by S. G. Basu
“You’ll be fine, Ren,” Nafi said as they compared notes on how difficult it was to balance on their rides. “Chylomyhrra has arms. She holds on to you as if you were her baby.”
Maia laughed and so did Ren. It was true, the milk squid had developed a fierce affection for the boy, coddling and fussing over him all the time.
“She is sweet.” Ren sighed. “I wish I hadn’t been so rude with her in the beginning. I’ll miss her when I leave this place.”
“You’ll miss your girlfriend, huh?” The hysterical cackle came from the table next to them where Loriine sat with her team. She guffawed at her crude joke as her friends joined in with her. “I have to tell you, Ren, she’s a real beauty.”
“Shut it, Loriine,” Ren retorted.
“The boyfriend is real touchy,” Loriine replied, smirking.
“Don’t be so mean, Loriine. It’s his first love after all,” Baecca teased.
Ren flushed a bright crimson as Loriine and gang erupted into laughter. Nafi squirmed to turn around and yell at Loriine, but Maia’s firm grip on her arm kept her from doing so. This was not a time to get into a fight. Maia and her teammates rushed through their meal and left the RC as quickly and as quietly as they could.
45: One Deal and Another
Some squabbles are destined to happen. As eager as Maia and her friends were to avoid getting provoked by Loriine, Loriine seemed equally eager to bring matters to a violent end. She traipsed into Dill’s classroom one morning while most of the contestants were already gathered around the pool interacting with their partners. Ren was crouched where the entryway ended, holding one of Chylomyhrra’s arms as she playfully sprinkled water over him.
“Are you asking her out for dinner tonight?” Loriine cackled loudly, making Maia want to sock her in the face. “Oh look, she has such pretty blistered hands.”
Maia noticed Ren’s fists tighten as Loriine’s teammates burst out laughing. Chylomyhrra sensed the taunts; she pulled her tentacle out of Ren’s hands and sank underneath the surface noiselessly. Ren quietly watched her vanish from sight. Then he rose to his feet and turned to face Loriine.
“You think you’re beautiful?” Ren said in a threatening whisper. “Maybe you are. But does that make you better than us?”
A small crowd gathered around them eagerly.
“What?” Loriine asked, seemingly amused by Ren’s question.
“I challenge you to a race.” Ren crossed his arms and looked steadily into her eyes. “Dare to accept it?”
“W-what challenge?” Loriine suddenly looked a bit scared.
“Chylomyhrra and I will race you and handsome Saem through the Convolhydrae. The one who wins will take over all the upkeep tasks of the other.” Ren paused. “Deal good enough for you?”
“You . . . must be out of your mind.” Loriine rolled her eyes, shook her head, and waved dismissively at Ren. “I always time the best in the Convolhydrae. There’s no way you and your lump of tentacles can beat us.”
“Then you’ve nothing to lose anyway,” Ren replied coldly.
“Is this some kind of a joke?” Loriine smiled rather uncomfortably. The unexpected challenge had rattled her somehow.
“I don’t think Ren would joke with you, Loriine,” remarked in the most unfriendly tone she could muster. “He only jokes with friends.”
A titter of laughter rose from the crowd that had now grown quite large. Loriine flushed deeply and turned to her team. Baecca shook her head and whispered something in her ear.
“I’m not going to fall for that trick. You’re trying to get a strike against us,” Loriine said.
The crowd booed and jeered.
“What if he races for the whole team?” Kusha said so abruptly that Loriine almost stumbled. “Your team’s upkeep tasks are on us if he loses.”
Ren stared at Kusha for a moment before a radiant smile flooded his face. The crowd egged on as Loriine hesitated.
“That would mean we do yours if he wins,” Loriine finally said. “That’s too—”
“Well, Loriine,” Karhann interjected, “you started it, so you can’t back out now. Take the challenge and be done with it.” He sounded a bit annoyed and disinterested.
