by Paul Kater
Daniel was flabbergasted. This was not what he had expected at all. "That is very kind of you, sir. I was on my way for supper. Is there a way we could combine meeting and a meal?"
"Of course," Warlem said. "I would be honoured if you allow me to invite you for supper. Let me send you the address of a good restaurant. Call a carriage, expenses will be covered, and I hope to see you in, let's say, half an hour?"
Daniel looked at the entrance of the restaurant that the carriage had delivered him at. It looked as if just watching the door would already cost credits.
Inside, Warlem was already waiting. He treated Daniel to a magnificent meal, as they talked about all kinds of things, like justice and opportunities to get by on this planet. When Daniel brought up the idea of just quitting the whole thing and and moving away to his sister's area, Warlem advised against that.
"There are so many ways to do things, Daniel. Running away will not help you, I am certain. I believe there is many a ship owner who will employ you, despite of what happened - I mean because of what you did. It is finding the right one, one that can influence this man, Skinsh something, of the Society."
"I am not sure if that is the way to do things, Warlem. After all, I failed in my job. That will be held against me."
"Listen, Daniel, my friend. You almost single-handedly beat off the pirates in their first attack. It almost killed you, yet you were still around and willing to take them on again. If that does not make you a hero in many a man's eye, then I am not of this world."
Daniel pondered that for a while. The memory of meeting Huajo Dogom ko Tzuy waved at him. That might be a way back in. After all, the man had offered him a position.
29. Need job, will sail
After all the serious topics, Warlem changed to lighter material. He brought up the soirée and how much he had enjoyed Daniel's being there. "Oh, I forgot. My sister does very much not send her best." The man's face revealed that he was proud and amused to convey that bit of information.
Daniel grinned. "I am sure. She was not very happy, that evening."
Warlem nodded. "Yet, after you had left, she mentioned something to me, in private. She told me that you had saved her, and she felt very good about that. Even though her feelings toward you remain hostile." His grinning face told Daniel what that was all about. Gaguran Slindris, the man who was stalking her.
"She is really bothered by the attention of her father's serving man, isn't she?"
"You have no idea, Daniel. I would like my father to send the man walking. It is one thing to see my sister so worked about about someone, this being you, but it is quite another to see her be frustrated with this unwanted attention."
"Have you mentioned that to your father?"
Warlem looked at Daniel. "Tell my father. No. I am the family drop-out, Daniel. Nobody listens to me anyway. And nobody tells my father anything."
Daniel promptly recalled the moment where Rayko had refused to accompany him for the evening, and the way Clelem had simply shoved her over, not taking no for an answer even from his daughter. He nodded. "Yes, so it seems."
"Believe me, Daniel. The best way to stay alive around these parts is not to cross my father."
Now that was quite an allegation, Daniel thought. And that from his own son.
Warlem emptied his glass. "It is becoming late, Daniel. I should not be keeping you any longer, but please know that I very much enjoyed this talk and getting to know you better."
Daniel took the hint with pleasure. He was getting tired again. Already.
The men said their goodbyes. Daniel, on the way home, had plenty of things to think about again.
-=-=-
Daniel had gone to bed early. Because of that he woke up early. Far too early. His head was awake, his body refused to play along. As a result, he was not able to run away from the thoughts that came to him. Thoughts about his brother and his sister, and how well they were doing. Inevitably there were the thoughts about how Malcolm would be laughing at him about his current situation. At one point he had made up his mind: he was going to send a message to his sister and ask her if there was a good place near her where he could live. He'd file for some kind of disability with the military and retire. There would be something like a job for him somewhere to get through the days.
He turned around in his bed. The movement threw down the card house of thoughts he had built so carefully. He could not give up like that. There were people who might be counting on him. But were they? They might assume him to have died. Maybe the people he wanted to rescue were dead already. Maybe they were already being rescued by the police of the planet. Or by people Skinsh ko Talush had summoned. Or not?
In the end it was the storm of maybes and other unknowns that woke him up for real. He kicked the covers from him and rubbed his face to chase away the ghosts that were haunting him.
Daniel got up and avoided looking out the window as he made for the bathroom where he splashed cold water in his face to make sure the haunting was over. On the way back into the room, he stopped at the window and stared. He missed the ship and knew there was little he could do.
As he got dressed, he recalled the talk he'd had with Warlem. Maybe visiting Huajo was an idea...
After breakfast, he took his hydger and looked up the number of the ship owner. After a hesitation, he requested the connection.
"Mr. Zacharias. May I say that I am surprised?" The round face of Huajo Dogom ko Tzuy appeared in the screen.
Daniel had not expected that the man would actually reply, but there he was. "Good morning, Seigner. I am certain that you are surprised about my call and I hope you forgive me."
