Essence: Book 1 - Septima

by Nick Braker

  “Why did he go to the military?” Troy asked.

  “Let me get to that part,” she said. “After I left the motel, I got the chief to watch the 3D video and, after a bit of discussion, he was convinced. I knew I could trust him either way but it was my father--”

  “The Colonel,” Troy said.

  “Yes,” she said, surprised. “How...? Never mind. He was there to pick me up for dinner. I had totally forgotten about it and when he showed up, the Chief showed him the Piran video. I know my father and he’s by the book. It was not going to go well. James jumped in, sharing what he had found and the rest you know.”

  “So they found the spot where we arrived and set an ambush?”

  “Yes, there was a camera in the stockyards but it was too far away,” Kima said. “The video wasn’t good enough to show any detail. It only showed something strange along the railroad tracks, unusual lights mostly. Between my father and James, they both believed it was a hoax, though I suppose they’ll have to reconsider in light of all that has happened.”

  Kima grabbed his hand.

  “Are we really on another planet? Pira right?” she asked.

  Troy nodded. He spent the next hour filling in the details he didn’t have time to tell her before. Troy told her what was going on and how the Pirans were going to defeat their enemy. Again, he intentionally didn’t mention Brice and Yenthar’s deaths by his hands nor his thoughts on how he had changed since arriving. During their conversation, she seemed excited about the prospect of being on another planet. Troy hadn’t considered any other course of action than to return her to Earth as soon as possible but she could be a strong ally for him in his efforts to save Pira. What if she wanted to stay?

  “You sound like you might actually like being here,” Troy said.

  “Is that weird?” she asked.

  “Now that I think about it, not for you,” he said.

  “Wait, wait,” she said. “For me?”

  “You did buy into my story fairly quickly. You seem to easily roll with the punches life sends you. In hindsight, you--”

  “I examine the facts. What else is there to base one’s actions on?”

  Troy chuckled. He had pegged her from the beginning.

  “Feelings would be one...,” he said, letting his comment trail off.

  Troy brought his hand up to his temple as his headache grew in intensity.

  Not again...

  “You okay?” she asked, touching the back of his other hand.

  “Yeah, the effects of the projection can linger,” he lied. “I have a mild headache.”

  “Uh huh,” she said.

  Did she suspect he had evaded her question? Troy couldn’t be the only one in the universe that could sometimes read people. What if Kima could too? That would explain why she was a great police officer and perhaps why she sided with him from the beginning. What if she had believed his story because she could read people? He smiled at her.

  “There’s more to the story of my headaches but I’ll have to leave that for another day,” Troy said.

  She nodded, mollified.

  “Troy,” she said, yawning. “Let me get some rest but I want you to know I’m willing to help you in any way. Earth needs us.”

  “What do you think your father will do with the data drive I gave you?” he asked.

  She grinned, looking down at her hands.

  “He won’t buy into aliens easily but he will ensure the information does not get buried nor used for greed. The technology enhancement specifications are hard to ignore so he will make sure it gets to the right people. Dad’s a good man with a lot of rough edges but I trust him. He’ll do the right thing,” she said, nodding.

  Troy returned her nod, patting her hand. He shifted his hand around, holding hers. They spoke a few minutes longer, but after another yawn he left her to rest. Troy needed to get some sleep, too.

  Chapter 17

  HORACE

  Pira - The next morning.

  Troy sat up and stretched. He opened his eyes, looking around from his bed. His comm-device showed no text messages but the data pad was missing. Sep had laid down next to him last night after recovering from the projection but she had already left for the day. She must have it. He smiled, knowing she got his love note. He felt like such a kid and was beaming the more he thought about it. He cleaned up and headed to Gen-Pop.

  Troy checked on Kima who was still confined to the infirmary. She told him she was doing well and that the doctor had given her access to reading material. She was currently reading about Pira’s history.

