After slipping on a long one-piece outfit with baggy leggings that seemed to produce the dual effect of looking like a jumpsuit and an ankle-length dress at the same time, she went to the door and opened it.
Yoatl bent his head in admiration and smiled. “Perfect selection.”
“Thank you,” Justine said, and followed him back out to the main corridor.
∞
The hub of the aerie was bustling with activity. If the station had over a hundred-thousand people, the majority of them had congregated in the central area.
When they exited the spire, they were several dozen meters above ground level, and at a perpendicular angle. They had to use a floating platform to descend, and Justine was completely unaware of any gravitational shift as the platform altered pitch to match the common area’s perspective; the Gliesan technology was seamless.
The architecture of the hub followed the nature theme of the corridor. Like a multi-layer landscape, replete with canyons, grottos, forests, cliffs and waterfalls, it was enough to put any of Earth’s theme resorts to shame.
“This is primarily a military outpost?” Justine asked.
“The well-being of our citizens is of utmost importance. We have a number of permanent residents. They can be proud to call this home. Besides, we need to set a good impression for ambassadors from other worlds.”
Although she’d read about the proliferation of alien species, Justine was still taken aback seeing the variety for herself. While the majority of the population was Gliesan, she spotted a number of people who had evolved from other species. A being with four short legs, a squat body, and a round head on a long neck sauntered past them. He had no arms, but he had a long prehensile tail with a half-dozen ‘fingers’ on the end of it. He turned his head and bowed to them, while waving his tail-hand.
Yoatl nodded back. “Ambassador Etrevius,” he said to Justine. “From Beta Monocerotis. And yes, he’s a dinosaur—mammals never evolved on his planet at all.”
“So many people…” Justine could spend a lifetime learning about all the denizens of the galaxy, but she would have to wait for another time. They had arrived at the restaurant.
Quickly, Yoatl ushered her in and they found their cubby. It wasn’t a typical chair and table setup, however, and it took Justine a moment to figure out that the space was a representation of a bird’s nest. Following Yoatl’s example, she climbed in and sat on the floor of the nest, resting her back against the curved wall, which was lined with a foam-like material and was quite comfortable.
Yoatl settled himself in, crossing his legs. “I’ve taken the liberty of ordering for us. The main entrée should arrive soon. In the meantime, if you want water or another beverage, simply use the control panel there to indicate your preference.” He demonstrated by tapping one of the icons on the panel, and a section of the wall folded out. The platform held a bowl-shaped container of liquid. “A form of wine, quite sweet, like nectar. Did you want one?” he asked, and Justine nodded. He closed the panel and tapped the icon again to produce another drink for Justine.
She sipped it, and found it extremely pleasant-tasting.
“Thank you,” she said, and then waved one hand to encompass the station. “All of this is fantastic, and the explorer in me wants nothing more than to spend the rest of my life experiencing all these wonderful new worlds. But…”
Smiling, Yoatl said, “But we have more pressing matters, and I promised you a story.”
“Yes. And start with how there are humans here, in the stars.”
“Very well.” He took one more sip of his nectar wine. “I hope this answers most of your questions.”
Taking a moment to gather his thoughts first, he began:
“According to the report Naila filed, you have accessed some basic history of the galaxy, correct?”
Justine nodded.
“Let me give you a bit of background on the Grace, the Xtôti. A million years before the Mass Emergence—which is what we call the era when the majority of systems began to discover light-speed travel—the Xtôti home system was destroyed when their star went supernova. They were unable to evacuate their system, and the tragedy decimated their population. The survivors were those who were at the edge of their system, or in other solar systems: namely, Aetherbeings. Some speculate that the supernova may have been caused by experiments. We only have scattered accounts of what happened at that time. You must remember, this was a million years before most of our species began to evolve into sentience.
“There is a theory that those Xtôti who were in the system at the time of the supernova became the Grace. Slowly, over time, as each Xtôti who was outside the system—and who had not ascended to the Grace—reached the end of their life cycle, their numbers dwindled, leaving only the Grace to remain.”
