With these words he pointed with a magician's flourish that rustled his robes towards the two humanoids. The corner brightened enough for Cho to distinctly recognize the two human beings. One of the two was definitely of Argon origin – tall and narrow with thin, grey hair on his head and clothed in the traditional Argon fashion. The second one was half a head shorter, with short, black hair and he looked very muscular and strong for a human. Cho immediately noticed something else – his clothes. They looked like a uniform of some sort, but not that of the Argon military or their Secret Service or indeed the careless fashion of the Goner. It was light blue with a patch on his right arm depicting a four-limbed being over a stylised galaxy background, circled by an unintelligible Argon script.
Was this perhaps the crew of the alien ship? No, this could not be. Why should the Priest Duke confide in him, let him into the secret of the jump-ship? If the alien vessel had really come from a completely unknown part of the universe, why did it have a crew of human beings? No! No, that could not be the answer!
The taller Argon solemnly nodded toward Cho, while the other peered at him with undisguised curiosity. After a carefully measured pause the Priest Duke spoke again, cutting off the strange Argon, as he was about to speak. The Argon closed his mouth again with a frustrated, but at the same time patient look on his face.
"Make the acquaintance of Ban Danna, the Ambassador of our unholy allies, the Argon. Also make the acquaintance of Captain Kyle William Brennan, our guest from far away, the pilot of the heretofore unknown space craft, of which the Commonwealth of the Planets for some time has eagerly sought!"
"The significant anomaly," the Argon Ban Danna casually tossed into the conversation. The pilot of the alien space ship obviously did not understand the meaning of this phrase, just as Cho did not either, as he cast an inquiring glance towards Ban Danna. Even the Paranid eyed the Argon for a split second with unsteady pupils; apparently this comment had taken the wind out of his sails for a moment.
The man from the alien spacecraft used this moment to make a slight bow and address Cho "I am pleased to finally get to know a Split. Although you people made it a bit difficult for me."
"Why should we want to make it easier for you, human? It was not us who needed help, it was you."
Kyle seemed to grimace, which the Split interpreted as an almost hysterical fit of laughter. "It's always shoot first and ask questions later with you people isn't it? Your allies and friends, especially the Boron, see things differently."
"The horrible Boron creatures are not friends of the Split, Human!"
The human tapped his forehead in an unintelligible gesture. "Of course, I should have thought of that myself."
Cho felt his anger rising again. Keep still, he willed himself!
Ban Danna said a few conciliatory words to the man from Earth. "Brennan, I cannot justify the behaviour of the Split. But the races of the Commonwealth are all different and despite all that, the balance of forces works well. Sure, it's not perfect but it is good enough. You will understand this after being here for a little while."
The pilot just nodded. "We'll see."
Cho decided to ignore from now on this insolent descendant of the soft human race. Soon he would have the chance to interrogate Brennan and if he was as delicate as the Argon and Goner he would be delighted to answer any questions he chose to forcefully ask. The lips of the Split formed a hard thin line.
"Unholy creatures and beings!" said the Priest Duke who had followed the exchange silently. The Paranid had no disposition and concept of irony, sarcasm, cynicism or any other form of humour, so it was questionable if he had caught the subtle connotations at all. He did though, notice the wall of mistrust and hostility building brick by brick between the Split and the humans and made a doomed attempt to smash it down. "We all have our function in the Space of the Three Dimensions and Time. So listen to the mission we will assign to thee in the name of Our Holy Pontifex."
Cho, being a Split, did not take well to either the tone or the substance of his words. No one gave Inmanckarselt the right to order him around, even if he had turned up unwanted, unannounced and with larceny in his heart. He was the Ambassador of the Patriarch of Chin no less, and he would have his revenge. But to his own frustration, he didn't have any arguments to show the Paranid his limits.
"An agreement with the Argon Government provides that we will escort our guest, Kyle William Brennan from the planet Earth, to the main planet of the Human, to Argon Prime. Ban Danna is to accompany him there, on your ship, the Bone Scout"
Cho growled angrily. Surely he had not heard that correctly? He made the sign for "absolute and definitive refusal" but before he could speak the two humans began blithering simultaneously.
