Astra: Synchronicity (23 page)

Rashad took a long drag of hashish and blew
the smoke out the side of his mouth. "A credit to your leadership,
no doubt."

His underlying sarcasm irked her.

Just when she thought the awkward exchange
would never end, a member of the Xuranian delegation approached
them. The composition of the party from Xur was similar to what
she'd encountered during their first contact. This one was shorter
than the other two Xuranians with softer features and no visible
tattoos. Her purple eyes were almost beautiful. Rashad and Lyneea
stared at her with curious fascination when she bowed before
them.

"My name is Eniqua," she said. "Would you
like to participate in an exchange of cultural information?"

Ardri wondered why the alien had chosen their
group from the plethora of other politicians and socialites
cluttering the Great Hall. Perhaps Quesabel had shared a positive
opinion of her from their brief encounter on Coralag. The captain
was not the right person for a matter like this, but that might
have been the Xuranian's motivation. "Yes, of course."

Eniqua led them out through the rear doors of
the hall, which exited to the Daisy Garden. Long ago, the first
president to occupy the Westwood Estate requested daisies be
planted across Northampton. Presidents came and went, quickly
growing tired of seeing the flowers everywhere. When the City of
Dreams sprung up around them, it had become an unwritten rule to
rid the place of the tacky plants. Today, the flowers could only be
found on the grounds of the Capitol and the Estate. And even though
the garden was well tended, the bright blossoms refused to be
tamed.

"I am sure you have many questions about my
people," Eniqua said as she strolled over to a large bush and
examined the chartreuse flowers on it. "Not all discussion is
appropriate for diplomatic channels. Quasabel felt I could discuss
such matters with you, Captain Lothian."

"Yes, of course."

"Not all humans approve of friendly relations
with us. Is it fear or is it something else?"

Neither of her compatriots looked certain
what to say so Ardri began the discussion. "We don't know your
motives. Your history. What sort of a people you are. Ignorance
breeds fear. Given time, I think most would welcome your race.
There will always be a few humans who choose to stick their heads
in the sand and complain, but that's just our way."

She leaned in toward the flowers and
cautiously sniffed them. "Interesting. The destructive path of
violence is not our nature. Through peace and cooperation, species
thrive. Flourish. In their aggression they fall."

"How old is your civilization?" Rashad
asked.

"I am not sure, in your terms. We mapped the
location of your homeworld long ago, before a sentient race had
evolved. We thought this entire area of space was unoccupied. Had
we known, we would have initiated contact sooner."

"How big is your territory?"

"One system is under our control. Xur is
seventy-five light-years from here. We choose to explore the galaxy
rather than expand past our solar borders. A royal proclamation
many years ago instructed us not to. Do you believe in a divine
power?"

Ardri saw his face drain of all color like
he'd jumped into a pool of ice water. He fumbled with his answer
and tripped over his words. "Well, we do. At least some do. And
some believe more strongly than others. There are, of course,
people who refuse to acknowledge a divine power. Not that I'm one
of them or anything."

She seemed less interested in his answer than
the question she asked next. "Do you believe your Chairman Dodd is
blessed by that divinity?"

Her inquiry struck them rather oddly. "Well,
our leaders are elected. I'm sure there are some people who do but
not many."

"We believe ours is. The Divine Chancellor
and the Queen Consort rule with absolute authority. Godly mana runs
through the bloodline, which has brought our people millennia of
wealth and prosperity."

Ardri found it surprising such an advanced
culture would be governed by a monarchy. "Are they the ones with
the scar patterns?"

She clenched her brow and stared at the
captain for several moments. "Scar patterns?" she repeated, unsure
of what she meant by that.

Captain Lothian pointed to her face and made
swirling gestures with her finger. "The markings that Havier has on
his body. What do they mean?"

