Voices of Chaos (19 page)

"I feared something like this, Alexis. The problems they mention are real--"

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"They should have warned us before we ever came."

"I agree. You--what was your saying? You preach to the singers," he added in slightly accented English.

"To the choir." Alexis bit back a smile at the words; the situation wasn't funny and she wasn't going to let Khyriz charm her. For all she knew, he might be step two of the Emperor's plan to keep the team quarantined.

"The choir, yes." He shifted back to Arekkhi. "I warned you, back at the Academy, about my father's Council. He is surrounded by elderly beings--

and our old ones dislike change as much as your own."

"I understand that," Alexis said evenly. "But documents were signed and agreements made, and certain rules made clear before the CLS arranged for us to come here. That Council knew what we expected. Khyriz, if they renege on the agreements, Magdalena and I will have no choice but to contact the CLS and arrange transport out of Arekkhi space, as quickly as we can get it. Is that what they want?"

His whiskers went flat to his face, but flicked out to normal almost immediately. "Of course not! Not my father. You have seen some of his letters to me at the Academy, Alexis. You know how proud he was for his youngest son to be chosen for StarBridge. And he sees the usefulness of the alliance the League offers, the new tech for us, the mutually beneficial trade agreements ... though many of his councillors do not."

Alexis snorted inelegantly. "Then why does the Emperor keep them as councillors? Your father's supposedly an absolute ruler, and the Council's only there to advise him. Isn't that right?"

"I did not lie to you or to the CLS about that, Alexis," Khyriz replied formally.

His eartips were quivering slightly.

"Khyriz, I wasn't accusing you of lying." Alexis sighed and drove both hands through her short blond hair. "Apologies. I'm angry."

"I understand that. I would be angry myself." He hesitated, eyed her oddly for a moment, then said, "You do not understand the difficulty. Oh, there is the ideal of the Emperor and his Council, but... but the way things are now...."

His voice had faded to nothing. She couldn't begin to guess

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what he was thinking. "Can ... you tell me about it?"

"Between us, and in trust, yes." He paused, and when she nodded, went on.

"You know my father's father died young, at least ten years before his time.

So my father was suddenly Emperor. And while he had friends, colleagues--

he had not yet formed the alliances a ruler must have. Nor had he chosen councillors. So he inherited the councillors of his father. And-- many of those males are still on the Council. Oh yes, I know," he added as Alexis would have spoken. "He is Emperor. He can send them away and appoint new councillors."

"Why doesn't he?"

Khyriz glanced down at his nail-device, then sent his eyes toward the closed windows. He lowered his voice. "Swear to me this does not go beyond you and me... and Magdalena, if you choose, but only if you are certain of the security of these rooms."

Alexis stared at him. She finally eased away from her seat on the desk long enough to check the comp screen, then nodded as she resettled. "My word on it."

"Thank you. I asked him that, very recently. He is Emperor, yes, but certain of his nobles--and the Prelate--command great wealth. And my father has ...

very few armed."

"You--" Alexis swallowed hard, licked her lips and tried again. "Khyriz, are you trying to tell me that if he dismissed them, these males would
challenge
him? They'd... what? Fight?"

Khyriz's ears flickered, then dropped flat and stayed there. "Never that!

Alexis, you know our history! That last war, a hundred years ago--it taught us that there is nothing worth armies fighting and people dying! But these elderly males would ally to strew barriers in the way of anything they do not like. Such as progress."

"Like this morning," Alexis said with a growl. "But the Emperor was no more helpful than his Council."

"If he were as strong as my grandsire, he would not have such problems. He could order his Council to conduct surveys of the hydroponics on the first moon and personally deal with you and Magdalena as was agreed. With things as they are, there are petty deals, arguments, bickerings--so much time

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wasted so he can get what he sees for the Arekkhi worlds and our people.''

"I... all right. It sounds like what I know of Arekkhi politics at their worst. It's a wonder the CLS agreements got signed at all, I suppose. Still..."

