Harmony

by C. F. Bentley

  “By that time we’ll have hammered out the details of an alliance with Harmony,” Admiral (retired) Telvino, the new CSS ambassador to the Harmony Delegation said from Jake’s other side. He didn’t look any more comfortable in his civilian suit than Jake felt in his uniform.

  “Always thought there was something fishy about your death, Jake,” he continued, staring at the bay doors where the Harmonites would appear quite soon. “Pammy may have given you a new identity and promotions, but you are my liaison now, not her spy. You stay out of the spy business from now on.”

  Jake raised his eyebrows at Pammy. Who outranked whom in this case? He’d have to wait and see how things developed. Quite possibly, his loyalty would land firmly beside Sissy and no one else. She outranked everyone.

  Even if she never came here, Sissy was Harmony, and Harmony was Sissy. And Harmony was the spiritual center of the universe.

  An enlisted man with communications markings on his uniform collar hastened forward, saluting in the general direction of all three of them so that no one was slighted.

  Telvino returned the salute and accepted the flimsy proffered by the man. “A list of the delegation. You recognize any of these names, Jake? They all look like gobbledygook to me.” He passed the sheet to Jake, barely glancing at it.

  Jake instantly separated out first names, parental names, and locators. “Lord Lukan, their ambassador, is the son of Lady Marissa. Last I heard, he had succeeded his mother to the High Council. That makes him more than an ambassador, close to most senior Noble in the empire. The next five names are his assistants. I haven’t met any of them.”

  “How can you tell?” Pammy read over his shoulder.

  “First name, then the da or du indicates son of or daughter of the next name. Pa and pu, also masculine and feminine indicate who they work for, or where they are assigned. The five assistants all have Lord Lukan’s name at the end with the addition of Labyrinthe Space Station. They will be Noble caste. Any Worker caste they bring with them as servants have only his name as their locator.”

  “What about these names, almost a separate list,” Pammy pointed to a second column, equal to but separate from the Noble entourage, and just as lengthy.

  “Temple caste. They’ve sent a highly ranked priestess from the Crystal Temple to oversee the negotiations, make sure any compromises don’t stray from the spirit of the Covenant with Goddess Harmony.” Jake’s heart sank to his stomach. Laudae Penelope du Marilee, pu Crystal Temple/Labyrinthe Delegation. Her six acolytes and a passel of Worker attendants.

  Not Sissy.

  She hadn’t come. She couldn’t separate herself from Harmony.

  He knew they could never be together, not as he longed for them to be.

  He could only adore her from afar.

  Now he wouldn’t ever see her again.

  He was almost sick to his stomach with disappointment.

  A series of announcements over the comm system announced the arrival and docking of the big commercial transport from Harmony.

  Jake and Telvino watched the proceedings with professional assessment from a large screen set into the wall beside the bay doors.

  “Whew, she’s big,” Telvino whispered through his teeth.

  “Luxury cruise ship designed for transporting Nobles around the empire.No discomfort or cramping allowed,” Jake managed to say around the lump in his throat.

  “Good pilot, hit the docking rig dead on first try,” Telvino said, admiration verging on awe coloring his voice.

  “Spacer caste. Born and bred to do nothing else. Probably the son, grandson, and great grandson of expert pilots. They cut their teeth on this kind of work,” Jake explained.

  They waited endless minutes while the rig locked on to exterior hatches, bays pressurized and matched atmospheres. Gauges on the side of the screen showed the progress of the invisible processes.

  At last a soft bell indicated the bay doors ready to open.

  A Noble, probably in his forties, with hair graying at the temples, pale skin, and bright blue eyes that matched his diamond caste mark stepped through first. He wore a formal robe of blue, not terribly different from priestly garb, subtle differences in cut and padding, more formfitting, less anonymous. No headdress or veil. With hands clasped in front of him he bowed slightly.

  Telvino withdrew his outstretched hand and mimicked the bow, no deeper, no shallower. An equal greeting an equal.

  Good move, Jake thought.

  They introduced each other. Lukan brought forth his chief assistant, Garrin da Lukan pa Lukan/Labyrinthe Delegation.

  “His son,” Jake hissed into Telvino’s ear.

  More bows. Telvino introduced Jake.

  Pammy seemed to have faded into the bulkheads like a good spy, unnoticed but observing.

  Then a slender woman in formal purple-and-gold brocade robes with a full headdress and veil of purple and sparkling crystal beads, with no shoes, made her way to the front of the pack, followed by six young girls in similar but lighter garb.

  “Laudae Penelope,” Telvino said, bowing more deeply to her than he had to Lord Lukan.

