by Chris Devine
“I am Ts’ats’aak!” She retorted forcefully, with a mental poke in his chest to emphasise the point. “ALL life in my care is sacrosanct!” She took a breath and calmed herself. “I will not allow him to be sacrificed for the sake of satisfying the timetable of the Council. We can still get what we need, but it will take more time, effort, and co-operation from him.”
“Your points are noted, Ts’ats’aak.” He responded dismissively as he stood to indicate the meeting was over, but Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe was not finished yet and remained seated.
“Your Paal Kanik you have attending him.” Wingu Kanzu sighed and seated himself again.
“Xnuk Ek’?” He asked, she nodded.
“Are you sure she is the best choice for the task? I know you assigned her as punishment, but she is displaying some very unusual behaviour in his presence.”
“She is my best student and I may have assigned her the task anyway.” He replied. “And although she is close to becoming Ka’nsah herself she still has some lessons to learn, but I will discuss your concerns with her.” Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe nodded, they both rose and bowed. Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe left and made her way back to her quarters. She had a rest period before she was due for another session with The Original. Meanwhile, Wingu Kanzu leaned back in his chair, contemplating the recent conversation. He would have to keep an eye on that old Ts’ats’aak.
With the meal over, Xnuk Ek’ and Travis Fletcher left the cabin. He felt like a small child being both fascinated and surprised by everything. The floor took a bit of getting used to and he found himself clinging to his escort to stop himself falling over. She actually found that she was enjoying explaining things to him that she would normally take for granted. She began looking at her surroundings through his eyes to understand his reactions.
“Is everyone on this ship from…from…?” He asked, faltering over the name, as they were being whisked along a corridor.
“Xi Scorpii?” She finished for him. He nodded. “Yes but not all originally from the same star.” She added. His head snapped round in query. “There are five stars in the Xi Scorpii cluster and I was born on Otoch, which orbits Xi Scorpii C. Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe is from Xi Scorpii A and Niji No Tori……”
“The little assistant to the doctor?” He interrupted.
“Yes, she is from Xi Scorpii B, and my Nuuktak, who was with me when we found you, is from Xi Scorpii D.”
Travis considered this for a moment. “You said you ‘were born’ and everyone else was ‘originally’ from the other stars.”
“Very astute.” she commented with a smile and a nod.
“Is this anything to do with the dream I had?” She gave him a long hard look but he kept his face closed - he had learnt quickly to hide his thoughts. She could easily penetrate his shield but refrained. “I know you had something to do with that,” he looked sideways at her, “I just don’t know why.”
She halted their progress, took him by the shoulders and locked eyes with him. She was starting to regret her indiscretion. “I will explain,” she said, almost in a whisper, even though there was no-one near, “but not here, not now. You should not mention the dream again.” He nodded, baffled by her sudden change of mood. After a short time of thinking that he was actually getting to grips with his new surroundings, he suddenly felt as if he was tumbling down the rabbit hole again. Gently, she bolstered his emotions and he calmed down again. She smiled and suggested that they should continue, as Niji No Tori would be waiting for them.
They arrived at the Gaming Centre after a particularly tedious journey. The Gaming Centre was towards the aft of the great vessel, in one of the four pods that were attached to main fuselage. The others included two fully equipped landing bays and ancillary equipment stores deemed non-essential to the running of the ship. In the case of an emergency, anyone not managing to make it onto the ship’s shuttles could take refuge in the other pods which could be jettisoned as life boats. All the pods had their own systems independent from the main ship, as well as a rudimentary system drive and navigation, enough to get them into orbit of a nearby planet.
Neither spoke to the other as they were both wrapped up in their own thoughts, with Xnuk Ek’ wondering if she was getting into something too big for her, and Travis just trying to make sense of everything. He looked across at Xnuk Ek’ as the floor pulled them along. She did not catch his eyes and her expression did not welcome his questions at the moment.
