Rajani Chronicles II

by Brian S. Converse

  He started slowly, by getting to know some of the officers in the ASP patrol division stationed on the planet over a few days’ time, as well as taking long drives outside the city in his free time. He finally settled on a likely candidate. The Tamurian named Koss was like most of his species, friendly, easygoing, and all too eager to please. When Ries asked him if he could borrow his ID chip scanner, he was able to give the simple reason of wanting to know the locations of the chips in all of his family members in case of an emergency. Of course, Ries didn’t have a family, but the Tamurian didn’t ask any other questions, and Ries didn’t divulge any other information.

  The chip scanner was a handheld device about the size of Ries’s hand. There was a strap on it used by those officers not equipped to hold onto the device tightly due to a lack of fingers or tentacles. Once again, Ries was happy he’d been born with opposable thumbs on his four hands.

  “Just don’t let anyone know I let you borrow it,” Koss said, running a hand through his head feathers. “I’d be in a lot of trouble.” Access to the scanners was strictly controlled by the ASPs, and only a few officers were authorized to use them, due to the risk of misuse. It was exactly the kind of misuse that Ries was planning.

  “Don’t worry,” Ries told him, using his best smile. “It’ll be our secret.” If he got away with his plan, Ries knew, the Tamurian would have to disappear as well. Not a great loss, he thought, looking at Koss’s large, simple eyes.

  The next stage of his plan would need to happen more quickly. Besides the fact the Tamurian expected his scanner back the next day, Ries also knew Kan was going on a planned vacation for two weeks after the day’s shift was completed. He wouldn’t be missed for at least that amount of time. It was the perfect opportunity.

  Kan, an Ontigan, was home alone when Ries rang his door chime. The Ontigan were a species that had no word for ‘marriage’ or even ‘mate.’ The males of the species were expected only to donate their sperm to the local fertility clinic. They never saw who received it, nor knew of any subsequent offspring resulting from implantation in a female.

  Love in the modern galaxy, Ries thought. He didn’t have to worry about any of the Ontigan’s family hanging around, at least. But he needed to go somewhere a little less public for what he planned to do. No use taking chances a friend or coworker would stop by to wish Kan well on his trip. When Kan answered the door, Ries immediately shot him with a stun gun, dropping his unconscious body to the hallway floor. Ries looked around and saw no one lurking in the darkness of the night. He hoisted the Ontigan up and walked him to a waiting transport, speaking loudly about Kan having too much to drink before leaving on his trip.

  Ries piled the Ontigan into the enclosed back of the transport, not bothering to sort out limbs and other appendages as he did so. He wasn’t worried about Kan being sore if he woke up. Ries returned to Kan’s apartment and grabbed the two already-packed clothing cases from where they were sitting near the front door. He turned off all of the dwelling unit’s lights and closed the front door on the way out. He pulled off his gloves and threw them into the passenger seat as he climbed into his transport, making a mental note to get rid of them later.

  He drove out of the city limits to an industrial complex he’d discovered and found the empty storage facility he had scouted out earlier. He walked the Ontigan into the structure and dumped him on the hard stone floor, then returned to the transport for a large box of equipment. He looked around to make sure no one else was about, and then placed the box on the floor next to the unconscious form of his boss.

  He returned to the door and set the security code. No one else would be able to open the door without the code. He hadn’t seen anyone around the industrial complex for days, so he was pretty sure it was abandoned, but one of the reasons he’d climbed the ranks of the ASPs was his attention to detail and thoroughness, especially when it came to illegal activities.

  He began his preparations, laying out his equipment next to the still-unconscious Ontigan. He picked up a pair of neutralizers and placed them on Kan’s head. He didn’t want a fight if Kan were to wake up unexpectedly. He didn’t know enough about Ontigan physiology to guess at how long he’d stay stunned from a single shot from the stun gun.

