Yané laid an armload of leaves on the ground and paused to watch Orrin. The Gungan was shinnying up a sapling-sized tree, which promptly bent under her weight. "Hol' the end," she instructed Saché, who anchored the top of the tree so Orrin could slide safely off. The Gungan tied a supple vine around the sapling and attached it to a hastily cut stake that she drove into the ground with a rock. "Lettin' go," she told Saché. When the girl released the tree, it remained bent over, held in place by the vine. Orrin grinned. "Now wesa needin' some mo-ah." The three bent down a second sapling and tied it to the first. They soon had half a dozen small trees bent and tied together at the tops, the entire group held in place by the stake. The final result was a small circle of bowed trees. "Now, wesa usin' the leafs," Orrin said, and they wove the leaves in and out around the saplings, forming a very large "basket" that would shelter them from the weather and provide some protection from the local wildlife. Yané and Saché glanced up to see three similar shelters had been built around the clearing.
"That's not enough for everyone, is it?" asked Saché when they paused to rest.
Orrin tilted her head in a Gungan shrug. "Most of ussan, wesa slipp out'n'doors," she explained. "Wesa mekkin' these for yousan and the other sprattlings and theirsan fam'ly. Tomorrow, wesa scatter the leafs back 'round the area an' let the trees go back straight, an' no'un knowen wesa been heres."
~*~*~*~
Brandes noticed Peskis peering up into the tree branches. "What are you looking at?"
Mesa thinkin' iss a nessst," the Gungan replied. He raised his voice. "Whosa good'n for climbin' heah?"
The children, human and Gungan, clustered around the two adults. "My'll go," volunteered the older of the Gungan children.
"Yousa Temmis, yiss? Right-o. C'meah."
Peskis hoisted the youngster onto his shoulders. Temmis grasped the tree branches and pulled himself up until he could swing his legs up over the limb. Then he crawled up the branch to the tree trunk and clambered up to the next set of branches. In a moment he was hidden by leaves.
"Iss'n nessst!" Temmis's voice drifted down. "An' desa h'eggs innin!"
The Gungans all grinned. "Diss'n good luck!" the Gungan female said. "Usually h'eggs hass all hatched by now!"
"Kenn yousa drop dem down to ussan wit'out brekkin' any?" Peskis called back up.
"T'ink so!"
Sen Tal positioned himself under the tree. A moment later a pale green egg dropped down out of the leaves, and the male caught it in his right hand. He caught the second egg in his left hand, then shifted the two eggs to one hand and waited. A third egg, then a fourth hurtled down from the tree. The male caught them, then called up, "How menny mo-ah?"
"Jus' diss'un," Temmis shouted back, and a fifth egg dropped. The male, caught with both hands full of eggs, looked around wildly for a moment, and then focused on the last egg. His head shot forward, and everyone heard a muffled "flummp!" as his mouth snapped shut. The female stepped forward, and the male turned to her, grinning. Then he opened his mouth and the last egg, intact, slid down his long tongue and into her hand.
"Ewww!" exclaimed several of the humans.
The female blinked at them. "Wesa only ettin' the inside," she said mildly. "Outside don' matter."
Temmis reappeared among the leaves. "What wesa leavin'?"
"Leaving?" Brandes asked, puzzled.
"Yiss. For da bargain." The female Gungan glanced around. "Heah -- yousa gotten fruit, wrap dem in leafs and wesa send dem up." Peskis plucked two broad leaves from a ground plant and wrapped several of the smaller fruits in them. Then he tied the leaves closed with strands of grass and tossed them up to Temmis, who clamped the leaves in his mouth and climbed back up the tree. A few minutes later he swung down, ran along the lowest branch, and hopped into Sen Tal's arms.
Peskis beamed at him. "Yousa remember the Bargain Story, eh?"
"Course'n. Ever'one know dat'n," Temmis answered. Then he glanced at the humans. "Well, aw'most ever'one."
Peskis looked around at the assortment of food being held in hands, the folds of human garments, or leafy containers. "Dissen lookin' like a good haul, eh? Less bring all'n diss into camp and see iff'n wesa needin' to find mo-ah. Iff'n not, wesa reddy to start divvyin' ever't'ing up. Findin' the food is just the beginnin'."
~*~*~*~
The sun was just touching the horizon when Rell Iss reported, "Lieutenant Peskis is back from foraging." Tarpals, eyes on the small pockets of activity in the camping area, merely nodded. "He said they were very successful -- plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, even some eggs."
