Koban: Rise of the Kobani (57 page)

Marlyn explained the sequence of events. “We captured a clanship earlier this year, when it returned for a visit to this system that the Krall joint clan council had forbidden. We used that ship for some of us to leave this star system. We call the departure a Jump, and the gamma radiation when we return is called a White Out. The ship I used to come here, and I used to practice Jumps recently, is a different clanship than we first captured. The world next door we call Koban, and it is now our home. We have three clanships we took from the Krall.”

Coldar waved the small left claw in a spiral gesture, apparently in agreement. “We can detect differences between the energy of individual clanships when they emerge into real space. We knew your recent return had different energy, and detected that you came here several times to look at this world. Your first return came with something you brought with you, but we could not decide what it was.”

Marlyn explained the cargo pod they had towed within the event horizon for the Jump.

“That explains the difference we saw. We have monitored your radio transmissions, and knew your unknown language was of a new species, compared to the data we have in our Olts. The triangulated signals from another Torki lodge told us you were at a known Prada village. When you went to our old lodge location, and turned north, your signals told us you were looking for us. Most of us decided we wanted to meet the new species that moved next to us.”

Maggi, always feisty, asked, “How do you like us so far?”

“You are not a friend of the Krall, a factor in your favor, and you have at least two of their clanships, and you say a third. They do not share, so you had to take them. More factors in your favor. You also have lived on a world the Krall failed to make into a world they could dominate. All of the Prada and Torki that once were taken there for Krall use, failed to survive the gravity and the deadly life there.

“You soft looking creatures have lived, and seemed to have thrived on the ‘training world’ you still call Koban. There is clearly more to you than eyestalks can see. You also move as if the gravity here, which is greater than the Prada, or we Torki prefer, is almost invisible to you. Koban’s greater gravity could explain some of your ease here, but we think there is more to know of you, if you wish to tell us.”

Wister finally had something to offer. “I want to watch them, collectively, when one of you tries what you call a Mind Tap on any of them. Their collective surprise may be enough to atone for their looking down on my people. They might learn the Krall are perhaps still the senior species, but not the strongest.” His head darted forward several times, in apparent anticipation.

Coldar made no response, but even eyes on stalks could convey curiosity.

“Wister is speaking of abilities we have acquired, via genetic modifications, from some of the life forms on Koban. Many of us have their strength and speed of reactions. Others have also acquired increased sense of smell, night vision, and can hear the high speech of the Krall.”

Bradley promptly spoke up. “I can hear the words you just spoke Coldar, and understand many, but I am not fluent in that language. I am the only one present here that has all of the genetic modifications just listed.”

“Coldar, we have an ability that seems to be unique to any other world except Koban, taken from creatures we call rippers. They are predators on Koban that hunt in groups of four to ten, and live mostly on the open grasslands, killing animals that live in herds. We have become friends with them, and have two of them with us, but they did not come on our shuttle today, for fear they would frighten you.”

“We know of these animals, but because we never lived close to where they hunt, we may never have seen them. What is unusual about them that you have borrowed or copied? What did the Prada mean when he said for one of you to Mind Tap one of us?”

“The group ability you Torki have by use of the Olt devices, sounded similar to some of the things rippers can do to share thoughts and mind pictures, but only when they are in physical contact. We humans discovered this ability, and inserted the genetics for this into ourselves. We can exchange emotions, mind pictures, even words, by making physical contact with other creatures. So far, it has worked on any animal or intelligent creature we have tested. We sense their thoughts, emotions, see the images in their minds, and we can share our own thoughts with them. It has even been done with the Krall.”

That statement virtually froze Wister. The subject of mental contact with a Krall had not been broached with him because of the questions that could arise about still having some of their “Rulers” as prisoners.

“When did you do that?” he demanded.

“Wister, it was not on this world. We can talk of it later. I want to satisfy the curiosity of Coldar and the other Torki, and my own curiosity. I don’t know how this will work with their species.”

The Torki had a question. “How is it done? You said physical contact. We have hard shells that are very insulating. Will it work through that?”

“I don’t know, but it may work to a limited extent. We normally use our hands,” she waved them, “because there is a high concentration of nerve endings there for good contact. It works on most tissue that has a high density of nerve endings. I’d think for a first test, a more insulated place, such as your shell would be best. We touch hands with the Prada. I point out that if you have thoughts you do not want me to receive, it is possible to block sending them to me.”

In the first sign of exasperation she had seen from the usually patient little Prada, he said, “Excellent. Warn the crab before you touch him. Let the poor Prada look like a crazy animal.”

“Excuse him,
Coldar; he has not gotten over the shock of our first confrontational meeting. He tried to attack me, as he believed a good subject of his Krall Rulers should do, and I had to get rough with him. I then read his mind without warning him first, as I have warned you I will do.”

“I would think he would have sent some of their animals to go after you first. The Prada are not good fighters.”

Without saying anything, Maggi simply looked at Wister. He had the good sense to remain quite.

The Torki held forth its smaller left claw, and advanced closer for her to touch. “There is some sense of feel in the larger two claws, but if that doesn’t work, my smaller maxillipeds or mandibles are very sensitive, as are my eyestalks.”

Maggi noticed that the Torki had three pairs of fine little claws close to its mouthparts, and there were the four button size black eyes, inset slightly in its carapace, directly over where its small manipulators would meet. The Prada had said the Torki were masters at working with small delicate circuitry.

She extended her hand, and touched the backside of the three-foot pincher claw, deliberately withholding any transmittable mental image, opening her mind to receive thoughts. There was a murmur of mental sound, sort of white noise, and a faint sense of curiosity.

