by C H Gideon
The blur of names was difficult for Jiya to keep up with, made worse by the fact that all of the Muultu looked quite similar due to the degenerative effects of the atmosphere. There was little to tell any of the council apart save for the clothing they wore, and even that was similar, down to the shiny red sashes they displayed, which started at their shoulders and draped across their chests to their waists.
Fortunately, each of the council had an identifying crest embroidered on their sleeves, which Jiya assumed were family crests since both of the Gows displayed the same one.
“Forgive my bluntness, Emperor,” Reynolds said, “but I’d like to know that Takal is well before we go any further.”
The emperor chuckled, looking almost jovial for a moment. “Of course.”
He motioned to a guard standing out of sight behind the row of chairs, and the soldier went to one of the doors at the back of the room. He pulled the door open and waved. A moment later, Takal appeared, grinning. He and the guard made their way over, the soldier stepping away to let Takal walk the last few meters alone.
“I knew you’d find your way to me soon enough.” He laughed as he joined the crew.
Jiya embraced him, taking a moment to examine the old inventor before letting him go. “Geroux will kill me if I don’t make sure you’re okay,” she told him.
“I’m fine,” Takal told her, patting her hand reassuringly. He turned to the emperor and the others. “His Imperial Majesty has been nothing but a gentleman since I’ve been here.”
“Good to hear,” Reynolds said, returning his attention to the emperor. “Thank you for that.”
The emperor nodded again, but his pleasant expression had faded. “You are most welcome, but I have to ask what brings you to our system? It is not often that we have visitors passing through.”
Jiya glanced at Reynolds, wondering what he’d tell the emperor.
They had come to the planet chasing information on Jora’nal and the would-be god, Phraim-‘Eh, but she didn’t think that’d be the best thing to open with.
“We have a couple of purposes for being in your system,” Reynolds replied, playing the role of politician, every word smooth. “The first of which is to open trade between us and the populated worlds within this galaxy to create a safe haven for our ship so we can restock and make any necessary repairs as we go about our mission.”
“And your other purpose?” the emperor pressed.
Reynolds paused for a moment.
“We’ve come following a lead to a cult that has engaged us multiple times, putting my ship and crew in harm’s way. We seek information on their whereabouts.”
Jiya was shocked to hear him speak the truth so plainly.
“A cult?” Krol Gow asked, eyes narrowed. “What is the name of this cult you seek?”
“They call themselves the Cult of Phraim-‘Eh,” Reynolds replied.
The emperor shrugged at the name, as did the majority of the council behind him, but Jiya saw one of the females stiffen, eyes widening for an instant before she got her expression under control.
It was Aht Gow, the emperor’s sister.
Jiya cast furtive glances her way to keep from staring outright, but Aht mastered her surprise so quickly that Jiya wondered if she had imagined it.
“I know of no such cult on our world,” Emperor Krol Gow stated. “We are an isolated system with little to offer travelers in the way of resources or tourism, hence our need to protect what we have so fiercely. There is no reason for such a cult to come here.”
Except for that isolated part, Jiya thought. That alone made Muultar the perfect location to recruit disciples. Who wouldn’t want to leave this burning rubbish pile of a planet?
“We don’t believe the cult has been established here,” Reynolds went on. “However, we think it might well be a recruiting ground. We’re certainly not accusing your government of anything.”
Krol Gow nodded his understanding. “I didn’t think you were, but I don’t believe it would be possible for such wayward efforts to germinate here. Our people are focused on survival and making the most of what we’ve been given. To spend time and energy on the frivolous pursuit of a foreign religion seems…absurd when there are so many other concerns to occupy the people’s time.”
“I understand,” Reynolds conceded, “but so you know, we recently stumbled across a number of your people who were involved in the cult. They operated against us openly in the Krokus system, so it’s best you be aware.”
