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see them looking at me like I a therruna just drop from top of whirltree. I hate them. I hate their clothes
that hurt the eyes; I hate their smell; I hate their food. I hate everything about them. As he looked down
at the body of the senior female, lying smoking on the floor of the house, his expression did not change.
Let Getouka-via be unpleased. I, Nevairu-kei, am very pleased. Raising the wonderful pistol that had
been assigned to him, he leveled it at the two broodlings. Eyes rolling back fully into her head, both
trunks quivering in fear, the junior female nonetheless placed herself between the weapon and the
offspring.
Taking his companion s forearm in a strong six-fingered grip, the other Sakuntala forced the muzzle of
the weapon down. This not about Getouka-via. It not about you or me. I like Deyzara no more than
you. But is greater end at stake here. Both highly mobile ears inclined in the direction of the terrified
remnants of the typical Deyzara family. You remember talkings. Killing offspring the sort of thing that
might bring humanx intervention. Better for us that Deyzara offspring walk away and humanx peoples
have to feed and house them. Keep humanx authorities busy. He smiled. Feeding and housing take
more time than dumping in Viisiiviisii. You want vengeance, my friend or results?
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The other Sakuntala s initial, archetypal reaction at being grabbed was anger. Then it cooled, and
common sense took over. It was a measure of how much the Sakuntala had advanced in the hundreds of
years since their initial contact with the Commonwealth.
My blood says kill them, but my mind says you speak wiseness. Lowering the pistol, he fumbled in
another pouch until he found one of the compact conflag packages. Taking it in his free hand, he broke
the seal as he had been instructed and threw the activated handful against the back wall of the gathering
room. The incendiary material contained in the package immediately set the wall aflame. It would burn,
he knew, even in the rain, drawing the components necessary to sustain combustion from the very
material it was consuming. The broodlings began to hoot even louder. The Sakuntala s ears twitched. It
was a revolting sound.
Let s go to next house. The thrower s eagerness could not be denied. Maybe they will have weapons
and try resist. Getouka-via say we can shoot any who resist with weapons.
We must first decide what is weapon sufficient to justify shooting back.
The pair continued their conversation as they strolled nonchalantly from the now flaming structure,
leaving the junior female and the broodlings to make their way to safety as best they could.
Outside, a collective trill of massed panicked Deyzara hooting could be heard even above the falling rain.
In Nesawiti, a pitched battle was under way between their Sakuntala assailants and a handful of Deyzara
determined to defend their community center. After two hours of exchanging fire with their indigenous
attackers, they were forced to surrender when the main cables supporting the structure were severed by
Sakuntala wielding cutters. With the building listing dangerously to one side and threatening at any
moment to fall into the swirling waters below, they marched out and sullenly turned their weapons over to
their tormentors. Expecting to be slaughtered, they pleaded only for the lives of their families. Though it
could not be said they were delighted with the consequences, they were certainly surprised to find
themselves only beaten, instead of killed.
More unexpectedly still, after razing and looting the interior of the dangling building the attacking
Sakuntala left them to deal with their wounds and their misery. Someone found an undamaged cargo
skimmer. Piling themselves and their families into the well-used but sturdy vehicle, tending to those who
were most seriously injured, the survivors of the outpost rose above the trees and limped toward the
nearest community with a Commonwealth station.
Nilsson was finishing his midday ration, while Erla had just cracked a container of pink grape juice. Mist
rose from the cylinder as the contents automatically chilled to her preset preferred temperature. Next to
her, Nilsson reached up to bat a wandering tseth off his shoulder. It had its augur unsheathed and was
making a strenuous effort to bore through his shoulder armor. It buzzed angrily as it fell, broken-winged,
toward the water seven meters below. Something long, slim, spotted, and yellow-black that Nilsson did
not recognize thrust a pair of stem-mounted jaws skyward. One snapped shut around the body of the
tseth with an audible popping sound before sliding back beneath the surface.
Chewing idly, Nilsson studied the spot where both creatures had vanished before returning to the last of
his meal. Sometimes he wished he were a xenobiologist. Most of the time he did not. What he did wish
was that his term of service on this world was six months further along. Then he would be packing to
leave.
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He knew his partner felt exactly the same. Commonwealth insistence notwithstanding, Fluva was no
place for sensible human beings. But a presence was required, and like it or not, they were part of it. Erla
had just put the freshly chilled drink to her lips when a dozen Deyzara came running along the walkway
toward them.
Adults all, they were moving as fast as they were able. Deyzara were not naturally gifted runners, and
their sandaled twin-digited feet tended to slip even on the dimpled, perforated artificial surface. They
accelerated noticeably as they neared the end of the walkway, which began to sway beneath their weight.
The reason for the terror Erla felt she saw in their goggling eyes soon manifested itself. Coming up hard
behind them were half a dozen Sakuntala, wild-eyed, sharp teeth flashing, ears pointed forward like
knives. Most of them carried intricately carved spears or traditional war clubs fashioned from jokobo or
segleth wood. But two Nilsson put aside the last of his food and Erla set down her drink two of them
carried shock rifles. Held them correctly, too, at the appropriate end, with two thin fingers resting on
each trigger.
Stationed on the periphery of Taulau Town, the two humans had spent months shedding water without
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