Naero's War: The Citation Series 3: Naero's Trial (13 page)

Naero hesitated. “Emissary Tus. I don’t feel that this is necessary.”

“Oh, but it is, Admiral Maeris. Come. Just pick one you won’t mind dying at the hands of my soldier.

Ra spoke up. “Naero. Allow me to protect you.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Certainly. I understand these creatures. This is but a test. Allow me to fulfill the requirements.”

“All right. Go ahead, and be careful.”

“Yes, of course.”

Tus snapped and clicked.

The biggest, nastiest-looking Lish sprang up out of nowhere. The goddam thing was as big as a tank.

Tus and the other Lish immediately scuttled back, creating a broad combat area for the contest.

Ra remained the same size, but he flashed from red to black, and slammed into the big Lish so fast that the only ones who could follow his blinding attacks were Naero and Khai.

In the space of a few seconds, Ra slew the big Lish almost instantly. Then he proceeded to rip it apart, and even devour most of the body for good measure.

Even Naero hadn’t expected the gruesome eating part.

Ra flashed back in behind her, cleaning the last Lish hairs from his mandibles, and silently took up his guardian position once more, his coloration fading from black back to scarlet.

The only thing left of the big Lish were the still-quivering, hairy legs.

“So, Tus,” Naero said. “Tell me how the war is going, and let us negotiate. My people have no wish to fight with yours. We would rather trade with you and be your allies.”

The leader of the Lish stammered a bit, still sounding a bit stunned. He kept looking back at the remains of his dead champion. “Y-yes, that might be best…for everyone.”

16

According to Tus, when he leveled with Naero after their initial treaty was agreed to, the war was not going well at all for any of the original sentients in that region.

Seventeen Lish worlds had fallen to the invaders, who appeared to be Dakkur, Ejjai, a race of humanoids in armor, and waves of deadly robotic gunships and smart drones.

Naero was very curious about the humanoids, and where they came from. Tus said that his people did not know, and that the enemy bodies dissolved after they were killed, denying the Lish a food source on the battlefield. A practice the Lish found very evil.

“The victor should be able to devour his defeated enemies,” Tus said in disgust. “That is just common courtesy. These invaders have no honor.”

Naero agreed. “We noticed that when we fought them as well,” she said. “Tell me about the other races you have been allied with. Those others who also fight the invaders.”

Tus handed her what looked to be a basic hand computer. “Here is what we know of them in these data files. But none of the alliances with the others have worked out very well. These others do not understand the Lish, and see us but as voracious monsters. They are stupid and insult us. And none, besides yourself, have taken the time to learn to speak our language, and read our hearts and minds, as you have done.

“The Lish are the way they are. They are not wicked monsters. Our ways are indeed our own, but we can be reasoned with, and trusted to uphold our agreements–better than most. We are willing to allow these other races to live as they choose on their worlds, as long as we are allowed to do so on ours. That is more than can be said of some. Can the invaders be trusted in these ways? No; clearly they cannot.

“Yet even when we have tried to understand each other and help one another militarily, the invaders always seem to know when and where to best attack us. And once the attacks begin, the so-called allies all scatter to defend their own worlds, and will not band together.”

“From what we guess,” Naero said, “the invaders have cracked your communication systems, and know what all of you are planning. With that knowledge, they know where your forces are and are not, and can play you against each other, in order to keep you divided.”

Tus bobbed his head. “That would make sense, then.”

“We have communication systems that they have not been able to defeat so easily. Then you can all coordinate your military actions better, and keep them hidden from the invaders.”

“Good, good,” Tus said. Naero barely detected some kind of subsonic chime going off, resounding throughout the Lish nesting area.

Tus turned to them. “I understand we have different ways, but it is now one of our scheduled feeding times. Will you join me, my mate, and our children? You may bring your own food to feed on if you wish.”

Naero glanced back at the others. They were at just as much of a loss as she was. Khai shrugged. “Why not?” she said. “My people will enjoy having a picnic with your family.”

Tus looked confused. “I do not understand the word
picnic
, but if it refers to a feeding time, you will be our guests. Come then. Feeding times are when we speak with our mates, our children, and others, exchanging information.”

“Good,” Naero said. “I still have many questions about your allies, the war, and the enemy.”

