Sheffali's Caravan

He built his savings as best he could, taking whatever jobs were available to someone of his caste.

The morning he awoke to discover he'd transitioned into adulthood dealt another devastating blow, as his body had betrayed him once more. Black freckles now accompanied the black stripes on his skin. His new assessment ranked him as Spotted, caste six, and scheduled him for emigration to Llevven, the fourth planet in the system, giving him two days to do it.

Before he boarded the spaceship for Llevven, he'd tried to give his parents half of his savings, but they refused to accept, telling him he would face greater hardships as a sixth-caste citizen on the more primitive planet. He could not rely on help from anyone, so he needed the funds more than them.

That was the last time he'd been able to speak with his parents.

His initial cycles on Llevven had been eye-opening as it was considered the last planet in the Borrelian Chain of Significance. The meager luxuries he'd taken for granted on Dozany were nowhere to be found on the low technology world he now found himself on. The societal rules he'd followed diligently on Dozany were no longer considered important, and he'd had to think quickly to adapt to the new, rougher environment.

Because of the planet's primarily arid conditions, wearing the body covering gowns made practical sense, and everyone did it.

He was lucky to have had such an excellent education early on, as his sharp intellect and outstanding work ethic served him well in the occupations he took on. He worked his way up through every level at a trading house, learning the ropes, the tricks, and the downfalls inherent in the business. He knew after just five cycles what his life plan was to be, and he'd begun taking steps to make it happen.

The trading house master's sole daughter, Lissan, was approaching adulthood, and she'd grown quite fond of Lorrenz during her visits to her father's offices. They'd matched wits and found common interests to discuss each time she'd drop by his desk. While he thought he'd done an excellent job of hiding just how smitten he was with her, he'd later learn she'd known how he felt from the first time they'd met.

Lorrenz was nothing if not honorable, so he knew he could make no overtures towards a relationship with her until she'd reached full adulthood. When they'd met, she was fifth-caste, with light grey skin on her front which gradually darkened on the back half of her body. Her shoulders and neck were covered with swirls of darker grey in two shades. He thought she was truly lovely, and with only one level difference, there was a chance her parents would agree to their marriage!

The day she'd transitioned to adulthood remained etched in his mind as both the worst and best day of his life.

She'd come straight from the Assessors to his desk in the trading house. He was shocked to see the swirls on her shoulders and neck were gone! She showed him her certificate indicating she was now Shaded, caste level three. He'd burst into a joyous smile for her, as her future would be greatly enriched by this wonderful change. Then the ramifications of her upgrade slapped the expression from his face. With her brilliant mind and her new caste, she should live on Aeolis or Casellion as her opportunities there would be so much greater. His future suddenly seemed cold and empty without her.

Her words rang clear in his memories.

"You love me."

His jaw had dropped in surprise at her bold yet accurate statement.

"Yes, I do."

"Will you marry me?" she asked.

"But you're--" he began his argument.

"--in love with you. That's all I need. I ask again, will you marry me?" she asserted.

He was nodding before he found the words. "I'd be honored to marry you! Your parents--"

"Cannot deny my wishes now that I'm an adult of a higher caste than them," she finished with a twinkle in her eye.

That was also the day Lorrenz learned never to argue legalities with his soon-to-be wife. She'd studied the ramification for all possible changes she might have and made contingency plans to ensure her goal was not denied to her.

A quick trip to the courthouse yielded them a certificate of marriage. When they returned to the office to approach her father with the news, Lorrenz was presented with the response that while he'd gained a wife, he'd lost his job. The father was not pleased with being outmaneuvered by his daughter, so he took out his frustration on the male who'd stolen his daughter's promising future.

He couldn't argue with the older male, but he was smart enough not to challenge Lissan. His life plan needed to begin that day!

The abandoned property he'd purchased was on the outer edge of town, with easy access to one of the trade routes through the mountains. There was a small home where he'd spent his lonely bachelor nights, a large stable, and a building that would make an excellent warehouse. The walled compound was large enough for future expansion, and they had no neighbors. He repaired the security wall around the property and purchased some guard beetles to protect his investment while he was away on business trips.

