Cromian Conspiracy (Celestial Empires Book 1)

by Raymond Cooper

  And then there were those who were mixed – they were taller versions of Blyn with the greenish skin with the silvery hair that sprouted from their heads in chunks. It was almost as if their genes couldn't figure out which species they were supposed to be for certain.

  Blyn was smiling widely too, and when one of the females grabbed his hands, he danced with her, laughing and enjoying the rowdy demonstration as if he wasn't actually working with me to kill the very man they were celebrating.

  “You're human!” One of the women said to me. She was very tall – well over six feet – and lanky. Her hair was the typical Acrovian white, as was her skin and her eyes. She was so pale, she might be considered and albino on Earth. If she were human at any rate – but she wasn't human. Her split tongue, the extra digits on her hands and toes, and her almost elf-like elongated, pointed ears gave that away. But nonetheless, she was beautiful. Unique and exotic.

  “We don't see many humans joining in the celebrations,” she screeched. “Come, dance with us!”

  Hmm,I thought to myself,I wonder why humans aren't celebrating the rise of Kysos? Perhaps because your candidate hates my kind and wants to exterminate us all? I smiled politely, but she took my hand anyway, leading me to the center of the celebration. Xavix was behind me, calling out to me.

  “Gemma,” Xavix called. “Do you think this is a good idea? Gemma?”

  “I really have to get going,” I told the woman, pulling my hand free.

  By the time I was able to break loose, I was standing in the middle of the group, and all their eyes were on me. One man reached out and stroked my auburn hair, looking at me with something akin to awe in his face.

  “Beautiful,” he said as he fondled my hair. “So soft. So pretty.”

  I pulled away from him, only to turn around and run into Blyn who was still happily dancing, with a drink in hand. I glared at him.

  “We need to go,” I said.

  “I can meet you back at the hostel later,” he said. “I'm having too much fun with Eryka here.”

  Eryka blinked up at me, with eyes too large for her face – a face that was covered in bright green skin. She was holding Blyn's hand, squeezing it tight with a look of pure rapture on her face whenever she looked at the small, green man.

  He leaned closer to me, “It's been a long time since a lady was interested in me, Gemma,” he said. “Please don't ruin this for me.”

  I wanted to yell at him, to tell him we had a job to do and needed to get to it. I wanted to remind him that the job went against everything these people were celebrating, but I couldn't say that in public. Besides, I reasoned, it might be good to step away from Blyn, to look into everything without having a spy hovering over my shoulder.

  “Fine,” I said. “Meet me at the hostel this evening so we can go over a few things.”

  But I was speaking into a void – Blyn had already turned his back on me and was dancing with the woman again. Shaking my head, I turned to Xavix, who would always choose me over a date.

  “Ready to head to the hostel?” he asked me. “I'm pulling up the best possible routes now – ”

  “No, Xavix,” I said, pulling him away from the crowd. “I think I want to explore a bit more.”

  “But you told Blyn – ”

  “Doesn't matter what I told him,” I said. “It would be a good idea to get to know the surrounding area a bit. On our own and without a babysitter.”

  And maybe talk to the people. Because I had to face facts – now that I was there, seeing how happy and welcoming the locals were, I was starting to have my doubts about everything Boygan told me. Sure, Kysos could be pulling the wool over everyone's eyes – he wouldn't be the first politician to do so – but I wanted to be thorough. I wanted to make sure Mr. Boygan was being completely honest and up front with me from the get go. Trust, of course, but verify, as the old saying went.

  Chapter Eight

  We left Blyn and the group of dancers behind, making our way further into the city center. It was congested with people everywhere. It was loud and chaotic with people of all sizes, shapes, colors, and species – and still, nowhere did we find anything but support for Kysos.

  People were already celebrating his win like it was a foregone conclusion. And maybe it was because nobody I saw or spoke with ever talked about an alternative to Kysos. There was a definite buzz and a frenetic energy surrounding his name. And the more we walked around, the more I saw and heard, even I had to wonder – was there actually an alternative to be had?

