On Assignment to the Planet of the Exalted

by Helena Puumala

*****

  Mathilde led Rakil and Kati through night-dark streets to the four-story building in which she and Zass lived. The door of the top-floor apartment opened onto an outdoor walkway, which was reached via an open staircase. Kati wondered what the arrangement was like in bad weather; even in good weather, which they had at the moment, the place did not seem particularly safe, especially at night, certainly not for persons without nodes to help them navigate. Vultaire did have a starry sky, and in the starlight Mathilde confidently hurried up the stairs, and soon was pulling the chain which set the chimes ringing at her neighbours’ place. The door opened a crack, Mathilde identified herself and her companions, and her neighbour allowed them in.

  “My colleagues are going to help get Zass to a safe place,” she whispered to the woman of the house. “Is he awake?”

  “He’s been waiting for you,” the woman replied. Then she turned to look at Kati and Rakil. “You do realize that the Exalted will start searching the premises of the off-worlders once they seriously start looking for what’s missing, do you?”

  Kati nodded.

  “We mean to send him away before that. It’s better if you don’t know where.”

  “Oh, you’re right about that. I just hope that you know what you’re getting yourself mixed up in. Being foreigners doesn’t necessarily protect you.”

  Kati grinned at her, fiercely.

  “Point noted and understood. Still, we might surprise the powers-that-be. We’re certainly going to try.”

  Mathilde’s neighbour walked to a door at the back of the room and disappeared through it. Moments later she came back with a Vultairian-tall boy whom Kati judged to be about Kerris’ age, at least if one judged him by his face. The rest of him surprised her, he seemed extremely well-muscled for a teenager.

  Mathilde was following Kati’s gaze. There was a sad smile on her face.

  “Zass is fifteen,” she said, “three years younger than I am. That’s what a Klenser looks like. The body looks and is very capable; it’s what does the cleansing. The mind seems to be asleep most of the time, as if he was only partially with us.”

  “That’s why the Exalted say that it doesn’t matter how they’re treated,” added the neighbour. “They believe that it gives them the right to act like they’re cattle: pen them up all together, breed them to produce more of their kind, and use them as they please. I know because my cousin was a Wild Klenser, and she was captured. My uncle went to see her where they keep them, hoping to at least tell her that the family still cared about her. Amazingly they let him see her—through the bars. She was a healthy young woman so the handlers had bred her. She was pregnant, and because she was attractive she was kept separate from the others. One of the workers told my uncle, when he insisted on knowing why she was kept apart even from the other pregnant Klensers, that one of the Exalted was making sexual use of her—I guess that he figured that he didn’t have to worry about getting her with child since she already was with one. My uncle tried to kill him, but it was he who died. The Exalted told my aunt that he had died dishonourably; my family only found out the truth because one of the workers wrote a letter to my aunt explaining the circumstances, and smuggled it to her.”

  The story had poured out of the woman as if she couldn’t hold it back. Once she was done, a frightened look took over her face.

  “I guess I shouldn’t have let my mouth run off with me,” she whispered. “It’s not a good idea to trust anyone.”

  “We won’t betray you,” Kati said softly, taking the taller woman’s hands into her own. They were cold as ice. “Your story is safe with us.”

  The woman drew a shuddering breath.

  “I guess it’ll have to be,” she said. “I can’t untell it.”

  “Her story will go into your report,” The Monk subvocalized as they left the flat and went over to the one occupied by Mathilde and Zass. “It won’t be central to it, but she was definitely sincere; between your PSI powers and my ability to use them, I’m certain of that. And every bit of evidence helps.”

  Kati thanked the Granda. He may have been a rascal, but he was an efficient rascal, and, these days, an agreeable one, apparently—most of the time.

  Mathilde ran around her place, collecting Zass’s things into a bag, while her brother stood in the middle of the floor, looking lost. Kati watched the boy with some despair; how were they going to deal with—or disguise—such passivity?

