by Liza Probz
"Only part of the pattern is stored? How are they capable of higher brain functions if they only have a portion of their minds? And the storage capacity required must be immeasurable."
"It's measurable, but very great." The professor missed very little. "Unfortunately, the patterns start to minimally degrade after a few centuries of being stored, a process that continues over time. So some of the regents are losing their grip on reality, I'm afraid."
"So why would anyone bother to ask them anything?"
"Because sometimes they're right. The spirits seem to have an uncanny knack for judging character. They almost always know when someone is lying."
"And that's why you've brought me here? To ask insane dead people if I can be trusted?"
When she put it like that... "Yes."
Chapter 17
Sylvie blinked up at X, a bit taken aback by his reasoning for bringing her into the darkness of a creepy-ass cave. Asking ghosts if she was an enemy operative. Could things get any more ridiculous?
She'd been on edge since they'd driven through the aperture, afraid her own body would somehow betray her and cause the shield to fail and everyone in the crowded hub to drown.
If all the safeties had failed and the hub had flooded with water, she would have been the only one to die, scary enough. Now she was in an underwater cave that was intentionally haunted by the ghosts of dead regents.
For such a technologically advanced race, they seemed a bit prone to flights of fancy.
Still, the place creeped her out. So did the two guards who stood silently, looking off into the distance.
They don't like me. No one here does. If it weren't for X, I'd be so much medical waste right now.
Still, the crowds in the hub had been more reactive, drawing back, making faces. These two just stood there. Watching as if waiting for something to happen.
"What do we do next?" Best to get this test over with.
"We invoke the spirits and ask them for advice."
Invoke the spirits. Right.
"So do we ask for one particular regent? Like Supreme Regent Reginald the Righteous? Or Wendell the Very Wise?"
His expression said he didn't think she was funny.
"The regents will decide whether they speak. Requesting a specific one doesn't mean that regent will want to talk to you."
"With my luck, no one will want to talk to me."
"They'll talk to me."
Sylvie almost rolled her eyes at his arrogance, but something stopped her. They probably would want to talk to him. Was it still arrogance if he was right?
"So how do we invoke the spirits?"
X thrust his hand into the flames.
Sylvie screamed and turned her head as he spoke softly beside her.
"It's holographic. See?"
As she watched, the fire transformed, becoming a ring encircling a dark metallic surface. The surface split open, and a column of rock rose out of it. In the center of the column was half a cloudy sphere. The column stopped a few inches above X's palm.
Waves of light rippled over the surface of his skin, then expelled themselves from his hand, straight into the half sphere. Tiny lightning bolts struck out from the sphere, hitting the energy being put out by X. The energies entwined, then vanished.
Around her the cavern began to glow with lights of different colors. Light blue. Mauve pink. One would shine for a few moments and fade, only to be replaced by another somewhere else in the chamber.
"What's happening?" While the display was lovely, it had done little to lessen Sylvie's trepidation.
"The spirits are convening to decide who should speak for them."
Sylvie shivered, glancing over at him. X's face was expressionless, but his skin did have a faint reddish tint.
He's nervous too.
Sylvie moved closer to the regent. Just then a voice boomed, a pink light bursting over the chamber.
"Xiv! Look how you've grown!"
Sylvie's eyes shot to X. He had the strangest look on his face. A cross between annoyance and acceptance. He looked extremely tense.
"Hello, Mother."
Her jaw dropped.
"Mother?" she whispered. The woman whose clothing she was currently disgracing with her inelegant human form?
"Such a good boy, coming to visit your mother!"
"Yes, Mother," X said, exhaling heavily. "Unfortunately I don't have much time to visit. Zanthar is under a bit of a crisis."
"A crisis? I leave you to do one thing, and now there's a crisis?" The chamber dripped with his mother's disapproval.
"It's the Hareema, Mother. We believe they may have infiltrated Earth, and even now they could have an agent on our planet."
His mother's gasp echoed through the chamber.
"A Hareema agent on Zanthar?" She paused, her voice becoming stern. "If there's one, there's bound to be more."
"I'm keeping things under control but I need your advice. I need to know if you believe the Hareema are working with the Earthlings."
"And whether that Earthling female is an enemy spy?"
The severe tone of his mother's voice made Sylvie uneasy. Apparently, X's mom was a force to be reckoned with.
"Well, young lady, are you an enemy spy?"
Sylvie looked at X, bemused. "No, Your Honor."
"Good."
X sputtered. "That's all you're going to ask her?"
"That's all I need to know. Now stop wasting your time and get back to protecting the planet."
Sylvie noticed that X was smiling. "Understood, Regent."
His mother's happy laughter reverberated through the chamber.
Their relationship must have been special.
He misses her. And whatever remains of her misses him.
The pink light began to fade. The former regent, who just happened to be the current regent's mother, was departing.
Before the chamber went dark, a voice arose. "The alien can be trusted. Not all those close to you can."
Sylvie grabbed hold of X's arm. "That wasn't your mother."