  As he was passing the scanner over the Ontigan’s body, starting from the feet, Kan began to stir. Ries made it to his lower thorax before Kan opened his eyes, blearily, and looked at him. Kan tried to jump up, but screamed in pain as the neutralizers kicked in.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ries told him when the screaming had stopped. “I’ve heard it’s quite painful trying to move when you’ve been neutralized.”

  Ries continued scanning, reaching the Ontigan’s chest and working up and down each tentacle and around the large breathing holes. He was glad he had thought to wear protective gloves, as small pores on the Ontigan’s tentacles secreted poisonous mucus at his slightest touch. Ontigans had used the mucus for mating as well as protection from predators somewhere in their past, but at the moment, it was just a gooey distraction in Ries’s search. He reached the Ontigan’s short neck, concerned he hadn’t yet found the identification chip.

  “Don’t worry, I’m almost finished,” he said. He scanned over Kan’s head. Nothing. Nonplussed, he began scanning at the Ontigan’s feet again, this time going slower and making sure he scanned every part of the Ontigan’s body. The chip was small, so he may have missed it the first time. He came to Kan’s head once again and scanned it. Again, nothing.

  “Blast,” he said quietly. There could be only one explanation; the chip was in Kan’s head, and the neutralizers were somehow interfering with the scanner. Ries sat back on his haunches and thought for a moment. If he took off the neutralizers, he’d probably have a fight on his hands. He could go back to his transport and get his stun gun, but it would only increase his chances of being seen. There was only one thing he could do.

  “Sorry, I lied,” he told Kan as he reached for his saw. “There was something to be worried about after all.” He smiled, relishing the look on his boss’s face as he began to cut.

  #

  Tumaani sat and waited for the two brothers, Torile and Maska, to return with the meager food rations given to the Rajani by their captors. By his calculations, it was Araa’s day, a day meant for celebrating the life and teachings of Ruvedalin. There were no celebrations, only another day as a prisoner of the Krahn. The brothers soon returned, and Torile handed a small bowl to Tumaani. It was partially filled with a simple broth with a few hard vegetables in it. Yet it was food, and Tumaani ate it quickly, even going so far as to lick the bowl clean. There was no such thing as immodesty when it came to survival.

  Tumaani had taken to visiting with the brothers lately. He couldn’t speak to the other Elders, especially after the recent escape of Welemaan and the other Rajani. Four Rajani had been killed in the escape attempt, but Welemaan, Volaan, and maybe six more had managed to overpower a few of the Krahn guards and escape, killing two of them in the process. Retribution had been swift. The Krahn had come to the prison with a list of Elders, and had tortured all of them while asking questions about the escape. Tumaani still found it difficult to stand. He had not given up any names, and they still had not been caught.

  “It’s a pleasant night,” Torile said, looking up at the sky. “It doesn’t look like it will rain.”

  “You said that last night,” Maska said, irritably. “And we were nearly flooded.”

  Tumaani was still looking up at the sparse clouds when something caught his attention. A star seemed to be streaking across the darkening sky. After a short time Tumaani could see it wasn’t a star, but a ship moving across the atmosphere above them.

  “What is it?” Torile asked, standing up.

  “It’s a ship,” Tumaani answered.

  “A ship?” Maska said. “Is it Krahn?”

  “I don’t think so,” Tumaani said.

  “Why not?” Torile asked.

  “Becaus
e it’s being fired upon,” Tumaani answered. As he said this, he could see small Krahn ships following the lone starship and firing at it. Explosions erupted from its frame as it streaked across the sky toward the east. Toward the coast. Tumaani thought about the message he had received from his friend Rauphangelaa, and debated telling the brothers about it. He finally decided against it. No use telling them their last hope may have just crashed into the ocean.

  #

  Ries had sneaked into the Commander’s office and taken Kan’s handheld tablet after disposing of his body and personal belongings. He wanted to be sure if the Ontigan’s access was logged by the Alliance central computer, it would be on Kan’s own tablet, so as to not arouse too much suspicion. He sat in his dwelling unit after making sure all of the windows were darkened so no one could see in. He’d used the scanner on himself and found his ID chip was located in one of his arms. Then he’d returned the scanner to the relieved Tamurian, making sure he wiped it down thoroughly first.

