#sil visser

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Sil Visser

[etnmarchand]

Sil Visser

[thenixart]

Chapter 3: The Raid

Her Jara Hamee is smart and handsome and strong and good and handy. He was probably the best storyteller she’d ever heard. Ket Halpak loved him very much. And really there very were few of their people on this world who would probably make a better leader, regardless of his tendency to be too cautious.

But she was a much better fighter. A better sneaker as well. And that was why she was in charge of the raid.

She’d spent weeks scouting out yeerk bases. Half from memory and half from guessing based on what the two of them knew the yeerks needed. Some matching patterns that the adults discussed back when they young enough to cling to their mother’s backs.

Figuring out the best paths through these miniature forests was the fun part. As she flew she learned more about the thick Earth air and which branches could hold their weight. And which could hold thrice that which was a bit more important. How many times the alien trees could take hits at different angles before they broke or fell? She learned this. And hiding places were found. She left words on the important trees in Galard and numbers. Clawed phrases of hope for treefolk being ridden by yeerks into the bark. Deep in Mother Sky there was another tribe of free people who’d been sending messages out into the deep in the language singing trees. It took Jara many long days to work some borrowed radios to be able to listen in.

They borrowed many human things and stole some others. There were plenty of ground houses in less than a day’s travel and plenty of humans camping in the woods at any given time. Only things they’d seen used by the humans and yeerks in humans at the pools and in the ships. Metal tools, some electronics, survival gear, and a few weapons. Most valuable were things like sticky tape and sheep wool and dry straw. It was warm now, but this was an alien world who knew what the seasons were like.

The night of the raid was dark. If not for the notes etched into the path the two of them would be hopelessly lost. No moon and no electric lights. They flew as swiftly as birds, touching down only long enough to read the shapes of words with the scales. At the first spotted light they paused and nestled into the foliage, their spotted skins would hide them well. With a thwick of her tail against bark Jara took to the north.

And then Ket waited.

Soon enough the lights of yeerk nursery went out and like lightning she crossed the last band of trees. Talons on the ground she landed at the entrance of a Taxxon tunnel and slipped into it, blades folded close. Ket did not like crawling but it was useful and she thanked the people of the low tribes for teaching it. The one taxxon she encountered was not at the moment ridden by a yeerk as far as she could smell, and it was young enough that she could disarm it with a single hand.

“Little one,” She said in Tax, “Fight this day and die. Call warning and many die, maybe even you. Is understanding?”

The taxxon’s claws scrambled nervously and it deflated a bit. She released its face.

“Apologies! Apologies!” It said shrinking back. “This one grovels! This one submits!”

“Good.” She huffed. “Stay out of way.”

Ket hesitated at the exit just listening. There was a ruckus, all folks moving to where Jara was causing trouble on the other side of the compound. When she no one else near she bolted out the tunnel for the nearest door. The walls of the hall were close enough that she could scuffle up above the heads of any passing below without sinking her claws into the walls and making more noise. Then she followed her ears to find her target.

The yeerk standing guard was easy to defeat. She grabbed its human head with one of her feet and yanked it up faster than it could react. Then she snatched away its dracon beam and punched it in the chest hard enough for it to lose consciousness. With some careful maneuvering, she took a roll of sticky tape from one headblades and secured it to the wall. Then she dropped to the floor and with a good solid kick, she busted down the door.

If she and Jara had not escaped they would have been sent to this place. The nursery was for breeding more hosts for yeerks. When yeerks mate they fuse and die as they spawn grubs like glima fish. So most yeerks are not interested in forcing their hosts to mate. In fact, Ket often tormented her yeerk with memories of her matings with Jara.

It disgusted the yeerk greatly.

And also yeerks were not good at being dulas nor did they enjoy the downsides of pregnancy; the aches, the pains, the movement deep inside and the cravings. So the yeerks claimed that letting the hork-bajir have a taste of freedom was a good incentive for making of more hosts. To her knowledge, they were trying something similar for taxxons because importing ones from Hiveholm was costing them. But the yeerks could not meet the taxxon needs for baby making just like they could not figure out how to fix their hunger.

The room was the bare minimum. Bland and brutal metal. Several vertical climbing spaces and nooks like those of trees for climbing and balance all over. Some bare platforms for sleeping. Enough space to move and stay active to keep the baby healthy and give birth. It was currently occupied by a handful of females, a pretty male, and across the room may be a good solid leap away was a human body and another female guarding the other door. She tensed ready to spring as the yeerk-in-human reached for its weapon when the other female slammed her tail into it. Then the male threw a bucket at the yeerk’s stolen head as it tried to get back up and knocked it out.

“Visser 3 says Ket Halpak dead.” The guard female said in folk speak. Ket recognized the voice as Grath Sha. A nearly grown child who was one of the ‘voluntaries’, hosts that made deals with yeerks to avoid the cages. Grath who’d come from the free space tribe by way of the nahara who were allies of the yeerks. The nahara fang she wore around her neck glinted in the light of the yeerk’s flashlight and confirmed this.

Ket Halpak shrugged her blades. “Visser 3 should dig deeper graves.”

The grown females descended from the fake trees and watched tensely. Their blades quivering in agitation. Grath Sha was a very good fighter, she learned from the nahara and the nahara have clashed with the dust demons and won dodging deadly lightning-quick tail strikes. But Ket Halpak had more experience and the others would fight on her side if it came to it for their freedom. Grath Sha flattened her blades and bowed.

“Then we be ghosts soon too.”

They left the same way Ket had come in. Her people were quick learners. As they exited the tunnel the young taxxon followed them out. It was hesitant and still groveling so they did not attack it. No one much wanted to be killing children if it could be helped.

“May this one go with too?” It whispered. “This one is useful to the hive if wanted.”

They all looked to Ket for her decision. Well Deep, she and Jara came to free people. Taxxons are different people but they are people. They don’t suffer the same as her people but they suffer.

In Tax she said, “Little one will not bite or betray. No returning to yeerk hive.”

“This one flees a rotten hive that has bitten its own and refuses reason,” The taxxon swore. “To sanctuary does this one’s life and teeth belong.”

“Very well. We open hive to you.”

Grath Sha volunteered to carry the taxxon. They knew each other, not friends but friendly.

Ket led the way and the pretty male made the tail of the line. It was slow going, most of the group were not used to the pace and needed to stop frequently to catch their breath. Twice they had to hide from loud ships with searching lights. Eventually, their path lined up with her Jara Hamee. He’d been spotted and chased but he beat his chasers. And using sticky tape tied one, a big male hork-bajir, up and carried him away with him.

Everyone was brought to one of the minor valleys that Jara and Ket discovered together. In it trees packed tightly together and the walls were steeper but it was good enough for hiding. Later when everyone could be trusted and Ket became very fat with child they would all move to the morphers’ valley where it was safer.

Till then they came to know each other. The pretty male was Kit Naab who knew medicine. Then there was Tak Ran, who’s husband and sister were killed by the morphers and who’s grudge did not lessen after meeting them. Loro Lok who was Kit Naab’s wife and was friendly and made good candies from honey and worms that Ket craved as she got heavier. Sil Renya who thought that Ket’s Jara was nicer looking than Kit and asked to borrow him because she still wanted a child. And Mern Tron who was good at being sneaky and who figured out that they could use eggs to improve the poor bark of Earth trees. The taxxon’s call-name was Sssirin and Sssirin liked to dig and could help build with all of his many claws. Three days after the rescue they learned that the big male Jara caught was named Aad Wanlo and he was a good fighter and thinker.

And all of them became tribe.

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Sil Visser

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Sil Visser

[etnmarchand]

Sil Visser