Fall of shadows, p.26
Fall of Shadows, page 26
part #7 of Steven Gordon Series
‘Sounds a bit like someone I know very well.’ They both laughed, then the Première hesitated a moment, ‘Could you stay here for a moment Charlie? I would like to get guards in here.’
Charlie looked at the piece, ‘I suppose we forget the value of things. I will stay here and watch over it for you.’
The Première left and soon half a dozen guards appeared. Charlie recognised one of them who came over to greet him.
‘Hello again, what is it we are supposed to be keeping an eye on?’
‘Right there.’
The guard moved closer, ‘Oh wow! What is that made of?’
‘Gold, silver, and a dozen different precious gems, including fire diamonds.’
‘What’s it worth?’
‘I have no idea what your currency is or how to judge it. However, I was told that when it was displayed at home, no one was actually able to put a price on it, so it never sold.’
‘So it is priceless?’
‘In this form yes. Melted down into its component parts, it is probably still worth millions in any currency.’
The guard breathed deeply and lifted a hand. His men ran over. ‘Two of you either side of the table. Make sure no one even goes near it.’
Charlie left them to it and returned to the reception. He found Steven.
‘He is well chuffed.’
Steven nodded and got back to it. David managed to find Charlie soon afterwards.
‘What are we supposed to do here Charlie?’
‘Beats the shit out of me. I’m normally standing against the wall somewhere.’
‘Tapper seems to be enjoying himself.’
Charlie couldn’t help but grin, ‘He is in his element, a natural born Lord. It seeps out of his pores.’
‘Like recognises like.’
‘Aye it certainly does. Don’t worry, they love artists too, your time will come, so be prepared to answer a hundred questions. If I was you, I would start thinking about your answers now.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Very.’
‘Like what questions?’
‘Do I look posh?’
‘You look like a security guard.’
‘I might have to work on that. You don’t look any better by the way.’
‘The army mentality of smartness and neatness is very hard to leave behind.’
‘Tell me about it bro.’
chapter 59
Steven and Komoru were placed either side of the Première and his companion. Charlie and David were separated by a teenage girl and her grandmother, across the other side of the table. The girl kept peeking at Charlie out of the corner of her eye. Charlie eventually had enough of the scrutiny.
‘Can I help you? You seem to be curious.’
Her head canted up at an angle, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t get to see many aliens.’
‘Why, does your father keep you locked up?’
She had to think about that, ‘Not really, but I do go to an all-girls school, and I’m not allowed out without a chaperone.’
‘Your father is very smart.’
‘How so?’
‘If I had a daughter as pretty as you, I would make sure the chaperone had a gun.’
The granny, who had been listening in, leaned forward, ‘I most certainly do not carry a weapon.’ She tapped the girl on the arm. ‘You are being rude, you have not been introduced.’
‘My name is Charlie.’
The girl was now looking directly at him, ‘My name is Aurora.’
The grandmother rolled her eyes skywards, ‘That is not the proper way introductions should be conducted Aurora. You know that.’
Aurora was now smiling directly at Charlie, who could not help but smile back. The grandmother once again interrupted.
‘Sir, your title, and direct your answer to me please.’
Aurora had to place her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
Charlie looked directly at the old woman, ‘My title is Lord Noch Man Drich. I am the adopted brother of the Modloch Emperor, whose Empire stretches over twenty solar systems and whose citizens number in the trillions. I am also from the planet Earth, and served a lifetime in the armed forces, from where I recently retired as a Captain. I was the first Human to be made a Federation citizen. I am also a founding member of the PD Company of Earth, and still on the payroll. It is my job to find new products that will interest Earth’s citizens, and products from Earth to sell to alien races like yourselves. I am a lifelong friend of the Ambassador, and serve on the crew as one of his advisors. It is my job to find out as much as possible about a race we are visiting before we make first contact. I have a team of three, that includes the Lady over there. Is that enough?’
Both female’s eyes had opened very wide. The grandmother cleared her throat.
‘Yes thank you. This is the Lady Aurora Malinci. We come from a very long line of nobles, and have affiliations through blood with the Royal family. Are your family also from a long line of nobility?’
‘Oh hell no, we are as common as muck. Farmers mostly, fishermen, soldiers, policemen, that kind of thing. My branch of the family were mainly into farming and soldiering.’
She seemed to take that quite well. ‘Then may you be the first in a very long line, Lord Nossh…’ the words seemed to stick in her throat.
‘Charlie.’
She smiled, ‘Charlie it is.’
Aurora turned her head slowly to look at her grandmother, as though she was hearing something for the first time.
‘You are properly introduced now my dear, you may engage the gentleman in conversation if you so wish.’
‘Thank you grandmother.’
She turned slowly back to Charlie, ‘So you are a Human?’
‘Aye. So you would be a Behema?’
‘Yes.’
They both burst out laughing. ‘Aurora, that is a very pretty name. Has it a special meaning?’
‘It is a flower.’
‘I will bet it is a very pretty one. We have a similar word in our language. It literally means the dawn, from an old Human language, the old Roman goddess of the dawn. It is also associated with a natural electrical phenomena that takes place on our planet at the poles, where you get streaks of brilliant colour washing across the evening sky. It is truly a wonderful sight to see.’
