by I. Christie
"Let's try some of the betel pepper, shall we?" she said to Vanstar. Vanstar nodded.
"Trouble?" Wetfoot asked as she munched the crispy snack, that was passed around. She grimaced as she bit into a chunk of the pepper.
"My guess is about a furlough up this trail."
"Why not take another way and go around them?" Vanstar asked, shifting her pack.
"There are various guardians that protect this sacred land. This trail is what they have provided for visitors to travel over."
"So, we eat these things and just let them attack us?" Sys'mara asked unbelievingly.
"We cannot justifiably attack someone whose land we are traversing. The herb they have on the darts will not kill. We can run like a shaker tarta was after us."
Alexandra studied everyone. "Anyone not able to run?"
The others shook their heads.
"How do you know that stuff will not kill us?" Jer demanded.
"This is a lousy time for you to decide to make noise about it," Vanstar muttered.
"There is always a first," Alexandra admitted, refraining from smiling.
"It's only an aphrodisiac," Vanstar spoke bluntly, taking a liking to the alarm that showed in the men's eyes. To followers of Boyot, Vanstar knew that sex was a male controlled activity and for them to take a drug where they would lose control of themselves was unacceptable and all together frightening.
"Don't know what a shaker tarta is but, we can well guess you mean to run as fast as we can," Amonic replied, looking at Jer meaningfully.
"Good. Follow the trail and don't deviate. Lt. Vanstar will be up front and will clear the path. I'll be in the back with Cpl. Wetfoot making sure no one is left behind."
Vanstar shook her head. "Commander, Cpl. Wetfoot and Amonic can clear the road ahead. I think it's better if I stay behind with you."
"Alright," she agreed rather than argue that anywhere on the line was going to be vulnerable to darts. She waved the group to move on and noticed that E'l filed in front of her and Vanstar behind her. Cpl. Wetfoot set a fast pace which the group easily maintained. Alexandra knew it would not last long so they would have to find a resting place soon after they outran their trackers. They would only go as far as the rocky place the guardian showed her.
There was a curve in the trail and on each side was a slope with heavy brush. It was an easy spot for an ambush.
"Alright everyone, let's pick up our pace," Wetfoot passed down the line.
Alexandra felt movement around her. She heard a plant cry when a part of it's leaf was crushed under a shifting foot. A pebble was dislodged, as someone moved into a better position. Then the air stirred as a fast steady projectile moved into her space.
Alexandra's reflexes took over and her hand swatted the first dart away. Darts flew like a black cloud of insects, but surprisingly enough, none were seriously aimed at the group as they ran. Alexandra grabbed the thin figure of E'l around the waist with one arm as she collapsed, roughly moving her onto her shoulder. Her pace slowed considerably as she did not want to get her sick. Vanstar stayed close on her heels.
"Corporal, over this way," Alexandra panted, pointing at a faint animal trail. They came to a river that ran along the side of a mountain cliff and nestled comfortably between two paths. It was the opening to the grotto Evanstar had pictured for her.
"Okay, spread out and find a rock to use as protection." Alexandra laid E'l against one of the rocks near Wetfoot. Her eyes were open and from what Alexandra could tell, she was just tired.
Turning to face the grotto Alexandra let the energy of the place and Evanstar who was becoming more active guide her. She moved to the side of the cliff, just off to the left of the grotto. The change in energy was perceptible the moment she stepped over an unseen threshold. Alexandra stopped as she felt Evanstar's weight leave her. She backed up, not feeling right to remain. This was not a place for the uninvited. Meanwhile, the others were tired and she needed to find a safe place for them until Evanstar let her know what she wanted to do next.
She saw the apparition of the guardian point out a dark spot up the cliff. They all climbed unhindered to where the guardian had shown Alexandra. The dark spot in the cliff face was the entrance into a winding tunnel.
Vanstar glanced back at Alexandra suspiciously not knowing how she knew about the place, and then studied the walls of the tunnel. Jer touched the smooth wall and the subtle lighting in the tunnel dimmed. The men stopped their progress, maybe to rethink their decision to continue, but the four women walked wearily around them. The tunnel ended, opening into a great cavern. The small group halted to stare at the walls decorated with endless lines and patterns. Here also, the lighting was subtle, and its origin untraceable. A small figure that came only to Alexandra's waist approached them. It bowed slightly and faced Alexandra.
"Travelers, welcome. Please follow me and I will show you where you can freshenup before dinner."
The men were shown to one side of a hall and the women to another. When the group rejoined refreshed, their guide led them into a dinning area where their food was already being prepared on side boards.
"When you have finished your meal, the Madrad will see you. Peace be unto youall."
"I can't believe we're actually here! These are the Tajarins," Amonic explained softly with suppressed excitement.