"Fortunately, it is not all of the Council. My father has some allies among the old as well as the few he has so far been able to appoint. Even stubborn old males die sometime." His whiskers flicked briefly forward. "But those who oppose him are powerful. The Prelate and our Church are certain the new alliance will lead to wholesale abandonment of worship by the Arekkhi. And others, many of them with livelihoods depending on hereditary land tilled by tenant-farmers or grazed by the flocks of our herders--they fear such a sudden shift in monetary standards that they will find themselves landless and starving."

Alexis shook her head, eased off the desk, and began pacing. "Khyriz, that was explained during the negotiations," she said patiently. "The League is
aware
of those possibilities, and they know how to avoid them. Provided they get cooperation-- and right now, I am
not
getting the cooperation I need!

In fact, I'm not getting any cooperation at all!" Her voice had gone up; she drew a deep breath and spoke more calmly when she went on again.

"Apologies. Look, Khyriz, I know this isn't your fault. But I need to get back in to see the Emperor, talk to him about this. We got shoved out so fast today, I didn't even have time to ask if Magdalena and I could at least get into the city with
you
as an escort. They can't object to that, can they? I need to see your father again. Right away."

The Prince's ears flickered and went sideways: He gave her an odd look, then turned away to gaze out the windows toward the new palace. "Alexis ...

I cannot help you with that. There are rules, laws, protocol. Even I cannot just see the Arekkhi Emperor. Even I must file petitions with his clerks and wait the prescribed time for an appointment. And once excused from the chamber, I cannot simply return, either."

"All right, I understand that." Alexis drummed her fingers on the desktop. "I guess. No, I know, it's protocol. But you're not just a citizen or a mere off-worlder, you're his son. And I

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know enough about your family life; you see your father often. As a father."

"I can't--"

"You
can,"
she replied flatly. "Over
edha,
maybe? Darned soon, though.

Give him a message from the CLS interrelator that either the translator and I are allowed free access to the people of the capital city over there--within three days, wind or no wind--or
we are pulling out.
They'll have one hard time convincing the League to send in another team. And there goes all that great trade, and all that new outside tech. And probably that half-built jump-point station,
and
the Heeyoon traders on your station, too. Khyriz, inviting us in, then acting like they've got something to hide is
not
productive!"

He went as wide-eyed as pictures she'd seen of startled, very young Arekkhi, blue-eyed babes with silvery manes standing on end. "I... Alexis, I will do what I can. But... if you wish entry to Ebba, I can take you now, my own flitter, no one will know until too late...."

Despite her anger and the odd tension in the office, Alexis laughed. "Joy riding?" She'd done that once or twice as a young girl, with her wild older cousin Nicholas. Khyriz's whiskers quirked--apparently he was remembering the story that made him laugh so hard, back on StarBridge. "I can't do that kind of thing anymore, I'm sorry. I'm official now, remember? I have to work with planetary officials and with the CLS."

"Well... I am sorry, too," Khyriz said softly. His whiskers quirked again. "At least, this time the vehicle would not be 'warm.' "

"That's 'hot,' " she replied with a grin.

The slightly silly moment had eased the tension in the office. Khyriz nodded.

"I will find my father before
edha,
if I can-- before day's end for certain. I will tell him your message and do my best to convince him. Then I will send you a message or come myself, tonight." His whiskers trembled. "If you and Magdalena permit, for
zhner,
if matters are worked out."

Alexi was surprised.
Zhner
was usually reserved only for family. She raised her eyebrows.
"Zhner,
is it? Of course, Khyriz: You're my friend and I know Magdalena thinks of

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you as a brother." For some reason, this rather formal little speech seemed to upset him. Odd. Probably he was worried about keeping them on-planet.

"Thank you, Khyriz, for your help. Remember, I'm here because I like you ... I like Shiksara, everything I know about Arekkhi. I don't want to argue with anyone, I just want to do what I was sent for: to learn as much as I can about everything here, so the outside worlds can understand you as well. And the other way about."

"I know. There is much to learn here that I could not tell you on StarBridge ...

never enough hours to talk. I hope it is you and Magdalena who are the outsiders who will"--his whiskers briefly touched--"learn all our secrets."

