“Excuse me,” she said, “I understand you speak English.”
“Yes, ma’am, I am proficient in several Earth languages, will English be best for you?”
“Ah…yes, thank you. Did you just return from the fighting?”
“No, ma’am. My father is out with them.”
“Well, then, please thank your father and all the E’meset. We owe your people everything.”
“I will convey your message to the E’meset, but you seem to believe my father to be E’meset, and he is not.”
“Well, what is he, then?” she asked, dumbstruck.
Tanny then stepped up and into the woman’s face. “Seriously? Are you really that stupid? Let’s think a moment, if his father is not E’meset what does that leave? A SUB?”
“Tanny, please.” Day’Ka directed Tanny away from the woman and through the door, then he turned back to the stunned woman. “I’m sorry, it’s the pressure, she thinks we are about to be told of the death of my father.”
“Oh, my poor boy. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. But I believe my father lives, and will come home to us.”
“I will pray that it is so, young man.”
Inside the mayor’s office, they again sat in the same chairs, and again held each other’s hands tightly.
Dave was speaking on his COMde as they entered, for their benefit he was speaking aloud. He motioned for them to sit without interrupting his conversation.
“No, that’s great. The numbers are low. No, we won’t need the additional space as a temporary hospital after all. Tell them to break it down and return it to storage. Yes…yes and thank you very much.”
Dave signed off just as Tanny entered the room and stood to Dave’s right. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” His voice gave Tanny no clue about the news she was here to receive.
Dave turned his attention to Tanny and Day’Ka.
“Good news, it seems; the number of wounded was much lower than we anticipated. Those more seriously wounded are headed to U’alline toy e’vahn right now in the V-tols and should be returning to us tomorrow.”
“That is good news.” Tanny said her voice devoid of emotion as she waited.
“How many were killed, sir?” Day’Ka asked.
There was an uncomfortable pause before Dave spoke again, “I want to make it understood that we have no report that Captain Ras—I mean Nash—is anything but all right.”
“Then why are we here, sir?” asked Day’Ka.
Kathy then stepped around the desk to stand before the two very nervous people. “The fact of the matter is,” she spoke slowly, and softly, “we’ve lost contact with Nash. He took three V-tols and went in pursuit of the ringleader of this nightmare. Last word we had from E’meset on the ground was that he was headed east, beyond the mountains. He’s been out of contact now for over thirty hours.
“His ship departed with fuel for a trip of six hundred sixty nautical miles. It is well within Nash’s character to chase that woman till they both run out of fuel, and then chase her on foot. Therefore, I’ve launched two birds—I mean, V-tols, two hours ago, with additional exterior mounted fuel tanks which doubles their normal range. They have instructions to head east and find Nash and his team. I didn’t want you to hear this from someone else.
“Just as soon as we get word, I will notify all the family and loved ones of the men and women in those three ships. Please go home and keep praying.”
○O○
Tanny and Day’Ka decided to walk to a different tram stop a little farther off than the one they would normally use.
“I should join my people in the search they will make,” Day’Ka said. “They may have already left.”
“No!” Tanny barked up at him. “You can’t go; I won’t let you go.” Her eyes were already red and swollen.
“But Tanny…he’s my father.”
“Yes, that is exactly why you can’t go. You may be all I have left of Nash!” She turned and wrapped her arms around his chest and cried like the tihsad.
Day’Ka’s experience comforting a distraught people extended to these last couple of days. He crossed his arms over her back and just held her for several minutes, and he sent up a silent prayer to Lu’aya.
Finally, Tanny let him go and removed a handkerchief from her satchel. Wiping her eyes, she apologized. “I’m sorry, Day’Ka, I have no reason to fall apart like that. Kathy and Dave are doing all that can be done.”
Day’Ka stood silent, his face now colored with worry. He took a knee in front of Tanny and put his hands on her shoulders. “You think my father is dead, don’t you? You think I’m an orphan.”
