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“Speak to Me of Summer” by Harry (part 2 of 2)
Today’s story is the second and final part of “Speak to Me of Summer” by Harry, who writes and publishes under a few different names, but you can find most of his stories on SoFurry.
Last time, Wolverine made it back to his homeworld, and found that things were not the same as they were when he left...
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of
Speaker:Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story
Speaker:is the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Speak to Me of Summer”
Speaker:by Harry, who writes and publishes under a few different names,
Speaker:but you can find most of his stories
Speaker:on SoFurry. Last time,
Speaker:Wolverine made it back to his homeworld,
Speaker:and found that things were not the same as they were when he left...
Speaker:Please enjoy “Speak to Me of Summer”
Speaker:by Harry, Part 2 of 2
Speaker:I hadn't wanted to land right in the city in the first place,
Speaker:but I needed to find out what had happened.
Speaker:So HotSauce and I set down
Speaker:right in the summer festival green, now brown and dry.
Speaker:It was in front of the Ulka Clanhall,
Speaker:its tiered conical roof
Speaker:towering above the other above-ground buildings in the city.
Speaker:HotSauce somehow beat me climbing down to the ground
Speaker:with our engines still powering down with a trailing whine.
Speaker:Neither of us had bothered with the post-flight checklist this time.
Speaker:He was staring towards the bottom of the Clanhall
Speaker:when my feet hit the ground.
Speaker:There was a reception coming to meet us.
Speaker:Four Lrrkh'ul. The first I had seen
Speaker:in more than 12 of my years.
Speaker:I watched them walk;
Speaker:they were hurrying but not running,
Speaker:but they still walked so different than humans.
Speaker:There's an undulating rhythm to it.
Speaker:The sight was almost hypnotic,
Speaker:even if they reminded me of how my father would march towards me with menace
Speaker:after I had done something wrong.
Speaker:"I hope you know these guys," said HotSauce as he came over to stand with me at the base of my ladder.
Speaker:"Yeah, same," I said,
Speaker:keeping my eyes on them.
Speaker:He squared up next to me as they got to us,
Speaker:their breath fogging in the air from the little jog they had just done.
Speaker:I tried to get their measure quick,
Speaker:as I wasn't sure what was going on.
Speaker:They were all wearing some kind of uniform I had never seen before--
Speaker:Black longcoats with dark green
Speaker:crossed strips from shoulder to knee,
Speaker:like a big human letter X.
Speaker:And they were armed.
Speaker:Not with the projectile rifles we used to have for hunting wild meat.
Speaker:These looked like anti-personnel energy weapons,
Speaker:like the human security forces carried on the rougher worlds.
Speaker:I couldn't tell if they were Alliance-make or not from where I stood.
Speaker:We were unarmed, because why would we ever need a sidearm as a fighter pilot?
Speaker:It's not like the Gestalt had ground troops.
Speaker:Didn't matter anyway, there were four of them, two of us.
Speaker:And one of us was a skinny furless idiot.
Speaker:Fighting would be pointless.
Speaker:So I raised my hands and spread my fingers,
Speaker:claws forward, in greeting. L’ghurrr’q Qul shakesharril
Speaker:"
I heard HotSauce snort before he could stop himself.
Speaker:The last bit was for him.
Speaker:One of the four started to raise his hands in response to my greeting
Speaker:but the one next to him smacked him in the shoulder
Speaker:and he dropped his arms back to his sides.
Speaker:The one in front said to me,
Speaker:" If you try to get back into your space ships we will be forced to shoot you.>" " Whose strength commands yours and where are they? I want to hear what they have to say.>" " He had an accent I couldn't place. Not Ulka, or any of the nearby clans I remember. " And what I really want to know is where she and the rest of my clan is.>" I noted that one of them tilted his head and pricked his ears when I told them my name. The one who had almost returned my greeting. The leader curled his lip and showed a few of his sharp teeth on one side in a malicious sort of half-smile. " Or clan Surka. Or clan Serlekh. Or any clan besides Lrrkh.>" He had the annoying confidence of a true believer. In what, I wasn't sure. But I got the meaning. No clan but Lrrkh. Things had changed while I was away. Someone must have managed to unite the planet into one clan. Though if they had to walk around with guns I wondered how united it really was. I lowered my hands and gruffed. " Wouldn't want to keep whoever is forcing you to shoot us waiting. Lead the way. My friend here doesn't like our weather much.>" He narrowed his eyes when I called him 'chief'. He didn't rate that and I knew it, and he knew that I knew it and-- anyway I was being kind of a jerk and I was disappointed that HotSauce couldn't understand it. Poor guy was just standing there wondering what was going on. The leader turned his back on me and started walking back to the Clanhall. Or whatever it was now that there was apparently no clan. The other three waited for us to follow and then fell in behind us when we did. Hotsauce murmured to me in English, "Everything all right?" "Not sure. I assume they're taking us to someone in charge. Looks like things have changed since--" " Stay silent or we will separate you.>" said one of the ones behind us. I snorted and explained, " I will have to translate, unless one of you speaks English.