Melni pushed her way out of the bushes and crouched at the edge of the
herd's grazing area. Glancing around to see if any Gungans were present, she
rose and cast about for the animals' tack. The falumpasets' bridles
hung from boles and low-bent branches of trees. Melni managed to drag a bridle
down and began picking her way across the field. The three falumpasets
grazed together in the middle of the herd. The kaadu closest to the human
paused and raised their heads, sniffing. Then they began edging away.
The movement of the kaadu opened a corridor through the herd to the falumpasets.
The movement also caught the largest animal's attention, and it too raised its
head and tested the wind. Swinging its head from side to side, it finally
focused on the small human girl walking toward it. The falumpaset shook
its head vigorously and bellowed. It was answered by some of the other animals.
Melni froze – the shouts and sounds from the camp had ceased, and the
animal's bellow had undoubtedly carried to Gungan ears.
Under normal circumstances, a threatened falumpaset bolted away from
danger. But the forest undergrowth formed an imagined barrier; seemingly
trapped, the falumpasets followed their second instinct -- they put their
heads down and charged the perceived danger.
Before Melni could move, the falumpaset bugled again, pawing at the
ground. Then it put its head down and surged forward. Melni took one look at the
huge animal bearing down on her, and bolted. The kaadu scattered, honking
in alarm.
Terrified into silence, the human girl fled in the direction of the camp, the falumpasets
and a few of the kaadu running behind her. The rest of the animals
galloped in all directions. A ragged chorus of bellows, honks and squeals rang
through the forest.
~*~*~*~
The sounds of animal cries and stampeding feet reached the group almost before
Brandes had finished her question. Melni was running toward them, and behind her
pounded a wall of riding animals.
Gungans and humans alike turned to flee.
"Pick up the children! Get them behind trees or logs!" Tarpals was shouting
in High Gungan. "Anything solid enough to make the falumpasets go
around!" He scooped up the younger of the two Gungan children and hurdled a
fallen tree, then wheeled back to deposit the youngster in a hollow under the
log. One of the adult Gungans followed, crouching protectively over the child as
Tarpals bounded back over the log to shout more directions.
Soldiers snatched up human children and scattered out of the path of the
stampede, vanishing into the underbrush; Orrin and two of the militiagungs
clambered up trees to avoid being trampled. One of the militiagungs,
knees folded over a branch, swung over backwards and seized Melni as she passed
beneath him, sweeping her up into the tree beside him.
As quickly as they had appeared, the kaadu and falumpasets crashed
away into the forest. Shaken humans and Gungans emerged from hiding and gathered
in the clearing again.
"Patrol members, sound off," Tarpals ordered, and the members of the Third
Mounted Patrol called out their names one by one. "Militiagungs!" The
rest of the Gungans responded, somewhat less organized. "Naaboo!"
Hela Brandes counted children and teens. "We're all here, Captain. Including
Melni."
Tarpals tilted his head to stare sternly at the human girl. "Yiss. Mesa
noticed." Melni flushed and looked down at the ground. "Wesa deal with that
shortly." He turned back to the Patrol members. "Wesa needin' to round
all'n the animals up."
"But – but they're scattered!" Brandes protested. "How will you find
them?"
The captain snorted. "Yousa remember Peskis's Bargain story, yiss? Long ago,
wesa made a special bargain with the kaadu. Each of ussan agreed to tekk
care of each other. Iss more than chust rider an' mount. Wesa raise thems from
chicks, train together. Strong bond, berry close, between rider an' animal.
Yousa see." He turned to the rest of the group, looking for the members of his
patrol. In High Gungan, he ordered them, "Find your kaadu. Call them.
Once you've found them, gather as many of the others as you can and bring them
back." The Patrol members scattered, leaving only the militiagungs
standing in the clearing. "You. Drind. Go check on Kimma Nril and her essoans.
Make sure they're all right." The female nodded, then suddenly drew herself
up and saluted before trotting away. "The rest of you, stay here. Guard the Naaboo
and any of the spare animals that come back." He turned to Brandes and
switched to Bassic. "Yousa stay with them. Wesa all be bekk soon."
"While wesa waiting," Peskis suggested, "mebbe wesa start looking for
med'cine plants." He gathered the children around him, including Melni.
Tarpals waded through the undergrowth away from the clearing. Around him he
could already hear various whistles, trills, and other sounds as each individual
rider called to his or her mount. Several minutes' walk away from the group,
Tarpals halted and put a hand to his muzzle, warbling to his own kaadu.