  After I'd done my job and he was dead, I had to wonder – who would be taking his place? I was hoping to get an idea from the locals, so I thought the best place I could do that was where locals gathered. So, I settled into a local bar with Xavix at my side.

  “What can I get ya?” the bartender asked me.

  He was a native Acrovian with white-blonde hair that hung down over his face. I had to admit, I missed Sy and the fact that he knew what I wanted right off the bat and usually had it ready to go before my butt even hit the barstool.

  “Umm how about some local Acrovian beer?” I said. “I'm new around here, might as well try some of the local speciality, right?”

  The man nodded and reached down below the bar, grabbing a bottle and placing it in front of me. He didn't even look at Xavix – which seemed a little bit rude to me. But, it was normal in most places. They recognized him as a droid, as something mechanical, as something less than alive. Xavix wasn't bothered – wasn't like he could drink anyway. But still, he was the closest thing to a friend I had, so the slight – as normal as it probably was – didn't go entirely unnoticed.

  “Whatcha doin' in Acrov?” the man asked.

  “Visiting a friend,” I said.

  “Ahh so it's not a bounty hunt then?” the man looked at me pointedly.

  “That obvious?” I said with a smile.

  “I've been at this long enough that I can spot you bounty hunters a mile away,” he said, swishing the hair from his face. “I can smell it on you.”

  “Well this time, I'm actually not on a bounty hunt,” I said. “Believe it or not, I'm here for leisure.”

  “Where's your friend live then?”

  I swallowed a drink of the cold beer in front of me, trying to figure out how to answer that question without giving anything away, but Xavix came to my rescue.

  “Over on Wycox,” he said. “The human village they're building over there.”

  “Ahh, humans, I see,” the bartender muttered. “Guess I shoulda known.”

  He walked away without another word, which left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd heard that some native Acrovians could be rather hateful and bigoted. Especially when it came to humans. But until that moment, I hadn't personally experienced it. And I had to admit, it made my blood boil.

  “So who are you voting for?” I asked, staring straight at the bartender when he came back toward where we were sitting.

  He looked around, as if he expected me to be talking to someone else. “Who? Me?”

  “Yes, you,” I said, feeling myself growing more and more annoyed by the bartender trying to play coy.

  He snickered and walked back over to me, leaning against the counter as he responded, “I'm not voting,” he said. “I see no point. We have an uncontested election, so there's no need for me to vote.”

  “Every vote matters,” I said.

  “Oh, so I should show up and vote for one of the dead men, eh?” he asked. “Sounds like a plan and a great use of time I don't really have to spare.”

  He shook his head and started to walk away, but again, I stopped him.

  “What are your feelings about this guy – this Kysos?” I asked.

  He raised an eyebrow and I could see a marked tension in his eyes. “What's it to you?”

  I shrugged. “Just curious,” I said. “I see everyone around here celebrating the man like he's a god or something. And yet, you seem to be less than keen on him, so I was just wondering why – ”

>   “Listen, how I feel about him doesn't matter,” he said, turning away from me. “Drink your beer and keep politics out of my bar.”

  Well, I guess that answered my question.

  “He's just pissed because his candidate died,” the soft voice spoke up beside me.

  I honestly had no idea anyone was sitting there, they were so quiet when they sat down. She was tall and lanky, much like the bartender. But instead of the white skin and hair of a native Acrovian, she had greenish blue skin, bright blue eyes and silver hair that was cut in what we humans referred to as a pixie cut.

  She reached her hand over and took mine. “Call me Mazzy.”

  “Gemma,” I said.

  “Nice to meet you, Gemma,” she said. “It's rare humans come this far south. Usually they stay in their little area. But I overheard you when you said that you're just visiting a friend, correct?”

  “Yes,” I said, surprised at how much she heard. “Over on – ”

  “Yes, yes, I know,” she said, taking a drink from some electric blue cocktail. “So you were asking about Kysos. What do you want to know?”

