Haelee looked shocked. “Oh, my no. As soon as we connect with Spectrum, I will show you my quarters. You will be staying there with me, but do not be concerned. There is plenty of room. Then it will be a short journey to Ahrmoira.” She brightened. “Oh, and the food in the galley is very good. Our cook does a marvelous job with what Halig and I call ‘crunchies’. They are like your cookie and are very delicious. Halig can usually eat a dozen if no one is watching closely.”
Just then a shrill whistle blew three staccato notes, which made Annie jump half a foot. Haelee laughed. “Do not be alarmed. That just means we are locking onto the main ship. You must relax, Ah—I mean—Annie. I promise you that you are safe. Nothing will harm you in any way.”
Annie looked into the large, round eyes the color of rich peat and saw only honesty and tranquility. Some of the tension melted from her stiff shoulders, and she smiled for the first time since the whole ordeal began. “Thank you, Haelee, for being so nice. If it wasn’t for you, I think I would be freaking out something awful. I want to believe you. I’ll do my best to trust you and your dad…and everybody.” She let out another pent-up breath. “So. When do I get to see this ship?”
ELEVEN
Docking took only a few minutes. When another series of whistles signaled the maneuver had been successfully completed, Haelee took Annie’s hand and led her down a short corridor, through an oval door, down another short passageway, and into the main ship. Spectrum was gigantic in comparison to the smaller craft. Annie’s first reaction was to suck in a sharp gulp of air.
“Wow. I don’t believe it. This is awesome.”
Haelee laughed and pulled her along. They walked down a wide corridor, past several crewmen—most with varying shades of blue hair—going about their assigned duties. Haelee ushered Annie into an elevator-type conveyance and, after pushing a few buttons, turned to grin at her companion.
“Well. Here we go. My quarters are on B-Deck. Most of the crew’s quarters are on B-Deck except for Engineering and Security. Theirs are on C- and D-Decks. We’ll be there in a few seconds.”
True to her word, the smooth, fluid-like motion came to a stop, and the door swooshed open to reveal a narrower corridor than the one on the floor above. Haelee stepped out and Annie followed. In her excitement, she stepped on the backs of Haelee’s shoes twice. At the third door on the left, the taller girl paused and punched in a series of numbers. The door opened without a sound.
Haelee allowed Annie to enter the room first. It was quite large—at least, for a room aboard ship—and was lit by soft lights hidden behind fabric screens. The walls seemed to be made of a grayish metallic substance, but as Annie circled the room, they began to swirl in clashing colors of green and wine-red. The effect was so startling that Annie closed her eyes.
“I am sorry. That is probably making you dizzy. Here, sit on the edge of the bunk and take a deep breath.” Haelee guided Annie over to one of the twin bunks and pushed her down. “Take deep breaths, but keep your eyes closed. Try to think about something soothing—something you find relaxing. After you have done that for a minute or two, then you can open your eyes.”
Annie did as instructed. In her mind she played her violin, standing on a lonely beach in South Carolina. She let the music flow with the rhythmic pulse of the sea. After several minutes, she opened one eye, and then the other popped open in total surprise. The mad swirling, turbulent clashing of green and wine-red had been replaced with a tranquil aquamarine. She gasped in amazement.
“The wall’s color will conform to your emotions,” Haelee explained. “Mine were calm, hence the green color, while yours were still quite agitated, thus the deep red color. Together, our emotions were in opposition. Since you have relaxed, however, the color has changed to what you see now. Do you like it?”
“It-it’s unbelievable.” Annie faced her companion and managed a wobbly grin. “I have a funny feeling that I’m going to be saying ‘unbelievable’ quite a bit the next few days.”
Haelee returned the grin. “You are probably right.”
Haelee showed Annie several personal items, brought along on the trip for her own amusement. Among them, a huge sketchpad that contained many colorful and compelling pictures of what appeared to be an ocean beach. The scene was vaguely familiar—not unlike the beaches of North America—but the colors were off. Annie commented on the disparity.
“These are cool, but, the colors…they’re not quite right, are they? Is it something like Impressionism?”