Lissan used the dowry money she'd negotiated out of her parents to purchase their first pair of Druug. The huge beetles were the planet's beasts of burden and would pull the wagon he'd bought with his dwindling savings.

The Sheffali Trading House was in business.

Now, fifty-five cycles later, Lorrenz was a comfortable passenger on the driver's seat of the lead wagon as his caravan made their way through the final mountain pass. They'd begun the last stretch of their journey down towards their home, the capital city of Mnemmesh. The four large wagons pulled by eight Druug were loaded with beautiful moon shells, a high-demand commodity in the capital. They also had nutrient-rich oils and dried powders used in medicines. Another major trade item they'd gotten was a large quantity of the finest sea salt. Rounding out their haul was a collection of unique items they'd picked up from the more distant villages. These were surprisingly well-received in the capital city because of their uniqueness and high handcrafted quality.

This trip would yield an excellent profit!

The Eastern coastal villages they'd visited were grateful for the medicines they'd brought to them. The brightly colored fabrics woven by master artisans in the capital city had been traded for two full wagons of moon shells! The flour and spices they'd brought to trade had been highly welcome, too.

As he thought of their cargo, Lorrenz frowned as he recalled they were also returning with the weapons they'd taken from a group of bandits who attacked the caravan three days out from the capital city. Normally, the confiscation of firearms from attackers was just a reward for surviving and was a welcome inclusion to the caravan's armory. This raiding party had weapons decidedly more advanced than any they'd ever seen before. Two had carried energy weapons, only available to the military and illegal for anyone outside the military to have in their possession.

If the caravan's secret guardian hadn't taken the bandits out before they opened fire with them, there would definitely have been casualties on the Sheffali side.

Lissan suggested they deliver their latest acquisition directly to the new Commander of Llevven's military forces, as she'd heard the female was honorable.

Their guardian guided the caravan over the ancient and worn-down mountain range and through its dense forest. The peaks were no longer tall, and the passes through them were now easily navigated. Unfortunately, they were also a choke point where less experienced or more desperate groups of bandits often lay in wait. This time there were none, and they reached the lower edge of the forest without issue.

This was as far as Lorrenz's foster son, their secret guardian Zell Saah Henn, would go. The caravan rolled to a stop, and Lorrenz swung down to the ground to join the heavily cloaked male who'd been jogging next to the wagon for the last hour. His coverings led those outside the Sheffali family to believe Zell was seventh caste, Chaos. That suited their purposes, so none in his family would attempt to correct that impression.

Lorrenz wrapped his arms around his son and enjoyed the hug he received. Zell would leave the caravan before they left the forest to minimize his exposure to outside eyes, as he did each time they returned. He couldn't join them at the homestead but lived alone in the forest instead. That made Lorrenz sad, but he understood it was critical for Zell's safety and his family's.

"Thank you for protecting us on this journey, my son," Lorrenz said with a fond smile. He could just see Zell's expressive eyes through the slit on his face covering. He knew Zell's exceptional eyesight found the material transparent, so it was no hindrance to him.

"As always, it was my greatest honor, father."

Zell's voice was one aspect they could not disguise. It was deeper than a Druug's growl but smoother than the polished inner surfaces of the moon shells they carried. No Borrelian throat could produce sounds that caressed the ears so well. So, Zell remained silent around anyone not in their family.

He was in his fifty-third cycle but hidden as he was in the concealing robes, it was impossible to identify his age or even his sex by his appearance. He was slightly shorter than the average Borrelian male but broader in the shoulders than any female.

The lead Druug team grumbled as they knew they were close to home and the comforts of their pen. Lorrenz cast a glance up at his eldest son Freem, who was the caravan's Master Druug Wrangler. He was making sounds to comfort the beasts as he sat upon the bench, holding the reins. He smiled down at his father and waved to Zell, who returned the gesture.

"I'm concerned by the presence of military weaponry," Zell said softly for Lorrenz's ears alone.

The Grand Chief of the caravan nodded. "Lissan had excellent advice for me on that. I will deal with it appropriately and will let you know the outcome when next we meet."

