NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (16 page)

“I think you are exaggerating. You didn't kill anyone there right?”

Daio nodded. He didn't have the strength to explain.

“We owe you our lives,” said the Doctor but immediately corrected himself, “Naan owes you its life.”

Daio looked at his big face and suddenly remembered that he had been with them in the forest. He wondered how he had escaped the hell it had become. There wasn’t a scratch on him.

The officer entered the room and walked towards him, distracting him from his thoughts. He looked at the Doctor and spoke rapidly.

“Clearly he doesn't speak Naanite," said the Doctor while the officer was still talking." He wants the device to translate.” The officer looked at the Doctor. His brows clearly indicating his displeasure the Doctor interrupted him and said something in a language he didn’t understand. He started to speak harshly to the Doctor. The little man held his ground and fired words back at him until the officer’s face turned red.

“I told him you are merchants that recently arrived from the other side of the galaxy. I said that you speak ancient Naanite and that the device doesn't know how to translate your words into Mampasian.”

The officer looked at them, impatient. The fact he needed the small man with a large head to run this interrogation made him mad. Daio, on the other hand, didn't understand why merchants arriving from the other side of the galaxy would speak ancient Naanite.

“My name is Colonel Lucas. I am the commander of the fifth division of Mampas army. Now, I am the temporary governor of Naan.” The officer said, the Doctor translated into Naanite, and the device on his hip translated into Seragonian.

“The Doctor says you are innocent, but all signs point to you being part of this takeover attempt. I suggest you cooperate because, one way or the other, I will extract the truth from you.”

After translating, the Doctor said something to the officer in Mampasian and the officer’s response started another loud argument. The officer looked away, stood, and left the room.

“He’s not asking questions, he’s only throwing accusations, and I will not allow it.”

“Aren't you afraid of him?”

“No. We are useful to them. Naan is only a small backwater planet to them, but still they need to know when something is happening here. That is exactly what we have done, and I am not afraid to tell him this to his face.”

“So why is he so angry?”

“I assume they are surprised. The rebels were no simple outside invaders.  They were not even from the outer planets of Dion system. They came from Mampas itself, from the desert, and they are having a hard time accepting the fact they didn't see it coming. They’ve been hounded by these rebels for hundreds of years and now they’re worried that their success here is an indication of something.”

“Dion?”

“The star of this planetary system.”

Daio nodded.  “Where did he go anyway?”

“To consult with his superiors,” said the Doctor and gazed at him. “Don't worry; he is only a little clerk. My contacts in the Mampas government are at a much higher level and I think eventually they will believe me.”

Daio nodded. “Just find Sosi,” he mumbled.

“You need to see a doctor,” said the Doctor sounding as if he was ignoring Daio words.

“Did you hear me?”

“Of course, but the war just ended. The soldiers, the Flyeyes and the hovercrafts of Mampas are everywhere. Some of them are looking for him. I know this for a fact. If I send out a search team they might hurt them.”

“What if he is wounded?” Daio said and shook his head. He hoped he was only wounded.

“At this stage you'll have to settle for what we are doing,” said the Doctor. “They still suspect you are part of the takeover attempt, but maybe that is a good thing at this stage. If they think that, then it's in their best interest to find him as well.”

“When can I see Dug?”

“He is asleep,” said the Doctor.

“Is he okay? Are you sure of that?” asked Daio.

“'He is alive, said the Doctor, “They interrogated him.” 

Daio gazed at him. “When?”

“Before I returned from the forest.”

Daio nodded. “How? He doesn’t speak their language.”

“I know. They have beaten him. They thought he was just refusing to talk, but he is okay.”

“Beaten him? He was already injured when we left. How can anyone beat an injured man?”

“It could have been worse,” said the Doctor.

“What can be worse than beating a wounded man? You promised you would take care of him.”

“I wasn't here when they interrogated him. My people were guarding his room, but the soldiers killed one of them and broke in.”

“Take me to him! Now!” said Daio angrily.

The Doctor sighed and looked at him. “I plan to stand behind my promise. I will protect you with my life.”

“Sosi is gone and Dug is barely alive. I am beginning to doubt your capabilities.”

The Doctor nodded. “Come, I'll take you to him.” He helped Daio stand and the two walked to the door.

Two Mampasian soldiers and two Naanite policemen were standing in the corridor outside the door. The Doctor spoke to them and asked that they be taken to Dug's room. The policemen led the way to the end of the corridor and the two soldiers walked behind. The stairs took the little strength Daio had.  When they reached the third floor he was completely exhausted.

“Why are there no elevators?” he mumbled himself leaning on the railings at the third floor.

He took two a deep breath and pushed himself away from the railing. They walked along the corridor until one of the policemen opened a door to their right. They went inside the room and Daio saw someone on a bed. His legs stuck out past its end. His upper body and head were bent. He limped quickly over to him and his eyes widened in shock.

“What did they do to him?” he cried looking at Dug's the bruised and swollen face.

“I am sorry,” said the Doctor.

“Is he alive?” he asked bending over towards Dug's face.

“They put him in a coma.”

Daio dragged a chair to the bed, dropped himself on it with a grunt, and looked at Dug's face.

