Rajani Chronicles I

by Brian S. Converse

  “Please don’t tell me that David has left the ship,” Rauph said, still out of breath and sounding exasperated, even through the stilted language from the translator.

  “Yvette?” James asked, hoping David was in his room aboard the ship, but knowing from her expression it wasn’t true.

  “He can’t have been gone long,” she said.

  “Shit,” James said. “What happened?”

  “He got into a fight with Captain Considerate here,” she answered, pointing at Gianni, “and stormed out. We thought he had gone to his room to cool down, but when Kieren went to check on him, he wasn’t there. We searched the ship and couldn’t find him.”

  “I should have known,” James said, looking at Gianni, who was standing with his arms folded across his chest.

  “What?” Gianni asked, unfolding his arms. “It’s my fault the kid can’t take a joke?”

  “We’ll talk about this later,” James said. “Right now, I have to go find David before he gets himself into any serious trouble.”

  “We’re coming too,” Yvette said.

  “No, you’re not,” James said. “I can rely on invisibility; you can’t. Besides, if we all go, we’re all liable to get lost. You guys can’t imagine how big this place is.”

  “So, we’re supposed to sit here and wait for you to come back?” Kieren asked.

  “I don’t see any other choice,” James said. “Thanks to Gianni.”

  “Hey,” Gianni said. “I might be a jerk, but at least I didn’t leave the ship like that asshole.”

  “You know, I’ve had about enough of you and your attitude,” Yvette said, walking toward him.

  “Yeah?” Gianni said. “What are you going to do, sic your boyfriend on me?”

  “No,” Yvette said. “James could probably kill you with one finger. I’m going to hurt you a little.”

  “Yvette, please don’t,” Kieren said. Yvette stopped and looked at her. “It won’t solve anything.”

  “It’ll make me feel better,” Yvette said.

  James couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “Okay, enough fooling around,” he said. “I’ll go, and you guys can monitor the ship’s computer in case David gets captured by the police.” He turned to Rauph and Bhakat, who had been listening intently to the Humans. “Sorry about this. Sometimes things need to be worked out amongst ourselves. Yvette, will you come with me to the airlock?” She nodded, and the two left the bridge.

  Rauph nodded slowly as James and Yvette left the bridge and headed for the airlock. “An interesting discourse—” he began to say to Bhakat. His eyes suddenly grew wide and rolled back to whites as he fell to the floor.

  “Master!” Bhakat cried. He bent over the unconscious Rajani, checking his pulse and breathing. “Janan, you have the bridge. I’ll get him to the medical bay.” He picked up Rauph and quickly left the room.

  “I’ll go with him,” Kieren said. “In case he needs help.”

  “I’ll come too,” Gianni added.

  “No,” Kieren said. “I think you’ve done enough already.” She turned and left.

  Gianni stood near the door, watching Janan push buttons on the control panel in front of him. “So,” he said after a moment, “need any help?”

  Janan turned to look at him. His usual smile was gone. He turned back to the control panel without saying a word.

  “Well, I’ll be in my room, then,” Gianni said softly. “In case anyone asks. Or anything.” He was met with silence as he turned and walked out into the corridor.

  #

  Bhakat walked as fast as he could, hoping that his initial diagnosis was wrong. Rauphangelaa had been under a lot of stress since the Krahn had attacked. Bhakat could tell it had taken a toll on his Master. He prayed silently that it was a fainting spell brought on by all of the excitement, but feared it was more than that. He would know for sure once he had Rauphangelaa hooked up to the medibot. His arms were burning by the time he reached the medical facility. Rauphangelaa was not light. He would have to put him down on the floor to hit the button that opened the door.

  He was getting ready to do so when the Human female named Kieren appeared behind him and pushed the button for him. He gave her a quick nod of thanks and hurried into the room, placing Rauphangelaa on the table nearest the door. He made sure his Master was positioned correctly for the medibot to scan him and placed an air mask over his nose and mouth. He walked quickly to the machine’s control room across the corridor. The door to the medical bay closed after him.

  Bhakat had received extensive training with the medical robot, and he quickly punched in the required information. He stood back and watched as the medi-bot began to work on the unconscious figure of Rauphangelaa. Its arms quickly cut off his robe and attached sensors to his chest and temples, all the while scanning his body for injury. Another arm gave Rauphangelaa a shot of a vaso-expander. From the initial readings, Bhakat could see that Rauphangelaa was breathing on his own, and his heart had not stopped beating. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. It wasn’t the best outcome, but it could have been worse. Much worse. Rauphangelaa’s vitals were stable. The question was if there was any permanent damage, and how much.

  “How is he?” Kieren asked. Bhakat jumped, having forgotten that the Human female was still there.

  “He should be fine,” he said, hoping that it was the truth. “We’ll know more after a full examination by the medical robot.”

  “Good,” she answered. “I’ll let the others know.”

  Bhakat nodded, though she had already left. He didn’t notice that she had been speaking Talondarian Standard perfectly, or that she had understood everything he’d told her.

