Storm World Ch 08

Yes, I am back with a new chapter. I know it's a few weeks late, but here it is and I hope you will enjoy it. I also have some additional good news. The rough drafts of chapters 9 and 10 are written and I have several Word doc. pages of chapter 11.

Note: Given how many jZav words I have been including in the text I am finding the use of multiple asterisks to be clumsy and distracting. From now on I will place an asterisk after a jZav word if there is a definition at the end of the chapter. The word will appear beside the definition, so there should be little confusion.

Characters:

Commander M`peth qHo -- Thahn `Den -- Intelligence Branch. Leader of the survivors.

Pilot Officer (Pilot) Liat `del Qha -- Pah`Tht -- First officer of the Char`Noth. Second in command.

Chief Weapons Officer (Gunner) Chep `Urt vEss -- dTel`Qohar -- Second officer of the Char`Noth.

Ima` Nef`Tn -- dTel`Qohar -- Weapons technician.

TaH `Kiy mTh -- Thahn`Den -- Engineer.

Tem l`eth tong -- dTel`Qohar -- Veteran weapons specialist. (This character was injured and walks with the aid of a crutch.)

Ty`em P`tral -- Thahn `Den -- Engineer (This character was injured and remains unconscious.)

For additional notes please go to

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

.

Chapter 8

The group remained gathered around the computer table, anxiously awaiting the explanation of what Benjamin had been describing and wondering what had caused his sudden outburst of distress. They remained silent while Liat `del Qha managed the computer and Commander M`peth qHo managed the Human.

"Yeah. See that?" Benjamin said, pointing to a peak on one of the older charts displayed on the screen. "That happened... Um... About a year ago. I guess about a year ago or maybe two. It doesn't seem that long."

"And that is what motivated you to start building your raft?" M`peth qHo asked.

"My boat. Yeah," he said. "I didn't check the graphs right away. I didn't think the quake was that much more powerful than any other quake. I guess I was a little out of my head and I might have been out on the island when it hit. Harder to judge the strength of a quake when you're in a canoe."

"And that one rated a seven on your scale." M`peth qHo flicked her ears in frustration. She didn't have the kind of training needed to translate the strength of a quake from whatever system of measure the Free Worlds might be using.

"Pretty powerful," Benjamin said with a nod. "When I finally checked, I guess I realized things were coming to an end. I got myself back on track. I knew about the Aiolian islands from our orbital survey and I had found the one I'm aiming for before that quake happened. I mean, I'd already drawn up a sketch of the boat while Grace was still alive. She told me it was pointless to leave the island if we didn't have a place to go, but I get bored sometimes and the drawing gave me something to do when it was too rough outside. I didn't know how to build a boat, but before I built my canoe I didn't know how to make one of those, either. Took me three tries before I got my canoe right."

"A canoe is a kind of small boat?"

"That's right," Benjamin confirmed. "Long and narrow. Easy for one person to handle. Easy to carry over obstructions."

"And based on your canoe you began construction of the boat?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "You saw the raft. That's just the bottom. I think I did a pretty good job so far."

"It save our lives," Liat `del Qha said. "What... What more need to be done?"

"Oh. Well, it needs to be longer," Benjamin said, frowning as he thought. "I still have to build up the sides, too. Can't cross a long stretch of water on a raft with those damned pitching waves. I already harvested a pretty good mast. Haven't figured out how to mount it, though. I think I can just shove it down into the reeds and lash it in place."

"What do you mean? What kind of mast?" M`peth qHo asked. She knew Humans called components of their sensor and communications arrays masts, but it didn't seem likely a crude vessel such as Benjamin was describing would have a need for a mast of that kind.

"It's what you hang a sail on," he explained. "Have to have some way to move the boat. I'm going to make a big, triangle from one of the tents. Originally I was going with a square sail, but I think it will be easier to tack if all I have to do is swing the boom from one side to the other."

"I understand," she said, comprehending the use of the word. English could be damnably confusing at times, though she had to admit it was a highly adaptive language. Her tail flicked hard as she contemplated the charts. "How much time have we got?"

Benjamin leaned around Liat `del Qha and touched a couple of keys on the keyboard. The hologram of the island appeared above the computer again and he reached up and zoomed the view out. Tapping a few more keys he overlaid the course of the Aiolian island onto the map. Another key displayed a green triangle on the red line.

