Expeditions, Estimation, and Other Dangerous Pastimes, chapter three (Patreon)

When I get stuck, I have three strategies: switch POV, have a new person walk in, change to a different scene.   This chapter required me to use strategy one and two.  We switch to Ondry and a youngling from the last book makes her appearance. Having her come in let's me force Ondry to confront some of his feelings..

  

Ondry would never admit it to the eldest of all the Grandmothers, but he worried whenever Liam was out of sight. While the Grandmothers might accuse Ondry of holding Liam too close, Ondry was far more concerned about what humans might do or say when Liam was close enough for them to affect. So he stood just outside the shuttle and studied the planet. The sky was shocking blue. Ondry could not imagine what it would be like to live under such a sky. It felt as though the atmosphere rose so much higher—as though a person with good eyesight might see into space itself. The cities might have a fog of pollution hanging over them, but out here, the air was like crystal.

Visig came down the ramp. The young Rownt said, “The planet smells odd.”

“It is different than Prarownt, not odd in and of itself,” Ondry said gently. Visig paled slightly. She was young enough that she would not want correction, but too many humans understood Rownt, and even if the human guard stood at a distance, Ondry could still see them near the fence. He did not want an indiscreet word to cause insult.

“I have never been to Prarownt. This planet smells different than the planet where we first met humans,” Visig said.

Considering that the young ones had visited a place where humans kept unusual animals in order to visit them in simulated environments, Ondry suspected the odor of the animals might have affected the air. Since Ondry did not wish to embarrass the lek-ranked female, he did not comment. She walked toward the house where Liam and Zach Mora visited the Mora family. Ondry tensed. This was not a planet that belonged to Rownt, and the young one’s wandering might not be well-accepted by the humans. As a member of the tuk ranks, Ondry had the right to correct her, but he hesitated. He could be honest enough with himself to admit that he feared she would discount his words because of how he looked.

Ondry had not undergone the rotilac in many decades. Under other circumstances, he would have triggered a sudden and painful growth spurt and then avoided the discomfort by hibernating until his body had adjusted. The additional height and size would signal to others that his opinion carried more authority than a younger and smaller Rownt. However, that would require many months of sleep, and Ondry had obligations. He was new on the ship, and he had a palteia who could not undergo the rotilac with him. Ondry would not allow Liam to go unguarded for so long, certainly not when the Rownt on the ship displayed such confusion about human behavior.

Many of them showed great distress over the close ties between Mora and his parent’s nest or Mora and Liam. While some human behaviors were beyond Ondry’s ability to understand, he had expected those emotional ties to remain strong. Liam’s ability to care for others was almost chilta-like. Perhaps that concept would upset other Rownt, and perhaps that explained why so many Rownt in ((Ondry’s hometown)) had failed to recognize Liam’s true nature as a palteia—Ondry no longer concerned himself with those details. Ondry did understand that human palteia would not ever react the same as a Rownt one. The matter was not one of logic, but of biology.

Of lesser concern was the lack of profit set aside to provide during the rotilac. During hibernation, Rownt would seek others to perform the tasks Ondry would normally claim as his own. However, when Ondry emerged, he should be able to reclaim his trading partners and routes on the basis of his superior skills. On Prarownt, Ondry would not fear any trader stealing his routes. But he had no familiar trading partners among the stars. Ondry needed to develop strong relationships before he indulged in the rotilac.

He watched Visig walk the fence line, resigned to ignoring behaviors that his tuk status should allow him to show contempt for. As she grew near the humans, they started retreating, reaching for communication equipment that allowed them to speak to those with more status. A Grandmother ambled down the shuttle ramp and looked around. She gave Ondry a passing glance before her gaze settled on the wandering Visig. Ondry felt her disapproval, although that might have been his own imagination and guilt at not fulfilling his tuk role.

