- Xark'ion -

He just looked at her, trying to understand.

“Did you hear me?” Ava said. “Do you intend to abduct me again? No? Then do as I say and fly us back to the Solp.”

“You need a new bodyguard,” Xark'ion said slowly. “After this, you can't possibly keep me on. You have to tell the queen to dismiss me. I've given you no choice.”

“I don't have to do anything. Now that you've done what you felt you had to, hopefully you've finished with your unscheduled excursion and we can go and do some work. Together. The Solp are our clue to the Kunuru. It's urgent that we find them. You may not have heard, but all the aliens attackers are backing off from the Acerex. That gives me the creeps. The Kunuru are up to something. And we have to find out what.”

Very well. There was a time aspect. And he had wasted enough of hers now. She would dismiss him after they came back. That was irreversible. But he should show her the respect of obeying this last of her orders.

“If the diplomat orders it, then we shall go.”

Ava settled back in her seat. “I do order that. I know that in your army, you would be demoted for doing anything a tenth as bad as this. But this is not an army mission. This is my mission. And I want you to stick with this until we're done. Even though I can see you've brought your sword. And thank you for this weapon. I will always keep it with me, just in case.”

Well, that was something, at least. He couldn't help feeling quite stupid. Of course she would have gone with him here if he had asked her.

But being dismissed from this mission had been his plan, just to get away from this intensely attractive woman and the grave temptations she represented. 

That hadn't happened. And he felt a relief and a joy that worried him. He should follow Bruti'ex's advice and disengage from this. He still could. 

But he knew that he wasn't going to. It was easy to make that kind of decision when he was far away from her. Now that she was close, and he could smell her and see her and just feel her presence, it was impossible to leave her. Who else could protect her like he could?

“It was my intention to leave my sword in your starship. But we were in a hurry.”

“Oh,” Ava said. “I guess I was a little abrupt back there. But I suppose separating an Acerex warrior from his sword is a fool's errand anyway.”

There was a little bit of warmth in her voice, and somehow that made Xark'ion's mind lighter.

- - -

“That should be it.”

Ava looked in the direction he was pointing. “Huh. For a citadel among the stars, you'd think it would be a little more to look at.”

The space station in orbit around Woor Five was big, and the design was very unusual. It was exactly rectangular and looked most of all like a dark board of wood floating in space.

“I suspect is was never finished.”

“Or maybe the Solp stripped it of all the other parts and only left the center piece.”

Xark'ion flew carefully closer, aware that some space stations had defense systems.

But as they closed to where the shuttle started taking the gravity from the station into account for its maneuvers, it was clear that he had been right. This space station had never been finished. Bare spars of metal stuck out of it at awkward angles, and there was metallic scaffolding around most of it.

“How will we get in?” Ava said. “Doesn't look like it has a hangar.”

Xark'ion studied the display in front of him. “I can see six possible entryways. This shuttle can dock with just about anything. I'm more worried about what lies behind the door.”

Ava nodded. “You know, I'm kind of glad you brought your sword. I think you should probably carry it on you. But don't draw it. And I will go first. Just watch my hand signals.”

Xark'ion decided on one of the hatches he could see, and took the shuttle slowly closer to it until it was three hands away from the side. “Yes, certainly we should worry about the Solp inside. But a more immediate question is whether there happens to be air behind any door we choose.”

Ava peered at the derelict station. “Is there no way to find out?”

He grinned as he released the safety harness. Now there was a chance for him to do some good. “There is a way. We call it 'the hard way'.”

He got up, went over to the hatch and keyed for the docking shroud to be deployed. After confirming the shuttle's two different ways of asking him if he was sure he wanted to do that, a round, flexible tunnel shot out from around the hatch and hit the side of the space station, attaching itself to the smooth material in an airtight circle around the oval door on the station.

Another button combination filled the tunnel with air and pressurised it.

“I'll go first,” he said, and Ava didn't protest.

He got the sword and strapped it to his waist. Then he hit the release, and the hatch hissed open. The artificial gravity in the shuttle slowly subsided, and he had to grab the handholds to stay upright. Zero-gee movement had never been his favorite, but there was no reason to hesitate.

He aimed for the other end of the tunnel and kicked off from the side of their shuttle. He drifted slowly through the tunnel, knowing that the slow, helpless cartwheel he was doing had to look ridiculous to Ava.

He bumped against the soft sides of the tunnel a few times, then used the straps attached to it to drag himself easily up to the station hatch. There was a mechanism there that had to be an emergency release designed for small alien hands.

He looked back. Ava stood in the opening of the shuttle.

“If there's no air on the other side of this, you have to close the hatch immediately,” he instructed. “I can't be saved anyway.”

“No, wait,” she called and launched herself up the tunnel.

“You're more elegant doing that than I am,” he said when she had reached him a second later and he gently took hold of her shoulders to halt her dive.

“Oh, don't get me started on zero-gee work,” she said and straightened herself. “We had to do two hundred hours of that as a part of our training for Space Expansion.”

