Voices of Chaos (17 page)

That wasn't likely. But the opportunity to explore a huge library, all those books.....she'd feel like the drawn and animated heroine of that vid of Rob's, yet another retelling of the ancient
belle et bête
fairy tale.
Beast gave her his
library,
she thought with sudden amusement. Khyriz had seen that animated vid also.

She laughed aloud then.
"Beauty and the Beast,
is it? Well, you've hardly that kind of beauty or intellect! And Khyriz isn't going to turn human and dance into the sunset with you. Grow up, all right?"

By midday, Alexis was awake on her own, headache gone, and grumbling good-naturedly over more seed-bread and rhi. "Okay, Perez, now you know my Achilles heel, guess I can expect you to hide the vitamins on me and become super-interrelator any day now, huh?"

"What--let you veg out in your nice, soft bed and make
me
deal with the hard stuff?" Magdalena retorted. "Reminds me of a mystery story I read a while back, a woman with a hormone imbalance who's married to a jealous man.

One night she dances with an old boyfriend, and her husband substitutes sugar-pills for her hormone tablets, and she--"

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"Thank
you for sharing that!" Alexis broke in sharply. She stared at her hands briefly, then shook her head; pale hair flew. "Sorry," she said finally. "I have a horror of things like that ... I must have read the same story; some detective shows up in this primitive village, makes a lot of smoke and fire and then produces the hormone the woman needs to become human

again?" Magdalena nodded. "It... spooked me. The way she became--

beastlike. I mean, still human in some ways, but with her mind totally gone.

And, someone had that much control over her, they could give her mind back or withhold it forever.... Hey, never mind, we have a meeting with the Emperor shortly, guess I better go comb my hair and look nice, right? Maybe we'll even have a few minutes to run over our strategy for this afternoon."

"Couldn't hurt," Magdalena said. The hairs on
her
forearms and the back of her neck were hackled.
What made me bring that up?
she wondered. That awful memory from the early days on New Am, when the cult was battling administrators over the education of children and at the same time trying to feed everyone....
They drugged the younger girls, kept us in a state for days
at a time where we were given a little broth, nothing else. They stole chunks
of our lives from us....
She shook her head fiercely. That was over, done, past! Just because she'd never been able to tell Dr. Rob about it--she'd worked it out herself, it was all right.
He can't touch you, they can't hurt you
anymore,
she whispered to herself. The whisper trembled.

The strategy was actually fairly simple, as Alexis reminded her companion on the moving walkway between buildings: "I do all the talking; they'll expect that, and besides, Khyriz taught you more of the political gestures. You fade into the woodwork as much as you can, look wide-eyed and naive, and watch the Council. Especially this character Khyriz calls Iron Duke.

Remember, things may go just fine--but in case they don't..."

"I know." Magdalena nodded, caught hold of her beret as a sudden breeze tried to lift it from her hair. "And if I need

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to talk to you, privately, I'll step on your foot. No one will see that."

"Better than coughing," Alexis agreed. "Or our own gestures. We don't want them thinking CLS politics are as un-trusting as theirs--even if it means they think we're babes in the woods, right?" Magdalena nodded and the two fell silent as the walkway moved up the ramp and into the new palace.

The Emperor had center stage in a high-backed chair; he sat at the midpoint of a long table. Windows on three sides let in light, but any outside view was blocked. A high, domed ceiling with murals of seasonal farming activities, everything gold-leafed and edged in iridescent paint, shone above an intricate mosaic floor. It wouldn't be hard to look wide-eyed and awed, Magdalena thought, as Alexis introduced herself, then stepped aside to let the translator speak.

Twenty-two male councillors flanked the shimmercloth-clad Emperor, all brightly robed and hatted. Only one--the Prelate, Magdalena assumed from his plain, priest's garb--hid his face behind a featureless blue enameled mask.

