(just a warning
)Thanks to all who replied to ch.1
My mom will eventually see this, after I've posted it.
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The trim muscular young man sat scowling as he gave his report. He didn't hesitate talking as he ripped loose the collar tab on his starched khaki uniform. His deeply tanned face was an odd contrast to his white blonde hair.
"Brice Sawyer, assistant negotiator to Ambassador J. L. Raines, Ceredon III mining rights negotiations. Recording date, 23891 HQ time standard. As yet no progress has been made on the mining rights. Following regulations, the request was made to the head governments involved. According to their governmental procedure, we now await the high council meeting for formal negotiations. No further progress has been made into the disappearances of the previous ambassadors."
Brice turned away from the porta-recorder in front of him that had been brought down from the ship. Bitterly, he remembered other reports from Ceredon III that were so much like this one. Many of the reports hadn't gotten this far. He hated unanswered questions. Why was this planet such a problem? This particular assignment should have been quite routine. Yet on what was surely a routine assignment, two ambassadors had disappeared.
Central Mining was pressuring for an outright investigation, with or without complete planetary cooperation. For Central to agree to that would be to incite an outright take over and completely violate this planet's rights under Galactic Law. Which was just what Central Mining wanted. Not that anyone cared if the law was broken or not. As this planet was not yet a formal member of the United Trade Planets, he had been sent to investigate discreetly. Not an easy task to accomplish with a very nervous ambassador sticking to your side.
He got up and began to pace his quarters impatiently. The only headway made at all was when that native, Ralt, began to take them seriously. Nobody else seemed to care one way or another if they were here or not. Even though, Ralt refused to speak to Ambassador Raines about the mining. This didn't improve the ambassador's temper at all.
What was confusing was the local attitude. For a basic class 3 culture, the natives acted like spacemen of any kind were an everyday occurence. The only reaction he could get out of the normal from the natives, was when they first glimpsed his blonde hair.
Brice sighed and lay down on the bed, hands laced behind his head. How he hated planet work. But he was stuck with it. He had gotten this dratted duty after he had lost his trade ship in a run-in with the Torhites. Central Transport hadn't been to happy about that. Not the fact that he had last lives and ship, but that he had lost a valuable cargo. That they wouldn't forgive. So what if he had been outgunned four to one. This was punishment detail.
The quarters were comfortable enough, and everyone was polite in a cool aloof sort of way. True, the ruling system was hard to take at times; but not too unusual. Something about this planet just felt wrong. He couldn't place his finger on it.
"The problem is, Captain Sawyer," he thought mockingly, "You've been starbound too long. Try relaxing a little and try to enjoy the duty. If that's possible." With that he turned over and fell into a restless sleep.
***
The chimes at the door woke him from an uneasy dream. He pulled himself up from the tangle of bedclothes and fought his way to a semblance of wakefullness.
"I'm coming, Hang on a minute." he grumbled. He'd forgotten he had locked his door. Opening the door, he stared blearily at the man waiting respectfully in front of him. He didn't trust these almost feminine male servants that were appointed to them.
"Well?"
The young man bowed politely, "Pardon gentle sir, but the morn bells ring and you left no word as to your rising."
"Then why didn't you wait..."
"Because I said not to." Came a cheerful voice from the lounge area beyond the servant's shoulder. "My morning wishes to you, Brice. Perhaps you would care to join me this morn? Without the old man, of course."
Looking past the servant, into the dimly lit room, Brice saw Ralt, arms behind his dark head leaning back in one of the large reclines, legs crossed in front, grinning at him.
"What?" Brice started rather blankly, and stopped to try again. "Ralt, it's rather early, isn't it? I mean to be running around the..."
"Come with me," Ralt urged."The city is at its best now before the people really awaken."
"Do you mind if I get something fresh on first?"
"Please do." Ralt returned amiably.
Glancing at the ambassador's room, Brice grinned. "Well, I hate to think of the chewing out I'm going to get, but you're on." Turning to the attendent, "Tell the ambassador where I've gone when he wakes up."
"Certainly, gentle sir."
Changing hastily, he joined Ralt and left the room. As they went down the stairs, through various floors, he could see that others were beginning to rise. Mostly there were the black robes of the sisters or men-servants hurrying to their various tasks. They had passed through four floors wordlessly, when Brice saw two men step out of a stairway door quite like his own, higher up in the tower. Brice stopped abruptly, his fists clenched at his sides. All of his ingrained hatred of Torhites boiled to the surface.
"They have the protection of the tower, Brice." Ralt warned quietly, watching him. "If you make one violent move towards them while you are on this planet, your life would be forfeit."
"When did they get here?"
"They have been here off and on for over a year now. They too wish to mine the dryth. Now come, to stare is a rudeness."
"They deserve more than that! And I won't pass those butchers!"
"Ah, but we have to go down the stairs to get outside." Ralt chuckled winningly. "Come now, you'll manage. See, they move off."
Not wishing to spoil his companion's mood, Brice allowed Ralt to lead him down the stairs. Ralt nodded or quietly greeted many of the male servants as he passed. Brice noticed that he just as quietly avoided the sisters scowling at him.
