Laura Jo Phillips (14 page)

Another thing that disturbed Slater was the lightening speed at which his people absorbed the technological advances that the Xanti were pouring into the village.  It had taken him years to learn a fraction of what the villagers had already learned.  Of course, he reminded himself, they had teachers.  He had been alone, trying to learn things as he went with no help from anyone.  He doubted that any of his fellow Narrasti could have done better than he had under the same circumstances. 

That was when Slater started watching the village from his roof.  The first time he climbed up and studied the distant village he had been surprised.  There were a lot more buildings, there were definitely a lot more lights, and the sound of ground-cars and air transports was an almost constant hum.  Before long he began to get the impression that the recently primitive villagers were rapidly approaching his own level of knowledge, and that had bothered him greatly, though he wasn’t sure why. 

After awhile the changes in the village seemed to slow and he wondered if it was because they had stopped, or if it was because he just could not see them from his distant perch.  So, under cover of darkness, he had transformed himself into a generic, unknown Narrasti, and sneaked down to the village in an effort to get a better idea of what was happening.

He had been stunned to discover that the village was no longer a village.  It now resembled a highly technological town, its citizens no longer wandering aimlessly, shoulders slumped, heads down.  Now the people walked with a purpose, head up, eyes sharp, steps determined. 

Aside from a few primitive decorations or badges, his people had not worn clothing in centuries.  Now, everyone was fully dressed in clothing made from modern fabrics and materials, including boots, belts and even hats.  Most of the people he saw carried weapons.  Not the stone axes and wooden cudgels of a year past, but sleek hand lasers and energy pistols. 

And there were other changes too.  Rather than living in stone lined crèches in the ground, there were now row after neat row of houses built along paved streets where ground-cars came and went at all hours.  Instead of training fields, there were now large, climate controlled buildings where masses of Narrasti were taught everything from reading and writing Standard, to weapons training, engineering and even pilot training, as well as a host of other subjects too varied for Slater to grasp all at once.  By the time Slater had returned to his own tiny stone hut, his mind had been whirling with all that he had seen and heard. 

It was true that the original plan between himself and Xi-Kung had been to bring the Narrasti on Onddo into the current technological age and, eventually, harness them as a fighting force against the Jasani.  But never in his wildest imaginings had Slater thought such a thing could be done with such speed and at such a scope.  He had been so dizzy with what he had seen, so confused by how it had happened so quickly, that it had taken him days to absorb it all.

Now, here he sat on his roof again, trying to figure out where his place was in all of this.  He leaned toward the meat bucket, and wrinkled his nose.  He didn’t want to eat it, but he needed the sustenance. 

Suddenly, it dawned on him that one of the most obvious changes in his fellow Narrasti was not the clothes, or the houses, or the technology.  No, the most obvious change was that they all looked healthy and well-fed.  Slater thought about that for a little while, finally realizing that he had not seen any food lines at all when he had been down there.  In fact, now that he thought about it, he had actually passed by several restaurants.  Being the galaxy wide traveler that he now was, Slater knew what a restaurant was, but there had never been such a thing on Onddo before.  How was it that there were now several of them?

He pondered that puzzle for a little while before remembering that he had also seen a couple of food synthesizer markets.  Again, there had never been such a thing on Onddo before.  Why had it not stood out more clearly to him?  He decided it was because the village resembled a small town on just about any other planet in the galaxy except Onddo, and such things were common in small towns. 

As soon as he realized that the villagers had food synthesizers, he also realized he was being treated quite poorly indeed.  They had access to such glorious food and still brought him only rancid meat.  He considered transforming into his sugea and fire strafing the entire village for their insolence.  But in order to do that, he needed energy.

Slater curled his lip at the pail of meat before him, then sighed once more.  Whether he strafed the village or not, he had to eat, and as that was all he had, it would have to do.  He started to reach for the bucket, then decided to transform into his sugea first.  Perhaps the sugea would not mind the taste as much as he did in his usual form.

Glad to have a good reason to shift into his sugea, Slater did so at once.  The moment the sugea got a whiff of the meat in the pail it knew the food was drugged.  A moment later, it also sensed the stealthy approach of several dozen villagers. 

Slater was stunned to realize that the villagers meant to kill him, and that the drugs, had he consumed them, would have made him easy prey.  If Slater had still been in his usual form, he might have stood frozen with surprise and indecision long enough for the villagers to reach him.  Luckily, the sugea was in charge and instantly took flight.  It took one short turn around the village and spit fire at its would-be attackers before pointing its nose to the west and racing away so quickly that not even the newly trained fighter pilots in their shiny new air jets could follow.

Chapter
18

Summer felt the blood drain from her face.  “Bad news?” she asked, surprised that her voice sounded almost normal.

“Yes,” Maxim replied.  “Do you know a woman named Tesla?”

“Yes, she’s a Keeper,” Summer replied.  “Why?”

She heard Maxim hesitate.  Or maybe she felt it.  She wasn’t sure.  “Please tell me.”

“When we arrived, most of the inhabitants were already deceased,” Maxim said. 

 “Dead?” Summer gasped, hardly able to believe that was really what he’d said.  “They’re all dead?”

“No, not all,” Maxim said.  “There was a group of women in a room at the end of one hallway.  Three women with Controllers, and this Tesla, who was apparently protecting her charges from the other Keepers.”

 “Are you saying that there are only four women left alive in the entire compound?”

“I’m sorry,” Maxim said, “but yes.  As far as we can tell, the Keepers went into the cells and killed the prisoners, then sat down on the floor and killed themselves.  Except for this one woman.  She is wounded and currently unconscious.  We are bringing her and the surviving prisoners back with us, along with the remains of the other prisoners.”

