Chapter 6: The Village

“This is Alaron’tre’til,” Tonja said as she pointed at the extravagant village of Alara’jal.

The small team had led both Fengge and Oventala into one of the main entrances of Alaron’tre’til. The translated words of “The Small City of Alaron” were a bit of an understatement. It was little more than a small town. The walls were made of wooden fortifications that surrounded the entire scene. The walls stretched to about half the height of the trees. The buildings were a mixture of simple wooden construction mixed with forged metal. Small fires indicated activity, but there were also signs of power generation through windmills, solar generators, and wood burning.

There was a bustle of activity for Fengge to admire. There had to be four entrances connected to dirt roads. These roads would carve through the thick jungle like a knife. The sheer size of the village was almost beyond what the paleontologist could capture. Nevertheless, his pinned camera was recording it all. The populace consisted of male and female Alara’jal walking from dirt roads to houses. Everyone had their own tasks, engaging in conversation or minding their own business. Smaller Alara’jal, most likely children that were the height of Fengge, were either playing, accompanying their parents, or also doing various tasks around the village. None of the buildings ever reached two stories in height, but they were still tall enough for the towering people to operate in. About 25% of the village was farms that were growing various crops. All in all, there was much to inquire and learn about.

Of course, many of the Alara’jal that passed by the entrance saw the alien newcomers accompanying the team of five. Their rounded snouts, reaction, and curiosity seemed to get the better of them. However, Fengge could tell that it wasn’t necessarily fear that he saw in them but apprehension or surprise.

“How many live here?” Fengge asked Tonja, looking up at her. Then, she would place her hands up as a gesture of hello to some of the populace.

“Over 1,700...,” Tonja replied. Fengge’s jaw practically dropped upon hearing that.

“Do you have other villages?”

“No. We ... all live here,” she paused and looked at Tochasa. “Summon the elders.” She repeated the saying again in Itrean.

“You two ... will stay with me. The Yutilian ... Oventala ... you and her will have to give up your ... weapons. We will talk and answer questions.”

Oventala seemed reluctant on having to give up her rifle. Even if it wouldn’t have done much in a ground fight, it was still a lifeline for her survival. However, the other Alara’jal still didn’t trust the alien visitors. Fengge could see the other feathered female walk up, lean down, and stretch out her hand. The paleontologist unholstered his pistol and gave it to her.

“This is Huven’ja,” Tonja introduced her to him. “Huven’ja is my friend.”

“Huven’ja, ... tik,” Fengge greeted her.

Huven’ja, the feathered Alara’jal, seemed to look at the tiny guns with a sense of laughter. Her clawed fingers were too big to even put into the trigger guard of the pistol. She then moved her hand and gestured to Oventala.

“Oventala, ... give her your guns...,” Fengge told her.

“ ... Yes,” Oventala finally relented. She plopped the rifle and pistol onto the giant’s fingers. Despite the act of compliance, the others didn’t seem entirely convinced of the alien visitors’ motives. However, it did help.

With that, Huven’ja and the other four Alara’jal dispersed. Tochasa, the male that Fengge focused on, was heading toward the center of the village. His large tail swung to and fro as he walked.

“I have summoned the council...,” Tonja explained to Fengge. “You will talk to them ... convince them what you are ... who you are ... why you are here ... we have time to ... answer your questions.”

“Are you part of the council?” he asked her.

“I am one of the three elders. Yes ... you will talk with me ... I will ask you questions ... you will ask me questions.”

Her great size sometimes made it hard for her to speak. Nevertheless, she was trying her best. While she retained a somewhat Japanese, Spanish, and French accent rolled into one, her greatest difficulty was her large size. English had to be spoken in a way that almost seemed to drain her breath. This forced her to say a few words, then take a tiny breath before saying more. By now, Fengge could deduce that they all spoke in this familiar pattern. However, the Itrean language was obviously their native language. It was less of an issue for their deeper vocal cords. For the paleontologist, there was enough indication that Tonja was relatively fluent in English but trying to say the words was a different issue.

Before Fengge could ask any questions, a beeping sound came from his left arm. He knew that he was receiving a hail from orbit. The paleontologist felt a hint of frustration, but he had to answer. He gestured to Tonja.

“I’m receiving a call from my ship,” Fengge told her. “I need to talk to them before this council meeting begins.”

“We have ... the time,” Tonja replied.

The two watched as Fengge tapped his left wrist. A blue light emitted from it, serving as a curious sight for Tonja. Her head tilted to the side as she was looking at his artificial ligament. A two-dimensional image of Passo’s face was directed to the paleontologist.

“Doctor Fengge,” Passos asked him. “What is your status?”

