“I swear it.”
“It’s like this,” he said. “The envoy’s people have sent a great many messages to our government, and they have a long list of requirements. They want everything done in a certain way, and they don’t make compromises.” He let out a dry chuckle. “The Selmon are not like us. They’re incredibly strict, and they are extremely fussy about details. They’ve got everyone at work jumping through hoops to try and please them.”
“Is that why they haven’t sent anyone down yet?”
He nodded. “They want all the arrangements made first. And one of the things they’re trying to set up is this grand competition.”
“So everyone was right. They are trying to find the cleverest people.”
“They won’t tell us exactly how it’s going to work,” he said. “We don’t know how many people they want to see, or what the candidates will have to do. But, for some reason, the Selmon are being extremely precise about the building they want to use. They want to know the measurements of all the rooms, the number of doors, the size of the windows. No detail is too small.” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of work we’re doing. I’ve never known anything like it.”
“And Mother’s been busy too. She’s hardly been at home today.”
My father sighed. “Your mother has been attending the special ceremonies in the temple. The Gemmenites are keen to make it seem as though they welcome our Selmon visitors.”
There was something strained in his voice. Perhaps I was trying his patience. But there were still too many questions forming in my mind. “What do you mean? Why did you say, seem as though they’re welcome? The Selmon are welcome, aren’t they?”
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I didn’t mean anything, Yempy. Nothing at all.” He hesitated. “You know your mother would be here with us if she could. But like all good Gemmenites, she must obey when duty calls.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “You don’t have to go to the temple as well, do you? Because it’s all right if you do. Me and Ashra will be fine on our own, and I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
My father ruffled my hair. “You’re a good boy, Yempy, always thinking of others. But it’s all right. When you work for the government, like me, the High Priestess doesn’t mind so much if you don’t attend.” He chortled under his breath. “It’s pretty much the only perk there is.”
I wrinkled my nose. “A perk? ”
But my father didn’t seem to hear my innocent question. He was distracted, staring into the sky.
I followed his gaze, and in that moment, my father let out a quiet gasp. Then: “Yempy! Did you see that?”
“Yes,” I breathed. And I knew we were talking about the same thing. Before our eyes, a bright speck of light had separated itself from the envoy’s ship. And as we stared in silent wonder, it shot away from the ship and traced a graceful arc across the sky, heading toward the outskirts of the city. It had to be a shuttle craft, and that could only mean one thing: the Selmon envoy was finally sending someone down to Golmeneth.
“Well, Yempy,” my father said, “it looks like we might be getting some answers sooner than we thought.”
“Finally,” I said.
My father smiled down at me. But although I returned his smile, I couldn’t help but notice that when he turned his gaze back to the shuttle, his smile quickly faded, and his brow was deeply furrowed.
I glanced toward the horizon and followed the shuttle with my eyes as it slowed and executed a gentle banking turn. A moment later, it swooped down below the city’s skyline and disappeared from view. We stood for a little while, side-by-side, and as the last of the daylight faded, and a chill crept into the evening air, a strange sensation stirred in the pit of my stomach. For the first time in my life, I had the unsettling feeling that there were forces beyond my father’s control. And somehow I knew that whatever happened next, everything was about to change.
4
Aboard The Shengzen
Arech only vaguely registered the door closing behind him as he stood in the corridor outside the envoy’s operations room. He stood still for a moment, staring at the blank wall opposite, his mind a whirl. A traitor on board, he thought. And I’m the one who has to find him. He shook his head in disbelief, but there was no getting away from envoy’s instructions: they had been explicit. With immediate effect, Arech was to delegate his current duties and report to the chief security officer. From now on, he was to concentrate entirely on mounting an investigation into the illegal transmission. It was his job to trace the communication to its source and apprehend the person responsible.
Arech glanced back along the corridor and realized with a start that someone was walking toward him. The woman’s uniform showed she was a junior administrator, and though she was averting her eyes as she should, Arech was certain she must have observed him dithering in the corridor. He turned swiftly and walked away. Come on, Arech, he told himself. Pull yourself together. He took a steadying breath and forced his mind to concentrate on the task at hand.
First, he needed to dispense with his current workload. He took a left turn into an adjoining corridor and headed straight for his office. As he picked his way between the crowded consoles of the central administration area, he beckoned to his senior assistant, Denarm Petruga, but he did not stop walking until he reached the sanctity of his private office.
He sat down heavily on his chair and composed himself, sitting up straight with his hands on his lap in the correct manner. A moment later, there was a polite knock on his door, and Arech hardly waited at all before he called out, “You may enter.”
The door opened and Denarm stood in the doorway. His head was bowed, but his eager eyes darted from side to side.
“Please, present yourself at my desk,” Arech said. “I need to know what progress you have made with the arrangements for the recruitment.”
Denarm stepped forward. “Sir, I am pleased to report that our preparations are exactly on schedule. Our liaison with local government has been most efficient, and surely, this must be due to your exemplary planning and forethought.”
