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Future Sanctuary

Chapter 7 The Kilape and the Second

Jim kneels in the middle of the meditation chamber attached to his quarters wearing only a pair of his black battle-fatigue pants. His eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady, he thinks on the past couple of days and how his life has changed. He's gone from being the Chief of Security of a space ark to being nominated the only Ambassador for the Humans on this world many light-years from Mother Earth. He's been attacked multiple times, stabbed once, almost died, and saved only by a supernatural ability of the natives, which has had the side effect of giving him their language too. He has learned of the intrigue between them and their neighbor, and now he feels their arrival has only made things worse between the two nations. 'Can my life get any more complex?' he thinks to himself.

The breeze coming from the open window brings the smell of some unfamiliar, but sweetly fragrant flowers. The cool air carries the sound of children playing, and soldiers training. The bustle and noise of the city that surrounds them is a drone in the background, but not like the mechanical sounds he has grown up with onboard the ark all his life. No smell of grease or other chemicals, only the fresh air and the smells of nature. 'I think I may have found something better than Valhalla in this place,' he thinks as he lets his mind wander.

His ears detect the soft whisper of the door to the hall opening in the other room and the quiet steps of three sets of feet on the plush carpet of the main room. The feet stop as one of his visitors gives a gentle tap with a furred hand at the frame of the door into the meditation chamber to attract his attention.

Opening his eyes he turns his head to see the blue furred form of Yamoti in her casual robes with two other figures behind her. His attention on her, she speaks with a formal tone and gives him a slight bow, "I hope the dawn finds you well Ambassador Ward. I have come to deliver your Kilape and explain the role and duties of such."

Jim nods and stands with a fluid motion as he replies, "The dawn finds me well Commander Yamoti." He turns to face the Rathac and waves a hand, "Please, come in."

As Yamoti walks in Jim gets a clear look at the other two visitors behind her. One is the light tan furred female he had beaten the previous day in single combat. 'Was it really only yesterday? I'm surprised she's up and walking,' he mulls as he studies her. Her steps are slow and she still limps from the injury to her leg that had brought her to her knees, but she tries to hide the pain and fails as a grimace crosses her muzzle. Her black hair, which had been long before his sword and cut off her ponytail, is still roughly hacked and looks like she hasn't tried to brush it since their fight. Her clothing is a simple brown robe with no adornments that does nothing to flatter her figure. Her tan tail with its tuff of black fur drags on the floor, limp with shame.

Behind the injured female is the red armored Tambir who had followed the Commander into the apartment, a hand kept on the sword hilt at her sash as she watches the tan female with what he can only call a look of disgust. The look she's giving the tan female makes it obvious; she doesn't trust the tan warrior alone with her mistress, especially when her mistress is without her armor.

"If this will take long, maybe we should step into the main room where there is seating and we can make ourselves comfortable," he recommends.

Yamoti nods in agreement and waves for him to precede them from the meditation chamber. Walking barefoot from the sparse wood paneled room into the softer comfort of the main room he waves towards some of the seats scattered around the room, "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Yamoti turns to Tambir and dismisses her with a flick of a tentacle. The red armored female bows before stepping back into the hallway and sliding the door closed with a last glance at the tan furred female. Turning back to the room Yamoti settles into one of the soft chairs and gives the human a nod of thanks.

The silent tan female continues to stand beside Yamoti, trying to keep her weight off the injured leg, as Jim seats himself on a soft couch. "Please, sit," he gestures to an empty chair as he looks up at her. "I can tell your wounds are hurting. In fact, I'm surprised to see you walking around today after the wounds you received only yesterday. Even with my people's skills, such injuries would have you still in the hands of the healers."

Yamoti looks up at the tan female and nods towards the chair. "The Menders did all they could to heal her injuries," Yamoti explains, "now she will just need time to finish healing and ease the aches. However, she insisted that she be presented to her Majoi today." She watches the female settle into a chair with an involuntary wince of pain. "I personally think she should still be under the Menders' care also, but they have approved her release. As long as she doesn't push herself too hard, too fast, she will make a full recovery. It will be a few weeks until she can do any hard labor or training, but the Menders say she can start her service as Kilape."

