Ragnar continued, “I would ask that you not leave this spire for the time being. Tomorrow night, we are hosting an event in your honor and we will have much to do in the time leading up to it. Diplomats from around the colony will want to meet you.”
Liam bowed his head slightly, mirroring Ragnar’s posture but keeping his gaze firmly planted on the alien’s mostly black eyes.
“We thank you,” he said awkwardly. It was difficult for Liam to sound high-class, but he gave it his best shot.
“Humans are the first species we’ve encountered from beyond our own system,” Ragnar said. “This is cause for celebration.”
“We are in agreement. It will be history being made.”
“A strange expression,” the Caretaker said, “But fitting.”
Ragnar turned and started down the hall, stopping after a few steps and rotating his pale face to the side, the thin scales clearly visible from Liam’s viewpoint. The alien opened his lips and said in a near whisper, “Do not fear the night.”
With that he turned and made his way down the long corridor toward the lift. Saturn leaned against the entryway to their quarters and crossed her arms. She had an expression of distrust across her face.
“What do you suppose he meant by that?” Saturn asked.
“An event in our honor?” Ju-Long mused. “It sounds like they’re going to eat us or make a sacrifice to the gods.”
“We don’t even know if they worship any gods,” Liam replied. “And Saturn, I’m sure it’s just an expression.”
Ju-Long brushed past Saturn into their room. “Well, I hope we get to eat before this event because I’m starving. What do you think they eat around here?”
“Let’s talk inside,” Liam said, ushering Saturn through the entryway and sliding the smooth metallic door closed behind them.
The room was small but adequate when compared with their sleeping arrangements on the Asteroid Belt. The mats laid out on the ground were about two meters long and much thinner than even the mattresses he was used to. Liam guessed the Ansarans didn’t require much by way of comfort. The floor was the same light marble as Ragnar’s chamber and the walls a smooth stone interspersed with a metallic support structure. It was that mix of ancient beauty and contemporary functionality that intrigued Liam.
Saturn plopped down on one of the mats, immediately complaining about the level of comfort. Liam took the mat beside hers, wriggling his body trying to get comfortable and decided it was impossible. The material had little give and was scarcely softer than the floor.
Ju-Long was at the window, or the wall disguised as a window, looking out over the city. From his mat, Liam could see the lights from the other spires, each glowing with a faint purple iridescence that was at first eerie to the eye. Ju-long pressed his nose against the wall in awe. Liam thought it a strange sight to see such a muscular man staring off in wonder like a child. Liam pondered if there was more to Ju-Long than he previously thought.
“Let’s recap,” Saturn said. “We spend an hour talking with this Ragnar guy and when we come out of it, we’re no closer to getting a ship, no closer to getting off this planet, in fact, we might as well be prisoners here.”
“We’re not prisoners,” Liam replied.
“Why wouldn’t he want us to leave the spire, then?”
“Think about it. If this was Earth and an alien species crash landed, would you let them run amok?”
“So you admit it, we’re prisoners.”
“If you see a shadow behind every corner you’re going to drive yourself crazy.”
“In our line of work I would have thought you’d learned to do the same. What were our rules back then? Always cautious. Always vigilant. What happened to you?”
Ju-Long turned around and raised his voice, “Enough. I’m tired of your bickering. Yes, Saturn, we’re probably being held here for the time being. That doesn’t mean we need to be hasty drawing conclusions. I say we learn as much as we can about these people and wait for our opportunity. And Liam, grow a pair and realize that there’s more to our situation than playing the explorer. None of us were meant for this kind of role so let’s take it down a notch and figure this out logically.”
Liam and the rest of the crew were silent for a while. Ju-Long plopped down on his mat and put an arm over his eyes, shielding them from the single orb of light floating near the ceiling. Liam imagined that what was going through Saturn’s head was similar to what was going through his own. Ju-Long made too much sense. They needed to work together and make a united front. Whatever decisions they made might have larger ramifications for their race down the road. But the moment things went south, they would have to be ready to act.
A few minutes later, Liam asked, “Ju-Long, you never told us how you came to be on the mine.”
Ju-Long kept his eyes covered with his arm, his bloodied hand hanging limply over his equally damaged face. His hand bore a crude bandage where Saturn had tried to make up for stabbing him. His jaw tightened as he prepared to speak.
“Vesta Corporation had a hand in a lot of industries back on Earth. I worked for a company that was building a new propulsion system meant for interstellar travel. Vesta bought the company and put a stop to my research.”
“Wouldn’t interstellar travel be a boon to Vesta’s bottom line?” Saturn asked.
“Yes, but they didn’t want the technology to proliferate. They stole my research and gave it to their own team to develop. I was already so close. We were running simulations with great success. Once their team had control of my research, there was no need for me. Agents from the corporation came after me, tying up loose ends I guess. I escaped for a while to the Martian Colony, but that didn’t last long. Soon, the agents found me and I was sent to the Asteroid Belt. They would have killed me, but if something went wrong with their research they needed to have me available as a backup. Captain Truong didn’t want to waste my talents, so he put me in charge of the mining ship’s engine room.”
“So, under all that muscle you actually are some kind of genius?” Liam asked.
