(continuing)
Wow… this encounter was much more significant than I anticipated. This strange creature from fantasyland was so much more; a savant, the likes of which I hadn’t seen in another being here. She seemed almost human! But then, had I imprinted her with my psyche?
Please, master, talk? Your thoughts are like gold half buried in sand, and all jumbled… I want to know you and your Truth!
She was really working that master angle, and I felt like anything but. I also felt like an ass for denying her anything - which was becoming a bad habit, but there were the implications to what she wanted. “Adjaha… I’m a pretty busy guy. I have a galaxy to explore in my quest for Truth. And I have responsibilities.” I looked around, and the sun had set some time ago, the sky turning turquoise along the horizon, and deep blue overhead, with stars twinkling. “I don’t mean to rush things, seeing as we’re having such a great bonding moment, but I have a ship waiting for me, and I’ve been gone a few days now. I bet the Captain is half out of his mind, seeing as… how I’ve been ignoring him…” And that was something else I had to look forward to, a good chewing out from my Captain. And that word… I realized with a start that I’d forgotten another Captain entirely - the Korvax trapped in his disconnected cylinder! He was stuck in limbo in my suit cargo storage. I had to… install him!
Adjaha’s expression became more and more despondent, until finally, I swore she looked ready to cry. And then to add insult to inquiry, Seri spoke up.
“Nijol… I was wondering… if we could take Adjaha with us… please? She wants to learn… and you are the best teacher!”
That’s what I was thinking she was thinking, and what I was afraid of. I groaned, “Honey… could we go back to discussing Resh, Alish and Gweth coming with us? I could make room for them.”
She got up to embrace herself to Adjaha, wrapping her arms around her neck, and the Dragon was right there in my face, still holding my arm. And then came the snuffling, the one thing I couldn’t stand. And… oh for the love of God… Adjaha too, a big tear splashing down her cheek. This wasn’t even fair, and then Seri began blubbering, “P-please, ma mmmaresh… she is my only other true friend, and… I would miss her so terribly… the ache… all the lessons she is wishing to know… if you would just…” Thank heaven, Adjaha had enough sense to release my arm, which was beginning to worry me.
I held up my hands, as if pleading for understanding from these two, my mouth agape, but without a clue what to say. It didn’t help at all when Adjaha began to whimper and moan, sounding like a giant child crying. And all the while staring at me as if I’d sent her to bed without oxen. Oh Lord, the pressure… “Girls… listen… there are lots of… issues with something like this. How do I even get her to the Infineon! And where the hell-eck - heck would she stay! Seri… Adjahaaah…” I felt like some kind of monster for trying to be reasonable with these two heartbroken girls. And I understood then completely that Adjaha was just a teenager, with all the fragile emotions of a young girl. And my one true weakness was being used against me relentlessly, whether they meant to or not. If the pressure wasn’t bad enough already, Seri began bawling, and the Dragon with her. Ohh, God in Space…
“Okay, wait wait wait… please, just… give me a minute to sort out what’s left of my thoughts you two haven’t washed away in a flood of tears.” When they finally calmed down, somewhat, I put my hands to my face, trying to come up with some line of reasoning so they might possibly, maybe, understand the issues involved with a matter like this. “Okay… first of all, Adjaha, how much room do you need to be comfortable? Have you slept in a cave before? That would be all you have to live with as long as you were on board.”
Her eyes popped open wide at that, and she gazed at Seri uncertainly. Well… yes, but… I… it would be okay, as long as I have the two of you to keep me company.
That didn’t sound the least bit convincing - assuming the flavor of her thoughts were like speech. But she was expressing my own fears. “Listen, you two… she’s a being that’s used to wide open spaces with lots of sky to fly in. Has it occurred to you that Adjaha might become unhealthy from all this…?” Aaand they began crying again, and I clapped my hand over my eyes. “Good grief… and I haven’t even thought of where she could stay. But okay, okay… I’m just thinking this through with you two, hoping more than one of us understands what’s involved with this… mess.” When they finally quit sobbing at me, which didn’t leave me feeling much relief, I moved on to the next subject of consequence. “So…how much food do you need a day?”
