Transmission Lost (33 page)

-Why?- he choked out, squeezing his daughter's body tightly. Her blood smeared against his own fur. -Li'ara was only thirteen! Why would anyone want to kill her?-

Aria came forward, kneeling next to her father, putting her hand against his back. -I don't know, father...I...- She swallowed, fighting back her own grief. She tried to think of anything she could say to comfort him, but she was at a loss. A choked sob came from behind her, and she realized that all of her siblings were standing there in the hallway, looking through the open door. Aria turned around, keeping her grief from her face, bottling it up inside of her. She was the head of her family, and they would be looking to her for strength. She needed to have it for them.

-Keep me away from that human that's still alive,- Aria growled, showing them anger instead of sorrow. She gritted her teeth, standing up from her father's side and pushing past them. -If I look at him again, I'll rip his lungs out with my bare hands!- She stormed away from the grisly scene, heading for the front hall to see what was taking the police so long.

******

Several days passed before Jack was able to speak to Aria again. When the police from Hayikwiir finally arrived at the estate in the aftermath of the attack, they immediately placed her under arrest on suspicion of having been involved in it. Her status as a presumed traitor made her the logical suspect in their eyes, but after a day and a half of being in custody they were forced to acknowledge that she'd had no part in the attack, and in fact had performed admirably in saving the rest of her family. Aria was returned to the estate, and she sequestered herself in her father's study, refusing to see or speak with anyone except for when Sami brought her meals, all of which she didn't eat. Jack had heard the details of what had happened after he and Aria had parted, and he guessed that she was probably blaming herself for being unable to save Li'ara.

On the third day after the attack, Jack managed to arrange it with Sami so that he'd be the one to bring Aria her evening meal. The tray was heavy, and hard for him to carry, but he bore it as well as he could. Following Sami's directions back to the study, since that was the one place in the estate he hadn't been to yet, he went inside.

Aria was there, dressed now, of course, sitting in a low-backed chair facing the rear of the room. Jack felt really bad for her. He didn't know what it was like to lose a family member, but he knew there was nothing he could do to make it better. He approached her from behind, setting the tray down on a table nearby. The Ailian didn't react at all to his presence or to the smell of the food.

“Aria?” Jack said quietly. He moved around her chair, standing to her side and slightly in front of her. She stared blankly past him. Her feline face was dry, the fur unblemished by tears. She didn't look as though she had cried at all.

He was about to say something again when Aria spoke. “Li'ara...She only thirteen...” Her voice was labored, and Jack could hear the grief in her words. “They cut her throat, like she animal. Like she less than Ailian.” She took a slow breath, letting it out gradually. “Not quick enough to save her...If I quicker...”

“You saved the rest of your family,” Jack reminded her.

“Should have saved all of them,” Aria insisted. She closed her golden eyes, covering her face with one hand. “Is too much. Too much. All of this...Just too much.” Her tail hung limply off the chair, and she clenched her teeth, the muscles in her jaw quivering as she struggled with all the emotions and stress threatening to burst forth. For a few minutes she was silent, then she spoke again. “Should thank you. You save Sami's life. Grateful.”

“Oh, that...That was nothing.” Jack shrugged it off. He pulled a chair over, sitting near Aria. “You told me to keep her safe, so I just did what you told me to do. Kind of my job, isn't it?” He touched the slave collar around his neck. He tried a smile, but it felt wrong, so he wiped it off his face. “I wish you'd eat something. Sami says you haven't eaten anything in three days. That's not doing you any good.”

“Not hungry.”

“Please. Do it for me, will you? Do it for your family. They've lost one loved one, and they don't want to lose another.”

Aria opened her mouth, looking irritated, and turned her head towards Jack. When she saw the sincere look on his face, and his genuine concern for her, her expression softened. He was worried for her. As he'd said before, he loved her, and he wanted her to be well. She relented. “Yes...I eat.”

