The Index -|-

Kpleeb lay on his back. In his peripheral vision, reeds stood joyfully lifting beautiful green fronds above him on thin arms. These fronds waved in a light breeze, and happy sunlight flickered through into his consciousness.

[This would be beautiful… except–]

A loud and piercing cry echoed from somewhere to his left. Kpleeb was startled, and with the reactivation of his senses, the pain set in again. His side hurt along with his arms and head. He felt with his hands and jerked a few small darts away from the skin on his right side. The barbs tugged as they released. He gritted his teeth and raised his head slowly. There was no smoke, only cries of pain and grunts of strenuous effort mixed with heavy breathing scuffling of feet.

He saw pockets of Ganix warriors alone or in small groups. The warriors were at least a head taller than the Hkkli that surrounded them. With a grunt, Kpleeb sat up. In front of him a single Ganix warrior battled a wall of Hkkli. Like all Ganix, the warrior was blindingly fast. His spears jabbed and spun with incredible speed and mostly maintained a large empty space around his body. There was no room for use of the lightning spears because they were longer, heavier, and needed to be held with both hands.

The Hkkli moved in waves. Their bodies were round and furry, and they moved like pear-shaped ninjas. Each one wore a kind of red band on their wrists. Kpleeb saw them as they surrounded the Ganix, seeming to wait for a gap. When a gap was discovered, one Hkkli would swivel on front legs and issue a comical flurry of kicks with their rear legs.

It was comical only in how the attack looked. The mayhem that lay spread throughout the clearing was not so entertaining. As he watched, another pairing of Ganix fell, bloodied by the razor-sharp scissor kicks.

The whine-crack of a lightning spear echoed, and Kpleeb turned his head to see where it had come from. A trio of Ganix warriors protected a half-circle of space next to the Hsstak. Zara stood with her back up against the ship’s hull, and they were surrounded by dozens of Hkkli.

Zara fired the lightning spear again. Another Hkkli fell, but its space was taken instantly by another. She swiped her hand past the Ganix, and several Hkkli were shoved violently into a heap by her use of the aji forces, but there was no material change in her situation.

[She is probably unwilling to use a more powerful attack with the Ganix in such close proximity, but she needs to be willing to hurt a few friends in order to destroy the enemy– if that’s what it takes.]

After a quick check of his immediate vicinity, he found his lightning spear in the grass and grasped it tightly. [Time to save Zara again, if I can.] Kpleeb gritted his teeth and readied himself to stand. He felt the ground shake faintly, and he heard a low rumble. He stood quickly with his spear ready to fire. With a savage grin, he began to unleash lightning repeatedly into the backs of the Hkkli that surrounded Zara. The wooden shaft kicked in his grip, the recoil shaking his arms and shoulders.

The Hkkli attack fell apart, and Zara waved toward him. An undulating mass of Hkkli turned their vengeful gaze on Kpleeb. He shifted and began firing his spear again as quickly as possible, but the Hkkli were incredibly fast. Their darts flew like raindrops driven before a fierce northern storm.

Shrill war cries rose in chorus, and the sound of pounding feet increased.

Kpleeb was pelted with incoming projectiles and agony blossomed anew. He fell to his knees and then slumped to his stomach where the grass tickled his nose. The dull roar increased and with a gust of wind, a stampede of plump Hkkli bodies impacted above him. He blacked out.

Kpleeb awoke sometime later. He lay on his back on a cot made of reeds, and the smooth, grey hull of the Hsstak stretched like a rampart far above him. When he moved his head, he saw Zara standing nearby speaking to a small group of Hkkli. Concern welled up inside him, and he reached out with his hand.

“Da,” Zara said, turning toward him. “You’re awake!” She took his hand and pulled.” Come talk to Hiro and Saeli!”

Kpleeb slowly clambered off the cot and stepped forward to where the small group of Hkkli waited. Beyond them was a great crowd of Hkkli. As far as he could tell, the Hkkli forces had doubled, but the new Hkkli wore green scarves and stood guard over the smaller red-wristed groups. Ganix warriors wielding lightning spears stood between the Hkkli and the Hsstak.

“Is everything okay?” It appeared to Kpleeb that there were many dead and wounded strewn about the clearing, mostly Hkkli with red-wrists.

Zara gestured toward the small group in front of them. “I told you about the Hkkli that were captured on the Hsstak. These are Hiro and Saeli from the Koratu tribe. They came to help us fight the Kiotin.” She pointed toward the Hkkli wearing the red-wrist bands.