Seri clutched herself tightly to her friend, afraid I might be worming my way out of any such deal, and heck if I wasn’t. Adjaha rolled her head around slightly, trying not to jostle her friend. Well… a lot. Like… a bull or large beast every two, three days, maybe four. If I’m inactive for some time, maybe six, seven…?
“But… shhharim,” Seri blubbered, “you can afford it… you can afford anything!”
“I know honey, but… there’s the storage for it. I’d have to…” That resulted in more weeping and I dropped that angle immediately. Besides, I really could afford room for more food… in her case, a lot more food, but hey, the Infineon was almost a Dreadnaught Class. There was room for it. Darn it. But the Dragon herself was another matter… a freaking Dragon? The thought made me shiver at what was coming from them as I pondered this. “Okay, okay… so… what about… after you digest… how much do you… leave? You know… poop?” A disturbing image entered my mind of the Dragon lifting her tail, aaand… oh my Lord…
Would you please not be so disgusting! Adjaha shot me a look of sheer loathing, while Seri could only stare at us, bewildered. I completely forgot that my mind was more or less an open book to the Dragon. And for some idiotic reason, the stress and absurdity of the whole thing had me giggling, then chuckling, as much as I tried to contain it. Which I couldn’t.
It’s not funny! she blared indignantly, but even as she sent it to me, she began to chuckle herself. Okay, maybe it is…
And that busted the gates of tension wide open as I laughed out loud, Adjaha roared, and even Seri enjoyed a laugh no one could hear. As I wiped my face afterward, I felt a bit better about the whole thing. A little. “Ohh… that did feel pretty good,” I remarked, but that still left me holding a very uncomfortable bag of troubles. So far, only one of three issues could be reasonably resolved, and that was just the three off the top of my head. She couldn’t stretch her wings in space, she couldn’t sleep in space, and she couldn’t relieve herself in space - okay, four issues. And once again, two pairs of eyes were fixed on me balefully. Oh Lordy Lordy Lordy… at least Adjaha wasn’t still latched onto my arm. I feared she might crush it without meaning to.
I took a deep breath, hoping my mouth found some instant wisdom to speak one more time, because I couldn’t take any more crying girls. Even if one of them was a freaking Dragon. And honestly, I was growing rather fond of her, and it hurt to see her so sad. “Well… okay. Adjaha, you have a general idea that this might be some hardship on you, right? And honey, don’t make it any harder than it already is, please? I don’t like it any more than you do.” Seri continued to wrap herself around that great charcoal neck as both of them gazed at me with way too much emotion. Oh Lordy Lordy Lordy…
I… do, Nijol, but… I think it’ll be worth it in the long run. I… need you, and your wisdom. Just this small taste of your intellect… it’s so exciting, and fun!
I was afraid of that, and the Dragon evidently caught my misgivings as she snuffled rather loudly. Fun… well, she was a teenager, so to speak, so everything in her young world was centered on having satisfaction, excitement and fun. Fun, fun, fun… what fun would this be, though? Especially for her? And how many Vy’keen will be willing to put up with Dragon clean-up detail? Good grief… fun fun fun, right? At least one other issue might possibly be resolved, as it occurred to me that every landing area was only qualified to support six ships because of weight issues. The Infineon had nine pads, so I could arrange it so one corner of the bay could be reserved for… the ship’s Dragon. I had to chuckle at that, and even Adjaha shared a little laugh with me, fortunately a tolerable one. Space, she could get loud.
I’m sorry, Nijol. I know you’re thinking hard for my sake.
I had to chuckle again, rubbing the back of my head. “Hard is such a mild word for it, and I have a feeling I have a marriage riding on this decision,” I muttered. To my chagrin, they both looked hopeful, and Seri said something to the Dragon which had them both chuckling. I pointed an accusing finger at them, grumbling in mock irritation, somewhat. “Alright now, you two, no ganging up on the Traveler, okay? I have a hard enough time remaining sane in this crazy universe.” While Seri relented, she bore the smug look of a spouse which had won an argument. Darn her.
