02 Quetzals Flock

QUETZAL'S FLOCK
"We have none, my Lord.
"Then - how do you tell someone when you want to meet them?
"By the heartbeat, Lord!"
Kane slid to the ground in an inelegant scramble. He glanced quickly at
Hammadi and could have sworn he saw a suppressed grin. His escort dismounted and
held a murmured conference. Kane looked again at the stationary star. They had no
divisions to the day, perhaps their day was much longer than that on Mars or Old
Earth. Perhaps, it was like the Moon - it had a duration of fourteen Old Earth days.
Even on the asteroids, they had maintained the biological day and night cycle. He
might be forced to do the same.
He was provided with a dubious looking hunk of something. Kane hesitated
but his hunger overcame any misgivings. It appeared to be hard tack, something dried
and shrivelled, which might have been animal or vegetable. He gnawed on it and
nearly broke his teeth. After a while, he managed to get something into his mouth by
sucking on it like a toothless granny. It turned out to be surprisingly good, if a little
monotonous.
He was offered a skin pouch and was eyed anxiously as he held it to his
mouth. It was like being invited into a household where they had little to offer and
hoped that they weren't entertaining a glutton. Kane took the hint and ate and drank
sparingly. Hammadi and his companions didn't share in the meal, they continued to
watch Kane gravely. It had an inhibiting effect and soon, Kane retreated into his cloak
and tried to make himself comfortable on the ground. Bedding wasn't offered.
Kane drifted into sleep, his last vision was of three motionless figures,
shrouded in their cloaks, with hoods pulled over their faces - perhaps it was their way
of resting. Kane slept because he was exhausted, if he had been to the slightest degree
mentally active, trying to sleep would have been a wasted effort. The star was still
radiating intense heat. There was no encouraging fading of the light and the coming of
darkness to tell him that it was time to rest. The strange, alien smell of the Schwarm,
was cloying, almost suffocating. There were a hundred reasons why he should find it
impossible to sleep - but he did.
He awoke to a sense of unreality. It took time to remember, instinctively, he
reached out for Maia - and then drew back his hand. The realisation of his loss was
almost a physical blow. His companions sat in the same position as when he had
dropped off to sleep. It would have been easy to mistake them for features of the
landscape. Only the wind stirring the folds of their Kous, betrayed the fact that they
were not rocks. He wondered if they had slept - something told him that they hadn't.
He tried to come to terms with what sort of people they were. If he had
thought the Lynxe were alien at times, it was nothing compared with dealing with a
race who didn't seem to need sleep and who apparently, never got tired. He knew he
was making assumptions, their physical bodies required replenishment and restoration
at some time. The problem was, that their times and his didn't appear to coincide.
Hammadi stirred and emerged from his cocoon.
"I trust my Lord Quetzal rested well?"
"Thank you - yes. Tell me. Is our destination much further?"
"We must travel heartbeats without number, my father."
Kane looked at the Picun who were browsing contentedly in the Schwarm.
Remounting and riding through the heat of their interminable day, was not an
attractive proposition. He wasn't offered more food or drink before they resumed their
ride. Kane looked at the red star, as far as he could tell, it hadn't moved. The
comparison with the Moon wouldn't go away, it was quite possible that he had arrived
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