Nopileos: A novel from the X-Universe: (X4: Foundations Edition 2018) (X Series)

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Nopileos: A novel from the X-Universe: (X4: Foundations Edition 2018) (X Series) Page 11

by Helge T. Kautz


  “I am able to monitor the entire cockpit, Major Kho,” Niji answered truthfully.

  “Good,” Elena triumphed. “Then please look at my index finger and read the line you see beneath.” She traced the log entry with her finger. The onboard onboard computer remained silent. “Niji?”

  Suddenly the log file disappeared into the display panel and was replaced with something else: a white, stylized T on a deep, black background. Elena gasped in horror. This was the ancient symbol of the Terraformer fleet, a sign that awakened humanity’s primal fear against intelligent machines, conjuring up generations of horror.

  “Niji! What is this?”

  “A messenger drone is transmitting a directed-laser radio message to us, Major Kho.”

  “Record!” Elena watched with held breath as columns of hexadecimal numbers slipped under the Teraformer symbol. While she was still trying to make sense out of the numbers, it flashed as bright as day for a fraction of a sezura outside and dazzled her. Reflexively, the space traveler reached for the retaining straps in the cockpit walls and forced herself to open her eyes. When she could see clearly again, not only had the strange blip on the gravidar disappeared, but also the video field with the incoming transmission. Had the blib been some kind of Xenon messenger drone that had destroyed itself after the transmission of its message? What in all the world could that mean?

  “Recorded?” she asked in a trembling voice. The shock had traveled deep in her bones. “Can you decipher the contents of the message?”

  Niji confirmed. “Yes, Major Kho. The message is not encrypted. In addition to the graphical information, it contains three coordinates and three vectors.”

  Elena thought hard. As unlikely as it sounded, she had been followed by a Terraformer messenger drone since her takeoff from Cloudbase. The miniature spaceship seemed to be waiting for a moment when there was no other ship nearby before beaming its message to the AP Nikkonofune. Only—why? It was as if the Terraformer knew her exact movements! She remembered the shooting down of the USC Getsu Fune over Argon Prime; even then, Xenon hunters had suddenly appeared who made every attempt to intercept them. That the Getsu Fune had fallen and sunk in the ocean of the Argon capital world might have been an unintended accident. Maybe it had not been the Xenons’ intention to kill her then, but instead to capture her alive!

  With a few hand movements, Elena made Niji display the transmitted coordinates and vectors. She was startled, because the first coordinate coincided exactly with the current position of the AP Nikkonofune, a related vector corresponded with her path from Ringo Moon to here. A second vector led to a sector affiliated with the Boron Queendom, bearing the name of Atreus’ Clouds; the associated coordinate did not match up with any known celestial body. The third vector-coordinate pair was information in a local frame of reference system that Niji couldn’t process without visiting the Boron sector.

  She now knew what the purpose of the messenger drone had been, and the meaning of the coordinate pairs: it was an invitation!

  “Just… invitation to what?” she mumbled. Was there anything in Atreus’ Clouds that the Boron knew nothing about? The sector was huge, spanning several solar systems, many dozens of planets, hundreds of moons, thousands of minor planets, and millions, if not billions, of smaller bodies! According to Niji, it belonged to one of the offshoots of the Halmnan Aurora, a star-forming region which mainly moved through the central sectors of the Split; the clouds were therefore associated with the aurora and were named after Lar Atreus, a heroine from the mythology of the Queendom. It was unlikely that the Boron had up-to-date maps for even a fraction of the massive volume of this sector!

  When Elena listened in, she felt two things above all else: an anxiety just below the threshold of fear that gave her butterflies in her stomach, and impetuous curiosity. The Terraformers had sent her a personal invitation, even an unequivocal request! What did the machines want with her? Dissection? Hardly. Use her as a hostage against the Community? Hard to imagine.

  “How long would be we underway if we flew to Atreus’ Clouds? Barely two tazuras?” Niji confirmed. “And a little less from there to get back to Argon Prime, right?”

  “That is correct, Major Kho.” Unsolicited, the onboard computer showed the data down to the sezura.

