Private noticed the sharp gaze of the tall penguin as soon as he walked into the tent. The penguin was talking to General Buzz, who looked bored. Rico paused behind him, his own eyes sweeping the room to assess the threat. He, too, stopped short when he saw the tall penguin. Private leaned back and spoke in Antarctican.
"Who do you think that is?"
Rico grunted. "He looks an awful lot like Kowalski."
"He does," Private agreed. "What do you think? Is it a relative?"
"I'd bet he's his father. Seems like we're destined to meet all of our parents, doesn't it?" Rico asked.
The general glanced over, his attention drawn by the guttural tones. When he saw Private and Rico, he tapped the tall penguin, who stopped talking and looked up. His face was sharper than their Kowalski's, a stern gleam in his blue eyes that showed him to be more serious. The penguin stood straight, staring hard, then walked over.
"Hello," he said briskly, a heavy accent in his tone.
"Kowalski?" Private guessed blandly.
"You know me?" he asked in surprise.
"You're as tall as our Kowalski," Private replied. "Few of our species are that tall. And you look like him."
The penguin scanned them analytically, and there was so much of their Kowalski in that look that Private's heart ached for his captured friend. But he didn't trust this penguin. Not yet. But as Kowalski's father huffed, the similarities disappeared.
"I was just talking with the general about my Aleks," he said. "I have not heard from him in many years."
"I notice that you never went looking for him," Private replied coolly. "You're clearly an officer, and you should have had no trouble finding him with us in New York."
A blank expression slid over the older Kowalski. "He and I are not on speaking terms."
"I see," Private said. "For the same reason the general won't speak to Skipper, or for some other reason?"
General Buzz snorted behind the older Kowalski. "I told you, Olek. They are insubordinate."
"I'll respect you when you respect Skipper," Private answered, his expression sharp; ever since he'd stood up to the general in front of all the officers, he was bolder and up front about his thoughts.
"I am your general," Buzz said coldly.
"And he is your son. If you can't even respect your own son, how do I know that you'll respect anybody else?"
Buzz snapped his beak shut and his feathers ruffled. He didn't have a response, so Private turned back to Olek.
"He doesn't talk about you very much," he said. "But when he does, it's always reverence. He loves your take on the scientific method and your experiments."
Olek blinked then relaxed a little, his face losing its harsh edge. "Aleks said that about me?" he asked.
"Of course. What is your rank? What do you do here?"
"I am a colonel," Olek replied. "I focus on technology and gear. I equip the soldiers with tech."
Rico shifted forward and croaked out a word in English. "Weapons?"
"No," Olek said, turning to gaze at Rico. "Gadgets. I am no weapons' expert."
"Rico's our weapons' expert, and he's our storage, too," Private said proudly.
Rico grinned and patted his belly, and only Private could tell that he was uneasy. He didn't like to show off his ability, and since he had been forced to heave up their feast in front of the general, he refused to heave up anything in front of anybody but Private. Olek scanned him.
"That particular adaptation is fascinating," he said. "I had no idea that my son knew somebody who has it. May I see a demonstration?"
"At least he asked nicely," Rico sighed in his tongue then shrugged one shoulder.
With a simple contraction of muscles, he pushed up a flamethrower, which Private caught, grinning. He tapped the trigger to prove that it worked, and a burst of orange flames poured from the nozzle for a brief moment. Olek didn't look at the weapon. All of his attention was focused on Rico, who stared back, unblinking.
"Can you swallow it for me?" he asked.
Rico felt embarrassed, but he took the flamethrower, opened his beak, and slid it down his throat. Another contraction of muscles, and it went tumbling down into storage. He smacked his beak for a moment, the taste of kerosene from the brief emission of flame stronger than usual, and then he looked back at Olek and crossed his flippers.
"Satisfied?"
"Oh, very much so," Olek said.
There was a flash of shock across Rico's face. "You speak my tongue?"
"A little," Olek said. "That's why I'm here. I was ordered to translate. We're going to go and speak with the chief of the Iczantu tribe and stop all of this."
Rico snorted. "That won't work."
"Diplomacy is my strong suit," Olek assured him.
"But not my father's."
There was a long pause, and Olek stared hard at him then turned to the general. "You never told me that Rico was the son of the chief."
Buzz blinked slowly then started and looked at Rico. "What?" he demanded.
Rico shrugged, ruffling his feathers. "Yes," he croaked haltingly. "I'm Chief Rennak's son. Why does it matter?"
Flinching, he rubbed his throat as his vocal cords loudly complained with shocks of pain. Private nudged him, and he grimaced and shrugged. Buzz and Olek gazed at him in astonishment.
"I-I knew you were a native-born, but I didn't realize you were the son of a chief!"
Private saw a hint of fear in Buzz's face. Olek, too, looked uneasy as they stared at Rico. The gruff soldier studied them back.
"Why does that matter?" Private asked.
Neither of the higher-ranked penguins answered, so Rico snorted and spoke.
"Chiefs are like generals, Private. They are the highest ranked penguins in our homeland. To put it in terms that you would understand, it's like my father is a king. I'm a prince in this land. So they just realized that I have more authority than they thought. They're worried now."
"So you'll respect those who have power, but you won't respect your own son?" Private asked.
"You don't know anything about my relationship with Skipper, Private," Buzz said sternly. "Clip your beak or I'll clip your flippers!"
Private glowered at him, but he said nothing else because Rico tapped his back in warning. Rico stepped forward.
"Private," he said in his native tongue. "Translate for me. Or Olek can do it." He took a deep breath. "I am the firstborn son of the chief of the Iczantu tribe. My father and I had an altercation, and I was promptly banished. But I intend to change that. You can help, or you can sit by and attend to your own business."
