Rajani Chronicles I

  “Thank you,” Zazzil said. “I’ll leave you now. I wish you a profitable journey, wherever it may lead.”

  “Thank you, Zazzil,” Rauph said, appearing mollified by the apology. “Bhakat, can you escort them back to the airlock?” Bhakat bowed again and helped the Makerfy push the case out of the room.

  After they had left, Rauph stood and closed the door. “Well,” he said. “That was unexpected.”

  #

  David had been surprised when they’d wheeled the alien into the room. He’d expected another bipedal creature, and instead, Zazzil had turned out to look like some type of manta ray with a head at the front of its body. He recognized the hairy alien pushing the case as the same one he’d talked to aboard the space port. As they’d stopped pushing the case, the alien (Pujor? Poonjob?) had looked over at him and smiled, showing his long white teeth. David had smiled back, reluctantly. The alien kind of gave him the creeps. He studied both aliens as Zazzil talked, fascinated by their appearances. All too soon, the conversation came to an end, and the two aliens had left with Bhakat.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” Rauph said.

  David had to agree, though he hadn’t been sure what to expect in the first place. An apology was not what he thought would happen.

  “So, we’re all fine with this?” Gianni asked. “They come aboard our ship without permission, kidnap one of us, and take a sample from him, and it’s ‘no harm done’ and apology accepted?”

  David was surprised Gianni had held his tongue until the aliens left. He didn’t think he could, even after James had asked him to.

  “Like I said before,” James said, “it was all a misunderstanding. We couldn’t afford to make a stink about it. We need to leave the space port as soon as we’re able.”

  “So now what?” David asked.

  “Now,” James answered, “we proceed as planned. We’ll begin training tomorrow morning, and hopefully, we’ll be done with any other surprises until we leave Mandaka.”

  “Okay,” David said, standing up. “Then I’ll be in my room; you know, in case anyone needs to talk to me.” As he walked out of the common room, he hoped Janan had still been listening and taken the hint to come meet him in his room. He wanted to talk about everything that had happened.

  And he needed a drink.

  Interlude

  Steve Montgomery was in a deep funk. He sat at his desk, which had previously belonged to his partner, and stared at the computer screen, not paying attention to the information displayed. He’d put in for a promotion to fill the slot vacated by his missing partner, and instead had been supplanted by some young hotshot from Chicago. It wasn’t his fault the Infinity killings were still unsolved. The trail of clues, and bodies, had dried up right around the time James had disappeared.

  Hell, the FBI still had their suspicions that James was the killer, which Steve thought was utter bullshit. He’d worked too closely with the man to think he was some psycho killer in his off time. It didn’t make any sense. Yet some idiot at the FBI had come to the conclusion it was too much of a coincidence the killings stopped when James disappeared.

  James had the knowledge of police procedures and knew how to get around the usual evidence linking him to the crimes. Seven killings and no physical evidence, the FBI said. The cop is either incompetent or complicit. Steve knew James was neither and had told them so. And why would he pick white women to kill? James had never so much as uttered a racial epithet in all of the years they had worked together.

  Steve thought his defense of James probably played into them passing him over for promotion as well. He’d been pissed off when he found out the FBI had received a search warrant and ransacked James’s apartment looking for any clues linking him to the murders, and without consulting with him. They hadn’t found anything, of course, but by then, the damage was done in the press. They were calling James the ‘Killer Cop’ in some tabloids.

  It made Steve’s stomach turn; bad enough his partner was missing and might be dead, but now a good man, a good cop, was being crucified for something and had no way of defending himself. The fact that four other people in his building were missing never made it to the national news highlights, only appearing toward the end of the local paper’s article about James’s disappearance, with a quote from the captain stating they had no connection to James.

  The only real hue and cry had come from the senator whose daughter was missing, but because the police could find no link between James and the Manidoo woman, they were treating their disappearances, as of now, as isolated incidents. In fact, there seemed to be no connection between any of the missing people from the apartment complex. The senator was pressuring some other poor badge, so Steve didn’t have to worry about that case, at least.

