“Oh, wait a minute…” Joe thought a second. “Pueitana means tree, right?” He smiled and ate his half of the apple. As he did, Nista’s face again erupted in her captivating smile and she squeezed his hand tightly. “Joe, En halo vat seena.”
“Halo vat? Now, wait just a minute.” Joe stopped to consider what she had just said. Perhaps his attraction to her was clouding the obvious. What she desires is another apple, he thought to himself.
Joe went to the machine, got another apple and brought it to her. He sat down and she smiled at him again. “Joe. En halo vat seena, seena.”
Joe shook his head.
She squeezed his hand harder and leaned across the table and whispered, “Nista halo vat Joe.”
Joe swallowed hard. “Come on, ah, Nista, I want to show you the gardens where that apple came from.”
They stood up and departed the dining facility, and were lucky enough to procure a tram almost immediately. As they moved down the corridor, Nista stood very close to Joe with her arm around his waist. Her touch was pleasing, but Joe felt uncomfortable.
Three kilometers farther, Joe spotted Talme Zolna just dismounting a tram on his right. He pulled over, stopped, then turned to Nista and asked her to wait. He used his two hands to indicate that he’d return.
“Sergeant Zolna!” Joe cried out.
Zolna was quite pleased to see the man who took a death blow to the head to save his beloved Le’ha.
“Sergeant,” Joe was almost stuttering, and kept glancing over his shoulder as he whispered, “I have an E’meset woman with me and—”
“I see that, sir. She’s awfully small for an E’meset.”
“Yeah, listen I need your help.” Again, he glanced over his shoulder to see the lovely woman smiling back at him. “We shared an apple now she says she halo vats me. What do I—”
Zolna smiled broadly, “An apple? Really?”
“Well, she peeled it and cut it up so it was round. Called it an Elder to Condress Poot - ah, tree.
“Oh!” Zolna chuckled. “Okay, I get it.”
“What? You get it?” Joe leaned in very close to Zolna. “I have the feeling I’m in trouble, here.” Joe was actually wringing his hands.
“Relax, sir,” Zolna explained. “Among her people, when a male and female are ready and halo vat each other, one of them will leave half the fruit of the Condress tree for the other. That fruit is round, white, and very sweet. If it is eaten, then the one who eats it accepts the affection of the one who offered it.”
“Ready? Ready for…and halo vat?”
“Sir…the E’meset regularly engage in…that form of recreation.”
“Oh, my God.” Joe turned and looked away.
“What’s the matter?”
Joe whispered even softer, “She thinks we’re going to—”
“The word is Nyadah.”
“Shhhh…She’ll hear you.”
Zolna became serious, “I don’t understand, sir. She’s a beautiful E’meset woman in full bloom.”
“Full bloom? She’s a child!”
“Oh, I don’t know, sir. I’ll wager she’s not yet forty.”
“Not yet…” Joe was incredulous. “She’s probably not yet twenty!”
“Sir, the E’meset don’t age as you do. From birth, they mature very quickly so that at age, say ten, they appear more like a human of age twenty. Thereafter, the effect of whatever is in the water kicks in, and the appearance of aging slows way, way down. You bios are just now feeling the effect of Antylian water since we only remove the harmful gasses from it anymore. Sir, twenty years from now, you will look and feel the same as you do right now.”
“Wait…so you’re not joking, she’s—”
“Oh, thirty-seven, or thirty-eight…probably not yet forty.”
“How do you know?”
“My wife, Le’ha, is seventy-five Earth years old and we appear to be the same age. I was twenty-four when I got this body. I’m thirty-eight now. So, that was your big concern?”
“Ah…mostly, yeah.” Joe was a little more relaxed.
“I will not advise you further, sir. You’re on your own.”
Zolna turned to leave when Nista called out to him, “Ustelia, hutupoo E’meset?”
“Coola.” Zolna said then turned to Joe, “She asks if I speak her language. I told her yes.”