I hoped they took this well, because there was no other way around it. “Sooo… this will take some time to sort out, and I can’t guarantee that it will work out. But I will try my darndest to figure out how to get you on board the Infineon, and… see if I can give you a remotely comfortable life there. Because…” I got up and stroked her jowls fondly. “I do want this myself. I want to get to know you, and all your people, but especially you. You’re simply amazing.”
She began purring, a deep rumble that went all through me, and she nuzzled me back. Thank you… THANK you! Oh Nijol, I love you, for all you’re trying to do for me. I’m sorry for how I reacted at our meeting. If only I had known that you weren’t taking advantage of Seri… but now, we have all the time in the universe to get to know each other.
Seri seemed a bit unsure of what to make of our affectionate talk, and hadn’t I made a fuss at them myself? I chuckled as I continued to fondle the scaly skin of her neck, “Well, let’s not get all hearts and flowers with each other yet—” I was interrupted with a long swipe of her tongue across my cheek, and… it really wasn’t bad this time. “Or… that either. It’s not a done deal. Besides, I should get an okay from your people—”
And that brought me up short. Her people… I had no idea what sort of social structure they had, if they would consider this Dragon-napping, or seduction or something, if any of them cared or it was a mortal offense… anything. She looked to me curiously as I drew back, asking her, “Adjaha… your people, will they be okay if you leave with us?” And then a dreadful thought struck me: what if she wanted to bring along a boyfriend? Oh no, no, no no no please no…
Oh, who cares about them? And don’t worry about that! I’m picky about suitors. She chuckled at my consternation, apparently able to discern those thoughts clearly enough.
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. “Adjaha… you wouldn’t be… running away from home, would you? No one would be upset?”
Oh, no! I’m actually supposed to go roaming around… as part of my education. She rolled onto her back, nuzzling at my leg with what I swore were puppy dog eyes. If Seri did that, I’d begin to wonder.
I stroked under her chin, which had her tail pounding the ground, and a very happy purr rumbling from her long throat. Well, at least I had one quick avenue to soothing the savage Dragon if it came to that. I hoped. “Adjaha, I want to be on good terms with your people. Roaming is one thing, but this is leaving… essentially for good. At least a good long while. I have no idea how long this quest of mine will take. Are you suure this will be okay with your elders?”
She gazed up at me happily, looking like she was ready to pack. Oh, it will give those Dull Scales something new to think about. I’ll be the first Dragon in Space!
I groaned in exasperation, “Girl, that’s not an answer.” This was getting silly. I grabbed her by the horns, locking eyes with her, which for her was inverted as she was still on her back. “Adjaha… look, Dragon to Traveler, are you being honest with me?”
She seemed to swoon, and look a bit woozy. Ohh… Nijol…
I let her go promptly, wiping my hands in a fluster. “Please… tell me I didn’t just awaken some Dragon erogenous zone…”
Seri was more than a little curious of what was transpiring, or more like suspicious. “And, what is that—?”
“Nothing!” She didn’t seem to buy it. Maybe if I hadn’t yelled.
Fortunately, Adjaha got to her feet, shaking herself out, a lot. Sorry… I just… got a little dizzy from… the perspective. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
I couldn’t believe what I just “heard.” How much of my psyche had this girl absorbed! I jumped as Seri draped her arms around my neck quite possessively. “The… < ticket? > And what is that?” she asked inquisitively, seeming to be drawing conclusions I had to squash.
“It’s just a saying. Now… look, please, can we get to saying our goodbyes? We really have to get going.”
“Going?” the pair said together, united once more against the mean old Traveler meany, which might be a relief for me if true.
But… how long?
That was very short, and felt very sad, and her expression made it clear. “You didn’t hear me say it might be a couple of weeks?” They both looked crushed at my question, and then it struck me. “Oh, of course you didn’t, because this conversation went all over the place, and I couldn’t focus on one thought for half a minute.”
Seri began blubbering again, and attached herself around Adjaha’s neck. “Buh… but Nijol… fourteen days? Could it not be… less?”
