Chapter 20: Attraction
The walk was refreshing but disturbing. Vapour had just returned to his duties. She was informed by Guide that she had to wait for two moon cycles until the technician finished the upgrades on her allocated duty station. A grouchy technician was not exactly desirable to be near with the hissing, growling and snarling. Especially when he came from the other ship. Even the Hunters avoided him. Their hissing, growling and snarling was a posturing show for superiority. The technician was more likely to fillet their flesh off at first chance. Do first answer later. No need for a show. They knew he would do it. She knew he can do it. No one wanted to test the patience of that technician to see how long they can survive.
The inseparable duo were looking over a small device with interest in the passageways. She went over and they smiled. Care to study a small settlement we found?
Study prey? What for? Her eyebrow raised.
They can be interesting. They chorused. Well? Interested? Both snorted. We put a device in their field earlier today. Besides it is good to know how prey thinks.
Are we going to consume them after? Her hunger...not hungry really.
No. They need to breed. If we keep feeding, there would not be enough prey. We only take what we need. They shook their heads. It was odd how they did almost everything in unison. Almost.
Breed?
The younger prey. They breed one out of a pair at a time. And the other quipped. Or two at a time.
The other ship's Commander seem to like younger female prey. She added.
They snorted in disgust. He has no regard for balance in prey population.
Then they hissed at the images they saw in her mind. He likes to toy with them. The way he feeds off those young ones is more about power and control. Not a good example. There must be respect for those we feed on. Even the Hunters from other ships have some form of respect for those they hunt.
She smiled evilly as she thought of how she fed on the Ancient Scientist.
Well, it is your perogative and that particular one offended you. That was his punishment. Feeding can be used as a form of punishment on an offensive action. Or several actions. They shrugged.
So what does your device do? She queried while glancing at the small organic blob-like object. They quickly detailed how they were going to listen in and also watch. It will transmit information telepathically. Like some of the interfaces on the ship. She poked at it. It wobbled minutely. Interesting.
Hey. Don't do that. They reprimanded her in unison. Apparently it was a prototype they constructed using spare organic parts of the ship which no one bothered about. Guide from the control room was also coming. He was a co-collaborator on the design and build of the device. Of course. He was that brilliant. So learning about the prey they consume must be important.
The group of four moved along the trees on hills. The moon was rising early in this location but the sky was still a clear blue. The two ships were the size of her hands from that distance.
The birds which flew overhead looked like reptiles covered in feathers. New worlds meant new creatures. A translucent beetle flew past her. She could see its partially digested prey inside. There were four legged insects which resembled the Iratus with their webs but they were no bigger than her fingernail. Their webs were large and hung high above a tree. The native lifeforms were oblivious to their stealth movements.
Then a small hill came up. Behind it was two tiny plumes of smoke.
Perfect. The inseparable duo chorused, pleased with their lookout. They could see a small group of prey. Close enough to hear remnants of the preys' noises. Far enough to remain hidden.
There are about twenty in the settlement. Probably four or five nests of them. They approximated.
Guide signaled them to activate the device. The wobbly blob started transmitting telepathic images and sound. Fascinating. This could eliminate the use of scouts. It was as though they were in the settlement itself.
The device projected moving images into their minds. A couple walked past. A young male and female. Their hands were locked. He was whispering something to her. She laughed and did a graceful turn. He stroked her long blonde hair. An older couple went past and said something to them. Four of them seemed to laugh.
The sound is not working. She was not too happy. She wanted to know what they said. She was that curious.
It is a prototype. They looked at her. Not perfect.
The elimination of scouts is now unlikely. She would be more than likely be sent in to scout on the next raiding trip. A soft sigh escaped her.
The images continued. Two young ran towards the young couple. The male prey picked up one and bounce one young in his arms. The female prey held the other hand in hers. She planted a kiss on the male prey's cheeks.
A thought popped into her head. She could just walk in on the happy couple, drain their lives in front of each other. Perhaps she could enjoy their last looks at each other. Her thought was interrupted by a sharp burst of light in her mind.
