Chapter 21: Reliving the Past

That was how Mack found Paulie when he knocked on the door and entered a moment later after Paulie called out to him that the door was still unlocked.

Mack walked into the room, his four feet scuffing slightly on the carpet as his neck quills chattered slightly. “What in the zalc are you eating?” The miriam asked as he approached, his large grey eyes fixated on the charred concoction that Paulie was busy plowing through.

He paused with the spork halfway to his mouth and shrugged. A few of the small squares joining the mashed morass of foodstuffs he was busily masticating.

“Food cubes?”

Mack snorted, the quills that lined the back of his long neck clamoured as they rubbed against each other. “Yeah. I gathered, but what have you done to them?”

Paulie swallowed and took a long pull from the juice carton. It tasted like a tropical fruit punch koolaid. Wiping his mouth, he gestured towards the kitchen. “I felt like cooking something, and these were all I had. Is there a market that I can go get groceries from?”

The shorter man shook his head, large immobile eyes closing as he blinked slowly. “You cooked them? They are fully processed and require no additional heating to be edible. Why would you…” he shook a hand and changed the subject. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know. I needed to talk to you, Flurn was here to perform a medical analysis earlier I presume? I can still smell the sulpher.”

Paulie gave him a wide toothy grin. “Yea. He was. He did some tests, apparently I'm pretty tough, who knew.” he chuckled as the other man scowled again.

Mack walked towards the large TV screen that took up the majority of the far wall. Gesturing to it with one hand he clasped the other behind his brown suit jacket and noted, “I see you figured out how to use this. An interesting choice of simulation. Do you know this place?” He seemed a little flummoxed, as if he was familiar with the location and surprised to see it in Paulie’s own apartment.

He reassured the miriam detective, “No, not at all. I just asked for the ocean and this is what it came up with. I assumed it was just made up? Is it a real place, it is beautiful.”

Mack nodded slowly, his blue-grey neck spines seemed to shiver in the slight artificial breeze the simulation machine was generating. He let out a sigh and turned his long flexible neck to look at Paulie without moving his lower body. “Yes it is. This is showing you a simulation of the southern shores of the Eldeatic Sea. It is where I was born, actually.” he stopped and then looked back to the simulation.

Paulie frowned as he seemed to hesitate, what was the other man up to?

Mack nodded and then said, “Please, observe. Simulation time, evening. Facing south during Trellan IX’s stormy season.”

The screen started to change and Paulie sat upright fast enough that his butt actually lifted off the stool a few centimeters in the low gravity. “Whaa?” He uttered at a total loss for words as the sky darkened first and then exploded into a kaleidoscope of luminescent colors that scarcely seemed possible.

The screen showed a view from the same beach, but the atmosphere had changed dramatically. The reddish sun had set low into the sky, the orb hovering only just above the water in the distance splitting the evening sky on one side into a vibrant sunset that seemed to melt from a royal purple to a saffron red. But that wasn't what caused his breath to catch in his throat as he stared wide eyed at the simulation.

The large gas giant of Trellan IX was on fire, at least that is what his brain told his astonished eyes. The generally drab atmosphere of the huge sphere was alive with a phantasmagoria of shifting aurora and flashing lightning so bright that it lit the darkening sky opposite the sunset in a crazed show of green, pink and blue outbursts. It was like the most incredible fireworks display, but somehow ten-thousand times more extraordinary for the sheer immensity of its scale.

He gazed at the sight, transfixed for an indeterminate amount of time. The shimmering lines of the inonised atmosphere roiled and churned in the depths of space, the crazed light show only overshadowed by the bursts of red lightning sprites that must have extended a thousand kilometers into the thinning outer atmosphere of that titanic world. Towering blue jets of ionised gas seemed to reach for him across that great gulf of space, the faint wisps of green ghost phenomenon pulsing in time with his increasing heartbeat.

He might have stayed there watching the display forever had Mack not interjected. The alien man’s voice was full of a calm that he had not exhibited before. The scene must have been as deeply moving for him if not more so.

“I remember as a young pup, watching these storms and thinking that the universe itself was putting on a show just for me. It is a deeply inspiring sight, one that I am happy to have shared with you.” he turned and Paulie met his eyes, those great grey orbs shining with life and the vitality of memory.

Paulie sat once more as Mack broke the spell. The man returned the simulation to its previous state. The soothing view of the waves on the red pebble beach seemed like a blank white canvas compared to the splendor he had just been privy to.

