S cenes of Niyyuuan warriors training selected Hyfftian police in military tactics made for excellent pictures. So did portraits of Niyyuuan technicians instructing other Hyfft in the use of advanced weapons, some of which could be spared from the arsenals of the three orbiting starships. And images of Niyyuuan engineers working to transfer the design schematics of other armaments to their Hyfftian counterparts for the purpose of hasty manufacture were far more interesting to observe in person than they sounded like they would be at the time the measure was finally acceded to by Gerlla-hyn’s staff.
All of them would make for excellent viewing by rapt and image-hungry Niyyuuan audiences when the fortunate media representatives of that world eventually returned home with the recordings they were engaged in making. It was that small but critical and highly vocal contingent of Niyyuu who turned the tide in favor of helping rather than abandoning the Hyfft. Where Walker and his friends were divided as to whether or not to render such assistance, where the Niyyuuan military and technical staff were uncertain, the media representatives who had been given the task of recording the great and unprecedented voyage made the difference.
Helping another sentient species in such a manner would demonstrate the ethical superiority of Niyyuuan principles, the media reps argued. The crews of the three great starships would return home much enhanced in honor. Little actual expense was involved, and not a great deal of time, much of which the ships’ crews could expend enjoying the hospitality of the grateful Hyfft and their congenial world.
Above all, this morally commendable exertion would make for great pictures.
Demonstrating admirable, even astonishing energy, the enthusiastic Hyfft proceeded to turn the industrial outskirts of Therapp into the nearest thing to a military base their world had ever seen. Though their domestic police force was characteristically well-organized and extremely efficient, it was rarely called upon to deal with any disturbance more far-reaching than a riot at an arts festival. Preparing for warfare, much less warfare on a planetwide scale, was completely outside their experience. Their racial history was generally devoid of applicable examples, the Hyfft having been an exceedingly cooperative species from the very beginnings of their civilization.
Nevertheless, the police force, at least, possessed weapons in the form of small arms and knew how to use them. Elite units were equipped with what the Niyyuu could spare from their onboard arsenals and trained as rapidly as was feasible in their use. Meanwhile, such devices were scanned and dissected by the Hyfft’s own instruments and replicated in factories all across the planet, with the result that within weeks they were being churned out at an impressive rate.
Small arms would be useful only in countering any Iollth who chose to set foot on the surface, however. To deal with invading spacecraft, should the Hyfft prove determined and decisive enough to do so, various commercial satellites had to be converted for offensive use. In this the Niyyuu proved more knowledgeable than Walker had expected. Not that they had used them against their own kind, but like every space-traversing species, the Niyyuu had long ago learned to prepare to defend their homeworld against potential attack from beyond.
Hyfftian satellites proved amenable to the necessary conversions. The sophistication of their technology surprised the Niyyuu who participated in the work. If one excluded their inability to travel beyond the bounds of their own solar system, the Hyfft were quite accomplished. Yet again, it was shown that their lack of the ability to travel in deepspace was due more to failings of culture than of science. Even Ussakk the Astronomer, who might have been expected to jump at the chance to travel beyond the bounds of his local star system, expressed no desire to do so, and was content to carry out his observations with the aid of ground- and satellite-based instrumentation only.
Throughout it all, the attitude toward their visitors of individual as well as groups of Hyfft bordered on the worshipful. Walker and his friends found that they were unable to go anywhere without attracting hordes of locals eager to meet the benign and compassionate travelers from the stars.
Growing bored with Therapp and the surrounding countryside, he and his companions had asked to visit the area around Pedwath, where they had initially set down. Sque all but insisted on it. Gerlla-hyn raised no objection, any security concerns having long since been obviated by their hosts unadulterated hospitality. Since the local passenger conveyors were far too small to accommodate the much larger visitors, cargo vehicles were used to transport them to the coastal city. There the travelers were forced to endure several days of civic feting and thank-yous before they were finally able to escape the attentions of a grateful officialdom.