"I will accompany Brennan aboard a Paranid escort!" asserted Ban Danna. It seemed to him to be the safest way home for him and the pilot from Earth, even if it was not in strict accord with Senator Nan Gunnar's orders.
"Actually, until now it was agreed Danna would be onboard of a Paranid ship," said Kyle, who in principle wouldn't object to Danna being onboard the X; but he surmised a feint in the deviating statement of the Priest Duke.
"Do you dare to object, creatures!" roared the Paranid arching his long back menacingly.
"No human will board a warship of the mighty Split except as a slave!" Cho interrupted raging.
"Eminence, I really must insist, in the name of my Government, we stick to the terms of our agreement." Ban Danna could very well understand why Kyle did not want him to be on board the X, he'd have done the same thing himself. He folded his arms across his chest resolutely and fixed the Paranid, who still stood the menacing stance of a praying mantis, with a challenging glare.
A long pause followed and the Priest Duke realised the disagreement was on the brink of flaring into an all-out argument. Then the three unholy creatures would try to leave the room, possibly the station too, which in the case of the alien pilot could not be allowed to happen. He'd have to kill all of them right on the spot. On the other hand, if he gave into their demands it would thwart his plan to unobtrusively do away with the Argon and the Split and take the unholy strange alien to Paranid Prime. In the former case he'd suffer a severe loss of face before the whole Commonwealth and he'd plunge into disgrace with the Pontifex as well. In the latter there'd be a local loss of face with these three unholy creatures. The decision in its narrow two-dimensionality was painful, but there was really no choice.
"Then so be it! We decide herewith in the light of Our Glory to comply with the wishes of the human creatures. The arrangements will be adhered to word for word and the ramifications of the many more dimensional possibilities will be ignored." Inmanckarselt made a sweeping gesture with the seam of his richly embroidered robe. "You are all dismissed until further notice - but keep yourself available!" With these words the hidden light source tracing his every movement faded and the spindly Paranid melted into the semidarkness. The huge door opened with a soft hiss. The two heavily armed guards were still on station.
There were still a few things Kyle urgently wanted to discuss with the Argon, Ban Danna, but not in earshot of any aliens, even if they lacked the insight to follow the body language and subtleties of tone and intonation that enriched human speech with layers of meaning. He needed to get him alone, which was a bit difficult, as they'd not known each other long enough for any trust to build.
For now, and his growling stomach ensured it was no secret, he needed to eat.
"Danna, you said something about a canteen earlier?"
The Argon nodded. "With the best Argon food, shock-frozen on Montalaar!"
"Tempting – will they thaw it for me or will I have to suck it?"
The Argon Secret Service Agent grinned as the door slid shut behind them. "It's not half bad, you'll see. Guards – we want to eat!"
The Paranid did not even look at Danna. "Only in our company," one of them replied. "Follow us."
"Follow us?" mumbled Kyle. "As if we
had a choice!"
CHAPTER 32
Even though the argono-romanic character set has become the prominent form of script in the Commonwealth, its associated language (ancient English) has faded to near insignificance. Today, it is understood only by a few minorities. Still growing in popularity though is ancient Neo-Japanese, which has meanwhile reached the consecrations of a Lingua Franca on the interstellar trading routes.
Encyclopaedia of Knowledge
172. Edition, Argon Prime 538 z.t.
Cho t'Nnt's patience had been stretched to its limits by now and then some way beyond. All he wanted to do was get back to his ship and start shooting. That would calm him down, just thinking about it ignited a warm glow of satisfaction in his stomach and that would have to do, for now.
He followed the humans and the guards down the corridor to the Outer World Cantina. It catered for all species both in dishes and in settings. There were the high tables favoured by the lanky Paranid, Teladi benches as well as squat tables and chairs suitable for humans. Cho took a place near the back wall where he could keep an eye on the Argon, the alien and the entrance.
