As the special mission team made their preparations, Orrin led
Saché, Yané, and Melni Bibble away to help care for the riding animals, and
Peskis gathered the rest of humans together for their first lessons. First he
showed them how to dig a pit in the ground and line it with flat stones; the
displaced dirt and plants were laid to one side. ("Wesa putt'n dem bekk
after wesa done," he explained.) Selecting four sticks from the surrounding
forest, he showed the humans how to lash them together to form a holder. The
Gungan produced a set of braided grass ropes and a leather hide square; once the
square hide was stretched out, each side was as long as his arm. Then he led the
way to the stream.
"Now, yousa watch close," Peskis instructed. He tied one end of one rope
around one corner of the hide, and then tied the other end to the opposite
corner. He repeated the procedure with the second rope; the hide now resembled a
pouch with two handles. Peskis dipped the hide in the stream, then drew it out
again, full of water. He carried it to the clearing and draped the ropes over
the stick holder. The hide hung just over the pit they had dug in the soil.
The Gungan laid the pyrus in the pit and drew what looked like a bone
knife from the back of his belt. "Stand bekk, pleece." He leaned back
himself as he thrust the tip of the knife into the pyrus. The top of the
ball "popped" into a burst of light and a wave of heat. The humans gasped;
the Gungan reflexively closed his eyes. A moment later the blue light from the pyrus
had crept partway up the hide pouch.
"That's amazing!" Brandes exclaimed.
"Iss chust controlled h'energy," Peskis remarked. "When iss all gone,
deysa not even any waste. Now, yousa all watch diss'n. Mekk sure the water in
da pouch stays higher than the light, h'okay? Otherwise, yoursan boiling
hide's gonna get ruin't." He solemnly held the knife hilt out to Nalla.
"Yousa wanna cut up all'n dose roots an' meat an' put dem in once the
water is boilin'." Several of the children grimaced; one of the Gungans had
managed to bring down some sort of animal, and strips of the meat had been
brought to the humans.
"All right." The girl grasped the knife, but the Gungan did not let go.
"Fust, needs'a teach yousa some-att else. When yousa passin' some-att
sharp liken dis, yousa wanna mekk sure no one's gettin' hu'tt. Allus pass
dis with the handle towards th'other puh-son, an' the blade up liken dis, so
yousa don' cut yoursa hand. Th'other puh-son, shesa say, 'T'anka yous'
when shesa gott'n hold of the handle an' isn't goin' to drop it.
Unnerstand?"
"Yes," said Nalla. Her finger tightened on the hilt. "Thank you." This
time, Peskis let go.
"Now, wesa practice dat a bit. Pass dat to Irric."
Nalla repeated Peskis's handling of the knife, received the correct response
from her brother, and let go. "Good. Pass dat to Arlan." The knife continued
on around the circle of humans, to Brandes, then Edvic, then to Zanté. The
dark-haired girl hesitated, then carefully took the knife hilt and opened her
mouth -- but no sound emerged.
"Go on, Zanté," Brandes urged. The girl tried again, with the same results.
Then she turned away, eyes filling with tears.
Brandes reached over to stroke her hair. "Zanté, it's all right--"
"Wait." Peskis moved to crouch beside the girl. His four-fingered hand
cupped the human's chin and lifted. "Deysa times when wesa can't or
shouldn't talk, when wesa huntin' an' don' want to mekk noise, or when
someone's too far 'way to hear ussan. Times liken dat, wesa use chesna-recorr;
mesa t'ink diss'n becomin' 'hunter-speech' in Bassic. Talk
wit' oursan hands. Iff'n yousa want say 'T'anka yous', yousa do liken
dis." Peskis put the fingertips of his right hand against his chest, and then
moved them to his lips. "Liken dat. Dis hand." He took Zanté's wrist and
placed the girl's hand against her chest. The girl sniffled, and then touched
her chest and lips in an imitation of Peskis's gesture. The Gungan grinned and
let go.
"Now, turn dis'n 'round and pass it bekk to Nalla." Zanté carefully
turned the knife so that she was holding the blade, flat edge against her palm,
and held it out to the other girl. Nalla, grinning, made the "thank you"
gesture, and Zanté let go. A relieved chuckle ran through the group, and Peskis
patted Zanté on the shoulder.
"Lott'n signs iss berry simple," Peskis told the group. "While wesa
waitin' for da water to boilin', mesa teach yousa some'a dem. Yousa
pro'lly know the one for 'come he-ah'...."
*~*~*~*
Orrin watched as Saché deftly untangled the reins of the falumpaset's
bridle. "Yousa worked wit' ridin' animals before?" the Gungan asked.
"Yes. We've both ridden gualamas. It's required training for one of the
Queen's handmaidens. Yané has also ridden tusk-cats."