"That's where the island is. I have to intercept it before it reaches this point," he explained, indicating another spot further along the red line. "If I'm not on the island by then it will pass out of range and I'll probably die at sea. I don't know if I would be able to catch it."

"That seems farther to the west than I would have estimated," M`peth qHo said, puzzled by the geometry.

"

It makes sense, Commander

," Liat `del Qha put in. She was gazing at the hologram with a critical eye. "

It's the same sort of problem we have to work out when docking with another ship or a station in orbit around a planet. The smaller, more maneuverable vessel gets out in front of the larger, slows and adjusts course until the two mate

."

"What did she say?" Benjamin asked.

"She explained why you have to meet the island out there," M`peth qHo told him. "How much time do we have? When will the volcano erupt?"

Benjamin shuffled through the charts on the screen, reading the data and frowning with the effort to understand what it meant. He brought up a document of some kind and read through it quickly, making calculations with another application. All the while M`peth qHo tried to remain calm and patient. Her mission had to be accomplished before the island exploded. It had to... She paused in her thoughts and considered an alternative. What if they simply allowed the island to destroy the stolen data? If she and the survivors escaped and the volcano erupted, it would not matter if the mutineers recovered the data. The volcano would take care of all of them at once.

"Looks like it will blow in thirty-nine days and a few hours," Benjamin said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Planetary days?" she asked, blinking back to the present.

"Um... No," he said and had to think. "Local days are about twenty-two and a half Zulu hours."

"Zulu?" Liat `del Qha asked.

"

Zulu time is what the Conglomerated Planets' military uses

," M`peth qHo told her in jZav. "Does the Free World Confederation use the same time scale as the Conglomerated Planets, Ben `Jamin?"

"Fucking CP," he grumbled. "Yeah. It's Earth Standard. Same twenty-four hour day. So the local days are shorter than Earth Standard by about an hour and a half."

"So we have to be off the island and out of the blast radius in roughly thirty-four dZ`uu." She mused unhappily.

"dZ`uu?" he asked.

"

That is what we call a day, Ben `Jamin

," Ima` Nef`Tn said, speaking for the first time since she had been able to calm him.

M`peth qHo gave the young engineer a glance, but said nothing. It could do no harm to remind the Human his lover was near. She was about to ask another question when she realized Benjamin had correctly pronounced the jZav word. That was interesting. It was not important at this time, though. With a dismissive flick of her ears she asked, "How long will it take to traverse that distance?"

"I'm not sure," Benjamin admitted. He reached back and took Ima` Nef`Tn by the hand. "The rendezvous is only about sixty kilometers from here, but what the wind will do and all, I don't know. No telling if there are going to be any sea monsters that will get curious. I figured out a way to get rid of them, though. At least, it works for driving off the tanglefish. Might work for bigger beasties. No choice but to chance it, really."

"Good, but how fast do you believe your boat will sail?" she pressed, getting frustrated that he was unable to give a more exact answer. Her tail flicked hard and her ears lay back.

"Probably no more than fifteen kilometers per hour," he said and then shrugged. "I've only done a little sailing, though. I've never built a boat. I just don't know, Commander. That's why I planned to leave as soon as I got everything loaded up. If I can get to the rendezvous point before the island gets there, I can sail towards it."

"How long will it take to complete your boat?" asked M`peth qHo, relaxing a bit now that she'd finally gotten something like useable data.

"Working alone, I figured it would take about three more weeks," he said. "Then loading everything would probably take another week. That would have given me nine days."

"With everyone here helping it will not take as long to complete the boat," she said thoughtfully.

"

Commander, Ben `Jamin intends using a sail. Is that correct

?" Liat `del Qha inquired. Her little tail was twitching fitfully, a clear sign of excited interest.

"

He says he plans to fashion one from a tent

," M`peth qHo replied with a nod.

"Ben `Jamin, what... Um... A motor. Put a motor on the boat," the pilot said. "Why no motor?"

"I don't have one and I can't make one," he said with a shrug. "I'm not an engineer. If Carla were here, she might be able to knock something together. I don't have that kind of skill. I mean, I'm doing good to figure out the sail and the rudder."

