Ascent of Lies

Chapter 9

CHIEF ENGINEER NORA OWEN sat opposite a small and brow-furred alien. The man – at least she assumed he was a man – stared shamelessly right into her face. His tiny black nose was shivering, as if to sniff the air. The man's pointy ears were tilted toward the Commander.

"Kriu. Skef hsafd areiy abuetu", the alien spoke.

Nora could not understand a single word that the man said, her universal translator had to be broken. Or maybe it did just not work in this dimension.

"Keia reiu rebenarui areiy", the man continued.

"I don't understand", Nora said, and she could not prevent a shiver from entering her voice.

"Whiu!"

Nora buried her face in her hands. It had been a few days since she had left the presidential residence, she was not sure how many exactly. The emperor had sent her away without giving her the slightest clue as to her captain's whereabouts and Nora had been trying to find Ramirez ever since. Her efforts had not brought her much, except for a burning hunger and a head that was shot with sleep.

With the greatest effort, Nora lifted her head again. "Ramirez", she said, "Captain Fernando Ramirez. I need to find him."

The alien man tilted his head. "Azei huwai tuio."

"Ramirez, do you know where he is?"

"Whiu."

Nora sighed and slumped down on the pillow she was sitting on. A few hours ago, she had first entered this village and she had found it inhabited with an alien species that was unknown to her. She assumed that it was this planet's native species, and that they were greatly oppressed by the Terran Emperor.

The village consisted of about ten small huts made of some kind of clay. Each house was occupied by some four alien creatures, all of which looked very much the same to the commander. Their bodies were animal-like, smaller than a human but bigger than a Rahizu, who they seemed to resemble slightly. They walked on two legs, yet their rear legs were shaped like those of most four-legged Earth mammals. The faces of the aliens were vaguely dog-like, with a pointed snout and pointy ears that stood right up.

As soon as Nora had entered the village, one of these alien creatures had exited his home and token her inside. The inside of the hut was small but cosy, the floor was covered with carpets and the walls were lined with linen. In the middle of the building burned a small fire, and in the roof above it was a hole to let the smoke out. The house consisted of just one room, but it was divided into multiple sections. Furthest from the room lay five beds, next to it hung several instruments that Nora assumed were for cooking. Closer to the door stood some tools from which Nora could not make out the purpose.

Nora and her alien host were sitting on a bed of pillows on the right side of the door, a small wooden table in between them.

"Kriu", the alien tried again.

Nora shook her head. She bit her lip and tried to calm her racing heart.

"Kriu. Kriu!"

"I don't understand!" Nora uttered, louder than she had meant to. "Kriu, what is kriu?"

The alien screeched. Then he pounded on his chest. "Kriu!" she said again.

"Are you Kriu?" Nora frowned, then she hit her own chest. "Nora", she said, "I am Nora."

The alien stuck out his tongue and screeched again. Nora smiled in response, she thought she finally understood something that the alien – Kriu had said. Alright, she thought, it's just a name, but it's something.

Kriu started talking again. "Reoeya weoi uhubu ereiya."

Nora frowned again. "What?" As a sudden wave of headache hit her, she brought her hands up to her face and caressed her forehead.

Kriu reached out to her with one of his tiny hands, softly touching her hands. "Whiu."

"I'm alright", Nora said automatically. Then she smiled inwardly as she realised that she had no idea whether the alien had even asked how she was doing. She was so used to Alix asking her how she was when she came home late every evening, when she had once again missed a dinner and she knew she had disappointed them, and saying that she was alright whether she was or not. She was aware of how she was neglecting their relationship, yet she had not changed her behaviour in months. Now, she wondered if her partner was even still alive.

Suddenly, Nora moaned as a sharp burst of pain shot to her brain. She had to keep herself up with both of her hands on the ground in order to keep herself from passing out, and for a moment her vision blurred.

Kriu jumped up and ran toward the fireplace. After a moment, he returned with something wrapped up in a bright green leaf. The man reached out to Nora again, offering the bundle to the Commander.

Nora took it, and was surprised to feel warmth radiate off the leaf. She folded the package open and saw a brown lump buried inside of it. It was meat. Immediately, Nora put the food into her mouth. She was sure that she had never tasted something so delicious. She moaned again as warmth spread through her starved body.

"Thank you", she mumbled, her mouth still full.

"Jiah."

There fell a silence. Kriu sat down again and watched as Nora ate the food. The meat was gone way sooner that Nora liked, but she was grateful for every bite that she had gotten. The Commander had never before been tis hungry.

After a minute or so, Kriu started to croak again. In his hoarse manner he said: "Tjubu. Rigua ra mi uesh?"

Nora looked at him and dropped the leaf she was holding. "Yes, that's right! Ramirez!"

"Ramiuesh?"

He had not gotten the pronunciation quite right, but Nora definitely heard the word Ramirez in what Kriu was saying.

"Do you know where he is?"

The alien man looked at Nora with his big dark eyes.

"Uhm", Nora continued. "Ramirez", she said, and then she pointed toward the door of the hut. "Where? Where is Ramirez?"

Kriu followed Nora's hand with his eyes, then lifted his own hand in the same direction. "Whiu", he said.

"Not there?"

Kriu stood up and walked toward the door. Nora followed him, hoping that the man would point her toward where her captain was currently located. However, as soon as the alien had gotten outside, he walked over toward the house opposite of his in the circle in which the buildings in the tiny village stood. There he opened the door and started screeching again.

Another one of the creatures appeared. This one was even smaller, and its skin was of a slightly lighter shade of brown. The aliens seemed identical for the most part, however. Behind him, three more small aliens hit, Nora assumed that they were their children. Or possibly their wives, she had no clue as to how this culture worked. For all she knew, they could even have no genders at all and grow in a cocoon until they were mature.

The hut seemed identical as well, with the same sections and the same tools scattered about. Only the colour combinations of the carpets were different, filled with more green and yellow than the reddish carpets of Kriu had been.

Kriu hit his chest and jumped up and down in the air. The other alien did the same thing. Then they turned toward Nora and hit their chest again. "Arhuhi" they said.

Nora hit her own chest just like she had done in Kriu's hit and spoke her name.

Kriu continued talking. "Ramiuesh", he said.

Arhuhi screeched.

"Reoevi dejkri ehuori weoi."

Arhuhi ran out of the hut. Nora watched him go and looked at Kriu. In turn, Kriu looked back at her and pointed at where Arhuhi had left the hut. "Ramiuesh."