Storm World Ch 03

So here's chapter three. I want to thank everyone again for their reviews. I'm worried, though, that you might get irritated with me in the next couple of weeks. The company I work for has had a shakeup and I might be putting in more hours until things settle down. This means I might not be able to update in two weeks as I had planned. I will continue to leave notes on my profile and try to keep everyone informed about progress on the story.

Some folks have asked for additional notes about the jZav'Etch and other things in the story. For quick reference I have been leaving end notes to describe measurements of jZav'Etch time. Whenever you see an asterisk after a word there will be an end note. For anything not covered in the end notes please go to the forum thread I created:

Literotica Discussion Board > Main Literotica Forums > Authors' Hangout > The Savage Shore Universe

. There you can ask me questions and I can answer them without breaking the flow of the story or cluttering up the comments section.

Thanks and enjoy!

Storm World

Chapter 3

A deep, dull ache woke M'peth qHo. She blinked her dark gold eyes and grimaced before rolling to a sitting position and twisting at the waist in an attempt to relieve the ache. Her back crackled and popped and the discomfort abated. Her back was still sore, but she felt better for the rest she had gotten, even if it had been on a stone floor padded with no more than her environment suit.

It took her a moment to recall where she was and the events that had led to her being in the cave, but she had an orderly mind and the pieces quickly arranged themselves. There were many things she needed to know in order to complete her mission, if that was even possible at this stage. Her stomach grumbled and she picked up the ration packet she had set aside before laying down to sleep. She discovered she had consumed its entire contents and with a sigh set it aside and stretched again and an additional worry struck her. How much food did they have in their packs? Could they eat anything on this planet? She pushed that thought away. Benjamin had survived here for years. Most things Humans could eat, jZav'Etch could eat. If there was anything edible, he would know. Supplements could be generated by their medical kits. At least, while their power cells lasted they could. She made a mental note to look into the longevity of the kits later.

To her ears came the sound of thunder and the distant hiss and howl of wind driven rain. The storm Benjamin had warned of had arrived. The wind was strong enough that a breeze flowed down the narrow tunnel, even with the hanging rock face to shield the entrance. She now understood what might have motivated Benjamin and his late companions to build the low walled enclosures where they had slept. She could imagine being outside, exposed to such severe weather. It would be uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst. Fortunately, she and her companions were all safe inside Benjamin's cave.

A glance showed her the other survivors were congregated about the low burning fire which supplied marginally more light than the patches of luminous moss. Even Tem l'eth tong had risen from her stretcher and was now seated on one of the squat, flat stones. She looked more alert and was obviously able to attend to at least some of her own needs, as she was forking pieces of fish covered in purple tHi'qel sauce from a pouch into her mouth almost ravenously. That was a very good sign. Most jZav'Etch needed to eat large quantities of meat or fish when recovering from severe injuries which explained why M'peth qHo herself felt so hungry. Fresh meat was always better than what was available in rations, though.

TaH 'Kiy mTh was kneeling next to Ty'em P'tral with a medical scanner in his hand. He still faced Benjamin's enclosure, apparently intending to maintain his vigil while checking the condition of his shipmate. M'peth qHo had no idea how long the injured Thahn 'Den would need to recover before she could move around on her own. Chances were, though, she would be fully healed before rescue arrived. If it arrived.

"When it arrives," she growled to herself. "WHEN."

M'peth qHo told herself the Intelligence Branch would not abandon her. The Hegemony would not leave its people to their fate. And both would want to know what had become of the mutineers. It was just a matter of staying alive long enough for the High Command to send a rescue ship.

What has become of the mutineers?

M'peth qHo wondered again. She needed to know. If they had survived she needed to be sure they could not complete their mission for the enemy. Dusig were notoriously tough and determined people and the jZav'Etch fanatic that led them was known to be charismatic and resourceful. That was an exceptionally dangerous combination as they had already proven.

M'peth qHo rose and was about to join the other survivors when Benjamin's head and shoulders appeared above the low stone wall of his sleeping place. His hair was mussed, sticking up in all directions, and he looked as if he had just awakened. Ignoring the jZav'Etch entirely, he crossed the chamber, casually scratching his bare rump. The Human passed within an arm's length of her on his way towards a low opening at the side of the main chamber and did not so much as acknowledge her presence. He yawned expansively and disappeared into the crack in the wall.

