Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire (7 page)

Rannalld suddenly felt awkward,
‘Actually it doesn’t bother me. I find it somewhat refreshing.’

She swished her hair, ‘In what
way?’

He hesitated a moment, ‘I’m not sure
really. Maybe it’s because of the way you don’t try and hide it.
You are completely forthright and honest. When you live within
privileged circles, there are a lot of people who pretend to be
something they are not. They try and deceive to curry favour. It is
exactly the same if you are trying to deal with politicians. We
live in a world of half-truths and shadows.’ He lifted his hands to
indicate the estate, ‘There are Modloch that would kill to be in a
position like you. Yet you do not feel you deserve such a position
in life. I am beginning to see what it is my brother saw in you.
Did you speak to him often?’

‘
He invited me to
dinner a few times. After the meal we would sit and
talk.’

‘
You mean he sat and
talked.’

Her laugh did strange things to his
ears, ‘No, not all the time.’

His wrist communicator beeped and he
read the message. ‘The Emperor has denied your request. I am sorry
Mya.’

She looked round her, ‘I think he did
this because he knew I had no home to go back to.’

‘
What happened to
your home?’

‘
Not just my home: my
family and people too. A nation called Japan invaded our islands.
They were very cruel and harsh. Especially the officers. They acted
like conquerors. They came through our village one day... one of
them saw me and demanded that I be sent to his camp. I was
frightened and my father decided to send me up to the chocolate
hills to be with my great grandfather. None of us knew what would
happen if we defied them.

‘
They tortured my
father and my people until someone revealed where I was. Then they
shot them, murdered the whole village and burned it to the ground.
They killed my grandfather when they found me as well as some of my
cousins who were there. I was beaten and dragged back to his camp.
They threw me in a hole in the ground for a few days. Then he came
for me. He forced some of the camp women to bathe me and then I was
supposed to submit myself to his lust. One of the women had left a
knife lying and I had managed to grab it and conceal it under the
clothes that they forced me to wear. They put me in his bedroom and
left me there. He came in and sat down on a chair to take his boots
off. He commanded me to remove them. I think that’s what he meant.
I walked up and stuck the knife in his throat. As he fell to the
floor I jumped out of the back window and ran into the jungle. I
evaded them for days, but they caught me in the end. I was beaten
and was being dragged back by my hair when we were abducted by the
Albany.

‘
When I finally
returned to my village there was nothing left of it: a few sticks
poking out of the ground, here and there the odd shard of pottery.
The jungle had claimed the rest. I think maybe he visited my
village before I did and discovered what I was to learn later.
Maybe this is why he left his home to me.’

‘
It sounds like
Gairloch. He pretty much refused to believe anything until he saw
it with his own eyes.

Tears filled her eyes and ran freely
down her face, ‘He was so kind, but why?’

Rannalld was mesmerized by her tears,
then felt an upswelling of emotion for his lost brother. They had
always been close, always getting into trouble together. He touched
the woman’s shoulder and she suddenly buried her face against him.
A long mournful bellow escaped his throat.

She stepped back and dried her tears,
‘I am so sorry.’

He smiled at her in that manner they
had, ‘It is OK Mya. Gairloch is greatly missed; but of all the
things he did in his life, I think this is the most compassionate.
Come back to the house. Let us eat.’

The meal laid down in front of them was
inedible to Mya. She laughed at the big bowl of hay and the staffs’
eyes rolled in their head as Rannalld gave them a bollocking. She
concentrated hard and laid her hand with the communicating device
on the surface of the table. A few minutes later a steaming bowl of
rice appeared and a few seconds later stir fried noodles and
vegetables. The staff beat a hasty retreat and Rannalld was
intrigued by the smells wafting across the table at him.

‘
What is that?’ He
inquired, ‘It isn’t meat is it?’

