Dreams - Chapter Two
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
And I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I 'd never lose
Something somebody stole
-from River of Dreams, sung by Billy Joel.
Ch'ler woke with a start. He threw off the bed coverings, not wanting them to touch the parts of his skin not covered by his sleeping garment. He stared at the far bulkhead in the dim light of his small cabin, its empty facade providing some comfort for his overactive mind. It was that dream again, the one which replayed the death of Dake. His beyi-osehlat had been one of the first casualties of the Tlingansular, killed for sport and a trophy. Dake's death scream and the sight of his flayed corpse still haunted his sleep.
The clan healers had done their best by providing the customary support and therapies. It was he who refused to take the final step. He refused to accept a replacement beyi-osehlat. None could replace Dake.
By his actions, Ch'ler defied Shuuvasu tradition. In that ancient way, a warrior in his prime always had an osehlat companion, with only the elderly and the infirm exempt. The bond between besu and beyi-osehlat formed an integral part of Shuuvasu society, so much so that Ch'ler was now an outsider in his own clan.
He did not care. Just because others accepted new beyi-osehlatlar did not mean he had to.
His parents explained that such deaths did occur, however unfortunate. Once tears had been shed for Kal-ap-ton the Griever, the clan expected a member of the Warrior's Council to move on and resume a proper place in society by bonding to an osehlat from the clan pack. True, the bond might not be as deep as the one formed in childhood, but it was a bond nevertheless. Many clan osehlatlar desired such a bond. Who was he to deny it?
Ch'ler filled the space once occupied by Dake with other things. He gave up his art in the theater and shifted his talents to costume design and gev silk embroidery. He also mastered the fire dance.
The fire dance kept him sane.
Controlling the movement of a burning tuft of gev silk as he moved through a favored kareel-ifla kata purged his mind of any thoughts of grief and loneliness. It was his way of recognizing the loss of his old friend.
Ch'ler gave up any hope of getting any more sleep this night. He knew he needed to dance. He left his bed, changed into comfortable workout clothes, and pulled his long, black hair into a high ponytail. Once dressed, he walked to the ship's cargo hold, where he, at the onset of the voyage, had created a small exercise area by rearranging the crates of replicator supplies.
The Shuuvasu warrior pulled a thick tuft of gev silk saturated with ta'raa flower oil from a pants pocket. The thick, yellow oil burned slowly, allowing him time to complete his exercise. Ch'ler tossed the oily tuft into the air, willing it to burst into flames. He then began the fluid movements of the fifth kata, a ritualized series of movements that traced the main offensive moves of the fifth level of the fighting art of kareel-ifla.
As he moved, Ch'ler kep the burning silk suspended above his hands. The effort required to both perform the kata and control the flaming tuft forced all unrelated thoughts from his mind. Only the kata and the flame existed.
After twenty minutes, the combination of oil and silk burned itself out and settled the warrior's mind.
####
Breakfast, a combination of non-replicated nut porridge and a selection of local fresh fruit deemed safe to eat, waited on the small galley table. It was a welcome change from replicated oatmeal, the usual fare Hr'kir prepared in the morning. Replicated food may be adequate for survival purposes, but there was more to life than that.
Ch'ler, bathed and dressed in Human-style clothes, sat at the table, while Hr'kir busied himself preparing breakfast for Hasa, his beyi-osehlat and third member of the crew. Their current location, a small freighter docked at Thirat City Space Port, served as home base for their travels through this sector. So far, the group had visited three nearby solar systems with no luck. Thirat was the first positive lead since this mission began.
Once Hr'kir had served Hasa her portion of the breakfast, he settled himself onto the stool opposite Ch'ler's. The two nodded to each other, then began to eat their own meals.
Hr'kir was his first cousin, the only child of his father's sister. Since Ch'ler himself had no male siblings, Hr'kir filled the role of brother. The two of them had grown up together in the family compound in Hs'mayatta Village and shared most of the major life events of a Shuuvasu warrior: learning the warrior ways, bonding to beyi-sehlatlar, joining the Path of Lis, the beginning and ending of their Travel. They served together during the wars against the Tlingansular, clouding the ridge-headed aliens thoughts so that fellow Shuuvasu warriors could destroy them. And most important of all, Hr'kir was the one of the very few persons that Ch'ler had joined in a deep mind meld, one of the most intimate of acts. Nothing could be hidden in such a penetrating mind meld. All thoughts revealed themselves, hopes, fears, loves, hates. All those things made Hr'kir his t'hai'la, a person who was often closer than an actual brother.