Haelee peered over Annie’s shoulder at her own handiwork. “I am not certain what that is. The colors are accurate. I am said to be quite proficient in art.”
“Do you mean that your ocean is purple? And the sky. It’s lavender. Is your sky really that color?”
Haelee nodded. “Yes. I have only seen pictures of your Earth’s ocean and sky. The ocean tends to be gray or blue, does it not? And your sky—it changes depending on cloud formations due to variations in weather?”
“Well, yeah, something like that. Sometimes the ocean looks green, but I’ve never seen it a royal purple like this. And the sky is either blue or white or dark gray, depending on the weather, like you said. Gosh. This is unbeliev…” She stopped and both girls laughed.
“Yes, well, I am sure you will see many differences between our worlds. Father said that our atmosphere contains a higher content of oxygen than yours, so you will certainly feel different just walking around. If I am correct, you should feel healthier and more vigorous.”
“Hmm, that’s interesting.” Annie glanced up and noticed what appeared to be a musical instrument leaning against the wall. “What’s that?”
Haelee retrieved the instrument and brought it over to show Annie. “This is what we call a muhlahtahtoh. I have been taking lessons since I was about three. Do you want me to play something for you?”
At Annie’s vigorous nod, the other girl lifted the instrument onto her lap and, balancing it vertically on one knee, unfolded its three slender legs. Measuring about two and a half feet tall and two feet wide, it looked like a cross between a zither and a harp and stood waist-high on its three appendages.
Haelee sat on a stool beside it and ran her long fingers across the strings. Hauntingly mysterious sounds rose up like smoke from a burning ember. Annie listened in silence, captivated by the alluring melody. When several minutes later, Haelee took her hands away, Annie let out a deep, drawn-out breath.
“That was…gosh. The only word I can think of is enchanting. I’ve never heard anything like it before, and I love music. Please, play some more.”
Before Haelee could pluck even one string, a chime sounded and her bedroom door flew open. In stomped a tall boy with the same straight, light blue hair cut just below the ears. He scowled. “Haelee. Why did you not come for me? I have been looking an eon for you.” He glared at Annie. “So, this is the Earther we have to take home with us. What a mess. Look at her hair.”
At this insult, Annie reached up and touched her short, curly brown bob. The boy noticed and snickered. His sister, however, did not share in his mirth. “Halig Draehl. You are being insensitive and extremely rude. You need hahlmahnahtah and the sooner the better.”
Annie gave a low protest. “It-it’s all right, Haelee, my feelings aren’t hurt. He’s right, in a way. Look at the difference in our hair. Mine is soft and curly and short, while yours is…” she paused to touch Haelee’s long, blue hair. “Yours is like nylon. It feels kind of like the hair on one of my old dolls. It’s weird how different we are and yet how much alike, too.” She lifted several strands of Haelee’s hair for a closer examination and whistled. “Each strand of your hair is about triple the width or thickness of one of mine. I guess that’s why it feels like nylon.”
“Maybe so. I am not sure I know what nylon is, but Halig knows better than to make personal remarks about a guest. Father would be very, very displeased.”
“Yes? You should hear what Khahl Khal is saying of this interloper.”<
br />
“Khahl Khal is a mean-spirited man, and I care little for anything he says or thinks.”
“Hmmm, you say this now, but what will you say when everyone criticizes Father for bringing her to Ahrmoira? Yes?”
“No. Please display more courtesy, Brother. It is not like you to be so discordant.” To Annie’s surprise, the tall girl began humming a soft melodic tune. Immediately the boy dropped his head and his cheeks stained a vivid lavender. He mumbled something, which Annie barely heard, and his sister prodded him to repeat it louder. “Yes, Halig? Go on.”
“I beg your forgiveness, Earther. I often speak my emotions before thinking.”
“That is better.” Haelee said with feeling. “Annie, this is my twin brother, Halig. Halig, this is Annie Wren. She too, loves music.”
At that, the boy raised his head and looked at her with obvious disbelief. “You do? Do you play an instrument on Earth?”
