RAEFF (Jim Able: Offworld Book 6)

by Ed Charlton

  Tella’s skin darkened considerably from its usual match to the white robe.

  “No, Tamric, Jim and I only work together. Besides, it would not be possible.”

  Jim had been sleeping in their room and just then opened the door.

  “What wouldn’t be possible?” he said, scratching his head and yawning.

  Tella turned his gaze on the monk, who said simply, “For you and Tella to mate.”

  Jim’s eyes widened, “You don’t say? This I’ve got to hear!”

  He sat down, smiling at Tella. The Neraffan shook its head.

  “I’ve said before, Jim, you are obsessed.”

  “Guilty as charged,” he said as he waved for Tella to continue.

  “Tamric,” began Tella, “Neraffans have no differentiation between the sexes. I am neither male nor female. This, however, will change if I meet a compatible mate.”

  “Well,” said Jim, “so what will you be then?”

  “I do not know. We never know until it happens. When two Neraffans meet, if they are compatible, a pheromone and hormone cascade is triggered that transforms one partner into a male and one into a female.”

  “Amazing,” said Tamric.

  “How long does that take?” asked Jim.

  “The mating process takes many days.”

  “Really?” Jim muttered, looking a little alarmed.

  “During that time, we are extremely vulnerable. When the transformation begins, we have to find a secure nest as soon as possible.”

  “Is the change then permanent?” asked Tamric.

  “For the female, it lasts until the children are born. For the male, only a few days.”

  “But there aren’t always children, are there?” Jim asked.

  “Always. Always two, sometimes more.”

  “Uh-oh,” said Jim, frowning.

  “Yes, Jim,” said Tella pointedly. “There are no easy one-night stands for Neraffans. A chance encounter can mean a year of gestation, and many more of motherhood.”

  “Or a few days of being a male,” Jim countered.

  “But you don’t know which it will be beforehand,” said Tamric.

  “Both correct. As much as mating provides days of ecstasy, the consequences are profound and, in that sense, unpredictable.”

  “You do not marry and stay with one partner?” Tamric asked.

  “No. I think our ancestors may have done so. But to do that would mean that one would become female repeatedly. That is a burden I, for one, wouldn’t welcome.”

  The conversation moved on to other things, but several times over the next few days, they would hear Jim muttering, “days of ecstasy.”

  ***

  “Jim,” said Tamric, “you asked in our briefing about the connections between the Praestans Rapax and Sol Earth.”

  “Yeah, and I’m curious how you came to be on Beta Oraga Rap.”

  “That’s easy enough. My grandparents were children of members of an ambassadorial mission; they were born on Earth, but I think they remembered little of it. My father made a name for himself with an engineering company. When the Praestans Rapax order took over the company, the family moved here. I have been around the community all my childhood. It was natural for me to join.”

  “Wow. So have you ever been to Earth?”

  “No. I have studied it, obviously. But it is not possible for me to go there.”

  “Why not?”

  “There are certain...rules that apply to me because of my position in the community. Perhaps when I am older it will be permitted.”

  Jim frowned, offended for the young man that he was restricted in such a way.

  “As to your first question, about the more distant connections, you were correct. A party of humans was brought to Beta Oraga Rap a long time ago before Sol Earth was known to the galaxy. They had been taken unwillingly by, shall we say, a less-than-civilized race. When they were freed, no one knew where their home world was. Since this world’s climate seemed similar to their descriptions of Earth and some of the inhabitants were of a similar kind, they were allowed to come here. It was long after the party had all died that news confirming the whereabouts of Earth reached these worlds.”

  “So they founded your order?”

  “No, not at all. But their cultural influence on our world is not only acknowledged but cherished. They were renowned for their resourcefulness and determination...for so much. Indeed, the tale of the ark comes to us from their storytelling. If you are ever allowed to return, you must ask to see the documents they left us. They are legends whose story inspires each generation.”

  “Hmm. Has this material ever been sent to the Earth authorities?”

  “I don’t know. If you didn’t know this story, I suspect not.”

  Tella said, “We can check when we get back.”

  Jim’s eyes flashed at Tella. “I guess I’d be able to access that kind of thing.”

  Tella nodded. “Perhaps so. Much information is secret simply because no one knows to ask for it.”

  ***

  Near the end of the journey, when Tamric retired to pray, Tella quietly asked Jim for a piece of paper.

  “What for?”

  “There are some things we need to do Liz’s way.”

  “Okay...”

  Tella filled the page with flowing script. Jim read and nodded as Tella wrote.

  Be sure to tell T nothing of the agency’s operations, including where the office is located.

  Say nothing of our previous missions. Deflect such questions with claims of confidentiality.

  Beware of further conversations about your romantic pursuits. If they are up to something, this is an area they are likely to concentrate on. We do not know enough about them to know all the instructions D R has given T, but his reaction gives me great misgivings. Be careful!

  Find out more about T’s family, if you can. This is an interesting area for us.

