Stranger King (10 page)

Chapter Sixteen

They landed
on the ground again less than a standard hour later. The army disembarked first, leaving the ghelu and his pet to depart after them. It was dark now, the sole moon rising in the sky. Maria looked at him once more and he tried again to speak to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said in Mokai. “I’m so sorry.”

She seemed to listen, even though he felt she did not understand. He had been learning French faster than she was learning Mokai, but it seemed something as simple as an apology was beyond his comprehension.

As his feet dug into the ground, he was surprised by the chill that went through his body. Looking up, he realized the precipitation had grown cold, cold enough to become solid underneath his feet. He was told that it was like this on the Homeworld, cold enough to be covered in ice. But he did not realize other planets could grow so cold, not so far from the poles. He had certainly seen it in visuals, but he had never experienced it against his own skin before.

Maria shivered slightly as they walked, her feet red against the white ground.

It occurred to him that she also needed coverings for her feet. He promised her that he would procure these for her when they returned home. She still did not speak to him.

The army ahead of them stopped, weapons brought up into the air as they scanned around. Thegn moved closer to Maria and saw the red light in her arm, beeping quietly under her skin. Every few minutes, the light flickered and she shuddered. He had done this to her, he thought again and again, and he felt ashamed.

He wanted to touch her arm again, but stopped himself as she stared boldly at him. He did not have permission and he let his hand drop.

As he did so, he heard the sound of archaic weapons, what his people had called bullets. He knew still that they could kill and he tossed Maria down into the ground, covering her with his body as the shots were fired.

He raised his head to look. He saw five Toolas, covered in thick vestments and gear, weapons in hand as they shot down from the top of the mountain. The army scattered out, attempting to bring them into captivity.

As Thegn rose from the ground, Maria pushed herself back up and ran. For a moment, Thegn thought he should let her run, return her to her people. But as he saw the red light pulse and she fell to the ground, he knew she needed his help.

Thegn ran to her side, scooping her in his arms. Her skin looked almost blue. He registered that this was not normal in her species and brought her back to the ship, warming her as the fighting continued on outside.

He heard a click as he laid her down. He turned, seeing a Toola male standing before him, weapon drawn on him. His ghele raced.

Maria turned to him and said in French, “Thegn, put your arms above your head right now and keep them there.”

Thegn did as she said as the Toola went to Maria’s side. He tried to speak with her, but she did not understand what he was saying. It was another language, although similar to hers in many sounds. He tried again in French, and although Thegn did not understand, she responded, speaking quickly.

Maria turned to him again and said, “You’re going to be taken with us. He’s keeping the weapon out, but he will not hurt you if you keep walking.”

Thegn stepped forth, his legs heavy as the Toola pressed the weapon into his back. He felt panicked and looked over at Maria for any sign of safety.

The Toola asked her something then and Maria shook her head. Thegn did not recognize the gesture and nearly froze still in fear. The Toola pushed him forward and Thegn followed Maria into the Toola wilderness.

He did not know what the Toola had asked, but he knew that Maria had just saved his life.

*

Thegn did not resist as he was bound and chained in a small room deep beneath the ground. He looked up blearily as a light shone in his eyes, his double irises quickly dilating to protect his pupil, his second lid slipping down protectively.

He did not understand the Toola who examined him, injecting him with a substance that made him feel drowsy.

He cried out for Maria and noticed the rise of the Toola’s eyebrow. It was the last thing he saw as his eyes unwillingly closed.

Chapter Seventeen

As he
came to, he understood a little of the conversation just outside the door. He recognized Maria’s voice, arguing with two other Toolas. He recognized a few French words, but it was still mainly in another language that he did not understand.

He shifted against his bindings, looking for any injuries. He saw a few places where he had been injected. He did not know if things had been added to or subtracted from his body, but it ached regardless.

The door opened and Maria came through, touching his face with an odd affection. He looked up at her and tried to smile, though his mouth was not as mobile as a Toola’s. He had failed to learn the meaning of the gesture, but it seemed to comfort her.

Maria tried to translate the best she could. “These two are Ntses, scientists. They’re worried that you have the disease.”

Thegn was confused. What disease?

