The Newest Cabbage Patch Doll

[Arrenhe tr'Khev 0]

The Newest Cabbage Patch Doll

Arrenhe tr'Khev

 

As Arrenhe knelt on the ground and plucked a cabbage, and then repeated, he cursed himself for miscalculating and the Elements for this sore trial. He couldn't believe that he was visible through that window, as short as he is, and as careful as he had been, but his luck had never been in short quantity on the bad side. The upside, and the only io he could think of at the moment, was that he wasn't processing a minefield. He had enough of explosives, and at least cabbages weren't dangerous. That is until he nearly leaped out of his skin as a rather disgusting insect crawled into his field of vision. Even as much as he now hated bombs, he hated bugs worse, and always had. It was a mild phobia that he had somehow been able to hide during his psychological exams to get into Galae. At his jump, and apparent high squeak, the homely plucker beside him looked over.

 

"Something wrong, lad?" He asked, kindly enough.

 

"Na, llhai, I'm just a bit jumpy today," Arrenhe responded in what he hoped was a casual tone.

 

"Llhai? Polite one, aren't au? We don't usually find that out here in ios your age," the man said as he very skillfully whisked the cabbages and placed them on the rather pathetic basket-sided belt. "I do na think I've seen au out here before."

 

"Ah, na Llhai, I was just hired yesterday. Could use the extra work, and out of doors, at that rate."

 

"Ah," the man said with a chuckle. "Life's rough out here on the edge of the Empire. When I was au's age, I dreamed of setting out and seeing ch'Rihan, being a player. My ambitions weren't matched by any work ethic though, na the skill. A farmer I am and will be until I'm too feeble to work at all. It's good to see io with some heart in him, though, that's for sure. I am Ailmna, and welcome to the fields," he responded with a warm smile.

 

"Hann'yyo, Llhai. I am," Arrenhe said, figuring a little lie certainly would na complicate matters at this point, "Kerih. I am glad the rain has let up, I could hear it pounding outside my bedroom window all night and was worried my first day would be soggy, but it is nice to see the sun." And it was, especially since he'd been on a ship, and then plodding through the night in a drenching rain. Perhaps his hair would dry before it matted to his head. For the purposes of his current labors, both physically demanding and mentally draining, he could use the energy. He had always been driven by the sun.

 

"Ah, 'tis good for the crops though, but I see what au mean. Though in a few hours, au would wish that it was cloudy. Gets mighty hot out here midday."

 

"Ie," Arrenhe said, nodding and working his fingers to the bone to keep up. "How long have au worked for the farm?"

 

"Seventeen years now, it is." Ailmna said with pride. "'Tis a long time, but passes swiftly and I get by well enough, and the winters are mild enough that I don't have to huddle inside for fear of the snow, so I can enjoy my downtime." The belt continued to move the cabbages they plucked down and over the hill as the line of workers labored on. Minutes passed in silence until the man spoke again. "Are au just getting done with schooling, then? Au look the right age."

 

"Ie," Arrenhe responded casually. "I never much cared for it," he said, being honest this time. "I've always felt I have to do something with my hands and not just sitting around." Also true, but he'd rather be plucking the strings of his hrini than the golden cabbage. "So what is the routine like here?"

 

"Well," Ailmna said after plucking a few more of the round vegetation. "We work for a few hours, then take a short break to stretch our legs and rest our arms, na to mention get some liquid in, then go back at it for a time more before breaking for lunch. Khuea would already be at work in the house on today's meal, and she has a fine hand with the food. Likely to be cabbage on it today, as there are plenty to spare."

 

"Sounds wonderful," the misplaced Galae dheno said with feeling. A home cooked meal would certainly pay back some of this, though na all. "More of the same after lunch, then?"

 

"Ie," Ailmna said, laughing. "If au need variety in au's day, this is na the job for it, and it'll break au's back before the day's through, especially if au's na used to it."

 

"I can go on for quite a while before the boredom strikes," Arrenhe responded.

 

"If au can, it'll be good. We're always short a hand, and au's are certainly fast enough, and gentle enough na to bruise the leaf. Many a io they try out here end up over in the grain fields or picking melons because they squash the cabbage."

