The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (15 page)

Shayne had been having his advanced classes in the captain’s quarters for years now. Despite his initial discomfort it slowly became a second home. His caretaker, Desmond, would take him to the officers’ hall, and afterwards Arnahell or a space-droid would take him back. He liked the walk, passing ship-androids and Astronauts; becoming a common sight to all who roamed the officer corridors. He was also somewhat fascinated by the slight gravity increase as he journeyed from the outer Planetsiders residence to the inner officer core. The graviton generator was a marvel, even though its field followed an exponential decay with the sharp drop off just beyond the ship’s hull, the difference in gravity from the core to the hull was close to a quarter of a G.

Captain Arnahell had a very peculiar pet cat; it was genetically engineered as all Astronaut pets were. They were commonly known as data-pets, with enhanced lifespan and intelligence; some were almost human and certainly more intelligent than the majority of humanity. Arnahell preferred the real thing over a robotic animal, she said they had soul that machine-pets could not replicate. The cat seemed impossibly ancient, nearly at the end of her days. It was skinny with its bones sticking out and its fur was matted and no longer shined. Despite her age she was still curious and would observe people visiting the captain. Arnahell insisted that Trim; which was the cat’s name, liked Shayne because when he came and visited the animal would jump up on the table and listen intently to their conversations.

Some days Shayne would come to the quarters to find that the cat was crouched on the table with her front paws resting on a book or tablet, her head down staring at the pages.  Today it was looking at an old bound book about an old sailing ship adventurer; she seemed to prefer the action biographies and fictions of the high seas, rather than those of deep space.

Shayne came and sat down in the Captain’s Quarters, though she was not present her door opened when he arrived, meaning he could enter. Trim was lying upon the small round table in the living area where Shayne sat, happily reading until he joined her, the feline casually raised its old head and briefly peered at him in greeting before she returned to the book. He had come to accept this strange sight but he often wondered if it truly was reading. Shayne was informed by the Oxford that the captain was delayed, and so he was required to wait. While he pondered how the cat turned the pages for the hundredth time Arnahell came into the quarters from a private side-door with the Captain of the Manhattan, Dirac Anderson following closely behind her. He looked briefly at Shayne before he made his way to the cat reading on the table. They all sat down and Dirac directed his attention to the feline, giving her a good pat behind the ears.

‘Shayne Forrester,’ Arnahell began. ‘As you know the other colonists have woken up and the droids are currently planet-side clearing out and preparing the land for settlement.’ Shayne was well aware of this and he grew concerned that she would emphasise it. Astronaut lessons sometimes hinted at a bias between the two factions. The ship captain did not hide her dislike for planet-side politics of operations, and she encouraged Shayne to look at every system presented to him with a neutrality, even their own.

‘I don’t want to alarm you, but this could mean trouble for you, especially in the first few weeks.’

‘Why?’ Shayne asked.

‘That is why,’ Arnahell replied, ‘because you’re able to think. Most people will be fine with this, but you’ll probably have opposition. Actually I guarantee it, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Planetsiders can’t help the way they are, in many ways they’re very primitive.’ Dirac partially smiled at that last statement, he stopped patting the cat who by this stage had lost interest in the attention and just wanted to listen to them talk. ‘I would be very careful if I were you. There’re cunning ones out there and they will try to bring your credibility into question. There’s nothing we can do about them at this stage. We can only prepare you. Which is why,’ Arnahell stood up from the table, with Dirac just behind, ‘the captains and leading officers have voted to allow you one of our privileges,’ she paused for a second, trying to find the right words. ‘Think of it as a reassurance, though you would probably not understand the significance.’

The two Astronauts then guided him out the door they entered just moments earlier, the one that lead to the restricted zone. The other side was a small walkway leading to the Bridge and a couple of quarters for commanding officers. They bypassed the bridge and made their way through a door at the end of the walkway, which opened to a main hallway. Astronauts walked about the various corridors and passages and the ones that noticed Shayne stared at him as they went by. At the end of the hallway they took a lift to the top level, Shayne’s stomach lurched at the acceleration and again when they stopped. The change in gravity resounding with each step until his body adjusted to the change. Shayne stepped out to one of the ships large viewing rooms; the observation window had a polarised screen that was currently blanked out. These rooms were forbidden to Planetsiders even when the screens were closed. He looked back at the captain but she motioned him to continue. There were other high ranking Astronauts there, including the third ship’s captain, Elinor and one of the free-androids. They all silently watched Shayne as he walked with Arnahell into the centre of the room. The Astronauts as always were a picture of complete seriousness as they looked upon him, their grim faces unreadable.

