Page 99 of Return of the Nine

Tidae cocked his head, “Who is Ula?”

“She is a designer par excellence, but she gives each piece a part of her soul, and when that item is misused, it becomes a point of pain for her. She is bleeding psychically, and with the Nine here to offer their assistance, she is no longer required to work for the defence of Gaia around the clock. There is no tech she can’t unravel and piece together using only the most basic of tools.” She smiled with pride.

“The Bakers are my family. They took me in after my parents died during a localized epidemic. Em and I managed to find herbs to effect a treatment, but it was too late for my parents. They died with fifty other colonists in a matter of days.”

Cavos blinked. “How did you find a cure?”

“I found a treatment in a plant called Garish. Em found the cure in a very ugly fish named Eric.”

Morro laughed. “The fish had a name?”

“It did when Emharo was done with it. You have met her. Am I wrong to say that she would name the sun and stars if it suited her?”

Morro wrinkled his nose. “No, if something needs to be told what it is, I am sure that your cousin is the one to do it.”

“Anyway, so we diluted Eric’s liver, and the enzymes released were just the thing to stop the virus in its tracks and reverse a great deal of damage.” She sighed. “And then, we had a nice memorial service for the fallen hero. It didn’t seem right to eat him after that.”

The men laughed, but she was serious. There was still a stone marker for Eric, saviour of Gaia. Only the Bakers knew that it referred to a fish.

“So, my parents died and were buried, the Bakers legally took me in, and my name was changed for simplicity. I am their daughter as much as Em, but to her, I am and have always been the beloved cousin that was as close as a sister.”

Morro asked, “What about Ularica?”

“She is the weird cousin that gets invited to everything but rarely comes.”

Tidae got up and turned the meat.

Silence fell over the gathering, and Cavos reached out to caress her ankle. “I know what it’s like to be in the harness. They put us in it while we are training for battle so that we know how to fight against those being held without injuring them. If we know their limits, we can take them down without injury.”

Niika smiled. “How did you find it?”

He shuddered. “I fought so hard, I dislocated my right arm within hours.”

Tidae muttered, “I was trapped in the foetal position for three hours before they let me loose.”

Trusk said, “I panicked and fell down a set of stairs, stiff as a board.”

Morro shrugged. “I got along fine until I had to walk across the training ground and go through the obstacle course. I ended up dangling from one of the climbing frames, locked in place.”

Their travails made her feel like a professional dancer in comparison. “It took me a few minutes to move and a few hours to learn my limits.”

She shivered, it had been so frightfully cold without her clothing and the Tokkel’s hands had gotten more aggressive with time. It was that aggression that had cost him his life. In the case between death and honour, it was his death so she could keep her honour.

“You just went dark.” Cavos’s words came through her thoughts.

“Yes, I suppose I did.” Niika focussed again. “I apologise. So, gentlemen, what did you think about the most benign prey on Gaia?”

The room burst into astonished laughter at the effort it had taken to down the small creature.

She grinned. “Gaians are very focussed on survival, no matter the species. As you know since your folk developed here as well.”

The Wilders puffed up with pride, and the Stone Folk merely looked at each other ruefully.

Dinner was ready in another hour and conversation shifted from evolution to why Zaphlings had to be so elusive. It was as delicious as promised.

“So, where do the fire stones come from?” Niika leaned against the wall and sighed as she enjoyed the sensation of a full belly.

Trusk winked as he tossed the bones into the flames. “Wemake them. It is something that all Stone Folk are taught when they are children.”

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