Liat `del Qha gave M`peth qHo a meaningful look and then turned her eyes towards Tem l`eth tong who frowned questioningly in return. M`peth qHo swiveled around to look at the veteran engineer also.

"

What is it, Commander

?" Tem l`eth tong asked apprehensively.

"

Do you think you could build some kind of motor to drive a boat faster than two tTriel per Taq'a Mowl

?" M`peth qHo asked.

"

From what parts

?" the veteran asked. Her ears turned forward and she looked up at the red line on the map of the globe with greater interest.

"

We do not yet know

," Lait `del Qha said. "

If we can find parts, though, do you believe you could

?"

"

Perhaps

," Tem l`eth tong breathed. "

I will need a power supply and tools. I haven't got anything like a machine shop. That will limit what I can do. Could we salvage parts from the Human's ship

?"

"

What about the Char`Noth

?" asked TaH `Kiy mTh, sounding very interested.

"

Or the mutineers' ship

," added Ima` Nef`Tn.

"

We believe there is too much danger in attempting to recover anything from the Char`Noth. Likely, the mutineers' ship is no more accessible

," Tem l`eth tong told them.

"

You are a weapons technician

," Chep `Urt vEss interrupted, though he did not sound as if he were objecting. "

Have you these skills

?"

"

I was a structural engineer and a mechanic before being promoted, Gunner

," she said. "

If we can get the tools and the needed components, I may be able to construct something

."

Chep `Urt vEss had to stop himself from casting a disparaging glance at TaH `Kiy mTh. The younger male did not need to be embarrassed in front of the females.

"Ben `Jamin," M`peth qHo said, turning back to him. "Could we salvage parts from your ship to build some kind of motor?"

"The

Jenny

is buried under lava and ash," he said, shaking his head. "I'm sure the lava is cooled to solid stone, but getting down through that stuff isn't going to happen. We're talking ten meters of debris. And we'd have to find one of the service hatches. No way to stabilize the sides of any hole and then there's the danger of another quake. If we were inside the

Jenny

and that happened we probably would never see the light of day again."

"

Loose fang

," she swore under her breath.

"Are there any other... sources? Are there any other sources of parts?" Liat `del Qha asked.

"Might be able to salvage more stuff from the spinner," he said. "It was trashed after that big damned poly-pod attacked Dr. Troi and Carla."

Benjamin went silent, his gaze going out of focus and his expression falling into something the jZav`Etch could not read. Ima` Nef`Tn edged a little closer, squeezing his hand reassuringly. He glanced at her and gave a wan smile.

"It's worth taking a look when the weather clears," he said. "Might need to change the boat, though. I didn't intend to have anything like a motor mounted to it."

"Excellent!" M`peth qHo enthused. "Do you know how long it will be before we can venture out on the island?"

Benjamin tapped another couple of keys on the keyboard and read from a chart on the screen.

"Looks like we'll get a clear patch in about thirty hours, give or take," he said. "Weather is a little unpredictable. That's the best I can do."

"

We have roughly fifteen Taq`a Mowl

," said M`peth qHo, turning to address the survivors. "

Let us return to our meal and I will do my best to explain the situation and what we need to do

."

*****

"

But what about your mission, Commander

?" Chep `Urt vEss asked. The survivors had finished what was left of their meal and now sat with cups of water or tea while they tried to come to terms with yet another crisis.

"

Could we not simply leave that to the volcano to destroy

?" TaH `Kiy mTh asked. The Thahn `Den engineer had finally returned to his previous calm demeanor.

"

I have thought of that

," M`peth qHo said. "

It is tempting. However, the island will not explode for some time. It is more than merely possible that the enemy will arrive and recover the data before then

."

"

So we must go out and get it

," Chep `Urt vEss said. His tail glided smoothly over the stone. He seemed pleased for some reason.

"

Do we know where it is

?" asked Ima` Nef`Tn.

"

We located four beacons

," Liat `del Qha said. "

Two are certainly from the Char`Noth and the mutineers' ship. One is a signature we have not seen before. Presumably it is the Free World ship. The fourth is one of our emergency beacons broadcasting in a code we do not recognize. It is located near the middle of the island in an area that looks like a marsh

."