  Elena nodded thoughtfully. So a maximum of four tazuras for a round trip, including exploration. The FL Raindragon would enter Port Thorton over Argon Prime in five tazuras at the earliest. As well as Nola Hi, the Boron scientific ethicist with his Great Boron Fun. The scheduled talks with Ghinn t’Whht and Senator Gunnar were expected to take less than a tazura. Her mission to Nif-Nakh would therefore not be affected if she followed the mysterious invitation. Unless the Xenon didn’t let her leave… this danger was very real, but Elena’s curiosity prevailed. Without further ado, she prepared two messenger drones with information about what she intended to do and where she was going, one to Ban Danna, the other to Bala Gi. She kept the drones onboard and would send them once she arrived at Atreus’ Clouds. She was much too curious to want to be talked out of her plans prematurely over the next two tazuras!

  As soon as the message had finished recording, both drones wiped their memory banks—completely unnoticed by Elena and Niji.

  Chapter 12

  Thuruk t’Mhhg attained his historical significance through strength, intelligence, cunning—and if nothing else, through Gehlsa t’Pzzt, his thrall and wise restrainer. One day, I’ll do the same as Thuruk!

  Rhonkar t’Ncct,

  Patriarch of Family Rhonkar

  Bright light fell through the gaps between the tree trunks. Nopileos straightened up and looked around. He needed a sezura to get his bearings, then he once again knew where he was and, even more importantly, why. On the floor lay some empty, metal-shiny food packs. He gathered them up and piled them carefully in the upturned lid of the cargo container, then reached for the water hose. While he was still taking a deep drink, there was noise outside the hut and the door was pushed open.

  “The creature will come out,” ordered a harsh voice, which he immediately recognized as Gilha’s. Nopileos closed the hose, set it down, and waddled into the bright sunlight. He blinked. There was the giant warrior Thro t’Mggt and the scrawny Gilha. Neither of the two carried a weapon: he was presumed to be fairly harmless. Two more Split eyed the Teladi with interest: one was a stocky, strong man with no beard, hair, or eyelashes, his pale-yellow skin signaling youth and health. Beside him stood a slender woman with white hair that reached down to the back of her knees. Her skin shimmered a distinguished pale, more beige than yellow, and she towered over her companion by a full head.

  “The creature will kneel down before Rhonkar t’Ncct and his thrall consort, Aqhn t’Frrt!”

  “It will not!” Nopileos stubbornly resisted. Again, he was terrified by his own courage in the same moment his words left his muzzle.

  The woman with the long hair, Aqhn, looked at Rhonkar from the side. She twisted the corners of her mouth and made an uninterpretable gesture. Gilha, the restrainer, rushed the Teladi with anger and hatred. “The creature will kneel!” she repeated pressingly. Even the Supreme Warrior Thro t’Mggt roared at Nopileos. He reached behind him. Only now did Nopileos realize that he and Gilha had their spears with them; the weapons were stuck tip-down a step behind them in the soft ground next to the stone path. Thro stepped behind Nopileos and struck the wooden spear across the backs of his knees with great force, causing the Teladi to collapse involuntarily.

  Now Rhonkar spoke for the first time. He possessed a sonorous voice and mastered the trading language as fluidly and accentlessly as an Argon. “Thro and Gilha! Did this Teladi’s guts not demonstrate that he is not like his peers?”

  The two being addressed hesitantly agreed.

  “Why then, do you not pay him the respect due to an alien warrior? The Teladi will stand up.”

  Nopileos rose in confusion. He rubbed the aching backs of his knees. He couldn’t integrate the choleric
reactions of Thro and Gilha with the calm, cool-headed nature of the head of the Family. Whatever was wrong with these Split, Rhonkar was the cause! The two reprimanded warriors rammed their spears back into the grass and looked peaceful despite the rebuke.

  “Is the Teladi ready to answer our questions?” the long-haired Aqhn wanted to know from Nopileos.

  “Hai—if I may also ask a few questions!”

  The beautiful Split threw Rhonkar another sidelong glance. This time she chuckled hoarsely. “Lo and behold, a brave Teladi. Who would have thought?”

  “The Teladi may ask in due time,” the Family head replied. “But first there are important rules here with us. The Teladi will learn and immediately follow these rules, or he will die. He will follow me.”

