Mapping Command 04: Insurrection

"Leah helped and I got some advice from Thalia as we worked. Is it okay?"

Lakshmi stepped closer and wrapped her human sized arms around him. (It is perfect. Both the bed and the feelings behind it)

Cole put his forehead against hers and they traded emotions for a few seconds.

(I am truly honored, Beloved ones. We will talk more in the day?)

"Come to bed," Cole said.

Lakshmi climbed into the bed and stretched. (It's perfect)

"Good," Leah said, snuggling against her. "Cole, get in here."

"I hear and obey." Cole climbed onto the bed and spooned against Leah who wiggled back against him.

(Now there is perfection and contentment)

A few seconds later Lakshmi was asleep, the other two weren't far behind her.

Leah had to be dreaming, there was no way she'd be in the very tops of the trees like this. It was night time and the nebula was overhead casting almost as much light as the smaller moon. She was alone up here, which was strange, there were voices all around her, like she was standing in a packed auditorium of people. She tried but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Hello?"

There was a brief silence and all of them started repeating a word she didn't understand. She tried to answer but couldn't make them hear her. She thought she'd memorize it but the syllables were too strange to stick in her mind.

By the time Leah opened her eyes, Lakshmi were already out of bed. Leah put her feet on the floor, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She got washed up, using the dreaded chemical wipes. This place would be perfect once they figured out how to get running water up here.

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail just and followed the smell of coffee out into the main building. There wasn't anyone here either and Leah walked outside. The sun was high enough in the sky that it left golden slices of light across the smooth surface of the platform. Cole and Marie were sitting in camp chairs and both had coffee cups in their hands. There was an eloisha perched on Cole's shoulder that was closely watching his every move.

"Is there any more of that?" Leah asked.

Marie pointed to a self-heating kettle. "In there. I wouldn't try putting sugar in it though."

Leah went to the kettle and there was a delighted sounding whistle from the Meeting roof. A second later someone thumped to a landing on either of her shoulders. Leah smiled at both eloisha and they chirped excitedly as she poured coffee. She sipped the black coffee and there were mournful hoots.

"I take it they've developed a taste for sugar?" she asked Cole as she bent down to kiss him. As she stood up, the eloisha on her shoulder made a noise that sounded almost like "sugar" and she smiled.

"More of an overriding obsession," he said. "Not so different from human kids. Lakshmi left a few hours ago, she'll be back tonight, after these guys are asleep."

"The Anek don't sound like they stay up at night," Marie said.

Cole shook his head. "Getting workers here before sunup was evidently a big deal. They're tied to the day-night cycle pretty firmly most of the time. The first council meeting we were at went later but after the sun went down there weren't any decisions made, just the social bonding stuff. They're amazed we can stay up all night if we need to."

"Doing more than one thing at once amazes them too," Leah said. "Lakshmi saw me eating while I was reading and listening to music and thought I was being funny. She was pretty surprised when she realized we could all do it."

"Interesting," Marie said. "I wonder if that's because their brains spend more time dealing with a more complex body or it has something to do with their touch-talk. I'm really looking forward to meeting her either way."

There were three pings from inside the Meeting as all three of their tablets registered incoming messages.

"I'll get mine," Cole said. The tablets chirped again and the eloisha glided after Cole, mimicking the sound over and over. Leah and Marie looked at each other and laughed.

Cole came out holding a tablet. "Henry is going to make an announcement in a few minutes, Maya is linking us in."

"I like her," Marie said. "I'm glad she wasn't the leak."

"She's got an amazingly long tongue," Leah said. "That's all I'm going to say."

"Ah-ha. So the rumors weren't just rumors."

"They were supposed to be, but Maya had her own ideas," Cole said.

Marie laughed. "I think I'm jealous."

The tablet announced an announcement from the Administrator's Office and Cole held up his tablet so they could all see.

"Hello neighbors, I hope everyone is doing well. I won't take much of your time but I think it's important I make a couple of comments about the news we all got yesterday. Hub is a long way off and any opinions we have won't change what's going on. We've got our own problems here and I know you're all doing your best at that. So, don't worry. We'll be okay, no matter what ends up happening back on Hub.