Kpleeb bent his head and slapped the side of his head twice, but there was no change to his confusion. “Hkkli fought other Hkkli to save us?”

“Yes, Da. They are our allies because I freed them.” She sighed. “Doing the right thing does pay off sometimes.”

Kpleeb nodded and looked at Hiro and Saeli. “Is this true?”

Saeli spoke in a high-pitched and squeaky voice, and Zara’s device translated. “We are not allies. Zara the Protector returned us to Ulaen, or Jorqu as you call it. The least we can do is repay this debt. An alliance may be obtained, but we will meet you first.”

“We, urh… we appreciate your help,” said Kpleeb gruffly, his head still feeling fairly woolly. “What do we do with the urh… Kiotin?” He glanced at the crowd of warriors. There were so many, and battle could easily spring anew from their midst.

Hiro spoke a halting combination of purring grunts and low squeaks. “Kiotin owe Koratu a large debt. Half will be sacrificed, and the others will join Kiotin as guards for Zara the Protector.” His small and furry claw stretched out. “The debt must be paid.”

Zara looked up at Kpleeb and nodded. “I think the Koratu will become larger and take over the Kiotin tribe-lands. The Kiotin people will be the larger of the two groups and will dominate.”

“Quite the way of winning,” Kpleeb muttered. “We should negotiate to have guards that don’t hate us. It could be a trap.”

Zara nodded and spoke loudly. “Relationships are built on time and trust. Please, come stay and eat with us.” She turned slowly to sit, and Hiro and Saeli stepped backward as if in horror.

“We cannot share grain with you without an alliance,” Saeli squeaked. “We will talk first.” With a small, clawed hand, she beckoned at her side and another Hkkli stepped forward. She carried a woven bag, and from it was produced a short and fat stick covered with intricate carvings. Saeli waddled forward and sat under the awning next Hsstak’s hull. Hiro followed and sat behind her and to her left.

Kpleeb looked at Zara and shrugged. “Seems like we must talk.” He sat across from the Hkkli, and Zara followed suit.

Saeli and Hiro both reclined on their right sides and kicked out their left leg.

Zara grabbed a sack containing tubers and brought it near so that she could lean on it.

Kpleeb sat awkwardly. [Should I recline too? Seems so informal for a new meeting. No. I will not.]

Saeli closed her eyes for several long moments. Then she spoke quietly.

“You must be willing to be ruthless in your attacks.”

Zara and Kpleeb looked at each other, then after a moment, Zara spoke. “What do you mean?”

“Your ikti spears need room to pause and fire. You should have a company of spears in the rear that can snipe at the enemy. Without this, your ikti spears are less effective. You seem to have some power that you hold back as if waiting for a better time.” Saeli swiped her paw in a mimic of Zara’s sweeping attack. “This is why you needed our help.”

Zara blinked. “I cannot harm the Ganix. As my Da told me long ago, they are our family, and we must protect them.”

Kpleeb nodded thoughtfully. “Saeli is right. Of course we try to protect the Ganix, but if you hold back, it may be that every Ganix will die. If you release your full power, perhaps none will die and many will be saved.”

Zara’s expression seemed uncertain as she pondered the statement. “Maybe… I don’t know.”

Saeli spoke again. “You are very strong, but you need Saeli to help with battle.” She huffed her cheeks in a manner that made them wiggle. “You stay here with Koratu for moons, and we will give you tactics and knowledge.” With that, Saeli selected a small device from her neck pouch and touched it to the tip of her carved stick.

The stick began to emit a pale green smoke that reminded Kpleeb of how Fab Elder Shoofit’s feet smelled after a long wetening. He knew what would happen next, and he was right. Whenever a pipe is introduced to a group of people during their first meeting, the meeting would inevitably last quite a long time.

Kpleeb glanced at the large clearing. The Hkkli in green scarves were passing out food and drink to the Hkkli wearing red wristbands.

[This place is nuts.]

After a few moments pondering the scene before him, he took the smoking pipe that was passed from Zara to him. It smelled awful, but he smiled pleasantly and nodded at Hiro and Saeli.

[Perhaps watching large rodents smoke peace pipes is just as nuts as listening to a caveman wax eloquent about his old life next to the canyon river.]

He took a deep draw from the pipe and began to cough. Not wanting to embarrass himself, he held it in and wheezed, eyes watering, until green smoke escaped from his nose.

[Hkkli lettuce. Yuck…]