* * * * *
When I saw the beautiful white clouds of Tiasenne part before our shuttle as we prepared to land near the capital of Inen, I realized how much I had missed, how much I had taken for granted, this blue jewel in the sky, my adopted new home world. The vast Northwestern Sea stretched on, seemingly infinite from our view as we slowed for our landing in the busy spaceport. Purple and amber painted the sky as the sun retreated. But the day was still bright, and the far-away buildings beyond were visible as tiny specks of twinkling light, reflecting the dying rays like silver sand on a tropical island.
Minutes later, our open-air transport sped towards the city of Inen, swallowing the wind with its low whining drone. The wind broke against my face and seized my hair. No matter how far we went, we never seemed to reach the far-off horizon.
But at last Inen loomed ahead, then closed in around us.
At that moment, I felt an overwhelming desire to lead a normal life—a civilian life free from missions. Could I make such an adjustment? I hardly knew.
However, first I had a meeting at the Headquarters building to review the work on Orian with Orashean and Ambassador Ai-derian. Then I planned to head to my new apartment outside the Administrative Zone in Hirinburro Street.
“The fusion generator isn’t a problem. What we need is malanite.” One of the government geochemical specialists, clad in recognizable reptilian green, was saying as I entered Orashean’s council room.
“Malanite?” Orashean wondered absently. “What is it?”
“It’s a mineral, named after Fer-innyera Malannon. We’ll need to pick up a supply, sir.”
“Can’t it be manufactured?” Orashean asked, tiredly now.
“No, and we’re running low.”
Orashean looked up and smiled, waving the man aside.
“Good to see you again, Alessia.” He said enthusiastically, then offered me thanks for all my help in the dome project.
After a moment, he began to show signs of agitation, fidgeting with the fastenings on his sleeve.
Orashean began to stare at me, waiting for a response.
“Why isn’t Ai-derian here?” I asked at length, not giving him the one he wanted.
Orashean sent a guard to summon him with a smug smile on his face.
Ai-derian trooped into the room with a stately air, but he held back among his entourage, almost guiltily.
“Welcome back.” Ai-derian said. “It’s good to see you.”
“And it’s good to see you,” I returned.
“We were all pleased about your success with the Nayin agricultural dome.” He said, standing uncomfortably just inside the doorway and shifting his weight from foot to foot. And they had all been surprised, he could have added.
“Yes, well, your people did most of the work.”
“Perhaps, but it always takes a miracle to put things together–” he stopped abruptly as though suddenly conscious that he was approaching something taboo.
“Not at all. Not at all.”
“So what is Terin up to these days?” I asked to lighten the atmosphere. But Ai-derian reacted as though he’d been slapped.
“Well, I don’t know. Terin returned to Orian to begin his formal education,” he responded tightly.
“When?”
“A few tendays ago.” Ai-derian sighed. “My brother expects him to become an important figure in our society some day and suggested that he should begin his training early.”
“He did, did he?”
Ai-derian nodded.
“Terin wanted to become a biochemist you know, so that he could bio-engineer better food for our people.” Ai-derian said, eager to convince himself that this was all for the best.
“Interesting. You sent him to a science center for his education?” I asked.
“To the Intelligence Center at Destria. It specializes in the sciences and politics. His mother went there...” Ai-derian trailed off.
“Of course, it’s not really my business, but couldn’t it have waited?”
“Well, Terin had been here so long that I feared he wouldn’t even remember Orian, and I thought that the younger he was, the better his chances of adjusting to the change.” Ai-derian said. “I did hate sending him away alone, but I hardly have the time to spend with him, as you know.”
“Have you heard from him?” I asked.
“Once.” Ai-derian’s voice was calm, almost numb.
“Let the man catch his breath, Alessia,” Orashean advised. “Or else interrogate him properly.”
I rewarded the Fer-innyera with a disapproving stare, forgetting about Ai-derian, just as Orashean had planned.
We sat at Orashean’s conference table, and I gave them a detailed report on the agricultural results so far, and we discussed some refinements that I had suggested before leaving Orian. Orashean seemed keenly interested in my estimates of total food production from the agricultural domes. With the review concluded, he paused.
