I bet you weren't expecting this update yet. ;) Well, chp9 is here and ready to read. I have a lot of editing to do on chp10 and chp11, but there is so much material already laid out I see no reason to delay posting this one. Keep in mind, though, it may be a few weeks before chp10 is ready and I will be holding onto it until the rough draft of chp12 is done.
To those who have been sending me support, I thank you. I am glad you are enjoying my story. Be sure to read the author's note at the end of this chapter or go to my forum thread for a special note regarding emails. You can find the link below.
Note: When you see an asterisk (*) after a word you will find a definition or note at the end of the chapter.
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.
Ty`em P`tral -- Thahn `Den -- Engineer
For additional notes please go to
Literotica Discussion Board > Main Literotica Forums > Authors' Hangout > The Savage Shore Universe
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Chapter 9
"Watch your footing through here," cautioned Benjamin as he led the group down the uneven slope.
Rain was only falling lightly now and looked as if it might blow out at any time. It made the smell of the air salty, but to the jZav`Etch that was preferable to the stony scent of the caves. The ground was either rocky or muddy and some places were slick with slime, but so far no one had fallen. And in spite of Benjamin's frequent warnings, or perhaps because of them, the cats were actually enjoying this sojourn into the forest. It was in the nature of their species to love wild places and this island was not merely wild, it was primeval. There were no sounds of aircraft overhead. No rumbling of heavy industry in the far distance. Not even a beaten path for them to follow. Benjamin navigated by landmarks, alone.
"Don't touch this vine," Benjamin called loud enough for all to hear. He was pointing to a particularly innocuous looking length of green and purple vegetation with small hair-like bristles sparsely distributed over its surface. "Dangerous. Hurts like hell. Give you a nasty infection."
M`peth qHo translated his warning, edging away from the vine as she passed it. At another time she might have been tempted to take a sample to have its properties analyzed, but that was not what she was here for. She needed to get on with her mission. Though the past three days had seen much progress in the construction of the boat, that was only a secondary, if important, concern. And she was frustrated by this treacherous hike down the side of the mountain. If she looked back she could still make out the narrow crack in the stone through which they had left the caves. Benjamin had done well to pick his way back and forth down the steep slope, but every switchback took time and the urgency of her mission was made more acute with every tick of the clock.
Delayed by the storm and cooped up in the cave with nothing to do save bind reeds together and plan their escape from this island, M`peth qHo had grown increasingly restless. Thahn `Den do not do well in prolonged, enforced close confinement. Eventually she had risked walking out on the ledge that led up to the power station atop the ridge just to have a view that did not end in stone. She and TaH `Kiy mTh had spent time together on that ledge in quiet contemplation. The howling of the storm had prevented much conversation and lessened their enjoyment of the open air. It had been a relief, nevertheless. Ty`em P`tral had joined them when she had recovered her strength, but had not stayed long. At least the young engineer was on her feet, though still pained by her injured shoulder.
At the bottom of the cleft they had been following Benjamin once again turned back, following a new winding way. There were no paths, only ways. M`peth qHo bit down on her frustration. The necessity of bringing her four able-bodied crew along meant they could not take Benjamin's canoe even part way. How many more turnings would they have to take before they got to the crash site? And once there they would have more delays. She had no idea how long it would take to remove the power pack and motor from the spinner and no way of knowing how much more time would be needed to transport the components to where Tem l`eth tong would be able to work on them. And that was yet another concern. Would the motor even work after the crash and all its time lying unused through who could even guess how many storms?
"Stop!" Benjamin snapped urgently, barring progress with an extended arm. His posture indicated stress and fear. Something had gone wrong! Danger all around! The line of jZav`Etch bristled with alertness. Weapons were drawn. "Everyone, stay where you are."
M`peth qHo and Liat `del Qha quickly translated his words and cautioned the others to be vigilant. Benjamin prowled forward to a wide, muddy stream, probing ahead with one of his long, stone tipped spears. Bare foot and naked save for his torn and dirty shorts, he looked quite the savage in spite of the rifle slung across his back and the massive pistol on his hip. A long bladed machete and a knife hung on the opposite side and many pouches were clipped to his belt. Had he been streaked with war paint and adorned with a feathered headdress he might have struck a romantic figure from tales and legends.
As it was, an outsider could easily have been forgiven if they had mistook Benjamin for a native guide leading a safari. All the jZav`Etch wore their environment suits with their helmets on and sensors at maximum gain. The contrast between the two species could not have been greater had the entire party been naked. When M`peth qHo had asked Benjamin why he was not wearing his own environment suit he had explained simply that he no longer needed the thing. She wondered if that were true or if he was suffering from some sort of minor lapse into his peculiar insanity.
Ahead, Benjamin crept cautiously forward a few more paces and then squatted down to pry a fist sized stone from the sandy black mud. He watched the water's surface for several heartbeats before tossing the stone at a point a little to his left on the opposite side of the stream. To the accompaniment of all the proximity sensors chiming, something as long as Benjamin's arm with a many jointed body curled into an arch and slammed a spiked end down on the stone like a war mace. The thing thrashed and splashed and as it rose to strike again Benjamin cast his spear, skewering the creature as neat as could be, pinning it to the bank.
"Lunch!" he said, sounding very pleased. "Don't even need to cook him. Taste great raw. You'll like these."
The Human stepped into the knee deep water and pulled the spear from the mucky bank. He held up his kill to examine it, ducking his head back as the monster flashed vicious barbs at his face. Benjamin turned to present his kill to the others who all examined the large squirming thing with varying degrees of interest. Thick, sharp pincers clacked spastically at both ends and short, thick, fin-like legs quivered along its length. The jZav`Etch all cast doubtful looks upon Benjamin who smiled in return.
"It'll be dead in a few minutes," he said. "These are really territorial. Keep other predators away. I call them centipedes, but I don't know what they really are. Neither fish nor fowl, as my mother would have said. This is a small one. Most are as long as I am tall. Some get even bigger than that. Drag their prey under water and smash them against the rocks until they stop moving. Then they eat. Can't kill them with a club. Their carapace is like leather and tough. A club just bounces off and makes them angry. Have to spit them and keep the spear in place. Blood runs out and they die. Take the spear out while they're still wriggling and pretty soon they're crawling around again and causing trouble."
"How did you know it was there?" M`peth qHo asked. "Our sensors did not detect it."
"I didn't know it was there," Benjamin said. "I figured something was, though. Muddy water from all this rain, something is hiding in it."
"Our sensors did not detect it," she repeated. "Why not?"
"It wasn't moving, so your motion detectors wouldn't have tripped," Benjamin said. "Most things on the island are pretty much the same temperature as the background, so a heat signature is useless. Not sure what else you've got. Background radiation isn't much help, either. I don't know, Commander."
"Is stream now safe?" Liat `del Qha asked, impatient to get moving again. She did not like this place. The undergrowth was far too dense to see anything coming. The ground far too sodden to run on if need be. And after surviving the tanglefish in the water and seeing what Benjamin intended for his lunch she did not fancy the idea of standing to and fighting. At least, not on this slope.
