Outsider

[Laowai]

Continued…..


As they walked, Ben quizzed the older man about how they came to be on Tangier.
“There were surveys a while back” he said, “The one’s that reported back said there were no trace of any settlers here.”
Crusellas grunted, “Those surveys would have been done from a high orbit, no doubt to allow for a speedy escape from the Hessians. We, as you will soon see, don’t live out in the open”
“What do you mean?” Ben asked.
“We attempted to build a town; in fact, we had one for a while, but after the shipments and supplies stopped coming, we felt it was too vulnerable and dangerous. Were the Hessians to show up, we had no way to defend it. But, to our good fortune, we discovered a network of caves, and that’s where we live now”

Ben raised his eyebrows, “In Caves?” he said, “But the scans should’ve still located you”
The older Corsair smiled, “Ordinarily yes, if we were just sitting in a cave that was open to the surface, but these caves stretch for miles underground, and they seem to be very difficult to scan through”
They walked on, Crusellas explaining how they had come to be here. How they had come to learn how to survive on the inhospitable planet, overcoming the odds and managing to build themselves a home, start families, support themselves. They had done so mostly without technology, conserving the few electric devices they had left; the odd blaster, medical scanners and powered tools for emergency use only. Everything else had been done the old fashioned way, by hand.

There had been a point, where they had the choice; use what power they could scrape together and try to contact other Corsairs, or use it for their needs on Tangier.
They had chosen the latter, knowing that in doing so, they might never leave again. This was now their home, and Crusellas said, they had no wish to leave, no wish to go back to Crete, they were content here.

Laowai was taken aback by this, “How can you stay here? How can you not wish to be with your people?” However, the other man only smiled “I am with my people Ben Laowai, these are my people now.”
They crossed a small grassy hill and looking down into the deep valley below it Ben could see dozens of small dark openings, what looked like doors and windows, from higher up in the valley, small wisps of smoke drifted up from fires that must be lit somewhere underground.
“You see Laowai” Crusellas gestured, his hand sweeping the extent of the valley, “This is our home”

And what a home it was. From the outside, the few windows and doors only hinted at what might lay inside. But once they entered, Laowai could catch a glimpse of the size of these underground homes. After walking down a short passage they came to the first of the caves, a vast stone cathedral that stretched back as far as he could see, other corridors leading off from its sides and walls. The colonists had carved out sections it was clear, but much of this first cave appeared completely natural, he couldn’t help but gasp.
“Impressive isn’t it?” Ernesto Crusellas said, “And this is just the first one, there are many of these, stretching for miles, on several different levels, we’ve had to work on a few, build some spaces, walls and air shafts here and there, but on the whole, it’s naturally formed”
Ben shook his head, he could see at the end of the cave, small groups of people carrying bundles of wood into one of the passageways leading off somewhere.
“How many people live here?” he asked. Ernesto nodded, “there are a few hundred of us, and our numbers have grown slightly since we arrived here.”

“Father!” A voice cried out, they turned and saw a young woman striding towards them. She was dressed in a loose fitting tunic made from the same fabric the others wore, tied off at her waist was a belt from which hung a knife and a small axe. She wore her hair tied neatly behind her head, even though it was short, and her forehead was painted though not tattooed as many corsair women did - Laowai did not recognize the pattern. He guessed that after so much time here alone, these people now had their own symbols. She held herself with confidence the way all Corsair woman did, separation from the rest of Corsair society hadn’t changed that at least Ben thought.
She approached Ernesto and the two hugged warmly, releasing her he turned to Ben and said “So Ben Laowai, may I introduce you to my daughter, Zarita Crusellas”. Ben nodded in acknowledgment; “Zarita” Ernesto continued “This is our unidentified pilot, Ben Laowai, stationed out of Leon; he has had an unfortunate landing on our planet.”
Zarita nodded to him, “A Kusari Corsair? Well, well…. welcome to Tangier Ben Laowai, what do you think of our town that we have made?”
As she spoke, she looked him in the eye and smiled slightly, Ben couldn’t help but smile in return, for she looked at him with a confidence he did not often see when many Corsairs saw his Kusari features. All too often he was met with suspicion or questioning looks. But this young woman bore no such suspicion and it caught him slightly off guard.
“I am astonished by what you have accomplished here” he said, “If this is any indication as to the rest of your home here, I would say what you have done is remarkable”
Zarita’s smile widened, obviously pleased by an outsider such as Laowai’s approval of the place and her eyes looked directly at his again, once more surprising him, his own smile growing. Ernesto noticed the exchange, “Seems you have won my daughter’s approval” he interrupted their glances, “She is intensely proud of what we have done here, as are we all”

Laowai broke his stare with the girl, turning his attention back to her father with an embarrassed gulp “Rightly so” he said, “It is certainly amazing”.