She returns her gaze to Jim and leans back in the chair with a soft smile, "So I thought now would be the best time to explain the custom of Kilapes to you." She waves a hand at the other female, "As you know, this warrior lost an honor duel to you, and you decided to spare her life. Having backed a cause that the duel has concluded was dishonorable, she is now without honor. There is only one way in which she can regain that lost honor and hope to redeem her folly in believing the words of her former master. She is now Kilape." Yamoti's smile slips a little as she explains, "That is not just a social status by the way; it is also her name until such time as she earns her rebirth, and a new name to go with it."

"Rebirth?" Jim asks as he returns his gaze to the tan female and studies her downcast visage.

"Yes, her rebirth," Yamoti nods, "Her former life is gone, lost on the field of honor, and she is now a blank slate, to be taught by you. Her family will not recognize her until she is reborn, with a new name, and new honor. Until that time, it is as if she died in that arena against you."

"How long does that take?" Jim asks as his fingers steeple in front of him, the tips touching his lips.

Yamoti gives a Rathac shrug, "That is up to you for the most part. Some Kilape die as Kilape, never earning their rebirth. Others outlive their Majoi and so never can earn the rebirth they seek. She must learn from you, her Majoi, a new sense of honor. She will be your student, your companion and assistant until such time as she has learned all that she can from you. She will never speak out against you, not even after she has been reborn. But you also have duties to her, you must keep her safe, she isn't a slave to be used or abused. She is a warrior who shows hope for rebirth, and with that rebirth, a return to our society. If you didn't see the chance of her rebuilding her honor, you should have killed her as she asked."

Jim taps his fingers together a few times while listening. He lets the silence hang in the air for a few moments before speaking, "So I am to teach her honor?"

Yamoti nods, "That is one way of putting it. A very simple way, but it nicely sums up the whole of the process."

Jim looks over at the female, her eyes still focused on the floor. "Look at me Kilape," he says with a quiet voice that yet carries a tone of command, his features cast in a mask of indifference.

The female raises her gaze, her tan eyes looking into his green ones, "What do you see before you?"

She wets her lips with a nervous tongue as she speaks in a pain strained voice, "My Majoi, who will show me the way to restore my lost honor."

Jim studies her, "You no longer see the weak alien creature you taunted yesterday and sought to kill?"

She shakes her head, "That female is gone, I wish to regain my honor as you have allowed. I wish to learn from my Majoi the true path of honor which the Spirits have shown their support to."

"What about your begging me to kill you, is that female also gone?"

Closing her eyes she bows her head to him, "Yes Majoi, for I do not wish to return to the Spirits without honor."

His expression softens, "Are you in pain?" he asks with concern in his voice.

With hesitation she gives the tiniest of nods, her voice hesitant, "Yes Majoi, but I will be fine. I have come to serve you and to learn."

He nods his head towards the sleeping chamber, "Go and rest. I appreciate your willingness to learn so soon, but you need to heal to learn all I can teach."

She opens her mouth to protest but Yamoti holds up one tentacle to silence her, "Your Majoi has given you your first lesson. That no matter how strong an individual is, we all need rest."

The female nods and with a wince stands and limps into the other room where she starts lowering herself to the floor. Jim, seeing her actions, calls out with his command voice, "In the bed, you're not some animal to sleep on the floor."

She hesitates a moment before she gives him a painful bow and settles into the bed with a weary sigh. Without bothering to pull the blankets over her she is soon sleeping peacefully.

Jim gets up and closes the door between the two rooms, leaving his new charge to rest in peace as he returns to his seat. "She'll need her own room near me I guess?" he asks Yamoti.

She shakes her head, "I'm sorry Jim, she is your companion now, and she will share accommodations with you until her rebirth. To learn honor from you, she must be with you constantly."

Keeping his voice quiet so not to disturb the other female he looks at her with shock, "But, there's only one bed in there. I can't expect her to sleep on the floor like some animal."