  It was a damn peculiar situation all around. Even worse was the feeling he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure about James. It would be horrible if it turned out to be true, that James was a killer, and all this time, he’d been smiling in Steve’s face and laughing at him behind his back. All Steve could do was drown his sorrows in a bottle, which was what he planned to do, again, as soon as his shift ended.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ries was sitting in his office aboard the space port when his assistant walked in, holding a tablet in front of her as if it were a shield.

  “Commander?” Tmal asked, clearing her throat gently. “There’s a group of merchants waiting in the outer office.”

  “What do they want?” He rubbed his eyes with one hand while straightening up objects on his desk with the other three. The investigation was going poorly. He was out of leads, and they had no one in custody.

  “They want to talk to you about the stop-leave,” Tmal answered.

  “Blast,” Ries muttered. “Fine, send them in.” He sat up straighter in his chair and folded his bottom appendages. Appearances were important in his job.

  Tmal led a group of eight into his office. Ries knew them to be the leading merchants aboard the port. If they had come together, he knew he’d run out of time.

  “Commander Van,” the nearest said. He was a Mandakan; cousin to the king and therefore considered royalty. “How is your investigation progressing?”

  “I’m afraid the investigation has come to an end,” Ries answered. He would have to make the declaration before being forced to do it by these merchants. He couldn’t be seen as being forced to do anything. The illusion of power was still power. “The stop-leave is to be lifted immediately.”

  “Wonderful,” the Mandakan said. “Because we’ve been losing revenue for a week now, without new customers flowing into the casinos, as you are aware, I’m sure.”

  “What I am aware of,” Ries replied, “is my officers have received almost no cooperation from any of you in regards to our investigation. It would have lasted only two days if we’d been able to wrap up this case quickly. So don’t complain to me about lost revenue. The stop-leave has been lifted. The announcement will be made soon, followed by a ship-by-ship exit interview. If that is acceptable to you, then our meeting is over.”

  The Mandakan looked at the others a moment. “It is acceptable, of course.”

  “Good,” Ries said, rising from his chair. “My assistant will show you out. Have a good day.”

  After they had left, Tmal came back into his office. “I didn’t know you had finished the investigation.”

  “I have now,” he answered tersely. “Draft up the announcement, and I’ll have a look at it.”

  She turned to comply with his order, but he stopped her. “Wait. First, get me the Interceptor on the com. I’m leaving.”

  #

  Bhakat had made up his mind already, but he wanted to talk to Rauphangelaa. He calmed his nerves a moment, and then pushed the intercom button next to the door to Rauphangelaa’s quarters.

  “Yes?” came Rauphangelaa’s voice a moment later.

  “Master,” Bhakat said, “may I speak to you a moment?”

  The door to Rauphangelaa�
�s chambers opened.

  “Come in, Bhakat,” Rauphangelaa said. It was relatively early in the morning, and Rauphangelaa was dressed in his sleeping clothes. His long white hair was not yet placed in the Ralik, the symbol of a Rajani Elder and Priest of the Kha.

  Bhakat had finished his shift aboard the bridge, and wanted to talk to Rauphangelaa in his room, where they could speak privately, instead of on the bridge when Rauphangelaa reported for his own shift.

  “Everything is well?” Rauphangelaa asked.

  “Yes,” Bhakat said. “I pray your rest was peaceful.”

  “And yours,” Rauphangelaa replied.

  Bhakat had practiced what he was going to say, but now that he was there, he wasn’t sure where to begin. He sat down as Rauphangelaa busied himself getting dressed and braiding his long hair.

  “Master,” Bhakat began, hesitantly. “I’ve decided when the Humans begin training this morning, I will train with them.”

  “What!” Rauphangelaa asked, his fingers stopping and his eyes trained on Bhakat. “But the Kha ...”

  “The Kha will not help win this fight,” Bhakat interrupted, standing up. “The only way we can save Rajan is if we fight. All of us.”

