by Ian J Miller
She was also amused to be permitted to see some of the later technology explained, technology that was not available on Earth.
'I guess I'm not supposed to be looking at this stuff,' she thought to herself.
'If they're silly enough to let you see it, I'd look!' came Katya's thought.
'You're monitoring everything I do?' Natasha thought.
'No, but I am keeping watch while you're wandering about,' Katya replied. 'You may need help.'
'I may indeed,' she agreed.
* * *
By now Kazyn was reasonably certain that he had located all security devices, and he knew how to avoid them, or to turn them off. He had waited for a day when he was reasonably certain that the most important Ranhynn were away, then he slipped outside, nominally to walk in the garden. The outer fence was secured, but mainly to prevent outsiders getting in. He ambled behind some shrubbery, and crawled towards the outer fence. The security was relatively lax. It was obvious that nobody could get in, so there was little point in worrying about the outer regions of the estate, and the owners did want some privacy.
He reached the corner, and with a small trowel he carefully dug a small trench. With a power lead he connected two segments very close to the ground, then he buried his cable, and carefully placed a shrub over where his trench had been. He now disconnected a small section of the fence from the power, and cut a small hole in it. He then carefully replaced the fence section, and tied it in place with almost transparent thread.
He now had an emergency exit. He was becoming increasingly nervous about his situation. Images of him were frequently shown across the news channels, and there were an abundance of stories of where he had been sighted. He had kept a small file on these. If the worst came to the worst, one of the better places to hide would be somewhere where he had been found not to be.
* * *
By now, with the Romulus refuelled, Lucilla was, once again, bored. As Antonia, her companion, said, it seemed that nothing was happening and if she wished she could be put back to the stasis sleep. Lucilla thought about this, and decided to accept. Antonia would wake her if there were any sign of activity. Everything else that had to be done was mechanical, and Lucilla always agreed with Antonia that mechanical activities were well left to machines, who made a much better job of doing them.
"And who do not get bored," Antonia chided.
Lucilla could only agree.
* * *
For Zander Thuygen, the news that Kuyrill Kazyn was wanted for murder came as a bomb blast. His first thought was that Kazyn had been full of hot air, and there never had been an opportunity. But after a little more thought he decided that somewhere in this situation, there lay an opportunity. The problem was to find it. The question was, how?
The first step should be to break into Kazyn's apartment, or so he thought, and he had some idea how to do that. The apartment was on the third floor, so it should be easy enough to get in through a window. If you lived on the third floor you tended to be lazy about checking windows. So that nobody would notice, he would pretend to be a window cleaner. This was not that difficult to do because window cleaning was a traditional way Ranhyn students earned money. He must join as a cleaner.
This was easy, and before long he had is first job. That it was in the wrong part of town was unfortunate, but at least he had a uniform, a vehicle that identified him as a cleaner, and a machine ladder. He set off. Fortunately the instructions had been written on an ordinary piece of paper; all he had to do was to write similar instructions on another piece of paper, but with Kazyn's address.
He drove quietly up to the apartment building and backed up to the apartment. So far, everything was in his favour, or so he thought. He aimed his ladder at one of the windows and prayed to The Creator that nothing would go amiss. This was the first time he had used this equipment, and the last thing he needed was to break a window. However, all went well, and he began climbing. He was half-way up, when it occurred to him that he really ought to have some cleaning equipment handy, so he went back down again, got a brush and a bucket, and up he climbed again.
He braced himself against the wall, and felt for the window. It was not fixed, so he pushed it open, and put his foot on the sill.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Thuygen almost fell off the ladder in fright. He looked to his right, and there, at the next window, was the drab plumage of a female.
"I'm a window cleaner."
"You don't open the windows to clean them," the female said, in a tone that was both angry, but also slightly tentative. This, Thuygen realized, must be that unacknowledged female that Kazyn had to look after his apartment. "Also," she added in near disgust, "to clean, you usually put water in your bucket, and your mop is bone dry."
"How I do it is my business," Thuygen blustered. These unacknowledged should know their place, and his best bet was to put her there.
"This wasn't ordered," Baht said.
"Yes, it was. Here, I'll show you the slip."
"No, it wasn't, because nothing like that is done without my knowing. You're trying to break in." The head went back inside the window and Thuygen could hear her coming towards this room, presumably to confront him.
This put Thuygen in a poor position. He could keep going, but this wretched female might even fight. Worse, it appeared most likely that she would get to him before he could get properly inside, in which case one good shove and he would fall. And someone falling off a ladder on his first experience as a window cleaner would be put down to incompetence. The door opened, and Baht stormed in, with clear fury in her eyes. Thuygen backed away, and pulled the paper from his pocket.
"Oh, my goodness," he said. "I think I have the wrong street number. Sorry." With that, he clambered back down the ladder. A nuisance, but, better be safe than sorry.
