Storm World Ch. 09

"Leaping roots," Benjamin said with a grin.

"Another animal that looks like a plant?" M`peth qHo asked, not trusting the innocuous looking things.

"No," he said, reaching out and taking the quivering vines from Ima` Nef`Tn. "These are plants that act like animals. They evolved to grow under water. If they break free from whatever they grow on they kick and flex like this. It's like they swim until they find something new to attach to and then they start growing again. Watch this."

Benjamin tossed the vines onto a clear space of the spinner's hull. The cats were surprised to see the vines hop into the air several times before settling on the hull and then draw up to hug the smooth surface.

"See the knuckles?" Benjamin asked. "Those are seed pods and the joints for the plant's muscles. These are too small to bother eating, but the larger ones that grow along the shore get pretty good sized. I harvested a load of them a while ago. Like I said, they taste like maize."

"These are not dangerous?" Ima` Nef`Tn asked. She was squatting on the fuselage and peering mistrustfully at the now still vines.

"No, Sweetheart, they're safe," Benjamin assured her and stretched up to give her a kiss. "We just have to clean them off the motor. Let us not worry about them until we have everything back at the grotto."

"The dorsal motor appears to be in reasonably good condition, Commander," TaH `Kiy mTh said. He squatted down and looked under the spinner then rose, shaking his head. "I am not certain, but the ventral motor may have been crushed on impact."

"I do not see how either can be used," M`peth qHo said to Benjamin.

"These are ducted fans," he told her. Pointing to a vent above and behind the cockpit he explained, "Air gets sucked in through that opening. It gets compressed as it passed through the fan blades and that creates thrust coming out here."

"Like a jet engine?" she asked.

"Sort of," he said, nodding. "There isn't any exhaust, though. No fuel is burned, see? No pollution. Just an electric motor driving air. Not the fastest machines around, but they don't need much forward momentum because the lifting fans keep the ship in the air."

"And this will give us enough thrust to move a boat as large as what you have designed?" she asked skeptically.

"Tem l`eth tong thinks it will," he said with a shrug, surprising M`peth qHo by pronouncing the veteran engineer's name correctly.

The cowling covering the inner workings of the ducted fan and the motor was made of composite material and remarkably light. Once it was detached it took two to move it only because of its size, though Liat `del Qha, the smallest of them, could have handled twice its weight by herself. After that, things were not so easy. Leads had to be disconnected and the cables drawn through conduit. The motor was strongly mounted to the fan and in the end it was decided to leave it in place in order to save Tme l`eth tong time. M`peth qHo and Liat `del Qha were both put to work removing necessary circuits and relays from the control panels. The small components and hardware were all stowed in packs brought for the purpose. The communications gear was still intact, surprisingly, and joined the other electronic components since it was far more powerful than the sets in the jZav`Etch shipboard suits. The last thing removed from the wreck was a sort of doll Benjamin held gently in his hand. A sad smile spread across his face as he brushed grime from the little thing.

"What is it?" Ima` Nef`Tn asked, thinking it might be an idol of a Human god.

"Carla's hula girl," he said and placed the doll upright on his palm. The doll was a representation of a Human female wearing some sort of skirt holding something that looked very similar to a musical instrument common among the jZav`Etch. Benjamin moved his hand side to side and the doll swayed back and forth at the waist.

"I think we have everything Tem l`eth tong required," said M`peth qHo, picking up one of the packs, ready to don it and get moving.

"We're all tired, Commander," Benjamin replied, placing the doll in the pocket of his pack. "Let's take a break and have some food and water. It's a long way to the grotto. Easier if we aren't thinking about our bellies. And between here and there we won't find a better place than this to stop and eat."

*****

"The Human may be mad, but he was speaking the truth about the flavor," Chep `Urt vEss said to TaH `Kiy mTh, licking his lips clean.

"I cannot believe you would eat such a thing as that, Gunner," said TaH `Kiy mTh who sat with him a short distance from the females.

Though Ima` Nef`Tn had tasted the flesh of the centipede Benjamin had killed, only Chep `Urt vEss had accepted a large portion. Benjamin had gladly given the big dTel`Qohar half of the bizarre animal for his midday meal.

