by Trevor Scott
“The Kurazon Throng,” Ragnar stated simply.
“Who are they?”
“To know that, you’ll have to learn about the Ansarans and our less civilized cousins, the Dinari. Thirty thousand years ago, three clans lived on a planet together. Not this planet, but one far away named Ansara. We were a young race, and made war with each other over land and resources. Petty things given our knowledge now. One clan, the Kurazon, were far more violent than the rest, and they were banished. It took centuries, but eventually, after years of war, the survivors were rounded up and transported to a far-off planet to live their backward ways. It was not one of our finer moments, to be sure.”
Liam took in every word. If they had the power to exile an entire race of people to another planet thirty thousand years ago, how much had they grown since? Or, had they regressed to a less advanced state? Liam never was much of a history buff on Earth, but something about these new cultures invigorated him, like he was meant to know every fact and every story.
Ragnar continued, “The planet the Kurazon inhabited was far colder than Ansara. Over the years, they shed their scales to survive. Their blood boiled and they grew into monsters. Their scientists were more focused on adapting their genomes to survive than on escape. It took hundreds of years for them to develop space flight again, but when they did, they sought revenge. The Dinari, our lesser cousins, you could say, helped us to force back the Kurazon Throng after countless generations of war. Ever since, every few decades we hear of a sighting, mostly from trade ships. They’ve become ghosts, legends even, as the years fade from memory. Tales of their makeshift crafts are rife within the mercenary circles. If you’ve truly seen the Kurazon Throng then we should all be frightened from the deepest parts of our hearts, for nothing good has ever come from mingling with their lot.”
There was silence while Liam and the crew sorted through what was said. If they’d stumbled into an old war, perhaps their presence would agitate things. Liam asked the first question that reached his tongue, “How did the Kurazon Throng get to our solar system?”
“That I do not know. Perhaps it was luck that a wormhole opened between our systems. Perhaps not.”
Liam wondered if he was suggesting someone created the wormhole. The best physicists on Earth had only postulated their existence. This would mean manipulation of forces unheard of by Earth standards. Though the Ansarans were far more advanced than even he’d imagined, he wasn’t sure they had the ability to open a singularity at will. Though, he supposed, anything was possible.
“Do the Ansarans have the kind of technology to open a wormhole?” Ju-Long asked, stealing the thought out of Liam’s mind.
“I only lead this modest colony,” Ragnar hedged, “Besides, knowledge of our latest advancements would be restricted to those who must know. Understand, you are outsiders to our people.”
“What happens now?” Liam asked.
“We have never seen your kind before. I would ask that you stay on Surya. At least for a while longer. We would like to learn more about you, and I’m sure you have questions of us as well.”
Saturn stood up from her floating chair and paced behind the solid desk.
Liam turned to her questioningly and asked, “What’s wrong.”
“This, all of this. It’s too much. I can’t do this, Liam. I didn’t sign up for this,” she said, gesturing frantically with her hands. “I’m not trying to get caught in the middle of someone else’s war. The longer we stay here the worse off we’ll be.”
Liam sighed and stood. Though he saw Saturn’s point, they could hardly go back now. Saturn must have known that. She wasn’t the kind of person who appreciated situations that were out of her control. He’d seen it on their missions together for Vesta Corporation. Her personality was considered by others to be domineering on the best of days. Liam tried to calm her down. “Even if we could get back through the wormhole, there’s no guarantee Earth still exists. This Kurazon Throng might be on their way there now.”
“All the more reason for us to go back. We can help.”
“With what ship?”
Saturn’s shoulders slumped. They were caught in the middle of the politics of three races whether they liked it or not. At least on this side of the wormhole, they stood a chance of finding out if the wormhole was random or manufactured. For now, they would have to take Ragnar up on his offer and play the good guest. They would have their time for action. Now was a time for learning what they could about Akaru and its strange inhabitants. Liam turned to Ragnar and said, “Where do we begin?”
