The Rylerran Gateway

by Mark Ian Kendrick

  Naylon briefly shook their hands and realized they were the same age. “Okay, I’m gonna guess. Fraternal?” he asked Tann.

  Tann grinned and nodded. “She’s older by three minutes.”

  “I didn’t know you had siblings,” Naylon told Darreth.

  “Now you do.”

  “Secondary school?” Naylon asked.

  “They have a year left,” Darreth told him.

  Naylon couldn’t help himself. In his head he was already making the age conversion, a habit he’d never gotten out of. That made the twins almost eighteen Standard years old.

  In their formal attire, the teens could have easily passed as a prom king and queen. Tann had curly brown shoulder length hair just like his sister. His was parted in the middle while hers was parted on one side, with part of it in a thin braid. There was a length of shiny material woven into the braid. Her formal outfit was a skin-tight silk tunic. It was butter yellow with a bright twisted gold sash around the waist. Tann’s light green tunic was also form fitting to his waist. A highly decorated short pleated skirt hung down just enough to cover bulges, front and rear, as was required for formal events. The style had been in vogue for a very long time for such occasions. In centuries past it would look as if they were wearing the other’s clothing or had jumped out of a medieval play.

  A waitress came by with an empty tray. She noted none of them had drinks in their hands. She spoke to the tiny transducer on the tray, ordering the drinks as each were placed. She whisked away to pick them up from the bar.

  “I understand you work at the museum. Is that correct Dr. Ress?” Kyana asked.

  “Really, Naylon will do just fine. This may be a formal event but I’m just fine without the formal title.”

  “Naylon it is then.” She nodded and smiled.

  “I’m the lead paleo-microbiologist at the lab.”

  “Fascinating. You’ll have to tell me all about it when we have you over for dinner.”

  Naylon nodded, speechless. They had just met and already he was being invited to dinner?

  She turned to Darreth. “Which will be when, son?”

  Darreth looked distracted since he had been surveying the room. He turned his attention back to her. “Uh, as soon as I can schedule it. I’ll let you know later.”

  The waitress returned in record time given the crowded room. She clearly was giving the Chief Council’s family priority. Each took their drinks, including Tann and Kella.

  Siloy spoke up, “To another five hundred years,” he said. They all clinked glasses.

  Naylon and Darreth were both standing opposite Siloy. Naylon watched Siloy’s eyes. He could tell the man saw someone he recognized coming through the crowd. Naylon briefly looked over his shoulder to see a man and woman approach their group. They joined Naylon and his entourage without being invited. He thought he recognized the woman right away but wasn’t sure. He knew he had never seen the man before.

  “Director Alarr,” Siloy acknowledged as he greeted her.

  The Planetary Director, Naylon thought. He recognized her now. He’d seen her enough times on newsvids to recognize her.

  “Chief, we’re having a lovely time. I do hope your family is enjoying this, too,” she told everyone.

  Naylon knew next to nothing about her except for what he’d seen on the vids. It took only that one sentence for him to instantly dislike her. Her gaze slid right past most of them, too insignificant to rate eye contact.

  Everyone nodded and smiled. The brief interaction made Naylon realize they all knew her.

  Inandra was thin and pale. As if to call attention to her thinness, she wore a sleeveless tunic that accentuated her bony shoulders. Her thick dark hair was piled up high. Thin wires were sprouting from the coiffure. The entire length of the wires were changing colors; slowly running through the spectrum from red to blue and back again. Her necklace consisted of a dozen strands of the same color-changing material. The necklace drooped down to ample and obviously artificial cleavage. Cleavage, which Naylon was busily trying to ignore, but failed to do.

  “Zelin and I are having a wonderful time, too.” She turned to her companion and touched his shoulder, then took a final sip from her drink before depositing it on a passing waiter’s empty tray.

  Darreth leaned into Naylon and whispered as Inandra talked with Siloy. “He’s Zelin Raxi, the Chief Operations Manager of the mining interests on Rylerra.”