The Earth pilot with the name of Brennan said something to the Argon and both were laughing when food rose up the lift built into the centre of their table. The Earth human fell on his like a beast and a few moments later Ban Danna's appeared. He removed the lid and seemed to revel in the aroma.
In the name of Thuruk's beard! Didn't he have far better things to do than to watch these two chewing creatures?
A Paranid standing with a group of others at one of the high tables, near the two humans, bent down to the alien pilot and apparently said something. Kyle ignored him and continued eating. The Paranid repeated himself and gave Kyle's shoulder a slight nudge. Cho would have been going for throats by this time but the two guards just watched impassively. Kyle also remained still. Danna must have said something because the Paranid started to bend his back angrily. The other Paranid in the group, who until this point had not taken part in this incident stopped eating and turned towards the two human beings. Cho noticed Kyle slowly place his spork beside his plate and exchange a few words with Ban Danna. The Argon frowned and seemed to be trying to calm the pilot. Naturally, the Ambassador of the Argon knew it would be deadly to be involved in a fight with the Paranid, a fact Kyle apparently had not yet learned.
The bony Three-Eyed one gave the pilot another, harder shove. Ban Danna shouted, "Brennan don't!" but Kyle stood and turned towards the Paranid, who stood several heads taller. Ban Danna leapt to his feet as well. Their Paranid guards did not move.
Cho felt a certain respect for the pilot of the alien spacecraft then. He had been patient but he was clearly no coward! Cho jumped to his feet as well; he could not allow Brennan to get killed. He hurried across to the human table.
"…is a one dimensional point!" he heard the Paranid snarl. The Three-Eyed spread his multi jointed bony arms getting ready to embrace Kyle. Cho knew this kind of 'hug' - the skeletal arms of the Paranid were incredibly powerful and because of the leverage afforded by their several joints, they could crush almost any creature mercilessly to their death.
"Stop!" Cho shouted and knocked the arm of the Paranid away. Simultaneously the Paranid's companions stooped into an attack stance and finally the guards took notice, dropping into an attack crouch themselves.
"The Pontifex and the Priest Duke Inmanckarselt would not like it if these unholy creatures came to suffer any harm!" shouted Cho.
The Paranid turned hissing to Cho. "Split, who are you who dares utter such heretic words!"
"I am the Special Envoy and Ambassador of the Patriarch of Chin! I will report this directly to Pontifex Maximus Paranidia who I will see shortly at the order of the Priest Duke of this station!"
"The creature speaks the truth," said one of the guards, as if only now recognizing him. The effect of this sentence on the enraged Paranid was surprising. He stood up straight and mumbled something like "Forgive me", made a bow and turned straight back to his meal as if nothing had happened. His friends did the same.
Cho was close to having a raving fit by this point. He had been belittled in the presence of the whole canteen – Argon, Teladi, Paranid and other Split – so very humiliated, while they pretended to obey the orders of the Priest Duke and his Pontifex! And he had placed himself in deadly danger for what, to safeguard the life of this worthless Brennan creature? How much more humiliation would he have to take before the Patriarch took him off this ungrateful assignment and gave him another, worthy of his position?
Brennan placed his hand on the Split's shoulder and said "Thank you."
The Split violently shrugged the hand off. "He doesn't touch me! He doesn't think this business is finished!" Cho did not look further at the perplexed human but turned immediately around and marched with quick steps toward the exit. Not a sezura longer would he have been able to put up with this shame - he had to return immediately to the Bone Scout, before anything else happened! Boiling with rage the Split pushed his way between tables, kicking over a chair and shoving an elderly Goner, bedecked in a brown hooded frock, violently to the side.
The Goner avoided Cho as best as he could. He stopped at Danna's and Brennan's table, both of whom were just now sitting down again. Under the suspicious gaze of the guards he spoke softly to the Pilot. The Paranid didn't understand what was said – and Danna, to his utter surprise, didn't understand a word either! Brennan on the other hand, looking surprised as he did, apparently understood every word, and answered the Goner in the same language.
