SHU'KAN Read online

  ‘You’ve got to pull yourself up,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘I can’t hold on to you forever! Climb!’

  She reached up and grabbed his wrist with her other hand. He grunted painfully as she pulled. She worked her way up finally getting hold of the rope around his waist. He let go of her and began pulling them up.

  ‘Hold on!’

  She felt something wet on her face. His waist was soaked with blood. The friction burn had cut through his skin.

  Matheus kept pulling. His legs were now on the rock face so he could climb.

  ‘Pull Li’el! We need help!’

  ‘I’m pulling!’ he hollered.

  Matheus was sweating profusely. The edge of the precipice was finally there. Li’el reached down with one hand and grabbed Tr’al’s shirt. He pulled her up then helped Matheus up. They all collapsed together sucking air in their lungs. Tr’al cried thankfully. She was still alive!

  No one said anything for several minutes. They were giddy with relief. Tr’al lay resting with her head on Matheus’s chest. She could hear his breathing finally slow and his heart stop pounding. He was warm. –Warmer than she thought humans were. She could feel the outline of his chest against his face.

  He sat up wincing at the pain around his waist and shoulder. She hurriedly got up and looked at his wound. ‘You’re a mess! –Here, take your shirt off.’

  He carefully pulled his shirt over his head cringing from his shoulder. ‘Man, you’ve got a funny way of making friends,’ he said grinning. ‘You always do this kind of thing to people you hardly know?’

  She laughed slightly. His humor was horrible. ‘You need a sling for that arm,’ she replied changing the subject. She tore his shirt into two long strands and tied them together. She looped it around his neck and gently slid his arm through. ‘Your waist is bruised and cut. Not much we can do for it until we get you to our clinic at the settlement. –Li’el, can you grab his pack? We’ll have to take turns helping him walk.’

  ‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘Let’s get him back.’

  Silently observing from a safe distance, a woman watched as the trio moved along the trail towards the settlement. She’d followed their activities the entire day. Her interests were strictly professional. –Or, at least in the sense of her chosen profession. –And that was determined by who paid the most; which, at the moment, was Biotech. She’d been briefed that the female alien was the sister of the other Shu’kan that Fisher had working for him. He was looking for collateral and all she needed was an opportune time to get it. She’d been hoping that she could get her alone while in the jungle. People disappeared in the jungle all the time. –Especially people unfamiliar with their surroundings. But, she was patient. Eventually the opportunity would present itself.

  They took turns helping Matheus walk. By the time they got to the settlement, it was late in the afternoon.

  Li’el went home while she took him to the clinic. From there, a call was made for someone to pick him up. They sat in the clinic lobby while he waited for his ride.

  ‘Listen,’ she said looking him, ‘I didn’t get to say thank you for saving me.’

  He looked away a little embarrassed. ‘It was nothing really. I just reacted. –You’ve done the same for me. Besides,’ he said wiggling his sore arm, ‘I got a cool sling out of it. –Just a strained shoulder.’

  ‘You were lucky,’ she replied. ‘-Any harder on that arm and the Doctor said it would’ve been dislocated.’

  ‘Well, I hope this doesn’t mean you think you’re too dangerous to hang out with me?’ He grinned challengingly at her.

  She was starting to like his smile. –For a human, he was kind of cute. ‘-If my Father ever lets me out again. I still have to go home and explain why I’m late. But Li’el is going with me to explain what happened.’ She’d gotten a few cuts and bruises herself, but nothing serious. She just hoped her father didn’t over react.

  Chapter Seven

  Tr’al spent the next few days immersing herself in her studies. The new school on the settlement was huge. It was built for the Shu’kan, but now the children from Matheus’s village attended. As part of the immersion effort, the Brazilian government requested to use the school as well. –That meant Matheus was attending. She’d tried meeting with him during their breaks, but their schedules were on different rotations. They did share a lunch period though.

  They enjoyed their time together. He told her stories of his ancestors and growing up in the village while she shared stories of her family and the customs of the Shu’kan. But he was most fascinated about their travels through space; so she explained everything she knew about their ships and the FTL drives.

  The day was ending as she packed her studies and began to leave. She was almost to the exit when she heard her name.

  ‘Hey, Tr’al! –Hold up!’

  She turned to see Matheus jogging up the hall. ‘Hello,’ she said with a smile. ‘How did your day go?’

  ‘Well. I got some homework to do, but not much. –Can you walk me to the bus? –Like to chat with you for a minute.’

  They went outside together and slowly walked to his bus waiting outside.

  ‘You know,’ he said, ‘the settlement is getting pretty big, isn’t it?’

  She looked around fully appreciating the meaning of his words. Hundreds of houses were completed. The community building was still the largest structure at the center, but now the school behind them was complete and the library was nearing completion as well. ‘It sure is. Leader Bro’na says everything is near completion.’

  Well, you know,’ he continued, ‘I can’t help but notice the large amounts of food that is flown in here all the time. –I mean, the whole village notices. But now that you’ve pretty much identified what you can or cannot eat, I was thinking that I could suggest to the elders of my village to begin trading food with the settlement.’