  #

  James and Yvette reached the airlock, and he stopped and faced her. “I need you to keep things civil while I’m gone.”

  “I was kidding—” she started.

  “I know you were, but I don’t want things to get out of hand,” James said. “I think it’s best if everyone stays away from each other for a while to let the situation cool down.”

  “You’re probably right,” Yvette said, smiling. “Good luck finding David.”

  “Thanks,” James said. It was hard to concentrate with her standing so close. He could smell her hair. He studied her face for a moment, noticing a small mole on her right cheek that he’d somehow missed before, along her jawline. He noticed that he’d been looking at her intently for a few seconds. “Uh, I’d better go,” he said sheepishly.

  Yvette smiled. “Yeah. Good luck.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the lips before turning quickly and walking down the corridor. He watched her walk away, pleasantly surprised by the kiss. He still wasn’t used to having a woman in his life. That, as well as their present circumstances, made it difficult to think about romance.

  He took his time once he left the ship. He had a better sense now of the port’s layout, and he didn’t want to miss David in the crowd. He felt like it was nighttime, or close to it, though he couldn’t tell anything from the crowd waiting to enter the port. The length at the security checkpoint was the same as it had been on their earlier visit.

  The fly-headed alien wasn’t working anymore. A different shift must have started, and the alien working security appeared to have no eyes at all. It was tall, maybe seven feet, and very pale. It had a large, round, bald head. Twin nostrils flared below the place where eyes would be on a human being, but there was nothing above them. Its mouth was a long slash below them, filled with small, pointed teeth. Its ears were large and cup shaped, extending out four or five inches from the side of its head.

  James, who had been invisible since leaving the ship, attempted to pass by as he had done before while coming aboard the port with Rauph. As he approached the front of the line, the alien’s head perked up and followed his course.

  “Sir, please wait your turn like the rest of the customers,” the bald alien said, turning its head toward where James stood.

  James rema
ined there a moment, mouth open in surprise. He could understand enough of what the alien said to know he’d been caught, somehow. He also knew he’d be in real trouble if he was forced to speak Talondarian Standard in complete sentences. He could only think of a few words and phrases. He remembered taking Spanish in high school because it was a graduation requirement. He had been able to understand what was being said by his teacher a lot earlier than he could carry on a full conversation. The same thing was happening with the alien language that Rauph was teaching him and the others.

  “Sir, the line ends back there,” the bald alien said, now through the translator, motioning toward the end of the line of aliens. Some of them were looking around in confusion, wondering who the alien security guard was talking to.

  James turned slowly and walked back to the end of the line. The line moved along gradually, while James’s mind raced. The guard must have had some sort of extra perception ability. He watched as the guard interacted with customers, and it finally dawned on him. Sonar. It must have been using some sort of sonar, like a dolphin or bat, only the sound it made was either above or below human range. He couldn’t hear anything that sounded like it could be coming from the alien. As James proceeded in line, he wondered if David had come through, and if so, how he’d been able to pass security. Finally, he made it to the head of the line.

  “What is your reason for visiting the Mandakan Space Port today?” the alien asked disinterestedly. It either couldn’t tell James was invisible or didn’t care. To it, James was another solid body waiting in line.

  “Refueling my ship,” James answered in English, happy he had learned enough of the language to understand what was being asked of him. The translating device beeped once. “Language log verified,” it said before translating what James had said.

  The alien doorkeeper moved his head toward the device, as if curious why it had been forced to recognize a new language. “Ship’s name?” the alien asked, its appendage poised over a control panel.

  “The Tukuli,” James answered, hoping he had not blown their cover.

  The alien ran its appendage over the control panel. “Your ship’s language has been logged with the second verification for future interaction. Have an enjoyable stay.”

  James realized that the first verifications must have been David when he’d come through the line earlier. He said nothing as he walked past the guard, incredulous that it had been so easy. Then he realized it would probably be more difficult to get back to the ship, due to the riot he had witnessed earlier. He’d deal with it when the time came. He needed to find David.

  #

  David was amazed at all of the different forms of life he saw aboard the space port. He’d become so used to Bhakat, Rauph, and Janan aboard the Tukuli, he’d almost forgotten he was so far from home. That fact was brought back to him as he walked down the short corridor to the main concourse of the port.

  The port was much larger than he thought it would be. He had no real plans beyond his initial defiance, so he was wandering through the concourse when he was approached by a small furry creature pushing a cart filled with what looked to be some sort of food. The creature spoke in a high-pitched, sing-song cadence as it proffered its wares. When it stopped speaking and looked at David expectantly, David shook his head and walked away. He couldn’t understand the alien’s language. It occurred to him he was out of his element, and he should head back to the ship now that he’d cooled down from the argument with Gianni.

  But there were too many interesting things to experience, and he was taking them in like a wide-eyed tourist, which he supposed was exactly what he was. He stopped briefly to watch what he assumed were cops taking away a few aliens in restraints, wondering what they had done, before losing interest and walking toward another corridor away from the concourse.