Yamoti shrugs, "You can if you choose, and other Majoi certainly do so to teach their Kilape humility." She rubs her chin with one hand, "But if you really want, I can try to find you a bigger apartment. Outside of the High Mother's chambers and a few of the councilor's who have large families there are few as nice or as big as this one in the palace. I honestly don't know if any larger chambers are available, but I'll look into it."

Jim waves his hand and sighs with resignation, "I understand Yamoti, I'll make things work here if that's what's for the best." He casts his glance towards the closed door, "I guess it's a good thing the bed in there is big enough for several people."

"Yes, now..." Yamoti cuts off as they both turn their heads to the hallway door as a commotion outside the suite draws their attention.

The door is opened by the red armored figure of Vorga and the male bursts in, his face a mask of agitation. "Commander Yamoti," he exclaims as he runs to kneel in front of her, "I was sent to find you immediately by the High Mother."

Yamoti leans forward in surprise as his words, "What is it Vorga?"

"Your brother Murrrfie is missing. He was in his workshop when last seen, and hasn't been seen since last night when Kirya went by to see him. He says Murrrfie was working on that small flitter of his. The flitter is also missing from the workshop. The whiskers report they so no flitters leaving the Palace."

Yamoti surges to her fee, knocking her chair over and her eyes flashing in alarm, "Are the whiskers blind?" she shouts as her arms make wild gestures. "He shouldn't have been able to just fly out of here without someone noticing. It's not like his workshop is in some secret cave or such, it's in one of the towers of the palace. How could he have flown out over the palace, even at night, without being seen?"

"Kirya reports he has been practicing low flights with that tiny flitter of his. If he dove straight from the landing pad to skim the ground, he might have avoided even the most alert whisker if he timed it just right." He pauses to catch his breath, "Your brother believes he has been able to craft the fastest and most maneuverable thing in the skies made by Rathac. He has refined a number of Alcami techniques in harnessing the lodestones that improve their power many times over. Kirya also said his second has been going on and on about wanting to see the Human's flying machines. He wants to know how they work so he can improve his designs further."

Yamoti lets a faint mewl of fear escape her muzzle as she rubs her face with her palms, "Jim, can you reach your people? I would hate for them to mistake my impulsive younger brother as a threat and use their powerful weapons against him."

Nodding, Jim pulls out his mirrored shades and triggers the communicator as he puts them on, "Maiden's Voyage, this is Ward."

The face of the duty communication tech appears on the window inside the surface of his mirrored glasses with a look of surprise, "Ambassador, is everything alright? We weren't expecting to hear from you so early today after that late report last night."

Jim cuts straight to the chase, his tone conveying the urgency of his message, "Jean, tell the sensor watch to look for a small contact heading your way at high speed. It's probably hugging the ground to avoid visible detection from the sentries, but I'm sure one of the satellites has picked something up by now."

She nods as she taps on her keyboard, "Yes, sir. They detected it about ten minutes ago, and it's really moving compared to those flying ships we saw earlier, faster than even one of their fighters. They were about to alert the outer guns for a warning shot since its heading straight for us."

Jim groans, "Don't do that, there's a member of the royal family on-board apparently. He's just a foolish youth who is too curious for his own good."

"Roger that Jim, what do you want us to do about him then? He'll be crossing our perimeter in another ten minutes and the sensor watch is getting itchy fingers at an unknown fast moving craft inbound to our perimeter."

Jim lifts his head to look up at Yamoti and switches back to Rathac, "They've got him in sight. How do you want to handle this?"

Her ears lower with a growl, "I would say shoot him down if I thought it would do any good. That male has always been too inquisitive. He should have followed his second and officially joined the Alcami guilds. Instead he insists on going about things his own way, and it will probably get him killed one day."

Jim raises an eyebrow in question, "Second?"

"Yes, his sibling who was born at the same time." She starts to pace, her tail flicking in a mixture of agitation and worry, "How long until he is in sight of your people?"

"They've already detected him, they were about to fire a blast to scare him off. They want to know how we want to handle this before it becomes a diplomatic incident."