Tarpals and Rell Iss watched as a very small human child, the youngest of the sprattlings, walked slowly and carefully toward them with something cupped in his hands. Peskis and Brandes trailed along behind him.
The young human was biting his lower lip in concentration. As he neared them, the Gungans could see that he was clutching a tray-like sheet of bark in his hands, and his careful gait was part of an attempt to keep from spilling it.
Finally he stopped and looked up at the two of them, then carefully held the tray out. "Your dinner, Captain," Peskis told him, moving up behind the boy.
The Captain eyed him for a moment, then slowly crouched down in front of the child and took the tray. The assortment of food was garnished with a small bouquet of flowers -- all of which were also edible by Gungan standards.
The human boy backed up against Brandes's legs. "It's all right, Arlan. He won't hurt you," Brandes encouraged him. Arlan continued staring at Tarpals until the Gungan straightened.
"Berry colorful," Tarpals remarked. "Thanka yous."
The human woman nudged her young charge until the boy managed, "You're welcome." Then she put a hand on the boy's shoulder and led him away, smiling at the Gungans over her shoulder. Her voice drifted back to them. "That was very good, Arlan."
Peskis nodded after the retreating humans. "Actually, for Naaboo children, they did rather well. I taught each of them a different plant, and then turned them loose to collect as many as they could find. Between what they found and what a couple of our own people brought in, no one should go hungry tonight.
"Vlenka and Jenais said several of the bundles we picked up will come in handy," he continued. "Two of them contain extra clothes for the humans, and a couple more have what seem to be containers of food. I'm going to ask the older human female to look through the rest of the items and see if they recognize anything of value."
Tarpals nodded. "All right. Let's get everyone who's off duty in and start feeding them. Then send some of our people out to relieve those on watch. Assign each of our experienced Patrol members to two of the militiagungs so they can start reviewing them on simple duties. Our full-time soldiers need to rest, just like everyone else."
"Do you want me to assign some of the Naaboo for training as well?" asked Peskis. "Orrin said the two older females did well working with her."
Tarpals hesitated. Escorting the Naaboo was one thing; actively relying on them to do tasks without supervision was something else again. Still, Orrin was pretty levelheaded and a good judge of character. "All right. Assign the older ones to Orrin and anyone else who's willing to work with them. It's strictly a volunteer duty for our people, though. And the first time any of the Naaboo cause trouble, they'll be confined to an escort."
"Yes, sir."
Tarpals and Peskis turned as the two small Gungans burst out of the bushes and scurried straight for the lieutenant. "Look, look!" Plirri squealed, waving something in his hand. "Look what we found, over where the animals are!"
"I could see it better if you held it still," Peskis said mildly. He glanced over at Tarpals, who was frowning at them. "And you two need to be more quiet," he added, dropping his voice to a whisper.
The youngster finally held his hand still and opened his fist. He was clutching not one, but two bright blue feathers. "Peko-peko!" he exclaimed.
"An excellent find!" Peskis agreed. "Have your mother tie them to something so they don't get lost." Plirri bounced up and down happily, then turned and scampered off to find his mother, closely followed by Temmis.
~*~*~*~
Brandes had been dismayed to discover that Gungans apparently did not cook their food — including eggs. "I'm sorry," she had told Peskis, who had offered her two of the eggs to divide among the children, "but we can't eat them raw. We need to cook them."
"Kook?" Kimma had cocked her head at the unknown word.
"We need to heat them to a very high temperature," Brandes explained. "Make them very hot. Otherwise they might make us sick."
Four of the eggs were passed on to several of the Gungan riders; Brandes noticed one of them carefully bit the end of the egg open, and then sipped the contents like a beverage. He (or she, Brandes couldn't tell) passed the egg to another rider, who finished it. The shell was then buried.
The two Gungan children shared the last egg. All through their meal, the two youngsters whispered together, glancing at the humans from time to time. Finally they stood up, and approached the humans carefully.
Brandes and her group watched the Gungans, the woman aware that the adult Gungans had mostly stopped what they were doing to watch as well. The youngsters hesitated at the edge of the group; then the older one stepped forward and held out a blue feather to Zanté. "Heah," he said. "Wesa wanted to share dissen with yousa. Mebbe it'll bring yousa luck, an' he'p yousa get home safe."
