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  Homsaff walked off the ramp.

  The males recoiled, but the elders stood their ground — sort of. They did waver in place.

  Homsaff sent.

  Jess retorted. He knew what a Dischnya’s display of sharp rows of teeth might do to the onlookers, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

  Homsaff turned to Jess, leaned over, and sent a long tongue around his ear. Jess twitched, uttered an expletive, and wiped at the wet lobe.

  The elders and the males thought the interplay was hilarious, and they cackled at the interaction. Homsaff had chosen humor to break the nervous mood, and she’d been successful.

  Again, Tsotsia made to indicate the gathered warriors, but again, Jess interrupted him, as he sent word to the pilots above.

  Travelers dropped from the sky.

  Males pointed at the sky to alert the others of the silently descending sky boats. Tsotsia and his companions clapped their hands and cackled at the thought of reinforcements. Their actions eased the concerns of the new arrivals, who wondered what more sky boats meant.

  Following Jess’s earlier instructions, the pilots landed the ships in an arc slightly behind Sharon’s ship, with the aft ends facing the crowd.

  When the shuttles touched down, ramps were dropped, and veterans hurried from the ships. Two Dischnya squads were behind one shuttle, and each brassard stood in a formation off the ramps of their ships.

  Much to the puzzlement of the newly arrived hunters, the local villagers enthusiastically hailed the swell in the number of strangers.

  Tsotsia eyed Homsaff and matched her to those who resembled her. He did the same for Menous. Then he regarded Tacnock and indicated the sky with a sweep of his arm.

  Tacnock shook his head and held up a single digit.

  Tsotsia nodded his head in understanding. Then he eyed Jess and tilted his head toward the waiting hunters

  In turn, Jess nodded and waved a hand in their direction.

  Tsotsia introduced a single warrior from each group. Every individual laid hands on Jess’s shoulders and touched foreheads.

  The veterans could see the greater age, the accumulated scars, and the taut wiriness of those who’d been selected to lead the hunt groups.

  When Tsotsia finished the introductions, Orbit pulled his holo-vid and activated it. The new arrivals pulled back, but Tsotsia spoke to them and waved his hand through the projection.

  The veterans and Orbit had worked late into the previous evening to craft a vid sequence with multiple story options. Now, Orbit started with a version that was based on the villagers accepting the broader contingent that had landed.

  The natives crowded forward to watch. They saw Jess stop at the ramp to a shuttle. He waved to a group of males from the local village, and they followed him aboard. That elicited a horrendous amount of shouting.

  Orbit had used images of actual hunters from the village. When those individuals saw themselves board a sky boat, they touched their chests and eyed every boat they could see. It perplexed them how they could be in two places at once. Their fears were magnified by the unknown nature of the strangers.

  The elders spent some time explaining the nature of the device that Orbit held. It took a while to calm everyone.

  The aged female, who had twigged to the complex presentation yesterday, imperiously pushed her way to stand before Orbit. She tapped her scrawny chest and placed a bony finger in the holo-vid. Immediately, her image appeared in the projection, and she cackled. She waved her arms up and down, and the image did the same.

  When the elder female’s antics stopped, Orbit did her one better. Her image extended arms over her head and twirled in abandon.

  The woman cackled and enthusiastically clapped her hands. Afterward, she turned and imperiously eyed the males, who had shied from the images of themselves boarding the sky boat. Throwing a harrumph at them, she made her way to the other elder women she’d stood among. Several cackled and touched her shoulders.

  Orbit continued with the playback. He edited it on the fly, capturing the images of the hunters who surrounded them and showed them boarding the various travelers.

  An elder clapped his hands sharply. Then he turned and addressed the waiting hunters. Several times, he touched a veteran on the shoulder and pointed to a group of males, while he chattered. At one point he paused, having run out of available veterans for the hunter groups.

  Jess signaled to Hessan and Simlan, who came loping across the field of short grass.

  The elder snorted in approval and continued his explanation.

  After some time, the hunters understood the associations. That wasn’t their problem. It was entering the sky boats.

  The elder females called out what could only be taken as derision, and they made their way to the front, walked past the veterans, and boarded the sky boat behind Jess. Then two of them waved insistently at Jess.

  “Be right back,” Jess said and hurried to catch up.

  Lucia sent hurriedly, which galvanized the big Pyrean.

  Jess and Aputi boarded the traveler, and Jess signaled the ramp up. A slap on his arm caught his attention, and hands waved at the ramp to drop.

  “I think they want to imitate the initial sighting of us,” Aputi hazarded to guess.

  “Smart,” Jess said. “They want to show the hunters that there’s nothing to fear in no uncertain terms.”

  “I can’t keep a hand on everyone,” Aputi objected.

  “I’ll sit in the center. We’ll link arms, and you hold on to me,” Jess offered.

  “Works for me,” Aputi said, with relief.

  Jess had Sharon lift the ship a meter off the ground. He positioned the ramp’s lip slightly upward compared to the deck. Then he sat in the middle of the ramp edge.