He reluctantly let go of her suit. “Not a bad idea to train for that. What's your plan?”

“Mostly a waste of time. Never needed that skill until now. The plan is to get in here without risking you being sucked into an airless station and certain death. So I'm thinking, let's just knock.”

She casually reached out a hand and knocked on the station hatch with one knuckle. “I mean, they need air too. If there's no air behind this one, then maybe the next. No, keep your hand off the sword, please. I want them to see me first, and then maybe you not holding your sword ready to cut them to pieces.”

“Very well,” Xark'ion growled. He would have preferred to stand solidly between Ava and whatever would open that hatch, but it was time he allowed her to be in charge. He'd disobeyed her enough by now to fill many lifetimes.

A minute went by, then two. Ava knocked again, now with her whole fist. “I remember the Solp being kind of noisy. Maybe they're having a party in there.”

Ava put her ear to the side of the station, then recoiled and rubbed her ear. “Yikes, that's cold. But I think I could hear-”

There was a hard bang from inside, and Xark'ion's hand automatically went to his sword. Ava gave him a strict look, and he let it go again.

There were more noises, as if someone was struggling with the mechanism on the inside. Then there was a sharp hiss, and the hatch swung inwards.

With pure willpower, Xark'ion kept the thumb of his sword hand hooked into his pants. Whatever was in there had a good shot at them, and if it was hostile ...

The head of a Solp came around the hatch and just stared with its black, beady eyes on stalks.

“Hi,” Ava said brightly, and it was translated into the terrible grinding noises that was the Solp language. “We're here to see your king?”

- - -

It didn't take long for the Solp to stand aside and let them in. Ava just got a shiny object out of her pack and handed it over, and the alien lost interest in them and just admired the object.

“It's a watch,” Ava told Xark'ion softly as they made their way through the nearest corridor. “We used them to tell the time in the old days. Now they're curiosities. I thought the Solp would like the fact that they aren't just shiny, they have interesting movements as well.”

The corridor was dark, and Xark'ion itched to take the lead. “I think you were right. How many of those do you have?”

“Not many. I got them from a guy who had a small collection that he brought with him to space. Vintage stuff that he'd gotten tired of. I gave him tequila in return. Why, you want one?”

He just gave her an empty look that he hoped conveyed exactly what he thought about that, then tried to peer past her through another hatch that led further into the station. “We don't know how many Solp there are here. You may have to give each of them something.”

“We'll see. I have a few things. I don't think there are that many of them here, do you?”

“We'll see.”

At the end of the corridor was another open hatch, and on the other side they could see several Solp moving around and making the usual noise.

Ava got her pack ready. “Remember, don't show yourself until I give the signal.”

He nodded assent, and she stepped through the opening.

The noise in the room stopped as if cut with a knife, and all the Solp were staring at Ava with their lifeless eyes.

“I seek King Bulpot of the Solp,” Ava said, and the room resonated with her grinding noises. “I bring him a gift from the people of Earth.”

The Solp didn't move, and the silence was deafening.

“Among other things,” Ava said and held up another watch, “I bring this fine bracelet with moving parts.”

“I am king Bulpot of the Solp,” one of the scavenger aliens said and took two steps forwards.

Xark'ion expected all of them to claim the same, like down on the planet, but none of the others came forward. And this one did look slightly different from the others. He was larger and had a white stripe going down the middle of his face.

“You are king Bulpot?” Ava said.

“How many times must I say it?” the alien ground.

“King Bulpot,” Ava stated solemnly. “I bring you the respect and friendship of the Earth people. We are aliens from a faraway world. As the first sign of our friendship, please take this priceless ... uh ... Casio.”

She held the silvery watch out, and the king quickly snatched it from her fingers.

“Notice how it moves, yet stays the same,” Ava said. “It is most precious. You can place it around your wrist- yes, the leg works too, I guess. Uh-huh. Very stylish.”

The king admired the metal watch around the knee of one of his legs, then turned to show it to his court. There was an awed murmur of grinding. Then he turned back to Ava.

“The people of your planet are rich.”

“Yes,” Ava said. “There's much to gnaw for everyone. Lots of gnawing taking place at all times.”

There was another murmur of awe.

“Then they have the friendship of the Solp,” the king said. “Provided they bring me tribute in the form of things like this kasio and bones to gnaw on.”

“Of course,” Ava said, very gravely. “We expect nothing else. And yet, we need the help of the Solp.”

The king drew back a couple of paces and seemed to round his back. “Our help?”

“Yes.”

The room was silent for a long time, and Ava half-turned to give Xark'ion a short smile. It didn't seem as if anyone had seen him yet. He was in darkness, and their attention was fixed on Ava.

“It is rare that anyone asks the Solp for help,” the king finally said. “And it's rarer still that we extend it.”

“Yes, yes,” Ava agreed. “Everyone knows that. The Solp are proud and noble, and prefer not to help anyone. And still I ask it from you.”

There was another long silence.

