Transmission Lost (28 page)

She took a deep breath. -Father, when I was out on patrol last, I ran into a human ship. We got into a fight out there, and it ran from me. I had to follow it blind. Both of our ships were badly damaged, and we crashed on an uncharted planet.- Aria looked at her father again, sitting up straight in her chair. -I had to eject from my ship, and I was badly hurt in the crash. I needed treatment for my wounds and I drifted too far away from my ship to know where it was. I found the human ship first, and the pilot there was still alive. I captured him and forced him to help me.-

She waited a moment before continuing. -His ship was ruined, and I couldn't use it to escape the planet. I decided I had to find the wreck of my own ship. I thought I'd be able to use the radio inside to call for help, so I made the human come with me. I knew I wouldn't be able to survive on my own.-

Arn listened to his daughter carefully. He'd known that she wasn't going to react well to his words, but then he hadn't known the whole story of what had happened when she'd been lost. Now that he was hearing some details from her own mouth, he thought he might be beginning to understand a little bit about what had transpired while she was away. He nodded at her, gesturing with one hand for her to continue.

-Well...There were a lot of things I didn't count on,- Aria continued. -That planet was dangerous. There was this species of pack predator that began stalking us as we traveled. One of them attacked the human one night, and I had to fight it off. Then the next night, a pack of them attacked us both. I nearly died, father. But the human...he fought them off.- She glanced down, then back up at her father. -I couldn't just leave him behind when they rescued me. He saved my life father, and they were going to turn him over to a slave dealer. I couldn't let them do that.-

Arn shook his head, looking off into space. -So they charged you with treason because you allied yourself with a human. Because you didn't want to die on some lost planet.-

-Well...- Aria hesitated. She didn't want to lie to her father, but she didn't feel comfortable telling him the whole truth just yet. Aria knew that her father had prejudices against humans, and had carried those prejudices ever since her mother had died in battle with human forces. She didn't know how he would react if he knew the full extent of what had happened to her on that alien planet. -Yes, father. That's why.-

-And so now he's your slave because you're grateful to him for helping you. You felt a need to save him as well. It's not because you wanted a slave.-

-No, father. Not at all.- That, at least, was the truth, even if it wasn't the whole truth.

Arn stood up from his chair, walking over to his favorite bookshelf, the one that held volumes upon volumes of history books. The businessman loved history even more than he loved his career as a food merchant, and he'd read each book on this shelf countless times. He stared at them now, and ran his fingers along a few of the leather bound spines. His tail waved behind him a few times as he mulled over the story that his eldest daughter had just told him.

-So does this...human...have a name?-

-His name is Jack Squier, father,- Aria replied. She gazed at her father's back, wondering what he would say next.

-Jack Squier...,- Arn repeated thoughtfully. He rested his hand on the spine of a particularly thick book, newer than many of the rest. This one had been a gift from his mate, the last gift she had ever given him before she died. Losing her had devastated him just as much as it had his children. Even if he could tell that Aria wasn't giving him the whole truth, his relief that he didn't have to mourn another family member was enough that he could overlook her lies of omission. -Well, if this human is one of the reasons you've been brought back safe to me, I suppose...I'm grateful to him.- He turned back to her, and his daughter saw the tears in his eyes.

-Father.- Aria stood up and went to him. He took her into his arms, hugging her quite tightly, feeling as though he would never let her go again.