  “They’re not having their own celebration?”

  “I’m sure they’re having one, too. He and Alarr have a thing going on. He’s from the same continent she’s from on Earth. Some place in Eurasia, I think. He shuttles back and forth from Rylerra to see her.”

  Zelin was a short fat man. Balding, with a red face and a squat ugly nose, Naylon couldn’t figure out what she saw in him. He glanced down at Zelin’s crotch. He must be huge, Naylon thought.

  Inandra and Zelin dominated the conversation for several minutes. Naylon took it in stride despite the fact that nothing interesting came out of her mouth or had anything to do with anyone but her or the ‘hope for increased future precious gem exports’ from Rylerra.

  Odd, thought Naylon. He was going to be making a trip to Rylerra soon. Manager Raxi was the perfect person to talk to about it, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He guessed it was the proximity to Inandra that turned him off to the very thought. Nonetheless, he was sure that even if he discussed his forthcoming expedition to the man’s Inhab he’d get nothing more than a blank stare from him.

  The Director saw someone else she knew nearby and attempted to flag them down. Instead of having them join their group, she left with Zelin in tow. Their circle immediately grew a lot quieter.

  “I thought she’d never leave,” Tann said, loud enough for Naylon to hear.

  Naylon saw Siloy pat Tann’s back and shake his head ever so slightly as he looked Tann in the eye. But Naylon couldn’t have agreed more, glad Tann had voiced what the others didn’t, or couldn’t.

  “That’s my cue, dad,” Darreth announced. “We’re going to mingle and take in the view. We’ll be back in a while.”

  Kyana took Naylon’s hand. She hadn’t spoken much so far, but due to having been immediately enamored with Naylon, wished him well. “Don’t make yourself scarce tonight. We’re at the head table after the fireworks. You two have a place next to us. Don’t let any of these overfed corporate types put you off.”

  “We’ll be right along,” Darreth assured her.

  Darreth led Naylon to one of the large picture windows adjacent to the wide bar. The view was breathtaking. The park stretched out to the left and right. People had already settled into spaces below them amidst the trees and sculptures that graced the walkways and open areas. Further out, the placid bay shone in the setting sunlight. A barge set up for the fireworks was anchored just offshore.

  “Your family is different than I imagined,” Naylon said. He took a sip from his glass.

  “They’re just a family, probably like yours.”

  “Not as prominent, of course.”

  “My dad’s the only prominent one. But let’s not talk about them.” Darreth gave him a wide smile then looked out over the park. Naylon stared at Darreth’s face, taking in the smile-turned-grin, the strong jaw, the tasteful uniform, and found himself enjoying this time with him.

  Darreth turned to Naylon. “Hey, let me show you around.”

  “It’s kind of crowded in here for a tour.”

  “I mean upstairs.”

  Naylon looked up at the staircase where they had descended from before they had joined the crowd.

  Darreth pointed toward the other staircase at the far end of the room. “Up and around. There are bedrooms.”

  They eventually made it to the other side of the crowd and ascended the stairs. They took a perimeter walkway along the windows. As they traversed the several dozen meters down the hallway the noise of the throng below became a muted roar, then the hallway became almost completely
quiet as the thick plush carpeting helped dampen the sound.

  Although most of the doors along the corridor were closed, several were open. They had passed a study, a holographic projection room and several common bathrooms. Darreth stopped in front of a closed door. He pressed his forefinger to his lips, then placed his ear against the door, listening for a moment. Satisfied, he touched the sensor pad next to the doorframe. The door slid open. Inside were a bed, a dresser, an attached bathroom and a small kitchenette. There were no windows. Darreth looked in. There was no sign it was currently being occupied. He was sure all the rooms would have been booked. At Darreth’s behest, they entered. Darreth touched the door close sensor and pressed the lock icon.

  Naylon whispered. “Whose room is this?”

  “It’s for guests, but surprisingly this one isn’t being used.”

  “How do you happen to know that?” Naylon asked.