I wasn’t sure if the painful stuff was any relief after all. “Ohh… honey, yes it could, but… I’ve never had to accommodate a freaking Dragon before. I haven’t even thought about… a litter box - good grief I can’t believe I said that, and I’m not even sure what she would need, or want. We may have to come back and negotiate this stuff with her. And her elders,” I added pointedly, just in case. “I’m just a fighter jock, a Traveler. I’m not a god who knows everything. Look, girls…”
And then they began crying again, and I felt like a perfect ass all over again for daring to be reasonable. Adjaha nosed into me, whimpering and nuzzling me, dragging a weeping Vixen along with her. Nijol… I’m sorry. I suppose it’s my fault for wanting to talk with you so much. But… you are so new, and special, and… cool! I will miss you and Seri every minute!
They both began bawling, which for Adjaha was rather loud. I endured it, stroking her neck too. I guess I was getting emotional myself, and that’s just the sap that I am. It was crazy, but I felt an amazing rapport with this being after just a few hours. She was such an incredible being, such a charmer, even girlish, and very easy to like. She whined as she struggled to think coherently through her sorrow. Please… speak. I want to know what you’re thinking… oh, I can’t think straight either! Oh Nijol… Seri… this is going to hurt! What if you don’t come baaack!
I had to collect myself - hell, I had to assert myself, and get their emotions under some semblance of control. “Girls, listen… it’s just going to be a few days. I’ll sort out what I can with Captain Grondo, and then I’ll fly back with… a rented Hauler? Or I’ll buy one, and—”
Adjaha jerked out of Seri’s embrace suddenly, looking behind us. Vy’keen!
“What?” I exclaimed. “How—?” But before I could form anything resembling a question, Adjaha lunged around us, bumping Seri over, and bolted madly for the woods.
Please don’t let them know I’m here! I don’t want to kill anyone! But they will kill me for some stupid glory! And keep Seri safe!
“Right, right,” I murmured vacantly, helping my wife up, and hugged her close. “How in the world… why in the world! Why is this damned life so stupid!”
Seri clung to me, shaking as if they were coming after her, and in that moment I worried that they might. “Nijol, what do we do!”
“I’ll deal with it,” I told her, deciding to try welcoming tactics first, assuming Adjaha was right and she hadn’t spooked herself. But just then, a four ship of Fighters appeared in the distance, and apparently picked us up because they began to head right for us. This was nervewracking, as I now had two girls to protect with my life if need be. But following through on my decision, I began jovially waving.
Seri was panicked, grabbing for my arm. “What are you doing - they will see us, san axmaqsan!”
I jerked free and resumed waving, smiling too in case they trained a camera on us. “They already saw us, and I’m acting like an Interloper-Traveler who has nothing to hide. You don’t have to be nice to them, but I’d suggest you try to at least act civil. They might just leave us alone. Stay calm, sweetheart. I won’t let anything happen to either one of you. I swear on my life.”
She fell silent at least, leaning into me hard, but she couldn’t stop shivering, and her hair stood on end. This must be like her first experience of them, when she was captured and enslaved, the poor thing. She clearly didn’t like it when the ships landed a short distance off in a little hollow large enough to hold them all. Shortly, the four pilots appeared, tromping towards us, but I misjudged or flat out missed how many ships there were, as another six showed behind them. I murmured as I hugged my wife to me, “Ohh, my God, please make them happy with what felgercarb I tell them.”
I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that it was Grabas leading them, though I only recognized three of the cohorts with him. Surely this would go well if he was in charge. Right? He came up, making a fist at me. “Friend Nijol… and Seri.” She gave a noisy sniff which I hoped was involuntary, still shaking like a leaf.
“Grabas, old buddy!” I said, trying to give his arm a hard slap, but I doubt he gave it much notice. “So what’s the occasion?”
“You went for a walk, but were gone all day. Resh told us your ship was still there. We were worried, and we thought we should make sure you were all right.” He looked to Seri, who I could feel wither into me. “Your mate is afraid?”
