A New Threat Page 3

  A door opened out from the side of the tree as they approached.

  “They are expecting us.” Bast stepped inside and the others followed.

  The doorway led into a large rectangular lobby. A finely woven carpet with a red and white pattern covered the floor. Two wooden doors sat at either side of the front of the room. Paintings of different Meskka lined the walls—each subject wore the same necklace. A small golden plaque with carved markings hung under each painting. At the end of the room a staircase stood. A torch flickered gently on either side. The room seemed much brighter than just the meager light of two torches could account for.

  Bast nodded in the direction of the paintings. “Those are the former leaders of the Mer-ahsh.”

  “Do the plaques indicate the rulers’ names, then?” Commander Vinson asked.

  “Yes.” Bast raised a paw to point at the closest painting. “Starting on your left is Hssthen, the first head of the Mer-ahsh. The next is his successor, and so on, up to the previous clan leader. The portrait of the current leader is kept in the reception hall above the throne.”

  “Fascinating.” Vinson knelt to examine the writing.

  Bast walked to the base of the steps and turned her head to address the visitors. “Queen Meer is awaiting our arrival. Please follow me.”

  The top of the steps opened into an even larger rectangular hall. Soft light from hidden fixtures lit the room, and tapestries that depicted Meskka in different forest scenes hung along the walls. The floor was bare, polished wood, except for a light gray carpet runner that led from the top of the stairs to the throne.

  Queen Meer lay sideways on the throne. She wore the necklace of office and squinted at the humans through slitted eyes. Two guards stood at either side of her. As they approached the throne, Bast dipped her head and lay down on her front feet. The humans bowed, as close as they could approximate the gesture. As Tomed looked up, the Queen addressed him.

  Bast tells me that you can communicate using thought-speak?

  Yes, Your Majesty, he answered.

  She informs me that you are from the ship that landed in the great meadow, and that you have come to our world only to repair your ship. On behalf of the Mer-ahsh clan, I welcome you to Alkask.

  Thank you. We are honored to be your guests.

  Also, on a personal note, I wish to thank you for helping my daughter after she was injured by the tree.

  Bast turned her head aside and tried not to flatten her ears or lower her tail in response to that comment.

  The queen continued aloud, “The human visitors and I have much to discuss. You are to report to Master SarrOw to give your report.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Bast bowed and turned to leave.

  Queen Meer addressed her privately. Bast, I’m very proud of you, and I’m glad you were not seriously injured.

  I love you too, Mom. Bast smiled as she left the throne room.

  Bast reached the scout post, hopped up onto the first branch, and looked around. An orange-striped Meskka rested a few branches away.

  “Is Master SarrOw here?” Bast asked.

  “He left late this morning. Try the gardens. He said he was going by there.”

  “Thank you.”

  Bast jumped down and raced to the vegetable patch. A handful of Meskka were picking weeds, but Master SarrOw wasn’t there. He wasn’t at any of the other likely locations around the khaal either. She finally found him seated at the table closest to the fireplace in the kitchens of the palace, where he ‘helpfully’ sampled some of the wild thomp roasting on a spit.

  Physically, he wasn’t imposing for a Meskka. He was about Bast’s size—rather small for a male—and had white fur with a few orange spots scattered across his back and sides. Whether age or genetics had made him that size, Bast didn’t know, and it would be impolite to ask. Despite his stature, Master SarrOw was one of the more influential Meskka on Alkask.

  “There you are!” Bast said.

  “Hello, Bast,” Master SarrOw mumbled between bites. “I hear you’re back from your mission early, and you seem to have run into the aliens you were supposed to silently observe.”

  Bast cringed.”Sorry about that.”

  “Now, now, don’t apologize. First, I hadn’t finished addressing you, and second, no one said that it was a bad thing.” Master SarrOw smiled slightly and retrieved a note-block from a shelf. “Now, Scout Apprentice Bast, your report please.”