Yoatl paused as a chime in the back wall sounded, and he touched another icon on the control panel. A length of the wall folded down out formed a long, narrow table. Several dishes of food slid out from inside the wall, and the smells wafted up to Justine’s nose. Her stomach growled with hunger.
She couldn’t identify the type of food Yoatl had ordered for them, and gave him a questioning look.
“It’s called biantha. A vegetarian mash baked in a crusted bread container, which is also edible. Try it.”
Justine did so, and the flavor exploded in her mouth. “Delicious,” she said. “Tastes like a pot pie.”
Yoatl took a bite before continuing his story around mouthfuls of food. “The Gliesans discovered Sol System by accident twelve-hundred-and-seventy-nine years ago.”
Justine gaped. “You know that exactly?”
“Yes.” Yoatl nodded. “The Galactic Law of non-interference had been in place since before the Gliesans Emerged. One of the ways that was enforced is through the star beacons themselves. Somehow, the Xtôti were able to ‘lock’ those beacons orbiting developing worlds. They are completely masked; our computers can’t even detect them in the galactic grid. Any radio signals you send out are dampened at the outer limits of your system. You are, for all purposes, invisible to us until you Emerge.
“One Gliesan scouting ship, however, had been monitoring a lone Xtôti—even back then, they were rare. I do not blame the pilots for being curious. The Grace were so much more than celebrities; they were—are—like gods to us. So, when the Xtôti traveled to your system, temporarily activating your star beacon, the Gliesans recorded the location of your beacon. I’m certain they had no intention of breaking Galactic Law, but were rather ‘star struck’, as it were, and did the unthinkable: they followed the Xtôti to Sol System.”
“They remained near your beacon while the Xtôti went to your planet. No one knows what his purpose was. However, there was a noticeable Aether event on your world several days into the visit, and the Gliesans raced to investigate. If the Xtôti were in trouble, they would try to help.
“Even though Aetherbeings cannot survive on a planetary body for long, the Gliesans took the risk and landed at the location where they’d detected the explosion. There was no sign of the Xtôti, but a small village had been irradiated by Aether. If left unaided, they would all die. The Gliesans are a very compassionate people, and though they knew their actions could be subject to penalties, they offered to take the afflicted villagers away to save their lives.
“Those humans,” Yoatl said in conclusion, “were members of a Mayan tribe near Copán, Honduras.”
“The ‘Song’,” Justine interrupted. “One of my friends who came with us to Centauri, Yaxche, was the keeper of an ancient story called The Song of the Stars. It contained the key to unlocking the power of Kinemet, but the story in it told of a time when the ‘gods’ abducted their people.”
Smiling, Yoatl said, “I’m certain it would have seemed so to them.”
Finishing the vegetable mash, Yoatl picked up the bread plate and took a bite out of it. “Many of the villagers had been exposed to lethal levels of Aether radiation. In such cases, transforming a
person into an Aetherbeing is the cure. Once they cured the villagers, the Gliesans brought them here, to Skanse Aerie, where they lived out the remainder of their lives in comfort.
“There were several pairs of humans who had only been partially affected, and they were otherwise physically normal. They chose not to become Aetherbeings, and made their homes on Gliesan Prime. They were welcomed into their society, married and had children. Over time, our numbers grew to over six-thousand. Though our citizenship is officially Gliesan, many of us remember our Solan roots, though we may never visit the planet of our origin.”
Justine had finished her bread plate as well, and a moment later, a second dish slid out from the recess in the wall. It was in a cup that looked like the same kind of bread as the entrée.
Yoatl made a happy sound. “Ah, desert. It’s a kind of whipped desert made from the sap of one of their tropical plants. You can eat the utensil as well as the cup.”
Justine tasted it and smiled. It had the consistency of rice pudding with a slight hint of syrup.
