by S A Pavli
There were paths and walkways at ground level, weaving between the giant buildings, liberally landscaped with trees and plants. It was as if a ‘cubist’ God had taken thousands of gleaming abstract jewels and scattered them liberally around the beautiful countryside, intermingling them with trees, rivers, lakes and hills, harmoniously mixing the artificial with the natural. Everywhere the eye settled, there would be a different and pleasing blend of colour and shape to feast on.
The shuttle was heading towards a huge hexagonal building, with descending ramparts like an Earth fort. The roof was flat and almost the size of a football pitch, with a number of craft parked on it as well as taking off and landing. Our shuttle settled with a barely perceptible bounce on its shock absorbers. We stood and moved towards the exits as the airlock doors hissed open and the bright daylight flooded the cabin. The smell of warm air, full of the smell of vegetation and something else, a sort of electric ozone tingle. Higher oxygen content I wondered? As we stepped out of the ship and down the ramp to the ground, I spotted a group of individuals heading towards us. Another welcoming committee? This was becoming a habit. But the individuals meeting us were simply a security team, to escort us to where we would be staying. Manera talked to them briefly and they directed us towards the entrance to the building. The sun was hot but the wind cool and caressing as we headed for the entrance to the building, Manera walking next to me and smiling reassuringly.
“What did you think of Ostinara Paul? she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Quite a spectacle,” I replied, “Is it a typical Hianja city?”
“Yes and No,” she replied enigmatically, “We like to try and make every city an individual,” she went on, “Selamar in the north for example is built on the old Hianja traditional style, the buildings are shaped like kouzouri, which is the old village style of house, but of course big and modern like here,” and she waved her hand around at the surrounding city, “But the mix of buildings and nature, is the same. Lots of trees and plants, rivers and lakes dividing off the buildings and providing beauty, shade and contrast.”
“Yes,” I agreed, “It is impressive that you have such control over the city’s development. I am not sure that Human’s would care to be so regimented.”
“That must make city planning very chaotic,” she replied.
“Yes, Earth cities are chaotic,” I agreed, “Which perhaps is part of their charm, but they can sometimes be uncomfortable places to live in.”
The doors to the building slid open at our approach and we followed our escorts in, two of them ahead of us and two behind. Manera stopped and laid a hand on my shoulder.
“Paul, I should tell you,” she said, “You are meeting the Mesaroyat Guardian Council for an informal talk. They will bring you up to date with proceedings.”
“Manera, I would have wanted Alfred to be with me on this,” I protested.
“Alfred will be with you,” she said quickly, interrupting me, “He is patched through our comms system.”
“That is correct Paul, I am here,” came the familiar tones from my ship’s AI in my ear. “Don’t worry about anything Paul.” went on Manera, “They just want to meet and greet our first Alien visitor,”
“No problem Manera Alfred, how is the work of building a new Hyperdrive going?” I asked.
“Very well Paul,” replied my AI companion, “I have provided the designers with the necessary specifications and now await their design. Once that is ratified, they will proceed with construction. We should be ready to go in three weeks.”
“Mmm, No hurry. We have waited a few thousand years for this so a few weeks wont make a difference.”
We proceeded into a lift which descended for a minute or so. We exited into a large alcove which led into a huge pair of sliding doors. They slid open obligingly as we approached and we entered a large conference area. It was only sparsely occupied, by about twenty or so individuals of both sexes. Manera ushered me in, and a couple of familiar figures detached themselves and came towards us. It was Guardian Kemato, followed by the tall angular form of Guardian Hamolatonen. There was a murmur of conversation as we walked in which went suddenly quiet. Kemato gave me the Hianja shoulder ‘hug’ and Hamolatonen chose to offer a firm handshake accompanied by a broad grin.
“Welcome Captain Constantine, allow me to introduce you to the Council of Mesaroyat, with a few additional friends from neighbouring Planets,” and she waved a hand broadly at the assembled company.
“They will introduce themselves individually so I will not give a list of names now,” she smiled.
“Thank you Guardian,” I said in Hianja, and there was a murmur of approval from the gathering. They appreciated my effort to speak their language, which was a quaintly human reaction. Or were they laughing at my pronunciation? Don’t get too puffed up Constantine.
“I look forward to making their acquaintance,” I added politely.
“May I also introduce Chief Scientist Manera,” added Kemato, “She was the first Hianja to meet Captain Constantine on Omorphia.” Manera inclined her head politely to the Guardians and they responded the same way. Introductions over, Kemato waved us all into seats and a robot came around with a selection of drinks. Manera then proceeded to give a long and detailed description of events on Omorphia, illustrating the talk with detailed pictures on a large view screen.
It was an accurate account, and she then moved on to give a broad overview of Human civilisation and our level of technology, and finally, our biology. At the end, Kemato stood and thanked Manera and opened the floor to questions. There then followed a long and intensive period of questioning, some directed to Manera but mostly to me. I had to enlist Alfred’s help in answering many of the more technical questions, or when my Hianjese vocabulary proved inadequate.