She stops and stares at him, her eyes wide, "Don't let them do that! The idiot might crash if he got such a fright as your weapons of light being fired at him. I know they scared several crew of the Denguard fleet into thinking the world had come to an end."

"Well, they can wait for him to land and take him into protective custody, or they can try to warn him off with a Hopper, one of our own flying machines."

She rubs her forehead with one tentacle, "Can they keep him safe until we get there? It'll take half a day to get there in our fastest ship." She looks out the window at the sunlit scene outside, "If we leave soon we can be there before dark if the winds are favorable, but more likely we'll be there sometime after dark."

Jim triggers the comm again, "Jean, escort the kid down with a Hopper, then have a couple of men protect him. He's not a prisoner, but we don't want him getting hurt either. We're on our way, hope to be in before night but we might be a little late, depends on the winds. Hail me on the communicator when you pick up our vessel."

"Copy that Ambassador," the woman says as she taps keys on her console. "Angel is being scrambled and will escort him in. I'll inform Captain Long of the situation and that you are inbound. Anything else I should pass on to him?"

Jim smirks, "No Jean, I'll make some time to do a little catching up with him when I arrive."

"Very well, sir. This is Maiden's Voyage, signing off."

"Jim Ward, out," he says as he removes the glasses and surges to his feet. "I can be ready to go shortly. I just need to put together a pack and grab my armor and weapons."

Yamoti nods in understanding before indicating the sleeping chamber with one tentacle, "Don't forget Kilape, she will need to go with you."

Jim hesitates, "Isn't it better for her to stay here and rest? I'm sure this will be a hard and fast trip."

Yamoti gives another of her characteristic shrugs, "That may be, but she is here to learn how you handle situations. And leaving her behind might make her think you believe her incapable of learning."

Jim curses softly under his breath before he addresses Yamoti again, "At least see if one of the guards can find her some real clothes; that robe looks like a sack on her."

Yamoti smiles as Jim walks into the other room to retrieve his weapons and armor, "Of course, we'll find something worthy of the Kilape of such a strong warrior and honored diplomat."

As Jim glances over his shoulder at her she nods politely to him and leaves the suite with the armored Vorga leaping to follow. "Now why does that sound almost disturbing?" he asks the quiet room. He turns to the bedroom as the door slides open, "You should still be resting."

Kilape leans on the doorway, "I heard what's happened Majoi, and I will help you gather your things to travel."

Jim sighs and wonders just what he's gotten himself into here. "No, you rest for now." At the dejected look on her face he softens his tone, "I know you are strong and can help, but I want you to save your strength for now, we don't know what we're going to endure today." He points to the couch, "Rest while I get my armor on, I won't be very long."

At his instructions she settles on the couch as he closes the doors to the meditation chamber. Packing a few useful things in a duffle bag he secures the heavier pieces of his armor over the thin reactive layer. With practiced ease he has the entire rig secure and his weapons slung before he reenters the main room of the suite while sliding his sword into its scabbard.

He finds Tambir helping Kilape changing her clothes. The plain brown robe has been abandoned on the floor and Kilape is pulling a drawstring tight at her waist to secure a pair of loose pants made of a pale blue material. A matching top is draped across the back of a chair. A faint blush tinges Jim's tan cheeks pink as he notices the half nude female's body is well toned with muscles honed in training and combat. Her breasts are proportionate to her large build, but still firm despite the fact she is wearing no bra. Both females turn as he coughs, "I'm glad they found something better for you to wear than a simple sack."

Tambir bows her head while Kilape tries to give a more formal bow but has to catch herself on the back of a chair. Tambir helps the tan female stand again as she agrees, "She couldn't very well go with you on diplomatic missions in such a garment. It would be an embarrassment to your status."

Kilape nods her thanks to Tambir and the guard helps her into the top that's just a little too tight, the cords that hold it closed being fastened with deft fingers. She now stands straight as if on a parade ground, "I am ready Majoi."

"Relax," he says before turning to the red armored guard, "Where do we meet Commander Yamoti?"