  He’d marked the spot on his lower left arm where his chip was located, and when he was finally ready, he placed a neutralizer over it and turned it on. That set of arms was now useless, as was the brain controlling them, but, luckily, he had a spare for both. Confident the tablet would only read Kan’s ID chip, he turned it on. Kan’s identification chip was in his front pocket. It had taken major surgery, but he’d finally dislodged it from the Ontigan’s severed head. He’d disposed of the body pieces as well as the box of tools, his gloves, and Kan’s clothing cases in a deep quarry on the way back to the city.

  Ries began his search for the truth, almost too excited to type on the tablet’s screen properly. Normally he would have spoken to it, but he couldn’t very well use his own voice while using Kan’s chip. He typed the command in to search for information on the Ruvedalin Initiative. Abruptly, a screen came up on the tablet, telling him the following information was classified at Security Level 7K4 and the inquiry had been logged. But unlike his last foray into the Rajani’s past, there was a ‘continue’ command tab on the tablet’s screen as well. He pushed it.

  A file opened on the screen, and he began to read the text eagerly. It was fascinating. He’d never been aware of the Rajani religious beliefs, and to learn how the religion was created was a shocker. But Ries was not naïve. He knew what the Alliance was capable of, and the ASPs as well. Yet he saw now why it was classified at a level as high as it was. If the Rajani ever learned this information, it was hard telling what they would do.

  He closed the file and began a search for Planet A490. Again, a security screen came up stating the inquiry had been logged. He hit the continue tab and began to read the file that opened on his screen. As it went on, he became more and more uncertain about his plan. He shouldn’t have done this.

  There was going to be more heat associated with this file than he ever would have thought, but there was no changing things now, so he read on, unable to stop. There had been rumors brought up by other ASP officers, saying there was a hole in the yearly budget of the ASPs, but they had been only rumors of overspending or corrupt superior officers embezzling funds. Nothing could ever be proven without catching some admiral with his hand in the bejeweled pot, as his mother used to say.

  Now he knew where a great deal of money was going to, and it made his antennae vibrate as the fear spread throughout his body at what he’d discovered. He decided he’d read enough for the night. He signed off of Kan’s tablet and sat thinking for a moment. He would have to destroy the tablet as thoroughly as he had Kan’s body. The Tamurian named Koss would have to disappear. Then he’d have to disappear. He wasn’t sure where he would go, but he needed to get out. That night, if possible.

  There was a loud crashing noise as the door to his dwelling was smashed in. Ries heard the sound of running feet and the barking of commands and knew he would disappear that night, just not how he had hoped. He slowly put down the tablet he was holding, took off the neutralizer from his arm, and raised both sets of hands over his head.

  #

  Tumaani and his fellow Rajani had fallen into a routine within the prison. In the morning, he and a few others would meet and begin to pray. After prayer, they would talk for a while, just to pass the time until the lunch chime sounded and they would receive a small portion of food from the Krahn. The rest of the day was spent sitting, standing, or walking around the courtyard, alone or in groups, making sure the Elders didn’t pass too close to each other. Then dinnertime, when they usually received the same vegetable and broth soup, and maybe a hunk of grainy bread as well. Tumaani didn’t think the Krahn ate bread.

  Rumors were rampant about what had happened to the group of Rajani who had escaped the prison, what had happened to the females and younglings, and what had happened to the Sekani and most of the Jirina. There had been no word about any of them. There was also speculation about the ship that had been shot down over Melaanse and who it could have been, and there was conjecture of ASPs or a rogue Krahn ship. Tumaani had his own theory, though he hoped he was wrong.

