When dawn came, Brooks was already prepared. The longer day cycle of Ko allowed for a generous sleep period, but he'd risen early despite that.

The stimulants would let him go through the longer day without problem. With those, one could go for a week without sleep if they observed certain careful behaviors, such as still taking time to sit and do little physical activity. The brain, ultimately, could manage, albeit with some limitations, it was the body that would start to have problems if one kept active the whole time.

There was a lot to be done, though, he had to capitalize on the advancements of yesterday while it was still fresh.

Kai was up with him; perhaps even earlier, despite having taken the night watch. She'd been on the front lines in two wars, and the old habits died hard.

Today he would cross the bridge himself and try to initiate communication with the !A!amo. He would bring them gifts - food and tools made in a similar style to their own.

"Are we sure they'll like this stuff?" Kai asked.

"No," Brooks said. "But other groups across the planet have appreciated them." He paused. "Though one group in the Western desert rejected them."

Kai made a hiss. "Was that the group that killed the researcher?"

It had been, Brooks knew. "As far as I know, that's just a rumor," he said.

Kai knew what he was doing. "Rumor my ass," she muttered, loudly enough for him to hear.

His white bag was still a problem. But taking some matte brown tape, he wrapped it until it was completely covered outside.

"You know, the bright white was meant to help us find it - and you - in case something happened," Kai said.

"I don't want to look any stranger than I have to," he replied. "I have studied this sort of thing outside of this mission."

"Was that before you were in the Union?" she asked.

He knew what she was wondering about. There were a lot of stories, some true and some exaggerated, about the rim, and the things he'd done out there before he'd joined the Voidfleet.

"Yes," he admitted. "I didn’t make first contact on Bipon. We were a later contact, and the first had been less than enlightened."

"Pirates, I heard," Kai said.

"Something like that. The distinction is somewhat arbitrary on the fringes. An honest trader can turn smuggler, pirate, or saint based on his circumstances."

Kai truly seemed perplexed. "They really have no ethics?"

"Those are a hard burden to carry when a wrong move might mean the end of your ship or life. A lot of ships barely carry enough food, water, and air to reach their destinations - every bit of weight is something they'll have to pay for with food and reaction mass. A minor miscalculation, and . . ." He shrugged. "The math then becomes very stark."

Kai took that in. "So what happened on Bipon?"

"The local species were not a lot more developed, economically, than the !Xomyi. They had farming, but that was it. The first group to find them presented themselves as gods, and when that lie fell through they killed a lot of the locals on their way out. Not all intentionally, they left a lot of stuff behind that wasn't safe to handle - even had a radioactive dump pit just a few kilometers from the local village.

"My group wasn't connected with those - ours was seeking new trade opportunities, and since pickings were slim we decided to see if these beings had anything that might have value on the market - artifacts, delicacies, art."

He sighed. "We landed. They attacked. We had expected that, but - well, you think that some primitives throwing spears is just pathetic, until you have it happen to you. These beings - they still don't have a formal name, but we called them Biss - they felt they were fighting for their lives."

"So what did you do?"

"We set down goods, under cover of guardian drones, and then went back into the ships. The Biss had become afraid of outsider goods, and they set fire to that first set. We'd expected that, and the goods were cheap, so we put out more. Just simple things; knives, hatchets, jewelry, simple rations. They didn't burn the second set, but just watched us. We waited, and eventually they got curious enough to look at the stuff we'd left. When they realized they were useful things, they took them."

"And that was it?"

"No. We didn't leave, and it made them nervous. Eventually, they brought out some gifts of their own - blankets, fetishes, things like that. Anything that we thought might have value to collectors, we took, and left them more trade goods. Then we left. Their goods brought a good price from collectors, I'm told - my share was small, I was only a crewman."

Kai had listened intently, warring emotions on her face. Everything he had described flew in the face of the Union and its ideals.

And Brooks could not say he was proud of these things. Yet that was where his life had led him at that time. Now it had led him elsewhere.