Now Marc and George found themselves strolling down an alien beach of fine pink sand. To their right, the dual-realm inhabitants of Hyff’s oceans seemed to spend as much time aloft as they did in the water. On their left, a natural preserve was bordered by hedges of bright orange-green plants that sucked sulfides from volcanic soil and turned them into sugars while respiring oxygen that stank mightily of its unusual origins.
As they walked, their privacy was respected, but only to a certain extent. They found themselves being trailed by half a hundred Hyfft, who were careful to maintain a respectful and polite distance behind the honored visitors. Having learned over the past several months to distinguish among Hyfftian expressions, Walker could only interpret those of their current followers as bordering on the reverential.
When he and George paused to enjoy the ocean view, or to examine the strange arthropods or coelenterate-like creatures that had washed up on or were wandering the beach, their admiring retinue promptly also halted. When the two dissimilar aliens resumed walking, so did their polite yet attentive followers. To be the unwavering subject of so many intent unhuman eyes was simultaneously flattering and unnerving.
“They think we’re going to save them. From the Iollth,” Walker commented as he turned back to the path ahead. From the midst of the brightly hued bushes off to his left, something erupted into the air with a squawk like a startled chicken. It had neither feathers nor wings, and propelled itself slowly upwards into the blue-green sky by means of several frantically flapping translucent fleshy flaps that sprouted from its crest.
“They’ll have to save themselves.” Trotting alongside his friend, George sampled the seawater through which he was walking. It was noticeably less saline than he expected, though not nearly as tasty as the familiar waters of Lake Michigan. “This was meant all along to be nothing more than a quick stop on the way home. Pop in, ask directions, and continue on our way.” He looked up at Walker, black eyes gravid with augmented soul. “I’m tired of this, Marc. It’s all been real exciting, but I’m tired. I want out. I want to move along.”
“You’re not the only one.” As he continued walking, Walker eyed the first of Hyff’s two moons, which was just beginning to show itself in the northeastern sky. “I’m thinking of getting out of the commodities trading business when we get home, George. Lots of opportunity, but too much stress.” He examined his friend closely. “I’m thinking of opening a restaurant.”
“Oh, now there’s a stress-free business,” the dog commented sarcastically. Something rippled under his foot and he gave a little jump. Cautiously, he lowered his snout toward the sand to sniff at the ribbon-like, almost transparent burrowing creature that had startled him.
“Nothing too big.” Walker continued to muse on future possibilities. “I wouldn’t have access to the tools or ingredients that I do now, of course. But with what I’ve learned, I think I could make something of a name for myself. That would be worth tolerating some start-up stress. You can’t really make a name for yourself trading commodities, you know. But a good restaurant, especially in Chicago…” His voice trailed off as he fantasized, the dream a small glint in his eyes. Meanwhile, fifty or so meter-tall Hyfft, black of eye and mottled of fur, continued to trail behind at a respectful distance.
The two aliens were about to turn back when movement up ahead caught George’s attention. “Something’s going on in front of us.” He glanced up at his companion. “Want to check it out?”
Walker glanced at his faithful watch, still keeping time across parsecs and planets. “Getting late.”
George’s nose was high in the air, sampling. “Smells interesting. Come on—it’ll only take a minute.”
Letting out a sigh, Walker moved his legs. They couldn’t get lost, he knew. All they had to do was follow the beach back to the point where the Hyfftian conveyor had dropped them off. And if they needed help—well, there were half a hundred supplicants following close on their heels who would eagerly provide any assistance needed.
An astonishing sight awaited them on the other side of the next pink dune. Hyfftian soldier-police were making their way ashore, removing compact underwater breathing apparatus as they did so. They were armed, though it was impossible to tell if the weapons they carried were charged. Tight-fitting camouflage suits compressed their fur against their bodies, rendering them not only more hydrodynamically efficient underwater, but nearly invisible. But what really drew the attention of the human and dog were not the dozens of dripping wet, incipient Hyfftian commandos, but the figure in charge of the exercise.