Paulie felt his chest tighten, the experience shocking him in more ways than he cared to admit. He spoke with heavy emotion, misty eyes requiring him to wipe them with the back of his shirt sleeve. “I.. I have never seen anything so spectacular before. That is.. you grew up in such a place?”

Mack gave him a nod and moved to the opposite side of the small table as he placed his hands on top of it. “Yes. And believe me when I tell you that no simulation could ever really do it justice when you have witnessed it for yourself. The flashes of Trellan’s fury reflected off a dozen minor moons. Maybe one day you will get to see it with your own eyes.”

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He smiled, his sharp teeth flashing as Paulie nodded. “I would like that. Very much.”

The detective nodded again, his eyes flicking down to his hands as he thought for a moment. He pulled a paper notepad from an interior pocket on his dapper jacket and then gestured to Paulie, “I hate to cut this revelry short. But I would like to talk to you about your abduction again. We didn’t discuss it in detail previously and now that you have been given a chance to rest and recover I would like to go over it again.”

Paulie nodded slowly. Images of the past few days flashing through his mind. He shuddered, “Where do you want me to start?”

Mack shrugged and seemed to settle himself. He pointed at the container of juice, “Just start at the beginning. Hey, could I get a glass of that?” Paulie stood and nodded.

“Yeah, one second.” He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. “Do you want ice?” He called out to the other room.

“Yes, please.” Was the slightly muffled reply.

The glass clinked as he grabbed a couple ice cubes out of the freezer tray and closed the door. As he did he took a moment to lean against the large, gently humming appliance. He took several deep breaths as his hands shook slightly. The tinkling of the ice in the glass betrayed him and he heard Mack call out to him from the other room, the alien’s voice a little concerned sounding through the intrinsic understanding afforded to him by his parasite.

He took another second to calm himself as he cleared his throat and strode confidently out into the living room. “Yeah. I’m fine. Here, got you some ice.” He set the glass down in front of the centauroid alien and then took his place on the stool once more.

Paulie watched as Mack poured himself a glass of the fruit juice and took a delicate sip, his thin slit of a mouth was full of sharp teeth that showed as he grinned. But from the way he smiled he must like the drink as much as Paulie did at least. He pointed to the man with an outstretched arm, “Your teeth. I just noticed them. They are like a cat’s, are you a carnivore?”

Mack smiled wide again at the question, exposing his pointed teeth. “No, not really. We may have evolved that way in the far past, but I can eat just about anything you can eat I imagine. I have some crushing plates in the back of my throat that allow me to consume tougher plant matter should I choose. But I will be the first to admit. I would prefer a juicy steak to a salad.” He chuckled, his neck spines clattering at the motion.

Paulie nodded. “Yeah. I agree, though sometimes it is nice for a light lunch or on the side of a protein heavy meal. My great aunt Margret used to garden, and I would.. help her..” He trailed off, a tear forming in the corner of his eye as he thought of the long hours he had spent helping the kindly older woman in the garden. Pulling weeds, pruning plants and picking the bounty of their harvests year after year.

He jerked, Mack was speaking to him again and he realised he had been lost in his memories. “I’m sorry, what? I am afraid I was a touch lost in thought there.”

“Well, while you are thinking, I was asking if you could take me back to the first thing that happened to you when you were taken?” Mack nodded to him, his notepad ready and his wide grey eyes fixated on Paulie’s face.

He shrugged and then nodded after another moment of silence. Clearing his throat he began at the beginning. He told Mack about his day at work, he told him of his walk home and finally he got to the part where he saw the light, and he stopped. Hesitating to speak the words as if to speak them would make them happen again.

The detective prompted him gently. “Please, continue. I know it isn’t easy. I have dealt with trafficking victims before, I know that the memories are raw, but sometimes I have learned that getting them out helps to start the healing process. Like cleaning out a wound.”

Paulie nodded and shifted on his stool. He cast his eyes about the room and they alighted upon the calming vista of the simulated TV screen. He smiled just ever so slightly as it reminded him of home, and he let it out. “I was standing, and I beheld a light all around me. Brighter than the moon, almost like the spotlight of a rescue helicopter, but it wasn't a rescue. No, it was the zen’kkalkians. I was taken into their ship and lost consciousness, only awaking paralysed and strapped to a cold metal examination table.” he stopped.

