The Dance Eternal

ch 27

27

Twin suns shone at the height of their daytime path, occasionally obscured by clouds of sand carried by near-blistering gusts of wind, sometimes for several minutes. The intermittent torrents scoured an already parched land; an arid desert sprawled in apparent endlessness in every direction, with dunes piled hundreds of feet high against even taller rock formations. These pathetic and weathered remains of a long forgotten mountain range jutted upward through the sand like ragged teeth. Stunted vegetation poked up in places, squat little green cactus pods half buried in sand, but long adapted to and comfortable in such conditions.

A huge woolen beast trundled along a wide ravine, parallel with it's banks. Long locks of dark, coarse hair trailed the sand at it walked, leaving an odd, swaying ripple in its wake that swept away it's footprints. Atop it's back, at the plateau of an almost fifteen-foot height, sat a rectangular wooden cabin secured with dozens of thick straps that disappeared under the fur. Its walls were coated in a thick black paint, crossed with wavy lines in an eye-jarring combination of bright yellows and greens. Heavy padding stuck out from between the beast and the cabin, made from a thick and red woolen material folded over-and-over, that flapped vigorously as the winds whipped up another flurry of sand.

A pair of clicks came from the front of the cabin, and the beast stopped. A tall and hooded figure opened a panel on the side of the cabin and slid down a rope secured to a hook within, a deep royal blue cloak billowing behind. Thick booted soles hit the ground, kicking up small clouds of sand that fluffed outward as the cloak settled, just touching the ground. The hood twisted slightly as the wearer scanned the area.

A gloved hand reached under the cloak and produced a mildly-curved dagger; nearly eight inches long, the blade was barely thicker than cloth, and about an inch-an-a-half wide at the hilt. It was sharp on both edges, and tapered with the curve to a needle-point. The metal of the blade scintillated with the light of the twin suns, seeming to absorb the stars' illumination and casting enough glow on the front of the figure to reveal a chin and mouth under the hood. What showed was a narrow, slightly pointed chin that led to a feminine jawline, covered in supple, flawless skin that held a pale amber hue. Full lips, almost black in tone, pursed in consideration as the figure walked toward a small cluster of squat desert cacti.

She crouched near the cluster, and carefully slid her hand under the bloated barrel, feeling around with her fingertips until she hit the solid root. She brought the blade under and sliced cleanly through the woody root, and quickly lifted. A small flash of white-hot flame flared from the stump, cauterizing the wound; if she had been slower, that flame would easily burn off a finger. She sliced a second from the patch, and the hunter rose and sauntered back toward the beast, prizes in-arm.

Pausing with the rope in one hand and the pair of cacti in the other, the traveler slowly turned to face the direction from which she had come. A low rumble seemed to creep through the ground, not unlike the pre-tremors of an earthquake. Peering in that direction, sharp eyes caught sight of a plume of sand reaching to the sky. With the deftness of a seasoned acrobat, the figure jerked the rope taught and hopped; the material's slight elasticity pulled-and-snapped, and she used the momentum, kicking one foot out to catch the side of the beast and run upward.

At the top, the traveler tossed the cactus barrels into the cabin and grabbed the open door, using it to pull herself the rest of the way inside. Leaning back out, she reached up and pushed the hood back to her forehead to get a better look. Her face was long with soft curves, a young woman of the Dia'Novestri – a race of desert beings who call this world home. Long lashes drew attention to large and brilliant eyes that seemed to ride on high cheekbones. Her eyes were dominated by bright red irises split horizontally by twin pupils that seemed dark mirrors of the orbs above. Well-trimmed brows sat above those eyes, the same near-black as the lock of longish hair that trailed along the side of a strong neck, and ended just below her shoulder.

A smirk pulled at the corners of her dark lips, and she backed into the cabin and shut the panel. After climbing through the small cabin, and across a set of chests behind the driver's bench, then over the bench itself, she settled into the seat and took hold of the guiding yoke – a small lever set ahead of her that she could use to guide the Oar'vaor, the long-haired beast she rode. She clicked her tongue twice and pushed the yoke forward, and the beast once again began its march. She clicked once, and again nudged the yoke, urging the creature faster.

For generations, the Dia'Novestri had domesticated the Oar'vaor; the creatures were deceptive in how they were judged by outsiders, including invading races from other worlds. Generations of breeding and training had yielded some of what had become known as the best beasts of work and war in the galaxy. The use of these creatures in war, especially, had traveled fast; the creatures were said to be able to achieve an almost impossible land speed, and their pelt was able to turn both ballistic projectiles and some beam weapons. Their huge drawback was that they seemed to only obey the Dia; numerous creatures left with buyers nearly always rebelled. They weren't particularly violent (though, for obvious reasons they were potentially dangerous to anything smaller than a shuttle craft), but they were especially evasive.