Clutching a wave-worn boulder above the landing beach, Sequi’aranaqua’na’senemu was deep in conversation with a pair of senior Hyfftian officials. As Walker and George approached, it was plain to see that she was not present merely as an observer, but was an active participant in and critic of the proceedings. Within their horizontal recesses, her sharp silvery eyes were alert. Multiple limbs waved and gesticulated as she delivered herself of a steady stream of commentary.
She was also patently surprised to see them.
“Marcus, George: I thought you two would still be aestivating at a more popular location, letting your minds vegetate while our charmingly unpretentious hosts waited on your every biological need.”
Walker halted nearby, towering over the two Hyfftian police officials. “And George and I thought you’d be somewhere offshore Pedwath, soaking in the sea.” He gestured toward the beach, where nascent Hyfftian fighters emerging from the water began stripping themselves of their new, specially fabricated gear. “What are you doing?”
“Yeah,” George added, grinning at the obviously uneasy K’eremu. “You wouldn’t, uh, have volunteered to help these people in their time of need, would you? Wouldn’t that be un-K’eremu? Wouldn’t that be engaging in an activity that has nothing to do with getting your supercilious self home?”
Her tentacles contracting defensively around her, she drew herself up to her full h eight. “What would be un-K’eremu would be refusing to respond when a lesser lifeform appropriately recognizes one that is their superior.” In a huff, she turned away from the dog. “My limited activities here are merely designed to confirm that which our hosts already know.”
George was not in the least diverted by her protestations. With a nod, he indicated the beach full of budding Hyfftian commandos. “Speaking of knowing, I got the impression that K’eremu tended to keep to themselves. That would seem to rule out a knowledge of military tactics.”
“We do indeed prefer our own company,” the K’eremu replied sibilantly. “However, circumstances sometimes dictate a need for communal action. Mutual defense is one of these.” A tentacle tip brushed clinging water away from one eye. “You should know by now that there is no area of knowledge that is foreign to the K’eremu. While I am not expert in such matters, my understanding of such strategies exceeds that of our hosts by several orders of magnitude. And your own as well, I would suspect.”
“Don’t bet on it,” the dog shot back. “You’ve never been in a pack fight, whereas I—”
They were interrupted by the arrival of none other than Sobj-oes. While the lanky Niyyuu came loping down the nearest dune, her companion Ussakk the Astronomer paused to chat with the two Hyfftian police officials who had been taking instruction from Sque.
The constant movement of all four tails coupled with the fact that her crest was fully erect indicated that the Niyyuuan astronomer was in a state of great excitement. Indeed, the words spilled so swiftly from her perfectly round, painted mouth that Walker and George’s Vilenjji translator implants were unable to keep up, and they had to indicate via gestures that she slow down.
Swallowing, she composed herself and began again. “We have it!” she exclaimed in a voice grating enough to put teeth on edge.
“That’s swell,” declared George phlegmatically. “What do you have?”
“That which we been seeking on yous behalf.” Walker had to lean back as one excitedly waving two-fingered hand nearly accidentally smacked him in the face. “Thankings to Guild of Hyfftian Astronomers”—and she turned just long enough to wave in Ussakk’s direction—“we have been able to lay out likely vector leading toward homeworld of great storyteller Braouk.”
A sudden surge of mixed emotion tore through Walker. “You’ve actually located Tuuqalia?”
The rapid twitching of her tails slowed and her crest half collapsed. “Well, not world itself. Hyfftian astronomers not know that star’s location for certain. But are confident is correct stellar neighborhood. We take yous there, should not be difficult locate Tuuqalian system. More than probable, less than impossible.” Reaching out, she rested one hand on Walker’s upper right arm and stroked him in the familiar, reassuring Niyyuuan manner. “Is best news have had for you since triangulation of original electromagnetic waves alluding to location of Hyff, yes?”
“I’m happy for Braouk” was all the dog would mutter.
