Sacred Trust

by Roxanne Barbour

  “Your mother liked to grow vegetables and flowers,” he said, with a sigh. “I’ll have Kevin look into the possibility of us eating local foods. Maybe we can add a little variety to our diet.”

  A little change would be nice. We were living on the frozen and dried foods we’d brought with us from Earth.

  I retired early to do some homework, but I didn’t accomplish much. In reality, I had a restless night.

  In the morning, Dad, Ilandus, Tata, and I had a quiet walk to police headquarters. Kevin’s research the previous evening had revealed that the truth serum didn’t contain poison. I might feel a little dopey, but nothing serious.

  We were ushered into Officer Kikess’ office. I didn’t recognize some of the equipment and objects, but an office was an office no matter what planet you were on.

  “I want to discuss a couple of things,” he said, “before we start with the injections, Ambassadors.” Again, he proved differential towards Dad and Ilandus.

  I interrupted. “I don’t want an injection. I’m very susceptible to chemicals; they usually make me sick. I’m willing to be interviewed again, but I’m not an Arandi or Basilian so the serum may be irritating.” I crossed my arms and glared.

  Dad opened his mouth, but I stared him down. It was my body and I should make my own decisions about it.

  Officer Kikess studied me and then said, “You may be correct. Let’s start with Tata then.” He took the Tatas away and left Dad and me in his office. We didn’t talk—we both had our own topics to reflect upon.

  After twenty minutes, they returned. Tata looked like his normal self, and his mother smiled. It must have gone well.

  “Nara, Tata’s answers were quite satisfactory, so I think your interview would be redundant. You both may go. I should not need to talk with you again.”

  What a relief! Now, we can get on with our lives.

  I thanked Officer Kikess, and we gladly left the police terminal. Since BSU was only a short walk away, the four of us set out in that direction. I walked with Ambassador Tata a few steps behind Dad and Tata.

  “Nara, settling into school?” she asked. She wore the loveliest embroidered blue gown today.

  “Pretty much. Strange things happen, but I eventually figure out why. It’s nice to be with people close to my own age.”

  The ambassador smiled. “You and Eonus?”

  Not sure exactly what she was asking, I said, “We have our disagreements but, mostly, we understand each other. We have enjoyed our cultural visits around Basik, except for the dead body, of course.”

  “Good. Previously knowing helps.”

  I could only assume she means previously knowing Tata, not the murdered Basilian. And being a nice person, she was probably saying adjustment was easier when someone you know is along for the ride.

  Ilandus patted me on the head. Arandi females were also tall.

  Tata and I soon peeled off to enter BSU, and Dad and Ambassador Tata continued on to resume their duties—whatever they were today. I really must quiz Dad on his day-to-day activities. Any tidbit would help with my understanding of Basilian culture and history.

  In most of my classes I usually sat on the outer edge of the middle stools. It was a comfortable distance for me to see and hear clearly, and I could escape in a timely manner to get to my next class, especially since there was a door midway along the side of the large room.

  Interestingly enough, the notes projected by the instructor were linked to our coms, so it wasn’t necessary to write his notes down, although we all made additional ones.

  In my case, I could hear the instructor’s words clearly, but I couldn’t understand what was being written. When I got home, I transcribed the Basilian writing with some software on my com.

  Today a young Basilian male sat down beside me before the class started. “Hello,” he said. “My name is Daro Est, and you are Nara Scotia.”

  It bothered me a bit that everyone knew my name but, I had to acknowledge, it was perfectly reasonable, given the circumstances. “Yes, I am. How are you?” I asked.

  “I am fine. It is strange that you ask,” he said.

  “Not for humans. It’s what we do on Earth. It’s a greeting.” Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard a Basilian offer a similar greeting.

  “I see. How do you like this class?” asked Daro.

  “Not bad. Some things I don’t understand right away, but after some research they become clear. How about you?”

  “Pretty easy class. If you need help, let me know.”

