The Gardens of Deathworlders: A Blooming Love (Part 123)
Part 123 Early-development culture (Part 1) (Part 122)
Meeting an uncontacted, early-development species was not particularly scary for Tens, Binko and Tarki, or any of the Order of Falling Angels. Though the pair of Krokes had far less combat training than the Nishnabe or Qui’ztar, all of them always carry weapons. They could have easily defended themselves should the Uark'thiliks have proven to be hostile to outsiders or aggressively defensive. While the dangers posed by Hekuiv'trula warforms would have been eliminated either way, the Turt-Chopian students wouldn't have been allowed to make landfall if they weren't welcomed. To everyone’s good fortune, evolving under the constant threat hadn't hardened these sapient feathered theropods. If anything, the perpetual potential of death lingering in the shadows, the tragedy of countless losses to an enemy they could barely understand, caused these people to truly appreciate the lives of others.
Many of the Turt-Chopian academics, on the other hand, felt genuine fear on the shuttle ride down to the planet they had been in orbit of for the past few days. As interstellar archeologists, people who studied the physical evidence left by past civilizations across the stars, they were keenly aware of just how violence early-development civilizations can be. The ample reports praising the friendliness of the Uark'thiliks were received but fully believed. After all, those reports were written by some of the most capable and renowned soldiers in the galaxy. A warrior's definition of friendly could be very different from an academic's interpretation. More importantly, it was unknown how the Uark'thiliks would react to the completely alien Turt-Chopian morphology. When the twenty Turt students, their professor, and his assistant all stepped foot on the planet, the bright and warm sun still a couple hours away from its zenith, they were all a bit relieved to be greeted by Tens, Marz, and Tarki but none Uark'thiliks
“Ah! Captain Marzima! Lieutenant Tensebwse! And is that our esteemed Royal Ambassador Shlin?” Professor Binar Hapjut approached the welcoming party with his arm tentacles extended out wide. “I'm so glad to see you all safe and sound after what I assumed to be quite the battle. And, uh, I see our hosts didn't want to welcome my students and I in person?”
“They wanted to give your students a chance to acclimate before they came to say hello.” Tarki nodded towards the ruins of the ancient skyscrapers that formed the Tall Spires Village. Though the area directly around the shuttle was quiet, just a few hundred meters away there were quite a fair number of Uark'thiliks foraging for the feast that would likely last for days on end. “This particular village, one referred to by the locals as the Tall Spires Village, is currently serving as a hub of political and cultural activity following the events of the past few days. All of you are welcome to go visit the village, talk to people, and investigate the ruins. The Uark'thilik elders simply wish for you to share any and all of your finds with them. Also, please ensure your students respect peoples’ private spaces. This is their home, after all.”
“Are there any particularly sacred or forbidden places my students should avoid?” Binar allowed a more serious inflection to come through and he leaned in to ask that question. “Regardless of their importance, I don't want to risk the safety of my students or ruin this momentous event for these people.”
“They don't really have those.” Tens chimed in with a tone that implied he knew exactly what the professor was talking about. “They have secret or hidden places, but they aren't necessarily sacred. And the forbidden places are just very dangerous. No one is getting killed or shunned for going anywhere.”
“We do highly recommend you take their advice on dangerous locations.” Marzima interjected while pulling out her tablet to reference the notes she had been taking. “The Jagged Cliffs Village, for example, has geologically unstable areas surrounding it. I unintentionally caused a small landslide while fighting the warforms that attacked that village. I don't want any of your students getting injured in similar accidents.”
“Good, good. That's… As long as I don't have to worry about anyone angering theropods.” Professor Hapjut's deep sigh of relief caused Tarki and Tens to let out a slight chuckle. While Marz remained stoic, even she found a bit of humor in the old Turt's reaction. “It's… Well, my species' first attempt to establish a colony world was thwarted by a non-sapient species of predatory theropods. That morphology is still used as a monster in our cinema to this day.”
“I can absolutely assure you, Professor Hapjut, these Uark'thiliks are anything but aggressive.” Tarki's chortle became a bit more intense after that explanation. “While they may be predators in some manner, I believe they would fall under the omnivore category, primarily consuming small insectoids, plant matter, and the occasional small reptile, mammal, or avian. You and your students have nothing to worry about.”
“Apart from potential geological instabilities. We are standing atop the ancient ruins of a buried ecumenical, after all.” Marz quickly added just to reinforce the point. “The Uark'thiliks, though, are incredibly peaceful and are some of the largest animal lifeforms on this planet. We have seen a few sauropods and what we believe to be a medium-large mammalian. However, nothing has been over three hundred kilos or aggressive in any way. Most of this world's fauna flees at the sight or sound of anything technological.”