  He thought about the message he’d received from Rauphangelaa on the first night of the attack and hoped Rauphangelaa had been able to escape past the Krahn ships and contact the Alliance Society for Peace. The Rajani desperately needed help. There were rumors the Krahn planned on killing all of the Elders to ensure there wouldn’t be another escape attempt. Tumaani knew this rumor was untrue. He knew, or at least guessed, why the Krahn had attacked. They wanted the Johar Stones.

  He was sure they wouldn’t simply kill the Elders. They would torture them first.

  #

  Ries woke up in a cell the size of his closet back on the Interceptor. There was barely room to stand next to the thin bed he was lying on. He looked around, unsure of his surroundings, and saw the room had bare white walls and a door with a small window in it and a speaker beneath the window.

  He sat up slowly, still feeling the effects of the stun gun used on him by the black-clad intruders who had broken into his apartment. They hadn’t said a word to him as they forced their way into the room and pointed their weapons at him. A voice had barked out, “Take him alive.” It was the last thing he remembered.

  He was about to stand up and stretch his legs when he heard a click from the door and a voice spoke to him.

  “I see you’re finally awake,” the voice said in Talondarian Standard. “Good. There are some questions I would like you to answer.”

  “Where am I?” Ries asked.

  “Not important,” the voice answered. “What is important is you need to be truthful with me the first time. Any other answers will only lead to suffering on your part. Do you understand?”

  Ries stood up and looked out of the small window in the upper middle portion of the door. He couldn’t see anyone standing outside the door, only an empty hallway with another closed door at the end, this one with no window at all.

  “You haven’t answered my question,” the voice said quietly.

  A bolt of excruciating pain exploded through Ries’s entire body. His muscles clenched painfully, and he dropped to the floor of the room, trying to scream, but unable to make a sound.

  “Answer the question,” the voice said. “That was the pain inducer’s lowest level. You don’t want me to turn it up.”

  “I…understand,” Ries said, breathlessly.

  “Good, you’re learning,” the voice said.

  Ries pulled himself up to a sitting position on the floor of his cell, but couldn’t go any farther. His muscles felt like wet paper, and his antennae felt twisted in knots.

  “Why were you accessing files several security levels above your rank?” the voice asked.

  “I wanted to know about the Rajani,” Ries said. “They disabled my ship and led to my demotion to that garbage hole called Asnuria.” He winced, too late hoping the voice on the other side of the speaker was not Asnurian.

  “You’re saying this was a simple case of out-of-control curiosity on your part?” the voice a
sked, with no discernible reaction to Ries’s harsh summation of the planet.

  “It’s the truth,” Ries said, expecting another shock from the pain inducer. It didn’t come.

  “How many of the files did you read?” the voice asked. “What was your understanding of their content?”

  “I…didn’t see much,” Ries began, before pain seared through his body once more. His antennae curled up almost to the top of his head as his entire body spasmed.

  “You’re lying. Answer the question, please.”

  “I only read two documents,” Ries said after a few minutes, finally able to speak. “I…didn’t understand at first why there were two planet designation numbers for Rajan. Until…”

  “Until what?” the voice asked when Ries hesitated.

  “Until I saw…there are two planets named Rajan, both with a designation number,” Ries said, still trying to speak clearly with a tongue that felt like he had bit it in half. The entire tip was numb, and his mouth seemed devoid of spit.

  “Proceed.”

  “The…original planet named Rajan has been under strict quarantine for two thousand Standard years,” Ries said. “There are still ten ASP star battle cruisers patrolling the system, ensuring no one comes near it. And no one escapes.”

  “The other file?” the voice asked.

  “The Alliance created a fiction, a story, in hopes of inspiring a religious awakening among the Rajani transplanted to the second planet,” Ries said, trying to remember everything he had read. He didn’t think he’d survive another jolt from the inducer, and he didn’t want to find out if he could. “The current inhabitants of the planet now known as Rajan,” Ries continued, “are living a lie.”

  “Yes,” the voice said. “A necessary lie. You understand the reason for this, yes?”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” Ries said. “If they ever found out, who knows what could happen?”