CHAPTER 4
Ithaca
Ionia-5589 System
Southern Hemisphere
Shoulders aching from the weight of her pack, Adisa Masozi paused to catch her breath and take a sip of water. Guiding her were a pair of experienced Rangers from the Southern Autonomous Zone Civil Defense Force. They were in a small clearing at the floor of an overgrown forest, one full of life-forms that resembled trees. Their stalks consisted of several thick vines, or roots, wrapped around one another like a braid, and rigid. They varied in color from dark green, brown, gray, and black. Twisting upward for dozens of meters, they were capped with great, colorful, feathery blossoms that soaked up ultraviolet radiation from Ionia-5589. The lowest canopy was almost thirty meters overhead. The uppermost canopy was more than forty. The canopy was so dense that little sunlight got through to ground level. Between the darkness, the humidity, and the mist that hung in the little clearing, the air felt claustrophobic and oppressive.
“You doin’ all right, love?” one of the Rangers, Roc, asked, slinging a rifle over his shoulder. He was a slender man with Asiatic features. His camouflage fatigues, a mottled pattern of greens, browns, and blues to match the alien forest around them, were visibly damp with sweat.
“I’m fine,” Adisa said, her dark skin glistening from her own sweat and the murderous ambient humidity. “We should be close now, yes?” They were hundreds of kilometers from the nearest human settlement, and probably twenty klicks from the clearing where they’d been dropped off by aircraft. Moving on foot under the dense foliage kept them hidden from any reconnaissance drones that might be lurking overhead.
The Ranger wiped the condensation off the screen of his wrist-mounted display with his sleeve, tapped the device a couple of times, and looked up. “Yes. A few more klicks and we’ll be at the rendezvous point. I think.”
“You think?”
“SATNAV doesn’t work down here. The trees, they create natural electromagnetic fields. The denser the jungle, the worse it gets. Plays hell with the equipment. They should have briefed you on all this before you came out here.”
“How…how do you even know where we are, then?”
“Inertial navigation,” Roc said, tapping his wrist-top display, “and a hard-copy map. And, you know, I’ve been here before. I know where we’re going. Do you need to rest a bit?”
Adisa finished a long pull from her drinking tube. “No, let’s keep going. I want to get there before nightfall.” Some of the nastier predatory creatures liked to hunt during Ithaca’s long night.
“As you wish,” Roc said. “Let’s move.” He led the way, negotiating a path through the foliage. His partner, a short, stout man with broad shoulders and tanned skin, took up the rear. The two Rangers kept Adisa in between them for safety. She was a native Ithacan, but the flora, fauna, and terrain of the Southern Autonomous Zone were foreign to her. The terraformed zone she had grown up in, thousands of kilometers to the northwest, was cooler, flatter, and much dryer.
Those final “few klicks” took hours for the trio to traverse. The terrain grew more rugged, and they spent quite a bit of time navigating down into a ravine. It was lined on either side with huge pseudo-trees, and had a small stream running down its base. The sides were almost vertical, and were riddled with natural caves.
“This is it,” Roc said, dropping his pack.
Adisa looked around anxiously. It was dark at the bottom, so dark that it was difficult to see unaided. “What now?” she asked, scanning the cave openings for movement. “Do we have to signal them?”
Roc shook his head. “No, they know we’re here. They’ll approach when they’re ready. They know me, but they don’t know you. Just set your pack down and rest for a bit. I’ll keep watch so you don’t get surprised.”
Adisa didn’t need any more encouragement than that to take a load off. She unfastened the waist belt of her backpack and removed it, setting it down on the smooth, cool stone of the ravine floor. She sat down next to it, took another drink of water, and retrieved her handheld. She quickly typed in an encoded message to her compatriots that she was in position and awaiting contact with the aliens.
“Adisa,” Roc said, his voice little more than a whisper. “They’re here.”
“Where?” she asked, looking around. She’d lived on Ithaca her entire life and had never seen one of the natives before. Roc pointed up, drawing her eyes to the edges of the ravine above them. Several gaunt figures loomed overhead, shrouded in shadow. They seemed to be armed with bows and spears, but it was difficult to tell. Despite the superiority of the humans’ weapons, they were outnumbered and at the bottom of the ravine. If the aliens had hostile intent, Adisa and her Ranger companions were as good as dead.
“No sudden movements,” Roc warned. “Just follow my lead, and keep quiet until I tell you to speak. They’re nervous around strangers.” Adisa nodded her understanding, and the Ranger stepped forward, leaving his rifle resting on his pack. “Hello, friends!” he shouted to the beings at the top of the ravine. “It’s me, Roc! We come in peace, yeah?”
“They understand Commerce English?” Adisa asked, her voice a whisper.
Roc raised a hand to silence her. “Hush, let me do the talking.” He turned his attention back to the aliens. “I’m here to speak with Follower of the Storm.”
The beings at the top of the ravine shifted slightly, but there was no immediate response. After a few moments, though, Adisa noticed three aliens moving down into the ravine, following the same path the humans had taken. “Roc, look!” she said excitedly.
Roc nodded quietly and waited for the beings to approach. As they drew nearer, Adisa got a good look at them for the first time, and she was in awe. They were saurian in overall structure, tall and barrel-chested. Small heads sat atop their elongated necks, and vestigial tail stumps protruded, upswept, from behind them. The aliens reminded Adisa of nothing so much as sawn-off brontosaurs. Each of the creatures stood over two meters tall. Their leathery skin, light gray in color, was smeared with paint to make them blend into the jungle better. They looked down at the humans through black eyes as they drew near.