“I will look into it personally, I can assure you,” the emperor promised. “If we are to be unwittingly dragged into a war between these cultists and your Federation, I want to know all I can about such possibilities.”
“The Federation has no designs to war on peaceful nations,” Reynolds assured the emperor. “We’re not here to start a fight, only to track down those responsible for recent attacks upon us.”
“That’s good to know,” Krol Gow replied. “As for us, we have no interest in being used as anyone’s pawns, nor forced to fight a battle that holds no advantage for us.”
Reynolds acceded to the obvious truce, but it was clear he wasn’t done yet.
“Have you heard of a being named Jora’nal?” the AI questioned. “He is an alien who masqueraded as a Loranian.”
Once again, Jiya saw Aht Gow twitch, and this time, she was sure of it.
She knows something.
Jiya shifted slightly to get a clearer view of the emperor’s sister, but once more she had reined in her surprise and presented the stoic pose of the rest of the advisory council.
“I have not heard the name,” the emperor answered, shaking his head. “I will add it to my inquiry. As for the other reasons for your arrival, those are topics I can discuss with some certainty.” The emperor smiled.
Reynolds returned the smile.
“As I said before, we have little to offer that might interest a race of beings as advanced as you, but with some conversation, we may be able to find things that might be mutually beneficial.” Krol Gow took a step forward. “What do you have to offer in return?”
Jiya could tell Reynolds liked the guy. He went straight to the point.
“We have a level of technology that can make the lives of you and your people better here on Muultar. We also have people who might be able to modify your atmospheric shield to make things more comfortable here.”
Jiya stifled a grin when Reynolds didn’t announce that it was Takal he was talking about. No point in dangling the inventor in front of them, seeing as how they had just released him.
Reynolds laid out a few of the advances he had to trade, avoiding, as usual, any mention of the more sophisticated technologies such as the Pod-docs, the Gate drives, or the nanocytes. The latter Jiya only knew by name and reputation.
“I would need to confer with my council before I make any final decisions, of course,” the emperor said.
“Of course,” Reynolds replied.
Krol Gow gestured to the guard who had retrieved Takal. “Find our guests comfortable accommodations and have the servants see to their needs,” he commanded before turning back to the crew. “Please, follow the guard to your quarters and make yourselves at home. I will reach out to you as soon as I have had time to speak with my people.”
“Thank you,” the AI answered. “We look forward to treating with you.”
The emperor nodded and moved off with his advisors while the crew was ushered back through the massive doors and down the hall.
Jiya kept a careful eye on the emperor’s sister until she was out of sight, and she caught the female staring back before the doors were closed.
The emperor might not know what was going on, but Jiya had no doubt they were in the right place.
Chapter Five
“This is some serious déjà vu,” Maddox muttered as the crew were led into a host of suites to the side of the royal compound.
“Only in a rather austere way,” Takal added, glancing around the stone
and steel room. “Our hosts have quite the stout sensibility.”
Reynolds raised a hand, calling for the crew’s silence. He traipsed around the edges of the joined rooms, examining everything as he made his circuit. A few minutes later, he came back and gave them the okay.
“Did you really think they’d have listening devices or cameras in such a backwater place like this?” Jiya asked.
Reynolds shook his head. “No, but I did expect there to be viewing ports or secret passages that would allow the emperor’s people to listen in and observe us.” He shrugged. “I’m a bit surprised not to find any, to be honest.”
“So, you think Gol Ato was bluffing when he implied the emperor was foul-tempered and cruel?” Maddox asked.
“I believe he is a bit in awe of us,” Reynolds admitted. “It’s clear the Muultu are not technologically advanced, and I think the emperor is smarter than to bluff when we know their capabilities. He’s not looking to make enemies of people who can destroy him without much effort. A direct confrontation with us doesn’t benefit him.”
“Did you see how his sister reacted to the talk about the cultists?” Jiya wondered.
Reynolds nodded. “I saw her flinch, both when the cult was mentioned and when Jora’nal’s name was brought up. She knows something.”