"If anyone missed it, there was also an order to detain any CMC personnel and impound their ships. Both of the shuttles left the planet before any action could be taken to impound them. This means that our CMC guests are stranded here and rather than lock them in a storeroom, I'll be asking them to continue working while they keep this office informed of their..."

The image froze and disappeared. The tablet announced that the link to the network had been lost and Leah and Cole looked at each other.

"I guess Gavin didn't want to listen to Owen," Leah said. "I bet he's making his move."

"Are you still going into the colony?" Marie asked.

Leah nodded. "It won't help Owen to disappear out here. You two were already sent out here to work, I'd stay. I want to see how the colony feels, what people's reactions to me are like. And we need to know what Gavin is doing."

The tablet announced there was a direct link from the colonial authority.

"Hey Owen, looks like tech trouble," Leah said.

"Looks like. Before I send Maya up to get you, what's your feeling about coming down today?"

"We were just talking about that, I'll see you in a little while."

"Okay. Gavin and a couple of other people were no-shows at their jobs this morning which didn't make the other workers very happy. From what I'm hearing down here, most of the colony is pretty sympathetic to you guys. You shouldn't have any problems."

"And I've got pretty good back up out here," Leah said, winking at Cole. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Owen looked up when his tablet pinged. The computer announced that network connectivity was restored a minute later. He tried to check his messages but the mail server still wasn't responding. A video window automatically opened, Gavin was standing in front of one of the farm buildings with several people behind him.

"People of the Arboreal Colony, you know me. I am speaking as the voice of the Culture of Resistance."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Owen said. He should have been expecting this.

"As part of our resistance against the current, illegal, government, we have been forced to restrict your network access. For that I apologize, but I have no choice until Administrator Lykos resigns and surrenders himself. You are all aware of his announcement last week; he was changing the status of this place, from colony to CMC scientific outpost. This means Lykos is subject to the same Order of Attainder as the rest of the CMC. We call for his immediate resignation and surrender to the lawful authority, The Culture of Resistance."

"The status change hasn't been acted on, dumbass," Owen muttered at the screen.

"Lykos has also failed to detain the CMC criminals currently on Arboreal. This is a direct violation of the Committee's charter for this colony, an offense that demands the immediate removal of the administrator in question."

Owen wondered if Gavin realized he's contradicted his first statement. Probably not, it looked like he was focused more on the drama of the moment rather than any sort of logic.

"Finally we are calling for the surrender of the CMC goons currently on Arboreal. You probably haven't been told, but Captain Jones assaulted two citizens of this colony, using a firearm. Do we really want to return to the bad old days of Earth? Murder in the streets and lawlessness? I don't think we do. Therefore I am also demanding the surrender, or capture, of the CMC officers. They will be tried by the same tribunal that will judge Owen Lykos.

"You might be wondering what the Culture of Resistance can do to make ourselves heard? We only have a few simple shotguns and slingshots, nothing like the assault rifles and automatic pistols being brandished by Ferrualt's CMC attack dogs. I'll tell you. Myself and my followers have taken over both of the farms in addition to the communications network. We are not cruel people, I personally abhor violence but something must be done to return a lawful government to power.

Therefore, no more food will be delivered until Owen Lykos and his goons have surrendered, no more communications with the courier ship will be allowed until these criminals are brought to justice. I regret the hardships this will cause on all of us, but the corrupt leadership here must be brought to its knees. Tell them how you feel, tell them you want your food back, your network with all its gifts of books and videos. If he won't listen to me, maybe he'll listen to all of you."

The window closed and the computer announced that the link to the communication network had been lost again. Owen pinched the bridge of his nose and sat back in his chair. They had more than enough One-Day bars to keep them going for a long time, but they were universally despised. One way or another, this would be over long before the colony ran out of food.

|4.0

After Leah had gone down to meet Maya and the quad, Marie got to work cataloging some plant samples she'd gathered. Cole set up a transmitter so they could keep in touch with Xerxes and Agamemnon who were still orbiting overhead. Then he went to put the finishing touches on the eloisha shelter. As it got warmer, Marie pulled her work table into the Meeting. They both had an audience for a while until the eloisha went off to whatever they did all day. Cole noticed there were a lot fewer of the annoying flying insects around and figured they were getting eaten. He didn't mind that at all.

