Only Human (27 page)

Nova sat up slowly, remembering her
predicament. How long had she been asleep? Where was that old man? She looked
to the door. Was he even now leading a rebel detail to her hiding place?

"You are such an idiot," she
whispered to herself. What part of her training had allowed her to trust a
stranger on a rebel planet? Not only had she practically told him who she was
but she had also given him the Delphi sapphire that had adorned Tychon's sigil.
No doubt he was long gone to savor his newfound wealth in another part of
Shaddallam.

She crept to the door to listen for sounds
within the dark shop. She made out the hunched shapes of his display bins in
the gloom. Beyond those was the main door to the street. There were voices
outside; someone was singing hoarsely. She sensed a passage to her left and
carefully picked her way through piles of stacked boxes and baskets to what she
hoped was a rear exit.

A series of muffled sounds caused her to
flatten herself against the wall. She could discern more than one set of
footsteps outside along with the creak of leather and a muffled clanking of
chain. The door before her opened without a sound.

She darted forward and grasped the intruder
to pin him against the wall beside the door.

"Terran! It is I, Ishet, the
shopkeeper here. You guard my home well."

Nova looked over his head into the alley.
"You alone?"

He pushed her hands aside. "I have
your supplies." He bustled into the shop, drawing curtains and shutters
before lighting a lamp. Nova looked through the bundle he had dropped.

"You had better put these clothes on.
They are native to Bellac Tau but not so uncommon here. The food and guns are
outside."

She nodded, examining the robe.
"Stinks, too."

"You might be grateful for once!"

Nova looked up, startled. After a moment,
she shrugged. "Forgive. I worried. And not understanding why you
help."

He pushed her into the back room to change
her clothes. "Why should I not help? This planet has not seen peace since Tharron
landed here. Not all of us believe in his cause. Hurry up now."

Nova soon found herself dressed in a
voluminous coarse robe, her hair covered by a dirty burnoose. Strangely, her
legs remained bare. Her host snickered when he bent to adjust her foot
coverings that were little more than leather rags lashed clumsily up to her
shins.

"How can I walk so?" she
complained although, once he had retied the thongs, she found that the skins
felt lighter and allowed for more movement than her own boots.

Ishet led her into the alley behind his
shop.

"What the hell is that?"

"Eh?" He turned at the sound of
the strange language.

"That!" She gestured.

"Fastest sandrunner my brother would
sell."

Disbelieving, Nova walked around the
ungainly animal. Its two ostrich legs were longer than she was tall, each of
its four knees as large as her head. The gray-feathered body, plumeless,
sported two short wings that would never carry it in flight. Its bare neck was
short. Large, intelligent eyes observed her over a rounded beak.

She turned to Ishet. "I am taking this?"

He chuckled. "It is taking you. I have
also found a guide to accompany you." Ishet looked about the darkness of
the alley. "Greah? Now where has that fellow gone to?" Ishet turned
back to Nova. "There are no skimmers or shuttles here that do not belong
to the rebel. This sandrunner is fast. It will bring you to Shad Laika within
two or three days."

One could be halfway to Targon in three
days, Nova thought but did not say aloud. "How long your days?"

Ishet seemed confused. "Why, as long
as a day takes."

"About half of yours," a light,
musical voice interjected.

"Whoah!" Nova sprang back from
the bird. "What the...?"

"There you are, Greah. Sometimes I
swear you're invisible." Ishet smiled at the small person that had
appeared at the bird's feet.

"I've sat here all along," Greah
replied, his laugh like the chime of a bell.

Nova gaped. "Who this child?"

Greah's head barely reached to the level of
her elbow, his body as slender and unformed as that of a boy. Each arm and leg,
like Ishet's and the bird's, had two joints. And, like them, he had no ears. The
large head made him seem more juvenile than Ishet and his face was free of
wrinkles.

"Child?" Ishet frowned.
"Hardly. Greah has traveled farther on this planet than anyone I know. You
will be safer riding in his company than alone."

"He look like our children at
home."

Greah laughed, a pleasing sound that seemed
to come easily to this creature. "We should go now. It will be light soon
and we must have left town by then." He turned to the towering bird that
had stood silently, unmoving. A tap on the muscled legs was sufficient to
command the sandrunner to lower itself. A deep saddle, laden with packages, was
strapped to its back. He took her bundle of clothes and added it to the
baggage.

"I don't believe this." Nova
climbed aboard, understanding now why her thick robe had seemed too short. In
the simple stirrups her legs were tucked comfortably into its folds. Greah
turned to Ishet and they conversed a while in their native tongue. Nova saw
that the belt that crossed his bare chest secured a vicious long gun onto his
back. Other than that, he wore only a brief kilt and, like Nova, clumsy
footwear.

At last, Greah climbed onto the Runner in
front of her saddle and bade the bird to rise.

Nova looked down onto her new friend.
"Thank you, Ishet. I not forget your help."

"I wish you well." He fumbled
through the pockets of his robe. "I forgot, there is much left from the
sale of your stone." He handed her a heavy purse. "I was not cheated
too badly."

Nova weighed the pouch in her hand, then
tossed it back to Ishet. "You take. I have much wealth, not need more
here. Buy bigger shop or get new broom. I not know how much is here."

Ishet smiled. "I have not paid Greah,
as he wanted nothing. I shall give half to his woman."

Greah nodded. "Should cheer that one
up tremendously." By tapping the leathery neck, he prodded the Runner to
turn out of the alley.

"I wish you luck, Terran," Ishet
waved after them. "Perhaps you will come back to tell me your name."