“I wonder if the emperor does, too?” Jiya mused.
“He doesn’t appear to, but then again, he might just be an accomplished liar,” Reynolds went on. “I don’t believe so, though.”
“He seemed quite forthright to me,” Takal stated, “although we didn’t discuss politics or anything beyond our general purpose here in the system and answering a few questions regarding our technical capabilities, which I limited to generalities,” he assured the AI. “I spent more time with the guard Pal We than I did the emperor or his council, admittedly.”
“And you didn’t hear anything from him, did you?” Reynolds asked.
Takal shook his head. “Only that we were waiting for you to arrive. They treated me kindly but left me in the dark. I only knew you’d shown up when Pal We came to fetch me.”
Reynolds grunted. So far, they had little to work with. That frustrated him.
The cultist had led them to Muultar for a reason. He wondered if maybe they were being led into a trap, or if the cultist they’d captured had told them about Phraim-‘Eh and Jora’nal as a distraction, something for them to waste their time on instead of tracking down the truth.
He didn’t think that was the case, either.
The cultist was a fanatic, obviously. Reynolds didn’t believe him capable of anything but blind devotion to his god and leaders. After all, he had killed himself to avoid revealing more than he already had in his frothing rant.
He didn’t strike Reynolds as being capable of subtlety.
When the room had quieted, Maddox went over and flopped into a seat and groaned. “At least this is better than that last place we were holed up in,” he announced, grinning as he leaned back in the chair. “Minus the food and the whole rebellion part.”
“Speaking of your feeling of déjà vu,” Reynolds said, “I think it time to reach out to the rest of the crew and see how things are going.”
Jiya nodded and activated her comm. “Hey, Geroux. Did your team make it down to Muultar okay?”
The young tech came back a moment later. “No problems at all. You were right; the planet doesn’t have any tech remotely advanced enough to detect a cloaked Pod, especially not in that maelstrom out there that they call their atmosphere. We didn’t even catch a hint of scanners pinging us.”
“Where are you now?” Reynolds asked.
“The Pod is parked in a vacant corner of the landing field, not far from where yours is. San Roche is on standby in it, and he reports that no one has approached L’Eliana since you left.
“We followed you to the royal palace, or whatever they call that monstrosity of rock and metal you’re in. I’m kind of surprised that the comms work as well as they do, given all the natural interference of the building. It’s probably that atmospheric barrier clearing up the signal.”
“No need to analyze it. Just be grateful they do,” Maddox commented.
Reynolds grinned at a plan well concocted and enacted.
Jiya had suggested the remainder of the crew—Asya, Geroux, Ka’nak, and San Roche—follow them down in the cloaked Pod, much as they had done on Krokus-1 recently. Given the lower level of tech displayed by the Muultu, she determined they could meet with the emperor and see how things went while having a small crew back them up, just in case.
With no idea what they were walking into, it had seemed the smart play.
“We had a bit of trouble keeping up with you through town, with so many people and soldiers out and about. This place is crowded for being such a toasty hellhole. Fortunately, the streets are barren. I didn’t see a single vehicle the whole way except the one that carted you in.”
“See anything weird on your way through Ulf?” Maddox asked.
“Besides people who look like they’ve spent too much time up close and personal with a leaky nuke?”
“Yes, besides that.” Maddox chuckled.
“If you’re asking if we saw any obvious cult activity, then no, we didn’t,” Geroux answered. “The Muultu seem to be relaxed with regards to their condition, but citizens who were obviously not born here all dress more or less the same, wearing loose, draping outfits that cover all but their faces. There’s no uniformity to the clothing other than trying to ward off the heat and radiation.”
“The place seems pretty open if a bit subdued,” Asya added. “What conversations we overheard as we walked cloaked through the city were mundane, people talking about work, politics, and the daily grind. Damn boring, if you ask me.”
