Blue Streamers - part 4 - conclusion
An Alien Experience - conclusion
The second maid was a bit of a flirt. She moved close to several hopeful candidates but carefully stayed out of knife range. Finally, she got a bit too close, and one male threw his knife. It arched over and down, the maid studying it carefully. At the last moment, she turned her back and walked quickly away, allowing the knife to plunge point foremost into the rocky ground.
The disappointed male dropped out of sight. His only chance would be to retrieve the knife after dark and try again on the next day. If he were unsuccessful then, he would return to his clan in failure. Such individuals gradually became less and less social, finally retreating into the forests, there to live a solitary life as best they could or to become a predator's lunch. In either event, their names were struck off the roles of the brotherhood and never mentioned again.
Breaker continued to watch as several other maids came forth, caught the knives of their choices, and left to meet the happy males as they descended the cliff. He was disappointed. None of the girls in the valley seemed to fit his criteria.
A slight movement at the village gate drew his attention. A slim maid was standing there. Her hair was the exact color about which he'd dreamed. Her demeanor was a combination of shyness and bold assessment. She'd been watching the males on display from a hiding place and now was more actively assessing them. Breaker stood and showed himself immediately.
The movement caught her eye, and she looked directly at him. This was not normal behavior. It was not the best of form to look directly at a male. It usually portended a rejection, but Breaker moved his head, acknowledging her glance. She lifted her head, and his breath caught. She was beautiful, smaller than normal, but stunning in her grace, fur thickness, and color. He wanted her with all of his being.
She started moving in his direction, then paused. There was a rattle of stones from along the wall. Breaker turned to see Heaver coming his way quickly. The girl moved towards Breaker in a rush. She was suddenly in range, and he threw his courting knife towards her. Only after he'd thrown it did he see that Heaver had thrown his knife simultaneously. The two blades arched down, separated by the space of two arm spans. The girl looked from one to the other, then jumped directly under Breaker's knife as it descended.
Rather than catching the knife with her hands, she elected to take the full strike on her bosom in the old-fashioned way. The blade wasn't heavy enough to injure her seriously since the streamers ensured that it descended slowly, but it caused a heavy blood flow. Breaker cried aloud in triumph while inwardly wincing at the pain she must be suffering. He headed quickly towards the nearest way down.
Heaver met him at the top of the path.
“Where are you going, Failure?” Heaver asked. “That was my knife she took. You have no place in this now.”
Breaker said nothing for a moment, then quietly said, “You lie. An inspection of the knife in her hand will show that it is mine, as is she.”
Without warning, Heaver lunged forward, head downward, poised for the hardest strike he could make. Breaker tried to dodge, but his leg slowed him enough that the blow took him in the shoulder, spinning him around.
He made use of the spin and brought his arm around quickly, striking Heaver on the side of his head with great force.
The two faced off. Then, in the traditional form, they rammed their heads together. Heaver bounced back, obviously stunned.
Flashes of light marred Breaker's vision, but he ignored them and rammed his head into Heaver's chest, driving him backward again.
At that point, two of Heaver's friends arrived and struck Breaker from behind. He flew forward, landing on his face at Heaver's feet. Heaver staggered a moment, then tried to stamp on Breaker's neck.
Breaker rolled away, bumped into a rock, and climbed to his feet. Now he was facing three challengers.
The three drew closer, shoulder to shoulder, then linked arms, preparing for a joint charge that Breaker could not resist.
Breaker stooped, seized a large rock, and slammed it directly into Heaver's face. Heaver fell backward, dragging his two companions down with him. Breaker leaped to the side and bypassed the tangled three before they could recover. By the time they had stood, he was halfway down the cliff to the valley.
The two helpers stayed where they were. After all, it was not really their challenge. Heaver, on the other hand, now had everything to lose. He pursued Breaker, gradually gaining speed as he recovered from the blow.
The two males came out on the flat directly in front of the maid. Heaver bellowed in anger, and Breaker spun to meet his charge. The two came together with a crash, and one fell back. Breaker remained standing, wobbling on his feet. Heaver lay twitching in the grass and rocks, neck broken.
Breaker looked down at his enemy, then turned to meet the she who had chosen him. They came together quickly, and she snuggled into the protection of his arms. Their mating patches pressed together, hormonally bonding the two until death.
Breaker let out a bellow of pure joy, then turned his bearded face down to stare into the adoring eyes of his new mate.
In the low-orbiting Amalgamated Nations spacecraft, Captain Janice lifted her eyes from the macroscope and looked at her single crew member, Russel J. Wilson III, the A. N. Thought Compliance Officer. She said, “Interesting creatures, Russ. From observing them, one would almost think they were more than mere animals.”
Russ looked up from his tatting, shook his head negatively, and said, “No. They can't be. Their sexuality is too, too, uh, I guess you'd say binary and monogamous, and besides, in my opinion, they have no proper societal values, no powerful over-arching government. Family seems to be all-important to them. They'll never develop a truly socialistic society. No. They're primitives who depend on individual might, not bureaucratic authority. They're animals alright.”
He paused, then added, “I'm going to have to report that you've been showing me a dangerous lack of respect. My title is T.C.O. You must address me by my full name and rank. Familiar address is one of the warning signs of non-conformity.”
Janice sighed and nodded, wondering if it would be possible to kick him out of the airlock and claim it was an accident.
The End
A brief bit of overhead - I can’t know if I’m providing work you want to read unless you let me know. My intent at this time is to provide more short stories. If people ask, I will undertake to serialize a full-length novel. Posts will usually come once per week.
Meanwhile, please let your friends know about the story.
Namaste.
Eric