The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles (21 page)

Rather than answer random questions, Jagā No Ashi suggested that Travis acquire two more ‘beers’; partially to give The Original a chance to practice with the food unit and partially to give him a chance to order his thoughts. When Travis returned, he launched into a full account of the city’s history.

The Survivors of The Fall, with nothing to live in except the ships they arrived in, first built the central pyramid which was based on the architecture of Otoch and housed the first generator for the dome. The dome increased in size as the city grew outwards. The idea was that each culture should retain its identity, but this never happened because suitable materials were not available and there was no way of manufacturing any. The pyramid now forms the administrative centre, with the surrounding towers housing The Council members and supporting staff. The designs that had fascinated Travis so much were actually part of a shield that dampened telepathic abilities so that people outside could not eavesdrop on the workings of the Council and that anyone inside could not send messages out. It was a technology used extensively prior to The Fall, but was difficult to reproduce due to the lack of materials and tools. So, Jagā No Ashi explained, the Code of Honour was tightened up to protect all citizens from unwanted intrusion.

Around the centre the survivors of each star set up its own community and named the area after their home worlds: Mukhapu
ṭ
a, Jitaku, Otoch, Tocha and Nyumbani, with an area reserved for the survivors of Éðel, if they ever returned. Surrounding the residential centres, round the circumference of the city are the industrial centres for power, manufacturing, maintenance, transport and so on.

Although a number of towers were raised in Éðel, no-one ever came to claim them, so now they remain empty and in almost total darkness. Occasionally young ones would sneak away and spend a night in one of the deserted towers and tell each other stories of monsters and spectres lurking in the shadows but even this practice has dwindled away as the number of children born each year reduces as the creeping malaise of the Xi Scorpii race irrecoverably affects more and more adults.

“Hang on a minute.” Travis had listened intently, occasionally sipping at his drink, until now. “I thought there were five stars in the…empire, federation, union, whatever, but you mentioned six planets.”

Jagā No Ashi nodded. “Yes but Xi Scorpii C had two inhabited worlds: Otoch and Tocha, but Tocha was destroyed by the forces of Éðel.”

Travis was dumbstruck as he contemplated the enormity of the other’s simple statement. “As in blown up, as in no longer exists?”

Jagā No Ashi nodded sadly. “Billions died that day.”

“Shit!” he could not even comprehend the scale of the numbers, let alone the power needed to blow up a planet.

“The combined forces of Otoch and the remnants of Tocha retaliated and destroyed Éðel in revenge.”

“Oh fuck.” he suddenly felt sick as he looked out over the fairy tale city around him. It no longer looked beautiful to him, but ominous and foreboding, like hundreds of dead fingers thrusting out of massive graves and pointing accusingly at the sky.

“That was the day the war ended.” Jagā No Ashi finished simply.

“Pity no-one came to their senses earlier.”

**********

The doors through to the central chamber opened and an
Aantah
ushered Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e through. She had changed out of her drab ship suit, thinking that she would be less conspicuous arriving in formal robes. She detected an air of disquiet as she strode to the central dais and bowed low to the assembled members with her mind open. Her mission here was not pleasant and the thought of it left a bad taste in her mouth, but her honour was intact, even though, as Travis Fletcher would say, ‘the
ta'kuba
was about to hit the fan.’” she had absorbed quite a few of Sol 3’s colourful colloquialisms while she was sorting out the damage Xnuk Ek’’s weapon had done to Travis Fletcher’s brain and she found it amusing to throw them into conversations at opportune moments and this one felt appropriate. She found their effect gave her a momentary advantage in an argument or debate while the meaning was defined.

The Council members returned her bow but she noticed, with some irritation, that some of them still had their minds shielded, in violation of convention. She turned her gaze to each of the transgressors in turn and let her ire be known until they acquiesced. She was relieved to find that her visit was not the reason for the disquiet or the mind shields being in place, but the fact that something had got the council rattled worried her.

Finally K'an Aayin spoke. “Welcome Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e. You have requested an urgent and confidential audience with this Council but have refused to state the nature of your visit. This is most unusual.”

“You are aware that I have returned from the mission to Sol 3 and I have had the honour of being
Ts’ats’aak
to The Original, Travis Fletcher. I am sure that you have also been made aware that I was present at the incident between Travis Fletcher and Xnuk Ek’, so it does not take much logic to deduce the nature and reason for my visit to these chambers.” she finished with a tinge of sarcasm. She was in no mood to be patronised.

K'an Aayin bowed in acknowledgement. He had known the old
Ts’ats’aak
for many years and knew she reserved a very sharp tongue for anyone who tried to be evasive with her.

“Before I continue, I want this Council’s assurance that anything we discuss here will remain within these walls.” she paused for effect. “If you have any recording equipment it is to be disabled immediately and any record of my arriving and leaving is to be erased.” her tone gave no quarter for negotiation.

“Do you fear that your honour will be called to question later?” Njano Mamba, the lead member from the Xi Scorpii D table, asked dangerously. He considered this old fool to be trying the Council’s patience and honour while they had more pressing matters to discuss.

“I fear for my life, not my honour!” she shot back bitterly. “And I do not make this claim lightly. Now, do I have your agreement to my terms, or do I leave now and consider this Council ineffectual?” That got their attention and various members stood to loudly decry her accusations.

