A New Threat

by Aaron DeMott

  Tomed had ordered two steaks each for her and Rrrark—rare—for which Bast was grateful. Fully-cooked meat was edible, but its real flavor magnified when it was as fresh as possible.

  After lunch they headed back to the Psygen Building, where Tomed excused himself and disappeared down a hallway. He muttered something about messages as he left.

  “Nilre, would you mind if I asked a personal question?” Bast asked.

  “You may.”

  “Well, I noticed you dress quite a bit differently than the other humans that I’ve seen. Is there any particular reason?”

  “I’ve spent a number of years in a country called Japan.” Nilre ran her fingers down a fold on her blouse. “This outfit is a few items of the traditional dress combined with more modern styles. It’s what I’m used to wearing now, and I find it comfortable.”

  Just then Tomed strolled back down the hallway and into the lobby. Nilre looked up at him and smiled. “Any messages?”

  Tomed rolled his eyes. “Four hundred sixty-eight. And that’s after I checked them at Alpha Centauri Station.”

  “Why so many?” Bast asked.

  “I’m the Psygen assigned to the UGAL space-fleet. If it was still printed out, I might be literally buried in paperwork.”

  “Sounds fun,” she replied, in as dry a tone as she could manage.

  “Speaking of fun, there’s a party tonight to celebrate both the completion of the von Braun, and our continued partnership with the SeQish. You should join Nilre and I and meet some of the leaders of Earth and SeQish, as well as observe human customs, politics, and attitudes.”

  “That sounds like an excellent opportunity,” Rrrark replied.

  “Good. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your rooms.”

  Tomed led them across the street to a building covered with windows. A large sign near the top of the first floor read “Grand View Suites.” Marble floors and columns decorated the lobby. Several people in black and white uniforms stood behind a large wooden desk at the back wall.

  Four elevator doors lined the left wall, and potted plants were scattered throughout the room. Humans seemed to almost deliberately avoid anything natural-looking, yet had plants all over. She had only seen a small portion of Earth outside the city, but she was pretty sure that plants didn’t naturally grow in pots anywhere.

  Tomed approached the desk and conversed with one of the employees behind it. Bast meandered over to a large open doorway to the right of the entrance to a room filled with table and chairs. The smell of cooking meat wafted into the lobby.

  “I see you found the hotel’s restaurant,” Tomed said.

  “Yes. Good idea to have one so close.” Bast closed her eyes and inhaled the aromas of meat and spice. “Smells good, too.”

  “I’m glad you like it. I’ll take you up and show you how to register your voiceprint so the computer will let you into your suite. After that, I’ll leave you to settle in and relax for a few hours. Later, Nilre and I will come to bring you to dinner.”

  They stepped out of the elevator, and Tomed led them down the hall. “This floor is reserved for diplomatic guests and important dignitaries. The SeQish ambassador’s suite is farther down the hall and around the corner.”

  They stopped in front of a door with “50-38” in raised letters in its center.

  “Here we are.” Tomed slid a card into a slot next to the door.

  A voice emitted from the box: “Will the suite occupants please state their names?”

  Rrrark stepped up to the box. “Rrrark.”

  Rrrark took a step back. Bast glanced at him and then stepped forward and said her name into the box. It felt a bit silly to talk to a wall, but the door swung open as soon as she closed her mouth.

  The floor was covered in a white carpet with abstract swirls of avocado green. The walls were plain white, and the curtains had the same sickening pattern as the carpet. Two emerald green overstuffed chairs were placed opposite a matching couch in the center of the room. Glass doors across the room led out to a balcony that overlooked the city.

  “The bathroom is in here.” Tomed gestured to the room on the right. “Each of your sleeping quarters is to the left. The comm panel on the wall next to the door will connect you to the hotel staff. They can bring food up to the room, clean anything that might need it, show you how to use anything unfamiliar, and within reason, do or get anything you might want or need. Feel free to make use of their service; it’s what they get paid for.” He winked. “The SatNet terminal is over here.”