Coming into the great hall, Brice could see the trestle tables along the walls. The hall was lit only by the globe lamps above the set tables. The rest of the room was in lengthening shadows as the sun rose. Ralt was leading his companion towards one of the smaller tables set in semi-darkness behind a column. He proceeded to help Brice and himself to ponsa cakes and a lusciously ripe Lurpoi fruit.
"No sense going hungry." Ralt commented cheerfully. With that, he headed for the tower doors and the city munching happily. Brice quickly followed his guide.
It was almost the fourth bell before they reached the outer wall. Brice snatched a glance at Ralt who was leaning easily on the stone work munching on a Lurpoi fruit he had saved, as he stared at the far distant golden hills. Ralt had indeed shown him the city. But he thought a little breathlessly, it hadn't been necessary to show it all to him in one day. Ralt bustled him everywhere. The view had been worth the climb though. From the wall, one got a magnificent view of this city teaming with life.
He surveyed the trees and gardens admiringly. Only the planet Vredia, had planet growth to match this. Even then, none of that greenery was ever allowed in its cities. None of the cities he had ever taken leave in had been like this one. Even with the pastel hued plants and the darkly colored trees inside the city walls, everything was do ordered. This valley city was so clean and sparkled in the sunlight like an old Lyposian fire gem, while the hills beyond were the golden setting for that stone. As he drank in the loveliness of the view, a meloncholly stole over him.
There were so few planets that were as beautiful as this paradise he thought regretfully. Too bad this one would become as dirty as any of the other mining planets as soon as the treaty was signed. The cities would become dirty, crowded mining complexes. To spoil this beauty would be a criminal loss to all the planets. But then, the rule was always in favor of the majority in a Trade vote and that meant money, not beauty.
Ralt had just as carefully studying Brice. "Something wrong, Brice?" he asked casually.
He looked up startled out of his musings. "No!" Then guiltily, realizing he had been too sharp, "No, Ralt, I was just thinking is all." and smiled lamely.
Ralt nodded gravely, "Alright. It's time we started back anyway." He chuckled, "We must give your master time to chastise you properly before the Krianon."
"The what?"
"Krianon. Meeting. You are to attend the meeting to be observed by the emmisaries from the regions of Soin and Rooaron, if they are here. It is to help the council make their minds clear on your petitions."
"We weren't informed of this."
Ralt chuckled again. "You would have been if you had been in your quarters just now. It is an informal meeting."
Brice stared hard at his companion puzzled. Which was he about most things this native. "May I ask how you happened to be informed?"
Ralt smiled, "Yes, you can. But I doubt if I could possibly answer." Then he became serious. "We must hurry if you are not to be late. I know a shorter way than the way we came."
With that, Ralt moved his quest swiftly away from the outer walls towards the tower. He was indeed taking them a different way. But how much shorter, Brice couldn't tell. For that matter he couldn't tell which direction he was being led in. The twists and turns in the alleys they were using were that many.
It was in one of the narrower back alleys that Ralt stopped so short, that Brice bumped into him. He looked over Ralt's shoulder to see why he had stopped and to offer his opinion of such behavior, when he saw three cloaked figures coming towards them.
"Brice," Ralt was saying, his voice as taut as his hace. "Do exactly as I do and say nothing. Do you understand me? Say nothing!"
"Alright, Ralt. But I don't see why."
"Just do it!" Ralt hissed fiercely. Then he proceeded slowly down the alley towards the oncoming figures.
They were within ten feet of the women when Ralt stopped, bowed his head low and murmered, "Your pardon, sisters." Then he stepped to the right, his shoulder pressed against the wall. Brice was bewildered at his companion's strange behavior but followed his example.
The woman in front stopped next to Ralt, looking him over carefully.
"It seems, sisters, that the tower pet has a liking for back alleys. It would be interesting to find out his use of them." The other two laughed as Ralt flushed at her comments, but he said nothing.
"Perhaps," one suggested jeeringly, "he is hiding back here with some unfortuate sister." All three burst into laughter as that remark darkened his face further.
The first woman slipped a knife from under her cloak. Using the point delicately, she put it under his chin and turned his face to her, drawing blood slightly as she did so. "Well, pet," sge asked, stressing the name heavily, "Could that be possible?"
The blood tracked a thin line down his neck but his voice was quiet when he answered her, eyes lowered. "It is not possible, Lady Sha-nim. I know the laws. I carry no weapons of anykind."
"A well trained pet." she observed gravely. Which made the other two laugh even harder. She slipped her free hand to his tunic fastening. "Perhaps, we should make sure of that." she half suggested to the others. Then she laughed with them as Ralt's face went white. She dropped her hand, tapped the blade under his chin as her attention turned to Brice. "Another time, pet. Mayhap the quiet one is the one that requires watching."
Ralt was quick to answer though he hadn't moved or turned his head. "He's under the protection of the tower, my lady." One of the other two women hit him heavily across the mouth, knocking him against the wall. The other drew a knife and held it to his throat as he tried to recover.