Uncertain, Zanté looked at Brandes for guidance. "It's all right," the woman told her. "They won't hurt you. Take it." The girl reached forward and took the feather and string from the Gungan's hand. "What do you say?" Brandes prompted her, but the girl remained silent.
Kimma crouched so that her eyes were on the same level as Zanté's. "Wesa can tie dissen to somet'ing so's its not gettin' lost," she suggested.
Brandes nodded. "Shall we tie it in your hair, Zanté?"
The girl stood still as the Gungan carefully separated out a lock of the human's hair and tied the feather in place. "Theah. Yousa keppen it safe, now."
The girl nodded. The Gungan gave her a broad smile. "Yousa no worryin', now. Wesa tekken care of yousa." She carefully laid a hand on the girl's head for a moment. Then she turned away and drew her children after her.
Although the humans couldn't eat the eggs or other small game provided by a few of the riders, they could eat nuts, vegetables and fruit, which made enough of a meal for the evening.
Other than the Gungan children, the humans seemed to be the only ones sitting down to a meal as a group. The riders ate on the move; a handful would enter the camp, pick up their food, and walk off, chewing. Even the adults in the Gungan family followed that trait. The female finished her meal and exchanged a few words with one of the males, then left her family to speak to Peskis. The larger Gungan nodded at what she was saying and pointed; Kimma gave her family a wave and disappeared into the brush. Shortly after, the two males rose and herded the children toward one of the three wood shelters.
"The other two shelters are for us," Yané told Brandes. "At least, that's what Orrin told us."
"We'll take her word for it," Brandes said. She rose and gathered the rest of the group together. "Let's go take a look."
Each shelter was large enough to house three or four adults, or several of the children. The broad leaves had been woven into the saplings about three-quarters of the way around the circle; the other quarter was open. "Orrin said this is a quick way to build a temporary shelter," Yané explained. "This way, the Gungans don't have to cut down and kill a bunch of trees. In the morning, we'll untie the rope, scatter the leaves around, and the trees will go back to growing normally."
"And apparently it won't look as though anyone's been here," Saché added. "Orrin hopes the droid scouts won't notice this as a former campsite."
"This is a very clever idea," Brandes remarked, settling herself in the rear of the shelter.
"We could probably build another one again by ourselves," Saché remarked.
"I'm sure you could."
"In case we wanted to strike out on our own," Yané added.
Brandes stared at the two handmaidens for a moment; then she turned to Melni Bibble. "Melni, would you take the rest of the children to the other shelter and look it over? I'll be there in a few minutes." The girl stood up. Brandes took Zanté's hand and pulled her into a standing position. "Go with Melni and the others, all right?" Zanté nodded.
Once the children had left the shelter, Brandes turned to the three teens. "What do you mean, 'strike out on our own'?" Brandes asked cautiously.
The two Handmaidens glanced around the area; none of the Gungans appeared to be in sight. "We're not sure being rescued by the Gungans is necessarily a good thing," Saché said finally. "We know that several of them aren't happy about us traveling with them."
"We thought that perhaps we might be able to find our own way home," Yané added. "Orrin and a couple of others seem friendly enough, so we're learning from them as much as we can. Now we've got some idea of how to build shelters and how to find food. We thought maybe we could get one of the Gungans to show us the direction to the nearest human settlement and --"
"And what? We sneak off in the middle of the night?" Brandes asked wearily. "On foot? Without any means of defending ourselves? Just the clothes on our backs? What do we do if the droid army finds us again? None of us can fight. We know the Gungans can -- they destroyed the transports and droid guards. They seem willing to protect us, and we're already heading toward Tendesay."
"We don't really know that," Edvic protested. "They say that's where we're going."
"I don't know what they'd gain by lying," Brandes retorted.
"They could be planning to hold us for ransom," Saché suggested.
Brandes laughed. "Really? In the thousand years our two races have shared this planet, the Gungans have had as little to do with us as possible. I think they'd be much happier if the Trade Federation wiped us all off the face of Naboo. I've already told their captain that the Advisory Council won't give in to the Neimoidians' demands -- the Council certainly won't deal with the Gungans under similar circumstances.
"Listen to me, all three of you. The Gungans would have been much further ahead leaving us all behind. They wouldn't have to feed us, or use their spare animals to cart us around, and they wouldn't have to waste time telling stories to calm the littlest ones." She shook her head. "If nothing else, that decided me -- the fact that the captain and the others are willing to devote time and energy taking care of someone who can't possibly bring them any advantage at all. The Gungans are obviously not the savages we thought they were. They have a culture, and a language, and a history, and up to this point have behaved like civilized beings.
