by Selina Brown
“I can go back.” He glanced at her with a big grin.
“No, no. This is fine.” She held on to her hair.
On her entry to the kitchen, their mum and dad came out. “Ara, you must go to King Delario’s, not Silvia’s. They’ve bumped her again.”
Ara shook her head, annoyed, while Ashley swore.
“Take the family jeep.”
“No, I’ll take you. Hurry up in case the convoy comes here.”
“Oh, Ash. How could…” Dad was saying.
Ara dashed down the stairs to wash up.
“I’ll get your clothes ready.” Pen went with her and then to her closet, bringing out her good clothes.
As Ara freshened, she saw Mum drop a top, which fell to the floor. “You look nervous.” Ara clasped the shaking hands with some concern. She decided not to tell them how she was disconnected as the Mobile Unit.
Pen lowered her voice. “You know we love you.”
“Yes.” Ara touched Pen’s pale face, trying to keep her own panic at bay. Were they afraid she’d find out they were Aether, the Energy Matter Beings?
“Your father has been involving himself with the Koen; I’m worried it has something to do with that. You know how the tensions are rising with the Avatara. Conditions on Earth are so bad now.”
Ara sighed. Either Mum was equivocating or Ara just couldn’t read people. “Then why doesn’t the Aryan Government do something?”
“Maybe it is. Perhaps that’s the reason for this Pure-Gen meeting.” Pen sighed. “Terance is trying to find out and help. But it has to do with the contract originally signed. Our entire system is built on contracts; if one is toppled then other contracts come into question.”
“I know, Mum. I’m sure it’s not about that.” She hoped it wasn’t but didn’t want it connected to her own disconnection either, or matter levels too high. She followed Ash down the stairs who rattled the keys in his hands. Ara barely noted the scenery. Sooner than she expected they were driving through the Delario gates, down the long driveway, and arrived to find Terzon and Caleb, Meg and Tara standing watching the Pure-Gens enter.
“Thanks, Ashley.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “My pleasure, Queen PuG. I’d better get back to work before the boss notices I’m missing.”
Ara was startled out of her nerves and laughed with him. He drove off and waved. Ara veered off to say hello but was called back quickly. They followed along but smiling guards blocked them. Tara waved to her and blew her a kiss. She waved back and repeated the action. Meg scowled a little. Tara had decided to stay awhile longer after Ara’s Virgo. When Ara contacted her about coming back to Saratoga they decided to go public transport on the way home, the Seeker would be transported by one of the larger passenger rangers, a large cruiser, when it eventually got here. Ara and Tara were going to swim, watch movies, dance, and have some girl time after Ara was done with the meeting.
Ara turned just as staff closed the large inner doors, seeing that Caleb looked worried. Was she going to be taken to the virtual room? She hoped not and breathed out with a small shake of her hands as staff directed her to a room deep inside the palace. It was windowless with marble floors and comfortable chairs arranged in a semicircle. She made her way to the middle row and sat in the middle seat.
There were seven queens and five kings and twenty other Pure-Gens. Why had so many come to Saratoga? The message had been clear. King Delario stood up at the front of the room and faced them. He was dressed in dark pants, piped on the sides in dark red, and wore a plain, black tunic over the top. Terzon looked a little like the king, his father. King Michael Delario had similar brown hair and stocky build, but had blue eyes. “We have been called to court, friends.” He signaled a Pure-Gen to issue out the official invitations from the Planet of Law. Even now, Ara felt some awe having taken her contact with Korbet for granted. The planet he worked on was an entire world built for the Aryan Law Keepers. On the outside of the envelope, embossed, was the symbol for the Triad, the three Artifacts. Apparently, they were locked up tight in the planet somewhere. The Nexus, Superlunary, and Sawol. It was confusing because of what she knew of the Aether, which was very little. Officially, she’d only heard about the Aryan Artifacts in other meetings she’d been invited to and had to remember to raise only that which she knew officially. But what were the Artifacts exactly? Were they Aether Beings, or Aether things? Ha, that rhymed. Ara removed the grin from her face, but also held the invitation up to hide her expression. Were the Artifacts just some kind of representation or did they contain real power?