Arech studied his assistant’s expression. The man had a perpetual grin, and he affected such a servile tone that every compliment seemed false, as if every smile concealed a sneer. But the man was next in line, and there was no choice but to trust him. “Very good. And you have selected a venue that matches the envoy’s requirements?”
“Exactly, sir. You’ll find all the details in the correct file which I sent to your account only a moment ago.” He glanced up at Arech’s face and went on, “Of course, you would have seen it if you had not been otherwise engaged.”
Arech let out a grunt of annoyance. “It is not your place to question my activities, Petruga. Nor did I ask you to venture an opinion.” He stood, pulling himself up to his full height, and was pleased to see that his assistant had the sense to remain silent, his head deeply bowed, his hands clasped in front of his stomach. Arech let the man stew for a moment, then he sat back down behind his desk.
Denarm remained absolutely still for a few seconds then lifted his head a little as if sensing that his reprimand was at an end. “Sir, I can only apologize for my manner. With your permission, I shall withdraw and return to my tasks.”
“Stay where you are,” Arech said. “I called you in here to give you certain instructions. I have been assigned to other duties for the time being. It is time I undertook my mandatory rotation in the security team. And so, as the senior administrative assistant, you are to personally supervise the liaison with the authorities on Golmeneth, and you will take on full operational control of the recruitment process. You will start immediately, and you will carry out my plans to the letter. Is that clear?”
The assistant’s eyes were wide in amazement. “Sir, I hardly know what to say. Such an honor. Such a privilege. I—“
Arech cut him off with a wave of his hand. “You will send me a report at the end of every day, you will
consult with me if any urgent matters arise, and you will carry out this duty in a manner that befits the Selmon government.”
“Of course, sir. It shall all be done exactly as you require.” He hesitated, his grin wavering. “But when it comes to the initiation ceremony, I will not be able to complete the task. It requires someone of your rank.”
Arech frowned. The ceremony was ten days away. Would that be long enough to conclude his investigation? And if not, could the initiation process still go ahead? He took a breath, flaring his nostrils. “My duties with the security team are purely a matter of routine. I’m sure I will be back at my desk in time to prepare for the ceremony. In the meantime, please proceed as instructed.” He paused for a moment. “You are dismissed.”
Denarm nodded once and then backed away, bowing his head before he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Arech sighed and scraped his hand down his face. “I hope the envoy knows what he’s doing,” he murmured. “I should be concentrating on the recruitment, not chasing miscreants.” He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining the disgrace that would be heaped upon him if the recruitment process and the initiation ceremony did not go smoothly. He would be demoted, stripped of his privileges, and spurned by everyone he respected or cared about.
But if he succeeded in his mission, if he apprehended the traitor and brought him to justice, then the rewards would surely be worth the risk. His hard work and diligence would finally be recognized, and at last, he might make that first important step away from administration and toward command. If everything went as planned, then the only person to suffer would be the traitorous individual who’d shown such a sickening disregard for the Selmon way of life. The traitor, when he was discovered, would be banished: stripped naked, beaten, and left to rot on the planet below.
A notification sounded on his console, and Arech looked up with the start. It was time for him to meet with the ship’s chief security officer and report for duty. The envoy had explained that Arech’s sudden assignment to the security team would appear in the ship’s calendar and logs as if it were a matter of routine. His orders had been given false dates so it would seem as if the arrangements had been made some time ago. The idea of such tampering appalled Arech, but he could see it was necessary for his subterfuge to succeed. And perhaps later, he might have a chance to ensure the records were amended correctly. But for now, he had a job to do, and it was up to him to apply himself to the task and complete his duties to the best of his abilities.
Arech stood and checked that his uniform was in order then he headed for the door.
5
Golmeneth
On the day of the competition, my mother barely spoke to us as we broke our fast together, and I could scarcely eat a mouthful of my fresh fruit. I pushed the colorful segments around on the plate, gazing at the glistening trails of juice they left behind as they slid across the white porcelain.
“You should eat something, Yempy,” my father said. “You too Ashra. It’s a big day—for both of you.”
I looked up from my food and Ashra scowled at me, but she said nothing. Perhaps she’d run out of spiteful things to say. It wouldn’t have surprised me; there are only so many ways to hurt someone’s feelings, and she’d made my life a misery ever since our names had been read out together in front of the whole at school. That moment, when we discovered that we’d both been chosen to attend the grand competition, should’ve been wonderful. But while I was stunned by the news, hardly able to speak, Ashra had wasted no time in making her feelings plain.
I kept trying to tell her I’d never asked to be chosen and that I was as surprised as anyone else, but she wouldn’t listen. Every day she’d told me I’d been chosen by accident, a simple mix up on the list. She’d said I’d be in terrible trouble when the truth came out, and she’d always sounded so certain of arguments that I was ready to believe her.
“And I’ve arranged something special for you,” my father went on. “I’ve ordered a car from work. An official car to take you to the Civic Hall.”