"No, it wasn't." He frowned and eyed the two guards standing nearby. "You two, initiate an electrical exchange. Now."
The two guards said nothing but moved to comply. Light waves built in both, which were released in a bright flash when they clasped hands. X nodded, then motioned them all forward.
No one spoke as they left the cave. Perhaps the warning whispered by the ghostly voice had left them unsettled. They entered the craft and X submerged them.
Finally Sylvie couldn't take the silence any longer. "I guess I've passed both tests so far. What else have you got up your sleeve for me?"
"Up my sleeve?"
Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Never mind."
X was guiding them through a region of the sea that was darker than the rest. Only one lone light blinked in the distance. Another transport ship, far ahead of them?
"I can't believe you took me to meet your mother."
"Is it so odd?" he asked in a tone indicating that he knew it was odd.
"I don't see the point is all. How would a portion of your dead mother's preserved brain pattern know whether I was working for the enemy or not?"
"My mother's always been skilled at sizing people up. During her term as Supreme Regent, she became known as Kath'Thar the Observant." His eyes flashed over to hers. "I trust her opinion more than any others, living or dead."
"I don't mean to be rude, but your resting place of regents smacks of primitive spiritualism. You asking your dead mother about me, it's too much like Odysseus finding his own mother in the Underworld."
"Who's this Odysseus? A lover of yours?" His expression was neutral, but she saw spots of yellow appearing in his green skin.
"My point is, if your race is so advanced, why consult the equivalent of ancient oracles instead of basing all your decisions in scientific fact."
X took a breath. "My people have found one inescapable fact that serves to guide us: science can't explain everything."
Sylvie turned in her seat to face him, firing up her rebuttal, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of the guards rising from his seat. He held a braided portion, which had to have come from his uniform, taut in his hands.
"X, look out!" she yelled, but before the regent could defend himself, the guard had gotten the makeshift rope around his neck. The other guard stepped up beside his partner and worked on wrestling the regent's hands away from the rope around his throat.
Sylvie watched in horror as the guards dragged him out of his seat and onto the transport floor. Right now X was the only person on the planet who trusted her. She had to do something.
"Leave him alone!" she yelled, shoving against the guard who was trying to bind his hands with another length of braided seaweed.
The guard kicked her in the stomach and she tumbled backwards, her breath leaving her violently. X saw her fall and seemed to struggle harder, managing to get a couple fingers under the length of rope.
"Signal for help. On the console."
One of the guards punched him in the face hard. It jarred his hand loose, and his opponent went back to tightening the rope around his neck.
With both guards focused on the regent, she began crawling away from them toward the front console.
What sense did it make for the guards to turn on him now?
Sylvie stared at the many different buttons on the console, most of them in a language she had never encountered. A few of the buttons flickered as if trying to grab her attention.
How am I supposed to figure out how to send a message?
She turned back to ask for help, but as she watched, X's eyes drooped closed. He was losing consciousness.
Once they finish him, they'll come for you.
She was never going to figure out how to call for help in time. She would have to fight, but without a weapon she lacked any chance of winning against the large guards. Sylvie scanned the craft, looking for anything she might use. Nothing.
Dropping to her knees, she noticed a recessed panel under the console display. She stuck her hand in and pried the panel open. Sadly it wasn't a cache of powerful weapons. Wires and conduits ran back and forth, powering this and connecting that.
One of these wires might knock out the lights. Maybe I can find some means of hiding, or I can get the hatch open and swim out... or... or...
She had little faith in any of her options, but doing something was better than letting herself be taken. Maybe she would get lucky and just electrocute herself. She pulled on various wires, using all her weight to rip one out of the maze.
The first one she pulled out made red lights blaze along the hull. Nope. Let's try Door #2. Sylvie grabbed hold of the thickest cord she could find and yanked.
Nothing.
She pulled with everything she had and at last it burst loose. The red lights that had come on with the last wire started blinking. Nothing seemed affected.
The guards had succeeded in binding the unconscious regent and were now headed toward her. Panic rose in her stomach and threatened to shut down her ability to move fast. She lifted up a small prayer to anyone who might be listening and grabbed another random wire.
She tugged, and without a struggle it came loose, sending up a shower of sparks. A hand clutched her shoulder, and without thinking, she turned and stabbed the live wire into the guard who'd grabbed her.
The circuit closed and electricity rushed into the guard. There was a loud pop, then a long whine. Incredibly enough, the guard began to melt.
He flailed outward, grasping the corner of his companion's sarong. The second guard let out a low moan, and then he too was disintegrating before her eyes.
Sylvie held on tight to the wire as it pumped electricity into the pair. Suddenly they couldn't hold their shapes anymore, and within moments of one another, each transformed from Zantharian military guard to a block of cherry jelly.
Then the jelly turned brown, began to sizzle, and melted into a puddle on the floor. She couldn’t let go of the wire, fear forcing her to ensure that neither of the bastards were going to get up again. The ooze turned to ash and blew across the floor before her.
