Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury (11 page)

“
Captain Valmont, Valmont,” Tree said. “What is happening? Report!”

“
It…it just vanished, High Master. It must have transported. I say again, the artifact is gone–off all scans.”

“
Track it, from orbit if need be. Locate it. A Cosmic energy source that enormous cannot hide.”

Tree turned to Naero. “Do
n’t sing anymore, Naero. Pilot, launch immediately. Get us in orbit until this crisis is over.”

Naero felt the Mystic starship lift off, fearing that they could be zapped by the strange artifact at any moment.

Was it Kexxian? Was it attracted by the KDM? Was that why this thing was after her?

12

High Master Tree came to Nae
ro and her people an hour later, in orbit around Thanor-4, with the latest updates.

“
The situation has stabilized. The artifact statue is making a precise, concerted search of the continent of Nashara–in overlapping spheres. It apparently scans each circle for about fifteen standard minutes. We don’t know how it does so, but we’ve computed its sensory range to be about one hundred kilometers.”

Naero nodded. “Does it know about the other continents? Does it
even understand that it is on a planet?”

“
Why would it not?” Master Tree said. “We must assume that it can do all of this and more. It has even transported into the ocean, to the exact center of its next search diameter, if that happens to be offshore. It could search the entire planet if it chose to do so. Nothing we know of could stop it. Yet, it does not seem to have the ability to fly, or to leave the planet’s surface. It can only move from one stationary position to the next–within its transport range.”

“
Then how did it get here?” Jan asked.

“
That, we do not know. We assume now that they are Kexxian artifacts or devices, from what Naero has said. If that is true, they could be millions of years old. Who knows what their function is? But we will continue to attempt to study this one, and any others we locate.”

“
So,” Naero said. “What do I do now?”

“
Simple. Those of you who are adepts will resume your training–including you, High Adept,” Tree told them. “We have yet another secret camp set up on Thanarra.”

“
Near the locals?” Shalaen asked. “The native near-humans?”

“
Close enough. And we are also close enough in species to pass as some of them. They think we are priests and priestesses of their sacred gods. Even in their violent societies, such religious orders are revered, respected, and almost never accosted or harmed. Most Thanorans consider it a great sin to harm a holy man or holy woman, and that affords us protection, respect, and freedom of movement among them. We can go almost anywhere–unquestioned–and be welcomed and well-received. They value our wisdom and knowledge, especially as healers.”

Naero was puzzled. “If I’m busy training, will I even have need to go among them?”

Tree smiled. “I am making this part of your training, High Adept. There is more to being a Mystic than martial training and Cosmic energy manipulation. The Thanorans present constant problems to be solved. They come to us for help, almost on a daily basis. Anything from lesser disputes and disagreements, to other matters of great import. I want you to work with them, and myself and others will observe how you perform among them.”

Naero was at a loss.
This was an unexpected shift. It was just like the High Masters to catch her off guard, and put her out of her element in order to test her under duress.

As Vane once said, everything was a test. Naero guessed that they wished to distract her also, to keep her mind busy, and definitely not thinking about the unstoppable alien artifact
that was hunting for her.

She still felt
as if she needed to protest. “But, I don’t know anything about these peoples or their cultures. I don’t know their language.”

High
Master Tree frowned slightly. “Use a translator, like everyone else. Adepts Chang Fu-han and Chang Lijuan will accompany you, along with many others. They are experts among the Thanes, and have been here since the beginning. The Thanes know and highly respect them. Identical twins such as them–especially among the holy ones–are considered rare and powerful magic.”

The Chang sisters arrived at that moment, smiling at Naero.

“Skim our many reports and research on Thanian culture and practices,” Fu-han said. “We will catch you up and teach you how to act, and what to say, and how to dress among them.”

Lijuan jumped right in, as she usually did. “We will teach
you about the four main peoples and city states: Thanarra, Vaedor, Kallos, and Maedor. This is a time of great strife among the four city states, and we have been trying to negotiate a lasting peace between them, ever since we arrived.”

Fu-han shook her head sadly. “
To no avail. The city states are packed so close together in the same bay, only a few days away from each other. They are so warlike and competitive, they hardly have the concept of peace.”

Naero stared back at Master Tree. “And you expect me to step in
, and help solve these problems?”

Tree
looked back at her. “I expect you to do your best and try hard. I did not say that I require you to succeed. The only stipulations I make, are the same ones we all operate under, among backwards sentients. We cannot solve their problems for them. And we are not here to uplift them, or give them new tek before they are ready for it. We are not here to pick their leaders. They must do such things.