Niji No Tori was waiting for them just inside the entrance and she bounded up to greet them, smiling from ear to ear. She bowed to Xnuk Ek’ then to Travis, affording Travis a bow as low as the one for Xnuk Ek’, which irked her a little, but she decided to give the young one some leeway due to her inexperience. Travis bowed back, affording the young girl a deeper bow than his escort’s more curt response. He was not sure if he was correct but the girl did seem to be pleased.
They were in an anteroom some twenty yards wide and ten across. A balcony ran the full width of the room opposite the door they had come through, with a number of people with their backs to them, looking out. Most were tall, like Xnuk Ek’ and the others from Xi Scorpii C. There were also a smattering with similar looks and build to the young Aantah, the stockier look of Xi Scorpii D, like his escort’s boss, and the more rounded Xi Scorpii A. Xnuk Ek’ had taken Niji No Tori to one side and seemed to be giving the girl instructions as she nodded acceptance frequently, but a look of consternation crossed her face occasionally and she glanced sideways at Travis.
Travis took the opportunity to look around. He wandered over to the balcony and his jaw dropped open at what he saw. Beyond the balcony was a huge cavern, maybe a couple of miles long, a good four hundred yards across, and two hundred yards high. The opposite side of the cavern was lined with balconies, just like the one he was stood on. He craned his neck out, looked up and down, and determined that there were balconies all around the one he was stood on before vertigo got the better of him and he withdrew. Floating out in the void were transparent cubes varying in size from a few square yards to the size of a football field and containing two, three or dozens of people. He noticed that the people on the balcony were wearing a headset and spare ones dangled from hooks on the rail. He picked one up and examined it. As he turned it over in his hands a female with the characteristics of Xi Scorpii C detached herself from the male she was talking to and glided over, smiling broadly, and bowed low in greeting.
“Forgive me.” Her voice was like velvet, her eyes the colour of clear honey and her hair a darker shade of silver than Xnuk Ek’. “I am Turix Dayak'.”
Travis felt himself stir and desperately fought the feeling down. The yellow ship suit left little to the imagination and being embarrassed twice in front of Xnuk Ek’ was enough. He was sure he saw the newcomer smirk a little. “Travis Fletcher.” He responded, copying her bow.
She laughed and he felt a tingle down his spine. “I know. I am a friend of Xnuk Ek’. She has spoken of you to me.”
I bet she has. He thought wryly.
“May I show you how to use the viewer?”
“Yes please.” He answered.
She showed him how to put it on and he was immediately treated to a full three-dimensional view of one of the cubes. He was watching a game between two teams of three people as if he was sat amongst them, the clarity was staggering. He could hear their shouts, grunts of exertion and (he was sure) could even smell their sweat. She showed him the hand device that came with the helmet, a bit like one of those new TV remote controls, only much slimmer and the controls were only images on the glossy surface and not buttons that clicked when he pushed them. She showed him how to change his viewpoint at will and even move from cube to cube. If he could get this back to Earth, he would make a fortune. Watching the Saturday football would never be the same again; you could flick from game to game and choose where to see the action from. He felt a hand on his shoulder and the presence of his escort behind him and reluctantly removed the headset.
Xnuk Ek’ smiled, condescendingly. “We are in space.” She replied. Travis looked blank. “No gravity,” she explained. “It takes energy to create gravity, removing it is easy.”
Shit! What a dickhead! Of course. He was reminded of the time he had pointed at the cooling towers of a power station they were driving past when he was a child and asked if that was where clouds were made. Bollocks! “But why?”
“A more logical question, but one that would take time to explain just now.” Xnuk Ek’ replied and turned to her friend. Travis fumed silently in frustration at getting fobbed off again, while the two tall women exchanged words of greeting and shared a joke before Xnuk Ek’ returned her attention back to Travis.