"The flesh is tender," replied Chep `Urt vEss. He picked a strand of white muscle from the leathery carapace and popped it into his mouth, savoring it. "The juices are just bitter enough. It reminds me of a dish my mother sometimes cooked, but I cannot recall what it was. You should have tried some."

"The look of the thing put me off." TaH `Kiy mTh had no objection to eating raw food, but the centipede looked as though it were a bottom feeder that consumed scraps of dead things.

"I hope we come across another," Chep `Urt vEss said, absently picking a scrap from between his teeth. "Perhaps the Human will allow me to cast his spear. I have not thrown one in a few Heem*, but I think I could still skewer something to eat."

"A hunt would be a welcome distraction," agreed TaH `Kiy mTh. "Better than being hunted ourselves."

The gunner gave the engineer a sharp look and asked quietly, "What do you mean by that?"

"The commander was nearly eaten, was she not?" TaH `Kiy mTh pointed out. "If I understood Liat `del Qha correctly, those were not vines."

"That is as I understood it, too," said the larger cat. "An ambush predator as I have never seen. Not dangerous now that we know what to look for."

"The commander panicked."

"She is a female." Chep `Urt vEss flicked his ears dismissively. "What could you expect? They do not react in all ways as we do."

"Your position has changed." The engineer regarded his officer a little more critically. "What if she does that in a battle?"

"A battle is different than an animal ambushing you," Chep `Urt vEss replied coolly. "And in battle we would know what was happening. There was no way for her to know what that creature was doing."

"As you say, Gunner, but I am no longer certain I will rely on M`peth qHo's judgement."

With those words the smaller cat rose and walked off to look out at the jungle, leaving Chep `Urt vEss frowning at his back.

*****

"How will we move the power pack and everything else?" Liat `del Qha wondered while she munched on a ration bar. At the taste of it she wondered if it might be too late to try the centipede after all. A glance showed her there was a good deal left from the half Benjamin had kept for himself and the Human's hunger seemed to be sated as he was lying back with a hand on Ima` Nef`Tn's knee while he scanned the surrounding jungle for signs of danger.

"It does seem far heavier than I would ever have guessed," M`peth qHo acknowledged with a nod. "And though the motor assembly is not as large as I feared, getting it through this undergrowth will not be easy. I can foresee the need of hacking many vines and branches out of our way."

"Perhaps Ben `Jamin has a clear route in mind," the pilot said, sounding doubtful.

"You must try to pronounce his name correctly, Liat `del Qha," M`peth qHo advised.

"It is difficult to remember to do," the pilot replied. "He takes no offense, does he?"

"Not outwardly," said M`peth qHo. "After my discussion with him the other day I cannot be certain what goes through his mind, though."

"We never were certain, Commander."

"True enough." M`peth qHo glanced at the Human and felt her uncertainty again.

"What troubles you?" Liat `del Qha asked softly so as not to be overheard.

"I have never dealt with an alien on equal terms," M`peth qHo told her with a sigh. "All of the Protectorate races defer to us. All of the prisoners I have interrogated were somewhat cowed. Those that resisted were subdued with drugs. Benjamin is... different."

"He is wild," agreed Liat `del Qha. "I like him, though."

"Why?"

"I do not know, Commander," sniffed the Pah`Tht. "Why do I like a fresh breeze? Because he is different, I suppose. And yet, he is much as our males are. Ima` Nef`Tn told me of her..."

The pilot closed her mouth and glanced up at M`peth qHo with worried eyes.

"You need not be discrete. I am well aware of Ima` Nef`Tn's romantic activities with Ben `Jamin," M`peth qHo said mildly. She would not say, would never say, how she became aware. "I suspected one of us might take him aside. I thought it was more likely to be Tem l`eth tong since she is older and bolder than the rest of us, but it does not trouble me that Ima` Nef`Tn was the one. I did not expect her to do it quite as soon as she did, I admit. But in doing so she helped us all."

"I see," Liat `del Qha said with a quiet sigh of relief.