  “I didn’t know this one was empty, but I’ve been in this building several times for various functions, all due to my father. I’ve even been in this bedroom before.”

  “With someone else?” Naylon responded jealously.

  “No, just snooping around.” With that, he took Naylon’s hands in his own and faced him. Darreth slowly took him in a long passionate kiss. It was so sensual that Naylon nearly lost his breath. Naylon pulled back after several moments feeling lightheaded. “Whoo…”

  Darreth reached down and grasped Naylon’s swella through his pants.

  “You’re in dress blues. How in the hell are we going to…” Before Naylon could finish the sentence Darreth was maneuvering Naylon to the bed. Naylon sat on the edge and watched while Darreth removed his coat and gloves. He went down on his knees, spread Naylon’s legs apart, then fished out Naylon’s penis through the buttoned slit in front. Darreth went down on him immediately. Naylon leaned back on his elbows trying to stifle the involuntary noises he was emitting. He wasn’t doing a very good job of being quiet.

  The moment was so exciting Naylon came within minutes. Darreth was careful. He made sure not a single drop of semen ended up anywhere else except in his mouth. When he was done he continued to lick Naylon’s softening penis until Naylon pulled him off. There was a mischievous look on Darreth’s face.

  Naylon couldn’t believe how intense the moment had been. Not only was Darreth handsome, he was bold. The guy was a lot more exciting than Naylon expected.

  Darreth placed his hands on both of Naylon’s thighs. The full length of Naylon’s softening penis along with his scrotum was still poking out of his pants. Darreth continued to stay on his knees and stared at Naylon’s face. Naylon sat upright and stared back. Nothing was spoken for several seconds.

  It was as if some sort of energy passed between them at that moment. Simple desire was transmuting. A bit of play was becoming serious. Darreth’s grin turned into a smile. The part of Naylon that he had been holding back because of Darreth’s station in life disappeared. He reached out to Darreth’s face and caressed his chin, then his cheek. Naylon leaned forward then dropped to the floor. Both were on their knees on the thick immaculate carpeting. Darreth had no intention of getting even semi-naked. He had only wanted to bring Naylon to orgasm. They embraced carefully so that Naylon’s still-dangling genitals wouldn’t touch Darreth’s uniform. It wasn’t just the orgasm that had brought Naylon a little closer to Darreth right then. It was something more. Something impossible to place just yet.

  Darreth pulled back then reached up and unbuttoned his collar. He pulled up a chain from around his neck. He lifted the necklace up over his head and dangled the objects at the end in front of Naylon’s eyes. “I want you to have this,” Darreth told him. On the chain were two items. One was a thin green disc with a hole in the middle. A polished torus of jade. The other object was a coin. A very old one. It too had a hole in the center, a square one. Darreth pointed. “Jade, from China.”

  “On Earth,” Naylon stated.

  Darreth nodded. “Where the Po side of my family originated.”

  “This coin must be worth a lot. I-I can’t. You can’t give me this.”

  “It’s about fifteen centuries old but it’s not worth much. They just represent our family’s past.” He chuckled. “From a place I’ve never been and will probably never visit either. I want you to have it. Think of it as a symbol of us together.”

  “Us? Together?”

  Darreth just nodded.

  “Wait a minute,” Naylon told him. They both stood up. Naylon went to the adjoining bathroom to clean up and straighten his clothing. Darreth glanced in the mirror above the dresser and checked his uniform. He re-buttoned his collar then re-donned his gloves.

  Naylon emerged from the bathroom and sat on the bed. Darreth stood over him. “But why?” Naylon asked. He opened up his hand to reveal the items.

  “It means I like you an awful lot. Please?”

  Naylon didn’t know what else to say. Darreth was driving the relationship. That was a switch for Naylon. He usually led. At that moment though, Naylon realized maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be subordinate. At least for now. Darreth was certainly serious about the relationship already. That alone provided new possibilities for him. Possibilities Naylon hadn’t even considered yet.

  Indeed, Darreth was slowly but surely stealing his heart.

