Flash Fiction #682 -- Fair Trade

 

I stared through the tinted window that separated the two halves of the conference room -- humans on the right, Dyli on the left.  It was my turn to sit in the front row today.  I would have gladly forgone the honor.

I had taught myself not to flinch when faced with the glowing-eyed alien head.  A mass of hair stalks waved frantically, betraying emotions the face did not show.

A mouth appeared below the eyes. There may have been teeth in that black abyss, but I had never seen them. I counted that as lucky.

"Speaker," I said with a bow of my head.  I began planning out all the possible lines of greetings and my replies.  I didn't want to prolong today's vocabulary lesson.

"We have learned a new word," the Dyli said.

Unprecedented. I sensed urgency in the skipping of well-laid protocols.  "A word?" I said, my tone still caught in greeting mode.

"We have traced it through many ages and several Terran cultures." The alien leaned closer to the glass.  Yes, there were teeth.  "The word is mercenary."

My heart missed a couple of beats. I lost all ability to stick to a script. "This is a military matter," I offered. "I will send for the Commander to speak with you."

"And you remain," my companion said. He nodded his head several times, stalks apparently staring in surprise. "We have waited for your return. We find that you're less given to exaggeration or straight-out lying than some of your other people."

There is always a downside to being professional.

Commander Knox arrived before I could get a message out to him. I wondered if he monitored all the Dyli interactions or just mine.  I was a latecomer to the band, but my language and cultural skills were better than most.  I didn't mind Knox keeping tabs on what I did.  The Dyli were our last hope for Earth.  It was a wonder they came along just in time -- which none of us trusted.

Mercenaries?

According to the Dyli tale of events, they happened to be scouting this area for the first time when they discovered Earth, a world in dire condition. Both natural disasters and human-made catastrophes have brought the world to the edge of being uninhabitable. 

The Dyli coveted information, the one item Earthers still had in abundance. Now it seemed there might be more. Working out the details proved easier than expected.

They never lied about having enemies, and we'd never tried to soften our warlike past. The Dyli had made enemies in their travels among the stars, and the idea of having trained soldiers who were not their own people appealed to them. It turned out that they were not very good at fighting. At some point in their development, and before they got to the stars, the Dyli had given up aggression and turned that passion into the sort of creation that could help all worlds. They retained defensive capabilities, but they never considered stopping trouble before it began. Soon, though, they had the mercenaries to handle all those problems.

It was a small step from there to empire.  The dual draw of knowledge and protection brought many worlds asking to join. 

And what did we get?

Earth flourishes.  So do our dozen colony worlds.  We had one problem at the start, though. The Dyli didn't like that the humans they worked closely with were so short-lived, so they gave the top staff members immortality. 

People grew tired of the same job after too long.  Dyli learned that humans are more creative when they take on new challenges. So, immortals move from staff to world management positions, and new immortals take their place. In a few more generations, most of humanity will be immortal.  I am uncertain we are ready for it, even now.

I have spoken to the Dyli on this subject, but they are not concerned.  I find this fascinating since we are the ones with the weapons.

"Your sense of honor would keep most of you from turning on us, and while we might face a few, those others would face the rest of you.  I see it's no different from the other enemies you fight.  Do you think it might happen?"

"We are human.  We fight.  That's why you have us."

The Dyli smiled and walked away, leaving me with questions.  I went in search of answers.  

It took me a while to find what I wanted. I had to restudy those parts of Dyli culture that I took for granted.  They liked to share knowledge, but not with everyone. The humans were the chosen ones.

They were training us to take over the Empire.

There was always something new to learn. That's what the aliens taught us.

Flash Fiction #681 -- Waiting by the Door

 If I sit by the door like a good dog, maybe someone will take me out for a walk on this misty evening. It is still light outside, and it would be nice to race through the fallen leaves one more time before winter.

But what if winter arrives while we are out? The mist could turn to ice crystals and make my old bones ache. We might not find our way home in time for the evening cookies and tea.  I would regret not getting my cookie.

Maybe I will go sit by the fireplace and stay warm instead.

Flash Fiction #680 -- A true story

 

When I woke up, I saw the clock said it was almost five. Since the clock was off by three hours (power outage), it was actually close to eight. This was far later than I had intended. I got up, fed the creatures, and did some cleaning around the place. 

Then, I decided to fix dinner before I sat down to do any computer work. I was just sitting down at the desk when I thought it seemed awfully bright for this late in the day. I realized I must have messed up my timing somewhere. So, I asked Alexa what time it was.

