The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (23 page)

‘That is a beautiful choice, by the Lion God Ká’ranarder: loyal and brave, pure and true.
Oren
is the greatest of all Lion Gods.’

‘I don’t think the general would be impressed if I spent our gold on something for myself and we don’t have a personal money system yet, so I have no way to pay for this.’ Hanniver went to put the piece back down but the merchant stopped him, he pushed the Earthman’s hands back.

‘It is yours, my Lord, for you are truly worthy of it.’ Hanniver looked uncertain at first but then he thanked the man while admiring the gift. ‘And what about the Afra’hama, which takes him fancy?’

‘There is nothing you can offer,’ Shayne replied.

‘But this is important,’ the merchant protested. ‘To walk with the Lion or the Dragon is to walk in honour of our gods. To have the crest of your nation is to honour your home, and one for your house or name bears an Orian’s soul. Is there nothing that the Hama Ta’Orian’s could not possibly hold in glory? If nothing we have here then could we not craft it?’

Kíe nodded in agreement, ‘It would be good for you, Afra’hama, to have something the people can see you as. If not the gods than any creature or symbol of honour would do you justice, chose any emblem and we will make a banner of it for you and your kin.’ Shayne contemplated their words as the merchant looked eagerly upon him.

‘Before the Diakean wolves attacked us,’ he carefully worded. ‘There was another animal that warned us, you called it a Dwelarg.’

‘A dwelarg?’ the merchant frowned. ‘Though beautiful to behold, it is hardly a creature fitting one such as yourself.’

‘That creature saved the life of one of our party, and possibly all of us. If it is not glorious we still owe it our gratitude, if you are to make me wear this,’ he addressed Pan’arden and Kíe, ‘then I wish to honour that creature.’

The merchant sighed, ‘I hold a couple of dwelarg clasps, but they are not of the finery of these.’

‘I am by no means a man of finery; something plain would suit me much better.’

‘Very well,’ the merchant bowed. He packed his goods and folded the cloth before making his leave of their table. A little later he returned and placed three fasteners before Shayne, two made of steel and one of bronze. Shayne looked at the creature with mild amusement.

‘A fox,’ Hanniver commented.

‘The perfect crest for me,’ Shayne said with approval. He picked up the Bronze one, which was the nicest of the three. He then took a couple of coins from the military supply he carried.

The merchant raised his hands, ‘There is no charge, I give them freely to welcome the Ha —’ Shayne grabbed his arm; he then forced the coins into the man’s hand.

‘You will take them,’ Shayne’s voice became cold as he held firmly to the man’s wrist. The merchant gave in, accepting the transaction. Shayne released him. He bowed to the table before he left. Shayne directed his attention to the Brigadier, ‘and you can just add it to the tavern’s bill.’ Hanniver could not resist and let out a light chuckle of amusement.

‘Should’ve done the same.’

The Earthmen spent the night in a small room for human travellers. It housed plenty of beds, and had a row of windows on the eastern side. The roof curved down to meet the eastern wall, when they walked along that part of the room they had to duck to avoid hitting their heads on the support beams.

The Brigadier was having a conference with the general, his voice lowered slightly but still filled the room. Shayne sat upon his bed with his back against the wall; he had his
wristcom
open and was recording and filing reports with the soft blue light from the holograph interface reflecting off his face.

His fixed
wristcom
proved awkward, it was a base model with limited holographic technology; the device was able to create a simple virtual screen and keyboard along his arm and hand; it was a visually appealing toy but people preferred a full holographic screen they could manipulate around, these designs were more effective than a portable device and more comfortable, there were also
wristcoms
that were fully interactive with your arm, but they were expensive and not wasted on someone like Shayne. His
wristcom
was a further hindrance as it was permanently fixed to his arm. All members of the
Last Western Front Empire
were required to have identification tags inserted into their hands and the back of their neck; these carried an individual’s details and it allowed them to access to personal systems, financial accounts, public interfaces and any craft they are licensed to use as well as all other day-to-day life. The
I-tags
were an essential item to all citizens but not all of these devices worked on everyone. For some the body would reject the chip and attack it; the area would become infected, damaging the implant and forcing them to remove it. Those whose bodies rejected the chips were given specially modified
wristcoms
instead; one in a few hundred people had to live with the inconvenience of a permanently braced computer.

Shayne had no trouble filing old reports; he remembered everything that transpired in the exact sequences they occurred in. He knew where he was and what was spoken; the only uncertainties that crept in was when he did not bother to note the time and when that happened he used the moon as a rough time reference, just as the natives did. 

After his report Shayne changed out of his uniform and gave it a good shake before hanging it on a line attached to a lower part of the roof. All the windows were open, allowing a slight breeze to occasionally stir the hanging clothes. Shayne placed the fox brooch on a small bedside table, briefly examining it before he lay back on the bed, one arm behind his head and his bare feet sticking out from under the bedding; exposed to the mild night air. He looked out of the nearest small window, which had a softly sleeping Starborn underneath it. The window was small and all he could see were a few dim stars, but still he gazed out at them with longing. He was content on this world, with the numerous distractions presented to him, but whenever the day ended and he was left alone he would look out into the darkness and a pang would rise in him. He closed his eyes, and listened to the soft voices of the Brigadier and the general as they discussed events and concepts that held no interest to him. He knew eventually he would have to give his thoughts to the general; he did not look forward to that day.

