a medium-fast bowler but being up against a girl on the first ball he decided not to put his full force against her and to his dismay she took advantage of the slower straight ball and easily hit it across the boundary to give the game its first four. After that the game grew competitive with everyone treading more careful. Williams proved to be the most skilful of the batters, hitting a few sixes as he went along. The female did not do badly, scoring 37 runs before being stumped by another woman who was a deadly spin bowler and so the game continued. The general now stood beside Shayne at the boundary and cheered on Danto Williams. He was clearly enjoying himself; a last joy before the responsibility of the planet-side operations fell almost entirely upon him.

‘It gives us pleasure to see you enjoying yourself, General.’ Both Shayne and Hendingson turned to see Arnahell, Elinor and Dirac’s first officer Nathan, behind them. Hendingson nodded in acknowledgement.

‘Captain,’ he addressed Arnahell. ‘Captain Elinor Warren, Commander,’ he addressed Nathan last, ‘I’m sorry that your captain couldn’t make it.’

‘There’s nothing to be sorry about, General, for my captain doesn’t venture planet-side.’ Hendingson nodded.

‘Being earth bound scares Dirac, as it scares many Astronauts,’ Arnahell added. ‘It is no shame, many Planetsiders are afraid of space.’

‘That’s true,’ Hendingson agreed. ‘I can understand Dirac’s apprehension, a life in a ship, the openness and strangeness of the world would seem overwhelming.’

‘I am glad you understand,’ Elinor smiled. ‘So few Planetsiders do.’

‘I have lived long enough to understand some of human nature,’ the general returned the smile.

‘And how are you Shayne Forrester?’ Arnahell addressed the Starborn equally. Hendingson’s eyebrow slightly rose in amusement, he was almost over the Astronauts meddling with the Starborn; they were right, he was vastly different from the others; though he was unsure how much of that was natural to his situation and how much was influenced by the space dwellers.

‘I’m fine, thank you Sir.’ Both Arnahell and Elinor looked approvingly at him.

‘And how’re your studies with the Planetsider Physicist going?’

‘It’s going well, she’s a competent teacher.’

‘She wouldn’t have been chosen as your successor if that wasn’t the case,’ Arnahell reminded. Every important person in the colony had one, sometimes two successors in case something happened, such as the Starborn degeneration that Shayne suffered. Danto Williams was Thorn Hendingson’s successor and Emilie Rabolin was Shayne’s, she was a young and very able scientist, not as gifted as Shayne, but still a respectable replacement. ‘If it’s fine with the General, we could create a link to you and your
wristcom
, that way we’re able to communicate from my ship’s computer. I could give you lessons, not much else for a colonyship captain to do other than oversee the
Gateway
and space elevator construction, and that is best left to greater minds.’

‘I have no qualm for such a request, provided Forrester’s military work comes first,’ Hendingson said with a faint tone in his voice. Arnahell looked at Shayne in the black dress uniform of a Starborn, it must be the first time one of these uniforms have donned the epilates of an officer and the specialist intelligence patch, she then looked back at the general and smiled.

‘Of course.’ Arnahell then slightly nodded to them.

‘I hope you two enjoy the match, I have witnessed a few myself. They help establish the community that is needed within a new colony, take advantage of the carefree nature it brings general, for civilians can’t be treated the same as your soldiers, and resentment breeds ten years of misery, I’ve seen it before.’

‘Thank you for your advice Commander, I’ll be sure to take it into account.’ They both then smiled at each other, Arnahell looked at Shayne one last time before they returned to the Astronaut reserved area. After they were out of earshot Hendingson snorted.

‘Damn, Astronauts,’ Shayne glanced questioningly at Hendingson who stared back at him; assessing him. ‘Don’t think me a fool Forrester; I know that they’re simply checking up on you. No Astronaut gives a damn about a military man.’

‘Their advice though is meaningful.’ Hendingson smiled, Shayne naturally was able to see everything from a neutral perspective, he saw the double meaning of the conversation but he also placed importance upon the advice; allowing the general to see it for what it was.