He wound down the ladder, and secured his equipment for driving, during which time Baht sent a series of insults down at him. He almost felt like going back up and sorting her out, when he noticed a head staring out of a vehicle on the opposite side of the road.
A shudder went down his back. That vehicle had been there the whole time. That was a surveillance team, and suddenly it occurred to him that he had been a bit silly. Of course that apartment would be being watched, in case Kazyn returned. The police would look silly if he came back, did something to change evidence, then left.
But there was something wrong with that theory. Then he saw it. That vehicle was not a police vehicle. The number plate contained the code that ensured other police, or anyone else, would not interfere with whatever it was doing, irrespective of whatever parking violation it was carrying out. That special code was restricted to vehicles of the Conclave Guard, which in turn meant that this murder was not a simple crime to be investigated by the normal police. He had better get out of here before they took his number and began asking questions. Also, he decided that carrying out the cleaning job he had been given was not a good idea. He returned the equipment, but did not sign them in, and did not sign in that the job had been completed. He then tore out the page where he had signed in to get the equipment. Technically, the official job had not commenced, which also happened to be true.
As it happened, Baht had already taken the number of his vehicle and had set about identifying him at Student Cleaning. Student Cleaning provided a name, which happened to be false, but when Baht asked what he was studying, after some rather embarrassing prevarication, it was learned that whoever he was, he was not a registered student.
The embarrassment for Student Cleaning became more pronounced later that afternoon when a further call for identification came in. The receptionist gave a curt reply that it was none of their business. The Ranhyn identified himself as a Group Leader in the Conclave Guard, and this receptionist would very quickly find out what were the consequences of such a smart-arsed reply. The terrified receptionist then told everything, but the problem then became clear that 'everything' was effectively nothing
. However, the Conclave Guard was not so ready to give up. The vehicle and all equipment were locked away and forensic specialists were sent to examine it.
The examination found quite a bit of evidence, but none of it was useful for identification purposes yet. There were good samples of nucleic acid from feathers, but there were no matches in the records. This was a first offender.
The Conclave Guard did not learn about Baht's enquiry because the receptionist was too terrified to mention it. The Conclave Guard had no desire to ask where the equipment actually went because first, they expected the receptionist would not know, and second, they knew because they had observed the whole thing. They also had photographs of Thuygen on the ladder, but these were of little value because all they had were his back, and those on the ground were so concerned with retaining their anonymity that they made no effort to photograph him when he came down, as he would see the camera.
Thus this little escapade was a total failure for all involved.
Chapter 14
Natasha Kotchetkova made a minor adjustment to her hair, then walked into the room. It had, as she had expected, a table for her to sit at so she could stare at a forest of microphones and cameras. There were some things, she thought to herself, that were strangely common across civilizations. The technology was available to take perfect recordings while being unobtrusive, and these could easily be shared, but no, each competing part of the media had to have their own equipment installed. They would all record the same material, and in some cases their opponent's equipment.
She had been asked to give a press conference. At first Gaius was reluctant to accept this invitation, Hadell had warned against it, but in the end she pointed out that she was there to make peace between the planets. If she refused to talk to the population of Ranh, or give any information about Earth, how could she convince the population that she wanted peace?
She took her seat, and waited for the commotion to die down. Then a senior priest from the Space Curia rose and introduced her. She was then invited to give a speech. It was suggested that she did so in her own language: a full translation would be made available. While she had equipment that permitted conversation, the accent was not good, and in some parts the translations it offered were quaint. Straight from a period several tens of thousands of years previously, and while the Ranhynn accepted this, the meanings of many words had changed, and it would be preferable to get a good translation from their professionals.
Natasha rose, and as she had been instructed, she spoke slowly and as clearly as she could. The message was simple. The recent attempt by an alien force to subjugate Earth had been repulsed, and in the course of this, Earth had become aware of Ranh. Accordingly, she was there as a representative of Earth, with the goal of making peace between the two civilizations that were so closely related. Their two civilizations had much in common, and she trusted that peace would be one of them.
She closed then, but agreed to take questions. Not to have done so would have been quite rude, and worse, she would have seemed to be afraid, something that would have led to her being despised on Ranh. The first question was why was it taking so long for her to get back to the Space Curia?
"You will have to ask Tenzat Tergyn," she countered. "I am formally waiting for the Curia to respond to my offer of peace between our planets."
That received some derisory comments directed at Tergyn. Another question, "Why do you think Tenzat Tergyn is taking so long?"
"I don't have any idea," Natasha replied. "You would have to ask him."
More cackles.
There followed a series of question about what Earth was like, and she answered as best she could. The conference seemed to be going quite well, and was about to draw to an end when a somewhat agitated questioner asked, "You have a relationship with Kuyrill Kazyn?"
"When he was on Earth," Natasha replied, "he informed me that he was present under the direct orders of Tenzat Tallyn. Obviously that required him to be treated as a full diplomat."
