Chapter Thirty-One
Lights flashed around me as the ‘creative director’ spouted off with instructions. “Give me more edge! More power! Show us the fierce face of a woman who can crush criminals beneath her boot!”
I’ll crush you under my boot… I glared at the man as he frantically snapped photographs of me.
“Oooh, yes! That icy glare would stop even the most storied villains!” He gasped dramatically. “Why, it’s almost a crime you’re a soldier! You would make such an excellent spokesmodel. Yes, yes, I can see it now—you could have the people eating out of your hand like dogs! Now, let’s get some shots in your ‘battle suit!’”
I switched over, twitching as he appraised me like a piece of meat. Behind him, Ciheri and Zafir both shifted to watch him, their expressions briefly giving away their displeasure.
“Skintight…” the photographer let out a low whistle. “You may as well be naked in that!”
I should feed this disgusting bastard to Sal’aphel… I clenched my fist. How much trouble would I get into if…
A message from Zafir popped up in my peripheral vision. When I selected it, his voice played inside my head. [Please just endure it. The sooner this set of photos is finished, the sooner we can leave. Watch something on the network if you must. Ciheri and I will take you somewhere nice once you’re finished.]
“Pose like…like this!” The photographer partially turned his back to me, one foot more forward than the other, his head turned so he was glancing behind him.
Great. An ‘ass pose.’ Of course. I shoved down my anger and instead attempted to tap into the more domineering part of my persona. If I was going to go along with this bullshit, I may as well own it.
While I complied with the infuriating photographer, I pulled up the news. I needed some sort of distraction and, even with it muted, the streaming text on the screen was enough. Today’s headline was that Citomy had powered down her weapon—and taken the Y’serdyn’s compromised ship into custody. They showed video feed of the queen’s ship ‘swallowing’ the corvette in one if its docking bays before leaving the atmosphere again. Although that threat was gone, there were still ongoing questions the humans were worried about. The visiting fleet being chief among them now that Citomy appeared to be under control.
I’d almost forgotten about the fleet. I wracked my brain for what little I’d learned of them. They had business with Citomy and…their alliance, empire, whatever they were, consisted of many species. They made the Creshe Empire nervous, their fleet consisted of ‘mass market’ ships. I couldn’t recall anything else about them. Should I be concerned…or should I focus on the Creshe, Citomy, or the criminals at large?
[Bored yet?] Rel’s question made me twitch.
[You see the news? Citomy has the Y’serdyn’s ship.] I decided to ignore his painfully obvious question. If he got me started, I wouldn’t stop fuming about the photographer any time soon.
[Yes, we saw. Jysel and I are meeting with him and Casair to discuss…security. We will be going dark for a while. Stick close to Ciheri and Zafir. Call upon Lynir or Aldiner if you need additional help,] Rel instructed, leaving one of his little calligraphic marks at the end of the transcript.
“Marvelous! Let’s try some more alien fashion? Lingerie, perhaps? Hmmm?”
That suggestion resulted in Zafir stalking over to place himself between us. He adjusted his glasses and took on a businesslike tone. “This is meant to be propaganda for the empire—not soft porn. You’ve gotten what you need, so we are done here. Do not make me report your misconduct to Imperator Julien.”
“But…” the photographer licked his lips as he watched me walk off set. “If we could get some more risqué pictures…”
“Push us again and I’ll fry you along with your equipment and your staff,” I stated coldly. Unfortunately, that only seemed to excite the human.
Ciheri quickly came over and clutched my arm. He spoke quietly in Syldran, “It’s okay, Elara, really. Let’s just get out of here. We can go relax, and I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Zafir used his position as head of the Resonance Project to diffuse the situation and have the photography crew sent back to their home sector—with an escort, of course. With that finished, Zafir led Ciheri and I off through the Syldrari sector. Together, they led me off toward an area I’d never visited before. Rather than having the shops and residences surround a large, empty plaza, there was a lush garden contained within a globe of water. Brightly colored aquatic life swam among enormous plants. Clear, spherical seats hung around the garden, many of which had Syldrari floating within them while reading their datapads.
I followed Zafir and Ciheri into a little cafe with outdoor seating and glanced around, noting the walls were covered in Syldran art and framed book pages. Unlike Rel’s establishment, which bridged human and Syldran aesthetics, this cafe was entirely faithful to their culture. From the construction materials and decor to the music playing within, everything was ‘new’ to me.