Saturn snorted. Liam knew what she thought of Ju-Long, but underneath that ego he might not be as vapid as they had originally thought. Ju-Long might have been a chauvinist at times, but they were lucky to have him on their ship when they escaped. He’d already proven his usefulness once.
“Call me what you want, but I always thought of myself as more of a mechanic anyway.”
Ju-Long turned his head toward Saturn and added with a smile, “I’m good with my hands.”
Liam tried to stifle a laugh and was rewarded with a solid punch on the arm from Saturn. She was stronger than he remembered. “Hey, he said it, not me.”
Saturn cracked a smile and they all shared a brief laugh that marked the first time they’d all been cheerful since they left the Asteroid Belt. It felt good for Liam to laugh again. Even Saturn seemed to be in a better mood. However, their moment was interrupted by a series of quiet knocks on the door. Liam’s eyes shot across the room and he rose up from the mat and padded toward the door, looking back at his crew over his shoulder. The night had come for Garuda quickly, leaving Liam wondering how many hours there were in a day on the planet, or even how time was measured on Garuda.
As Liam approached the door, he tripped some sort of security measure and the door became nearly transparent like the windows. Through the door Liam saw a manner of creature he could only describe as lizard-like. The alien was the same height as Liam and covered in tan scales more coarse than the Ansarans. His eyes were smaller than the other aliens and bore vertical slits and a golden hue like a snake. His head was bald like the Ansarans, but with more pronounced cheekbones and ears that were just holes off to the side of his eyes.
The alien seemed to know he was being watched, because his thin mouth curled up at the edge, much farther than a human’s could, which somehow made him appear more predatory. Over his hardened tan scales he wore a dark cloak that was hard to make out in the low light of t
he hallway.
Liam’s hand hovered over the panel for a moment before pressing down on it. The door opened and Liam subconsciously puffed out his chest to make himself appear bigger. The alien folded his scaled hands together. His pupils grew when they made contact with Liam, giving him the feeling he was being examined by a doctor.
“Inside, quickly,” the alien implored. “Before we’re seen.”
15
Liam closed the door behind the alien and got a better look at him under the orb of light floating several centimeters from the ceiling. He wore a rough cloth cloak that hung like a V over his chest and down to his waist in front and knees in the back, the cloak’s brown hood hanging behind his head. His pants were tight and done up with white string at the waist. The alien’s feet were bare and looked the most primeval of all. They had yellow hooked claws at the tips and a strong, muscular shape.
“My name is Nix, I’m one of the Dinari servants for this spire.”
“Tell me your parents didn’t name you Nix,” Saturn asked.
Liam shot her a glance and she looked away, embarrassed. The last thing they needed was to make enemies in a foreign land.
“It was given to me by the Caretaker. The Dinari are not supposed to question the Caretaker.”
“Why are you here?” Liam asked.
“I come to warn you. Ragnar is not what he seems.”
Saturn stood up, pointing at Liam, and said, “I told you.”
Liam held up a hand in response.
“Hold on. Nix, what do you mean?”
Nix unfolded his hands, standing tall under the single light of the room, deep shadows arising in the crevices of his many scales. “Tomorrow night, the Ansarans plan to give you over to the Kraven Throng.”
“The Kraven Throng?” Ju-Long said. “I thought they were enemies of the Ansarans? How did you come by this information?”
“They are enemies, but your presence grants a unique opportunity for Ragnar. He is a low-ranking member of House Ansara, but if he were able to broker a peace with the Kraven Throng he would greatly increase his status. These are things I hear when serving in the chambers. They think me stupid and say things they ought not to in front of me.”
Liam scratched the long scar on his right cheek and thought about the meeting with Ragnar. He was searching for something. It struck him that Ragnar may not have known why the Throng wanted his crew, but the fact that they did was off-putting to him. Ragnar seemed like someone who wanted control over all aspects of a situation, and whatever deal he was making with the Throng must have been out of his comfort zone. “What does the Kraven Throng want with us anyway?”
“I don’t know, but if I were you, I wouldn’t want to find out.”
Ju-Long sat up on his mat and crossed his legs, leaning his elbows down on his knees. “Ragnar spoke of the Ansara Alliance. He said the Dinari were their cousins.”
“He would say that,” Nix replied. “Don’t be fooled, the name is a misnomer. The Dinari have served the Ansarans for thousands of years. The proof is in our skin. The Dinari have evolved rough scales over dozens of millennia working outdoors; every form of manual labor imaginable. The Ansarans can’t even go outside on most worlds without protecting their skin. The Dinari have grown much stronger over the generations.”
“If that’s so,” Ju-Long said, “Why don’t the Dinari fight for their independence?”
“Most Dinari have been brought up to be subservient. We are taught in our schools to serve and our parents have known no other way. There are some among us that think differently, but their divergent mindset is rare, their numbers small.”
“Are you one of those few?” Saturn asked, intrigued.
Nix appeared uncomfortable, shifting his gaze between each of the crew.
“At the moment my only concern is for your safety.”
“Why help us?” Liam asked.
