Crossworld of Xai

by Steven Savage

  Well, she’s turned her skills to good ends. She doesn’t like who she was, which I can understand, but she doesn’t always see what she’s done and done well.

  And she is the one to talk to in my situation. I am the older brother. I am used to giving advice, not taking it - or worse, asking for it.

  I time it when Garnet is at the doctor’s getting a checkup and my beat ended early. No use troubling Garnet - she has enough to deal with right now.

  Jade shows up, obviously having run from the trolley stop. Her hair is mussed and she’s breathing heavy. As soon as I open the door she charges in and tosses her coat on the living room couch. The Lakkom is in her back harness - her badge, as it were, of an occultist.

  I never liked it, even though she’s explained it to me in detail. It’s an odd thing that feels too close to alive.

  “OK, what’s up?” Jade drops onto the couch. “You said you needed help with something?”

  She is as subtle as always.

  I select a chair in the living room. I merely give Jade a look taht tells her that she will discover things in my own time, not hers. She knows that look.

  “I need your discretion, Jade.”

  “Hey, you have it.” Her casual tone of voice is probably meant to be reassuring. I’m not reassured. However, I have little choice.

  “I am finding that in my work as a Gendarme, I am in a situation of local politics. To whit, I think one of the beats in the neighborhood may be … on the take from a local business.”

  “On the take in the bad way?” Jade asks.

  “You aren’t helping.”

  “Sorry.”

  I continue. “I haven’t talked to the supposed victim as they are … not native. But it’s some of the locals who are upset. I of course, being the newest day beat, am expected to solve this.”

  “Yeah, I get it.” Jade nodded sadly. “Huan got some runaround too on his job early on. You know how people can be sometime. So, what am I supposed to do, put the guilt mojo on people?”

  “No, you are to advise me.”

  Jade appears as stunned as if I’d told her I wanted to have my gender changed and marry Lorne.

  “OK.” Her mouth twitches as if she’d eaten something objectionable.

  “This is a delicate situation. I don’t have enough to go accusing people, the … victims are not talking, the natives aren’t sure what to do, and the crime if it even exists is comparatively minor.”

  “And?” She’s suddenly very serious.

  “I’m not a subtle person, Jade, not in the way this requires. Where do I start? What do I do? This is …”

  “Not in the job description.”

  “Not specifically, no. But it’s what I am supposed to do, it’s just … less defined than I’d like. It’s not like helping McGrady home when he gets drunk.”

  “Ok, first of all, be subtle unless you have to cause trouble,” Jade sounds as if she’s reading off of notecards in her mind, “if people trust you, it goes far. Do what you know is right and don’t back down. And if subtlety doesn’t work, kick ass all over the place.”

  “Subtlety first?”

  “Always. Deal with problems when they’re small. Trust me.”

  I smile. “One of HuanJen’s quotes?” HuanJen is full of quotes.

  “Tao Te Ching, big brother. Part of my lifestyle.”

  I confess to having read none of HuanJen’s holy books, scriptures, or literature. Religion is not something I take much of an interest in - but Jade did, for reasons I am still understanding.

  “Thank you. If I find myself … in trouble?”

  “I think Huan and I can dig up some local holy person or someone to jump in. I think this is Yevanna’s Zone actually …”

  “No, they asked me. You know how people get.”

  Jade paused, then sighed. “Yeah. I know. Everyone has their territories.”

  “Even if Guild Esoteric acts like they don’t.”

  “Nah, it’s just people complain less when we overstep our boundaries.”

  “Usually since they aren’t surprised.” I can’t help but counter. HuanJen is one who has no boundaries. It’s very irritating, though I can have a sense of humor about it.

  “Ha, fucking ha, brother.” Jade snickers. “Is that all?”

  ” … yes. I expected more actually. Or …”

  “Worried, brother?” She asks.

  “It’s subtlety, sister, it’s … too close to lying?”

  “Nah, it’s just not making waves. It’s compassionate. And … you don’t look convinced.”

