Humans are Weird - Nike

Humans are Weird - Nike

10/2/2016

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Nike

"Nike." 
The word was spoken in such a dull, lifeless tone that it shook the rather rotund officer out of his stupor that was half bureaucracy induced and half the result of the storm that was cracking dangerously over his talons. Commander Three'clicks's wing hook paused over the report he was writing out and he twisted his head to look at the young officer huddled on the floor. He had known that the field team had returned. He was not so {deaf} as that, despite a long ago battle having shorn two of his rebounders off the top of his head. It had left him horribly scarred and flightless but the remaining eight worked just fine thank you very much, and he could get a nice feel for the safehold from where he hung in his office.
"Is that how an officer greets his superiors nowadays?" Three'clicks demanded sharply. "Lieutenant?"  He had to squint a bit as the younger officer's fur was mussed far beyond regulation...come to think of it he might not be able to fly safely -if at all- and Three'clicks felt a stirring of unease even before the lieutenant reacted.
The dark red wings rose in a shrug releasing a waft of strange and slightly unpleasant smell. Human. Three'clicks realized belatedly. 
"Maybe. I don't know. It's important I think."
Commander Three'clicks felt his fur bristle and he raised his wings in irritation but something stopped him. It was partly the dull look of resignation in the lieutenant's black eyes, partly the complete lack of reaction, and partly the result of the commander's torpor fuzzy mind finally catching up with the clues that were filtering into him. He had not heard the troop carrier that had taken the flight out return and yet they were back. The storm was breaking both over the valley their safehold was in and the mountain slopes that the flight had been sent out to explore. They had been warned that they might encounter humans there. 
"Lieutenant Five'trill," Three'clicks began, dropping down to the floor and coming close to drop a wing over him.  "Is your flight safely returned?"
The young officer looked up at him dully and flicked his ears uncertainty. "Every Winged that left with me has returned alive." He said carefully. "Injuries are non-fatal and healing well."
"That is a very specific report." Three'clicks observed even as relief flooded through him and he guided the younger officer over to where a small bottle of leaf water from the home world sat beneath his perch. He poured out a glass of the drink for Five'trills and watched as the officer drank it with almost frantic eagerness. "What happened?" Three'clicks asked gently. 
"We lost the transport about five-thousand glides from the safehold," Five'trills replied, accepting another serving of water. "We had landed it at the base of a cliff to examine the surface for possible temporary holds. Private Ten'clicks stayed with the transport."
Three'clicks flicked his ears forward in acknowledgment.  That had been their mission. 
"We had take observation on about half the face when a rock was dislodge above us," the younger officer went on. "I ordered the flight to retreat from the cliff face and...and..." Five'trills shivered and wrapped his wings around himself. "It was a cascade failure."
"Like in a computer system?" Three'clicks asked laying his ears back in confusion. 
Five'trills flicked his ears in confirmation. "Each rock hit another and dislodged it and before we knew what was happening the rockslide had engulfed the transport. It was buried under a mass of rock and detritus with Ten'clicks inside." 
Three'clicks rocked back on his talons and stared at the younger officer in horror.
"We landed over where we thought the transport was and tried to move some of the rocks but -" Five'trills held out his wings and Three'clicks could see that the manipulating ends were torn and scabbed with the attempt at the impossible task. "Private Twenty-seven'trills suggested that as we couldn't contact the safehold we try to make contact with the human camp that was supposed to be in the next valley over."
Three'clicks flicked his ears at that. Spying on their new neighbors had been one of the secondary missions of that flight. 
"We made contact and the human technician there was eager to aid us. He was able to dig out what was left of the transport by the time the sun set. It was badly compressed but we could hear that Ten'clicks was somehow still alive in the cockpit. Then the human he pulled out one of those tools they always carry and he just, tore the transport apart." Five'trills explained with a few demonstrative twisting movements of his manipulators. "Ten'clicks was injured, not fatally, but he wasn't flying anywhere. That was when we remembered that the storm was coming. The human saw our distress and said that he could take up back to his base camp. All he had to do was summon his transport early."
"One of those whirlwind blades?" Three'clicks asked eagerly. 
Five'trills shrugged his wings absently. "I do not know. That was when we discovered that some native fauna had taken out the communications array at his camp. We knew that we would not be able to survive the storm without a hold and the human had a hard copy visual representation map so he decided to take us back here to the safehold."
"But you said he had no transport..." the commander interjected.
"He had a harness," Five'trills explained. "We held onto it and he did that human movement. The one they call running."
Three'clicks stared blankly at the younger officer for several heartbeats. "You are saying," he said slowly. "That this human carried you and your entire flight-"
"He carried Ten'clicks in a sling around his neck," Five'trills interjected absently. "Ten'clicks couldn't hold onto the harness on his own." 
"Five-thousand glides in the past day?" Three'clicks pressed on.
"Actually it was just over five {hours}," Five'trills replied. 
Three'clicks rocked back again and cast his mind about. "Thank you for the report soldier but you should be in the medical bay." He said firmly. Just holding onto a harness moving at those speeds for that long must have been exhausting. "I will need to speak to this human-"
"That might be difficult," Five'trills interjected again as he let himself be led out of the room.
"Has he left in the middle of a storm?" Three'clicks demanded.
"No..." Five'trills clarified. "When we arrived in the safehold he was leaking blood out of his mouth and nose. He asked us was everyone alive and when I confirmed it he did that things humans do where they show all of their teeth. Then he said 'nike' and collapsed on the ground. The medics are trying to figure out if he is still alive..." Five'trills looked dully up at Three'clicks. "I said I thought it was  important."