"If another of us were to take him aside, I would not object," M`peth qHo said with a mischievous twitch of her whiskers. She was rewarded with a quick, surprised glanced from the pilot. Teasingly she continued, "I have even considered what it might be like to slip away down that secret tunnel with him."

That was the honest truth. At the back of the commander's mind still lurked the scene of Benjamin and Ima` Nef`Tn's trysting. Especially after the hard words that had passed between herself and the Human she had been unable to banish it from her thoughts, for some reason she did not understand. Perhaps simply because it was a decadent thing to do.

"We have spoken with Ima` Nef`Tn several times, Commander," Liat `del Qha said conspiratorially, sipping from her canteen. "She said she would not object if any of us chose to partake of Ben `Jamin's gifts."

"Really?" the commander asked, only a little surprised.

"She says she enjoys his attentions very much, but she is sore," snickered Liat `del Qha. "If one or another of us were to distract him from time to time, she would be glad for the rest."

"And have you distracted him?" asked M`peth qHo.

"Not yet," the pilot giggled.

*****

"I am going to take him tonight," Tem l`eth tong said, matter-of-factly. She and Ty`em P`tral were working to run leads from the power station at the top of the cliff down to the flat stone floor in the grotto under the shelter of the large stone cliff that protected the entrance to the main chamber of the cave. Her leg was much better and no longer pained her when she walked. She still limped from stiffness, but that had been easing since the previous day.

"I was thinking the same thing," said Ty`em P`tral. Her shoulder ached still, but she was able to get almost full motion when she made the effort. Hauling the cable across the floor of the main chamber had hurt. It had also worked some of the ache away. She panted under the weight of the thick coil she carried. "I have not been with a male in a very long time."

"I have seniority!" laughed the veteran, attaching one cable end to another before lowering the loose end off the ledge. "I think we should bring the workbench out next. I see a good place for it down there."

The workbench had been built out of stocks Benjamin had set aside from his firewood. Tem l`eth tong had worked beside him, directing his efforts with signs and crude drawings scratched on flat stones. In the process she had learned a few words of English and Benjamin had learned the meanings of several jZav words, though his pronunciation was less than artful for the most part.

"Are you sure you know how to use this winch or whatever the Human called it?" Ty`em P`tral asked, dropping her load.

"Ben `Jamin showed me how before they left this morning." Tem l`eth tong went and took up the end of one of the lines hanging from the windlass. "We will tie this end to the bench, take up the slack until it swings free and then lower it down to the ground."

"One of us will need to go down and release it," Ty`em P`tral observed.

"It will take both of us to move the bench to where I want it," Tem l`eth tong said. "Do you feel strong enough to make the descent?"

"Is there a choice?"

"No," Tem l`eth tong said, flicking her ears and whiskers ironically. "It must be done and we are the only ones here to do it. Besides, one alone is in more danger than two who can guard each other's backs."

"I am still surprised the Human has survived this long," Ty`em P`tral said, looking down to the bottom of the grotto.

"It is remarkable," Tem l`eth tong agreed. She smiled mischievously and added, "It is also one reason I would like to bed him."

"And what is another?" Ty`em P`tral asked, pushing her whiskers forward in that irreverent, uniquely Thahn `Den gesture.

"The size of his member!" laughed Tem l`eth tong merrily.

"You are worse than a Pah`Tht!" laughed Ty`em P`tral

"Wait until you get to my age," the veteran said, grinning and her ears standing straight up. "You will be glad for the rare, worthy males and will not miss an opportunity."

"If I have tits like yours when I am your age, the worthy males will be dropping from every branch!"

The two laughed heartily as they busied themselves with moving the new workbench up the long tunnel to the ledge in the grotto. They positioned it by the windlass before taking a breather. Ty`em P`tral looked up at the veteran engineer and smiled speculatively.

"What?" asked Tem l`eth tong.

"I was just wondering if Ima` Nef`Tn has exaggerated the size of her Human's member," the younger jZav`Etch said. "It does not sound likely one so thick could enter one of our kind."

"How do babies come out, then?" snorted Tem l`eth tong. "She also says he gives pleasure of the tongue as well as any female she has lain with. I intend to find out."

