Transmission Lost (51 page)

Aria crumpled the cup she was drinking from, tossing it into a nearby receptacle. “Yes,” she said. “Going to market. Is old place, one of oldest in city. Outside shops, performers. Is near temple.”

“Temple?” Jack blinked. “You mean like a religious thing?”

“Yes.”

Jack hadn't ever given the concept of Ailian religion much thought. He'd heard Aria and Sami make vague references to “gods”, but he had never asked them about it. “I guess I didn't realize there was any kind of Ailian religion,” he said. “That wouldn't happen to be the last stop you mentioned, would it?”

“It is.” Aria began walking again. Jack quickly tossed back the rest of his water and hurried to follow. “Have been meaning to go. But could not before trial.”

Catching up with her, Jack matched her pace, walking beside her. They seemed to be approaching an area of increased activity. While many of the Ailians they'd passed on the street so far were dressed formally, Jack was starting to see more of them dressed casually, as Aria was. All of the casually attired people seemed to be walking the same direction that they were.

“Why are we going to the market first, then?” Jack asked. He was looking around at the Ailians walking nearby, scoping them out just as much as they were him. He was finding a new appreciation for the dress habits of Ailians. Many of the females walking around were quite...diverting.

“To pick up a few things,” Aria said. She noticed where Jack was looking, at a russet-furred female several years younger than she was. With a stern expression, she reached a hand out and tweaked his ear. “Not stare.” Then she gave an exasperated-sounding growl. “Males.” She rolled her eyes, her muzzle twitching in a little grin.

Jack grinned back. “Just seeing if you were paying attention.” He placed one arm around her waist, moving closer to her side. Aria looped her tail around him. “Wandering eyes don't mean wandering hands, you know.”

“Hope not,” she said, sounding possessive. Touching a finger to his back, right between his shoulder blades, she lightly traced her claw down his spine. “I own you, yes?” Her finger traced back up, pressing against the collar around his neck.

Suddenly feeling a chill, Jack looked away, a slight hitch in his step. “Yeah, um...Right...”

Aria immediately sensed that she had gone too far. The tall feline stopped, turning to face him and kneeling down to his level. “I not mean that,” she assured him, her voice filled with concern. “I take it off if I could, yes? Hate you being slave. Was joking.”

Jack sighed. “I know,” he said. “I just don't really like being reminded of it, even if I know it's just a formality. It's just that-” He was cut off as Aria put a finger over his lips.

“I understand.” Aria leaned in and nuzzled his face, paying no mind to surprised stares from passersby. She was so clearly sincere that Jack found it impossible to be upset any longer by her ill-timed and ill-conceived jest. “I not say anything again.”

“Thanks,” Jack said as Aria stood back up. They both continued walking, in silence, for a few minutes until he spoke up again. “I mean, if you treat me poorly, I'll just run away and find a better mistress...” That earned him a firm slap across the face from Aria's tail, but the tension was broken and they both laughed together.

A short time later, they arrived at the market. Jack had to stop and stare, wide-eyed, for several minutes as he took in the sight. The market was remarkably similar in appearance to the bazaars that could have been found in the Middle Eastern regions of Earth in centuries past. Numerous stalls were set up, some of them permanent-looking while others appeared temporary. Nearly all of the shops were tented with thick, opaque cloth, creating spots for shoppers and merchants alike that were shielded from the harsh Lirnan sun. Throngs of Ailians, and some human slaves among them, wandered around the market, talking to each other and haggling over goods.

Rising behind the market was the most marvelous building Jack had seen on Lirna, apart from the palace, and he knew it could only be the temple Aria had spoken of. Built of a dark gray, granite-like stone different from many other buildings on the planet, the building seemed to take up three city blocks and towered over the market. The front of the structure was made of tall, thick columns, etched with Ailian script that seemed older than the kind that Jack had seen so far. The rest of the temple had a sort of bonnet roof, with the outside slope very long and shallow while the second inside slope was steeper, with a curved top instead of coming to a point. The edge of the roof was rimmed with stone sculptures. Jack couldn't see any of the sculptures very clearly, due to their height and the sun shining down in his eyes, but they seemed to be bust sculptures of Ailian figures. The temple was larger than any Jack had ever seen on Earth or in pictures.

