Working on a World

Iona was a desert planet. Although there were waterways, the ground did not hold moisture. Nor did the air. The native ruling species, the Catoonal, cared for the other life-forms on the planet, ruling and subduing them, using the Busha for food, the Menarki for pets, and fighting the fierce Fiol who would try to devour any other life-form. The Catoonal males were fishers, catching the eels that lived in the rivers, or herders, gathering the Busha and moving them along the rivers where they ate the algae and rushes. The females cultivated succulents which thrived absorbing the water from the Catoonal urine. They also created and fashioned the tools and weapons that the male’s used. They were led by a lead family. The female leading all the other females, the male the best of the males. When there proved to be a better male, either the leading female would take the new male as her mate, or step down to remain with the previous leading male. A new leading female would be chosen by the women, taking the new best male as her mate.

The Busha were bulky herd creatures. The females gave milk that the Catoonal children could digest, but adult Catoonal despised. The Menarki were agile, wiry, little beasts that loved the Catoonal’s long claws scratching their belly’s and in turn were faithful scavengers. The Fiol’s predation was feared by all the other animals. It’s teeth breaking through the lower jaws were the source of Catoonal nightmares. A group of Menarki might be able to overtake a lone Fiol, but usually Fiols lived and hunted in small packs.

There were other creatures, birds and insects, but these four species were the ones that most interested the human colonizers. At first, the Catoonal were delighted to find and raise food for the humans, in exchange for protection from Fiols and the elements, and because the humans gave them autonomy. They lived in separate communities, but were mutually dependent on each other.