Chapter 10

When they had gotten back there was time for a short nap before the meeting. Now he wished it had been longer. Ar'shan had come in to wake him. She had been viewing holograms, and had been eager to show him some of what she'd seen. Tomorrow, they had agreed.

He sat on a mat in a huge, bowl-shaped clearing. There was a large fire at the center, and several females were dancing around it. Two large males pounded a slow, calling beat on two tall drums as Rich'ti arrived and gathered. Leaders and elders from each village were gathering. When at one point Eesh'ket commented that about half had taken their places Kevan guessed there were two hundred or more.

Nearby was a tower made of timbers lashed together. The top was a platform that Eesh'ket had explained speakers would stand on. There were torches at the four corners to light it. Other torches on poles were scattered around the area.

Food was being served already, and he was offered a bowl along with a wooden cup. The cup had a hot brown drink, it was sweet but earthy. "It is called hashak. It will help everyone stay awake and alert through the night," Eesh'ket explained. "I have already alerted some of the helpers to make sure you get more if you need it," he added with a playfully patronizing pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Kevan replied with an amused nod back at him. He did drink all of the cup he'd been given, however, and did not refuse when more was given to him. It reminded him vaguely of his coffee-drinking days before he'd taken up gravball. Caffeine had been determined an unhealthy stimulant, but had managed to avoid being outlawed on most planets. He and some friends would meet in small, back alley coffee shops and delight in their small rebellion. His father had been furious when he'd found out. Kevan only did it for a couple of years, however, as stimulants weren't allowed for gravball players and were grounds for being kicked off the team.

He let that memory drift off across the breeze with the smoke from the fires as he surveyed the gathering crowd once again. If the more than four hundred Rich'ti assembled represented about three to four from each community, then that meant that there were more than one hundred communities of outcasts. His estimates of Eesh'ket's community suggested that there were at least five or six hundred Rich'ti living in it. Going on the low end, that meant that there were at least 50,000 Rich'ti living outside the cities. He had no real means to measure that against the population of the cities, but he still found the number impressive. He suspected that it ranged closer to double that number in reality, as Eesh'ket had referred to his own as a "small" community.

He found out that Eesh'ket was also the tribal leader locally. Ar'shan explained that Kevan had been brought to Eesh'ket's community specifically, because of that fact. She also explained that each tribe was grouped together, and she told him the names that each of them went by, pointing out their section of seating and the number of communities each had within it. Eesh'ket moved off periodically to greet community leaders once they had settled into their positions, and Ar'shan sat with Kevan until the meeting was about to begin, answering his questions. She then excused herself and took a place off to one side with those who'd been passing out bowls and setting up torches. Kevan and the two elders who'd gone with to meet Agronet remained on the mats designated for Eesh'ket's community.

The drums slowed and stopped and the dancers left the fire as Eesh'ket made his way to the top of the platform. He slowly turned, nodding his head with his hand at his chest as he walked in a small circle at the edge of the platform, addressing the groups of gathered leaders each in turn. As he did so, the noise of the crowd slowly dwindled down to nothing. Kevan had never heard a meeting become so quiet in his life. The only sounds were the occasional shuffling as people situated themselves on the mats, and the craclking of the fire.

The wind brushed the trees that ringed the space. While the trees whispered amongst themselves Kevan tried to remember if he'd ever been at a human gathering so respectful of a speaker. Eesh'ket started a welcome speech, and there was no whispering among the audience, no aides filling in their bosses on trivia details.

Listeners nodded thoughtfully as Eesh'ket reminded them of hard times they'd been through. He reminded them how that had made them a people, even if they were separate groups. None of it felt prepared or rehearsed to Kevan. Mostly it struck him as sincere.

"And just as all of us are part of communities, which are each part of tribes, which together make our people... so is our people part of a larger group, with the tribes in the cities. Just as we might view them with distaste, they have their own ideas about us. And sometimes both groups are wrong."