  A warm breeze swept the clearing, rustling the trees and grass. Nopileos’s step faltered as he realized where he was being lead. Rhonkar and Aqhn headed straight for the middle of the great forest clearing, where the terminal moraine lay.

  “Creature!” Gilha said softly. The Split woman shoved unceremoniously at the Teladi from behind. “Nothing will happen to you today.” That sounded almost conciliatory. Nopileos hastened to make up the two lengths the Family head and his consort had traveled in the meantime. About fifty to sixty Split clustered around the large boulder in a large circle. Just like yesterday, the meeting was a colorful mix: elderly, men, women, even children, looked eagerly at the newcomers. They whispered softly to another: another entry on Nopileos’s list of things that were not right with the Family Rhonkar. The circle opened up to make room for the newcomers.

  “On the torture rock with the Teladi!” Aqhn instructed Gilha. Nopileos’s forehead ridges blanched.

  Gilha noticed it and rolled her eyes until the whites became visible. She made a strange gesture with her hand. “If it were up to me,” she whispered hoarsely to Nopileos as he directed him toward the moraine, “I would spread the creature’s innards out on the stone to dry this very day. But Rhonkar never kills without reason.” Arriving at the rock, she quickly picked up the Teladi and put him on the flattened surface. “So give him a reason, creature!” Gilha’s lips twisted into a cruel Split grin for a moment, then she turned and walked back to Thro, Rhonkar, and Aqhn.

  Nopileos felt frightfully exposed and abandoned. The ring of the Split ran around it about ten lengths away from him. The younger Splits’ eyes were focused on Nopileos as though they had never seen a Teladi before. They definitely wanted to dissect him, as did Gilha. The old Split, however, did not look at Nopileos so curiously. They seemed far more interested in what the head of the Family had to say. Two young Split, barely older than seven or eight jazuras, split from the crowd and joined Rhonkar. One of the two children was the girl Hatrak, whom Nopileos remembered from yesterday. Now an other Split joined the group around Rhonkar and Aqhn. He was as old as the hills; his skin wrinkled and spotty, had a strange hue between gray and nicotine. The long whiskers that fell down his cheeks on both sides blew thin and unkempt in the wind. He regarded his two masters with a dignified gesture and then turned to examine Nopileos attentively.

  Rhonkar stepped toward the Tealdi and stopped halfway between the ring of Split and the moraine. The others in his group followed him. Nopileos speculated that these were the leaders and decisionmakers of the village, as well as the two descendants of the head of the Family.

  “Family!” Rhonkar called and turned to the assembled Split. The whispering abruptly stopped and the children also turned their eyes to the bald-headed Split. “Friend-foes, residents of Ghus-tan!” Rhonkar’s sonorous voice carried far across the clearing. “Last night, this creature, this Teladi, attempted to sneak into the village while we were occupied with the Double Moon Ceremony.” Nopileos’s eyes widened. That wasn’t true at all! But he remained silent and awaited Rhonkar’s next words, confident that he would have a chance later to set everything straight.

  “Because this incident is unique of its kind and concerns our well-being, I have decided to publically question the Teladi after the example of the great Ghus t’Gllt, whose traditional laws have given us happiness and freedom.”

  Happiness and freedom? Nopileos ran his tongue over his nose. Who was this “Ghus,” and why were happiness and freedom preferred over the usual ideals of the Split—all hell breaking loose?

  “Golan t’Vllt, you are the eldest of the Rhonkar family, your wisdom is greatly treasured by all of us. You conduct the interrogation.” The head of the Family made the gesture of formal request. The old man with the gray skin bowed his forehead to his master, but refrained from forming a gesture of approval. Both of these—the formal request of Rhonkar, which as ruler was not required, as well as the omission of formal confirmation by the elder, which every Split usually owed his master—clearly showed the assembled villagers that Ronkar was rendering the respect a disciple showed his own teacher, while Golan t’Vllt subtly assumed that his respect was known, so as not to degrade his dignity as a teacher by making a gesture of submission.

  Nopileos, who was not familiar with the customs of the Split on the other side of fits of range and bloodbaths, of course completely missed these subtleties. He wondered why the master stood beneath him and he, the prisoner, stood higher. Teladi and humans usually preferred the other way around. The old man turned to him.