‘You talk just like them you know, all that formality and that rationality, it’s great to hear the first time, but after years of working with them it sounds like nothing but mockery to me.’ The old man looked across at the match just as a batter hit the ball along the ground, but a fielder skidded across just in time to stop it from reaching the boundary.

‘I’ve never heard them mock before,’ Shayne replied.

‘That’s all I see.’ He looked long at Shayne trying to understand the Starborn, and though his eyes were intelligent they lacked the depth and understanding that Shayne saw in Arnahell.  ‘You’re like a newborn child, Forrester, there’s a reason why your kind is called Starborn, I guess the name applies to you more than it ever would to the others, you who can comprehend and reason. You might know much about your field, you might see things others don’t, but mark my words, there’s so much that you haven’t learnt. Always keep your mind open, otherwise someone will take advantage of you.’ Shayne grew aware of the general joining in the game for his fate. It seemed to him a new struggle had begun between the military man and the captains of the colonyships, and Shayne was simply the pawn that they were playing their power games through.

Shayne did not know how the general saw him; the man confused everyone with his ever changing state of temperament, though he spoke truthfully. There was always that unsettling feeling with Hendingson; the man always seemed to struggle, as if at times he was challenging everyone around him and there always seemed to be an underlying purpose that riddled him.

‘You must learn about humanity all over again, their plotting and scheming, their greed. Everything serves a purpose; everyone does something for a reason. Sure those space rats might seem different, but deep down inside they’re no different from the rest of us. Don’t let them think that
you’re
their equal, to them they have no equals, and that’ll be
their
downfall.’ Hendingson then leant on the fence and continued to watch the game, but with less enthusiasm than before.

Chapter
05

Kérith-Árim

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

                                                                                – Lao-Tzu

The morning brought with it the busy movement of the camp; everyone was up early so they could begin the day’s march as soon as possible. To the Earthmen it meant more time in the saddle and therefore more discomfort and stiffness. Most of the horses that fled in the night had since returned, though some were still slightly skittish and had to be calmed before they could be saddled. Considering his lack of sleep Shayne felt better than he expected. One of the lionman warriors on the final hour of guard duty approached the Starborn and brought his partially tanned hide to him stretched out on a large frame; bowing deeply as she handed him the awkward thing to investigate. Shayne touched the brown fur, following the stripes with his hand.

‘We will store it with one of the pack horses, it still requires a day or two to dry out before finishing,’ the soldier informed. ‘It is a great honour to wear the beast’s fur. I look forward to the day that you and the others are able to wear them.’ Shayne nodded, handing the pelt back.

‘We will turn it into a fine cloak when it is done,’ she continued as she lifted the frame under her arm. ‘When we reach Karmon we will get a tanner and tailor to properly craft it.’ She gave a simple smile before bowing and returning to her duties. Shayne was not looking forward to that day, he would swelter with that in the Iraquian Summer, his uniform may provide a barrier. The material was manufactured from temperature regulating polymers but everything had its limits.

After his brief encounter with the soldier he set out to pack his camp gear and ready his horse. Dominic was the only person seemingly not engaged in getting ready, instead he stared blankly into the campfire, unusually quiet as he ate his breakfast.

‘Come on Corporal,’ Rae growled as she carried her pack towards the horses. ‘Get up and get ready!’ Dominic grudgingly stood and started to pack his gear; his horse was beside Shayne’s and as the Starborn mounted Dominic spoke miserably, more to himself than anyone around him.

‘I don’t see why we don’t just take a transporter into their damn city.’ He then threw the horse’s saddle on and began to strap it up, fumbling at first but as he played with the straps he remembered where everything went.

Shayne looked down impassively at the general infantry man. ‘Maybe you need to be reminded of colonisation history and procedure.’ Dominic glanced up in surprise. Shayne was even more intimidating upon the horse, his dark gaze focused only upon him, forcing him to look away.

‘I was just saying,’ he mumbled in return, now bending over to place his pack on his horse. ‘I’m tired of riding this damn horse and fighting wild animals is all; I just wish we were there already.’