"Tonight we gather because all Rich'ti, whether in cities or in the wilderness or on other planets, are coming under attack. A war is being fought in the skies over us and over the other worlds our kind live upon. So far we are losing that war."

Eesh'ket held his hand up as if preventing interruption. "I know it is easy to think that it is not our problem, but it is. I will tell you something that not all of the Pechute know. The Brey-hahd--the attackers--are not just out for conquest, they are destroying whole worlds. The Pechute fleet commander has explained it and has given me copies of reports that I believe to be true."

"There is also here a representative of a race called Human. They are also fighting the Brey-hahd, and are faring better against them. Let me say this: things are bad enough that the Takor brought a human here, down to the planet's surface, to negotiate an alliance." That brought a stir from the crowd, but it was barely vocal as Rich'ti turned and looked at their neighbors. Most of them seemed able to agree based on their expressions alone. They knew how serious it had to be.

"Now, that Takor has been slain by a rival, who cast the human out among us. The new Takor will not be in power long, and when the next one is in place there will be many changes, including proper recognition and treatment of us and our tribes. There will be a very different future soon for all Rich'ti. Tonight we gather to decide our part and our place within it."

"Some of you have been cast out recently enough that you wish to return to the cities and try to rejoin your communities. For those who came here unmarked this may even be possible after some negotiations. Some of you have spoken of having our tribes demand entrance to the cities, and have all of our people live amongst the Pechute. Most, however, know that there is little chance that the Pechute could accept us. Our ways are different than theirs."

"A good many of you have voiced the idea that we should build more permanent homes of our own in the spaces we have been occupying for so long. This has been the predominant decision in the past and it is what I hope to see come to pass during the changes about to befall us. Already, the commander of the Pechute fleet has made us a show of good faith in the gift of several power cells. I have distributed them to those amongst your tribes that I know have needed them for medical equipment."

As Eesh'ket spoke, one of the Rich'ti stood up and stepped forward into the empty space between the platform and the mats. When Eesh'ket stopped speaking he nodded towards the Rich'ti.

"Grakor of the Endrad tribe, address your concern."

"What gives you the right to speak for us?" Grakor demanded, obviously angry. "I understand you met with this fleet commander and the Human. Why were the rest of us not invited to this meeting?"

"There was limited time in which the commander could meet. I did invite him to join us here at this meeting, but he could not attend. He spoke more than I did when we met, and gave me updated information on the war. I did not make him any promises, but instead gave him an idea of the things I hope can happen between us and the Pechute. He knows I do not speak for all of you. We will, however, need to choose one who will represent us when the current Takor has been removed."

Grakor seemed still displeased but at the same time satisfied with the answer. He returned to sitting on his mat and Eesh'ket continued.

"I have mentioned the attacks by these Brey-hahd. I mentioned that things must seem dire for a Takor to bring an alien here to discuss an alliance. The current Takor is preparing to evacuate the planet. When he is no longer in power, that plan will be aborted. But we here should discuss and consider what will happen if a daring plan fails."

"At the moment, the war is being fought outside our control. If the war is lost it will affect us as well. What I am about to say may not be for everyone. But we are leaders and elders, we must know these things, and we will decide if all should know or not."

Several started to move to stand. Eesh'ket stepped forward on the platform and raised both his hands. The crowd settled and waited.

"I said the war is going badly, I have not said how badly. Of the seven other planets that Rich'ti have colonized, three have been destroyed. Not just conquered. And more than just no survivors--no life at all on the planets, and many, many years before the planets will support even the smallest of life."

"Most Pechute do not know this, to prevent panic. But the possibility exists that in a matter of weeks we might be wiped from existence. We must decide at what point our people should know so they can prepare themselves."

The quiet respect that Kevan had admired of the crowd suddenly shattered. Rich'ti all around the circle began standing, and asking loud questions towards the platform. Others began talking amongst themselves in low, worried tones.

"What do the Brey-hahd want?"

"How are they destroying entire planets?"

"What are the Pechute doing to try and stop them?"

"What happens to us if they evacuate?"