They were sworn to keep the meeting secret so she’d pressed her thumb into the GEL mix, which took a sample of her genotype. She read her invitation and a king handed her a manual for the Planet of Law. It was bound in dark grey leather with gold print. The three Artifact symbols blazed on the front. It was full of information regarding the planet itself, people, laws and offices of each planet registered, proceedings for each office and protocols. Korbet’s name was in there. She found herself blushing over his position, “Senior Executive Director of Space Ways Law”, thinking of how often she contacted him for trivial things. But he’d never made anything she asked him about feel trivial. There were secondary roles for Korbet too, most of which had the words “Senior” or “Executive” in them.
With nervous fingers, she turned over more pages in the manual and read them. Why was it made of papir? Perhaps some legal requirement. She was half way through chapter one when a call came through and a king said in a loud voice that dinner was ready. A single door opened and she could smell the delicious smells of roasted meats and vegetables. Mostly she was ignored but Vinicus found her and they went for a walk within the inner courtyard. It was getting darker out and the lights were turning on. He was already half way through the entire manual. Ara knew she got bogged down on small things. She had to think bigger.
During the course of the next few days and nights, Ara found all the royals, and many Pure-Gens, were trying to be nice to her. A tiny voice inside her suggested that they knew what was coming.
On the second day, at lunch, Queen Audrina approached her. “My dear, what do you think of our legal system thus far?”
“Lengthy, ma’am.”
Queen Audrina was tall, willowy, with dark eyes and hair, dark skin and elegant. Kavela had invited Audrina to her Virgo, evidently he considered her family. She had agreed because there needed to be at least three watching that the Virgo was performed to standard.
“Yes, indeed, Ara.” She sighed. “Aryans are about contracts, no money like on your pet Earth. Don’t look so surprised, my dear, we all know of your interest in that planet and those wonderfully planned broadcasts suggesting humans should be integrated. We all watch it too, not only regarding the ways to rule, but the economy. We do not use money or barter, but bonds tied in words and legal jargon. That is why we have an entire planet dedicated to Aryan Law.”
Ara’s first reaction was “duh” at the obvious things but then the complexity of the laws still astounded her. She knew of the contracts, after all she’d viewed her siblings’ contracts as they were trained and apprenticed and found work. She’d signed many herself, committing to perform a skill and then practice that skill to someone’s benefit. They were binding agreements. But the depth and breadth? Her father had organized many contracts for his children over time, right down to online courses, and camping trips. “Will we know what the issue is before the proceedings?”
“No, dear. I believe this meeting is all we will receive. But there will be enough time during the proceedings though—”
Ara waited patiently as Audrina was interrupted by another king. She was still somewhat annoyed at being treated like a child. To them she was the baby Pure-Gen, orphan girl.
“—sorry, Ara. They have allocated five days for us to decide once we hear the case. That can’t be good.”
“How many proceedings have you sat through, Queen Audrina?”
“Several n
ow. You needn’t worry, my dear. Majority rules and you are a sensible girl.”
Ara mumbled, “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Ah, lunch is served.”
The room was in a closed off, domed garden room. It was light, airy, and pleasant. She saw Vin waving at her and she headed for their table. She listened to the conversations around her but the food was so delicious she only listened with half an ear. Food on Wilds was satisfying, but a queen’s or king’s table? Always sumptuous. If anything, they spoke of everything except why they were being called. That night she was directed to a luxurious bedroom and was attended to in the bath and when she dressed. They hovered around her, looking as if they weren’t paying attention when she knew a single look or word would bring them over. The art of not being attentive was a skill indeed.
It was on the third day, within the domed room, that they received an emergency transmission.
The Avatara were splitting.