  I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Matheus. We’re already a burden here. Even this settlement is on your lands. –We’ve taken enough.’

  ‘It wouldn’t be for free. We need skills that you could offer. –Let’s be honest. We are a village of farmers. It’s what we do. But your knowledge can increase our crop production. You have medical facilities that we don’t have. And your library could be a tremendous asset.’

  She thought about it deciding he was making a good argument. They could cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship. ‘Well, it’s not up to me anyway. Leader Bro’na makes those decisions. But I think you may have a point.’

  He dropped his books and picked her up in a giant hug. He winced in pain as his shoulder reminded him to be careful. ‘Thanks, Tr’al,’ he said setting her down easily. ‘This can work, I know it!’

  ‘Well don’t get to excited. I’ll talk to my Father. He’ll have to suggest it to Leader Bro’na.’

  ‘Ok!’ he said jumping on his bus. ‘We’ll talk tomorrow!’

  The bus quietly began to move away as the Negrav drive took over. She looked after it for a moment lost in her thoughts.

  He’s getting better. –Lifted me up like a sack of fruit. –Felt kind of good, though.

  She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was a crazy idea, this trade thing, but a beneficial one if they could get it to work.

  Four days later, she was boarding a Negrav Pod to go to the village. She and Matheus were the guests of honor as Leader Bro’na waited to board behind them. Somehow she’d talked her father into the idea who then took it to Leader Bro’na. Now they were part of an official delegation to the village.

  Matheus was beaming with satisfaction as she sat next to him. It was odd that she felt totally at ease next to him when she had known him for so short a time.

  Leader Bro’na and an assistant sat across from them and talked aimlessly about their negotiations. He fretted about human customs and recited several greetings in the native language. The whole thing had blossomed into a big event. It was almost as if the village and the settlement had
finally found the icebreaker everyone was looking for. She sat back and smiled. Living at the settlement just might be okay after all.

  They floated to a stop and she could see outside the windows that they’d arrived. A throng of people had gathered outside. For a moment, she wondered what all the fuss was about, and then realized many of them hadn’t seen a Shu’kan before. As they disembarked the Pod, audible gasps came from the crowd. A man stepped forward and bowed with his palms up. –The traditional Shu’kan greeting. She was impressed. Whoever he was, he’d done his homework as well.

  ‘Welcome, Leader Bro’na, to Uruara! Thank you for agreeing to meet here in our humble village.’

  ‘It is you that honor us Elder Thiago. We look forward to our time together.’ Leader Bro’na shook hands with everyone present as was the tradition. He then stepped back for the females to be introduced.

  ‘As you have probably guessed,’ Leader Bro’na continued, ‘this is the Boy Matheus’s friend Tr’al. It was these two that bridged the meeting of our two settlements.’

  Tr’al was suddenly hugged by the female beside Elder Thiago and then kissed three times on each check. She tried not to show her surprise. Matheus grinned at her with a laugh in his smile.

  ‘It is tradition to kiss a single females cheek three times for good look finding a spouse.’

  ‘Oh, well, I’m not really looking for a mate right now.’

  The entire congregation laughed and she wondered what she’d said that was so funny. She decided to laugh along anyway.

  ‘Come Leader Bro’na. We have much to discuss.’ Elder Thiago wrapped his arm around the Leader’s shoulder and directed him and his assistant inside a building.

  ‘It seems we’ve been forgotten,’ Matheus said. C’mon! I’ll show you around!’

  He took her hand and dragged her away. They walked together down the village street while he pointed out things of interest. She tried to pay attention, but her hand in his was distracting her. She wasn’t quite sure why, but the feeling was pleasant though strange. They reached the end of the village and decided to sit under a tree for some shade. She noticed a rundown building across from them. ‘What’s that building?’

  He frowned and was hesitant to reply. ‘It’s a bar that opened to entertain Earth Fleet soldiers. We’ve had nothing but trouble since some of them started coming here to drink. And now, to make matters worse, they flew in several call girls that live in the upstairs rooms.’

  ‘-Call girls?’ she inquired.

  ‘-Y’know. Girls.’

  She looked at him waiting for him to explain further.

  ‘-Girls! For…you know…guy girl…stuff?’

  She suddenly realized what he was talking about and turned her head in embarrassment. ‘Oh. You mean…that stuff.’

  ‘Well,’ he continued, ‘we certainly don’t approve here in the village, but they were prohibited from building any human inhabitants on the new settlement. Thiago is trying to get them to leave, but Earth Fleet is powerful and he’s had no success yet. –C’mon. Let me show you our gardens.’

  He took them down a path that started between two buildings and ran ahead of her. ‘C’mon, I’ll race you!’

  She took the challenge and easily caught up to him. They ran side by side laughing as each of them pulled the other back to get ahead. She couldn’t remember ever enjoying such a lively experience. To be able to run freely on the ships was a luxury that just wasn’t available.

  The thick foliage abruptly ended as they came to the fields. She could see acres of crops growing and dozens of villagers tending them. To the far right, a barren field was being plowed with two mules. Cart after cart was being heaped with vegetables and fruits. Some of them she’d never seen before. ‘I had no idea your village fields were this big. How much food do you grow?’