‘I think you’re looking at it from the wrong perspective.’ Shayne moved his horse so he was side-on to Dominic; the Corporal stared up at the horse not daring to glance at Shayne. ‘You won’t see landscape like this again, not for ten years anyway. It’ll all be from the skies and in the cities, you should enjoy it while you can.’ Shayne then nudged the horse, directing him towards the others who were ready and waiting. The Brigadier and Kíe were happily discussing their Dikean’armada kills, the other lionman warrior who also claimed a kill was now with them at the head of the party, her bravery rewarded with Pan’arden allowing her to ride alongside them in a position of honour.

Dominic thought about Shayne’s comments for a moment, he was stunned by his attitude; he still saw him as a redundant class. Dominic was good natured and did not hold any resentment towards the Starborn but he still thought of him as such due to old habits, which was not easily broken. He thought for a moment and shrugged as he too mounted his horse. He looked out at the forest and his face softened, it was a beautiful place.

For the first hours of the morning they were in light woodland where the Bohaníde wood was separated from the Wayel-Éaa forest by the old rugged road. In the heart of the woodland stood a handful of forester huts, where four lionman families resided. Those who were in the little settlement watched the strange sight of high rank military warriors go by on splendid horses. Children ran along the road waving to the strangers, some of Bohanese soldiers passed little gifts down to them, filling them with even more excitement. The road from the tiny forest hamlet was maintained by the locals and it improved greatly on the other side, as the woodland village was the first trade point to the nearby city in the province of Hindaíth. 

For most of the day’s march they could not see the tower at Karmoníth; the path would stray too close to the forest or a hill within the Wayel-Éaa would rise up. When they did see it they would watch it; always looming in the distance like a silent beacon, and as the day passed it gradually grew larger and bolder.

Sometime after they left the woodland a large and ancient standing stone came into view, ‘The marker,’ Kíe beamed as he pointed out the dark megalith. As they approached they saw that it loomed many metres above them, sitting nicely on the side of the track. The ground around it was bare; constantly weeded by passing traders. The stone itself was covered with engravings long eroded with time; they made swirls and patterns around the base. The stone was divided by three deeply carved vertical lines, separating the megalith into three sections. Each side had ancient runes carved into them, now difficult to read.

The Earthman stopped at the structure and took still-shots; Dominic was more himself as an android took a photo of them all posing at its base. Kíe dismounted and took a few paces, passing one of the deep grooves cut into the stone; he then turned to face the Earthmen.

‘I now stand in my homeland,’ he smiled as he looked deeper into the land of Kérith-Árim.

‘A boundary marker.’ Shayne liked the simplicity.

Kíe looked up at the rock still smiling, ‘This one was made when the plains of Kérith-Árim were given to the Ta’Orian’s of old. Placed so that they would forever know where Ta’Orian land ended and Fa’Orian land began, and forever separating the forest from the two.’ Shayne looked out to the northern plains where he saw another standing stone in the distance; accompanied by smaller stones around it. The usage was much like the standing stones on the planet Acamas, but these ones were massive in comparison. Erecting them would have been a feat in itself and it was not clear where the stone was quarried from.

‘We will stop for a break,’ Pan’arden announced as she rode over. ‘As interested as the Sky Ta’Orians are, we should move quickly to the Merchant Tavern. Otherwise we might spend another night under the stars. The sister river of the Whydearfin is not far ahead.’ They sat around the megalith boundary marker, eating a quick meal. Rae happily fed her new nocturnal flying creature, which looked much happier now that it had a stomach full of grasshoppers. Once back in the settlement the zoologist would test it for alien parasites and diseases, but its presence would not affect their homecoming; the expedition party would all incur quarantine procedures, as was protocol. Fighting a virus from a home-world is one thing, fighting one the immune system has never encountered before is another, and potentially devastating to a colony, which is why Astronaut colonies were the safest and most restrictive places in society, to prevent planets from contaminating each other.

Red Rocket wandered off and sniffed around the large stone, Thyman followed the Tasmanian tiger; observing the thin animal as it searched the ground with its nose. Red Rocket watched the tiger out of the corner of her eye but continued to sniff at what interested her. Hanniver too was watching very carefully, he had come to trust the tiger for the most part, but that was overridden by the fact his pet was worth a year’s wages and that he had a breeding pair and wished for them to produce at least one set of pups.