-I never wanted anything like this for you,- he said, his voice shaking. -I never wanted you to join the military. It was bad enough to have to worry about your mother. I wanted you to stay home, to take over the family business.-

-I know, father. I know.-

Arn let her go, holding her back from him at arm's length. He looked her up and down, taking in the sight of her beaten up uniform, of her fur in knots, and the faint bloodstains across her torso. -But your mother was so very proud of you when you joined. I couldn't help but be proud of you along with her.- And she could see the pride in his eyes, moreso for the fact that she had survived to come home. -I just don't want to lose you again...-

-You won't, father,- Aria insisted, heat coming into her voice now. She set her face in a brave expression. She had to have one for him. -I'll find a way to beat this.-

Her father seemed relieved to hear the conviction in her voice. -Good.- He stepped away from her, going back to his chair. -For now, your room has already been prepared. I made sure the servants kept it ready for you, even when we thought you were lost. I think there's enough time for you to wash up and get into some decent clothes before dinner. I'll have Ana call you when it's ready.-

******

Jack had just finished washing up and had dressed himself when Sami came and knocked on his door. He checked himself over to make sure he was properly dressed. The clothes he had been provided were pretty similar to what he would have worn on Earth, though they had a distinctly Ailian twist. He now wore a pair of tan, loose-fitting pants that tied at the waist with a drawstring, and a similarly loose-fitting shirt of the same color as the pants. None of the shoes that he had found in the room had fit him, so he just wore his boots without socks. They would be uncomfortable in the desert heat, but better than going around in his bare feet. He fingered the collar around his neck, wishing that he could take it off, but there was sadly nothing he could do about that.

Satisfied that he was reasonably presentable, Jack went to the door and opened it. As he'd thought, Sami was standing there. She looked at him, seeming pleased that her selection of clothing had been appropriate.

“Dinner,” she said. “Follow.” She led him from the guest quarters and back through the gardens to the main house. Once inside, they went through a hall that Jack had not yet been in, and came into a large dining room furnished with a long table. Instantly, the human could smell the scent of cooked food, and his stomach growled as he recalled that he hadn't had anything except military rations and prison food for the past month. A proper cooked meal was something he had sorely missed, and he didn't much care what it was as long as it didn't come out of a package.

Eight Ailians, not including Sami, were seated around the table. All of them turned their heads to look when Jack came into the room, and he was rooted to the floor like a deer in headlights. They were all staring at him as though they hadn't seen a human before, and he'd wager that at least some of them hadn't. Seated at the head of the table was Aria's father. Jack counted five females and two other males seated around the table as well, who must have been Aria's siblings. They all looked younger than Aria, and he recalled her saying once that she was the eldest of nine children. He felt considerably uncomfortable now, being the only human in the room.

Sami showed him to a seat at the table. The chair was much too big for him, but a couple of cushions had thoughtfully been placed on it so that he was seated at the proper height, though his feet dangled a few inches off of the floor. He felt absurdly like the little kid invited to sit at the grown-ups' table even though he knew Aria was his age, making him older than everyone apart from her father. Sami took her own seat, across the table from Jack. The only remaining empty seat was next to Jack, separating him from one of the younger males. He avoided everyone's curious gaze, and instead looked at the decoration in the room. Like the rest of the home, it was decorated simply, with floor plants placed at regular intervals around the perimeter of the room. About the only extravagance Jack could see was a massive portrait mounted high on the wall behind where Aria's father sat. The portrait seemed to have been painted, and depicted an Ailian female in profile, though her head was turned slightly towards the viewer. She had deep green eyes, and her fur was pure white with black stripes. The placement of the portrait, situated in a position of prominence and framed in gold, gave him the impression that the person depicted was of great importance.

“Where's Aria?” he asked Sami, feeling strangely like he had to whisper. The room was so quiet.

“Ah...Coming,” Sami replied.

Not a minute after she'd said it, Jack heard the door open behind him. He looked over his shoulder, then turned around fully in his seat. Aria had entered the room, and she was a sight to see. Up until now, he'd only ever seen her dressed in her red flight uniform, and she'd been in rough shape most of the time. Now, though, she was wearing an elegant outfit similar to the clothes her sister wore. Around her waist she had on a black skirt consisting of a shimmery, silky material formed into broad strips which wrapped around her body down to her ankles and was fastened in place with a silver brooch. She also wore a loose green silk top of the same style, wrapped around her torso from her shoulders down to just below her breast. The outfit left her arms and much of her creamy furred belly bare. She'd evidently had a bath, and her fur was immaculately brushed to a shiny gloss, her tail fluffed. When she saw Jack looking at her, she offered a small smile, then took the empty seat to his right.

