Chapter 12: Riding off to the Sunset

It had been thirty minutes. The Rampage’s shuttle remained near the edge of the center of town. Meanwhile, a green, unarmed cylindrical craft around the size of the rustic shuttle was not too far from it. A pair of Denji’Kei female soldiers remained not too far from it, dressed in their green and black wrap armor. They were armed with their familiar assault rifles.

Meanwhile, one by one, the surviving Shal’rein, including Go’denza herself, were heading into the craft. They were disarmed, chained together, with their hands bound to their backs so that they could not escape. There were six in all.

Darin stood on the deck of the Hebis’soka as Feri’nita was not far from him, overseeing the entire situation. His rifle was perched not far from the door.

The cleanup process was grizzly as it was alarming. Even Go’denza and her gang would not see medical treatment until they could be brought to a proper facility. Townsfolk were out in abundance, assessing the damage to their homes and burying the dead. Thankfully, the damage seemed light, with only certain portions of Jiqua’nyu being harmed while others remained unscathed. It was the dead or wounded that remained a paramount concern. Even now, Darin watched as a large sled team of three Yutilians, driven by Ax’ol’pa, was brought in, where one of the Shal’rein corpses was loaded onto it and systematically carted off. The process would last well throughout the day. Small vigils by the surviving Jiqua’nyu inhabitants were already underway. Various tiny shrines were being erected, built from dirt and mud, tiny little temples each with a single lit candle inside. One of the Hebi’soka Ko’min women was doing the same. The hint of kneeling and praying was evident.

“So...,” Darin remarked. “It took an entire town to be at war with a gang before We’Tan’Nok could finally send one of their shuttles to deal with it. Looks like they preferred having us take care of the dirty work for them.”

“No...,” Feri’nita countered. “These are Gui’optre security forces ... what’s left of the T’rintar clan’s attempt to enforce their laws on my planet. Too few of them ... not enough to fight this.”

“Nah ... we just had to make it easier for them to do their jobs, I reckon.”

“But they are grateful for what you did, dearie. Never forget that.”

“I’d imagine they would be...”

She gave a subtle grin to him. “As am I. You saved a lot of lives today, husband. Jiqua’nyu lost 15, four of the rangers sent, but that could have been everyone.”

The last surviving ranger of the five who had arrived in Jiqua’nyu earlier was also with the team helping the security forces move the last Shal’rein inside the green shuttle. She looked in the direction of Darin and gave a few quick nods to him, saying her farewells. The cowboy responded by giving a light two-finger salute to her. Then he briefly looked over to Feri’nita.

“I’m surprised to see you in such good spirits,” Darin remarked.

She looked down and sighed lightly. “I never lived here ... maybe ... I get too used to seeing death.”

“Doesn’t help that your people have been fightin the Aksren and Shal’rein past the dawn of man.”

“Does it bother you, dearie?”

The cowboy shook his head. “Not in the slightest. My only issue is that your people brought your forever war to us...”

“Yet, you fight for us.”

“Too many reasons to count, Feri’nita. Reasons you already know about. Of course, my main reason for it is those six getting in that shuttle that I still need to question.”

“They don’t have the information about the Hesik Expanse that you’re looking for. They are ... outsiders of Kun.”

“How would you know?”

“It is like us ... those Gui’optre security ... they come from Gu’ii’lo’trelda. See my snout?” She pointed and briefly rubbed her clawed finger at the light curvature of her snout. “Their snouts are curved differently, not born here or from Iyu’Hayryu.”

Darin thought about it, being unsure, but giving her the benefit of the doubt. “ ... Huh ... You’re right ... and here I thought all you Yutilians looked alike, minus the bulk, of course...” lightly gesturing to her body. “But, what’s the point you’re making?”

“The Gui’optre security ... they would know less about the Hesik Expanse than me. Their posts are temporary. Shal’rein do the same ... I think.”

“And the one that surrendered to us?”

“She’s different. I didn’t get a close look at her. I know that Swi’ya is still tending to her, giving her water. I believe she was near death when she gave up.”

“She wasn’t that shot up at all though.”

“No ... it was something else. She seemed desperate ... happy to be captured.”

Darin gave a confused look. “Either Go’denza was a little violent on her or something else ... at least we have her. Let’s hope that she has something for us.”

