He glared at his clanmates as if to dare them to challenge his assertion. They snickered at him, but said nothing.
Mollified that they at least were amiable to go along with his account ... which was true ... Diltan continued. “Tasha said I seemed nice. If our profiles looked like a decent match, she’d put our clan as her first choice to interview.”
Wal looked delighted. “Wonderful. I look forward to meeting her, my Dramok. I know you made a good impression.”
Though he also looked pleased, Rolat wasn’t as quick to congratulate Diltan. “Just don’t push us to clan her simply because she’s got links to the royals. Your standing as a councilman has given us plenty of interest from other Mataras. Personality and compatibility are more important than connections. We need to choose our potential mates on that.”
Diltan’s tone was dry. “Thank you, my father.”
Wal laughed hard at that. Rolat gave them both a dirty look.
The Imdiko said, “Well, you did sound terribly paternal just now, my Nobek.”
Rolat considered before joining in with their snickers. “I guess I did. But you two need a minder.”
Diltan slapped his hand on his clanmate’s shoulder. “I promise you’ll like Tasha, my Nobek. She’s smart, well spoken, and nice.”
Much nicer than that rambunctious Cissy, he thought. Tasha wasn’t as lively, not by far ... but that was sure to be a good thing.
Chapter 4
Cissy and Tasha spent the night in guest suites in the Royal House. Jessica had not been subtle in the least as she went over all the amenities that came with living just two levels below her grand home in the cliff.
“A kitchen open 27 hours a day every day, ready to whip up whatever your hearts and stomachs desire,” she gushed. “They’ve gotten really good at preparing Earther food, which our colony on Haven supplies. We’ve got chocolate. Fresh-roasted coffee. Vax himself taught them how to cook the best dishes, a kind of Kalquorian-Earther fusion that will make you fat and happy.”
Imdiko Vax was one of Lindsey’s clanmates, a celebrated chef who owned three restaurants on Kalquor. To hear Lindsey and Jessica tell it, most people needed reservations months in advance to hope to eat in one of his establishments.
“Look in the entertainment room,” Jessica went on, tugging the twins all over the guest suite. “The latest in vid technology. You’d swear you’re in the middle of every program you watch. Just listen to that sound system!”
She instructed the entertainment to play some rimnastin, a newer form of music that was all the rage throughout the various worlds. It had grown out of the thunder of Kalquorian lemanthev, crossed improbably with sounds similar to dance-friendly Plasian sleshirin. It had been created by young Earthers who had taken the minor-key heavy lemanthev and incorporated swirling tones of Earther sonic guitars and keyboards. It was music Cissy herself had grown partial to. Her head bobbed in time with the thudding beat.
The bathing facility was no less impressive with its shower built big enough for an entire Kalquorian clan to use at once (or a football team, as Cissy whispered to Tasha), a sauna, a whirlpool, and a bathing pool the size of a small pond. The bedrooms were even more immense, with balconies that looked over the ocean and sleeping mats every bit as large as the bathing pool.
The opulence was mind boggling, beguiling even. Cissy wondered if she’d made a mistake in planning to live in modest Matara Complex quarters. The Matara Complex was where women from Earth stayed as they courted likely clans for lifemates. She’d never been one for fancy things, but she thought she might be able to get used to such luxury ... not that she’d ever admit to it for fear of sounding obnoxious.
However, she and Tasha both found the suite far too big after their cousins left for the night. With just two of them knocking about, the huge space felt like a mausoleum, echoing and devoid of life no matter how loud the women cranked up the rimnastin music.
After a somewhat restless night during which Cissy felt she was drowning in the immense sleeping mat, she found Tasha eager to quit the grand suite of rooms. “It would be one thing to live here with a clan and children,” Tasha mused. “It’s ridiculous for us though.”
Cissy agreed. They had their storage bins by the door when Lindsey and Jessica arrived at sunrise.
“Overkill, huh?” Lindsey laughed as she handed them each a mug of coffee. “Now you see why my clan lives in a much more modest setting.”