“Well, we were getting cozy, wanting one last—” She cut me off with a short growl. “Uh… well, you know, Day of Delight.” She growled again, and I murmured in her ear, “Play nice with the nice Vy’keen, and they will leave nicely, dear.” She couldn’t restrain a whimper. I had seen her toy with people before… was she too worried for Adjaha, herself? Too caught up in that unpleasant memory? Regardless, she had to get hold of her emotions, and I rubbed her arm softly.
One of the brutes looked beyond us to the grass, which the moon and nearby planet illuminated in a most inconvenient clarity, revealing a lot of messed up grass. “You, and her, did that?” he asked in disbelief.
“Well… Seri brings out the beast in me,” I replied with a lopsided grin.
She spoke, and my stomach lurched for what she might say. “Why do you bother us? We would have signaled if we were in trouble. Nijol is at least as strong as a few of you together. You know how he faced that devil, twice, when you…” I held my breath, hoping an insult wasn’t coming. “You know this. He saved some of you. You can see, there is no cause for worry. Can we please have our privacy?”
She hugged herself to me, and I whispered to her, “Nice, dear, very nice. Keep playing nice, and we’re in the clear.”
Grabas nodded, motioning to the troop. “Enough. Let’s leave them to enjoy the night.”
Unfortunately, a few others came up and began bickering. I knew that ships sensors weren’t the best, but when ten of them were used, they had a much better chance of locating anomalies like Interloper-Travelers, or large beasts. “It is that smell!” one of them barked. Good grief, they could smell her?
“Uhh… Seri’s in… blood crotch,” I muttered, to which she gave an outraged bark.
Grabas came to me, looking me over, a stern expression on his face. “There is nothing else here, besides you two? Nothing to tell me?”
I hoped he was asking for our sake, or perhaps for a terrified being off in the woods somewhere. I shook my head, answering with as much honesty as I could muster, “No. You only see us two here.”
He nodded, turning to leave. “We’ll go now.”
One of the bigger ones came storming up to him. “Cho va, cho va cho va CHO VA! What stupid talk is this! There is a Great Beast here! My sensor saw it!” Cha and vo were yes and no. When they were mixed up like that, it meant someone was mad at being yanked around, and I had a good idea that Great Beast was significant. Four, and then six of the others began a hunting chant, waving weapons, and Grabas gave me a look that told me I was on my own.
“Ohh… son of a bitch,” I muttered, keeping my hand ready, and not for a Puncher. “Look, why don’t you all go—?”
“Why do you hide a Great Beast!” another shouted.
I hoped, prayed, that diplomacy would work, along with a good deal of money. “Listen to me! That great beast you hunt is an intelligent being, even smarter than me! I will buy all their freedom, and their safety! I will give you five million units! For all of them! Safety for all of them! All! For five million! Do you understand me?”
A few of the brutes were dumbfounded, but either half of them had no clue of the substantial wealth I was offering, or their hunting glory was worth more than any amount of money. “Why don’t you go back to your lawful space you cubling!” one of them bellowed, and I remembered that calling me a cub was an insult as well as a challenge. “You protect that Beast, we hunt you and your fleabag too!”
“You motherfff…” I began, but decided to let my Multitool do the talking for me. I whipped it out and fired a Plasma Grenade at a hilltop just close enough for them to feel the blast and get pelted with debris. They cried out at the ear-stinging explosion. Seri gave a frightened yelp too, and we all shielded ourselves from a hail of dirt clods. They looked behind them to see the hilltop blasted to a hole, and in a nearby log, a critter was squealing in terror. “This is my weakest weapon! But it will still destroy all of you, foe and friend! Now, maybe I should ask each of you to give me and my wife you insulted fifty thousand units to let you live!” I let that sink in for a moment, and they were in some consternation over my bravado. “Or, I could make you all rich Vy’keen. What will it be?”
A rather excited discussion among them commenced, which I hoped wasn’t heated. Grabas tried to reason with them, and might even be winning them over. I kept my pistol aimed at the ground but in their general direction, to let them know I was ready for a fight if they wanted one, though with the Pulse Splitter selected. I murmured to Seri, “Stay behind me, just in case.”
