Adventures in Parodyverse:  Zephiir’s Prophecy, Part 2




    Caph was a desert planet.  That posed special challenges to an imported race of people who came from a planet with a very large percentage of water on its surface.  Being hot as well, their home was constantly besieged by violent rain storms, and its people adapted.


    Shen Rae missed those storms.  She missed the rains.  On Caph, there were wind and dust storms, but no almost no rain.  Its only water sources were heavily rationed, until its people learned to live on very little of it.


    Months passed since Kiivan invited her people to live on Caph.  Shen Rae chose for them to live outside the city, to farm the land and use ingenuity in order to survive.  Ingenuity that caused them to discover a rich aquifer of water hundreds of kilometers beneath the surface, and to raise thriving water-thrifty tropical trees resembling the palms of Earth, grains, and some fruits and vegetables.


    They had not yet told the Caphans about the water source because it had a very high mineral content, such that the Caphans could not tolerate it.  It was distasteful to Shen Rae too, but the trees seemed to like it just fine.  They would produce fruits with the sweetest of juices to drink.


    Most amusing of all was that her people, nameless for decades, in order to hide their identity, had finally been given a name by the Caphan people.  Ke’Tan, or travelers.  It was not a derogatory term, but rather one that went back to the roots of Caphan society, as nomads wandering the planet’s many deserts.


    And so Shen Rae kneeled in the sand between the thirty foot high trees and drank the something like the pineapple juice of earth from a small, oddly shaped glass bought at the Caphan market.  Off to the east, a mountain towered over the Ke’Tan village.  It’s magnetic iron core gave them both partial shelter from surveillance from above, and inside a large cave within, hid Shen Rae’s idled ship from detection.


    Long left behind was her corporate uniform.  Instead she wore loosely fitting fabric that wrapped around her entire body.  It was Caphan fabric, light, brightly colored, and designed to keep the wearer cool and comfortable.  Paired with that were sandals made from distinctively non-caphan synthetic materials for the sake of longevity.


    She smiled as she watched a silver-haired man from her colony use the strength given to him by the same genetic gifts she had to rapidly climb one of the trees to harvest hard-shelled fruits resembling coconuts.


    Life was good, though not as easy as it was where they came from.  It was worth it, though.  Except Shen Rae couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the opening chapter, not the closing one - there would be harder times ahead.


    Someone working outside called for her, and she looked up.  Coming toward the village was a caravan she clearly recognized as Kiivan, plus a group of attendants and soldiers he always brought with him when he left the capital city.  Kiivan hadn’t visited in months.  She supposed that was an expression of trust.


    She picked up the flask of fruit juice, and reached into the bag she had with her for a second oddly shaped glass.  When Kiivan arrived a minute later, she offered him a glass of the Ke’Tan village’s greatest offering.


    Kiivan tasted it, and then smiled.  “Truly the nectar of the gods.”  he said.  


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You could have sent for me.”  Shen Rae pointed out.  “I could have taken my shuttle to the capital, it’s a much shorter journey that way.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s so impersonal.”  Kiivan replied with a laugh.  “Besides, the daily grind at the palace becomes tedious at times.  It’s good to get away.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yet you’re here on business.”  Shen Rae noted.  “I can see it in your eyes, and hear it in your voice.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s nothing to be concerned about.”  Kiivan reassured her.  “But something you should, by all rights, be told.  Your Trading Alliance sent a representative to the Palace.  They were attempting to locate you.”


    Shen Rae’s contented smile vanished instantly.  “They know we’re here?”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Kiivan responded.  “The questions he asked were far too specific.  He guessed at the possibility you’re here, I think, but could not prove it.”


    She became more alarmed at that point, and sat up.  “Do you know if they’re still in orbit?  Or nearby?”  If they were, they could do a genetic scan of the planet’s surface.  Hopefully, the magnetic mountains nearby would interfere with the scan, but that wasn’t guaranteed.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“My scientists tell me they are not.”  Kiivan said.  “But after seeing your ship, it’s quite possible they are using the same stealth shield.”


    Kiivan was smart, Shen Rae thought to herself.  That’s exactly what a Trading Alliance ship would do.


    She motioned for him to follow, and she led Kiivan through the grove of trees.  His personal guards, ordered to remain at a distance, were visibly nervous.  


    The trees finally gave way to a small home in traditional Caphan desert style - singular, flat sloped roof, curved upward at its sharp peaks, covered with sand to reflect the sun, and long overhangs with small, recessed windows.  Only three sides had ‘treasure-glass’ golden tinted windows, the fourth side was the roof wrapped to the ground to protect against violent sandstorms.  It was all designed to stay cool in the hot midday sun, and safe during storms.


    When Kiivan entered, he was surprised to note that the house interior was much cooler than outdoors.  As simple as it appeared, it had climate control.  A slight breeze passed over his feet - a system to vacuum away sand, through what looked like some sort of porous rubber material on the floor next to the door.    


    Shen Rae pulled a portable terminal out of a plain-looking wooden cabinet that slid open, and put the device on a small, round table between the open kitchen and dining room.  


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s that?”  Kiivan asked, as he looked around at her home.  It was furnished sparsely, yet comfortably, like her quarters aboard her ship.  Except here on Caph, she had a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables, in two baskets in her kitchen.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It has a link to my ship, which is watching for Trading Alliance communication.  There should not be any nearby, so if there is, there may be a ship hiding out there.  Especially if it’s supposed to report back.”


