Back | Next
Contents

Chapter 32

 

Hudson Returns

Weeks went by slowly. Foliage on the margins of the lake thickened into the lush, deep greens of early summer. The humans listened nervously for the sound of airplanes—in vain. No aircraft appeared. But Dawson had a baby, a healthy, black-haired, blue-eyed boy named Adam. Shannon was its proud father.

"Lieutenant," Shannon said, squinting into the afternoon sun. "After we complete the main lodge I'm going to build a house for Nancy and the baby, if it's okay with you."

"And for yourself, too?" Buccari replied, watching MacArthur as he supervised the positioning of timbers alongside the rock piles. Cliff dwellers hopped about importantly, providing strident assistance. Her left arm was in a sling. After they had buried Jones and the monstrous alien, MacArthur had relocated her shoulder. Then he had held her tenderly, and she had allowed herself time to cry in his arms.

"And for yourself, too?" she repeated, turning to face Shannon.

Shannon looked at his boots. "And for myself, yes, sir," he replied.

"Certainly, Sergeant," Buccari responded, realizing there was no other workable answer. The integrity of the group was splitting, but not for the worse. Another emotional priority had emerged, a priority that superseded the essence of team or crew. A family had formed.

"We should build one for Tatum and Goldberg, too," Buccari said.

"And Lee and Fenstermacher," Shannon added. "And what about you, sir? With the women out of the lodge, you'll be wanting your own place."

Buccari turned sharply and looked at the heavily bearded Marine. It was an honest, concerned face, paternal and frank. His implication was innocent, but Buccari was momentarily nonplused. Her thoughts went to MacArthur; his nearness reinforced the flood of emotions and physical sensations welling within mind and body.

"Lee and I can still live together, Sergeant," Buccari replied hurriedly, cutting off her thoughts. "Leslie hasn't mentioned moving out of our tent yet."

"Lee's pregnant, too, Lieutenant."

She stared at Shannon and shook her head in disbelief. "Nancy says so," Shannon said softly.

She was speechless, but it did not matter; the sound of an airplane engine eclipsed all other thoughts and sounds.

* * *

Et Silmarn banked the abat in a gentle curve over the lake. Hudson pointed out the cove, and the massive pilot nervously grunted. The geometry of human construction was more apparent than ever; humans scurried about the clearing like disturbed ants.

Et Silmarn slipped the airplane toward the grassy slopes. Winds were strong and steady, and choppy turbulence rattled the airplane and its occupants about, but the pilot skimmed the tree tops and settled gently onto the hill, rolling to a bouncing halt. The kones moved quickly and efficiently, immediately refueling the wing tanks. Four sealed barrels of fuel were rolled across the open grass and placed within the tree line—provisions for future needs. As the kones worked, Hudson walked down the hill toward the human encampment.

"Huhsawn! Huhsawn! Stuh-hop!" Kateos shouted. The linguist had made remarkable progress. She trotted after him, Dowornobb and Et Silmarn close behind. The other scientists, spare pilots, remained at the plane.

"Huhsawn! Waytah fo-ah meee, pool-leeze," she pleaded, her helmet-amplified voice deep and resonant, but also hinting at nervousness. The titans shook the ground with their footsteps. Hudson smelled their fear.

"Wee go-ah witha yew. Wee see-ah more hewmanns," Kateos rumbled emphatically.

"Huhsawn! Look-ah fo-ah b-bears!" Kateos implored. "B-berry danger!"

Hudson concentrated on the phonetics and put them in context. "Right! Very dangerous! Follow me," he instructed. He walked over to Dowornobb and pointed to the laser blaster. "Be ready!" he commanded and pantomimed pointing and shooting the weapon. Dowornobb nodded vigorously, touching the big weapon suspended from a harness on his chest. Hudson turned and headed down the hill at a jog. The kones followed easily, trotting on four legs.

They met a solitary Buccari standing in an open glade of yellow-barked fir. Her jumpsuit was patched and cleaned, but faded stains streaked across large sections of the sun-bleached fabric. Hudson noted her injured arm and wondered why she had come alone, but as he drew closer he caught glimpses of Shannon's Marines in the underbrush. Hudson signaled for the kones to hold their position and closed the remaining distance alone. Buccari surprised him with a one-armed embrace. He returned it with unchecked emotion, trembling in the excitement of being reunited. She backed away and looked up, wet-eyed and smiling hugely. Hudson wiped his own eyes.

