*****
On endweek eve Mr. Hallod flew in to pick up Keelic and his family. Against Keelic’s protests, his father decided to leave the alien at home.
Mr. Hallod’s large, antique vehicle landed softly despite a strong breeze. An iris door cycled, and Mr. Hallod, in a flowing blue robe, stepped out smiling.
Keelic felt his friend seeking him, and they linked.
Mr. Hallod greeted Keelic’s parents, taking their offered hands in both of his. His eyes were bright, his smile contagious, and Keelic felt good when his dad smiled and returned Mr. Hallod’s greeting with enthusiasm. Mr. Hallod turned to Keelic, who was trying to blink away the faint double vision from his friend.
"Good eve, Keelic," he said, taking Keelic’s left hand. "Health to your spirit."
Disconcerted by this very different Mr. Hallod, Keelic only managed a shy smile.
Mr. Hallod stepped aside and a larger door opened in the middle of the shuttle. He held his arm toward the entry, and Keelic boarded after his parents. As the door slid shut, Keelic looked back at the house. His friend stood small at the base of the main hall windows.
The door shut and Keelic saw the shuttle from two perspectives. He was more impressed with the interior view. Smooth dark wood seemed molded into the shuttle’s structure. A ring of comfortable-looking cushioned seats ran around the perimeter of the room, broken by doors forward and aft. Beside each chair were small tables made of black stone equipped with elegant consoles. Keelic’s parents sat opposite the door, marveling as Mr. Hallod answered their questions about the shuttle.
"It was built on Earth in the late twenty-fourth century, at the height of the Ethereal Ramjet age."
"Is this real wood?" asked Keelic’s mother, running her fingers over a molding.
"Walnut," said Mr. Hallod. "An extinct deciduous tree native to Old North America. Have a seat, Keelic, and we’ll be off."
Something felt wrong about the arrangement of the shuttle. The chairs weren’t lined up front to back, for one thing. He followed Mr. Hallod through the door into the piloting room that he’d seen at school. Mr. Hallod indicated that he could take the co-pilot seat.
They lifted off and Keelic felt very alone and gray as he watched the shuttle take off from his friend’s perspective.
I’m sorry, thought Keelic. I’ll be back soon.
Something was bothering him about the shuttle. It banked, and Keelic leaned against what should have been the force of the turn, but there was no feeling of inertia. Keelic looked at Mr. Hallod, and found his teacher watching him.
"No inertia," said Keelic.
An expression of approval gleamed in Mr. Hallod’s eyes.
"You are correct. Very good. This shuttle was built with a Vetry Field, a scaled-down version of the generators that were used in the Strider ramjets."
"Wow."
The forest below was becoming rougher, with rock outcrops and high ridges. They were flying into the mountains. Mr. Hallod took the shuttle up a wide valley that led far into the range. The ridges rose above the shuttle on either side, and the vegetation changed color, leaving the solid green of the Patamic forest for a collage of browns and reddish-grays. A white frothing river wound a course through the narrowing valley floor. Ahead, Keelic could see a towering cliff with white streaks of waterfall tracery on its face.
The shuttle headed straight for the cliff to the right of the waterfall. The size of the cliff became obvious as they approached, and the roar of the waterfall penetrated the shuttle’s hull. The river fell within a hundred-meter-wide groove cut from the cliff itself. Keelic could hear his parents talking but ignored them as the shuttle sped closer to the rock wall. He turned to Mr. Hallod, who took his hands from the controls, and let the shuttle fly itself into a cave that hadn’t been there seconds before.
The shuttle settled onto a pad beside another vessel. Keelic didn’t recognize its sharp lines, but knew it to be alien.
Mr. Hallod led them into a vaulted, circular room. Half the walls of the room were transparent, with a stunning view down the valley. Standing in the center of the chamber was Leesol Hallod.
Swaying, Keelic felt like he’d been hit with a quasar plume. His mother said something unimportant. Leesol’s father said something to her, and she walked straight for Keelic, her long dark-blue dress fluttering.
Suppressing an urge to step back, Keelic felt her approach. She held out her hand Terran style and said, "Hello. Leesol Hallod, pleased to meet you."
