I wished I could be as calm about the situation as Anda seemed to be. But I made myself nod, praying that my expression appeared even half as serene as hers.
“As I already assured her,” Raphael said. “But I am glad that you have the same opinion.”
Her long, pretty nose wrinkled. “It is more of the same. Our Reptilian friends do enjoy their petty troublemaking.”
I slanted Raphael a look at that remark. Not that I’d really expected to find a lot of fans and supporters of the Reptilians here, based on what he’d already told me, but I was a little surprised to hear my counsel being quite so blunt about her apparent bias.
Raphael gave the faintest lift of his shoulders but didn’t say anything, either aloud or inside my head. Just as well, probably, because in the next moment I heard a murmur go through the crowd behind me, just as another door, this one opposite the one Anda had used to enter the chamber, opened and a tall man entered.
And he did look just like a regular human. Well, a perfect human, the same as Raphael and my grandfather Gabriel and the other Pleiadians I’d seen so far. Like Gabriel, this man appeared to be older, with a faint brush of gray at his temples, but still handsome, his back perfectly straight as he went to the podium of carved and fluted stone that stood at the front of the chamber.
“Gentlebeings,” he said, in a deep, rich voice. “I crave your attention.”
At once the last of the murmurs in the room died down. I didn’t know if I could have heard the proverbial pin drop, but I knew I could hear my heart beating. In fact, it had started thumping so noisily in my chest that I was surprised it hadn’t echoed off the back walls of the Assembly chamber.
The Secretary — at least, I assumed that was who the stately man must be, even though he hadn’t identified himself — glanced over at me. His eyes were a piercing green. “Honored Callista, you may stand.”
Caught off guard, I stumbled slightly as I got to my feet, since the tip of my shoe got trapped in the voluminous folds of the dress I wore. Somehow I managed to steady myself, though, and kept an iron grip on Raphael’s hand, even though he made no move to stand when I did. Apparently only the accused wasn’t allowed to sit during the proceedings.
Still, the Secretary’s eyes were kind enough, and he even sent me the slightest of smiles, as if to reassure me. Or maybe he was just trying to prepare me for what was to come next.
The same door Anda had used to enter the chamber opened again, and the Reptilian delegation came through it.
Back at the Mars base, the lighting had been dim and the situation so confused and chaotic, I really hadn’t gotten a good look at them. Not that I’d really wanted to, anyway. Now, though, with the bright diffuse light that seemed to be filtering right through the domed roof of the Assembly chamber, even though I would have sworn it was solid metal, I could see the Reptilians all too clearly. My entire body stiffened, and the breath caught in my throat.
There were five of them. All tall; they’d give my counselor Anda a run for her money in the height department. Well, four of them were that tall, anyway. I realized the fifth member of their party looked human, or nearly so, and while he was probably close to Raphael’s height, he definitely wasn’t scraping near seven feet. The strange man’s hair was dark, and he didn’t appear to be that much older than I. However, a second glance told me there was definitely something off about him, since his skin had a faint greenish tint, and when the light from overhead caught his eyes, they seemed to be the same dark ruby shade as the eyes of the rest of his companions.
A hybrid? That didn’t seem right to me, since Logan was a hybrid and Grace had a hybrid father, and they both appeared completely human. But I supposed it was possible that there were hybrids and then there were hybrids, and they didn’t necessarily all have to look alike.
The Reptilians, on the other hand, didn’t resemble anything except overgrown bipedal lizards. All right, not exactly — their faces were more humanoid than that, even with their wide lipless mouths and slits for noses. One of them was a uniform coppery brown color, like the aliens I’d seen at the Mars base, and two had scales in striped patterns of green and black, while the last one was far lighter in tone, almost a pale gold. He seemed to be the leader, because he swept to the middle seat in the group of chairs that had been set out for the delegation and sat down before any of his compatriots took their seats.
