“Come into the living room,” he told the man. He walked to his chair and sat back down. “I’ve poured myself a drink. Feel free to help yourself to the bar.” He motioned toward the corner of the room with the hand holding his drink before taking another sip.
“No, thank you, sir,” Byrnes said, his right hand pushing a pair of dark glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I don’t drink.”
“Neither do I, usually,” he told the man. “But I’m making an exception. Please, sit.”
Byrnes sat down on the edge of the leather couch and began to open his briefcase. Josiah appraised the man while he waited for him to get his papers in order. He was a smallish man with a bald head, neutrally dressed and totally unassuming to the casual observer. Yet he’d come highly recommended from another senator who had experienced some legal problems of his own. Byrnes was known in Washington circles as a man who could solve problems.
“So, what did you come up with?” Josiah asked him, too impatient, after all, to let the man get settled fully.
“Your daughter didn’t have any relationships with the men she worked with, or the men she had gone to school with,” he began. Josiah had thought maybe she had eloped with a lover or went on a vacation without letting anyone know where she was going. No luck.
“I could find no records of her buying any travel tickets,” Byrnes continued. “Her car is still parked on the street near her apartment. You may want to have it moved, by the way, before it gets impounded.”
“Thank you,” Josiah said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“The police still have no leads, nor do they have any in the other similar disappearances in her apartment complex. There are no signs of foul play in any of the cases,” Byrnes said. He looked up from his notes and actually sighed in frustration. “I’m sorry, sir, but that’s all I have. The trail has grown cold. I’m afraid unless your daughter wants to be found, she won’t be.”
Josiah sat for a moment, silently feeling his own frustration building up inside of him. He felt impotent knowing there was nothing more he could do. “Thank you for your help,” he finally said. He stood up, waiting for the man to button up his briefcase. As he walked him to the door, he handed the man an envelope filled with cash, which quickly disappeared into the man’s suit jacket.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more,” Byrnes said.
“Me too,” Josiah said softly, and closed the door. He turned and leaned against the door while looking around his home. He knew he would trade it all to see his daughter’s face once more.
Chapter Eleven
Rauph wasn’t surprised when the call came on the Tukuli’s communication system from Zazzil. He’d never imagined the Cauterfan would be capable of coming aboard his ship without permission, let alone actually taking someone from it.
“Tukuli, this is Zazzil,” the voice said. “May I speak to Rauphangelaa?”
“This is Rauphangelaa,” he replied, his anger making his voice sound clipped.
“I would like to apologize for my actions of last night,” Zazzil said. “I didn’t handle the situation correctly by boarding your ship without permission.”
“If you wanted to talk to Officer Dempsey, you only had to ask,” Rauph said. “Now all you’ve done is made it so he will be reluctant to speak to you again. He certainly doesn’t want to leave the ship again.” He wasn’t really sure if Dempsey felt that way, but it sounded good. He was angry.
“Then allow me to come aboard your ship,” Zazzil said after a beat of silence.
How ...? Rauph thought, confused. He wasn’t sure how it could be accomplished. “I’d allow it, but it would be dependent on whether or not Officer Dempsey wishes to speak to you. I’ll send you his answer as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, Rauphangelaa,” Zazzil said.
Rauph cut off the signal and sat thinking for a moment. He couldn’t very well refuse Zazzil’s request. The Cauterfan would never help him again. He would have to believe Officer Dempsey would make the correct choice. He had little say in the matter. He sighed before pushing the button for the ship’s communication system. “Janan, please come to the bridge.”
#
James was sitting with Yvette and Kieren in the common room when Rauph walked in and took the translating collar from the hook on the wall.
“Officer Dempsey,” Rauph said, “may we speak together privately?”
James looked over at Yvette, who shrugged. “Yes, I’m not busy,” he said, placing the tablet he’d been reading down on the table next to him. He’d been trying to do some research on training tactics from Earth, but was not having much luck. Janan hadn’t downloaded very much on the subject to the Tukuli’s central computer. He’d meant to ask Bhakat or Janan how to program the central computer to translate files from Talondarian Standard to English so he could read them, but had forgotten. He stood and followed Rauph into a meeting room. “I thought you were on duty aboard the bridge,” he said, sitting down at the table.
“Janan is taking my place while I speak with you,” Rauph replied, sitting down across from him. “I received a call from Zazzil. He would like to speak with you again, if he could.”
“What?” James asked. “After everything he did last night?” He didn’t know if he wanted to go anywhere near Zazzil’s room again.
“I told him it was entirely up to you,” Rauph said, holding up a hand to forestall any arguments from James. “He even acquiesced to meeting aboard the Tukuli.”
“How exactly would he do that?” James asked.
“I have no idea,” Rauph replied. “I should remind you, Zazzil could make it very difficult for us to leave the space port if he wanted to.”
James thought it over for a second. “Fine,” he finally said. “But only if a few conditions are met. First, I want all of my team present to hear what he has to say. Second, he is to come alone, or with as few of his workers as possible. Tell him if those conditions are met, I’ll talk to him.”
