TirzahsAllure (2 page)

They watched for a while from behind their shelter of vegetation, their white fur changing to match the green foliage that hid them. Their chameleon-like ability to change color according to their surroundings had always served them well during missions and explorations.

Suddenly, a small group of men entered the village. Drums thundered, the sound echoing into the forest. Several men dragged the body of a man by his feet to the center of the village. The women pounced on the dead man and within seconds hacked off pieces of flesh. One of the women opened the stomach cavity and dug deep inside. Fresh blood covered their hands and arms. Entrails were thrown casually aside. Calira shuddered.

Primitive and savage
, she said
. And they’re cannibals. I wonder if there are more advanced humans on this planet.

We’ll have to explore further. I detect some of our crew outside the ship. I’ve sent them a message of our findings and that we may not be back for a while,
Opek told them.

They could speak to each other, but they could also turn off the ability for all to hear. Opek’s message to the crew was a private one.

Darkness was upon them suddenly. The forest became alive with other sounds than birds—the sounds of predators. Calira wasn’t afraid. She and her people were big enough to put the fear of the gods into most creatures.

They climbed up a tree and lay on its branches to rest for the night.
I see one that’s like us, except it’s black and much smaller,
Calira said, peering down.
It’s hunting for food
.

Something I wouldn’t mind right now
, Tuk grumbled.
I’m hungry.

We don’t know what’s edible and what’s not. You’ve gone without food before. It won’t hurt you now,
Opek’s voice was stern.
Let’s get some rest. We’ll start early in the morning.

Their beautiful white fur had taken on the color of the branch they slept on. It didn’t take long for Calira to doze off, although her sleep was restless because of the unfamiliar, foreign sounds around her and her growling stomach.

* * * *

They woke to the song and chirping of many birds. Calira’s stomach growled and she wished they could eat something. But what? That was the only drawback when they explored in this form—they couldn’t carry any of their instruments or food.

Following directly behind Opek, she studied intently several strange little creatures that continuously followed them. They had long arms, brownish fur on their bodies and funny little faces. They swung from tree to tree and chittered in a strange language.

Stop,
she called to Opek.
Look at those little animals. They’re pulling yellow curved sticks off that tree and they’re eating them. If they can eat them, maybe we should try one.

Tuk agreed with her.
I’ve been watching them, too, and saw them eat some large round fruits. They grow on the very top of the trees with the big green leaves.

Opek approached the tree, scattering the animals in all directions. Loud screeches indicated they were either afraid or angry. Using his teeth, he pulled one of the yellow sticks off a cluster and mimicked the animals by peeling off the skin. Not too easy with his canine teeth and claws. He smelled it, then carefully took a small bite.
Not bad at all. The fruit tastes a bit like our galamto.

At least they’d found one edible item thanks to the funny little creatures. Calira took a bite. She liked it, as did the others. They ate enough of the fruit to still their hunger. She couldn’t help but smile at the antics of the animals. Screeching their disgust or anger, they swung from vine to vine, branch to branch. A couple of them jumped up and down a short distance away screeching like crazy. One dared to approach Calira. She growled softly and sent the little one flying up a tree. They seemed harmless enough and were quite amusing, she decided.

Their hunger pangs abated, they traveled through the forest for a long time, then climbed over a mountain ridge, to find more villagers on the other side. They didn’t even bother to get close because from what they could see, they were just as primitive and savage as the first tribe they’d seen.

It’s no use, Opek. The people on this planet are from the dark ages. They’re underdeveloped, savage, primitive, and flesh eaters. We might as well go back to the ship
, Calira suggested.

You’re probably right. We’ve covered a lot of ground. Surely, if there were a more advanced species, we’d have seen them by now. We can explore more later. First, we need to set up camp when we get back. If we head back now, we’ll be back at the ship by nightfall.

Following their scent, without stopping, they hurried back to the crash site. They changed back to human form before climbing the ladder. Once inside the chamber, Opek closed the hatch tightly. “There should be enough oxygen now for the night. We don’t know if the savages hunt after nightfall. Best be safe.”