You are becoming like the one who grabbed your throat when we first landed. Brutality should be used when necessary. Guidehissed softly. Let them be.
She sulked and disengaged her mind from the telepathic link. The other three seemed to be silently enjoying the images. A warm breeze brushed the grasses across the hill. She looked at the distance. There was a small pile of logs as small figures move around it. Four smaller figures were chasing each other. There was a bundle of something being bounced in the arms of one adult probably. She did not understand prey sometimes. Why would they bounce a bundle?
Her mind concentrated intensely focusing on the group of prey. Like the way the Hunters taught her.Visualise the prey and increase their size for an aim. Localise their vocal communication for added precision. It was a mind exhaustive practice which increased the frequency of feeding. No wonder the Hunters were allocated extra rations before a raid.
Her focus returned to the prey.They grew bigger in her mind. She could see some of their features now. The rest were hazy. Sounds, there were sounds. It was their language. She could hear them speaking a language similar to Ancient but there were some deviation because she could not make out some. Still intelligible.
There was still too much telepathic noise in the background which strained and pulled her mind. She has not mastered the method to filter yet. Perhaps she should concentrate on the two who broke away from the group to walk near the shadows. She closed her mind and focused on them.
Images started forming in her mind and closing in. She saw the figures in the shadows, another couple. Uninteresting. Pointless to see what they look like. Now for what they were saying. Her mind amplified the sounds slowly and filter whatever it could. Words started forming comprehensively but not complete. The male was kissing the neck of the female. A feminine voice of the female said something about attracted to him and something about love. His deeper voice seem to talk about marriage. Whatever those words mean. She never understood them.
Another voice entered her mind. Someone was getting nearer to the couple. A different feminine voice seem raised as the words of promise and something about how the male left her. The two females seem to be shouting about he being theirs. Oh, so female can own the male in their species. It was good to let the prey of the settlement live then. Her mind vaguely saw the two females tugging each other's hair. Oh a fight. That is interesting. Female prey of this settlement are so vicious. She liked that and promised silently that she will not consume females from this particular settlement.
More voices enter. More hazy figures appear near the trio she was mindwatching. Words from others, something about there was no attraction , he was attracted to her, love could be troublesome andmore on stop the fight. No, she do not want the fight stopped. That would be no fun. The fighting females were tearing at clothes pointlessly. She shook her head. That would not cause much damage physically. Useless. Stupid move.
A arm nudged her and broke her concentration. The three were going back to the ship. They had their fill of prey watching. She got up and follow with a bright smile on her face. The three were busy discussing the behavior of the prey they observed, how the prey also preyed on other smaller lifeforms, and how they needed to throw their dead food on the open fire. Then the discussion turned to an estimated forecast of the prey population based on every pair they spotted in the settlement. She snickered and the three looked at her.
The females appear to fight over mating rights of the male in the settlement. She added thoughtfully. Your calculations are based on the fact that every available and possible pair breed. An overestimate, in fact.
True. Even with the Ancients and Lanteans, we never understood how they breed. Their numbers are more constant than others in settlements. Just flat instead of incremental numbers. We assumed that a mate is chosen based on superior genetics. They appear quite obsessed with genetic material. At the rate , they are manipulating genes. There could already be a few hundred species they created. The inseparable duo uniformly chimed in.
In the less advanced settlements around our planetary system, they cannot select based on superior genetics when the gene technology does not exists. The pairings appear to be based on something else. I never understood it. And I came across pairings where genetic deformities in one mate can be accepted. That damages their lineage since the genetic deformity will run in the future generations. Guide contributed.
There is someone who might know but I doubt that you would dare to approach him on the subject. The inseparable duo stroked their beards.
Who? She would dare to approach anyone.
Second in Command's brother. You showed us your memories. He appears to know the mating rituals of the prey. Or the very least courtship rituals. They offered tactfully. Perhaps not anyone.
I do not like that idea. Guide objected. He did not become a Commander over knowledge sharing. Dealing with him means offering something he can use in return. And in case, there are defects with your perceptions, we are in the lower rank hierarchy. We have nothing to offer of use.