He began a large circle through the forest, repeating the sound. The other calls
continued, occasionally punctuated by the crackling of underbrush or the honks
and bleats of kaadu as the animals began answering their riders.
A few minutes later, a familiar "mmrraaaahhh!" heralded the return of his
own mount, a female just passing her prime. The kaadu came trotting
through the forest growth, stopped in front of him, and proceeded to utter a
series of honks that sounded for all the world as though she were scolding him
for letting this whole thing happen. Tarpals clucked to her, then reached up and
hooked his fingers through the straps of her halter, pulling her head down so he
could rub his cheek against hers. The kaadu's protest stopped and she
bleated softly, nudging him with her nose.
For a few moments he stood with her, letting the peace of the deep forest wash
over him. His wounded ear throbbed, and he closed his eyes, breathing deeply.
Once Kimma had been treated, he'd have to see about getting something for his
own injury. He sighed and opened his eyes. "Well. Enough resting, eh, old
girl? Let's go back and see if we can get this bickering bunch of civilians to
really work together."
As he approached the clearing, he could hear Hela Brandes's voice, pitched
low. "Instead of snarling and complaining, you might try focusing on the
problem instead of the personalities of everyone around you. Don't they teach
you communication skills along with all those military maneuvers?"
Herns and Brandes were off to one side of the clearing. A number of riders had
returned, and the area was becoming crowded. "It's like playing a
complicated piece of music. No one instrument can do it alone. And if the
instruments compete, they just create noise. You need to learn to listen to the
people playing around you, and adjust your own playing accordingly. And it helps
to pay attention to the conductor." Seeing Tarpals entering the clearing, she
concluded with "I'm going to go help Lieutenant Peskis with the children."
As she approached, she could hear Peskis explaining, "Kimma, shesa bruzed some
inside. Mesa t'inks wesa kenn hepp her, but needin' lottsa people lookin'.
Two plants, deysa hard to find. Diss one—" he held up a dried sample, a stem
with long, almost grassy leaves "—grows close to da ground. Looks lott liken
grass, so look careful. Call mesa iff'n yousa not sure. And dis—" he
displayed a dry vine with small, spade-shaped leaves "—grows on trees liken
dat one." He pointed to a tree with rough, wrinkled bark. "Grows up high.
Animals know it kenn heal, so deysa ett the lower parts." He turned back to
his audience. "Need'n some of both. My'm goin' to start a pyrus,
but sooner wesa findin' dese, the better." He held the plants out to Irric
and Nalla. "Yousa start lookin'." He straightened and addressed the
Gungans. "Yousa too. Both'n dese plants gott'n scent to dem. Don'
t'ink da Naaboo can smell dem, but yousa kenn." He dismissed them,
and then began gathering sticks and flat stones for the fire pit.
Hela Brandes dug the round shallow pit, laying the earth and plants aside as she
worked. Peskis beamed at her. "I may not be as young as I used to be, but I
can still do this," she told him.
"Ever'one hass dere strengths," Peskis agreed, and they quickly lined the
pit with stones and set up the hide and stick supports for boiling the water.
~*~*~*~
Rell Iss had located his kaadu close to camp; having spent most of the
previous day and night traveling, the animal hadn't been inclined to go far
once its panic had worn off. The young Gungan slowly led the kaadu
through the forest to the edge of camp.
A grey Gungan hand reached up to take the kaadu's halter. "That's
far enough," Tarpals said. "You need to go rest. I'll take care of him."
Rell Iss shook his head, as much to wake himself up as to show disagreement.
"No, sir. Everyone cares for their own mount."
"Not this time," Tarpals said. "You've done enough. Go lie down before
you fall down." He glanced over his shoulder. The youngest of the Naaboo
was watching them curiously. "Yousa. Find Melni an' tell her shesa to come
he-ah. Now." The Naaboo nodded and scampered off.
"Come. The Naaboo's shelters are on the way to the pasture area. You
can sleep in one of them for the rest of the day; no one should bother you."
Tarpals took Rell Iss by the arm and led both him and the kaadu across
the camp. Tarpals's own mount ambled along behind them of her own accord. As
they neared the shelters, the two young Naaboo joined them. Tarpals
halted and turned to Arlan. "Rell Iss iss gonna be sleepin' in one'a
yoursan shelters. Hesa not to be disturbed. Mekk sure Rep Brand-ess knows
thiss'n."