  “Saurian woman, be assured that we will torture you if you do not truthfully and quickly answer our questions.”

  Astonished, Nopileos noticed that the old man spoke with polite language that the Split usually only bestowed on skilled enemies and equals. But still: immediately threatening him with torture from the first sentence was more the old boy’s style! Perhaps the true nature of the Split was not so deeply hidden under the surface of the local inhabitants! But wait—saurian woman? Nopileos didn’t get to think about it because the old man demanded Nopileos’s confirmation.

  “Tssshh, yes, worthy Split, I understood.”

  Golan nodded in satisfaction. “Your name?”

  “Isemados Sibasomos Nopileos IV.”

  “The creature will not take me for a fool!” Golan cried in sudden rage. “Thro!”

  The large warrior approached with the corners of his mouth upturned. “Lord?”

  “But it really is my na—”

  “And I am Thuruk t’Mhhg! Thro, break the creatures’s right arm.”

  “Very, very gladly, lord!” The Supreme Warrior stepped to Nopileos, who panicked and looked around for an escape route.

  “Wait!” called Aqhn t’Frrt, Rhonkar’s consort. The long hair blew around her tall figure like a white veil. “Who is this Ise… number four?”

  “Mistress, the named Teladi is the granddaughter of the CEO. She is the stupidest Teladi of all time, but is celebrated like a folk hero by the hideous Boron creatures. She--”

  “Ah! The Teladi who made nividium worthless and gave 18 billion credits to the vile Boron things,” Rhonkar cried, who was now remembering the story that had been told to him a week ago.

  “Yes, lord. But this saurian cannot be the the brood-offspring of the CEO because the granddaughter operates her own company that sells useless programs for business computers.”

  “That is my egg-brother, Sissandras!” Nopileos cried in between.

  “Was the creature asked?” Thro thundered and approached a bit more.

  “Let her speak, Thro,” Rhonkar demanded.

  “I am really Isemados Sibasomos Nopileos IV! It’s my egg-brother Isemados Sibasomos Sissandras IV, who started her own business with AutoBroker. And it is not worthless, it’s extremely successful!”

  Aqhn chuckled croakingly. She turned to her consort Rhonkar. “Can we presume for the moment that the Teladi speaks the truth?”

  Rhonkar raised his hand in the gesture of uncertainty. “The threat of torture alone usually elicits the truth from any Teladi. But this one here is braver than all the saurians I have seen until now. Golan!”

  “Lord?” The old Split’s rage had apparently blown o
ver; he once again looked as calm as before.

  “Golan, we will first hear the creature’s entire story before we determine truth or untruth.”

  Aqhn made the gesture of agreement and Golan returned the same to her.

  “Yes, lord. Thro, you must still be patient.”

  “A shame, a shame,” the Supreme Warrior murmured. He withdrew, but did not take his eyes off of Nopileos.

  “One more thing,” Aqhn interjected. “Why do you speak of the creature as a female, Golan?”

  “Mistress, the saurians have been trying to hide it for a long time, but it is unquestionable that there are no male Teladi. They are all female, without exception.”

  The beautiful Split woman was visibly confused. “Is that true, Teladi?”

  Nopileos embarrassedly rolled his left ear between two claws. “Tshh—well… yes.”

  Aqhn chortled with undisguised pleasure. “Ha! Fine, then. Golan, continue the interrogation. My master?”

  Rhonkar signaled agreement.

  The old man took a step toward Nopileos and looked at the Teladi, whose forehead ridges had begun to win back their color, for a while from different angles. Then he sped forward at an unexpected speed and reached for Nopileos’s clawed foot. “Look!”

  “Tshhhhh?” The Teladi made a surprised side step and nearly fell off the moraine.

  “Explain these markings, Saurian woman,” demanded the Split. Nopileos looked down at himself. What did the old man mean? “And there, on your left breastplate!”

  Of course! Now he understood. Golan meant the ugly craters the acid from the jungle dragon and insect larvae left behind on his scales.

  “I had an encounter with an enormous insect monster! It had me by a scale—”

  “You fought a full-grown ghok, Teladi?” Golan interrupted in genuine amazement, letting go of the saurian offspring’s foot. Nopileos flailed his arms. “Tell us about it!”

 

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