"We made three trips to that world before I changed ships," he added. "Each time, we operated the same way. Barely saw the Biss, just an exchange of gifts. I like to hope that it continues that way, rather than turning to violence."

"It disrupted their entire development," Kai said. "Do you really think it was okay?"

"I've asked myself that same question. No, I don't think it was. But it happened then, it's happened on other worlds, and it happened in human history. We can't change the past."

He looked down at the bag and the goods he was bringing now. "At least this time I have a better motive."

He did not notice if Kai reacted to that or not, but he continued to prepare himself all the same.

Ten minutes later, they left the tent, slogging back towards the tree bridge.

The drones told him that the !A!amo had not left their camp, though they had started stirring an hour or so before.

"I want you to stay on this side of the bridge," he told Kai.

"I can't cover you that way," she said.

"I know. And we'll introduce you to them soon. But right now I don't want to startle them when I cross."

"Captain, I think I have to overrule you on this," she said. "You need some kind of defense."

"I have the armor of bravery," Brooks replied.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"You may need more than that," she replied dryly.

"Come halfway across the bridge, watch from there. Synchronize your scope with my drone, and you'll be able to track me and know our exact position."

"That'd be a hell of a shot if I need to take one."

"If you have to shoot, just aim high. The sound alone should startle them enough that I can get away, and hopefully won't completely blow our chances. Killing one will."

Kai considered whether to continue to fight on this.

"I'll stay halfway across the bridge," she said. "Unless things get iffy. Then, if I think I'll be unobserved, I'll come across."

Brooks knew she could overrule him on security matters. It was only what she'd do if trouble brewed anyway.

"All right," he said.

Taking off his boots, back in his moccasins, he crossed the bridge. The give of the leather shoes let his feet grip the tree trunk securely.

He saw in his rear-vision cameras that Kai had moved halfway across and slung a camoflauged blanket over herself. It adjusted its texture to match the moss on the tree perfectly, and she was suddenly gone - aside from the hint of her rifle barrel protruding, she was impossible to notice.

Jumping down, he moved slowly towards the !A!amo camp.

There was no path towards it. The tribe was nomadic, and so such things did not come to be unless a large animal made them.

It was denser here than he'd experienced across the river.

The sunlight filtering from the canopy was slim, despite Bror being a brighter star. The leaves were so dense that it was actually dark here on the forest floor.

It did not seem to be plants that ruled down here; these growths reminded him more of mushrooms, some with fat bodies and some with thin, but they all had that pale, fibrous look to them.

"Interestingly," the drone said suddenly. "The reflective leaves of many tall trees on Ko are theorized to be increasing the planet's overall albedo to the point that in the timespan of millions of years it may lead to the planet cooling."

"What?" Brooks said. "Y, is that you?"

"Yes, Captain, and hello. I sometimes think an interesting fact can help when we are stressed. Your vital signs caught my attention. They are not dangerous, but I still thought I would check in on you."

"I'm fine," he replied. "But now is not a good time. Making second contact."

"Would you like me to stay and monitor the situation-"

"No," he said. "Thank you. Next time, send me a silent alert if you're worried."

Y was quiet a moment. "Of course, Captain. Good skill."

The drone went back to silence, and Brooks paused, taking a deep breath. He could see signs of the camp ahead, about a hundred meters. There was some kind of structure, it seemed.

He knew he'd been crashing through the undergrowth clumsily, so they surely knew he was coming.

Going slower, he picked the clearest path he could.

His spy drones told him that the !Xomyi were reacting to his approach. Some were moving towards the far side of the camp. Others towards the side near him.

He stopped ten meters out.

"I bring gifts," he called out, the words translated into their language.

There was some shifting among the group, centered upon one or two others. Knows the World, perhaps.

One of the !A!amo came closer, peering out at him. He recognized it as Tracker.

He said nothing, just watching Brooks.

Slowly, Brooks took some steps forward. Tracker did not react; there was no apparent hostility.

A few others, further back, appeared to watch him. Some held spears, one even an atlatl and darts that he - or she, he could not be sure yet - seemed to be holding in a ready position.