  Immediately, the elder females scrambled to sit beside the male sky stranger.

  Jess linked arms with the nearest two females, and they repeated the action. Now, seven individuals sat in a chain.

  Jess sent.

  Sharon listed the ship about fifteen meters into the air. She swung the ship slowly, pivoting the aft end in a wide circle over the throng.

  Despite the elder females’ resolve to show the males that there was no need to fear rides in the sky boats, they’d been quiet, as they left the ground. When they realized the sensation was pleasant and the view delightful, hovering over the astounded males, they unlinked their arms and waved at everyone.

  Aputi sent, when he realized their plan to provide some sort of safety for the females had failed.

  Jess sent.

  As the ship descended, Jess and Aputi smiled at the antics of the elders sitting on the ramp. They’d been transformed into young females, giddy at being the first to enjoy riding in the ship.

  Sharon stopped the descent at the one-meter level, and Aputi jumped down to help each of the females off.

  Each female cackled at the strength of the stranger, who swung them gently to the ground. Not a word was said, as the females joined the throng.

  Lucia commented.

  Orbit sent.

  Jess sent.

  Orbit brought up the sequence that demonstrated the proper hunting formation. First, he showed the image of the shadow, which had lit the thorn branches and burned the trunk.

  That resulted in a conversation of the village elders with the new arrivals. Having experienced the demonstration, the local males were able to add their voices to the explanation.

  Then Orbit played a second sequence that showed Jess surrounded by ten shadows. Six males from the local village formed a semicircle
behind him. Only one green-skinned hunter was forward of him.

  Ufrat, the skull carrier and the village’s most experienced hunter, recognized himself and his exalted position in the hunt. He raised his spear high and roared his triumph. His cry was echoed by his village’s fellow hunters.

  Jess sent in the open.

 

  When the veterans laughed, Tsotsia eyed Jess and tapped his forehead, and Jess smiled in return.

  Orbit froze the scene at the moment when Ufrat recognized himself. Now, the SADE continued the vid. A red reared in front of the team, and Ufrat was shown to retreat behind Jess.

  The local hunter might have been dismayed by his reticence to attack the insectoid, but Orbit was careful to enlarge the insectoid and show how swiftly the shadows eliminated it.

  The action within the display had taken place so quickly that the village males shuddered at the rapidity of the fight.

  Jess brought out a shadow, and it stopped beside him.

  Before the broader audience could react, the local villagers hailed the appearance of the strangers’ metal hunter, and the leaders crowded forward to pet it.

  Aputi stepped forward and worked to clear a space, and the elders aided him.

  Then Jess signaled the other nine shadows to his side.

  Orbit stepped in front of Jess, backed off a few meters, held the holo-vid out toward him, and projected a landscape.

  Then Jess motioned to Ufrat. When the warrior came to him, he touched the male’s vest and pointed to the similarly attired males.

  Ufrat called his hunters to him. When they obeyed, Ufrat arranged them behind Jess. Then he took his place at the forefront, his chest puffing up with pride.

  Tsotsia nodded approvingly and announced to the others what they were seeing.

  Standing in front to the arranged team, Orbit switched the display to that of a rearing red. Swiftly, Ufrat pivoted behind Jess, who brought his Loopah weapon to bear, while the shadows rushed partially forward.

  Jess couldn’t have planned a better demonstration, and he congratulated Ufrat with some hearty slaps on the shoulder.

  There was a moment of consternation on Ufrat’s face at the unorthodox contact. Then he broke into a grin and returned the favor with a few smacks of his own.

  Jess happily tolerated the stings for the progress they were making, and he called down more shuttles.

  The villagers watched the hunters who looked like Homsaff run two to a sky boat, climb aboard, and the boat lifted. Two were left behind, and they stood behind their strange leader.

  Jess introduced Simlan and Hessan to the elders.

  Jess asked.

  Lucia sent.

  Jess replied.

  When the crowd was made to retreat, the veterans stood about two meters apart.

  Jess had the local hunters stand with him.

  Immediately, the new arrivals understood they would be paired with one of the strangers. It was no longer going to be the veterans’ choices. Quick discussions among the visiting hunters took place.

  Lucia got who she would have chosen. A quiet but stern warrior led six others to her side.

  Homsaff had targeted a scarred and angry-looking individual who had decorated his necklace with trophies — the teeth of carnivores. He returned her stare. She chuffed, and he snorted. Then he led five others, who were similarly attired, to stand behind her.

  When Homsaff’s tail rose in the air and gently guided the lead warrior to stand beside her, the individual cackled at his fortunate choice in strangers. He would have the best tales to tell others for the remainder of his life.

  A group of younger hunters chose Aputi for obvious reasons. They appreciated the size of the stranger, who they thought might offer more protection from the invaders.

  Jess sent. That would complete the list in his implant that had been the morning’s objective.