  He walked over to a desk against the wall and tapped the surface. A holographic representation of the hotel rose from the desk.

  “You can access unrestricted information on practically anything.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, what kind of information is considered restricted?” Rrrark asked.

  “Mostly technical specifications on military equipment, private information on individual people, things of that nature.”

  “Ah, that seems a reasonable precaution.”

  “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Not for now.” Bast turned to look at Rrrark, who shrugged.

  “In that case, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go do a couple of things before dinner. We’ll come get you in a few hours.” Tomed stepped out the door. He paused and turned, “Oh, if you do need anything from me, or find yourselves in a situation you’re not sure how to handle, you can always contact either Nilre or me telepathically.”

  The door closed and Rrrark turned to the windows.

  “Nice place,” he said.

  He jumped onto a couch facing the balcony, shrugged out of his pack, stretched out, and yawned.

  “It’s comfortable and clean.” Bast poked her nose into the various rooms of the suite and gave each a cursory sniff. “I can’t get used to the lack of plants…and everything looks so artificial.”

  “Well, it is an alien world. It would be easier if you’d ever been outside our clan’s territory. The Sar-alss clan, for example, live high in the mountains. There is almost no plant life at all in their highest khaals, so they build dwellings out of rock. In some respects, it looks similar to the lobby here.”

  “Oh, I’ve read about those!” Bast padded back over to stand next to Rrrrark. “I think I’d miss the trees too much.”

  Rrrark smiled. “They do seem to grow taller back home, don’t they?”

  “Yes!” She looked in the direction of the bathroom. “Do you think my fur will dry in time for the party tonight if I take a bath?”

  “Hmm,” Rrrark said. He flicked his ears back and forth a few times and sniffed the air. “I’m not sure. It’s warm enough in here, but there’s no wind...”

  “I’ve got an idea.” Bast closed her eyes.

  Nilre?

  Yes, Bast?

  Do you think I have time to dry my fur before the party if I take a bath?

  Yes, there’s a drying unit built into the shower.” Nilre sent Bast a mental picture of the device and how to operate it.

  Bast opened her eyes and smiled. “I asked Nilre. She said there was a drying unit built into the shower.”

  “Shower?” questioned Rrrark.

  “Apparently you can either fill the tub with water, or let it fall down from a fixture. Sort of like a waterfall.”

  “Interesting,” Rrrark got off the couch and padded over to sniff the showerhead. “Not that it matters, but out of curiosity, why ask Nilre and not Tomed?”

  “Well, after observing Tomed on the trip here, he seems to take just enough notice of his appearance to be presentable and doesn’t seem to worry about it beyond that. From what I’ve seen of Nilre, she seems to be more aware of her appearance. So, I thought she might know.”

  “Interesting deduction. Good job.”

  Rrrark yawned and went out onto the balcony, tired of hearing Bast splash around in the tub. The city stretched to the horizon, a sea of concrete and steel that seemed to go on forever. He misse
d the trees of their home as much as Bast did, but he put up a front of nonchalance and wisdom to comfort Bast. This was not only her first real mission as a scout, but her first trip outside of the Mer-ahsh clan’s territory. Home seemed so very far away in the midst of the alien city.

  All the humans they had met seemed friendly, although he expected them to make an effort to be courteous to their guests. At first he wasn’t sure of their reaction to an alien race visiting their planet, but their casual acceptance made sense after he read that their alliance with the SeQish went back over one hundred years. Given the shorter average human lifespan of one hundred and fifteen years, most of the humans he had met were probably born after their alliance with the SeQish.

  He was also proud of his people’s reactions when the human ship had landed on their world. Meskka weren’t usually given to panic—but discovering alien life due to their sudden arrival by ship? Some panic would have been understandable. How would the Great Council act on the reports he and Bast had given? So far, the aliens didn’t appear to be a threat. This great opportunity could satisfy curiosity and expand knowledge.