The traveler urged her mount a third time for more speed as it crested a tall rise of sand, and she took another glance around the side of the cabin. The plume had closed a good bit of the gap, and was near the last rise before the valley she was leaving. She pulled up a long-scope she kept in a pouch under the bench, and looked through the smaller end. The back edge of the valley came into close-up view, and a figure rose up, bulky and spike-headed. She grimaced, it's shape immediately recognized – the wild spiked head was a helmet, and it's wearer was particularly nasty. She grumbled a curse under her breath, settling back into the seat.

“We may have a fight, Ta,” she said to the beast as she put the scope back into it's pouch. Her voice would have been deep and sultry, but was crackling from the heat. She leaned to the left, put her lips to the edge of a tube that was affixed to the inside wall next to the bench, and twisted slowly on a knob below, releasing a trickle of water. After getting enough to wet her throat again and shutting off the valve, she looked ahead; the crest of the hill sank into a steep, and very long downward slope of sand.

Grinning at her fortune, she pulled a pair of goggles up from under her cloak and slid them over her eyes. Pulling her hood low, she said, “Let us see if we can shake these hunters.”

She hollered, a warbling and throaty call, and kicked the yoke. The beast answered with its own bellow, an excited gravelly sound, and leaped forward in a rather canine fashion. As she made her second bound, she cleared hill's crest. When she landed on the downward slope, she deftly folded her legs back and smoothly went to her belly, sliding down the hill with her head held slightly upward. Sand sprayed up behind in a huge plume, and the beast played along the way, kicking up smaller trails by swinging her legs outward, like a child making a snow angel.

The traveler chuckled at the creature's playfulness – she had always loved that about the Oar'vaor, and this one, Ta, had been hers for three decades. The Sior-Bond, which forms between the creatures and a Dia who spend a great deal of time together – her Bond with Ta had formed slowly but started much earlier, almost immediately upon meeting. Their resulting connection was unlike any seen in generations.

Wind whipped at the edges of the cabin padding, and pushed her hood back as they gained more speed; Ta moved her legs in tight against her sides, and she shot down the massive slope like a rocket. Over the sound of rushing wind and grinding sand, she heard a scream, and the ground exploded a few feet to their right, throwing debris at them as passed.

Dive, came the familiar impression, and she pulled a cord at her right. The cord released a curtain that unrolled, covering the front of the cabin. She snapped some clamps in place over the wooden dowel through the bottom edge of the curtain. Then she placed her hand on the loosely-woven curtain, and concentrated for a moment; the material stiffened to the consistency and strength of a hardened alloy, but retained a low opacity for visibility.

“Ta, find us a way, please,” she said to the beast, who began searching the ground ahead, her great head swiveling as she leaned to change course and head into a channel that had formed in the lee of a massive rock formation.

The Oar'vaor had an uncanny connection to the planet on which they reside. Able to locate underground caves, water supplies, ore deposits and sand chutes, they have been invaluable assets to the Dia'Novestri. Factor in the beast's higher-than-average-animal intelligence, and they often become ever better companions.

Ta let out a high-pitched warble, a sound the traveler knew as a signal to brace; she reached behind the seat and pulled up a set of braided silk ropes fashioned into an H-shape that were attached to the back side, and pulled it down over her head. The bottoms, set with large metal rings, she clipped onto hooks screwed into the deck, and cinched it down by pulling on the excess rope through the bottom loops. She planted her feet on the foot-board in front of the seat, looped the ends of the harness around her forearms, and clicked her tongue once.

The beast suddenly veered to the left and stomped her rear feet, sending a cloud of dust outward with a heavy thump, and launched her into an arch. As her rear feet left the ground, her powerful legs adding to the force of the jump, a series of distant pops from behind sent a group of small, explosive projectiles that impacted in bursts of green fire on now-empty ground. Seemingly in slow-motion she hung in the air, inhaling a great breath. She made a sound like a gravelly cough, then again, and the sand fell in as a hole opened from underneath. Ta dove into the opening and the top of the cabin scraped at the top of the hole, knocking loose whatever hold kept the sand in place. The stuff instantly began cascading down over her hind-quarters, and in seconds covered their passing completely.

When the pursuers finally reached the approximate area, no one could be sure where their quarry had entered. They milled about, stabbing at the sand with spears and digging with trench shovels vainly at several areas where they thought the beast dove. Failing that, several members came running with smoldering bundles. The others scattered as the bombers ran to different locations seemingly at random; as they got near, they screamed madness and dove at the sand, jamming their bundles as deep as they could manage. Seconds later, the bundles exploded with muffled thuds, sending sand and bomber-bits in sprays.