They descended, the ground rising up rapidly to meet them, and Branwen found herself reflexively leaning back and clutching the arm of her chair as the maw of a dark rift yawned beneath them, widening massively until it swallowed the Destiny whole. The darkness only lasted an instant, breaking open to reveal the extensive, massive cavern system that made up Kharvid, Urzra’s largest and busiest starport.
Pinpricks of light shone all around in the dim, a dull parody in miniature of the curtain of stars they’d just left behind. These lights gleamed from buildings, sculptures, structures and windows, laying out the infrastructure of the city so that the multitude of starships zipping about could tell where to go. Unlike Altairan worlds, with their strict regulations and zones for different types of travel, most travel in Kharvid’s airspace seemed to be carried out by starships of varying sizes. There seemed to be few rules on where they could and could not go, except “wherever they fit,” leading to a clustered jumble of routes that seemed only loosely organized and monitored by any sort of authority.
Still, amid the close brushes with brazen Urzran vessels, Branwen could not help being somewhat enraptured by Kharvid’s beauty. Diffused lights glowed in the dark while mists and fogs curled their curious tendrils, reaching through the air in place of clouds, while towering spires and teeth of stone became the rounded sanctuaries of homes and businesses.
The stone was everywhere, composing and supporting everything, the city shaped from the very bones of Urzra itself. Some structures were massive figures, statues of unknown, towering Urzran mythology and history. Others were grand archways, built on a scale to dwarf both man and starship alike. Most were buildings, be they made from cut and placed stonework that nearly brought homesick pains to Branwen’s stomach, or grown organically from the floor or roof of the mighty cavern itself.
After much Arlesian-themed cursing at nearby offending vessels, Merlo landed them a choice spot on one of the huge stonework structures, an enormous cube with deep ledges cut all the way around for ships to land on. The Destiny was so big for a ship capable of landing planetside that it only fit on the top couple of hotly-contested ledges. Without Merlo’s affinity for quickly outmaneuvering the other crafts and deftly settling into an opening, it looked to Branwen like they would have been searching for a suitable landing place for hours.
The Destiny’s landing legs extended, and she settled herself into the recesses of the carved opening, and her engine slowly subsided down to a tame rumble. Branwen finally relaxed, and Merlo leaned way back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head and stretching out her muscles.
“So, to sum all of it up,” the girl said around a prodigious yawn, “We’re here to investigate a dangerous matter for the Kalaset, on a debatebly hostile planet, in a situation we know almost nothing about, with a wanted criminal on board, and our Captain’s people are generally disliked on sight by the locals. Oh, and don’t drink the water.”
Branwen could hear Mr. Leonard make a nervous laugh over the com. “Indeed, Miss Merlo, I’m certain that I would not typically advise any of those things under normal circumstances.”
14.2- Merlo
“The first of the three names Don Mateo left for us belongs to one Forona Medlava.” Sirrah rose and gracefully paced while she spoke, a gesture that spoke clearly of thoughtful concern. They’d once again gathered in the dining area by Branwen’s request, and now prepared to embark on the first of their inquiries. “She is a politician, and, while her secretary professed that her schedule is rather busy, I was able to pull some strings and get us an appointment. Hopefully without giving away that we’re here on Kalaset business, or looking for Tiala.”
Mr. Leonard cleared his throat timidly, and Branwen gestured for him to speak. “Miss Medlava is currently running for re-election here in Kharvid, and as such is indeed likely very busy. The Exonet shows her having a plethora of public appearances in this week alone. She’s heavily favoured in the initial pollings.” He fiddled with his datapad as he spoke.
“Which means she is not likely to want anyone looking into her cellar for hidden skeletons.” Branwen commented, seeming thoughtful.
“I’m sorry, Captain, looking into her where for what?” Merlo had never heard of a cellar before in her life. What did it have to do with decomposed corpses, and what did either of those things have to do with asking about Tiala?
“Skeletons, Merlo. They’re those things that live inside you and come out when you die.” Prisoner 286 plopped down in her lap, noisily guzzling some heated broth from one of Sirrah’s priceless ceramic mugs.