“Wow...,” Jack breathed. He was in awe, and had a feeling running through him that he could only call reverence. Looking at a building that magnificent would be enough to make a person believe in at least
something
. “I've never seen anything like this.”

“Grand Temple of Hayikwiir,” Aria said, sounding a little breathless herself. “Is temple to the gods and goddesses. Many of my people visit every day. Not many still truly believe, but is tradition.” She put a hand on Jack's shoulder, squeezing tightly.

“Do you believe?” Jack asked her, curious.

Aria was a moment in answering. “Yes. I do. Have always believed.” She smiled faintly. “Sometimes belief hard, but...always return.” She nudged Jack's back. “Come. To market.”

Jack followed Aria's lead, walking into the market with her. In the crowd, they seemed to be nearly invisible, just two more people walking among the stalls. All around them were the yells and calls of merchants, lifting samples of their wares in their hands for examination. Aria stopped at a few stalls, idly browsing the selection. There seemed to be no end to the things that could be purchased. Food seemed to be a common product being sold, though not fresh food like what could be found in the warehouses they'd just come from. Instead, the stalls sold prepared food, dishes that smelled very rich, heavily spiced, and flavorful, reminding Jack of the street food that could be purchased curbside in New York City, where he'd grown up. Though a few hours still remained until what could properly be called lunch, his stomach growled a little whenever they passed one of the open-air food shops.

As they came closer to the temple entrance, the stalls changed from food and trinkets to more expensive-looking goods. Flowers seemed to be prevalent, and as Aria explained to Jack, many of them were not native to Lirna, instead coming from planets elsewhere in the Ascendancy. Some stalls were selling jewelry, displaying an assortment of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. They were mostly composed of gold, studded with gemstones, although silver or possibly platinum was represented as well. For all Jack knew, there could be precious metals in the Ascendancy which humans had never even heard of. Passing by one jeweler's shop, his eye was caught by some items that he couldn't identify.

“Aria, what are these?” Jack asked, touching her arm and pointing to the pieces of jewelry.

“Hm?” Aria looked where he was pointing, and her eyes twinkled. “Ah...Pretty!” She reached down to the jewelry display, picking up one of them. The piece was thin, appearing to be made of gold, about five centimeters long and slightly curved. On one end of the curve was a gold ball about one centimeter in diameter that seemed to screw or snap on, and on the other end was a faceted, teardrop-shaped gemstone. The gem was deep purple in color, like a rich amethyst, and was cut down to a sharp point on the long end, with the short base attached to the gold stem. “Is bonding gem.”

Jack raised one eyebrow. “A bonding gem? What's that?”

“When two Ailians mate, male gives female bonding gem,” Aria explained. She turned the jewelry in her finger, watching the sunlight sparkle on the facets of the stone. “Is symbol of devotion. Pledge to remain loyal.”

“I see,” Jack said. He looked at the display of bonding gems, seeing a wide variety. Most of them were simple, like the one Aria was holding, but some of them contained multiple stones or flourishes on the metal stems, or even another gem where the metal ball on the simple pieces was placed. All sorts of colors of gems were displayed, but the majority of them were ruby red, emerald green, or clear like diamonds. “So they're for Ailians as engagement rings or weddings bands are for humans.”

Aria nodded, having heard an explanation of what marriage was from Jack before. “Yes, but Ailians have no ceremony. Private exchange. Personal. Bonding gem take place of public display.”

“How do you wear it, then? Someplace visible, right? Does it go on the ear?”

“No, like this.” Aria lowered the hand holding the bonding gem to the part of her creamy-furred belly exposed by her clothes, placing the jewelry over her navel. “Stone sit here...” She nestled the gem right inside. “...then pierced, and this part here.” She pointed to where the small ball at the other end was sitting, about three centimeters above her belly button, where the curve of the jewelry would naturally place it.

