Star Trader Update .014

014.01

Attalla sat at the table in the mess with his head in his hands. When I placed the cup of tea in front of him he flinched at the sound.

“Sorry,” I said. He had already told me that his head felt like a cracked egg this morning after being tranked last night.

Chee lay curled in her pouch on the table. She came out and approached Attalla for a pet or a bit of breakfast.

He pointed to her pouch without even looking up. “No, Chee. Pouch.”

The little mahserg turned around and returned to her pouch. I took pity on her and slipped her a grape.

“How much tranquilizer did Sam have in that dart?” he said into his hands.

“He loads them according to weight,” I answered plaintively.

“Just for the record, Sam, I weigh two hundred pounds, not five,” Attalla announced to the ceiling.

“Duly noted,” Sam responded.

Attalla lifted his cup and took a sip of his tea.

“Can I get you anything else?” I asked. I felt terrible about what had happened last night. Not only was it rude, it had been a terribly disappointing ending to what could have been an incredible evening.

“No thanks,” he replied. “As soon as I get through this and can see without squinting my eyes I have to reschedule the meeting with the iisadsu and the Oacoco.

I thought it might be best to try and get past last night to concentrate on something else for a while.

“What does their treaty consist of, or can you talk about it?” I asked.

Attalla seemed to forget his headache and immediately shifted into ambassador mode.

“The iisadsu and the Oacoco are the two sentient beings on the planet. They both depend on the bounty of their ocean for their sustenance. The iisadsu fish by dipping nets into the sea. The Oacoco live in the ocean and fish with spears, a lot less efficient.” Attalla paused to take another sip of his tea. He reached out and stroked Chee on the head in apology for the earlier order to remove herself from his presence.

“The iisadsu used to be a monogamous species – this kept the population in check. In the last few years something affected the balance of the species and far more female children were born then in any known recorded time. This development led the males of the species to alter their behavior and turn to polygamy, in turn, the population exploded. They began to over fish the ocean and fight with the Oacoco when they encountered them at sea. Luckily no one has been killed yet.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine the iisadsu or the Oacoco having the means to report treaty violations to Attalla’s people.

“We have our ways. Every planet in our solar system is monitored in some way, electronically or with counselors usually.”

He got up and went to the prep unit. “Muffin, bran, warm,” he ordered. Moby popped out a muffin in record time. I think my crew members were all feeling guilt for the treatment the ambassador received from their shipmate.

“Thanks, Moby,” Attalla said.

“My pleasure,” Moby said.

“So, you are negotiating a treaty between the iisadsu and the Oacoco?” I asked.

“No, I am here to negotiate a treaty with the iisadsu that will move some of them to another planet in the system and put a limit on their reproduction here on this planet.”

“You can do that?” I asked in disbelief. I didn’t think anyone had the authority to limit another species procreation, but then I knew nothing about negotiation.

“I can try,” Attalla said.

*****

014.02

The oacoco, astride their phills, had herded the small schools of fish into a giant pod to make it easier for them to spear and net. The butoo were small, but tasty and a basic food group for the oacoco.

Tt’i was allowed to come on this expedition only because his father, the leader of the oacoco, needed the extra hands. The butoo were becoming difficult to locate in large pods. The iisadsu had fished them to a dangerously low point. The last time they pushed a large pod like this together the iisadsu ambushed them taking the majority of the catch and injuring two oacoco in the process.

E’ak had his people gather this pod in the shoals off the coast where there was less danger of another ambush. It was far from the iisadsu cliff nesting grounds.

Tt’i pulled back on his phills’ dorsal fin and then to the right to get the mount’s attention on a group of butoo that had escaped the pod. The phills’ tail snapped and it shot toward the fish to drive them back into the pod. Tt’i’s father saw the action and waved his approval to his young son.

