Chapter 2, Part 3
Tempo sighed at the development, she should have expected that the alien would politely refuse to answer even friendly questions before he received an apology for the incident earlier; Teidar Pallan Fireblade may not have liked the subtle plan at the slightest but she played her part well enough so far. Even Listel Tozet Beryl acted well enough without much of a preparation, her posture betraying no ill will towards the alien for the initial rebuffing she received which seemed odd to her at first but the Listel knew that she would observe the exchange with the alien and as such she would have her curiosity fed in just a few bimas.
But Tempo couldn’t help but notice that something felt off with Fireblade’s body language, she seemed at ease and relaxed which not only betrayed a severe lapse in judgment from the Teidar’s part but something completely uncharacteristic of Fireblade’s personality who was almost always on the edge of turmoil while she never took anything lightly; on duty and off duty alike. She remembered Fireblade’s strong objections in giving the alien his armor back and truth be told she understood them completely, the problem was that they, as representatives of the Union, had to make amends for the earlier incident. The Terran Confederation was obviously far more advanced technologically and the last thing they needed was to add further insult to one of their representatives during their first contact with them. The alien seemed to appreciate the gesture and seemed to be understanding after the Listel politely explained, probably at the behest of the Teidar, that they couldn’t just give him a small power source without the Lashret’s express permission.
She thought about this change on the Teidar while their small group was in the elevator, perhaps Fireblade felt at ease around the alien because he was a male. She had read the Teidar’s file and she knew that Fireblade herself was very reluctant to exercise her rights to even meet a male as long as she couldn’t control herself to an acceptable degree. Perhaps being around a male subconsciously relaxed her, something that was true for many Loroi warriors, but the degree of change in her posture still seemed extreme.
She became certain that something was wrong right after they exited the elevator and entered her sensing range. The Teidar’s mental signature could only be described as peaceful, perfectly serene without any of the turmoil that Fireblade is known for. Such a radical change to one’s mental signature can only happen after years of training or a traumatic personal event that could change one’s mind and outlook of life. She immediately shifted her attention to Beryl only to realize that the Listel was ecstatic, as if her very purpose in life had just been fulfilled. Out of the three Loroi with the alien only her aide’s mind, Soroin Passet Cloud, was as it should be.
“Cloud.” Tempo sent to the young Soroin who walked just a little bit ahead of the others.
“Yes Mizol Parat Tempo?”
“Do you sense anything different from the others?”
“No but…” The Passet replied with clearly felt confusion.
“But Teidar Pallan Fireblade is not how she usually is.”
“Yes.”
It was too much of a coincidence, Beryl’s state of mind could be explained just by her being in the presence of an alien who represented a far more technologically advanced civilization and was living evidence that the Loroi actually have a template species but the change in Fireblade was too extreme. She had to assume the worse; that the alien had somehow affected her mind despite his Lotai. Her training dictated something like this as impossible but there was no other way for her to explain it, she had to consider the alien as a threat and act as quickly as possible but she also had to take him prisoner alive without harming the others.
“Cloud, I know that this will be confusing but do exactly as I say, once the alien is in my stateroom I want you to find Lashret Stillstorm and tell her in person that she was right but I don’t want any trouble.”
“I don’t understand but I will do so.” Tempo hoped that this would be enough for the Torrai to understand that she wanted the alien alive and if possible, unharmed.
She quickly stood up and walked to her weapon’s locker in order to take her leg holster and blaster pistol; she could just close her mind and stun the alien with it at the first opportunity but such a direct approach was why she didn’t want to alert the Lashret through the communications system or even the Sanzai network. The alien would pick up the change in the crew’s mood telepathically and would resist telepathically and telekinetically, which would be a disaster for more than one reason.
