Author's note 9/20/2014: I'm at a stage where I am editing and wrapping things up. The plot is set and no major changes will be taking place, so it is safe for me to post this chapter and keep my readers satisfied.
One comment and a couple of messages on the last chapter have confused me somewhat. They referred to "novel length" or 'novel length stories". I would like to clear that up. Modern novels fall into the 100,000 word range for a first time novelist. I exceeded that between chapters 17 and 18. Currently 'Upon a Savage Shore' is over 140,000 words and may exceed 175,000 words before it is complete. Novel length - Not only have I been there and done that, I have the T-shirt on order. ;)
Thanks to everyone for their encouragement. Very much appreciated, I assure you.
Chapter 20
"Good morning, Sergeant," M'pel E'kmel greeted Liam when he wandered into the kitchen just after sunrise. She had the small container they used to boil water hanging in front of the open hearth of the oven. The water was nearly ready to make tea.
"Morning, Commander," he replied sleepily, rubbing a hand through his hair. "How did you sleep?"
"Very well, thank you," she replied with a twinkle in her eye. "I assume you slept well, after a fashion."
Liam gave her a look, but could not refrain from smiling ruefully.
"In answer to the question you normally ask: No you did not keep me awake," she said and grinned at him. "Tem'Ma'tel did give Sue a fright, though."
"That wasn't my fault," he said tiredly, a light blush coloring his sun darkened cheeks.
"I am quite sure you had nothing at all to do with her outburst, Sergeant," M'pel E'kmel said. Her tail flicked and her ears twitched in amusement.
"I think the water's ready," he said in an attempt to divert the conversation to something less embarrassing.
"Not just yet," she said smoothly. Her smile was pleasant and her tone sounded almost motherly, but her tail continued to twitch and her whiskers vibrated ever the slightest bit. "Will you need three cups?"
"I... No. Just one," Liam replied, confused. He eyed her warily. "Why?"
"I thought you might like to bring tea to your mates," she said. "I doubt they slept as well as you did, Sergeant. Doubtless, they allowed you the center of the mattress. Or were there other arrangements?"
Liam's mouth fell open and he quickly turned it into a yawn. It was far too early for him to engage in witty banter. He blinked, trying to catch up. M'pel E'kmel smiled at him and took two pieces of root from the small plastic bag they used to store them.
"We are getting low on these, by the way," she said, placing the roots in a pair of cups. "We are also getting low on your potato roots and those brown roots you like are nearly gone. We're completely out of the large nuts. I don't suppose those will still be in season, though. We are nearly out of the berries, too."
"Sounds like I need to head down to the forest and collect some more," Liam said, glad they were talking about something other than the position in which he and his mates had slept. The truth was, Tem'Ma'tel had snuggled in close to him and Clot'ilda had laid on top of them both. It had been too warm for the night, but what Clot'ilda kept doing whenever he woke had made the slight discomfort worth it.
"I think that would be in order," M'pel E'kmel agreed and poured the steaming water into the cups sending the pleasant scent of honey and cinnamon into the air.
"I'll take our Fauns and Tem'Ma'tel with me," he said and sipped his tea when the water turned brown enough to obscure the bottom of the cup. "Charlie and Sue probably know more roots we could eat."
"I agree," she said and sipped from her cup. The tea really was quite good. "I think I should go down to the village and check on our patient. I'll take Clot'ilda along. Maybe change the dressings on the girl's wounds. Perhaps she will be awake."
"I think it would be a good idea to let the Fauns use their own bandages instead of ours," Liam said over the rim of his cup. "The med kits can only recycle the gauze so many times before it's used up."
"You are right, of course," she agreed. "Only, for the moment, I think it would be better to allow her wounds a little time to heal before exposing them to whatever contaminants might be in the local bandages. I'll see what I can do about sterilizing the local stuff, though. Hopefully I can teach one of them how to do it and impress upon them the importance of keeping the wounds clean."
"Other than that, what else have you got planned today?" he asked.
"I thought I might begin making fish traps," she said. There had been something pointed in the way he'd asked that question and she really didn't want him to probe any deeper until she was ready to tell him the truth. She leaned on the table with her elbows together. This pushed her breasts out and deepened her cleavage to great advantage. Blinking coquettishly she asked, "Did you have something else in mind?"
"Not really," Liam sighed, his blush returning as he averted his eyes, but he smiled. "I... um... I was... going to ask if you had had a chance to look at the ground where we're going to dig the fish pond. I'm not sure how deep it needs to be, or how wide. I was also thinking there are a couple of kinds of animals in the forest we might try raising in pens or cages. So maybe you could consider where we might build some sort of hutch or coop."