Smiling, genuinely this time, Jack pulled the table with the tray over. Aria sat forward, inhaling deeply. Sami, with her penchant for cooking, had prepared one of Aria's favorite meals, a combination of dishes that their mother had loved to cook for them in their childhood. Her stomach rumbled, and she finally felt hungry for the first time in days.

As she began to eat, there was a soft knock at the study door. Jack waved Aria down as she got up to see who it was, and he went instead. She kept her attention on the food, which was delicious. Comfort food, as humans would say. She was aware of a few whispered words behind her, and then Jack returned to his seat next to her.

“Who was it?” Aria asked around a mouthful of spiced meat.

“It was Sami,” Jack replied. “She had a letter addressed to you.”

Aria blinked. “Letter? For me?” Jack nodded and handed her a small envelope, gilded around the edges and made of very stiff paper, with her name on it in Ailian script. A real paper letter, not an electronic message, or printed on something synthetic. A great luxury in this day and age, clearly from someone who flaunted wealth or was very accustomed to wealth. “From who?”

“No idea, I didn't open it. Couldn't read it if I had, anyway. Looks important, though.”

With a sense of foreboding, Aria used a claw to slice open the envelope, and she withdrew a single sheet of stationary from inside which had been folded in half. She unfolded the sheet and began to read what was written on it. As Jack watched her read, curious, he saw her brow furrow and her ears twitch forward. The tip of her tail swished back and forth a few times.

“What does it say?” Jack asked.

Aria started to hand it to him for him to read, but then she remembered that he couldn't read Ailian. She began to read out loud to him, pausing several times as she concentrated on translating the language correctly. The full meaning, as Jack later found out, was:

“
To Aria Me'lia,

First and foremost we wish to offer our sincere condolences for the loss that you and your family have suffered. You have been through much these past weeks, and it seems particularly cruel to now have the murder of a family member to contend with. We hope this letter finds you recovering from the grief that all of you must now surely feel.

To come to the point directly, it must be said that there are some

of our people who feel that your current situation is not altogether one brought about by chance. Her Majesty, Empress Kri'a Solan the Fourth, feels that there may be something more at work here than simply an isolated attack. We desire your presence tomorrow at midday, for the purposes of discussing these matters. Someone will be sent to collect you. If this is inconvenient, please suggest another date and time, in the very near future, as soon as possible.

It should go without saying that Her Majesty also wishes for your human, Jack Squier, to attend as well. We look forward to seeing the both of you.

                                                        Cordially,

                                                        Lady Li'ren Amani

                                                        Royal Consort

                                                        Hasayam Palace, Hayikwiir
”

To say that Jack was surprised would have been the understatement of the millennium. “So...So the Empress wants to speak with you...personally?”

“And you, yes?” Aria said quietly, looking the letter over again. “Not expect this. Is curious.”

“So what are you going to do?” Jack pressed her. He leaned forward. “Are you going to accept the invitation? Sounds like maybe there might be something to learn from meeting the Empress.”

Aria turned to him, looking astonished that he would even ask that question. “Accept? Of course. You not refuse invitation...No, is wrong word...Not refuse summons from the Empress. Would be bad, very bad.”

“We're going, then?”

Aria nodded. “Yes. Though not know how much more I able to take.” She looked suddenly very weary. “Is so much happening. Too much.”

Jack put a hand out, laying it on her knee, squeezing gently. “You're not going to be there alone, remember. I'll be there with you.” He squeezed her knee once more, then sat up straight. “Now, eat. Before Sami comes in here and helps me force feed you.”

Weakly smiling, Aria nodded. “Not worry. I eat.” She turned back to her food, her voice lowering. “Will need strength. Tomorrow very interesting, I think...”

- 7 -

Nearly four days had passed since the attack on Aria's family home, and she was managing to cope with the loss of her youngest sister, but only barely. She still found herself increasingly withdrawn from her family, and from Jack as well, though she was starting to return to herself. On the evening of the third day, she had moved herself out of her secluded nest in her father's study and tried to make herself sociable, but it hadn't lasted very long and she had gone to her own room quickly.