  Just then the professor started, so I just nodded. I would have to think about his offer. It wouldn’t hurt to have closer contact with some Basilians. Who knows what I might learn?

  At the end of the class, Daro asked, “Would you like to go to a concert sometime? I could introduce you to Basilian music.”

  “That would be wonderful,” I said.

  “Let us talk next class.” Then he jumped up and hurried from the classroom, as if he were late for an appointment. A bit odd that, but perhaps it was normal Basilian behavior after asking a girl out on a date. At least, I thought I’d been asked out on a date! Did Basilians even date? I had no idea about their personal relationships. Perhaps Ruen could enlighten me.

  Not until lunch time did I have a chance to speak with Tata. We met in the cafeteria. I rummaged in my day pack for my food before asking, “Tell me what happened after you were given the truth serum.”

  “Questions.” He didn’t look at me. What did that mean?

  I swore Tata decided to be deliberately obtuse. “What kind of questions? Did you feel any different after you got the serum?” Give me something!

  “Same questions. No feeling.”

  Before I had a chance to scream, Ruen joined us. “You two look so serious,” she said. “Did something happen today?”

  “You can say that again,” I said. I don’t think I’d had a boring day in months.

  “Why do I want to say it again?” Ruen asked.

  “Oh, that’s just an expression. I’m agreeing with you. For emphasis, you know.”

  Ruen still looked at me like I’d grown a second pair of arms.

  I took a moment to think. “Remember we told you about finding a dead Basilian, and being tied up on a dais. Well, Officer Kikess interviewed us yesterday, and then he wanted to do it again today. I had a very stressful night.”

  “Did your stones help you relax?” Ruen asked.

  “Oh my god, I forgot about them!” I thumped my forehead. “I must have been in quite a state last night. I took the stones out of my bag to get my books and put them on a table in my room. I never thought about them again. Ruen, thanks for reminding me. I’ll definitely use them tonight.”

  She grasped my hand—a reassuring gesture, I believed.

  “Ruen, what’s The Temple of Enlightenment all about? And what can you tell me about that creepy head priest, or whatever he’s called?” Not someone I wanted to meet in a dark alley.

  She smiled. “Enlightenment is not really the right word—it is about our past. The temple priests fed us all sorts of incorrect knowledge about our origins. Tata changed everything when he broadcast the idea of our mutual seeding. I do not like that word, seeding.” Ruen put her right foot in her lap. “As for the head priest, we call him Ada Chap. No one likes him.”

  I started to ask Ruen another question, but she interrupted.

  “Did you say that you and Tata were tied up on a dais?”

  I nodded. She apparently understood what my motion meant.

  “You’re now a couple! Although, a very strange one,” Ruen said.

  Chapter 5

  “A couple? What do you mean?” I asked. I hadn’t a clue what Ruen babbled about, although the thought seemed to amuse her.

  “Two people together on the dais at The Temple of Enlightenment are proclaiming their love for each other,” said Ruen. She glanced at the both of us and then did her customary twirl.

  I looked at Tata; he had yet to u
tter a word. “We were just tied up and put there—we weren’t making any statement,” I said. Ruen spouted nonsense!

  “Perhaps,” said Ruen. “Tata, what do you think about this situation?”

  Tata didn’t answer. In fact, he gave my arm a pat and then got up and left the table. I’d received another unusual touch from Tata.

  “Don’t forget about the Space Museum this afternoon. I’ll meet you here after class,” I called after him.

  Tata didn’t acknowledge my reminder and continued walking away.

  “The Space Museum? Can I join you? It is past time for a visit,” said Ruen, breaking our silence.

  “Sure. Meet me here later.” I got up and headed back to class. I hated to be dismissive to Ruen, but I had a lot to think about. In addition to confused thoughts about Tata and Daro, perhaps I’d acquired a younger sister. Oh well, Ruen can help me understand Basilian society.