  “I understand,” Mathilde said as she went about her task, “that the way the Klensers are is the price we pay for getting our messes cleaned up so handily. All Zass’ energies are directed into the cleansing function, and into keeping his body in a condition which allows him to do it. Not much is left over, and, therefore, the rest of us must see to his needs. We have to take care of the Klensers.”

  “And the Exalted do that by penning them up and treating them like domesticated animals, instead of human beings,” Rakil said, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. “Tell me, Mathilde, is there such a thing as an Exalted Klenser?”

  Mathilde stopped in the middle of stuffing socks into Zass’s bag. She stared into the mid-distance ahead of her.

  “You know, I have no idea,” she answered. “I’ve never heard of one. The Exalted claim to be genetically different from us; to have bigger and better brains, better vision and hearing, that sort of a thing. The off-worlders are scornful of that notion; they say that they have all those things, too, thanks to translation nodes.”

  She smiled a bit wanly.

  “I know what the off-worlders think since, as a musician, I spend time with them.”

  “Rakil, you brought up a very interesting question,” Kati said, her eyes lighting up. “I’d love to see what an implantation of a translation node would do to someone like Zass. Not that we’re in a position to do the experiment any time soon.”

  “Hm,” the Granda subvocalized. “The notion about implanting the Klensers with nodes ought to be explored. Perhaps my next life adventure....”

  ‘Don’t even think about that!” Kati mentally snapped back. “I mean to live to be a hundred years old, at least!”

  “With me under your ear, my dear, you ought to have no problem reaching that goal,” The Monk responded expansively. Kati grit her teeth.

  “Is something the matter?” Rakil asked, noting Kati’s expression.

  Kati let out a sigh.

  “Just having a wee discussion with the Granda,” she said. “He, it, whatever, by the way, thinks that the idea of implanting nodes into Klensers is an idea worth exploring, if, and when, we get the chance.”

  “You know, the Exalted must have a stash of nodes somewhere,” Rakil noted. “I’m sure that they haven’t been turning down their share the last thousand years.”

  “They’ve probably been selling them,” Kati retorted. “How much do you want to bet that the ones that were implanted into the roomful of kids I was with on the slave ship, came from here?”

  Meanwhile, Mathilde had taken her brother’s face between her hands and earnestly explained things to him in a low voice. The boy was nodding at her instructions, showing some signs of understanding. The Granda offered to sharpen Kati’s hearing to catch Mathilde’s words, but she declined, preferring to leave the others their privacy.

  “All right,” Mathilde said at last, “I think he understands the situation. He’ll go with you; I think I better stay here to misdirect any curiosity. I’ll come to do my singing as usual, and can then check up on Zass.

  “Lock him into his room please—just in case he senses a spill, or something. He should be good for the night if he uses the bathroom before going to bed.”

  “All right Zass,” Rakil said gently to the boy, taking his elbow, and shouldering his pack. “Let’s go.”

  Zass looked down at him as if in surprise; then he smiled, a bit vacantly, and allowed Rakil to lead him outside.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow, Mathilde,” Kati said as she followed.

  ***
**

  “I’m not locking him into the room,” Rakil said, after he had helped Zass to bed. “I’ll sleep in the room with him. My node will wake me up if he gets up. Mathilde has no idea of what our nodes can do.”

  “I’ll set the Granda to check on him, too, riding my ESP abilities,” Kati added with a yawn. “Between the two of us there’s no way he’ll get out the door of the room without notice.”

  “And if he does try to go off to clean something, I imagine that I can physically restrain him if I’m not able to sweet-talk him the way his sister does,” Rakil stated. “I expect that I’m stronger than he is, no matter that he’s taller and looks to be in fantastic shape for his age. I’m not a damn ape for nothing.”

  His grin, as he spoke, was fierce.

  “Some ape,” Kati muttered as she headed for her bed.

  Her thoughts, prior to falling asleep, were not of Vultairians, Klensers, or non-apes. She fell asleep longing for her son, and for Mikal.

  *****

  Marita and Sam suggested that the would-be travellers buy a pair of runnerbeasts and a cart for them to pull; a specialized cart could be used to hide even a tall teenager. Kati checked this with Marston who agreed.