  The semi-precious stone and the coin jingled as Naylon placed the necklace around his neck, then dropped them down his collar. For a brief instant the objects were cold against his chest. He stood and Darreth kissed his cheek, then headed for the door. He pressed the open button and stuck his head out to see if anyone was looking their way. There were three people at the far end of the hallway but they were intent on something against the wall, perhaps one of the many sculptures in the various alcoves along the way. The two men exited without being seen.

  Naylon wondered what just happened in that room. Okay, so Darreth got a little frisky. It’s not like he’d ever experienced that before. What he was most concerned with was that Darreth had some sort of grip on him he’d not experienced before. It was just a little so far. He knew if he didn’t contain himself any better he’d lose complete control of the situation. That wasn’t right. After all, Darreth was a military man. It was still extraordinary he was even dating someone in the military. Darreth’s family was completely non-corporate. Another unprecedented situation.

  And Naylon was enjoying every second of it.

  Moments later they rejoined the crowd. Forty-five minutes later, they both watched the fireworks begin over the park with the rest of the James-Po family.

  Chapter 8

  It was shortly after eight a.m. and Naylon just arrived at work.

  “There’s a vidmail you have to open,” Alista told him as he sat down at his desk.

  “Who says?”

  “I do.”

  “How did you know I have a vidmail I have to open? Have you been snooping?”

  “My, aren’t we the defensive one today. I heard the tone your workstation made after it was received. Plus, I overheard some certain board members talking in the hallway late yesterday.”

  “The grant!”

  Alista just smiled.

  He quickly sat at his console. After activating the workstation screen, he quickly watched the vidmail from Director Jerty.

  “Funding for Museum Expedition B/654 has been approved. Request to take samples from Rylerra for possible matches to existing Andakar fossil record is hereby granted. Please meet with the Director’s Grant Board to receive grant stipulations and funds transfer information.”

  “Kick!” Naylon exclaimed. Months previous he had written up a grant proposal for this very expedition. He had requested the funds because of a drawer of fossils that had lain forgotten and unmissed in one of the sub-basement vaults from decades ago. While he and Alista were cataloging them, they had come across some ambiguously tagged ones. The scant information on the samples indicated they had come from an amateur who had found them in what appeared to be ancien
t rock strata on Rylerra. The holovid in the drawer’s viewer database didn’t have any data on the exact latitude and longitude of the samples, much to the disappointment of them both.

  Naylon had performed a microscopic examination of one of the samples. It had revealed something completely unexpected. As far as Naylon was able to determine, the structure of the microscopic hartneria codomanum was almost identical to a similar species of the long extinct, mud-burrowing mollusk-like carnivores on Andakar. That would mean only one thing. They were related. Upon further analysis it had became evident that the only way to prove the two worlds had parallel evolutionary life histories was to go to Rylerra, try to determine where the fossils originated, and retrieve more. If he found what he expected,it would certainly put Naylon’s name in the history books. Proving that their two planets had had even some cross-pollination would be monumental. The accolade was something he desperately wanted to have in his academic record. He had talked up the right people at the museum, had gotten their opinions, then was asked to write up a full grant proposal.

  Alista was waiting for Naylon in the lab after lunchtime.

  “Well, what did the grant board say?”

  Naylon had made a holocopy of the meeting. He placed the crystal on Alista’s workstation counter and pointed to it. “It’s all there. The proposal, the grant and the approval. Merek was even approved to be my partner.” Merek Soliciellio was a graduate student who worked in the museum’s children’s science wing. He was eager to work his way up the academic ladder. Merek had heard about Naylon’s request months ago and had asked to join Naylon’s team. So far, they were the sole members of the team. Naylon was happy to have a partner, too. Merek’s work was quite important at the museum, he was well-liked, and Naylon needed the extra hands. Participation in the dig would put Merek in good standing. The paper he’d write up about it would put him in a perfect position for placement in the Ph.D. program at Tokaias University. Alista had no interest in accompanying him off world. “Only one thing’s missing,” he told her.