Zell bowed his hooded head, accepting his father's words. "I await your call."

Lorrenz nodded as he touched the whistle Zell made for him. It hung from a chain around his neck under his robe. It made a sound no Borrelian could hear, but Zell could from vast distances away. They'd arranged a few codes so Lorrenz could send different messages to his foster son.

He watched Zell wave to Olle, Lorrenz's fifth son, their Chief Caravan Security Officer, to indicate that the caravan was back in his hands. Zell also waved to Noola, who was sitting on the bench of the last wagon, as the two were good friends. With another nod to Lorrenz, he ran into a small forest side path and immediately disappeared. As always, Lorrenz was amazed by his son's ability to move silently without disturbing the foliage. Zell was equally comfortable in the desert. Perhaps more so, as his people were native desert dwellers.

With a sigh, Lorrenz climbed back up onto the bench next to Freem, who got them moving once more. He smiled at his son, who smiled in return. Solid, dependable Freem, whose skill with the large beetles was second only to his wife Laalaa, who drove the second wagon. Their son Gritt controlled the beasts on the third wagon, and Gritt's wife, Hale, managed the last wagon as they were the family's assistant wranglers.

Hale was also the family's only other Shaded caste. She'd followed Lissan's example by marrying Gritt the moment she reached adulthood, so she could remain on Llevven with the one she loved. Many thought the two third-levels were mad to not use their caste as a ticket to planets boasting higher tech and greater conveniences, but both were happy.

In total, fifteen members of the Sheffali family were in the four-wagon caravan. Sixteen, if you counted Zell, and Lorrenz certainly did. They had Druug wranglers, vets, doctors, chefs, cargo handlers, security, and the Caravan leader and his wife. The rest of his family was ahead of them at their homestead on the edge of the city.

Many caravans tried to travel with less crew and hired talent when required, but Lorrenz preferred people he could trust to do their best as they had a direct investment.

Lorrenz's eyes turned once more to the dense forest they were about to leave. He knew Zell had a home somewhere in the dark greenery and professed it to be quite comfortable. Zell had lived alone for most of his life, but Lorrenz still worried about his son's solitude. It went against a Borrelian's nature to remain alone, but then, Zell wasn't Borrelian.

The wagon gently swayed as it left the forest and entered the outer edges of the vast plantation fields surrounding the capital city. To his eyes, it was a sea of gold dancing with the breezes crossing the wide-open expanses. The wheat's motion and the wagon's sway made him imagine they were on ships sailing across that sea. He looked up at the late afternoon skies and saw the twinkle of the brightest guide stars already appearing. They'd be home before the sun was completely set, and that eased his mind.

As he considered the early stars, his thoughts went back to Zell, their guide through the wilderness, who came from the stars.

Very early in Lorrenz and Lissan's careers, they'd been on a trek to the eastern coast with their single wagon drawn by a pair of Druug. Bad weather made the main trail impassable, but Lorrenz knew of a secondary route that would bypass the worst of the flooding at the cost of a few extra days of travel. While they were far off the main trail, they set up camp for the night. The storm had finally passed, and the sun was reaching for the horizon. Just before they settled for the night, they heard a strange warbling wail in the distance.

Carrying nothing more threatening than some wagon repair tools, they ventured into the scrub and came across a scene they'd never forget.

They saw the wreckage first. It was partially disguised by scrub branches, mainly to hide it from above, but at ground level, it was unmistakably a spacecraft--a destroyed one at that.

Reclining in the shelter of one of the bent wings was a being they'd never seen before. Covered in black fur, it was bipedal like themselves, but they could see this being was no longer capable of walking as the bends in its lower limbs showed severe breaks, poorly healed.

Its jaws seemed to project forward, though there was keen intelligence in its large eyes. Oversized, pointed ears swiveled to follow sounds. A black bar of leathery skin above ridges flared to gather scents. Its hands and feet had strong-looking fingers and toes ending with round padded tips, hiding hooked claws that flexed out unconsciously for the female.