  “A cart like that can, indeed, be used to hide the boy from the Exalted. Fortunately for us lesser mortals, they tend to be lazy bastards, and the Families don’t get along with one another all that well. Once you’ve left the Port City and its surrounding area, you’ll be out of Warrion Territory, and the next Family out isn’t going to be looking for Zass, unless he’s caught doing pollution management in that region. So if you can work out a way to keep him from going cleaning, it ought to be possible to take him safely wherever it is that you want to haul him.”

  “What about this Ithcar Province?” Kati asked him. “Marita and Sam recommended that we take him and Mathilde there. The Carmaks Family, who run it, according to Sam, are saner than most of the other Ruling Families.”

  “Sam did travel extensively before he hooked up with Marita, I’ve heard,” Marston said. “He probably knows more about what goes on than anyone else in the Port City. Not all of the Four Hundred are happy with things as they are, and, yes, the Carmaks are one of the reasonable families.”

  “Apparently they have to be careful; as a small minority, their kind are not really in a position to exert power in the Government. The other Oligarchs are keen on hanging on to their privileges.”

  “That’s pretty much how it goes.”

  Kati and Marston were, once again, in the park near Marston and Liss’s home. The Granda was on alert for eavesdroppers, but none had materialized. Marston and Liss were quietly hunting for new living quarters, while pretending that their present address was just fine. At the same time they were helping Kati and Joaley as much as they could.

  “If you’re going to be detouring via Ithcar Province,” Marston said, “I suggest that you look into what’s called the Underground Base, which is said to be located in the Dark Forest next to Ithcar. I’ve heard some tantalizing snippets of information about it, although good info is hard to come by among people as divided as mine are. The Exalted believe the Dark Forest to be haunted so the location is safe from their interference. It forms a sanctuary for those who have to stay invisible to the Oligarchs, as well as a safe place for members of the various factions to get together—when they do. It is the creation of a man named Jorun, who is the closest thing to a common leader that we Rebels have. He is supposed to be very good at bringing people together and getting them to set aside their differences. That is about the extent of my knowledge; I would like to someday see the place for myself, but Liss and I are not in a position to go travelling.”

  He grinned.

  “We can’t earn our keep by entertaining people, I’m afraid.”

  “I’ll certainly look into it,” Kati promised.

  If Ithcar could not provide a refuge for Zass and Mathilde, perhaps this hidden sanctuary could!

  Marston had a final suggestion.

  “Go to Nikol, the Cart-Builder for your cart,” he said. “He can be trusted. Tell him that I sent you, and that you have to get Mathilde’s brother away from the Warrions. He’ll have heard that the local Exalted are looking for a couple of Wild Klensers and he’ll do the math. He’ll sell you the cart you need, and show you how to hide Zass until you’ve made it outside Warrion Territory.”

  *****

  Kati took Lank with him to the carter’s, leaving Rakil and Joaley to handle Zass in case he felt drawn to a cleansing job. Mathilde was staying at her flat except during the evenings’ work, determined to misdirect any pursuit that might—would—show up at her door.

  “Don’t worry, Kati,” Joaley said, grinning as the twosome prepared to leave. “We’ll be just fine. I smuggled a couple of stunners on-planet.”

  Kati stared at her, speechless. Maryse r’ma Darien had told them to follow rules scrupulously when they came to Vultaire. They weren’t to attract any unnecessary attention to themselves.

  Lank, getting up from a chair, chortled. He pulled up his travel bag from where he had tossed it, under the table, and dug inside it, pulling out a couple of the relatively benign weapons from it.

  “You too?” Kati frowned. She turned to Rakil and nailed him with her eyes. “And you?”

  Rakil, seated on a bed, next to Zass who, apparently, was barely following the events around him, shook his head.

  “We Borhquans are honest to a fault,” he said.

  “I’m glad somebody is,” Kati responded severely, her eyes flitting from Lank to Joaley and back again. “You two could have scuttled this operation.”