  Bast reported her observations of the human landing and activities, and gave her personal observations about their character and interactions. She also recounted her fall from the tree-bridge and subsequent encounter with the humans.

  After she finished, Master SarrOw read back over his notes, tapping a claw against the note-block.

  Bast fidgeted and bounced from paw to paw. That one episode of clumsiness could cost her a place in the Scout ranks. If she was denied the opportunity to join the Scouts, that also meant denial of her status as an adult and a whole extra year of basic schooling and watching kittens. She didn’t exactly mind doing either, but she was bored with both sitting in a classroom listening to lectures for hours on end and having little ones nip at her tail and ears.

  Finally, Master SarrOw looked up.

  “Yes, sir?” she asked.

  “You really do need to work on patience, don’t you?” His tone was reproachful, yet amused at the same time.

  “I’m sorry, sir.” Bast flattened her ears to her skull and lowered her head. “Please continue.”

  “Yes, well. As I was about to say, your report was rather thorough. You seem to have a knack for sizing up a situation and rather remarkable luck as well. There’s the matter of falling out of the tree—”

  Bast lowered her head farther.

  “—but that wasn’t really your fault as the engineers tell me that the branch was rotten clear through and should have been replaced moons ago.”

  Bast sighed with relief.

  Master SarrOw smiled. “You were worried about that one, eh? Can’t say as I blame you. All Meskka are graceful, but a Scout needs to be especially acrobatic and dexterous. But then, you couldn’t help a rotten log. So, you’ve passed your exam. Welcome to the Clan Scouts, Bast.”

  Bast smiled so hard her face started to cramp. “Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best not to let you down!”

  “Of that, I’m certain.” Master SarrOw smiled. “You’ll find I’m an awful grump to work for, I’m afraid. Now that you’re one of my scouts, I don’t mind telling you that you’re impulsive and a tad naive, but you almost make up for it with good instincts, curiosity, and a decent sense of caution. If you listen to your superiors before acting, and gain experience—and that’s the main thing you need, I wager—you’ll make an excellent Scout.

  “Now, head on over to the scout post, and they’ll issue you your gear.”

  Bast smiled in thanks, and strode out the door with her tail high. Once outside, she bounded down the street toward the scout post. She tried to look the part of a dignified Scout, but she couldn’t keep the tip of her tail from flicking back and forth with excitement.

  Queen Meer sighed softly to herself as she led the human visitors down the back stairway from the throne room to the banquet hall. Diplomacy. She had spent a few hours in conversation with the humans, and while interesting, she always hated to attempt to get something accomplished while verbally dancing around the real issues. Not that the talks with the humans had gone badly, they had mostly discussed their respective cultures and gotten to know each other a little. Had she accomplished anything other than learn their language?

  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned to address her guests.

  “Among our people it is customary to invite strangers on a long journey to share a meal. I’m not sure if you can eat the same things we do, but I’ll still extend the courtesy. We won’t take offense if you think you can’t eat any of our kind of food.”

  “Thank you—” Tomed started to say.
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  “Excuse me, sir.” Commander Vinson stepped forward. “I can analyze samples to see if there’s anything we can’t eat.”

  Tomed turned to Queen Meer, “Would that cause any offense, Your Majesty?”

  “None.” She inclined her head to the visitors. “It would be a reasonable precaution.”

  Vinson pulled out one of the boxes Bast had mentioned in her report. He took a small sample from the first serving plate on the long banquet table and placed it in a small drawer on the side of the box. Meer stepped up onto a bench with her front paws to look over his shoulder. He pressed a sequence of buttons and several strange symbols and diagrams appeared on a small screen.

  She sniffed at the box, and her whiskers twitched along with the small electrical current running through it. “How does it work?”

  “Well, it runs a beam of light through the sample, and then compares the light that comes out with a database of known results and tries to find a match. In addition, it also breaks down and analyzes the chemical composition of the sample.”

  The queen turned to Tomed. “He must be a scientist, right?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty—xenobiologist,” Vinson replied.