Naero led her three friends down into Tus’s nest. The Marine fireteam remained outside at the DZ, with the fleet destroyer still floating up above.

Naero was surprised. The nest was cool and comfortable down inside, just warm enough. The tunnels, chambers, and various passage ways were neither damp nor dirty or dusty. The Lish tunnels were almost a precise two meters in diameter, allowing them to pass swiftly along the floor, the walls, or the ceiling at will. The nest networks were carefully designed and constructed with precise engineering, reinforced with some kind of resin that was as strong as plasteel when Naero analyzed its crystalloy composition with teknomancy.

They met a few other Lish, going here and there within the nest. They all seemed to be aware of the visitors already, and did not even acknowledge or touch them as they scurried by. Most barely acknowledged Tus.

Their host explained. “Biochemical news of our treaty with you has spread throughout the nest, alerting all of our people to your visit, your different scents, and your presence. No harm will come to you now, as our friends. But if you or any of your kind entered our nests without permission, or acceptance, you would have triggered a defensive response as if you were attackers. You would have been set upon by thousands of Lish, who would have captured, if not slain you.”

Tus went on to describe how it was considered rude in Lish culture for one adult Lish to climb over or under another, unless during war or some other emergency, such as flood or fire or some such. The young Lish were exempt from these rules, and mostly climbed all over the adults. Also, most Lish were not very good swimmers without underwater gear, and could drown in deep water because of the ways their bodies breathed. Floods could still be very real calamities for them. The Lish had just begun to use terraforming to control rains and flooding, and they tried not to build nests in areas prone to flooding.

The Lish nests and networks were not completely dark within. They used a system of bio-luminescence and lighting crystals to illuminate their underground areas in a low, greenish-yellow lighting, about the intensity of twilight. Lish had evolved various sets of of eyes to function in almost every type of light, from bright sunlight above ground to near-total darkness.

Tus said that unless they were pursuing mining interests, or defending against attacks, the Lish did not normally dig their nests very deep, for fear of hitting pockets of ground water that could flood their nests.

In temperate zones and colder, the Lish did not do well in the cold. Around temperatures near freezing, the Lish suffered greatly from cold effects and had to wear protective suits to cover and warm most of their bodies. The only time they wore what could be called clothing. They did wear load-bearing harnesses that various tools, gear, and even weapons could be attached to.

Finally they reached Tus’s home. It was wide and circular, possessing even a low dome within, and many circular side chambers. There was no furniture to speak of, just raised nodules of stone or resin like rounded tabletops.

Another adult Lish came out of a tunnel within the nest, dragging out a net of what appeared to be various livestock animals encased in webbing and cured into what could only be described as succulent, hams or cured meatpods. With the great strength of the Lish, toting around several hundred kilos of food from their immense pantries was no burden.

“Meet my mate, Gyx. Gyx, these are the alien guests that I said would bring.”

She nodded her head. “I am Gyx. Speak with us, new friends. Come, Tus. I have prepared our feeding time. I was about to summon our young. You said our strange guests bring their own food?”

“That is true.

“Then let us feed and talk.” She emitted a unique call.

Three dozen young Lish suddenly exploded into the cavern, scurrying and climbing over everyone, including the guests. Naero warned them not to move and to remain still. Then the hungry children settled over the foodpods.

Tus explained that he had released a signal to the young, telling them not to nip or taste the visitors. They were not to be seen as prey or potential food.

“We are grateful for that,” Naero said.

Tus and Gyx made sure that their children were fed. Then they grabbed larger foodpods for themselves, dragged them up onto the weird tables, and jammed their mouth parts into them.

Naero and her people nibbled on foodbars and sipped from lix tubes, or simply watched. Ra asked if he could try one of the foodpods. Tus pulled one of the big ones onto one of the other tables. Ra made short work of it, practically inhaling it.

Even the Lish seemed impressed.

“Do you eat your livestock and your food supplies raw?” Naero asked.

“Their meat and its juices are cured, smoked, and flavored very nicely,” Ra informed her. “Very tasty. Might I have another?”

“There is plenty, friend Ra,” Gyx told him. “My mate says you are a mighty warrior. Seeing you feed, I can well believe that.”