Late in the night, when the home was quiet, Aria sat up in her room, not ready for sleep but not feeling motivated for much else. Instead she sat in a small, comfortable chair in her room and read and re-read the letter that had been sent to her by the Empress. Aria had never expected to be summoned personally by Empress Solan. She was the ruler of the entire Ailian Ascendancy. Why would she take such an interest in her? Even if Aria's trial was a fairly high profile one, she couldn't make sense of it.

Still, of course she had accepted the Empress' invitation at once. Even if she didn't fully understand the meaning behind the invitation, one did not refuse such a summons from royalty. And so, the next day, she'd be taken to the palace to meet the Empress. At any other time in her life, Aria might have felt honored and excited, but in this situation she was apprehensive, confused, and...well, she didn't want to admit it even to herself but she was also frightened. Aria unfolded the letter again, though the contents of it certainly hadn't changed since the seventy-eighth time she'd read it.

As she scanned over the written words yet again, she heard a soft knock at her door. Aria thought that she might just ignore whoever it was, and pretend to be asleep, but then she decided that company right now might not be such a bad idea. Aria stood and walked to the door, smoothing down the fur on her tail and the top of her head before opening up. Sami was standing out in the hallway, carrying a small tray with a pair of steaming cups on it.

-I brought tea,- Sami said. She held up the tray, smiling a little. -I couldn't sleep. I thought maybe you couldn't either. Looks like I was right. Would you like to talk?-

Aria stood aside from the door, gesturing her sister inside. -I'm afraid I won't be very pleasant company right now,- she said. -But a cup of tea sounds nice.-

Sami came into the room and set the tray down on a night stand. As Aria returned to her seat, Sami brought her a cup of tea, taking one for herself. Aria raised the cup in her hands, inhaling the scent of the hot liquid. The tea was a very familiar drink, a favorite of her mother's. Unlike many Ailian teas, it contained none of the psychoactive or intoxicating compounds that most of the leafy plants on Lirna possessed. This tea was made from the flower of a plant native to the outer colony world that Aria's mother was born on, and it was a strong-flavored, bitter concoction that held little of the appeal that Lirnan teas offered. But Aria loved it all the same. She took a small sip of the hot beverage, savoring the taste of it.

-This is wonderful, Sami,- Aria said, lowering the cup and holding it in her lap. -Thank you.-

-You're welcome,- Sami said. She sipped at her own cup, feeling warmth spread through her body as the tea's heat sat in her belly. -We're all worried about you, you know. You've barely said ten words at a time to anyone since...since that night.-

Aria looked away from her sister, staring at a nondescript spot on the wall. -I know, it's just...it's hard. Everything is. Coming home, and this trial, and now Li'ara...It's a lot to deal with.- She lifted her cup to her lips, no longer interested in the tea but needing something to do.

-I imagine.- Sami watched her elder sister, seeing the stress in her posture and her expression. -Have you talked to Jack much about how you're feeling? I'm sure he could help you feel better.-

Managing a hint of a smile, Aria turned back to Sami. -He usually does. But he's human. He wouldn't understand all this.-

-I think he understands more than you give him credit for, sister,- Sami said gently. She set her cup down, folding her hands in her lap. -He's not some simple slave or a child. He's learning our ways every day, and he's learned much.- She paused for a moment. -And he cares for you. You should lean on him more. You are too concerned with fending for yourself. You wouldn't have made it off that planet alive without his help, would you?-

-I don't want to worry him,- Aria said firmly. -He's suffered enough because of me. I'm not going to add to it by burdening him with my problems.- Her tone made it clear to her sister that it was the end of that particular line of discussion.