"He is White Xi," she said as though it were
all the explanation needed. When she saw their blank stares, she
continued, "Most of our people fall into the Xunara class. They
work as scientists, architects, artisans…the majority of jobs are
available to them. Xunara who achieve a high level of success are
promoted to the elite class of White Xi, just a step under our
nobility, the Black Xi. Initiates of the White Xi are cloned upon
death, retaining all memories of their previous lives and restored
to their youthful appearance. All Xunara aspire to achieve such an
honor in their lifetimes. As do I."

That sort of immortality seemed fascinating,
but Ardri was eager to probe deeper and find out more. "What is
your job, Eniqua?"

"I am the second-in-command of the
Zen-Zavar
, our flagship under High Commander Rhiel. I am
versed in diplomacy and astrophysical science. I have toured
roughly half of our galaxy."

"Are those dark-skinned individuals Xuranians
too?"

"In a manner of speaking. 251 years ago while
exploring the galaxy, one of our ships came across a race of
sentients whose sun was preparing to go nova. Their homeworld,
which was once made of mostly ice, had been transformed into a hot,
barren chunk of rock. They had not developed spaceflight, but they
were a loyal and honorable race. Had we not saved them, their
people would have perished. They make up our Aikona class and
function as bodyguards and security details due to their high
dexterity and skill in unarmed combat."

"How many sentient races have your people
encountered throughout the galaxy?" Rashad inquired.

She almost began to speak before catching
herself and smiling at him instead. "I cannot tell you that. I
would like to though…one day."

"Do the Xunara or Aikona function as
soldiers? Who does the physical work?"

"I heard people do the arduous work in your
society. Why do you not use mechanoids?" If the question had come
from a human, it would've sounded incredibly arrogant.

"Robots? Our technology isn't quite at the
point where we could program robots to do all the kinds of work
humans do. So what exactly were you doing at Gamma Pavonis?"

"Scientific research."

"Could you be more specific?" He didn't even
try to conceal his agitation.

"I am afraid I cannot." Eniqua seemed a bit
perturbed, but the emotion quickly vanished from her face. "Thank
you, Commander. Captain Lothian. I hope my responses interested you
as much as yours did to me. Provided all goes well with the peace
talks, there is a very strong likelihood we shall soon be
allies."

As she turned to head back inside, Rashad
placed his hand firmly against the door. "Why does an advanced race
like yours want to be allies with humans?"

Judging by the way Eniqua forced herself to
swallow, the rationale went beyond inherent kindness. "I…I cannot
tell you that."

"Commander, step away from her," the captain
warned.

He exhaled through his nose and ignored her
counsel. "Then answer one question: are you just doing it so that
you can destroy us one day? Because if you are, there will be hell
to pay."

The Xuranian approached him until she stood
so close to him their faces almost touched. Her eyes stared through
him. When her lips parted, he must've felt her warm breath. "If we
intended to destroy you, we would not be having this conversation
right now. It is in everyone's best interests to be at peace with
their neighbors."

He allowed her to pass, and she went back
inside to mingle with other patrons. He placed his hand on Ardri's
shoulder, bringing her to a stop beside him before she returned to
the Great Hall. "I think they are sincere about wanting peace, but
I'm not sure I trust them."

Ardri couldn't help wondering if she was
better off now with that brief glimpse into Xuranian society.
Eniqua's final words troubled her from the veiled threat. It
frightened her to think Maxia might've been right about them all
this time.

***

Amii sat in the public cafeteria of Icelandia
Station and stared at the tray of half-eaten food in front of her.
She hadn't seen Xander for hours, though from time to time she
swore she heard him yelling at some poor young scientist for asking
too many questions. As the days they spent here turned into weeks,
she lost track of time. She could imagine worse fates than boredom,
but it did nothing to lift her spirits in the interim.

Relations with the Xuranians had progressed
at an astounding rate. At the end of the peace summit, Havier
cordially invited humans to their homeworld. ANN had already begun
a countdown timer until the ships reached Xur despite the fact they
had not started the voyage yet. She didn't understand the constant
fascination with the aliens. Had all of humanity not been inundated
by enough of it already?