  ‘We grow enough for ourselves and the rest to sell. We take it to the other villages downstream to sell or trade. The field being plowed is for your settlement. We hope to grow plenty of food for you as well.’

  They walked through the fields occasionally stopping for Matheus to introduce her to someone he knew. He patiently explained the types of plants that they grew and suggested she taste some. She feigned concern for having a reaction to something, but he insisted that he’d done his research. She already knew the same thing, but allowed him to feel important.

  The sun was low in the sky by the time they finished touring the fields and returned to the village. The walk back was less energetic. Leader Bro’na was already outside saying his farewells to Elder Thiago. She hurried over not wanting him to have to wait for her.

  ‘Leader Bro’na, I’m sorry. We were exploring the fields and lost track of the time.’

  ‘No apology necessary, Tr’al,’ he said patting her shoulder. ‘We have just finished our negotiations. It appears that we will have a strong trade relationship in the near future!’

  Leader Bro’na is excited, she thought. The meeting must have gone well.

  ‘Well,’ he continued, ‘we’ll take our leave.’ He turned to say final farewells so she did the same with Matheus.

  ‘I had a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing your day with me.’

  ‘It was fun. I’m glad you came.’

  They stood awkwardly for a moment. She could tell he liked her, but she was apprehensive. It probably wouldn’t work. She was beginning to like him as well, but they were two different species. They’d have to stay friends.

  ‘Say, why don’t you and your friends come back to the village tomorrow? There’s no school on the weekend and we can go swimming?’

  She laughed. ‘We have a swimming pool on the settlement.’

  ‘That’s not the same. I know a great place to swim on the river. You’ll love it! What do you say?’

  Leader Bro’na was boarding the Pod. She had to hurry.

  ‘Okay. I’ll try. –But no promises! Father will have to give me permission. If I can make it, we’ll be here at one o’clock.’

  She ran to the Pod.

  ‘Bring Li’el!’ he hollered.

  She boarded without answering and settled in for the ride. Swimming on the river did sound fun.

  Father would be excited to hear about the large fields. Botany was his favorite subject.

  She pushed the last youngling from her abdomen resting for a moment while its legs struggled to free itself from the sticky fluid. She’d been pleased with her litter allowing them to live and feed. She’d called for dozens of the aging members of her brood. They dutifully boarded her ship and waited patiently in line as she tore their heads from their torsos one by one to feed her emerging litter. They fed hungrily on the carcasses as she continued with the birthing.

  She watched candidly as the last of the younglings finally freed itself. It was female. It was not often that a queen gave birth to another female. It was her duty to protect her and feed her until she was ready to take the brood. –But not yet. It would be many more years before she was compelled to turn her brood over. She was still young. –And she was hungry. She snapped her large mandibles severing its head cleanly. Its fresh blood began to ooze in a pool. She quickly drew the fluids from its body before the sweet liquid was wasted. She then tore its flesh apart relishing the tender meat. She was fortunate to have the meal. It would have been a pity to waste another male.

  She finished eating then dismissed them. Her litter was already strong enough to join the brood. They would go to the surface to assist with building more ships.

  Her plan to procure more food was ready. She would rest, and then she would strike. The watch ship she’d left behind stopped communicating some time ago. She’d found the small colony on the other planet and tried to investigate, but the species fought fiercely. Once she could no longer control the ship, she released the mind of her brood and allowed it to crash into the settlement. She only hoped enough damage was done to eliminate them. –Likely an equipment failure. If that was the case, then her brood surely turned on each other if
they’d survived. With her mental link gone, they were no more than animals. It was insignificant regardless. She was much more interested in the planet that had a ripe harvest available. Like the last time, she would only take from the planet what was necessary for her brood to survive. After that, the surface breeding facility would be ready.

  Satisfied, she spun a fresh silk pad. It was comforting after her birthing efforts. She sent a command for her brood to rest and felt them all drift to sleep. Only then did she allow herself to sleep as well. She would need her rest. The food source would not come willingly.

  Admiral McConnel was pleased with progress. Earth Fleet shipyard was truly magnificent. They were already building new ships before the Shu’kan arrived; now they would add the FTL drives. Research and development was working hard on adapting it to Negrav. It was only a matter of time. Like the virus team in Reykjavik, the team here worked around the clock. Shu’kan scientists worked hand-in-hand with humans. Once the technology became compatible, it was simply a matter of putting the drives on the ships. Already, another carrier, eight battle cruisers, eleven destroyers, six supply frigates, and two more medical frigates were complete. Earth Fleet was beginning to look like alive again.

  From this height, he could see it all. The Negrav Pod remained perfectly motionless as he surveyed his armada. Only the hum of its engines was audible. Soon, Earth could boast a formidable space fleet once again.

  Surface defenses were now part of Earth Fleet doctrine. The Hiver’s attack was a hard lesson learned. This time, not all their eggs were in one basket. With only the fleet in space and minimal air defenses, Earth didn’t stand a chance. Now, Earth Fleet boasted a surface-atmosphere cannon that could wipe out a small moon. It measured almost a half a mile at the base. Five more were in development in strategic locations across the globe.