The word orphan shocked Tanny and made her realize that this boy could very well be all alone now. These millions and millions of miles away from all that she knew had provided her a painful insight into being alone. Until she met Nash, she had felt very much alone here on Antyllus.
Tanny stood, looking into Day’Ka’s eyes, and she suddenly felt a connection, a bond she never knew was possible.
In that moment, when their eyes met, her pupils dilated and the light in the corridor became painfully bright. This light appeared to emanate from deep inside Day’Ka, and she felt a kinship with the boy. Then, in her field of vision, a beautiful E’meset woman appeared. She smiled, nodded and then faded away with the light.
“Day’Ka, you will never be an orphan. I will claim you as my own and adopt you. Do you understand?”
Huge tears welled up in the boy’s eyes. His hands slowly slid down off her shoulders onto her arms and he gently pulled her into his chest. He hugged her tenderly and sobbed the word onto her shoulder, “Eya’Etee.”
○O○
A week had passed and still, there was no news. In that time, Tanny and Day’Ka kept their minds occupied by working on the condominium. They both worked feverishly taking few breaks. They ate little, for in truth, they had no appetites. They slept little, for nightmares roamed their dreams. Both were tired, but of course it was Tanny who suffered the most of the two as E’meset regularly went days without sleep or sustenance.
They had pulled another all-nighter, and now it was almost dawn. Day’Ka noticed fatigue on Tanny’s face and implored her to rest.
“I’m fine, really.”
“You need food and drink.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Mother, please.”
Tanny sat at the kitchen table as Day’Ka prepared a meal high in protein and sat a tall glass of water before her. Its healing powers would do her a great deal of good right now.
They ate quietly. Every so often, Tanny would look up and out the window that faced south. The night was beautiful with the light of Elpis 229 B illuminating the forest beyond the wall. After the rains, the forest seemed to have exploded in size, and it looked full, lush, and alive.
Day’Ka watched as Tanny stared out the window, her fork dangling above her plate. “Mangez mère, s’il vous plait, manger,” he said.
Tanny looked at him with her eyebrows raised.
“It’s French,” Day’Ka started to explain, “it means—”
“I know dear, and I will eat, I promise.”
○O○
When Nash, Lent, Yalga, and Nista finally climbed out of the cave, it was dark—as dark as it got under the light of the distant second sun.
As Nash stepped outside, he adjusted his respirator’s filter to allow in scents. He wanted to smell the perfumed air of the forest, the forest that was now so close to home and to Tanny.
Nash took a deep breath and almost gagged. He had forgotten about the trench the E’meset had carved in the stone around the mouth of the cave and kept filled with some exceedingly malodorous concoction in order to keep animals out. He cleared his mask and readjusted the filter’s settings.
Nash’s eyes fell upon a dark red flower in the forest. The same type of flower that was among those in the bouquets he’d sent to Tanny. The events of the past three weeks had preclude
d much thought of her; but now, she was ever present on his mind.
He prayed that sending his half E’meset son to her with flowers wasn’t a mistake. He resolved to do all in his power to mend Tanny’s heart. He knew that was going to be a hard climb. The problem was a lifelong corruption that Tanny had been subject to. He believed in her, however, and was convinced that he could bring to her the same revelation that had found a perch in Joe’s heart.
The four walked in silence through the forest. The sound of the insects and other small animals was reassuring. They were a sort of alarm, as their chatter would cease should a larger predator come too near.
Nista and Yalga walked in front of Nash and Lent about six meters. Nash watched as every so often the two women would quietly converse.
Lent had not said a word since Nash had informed Nista of the tragic loss of Joe. But now, on the trail a good distance from the two women, he felt more at liberty. “How did Nista take the news?” Lent asked.