Two of the humans had decided to hold their ground, and Visig closed the distance. She was so young that the taller human was a hand taller than her. A significant distance toward the mid-morning sun, Liam and the Mora family emerged from the house. Ondry watched the eldest Mora male point toward Visig, and then Liam left the rest of the humans and started trotting toward the fence. Ondry abandoned the shade of the shuttle and shuffled toward the others.

The Grandmother had quickened her pace although she still wasn’t rushing.

“Visig is a young Rownt,” Liam said loudly when he was still some distance away. Ondry trusted Liam’s skills enough to assume that message would reassure the human guards.

“Does my youth matter?” Visig asked in the typical arrogance of the young.

Liam slowed to a walk. “You travel to places older Rownt would avoid,” Liam said. His tone easily avoided insult by putting a factual emphasis on the statement.

The humans still moved nervously, like prey animals who had caught scent of a predator, but the shorter one stepped forward. “We have orders to prevent the Rownt from visiting other farms,” he told Liam.

“We will sample the trees without leaving this area,” the Grandmother said. She passed the cluster of individuals, and Visig hurried to follow, no doubt excited at the thought of assisting the Grandmother in collecting biological samples.

Ondry reached the spot where the two humans stood—pale and breathing heavily. If either were Ondry’s palteia, Ondry would remove him from his task until he calmed, but Liam’s expression was almost amused. Ondry assumed that meant a lack of danger. Liam moved closer to the two human guards and lowered his voice. “Visig is young enough to do stupid shit. The Grandmother’s claim that she wants biological samples gives Visig a reason to stay with her. You know how it is when kids do embarrassing stuff.” Liam shrugged.

The taller human laughed, but it was a high and thready sound. “Yes, sir. I have a younger brother who’s an idiot.”

“I’m sure the Grandmother will keep her out of trouble,” Liam said. “I’m going to head back to the shuttle and make sure nothing I own is going to fly around when we take off.”

“Yes, sir,” the human said. Liam smiled at them before moving toward Ondry.

“I didn’t expect to see you out here,” Liam said as he moved to Ondry’s side. Ondry turned and headed back to the shuttle.

“I was watching when Visig left the shuttle.” If Ondry had stopped Visig, she would not have upset the humans. On the other hand, her audacity gave the Grandmother an excuse to gather samples. None of the Grandmothers had asked for permission to collect biological materials, but the humans’ distress had provided an opportunity, and humans were likely to allow it given the two species’ mutual tolerance of children’s bad manners.

“I don’t know whether those two were freaked out by seeing a Grandmother up close or by the idea that Visig is immature. Did you know that in English, we use the same word for being incompletely grown and for acting in ways that are rude and disrespectful of others?”

“So English does have some logic,” Ondry said.

Liam laughed. “Be nice or no one will ever drop a youngling on your doorstep.”

Ondry huffed. His nest was full with his palteia, so he felt no urge to raise a young one. However, he didn’t know Liam’s opinion on that, so he said nothing. The proper time for such discussion was in private, not when anyone could hear them. Visig might be too young to know how to keep the colors of her pillows private, but Ondry was not. If, after a private conversation, Liam was interested in raising a child, Ondry would start thinking about logistics and letting females know that he would be pleased to find a youngling on his doorstep.

As they reached the shuttle, Liam said, “The Moras are pleasant people.”

Ondry didn’t want to discuss Liam’s affection for others, so he focused on linguistics. “Pleasant is used to describe conditions, such as the weather.”

After giving Ondry an amused look, Liam said, “Well then I would say the Moras are a sunny and mild day.”

“That does not make sense.” Ondry ran his hand over the shuttle scanner to open the door.

“No, but you can understand what I mean.”

Ondry huffed. Liam’s skill with language had improved to the point that Liam had used tone to imply that Ondry was ignorant, clearly intending to amuse himself with the statement. Ondry wrapped his hand around Liam’s neck, resting his thumb against the spot where Liam would have a fora if he were a Rownt. Even though Liam had no fora, he reacted as a Rownt might, leaning back into Ondry and relaxing. For a time they stood sharing body heat, but then Liam sighed and headed into the ship.