>" They didn't answer, and we walked the rest of the way to the huge wooden doors of the Clanhall in silence. ***** They ended up separating us anyway, which I sort of expected. I sat in silence in the little room they put me in for a good ten minutes before I used my minicomp to send a buzz to HotSauce's. If he was stuck in a similar little room with no one keeping a close eye on him, we might still be able to talk. But no answer came, so they must be more suspicious of him than they were of me. At least he had company. So I sat and waited, and paced, and sat again. I thought about trying to escape. The room wasn't built like a prison, though I was sure a couple of the guys from our little walk were just outside the door. Bad odds. Waste of energy. And I wouldn't get any answers, even if I did manage to get out. I kept checking the minicomp for messages, but also to check the time. It was passing, but slow enough to start making me restless and more angry after the first hour or so. To distract myself, I started one-sided conversations with the guards. " I could go for some of those, with the rakeleaf sauce. Like six of them. Can you guys put in an order for me? I'm good for it. I got an Alliance navy pension. Well, as long as they take EtherCredit,>" I perked my ears for reaction. No response, of course. " When do you guys get off? You seem all right to me. We could have a few drinks, catch up on the news. Oh, can you make sure my human friend is all right? He's probably cold and scared and hungry. And he bruises easily. So be gentle with him." I scratched the bridge of my muzzle and chuckled. HotSauce would be so mad if he heard me talking about him like a lost pet. " I haven't seen another Lrrkh'un in years. Ooh, hey, that reminds me, do either of you have a sister you could introduce me to?>" I thought, for a second, that I got a reaction. But the door remained closed. So I got up again from the bench which was the only furniture in the room, and paced. And paced. And checked the minicomp. And paced some more. I was almost at the point of pounding on the door and making actual trouble when finally, it swung open. I stopped pacing. Mr. Forced-to-shoot-me was there, flanked by the guards who I was having drinks with after work. He said, " Except when he said 'governor' it was like a mangled version of the English word, probably because the position didn't exist on Lrrkh. Or didn't until recently. I said, " Thanks for fetching him for me, chief.>" I could see from his ears he wanted to start something. Well, finish it anyway. But he couldn't. Not without wrecking his status. Despite whatever had changed on Lrrkh, we Lrrkh'un at least were still the same. I gave him a toothy grin and he snorted and turned. I followed, grateful to get out of the room. I didn't know if they made me stew in there on purpose to rattle me or if the governor was just far away. I half-closed my eyes as we walked the halls and climbed up stairs. I tried to remember the old stuff they taught me when I was young about letting go of anger. Seeking the path past the fallen tree, as the teachers used to say. I was still me, I was still a vaguely famous person in the Alliance with some amount of influence there. I would find my family and make sure they were safe. Past that I wasn't sure where the path led. Short term, my path led to the governor's office, which I think was once some kind of audience chamber for the clan elders. It was still decorated with historic relics and the wide reed-woven seats that the elders would sit in. They were pushed against the walls, empty. In the middle was a wooden desk, pretty ordinary by itself, but looked so out of place that it drew the eye. Standing behind the desk was my uncle. I knew him immediately, despite the years. And he knew me too. He raised his hands, claws spread in greeting, and so did I. Then he was coming around the desk and embracing me. It felt nice, I have to say. I was disappointed when he let me go. " I didn't know what to think when they told me.>" He looked over my shoulder at my escort. " I wanted to turn and give the one guy a smug look, but I resisted the urge and waited until I heard them close the door behind them. I started in as soon as we were alone. " What is going on here? Where is my mother? Can you get them to let my human friend out?>" " I will get you a drink.>" He headed back towards the desk. There were seats in front of it. I didn't sit. He busied himself with a bottle of rekhik, and did not sit either. " " So please, sister-son, be calm and have a drink with me. Your first in a long time, yes?>" I nodded, and took the ornate carved wooden cup he offered. " "" he said, then drank from the long spout neck of his cup. I joined him and let myself enjoy the taste. I hadn't had any for years, as he said, but I could tell this was quality stuff. I could feel him watching me. I set the cup down, still half-full. "
Better than I remember.>" I paused and looked him in the eyes. " He gruffed and looked away. " enthusiastic. But we do have orders from the Lrrkh-Turul to detain anyone arriving in Alliance ships. I could not know it would be you in one of them.>" " I went to the house first, and it's empty. Cold. Abandoned. You can imagine what I thought when I found that. And then this...>" I gestured in the direction of the door I had been led through. " Upsetting. To come back from your time among the aliens to find that things are not the same as you remember. You are not quite the same as I remember either, Wurra.>" " " You told us you would never see us again but that we should be grateful if Lrrkh was spared the promised destruction. But here you are. Did you lose your appetite for their conflict?>" I growled, " And I was part of that. I flew in the assault on the Gestalt dreadnought. My name is carved on a monument on the human homeworld, along with hundreds of others. But it's over now.>" He nodded and sipped his rekhik. " A monument here, maybe?>" I didn't like his tone. He had welcomed me so warmly at first. Was that just an act to put me at ease? I wrinkled my muzzle. Not quite a snarl. Not yet. " And for my mother. Where is she? Does she live with you now?>" " You left her, left all of us to fight for the aliens. I think she thought it was her fault. It took her a long time to find her way past your loss.>" " Why won't you let me see her?>" He shook his head. "