After the uproar had calmed down, K'an Aayin nodded at Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e. “You have our word that nothing said here will be attributed to you, but I cannot, with all honour, say that there will be no actions arising from what you reveal.” He cast his mind round each of the members in turn, waiting for each to give their assurance, before indicating that Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e should continue.

Not one to prevaricate, she jumped straight in with the punch line of her story. “I do not believe the actions of Xnuk Ek’ to be her own when she attempted to kill The Original, Travis Fletcher.” she paused and examined the expression and surface thoughts of each Council member, as much as was permitted, but no one was giving anything away. “Furthermore,” she continued, “Xnuk Ek’’s weapon had been tampered with prior to the incident.”

“Are you suggesting that Xnuk Ek’ knew the weapon would not kill The Original?” K'an Aayin asked carefully.

“I suggest nothing.” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e shot back. “I am stating the facts as I know them and the facts are that Xnuk Ek’’s actions were influenced by another and that her weapon would not kill. But I do believe that she was unaware her weapon would not kill, although I have no proof.” she waited patiently while the Council members debated in hushed whispers between each other.

Eventually K'an Aayin addressed her once again. “Your accusations are most troubling.” he said, glancing at the other members around the room. “Do you have more information? Specifically, who and why?”

She took a deep breath and mentally ticked off her facts before continuing. “The culprit is Wingu Kanzu…” she began, but the sudden uproar in the chamber drowned out her next words.

“Preposterous!” Njano Mamba shouted above the din of observations and counter observations. “This is an obvious ruse to discredit a prominent and senior member of the Xi Scorpii B community!”

“DO YOU QUESTION MY HONOUR?” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e’s voice and the mental warnings that went with it reverberated around the room for seconds after stunning everyone into silence. Her face had contorted from her usual serene if stern countenance to one of black rage, her eyes burning with barely contained anger. Njano Mamba collapsed back into his chair grasping his throat.

“Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e, please.” K'an Aayin pleaded, attempting to restore order. She released Njano Mamba and he fell forward to the table, gasping for breath and giving her an evil stare. “Will you show us your evidence?” K'an Aayin asked. The room fell silent again as all eyes fell on the
Ts’ats’aak
.

“I was unable to secure the weapon without drawing attention to myself,” she admitted, “but I attempted to disable it myself before I discovered the sabotage, and I am willing to allow you to examine my memories yourself.” she looked pointedly at Njano Mamba who lowered his eyes and scrutinised the top of the table intently. “As for Wingu Kanzu, I saw his signature plainly imprinted on Xnuk Ek’’s Mindscape when she left herself open during the attack.” That drew a collective gasp from the assembled members. “I can only assume that he was in a hurry or did not think that his deception would be uncovered, because only a fully trained
Ts’ats’aak
would notice the anomaly without knowing what to look for.”

“Did you determine a motive?” Ha
ḷ
adi Mosa
ḷ
e, the Council Leader for Xi Scorpii A asked.

“No.” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e admitted, shaking her head sadly. “But there is a young
Paal Kanik
who is in pain and whose honour and reputation have been tarnished.” She paused, staring down each member of The Council before continuing. “This should be put right.” She demanded through gritted teeth.

“All in good time.” K'an Aayin assured her. “We must deliberate on your findings which are troubling indeed.” he looked round the chamber and received a number of grave nods, including the leader of the Xi Scorpii B. “We will assign you an escort to…”

“No.” Kiiro No Wani, the Council Leader of Xi Scorpii D interrupted. “Forgive me, but whatever Wingu Kanzu’s motives, if he suspects he has been discovered then he may attempt to cover his mistakes, which could put both Xnuk Ek’ and Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e at risk and maybe even The Original himself.”

“What do you propose?” K'an Aayin asked.

“We have committed to Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e that the subject of this meeting remains confidential.” he waited for nods of agreement round the room. “Then I suggest that a formal request be sent to Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e for her attendance here to report on The Original’s health and progress and that she give us that report now.” A number of the members passed querying looks. “In that way we can all say, without loss of honour, what the subject of this meeting was, if asked.”

K'an Aayin gave Kiiro No Wani a wry smile. “You have a talent for honourable deception, my friend.” he acknowledged, with a smile and a little bow. He summoned an
Aantah
and whispered in his ear. The
Aantah’s
eyebrows drew together in consternation but did not question his instructions and withdrew. Finally, he turned to Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e. “Now, please give us your report on the health and progress of The Original, Travis Fletcher. We are very interested to know when we can give the citizens some hope for the future.”

The sun was low on the horizon by the time Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e emerged from the Council’s pyramid and the evening lightshow had just started playing over the city’s dome, but she did not seem to notice the spectacle of light being refracted from the surrounding multi-coloured towers as she hurried through the pyramid’s gardens with her head down in thought. As she passed a tree, a long thin barrel slid out of its hiding place and tracked her progress. The barrel belonged to a precision weapon; almost silent, with a needle thin beam that delivered a disruptive charge over a short distance that would scramble the brain or rupture the heart, killing the victim instantly, but leaving entry and exit wounds no bigger than pinpricks.

Wait.
Wingu Kanzu’s command to the sniper was accompanied by a restraining hand on his shoulder.

We do not know what she has divulged to the Council.
The sniper’s thoughts were terse and irritable and his sights still tracked the retreating
Ts’ats’aak.

And neither do we know if she had anything to divulge to the Council. If she knows nothing and we kill her now, we only draw attention to ourselves, and if she has voiced any concerns, then we only confirm them by killing her because she can have no proof.