Walker tried to raise both their spirits. “We should be more than happy, George. If we can find Tuuqalia, not only can we return Braouk to his people, but based on the time each of us spent on the Vilenjji capture ship, we can hopefully calculate backward and find indications of Earth. And K’erem,” he added hastily. “Also, for all their adherence to ancient traditions, Braouk insists that his kind are a scientifically advanced species. They might know right where to look for Earth and K’erem.”
“I know, I know,” the dog muttered, rubbing his backside against Walker’s right leg. “But there’s no guarantee of it, either.” Tilting back his head, he looked up at the newly energized Niyyuuan astronomer. “Nothing personal, Sobj-oes. You’ve been a great friend. But there’s no denying we’re locked in a race between finding our homeworlds and the inevitable steady increase in homesickness among the crews of your ships. Given eternity, we’d for sure find our way home. But none of us have that luxury. And besides discontent among the crews, there’s the matter of finding a way back to Earth within our individual life spans. I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but dogs don’t live as long as humans.” He looked to his left. “Or K’eremu, or Tuuqalians.” He dropped to his belly and put his head down on his forepaws. “It’s an inequitable universe, Marc.”
“Don’t I know it,” his friend concurred with feeling. “I once placed an advance order for ninety thousand liters of pineapple concentrate at twenty-two cents a liter, only to have the price halve over the weekend before I could dump the stuff.”
Raising his head, the dog snapped at something small, hard-shelled, and airborne. “That’s terrible, just terrible. How can the threat of being lost forever among the stars possibly compare?”
Walker ignored his friend’s sarcasm. “Show some faith, George. We’re on our way again, and this time we’ve got a destination. A real destination.”
“Uh-huh, yeah. Somewhere in space probably light-years across, where the homeworld of a race of oversized saga-spinning sometime-berserkers may or may not be waiting to be found. I’m aquiver with anticipation.”
Refusing to let himself be baited, Walker let his gaze wander back to the beach below where they were standing. The Hyfftian commandos who had emerged from the water were chittering and chirping excitedly among themselves, comparing notes and swapping suggestions. Nearby, their two officers continued in animated conversation with Sque. The K’eremu was only too happy to deliver herself of her superior knowledge.
They might not exactly be going home, Walker told himself as he looked on, but for the first time since leaving Niyu, at least they were going someplace.
Month-slices later, as they prepared to board the shuttlecraft waiting on the tarmac of Pedwath Port for their final departure from Hyff, Walker found himself overcome by his surroundings. Given the way the Hyfft had treated them from the beginning of their relationship, he and his friends had expected some kind of formal send-off. But nothing like this. Not on such a scale.
On Earth, a similar formal ceremony of departure might have involved a brass band and massed salutes from ranks of smartly uniformed soldiers. While the Hyfft possessed sophisticated musical instruments, their tradition favored something closer to a cappella singing. Except that it wasn’t singing.
But it surely was enchanting.
Standing shoulder to furry shoulder, two thousand elegantly attired Hyfft brought forth from their small throats a meticulously modulated harmony that sounded like a cross between a gigantic covey of songbirds and an equal number of enthusiastic kittens all clamoring together in chorus. The resultant exquisite sound waves induced delectable vibrations in his inner ears. Nearby, the massive Braouk was swaying almost gracefully in time to the lilting tones while Sque’s undulating tentacles were nearly as upright and alert as George’s ears. Only the Niyyuu, as personified by Sobj-oes and the last of the departing warriors of her kind, seemed variously immune or indifferent to the mesmerizing drone. That was not surprising, Walker realized, if one knew that their “music” tended as much to dissonance as did their language.
A deeper roar began to overwhelm the magical vocalizing. Arising in the east, it drew steadily nearer and more profound, until a hundred Hyfftian aircraft roared by overhead in a formation so precise and tightly packed it would have left a comparable gathering of human aviators openmouthed with awe. As they thundered past, they released something from their internal holds. The drop darkened the sky. It consisted of small objects in every shade, in all colors of the rainbow.