  The rest of my classes passed in a blur. For some reason, I couldn’t concentrate; I kept thinking about Tata.

  Tata and Ruen waited in the cafeteria for me after class. We shouldered our bags and walked the short distance to the museum. Interestingly enough, the museum had directions, and some history, beneath our feet on the floor, just like the Space Museum on Arandis—another similarity between the cultures.

  I wanted to study the Basilian history of spaceships, since Earth was nowhere near their level of technological sophistication in spacecraft. In fact, the Arandi had brought us from Earth, and the Basilians had ferried us from Arandis. So I had Ruen point out the appropriate exhibits.

  The museum’s ceilings were incredibly high, but they needed to be in order to store some of the immense objects related to space travel. Apparently, the Basilians had travelled to a few neighboring solar systems but had not yet found any intelligent life, other than the Arandi and humans. After a while, we came upon an object, which looked remarkably like a lunar lander.

  “What is this?” I asked Ruen.

  “The signage says it is an exploration lander. When the main ship arrives at a planet to explore, they launch this lander so a couple of astronauts can explore the surface—hence, exploration lander.”

  Always a smart-ass, but I couldn’t say that to Ruen. “Interesting. Well I, for one, want to see inside.”

  “So do I,” said Ruen. “Drop your bags in this bin. We need to leave them outside the lander. There is probably very little room inside anyway.”

  The exploration lander was about eight feet wide and twice as long, and it had obviously been a working lander, not a prototype. The outside was pitted and scraped and the landing gear looked well-worn. And Ruen had correctly guessed about the cramped quarters. With barely enough room for the three of us, we wiggled about and studied the interior.

  “You know, they have included facilities and equipment for eating and sleeping, but I would probably throw my sleeping bag outside, on the ground.” I didn’t think I suffered from claustrophobia, but the lander started to make me think otherwise.

  “Animals,” said Tata.

  “Okay, perhaps not,” I replied.

  My statement amused the two of them.

  Eventually we emerged from the lander, and picked up our bags.

  “That is what I want to do,” said Ruen. “Travel in outer space and meet aliens, especially since having met you and Tata. You are so interesting to study.”

  “I’m not a lab experiment, Ruen.” Her statement about studying us irritated me. “How do the other BSU students feel about us, the foreigners?”

  “They are scared of both of you. That is why no one talks to you at lunch time. I am the brave one!” Ruen twirled around.

  Brave and cute, too. But I couldn’t tell her that either. “Why do you talk to us?” I asked.

  “People expect me to do strange things because of my age. And when I saw you leaving police headquarters, it seemed the perfect opportunity to get to know you. I want to understand aliens.”

  Being called an alien was new to me. “However, it’s not true that you’re the only one who’ll talk to us at BSU. A student, in one of my classes introduced himself to me today, and also suggested we go to a concert so I can learn about Basilian music.” The incident still pleased me.

  “Who?” asked Ruen.

  “Daro Est. Do you know him?”

  “Yes. Daro is well known,” replied Ruen.

  “Well known for what?”

  Then a flash of light on the outskirts of my peripheral vision disturbed my attention. I turned to the right and saw a light-skinned Basilian. How should I handle this? “Ruen, turn slowly towards me and pretend to look at the exhibit. Do you see what I see?” I asked.

  She slowed down her antics and casually joined me. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “What do you see?”

  “An albino. I have never seen one before. Is he like the one you saw? Should we approach him? I could ask questions.”

  Asking questions wouldn’t be a problem with Ruen along. “Let’s be circumspect. You and I can try and get closer and see if we can see anything, or perhaps hear a few words.”

  “I always wanted to be a detective,” said Ruen.

  Perhaps having Ruen tag along was not such a good idea. She was inquisitive enough to be a detective, but I’m not sure how circumspect she could be.

  “Let me go and tell Tata what we’re going to do.”

  I found Tata studing a display about twenty feet away. “Ruen and I have seen an albino Basilian, so we’re going to get a little closer. We’ll meet you at the front door, in a little while.”

