The Novida Code (12 page)

I prayed hard that this would be Olden but was soon disappointed when he called out for a doctor. There was no mistaking Amar's voice.

I then felt a hand slip into mine, and Lauren shouted: “Auxana, can you hear me?” My hand stirred slightly and I blinked my eyelids, only to find Amar's eyes boring right into mine.

I stared at him vacantly for a while. Lauren came into my field of vision and my eyes cleared. I murmured weakly: “What happened?”

It was Amar who replied: “You passed out, young lady. Do you feel better now?”

I said nothing, continuing to stare rather vaguely around me. The Efeghi doctor arrived and passed a strange device around my face. Then he turned to Amar: “Nothing serious, Commandant. Just a little dizzy spell. This young lady needs to lie down for a while and then she'll be fine.”

Amar continued to carry me to the infirmary, where he put me on a bed. Then he stared at me.

I smiled hesitantly back: “Thank you, Commandant”

“
It is nothing”, he replied. “Have a good rest.” He bowed his head in my direction and left.

I couldn't believe it. I'd managed to pull the wool over the eyes of Commandant Amar himself. And he had fallen for it. Lauren was right: fear was our only real enemy. I felt very proud of myself, but just to be on the safe side, I carried on pretending to feel weak while Lauren acted the anxious friend to perfection.

The Efeghi doctor came back and told me I could return to my room. Accompanied by Lauren, I found Olden at my door. He asked if he could come in for a moment.

In my room, I expected him to embrace me as usual, but instead he began pacing up and down. Clearly, something was troubling him. I didn't think he was worried on my account. I knew he had several other girlfriends with whom he spent the nights when he wasn't with me.

Finally, he turned to face me: “Auxana, are you pregnant?”

I nearly choked. “No!” I replied. I had good reason to know that I wasn't, and had been thanking my lucky stars for it. I'd been terrified when I realised that Efeghis and humans could procreate, but had so far been spared such a catastrophe. I had injected myself with a birth-control implant to avoid any further scares, but had no idea how effective this was with aliens.

“It doesn't matter if you are. I'll take care of you.”

“
I'm quite sure I'm not”, I insisted.

He looked completely thrown. I went up to him and put my arms around him.

“What's wrong, Olden?”

Without turning round, he said in a subdued voice: “I haven't been totally honest with you.”

Suddenly afraid he'd start telling me about his conquests – which I'd studiously ignored from the start – I interrupted him: “There's no need…”

“
No, listen!” he insisted. “You have to know…” As he paused, I realised this was about to become interesting. I took him by the hand and steered him to the bed. We sat down together and I kept hold of his hand to encourage him to talk.

“
I'm not entirely Efeghi. I'm half human.” He paused for a moment. Then sighed: “My father was an Efeghi whose job it was to infiltrate the Earth and discover anything that might be of interest to the Empire. He met my mother and made her his mistress. He thought he couldn't have children with her; otherwise he would have taken precautions. When she announced she was pregnant, he decided to take her back with him to the Empire.” He stopped.

“
Did he marry her?” I asked.

Olden gave a hollow laugh: “No. He kept her as his mistress. No Efeghi of noble blood would marry a foreigner.”

There was a moment's silence, then he continued: “I was considered an aberration. A monster. My father didn't even teach me his language. Even now, I can only speak a few words of Efeghi, in the language of the commoners.”

“
You don't know the language of your own people?”

Olden sighed: “As a half-earthling, I was never allowed to learn it. There is tremendous opposition to mixing our two cultures. I think your people call it a taboo. For Efeghis, it's very powerful, as our culture is considered sacred.”

I now understood why the Efeghis had brought so few things from their world and preferred to use earthling equipment rather than their own. It wasn't through caution. It was simply narrow-mindedness. Charming!

Olden turned towards me: “I'm taking precautions to stop you getting pregnant, but if you do conceive, the child should remain here. Believe me, it's for the best – for the child as well as for you.”

He must have been really upset to tell me all this, which was so different from the propaganda dished out to us in Afren's classes. I took advantage of this to press for more information:

“
If that's the case, why do you work for them?”

“
Commandant Amar is different”, he replied. “He considers me a friend and trusts me.”

“
Really? He seems so scary…” I murmured faintly.

Olden gave a wry smile: “He has to instil fear in his men. That's how one gains respect. And he is extremely powerful. His parents come from two of the most powerful families in the war party. His father and mother were sworn enemies and were reconciled just in time for his birth.”

There seemed to me to be a gap in the story: “How was he conceived if they were enemies?”

“
Things are done differently in the Empire”, Olden replied. “You honour your enemy more than your friends. When you declare that someone is your enemy, you're proclaiming him as your equal. It's a question of respect. Amar's father and mother came from enemy families and fought each other. They fell in love but that didn't stop them fighting, even when Amar's mother fell pregnant.”

“
And when did they stop?”

“
When it was agreed that the honour of the two families had been satisfied, they got married and formed a new family: the Oxonates. The most powerful of the war families.”

I was beginning to think Olden was talking rather too much about Amar, and a horrible suspicion occurred to me.

“Amar is an excellent leader and my best friend”, Olden went on, watching me closely.

Clearly, Amar had asked Olden to relinquish his girlfriend to him, and my dear lover hadn't needed too much persuasion. Perhaps Amar
was
genuinely attracted to me, but I thought it more likely that he wanted to get a closer look at Lauren. After all, she was the only Asaï he'd found. Whatever that meant.