“I’ve reached the village,” he happily told him. “I can proudly confirm that we have Alara’jal here ... living and breathing ... plus, I haven’t gotten eaten yet!”

“That’s great news, Doctor,” the vice admiral shared a similar small smile on his mustache face. “How is their status?”

“I don’t have much information since Oventala, and I just got here. I have befriended one of the elders of this village. We got over 1,700 Alara’jal down here ... their ancestors came from the Alaron.”

“That’s good ... I have a team that is going to check the Alaron soon. The Menshe’tat is also launching a similar team to help ascertain the condition of it.”

“I wish I had more information to tell you, Passos. Like I said ... I just got here, but I can tell you that I’m in good hands.”

“I will be passing along this information to Shira as well. Be advised that the Alara’jal may have to relocate their settlement. I hate to have to tell a people that they need to leave their homes, but we lack the resources needed to protect them from the other Itrean clans. If the Aksren have been tracking our jumps, they will launch a recon fleet to here. It could be hours to a day.”

The words seemed to seep into Tonja’s soul upon hearing what Passos said. The very idea of having to relocate a home that had been established was a difficult one to consider. She did her best to mask her feelings, but, Fengge turned his gaze up toward her. He could see her immediate reluctance. For now, she had to bury her resentments and bring this matter to the council. Her reptilian eyes scanned the people, the inhabitants. Then she shut her eyes and looked down at the ground.

“Vice Admiral ... I have to go,” Fengge told him. “I will be talking with their council soon.”

“Very well,” Passos replied. “Shira’s doctors are currently doing the final scans to determine if Oventala can take her armor off and...”

“Got it,” the paleontologist interrupted him. “I’m sorry to hurry this along.”

“Continue with your mission. Passos, out.”

The paleontologist wanted to ensure that the vice admiral could only say so much. This was information that Fengge must present to them. However, Tonja understood well on the concept of relocating. This might not have been a good thing for her to know at this time.

“Umm...,” Fengge sympathized. “It might not be necessary...”

“You bring the enemy ... to our home,” she gently commented.

“I ... we don’t know if they’re coming.”

“No ... that is what they will say,” her nostrils flared, and she opened up her eyes again. “You will have a hard time here ... both of you.”

“Stubborn,” Oventala commented. “Your people can stay here and die for all we care.”

“Oventala...,” Fengge almost snapped at her. “Behave yourself. We are here on their land.”

“No...,” Tonja said, looking down at the Yutilian. “The council must ... know every argument ... bad and good. They will...”

“Tonja!” another Alara’jal yelled out to her. It was coming from the central direction of the village. It was a random burly Alara’jal male with red head feathers that covered his neck and head. He gestured with his head to come with him.

“It is time ... come with me,” Tonja said.

They began their walk. Again, Fengge had felt like he was walking in a village of giants. More and more of the Alara’jal would see the human and Yutilian walking alongside Tonja. The concept of aliens was something that the people knew enough, but to see two different walking, unique creatures up close, still gathered attention. Much like the trek to the village earlier, both Fengge and Oventala had to hurry along. The great footsteps of the colossal people were enough to surpass the two smaller creatures easily. Tonja practically had to saunter to their destination.

It would take a few minutes of walking. Fengge would remark and keep his small camera recording the entire village. He debated about saying anything to the camera. Finally, he couldn’t help himself.

“We are here at the village of Alara’jal,” he said. “I would never be more surprised to know that the people ... the fourth clan of Itreans had managed to survive. They had crafted their own small town in the middle of the great forested planet of what they call ‘Whil’sisa,’ In orbit is their ship, the Alaron ... I’m going to learn more and spend my time gathering everything about what this culture has done. I’m joined by a great guide, one of the village elders that goes by the name of ‘Tonja.’ She has been polite and wonderful to me and Oventala. She even pleaded to have me spared when we arrived.”

“What are you doing?” Tonja asked him.

“I’m a paleontologist,” he told her. “My goal is to learn as much about you as possible. I’m responsible for making documentaries.”

“Docu ... mentaries?”

“Yes ... a scientific venture. A show with information for the public to learn about. There are other things that I will be learning...”

Tonja quickly turned around and kneeled down to him. She held her odd left hand for him to place the small camera onto it. Up close, Fengge could see the sharp-clawed fingers. This included the fact he could see more of her deformed hand. The lack of a thumb was obvious. It was the most important finger to have on a hand. Without it, tasks were harder to complete. This most likely forced her to use her right hand a lot.

“I cannot let you record ... not till you speak ... with the council,” Tonja explained.

“I understand...,” Fengge relented before turning off the camera and handing it to her. She wrapped her hand around the device, stretched her shirt a little bit, and plopped the device between her breasts.