“About a century ago, several of us sought to reconnect with our roots. We formed the Solan Society. We petitioned the Parliament for permission to set up a spaceport in the nearest system to you, Centauri, for when you Emerged. Historically, most systems who discover Aetherflight naturally attempt to visit their closest neighbors.
“It was a little over ten years ago that our sensors detected the first traveler from Sol System, Alex Manez. Ah Tabai, one of the Solan Aetherbeings who had volunteered to become a Sentinel, had the privilege of making first contact. It was from his ship’s computer that we were able to find out about your history. We have all been waiting for a second meeting with excitement.”
“Ah Tabai is human?” Justine remarked. She’d originally been under the impression that he was a Gliesan.
Yoatl lowered his voice. “Yes. He is young and impetuous. I do not know how he convinced Aliah to accompany him; but should they return to Gliese, I fear they will be arrested.”
“They were only trying to help us,” Justine said.
“The Law is the Law.” Yoatl raised both of his open hands in front of him. Then he offered Justine a conciliatory smile. “I will do what I can for them.”
“Thank you.”
Having finished dessert, Yoatl tapped on the console one more time, and the recess produced two small glasses of liquid, which seemed to change color from red to yellow.
“It’s called ljúka,” he said as he passed one of the glasses to Justine. “The final course.” With that, he picked up his own glass and drank it down in one motion.
Following suit, Justine was surprised at the taste. She’d been expecting something fruity and sweet, but the drink was slightly spicy. As it hit her stomach, she felt a tingle go through her. Whatever the drink was, it had the effect of reinvigorating her. Yoatl placed his empty glass back in the recess, and Justine did the same.
“That was very nice,” she said, and Yoatl smiled. “Thank you for the meal.”
“No thanks are necessary. It was my pleasure.”
“So,” Justine said, “what happens now?”
Considering his words, Yoatl rubbed a knuckle on his chin. “Now comes the hard part.”
“Oh?”
“While you were resting, I received a message from the Collection’s ambassador. One of the requirements before a system can be granted Emerged status is that you are able to travel outside light, utilizing the Grace. Since you did not, they have decided that Sol System has not yet Emerged.”
Justine stared at him, wide-eyed, as she heard the news. The Collection had not even debriefed her. “Then they won’t help us?”
“I’m afraid they will not. Not yet, anyway.” He had a pained look on his face.
“And they won’t let me go home, either,” Justine said.
Yoatl nodded, his eyes cast down. “I’m sorry. You have been exposed to too much of our technology.”
Feeling the frustration and anger grow in her, Justine willed herself to remain calm. From the moment she’d escaped from Lucis Observatory, everything that had happened had been out of her control. She’d done the best that she could to survive, but her personal survival wasn’t enough, especially if the Kulsat invaded and destroyed Sol System.
Yoatl said, “Every effort will be made to ensure your comfort. They’ve assigned you permanent quarters on the station. Should you choose to, you may request work duties, though it is not mandatory. I would be honored if you would consider taking a position in the Solan Society.”
“I don’t want a job here,” Justine said, then she gave him a hard look. “You’re human; how can you just sit there when you know the Kulsat are going to wipe us all out?”
“I don’t want that to happen any more than you, but I believe in the Law. Ah Tabai’s scout ship accessed your database. The Collection is aware of your history. There are many conflicts in your world; it was one such that caused you to flee. If we were to extend the knowledge of Aether technology now, who can say if humans won’t become the next Kulsat?”
She didn’t want to hear those words, and though her first impulse was to deny the possibility, in her heart she knew humanity still had some maturing to do.
However, she believed they needed the time and opportunity to find their way in the galaxy. The Kulsat would destroy their future.
There had to be a way for Justine to stop them…
33
Sierra de las Minas :
Guatemala :
Alondo swept the spectrometer over the alien, and nodded to Michael. “It is made of Kinemet.”
“How can that be?” Michael gasped. Kinemats, such as Alex, were altered at the molecular level by Kinemetic radiation. It seemed as if this creature—the Grace?—had a quantity of the element as part of its physiology.