“But how will we find the time?” Loriine persisted in her attempts to walk out of the challenge. “It’s not like we can reserve the Convolhydrae for a race.”
“That’s no problem at all,” Jiri intervened eagerly. “Dill always has meetings with Aerika at the beginning of the session. He usually leaves us alone for a while. We can easily get the race done during that time. Only if you’re up to the challenge, of course.”
Jiri’s jibe was not lost on Loriine. She frowned and flushed before nodding her head.
“All right, I’m in,” she said, and the crowd broke into a cheer.
“Yay, it’s on,” a tall Jjord boy shouted. He punched Ren playfully in the shoulder. “You go, Ren. Teach her some manners.”
The chatter and the ruckus ended pretty soon as Dill walked in with a giant chart in his arms. After the groups took their seats, he hoisted the gigantic roll from a hook and unfurled it. It was a roster, a mammoth list of upkeep tasks assigned to the various teams over the upcoming months. He went on to explain how the tasks would be carried out, handed out maps and directions, but made no reference to the day’s Convolhydrae exercises.
“Won’t there be any practice at the Convolhydrae today?” Jiri voiced the question that stirred restlessly in Maia’s mind.
Dill stared for a while at the boy, taken aback by the sudden eagerness. Then he slowly shook his head.
“No Convolhydrae sessions until next week. Some circuits needed repairs,” he said, frowning as people all around him sighed in disappointment. He added after a moment of confused silence, “It seems you have come to like the exercises. Good!”
Maia could tell that no one cared for anything other than the Convolhydrae at this moment. If it were up to Maia, she would rush out to the Convolhydrae right then. But concern over Aerika’s reaction at such an action triumphed over the urge to see Loriine beaten. She decided to focus instead on Dill’s instructions. But as soon as Dill stepped out of the room, everyone huddled together.
“Can’t believe we couldn’t have the race today,” the tall Jjord boy said.
“It’s a good thing that we didn’t. We need time to chalk out some rules,” Jiri said wisely. “We can’t rush into a challenge that has so much at stake. We need to make sure the race is fair.”
Maia looked at the usually quiet and sweet-tempered boy with surprise. He surely was keen on the race.
“And what next? You’ll want to be the referee?” Loriine mocked.
“Why not?” Jiri shot back, astonishing Maia again. “Do you know someone who can do the job better?”
“No, you’ll do just fine,” Karhann said before Loriine had a chance to speak. “We need to go over the rules first. When can you get them ready?”
“Soon,” Jiri replied airily before weaving out of the crowd, pursued by an unusually large bunch of followers.
“What’s with Jiri?” Nafi said as they walked out into the corridor. “Did you see how he snubbed Loriine?”
“Hope he draws up some good rules.” Maia could only think of the race now. If Jiri’s new personality made the whole thing a little fairer, Ren would stand a chance against Loriine’s skills.
“We need to find a place to practice. This week’s break is quite a stroke of luck,” Dani said determinedly, speaking for the first time since the night before. “Loriine is quite good in the Convolhydrae, and catching up in a week’s time won’t be very easy.”
“You find us a place and we’ll work as hard as we can.” Ren looked Dani in the eye, his face steely with resolve. “Trust me, I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” Dani flashed a small smile before she stepped forward and gave Ren a quick, unexpected hug. “I’ll find something for you.”
They were about to walk in the directi
on of the elevator when a cheerful voice assailed them from behind.
“Hey, you kids!” A smiling Joolsae swooped on the group. “Haven’t seen you in ages.” She glanced over each face before throwing herself on Nafi, catching her by the shoulders, pinching her cheeks, ruffling her hair, and driving Nafi into a state of open-mouthed shock.
“How have you been, cute little one?” Joolsae crooned, as Nafi still stood paralyzed. It was a good thing that Nafi was stunned into silence, Maia thought. In any other situation, Joolsae would have had a rough time after calling Nafi a “cute little one.”
“How’s your brother, Joolsae?” Dani asked before Nafi could get her bearings back.