"And will you give him pleasure of the mouth?" wondered Ty`em P`tral.

"Whether he will or no, I will!" laughed the older female. "I had a mate when I was about your age and with him I chanced it."

Wide eyed, Ty`em P`tral asked, "How? Did you not fear his points?"

"I was cautious," the older female said with an offhand gesture. "I never put the tip in my mouth, only licked up the sides."

"And was it good?"

"It was." Tem l`eth tong flicked her ears and twitched her tail. "He tasted very good. I was surprised. And the best part was, I could get him to do almost anything I wanted."

"Males!" laughed Ty`em P`tral. "Always foolish and sometimes fun."

"Not always foolish," laughed the older female. Wistfully she recalled, "He was a very special male."

"What became of him?"

"He was killed in a training accident," sighed Tem l`eth tong. "He was brave. You know, he rescued three of his fellows from a fire before their personnel carrier exploded. Command awarded him the Life Order for his sacrifice. It was some consolation."

"I am sorry for you," Ty`em P`tral said sincerely.

"It is a long time ago. Many summers," Tem l`eth tong said. With a shake she cast off the gloomy mood and took hold of the rope from the windlass. "Let us lower this over the side and then climb down. We should bring food and water for our mid-day meal. And do not forget your sidearm."

With the workbench and other necessities lowered or dropped to the grotto floor far below Tem l`eth tong and Ty`em P`tral could put off their descent no longer. Neither had made the climb up so they could not be sure of what difficulties they might face. However, to their mutual surprise the cliff face was nearly as easy to traverse as a ladder. Their fingers and toes found purchase readily on the wet stone and neither were unduly taxed by their efforts. Nevertheless, both were glad to be on the ground and paused long enough to drink some water.

Their first order of business was to move the workbench to where they would examine the machine components the rest of the party was bringing in. There was no way to know when the others would get the parts to the grotto and it was best to be at least prepared to receive them.

"Should we not have worn our environment suits?" Ty`em P`tral asked once they had the bench leveled.

"To what end?" replied Tem l`eth tong. "Their sensors are not designed for this environment. Our helmets would prevent us from hearing as well as we do without them. The small amount of armor is meant to protect from heat and concussion more than impact. More of an encumbrance than a help."

"The others wore theirs," Ty`em P`tral pointed out.

"Out on the island I would too," Tem l`eth tong said. "We are not exactly out on the island."

From the far end of the grotto came the sound of something slithering and scuttling over stone. The cats both turned to face whatever it was, half expecting to see their friends returning. Instead they discovered a many-legged, hard-shelled creature with a mass of tentacles protruding from the shell at the rear. In bulk it was roughly half the size of an adult Pah`Tht, but the legs and tentacles made it look far bigger. The creature paused to raise a pair of long legs slimmer than the others and wave them in the air as if it might be signaling. The legs stopped waving and slowly the creature turned towards the females. It adjusted its stance in the manner of a beast about to pounce.

"What is that thing?" Ty`em P`tral wondered.

As if in answer a jeq'istle* barked and the creature was flung back a pace across the stone, leaving a streak of slimy green and red muck in its wake. Hard-shelled legs and fleshy tentacles quivered and squirmed as it died. Ty`em P`tral spun, turning a surprised look upon Tem l`eth tong.

"It is dead," the veteran told her simply and holstered her weapon.

*****

"Not much farther now," Benjamin reported, returning to the group. They had been resting while he scouted ahead. The power pack and the motor assembly were strapped together on a wooden bier they had assembled for the purpose. M`peth qHo, Ima` Nef`Tn, TaH `Kiy mTh and Chep `Urt vEss had carried it, since out of the group Benjamin was the only one who knew enough to find his way quickly across the island and Liat `del Qha was too short to match the others. Neither of them had been spared a burden, though. Benjamin carried one of the packs stuffed with parts and cables while the pilot carried the other.

"How much is not much?" M`peth qHo asked tiredly, getting to her feet. She had been sipping from her canteen and now put it away.

"Hard for me to translate into something you're familiar with, Commander," the Human said and wiped the back of his hand across his sweating brow. The light rain had finally ended and now the air was muggy and overly warm.