***

Shayne stood barefoot upon the
Oxford
colonyship, the floor was cool upon his feet. His attention was drawn to a side-view window along a narrow corridor; his brow knotted as he did not think spaceships had windows outside of observation rooms. He stepped across and looked out at the planet below him; he could see all of Dífran but it was much closer than it should be. He recognised the Wayel-Éaa forest and Bohaníde lands, he could see Kérith-Árim and the tower; the building was taller than he imagined. Horses raced down the road, it was their expedition party making its way to the city. Shayne looked down confused as he watched himself walking on foot while all the others were riding behind him on their horses. He was dressed as a native with his wolf-beast cloak now complete and hanging from his shoulders, and his hand was resting upon the hilt of a sword.

He moved from third person observer on board
the Oxford
, to the man walking along the road. He was now by himself and could not see anyone but he knew that the others were on their horses just behind him. He gazed across at the tower from where he was walking and suddenly found himself on top of it. He swayed at the thought of being so high, the dizziness frightening him but a stranger standing with his arms out to the moon stole his attention. The man’s chest was bare and all that he wore was a skirt that went down to his feet. He raised his arms and basked in the light of the full moon. He had tattoos on his arms and torso that at first were black but then they began to glow blue under the moon light.

Shayne was suddenly pulled west, the view zoomed out and he was in the deserts of Western Dífrun, but something was different There was a deep fog where the small forest of Endaran should have been.
Where is the forest?
he tried to see through the fog but all he could see was the top peak of the highest mountain.

Now he walked in open lands, with long grass surrounding him. The black fox came and greeted him, she smiled broadly at him. He knew she was pleased with his new brooch, her mouth opened in a mock laugh. She pranced playful towards their destination, knowing that he understood. Shayne looked up to see a light on the horizon and in the light stood the man. Shayne looked down at the fox. ‘Is it time?’ he asked the little fox, she tilted her head and replied,

Almost.
Shayne glanced back up at the man, his gaze softened.

‘We should start walking then,’ and they both started towards the stranger.

***

The morning brought with it organised coordination from both sides. They all stopped to bathe in rooms set aside for them before taking breakfast. The Earthmen had adapted fairly well with the primitive lifestyle and were working well as a unit with the Bohanese lionmen. The Tavern was busy with the Innkeeper and her workers organising the horses and breakfast. The Company were now joined by six Karmoníth city shytardas, who had ridden late into the night to accompany them. Their armour was elaborate and covered more of their body, their colours were white and navy blue and their long shields had the crest of the winged dragon. The pride that they held and the quality of care they kept their gear in made the small Kérith-Árim village they passed through seem mediocre and the Bohanese like barbarians, but their attitude to their neighbours was nothing less than respectful. They were all easy going and talked freely and happily to their Bohaníde counterparts. Kíe was glad to see the guards though he did not know any of them personally; he spent most of the morning talking to them when they were free from duties.

The two humans attached themselves to Shayne taking on the role of personal guards. Once Shayne was mounted they followed him everywhere he moved; sticking to him with grim determination.

Hanniver laughed at him when they began their final trek up the highway, ‘Looks like you’ve made some groupies.’ Shayne had no idea what he meant and so remained silent. ‘Don’t worry Forrester; they’re only protecting you.’

‘From what?’ Shayne casually glanced at the land around them. Hanniver smiled as he pointed his thumb behind him, indicating the hides still drying on one of the pack horses.

Shayne dismissed his superior, ‘those wolf-cat creatures aren’t found in these areas, what happened back there was because we were in the middle of nowhere.’

Hanniver contemplated the answer as he looked into the forest another idea forming on his face. ‘Anything else could come out of there, doesn’t have to be some giant wolf-cat-thing; could be human.’

‘No one lives in there.’

‘Says who?’ the Brigadier snorted. ‘You know, for someone who is taught to be distrustful, you’re very trusting.’

‘To a human, deceit is ingrained,’ Shayne added. ‘To a lionman it is but a thorn that is resolved at the end of a blade.’

Hanniver rocked back in laughter. ‘Is that one of their proverbs?’ he asked while wiping his eyes. ‘Don’t tell me you’re becoming native?’

‘I only repeat what I see.’

‘Say it’s true, who’s to say there aren’t humans living in there; ready to ambush?’

‘There could,’ Shayne acknowledged. ‘One must always consider that, but nothing they can do can beat my rifle.’ Shayne left the conversation at that, they rode side-by-side in silence for a time before Hanniver looked behind him to see who was where; as usual he and Shayne were flanked with lionmen while the rest rode further behind; including the walking robots. He turned back to Shayne.

‘What do you honestly think of our situation here?’ he finally asked. Shayne glanced sideways at Hanniver, wondering what thoughts drove him.  ‘Well,’ the Brigadier gave a sly smile, ‘there’s that infamous distrust that has been missing these past few days.’

‘We’ll be ordered out of the forest,’ he slowly said gazing coldly at the star officer.  ‘There should be ambassadors of a kind within Kérith-Árim, we will negotiate with them about lands, all the usual politics. If it is too complicated the rulers themselves will come, or we will go to them and work out any agreement.’ 

‘What’s your estimation of success?’

‘It shouldn’t be any more or less difficult than other colonisations. We have a slight advantage in ...’ Shayne hesitated.

‘In you,’ Hanniver finished the sentence.

‘But it won’t give much advantage. Not as much as you hope.’ They rode on in silence for some time. They saw a group of merchant trains ahead of them, slowly making their way to Bohaníde. Shayne watched the leading Ox driver as they slowly drew closer. An old, grey wolf with a black streak running across its body lay next to the leading driver; sleeping with its head on its paws. Shayne sensed that the Brigadier was not yet finished with this conversation; as they rode on a growing awkwardness fell upon the star officer.

‘What is it?’ Shayne finally asked, breaking the silence. Hanniver shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, he looked again to see if any other Earthmen were close by. When he was satisfied that they were not in earshot he turned back to Shayne.