  Orbit projected a collection of insectoids — a red, a gray, and juveniles of various sizes.

  Jess went through the motions of indicating that every size of insectoid was dangerous. He pointed at the red, indicating the pincers, pretended to be bit, and fell to the ground. He had the hunters’ attention, and their faces were serious. So it was with the gray and the largest juveniles.

  However, when Jess indicated a juvenile who was only a meter in length, the hunters cackled when he fell on the ground.

  “Was it the way I fell?” Jess quipped.

  “I thought you hit the ground extraordinarily gracefully, Captain,” Orbit deadpanned.

  Ufrat tapped a hunter on the shoulder and pointed at a short stick on the ground. The selected male nodded vigorously and ran to grab the piece of dried wood. Ufrat walked a few paces away from the group and laid his spear on the ground. He took a stance, with his feet slightly apart and his hands at his side.

  The hunter with the stick held it at his side. Then he said something to Tsotsia, but that was merely a feint. While he was speaking, he flicked the wood at Ufrat.

  In one smooth motion, Ufrat’s right hand drew his short sword and cut the stick in two pieces. Then he walked to the holo-vid display and cut a swath through the juveniles a meter or less in size.

  The other hunters shouted their challenges and raised their collection of weapons.

  “Handy,” Lucia pronounced. “Might not have to worry about the thirty thousand juveniles out there being underfoot.”

  “Load them up,” Jess ordered. “We go hunting.”

  The veterans, the green-skinned hunters, and the shadows boarded the travelers to the sounds of the villagers cheering them on.

  23: Trackers

  The local hunters insisted on riding as the elderly females had done. Their pride demanded nothing less.

  That required the pilots lift with their ramps down, while the hunters crowded across the ramps’ lips.

  The veterans warned the pilots to take it slow and stay near the ground. Although, a fall from twenty meters was as likely to result in death as one from two hundred meters.

  Jess’s team had the advantage of starting locally.

  Ufrat knew the territory well.

  Sharon flew the ship aft first, as did every other pilot.

  When Ufrat oriented himself, he directed Jess, who communicated to Sharon.

  Over the day’s activities, the veterans would learn the local dialect’s commands for left, right, ahead, behind, slow, and other simple directions.

  Homsaff’s taciturn, scowling lead hunter was named Droga. For Homsaff, he usually pointed and grunted rather than speak.

  Droga directed Homsaff to his village. From there, he guided her along familiar trails.

  Those who accompanied Droga chatted loudly. Then, as the ship overflew dense forests, the treetops covered in vines, they grew quiet.

  Homsaff glanced at Droga, who curled the fingers and thumbs of both hands and made pincer closings with them. She linked to the controller and scanned the area. There was no place to land.

  A pantomime of the request for a landing place from Homsaff produced directions from an older hunter. He guided the queen several kilometers to a clearing, where a Colony shuttle had torched the trees.

  The pilot set the ship down, and the hunters eagerly piled off.

  Homsaff barked a command, which brought the hunters up short. She signaled the shadows, which assumed their expected positions.

  Droga spoke to his companions, and they followed the example that they’d witnessed outside the village.

 
the pilot sent.

  Homsaff replied.

  the pilot replied and lifted.

  The insectoids had long ago scattered from the shuttle site. There was nothing fresh for the shadows to scent.

  The hunter, who’d directed Homsaff to the shuttle site, pointed the way to a known location of the insectoids.

  The queen set out at a brisk walk. However, soon Droga gave her an annoyed look, and she broke into a lope. Then he rewarded her with the first grin of the day.

  To Homsaff’s pleasant realization, the hunters were accustomed to traveling long distances. They easily maintained a steady, ground-eating pace.

  By necessity, the shadows separated to weave among the trees to maintain formation. Despite the forest’s debris and vegetation, their multiple legs enabled them to stay abreast of their assault commander.

  The forest floor was dim, with the dense canopy blocking most of the light. Homsaff was dependent on the hunters, who were familiar with subtle terrain markings.

  Within the hour, the team returned to the place where Droga had indicated pincers with his hands. He slowed and whispered to his companions, and Homsaff signaled the shadows to halt.

  The queen took a deep breath and exhaled. The long run felt good to her after so long aboard space-cramped ships.

  Droga indicated a direction to take, but two shadows detected scents on another tangent. They were signaling Homsaff. She pointed a dark-nailed finger at the shadows for Droga and led the way.

  The decision didn’t sit well with Droga, but he decided to wait for the long-muzzled stranger to fail before he spoke triumphantly to his companions.

  Instead of nothing, the team encountered a nest of adults and tens of juveniles.

  The hunters were disappointed. They’d barely unsheathed their weapons, when the shadows eliminated every insectoid, large and small.

  The insectoids aren’t expecting adversaries, Homsaff thought. That will soon change.

  Droga regarded the shadows and uttered a grunt of approval.

  Homsaff waited for the same treatment, but she failed to receive it. A foolish warrior, she thought, and it warned her to be careful of his actions.