Jack whistled. “Wow. That's a serious piercing. I can see where the element of devotion comes in. Must be pretty painful.”

“Not know. Never had.” Aria smiled. “But pain part of life, yes? No joy without pain.”

A very Ailian way to think of it,
Jack thought to himself.
No way I'd do anything like that to myself, never mind
how
devoted I was to someone.

Noticing Aria holding the piece of jewelry, the merchant who owned the stall came over. He was an elderly-looking Ailian, completely white-furred and slightly hunched over, but he had keen black eyes. Glancing at Jack, he focused more on Aria.
“Mire te le dok?”
he asked her, his voice rough with age. He looked back at Jack again, a little twinkle to his eye.
“Solan tere aran ke me'lia kan're sutesh le'rea. Zut'e arash le kan hum'an pora de le.”

Aria shook her head a little, her smile widening a bit.
“Na, nala dok le me. Sute.”
Shaking her head apologetically, she replaced the bonding gem she was holding on its display, offering a shallow bow to the merchant. The merchant bowed back, much deeper, demonstrating great respect. As he straightened up, he also nodded his head to Jack, much to his surprise. Almost by reflex, he nodded as well.

As the pair turned and moved away from the jeweler's stall, Jack looked back over his shoulder. “I understood he was asking if you wanted to buy that bonding gem,” he said, “and I heard you say you were just looking. What was that other stuff he said to you?”

“He say...” Aria paused, looking at the ground as they walked. Jack noticed that her tail was waving from side to side in a very happy fashion. “Say he know us from news. Say he think Empress right, what she say about us. Think bonding gem good idea.”

Jack was pleasantly surprised. “Well, it's nice to know at least some Ailians don't have a problem with you and I.” He took Aria's hand. His next words came out of his mouth before he'd really thought them through. “And what do you think? Would you accept a bonding gem from me?”

The Ailian looked at Jack with wide eyes. “You are serious?”

“Well...,” Jack stammered. He was cursing his big mouth. He probably shouldn't have asked a question that huge without giving it some thought first. If he understood things correctly, he'd basically just dropped the Ailian equivalent of a marriage proposal on Aria. “I mean...Maybe some day, you know. When all this is over. You know, the war and all.”

Aria watched Jack as they walked, an expression of wonder on her face. Then she removed her hand from his, slipping it around his shoulders and hugging him to her side. “Yes. Perhaps. When war is over, like you say...” She bent down and kissed the top of his head.

As they roamed around the nearby shops, Aria finally bought something. At one particularly fine florist's stall she bought a bundle of brilliant flowers, bright orange petals streaked with speckled bands of brown and black. At her request, the shopkeeper she bought them from tied them together with a shimmering green ribbon of some silky material. At another stall, one which was stocked with numerous bottles and bags of fragrant substances, Aria bought a single, small conical cake of something that smelled woody and spicy. She cradled both items in her arms almost lovingly. Jack wanted to ask her what they were for, but he sensed that her mood had changed. He decided that patience was the proper attitude for right now.

With her purchases made, Aria led Jack into the temple. They walked past the row of stone columns, passing other Ailians who were leaving the building, and then crossed the threshold of the temple itself. As soon as they were inside, Jack found that the noise of the market was almost instantly silenced. The interior of the temple was very dark compared to outside, and for a minute or so Jack thought that there were no lights inside. Then he realized that the temple was lit, with candles placed at regular intervals behind opaque blinds which diffused the light onto the walls, creating an almost eerie glow that took his eyes a while to get used to. Ailians were walking slowly around the temple, silent except for occasional whispers of hushed conversation. Instead of being separated into different rooms as a church or synagogue might have been on Earth, the temple seemed to be one large area underneath the towering roof. Placed all around the temple were statues, very tall and imposing, made of the same kind of stone that the building was constructed with.