My mother looked up from her food with a start. “Why? What’s wrong with our car?”
“Nothing,” my father replied. “I thought you’d like to arrive in style.”
My mother pursed her lips, and when my father saw her expression, he let out a small sigh. “It’s not an extravagance,” he insisted. “It’s purely practical.”
“Well I won’t take it,” mother said. “It’s a pretentious idea, and I want nothing to do with it. You should’ve asked me first.”
And then my father did something I’d never seen him do before. In a sudden, almost violent motion, he reached across the table and grasped my mother’s hands. She tried to pull away, but he held her hands tightly and looked her in the eye, holding her gaze. “Please, take the car.”
My mother held his gaze for a long moment before she spoke. “There’s trouble, isn’t there? I knew it.”
My father cast an anxious glance at Ashra and me, and then he nodded. “Rumors, that’s all. Nothing unusual. But last night, there was…a disturbance.”
Instantly, I remembered something from the night before. I’d slept badly, drifting in and out of troubled dreams, unsure of what was real and was imagined. But in that moment, I was certain. “I heard bangs,” I announced. “Bangs and big, whistling, buzzing noises.”
Ashra screwed up her face. “That was sonic grenades going off, you dummy. Don’t you know anything?”
“Of course I do,” I snapped back, feeling the color rise to my cheeks. “But they were so close, much closer than before. They were so loud, it was as if they were right outside my window.” And I looked down at the table, embarrassed by my exaggeration. Yes, I’d often lain awake and listened to the strange noises made by sonic explosions before, but they’d always come from far beyond the city walls, and they’d seemed harmless: little more than distant echoes carried on the breeze. Even so, I should’ve recognized the sound. At school, they’d played us recordings, and they’d taught us how to evacuate the building or seek shelter. But it had all seemed like a game, a pretense.
This was different. I sensed the tension in the room, hear it in my father’s voice, see it in my mother’s eyes. There was real danger in the city, and once again, I wondered whether my father could keep us safe.
“All right,” my mother said. “We’ll take the car.”
My father let go of her hands, then he sat back in his chair. “Thank you. It’s for the best.” He gave us all a smile. “You’ll enjoy going in the special car, won’t you? Goodness me, you’ll be so grand.”
Ashra returned his smile. “What color is it?”
“Blue, of course—the same as all the official vehicles. And it’s huge. You can fit at least six people on the backseat.”
I nodded seriously. “And is it extra strong? To keep everybody safe, I mean.”
My father hesitated. “Yes, Yempy. Yes, it is.”
***
The journey to the Civic Hall was like a dream. Crowds lined the roads, waving and smiling as our car swept past them. I waved back although Ashra tried to spoil even that simple pleasure. “They can’t see you,” she snapped. “The windows are special glass. They can’t see inside at all.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “I’m waving back, anyway. It would be rude not to.”
She sat in silence for the rest of the journey, but I noticed that she sat very close to my mother, leaning against her as if for comfort.
“It’s a shame Father couldn’t have come with us,” I said. “He would’ve liked this.”
“I know, Yempy,” my mother said. “But he had to get to work. There’s so much for him to do. I’m afraid he’ll miss…he’ll miss the whole thing.”
“Never mind,” I reassured her. “We can tell him all about it later.”
She nodded, but she said nothing. She simply looked out the window.
And I did the same, taking in the sound of the crowd cheering and the
sight of all those happy, smiling faces. The City Guards were there too, everywhere along the route, standing proud in their smart blue uniforms. I’d never seen so many guards at once. But it was a shame I couldn’t see the medals and badges they wore on their chests; the guards had their backs to us as we passed, and they did not even glance at our car. Every single guard had their attention fixed on the crowds of well-wishers. And that seemed strange. Very strange indeed.
***
When the time came for our mother to say goodbye to Ashra and me, we stood outside the Civic Hall and held her hand for as long as we could.
“Mother, can’t you come inside?” I begged. “You needn’t stay long.”
She shook her head, her eyes closed.
“Please,” I said.
“Stop whining!” Ashra snapped. “You know she can’t come in—she’s not on the list.” She paused just long enough to glare at me. “And why you’re coming in, I have no idea.”
I stared at the ground and my fears came flooding back. Perhaps, as I climbed the steps to the hall’s entrance, I’d be denied entry at the last moment. I could almost feel the guards grabbing me, their fingers tightening around my shoulders as they dragged me down the steps and threw me back into the street.
My mother sniffed loudly. “Be good, children. Do your best and remember that you are always with me, in my heart, as we are all in Gemmen’s heart.” She smiled, but her eyes were glistening with tears. Her lips moved wordlessly for a moment, and then she said, “Our love is a bond that no one can break. Remember that.” She let go of our hands and pushed us gently forward. “Remember it always.”
I opened my mouth to say something, to ask her why she was so sad when we were only going inside for a little while. But before I could speak, my mother turned and walked away, melting into the crowd. She didn’t look back.
“Come on,” Ashra said. “We can’t be late.”
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