"Ah, I was so worried, Nash. You okay? You look good!" "I'm good, I'm great!" he blurted. "Your arm. How's your arm?"

"Sore, but getting better. I can lift the elbow a little." She peeked around his shoulder at the colossal beings. "So, huh.. .what happened? Are we friends?"

"Too much to tell, Sharl! I don't know where to start. They treated me well, but except for Kateos, they mainly just left me alone. They're suspicious and afraid, but, yeah—they're friendly." He pivoted to face the kones, waving at them to approach.

"You should hear Kateos speak Legion, Sharl!" Hudson exclaimed. "Amazing. You can hold a conversation with her. That's her specialty—languages. She's sharp! Real sharp! Dowornobb's not bad, either."

"So she is a female—did you say Doorknob?" Buccari responded.

"Yeah! Dowornobb. I'm not kidding," Hudson said. "That's his name."

"What now?" she said, checking the sun. "It's getting late." "Yeah," Hudson answered. "They plan on spending several nights here. Kateos says the most important thing is learning to communicate. She wants to talk. I couldn't get any more than that out of them. There are two more kones back at the plane. They'll come down later."

The mammoth, hulking beings towered above them, nervously watching. Their peculiar pungent odor came and went in waves.

"Damn, I forgot how big they were," Buccari said nervously. She squared her shoulders and bowed, holding her hands at waist level, palms upward—the cliff dweller's greeting. The kones replied in kind. The one called Dowornobb fumbled with his weapon, slinging it over his shoulder. They stood erect and Hudson formally introduced them.

"Welcome!" Buccari said slowly.

"Thang-ah yew, Sharl. Wee owe yew b-big thangs! B-big thangs to Sharl!" Kateos stepped forward and extended her hand. Buccari glanced warily at Hudson.

"I taught them to shake hands," he said. "And they wanted to know all about you, but they could never pronounce your last name. You're a hero. They say 'Sharl' real well."

"Yeah," Buccari said, her small hand disappearing in turn into each of the gigantic but surprisingly gentle gloved hands. "Let's go back to camp. We can talk better there."

"Yesss...talk-ah," Kateos said. "We talk-ah with Sharl."

Buccari smiled at the kone and turned downhill. She signaled and Shannon's Marines abruptly moved, revealing their positions. Et Silmarn made a transmission over his helmet radio, and the kones, trodding alertly on all fours, followed.

"So, how was the flight?" Buccari asked.

"Tiring! It took two days. I never did get that truck trimmed." "Huhsawn b-ber-ah good-ah..." Kateos struggled for the right word. "Pilot-ah...ver-ah good-ah pilot-ah."

"She is good!" Buccari complimented. Kateos smiled proudly. "And getting better fast," Hudson said. "Real fast!" "How is the injured, er . . . alien?" Buccari asked.

"They call themselves kones," Hudson replied. "He made it back alive and is doing well, or at least he was when he left the planet. There was an orbital lander sitting on their launch pad when I arrived—not a coincidence it turns out. It had been sent expressly to retrieve Et Avian—that's his name. Guess what, Sharl? He's a member of their nobility. You saved the life of a very important kone. They worked on him at the science station for about a week,gave him a lot of blood. Once he was stabilized they launched him back to Kon."

"Kon?" Buccari asked. "Is that their name for R-K Two?" "Right. This planet is called Genellan."

"Genellan! I like that. Much nicer than R-K Three."

"Planet-ah named Genellan," Kateos said, smiling through her visor.

"Why do they wear helmets, Nash?" asked Buccari, smiling back.

"Air's not dense enough for them," Hudson said. "The backpack is a compressor and heating system. To them this place is cold—miserably cold. Even their southern base is considered cold, and, Sharl, it's awesome. Looks out over a tropical ocean, and it's beautiful. I walked on sandy beaches that went forever, and I swam in the ocean. It's beautiful, wonderful, the closest to paradise I've ever been."

"Even without human beings for company?" she said. "Paradise has a price."

* * *

At the sound of engines, all the cliff dwellers ran in near panic for shelter. A flight of hunters wheeled high overhead; keen eyes discerned movement in the trees—humans, and others—bear people. Braan studied the activity. The leader whistled commands and dove for the trees. Others followed, except for two hunters left aloft to maintain a soaring vigil for as long as the dying thermals would hold them. Braan and his warriors landed on the backside of the wooded peninsula below the long-legs encampment.