Ragnar motioned to one of his troops, who brought out large cups of water for them which looked more like bowls than glasses. He motioned for them to drink and Liam hesitantly obliged. When he seemed to be okay, Ju-Long and Saturn followed suit. Ragnar sat back in his chair once more.
“Let’s start with you telling me all about Earth,” Ragnar said with an odd sort of smile curling up his scaled cheeks.
14
“You may rest here for the night,” Ragnar said.
An Earth hour had passed, filled with discussions of culture and customs, a comparison of Earth and the Ansaran home world. Liam was fascinated by the aliens, but redirected the conversation whenever Ragnar asked too many piercing questions about their technology. Liam was wary not to portray humans as weak or incapable, lest the aliens decide they be better off conquered. Liam felt the weight of being the first human to interact with another intelligent form of life and was determined to keep it civilized, despite his deeper inclinations.
Ragnar gestured to their sleeping quarters, a plain room with several thin mats laid out on the floor, just a few stories below Ragnar’s chamber. The spiraled window crossed the quarters along the right wall, a few meters of clear material between them and a very long drop. Liam was reluctant to call the material glass. It was more of a metal with a low opacity that allowed them to see through clearly. From a certain angle, it was apparent that the window was in fact a solid wall. A fact that put Liam more at ease.
Ragnar continued, “I would ask that you not leave this spire for the time being. Tomorrow evening we are hosting an event in your honor and we will have much to do in the time leading up to it. Diplomats from each sector of the colony will want to meet you.”
Liam bowed his head slightly, mirroring Ragnar’s posture but keeping his gaze firmly planted on the alien’s mostly black eyes.
“We thank you,” he said awkwardly. It was difficult for Liam to sound high-class, but he gave it his best shot.
“Humans are the first species we’ve encountered from beyond our own system in millennia,” Ragnar said. “This is cause for celebration.”
“We are in agreement. It will be history being made.”
“A strange expression,” the caretaker said, then confirmed, “But fitting.”
Ragnar turned on his heel and started down the hall, stopping after a few steps and rotating his pale face to the side, his thin scales clearly visible from Liam’s viewpoint. The alien opened his lips and said in a near whisper, “Do not fear the night.”
With that, he turned and made his way down the long corridor toward the lift.
Saturn leaned against the entryway to their quarters and crossed her arms. She had an expression of distrust across her countenance. “What do you suppose he meant by that?” she asked.
“An event in our honor?” Ju-Long mused. “It sounds like they’re going to eat us or make a sacrifice to the gods.”
“We don’t even know for sure if they worship any gods,” Liam replied. “And Saturn, I’m sure it’s just an expression.”
Ju-Long brushed past Saturn into their room. “Well, I hope we get to eat before this event because I’m starving. What do you think they eat around here? Plankton?”
“Let’s talk inside,” Liam said, ushering Saturn through the entryway and sliding the smooth metallic door closed behind them.
The room was small but adequate when compared with their sleeping a
rrangements on the Asteroid Belt. The mats laid out on the ground were about two meters long and much thinner than even the mattresses Liam was used to. He guessed the Ansarans didn’t require much by way of comfort. That, or they didn’t care much for guests. The floor was the same light marble as Ragnar’s chamber and the walls a smooth stone interspersed with a metallic support structure. It was that mix of ancient beauty and contemporary functionality that intrigued Liam.
Saturn plopped down on one of the mats, immediately complaining about the level of comfort. Liam took the mat beside hers, wriggling his body and trying to get comfortable, but deciding it was impossible. The material had little give and was scarcely softer than the floor.
Ju-Long was at the window, or the wall disguised as a window, looking out over the city. From his mat, Liam could see the lights from the other spires in the near dusk, each glowing with a faint purple iridescence which was at first eerie to the eye. Ju-long pressed his nose against the wall in awe. Liam thought it a strange sight to see such a muscular, solid man staring off in wonder like a child. Liam pondered if there was more to Ju-Long than he’d previously thought.