Maria frowned, and pretended to cough and shudder. Thegn realized he had seen that before among the Toolas in captivity. He had thought it an isolated case or two. He did not realize…

“Did this sickness come with my people?” Thegn asked, pointing at himself.

She nodded.

Thegn tried to give her permission, nodding in exaggeration, “Do whatever is needed.”

As she translated this to the two scientists, they both seemed relieved. Thegn was not drugged further as they did their tests. He sat the best he could, quietly, listening in on the language he did not understand. He would look over at the door, hoping to see Maria waiting for him on the other side. For the many hours he was there, he did not see her again.

*

When the tests seemed to be complete, Thegn was unbound. The one scientist seemed apprehensive, but the other patted her on the arm. They seemed to trust Maria and for some reason, that held value, regardless that she was strange to them.

The ceiling of the bunker was slightly too low for Thegn and he lowered his head as he was led out into the rest of the complex. He could not see all of it, but he saw it was just as large as the Mokai compound, if not bigger. He was led into an interior garden where he was allowed to sit on the artificially grown grass. He sighed in relief, relaxing in a more natural habitat.

Maria sat beside him and explained, “They want to ask you questions. I will not let them hurt you.”

Thegn asked, “What did you tell it?”

She shook her head to indicate confusion.

“The Toola who took us. What did you tell it?”

“I told him you did not touch me,” she replied.

There was a nuance he could sense, but he could not quite understand what she was implying. The two scientists moved to the side as two other Toolas entered the room, one male and one female.

The female asked Maria a question, which she slowly responded to.

Thegn asked, “What language do they speak?”

Maria responded awkwardly, “English. My country used to speak both of them, though my language was less common.”

Non-standardized language even within geographic regions. Thegn was intrigued. He had heard of there being many languages on Toola, but he had assumed each government would pick one. How odd. Yet as he watched, realizing that the female at least understood French, he knew why they had switched languages. The fact that he did not understand gave them a power over him. He would have to learn this English quickly.

Maria asked, “They wish to know what to call you.”

Thegn paused. Among his people, only one’s title was important to know. A personal name was to be shared among friends, as a sign of affection. But these people would not understand that and he was not superstitious enough to believe they would use his name to curse him like some Elchai might.

“I am Thegn. I am ghelu.”

He heard discussion back and forth until the male laughed. He heard the word he used again and again: “priest.” He did not understand it and he did not know if it was meant as a slur.

Thegn asked Maria and she frowned, using her hand in a gesture that his kind used to express embarrassment, but here was meant to convince him to stop talking.

Maria said, “They want to know if you are what we would call a chaplain. Do you serve the spiritual needs of an army?”

Thegn replied, “I am a researcher. I want to document the Toolas for the Council. We wish to preserve your kind’s history.”

The female Toola laughed darkly, the male Toola growing aggressive in return. They argued for a few moments. Maria did not translate the interactions. When the two Toolas seemed to come to a consensus, Maria signaled Thegn to stand.

As he did so Maria said, “You are to be kept here as hostage. They will learn from you what they can. But you are in danger the longer you stay here. Be careful.”

At these last words, the female Toola gave Maria a bitter look and the two females glared at each other. Thegn followed them out of the room and back into the place he had been kept. The door locked behind him.

*

A standard hour later, a male Toola entered the room, closing the door behind him. He brought with him a selection of food, some Thegn had not seen before.

The male explained in French, “I did not know what your kind eats. From the little we knew, you are not meat eaters, yes? None of the bodies have had canine teeth. So there are vegetables and fruits and some cheese. See what you can eat. I will eat what you cannot.”

The male sat down on the bed, Thegn sitting on the floor beside him. Thegn sniffed through the plate, picking out the things he knew were edible to him. He gave the rest of the plate to the Toola.

“I hear you and I have something in common,” the Toola continued, peeling the skin off the fruit he was to eat, “we are what my people call men of the cloth.”

Thegn said the English word the best he could, “Priest?”

The Toola nodded. “I’m sure it’s not quite the same among your people, but I have always found that our kind understand the best what it means to serve. My name is Elias. I do not mean you harm. I want to understand what it is needed to accommodate you here. Can you explain what a ghelu is?”

