Not sure of quite what to say to that, Aria elected just to look into her cup. Her head was swimming by now, and not from the effects of the tea. She'd had a feeling that her position on board this ship was a little more precarious than it would have seemed, but to have confirmation of that was still quite the shock indeed. Aria ought to have expected it, considering what the rescue party had witnessed right from the start. She'd kissed Jack so passionately, in full view of them...A foolish thing to have done, with the benefit of looking back with a clear head.
-And to what do I owe that courtesy?-
-Why, your family, of course,- Li'ren explained. -Your mother served the Ascendancy so loyally, after all, and you after her as well. Hm...Until now, at least if the charges are to be believed.-
Aria's gaze shot up to spear Li'ren, and she bared her teeth in a vicious snarl. -I am still loyal to the Empress! How dare you suggest...-
-Peace, Lieutenant,- Li'ren said, her voice calm and quiet. -And remember who you are speaking to. Do not presume to speak so freely to Her Majesty's representative.-
Fighting back the urge to give a scathing retort, Aria pushed down her anger. She took a few deep breaths, collecting herself, and then she closed her eyes for a few moments. -Forgive me, m'lady.-
Li'ren watched Aria, and then she smiled. -You are forgiven, so long as you do not forget yourself again. As I said, you have been given a reprieve from execution until a formal trial can be conducted. I presume you understand the nature of the charges against you?-
-...I do.-
-And you understand why those charges have been brought?-
-...Yes.-
-Good.- Li'ren considered the other Ailian, looking her over. She could sense Aria's anguish, fear, anger, and frustration. Curious, in spite of the official capacity in which she was serving, she had to ask the question. -Her Majesty would like to know if any of the details of the charges have merit.-
Aria looked away from Li'ren, feeling shame wash over her. Despite everything that she felt, and how little she had come to regret anything that had happened during her time with Jack, she felt she was a loyal Ailian subject. And a loyal Ailian subject would not have done what she had done. -Some of the details may have merit...-
-...I see.- Li'ren considered for a moment. -Well, never mind that for now. I imagine you have questions of your own. For example, you haven't yet asked me why exactly the Empress would send a personal representative on such a mission as this.-
-Actually...I was kind of wondering why,- Aria admitted.
-I would worry for your sanity if you were not.- Li'ren stood up from her chair, and started walking slowly back and forth across the room. -This ship was not originally on a rescue mission. Before we received your transmission from that planet, we were on a mission of diplomacy to the Nuretan Empire.-
Aria blinked, surprised by that. The Nuretans were a species unknown to humans, a species that inhabited a small cluster of a few dozen aquatic planets adjacent to Ascendancy territory. The Nuretans were allies of the Ailians, though they had not joined in their conflict with humanity. They were a slightly built race, bipedal, with slick, amphibian skin that tended towards pale yellows and greens. Despite their low population relative to Ailians or even humans, they had a powerful space fleet. Owing to a cultural dislike of conflict, the Nuretans did not associate much with the Ascendancy even though they did consider each other allies.
-Why were you going to the Nuretans?- Aria asked, curious. -Has something happened?-
-The Pteryd are up to something,- Li'ren hissed. -We don't know what, yet, but they are massing ships near their border with human space.-
-Do they mean to go to war with the humans as well?-
Li'ren shook her head. -Perhaps, but that is not the popular opinion. Most of our analysts believe they mean to make first contact with the humans. And they would do that only for one reason: to combine forces against us.-
Aria felt a chill. The Pteryd were the mortal, ancient enemies of the Ascendancy. They were an insect-like race, resembling most closely a species found on Earth called a praying mantis. Telepathic, they were an all-female species that reproduced through parthenogenesis, meaning that a female's children were virtually identical genetic copies of their mother. A single Pteryd would expect to give birth close to one hundred times in its reproductive lifetime, which was considerable. The average Pteryd lived nearly three centuries. Their longevity and reproductive rate had made it so that they were a tough enemy, and it was only through superior firepower and technology that the Ailians had managed to keep them at bay.
-So that's why we're reaching out to the Nuretans...,- Aria murmured. She gripped her cup tightly, which had gone cold by now. -If the humans join with them...That would be a disaster for us.-
-Indeed. I only hope that the delay caused by sending a different ship to the Nuretan Empire will not hasten the disaster.-
-My apologies...- Aria felt a wave guilt pass over her. If she was responsible for such a calamity to fall over her people...
Li'ren waved away her apology. She returned to her chair, sitting down. -It's not your fault, Lieutenant. You've been out of the loop for weeks. You can't be expected to know each and every little development that has occurred in the war. And the war goes well in all other respects, so there's a great deal of hope. I apologize if I made things sound overly bleak. That's not the way it is.-
Aria sighed quietly, feeling a small sense of relief. Of course it couldn't have been that bad. If it had, the rescue simply wouldn't have happened. If the delay was really that unacceptable, Aria would still be stuck on that uncharted planet, with Jack...
Which reminded her... -And what of J-...the human?- Aria inquired, trying to sound as casual as she possibly could.
