Chapter 21: To the Death!
Fear the reckoning of those you have wronged – Norse Proverb
Riding Is-if-Nih through the black tunnels is dizzying. Its body swerves as the way curves down and right, and then slants upwards to the left. I flail around trying to hang on.
"Anu, bend! Is-of-Nih bend, Anu bend."
"Got it. Trying."
I focus on staying in place and try to align our centers to help Is-of-Nih keep steady footing and swift pace.
The increase in the tapping of the little brush-like feet alerts me that Is-of-Nih's bloodline is joining us. The air grows denser as more and more of them crowd alongside and behind us. We are leading an army of tiny footfalls towards a Nih-ordered goal and I know only part of the plan. I must trust my friend and it's Bearer. There is bravery and strength in these creatures.
Yes, trust, Anu. Trust me. Nih's voiceless voice soothes inside my head.
"All good!" The creaky voice of my mount chimes in. I must assume that all his kind have heard their mother's thoughts to me. Did they hear mine?
Our tunnel abruptly stops at a closed door. Is-of-Nih opens it, allowing a dim light to shine on us from beyond. It holds me steady as the countless kin pour past us.
"What is happening?" I ask, in a whisper.
"Important work. Good work. You see. Now quiet!"
I sink into its back at the order as if I were a tiny pup, then startle at the sudden commotion of roars, shrieks and blasts of an energy weapon. As suddenly as it started, it is quiet.
Is-of-Nih carries me forward into the dim room, chattering, "Anu, look!"
All around the room, bloody pieces of Hish are carelessly flung. Standing over the mess, are all the other Is-of-Nihs, busy grooming gore from their bodies.
"Anu? Please get off."
"Oh? Sei, of course." I scoot from the fuzzy back and continue looking around the room, in awe of what these small creatures have done. This is the command bridge.
"Anu, good?" My friend seems to plead for approval.
"Uh, sei, good. Very good! But, you could have done this any time! You could have been free long ago, why only now?"
Is-of-Nih does its 'I am puzzled' head cock. So very Yautja-like except for his Naxa-round head. Then I speak aloud to the Bearer.
"Nih, why have you waited until now to kill them? You could have done it long ago."
Nih's reply forms in my head. Anu, remember the Hish lied to us. They told us the Yautja and others were out to kill us and that only THEY would be our protectors, our defenders. They manufactured things to convince us. I am…sorry I did not see the truth. Now, hurry! You must stop your race – they are killing us!
"What? Show me!"
The bridge's viewer blinks on and I see our battle fleet. I take in the many broken ships and scattered pieces of metal floating by as the area is scanned. Then the picture focuses on a tiny transport moving toward a Hish ship. The transport quickly becomes a shower of blue sparks as a Yautja energy beam marks where it used to be.
"Nih, that little ship was full of your children?"
Yes. They are gone now. Can you stop this? The Hish on all the ships are dead now. Killed as you see them on this bridge. My children go to their ships to repair and command them. We return to our Homeworld to free it from the remaining Hish. We only wish to leave.
"I understand Honored Nih. I will try. Can you show me where the com controls are?"
My Is-of-Nih leads me to the Mission Elder's chair in the center of the room. It squats so I can climb on its back to reach the seat, and then scrambles up beside me.
"Anu, tell. Is-of-Nih do."
"I need to contact the lead Yautja ship. Do you know which one that is?"
"H'ko. I show all, you pick."
The viewer shows me a larger scene of many Yautja ships. One is larger than most of the others and is positioned at the front where the main body of Hish seem to have been attacking.
"Try that one."
"High Matriarch, there is nothing I would rather do than fight by your side, but I cannot assure you that we can make it back to Yaut. The majority of the fleet is seriously damaged. If we flee, few of us will return to assist you."
"Honorable Ro-gn, if you do not flee, none of you will be able to help us! Find a way!"
"Sei, Most Honored, it shall be done."
Snapping off the com switch, I issue the dreaded orders to the fleet. "We are commanded to return to Yaut. We will defend our world on the ground with our Matriarchs and Bearers. Assess your ships! If you can return with us, do so. If you cannot, place yourselves between us and them, if you are able. Purchase for us who return as much of a lead as possible in the race to reach home. Every moment you buy for us with your lives will increase our odds. We honor you in death and pray for Cetanu to welcome you. We will tell our children of your greatness. This plan will be executed on time mark 08.09.02."
I see the flightless among us begin sputtering what little power they have left to position themselves between us and the Hish. One ship fires plasma canon to drive itself a small distance and join up with another slow moving craft which pushes it along using tiny bursts of directional landing thrusters.
Such valor. You are all the bravest of us. I would give my own life if it would save yours.
The viewer blurs before I switch it off to see many of the bridge crew members clearing their eyes before continuing their duties. All is still as we wait for time to pass. All eyes remain fixed on the ramshackle wall of spacecraft assembling.
My second interrupts, "Honorable One, the tiny transports still flow to the ships. Should we keep firing on them?"
"Sei. Their function is unknown. Spare none."
The strange small craft have puzzled us since we first saw them, but we have not had time to investigate. Surely the Hish do not call their pups into service?
The horrifying thought jolts me, but there is no time to consider it.
"Honorable One, there is a signal from one of our stranded ships."