“I agree ... at least you were allowed to keep her.”

“That remains to be seen, though.” The cowboy shook his head. “Just might be tomfoolery to keep her, but ... there’s only one way to find out.”

The last Shal’rein, Go’denza, looked over in Darin’s direction. Most likely, she glanced at him. The sharklike woman was without her hat, seemingly disgraced over what had happened. Darin gave one nod to her before she vanished into the shuttle.

“Just do me a favor,” Darin said to Feri’nita. “You tell those Itreans not to bring Go’denza and her gang to Earth for their sentencing.”

“I don’t understand,” Feri’nita replied.

“Yes, you do ... the T’rintar certainly like sending their new prisoners to Earth to ‘clean’ up the place. Then they make it easy for the prisoners to escape ... like it’s on purpose somehow.” The cowboy pointed at her. “You make sure to contact Ambassador Kane and Ifra. I see Go’denza again; she’s deader than dead. Keep her and her little gang off my planet. ya hear?”

Feri’nita thought about it for a moment, then quickly nodded her head in agreement.

With that, the last of the Gui’optre security forces went into the shuttlecraft. It didn’t take long for the green cylindrical craft to lift off, heading towards the direction of We’Tan’Nok. Dust and dirt were tossed around as the vessel left the town of Jiqua’nyu, producing a hard sound that reverberated in the air.

This just left the Rampage’s shuttle at the outskirts of town. Darin watched as Natch was talking with Charles, battered and still with the facial paint across his face. One of the ship’s medics was already tending to the man, giving him a hyposyringe while checking out his bandaged arm.

Swi’ya emerged from the Hebis’soka. The saloon doors swung open as she walked out onto the deck to speak with Darin and Feri’nita. Before the cowboy could ask her any questions, she began to speak in Itrean to Feri’nita. The process was long. The look of fatigue was prevalent across her face. Her wounded arm was little more than a nuisance at this point, bandaged and covered up. Finally, for what seemed like a minute of talking, Feri’nita paused for a moment.

“Hmmm...,” Feri’nita remarked.

“And what’s the story of our turncoat?” Darin remarked upon the two Yutilian women.

“Swi’ya says that the prisoner is a Helera’kun. Her name is Cay’reshen, the last surviving Helera’kun from the scout ship Mioka Click Tersha’Dyo.”

“That would confirm along the lines of what we discovered from our earlier scans. Denji’Kei shot down the ship sometime near 2339 or 2340.”

“Yes. I barely remember much from that day,” Feri’nita commented. “I was visiting Iyu’Hayryu when it happened, but from what I was told ... one ship was destroyed in space ... I had no idea that there were survivors.”

“From the report, you had all the reason to believe it. It was everything from it being vaporized into dust to it cracking apart and burning up in your atmosphere, to even the slight possibility that it actually crashed somewhere on your planet. After a month-long search, your people gave up. But we managed to conclude that parts of the ship survived and crashed somewhere in your equatorial mountains.”

“I see...”

“The question I have is about her condition: why she gave up so easily?”

“And I have my questions too...”

Feri’nita spoke for another minute with Swi’ya, essentially comparing notes. Meanwhile, Darin watched as Natch was interrupted when a pair of Yutilians, most likely the same Yutilians that had been hovering around him, carried a small, wrapped blanket. Together, they tapped Natch and handed it to him. The Native American seemed honored, extending his uninjured arm in a gesture to receive it. Darin already knew they were in his debt, grateful to be alive as they bade the impending farewell to the man.

“I understand...,” Feri’nita explained, turning to Darin. “Let’s go and speak with her...”

Darin gestured for the women to head back inside as he followed them inside the Hebis’soka...

Inside, sitting behind the bar table, resided a large Shal’rein figure, still dressed in her white and blue rags. Cay’reshen appeared all but relieved that the fight was long over. Her finned tail was slouched over practically to the point that Darin’s boot almost stepped on it by accident. In her hands was a large cup of water. She had been either drinking it or pouring it down the hood of her shirt and clothes. More hints of possible implanted devices would glow from within her neck, difficult to see beneath the clothing covering it, but enough for Darin to catch a brief glimpse.

