“Nopileossssss!” she shouted instead, and stormed the young Teladi, contrary to every protocol, refraining from hugging him at the last moment. Instead, when she was in front of the saurian she dropped to her knees with such vehemence that she slid further forward. The Teladi toddled back a step. “Man, Nopi! Am I glad to see you… I knew that was the Nyana down there! We all thought you were dead! How long have you been back here? Why didn’t you message? How did you—how is it you—? I just can’t believe it!” The words just spilled out of her.
The thoroughly confused-looking Teladi struggled for an answer and finally interrupted Elena’s flow of speech by turning his palms up in the Teladi equivalent of a shrug and spreading his claws so that the swim webs became visible. “I am not Nopileos!” he said. “I am Isemados Sibasomos Sissandras IV, Nopileos’s egg-brother!”
Elena looked at the young Teladi in disbelief for a few moments. Then she felt her face heat up. She scrambled to her feet and stared at Sissandras strangely. “Excuse me,” she stuttered with red cheeks. She bowed briefly and turned to the CEO, who watched the incident with stunned looks. “I apologize profusely, he really looks confusingly similar to Nopileos!” Elena felt like a fool. She should have known! The direct breeding lines of the Teladi were practically genetic clones, biologically the offspring corresponded almost exactly with their egg-elders.
“Tshhhh!” hissed the CEO, now visibly embarrassed. “Well, they are the same in a manner of ssspeaking, one egg from another. But that has… reasons. And tshhh, the yacht out there looks very similar to the missing Nyana’s Fortune. Her name is Nividium Dreams. The ship originates from the same clutch.” He stopped and looked at the Argon to his left for help.
“Welcome aboard the trading station Highest Price,” she said with a charming smile. “My name is Gaseli Hort. I am a Teladish interpreter.” She shook Elena’s hand. “Do not worry, Kho-san, I am still regularly embarrassed to confuse one Teladi for another. And after serving the Company for six years.” She laughed brightly and looked unselfconsciously at the Teladi, who both nodded imperceptibly.
Elena immediately noticed that Gaseli Hort was more than just an interpreter. CEO Isemados was visibly relieved that the embarrassing situation had been diffused for him. Possibly over the course of time the sympathetic woman had taken on the role of secretary for him. Surely the outstanding, Neo-Ancient-Japanese-speaking Teladi rarely needed a translator. Most likely, Elena suspected, the actual capabilities of the Argon were mainly needed when it came to legally binding contracts between the Teladi Company and the Argon.
“Major Elena Kho,” CEO Isemados now put in a word, “you will sssurely wish to rest after the long journey. I have ssspecially arranged a cabin for you according to Argon customs, with a moist washing facility and a soft sleeping bench.
Elena listened to herself. Technically speaking, she wanted to do anything but rest! The many tazuras on board the AP Nikkonofune had significantly impacted her morale. But on the other hand she didn’t want to snub the saurian and his well-meaning gesture. “Thank you very much,” she replied, “that’s very accommodating of you.”
The head manager of the Teladi Company shook his ears in satisfaction. “Wonderful. Then I would like the pleasure of receiving you at an informational dinner in one-quarter tazura. By that time our other veritable guestsss will have also arrived.
“Veritable guests?” Elena echoed in surprise.
“Hai! You will enjoy meeting them and speaking with them. You will sssee!”
“I’ll take you to your quarters, Elena-san,” Gaseli Hort said kindly. The interpreter must have interpreted Elena’s confused expression correctly, for she added, “And your questions will be resolved later. Follow me.”
As Elena entered the conference hall four stazuras later, she felt wonderfully relaxed and rested. Although her quarters had some strange peculiarities, such as the unexplicable way the switches and controls were mounted next to the floor. But after a wozura aboard the cramped AP Nikkonofune, the station’s cabin seemed pleasantly, generously proportioned. Even her inner balance was mostly restored, and she felt strong curiosity toward what was to come, coupled with an almost euphoric drive.
