Saying Words

I was almost reluctant to soak the rag in the river, for the water was so clear I could see the bed of the stream, the rocks smoothed over from eons of water erosion. Nevertheless, my muddy carbine demanded my attention, and thus, the river water was needed. I placed the rag into the water, the steadily-flowing water absorbed by the cloth material. After just a few moments, I lifted the rag from the water, some crystal-clear droplets falling from the end of the rag. I squeezed the rag in my one hand to expel excess water. In my other hand was my carbine, and I placed it on the ground before taking a knee by the river. Then, I wiped my weapon clean of the mud. I looked up, across the stream, and noticed Mik speaking with Basab and Tes, the subject of the conversation unknown to me. I looked slightly to the left of them, and saw one of our lance’s minors, one Krann ‘Ondusai, standing before the other Unggoy and Kig-Yar of our lance. He seemed to be lecturing them as he held a Human-made helmet, poking his finger in a hole that seemed to have been made by a beam rifle.
To the left of Krann and the others, there was the other minor of our lance, who served to keep the Kig-Yar in line. I had noticed the warrior, whose name was Akun ‘Farunalee, sitting at the river bank, staring pensively at the river, occasionally throwing a pebble into the waters, making small splashes. Once I had finished wiping clean my weapon, I placed it onto a latch on my back and forded the river, electing to approach Akun. The young warrior saw me come towards him, but said nothing, only staring at me with his striking blue eyes. He then looked down, avoiding eye contact as he examined some pebbles on the riverbank. He picked one up as I appeared before him.
“Akun, are you well?” I asked. I put away the rag.
“Yes, sir,” he said in a soft voice, declining to make eye contact. He placed the pebble down and continued looking at the water.
“Are you sure? No injuries, not running low on ammunition or grenades?”
“I’m fine, sir.”
I sighed, looking around, checking my surroundings while delaying my response to try and conjure some other subject matter to discuss. I glanced at Krann, and decided to try and ascertain Akun’s idea of the warrior.
“What of ‘Ondusai? Is he ready?”
“I don’t know, sir. I haven’t spoken to him yet.” Akun looked upstream at Krann and then gestured with his head at the warrior. “There he is,” Akun said.
“Indeed,” I said, looking in that direction as well. Then I looked back down at Akun. “Is something the matter, warrior?”
“No, sir.”
I stared at Akun in silence, as he gazed at the water, saying nothing more. Wordlessly, I left the man, and walked towards Mik. I passed by Krann and his lecture.
“…and don’t forget to try and aim for the body when throwing grenades at them. I saw one time, a Human had a grenade stuck to his helmet, so he simply removed it and threw it back at us. Smart creatures they are. Smart indeed. But don’t worry, our weapons can melt through their body armor.”
Then, I finally reached Mik mid-sentence.
“…but really, it’s all a matter of perspective. Of course Kai will see it differently. Won’t you, Kai?”
“Won’t I what?” I asked
“See things differently from me.”
“Explain.”
Mik shuffled in his place, and he looked around slyly. He spoke to me in a low voice. “I’ve got good authority that the minor over there, Akun, is a damned informant for the Ministry of Inquisition.”
The accusation was both puzzling and alarming. I looked back at Akun in disbelief, then looked back at Mik. “Surely you have evidence for such a statement.”
“Oh I… I… I don’t.”
“You can stop saying words now.”
“Oh, excuse me for making an assumption based on the facts I have at hand.”
“And what facts are those?”
“Well, Akun hasn’t really engaged with us. He’s barely spoken to anyone – in fact, the only time I hear his voice is when he’s responding to orders. ‘Yes, sir,’ and all that. Plus, he keeps his distance from everyone else and responds to everything with either ‘Yes,’ ‘no,’ ‘I don’t know,’ or a simple shoulder shrug. It’s downright unsettling. Not to mention his penchant for staring at other people…” Mik looked cautiously at Akun. The boy was indeed staring at the four of us.
“Yeouch, sir, that is a bit creepy,” commented Basab in a hushed tone.
“Not to mention a liability, sir,” added Tes. “A fellow lancemate that doesn’t communicate with his brothers-in-arms? Not good for unit cohesion. Certainly doesn’t help build trust.”
“That is a valid point,” I remarked. The four of us slowly turned to look at Akun one more time. He was still staring at us, but once he saw that we were looking back, he quickly looked away, back at the water. “Or he could simply be neurodivergent.”
“Sorry?” asked Mik.
“Neurodivergent. His social skills are… not like you or I.”
“Oh, so like social deficiency?” Now, in the Covenant, “social deficiency” is a term used similar to the word “autism” in Human culture. It was commonly used in the past, but ever since initial hostilities between the Covenant and Humanity, “social deficiency” as a term has started to fall out of favor due to its perceived insensitivity.
“Basically, yes, although I would not use that term.”
“Mmm, I don’t know,” skeptically responded Mik. “He doesn’t give off that antisocial energy.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well… he doesn’t look the part.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well… you know. He’s… he’s quite a handsome fellow.”
“Gods, Mik, not every ugly person has social deficiency. If that were the case, well then you would have social deficiency.”
Basab and Tes laughed at that joke.
“Pshaw, whatever,” grumbled Mik.
“Just avoid making wild accusations, Mik, yes?”
“But you know I’m right.”
“Right about what?”
“The minor. Akun. Something’s not right with him.”
“Mik, I am certain that he is just fine. Besides, if he was an informant, he is a terrible one. Not asking us questions, not gaining new information, not trying to ingratiate himself, not engaging with us and becoming familiar with us. Surely an informant would do his best to gather information.”
“Oh. Right.”
We looked at Akun once more. He was looking away from us, staring downstream at one of our outposts, watching as a Phantom approached to drop of supplies and additional manpower. Mik sighed. “I think I’ll go try and talk to him.”
He walked away, with the three of us in silence. Mik sat down beside Akun, and they began to converse. It seemed that the minor was speaking more to him than to me.
“Sir, can I speak candidly about Major ‘Mutukee?” asked Basab.
“Of course,” I replied.
“I didn’t expect this from him, sir.”
“Me neither, sir,” said Tes.
I simply stared at the resultant conversation. I could not hear what they were saying, but it appeared that Akun was opening up to Mik.
“Mik never fails to surprise,” I commented.
Category:The Weekly