He kept his pace even and slow. When he gauged himself close enough not to seem cowardly in their eyes, he opened the pack, slowly taking out a container.

Opening it, he saw their noses twitch; the scent was strong, even to him, and they knew it.

Honey.

Or Ko's closest approximation. The creatures that made it were as long as his thumb and extremely aggressive, making the collection difficult for the !Xomyi.

But drones did not care about stings; and after some studies by the science team, creating it in a lab had proven feasible.

"A gift," he said. To help show it, he broke off a piece and put it into his mouth.

The sweetness was immediate; sugar was the same chemical here or anywhere. But then came the stranger tastes; they were slightly bitter to him, with a hint of mint.

He held out the container so they all could see it, and hopefully understand that it was offered.

Tracker came in, taking a piece from the container. He took a bite, pausing a moment.

"Very sweet," he said. "No grubs!" he called out to the others.

Brooks could not tell if that was good or bad; but evidently Tracker did not mind, as he kept eating, taking large bites.

"Sting hurt?" he said to Brooks. Then he made an angry chittering sound, mimicking that made by the bee-like creatures. He made a sound like a laugh.

Brooks tried to mimic his smile. "I didn't get stung," he said. "I was lucky."

"Lucky!" Tracker said. "Gift, not luck." He turned and called out.

"Honey Finder, he can teach you things!"

One of the others looked surprised. They'd been hanging back, watching him guardedly, but then started to come forward.

One of the others spoke to him, Honey Finder made a gesture with his wings that Brooks's system told him was like a shrug. He continued closer.

"Honey?" he said, taking a piece and eating it. "Strange honey. What honey has no grubs?"

"Sweet kind," Tracker said with a laugh.

More came forward. They all seemed eager for the honey, taking large chunks and eating it.

One distant !Xomyi called out something that his system couldn't translate. "Hakki!"

It seemed to compel immediate reaction; several others standing distant called out the word as well, and the ones near him moved immediately. They took more pieces of honey, splitting it out amongst themselves, but didn't eat it.

Tracker stayed, not a part of the whole process. He was licking the last of the honey off his hands, watching the others.

They hurried over, bringing honey to the ones who had called out.

As they did that, Knows the World slowly came forward.

"Who are you?" the wise man asked.

"My name is Ian Brooks," he told him.

The !Xomyi studied him carefully. "What are you?"

"I am a human. I have come from far away."

"There are more like you where you come from?" Knows the World asked him.

"Yes. But there are only two of us here now. My friend is across the bridge."

Knows the World seemed to find that very interesting, but said nothing else. He took some honey, the last piece, but did not eat it immediately.

The whole group began to move into the camp, and Brooks took this as an opportunity to enter as well.

It was, really, a very simple camp. Cordage was woven everywhere, like a spiderweb. Small structures were made simply with leaves woven together, over and around the ropes.

Of course, he thought. The trees here had metals in them for stiffening; even the young ones would be too inflexible to bend over to form structures.

So the !A!amo had made do with what they could use.

What they would give for something so simple as young saplings with give, he thought. But then; their vast quantities of cordage and rope seemed to be working at least as well. Perhaps even better, since they could coil it all up and take it with them when they moved.

There was a central fire pit that some of the others sat around. They left an opening, and looked at him with some expectation.

He sat down among them, trying to be mindful of the spacing. He was so much larger than them, he had the feeling of sitting in a circle with children.

But these were fully-grown, intelligent beings. Any one of them could put a spear into his face. He did not yet even know how they viewed life and violence.

Some of the others, one of whom he could now see was holding a child, lingered at the periphery, staring. It was hard to tell much difference yet, but he had a feeling that they were women.

"What are you doing just standing there for?" one of the older ones in the circle said to them, who Brooks thought was male. "Go or come in, one or the other!"

Nervousness spread through the group of women, but two held their ground, grabbing the arms of the nervous ones to hold them there.

"What are you doing just sitting when there are hamomo around and our bellies are empty?"

The male grumbled. "You haven't even gotten any sticks to chew! Ours are old and dry."