Cho t'Nnt risked a quick glance over his shoulder as he stormed from the canteen and saw the old Goner sit down with the two humans. Whatever they had to talk about could only be idle gossip, unworthy of a Split such as himself. He headed to his shuttle and the Bone Scout.
One stazura later the alien jump-ship was released from the station's docking bay. Its retro thrusters flared dark blue and almost invisible, as it backed off slowly, to join up with the Paranid cordon that was supposedly accompanying it to Argon Prime. Only Cho was certain it wouldn't. The Paranid were up to something, they would not let the prize go now that it had so conveniently fallen into their bony clutches.
The Argon knew it too - why else had Ban Danna insisted on being on board a Paranid ship? The Three-Eyes had consistently tried to hide their activities but would the presence of an Argon Ambassador on board and the arrangement with the Argon Government be sufficient to keep them from doing what they wanted to do? Definitely not!
"The jump ship is launching, master!"
"I am not blind!"
"I am sorry master," apologised the pilot undaunted. Being snapped at he could handle, it was his commander's uneasy silences that strained his nerves.
The Earth ship seemed to be little more than a small and insignificant personal transporter with aerodynamic styling and wings for atmospheric flight. It had a sleek elegance the ships of the Commonwealth lacked and it's fluid form and construction suggested an advanced manufacturing technology. But nothing on the ship looked dangerous or out of the ordinary. If this ship had been presented to Cho as a new construction of Argon engineers he would never have questioned it. That this tiny orbiter could conquer the vast distances of the Universe without jump-gates seemed inconceivable, regardless of what the data said.
On the gravidar, the Envoy of the Patriarch watched as a few destroyers of the Paranid fleet left the convoy to build an absolutely geometrically perfect formation for the Earth ship to slot into. According to the mission order data, which the Bone Scout had received only a few mizuras ago, Cho's ship was supposed to be the rear guard. It was not a position he liked and he planned to break away from the formation once the convoy was far enough away from Priest's Pity.
His onboard computer confirmed the course that had just been transmitted to him. The route led all the way through the God Realm of Paranid, after which it crossed into Argon territory, ending at Argon Prime. The next jump would consequent
ly lead into the sector Priest Rings. The respective jump-gate was on the opposite side of the sun; the projected route was laid out accordingly, also taking into consideration the vast gravitational pull of the star.
But something was not quite right. Cho checked his gravidar and asked his pilot to re-plot the course the alien jump-ship was supposed to take.
"Pha can you confirm the course of the target ship?"
The pilot answered instantly. "its course leads straight through the corona of the sun, master."
By now even the Paranid realised that something was amiss and the just forming convoy broke off again, its ships making a dive for the small alien ship.
Cho suddenly realised the Earth pilot had reached a similar conclusion to his own: The Paranid had no intention of letting him reach Argon Prime. But Cho doubted Kyle could make it through the several Paranid sectors ahead. They would intercept him, forcefully if need be.
Several of the destroyers indeed fired missiles at the jump-ship, but they exploded with no effect when their targeting computers realised they wouldn't be able to reach their pre-programmed target. The speed of the Earth ship left them floundering in its wake, accelerating so fast only a message drone or laser fire could have caught it. The Three-Eyes came to the same conclusion and their lasers opened fire.
By that time though the alien ship was out of range, but according to his pilot's calculations it would melt in the sun's corona in two or three stazuras. Or would it…?
Cho demanded an update on the alien's course, taking into account the current acceleration. By the beard of… The alien ship would be racing through the blazing hell of the sun's corona so quickly that its hull temperature wouldn't reach critical. Even though the ship's shields were comparably weak, they'd very likely keep up with it. What was more, the projection showed that the path of the alien jump-ship would cross that of the jump-gate in exactly two stazuras and eighty-three mizuras – a stunt its pursuers would by no means be able to emulate. With the much less rapid acceleration of the Bone Scout and the Paranid vessels, the jump-gate would be behind the sun by the time they'd reach it. So they had to lay out a new trajectory – and even the most promising one for them would demand close to six stazuras!
Farnham's Legend: The beginning of the X-Universe saga (X Games Book 1) Page 25
