[GZG] [GZG Fiction] The Watcher 4 of 4 - Judgement

Finally the Huu'Mon must have decided she was dead or gone or of lower
priority than some other target. The sounds and stink of the air tank
and To'Vo retreated back into the general farrago of the Huu'Mon column
moving back and fro across the steppe, between the coast and the battles
inland. 

She waited a little longer than rose and picked her way around to the
rear of the Huu'Mon, who had also moved into the more rugged and
enclosed terrain of the rubbly ground and high tussock grass. This
position placed her back between the main press of the Huu'Mon and the
toovo, but it meant she was not approaching from the direction they were
likely to be concentrating most upon. She knelt amongst the tussock
watching the Huu'Mon. They had fallen back to signaling with gestures
rather than with sound. Their scents and the glow of their krans showed
they were still agitated, but much less so then before their little
chase had begun.

Cocking her head Si'Buk focused hard on the toovo, concentrating on the
movements of its susi. In one susi it held its weapon, the other it was
holding tipped on one end, keeping it solid as if it had no division
into tususi. Pointing at one of the other Huu'Mon it then swept the susi
up and down pointing off to one side; then it repeated the movement for
the other Huu'Mon, pointing to the other side, as if they were to
envelope where they thought she might be. Then the toovo turned its
susi, spreading its tususi and pointing at its upper face cover; Si'Buk
wondered if it were actually pointing to its eyes underneath. Then it
turned its hand flat again sweeping flat across the front of the torso
of toovo as if it were cutting something flat. Si'Buk was building up a
dictionary of these signals, guessing at meanings. Based on what she
knew this meant the toovo and its keo'Kon would move out and try and
find her, if they did they would attack. Simple and direct. She
approved. 

Keeping in behind them she followed their advance. She tried to steer
clear of the tussocks, in case the brush of her passing alerted the
closest Huu'Mon. It would be easier for her to interact with the toovo
if the others were not present. She judged that the Huu'Mon closest to
her would fall from sight of the others briefly due to the crest of a
small rise and a stand of taller than average grasses. Si'Buk starting
closing the distance between them, not all in one sudden push, she still
didn't want to give herself away, but she needed to be close enough to
catch him alone when they reached the blind spot. She began matching her
steps with that of the Huu'Mon, even placing her prints over the top of
its. The Huu'Mon must have some stalk-sense as she could see his krans
flushing again, its head turning further than if it were only scanning
ahead. Kev-tu to the crest, the icy tingle of early Ro'Kah flooding her
body, the moment came. Now.

Si'Buk shot forward in a burst of speed, drawing her Ti'Lns so there
would be no report of weapons fire. Her suit must be leaking worse than
she thought, or maybe the Huu'Mon stalk-sense is strong, or maybe she
was just unlucky, but the Huu'Mon fired wildly as she hit him. Again it
was only glancing blows across her upper torso, but it was enough.
Ducking instinctively from the wild shot she mistimed the strike and her
Ti'Lns stuck fast in the Huu'Mon armour. No choice but to fall back and
re-evaluate her status.

Si'Buk moved back into the thicker tussocks. She could still smell and
hear the screaming Huu'Mon and its keo'Kon coming to assist it. Keeping
those senses keen to the scene beyond the wall of tussocks, she checked
over her own wounds. Nothing fatal, but enough to ruin the front of the
Rns'krans. The ice of Ro'Kah would keep the sting of the injuries from
her Ano'Fah, but she would have to be careful it did not overwhelm her
either, see her charge like a Doo's. She spent a moment concentrating
hard, setting her boundaries and fencing out the urges.

A few riosh slipped past, the situation calming. Si'Buk slipped back to
the edge of the tussocks. Now she could hear the distant pulse marking
the approach of the air tanks and To'Vo. This time she could not afford
to wait out their passing. She had to get moving. By the smear of the
sound they were approaching from both flanks, from one side the assault
forces, from the other the lower hum of a Huu'Mon wound-carrier. Their
role marked by the great red gashes on their side, which was contrasted
sharply with the pale field below, maybe to represent krans? Interesting
the Huu'Mon should use such direct symbols to indicate role. 

With approaching Huu'Mon forces to both sides and the bulk of the
Huu'Mon'Kon to her rear, Si'Buk had a single route relatively clear,
back past the toovo. She swept her head side to side carefully forming a
picture of the look and smell of the group she would need to pass. The
first was bent over the wounded one, which was screaming and thrashing
around. This worked in her favour, it made it harder to hear her. The
toovo was flat amongst the rocks looking for her in return.

She stared hard at the toovo, focusing down on it. Estimating what it
would take to get past it, versus the mounting pressure of the thwump of
the closest air-tank. A scream from the wounded Huu'Mon and a bark from
the one tending it momentarily drew the toovo from its task. It turned
its head to look to them, the disadvantage to visual preference. Almost
without thinking Si'Buk burst forward, dashing straight at them, jinking
at the last moment and leaping over the toovo. 

She should have picked a safer route around them through the maze of
tussock, but with so little time her Vao'Fah had obviously judged this
the best route. Now her Ano'Fah had to make good on it, as she could
hear the toovo pounding after her. The extra thrill of it making the
edge of Ro'Kah sharper still, she could taste the sweetness of her own
exudates. 

Si'Buk was actually a little surprised the toovo was chasing her.
Huu'Mon of that caliber typically showed more caution, would have sat
and protected the keo'Kon. Maybe her closeness or her treatment of its
doo'Kon had insulted it, thrown down some challenge. Or maybe Huu'Mon
did feel Ro'Kah after all, just in smaller amounts or after greater
periods.