“Huh?” Joolsae shot a bewildered look at Dani. Then she smiled. “Oh, he’s fine. Ummm . . . I have another message from Hans.”
She held out a bottle very similar to the one Hans had sent the last time only this one showed a series of cracks along the rim. Dani ran a finger around the bruised cap and looked inquiringly at Joolsae, who shrugged and sighed.
“I dropped it once. These things are so small and I have such clumsy fingers,” she said defensively. “I hope the letter is intact. Do you want me to ask Hans to write another one?”
“No, this seems like surface damage. I think the contents are fine,” Dani replied.
Joolsae stood in apologetic silence before she said uncomfortably, “Well, I have to go now. Is there anything else you guys need help with?”
There was nothing that Joolsae could help them with now, Maia was sure. She could not even help them when they had asked for it. No one else seemed to think differently either.
Ren shook his head. “Nope. We’re all fine.” He flashed a charming smile.
“Okay then.” Joolsae reached out to pat Nafi. By some questionable quirk of fate, Nafi’s satchel decided to fall to the floor at that very moment. The head full of auburn curls dived toward the floor, missing Joolsae’s shooting arm by a splinter. She got up from crouching on the floor only after Joolsae had left.
“Why does she have to make a pet out of me?” Nafi whined as the group settled in one corner of the atrium and Dani carefully broke the seal on the bottle. “I mean, it’s not just me here. She has four more heads to pat.”
“You’re a cute little one, that’s why,” Ren said from his safe hideout behind Dani. Nafi growled and muttered and growled some more, stopping only when Dani started reading Hans’s letter aloud.
As I have said before, please keep this message our secret. You are well aware of the talks that have been going on. You have been privy to one session yourself. I’m happy to tell you that we have finally come close to a deal that might somewhat avert the disaster ahead of us.
While many Solianese Houses have not been keen on participating in these talks, there are quite a few exceptions. Some Houses have been trying to bring about a peaceful end to this crisis. They have agreed to flush out every suspected member of the Resistance that they are able to find in their territories. But not just that, we now have reached a quorum to grant long-term UTAP for the land cities to the Xifarians. The Xifarians will be able to seek their lost treasure freely, or round up the Resistance on their own.
To thank these Houses, notably the House of the Broken Seas, we have agreed to share our surplus energy with only those who have come forward to find a solution. To the rest who do not care, we have nothing to offer but our sympathies.
Battle lines have been drawn—it is all those who have pledged action to help the Xifarians find their artifact against the ones who refuse to even show up for discussions.
This pact to grant long-term UTAP and share energy is being drafted as I write to you. It will be signed and ratified within ten days by the Xifarians, our Solianese allies and the Jjordic Council.
As Dani stopped, Maia tried frantically to grasp the meaning of those words.
“What does that mean?” Maia asked. “The Solianese Houses are not united in this? There should’ve been a committee representing all of the Solianese Houses, right?”
Nafi scoffed. “Never was and never will be. The Solianese have been divided ever since the Collapse. Each House to its own, so the saying goes.”
Maia listened on, a bit startled at Nafi’s words. Herc always talked about how the Solianese had been ill-treated by the Xifarians and the Jjord, but he rarely mentioned the divisions among the Solianese.
“So . . .” she started tentatively. “What will happen to the people whose House leaders are not present here? They’ll not get help from the Jjord, and when the Xifarians stop the energy supply, the people in their territories will perish, won’t they?”
“Obviously.” Nafi shrugged. “If they don’t migrate to an area that has some native source of power, they definitely will.”
A prickly silence made its way in.
“What’s worse,” Nafi broke the quiet, “is the long-term UTAP. It was bad enough when they had UTAP for a week during the annual drafts, but now they can practically show up anytime to round up an entire village and take them away.”
“How can they make a deal with only a handful of houses? Shouldn’t there be some voting or some such stuff?” Maia asked.