“A civil war!” a queen said from behind Ara somewhere.
Voices rose and fell. She tried to focus in on one conversation.
“…control over Earth, that planet is ruined. What a waste…”
“…lives will be lost. We have to separate from them but what of the collateral damage?”
“I want to know if the Aryan Government will stop it, or at least send them somewhere they can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Is this what we have to decide on?”
Ara felt a twinge of relief, and then guilt. Relief that the meeting might not be about genocide, and guilt at her not-so-subtle projects for Earth. Had they backfired? Stubbornness rode her. No one seemed to care about the humans, or the ever-declining animal population. Bel’s original idea about her claiming Earth wasn’t such a bad idea and would be quicker than Queen Silvia’s current plan to rule over Estancia and then hand it to Ara. She might talk to Korbet about it; certainly Kavela was keen on her taking a stronger role. First, she had to find out what this vote was about but her mind slipped back to what Karu and Balin had told her. It was so long ago she had to access her long-term memory bank. How would she even go about trying to fix that society? She was not equipped. She might be able to help them after she was a planet engineer, if ever she got there. She could, in effect, declare Earth, the planet if not the people, was under her domain. Depression seeped in as she remembered she was the Mobile Unit and that nothing she dreamed of might actually take place. But then that didn’t explain her wonderful work at Wilds. Why did Maya allow her to go there?
Audrina had informed her of the splitting and took Ara into her care, overriding Queen Silvia’s right to care for Ara. However, Silvia was gracious in all things. Maya had recently sent a Pure-Gen data burst dictating that Silvia, and not Freda who was the First Regional Queen, be mentor for Ara after she turned five hundred, at her Age of Determination. Ara glanced around the room. It was another life to her, one she was supposed to be a part of.
“…this doesn’t change our duty but we must be aware.”
“Is there any danger?” someone asked. She couldn’t see who raised the question.
“Not at the moment but we’ve activated our secondary planetary defenses, and sent several forces of rangers from our Toga military base to patrol the region.” Silvia assured as many as she could.
Ara felt sick and she really didn’t understand what it meant. The way they were talking seemed to say more than just the race fracturing, as “splitting” was a very specific term.
“How will you get to the planet, dear?” a king asked her.
What was his name? Logan?
“Range in my Seeker, sir. I like to navigate myself.”
Audrina had told her not to worry about titles for this meeting. Ara had a thought, and stretched her torso upwards to look around. “I just have to put in a call, Tara and I were going to travel public routes on the way home in a few weeks, the Seeker was being prepared for storage.”
She avoided Silvia’s eyes but the queen was amused. The effort to bring the Seeker to Saratoga just to have it returned in storage to Wilds and then back again was embarrassing. It hadn’t actually made it to Saratoga yet but the paperwork was all over the place. But if people kept doing things without asking her, she didn’t care much.
“Do you prefer machines to the transportals, Ara?” the Second Regional King asked. Ross was very handsome. She felt a moment’s trepidation. He had blue eyes and, while Kavela’s were frosty blue, they were still earnest. Ross’s eyes were icy and calculating. He was one of the kings of Estancia. He certainly didn’t seem bothered about the enquiry into their care of that station. Around Ross a blue energy streamed. And now he was staring at her, a cobra like branch raised up, looking as if it were going to strike.
Audrina was watching her closely.
“I … um … don’t use them very much without others.”
There were shocked looks and then laughter. The blue cobra merged back into the stream around his body.
“However do you get around?” King Slavian asked her.
“Walk, ride, drive, fly, range, swim—”
There was more laughter. Ross looked at Delario. “Really Del, surely it fell to you to teach this poor girl to use her independent Aryan technologies?” He looked at her. “Do you even know how to use the transportals on your own?”
Ara bristled and his grin turned slightly cruel.
“Caleb designed and made her an ArP controller, it looks like a strawberry—”
There were a few titters.