Annie nodded. “Yes—at least…I used to. I’ve played the violin since I was seven.”
“Vi-oh-lin? I know that word, I just cannot place it at the moment,” he said.
“The violin is a stringed instrument which has a soundbox and strings made of catgut or steel attached to it.”
“Yes…”
“The strings can be tightened for tuning. There’s also a bow—a stick of wood that’s specially treated so that it’s firm but flexible. On the bow are long strands that have been stretched and can be tightened or loosened, using a screw at the handle end. It sounds kind of like this thing, as close as I can explain at the moment, anyway, but not quite, if you know what I mean. I really don’t know how to explain it any better.”
“That is all right. You did well enough. I think I remember now. I have done some research on Earth’s musical instruments. You have quite a few. Some are really awful, though. The sounds are grating and clashing—most unsettling, if you ask me.”
“Nobody asked you, Halig. Keep your comments about Earth to yourself,” his sister admonished. She smiled at Annie. “Are you hungry? We can go to the galley and have a meal, if you would like.”
Suddenly Annie did feel hungry. In fact, she was ravenous. She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. “As a matter of fact, I am pretty empty. I hadn’t realized it until you mentioned eating. What is the food like? Is it anything like what we have on Earth? Will it agree with me?”
“Probably not,” Halig snorted. His sister shot him a warning look. He amended his statement. “I mean, it will probably be different, but you will like it. Well, most of it, anyway. You might not care for lakka—I certainly do not. It tastes like chaghth mixed with…”
“Halig. Enough.”
“Okay, okay. I was just trying to be helpful. Do not behave like a mother tahl, Haelee. I just did not want her to vomit in the mess hall and become embarrassed, that is all.”
“What’s ch—uh—chaghth?” Annie wrinkled her nose.
Halig grinned. “It is something you might step in while wa…”
“Halig.”
“Oh, hosh, yourself, Haelee. You are not my mother.”
The three left Haelee’s quarters and trouped down the corridor and into the transportation unit—they didn’t call it an elevator, but a mohtoh—where Halig jabbed out the sequence of numbers. In seconds the door swished open to reveal a large dining area, already filling with hungry crewmembers.
TWELVE
The meals were served cafeteria style. Haelee led Annie down the line, pointing out different foods that she might find to her liking. One dish in particular intrigued her. It was a fluffy pale yellow and resembled buttered mashed potatoes. She asked what it was.
“That is mahftah. It is one of my favorites. Try it. I am certain you will like it.”
Annie put a spoonful on her plate, thought about it, then added another. Behind her, Halig grinned then winked. Ignoring him, Annie let Haelee point out other dishes that might appeal to her and took generous portions of each.
They found a table in the corner of the large mess hall and plopped down on the narrow, but surprisingly comfortable, chairs. Before picking up a utensil, both Haelee and her brother closed their eyes and hummed a simple melody.
Annie’s forehead puckered. “What were you just doing?” she asked.
Haelee smiled. “Hahlmahnahtah. Let me see…yes. You would call it prayer, I think.”
“Oh.” Annie was so surprised that she couldn’t come up with anything other than ‘oh’ to say. Mentally, she kicked herself. Was she so narrow-minded that she thought only people on Earth prayed or believed in God? “That’s…nice,” she said aloud and cringed at how lame that sounded.
“Earthers do not believe in the Infinite One?” Halig asked with a hint of a sneer in his voice.
“The Infinite One? Well, yeah—at least, some of us do, only we call Him God or Yahweh or Allah. I just didn’t know that you guys did—uh, believe in God, I mean.”
“Pah.” Halig snorted. “We are far more devout than you Earthers ever were. We treat all people with justice and equality and we have not had a war on our world for…” He glanced at his sister for support.
“Um, I believe it has been something like three thousand of your Earth years.” Haelee finished for him.
Annie’s eyes widened. “Three thousand years? Wow, that’s a record.”
“Yes, and we are quite proud of it, too.” The tall boy said smugly. “You Earthers have a war going on all the time. You are always angry at someone and killing and destroying everything in sight. But your music is so bad it is no wonder. What you call ‘music’ is nothing but loud clashing and is very unsettling. Your physicians need to do something about your ears.”
