I left Ana to begin putting away her things. That allowed me to move to the control deck and get us moving. We had a long journey ahead. My fingers flew over the controls with practiced ease.
"Necare find me information on Trident, Makilu, and Tuksa in regards to Humans and Earth."
'Searching now... there are seven hundred and twelve of ... Trident, Makilu, and Tuska in regards to Humans. There are zero with mention of Earth."
How was that possible? "Necare disregard all the articles that are not respected sources."
'... There are twenty four remaining Sir.'
"What are the top five?" Articles and research papers were readily available to every person with a signal. How could there not be anything referring to Earth? I had assumed Trident was a small settlement on Earth. A protected reserve even since she mentioned Tuska were rare.
'...The Bond of Makilu and Rider... Humans of Trident... Trident's Predators... Warrior's of Trident's Humans...'
"Trident's Predators," I said. A screen appeared of too my left.
I scrolled down. There were sub heading complete with pictures for most of them. "Ginu... Kitata... Makilu!"
Underneath was a picture of one. It reminded my of a six winged bird. The top most wings had two talons. They had feathers covering them, four taloned toes, and four eyes. The one in the picture was a light blue with green accents at the tip of each feather.
Humans of four land environments bond with the Makilu as the main way to travel in a coming of age ceremony known as the Siku. During the Siku Makilu are known to show aggression and have killed Humans during the event. It should be noted that once Bonded it is lifelong. Makilu that are Bonded have protected status and are identified by the saddle they wear." Okay so this one covered basic information. I continued to scroll down. The picture underneath gave me a much better idea of size than the Makilu had. By the creature's left foreleg was a Human male. He had a warriors build. His hair was long and weaved into three braids that gleamed with something metallic. Something like bone peaked through the hair. Adornments. His chest was bare save a strap that held a blade, the handle showing over a shoulder, and a hide that warped tightly around his waist. It went from where his belly button should have been to just below his ribs. I stared. No belly button. I let my eyes continue down his form. He wore a pair of pants made of a different hide. Another blade hung at his hip but my eyes caught on the tail. It was small, thin, and covered with short fur. Except for the tip that had a long fur tuff. His feet and hands were bare but had claws. He looked so very different from my mate. The beast at his side dwarfed him. It should at least twice as high and the neck higher still. As I looked closer I realized that wasn't a leg but a wing. Like the Makilu the Tuksa had claws on its front wings. Only the Tuksa seemed to use those wings as legs. It had fur covering its body from head to tail tip. Short just like the fur on the males tail. It's eyes had vertical slit pupils that were focused on the male. Both the male and Tuksa had light colored fur. An ash grey color. The beast had darker grey spots along its sides and two dark grey horns that forms a circle on either side of its head. Below the image was a caption, *Eckson Marcel of the Snomi Tripe and his Froji Tuksa, Hail*. They have five subspecies each corresponding to an environment. The snow lands, volcanos, forests, mountains, and floating islands. They are typically only seen when hunting or with their Bonded Humans, the Eckson. Bonded Tuksa tend to be less aggressive unless it involves their Bonded.> "Necare pull up The Bond of Makilu and Rider." The screen changed. The Bond. Humans have been able to adapt to every planet they have ever settled on but they thrive because they manage to bond with something in the environment. Bond with dangerous wildlife to be exact. As was the case with Humans and the Makilu. Humans on Trident evolved a Neo. Most commonly seen on the back of the head tucked under their quills and head crest, the Neo is a nerve that shares thoughts and sensations. Due to how sensitive the Neo is Humans tend to keep it tucked away. All creatures on Trident have Neo, most have two. Using the Neo Humans can create a Bond with the creatures. In the case of the Makilu that goes a step further. Makilu should by all accounts see humans as food. With ten feet long bodies and a wing span of 15 feet being the smallest recorded Makilu. Yet Makilu and Rider form a lifelong bond. Even going as far as to sacrifice themselves for a Rider's children. Bonded Makilu are never far from their Human counterparts. However, the Bond between these two goes even further. As Trident is mostly water, the Makilu allow them to travel to other Tribes. Unlike most places Trident is not known to have wars or strife amongst their own. In fact the vast majority of the Tribes only leave their areas to trade with others.> "Necare where is Ana now?" A monitor appeared with a blinking dot still in our rooms. "Find me information on Human Warriors on Trident." An article instantly appeared. It was tagged with the official UDP stamp. I skimmed over most of it but one part caught my attention. Make no mistake they are not outright aggressive to the majority. In fact Troupes are mostly aggressive to the members within their groups. Dispite that they live together. Even sharing a sleeping room after they have mated. All warriors on Trident follow a hierarchy. A very strict one at that. At the top is the Eckson. A title afforded to very few. In order to be an Eckson in truth, one has to Bond with one of Trident's big nine. The nine large predators of Trident. Below the Ecksons are the members of their Troupe, the Sang. The Almas, their wives, lead the tribe. Any disrespect towards these three groups can be deadly. The Eckson decides who marries who within the Troupe. None of the Troupe members will wed without the Ecksons permission. Same for any member of the tribe who wants to marry outside the tribe.> That must have been what they were talking about at the chapel. The Eckson had not met me to approve of me. The same way my own clan would test Ana when we arrived. If she grew up in such a similar way she would no doubt adapt to our ways easily enough. I thought back. Trying to remember if I had ever caught sight of movements at her skirts. It was quite possible she was the submissive version of a female for her people. If she was missing that trait that made them more aggressive, the tail. To my surprise I could not recall a single time her skirts had moved unexpectedly. I closed the screen and went about piloting. My thoughts drifting to my mate. Her males clearly adorned their hair. As an artist Ana could make me the envy of my clan. Warriors always tied their hair off into a single braid. The leash which our mothers and wives used to claim us. Her hair was unadorned but clearly they had hair ornaments. So why had she left herself bare?