"That was several years ago, though, when I was a young girl," Yané added.
"Friends of my family had several, and I just begged my parents to let me
learn. I never thought it would come in handy for something like this."
The girls and the Gungan had taken the tack off all three of the falumpasets;
Orrin and two of the other riders had searched among the bushes and grasses and
returned with several prickly plant pods they used to brush the animals' coats
before letting them out to pasture. One of the other riders had then carefully
run his hands over the animals' legs and feet, checking for signs of injury.
Finally he said something to Orrin (he seemed uncomfortable with talking to the
humans) and walked away to examine the kaadu.
The Gungan cocked her head. "Mesa din't know the Naaboo hedd riding
animals," she remarked. "Thought yousan all rode 'round in those floating
wagons of yoursan."
"No. It's expected of the Queen's Handmaidens to be able to ride, if only
for ceremonial purposes," Saché explained. "The Queen has a private herd of
gualamas, as well as gualaras. Many of the people living in the country herd
shaaks, and use tusk-cats as riding animals, too."
Orrin nodded, then held one of the bridles out to Melni Bibble, who was sitting
in the grass examining the leather tack straps for signs of wear. "He-ah. Pull
th'other end of diss'n, pleece." The human girl took the ends of the
reins, while Orrin held one of the face straps, and both tugged. Orrin nodded,
satisfied. "Wesa use the kaadu, an' falumpasets for most'n
oursan riding," she said. "For rilly heavy loads, wesa use fambaa."
"Really?" Melni stared at her, wide-eyed. Fambaa were enormous
reptiles that the Naboo saw so infrequently that the animals were almost legend.
Orrin seemed amused.
"Yiss. Tekks two to work wit' dem. Deysa not berry bright. An' once in a
berry great while, wesa hev someone who tames a zalaaca an' trains it
as a riding beast, but dat's right rare." She suddenly looked sly. "Rumor
hass it dat the Kippton, hesa done dat long-o time ago, an' dat's why hisan
fam'ly's symbol iss a zalaaca. Deysa difficult to train, though –
mesa rather hev a kaadu." Zalaacas were the size of mountain
lions, with blue-purple hides, a parrot-like face, and sharp spurs on their hind
legs. They stayed mostly in the forests and swamplands, although the Naboo saw
them occasionally on the plateaus.
"You're so lucky," Melni exclaimed, looking up from her work. "My
parents never let me ride or do anything like that, no matter how often I ask.
I'm s'posed to grow up to be—" here her voice took on a sarcastic tone
"—a 'lay-dee'. Just because Grandpa is the governor." She frowned.
"Minister Brandes didn't even want to let me come and do this."
"What'n diss 'lay-dee'?" asked Orrin, tugging on the saddle's girth
strap.
"It's a woman with good manners and extremely polite behavior," Saché
explained.
"Who has to spend all her time doing boring stuff like sitting around
listening to adults talk and wearing really uncomfortable clothing," Melni
added.
Saché laughed. "Not always. It just seems that way now."
Orrin tilted her head in a shrug. "Nuttin' wrong with having good be-hevior,"
she remarked. "Mekks people look up to yousa, an' want to hev yousa
'round. Noboddy liken little'uns who don' be-hev." She paused. "Or
big'uns who don' be-hev, either."
Melni jumped as one of the falumpasets began to bellow, a long,
low-pitched sound that continued for several seconds. The other falumpasets
joined in, calling back and forth, almost as though they were singing in a
choir. Orrin nodded. "Iss all right. Theysa do that ev'ry evening," she
explained. "C'mon, wesa go forra walk." She hung the bridle up on a nearby
bush and started out into the middle of the herd. "Don' mekk any suddenly
moves or noises," she warned them. "Wanna get them used to yoursan smell.
Watch yoursan step." The four of them moved slowly and carefully through the
animals. The kaadu lifted their heads and trotted away a few steps before
returning to their grazing. The falumpasets bellowed and shook their
heads, but only the largest male moved, actually lumbering toward them. Orrin
stopped and faced him. He snorted and turned away. "Falumpasets, theysa
hard to work wit'," she said. "Not berry smartie, pittie stubborn, too.
Tekks a strong arm to steer them."
As they left the herd, one of the kaadu came plodding along after them.
Like the others, it wore a halter around its face; hanging from the halter was a
short rope that allowed a Gungan to lead the much-taller kaadu more
easily. The three humans stopped, and the animal passed them and trotted up to
Orrin, who reached up and affectionately patted its neck. "That one's
yours?" asked Melni.
"Yiss. Mesa raised him from his h'egg, trained wit' him long-o time,"
Orrin replied. "P'trol riders, wesa gott'n special bond wit' the kaadu.
