Alien Manifesto (6 page)

“
Perhaps there is more to
you than I realized,” mewed the feline master.

“
You are very young,”
interjected Snarth. “Your father wasss very wissse. He wasss able
to easssily sssee thingsss that would essscape mossst
beingsss.”

Drawing herself to her full height in
front of me and looking me in the eyes again, the feline master
said, “Human Tom, I take you as my student. Training will begin
tomorrow.” With that, she turned and left as silently as a puff of
smoke.

“
Okay Snarth, what have you
gotten me into?” I demanded after the stealth master’s
departure.

“
Easssy my boy, jussst
think of it azsss life experience,” he hissed. “I do, however, have
sssome thingsss that will make your life easssier in the near
future.”

With a flourish, he presented me with
a pair of furry boots and an electronic bracelet. “Thessse bootsss
will cancel all sssound azsss you walk on any sssurface. Thisss
bracelet will masssk all ssscentsss and make you invisssible
without a detectable power sssignature. Ussse them well young Human
Tom. Now I sssuggessst you get sssome sssleep. You are going to
need it.”

As the young human left the
room, Snarth smiled to himself.
Those two
may as well be mated. They just do not know it yet. She will train
him and watch out for him. He will fight to the death to defend
her,
Snarth thought.
This gambit might just work after all.

The team, minus Snarth, arrived the
next day at the spaceport on the planet where the Followers of Eli
headquarters was located, in a public transport. This out of the
way planet was a haven for those who wished to go unnoticed in
their business dealings.

The canine master was traveling as a
prizefighter for the entertainment of the many bars that held
organized fights on this planet. The Irishman was a rare spice
dealer plying his wares at the market outside the temple’s main
entrance. He was also the canine fight master’s trainer. Finally,
the stealth master and I were warriors for hire. Snarth traveled
separately to avoid any possible spies, posing as a rich
tourist.

I had wondered how we were going to
get our weapons on the transport. I need not have worried. Personal
protection was the law of the land. In addition, the penalty for
murder was instant death by the nearest galactic security mech. Who
was both judge and jury. There would be no trial. The rules of
personal combat were well established and strictly adhered to. This
resulted in a very polite and well-armed society who minded their
own business, pointedly.

The Irishman was able to set up his
rare spice shop in full view of the temple’s main entrance. The
canine master already had a fight that very first night. The only
truly tricky part was getting an audience with the head of security
of the temple. However, the feline master had managed. It would
seem her reputation preceded her.

The head of security hardly glanced in
my direction, circling the seated feline master, pacing nervously.
It or should I say he, reminded me of an Earth ferret, only much
bigger, over five feet tall. As the ferret questioned the feline
master, she remained calm and composed, her tail curled around her
legs, never twitching. The ferret was a dirty, smelly, deviant
looking animal. I knew it would wander too close to the feline
master. It was just a matter of how close she would let it
get.

With a spit, the feline master slashed
at the throat of the ferret, pulling her claws at the last instant,
sparing the unsuspecting ferret’s life, in a show of force. The
ferret backed off, squealing an apology. I found myself on my feet,
blaster drawn in reflex. The feline master waved me
down.

As the ferret watched, his beady eye
staring intently, I holstered my weapon with the flourish I learned
from Snarth. Then I relaxed, leaning against the wall, not taking
my seat. Apparently, this was all part of the game of deceit we
were playing. Finally, the ferret stopped pacing and the feline
master rose to leave, silent as a puff of smoke. An agreement had
been reached.

That night after a sparse meal of some
Snarth-supplied rations in our quarters, the feline master and I
went to the bar where the canine had his first fight. We were both
spectators and back up. I was amazed at the variety of life forms
at the fight. It was a roiling mass of smells and cultures the like
of which I had never imagined could be.

However, the Irishman and I were the
only Earthlings I saw. There were several other humanoid looking
species, both male and female, however no more Earthlings. In my
wildest dreams or nightmares, I would have never believed I would
one day be in a place like this.

Unexpectedly the feline master threw a
straight-armed chop at my neck from behind. Instinctively I avoided
it untouched, and turned with weapon drawn, controlling the urge to
fire at the last second. It was just another one of the master’s
lessons in avoidance. She bowed her head ever so slightly so
everyone around could see that I was her student, and that this had
been a test of my reflexes and awareness.

As I felt the eyes of the immediate
crowd train on me, sizing me up, I realized that it had also been a
not so subtle warning to those around me. I holstered my blaster
with a flourish and returned the master’s bow. It suddenly became
less crowded around me.

As the first bell started the fight,
the master and I were in good position to assist the canine and his
trainer the Irishman should something go wrong.

It only took the canine fight master
about fifteen seconds to defeat his first opponent: a large animal
covered with long fur, arms that seemed too long and fangs so large
they hung down past its lower jaw. It was unlike any creature I had
ever seen. One of his famous roundhouse kicks to the jaw was all it
took. I had been on the receiving end of that kick myself. I rubbed
my ribs as I remembered its power.

Boos and some cheers erupted from the
crowd as the canine master raised his arms and pranced around the
ring in a victory dance around his fallen opponent, adding insult
to injury. It would seem that the defeated rodent-looking being,
for lack of a better description, had been a crowd favorite. It
reminded me of a huge badger with overly large fangs, unusually
long, muscular arms and a short snout.

“
Who’s next?” growled the
canine in defiance to the crowd’s jeers. From the crowd came an
enormous howl. It was another canine and he was huge. Drool dripped
from his mouth as he pounded his chest and howled another
challenge. The crowd went wild. The reigning planet champion was
issuing the challenge.

