SImp

Time has a way of slowing down even while events are proceeding at a breakneck pace. The Duke's base had been built high on a mountain promontory overlooking a gorge, in which flowed an awesomely large river. I think that even the Amazon on Terra would have been hard-pressed to match the majesty of this river. There was nothing on Terra to compare with the giant trees that filled the landscape. I marveled that falling to my death as I was with, a mortal wound in my chest and heart, that I could think such thoughts.

I continued to drift down into the gorge. I had now reached terminal velocity, and I was in freefall position, spread eagle with my arms out, and my legs bent slightly. I dreamily noticed a huge vine-covered tree sticking out, at an abnormal angle, far from the wall of the gorge and with the sight a desperate plan was born. Angling my body, I was able to direct my fall so that I came closer to the tree. This was going to be close. I grasped the end of a vine that was about as thick as my wrist and held on for dear life. That vine went suddenly taunt and then started to stretch, the vine had stretched to more than five times its length, and the surface of the river was now very close.

I balled myself up into as small a circumference as I could just before I impacted. Luckily the river was deep, and I never hit bottom. Just when I was congratulating myself on surviving, I became aware of an interesting phenomenon, I was now going up at a rapidly increasing pace. I shot from the water bouncing back into the sky as the vine tried to resume its original length. At the top of my arc, I almost let go, until I noticed just how high above the river I was.

I had a few moments of free flight, so I wrapped the end of the vine under my arms and rapidly tied a bowline knot in the vine with one hand while holding on with other. I mentally said a brief prayer of thanks to my Boy Scout leader who had shown me this trick. Again, I plummeted into the water, and again I bounced high in the air, by now it was almost fun. Eventually, I quit bouncing. I was still higher than I liked above the river. Not too far downstream I could see white water just before the river disappeared off the edge of a precipice.

I started to pump my legs, and before long I was swinging back and forth, a huge pendulum with an agonizingly long period. I could only slowly work the swing. Imp by now had settled down. He had been figuratively screaming his head off during the fall, but I had only subconsciously heard him.

In fact, he had been screaming ever since I ignored his suggestion to stay and let that platoon of Marines pulverize me on the arena floor. I didn't care what was on the other side of the arena wall. All I knew for sure was that whatever it was, was better than facing platoon after platoon of trained killers. I checked my wound, not wanting to die of blood loss while still swinging. I found to my surprise that my injury was not as severe as I had thought. The star which a fallen out sometime while I had been bouncing on this huge vine had impacted dead center in my breastbone. All that I had was a massive contusion with a small puncture in the center—not at all what I expected from taking a star hard in the chest. My wound was not bleeding profusely, so I ignored it for now.

Eventually, I was able to swing close enough to a tree, on the side of the gorge's wall, that I was able to cling to its branches. I slowly worked my way to the core of the tree where the branches were several meters thick. I was just congratulating myself on a narrow escape when Imp piped up [Bandit twelve-o-clock high.]

I looked up, and there was the ghost image of what appeared to be a person lying on the branch above me—just enough of its head hanging over the side so that it could see me. I looked into startlingly brilliant and intelligent yellow eyes. Seeing that I was cognizant of its presence, it slipped over the edge and sort of fell many meters to my branch. Its hands and feet would catch momentarily at whatever branch or vine happened to be close—its feet pushing the branches out of its way and slowing its fall, the vines also helping to slow its descent. Thus, although it was never in free fall neither was it on anything solid. A giant of a man landed as lightly as thistledown on the same branch as I.

He was fully two-heads taller than I, and his muscles had muscles. He was wearing leather breaches with some sort of leather container on his back, which was held in place by a wide leather strap running across his chest. As he came closer, I could see designs worked in with what appeared to be seeds on the band, which ran across his chest. I had never seen such designs, they were very intricate and impossible of description, although primitive they were obviously skillfully made. His smell preceded him, and although strong and alien it was not repulsive.

Imp broke in on my thoughts [I've checked all the infobases that I can and nowhere is there any report of eye color like his, let alone a sample of that beadwork. Also, there are two more visitors above and slightly behind you.]

[Thanks Imp] I responded. [Let me know if they move will you.]

[Will do.] He replied.

