“It’s their fault she got lost,” S’kasia insisted. “It should be their responsibility to get her here. Besides, I know you sit on credits like an eggmother guarding her clutch. We’ll pay another fee and worry about the cost later.”
“Since when does the IA take responsibility for anything? Leave it alone.” S’samph stalked toward the shed at the edge of his field line where he kept his farming tools and selected a particularly heavy-duty plow attachment and dragged it toward his vehicle. Blue dust billowed around him, a sure sign that harvest season was rolling to an end. Soon the flooding would come, and they’d be stuck indoors for several months until the waters receded.
A better latil’e might relish the flooding time as an opportunity to spend time with his mate, but he was a miserable latil’e and wanted nothing to do with the female his clutch-sister had chosen for him. No female would enjoy spending time with him as he sulked about their shared nest and cursed the rains.
His auto-tiller groaned as he took another pass through this field, trying to prepare the soil to tolerate the incoming floods. Last year’s harvest had been particularly sparse, and this year wasn’t looking any more promising. It was unfair to blame the land itself. He’d never had much talent as a farmer. Most of the other settlers clearly had better luck. Perhaps it was his own stubbornness, trying to grow one of the unyielding, useless weeds native to Latilla, rather than something more suited to the current environment.
Then again, unlike most of the others, he hadn’t been brought here as a farmer. On his IA contractrecord, he was technically the head of security for Laurus, but he had never served in such a capacity. So, for the past three standard years since they’d arrived, he’d mucked about his farm plot and kept to himself. It wasn’t as if a town like Laurus was so ridden with crime that he needed to intervene anyhow.
Although he’d never admit it to anyone, most mornings found him running through his military drills mainly out of habit from his days as a soldier rather than of any true necessity.
“I am not finished with this conversation,” S’kasia called to him over the rumble of the engine. “If I don’t hear anything of her arrival in other settlements by this evening, I am going to the holocom center to complain.”
“Seems like more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Are you intentionally trying to make me angry?” Her frill rose high enough to touch the bottoms of her hearing tympanum. “Do you know something about what has happened with her transport? What are you hiding, S’samph?” She stalked closer to his idling machine, and he took it as his cue to drive in the opposite direction. He couldn’t avoid the conversation forever, but he wasn’t inclined to have it any sooner than necessary. But if he continued blatantly lying to S’kasia, she was going to lose any last semblance of patience she had. S’samph weighed the options, and decided he’d rather face her wrath later.
“I don’t know what happened with her transport.”
“If you are lying to me, S’samph,” her tail thudded hard against the packed earth underfoot, “I will throw you into the maw of fire myself.”
“I need to get back to work.” He revved the engine of his plodding machine to emphasize the point.
At first it seemed like his clutch-sister was going to back him into a corner with the conversation, but her frill drooped back around her shoulders, and he could tell she had relented. “Are you coming over for latemeal tonight?”
S’samph nodded reluctantly. If he stayed at his own dwelling instead of going to his clutch-sister’s home, he’d spend another night eating a sad collection of vela beans.
“Be there after first sundown, then.” S’kasia flicked her tail in farewell and hurried back down the path to her home. S’samph returned the gesture with a flick of his frill. Only the bright goddess knew how much trouble he was going to be in when S’kasia learned the truth of what had transpired. It wouldn’t be long. Nothing was secret long in a place like this.
No doubt the news of how he’d neglected to retrieve her from the luxportal was already spreading through Laurus. It would likely be the highlight of small-town gossip for as long as it took for something more interesting to replace it. As he drove through the stubborn dirt of his plot, S’samph mulled over the options. He tried saying the human’s name aloud. All the long sounds melted on his tongue. This was ridiculous. He would just tell S’kasia the truth. He had no intention of mating with anyone. No one wanted a male with a ripped frill who was one of the few survivors of his home planet’s destruction because he’d fled like a coward.
Night came quickly and with it came a face full of blue dust and grime. Although it never got truly dark on Cassiaq-IV, the larger sun set and left the world in a glowing twilight with the two moons shadowing the dimmer sun. S’samph checked the bare pantry of his nest and realized he was going to have to stop in town before going down the road to S’kasia’s home. If he revealed the truth of his behavior and arrived empty-handed, his clutch-sister would banish him to the eternal maw of fire. He washed his face and changed into a passably clean pair of clothing. Then for the second time that day, he got on his levibike and followed the magtrack over the canal. He parked at the charging ports and made his way to the general store, intending to purchase something acceptable before leaving immediately for S’kasia’s nest.
In the hazy light of the dim sun, several of the other residents were milling about when he reached the village center. Laurus hadn’t grown much since he arrived here almost three standard years past. There was the general store at the far end of the shopping strip, and The Eon was still the only place that served food. Even the clinic had been here since the beginning. Aglao was one of the earliest residents. The only new thing that had been built was the schoolhouse. There were enough young ones now to make hiring a teacher and building a schoolhouse a purposeful choice for IA funding.
Two tipsy urtazi and a giradey swayed by, laughing raucously. S’samph kept his distance, walking with his head and tail down so as not to attract unwanted attention. As he approached, he could hear their conversation spoken clearly in Universal.
“Pretty thing, isn’t she? I never knew humans were so appealing,” one of them commented.
“Even though she doesn’t have gills?”
“So what? She’s newly arrived andunmated. Do you think she likes urtazi?”
S’samph put his head down and stomped past them. He knew they had to be talking about Eleri. She was the only human in Laurus. Not his problem. Anyone could court her. In fact, the sooner someone else mated her, the better. However, despite his resolution to stay away from her, his body betrayed him as his frill fanned as straight as it could as he passed the laughing group. They didn’t notice him, or they at least gave him the courtesy of pretending not to see him.
He quickened his pace and ducked inside the general store. A bell rang behind him, announcing his entrance much to his annoyance. Hastily, he ducked into the back room where the dry goods were kept and grabbed a jar of pickled turi tura fish, S’kasia’s favorite. They were an expensive import from Brasnia Prime, but S’samph needed points in his favor before their next encounter.
"S'samph?" Lywo, the kyrot shopkeeper stared at S’samph with his rapid-blinking eyes. “Is it true what everyone is saying about you and the human female?”
“I am in a hurry, Lywo.” S’samph extended his wrist to the credit chip reader. As soon as it beeped acknowledging his purchase was paid for, he stalked out of the store. The jar of pickled fish tucked into the secure storage bin at the back of his levi, S’samph hurried out of town before anyone else could try and flag him down for conversation.
By the time he got to S’kasia’s home, all thoughts of the human were pushed away by the smell of cooking. He entered without knocking and was inspecting the jewel-toned clutch of eggs kept warm by the stove when something jabbed him hard in his shoulder blade.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t rip the rest of your frill off and throw you into the eternal maw for lying to me.” The handle of one of S’kasia’s cooking spoons pressed deeper into his flesh, her reflexes honed from years in defense of the Goddess’s temple. S’samph knew she wouldn’t actually hurt him, but he also recognized she could if she had any intention to. His proficiency with war required weapons while his sister was deadly in physical combat. He hadn’t intended to entangle his clutch sister in his mess.
“I never wanted a mate. I apologize for giving you the wrong impression.” His frill twitched with the lie. Of course, he wanted a mate, but he didn’t want a mate who chose him out of pity or desperation.
“I still hear nothing but lies.” S’kasia dropped the spoon with a loud clatter. “When we left Latilla we lost everything. Do you intend to wallow in our loss forever?”