“Thank you,” she told him. “I will give it back ... after we decide what to do next.”

She stood back up and swung around. They resumed their walk through the village as they were getting closer to their destination.

“Enter...,” Tonja ordered Fengge.

The paleontologist stood outside the massive blanketed door that led into the great chamber of three. What was called the Elder’s Hut was little more than a council room for the village. Oventala had been ordered to remain outside as the human was their person of interest. Upon brushing past the blanket and entering the room, Fengge was greeted by the sheer size of the place.

The interior was crude in construction but adequate. The building was almost like that of a grand cathedral. Painted windows lined the sides of the room to allow more people from outside to observe the inside. Stone and wooden benches filled the area. All of these seats would require Fengge to jump and climb onto just to sit in them. The floor consisted of cobbled stone. At the back of the room was the main altar. Here, three carved stone and metal tables resided. Seated by each table was one Alara’jal. On the right was Tonja. Fengge already knew her, and his attention went toward the others that he didn’t know.

The Alara’jal that sat at the middle table was a male. Unlike a lot of the other male Alara’jal, this one had a row of light-yellow feathers on his head. He had a slightly more pointed snout. Any more, and it would have been a beak. He had orange scales and wore a red and yellow poncho that covered his chest and lower torso. His face and demeanor were unknown but mostly neutral to Fengge. With the paleontologist, he found the variety of Alara’jal fascinating. While he saw a generally distinct look, a few stood out.

The last Alara’jal was another female. Unlike Tonja, she wore the same clothes but was dotted with a yellowish brown. She had a wrinkled face, but only slightly. She also had some feathers on her head and back, being mostly blue in color. Two of the feathers were solid black and color and drooped down to the side of her neck and shoulder. Upon seeing this Itrean, Fengge could see her cringe her teeth at him.

“Come here,” Tonja said in English. It echoed in the interior as Fengge complied. The walk almost seemed long as he passed ten rows of seats. Eventually, he reached the center looking up to the three elders that sat comfortably on their thrones.

“Doctor Fengge,” Tonja explained to him. “I will help translate your words ... you know Itrean, but it is little.”

The doctor took his hat off and put it on his chest. “I understand.” He greeted the council by talking in Itrean. However, he kept the passage very short by greeting and saying his name. This kept the speech as simple as possible without the chance of mistranslation. It seemed to indicate to the others that he at least made an effort to know Itrean.

“Yoretalaj,” the male told him his name.

“ClickClick Nereep,” the other female said. Her tone was higher than Tonja’s, but she resumed showing her teeth to Fengge. Finally, she was stirred to say something in Itrean. Her words were accusatory. She held her four-fingered claws in the human’s direction. Fengge understood most of it as it came across as “Why are you here?” and “Why is he still here?”

Tonja put both her hands on the table and spoke to Nereep. Again, Fengge understood some of the statements. It came across as “visitor” and “He is peaceful. Let him talk.”

“Hoommmane,” Nereep said trying to understand the name of his species. She backed off a little bit and let Fengge talk to them. Yoretalaj seemed patient, studying the human, closely.

“I come to this village from the UHN Drake, a warship from orbit,” Fengge happily explained while Tonja began to translate for the others. “I’m human. Our species was born on Earth. We’ve spent the last 100 years exploring the galaxy. But ... we eventually met the Itreans. In less than a year, we made a choice to ally with the T’rintar clan or what was the Yutilian clan. Our enemies are the Aksren clan and the Shal’rein clan. However, the recent months, we wanted to see if there were other survivors of the ancient wars of the Itrean clans. We found you.”

Tonja continued to explain to the others what Fengge was saying. Interestingly, the paleontologist could hear the different words being spoken. She was doing a good job. Both Nereep and Yoretalaj comprehended what they were saying. Yoretalaj then began to talk in Itrean.

“He asks why you are here?” Tonja said.

“To become allies ... friends,” Fengge replied. “Our people are friendly. You have a rich history and culture. I want to learn more about you. I’ve studied your ancient past. In the last year, we have learned so much about you.” He debated about telling them the truth as Tonja continued to repeat what he said to them in Itrean. Finally, he confessed. “We come from the same planet. Earth is Itrea, and Itrea is Earth. You are what we called the dinosaurs.”

Tonja didn’t know about this as she considered this. It was a lot to take in. Yoretalaj was asking her what she said. She finally relented and told them, ignoring her own feelings. Fengge was still wondering if telling them about this fact was too early. He got his answer.

Nereep smashed her fists on the table in anger. Then, she began to spout curses and other obscenities. Finally, she started to babble. Her hand was gestured down to the human in rage.