After they had climbed two stairs to the level where Ondry and Liam had their living quarters, Liam said, “The Moras work hard and love their child.”

Ondry would never describe Zach Mora as a child. He was a grown adult, even if his size was child-like. “Does the Grandmother’s palteia still feel an obligation to them?” Ondry could not imagine the pain of knowing one’s palteia ached for another. If being away from Earth caused Liam pain, Ondry would struggle. When Liam had tried to run back to the human base on Prarownt, Ondry suffered the pain of indecision unlike anything he had felt since leaving his mother’s nest.

Liam shook his head. “Zach is committed to the ship, and his family is proud of him for earning this opportunity. They’re still sad. I’m glad I had an excuse to leave so they could spend time alone.”

“Do they question the care the Grandmother takes with him?” Ondry would never dare to ask a question of another Rownt, but he still struggled to understand how humans viewed chilta and palteia.

Liam didn’t answer immediately. He headed into the quarters and picked up a handheld computer from the shelf before he dropped onto the couch and didn’t look at it. He seemed to stare at nothing. Ondry sat next to him and rested a hand on Liam’s thigh. Liam smiled at him. “They asked me a lot of questions about her. I think that’s why they had invited me to meet them… because they wanted to ask question and get some reassurance. But now that we’ve talked, I’m pretty sure they trust the Grandmother to take care of Zach.”

Every Grandmother on the ship would fight to the death to protect Zach Mora, and they would never send him to fight in a human territory war, so Ondry thought their concern was misplaced. Liam shifted on the couch and studied Ondry more closely. “You don’t have to worry about me every time I visit humans.”

Ondry narrowed his nostrils. “Humans have hurt you.”

“Yes, and I’ve hurt others. But those problems developed over long periods of time when I had unhealthy relationships. I’m not in danger talking to random humans.”

Ondry’s nostrils involuntarily closed and he had to force his nose muscles to relax. “But what if one of them is ututeh?” Simply speaking the fear made the danger feel more immediate. Ondry’s muscles tensed even though he knew the reaction was illogical. And he tensed more because of his frustration at his own illogic.

Liam pressed himself to Ondry’s side and reached up to rest his hand against Ondry’s fora. “Do you think I’m going to run into a psychopath on a family farm that’s miles from a major population center?”

Ondry knew that his fear was largely fanciful, but there was a seed of danger in the sands. “You said that ututeh did not identify themselves. They could live anywhere, could they not?”

“Would you worry this much if I was traveling on Prarownt?”

“If you travelled near ututeh, I would,” Ondry admitted. “They live in isolated areas, and I have already come too close to losing you to a kawt.” If not for Liam’s hand rested on his neck, Ondry would have shifted enough blood to give himself a muscle cramp, but it was hard to get too tense with Liam curled against him. Ondry draped his arm across Liam’s shoulders and rested his head against Liam’s.

“Would you worry if I wandered around the ship by myself or with Mora?”

“No,” Ondry answered easily.

“Not even if there were a ututeh on board?” Liam’s tone was like a high-ranked individual challenging a youngling to consider his answer. Ondry would have assumed that Liam had misspoken, only he had thrown himself into the exceptionally difficult task of mastering tones.

Ondry suspected a trap in Liam’s words, but he could not see one. “There is not.” The Grandmothers would not allow one who failed to respect others on board a ship. The need to cooperate was too great to allow such a risk.

“How do you know that?” Liam demanded.

“Because ututeh are not allowed within communities,” Ondry said, trying with his own tone to soothe Liam’s fears.

Liam sat back and gazed right into Ondry’s eyes. “And that’s exactly why I suspect the ututeh do live on Rownt ships.”

Ondry widened his eyes and tried to follow Liam’s logic. Perhaps he had spent too much time with humans recently because his words no longer made sense. “Your vocabulary might have failed because that statement is not logical.”