  I’m not.

  “I don’t want it to be like home.”

  Home was Colony. Home was conspiracy. Home was the Vulpines, whose lives came being brokers of information, of secrets, of lies. I hated home. I hated being a liar. I hated seeing Jade work around all the games. I hated what it did to Mother.

  Jade looks at me. She looks pained. “It’s not, Slate. Look, we … we use what we learned there for something that means something.”

  I nod. She has, really.

  “You … you came out of it wanting to protect people and do the right thing. Even as incredibly annoying and pretentious as it is, look, you’re doing it. Sometimes you have to deal with politics, though. This is your time.”

  “And you?”

  “Eh, face it, I enjoy having my hands dirty. I admit it, even if I won’t tell anyone. You … you’ll get used to it. You want to. You want to put down roots. You just have to get used to the messiness.”

  “I don’t know if I will.”

  She looks at me in an odd way. It reminds me of who she is now.

  “I think you already have more than you know, brother …”

  May 26, 2001 AD, Xaian Standard Calendar

  Subtlety. Jade likes to emphasize that. She’s not that subtle herself, but she can be subtle, though admittedly in an unsubtle way. She is the mental equivalent of a box that is larger on the inside than the outside.

  “Slate?”

  Hirn is talking to me. We are at lunch, one of the lunches the cart-vendors turn out - thick soup and bread that fills you up a lot more than one would expect. It is a surprisingly warm day so we’re outside.

  “Sorry, thinking.” I bite into my bread. I don’t want to tell him … I suspect him.

  “Ah.” Hirn nods. He’s a large, friendly man who reminds me of Lorne. I hate to suspect him.

  But to be frank, the two people I trust in my life are Lorne and Garnet, and by extension Xianfu. I’m suspicious as is.

  So, I have to start a conversation. Anyone who’d engage in shady dealings would have a shady past or dodge issues. So, I decide to ask about the past.

  “Hirn,” I feel myself being subtle, “How did you end up here?”

  Hirn looked at me. “Why?”

  “I wondered. Face it, the day beats around here got shuffled so much I realize I don’t know people that well.”

  “Ah, well, I did a stint as a Mountie. The fringe areas really. Got tired of it and wanted to see the big city and settle down. I also got tired of dealing the Rancelmen - I did some portal work at … er, I think they call it 27-2 now. We used to call it Yod.”

  “Rancelmen?” I asked. I actually was fond of them. Very organized people.

  “Oh, this and that. Always acting as if they were better than us.” Hirn shrugged. “You spend years on patrol, you spend days away from home, and then some people who want to play customs officials tell you what to do. I like it here - I get respect.”

  “I can understand that.” I think for a moment. Ex-Mountie. The mounties were the people that worked the wilderness and the fringes of Xai. You got a lot of Outlanders like Hirn.

  “Besides,” Hirn noted conspiratorially, “My mother sent me to the University. Everyone made fun of my accent.”

  “I don’t see anything unusual,” I noted. Most Xaians spoke clearly, strongly emphasizing the beginnings of words, but without being loud. He sounded like most any native in M
etris.

  “Exactly,” Hirn winked.

  He said nothing suspicious. I can’t just say anything.

  I decide to pull a longer shift with Loshira. She sometimes does later patrols before the night beats come in.

  It’s getting darker already. The sky is clouding. We’re walking around the north.

  “Loshira, how did you become a Gendarme?”

  She looks at me. She’s got odd, dark eyes. She reminds me of my sister sometimes, though she’s much calmer.

  “Why did you?”

  I blink. I didn’t expect this. “I … worked security for Corona. I wanted to do more and I have a good friend who is a Gendarme. I decided to do something else.”

  “Awful noble.” Loshira’s eyes flash.

  “I’m a Vulpine. It’s a nice change of pace from Colony.”