‘
No, just stir fried
vegetables and boiled rice. Rice is a staple, like grass is to you,
and is normally eaten in the east and south of our planet, in the
warmer climates. In the north and colder areas they normally eat a
thing called potatoes. They are quite nice but I prefer rice. The
noodles here are made from flour. That’s a type of
grain.’

‘
Oh! I was under the
impression that you ate animals all the time. Grass is our staple
but we also eat vegetables and some fruit.’

‘
Would you like to
try? I promise there is no meat.’

He took out a small device. Mya had
seen them before. The device told the owner if food was consumable
and everyone had one. The food passed the test and she passed a
little into a dish. Rannalld thought the rice was quite bland, but
the flavours from the stir fried noodles exploded in his mouth. It
was all he could do to stop himself from grabbing the bowl off
her.

He lowed comically, ‘Do you think you
could ask for another bowl for me?’

Laughing, she requested another bowl of
the noodles and vegetables. The small bowl did little to appease
his appetite so he finished off his meal with the hay that was
before him. It started a conversation about food that lasted for
hours. She told him she liked fish and he admitted that they had
fish, however they never ate it. Instead they were caught in vast
quantities and used as a natural fertilizer. He had no idea if she
could buy any.

She accused him of having double
standards. They looked down their noses at Humans because they
slaughtered animals for food. Yet they could slaughter millions of
fish every year to fertilize their crops and nothing was said. The
argument raged back and forth in a good-natured fashion for hours.
He loved it when she won a point because she swished her hair and
giggled.

Eventually an urgent buzzing required
his attention. He hadn’t realised how late it was. He answered
it.

‘
I am afraid I have
to go now Mya. I have told them half an hour. Before I go I will
show you the upstairs.’

With a sense of urgency he took her up
and showed her the master bedroom. It was almost as spartan as the
rest of the house, but it was the bath that made her howl with
laughter. She had never seen a bath so big.

She escorted him to the door. He stood
there shifting awkwardly for a moment. ‘I have enjoyed spending
this day with you Mya. There is much more of the estate to see, and
of course the villa in the mountains. As I have been tasked with
showing you your new accommodation, I request that I be able to
join you tomorrow, if you have no other appointments.’

‘
I have as long as is
needed.’

‘
In that case I shall
come around midday.’

‘
I shall look forward
to it Rannalld.’ She took his hand and placed it against her
forehead.

Somehow the gesture touched him deep
inside. A servant closed the door and retreated. Mya was left alone
and feeling overwhelmed.

CHAPTER 10

Mya concentrated hard and a few minutes
later Komoru appeared at her side. Her head cranked round, trying
to take in the grandeur of Mya’s new home.

‘
WOW!’

Mya laughed, ‘I have no idea what to do
Komoru.’

‘
Are you here
alone?’

‘
There are servants
somewhere, but I have no idea where or how to call
them.’

‘
Show me round
then.’

A very quick and impromptu tour ended
up in the large bathroom. Where Mya had laughed at the size of the
bath, Komoru’s eyes simply glistened with delight.

‘
How do you fill
it?’

‘
I have no
idea.’

It didn’t take long for Komoru to work
it out and show Mya. As it began to fill, Komoru had an idea. Five
minutes later Hailey and Amanda Freeling arrived. ‘Is this what you
are looking for Komoru?’ Amanda held up a bottle of foam bath that
she had never been able to use then saw the running water. ‘Oh my
God!’

‘
Yes please.’ Komoru
laughed and Amanda proceeded to pour in the foam bath.

They managed to work out how to call a
servant and soon a pile of towels appeared. The female servant,
although surprised by the appearance of the strangers, bowed low to
Mya and left them to it.

Within a very short period of time all
four women were stretched out in the bath.

The laughing faded out as the heat and
the swirling water soothed their bodies.

‘
Oh this is so good.’
Murmured Amanda.

‘
It has been so
long.’ Agreed Komoru.

‘
Yeah.’ Was as much
as Hailey could manage.

The bath water didn’t get cold and so
they stayed in until their skin began to wrinkle. A fresh bought of
laughter ensued when they tried the towels. They were so large.