After what seemed like three or four hours of this, and to my relief, Kemato called a halt. With all the formal bits of the conference out of the way, we socialised for a little longer, with more of the Guardians wondering over to shake my hand and greet me informally. But the evening came to an end and we bid goodbye to our new acquaintances and were escorted out by Kemato and Hamolatonen.
Our four escorts were waiting for us outside, I was not sure if it was the same four, but they looked tough and I could see they were armed. I was a little puzzled by this, if the Hianja were so peace loving why did I need armed guards? I shrugged the thought away and wished goodnight to the two Guardians, who promised to collect me first thing in the morning for my first tour of planet Mesaroyat.
Manera and I were directed by the Guards towards what appeared to be a sleek capsule that was inside a tunnel, accessed through a set of sliding doors. This, Manera explained, was the internal transport capsule, which used magnetic levitation within the tunnel to move through an internal system of tunnels to any part of the city. It was used for short distance travel, as opposed to the Tanseh which were preferred for longer distances.
Manera dialled the destination and we settled back in our comfortable seats. The capsule hummed gently and I felt it lift away from the ground and accelerate strongly away. There were no windows in the capsule, and there was almost no feeling of movement, but from the strength and duration of the acceleration I calculated we must be doing between one hundred to one-fifty Km an hour. I felt the capsule move left and right and down, slowing down and then speeding up as it navigated the tunnels to its destination. It was clearly computer controlled and was sharing the tunnels with other capsules.
“Do these transport , um, capsules, have many accidents?” I asked
“There has never been an accident in the Selat,” replied Manera with a reassuring smile. “It has triplicate systems and safety interlocks. Any problem and it will just come to a standstill.”
“Ah yes, how often I have heard that,” I muttered cynically.
“This Selat is completely safe,” said Manera firmly. There was a ear shattering explosion followed by a grinding screeching noise and the capsule bucked
and shuddered, decelerating rapidly until it came to a standstill. In the shocked silence that followed I heard my shaking voice.
“Did someone remember to tell the Selat?” Manera’s face was full of shock, and our four Guards were equally dismayed. Fortunately we had all been strapped in so no one had come to any harm.
“This is not possible!” she gasped looking around wildly. I looked behind and noticed a gaping hole in the capsule through which acrid smoke was leaking into the compartment. A lick of flame appeared through the hole, then snuffed out, then reappeared.
“Manera,” I said urgently, “Do we have a fire....um.” I struggled to think of the Hianja word for ‘extinguisher’, then remembered that I did not know it. I mimed spraying a fire with foam. She caught on immediately and said something quickly to our Guards, who were gaping at each other in confusion, clearly caught on the hop by the emergency. They all looked desperately around the compartment and then one of them jumped up and leapt towards the front where he banged a switch. A part of the wall slid open to reveal a comms device and screen as well as what looked like an axe, a box of tools and a fire extinguisher.
My faith in Hianja preparedness was restored as our young guard, with voluble advice from the others grabbed the fire extinguisher and leapt with commendable alacrity towards the smoking hole in the rear of the compartment. While he struggled with the controls of the extinguisher, his colleague pressed buttons and talked into the communicator. It lit up reassuringly to show the face of a maintenance robot. Its big grey orbs looked solemnly at us out of the screen as the young guard jabbered at it in machine gun Hianjese. Our fire fighter had got the extinguisher going and poking it through the hole he let loose with a few shots of foam. The smoke began to thin and then vanish and he paused to take stock. Meanwhile, his colleague on the communicator had finished his explanation and the robot responded with alacrity.
“Please remain where you are and help will be forthcoming,” It said in a metallic monotone.
“Ah, shame,” I muttered in English, “And I was thinking of walking home.”
“Paul, are you insane, or do you really have nerves of steel.” asked Manera in exasperation. I noticed she was shaking from shock and I took her trembling hands in mine and squeezed them gently. I had forgotten she could speak English.
“I probably am insane,” I replied in what I hoped was a calm and reassuring voice. Her face twisted and then relaxed and she started laughing. I grinned with encouragement and our four young guards looked at us both in apprehension. Manera spoke to them reassuringly and with a few sideways glances they continued with their work, chatting amongst themselves and banging away at the communicator. The robot’s face cleared from the screen to be replaced by a Hianja face, a young female who looked shocked and flustered. The chief guard jabbered at her and I caught a few words. “ Selat...explosion.. Earthman with us.....urgent that you contact Guardian Kemato....top priority...,” she nodded, looking wildly around her, and I reckoned we were better off with the Robot.
It seemed the immediate danger was over, and I wondered over to the back of the Compartment to take a closer look at the hole. The young guard with the extinguisher was still crouched next to the hole, peering through it. There were no signs of fire and the smoke had died down. I guessed that what had caused the explosion had been left behind by the speeding capsule, otherwise we would have been suffocated by the smoke. I examined the hole carefully, checking the black residue on the inside and outside of the capsule. The young guard, who I now saw was a short haired female with large green eyes and a well filled uniform looked at me curiously as I conducted my examination.