Tt’i pushed the flat grey/green leaves of the sea plant that grew symbiotically on his head away from his smiling face. He basked in his father’s praise. He continued to intently search the pod for stragglers and butoo trying to escape from the net that the adult oacoco were placing around the pod. Soon it would start to close slowly trapping the fish inside. The oacoco would feast this day.

Tt’i’s mount lurched forward and grabbed one wayward butoo as it passed. The phills greedily gulped it down. Driving butoo was hard work and the phills had been at it all day. Tt’i couldn’t begrudge his mount a quick snack as long as he kept his four eyes on the pod. He reached down and patted the phills’ iridescent silver and purple striped neck. Tt’i snatched another stray butoo as it passed, bit the succulent middle out of it with his double set of serrated teeth, and passed the remainder on to his phills.

E’ak whistled and clicked his instructions to his men as the net started to close around the pod.

Tt’i was the first to see the iisadsu’s nets. They were dipping into the middle of the catch, yanking out huge nets full of butoo. The young oacoco whistled to the others and frantically pointed. He pulled his spear from its sheath at the phills’ side with the full intention of going after the raiding iisadsu. His father whistled to him to stay put as he and the other older men rose to the surface to defend their catch.

E’ak led his men to the surface. They threw their spears and when those were exhausted they tossed their nets at their flying foes. E’ak and his brother, Ch’t, brought down two of the iisadsu in their nets. They were so intent on drowning their enemies that they did not see the mob above them.

One by one Tt’i witnessed the killing of his brethren. The oacoco were jerked from the water, their phills left drifting just below the surface frantically searching for their riders.

Tt’i saw his father and uncle attacked from above. He left his phills and propelled himself with wide sweeps of his massive tail as quickly as possible to their aid. He was too late. What he saw when he surfaced made him sick.

The iisadsu had flung the lighter weight oacoco up above the sandy beach and into the rocks. Those that had not died from the fall to the rocks were valiantly trying to make it back to the water, scraping their delicate skin against the rocks, leaving trails of blood behind. They struggled to breathe through gills that were made for water breathers, not air breathers.

Tt’i could see that his father was one of the men killed instantly on the rocks, but his uncle was close to making it back to the beach and safety in the water. But, it was not to be. An iisadsu came out of the sky and impaled Ch’t with one of the oacoco’s own spears.

Tt’i screamed out in rage. A spear hit the surface barely missing him. He turned in the water to see not less than a half dozen iisadsu headed toward him. He dove below dodging other spears. He was hit in the side of the head by a rock that was thrown from above and momentarily drifted as he felt himself losing consciousness. His phills came to his aid and snagged his arm in its teeth in order to drag him lower out of harm’s way.

Tt’i shook off the blow. When he looked toward the surface he could not see any of his brethren. They were all gone – all dead. He was the only survivor from the fishing party. The pod was disseminating into small schools being scooped up by the hungry iisadsu in their nets.

He turned his phills and started the long swim back to his home. He would have dire news to tell the council upon his return.

*****

014.03

“NO!” Attalla shouted as he came bolt upright out of his chair like he had been hit by a malfit prod. “Oh, No,” he ranted as he started to pace the galley floor.

I couldn’t imagine what was going on. Just a moment ago he was sitting with his head in his hands trying to keep it from falling off from the headache he had after being accidentally tranked last night. Now he seemed to be raving against some inner demon. Was he having an allergic reaction to the bran muffin?

“Attalla,” I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder to stop his pacing, “What is it?” I soothed.

He shook off my hand and continued to pace.

 “By all that is holy, No! no, no, no...”

He collapsed back into his chair in tears. “Please, stop…”

He was weeping uncontrollably.

I squatted down in front of him and took his head in my hands. I lifted his face up toward me and wiped the hair from his eyes. His duel colored eyes contained such pain.

“What is it, Attalla? Tell me.”

Chee, who had coward fearfully in her pouch as her master ranted and raved now came out and gently wrapped her tiny body over his shoulder and around his neck in an effort to comfort him.