“Welcome…” a man with rich, emerald green and reflective gold skin greeted us. He promptly noticed me, eyes widening in surprise. “Elder Rel’s guest? It is an honor to meet you, Elara. My name is Nieqon. If you have any special requests, I will do my best to deliver.”
“I think some comfort food is in order.” Zafir sighed, running his hand back through his hair as his human disguise melted away. “It’s been a long day…”
“It…is still morning.” Nieqon glanced at a clock.
“I had to play along with Creshian propaganda schemes all morning,” I offered with a wry smile. “Comfort food and some manner of calming tea would be lovely. I enjoy trying new things, so feel free to surprise me.”
Zafir and Ciheri placed their orders, then led me over to a booth. Ciheri squeezed in next to me on the odd, oval seat, while our companion sat across from us.
“I know you’re angry, but they got some great photos of you!” Ciheri clutched my arm, leaning in. “We were worried they’d try to make you look mean or ugly, but they were faithful to how pretty you are!”
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I arched an eyebrow at that. “I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. This whole propaganda thing doesn’t sit well with me. Shouldn’t the Empire be more worried about…everything else?”
“The propaganda machine is an excellent distraction from ongoing issues,” Zafir scoffed bitterly. “The Empire will refocus the citizens attention while they coordinate with their allies and other powers. Under normal circumstances, a galactic power would willingly absorb into another to flee.”
“Imperator Julien doesn’t want to go that route? He seemed relatively sane compared to his inner circle…” I murmured.
“It’s believed the Creshe Empire may be the last remaining human-run power. They don’t want to ‘fail’ and be absorbed.” Zafir shook his head. “They are attempting to arrange purchase of an uninhabited system to settle in. While the cost is high, Syldrari and other species will often accept deferred payment in the form of resources found in the system.
“The problem being, finding a system suitable to human requirements. Finding planets that can support human life is a chore. Many of them are under quarantine while they return to nature.”
“What do you mean by that? This is the second time I’ve heard something about planetary quarantine.” I frowned at Zafir, but it was Ciheri who spoke.
“Oh! Because humans are so violent, a lot of their planets are recovering from either nuclear or biological warfare!” Ciheri pulled out a data pad and promptly pulled up an image of a planet surrounded by a glowing, tessellated shield. “This one, for example. Nuclear war wiped out almost all humans. Human survivors who escaped underground—or were frozen in cryostasis—were taken into other governments.
“Calculations suggest that, for the radiation to subside and nature to retake the planet, it needs to be left alone for oh… A thousand years? Ideally more, but a thousand would be the bare minimum before we send researchers to watch nature’s evolution.”
Zafir nodded. “And, if the radiation kills off the remaining life in that time, we will begin the revitalization project on that planet after those one thousand years. We often do this with planets destroyed by war or natural disaster. Given our own species’ growth and expansion, we understand the importance of making certain planets capable of supporting other lifeforms thrive too.”
“Plus, they’re really interesting!” Ciheri perked up as he swiped to another image, consisting of ruined buildings. “We take numerous scans to map out where all the ‘manmade’ structures on a planet are—even ones from the ancient past. When quarantine is lifted, we’ll excavate and recover as much art and data as we can.”
So, the ruined planets are sort of like time capsules to Syldrari? I mused, peering at the image. “The difficulty for the Creshe Empire is that most of these planets are currently inaccessible? Couldn’t they become spacefaring nomads instead?”
They exchanged a look at that.
Zafir shook his head. “They could…but… Not with their population. The number of cityships they need would take thousands of years for them to pay off.”
“Yeah, it’s safer and more economical to purchase transport to a new system where they can mine, grow, or make goods to pay off their debt. Humans don’t have much value to most species…” Ciheri frowned to himself. “Mmm… I’m not sure if it’s because their lives are so short or because they’re so aggressive. Even most species that take slaves don’t want humans. ‘Too risky.’”
Zafir gave him a crooked smile. “Humans can be quite clever when put in a situation they dislike. Many may insult the species for their intelligence, but that is incorrect.
“What humans lack is wisdom. They are plenty capable of the arts, sciences, inventing, problem solving, and more. However, they are too short-lived to truly gain wisdom—unless they are several sleeves into their life, of course. It’s this lack of wisdom that keeps them from recognizing the patterns that signal their coming downfall, such as self-destructive habits or causing others to betray them.”
Ciheri pondered that for a moment, then nodded. “That makes sense. It helps explain why, historically, they’ve been like misbehaved children if they get their hands on foreign technology too early.”