if you and your human friend climbed back into your space ships and returned to your Alliance.>" I bristled. " " Why did you really come back? Speak true, if you are still Lrrkh'un.>" I seethed, and felt the fur of my shoulders and back standing up. He, on the other hand, seemed completely calm and at ease. Why did he speak to me like this? Didn't he know what I had done for the sake of this entire world? The friends I had made and lost? The years I spent alone among the humans and other aliens, with no comfort of other Lrrkh'un? He watched me, sipped more of his rekhik. Waited for me to answer him. I clicked my teeth together, looked away. Looked at the wall-mounted ancient instruments and woven-rope artwork. The great painted mural of a scene in summer, full of green and blue with Tarl shining in the sky. A festival below, with many Lrrkh'un figures. "I... I wanted to be with us. To be with my own kind, where I belong." He nodded and gruffed. "
Your war is over, and the Alliance has little use for you now. You want to rejoin the clan you left behind.>" " To go back where I am the only one of us. Alone. Why?>" " " You are here. Mother is here. You are Ulka Khessur.>" Khessur took a deep breath and then let it out of his nose in a long, sorrowful exhale. " You went away with them, so you did not see it happen. At first we thought all we had lost was a handful of wanderers. But the hole remained.>" " I felt cold, in my belly. Had the Alliance caused this? Behind my back while I was fighting for them? Forced Lrrkh to become like them somehow? " visited every few years since, asking again if we are ready to join them.>" When he did not continue, I prompted, " " We are now part of a much larger garden, and we can never undo that. We cannot match their strength. And we cannot get out of their way.>" I raised my muzzle and looked my uncle in the eyes. I began to understand. He nodded, seeing it in my expression. I said, "
I could help! I know the Alliance better than any of you. We could use their technology to build orbital defenses, or>" " You mean well, I know. But you are not the first to return from the Alliance. Thanks to him we know the danger we face. And what we must do to defend ourselves.>" " I asked. " Someday we will truly join the Alliance, but on our terms.>" I wanted to argue with him further. To point out that this leader, whoever he was, was already turning Lrrkh into something alien. That he was bringing the Alliance to Lrrkh too. But I could see the sense of it. It did not make me happy to do so. " He shook his head. " I am sorry, Wurra, but if you truly wish to defend Lrrkh as you once said you did, you must go. We are walking a narrow path.>" " Do not be selfish.>" " I told your lackeys my name.>" " Please, Wurra, go now before you make the hole larger.>" " " Either the guard was listening to our conversation or Khessur did something unseen to summon them because the door opened right then. I didn't turn to look, not yet. I stared at my uncle, now governor Khessur. I let my shoulders relax and my muzzle fall. I could not stay. "" He opened a door on his side of the desk and took out an sealed bottle of rekhik. " I walked forward and accepted the bottle with a nod. " Then I turned to look at the door, and found just the leader waiting. He was the one with the smug expression now. I lacked the will to counter it, though. So I cradled the bottle in one arm and let him lead me back to my Starwing. ***** "I'm really sorry that didn't go the way you wanted, Wolverine," said HotSauce over our private comm channel. We were off the ground, but still in orbit. I stared at the surface, then off into the stars. "Yeah," I managed to say, trying to decide how I had wanted it to go in the first place. Or how I had expected it to go. My uncle's words still stung. Maybe I really had wanted a hero's welcome. I asked him, "So what did they do to you?" "Oh, they were watching me pretty close, which I guess you knew since I didn't answer your buzz. I tried to talk to 'em, of course, but I guess they didn't speak English. And after a while one that did speak English came. Female too! I tried to ask her out for a drink and you should have seen the look she gave me... Whoo! Anyway she didn't speak as well as you but I got the basics. Not welcome on planet or in orbit, tell my leaders to stay away. Don't call us, we'll call you. Then they marched me back to my 'wing to wait on you. I'd ask what they said to you, but you don't have to tell me until you're ready." "Thanks, HotSauce." "So where we heading now?" he asked. I hadn't even begun to think about it. "Maybe you should pick for us this time." He laughed. "Ok, so I had this idea while I was shivering my ass off down there." "I'm almost afraid to hear this." "No no it's a great idea! Have you ever been skiing?" This was the second and final part of “Speak to Me of Summer” by Harry, read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion. As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog, or find the show wherever you get your podcasts. Thank