Sami took the hint, though she was not pleased by her sister's attitude. -Very well...- She picked her cup of tea back up, though it was quickly growing cold and losing much of its flavor. -A message came through an hour ago. The Empress received your acceptance of her invitation, and she'll send someone to fetch you before midday tomorrow.-

-Good,- Aria said, though her voice suggested that it was anything but good.

-Do you have any idea why the Empress herself is summoning you?-

-I don't,- Aria lied. There was no reason to make Sami more concerned than she already was. She recalled the contents of the first letter once more.
Her majesty feels that there may be something more at work here...
As though Aria needed the Empress to tell her that. That much was already clear, which made Aria all the more wary of tomorrow's meeting.

Sami didn't believe her sister, and could sense that she was keeping something back, but she let it go at that. -Well...You're probably tired,- she finally said. She stood up, collecting the cups and putting them back on the tray. -I'll see you in the morning. Try to get some sleep, alright?- Sami left her sister, not before brushing their tails together fondly in parting, and closed the door behind her.

Aria stared at the floor for a long time after that, perhaps an hour or more. Her mind was abuzz with a plethora of thoughts about what was coming the next day, and she couldn't hold down all of her anxiety. Finally, when she'd worried so much that she exhausted herself, she allowed her body to stretch out on her bed and fall asleep.

******

Jack shifted in his seat uncomfortably, and not just because the seat in the Ailian vehicle he was riding in was made for a being much larger than himself. He'd gotten up that morning knowing that this was going to be the day that he would meet the Empress of the Ailian Ascendancy, something that he wouldn't have thought possible even twenty-fours hours prior. And yet, just as the letter that Aria had received had promised, a very luxurious-looking wheeled vehicle had arrived at the end of the walkway leading through the Me'lia family's estate to pick them up.

He looked to the side, where Aria was sitting next to him. She was very stiff in her seat, and was staring out of the window as they traveled down the streets of Hayikwiir City. She didn't seem much inclined to speech, though he sensed that it was more out of anxiety than any real desire to be silent. Aria was dressed in clothes as fine as Jack had ever seen her wear. She was dressed all in black, a long, flowing dress composed of a silky black material that captured the shimmer of the harsh Lirnan sun perfectly, and had on some sleek shoes that fastened with a lattice of straps that extended halfway up her calves. Jack had nothing quite so fine to wear, but the black fatigues that he'd worn from the uncharted planet had been cleaned and mended until they were almost brand new, and those would have to do. He certainly couldn't wear any of his borrowed Ailian clothes unless he wanted to look like a ferret wallowing in a bed sheet.

Jack reached a hand over, placing it on Aria's thigh and feeling the slick sensation of the fabric on her dress. She jerked ever so slightly, looking at him finally. The Ailian's feline face was a study in how a female could look like she was feeling as sick as ever, but she managed to favor him with a smile that was convincing. She curled her tail around his waist, placing her hand on his.

“Will be all right,” Aria said. “Just nerves. Is nothing.” She leaned over, nuzzling the top of his head.

“If you say so,” Jack replied, holding her hand. He looked out the window as well. The tall buildings of the city seemed to be giving way to shorter structures, rich in design, not the simple elegance of Aria's home. “Are we almost there?”

“Not sure. Should be, I think. Never been to palace before.”

In fact, the trip lasted only a few minutes longer before the vehicle stopped. Jack felt Aria's fingers tighten around his as the door opened and an Ailian footman gestured them out. Aria went first, and then Jack followed her. The footman glanced at him with obvious disdain, clearly loathe at having to cater to a human slave, but Jack didn't notice at all. He was too busy gazing open-mouthed at the spectacle before him.

If Aria's family estate had seemed luxurious to Jack when he'd first seen it, then the palace that now stood before him was nothing short of wildly extravagant. Hasayam Palace, the seat of the Empress of the Ailian Ascendancy, was massive in size. Unlike many of the buildings in Hayikwiir, which were for the most part modern metallic structures or traditional sandstone constructions, the palace seemed to be constructed of a substance very like white marble stone. The front entrance was framed by tall columns, with flagstone steps leading up to large, heavy-looking polished wood doors. Flanked by large gardens of verdant greens and brilliant reds, the royal residence would not have been out of place in a fairy tale.

