Alien Manifesto (7 page)

The second spy, another ferret,
somehow managed to dodge the first flying front kick I threw as I
jumped off the roof, saving him a broken jaw. But not the second
spinning back kick to the head as I spun around after landing on
the ground in front of my opponent. As he rolled to his feet he
tried to draw his sword, I decloaked, blaster drawn. He froze,
knowing I could kill him and legally so. He was following me for
seemingly nefarious purposes, robbery among them.

“
Who are you?” I barked in
galactic standard so he would understand me.

“
Maalox sent me to follow
you,” he answered in kind. With the flourish that I had learned
from Snarth, I holstered my blaster.

“
Tell Maalox that if he
wants to see me he should come himself. Next time I won’t hold back
and you might get yourself killed, by accident of
course.”

“
Of course,” answered the
second spy, nodding in deference as he turned to leave, and I let
him go.

Sensing the master’s presence behind
me, I asked aloud, “How was that Master?”

“
Clumsy, but sufficient for
a human,” she answered as she decloaked behind me. “Now he will
report to the leader that he was foiled by a mere student. You
bring honor to my reputation Human Tom.”

“
Thank you Master, I do
try,” I said head bowed.

The feline master answered with her
typical haughtiness, “You still have much to learn; but enough
training for one day. The canine has another match tonight. We must
attend as backup. We will continue as planned until we hear
differently from Snarth,” she mewed. “We will practice that kick
tomorrow, your aim is still off. Maybe if we practice it enough you
won’t miss next time. Next time you might not be so lucky and your
prey so unskilled,” she growled over her shoulder as she headed
back toward the temple.

That night at the canine master’s
fight, he entered the ring to a packed arena with the crowd
chanting his fight name, Rowl. As he pranced around the ring, arms
waving above his head, his opponent entered the ring.

It was a feline, massively scarred and
missing one ear. I felt the feline master stiffen beside me. “A
disgraced master,” she hissed. “He could have his hands full if
that is who I think it is. I have heard he makes his living by
prize fighting now that he has been disgraced. I knew him when I
was a young cub. He was a formidable and respected master then. But
now he is old and weak, the canine should have no trouble beating
him.” She mewed confidently: “After all, my father trained
him.”

At the sound of the bell, the match
began. The canine master warily circled the disgraced feline master
who remained as still as stone, poised in a classic fighting
stance. Seconds turned to minutes and still the canine master
circled the motionless feline, waiting for the feline’s
strike.

Jeers soon rang out from the crowd in
an effort to break the stalemate, anxious for blood. Finally, it
came; the feline making the first move, a straight-armed chop
toward the canine’s throat, claws extended, blurringly fast. It
just missed the fight master’s throat. In response, the canine
threw his best roundhouse kick followed by a spinning back kick.
The feline seemed to float out of the way, untouched. And so they
sparred, neither landing a blow as they tested each other’s skill
and seemingly perfect defense.

After the bell announced the beginning
of the final round, neither fighter had scored a point or landed a
single blow but the pace was beginning to take its toll. It would
only be a matter of time until one of the exhausted fighters made a
mistake.

The feline made the first mistake,
slipping in a puddle of the fight master’s drool. The canine was on
him in a split second, seizing the feline master from behind,
succeeding in his strangle hold, choking the feline to
senselessness, ending the fight.

The crowd erupted in applause and
began chanting the canine master’s fight name Rowl! Rowl! Rowl!
However, I could see that it was an empty victory for the exhausted
fight master. He obviously took no joy in the feline’s defeat. He
did no victory dance, leaving the ring quickly.

Even the stealth master turned to
leave the disgraced feline master’s crumpled form in the ring,
offering no assistance. I wondered silently what had caused such a
disgrace. I pitied the disgraced master as I remembered how my
former instructor had died in my arms. Then I turned to join the
receding stealth master. It was none of my affair and I could not
break cover no matter how sad the sight of the beaten and disgraced
feline master was.

Much later in our room in the temple
workers’ section, I awoke suddenly and instantly on guard, my hand
on my blaster, at the gentle touch of the feline master. I had only
slept for a couple of hours I reasoned, as the sun had not yet come
up.

“
Human Tom, I have just
watched as the leader’s personal assistant summoned Maalox. I am
sure it is about today in the market.” She purred softly: “We will
follow them and observe their meeting. Ready yourself: we leave at
once.”

My mind whirled as I quickly dressed,
donning my boots. Finally, a true test, I thought, one complete
with death as the outcome if caught. I wondered if I was ready for
such a high-risk stealth.

As if reading my mind I heard the
feline Master mew from behind me, in a disembodied and invisible
voice, “You will do well Human Tom, of that I am sure. Just follow
my lead and do not decloak until I signal, if I do.”

As we waited, at the entrance to the
hallway leading to the leader’s office, I wondered if we were too
late. Maybe Maalox was already inside with the leader. In the
distance down the hallway, I heard the sounds of movement headed
toward us.

There were two, judging from the
muffled, shuffling footsteps. It would seem that the leader’s
assistant was supporting either an unwilling or an intoxicated
Maalox. That would work to our advantage. The assistant would be
too preoccupied to give much notice to his surroundings. Not that
he could see either of us; we were cloaked.

As the assistant struggled
with the door we followed him in, unobserved. I drifted toward an
empty corner of the office. The feline master stayed in the middle
of the room. We waited for the arrival of the leader. We did not
have to wait long. A large, hidden door slid open. In walked what
looked like a huge Earth baboon. I thought to myself,
THAT is the leader?
It
was not what I expected. I guess I thought the leader would be
more, well, a little more evolved.

