Walking to the Stars (27 page)

Nick nodded. “Ablish, Aboriginal English. I can speak it."

Paul looked relieved and handed Nick a headset, which Nick pulled on.

"Hello?” Nick said, into the headset.

"Connecting you,” a voice said, and then over the distant static, hissing and crackling, Nick heard Talgerit saying, “Hello, unna? Anyone, unna?"

"Talgerit, this is Nick."

"Dr. Nick! Hello! Samuel said to use this frequency!"

The stream of Noongar from Talgerit dropped in and out, as the connection faltered, and Nick made writing motions at a bemused Paul, who was presumably listening in over his own headset.

Paul handed Nick a tablet and stylus, and Nick scribbled notes as Talgerit talked.

The connection failed in the middle of a circumlocution from Talgerit that had Nick shaking his head, and Paul said, “Headquarters said there's a storm rolling across the Indian Ocean, so he probably won't be back in touch for a while. Friend of yours?"

"Friend,” Nick said, looking at his notes. “Talgerit would like the World Government to know that the Noongars of Western Australia have taken back control of the southern part of the state from the resident military force, and they wish to be recognized as the, um, I guess de facto government is the best option, but that's not quite right. How about custodians? Also, they have some freighters and trains loaded with uranium ore that they don't know what to do with, and they rather hope someone will help out with that, too."

Paul rubbed at his forehead, looking confused. “Australia is just a couple of blokes in a shed in Broken Hill with a radio set. At least, that's what we thought."

Nick handed the tablet back to Paul. “I made notes. Good luck."

Another middle-aged man came through the door at the end of the hallway, calling out, “Did you find someone, Paul?"

"Yep,” Paul said. “This is Nick, and he speaks Noongar."

The man, weather-beaten and just a little battle-scarred, beamed at Nick and held out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Nick. I'm Dan. Guess you're from the same place I am then, though the only Noongar word I know is ‘marron', not that I've had a marron in twenty years."

Two more people ran through the door and skidded to a halt, the woman looking back over her shoulder and pushing masses of dark hair out of her face to call out, “No, Tamburlaine, stay outside!"

"Hi! You must be the stray Australian,” the man said, draping himself over Dan. “I'm Sid."

"Go back,” the woman said, sounding exasperated, and a procoptodon pushed its way into the hallway, completely filling the space and crushing the light fittings at that end of the hallway.

Behind Nick, Samuel said, “That's a big kangaroo. Why is it in South America?"

"Why is in the hallway?” Dan added. “Get Tambourine out, Kit."

"Sorry,” Kit said, heading down the hallway to push ineffectually at a large amount of procoptodon.

"We would have dropped in sooner,” Sid said, smiling disarmingly. “Only we were doing things elsewhere."

"What...?” Samuel started to ask, looking at Kit wrestling the procoptodon backward down the hallway.

"Security,” Dan said. “Fly in, fly out, sort out problems, that sort of thing."

Paul looked down at the tablet Nick had handed him back.

"How do you all feel about a trip back home, to sort out some uranium ore issues?” Paul asked, holding the tablet out so Sid and Dan could read it, too.

Talgerit was waiting for them, on the dock, when the freighter thudded alongside the jetty.

"Wonder what customs and immigration look like under the new management,” Samuel said, leaning over the railing to wave to Talgerit, who waved back with both arms.

"Talgerit?” Nick suggested. “I'm not sure we had customs and immigration before, just some people at the military post above the town, making sure no one was raiding the harbor."

Nick looked up, to where the turret and rocket launcher had been, then down into the harbor, at unfamiliar shapes sliding in the shadows under the jetty.

"Guess they're using a different approach now,” Nick said.

Talgerit hugged them both hard, as soon as they were on the dock, and Samuel asked, “Do you meet all the freighters, or just this one?"

"Waiting for you,” Talgerit said. “To give you a ride to the farm. Let's go."

"Can't,” Nick said. “We brought some supplies with us."

He pointed at the crane lifting a pallet off the deck of the freighter and swinging it across onto the dock.

The heat hit them, as soon as Talgerit's truck rumbled over the large hill outside town and rolled down, away from the coast. It was scorching hot, and so dry it made Nick's skin feel like it was cracking across his knuckles, just like every other summer on the farm. Beside him, in the cab of the truck, Samuel made a sagging noise, like someone had punched him, and Nick retrieved the water bottle from under their feet and passed it to Samuel.