"If the three of you want to leave, then go. I can't stop you. But I'm staying, with the rest of the children. The Gungans are our best hope for getting to Tendesay. At my age, I'm too old to be traipsing around the wilderness on foot. You three and possibly Melni could do it, but what about the youngest children? What about Zanté? I'm not sure she can walk any distance. Something terrible has obviously happened to her -- I can't believe she's always been without a voice. The droids aren't the only dangers here in the wilderness -- I'm sure you've heard all the sounds of the creatures that live in this area. I doubt they're all friendly. You know that tusk-cats and other domestic animals have wild relatives.
"I strongly suggest that we continue on with the Gungans. If nothing else, there's some safety in numbers."
The three teens exchanged glances. Finally Yané said, "All right. We'll stay. But I think we should still consider the idea of going it on our own."
"Very well," Brandes agreed. "We'll talk about it again in a day or two. Right now, though, one of us needs to join the children and make sure they're all right. I'm especially worried about Zanté."
Brandes crawled carefully out of the shelter. By now the sun was below the horizon, and daylight had faded. Brandes could hear something moving through the brush nearby.
"Rep Brand-ess!" came Temmis's voice.
"Temmis? Where are you?"
"Right'n heah." The voice moved in front of her, and the human could make out the form of a small Gungan. "Yousan all wanna come to the story-tellin's? Peskis sess hesa startin' soon."
"Where is he going to be?"
"Bekk dere in da clearin'. Deysa lottsa room dere."
Brandes gazed toward where she remembered the open space to be. "Temmis, it's going to be very difficult for us to find our way back there. Humans can't see well in the dark."
"Yousa can't smell youran way bekk?" Temmis sounded puzzled.
Brandes smiled. "No, I'm afraid not."
A blue-tinted light suddenly sprang up in the clearing. It pulsed once or twice, and then settled into a dim glow. "Dere!" Temmis said. "Someone's litt'n a light. Dat's where wesan all goin's. Yousa gonna come?"
"Let's find out," Brandes told him. "Everyone else is in the other shelter."
"Mesa go'n ask!" And with that, Temmis scurried off into the darkness. A few minutes later, Melni, Nalla, Arlan and Irric waded through the brush to Brandes's position. "Where's Zanté?" asked Melni. "Did she come back here?"
"No. I thought she was with you." Brandes, despite the darkness, began looking around.
"I think she was going to the bathroom," Nalla said. "Well, you know what I mean."
"We'll look for her," Yané offered. She turned to Melni. "Which way was she heading?"
The girl hesitated. "I'm not sure -- it all looks different.... I think it was that way." She pointed toward the forest.
"Mesa wanna hepp," Temmis offered.
"All right. The rest of us will go to the clearing. Bring her there when you've found her," Brandes said. The humans moved off toward the blue light. The two handmaidens glanced around. "I wonder if we could get another of those lights," Saché mused.
"Pro'lly not," said Orrin's voice, and both girls jumped. "Wesa don' wanna waste 'em. Yousa lookin' for the sprattling? Shesa over dere." Yané and Saché felt, rather than saw, Orrin point.
"My'll go," Temmis said, and was gone before anyone could protest.
"So. Iss the shelters h'okay?" asked Orrin.
"Everyone seemed pleased with them," Yané said. "I don't know about you, but most of us will feel better if we sleep under some kind of cover."
"Thought mebbe," Orrin remarked. "When wesa ridin' p'trol, iss fine slippin' out'n'doors, but when mesa home, like slippin' in a comfy pool."
In the clearing, figures moved in front of the blue light as Gungans and humans gathered. Saché peered at the figures, and then noticed a small, shadowy form at the edge of the clearing. "Oh, there's Zanté. Good! Let's get down there."
Although no one had told her about the gathering or the storytelling, Zanté had instinctively moved toward the light once it had been lit. Unfortunately, she emerged from the brush on the far side of the clearing, where a cluster of Gungans had gathered. Zanté froze and stared fearfully at the riders.
Herns and the other Gungans eyed the girl resentfully, and Herns stood up. "Yousa better run 'long. Desa no room heah."
