Alien Worlds

by Roxanne Smolen

  Just then, the door opened. A man and a woman entered the room. They sat at the end of the table near Ambri-Cutt.

  Director Hammond said, “I’ve invited Mr. Morimoto and Miss Johnston to this hearing. As observers only, of course.”

  The Chairman slapped the tabletop. “This is highly irregular.”

  Hammond’s voice turned colder than her eyes. “What is irregular, Mr. Chairman, is that this Board would vote to disband and then deem to sit in judgment of a man for disregarding orders that were since null and void.”

  “The order to suspend operations was within Administration protocol—”

  “The power of the Colonial Expansion Board is moot.” Hammond flicked her hand. “And as Mr. Morimoto’s Coalition has not officially assumed control, the Project itself is in flux. I, therefore, allowed Mr. Ambri-Cutt to continue his attempts.”

  The Chairman shouted, “You authorized this… this breach?”

  “You knew?” Ambri-Cutt cried.

  Hammond fixed him with her gray gaze. “Understand. Nothing happens within my jurisdiction that I don’t know about. I did not stop you, so yes—I authorized it.”

  The Board erupted with shouts.

  Hammond’s face remained impassive. “I contacted the Coalition and told them that one of my technicians was on the verge of a revolutionary breakthrough, one that would make scouting safer and more public friendly. But even I was amazed to learn that his tracking system actually worked.”

  “But it didn’t work,” the Chairman bellowed. “He sent those cadets to their deaths.”

  She shook her head. “Think. The ring doesn’t differentiate between dead and alive. If they had died, their bodies would have returned. But the ring came back empty. The only possible explanation is that the rescuers located the missing cadets and were subsequently carried off by the errant ring.”

  A hush muffled the room.

  Miss Johnston turned to Mr. Ambri-Cutt. “I think you’re about to come into a lot of money.”

  <<>>

  Twilight fell. Impani stood with Trace and Robert, watching the purple-skinned villagers prepare for Joss’ luau. The sides of the tower were dismantled and rearranged as long banquet tables. The tower’s perch was filled with brush and set on fire. Villagers rushed from their homes carrying baskets of smoked fish and dried fruit. They hooted to one another, eyes downcast.

  Impani said, “Do you get the impression that they’re giving up their winter stores? None of this food is fresh.”

  Trace nodded. “They don’t look happy.”

  “Their faces are like rubber,” Robert said. “How can you tell if they’re happy or not?”

  “I can’t. But I can tell that using up all your provisions in one night is not smart. Neither is lighting a bonfire during a time of war.”

  “They’re his subjects.” Robert jabbed him with his finger. “He’s not about to abuse them.”

  Trace shoved his hand away.

  Impani looked again at Joss. The man stood amid the commotion, waving his arms as if conducting an orchestra.

  “He said he survived another year,” she said. “I wonder how long he’s been here.”

  As if sensing they were speaking about him, Joss looked their way. Impani shuddered. Then two people approached them, braying and pointing. They picked up one end of Natica’s branch and dragged her away.

  “Hey!” Impani rushed after them. “Be careful with her!”

  They stopped at the low table and propped the branch so that Natica sat upright. As if she were going to eat. Impani knelt at her side.

  “She’s all right.” Joss sat on the ground at the head of the table. “Let her sleep.”

  Impani steadied her friend’s lolling head. “You don’t understand.”

  “How dare you disagree with me?” Joss bellowed. “And why are you all so young?”

  “We’re cadets.” Trace sat across the table from Impani and Natica. “Our Impellic ring fractured.”

  Robert sat at Joss’ elbow. “I’m the rescue party.”

  Both he and Joss chuckled.

  Impani asked, “Why did you say this was the end of the line?”

  “End of the line! End of the line! Sniffle, piffle, mope and whine.” Joss cackled insanely. “Let me guess. You’ve been jumping from planet to planet, and you can’t stop, and you can’t get back to the Chamber.”

  “Yes. That’s right.” Impani leaned forward.