They all wore high-collared robes in dark shades of black and brown and gunmetal gray, even the one who looked far more human than Reptilian. His gaze slid toward me for a bare second before he took his seat, but I couldn’t read anything in his features. He was as expressionless as the aliens who accompanied him.
I had to set the enigma of his identity aside for the moment, though, because the Secretary had begun to speak again. Bright green eyes fixed on me, he said, “Honored Callista, it has been brought to our attention that your actions resulted in the death of a member of the Reptilian people. What say you?”
What the hell was I supposed to say? I glanced over at Raphael. His fingers squeezed mine, just a quick, gentle pressure.
Tell the truth. It will be fine.
All right. I did have to wonder what the point had been in assigning Anda to me as a counselor, since she didn’t seem ready to offer me any real advice, only sat there and gazed serenely at the Secretary. But I had Raphael, and he was the only person I needed. Strange how I could trust him so implicitly after we’d known each other for such a short time.
I cleared my throat. “Honored Secretary, if one of the Reptilians lost his life, I am truly sorry for that. The act was not premeditated in any way. We were attempting to rescue members of an expedition who had been taken hostage by the Reptilians at their Mars base, and when one of the hostile forces there tried to retaliate, I had no choice but to defend the members of my party.”
The Reptilian delegation bent their heads together and began whispering in that same sibilant, frightening language I’d first heard in the bio-lab at their base. Even though I’d continued to hold Raphael’s hand, I couldn’t make head or tail of what they were saying, which must mean that he didn’t speak their language, either.
Then the one I’d assumed was their leader pushed his seat back and got to his feet. I wasn’t short by any stretch of the imagination, but he still made me feel like a dwarf, even though he stood at least three yards away. When he spoke, I could understand him, although his speech still had a strange, sibilant quality, one that seemed to drill right through my eardrums and send shivers all down my back.
“This human and her party were trespassing. They had no right to be where they were. My people were well within the bounds of the law to ensure that they were neutralized before they could do any harm.”
“We were only trespassing because you kidnapped our astronauts!” I shot back. Yes, the Reptilian leader scared the hell out of me, but I wasn’t about to stand there and let him completely misrepresent the situation.
Raphael leaned over and whispered something to Anda. A nod, and then she was standing as well, chin held high — no doubt using her height to all our advantage. It was difficult to look at anything other than her, with her striking cobalt hair and flowing silvery-gray robes.
“The mission that the honored Lir Shalan mentions was approved by the Assembly,” Anda said. “Because of that, it cannot be considered trespassing.”
I was a little startled that she would admit such a thing openly in court. It couldn’t do much to improve relations between the Assembly and the Reptilians, which already seemed pretty frosty to me.
The Reptilian — Lir Shalan — didn’t seem too pleased by her revelation, either. “Interfering in the business of a sovereign government again?”
“Only because we had no other choice,” the Secretary said. From the distinct chill in his voice and the slight narrowing of his eyes, I got the impression he wasn’t overly affected by the Reptilian leader’s wounded tone. “Our actions were supported by a majority of the Assem
bly. You know very well, honored Representative, that we do not make such decisions lightly, and only when we have no other choice. If we had wished to conceal our involvement from you, then we would have instructed our agent” — he inclined his head slightly toward Raphael — “to make sure that you could not detect his identity. At any rate, if you wish to lodge a complaint regarding that particular matter, of course you are within your legal rights to do so. For the moment, however, we will leave aside any questions of trespassing and focus solely on what occurred within the laboratory of your base some seventy-two standard units ago. Do you understand?”
It looked as if Lir Shalan understood all too well…and wasn’t happy about it. His voice took on a distinct rasp as he said, “Yes, honored Secretary. In that vein, however, I would ask your agent to explain why he brought along several untrained humans on such a venture. Such foolishness almost guaranteed that there would be a mishap.”
