The Starlings

I've been working on this short novel, and I'm only a couple chapters in, but I feel like sharing the first little bit. It's rough and unedited, but I hope you like it :)

CHAPTER 1
So many lives were lost that day.
My brother Hellan and I made it a skypod in time to lift off safely, but our guardian was not so lucky. Hellan screamed and sobbed as we climbed higher into the sky. I tried to turn his head away from the carnage below, murmuring soothing words into his ear, but he refused to be calmed. He continued sobbing hoarsely until he wore himself out completely and fell asleep curled in my lap, and by that time, we were deep in space.
The destination of the skypod was pre-programmed to take its riders to Jel, the closest colony to ours in a nearby star system system. So when I opened the pod door to an expanse of dark water beneath us and a single bright moon above, I knew that we hadn’t reached the frozen outpost of Jel.
We floated for several days, living on the ample provisions stored in the pod. Hellan still whimpered from time to time, but he had enough curiosities in the water below to keep him mostly occupied. Ahkt-sol had no oceans, only millions of narrow rivers that criss-crossed its surface. As a naturally curious child, Hellan was satisfied with watching the strange creatures that leapt and skimmed the surface of the water, but my mind raced with questions. Where were we? And would we ever make it to Jel? Without Guardian Lessi, I was lost.
We passed the days observing the sky and the sea, and the nights being rocked by the motions of the water. It was strange not seeing the familiar Ahk-sol constellations above me, but stranger still was having to get accustomed to the days.
Ahkt-sol and its four moons, Ahkt-oret, Ahkt-sem, Akht-am, and Ahkt-era orbit a small red sun. Our days and nights are long, with dim daylight and silvery nights. Here, the days were short and intensely bright, and the nights inky black.
One day, about a dozen after we arrived, as the yellow sun was starting to set, a large vessel came sliding through the water. As soon as they saw us, there was a commotion on board and a half dozen creatures pulled our pod aboard with a thick knotted net.
Hellan and I stood on deck, hand in hand, silent and on our guard, while the creatures stared blankly and murmured to each other. In shape, they didn’t look so very different from us and the other inhabitants of Ahk-sol, only they were bigger, rougher-looking, and hairier. Where we are slim and pale, they were dark and muscular.
We stood facing each other, unsure of how to proceed, when suddenly, another creature pushed through the watchers and approached us. I assume this must have been a woman, as she was shorter than the others and didn’t have hair on her face. Hellan put his arms around me and hid his face in my tunic. She took my chin in her hands and examined my face, then tugged at Hellan’s shirt. He didn’t acknowledge the woman, only clung closer to me. I could feel him trembling, but he didn’t cry out.
When the woman finished her appraisal and stepped back towards her companions, she beckoned imperiously to one of the men. The woman made what sounded like a string of commands to the man, who made a feeble attempt to stand his ground, but in the end submitted to her. The other men guffawed under their breaths, until the man’s face turned red and he barked at them and they scattered.He e must be the ship’s commander. So I approached him.
“I am Jana from the colony of Neru on the planet Akh-sol” I said politely. I pointed to my brother, “and this is my brother Hellan. Our skypod has gone off course. Could you tell us what planet this is?”
The commander’s face softened and he shook his head and shrugged. He kneeled so we were face to face and place a callused hand on my shoulder. He then tapped his chest with his other hand and said slowly and deliberately,
“Ed...war...do.” He raised his bushy eyebrows. “Edwardo!”
“Ed-ar-do?” I repeated haltingly, tripping on the syllables.
The man’s smile broadened and his eyes crinkled. “Ed-wuh-ar-do.”
Hellan slowly turned an eye from out from my tunic.
“Ed-wuh-wwwuhrrr-do?”
He nodded and patted my shoulder. “Edwardo!”
“Edwardo!” I beamed, and even Hellan smiled timidly, his face still half-covered in fabric. I pointed a finger to the man’s chest.”Edwardo….” then to my own. “Jana.”
“Jana” He repeated, patting my shoulder again. He nodded his head towards the boy peeking out from my tunic.
“Hellan” I said, trying to gently turn my brother to face Edwardo. He resisted, squirming to avoid my nudges. The man chuckled and poked Hellan’s side, wiggling his finger. To my surprise, Hellan giggled and pushed away from me, swatting at Edwardo’s wiggling finger.
The big man laughed out loud and chucked Hellan under the chin. “Hellan!”
Hellan smiled shyly and nodded, still staring at the floor.
Edwardo stood and pulled the women close, grabbing her waist and kissing her cheek with a loud smack. She must be his mate.
“Caterina!” He annouced. Hellan and I repeated her name in unison.