She paused for a moment and looked around the great hall in wonderment. The conference room was a tube some eight meters wide and certainly over fifteen meters long, with a rounded, dark marbled table in the middle which stretched the entire length of the room. The walls were in the usual pale green and decorated with some typical Teladi images depicting tiny slugs on giant dice, as well as a bird’s eye view of colorful swamp landscapes and archipelagos. Elena didn’t want to associate these unbelievably kitschy pictures with the notoriously completely unsentimental, maniacally greedy Teladi; her lips twisted into a slight grin as she continued to move her eyes. The ceiling of the room had a window that stretched its entire length, allowing an unobstructed view of the hub of the rotating trading station. The holographic row of lights that marked the landing approach route flickered dull red: at the moment there was no ship on approach.
On the far wall of the conference room, a door opened. Elena stood rooted to the spot as two unlikely beings entered the room. They were hardly larger than small human children; their skin was pale blue. Four sturdy main tentacles grew from the torso of these remarkable creatures, and a number of thinner arms or antennae washed around them as though caught in an invisible current. The most remarkable feature of the creatures, however, was certainly their faces, dominated by giant, childlike saucer eyes as well as a long, trunk-like muzzle.
“Borons!” Elena stated, astonished.
CEO Isemados, already sitting on a Teladian standing bench in a conference room, looked up at her as though he doubted her sanity, but said nothing. Instead, with a motion of his claws and a crooked head, he motioned for her to sit on the opposite side of the table. Elena hesitated.
“I wassss told, that you already know each other,” the CEO rose to speak. “At least,” he backpedaled when he saw Elena’s face, “know our guestsss from the Kingdom End, Elena Kho.”
Elena thought hard. She did not know any Borons personally. But which Borons did she know? The answer was, of course, probably everyone. The aquatic beings were reputed to always be well-informed about the matters of their peers.
At that moment the interpreter Gaseli Hort entered the hall and cordially welcomed all present. “First of all,” she said eloquently to Elena, “let me introduce you to our guests.” She looked at the old Teladi with an inquiring, sidelong glance.
“Oh, but I insist,” he responded, answering the unspoken question.
“This is is the venerable and, uh…” said Gaseli Hort and paused for a moment, as if not quite sure about what she was yet to say, “…and funny Bala Gi,” she continued with emphasis,” the Minister for Advanced Ethics and Intra- and Interspecies Affairs. Her post is equivalent to that of a Senator for Foreign Affairs.
“Oh, brave, funny Ele Na from the distant planet Earth,” the Boron cheeped. Elena watched in fascination as the mouth at the bottom of the trunk made movements that did not match the sounds it was making. The Boron’s voice sparkled crystal clear and sounded a little like a small girl who had just been crying. Occasionally the words were interrupted by a series of clicks or individual tsks. “Please pardon and forgive us that on Hewa we did not mention our intention and desire to taste with you, to speak and discuss, to praise you and meet you.
Elena bowed. “Oh—don’t worry. I was only marginally surprised and there was almost no trouble getting ready for this course of action.” If the Borons realized her slightly ironic tone or not, they kept it hidden.
“And here we have Nola Hi, scientific ethicist and adviser to the House of Representatives,” Gaseli Hort introduced the second Boron.
“Peace and happiness, Ele Na,” he intoned in a similar yet a fifth higher pitch than Bala Gi. “As one hears, reads, and tastes, shall your Earth be a place of wonderful, refreshing, enchanting, blue, deep, gl
orious, cheerful oceans! I would gladly accompany you there on a future day’s excursion and swim alongside you!”
“Thank you very much! If ever there is a way back to Earth, then I will gladly revisit this offer.” The Boron looked at Elena with his crystal clear eyes and made an unintelligible series of clicks as he swam toward her. Elena looked over, irritated for a sezura, until she realized what was bothering her about the sight: the many-membered beings wore no environmental suits! Tentacles, antennae, and feelers floated freely around the slender, pale-blue bodies that moved with almost supernatural elegance and grace, as if they were in their ancestral environment.