I could feel Raphael’s fingers grip my hand more tightly at the word “foolishness,” but he glanced at the Secretary and got a nod of affirmation before standing so he could speak.
“The honored Lir Shalan is welcome to his opinion, but I would point out that both Callista Jones and her mother possess Pleiadian blood, and so had unique gifts they could bring to aid in the rescue mission. The decision to bring them along was not made lightly.”
That response earned Raphael a scowl from Lir Shalan — or at least I assumed that’s what the creasing of his brow ridges meant. I’d never had to try deciphering an alien’s facial expressions before. “I object to the term ‘rescue mission.’ The interlopers were being held for routine questioning, nothing more. They would have been set free in due time. Unfortunately, the Assembly’s agents deemed it necessary to assault my people, injuring several and killing one.”
“Routine questioning?” I burst out. Raphael squeezed my hand, clearly attempting to keep me from saying anything else, but I couldn’t take any more of the Reptilian’s lies. “If that’s the case, what were the two female prisoners doing in your bio-lab, half-undressed?”
From behind me, I could hear a babble of voices break out, the members of the Assembly apparently pouncing on what I’d just said. Anda Bilar shook her head. Her features also weren’t terribly easy to read, but I got the impression that she wasn’t too thrilled with me right then.
“Order!” the Secretary called out. The hubbub behind me lowered to a dull roar, even as Lir Shalan shot me a venomous look, red sparks all but shooting out from his ruby-colored eyes. I noticed for the first time the vertical slits of his pupils, the complete lack of lashes or brows or any kind of hair at all.
I shivered, but at the same time I made myself glare back at him. Too bad that I wasn’t supposed to say such things in open court. I knew what I’d seen. All right, maybe the “half-undressed” part was a bit of an exaggeration. But it didn’t take a great leap of the imagination to figure out why those two women’s jumpsuits had been unzipped and their shoes removed.
“Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?” the Secretary asked, sounding ragged. He probably hadn’t been expecting that particular bombshell…or had he?
“No,” I admitted. “That is, Raphael was there and saw the same things I saw. But unless you can subpoena the security recordings from the Reptilian base, I’m not sure whether the evidence exists.”
The Secretary’s brows drew together at the word “subpoena,” and I had a feeling it had come out in the original Latin, meaning there wasn’t an analogue for it in the Pleiadian language, or whatever it was that we were currently speaking. I still didn’t know how this all worked. To me it felt as if I was speaking English, but clearly that wasn’t the case, because otherwise no one would have been able to understand what I was saying.
“If no evidence other than hearsay exists, then we will have to leave your allegation aside for now.” The Secretary didn’t sound very happy to make that ruling, but I understood it, even if I didn’t like it very much. “Back to the question of the wounded men and the one who lost his life. What was your intention in striking out at them?”
“‘Intention’?” I repeated. God, everything had happened so fast. The one alien had shot Logan, and I didn’t think. I only reacted, taking the energy coiled up within me and flinging it at our attackers. I certainly hadn’t meant to kill anyone, just incapacitate them so we could get away. Speaking slowly, I said, “Self-defense only. Really. One of the Reptilians wounded Logan, and — ”
“Who is this Logan?”
“A member of our party.” I hesitated and glanced down at Raphael. He gave the slightest shake of his head, as if letting me know that it was better for me not to say too much on the subject of Logan’s identity. “He’s — um, he’s engaged to marry my cousin. I suppose I was doubly upset because of that, and so I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing. I just wanted to get him out of there so we could take him to the medical bay on Raphael’s ship.”
“Understandable.” The Secretary transferred his gaze from me to Lir Shalan. “So far, I have heard nothing to indicate this is anything more than a simple case of self-defense. What say you, honored Lir Shalan?”
The Reptilian representative bared his teeth, which were far more pointed than a human’s. There seemed to be a lot more of them, too. I was surprised that the Secretary didn’t recoil, and then I realized that baring of teeth might be the Reptilian equivalent of a smile. “Our forces were within their rights to be shooting at this so-called Logan. He is a traitor and a deserter.”