"Thought it was hot in South America,” Talgerit said, sounding like he was laughing to himself.

"Hot, yes,” Samuel said. “But it's rainforest. Rain. Forest. With actual rain. How do people live here?"

"Drink plenty of water, eat salt,” Nick said. “And it will rain in June."

The wheat in the paddocks they were passing was golden and heavy on the stalk, bending and swaying in non-existent breezes, the soil around it dry and dusty, so the truck left a plume of kicked-up soil, like smoke. The seat under Nick's legs stuck to him with sweat, and the sun pounded through the glass of the windscreen.

Talgerit was full of news, about Girdagan's baby, the dismantling of the military presence, and the fire that had burned down to the coast, near Ravensthorpe. Samuel was quiet beside Nick, gulping down water, sweat running in streams down his neck and arms. Samuel would adjust, like everyone did. At least Samuel wasn't prone to whining.

Talgerit slowed the truck down, turning into the lane to the farm, and Nick asked, “Does Josh know we're back?"

"Josh has been busy,” Talgerit said.

"Wheat crop,” Nick said.” Of course."

Craning past Samuel, Nick could see the harvester, tracking slowly around one of the wheat paddocks, stream of chaff flying out of the back of it, a figure completely covered in protective clothing at the wheel in front.

Talgerit sounded the truck's horn as they went past, and parked the truck beside the largest shed, setting the geese off into a burst of crazed honking. Nick noticed that Talgerit seemed to have moved past the need for keys, or ignition controls at all, for the truck, which made sense if it was no longer powered by fuel.

Samuel clambered out the truck, and Nick followed, pushing Samuel toward the wide verandah of the house, Harold bounding around them, barking excitedly. There'd be cooler water inside, out of the sun.

Someone appeared at the door of the house, a young woman, and Nick had to hunt through his memory to find a name for her.

"Meggie. Meggie Maitland,” Nick said. “Hello there."

"Dr. Nick!” Meggie said. “C'mon in, I've got some cool water. Hello, Talgerit."

"This is Samuel,” Nick said, as they walked into the cool darkness of the house, past the racks of dusty raincoats and abandoned boots.

The kitchen had been cleaned since the last time Nick had seen it, scrubbed and tidied. Meggie lifted a jug of water out of a bucket draped in wet hessian, and poured them all drinks in glasses Nick hadn't seen in years but had vague memories of receiving as a wedding present, a lifetime ago.

"Unload the truck,” Talgerit said, putting his empty glass down and nudging Samuel with his elbow.

"Your room is just the same,” Meggie said. “Josh thought you might be back."

"Thanks,” Nick said, and he followed Samuel out, into the heat again.

Talgerit had lifted the tarpaulin off the back of the truck, and they'd started lifting crates and sacks down, when Josh came running down the lane, peeling off layers of insulating clothing.

"Dad!” Josh shouted, and Nick turned and held out his arms.

Josh hugged Nick, then he stepped back and studied Nick, safety goggles shoved on top of his head.

Nick grinned, and Josh said, “Your teeth!"

"Dental care,” Nick said, running his tongue over his newly capped front teeth. “You should try it some time."

Josh hugged Samuel, and Samuel said, “I brought you some things."

Meggie walked over from the house, wide-brimmed hat on her head shading her from the sun, and Josh grinned at her. “We have things from South America."

Samuel reached into the back of the truck and grabbed a sack. “Here,” he said, handing it to Josh. “Coffee."

"And cacao powder,” Nick said. “That's raw, solid chocolate."

"What else is in the truck?” Meggie asked.

Samuel lifted down a crate. “Everything,” he said. “Everything I could think of that I could freight. Electronic equipment, solar film, medical supplies, and enough spices to keep Talgerit happy for years."

Talgerit lifted another crate out. “I'll be back later, with a ‘roo, then, if Samuel's cooking."

Samuel wiped sweat from his face and grabbed the sack of spices and seeds. “I'm cooking,” he said. “If people want me to."

Later, when the sun had gone down and the heat had eased, Nick would come back outside and stand under the stars for a while. Maybe Josh would follow him out, and they could have a talk in private, about their lives and the future. Maybe he'd just listen to the whistle of the easterly howling through the gum trees and the distant boom of a procoptodon loping.

Right then, it was too hot to stand around in the sun, and Josh gave Nick an affectionate pat on the back, and they walked back toward the house and the shade.

End

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