Alexis waited until her companion was seated in the cushioned human-style chair on the near side of the table, then made a gesture that was the honorific of Emperor and Prelate both: "One who is not the equal of this one." She then offered the greeting of "One who seeks equality where such a thing is possible." To the translator's surprise, the Emperor responded with the same greeting. The Prelate made no move.

There was a faint murmur of conversation, two of the Emperor's councillors speaking to him so softly she couldn't make out the words.
Which is these
Zhenu?
she wondered; apparently the councillors were not going to introduce themselves. After a moment, she decided it must be one of those nearest the Emperor--and after another long moment, she decided against the aging male clad in pale blue. His face showed open curiosity about the two women, and when she looked at him, his whiskers curved forward. The other--younger, lean-faced, and clad in severe white--had eyes nearly as chill as the Prelate's; his whiskers canted up smugly.

The Emperor was younger than either; she knew that much, but he looked it--there was no thickening fur on nose or hands

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that indicated a male over forty, no graying hairs around his nose, either--

though dye was so commonly used, one could never be sure.

Khezan didn't resemble either Khyriz, or the son who had met them the day before at the shuttle. His heir--a solidly built male clad in deep yellow at the opposite end of the table from the Prelate--resembled him only slightly.

The Emperor suddenly emitted a faint, polite cough, and those around him fell silent. "It is the pleasure of the Arekkhi to welcome the CLS interrelator and her associate to our world. We look forward to a pleasant and profitable relationship between all of our peoples."

"The thanks of the CLS and all its member worlds for your willingness to associate with our League," Alexis answered him politely. Magdalena gazed about her with interest as Alexis answered questions--mostly about their newly remodeled rooms in the old palace, the food, the servants--nothing important, particularly since they'd only had an hour of the Emperor's time for this first meeting, and no second one had yet been scheduled. Alexis patiently responded to a query about the furnishings, and then, before anyone else could toss out a question, added immediately,"We are grateful for your concern regarding our comfort, Great Ones. But we should instead use your valuable time to speak of our reasons for being here." She paused politely, and only went on when it was clear no one chose to answer.

"The CLS has asked me to personally convey their hopes that the trade you and they envision with the other League worlds will be profitable to all and promote greater understanding. I was told that the officials on Shassiszs Station hope we can now finalize the documents to allow such trade to begin, which will in turn allow discussions to extend to the Arekkhi a unique place in the League as a trading world. The CLS agrees with the revered Emperor that the Arekkhi are well beyond any need for protected status."

She hesitated briefly as the Prelate shifted on his bench; Magdalena glanced that way, then let her eyes wander over a fine piece of inlay on the table so that she could watch the white-clad councillor

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from under her lashes. He had just signaled to the Prelate-- *wait*...

Alexis cleared her throat and went on. "You yourselves have requested that the CLS act quickly in providing a team to work with your people, to assure the Arekkhi will not be held back from assuming their voice. They send word by me that they agree to this timetable, provided the requests they have made are honored. Since the Emperor has agreed that trade within Arekkhi space is based on a guild system, and that such guilds are housed all across the planet, the League requests that the translator and I meet with the leaders of such guilds, where they are situated." She paused; the Emperor gestured assent, and the white-clad councillor made a very subtle movement of his thumbs to the male at his left. "This was agreed to, but no document has yet been signed. The League asks that I remind the Emperor and his Council that both the document
and
the meetings are requisite parts of the overall trade agreement."

Silence. The Emperor curved his whiskers in a smile. "The document wil be provided, signed and properly embossed, of course. The Council felt it would be better to ask questions here and now, than to attempt these things via the far-distance communicator systems." The whiskers quivered faintly.

"Many of us are not--comfortable with such means of speaking."

"That is understandable," Alexis replied, with a lips-only smile of her own.

"Though it may take longer this way, since I must communicate with the League myself, of course, before making any alterations to the document."