“Gratitude, friend Gyx,” Ra said. He had managed to learn their language as well, and spoke it now with his own accent from the manipulation of the vocal sounds through his mandibles.

“Some Lish eat their food supplies raw,” Tus said, “if there is no other way, or during war. But if possible, we like to prepare our foodstocks so that they are succulent and filled with much juicy flavor. Our smoking facilities compete with each other to create the most delicious foodpods.”

“You do not eat your prey alive?” Ra asked.

“Again,” Tus said, “such things can be done during war, but we do not normally make our livestock suffer. Suffering and pain taints our meat. That is why livestock are dispatched quickly, and injected with flavorings and necessary preservatives, carefully prepared before they are wrapped and smoked. The best foodpods take about a month to cure properly. We and our children want our foodstocks to be delicious.”

Naero watched how the Lish fed. First they sucked out all of the juices. Then their mandibles devoured the jerky-like meat, leaving behind an empty husk of hide and picked bones. The empty food pods were recycled and used as fertilizer to raise food to feed their livestock, who in turn fed them.

Naero listened to Tus and Gyx talk about their children. Lish were not given names until they reached adulthood. Until then, they simply had a number. Lish parents even wrote those numbers on their backs, in their symbolic language. All of the kids were marked so.

“We lost fourteen and twenty-three today,” Gyx told her mate.

“I saw that,” Tus said. “Did they die well?”

“Fourteen fought a galontok bravely, but was simply unlucky. Twenty-three was hunting along the shore of one of the inner seas and was snapped up by a giant haxgar.”

“Haxgar are indeed dangerous. Children, did you all learn the lessons of those among you who perished today?”

Some of the children spoke in unison, while others simply kept feeding. “We learned the lessons of death, father. Our world has many challenges. Each day we must go out and face them. To face the challenges of life and stay alive brings us honor, teaches us many things that we must know, and makes us worthy to be counted among our people.”

“Good. Remember what you have learned this day. Apply that knowledge to your efforts tomorrow, so that you will grow strong, smart, and live long.”

“Gyx, how many offspring are in a Lish hatching?” Naero asked.

“Anywhere from forty to sixty,” she answered. “Life is hard, and each Lish must take their chances in the fierce world and learn to make their way. First they become warrior/hunters. Once they have proven themselves, and earned the right to become adults, they are given their adult names, and can begin to learn how to apply their intellects to helping the nest.”

“How many of each hatching survive to become adults?”

“Sometimes none,” Tus admitted. “But usually the number is three to seven. Once they have proven themselves to the nest, if there is roomed to expand the nest they will be allowed to mate, and begin to raise young of their own. It is a sustainable system. The Lish do not allow overpopulation.”

Now that they had fed, a few of the young Lish wandered over and crawled over Naero and her friends, examining them with great curiosity. The visitors kept it together and withstood such curiosity for a while. Then Naero looked to Tus. Before she even said anything, their host seemed to sense their discomfort, and ordered the young to leave the visitors alone.

Naero let out a slight sigh.

“I meant to ask you, Tus. What about these reports of Lish fighting alongside of the invaders?”

For the first time, both Tus and Gyx stiffened. Naero sensed that her new friends were angry. “No Lish would willingly fight for our enemies,” Tus said. “But our foes are cunning and have advanced technology that we do not. They have learned to take control of the minds of our unhatched and set them against us. And they can also clone our kind and program even adult Lish minds to fight as automatons or shock troops. They look like Lish, but there are all but mindless slaves bent only on killing. Their minds are not free to think on their own. Such a thing enrages us. All true Lish have a strong inner desire to be free to live our lives and raise our young as we see fit. None should take that freedom from us. Those who do these things are worse than enemies.”

“I agree with you, Tus. Thank you for sharing your feeding time with us,” Naero said. “But I must know more about the other sentients who also fight the invaders. I would also like to learn more about the war and the enemies you face.”

Tus nodded. “Good. Travel with us to another meeting set up. There you can meet some of them. Perhaps something better will come of it this time. Our ships will launch and lead you to the meeting place.”

Naero agreed and contacted Task Force Six.

Skirmishes had already been reported with enemy ships. That was bound to happen. But Naero still wanted to avoid any major battles until they could assess the situation better.