Amanda wrapped herself in one of the
towels. ‘This is sheer bliss.’

‘
Isn’t it. These
towels are so thick and soft,’ Hailey agreed. They had another
laugh at the size of the bed and all jumped on.

‘
Would you all like
to stay the night?’ Mya ventured.

‘
Thought you would
never ask,’ Amanda laughed. ‘We can share this bed. It’s
huge.’

Babes and Ico sent down some personal
items and they were soon sitting around in their night gowns and
doing each other’s hair. Conversation drifted back to the problems
they were having. Mya felt a bit left out as she had little idea of
the technical issues they were discussing. She found the
intelligence of these women intimidating –they weren’t silly little
girls sitting around talking about boys. Although they never used
their titles, Hailey and Komoru both had doctorates in their chosen
fields, while Amanda was a first-rate medical doctor and a top
field surgeon.

Komoru, ever sensitive to the feelings
of those around her, noticed Mya’s looming despondency and was
smart enough to realise its cause.

‘
Did you take food
with you today Mya?’

She immediately perked up, ‘No, they
tried to feed me hay! Thankfully Cookie beamed me down some rice
and stir fried noodles and vegetables. They were delicious. Even
Rannalld loved them. I thought he was going to steal my bowl off me
when I first gave him a taste.’

The three women went quiet at the
revelation. ‘Did you know that they are having problems coming up
with a menu for this feast?’ Komoru asked her.

Mya shook her head, ‘No, why would
anyone tell me?’

‘
Do you know if he is
coming back?’

‘
Rannalld? Yes, he is
coming back tomorrow to continue the tour of the
estate.’

‘
Could I ask you to
make Rannalld a test subject for Human food? It has been so hard to
find Modloch who are willing to try it.’

‘
I am not sure if
that is proper. He was very concerned that there might be meat
products in the food.’

Komoru smiled, ‘We aren’t going to
strap him down and force feed him Mya.’ They all laughed. ‘I
suggest we send down a chef with as much fruit and vegetables as
possible. You could ask him to taste things for us, to help
us.’

Mya giggled, ‘I am sorry, it just
sounded so horrible.’

‘
That’s true,’
admitted Amanda, ‘I mean who wants to be a test subject. Official
food tester sounds a lot better.’

Komoru laughed, ‘I am so bad. I am
sorry Mya. I did not mean to sound so clinical.’

‘
It’s OK. After this
evening, I am sure he wouldn’t mind.’

‘
We could send down
Cookie?’ Komoru suggested.

Mya’s face fell, ‘That might not be a
good idea.’

Their female senses rose to full alert.
‘Have you fell out with him Mya?’ Hailey asked.

‘
No, but I think
Rannalld likes me. If Cookie were here he would sense that we have
feelings for one another.’

‘
Uck!’ Ventured
Hailey.

Amanda shuddered, ‘You don’t like him
do you?’

Mya laughed, ‘I do like him, but I am
not attracted to him.’

‘
The Modloch are very
territorial,’ mused Komoru. ‘If he does like you then Cookie
arriving could very well upset him.’

‘
We really need more
than one chef anyway. There are many different styles of cooking on
Earth. You should send down the best we have under Cookie’s charge.
It would be better than just one man.’ Amanda suggested.

‘
Of course,’ Komoru
agreed, ‘and so many chefs would distract him and prevent him from
becoming suspicious of Mya’s feelings for one.’

Mya agreed, ‘If it helps I will do
it.’

They all thought it was a good idea and
Komoru went through to the bathroom for some privacy as she talked
to Steven about it. Within an hour a request had gone round the
fleet and suggestions began flooding in. The duty to select the
best was given to Cookie and he began to sift through his staff. It
took him four hours of talking to different chefs on the intercom
to make a decision on the dozen to take with him the following day.
They were urged to take the best ingredients with them they could
find. The following morning at six o’ clock they all gathered
on-board Babes and were beamed down to Mya’s new residence.