“E’rro analla aluna kaanu handenden talo’enza.” Nista said with a smile.
Zolna nodded and turned back to Joe. “Sir, she wants to see your house, where you live.”
“Oh?” Joe was clearly nervous again.
“Sir, she will not expect anything more from you if that’s what’s worrying you. She is attracted to you. That’s all.”
“Yeah, but I’d feel like a crumb.”
“You ate the apple, sir?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, well, just so you know, if you reject her now…you reject her for life.”
“How did I get myself into this mess?” Joe was not speaking to anyone in particular.
“Sir, if I may. The E’meset are a very passionate people. But if she knew you were this distraught, she would, sadly, release you. But, sir…Look at her a minute. The real danger you face is that she might just rip open your heart and start living in it.”
“Yeah, to tell you the truth, Talme, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Joe’s use of Zolna’s first name signaled his desire for a personal conversation between friends.
“You’re afraid you’ll fall in love?” Zolna asked.
Joe just looked at him.
Zolna looked around to ensure no one was in ear shot. “Joe, do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”
“Talme, its fine for you. You and your family live out there where the E’meset don’t see a man of one color, or a short man, or a SUB. They see you, Talme Zolna. They call you Tuva, friend.
“But I have to live in here with these ignorant, small-minded…do you know that since I brought her in here, it’s been nothing but stares, complaints, and snide comments. Talme, they called her a peacock.”
“I know, Joe. Just…don’t be one of them.”
○O○
Joe opened the door to his bachelor officer’s quarters, the BOQ, and Nista rushed in past him. She looked around with great interest and quickly keyed in on a photograph on his desk of a middle-aged man and woman.
She picked up the picture and handed it to Joe. The expression on her face asked the obvious question.
“That’s my mother and father. Ah, Eya’Etee,” he said, pointing to his mother, “and—”
“Eya’Esaw.” Nista said pointing at his father.
“Yes, mom and dad.”
Nista took the picture and gently returned it to the table top.
“Hayelevet?” She asked then tried to translate, “They live?”
“No,” Joe said simply.
Nista walked up to Joe and again placed her hand on his chest.
She looked into his eyes and said slowly, “No mom, no dad, bruder not friend, no mate. Joe not happy.”
“Well, I—”
Nista stepped into Joe’s arms and took his head into her hands. She kissed him on his forehead, then on his chin. She paused, and her great, blue eyes searched his. She leaned in and kissed his lips. As she did, her eyes closed.
Joe felt his heart rate increase dramatically. His temples were throbbing. A hot flash raced through his body, and his arms came up to embrace her.
She was so soft and warm. And for the first time, he noticed she smelled like a fresh apple.
Their lips parted and she looked into his eyes. She seemed to be searching for something in his face. Joe was again struck by her beauty.
“Damn,” he said. “Nista…I really do desire you. Ah…Joe halo vat Nista. But Nista, I want to do the right thing here, and—”
Nista kissed him again with great passion, and the two crumpled to the floor.
○O○
Morning found Joe’s bed still
neatly made. Joe and Nista were entwined on the floor near the window.
She was fast asleep, her head on his right shoulder. Joe lay wide awake. He had watched the dawn slowly illuminate the room and listened intently to the sound of Nista’s slow, deep, rhythmic breathing.
His mind had returned from that wonderful place where Nista had carried him off to during the night. Joe had never known a night like that before. Not only had their bodies become one, but their very consciousness merged. He felt the depth of her emotion, and as their fevered embrace exploded into colors from beyond the spectrum, Joe was moved to tears. Nista kissed them from his cheeks.
“It okay, Joe.”
He lay there struggling as his reality fought with his emotions. What was he to do? He was falling deeply in love with this woman.
Joe’s plunge began when he first awoke from near death in that cave, and the first vision his eyes fell upon was the face of Nista, this angel who nursed him back to life. Indeed, he owed his continued existence to this woman sleeping in his arms.