“Keep your voice down, Lent. The E’meset have extremely acute hearing,” Nash paused looking to see if either woman had heard them speak. “Seems Nista had a premonition, and prepared herself for the confirmation she knew I would provide.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Something you should know; some E’meset women have the ability to see ahead or beyond. They believe that Lu’aya talks to them and tells them things. Which is, for all I know, exactly what happens.”
The two men walked several meters in silence before Lent asked, “Nash, why is Nista so different from her mother?”
“You haven’t figured that out? Lent, she’s only half E’meset.”
“Huh? Oh! Who’s her father?”
“I have no idea. But Joe Billen knew, and it didn’t stop him from loving her.”
There was another pause in their conversation that lasted two hundred meters. Then Lent asked, “Ah… What, among the E’meset, is an appropriate period of time to wait before…ah—”
“Lent,” Nash stopped him, “you obviously desire her…company. After we get back, and things settle down in a week or two, I suggest you ask her mother if you can spend some time with her. Start learning her language. Get to know her people, and her ways a lot better. Because, son, I’m here to tell you, you’ll find yourself more in her world than in ours. And you’ll want to be there. At some point in time, if she feels the same toward you, she will let you know that you may begin a courtship.”
“Do they court the same way we do?”
“Do you mean dinner and a movie, clubbing, and casual sex? No.”
Lent blushed violently. “Nash, I’d never… I mean I don’t want to—ahI …oh, hell, I’m so lost here.”
“Don’t worry Lent; these people fully understand that what you’re feeling right now is a strong desire to be with Nista. They call your condition halo vat.
“You’ll find the E’meset a very sensual people. But unlike women from Earth, you can’t toy with them. Once you declare your halo vat for her, you enter into a committed relationship which will lead either to sudamine—love; or to Yak ho a E’lema—a division of life.”
“I take it that’s a bad thing?”
“I would rather have died than suffer Yak ho a E’lema from my wife.”
“How do I declare halo vat?”
“When you’re absolutely sure you are both ready, you cut the fruit of a condress tree in half and offer half to her. I’ll show you where they grow. If she eats it, that will be her sign to you that…well, that you have been accepted. If she rejects it, well, it’s over. So, Lent, don’t be in a big hurry.”
Chapter 14
THE MONASTERY ON THE HILL
Nash and his companions walked all night, with the two E’meset women setting a good pace. Everyone had filled their canteens with the glowing water from the underground ponds, and so when a feeling of pain or fatigue from the now torturous walk beset them, a simple drink refreshed them and provided strength.
It was about an hour before morning nautical twilight when, after passing through the eastern gate, the four stood at the entrance to Nista and Yalga’s home.
They all stood quietly. Nista looked up at the second floor and to her mother said, “I have some painting to do.”
Yalga glanced at Nash, whom she knew understood the words. Then, in English, she said, “Nista painted a picture of Joe on her wall by her nest. She destroyed it before we left. She will repaint it.” Yalga shot Lent a look, then again, spoke in English to Nash. “There is room on the wall for more painting.”
Nash spoke in E’meset to the two women. “Lent and I are going inside the city now. I cannot say words enough to thank you.”
“It is Lu’aya you need thank, not us. Lu’aya guided us to you,” Nista said.
“I will forever be in the debt of Nista and Yalga. All that remains of my life I owe to you.”
“Nash,” Nista said, “I must come with you.”
“Into the city? Are you not tired from the long of the journey, and the pain of sorrow?”
“Lu’aya directs that I meet with someone and from her take a small piece of joy with which to battle my sorrow.”
Nash did not understand, but he could not, and would not deny her. Nista kissed her mother and set off with Nash and Lent toward the city.
Before too long, they were at the airlock.
“Huh, hey, wait a minute!” Lent protested. “How is Nista going to breathe in there?”
Nista turned and placed her little finger against Lent’s lips and said “Shhut.” Then in her broken English she said, “Little Lent, I okay in city.”
Lent looked anxiously at Nash.