"Yes, sir!" replied Arlan, and took off at a run to find Hela Brandes.
Tarpals turned to Melni.
"Yousa. Hold thiss'n." He indicated the kaadu's halter rope. Both
Rell Iss and Melni stared at him. "Hesa not gonna bite!" Tarpals snapped.
"Yousa caused thiss'n trouble, yousa gonna mekk up for it! Now!" Finally
the Naaboo, eyes wide, took the rope and stood there clutching it.
"Go to bed, Rell Iss," Tarpals ordered in High Gungan. "I don't want to
see you before sunset, either." His aide looked as though he were going to
protest. Tarpals scowled and folded his arms; Rell Iss finally saluted wearily
and crawled into the shelter.
Tarpals caught the rope on his kaadu's halter and turned back to Melni.
"Yousa. Bring him. Thiss'a way." As he walked away toward the pasture,
Melni gazed up at the kaadu standing patiently at the other end of the
halter rope. Finally Melni tugged at the rope. The kaadu balked. Melni
yanked at the rope, but the animal refused to move, swiveling its head toward
the entrance of the shelter where Rell Iss had disappeared. Melni planted both
feet and pulled. The kaadu straightened, and suddenly the human girl
found herself dangling at the end of the rope, her feet several hands-length
above the ground.
"Yousa goin' to have to try harder than that," Tarpal's voice said in
her ear. Melni almost let go of the rope in surprise. The Gungan had returned
alone; he grasped the rope above her hands and pulled the kaadu's head
down, allowing her to stand. "Hesa big animal, an' yousa not," Tarpals
explained. "An' hesa don't know yousa." He reached up and patted the
animal's neck, then took the halter and pulled the kaadu's head down
further. "Thiss'n Melni," he told the animal. The kaadu sniffed at
the girl's face and hair. "Don't move quick," Tarpals said. "Yousa
scare himsa." She stood still and let the kaadu nose her face and
clothing.
"Now, wesa go," Tarpals said. He grasped the halter. "Hup!" The kaadu
began walking and Melni had to trot forward several steps to keep him from
running over her. Partway to the pasture area, Tarpals let go, and Melni finally
led the kaadu into the meadow. The animal promptly put his head down and
began to graze.
"Now," Tarpals said sternly, "let go'n the rope, and yousa tell mesa
what happened thiss'n morning."
Melni clasped her hands together and faced him. The Naaboo was shivering,
but she looked him the eye as she spoke. "I came to the pasture to see if I
could get one of the falumpasets," she explained. "But when I walked
into the herd, one of them ran at me, and – and I ran away. And they chased
me." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked down at her feet. "I'm
sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that." She turned her eyes back toward
him. "Are you going to make us leave?"
The Gungan folded his arms and stared down at her. "Yousa always try to tekk
things that's not belonging to yousa?"
"No, sir." She looked away again. "But you were fighting over us, and
Minister Brandes said we might have to set out on our own. So when Saché and
Yané went to get the guns, I thought I could help by getting one of the falumpasets
to ride. Orrin made it look really easy...."
"Orrin hass many seasons' practice," Tarpals told her. "An' shesa
knows what shesa doing. Yousa don't. An' now yousa know what happens when
yousa try doing some-att yousa don't unnerstand."
"Yes, sir." She stood peering up at him.
The Gungan stared down at her stonily, and Melni realized she was twisting her
fingers as she waited. She knew he was angry, but Gungans didn't always have
the same facial expressions as human people did. She was also very aware that
they were alone here in the meadow, except for the riding animals; Rep Brandes,
who had served as the children's protector since they had been taken from
their parents, was elsewhere in camp.
Tarpals considered. The sprattling hadn't denied what she'd done, or
made any excuses. And although she was obviously frightened, she was mature
enough to wait for whatever punishment he gave her.
For Tarpals, children had always been peripheral; unlike Kimma Nril, he'd
never had any desire to leave the service to help raise sprattlings,
leaving that to other members of his clan family. Many officers, like Ven Artil,
divided their time between duty and a home life, but Tarpals's marriages had
all but one been meant to strengthen ties between clans and nothing more.
Perhaps not surprisingly, most of his clan's children were a bit afraid of
him.
However, the Naaboo female before him was about the right age to start
the basic military training all Gungans received. She seemed to have the
self-discipline, and the courage....
