The Fifth Civilization: A Novel (32 page)

Grinek flicked out his com and dialed Roh. “Specialist,
follow the coordinates of this transmission and come find me. There has been a
stunning development on this planet.”

“What is it, Commander?”

“There is most definitely life here. And it is
hostile.”
 
He moved his head to the
sound of a crow, catching only a glimpse of it as it moved from the treetops. “We
have one provision to return to the ship, as well as several corpses.”

“Corpses, Commander?”

“Yes. One of them Kotaran, and the rest will serve as
specimens.”

***

In the calm of the forest, the disruptive firefight was
easily heard for miles. Roan and Sundar Kher, the forward scouts for the last
remnants of the
Colobus
, had followed
the noises and managed to set up a recon position hidden by bushes and
shrubbery. They were aided in finding the source of the shooting when a Kotaran
shuttle landed in a clearing in the woods. Through the binoculars, Sundar
reported making out the figures of several Kotarans milling around near the
landed vessel. They were loading it with sacks of an undetermined nature.

“Let me see,” Roan said. He traded the rifle for the binoculars,
putting them to his eyes as Sundar leaned the weapon against the bush. The tiny
lenses made out the Kotarans, including the relatively short one that Roan had
now burned into his memory, Commander Grinek.

The one who had killed Aaron.

The one that had blown up Kel.

Grinek was observing some objects being loaded onto the
shuttle. At first, Roan thought they were sacks. Then he noticed they had the
distinct shape of a being, with arms, legs, and long, thin bodies. Their skin,
dark brown, made their exact features hard to distinguish, blending in with the
trees that surrounded them. A lot of killing had just taken place.

“Sundar, I think the Kotarans already made first contact
with the natives.”

“Demons! Warriors of the darkness!”
 

All Roar thrashed about as the doctor dressed his wounds.
Two Mountains hushed him, praying his second would shut up. Anyone could be
listening, worst of all…those creatures. On the warrior’s leg was a burn larger
than a fist, caused by the lightning club of the things they’d encountered. Each
time the doctor touched the wound, All Roar cried out through gritted teeth. He
and Two Mountains were some of the lucky ones. Only six others survived the ordeal,
with two of those wounded—the rest had fallen to the men from the mist.

“We shouldn’t make assumptions,” Two Mountains said. “Yes,
they could be demons, or they could be something else. Angels from God, even.”

“Would a god do
this
?”
 
All Roar gestured to his leg, now being
cared to by his female addresser with a handful of
gigelin
leaf. The doctor tightened a string around the leg, holding
the leaf in place. All Roar grunted but seemed resigned to the remedy.

“Perhaps you should search your heart and ask if you’ve done
anything wrong,” Two Mountains said in jest. That only made All Roar angrier,
but there was nothing the second could do through all the pain. To suggest you
had angered God was a great insult. You might as well have called someone worthless.
But while that ordinarily might have led to a fight, All Roar and the others
let the comment slide. Their party was devastated enough. Most of the warriors
sat on rocks, with heads buried in their hands or looking distantly off in the
trees. Silent prayer was their custom, because God, after all, paid attention
to thoughts. Two Mountains hoped God was listening to his thoughts, and perhaps
sent some inspiration his way.

“Caves,” Two Mountains said aloud. The warriors looked at
him.

While the area they were in was far beyond their tribe’s
territory, it had been explored before. The rocky, cream-white cliffs in the
distance were familiar from the stories Two Mountains had heard. They gave the
Sun Valley its name, and were said to contain caves to shelter in while hunting.
Their distant ancestors were also said to have once dwelled in them. Getting
there would take some effort, but since it was getting late, the cliffs the
only logical place to spend the sunlight period.

“We have an hour’s hike.”
 
Two Mountains said this as if it was an
observation, and began gathering his scattered weapons. The other warriors,
still in shock, moved lethargically. “Come, all of you! We will dress your
wounds in the caves! Don’t you think sleep is important, too? Otherwise we
won’t be able to fight against these creatures!”
 
As they were told, the surviving party
members began marching with alacrity, muscles and joints burning. Spears and
bows were gathered and harnessed, and soon all were standing, even the wounded
ones, save for All Roar.

“Please, Two Mountains,” All Roar begged. “If they wanted to
kill us they could’ve done so by now. We have to rest here.”

“I do not know their tactics. At this moment, they might be
hunting us, or have lost us for the moment but are still looking. To sit still
is to invite death.” Two Mountains gestured toward the second. “Lift him. Since
he can’t walk, we’ll carry him to the caves.” Two healthy warriors did so,
hoisting All Roar up by his head and legs. They struggled a bit, and Two Mountains
rushed to help them out, putting the weight of the warrior’s torso on his
shoulders. It was only then he realized how his own feet burned.