His sister glared at him for a second then smiled at Annie. “I love some of your Earth music. One of my favorite composers is Ed-vard Grie-g. I have learned several pieces from his Peer Gynt Suite.”
“Edvard Grieg? I like him, too.” Annie said with enthusiasm. “I can play To Spring on my violin. Yes, I think he’s a good example of how great our music can be.”
“Pah.” Halig again spat out in contempt. “Who do you think put the notes and measures—the music—into his head?”
Annie turned to glower at him, a spoonful of mahftah halfway to her mouth. “You aren’t trying to make me believe that you people did, are you? Because if you are, I’m telling you right now that it isn’t true. Everything we Earthers have accomplished, we’ve done by ourselves. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, I hear you, but you are wrong. My people inspired many of the wonders you take for granted.”
“Oh, yeah? Name one.”
“That is easy. The pyramids, for one thing. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon for another. And, how about The Mausoleum at Hali—uh, Halicarnassus? Not to mention fire, the wheel, and—”
Before Annie could protest, Haelee gave her brother a mild punch on the arm. “Halig. Stop it.”
“Why? It is true and you know it. Why should this Earther not know the real story? She should know that places like Machu Picchu and The Valley of the Kings and Atlantis were inspired by our technology.” His sister’s reproving stare pierced right through him and, after a brief battle of clashing eyes, he lowered his. “Okay…I will keep my thoughts to myself. I am sorry, Annie…but it is true.” His voice had dropped on the last phrase, but the girls heard him, nevertheless.
“Oohh, Halig, you are impossible.” Haelee exclaimed.
Annie, instead of being angry with her young host’s twin brother, had the sudden urge to laugh. In fact, the giggles started bubbling up inside, and she couldn’t suppress them. She laughed. Halig watched her for a moment in chagrin.
“I-I’m s-sorry, H-Halig, but you-you should see y-your face when you-when you get all worked up.” Annie guffawed, almost falling off her chair. The crewmen sitting nearby watched in amusement.
Halig’s eyes darted from one girl to the other and then he laughed, too. Haelee had no choice but to laugh with them. When Annie’s laughs took a sudden
turn into racking sobs, both twins were shocked and alarmed.
Annie had lost all control of her confused, overwrought emotions. She pushed a hand up to her mouth to stifle the loud hiccuping sobs, but they broke through anyway. Before either Haelee or her brother could think what to do, a tall, slender woman, wearing a light pink jumpsuit, her dark blue hair tied in a ponytail hanging below her knees, hurried over to their table. Gently, she coaxed Annie from her chair and guided her out of the mess hall.
Haelee and Halig followed. The woman, her arm around Annie’s shoulder, led her down the corridor to a wide door several yards away from the galley. Giving a six-inch square panel on the wall a light slap, she waited for the wide door to slide open and then ushered the still-weeping girl through.
“Sit down, child. Hosh, hosh, all is well,” she soothed.
Haelee and her brother stood by the door and watched, eyes round with concern. When the door opened behind them, they stepped aside. It was their father, Craddohk Draehl. He walked over to Annie and placed a large hand on her shoulder.
“What is this? Little One, you must not cry so. Everything will be fine. Do not worry. You will make yourself ill.”
The woman was fiddling with a small, rectangular device at a nearby table. Five seconds later, she bent over Annie, and pressed something cool and metallic against her neck. Annie felt a slight tingling and then serenity flowed through her.
The woman smiled at her captain. “She will be fine. She is overly tired and teetering on the edge of hysteria. Would you expect otherwise?”
Craddohk shook his head. “No, I would not.” He ran a large hand through his dark blue hair. “This is not going the way I would have liked.”
“No, I suppose not. But actually, she is doing better than what I expected. Captain, you are familiar with the superstitions and vanities of these people. They do not believe in sentient life anywhere but on their own world. This child has experienced what is thought to be impossible. She is doing extremely well, in my opinion.”
Centauri Serenade Page 7
