Second Sight

[Cmdr JFarrington 0]

Kree of Qin-a

 

Second Sight

Several meters along the bough outside Kree and Vai’s dwelling the walkway narrowed. There a second bough leading to a higher perch lay within easy reach. Kree’s long narrow fingers closed on it and with little effort he swung his body upwards, swaying the bough ever so slightly. Its leaves quivered as he loped easily along it to the trunk then climbed, hand over foot, another ten meters to a rudimentary platform that overlooked the village, the valley, and the mountain range beyond.

 

To the north, glimmering like a beacon in the rising sun, rose Mt Atu, a pillar of quartz obscured from view by mosses, grasses, and quaking aspens. At certain angles, as at sunrise and sunset, the quartz overcame its garb to reflect sunlight like a beacon. It was to this mountain the Arcarians were drawn when they first encountered the Qin. Deep within this majestic mountain lay the repository of all Qin knowledge and technology, hidden away after the Arcarians nearly decimated the Qin population by drawing them into interstellar war with the Hora many generations ago. Kree sighed, remembering the stories that had passed to him from his father’s father’s father. The stories were so vivid it seemed to Kree that he had been there, though he had not. Strange how a bitter memory can survive so many generations, so many lifetimes.

 

To the south a rugged precipice thrust over the valley, glimmering red in the light of the rising sun, like a firebrand hung to warn of danger. There dwelt the lintu-saal, their chaotic nests, like black scabs, dotted an otherwise smooth barren crag.

 

Below that crag ran the river, flowing swiftly, dancing over ebony basalt, foaming in deep pools, then cascading over jagged quartz-intruded boulders recently fallen from the cliff above. As it neared their village the river broadened and slowed to a more navigable pace. Several kilometers beyond the village it turned and dropped lazily into a large pool – the Vesi – that had divided the Travelers’ camps when they first arrived.

 

Perched on this lookout several hundred meters above the forest floor Kree could detach himself not only from the village but from the pressures of his rank. Here he could sit in peace and ponder recent events.

 

The coming of the Travelers from Htrae, the first travelers to visit Qin-a in three generations, had complicated their lives considerably. The Travelers’ vessel had disrupted the dance of the twin stars, thereby throwing off the millennial harmonies. Moreover, their coming had forced the Qin to revisit their worst fears – their collective memory of the Arcarian-Hora War. Kree couldn’t help but wonder if their coming was intentionally planned by Ama’a and Mi’i to make them face their fears and perhaps jolt them out of their intense secrecy and isolationism.

 

At their last meeting, Chief Elder Ne’e seemed to be thinking the same thoughts, though he had not specifically voiced them. Vai, also, believed that so much of the Travelers problems were a result of the Qin’s inaction, and that one of their problems, specifically the life-threatening injury of their Com’an d’er, was their fault.

 

Of course Vai was right. She was usually right. As a healer she was more attuned to the harmonics of their planet, the vibrations of abundant life that surrounded them, from the smallest microbe to the largest plant or animal. These were things that intrigued Kree and piqued his interest as a scientist, but he had neither the extreme reverence nor the ability to discern or feel the things that healers such as Vai did. Though she had not said as much, Kree had seen the look on her face, felt her sympathetic harmonics, when tending to Ri’i ta’a and when speaking of the Com’an d’er. He felt certain she had a special connection to all healers – even those who were not Qin. That in itself gave him pause.

 

Kree stood and peered into the western sky, now fully reborn in new-day. There Ama’a and Mi’i had ceased their dance only a few days ago. “You are right, Beloved,” he said to Vai, though she was several kilometers away talking to the Traveler called So’o v’ak. “We have responsibility beyond ourselves, and those of us who are not healers must muster what powers we have to aid those who need healing. We can no longer sit by and ignore a responsibility given to us by the stars.”

 

As if in affirmation, a morning breeze rustled the leaves and brushed Kree’s downy fur from his face. Without a second thought he swung from his perch and descended smoothly and swiftly to the high bough-path that would take him to their hidden sanctuary within Mt. Atu. What he would do when he arrived he had no idea, but he had a suspicion that Vai would let him know soon enough.