"Naturally, sir. Had I not forgiven you, I would not have accepted the call." The face looked friendly and waiting.
"I would like to speak with you, sir."
Huajo nodded. "Yes. I can see that you want that. As a matter of fact, I would appreciate a word with you as well. Would you be able to come to my residence?"
"Yes, sir. Of course."
Not long after that, Daniel was in a carriage, on his way to the Zoroon community where also Clelem's house was. The trip took him along much of the same road, but instead of rolling up the path to where the floater platform for Clelem's house was, the carriage pushed on along the wider road along the waterline, until it reached a very nice house.
Daniel walked up a slight slope towards a fence. There was a gate in it, open and welcoming. He wondered why the house was built so close to the water. One good storm would wreak havoc on the building, he was sure.
He approached the reception building that was located in a small front side garden and held his ring in front of the copper plate. The door opened for him. Inside there was nobody to greet him, which was somewhat of a surprise. He put away his coat and walked through the transparent tunnel he had already expected.
Daniel grinned. He was becoming something like a native. From the tunnel he saw that the front side garden was continued behind the reception house. It struck him as a wilderness more than anything else; the difference with the stylish, almost manicured garden at the Dandra ko Galem house was almost painful.
At the end of the tunnel, a servant, a woman, was waiting for him. She greeted him and led him through the house to an office. The house style showed the character of its owner. Everything was large, almost pompous, flamboyant and welcoming. The office was located outside the actual house, in a sphere that was made of the same transparent material as the tunnel he had come through. Behind a large white desk, Huajo was shuffling papers, without real zeal. As the servant woman announced Daniel's arrival, the man looked relieved.
"Mr. Zacharias!" He hoisted his impressive figure from the equally impressive chair and held out his hand. "Do sit, do sit."
Daniel shook the man's hand and took the offered seat.
After being served tea and a scary amount of cookies, Huajo said: "I have heard of your adventures, Mr. Zacharias. You have been through quite a few. There are rumours already
that you are the embodiment of Flish."
Daniel's expression told Huajo that Flish did not mean much to him.
"Flish, Mr. Zacharias, is one of our mythical apparitions. It is said about Flish that there were only few things that could actually kill him. And as you have lived through two encounters with pirates..."
"I see. Thank you for explaining that, Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy."
"Now, please tell me, Mr. Zacharias, what it is you want to see me about."
Daniel told about his situation, that he was out of a job, yet on the payroll of the Society. "I recalled your words about possibly have an opportunity for me, the time we met on the docks."
Huajo slowly nodded, while munching away the cookies. "Yes. I recall that meeting well. Alas, sir, at this moment there are things requiring my attention that are not so much concerning my ships. I am, as you may not know, a member of the Zoroon Steering Committee and there are... No. I should not bore you with political nonsense I have brought upon myself." Another handful of cookies vanished. "I do understand your predicament, Mr. Zacharias. At the moment, however, my hands are tied. The situation around the pirating has become rather volatile. The Ship Owners Society is fully aware of all that has happened, and the displeasure Clelem Dandra has shown makes it quite difficult to find a new position for you. It is quite unfair, I know. You are, unfortunately, caught in a game of politics. And there are some other... how should I say... circumstances concerning Clelem Dandra ko Galem... that need to be addressed."
The hopes Daniel had when he came here were stomped deeper into the ground of NGC6637-VIII with every sentence the fat man spoke. "I understand, sir. At least I think."
"Try not to worry, Mr. Zacharias. Things like these can change overnight. And I may call on you sooner than you expect."
Daniel nodded, without much confidence. He finished his tea and got up. "I thank you for your time, sir. It was enlightening at least."
Huajo burst out in laughing. "Nobody has ever accused me of bringing enlightening, Mr. Zacharias! I thank you for this, you have certainly made my day a good one!"
Daniel grinned an obligatory grin. Then he remembered something. "Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy, do you know about sticks that can paralyse a person?"
Huajo frowned. "In fact I do. Nasty things. They make a person feel very very bad. Why this question?"
Daniel explained about the attack at Maliser Park, leaving out most of the details. "I wonder why sailors don't have these things with them. They would be an excellent weapon against pirates."
"I see. The powers of the planet are really after you, Mr. Zacharias. As you probably know, the water of the planet prohibits many things. Metal, real wood, things like these are not granted a long life. The paralysing sticks fall into that same category. We have tried all we could, but none of them lasted more than a day aboard a ship."
Daniel thanked Huajo for the reply. He shook the man's hand and turned to leave.
"Oh... Mr. Zacharias..."
"Sir?"
"Please try not to end as our mythical hero Flish."