It kept her alive. Even with the water, she would gasp at times, coughing a few times as her body desperately took what was provided for it. However, the more water she received, the stronger her resiliency grew. It was enough that she began to speak for prolonged periods, giving a hard, gravely female voice, speaking in the Itrean language. However, Darin noted that there were different inflections in the speech pattern. There were hints of long yurps rather than chirps. Perhaps it was the language of how she would have sounded underwater. Feri’nita listened carefully, kneeling down to listen to her closely, seemingly understanding what she had to say.

“Cay’reshen says that she was among six surviving Helera’kun that worked on the scoutship when it crashed,” she translated. “Most of the crew lived. When the ship crashed, the farming units ... what are they called?”

“Hydroponics?” Darin answered.

“Yes, that and the water recyclers still worked, but their communications and other equipment were destroyed. However, an Earth month later, all the males died. Fearful of the disease or a biological attack, the Shal’rein remained at the equator.”

“But something changed...”

“Their farming and recycler units, damaged from the fight, finally broke down last year. The Helera’kun suffered greatly out of all the Shal’rein ... Helera’kun, unlike the other Shal’rein, need more water to live ... their, what do you call them? Gills? They will dry out, and they’ll get sick. Desperate to save what was left of her crew, Go’denza, highest leader, had no choice...”

“They began venturing southward ... confront her enemies.”

“It was terrible. The other Helera’kun, those that didn’t die from the disease, died from the lack of water. Go’denza was careful at first, robbing or stealing rather than attacking, fearful it would trigger an all-out assault that would wipe out her and her crew. Cay’reshen was near death many times. She is a technician. She has what we call ‘Malit’youio’ near her gill slits. They are meant to pump water, try to keep her body wet in this environment.”

“And out here, any water-faring folk ... it’s a death sentence alright ... No wonder she was covered up as much as she was.”

“ ... So much Ye’wa,” Swi’ya complained, standing not far from the other side of the bar counter. “I use up much to save her.”

“Which you’ll be compensated for,” Darin told her. “Knowing she’s under my watch, now ... but she needs to answer the questions. We ain’t no pleasure cruise for her either. Make sure she knows that...”

Cay’reshen spoke again in her native language for a little while, once again taking another sip of water. Despite her fortitude, she would often close her eyes, relishing the water she drank. Feri’nita would add a few choice words, and the Shal’rein nodded her head quickly in response.

“She will give us whatever knowledge you seek, dearie,” Feri’nita explained. “All she asks is sanctuary.”

“ ... Why the change of heart against Go’denza?” Darin asked her.

Feri’nita spoke to her again as the Shal’rein would respond, giving a lengthy discussion before she began to cough again. For a brief moment, the large alien woman gripped her flat chest. It seemed that these particular Shal’rein lacked protruding breasts.

“She says,” Feri’nita explained. “That recently, she managed to build a communicator, using the parts they took from the other towns. She was hoping to contact the Shal’rein clan for rescue, but it was too short range. Instead, she used it to listen in on the radio broadcasts coming from We’Tan’Nok. From there ... she listened in and saw the propaganda reports coming in about the humans, learning about your people and the cure.”

“Yep, reckon course,” Darin replied. “What happened with the others?”

Cay’reshen continued to speak for a moment. It was unknown how much English she truly knew, but there was a subtle hint that she might have understood the previous question to a point. The man surmised that Cay’reshen had been examining the videos for quite some time, long enough for her to see some of the human media that occasionally spilled into Denji’Kei.

“Go’denza suppressed the information,” Feri’nita continued. “She saw some of it and didn’t believe it, thought they were crafted lies. Cay’reshen had no choice. Go’denza was her leader, but also threatened her whenever she pleased.” She turned and stood up to face Darin. “It’s why she’s happy to be alive ... away from her.”

“Hmmm...,” Darin commented. “I’m beginning to see why the Helera’kun don’t like the Shal’rein clan that very much. I might be able to make an offer to you...,” Darin looked at his fingers for a brief second. “I’d try to bring you back to your home planet, but they’d likely blow us up to kingdom come and all. What I can offer is to turn you over to the UWA, offer you asylum from your kind if you want it...”

Feri’nita began translating for Cay’reshen as the two spoke for a little while. Meanwhile, Charles entered the Hebis’soka. The pilot looked around at the mostly empty facility, noting the interior and surroundings. He had a number of items in hand, bags that gave off the scent of cooked food.