"I will consider this," Buzz said. "Leave. I must discuss things with the other officers."
Private and Rico saluted, then walked out of the tent. They meandered down to the ice fields to watch the lower-ranked members try and fish. They had improved, but they lacked the grace and instinct that they needed to be truly good at fishing. Sitting down, they watched the penguins pop out of the waters, spitting their fish into a pile and gasping for air. Private licked his beak nervously.
"Rico, what kind of altercation did you have with your father?"
Rico didn't answer verbally, but he did reach up and stroke his scar. His gaze was unfocused as he traced the mangled flesh. Tears burned in the icy blue depths of his eyes, speaking of a pain old and unresolved. Private scooted closer, nipping at his cheek and churring to remind Rico that he was there.
They sat there watching the penguins for over an hour. And Private became aware that they were being watched. One scanning glance at the ice fields told him that it wasn't the military penguins. He leaned close to Rico and spoke softly.
"Are we being watched?"
Rico dipped his head once, his expression never changing. "They're over there," he said, tilting his head to the right. Private glanced over to see a flash of black and white. Rico spoke again. "Go around and drive them this way. They're probably spies from Blowhole."
Private nodded then stood up and turned to waddle back toward the camp. The feeling of being watched went away, and when Private was hidden by a snowbank, he launched himself across the snow on his belly, circling around to see who was watching them. A group of penguins were huddled together, whispering in Antarctican.
"Do you think he could know?" a male asked.
"I'm not sure, Khlamon," a female answered. "I would rather face one than all of them. And if he does know my brother, he can tell us."
"Are your language skills good enough to communicate with these strangers?"
They began to shift forward, and Private popped up, scanning them. They had knives stashed in leather belts that wrapped their waists. The leather was clearly wolf hide, and Private knew that these were higher ranking penguins in the tribal hierarchy. He stepped forward, and something sharp pressed against his throat. Private stilled.
"Spy!" a male exclaimed.
The four penguins spun around, jerking their knives out and glaring at Private. Private took a deep breath, his mind racing, then stepped back against his captor. Reaching up, he slammed a flipper into the joint, and the penguin's flipper jolted then dropped the knife as numbness flooded his appendage. Private flipped him over his head, utilizing military fighting tactics, and he sent him skidding into the others. The female jumped and lunged, then Rico launched himself up the bank, having used their distraction to his advantage, and slammed into her with such force that she shrieked.
As the others scrambled to their feet, Rico planted his clawed feet into a defensive position as the female copied him. Private waited for the attack, but it never came. Both penguins stared at each other with intense eyes, eyes that were familiar. It was Rico that moved first, straightening up as tears filled his eyes and a hesitant smile lifted the edges of his beak.
"Iczalie?" he asked, disbelief coating his tone.
"Ree-ko?" she asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
And then Rico gave a shriek of the purest delight, and he raced over and scooped up the native penguin, who shrieked in the same way and embraced him. Private wondered if they would shred each other from the force of their embrace. There was a scramble of feet, and soldiers raced around the snowdrift with guns. They stared in shock as Rico began to talk rapidly in his own tongue to the female, who was laughing with such joy that even the other native-borns were smiling.
"Iczalie! Oh, sister!" Rico bellowed. "I never thought to see you again! What are you doing here?"
Iczalie grinned. "Looking for you. Our prisoners claimed that you were their friend, that you might be here to save them. And here you are!"
Private jumped in. "Skipper and Kowalski?" he asked. "Are they okay?"
The female warrior stared at him for a moment before answering. "You are the young penguin they speak of. Private, yes?" Private nodded, and she detached herself from Rico to look him over. "Strong, well fed, smart, and fierce," she said after studying him. "You are a good penguin."
"Thank you," Private said, his face warm. "So Skipper and Kowalski?"
"They are well," she said. "They are not dead, at least. They have food and water. That is as good as they can hope for."
"Rico! Private!" They turned to see General Buzz staring at him with Olek following close behind. "What's going on?"
"This is my sister," Rico replied.
Olek translated then turned to gaze at her curiously. "Your sister? This could be most opportune, General."
Private saw Rico's gaze sharpen, but before he could speak, Iczalie stepped forward, scanning the two leaders and ignoring everybody else.
"Me want to talk to Ree-ko. Alone. Then we talk of dolphin and prisoners."
General Buzz nodded after a moment, clearly surprised by her grasp of English. "Rico, you may take her to your cave and speak. Alone. But if something pertains to the mission, you will share it."
"No promises," Rico snarled, his expression hardening. "You will not use my sister."
Rico looked at the other native-borns, who stared at him with wide eyes. Finally, one of them, Khlamon, stepped forward and inclined his head, revealing the back of his neck then swept his flipper to the sided.
"Hail, son of the chief," he said. The others copied him, and Rico's beak twitched into a smile.
"Khlamon, if I'm not mistaken," Rico said gruffly. "Still taking care of my sister?"
"She needs no taking care of anymore, chiefson," he said, grinning at him.
"Brother, let us go and talk," Iczalie said. She turned to the other penguins. "You go fishing. Get me some."
They made the same gesture toward her then slid away. Rico watched them go for a moment then turned and began to waddle away. Iczalie trailed him, and Private kept his gaze on them, feeling left out. But he did understand. Just as he was considering following the native-borns onto the ice fields, Rico turned back.
"Come, Snowdrop," he teased. "Family meeting."
Private grinned at him then slid over and popped up beside Rico. Iczalie watched him curiously but didn't object. They headed for their cave, ignoring the wary eyes that watched their every move.