“I will not stand by and watch another race be used as bartering chips as we have been. I warn you to give you the chance my race never had, at least in recent memory. If the stories are true, the Kraven Throng will be a far worse evil than the Ansarans. An alliance between them cannot come to exist.”
“What will that mean for this world?” Saturn asked.
“If peace is garnered between Ansarans and Kraven, the Dinari stand to suffer. But not only would the Dinari be in danger. The Ansarans would become an unstoppable force, free to take over system after system. I do not know where your world is, but this alliance could not be good for your race either.”
“Do the Ansarans or the Kraven have the ability to open a wormhole?” Saturn asked.
At the mention of a wormhole Nix backed against the far wall, pressing his shoulders into the smooth surface. Nix was skittish, showing minor twitches along his face. “There are stories,” he began, adjusting the hood on his cloak nervously. “But I worry they are just that. There is a Dinari in the city below who knows things. He is a collector of information and he distributes it as he sees fit. I will not lie, he is not friendly, but he’s helped me before and under the right circumstances he’ll help me again.”
Liam didn’t like the sound of this Dinari already. He sounded like any one of the countless mercenary leaders he’d dealt with in his time freelancing. They would do anything for a credit and cared only for themselves. It wasn’t so long ago Liam felt the same way. Being on the mine, even just for a year, could change a person’s perspective.
Saturn shot Liam a frightened look. “If the Ansarans or the Kraven Throng have ability to open a wormhole, we need to put a stop to it. Earth wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if they’re stories, we need to follow up on this.”
Liam put a hand against the cold wall and leaned his weight against it. He brushed aside his long blond hair, still stained with sweat and caked with sand from the day that wouldn’t seem to end. He looked between Saturn, Ju-Long, and Nix. “The first order of business is getting out of here. We’re no use to anyone if we get handed over to the Throng. Nix, can you get us out?”
Nix pushed away from the wall and raised his thick brown hood over the top portion of his face. Deep shadows cut under his eyes and a smile curved up from his long mouth revealing many pointed teeth. For the first time, he spoke confidently, “I know the way.”
16
Nix led the crew down the long corridor in the opposite direction of the elevator. His long cloak fluttered behind him from a strange wind traveling down the hallway. He jogged down the passage, his clawed feet clicking on the stone with every step and echoing between the stone walls. Liam followed close behind hugging the wall and using his hands to help guide his way in the dimly lit passageway.
“Where is he leading us?” Saturn whispered over Liam’s shoulder.
“Through the servant’s quarters to a separate entryway,” Nix replied.
Saturn bore a look of surprise. Her voice had been low, hardly loud enough for Liam to hear. Despite this, Nix seemed to pick it up just fine with his non-existent external ears. He was a strange creature, full of ticks and habits that made him appear more like an abused animal than a person. Liam felt for him. Even with all of the problems on Earth, the plight of the Dinari stood out as an injustice.
The long corridor ended abruptly, capped by an angled window jutting up at an angle from the ground, spiraling toward the top of the tower. Nix stepped on a specific tile and the wall to their left turned transparent, as though it were never there. Before them was a set of stairs leading down and around the spire. Liam made a note to ask Nix how their technology was capable of such a feat. Though, with the things he’d seen in the past day, parlor tricks of the walls seemed of small concern.
Nix shifted his head under his hood and whispered with a quiver of his mouth, “Servants take the stairs.”
He disappeared down the dark steps, his cloak floating up behind him with an unfelt wind. Liam and Saturn exchanged a concerned look before following him through the passage. Ju-Long kept checking their tail as though cer
tain they were being followed. Liam was starting to get that feeling too. Toras’ words kept coming back to haunt his mind, “Do not stray the path or I will know it.”
“Nix, wait,” Liam said.
The cloaked alien stopped several steps ahead of him and peered back at Liam, his face obstructed by the hood, only his point of a nose showing out from under. “What is it? We must hurry.”
“Toras said something to me on our way in. He said if I strayed the path, he would know.”
Nix removed his hood, his golden eyes wide even in the half-light. “Did he show you a path? Telepathically I mean.”
“He used a device to communicate. It showed me images of where to go.”
Nix cursed in a way that Liam’s translator couldn’t understand. It made him wonder how close the Dinari and Ansaran languages were and just how good the translators could be. Nix approached him, climbing a few steps before speaking.
“The link could well be active. Toras would be able to see everything you see if he liked.”
“Then he would have heard us talking?” Ju-Long asked.
“No, he would see only what Liam sees. It’s enough. We don’t have time. Toras will realize what we’re up to soon and sound the alarms. I cannot break the link here, we must move quickly.”
Nix took off down the stairs much faster than before. The occasional sliver of window lighting up the passage with a faint purple glow from outside the spire. It was barely enough to keep their footing as they descended. Liam understood now why Nix was so muscular in his legs. If the Dinari never used the elevator, every step would have been torture on the feet.
Liam looked out the next window as they passed and noted they were far closer to the ground than before. By Earth standards they were still remarkably high. Working on the mine was a great source of physical activity, but it was nothing compared to descending hundreds of stories of stairs. He couldn’t imagine going back up.
The Corsair Uprising Collection, Books 1-3 Page 7