“
Bring it on, pretty boy,”
the canine master howled from the ring, pounding his chest,
accepting the challenge.

Now the canine master is the best I
have ever seen, but this other canine was a full head taller, a
very heavily muscled, professional fighter. I glanced at the feline
master, she sat absolutely still, her nose and tail twitching, the
fur standing up along her back. I would follow her lead.

As the bell rang, the two fighters
charged toward one another, colliding in the center of the ring,
growling, jaws snapping furiously. The canine fight master slid
under the bulk of his opponent and slashed him down one leg with
his fangs, hobbling him. With a roar of anger, the champion lunged
on his injured leg and fell to the canvas. In a split second, the
canine master was on top of his opponent, seizing him around the
throat with his jaws. The crowd fell into a hushed stunned silence
of surprise.

With sheer brute strength, the
champion shook the canine master loose, leaving his neck torn open
and bloodied. The canine fight master was already on the attack
landing another of his deadly flying roundhouse kicks squarely on
the champion’s jaw. The champion stood, swaying, while the fight
master circled, waiting and watching for the next opening in his
opponent’s guard.

They circled, snarling, and the
champion once again tried to charge, leading with his injured leg,
and falling to the mat. The master was on him in an instant,
trapping the champion in a chokehold from behind. Slowly the
champion lost consciousness and slid to the mat, beaten.

This time, however, the canine master
did no victory dance around the ring in front of the stunned crowd.
He could barely stand from exhaustion; he had taken quite a
beating. As the Irishman rushed him from the ring, the crowd
erupted in applause. Until tonight, the champion was undefeated. In
his long reign, he had maimed many opponents, even killing a
few.

The next morning the head of temple
security waylaid me. “That was some fight last night,” the ferret
squeaked to me as he circled me. “Do you know the winner?” he
asked, pausing to study my answer, his nose twitching
nervously.

“
I wish I did, then maybe
he would show me some moves,” I answered, smiling, alerted by his
question.

“
He arrived on the same
transport as you did,” squeaked the ferret accusingly, resuming his
circling.

He had stopped me on my way to the
temple gymnasium where I was to meet the feline master and begin my
daily workout. “Is that so?” I replied as I tried to head down the
hallway, wanting to avoid a confrontation.

Blocking my way, “Yes that is so,”
hissed the ferret. He was unaware of the appearance of the feline
master behind him so silent was she.

“
Maalox, what is the
meaning of this,” spat the feline master, causing the ferret to
jump two feet in the air in surprise, drawing his weapon
mid-air.

The feline master sprang, swatting the
weapon from Maalox’s paw in one blinding movement. Maalox landed in
a crumpled heap in the corner holding his injured paw.

“
I think you are both
spies,” he hissed. “I will be watching you both very closely no
matter if the leader trusts you or not.”

In another blindingly fast move, the
feline master was on top of Maalox, her claws extended at his
throat. “If you ever question my honor or bother my student again I
will disembowel you rather than disarm you,” yowled the infuriated
feline master, her tail whipping back and forth in anger, as she
let him get up. With a terrified squeak, the ferret fled down the
hallway without looking back; the feline master let him
go.

“
Human Tom, you must be
more careful,” mewed the stealth master. “Maalox will not soon
forget his disgrace, so watch your back.”

“
Yes master,” I replied, my
head bowed in respect. I had never seen her in action before and I
was impressed. The ferret Maalox had not gotten a bead on her and
she could have killed him easily with seemingly no effort even
after he had drawn his blaster.
I am glad
she is on my side.

“
We must report Maalox’s
suspicions to Snarth; he will tell us how to proceed. If Maalox
convinces the leader that we are spies we may have to leave in a
hurry. If that happens we will have failed in our mission. Go to
the Irishman’s shop and tell him to have Snarth contact me as soon
as possible,” ordered the feline master.

“
Yes master,” I answered.
Then I hurried toward the market while she kept an eye out to see
who followed me and how bad the security breach really
was.

As I entered the tent of the
Irishman’s spice shop, I waited to be noticed. “Do you have any hot
Earth peppers?” I inquired of the Irishman.

“
I have several varieties.
How hot do you want them?” he asked.

“
The hotter the better,” I
replied. This was the code to have Snarth contact the feline master
at once.

“
I don’t have any here but
I do have some in stores on my ship. Return here tomorrow and I
will have them for you,” was the Irishman’s reply.

My answer would indicate how urgently
Snarth needed to contact us. “Tomorrow morning will be fine,” I
answered, conveying that we needed instruction from Snarth on how
to proceed.

“
Until the morning then,
kind sir,” said the Irishman with a nod, answering that he would
have instructions for us in the morning.

With a courteous nod in reply, I left
the shop and wandered around the market waiting for the temple spy
to give itself away. I did not have to wait long. It was a female
baboon-like creature and she was obvious in her pursuit. I turned a
corner to circle around behind her only to find the feline master
waiting for me, patiently.

“
I see you have spotted
your tail, Human Tom,” she mewed, purring at her own joke, as I
have no tail. This was a source of constant amusement to
her.

I grinned and added, “And the one
following her, master.”

“
Well done. Now question
her accomplice,” commanded the feline master.

“
Master?” I questioned,
confused.

“
We must give a show of
skill or else our adversaries will multiply, endangering the
mission even further. Use what I have taught you and capture and
question her accomplices. It is a test of skill by the leader,”
explained the feline master.

“
Yes master,” I
answered.

At last, I would have a chance to try
out my gifts from Snarth. I ducked into a public fresher and
activated the bracelet. Once cloaked, I waited in ambush on the
roof of the single story building across the alley from the public
fresher. I waited, watching as the second spy approached the
fresher that I had ducked into.