There were many things Ed liked about Qojja, some of which he had forgotten.
For instance, every night the stars shone so brightly they reflected on the surface of the ocean. Because of the water’s peculiar pigmentation, the result was a kaleidoscope of colors that sparkled in the air, like a dancing and ever-changing rainbow.
There was magic here, too. Something that still felt odd to him after all these years... Not that it was uncommon elsewhere, but he had not grown in a world where it held any significant role—quite the opposite, as his people regarded it as hogwash.
He knew better, of course.
Admittedly, he had learned this the hard way.
He sat on a bench at the seafront and watched the lights dance above the silvery foam.
His thoughts wandered to the stories Cora had told him.
To pass the time while they waited—he to visit the cave, she for her boyfriend—they had entertained each other with tales of various levels of veracity.
At one point, she had noticed the locket in his pocket and had pointed to it with a quirked brow.
“There was a woman,” he had said hesitantly.
“Of course there was.” She’d smiled and sipped her coffee. “What was her name?”
“Sally,” he’d answered.
“What was she like?”
He’d stared into his cup for a moment.
“Sweet. Understanding. Loving. With long brown hair, blue eyes, a smile to die for, and the most gentle heart I’ve ever known.”
“What happened to her?”
“Mugged and beaten to death.”
She had placed a hand on his arm.
“I’m so sorry,” she’d said softly.
“It’s alright,” he’d lied. “It happened a long time ago.”
The conversation had then turned to other topics.
He noted as she spoke that all of her stories were dark and hinted at a life of misery and distress.
When he’d asked her about this, she had shrugged.
“I was born in a slum to a janitor father and a junkie mother. My brother died from an easily cured disease, five years ago, because we couldn’t afford a doctor. To top it off, my fiancé serves a madman at the head of a death cult. So. Not much joy, here, sorry.”
“You talk about those around you, but you say nothing about yourself.”
“Because there is nothing to say.”
“I highly doubt that. We all have something to say. In fact, you’ve already said quite a bit in the few minutes we’ve been chatting.”
“Must be your lucky day...”
He had smiled and encouraged her to say more.
“If you could be anything you wanted, what would you be?”
“An adventurer,” she had said without thinking. “And I don’t mean just here. I mean, I’m sure there are still plenty of things to discover on Qojja—it’s the world that keeps on giving, even after so many millennia... but I dream of space, of stars, of exploring the Weld. I envy those who can travel, out there.”
She’d looked away then, as if ashamed to have admitted how she must have felt about him.
Sitting on the bench, facing the sea, his gaze turned to the stars in the sky.
He whispered a few quiet words and chuckled.
***
His feet knew the way well by now. Without asking for his permission, they had taken Paul back to Alyssya’s house.
He had been wandering through the streets of Joqqal, trying desperately to find some trace of his missing friend... Instead, he’d landed here.
Staring at the door, he sighed and sat down in his usual spot. He was too tired anyway, so he might as well rest here... at least for a little while.
He must have fallen asleep, as a loud noise suddenly woke him. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked around.
The sky had darkened, though it was not quite night yet. People still went about their business. Two men were dragging a cart, but one of them had dropped his end and their charge had fallen off—which was the sound he’d heard.
His eyes moved back to the house, and he froze.
Alyssya was standing there, back against the wall, smoking a cigarette. Alone.
Still... he knew she didn’t live on her own. The others were likely within earshot. Was it worth the risk, or should he wait longer?
Before he could decide, though, the woman with the tattoo threw her smoke to the floor and crushed it with her foot. Then she walked... away from the house.
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He jumped to his feet and followed her, careful to stay out of sight.
She was heading toward the seafront, he noted. Knowing the way, he pictured the most likely route and decided to approach her when they’d reach the park. There wouldn’t be too many people there, not at this hour.
When they came nearer to the spot, he sped up.
He was near enough, now, that he could almost reach out and touch her.
“Alyssya,” he called out.
She spun around quicker than he would have thought her capable of. Her eyes grew wide when she saw him, and her lips curled into a grimace of disgust and hate.
Before he knew it, she was on top of him. Her nails dug deep into his skin, her teeth bit at his shoulder, and her knee barely missed his groin.
He staggered away, waving his hands in the air.
“Hey! Calm down! I just want to talk.”
“I’ll kill you if I see you again!” she hissed, then turned and ran off.
He stared at her as she ran away, then examined his arm and shoulder. She had dug deep enough to draw blood.
That woman is a menace, he thought to himself.
Groaning and cursing, he headed back to the hotel.
If she wanted to play rough, he could do that too...
Next time, he decided, he’d use magic.
***
Unlike most of my brothers, I have no particular dislike for humans. At times, I have even found their company more enjoyable.
They are odd creatures, though, I must admit.
I do not understand how they can achieve anything in such short lifespans.
They know so little, and yet accomplish so much... spreading through the stars and ruling over millions of worlds.
I marvel at their perseverance and endurance.
It became a frequent topic for debate with my fellow conspirators. We had, after all, been tasked to recruit humans—a mission that baffled us all. Rakash was not particularly fond of the species, so why the sudden interest?