Tarpals jerked his head, and Melni jumped. "Wesa can't have thiss'n sort
of thing happenin'," he told her. "So, my'm expecting yousa to spend
time every day with Orrin and Herns, learnin' to care for these'n animals.
Wesa startin' now."
"Really?" An enormous grin spread across Melni's face. Then she faltered.
"I, uh, I mean, yes, sir."
Tarpals blinked at her. "Berry well. Come'n he-ah." He led the way to his
own kaadu, who lifted her head, still chewing. "First, wesa gonna learn
the parts of the kaadu's body...."
~*~*~*~
Irric, lying flat on his stomach, peered under a bramble bush; he carefully
eased his hand underneath to pull the grass out and look at it. The blades were
just grass, however, and he moved on.
Two of the militiagungs were searching also, both on hands and knees. One
of them was peering under a bush. "T'ink mesa gott'ns it," she said,
beckoning to her companion, then turning to look at Irric. "Yousa wanna com
here an' mekk sure?"
The second Gungan crouched down and sniffed at the grass-like plant.
"T'inkin' so." He jerked his head at Irric. "Gonna be a tight fit."
"I can do it!" Irric promised, and wriggled carefully under the bush to pull
at the plant's roots, scratching his hands on the bush's branches in the
process. A tree limb suddenly slid in over his head and levered the branches up
enough for him to tug up on the grass's roots and pull a handful free. Irric
wiggled backward, prize clutched in his fist. One of the militiagungs
held the other end of the limb. "T'ought yousa might fin' it easier gettin'
unner dere wit' the stickers out'n the way," she said mildly.
"Yeah. Thanks!" Irric opened his fist and all three of them examined the
grass. "I think this is it. Let's find Lieutenant Peskis and make sure!"
In a cool, shaded portion of the forest not far away, Nalla sat astride a
Gungan's shoulders, peering upward at the leafy vines clinging to the tree
trunk's bark. The leaves she wanted would be pointed, the width of her hand, a
dark green lined with white splotches that imitated speckles of sunlight. This,
Peskis had warned her, would make them difficult to see. Also, the medicinal
leaves looked very much like the leaves of another plant that caused itching and
inflammation of the skin. Peskis had described the leaves' scent to the Gungan
helping Nalla.
The human squinted at the leaves. "No," she told the Gungan. "Let's find
another tree." The militiagung obligingly waded through the brush to
the next tree, then the next, then and the next.
"Wesa tryin' over dere," he said suddenly. They approached a large tree
with deeply lined bark. Several different types of vines wound around the trunk.
Nalla reached to touch one of the leaves, but the Gungan stepped back. "No.
Yousa remember what Peskis sess," he warned. "No touchin' 'till wesa
sure."
"Right." Nalla studied the leaves, and then reached up and grasped one she
knew wasn't poisonous and used it to pull the vines with the speckled leaves
closer for inspection. "I think so. Here." She pushed the vine down the
trunk; the Gungan sniffed it cautiously.
"Can yousa pull some'a dem off? Wesa wrap dem in other leafs an' tekk dem
to Peskis." Nalla used the safe leaf to pull some of the speckled leaves from
the vine and drop them to the ground. The Gungan stooped to allow her to slide
off his shoulders; still using the plain leaf in her hand, Nalla gathered the
speckled leaves up by the stems.
"Let's go make sure these are the right ones," she said, and the two
started back toward camp.
~*~*~*~
"Pick a target," Saché instructed the tan-colored Gungan next to her.
"Something fairly small."
The Gungans conferred amongst themselves, and finally the tan Gungan suggested,
"Clump of leafs onna leanin' tree, partway up da trunk."
Saché squinted at the grey-bronze trunk of a skinny tree that was nestled
against one of its fellows. "The bunch of five leaves, with the branch
that's curved downward?"
The Gungan nodded. Saché sighted down the barrel of the blaster. "You realize
that if you miss, Captain Panaka will automatically know, wherever he is," Yané
teased. "And when he gets back, he'll never let you hear the end of it."
