The Helavite War (20 page)

Jake was beaten into a corner. He was pinned
down by the onslaught of the last Helavite and its whip. Kay-o
moved into position to get a grip on the bug. This one was more
shrewd then the others. It wasn't giving up its prey especially not
to a dar-dolf. When Kay-o darted in the Helavite grasped Kay-o by
the harness with two of its arms. It lifted the dar-dolf up in the
air as Kay-o snarled and bit. The bug flung the dar-dolf across the
room as though he were a puppy. Kay-o hit the cage and was knocked
unconscious by the impact. The Helavite seemed to have never turned
its attention away from Jake. It continued with its whipping
onslaught on its cornered enemy.

Arr picked up one of the whips from the dead
Helavites and advanced on the last bug. The whip did nothing to the
bug attacking Jake except get its attention. The Helavite turned
from Jake, who was on his knees in the corner, and advanced toward
Arr. The first bite from the bug's whip stung Arr's shoulder. The
next hit his leg bringing him down on one knee. The Helavite could
smell victory.

Kay-o came out of nowhere. The force of his
blow knocked the Helavite off its feet. Arr scrambled quickly on to
its back. He reached for his blaster, but it had been knocked from
its holster when he fell to the floor a moment earlier. He grasped
his gathering knife from the top of his boot and sunk it into the
visor slit at the bug's eyes. The Helavite collapsed dead beneath
him.

Arr went to Jake's side as he rose slowly
from the floor. He had several bad burns on his body, but a big
grin on his face.

"We did it kid." He clasped Arr by the
shoulders. For the moment the slaves were forgotten as the two
experienced the joy of just being alive. They heeded Margaret's
words. They took care of each other.

A movement behind them in the cage brought
them back from their self congratulations.

Jake went to the wall and threw the switch
to open the cage door.

There were perhaps fifty to seventy-five
slaves of perhaps half that many species. They were all fitted with
metal collars and they all looked ill fed, ill clothed and
scared.

When none of them made a move to come out of
the cage Arr stepped forward and entered their prison. He walked
quietly among them and said in as many different languages as he
knew that they were safe now. That no one would hurt them again.
Some of the slaves began to trickle out past Jake and up the tunnel
to the surface. They weren't very vocal. Jake imagined that was due
to living with the Helavites, but the men shook his and Arr's hand.
More than a few of the women kissed Jake on the cheek.

Arr was surrounded by slaves when he felt a
touch on his back. He turned to find himself looking into a pair of
big, blue cat eyes. He pulled his stunned gaze away from the first
pair and came to rest on another pair.
Henu
! Maybe ten or twelve Henu, all about his age,
stood staring at Arr with big, silly grins on their faces.

"
JAKE
!" Arr
called joyously. "
MY PEOPLE
!!
MY PEOPLE ARE HERE
!!"

Once again the Henu planet would be populated.

The Henu that Jake and Arr rescued from the
Helavites were some of the grown children who were by the lake the
day the Helavites attacked twenty years ago. They, like Arr,
thought the rest of their people were killed. They gave up any hope
of rescue. There were seven females and five males. Among the
females Arr found his mate, Mya. It was as though everything was
finally right with the world.

"I thought you told me she died in the
Helavite attack on your planet," Jake questioned Arr, after he
introduced Mya.

"I thought she had," Arr replied. "But, when
I think back on it I don't remember Nor and I actually looking over
any of the dead. I just remember how frightened I was and the cold
of the lake, and then the long walk to our new home over the east
hills. Maybe Nor just told me they were all dead."

"I'm happy for you that he was wrong," Jake
said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

The mop up of the planet came to an end
shortly after the finding of the slaves. The GO began to transport
the slaves to their respective planets. Jake volunteered to take
the Henu home.

Jake was swept into the reunion of his
partner and friend with his people. He was fascinated by what he
took for granted in dealing with Arr. He assumed that all Henu were
like Arr. He was very mistaken. The most evident thing was they
were not all red/gold in color like Arr. Mya was a soft faun color
with dark chestnut tips to the hair on her body. The others ranged
in color from one with black hair with grey tips, a handsome male,
to a female that was truly all red. In fact no two were completely
alike in coloring. Because they were captured as a group they
retained what little of their language they learned before being
taken prisoners. Arr set immediately to teaching them the rest of
their language plus English. They however, did not possess the
abilities that Arr did in learning new tongues. His adeptness of
picking up new languages seemed to be a gift solely his own.