* * *

"They won't talk about it," Hudson said. "They won't say why they attacked the fleet or what is going to happen now. The bad news is: their planet is at war."

"Wee cannah tell-ah wha' haffen when-ah war-ah over," Kateos said.

Buccari was growing accustomed to the inflections of the prodigious creature; she also detected resignation—sadness—in the female's words. The kones sat around the campfire, relishing the heat but remaining wary and acutely attentive to the movements of the humans. A huge rubbery tent had been erected in the clearing. The kones were to stay for three nights. Their one clear objective, besides bringing Hudson back and learning more of the human language, was to establish a schedule and a plan for future interchanges.

"What-ah message should-ah I bring to my leaders?" Kateos asked.

"Tell them we came to your star in peace," Buccari said. "We mean no harm. We are stranded here. Will your government accept our presence?"

Kateos seemed perplexed by the question. The conversations had been painfully slow—mostly introductions and attempts to define roles. It was clear that Et Silmarn was in charge.

Buccari rephrased the query: "Can we stay on Genellan?"

Kateos turned to Et Silmarn and spoke her melodious tongue. They talked at length, many words for such a short question. Kateos nodded sharply.

"The war-ah on Kon muss' end-ah," Kateos said. "Your quess-chun must-ah wait-ah until war-ah end-ah—"

"How long? How many days until war end?" Hudson asked. "Cannot-ah tell," the kone answered. "Maybe not-ah end-ah." "It must end.. .sometime. Do you want us to stay on Genellan?" Buccari asked in frustration. "Do you want us to stay here?" She opened her arms to include all of them.

Kateos nodded and translated. Et Silmarn spoke only two words.

"Yesss," said Kateos emphatically. "Wee learn from-ah yew."

"What—" Buccari started to ask, but Kateos interrupted.

"Sharl. It-ah b-ber' cold-ah for-ah kones. B-ber' cold-ah. Sun gone. Can wee stop-ah for-ah now? Start-ah in more-ning? Morening is right-ah word-ah, Huhsawn?" she asked. Hudson nodded and smiled. "It-ah iss b-ber' hard-ah to talk-ah. That-ah iss why wee come. Wee mus' learn talk-ah." Her great body was shivering.

"Yes, of course. We talk in morning," Buccari replied, standing up. The kones ponderously extended to their full intimidating height and with little ceremony retired to their tent. One of them hunkered at the tent's entrance, a laser in his big hands—a guard. He was frightened—his eyes darted around the surrounding campsite—and cold. He shivered violently but refused to leave the door of the tent for the warmer vicinity of the fire, despite Hudson's polite entreaties.

Soon after the kones disappeared, baby Adam began to cry. Dawson exited her tent carrying the bawling infant. The konish guard turned to the noise and watched intently as Dawson sat in front of the fire, joining Shannon. Dawson settled the child under her furs to nurse, and the baby's complaining stopped. The guard poked his head into the konish tent, and within minutes all of the kones reappeared. They tentatively crawled the campfire, staring owlishly at Dawson, firelight reflecting from their helmet visors, the ones in the back rising to their hinds. Buccari stood to confront the gaping kones.

"What is it, Kateos?" she asked. "Do you have a question?"

Kateos sat back on her haunches and held her hands in supplication. "Sharl, yew have.. .new hewmans? Small hewmans? I not-ah know word. Childs?" she asked quietly. "Wee would-ah pleese seee? Pleese!"

Buccari turned to the curious firelit faces of her own people. "Nance, they want to see Adam," she said. Dawson looked frightened.

"Nancy," Hudson said. "If you don't want to, that's okay."

Dawson stirred and adjusted her furs, bringing the infant out on her lap. Adam was swaddled in rags and blankets. The nervous mother wrapped the infant in a thick hide to protect it from the chilly night air. The kones shuffled nervously and whispered loudly. Dawson, holding the newborn in her arms, stood and tentatively approached the first row of kneeling giants. Shannon rose to his feet and moved protectively behind Dawson.

"What's the deal, Lieutenant?" Dawson asked.

"You got me. They must not get to see many babies," Buccari replied. "Stop there, Nancy. Nash, bring them one at a time."