 

"That," Arrenhe said with a genuine laugh, "does na surprise me at all. I see what au mean about the sun, it's already starting to sting a bit."

 

"It will, though we're due for a break shortly. Hopefully tr'Lipun will let au take it, but au were late today. He's a bit of a pain on the rules."

 

"Ie, I was. I wasn't sure where to report in and ended up in the grain silo looking for somio," Arrenhe lied glibly. "I'm lucky he spotted me in the window."

 

"Ah, ie, they're stingy with the details around here, like everyio is supposed to know the way."

 

"Do they go into the silo much?" Arrenhe asked, working every oratorial skill he owned to make it sound like a casual, curious question.

 

"Na so much on these days, unless they need to get more grain. The wheat's still reaching for the sky out on the eastern fields, and there won't be any new deliveries until the time comes," Ailmna said, na seeming to mind the curiosity and more than eager to get the new guy on his feet. "Once in a while io will head in if a tool needs sharpened or some such."

 

Struggling not to let out a sigh, Arrenhe continued to pluck cabbages until a bell sounded further up the hill. The others around him rose and stretched before heading to the top. Following suit, he stuck close to Ailmna and kept his eyes down when the supervisor came into view. They passed him without a word, and arrived at a well where many buckets of water had been drawn and the workers greedily filled up cups and drank to refresh their mighty thirst. Doing likewise, Arrenhe continued to stay with his companion in labor. After the oh so short break was over, they headed back down the hill and went back to work in companionable silence for a while.

 

"Au's overalls are a bit to big for au," Ailmna said after watching Arrenhe tuck back an over-long flap for what seemed the hundredth time. "But au are a smallish lad, and they wouldn't have had anything ready-made for au. Before au leave for the day, au should see Marun up at the house, he takes care of that sort of thing."

 

"Hann'yyo," Arrenhe responded. "I'll definitely do that."

 

The time passed pretty swiftly, as Arrenhe had the music playing in his head and the on-and-off friendly conversation with Ailmna, and a few others that were close as they worked their next lines. They were all friendly, and did na seem surprised to see a new face, for which the young dheno officer thanked the Elements. He could na arouse suspicion, and still had a half-day yet to manage before he could slink off and find some way to return to his colleagues.

 

Thinking of them, he hoped they could pass the day in peace, and that no harm would come of his being spotted. As the chatter grew as the others grew comfortable for his presence, and he thanked the Elements once again that he had always been a personable sort, he managed to gather some insight into the area, and more importanly, some info on the spaceport town that had pushed them back this way.

 

"Aye, the traffic is getting ever worse," said one of the other skilled laborers. "It wouldn't be such a bother but they fly over my house at all hours, and the noise is dreadful. I can only thank the Elements that they fly over so fast it's over pretty quick."

 

"I hear au, it's as bad out my way. I've seen quite a few loads of our harvests going out that way, but I've also seen some other things being hauled through as well. Who'd have thought our little colony world would grow to be such a production machine!" Said one of the few females in his group with an amused chuckle. "Though they could have picked a better spot to build the place, that was some prime land for growing."

 

From all of the talk, Arrenhe could gather that the locals didn't quite know what all was going on, and were pretty curious, but not overly suspicious. That certainly did na mean there weren't nefarious goings on there, but that those in charge of the place were good at keeping the hard-working and friendly people around the area satisfied. Based on the talk, he gathered that many of the local businesses, including the farm and some factories, paid well in credits, far beyond what he imagined was the norm in the inner worlds of the Empire. Such free wealth, to the son of a senator, indicated that much more was going on behind the scenes.

 

After a while, the bells rang again and they all rose and trudged toward the house. After coming around the far side, he saw many a table and bench set up along with a long table filled with bowls and pots of a steaming soup. In the time-renowned practice, he stood in line and made his way step by step until he could grab a bowl, and then forward again until it was filled. Following Ailmna to a bench with others from the cabbage operation, Arrenhe settled with no small satisfaction and took a good whiff of the soup.