Thegn appreciated Elias’ attempt at the pronunciation and explained, “We serve the Goddess as does your species here called bees. I read about them before I came. They have a queen and drones who serve. I serve the Goddess as a drone serves his queen.”

Elias frowned. “The drones impregnate the queen and die.”

“It is not perfect, but there is truth in that. I will mate with the Septun, the living Goddess. Then I must be killed. The child of the Goddess can only have one parent. I serve other functions and tasks, but that is my final task.”

“Is that how all ghelu die?”

“It is how we are meant to die. My Septun let me come here knowing I most likely would not come back. My people are to give another to her in appeasement.”

“Your people are different from her?”

Thegn paused and then realized there was no harm in telling them, “There are three other species you have not yet seen that are part of the Council that sent me here. The Septun are always Elchai, the faith originated with them. When my people met theirs, there were converts. The Mokai, my people, give males, as do the other two, to match the Elchai males. It has been the way for two standard centuries. I am always Mokai, but I am one of the ghelu first. I always will be.”

“And they can all … they’re all compatible?” Elias asked.

Thegn realized he did not know enough of the language or the science to really explain the answer and simply lied, “Mostly.”

Elias nodded, taking a bite from his fruit. He offered a slice to Thegn, but he politely refused. He could smell the acid in it and he was not sure if his two stomachs would be able to process it without growing ill or it fermenting.

“So you were sent here to study us?” Elias asked.

“I was sent to document and preserve,” Thegn explained. “The Council has had … concerns about how the Mokai have handled your people. They wish to preserve what is left.”

Elias smiled darkly. “Without actually doing anything to help. To send a priest to write down what was left of the great culture they can mourn after the war. No, perhaps we are not so different after all.”

Thegn asked for clarification, but Elias gave none.

Thegn continued, “They threatened intervention if what I brought back showed abuse of your kind, but it is appeasement. All knew.”

“So why you?”

“I was Mokai. I would not frighten you as another Council species might. I am ghelu, my allegiance is to the Goddess, not my birth race. There were only five of us who fit that description. I was the furthest from my final service and the best at learning languages. I was simply the best candidate.”

Elias said, “I don’t believe you.”

“All those facts were true.”

“Why did you want to come here? Not why they sent you. Why did you want to be here?”

Thegn admitted, “I saw a video capture. They said you were not sentient and that you ran on instinct. That you were animals. But I saw a Toola female rescue an older woman. She bared her teeth, but it was to frighten the guard, to give them more time. When I saw it, I thought of my own people. Many years before I was born, my people were invaded by the Elchai. I willingly chose the Goddess. Many of my people did not. Sometimes … sometimes people forget. We lost much of our culture, our way of life. Many died. I did not want another species to go through the same.”

“Even if it turned out we weren’t sentient?” Elias asked darkly.

“Would we be having this conversation if you weren’t?”

“You’re hypocrites,” Elias said, running his hand through his hair, “which should not surprise me. But why here? What do they want from us?”

“They want nothing from you. They want your land, your resources. There are things here you don’t even know how to mine or process. They are things their people need. There are new substances they could not even have dreamed of. Your people are simply in the way. You are an interest, a diversion, but you are not the reason they came here. Your people have an amazing genetic diversity, their scientists wish to study it, and there are collectors who are interested in you.”

“You keep saying ‘they’ and ‘their’. Do you not feel any responsibility? Not one little piece of guilt? Aren’t you one of them? Or is this an act so you can live with yourself?”

“Yes.”

Elias paused, “Yes to what?”

“Yes to all,” Thegn admitted.

Elias sighed, picking up the plate, “Thank you for everything you have told me.”

Thegn said, “Wait. Elias. Thank you. For the meal.”

Elias left the room, locking the door behind him.

*

By his reckoning, no other Toola spoke to him for three standard days. Each day he prayed that Maria would come back to him. Each night he dreamt of the Mokari singing to him from the deep waters. On the third night, he asked them to give him more time; he was not an old man yet. He felt he was betraying the Goddess by interacting with them, but it gave him an odd sense of peace. He was not forgotten. Not even here.