"There's something more important isn't there?"
"I don't understand," Natasha replied. "What could be more important than my assisting a diplomat directly appointed by a Tenzat of Ranh?"
"There was a personal issue?"
"He fought bravely at my side against the enemies of Earth," Natasha agreed, "as was, incidentally, required by the Treaty with Ulse, and as so few other Ranhynn did so," she continued. "I believe it would have been appropriate for him to have presented me to the Space Curia."
There was a pause, then another rose and asked whether she was prepared to restore honour by making personal reparations to the family of the Ranhynn that Kazyn had killed.
"As I understand it," she said evenly, "there is no issue of honour at stake. The plucking was generally accepted as having been fully deserved."
"I refer to the killing!" came the agitated response, "and the hanging of the carcass . . ." He paused, almost speechless.
"Again, there is no question of honour involved," Natasha replied calmly. "He clearly did not do the killing, and I have great faith that the police on Ranh are on the track of the real killers. However," she continued, as he seemed to want to ask something else, "I was not even on the planet at the time, and I have had no communication with Kuyrill Kazyn since we parted company on Earth. I am sure the issue will be resolved, but not here, now. Now, if you will excuse me, I have nothing else to add to that issue because I do not know any more. Now, unless there are questions on a different topic, I think we should close now."
* * *
"So, my fine feathered friend," Methrell said as she stroked Kazyn's neck, "What did you make of that?"
"I think Natasha handled that rather well," he shrugged. "Those two were just oozing frustration." This stroking and clawing was getting a little too frequent for Kazyn's liking. It was usually either a sexual advance, or the initiation of some sort of challenge, and right now Kazyn could not afford a further challenge. Worse, since he was technically a fugitive, there was no way that someone with Methrell's status could conceivably be thinking of mating with him, which left him in an awkward position. The best he could do, he thought, was to ignore the stroking, but this could get harder if she persisted.
"Yes, I agree," Methrell nodded. "Your assessment of that human is very good, and you may also note the composure of Claudius. He never said a thing, but he was watching very closely. Those two are clearly quite competent, as you indicated, which in turn means your assessments warrant closer consideration."
"Well, thank you . . ." Kazyn started.
"So assess and don't prevaricate!" Methrell snorted. "What is going on?"
"The obvious thought is that they, whoever they are, are still trying to flush me out," Kazyn nodded.
"My, they must still think you really are important," Methrell cackled. "I wonder why?"
"That's what I don't understand either," Kazyn nodded. "The only obvious link involving me with anything else that's going on is that I have been to Earth and now the Terrans have sent a delegation –"
"Why would the arrival of the Terrans lead to their framing you?"
"Perhaps because I had promised to introduce them to the Space Curia."
"And I am sure that would have their Tenzat quivering in his boots!"
"It is conceivable that the Thapets fear a challenge . . ."
"My, you're so important you're inspiring fear in a Tenzat," Methrell said with a laugh as she also shook her head in disbelief.
"He doesn't have to fear me personally," Kazyn pointed out. "He may fear exposure during the challenge. If I ask the right question, there must be a full answer which will be verified as such by independent priests."
"So the Thapets are hiding something," Methrell mused. "Possible, I suppose, but what? What is this fearsome question?"
"I don't know," Kazyn admitted, "but they don't know that."
"Yes, they do!" Methrell countered. "You've been off-world for over twenty-three of those Terran years.
"
"Someone else could have told me," Kazyn admitted.
"Unlikely! Why tell you? If they knew anything really important, why don't they call in a bishop? Whatever this mysterious crime is, it would be in the interests of any Ranhyn who knew about it to come forward, expose it, and collect the automatic reward. Instead, you claim they decline the reward, and tell you? Why?"
"Because they don't have sufficient evidence perhaps?" Kazyn replied evenly. "Only in a challenge can you go on a complete search."
"I suppose there's a certain degree of truth there," Methrell nodded. "A challenge with no grounds tends to leave the challenger somewhat plucked. You probably could make a strong case, and you may be the only one who can right now. Still, I find it hard to believe."
"There's also the point that such a challenge could be made on grounds of policy. When I present Natasha, if I argue that the Curia should sign the treaty, then I have an automatic ground for a challenge if the Thapets do not wish to sign."
"Yes," Methrell said with a nod, "whether to go to war would be grounds for a challenge, and a safe one because it is so important that even if you lose, you have exercised a logical approach. There is only one problem with that analysis."
"That the Thapets have not actually taken a view?"
"Exactly. The obvious thing to do would be to refer the treaty question to the Great Conclave if the Tenzat there is too timid or too lazy to take a view."
"Which might lead to the Conclave being irritated with a Tenzat who cannot even carry out the basics."
"I am sure he would survive," Methrell said, "and while you may have something there, it really only works if the Thapets have reason to believe war has been decided."