“Not long, only an hour’s walk.”
 
He repeated his estimate of distance to
inject an air of confidence into the group. Two Mountains and the warriors
moved to the front of the party, the injured All Roar above them whacking away
branches and leaves. “I pray we find some shelter where we’re going,” Two
Mountains said aloud, and there were murmurs of agreement. Those were the last
words he spoke for an hour, as he struggled to conserve energy. Instead, he
focused on where he placed his feet and repeated in his mind the image of their
attackers.

***

Morning sunlight streamed into the cave. The white of the
rock walls helped the light illuminate the cave quite well, revealing the six
Colobus
survivors huddled inside. They
owed their survival to David, who’d spotted the cliffs and believed they’d find
shelter somewhere in them. Many cliffs pockmarked the limestone walls, but one
with a four-meter-wide entrance was the best fit for the six.

The light also illuminated something interesting that had
been hidden in the darkness. The walls were covered with paintings of
creatures—warriors hunting, a bolt of lightning, a rough outline of a
dog-shaped man. Everyone in the cave looked upon these images with awe. To
those among them who might have doubted the Kotaran-carrying-bodies story, this
was the proof there was life on this planet. To Roan, though, it was primitive
life.

“Perhaps not the best word to use,” David said, correcting
Roan’s use of the term. The Nyden was intently fixated on the images, even
running his talons over them. Some of the red ink the artist used stained
David’s fingertips, and he eyed the stuff with fascination. “What you call
‘primitive’ simply indicates a society does not utilize technology the way you
do. It carries a value judgment. It’s not wise to judge a culture you know
nothing about.”

“I didn’t have a value judgment,” Roan said.

“Maybe not, but attitudes like that have led to very evil
things.”
 
Brushing his fingertips
together, David wiped off the chalk. “These people are at a pre-industrial
stage. This will be the first time a galactic civilization has come across such
a planet, and we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of past explorers.
Going about first contact in the wrong manner may lead to catastrophe for the
natives.”

“We’ll deal with first contact once we deal with the
Kotarans,” Roan said. He eyed the door, brightly filled with sunlight,
expecting the silhouette of a Kotaran. Only a mile and a half separated the
crashed shuttle from the caves. They were going to get found out one way or the
other.

Moira, Sundar, Duvurn, and his bodyguard were all sitting
around, eating the morning meal. No one had gotten any sort of restful sleep,
except for maybe Duvurn, who had been drunk and was now devouring an entire
ration of pastry, cream caking his mouth. After the shuttle crashed, they were
lucky to discover a few packs of rations in its storage compartment, but they
were not enough for six people or even for one meal.

Roan looked among those assembled. Fat Bauxens, tired and
thin humans, and a Nyden. These were not the kind of people you could expect to
embark on a hunt.

“Nicholas Roan,” Duvurn said, somewhat jovial. “All you ate
was a few pieces of bread. Are you not hungry?”
 
He indicated a package of nutrition
crackers, designed to provide a boost of energy. “You can have these. I think I
am full.”

The glutton was lying, but Roan didn’t want the crackers
anyway. “No thanks, I’m not hungry.”
 
The very thought of food made his stomach churn. To eat food meant to
stop and think. It meant dwelling on the events of the past two months and,
more importantly, on what had happened in orbit. More important to Roan was
focusing on his hate for the Kotarans. On waiting for them to come at him so he
could kill as many as possible.

“You need to eat, Roan,” Moira said. Roan looked at her, and
an image of Kel assaulted his mind. Moira did look a bit like her. She even had
dark hair, though much longer. Roan nodded at Moira’s words but he didn’t take
any of the rations. Instead, he looked away at Sundar.

Moira continued, “I’m serious. All the stress you went
through is going to sap your energy. You’ll be an easy target for the
Kotarans.”

“Good,” Roan said. He picked the energy rifle up off the
cave floor. Just then he realized that if the battery pack died, there was no
way to recharge it. This planet was a month away from anything electronic. Any
shot he made was going to have to count.

It was fortuitous they’d found the cave. A slanted tunnel
formed the entrance to the cave, shielding them from direct outside view. The
main area was circular, with jagged edges, indicating it had probably been
formed by rain and erosion. Interestingly, a pillar sat in the middle of the cave
with ash on its top. David had said it was probably a place to make fire. There
was a breeze from the ceiling, and though the ceiling was shrouded in dark,
Roan assumed there was a hole there acting as a chimney. A family, or a small
community, could have sheltered here.

