Outside the ship, Saphira turned to the group following her. She looked around and there were other stick people inching close. She decided curiosity was a powerful motivator, whatever the species. She spoke. “Boston and Lieutenant Harper. I could use your help.”

“Katie,” Lieutenant Harper said.

Saphira nodded. “I knew that.” She turned to the sticks. “Leader, bring two of your people to show us the way but everyone else please stay outside. We are going to have to concentrate to get any work done.”

The Leader appeared to understand, at least that they wished to see the inside of the ship. Two stick people followed them, but if the leader made a signal to designate who, none of the humans caught it. They followed the sticks into the heart of the ship and Boston’s first words were telling.

“I saw more sophisticated stuff at M. I. T.”

When they got to the scanner, Katie added her voice to the chorus. “This looks like plain ordinary radar.”

“Probably is,” Saphira responded. “Is there a way to push our sight beyond the atmosphere?” Katie shook her head. The stick leader had a question.

“Why do you wish to see beyond the atmosphere?”

“Balok,” she frowned before she explained. “They believe they should be unique in the universe, that everything exists for them alone.”

“But don’t humans have a similar view of creation?” Boston asked.

Saphira nodded. “But the Balok want to make their belief real by exterminating all other forms of intelligent life.  Given the Earth, they would probably try to kill everything down to the intelligence level of a dog, just to be safe.”

“I assume there is no talking to them.”

Saphira just shook her head. “I have to go. Martok is the one who needs to get a look at this. One of you, lend me a piece of fairy weave.” Boston separated a piece of her long pants and thought she might live in her shorts in that climate. Saphira formed the fairy weave into shorts herself. She stood, turned her back and left that time and place while Martok came from the far future to fill her space. He dressed with his back turned to Lieutenant Harper and she did not realize Martok was not human until he turned around.

Katie drew her breath in. The excessive hair on Martok’s arms, legs and chest caused her to look close at the hair on his head. It looked more like fur, but it was the eyes that gave Martok away. They looked yellow, like cat’s eyes, or maybe like the eyes of the snake-people they were expecting.

“Hello Boston, dear.” Martok spoke in a deep voice that sounded human enough but seemed odd given his height of barely five feet. Of course, Boston had met Martok before. She simply waved as she wandered off to look around.

“Wait.” One of the stick people spoke to Boston and everyone looked. “That is a microwave chamber, part of the propulsion system and very dangerous.”

“Microwaves? Oh good!” Martok raised his voice and both Katie and Boston caught a better glimpse of the fact that Martok was not human. “Now, the visuals. Leader, where did you lose the Balok?”

“Out where the rocks circle around the star.”

“The Asteroid Belt.” Martok nodded and tore the back off the radar equipment while the leader watched and clapped his hands in dismay.

~~~*~~~

Outside, Alexis turned to the stick person beside her. “Do you have a name?”

“Thet.”

“I’m Alexis.” She smiled and turned to the other one. “And what is your name?”

“Thet.”

Alexis wrinkled her brow. “Your name is Thet and your name is Thet?”

“No, my name is Thet.”

“My name is Thet.”

Alexis looked around, but all Lincoln, Lockhart and Captain Decker could do was shrug. Mingus stepped up.

“That’s what you get, daughter, for having human ears,” Mingus said.

“I like her ears,” Lincoln objected. Alexis looked at Lincoln and the look on her face said, “Do you really?”

“Watch.” Roland stepped up and had his bow in his hands with an arrow on the string. When he let it go, the arrow stayed in his hand while a glowing ball shot up into the sky. When it reached some height, the ball exploded into gold and silver sparkles in a perfect imitation of fireworks. His next shot exploded red and green, and all the little sticks came running, squealing in delight.

Several adult stick people chased the little ones, and the two still with the group moved quickly to intercept them. “No, no.” The stick people shouted. “Do not touch them. Sit. Do not touch.”

One of the Thets returned with a clap of his hands and a word. “Please take no offense. We do not know if the children may have a sickness to which you have no defense.”

“Quite alright,” Alexis responded. “We may have some sickness your people can’t handle as well.” The stick person bowed even as the ship groaned and made a noise much like a bad set of truck brakes. Alexis quickly turned to her wrist communicator, which she had hardly ever used. “Everything all right?”

The word came back, a deep male voice, which they did not expect. “Fine. Boston just got an instant suntan is all.”

“I’m as red as my hair!” Boston complained. The others did not know what to say, so they turned to watch Mingus who presently entertained the kids by juggling balls of fire.