“It’s the iisadsu. They just killed an oacoco fishing party. Ea’k, my contact, was among them.”

I wiped the tears off his cheek with my thumb. “You’re telepathic,” I said matter-of-factly.

He nodded. “I don’t really need the translator,” he confessed.

“Your abilities must be very strong to sense something on the planet’s surface from here,” I said in admiration.

“I have to be close to the person to get this kind of range,” he said and then let out an exhausted sigh.

He must have known Ea’k for years. He must have been a close friend. And, he had just felt him die.

“I’m sorry.” It was such a small thing to say compared to what he had just gone through, but it was what came out.

Attalla stood up and straightened his vest. “I need to go to my cabin and see if I can link up with someone from the oacoco council. Ea’k has a son. If he was not killed, perhaps I can contact him.”

“Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.” I squeezed his arm.

“Don’t be angry with me,” Attalla said.

“Why would I be angry?” I asked in true confusion.

“I kept my powers from you. I wanted our relationship to be as normal as possible. I can’t help what I am. I try to stay out of the heads of the people I am around as much as possible, but it isn’t easy. That’s why sex is so stimulating for our race, we not only have our own feelings, but we can hear how excited our partner is and it whips us into a frenzy,” he explained.

“You’re welcome in my head anytime, but I warn you, you might be very shocked by what you find there,” I said. I hadn’t been around many telepaths, but I had heard that some could read your entire mind, but some could only hear what you thought about. If he was reading my mind during my nightmares he had certainly covered that ability when he asked what upset me.

“I haven’t gotten close enough to you to know your secrets, 3su,” he said as he looked down into my eyes. “I will do my best to wait for you to tell me those.” He gave me a quick hug and a dimpled smile. He scooped Chee’s pouch off the table, hung it on his belt and dropped her gently into it. “I have to go.” He leaned down and kissed me. “We’ll talk more later.”

I ran my hand through the hair on his chest, “Go do your ambassador thing and let me know if I can help.”

He kissed me again, this time with a lot more passion. I felt it to my toes. I was going to have to find a way to help.

*****

014.04

Tt’i drifted in his bed of sea moss. Sleep just wouldn’t come to him tonight. His phills floated close by his side occasionally nudging him with its prickly nose and gurgling softly at his touch. The phills had itself anchored to a bit of sea kelp by the moss bed. It curled its silver and purple striped tail tighter around the kelp as the ebb and flow of the current drifted through. The spines of the tail imbedded themselves into the kelp more securely.

Tt’i kept seeing his father dead among the rocks, his uncle impaled by the iisadsu as he struggled toward the surf. He actually physically ached at the thought of their deaths. He curled up into a sitting position and ran his hands over glowing yellow eyes in a skin made up of neon blue and orange swirls.

If oacoco were human they would appear as highly tattooed beings. The young were bright blue with orange swirls down the length of their bodies finishing as stripes off their fanned tails. As the species aged they grew additional fins at what would have been the shoulder blades of a human. The color of these mimicked the body colors. They also grew long wispy feelers from the sides of their heads that served as additional sensors for the aging oacoco that not only grew extremely large, but also lost a bit of their excellent sight as they grew older. The elder of the species took to sheltering themselves in the cool pools of the rock overhangs along the coastline, hence needing the extra sensors to navigate the shoals. The oacoco were nothing short of vibrant. His species had no need to hide from anything the sea produced. They were the top predator.

Upon Tt’i’s return to the council today he informed them of the grizzly attack on the oacoco fishing party by the iisadsu. He showed them the event through the pictures he generated in his mind. Connected as one in a tight pod all could see the horror of the event. They were appalled, but were still trying to arrive at a plan of attack when Tt’i’s body urged him to seek refuge and rest.

He curled his long tail up and over him in his sea moss bed. It seemed hopeless. The iisadsu were of the sky, the oacoco of the sea. Unless the oacoco learned how to grow wings, they would never be able to defend themselves against their enemies. It was hopeless. The predator had become the prey.