“She’s a hybrid, my friend,” Nash said. “She can breathe inside or out.”
“Really?”
As they entered the airlock, the eastern sky began to glow as Ourinco approached the horizon.
Once inside, Nista cleared the planet’s atmosphere from her lungs through a fit of coughing that greatly worried Lent, but with a gesture of her hand she assured him she was okay.
Nash asked, “Who is it you need to see?”
“I must find A’ta’nil.”
“I don’t know the name.”
“I will follow you,” Nista insisted.
“Mind if I tag along?” Lent asked.
“Sure, but I’m just going to my condo. I might find my son there if he didn’t stay with the E’meset in Kulan Kaus, but the place isn’t finished, so I’m guessing he’s in the village.”
“You live alone?” Nista, speaking in E’meset, asked.
“Yes,” Nash said softly.
Nista looked confused. “But you are alight from within with sudamine.”
Nash looked away, and nodded.
“What did she say?” Lent asked.
“Let’s go,” Nash said ignoring Lent, and headed off.
There were few people in the corridors or hallways at this hour, and none on the tram they caught or in the elevator that took them to the top floor of the first ring of sector seven.
As they approached his door, Nash noticed he did not hear it automatically unlock. He then realized he no longer had his COMde on his belt. He looked up on the ceiling at the sensor array that provided the colony’s advanced virtual acumen computer the ability to see in the hallway.
“Indra,” Nash spoke to the AVAC, “I’ve lost my COMde, so I can’t get into my place or hear you, but I know you can hear and see me. You know me ― Captain Nash Rastaban. Please, open the door to my condo.”
Instantly, he heard the click and the door opened. Entering, Nash absentmindedly removed his equipment belt with the intent of dropping it onto the unfinished floor, but looking up, he saw the condo all but finished. The floor was covered in beautiful native-made rugs. There was furniture of both Earth and E’meset design all around, and art and photographs on the walls. Beyond the wedge-shaped living room, the door into the kitchen stood open and, from beyond, a light shone through. With trepidation in his voice, Na
sh called out, “Day’Ka? Oh letkosa sina?”
The sound of a chair falling over backward came from the kitchen, then Day’Ka’s two-meter-tall silhouette filled the three-meter-tall doorway. Day’Ka hesitated just a split second, then shouted “Eya’esaw! Father!”
The boy sprang across the room in two bounds, fell to his knees and embraced his father amid an ocean of tears. “I so worried for you!” he sobbed.
Nash squeezed his son tightly with his eyes shut. “I’m home, my son, En Coat’toe na, Day’Ka.”
They remained in their loving embrace for quite a while. Then pulling back and wiping his eyes, Day’Ka said, “Father we worried all the time, and we prayed.”
“We?” Nash asked.
“I did not worry alone.”
“What?” Nash said knitting his brow together.
Day’Ka stood and looked toward the kitchen and called out, “Eya’Etee!”
Nash shot his son a confused look, then turned to look again toward the kitchen where another silhouette now stood in the door. Nash’s heart stopped as Tanny slowly crossed the room.
They stood before one another for a few silent seconds as Nash struggled to think, to think what to say.
Tanny was the first to speak. “Nash…I am so sorry. Please, forgive me.”
Nash found he could not breathe, let alone speak.
“Nash, I don’t know what to say. I was stupid, I know that, and—”
Nash stepped forward and took her in his arms and kissed her with all the passion that his love had generated since he’d met her; a love that, in the past two weeks, had been amplified by his proximity to death.
Nash released her from his powerful grasp and, smiling, brushed her hair from her face. Still, he could not find his voice.
“I knew you’d come back, Nash, but I did worry so.” Nash did not respond, so Tanny started to rattle on nervously. “I hope you like what Day’Ka and I did in here. I know we should have spoken to you, but you weren’t here, and we needed to keep busy and…Nash Rastaban, you better speak to me right this minute.”
The Blue of Antyllus Page 20