Becoming Amar's mistress was about as appealing to me as being hugged by a boa constrictor. I realised I had to bring this little game to an end whatever the cost, and snuggled into Olden's arms.

“
My darling, I'm so relieved,” I exclaimed. “I was so afraid you were going to tell me you wanted to finish with me!” I shuddered in his arms and gazed up at him adoringly: “I don't think I could ever live without you”, I added, just to hammer the message home.

I saw the panic flicker through Olden's eyes, then resignation: “Nor could I, my love”, he said.

The days went by and the days turned into weeks without a single opportunity to use the data siphon. Marc and Stephane had vanished from the class. So had Josiane, having most likely blown her cover in betraying Marc. Nothing more had ever been heard of them.

The classes dragged on, each one more pointedly disparaging about our culture than the last. The parties also continued. Getting more and more monotonous, more and more grim. Almost all of the female earthling enthusiasts had become mistresses of Efeghis. A few parties were reserved just for them, and even Auxana wasn't invited. I could just imagine what took place at such parties.

The only bright spot during those weeks was my time with Oniar. He was always just as kind and considerate, always just as dangerous. We spent a good deal of time together, in the parks and even in my room, locked in each other's arms for hours on end. But we still hadn't made love. I was too scared. Of myself, not of him. But I knew the time was fast approaching when I would have to. In order to destroy Amar, I needed him to trust me implicitly. And he would only trust me if he thought his friend had me in his power.

I'd learnt nothing new about our enemies since Olden and Auxana's chat. I knew that I'd embarked on a long and arduous task, and I was prepared for this. But that wasn't enough. I felt the need to be doing something useful.

Which is why one morning I decided to press Amar on the matter of the missing classmates. This was dangerous, and I knew it. But it would have looked strange if I hadn't been concerned over the disappearance of three members of my class.

When I joined Auxana outside our bedrooms on our way to lunch, she rushed up to me enthusiastically.

“Lauren! You look fabulous!” she exclaimed.

I'd recently decided not to wear my uniform for lunch. I spent the afternoons in the city's markets with Auxana, choosing stunning outfits. Ostensibly to please Oniar, but in reality to provide cover for my forays in search of black-market suppliers.

She grabbed my hand and twirled me round so she could admire my outfit. Without interrupting her monologue on my attire, she then motioned to me to activate the crystal she'd just slipped into my hand.

Lauren,

An important member of the war clan is supposed to be coming to visit the general HQ in a few days. She's a commandant from the Eraes family – who are enemies with Amar's family. What people most criticise about Amar is his excessive tolerance towards the earthling population and his widespread use of collaborators. I think we should make use of her visit to inflame the situation. The best thing would be to ask Amar to teach us their language. There's a very powerful taboo against teaching the Efeghi language to foreigners. I can't ask, as Olden will know that I know about this taboo. I don't think Amar would refuse you anything; you're too important to him.
Good luck!

This was a brilliant idea of Auxana's. We knew that to extract the maximum amount of information from our enemies, we'd have to learn their language. I had decided to wait so as not to arouse Amar's suspicions, but this opportunity was too good to miss.

Auxana had also mentioned something of vital importance in her report. Something that could change the course of the war. It was crucial that I should find out more about this Commandant Eraes.

Auxana and I made our way to the refectory. The officers' table was almost full. Oniar saw me approaching and gave me a lovely smile. Time stood still for a moment, during which the expression in his eyes and the warmth of his smile made me go weak at the knees. Then I pulled myself together and sat down opposite him while Auxana sat facing Olden.

Amar was diagonally opposite me, so I was able to watch him and observe the effect that the arrival of his enemy would have on him. He seemed perfectly normal, but that didn't mean anything. He was not a man to show his concern.

Oniar was the first to speak: “How are you this morning, Lauren?”
I gave him a shy smile: “Very well, thanks.” I blushed slightly, and for once I wasn't putting it on. We'd spent the previous afternoon in each other's arms in my room. I stopped myself from going any further, but this was becoming increasingly difficult. In his arms, I became a different person. He had the unnerving ability to make me forget my anger. Everything that nurtured my hatred for the enemy.

I turned to Commandant Amar: “Commandant…”

“Amar”, he interrupted with a smile.

I had no idea how he managed to appear so sweet and charming when all my instincts told me he was an incredibly calculating and cruel being. But ever since he'd taken it into his head to seduce Auxana, he'd been putting a lot of effort into changing his image. Of course, he had no chance, but his endeavours were at least worth an acknowledgement, so I smiled back at him.

“Amar, may I ask you something?”

“
Yes.” He displayed a polite interest, but inside I could sense his implacable mind, analysing and probing.

“
Several students from our class have stopped attending, and I was wondering why.”

“
Which students?” he asked.

“
Marc and Josiane.” I refrained from mentioning Stephane, for any good collaborator would have come to expect that an earthling who defied the invaders should be punished.

“
They have been promoted and have left the general HQ”, replied Amar, without so much as a blush. I sensed Oniar stiffening, but didn't look at him.

“
That's wonderful” I exclaimed. “Where have they gone?”

“
They're on a training course to prepare them for a position in the Earth's new Government,” said Amar, without really answering my question.

“
Can Auxana and I also be promoted?”

Oniar flinched slightly and I turned towards him. His face was expressionless and only his eyes revealed his anguish. I pretended to have mistaken the reasons for his reaction and lay my hand on his.

“I don't want to leave you Oniar, but it would be fantastic if we could work together.”