“Since you’re both here first, I think it would be a good idea to discuss our new joint space exploration mission.” He looked at Ai-derian. “Yes, it was Leader Beren’s idea. I received his proposal earlier today.”
The twinkle in his eye told me that he more than approved of the venture, but he had been waiting for the right time to introduce his scheme. Orashean went on to explain that Beren had proposed a joint cooperative project to explore the nearby planetary systems that had been discovered during the first such mission over a hundred years ago.
“We thought your Selesta would be a perfect vessel to use for the new space exploration mission.” He concluded dryly.
There was no way I was going to allow it—to allow them to use Selesta. I had no intention of going back there.
“No, we can’t use my ship.” I said firmly. “You will have to consider another option.”
Somehow, Orashean managed to contain his irritation when I refused. He explained that the Tiasennian and Orian ships would take years in space, and even more real time would pass here, as if I didn’t know that. Because of my youthful appearance, he reasoned that my ship must somehow have been able to travel great distances without the effects of time dilation or deceleration.
And Orashean had heard me talk to Terin about Selesta. A moment’s probing of his mind revealed to me the existence of a silent betrayer, a secret transmission device in the ambassador’s room and in every room that relayed information back to Orashean.
I suppressed a momentary flash of irritation at this discovery. After all, nothing that either Beren or Orashean did should surprise me. I said nothing.
Orashean spread his arms, palms facing me in a gesture of supplication. He hesitated briefly, then went on to explain why Beren proposed the mission. A virulent new bacterial disease had struck in the poorest district of Milaca, Orian’s second largest city, and it had proved resistant to all available therapies. It had been contained by a strictly enforced quarantine, but it left its few survivors both blind and deaf. Orian pharmaceutical researchers had long ago isolated an anti-bacterial agent from among the plants brought back on the first explorer mission.
Recent laboratory tests showed that this agent might be effective against the new strain of bacteria. The Orian Health Ministry were deeply concerned that with the severe overcrowding on Orian, containment of another outbreak by quarantine might not be possible. They could not contemplate the consequences of an epidemic of the disease, and were pushing hard to continue their anti-bacterial research, but they desperately needed more materials to do so.
Orashean’s manner was convincing, and I quickly determined that he was telling the truth. He had some concern that this disease might spread to Tiasenne, but his main intent was to find a cheap source of minerals needed for Tiasenne’s industries, to find what else might be exploited for profit, and not least to gain access to the technology of Selesta.
Orashean and A-derian both looked at me expectantly. How could I settle into a “normal life” on Tiasenne and risk lea
ving these remnants of my Seynorynaelian people open to an epidemic as potentially devastating as any Ephoran attack?
Orashean reminded me of my promise to help them.
“Very well,” I said at last. “I’ll help you out on this mission. But like I said already, not with Selesta—”
“But—”
“I’ll help you if you furnish the ship.” I said firmly.
Clearly irritated that he was again denied access to my ship and all of her technology, Orashean still saw the mission as a profitable venture and agreed. Ai-derian was also disappointed, but began quickly to discuss with Orashean some ideas for organizing and coordinating their joint activities.
I walked over to the window and looked up at the sky. Memories were flooding back of exploring worlds all over the galaxy with my now dead friends. Suddenly I felt glad that I had agreed to go. What was there for me on Tiasenne, anyway? I asked myself, now abandoning completely my dream of only a few hours ago. Selesta’s computer would be furious that I was leaving, and maybe that was good, too. Maybe that was why I had agreed. To occupy myself and escape the terrible memories of what had happened in the years during Selesta’s last voyage.
But to realize again and again that everything my own people had known, everything that they had discovered, and everything that they had created could be erased so permanently, and that not even this last remnant of our Seynorynaen race would ever know the way things had been for us was inescapable to me. At every moment, this realization forced its way to the fore of my thoughts so that I could never really forget.
The reality of Seynorynael now existed only in my mind.
Odenit, dum metuant. Let them hate, so long as they fear.
—Accius
Chapter Nine
The Last Immortal : Book One of Seeds of a Fallen Empire Page 19