  Troy also needed to check on the Piran people. He enjoyed working alongside them and had always wanted something meaningful in life besides his mundane existence back on Earth. The recent S&G to Earth, for example, had confirmed his desire to help these people. Here he had what he always wanted, purpose. All the fears he dealt with on a daily basis on Earth were gone on Pira. It was a fresh start to something he could believe in. He loved helping these people. They needed him and, in a big way, he needed them. He now knew many of the Pirans by name - who they were married to, how many children they had, and many funny and important events in their lives.

  Several wondered why he couldn’t remember them initially, but he always explained that the fight with the Reptaurans had left him injured in battle and there were holes in his memory. It seemed to satisfy them so they would reintroduce themselves and they would talk of their moments with Tohmas, hoping to jog his memory. Their conversations were always a treat but the constant headaches forced Troy to cut them shorter than he wanted.

  Troy put his hand to his head, trying to contain the surge of pain. A second later it eased. The pain was normal for him now it seemed. He tried to focus on something around him, anything other than his condition. The orange-yellow sun returned in full on this clear Piran morning. Its rays warmed his face and hands. Fresh scents of cooked meat and vegetables surrounded him as the Piran people in Gen-Pop prepared their morning meals.

  Caiden walked up to speak with him, but he noticed a young woman well behind the crowd. She had been watching him from a distance now for several minutes while he spoke with others in Gen-Pop. It wasn’t Cienna. Hopefully his note to Septima had gotten Cienna off his tail. No, this one wore the same garb as other Pirans. She had a hood covering her head, which was not terribly unusual, but it was what he saw under it that bothered him. The wind had pushed the hood back, revealing a bruised face. From this distance, the black and blue marks on the left side of her face were quite prevalent and disturbing. The baby in her arms had demanded her attention and her hood had gotten free in the Piran wind. She covered her face again, turned and walked away.

  “Sir,” Caiden said. “I’ve got the three humans working on rifle training and martial arts as you directed. They are making great progress.”

  “Thank you, Caiden. Has their behavior improved?” he said, keeping an eye on the departing woman.

  “Yes, sir. Remarkably so.”

  “Good work. Let me get back with you,” Troy said. “I want to talk more but something came up.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He followed the woman. She had obviously tried to avoid speaking with him directly but Troy caught up with her, gently touching her shoulder.

  “Miss, did you want to speak with me?” he asked.

  She turned away slightly, keeping her face covered. She avoided direct eye contact with him, pretending to attend to her baby as it slept in her arms. The child was covered except for its face.

  “Tohmas, it would be my pleasure to speak with you but I must return home,” she said. “She will need to be fed soon.”

  “May I walk with you then?” Troy asked.

  Troy could see the discomfort from his request in her body language but she nodded. There was something else at work here and his instincts forced him to pursue it.

  “What is your name?”

  “Agaria,” she said.

  “Agaria, your little girl
is adorable. What is her name?”

  “Toma, in honor of you and your art,” Agaria said.

  Troy recognized the term. It was an ancient Rohku martial art term meaning the precise distance needed to carry out a movement or technique. Toma was the long distance term for one step or one blow. A flood of memories came unbidden to him. Martial art moves, terms and techniques. Rohku was not only the name of his species but, pronounced differently, the name of their people’s martial art, an art form built around killing quickly and ruthlessly. The only nonlethal moves allowed in Rohku were those that prepared the opponent for the killing blow. Tohmas’ memories were growing stronger and along with his memories came the abilities that knowledge and years of practice had produced, some simply by thinking of it and others by instinct. His fight with Detective James, for example, had been out of instinct. Troy hadn’t thought about what he was doing during the fight. Every move or action he took seemed natural.

  “How do you know I studied Rohku martial arts?” he asked as they moved through the crowd.

  Several people waved at Tohmas as he passed, always deferring to him as if he were royalty. Most would step aside and wait for him to walk by. Their deference to him made him uncomfortable but he knew it meant much to them, so he tolerated it.

  Agaria finally answered him.

  “You said you studied many forms of combat among your travels. You felt Rohku would help your people fight the Reptaurans more effectively over other hand to hand forms. You trained our men for years in our fight against the evil lizards,” Agaria explained.

