The Fifth Civilization: A Novel (19 page)

“I hope so.”

“Yeah. And maybe you’ve become Nicholas Streb by then.”

Roan raised his eyebrows. The other man gave off a hint of a
smile and then shuffled away down the stairs, his boots fading on the platinum
floors. Roan became aware that the palace suddenly seemed very quiet indeed.

In an hour, hovering electronic orbs came to collect the crew
who were roaming the palace. Roan was sequestered in a palatial stateroom,
flipping through broadcasts, when the orb floated in and requested that he
return to the rotunda for dinner. When he responded in affirmative, the orb flew
away, no doubt to find the next programmed guest. Robots were never one for
conversation.

Duvurn had prepared what appeared to be a vast table for his
guests, though under the tablecloth Roan noticed it was really two long tables
put together. Glass walls surrounded the dining room, with openings to the
outside gardens that gave the room an effect similar to a greenhouse. Since the
sun had gone down, candles had been placed around the table and shadows danced
amid the glass and the walls. The flames transformed the room into something
more like a sauna.

The Bauxens, Roan knew, liked it hot.

A Bauxen servant pulled out a plush chair, which Roan gladly
sank into. When Roan only saw David sitting opposite him, he asked the servant
where the rest of the crew was, and the Bauxen tilted his head back to signal
he either didn’t know or didn’t speak English. The servant folded his hands and
walked away, and only then did Roan realize his legs could barely fit under the
table, which was obviously designed for shorter and fatter people. As his body
sank into the cushiony chair, he was lowered to a more acceptable height, one
more akin to a Bauxen level.

David had closed his eyes and his head glowed gold. He
must’ve been meditating or something, and the glow from his head cast a soft
shadow on the wall behind him.

Over the next ten minutes, Roan sat in silence as the crew
shuffled in. Kel was next to appear and took a seat next to Roan. Joseph and
Sundar all came in soon after. Jasper was missing, probably asleep. Anything to
get away from the experience of the past month, Roan was sure. Duvurn had not
yet shown up.

“Did you request anything from the chef?” Kel asked, and
Roan was surprised she was talking to him first. Roan shook his head.

“Looks like it’s Bauxen food for you, then. Whatever the
Prince eats, so do you. I think it’s protocol.”

“Good thing I’m starving,” Roan said, and he looked at the
silverware arranged in holders at his place in front of him, handles sticking
in the air. He hoped there wasn’t a protocol for how to pick them up.

The doors against the wall opened. Someone who appeared to
be a servant carried a tray that appeared much too large for him. The tray,
topped with a curved lid, was steaming, and the servant held onto the sides
with gloves. All present watched until he reached the Prince’s empty seat at
the head of the table. The servant set the tray in front of it, revealing his
face by candlelight: it was Duvurn.

“I believe in your language you have an expression for it…
douzo meshiagare
?”

Joseph laughed. Roan cracked a smile as well. “Close
enough.”

The Prince laughed and opened the lid of the container,
which let forth a burst of steam. Lying on the tray was what appeared to be a
small creature, somewhat like a calf, that had been roasted and placed amidst
an array of leafy greens and yellow fruits or vegetables.

“You know, among my people, it is traditional for the host
to serve the meal. At least, the main course.”
 
He sniffed the steam and let out a
satisfied-sounding sigh. “Ah, this
duc
smells good. Now, who’s having their own specialty dishes?”

All the rest of those present spoke up, and through their
hunger they carefully reminded him of their orders. David, a vegetarian, was
having a meal prepared by the chefs that involved some type of squash. Sundar was
given a chard and kale salad and Joseph salivated over a beef sandwich. Kel and
Moira were both indulging in dishes of cheesy pasta. Duvurn muttered
affirmatives as he heard all of these orders and then let out a guttural roar.
Instantly, from the same door through which the Prince had emerged, servants
pushing hover trays appeared.

“It looks like Mr. Roan and I will be the only ones enjoying
the good food of this planet.”
 
Duvurn let off a smile. Smoke from the
duc
twisted before his eyes.

“I can’t wait,” Roan said.