Curious, M'peth qHo followed to see what he was doing. As she got closer to the low opening a faint scent of Human waste came to her. It was not overpowering, but it was distinct among the other scents of the cave. Thinking it would be impolite as well as imprudent to disturb Benjamin while he was so occupied she stopped a few paces away. It was not long before he emerged again, looking more awake. Again he passed close without acknowledging her presence.

"Ben 'Jamin," she said, attempting to get his attention.

"Go away, imaginary kitty," he said aloofly.

"What is a kitty?" she demanded, perplexed by his behavior. "And why do you say I am imaginary."

"Go away!" he barked, gesturing spastically with his hands as if waving away a cloud of invisible insects. "Go find the pigmy elephant or the pink velociraptor. Just look around. They're here somewhere. Should have kept the elephant. I know he kept cheating at poker!" he snapped as if speaking to someone who was not there. "I remember! At least he was company. I don't care what happened to the raptor. Fuck that bitch! Fuck her right in the ass! Scared hell out of me. Fucking bitch lizard."

"I do not understand what you are talking about," M'peth qHo said, more confused than ever. She knew what an elephant was, but what was a velociraptor? And a bitch lizard?

"You don't exist, kitty cat," he said and made for the fire. "None of you do. That one has nice tits, though." He indicated Tem l'eth tong who looked up inquisitively at his gesture. "Nice and round and firm and oh so good to look at. She can stay. As long as she's quiet, she can stay."

The weapons specialist's breasts were indeed quite prominent, hardly concealed by her thin, standard issue undershirt. Certainly she had the largest among the group, rivaled only by those of Liat 'del Qha who was so petite that hers appeared oversized.

"

What does he say about me

?" Tem l'eth tong asked, her tail flicking and ears flattening back uncertainly.

"

It is not important

," M'peth qHo replied in jZav'Etch. In English she said, "We are real, Ben 'Jamin."

"That's what the velociraptor said," he snorted and picked a metal pot with a spout out of a box sitting near the fire. "Used to wake me up at night wanting to talk philosophy and shit like that. What's the existence of reality? How long is the wink of an eye? Why is forty-two the meaning of life? Never made sense to me. That's what any self-respecting hallucination would say. I mean, that's what you would expect. Why couldn't I imagine a bunch of chorus girls or that Vespan stripper I liked back on Occatan? Fucking talking cats! Hey! The little whey and white one's got nice tits, too."

Liat 'del Qha's eyes went wide and her pointed, silver tufted ears stood straight up in surprise. Her English was imperfect, but she had understood.

"

Does he offer insult

?" demanded Chep 'Urt vEss, surging to his feet threateningly. He towered over the Human, a half head taller than Benjamin and wider with more muscle.

"Sit down, punk. No one's talking to you," Benjamin growled and strode across the chamber, disappearing between a pair of the low stone walls. From out of sight he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fucking talking cats!"

"

What does he say

?" the gunner demanded. His claws were extended and there was fire in the young dTel'Qohar's eyes. The air was suddenly filled with battle musk and the other jZav'Etch stirred uneasily.

"

Calm yourself

," M'peth qHo told him. "

The Human is not in his right mind

."

"

If he is mad we should kill him before he becomes dangerous

!" snarled the gunner.

"

That is not your decision

," she said sternly. "

He has been alone for how long, I do not know. His mind is not working properly. That is all

."

Benjamin returned to the fire carrying the pot which glistened wetly and set it on a flat stone where the coals could warm it. From the box he took a clear pouch containing some kind of dried and crushed leaves. He removed the pot's lid and added a pinch of these to the water it contained before squatting down, apparently intending to wait.

"Ben 'Jamin, I am Commander M'peth qHo of the jZav'Etch Hegemony."

He blinked and frowned at her. "What's that smell? Jesus Christ! Did I shit on the floor or something?"

"It is nothing important," she sighed and tried again. "We are survivors of the ship that crashed off the shore of this island. You saved us. You remember saving us, do you not?"