  Rauphangelaa sat down now on his bed, his hair forgotten. “There is a reason we brought the Humans along, Bhakat. It was so we wouldn’t have to abandon our beliefs. Would you still do so now? Would you abandon your studies and become as we once were—as the Krahn are now?”

  Bhakat walked to the door before stopping. “If it means saving our species, I would make any sacrifice. Even if it means forsaking the Kha forever, I will do what I can to fight the Krahn. We cannot hide while the Humans free us from those monsters. I see that now.” He turned away from his Master. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly and left without looking back.

  #

  The five members of the team, along with Bhakat, were gathered in the brand new training room aboard the Tukuli. James and Bhakat had agreed that all of the members of the team, including James, would stay away from the cargo hold while Zazzil’s workers constructed the training room. That way they wouldn’t know what to expect on the first day, and so they were all seeing it for the first time. The room was a large squared-off area in the cargo hold. Zazzil’s workers had built it with reinforced steel beams that went from floor to ceiling and held up the double-thick steel reinforced walls. The inside of the walls were deeply padded in the event of any collisions that might occur during the training exercises.

  The floor of the training room was also reinforced and slightly padded, but not enough to throw off their footing. The ceiling was fifteen feet high and had numerous trap doors within it. After looking at the room more carefully, he could see there were panels in the walls and floor as well.

  Bhakat was wearing the portable translator around his neck. “I’ve programmed the ship’s computer to prepare a low-level training program,” he began. “It’s not set on lethal force, but if you make a mistake,”—he paused to smile at Gianni—“it will hurt.” Bhakat looked back to the rest of them. “It’s hoped in this way you’ll be able to more thoroughly explore your powers. Know this also, Humans: what I do here goes against all I’ve learned since Pledging with Rauphangelaa. My actions are not violent in and of themselves, yet they may lead to violence against others.”

  Kieren held up her hand. “Wait for a moment, Bhakat.”

  “Yes?” he said, looking at her, a confused expression on his face.

  Kieren pointed to the translator. “Could you shut off the translator collar?”

  He reached up to his neck and clicked it off.

  “Okay, now talk to me,” Kieren told him.

  “What would you have me say?” Bhakat said, looking at her quizzically.

  “That’s all I needed to hear,” Kieren said in perfect Talondarian Standard, a wide smile on her face. Even her accent matched his slightly Rajani-accented Standard.

  “How ... how can this be?” Bhakat asked her, dumbfounded.

  Kieren laughed, throwing her hands up as her energy field formed around her. She began to slowly rise off of the floor. “Ha-ha! I can understand him! I can understand what he’s saying!”

  “That’s great,” Gianni said, with an edge of envy to his voice. “She’s Wonder Woman.”

  “More like Supergirl,” David told him, earnestly. “Wonder Woman can’t fly. Can she?”

  Yvette rolled her eyes, her arms crossed before her.

  Kieren, still smiling, was floating with her arms out to her sides, four feet off the floor. She faced Bhakat, who had his arms crossed. “I kept hearing a weird echo when he talked. I couldn’t put my finger on why.”

  “An interesting development,” Bhakat said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave the room now as you train.” He bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind him.

  James smiled and motioned toward Gianni with a come-here signal. “That’s great, Kieren,” James told her. “That talent should come in handy. Why don’t you step outside and tell Bhakat that we’re ready for the initial training program.”

  After Kieren had left the room, James turned to Gianni. “Listen, man. Your shit is getting old real fast. That girl is going to need our support if she’s going to survive this. You need to cut the tough-guy macho bullshit right now. Got it?”

  Gianni pointed toward the closed door to the training room. “That girl is tougher than she looks, and I’m sure these ‘crayons’ aren’t going to be a support group for us, either.”

  “My point exactly,” James replied, still staring into the other man’s eyes, hoping there was some depth to them. The man’s answer suggested there was, but he wasn’t going to let James know it easily.

  Gianni smiled again, his arms crossed over his chest. “Glad we see eye to eye, Big J.”

