On Earth, there are three Triads intending to integrate
not only the three peoples and stop the war that threatens to break loose and
slaughter Humans and devastate their world; but to stop the war that consumes
Kiiote economy and Yown’Hoo moral fiber. All three intelligences hover on the
edge of extinction. The merger of Human-Kiiote-Yown’Hoo into a van der Walls Society
might not only save all three – but become something not even they could
predict. Something entirely new...
The young experimental Triads are made up of the smallest
primate tribe of Humans – Oscar and Xiomara; the smallest canine pack of Kiiote
– six, pack leaders Qap and Xurf; and the smallest camelid herd of Yown’Hoo – a
prime eleven, Dao-hi the Herd mother. On nursery farms and ranches away from
the TC cities, Humans have tended young Yown’Hoo and Kiiote in secret for
decades, allowing the two, warring people to reproduce and grow far from their
home worlds.
“We had nearly fallen into stagnation when we encountered
the Kiiote.”
“And we into internecine war when we encountered the
Yown’Hoo.”
“Yown’Hoo and
Kiiote have been defending themselves for a thousand revolutions of our Sun.”
“Together, we
might do something none of us alone might have done…a destiny that included
Yown’Hoo, Kiiote, and Human.” (2/19/2015)
All seven – Xurf, Fax, Doj,
Zei-go, Hil-hi-el, Jus-hi-el, and Eel-go-el dropped to their knees and bowed.
Only the least of them dared murmur, “We are here to serve your Office of Saint
Admiral, Martyr and Defender of Children.”
He smiled and waved as if he were royalty and said softly,
“You may rise and come with me.”
Xurf whined. He wanted to ask where they were going. He
wanted to doubt this Human but he wanted to accept him at his word. For a
moment, he was torn. But this small male was somehow related to St. Admiral – a
Human who not only saved Earth from total destruction, but who managed to
persuade the Kiiote and the Yown’Hoo to sit down at a peace table and speak of
why they were are war.
The worst part was they neither the Yown’Hoo Fleet Mother
nor the Kiiote Fleet Pack Leaders could say. Earth was an incredible distance
from Kii and Y’eh One of Seven Hundred and Thirty-nine. The leaders of the Homeworlds
were trillions of tail-lengths away and the war had been waged for a thousand
years.
Because none knew what they were truly fighting for, pettiness
overcame the conference and though St. Admiral struggled to bring them back to
the table, in the end the combined might of the three peoples destroyed her security
forces and murdered her.
From there, the war had become something of a civil war
waged among three peoples – who fought both themselves and their ancient
enemies. It was why Earth was slowly being laid waste by the conflicting might
of Kiiote and Yown’Hoo. It was why the Triad Corporation had made a last bid to
both save Earth and to save Kiiote and Yown’Hoo. Xurf took a deep breath,
closing his eyes, not only savoring the scent of the Human, but analyzing it;
taking it apart and seeking the message
in each of its parts. He was without his mate and only the male Fax in
attendance. He said, “It is a complex creature. I want desperately to trust it,
but I am not sure.”
Fax pulled himself to his bipedal form and took slow steps
to the Human. Face-to-face, he said, “My Pack Leader wishes to trust you.”
“Good!”
“But I am second to trust, and so I wonder if I should tear
your throat out here and end this.” He snarled. He knew Humans feared the
Kiiote most in this form as it tapped a deep set of legends involving creatures
called ‘werewolves’. He had taken it deliberately. “Give me a reason to trust
you.”
The Human hung his head and said, “There’s nothing I can
give you as proof, except my scent. We all know the scent of my great-grandmother.
She tried to save all of us but failed.” He paused, “My great-grandmother
failed.” He lifted his head. “She failed but you are part of a mission to
complete her dream. You are on a quest to redeem her sacrifice, to realize the
world she sought to create. I do not know if I can help, but on my grandmother’s
grave, I pledge to help you in any way that I can.”
The rest of the small Pack moved forward.
From the wood behind the great-grandson of St. Admiral,
shadows moved forward…
No comments:
Post a Comment