He could not join her and live among the E’meset as Talme had done. And it was evident he could not ask her to leave paradise to live in this tin can among so many bigoted humans.
A thought crossed his mind that disturbed him greatly. Was he concerned for her, or was his concern more selfish? To live together within the city, he would have to be married to qualify for joint domicile. If he took this E’meset woman as his wife, he would be ostracized. The human society had aptly demonstrated to him their attitude toward “the peacocks”.
Either way he could not see bringing this lovely creature into this place.
Slowly, Joe reached up and pulled the blanket from the bed and covered Nista and himself with it. He then put his arms around her. She cooed gently and Joe’s heart melted. He closed his eyes and tried to block out reality.
○O○
In the depths of his powerful melancholy Nash had been unresponsive to any calls for two days. He did, of course, reach out several times to Tanny. Her COMde instantly sent him to her mailbox. She seemed to never be at the bio lab ― at least, that’s what her colleagues told him. He even went to her quarters, but the door kept telling him she was not at home.
By the morning of the third day, he was in a deep state of depression. To add to his worries, his son, who had been living inside the Fish being educated at the knee of Sir Reginald Gawain, was returning to New Roanoke as Nash had requested.
Nash was sitting alone in his unfinished condominium contemplating a can of paint when someone knocked on the door.
For a second, it crossed his mind that it might be Tanny, but he knew the odds of that likelihood were extreme. He did not respond.
After a few seconds the visitor knocked again, and again, Nash ignored it. The door then opened and Nash heard Dave’s voice. “Captain Rastaban?”
“Over here.”
Dave walked slowly in and made his way through the tools, ladders, and paint cans toward where Nash sat leaning against the wall.
Dave knew. Everyone knew.
Dave stopped in front of Nash and put his hands in his pockets. “You okay?”
Nash nodded. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Several seconds passed before Dave spoke again. “Your clients miss you. They are asking about you.”
“Tell them I quit.”
“So, you’re unemployed?”
Nash sat, playing with the paint can. Dave reached down and picked the can up and set it aside. “Nash, if you’re interested, I still have a job for you.”
○O○
When Tanny burst out of Nash’s condo she’d run toward the elevators. She heard his door close behind her. The sound had a finality to it that caused her to completely break down and sob relentlessly.
Tanny returned to the billet she had shared with Cindy and was confronted with several of Cindy possessions which both reminded her of her friend’s plight—and put her own troubles into perspective. She threw herself down on the sofa and reached for the tissue dispenser on the coffee table. Near it sat a photo of Cindy and Kok’etan, the E’meset man from the anniversary celebration with whom Cindy had danced. She had been seeing him regularly.
Tanny had heard that when Kok’etan heard the news that Cindy had been kidnapped, he and a hand full of warriors, despite Dave’s request not to, rushed out to pursue the mercenaries. They’d caught up with the caravan south of the clinic. They closed in on the trail PC and attacked it with spears and clubs.
At first, it was reported they were all killed. Later, it was learned that only Cindy’s boyfriend had been killed ― the rest were wounded and had been taken to the cave.
Tanny sat looking at the picture. She really didn’t know why Cindy kept seeing the E’meset warrior, but it was apparent that Kok’etan had been in love with Cindy. He had blindly risked his life to save her.
There were no thoughts in the minds of the E’meset as those now spinning through Tanny’s mind. An hour ago, she was madly in love with Nash and afraid to reveal it to him. But somehow, he had known. He had built them a home and had asked her to marry him. Then came this revelation, and everything changed. Why? Was it that he was a widower? Of course not, she told herself. That he was a father? No, not that, either. It was the fact that the woman had been E’meset, and his son was only half human.
No, the scientist inside her disagreed. They had successfully mated and produced an offspring; ergo, the woman had to have been of the same species. The scientist continued with her line of reasoning, Your problem springs from the colors of her skin, her large unusual eyes, and her size.