“Yes, it is,” Liam said. “If a Rownt on Prarownt is ututeh, she can live alone and work at whatever trade she wishes, correct?”

“Yes. Rownt feel no animus toward ututeh. They are reasonable individuals, but their lack of commitment to the common good and unwillingness to share the burden of community means that they live alone.” Ondry traded with ututeh. He had no objections to them in general, even if he would not allow one near his palteia.

“But what if a Rownt is born on a ship and finds that the trade she enjoys most is navigation?”

Ondry paled as he considered the difficult position such a Rownt would find herself in. “She must find another trade if she is ututeh.” A navigator could only work on a ship, and that required that the community trust her to act in the community’s best interest, which was impossible for ututeh.

“But she knows that she cannot be ututeh and a navigator because navigation requires her to be within the community of the ship. Does she not have cause to hide her lack of interest in community good?” Liam demanded in a firm tone. “Wouldn’t she feign an interest in rank and maintaining the goodwill of the Grandmothers? Wouldn’t she consider those the simple cost of her profession? Isn’t that logical?”

Ondry could see the path. It was possible, but he had to believe that it was so unlikely as to be as good as impossible. He said, “One who is young enough to be without status, still a youngling with a right to claim a spot in a parent’s nest, could not hide her nature.”

“Are you sure?”

“Not as sure as I was an hour ago,” Ondry admitted unhappily. “Sometimes your words inspire thoughts I would rather avoid.”

Liam shrugged, apparently dismissing all the horrors he had just summoned into their home. “I’m not worried about an ututeh who lives on the ship because she will act as ethically as any other Rownt because to do otherwise would be to lose the community she values, even if the only part she values is the ability to ply her trade. I’m equally unworried about any sociopaths I may meet on Earth because their lack of ethics will not affect me because I will not be there long enough for them to damage me.”

The complete lack of concern for such an upsetting situation made Ondry want to grab Liam and hold him closer, but he couldn’t argue with the premise he had laid out. “Your logic is sound, although I would very much like to invalidate it.”

Liam poked Ondry in his stomach. “Desire for a different reality changes nothing.”

Ondry grunted. He knew that too well, but he could do with another reminder. Rather than bring up any of his own recent thoughts, Ondry asked, “Do you really believe there are ututeh on the ship?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure that there is a ututeh somewhere on some ship because Rownt are too logical to avoid coming to a reasonable conclusion.”

“It would have to be a precocious and intelligent young one to hide her nature before her elders suspected.”

“You could have,” Liam said. On the one hand, that was a high compliment because Liam’s faith in Ondry’s intelligence warmed him. However, Ondry would prefer to never think about this possibility again. Some days he questioned whether the Grandmothers were right to call him tuk, not that Ondry would ever reject the status. He would just have to prove himself worthy, even if he sometimes questioned himself.

“Come, let us plan trades,” Ondry said as he leaned back against the couch and took out his own computer. Liam curled up next to Ondry. The Grandmother promised to take them to Imshee space next, and Ondry required Liam’s assistance in deciding which Imshee trading goods would yield the best profits if they returned to Earth. Now that the Calti had come so deep into human space, Ondry suspected they would return, and he was willing to risk some of his trading goods to take advantage of that knowledge.

“Colored gemstones,” Liam said with confidence. “We should look at what they have to offer because some humans will trade away items of great value for them.” 

Ondry tightened his face muscles. They were a great partnership. And if Ondry had any trade goods left after he had achieved his primary purpose, he would definitely look at securing Liam’s colored gemstones.

    

Chapter One: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-15286733

Chapter Two: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-15520834

Chapter Three: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-15660611

Chapter Four: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-15820691

Chapter Five: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-16061126

Chapter Six: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-16098962

Chapter Seven: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-16341850

Chapter Eight: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expeditions-and-16664983

Chapter Nine: https://www.patreon.com/posts/16809766

Chapter Ten: https://www.patreon.com/posts/expedition-and-16947041