Caterina hugged us both, and spoke soft words that we couldn’t understand, but knew were kind and trustworthy. She smelled of perfume and fish. Once she let us go, she exchanged a few words with Edwardo, then he nodded and walked away, waving to us. She took our hands, and led us belowdecks to a small, cozy room with three tasselled hammocks, a lighted lamp, and a small trunk.
Hellan’s face lighted up when he saw the hammocks. Children on Ahkt-sol are raised in communal nurseries, most often with dormitories comprised of hammocks. I was glad that we had found something familiar in this alien world.
It also reminded us of how tired we were. It must have been obvious to Caterina, too, because she went to the trunk and pulled out two soft white shirts. They were far too big for us, but they would serve as sleeping clothes. Caterina busied herself in the trunk as we changed, and then reached for our Ahktian clothes.
“NO! DON’T!” I screamed, grabbing the tunics from her hands and clutching them to my breast. I was surprised at my sudden reaction, but hot tears filled my eyes as I realised that these clothes were the only things we had left from our home. I pulled them to my face and sobbed. For all of these days, I had been strong for my brother’s sake, because we were alone. But now, in the benevolent presence of these strange, kind aliens, I couldn’t hold back my sadness any longer. I fell to my knees, my body wracked with emotion.
I felt Hellan’s small arms wrap around my shoulders, then both of us were enveloped in Caterina’s fleshy embrace. She stroked my hair and cooed in her strange language. Once my sobs had subsided, she lifted me into one of the hammocks. I let her fuss over my pillow and blankets, tucking them snugly around me. I didn’t care that I was too old to be put to bed. I was exhausted and numb. I heard her murmur to Hellan and he climbed into one of the other hammocks. There was a rustle of blankets as Hellan was tucked in, and the rhythmic creaking of a rocking hammock.
My hammock started rocking as well, and Caterina started to sing. A soft, low melody, barely above a whisper, but strong and sweet. I cuddled the tunics to my face, and closed my eyes. That last thing I heard before drifting into sleep was the faint rushing of the ocean outside, weaving in and out of Caterina’s song.

CHAPTER 2
I woke up to the sound of stirring in the next hammock.
“Hellan? Are you okay?”
He was sitting up, rocking back and forth in the hammock. A habit leftover from his days in the dormitories. He looked over at me and nodded mutely. Among our people, children don’t speak until they’re finished the fifth cycle of schooling, except for people’s names for reference or to get attention. Instead, they watch, and listen.
I closed my eyes and tried to remember all of the things that Guardian Lessi had taught me in the last schooling cycle about maintaining proper contact with alien species when off-world, but my mind was racing. Memories of past lessons flashed by like holo-vids behind my eyelids, barely coherent.
Do not disrupt their evolution. Especially in technology. Guardian Lessi’s voice was firm and he was deadly serious.
Learn to communicate as quickly as possible; language, culture, religion. The sooner you learn, the less likelihood of dangerous, even fatal misunderstanding.
Keep in contact with home. If anything happens, you can be removed from the situation as soon as possible.
My eyes teared up. Guardian Lessi didn’t expect that any of us would be trapped on an unknown planet, completely cut off from everything we knew… I shook my head to clear the fog of despair that was creeping in. I had to stay sharp if I was to get us through this. I turned to Hellan and watched him rocking, and gazing out to the sea. He would remain mute, learning with his eyes and ears, so it was up to me to ensure our safety.
Do not disrupt their evolution. The words spun around in my mind. Do not disrupt their evolution. I looked around at the cabin and thought back to out time on deck. This was not a space-worthy vessel, and it was possible that this race hadn’t discovered interstellar travel yet.
“Hellan!” I cried suddenly. “The skypod! We have to find it!”
I slipped out of my hammock and searched frantically for my tunic, but it wasn’t among my blankets. I could feel my panic escalating, I slammed the lid of the trunk and shoved it violently, letting it clatter against the metal walls of the little room.
Moments later, the door opened and crack and Caterina’s face appeared, brows knitted together with concern. She said something, but of course I didn’t understand her, and that just made me more upset. A fine portrait I made, standing there in the middle of the room, eyes squeezed shut and fists clenched. Me cheeks burned, and I knew they must be bright red. I didn’t care. I needed to get to the skypod and I couldn’t find my clothes. But I wouldn’t cry. Not again.
Caterina must have been hesitant to approach me, because she remained silent. Hellan, however, crept to my side, pried my fist open and slipped his hand into mine.
“Jana…?” He whispered. I realized I’d been holding my breath.
I released a shuddering sigh and let my other hand relax. Caterina put a hand on my cheek and patted it gently. I opened my eyes. Draped over her other arm was a pair of Ahktian tunics, clean and pressed. She saw me looking at the tunics and spoke to me kindly in her language I couldn’t understand.