Tambir snaps a quick salute with her tentacle, "We'll head for the field now. Once there we should find the Commander and Honor Lead Vorga waiting for us."

Jim nods, "Then lead the way."

***

Murrrfie sits hunching over the controls of his small one-man flitter. His arms and tentacles make fine adjustments to the lodestones, maneuvering the small craft below the level of the treetops as he speeds along. The wind rushing by blows both his tail with its fluff at the end and ponytail of hair out behind him like pennants on a sailing vessel. He is thankful for the goggles he brought with him; they at least keep it from stinging his eyes.

'I should be almost there,' he thinks to himself as he glances down for a glimpse at the map secured to the control panel. He snaps his attention back to his surroundings and dodges another tree with a twitch of one tentacle.

He notices a flare from ahead and blinks in astonishment as he watches a strange metallic object hurtling towards him at impossible speeds. 'A Human flitter,' he thinks with awe as the craft zooms past only to loop and form up on his right side. He can see what looks like the pilot in the front of the craft, waving at him through a transparent canopy. With careful motions he releases one of the controls long enough to wave back before he has to twitch to avoid another copse of trees. He is awed as the alien pilot maneuvers the Human flitter with skill right beside him, flipping back and forth as other obstacles pop up and even performing loops to avoid some obstacles but keeping him in sight the whole time.

The pilot waves to get his attention again and points toward the horizon. Squinting into the distance Murrrfie sees the hulking mountain of the crashed Maiden's Voyage, the ring of smaller metal mounds surrounding it as a defensive perimeter. He looks back to the Human to see the pilot again making hand gestures. The pilot is quickly pointing back and forth between the two of them, then towards a cleared space next to one of the large metal constructs before pointing down. 'Ok, I think they want me to land,' he thinks as he nods and changes his course towards the cleared field, the Human flitter holding position on his right side. He pulls back on a few of the controls and decreases the power of the lodestones to slow his flitter to a much more reasonable approach speed. The Human flitter stays next to him with ease, the roar of the machine's flight machinery growing louder as the roar of the wind over his ears dies.

A number of black clad figures are forming up on the edge of the field, weapons held at the ready and Murrrfie gulps as the military precision. 'I hope I'm not in trouble,' he ruminates. "Maybe I should have asked permission to come out here after all," he mutters as he watches massive tubes of what can only be alien weapons tracking his small craft.

With deft movements he lands his little flitter in the open field, the roaring Human machine landing nearby, the rush of wind from the pivoting pods on the craft dying with the roar. A group of the strange aliens comes forward and takes up a position around the small flitter, facing outward. 'They must be an honor guard,' he thinks as he is awed by such an honor, never having been given such importance before. He sees a small knot of Humans coming towards him, their uniforms different from the warriors around him. 'Ah, the leaders of the Humans,' he thinks as he sits up in the saddle of his flitter and shakes his limbs to loosen them.

As the dust finally settles, Murrrfie lifts his goggles onto his head and with a closed lip smile at the approaching group of Humans and waves to them, "I come in peace."

***

Jim sits in the cabin of the small courier flitter and observes the Rathac crammed inside with him. The small craft being designed for speed, not comfort or capacity, is packed tight with Jim, Kilape, and Yamoti. While Vorga hunches over the control console, his hands gripping what look like handlebars and his tentacles reaching up to grip leavers attached to the ceiling over his head. Jim is intrigued by the tiny movements that the Honor Lead makes to direct the craft up, down, and side to side.

Yamoti smiles, "Yes, Vorga is quite the natural pilot; he is a male of many talents. Warrior, pilot, you should hear him sing sometime."

"I noticed on my tour of the Burning Wind that most of your pilots seem to be female. Is that the norm?" he asks as he brings his attention back to the now armored blue female.

She shrugs, "I wouldn't say that, males and females are equally good at piloting. It's just a matter of who has a true feeling for the stones. Flying is more than just a learned skill, it is a natural ability that some possess more than others." She nods to Kilape, "She can tell you much about piloting, she has piloted one of our small Cub Flitters."

He looks to the female seated next to him, her head bowed, "You're a pilot too?"