  “Aw, come on Kati, what would the Customs have done if they found them? Confiscated them, that’s all,” Lank protested.

  “I bet all kinds of travellers bring in stunners to Vultaire every week,” Joaley added. “My two, and those that Lank has, don’t register on scanners; I made sure of that. And the Customs here rely on scanners; they didn’t hand-search our luggage at all.”

  “The two of you co-ordinated this?” Kati asked, appalled.

  Lank and Joaley shared a look.

  “Of course,” Joaley replied. “We wanted to have defensive weapons with us, and we realized that neither Rakil nor you would stoop to smuggling. So, we two, accomplished liars that we are, took it upon ourselves to act.”

  “Am I ever glad that we have those two with us,” Kati’s Monk subvocalized fervently.

  Kati groaned, then burst out laughing.

  “Don’t, under any circumstances, endanger our mission,” she said, throwing her hands up into the air. “What am I to do with the two of you when the damn reprobate Monk sings your praises inside my brain?”

  She grabbed the money bag that held their earnings, and, beckoning to Lank, headed for the door.

  *****

  They found Nikol’s Cart Shop, and the runnerbeast stables that stood next to it, easily enough, following the directions that Marston had given Kati. The carter’s shop was in a very attractive part of the City, an area of old houses and quaint inns, interspersed with gift shops and small eateries, businesses which obviously catered to out-of-town, on-world travellers, unlike the area around the Space Port where commerce had mainly to do with the off-world trade and tourists.

  “I don’t see any Exalted around here,” Lank murmured, after scanning the streets around the Cart Shop and the Hostelry next to it.

  “Of course not,” Kati answered. “They don’t need these services. They get to zap around in their flits and flyers, travelling in minutes the distances that even the longest-legged Ordinary Citizens take days to cover.”

  “For our purposes,” Lank noted, “that’s probably just as well.”

  However, it would slow down the pace of their investigation. Already Kati had grown used to the way the Lamanians had dealt with transportation. It was seen simply as a resident’s right; the forms available to a traveller depended on the distance of the trip. Lamanians made every ef
fort to minimize class distinctions within their society, while, at the same time, recognizing that ability had to be rewarded if it was to be encouraged. Whereas, on Vultaire class divisions seemed to matter more than anything else, and the Exalted clearly believed that they were the most deserving people.

  Chimes, very much like the ones that announced visitors to residences, rang out in the carter’s shop when Kati pushed open the door. A middle-aged Vultairian sat at a work bench, treating a piece of wood, and he turned around to gaze at the foreigners as they entered. He raised his brows at the sight, but immediately came over to the desk at the front of the room, gesturing Kati and Lank there as well. Kati smiled brightly at him, ignoring the fact that he was not reciprocating.

  “Is there something I can do for you, strangers?” he asked, settling into a chair behind the desk.

  Kati was glad that he had sat down. She disliked the constant necessity of looking up at the Vultairians; it was hard on the neck. Instead of taking the chair in the front of the desk, she left it for Lank and remained standing. That way she felt a little less at a disadvantage.

  “You’re Nikol, the cartmaker, right?” she asked in return.

  The man nodded. “Yes,” he replied shortly.

  “I’m Kati of Terra,” Kati introduced herself, “and my friend here is Lank, the flautist of our Musical Troupe.”

  “I know who you are,” Nikol responded abruptly. “I was at Marita’s with my wife, the night before last, to listen to and watch the off-world entertainment that everyone’s talking about.

  “What I don’t know is why you are here.”

  “All right,” Kati sighed. Nikol was not being helpful.

  “Since you know so much about us,” she added, “maybe you also know that we’re planning to do some touring around the continent, doing our show in the towns we pass through.”

  When the Vultairian nodded, she continued:

  “Our ballad singer and rhyele player, a Vultairian named Mathilde is coming with us. She is bringing her brother Zass who needs to get out of town immediately, and in secret. A fellow I know, by the name of Marston, suggested that we come and buy a two beast cart from you, because you make carts that can be used to hide people from prying eyes.”