  “Well, this is where your adventure finally fizzles. No one has ever ringed off this planet.”

  Impani’s heart dropped. Natica will save them, she told herself. Natica knows what to do with the components.

  “There are other Scouts here?” Trace asked.

  “Dead. Only Beaumont and I are left. You’re the first to come through in a few months.”

  “Where’s Beaumont?” asked Robert.

  “Is this an interrogation?” Joss shouted. “Are you spies?”

  He scratched madly at his face. Even in the firelight, Impani could see lice hopping around his beard.

  “Beaumont lives across the river,” he said. “With a different tribe of grapes.”

  “The tribe you’re at war with?” she asked.

  Joss grinned and gazed over her head. “Here she comes. The guest of honor.”

  Impani watched two villagers drag a gnarled tree limb from a hut. As they neared, she noticed a body tangled with the branches. It wore a skinsuit.

  “This is my partner, Madelia,” Joss said as the purple people propped the body to the table. “We jumped to twenty-seven planets before hitting the end of the line. Unfortunately, Madelia died on the second one. But she kept jumping with me. Everywhere I went. I thought I was being haunted.” He slammed his fist against the table and yelled at the suit, “I told you I was sorry!”

  Impani felt as if she was at a mad tea party. She stared at the dead Scout. It still wore a utility belt. Grass showed behind its closed mask. “Is Madelia inside her suit?”

  “Not anymore.” Joss took a metal goblet from a server. “I dumped her bones in the river.”

  “Is that what the grapes do with their dead?” Robert also took a goblet. “Throw them in the river?”

  “Them?” Joss chortled. “They don’t even have bones. Just gristle and meat. Makes them flexible but not very strong.”

  More people joined them at the table. They passed around woven plates—like shallow baskets made of grass. Joss heaped his plate with smoked fish and something that looked like dried chili peppers.

  Just then, the burning tower collapsed upon itself, sending a shower of sparks into the air.

  Joss hooted and waved a fish at the huge bonfire. “Let the entertainment begin!”

  Impani heard an arrhythmic thumping. A purple person struck a hollow log with a stick. She didn’t think he meant the sound to be music—but several villagers moved nearer the fire to dance. Their arms coiled and writhed like snakes, and their legs bent in too many places.

  Joss laughed and pounded the table.

  Robert pointed. “Look at that one!”

  “Didn’t I tell you they were flexible?” He slapped him on the back.

  Impani turned from the eerie dance. She sniffed the dark liquid within her goblet. It smelled like turpentine. She returned it to the table. Cautiously, she nibbled a fish, which was chewy, and the pepper, which was sweet.

  As she ate, she realized that everyone at the table wore chainmail. In the shadows, naked people gathered with their arms draped about their children, watching the diners.

  “Aren’t they allowed to eat?” she asked.

  “Fighters eat first.” Joss smacked his lips. “As in every great society.”

  “But the children are malnourished,” she blurted. “Look at their distended stomachs.”

  He leaned forward and glared at her. In a voice one would use with a disobedient child, he said, “The grapes are marsupials, like opossums or kangaroos. The bloating is just immature pouches.”
/>   She felt herself go red. “I thought they were starving.”

  “We wouldn’t let that happen. It would be counterproductive. If we run low on food, Beaumont will send some over, and if he runs low, I’ll do the same.”

  “But aren’t you two at war?”

  “It’s not war.” He sniggered. “It’s a game. Like a video game. The kind where you get to play god.”

  “Some game,” she muttered. “We saw people die.”

  He flicked his hand. “Pawns.”

  Impani stared in appalled silence. She glanced at Trace. His lips were in a tense line. Robert avidly watched the dancers, grinning.

  Then Natica stirred and moaned. Her eyelids fluttered.

  Impani leaned over her. “Natica? Are you all right?”

  Her friend looked up, bleary eyed. “Impani? Where are we?”