Cissy sipped from her steaming cup, moaning with pleasure as she did so. First thing in the morning and after every meal, she was grateful that the Kalquorians had seen fit to import coffee from the Earther colonies that grew the beans. Coffee had become a big hit in the Empire, she’d discovered.
Tasha smiled apologetically at Jessica. “It’s beautiful here, but I feel lost in so much space. I guess I got used to ship’s quarters on the transport.”
Jessica sighed, but she didn’t seem insulted. “You’ll appreciate being able to get lost once you have a clan and kids. I love my brood and lifemates beyond all sense, but sometimes escape is a wonderful thing.”
“So says the woman trying for another child,” Lindsey smirked.
“Are you?” Cissy grinned. “Two isn’t enough?”
“Not even close,” Jessica asserted. “I want lots of kids. After all, I have plenty of home in which to hide from them.”
“There is logic hidden somewhere in there,” Tasha mused. “I’m sure of it.”
Laughing, the four women headed for the shuttle bay, where they were joined by a contingent of the Royal Guard. A pilot was quickly located to take them to the Matara Complex.
Cissy and Tasha’s new home was in an underground cavern, created by the mining that was the Kalquorian Empire’s greatest asset. Cissy hadn’t been too sure about living underground, but she’d been told she would never know the difference. We’ll see about that, she thought as the small Imperial shuttle left the cliff to perform a steep banking maneuver that took them into a tunnel within the cliff face.
Jessica said, “Usually only emergency vehicles are allowed in the underground. You have to walk or run everywhere otherwise.”
“I guess being royal has its advantages, Your Grace?” Cissy teased.
“Be nice or I’ll shove my silver spoon up your nose,” Jessica said in a snotty tone. The effect was ruined as she broke down in giggles.
Lindsey didn’t join in the humor. “Jessica has to be careful, as little as she wants to admit it. This rebellion issue has meant abduction attempts. It’s scary how close we’ve come to losing her.”
“But you haven’t and you won’t.” The young woman tried to wave off everyone’s concern. “The Basma doesn’t have enough followers to make his revolt a true threat.”
“Yet.” Lindsey was dogged in her determination to give them the full story. “There are signs that more Kalquorians are swayed to his cause every day. He damned near cost us Haven Colony a few months ago.”
“You’re being dramatic,” Jessica complained. It was funny for her to ascribe that to Lindsey, since Cissy knew how temperamental her youngest cousin could be. Jessica’s stormy temper was legendary in their family.
“I heard what Governor Ospar told you. Earthers and Kalquorians on that colony banding together under the common cause of keeping the races separate? Even though it could drive us both into extinction? That’s unheard of.”
“Ospar loves to be dramatic. He thrives on the hint of conspiracies and mayhem. I suspect he’s behind quite a few such things himself. I love that guy, but he’s not happy unless he’s in the middle of trouble.” Jessica waved her hand dismissively. “Enough talk of rebellions. Full vid on.”
Cissy and Tasha yelped as the entire shuttle seemed to disappear from around them. Except for the doorway that opened into the vessel’s cockpit and the lushly cushioned seats they sat upon, there was nothing but a lit tunnel rushing past them.
“You ass,” Cissy said, shoving her cousin. Out of the corner of her eye, s
he saw the Royal Guards stiffen, coming to alert attention.
Oops. I didn’t think of how Jessica’s security would take an ‘attack’ on her royal person. It’s a good thing she’s laughing at me or I might be a spot on the non-existent floor.
Lindsey wasn’t worried about the Royal Guards either, aiming a kick at Jessica’s shin. “You are such a brat. I think Tasha wet herself.”
“No, it was a good trick.” Agreeable as always, Tasha smiled at Jessica. “It’s amazing to see everything like this.”
Jessica blew a raspberry at her. “Damn it, I forgot how good you are at making me feel guilty. When are you going to get an ugly side like Cissy?”
Cissy had heard enough. “That’s it. Hold her down, Lindsey. I’m going to tickle her until she pees her royal panties.”