What drew their attention was the smaller but matching being clinging to the larger one. It was a child, and it was crying. The older one struggled to remain conscious as it had spotted them. It spoke, and Lorrenz's skin tingled with surprise and shock. It was speaking a language he'd studied in secret so long ago with the librarian! It was Ush, the language of the terrifying enemy who kills from the darkness!

But Lorrenz also heard the sorrow of the child whose parent was dying. An infant who would soon be alone on a planet, surrounded by enemies. He reached deep into his knowledge of the language and uttered a single sentence that changed their lives.

"We are not enemies. We are friends. How can we help?"

The female Ush looked at them suspiciously but with the beginnings of desperate hope in her eyes. She whispered something quietly to the child, and it turned its face to see them. Lorrenz thought it was the sweetest creature he had ever seen. Small and round, with fur so black it disappeared against the fur of its mother. Its eyes were wet with tears, and its lips trembled in its sorrow.

It was startled and hissed when it spotted them, opening its jaws fully to intimidate the strangers. Lorrenz recalled the fear that shot through him when this cute small creature opened both its vertical and horizontal mouthparts to display multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth. It was like its face disappeared behind the savage display. Its little claws still looked capable of ripping through his skin.

The female said something sharply, and the child immediately stopped to look at her. She said something else, and it looked back to them in surprise. Then it desperately rushed over to Lorrenz to grab his hand and drag him closer to its mother. Lorrenz and Lissan knelt next to the adult Ush and took a closer look at her injuries. Glancing at the damaged ship, he was amazed she'd survived at all.

Lorrenz asked again what they could do for her, but she told them her strength had reached its end. Her injuries were too great, and though she'd lasted a cycle, she wouldn't survive past the night. He asked how she'd ended up here. She spoke slowly as she was extremely weary, and he was grateful, as he was rusty with the language.

The pregnant female had been conscripted into the war effort in their final desperate days as the Ush faced defeat and potential genocide.

She had piloting skills, so they put her into a single occupant fighter to escort and protect the fleeing refugee ships. In an ambush, her ship took damage, lost its connection to the fleet's navigational systems, and got separated from the main fleet when they all did a last second jump. She didn't receive the coordinates they used and jumped blind. She didn't know where the others went, and she didn't have sufficient fuel to hunt for them. Miraculously, she detected and followed a Borrelian intra-system freighter to Llevven, but her damaged ship was almost out of fuel, and she crashed. She was severely injured during the landing, but the ship did its best to repair her and kept her alive until its batteries failed after a month. She wasn't healed sufficiently, but she wouldn't immediately die. Then her body went through labor, and she gave birth to Zell.

She survived on rations, and Zell nursed until he was six months. The Ush mature quickly because of the severe conditions of their home environment, so Zell could augment their diet by hunting insects and small reptiles. She taught him all she could, but she felt her injuries begin to shut her body down. Major organ failure was imminent. She taught Zell how to remain hidden and survive on his own in the wild when her health took a sudden downturn.

Lorrenz assured her he and Lissan would do whatever they could to keep him safe on a world hostile to the Ush. They would protect him like he was their own child. He could see the relief in the eyes of the female. She'd been clinging to life as long as she could for her child, but now she could rest.

She looked at her child and touched his face. She asked him to live with honor and compassion and to make her proud. He was crying quietly, but he nodded stiffly. Lorrenz was impressed by the child's strength.

He asked the female if there were any rituals she wished them to perform after her passing, but she said no. She told them there was a small book in the ship she wanted Zell to have. It contained the history of his people, their language, and their culture. Lorrenz quickly looked inside and found the book. He recognized it as the same book the librarian's son had taken on his mission.

When he returned, the mother had slipped away, and Zell was crying on her chest.

They gave him time to grieve as Lorrenz and Lissan discussed how they'd fulfill their promise to the mother. They knew they couldn't bring him home. They couldn't take him into any of the cities they visited. He would have to remain in the wilderness, but they could set up a shelter for him where they could take care of him. He'd come with them on their trips, but he'd have to stay out of sight and remain in the wilds. Lissan worked out the plan with contingencies, as that was one of her strengths.