Raphael’s fingers clamped down on mine so hard that I couldn’t refrain from wincing. However, I managed to resist the impulse to pull my hand from his, since I knew doing so would only prevent me from understanding what came next. I could understand why he’d done so. This was the first we’d heard that the Reptilians even knew who Logan was.
Then again, why wouldn’t they? If he’d been able to detect their presence, it made sense that they’d be able to figure out he wasn’t a regular human. Which meant…what? That they’d allowed us into the bio-lab as a sort of elaborate trap?
Possibly. I could see them not wanting to let a couple of female newcomers slip through their fingers.
“On what do you base that claim?”
“We know our own. He is a failed experiment, nothing more. Indeed, I would hesitate to say that he was worthy of defending at all. Would you support the wounding and murder of sentient beings for the sake of your food synthesizer or the computer that guides a ship through otherspace? Logan is not a person, but a construct, and therefore this human” — again Lir Shalan shot me a baleful, ruby-hued glare — “had no right to take a life in his defense.”
On the other side of Raphael, Anda was frowning. Apparently she hadn’t seen this particular wrinkle coming. But it couldn’t matter that much, could it? All we’d have to do was make the Secretary and the rest of the Assembly understand that Logan wasn’t a construct at all, but a living, breathing man who was certainly worthy of defending.
I began to open my mouth say as much, but Anda cut in before I could even begin. “Honored Secretary, I would ask for a brief recess so I might discuss this matter with my defendant.”
“No recess,” Lir Shalan rasped. “There is nothing to discuss. This ‘Logan’ — a name someone must have given him, for he only had a numeric designation — is one of our hybrids. He is our property, and therefore has no rights.”
Judging by the frown that creased the Secretary’s otherwise fine brow, I guessed he didn’t exactly agree. What was the Assembly’s position on hybrids, anyway? The Reptilian leader clearly didn’t think they were worthy of any special consideration, but surely a government as apparently enlightened as the Assembly might have a different position on the matter. Or was this another area where they chose not to interfere?
For some reason, I couldn’t help glancing past Lir Shalan’s bulky form to the strange young man who sat with the rest of the Reptilians. He also was frowning slig
htly, but more as if he was trying to wrestle with some complex mental puzzle than because he was upset by something. In profile, the reddish hue of his eyes was nearly undetectable, although nothing could hide the green tint to his skin. If he really was another type of hybrid, shouldn’t he be perturbed by the intimation that he wasn’t truly a person at all? And if that was what the Reptilians thought of their creations, what was a hybrid doing here with them in the first place?
Then the Secretary looked back over at me, and something in the depths of those green, green eyes made me go cold all over, although his fine features remained impassive. “In light of this new evidence, it seems I have no choice but to rule that excessive force was used. Because of that finding, the Reptilians are entitled to whatever reasonable reparations they might request.”
Reparations? What was he talking about? Some sort of cash settlement? I didn’t have a lot to give, but they were welcome to it. But what would the Reptilians want with U.S. currency anyway? It wasn’t as if I was sitting on a pile of gold or other precious metals.
My thoughts swirled around one another as Raphael held on to my hand so tightly that I wasn’t sure I could have pulled it away even if I’d wanted to.
Stay calm, my love, he told me.
I am, I responded. Can’t we appeal or something?
There is no authority higher than the Secretary, I’m afraid.
While I was digesting that reply, Lir Shalan had stepped forward so he stood in front of the table where the rest of his companions were seated. For the briefest second he glanced over at me, and something in the garnet glitter of his eyes sent a stabbing shiver of ice down my spine.
“Our request for reparations is simple,” he said. “While we cannot replace the one we lost, or adequately compensate for the pain the others have suffered, we will take the one thing we believe will help to balance the scales.
“We will take the female, Callista Jones.”
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