“And what happened next?” Mack prompted gently, the slight scratching of the pen across paper the only sound aside from the lapping of water and rustling of simulated grass. “Please, I need to know, any little details could prove invaluable in my investigation.”

Paulie nodded, quickly telling the detective about his interaction with the woman who had called herself Krissh. He choked up a little at the mention of her name the first time but waved off the other man’s concern. No, he would finish the recounting. He pushed the pain and grief deep down inside his mind as he had trained himself to do over the years. His tears drying and his voice becoming more even as he continued. He told the man remorselessly how he had killed his abductors, then killed some more. When he mentioned the part about Krissh taking the data crystal from the ship the other man lurched and lost hold of his pen. The small implement spiralling from his shocked fingers to land somewhere on the floor under the table.

Paulie paused in his account as the lanky miriam went after it, the rummaging punctuated by the table jumping with a meaty thud.

“Ow, by zalc!” Mack seemed to grumble as he once more appeared above the edge of the table. “Repeat that last part please, exactly as it happened. What did this woman tell you exactly, this is important, Paulie.” The intensity of the man’s gaze seemed to pin Paulie in place like he were an insect on an entomologists setting board.

He repeated slowly, trying to be as exact as possible. “Well, she went into the far corner of the room and seemed to grab something from a rack of crystals on the wall. When she got back she handed me a small red crystal and told me..” He paused, thinking hard. “She told me it was a memory crystal containing information on all of Jual’s illegal dealings.”

Mack sat back on his rear haunches a bit, as a man might lean back into a chair. “Damn, it’s too bad we don’t have that. Imagine the damage I could do to Ooounoo’s business with that kind of damning evidence..” He paused as Paulie sat up straighter and reached into his back pocket slowly, as if unable to believe himself. “What are you, what is that?” Mack asked.

Paulie pulled the forgotten crystal from where he had stashed it in his rear pocket after discarding his old clothing. He held the small red crystal in his hands like it was the most precious jewel in the galaxy. Paulie’s eyes shined with moisture as he recalled Krissh’s expression when she had handed it to him. Her purple eyes had been bright with hatred for her abusers as she told him of its importance, tucking it into his hands as she pleaded that he keep it safe.

Paulie looked up at Mack, his mouth opening slightly. “Is that…” he asked Paulie in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.

Paulie just nodded and reached out towards the other man, the precious gem held in his slightly shaking grip. Offering it to the other man with supreme reverence. The legacy of Krissh not forgotten, her sacrifice no longer hollow. Mack reached out gingerly, his hand taking the crystal from Paulie like it was a feather made of fine porcelain.

He looked at it for a full minute, his grey eyes seeming to bore into the red memory crystal as if he could unlock its secrets by will alone. Finally, he looked up at Paulie, his mouth working for a second before he asked, “Do you have any idea what this is worth Paulie? Lives have already been lost in the name of its recovery, and there are many that would kill us all to keep it hidden.”

Paulie nodded. “Krissh gave it to me to keep safe. And now I am entrusting it to you, Mack. Please, don’t let her sacrifice have been in vain.” He felt a tear leak from the corner of his eye as he begged the other man.

Mack gave a solemn nod and quickly tucked the crystal into his jacket before looking around as if they were in a public place and not an enclosed apartment.

“I will guard it with all my will. I promise you that, Paulie.” He stepped back from the table and made his way around to Paulie who stood. Mack looked him up and down, “You are one of the most impressive people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.” and he stuck out his hand in a reciprocation of the gesture that Paulie had given him upon their first meeting.

Paulie sniffed and took it, shaking the alien’s hand firmly. “You too Mack. I know you will get these bastards, all I ask is that you bring me with you when you do.”

Mack bared his sharp teeth as he looked up at Paulie’s much taller form. “You can bet your apocalypser ass I will. I need to decrypt this immediately, I can’t take it to the station though. If Jakiikii comes by then tell her that I am at my place. She knows where it is.” And with that the man rushed from the room without a second glance back, the door closing behind him with a loud bang in his rush.

Paulie sat heavily on the stool and finally let the grief loose as burning tears ran from his glistening eyes. He leaned forwards and placed his face in his hands as he sobbed. The pain and fear that had slowly been building in the back of his mind overwhelmed his mental defenses as he finally allowed himself to feel everything he had been suppressing for so long.