‘As you all know,’ Arnahell spoke loud enough for the entire room to hear, ‘the Starborn Shayne Forrester, has spent many years on this ship; obtaining his science degree, and is currently undertaking a coursework postgraduate. What you don’t know,’ she redirected her speech to Shayne, ‘is that all those tests and examinations we performed on you were more than just the standard Star Born Victim perception tests. We also gave you all of the Astronaut application tests. The requirements that potential Planetsiders undertake to either work with Astronauts or to even become one.

‘You, Shayne Forrester, of the Last Western Front, passed all of these tests,’ Arnahell then motioned Shayne to the screens, ‘and this is your initiation; witnessed by three space captains.’ With that the polarised screens cleared; revealing the heavens to him.

Chapter
04

Old Road

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always long to return.”

Leonardo da Vinci

The sight before him seemed to take his breath away. The screen gave way to open space. A dense field kept the room airtight; the absence of any actual physical barrier gave Shayne the feeling that he was standing in the vacuum.

Before him were countless stars of various colours with the fainter ones fading as the ship approached the planet, hanging majestically in front of them. The sun lit up the left side of the planet, slowly shifting into the first quarter. The rest of the world was shrouded in the darkest of shadows. Clarkes moon was visible far to the right, its brilliance almost full.

Shayne became lost in the beauty and the depth, everything was so vast; a never ending sea of stars that appeared eternal in the heavens. That moment, looking at the majesty of the stars and the world of Iraquis brought a feeling to Shayne, a feeling he had not experienced before. His appearance softened as his dark eyes scanned the scene before him, and he grew to appreciate the laws he had learnt. He did not want to look away, instead he moved forward, until he was on the edge of the field. He placed his palms on the cold steel of the barrier and stood staring out into the depths of space.

Shayne’s attention moved to the planet: the blue oceans, the brown lands and the white clouds. The shadow of night slowly disappeared revealing more and more of the landscape. He watched the small planet with growing interest; he saw it for what it was; a tiny and fragile world, susceptible to the elements around it and ignorant of the great and mighty bodies that surrounded it. From that moment on Shayne would never be the same. He would see the primitive powers at play as the colony set about constructing the
Gateway
and build ties with the native inhabitants, but for as long as he was standing upon the earth of a planet he would always be restless, even with his patient nature he would still be separated by the darkness and immensity that was space, and he would long for it.

Eventually he cast his eyes away from the stars and found himself in the company of Captain Arnahell. She stood alone patiently waiting for him. Shayne glanced at her: sorrow welled up inside of him. She smiled, a very faint and equally sad smile. They then both walked out of the viewing room in silence. The screen darkening behind them.

***

The company had been riding their horses for several hours. They steadily made their way east towards the Kérith-Árim nation. Shayne was silent most of the time, watching the hooves of a horse in front of him; its rhythm hypnotising him. After a brief break they decided to veer off the main highway. They received news from an official messenger earlier that day which spurred them onwards. The new track would take longer under normal circumstances; but time would be made up quickly by avoiding greater towns and cities, where province rulers would expect them to stop purely because of the news of the Afra’hama’s presence. The track they navigated was old and worn, created by the inhabitants of remote farming and mining villages. Some stretches of the road were lined with large trees that gave plenty of shade, and despite the erosion that affected parts of the road the trip was calm and agreeable.