“The worst is behind us,” said the Doctor as if to comfort him.

Daio didn't take his eyes off Dug. He repeated the Doctor words, as if to test their truth.

They didn't leave the room for a few weeks. The Doctor removed everything from the room and brought in another bed, a table, and a few chairs. Although Daio was almost recovered after a week, and was physically able to leave the room, the Mampas representatives insisted he stay in the room and left a soldier to guard the door.

Through the bars over their window they could see, and hear, the town coming back to life. Old and noisy vehicles cleared away stones and soot blackened rubble. Others vehicles mounted with large brushes cleaned the streets so often that Daio could recognize them by their sound. 

The noises in the street always brought him back to the reality around them. It turned his thoughts to Sosi and of how things could have turned out so much better if only they’d landed on a more civilized planet. They could have hidden among millions of people, or in the worst case among the thousands of homeless, that nobody knew of or cared about.

Days and weeks passed, but there was no sign to Sosi. Daio asked the Doctor for permission to leave the room and join the search but the Doctor only showed him a video of the searches they were conducting. It was clear that they were not holding back in their efforts.

The Mampasian Flyeyes scanned the forest for days. Soon the percentage of Flyeyes that they were losing due to Naan’s thin air startled the officer in charge and he removed them from the search effort. The Doctor gathered up every able bodied resident of the town and they searched the forest in for Sosi and the missing policemen. The search led nowhere. Nothing organic had survived the fire. Even the hovercraft was reduced to shapeless globs of metal.

Daio didn't talk to Dug about Sosi. He felt guilty. Every time he analyzed things he always came to the conclusion he.  He hadn’t had control over his own fate in the forest and even less control over Sosi's fate.

Dug didn't asked about Sosi either. His pain consumed all his attention. His swollen lips and broken jaw prevented him from talking for long time. When he could speak again, the pain and thoughts of losing Sosi had faded enough to talk about them.

The days in the room gave Daio time to wonder about other things as well. The old vehicles wandering in the streets convinced him that Naan had simply never reached the critical mass required for bringing in new and advanced technology to be economical. The economy of Naan was very limited and simple technology was enough to provide all its needs. It was a logical conclusion, but quite inaccurate.

The Doctor came for a visit one dark night, a few weeks after the room became their home. Dug was already able to sit up, and had even walked around the room a bit. Daio had a little limp, but beyond this was completely healthy. The darkness outside was complete, as the streetlight had not yet been repaired.

“Dark night,” said the Doctor as he walked into the room gazing at Daio standing by the window.

Daio turned towards him. “How often does it happen?” he asked and remembered that Sosi had asked the same question when they were in the forest.

The Doctor nodded his big head, “It's not fixed. Sometimes five days sometimes eight days.”

The Doctor’s face looked gloomy and Daio thought about asking him if everything was okay, but he didn't. He didn't care and didn't really want to know. It wouldn't have surprised him if the gloomy look were something bland and meaningless. Despite the Doctor saying he would do everything to take care of them, he suspected the Doctor has used them. He didn’t think the little man really meant the things he said.

Daio was mistaken in this as well. The Doctor was thinking of Sosi. The youngest brother had shown amazing capabilities and now he was dead. The little man felt that maybe his test had gotten out of control. He wondered if he’d made a catastrophic mistake that would destroy the mission he’d dedicated his life to, or if this was simply how things were meant to be. He'd hoped Daio was the chosen he had waited so long for. But what if he wasn’t? Should he continue as planned?  What choice did he have? These questions had plagued his mind ever since the fire and were the reason for his gloomy look. When he walked into the room he felt he was no longer in control of things. They would happen as they happened. He hoped he had done enough.

“You are free,” he said and moved his gaze between them. “You can leave.”

Dug and Daio looked at each other for a moment. “How did this happen?” asked Daio walking towards the Doctor.

“They caught the gang leader on one of the remote planets. I don't have many details, but somehow Mampas finally figured out that you didn’t have anything to do with the uprising.”

“Gang?” said Daio.

The Doctor smiled, “Yes, Naan is so small and vulnerable that even a gang of robbers can take it over.”

“I thought they were rebels from Mampas?”

“Yes, me too, but I am glad this was not the case, otherwise it would have been harder to convince them to set you free.”

“It ith thtange moe than it ith amathing,” said Dug. His mouth was still swollen and he could not move his jaw much.

“It is strange more than it is amazing,” repeated Daio after him so that the device on the Doctor’s belt could translate.

“Why is it strange?”

“What is thee to ob hee?”

“What is there to rob here?” repeated Daio.

“Minerals, you know Naan's founders were miners.”

“Minerals?” wondered Daio, “I never heard about mineral robbers. It takes time to mine. You could bring the whole galaxy in to kick them out before they could make any profit.”

“Yes, that is true.  Unless they eliminate you completely.”

“So that is what they were after? Naan's minerals?” asked Daio.

“I don't know. I was not briefed about their interrogation.”

“Ae thee Mineals hee that wooth all this?”

“Are there minerals here?” asked Daio.

“Yes. That is how Naan became populated.”