You know, of course, that her colors are a natural defense against predators, her eyes compensate for the wavelength of the red dwarf’s dim light, and her height is the result of the planet’s low gravity. Still, despite this understanding, you have a secret and irrational dislike of these people, and Nash’s deceased wife, in particular. You have abandoned all your learning and common sense to become a Neanderthal woman.
“I know, damn it!” Tanny shouted at the picture in her hands. “I can’t help it. What’s wrong with me?”
○O○
The passing week did nothing to heal Tanny’s wounded self-image, or to assuage her broken heart. Nash had tried to call, he’d come to the lab, and to her billet, but she could not speak to him. Her depression was such that all about her was in shadow and cold.
On Thursday morning, Tanny was walking toward the tram stop on her way to work. She was moving quite slow as if in a partial stupor. Her mind was a blank. She just did not care to think anymore. With her mind in neutral, she walked right past the tram stop and just kept going down the corridor. Eventually, she came to an immense window where she just stood looking out at the horizon. Slowly, her eyes lowered, and she noticed the village the E’meset were building just inside the city’s wall.
Not all the buildings were stone. She could see several huts made of logs, branches, and very large leaves.
The E’meset were coming and going down below, seemingly without a care in the world.
Tanny watched them for almost an hour, all the while asking herself why she disliked them so. As she watched, she decided she didn’t know enough about them to dislike them.
She took the elevator down to the first floor and went directly to an airlock. She fitted a respirator and was soon standing outside. She stood there watching the large colorful people going about their daily tasks. Some were working on the construction of the village. Some were carrying bundles of cloth or baskets of fruit. All were working without regard to her presence. They were happy to live in proximity to the Tuva.
No doubt to take advantage of our wall, Tanny thought.
She proceeded forward and was soon passing among the E’meset. They all smiled and gestured at her. Many said unintelligible things, “Pell alatoss Ourinco,” and, “Ella Ourinco too ovet seen U’ la seendovatsa.” She also heard oft repeated, “To olsa, Tuva.” Tanny knew that Tuva meant friend
. This did not reinforce for her the theory that the E’meset were just like humans.
She had reached the far end of the village and could see the famous east gate a couple of hundred meters to her left front. She turned around to head back when from a wooden hut, with about fifteen peacocks standing in front of it, the curtain that served as a door parted and an E’meset child came out. After a second look, she could see that this person was no child, but a very short E’meset woman.
This woman had a great many large feathers in her unusual dark hair. The feathers hung down covering her body.
The group at the door parted and the woman came walking directly toward Tanny. She stopped right in front of Tanny and looked into her eyes. Though much smaller than an average E’meset, she was, nonetheless, taller than Tanny by several centimeters. The E’meset woman reached out with both hands and took hold of Tanny’s left hand and began to pull her, gently, toward the hut saying, “Ula lavat, Tuva. Invoy outtau. Invoy outtau.”
“I beg your pardon?” Tanny protested.
“Come. It okay. Help.”
“I don’t want to help.”
Another woman burst out from the hut, a regular sized E’meset. The smaller stopped and said to her, “Han ey ula lavat.”
The taller woman approached and looked down on Tanny, who displayed no fear, despite the scowl on the woman’s face.
“You should come,” the tall woman said.
“Why?” Tanny asked.
“My daughter is Poh’palm meas. You say gifted. She has felt your pain and can help you.”
“Oh, really?”
“But only if in your heart, you want help.”
Tanny stood there a moment looking at the two of them. The smaller woman was very attractive, and her blue eyes were truly lovely. She smiled at Tanny and nodded.
“Oh, what the hell,” Tanny said, “it can’t get much worse.”
Inside the hut, Tanny sat on one side of a fire pit and the woman with the blue eyes on the other. The tall woman sat to Tanny’s left. It had been quite dark until the woman pulled the leaves off the two glowing stones.
The Blue of Antyllus Page 9