Ch'ler valued Hr'kir for another reason. His cousin never chided him about not bonding with another beyi-osehlat. As Hr'kir had said shortly after Dake's death, “You must seek your own way, Ch'ler-kam.” Even his former fiancee had not been so understanding.
Hr'kir bit into a piece of the blue fruit. “Tart, but sweet enough,” he said after swallowing. “We should take some home with us. Maybe we can grow it.”
Only half listening, Ch'ler looked up from his meal. His mind had been occupied with Osasu Rai'aelvir's reply to his preliminary report. As expected, the Rihanelsu lord had requested further information on Zeh and his associates. With the limitations Administrator Stelevare placed on the mission, disguise and a moderate level of mind walking only, Ch'ler felt frustrated. He was used to much more freedom of action when investigating suspects. Of course his only previous experience was with enemies, but still...
“Uh,” said Ch'ler in response when he realized that Hr'kir had spoken.
The other Shuuvasu chuckled. Unlike Vuhlkansular, Shuuvasular had no interest in suppressing emotions for its own sake. “Puzzling instead of enjoying good food,” he observed.
Ch'ler smiled. “Indeed yes. What did you ask me?”
####
Hr'kir did not take his cousin's slow response as a slight. That was just Ch'ler: intensely involved in anything he did. That intensity of purpose kept Ch'ler sane after the loss of Dake. Work, art, and the fire dance focused Ch'ler elsewhere and away from the inner pain.
Even so, Clan Hs'mayatta had lost a highly talented performance artist. Ch'ler was a powerful Adept of Lis, the ancient psionic discipline of the mind clouders. His skills at projection telepathy allowed him to dress himself as any character in a play or hide a group of Shuuvasu warriors from a Tlingansu battle squad. He gave up performance art when Dake died, becoming silent and introverted. He still worked with other performance artists, but as a costume and scenery designer. His skill in gev silk embroidery, fueled by an consuming desire to find inner calm, was respected among other members of the clan, even those who thought Ch'ler should follow well-established tradition and not open himself up to the temptations of Tyr-al-tep the Unforgiver, who lived in the dark places of the mind.
Like Ch'ler, Hr'kir practiced the the Path of Lis, a Path that attracted the most powerful telepaths of any Shuuvasu clan regardless of family lineage. While all Shuuvasular possessed high levels of telepathy, some were especially gifted. The disciplines of Lis provided that extra training, that extra outlet for their abilities which prevented such powerful mind walkers from becoming a socially destabilizing force.
Hr'kir had been Ch'ler's performance partner since their apprenticeship days and they had often appeared on stage together, days that he now missed. Battling Tlingansular had captured a bit of the old feelings, but it was a poor substitute.
“Excellent fruit.” Ch'ler smiled as he chewed. “What are your plans for today?”
Both Shuuvasular laughed. Since most of their targets, the bars and taverns, did not open until after most other places closed, the two had many hours to fill. Exploring the port city was one thing they did to pass the daylight hours. Thus far, they had found quite a few exotic goods to take back home. New spices, foods, textiles, and pigments could be found in the varied shops about town. They also saw fascinating works of art from all over the sector: carvings, tapestries, jewelry, and paintings. Shuuvasular placed a very high value on artworks and much of what they saw was of great quality. Hr'kir and Ch'ler elected to spend some of their own funds on samples to take home with the idea of setting up future trade relations.
“A round of kovlar,” said Ch'ler suggesting a game which dated back to the ancient times before spaceflight. To succeed, one had to surround one's opponent pieces with his own while preventing his opponent from doing the same. Once all the pieces had been placed on the board, the player with the fewest surrounded pieces won.
Hr'kir considered his cousins idea. Kovlar was a favorite of his, but he had another idea. “Kal-toh?”
Ch'ler frowned a bit. Kal-toh was a Vuhlkansu game. “Too logical. How about nesh-kur heh yon-kur.”
“Agreed,” said Hr'kir, smiling. Nesh-kur heh yon-kur, a game sometimes called Vulcan backgammon by Humans due to the strategy required to win, was a childhood favorite. He began to clear away the breakfast dishes while Ch'ler retrieved the game board from an overhead storage bin. Once the board was on the galley table and the red and black playing pieces in place, the two cousins began to play while Hasa dozed nearby.
####
After several games of nesh-kur heh yon-kur, everyone retired to the ship's hold for activities that Hasa could also join in. The beyi-osehlat had limited opportunities for participation on the worlds they visited. A sehlat, a unusual sight on any planet other than T'Khasi, in the company of two Humans might give rise to unwanted questions from the local inhabitants so Hasa spent most of her time confined to the ship. Depending on the port, Hr'kir would take her on walks in the early mornings, but that was the extent of it.
