Sidespace (30 page)

“Maybe. She’s storing all the content to analyze later, once she has the language down.”

“So you’re acting as a conduit, or are you learning it alongside her?”

“I could if I concentrated. But I’m tired, which has reduced me to a page turner.”

He reached up—with his uninjured arm—and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Rest while you can. We don’t know when we’ll be challenged again.”

25

KAMEN-1

D
ETENTION
F
ACILITY

L
ACKING ANY WAY TO COMMUNICATE
with their captors outside the cell, when Valkyrie had absorbed the entire library they pushed the table and screen to the wall beside the door and waited.

Alex fell asleep on his shoulder. Caleb allowed himself to relax against the wall while being careful not to jostle her. Their situation was still a long way from safe, but considering they had only narrowly escaped execution a minimum of three times in their first hour on the planet, it was decidedly improved.

Now came the hard part. Once they could engage in actual conversations with the aliens, things were bound to get dicey. Culture clashes, unintended insults, misinterpreted gestures…in an aggressive culture such as this one, offense would be easily taken and not so easily forgiven.

His instincts argued their goal needed to be release and departure. This was a dangerous place. Yet the residents were clearly an intelligent species—the most advanced aliens humans had encountered outside of the Metigens by traditional measurements. He believed in many ways Akeso was far more intelligent than any of them, but in a truly unique manner humans were unlikely to ever comprehend.

If the next hours went favorably for them, Alex would want to stay. She would want to get to know the residents, if only in an attempt to decipher why they existed in one of the Metigens’ pocket universes.

He’d play it by ear. He was curious, too…despite the inauspicious beginning, these were in fact the walking, talking aliens he’d desired. But his first job was making sure they stayed alive.

The door opened and one of the guards—the one Alex had aptly named ‘Orange’—took a single step inside. “The Tokahe Naataan wishes to know how many cycles—days—you expect it will take you to become conversant in our language.”

Caleb pointed using his injured arm to the table, his good one being trapped behind Alex’s sleeping form. “We’re done. Tell your Tokahe Naataan the texts were very helpful.”

“Impossible. You cannot be finished.”

Caleb squelched a smirk—he must continue to be polite and respectful unless physically challenged. “I believe we are. We still have much to learn about you, your world and your culture, but our device can now translate more than 40,000 of your words and vice versa.”

The alien’s expression changed—he couldn’t be certain what it meant, but it was easy enough to guess it represented disbelief, surprise and probably suspicion. Orange turned and left without another word.

Valkyrie had sent a full translation file to their eVis thirty minutes ago, along with notes on the species she had gleaned from the texts.

They called themselves Khokteh, which didn’t have a meaningful translation, and their planet Ireltse, which translated roughly as ‘generous stone.’ They did have two sexes; the notable distinguishing characteristics were that the females tended to be taller and have more slender tails.

Their technology included non-quantum computing, microtech, hovercraft and sub-light starships. Their social structure was based on roles. Warriors, scientists, educators, builders and so on played their designated roles, though the designating part was mostly competency-based. Government seemed to be a mixture of a meritocracy and hereditary rule. The texts provided little information regarding their recent history beyond vague references to the ‘Conflict.’

He reached over and gently brushed stray strands of hair out of Alex’s face, then cupped her cheek in his palm. “Alex, baby, it’s time to wake up. I think we’re about to take the stage again.”

“How did you learn our language so fast?”

Caleb considered the Tokahe Naataan with studied calm. The title marked their honey-hued visitor from earlier as leader of this city and possibly the entire planet. He expected and was prepared for a few minutes of hard questioning. “We have virtual assistants—rudimentary computers—which can handle tasks such as this.”

“In your brains?”

He nodded, but remembered the motion might not convey the information and elaborated. “That’s right. The necessary hardware is implanted when we’re children, using a combination of biological and synthetic material.”

The alien’s two front-most eyes shifted. “We’ve experimented with similar technologies, but I’m told our brain chemistry is not amenable to it. Where are you from? And be specific.”

This lie—a small one—had been prepared ahead of time. “A neighboring galaxy we call the Milky Way. We’re deep space explorers searching for other sentient life.”

“Another galaxy? This is a long distance for you to travel.”

“Our ship is very fast.”

“Indeed. Where is your ship? Our patrols have been unable to locate it.”

“Cloaked, for its own protection. It won’t take any offensive action so long as it remains hidden.”

The alien appeared to consider the laden statement for a moment, then accept it. “Have you found any sentient species? Before us, I mean.”

“Yes, two other species. But you’re the first one we’ve discovered who is like us.”

The smooth hair along his thick neck rustled. “We are not like you.”

Alex finally spoke up. Realizing both the importance and delicate nature of this encounter, she had thus far allowed him to take the lead. “In comparison to the other species we’ve encountered, believe me, you are. You’re discrete individuals. You bear children, build cities and fly ships.”