"Why have they not told the rest of the Pechute?"

Questions filled the air throughout the circle until Eesh'ket picked up two metal discs on either end of a single rope and banged them together by wooden handles that the rope was tied to. A loud metallic clanging filled the air for a moment, overshadowing all of the voices.

"Silence!" Eesh'ket said in a low, booming voice once he had stopped banging. The crowd quickly settled down, almost sheepish as they returned to their mats.

"Your questions will be addressed. Some of them I am already prepared to answer as I speak now. Others will be acknowledged after I have said my piece. Let us not succumb to panic and chaos. We are the leaders of our respective communities. If anyone can keep themselves organized and calm in the face of such danger, it should be us. How else can we ask the others to continue to follow us if we lose our composure now, when it is most needed?" He waited a moment, letting that thought settle over the crowd. Kevan began to realize that Eesh'ket was more of a politician than he had first surmised. Kevan suspected he would make a powerful ally amongst the tribes regardless of who they chose to represent them later on.

"Now, we need to be aware of it, and discuss it and what it means, but let's not forget the war is not lost yet. There are human ships coming to help. As soon as the Takor changes, messages will be sent to request more. With luck, they will arrive in time."

"We are facing a pivotal moment in Rich'ti history. The Pechute will never be the same again, and our role will change as well. There will be an alliance with an alien race, and we will play some part in that. There will be two Rich'ti governments here for the humans to deal with. We should decide finally who we are."

"I know this is a lot to discuss. We will be here for some time, but these are important issues. Now might be an acceptable time for some questions before we get to work."

One Rich'ti leader moved forward and was recognized. "More about this war and the aliens. What do these Brey-hahd want, and how are they destroying worlds?"

Eesh'ket turned to Kevan. There was a questioning look on the Rich'ti's face, and Kevan thought it was asking if he'd answer the question. He nodded in reply.

Eesh'ket turned back to the assembly. "Allow me to introduce Kevan, the human representative. His people are also fighting the Brey-hahd."

Kevan stepped forward and climbed the ladder to the top of the tower. Eesh'ket hadn't been yelling, but still Kevan prepared himself to project to be heard. It wasn't his first time. He saw a lot of faces looking up at him, mostly skeptical.

"Thank you, Eesh'ket," he started. "Only the Brey-hahd know exactly what they want, but there are good ...estimates. Mostly they seem to want to be the more powerful race. Whether they do that by conquest or by destroying everything in their path doesn't seem to make a difference."

"When they encounter a world with resources they need, they enslave the population to gather those resources for them. At least some of the time, when it's a world they don't want to keep, they burn it from orbit. But I can't say what they'll do here, only what they might do."

"How many of the Human colonies have been lost?" The leader asked.

"None yet that I am aware of," Kevan answered bluntly. "So far we have kept them from getting close to our colonies, although I believe they have sent more ships to Rich'ti systems than they have to Human systems. Although most would say that Rich'ti ship technologies are slightly more advanced than those of my people, I believe it is the manner in which we divide our strengths and weaknesses between our ships and some of our tactics that are making our defense efforts more successful than those of the Pechute. The fleet commander made it clear that Rich'ti ships are all based off of one design that has worked in the past. Unfortunately, once the Brey-hahd learned how to defeat that design, they knew exactly how to defeat every Rich'ti ship they encountered after that. The human ships are less uniform, each having a different strength that can be used tactically as an advantage."

That leader stepped back from the open area, although he did not sit back down on the mat. Eesh'ket stepped forward again, next to Kevan and acknowledged another of the leaders waiting to speak.

"What is it your kind want from us in exchange?" The leader asked with a look of suspicion. Eesh'ket stepped back again, allowing Kevan to answer that question as well.

"In the beginning, an exchange of information and technology is considered the best way for an alliance to begin. Some of your medical technologies would be of great interest, for example. With most other races, when a lasting alliance is formed, it also means that we each allow the other access to travel through our space. Often trade arrangements are also made between the allied races as well. I have handled negotiations for some of these types of things in the past between my people and other races."