Merlo narrowed her eyes at 286. “Yeah, thanks a bunch. I know what skeletons are.” She tried to shove 286 back over into her own seat, but the woman somehow stubbornly wouldn’t budge, despite Merlo’s greater strength. She sighed.
“I simply mean that if she has secrets to hide that could hurt her chances at winning this election, she will defend them strongly.” Branwen explained, glancing over at the two of them with an unreadable, serious expression. Merlo felt her face redden a bit; she was glad that it was hidden from the view of most everyone else by the expanse of 286’s back.
“Gotcha, Captain.” Merlo nodded, but figured no one could see it. She tried to peer around the back of 286’s black, sleeveless shirt.
Zimi raised her hand as if to draw attention to herself as she spoke. “So, even if we got an appointment to see her, ain’t she gonna know what we’re there for as soon as we start askin’ questions about Kala Tiala?” Merlo still couldn’t see; 286 kept shifting each time she had a decent vantage point.
“Zimi poses an excellent query, Kala Sirrah.” Branwen’s deeper, thoughtful voice easily commanded the attention in the room, Merlo felt perhaps even more so than Sirrah’s presence did. “What do you suggest? Tiala is your friend, and you are more familiar with such matters.”
Kala Sirrah laughed lightly, but Merlo heard little real humor in it. Huh. She must be pretty nervous after all.
“Believe it or not, Captain,” Sirrah replied, smiling, “I have little experience in coercing potential kidnappers. I suspect you have far more experience in that department than I.” Branwen shrugged noncommittally, but Merlo also saw her smirk behind her hand. “I would, however, almost certainly be able to tell if Miss Medlava were lying, but only if we are able to confront her with the issue with me personally present.”
“But that risks exposing what we’re looking into, and for whom.” Mr. Leonard commented, dropping his small datapad back into his vest and knitting his hands together nervously.
“Hmmm.” Branwen rumbled thoughtfully behind the hand she leaned her face into. “I am not sure if there is a way around it, to be honest. It has been over ten days since we departed, having left Kepa’ohalei as soon as Kala Sirrah received the Kalaset’s blessing. Three to make slip from the Kepo system, four to travel through Fade, and three from slip to Urzra.” Branwen gazed across the table at Sirrah. “Few, if any, ships could have made it here faster; most would take fifteen or more, at least. On the Exonet, however, word travels quicker still.”
To Merlo’s mind, that didn’t sound good, or bode well. “So what can we do? Do you think we’re already too late, Captain?” As she spoke, she settled Prisoner 286 in her lap so that she could see around her, pushing away the cup of steaming broth she proffered meanwhile.
“We can’t be.” Sirrah said simply, standing straight and still, though everyone looked to Branwen for her word on the matter as well.
“There is no way to know unless we try.” Branwen sat up straight in her chair, taking a heavy breath and letting it out. “Whoever is responsible may not expect someone to be here so soon, for one. Any other dispatch from one of the Kalaset would have taken longer. But there is too much left to the unknown now to make any assumptions.”
Branwen rose from her chair, folding her arms behind her back in what Merlo had always assumed was her culture’s military posture. “The key to overcoming opposition is rooted in knowledge.
Merlo, you, Sirrah, and I will go to this meeting, and we will find out what we can about Tiala’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Mr. Leonard will see if there are any public records, or any data-trail of her passing.”
Merlo watched as Mr. Leonard and Zimi exchanged nervous glances. She knew neither of them were exactly comfortable around 286 yet, and probably didn’t relish the idea of being left alone in the Destiny with her.
“There is one problem with that, Captain. May we speak privately?” Sirrah spoke smoothly, also rising from her seat.
One thing was for sure, though. Things were about to get interesting, and Merlo was itching for some action.
14.3- Branwen
“So, what? She said she couldn’t come with us? I don’t get it.” Merlo shook her head as they started down the long, rocky spiral that led down from the top of the Urzran stardock. “I thought we were kind of depending on her coming along.”