Several AC officers entered the room whom
she'd never seen before. One was a captain, female, late forties,
of mixed ethnicity. Another was a lieutenant, female, in her
twenties, with spiky red hair. Several men accompanied them of
varying age and height though she could not make out their rank
from where she sat. They headed over to the counter for lunch
service.

"I thought the refuel would be done by now,"
one of the men said. "Don't these asshats know how to change out a
few rods?"

The ginger-haired woman glared at him. "They
decided to run a diagnostic on the engine systems. You know,
something about not wanting the ship to blow up with the Vice
President on board."

"What's our new ETA?" the captain asked
her.

"Eighteen hundred hours, local time," she
said.

A couple of the men grumbled at the news but
said nothing.

Amii returned her attention to the screen on
the wall. Leslie White reported from the Capitol every hour on the
hour from dawn until dusk. She was the very definition of gorgeous,
with brains to go along with her beauty. When she watched Leslie
and saw the effect her breath-taking façade had on men, Amii felt
self-conscious about her appearance.

Without even thinking about it, Amii closed
her eyes and used her hand to cover her nose. She thought it looked
the right size, but the cartilage at the tip didn't look smooth and
left a slight ridge above her nostrils. Every feature on the
journalist's face complimented her chiseled dimples and dazzling
smile. Leslie had a petite frame and a curvy figure in contrast to
Amii's tall and slender one, which at a glance could be mistaken
for a gangly man instead of a woman.

One of the newcomers claimed the seat next to
her in front of the news feed. He looked barely old enough to have
hit puberty let alone graduate the Academy. His ash brown hair was
parted down the middle, and he smelled like peppermint. "Ensign
Fred Maxia. You look way too good to be sitting here all by
yourself. Mind if I join you?"

"Feel free."

"You're too hot to be one of the
scientists."

"You look too young to be an officer."

"Just graduated two months ago from the
Academy at the top of my class," he said as he put his feet up on
the table. "The
Schenectady
was the only place for me. I'm
the ship's navigator. I was on the bridge when we made first
contact with the Xuranians…earned an award of commendation. At our
summer evaluations, I'm a lock to make lieutenant."

"So why aren't you out there in space doing
whatever it is your ship does out there?"

"Ran outta gas." He leaned toward her and put
his arm around her shoulders. "But on the bright side, I'm here for
another seven hours. We could get to know each other pretty well, I
think."

Amii noticed a hand drop onto Maxia's
shoulder, and the touch alone startled him. "With a pillock like
you? I think not." Xander's voice boomed across the room as he
picked him up out of his chair and shoved the ensign away. The act
drew curious glances from his crewmates across the room, many of
whom rolled their eyes at the scene. Ensign Maxia straightened his
shirt, no worse for the wear, and rejoined them.

She stared up at Xander, who retrieved the
chair warmed moments earlier by Maxia and slid it back over next to
her. "I trust your day has been more fruitful than mine."

"I'm pretty sure it hasn't. Unless you count
being propositioned by that boy."

"What did he want?" he asked as he grabbed a
plum off her tray and took a bite of it.

"Sex, I'd imagine. And I was almost bored
enough to go along with it."

He stopped just short of spitting out his
food. "That fellow hasn't been around here before. None of them
have."

"They came in on the
Schenectady
. It's
being refueled as we speak. Don't worry, they'll be gone by
nightfall and we'll never have to see Maxia again."

He grabbed her wrist. "This is it. We're
getting out of here."

"Come again?"

He pulled her close. "We're not a priority.
No one expects to see me until tomorrow morning. If we stow away on
that ship, we'll be gone before anyone realizes we're missing.
We'll be able to board the ship in plain sight of everyone, right
under their noses."

"What about after we get on board? What
then?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "There are
access conduits all over the ship for us to hide in. We'll just
jump off on the first planet we come to."