The sun began to beat on Cole as well and he finally gave up and went in search of some shade. He hung the wet shirt outside and came in bare chested.

"It's great in here," Marie said from inside. Cole stepped in and was immediately cooler. The multiple arches captured some of the breezes moving up the trees and channeled it inside.

Cole drained a bottle of water and wiped his face. "I'll be glad when it cools off a little. I'm running out of shirts."

Marie looked up and smiled. "So go without one, I won't faint."

He was a lot more comfortable without it and sat in a camp chair and started catching up on his journal. Once the mess at Hub got cleared up, CMC would want to know what had been going on out here. Leah just made a video recording but Cole was more comfortable writing it out.

"Do you care if I listen to music?" Marie asked, coming back into the Meeting. He looked up and she smiled. She'd taken off her shirt and put her hair up. She'd also traded her usual shorts for a much shorter, gauzier pair.

"Music would be great. Feeling cooler?"

"Yes, thanks. You don't mind more skin?"

"Are you kidding?"

They were absorbed in what they were doing for the rest of the day. The eloisha showed up and Cole counted them. They'd been lucky so far but he knew they were bound to lose a few and knew he shouldn't do it but he couldn't help it. So far they'd been lucky. Leah had had eleven and he had beat her by one. He frowned and counted again. They had taken to using the Meeting as an indoor playground, it wasn't easy to count as they zipped around whistling in the dimness. Maybe they were moving too fast, but he kept getting twenty-four. Finally he noticed one that was smaller than the others. It was shyer as well, watching him but staying out of reach.

"What's going on?" Marie asked.

"I think we've got a guest here."

The other eloisha seemed to be calling to it. The newcomer stayed well out of reach but seemed happy otherwise.

Marie attached a small speaker to her tablet and started some music. Soon all of the eloisha were perched on the rafters above her, staring at the speaker.

"I think they like it," she said. One of them glided to the table and landed beside the speaker and whistled at it.

"What are you listening to? It sounds familiar."

"Music from the eighties, remember Oingo Boingo?"

"Vaguely, I was more of a metal and rap fan."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised? This one is called Dead Man's Party, I think it was in a movie."

More eloisha landed on the table. Soon they were perched on Marie and the speaker, staring at the holes where the sound emerged. The song ended and Marie stopped the player, curious what they'd do. Several nudged the speaker and there were chirps and whistles and scattered attempts to mimic the song. Cole got up and came over.

"You might have started a riot."

Marie laughed. "A little tiny one. Let's see what happens if I play it again."

The eloisha were immediately quiet, staring at the speaker. Cole smiled and set up his tablet to record the scene. The eloisha started whistling excitedly when the music stopped. Marie was playing with one of them and didn't restart the song right away.

One of the eloisha on top of the little speaker suddenly mimicked a horn stab from the song. The others began imitating different parts of the music.

"That's amazing," Cole said. "Try it again."

The eloisha were delighted and sang back at the speaker, imitating it perfectly in higher pitched voices. There was a noise from above them and Cole looked up into the rafters. The visiting eloisha was trying to whistle along but was making mistakes.

Marie let the next song start but the eloisha had lost interest and jumped off the table, swooping up into the rafters. Cole kept his eye on the newcomer, two of the larger ones landed near it and whistled. It whistled back and there was a complicated series of chirps back and forth. Then the newcomer imitated the whistle perfectly and all three jumped into the air and glided outside.

"What was that all about?" Marie asked.

"I think they were teaching the new one how to make the right noise. Wow."

There were a series of tiny horn stabs from the rafters.

"Oh shit," Marie. "If they're teaching each other there's going to be tiny ska trumpets all over the place and it'll be my fault."

"We're bound to influence them in unexpected ways. They seem to really like the horns though."

"I really hope I'm interrupting something naughty," Leah said when she came into the Meeting. The two of them were sitting, passing the video back and forth, laughing.