  He turned when he heard footsteps. Bast walked out onto the balcony. The soft sheen and light fluff of her fur caught his eye, and he stared at her.

  Well, he thought privately, if our diplomatic efforts fail, she can certainly win the humans over with beauty.

  “Nice view.” Bast looked out over the city. “You can see everything from up here.”

  “It is very alien though, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” She leaned against him as she contemplated the view.

  Rrrark glanced over in surprise. As a general rule, Meskka didn’t share body contact except in greeting or certain rituals. Was she more homesick than he thought?

  They sat on their haunches together for the next half-hour. Each of them pointed out various interesting buildings or vehicles. They spotted several different birds, but no other animals roamed the city. A loud beep made both of them jump.

  “What was that?” Bast asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rrrark said just as the beep sounded again. He swiveled his ears to listen behind him. “It seems to be coming from the door...”

  They approached the door and found a small light blinking on and off on the thing Tomed had identified as the comm panel. Bast raised a paw and pressed it. The light stopped blinking and stayed on. Rrrark and Bast looked at each other. Just as Bast opened her mouth to ask a question, Tomed’s voice came out of the wall.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Oh!” Bast said, as Rrrark replied, “Yes.”

  “If you’ll be so kind as to open the door...”

  “Oh!” Bast reached up and pressed the button to open the door.

  Tomed wore black pants and a jacket with a white shirt. His hair smelled clean and was neatly combed. Nilre stood beside him in a pale blue gown with her shoulders exposed. The fabric flowed around her like a waterfall.

  “Bast, you look....fluffy,” Tomed said.

  Nilre’s serene expression didn’t change, but she elbowed him in the ribs.

  “You look very nice, Bast. Please excuse Tomed’s lack of etiquette.” She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “And vocabulary.”

  Bast looked away and flicked her ears back.

  Rrrark coughed. “It seems the women are more refined and graceful among both our peoples.”

  Tomed bowed in concession. “Their beauty reduces us mere mortals to incoherent babbling.”

  Nilre stared at Tomed with a look that Rrrark couldn’t quite interpret.

  After a moment, Tomed said, “I hope you would accept my humble apology for such a lack of tact and manners, Bast.”

  Bast opened and closed her mouth; apparently she didn’t know what to say.

  “I believe our ride is waiting for us.” Nilre looked over at Tomed.

  “So it is!” Tomed said.

  On the street, a long black car idled. Tomed stepped over and opened the door and gestured for them to enter. After they all entered and closed the door, the car pulled away without a sound.

  After a thankfully short drive the car stopped in front of a sprawling two-story building. Bast stepped out of the car, took a deep breath, and looked around. An expansive yard stretched before it, covered with short green plant stalks. A sidewalk lined with small shrubs cut through the lawn and led up to a large porch rimmed with columns. Dusk had just started to fall and light spilled from the windows. The light chatter of people talking in the distance carried out to the driveway and soft music floated in the background.

  Tomed and Nilre led the way up the walk and to the doorway. Once there, Tomed took four pieces of paper out of his pocket and handed them to one of the two muscular men in black suits who stood on either side of the door. The man took the papers, looked over the group, and nodded at Tomed.

  They entered a large room with white columns along all the walls. White draperies hung between some of the columns. Many humans stood in clusters around half a dozen tables piled high with food. Others stood in groups of two and milled about in the open space in the center of the room.

  Bast stopped. A creature towered over a table that held a dish filled with a red liquid.

  The bluish-gray creature stood about two meters tall. Eight tentacles surrounded the lower part of its cylindrical body. It didn’t really have a head; a triangular shape topped off the body. Bast assumed that the large unblinking black discs either side of the top were eyes.

  As she watched, one of the tentacles wrapped around a piece of food on one of the serving trays and snaked around to disappear somewhere between its tentacles.