“They have quorum,” Nafi said gravely. “That’s the minimum number of representative Houses needed to propose a deal. Like Hans said, quite a few Houses must’ve showed up in favor of this pact.”
She fell silent for a moment while the rest of the team waited patiently. Nafi was a history buff—everyone knew that and respected her knowledge.
“The House of the Broken Seas has considerable hold, I know. They have a group of others who follow their every bidding. Together, they must’ve been able to make a good case for themselves.”
“These Seas . . . people . . . who are they exactly?” Ren leaned forward, his brows knitted.
“A bunch of slimeballs. Their territories are about a thousand islands between the Second and the Third Continents,” Nafi explained. “They’re never up to any good. All they care about is getting favors at any cost from whomever they can.”
“It’s unfortunate that the Jjord found no one else but these people to side with,” Kusha said in a vicious, scornful tone. “They should’ve had better sense than to depend on the slimeballs. Can’t believe they chose to ignore the millions of lives that will be sacrificed by this biased pact. Who needs sympathies?”
Dani stood up abruptly. Her lips trembled and her face flushed in a fit of anger.
“There you go again! Why do you always have to be so quick to blame others?” Her eyes flashed. “Have you ever thought that the people who are to blame for the millions of lives that are about to be lost are none other than their House leaders themselves? At least the slimeballs chose to come here for their people and so they were rewarded for making an effort to resolve this mess. What are you doing? Where is your House? Aren’t you supposed to be taking care of the people whom you chose to lead? Don’t you think you are failing them?”
She stopped, shook her head, then turned and walked away. No one made an effort to stop her; it was of no use.
“What’s wrong with her?” Kusha said after a while.
“Well, she is right, you know,” Nafi admitted, she sounded spent and hopeless. “I know the Sahiiraan of our territory is not here because he won’t have anything to do with the slimeballs. But in the end, he is the one failing my people, not anyone else.”
“Okay, but she could’ve said that nicely, couldn’t she?” Kusha almost shouted. “And she could’ve done without the stomping away, don’t you think? Why does she always have to scream at me like I’m at the root of all problems? Why can’t she understand that my family and I are in a difficult position as well?”
“Because . . . you haven’t actually told her that,” Maia stated very cautiously.
But true as Maia’s statement was, and as nicely as she had put it, Kusha flared up. He got to his feet and glared at the trio.
“So, it’s my fault now? You want to side
with her as well, do as you please.” He stomped away in the direction of the elevators.
Ren, Nafi, and Maia sat in silence for a while before Nafi slowly got to her feet.
“I just remembered . . . I have to go see Palak about some stuff,” she stated with an air of vagueness.
“What stuff?” Maia asked guardedly, hoping that she would not get yelled at again.
“Some stuff. Nothing important. See you later,” Nafi replied, as evasive as before. She took off toward Palak’s room before Maia could ask another question.
“I think I’ll go and have a chat with Chylomyhrra,” Ren said after Nafi had left. “I need to talk to her about the race. Explain matters to her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I think I need some time alone with her.”
“All right,” Maia sighed.
“Sorry.”
As Ren walked away, Maia trudged toward the elevators. This was going to be an evening to remember. It was interesting how things had changed over the last few weeks. She remembered their days on Xif, when they were always together and always ready to support and lift up each other’s spirits. Everything seemed to be broken now, and with the way things were going, the future seemed bleak as never before.
“Can’t let this happen,” Maia whispered as she leaned against the cool wall of the elevator. Her fists curled as she vowed to take action—she had to talk to Kusha and Dani and try to make them patch up.
46: Separate Ways
Maia had a fitful sleep that night. Yet another nightmare had barged in, leaving behind bits and pieces of it in her memories the next morning. She remembered seeing Kusha dressed like a king, and he led an army of people into a dark forest. And then there was a war—a huge, big, and bloody war, with spears and bows and arrows. There was something dreadful about Kusha in the end. He lay on the ground in pain, and deep gashes on his body were oozing blood.