Before she could make a move towards her chortling cousin, they flew out of the tunnel. Cissy froze and stared all around at the scenery.
They’d told her the underground area didn’t look like it was underground, but she was in no way prepared for the brilliant blue sky overhead and the distant sun streaming from it. There were walls of craggy rock in the distance, showing the immense size of the now defunct mine, but there was also a rich landscape of trees and shrubs leading up to those walls.
The ceiling of the former mine was one vast vid screen, programmed to show the sky outside. Today was a gorgeous early spring day, the weather warming nicely after yesterday’s brutally cold blast. It looked as if they were within a small, verdant canyon. Cissy had the impression that if she was to stand outside, she’d even feel the sun on her shoulders, left bare by the tank top she wore. She wondered if the Kalquorians manufactured breezes down here to further fool the senses.
Beyond the tunnel were two wide paths, just large enough for a medium-sized shuttle to navigate. One went to the left and was bordered by newly blooming flowers and colorful shrubs. With spring arriving at the Eastern Seaboard Territory, the underground’s landscapers had wasted no time in celebrating that fact. Cissy appreciated that they’d managed to make the foliage seem like naturally occurring growth as in the wild. Kalquorians loved nature and abhorred anything that appeared too planned.
The shuttle took the right hand path, the way that was more wooded. The shuttle flew well off the gravel-packed ground, over the heads of pedestrians traveling the trail. They looked up in interest as the vessel passed; after all, Jessica had said only emergency vehicles were allowed in the habitat.
“I love the trees on this planet,” Tasha murmured, looking at the forest on either side. The foliage was splendid, with the trees sporting rainbow-hued colors like a crazy quilt. Blue, red, gold, and green leaves against branches as white as ivory made the landscape seem almost magical.
Jessica and Lindsey looked too. “It sucks to get used to it,” the young empress said. “I forget how stunning this planet is until someone new shows up and reminds me of it.”
“It’s amazing all over again when you get to see it through someone else’s eyes,” Lindsey agreed.
Cissy frowned to see something not so natural on one side of the path. A utilitarian building, metal and somehow forbidding, sat there. Three Kalquorians in black armored formsuits stood outside its door, watching the shuttle pass overhead. Cissy noticed they had percussion blasters on their belts, as well as sheathed knives. One man had a laser rifle slung over one shoulder.
“Do you get much trouble out here?” she asked.
Jessica frowned when she followed Cissy’s gaze. “Not lately. We had a serial killer run amok who targeted Earth women about a year ago. It was the same Nobek who instigated the Slaughter of the Innocents on New Bethlehem.”
“No shit.” Cissy was suddenly glad to have the grim-faced Royal Guards on board. “I thought it was two men involved though?”
“It was just the one on New Bethlehem. He was a high-ranking soldier there and lost his mind. He came back here and started killing women. His Dramok discovered what was happening but didn’t tell anyone. They were both executed for their crimes.”
Tasha bit her lip. “Executed? But if the killer was unstable, shouldn’t he have been allowed some mercy?”
There was a shadow in Jessica’s eyes as she shook her head. “He was mentally ill, but the guy still knew right from wrong. The doctors who examined him said he acted on compulsions rather than a complete lack of control.” She drew herself up. “Either way, there was no excusing his Dramok. He knowingly let his Nobek continue to torture, then murder innocent victims.”
The four women fell silent as they considered the matter. All had been secretly raised as Buddhists despite Earth’s police state that dictated how people could worship. Their belief was based on non-violence, and execution was usually an anathema to that belief.
Especially generate compassion for those whose ill deeds are horrible, the great scholar Nagarjuna had said. Their faith taught that karma would deliver the consequences of a person’s actions without fail, whether in this life or the next. People who had committed unthinkable crimes were to be pitied and prayed for, because they would suffer horribly for them.
“But in self-defense, it’s not so bad,” Cissy whispered to herself. “Or defending someone else’s life.”
“What?” Tasha asked.
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Lindsey gave her a wicked smile. “You know what that’s a sign of, right?”