The older man gestured to a corridor further down the cave; “Come Laowai, I will have a room made up for you for the night. You will dine with the elder’s later this evening, there is much they will wish to ask you.”. Ben nodded, “Yes of course, thank you” he said.
“No need for thanks” said Ernesto.
“Zarita” he said, gesturing to his daughter, “Show Senor Laowai to one of the spare quarters will you, have someone bring him some clothes to change into.”
“Of course father” she said

Ernesto turned and left them, Zarita motioned towards another passage in front of them and Laowai followed her. Looking at him once more she smiled, “I have never met an off world Corsair before” She said “Least of all one who looks nothing like a Corsair.”
Laowai smiled in return, “What does a corsair look like?” he asked “Is he a corsair by the appearance of his face? Or by his family and by his deeds, or by the code he lives by?”
Zarita chuckled, “Good answer” she said “but you didn’t say anything about the uniform he wears...”
She laughed and Ben suddenly noticed the charring on his jacket and pants, the unit badge he wore on his right arm was badly scorched and he realized that he did look a mess. “Well… luckily I don’t have to have an inspection tonight aren’t I?” he said. Zarita raised an eyebrow and chuckled; “Oh you will be on inspection allright” she said, “They are going to want to pick your brain for hours, and that will be just about the politics...”

They turned down several more passages, “how far does this go!?” Ben exclaimed. “This way leads to some of the residential caves” said Zarita, “but there are miles in all directions. Some of the lowest ones, we haven’t fully explored yet”
They walked in silence for a moment; Ben noticed her glancing at him again. “You want to know why I look the way I do” he said.
Zarita blushed slightly, “Yes, but I didn’t know if I should ask”.
“Its ok” said Ben, “most people want to know, and most people don’t usually worry about being polite about it”. He usually instinctively felt defensive when questioned about his heritage by other Corsairs; he had been dealing with prejudice over it since he first came to Crete as a small child with his father and mother. He was surprised to find that he didn’t feel that way this time; there was something disarming about this girl that he didn’t understand. Perhaps it was the way she didn’t seem to hold any wariness about how he looked, perhaps it was because he knew she had never had contact with wider Corsair society, or perhaps, it was more simply because for all these reasons and the fact that as he walked with her he was noticing how attractive she was.

“My mother was Kusari” he said “My father was Corsair, he was born on Crete”
“That’s not common I would imagine” said Zarita, “How did they meet?”
“My father’s patrols took him into Kusari quite often” Laowai answered, “He also worked with the Hogosha there from time to time, they met while he was working with them.”

“That must’ve been hard on you being among other Corsairs” said Zarita, “From what I know of them, and from the way our elders are, I know they are not that open to outsiders or those who are different.”

Ben looked at her; she was the first Corsair he had met that had even tried to see that point of view. His life had up until this point been a constant battle to prove himself as equal in the eyes of other Corsairs. Time and time again he had had to battle harder, study harder, fight longer, tougher and dirtier to gain acceptance. Yet here was this stranger, a Corsair, who saw things how they had been, and acknowledged it. He was caught unprepared and found he was unsure of how to answer her. So he found himself just telling the truth; “It was at times, but I think it was worse for my sister, she left Crete a year or so ago, and I don’t think she will come back”

They reached a door built into the passage and Zarita halted there; “Crete isn’t all there is in the universe” she said, “Even for a Corsair” She indicated to the door. “This is a spare residence you can use while you are here, I’ll have someone bring you up some clothes and something to wash with, I’ll be back to take you down to the council hall in a few hours”.
Looking him in the eye once more she smiled at him again and he caught himself staring in return. Zarita’s mouth broadened into a slight grin, “The door is unlocked” she said.
Ben snapped back to reality “Oh... Yes, right thanks” he said, “I’ll see you in a few hours”
They nodded slightly to each other and Zarita turned and made her way back up the passageway that they had just come from. Ben watched her go, her tunic swaying off her hips and her short hair bouncing gently against her neck and shoulders. Lit by the lamps that illuminated the passageway her shadow danced on the wall, gradually growing smaller as she turned a corner and moved out of sight.
Shaking his head, Ben opened the door and went into the room. It was surprisingly large. A single cavern, it had been hollowed further by hand and then partitioned off with timber walls into several different rooms. It was obviously intended for a family at some point, having several rooms, a cooking area, and central area that would serve as a family room. There was even a bathroom, and Ben found himself wondering how these Corsairs had managed some kind of plumbing system being underground and with limited powered construction equipment.

He threw off his jacket and then his boots and lay down on one of the wooden cots in one of the rooms. His mind still thinking about Zarita, how he had lowered his guard when she questioned him, bypassing his usual defensiveness. The way she had looked him in the eye, as if she was looking right through him. Making him feel open, feel exposed, him feeling like he could be that way, no... Him feeling like he wanted to be that way. She was unlike any other Corsair woman he had ever met.
He closed his eyes, wondering how long he might be here, and if he would get a chance to speak with her more. He wondered what these “Elders” would ask him and what he should or should not tell them. And yet, they were Corsairs, and if they were unable to flip his Titan the right way over, he could be here for a long time.

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