She handed the tunics to me and pulled me into a warm hug. She kissed my cheeks then left, closing the door behind her.
“Hellan, I’m sorry I lost my temper.” I squeezed his hand. “I’m just a little overwhelmed.” Hellan nodded and hugged me. I hugged him back and continued. “You know that wasn’t the right thing to do though, right?” Until we found our way home - if we were able to find our way home - I’d have to try to keep teaching Hellan. He hugged me harder.
“Okay, get dressed. We have to find that skypod. We can’t let these aliens take any of its technology just in case it’s too advanced for them.”
Hellan cocked his head inquisitively. He wouldn’t be leaning any of this for several school cycles.
“I don’t have time right now to explain it fully, but basically, we can’t interfere with the development these aliens. We have to let them learn at their own pace.”
Hellan still looked confused.
“Ummm...you know how Guardian Lessi wouldn’t let you use the cooking knife, but he would let me? Well, that’s because I’m older and I knew how to use it properly. You hadn’t learned about knives yet, and so you might have cut yourself if you used it. Well, our skypod is like that cooking knife. Ahktians are old enough to understand and use our ships, but these aliens might be too young, and might hurt themselves if they play with it. Do you understand?”
“Caterina…? Edwardo…?” and he mimed holding a knife and cutting one hand. It was close enough.
“Yes, if Caterina or Edwardo plays with the skypod, they might get hurt. So we have to find it.”
His pale blue eyes were filled with concern for his new alien friends. In a flash, he changed into his clean tunic and rushed to the door, tugging me after him. I dressed and followed him. When we opened the door, Caterina was waiting.
“Caterina, we need to get to out skypod.” I tried to mime the floating of the skypod, and the net dragging it into the boat, but it was difficult without context. So I tugged on her sleeve and pointed to the hall that led abovedecks.
The woman shook her head and shrugged. She didn’t understand, but she spoke to us and ushered us further down the hallway. I tried to motion that we wanted to return to the deck, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
I could break away and make a run for it, but I remembered Guardian Lessi’s advice about avoiding miscommunication with aliens. So I resigned myself to follow Caterina.
No sooner had I made the decision to delay my trip abovedecks, but a smell hit my nose. Faint at first, then stronger as we continued down the hall. My stomach rumbled, and Hellan became visibly excited. Our mission was momentarily wiped from our minds as our stomachs took over.
When we entered the cooking area, there were several of the alien men already sitting and eating, some standing. They eyed us with curiosity, but didn’t seem hostile. Caterina showed us to a small table with two plates and two cups. Hellan dug right in, regardless of the strangeness of the alien meal. I paused to look at the contents of the plate, but it smelled so good that I ate with near-equal gusto.
The drink was my favourite part, though. Sweet and smooth and possibly the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.Caterina notice how much I enjoyed it and refilled my cup twice.
Once the food was eaten, and Hellan and I were sipping our drinks with delight, Caterina pulled up a chair and leaned in close. She pointed and me, then at Hellan.
“Mama? Papa?” She asked. I didn’t understand the words. She mimed rocking a baby, then pointed at me and Hellan again. I shrugged.
She then pulled a pad of paper out of her pocket and drew a crude-looking woman, then a man. Then she pointed at me and drew a baby in the arms of the woman.
“Do you want to know about the woman who birthed me?” I asked.
I didn’t know why she wanted to know. On Ahkt-sol, children are not raised exclusively by their birthparents. They only stay with them for 3 cycles, long enough to be weaned and taught how to properly use the toilet by themselves. Then they spend each subsequent cycle in the home of a different member of the community to learn the basics of the various roles that keep our communities strong and fruitful. These learning cycles are overseen and guided by an appointed guardian.
I shook my head. I didn’t know how to communicate these complex cultural norms to her. Caterina exclaimed softly and took my hand in hers, murmuring and patting my hand. She seemed sad, worried. A few of the men turned to us and made equally sad noises. With more kisses to both Hellan and I, Caterina wiped at her eyes, refilled our cups a final time with the dark sweet drink, and bustled to the door. Before she left, she spoke a few words to a couple of the the men, who nodded and smiled at us.
I turned to Hellan.
“Alright, when we finish our drinks, we’ll go up and take care of the skypod. Okay?”
He smiled and nodded, sweet drink dripping from his upper lip. I wondered if a good meal and sweet treat was enough to soothe him into forgetting, for the moment, the trauma from Ahkt-sol. He seemed to be doing much better, anyhow. He was smiling at the men around the cooking area, who smiled back though bushy beards and squinty crinkly eyes. He was always a friendly boy. A strange foil to my naturally reserved nature.