“Come.” She gestured that they should join Niji No Tori further along the balcony. As they approached, the young Aantah was entering information into a keypad. A cube, about fifteen yards square, floated over and hovered below the balcony. The barrier opened and Niji No Tori stepped off and floated gently into the cube. Xnuk Ek’ gestured to Travis that he should follow. He fought down his fear and copied Niji No Tori’s exit and found himself deposited softly next to her, closely followed by Xnuk Ek’. There were no markings on the walls or floor, all of which had a spongy feel to them, and no equipment or apparatus. He looked back at the balcony they left from to see that they were floating gently away amongst the dozens of other cubes.
No escape. He thought to himself.
“This is a basic training cube.” Xnuk Ek’ explained, indicating their surroundings. “It is sufficiently padded so that you will not be damaged, but not so much that you will not learn.” Travis was not sure he liked the sound of that, but kept quiet. “Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe has been teaching you mental discipline, and I will teach you to link those skills with physical discipline. As soon as we can walk, we are taught Ha iik' tunich which teaches the body and mind to work as one.”
Like martial arts, like Kung Fu and Karate?”
Xnuk Ek’ looked blankly but Niji No Tori sent her a mental image and a light of recognition registered on her face. “Yes, close enough.” She responded dismissively.
Travis had taken a few karate lessons, mostly to impress a girl, so he knew the basics and he took up a fair ‘fighting stance’ in front of Xnuk Ek’ who shook her head and pointed at the young Aantah.
“I am Ka’nsah, Niji No Tori is Aantah, you are Paal Kanik; I instruct, Niji No Tori assists, you learn.”
Travis sized up his new opponent. She was a much slighter build and a good few inches shorter than Xnuk Ek’, who towered over him. A much better prospect, he decided. He shifted his stance appropriately. He was ready. Now what? He caught Xnuk Ek’ smile and nod at the girl and the next thing he felt was his body striking the wall of the cube some three feet from the floor. He fell, winded, and lay in a heap on the floor with an ache in his chest as if he had just been kicked. He struggled to his feet, too shocked to say anything. He was sure neither of them had moved.
“Shall we try that again?” Xnuk Ek’ asked with a wicked grin, beckoning him over.
“Are you going to teach me that or just kick the shit out of me again?” he complained. Niji No Tori looked embarrassed about causing Travis’ distress.
“Ha iik' tunich is not just a skill of the body but also of the mind,” his instructor explained. “You must defend, attack, and misdirect with the body as well as with the mind.” She nodded at Niji No Tori again. Watch and listen with your mind. He heard her mind next to his. Time slowed to a crawl. Watch how she moves and listen for the tell-tales that give her away. He concentrated on the almost stationary figure in front of him. She’s going to move to the left and sweep your leg away but feign a head on attack. Do you see?
It was uncanny, but he understood. Yes, I think I see.
So be Ha iik', be like water and wind; flow away and let her stone meet air, like this. She instructed, projecting the image of a graceful move to avoid the impending attack. Time sped up again and he leapt ungainly to one side just as his sparring partner’s beautifully flowing move passed through where he had stood. Unfortunately, his hasty counter move unbalanced him and he collapsed to the floor once more. He looked up to see the two aliens smiling at him, partially in congratulations and partially in seeing such a comical spectacle.
“Again.” Xnuk Ek’ instructed.
By the end of the session, Travis was battered, bruised, and completely worn out, but strangely elated. This had been no initial karate lesson, learning how to stand, breathe and punch the air. This was trial by fire, and although Niji No Tori had landed more blows than he had avoided, with Xnuk Ek’’s guidance he was starting to see patterns in her movements and thoughts that alerted him to what was coming, even if he could still not get out of the way in time. The basic moves were more like an intricate dance that was performed with a speed, agility and grace that would put any ballet dancer to shame and made the flowing moves of Kung Fu look like a toddler taking its first steps. She was beautiful and hypnotic to watch and that, reasoned Travis, was the reason he failed to react quickly enough. But he was not going to give up and he thought he was getting the hang of it. What had brought the session to an end was a particularly awkward fall that had twisted a muscle in his leg. Xnuk Ek’ had called the lesson to a close and suggested that Travis spend some time in the cleansing cubicle as he was dripping pools of sweat everywhere. Niji No Tori had offered to attend to his injury, which had a sort of strange symmetry in Travis’ eyes as she was the cause of his pain in the first place.