“What do you think caused the explosion?” I asked her. She started and looked at me with big green eyes.
“You speak Hianjese?” she said, more surprised statement than question.
“Some,” I replied. She turned to the hole and considered it for a few moments.
“It is impossible,” she said, “There is nothing here that could have caused the explosion and derailed the Selat.”
“No machinery or power supply on the outside at this point?” I asked.
“No, the magnetic coils are in the centre,” she pointed at a ridge that went around the circumference of the Selat, in the middle of the compartment.
“The compartment is balanced on four magnetic couplings around the centre of the compartment,” she said, pointing at the locations.
“Whatever exploded was on the outside of the compartment,” I said. She frowned in thought.
“What could have exploded?” she asked.
“What usually explodes?” I asked, standing up. “An explosive device of course,” she gazed up at me impassively, seemingly unable to understand what I was saying.
“Someone planted a bomb on the Selat?” she asked. The others heard and turned around to look. Manera jumped up and strode over to us.
“Paul, what is this?” she asked, “A bomb you say?”
“I do not see what else it can be Manera,” I replied. “This hole was made by an outside explosion. Notice the metal which is bent inwards, and the black powder around the hole. A chemical analysis will probably show some chemical explosive was used. Crude and not very powerful. This is a pretty amateurish attempt at sabotage.”
“I can’t believe this,” she gasped, “Who would do such a thing?”
“Manera, ” I looked her in the eyes. “Someone knows about a threat, otherwise why have we been assigned guards ?” I waved my hand at our young guards.
“I just assumed they were our guides,” she said. She turned to look questioningly at the guards leader, a big sturdy young female with a strong face and black hair strapped tightly back. “Were you told to expect trouble?” she asked. The guard leader looked uncertain, glancing briefly at her colleagues and hesitating. I looked at green eyes and she met my eyes for a second before averting hers. Manera’s shoulders squared and her blue eyes glared like twin lasers.
“Wait till I see Guardian Kemato,” she scowled
Chapter 25
I relaxed on the armchair and took a good long slug of my drink. It was cold, sharp and slightly acrid, with a pleasant fruity aftertaste, a cross between wine and Tequila. After a long hot shower to get the smell and grime out of my nose and hair I was ready for it. My new apartment was large and comfortable with an adjoining pool which would normally have been shared by the surrounding apartments but was now reserved just for us. Two of our guards were posted outside the apartment, and a number of others were also posted in the vicinity.
We had spent an hour in the confines of the smoky Selat before being rescued by a robotic maintenance crew. Using a custom rescue vehicle they had connected to our stricken Selat and ‘towed’ us out of the tunnel to an exit. We had completed our journey in another Selat without incident. Guardian Kemato had contacted us when we arrived at the apartment, apologising profusely and promising a full investigation into the incident. She was very evasive when I suggested that sabotage was a possibility, but promised to see us the next day, hopefully with some results from the investigation.
Manera padded out of her bedroom, wearing a silky shift, fresh from a long hot bath and made her way to the huge and well stocked cocktail cabinet. She looked pink and scrubbed, her lush auburn locks held back by a colourful delicate headscarf, a long pale thigh peeking from the slit in her thin robe.
“What are you drinking?” she asked, rattling bottles and examining labels.
“Something from the fridge,” I replied, “That tall purple bottle.”
“Ah, Mesaroyat Slaat,” she said, “Good choice, I’ll join you,” she poured a good slug and made her way over to my settee. I admired the way she moved, a gliding undulation across the ground, hips and buttocks moving seductively. I am sure it was natural, other Hianja moved in the same way, but Manera did it with a feline grace that I could watch all day. She slid onto the settee with the same easy grace and brought both long legs up in a comfortable squat. You caug
ht my examination and smiled impishly.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asked, “You have seen my legs before.”
“You are always worth staring at,” I replied with a grin, “Especially your legs.”
“They are too thin,” she replied. Just like a woman, looking for compliments. I pretended to examine her legs closely, pulling back her robe to get a closer look at her shapely thighs. They were certainly not thin, in fact, by human standards they were as sturdy and well muscled a pair of pins as you could find anywhere. A sprinters legs, muscular and shapely.
“They are pretty scrawny,” I said dismissively, pinching her thighs here and there. “Definitely in need of fattening up,” I nodded to myself. One of the two reviled legs administered a kick to my midriff, causing a sharp intake of breath and almost spilling my drink.
“Scrawny yourself,” she said with a laugh, “Whatever scrawny means,” I grabbed hold of the leg and held on.
“It’s another word for perfect,” I declared, caressing a silky thigh and taking another shot of my Slaat. “Which you are, my Hianja princess,” I added.
“Are all human males so insincere?” she asked. I considered this for a few seconds.
“Only when it comes to seduction,” I admitted, “It’s our job, we are men.” She smiled fondly at me.
“I never know when you are joking or serious,” she said.
“All good jokes have an element of truth,” I pointed out, “That is what makes them funny.”