  “Not much honestly,” I said. “I was just trying to make conversation.”

  “Bullshit,” Mazzy said, narrowing her gaze on me. “You were not just trying to make conversation with that jackass. I could tell by the look on your face when you were asking about him. You're curious about Kysos, and I'm willing to answer your questions. So, shoot.”

  “Well, umm, honestly, this whole election is so strange to me,” I said. “And because I'm ignorant to a lot, I was hoping to learn a bit. Since we were here and all.”

  I feigned ignorance and hoping she didn't catch on to my act. She seemed good at reading people. Too good for my liking. As she looked at me, it was like she could see right through me. Could intuit my thoughts or just flat out read my mind. It was a little disturbing how forthright and penetrating her gaze was.

  “I mean, there's really only one candidate, right?” I asked. “So, how does this work?”

  Mazzy nodded. “Easy. He's the winner, right? Or you'd think that's the way it would work, anyway. But it's not,” she said. “Even though he's running unopposed, Kysos still has to get the majority of the votes. And technically, anyone can join the race at anytime, so a competitor might still come forth.”

  “Really? Even this close to the election?”

  “Yep,” she said. “Completely different to how you conduct elections back on Earth, isn't it?”

  I nodded. “What do you know about Earth?”

  “A lot,” she said with a laugh. “I mean, we are required to learn all about Earth in our Interplanetary History classes – which is a required class for every Acrovian to graduate. While we modeled our system after yours, we made some changes to how you do things on Earth. Refined the system as best as we could. But honestly, when we implemented it, we weren't sure how it would work.”

  “You seem to know a lot about this,” I said.

  She gave me a coy smile and leaned forward. “Let me tell you a little secret, Gemma,” she said. “I'm on the political action committee for Intergalactic Peace. One of these days, I hope to be running for office myself.”

  “Why not declare now?” I asked. “Or are you afraid of ending up dead like the others who opposed Kysos' candidacy?”

  Her smile faded. “Are you insinuating that Kysos – ”

  “No, not at all, I mean – ”Damn, Gemma. Keep your mouth shut, I mentally kicked myself. “It was a poor attempt at a joke. My apologies.”

  “Pretty serious and dark for it to be just a joke,” she said, looking me over carefully. “But to answer your question, no, I'm not concerned for my life. I'm merely too young and inexperienced to have my candidacy taken seriously at this point. I have to work my way up the ladder. Pay my dues, as you humans say. Just like you do in your country back on Earth. My focus is currently on helping broker peace between all of us – Earth and beyond. And it's because I feel a true, lasting peace will benefit our planet in many ways – not just financially.”

  That made sense, but still, part of me wondered if there wasn't more to it than that. She just seemed too good to be true. Of course, she was young. Idealistic. The realities of a life in politics hadn't caught up with her yet. Hadn't infected her with the dark cynicism I saw in politicians back on Earth. In a way, she was still innocent. Naïve. Believed she could bring about change on her own.

  Oh, to believe like that again.

  “So tell me, as someone who's a proponent of and activist for a true and lasting peace, do you like Kysos?” I asked.

  Mazzy was a smart woman, I could see that. She was also on the inside and favored peace over wiping us out. Or so she said. I couldn't explain it though, but when I looked into her eyes, I found that I believed her.

  “Of course, we love him. He certainly seems to stand for all of the right things. Knows how to really communicate and connect with people,” she said. “But don't get me wrong. We all have our doubts – I mean, we've heard about his parents and their allegiances. He's denounced them and has stated many times over that he has nothing but contempt for them, trust me. He doesn't believe what they believe. He's a better person than either of them could ever hope to be.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  I wanted to ask her if that meant he had no personal connections to the IIS. I was trying to find a way to phrase it to not tip my hand and let her know I actually knew a lot more than I really did. But before she could answer, the bartender scowled at us.

  “What did I just tell you? No politics in my bar,” he said. “I'm talking to you, human. Leave. Now.”