“I’ll inform him of your decision right now,” Rauph said. “I’ll set up the meeting for tonight, if possible.” He stood up and turned to leave.
“One more thing,” James said, sitting back in his chair.
“Yes?” Rauph asked, stopping to look at him.
“This is at least the second time you’ve withheld information from us. Information that might have been very important to the outcome of this entire mission. I don’t like the pattern. If we’re to succeed, we’re going to have to know more than what you’re telling us.”
Rauph sighed and sat back down in his chair. “I do apologize, James.”
James was surprised at the use of his first name. It was the first time Rauph had used it, even though he was constantly telling him to. Rauph was becoming more comfortable talking to him.
“I’ve kept my own council now for a long time,” Rauph continued. “It’s been many years since my wife died, and she was the only one I ever really trusted. I’m not used to this type of situation. I wonder sometimes whether life as I knew it has changed irrevocably because of the Krahn invasion. Things will never be the same on our world, I fear.”
“I lost my wife, too, at a young age,” James said. “It took me a long time to get over it and come to grips with the fact she was no longer a part of my life. I had to see that things can change and still be good. Life is about change, and if there’s no change at all, then you might as well be dead too.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Rauph said, standing up once again.
“If there’s even a slim chance we can save your world,” James said, “then that’s better than none at all. It won’t be as you remember it, and for that I’m sorry. All we can do is the best we can and hope that it’s good enough.”
Rauph smiled and took off the collar, placing it on the table before James. He squeezed James’s shoulder and left. James sat a moment, thinking about what he had told Rauph and wondering if he believed it.
#
David didn’t know what
to expect that night. All he’d been told was this alien named Zazzil was coming aboard the ship to speak to them, and James wanted them to meet in the common room beforehand. He’d returned from taking a shower and had just pulled on his pants when his doorbell rang. He pulled on his shirt and hit the button next to the door. When the door opened, he saw Janan was waiting outside. The translating device he was holding was almost as tall as he was.
“Hey, Janan,” he said. “I don’t really have time to watch TV with you. I have to get ready for the meeting tonight.”
“I know,” Janan said, putting down the translating device and sitting in the chair. “I wish I could come too, but I’ll be on duty on the bridge. Rauph asked me to give this to you to take to the meeting.”
“Bummer,” David said.
“Bum ...?” Janan asked, looking perplexed.
“It’s an Earth expression,” David said. “It means ‘that’s too bad,’ or ‘I’m sorry.’”
“Oh, I get it,” Janan said, pointing toward his own head. “It doesn’t translate well through my implant.”
“So, do you actually hear both languages when someone speaks to you?” David asked.
“It’s hard to explain,” Janan said, thinking it over. “The implant is connected directly to the language center of the brain. The brain isn’t hearing two languages, because it’s almost instantly receiving translations from the implant.”
“Must be a lot easier than lugging around a translating device all of the time.”
“Yes,” Janan agreed. “It does take a while to get used to. I’ve heard that sometimes the implant can interfere with normal language learning, and in extreme cases, can actually cause the brain’s language center to stop working completely. Imagine not being able to understand what anyone is saying to you ever again.”
“Hmm. Think I’ll stick with the portable translators.”
“Probably a wise course of action,” Janan said. “Well, I have to report to the bridge.” He stood up.
“I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.”
“Don’t worry.” Janan smiled. “I’ll be listening in.” He turned and left with a wave back over his shoulder.
David thought about what Janan had said. James had mentioned to them the Rajani could probably listen in to everything said in any of the rooms aboard the ship, but they’d never had any proof they did, until now. David knew he had a tendency to talk to himself at times without realizing it, especially when he was alone. He’d have to be careful about what he said from now on, especially with his dreams getting worse.
#
James walked into the common room and saw David and Gianni were already there. “Hey,” he said. Neither of them answered, and James could tell they had probably been arguing. “Gianni, I asked that all of you be present to listen to what Zazzil has to say. If you start causing problems, you’ll have to leave.”
“Me?” Gianni asked. “C’mon, Big J.”
“Yes, you,” James said. “Zazzil has enough influence on the port to cause us a lot of trouble. Let’s not give him a reason. I need you to listen. If you have any questions or comments, please keep them to yourself until after he’s left. Can you do that?”
“Sure, whatever,” Gianni said, scowling.
Yvette and Kieren walked into the room, talking about their hair and what a pain it was to do anything with it aboard the ship.
“Ladies,” James said, smiling at them. Yvette smiled back. He winked at her. “If you’ll all take a seat. Rauph and Bhakat should be coming as well. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Zazzil is the alien Rauph and I went to see when we first arrived at the space port. Even though I was invisible, he somehow saw me, and that’s when all of the trouble started.” He looked up as Rauph and Bhakat arrived. Rauph took a seat, while Bhakat stood next to the open door. “Anyway,” he continued, “I asked Rauph to tell you about the Talondarians.” He sat down next to Yvette at the table.