"On the viewer," I command.
"Ro-gn! Something has happened. The Hish ships are drifting. All of them!"
What? Impending death affects his senses.
"Navigator, are they drifting?"
"It will be a moment while I take measurements, Honorable Ro-gn."
My talons count the time on the arm of my metal command chair as I try to distract myself. The chair arm is full of tap points, like the pitted surface of a far away moon.
"Sei, Honorable Ro-gn, they are drifting – all of them."
I roar frustration, "What new trickery is this! Scan the ships for life signs."
"Honorable One, the Hish ships are full of life sign, in fact, there are MORE life signs that we previously registered."
"Well what did they do?" I ask sarcastically, "Divide?"
"Perhaps several times," is the serious answer.
"Halt the order to go to Yaut."
"But Ro-gn," my second pleads, "That may be exactly what they are trying to get us to do."
I glare at him, knowing he may be right. To Hel with my pride.
"Any of you! What is your opinion of this?"
A bevy of shrugs and blank stares greet me until my third states, "There is no dishonor in staying to fight."
"My orders are to return home," I remind him.
"I do not guarantee we can win a ground war on Yaut," another says.
"War guarantees nothing!" I hiss back.
"Honorable One, we are being contacted…by an approaching Hish vessel."
"Viewer!"
I turn my chair to face the flickering rectangle as Hish tech tries to mate with ours. The sand storm slowly forms an image which clears even as my jaws gape open. This cannot be…
"Anu?"
"Sei, Honorable Elite Trainer Ro-gn. It is me. And this is…"
"Are you injured, child? Captured?"
"Honorable One, please permit me to explain. I am well."
She points to the thing beside her that has a round hairy head and many legs. "This is my friend, Is-of-Nih. Its race was enslaved by the Hish out of their fear of us. I have explained the truth to them. They have just now killed the Hish and wish for peace. The small ships you are firing on carry only them. Please stop killing my friends! The Hish are no longer a threat to us."
"Shut off the transmission." When the viewer blackens, I consult with the others.
"What do you think?"
"Obviously a trick. How could a mere student, barely out of puphood be on a Hish ship?"
"The ships are still full of life-forms, Ro-gn. This is a trap."
"It would seem so, but where is the logic? Why would the Hish go to all the trouble of kidnapping one of our young and then setting her up to tell such a wild story? There are old stories of the stupidity of the Hish. That they have to depend on intelligent slaves to run their ships. In many legends, there is a crumb of truth.
"Viewer on, resume transmission."
The figures of the small student and her odd companion return. She is dwarfed by the Hish command chair which makes her look even more like a tiny pup.
"Anu, you will understand if I have difficulty in believing what you say."
"I understand and I have told Is-of-Nih so. Let me swing this sending viewer around the room and you will see the torn-up bodies of Hish, along with the victorious bloodline of Is-of-Nih."
The scene slowly moves across the Hish bridge and I see exactly what Anu stated. Bloody pieces of Hish are everywhere, along with the odd animals she calls, Is-of-Nih.
"Report! Are the Hish ships still drifting?"
"Sei, Honorable Ro-gn. I continue to track them. None have used their engines."
"Anu, I will board a pod and dock with you. Meet me. The bridge is yours, Second."
I meet the unbelieving looks of my crew with jaws full out, "Get out of my way! I go to prove this true or false. If it is true, it is worth the risk."
The pod, meant for hurtling down to a planet, is pushed by its steering jets in the direction of the Hish landing bay where doors have opened to permit my entrance. There is no gravity in the pod and I grab the hold-fasts with hand and foot talons to keep from thumping the sides like a loose nut.
Floating into the lighted bay, the door shuts behind me and a gravity force takes hold, toppling my tubular craft ungraciously onto its side. Door side down, of course. I begin trying to use my body to roll things to where I can exit when I feel the pod being moved for me – upright. When the movement stills, I tap the code to exit and the metal door slides open.
All around me are those things – those Is-of-Nih beasts. A team of them are holding my pod with their large exterior jaws. Only a single set, but impressive.
Standing in the midst of this sea of hairy rust is Anu, face flushed and standing tall.
"Welcome, Honorable Elite Trainer Ro-gn. Please step carefully."
"I will. From what I saw of the Hish, one could easily lose a foot."
My comment is met by her laughter which puts me more at ease. Nothing indicates she is being held against her will.
"Come, Honorable One. Let us show you the conquered Hish and then the Bearer of these brave ones wishes to meet you. She is on her way to us right now and will meet us on the bridge. She is their Matriarch."
"And she comes to us?"
"Honorable One, you could not fit through the travel tubes to go to her. They were made for her children – the ones here. She will come to you."
"You speak their language now, Anu?"
"Well…sei. I guess I do, in a way. These you see here have voices and my Is-of-Nih, this one, does speak Yautja. But the Bearer, she is called Nih, she speaks inside my mind, just like she does with her children."
This Matriarch could be controlling you, Anu. Caution must remain high.
I slowly step from the pod and follow Anu. The sound of my pod being lowered onto the deck makes me check back over my shoulder. The entire army of knee-high beings is coming with us.
Reflexively, I do a weapons check. I may not leave this ship alive, but I will take many of them with me, including Anu. I will not leave her as a dishonored eta to these aliens.