“Ha! I certainly can't blame them!” As Binar's halo-like eye scanned the surroundings, he finally caught sight of the massive pile of destroyed warforms. “Evolving alongside those machines certainly couldn't have been easy. And I truly do appreciate everything you all have been doing for us. But, uh, speaking of evolving alongside Hekuiv'trula warforms… Ms. Nucheli and Mr. Alkabir have volunteered to interview and document the Uark'thilik people. May I ask a favor concerning their assignment?”
“Of course.” Tarki immediately acquiesced before adding a stipulation. “On one condition. Can you please have… Oh, what were their names, Tens?”
“Leni and Grita.” The Nishnabe quickly spotted the two Turts doing their set up work in separate groups. “Those two are really good at ancient technology. They should be able to get the archive working and install a permanent translator.”
“Yes! Perfect!’ The golden eagle woman followed Tens's eyes and spotted the pair of students she wanted to talk to. “I would like to request that Leni and Grita provide some technological repair support for a partially intact data archive left by the long dead Ingthop people who used to live on this world. We will need verification from an unbiased academic source to confirm we understand the Ingthops final request.”
“A data archive? The Ingthop’s final request?!?” Binar forced himself to stop and take a breath. It was clear the reports were lacking some key details but it was clearly for an important reason. Whatever Tarki needed help with, the old man knew it was meaningful. “Of course, Royal Diplomat Shlin! I'll have Mr. Tominet and Ms. Wesawari report to you as soon as they finish setting up base camp. And as for my request, would either you, Lieutenant Tensebwse, or possibly even Captain Marzima be willing to accompany Mr. Alkabir and Ms. Nucheli while they perform their interviews and investigate this village? It would very much put my mind at ease knowing there will be someone there to act as, uh… Moral support.”
“You got yourself a deal, Professor B.” Tens extended a fist which Binar bumped with one of his tentacle-arms as a form of a handshake. “I can go talk to the village elders and see who's interested in giving interviews. They really like to argue about their history and specific details of their belief systems, so you'll definitely want to talk to a bunch of people.”
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“Thank you for joining me with this, Faru.” Jinustrom Nucheli walked side by side towards the Tall Spires Village with the young man she was slowly beginning to view as more than just a colleague. “I think I would have been too scared to do this alone.”
“You could've done this without me. I believe in you.” Faruthin Alkabir furled the scaled skin above his halo-like eye in the Turt-Chopian equivalent of a wink. “But I wouldn't miss this for the world. Besides getting to spend more time with you, I get to meet sapient theropods with camouflaging feathers! Beings straight out of a horror movie but supposedly kind and peaceful. I just hope we'll be able to share pictures from this expedition soon. Some of my friends back home will be so jealous.”
“Jealous that you got to meet movie monsters?” Though Jinu didn't actually think of the Uark'thiliks as menacing creatures incapable of reason, she couldn’t deny the obvious similarities. “Why?”
“It's kind of like going to a haunted horror house event where you're friends with all the actors. Except all the actors aren't wearing costumes or controlling drones, they're real people. And if Tensebwse is to be believed, they even enjoy dancing, singing, and using their feathers to make beautiful patterns. It's less about the Uark'thiliks looking like our cinematic monsters and more about them being the exact opposite of how we would believe them to be.”
“A good personality overcoming a terrifying appearance.” A growling-chirpy voice was translated and contextualized by the devices that both of the Turt-Chopian students wore across the center of the monolithic bodies. Upon hearing it, Jinu and Faru both snapped the focus of their halo-eyes towards the feathered theropod standing next to Tens directly in front of them. With their attention so focused on each other, neither noticed they had almost arrived at their destination. “I like that. It reminds me how I felt towards the Good Sister when she came to the village to help us.”
“He's talking about Nula.” Tens clarified with a soft chuckle before facilitating the introductions. “Elder Harlok, this is Jinu and Faru. These are the two who want to witness and remember your people. Jinu, Faru, this is Elder Harlok. He's going to act as our local guide while we're here. He knows basically everyone important, where all of the secret places are, and where any dangers might be.”
“The greatest danger we will face when getting to the secret places is falling.” Though Harlok's head movements while closely examining the pair of Turt-Chopians was a bit intimidating, their translators contextualized his voice as having a positively saintly tone. “And you two don't seem like you would take a fall very well. We may be able to restore the lifts that were built and then destroyed generations ago. However, that would take quite a bit of time. How comfortable do you two feel climbing to great heights?”
“We have helper-machines who can carry us if we need.” Faru motioned with one of his tentacle-arms towards the carrier drones patiently waiting behind him. “But we can climb if we really need to. That is, only if you feel safe doing so, Jinu.”