As the components of the release reached the ground, Walker reached up and out with a hand to catch a few of the first flowers. Perhaps the massed aircraft also sprayed the airport area in passing, or possibly the attendant perfume that now filled the air arose only from the flowers themselves. Whatever the source, the mild tang of Hyff’s sea air, milder than that of Earth’s oceans, was rapidly suffused by a diversity of aromas that bordered on the sensuous. Walker felt himself growing dizzy with the all-pervading fragrance. George had to cover his besieged nostrils, while Sque was largely immune to the effect. Braouk, however, was all but floating on the runway. The sight of the hulking Tuuqalian tipsy with sensory overload brought a broad smile to Walker’s face.
Surprisingly, there were few speeches. Some succinct, well-considered words from the local dignitaries they had worked with: the Delineator of the Day for Pedwath, her counterpart from Therapp, the representative of the Great Government itself, and a few more, and then the official farewell finished in a flurry of final refrains from the massed chorus of costumed chanters, visitors and hosts alike drenched in perfume both olfactory and sonic.
Walker had turned and was making his way together with George toward the boarding ramp of the last shuttle when several figures came scurrying toward them out of the crowd of assembled dignitaries. Still sated with pleasure from the effects of the farewell ceremony, he maintained his smile as he identified Yoracc the venerable Historian and Ussakk the Astronomer among them. The other two, whom he did not recognize, wore the practical and readily recognizable garb of officialdom. In contrast to the rest of the crowd, they looked neither happy nor sad. Only oddly unsettled.
Out of breath, they slowed as they approached Walker and his friends. At this point the four Hyfft exchanged glances, as if trying to decide who should be the first to speak. Though in an irrepressibly ebullient mood, Walker was more than ready to depart.
“Come on, then,” he chided them fondly. “If this is a last-minute presentation, let’s get it over with. Time favors the punctual.”
“Time favors no one, least of all the unlucky Hyfft,” Ussakk chittered via his translator. Reaching into his pouch, he removed a small piece of equipment. Though its lensor was small, the image it generated filled the space between Hyfft and visitors.
At first, nothing was discernible but stars. Then the resolution improved, the field of view shrank, and a small dot in the upper left-hand region of the projected image resolved itself into a gas giant of modest proportions.
“Avuuna, on the outskirts of the system of Hyff,” Ussakk explained.
“Avuuna, we’ll be passing you soona,” George crooned—but no one was paying any attention to him. The atmosphere around the little knot of Hyfft and visitors had quickly turned solemn.
“This was recorded only a few day-slices ago by the automated scientific station that orbits Avuuna.” Ussakk adjusted his equipment one more time.
There were five of the ships. They were sleeker than those of the Niyyuu, and considerably more so than that of the highly advanced Sessrimathe. Their comparative slenderness was only relative, since every starship design Walker had seen, including that of the Vilenjji, involved combining different sized and shaped sections to create the final vessel. In space, there was no functional reason to streamline enormous craft that were never designed to touch down on a world’s surface.
Even within the sharp resolution of the three-dimensional projection it was impossible to estimate the relative sizes of the incoming vessels, since there was nothing familiar to measure them against. Walker was assured by Ussakk that readings made by the automatic scientific station indicated they boasted approximately the same dimensions as the starships of the Niyyuu. Though some superficial changes were visible, they were irrefutably the descendents of their predecessors. As to fighting ability, neither Ussakk nor the pair of officials who had accompanied him and Yoracc could say. Never having been able to confront the Iollth in space, the Hyfft had no knowledge of what the invaders’ combat capabilities might be in such an environment.
“I not a military person,” Sobj-oes observed thoughtfully, “but as yous know, all Niyyuu participate in traditional fighting between realms. From what little I know, it seem unlikely such a force, representing such an aggressive society, would travel unprepared to defend selves against advanced as well as more primitive societies.” She gestured in the direction of the attentive Hyfft. “No insult to yous selves is meant by this observation.”
“We are aware of our psychological as well as our technological deficiencies,” Yoracc snapped back. “The question before us is, what do we do about them?”
“You’re sure they are Iollth?” Walker queried the historian.