"Saved you? Ha! Sure I remember. Of course I remember! Doesn't mean it happened. Doesn't mean it happened!" he shouted and turned his attention back to the pot, thrusting out his jaw in a stubborn expression. "Doesn't mean it happened. I remember playing racquetball with a monkey a few months back. Damn he was good! You should have seen his backhand! And that summersault serve of his was out of this world! You should have seen him. But that never happened and I know it. No monkeys on Storm World. Oh no. No monkeys. No racquetball courts. We've got lots of fish and things with tentacles. Lots of things that look like plants, but aren't. And there were those mermaids I was swimming with. But there are no monkeys. There are no dogs. There sure as Hell aren't any fucking talking cats! Goddamnit! No fucking talking cats!"

"We are not cats, Ben 'Jamin," M'peth qHo said, trying to get him focused.

"Mermaids," he said, absently curious. "I imagined them a few times. I think it's all the water around here. I used to have a cat. Celia. Took her all over the place with us. I bet you're just a composite of Celia and a bunch of people I used to know. I'm losing it. Yeah. Yeah. I'm losing it. I know I am. But I haven't lost it yet. And that smell is not nothing!" He surged to his feet and began sniffing the air. "Some of my food went bad, I'll bet. Damnit!"

"Cats are not sentient. I have seen one and it had little intelligence," M'peth qHo said seriously, hoping to divert him before he could run off on another tangent. Inwardly she shuddered at the memory of the small creature that had looked and acted so much like one of her own kind. While she firmly asserted the animal's lack of intellect she secretly was not certain. It had acted with great cunning when it hunted and had succeeded in manipulating several of her associates into giving it things it wanted or coercing them into playing with it. Briefly, she had even suspected it was a spy for the Humans.

"Cats are smart," Benjamin said easily and smiled. He returned to his seat. "Too smart sometimes. Celia used to open the refrigerator to get at my sandwiches. She almost never ate them. Oh no. She just wanted to bat them around the cabin. A dozen toys and she had to play with my sandwiches. Smart little thing she was, too. Hell, I caught her playing on my computer one time. Not sure how she was able to bring up that game and I don't know how she made it to level three. I mean, I have opposable thumbs and I could only make it to level five."

"We are not cats, Ben 'Jamin," M'peth qHo said firmly. It was a struggle to keep from screaming. "We are jZav'Etch. Our origin world is jZav. We first encountered your people roughly twelve Earth standard years ago. Surely you have heard of us."

Benjamin reached into the box again, this time coming out with a stained plastic mug. He considered it for a long time, saying nothing.

"Ben 'Jamin?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I remember something about a new race. Some ship from the Conglomerated Planets met an alien ship somewhere and they exchanged greetings or some shit like that. I remember."

"Yes," she said with considerable relief. "Your government and mine have known about one another for quite some time."

"Not my government," he said derisively. "I'm a Free Worlder. The CP can go fuck themselves. We don't need them. Fucking CP."

"Free Worlder?" she demanded.

The Free World Confederation was a separate entity from the CP and not currently at war with the Hegemony. Originally founded by Humans seeking new worlds to exploit, the Free Worlds occupied a part of the galaxy rich in resources but short on habitable planets. Most Free Worlders lived in orbital cities circling gas giants or among asteroid fields where they harvested rich deposits of minerals. Over time other independently minded beings from virtually every spacefaring race had emigrated to the Free Worlds, making them the most thoroughly integrated society in known space.

"

Commander

," Liat 'del Qha said in hushed, excited jZav. "

If he is a Free Worlder, he is not our enemy

!"

"

That does not mean he is our ally

!" snapped Chep 'Urt vEss. "

We should kill him and be done with it. He is a Human and they cannot be trusted

!"

"

You will be silent

!" M'peth qHo hissed, her claws flashing out at the tips of her fingers. "

Understand me, Gunner. Mad or sane, this Human has lived on this world for a very long time. He knows things about the environment we have yet to learn. He knows what animals he can eat which means we likely can eat them also. I am certain there are other things he can teach us

."

"

I should also think he would not be so easily killed as you suppose, Chep 'Urt vEss

," TaH 'Kiy mTh added sedately. His ears flicked and his tale swished gently in an expression of neutrality.

"

Do you think I am so weak

?" snarled the gunner and made to rise again.

"

Always so ready to fight and too reluctant to think

," sniffed Tem l'eth tong.