Cissy’s grin was equally evil. “That I appreciate intellectual conversation with the brightest person in the room.”
That got her a mixture of groans, gagging sounds, and hoots of derision.
The women went back to watching their surroundings and commenting on them. In the distance were the first free-standing buildings Cissy had seen on Kalquor. They dotted between the trees, none too close to others, leaving plenty of room for whoever lived there. Despite being houses that had been built rather than carved out of the landscape, they still had an organic feel to them, almost melting into the environment. They boasted curves and rounded shapes.
“Like large abstract sculptures that have been worn by the elements over time,” Tasha opined.
Cissy’s attention focused on a great structure rising in the distance as the wooded area ended and the landscape opened up. It was similar to the free-standing homes except for its size.
“Home sweet home,” Jessica announced, confirming this was the long-awaited Matara Complex.
Cissy recognized it from vids. Like everything else to do with the Empire, it was more impressive in person.
Curved and flowing in shape, it looked like granite that had not been so much carved as poured into a mold. It was impossible to tell from the outside where in the building one would find the administrative offices, the recreational areas, or the apartments where the Earther women resided. The structure was rounded, much like the Roman Coliseum, enclosing the more functional looking interior. The exterior, with its undulating top, looked downright sensual to Cissy. She wondered if that had been the intent of its architects.
There were openings here and there near the top, and the shuttle flew through one. For a moment darkness reigned. Then they were through and back in the sunshine. The vid sunshine, Cissy reminded herself. Jessica had been right when she’d said they would forget they were underground. Already it was hard for Cissy to believe she wasn’t in the real outdoors.
They’d emerged over a landing area for emergency vehicles. Their shuttle floated down and settled without the slightest bump.
Two Kalquorian men and an Earther woman waited for them as they disembarked. The men bowed deeply. The woman, an older female, smiled her welcome.
“It is an honor to see you again, Empress, along with your esteemed family,” the shorter of the two men said. “I am Chief Administrator Besat. This is my assistant Imdiko Garlel and Head of Liaisons, Matara Anna.”
Besat was an older man, with thick threads of gray streaking through his shoulder-length hair. His eyes nested in deep cre
ases, more of which bracketed his mouth. Despite the advancing years, Cissy thought he was a rather handsome fellow. His body still retained its strength if the wide shoulders and tree-trunk thighs filling out his simple gray formsuit were any indication. In his youth, she had no doubt Besat had been a striking man.
Imdiko Garlel was younger but still on the mature side of life. Cissy guessed he was middle-aged, which for a Kalquorian would be about 125 years. His hair was dusted with a touch of gray too, making it appear similar to Emperor Clajak’s distinctive steel-colored shade. Garlel’s smile was the sunny sweetness Cissy had come to expect from the Imdiko breed. He’d given outright cuteness a near miss, his features settling for pleasant. He was lean for a Kalquorian. He too wore a gray formsuit. Cissy supposed it was the uniform for those who worked at the complex.
Liaison Anna was a cheerful looking lady, the kind of woman Cissy thought should be hosting neighborhood parties. Her smile was welcoming in her round, slightly lined face. Her dark blond hair was caught back in a ponytail. She was as cuddly as Cissy and Tasha with the soft roundness that Kalquorians seemed to enjoy.
She shook hands Earther-style with everyone. “Hello, ladies, Empress, and Imperial Sister,” Anna said in a delighted tone. “What an honor. Can I interest any of you in refreshment before we take the tour? I know I have to have some coffee drinkers here. I also have tea and warm mela, if you prefer.”
Cissy said with all the drama she could muster, “I’ve found my first clanmate! Be my Matara, Anna, and bring all your coffee as a dowry.”
Besat and Garlel blinked uncertainly, but the other women laughed. “Add some chocolate, and I’ll play for the home team too,” Tasha giggled.
Anna’s laugh was a wonderful belly-shaking guffaw. “Oh, you girls. You all love me for those two things. Plus ice cream. When will I find someone who wants me for me?”
Alien Indiscretions Page 5