For the first riosh she cared not for her tracks, moving as fast she
could she let her desusi tear up the ground, her body bend the tussocks
as she raced past. Now boulders were joining the tussocks, making the
path one that is harder to create and more the kind you can simply only
follow. 

She was making good time and the distance to the wounded Huu'Mon was
opening up. With each turn in the maze, she could hear the toovo getting
closer. Kra'Vak had speed, Huu'Mon greater endurance it seemed. 

Suddenly she was forced to a halt, a wall of rock faced her. With little
time to decide she leapt back and to one side. Pulling in behind some
scrubby bush that fenced the front of a mid-sized boulder. She had to
keep low so she wouldn't sit out above the cover, maybe the slight
elevation would make it be harder for the toovo to locate her. The toovo
also stopped in its tracks when it reached the wall. Spinning one way
and another looking for her, sweeping the tip of its weapon up along the
boulder line, before backing up to it to cover the direction from which
it had just come. It whispered some message, probably a call to its
keo'Kon. Its krans was glowing vividly now; contrasting strikingly with
the darker Kon'krans. 

This was it, the end moment of Xi'toovo. As the Huu'Mon turned to scan
the other way Si'Buk leapt, bringing the Huu'Mon down and knocking its
weapon off into the base of the tussocks. This should make it hard for
the toovo to reach the firearm even if it could still see it in the
dark. She could feel the heat of its body against her head as they
rolled over, wrestling and hammering at each other. The twisting strikes
of the toovo, in combination with its armour, making it hard for her to
grip it or puncture the weak spots she had determined from experimenting
on carcasses left from older missions. 

The toovo was on her back, stabbing madly with its Ti'Lns, she could
feel it slicing into her side. For now the Ro'Kah and organ duplicates
would see her through with no drop in performance, but she did not have
long to rectify the situation and depart. She would live, but she would
most likely need to call upon a Kon'Kr'Lat. Pushing up she slammed the
toovo against the wall. Reaching behind her to turn and drive the toovo
Ti'Lns into its torso. Turning Si'Buk held the heaving Huu'Mon body
against the wall of rock. 

She could hear the thud of approaching Huu'Mon, running toward them,
calling out to the toovo. The scent was of a single Huu'Man coming down
the same path they had used, but she knew it would not be long before
others joined it. 

Si'Buk leant into the toovo, she could feel the warm stickiness of its
wound dripping over her susi. She was close enough to hear the rasp of
the cover of its mandibles, rattling with its rapid breathing. She ran
her own mandibles up around the front of the head of the toovo. The salt
of the scent of his closeness reminding her of the nectar of the Ki'Ses,
which filled the plains around her home in Yu'Roas. She stopped so her
eyes were even with the cracked covering over its upper face. The
covering had been knocked half of its face. She looked hard in through
the torn casing. She could see the toovo staring back, unflinching. Its
eye was as alien as the rest of it. No natural armoured ridges, except
for the cage around the single set of organs and the smooth case of the
head; coloured rather than clear internal fluids; large auditory
openings; no secondary respiratory tendrils; and this eye, two toned,
not a single solid colour around the central light collector like her. 

Si'Buk could hear the other Huu'Mon closing in on their position, the
rasping breath of the toovo, the heat of its body and salt up in her
face. Their eyes were locked. The toovo was still, it was not that it
had given up, it was as if it were testing her too. Waiting to see what
she chose to do before it responded, marshalling its strength. Her
decision was made. These Huu'Mon were not swarming infestations sullying
the birthing lands. They may or may not be the Vh'Kra'Vak, but they were
worthy opponents. Not all were of the quality of the toovo, but not all
Kra'Vak were to her standard. 

She brought up her free susi and prodded it in the shoulder. It winced
but did not cry out. The frantic call of the other Huu'Mon was getting
closer, as was the press of the air-tank and tinny scent of the To'Vo.
She rolled her head judging how close the others were getting. Apart
from a furrow forming between its eyes the toovo did not react, it was
no doubt making the same estimates. 

She wanted to give it a message, but she knew she could not make all the
sounds of the Huu'Mon, she had spent many riosh practicing in slow
times, but she could not reproduce them. She had tried to learn by
saying over and over again the terms she had heard them use during the
many missions she had been on, the sounds that had been captured by the
Kra'Vak To'Vo. It was just not possible. She kept silent, but she
noticed the eyes of the toovo had gone wide. Now she was out of time,
could not find out why. She stepped back and leapt onto a mid size
boulder, from there stepping up to the larger boulders, clearing the
wall and racing away, a burst of gunfire sweeping the spot she had just
been.

She threaded her way through the boulder field and out on to the plain.
She could feel her injuries starting to take their toll and decided
against heading back to the Ko'Ns, choosing to return directly to
Ns'Kra'Vak'Fe'Les instead. She imagined the reaction her Va'Kon would
have to her returning empty handed with only a personal report about the
effectiveness of the Doo's Kon'krans. She would skip over some of the
details of how she had obtained the information. They would have their
suspicions, but would not ask. They would no doubt also have the request
for her vote on the Yu'Zan, lead matriarch of the Xia'Zan council.
Return to the Kra'Bna and the Vak'Huu'Mon could not save her from
politics it seemed. Not all Do' participated, others had different
lexicons and political traditions, but currently the most powerful ones
were part of the Xia'Za, including hers. Each phase of life had its
trials and for her the greatest trial of Sho's was her required
participation in political votes. After the Tia'Vak that broke out after
the previous votes she knew it was a serious topic, if an aggravating
one. One that was going to occupy her much of the way back to the
Kon'Kr'Lat.

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