“Coldar, I sense many distant voices, and curiosity, but it is not very strong. I’ll try to send a mental image of some plants of the countryside around where I live, and which I have studied.”

She pictured a sunny morning on Koban, after a night shower, and the water dripping from the tall teal grass, into blue, yellow, and red six-inch wide bell shaped flowers, holding an inch or so of water in the base of the flowers. Beautiful looking, but the sweet tasting liquid was laced with a toxin that numbed the nervous system of insects that drank from them. Otherwise, the superconducting nerves made the insects too fast for the carnivorous Grabber plant’s flowers to curl in fast enough to catch them.

Then she visualized the Fly Spear plant. It had a sweet type of nectar also, but it wasn’t toxic. If the wrong kind of fly came to drink, the spring loaded three-inch shaft of the stamen would dart down into the narrow neck of the plant, and stab the unfortunate insect, letting the impaled creature die over the next day or so, as enzymes in the “spear” helped break down the exoskeleton to release the nutrients inside. If it missed the target prey, the spring reset in about ten minutes to wait for the next opportunity. If the insect were the pollinator that had evolved with that plant, it would stroke the spear before entering the narrow neck to get the nectar, leaving a spore-like pollen equivalent on the stamen from its last flower, the chemical contact keeping the stamen locked in place. If the spear was launched anyway, the long legs of the slender bodied insect held it well to the side. It was seldom impaled.

The biologist in Maggi liked these plants, and they seemed like safe images to try to share, which would be different from anything the Torki had ever seen.

“I sense colored plants and insects, and a surprise, but it is not clear.” Coldar told her.

“Do you wish to try a more nerve sensitive area?”

“Yes.” It extended the left side’s three foot-long grasper, leaving the two shorter pairs held close to its lower carapace.

Not particularly squeamish, Maggi nevertheless did not grasp the hard two-inch pincher claw, thinking that it might not have as much nerve sensitivity as the “arm” to which it was attached. This was a wise decision regarding her fingers. The larger claws were another matter entirely.

The Fly Spear was the last picture she had tried sending.  That being the freshest image in her mind, she started with that one to send this time. She was blocking the previous “white noise” input from the Torki, trying to impress Coldar with a clear mental image this time.

She sent the image of the delicate looking orange flower with the long slender neck, its curved yellow stamen poised over the flared bell of the flower, and the sharp “spear” aimed down the tube. She visualized an insect forcing its way into the narrow flower tube to reach the enticing nectar. The lack of a chemical signal to hold the spear’s “spring” locked released the stamen. Her eyes closed, to allow the sharpest possible image to fill her mind, the deadly stamen stabbed into the body of the insect.

All hell broke loose, as she was knocked violently and painfully aside. Her eyes being closed had prevented her from seeing the huge right claw swinging at her left side, and the smaller right claw opening to reach under the Torki’s body, snapping open and closed. Had the large claw not knocked her down, the smaller one might well have decapitated her.

Not knowing what was happening, she kicked up at the flat surface of the heavy crab, wildly swinging its claws under its abdomen, opening and closing convulsively. Using her Kobani strengthened muscles in this low gravity, she easily flipped the six hundred pound crab into the air and onto its back.

She leaped to her feet, ignoring the bruising she felt, and turned to run to the shuttle. That was when she realized that all of the Torki were behaving like Coldar. Bradley leaped over a Torki that was spinning between her and the shuttle, as it kept reaching under its carapace with its claws, snatching at something. He landed by Maggi and bodily lifted her and leaped back over the spinning crab and landed by the shuttle’s open hatch and shoved her inside. She instantly saw that Wister was cowering in a seat, looking terrified. Marlyn was limping up the aisle to the cockpit, and Hakeem was closing the hatch behind Bradley.

There were a number of hard thumps on the shuttle sides, but Maggi needed to stop Marlyn from starting the thrusters. She was afraid she was trying to get them away, and might harm the Torki in the process. She was the only one that knew what was wrong.

“Everyone, stop! Marlyn, don’t activate the thrusters. This will end in a moment.”

“The Torki went insane,” Wister said. “Before I could move, I was grabbed and shoved into here by your young male. The others were pushed on top of me. I did nothing wrong.”

Bradley explained. “Aunt Maggi, you and I are the only TGs here. I had to get the others inside as fast as possible before I could help you. I was a little rough.”

“Bradley, you did right, and the fault, indirectly, is mine. I started that mad house out there. I hope none of them were hurt.” She looked through the side windows and the leaping, spinning and claw snapping had ended, and the Torki were each inspecting one another, top and bottom sides.

Marlyn called back, “What are they looking for now on their bodies? They seem to have calmed down.”

Maggi shook her head in dismay. “They are looking for a giant Fly Spear sticking through their bodies. Coldar thought he had been pierced, and therefore all of them did as well, because of the Olt link they share. They all must have been trying hard to sense what Coldar experienced.”

Hakeem stared at her. “What the hell did you show him?”

“Flowers. In particular, the Fly Spear the second time.”

“That fits in the palm of a hand.” Bradley pointed out. “Why did they all go berserk over that?”

“We need to give them another moment. All of you hold my hand and I’ll let you see what I showed, so you will understand.”

Wister was reluctant, but had experienced enough mental images that he drew confidence in his ability to comprehend what he would see. She had placed it in context. The flower was small.

They all watched as the plump insect forced its way into the flower, and saw the image of the spear plunging at them as if they had the insect’s viewpoint. Then it pierced the body as if they were off to the side to see. Only Wister jerked, because he was not familiar with the plants actions, but the forewarning was enough to ward off real fear.