In the situation Tempo found herself she had to assume the worse case scenario, which would mean that the alien’s government was working with the Shells but why would the Shells attack his ship if this was the case? The possibility of this being an elaborate trick to get one of them aboard a Loroi warship in order to help capture it was too farfetched; the Shells didn’t have such a grave need to capture a Loroi warship and they certainly weren’t stupid enough to sacrifice so many of their own ships in order to just get a single alien on a Loroi ship. It could be that they didn’t have a choice on the matter and the alien aboard Tempest was in fact a member of an overlord race behind the Hierarchy’s actions but this was even more farfetched; the Mizol had not stood idle for the entirety of the war and no matter how decentralized the Hierarchy command structure may be she trusted that her caste would have picked hints of a race that would be able to control the Shells to such a degree.
The alien having his own agenda was by far the most probable scenario, in which case the Union had to gain a glimpse of it and that could only be done if they captured him alive. With that in mind she took the blaster pistol, set it on stun, holstered it and went back to sit at her desk. Her previous plan flashed briefly in her mind as she raised her mental defenses; she had planned to buy some time to ask and answer some questions on her own before having Cloud bring in the Historian projector while she would call in captain Mozin in order to have witnesses when she would recognize the alien as a diplomat. Bimas ago she truly was hoping that the alien was what he said he was, not just their template species but another telepathic species which was friendly and could perhaps offer assistance in the war. She mentally chastised herself for her naivety for wanting to believe all that, she was a Mizol, she should know better but deep in her mind she knew that the discovery of another telepathic race alone would be a tremendous boost to Loroi morale in these trying times, could she really blame herself for wanting the best possible scenario to be true?
Now she just hoped that the Lashret would act quickly and quietly enough in order to take the alien by surprise and overwhelm him; if Stillstorm was unable to do that then the Union would lose a critical source of information when it needed it the most. She glanced at her holstered sidearm as she sensed Cloud, Beryl and Fireblade approach, she was certain that the alien would not see it unless he stood right next to her but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she missed something important.
“Mizol Parat Tempo, we brought Senator Alexander Jardin as you instructed.” Beryl sent just before they reached her door, the Listel’s mind filled with amazement and glee.
“You may enter.”
Beryl walked in first and stood at the right side of the door as the alien walked in, Fireblade came in last and stood at the left side of the door before it closed. Tempo felt relieved when she sensed Cloud walk back to the elevator with her mental signature still seemingly untampered.
“Welcome Senator Alexander Jardin, I am Mizol Parat Sedet and my spoken name means Tempo. It seems that you have made it clear that you know about this ship and the functions about the various Loroi castes.”
“Yes I believe that I have made all that clear but allow me to say that out of all the various Loroi castes we humans believe that the Mizol are the ones who we can more easily relate too.” He smiled at that, his expression betraying nothing but sincerity. “Now tell me how did you figure it out?”
It all happened in a fraction of a solon, Tempo was certain that she was first enveloped in some form of an impregnable jamming field; out of reflex she reached to her holstered sidearm as she rushed to stand up but suddenly she found herself sitting again while the alien was holding her blaster pistol in his right hand.
“On stun? I don’t know if I should feel insulted for you believing that this would actually do anything even if I was naked or congratulate you for thinking that far ahead.” He said as he sat to one of the two empty chairs in front of her desk; she glanced at Beryl and Fireblade, both of them seemingly oblivious to what had just happened in front of them. Their facial expressions betraying only the mental caricatures she had sensed earlier.
“How…”
“The Listel Tozet and the Teidar Pallan?” He asked as he glanced at them in turn. “Fairly easily with something that you cannot be aware of as you are now. Something similar is done to you right now as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am not here to explain the subtle functions of sentience and sapience.” He replied and he seemed to study her for a few moments.
“What are you here for then?” Tempo asked as she realized that she had actually managed to subconsciously control herself from panicking.
“You will find out soon enough since you have impressed some people enough but for now I want to ask you why do you think you are sapient?”
“What?”
“Don’t try to tell me that you didn’t understand me and it’s a simple enough question for all so called sapients to answer.”
“We Loroi are sapient because we are self-conscious with the ability to act with appropriate judgment.” She replied and tried to move her left arm only to realize that it wouldn’t move at all, it wasn’t numb and she couldn't feel anything wrong from it but it would just not obey her mental commands.