    Kiivan laughed and shook his head as he watched Shen Rae work.  “The technology you have amazes me, Shen Rae.”  he said.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You can’t fool me.”  Shen Rae laughed too.  “You have interesting technology of your own.  You just hide it well.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hide it?”  he raised an eyebrow at that.  “No.  Caph simply decided not to let technology take control of our lives.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They are out there.”  Shen Rae noted, looking at the display in front of her again.  “I just recorded a burst transmission, encrypted.  They’re probably surveying this planet right now.”


    She got up quickly and grabbed a small portable device, that looked a lot like a communications bracelet she once gave Kiivan, and traced a few gestures on the display.  “I’m alerting the others,”  she said.  “In case we have to mobilize.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Mobilize?”  Kiivan’s smile disappeared.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We’re not going to let Caph fight for us alone.”  Shen Rae told him.  “I...don’t want to be responsible for any sort of death toll.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Only if you promise not to leave us on the sidelines.”  Kiivan offered.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Agreed.”  Shen Rae bowed slightly, and slapped the device over her wrist.  It molded perfectly to her arm.  “Now, we wait.”




---




    The coded message sent by the cloaked Trading Alliance caravan, parked a respectable distance from Caph to avoid detection, arrived at Company headquarters.  They weren’t soldiers, they were simply contracted to gather information for the Galactic Government.  It was a task that paid well.


    Interview with the ruler of Caph revealed a lack of knowledge.  He appeared certain there were no non-Caphans on his planet.  A survey of the surface from above, done quickly to avoid suspicion, showed a strange colony far from any large city, surrounded by a thick grove of trees.  On a water poor planet, that grove had to be engineered to grow that way.


    Yet, the life signs there were not clear enough to be identifiable.  All those trees gave off life energy too, and it seemed whoever lived among them either kept close enough to them that the echo of the tree circulatory systems interfered with the ones of people.  If it was done purposely, it was a very clever trick indeed.


    But the Company wasn’t contracted to do ground investigations.  They were only contracted to do an interview and scan.  They would note the village as suspicious - but they would have to wait for the military arrive to research further.




---




    Shen Rae awoke to a knock at her door in the morning.  She answered in a robe, and was greeted by Kiivan’s private guard.  They asked her to accompany them to the palace, thought they allowed her to get dressed first.


    As asked, Shen Rae changed into her more formal looking black charcoal, sparkling fabric, form-fitting outfit that she first arrived on the planet with.  It had become a sort of ‘official business’ look, since the rest of her wardrobe had become extremely formal and adapted to the climate of Caph.


    Before she left her home, she also changed her skin and eyes to a medium green, as well as her hair.  Just as she promised Kiivan, since she was about to visit a Caphan city.  She didn’t want to change her appearance in transit, and shock the guards and staff.


    Kiivan told her only the day before that the official caravan he took using labor animals and chariots, though slow, was traditional on Caph, but that they did have faster transportation.  This was the first time she had seen an example of it.


    The guard arrived in a vehicle designed for desert transportation.  It was a luxurious vehicle which floated on huge springs strung between oversized tracks.  This was likely to move fast over the desert sands, yet maintain a comfortable ride.


    It was a very large vehicle, also intended to move a pretty decent number of guards and staff along with the V.I.P.’s it was designed to transport.  Two of those staff exited the vehicle and latched on a small staircase so Shen Rae could get in without climbing.  The wide door flipped up like a wing, but had fairly low clearance.


    Inside it was cooler than out, but not quite as cool as Shen Rae’s home.  She made no judgements about that - it was as likely that they hadn’t mastered climate control as it was that Caphans had little tolerance for it.


    The trip inside that strange vehicle was a long one.  Shen Rae tried to make small talk with some of the staff, as they pitched and rolled along sand dunes.  They weren’t following the usual winding roads, but were taking a more direct route.  Which meant time had become of the essence.


    Caph’s capital city didn’t appear in the distance.  It seemed to come out of nowhere, thanks to a combination of dust, sand dunes, a low-slung vehicle, and haze from the extreme heat.  The vehicle tore onto the wide main road through the city, and continued at its frantic pace toward the palace.


    That’s when Shen Rae began to notice...the streets were covered with loose sand, which was also in the air, and there were no people outside.  She guessed that perhaps a sandstorm was winding down, and it wasn’t as easy to detect inside the protection of a moving vehicle.


    But also, as they got closer to the palace, there was a increasing palpable urgency from the soldiers traveling with her that made her uneasy.  She began to suspect something was wrong, a feeling that peaked when the tractored vehicle, instead of stopping in front of the palace, drove around to the side, and up a staircase like it was some sort of assault.


    The guards filed out quickly.  Kiivan’s personal guards carried only one weapon - the plas’gar, a small dagger they’re trained to fight with like a Samurai on Earth is trained with a sword.  When they left the vehicle, they circled around, as if to check if the coast was clear.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Come, quickly.”  One of them told Shen Rae.


    Her smile was gone now as she followed them into the palace.  One of them remained behind to move the vehicle elsewhere.


    Inside the palace, things were silent.  It was as if everyone had gone into hiding somewhere.  There wasn’t much time to investigate though, because the guards rushed her through the halls quickly.  Finally, they stopped.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Kiivan has been imprisoned in his own dungeon.”  one of the guards quickly explained.  “The aliens...they came, and they wish to trade you for him.”


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You told them I was here?”  Shen Rae asked, her voice barely containing anger and fear.


    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  he said.  “We have denied your existence.  I snuck to the dungeon to free Kiivan...but he said to leave him there, or the aliens might take out their anger on the people of Caph.  He said to bring you here to free him.  Only you can fight off the aliens.”


    Shen Rae frowned, and nodded.  “Take me to him.”  she said.




TO BE CONTINUED?
    


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2010 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin