13. Valmore

13

Valmore

I strained my eyes as I studied the planet on my display. We were finally near the planet's atmosphere. "You won't be able to see what's going on down there from staring at it," Hazel murmured in my ear.

"I know." I shook my head, but that did nothing to clear my thoughts. "I guess we better go down there and make contact with the colony." I turned to Dandini, our scrawny feline tactical officer. "Is the rest of the planet quiet?"

"All clear. We're the only ship in the atmosphere, and the Kavian life signs are the only sentient life on the surface."

I turned away. "Hazel and I will go down to the surface and contact the Kavians. We'll alert you from the shuttle communications relay if anything turns up." I nodded at Hazel. "Let's go. We'll need plenty of weapons and a good supply of…"

"Sir!" Kasik stepped forward. "With your permission, the two of you shouldn't go alone. I request permission to come with you."

"Me too," Palu added, joining Kasik's side. The two of them, with their bulky bodies and tiny eyes, were the definition of grunts. But they could be useful in a fight. "You need a bodyguard in case these aliens turn out to be hostile."

I bit back a laugh. Aliens! To think my people would ever be seen as such. "All right. Permission granted. You two can act as our bodyguards. Go arm yourselves. Power up the shuttle, Dandini, and locate a suitable landing site for us. You're in command until I come back."

"Yes, sir."

Hazel and I strode off the bridge. Kasik and Palu accompanied us to the weapons hold, where we armed ourselves to the teeth. The two "bodyguards" stacked several dozen weapons in the shuttle.

By the time I took the helm, Dandini had relayed all the information to the shuttle's controls. I lifted off and floated out of the Methuselah 's rear hatch. We drifted over the planet and entered a gentle orbit.

"The landing zone is an opening in the jungle," Dandini said over the communications channel. "We can't get a precise fix on the Kavian colony. Wherever they have it hidden, the planet's geology masks its exact location."

"Smart," I said. "Take us down to the landing zone."

Kasik and Palu unfastened their harnesses and started loading their weapons. They strapped themselves with every gun they could carry. Hazel set the shuttle down and ran a few scans. In the end, she shook her head. "They're completely masked now. It's too bad we can't send them a message letting them know we're coming. With all the activity on the surface lately, they're bound to think we're another attacker."

"One shuttle? I doubt that. If anything, they'll think we're making an emergency landing."

"Considering the scans we took of their technology, I doubt they even have communications gear."

"We'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way." I stood up and took a giant cannon from Kasik.

Hazel followed more slowly. She helped herself to a couple of laser pistols, but that was it. I nodded at Kasik, then he popped the hatch. The ramp extended to the ground.

Kasik and Palu went first. They swept their guns in all directions, but only a few flying reptiles showed themselves.

I halted at the base of the ramp and scanned the treetops. My nostrils flared. Hazel looked around, then cocked her head at me. "Is anything wrong, Valmore?"

"There's something strange about this place," I muttered. "That smell…"

"What smell?"

I sniffed again. "I could swear… It smells like… like Kavius."

Just then, Kasik and Palu came around the other side of the shuttle. "It's all clear," Palu informed me.

I shook a flood of memories out of my head. "Let's head for the colony. The IPA documents place it somewhere up there." I pointed up the mountainside. "Which one of you wants to guard the shuttle?"

Kasik and Palu exchanged glances. "I'm not staying behind," Palu huffed.

"I'll wrestle you for it," Kasik snarled.

I laughed, but at that moment, a shout went up from deeper in the trees. I jolted and spun toward the sound. The other three froze. "What was that?" Hazel whispered.

"Kavians," I hissed back. "They're coming this way."

Before I could move, the branches parted and a hunting party emerged. Ten huge Kavians stepped into view, and the biggest one strode toward me with little hesitance.

I stared at him, too stunned to speak. I hadn't seen members of my own kind since I left the refugee ship.

He halted in front of me. Dark tattoos traced his gray skin. His silvery eyes snapped over my chest and arms. He frowned. "Your clan markings… Where are they?"

"I…" I choked on the words. "I don't have any. I don't belong to any clan."

"That's impossible. All Kavians belong to a clan." His features crunched again. "Who are you?"

"Valmore…" I broke off. "That's all. Just Valmore."

The big Kavian turned around and shared a glance with his companions, who frowned as much as he did. My heart contracted. I couldn't have come this far and finally found my people, only to be rejected by them because I lacked clan connections.

The big guy turned around to face me. He cast a critical glance toward Hazel, then at Kasik and Palu. None of these warriors gave our weapons a second thought.

"I am Xavier Ruger, Clan King of Clan Ruger. This is Kovo, Tennar, and Zixor—all of Clan vas Turra." He hesitated. "You are obviously Kavian too, so you must have a clan. Can you explain this to us? "

I swallowed hard. "My parents… They were miners at the Drilaria Pits. I escaped the invasion with the other miners, but my parents fell in the slaughter. I… No one ever told me my clan designation, and I…"

Xavier scowled again. "You what? Spit it out, man."

"I left the refugee ship before I reached the age of marking." I shot a glance toward the shuttle. I could always go back to the Methuselah if my people wouldn't take me back.

I braced myself to ask if they wanted me to leave them alone, but the one called Tennar cut me off. "That explains it. The miners never took clan markings. The dust caused too many infections in the ink, so they gave it up. He belongs to Clan Chirkak. All the Drilaria miners belonged to that clan."

Xavier shrugged. "Fine. It doesn't matter anyhow. All Kavians belong with us." He waved toward Hazel. "Bring your mate with you, but these two should stay behind. We try to keep our stronghold limited to Kavians and their mates."

"So Hazel may enter?"

Xavier waved that away. "Of course. You're the third Kavian male bound to a human female. My own mate is human too. I'm beginning to think our races might share some deeper connection." He turned his back and motioned us forward. " Come. My fellow clan king will be eager to meet you."

He walked away, and the other warriors followed him into the swaying foliage. They didn't even wait to make sure we followed.

I turned to my companions. "Well, that settles it. It looks like both of you will be guarding the shuttle. Make sure no one comes near it, and monitor communications from the Methuselah ."

"What should we do if a message comes through?" Kasik asked. "We won't be able to contact you."

"You can enter the stronghold to deliver important messages, but you might be taken prisoner," I replied. "I'll leave it up to your judgment to determine if the message is important enough for that."

The two crewmates exchanged a glance, each one no doubt wondering if the other possessed the judgment to make that decision.

I couldn't wait any longer. My people were waiting for me. I nodded at Hazel and we set off after the warriors.

We caught up with them in no time. They walked single file through the densest thicket. In a minute, they started climbing into the mountains along the track to their hidden stronghold.

No one spoke. A thousand questions swarmed through my mind while we walked. Could they be right about me? Did I really have a clan after all? All these years, I thought I was a nameless, faceless, clanless wanderer. It was why I accepted the loner mercenary life so easily.

All this time, my people had been waiting to welcome me back. They knew who I was better than I did. Why did I wait so long to look for them?

Clan Chirkak. Valmore Chirkak. It sounded strange in my mind. It didn't sound like me—not the space pirate version of me. It sounded like a completely different person—a clansman, a member of a wider community—a person with connections and relations and responsibilities.

A person with roots.