CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 3: A Shard Of Code

116 ∞ The Prayer Effect

Day 00014 Mission Nilex

Ahmid started mopping juice from his plate with a piece of bread as he watched Captain Levant, who put down his fork, a corner of his mouth rising.

"I don't know if it was funny at the time, but it is to me now. A colony requested if We could relocate a group to another planet in the system for settlement. They didn't have the capacity to build ships that could transport thousands at a time. The distance was only three weeks' travel, our time, while for them it would have been three months. It made sense for Us to agree, but it did take me a while to persuade Canaisis to agree."

"Why was that, Captain?" Ayla pushed her empty plate aside and got up.

The Captain leaned forward with both elbows on the table. "The group that wanted to resettle had a nomadic lifestyle with a deeply tribal, religious social structure. We didn't care about that—it was the herds of animals they wanted to bring. For them, their horses were a man's wealth and a symbol of his status in the tribe. Out in the open plains of their world, a horse meant life itself, for the climate was very cold.

"We ended up dedicating one hangar to horse pens and bringing aboard two thousand horses, and cattle, goats, birds, and pets. That in itself was a long negotiation, as many tribesmen could only bring two horses, and they fought amongst themselves about it. The tribal leader could bring several hundred horses, of course."

Ayla placed a cup of water before the Captain, and he nodded his thanks.

"The local government was more than happy to help Us get them on board. After breaking orbit, I began to see why. These were a prideful People who loved to quarrel, all of them, over anything. Sure, once it was over, everything calmed down and returned to normal, but at least four or five quarrels broke out every day. Some were just yelling matches, others didn't end until someone was knocked out cold. I just observed from a distance and counted the days. Being the Captain, I was accorded respect, but that was tested when I was challenged to combat one day."

Ahmid sat up in startlement. "Actual combat? Really? What for?" He glanced up at Ayla as she placed a cup beside his plate and sat down with her own.

"Well," the Captain flicked his hand, "it seems the tribal leader's son—a prideful and arrogant young man, in my opinion—was performing his daily duty of tending to the horses when he felt the need to use the bathroom. Rather than returning to the other hangar and doing his business there, he decided to just urinate on the hangar floor.

"Now, mind you, the horses and livestock had hay spread around the floor and they had to do their business as any animal will, but Canaisis took exception to a Human thinking he had the same privilege and status as the animals."

"Oh my." Ahmid leaned forward, engrossed in the story. "So what happened?"

"Canaisis locked the hangar. In her opinion, if he wanted to act like an animal, he could stay with them."

Ahmid and Ayla chuckled.

"Sounds about right to me," said Ahmid.

"That's what I thought, too. When I informed the tribal leader, he was furious, declaring it an insult to cage a free man, an insult to him personally and to his son, and a blight on the tribe's honor. The whole tribe was ready to declare war and there was only one way to end things peaceably. I accepted the challenge."

"You won, I'm assuming?" asked Ayla, still smiling in amusement.

The Captain nodded. "It was a short fight without weapons. And then I had Canaisis raise the gravity to two-and-a-half G's. With the whole tribe immobilized, I told the leader he needed to take this time to teach his son better manners and respect. Then I dragged him by his foot to the horse pens and locked him in too. After that, the tribe was very subdued and the rest of the voyage was peaceful. After we arrived, and the hangar unlocked, the leader brought his son before me, who apologized and offered me half his herd and two of his best wives."