  A monster of a black dog broke free from the air lock and dashed forward. He barked and jumped at Jake, begging for pets. A brown mongrel followed along with a white puffball and a small gray yapper. They all demanded immediate and glorious attention.

  Jake’s entire being smiled in relief. He raised his eyes from hugging all four dogs at once and captured the gaze of the woman. He’d know this priestess anywhere. He’d know Sissy by her posture, her lightness of step, by her scent, by a dozen different ways. She could never hide from him. He gave up questioning why she was here, why she used Penelope’s identity and kept her own hidden.

  “Jake!” a little boy and his sister screamed and hurled themselves into his arms.

  “Marsh. Ashel,” he crowed in delight, swinging them around. He held them tight, drinking in their warmth, their scent, the feel of their little bodies trusting and loving him.

  That confirmed it. Only Sissy would bring her brother and sister along with six acolytes and four dogs and who knew what other kinds of critters that hadn’t debarked yet. He nodded and winked to the little girls.

  He thought his swelling heart would burst with joy.

  The girls bowed formally to him, then erupted into their own version of hugs, telling him all about the journey in a hurried babble he could barely decipher.

  Sissy looked around, the crystals in her veil swinging and catching the light, sending out wild rainbows. “This place has no soul. We need to perform rituals to give it one. We must forge a new Path of Harmony on a proper note.”

  EPILOGUE

  "JAKE,” SISSY WHISPERED. She held her hand over his mouth so that he would not make noise when he wakened.

  He opened his eyes, focusing immediately on her face, and smiled.

  She pulled her hand away, fully aware that she no longer had a right to such an intimate touch, or to have slipped into his bedroom while the space station slept.

  “What do you need, My Laudae?” he asked, equally quiet. He slept alone, but Sissy had learned long ago others could listen from afar.

  “I need to send a message to Harmony. Lord Lukan has forbidden it. He says I’m no longer High Priestess since I deserted our home and I . . . I don’t have visions anymore.” She hung her head in shame, half believing the Noble.

  “Sounds like Laud Gregor has been talking to him.” Jake swung his legs over the side of the narrow bed without a yawn or stretch, ready to do her bidding once more. “We both know that Laud Gregor sometimes confuses what is best for him and what is best for Harmony.”

  “Can you do this for me, Jake? I need to tell the people of Harmony that I have not deserted or betrayed them. I have to tell them that I seek a return to the true path. They need to trust me.”

  “I know some people on the communications deck.”

  “I knew you would. It is CSS shift. Your people do not have to obey Lord Lukan.�
�� She scuttled backward and rose to her feet, giving him room to stand. His quarters were more cramped here than they had been at Crystal Temple. Hers were small too, but much bigger than this.

  “CSS shift means Harmony frequencies are locked down. We can’t talk to them without someone from Lord Lukan’s delegation supervising.” He frowned.

  “Will this help?” She drew a black crystal from her pocket.

  Jake grinned at her. “That should override any locks.” Then he looked her up and down.

  “No formal robes or headdress?” he asked, shrugging into a uniform jacket. His arms nearly touched the sides of the cabin.

  “I don’t want to be recognized in the corridors.” She hung her head so that her hair covered her cast marks, and slouched her shoulders, reducing her height. The baggy brown Worker coveralls masked her shape.

  “Tell you a secret, Laudae Sissy, you forgot your shoes. No one in space goes barefoot, except you.” He leaned over and grinned, almost close enough to kiss her cheek.

  “Maybe I’ll start a new fashion.” She flung back her hair and stood up straighter.

  “You sure did back on Harmony. Come on.” He took her hand and led her into the passageway. Then he checked in both directions for observers before heading for the lift at the center of the station. “We’ll have to send the message live, no delay, no chance for someone to edit it to their advantage. Maybe you should send it direct to Little Johnny. He’ll make sure it’s broadcast properly.”

  “Jake, what do I say?” she whispered as they entered the nul-g section. She liked floating here, drifting in the air currents, free of restraints and responsibilities.

  “Speak from the heart, Sissy. Just tell the people what is in your heart.”

  “Is that enough?”

  “There is nothing else.”

  “It’s just that they are so angry and afraid.”

  “Someone very smart reminded me that Anger, Fear, and Greed are Harmony’s bastard stepchildren who need to stay in their place. Unity and Nurture balance them under the tutelage of their parents Harmony and Empathy.” He grinned again.

  “Yes, I remember that lesson for Holy Day School.” She returned his smile. “Will that be enough?”

  “If it isn’t, then remind the empire that they take themselves far too seriously. The entire universe is a joke.”

  Jilly’s words.

  “Jake, where did you hear that?”

  He stepped into a transport pod.

  “Jake?”