Part 8 (2/2)
She was only slightly less ma.s.sive than the males, yet she was undeniably attractive by Traiti standards, as he knew from the art he'd studied, and she had an air of lithe grace. Tarlac, though he knew it was inappropriate, found she made him think of a Valkyrie. She was no fighter, couldn't possibly be if all he'd learned about the Traiti was correct, but she gave the impression of a warrior maiden.
Seated between the driver and Hovan, Tarlac had a sudden feeling of belonging here; despite his misgivings, he liked it. He'd already decided, since there was no way to ignore his apprehension, to refuse to let himself be distracted by his fear. He couldn't afford it.
While he still knew almost nothing about the Ordeal he'd agreed to take, he had no doubt that it would call on every resource he had.
In the meantime, he'd learned enough to know that his original idea about the status of females was not just mistaken but laughable. Yes, they were only a fourth of the Traiti population, cherished and protected from any possible harm, and even a discussion of endangering one unnecessarily bordered on obscenity. But they weren't considered, as he'd wrongly speculated, either inferior in any way, or as breeding stock or valuable property. Far from it. If anything, they had more status than any males except the n'Cor'naya, the Honored Ones who'd pa.s.sed the Ordeal. They were responsible for both religion and clan life, things which were far more important to the Traiti than humans had guessed.
The clans, not warfare, were the center of Traiti culture. And yet, even with females running those two vital areas, it wasn't a matriarchy. Males ran commerce and, obviously, the military; in other fields such as science or the arts, gender had no bearing. The combination made for a ”government,” if you felt generous about the definition, that couldn't possibly work for humans. Not even if it had been imposed by a G.o.d, as Hovan a.s.sured Tarlac it had. There were two rulers, the male Supreme who was exactly that in secular affairs, and the female First Speaker for the Circle of Lords, equally powerful in religious matters.
But those two acted only when something concerned the entire race.
Everything else was handled on a clan level, from education to deep-s.p.a.ce colonization. Despite Hovan's attempts to explain, Tarlac didn't quite understand how some of what the Traiti had accomplished could be done on such a seemingly casual basis, and he could only suppose they would find the human bureaucracy equally puzzling.
The two civilizations were most similar, ironically enough, in the structure of their military forces. Even that was largely on the surface; any military required a clear chain of command. Otherwise . . . the clans cooperated to produce both commercial s.h.i.+ps and warcraft, and in crewing them, with the crew members supported by their individual clans. Then, under the Supreme's command, the war fleets defended the race.
Tarlac shrugged and turned his attention to his surroundings. The s.p.a.ceport, so much like its Imperial counterparts, was behind them and they were approaching the capital city. Hovan had described it, so Tarlac knew what to expect: large, relatively low buildings, none over three stories high, set apart from each other in almost parklike surroundings. In several of the larger buildings they pa.s.sed, females stood at the central doors; they were the clan's sub-Mothers, though rarely--when this was the clan's main home--it might be the Ka'ruchaya herself waiting to formally welcome her clan-children.
Tarlac enjoyed the drive and the scenery. It reminded him of a Terran college campus or an Irschchan town, though with a greater similarity to Terra since Homeworld's sky was blue, not green. The air smelled good, clean and alive after the flatness of recycled s.h.i.+p's air, and he could tell the Traiti liked it as much as he did.
They pa.s.sed a shopping area, where the buildings were more brightly colored and closer together, yet still not crowded, and the Terran got his first look at groups of Traiti civilians. Most were closed-s.h.i.+rt males who hadn't earned Honor scars, but he saw some females, one with an infant, and a few n'Cor'naya. All wore loose-fitting, brightly colored clothing, though there was no other uniformity of dress.
Styles varied by clan and by individual taste, from what most Imperials would consider barely decent to full-coverage robes.
They did have one other thing in common. Much to Tarlac's amazement, all seemed genuinely cheerful. He turned to his sponsor. ”Don't they know how the war's going?”
”Of course.” Hovan was surprised by the question. ”Such things must in honor known be. Why? Do yours not know?”
”Sure they do,” Tarlac replied. ”But we're winning--we don't have any reason to be depressed.”
”Sadness would no good do,” Hovan said calmly. ”What the Lords decree, is.” He looked around. ”This area familiar seems . . . we should the clanhome nearing be. I have only once to Homeworld been, though, so I cannot sure be.”
His memory was accurate; less than a minute later, the car came to a halt in front of one of the branch clanhome buildings. It was of average size, perhaps a quarter-kilometer on a side--plenty of room for the five hundred or so who represented Ch'kara on Homeworld. It would be good, Hovan thought, simply to be back in-clan, back in the closeness and peace he valued so highly--and there was Ka'ruchaya Yarra's promise. He looked at Steve, pleased to see the man's expression was calm and interested.
Tarlac indicated the female standing motionless in front of the open door and asked quietly, ”Ka'chaya Yvian?”
”Yes, of--” Hovan broke off as he glanced upward, inhaling with a hiss through surprise-thinned nostrils. ”Yarra! She here came?”
Tarlac recalled one of the fine points of custom he'd learned, that the Clan Mother very rarely left the main clanhome, and then only if it was important to the clan's survival or honor. That Yarra was here, now, could only be because of him, to show she regarded her alien es'ruesten, her new clan-child, as fully one of Ch'kara.
It was something he hadn't expected; it was an honor, and it added to his determination to succeed in the Ordeal, to bring credit to his adopted clan. He climbed out of the car with the others and followed them up the steps to accept her formal welcome. The Ranger, ranking almost at the top in the Terran Empire, was the only one in the group without Honor scars, so he ranked lowest here. When the others bowed, holding out dagger hilts so the Ka'ruchaya could touch those and then her n'ruesten, Tarlac knelt as was proper for an unscarred male, drawing his blaster and extending its grip. He was pleased when she welcomed him as she had them, touching the blaster's grip and then his forehead.
Still kneeling, he looked up. ”Ka'ruchaya, Hovan says you speak English, so I want you to know firsthand that I had to qualify my oath to the clan. I don't want to be accepted under the wrong a.s.sumptions.
I took my oath as a Ranger of the Empire first, and that obligation will always be first for me.”
”Yes, I English speak,” Yarra replied, ”and I your reservation understand. I that expected, in one Hovan would worthy of adoption find. You must, of course, that first oath first honor.” She smiled, and raised him to his feet. ”I will to you later speak, ruesten. Now come. You n'ruhar have to meet, after you are to the Lords introduced.”
Tarlac holstered his blaster, following his Clan Mother and clanmates into the building. The entranceway was about ten meters square, with halls to either side and double doors straight ahead leading to the clanhome's heart, the gathering hall. When the double doors slid open, Tarlac couldn't see much except Traiti. The hall was filled with them, leaving only one open lane down the center of the room. He knew what the hall looked like, from Hovan's descriptions: a hundred meters wide by a hundred and fifty deep, and unlike the rest of the clanhome, undecorated. Its only furnis.h.i.+ng, except for special occasions, was the silvery two-tiered altar opposite the entrance. The clan's Speaker for the Circle of Lords, Daria, waited there to introduce Tarlac to the Traiti G.o.ds.
He smiled at that. He and Hovan had, inevitably, touched on religion in their discussions, and Hovan had found his agnosticism at first baffling, then amusing. It seemed the Traiti took their G.o.ds pretty much for granted, absolutely certain of their reality but expecting nothing from them other than acceptance at death. Hovan had finally given up on that debate with the extended-claw gesture that was roughly equivalent to a shrug, saying that Steve would learn.
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