Chapter Ten
One week later
Taran looked up as a ship passed by overhead. His alarm was only momentary as he recognized the form of one of the cruisers of his ancestors, which he had found the blueprints for in an abandoned lab that had been found when the ice on the southern hemisphere of the planet had melted.
Where on Earth had this ancient craft been raised from the dead from?
People from all over that could trace their lineage to his people had been arriving back on the planet in the last year ever since the word had gotten out about its return to life. It would appear that yet one more of his kin had arrived home bringing a valuable piece of their former technological greatness with them as well.
Taran straightened up to full height and tried to get the kinks out of his back caused from seemingly endless post hole digging. With the end of the forced weather modification on his world of Soluranami the endless stretches of volatile sand had turned into a vast prairie of thick green grass where here and there a long dormant seed of a tree grew and sprouted to show its leaves to the endless day.
The soil, indeed almost everything had changed in this world that never knew darkness thanks to its twin suns. In this brave new world of opportunities he intended to raise horses.
Perhaps it was a simplistic endeavor for the leader of a world to embark on, but life is about the simple pleasures. Several months from now he was expecting his first batch of horses to arrive from a world nearly overrun with the creatures.
It was a primitive world of bitter rivalries and violence, but their horses were beyond compare. The world was inaccessible by any means other than a spacecraft so one of Zayri’s old cronies was shipping in a cargo hold of them for him so he could start to build his herd.
The imminent due date of the arrival of the horses demanded a means of keeping them. Hence the endless fence building project he had embarked on a month back.
As he watched the craft set down on the prairie not too far away he felt the loving touch of his wife, as she massaged the ache in his back with one hand. Glancing to the side he caught her smiling at him. She knew how it irked him with the ability she had of sneaking up on him without him hearing her.
She brought her other hand up, which his gun belt hung off of, “Thought you might need this dear.”
Smiling Taran took the gun belt and hung it from the top of the post beside him. He doubted he’d need the gun, but it had been wise of her to bring it nonetheless.
The holstered gun hung within easy access should he need it. Looping his arm around his wife’s shoulders he rubbed over the growing mound of her belly with his other hand and asked, “And how is the mama-to-be today?”
“Worried as usual that you’re going to work yourself into an early grave.”
Chuckling Taran said, “I told you dear. Work now means restful enjoyment later.”
The sound of a fast approaching horse had both of them glancing back to see Edgar pull up behind them. With excitement he dismounted and rushed forward all the while pointing, “Did you see that ship? It’s a carbon copy of the one in the archives!”
“So it is and it would appear its occupants are coming to greet us.”
Taran studied the lone walking form of the man that was approaching. There was something very familiar about the man’s walk. In astonishment he whispered, “It can’t be him!”
“Can’t be who?” Zayri asked with concern.
“My brother!” Taran said even as he confirmed it now as his brother’s face came better into view.
Zayri glance with excitement toward the approaching man and then with puzzlement towards her husband who didn’t seem overjoyed at the appearance of his brother. “Why aren’t you happy about your brother being here Taran?”
He glanced at her and said, “I want to be, but the last time we met he said the next time we saw each other he’d kill me.”
Zayri gasped and looked at the approaching man in a new light.
“Maybe you should put your gun on.” She said softly.
Taran shook his head no and then started out to meet his brother. Zayri wanted to object, but she bit her lip instead as she and Edgar looked on nervously.
*****
He was the same old Taran for sure, I acknowledged, as I noted his brazen approach toward me without the gun that the woman had brought him. The last time I’d seen my brother he’d been wearing Yankee blue and I’d been in Confederate gray.
We’d stood in a field wrecked with the carnage of two armies at merciless war with each other. The dead from both sides of the conflict had been littered about our feet so thickly that it had been hard to find a spot to step.
He’d held a cavalry saber in one hand and an empty pistol in the other. I’d had a rifle still loaded and pointed at his chest. The moment of horror at being opposite your brother on the field of battle and yet driven to kill him because of the spilt blood of my mates on the ground had been a strong compulsion urging me to pull the trigger.
He was my brother though and so I’d let him go. I’d always wondered if that had been a mistake. A betrayal if you will, of the men that I’d fought alongside of, but at the time loyalty to family first had still come out on top.
It still did.