  She chuckled. “They always seem to speak their own language.”

  Tomed and the two marines laughed. Commander Vinson just smiled and shrugged.

  Commander Vinson cleared his throat and looked up from his box. “Nothing here looks poisonous. Some compounds resemble some Earth spices and a few new ones, but nothing that’s chemically dangerous. In short—” He grinned. “—it’s meat.”

  Tomed swiped a piece to try. “Mmm!” He murmured in a tone that Meer took for appreciation. “Possibly it’s just because I’ve been living on freeze-dried food on the ship for so long, but this might be the best meat I’ve ever had.”

  At that, the Meskka chef sliced off a sample for the other visitors.

  “This is good, what is it?” Major Hood asked.

  “If you like it, never ask what it is! First rule of dining with another culture. Most of the time you’ll regret it,” Tomed said.

  Major Hood chuckled. “True.”

  Meer cocked an ear backward. These humans acted rather oddly by Meskka standards, but they seemed happy.

  “Tonight’s dinner is roast wild thomp.” She waved a paw at the roast turning on the spit. “It’s an animal that lives on the edge of the forest and eats grass. It’s considered a fairly common meal, but a favorite.”

  “Sounds great. Can’t wait until dinner.” Tomed said.

  Queen Meer walked toward a door to the left of the stairs they had descended. “If you’ll follow me, we can sit and wait for the other dinner guests to arrive.”

  She led them through a double-door into a room dominated by a large oval table surrounded by padded rectangular benches with a raised, rounded rest at the end. A white Meskka with orange spots rested on one of the benches with its paws draped over the raised portion.

  “Ah, Master SarrOw, you’re here already!” Meer said.

  At the queen’s entrance, Master SarrOw stepped down from the bench, strode over to her, and bowed. “Queen Meer, it’s always a pleasure.”

  Meer grinned. “If that was so, it’d be much easier to get you out of the forest.”

  He chuckled in reply.

  “I’m sure Bast has already filled you in on our guests—” She turned and nodded at each of the humans as she introduced each of them. “Gentlemen, Master Scout SarrOw.”

  Tomed and the other humans bowed. “Pleasure to meet you, Master SarrOw.”

  Master SarrOw bowed in return. “It is an honor for me to meet you. Scouts delight in exploring the unknown. Never figured it would include finding visitors from another world, but that makes it all the more fascinating.”

  “Feel free to sit anywhere.” Meer sat in a chair at the end of the table. “The seating arrangements are designed more with Meskka anatomy in mind, so feel free to arrange yourselves in any way that’s comfortable.”

  Tomed and the marines turned the benches sideways and sat perpendicular to them. Commander Vinson lay on his side, rested his arm on the raised portion, and used it to prop his head up. He shrugged and said, “When in Rome...”

  Soon guests from the other clans arrived, and the first of the platters of food were brought in.

  Bast wasn’t often invited to an official dinner, and she wanted to be punctual. But she’d spent entirely too much time at the scout post—and received her invitation late.

  She slipped through the door into the dining hall. Everyone else was already seated. Bast padded over and quickly sat between Master SarrOw and Tomed. As soon as she was seated, the Queen took a bite which signaled the beginning of the meal.

  Bast took a small bite and glanced around the table. The other clan leaders and the aliens were also taking small bites and looking around. Bast flicked an ear. The silence was starting to get uncomfortable.

  “So… How big is your ship?” she asked.

  Everyone turned to stare at her. She slunk down on her bench and turned to face Tomed.

  He swallowed and glanced around the room. “About fifteen decks tall and two hundred meters long. We use it for exploration and transportation.”

  There was a tense moment of silence, and then Arrawl, the leader of the Naral clan, asked Tomed how they had come to land on Alkask. Bast already knew the answer, so she only half-listened as Tomed once again told about the pirates. A few of the older clan leaders stiffened and sat up straighter when they heard the description of what a pirate was.

  “You didn’t lead these ‘pirates’ here, did you?”