Calira said goodnight to them all and left it to the three men to tell the others their tale of adventure. She was tired, mentally exhausted from the trauma they’d gone through and physically from their explorations, so she hurried to her quarters. But sleep wouldn’t come easily. They were lost, stuck on a planet seemingly populated by savages who couldn’t help them.

* * * *

When morning came, she still felt tired. It was as if she’d not slept at all. She wished she could take a shower, but that was now impossible. The ship was dead. The rest of the crew were already up and in the mess hall. She saw a pile of the yellow fruit on the table and some other round fruits. That was their breakfast. Their own food unit had been destroyed in the crash. Fortunately, a good supply of water bottles aboard had survived the crash. Greedily, she drank a full bottle of it.

“I gather you’ve told everyone about our exploration of the planet?” she asked Opek.

“Yes. We were just talking about what we’re going to do. The ship is beyond repair. Kekese and Plutmo did a thorough diagnostic. There’s nothing we can do to fix it. I think we need to hide the ship the best we can with vines and leaves, pack everything we can carry and go find a place to settle. Hopefully a place near water.”

“If we travel as humans, we’ll have to be very careful. I saw a lot of strange creatures yesterday,” Tuk said.

“We’ll take as many weapons as we can carry. At least they still function. I suggest we head north and hope we don’t come across any more savage tribes,” Opek said. “If everyone has eaten, let’s attend to Darek’s burial first. It looks like we’ll have to make our home here.”

The crew’s faces were gloomy. They were probably thinking about their families back home, just like she was. Calira hurried to her sleeping quarters and stuffed as much as possible into a large backpack. Before she put the crystal containing her family’s images in her pack, she turned it on for a moment. Tears soaked her cheeks as she listened to their voices, watched the little holo figures waving goodbye and wished them a safe and speedy journey. Would she ever see them again? The way things looked, more than likely not. Right now, they were probably mourning her. She shut it off resolutely, put it carefully in one of the side pockets, and strapped the backpack on. It was heavy, but she wasn’t about to leave anything behind.

When she joined the others, they carried more than just backpacks. They had cases in each hand and handed her two to carry. Opek stuffed weapons into the loops of her backpack. She took one last look around before following them through the exit chamber and through the outer hatch. She was leaving behind the last bit of familiarity, her last link to home, and heading into a strange new world. She couldn’t feel a sense of new beginnings, of adventure, not with sadness overwhelming her.

The ceremony for Darat was short but powerful. Each of the crew said a few words in his honor. Opek was last to speak. He dedicated Darat’s soul to the God of Light, their Creator. A few moments of silence followed as they stood in a circle around the body bag, arms crossed and hands linked. As one, they broke the link and Opek stepped forward, the cinerator gun pointed at the body bag. He fired. Within seconds, there wasn’t even a sign that anything had lain there.

Calira wiped the tears off her face and picked up the cases she was to carry. “Opek, did you remember to engage the emergency signal? You never know if any of our ships will venture into this galaxy.”

“I managed to fix it, so yes, I did. I doubt any of them will enter this galaxy, but anything is worth a try.”

“We don’t even know which galaxy we’re in,” Calira muttered.

“And no way to find out, either,” Opek said. “Let’s get moving.”

After hiding the ship by covering it with huge leaves and various branches, they set off in single file, the thick vegetation making it impossible to walk in pairs. Several times, they had to kill. One creature that attacked was a long slithering animal, its body thicker than her thigh. It wrapped itself around Henke who started to turn blue in the face until Opek shot the creature’s head off.

Just like the previous day, the furry little animals followed them, mimicked them, swinging through the trees beside them and above. The larger species weren’t quite as curious and seemed more hostile than the small ones.