“
But we can counsel, guide, and influence them, and help them learn to use reason and logic, to make the best decisions that they can make–for themselves. And this is very important:
Unless we are forced to defend ourselves, we must never use violence among them.
They expect us to be peaceful and refrain from doing so. It will discredit us greatly if we behave as violently as they do. They must learn from their mistakes.”

Fu-han added. “Any tek we bring with us must be concealable. We have had
cloaked fixers design translators, comunits, and other devices that are disguised as local adornments and jewelry. Even if they leave our persons or are stolen, any devices we carry are programmed to become inert and inoperative.”

“
That is enough for now,” Tree said. “All of you get some rest. You will need it later today. After your morning training sessions on board, prepare yourselves and go down to Thanarra.”

Naero went to her quarters.

The Changs sent her their many data files, prioritized in the order they thought she should scan them. Lijuan brought her three sets of Thanoran dress and gear, Naero’s size. Two sets for daily wear, one set for court visits. The natives were a feudal society, complete with feudal hierarchies.

Naero tried one of the outfits on. It consisted of linen undergarments that were wrapped and tied. Then a linen shift–which doubled as a nightgown, and finally, a wool tunic that went down to the knee, and was usually dagged. The priests and priestesses of the local deities wore garments that were off-white or slightly gray, but always trimmed in blue, to denote their status. They also wore hoods, trimmed in the same color, and simple leather belts around their waists, usually with a useful leather pouch or purse to carry things in.

They wore soft leather boots, trimmed in fur, that rose to the knee. In the heat of the high summer, they wore leather or woven sandals.

Priests carried no weapons, unless you counted the small iron utility knife
that all Thanorans carried, and a wooden spoon kept in one’s pouch, used mostly for eating meals. If they traveled, the natives wore a small leather pack or shoulder bag, and carried a leather waterskin.

Only the warrior classes wore armor and carried weapons: iron mail shirts, coifs, mittens, and leggings, studded leather coats of plates, round and kite shields, and conical, iron and leather helms with nasal guards. The most common weapon was the iron axe, and then the spear, and various horse bows
that fired iron-tipped arrows. Although, the local mount was actually more of a domesticated elk or reindeer-type mammal, called a
gult
. The natives had no horses, and they used saddles, and reins, but had not developed stirrups, yet.

There were various types of iron swords, but swords were expensive, and exclusive to the nobility or their bodyguards. Both males and females of the proper class, apparently, could become warriors. The development and use of steel was haphazard at best.

The mark of a warrior remained the axe and spear, and the long, iron-hilted fighting dagger or short sword, called the
karath
.

As a priestess of the local gods, Naero would wear an
ocalo,
a small circle of ornate, knotted and polished silver or brass on a leather cord or chain. This was the holy symbol that they used to pray and heal with, the eternal circle, a mandala of infinity.

Naero waved Lijuan off. “That’s enough for now. I need some sleep. We can go over more later today. I do
n’t usually wear clothes to bed, but I’ll sleep in these to get used to them. Thanks, Lijuan.”

Her friend nodded, and said good night.

Naero flopped down onto her sleeping panel and almost instantly dozed off, native garb and all.

13

After lunch, Naero was already tired. Her sparring session
s with the Order Adepts on board the Mystic vessel went well, but it was exhausting, especially after a night of short sleep. She wore her new clothing all that morning.

When she had the time, she could program her nanosuit to imitate the local style of clothing. That would be much more efficient in the long run.

She napped on the cloaked shuttle that transported them down to a secret mountain starport near the foremost city state of Thanarra. These were the natives who actually referred to themselves as Thanes.

From the hidden
mountain starport, the adepts would transport into a much closer cave complex that posed as a sacred burial place, and a shrine to the gods, guarded only by the Mystics. From there, Naero and her companions would make their forays down into the sprawling city state of Thanarra, and across the Bay of Thanarra to the other three city states beyond.

Thanarra
was a walled city with three main walls, with towers and gatehouses guarding the access points from without. Soldiers manned and patrolled the walls. The city itself radiated out below them in concentric rings and spokes of streets, punctuated by larger stone and tile roof buildings of one to three stories tall, and even what looked to be walled estates near the coast and others strung up into the mountains in other directions.

Although it was
a bright, sunny afternoon, the wide streets were still bustling after the midday meal. Pedestrians walked about on their business. Many used walking staffs of wood, plain, polished, carved, or even decorated. The staffs seemed to denote some sign of social status.

Wealthier citizens
also rode various gults. Naero spotted patrols of soldiers, marching in ranks with shields and spears in groups of a dozen or larger–some patrols mounted on gults, moving from one city garrison to the next in their circuits. People made room for the patrols.