“A definition that is the exact same with the one our ancient philosophers came up with. But can someone who is self-conscious but can have their judgment taken over by someone else truly be sapient?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, how would you classify the very someone who can wrestle control over a sapient without them caring or even realizing it?”
“A slaver.” The alien grinned at that, it was an annoying and patronizing smile, subtly passing the message that he was just toying with her.
“But you are doing exactly that with the Golim don’t you?”
“They aren’t enslaved!” She almost shouted at that without realizing it, for some reason her sealed emotions had seeped out on their own while the alien’s annoying smile merely grew deeper.
“Once they are near a Loroi their sound judgment is replaced by a mesmerizing effect which makes them just that, a slave that would do anything for its master.”
“We Loroi didn’t want this.” She pointed out, this time managing to control her outburst.
“It’s probable but the little guys are very hardy and able aren’t they? And they do offer themselves willingly all the time just to be near you.” The smile changed into a smirky expression that was hard for even her to read. “But let’s say that out there is someone who can do the exact same thing to a Loroi, mesmerize you and make you do anything they wished no matter how against it you would be before running into them. Will you consider a future you that was mesmerized in such a way a slave or you would consider that future you a willing sapient?”
She didn’t know how to answer that sincerely without offering a double standard. “We treat them well and we make sure that they are not harmed at any occupation they offer to fulfill, their mesmerization is not something that we control and those that have already been mesmerized will often harm themselves and others in order to be near a Loroi again. We have taken measures to limit the damage to their culture but many of us still say that it is not enough.”
He nodded at that as if in understanding but for some reason she felt that he didn’t like what he just heard. “Let’s put it this way then....” He leaned back to his chair and smiled patronizingly before continuing. “How can you say that you are sapient when you are aiming your blaster at your left thigh without even realizing it?”
Tempo turned her eyes and there it was, the blaster pistol was in her hand again, it’s fire selector set at overload, and was aimed straight at her left thigh. She was certain that it was there, she could feel its cold grip when a moment ago it just wasn’t there.
“Are you truly sapient?” She didn’t know how the alien was doing all this and it took all her will to keep herself from panicking; it was more than plainly obvious that the alien was too dangerous to capture alive. She tried to force herself to raise her hand to shoot him but it disobeyed her again and instead her hand pressed its muzzle against the side of her head. “That’s not an answer Mizol Parat Tempo.”
“If you are going to kill me just do it and save the sick games for those who are willing to play them.”
“You still resist without you having any control of your telepathy or your very own body…” He leaned forward and smiled again, this time approvingly. “I didn’t expect such stubbornness from you at the face of the inevitable; your spoken name was after all given to you because of your uncanny ability to have everyone around you work on the rhythm you dictate. Tempo is a very fitting name indeed and I know plenty of individuals who would have grown complacent with such a string of continuous successes.”
“What do you want?” Her hand moved again on its own, letting the pistol go; the weapon just floated in front of her while her hands moved and unstrapped her weapon holster. Both of items then floated towards her weapon locker that opened up and closed right after they floated back inside.
“Just for you to answer my question. Do you still believe you are sapient after all you have experienced so far?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“Because my mind is still my own.”
“Indeed it is, in fact the minds of the Listel Tozet and the Teidar Pallan are still theirs but you immediately noticed that they are not in command of their own selves anymore.”
“Our mind is not our body! You may control our body but our minds are still our own!” The alien laughed at that and slowly clapped his hands in a very annoying manner.
“Very good Mizol Parat, a very good answer indeed.” He paused for a moment as if he was studying her expression. “The slow clap is meant to pass sarcasm by the way.” Tempo opted to stay silent at that, she was already in an overwhelming disadvantage and at his complete mercy but she would be damned if she entertained his sick games any further.
“I see that you decided to remain silent… Petty since the spoken traditions of the Mizol are something that humans appreciate greatly.” She stayed silent while making sure that her expression couldn’t be read in any way. “In a way all living Loroi are lucky for me coming here you know; who knows how many lives would be wasted if I didn’t decide to save some time and see to this myself.”