“No question.” Shoving a stubby, four-fingered hand into the projection, the historian stirred starships. “Despite some apparent modifications, the basic designs are unmistakable, and correlate accurately with the pertinent historical records.” Retreating slightly so he would not have to crane his neck as sharply, he looked up at Walker. “You’ve trained many of our people. You have provided us with some weapons. Unfortunately, the designs for more effective devices have yet to be fully implemented.”
“What will you, bereft of further assistance, do now?” Braouk rumbled from behind Walker.
The mordant historian snorted and turned away. “Pay. Do what we have always done—give the Iollth what they want. Some Hyfft will die. That is how it has always been. If we had more time, time to build some of the more powerful weapons whose designs your Niyyuu have provided to us, we might be able to give them a surprise.” Tired, he rubbed first one ear, flattening it against the top of his head, and then the other. “Either way, I’ll be dead before that happens.”
While the historian had been replying to the Tuuqalian’s question, Sobj-oes had been conferring with an officer of her own kind. Now she leaned apologetically toward Walker.
“Word has come down from the Jhevn-Bha,” she explained, referring to the Niyyuuan command ship. “The five incoming vessels now also been detected by instruments on board our own vessels.” Her muscular, toothless round mouth paused fully open for a moment before she continued. “If our instruments can sense them, it reasonable at minimum suggest theirs can now also detect us. Gerlla-hyn urges conclusion of this ceremony and return to Jhevn-Bha with all possible speed.”
“I’m there,” barked George tersely as he started for the beckoning rampway. Having preceded him, Sque was already at the top. Only Braouk and Walker, together with Sobj-oes and a couple of Niyyuuan officers, had yet to board.
As he started to turn, he was struck by a sudden change in the atmosphere. Hitherto politely boisterous, the assembled multitude of Hyfftian performers, delegates, and dignitaries had gone eerily hushed. Plainly, word of the Iollth’s arrival in their system had seeped out and worked its way through the crowd. A morning of radiant happiness was dissolving into an afternoon of silent despair.
Dozens, then hundreds of silent faces turned from their neighbors. Not all, but a great many, came to rest on the few figures that were bunched together beside the Niyyuuan landing craft. Walker had to force himself to turn away. They were alien visages, all of them. Unthreatening to be sure, but also unhuman. He was not responsible for them. Ultimately, and especially these past few years, he had come to be responsible only for himself, and perhaps to a certain small extent for George.
“We really must go.” Shorter than the average Niyyuu and therefore no taller than the human standing beside her, Sobj-oes was able to reach a flexible arm around his shoulders without having to bend over to do it. “Nothing can do here. Not good be caught on this surface when these Iollth arrive.”
“Why not?” Walker muttered even as he let the astronomer lead him toward the waiting shuttle. “We have nothing against the Iollth, and they have nothing against us.”
“That true enough,” she agreed softly. “But is likely to be some fighting, however short-lived, and munitions not particular about who happen to be standing in their vicinity when they go off.”
Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be urged toward the landing ship, up the ramp, and into the portal. Pausing there, he looked back. From the slightly higher vantage point he was able to see better over the heads of the crowd. It was slowly, silently, and efficiently disbanding, each individual Hyfft shuffling toward specified departure points or waiting conveyors. There was no panic; no screaming and wailing, no flailing of limbs or pounding of diminutive chests. The air that had settled over the tarmac and nearby buildings was one of poignant acceptance. Having suffered the same impending, destructive fate multiple times previously, the Hyfft were sadly and stoically preparing to meet it and survive it once more. The attitude of the crowd was heartrending in its resignation. No doubt some among them, like the bitter historian Yoracc, expected to die in the coming day-slices as part of the customary carnage wreaked by the Iollth.
Then he was inside the landing ship. He was still staring out at the civilly dispersing throng as the door cycled closed. A concerned Sobj-oes guided him to his modified thrust chair. Moments later, engines thundered as the shuttlecraft lifted from the surface of doomed Hyff, carrying him and his friends and the last of the visiting Niyyuu toward their waiting starships, and to safety.