The trip back was strained at first. The
Henu were beaten so long that they cowed like mistreated dogs. It
would take a lot of gentle care and understanding to get them back
on their feet again. Arr spent all his time talking with them. He
intended only to provide comfort and teach them their language. He
didn't realize he was building his own legend. The more they heard
his voice and his stories the more he became a hero in their eyes.
Something bigger than mortal Henu.

Arr fell into the role of leader. He was
more experienced than any of the other Henu.

He was the oldest.

He was their savior.

*****

With Arr's finding of Mya he grew up right
before Jake's eyes. Physically the contrast made him appear older.
Mya was small and delicate, quiet and gentle. The joy of being
rescued and finding her mate was evident in every action she made.
Jake caught her eyes following Arr about the room often. He noticed
the love that was already starting to grow in them for his friend
and companion.

They made a short detour on the way home.
They stopped at the St. Mary to see if Jake could convince Margaret
to give up her position on the ship and come make a study of a full
colony of Henu. He need not have been worried about her answer.
Margaret resigned and packed within three days for the move to her
life with Jake. With her savings she arranged for a well equipped
lab to be delivered to the planet plus prefab living quarters. She
told Jake, 'Living in a tree is asking too much.'

Jake made her no promises, but he said he
would do his best to stay put as long as possible. In any case, he
promised to come back to her always.

Margaret and Mya became friends almost at
first sight. Mya pressed Arr to teach her English so she could
communicate with the humans. Margaret even joined in playing
part-time teacher to all the Henu. The sooner they could
communicate the better her studies would be.

After the Henu got the smell of the
Helavites washed off Kay-o was more than willing to make friends.
The hands full of Red Raspberry Goo Chews that Arr handed out
reinforced the dar-dolf's immediate love for all the Henu. Jake
could see that it was going to be very hard to keep Kay-o a working
dar-dolf. He was fast becoming the pampered pet of the Henu
population.

The day Jake shuttled them all down to the planet
was exhilarating. The first order of the day was a swim in the lake
for everyone. Then the group split up for the first time in their
lives. They went to explore their old world. Arr took Mya to his
tree house to get her approval. Jake and Margaret scouted out the
best place to put the prefab when it arrived the next week. The
others drifted around singly or in couples. The Henu never mated
while among the Helavites. They did not want to bring children into
that horrible life. There were other couples among the group that
had matching tattoos. Now that they were free it was natural to
match up and explore together.

It was early fall on the little planet and
the nights were cool. Jake offered to take them back up to the ship
when it came nightfall. They all politely refused. They had their
purrs to keep them warm.

"Stay with Mya and me tonight," Arr invited
Margaret and Jake to share his home.

"I don't think that's a very good idea,"
Jake whispered confidentially to Arr as he drew him to one
side.

"We would enjoy the company." Arr grasp
Jake's shoulder and leaned closed to speak for his ear alone.
"Besides, we can't act as mates until after the Spring Festival.
I'm afraid it will have to be a Fall Festival instead this year."
Arr smiled at his friend. "I can't wait till spring."

The next few days were spent building tree
houses. Jake and Margaret helped the one single female, Lal, build
her home. When the building was completed there were plans made for
the dance. They all knew of the dance. Some could vaguely remember
watching in their youth, but no one could remember it in detail. So
a new dance was invented. Lal appointed herself as drummer. She
created a slow sensuous beat that the feet could not resist.
Everyone spent a full day, in secret, constructing their masks.
Many a bird was caught, plucked of a few feathers and then
released. Many dyes were made; even a few Goo Chews were applied
before the job was completed.

Jake and Margaret prepared and brought down
a meal from the cruiser the evening of the Festival. The Henu added
their gatherings to it. Arr was already teaching them what to
gather among all the other duties he acquired.

The feast was joyous - the dance heady.
Margaret and Jake were just barely able to resist joining in the
celebration, so when Mya urged them to, they too got caught up in
the ritual of the Spring mating dance. As the night wore on the
Henu found their mates behind the masks and they quietly retired to
their houses in the trees. Margaret and Jake retired to the
ship.

A peaceful hush fell over the small Henu
planet.

The Henu were home at last!

THE END

*****

Watch for the continuing adventures of the Star
Travelers

in the upcoming volume entitled

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