"Which animals?" she asked, interested, though she did not believe that was the direction he had intended the conversation to go. Her distraction had worked. She felt guilty about not telling him the truth, but she wanted to take a closer look at the creature they'd killed first. She had convinced herself it would be better to have all the data she could collect.
"Those two legged, green things that strut around, poking their noses under everything," he said.
"For goodness sake, why?" she demanded. The creatures had made a great deal of noise whenever the castaways had encountered them. The noise had been particularly grating for the commander and the prospect of having them in the villa was enough to turn her thoughts to the current conversation.
"Because they are small enough to keep in a pen," he said with a smile at her expression. "And I think they might make a good meal. They wouldn't need a whole lot of care. Food for them should be easy enough to get, too."
"How would you capture them alive?" she asked. Her expression was still disapproving, but Sergeant Carter had a point.
"I'll have to figure out some kind of trap." He shrugged. "It might take an overnight trip to get a couple of them. If we laid the traps and left, I think something would just tear them open and eat the damned things."
"Very likely," she nodded. "So you've given up the idea of hunting animals in the mountains?"
"No, but we already know about these," he said and sipped his tea again. "I'd still like to explore the mountains, but that'll mean leaving for months. It's not practical. Too much to do here."
"Sensible," she said with a nod. "Our new friends may also be able to tell us about other small animals we could raise."
"Next spring we can try planting the grain we found in those stone jars down in the cellar," he said and drank more of his tea.
"What about trying to plant a few of the roots you like?" she asked and poured more water into their cups. "Perhaps they will take in this soil even so late in the season. We could tend them over the winter and see what results we get in the spring."
"Okay. I can grab a few extra," he agreed amiably. "We'll take one of the stretchers when we go. Then we can carry a lot more of whatever we find."
She nodded and they sat quietly for a bit in a companionable silence, though she felt a little tense. Had they been on one of the settled worlds they would not have looked out of place in a coffee shop or café. Liam finished his tea and stretched expansively. M'pel E'kmel watched his muscles ripple under is battered shirt and smiled wistfully until he was finished and his eyes opened again.
"Well," he said. "Time to get to it. Give the chief my best and watch your back. There could be other things out in the grassland we haven't seen yet."
"Likely there are," she said with a nod. "I will be careful. And you, Sergeant, please do come back in one piece. I've had enough of stitching and healing for now."
***********
The humidity seemed to be higher beneath the trees and there was less wind to move the air, but Tem'Ma'tel did not care. Her senses were alive with the scents and sounds around her. This was what her kind were meant to do. Well, almost. She did not feel jZav'Etch were really meant to dig roots out of the dirt with a stick. However, her mate liked the taste of these things and that was a good enough reason to dig.
"
Especially after last night,
" she purred to herself and her tail flicked with the memory, causing Sue to turn her head and blink curiously at her.
Tem'Ma'tel had awakened sore and tired, but like her other times with SarJ'ant, last night's exertions had been worth what she was feeling now. She smiled and dug out another fist-sized tuber for him, happily tossing it into the bag with the others she and Sue had gathered. Sue tossed one in and gave her an easy smile before digging out another.
SarJ'ant and the young Faun, Charlie, were down the path from her sampling a plant the boy had pointed out as one they might be able to eat. Charlie certainly seemed to like it. He'd eaten at least a bushel of the leafy greens while waiting for SarJ'ant's medical kit to analyze the plants. Tem'Ma'tel thought they smelled terrible and doubted she could stomach them, even if she were starving.
She lifted her bag of roots and shook it to settle the contents, preparing to move to another clump of the things a few paces away. And then she had a strange feeling. She was suddenly very certain she was being watched. She gave no indication of her suspicion, but her mind focused her senses on the forest around her. There was a scent in the air she recognized. Her anger began to heat up when she understood the source of that scent. Sue paused in her digging and turned wary eyes on Tem'Ma'tel.
Suddenly Liam straightened, his posture alert. Tem'Ma'tel dropped her bag and grabbed her qui'istle. Sue looked back and forth between the two of them and sniffed the air. She frowned and looked as though she would speak, but SarJ'ant raised his finger to his lips, indicating the pair of them should remain silent, and then waved them over to him. Stealthily Tem'Ma'tel and Sue crossed the short distance without making a sound.
"Sensors picked up movement," Liam said in a low voice. He pointed back in the direction from which they had come. "Three of them. Two over there and one moving off to our left ahead of them."