There were countless
carts and wagons with solid wooden wheels. A few gult chariots, pulled by one to four gult. The city was punctuated by simple circles and squares, with fountains or wells. From the little Naero had read, Thanarra was blessed with the richness of fresh aquifers running under it from the mountains.

This water-wealth also assisted the tilled, tier farming among all the lower river valleys that spread out from the city state. Several broad, dirt main roads spread out from the city, into the
farming country and to the ports nearby on the coast. The roads were only paved brick or cobblestone within the city limits.

The large B
ay of Thanarra was active with small wooden fishing boats with lateen sails, and larger merchant boats and barges with no more than two simple masts and square sails. Some of the vessels had oars. Each of the ships had eyes painted on the bows, or the carved wooden figurehead of a person or some kind of mythical creature.

Many of the locals wore conical straw hats with wide brims, called a
thon
. With summer waxing, Naero and her party intended to purchase their own thons in the open air markets. Naero found the straw hats quaint, with everyone below in the city bobbing and scurrying around in them, looking like archetypal wizards from one of Ty’s dopey vidgames.

There were only seven
adepts on this mission with Naero: the Changs, from Order, Tenarra Fox and Kent Marshall, from Chaos, and Oshara Wallace and Timan Ramsey, from Change. They wore all of their gear, and carried plain, polished wooden staffs, slightly taller than their heads, as holy people often did.

Naero posed as a mediator, and that was how she would be presented.
Her ocalo, or holy symbol was shining silver, which was sacred to the natives. Other than the Vaedo, most did not use gold and silver as money, but for adornment. Their coins consisted of copper, bronze, and even iron. Each adept had a small amount of money for their needs.

As they made their way down into the city along the paths from the caves, the first thing Naero noticed was the stink
sweeping up toward them on the winds from the sea.

“
Does it always smell this bad?” Naero noted. All of them could not help making faces.

“
It is indeed unpleasant,” Chang Fu-han said. “But you will get used to it, after a few hours.”

“The lice and vermin are much worse than the smell,” Chang Lijuan added.

Screw that.

Tenarra Fox spoke quietly. “The more people, the greater the stench
and parasites. Thanarra has a population of about twenty-thousand.”

“
Vaedo has the largest, overall population–of about forty-five thousand,” Kent added. “Wait until you smell it–most of the Vaedo still think bathing is unhealthy.”

Naero blinked, still wrinkling her sensitive nose. “Ca
n’t wait to go there.”

Oshara laughed. “It can make your eyes water at times. But since my last visit, I came prepared this time. I have some scented, nanonasal filters
, enough for all, if anyone wants some.” She held out her hand from her pocket, revealing what looked to be several pairs of clear, tiny elastic bands. Naero and the others quickly grabbed for them. Even the Chaos adepts thanked her for her foresight and generosity.

“
How do they work?” Naero asked.

Oshara shoved them into her nostrils one at a time. “Stretch them around the tip of your small finger, and then up your nose. The nanomaterial is activated by mucous and will
adhere to the inside naturally and last for about a standard day.” The days and nights on Thanor-4 were roughly close to that.

Naero put hers in. Instantly, the air smelled much better. Not perfect, but much better.

“I have more if you need them. They won’t keep out the worst smells,” Oshara added, “but it is an improvement.”

All six of them thanked her.

“We need to talk about our procedures with food,” Chang Lijuan added. “The Thanes will offer to feed us on a regular basis, as is their custom with holy people. But their food can be both spoiled, diseased, and or often contaminated with local parasites. Our Spacer metabolism will protect us most of the time, but to be sure, use the pouch of salt and spices we’ve provided each of you with. Just sprinkle at little on each meal that you eat. It is a practice and a custom that most Thanes follow, and will not be noticed. Nanoenzymes in the powder will neutralize anything harmful on the food.”

Timan chuckled. “Too bad it does
n’t help the taste much.”

All of them but the somber Chaos
adepts laughed.

Chang Fu-han picked up the instruction.
“When you do eat, always try to eat something to please your host. If you really hate everything that is offered, simply state that you are fasting. The holy people do that on a regular basis, and it is also accepted, but be consistent to avoid offending. It is normal for us to drink wine or beer with a meal, but not strong liquor such as whiskey. It is a sin for a holy person to get drunk, and unless it is a high day or period of celebration, public drunkenness is frowned upon and, even punished by exposure in the stocks.”

They met more and more of the locals as they descended into the city proper. Most people ignored them. A few honored them by lifting both hands palm out, and nodding briefly with their heads. In turn, they nodded, and kept moving.