The stop was brief, and when they were mounted again Pan’arden forced them to move quickly, with the horses changing periodically from a canter to a trot. Many of the Earthmen struggled with the changing pace. Shayne in particular appeared to lack the balance skill to remain in his saddle, but his horse was a clever beast and it would counter his movements allowing him to better correct his sitting position, he also looked and felt smoother than the other human horses.  Kíe came to his side after watching him struggle with the new pace.

‘Do not grip the horse so hard with your legs,’ he tried to advise, ‘and use the stirrups to lift yourself off the saddle.’ Shayne looked across but immediately felt himself slipping. ‘Relax,’ Kíe smiled in encouragement. ‘Try and move with the horse, if you do not and the horse spooks you will fall off.’ Shayne attempted to follow but with little success and he found himself stiffening up. ‘Keep trying,’ Kíe added. ‘You can raise yourself on the stirrups and let your legs take the movement but it is not a good position for travelling all day.’ After experimenting and learning the movements of the horse Shayne found the new pace easier to manage and the ride enjoyable though trotting proved difficult and awkward regardless of his efforts.

Thyman, Red Rocket and the robots were left to run alongside their masters’ horses. Two pack horses were offered to the droids, but trying to explain to the natives that these machines were not programmed to ride horses was incomprehensible to them. The robots had no issues keeping up; their straight posture changed as they ran along the ground with the grace no man could match. Their ease of movement was a curiosity to the natives; but there was something disturbing in their movements; a slightly unnatural element and it took time to grow accustomed to.

Within a couple of hours they had reached the river. It was fast flowing and wide, with orchards stretching out on either side. The road passed through a village that stood upon the river bank. It had a defensive trench and a palisade of thick wooden stakes that were enforced with stone at the base.

The party stopped very briefly in the settlement to allow their horses a drink and to obtain some food. The townspeople, who were made up of both human and lionmen, gathered to see them, talking amongst themselves excitedly. Their small part of the world was not used to such company but rumours of the Afra’hama had somehow even extended to these insignificant reaches; the very idea was inconceivable without technology, but the knowledge of the star people had sent a ripple throughout the land. When Shayne approached the tight crowd parted before him; they all bowed their heads and kept their eyes fixed to the ground as he passed.

This was the Earthmen’s first encounter with the shytarda guards, they looked nothing like the guards of Bohaníde, they wore the same armour that a typical skilled soldier wore; not the simpler second rate equipment of a lowly town guard. Their duties were not much different from guards, but they also held the expectations of a soldier. Their training was more intensive and they were expected to care for their communities: repair structures and police the people as well as defend the lands. Their manner and pride were equal to any warrior and there was great respect given to them. Their shields had the national Kérith-Árim symbol of the blue dragon on a white background and their uniform held the town’s crest and colours. It seemed rather glorified relative to the standard Bohanese armour, a product of a land once ruled by different people.

They did not stay long in the village; Pan’arden spoke briefly with the guard commander before they left. On the other side of the town their road made its way between the orchards and river. As they gained height the fruit trees gave way to open lands and farming homesteads. They passed a small wooden watermill with an inefficient horizontal wheel; it was an uncommon design but perfectly suitable for the needs of the region and more easily controlled with diversions from the powerful river.

The bridge to cross the river was further north. They followed the broad road from the plains into a lightly forested gorge. The river became more wild and turbulent as the hills forced it into narrower channels.  The overpass was not far or high up the valley face, but it was steep and the road wound around as it made its way up. By the time they reached the top the horses were panting from  the effort and Red Rocket exerted herself trying to keep up. They walked through the ruins of an ancient fortress to access the bridge. Very little of the building remained, over the years the stones were used to repair the ancient bridge until all that was left was the foundations and a few blocks defining the walls. The bridge itself was not a grand structure in beauty or design, made for a few local townships either side of the river. It was built at the narrowest point of the river; the middle support joined a natural island protruding from the depths below.