The assistant rose to his feet and
Maalox struggled to his until the leader was seated behind the
electronic console on his massive, crudely made desk.

“
Master,” began the
assistant, “Maalox believes that the feline master and her student
are spies.”

“
It would seem that Snarth
was seen in the market today. Is this true?” barked the baboon-like
leader.

“
Yes master,” slurred
Maalox.

The leader let out an ear-splitting
howl. “Are you sure it was Snarth?” he demanded.

“
Yes Master,” Maalox
slurred once again.

“
Does he have the artifact
or not?” asked the leader.

“
Sniggle insists he has it,
Master,” said a more alert Maalox.

“
Then if he is here those
two MUST be his spies. Bring them to me, alive,” roared the leader
again, emitting another ear-shattering scream of rage.

As the ringing in my ears subsided, I
saw the feline master decloak, her claws at the throat of the now
seated Maalox. “If Snarth is here, it is to try to buy my services
again, nothing more,” spat the feline master twitching her tail
furiously. I drew my blaster and waited for the master’s cue to
decloak. “This rodent is resentful of a slight dishonor my student
did him. He is only looking for revenge,” yowled the agitated
feline master. “I will not allow his lies to bring dishonor to me
or my student,” she hissed. “It is true that Snarth is here.
However, I am no longer in his employ, nor will I be anytime soon,”
she continued. “It is also true that I was in Snarth’s employ when
he stole the artifact you seek from the very rival who accuses him
of having it. I also know who he sold it to.”

“
I never fully trusted
Sniggle,” said the leader as he calmly stared at the captive Maalox
and the enraged Feline master. “But how can I trust you?” he asked
the feline master. Without answering, the feline master hissed into
the ear of Maalox, “I told you that if you ever caused trouble for
me or my student again, I would disembowel you. Let’s just say I
changed my mind and I am going to slit your throat instead,” she
said, her feline blade appearing at Maalox’s throat.

“
Hold,” howled the baboon
in a deafening voice. The master stayed her blade just as it drew
blood. “Good security chiefs are so hard to find, Master Feline,”
calmed the leader. “If you kill him, who will I get to replace him?
You?” he asked.

The feline master threw Maalox to the
floor, drew herself up to her full height, and hissed, “I am a
feline master in search of honest employment only. I find your
obsession with the artifact distasteful. It shows a lack of
character and questionable morals on your part,” hissed the feline
master to the leader. “The price for my services just went up. In
fact so much so, I don’t think you can afford me,” she yowled, her
tail twitching furiously from side to side. “It will cost you two
million galactic credits if you want my help.”

“
What have you to offer me
that would command such a high price, Master Feline?” retorted the
leader.

“
Like I said, I helped
steal the artifact once, why not again?” hissed the feline master
icily.

“
You really do know where
it is, don’t you,” asked a now gleeful leader. “Tell me now and I
will pay your price,” screeched the leader now fully consumed by
his obsession; he was in an almost maniacal state.

“What assurances do I have that you
will not make it known that I told you where the artifact is?”
countered the feline master coldly. “After all, I would be
violating a contract if I do,” stated the now calm feline master.
“And that could get me killed.

“
Tell me now!” screeched
the leader, “Tell me NOW!”

At that moment, the feline master gave
me the clue to decloak. My appearance had a sobering effect on the
leader as he snapped back into this reality. The leader,
embarrassed by his loss of control, cleared his throat, regaining
his normal speaking voice.

“
The fact that I didn’t
have my student kill you should be enough reason to trust me. After
all, he has sworn allegiance to me. I will let your insult pass
this once,” hissed the stealth master.

From my position in the corner, I
could see that rodent Maalox was up to something. I suddenly moved
into a combat stance sighting my blaster on Maalox. He froze and
something metal clinked to the floor. That little bastard had been
palming a dagger and was preparing to stab the feline master in the
back. My face grew red with anger, my finger tightened on the
firing stud of my blaster.

“
No Human Tom, do not kill
him,” hissed the feline master quietly. That was a dash of cold
reasoning turning the heat of my anger to the ice of revenge.
Maalox would pay for that deception later.

“
As you can see, my student
is well trained and loyal to me,” purred the feline master, even
though her tail continued to twitch from side to side.

The leader leaned back in his wooden
chair, causing it to groan under his impressive weight. “Feline
Master and Human Tom, please be my guests here at the temple while
I make up my mind about your price. That is a great deal of money
and we are not as rich as Snarth. We depend on the generosity of
our followers and patrons. It will take some time to gather such a
large sum.”

The leader bowed his head in deference
to the feline master and then again to me. Then he rang a bell on
his desk and a mech servant appeared almost at once. “Take the
Master Feline and her student to the executive guest quarters and
see to their needs.” As the leader rose to leave, he said, “I
should have an answer for you in the morning.” Then he disappeared
out the once-hidden door behind him, leaving me, the feline master,
Maalox and the assistant staring at each other.

“
This way,” croaked the
mech servant in a metallic galactic standard as it rolled out the
now open door and started down the hall. I tensed as Maalox rose
and scurried out the door and down the hall opposite the mech
servant, his frantic pace revealing his fear.

The assistant fled out the hidden door
the leader had disappeared through, leaving the Feline Master and
me to follow the mech servant, who was now paused, waiting. “This
way please,” it bleeped again, its metallic voice echoing down the
deserted hallway. With respect, I waited to follow the feline
master’s lead.

After the mech servant left the
sparsely decorated guestrooms, I wondered to myself what the
quarters of a new convert must be if this was how basic the
executive guest quarters are.

“
Human Tom, the leader
believes our story and now he is going to try to kill us to protect
his secret.”