Alexandra looked at Wetfoot for clarification.
"They are considered the spiritual guardians of the Sacred Caverns on the Holy Grounds. The Salukis provide protection of the lands on the outside and the Tajarins keep the inside of the caverns sacred. But, I don't believe these are actually the Tajarins. More than likely initiates."
"They're Tajarins. I've never known any foreigner to get this far," Jer said,
" without an invitation," he thought to himself.
"Who said we didn't have an invitation?" Vanstar grumbled, glancing Alexandra's way suspiciously.
They all found a place to sit at the table. Wetfoot bowed her head to the Tajarin that handed her a tray of food. Alexandra and Vanstar followed suit. When everyone had their food the Tajarins bowed and left the room.
"You act like you've been here before," Vanstar remarked to Wetfoot as she dipped her fork in her vegetable dish.
"No. But I've heard shamans from everywhere on this planet seek their council.
This is also one of the sacred learning centers of the People that one doesn't have to be on the Drosu path to attend," she explained. "I was elected representative of my squad so learning the culture and rules was a necessity."
Amonic leaned close to her, "Some say Drosuans are tested here for their ascent into Buddhahood."
"What is this Buddhahood?" Vanstar asked between chewing.
"It's the final step into…" Amonic stopped embarrassed, looking at the other men but they were too busy eating. He returned to his food.
"It's a level above sainthood," Wetfoot continued. "Originally Drosu meant the way of compassion. In time, Drosu came to mean the inhabitants of Allint where everyone lives the Drosu way. Queen M'Lu is both High Priestess and guardian of Allint, which all the governments on Arnica respect as the spiritual voice of this planet and in a sense, the Queen of Arnica."
"How come you know so much?" Vanstar interrupted.
"We've been here a year, Lieutenant. Wouldn't you want to know about the people where you're stationed at?"
"And the Tajarin are everyone's teacher?" Alexandra asked.
"The Queen is mortal," Wetfoot continued, "and cannot possibly be everywhere and be responsible for everything. So the Tajarins, who don't have any mundane worries, hold the knowledge of what is sainthood, Buddhahood, and any level above that. They're so uninvolved with politics that they were given guardianship over the sanctuary of the Sha'Kar."
"Sha'Kar?" Alexandra's heart stopped for a moment. All her training to shield herself and be careful of her thoughts threatened to overwhelm her.
"Yes. They're the enlightened beings that came before the
Tarjarin. They're the professed original teachers of Drosu. They attained a level above Buddhahood, which means they no longer reside in dross matter. When the Sha'Kar were ready to move into a higher level of spirituality or of being, they chose a place that radiated a special type of energy to enhance their meditation. They had assured their followers that they would return to further illuminate and teach when they had reached a perfect state. Some people make the mistake of thinking them a species, but it's a spiritual state, not the physical form you're born as."
"That's why these black soldiers are hated so much. They're rooting in their sacred mountain near the sanctuary of their saints…" Jer sniffed disdainfully, chewing noisily he swallowed and added, "We've never seen a Sha'Kar…nor any other supposed sacred person and we've traveled to a lot of places."
"Monks," Amonic disagreed. "They're everywhere acting like they're something important. They're just messengers for other messengers."
"So, you three believe that it's just local myth," Vanstar stated bluntly.
"They're children's stories nothing more." Amonic intentionally mocked the native's beliefs.
"What are the planet's authorities doing about the soldiers?" Vanstar asked.
"What would we know about their business? Our business is with these soldier's that have a death list of names. They've taken out some of our people. It's a waste of time asking for help from the natives since all they're going to do is lock them in some monastery. What kind of justice is that when they killed one of ours? We've been asking for help from your ship since it arrived," he nodded toward Wetfoot. A sneer crossed his face. "A lot of good any of your lot is."
"Why a monastery?" Vanstar asked curious.
Jer snorted disgustedly. "They don't take a life. Their great warriors, the Kiuzi, the greatest warrior class of this planet everyone says, would more than likely use their great talents to track you down and turn you over to the monks. Some warriors. You have the fire power that can knock them off the face of this damn planet. What's keeping yaw from blowing them away?"
"You know why," Wetfoot said. "Our weapons are toxic to the planet's atmosphere. And most importantly this is not our planet to do as we wish."
"Rubbish!" Jer slapped his hand on the table, then grabbed a fruit and bit into it angrily.
Alexandra studied him and then the two other men's pensive faces. E'l had no expression. She was intent on eating.
"Killing is not my thing, and as Cpl. Wetfoot pointed out, we're guests here."
"So why are you here at all?" Amonic demanded.
Their hosts chose that time to walk in, bringing desert, and bowls of scented water with small towels for each person. The men apparently did not wish to speak in front of their hosts.