~~~*~~~

Boston had a good sunburn, but Alexis found some aloe in the medical kit and managed to keep her from blistering. Boston explained. “I got too close to the plasma engines, but I think we cooked up some good surprises if the Balok come around here.”

Saphira looked up from where she rested on the ground. “You mean when they come.”

“I think that Martok is brilliant,” Katie said.

Saphira smiled. “Martok says thanks and you’re not so bad yourself.” Lieutenant Harper found her own cheeks redden a bit. She forgot the Kairos remained in close contact with other lifetimes, especially ones recently accessed. She looked to Lockhart for support, but he just smiled like Saphira. Alexis saw something in the way Katie Harper and Robert Lockhart looked at each other and she looked at Lincoln, but he simply looked away.

“Stay out of the sun,” Alexis sniffed and stood to walk off by herself for a time.

That evening, the stick people built a great bonfire, not much different than the one built by Ranear’s Neolithic tribe. Mingus lit this one to their delight. They did not cook their food and only ate what looked like water with some dirt in it. They also hardly needed the warmth in that climate, but they seemed to like the light.

One of the Thets came up to be friendly. At least Alexis thought it was a Thet. It was hard to tell. She also had no idea how to distinguish males from females, and was working on that problem, when Saphira suggested they might be uni sexual. Of course, Saphira went on to explain, in more detail than necessary, how glad she was that humanity had two sexes, and Alexis had to remind herself that in this lifetime the Kairos was a protitute.

“You have a beautiful planet,” Thet began. Alexis looked over and saw the one she thought was the leader sitting between Lockhart and Captain Decker while Lincoln scribbled notes on his pad. “You have many children and much variety.”

“I’m sorry?” Alexis tried to focus in.

“When we first came to the ground, there were many of your children who moved away to make room for us.” Thet sat on the ground. The trunk kept the stick person straight up and down while the legs bent, and the feet set some distance from the body. It gave the stick person the appearance of a three-legged stool, very hard to knock over. Alexis later learned that the stick people slept in this position as well.

“Animals.” Alexis grasped what the stick person said.

“Yes, and such a rich variety. You must be very proud of them.”

“Yes.” Alexis said. She could not bring herself to say, we eat our children. Somehow, she knew that would not be taken well. Fortunately, they shortly heard the sound of drums. They beat out a steady beat. Then something of a cross between an oboe and bagpipes began to play. It sounded dominant and tonic followed by tonic and dominant. As it played on, Alexis wondered if the stick people ever discovered any other notes.

“What the heck is that?” Captain Decker held his ears.

“I think it is music, sir,” Lieutenant Harper responded.

“Catchy tune,” Lockhart quipped.

“I like it,” Boston interrupted.

“Yeah, good luck getting that melody out of your head,” Lincoln added.

The stick people shrieked in delight and sounded much like the children. Soon they had a line of stick people around the bonfire. They moved in a circle, bent near ninety degrees forward and then bent near ninety degrees backward as they moved. It looked like their legs were attached to their trunks by ball joints.  All the while, the people waved their bent hands and shouted in delight.

“Now what are they doing?” Decker asked.

“I think it’s dancing, sir.”

Alexis imagined Boston might have liked to join them in the dance, but she had gotten so burnt, she dared not get too close to the fire. She saw the children off to the side. Some of the bigger ones were imitating the adults, like they were practicing. All was well, she thought. These good people were well worth saving. She held on to that thought when she lay down that night and slept in her own space without touching Lincoln at all.

************************

Monday

The travelers prepare for the arrival of the Balok, and try to prevent the stick people from undoing the improvements the travelers made to the stick ship. Until Monday, Happy Reading.

*