Mebbe sometime wesa get Peskis to tell yousa that story, eh?" She glanced up
at the sky, visible through the leaves. "Right now, wesa goin' back to camp.
Don' know 'bout yousan, but mesa ready for ettin'!" She gave the kaadu
a good-natured push back toward the herd. "G'wan. Yousa go ett, too."
Despite the early stop, the crowd gathered in the center of camp was smaller
than the night before – several of the Gungans were already asleep, and
others, including Peskis, were on watch. After her meal, Orrin took the humans
and the Gungan family to set up shelters, and by then it was nearly dark.
Without light to see by, and with no gathering for storytelling, the humans went
to bed early. The rest of the camp settled down to rest as well.
A series of screams and yowls woke Brandes in the middle of the night.
"What's that?" cried Nalla, startled awake beside her.
"I – I don't know!" Brandes replied. A moment later she was in the
center of a huddle of terrified children. "Did you hear that?" "What is
it?" "Is it coming after us?"
"Everyone be quiet!" Brandes ordered. She could see nothing in the blackness
of the shelter. The entrance was to her left. Outside she could hear shouts,
branches snapping, and footsteps as the Gungans ran past. In the distance, the
riding beasts were adding their bellows and cries to the confusion.
The forest canopy blocked most of the star- and moonlight, but even the dimmest
light was better than being completely in the dark. Brandes untangled herself
from the children and crawled through the entrance. The leaf and tree shelter
might keep the rain out and give an impression of safety, but any large and
determined animal would be able to break in without difficulty.
"Minister Brandes!" It was Yané's voice, several paces away. "Is that
you?"
"Yes. What's happened? What's that noise?"
"We don't know. The Gungans are all running around, and no one's told us
anything!"
"All right. Get everyone else over here and into our shelter. I'll feel
better knowing where everyone is."
"Yes, Minister." With that, Yané turned away to get the others who had been
sleeping in her shelter. Brandes turned to the children. "Everyone inside."
The shelter would at least give them the illusion of security, and make it
easier to keep track of everyone. "Zanté, I want you to come over here and
sit by me." A dark form moved to her side and huddled against her. Brandes
felt around for the girl's face. "If you're all right, I want you to
nod." Zanté nodded, but Brandes could feel her shivering; she put a
reassuring arm around the girl. "It's going to be all right. You stay right
here next to me. Melni, were are you?"
"Here, Minister Brandes."
"Nalla?"
"Yes."
"Arlan?"
"Y-Yes."
"Good. Everyone move away from the entrance so the others can get in."
Taller shapes suddenly appeared in the doorway. "We're here," Yané
announced, and the rest of the humans crawled into the shelter. "Everyone's
all right."
"We think something may have attacked the Gungan's riding animals," Saché
added. "The noise was all coming from that direction. Whatever it was, it
sounded big."
"Iss a zalaaca," came a Gungan voice at the shelter's entrance, and
everyone inside jumped.
"S-Sen Tal?" Brandes managed.
"Yiss. Sorry for s'prisin' yousan." Sen Tal crouched in the entrance.
"Wesa wanted to mekk sure yousan h'okay.
Brandes sighed in relief. "We're all fine, at the moment."
They could hear the sounds from the pasture area – shouting, more bellows and
honking from the herd, and once a roar, immediately followed by an electric
sizzle. The roar turned into a scream that rapidly faded, as if whatever was
making it was fleeing. "Soundin' liken deysa chased it h'off," Sen Tal
remarked, raising one haillu with his hand in order to hear better.
"And that's good, right?" asked Saché.
"Yiss. Pr'olly din't get any of the animals. Also, iff'n wesa gott'n zalaaca
'round, iss meanin' deysa no nar-gletch inna area. Thass allus a good
thing. Those two animals, deysa stay 'way from each other." Sen Tal's
shadowy form seemed to be peering in the direction of the pasture. "Think
deysa commin' back."
Someone called out in the Gungan's language, and Sen Tal answered. A moment
later Orrin joined him at the entrance. "Mesa happy to see all'n yousan,"
she said. "Found th'other shelter empty, and wass worried."
"What was the noise, Orrin?" asked Saché.
"Wass a big zalaaca," Orrin replied. "T'ought hesa gonna hepp
himse'f to one'a oursan kaadu. Lucky for ussan, Peskis heard an'
smelled himsa commin', and wesa chased himsa 'way. Wesa chust goin' to
check 'round the camp p'rimiter, but the Captain thinks wesa safe now."
With that, she rose and walked away to join the search.
"'Spect yousan can all go back to sleep," Sen Tal said.
"After that?" Brandes laughed shakily.
"Yousa want mesa to stay forra while?"
"If you wouldn't mind," Brandes said.