Alexandra ate lightly, preoccupied with rearranging her priorities.
What am I going to do with this lot of colonists? Go check out their village first or contact the Queen of Arnica. She grinned to herself when she remembered a proverb her grandfather liked to quote, A visitor always presents herself to the head of the house before walking through the garden, least the dog be loosened. In her grandfather's case it was the vineyards whose wine he was interested in.
Turning slightly, she acknowledged the Elf that bowed slightly to her.
"The Madrid can see you at this time."
Alexandra waved Vanstar to remain. As Alexandra followed the Elf her eyes studied the art on the walls, feeling as if she was walking through an initiatory tunnel.
The designs were meant to induce further the initiates contemplation and vibration to reach the level of awareness needed to learn the lesson before them.
The meeting hall was expansive with crystal columns as a backdrop. An elder sat in a chair surrounded by cushions. Two large pillars were on either side of her, carved to look like tree trunks. Carved limbs disappeared into the ceiling, as they were part of the same stone as the cavern's wall, however the color of the ceiling and pillar were different stone.
The elder nodded toward Alexandra. Alexandra could feel energy of a different type emanating from the figure. Peaceful and serene, she waited for Alexandra to approach her. This was a holy person. Alexandra was gestured to a pillow in front of the elder. Along the wall were other figures she could not make out clearly, standing quietly.
This is a holy place.
Once Alexandra settled, a soft touch asked for admittance into her thoughts.
It felt like her visitor was looking around. There was no judgment, no reaction, only curiosity.
At the thought of disruptive visitors Alexandra got the image of soldiers dressed in dark clothing. The emotional feeling she received was not from the Madrid but the result of the energy the soldiers as a group gave off. It was unsettling the areas they entered.
Alexandra thought of the soldiers in the mountain, the colonists, and seeing the Queen. She also wondered how long it would take Evanstar to replenish her energy.
Alexandra said.
Alexandra bowed to the Madrid and rose from her pillow. Her group was waiting in another room where they had been led sometime during her session with the Madrid.
The tension in the room was noticeable.
"What did they have to say," Amonic demanded, appearing to be nervous about something.
"Yeah, what's going on? You selling us out?" Jer echoed.
"It was a private conversation, and no one is being sold out. I asked for a guide…"
"You're a fool!" Sys'mara hissed angrily. "You don't ask for favors here. There's a price to pay!"
Turning to Cpl. Wetfoot she asked in another language, "Is their village near here?"
"I don't know, Commander. Either the natives or the colonists have been able to keep us from locating their village. Some of us think it's the locals through thought.
Though, we can't figure out why they would do that since it would make more sense if we k
new where so we can do more than they on getting these creeps off their planet."
Alexandra nodded and then switched back to a language they all could understand. "The Tajarin leader is giving us a safe sleepover. Tomorrow I will speak again with their leader."
Nervously, Sys'mara looked at the others. "Just know that you're the one asking and the one that pays whatever the consequence."
Wetfoot glanced at the commander. "Are you going to be posting a guard? If not, I would like to get in some workout time before going to bed. One of the attendants told me they have a place I can use."
Vanstar looked at Alexandra expectantly.
"A guard isn't necessary." Alexandra almost added she would like a workout too but instead she gave a nod to Vanstar. She would take this time alone to get a better feel for E'l. She signed to Vanstar not to leave Wetfoot alone. The lieutenant signed back that she understood, and added she was not happy with leaving her unattended.
"I'm hitting the sack. I'm tired," she said out loud for the benefit of the others.
The men wanted to watch the two women work out but the Tarjans firmly escorted them to their own sleeping area and posted a guard outside the door when Jer objected to their segregation as isolation and against Drousan principals.
There were a dozen cots in the room the two women were shown to. Four were made up and their backpacks were sitting near the door. E'l seemed unconcerned with any of the business so far and settled on one of the prepared cots, falling to sleep quickly.
Alexandra sat cross-legged on her cot, deciding to meditate before sleeping. She had not had a chance to do that for almost a stan year, unless sleeping in a pod can be likened to meditating, but she doubted that. She could not remember anything of her year long trip not even lessons she may have had while in a dream state.
Quiet, Alexandra. Just let go. Breathe.
As her thoughts stilled she could feel an awareness around her. It was a gentle power that infused a sense of peace and extraordinary energy to her inner core. Suddenly, the looked for presence was there.
Her heart expanded. Tears accumulated behind her lids. Something gently held her back from making a stronger contact as if warning her to say no more. But already she knew that Jina Geri, Colonel Zohra, her soulmate and lover, had arrived! Opening her eyes she blinked the tears away. It was now only a matter of time before they would be reunited. Tired, she crawled under the covers, falling asleep quickly with a smile on her lips.