"I know. And I'll gladly listen, too, as long as he comes back alive and
brings the Queen with him." Saché's finger tightened on the trigger. "I
can see why your people had such a hard time using these," she remarked to the
Gungans. "There's no sight on the barrel to aim it by. I don't know how
the droids shoot this thing." She tilted the blaster marginally, trying to
line up a shot. At last she squeezed gently, and her wrist absorbed the slight
recoil as the blaster fired. The five leaves, their branch, and part of the
trunk burst apart. A startled murmur ran through the Gungans; the Patrol riders
looked particularly impressed. "Although with that kind of firepower, who
needs finesse?" She handed the blaster to the tan Gungan, and the rest of the
group gathered around to study it. She said to Yané, "Truth be told, I wish
Captain Panaka were here right now, because I have only the faintest idea how to
train these folks in shooting a blaster."
"Well, look at the bright side," Yané said. "At least now we have enough
weapons for everyone, including ourselves. And these things have a pretty wide
field of fire, so the Gungans don't have to be precision shooters!"
~*~*~*~
Peskis stooped and entered the little shelter housing Kimma and her family.
Hanar had gone for his turn at target practice, but Sen Tal sat beside his essoin
with Plirri on his lap. The youngster was eating pieces of fruit. Temmis was
curled up asleep on his maatra's other side. Zanté sat cross-legged
beside Sen Tal, peeling the skin off the fruit for Plirri. All three of them
looked up as Peskis entered.
"I've got medicine for her," Peskis said, and crouch-walked to where Kimma
lay on a leather bedroll. Sen Tal shifted his position to give him room.
The female opened her eyes and turned her head slightly. "This is it?" she
murmured. Peskis showed her the drinking bowl and its liquid contents.
"Yes. Drink it all. It should help bring the swelling down and make it easier
for you to rest."
Kimma sniffed at it. "It smells terrible. That's the sure sign of a cure,
isn't it?" she remarked weakly. Sen Tal handed Plirri to Zanté and stooped
to slide one arm under Kimma's shoulders, helping her sit up. She took the
bowl and sipped at its contents, grimacing.
"It might also help if you went down to the river and found a nice, quiet
pool," Peskis continued. "You would probably be more comfortable floating
than lying."
"It hurts too much to move right now," Kimma admitted.
"Tomorrow, then."
"We'll try," Sen Tal promised.
Zanté sat watching solemnly. Peskis turned to her. "Gott'n job for yousa,"
he said in Bassic. "Yousa needs to mekk sure shesa etts little bit after shesa
drinks diss'n. Den shesa gonna sleep for 'while. When shesa wakes up, yousa
mekk sure shesa etts again. Unnerstand?" Zanté nodded. Then her hand moved to
sign "fruit", and she held up the fruit she had been peeling. Peskis nodded.
"Fruit, feesh, roots, ennyt'ing. Iff'n yousa need food, yousa ask one'a
ussan."
Kimma handed him back the bowl and closed her eyes, resting in Sen Tal's arms
for a few minutes. Sen Tal lowered his head and nuzzled her gently. Plirri
squirmed in Zanté's arms, and the girl released him. The youngster crawled
over to his maatra and stretched out beside her, his chin resting on her
hip. Kimma opened her eyes and reached over to stroke his head. "Maatra's
going to be all right, Plirri," she whispered, and lay back on the ground.
"Yes, she is," Peskis assured them. "She needs to get better so she can
take care of her family again." He reached past Sen Tal and gently squeezed
Kimma's upper arm. "You have a brave heart, silo'in," he said,
using the word that referred to a female child of one's clan family. "It's
an honor to serve with you." He patted Sen Tal on the shoulder and rose,
crouching, to go to the shelter's entrance. He stopped and patted Zanté on
the back. "Yousa tekk good care of dem," he told her, and stepped outside.
Zanté crawled to the back of the shelter and watched as Sen Tal lay down and
curled himself protectively around Kimma's head and shoulders. Plirri was
still lying against her hip, and Temmis had cuddled up against her other side.
Kimma opened her eyes and beckoned the Naaboo girl to come closer. Zanté
sat down beside Kimma's shoulder, next to Sen Tal's feet. The female Gungan
reached out to take Zanté's hand.
Zanté hesitated, then reached up and grasped the leather string that held the
peko-peko's feather tied to her hair. She tugged it loose, then held it out to
Kimma. The Gungan's large hand closed around Zanté's fingers, closing them
around the feather. "Yousa kipp dat," Kimma told her. "Hevvin' yousa
close iss good luck 'nough for mesa. Yousa gonna tekk care'n ussan now?"
Zanté nodded and sat still, her hands clasping Kimma's. The Gungan smiled
sleepily. "Mesa feelin' better already."