"And after that?" the leader asked.

"From what I've seen, you're basically a loose collection of independent tribes and communities out here. You each have your own leaders, and probably don't interfere with each other much. But you trade amongst each other, and you gather to share ideas and solutions to common problems. That, at its heart, is what an alliance is."

"To start with would be that loose collection of three 'tribes', Human, and city Rich'ti, and wilderness Rich'ti. If one member group has a problem, there are the two other groups who might be able to suggest a solution, or even direct help. But even in the example of your tribes and communities, they can work together and still be their own groups."

The leader took a moment before nodding deeply and stepping back. It wasn't long before another stepped forward. Eesh'ket moved forward to acknowledge him, and the leader nodded and spoke.

"When there are Human ships here, and Pechute ships here, but no ships for us, how can we know we will get equal representation?"

"One frequent challenge for things like this is that different groups will always have their differing ideas of what equal representation means. Some Pechute might say that because they are the larger group, that they should be more involved. The details of how it works, of who contributes how much, is something that should be negotiated with all parties. Us deciding that here would be no more fair to them than me negotiating with them separate from you would be."

"How will we be able to have any effect on this war without ships of our own?" The leader asked skeptically.

"I am sure there are ways that you can have an effect. Again, when we sit down to negotiate, we can figure all of that out. And, if fighting takes place on the planet here, then I'm sure there will be plenty you can do. The current Takor may be ready to evacuate, but the Pechute fleet commander doesn't plan to give up that easily. He plans to fight them. Once he knows in what ways you are capable of helping in this war, I am sure he will want your participation."

The leader still did not seem satisfied, but he stepped back nonetheless. Eesh'ket recognized the next leader, who seemed especially anxious.

"What happens to us if they do evacuate? If things go badly and they start moving people off-planet..." He trailed off and Kevan suspected the gesture he kept making with his hands, running them against the fur on his legs was probably akin to the human gesture of wringing one's hands. Eesh'ket remained forward on the platform, so Kevan stepped back to allow him space at the center stage.

"We will be giving them information on how many we are, once the new Takor is in place and negotiations begin in earnest," Eesh'ket began. Another uproar began amongst the crowd and Eesh'ket raised his hands and waited until they had settled down again. "They will need to know. They will have to consider us in their evacuation plans. We will find a way to ensure it if we must, but we will not allow them to abandon us here."

"However, I will not lie to you," he continued. "It is unlikely they would be able to get all of the Pechute off in time, even if they did not have us to consider. Not all of us will be taken off-world if they evacuate. We will do what we can to try to ensure the survival of our children first, with some of our elders to teach them our ways. We will not be abandoned and we will not be forgotten."

From there they started making an agenda for what they needed to discuss and decide, and what order to do it in. Much of it needed no input from Kevan, so he sat on a mat and observed.

Sometimes he watched the leaders, sometimes the elders. The elders seldom stepped forward and spoke, but when they did it was with clear conviction. Whenever an elder had something to add, all the other elders seemed to nod as if in agreement. He never once saw one elder say something and another elder show any signs of disagreement. The leaders typically listened, thought it over, and seemed to agree. He tried to follow that model on the occasions that he had something to add. He made sure his suggestions were reasonable and well-explained. None of them seemed to be taken badly.

There was considerable disagreement between leaders. Even when debate grew passionate and heated, Kevan noticed, it was still polite and respectful. He genuinely expected that a Rich'ti Sentate or ruling council would be very effective.

He was brought more hashak throughout the night. Even still he yawned frequently. The Rich'ti were drinking it as well, and showed less effects of the late night.

By morning they had agreed that they did not want complete assimilation with the Pechute. They wanted to build their own cities on their own land and have equal representation among the others. They also worked on his suggestion that maybe there should continue to be a Takor in charge, but also a parliament or senate of representatives from each tribe and colony.