The alien grunted. “You learned these details about us from the texts. Now that you’ve found us, are others of your kind going to show up and attempt to rule us?”

 Caleb offered a reassuring smile; as with all his gestures and expressions he kept it muted lest it be misconstrued. “No. While we suffer from our share of problems, we are trying to be a peaceful civilization. We haven’t found any other intelligent beings in our galaxy, and…we simply want to know that we aren’t alone. Also, as you say, it is a long way. Most of our people don’t travel such distances often or lightly.”

 “Yet you
can
travel such distances. This says to me your technology is more advanced than ours. How do I know you don’t possess weapons or other capabilities we won’t recognize which you will use against us?”

“Tokahe Naataan, if we had such weapons, don’t you think we would have used them to evade capture in the first place? Trust me, it was not our intent to be held at gunpoint, physically assaulted, shackled and imprisoned.”

The alien drew his head back and uttered an odd rolling bark. Was he laughing? It seemed as if he was laughing. “Such must be true. You understand we had to be cautious, but please accept my apology for any discomfort we caused you.”

The alien stepped forward, crossed his arms at the wrists and presented them to Caleb. “Welcome to Ireltse. I am Pinchutsenahn Niikha Qhiyane Kteh, the leader of the Khokteh here on our mother planet. You may call me Pinchu.”

Caleb stood and mimicked the pose, though it was awkward as his arms were not nearly so long. “Thank you, sir. Our species is known as Human, but you can call me Caleb.”

Pinchu grasped his hands and lifted them perhaps twenty centimeters, then released them. Alex had also stood, and Pinchu approached her and did the same. She gave the alien an uncertain look. “I’m Alex.”

“Come, Caleb and Alex Humans. Allow me to show you a kinder side of our hospitality.”

I
RELTSE

Due to their rapid capture, they hadn’t had the opportunity to see much of the area up close on their arrival. From the entryway of the building they’d been held captive in—it turned out to be a joint government/military command complex they called the Center—the city spread out to the horizon in a sea of bleached sandstone and coral marble.

The Khokteh built horizontally instead of vertically, and the loftiest building in sight stood ten stories high. It was likely an architectural preference rather than a deficiency of skill, as they utilized the copious space to inspiring effect.

Spiraling stairways wound around open-air porticos and expansive terraces. Many structures featured curved exteriors and offset floors. Artistic statues, often of unusual-looking animals, graced many street corners. The streets themselves were made of the same bleached sandstone, which wasn’t a surprise—their aerial scans had indicated it was in plentiful supply on the planet.

Alex had never felt short a day in her life; even as a child she’d usually been the tallest girl in her age group. But the towering Khokteh moving in every direction made her feel positively diminutive. To not be able to see above the heads of the crowd…it was unsettling and led to the irrational fear that she might get lost.

Caleb seemed to sense it—or maybe he felt the same way—as he kept a hand protectively on the small of her back. She stayed on his right side to ensure he used his uninjured arm to do so.

Passing Khokteh often stopped to stare at them, but Pinchu’s presence dissuaded the gawkers from approaching or challenging them in any way. The passersby didn’t bow or kneel to Pinchu; still, the deference given him was clear in the far more cautious and reserved behavior the public exhibited toward him than in their interactions with one another.

No guards accompanied them on their tour. Either the Tokahe Naataan was demonstrating an extraordinary degree of trust in their honorable intentions, or he correctly believed he could fell them with little effort.

Pinchu paused at a broad outcropping that provided an excellent vantage over the city. Beneath them stood a large arena. Several thousand Khokteh filled its seats, watching as two fighters battled in the center. They used hand-held weapons that resembled hooked, double-bladed spears.

The ancient Roman gladiators of the Colosseum instantly sprang to mind. “Are they fighting to the death?”

“No, although grave injuries are not uncommon. It is a test—and an exhibition—of skill.”

Caleb diverted his gaze from the arena to their host. “Physical prowess is important in your culture?”

“Yes. Warriors are valued, because they must be. You see, we are at war.”

They both turned to Pinchu now. “With whom?”

He dismissed the question with a sideways wave of his arm. “We will discuss it later perhaps, should we tire of more pleasant pursuits. There is someone I wish for you to meet.”

Two dozen Khokteh children practiced agility drills under the watchful gaze of a strikingly tall Khokteh standing at the front of a wide room. The space was empty of furniture except for racks of weapons along the right wall.

Though it cut as strange a figure as all the others what with the peculiar double set of eyes and long jaw, Alex was of the opinion this particular Khokteh was nonetheless stunning. Its—possibly ‘her’ due to its height—fur shone a pure alabaster white and was decorated in swirling patterns of lavender and silver. The fur around its face was braided into multiple rows, each one wound through with alternating lavender and silver thread.