The Roo Collective Snippet 1

 So, it is that time again.

   Instead of kicking the Roo book again I decided to take the plunge and go with it. If you are curious, it is a one off science fiction novel (novella?) that combines 3 stories in Multiverse 5-7 with a final story. I had actually envisioned it as just 1 short story but when it kept growing I ended up splitting up and taking this approach. :)

So, if it feels familiar, you might have read part of it in one of those books.

Rea finished editing the last story. I generated a lot of AI art before I realized Amazon doesn't like it. So, I threw in the 3 pieces I did with minimum AI support and ran with what I've got. I'll post some of the AI art here.

So, first up... the beginning...

 

“Stomper!” a voice screamed as the thunder of feeton the ground began to carry the news across the warren. Everyone looked upfearfully to the ceiling as they passed on the message. They began to move,slow at first, but then in the opposite direction of the sighting and of coursedownward. Always downward, though such instincts could be counterproductive tosurvival in some cases.

The Roo began to bottleneck at narrow choke pointswhich caused a panic. Stampedes happened as the giant herbivores stomped closerand the dirt began to fall.

“Easy now, calmly, I said calmly,” the countersaid, trying to get people to move with care.

Then the first cave-ins were reported.

Lop Ear rushed through the group to the highcaverns. He went on all fours at one point, even bouncing off the walls to getaround people. A few times he bounced off people too. The ground shook withevery footfall. The air was cloudy with dust.

“You are going the wrong way!” a breedercomplained. He ignored the complaint. He got to a hatch, stopped to catch hisbreathing, and then removed the pins holding it in place. He lifted itcarefully and looked out. He went back and grabbed a spear, pulled the coveroff the tip and then went back to look.

Lop Ear snarled in anger as he poked his head upfrom the hole to see the Stomper. It was more than one; others were in thedistance but working the grove of trees upwind far from the burrow. It hadtentacles on the front and long heavy legs. The thing browsed the trees,ripping leaves and fruit off of them.

As tempting as it was to attack, he forced himselfto stand firm near the root of the opposing tree. It was too late; if he wentto attack the beast now, it could fall and destroy what he sought to protect.No, the warren would just have to cope with the disaster to come.

Each foot stomp shook the caverns. When one footcame down too hard, it went through the top layer and the beast stumbled beforeit recovered. It moved away, sidling away from the unstable ground.

The tree began to release toxins in the air todefend itself. The beast made a loud trumpeting sound as thorns began to prickits tentacles. The thorns were the tree's second level of defense.

After one more browse of tentacles, the beastmoved away and then towards a copse of trees upwind and thus avoiding thesmells the tree had released to warn others of its kind.

Lop Ear noted the direction and sighed. It wasthrough hard ground so the tunnels there should be safe. He watched until thebeast was beyond the third tree and then ducked down to see what the damage wasand if he could help dig some people out if they were still alive.

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The defender went back down into the warren and tothe largest chamber near the collapsed tunnels. Doc was there triaging thewounded.  The brown and white spotted Roohad to listen to plenty of hearts with a hollowed-out horn, reassuring thosewho had been stressed by the disaster. He used pieces of volcanic glass tomagnify small things to see bigger.

Cloud eyes were common ailments of the old as wellas stress on their heart. Gas was another; those who ate too much of a certaindiet tended to get it and complain constantly.

A check of the stool and an order of medicinalherbs would fix someone up for a time.

None of that applied here though, so as soon as hewas certain the patient was in no danger of death, he moved on to check others.Occasionally, he had to bandage a wound or set a broken limb. Those Roo that hadbeen trampled he had to check. There were a few that had died in the crush ofbodies, and the diggers were ready to move them on to the next life. Theirfamilies cried as they sorted out their belongings.

He shook his head and moved on.

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