It was decided that there would be a "communal council" within each tribe, with two representatives from each community - one of which would be an elder. That council would advise the tribal representatives, who were made up of a similar pair of Rich'ti where one was an elder. These tribal representatives would be part of a "tribal council" that would advise the final pair of representatives that would negotiate with the Pechute on the behalf of them all. They would not name a single Takor, but the two representatives would also hold a certain amount of similar status, and would hold the title of "Rentak" for the younger and "Surntak" for the leading elder. If there was a disagreement between them on a matter, it was agreed that they would take it to the tribal council for a vote.

The meeting ended with another planned for the following evening. In the meantime, the community leaders would return to their communities and have them choose representatives as well as candidates for Tribal representatives and the positions of Rentak and Surntak. Those representatives would return the following night to vote and choose the new government. Kevan was surpised at how quickly everything was going to be in place. By the end of the following evening, he'd know who would be doing the negotiating with the Pechute. He found himself genuinely impressed. He also now saw the logic of Eesh'ket requesting that the entire communities all come to one place. It meant that decisions could happen swiftly.

After the meeting was officially adjourned, Kevan found himself approached by some of the leaders of the different communities, with questions about Humans. Many of the questions he'd answered before, with other Rich'ti, and he gave them the same answers. Eventually, Eesh'ket appeared from the sidelines and rescued Kevan, who's eyes were watering from trying not to yawn more than he couldn't avoid.

"Once our new government is in place," Eesh'ket began, "tomorrow night if we finish before we stop for the night, all will have the opportunity to converse with the human representative. After that, perhaps we can try to schedule time for the people to get to know him and learn about humans?"

"I'd be happy to," Kevan replied. "I have to say I am impressed at the progress you are making. I've never had the chance to witness the birth of a government I'd be negotiating with before. It definitely helps me see with a different view what's going on. Thank you again for letting me observe."

"You have been respectful," one elder said, "and the things you have said have had value." Kevan gave a deep nod as his reply. The elder rolled his head to smile and returned the nod.

Eesh'ket mentioned that they all had much to do, and the group dispersed. Kevan politely excused himself and headed for his hut. In his hut he checked the power on his palmpad. 36%, the indicator read. He quickly tapped in as many notes as he could, knowing he'd need to include much of this in his report, once he eventually got to send it. Just before he turned it off it was down to 34%. He frowned at it before putting it away and lying down on the furs for sleep.

He realized his hands were sweaty, and wiped them off on his pants before adjusting his grip in the spear to be similar to how Ar'shan was gripping hers. She stepped back from him a step, nodding at him and took on a stance similar to other hunters he saw nearby. He spread his feet apart on the ground, trying to make sure he had steady footing, and kept his knees bent slightly in a defensive gravball stance, hoping it would be about right.

The two hunters in the clearing stopped and waited a moment before giving a piercing whistle as they flew into motion, prodding at the beasts with small stabbing motions that appeared to do little damage but cause considerable chaos within the herd. The werpracht made howling and snorting noises as they scattered for a moment, and spikes came out of the wedge-end of their tails, half as long as the tails themselves. After a moment, with some encouragement from the two hunters in the clearing, the group of them seemed to pick a direction and started heading at an angle towards Kevan and the other hunters waiting in the trees.

Kevan dodged the first one, trying desperately to think of some of the larger gravball players he'd faced down as his heart pounded wildly. Orange-brown fur flew past, inches from his face and he found himself concentrating more on not getting trampled than actually trying to spear one of them. When most of them had passed, he saw that Ar'shan was wrestling with her spear in one of the creatures. He lunged forward with his own spear, but the first strike just seemed to bounce off the tough hide, sending him sprawling to one knee in the process. He quickly got back up and changed his stance to put more weight behind it and tried again. This time, he felt the hide give as the point of the spear penetrated into it. He fought down the mild repulsion that suddenly threatened to overwhelm him. A part of him was exhilarated, adrenaline pumping wildly through him from the excitement of the hunt. Another part of him was horrified, realizing that he'd never actually killed anything before. He tried to remind himself that they were hunting for food, not sport.