  James and Gianni were still eyeing each other when Kieren stepped back into the room. “Um, James? Bhakat said you were to give the signal when you’re ready. Hold up your hand. He’s watching from outside the room.”

  “Thanks, Kieren,” he told her, and then spoke louder to everyone. “Okay, people, get ready.” He held up his hand. “Now,”

  As James spoke, panels opened in the walls, and large gun-like weapons pointed out of them and began firing laser beams. Panels opened in the ceiling, and small flying robots with lasers descended out of them. Panels opened in the floor, and small Humanoid robots come out firing lasers as well.

  David was hit in the side of the head by a laser beam and fell to his knees. “Holy ... ung!” He was hit again in the back by a gun to his left.

  Kieren rose into the air near the ceiling and was attacked by four of the flying robots. James powered up and quickly disappeared.

  Yvette turned and gave one of the Humanoid robots a kick to the head, with no effect. Suddenly, she powered up. She was surrounded by an energy field, much like James’s, except hers was the dull yellow color of sulfur. “Get away from me!” she yelled as she pulled back her fist, and it formed into a sharply pointed spear. She punched the robot through the head, and then looked at her arm, which was still in the shape of a spear. “Whoa!”

  Gianni was hit in the shoulder by a laser beam. “Ouch! Damn, man.” He powered up, his energy field a ruby crystal color, and a wall of red energy formed in front of him, deflecting any laser beams directed his way. The robot continued coming toward him as he stood behind the wall of energy. “Well, great, and me without a gun,” he said aloud.

  He pointed his finger jokingly at the robot. He was surprised when a bolt of the same ruby energy fired from his hand and passed through the force field, knocking the robot off its feet. He pulled his arm back and clenched his fist. “All right!” He didn’t see the robot coming up behind him. The machine was within five feet of him when its head flew off, hitting the wall. Gianni turned to see James appear. They looked at each other and smiled.

  “You owe me one, Slick,” James told him.

  A blue blur went past them. It was David, runnin
g. He too was encased in an energy field, though his was the color of sapphire. He ran back to stand beside them. “Can you believe this? I haven’t been able to run since college.”

  They all heard Kieren yell for help. They turned to see she was surrounded by four of the flying robots. One shot her point-blank in the chest. The energy field around her disappeared, and she fell, screaming.

  Gianni reached out toward where she was falling. “Kieren!” He shot with both of his hands, hitting and destroying two of the robots, his energy bolts now stronger. Yvette formed a spear with her arm and extended it through another robot. James ran and jumped, grabbing the last robot and crushing it with his hands.

  David ran and caught Kieren before she hit the ground. “I got ya,” he said, breathlessly.

  Outside of the training room, Bhakat and Janan were standing in the cargo hold and watching the training on a handheld tablet. “This cannot be,” Bhakat began. “From what Rauphangelaa has told me, the stones have never produced these types of powers in the Rajani.”

  “The stones have never been implanted in these Humans before,” Janan replied. “They’re truly a remarkable species.”

  “Yes,” Bhakat agreed. “One the Kha would condemn outright, I’m afraid. I need to tell Rauphangelaa about this.”

  “Why, Bhakat?” Janan said, smiling. His smile quickly disappeared. “What choice do we have, now?” he said softly, turning his attention back to the training room. “Besides, it’s not like we’re going to take the stones back from them.”

  Inside the training room, Gianni was kneeling down next to Kieren, who was sitting on the floor. He was holding out his hand for her. “Are you all right?”

  “If you laugh at me,” she told him, “I’ll deck you.” She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.

  James crossed his hands before him, and let his energy field disappear. “That was certainly a disaster. We have a lot of work to do. Bhakat!” As he looked around, he saw all of the robots were wrecked, as were some of the guns coming out of the walls.

  The door to the training area opened, and Bhakat and Janan entered, looking at the destruction around them. “Excellent first training session,” Bhakat said. “I suggest a slower approach from now on.”