I came to a stop and so did he. He’d aged well and had the look of a satisfied life about him. I was only recently coming to such an expressive acceptance of what joy life could be when you had the right person beside you to share it with.
Softly I spoke, “You still don’t have a loaded gun brother, but neither do I. I’d like to forget the past and start over on this world if it’s all right with you big brother.”
There was no hesitation in him as he stepped forward and wrapped me up in a hug the cracked my back. I returned the hug with equal measure.
Taran spoke against my shoulder, “Welcome home little brother!”
“I’m glad to be here Taran!”
Drawing back after a moment I stepped to the side to take Christy’s hand, who had come up behind me, and facing Taran I said, “I don’t come alone brother. This is my wife Christy and her grandfather Cornelius.”
Mark scampered up out of Cornelius’s vest pocket to his shoulder and I added, “And friend.”
The beautiful woman standing off to the side of Taran stepped forward to take my hand, “And I’m Zayri, Taran’s wife.”
Leaving me Zayri went to Christy and taking both of her hands she warmly said, “I am very glad to meet you Christy! Come! There’s more than enough room in our house for you and your grandfather, until we can get a house of your own built. We even have running water. Would you like a bath?”
“Oh yes please!” Christy said with excitement. And so on and so on the two women conversed as they headed off towards the house in the distance.
Taran and I fondly watched them go happy in the knowledge that not only were both of us happy because of the women that we now had as our wives, but also because our wives had a friendship of their own apart from us by which they could enjoy.
Edgar was edging off toward the landed ship with the pure light of curiosity alight in his eyes. Cornelius intercepting him said, “You seem to have the look of a learned profession about you Sir?”
Edgar puffed up slightly and responded with, “Why yes I do. I’m a doctor and an amateur scientist as it were.”
“You don’t say my good young man!” Cornelius burst out with enthusiasm before adding, “Come with me Doctor. What a blessing it is to have a man of professional conduct to share this rediscovery of what surely must be one of the most rudimentary foundations of all mathematical theorems.”
The two men walked on towards the ship as they excitedly lived off each other’s enthusiasm over the thrill of discovery of something new and yet old at the same time.
Smiling I glanced from them to my surroundings of endless grass.
“It wasn’t always like this, but people came together and God intervened and now you see the results.” Taran said.
Nodding I looked back to Taran. Eyeing him up speculatively I said, “You’ll have a fight to keep such a paradise like this brother.”
Taran smiled sagely and said, “Has it ever been any different anywhere else and at any other point in time?”
I nodded my agreement and said, “I’ll help you keep the peace brother, as I am tired of endlessly drifting.” Pausing for a moment I grudgingly said, “As a family we’re all wiped out back on Earth, Taran. From the sounds of it our whole family got hunted down and put to the gun barrel, except for perhaps our sister.”
Taran nodded grimly at the news. Looking toward the horizon he said, “Our situation here is also precarious. It’s a big world and there are few people as of yet to populate it. We have many ancient enemies and sooner or later an attack will come. Be that as it may this is where I’ve put my roots down. In several months a new Collins will be born and our family will go on. Come hell or high water I won’t go out without a fight to keep what’s mine!”
Stepping up to Taran I slapped him on the back effectively jarring him from his depressive outlook of the possible future events facing us and said, “Fortunately for you brother I’m a man that likes to fight.” Smiling together we headed for the house in the distance.
We hadn’t gotten very far when Taran asked, “Have you ever built fence?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“Because I’ve got several hundred yards of it with your name on it.”
“Yeah right!” I said only half jokingly.
“You want to eat don’t you?” Taran said with a mischievous glint to his eyes.
“I’m still on my honeymoon brother.” I said begging off.
“You have all night for that. What you need is outdoor exercise.”
I looked at him darkly and chuckling he said, “Well at least give me half a day’s work.”
“Alright it’s a deal. When does it get dark around here?”
Laughing uproariously Taran said, “It never does brother!”
Not seeing the cause of his humor I asked, “So how do you measure time?”
“We don’t for the most part so you see your half a day of labor can be stretched out however long I want to.”
“Is that a horse trough?”
“Yes, why? Hey put me down!”
As it was we both ended up in the cold water.
It was good to have my big brother back in my life, even if he did have the tendency of always trying to boss me around. Can’t blame a man for trying I guess.