Dug nodded his head, ”Soun odd,” he said. The translator remained silent and the Doctor watched Dug as he tried to gain control over the saliva that was dripping from the edge of his mouth.

“Did they ask how we got through to their president? They must know we scrambled information to get to him.”

“I told them that we tried to enter the code they gave me and that it didn't work. They seem to think that the scrambling of the network that was blocking the connection to Mampas caused the whole thing.”

“They think the scrambling led us to the President of Mampas?” asked Daio, trying to find reason in the Doctor words. He looked at the Doctor with discomfort. It might sound reasonable if the government of Mampas was only its president and three bums.  “Well Sosi is gone now," he said and became quiet for a second.  "They don't need to worry too much about scrambling.”

“Yes,” said the Doctor and the worried look returned to his face.

“What is going on outside?” asked Dug making an effort to speak clearly.

“The city is recovering,” said the Doctor interrupting Daio’s thoughts. Three or four streets didn't justify the title of city.

Daio walked to the window. “Maybe we should tell them about Sosi,” he said.

“Tell them what?”

“That he scrambled information in order to get through.”

“Why?” asked the Dug and Doctor the Doctor immediately after.

“Maybe it's better they know that we did it out of necessity and that Sosi died soon after. Maybe it's better we tell them now than if they find out about this somehow later. I don’t want it all to fall on our heads suddenly later like the darkness outside.”

“I don't think it's a good time to be honest,” said the Doctor. “You don't know Mampas. They are very sensitive when it comes to scrambling. They won't be as forgiving as you may think.” He sighed. “You need to understand that they have neutralized the desert rebels scrambling capabilities. If they find that scrambling was involved in this matter, and that you, or even me, had something to do with it, they will never let you go.”

He looked at them to see if they were convinced. 

“It would be enough for them to take you to Mampas. If they do that, they will discover your past.”

Dug nodded and thought about their house in Seragon and their peaceful life.

“I still don't understand how you managed to prevent them from taking us in the first place,” said Daio. “They didn't even interrogate us.”

“They cannot interrogate citizens,” said the Doctor and switched his gaze between the two.

Daio smiled. “Citizens?”

The Doctor returned his smile. “In gratitude for your sacrifices, and in memory of Sosi, the temporary government of Naan accepted my recommendation to offer you citizenship.”

Daio looked at Dug and said, “We are grateful for this offer.”

“It is the least we can do.”

“Still I doubt if this citizenship can stop them,” said Daio.

“I know, but the fact that we gave you citizenship made it clear we don't see you as enemies. That, combined with my arguments, was enough. And besides they found the people they were looking for and their interrogation probably proved you are not involved.”

“What does it mean to be a citizen here?” asked Daio.

“If you are asking me if you have any duties then you can relax. We don't expect you to do anything you don't want to do yourself,” said the Doctor. “I promised Mampas we would keep eye on you, but if you want to leave no one will stop you. I will settle things with Mampas.” His skeptical tone was clear even through the translator.

“We are not going anywhere,” said Daio and looked at Dug. “I don’t think we could get on official flights anyway, not with our names. And besides, Sosi died here,” he mused. “I don't think I can leave so soon.” He gazed at Dug who nodded. 

“I fully understand,” said the Doctor.

“Whae wee we do? Whee ae we going to eive?” asked Dug.

“Where are we going to live?” repeated Daio.

“As I told you, you don’t need to do anything, but if you ask me this place is about to go through a major development and we would love to see you taking part in it. We need talented people like you and I have no doubt you will see a good return for your time and effort. As for accommodation, I already took care of it. Your house is ready as soon as you want to move in.”

“You want us to help develop this place,” said Daio with more than a little doubt. “We are yellow boxes traders,” He said.

“So?”

“So? In any other place in the galaxy they would throw us in jail or inject a lethal drug in our veins and sell our organs.”

“This is not any other place. Besides I’m sure that any decent place would give you a second chance,” said the Doctor. He walked towards the door and peeked outside. The door opened wide and a little man with a small box like the one the Doctor had walked into the room.

“I will take you to your home now,” they heard him say.

“Now? But it is dark outside?” wondered Daio.

“It's not far from here, and the car is waiting,” said the man.

Daio helped Dug get to his feet and they followed the little man. 

The town was completely dark and the only light in the street was that of the cars headlights. They made three turns on the drive. On every turn the car’s lights splashed across the houses close to the turn. Finally they arrived at a gate. Two lights hung over the gate and they could see someone working on its lock. It opened and the car went in.

Unlike the other houses the front of this house was lit. Daio and Dug got out of the car and stood staring at it for a while, astonished. The house had two floors and a tiled roof covered with old light collectors. There were two windows on the first floor and two smaller ones on the second floor. They all overlooked a green garden that covered most of the area to the right of the house’s entrance.

“The town is completely dark and this house shines like a star,” whispered Daio.

“This is the house father,” said their driver. He pointed to the man who had opened the gate and now was walking over. “His name is Moah Salin.”

Moah heard his name as he approached them. He stepped toward them, stopped, and bowed. He was old and short but looked solid as if he was no stranger to manual labor. He was completely bald and wore a white suit that matched the house’s elegant façade.