"Yes." Alexis blinked, glanced at her watch-patch. "Speaking of Magdalena, though, we'd better go see how she and your cousin are getting on."

We are getting on very well,
Magdalena thought--after a few false starts and visible shyness on Zhikna's part ("Please, call me Zhik, everyone but my father does"). Mere mention of his father--it astonished her that this shy youth's father could be horrid Zhenu--seemed to make Zhik nervous. Of course, he might be high-strung. It took some moments to get him seated comfortably, and he remained tongue-tied until she mentioned dance.

All at once, Zhik responded with enthusiasm, discussing Arekkhi formal dance with her at intelligent length. She was surprised to discover he was a named Prime--one of the rare males who led the most difficult figures at formal balls. Primes were normally much older.

Odd that Zhenu seemed to take no pleasure in his son's impressive accomplishment. Nothing that the youth said, just the sense of.... She shook that off and talked about her own work on Arekkhi dance; he seemed both surprised and pleased that an outsider would learn such a thing and that the two women would actively participate in the upcoming ball.

"Of course," he went on, "it is not the only form of dance among our kind. I once stayed among my mother's people for a season. Her family's estate is near one particular vil age, so

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they attend all the festivities, and at the festivals, there is always dance...."

"Folk dancing!" Magdalena exclaimed eagerly as he paused. Arekkhi folk dance had barely been touched on during her time on StarBridge: Most of what she knew she'd picked up from Shiksara. And among Shiksara's merchant-class people, folk-dance was considered low-class; the merchant-she couldn't demonstrate any of it.

Zhik nodded, human-fashion. "It occurs in almost all villages and local regions, though the styles differ greatly."

"That's true of Earth as well: We have many styles and I can show you some of them; we brought vid. And, of course, every world has dance created by those who work the land."

"They have?" This was clearly something that had not occurred to the young noble. "All those other kinds of beings-- how wonderful!"

"I think so myself," she said. "I hope to see some of the Arekkhi folk dances."

"Truly?" He gave her a wide-eyed kit's look.

"Of course. This is the kind of thing the League does. Didn't Khyriz tell you?"

"Perhaps. Apologies, I paid no heed to his talk of the outside worlds. Until now, I thought I could have nothing in common with them."

' "That's one reason I am here, and Alexis,'' Magdalena said. "But also I would personally like to see Arekkhi folk dance because, besides being a CLS translator, I'm a dancer."

His whiskers flicked briefly forward. "But I know this much. My cousin showed me a vid of your dance!"

Magdalena laughed and shook her head. "Oh, no! Not that concert! It's two years old and I was awful!"

"It seemed very fine to me,'' Zhik protested politely."Khyriz says this ...

ballet... is human ancient formal dance."

"For one part of our world. Oh... I can't think why that reminds me, but I was hoping since I'm on a real planet again that I could have a pet of some sort.

Your father said I should ask you about your Asha, he said that you keep yours on the upper floor--" Magdalena stopped short. "Are you all right?"

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she asked, leaning forward in alarm. Zhik's whiskers had suddenly gone utterly flat to his cheeks and she could see white all around his eyes.

"It's nothing, merely an ... an old injury." Khyriz's voice came from behind her; she started and whirled about as her red-clad friend came across the salon. She eased out of the talking-pit; his outstretched hands captured both of hers as she stood up. There was something curious about his face: she was suddenly reminded of the used-car salesman "Cal" in the "selling things" moments, ads, between one of Rob's bad monster-movie vids.
This
isn't Khyriz--not the Khyriz I know. He's acting a part, trying to divert my
attention--from Zhik? But why?
She eased one hand from his grasp, turned her head; Zhik's face was composed once more.

"Zhik has a place in his ear, an infant-he in his first teeth bit it and the nerve sometimes gives him pain. Cousin?" He released Magdalena's fingers and walked around the cushion-pit to bend over his young kin. Zhik looked up, blinking. "Your ear ... the nerve-pain, isn't it, Zhik?"

"I... apologies, Translator," he murmured, whiskers quivering, and let Khyriz help him out of the pile of cushions. "As my cousin says, pain took me by surprise. And we were having such a pleasant discussion about... about dance."