-He is being kept in the ship's prison,- Li'ren replied. -He's being cared for, and has not been mistreated more than is usual for a captured enemy.-
-And...- Aria almost bit her tongue, knowing that she shouldn't ask what she was about to ask. But she couldn't help herself. -I don't suppose I could be...allowed to see him?-
Li'ren looked at her with her blood red eyes, which were slightly wider than they'd been most of the time she'd been speaking with Aria. Then she began laughing, and it sounded like genuine amusement. The blue female leaned forward, her tail waving behind her, and she cupped her chin in one clawed hand. -Do you know, he asked me the exact same thing when I spoke with him earlier...- She got control of her laughter, grew serious again. -You care about him, don't you?-
Aria looked away, all too aware that she might be signing her own death warrant. -He helped me...,- she said quietly, studiously avoiding the totally honest answer. -How could I not care? Would you not care, if you were me?- She looked back at Li'ren, defiance in her golden eyes. Li'ren gazed back at her, and then she stood up. She crossed the room, standing before Aria. With simple, regal nobility, she laid a hand on her shoulder.
-Take heart.-
With that simple phrase said, Li'ren gathered the empty cups and made to leave the room. Before she left, she turned back around and spoke to Aria again.
-Lieutenant, make sure you write a thorough report regarding your stay on that planet.- She gestured to the computer terminal. -You have been given limited access to the ship's network for that purpose. I would stress that you leave nothing, absolutely nothing, out of the report. Her Majesty wishes for a thorough account. We will arrive on Lirna in three days' time.- Li'ren left, closing the door behind her. The lock clicked audibly, shutting Aria in.
Blinking, not quite sure what had just happened, Aria stared at the door for a long time after that as though she was expecting something to come through it. But it remained just a motionless, plain slab of steel, just as it had always been.
Not wanting to begin writing yet, and not having anything else to do, Aria reclined on the bed again. She traced imaginary patterns in the blank ceiling, thinking hard about Li'ren, and about Jack. Li'ren had spoken with her human companion
prior to speaking with her, and clearly Jack had not seen fit to tell any lies to the noblewoman. So Li'ren had a better idea than anyone of the nature of their relationship. She wondered if the other Ailian had bothered to tell anyone yet. Aria didn't think so. She seemed trustworthy, especially with that thing she'd said to her. Take heart.
Whose side was Li'ren on, and just what exactly was she hinting at when she'd spoken to Aria? And why, it would seem, was the Empress interested in Aria personally? The two days they'd already been traveling was plenty of time for word to have gotten back to Lirna over communication channels, so was it possible that the Empress had heard of Aria and was taking a specific interest in her?
With an ache in her chest, Aria realized that all she wanted right now was to see Jack. She rolled onto her side on the bed, facing the wall. The bed felt so empty to her. Over the time she'd spent on the uncharted world, she'd grown accustomed to sharing her bed with him, though there it had just been a simple camping bedroll. She cursed herself for this weakness. She was a trained soldier, not some regular citizen. She should be above this sort of sentimentality. And yet she was not.
Closing her eyes, she decided to try to sleep. The report could wait for the morning, and she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Plenty of time between here and home to take care of things...
- 2 -
When the subtle hum and vibration of the ship's engines, detectable through the hard metal surface of his rudimentary bed, diminished and shifted in tempo, Jack knew that something had changed. He hadn't spent twelve years of his life flying starships without learning how to diagnose the various states of a ship's engines. And though their technology may have differed in many ways, Jack had decided that the engines of Ailian ships were close enough to human ships. So when he felt the change, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. The ship was landing. Which meant that they must be at their destination.
Jack sat up on the hard metal prison bed, looking up at the ceiling of his cell. Several days had passed, he thought, since the Ailian representative, Li'ren, had visited him. Judging the passage of time was difficult when he didn't have a clock to look at. He remembered what she had said, that they were traveling to the Ailian homeworld: Lirna.
The human knew little about that planet. As far as he knew, no human being had ever been there. Or at least, none that had ever left to tell about it. However, from data gleaned from captured Ascendancy vessels, the United Nations had learned a few things about it. The planet was supposed to be very arid, desert in most areas with but with swaths of more temperate areas scattered here and there, where the majority of the habitation was. Covert probes sent to take images of the planet had viewed what appeared to be mountainous regions at the north and south poles, with snow-capped peaks. The small amount of habitable space on Lirna accounted for how the Ailians had spread so widely across the galaxy; they had been colonizing worlds to accommodate their expanding population long before humans had even mastered flight in Earth's own atmosphere. And that was the extent of Jack's knowledge on the subject of the planet.
The engines hum quieted to nothing as they were apparently shut down. As the lights came back up in his cell, he tried to prepare himself mentally for what might be coming next. It was an exercise in futility since he had no idea what to expect, but at least it made him feel like he had some amount of control.
Jack waited nearly an hour before anything happened. When the door to his cell slid open, he nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise. Two Ailians stood in the doorway, looking in on him. He recognized one of them, a male with tiger orange fur that had presided over most of his interrogations during the ship's journey. He had the same rank insignia on his uniform that Aria had, so that made him a lieutenant.
He gestured at Jack. “Get up and come over here,” he said, the words heavily accented but still recognizable.