Damn,
Jack thought, still staring at her,
but she's...gorgeous.
He felt her hand touch his leg underneath the table, and she squeezed his knee.

Now that the table was fully seated, Aria's father rang a small bell that was on the table beside him. Several Ailians dressed in what looked like formal wear entered the room from a door leading off, carrying trays and dishes laden with steaming food. Jack noticed that none of them had collars about their necks; clearly these were paid servants and not slaves. They set about placing the food on the table, and began serving it to everyone.

With the family's attention now served with a suitable distraction, Aria began telling Jack the names of her siblings. Seated next to Sami were two girls who looked virtually identical, whom Aria identified as twins named Ana and Sana, both twenty, two years junior to Sami. Next to the twins was a male of eighteen named Jin. Finishing off that side of the table was a girl of seventeen, Mari. Aria introduced the male seated to her own right as Lem'a, fifteen years old. Then there was her sister Raya, fourteen, and finally her youngest sister, Li'ara, who was thirteen. Even the youngest of them was as tall as Jack, who was no slouch at six feet.

When everyone's plate was full, Aria's father said a few words, and his children repeated them in unison, in what sounded like a mealtime prayer. Then the meal began. Jack looked at his plate, which contained food that looked and smelled absolutely delicious. Though composed of unfamiliar ingredients, Jack could identify some kind of meat drenched in a fragrant red sauce, a clump of an orange, mushy substance that looked remarkably like mashed sweet potatoes, and various other cooked vegetables of green, purple, and white. He picked up his utensils and began to eat, and discovered that everything was just as tasty as it had appeared at first glance.

“Sami do most of the cooking,” Aria explained as Jack devoured his meal. She seemed amused at his enthusiasm, watching him eat with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “We have servants to help, but she enjoy it. You like?”

“Oh yeah,” Jack said emphatically. “It's one of the best meals I've ever had. I can't remember the last time I had an actual home-cooked meal, to tell you the truth.”

“Ah, jack le se tre'a'lai han'la re, sami,”
Aria said to her sister, who looked very pleased and bowed her head to Jack. He reddened a little, and concentrated on his meal. As they all ate, the servants attended to the table, dishing out second helpings upon request, or third and fourth helpings in Jack's case.

At one point in the meal, Jack paused to look at the portrait hanging in the room again. He noticed that she bore a very striking resemblance to Aria, and indeed to all of her sisters as well. He mentioned this to Aria.

“That woman in the picture,” he said to her, inclining his head towards it. “Who is she?”

“Ah...” Aria looked at the portrait as well, and Jack saw her expression change. Sorrow crossed her face, and added to it was something that seemed akin to longing. But more than that, it was an expression of loss and pain. “That is mother. Her name Ara'lana.”

“Oh...” Jack remembered Aria telling him about her mother some time ago. “Your mother's dead, isn't she?” He immediately winced. He hadn't meant to say it quite so bluntly, but Aria seemed unaffected.

“Yes,” she said, turning her attention back to her meal. “Mother die three years ago. She was admiral in Ascendancy fleet. Very high honor.”

Jack hadn't known that part. “Your mother was an admiral?”

“Yes. Chief Admiral. Is top position in fleet, yes? Three years ago, she lead fleet in battle against human military. Very large battle, many ships. Her ship get attacked, destroyed.” Aria gripped her utensils tightly, bending one of them. “Many people killed, many missing. Mother's body never found.” She sighed, looking towards the head of the table, where her father was conversing pleasantly with one of her sisters. “Father hope for many weeks after that she still alive. Say that can't be certain she dead without her body...But eventually we have to accept truth.”