“Let’s recap,” Saturn chimed in. “We spend an hour talking up this Ragnar guy and when we come out of it, we’re no closer to getting a ship, no closer to getting off this planet, in fact, we might as well be prisoners here.”
“We’re not prisoners,” Liam replied, though his voice betrayed his apprehension.
“Why wouldn’t Ragnar want us to leave the spire, then?” Saturn asked.
“Think about it. If this was Earth and an alien species crash landed, would you let them run amok?”
“So, you admit it, we’re prisoners.”
“If you see a shadow behind every corner, you’re going to drive yourself crazy.”
“In our line of work, I would have thought you’d learned to do the same. What were our rules back then? Forever cautious. Forever vigilant. What happened to you?”
Ju-Long turned around and raised his voice, “Enough. Just stop. Yes, Saturn, we’re probably being held prisoner. That doesn’t mean we need to be hasty. I say we learn as much as we can about these people and wait for our opportunity. And Liam, grow a pair and realize that there’s more to our situation than playing the explorer. None of us were meant for this kind of role so let’s take it down a notch and figure this out logically.”
Liam and Saturn were silent for a while. Ju-Long plopped down on his mat and put an arm over his eyes, shielding them from the single orb of light floating eerily near the ceiling, seemingly without support. Liam imagined what was going through Saturn’s head was similar to what was going through his own. Ju-Long made too much sense. They needed to work together and make a united front. Whatever decisions they made might have larger ramifications for their race down the road. But the moment things went south, they would have to be ready to act.
A few minutes later, Liam solicited, “Ju-Long, you never told us how you came to be on the mine.”
Ju-Long kept his eyes covered with his arm, his bloodied hand hanging limply over his equally damaged face. His hand bore a crude bandage where Saturn had stabbed him with her fork. His jaw tightened as he prepared to speak.
“Vesta Corporation had a hand in a lot of industries back on Earth. I worked for a company that was building a new propulsion system meant for interstellar travel. Vesta bought the company and put a stop to my research.”
“Wouldn’t interstellar travel be a boon to Vesta’s bottom line?” Saturn asked, surprised.
“Yes, but they didn’t want the technology to proliferate. They stole my research and gave it to their own team to develop. I was already so close. We were running simulations with great success. Once their team had control of my research, there was no need for me. Agents from the corporation came after me, tying up loose ends, I guess. I escaped for a while to the Martian Colony, but that didn’t last long. Soon, the agents found me and I was sent to the Asteroid Belt. They would have killed me, but if something went wrong with their research, they needed to have me available as a backup. Someone they could strong-arm. Captain Truong didn’t want to waste my talents, so he put me in charge of the mining ship’s engine room.”
“So, under all that muscle you are actually some kind of genius?” Liam asked, almost in denial.
Saturn snorted. Liam knew what she thought of Ju-Long, but underneath that ego he might not be as vapid as they had originally thought. Ju-Long might have been a chauvinist at times, but they were lucky to have him on their ship when they escaped. He’d already proven his usefulness once.
“Call me what you want, but I always thought of myself as more of a mechanic anyway,” Ju-Long said. Then he turned his head toward Saturn and added with a smile, “I’m good with my hands.”
Liam tried to stifle a laugh and was rewarded with a solid punch on the arm from Saturn. She was stronger than he remembered. “Hey, he said it, not me.”
Saturn cracked a smile and they all shared a brief laugh that marked the first time they’d all been cheerful since they’d left the Asteroid Belt. It felt good for Liam to laugh again. Even Saturn’s spirits seemed lifted. However, their moment was quickly interrupted by a series of quiet but frantic knocks on the door. Liam’s eyes shot across the room. He rose from the mat and padded toward the door, looking back at the crew over his shoulder. The night had come for Akaru quickly, leaving Liam wondering how many hours there were in a day on the planet, or even how time was measured on Surya.