  Why hadn’t Caiden or Alta mentioned this? Did they assume Troy forgot and didn’t want to push too hard? More and more questions arose bringing back red flags. They quickly vanished. Something was indeed wrong. It was hard to think clearly. The pain in his head was constant and varied in intensity. Troy’s headache surged to a migraine. Random thoughts popped into his mind bringing confusion and setting off his internal alarms.

  Focus on Septima. Huh? Isn’t Alta beautiful? What the hell? What about Agaria? Help her.

  Troy needed to get back to Sep but he couldn’t get Agaria out of his mind. She needed him, but right now he didn’t know why.

  I have to focus on Agaria.

  His mind went blank.

  What was I just thinking?

  It was there on the tip of his tongue and Troy was sure it was important, yet still he struggled to recall it. He shrugged inwardly, giving up. He returned his attention to Agaria.

  They spoke for several minutes before reaching her tent. Troy felt he would get no more answers from Agaria though it nagged him still. He said goodbye and turned to leave when he noticed a man in the doorway of a home next to Agaria’s, peeking out.

  Horace?

  The pieces fell into place. Tohmas had selfishly forgotten about Horace’s request for help. Someone in Agaria’s home must be the neighbor Horace was afraid of. And the bruises on Agaria’s face - the picture was clear. How could he be so stupid... again? His face felt flush and his fists shook. He knocked on the frame of Agaria’s door but it wasn’t her voice that answered.

  “Horace,” a man’s voice said from inside. “If that’s you, I’m going to make good on my threat.”

  A man, standing six inches taller than Troy, opened the flap and stepped out. He was drunk, unshaven and reeked of sweat, dirt and alcohol. His eyes were filled with anger.

  “What the hell do you want?” he demanded. “You better move along before I fix it so you have to crawl away.”

  Troy stepped back away from the tent, giving the man room to step closer. Troy hoped the man would take it as a sign he was afraid. As soon as Troy moved, he could see behind the tent flap that Agaria was on the floor, tears in her eyes. Had the man hit her again?

  “Well?” the man said, stepping forward, his forefinger extended to poke Troy in his chest.

  Troy couldn’t see any other way out. This man had to die.

  Die?!?

  The people of Pira were at war with another race and this man was a leech on what little resources they possessed. There was absolutely no room, in his mind, to tolerate spousal abuse, intimidation or whatever else this man was doing to the people around him. Troy would care for Agaria and her daughter, so he let the man’s finger hit him in the chest.

  “I’m not going to waste my breath on you,” Troy said.

  Troy grabbed the man’s hand and bent his wrist back on itself. Troy felt the bones crack. The pain forced the man to his knees and Troy held him there, keeping the pressure on his wrist.

  “Stop, please. God,” the man screamed.

  Troy wanted the realization to sink into the man that there was nothing he could do to stop what was coming.

  “Please stop,” he screamed. “It hurts.”

  Troy kept the wrist bent as he brought an axe kick down on the man’s right shoulder. He had already broken the man’s wrist and now his shoulder was no longer attached at the joint. The man shrieked. Troy spun, putting a heel into the man’s nose. It was the final move in a Rohku technique designed to splinter the bone in a person’s nose, sending the fragments into the brain. There was no avoiding the outcome. Agaria’s abuser fell backward, dead.

  Troy stood motionless over his dead opponent. The moment was too surreal to believe. He had another death on his hands.

  What’s one more death compared to the hundreds I’ve killed?

  A crowd gathered around, having witnessed what he had done. Agaria stepped outside. She removed her hood and Troy could see her face clearly. It was filled with relief? Why wouldn’t she be angry with Troy? Isn’t that the correct response? She spat upon the body of the man. Was it her husband? Troy wasn’t sure but he did know he was now responsible for her and her child.

  You’re not responsible--. Yes, I am.

  “Agaria, I will provide whatever you need,” Troy told her.

  “No,” Horace said, approaching him. “I will take care of her and her child. Tohmas, you must attend to us all. Please, I will do this. Agaria knows me.”

  Agaria paused considering his words and nodded to Troy.