"Yes Majoi, I was a pilot before I was selected for training as an Honor Guard for my previous master."

Jim smiles and leans back, crossing his arms, "Tell me about it then."

The tan female gives a short cough to clear her throat, "Commander Yamoti explained the true nature of it; you have to be able to feel the lodestones. Know how much power you can pull from them to drive your vessel through the air. Larger vessels are easier, the strains to the lodeship in trying to do quick maneuvers are too great; so the pilots of those only need to be able to understand the technique. If you have the gift, you can almost hear the stones sing to you in a small vessel like this," she sighs in fondness as she closes her eyes. "I can tell the Honor Lead is truly a pilot of top ability, the stones are singing perfectly despite the speed and strain on them."

Jim tilts his head and tries to hear what she's talking about, "I don't hear anything but the wind outside and a hum of machinery."

Kilape shakes her head, "I mean no offense Majoi, but you don't have the gift to hear the stones." Her ears give a slight twitch as she closes her eyes in momentary pleasure, "If you did you would agree it is a beautiful music."

Jim nods and gives her a slight smile, "No offense taken Kilape, do not fear to tell me such things. I am still learning much about your people and culture."

She nods in understanding, "The pilots of the Black Skyships are the best of the best though. They must be truly in tune with the stones to lift their craft from the surface of the world and into the reaches of blackness."

Jim tilts his head, "Black Skyships? You mean those ships we detected in space as we were on approach to your planet?"

She nods, "Yes Majoi, the Black Skyships go into the darkness to mine for rich ores in the rocks that circle our sun."

Jim raises his eyebrows at this, "And this is all possible because of the Lodestones? Our civilization went into space using a very different method, so I apologize if I'm asking too much."

"That's quite alright," Yamoti answers, "More or less the lodestones at the source of the power used to lift our Black Skyships. You'd really have to ask an Alcami to get something of a straighter answer then I can give you. Maybe you can talk to my brother about it when we retrieve him." She scowls, "If I don't skin him alive for his foolishness." She rubs her chin with one armored hand while thinking about it a moment before shaking her head, "No, his pelt wouldn't be worth the effort, it looks far better still attached to him."

Jim asks her the question that has been burning since he found out about her twin younger brothers, "How many siblings do you have?"

Yamoti shrugs, "Six, not including me."

Jim nods, "Big family huh?"

Yamoti thinks about it, "Not really, since it isn't uncommon to have two or three cubs at a time, it is quite easy for families to grow to over ten cubs easily if the mated pair wants to. Though less than four is more common, and some mated pairs never breed by choice. It keeps our population fairly even."

He nods in understanding and gives a soft chuckle, "I still think your people have the most efficient form of birth control I've ever heard of."

The armored female tilts her head to the side, "I still find the fact that you only require two of your people to breed odd, but I can accept it as you are from a land very far away."

He opens his mouth to reply when his comm beeps for attention. "Excuse me Commander," he says holding up a hand as he lowers the visor of his helmet and switches back to Terrain, "This is Ward."

"Ambassador," Captain Long's image appears inside his visor, "Good to see you stopping by. We've got a young male here who has been quite curious about everything around him and is running some of the security personnel raged trying to keep up with him."

An unconscious grimace crosses Jim's features, "Sorry Captain, was out of my hands. I understand the foolish lad is inquisitive by nature and snuck out to visit the wonders of our people."

The Captain's face breaks into a grin, "Don't worry about it Jim, he's inquisitive, but seems to understand he shouldn't fool with things he doesn't understand. A few of our linguists and engineers have been showing him around. It'll be that much easier once you get here with that unnatural ability you picked up."

Jim checks the time on the corner of his visor, "We're making good time, sir. We should be there in about another three hours. Figure maybe an hour after sundown."

"We'll leave the light on for you."

"Roger that Captain, Ward out."

All characters unless otherwise stated are the intellectual property of Chris Gilman [aka. Goliath Wildcat] Murrrfie © Goliath Thunderstep, Story © Copyright Christopher Gilman 2013 all rights reserved

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