  She goes silent for awhile. Everyone knows how most of us live on our worlds - the Colony, the center of Vulpine society, dealers in information. Blackmailers in many cases. Survival by data trading and sometimes technology-smuggling.

  “I worked at the University. I did a lot of translations. But the University has a lot of politics.”

  “Not from here either?” I ask. “I didn’t notice any braids or even family tattoos. But not every native I know … goes native.”

  I am failing at the sensitive approach. I really am.

  “Father’s native. Mother’s from a second-level. They Traveled a lot, so the University life was appropriate. And I was here mostly anyway.”

  “So …” I piece some things together. “You joined the Gendarmes to leave politics?”

  “The University’s kind of politics.” Loshira sounds as if that’s supposed to be answer enough.

  I suppose, considering what I’ve seen others go through, it should be.

  However, I do find myself getting an idea …

  May 27, 2001 AD, Xaian Standard Calendar

  And now, in my continued attempt to Not Rock the Boat and Keep Things Mum I am talking to Fang Xianfu. Lorne’s Thompson’s boyfriend.

  Xianfu sometimes, sometimes, seems to worry about me. I think it’s the stories that the Vulpines are rather homophobic on most Earths, which is frankly untrue. Concerned over reproduction yes, though that’s not unusual for small populations. Homosexuality is not “wrong” just “not viable.”

  However, Xianfu was an ex-Outrider, wandering and mapping worlds, and quite a free spirit. Occasionally, I think he got one too many rumors in his head.

  Or maybe it’s me being, well … I don’t know, married and straight with a child on the way.

  I have no idea. I am not from a culture that equips me to understand.

  And I hope that Xianfu is able to talk with me. The idea formed in my mind that if my two compatriots are dishonest, perhaps their past would be worth exploring …

  I’m visiting him at the University. He’s the perfect person to help me - and it gives me a chance to check in on some courses I’ve considered taking.

  The University is gigantic. It takes up a good chunk of Metris, a huge wedge of buildings, dorms, labs, and areas carefully zoned by the City to ensure nothing dangerous is in the wrong spot. Quite frankly you do need a map, and I was sure to buy the latest Metris Atlas this year just to be safe.

  Xianfu, once having roamed worlds (often for the University) now teaches. Though we don’t talk about it much, he did it to be with Lorne. I have to admire him for that. He makes commitments - I suppose when you wander a lot, you want to settle down.

  He even has his own office - gratitude for what he did for the University, I suppose. Of course, the University does like to keep up with standards - there’s a lot of prestige working at the University.

  “Come in?”

  He sounds harried. I suspect he thinks I’m a student.

  I enter and discover the office is barely furnished. Xianfu’s a person used to moving around., so I imagine he hasn’t set down roots here, much.

  “I … Slate?” He looks rather startled.

  Xianfu’s a compact little man, part oriental like HuanJen. I always get the impression he’s ready to move, or leave, or … something. He always seems to be just ready to act, even sitting at his desk. I notice a picture of Lorne on it and not much else.

  In my case, he appears to want to ask questions.

  I close the door. “I need some help. I’d also prefer if you not tell Lorne.”

  That’s not subtle. Jade would likely criticize me, but I don’;t have the opportunity.

  “I see.” Xianfu taps a pen on his desk. “Slate, what the hell is going on?”

  “I need to check into things for two of my coworkers. I have suspicions. One used to work at the University. One used to work with the Mounties and have some contact with Rancelmen - and I know you did too. I just want to find out about them.”

  He is giving me an odd look.

  “I need help. Someone is supposedly causing trouble on my beat. I’m making sure it’s actually happening before I cause trouble.”

  “Yeah.” Xianfu is thinking. “What happens if someone is causing trouble?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  He smiles. “Lorne … hinted you were concerned. I date a Gendarme. I know what concerned Gendarmes do.”

  “I …”

  What do I mean?

  “I want to know for sure. We don’t need trouble. We don’t need something bubbling up higher if it’s only going to confuse things. If one of my people is causing problems … I’ll …”

  What do I mean?