What did that mean?
Michael’s mind raced. Did the Grace have Kinemet as part of their natural biological makeup? Or had they figured out a way to infuse themselves with the element, and alter themselves on a genetic level? Was it because of this that they were able to create the network of star beacons? Or had the star beacons been there all along, despite the legends, and the Grace had somehow changed from a million years of exposure? If the Grace were made of Kinemet, then perhaps they would not decompose like a normal biological being; it was possible the Kinemet in them would sustain the body’s cells until the element decayed slowly over hundreds of thousands of years, though the creature’s brain would cease to function.
Another question entered his mind: if the Grace decayed rather than decomposed, then there should be millions of alien bodies strewn throughout the galaxy. There were not; what had happened to them? He recalled the story, how the alien had asked Subo Ak to cremate him. Is that how the Grace slowly disappeared? They came to a planet and arranged for their own death? Go out in a blaze of fire? Michael initially balked at the thought, but then he realized that he didn’t truly understand their motivations.
He needed more information on the Grace, the Kulsat, and the origins of Kinemet. Everything he knew, he’d surmised from what little Ah Tabai had divulged before his death.
He wished fervently that George and Kenny were still alive. Both loved to speculate on such things. Often, throwing around ideas led them down paths none of them would think of on their own. Both were friends as well as colleagues.
As if assuming Michael had all the answers ready for the asking, Alondo waved his hand over the alien’s body. “What does this mean?”
“It means there is no deposit of Kinemet for you to mine.”
The other man frowned, and Michael could almost read the thoughts going through his mind. How would they be able to monetize this discovery? Selling Kinemet would be a straight black market trade, with a definitive value per quantity. Who wanted the alien body, and how much would they pay for it? It was a more complex proposition for Alondo, and he looked at Michael as if to ask for a hint on what the next step should be.
/> “There are only two governments that have the experience and resources to explore this discovery,” Michael said. “USA, Inc. and Canada Corp. Do you want me to contact my superiors and set up a meet?”
Alondo scoffed at him. “Nice try, Mr. Sanderson. But I think we will make our own plans.” He pointed at the alien. “How do you suggest we handle the body?”
“I would recommend we leave it as is for now. We have no idea what will happen if we alter the environmental conditions. Kinemet can be a volatile element. Exposure to sunlight can have a detrimental effect. We need to be extremely careful.”
Together, the three of them filed out of the cave through the narrow crevice, Nadia taking the lead, followed by her brother, with Michael last.
When he reached the opening, Michael was blocked by Alondo’s legs, and he suffered a moment of claustrophobia, wondering if the young criminal had decided to cut him out of the equation and leave him there.
Someone from outside the cave barked out an order in Spanish, “¡Alejarse!” A moment later, Alondo stepped out of Michael’s way.
Holding his breath, Michael pushed himself outside. His stomach knotted when he stood up and looked around. The entire area was surrounded by Guatemalan soldiers, all pointing their rifles at them.
The captain of the soldiers and Alondo exchanged several heated words in their native language, speaking too fast for Michael to understand. Even still, he got the impression that both men were familiar with each other.
After they finished their exchange, the soldiers put down their weapons. Alondo turned to Michael, his face red and his eyes narrow. “It seems our plans have been made for us.”
Alondo shared a sour look with his sister. “All right. Let’s get packed up.”
∞
The captain left one squad of armed soldiers to secure the area while he directed the rest of his men to escort the Ruiz’s and the others back to the base camp. Several more military trucks were in the area. A squadron of Guatemalan soldiers had taken over the operation.
Michael and the Ruiz siblings rode in one truck with the captain and four of his guards. Together, they headed away from the camp. Once they reached Los Amates, they turned east. A little over an hour later, they arrived at their destination, a beachfront estate on the Caribbean Sea.
Worlds Away (The Interstellar Age Book 3) Page 23