  “No.”

  His terseness often confused me. “What do you mean—we can’t go, or you’ll meet us some other place, or what?” I really wanted to give him a strong shake.

  “Unsafe.”

  “So come along with us, then. You can protect the silly females.” I sniffed and then walked over to Ruen.

  Joining us, Tata asked, “Where?”

  Ruen pointed in the direction where we had previously discovered the albino, but the alcove had emptied. I was right; she’s not very subtle.

  “Oh, he’s gone.” Ruen’s hand movements ceased. “Okay, we need to do a methodical search of the museum from top to bottom. This is the scientific way.”

  Tata shook his head, but we did spend the next hour doing exactly that.

  “Okay, we’ve looked everywhere. I guess we were mistaken, Ruen,” I said.

  “I do not think so—maybe he slipped out of the building without our notice. We should take another look.”

  “No, let’s go home. I think it’s a lost cause. And besides, I have a mountain of studying to do,” I said.

  “Mountain?” asked Ruen.

  “Oh, I just mean I have a lot of studying to do for tomorrow.”

  We wandered towards home and came upon the creek bed display. I wanted to get a few more stones, so we dropped our bags and started looking for unusual ones.

  “Well, what do we have here? Young people being productive, perhaps?” said a voice behind us.

  I looked up to see Officer Kikess standing on the sidewalk.

  “Father, what are you doing here?” asked Ruen.

  Chapter 6

  Father? Officer Kikess is Ruen’s father!

  Tata and I looked at each other and then at Ruen. She stood completely still; quite unlike her usual bubbly, bouncy self. What else is she hiding from us? I wondered.

  The time had come to be proactive, I decided. “Officer Kikess, how nice to see you again. Ruen has been helping us understand your world. She introduced us to this meditative area yesterday, and helped me understand the therapeutic uses of stones. Today we’re gathering a few more for my collection.” I hoped my statements would defuse the tense tableau a trifle.

  Kikess studied the three of us, for a moment. In particular, he lingered on Ruen. “Daughter, you never gave any indication of who your companions were. I know you said you were with friends yesterday, but perhaps you should have give
n me some information about who they were—considering Tata and Nara are off-worlders.”

  Officer Kikess didn’t sound like a fan of ours—quite a reversal to our previous discussions.

  I interrupted. “Officer Kikess, Ruen has become one of our few friends. In fact, I consider her to be like a younger sister. We would never do anything to harm her.”

  Ruen smiled after hearing my comments. At least I’d cheered her up.

  “Father, I did not realize you needed to know this information. Tata and Nara are older than I am, and will look out for me. I took them to the Space Museum today. We had a lovely time.”

  A slight exaggeration or two, but I let the statement stand.

  “That is an excellent place for learning. Ruen, it is time we left for dinner.”

  They took their leave, and Tata and I watched them walk down the street. Adding Officer Kikess to my life posed some difficulties. Although, to be fair, I’m sure Ruen had doubts about being involved with children of ambassadors. Or perhaps I was wrong, considering her desire to be a space explorer.

  “Home,” said Tata.

  “Yes. I’m tired. Searching that museum used up my energy, and I need my dinner.”

  Our trek home, although not long, proceeded at a slower pace than normal. Both Tata and I spoke little; our thoughts consumed our energy.

  Dad had again decided to make dinner. Sometimes we used some of the frozen food dinners we’d brought along and just heated up, but usually one of us created something.

  “How was your day?” he asked, stirring a pot.

  “Considering Tata’s truth serum, our discussion with Ruen at lunch about being a couple, our excursion to the Space Museum, and then our discovery at the creek bed site that Officer Kikess is Ruen’s father, not so eventful.”

  Dad laughed. He understood my sense of humor.

  “Okay, I know about Tata’s truth serum, but the rest you’re going to have to explain—in words of one syllable.” Dad continued to be a diplomat—even in his personal life.