The servants dispensed the requested foods to their
respective owners, and quite expectedly the crew spent several minutes wolfing
them down. Anything that was not cold beans or ship-smoked salmon was OK by
them, and to eat something licked by a Bauxen fire was enough to make everyone
shut up and eat. Practically everyone. Duvurn continued on with some story that
Roan and the others only half-listened to, a lengthy tale relating how his
brother once tried to claim the title of Prince from its legitimate owner,
Duvurn. It involved some sex and intrigue and even a duel, and David was the
only one who said anything during it, interjecting a comment or question that
enabled the Prince to go on for more minutes.

All the while, Roan poked the
duc
with his fork (or rather, an elongated stabbing instrument) and
was surprised how undercooked it seemed. Though appearing roasted, it was
certainly not tender. Roan worked on chewing his first bite as Duvurn related a
decade of his life. Luckily, the Bauxen
port
du jure
was first class; the Bauxen equivalent of a grape made their wine
taste like liquid gold. Servants were constantly alert as to who needed a
refill.

Roan decided could really get to know this Prince.

“So!” Duvurn said, bits of duc flying out of his mouth, “I trust
everyone is enjoying their meal? Is it as good as Earth? I want comparisons.”

“Yes, it is, Your Excellency,” Kel said, as a bit of
mozzarella dipped from her lips. “It’s good to taste real cheese again. A lot
of what comes from Earth tastes sour and pale.”

“Ah yes, I have heard Earth is in a bit of a food shortage,
what with the big war a few hundred years ago. Tell me, is meat still scarce?”

“Not as much as decades ago,” Kel said. “We get a lot of
food from the colonies now. We originally exported a lot of our livestock to
them, and after the war, they had the monopoly on the meat market. Entire
ecosystems thrive on the colonies now. Some of the big predators are even have
to be culled there, predators that only exist in captivity on Earth.”

“Fascinating! You know, I’ve always wanted to see
a…tortoise, that’s it. I hear they’re equivalent to what we evolved from here.”

“Orion has a better planetary zoo than ours,” Kel said. “You
might want to visit it one day, your Excellency.”

“Maybe I shall. I haven’t traveled offworld very much, I’m
afraid.”
 
He licked a duc bone clean
and put the white appendage on a plate towering with bones. “Nicholas! How are
you enjoying your meal? Tasty, isn’t it?”

It was hard to speak with a mouthful of his second piece and
wine, but Roan did his best to smile and raise his glass. Duvurn giggled in
return and from his smile Roan realized that the Bauxens had many more teeth
than humans did, and what was tender to them probably tasted like a brick to a
human.

Duvurn clapped and some servants arrived to take away the
empty trays. Dessert was on the way, the Prince promised, and as he downed
another big glass of wine he let out an enormous burp. Though Roan had only
seen princes in holofilms—all Earth monarchies having been abolished
centuries ago, by force—he judged that this was perhaps not the kind of
mannerly behavior he could expect from a human prince.

“Now,” Duvurn said, “We have to discuss business. In my part
of the planet we always do that before dessert…everyone is in a more talkative
mood, and yet everyone is still anticipating a treat that comes next. Here is
what is going on: the
Colobus
is
undergoing a thorough review and repair by my men in the freighter corps. They
have extensive experience in these matters. Let me tell you that these repairs
will not cost you a tert. We will make sure that your lightspeed drive
functions even better than it did before you left Earth.

“My contacts in the food service are resupplying the ship
with double the quantities of sustenance that you left with. Cuts of meat,
pallets of bread, condiments, sugar, salt, and of course two new tanks of
water. They were surprised you lasted this long on the tanks you had, but I
told them you were short-handed. Oh yes, and spirits as well…I am resupplying
the ship with Earth-style alcohol, and a little of this planet’s variety. Don’t
go through it too quickly!”

Kel glanced at Roan and shrugged.

“On the sober side of things, all the bodies of your dead
crewmen are being turned over to the Earth embassy for repatriation to your
home planet. Terrible business, that.

“Also, your Company did request the
Colobus
be returned to them. Now, I said it was damaged and the
repairs could take weeks, though in reality the ship could be ready by dawn
tomorrow. If you want, I can maintain that fiction with them. Let you take the
freighter and be on your way. Or I could find you a deep-space Bauxen ship,
though that might take a few favors on my part.”

“I think we’ll stick with what we know. The
Colobus
will be fine,” Kel said. And
then she asked something that was on everyone’s mind. “What does the Company
want to do with us?”