For a moment, it seemed like an argument might break out, and Brooks hated to think he might be the root cause.

But just as quickly the woman said; "Hakki."

And man echoed it; "Hakki."

The tension disappeared.

Brooks wondered what the word meant; it clearly had a significance and power, and he would have to learn its meaning as soon as possible.

Some of the women moved away, with expressions Brooks could only guess at - annoyance, possibly. But two of them moved to sit around the fire with them, including the one who had been talking to the man.

It was already so hot out that Brooks wondered why they would choose to sit around a fire, but very quickly a reason became apparent. Some of the !Xomyi in the circle began to poke long sticks into the flames, and after put the ends into their mouths, chewing on them.

A narcotic, perhaps. Or cleaning their teeth? He was not sure. But they must be the sticks that the man had mentioned. The task of gathering them apparently fell to the women.

"Why have you come here?" Knows the World asked him.

All of the others watched him.

"I came to find your people," Brooks said.

The circle looked at each other, then back to him. He got the feeling they were alarmed.

"I do not understand," the man who had been talking to the woman said.

"I wish to know you and your people," Brooks said.

"Why?"

"Because I think we could be friends. May I know your name?"

The male seemed to consider that for a time. Then, he pounded himself on the chest with one hand. "I do not know if we can be friends, but I am Old Hunter. I am the eldest among us who strikes hard and kills what I hunt."

"Old Hunter, it is nice to meet you," Brooks said.

Old Hunter nodded, but still seemed somewhat put off.

"May I know the rest of your names?" he asked, looking around the circle.

They all introduced themselves. The next to do so was one of the women, who seemed very old. She said her name was Cool River. The other female was Old Mother.

The rest were all male; he already knew Tracker and Brave Hunter, but he was introduced to Over Thinker, Hard Biter, and Honey Finder.

He took mental notes on each one, wanting to be able to discern them, even if his system could do it automatically.

"There are hamomo nearby," Old Hunter said. "We must take one and get meat."

"I wish you good luck on your hunt," Brooks said. They did not react much to that, perhaps even taking some offense at it. Most of the males left, save for Knows the World. Besides him, the two women remained.

"Did you come from south of the river?" Cool River asked. She did not seem quite as suspicious as Knows the World, but Brooks had a feeling that this was somewhat feigned; that she was testing him.

South of the river were other groups of !Xomyi. They were extremely hostile to outsiders, and had launched darts at the drones that had been observing them.

So perhaps, he thought, she was trying to figure out if he had a connection to them.

"No," he told her.

"Where did you come from, then?" she asked.

He pointed up, into the sky.

They reacted immediately, looking up, then back down at him with shock.

"You couldn't have come from the sky," Old Mother said. "You don't even have wings!"

Knows the World leaned closer. "Are you one of the falling serpents?"

Brooks did not know how to interpret that. "Serpents?" he asked.

Knows the World raised an arm, tracing a quick path through the sky. "They come down in the night, psss, pssss. They are silent, but I hear their hiss. Sometimes they land and make a light, make a loud angry yell."

Meteors, Brooks realized. Their streaking tails, like the body of a snake.

"I did not fall," he told Knows the World, trying to word himself carefully, though acutely aware that the translation was probably lacking. His system had already made huge gains in understanding them from these short conversations, able to parse their words into real sentences rather than chopped up concepts, but it was still far way from a deep understanding.

"How, then?" Cool Mother asked.

"I walked," he said. It was all he could think to say.

Their faces shifted, and then they both started laughing.

He smiled and laughed a little with them. And he had the feeling that he had passed the test.

"The sky is very full," he said. He was not sure what they'd make of such a strange and cryptic statement, but Knows the World became serious again.

"It may be so," he replied.

"The largest . . ." Brooks said, and he turned, pointing towards the moon. "What do you believe it is?"

The question did not seem to come through very well. He saw confusion on their faces, and Cool River and Knows the World leaned together, speaking softly. His system could not parse the whispers, though he wished he could eavesdrop.

They turned back. "It is the Sky Child," Cool River told him. "Everyone knows this."