"Hareema," she whispered and dropped the wire, the lights blinking once before plunging her into darkness.
Chapter 18
Xivthar woke up with a sour taste in his mouth. Was it blood? His own?
It was pitch black and silent, except for a consistent scratching sound. He realized the sound was coming from his wrists.
As he regained control of his faculties, the regent concentrated on activating his bioluminescence. Before long a soft glow suffused his skin, giving him enough light to see.
Delicate white hands were busy scratching at the seaweed bindings around his wrist. He gently pulled his wrists away and brought them up to his mouth. Biting on the seaweed, he sent a small pulse of energy through the bindings. It was enough to loosen them.
"You're awake."
The Earthling female was in front of him, her face anxious.
He unwrapped the cords from his wrists, then pulled off the binding around his neck. His throat was sore, and he bet there would be a hell of a ring of bruises there soon. "What happened?"
"We're adrift with no power. Your guards tried to kidnap us. I think I figured out who the Hareema operatives are, er, were."
"What are you talking about?" He got up and headed to the console, his legs weaker than he had ever remembered them being. He glanced down as a cloud of black dust lifted in the air around him.
Sylvie spoke up, her voice soft and timid. "The Hareema operatives. You're stepping in them, or what's left of them."
He glanced at the console, noticed the open panel and the wires strewn around the cabin. "What did you do?"
She blinked up at him, perhaps confused by his brusque manner. "The guards were tying you up. I started looking for weapons. I pulled open this panel, figured I might be able to turn off the power or something--"
He remembered the struggle now. One guard had kicked her hard enough to knock her to the floor. "I told you to call for help!"
"And how was I supposed to know which of the hundred buttons was for communications?" Her expression was angry, her lips tightening as she crossed her arms over her chest, the movement accentuating her breasts.
Xivthar ignored the desire that raced through him and instead grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "You could have been electrocuted!"
"Would it have been any worse than what your people would have done to me anyway? Or the Hareema?"
She had a point.
"So one of these wires knocked out the power?"
"Yes, but only after I used it to fry the Hareema."
He bent before the console and spent a few minutes reattaching the conduits she'd pulled apart. The lights flashed back on, and he let out a heavy breath.
Sylvie was dusted with black powder. So was the floor. And his legs.
"My guards?" He indicated the largest concentration of black dust left on the transport floor.
"Yes. When I found a live wire, by reflex I stabbed it into the guards. I didn't figure it would have an effect, since you guys generate electricity anyway, but they started to melt. Then they turned into jelly and just... burned to a crisp."
She was shaking. He was far too used to understanding the emotions of others due to the shifting of their skin color. He would have to use other means with her.
Xivthar took her into his arms, pulling her close and angling her head up to watch her expression. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”
"I guess the oracle was right. There were people close to you that you shouldn’t trust." She glanced down, her lip trembling subtly.
"I hope those two were the ones it meant." He couldn't get his mother's words out of his mind. If there's one, there's bound to be more.
He didn't want to think about it now, not when the female was so warm and soft in his arms. If only he could give in to distraction.
His lips inched clo
ser to hers, seemingly of their own accord. He paused just before pressing a soft kiss to her lips and let his eyes move around her face. He needed to memorize every inch of her – wanted to explore her. She had saved his life. Something about the very fact left him needy for her.
She turned her head away, burying it in the crook of his arm and letting out a soft sound of exhaustion.
He loosened his hold on her and placed her in her chair before taking his own seat. Grabbing the gear stick, he pointed them toward home and glanced over at her, not quite sure how to thank her for her willingness to put her life at risk for him. Perhaps it was best to say nothing at all.
They were quiet on the ride back, each seemingly lost to their own thoughts. Xivthar couldn't believe that the little Earthling female had managed to destroy two Hareema agents, kept him from getting kidnapped, and saved his life.
Dr. Sylvia Cohen of Earth might have just saved his entire planet.
Chapter 19
If their presence had been unwelcome when they departed the hub, their reception now was downright hostile. X held her hand tightly as they pushed through the crowds.
Zantharians were shouting, "Lock the Earthling up!"
"Feed her to the gnarsharks!"
"Zanthar for Zantharians!"
Sylvie kept her head down and tried to ignore the insults, but they hurt nevertheless.
The regent grabbed the arm of a passing military officer. "I want an escort to my chambers. Now!”
The officer scowled, but motioned to his partner and the pair began clearing a path. By the time they made it to X's quarters, Sylvie was exhausted.
The regent held up his hand, pointing his finger at the officer. "You two stay here. No one gets in without an energy exchange with both of you. Understood?"
The guards took up their stations on either side of the door as X led her into his chambers. Without sparing a glance for her, he headed to the console and pulled up the display. "I want to see you in twenty minutes. My chambers."
Whoever was on the other end of the call must have raised a fuss because X's face tightened. "Get over here. I was almost replaced by a Hareema mimic less than an hour ago."