“—but you know very well that Maya told us not to interfere.” He glanced to Silvia for support. She nodded her agreement. King Delario said kindly, “Ara, make your call via secure Voice. We’ll wait for you.”
“Thank you.”
Ara made her call, having to wait at first while a security guard programmed something in to the Voice. Apparently, she didn’t have to do anything on her own. She then returned to the meeting to listen, knowing her eyes were wide, as they continued to argue about her upbringing. She now understood some of the provincial comments from Caleb and Terzon over the years. Audrina distracted them seeing Ara’s face, possibly having turned purple, and they talked of Earth instead. The whole time energies were tight around Ross, Slavian, and Delario, but Audrina and Cyrus’s were open and naturally deflecting the aggressive energies of the three. She always hated being able to see energy streams, and cursed her dratted curiosity to access it to see the energy streams, but she wondered if it was a good indication of friend or foe. In terms of foes, her last report from Balin had come up with zilch. The enemy, on one hand, did a great job of hiding, on the other hand, they weren’t doing a very good job generally because she kept forgetting she even had one. Ara tried not to smile, thinking that, considering the seriousness of the conversation, smiling was unwise.
Finally, the doors were opened and security seals broken. She had to leave the manual behind but Vin helped her to understand some of the more complex aspects of the law. Being over three hundred, she was entitled to vote but she wished she wasn’t. As she left the palace, Caleb was lurking around trying to look busy. His energy was open and already swirling to include her. She walked over to him with a smile. He stood and watched her. He was dressed in hunting clothes and his vehicle looked packed with camping gear. He probably hid his hunting gear under the less offending items. His hair was long, with a single thin braid at the front and some beads. He touched her face when she stopped in front of him. She fingered his braid. She looked into his eyes, enjoying the effect she had on him. They were the same height and it was so easy to just lean in a little more—
“I’m going away for a few days. Are you alright?”
Ara was actually a little excited by the prospect of visiting the Planet of Law. She drew her head back.
He noticed her excitement. “Will I see you when I get back?”
“No, I’ll have to begin preparations and leave tomorrow.”
His face fell but he connected to her im
plant.
C. I’ve been putting off leaving
A. Then leave, I’ll see you when I get home
C. I have a bad feeling but you seem excited
She could see indecision in his face.
C. Can you meet me at the cabin, just for a few hours? It’s nothing serious, well serious loving
They barely contained their grins.
She nodded. As she walked down, she glanced back at the palace entrance feeling eyes on her. Queen Audrina looked a little sad but gave her a small wave.
After pulling out through the rough track, driving the family’s over lander, seeing the cabin in the clearing, Caleb was hovering by the door. Ara chose to wear a sun frock she knew he liked. He opened her door and she slid out of the front seat. They looked at each other and didn’t bother with niceties. They barely talked but Ara felt Caleb expressed himself more with his body and lavished her with attention. The magic returned too, and both cried after, fearful of what was to come. By the end, they were both tired and grinning.
He lifted her chin slightly. “If you need me for anything, contact me.”
Ara almost told him that Maya had cut her off but didn’t want to worry him.
“What are you thinking?”
Ara smiled seeing him worried. “Ashley, Henry, and Gralten are taking me out before I leave.”
“We better get going then.”
She nodded knowing Caleb was now already thinking of his hunting trip. King Slavian had probably invited him.
When they parted, Caleb was whistling and drove off with a wave and Ara drove back to her home with the horrible pressure of the journey ahead. She drove up the steep driveway, coming in from the side route, and parked it under the house. She just couldn’t seem to get out of the jeep but gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. A soft knock on the window helped her to release the wheel and Dad pulled her out, hugging her tightly.
They had dinner and while they chatted in the kitchen, Ara put in her flight and space plan. Best to keep busy, best to have someone check her plan. She re-checked the HaV routes three times over and plotted the safest way there, five weeks to travel mainly because the Planet of Law was in the Cradle, and that was sort of “above” normal space, not “below” it.