  Chapter 16

  Trace blew out a breath of relief as Natica spoke. She appeared groggy, but that was to be expected. Impani fumbled through her belt then drew out her water flask. He could tell it was empty by the way she looked at it, so he leaned forward and offered his. She paid him a quick smile then held the flask to her friend’s lips. Natica sipped and sputtered. She pushed it away.

  “We’ve been so worried,” Impani said.

  “What happened?” Natica glanced around. “How did I get here?”

  Impani looked at Trace as if stricken.

  He lowered his voice in what he hoped was a soothing manner. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “I was at breakfast, and Impani was talking about… Trace?” She blinked. “What are you doing here?”

  “Breakfast?” Impani cried. “You remember breakfast?”

  “It’s all right, Impani,” Trace said.

  “It’s not all right!” she cried, her face etched with panic. “What about the components? What about getting us home?”

  “Memory lapses are common after a concussion. Perhaps after she—”

  “Hey, Galos.” Wilde walked around the end of the table. “About time you woke up.”

  “Robert?” Natica pressed her fingers against her temples. “I don’t remember what happened. I don’t remember!”

  “Calm down,” Impani said. “We’ll figure everything out.”

  She moaned. “It hurts to think.”

  Impani turned to Joss. “Is there a place we can take our friend to rest?”

  His face darkened, and he growled, “You’re leaving my luau?”

  “Regrettably, we must.” Trace inclined his head. “Your Highness.”

  Joss stared at him, his expression stony. Finally, he said, “You can spend the night in the cabana. It will be quieter there.”

  He hooted, and a boneless person rushed to his side. The villager listened for a moment then motioned to the cadets.

  “Can you walk?” Impani asked Natica.

  Her friend nodded, but her movements were shaky. Impani supported her with an arm about her waist.

  Wilde said, “I think I’ll stay. Keep an eye on things here.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Impani patted his shoulder. “Find out what you can.”

  Trace’s fists clenched. As if Wilde had any intentions other than to carouse with the natives.

  “Thank you, sir.” Impani smiled at Joss as she passed.

  The Emperor scowled.

  They followed their guide into the woods. Natica stumbled over the long grass, so Trace swept her into his arms. Firelight flickered through the trees, lighting their way, and the pounding drumbeat echoed.

  However, the farther they went, the quieter it became. A cold, brittle breeze rattled the corkscrew reeds. The trees thinned, and a lake came into view. Its water glimmered beneath a large silver moon.

  The purple-skinned alien led them along the bank to a grass hut. Trace carried Natica through the circular doorway then paused in the gloom. He made out a sparse, windowless room. It stank of mildew and fish.

  Impani switched on the wrist lamp and stepped around him. “There’s something like a bed in the center.”

  Entering the hut, he placed Natica upon a platform of reeds cushioned with woven grass mats. Natica winced and rubbed her forehead with trembling fingers.

  Impani sat on the ground beside her. “How do you feel?”

  She moaned. “I keep trying to recall—”

  “Don’t. Just relax. It will come to you.”

  “But what if it doesn’t? What if I never remember?”

  “You will.” Impani smiled. “Trace is right. You’ve had an injury. We can’t expect you to remember everything right away.”

  Trace took out his med-pac. “I’ll give you something for the headache.” He fed a dose of analgesic to the derma-jecter and pressed it under her chin.

  Natica jerked at the pop of the ‘jecter.

  “Get some sleep.” Impani smoothed her friend’s brow.

  Obediently, Natica closed her eyes. Soon her face relaxed, and her breathing slowed.

  Impani motioned to Trace then tiptoed through the door. She glanced around. “Our guide must have gone back to the luau.”

  “I’m happy to get away from it. Although I was hungry.”

  “Me, too.” She unclipped the flashlight from her wrist. “This is yours.”

  “Thanks.” He hooked it to his belt.

  She walked toward the lake. The water was smooth and dark, reflecting the moon like a black mirror. The curly reeds became more numerous.

  He said, “Everything grows in spirals on this planet. Reeds, grass, tree branches.”