Too bad they would have to abandon it soon.

Roan slung the rifle strap over his shoulder and paced.
There was enough waiting around. As far as he was concerned, all assembled were
civilians and he was the only one who knew how to use a weapon. He didn’t trust
the Bauxen guard. They needed to find food, and a more secure place to hide.

“There’s gotta be game on this planet,” Roan said. High on
the sugar and salt they were eating, the gathered survivors barely looked up. “I’m
going to hunt. Keep the com line open in case I get ambushed or killed. If I
do, get out of here, fast.”
 
He was
awfully blunt, but that’s the kind of language that was needed now.

“You’re just going to walk out there?” Moira said. “You’re
in no shape for that!”

“We’re not on the
Colobus
,
doctor. You don’t have power over me.”

“Roan, it’s not about that. It’s just common sense.”

“Here’s the thing: none of you look like you’ve hunted in
your life. Well, neither have I, but I do know how to use a goddamn rifle. So
excuse me if I want to try and keep us alive instead of stuffing my face!”
 
When he said this, he was looking
squarely at Duvurn. The Prince scrunched his face in a frown, but Roan didn’t
care.

“I know you’re upset about Kel,” Moira said, setting her
food down and bolting straight up. “I get that. So are we, Nick. But you can’t
do anything about that now. We’re in a life or death situation and you need to
think about what’s going on
here
!”
 
She was met with the barrel of the
weapon in her face, Roan’s finger on the trigger, his arm shaking. Kel was
sacrosanct. Kel was not to be sullied by her lips. The nerve of Moira, to try
and use her to calm him down.

“Nicholas,” said a voice beside Roan. It was David’s. “Why
don’t you and me go outside? We should talk.”
 
The alien didn’t move or approach Roan,
which was probably for the best, because if he had tried to grab the gun Roan might’ve
fired it. Roan’s finger slipped from the trigger, and he aimed the rifle down,
leaving Moira shocked and mouth agape, eyes as big as eggs. All the eyes in the
cave were on Roan now. No matter; they counted little in his mind. He nodded to
David.

David followed behind. Roan was first out of the cave,
exiting on the white, knaggy slope that made up the edge of the cliff face. He
jumped a few feet down onto the level terrain beyond the slope. Gracefully,
David landed beside him, brushing dust off his tunic and then glancing from
side to side at the forest.

“Maybe we should talk about Kel,” David said.

“No.”
 
His
rejection was firm, absolute. Roan could tell David understood this.

“Very well.” Silence for a few moments. “Do you know I have
hunted before?”

Roan laughed. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe it, but because
it fit perfectly with David’s character. Just when Roan thought he’d had the
Nyden figured out, the guy revealed something surprising.

David continued, “As long as you don’t waste an animal’s
parts, and hunt only to survive, there is nothing wrong with killing an animal.
At least that’s what I believe.”

“And you’ve killed an animal before?”

“No. But I have partaken in a hunt.”
 
David said something in his language,
something that sounded like
three temtoto
,
but Roan did not quite make out the sounds. Without another word, David set off
to the right, beyond the edge of the cliff face. He was heading into the woods.
Figuring the Nyden knew what he was doing, Roan slung the rifle over his shoulder
and followed the man.

***

“Something’s coming!” a warrior shouted. Two Mountains and
his two helpful carriers put down All Roar’s body and lay low in the grass.
Ahead of them, there were footsteps and the sound of crashing branches. Two
Mountains angled his head above a log to catch a glimpse of the approaching
figures, and his right hand reached for the spear strapped to his back.

***

David was like an animal himself, tearing through the woods
with cheetah-like speed. If he hadn’t been a blue blob in an otherwise
colorless forest, Roan might’ve lost the guy. The Nyden halted in his forward
trek at a log up ahead, putting his appendages on his sides and scanning the
forest. Roan caught up, gasping for air, and slung his rifle off his back. He
was prepared for a beast to come running out of the woods.

“I just had this image of you as a Golden Retriever, David,”
Roan said.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s almost like you’re following your nose. Like a dog.”
David didn’t respond and Roan let it drop. Those alien senses of David probably
did pick up the scent of some beast moving through the woods, though. Roan salivated
at the thought of them picking up a deer or other such creature. Oh, how
delicious it would taste roasted over a fire. David better not have sensed a
skinny rabbit or he was going to empty the rifle into the sky.

“Seriously, David, is there an animal around here?”