  David watched as aliens got off an elevator and others stepped on. He walked toward the doors and waited for his turn. He was startled when a large alien with long black hair and a horse-like face walked up and stood close to him. He saw it was wearing a large metal collar with what looked like a speaker built into the front of it. Did someone’s pet get loose? he wondered.

  When the door to the elevator opened, he waited for two aliens that looked like green fish with red crab legs for feet to exit before stepping through the door. He turned to see the hairy alien had joined him. He felt the first stab of fear as he saw none of the other aliens had moved to get on the elevator.

  As the doors closed, the alien reached over and pushed a button on the elevator’s control panel. The car began to move, and the alien reached up and took off the collar. It smiled as it turned to David and held the collar out to him.

  “Uh, no, thank you,” David said, holding his hands up, palms out.

  The alien pushed a button on the collar and then held it up to its face. It spoke, and the collar spoke in what sounded like a much different language. David finally understood. It was a translating device, but much more advanced than the one on the Tukuli. The alien held it out to him again. He took it and looked at it, seeing the small buttons on one side. The inside of the collar was lined with a soft material, which David thought would make it more comfortable to wear. The alien reached over and pushed a button, then motioned with both hands at its throat, then at its mouth, then pointed at David.

  “You want me to speak?” David asked. He really did feel like a tourist now.

  The collar made a sound and then spoke in Talondarian Standard. “Analyzing language patterns.” Then after a moment, it spoke again. “Analysis complete. Language log created.” The alien reached over once more and detached what looked like an in-ear hearing aid from the collar and handed it to David. It pointed toward its own large ear, then at David. David put the aid in his ear. The alien finally spoke.

  “I am Punjor. You have come from the Tukuli, Rauphangelaa’s ship, correct?” As he spoke, the translator spoke through the device in David’s ear.

  “Yes,” David answered. His words were translated and broadcast in Talondarian Standard by the collar. “My name is David.”

  “David,” Punjor said, as if studying the word. “It brings joy to my employer’s heart to see your kind once again, but I have been sent to caution you. The port is not safe for you at the moment. Rauphangelaa’s visit has riled up the ASPs. It would be in your best interest to return to the Tukuli until the situation is not so ... complicated.”

  Even though the piece in his ear was speaking in ever-improving English as the conversation progressed, David was still confused at what Punjor was telling him. “Thank you,” was all he said.

  Just then, the elevator’s doors opened. Punjor took a step as if to leave.

  “Wait, your translator,” David said, holding the collar out to the alien.

  “It is a gift from Zazzil.” Punjor said. “He only asks that you remember his kindness and return the favor in the future if you meet again on Mandakar.”

  “Oh. Well, thank you again,” David said, now even more confused. Who the hell was Zazzil?

  Punjor pushed a button on the elevator’s control panel. “This should take you back to the main concourse. I trust you can find your way from there.” He turned and left without another word. The doors to the elevator closed, and David thought about the strange encounter, still not understanding what had happened. In a few minutes, the doors opened once again, and he stepped out onto the concourse. He thought of putting the collar on, but it didn’t seem right to him after seeing it on Punjor’s neck. Could he catch something? Who knew what was hiding in the alien’s long, black fur.

  He walked faster than he had on his way to the elevators, the earpiece allowing him to pick up snippets of conversations as he walked. He realized that it was what he would expect to hear at many public places back on Earth. Some aliens were complaining about food quality or prices. Some were boasting about money won at the casino games, and some were yelling at their kids to behave and stay close in the crowded concourse. It reminded
him of what a large airport back home would look like to someone from a foreign country. That is, if the airport also happened to have Vegas-sized casinos and hotels contained within it. At this thought, he began to relax.

  David was feeling much more at ease in the situation when he was suddenly grabbed by the arm while trying to make his way through the traffic of alien life. He looked down on his arm, and there was nothing visible, though he could still feel something holding his arm below the wrist.

  “Are you finished with your sightseeing?” a voice close to his ear asked in English.

  “James?” David asked as a mixture of relief and trepidation rushed through him.

  “You know anyone else here who can make themselves invisible?” James asked. “Head for the ship. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “That’s where I was going,” David said.

  “Sure,” James said. Without seeing his face, David couldn’t tell if James was being serious or not, but it sounded like he was smiling as he said it.

  “I guess they told you what happened on the ship?” he asked as he walked.

  “An abbreviated version, at least,” James said. “I wish you had waited for Rauph and me to return, instead of leaving the ship without telling anyone.”

  It was unnerving to be talking to air. David felt like he was talking to a figment of his imagination. I might be crazy, he thought, but I’m not that kind of crazy. He smiled at his own little joke. “Well, no harm done.”

  Getting back through security was uneventful, though the large blind security agent did inform them all ships were commanded to stay docked until the investigation of the riot was completed, and he was sorry for any inconvenience it might cause.

  #

  The next day, James pushed the button to announce his arrival at the medical bay. The doors opened, and he stepped through, wearing the collar translating device David had been given on the space port. He saw Rauph sitting up on the nearest bed. Bhakat was looking at a handheld tablet, which showed Rauph’s vital statistics. He looked up at James.