“So, no one mentioned any secret plans or cult meetings, mass sacrifices, or planetary coups?” Jiya joked.
“I wish,” Asya replied. “That would make this far more interesting, not to mention easier.”
“I also didn’t see any propaganda or graffiti or anything posted around the place,” Geroux went on. “Either the rulers have an iron fist, or folks are content with their lives here and are willing to toe the imperial line.”
Jiya shrugged at the comment, but Reynolds didn’t know what was the case either.
So far, he’d had little indication that Emperor Krol Gow was a tyrant, but there were some signs of authoritarian rule. Still, that wasn’t any of Reynolds’ business. He wasn’t in this galaxy to redefine planetary politics. He was in search of Kurtherians.
Regardless, while he and the rest of the crew dealt with the emperor, he needed the others to be his eyes and ears on the outside.
“One of the emperor’s advisors—his sister actually—acted strangely when we brought up Phraim-‘Eh and his cult and that rusty prick, Jora’nal,” Reynolds said. “I’d like you to stake out the building and see if she leaves.”
“She’s wearing a long sandy-brown dress that does nothing to offset her melted face,” Jiya added with an amused grin.
“That’s helpful,” Asya commented.
“She’s wearing a red sash over her shoulder, and she has a crest patch on her arm. It looks like a bird with flaming wings surrounded by a black circle.”
“A phoenix,” Reynolds clarified.
“So, a bird with wings that are on fire?” Asya shot back. “Gotcha.”
“You people are making me agree with Tactical, and I don’t appreciate it,” Reynolds grunted. “Mandatory Earth studies are next on the list of things to do.”
“Boo,” Maddox joked. “If Earth were so damn important, it’d be the center of the universe.”
“Does it help that many people living there believe it is?” Reynolds fired back, grinning.
“Not really, no,” Maddox answered, leaning back in his seat.
Reynolds conceded for the moment. “Keep an eye out for the sister, Asya, and let us know if you see anything you think we need to know about.
I don’t know how long we’ll be here while the emperor and his people discuss our offers, so we don’t want to miss anything important.”
“Outside of a bunch of guard traffic, you’re not missing anything,” Asya reported with a bored sigh. “There’s nothing exciting going on around here.”
“That just means our enemy is doing a good job of hiding their efforts on Muultar,” Reynolds countered. “Stay vigilant, and remain in contact. We don’t want to lose comms.”
“Roger that,” Asya replied, closing the connection.
“So, what do we do now?” Jiya asked.
“We wait,” Reynolds replied.
“And nap,” Maddox added, letting his head loll on the back of the couch. He was unconscious a moment later.
“It must be nice to be able to sleep anywhere.” Jiya moaned, watching the general, still amazed that he had crashed so easily.
“It’s a soldier thing,” Reynolds told her with a shrug. “When there’s an opportunity for soldiers to squeeze in a nap, they do.”
“I’m so jealous,” Jiya complained, listening to her crewmate snore.
She’d never been able to simply pass out on command, but she wished she could. Of course, with all the damn snoring, she didn’t figure she would have slept well anyway.
“You trust this Krol Gow?” she asked Reynolds, looking for a distraction.
He shook his head. “No more than I do any of the leaders we come across,” he admitted. “In this case, though, because there are no obvious Kurtherian energy signatures emanating from the planet, I believe he might well be in the dark as to what’s going on.”
“Even with his sister being involved?”
“We don’t know that she is yet,” Reynolds answered. “She most definitely acted suspicious, but that doesn’t mean Jora’nal or Phraim-‘Eh have any real connection to the planet. She could have heard of them from another source, or maybe she travels. There are a number of reasons she could have acted the way she did.”
“You believe that?” Jiya asked.
The AI chuckled. “No, not really,” he admitted. “She was subtle about masking her reactions, but they were still too extreme to be ignored. She knows something, but I’m not sure yet how we can go about finding out.”