Travis was limping through the corridors back to his cabin, supported by his erstwhile sparring partner. Although of a much slighter build than he, she possessed the strength of someone twice her size and bore his weight with ease. Or was she using some mental power to augment her strength? Travis mused. Luckily the three mile trip back to his cabin was eased by the floor that whisked them smoothly along, albeit at a slower pace than before. It seemed to Travis, correctly as it happened, that their ultimate speed was proportional to the speed at which they walked. The young alien seemed uncomfortable and Travis could sense something was amiss. Was it just normal intuition or was he actually able to sense others thoughts and emotions?
“What’s wrong?” he queried her.
“I am sorry I injured you.”
Travis gave a wry laugh. “You are forgiven. Having my arse kicked by you is the least of my worries.” He caught her querying look, so he stopped and turned to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I should be dead but here I am: living, breathing and further from home than anyone on my planet has ever travelled before, on an alien spaceship destined for another star, to save a race from extinction, but I don’t know why, or how, and I have no way home.” He leaned forward so his forehead touched hers. “I am the only human here so I have no-one to talk to about the amazing things I see and the amazing people I have met and I am so alone.” He whispered. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Having my arse kicked by you is not high on my list of things to get upset about.”
“You are not the only human.” She whispered, so quietly he was not sure he had heard and immediately regretted the utterance. “Come, we must get you to your cabin.” She said brightly, changing the mood and redirecting his thoughts. They limped off again.
They eventually reached Travis’ cabin and after a shower he lay obediently on the bed, whereupon Niji No Tori massaged his leg, but it was like no massage he had experienced before. It was as if the girl was inside his leg, manipulating and rearranging individual muscle fibres. By the time she had finished he could feel no pain and was totally relaxed. She rose to leave.
“No.” He sat up and took her hand on impulse. “Stay, please.”
She looked back, surprised. “You wish to have sex with me?”
“Eh? What? No!” He dropped her hand. She looked confused. “I
like you, I like your company.” He blurted. “And you are the only person I have met who doesn’t treat me like I’m mentally deficient. I want you to stay and talk with me.”
She waded through the cacophony of thoughts that assailed her senses. Sex was indeed on his mind, but was not forefront. He was looking for company and conversation. She felt a little disappointed and relieved at the same time, but nodded her assent.
“You’re a star.” He smiled.
“How am I a star?” She queried.
“I mean thank you and I am glad you are who you are.” The explanation made no sense but she accepted the compliment. “Apparently if I think I need something, it will appear. Would you like some wine?”
“Wine?”
“Yes, a drink from Earth made from fermented grape juice.”
She caught the mental picture he projected and nodded. By the time they made their way to the living area, a sofa and a low table with two glasses and a bottle with Travis’ favourite label on was waiting for them. He motioned her to sit and poured her a glass. She examined it with some apprehension. He poured himself a glass and passed it under his nose, nodded appreciatively and sipped. It was just as he imagined.
“Is this a common ritual?” She asked, still eying the drink suspiciously. It was transparent with a yellowish tint. Although almost the consistency of water, it seemed to cling to the side of the long stemmed drinking vessel as she tilted it from side to side.
Travis felt more comfortable with this alien girl than he did with anyone else he had met on this ship, and all he wanted at that moment was to relax and chat, which he could not do with Xnuk Ek’; she was far too intense and secretive. “Good wine,” he said, holding the glass aloft, “good company,” he toasted his guest with the glass, “and good conversation. A time honoured tradition, indeed.” He concluded, with a smile.