‘A goddess of the dawn!’
‘Aye.’
‘We don’t have religion anymore, or believe in gods or goddesses, but we still have all of the old myths and stories.’ She sighed, ‘I think that is even better than a flower. I am beginning to like Humans.’
‘Charlie!’
Charlie looked across the table, ‘Yes Merro?’
Merro grinned at the silence that cut across the table like a knife.
‘You had better watch out for the Lady Aurora there. She is reaching marriageable age and may well be fishing for a Husband.’
‘Thanks for the warning Merro, I had better apply my anti-cutie repellent.’
Merro’s laughter filled the room. ‘Her name means flower in our language.’
‘She told me that. Her name also has meaning in our language as well. Aurora was the ancient Roman goddess of the dawn.’
‘A goddess, no wonder she is making eyes at you. I think maybe the Lady Aurora should be applying the anti-Human repellent.’
The table erupted in laughter. Aurora was squirming with embarrassment at being singled out by the Première for a little joke, but part of her also loved it. She had never, ever heard anyone call the Première by his first name before. It was a mark of respect given to very few, and it only made the man at her side more attractive.
‘I sincerely hope you are married Charlie.’
‘Lifelong bachelor I am afraid.’
‘You could have lied.’
Charlie laughed, ‘I do have an unofficial companion. She has a gun, a very big one.’
‘Has your Emperor not chosen a bride for you from his own race?’
‘Good God no. Our races aren’t compatible, thankfully.’
‘Really, why are you so happy?’
‘Well the Modloch are an extremely ugly race, huge by comparison to ourselves, and they only have sex twice a year.’
It took a moment. In that moment Komoru tried to shrink down in her seat. Merro was the first to burst into laughter, Tapper and David right after him, then the rest of the table also erupted. Lady Jane was shaking her head and both Steven and Komoru looked like they wanted to kill him.
It took a while for Merro to gain his breath. He was holding his sides.
‘I forgot they were herbivores. The ones on this side of the expanse also have seasons. So you have an unofficial companion. From your own race?’
‘Yes, she is a Post Captain with the Federation now.’
‘What is a Post Captain?’
‘Just a senior Captain with a lot of experience. She has an Admiral from the Federation on board too, she serves him directly.’
‘I understand now, we have the same thing here. It is a pity she isn’t here. I would like to see her.’
Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He could see the curious looks. He found the picture and slid it across, ‘That’s her.’
Merro picked it up, ‘Wow! Truly, this is her? I am sorry Aurora, but you are truly out womaned. What is this device Charlie?’
‘Communications device. Very popular on my planet. We take pictures, share them with each other and our families. Do a lot of social networking. Just swipe with your finger for more pictures.’
‘You don’t mind?’
‘No, not at all.’
Merro swiped away happily for a few seconds then bolted upright. ‘What the hell is that!’ He flashed the phone at Charlie.
‘That’s a good friend of mine. He is the Modloch Empire’s Chief Engineer.’
‘I can see what you mean by ugly.’ He swiped a few more then burst out laughing. He showed the picture to Steven, ‘What on Earth were you drinking Ambassador?’
‘Oh that one. I remember that, vaguely. It is called beer.’
‘We have something similar, but the glasses aren’t that big.’
‘Modloch measures.’ He never noticed Komoru trying to see the picture. The Première sighed, ‘It looks like you had a lot of fun.’ He slid the phone back across to Charlie. ‘Thank you for sharing that with me.’
‘Pleasure.’
Aurora touched his sleeve, ‘May I see the picture of your friend?’
Charlie swiped and showed her. The bathing costume she had worn left not much to the imagination. One of the girls had taken the picture of the two of them sitting side by side at the pool.
Auroras mouth fell open,. ‘Are they even real?’
It was loud enough for Merro to hear and he howled with laughter.
‘Oh yes.’
The grandmother looked across. ‘Oh dear.’ She reached over and lifted Aurora’s chin with a finger. Merro slapped his thighs with delight, tears streaming down his face. When he was able to compose himself again, Merro stood and introduced the Humans properly, drawing attention to the already greatly admired centre piece.
Once the formalities were done, the meal began to come out. The Humans found themselves looking at a square of a blue, jelly-like substance. As Charlie watched the square began to move.
‘Is this thing alive?’
Aurora glanced over, ‘Of course, it is a delicacy.’
Charlie pushed the plate away and threw a napkin over it.
‘No thank you.’
Lady Jane and Tapper were already well into it. Komoru also seemed to relish it. Steven and David, however, were having the same reserves as Charlie.
Komoru’s voice sounded in his head, ‘Eat it Charlie, it is delicious. Don’t insult our guests.’
‘You can ram it,’ he answered back in the same manner.
The second course went the same, some form of fish that both Steven and Charlie pushed away. Merro was watching with great interest. He presumed the problem would be solved with the next offering. It wasn’t.
Steven visibly paled. Tapper, however, rubbed his hands with delight, ‘Haven’t had that for a while.’