  While I am on T. Jorr, delay any action for as long as possible. I will look for the flier and land as near it as I can. Keep it in sight, or at least keep in contact with it.

  Don’t get caught!

  “Yes, Liz,” said Jim, grinning.

  Only a few hours later, Tamric brought the flier to a halt. The image of the star was bright in the monitor.

  “We are behind Tanna, hidden from both planets; Gul is just going behind it from this position, and Jorr is about to emerge.”

  Tella transferred to its own flier, undocked, and moved away.

  “Good luck, boss!” was its parting message to Jim.

  Chapter Seven

  Ajeer looked out at the rain. The early days had become weeks. Twice her Raeff had strayed, thinking of her as an object for his desires. It cut to the heart of all she was. She felt the weight of the tradition on her shoulders. For generations, the Luminants had guarded society by carefully carving the distinction between the roles of guide-companion and that of wife. Their virginity was the root of their power; without it, a Luminant would be just another courtier, just another ambitious female.

  Her automatic and universal access to the Raeff would only remain unquestioned if their relationship was purely mystical. If it were ever anything else, she would be relegated to his personal time, a distraction from his work, a hobby. That would mean her true work could not be done. Only with her access could she monitor his mental state at all times. She had to be there whenever he needed her. Whenever the spirit spoke, she had to be there to hear, record, and interpret. She had to witness that secret interaction of the spirit with the mundane.

  “To witness the flare of other-light. To witness the enlivenment of the dead. To witness the melting of the impenetrable barrier. To stand at the portal of the Almighty.”

  She stood at the window and recited the sacred words of her calling.
Nothing could compare to it; nothing would be allowed to endanger it.

  “Luminant?”

  “Yes? What is it?”

  “May I speak with you a moment?”

  “General Dol! You are well?”

  He didn’t answer but gave her a sideways look that cut through the formalities.

  “How is he?”

  She paused before saying, “You see him in the briefings. You know he is well.”

  “He is insane, as are you, as are we all.”

  “If all are mad, there is none who can diagnose it.”

  He gave a cold and sad laugh. “Indeed, who will tell us the truth?”

  “What can I do for you, mad General Dol?” she said with a light laugh.

  “How is he?”

  She bowed her head briefly. “I have said.”

  “Damn you. I need to know. We are following a series of orders that make no sense. It’s as if he has lost the great ambition that he had. He has lost sight of the true goal. He has changed us from a conquering army to a few raiding parties. It’s as if we are already holding off a defeat without a shot ever being fired. I need to know! We must understand what is happening to him!”

  “The spirit has come to him several times. I...am not yet as skilled as my predecessor at interpreting the spirit in him. I guide as best I can. You cannot ask of me more than this.”

  “I do ask, but I expect no better answer. Calna trusted me. I ask you to do the same. I don’t believe the spirit has brought us to the brink of victory to have us pull back and fail for lack of...”

  “For lack of what, general?”

  “Courage.”

  “General, I think the spirit is one of wisdom. He speaks of changing priorities, not of fear or uncertainty. He is sure. He burns with a fire of clarity. This is why he is here. This is why he is Raeff. Trust him. Trust the spirit in him.”

  “You are alone and new with him. You lack Calna’s experience. You should ask more of those who have known him longer.”

  “You?”

  “Before I was ‘General,’ I was Paun Mic Dol. I am a brother to the Raeff. I knew him before the spirit came to him.”

  “The spirit was always there; it was yet to be found.”

  The general snapped his jaws gently. “So you all say. I’ve heard it before: ‘That which is not seen is still present, undiscerned.’ He was different after the spirit came and continues to change. I worry that you may not see clearly enough to warn us if he is truly in difficulties.”

  “There are no difficulties with which the spirit cannot deal, except perhaps lack of faith.” She smiled at him.

  He did not return the smile. “That which is undiscerned may be illness and only seen over time.”

  “General! Do not speak such things! If you know him so well, you should also know how blessed we have been in him! Is he not everything a Raeff should be? Is he not a wonder to his friends and a terror to his enemies?”

  The general growled in frustration but nodded and stalked away.

  She leaned back against the cold glass of the window, feeling the vibration of battering rain.

  I hope I am right.

  Her tutor’s voice was in her mind, reciting one of the holy sayings: If it is not the spirit that speaks in the Raeff, then we are all the greatest of fools.

  Chapter Eight

  “Now,” said Tamric, “our best approach is to fly as close to Tanna as we can and, then, to keep it behind us. Only solar astronomers will be looking our way.”

  “From what we hear, I doubt there are any working right now. War preparations have a way of screwing academic budgets,” replied Jim.

  Tamric nodded. Using the chemical thrusters, he steered them toward the star. Jim used the extra day of travel to examine more details of the two planets.

  “They don’t come close very often, do they?” he said aloud while looking again over the map of the planetary system.

  “No, I think not. I can’t imagine what the Guls must have thought when their neighbors made that first journey.”

  “Did you meet Marhan?”

  “No.”