“Not exactly.” Branwen was, after all, pretty confident in her own abilities to discern truth from lies, and negotiate with people; she’d had to do it far more than she liked during her lifetime on Fade. She could do this without the Kala. “ Kala Sirrah said that if she accompanied us, we would not even make it to Governor Medlava’s office without the entirety of Kharvid knowing there was a member of the Kalaset here, potentially giving away our true purpose. While both are accurate and reasonable assumptions, I actually think she was hesitant to leave your girlfriend alone on the Destiny.”
Merlo blinked. “Um, she’s not my girlfriend. I don’t think.” Branwen glanced at her with an arched brow and Merlo folded her arms defensively, scoffing. “Besides, what’s 286 gonna do, fly off in the Destiny?”
“If I truly thought that, she would not still be upon my ship. But I would also rather she be watched, to be honest.”
Her youthful pilot shook her head. “I don’t see why, Captain. You know she’s got that collar on and everything. She’s not going to try anything like that.”
Branwen grunted, almost chuckling. It wasn’t often Merlo seemed that young or naive. “If you think something like that will stop someone like her from finding a way to do as she pleases, you are unfortunately mistaken. She finds new ways to push her limits every time I see her, even within the confines of the Destiny.”
Merlo seemed to spend a few moments considering that. Meanwhile, they squeezed uncomfortably into a large metal cargo elevator, one of many set into shafts sliced into the core of the rocky structure. Along with Merlo, Branwen was one of the few non-Urzrans packing its interior, and as such received more than her fair share of suspicious glances.
She had no way to know if they perhaps suspected her as being from Fade, or if they treated all outsiders with similar distrust. Branwen reflected on how her height once again exacerbated the problem; being just above six feet tall, she stood out from the native populace, who seemed to average around five and a half. And that was just the males, with their broad shoulders and sturdy, stocky frames. The few female Urzrans she’d seen so far were even shorter, with a similarly strong skeletal structure, though less thickly built overall.
She hoped silently to herself that, like in many places she had been to, denizens of Urzra didn’t precisely know what “Fade people” looked like. As hostile as she had heard that they were to those from her homeworld, she definitely didn’t want their purpose here to be interrupted by someone picking a fight with her. Having to kill someone on Urzra would get them nowhere quick.
She was glad when the elevator finally trundled to a stop and set them free. Being shut in tight confines of stone and metal like that, especially moving of its own accord as it did, may have been part of a normal day to the Urzrans, but it was barely tolerable to Branwen. There was little to no recognizable public transportation as one would see on Altairan worlds. Instead, they had to flag down transport; most of the ground level transportation seemed to consist of private wheeled vehicles with a few antigrav shuttles.
That is, Merlo had to step forward and flag one down. Branwen had mostly been ignored in her own attempts; but as soon as her pilot stepped forward and flailed her arms energetically at one of the small black vehicles, it cruised smoothly and quickly to a stop. Branwen reflected that Merlo was of a size with some of the Urzran women she’d seen, just more petite by comparison, and rather pretty, at least by Branwen’s standards. And possibly Urzran standards as well. She grinned to herself as their driver took down their location on his datapad, then proceeded to attempt to strike up a conversation with Merlo the entire rest of the way to their destination.
Like everything else, traffic didn’t seem to flow as smoothly or quickly as it did on Altair, but they still arrived in due time. Branwen even let herself relax and stare out the window during the transit, watching as they passed dark side streets, squat stone buildings and towering, light-rimmed stalagmites alike. There was little point in obsessing over what might come. Once the path is set, there is no room for doubt.
14.4- Branwen
Once they finally gained admittance to Governor Forona Medlava’s office, they were late. Not due to any dallying on their part, as they had now been waiting over an hour, but due to unspecified delays on her end. Merlo had grown anxious, and even whispered to Branwen, “Maybe she’s trying to stall us.” But Branwen knew better; if the Governor were trying to hide something, she had better ways to deal with people than simply making them wait outside and hoping they gave up and went away. Chances were that Governor Medlava was simply very busy, and that she had nothing to do with their investigation at all. Probably.
