Trident's Forge by Patrick S Tomlinson

like a simple painting, except it was moving , as if it was trapped just below the surface. But the rock was thin, impossibly thin. Kexx reached out in bewilderment to touch the moving painting, but jumped back as the image changed entirely again in response to zer finger, replaced by rows of small squares containing their own simple pictures in bright contrasting colors.
    Kexx was mesmerized. Zer question entirely forgotten, ze moved to touch the enchanted rock again, but Mei slapped zer hand away.
    â€œNo toy play,” she said, getting the word order wrong, but close enough.
    Kexx pointed a wavering finger at the rock. “What is that ?”
    â€œTool,” Mei answered simply, apparently not wanting to waste time explaining.
    The moment passed and Kexx remembered the immediate crisis. “What do you mean ‘the rest of us,’ Mei? There are more of you?” The human nodded. “How many?”
    â€œMany, many. Greater,” Mei paused, struggling with a word, “Greater two hands villages.”
    Ze meant to say two fullhands , Kexx was certain of it. They’d only started on numbers in the last few days. Ze swallowed hard. Two fullhand villages of humans? With numbers like that, they weren’t just a wayward tribe that had washed up on the shore, they were as numerous as the entire village network, maybe more. The sudden realization blanked Kexx’s skin with fear.
    â€œAnd they’re all coming right now?” ze said carefully, afraid of the answer.
    Mei shook her head, a negative signal. “No. Maybe, ah…” Ze looked around, then pointed at the human shelter and made a big, all-encompassing circle motion, “…two hands of this, multiple.”
    Kexx nodded, borrowing the human expression. Mei was trying to express multiplication, if Kexx was to judge. There were just over thirty humans in the village. Thirty times two fullhands, around six hundred on their way. That was at least a number their warriors could deal with, if it came to that. Which, glancing down at Mei’s “tool”, Kexx sincerely hoped it wouldn’t.
    â€œIf there are so many of you,” Kexx spoke slowly, trying to give Mei time to digest the words. “How do you know so few are coming now?”
    â€œThat only fit in shuttle.”
    Kexx grimaced at the unfamiliar word. “Shuttle?”
    Mei squinted her eyes, frustrated. “Ah… bird. That only fit in bird.”
    Bird again. The rover used the same word, not that it made any more sense the second time around. Kexx hovered near incredulous.
    â€œWhat kind of bird carries six hundred people?” The moment the question left zer mouth, a low rumbling sound came from the ocean. Quiet at first, more felt than heard, but it grew quickly. Every face in the village turned to try to spot what came from the horizon. The sound grew like an approaching storm, but impossibly fast.
    Then, all at once, the sound exploded into a fullblown hurricane. Thunderous winds buffeted everyone caught outside as an enormous wedge, black as the deepest cave, soared just above the halo trees, blotting out the sun as it casted a shadow over fully half the village. G’tel left in the open ran for the safety of their homes, dropped to the ground and covered their heads, or simply froze in abject terror. As quickly as it appeared, the black triangle covered the length of the village and disappeared on the other side of the trees.
    Horrified and operating at the very edge of zer wits, Kexx looked down to see Mei pointing at the nightmare.
    â€œ That kind of bird.”

Five
    I t took all of the three days preparing for the mission before Benson finally committed himself to actually getting on the shuttle. Whoever had been in charge of assigning the seating arrangements had given him a place of honor near the front of the shuttle’s passenger compartment in a window seat. Whether the choice was out of ignorance of his