  Bast jerked her head up. She didn’t recognize the speaker. He had brown and black striped fur and was one of the largest and most muscled males she had ever seen. Her tail drooped—she should know all the clan leaders. She did a quick head count. There were more Meskka here than there were clans. Perhaps he was one of the other clan’s Council leaders?

  “No.” Tomed shook his head from side to side. “Their ship was destroyed in the fight.”

  “So you killed them without investigating their attack?”

  The speaker’s fur was down and his ears were forward—not a threatening pose, despite the question. Other Meskka around the table seemed to be as absorbed in the conversation as she was. Bast reminded herself to breathe and turned back to Tomed.

  “No. They attacked us first, without warning. We had to fight to protect all 247 people aboard the ship.” Tomed glanced around the room. “You have different clans, correct?”

  The big Meskka dipped his head.

  “We, too, have different groups of people on Earth.” Tomed said. “And not all of them represent the others.”

  The big Meskka opened his mouth to say something else, but Master SarrOw cleared his throat.

  “This thomp is delicious, Queen Meer.” He turned to face Tomed. “Do you have anything like it on Earth?”

  Bast let out a sigh. The conversation from then on had lighter tone. Several of the different clan leaders asked Bast to recount her observations and interactions with the humans, and Tomed or Major Hood added a detail, or a human viewpoint here and there.

  The clan leaders nodded and Bast snorted to herself. Politicians. Nothing would really get done at this dinner.

  “A Meskka representative would be welcome to visit Earth,” Tomed said.

  Bast nearly choked on her thomp. Did she hear that correctly?

  Conversation around the table stopped.

  Queen Meer cleared her throat. “We would be delighted to exchange hospitality—”

  Bast heard murmuring from around the table.

  “I’ll go,” she said.

  Her mother’s ear twitched. She stared at Bast.

  Either she didn’t have Bast in mind, or her mother had just accepted the invitation to be polite, and didn’t really intend to send anyone for a while. Politics was so hard to understand.

  Most of the other clan leaders either scow
led or had their ears pressed almost flat to the back of their heads. Several of them looked as if they were about to say something. Fortunately, Master SarrOw chose that moment to make a suggestion.

  “Well, Bast was the first to make contact with the humans.” He paused and looked at each of the clan leaders. “And she does seem to have a certain rapport with them. I think she’d do fine if another, more experienced scout accompanied her.”

  He bent down and concentrated his full attention on the remaining contents of his plate, ignoring the ensuing discussion.

  Everyone talked at once. Her youth and inexperience seemed to be the central argument against her. Since Master SarrOw’s comment had already addressed this issue, they mostly discussed whom else they would send. After discussing it at length, no conclusions had been drawn, and Arrawl, leader of the Naral clan, addressed Master SarrOw.

  “Well, Master, none of us appear to be of the same mind as to who can accompany Scout Bast. Could you give us your professional opinion of who would be qualified to go on such a journey?”

  Master SarrOw narrowed his eyes to slits and folded an ear partway back in thought. “Hmmmm.” He let the word draw out.

  The others watched him and waited.

  “Well—” He licked a speck of meat from his paw. “—Several good scouts from various clans come to mind. This particular mission needs someone with experience in dealing with others not of his or her clan. Since Bast has already volunteered, it should be someone she’s worked with in the past. Considering all the requirements, I would recommend Rrrark.”

  The other clan leaders approved Master SarrOw’s recommendation without objection. His century and a half of experience and wisdom were valued among all the clans, and he had worked with almost all of them in his time as Master Scout. In addition, Rrrark was well known as a highly reputable scout. He had acted on behalf of the Mer-ahsh in many interactions with the other clans after Master SarrOw’s advanced age restricted him from the longer journeys or in cases where the task at hand required the energy of a younger Meskka.

  Queen Meer stood and addressed her guests. “On behalf of the Mer-ahsh clan, it has been my pleasure having you all as guests for dinner.”