  “I kind of like it.” She pointed at lights on the shoreline. “What are those? Lanterns?”

  “Maybe phosphorescent flowers.”

  She tossed a smile over her shoulder then led him along the stony bank toward one of the lights. Close up, it looked even more like a flower—a long stem topped with tiny white lights. But as Impani reached for it, the lights broke apart, flying about before again settling on the reed.

  “They’re moths,” she gasped, her eyes alight.

  If he lived to be a thousand, he would never forget the look of delight on her face. She waved her fingers to make them fly again.

  He pulled her higher upon the bank. They stood hand-in-hand, looking out over the glassy surface of the lake.

  “This is a beautiful world,” she said, “but—”

  “But we don’t belong here.”

  She looked thoughtful for moment then brightened. “But now that Natica is awake—”

  “Not so fast. She might not regain her memory all at once.”

  “She’ll remember. She has to.”

  Trace could almost hear her thoughts continue—only Natica knows how to save them. But in the time they’d spent together, he’d learned to trust Impani’s instinct, her ingenuity. He knew that if she tried she could put that circuit board together. She could do anything—and he wanted to tell her so.

  Instead, he said, “How did you and Wilde get together?”

  “He’s just a guy.” She sat on the bank and tossed a pebble into the water. “Robert isn’t so bad, really. He’s the only child of Admiral Amanda Wilde.”

  Trace stared. “Of the Space Corps?”

  She nodded. “He joined the Colonial Scouts on a dare. A motherly don’t you dare.”

  She laughed softly. He hadn’t heard her laugh in a long while.

  Feeling vaguely discomfited, he sat beside her on the rocks. He never had to compete for a girl’s attentions before. His family fortune made it simple. But he didn’t think Impani would be impressed by land or money.

  Finally, he said, “You never did tell me your secret.”

  <<>>

  Impani stiffened. Had he read her thoughts? “I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Start anywhere you like.” He draped his arm about her. “If the story needs to be told, it will come out.”

  He was right, of course. Already she could feel the words bubbling up her throat in a rush to be heard. B
ut how could she explain? How could she make him understand how desperate she was, how alone?

  In a low voice, she said, “I studied so hard to get into the program. It was all I thought about, my only means of escape. But when I finally went to the recruitment center, the recruiter told me the Scouts didn’t take in every guttersnipe that came along. I was devastated. Humiliated. I never felt so worthless. Then he acted as if he was taking pity on me. He told me that a local gang was scaring recruits away from his door. If I could get him the names of the leaders and where to find them, he would push for my acceptance into the academy.” Tears filled her eyes, surprising her. She thought she’d cried them out long ago.

  “A dangerous mission,” Trace murmured, “infiltrating a street gang.”

  She shook her head. “They weren’t what I expected. They lived in the lower levels of an abandoned shopping mall. There were families there. Like a community. I thought that perhaps I had the wrong place. These people weren’t a threat to anyone. But when I made my report, the recruiter just smiled and said that I should wait there and keep my cover. So I waited and actually made some friends. I convinced myself I wasn’t betraying them, just giving up the names of their leaders. They would be arrested, probably put in jail.”

  Her words broke, and she swallowed several times. Her sight turned inward—revisiting the nightmare, living it all again. She saw people running, shadows in smoke, the flash of erupting gunfire.

  Trace tightened his arm about her shoulders as if bracing them both.

  When she spoke again, she didn’t recognize her own voice. “They came in with flamethrowers. Burned them alive. All of them. Women. Children. I remember their screams, the horrible smell of fuel.”

  “They burned them?”

  “They didn’t give them a chance. Oh, God.” She covered her face. “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  “You were still there?”

  She nodded and wiped her eyes. “He meant for me to die along with them. You should have seen his face when I showed up at the recruitment center. When I accused him of murder, he said he meant it as a show of force, a statement to the other gang leaders who wanted him out of their area. He actually expected to be heralded a hero for cleaning up the neighborhood, never understood the public outcry.”