Chep 'Urt vEss fixed his glare upon her, but Tem l'eth tong was a veteran and considerably older than the gunner. She merely returned his glare with an even, unconcerned look. He was superior to her in rank, but she had far more experience and a much longer service than he. In this dispute, the rules of discipline would fall in her favor.

"There you go speaking Mandarin again," grumbled Benjamin, lifting the lid from his pot and sniffing the rising vapors. It was as if he had not noticed the raised voices and bared claws.

Seeing she had considerable support from the rest of the crew and there was no need for her to keep the unruly gunner in his place, M'peth qHo returned her attention to the Human.

"Why would your imaginary creatures speak a language you cannot understand?" she asked reasonably. "Have your other imaginary creatures done so?"

Benjamin replaced the pot's lid and sat back on his haunches. He looked puzzled for a few heartbeats and then gave her a direct look. He seemed to be searching for something in her eyes. She did not turn away. Rather, she softened her expression, willing him to see the truth.

"Who are you?" Liat 'del Qha asked in her halting English.

He looked at the Pah'Tht with narrowed eyes. It seemed he was struggling to remember something.

"I am Liat 'del Qha," she said, sounding as if this was a phrase she had learned in a class. "I am Pilot Officer Liat 'del Qha. Who are you?"

"That's your name?" he asked, finally. "The elephant didn't have a name. Answered to 'Hey you'."

"Liat 'del Qha," she repeated with a nod.

"I'm Benjamin," he said, almost as if he were telling himself. Eyes flitting from point to point, he seemed to search in his mind for something and then rose and began to pace. "My name." His hands were shaking spastically in front of him and his pacing grew agitated. "My name?" Abruptly he stopped and squatted in front of Liat 'del Qha to look more directly at her. "My name is Benjamin. Bennnjaaminnn... Benjamin what?"

Suddenly he sprang up and dashed across the chamber to the enclosure where he had slept. M'peth qHo stood uncertainly, not knowing if she should go after him or await his return.

"

What was that about

?" demanded Ima' Nef'Tn. She had understood almost nothing of what had passed between her companions and the Human.

"

He may be retrieving a weapon

!" hissed Chep 'Urt vEss.

"

If he is

," said M'peth qHo coolly, "

I will distract him and you others will kill him

."

"

Is he now dangerous

?" Tem l'eth tong asked, sounding confused.

"

We do not know

," replied TaH 'Kiy mTh uneasily.

They could hear Benjamin rummaging around in his enclosure. Something clattered on stone and something else scraped over the floor. TaH 'Kiy mTh drew his jeq'istle and held it low against his thigh where it would not be immediately seen.

A cry of delight sounded and Benjamin's head and shoulders reappeared above the stone wall. He grinned broadly and trotted out to the fire once more. In his hand was some sort of tag on a slim cord. He held it out to Liat 'del Qha with a laugh.

"O'Conner!" he chortled. "That's my name! Benjamin O'Conner! I forgot it. My last name, I mean. How could you forget your own name? I don't know, but I did."

Carefully, Liat 'del Qha took the tag in her small hand and examined it. An image of a dark haired Human with a disgruntled expression was printed on a white background beside his name and the words Planetary Scout First Class, Chief Operations Officer. It took her a moment to realize the image was that of the naked Human standing before her.

"I am pleased to meet you, Ben 'Jamin O' Conn 'ur," she said, again as if this were a phrase she had learned by route.

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Leeat del Cha!" he replied, mispronouncing her name horribly. "You can just call me Ben or Benjamin, though. No reason to be formal. It's a mouthful, anyway. Are you really real?"

"We are," she said and smiled without showing her teeth, glad the Human had finally begun to come around.

He chuckled and spun to present his tag to M'peth qHo. "I'm Benjamin O'Conner!"

"So I see," she said, her tail sagging with relief. Tension ebbed from her like a tide going out. She took the tag and read it. "You are Chief Operations Officer. That is very good."

"I was first officer on the

Jenny

," he said with a grin. "They had to give me one of these stupid tags and a title for their accounts. Couldn't just pay the captain and let him worry about it. Couldn't do that. Got to keep track of everything. Fucking bureaucrats. Planetary scout, that's what I am. I've been one for about fifteen years. Started when I was seventeen. Been all over the place. Seen all kinds of stuff. Never seen talking cats, though."