Jack stayed where he was. “Where are you doing with me?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I want to see Aria before I go anywhere.”
The lieutenant scowled, and motioned to the other with him. The second Ailian stepped into the room and grabbed Jack by the arm, hauling him to his feet and propelling him towards the door. He didn't struggle, since he knew it would be a useless gesture. There was no sense in getting himself hurt or killed. Much better to make use of a more opportune moment to try to escape. Inside of an Ailian military vessel was likely not the best position he could be in when it came to that. They secured his hands behind his back with a pair of handcuffs and then walked him out of the ship's prison.
He was led to the front of the ship, past numerous crew members who were conducting various duties. They watched him as he was escorted through, most of them with idle curiosity and a few with open hostility. Jack hoped that he might catch sight of Aria on the way out, but he did not. Either they were deliberately being kept apart, or Aria had already disembarked.
When the front hatchway opened, Jack was immediately assaulted by a wave of heat pouring into the ship. Bright sunlight flooded his eyes, and he blinked hard to try to banish the sting away even as he was forced down the exit ramp by the Ailians flanking him. As they reached the bottom of the ramp, his eyes still dazzled, he got his first look at the planet of Lirna.
When he'd been back on Earth, Jack had once visited Death Valley National Park in Nevada. He'd thought that place had been unbearable, and this planet seemed to be only slightly less hot. He'd been out of the ship for only a few minutes before he started sweating.
Looking around, Jack saw a sprawling military installation. The buildings were short, only a few stories at the tallest, and spread apart widely. This was a strategic aspect that most military bases shared, no matter the culture that designed them. Spacing buildings further apart made it more complicated for enemy starships or aircraft to destroy an entire base in one go. The base seemed to be surrounded by white sand deserts, which reflected the already blinding sunlight. Sparse green vegetation was scattered here and there, and very little of the ground in the base seemed to be paved. Off in the distance, Jack could see what looked like a large city, with sunlight reflecting off of windows and metal.
“Where are we?” Jack asked, forgetting his fear for a moment. A screeching sound rattled through the air, and he looked up to see a pair of atmospheric craft streak across the pale blue sky. They looked like some sort of attack aircraft.
The orange-furred Ailian next to him, sneered at him, but answered. “You on Lirna. This is Mat'aar Airbase.”
“And that city, out in the distance?” Jack would have pointed if his hands had been free, so he merely inclined his head in that direction.
“Is Hayikwiir. Capital city. Now be silent. Your speech offends me.”
Jack sighed, but he shut his mouth. The two Ailians forced him towards a wheeled vehicle which was waiting at the edge of the area the ship had landed at. Apparently they meant to take him somewhere. He wondered if Aria was having a better time than he was.
******
When the ship had landed at Mat'aar, Aria had been taken from her quarters and led off the ship to a ground transport. She knew the airbase well, as it had been where she'd spent the most recent several months of her service in the Ascendancy military. Aria's patrol unit was based out of Mat'aar, and it had been from this base that she'd departed on her previous mission. The one that had gone so wrong, and led her into this whole mess. As she was taken away from the ship that had recovered her, she realized she hadn't seen the noblewoman, Li'ren, since that meeting in her quarters. She was a little disappointed by that. Aria could have used a friendly presence right about now, and Li'ren had been the closest thing since her separation from Jack.
The transport took Aria and her guard escort through the airbase, away from the landing zones and toward the administration and barracks areas. The structures were a little more closely placed here than in the operations area, the logic being that living quarters and office areas were less crucial than the complicated and expensi
ve equipment needed to maintain flight command. They drove to the center of this area, and stopped in front of a large administrative structure.
When she stepped out of the transport, Aria took a moment to enjoy the familiar, comforting heat of her home planet. At least it was warmer here than on that planet she and Jack had been stranded...Aria would never have admitted it in front of the human, but that place had been far too cool for her liking. She looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath of the stifling air. The familiar deserts of her childhood were much more pleasant, and the nice, bright light from her home system's sun almost made her forget what she was facing here.
-Lieutenant...It's good to see you well. Though I wish it were in better circumstances.-
Aria looked down from the sky, turning her attention back to the building in front of her. Walking towards her was someone she hadn't seen since she'd departed Lirna. A female Ailian, some twenty years older than Aria, clad in a crisp, clean red flight suit similar to the worn, dirty one that she wore. Her black fur, patched here and there with white splotches, was graying around her muzzle and the tip of her tail. The female was her unit commander, Major Misa Tal'in, who also happened to be the ranking officer in charge of Mat'aar Airbase.
-Major,- Aria said, snapping to attention. She made to salute, normally done by crossing her arms over her chest, but then she remembered that the guards had cuffed her arms behind her back. -I apologize, Major, for not giving you the respect you deserve.-
The major waved her tail behind her once, her expression neutral. -It happens.- She lifted a hand, gesturing at the guards. -Lieutenant, you may take your squad and return to your duties. I will take the prisoner from here.-
The soldier she was addressing stepped forward, coming to attention and saluting her. -Respectfully, Major, I can't obey that command. I'm under orders from the admiral to keep my squad with the prisoner at all times until the hearing. For security purposes, m'lady.-
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