"You were not questioned, pet." Sha-nim through back at him over her shoulder as she continued to look Brice over. Brice had accepted the abuse quietly until the last assault on Ralt. The women were obviously drunk. But he couldn't help his move to Ralt's assistance. As he came foward, he found the lady Sha-nim's blade against his own throat.
"You object to our customs?" she asked. She was eager for a kill. Too eager for Brice's liking. Her grey eyes shone with her bloodthirst. The blade trembled slightly at his throat, barely restrained. One wrong move and he would have no more problems.
He stared at her evenly for a moment longer, then allowed his gaze to flicker over her shoulder to the two holding Ralt. They no longer seemed as amused as when they first baited Ralt. His comments had sobered them effectively and now they were viewing the 'lady' Sha-nim's behavior with apprehension. The knife's movement returned his gaze quickly back to the owner of the knife.
"I am an unarmed stranger in your city." he replied calmly. He certainly wasn't going to show her fear. "I am ignorant of many of your local customs."
"Sha," one of her companions began timidly. "If he is under tower law..."
"Be quiet, Ri-mar! Do not dare quote the books to me!" she snapped out icily. But Brice could see the disappointment in her face. It seemed that even Sha-nim dared not break the tower's law.
Stepping back, she removed the threat of her knife, although she still had it directed at him. "It would be wise for 'strangers' in our city to learn the customs quickly. People unused to our city have a way of, getting lost." She dismissed them with a last word, coldly, to Ralt. "Stick to the main ways, pet." Ralt bowed as he was released. Brice merely inclined his head. Sha-nim's eyes narrowed in anger as she smiled thinly at Brice.
"Have a care not to get lost, stranger. I promise you, we will meet again." With that the three left, following the turnings of the narrow alley.
Brice turned to watch them go, acknowledging her implied threat silently as they left. Well, he could take a good shot at what happened to the ambassadors now. Given a chance, that one would have made good her threat. Perhaps Ralt had set the other men up for the women?
"Brice, we should be getting back to the tower." He turned back to a white faced Ralt and his suspicions faded. It was the first time he had ever seen Ralt lose his composure. "You'll be late."
"Alright, Ralt, but would you mind explaining 'that' to me?"
Ralt took him firmly by the arm and hurried him towards the tower, nursing the slight cut on his neck to stop the flow of blood.
"There is nothing to explain. The Lady was trying to provoke us into any sort of violent behavior so that she would have the excuse she needed to stand before the council, if her actions were questioned."
"An excuse? For what?"
Ralt kept walking. His face stiff from anger. "It is the Law. If a man violently confronts any woman, she has the right to kill him. The man has no right to protect himself in any circumstances and that law is very loosely translated."
Brice stared at him in disbelief, as he hurried to keep up with the fast moving Ralt. "You can't be serious. That's archeaic!"
Ralt shook his head, "No, Brice. It is the Law. An old law to be sure and I have only stated it very briefly. But it is one of the best known laws on the books and the most closely observed."
"I still can't believe that men stand still for it. Why don't you do something about it?"
"It is the Law." Ralt stated slowly. "Without the laws we would be back to the black violent times we have struggled to forget. We can never allow ourselves to return to that chaos. We would be much worse off than we are now.
"Try to understand our history and our customs. There were much worse laws in the book than that one. Most are being repealed. Slowly, to be sure, but they are being repealed. After the great war there were so few men left that the women had to rule. The war had driven our race to the edge of extinction. To preserve our race, the males were given only to a few privileged females. We were blamed for the wars and soon were reduced to the level of trained house pets, kept to amuse our mistresses. Not merely slaves, we were animals.
"At first, we were kept in that position to prevent us, the males, from ever provoking another war. But as time passed, we became pets or slaves because it was the natural way of things. It was believed that men were simply not intelligent enough to run their own lives."
"That's hard to believe."
"But that is the way most of the women and men feel about males. A male simply cannot cope with the decisions made in day to day life. However, times are changing. There are freed males now. Some whose mistresses had grown fond enough of to give them their freedom. We can walk in the streets without collar and chains; slaves or not. We have been fortunate to have such a liberal minded Prime in control. Prime Jai-la has been the main force behind the more lenient policies where the men are concerned. Because of the degradations, mistrust, and fears of the past, it will take time for the changes to come. We are just grateful that the changes are coming."
For the rest of the walk back to the tower Ralt was silent. Brice could tell Ralt had no wish to be disturbed from his thoughts which suited his own mood perfectly. It would take him a while to digest what Ralt had explained to him. This planet's customs were certainly different from the rest of the galaxy's. At the foot of the great tower stairs, Ralt stopped, regarding his friend seriously.
"Brice, I will leave you here with this warning. Sha-nim is very powerful and she has a long memory. Have a care to what you say to whom and avoid her at all costs. Now go quickly lest the lateness becomes unpardonable."
With that he bowed and disappeared into the crowded hall. Brice could barely see him heading back to the outer door through the busy hall. For a moment, he thought a black cloaked figure had joined Ralt at the gates but he wasn't sure. Then rembering Ralt's warning, he hurried towards his quarters to change.
Chapter 3 coming soon.
Elyn Yuy