The trio of aliens were dressed in clothing made from animal hides. Their wide feet were wrapped in thick leathers. The apparent leader of the three had more ornate apparel, his hides embroidered with patterns and symbols. The two flanking him…her? It? They seemed to be body guards. Both carried human-made assault rifles, though the weapons’ grips, stocks, and sights had been substantially modified to be compatible with their nonhuman anatomy. One wore a pack made of animal hides and plant material, while the other had a hiking pack of obvious human origin.
The leader stepped forward and approached Roc. Their faces seemed lifeless, but Adisa wondered if that was only because she didn’t know their body language. Standing close to Roc, the being extended a zygodactyl hand with four digits. Roc grasped its hand with his and, much to Adisa’s surprise, the two shared a very human handshake.
“It’s good to see you, friend,” Roc said, speaking a little bit more slowly than he normally did. The alien responded in a deep voice, barking out a string of words, clicks, and other noises that Adisa couldn’t possibly decipher. Roc turned to Adisa. “This is Follower of the Storm, love.” Turning back to the alien, he said, “Stormy, this is A-dis-a.” He said her name slowly, enunciating every syllable. The alien responded with more clicks and grunts. “No, she’s not my mate. What? Oh, no, it’s just a figure of speech. I don’t actually love her. I just met her the other day. She’s here because she seeks an audience with the Elders of your people.”
Follower of the Storm moved toward Adisa. His movements were graceful and quiet, despite his looming presence, and he looked down at her with his dark eyes. “Why…did…you…come?” he asked, pausing between words as if trying to remember what to say.
Adisa’s mouth fell open, and she was overcome with excitement. “You speak our language? My God, this is incredible! I never would have dreamed that I’d be having a conversation with you like this! It’s like something from the old stories!”
Follower of the Storm looked at her quizzically. Roc, chuckling, told Adisa to slow down and speak very clearly. “Human speech can be just as confusing for them as their language is to you. Use short words and be concise.”
“I apologize,” Adisa said slowly. “This is very exciting for me.”
Follower of the Storm dipped his head slightly. “Under-stand. Good for me to practice your speech, A-disssss-ah. What…do you…?” He fell silent, and looked over at Roc.
“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘need,’” the Ranger said.
The alien dipped his head at Roc and turned back to Adisa. “Need. What do you need with Elders? Very strange for Elders to meet with…aliens.”
“I understand,” she replied. “This is very unusual for me as well. But there is a great threat to us all.”
“Threat?” the alien asked, cocking his head slightly to one side much as a human would.
“Yes. Um…danger? A danger. A terrible danger is coming. We are all in danger, your people and mine.”
“Under-stand dan-ger,” Follower of the Storm said. “Tell me this dan-ger.”
Adisa paused, trying to determine how to explain the complex political situation on Ithaca to a tribal alien. “The elders of the human tribe on this world are planning to make a…a pact, a bargain, with another human tribe. This other tribe will enslave us all. Your people and mine. If we resist, they will kill without mercy. Do you understand?”
Follower of the Storm’s dark eyes blinked several times, as if he was processing what he’d been told. “Yes,” he croaked. “I under-stand. Other human tribe from an-other world?”
“Uh, yes,” Adisa replied, surprised by the question. “They’re called the Combine.”
“Com-bine,” the alien repeated. “Why come here?”
“Conquest. They wish to take what they want.”
“Why your tribe make pact with such…” He muttered some guttural word from his native language.
“Our elders are weak. They are afraid. The Combine tribe is much stronger. They seek to use their strength to stay in power.”
“Under-stand. What you want from my people? Not concerned with human…problems.”
“You need to be concerned,” Adisa said firmly. “The Combine believes that all nonhuman beings are a threat. They will enslave your people and kill you all if you resist. You must believe me. We come seeking your help.”
“What help?”
“A war is coming, Follower of the Storm. We wish to ask your Elders if they will be willing to fight with us.”
The alien was quiet for several moments. He swayed his slightly, as if deep in thought. “Will bring you to Elders of my tribe. They must decide, not Follower of the Storm.”
“Thank you!” Adisa said, beaming. “Thank you so much!”
“Rest now,” Follower of the Storm said. “Must…discuss…with my warriors. We will leave in short time.” He turned and strode off to confer with his people.
Adisa turned to Roc. “So far, so good, yeah?”
Roc shook his head slowly. “You know, I never thought they’d actually agree to take us to their Elders.”
“Has it happened before?”
“It’s rare. Your father was the last one who gained such an audience. They normally want nothing to do with human affairs. This is unusual. I’ll need to send a report to HQ. Sit down for a spell, love. Drink water and change your socks. I don’t know how far we have to walk yet. Rest while you can.”
Log Entry 131
Mission 815-707-SSOC
Reconnaissance Ship 505
The predictions made by the AI/CORE have come to pass. Hostile factions intend to disrupt influence operations on Ionia-5589/Ithaca by returning the exiled president, Zander Krycek, to power. AI/CORE regards this plan’s likelihood of success as MODERATE/HIGH, and advises immediate countermeasures. We are activating assets PLASTIC FLOWER and EXHALTED PAWN.