Charlie placed his cutlery into his plate and pushed it away. Steven followed suit. Merro’s curiosity burst forth.
‘Don’t you eat meat Charlie?’
‘I love meat.’
‘What is wrong?’
Charlie took out his phone, ‘On our world we have wild animals. Some you may recognise.’ He downloaded some content from Babes and pushed it across.
Merro picked it up and swiped through the pictures. ‘What magnificent creatures. These are wild, on your home world?’
‘That’s right, most of them are protected species.’
‘They truly are beautiful. Much like we imagine our ancestors looked like.’
‘How would you feel if you visited us and we popped one of those onto the table?’
‘I don’t think I would be very happy, I don’t think I could partake.’
Charlie pointed to the crispy ape that was now adorning the table, ‘Our species are more closely related to this fellah, than we are to those.’
The penny dropped, ‘Your race is closely related to apes?’
‘Yes. Some do partake of course…’ his hand flicked towards Tapper. ‘However, it isn’t in me. Don’t be put off by me. Call it a personal choice.’
‘I understand completely.’ He glanced over, ‘You too ambassador?’
‘I am afraid so. I just couldn’t.’
‘Do you find it offensive?’
‘No, not at all. Just off-putting.’
‘Do you mind if we help ourselves?’
‘Not at all.’
Merro called for a steward and whispered something to him. His eyes flew wide, but he simply nodded and walked away. Jane and Komoru also ate the ape-like creature. Steven was struggling with hunger pangs, while Charlie didn’t look bothered at all. They were halfway through the meal when two bowls were placed in front of Charlie and Steven. It seemed to be some form of stew with vegetables.
‘This meat is from a bovine,’ a picture was put in front of Charlie’s nose. It did indeed look like a cow.
‘Thank you, it looks great and smells great.’ Charlie took a chunk of meat. It melted in his mouth. ‘Awesome. Give it a bash Stevie, it tastes like beef stew.’
Steven tried it, and gave Charlie the thumbs up, ‘Very nice.’ The two ate with gusto, while the rest of the guests devoured the ape-like creature.
When Charlie finished his plate, Aurora leaned in.
‘That is what the commoners on this planet eat.’
‘I am aware of that, as is your Première. Steven and I were both born commoners. Our companions, especially Lady Jane and Lord Dunedin, were born into noble families. There tastes have been refined since childhood. I am sure by now you can tell the differences.’
‘Now you have pointed it out, it is obvious. Don’t you eat the food they serve you at home either? I mean at a banquet?’
‘Never been invited to one. They had the odd one when I was doing officer training. After the first one, I always faked illness.’
‘Wouldn’t you have gotten into trouble for that?’
‘They tried, but I told the Commanding Officer to serve real food and then I would attend. He didn’t want to lower their dining standards for one man.’
‘Was it that bad?’
‘Awful. Just like tonight. At least the Première made an effort to accommodate those of us with different tastes. It is much appreciated.’
‘What about your Modloch family, don’t you eat with them?’
‘Oh hell no! They are herbivores, they dine on huge bowls of hay.’
She laughed, ‘I never thought of that.’
‘Before our arrival, it was illegal to even transport meat across Federation space.’
‘You haven’t touched the wine either?’
‘I tried. Tastes very like the wine at home. I’m a beer drinker.’
‘How did someone like you become a noble?’
‘Aurora,’ her grandmother hissed. ‘How all of our ancestors first became nobles. By being noble, by doing noble deeds. I apologise for my granddaughter. May I ask what your title means?’
‘If someone is insulted by the simple truth, then they are fools. She wasn’t insulting me or trying to. She is just curious. My title means Lord Protector. A rare title, only given out twice before, I believe.’
‘Then you must have protected the Emperor more than once.’
‘I helped him catch the leader of a coup, a cousin of his. The next time my services were required was when an assassin attacked his son and the grandson of another Emperor. I stopped him.’
‘How?’ Asked Aurora.
‘That isn’t an explanation for a dining table.’
‘I see.’
The granny had the last word, ‘Then your title was well deserved sir.’
‘Thank you. I did try to refuse it, but the Emperor wasn’t having it.’
‘Were you given property and land?’
‘He had already given me property for the first deed. A nice wee cottage on one of his planets. He tried to give me a bigger one, and the land to go with it, but I steadfastly refused. In the end I accepted a large field adjacent to my cottage.’
Both seemed shocked. Aurora found her voice first, ‘I find it hard to believe that you refused.’
‘Of course you do, because you are of noble birth. I’m not.’
‘It is very confusing.’
‘Not really. I didn’t want any of it in the first place. I am independently wealthy and have a pension from the armed forces. I simply don’t need it or the hassle that goes along with it.’
‘What about when you get married and have a family?’
‘I have no inclination to do that either.’
‘What about your unofficial companion?’
‘She is a career woman. She may well rise to the rank of Admiral. She has said nothing to me about wanting a family either.’
‘She is a warrior?’
‘She is a national hero and has one of the best battle records as a Captain. She saved our lives in a big battle not all that long ago, used her ship to shield ours.’