Gaseli Hort followed Elena’s gaze. “Oh, that…” she said. “Look here!” The interpreter,whose green hair at this half-tazura was not up in a bun, but instead fell sleekly down her back, walked over to the Borons, who were trying to squeeze behind the standing benches. She extended her index finger and touched an invisible surface that seemed to extend across the width of the room and reached from the ceiling to the floor. It formed small, concentric rings along a vertical plane. As it turned out, the entire conference hall was divided into two equal halves by an invisible energy field. On the Boron side, dense liquid filled the room. On Elena’s side, breathable atmosphere. Elena was not badly surprised; although she saw through the technique, she was impressed by the idea. The many decazuras of coexistence by the peoples of the Community of Planets probably had made the engineers quite inventive in terms of the simplification of trade and communication between different species.
Gaseli Hort sat down to the left of the CEO. “The Teladi could negotiate without difficulty on the water side,” she explained earnestly. “However, they prefer the dry side because they find it difficult to speak the trading language underwater.
Elena nodded. For a sezura, she considered moving over to the edge of the table next to CEO Isemados, but refrained for reasons of protocol. As an ambassador of Earth—even if only unofficially—such a thing simply wasn’t done! Instead, she demurely circled around the long end of the conference table and sat down properly in the spot opposite from the CEO. The Teladian standing benches were not very comfortable, but halfway acceptable to humans; the Borons, on the other hand, seemed to have it less easy.
“Oh, reverend minister of the Boron Queendom, I am pleassssed to welcome you this quarter-tazura,” interjected the CEO with a sharp hiss. The calm, almost invisible wall of water was only half an arm’s length from his snout. “The talks that we have recently held together promise rich profit and long-term cooperation that will benefit our peoples,” he continued. Isemados turned to Elena. “To you, venerated Argon Elena Kho from sector Earth, I would like to thank you for accsssepting the invitation from the Company management.”
Elena nodded. “It is an honor for me to be here, CEO Ssuphandros Mikimades Isemados,” she said. “I would like to tell you about the fate of your grandson, Isemados Sibasomos Nopileos, without whose selfless commitment I probably wouldn’t be here today.” The Teladi hissed softly. “Of course, it would be nice if Nopileos’s egg-brother Sissandras could also be present for my report,” Elena added and looked into the Teladi’s eyes, which glowed like red coals in their sockets. The saurian looked far from old. The longer Elena watched the CEO, the more the impression grew on her that a hot, youthful fire was burning inside him. She clasped her hands on the tabletop and glanced over at the Borons, who had been silent up until now.
“Of course, Elena Kho,” the CEO replied. “In this regard, you will certainly be interested to hear that my grandson Isemados Sibasomos Nopileos IV is in all likelihood in the best of health!”
“What?” Elena cried and jumped up. “Could you please say that again?” She leaned both arms on the table and looked at the CEO of the Teladi Company with her mouth open and her eyes wide. The scaly ridge on the saurian’s head stirred, as if it wanted to straighten.
“Well, we received a messenger drone from the Nyana’s Fortune onboard computer sssome weeks ago.,” the CEO began.
“From Inanisas?” Elena interjected.
“Inanias,” Isemados corrected, “that isss right! The ship suffered a collision, that my grandson carelessly caused…” he paused, making a slightly indignant face as though he had just spilled a secret, then continued. “Pardon me, Major Elena Kho-san, please let me reassure you that of course I see a great profit in the fact that Nopileos saved your life with this measure…”
“Thank you very much. And then what happened?” Elena shouted immediately. Nopileos survived the crash with the Split Cho t’Nnt’s atmospheric fighter? She remembered only her dismay when the Nyana’s Fortune plunged to the surface, burning.
“Sshhht! Well,” Isemados continued, “the yacht survived the incident, the accident… well, the events with apparently moderate damage. My grandson was evacuated from the ship in time by the automatic rescue system. After that, whether or not the ship survived the consequent crash landing, we unfortunately have no further information, because this messenger drone was the last sign of life we have received from the yacht’s onboard computer.
“And where is Nopileos now?” Elena asked the obvious question.
“That we do not know quite sssso precisely,” the saurian replied. “Somewhere on the surface of Nif-Nakh, the jungle planet of the Split.”
Elena pinched the bridge of her nose. “How long have you know that?” she demanded.
The CEO shook his head. “For about seven wozuras, though we—”
“And in all this time you haven’t recovered Nopileos from the planet?” Elena interrupted sharply.