“Thank you,” Summer said. 

Maxim cleared his throat.  “We will arrive back at the ranch in a few minutes.”

“All right,” Summer said.  “Thank you for letting me know.”

“You are welcome, Miss Whitney,” Maxim said. 

The connection closed and Summer looked up to see Saige holding a square of white cloth out to her.  Summer frowned in confusion, not understanding the meaning of the gesture at first.  Then she felt the tears on her cheeks and reached for the handkerchief. 

“Thanks,” she said.

“Not good news,” Saige said.

“No,” Summer replied.  “There were at least two dozen women being held there besides myself.  Maybe more.  Only three still live.  And one woman who was a guard.”

“Did Maxim tell you what happened?” Saige asked.

“He said that the Keepers killed the prisoners, then killed themselves.  All except one, Keeper Tesla, who apparently was able to save three prisoners.”

“Sounds like Xanti work,” Faron said from the doorway.  “I think that when the bodies of the Keepers are checked, there will be something implanted in them that caused their actions.”

“I don’t know much about the Xanti,” Summer said, “but I know enough to know I hate them.”

“Nobody knows much about the Xanti,” Saige said.  “At least, nobody who’s willing to admit it to us.”

“I wonder if Lio worked directly with the Xanti,” Summer said.  “He was apparently somewhat high up in this slave ring organization.”

“If you ask him, will he tell you honestly?” Faron asked with barely suppressed excitement.  They had been trying for months to gather information on the Xanti, and had come up virtually empty handed.  It had been very frustrating for everyone.  Apparently, the Xanti had been a deep mystery for centuries.  Even millennia.  There were many worlds who, like themselves, knew
of
the Xanti.  But none seemed to know anything
about
the Xanti.

“Yes, he will be truthful,” Summer replied.  “He has no control whatsoever over anything he does or says.”

“Lets go ask him then,” Faron said eagerly.  “No, wait,” he said, changing his mind.  “We should do this right.  Let me get things setup so that we can record everything he says.  I’d like to have Eldar Hamat there as well.”

“Let’s not forget that this has been a very long day for both Summer and Darleen,” Saige pointed out gently to her Rami.  “I think you should set this up for tomorrow, and let the women have a good night’s sleep first.”

 “Of course
, amada
, you are correct,” Faron said.  “I apologize for getting carried away, Miss Whitney.”

“Please, call me Summer,” Summer said.  “And there is no need to apologize.  I’m as anxious as you are to learn whatever Lio has in that twisted head of his.  But right now, I want to see the women the Katres bring back from the compound, and find out more about what happened there tonight.”

“They should be arriving at any moment,” Faron said.  “I suggest we go over to the med-lab, as that is where the women will be taken as soon as they arrive.”

“Okay,” Summer said, putting her cup down and rising to her feet.  Saige stood up too, though not quite as quickly. 

“Give me just a moment to check on the babies, and then I will be right with you.”

Faron leaned over to kiss Saige lightly on the lips, the expression on his face as he gazed at Saige nearly bringing tears to Summer’s eyes.  What would it be like, she wondered, to have someone look at me like that?

Summer dropped her eyes and turned away from the private moment.  She didn’t think it was possible for anyone to like her for her true self.  But she was not going to go back to pretending. 

“Shall we?” Faron asked a moment later.

Summer looked up, saw that Saige was already gone and nodded before following Faron back out of the house.  As they stepped outside and moved onto the graveled path, Summer heard the sounds of approaching footsteps and looked up to see the Katres, each of them carrying a woman as they hurried toward the med-lab.  Saige recognized the women as fellow prisoners, and though she didn’t know their names, had never spoken to them, and knew nothing about them, she could not help feeling a strong sense of camaraderie when she saw them.

Faron opened the door to the med-lab for them, but Saige held back, letting them enter before her.  As they passed they each nodded to her briefly.  Summer felt something inside of her warm at the acknowledgement, and that irritated her.  She shook her head at herself and started to follow them inside when she saw another man coming toward her carrying another woman in his arms.  The man was not familiar, but the woman was.  It was Keeper Tesla. 

Summer was surprised that she felt no real animosity for the woman who had helped keep her prisoner for so long.  But, the truth was that of all of the Keepers, Tesla had been the kindest in her own way.  And now Summer knew that she had done her best to save at least three of her charges.  For that alone, Summer could not hate the woman.

 Summer waited for the man carrying Tesla to enter the building ahead of her before following after.  The quiet med-lab she had been in a short time earlier with Doc and Darleen was now crowded and noisy.  Summer stayed in the back of the room near the wall and watched the activity.  After a moment, Darleen made her way through the bustle to stand beside her.

Summer smiled when she saw that Darleen was no longer wearing the hood of her cloak pulled up.  Her skin was a normal tone, and there was already a light fuzz of pale blond hair on her head.  Best of all, some of the tension had left Darleen’s face.  She looked almost relaxed.

“You look beautiful,” Summer said.

“No, I don’t,” Darleen replied, running one hand over the short hair on her head.  “But I don’t mind the way I look now.  Its strange, but I think I’m happier with my fuzz than I was with my hair when it was long and perfect.”

 “Well, I think you’re beautiful with your fuzz,” Summer said stoutly, “and I never saw you before, so how you used to look doesn’t count with me.”

One corner of Darleen’s mouth turned up in a tiny, almost smile.  “I think Doc worked a miracle,” she said.  Summer caught something in Darleen’s voice that hinted at more than a doctor-patient feeling, but she pretended not to notice it.  She would not tease Darleen.  Not after all she had been through.  She’d heard the same note in Doc’s voice earlier, and if Darleen felt the same, all the better.  As far as she was concerned, Darleen deserved any happiness she could get.