The 14th Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK ®: 17 Stories by Charles V. de Vet by Charles V. De Vet

Author:Charles V. De Vet
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Science Fiction, adventure, short stories, pulp, sci-fi
ISBN: 9781479402694
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2015-03-18T00:00:00+00:00

In demoralized disorganization the survivors fled in the only direction left open to them, the sterile mountains of the north.

Still the colonists pressed on. They followed the defeated people into the foothills and drove them into the mountains, ever deeper, their anger growing to a lust of revenge for lost relatives and friends that would be satisfied only with the death of the last Arako.

A few of the natives reached the higher mountain valleys and passes, where the task of running them down became impractical, and the colonists returned to their homes. No race or individual could survive long in the grim mountain wastes, they agreed. For some time they maintained a regular patrol in the lower mountains, to make certain no Arako returned, and as the years passed it was thought the Arako nation had perished.

They had learned otherwise only recently, when an off-course hunting party sighted native dwellings in a remote mountain valley. The humans took time then to reconsider the justice of the massacre by their forebears.

They had decided, without a dissenting voice, to invite the surviving Arako back to the gentler lands of the south. The humans would do what they could to atone for their early persecution. Whatever the Arako asked, within reason, would be granted.

How to deliver the notice of good will presented a problem.

Joyce had volunteered to journey to the mountains to convey their offer. Now the critical moment of contact had arrived.

The Arako warrior eyed Joyce distrustfully, surveying him from boots to parka, before he spoke. “Say what you want here.” His voice was harsh, rigidly controlled.

Joyce let out his breath in a silent sigh of relief. According to what he had read, an earlier Arako would not have deigned to converse with a human; a meeting was only a prelude to combat. Though that danger was still here, Joyce reminded himself.

He was glad to note that the other’s language had not been too different from what he had expected. “I desire to speak with one in the council of your people,” he said carefully. “I would consider myself honored.” He wanted not only to avoid angering this one, but to be certain that his request was received as such, and not as a demand.

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