*****

014.05

Hitak, the leader of the iisadsu, sat on a cliff overlooking his men as they feasted on the butoo they had dumped on the beach.

He took his portion and moved to the cliff to eat undisturbed. The iisadsu were a very territorial species. They fought over everything, food, females, cliff dwellings – everything.

Now that he was finished he sat with his legs dangling over the edge grooming his wing feathers. The feathers were soiled from the oils and blood of the catch and the battle with the oacoco. He filled his hand with the sandy dirt of the cliff and rubbed it into each pin feather until it was pristine and ready for flight.

He finished up the right wing and started on the left when his attention was drawn to several of his men fighting over the corpse of an oacoco. His eyesight was exceptional so he had no difficulty seeing the object of their argument – a shell necklace interspersed with bright red stones. He had to have it.

Hitak spread his enormous wings and launched himself off the cliff into a steep dive that took him headlong into the iisadsu holding the necklace. He struck the iisadus full force in the chest as he pulled up to land knocking the other man off his feet. He deftly snapped out his hand and caught hold of the necklace as his opponent fell. It was his as long as he could get off the ground before the others realized the precious object had changed hands.

He flapped his wings together in front of him to keep the other men away. Just because he was their leader didn’t mean he could seize such a prize without a fight, it just meant there would be fewer to challenge him. The fledglings would stand aside and let him have it.

Modar, the one he took it from regained his feet quickly and started toward Hitak. The two had fought before over far less than this lovely trinket. Modar picked up a stone from the beach and flung it at his leader. Hitak just barely sidestepped the projectile. He wouldn’t have a problem with Modar if it were just the two of them, but with the other men crowded around, his movements were limited.

The next stone caught him on the right shoulder and he almost dropped the necklace. Instead, he tossed it over his head for safe keeping and struck out with his wing defensively before using his strong legs to propel him up and off the ground into flight.

The third rock whizzed by his head missing it by mean inches. He was home free, or at least he thought so, when all of a sudden, the ambassador was in his head demanding an audience. He hated the man. He hated his interference in what the iisadsu leader thought was none of his business. He hated the intrusion in his mind at a time when he wanted to concentrate on keeping his prize and remaining unhurt.

The ambassador was relentless. He wanted to talk now. Now was not a good time for Hitak. He shook his head and did the one thing he knew from experience could rid his mind of the treaty seeker, he started to call his mate in full voice. It made no difference that she was too far away to hear him his thoughts were on her and not open to the ambassador. The intruder’s demands faded as Hitak continued to scream for his mate. Eventually the ambassador grew silent and was gone.

Hitak looked over his shoulder to see that Modar had not followed him. No doubt something else had caught his eye that was more easily obtained. Hitak smiled, he would return home to his mate with his prize and when he was ready he would allow the ambassador back in his head and they would talk on his terms.

*****

014.06

Attalla gently messaged his temples. He was able to contact Tt’i and set up a meeting with the oacoco. There was an island off the coast where he could sit on dry land and they could remain comfortably in the water offshore.

Prior to the attack, he originally intended to speak directly with the iisadus. Go to the source of the conflict and correct the problem. However, now there would need to be more than a correction, there needed to be retribution for the slaughter of the oacoco fishing party. The oacoco would settle for nothing less.

What was going to be a relocation treaty would now be a highly negotiated peace treaty with a punishment clause. Not one of his favorite things to do as an ambassador.

*****

014.07

One moment Attalla was sitting on the shore discussing the problem with the oacoco gathered in the shoals, the next he was being bombarded with rocks from the iisadus above.

The pod he flew down in from Ma-rye-a was too far away, back off the beach in a hollow over the ridge. He opted to sprint for the safety of the shoals. In years past he had established trust with the oacoco by subjecting himself to their elements. He had installed diving bells one huge breath’s distance from each other at gradually descending depths.