"H'okay. Mesa sett right'n he-ah next to Ahr-lan." The Gungan crawled
into the shelter.
"How did you know it was me?" asked Arlan. "It's dark in here."
Sen Tal chuckled. "Smell yousa."
"I told you you should have taken a bath, Arlan," teased Yané.
"Hey!"
The Gungan laughed. "Wouldn't mekk no nevermind. All'n yous gott'n
puh-son'l scents. Wesa gott'n no trouble tellin' yousan apart." He
paused. "Lessee. Next to Ahr-lan, wesa gott'n Melni, den Zanté, den Rep
Brand-ess, den Nalla. Next to hersa iss Irric, den Saché, Yané, an' Edvic."
"Can all the Gungans do that?" asked Brandes.
"Yiss. Hardest part is rememberin' ever'one's name. Lott'n dem soundin'
alike to mesa." Several people chuckled.
"Female names tend to end in a vowel, and male names in a consonant,"
Brandes explained.
"'Kahn-soe-nents. Don' know dem," Sen Tal replied.
"And I'm not sure how to explain them without confusing you more," Brandes
said.
"Den wesa won' bother."
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Brandes continued.
"When we first met you, Kimma said you were her 'ess-, ess-oh-an'? Is that
the right word?"
"Essoan. Yiss."
"What does that mean?"
Sen Tal was silent for a moment. Finally he said, "Mesa not sure my can
'splain that. Wesa pledged? Pledged? Diss'n right word?"
"I know what pledged means, Sen Tal," Brandes assured him.
"Wesa pledged to each other for life."
"Like a husband and wife?" suggested Yané.
"Don' know dem, either," Sen Tal admitted.
"A husband and wife exchange vows to stay together for life, raise a family,
and help each other. It's a long-term relationship meant to provide
companionship for each other, and a stable home life for any children."
The Gungan thought for a moment. "Yiss, dat sounden right."
"Kimma said you were her first essoan," Melni said. "And Hanar was
her second. Is he her husband too?"
"Yiss. All'n ussan agreed to diss'n."
"So Gungans can have more than one husband?"
"Wesa have as many essoans or essoins as wesa want, so long as
ever'one inna fam'ly agrees," Sen Tal explained. "Some of ussan gott'n
seven, eight essoans or essoins. All'n yours essoans and essoins
have to agree to lett'n the newest one become member of the fam'ly, an'
yoursa clan has to approve it, too."
"Sounds confusing," Yané remarked.
"Not rilly. Most'n ussan can kipp track of who wesa pledged to."
"Then you could have more than one wife, just like Kimma has more than one
husband?" asked Saché.
"Yiss. Shesa an' Hanar would hev to agree."
"Yuck!" exclaimed Arlan. "Why would you want to have more than one wife? I
don't want to have any!"
The girls sputtered, the teens laughed, and Brandes smiled, even though she knew
no one could see her. Sen Tal laughed. "Eh, mebbe yousa changin' yoursa mind
someday." Even in the dark, he had no trouble finding Arlan's shoulder to
give it a pat. "Yousa Naaboo don' do diss'n?"
"No," Brandes replied. "We confine ourselves to one spouse, or at least
one spouse at a time."
"Huh," Sen Tal grunted, but any further comment was interrupted by Orrin's
arrival. "Iss all cle-ah," she said, crouching at the entrance. "Deysa
nothin' threatenin' out dere now. Yousan can all go bekk to sleep."
"Mesa gonna go back to my fam'ly, iff'n yousan all right," Sen Tal said.
"Of course. Thank you, Sen Tal," Brandes said.
"Yousan welcome. Goo' night." The Gungan crawled out of the shelter and
disappeared into the darkness.
Orrin remained outside. "Yousan goin' bekk to th' other shelter?" she
asked.
The teens and Irric consulted briefly. "Yes," Saché replied. "For one
thing, there's not enough room in here for us all to sleep."
"Besides, Irric snores," Nalla added.
"Do not!" Irric retorted.
"Stop it, you two," Brandes warned. "If we start making a lot of noise,
the Gungans might chase us away, too, just like the zalaaca."
Orrin laughed. "Mebbe wesa send dem out inna woods an' let dem scare the zalaacas
'way." She sobered. "But right'n now, wesa needsa bein' quiet. Don'
want the maccaneeks findin' ussan." Both Irric and Nalla clapped
hands over their mouths. The teens and Irric crawled out of the shelter. There
was a muted chorus of "Good night", and Orrin led them away to the other
shelter. The remaining children curled up close to their adult guardian, and one
by one finally fell asleep. The camp settled back down for the night.
~*~*~*~
Later that morning, in the early hours of dawn, four Gungans and their mounts
set out for Splitrock and its outpost.