Everyone agreed on a few rounds of puller, another game from childhood. A deceptively simple game, the goal was to pull a soft, thick rope from the hands or jaws of one's opponent. However, more than strength was needed to win for puller also tested perception, something osehlatlar usually figured out before their bipedal companions did. The ability to read non-verbal cues - body language, facial expression, emotions - was the key to victory.
Ch'ler braced himself as he held onto a knotted end of the thick rope. His opponent, Hasa, eyed him critically. Keeping tension on her end of the thick rope, the beyi-osehlat watched him for any sign of movement, any sign of emotion on his face. Beyi-osehlatlar could detect the smallest bit, even on someone other than their besu. Puller was a test of guile - who could deceive the other long enough to claim the rope?
The two stared at each other a few more minutes, daring the other to move. The Shuuvasu mind clouder suppressed a grin. This had been one of his favorite games with Dake, something that was just plain fun. Hasa lessened the tension on the rope, but Ch'ler was not fooled. He knew she was good at this game of cunning. As Ch'ler moved to increase his grip on the rope, Hasa snapped her head to the right, using her powerful neck and shoulder muscles to pull the rope from his hands.
Ch'ler just stood there for a few seconds to let the surprise dissipate while Hr'kir laughed from where he sat, a crate of replicator bricks near a bulkhead. “She won again!” he said between breaths. “My Hasa!”
Chagrined, Ch'ler just nodded in a agreement. He then bowed in respect to Hasa, the winner of four out of five matches. “The victor.”
Hasa whuffed in acceptance.
“And now your prize,” said Ch'ler. He walked to stand in front of Hasa and began a deep massage of the area around her eyebrows that she so enjoyed. Pleasant emotions passed between Shuuvasu and osehlat as Hasa leaned forward to increase the pressure. This was also something he did with Dake.
The beyi-osehlat closed her eyes so that she could concentrate on the sensation.
####
Ch'ler rested against the furry flank of a very contented Hasa. His cousin lounged on the opposite side. Playing with Hr'kir and Hasa relaxed him almost as much as the fire dance. Even though Hasa was bonded to Hr'kir, she made allowances for Ch'ler since she had known him from early childhood when the bonding had taken place. When Dake still lived, the four of them spent a great deal of time together, playing, learning, working, and growing up to be warriors.
Ch'ler rummaged through a few of his childhood memories. On Shuuvalis, back on the Hs'mayatta lands, riding a favored kenel, Dake at his side. The two had enjoyed watching the Great Migration, the movement of the herds as they followed the rains. Other times of tending the gev insectoids, the source of fine silk. The creatures, with their elongated, low-slung bodies and multiple pairs of legs, lived in covered sheds on the outskirts of Hs'mayatta Village. As children, both he and Hr'kir worked hard to to keep the gev fed and clean and then collected the silk cocoons the creatures spun every night as protection during sleep. Eventually Ch'ler was reassigned to work with the land crustaceans, fierce red-eyed animals that produced succulent flesh. It was on one of the those days that the Tlingansular arrived....
With a bodily jerk, Ch'ler broke that chain of thought. Startled, Hasa looked at him with concern, causing him to wince inside. Hasa, a strong empath in her own right, knew his inner pain as did Hr'kir. Both besu and beyi-osehlat studied him closely.
“It is nothing,” Ch'ler said as he forced grief and sadness from his mind.
Hr'kir knew better, but respected his cousins wishes. “We should prepare to leave soon. That Saurian should provide good information tonight.”
Grateful for his cousin's silence on the matter, Ch'ler simply said, “I agree.”
Glossary
Besu - a Shuuvasu warrior bonded to an osehlat
Beyi-osehlat - the sehlat companion of a Shuuvasu warrior
Kal-ap-ton - ancient Vulcan deity symbolizing grief
Gev - an insect-like creature raised by the Shuuvasular for its silk
Kali-fal - Romulan ale
Kam - term of endearment
Kareel-ifla - an ancient Vulcan martial art
Kata - (Earth term) - a choreographed series of movements, often used in martial arts
Katra - the spiritual essence of a Vulcan mind
Kenel - a horse-like animal originally from Vulcan domesticated for riding
Kal-toh - a Vulcan game of logical strategy
Kovlar - a Vulcan game similar to Go
Nesh-kur heh yon-kur - “black and red” a Vulcan game similar to backgammon
Lis - a mental discipline based on projective telepathy
Osasu - sir
Osehlat - "honored sehlat" the sehlatlar associated with the Shuuvasu people
Ta'raa - a plant native to Shuuvalis
T'hai'la - very close friend
Tyr-al-tep - ancient Vulcan deity symbolizing useless regrets