She leaned forward. "Since time is of the essence, Great One, I have taken the liberty of making a list of places where the Translator and I would first prefer to begin these guild meetings." She drew a folded piece of laid bond paper from her sleeve and set it on the table between them. One of the servants retrieved and unfolded it, handing it to the Emperor, who read, then passed it to the male at his right hand.

"Good choices," he said briefly. "I admit, however, that we are not... have not yet arranged proper transport off-island for you and your companion. Though doubtless something

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suitable can be arranged by the time the document is finalized. We, of course, agree that the sooner this can be managed, the better for everyone ...

shall we say, perhaps, in a nine-day?"

"Nine-day!" Alexis echoed sharply; she bit her lip and added, in a quieter voice, "Apologies, Great One. I had hoped, however..."

"We shall meet tomorrow--at this hour if convenient to you?--to discuss the details of the document. Meantime, I will see to it that the guildmasters in these areas are contacted, to be certain there will be no delays once we are able to send you off the island. Once the document is finalized."

He gestured; the white-clad male at his left side shifted and spread his hands in a gesture of conciliation that did not warm his eyes. "In the meantime," the Emperor said smoothly, "one trusts there is sufficient to entertain and amuse you here, or provide education, if you desire.

"You shall have free entry anywhere you choose," the Emperor added,

"including my household apartments, since my Empress wishes to greet the outsiders who were kind to her youngest son. And that son tells me the translator-she is an expert of sorts on your world's history. Perhaps she will enjoy the libraries here: There is a small chamber in the old palace that the clerks can show you, a chamber here that holds the family history, and, of course, the Prelate has graciously offered the books-room in his halls."

"My thanks," Magdalena said. "I am extremely pleased to be offered such an opportunity." The Prelate looked even less pleased to her eye than Zhenu did.

Moments later, the two were back in the main entry. Alexis gestured for Magdalena to follow, stepped onto the moving walkway that would take them back to the old palace and laid a cautious finger against her lips, keeping it there until they were halfway between the two buildings. "So ...

what was your take on that?" she asked finally.

"Besides that the Prelate didn't like us?" Magdalena replied dryly. "And that
was
the
zhez
Zhenu, wasn't it--the white-clad?" Alexis nodded. "I could be wrong," the translator

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went on, "but I felt like they were stalling. I wasn't aware there was a problem with the trade papers."

"There shouldn't be," Alexis replied. "Most of the terms were set by the Arekkhi, except for the one about us talking directly to the guild heads--and even that didn't present a problem until CLS said we had to go to
them."

"Oh. Well, they can't keep us on the island forever," Magdalena said, "no matter how 'entertaining' it is here."

"They'd better not try," Alexis said flatly. "They've been so open on so many fronts--until it gets down to either of us going out and meeting the common Arekkhi. It was the same when the Heeyoons set up shop on the station. The Heeyoons finally backed off so they could keep their toe in the door, for once trade gets moving out of the system." Her eyes narrowed. "That is not going to work with you and me. We have a job to do. And the Emperor and his Council better realize that."

The next day's meeting produced a few minor concessions on both sides, but the trade documents remained unsigned; and the same thing happened the day after. Alexis finally told Magdalena, "I'm going to try a new tack here; they may think we're double-teaming them somehow, so I'll go alone this afternoon."

"If you're sure--"

"I'm not sure of anything at this point. But it's worth a try."

Magdalena used the time to explore the old palace library, which turned out to have nothing more than hard copies of books and documents already installed on her computer. After a cursory examination of the shelves--the carving was more interesting than the contents--she spent a surprisingly pleasant hour talking to the clerks and arranging for basic Mizari lessons for those who expressed interest. When she got back to the CLS apartments, Alexis was in the talk-pit, a cool mug of rih at her elbow and a roughly handwritten document in one hand.

"Got it!" she announced. "I just sent holos to CLS, by FTL. If everything's okay, the Emperor will sign tomorrow, I sign for CLS with your initials, and I've been promised a flitter and pilot for two days after that, whether CLS has a holo of the final document back to us or not!"

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