Page 24 of Saving the Sautiitions

“Yeah. I’m hoping Kari has had this same thought already, and I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t come up sooner, but we’ll figure this out.” I sigh as she holds her hand to me.

“Hand me those jars, please?”

I nod and reach across the counter for the jars Willa pointed at. She scoops tea into each one and closes them up for later. When she’s done with the jars, she uses the last of the tea to make a fresh cup to take to Criido. I grab some fruit and nuts, slicing them up for him to snack on in case he’s hungry. The soft fruit should be easy enough for him.

We clean up our mess together before heading into the main room to check on Criido then head out to mingle in the celebration. Tonya and Melodia are chatting together as Criido sleeps peacefully on the sofa. Willa sets the little tray down on a nearby table and pulls the blanket farther up Criido’s chest.

“Jeff, Willa, we need to update you on Kari’s discovery.” My translator speaks in my ear, and I turn to Tonya, her tentacles wringing in front of her.

“Oh, did they figure this out? I saw them go rushing out of here.”

There’s an awkward pause as the aliens look at each other before explaining to us. I glance at Willa, and she grips my hand tightly; hers trembling slightly.

“They have figured out who has poisoned the chief, but we have yet to discover how. It seems that this Tavionna person is actually Criido’s daughter from another woman, another alien from another world.”

“What!?” I blurt out before I can even think to stop myself, and Willa cringes next to me. I give her a look of apology, squeezing her hand before turning back to the Sautiitions.

“Before Criido became Chief and settled down with Vahru’s mother, he spent a night with an Ngozii High Priestess. She left before he awoke and never told him of their child. Tavionna’s coming after his position as Chief and wants Kari out of the picture. She lives on a planet at the edge of the universe, one with little to no technology like our village. How she’s managed to come here and harm him, we don’t know. But Vahru is taking the news a bit hard.”

I scoff and shake my head, taking it all in. “Well, can you blame him? He just found out that he has an evil half-sister out there who’s hell-bent on ruining his father’s life and possibly killing him! I’d be upset too.”

I huff and look over at Criido, worry for our leader seeping into my bones. There isn’t much I can do now to protect him if I don’t know what to protect against or how. Someone from the other end of the universe managed to get food to him to poison him, but no one ever saw an outsider here! So how did she even get it here? We’re dealing with things we don’t understand, things we have no control over, and it’s a scary thing.

“Look, we’ll handle the welcoming party and make sure the village is safe. Are you two okay to keep watching over him until we can figure this out? I’m hoping Kari will come back soon and we can start working on a better system, a better plan.” I jump right into my role and start trying to figure out next steps.

“We can handle watching him. We have some trusted friends that can relieve us or help us if we need them. You two handle what you need to, get some rest if you can. We’ve got him protected.” Tonya nods to me, and I nod back.

I pull on Willa’s hand, heading outside. We need to start the celebration first. A perimeter sweep of the village would be a good idea, if at all possible, to make sure that we don’t have someone hiding out, waiting to attack. We could use the rest as well, as much as I hate to admit it. We’ve been going nonstop since we returned from saving the Sautiitions, and we need to sleep.

“I’ll gather some hunters, check the perimeter, and make sure that everything is safe. We’ll create a guard of sorts so they can help me keep an eye on everyone in case anything changes. You make sure that everyone here is ready, and when I get back, we’ll start the party and we can get some rest, okay?” I turn to Willa, cupping her face in my palms.

She smiles at me, eyes drooping slightly as she lets the exhaustion she’s feeling show. “Sounds good to me.” She gives me a kiss before heading off. I watch her hips sway, her tail swishing along with her gait as she walks. How did I get so lucky as to end up with a woman like her?

I sigh and head off down the main path of the village. Finding some hunters gathered by a fire cooking some meat for the party, I walk up slowly, standing tall and nodding as I make eye contact. I’m not a short man. On Earth I was taller than average, but here I’m smaller than most men and it’s unnerving, to say the least.

“Hey, guys. I have a request if you don’t mind helping me out. With the captain out on a mission, I’m in charge of securing the village and keeping us safe. I could really use some extra eyes, would you mind?”

They look around their little circle at each other before the tallest nods. He looks ready to fight to the death, his green eyes intense as he studies me, his face set in a stern expression as the shaved sides of his head glisten in the firelight and setting sun. His hair is twisted and pulled back to stay out of his way, and I can’t help but wonder why they don’t all do that or just cut it. I would lose my mind if my hair was in my face all the time. I don’t know how Kari and Willa handle it.

“How can we help, Lieutenant Mooney?” His voice is deep and authoritative, but respectful. He must be the leader of their hunting group.

“Please, call me Jeff. I’d like to do a perimeter check to make sure that the village is safe, that there’s nothing out there we need to worry about. If you could, help me keep eyes on everyone tonight. If you see or hear of anything out of the ordinary, let me know. I just need some help with basic security if you’re up for it. I know it probably isn’t what you normally do, but I’d be forever grateful for the help.”

They nod and gather their spears for the perimeter check, standing around me as they await my orders. I’m not used to this type of command, but I’ll make it work. I look around the small group, looking at each of them, trying to memorize faces and hairstyles so that I can remember who’s helping me.

“I am Terax, the leader of this hunting party. Atsatsa is my right hand, he’s a very loyal man.” Terax points to his right, and my gaze follows as he introduces us all. Atsatsa is almost as tall as Terax, but not as intimidating looking. His purple eyes are soft as he nods to me, and the feathers woven into his long hair sway in the breeze. He has a scar on his right shoulder that travels part way down his bicep, and I wonder what it’s from. Maybe someday he’ll be willing to share with me.

“This is Cruzig.” I turn to Atsatsa’s right and nod to Cruzig. He has an easy-going smile and shorter hair than most. It’s cut more like mine, and the way he shrugs and stands, the relaxed nature he seems to exude, tells me he’s the fun one in the group. One of his bright blue eyes winks at me, and I chuckle slightly at the gesture.

“Over here is Nakarra. He’s our best trapper.” I look to Terax’s left and take in the quiet man. He stares at me with an intensity that’s almost unbearable, like he’s trying to study every little thing about me. He has sharp features and curly horns that I’ve not noticed on any others. The yellow color of his eyes only serves to make them more intense, and I clear my throat, giving him a respectful nod.

“And last but not least, Kosiiba. He’s the youngest in our group.” Kosiiba waves and smiles brightly. He’s barely a head taller than I and only looks to be 14 at most. He’s young and full of energy, his hair loosely pulled back in a ponytail. The loose strands around his round face bounce and flow as he moves about, excited to get going.

“It’s nice to meet you all. Thank you for helping me make sure we’re all safe. Is this something you’ve ever done before?” I glance around at the group, and they all shake their heads. I sigh, knowing that if I don’t explain at least a little, they will start asking questions.

“Okay, this is a bit out of the ordinary, so I’m not going to share all the details since it isn’t my place, and I need this to stay between us because we don’t want to incite panic. The chief is ill because he was attacked. We have discovered who and where they are from, but we have no idea how they got to him. I want to check the village, search for any hiders, anything out of the ordinary, to see if we can’t get an idea of how they may have gotten in undetected. We may not find anything, but at least we’ll know that everyone is safe.”

Terax’s face hardens as he studies me. “Is the chief going to be okay?”

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