  “Either of you, if you need something, come find me,” Troy said. “I’ll handle it.”

  Troy had lost control again out of anger, but he couldn’t drop the facade of his role. A moment of fear washed over him, pushing him to run away and hide but it faded. He killed that man so quickly, he wasn’t sure now that it had happened.

  Something is wrong- no, everything is fine. Think about it, he hurt his wife, probably daily. She and her child will thank you for it later. No, something is wrong with me.

  His friends were right. Troy had changed. Was he still changing? He left the man lying there on the ground and started back to his quarters. The wind picked up and it blew harder, whipping up snow and debris. Troy stumbled. Another winter storm was coming, but hadn’t it been a clear day moments ago? He didn’t know. He put his hand on his temple, rubbing it. Troy couldn’t think. He worked his way through the tents and huts as he headed back to the complex. They were all well secured from Pira’s winter weather and his people would be fine. Troy had to get back. Where was he? Killing the man had given him pleasure and a certain sense of deep satisfaction. He clutched the sides of his head, the pain roaring.

  Where am I? Wait, there it is, the complex. I see it.

  He shuffled toward it. The door to the military complex kept shifting left, forcing him to adjust his footing. How could it move?

  “Tohmas,” someone yelled.

  “Huh?” Troy said, confused.

  “Someone help him,” another Piran screamed.

  Hands were all over him, keeping him upright. Troy couldn’t understand what they were saying to him. The blur of their faces made them strangers and their words meant nothing. The wind spun him around, blowing the military complex around with him. The people were spinning out of control. He reached out to help them, trying to keep them from spinning. The pain coursed through his entire body like the p
ain of placing one’s hand into a roaring fire. He screamed out in agony as it pulsed through him again, stronger. The last thing he remembered was the ground rushing up to hit him in the face.

  ____

  Pira - The next morning.

  Troy woke. The first thing that occurred to him was the pain throbbing between his eyes, all the way to the back of his head. At least it was tolerable again. The next thing he could focus on was the room full of people around him, Alta, Cienna, Septima, and Geoff.

  “Is this going to be a pattern?” he asked, finding himself in Sep’s bed again.

  Alta laughed.

  “You seem to spend a lot of time in Sep’s bed,” Alta said.

  Did he hear her right? Was there a subtle mocking tone in her voice? Was she jealous?

  “How are you feeling, Troy?” Sep asked.

  “Septima,” Alta said. “Call him Tohmas. You have to make sure you never slip up.”

  Septima glared at Alta.

  “Seriously? He’s hurting and you’re worried about his name,” Septima said.

  Something was up with them. The fact that they were all in Septima’s bedroom was no coincidence. Yeah, he’d passed out, but with the exception of Septima, they weren’t acting like they cared much about that.

  “What the hell is going on?” Troy asked. “Are you here to tell me I’m dying?”

  Cienna snickered but, with a glare from Alta, she covered it up, coughing. Why did they bother? Troy noticed everything now. It was a skill he had developed since arriving on Pira. He could spot things so much easier, see people’s moods or nervous ticks they might have and, in most cases, sense their heart rate. The ability was stronger now than when he arrived. If only he could tell when they were lying to him.

  “Well?” he said.

  They exchanged nervous glances with each other, all of them except Alta. She moved to sit next to him on the bed. Alta must have spent some time earlier on her hair because it was neatly combed and it smelled of some sweet fruit he didn’t recognize. It was not her usual disarrayed look she maintained working in her lab. She was breathtaking and her presence near him ignited his sexual energy like fire through his mind and body. A tiny urge sprang up to ask why Alta suddenly had such an effect on him but it vanished again. Troy returned to focusing on the pleasure it gave him. He simply didn’t care about anything but the sensation Alta’s closeness gave him. His eyes focused on her body. He could see the gentle curves her breasts took under the fabric and the way her hips pushed out subtly to the side. The small of her back complemented her figure to a degree of perfection he’d never seen in a woman. Her green eyes reflected back a message to him. Her intensely focused gaze, telling him she wanted him too. She could read him and his desire for her.