It had affected them all, she thought. Sharm was worst; he sat and brooded on the chair of state, and barely noticed what was going on around him, even now, when the harvest was nearly ready. Tallaun, the new Magistrate, was harsh and loud, angry all the time. Everyone seemed angry or fearful... or perhaps the anger grew from the fear.
And Nejje watched the sky. But mostly, she watched in vain; only the familiar constellations circled slowly overhead.
It was before dawn when she awoke, and she tiptoed down from her room, careful to disturb no one. She went out through a side door, into the heady aroma of the khala fields, and looked up. The sun was gilding the horizon with the faintest of pale glows, and the stars were bright and sharp in a cloudless sky....
Nejje's heart leapt. There were new stars.
Four of them, in a tight little group, a diamond sliding swiftly across the sky. Not so many, she thought, as when the Klingons had come. Did it mean... something different? She paused, wondering what to do next. Should she waken the household? Should they prepare for... whatever was to come? But what might that be?
And then, above the slow sounds of wakening birds and animals in the countryside around her, she heard something else, a thin shrill whining sound - and with it, there came a sudden glow from somewhere on the other side of the khala field.
Nejje slipped between the plants, treading carefully, evoking barely a rustle from the greenery as she moved between the thick stems, holding her breath, wondering what she would see. If it was more Klingons - she could warn the household, at least, she thought. Though the day ahead might be a grim one - until nightfall.
There was a faint sound of voices from ahead of her. Nejje crouched down, making her way between the plants now with painstaking slowness. Voices, movement - tall shapes stalking along the edge of the field -
Her eyes widened. She knew one of them.
Impulsively, she stood, stepped out of the shelter of the plants. "You were here before," she said.
The tall green monster's silvery eyes widened. "Ttt'kkk-fff'drri!" She paused, recovered herself, said in that rasping whisper, "Yes. Yes, I was."
"I remember you," said Nejje. "You spoke for us. To the bad people."
"I -" The monster blinked. "I - did what I could. What was permitted of me. My commanding officer -"
"He was a bad man." Nejje looked up at the monster. "I don't think you are as bad as him. Who is that with you?"
"I -" The monster looked around her in apparent confusion. "This is - my associate. Rrueo."
The other one had been following a few paces behind the green monster. Nejje smiled as she came closer. "You are furry!" she said.
The blue-furred creature blinked at her. "Rrueo - yes, Rrueo is... furry."
Nejje stepped forward. This one was dressed in leather like the Klingons, but she was very plainly not of the same kind. The monsters, Nejje thought, the monsters are the good ones.... And now, here came another monster, tall and blue, dressed in plain black cloth with a yellow stripe over her shoulders, and with antennae twitching in the white hair on her head. Clearly, this was a woman, with a face that was stern and severe, but not unfriendly. When she spoke, it was in a soft, high-pitched tone. "You're a native of this planet? My name's Tylha Shohl. I'm - " The blue monster paused, seeming to take stock of Nejje. "I'm a friend," she said at last, "or at least I'd like to be. What's your name?"
"I am Nejje." She pointed to the green woman. "And I remember, this one's name is Blek, and this one -" she turned to the furry one "- is Rrueo. Are they your friends?"
The blue one - Tylha - smiled a bit wryly at that. "Sort of. For the moment."
"R'j Bl'k'," said the green one. "My name is R'j Bl'k'."
"Oh," said Nejje, "the bad man, Juregh, he didn't know how to say your name properly?" She considered for a moment. "It is a bit hard."
"Perhaps," said R'j. "In any case... we would like to speak to your Steadholder. If that is permitted." She looked over her shoulder. "There are four of us -"
"Oh, yeah," a new voice broke in. "Sorry, I was looking at these plants. Have you seen those roots? They're weird. Anyway, yeah." A fourth figure stepped out of the pre-dawn dimness. "Oh, hi there. Veronika Grau, call me Ronnie, everyone does."
This one wore black cloth like Tylha, but with a red stripe over her shoulders, and above it, her face -
Nejje took one look, and screamed.
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