“Apologies…we went on a tangent, didn’t we?” Zafir looked at me suddenly, a look of recognition on his face. “You were saying, Elara?”
“Hmm? No, feel free to keep going. I’m following.” I paused, sensing movement, and looked over to see Nieqon bringing over our drinks and food on some sort of tiered, floating thing.
“Here you are,” Nieqon spoke proudly, lifting a platter in each hand and placing them on the table. Another large platter came next, followed by several smaller ones. Then, he set out our respective drinks—including a full kettle for me. “Don’t hesitate to call on me if you require anything else. Please enjoy—and give my regards to Elder Rel.”
“Thank you,” I called after him, getting a bashful grin in response before he disappeared into the kitchen area again.
“Let’s enjoy our lunch instead of worrying about the humans.” Zafir gave me a gentle smile. “Ciheri and I can regale you at any time.”
“Feeeed meee.” Ciheri pouted on my shoulder, giving me puppy eyes.
“Uh…but whose food is whose?” I eyed the platters.
“It is traditional Syldran fare—a communal meal.” Zafir’s smile broadened into a grin. “Ciheri and I agreed that we wanted to be the first to introduce you to this tradition. I hope you’ll forgive our selfishness.”
I raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the pastel-haired man who was still pouting on my shoulder. “Okay then… What do you want first, Ciheri?”
“That one.” Ciheri pointed to a bite-sized piece of glowing red vegetable. It appeared to be stuffed with a creamy filling consisting of bits of meat, herbs, and spherical pink objects I didn’t know the name of.
I decided to indulge him and turned in my seat to feed the cheerful man his treat. If he hadn’t hidden his tail upon sitting, I expected it would have been wagging like an excited dog. Next, I glanced over at Zafir. “Okay, what about you?”
Zafir’s face immediately tinged blue. “I-I don’t… That is… Ahem. I will take a yighyt, please.”
The yighyt was, apparently, bread stuffed with a mix of minced jihgsar meat, spices, and vegetables from Syldra. Being a little bigger than my palm, it took Zafir several bites to finish it off.
“Your turn!” Ciheri leaned into me, giving me a squeeze. “What do you wanna try first? Should I surprise you? Oh! You like jihgsar and syezei, right?”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure she’d like the syezei-based marinade on the skewers,” Zafir remarked, but he stopped midreach. “That is, if Elara will let us return the gesture.”
I fell right into their trap… I whined internally. “Okay, okay. We’ll start with the skewers. For the next one, you can surprise me.”
Zafir handed Ciheri a skewer from his side of the table, and the latter proceeded to happily feed me. Embarrassed as I was, I couldn’t deny the food was damn good. I was pretty sure I could eat those skewers every day and not grow bored.
“Now then…” Zafir eyed the selection, then picked up a petite wrap made a black flatbread. Inside was a veritable rainbow of luminescent foods. “If I may?”
I nodded, and Zafir came around the table to sit to my left and carefully feed me the wrap. Oddly, his tension seemed to lift once finished. Then, he and Ciheri fed each other treats from the table, and Zafir returned to his seat across from us.
“Would you like to try the soup, Elara?” Zafir asked while ladling some into a bowl for himself.
“Sure. And can you explain to me whatever tradition it is we just did?” I asked while adding some nectar to my tea.
“Oh yes, of course. Communal meals are tradition, as we mentioned, and opening with mutual feedings is a way we display trust to those we dine with,” Zafir answered, setting the bowl before him, before picking up a second to fill. “It stems from ancient traditions among warrior tribes, in which individuals needed to have immense amounts of trust in their fellow warriors. Hunting groups were close knit. They needed to be able to not only fight together, but care for each other and their wounded.
“The intimacy of feeding each other was discovered to be a reliable way, especially at the time, to weed out those who were untrustworthy. It is difficult for Syldrari to falsify comfort when being fed by someone they distrust or have ill intent toward.”
Ciheri beamed as he piled treats onto a plate. “Exactly! You’re shy about it, but you showed you trust us and we showed we trust you. I’m really happy we decided to come here!”
I pouted a little, feeling the heat in my face as Zafir passed the bowl of soup to me. “You could’ve warned me what you were up to…”
“Aww, but it was fun! Don’t worry, we can get extra dessert as recompense!” Ciheri grinned at me.
Sighing, I reached out to add a few things to my plate. Sure, I was embarrassed…but I couldn’t say no to that smile. Especially not if the ‘ritual’ was so meaningful to them.