Zanté backed away from them, casting about frantically for Brandes. Instead of the human woman, however, Temmis came trotting out of the woods behind her. "Dere yousa ares," the youngster exclaimed. "Wesa been lookin' for yous. C'mon -- wesa been saving a spot. Peskis is story-tellin's soon." With that, he took Zanté by the wrist and towed her toward the gathering of Gungans at the other side of the clearing.
Even with several of the Gungans stationed outside the encampment on guard duty, a crowd had gathered in the clearing. Four sticks had been lashed together to form a small holder, and, nestled in its crook, a glowing blue ball cast its light on the faces of the group. The younger human children were sitting close to Hela Brandes; Edvic lurked off to one side, almost invisible in the darkness. On the other side of the circle sat or stood the Gungans, speaking softly amongst themselves.
Zanté and her escort paused at the edge of the group. "Yousa can set with ussan," the Gungan told her. Zanté hesitated, then shook her head and walked to where Hela sat. Temmis's eyestalks and haillu drooped; after a moment he turned away to settle himself beside his parents and younger sibling.
Brandes glanced around, seeking Yané and Saché. She caught sight of Edvic -- just as Herns and three other Gungans silently materialized out of the darkness behind him. Brandes opened her mouth to warn him; Herns deliberately shoved one knee against the teen's back to push him out of the way. Edvic sprawled amidst the leafy plants of the forest floor, then scrambled to one side and stood up, glaring at the Gungans, fists clenched.
Herns bared his teeth and hissed softly; the other three Gungans moved up to flank him, facing off against the teen. "Yousa better move," Herns sneered.
"Or what?" came Yané's voice; she, Saché, and Orrin had arrived, passing behind Edvic on their way to the center of the clearing. The two human girls stopped beside Edvic; Orrin moved on a few paces, and then paused to fold her arms casually and watch the scene unfold.
"Or hesa gonna get stepped on," Herns replied, moving forward to tower over the two Handmaidens. Both girls stood their ground, Yané with arms folded and Saché with her hands on her hips. Herns stooped slightly, bringing his face closer to theirs. "Liken voorpak." He clenched his fist in Yané's face, as if squeezing a small animal in his hand. "Dass a liddle, fluffy--"
"I know what a voorpak is," Yané replied, referring to the plump, furry creature with eight legs and tufted ears. Voorpaks were popular pets among the Naboo; the animals were small enough to fit in pockets or sleeves, and made a purring sound when content.
"And even though they're small, they've got very sharp teeth and can deliver a nasty bite," added Saché.
"Iff'n yousa foolish 'nough to t'reaten dem," Orrin added. Herns turned on her.
"'Course'n, no one heah is dat silly," Peskis added cheerfully, entering the clearing and deliberately stepping into the middle of the standoff. He offered an amiable smile to everyone; Herns snorted and spun away, stalking past the rest of the humans to join his people on the other side of the clearing, his companions trailing after him. Peskis nodded politely to Brandes and the children as he walked into the center of the group.
Orrin arched her neck and snorted at Herns's retreating form. "Gotten a prickler unner hissen saddle," she remarked.
"He doesn't seem to like us much," Saché agreed.
Orrin shrugged. "Yousan pro'lly best be stayin' 'way from himsa," she suggested. "Mesa seein' yousa tomorra, eh? My've gott sentry duty right after the story-tellin'." She ambled across the clearing and settled herself at the rear of the group of Gungans, where she could slip away without distracting anyone. The three human teens moved to join the rest of their party, Edvic still fuming.
Peskis stood looking around the group in mock surprise.
"Well, well. Dissen a 'stinguished -- an' large -- audience. Mesa overwhelmed." The Ankuran Gungan grinned. "My'll have to tell my'n best stories tonight, eh? Now, lessen see, what should wesa tell..."
"Tell'n da one 'bout'n the guds mekkin' the unnerwater maze!"
"The pikobi trickin' da shaupaut!"
"The story uff the Kintara Patrol!"
Several of the riders looked surprised at that request. Peskis seemed to consider, then glanced to his right. Standing in the shadows on that side of the clearing, Tarpals caught Peskis's eye and shook his head. Not that one. Not tonight.
Peskis smiled and nodded. "Dose'n all good idees, an' mebbe wesa tell dem later, but right now mesa want'n tell a story wesa talked 'bout today. What wesa gonna tell, Temmis?"
"The Bargain Story!" Temmis replied. The Gungans looked at one another around their side of the circle. There were several nods.
"Right-o. Da Bargain Story it iss."