Skin color could be anything from stark white to pure black, dark gray, and various shades of brown and gold. Hair color varied as well–black, brown, red, gold–even white and blue. Eye color seemed to be black, blue, green, hazel, amber, or purple. Eye shapes were anything from very round to slanted.

Fortunately, their disguised Spacer translators worked perfectly with the local tongue. Naero could make out several conversations and even a few arguments, very clearly as they passed along
.

The Changs kept theirs turned off, because they had already learned the native language–Thanorian–and spoke freely with any who engaged them.

Then without warning, an old woman came running out of a small stone house, her hair disheveled, tears and a frantic look on her pale, gray face. She shouted to them, almost in a panic.

“
Holy ones, bless you. Please help me, by the gods, please help me!”

The Changs placed their hands gently on the old woman’s arms as she rushed up to them.

“Calm yourself, greatmother.”

“
How may we help?”

“
My greatson, he is not even three summers. He is sick, and he is dying. Please help me.” She pressed a small pouch of coins into Fu-han’s palm. “All that I have is yours. Please, please heal him.”

“
Keep your money, greatmother,” Fu-han said, giving her back the coins.

“
Take us to the child,” Lijuan said.

The panic-stricken woman turned and tried to run again, and nearly collapsed. The Changs supported her between the two of them.

When they came inside the small stone building, Naero saw a small boy with shaggy dark hair lying on a small bed off to one side. She strode forward. She alone among them had the healing sight.

Naero knelt and placed her hands on the child to examine what was wrong with him. He was sweating and chilled with a high fever, and he was very weak. He looked up at Naero, his veiled green eyes delirious.

The boy smiled up at her, and Naero ran her hands through his hair gently and smiled down at him. She tried to determine what was causing the fever, and found it right away.

Food poisoning. The child had eaten something contaminated. Left to itself, it would in fact take his life. He was also malnourished, dehydrated, riddled with worms, and had a slight skin infection on the insides of his dirty legs.

The little boy looked up at all the holy ones gathered around him and weakly laughed. “Look, gramma. The spirits have come. The spirits of light come for me.”

The old woman covered her eyes. “Save him. He thinks you are here to take his spirit. Please, do not let him die!”

“Not this day,” Naero said.

She carried the boy over to the chamber pot and stimulated his bowels with healing energy, causing him to vomit anything left in his system.

Naero handed him briefly to Lijuan.

“
Fresh water,” she said. The grandmother poured some out of a water jar into small bowl and brought it to her. Just to be sure, Naero sprinkled the general spacer curative powder into the water. The all-purpose medicine, nutrients, and biotics would help the body heal naturally on its own, bolstering the immune system. It should also flush out the worms.

She
made the boy drink it. He resisted weakly, but they got it all down him with a minimum of choking and spluttering.

The fast-acting medicine swept through the boy’s system.

Naero knew he was going to poop, pulled up his nightshirt, and held him on the chamber pot as he did so. The grandmother came forward and helped Naero clean him off and wash him up. Naero also applied a healing salve that should clear up the skin infection.

At some point, the boy nodded off. They wrapped him in an old wool blanket and put him back in bed. His color looked better and he was breathing stronger and easier.

Naero checked him again with her sight. His fever was broken, and most of the toxins were out of his system now. After some rest, he would probably wake up very hungry.

“
He’s going to be all right,” Naero told the grandmother.

The old woman went down on her knees and tried to kiss Naero’s hands. Naero lifted her back up.

“I want you to listen to me, greatmother. The boy ate bad food and its poison nearly killed him. I want you to boil your drinking water on your stove, and bake, boil, or fry your food well from now on, but do not burn it. Use citrus in your cooking if you can. Feed the child more greens.”

“
I will, holy one. I will do my best, but we are poor.”

“
Are you here by yourselves?”

“
No, thank the gods. My son and his wife live with us. This is their boy, and a little girl just born, that my daughter-in-law carries with her. My son works with the fishers, and his wife washes clothes on the shore among the rocks, and does sewing, and helps mend nets. I help out here as I can. We are poor, but happy overall.”

Naero examined their small kitchen in the one room home. Bread and cheese wrapped in old cloth. Some smelly fish, probably the source of the food poisoning. Naero sprinkled some nanospice powder on it, and some more in the water jar.

“We have done all that we can do and must go,” Chang Fu-han said. She handed the woman a few coins.

“
Get some fresh food for the boy from the markets. He will sleep for a time, and will be hungry when he wakes. Blessings to you and your kin, greatmother.”

The old woman wept for joy and raised both palms, bowing her head in thanks. “Blessings to the gods and their holy ones. Thank you, thank you for helping us.
”