  Is that a SeQish? She asked Tomed, using mind-speak.

  Yes, it is. Anything like you imagined?

  Not at all. Bast tried not to stare.

  “Let’s go introduce ourselves.”

  They headed toward the SeQish. Bast followed closely behind Rrrark. She wasn’t exactly afraid of him, or her, or it for all she knew; she just didn’t know what to expect. Tomed walked up the SeQish, who turned to face them. Well, it turned in their direction anyway. It didn’t really have a face.

  “Bast, Rrrark, I’d like to introduce you to Kclntc, the SeQish ambassador to Earth. Kclntc, Rrrark and Bast, our guests from the planet Alkask.”

  “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The ambassador’s voice was deep and bubbly, and had a funny sound to it. It wasn’t at all what Bast had expected him to sound like. “I have heard of the recent human discovery of your world. I hope your stay here is comfortable, and your dealings with the humans are as pleasant as mine have been.”

  A human with silver hair who wore a suit similar to Tomed’s walked up and joined the group. He was about half a paw-length shorter than Tomed and his face was lined with wrinkles. His blue eyes twinkled as he smiled and gave a brief nod to everyone.

  “Ah, good evening, Senator!” Tomed reached out and shook the senator’s hand. “Senator Kiskia, may I introduce you to Bast and Rrrark from the planet Alkask. Bast, Rrrark, this is Richard Kiskia. He’s a member of the Earth’s government, and is also on the UGAL Council.”

  And so the night went with more introductions than Bast could possibly hope to remember. The food smelled and tasted so different from anything Bast had ever seen before. The fish was somewhat familiar but had been prepared with a spice foreign to Alkask. She had ten helpings before she remembered it might be impolite to suck down all the fish before anyone else got a taste. She decided to keep an eye on the platter and finish it off if no one else looked interested.

  After enduring several more introductions, she spotted Nilre standing alone in a corner next to a table. She looked around to make sure no one paid any attention to her and quickly ducked behind the table.

  “These affairs can be a tad overwhelming, can’t they?” Nilre asked.

  “Yes. Rrrark seems to be handling it better, but he’s practically a trained diplomat. I don’t really know what I’m doing and feel
like I’m making a fool out of myself. Seems I’ve always got a full mouth when someone introduces themselves.”

  Nilre covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. “Thanks, Bast. I needed that.”

  Bast eyed her. “Are you not feeling well? If you don’t mind my asking, why are you hiding over here anyway?”

  Nilre paused for a moment and looked out into the crowed room. “It’s a combination of two things really.”

  She paused for another moment. Bast waited patiently.

  “As Tomed mentioned earlier, I’m a very sensitive telepath...”

  Bast snorted mentally. The Psygen woman was the most powerful telepath she had met or even heard of. Myths and legends included. “Sensitive” was an understatement.

  “Being in large crowds like this is tiring.” Nilre took a breath. “It takes a lot of effort to filter out the noise of so many people.”

  A distant, lonely look flickered briefly across the Psygen’s face. “And…”

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything personal if you don’t want to.” Bast sat on her haunches and politely averted her eyes.

  Normally she couldn’t read anything from Nilre. Now she distinctly felt a touch of sadness from her. Bast really didn’t know what to do, so she tried what worked to comfort the kittens that she used to watch back home—she gently nuzzled Nilre’s hand and purred softly. Nilre looked down and smiled.

  “It’s all right, Bast. I’m okay. I should probably share this anyway. It might be helpful. Humans can be some of the nicest, kindest, most caring beings in the whole galaxy. They can also on occasion be distrustful of things they don’t understand. I often read people’s thoughts without trying. Most people find me unnerving and avoid me.”

  “I don’t find you unnerving,” Bast said.

  Nilre knelt down and hugged her. “Thank you!”

  “Possibly because I’m a natural telepath, so stuff like that isn’t terribly unusual. In any case, I think you’re friendly.”