Her. The inseparable duo pointed to her in synchronised precision. There are rumors that he has an interest in her. A mating interest.
Telepathic rumors. Great. Occurs when someone in the know, do not shield their minds on a certain topic. Regularly it happens because most tend to scan passing minds for information and for use. She did carefully shielded that information. It was unlikely that the Vapour would be the one. He blocked everyone out. It could only be those from the other ship.
That is fire, you are suggesting that she plays with. Fire burns. Guidecautioned. He took a close sniff at her. He inhaled on her neck. His sensor pits twitched mildly and he looked as though he was savoring a taste of her scent.
Hey! She jumped out of his way.
There is perhaps an interest. Most likely not mating. More of self interest. She is not producing the necessary amount of pheromones . Yet. Guideannounced with confidence. The three gawked at him at the entrance of the ship as he politely excused himself to meet with his Commander and Vapour.
Pace. Pace. Pace. He pinched his nose ridge. Pace. Pace. Pace.
He walked towards a wall of his quarter, turned and walked towards the opposite wall. A growl of frustration ensued. His long white hair flew as he took another turn. His brother. The one who loathed Ancients and Lanteans with a passion. Had made a careless move on the hybrid female. A rather open display with the female in the grasslands. This was too easy. There had to be a catch. Yet a challenge. He will win this challenge. Definitely not his brother who was a mere second. That female would be the key.
It was fortunate that his brother's Commander was oblivious to anything other than protecting the female child to their final designation. Commanders of the old ways were useful. They were too focused on the main mission than to play in the politics of their kind. They also tend to return loyalty to those who ensured the success of their mission. The upgrades on that old ship was a small price to pay.
Time to advance. The plan is set in action.
The door opened. His subordinate came in and bowed.
She walked along the pulsating passageways towards her quarters after an animated discussion with the inseparable duo on their outing. The subordinate was there. Outside her quarters. Holding small woodenbox. He greeted her politely.
His Commander wished her to have this item as he opened the box to display it. Laid on the top of the red silk lining was a shiny dark metallic piece fashioned like an Iratus. Red gems delicately surrounded the sides of the piece. Breathtakingly elegant. She touched it. The one who made it was an expert at setting such a beautiful masterpiece. She has never seen anything like it. Not even on the most adorned Ancient female she saw in the facility. Not even in the marketplace of the old City. What was it used for? It did not look like a hair piece.
The subordinate smiled. If she wished to know, she had to meet his Commander at the entrance of her ship when the first light break at the horizon. Only his Commander knew. Not a low ranking officer like him. She closed the box . She would accept it. He bowed and left.
She turned around back to the control room and found Vapour testing the interface at his station. The only other being was the grouch of the technician digging around the neural relays at the front. She pushed the box to him with a questioning look. He looked at it and open. Another gift from his brother to his female crew member. Expected move but he had no idea what it was. From examining it carefully, he knew it was too delicate to be a personal distress beacon or tracker. If she wanted to know, she would have to meet his brother. If he was in her situation, that would not be an option but she was not him. She was too curious to care about the danger. Youth was always troublesome.
Just remember the alternative solution if you do not want to encourage him. Tire him out.
She nodded and returned to her quarters.
It was a game of two only. At least, he only be at the side as her adviser. The female was no Lantean or Ancient. Guide had reported to Vapour an opinion of her. She is intelligent , learnt fast, highly flexible to changes but he sensed something disturbing about her internally . She was similar to his brother. The nuance was that one learnt the behavior from experience while the other had it in her genes. Experience vs Genetics. Which will win? A very intriguing game. They would attempt to kill each other if there was a chance. Perhaps both will not prevail. His brother is trying to use her against him. His brother revealed a fatal flaw. On direct challenge, he detected a tiny leak of emotion when their minds locked at the grasslands. His brother. Ruthless. Yet very obsessed with the female.
The technician's loud growl alerted him to the interface controls. It was going to be a long while before he can return to his quarters.
Attraction. Fatal.