"

We do not know enough about the island

," said TaH `Kiy mTh. "

Will the Human guide us? And will he be reliable enough to trust

?"

"

It is a task that must be done

," rumbled Chep `Urt vEss implacably.

"

It must be done

," agreed M`peth qHo with a nod. "

We can home in on the beacon. My suit's sensors should be powerful enough to lead me to it, though I do not expect we will be able to travel in a straight line

."

Everybody went silent and one by one turned to look at Ima` Nef`Tn. She knew what they were thinking and cast her gaze down on Benjamin who was lounging on the floor with his back against the stone upon which she sat. He had remained quiet while they discussed the situation. Now his head rose from his contemplation of the crackling fire and he glanced around before looking up at Ima` Nef`Tn.

"

What is it

?" he asked warily.

"

The commander has a mission to complete, Ben `Jamin

," she said softly.

"

What mission? What are you talking about

?"

"

It is why we came here

," she told him. "

It is why so many of my fellow... What would you call them? Crewmembers? Is that the word

?"

"

Other people on your ship

?" he asked. She nodded. "

Yes. That is the right word

."

"

The commander's mission is why so many of them gave their lives

." Her expression and tone were solemn. Gently she laid her hand on his shoulder and looking into his eyes asked, "

Will you help us to complete it

?"

"

That depends on what the mission is

," he replied with a concerned frown.

"

We must recover something that contains data

." Ima` Nef`Tn looked to M`peth qHo for help. In jZav she said, "

You should perhaps explain to him what must be done, Commander

."

"Ben `Jamin," the commander began. He looked at her. "There is a pod on the island containing a great deal of information about the jZav`Etch Hegemony. It is very important that we should recover or destroy that pod before our enemies come for it. It could mean the difference between our destruction and salvation. Will you help us?"

"I thought you were going to pitch in and help with the boat," he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"We will," she said readily. "We cannot venture out until the weather calms. In that time you can show us what needs to be done and you can discuss with Tem l`eth tong what materials you have she might build the motor with. You said you had great stock of the reeds. If all of us concentrate our efforts on them, we may complete the components required to finish the boat before we leave."

"Probably not," Benjamin grumbled, casting his gaze back at the flames. "Might get a good start. You all haven't been out on the island, though."

"That is why we need your help," she said. "Is it not a fair trade?"

"Fair?" he snorted. "Lady, you've got me over a barrel. If I say no, you could tie me up until I agree."

"I would not do that," she said. Her ears flicked irritably. "If you say no I will lead the team to recover the pod. It will take longer and be more dangerous without your help, but I would not force you to go with us."

Benjamin eyed her speculatively for a long moment. Finally he nodded slowly and said, "Alright. I'll take you. Everyone who goes will have to do as I tell them, though. Things out there are primeval. Plants aren't always plants. Big predators aren't always what you have to look out for. Worst part about it is my canoe is too small to take more than a couple of you. If we're going in force, we have to go on foot."

"I understand and I will make the others understand," she said firmly. "Perhaps you should show us what needs to be done to complete your boat. Tem l`eth tong should see the plan you drew of it so that she can get an idea of what sort of motor we will need."

*****

Hours later Ima` Nef`Tn found herself kneeling between Tem l`eth tong and Liat`del Qha as the three worked to make small, tightly packed bundles of reed that the males were using to build mats that would serve as the gunwales or sides of the boat. The work was repetitive, but necessary. Her fingers were sore which reminded her of another, more pleasant soreness. She smiled and glanced down between her thighs.

"

I must ask

," Tem l`eth tong said into the companionable silence. "

What was he like

?"

Ima` Nef`Tn froze and looked at the older dTel`Qohar in surprise. To her right Liat `del Qha snickered, biting her upper lip to keep from laughing out loud. Ima` Nef`Tn's ears laid out to the sides and her tail curled in extreme embarrassment. She locked her eyes on the bundle of reeds and the slim cord of natural fiber she had been binding them with, unable to look either of her companions in the eye.

"

It has been four dZ'uu* since my last mating

," Tem l`eth tong said easily. "

We can smell him on you. Speaking for myself, I find it distracting. Tell me what he was like

."

"

It distracts me as well

," Liat `del Qha agreed and bumped Ima` Nef`Tn with her shoulder. "

Tell us. We wish to know

."