When my mysterious companion was a step or so from me, and I had made no threatening move, he seemed to take heart. He slowly, almost fearfully, reached out and touched my face—His hands lightly traversing my face and on down to my chest and along my arms. Almost as if he wanted to make sure that I was real and not just something that he had dreamed up.

He reached out and grabbed a small vine that was close by. He pointed to the cliff top high above us then to the vine, then to me, and jerked the vine as if it had something on it. I nodded my head as I took the vine and held on to it for a moment. Although he did not talk his meaning and reactions were unmistakable, he had seen me fall and could not believe his eyes. Well, I had been there, and I still couldn't believe it. He hesitated then placed my hand over his heart and held it there for a moment. It felt like some sort of ceremony to me, so I replied by grasping his hand and placing it over my heart. I winced slightly as the pressure descended on my wound. Apparently, I had responded correctly for he broke out in a huge smile.

Feeling that things were going smoothly I decided to shoot the works, so I looked him in the eyes and pointed to where the other two persons waited. They were completely hidden by the branch, but I could still see their ghosts. Both images were smaller than the giant facing me, but one was very small.

He just shook his head in denial, so I pointed again then raised two fingers. Next, I held my hand at about my height then again about mid-chest and pointed back again. As I had become more familiar with his looks, I fancied that the expression on his face was amazement and disbelief. He sang out, his word, or cry—a liquid trill sounding more like some wild bird than human speech.

A few seconds later a woman and a small boy descended with as much ease as he, landing on the branch where I now stood. She walked up to me, her muscles rippling beneath her smooth, supple skin. She like the giant was dressed in leather breeches. A strange exotic scent, reminiscent of a rose, hovered near her. Her figure was more than adequate. She could have had a job as a top model with any fashion house just as she was. The boy appeared to be a smaller version of the giant, but I could see some of the beauty in him also. They huddled together seeking solace in companionship. They talked together their tongue a soft flowing sound, which reminded me of the wind rustling through the trees and of, streams babbling, several times he gestured to me. Then the discussion apparently over, she approached and held her hand out to me. I extended mine, and she placed it on her chest and held it there, so I had to reciprocate.

I winced as I placed her hand on my chest. She noticed and with a look of concern tried to push aside my Gi so that she could see. I gently moved her hands aside and opened my Gi exposing my bruised chest. Blood had now caked around the still oozing wound. She gently explored the wound then sang to the boy. He swarmed up through the branches, rapidly disappearing.

The beauty plucked a large green flower that looked somewhat like a vase and pulled a puff of cotton like substance from another plant. She poured some kind of liquid from the flower onto the puff of vegetable matter and cleaned the blood away from my chest. She had no more than finished when the boy lightly fell through the branches with a variety of flowers and leaves cradled in one arm. She picked and chose from the assortment until she had a small handful. She added what looked like dried and compressed leaves from a bag she carried. She then masticated all of it into a sticky pulp. This she smeared over my wound and the bruised area. It smarted on contact but rapidly the hurt vanished entirely and the substance dried to a hard but elastic covering in a matter of minutes.

The boy had retreated while Beauty had doctored my wound, so I approached him and held out my hand. From the startled looks that I received from all involved, I was sure that this was not traditional. However, he allowed me to place his hand on my chest, and I reciprocated. His face lit up as though somehow he had just been admitted to the adult world. I looked back at the beauty and the giant, if that was not a look of pride that filled their faces, I'd treat.

So far, we had conducted our exchange in total silence. Almost without thought, I spoke my thoughts aloud "Well now, I need to call you something so how about Beauty, Giant, and Youth. What does that make me anyway?" I certainly did not expect a reply and when she haltingly and painfully struggled to make her mouth conform to strange sound replied "Hu ah G'da."

I almost fell off my branch, and Imp indeed fell off of his perch, if the storm of laughter that I could hear was any indication. The words didn't make sense, but she definitely had tried to use Imperium. Giant tired of playing this game apparently decided that it was time to move on. He spoke to Beauty in their soft liquid language, and she halting spoke "Hu kum wi huss?" and pointed to each in turn then pointed up into the tree. I nodded my agreement. She then sang to Giant, and they started to climb the tree going almost as fast up it, as they had going down. They stopped on the next major branch and looked down at me as if to say, well dummy—is you coming or not?