“Thank you, Officer Dempsey,” Rauph said. “Basically, the Talondarians are one of the founding species of the Galactic Alliance. They were a powerful empire for a long, long time, until the emperor and empress’s ship disappeared about twenty of your Earth years ago. The new emperor, who was the old emperor’s brother, was suspected in the disappearance, but nothing was ever proven.” He took a sip of water from a glass in front of him before continuing.
“There are rumors, from what I’ve read, that there is a pocket of resistance somewhere, including the rightful heir to the throne, a female who was still a young child when her parents disappeared. The Talondarians had many allies within the Alliance, and I suspect one of them were the Cauterfans, like Zazzil.” He pointed to a handheld tablet sitting at the other end of the table. “David, could you pass that tablet down here?” David complied, and Rauph punched in the information manually that brought up a picture of a Talondarian. He turned it around to show them.
James could see the alien looked like a human being, but there were differences. Aside from the cosmetic differences, like his haircut and clothing, the Talondarian’s eyes were farther apart from each other and larger, and his face was broader as a whole. His ears were smaller and closer to his head. His nose was broad and flat. The one pictured, at least, had a skin tone that was close to Yvette’s, a soft brown. Though their appearance must vary, James reasoned, if Zazzil mistook both James and David for members of the species.
“Wow,” David said. “No wonder.”
“Yes,” Rauph replied. “Zazzil mistook James, and later David, for Talondarians. He obviously mistakenly came to the conclusion they were members of the Talondarian underground, and we Rajani were assisting you by giving you Johar Stones.”
“Which is the reason they took me from the ship last night,” James said.
“And drugged me,” Yvette added, scowling.
“Yes,” James said. He still wasn’t sure what Zazzil wanted to talk about in the upcoming meeting that hadn’t already been said. James would have to try to convince the Cauterfan that he and his teammates weren’t Talondarians.
Janan’s voice came over the ship’s communications system. “Zazzil is here, Rauphangelaa.”
“Bhakat, will you go let them aboard?” Rauph asked.
Bhakat bowed and pushed a button next to the door and spoke. “Acknowledged, Janan.”
“Wait,” James said. “I’ll go with you.” He wanted to make sure Zazzil had honored their agreement. He grabbed the translating collar near the door and followed Bhakat to the main airlock. When Bhakat opened the outer hatch, James saw the Makerfy, as well as about ten other workers, were waiting outside. All of them were armed.
“I said he should come alone,” James objected.
The Makerfy smiled. “It is my job to ensure Zazzil is safe. Do not worry, this is only for his trip to and from the ship. He is vulnerable outside of his home.” He looked over his shoulder. “Bring him forward.”
James watched as two of Zazzil’s workers wheeled a large, square, see-through case toward the hatch. He could see Zazzil floating in the gases inside the case, his wings moving slowly up and down. On one side of the case was a small speaker, much like the one in the meeting room. On the other side were two large tanks attached to the case via large tubes.
“Leave your weapon outside of the ship,” Bhakat told the Makerfy.
The Makerfy stopped smiling and looked toward Zazzil for confirmation.
“It’s fine, Punjor,” Zazzil said. The Makerfy handed his gun to the closest worker, who strapped it over its shoulder.
“Could you assist me in pushing him?” Punjor asked Bhakat. “The case is heavier than it looks.” They both lined up behind the case and began to push it down the corridor.
James hit the button that closed the outer hatch, and then the inner door of the airlock, once they had passed through. He followed them down the corridor to the meeting room.
“Rauphangelaa,” Zazzil said when they had reached the room. “Thank you again fo
r allowing me to come aboard your ship.”
“Thank you for asking permission this time,” Rauph replied. James could tell that he was still angry about the breach in protocol. He also saw the others were in various stages of surprise at Zazzil’s appearance. He never thought to warn them about it.
“If everyone could take their seats, we’ll begin,” James said.
“Thank you, James,” Zazzil said. “I am here ... to apologize, especially to James and his mate.”
James looked over at Yvette. She had a blank look on her face, at first, but then smiled at him, blushing. He smiled back at her and shrugged.
“I know now this was a misunderstanding on my part,” Zazzil continued, ignoring the exchange between James and Yvette. “You are not Talondarians, as I had hoped. The sample we took from James proved that, beyond a doubt.”
“You took a tissue sample from me without asking?” James asked.
“Yes,” Zazzil answered. “The collar you wore stored it for our use. We grew suspicious after Punjor found your shipmate did not speak Talondarian, and then further after our talk last night. I’m afraid I was a little too zealous in trying to assist the Talondarians, and was blinded by my eagerness. You must understand, it has been so long. I’m coming to the end of my life cycle. I fear I will not see the return of our allies, if it ever comes to pass.”
“I can forgive you, as long as you destroy any sample of mine you may still have in your possession,” James said. “And if you promise not to repeat your actions from last night. No more gifts, either.”
“No harm done,” Yvette said. “I guess.”
Rajani Chronicles I Page 17