"How did Flish end, sir?"
"He became a victim of the machinations of the gods."
"I'll do my best to avoid those, Seigner. Thank you for the warning."
"I owe you this much, Mr. Zacharias. I look forward to meeting you again in a more favourable situation."
Daniel left the house with a block of lead hanging from his gut.
He was glad for the decent weather. It took the carriage he had called for quite a while to get there; he'd have sworn he could walk back home in that time.
Huajo's words kept churning in his mind. The man was aware of the paralysing sticks. He clearly knew where Maliser Park was. He certainly had the shape that would cause a cloak to stand out so wide. Could Huajo be the person that had- No, he rejected the thought immediately. That person had not limped about, and also had moved much faster than Huajo had done.
Or had it been Warlem? The poet, the family drop-out. He certainly would have reasons to go against his fathers reign. Or not... As long as his expenses were covered, the young man could probably do what he wanted. Which opened options, of course...
Whatever he tried, there was no way out of the maze that led him to the mysterious person that had attacked him. Another maze also prevented him to decide what he would do next.
30. Where Flish went wrong
The next day Daniel tried to think of something constructive to do. Something that would take his mind off the ghosts that were haunting him, and growing into obsessions. He had to get away from the monsters that made him feel powerless. Useless.
He was aware that the problem was inside his head, so, he deducted, he should try and fill that head with other things. But what?
In an impulse he picked up his hydger to call Tomlin. Maybe his friend had an idea. Or a job. He flipped the device open. The sound the cover made triggered something with him; it made him think of a remark Huajo had made about Flish. Flish, the mythical figure that the fat man had compared him to.
Yes, that could be something. Why shouldn't he find out more about this mythical character Flish? He was here, on this planet, so he could just as well learn a bit more about it in his time off. Clelem had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Daniel anymore. Huajo had other things on his mind also, so what else was there to do?
As Daniel had plenty of time, he was making quite a fuss about his attire. He laughed at himself, ridiculing himself about it. He recalled how Rhonda and he had laughed these clothes, so long ago on star base. Rhonda. Where would she be now...
After assuring everything was in order, he went out. In the elevator he met a few people that were living in the same building. He had never had much contact with them, but whenever they met, they exchanged social politenesses.
Once outside, Daniel made his way to the library. It was an ancient place, with books equally ancient, many of them even older. The smell of old leather, fading ink and yellow paper greeted him as he entered the large hall. He had been there a few times before, and Daniel had learnt to appreciate the scent and the feel of the heavy books.
One of the librarians helped him find his way around the mythological section, where he pulled a few books from shelves. "Here you go, sir. These volumes should get you started nicely."
Daniel hauled the books to an available table and hoped the thud they made did not get him thrown out. Nobody seemed to mind, though. He opened the first book and started going through the index, locating the only chapter on Flish quickly.
As he was slowly progressing through the chapter, the book was written in the planet's own language, someone sat down opposite him at the table. He was almost through a paragraph, so he did not want to look up. That would mean losing track of the tale, and it was fascinating in that Flish had been a boatsman. Also Daniel did not want to lose the battle with the language.
When finally he peeked over, he saw senator Sygra Dirrit ko Asac sitting at the table. "Oh. Senator. Good morning."
"Good morning to you, Mr... Zachaiis?" The thin man already had his face set for apology.
"Zacharias, but you were close," Daniel smiled. "Such a nice surprise."
The senator nodded. "The pleasure is mine, sir. I was not aware that you were interested in that mythology."
Daniel grinned and told him what he had heard about Flish from Huajo.
"Ah. I see. Yes, Mr. Zacharias, in that light I can see how people can arrive at that idea." Sygra smiled.
"Do you know more about Flish?" Daniel asked.
"Not very much. It is not my... philosophy. Mine is not so related to things of the water."
Daniel had never given religion much thought. Not for himself, and not here on the planet. Now he understood that he had been neglecting something. Ignoring something, to say the very least.
Sygra took the seat next to Daniel and looked over the page he had been reading.
As the senator skimmed over the page, Daniel frowned. There was
a remarkable smell coming from the man's clothes, and he suddenly remembered smelling that also when he had first met the senator, at that wretched party. Senator or not, Daniel mused, he had a horrible taste in cologne.
"Yes, indeed," Sygra nodded. "This page almost sums up what I know about Flish. He was the son of a storm god, as it says here. He wanted to lay down the storms, to make life easier for mankind. He succeeded for quite a long time. But of course, the other gods for weather did not appreciate Flish's attempts to undermine their work, so they worked together and that became the downfall of Flish."
Daniel frowned. "Somewhere this comparison does not work for me, sir. I am not trying to lay down storms."