He never shared with us his intentions—nor did we expect him to—so it naturally led to much speculation on our part.
I remember one conversation, in particular. I was with Raleen that night, when we attempted to assess what it was exactly was expected of us.
”Trustworthy humans,” she had mused. “Is that even a thing? How could a human ever be trusted?”
”The same way one of us would, I suspect.”
”Which isn’t saying much,” she had grimaced. “But would they not be less reliable, by their very nature?”
”I’m not sure I follow you...”
She had paused and stared at the night sky as she’d searched for the right words.
In that instant, as I observed her profile, it had occurred to me how much she reminded me of Rakash’s daughter. I was not certain whether I should have felt pleased or upset about this, but it had troubled me.
”They have rather short lives, do they not?” she had finally asked.
”They do.”
”And would you not say that they are more emotional than our people?”
In all my years of dealing with the humans, I had to admit I had seen much more displays among them than among our folks. Anger, joy, frustration, love, hatred, affection... Sometimes it felt like they basked in it.
”I think that is a fair assessment.”
She had nodded and looked at me. “Then tell me this, Evken... would you trust someone prone to sudden bursts of emotion, let alone one about to die? People—no matter the species—can blurt out secrets when overcome by strong feelings. Our kin is simply less disposed to such bursts.”
There was truth in her words and it troubled me. Because I had met humans in my life that I would say I could trust. Just like there were some of our kin whom I did NOT trust... including Rakash himself.
”Are you saying you would trust any of us over any of them?”
I could tell from her smile she knew exactly what I had meant. “No... I suppose I would not.” She had fallen silent for a moment. “But how then are we to determine whether a person can be trusted?”
That was the crux of our problem, and one that would elude us for the next hundred years.
But what did become clear fairly quickly was that it was not enough for Rakash to control the senate...
He also intended to infiltrate and influence human society.
***
He had never been on a boat before and did not enjoy the experience at all. He was sick throughout the entire trip. The sailors who brought him his food snickered and mocked him. He had trouble keeping the food down, too, which further weakened him.
Standing on the tip of his toes, he could look through a porthole at the sea, but that only made his stomach churn more. So he stayed on his bed, moaning.
On the third day, Michael heard the crew calling out excitedly and the sound of feet running all over the deck.
He pulled himself to the window and saw they were nearing a shore. His misery was finally coming to an end!
When he felt the remnants of his last meal trying to push their way out, he hurried back to the bed and lay down. The feeling eased.
It took a couple more hours of an agonizing wait before the ship finally moored and stopped rocking.
The Captain himself came to fetch him, along with two of his men.
“Come on, hero! Time to go.”
The two sailors grabbed him and dragged him out.
They tossed him into the back of a glider, and they flew off.
His senses were slowly coming back, now that he was on dry land again. He wondered where they were taking him, and how he was going to get himself out of this mess.
“Where are we going?”
One of the heavies punched him in the stomach.
“Keep your mouth shut,” he grunted.
Michael doubled over and cursed.
“Don’t worry,” said the Captain, who was sitting in the front, “you’ll find out soon enough.”
When the glider finally stopped, he saw they had gone outside of the city and parked at the top of a hill overlooking the port. In the distance, he could see the boat he had been stuck on, and for a brief moment he was happy... it wasn’t a dream, he was really off of that wretched thing.
He was pushed out of the vehicle and fell to the ground with a thud.
“What is this?” he heard a new voice ask.
Glancing up, he saw a tall dark-skinned man wearing a suit and tie, looking from him to the Captain.
“He sneaked onto my ship...”
“This is highly irregular.”
“That’s what I thought, too.”
“So you brought him to me?”
“Wasn’t my call to make!” barked the Captain defensively.
“Nor is it mine,” said the other with an annoyed click of the tongue. “Do you at least have the journal?”
“Of course.”
One of the sailors got the bag from the glider and gave it to the Captain, who in turn handed it to the stranger.
The bag was opened, and its contents inspected.
“Very good.” He tossed credit tokens at the Captain. “There’s your payment.”
“That’s fifty short!” protested the Captain.
The stranger pointed at Michael. “You really want to argue with me?”
The Captain grumbled under his breath and put the credits away.
“I’d say good doing business with you, but I would be lying.”
He and his men went back into the glider and left, leaving Michael with the stranger.
“Ungrateful bastard,” muttered the man. His gaze turned back to the archaeologist. “Now, what am I going to do with you?”
“You could just let me go...” suggested the prisoner.
“Tempting. But no can do. That would get me into trouble, I suspect. A lot of trouble. Better take you with me.”
He grabbed Michael’s arm and pulled him up, then guided him to another glider that was parked out of sight, behind some trees. He pushed him into the back.
“Why do you want those leaflets? They have no value...” he tried.
The man sat at the front and tapped a destination on the vehicle’s onboard TriVid screen—though Michael could not read it from his position.
“I couldn’t care less about them. Just following orders.” The man turned to look at Michael and grinned. “As for no value, I doubt it, considering how well I’m being paid. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. It’ll be a few hours before we get there...”
So this was just another intermediary.
He was starting to feel like a sack of potatoes, being constantly tossed about...
And he did not enjoy that one bit either.