Shayne found his horse a pleasure to ride, the change from the lionmen breed was very welcome, the other Earthmen were also thoroughly enjoying themselves. As they made their way down the old beaten track the company became more casual, slowly spreading out and forming groups. The lionmen seemed relaxed but they also looked out at their surroundings with caution, unable to completely shake that part of their military training. Kíe as always was oblivious to his warrior counterparts’ actions; he had mastered the art of appearing completely at ease without a single care in the world. Shayne occasionally peered across at Kíe, watching the scholar as he became lost in a pleasing thought. He had become quite fond of the young lionman; he liked observing him, there was something fundamentally innocent and simple about the journeyman despite the depth that rested beneath the surface. Shayne sometimes had moments of familiarity when he regarded him, the way that Kíe would respond, or an expression on his face would remind him of someone, but he could not fathom who. Shayne could only think of the Captain of the
Eureka
, Elinor Warren, for she seemed to have the same enthusiasm as Kíe, but he knew it was not her and no matter how hard Shayne thought about it he could not figure out who the person was.

‘You are deep in thought,’ Shayne commented to Kíe after a while of observing him. The distant look instantly snapped back into alertness as Kíe faced the Starborn, his face an expression of all seriousness as he allowed the comment to process in his mind. He then smiled at Shayne, a half smile that he gives when he is pleased or thoughtful towards someone else.

‘I was.’

‘What were you thinking of?’ Shayne inquired.

‘Home,’ Kíe simply replied and his eyes vanished for a moment at that thought, he then refocused them again at the Starborn. Shayne had a glimpse of Elinor’s face, there is definitely a bit of her in the young scholar, yet there was something else too. The happiness he radiated was contagious; everyone’s mood instantly lifted when he was present, even when he was annoying one could not be annoyed with him for long. ‘We are travelling a road that will take us along the Wayel-Éaa Forest, this way will be quickest for us; we will avoid the border cities and once we cross the sister river of Whydearfin we will be in my homeland. It is a grand country; filled with wonders of the ancients.’ His smile slowly broadened and he fell back into his dazed contemplation, oblivious to Shayne riding beside him.

‘I would not worry about that one,’ Pan’arden spoke softly to Shayne. ‘Those academics are a strange race, he probably dreams of his halls and teachers. He is so full of energy and he misses the world he grew up in. I think it is a crime for that kind of spirit to be required to serve their journeymanship within such a place as Danarie, one such as him shines brightest within the company of scholars.’

‘Could he not pass that requirement under special circumstances?’

‘I doubt it, it might create contempt amongst his peers, it is a service all must undergo, and I think it is a wise law in other regards. He will learn much that he cannot huddled deep in the teaching halls. Still, it is a shame.’

‘Those at the villages he is stationed at would undoubtedly benefit from such a skilled teacher.’

‘That they would,’ Pan’arden agreed, smiling briefly as she looked upon the younger lionman. ‘The village guardsmen think very highly of him. One of them said Kíe has an eye for the talented.’

‘How so?’ Shayne inquired. Pan’arden looked at him momentarily; she sometimes found his choice of words strange and needed to think about his sentences; trying to understand the question. Shayne usually worded himself carefully, but sometimes his responses were automatic, replying in the abstract Earth manner. He saw his fault as soon as he made it but he knew that Pan’arden was smart enough to understand his meaning.

‘They told me that there was a little girl who seemed rather ordinary,’ she answered him. ‘If not lesser than the others, but within a few months under Kíe’s care she turned out to be a wonder child herself. I hear that she is in a training hall in Taríth now. If not for the scholar no-one would have known her talent and it would’ve gone to waste. They say there is something special in Kíe. He can see through people, he knows what they truly are and he can bring out the best within them. When the guards told me about him I did not believe them, the way they described him, I thought they were talking about an Afradian wizard, but now that I ride with him, I can understand what they mean. One cannot help but be uplifted while in his presence.’

At noon they stopped at some ruins, they were the remains of a building long abandoned and what was left was quite striking. The building looked to be an ancient monastery of some sort. Parts of the structure still stood two stories high, including a stairwell. It was an inviting sight; with the sun reflecting off the masonry. Over the years, trees had taken root in the stones creating a shady canopy as the branches wrapped themselves through the floors and walls, taking hold in the cracks and becoming a living mortar that held the stones together. The Earthmen marvelled at the beauty and took photographs and recordings. Omar was overjoyed by the stop, never before had he seen ruins and he explored the area with the enthusiasm of an archaeologist. Dominic followed, laughing at his friend’s child-like joy and taking pictures as they went along.