“I- I, uh, actually enjoy climbing for fun.” The shy young Turt had gone from squishing herself down to standing up right but still with an anxious posture and her translator flashing the appropriate colors. “But it… It would be a good idea to set up a safety rope first. Our helper-machines can easily put those in place while we climb up, Elder Harlok.”
“That would be very helpful for future generations as well.” The Uark'thilik elder’s lips pulled back into a smile that revealed his teeth weren't the razor sharp daggers Jinu and Faru had been expecting. “As you will soon see, most of the secret places in this village are kept that way simply because they are too dangerous to climb up to. There aren't many good or well placed holds. We don't want people to fall and get hurt. Making the climbs safer would mean more people will be able to witness those places without risking injury. They may not need to be kept secret anymore.”
“If you don't mind me asking…” Faruthin spoke up with a somewhat hesitant tone that was accurately contextualized. “What exactly is in these secret places?”
“Mostly just painting and some writing left by our ancestors. Much of it serves as eternal memories of the world around us, the deeds of great people, and some things so old that no elder can really agree on their intended meanings. Perhaps you, as students of history, can help us shed light on some of those mysteries.”
“Maybe we should mark a few of the locations and have our drones set up safe climbing paths first.” Faruthin leaned towards Jinustrom and spoke in a half-whisper that his translator picked up and imparted. “Get in some cultural context through interviews while the drones do their work.”
“We can certainly have a conversation before we start climbing.” The relatively young elder motioned with one of my wing-like arms towards the village then pointed at the drones waiting behind the Turts. “But it would probably be a good idea to set up one of your memory-recording machines first. That way others can witness walking into the Tall Spires Village for the first time as well.”
“That's a great idea!” Faru pulled out his tablet and began typing in commands while a smile began to spread across all three of Jinu's faces. “I'll get it started right now. It should just take a few moments.”
“Your- Your people have a word for machines, El- Elder Harlok?” The young Turt woman seemed pleasantly surprised, an emotion that her translator was able to properly contextualize.
“Of course! They’ve hunted my people since time immemorial. Machines can be tools, like the lifts I mentioned before. Those are helpful machines. But they can also be beasts made of metal. Those ones are evil. While we used to only have a word for complex tools and the evil metal beasts, we now also have a word for good metal beasts like the one that Tens controls. Oh, and please, Jinu, my new friend. You don't have to be so nervous. You and Faru are both welcome here and have nothing to worry about. Except maybe falling while climbing. But that happens to all of us sometimes.”
“Give her some time to build her confidence, Harlok!” Tens laughed and placed a hand on the feathered theropods back. “She's just shy. Very smart, though. I have a cousin like that back at my home.”
“My daughter Marchlok is like that as well.” Harlok pointed out towards a particular group Uark'thiliks who were busy collecting food at the edge of the village. “She is the best in the village at identifying the ripest fruits and cleanest insects. She even invested a new type of trap to catch the small animals we considered a delicacy. However, she has never bragged about her skills or accomplishments. If anything, she seems uncomfortable with the praise we always try to give her.”
“Now that sounds very familiar.” Faruthin let out a soft chuckle while leaning over to nudge Juni, his attention still mostly focused on his tablet. “It seems like our people aren't so different after all.”
“One thing I've learned after meeting at least fifty species is that we're all just people.” The translator mounted to Tens's chest armor flashed with a beautiful array of colors that accentuated the wisdom he was imparting. “Some people are reserved and shy while others are energetic and outgoing. There may even be some people who are just mean and rude even after they realize they aren't any more special than anyone else.”
“Gritama.” Both of the Turt-Chopian spoke in perfect unison causing Tens and Harlok to laugh.
“I wasn't going to name names but…” Tens tried in vain to take a deep breath to curtail his chucking.
“Isn't that one of the people you said would help us with the memory-machine cave?” Harlok was still in good humor but had a slightly suspicious tone and color pattern.
“Yes but she's also very smart with machines.” The Nishnabe warrior's justification wasn't dishonest but also clearly lacked some finer details. “And Leni will correct her if she's being rude. He is more the energetic, curious, and kind type of person.”
“Ha! Sounds like a perfect spousal pairing.” The elder Uark'thilik’s laughter returned in full force before he gave the pair Turts standing in front of him another intense but friendly look. “But not as cute as you two. The union of Telscha, a shy but strong girl from one village, with Rumti, a boisterous but not as strong boy from another, is a wholesome story we tell our children in order to inspire them to find the right partner.”
“Oh! Uh… Faruthin and I ain't- We aren't-” Jinustrom fumbled over her words and quickly looked to Faruthin for help.
“We aren't dating.” The young Turt-chopian had a very particular expression with a very specific implication that needed no translation to understand. Though he didn’t say it aloud, there was a ‘yet’ at the end of that sentence.
Posted Jun 14, 2025, 6:54 PM UTC