“You make it sound like you chose to be here.”
“I believe that you should have realized by now that I was never in any real danger…” She let her expression change without thinking and he laughed at that. “I will explain it in a way you can understand once all of the pawns are in place; for now do me a favor and answer my very first question I asked you and no, remaining silent won’t give you any sense of victory whatsoever.” She contemplated on how to proceed, staying silent could end up annoying him and cause him to act out; entertaining and keeping him occupied would give the Lashret more time to prepare.
“Listel Tozet Beryl’s posture betrayed a sense of happiness despite the fact that you refused to talk with anyone until I offered an apology while Teidar Pallan Fireblade looked relaxed and with an perfectly serene mental state.”
“I figured that you would pick up these hints of this little, but necessary, play from our part but there were plenty of other hints you and the others missed because of your kind’s over-reliance on telepathy and the observance of others.”
“I answered your questions, will you answer mine?” He laughed heartily at that.
“Of course, we need to burn some more time after all.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Senator Alexander Jardin of the Terran Confederation.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why so?”
“A senatorial ship wouldn’t be without any kind of an escort and I don’t believe that a senator would act the way you do.” Tempo pointed out.
“Those are fairly reasonable observations from your part.” The alien replied and smiled. “Indeed a senatorial ship should be under heavy escort at all times and what I am doing now could be taken as an act of war but I have two very reasonable reasons for everything.”
“Reasonable reasons?”
“One of them is that this is a part of a misinformation campaign by the Confederation in order to set up a trap for any potential enemies to fall into, as for the other… we can’t have a wild animal run around without some taming and a leash.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are a Mizol, figure it out.”
“So you are a Senator then?”
“Yes, and now I believe that it is time to have one more of my questions answered. Tell me, how would the Loroi see Sunfall if she had won the war?” Tempo wandered why he asked that but if the alien wanted to waste time she saw no reason not to oblige him.
“Sunfall would be the unopposed candidate to succeed Emperor Greywind, in fact there would be many voices pushing for Greywind to step down in favor of Sunfall.”
“And that’s the reason why so many of your kind suspect that you Mizol sabotaged Sunfall at Semoset but we both know that your caste is not that stupid.”
“Fools always cling to the easiest excuses.” Tempo commented.
“Indeed.” He replied and nodded. “You said that you don’t believe me but I am who I claim to be, however I did choose to omit certain important details. I am Fleet Admiral Alexander Jardin, retired. Senator of the Terran Confederation, I am a member of the Senatorial council; holding the seat of the department of defense.”
“I cannot believe this.”
“You cannot believe what I just said or you cannot contemplate what it implies?” She didn’t know what to say at that. “Let me put this as plainly as possible then. I already told you that I was never in any danger, I am closely monitored by Confederation forces by ways and means that are way beyond your comprehension, this ship is the safest ship this side of the Great Wasteland and I am here despite the vehement objections of an incalculable number of people because not one of them is stupid enough to say no to a war hero when he sets his mind to do something himself.”
“I am repeating myself but why are you here then?”
“The Confederation is here because the Loroi Union is about to lose this war which is counter to its wants and interests.”
“Why do all this if the Confederations doesn’t want us to lose and…” She paused as she realized what he omitted to say. “You didn’t say why you are here.”
“A Mizol to watch after a problem child indeed.” The alien commented. “As to why I am here? I am here because my honor demands it of me; we owe a debt to those you have chosen to forget, a debt that demands that you will go extinct either by your own hand or ours.”
“I… don’t…” It was his expression and something that she couldn’t pinpoint exactly that gave her pause; his seemingly patronizing glee his face had betrayed up until then instantly changed into a seething disgust and anger as he had said that. “…understand.”
“You are not supposed to understand yet, that’s for when all the pawns have proven themselves smarter than a Miros herded for slaughter.” His expression changed again into the same patronizing smile as before but now she found it deeply unsettling instead of annoying. “Do you by any chance have a crossfire board? I think that we can play a couple of games until the time is right.”
Chapter 3, part 1:
http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 998#p23998