She was already there, whimpering nervously, “Be untouchable, sevgilim.”
I could sense her cringe as Grabas came up to me, his friends still talking things over with the others. “My boots will fight for you, but I think the others like their blood staying inside them, with a good deal of money with it. But… your friend, their kind are prized by all as trophies. The others will talk, I can’t stop that. How much would you be willing to give… all of us, in the system?”
Seri gasped in shock, and I was a bit taken aback myself. Pay off a whole system of Pirates? But what choice did I have except to bribe every single one of them? I asked uncertainly, “Well… how much would be fair?”
He shrugged, looking genuinely pained. “You saved our lives! I won’t steal from you, believe me on this. We owe you, but we are only twelve, including K’tarsgh, if he lives. Would…” He heaved a sigh, finishing, “Would a hundred million be too hard?”
I heaved a sigh of my own, in relief, though Seri was still grumbling over paying these ruffians anything. I feared it could be as much as a billion. “To protect beings like these… friends? No, not too hard. Listen though, I don’t think I can give you much now. In fact, I’m afraid I might have a security lock on my account from the three million I gave you.”
“I’m sure of it!” he chuckled.
“Okay then. If I can’t come up with all the money at once, what else would you want in resources?”
He shrugged. “Gold, platinum, cadmium, chromatic metal, good machine parts… almost anything of value like that. Our boots will trust you, speak for you, and I run the system unless K’tarsgh lives. On your promise alone, I will message all Pirates in the region that an easily angered and dangerous Interloper-Pirate now owns all the Great Beasts. They will hear this seriously, with so much wealth to give it metal.”
“I promise,” I told him earnestly. “And let them also know that this dread Pirate Nijol is making a home among the Beasts.” This made Seri quiver.
“Truly! Well, that is some teeth. If you do, you must visit and speak with me and my men of your Walk. I mentioned it, and they are curious of it.”
“I promise, I will.” I took his hand and shook it hard. “And, deal. Don’t spend it all on wine and those women.”
“Maybe once or twice!” He enjoyed a good laugh at that, then he turned to go. “Come, you dogs! Within some days, you can all sit in a pile of wealth!” It stung a bit at how much like K’tarsgh he sounded just then. At least I knew he still lived.
Seri bristled at that. “Those… hescherat!” she growled. “They deserve nothing.”
I sought her hand, clasping it warmly as the Fighters lifted one by one into the air. “Maybe. But I know what real treasure is.” My eyes twinkled in hers, until they closed as we kissed.
I jumped as she grabbed me in a ferocious hug, a squeal of joy sounding in my ear. “Ohh, Nijol! Nijol, you… incredible warrior, and diplomat in one man! Oh, ma sharim… mənim əziz ərim!”
“I hope that means you like me, and I did good.” It felt good as she laughed for the first time seemingly in hours. Then a timid thought entered my head.
Nijol… did you just… spend a fortune to ransom ALL my people?
I had no idea where that came from, perhaps vaguely, so I motioned in the direction she tore off to. “Yes! And I trust them. I believe this means peace in our time for your people.” I choked at that, as some distant memory buried in the dark told me those words spoke of betrayal, but… surely not. If they crossed me in this yokt’nka, so much as one of them, I swear I’d kill them.
Shortly, a great thudding in the forest signaled Adjaha’s approach, and before I caught sight of her, I could hear her crying again. She burst through the foliage and practically fell at our feet, whining and sobbing, and clutched my leg as she tried to form coherent thoughts. It’s so hard… my heart… my stomach… I can hardly hold it all in! My people… me… finally, really safe! Oh, you incredible hero! We owe you more than we can ever give back! Our souls… we’ll live in peace and quiet, finally! I must tell them! Tell them what a great Human did for all of us! Oh Nijol, I love you!
I was afraid that she was going to pull me down, and I was also afraid of how my wife would react, but she gave me a wry grin. “Well… I suppose… one day of affection from my friend won’t harm me.” I had a feeling that there was an unspoken much at the end, though.