“My dear Miss Streb, they are not altogether pleased with
the situation. Their representative here wants to speak with you, but I told
them you are in no condition to do so. For now, I am saying you are
convalescing at my palace. As for your cargo, its delay in arriving at Orion is
causing something a little bit of….ah,
bother
,
I believe. Orion was very upset it didn’t get that cargo on time, you see, and
has threatened to cancel its contracts with the Company. But I believe my
people can work that out. All of the cargo your ship was carrying to Orion is
being offloaded and rerouted immediately on another ship heading to that
colony. Look, I believe this is all a fuss over nothing. A Kotaran act of
violence should be covered by insurance!

“What I am saying is, don’t worry about the wrath of your
Company. Nothing I have heard makes me think they will confiscate your wages or
give you the sack.”

“Thanks,” Roan said. “Are we still wanted for questioning on
Earth?”

“I queried your police agencies, but they were not
forthcoming. They probably still want to speak to you, but I imagine they know
you were simply innocents caught in a bad situation.”
 
Roan noticed there were a lot of “I
believe” and “I imagines” in Duvurn’s little speech. All the guy had were
promises, and Roan wondered if there was anything the Prince could say for
certain. Convalescing on Bauxa didn’t seem like a bad idea, but the sooner they
got off this rock, the better.

“And what about the Kotarans?” Kel asked. “Are they still
following us?”

Duvurn smiled and clapped his hands. Again, servants came
into the room on hovercarts, each holding up vases of some yellowy substance.
Roan had tasted it before:
areya vo
,
equivalent to chilled ice on Earth. When the servant came around to Roan and
saw that his
duc
was not finished, he
gave a frown, but Roan told him to bag it for later. It was replaced with the
treat.

“Enjoy it! Each flavor is quite good, I can assure you.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Kel said, digging into the
areya vo
with her flat spoon. “What
about the Kotarans following us?”

Duvurn sighed and sliced the top off his ice. He ate it
before answering. “I don’t know all the details, but was told by my sources at
the port that a Kotaran ship did arrive here less than a half hour after you did.
They landed at the port of Erwo Seg, and I know nothing else besides that.”

“Where is Erwo Seg?” David asked.

“On a whole separate continent!” Duvurn laughed. “It is
nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, and that’s about two minutes travel time,” Roan said.

Duvurn slurped up his treat and waved his hand, a Bauxen
negative. “I wouldn’t worry about the Kotarans, my friend. They are far away
and we are well protected. Have you not seen my men? Besides, Bauxa is not
Earth—the Kotarans have too many trade agreements with us to jeopardize
anything.”

“As you say, let’s hope so,” Kel said. Her spoon sat buried
in her dessert.

“Tell me about this planet,” Duvurn said. “I want to see the
information you have. Is it true you found the largest untapped well of
phosphate known to exist? And independently, without the help of the Stil
Ministry? That’s an enormous find! I’m not surprised the Kotarans are after it,
too, since they’d need a lot of phosphate after their failed collectivization
policies.”

“Company business,” Kel said, eyeing Roan. “David here was
the one that discovered it, through his scientific contacts. He was the one who
needed to get the information to Nick here, to get a ship. Unfortunately, the
Kotarans got in the way of his plans.”

“Tell me more about this run-in on Earth!” Duvurn said. “Did
you really kill a Kotaran?”

Roan breathed in and cracked a pained smile. “Well, your
Excellency, I did shoot him a number of times. He finished himself off with a
grenade, but I believe it’s the spirit of the thing that counts. So yes I did
kill him. It was either him or me. I’m sure you can understand.”

“Of course! But I am amazed at your strength. I can’t recall
another Earthman who killed a Kotaran and lived to tell about it.”

“Actually, Kel here and my copilot Masao got the drop on one
close to the cockpit of our ship. And Joseph here helped a bunch of the crew
get the third. Didn’t you, Joseph?”

“Um…that was me, all right.”
 
In fact, Joseph hadn’t been among the
team that cornered and killed the third Kotaran. That was Mikhail, Vitaly, and
Ahmed, and a few others who died of their wounds shortly thereafter. But it
didn’t hurt to embellish a little. It wasn’t like they were telling Duvurn the
whole truth, anyway.