"Just staying cool," Marie said, looking up with a smile. "But I can always be talked into naughty."

"Staying cool? That was Cole's idea wasn't it?"

"Actually it was. Damn, does he do that a lot?"

Leah nodded. "He's quite infamous in fact."

"I didn't tell you to take off your clothes," Cole protested. "In fact, you told me to take off mine."

Leah looked at Marie sympathetically. "And he used that reverse pressure move, didn't he?"

"Exactly right."

"All the kids asleep? I knew I was going to miss them."

"They just disappeared but you should see this video," Cole said, holding up his tablet. Leah raised her eyebrows and sat down. Soon all three of them were laughing again.

"I think we'd better show this to Lakshmi," Leah said, wiping her eyes. "Hopefully we're not screwing them up somehow."

Lakshmi and Thorn had appeared as the sun dipped behind the trees. After the Anek greeted all of them deliberately, almost formally, the five of them sat out in the open, enjoying the sun and cooler breezes that were coming through the trees. Thalia and Lakshmi sat between humans, all of them touching. Cole explained what had happened and showed them the video. They could feel the amazement of both Anek.

(I've never seen anything like that. Are they all males?)

"I very much doubt it," Thorn said. "Even if they were, mimicking sounds doesn't begin until we hear the ancestor voices. They seem to be growing very quickly as well. Have any been lost?"

Cole shook his head. "I count every day. I'm pretty sure an eloisha from another brood followed them back here. A couple seemed to be trying to teach it what they knew."

(They are acting like a tribe already? This is not how it has worked in the past)

"I agree," Thorn said. "What little I know of eloisha is that they live alone. It's not until the voice of ancestors begins to speak to them that they find a tribe and learn to live with others. Something has changed in this brood."

Leah sat up. "Obviously it's us. Cole and I dreamt of them every night, we thought they might be aware of us as well. From the loss of the tathinni until now, the eloisha have struggled on their own, cooperation probably just meant less food to go around. Now they've got a safe home to work from, they can begin teaching each other what works best."

(Beloved, I think this is near to the truth) Lakshmi said.

"But the old stories, they never mentioned eloisha being so active or communicating," Thorn said.

(But the tathinni weren't as advanced as the humans. Are there stories about tathinni knowledge appearing in eloisha?)

"I know of nothing, but what could a tathinni know? This is quite remarkable and we need to spread this knowledge among our Elders."

(Agreed. I will tell them when I go to tell them of the insanity that has affected the humans. I am unhappy that it has happened)

"We're not happy either," Cole assured her. "I will go with you to the Elders tomorrow, if you think it's wise."

(Very wise. They will not question your word. I might be thought to be mistaken, this is a very strange concept for us)

Cole rubbed her arm. "We're just relaxing until we can take action, not ignoring the danger. I promise."

There was a mental smile. (Then I'll follow your example)

"We've met female tribes, can you tell us about what a male tribe is like?" Leah asked Thorn. Cole listened as Thorn talked to Leah, repeating everything he had told Cole earlier.

"You don't have permanent homes then?" Leah asked.

"Not like the females, no. We move from place to place, a group might stay for a season or two. When we notice that the food is becoming harder to find, we move to a new home so that we do not damage the hoom."

"Are you two the same age?" Marie asked.

"We do not understand time the same way humans see it," Thorn said. "I am certain that I was born before Lakshmi. Thalia remembers Lakshmi appearing at the village after I became. I do not know how many seasons."

"Did you know each other before you mated?" Leah asked.

"We did not. I left my village when I felt the breeding time start. I wandered and it was some time later that I smelled Lakshmi nearby. I found her and we began to hunt."

"Did you talk about mating first?" Marie asked.

Lakshmi felt amused again.

"No," Thorn said. "That is the purpose of hunting together, to see if we would produce good eloisha. Talking things over like a human wouldn't work well for us. Both females and males during the breeding fever, we do not always think clearly."

There was a bubbling sensation of amusement from Lakshmi. (I am sure they will never forget that fact)

"I have questions but I don't want to cause offense by asking something bad," Leah said.