  “But I – ” I tried to argue, but two large security guards walked up behind me, one of them clamping his large hands on my shoulder with a grip that felt stronger than iron. As I got to my feet – with some assistance from the bouncers – Mazzy leaned forward and stealthily slipped something into my pocket.

  Before the guards pulled me away, she whispered, “Kysos is nothing like this jackass, if that's what you're wondering.”

  That's exactly what I was wondering – but we weren't going to have a chance to talk now. I pulled free from the guards and stared at them.

  “I'm leaving, damn,” I snapped. “No need to put your damn paws on me again.”

  Xavix wasn't far behind me, and as we exited the bar, I was more confused than ever. I had no idea whether or not Mazzy knew what she was talking about. Whether or not she was one of Kysos' seemingly blind following minions. But I figured whatever she put in my pocket might give me a clue.

  Once we'd gotten away from the bar, I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the slip of paper she'd given me. I stared at it, trying to discern some hidden message. A hidden message that didn't appear to be found anywhere on it.

  It was just a napkin with the word “Wycox” scribbled on it. I looked at Xavix with an inscrutable look on my face and held the napkin up for him to see.

  “That's the village of humans, right?”

  Xavix nodded. “Yes, it's more central city.”

  “I thought we were in the city center?” I said.

  “Not exactly,” Xavix said. “This was the old city center a long while ago. This was before the city expanded as the population of Acrov grew. And now, the true center of the city is Wycox Village, a human establishment. But Acrovians won't claim it as such – for obvious reasons.”

  “Because it's made up of humans?” I asked.

  “No, because this is the historical part of the city,” he said. “And the new development isn't on any maps just yet.”

  Ahh. Okay then. That made a lot more sense. Sometimes being cynical didn't actually end up paying off.

  Chapter Nine

  “We have to get back to the hostel – ” Xavix said as I ignored him and followed the directions he'd given me to Wycox. “Blyn is expecting us. And given the job you have to do, we wouldn't want to keep him waiting, now would we?”

&nbs
p; “Blyn is hoping to get laid tonight,” I said. “He'll appreciate the alone time to work his magic on that woman he was dancing with earlier.”

  “But we have a job to do,” he said.

  “Yes, we do,” I said. “And I'll do it more confidently if I have all the information I need.”

  Xavix no longer argued with me – he knew it was futile. He'd been with me long enough to know when I had my mind set on something and wasn't about to back down. Yes, I had a job to do. But I knew I could do my job better if I were better informed.

  So, I was on the hunt for answers. Yes, I'd taken the job already. No, I'd never failed to complete a job. But no one had ever hired me to kill someone in cold blood either. If Mazzy had some information that could help me, well, I needed for her to explain herself to me. She'd been a little mysterious and seemed like she'd wanted to say something but held back for fear of being overheard. I wanted to give her that chance.

  I turned the corner and we found ourselves standing on Wycox street. And lo and behold, there were humans. Not many, but more than I'd seen since I'd been stranded out there in that star system. I stared, in awe at the people walking about the street like it was all perfectly normal. No one stared at me, no one even gave me a second glance. I fit in there. Didn't stand out like a sore thumb like I did on other worlds.

  As I stepped through the gateway that bore the name “Wycox” across the top, it almost felt like I had somehow been transported back to Earth. It almost felt like I was home – they key word being almost. Among so many humans though, things started to feel a little less overwhelming. Although there was still so much that was alien to me, there was also a lot that felt familiar. Comfortable – in a way.

  And there was a lot about Wycox that really reminded me of home. Except for the bright, red moon overhead, of course. But I was as surprised as anybody to find that there were a lot of similarities between life on Acrov and life on Earth. There were obvious differences, obviously. One of them was that the ground beneath my feet didn't feel the same as it did back home. Somehow, it felt – gravely and strange. Like it wasn't quite as solid as the ground on Earth. It was hard to quantify, but the air on Acrove smelled different too.