“And in exchange for our help, your people will deliver tribute. Bones to gnaw. Kasio.”

“Anything you want,” Ava said. “We are rich indeed. What we need is simple for you to help us with: We know that you are close friends with the Kunuru. We want to be close friends with you. And so, we must be friends with the Kunuru as well. But we don't know where to find them! We're very sad. How can we show them friendship if we don't know where they are?”

A movement went through the crowd and the mention of the Kunuru, and the Solp looked at each other and pulled back from Ava.

Only the king was brave enough to stay put, but his eye stalks were twitching. “You want to meet ... the  Kunuru?”

“Yes,” Ava beamed. “Precisely. We want to talk to them and be their friends. Maybe we will give them Casios, too. And they will say, 'the noble Solp led these to us. We must reward the Solp.'”

“Reward?” the king said, still twitching his eyes. “The Kunuru will reward us?”

“Of course,” Ava said. “I'm sure they will.”

The king was silent, and looked behind him as if planning a fast retreat. “I will help your people now. I will say, don't find the Kunuru and talk to them. There, that's better help than anyone has gotten from the Solp ever before. And if you do, don't say the Solp told you where to find them. The Solp will deny it.”

“Fine,” Ava said brightly. “We won't tell them that. So where can we find them?”

“The Kunuru don't like to be found.”

“I'm sure they want to be found by us. We will give them many fine things.”

The king was silent, and now he was taking slow steps back from Ava. “The Kunuru don't like to be found,” he repeated.

Ava made the hand sign that meant come closer, and Xark'ion was relieved when he could take a step into the room and stand right behind her.

The sight of him sent a low murmur of grinding through the room.

“Monster,” Xark'ion's translator insisted. “Giant. Giant monster in our citadel!”

“This is Xark'ion of Acerex,” Ava said. “My people are friends with his people. Now we want to be friends with the Solp and the Kunuru. But we must know where the Kunuru are.”

The king had changed color, and now the white stripe down his face couldn't be seen against the sudden whiteness of the rest of his splotchy fur. He ground out something at a higher pitch than before. “Monster!”

“Now now,” Ava said, “there's no need to hurt each other's feelings. He looks like a monster, perhaps. And yes, he's very dangerous. But he also wants to be friends with the Solp.”

The Solp in the room had drawn back towards the far wall, except the king, who was alone in the middle of the floor. They had nowhere else to go – there was only one door.

“And to be friends with the Kunuru,” Ava continued, he also must know where they are. Of course he and the Acerex will protect the Solp from the Kunuru, if they somehow disapprove of you telling us where they are. Look how fierce he is!”

She gave the hand signal that meant draw your sword, and Xark'ion drew it as dramatically as he could, making the blade give off a loud zhing as it left the scabbard. 

“And,” Ava said slowly, “I don't know what will happen if the Solp don't tell him where the Kunuru can be found. He can be ferocious, you see.”

The king trembled visibly, but he was royal enough to hold his ground and not back off any further. “The Giant Monsters are old enemies of ours. The Kunuru ordered us to attack them. This monster intends to kill us all!”

Ava tapped her lips with one finger, a gesture of deep thinking that Xark'ion reflected would be completely lost on the Solp. “I don't think he intends that. But he has a sharp sword. Perhaps it is just as well to tell him where the Kunuru are. Then he will be gone, and the Solp will forever be friends of the Acerex.”

The king's eyes twitched very rapidly, and it looked as if he had been shocked to silence.

Ava gave Xark'ion another glance. “And to further cement the friendship between the Solp and the people of Earth, I have been told to give the king another gift.”

That got his attention, and he turned his eyes towards Ava again. “Another gift?”

“Another gift. And this one is even more precious than the Casio.”

Ava took a pair of items out of her pack and put one on her face, then handed the other to Xark'ion. He looked at it in puzzlement.

“Put them on,” Ava whispered. “They're just sunglasses.”

He put the darkened glass on his face, and the room immediately became darker. But he could still see everything.

“For the king of the Solp, as soon as he tells me where the Kunuru are, I have this.”

Ava got a large box out of her pack and held it up. The sides of the box fell away and the room was filled with a golden light so bright Xark'ion realized he might have been blinded if he hadn't been wearing the dark lenses.

The Solp reacted immediately. The room was filled with grinding noises that was more like a terrible screeching.

Xark'ion's translation device was completely overwhelmed, and just gave him little pieces of what the Solp were frantically grinding with their large teeth.

“Treasure!”

“Shiny!”

“Burns with light!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

Their fear of him was clearly forgotten, and now they all came scurrying across the floor towards Ava. Xark'ion didn't wait for her to give him the panic sign. He lifted her easily off the ground and swung her so that she was behind him, then held his sword horizontally so the edge was pointing out towards the advancing Solp.

The mass of aliens completely ignored him and didn't stop, and the king was in the first line. Blood was dripping from his long teeth, and some of his compatriots lay bleeding on the floor behind him. It was starting to become clear how he had become the king.

Xark'ion draw a lungful of stinky air.