As Liam approached the door, he tripped some sort of security measure and the door became nearly transparent like the windows. Through the door, Liam saw a manner of creature he could only describe as lizard-like. The alien was about the same height as Liam and covered in tan scales far coarser than the Ansarans. His eyes were globular and bore vertical slits and a golden hue like those of a snake. His head was bald like the Ansarans, but with more pronounced cheekbones and ears which were merely holes off to the side of his head.
The alien appeared to know he was being watched, because his thin mouth curled up at the edge, much farther than any human could, which somehow made him appear more predatory. Over his hardened tan scales, he wore a dark cloak which was hard to make out in the low light of the hallway.
Liam’s hand hovered over the panel for a moment before pressing down on it. The door opened and Liam subconsciously puffed out his chest to make himself appear bigger. The alien folded his scaled hands together. His pupils grew when they made contact with Liam’s, giving him the feeling he was being examined by a doctor.
“Inside, quickly,” the alien implored. “Before we’re seen.”
15
Liam closed the door behind the alien and got a better look at him under the orb of light floating several centimeters from the ceiling. He wore a rough cloth cloak of a deep brown, its thick fabric hanging over him like that of a monk. The cloak’s wide hood hung down low behind his back. His pants were tight and done up with tan string at the waist. The alien’s feet were bare and appeared the most primeval of all. They had yellow hooked claws at the tips and a strong, muscular shape that suggested endless walks over rough terrain.
“My name is Nix. I’m one of the Dinari servants for this spire.”
“Tell me your parents didn’t name you Nix,” Saturn asked insensitively.
Liam shot her a dangerous glance and she looked away, embarrassed. The last thing they needed was to make enemies.
“It was given to me by my mother, may she rest well in the after.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Liam consoled the alien. “Is there something we can help you with?”
Nix’s eyes flicked to Liam’s, blinking against the grain of his vertically slit eyes. “I come to warn you. Ragnar is not what he seems.”
Liam frowned and asked, “How do you mean?”
Nix unfolded his hands, standing tall under the single light of the room, deep shadows arising in the crevices of his many scales so that the valleys bet
ween them looked rather like canyons. “Tomorrow night, the Ansarans plan to hand you over to the Kurazon Throng.”
“The Kurazon Throng?” Ju-Long said. “I thought they were enemies of the Ansarans?”
“They are enemies, but your presence grants a unique opportunity for Ragnar. He is a low-ranking member of House Ansara, but if he could broker a peace with the Kurazon Throng he would greatly increase his status. Compared to the other colonies, Akaru is a backwater. These are things I hear when serving in the master’s chambers.”
Liam scratched the long scar on his right cheek and thought about the meeting with Ragnar. He was searching for something. It struck him that Ragnar may not have known why the Throng wanted his crew, but the fact that they did was off-putting to him. Ragnar seemed like someone who wanted control over all aspects of a situation, and whatever deal he was making with the Throng must have been out of his comfort zone. “What does the Kurazon Throng want with us anyway?”
“I don’t know, but if I were you, I wouldn’t wait around to find out.”
Ju-Long stood up from his mat. “Ragnar spoke of the Ansara Alliance. He said the Dinari were their cousins.”
“He would say that,” Nix replied. “Don’t be fooled, the name is a misnomer. The Dinari have served the Ansarans for tens of thousands of years. The proof is in our skin. The Dinari have developed rough scales over dozens of millennia working hard labor; every form of manual labor imaginable. The Ansarans can’t even go outside on most worlds without protecting their skin. The Dinari have been bred through the generations for this kind of work.”
“If that’s so,” Ju-Long said, “Why don’t the Dinari fight for their independence?”
“Most Dinari have been brought up to be subservient. We are taught in our schools to serve and our parents and their parents have known no other way. There are some among us who think differently, but that divergent mindset is rare, the number of Dinari small.”