The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles (25 page)

“Wingu Kanzu, my
Nuuktak
.”

“There was a bird that seemed to be made of rainbows.”

“Niji No Tori. Her name means Rainbow Bird.” Xnuk Ek’ explained.

“And some incredibly beautiful butterflies.”

“Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e.”

Travis remembered the butterfly emblems on the old doctor’s robes when they were in his Mindscape. “And there was one last thing; you had a star on your forehead, and a red sun, like it was going down or something.”

She bowed low.

“That represented you?”

“My name means Evening Star.” she turned and looked over the ruins. “It must have been an amazing city.” she whispered in awe, shifting the focus away from herself. “I can never get used to it.”

He stood next to her, looking at her profile. She was still exquisitely beautiful, but now much less threatening. However, he still kept a discrete distance.

Turix Dayak' appeared at their shoulders and interrupted their reverie. “We should go.” she said to Travis. “Please return to the flyer, I wish to talk to my friend.”

Travis nodded and turned to go, but Xnuk Ek’ reached out and touched his arm. He tried not to flinch. “Is there still hope between us?” she asked. He looked into her eyes which were brimming with tears. He nodded his head slightly and she answered with a smile before he turned and walked back to the planes a short distance away.

He leaned against the front landing strut, waiting for his pilot who looked to be in deep conversation with her friend. Xnuk Ek’ had her head bowed while Turix Dayak' held her hands. He was sure he could see Xnuk Ek’’s shoulders shaking rhythmically as if she was crying. Eventually they embraced and his pilot re-joined him.

As the little plane climbed into the sky, Travis looked out of the canopy and contemplated the conversation he had just had. Once they had reached their cruising altitude, Turix Dayak' broke the silence.

“There is something about you I do not understand, Travis Fletcher.”

Travis brought himself back to the present and turned in his seat to regard Turix Dayak', who pointedly studied the controls of the small aircraft as if she did not want to catch his eye.

“Why would Xnuk Ek’ jeopardise her future and the future of the Xi Scorpii by attempting to kill you and then risk The Council’s anger by meeting with you again after it had been specifically forbidden?” she was not angry, just perplexed. It was obvious that Xnuk Ek’ had not enlightened her and Travis did not fancy getting drawn into that conversation. He was still sceptical about the emphasis that was being placed on people’s dreams.

“You must be very close friends to have stuck with her after what she did.” he countered, changing the tack of the conversation.

“I am her only friend now.” she replied, still refusing to catch his eye.

“I thought everything had been worked out with err, erm…her boss.” he finished, snapping his fingers in frustration, which did not work well in the suit he was still wearing.

In spite of herself, Turix Dayak' turned and smiled at Travis’ stumbling, showing a little of the carefree woman he had met, oh so long ago now. “Wingu Kanzu did exactly as he promised: he did not put Xnuk Ek’ in front of The Council for her actions and he allowed her to graduate and become
Nuuktak
.”

“So what’s the problem?” Travis shrugged.

“He amended her records to show that she had a conflict, a Paradox of Honour it is called, which is why she did what she did.”

Travis did not understand what she meant by ‘Paradox of Honour’ but he did not press, he was more interested in what sounded like some Earth style dirty, two-faced, double dealing. “So he got her to promise not to make any trouble, in return for not pressing charges, and then fucks her over anyway?”

Turix Dayak'’s eyebrows knitted together as she sorted out the colloquialisms before continuing. “Even though she is now
Nuuktak
and she has been off world and been part of the mission that found you, no-one will wish to be her
Paal Kanik
. Her friends have also deserted her, including Lak’in. They do not want to be tarnished by her reputation. She has become
xtaabay
, invisible to this world. She has nothing left to live for.” she finished, still studying the controls.

“Except you.” Travis pointed out.

“And the hope that she can reconcile with you and somehow regain some honour.” Turix Dayak' concluded.

Travis turned back to the landscape passing below to consider what he had just heard.

He was still turning events over in his mind when he felt the little craft descending. Turix Dayak' requested landing permission and they were soon back in the underground hangar. The journey back to his apartment also passed in silence with both of them wrapped up in their own thoughts. Turix Dayak' stopped the ground car by the bounce tubes underneath his building.

“Will you consider the plight of Xnuk Ek’?” she asked. “She needs your forgiveness, and you like her more than you can admit to yourself.” she ended with a cryptic smile.

Travis looked at her. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“When we first met in the Gaming Centre, I tried to make you react in the same way that Xnuk Ek’ was able to do and I could not.” she gave a mock pout. “No matter how hard I tried.”

Travis blushed heavily as he remembered ‘standing proud’ every time Xnuk Ek’ was close, even in his dream. “You have a very twisted sense of humour.” he said, mimicking her pout.

She smiled broadly. “There is still hope.” she said. “You should hurry. The mistake I engineered will soon be discovered.” she finished.

“And I don’t suppose…” his eyes flicked momentarily upwards.

“No.” she interrupted, with a twinkle in her eye.

He got out of the car and made his way back to his apartment. He had a lot to think about and he needed answers. He realised it was nearly midday and he was expecting his final visit from the doctor and he had still not had breakfast.

Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e arrived at Travis Fletcher’s rooms just as the sun had passed its zenith. It had been sixty days since their arrival back on Otoch, the failed kidnap attempt on Travis Fletcher and the attempt on her life. Travis Fletcher had not taken the death of his guide well and blamed himself for not being able to defend himself. He had not easily settled in to life in the City afterwards and had found it difficult to make new acquaintances. People either held him in reverence for what he was or regarded him with suspicion for his resemblance to their absent cousins of Xi Scorpii E or for what happened between him and Xnuk Ek’. Also he kept any guides allocated to him at a distance and refused to join in any conversations other than to ask or impart information. He had withdrawn into himself and become a recluse in his apartment, even after Wingu Kanzu had offered up all his accomplices and they had been executed, along with Wingu Kanzu himself. All this had been done with the usual Xi Scorpii efficiency with only a select few citizens even being aware of what had happened. Even the damage done under
Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e’s tower by the gun battle had been repaired before anyone had noticed.

Travis Fletcher’s only interest now was to discharge his responsibility as he had promised and then ‘get the fuck off this shit hole’ as he put it. Although he had no idea where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do when he got there. Could he ever go back to Sol 3? He certainly could not just pick up his old life, as he was effectively dead, according to Sol 3’s authorities and his sudden reappearance could cause a lot of unwanted attention. In addition, his higher brain functions were maturing at an extremely rapid rate, far faster than anyone could have predicted and amongst the rest of the inhabitants of Sol 3, whose mental abilities had been genetically stunted, he could be very dangerous indeed.

When he finally answered the door, The Original looked like he had been dragged reluctantly from a lifetime of hibernation, but he perked up when he saw that Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e had brought a visitor with her. She looked on with a smile creasing her aging features as he hugged Niji No Tori until she was sure the young girl would expire from lack of oxygen. She gently ushered them inside as they chatted incessantly, each describing their life in minute detail since arriving back on Otoch. This was her second visit and Travis Fletcher’s third and final treatment, and one way or another his life was about to change, so she felt he deserved the chance to relax with someone he considered a friend, even if for a short while. Niji No Tori, on the other hand, had gone from strength to strength and Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e had needed to accelerate the young
Aantah’s
training. The girl’s boundless enthusiasm, coupled with her new found confidence, was paying dividends and she was now leaping ahead of the other
Paal Kaniks
under her.

She let the pair chatter on for a while before insisting that the session should start. Travis Fletcher surprised Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e by asking Niji No Tori to join them in his Mindscape. The sharing of a Mindscape was either between a patient and their
Ts’ats’aak
or an offer of something more intimate. Niji No Tori was not the former and Travis Fletcher was not offering the latter. His argument was that he was not really needed during the session and would like to carry on his conversation with his friend. Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e got the impression there was more to the suggestion than met the eye, but she refrained from voicing her thoughts.

Once inside Travis’ Mindscape his mood changed. He led them to the Radio Sheffield building and immediately rounded on Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e. “I’m right in thinking that we cannot be overheard in here?” he asked. The look on his face was set as if he had something important on his mind.

Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e nodded warily. “That is true. There can be no intrusion into your Mindscape without your knowledge.” she affirmed.

“Good, then you can start by telling me the whole truth about why Shukekk shot
me
.” he growled, shaking a finger menacingly at the old
Ts’ats’aak.

Niji No Tori took a step backwards nervously. She had seen Travis Fletcher lose his temper before and she was painfully aware of what happened next. He had not directly called Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e a liar but he was on very
dangerous ground and this was not the same as with Xnuk Ek’. He was not being goaded this time and he seemed to know exactly what he was doing, which frightened the young
Aantah
even more. She reached out to calm him down. “Do you know what you are doing?” she hissed at him but he ignored her.

“Are you questioning my honour?” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e asked evenly. She seemed to be almost expecting the challenge.

“No.” Travis shook his head emphatically. “I have no doubt that what you have said to me was motivated by honour and I am not calling you a liar.”

Niji No Tori relaxed a little but Travis and her
Nuuktak
were still staring each other down grimly.

“But I do want you to tell me everything you missed out.”

Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e looked at Niji No Tori and back at Travis. “I do not think that this is the best time.” she said, indicating the young
Aantah.

“I think this is the perfect time.” Travis countered. “She was there when it happened and she was traumatised by it. She needs to know.”

“Know what?” Niji No Tori asked with trepidation.

“That the gun was sabotaged by someone and would not have killed me anyway.” he replied before turning on Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e again. “And I think you know why.” he finished, jabbing an accusatory finger at her.

Niji No Tori looked between the two, her mouth flopping open in disbelief at what she was hearing and the tone of voice Travis Fletcher was using; nobody spoke to a full
Nuuktak
of Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e’s standing in such a manner without serious consequences but she was not reacting in the way Niji No Tori would have expected.

“Tell me your reasoning.” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e requested, taking a seat on the low wall that bordered the roof they were stood on.

Travis gave a detailed account of his meeting with Xnuk Ek’. Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e did not interrupt and nodded gravely at particular points. When he had finished, she stood up and walked around thoughtfully before turning to Travis.

“She was told not to approach you again.”

“If you want to split hairs then it was her friend that took me to her so she did not break her promise. Also she doesn’t know that the bastard she made the promise to turned out to be a fucking traitor, tried to kidnap me, had you lined up to be murdered, and has now been executed. I think that makes her promise to him moot now, don’t you?”