  “Hmm. If he is typical, the encounter gave them a permanent bad temper and feelings of inferiority.”

  Tamric nodded and looked a little sad. “Envy is a corrosive sin for an individual; it must be devastating on a larger scale.”

  Jim tilted his head and looked at the monk. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

  Tamric smiled and took Jim’s words as a compliment.

  As they neared the planet, Tamric began to adjust their course. “There are many orbiting objects; some of them are a long way out.”

  “They may have observatories in the gravity-neutral areas.”

  Tamric nodded. “Just so. But I see more than I would expect.” He slowed the flier to almost a dead stop. “Look here.”

  He pointed to an external monitor. Jim saw several large pieces of what might have once been a habitable space station drifting in a cloud of smaller debris.

  “What the hell happened here?”

  “Catastrophic destruction,” said Tamric quietly. “I don’t think we have time to investigate the cause. The debris is dangerous. I must go much wider than I had intended.”

  Jim said, “I’ll listen out for military communications.”

  Tamric nodded. The craft was eerily silent as Tanna Gul slowly grew in the monitors. Tamric watched and waited, keeping half an eye on Jim. After ten minutes, he turned and frowned. “Why don’t you get the flier to do that?”

  “What?”

  “You seem to be trawling manually through the noise. Why don’t you let the ship do it?”

  “What do you mean ‘the ship’?”

  Tamric shrugged. “All our craft have these systems.”

  He stood and touched a panel above the navigation console. The panel slid away to reveal a small control pad. His fingers flashed over the markings on the pad.

  “Recognize Tamric. Recognize Jim,” the monk called out. “Jim, say your name,” he added quietly.

  “Jim,” Jim said, frowning deeply.

  “Raeda accepting voice commands from Tamric and Jim,” came a slightly artificial voice from overhead.

  “Monitor planetary communications, select military activity,” said Tamric.

  “Monitoring,” came the reply.

  Jim stared at Tamric.

  “What’s wrong?” the monk asked.

  “You’ve had voice control all along and never used it?”

  “No, I don’t like to. The raeda will sometimes mistake conversation for instruction. It can be dangerous.”

  Jim leaned back in his chair, gripping his jaw and glaring at Tamric. “And that hidden panel is in all the fliers of this make?”

  “I believe so, yes.”

  Jim swore in English.

  “What did you say?”

  Jim shook his head and said, “Nothing. I’m just surprised that you don’t put it in the instruction books, that no one has ever accidentally come across this...little feature, and that you don’t think it’s worth using! I’m...I’m staggered.”

  Tamric shrugged and said nothing.

  “Okay, how do I address it?”

  “You can prefix your commands with the words ‘ship’ or ‘control,’ or our preferred word is ‘raeda.’”

  “Ship!” Jim called. “While you’re at it, get me the TV transmissions at this console.”

  “Accessing,” replied the ship.

  It took the ship several minutes, but then Jim’s console changed to a series of small images. The ship had arranged them with a simple numerical key for selection. Jim tried the first five in quick succession. All were in local languages, and he understood nothing of what was being said. The sixth was in Standard. The image
was of a well-dressed canid facing the camera sitting at a desk with papers laid out before him.

  “News—the same everywhere,” Jim said.

  “...the plume now extends four hundred miles to the northwest. All underground facilities are sealed, and any remaining surface personnel have been evacuated. We have with us Doctor Lafan Rul Varhur of the Organization of Concerned Scientists. Doctor Varhur, what are your thoughts?”

  The image split to include a less smartly dressed canid, its ears flattened against its head. Its eyes were shining with what Jim did not at first realize were tears.

  “Well, we warned that this would happen. This was entirely preventable. It’s a sickening disaster. Why did we waste all that effort—all that money—to construct an ark for an ecosystem and, then, let this happen.”

  The canid licked its nose.

  “So you think,” asked the presenter, “that nothing will remain of the Mello-haffen reserve?”

  The doctor shook his head. “Nothing. It’s more mass extinctions. We are all diminished by this and by the criminality at its root. It’s a black day for us all.”

  The presenter laughed nervously, “I’m sure, Doctor Varhur, that you don’t mean to suggest that this disaster was the result of someone’s deliberate action?”

  “Of course it was! Everyone knows it. The Gul-Raeff used those weapons, despite every warning as to the consequences. One of the world’s last pieces of biodiversity is ruined and it has his paw print...”

  The screen flipped back to just the presenter.

  “Thank you, Doctor, for your interesting and...umm...obviously controversial views. We’ll be back after the break.”

  The presenter looked greatly relieved to be having a few moments off camera.

  Jim turned to see tears in Tamric’s eyes as well. He bit back the joke he was about to make about not needing one of the arks.

  “I,” Tamric said with a sniff, “have seen pictures of that place. It was...beautiful.”

  “This Gul-Raeff seems a bit of a madman,” said Jim grimly.

  Tamric added, “Do you want to add an assassination to our task list?”

  Jim was shocked at Tamric’s serious expression.

  “My guess is, there’s a line ahead of us.”