"Perhaps," she said, a little sad
at the parting. "But I will tell my people of kindness you give. You not
be forgotten."

* * *

The sandrunner moved at a terrific speed.
Once they had cleared the outskirts of Shad Lengh, it ceased its uncomfortable,
jouncing trot and reached with long legs into a full run to finally escape the
cloying stench of the tanneries. Nova could hardly feel any motion as they seemed
to glide over the uneven ground as steady as any air car. She suspected that
the twice-jointed knees were the cause of the sandrunner's smooth gait.

The sun moved over the horizon to turn dawn
into day. Featureless flatlands stretched ahead, broken only by a low ridge in
the far distance. The Runner now seemed to be heading straight for that line of
rocks. Nova hoped that it would mark the end of this desert. She saw a few
caravans in the distance; no one else seemed to be willing to wander through these
flatlands alone. She felt exposed.

Now that it was light Nova was able to see
the small being slumped in front of her. His smooth skin was deeply tanned and
he seemed to blend well into the dun tones of their barren surroundings.
Startling yellow hair ringed the back of his head from temple to temple,
leaving most of his skull bare. The fine strands curled where they met his
shoulders. Looking closely, Nova discovered a pink, elongated aperture at the
base of his skull. She thought it a strange place to develop an ear.

"How can I sleep when you stare at
me?"

Nova flinched. "Huh? I wasn't... How
can you sleep? You are supposed to steer this thing!"

Owl like, his head turned around on his
scrawny shoulders. "He knows where he goes." He gave her an impish
grin.

Nova was a little unsettled by the sight of
his face where the back of his head should be. Understanding her discomfort, he
swung a leg over the gently nodding head of the bird and sat sideways to face
her. "I told him where we're going, you know," he explained
earnestly.

"How come you know our language?"

"I learn fast!" he said nasally.
"Actually, I had to work for your rebel friends for a while."

She regarded him curiously. "You're
not from Shad Lengh, are you?"

"No. I been everywhere on Shaddallam
and stay where I like. My home was Shad Laika before Tharron come. When Ishet
told me of you I wanted to meet you, Star Traveler."

"One does not travel to stars. I am an
Eagle pilot, though."

"What's an Eagle?" He savored the
unfamiliar word.

"It's a plane. A small ship with a
small crew. But powerful.”

"I seen them land at the rebel
base."

"Those could not have been Eagles.
What do you know of the rebel here?"

"They want to destroy the Union. There
are a few bases on Shadallam. They have not been here for long. I been to them
all, to see and to learn. Why d'you wanna see the one in Shad Laika? Nothing
there of value."

 "Oh yes, there is," she assured
him. "I will tell you later, little one." Nova caught herself.
"Sorry, that was probably rude. But you remind me of an elf or
something."

"What's an elf?"

Nova felt a silent presence in the back of
her mind like a hand gently touching her shoulder to get her attention. She
concentrated on its source.

 Ty?

He replied wordlessly. She could almost
feel the pain he endured in maintaining their khamal. She sent him a mental
image of their surroundings.

That's a sandrunner, no? Who's the kid?

Cute, isn't he? No kid, either. He's got
information on the rebel here. Where are you?

Don't know. Did you contact the others?

No joy. Haven't been able to find a
transmitter. Will you be all right?

Haven't killed me yet. They're avoiding
any vital damage for some reason. Want to leave before they get serious.

Are you in a lot of pain?

Yes. This khamal is keeping my mind off
the beatings or the beatings are keeping my mind off this pain in the head.

You're rambling.
Nova sent him a gentle, reassuring touch that surprised her as much
as it did him.

Do that when I'm around.
He began to fade.
Hurry up! Get me out of here!

Nova sighed, opening her eyes that she
hadn't been aware of closing. Greah was staring at her intently, his pug nose
nearly touching hers. She jerked back in surprise.

"Something wrong?"

She shook her head, then nodded. "I'll
tell you later."

"I got time now," Greah said,
moving his head to indicate the distance still before them.

Nova glanced into his serious little face,
again reminded of storybook elves. Nothing hinted at his age which, she was
certain, by far exceeded her own. Only the deadly weapon slung over his
shoulder would seem out of place in a fairy tale.

Slowly, she began to speak, initially
outlining her current situation. As the hours passed her life unfolded before
him: The strife of the Union against the rebels, strange worlds that she had
seen, people that she had met and never known long enough. She spoke of Tychon and
his son and why they were here. The words continued to come and she left
nothing out of the narration.

They had reached the long ridge of
monolithic outcroppings when she at last fell silent. Greah had not spoken at
all. His eyes had rarely left hers as he listened and learned, remembering all,
judging nothing.

He was wordless even now when the sandrunner
picked its way to a grove of low trees that more or less prospered in the lee
of the rocks. The bird lowered itself to the ground and Nova groaned when her
stiff legs refused to unbend after all these hours. She watched as Greah heat-blasted
a large stone and unburdened the runner. Efficiently, he started to prepare a
meal from the dried fruit and boiled dough Ishet had sent.

At last he looked up to squint at her.
"You told me much, Nova, but you barely mention Tychon, that Major we're
looking for. But he is important, no?" He did not wait for her to agree.
"An important warrior, your commander, your traveling companion and yet
you don't say much about him."

"So?"

"But you fear for his life more'n for
your own."

"I do? How would you know?"

He laughed. "Because I listened to you
all day long." He handed her a portion of food and leaned comfortably
against the sandrunner. "I wanna listen more."