Not long after they had sat down to eat Pan’ardan’s tiger unexpectedly stirred, her large head snapped up from her resting place as she let out a low growl, glaring through the ruins. Everyone was on their feet ready to fight including the Earthmen. Hanniver had his arm to his thigh, resting on the hilt of his weapon; his mind calculating the time it would take to reach and activate his railgun-rifle that was hanging from his horse.

What emerged was an elderly human male, he was bent with age and he had a long grey beard with some streaks of black. He smiled at the company with a wide, toothless grin; his dazed expression casually regarding his new visitors. Kíe approached him and gave him a roll of bread. The man praised him with blessings of the Kéaran and he sat down near two of the Bohanesse warriors and went into disjointed murmurings as he ate. When he had finished his bread one of the warriors gave him part of her share plus some cordial she had in a waterskin. His expression grew brighter with each minute. When it was time to leave he openly cried, he followed the company out a little while; hobbling on a stick before retreating back into his ruins.

‘I thought nobody lived in poverty in a
lionman
country?’ Shayne asked Kíe after the man had vanished from sight.

‘What do you mean?’ Kíe looked at Shayne; genuinely confused.

‘That
human
back there; that Ta’Orian, why was he living like that?’

Kíe made an expression of detached uncertainty, ‘I do not know, maybe he chose to live that way.’

‘Why would anyone choose to live like that?’

‘Why does anyone choose any way?’ Kíe replied. ‘There is always a reason, no matter how small; there is always a reason for everything.’

‘Did you choose to become a scholar?’

‘Not at first and I understand why you would consider this thought. I can leave anytime I want to, but I do not understand why anyone would. It is a privileged life.’

‘Privileged for those born into it?’

‘Never assume Afra’hama. My parents were farmers,’ the journeyman replied in frustration. ‘Kíe, my cub name, and is one of the old names, inherited by generations of my ancestors. It is associated with the farmlands of the lake. My parents died when I was only small from a sweeping sickness, as did my sister. The guards took me in and gave me to the teaching halls. There I was fortunate enough to receive what I may not have been given if they had lived. If one day I am blessed with children then my son will take my cub-name and maybe
oren
will become associated with the teaching halls, maybe he shall return to my father’s lands. The point is positions are not necessarily inherited, especially that of a scholar. Talent serves where talent is found.’

‘
Regardless, your society isn’t sounding very socialist to me
,’ Shayne responded in English.

‘What did you say?’ Kíe tilted his head at the Starborn, though Shayne and Hanniver had taught him some very basic English words, many of the terms Shayne used were beyond him. Generally, Kíe knew what was meant by the context of language, but only when it was used in reference to the topic, even if he could not always predict the meaning behind some of the sentences spoken.

‘You profess that the Fa’Orian, the
lionmen
, is better than the Ta’Orian, because there is no poverty, yet you have aristocrats.’

‘Somebody has to run the country,’ Kíe pulled a face as he was trying to understand what Shayne was saying, ‘and we have never said that Fa’Orian’s are better than Ta’Orian’s.’

‘But you have implied it.’

‘When?’ Kíe was growing defensive.

‘The entire time we have interacted. You have emphasised the grandness of the kingdoms run by the Fa’Orian and the dangers of those that are not.’

‘I have merely mentioned facts, and it is not true when you say all Fa’Orian countries are better: Isradia is one of the great countries, so is Endaran, and they are both Ta’Orian. Endaran has no Fa’Orian’s at all; and let us not forget Zeathlan. Besides Afra’hama, you have forgotten what I have taught you, and that is that Kérith-Árim was once a Ta’Orian nation, and it was just as grand then as it is now, if not greater, for it was ruled by Ta’Orians in the great wars, and though the Ta’Orian are weak and small, they are clever fighters, some have proven to be great tacticians: Anótole was a great war leader, as was Lethagon, and both were Ta’Orian.’ Shayne vaguely nodded, more to silence the journeyman than anything else. Kíe then remembered another point and lifted his hand and pointed, ‘and, Níurthan currently holds the
Crown of Elió
and he is Ta’Orian. He is the greatest fighter in all Dífrun, no Fa’Orian has ever matched his skill.’ Kíe seemed satisfied after that and his body relaxed as he let his frustration pass.