* * * *

It was nearly nightfall by the time they came upon a small clearing just below a mountain ridge. A waterfall cascaded down from the mountain into a good size pool that turned into a narrow river at the far end. It was a beautiful scene, except for the dense bank of moisture high above that hid most of the sky from them. Surrounded by lush foliage, fruit bearing trees and shrubs, and the giant trees, it was more than picturesque.

“I think we’ll stop here. This looks like a good place to set up camp. What do you all think?” Opek asked.

“I agree, Commander. It’s beautiful and there’s plenty of water,” Shana said.

“And I see trees with the yellow fruit and some other trees bearing fruits. I like it,” Calira told him.

They all agreed they would settle there and dropped their backpacks.

“There’s a cave just beside the waterfall. Might be a good place to hide everything. I’ll go and explore it first, make sure it’s safe. Could even be good shelter for the night.” Opek took off toward the cave entrance.

He came back quite fast. “It’s not a deep cave, and it’s very cold, too cold for us to sleep there but good enough to stow our bags and equipment. We can block off the entrance with some nearby boulders.”

After they’d stripped and stored their backpacks and other gear inside the cave, they blocked off the entrance. They shifted and headed for the trees.

Calira lay on her branch deep in thought. Tomorrow they’d start a new life, build homes for them to live in, make plans.

Tomorrow would be a new beginning for her and her crewmates of nine men and five other women. That made her think—nine men, six women. How was that going to work? If they were to procreate, some of the women would need to take on two mates, not unheard of on her planet. A thrill ran through her at the thought of having two mates, two men in her bed. Not all of her crewmates had spouses on their home world. She pictured the men. Henke wasn’t bad looking. She really liked him, but he had a mate at home. If no help came, maybe in time he’d become interested in her. Plutmo wasn’t half bad either. He was slated for the mating ceremony at home, but that wouldn’t happen now.

Calira thought about her prospective mate, handsome Kandala. Her hormones went into overdrive. Kandala really turned her on, as a human female, but even more so as a cat. She suddenly felt Henke’s eyes on her. Meeting his gaze, she read interest in his blue eyes and it caused her to come. Her juices flowed over the branch and dripped steadily to the foliage below. She noticed Henke sniff, watched him lick his chops and shift uncomfortably on his branch. Inwardly, she smiled and closed her eyes. Purring softly, she dozed, her ears perked for unusual sounds.

Tomorrow…a new life, a new chapter for them all.

Chapter One

Tirzah was restless. Many years had passed since the elders had crashed on this planet and they still wouldn’t allow any of the younger generation to venture beyond the boundaries they’d set when they first settled in the valley, not even as cat. Too dangerous, they kept telling them, and they’d listened time and again to the stories about the primitive savages, the flesh eaters, the cannibalistic tribes who lived beyond in the forbidden zone.

They obeyed. Opek had instilled enough fear in them to ensure they wouldn’t dare go beyond the boundary. There had to be more out there, Tirzah was sure of it. Exploration was in her blood, inherited from her parents, Henke and Calira. Though her mother had two mates, Henke and Kandala, as did several of the other first settler women, Torzo was able to tell them who their father was through a test. None of her siblings had the urge for adventure, but some of her friends agreed that there had to be more territory to explore, more discoveries to make. The elders told them without proper equipment, further exploration of the planet was impossible and surely, if there were a more advanced species, there would have been evidence.

The elders had become apprehensive. For some years, they’d seen strange crafts in the sky—seen only during the short times when there was an opening in the mist bank above. Just a few days ago, they’d seen another craft high above. They said it resembled nothing like they’d ever seen before and they feared invasion by aliens.

“Maybe they’ve already invaded the planet and what we’ve seen are their transporters. The crafts don’t look as if they’d survive space travel,” Opek said. “They resemble giant silver birds.”

“Some of them have wings that rotate,” Tirzah said. “Even if it’s an alien race, maybe they’re friendly and they can help us find our people.” Then she added wistfully, “That’s if the rest of the fleet found a suitable planet.”

“Tirzah, don’t interrupt when the elders are in discussion. You know better than that,” Calira admonished.