 

It was simple, but smelled divine. The golden cabbage had been finely shredded with some leeks and carrot, and some seeds and herbs were thrown in with diced potatoes, apples and ham. A very simple meal, again, and not something he had been acquainted with from home, where much more elaborate and what his ri'nanov would call "worldy" meals were served. After having a good quantity of nothing but replicated fodder on the Talon, and then his long walk and hard labor of the morning, he couldn't have ordered something more perfect than what steamed in front of him now. With little ceremony he dug in, and neatly devoured it.

 

"Khuea has done it again," Ailmna said after finishing his own. "Made me fall in love with her dour face and sassy mouth with a bowl of soup." As the others around laughed, Arrenhe smiled. "What do you think, lad?"

 

"It was amazing, I haven't had a meal like that in an age," he responded. "I just hope that I'm not so satisfied that I don't fall asleep on the cabbage."

 

"Ah, let's see," Ailmna said after a chuckle. "I don't think that's happened since Tarsin a few months ago, but he steadfastly blamed that on his wife and her cravings, she being with child at the time."

 

A while later after they drank their fill and relieved themselves, the bell rang and they all headed back down the hill again. It was far easier now to fall into the rythym of it all, and the playful banter and occasional serious talk, than Arrenhe could have ever dreamed possible as he knelt before his first. He did na forget why he was really there, and what challenges lay before him in the evening, but the music swelled inside him and we was at peace. Na for the life of him would he choose to do this for a living, but he certainly could respect it and would definitely thank those that did it later in life when he sat down to a meal of real vegetables.

 

The afternoon passed and the cabbages continued to roll away on the belt that rolled with them as they moved from line to line. They had their last break of the day, and went back to the work full of chatter and cheer. Whatever lay beneath the surface of the planet, Arrenhe thought, and whatever came of it, the everyday people were of good character and he sincerely hoped that the aftereffects wouldn't taint them.

 

Eventually, the final bell rang and the laborers rose from their knees and stretched once again and sighed, as the muscles were stiff and the body tired. Arrenhe, however good his stamina, was aching like nothing he could ever believe and trying hard na to fall asleep on his feet. The crew surged up the hill to the freedom beyond, and he could na help but stay amongst them. Some loitered, including Ailmna.

 

"Waiting for a ride auself, Kerih?"

 

"Ie, my rinam will be about eventually." Looking about, he wondered exactly how to manage this toughest part. Seeming to get away, but staying close enough that he could rendevous with the team as they continued on in the night. At least, he thought, there had seemed to be no alarm so that they must na have been discovered while he toiled in the fields.

 

"Well," the elder Rihan said with a smile, "that would be my wife come to take me home, so I'm off for the day. I'll see au tomorrow, and we'll see how au's feeling then," he said and clapped him lightly on the back.

 

"Ie, see au tomorrow, Llhai, and have a good night," Arrenhe responded with a genuine feeling of remorse for having lied to the man all day and some regret that he wouldn't be seeing him again, for he had been kind and offered friendship freely, without out the usual politicking that Arrenhe was used to.

 

He loitered about fifteen minutes, all the while surveying the area and seeing what he could make use of. A goodly sized pack of woods carpeted the area a kilometer or so away, and was convieniently near the road. He figured he could duck in there easily enough without being seen and wait out the night. Taking leave of some of the others that remained, he said that he would start walking and his rinam could pick him up when she decided to come through. Some laughed at that, and said he must have made her mad at some point and she was paying him back for it. Setting off, he walked stiffly, his legs screaming about the day's abuse, his knees sore, and his arms hanging limply by his side.

 

As he reached the woods, he looked about non-chalantly and saw the coast was clear, and ducked into the woods. Keeping low, and shedding himself of the bothersome and much too colorful overalls, after absentmindedly removing the multicorder and disruptor that the bulky outfit had thankfully kept well hidden, he found a depression a hundred or so meters in and threw himself down. Lying in naught but his undergarments and slick with sweat, he set the tricorder to signal at sunset and kept the disruptor held loosely in his hand, and dropped off into sleep without delay.