He shucked off his vest as he ran toward the water’s edge. Attalla’s mind was full of the oacoco screaming at the invading iisadsu. He took a hit to the shoulder with one large rock. It sent him spinning, but he managed to stay on his feet and running forward. He splashed through the shallows headed toward the first submerged glass diving bell. There were a series of domes filled with air, secured to the bottom by long ropes with weights. The first would not be a safe place to stay; it was too close to the surface and could be easily spotted by the iisadsu from the sky. In fact, they were currently aiming some of their stones at the first bell in hopes of thwarting his escape.

He was up to his waist now in the water and moving with difficulty. He took a huge breath and dove for the first dome. He could see it through the clear blue water of the shallows. Attalla hoped that the oacoco had refreshed the air for him since his last visit even though he had not asked since he had had no intention of using them this trip.

Whether they had refreshed it or not made no difference because it exploded with the impact of a heavy rock when he was within a few feet of it. He didn’t have enough breath to make it to the second bell. He propelled himself back to the surface. The iisadsu were waiting.

With mocking cries in their own language, they attacked. He was, as they say, a sitting duck. He dodged, but failed to evade the multiple projectiles. Several rocks struck him simultaneously. He didn’t even have time to think about the possibility of drowning. One huge boulder was dropped and he was knocked unconscious. He body slipped slowly beneath the surface.

*****

014.08

“Where are you?” I asked out loud in my frustration.

“I cannot raise him on his com link,” Ma-rye-a stated once again.

“Open a hail to the pod,” I ordered. “Transport Ma-rye-a to Ambassador Attalla,” I called.

The request was met with silence.

“Scan the beach,” I ordered.

“He is no longer on the beach,” Ma-rye-a answered.

“Can you locate him?” I asked. Attalla was way overdue reporting in as he said he would when he refused to take me down with him to listen to the oacoco’s demands for the treaty resolution. He said he would check in every four hours. It had been over six hours without a word. It wasn’t like him to not keep his word. He knew I would be worried. Even though he went to see the oacoco it was the iisadsu we were both worried about dealing with after the attack.

“I cannot get a fix on him, captain.” Ma-rye-a sounded as frustrated as I felt.

What could they do? He had my pod down on the planet.

Damn it, I would land Ma-rye-a on the planet’s surface if need be and shoot iisadsu like so many turkeys on Thanksgiving Day if I had to in order to find him.

*****

014.09

Attalla awoke with his head pounding. When he tried to raise up it throbbed as if it were being used as a ball in a field kicker match. He was in a cave lit by some sort of fluorescent moss on the cave walls. The light was just barely bright enough to see a couple of feet around him and in the places where the moss was thickest. There was a dark pool to his left.

Tt’i appeared instantly by his side at the pool’s edge. He reached out and took Attalla’s hand to comfort him. “No move,” he said in Attalla’s head. Attalla saw a picture appear of himself laying quietly on the rocky beach in the cave. It was difficult for the oacoco to put anything in words. It was much easier for them to ‘picture talk.’ That was why talking to them was such a slow process.

The advantages were that he could literally ‘see’ what Tt’i saw. He could see how badly his head was injured. It was lucky he was still alive.

He pictured Tt’i and him sharing a clam, a way of saying ‘thank you’ for his help. He had assumed the boy was the one who saved him since there didn’t seem to be anyone else around.

Tt’i returned the picture and added in another showing Attalla sleeping. He wanted him to rest some more.

How long had he been unconscious? The oacoco had no since of measured time. They only knew time as the ocean and the species in it flowed around them. He managed to lift his wrist with the comlink on it to eye level. It was blank. Waterlogged. Dead.

3su would be worried. He had to get back to the pod and up to the ship, but even the thought of moving right now was exhausting.

He’d rest for a little longer. 3su wouldn’t do anything rash.