Dawson halted next to the crackling fire. Kateos's great bulk crawled forward. Dawson tilted her shoulders so the light of the fire could illuminate the baby's round, pink face. Firelight danced from Adam's clear blue eyes. His tiny lips, moist from suckling, cast flame-colored highlights. A small fist burst free from the furs and wandered with purpose into the infant's sucking mouth. Kateos stared, unblinking, enraptured at life in unbelievable miniature. Tears streamed down her face, falling against her helmet visor. Shannon looked nervously at Dawson, but the kone' s emotional reaction had banished the mother's fears.

* * *

"What transpires?" Craag asked brusquely.

"They examine the long-legs whelp," Braan replied. "Most peculiar."

Cliff dwellers, hidden by darkness, had entered the long-legs' campsite and were peering at the spectacle, black eyes scintillating in the firelight.

"The long-legs trust the bear people," Craag said. "Perhaps the legends are wrong, and the bear people are not evil."

"Perhaps," Braan replied. "Perhaps it is only cliff dwellers that bear people kill."

"Is it not possible the long-legs will become allies with the bear people—against us?"

Braan rudely said nothing, his right as leader. Braan endeavored to catch the attention of Brave-crazy-one.

* * *

MacArthur knew the cliff dwellers did not like the kones, so when he saw Captain and X.O. out of the corner of his eye he was surprised. He jumped to his feet and started to shout, but instinctively bit back his words. The cliff dwellers signed danger. The kones noticed MacArthur' s abrupt movements and watched him alertly. MacArthur looked away from the surreptitious hunters, stretching and yawning, attempting to ease the unsettling effects of his initial actions.

"Well," he said, too loudly. "I'm going down to the lake and haul in some shoreline. Lieutenant! Sarge! When you get a minute, I'll be needing your help." Turning quickly, he set off down the gentle slope toward the dark lake, leaving the bemused humans looking at each other. The kones, captivated by the babies— Goldberg had brought Honey out to join Adam in the spotlight— lost interest in the disturbance.

In dim moonlight MacArthur made contact with the hunters approaching the cove beach. Together they walked across the narrow peninsula to the lake shore. Glittering stars and a haunting sliver of a moon sparkled from the velvet waters, and gentle waves lapped the rocky shore. A night creature hooted mournfully. As MacArthur' s eyes adapted, he detected other hunters moving wraithlike through the shadows.

Buccari and Shannon arrived. Under the insignificant light of the new moon Buccari rendered a formal greeting. Captain returnedher salutation and presented a parchment—a message from the elders. It was too dark to read; Buccari slipped it under her furs.

"Captain doesn't trust our new friends," Buccari said.

"The kones are the giants, the bear people in dweller mythology," said MacArthur. "The cliff dwellers are afraid of them."

"So am I," Shannon said.

"So should we all, if the dweller legends are true," Buccari said.

"Blasting the fleet into hyperlight wasn't a good start with us, either," Shannon said. "Do—"

A soft whistling caused Captain to turn abruptly. The hunter leader turned back to MacArthur and flashed adroit hand signals in the dim light. The cliff dweller leader had learned MacArthur' s sign language with ease and was as much teacher as student.

"Someone is coming. One of ours," MacArthur translated. A rustling noise marked the approach of a two-legged animal— Hudson.

"Did you put our friends to bed?" Buccari asked. "What was that all about?"

"Yeah, they're back in the tent. I'm not certain," Hudson replied.

"They act as if they've never seen children," Shannon said.

"I don't think they have," Hudson answered. "Kateos garbled something about konish children being taken from their mothers as infants, but she wasn't making much sense. They're very emotional. What's going on?"

"Captain delivered a letter," answered Buccari. "Let's find some light and decipher it. I have a feeling that it's a warning to avoid the kones—as if we could."

"The cliff dwellers know something we don't," MacArthur said.

"The kones seem peaceful," Hudson said. "They treated me well."

"All we've met are scientists," Buccari said. "Watch what happens when the political or religious leaders get involved."

"Lieutenant, are these the Killers of Shaula?" Shannon asked.

"It's a big galaxy, Sergeant. It sure smells like it, but who knows?" Buccari said. "Enough for now. Nash, I want you to notify each member of the crew they are not to discuss cliff dwellers around the kones. Top Secret. Let's learn as much as we can, and be as nice as we can—but try not to tell them anything. We've got three days of diplomacy ahead of us. Don't blow it."

Back | Next
Framed