“Here we go...,” Aria whispered, taking a deep breath. She put a hand on the small of Jack's back, urging him forward and jolting him out of his awed reverie. With palace servants on either side of them, the pair was escorted up the steps to the doors. They opened as they approached, revealing an interior which was finished in polished white stone which had been buffed until it was smooth and shiny as glass. Gold sculptures and trickling water features decorated the reception hall just inside the doors, and a scarlet-carpeted staircase led up to a second floor at the top of which was a wide landing and another set of double doors.

Just as Jack was coming to terms with the sight, and was starting to realize that he was standing in the very last place that any human should have wanted to be standing in, the front doors closed and the doors at the top of the stairs opened up. From within, a single slenderly-built Ailian female emerged and descended the stairs towards Jack and Aria. She had royal blue fur with golden stripes, and wore flowing white robes. Golden jewelry, simple but elegant, adorned her ears, neck, and wrists. With a start, Jack realized it was the Ailian who had questioned him on the ship on his trip back from the uncharted planet, Li'ren.

“Good day, Lieutenant Me'lia,” Li'ren said pleasantly in exotically accented English, approaching her. She took one of Aria's hands, grasping it lightly in her own. “How nice to see you again.”

“Ah...,” Aria said, apparently taken aback at being spoken to in that language by one of her own people. She made a hasty bow to the Ailian noblewoman, bending at the waist until her head was low. “Yes, m'lady. Is nice see you, too.”

Li'ren smiled at her, and then turned her attention to Jack. “And Jack Squier. You're looking much more...polished than the last time we met.” She took one of his hands as well, and Jack clumsily imitated Aria's bow. “I am pleased to be able to introduce myself properly to you, now. I am Lady Li'ren Amani, Consort to Her Majesty, Empress Kri'a Solan the Fourth. We are so very glad that you and Lieutenant Me'lia could accept the invitation to meet with us today.”

“Of...Of course...Lady Amani,” Jack said. He, too, was taken aback by Li'ren's use of English in speaking with Aria.

Li'ren could perhaps tell that they were feeling uneasy and a little confused. “Please, be at ease,” she urged them, smiling as serenely as she could. “Jack, everyone in this palace can speak at least some of the human language. They have been instructed to use it whenever possible so long as you are our guest, in order to make you more comfortable.” She looked to Aria. “And Lieutenant Me'lia, you are among friends here. Take heart, and do not worry. This is an informal meeting, not an affair of state. There will be no nobles, no officers, no lofty representatives of business. Just us, and Her Majesty, of course.”

“Yes...Alright,” Aria said. She still sounded stiff, but Jack could see her relax noticeably.

“And you, Jack,” Li'ren said, returning her attention to him, “may call me Li'ren as you did before. You are not used to royalty, I imagine.”

Jack grinned just a little. “You're right about that, I guess.”

“Well, then.” Li'ren waved to the footmen who had accompanied them, and they went back outside, leaving the three of them alone. “If you will follow me, I will take you to see Her Majesty. She has been most interested to meet you both.”

Following Li'ren's lead, Jack and Aria both walked up the scarlet-carpeted stairs to the landing. Servants inside of the double doors at the top opened the way for them, and they entered a long hallway carpeted in the same scarlet color as the stairs. The walls in this hallway were gilded and lined with large framed portraits. Jack guessed that the pictures depicted Empresses and other nobles from centuries past. He looked up at the ceiling occasionally, amazed at how high it was. Even with how much taller Ailians were than humans, the ceiling towered above them, and colorful murals were painted on it. The noblewoman showed them down the hall to a doorway that was relatively simple when compared to the rest of the palace. She opened this door herself, showing them inside with a smile and casual wave of her tail. They both entered, looking around the room, as Li'ren came in behind them.