10:07

AM

OOPS

Flash Fiction #679 --Mimic (Drabble)

 

Hetin would never be open to human settlement. The three-foot-tall green-striped and big-eyed natives proved to be master mimics. Once they saw something done, they remembered it forever, and they passed it on to the others.

The first science team inadvertently taught them to speak Common.  The second group taught them science. They thought it would take decades. It didn't.

The third science team lost their scout ship to the natives, and with it went the captain's extensive collection of pirate-related entertainment. 

I hope they get to the part about ransoming prisoners soon. I hope someone still wants us back.

Flash Fiction #678-- Forgotten/12

 

Rock troll paths were easy to spot. Rocks of all sizes were scattered left and right and formed into walls along the side of the trail, which itself was unnaturally flat and easy to traverse.

A shame it was such an obvious trap.

They hiked along the outside of the right-hand wall. Cita thought longingly about the smooth path just a few feet away. She was almost on the verge of a protest when they heard a battle nearby. No matter what fought, the sound of blade against blade, and the startled grunts of the wounded all sounded the same.

Lady Kerinis signaled them away from the wall, but they only went a few yards.  No one could hear them, and Cita saw no sign of anyone watching from the wall.

"We could wait it out," Urdo suggested.  "I am not sure which side we would want to choose.  The rock trolls are fighting gargoyles."

"I suppose they are both fighting to get the dragon eggs," Cita suggested.  "That would make it easier to decide which group to fight."

"The eggs are close," Tenon warned.  "That is why they fight so fiercely. I suggest we go to protect the eggs and fight anyone who tries to get to them."

Cita thought that was as good a plan as they were going to get under the circumstances.  She cast one glance at the sky and hoped to see Farlyn and Atora -- and maybe a few more dragons.

With nothing to take her interest, she followed Urdo over the troll-made wall.

They soon found dead  - gargoyles, rock trolls, and even a couple of ogres. There was no way to tell who might be winning.  Nor did Cita see any way to figure out who was on which side. They would soon learn, though.  The roar of the rock trolls and the screeching of the gargoyles grew louder.

Fortunately, they didn't have a plan to discuss.

The rock troll path came to a sudden end at the top of a hill. The precipitous descent on the other side was scattered with boulders and bodies. In a clearing a few yards ahead of them, Cita could see the mass of the fighting. She could also see the Dragon nests, a series of hollows lined with pretty rocks into which rested a huge, multi-colored egg. She counted at least a dozen of them. One had cracked and fallen apart, but there was no sign of the baby Dragon. She saw a gargoyle fly over a nest and drop a large rock toward it. The rock barely missed, and by that time, Cita was already on the run to protect the egg. She thought her companions had much the same idea. They scattered among the nests and began fighting back the gargoyles and ogres. The rock trolls turned out to be allies. They even seemed grateful for the help.

They would still need help soon. She couldn't see where the gargoyles came from, but they seemed to have a never-ending supply of troops. 

Tennon and his mother did the most work, and Cita would have thought they had worked together forever. They cleared the sky more than once, but Tennon didn't have the strength to go on for long.
Cita and Urdo had their hands full protecting three eggs. They had taken more than a few bruises, and it bothered her that one of the eggs had cracked despite all their work. That made her angry, and anger gave her a little more strength, but none of them would hold up for much longer. She could only hope that their Dragon ally would soon come back with help.

Then the griffins arrived.

 Cita held one moment of hope -- but the new creatures formed up in lines with the gargoyles, circled once --

Cita threw herself over the hatching egg. It wouldn't help, but there was nothing better she could do. A screeching gargoyle landed beside her.

No, actually, it fell.  Twitched once and died.

Others were falling from the sky.

"They lined them up for the slaughter," Urdo said.  "Excellent work. Remind me not to trust griffins."

Something moved within the egg.

"I have a problem here! Dragon hatching!" 

Farlyn and Atora reached her first. Cita scrambled out of the way and chanced to see a swarm of dragons heading in the direction from which the gargoyles came. They didn't see the final battle, but heard later that some creature had been directing them and disappeared in a flash of magic.

Dragons considered anything not a dragon to be a creature and needed no other designation. It could have been a human mage, a fae,  a pixie, or an overly annoying cat.  

For the rest of the year, the group remained with the dragons and enjoyed time with a dozen young hatchlings. Atora eventually acceptedd a position as teacher for the clan.  It suited her.

Tennon and his mother went to find the fool who had tole him he was forgotten.  Cita stayed clear of that one.

But what to do? Go back to the other reality and hunt for lost cities? Never meet a dragon again? It turned out even fae and dragons have myths about lost treasures.  Cita and Urdo had lots of work.

The End