The government offices in question were etched into the exterior of a towering mountain of a stalagmite, manifesting as a carved pyramid of Urzran bureaucracy and piercing the “sky” at the heart of Kharvid. Her datapad told her that it was now nighttime, though there was very little difference that she could tell. Branwen was simply relieved that this particular building, unlike many Urzran ones, had windows.
“Miss Medlava will see you now,” a younger Urzran woman told them in a falsely cheerful tone, holding the heavy wooden door for them. Branwen stepped past her, into a nicely appointed, if still somewhat utilitarian, office suite. Thick paintings covered the stone of the walls and elaborate woven rugs adorned the floor. The door clicked shut behind them, and Brawnen surveyed their host with a critical eye.
Forona Medlava was tall for an Urzran woman, which is to say she was a few inches taller than Merlo but still relatively dwarfed by Branwen. She wore an expensive suit and a little light makeup, that accented her features nicely, though Branwen felt she would have looked perfectly fine without it. She had a clear complexion, with a typical prominent bone structure common to Urzran women, but a lot of definition in her features, despite her being of middling age. Currently, her face was somewhat pinched and her eyes harried around the edges, and she looked up at their arrival with a subdued sense of exasperation.
“May I help you?” Her voice was hard, if not exactly unfriendly. “To be honest, I don’t even know what you people are here for, or how you got this appointment. I happen to be a very, very busy woman.”
Branwen stepped forward, clasping her arms behind her back. If she’d had any doubts as to why this woman would feel safe agreeing to see two unknown outsiders at night while running for re-election, it was put to rest by the twin steel turrets on either side of the room which watched them like deadly, robotic hawks. “I believe I can answer that for you, Governor Medlava. My companion and I are here on behalf of the Kalaset.”
She watched the Urzran politician for any signs in her face that might give away surprise or worry, but instead found only a critical sense of doubt as her dark eyebrows slowly rose. “Neither of you look like anyone from the Kalaset that I’ve ever seen before. No offense intended.”
“I understand, but I can also provide proof.” Branwen gestured to Merlo, who stepped forward and offered her datapad to a doubtful looking Medlava. The woman smoothed her dark hair back as she scanned the information
on the pad, which contained a concession Branwen had worked from Sirrah when the Kala had informed her of her inability to come with them. The digital seal encoded onto the datapad would ensure anyone of the bearer’s affiliation with the Kalaset, even if, strictly speaking, it wasn’t supposed to ever be loaned out.
“I see that there is truth to what you say,” the Governor said, sliding the glowing pad back across the solid wood of her desk to Merlo, who took it and tucked it neatly away inside her bodysuit. Forona's eyebrows descended once again, as her expression sharpened from doubt to the shrewd curiosity that Branwen would expect of a career politician. “Which means that there is something of import to be discussed here, I imagine?”
Hopefully she wouldn’t be disappointed that it didn’t pertain to her election campaign. “You would be correct, Miss Medlava. The issue at hand has to do with Kala Tiala, whom I believe you know.” Branwen watched her expressions again, but was rewarded with nothing except a veiled, mild flutter of confusion and hesitance. If Governor Medlava was hiding something nefarious, she was good at hiding it. Which, for a politician, was definitely possible.
The Governor smoothed the lower part of her shirt and settled back into the plush chair nestled behind her desk. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Miss…” She glanced at a data panel inset into the surface of her heavy desk. “Hawke. Kala Tiala…” She hesitated. Branwen felt Merlo shift behind her. “I’m afraid I need to know more of why you’re here before I say anything that might infringe on any confidentiality arrangements the Kalaset and I might or might not have.”
“Of course.” Branwen stepped smoothly forward and lowered her voice as she spoke, acutely aware from her peripheral vision of the lethal alloy turrets tirelessly flanking her. “It has to do with the Kala’s recent disappearance.”
Destiny Abounds (Starlight Saga Book 1) Page 28