The CEO was silent for several seconds and turned his claws upward. He threw a side glance at Gaseli Hort. The interpreter sat at her seat with slumped shoulders and a strained expression, and tried to make herself as small as possible in the face of the looming altercation.
“What do you sssuppose, Elena Kho, tssssh, Argon ssstarwarrior from ssssector Earth? The Teladi Company cannot sssimply fly to the adminisssstrative planet of the Patriarch of Chhhin and turn the jungle inssside out!”
“But there must be some way to—” Elena stopped as Bala Gi, the Boron minister, gave a long series of resounding clicking sounds to draw everyone’s attention. With success: all faces immediately turned to the pale-blue, many-membered creature. The Boron drifted through the colorless fluid to the other side of the conference hall and floated a bit higher, and with a gentle rudder movement, she hovered a half meter above the tabletop.
“Ele Na, furious, funny Earth inhabitant! I understand and taste that you painfully miss and feel the absence of your green, profit-oriented friend Nopileos, the saurian.” Elena grew a shade paler. The Boron’s mother of pearl colored eyes gave the impression that she could see through and into everything—even her thoughts. Bala Gi continued. “So hear me and listen to me. It is a happy, pleasant accident and circumstance that you are here at this point in time. There is actually a way to rescue your friend, the comical, scaly cheapskate Nopileos!”
“And how?” asked Elena, who out of the corner of her eye saw that Gaseli Hort embarrassedly slide around on her standing bench, as if the expression “scaly cheapskate” was disagreeable to her. “And what exactly do you mean by accident?” Gaseli became still a bit smaller.
Nola Hi, the scientific ethicist, left his bench and floated higher where he joined Bala Gi. “Well, we have helped and expedited this accident, that we cannot deny and put into question. But listen to me and use your large, hairy ears, oh Ele Na. Onboard the ship, the Yacht, the Nyana’s Fortune, something is located that we desperately need and require to prevent and avert a severe calamity.”
Elena looked uncomprehendingly at the pale-blue creature. “Onboard the Nyana’s Fortune? But what?” And what calamity?”
Nola Hi’s feelers industriously fanned his head, and his great, dark eyes looked as deep and serious as those of a child. “Yes—and yes,” he answered. “The information and data of the joyful Ancient Ones!”
&n
bsp; But of course! Now Elena remembered Nopileos’s story: shortly after the USC Getsu Fune emergency splashed down on Argon Prime, her young saurian friend was elsewhere in his ship when he had an encounter with the Sohnen, the ambassadors to the Ancient Ones. The onboard computer’s memory banks were filled to the very limits of their capacity with data; Nopileos was not willing to give this information over to scientists or governments to decode.
Bala Gi came very close to the dividing line between water and air. Nola Hi followed her. “We, the Boron Queendom, have already met the Ancient Ones many equatorial streams, jazuras, and suns ago,” she revealed, clicking and singing. Elena’s eyes widened in surprise; so far she had assumed that the Ancient Ones had earned the status of fairy tales or legends in the Community of Planets. But what the Borons now began to explain in their usual, cumbersome manner, left no doubt that the meek aquatic beings knew much, much more than the rest of the Community: each of the nine species world receive a message from the Ancient Ones, or had already received it, like the Boron and the two splinter factions of the Teladi. But a complete sense of the message would only be achieved if all peoples worked together peacefully and transmitted the data to make it available to all. The Sohnen evidently placed great importance on the Xenon not being completely destroyed; this coincided with the wishes of the Boron, who would never commit genocide, even toward their worst enemies.
“But the Xenon are just machines,” Elena protested. The Terraformers—better known in this part of space by the name Xenon—were a plague that had unintentionally originated on Earth long ago. The blue planet had paid for it bitterly, and the history of the Community of Planets had also been shaped by the Terraformers more than by anything else.
“Oh, Ele Na!” Nola Hi cried excitedly. His antennae rippled like a storm wind. “They are cold machines, robots, that is true. But they live and think, have an awareness of themselves and know each other, the way you know yourself and we know ourselves.”
Nopileos: A novel from the X-Universe: (X4: Foundations Edition 2018) (X Series) Page 7
