From: Jason Self Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2022 14:06:11 +0000 (-0700) Subject: Publish new installment X-Git-Url: https://jxself.org/git/?p=universe.git;a=commitdiff_plain;h=60cb85a424ee0f22927c8325fb28f06689cf36db Publish new installment --- diff --git a/agalder.txt b/agalder.txt index e01764e..f780871 100644 --- a/agalder.txt +++ b/agalder.txt @@ -2629,4 +2629,175 @@ Behan asked her "Did either one of us get hit?" "No, but..." "Brol never miss. They are close to the best shots in the universe. -They want us alive. And they probably want to talk to us." \ No newline at end of file +They want us alive. And they probably want to talk to us." + +==== Mellie: Detective, Resistance Operative ==== + +"Well, we certainly want to talk to them." said Mellie. + +"I want to talk to them. I want you safely protected in here. You're +not going anywhere near the Brol." + +"Do you think I'm afraid to meet them?" + +He snorted. "No. And that's the problem." + +Mellie looked at him, eyebrows raised. + +He sighed. "You are so determined to prove that you're just as tough +as the guys that you put yourself in danger. The Brol are a +patriarchal society. To be male is to be king of the hill. To be +female is to live in misery. + +"The Brol warriors say that the females are all retarded and must be +beaten regularly so they understand their duties. I passed a few words +with a female Brol once. She seemed intelligent enough to me. +Intelligent enough to learn a little Terran. + +"At any rate, with their attitude about women, the Brol would not take +too well to a female officer. They have short tempers and they tend to +lash out." + +Mellie stared at her partner for a full minute. Then she said "I'm +going." She stood up, leaning her fists on her desk, towering over +Behan. "You have to show them that humans value females as much as +they value males. That we're equal. And screw their cultural +sensitivities. We've got those, too." + +She leaned in a little closer. Behan was beginning to cross his eyes. +"And as for that 'lashing out' business, we're pretty good at lashing +out, too." + +With that, she straightened up and left the squad room. Every +detective in the room followed her with their eyes. And Behan watched +the watchers. + +The Brol contacted them the next day. Marks had pushed the BOLO to +include any Brol anywhere or any being that even vaguely resembled a +Brol. Several Brusqal and a Grinkek had been harassed. The Grinkek in +particular was very angry. Grinkek do not get angry. Ever. Resembling +terran mushrooms, they look nothing like Brols. + +Lt. Marks set up the meeting. He tried to insist on a dozen officers +to accompany Behan and Kaminsky to the meeting but was turned down. + +They did agree that he could come and bring one other. Marks chose +Alex Biggers. Mellie and Behan stared at him. + +"What?!" he asked. + +==== John Behan: Detective, Resistance Operative ==== + +The Brol lived in an abandoned cosmetics factory, close to the +crater's edge. They had dug nests and tunnels throughout the complex +and no one had disputed their squatting rights. Picking a fight with a +seven foot spider was not considered a good idea. + +The place was dark and creepy at night. Mellie whispered "Why didn't +they just import cosmetics? They're not that expensive for the lower +grades." + +Marks said "They were very expensive after the Iron Wars when taxes +were placed on them. Manufacturing our own seemed like a good idea +until the pirates showed up." + +They stopped on a low hill in front of the main building and waited. +The Brol had wanted them to go inside - at night - with no lights in +the building. Marks had expressed his opinion of that idea. + +So they stood and waited, their lights on, their hands on their guns. +Biggers was whistling between his teeth until Behan threatened to +shove those teeth down his throat. + +In the silence that followed, they could hear the same whispering that +Behan and Mellie had heard in that basement. A minute later, they saw +movement near the factory. It looked like a dark rug flowing toward +them. The forward movement wasn't fast, but definitely threatening. +Marks stepped forward and spoke. + +"That's far enough. Any farther and we will leave." + +A sinister chuckle ran through the spiders. Behan was very glad he had +emptied his bladder before coming. + +Marks took another step and his attitude had changed. His shoulders +were braced, his jaw set, and his eyes as hard as rock. He radiated +belligerence. The other three walked forward with him. The spiders +backed up, some being shoved against the building by their fellows. + +Marks stopped three meters from the Brol. "Now that we've got that out +of the way," he asked "why did you want to talk to us?" + +One spider, larger than the rest, skittered forward a meter. Its +whispery, raspy voice sent shivers down Behan's spine, while the hairs +on the back of his neck stood up. + +"We talk to Behan. You weren't there." + +Mellie stepped forward. "I was there. You talk to me, too." + +The Brol actually recoiled. It hissed. "Take female away." + +Behan moved up beside Mellie. "She is my partner. She fought one of +your people in that basement. She was there. She stays." + +A murmur ran through the crowd. "If she stays, we will leave." said +the leader. + +Behan chuckled. "Then go." He turned to leave. + +The murmur grew louder. "Wait." + +Behan kept on walking. The others turned to follow. + +"Very well. She stays." + +They stopped and retraced their steps until they were crowding the +leader. It waved a leg at them. "Move back. You're too close." + +They stepped back. + +Behan asked "What did you want to tell us?" + +Two of its three eyes glanced at Mellie. "Others of your kind came two +days ago. They promised to pay us well if we killed the humans in that +house. We went there last night and killed them. We were looking for +anything that might be valuable to us when you trapped us." + +The leg wave again, this time to include the mass of spiders behind +it. "We were not responsible for the deaths of those humans. They were +killed by their own kind." + +Behan's jaw was clenched so tight that he thought his teeth might +crack. + +Mellie yelled. "Bull shit!" She moved another step until she was right +in the leader's face. "You killed them. For money. That makes you +responsible." + +The Brol raised its two forelegs and gave a very obvious shrug. "We +were only the instruments." + +Mellie put a hand on Behan's arm. He was trembling with the need to +attack this blithe murderer. He glanced at her and took a few deep +breaths. The trembling subsided. + +"No." he said. "You made a choice. You chose to murder three good +people. I don't know much about the Brol, but from what I have seen +tonight, I doubt there are three good people among you." + +The lead Brol raised his two front legs as if to step forward. A +jabbering came from the back of the crowd. The spokesman put his feet +back down. Behan realized that he was just a spokesman. The real +leader, at least of this group, was at the back. + +"Why did you want to talk to us?" Behan asked. + +There was movement in the crowd and the largest Brol Behan had ever +seen came forward. It pushed the spokesman aside and spoke. "We know +who ordered the kill. If you want to know, you will pay us 60,000 +credits by tomorrow night. No negotiation." + +The monster turned and reached out with its front legs, grabbing the +spokesman. Casually it bit off the creature's head. Then it threw the +wildly twitching body to the side and sauntered off, chewing noisily. \ No newline at end of file