  ” … they’ll be turned in. Everyone will know. I have to know. It’s too important. Hell, I’m going to be living in that area for years. Decades.”

  “You just swore,” Xianfu notes.

  I suppose I did.

  “I’m … a bit worked up?”

  “Yeah,” Xianfu nodded.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He smiles at me. “It’s odd, Lorne acts like you, sometime. It makes me think. Settling down … wasn’t easy. Rake and HuanJen’s group - our group - of friends are very settled people. Don’t worry, I’ll help. I know a few Mounties actually from some things Verrigent did that he didn’t think I knew about.”

  “You don’t sound comfortable?” I manage.

  “Outrider training.” He smiles at me, honestly, if a bit sadly. “Old habits. We … sometimes found the Gendarmes and Rancelmen got in the way.”

  “What does Lorne say to that?”

  “Ah, I like it when he gets in my way …”

  May 28, 2001 AD, Xaian Standard Calendar

  I debate this whole subtlety thing for awhile.

  I still … want to storm in and ask people. Ask the folks at the company. Ask Loshira. Ask Hirn. Make them …

  … I still get angry over it sometimes.

  It’s territoriality, I know it is. If something is wrong, I want … to stop it. And if I got decieved … Mekzine’s not going to be around here because Ill let everyone know.

  But you can’t do it. Not here, not on Xai.

  Oh, there’s time’s to be unsubtle. Lorne’s a Weaponeer, and he doesn’t like to say it but he’s there if people need someone to bring out a very menacing weapon. But beats, we can’t be unsubtle. People rely on us to keep the peace, not disrupt it.

  So, I get to wait. And talk to and work with people who may be betraying what we swore to do as Gendarmes. Or stew in my paranoia. Either way it’s not pleasant.

  I want to be angry at someone, but I don’t have a target yet.

  Someone disrupted my life. Someone disrupted the life of the people on the beat I work. Voluntarily, I’m sure.

  It leaves me a very interesting kind of angry.

  Then, of course, I get the email from Xianfu. And, after reading it several times, I have to go talk to Loshira before I do something very stupid.

  Loshira lives like Lorne used to - in a house shared by a bunch of friends. It’s a common lifestyle actually. The Guildbank even has special loan
s for it.

  I hope that no one is home. But I do not care.

  I knowk on the door. Losihra answers a few minutes later. I barge in and close the door behind me.

  “You lied to me.” It’s all I can say.

  She looks at me, squinting. “What?”

  “About your work at the University. I know people there, Loshira.”

  “Why does this …”

  “Why did you lie to the Gendarmes? To me? About what you did? You were part of the Historians! Doing translations! For years. You retired from the Guild! You never noted this.”

  Loshira shook her head. “No, I didn’t lie to the Gendarmes, and I didn’t lie to you. I merely didn’t note some things I consider private. If you’d asked the Gendarmes, they probably would have given you my file … but whatever you’re up to, you didn’t, did you?”

  I wait. There’s no need for me to participate in the conversation until she is really finished.

  “I did some work for the Historians, yes. I joined their Guild because, to be frank, it was good for business. I don’t like to talk about it considering … what happened last year. And because of you.”

  I …

  “Because of me?”

  “Slate, I’m not stupid. Your sister was involved in that entire Historian mess, Paldayne, everything. Do you think I’m going to tell you that I spent two years working with them at the University? I’m sorry, you can look that up in the records, thank you very much. In fact, you did, so what’s the problem?”

  I realized it was time to apologize.

  “No.”

  “Slate, what is this about?”

  My situation is getting more complicated by the moment. This was not my intention. I am starting to feel much like my sister - Jade has a true gift for situations like this, only she can usually solve them.

  “I’d rather not tell you?” I don’t mean to make it sound like a question, but I find myself slipping.

  She looks at me, as if trying to read my mind. I try to put on a so-called ‘poker-face’ despite never having played the game.

  “Slate, what’s wrong?”