Keelic looked at the hand, realizing that his own was wetter than a water world, and more sticky.
He croaked, "Keelic Travers," and, after swiping his pants with his hand, took hers in his. It was warm and felt dry.
She finally retrieved it and Keelic felt shame searing his face and ears.
The adults turned back to each other and began talking.
"Leesol, why don’t you show Keelic around?" said Mr. Hallod.
Leesol led Keelic from the circular room into another closer to the waterfall. A real wood table, set for a feast, dominated the room under a ten-meter window looking directly at the waterfall. Evening was falling outside, and the water seemed to glow faintly purple, but he thought it must be a reflection of the sunset. Real paintings hung on the wood-paneled walls, and a thick dark carpet of subtle intricate design made walking silent.
Following Leesol down a wide hallway away from the dining room, Keelic noticed how her flowing dress seemed to be a starfield with stars winking at him as she walked. They entered a large room covered wall to wall with shelves. It took a moment to figure out what was on them.
"Books," he said.
Leesol nodded and glanced at him sideways, then led him through a lab with modern equipment, and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, he halted, and gazed around.
Starship models of every size and description filled a domed chamber, the ceiling of which was a starfield. Many designs he knew were represented, and dozens of others he didn’t. It was the collection of his dreams. There was everything from a ramjet space liner to the Mercury-class courier, but few warships. Envy tugged at him as he walked around, staring upward. As he turned, Leesol came into his vision again. She was watching him with big, hopeful eyes. All his envy flowed from him, and he grinned at her.
Leesol walked over to a worktable that Keelic had missed seeing, and invited him over with a little wave of her hand. An uncompleted model of some starship lay on the table.
"You make them?" asked Keelic.
Leesol nodded.
Keelic couldn’t think straight. To distract himself from these feelings, he grabbed a piece of the model to try and figure out the ship.
There was a sharp gasp beside him. Leesol was looking at the piece of fuselage in his hands with concern.
"Sorry," mumbled Keelic. "I wanted to know what it was." He put it down.
She relaxed and said, "It’s okay."
"What is it?" he asked, indicating the ship.
"A Quat-lat Kay-ku science ship."
After a moment, he said, "I didn’t know they had science ships."
"It’s from the war era. I’m sure they use something new now."
"Where’d you get it?"
"A friend. He knows my dad, and makes the model parts for me."
Keelic took a closer look. There were structural beams, power conduits, furniture, rooms and transparent viewports, doors, and hundreds of other things he didn’t recognize. It was the entire ship scaled down. Far more detail than any model he had.
He thought about that for a moment, then asked, "Do you have the plan?"
She looked nervous at his question, but nodded.
Getting courage from somewhere deep, he asked, "Is your dad Crew?"
Leesol looked away and said, "You haven’t met Lyn. She’s our House-Ann."
A crisp hologram of a woman in a green dress appeared next to them and said in a pleasant voice, "A pleasure to meet you, Keelic."
He stared. Projected Anns were a
ntique, something out of period vids. He had never seen one. It seemed wrong somehow. Anns were a voice and a place, not regular-looking people, but he managed a nod of greeting.
The image vanished, and he turned to Leesol. They locked gazes, unblinking. Within Keelic, a feeling of maroon rightness touched him.
She said, "You were funny with that steward on the transport."
The moment broke, and all his nervousness returned. He tried to laugh a little, but it sounded more like a hanthil getting grocked.
They left the chamber and rejoined the adults in the circular living room. Mr. Hallod and Keelic’s mom were in a heated discussion about the political motivations of the ADL. Keelic and Leesol hovered at the edges of the adult discussion for a while, then wandered around the room looking at the collection of artifacts on display.
Leesol said, "I’m going to start getting dinner. Do you want to help?"
They went through the dining room into a kitchen that was as strange to him as any alien kitchen might be. Plants, roots, and other things hung from the ceiling. Old-fashioned, if not ancient, kitchen tools were everywhere. Real flames came from the top of a counter and heated a big pot there. Keelic stood awkwardly, afraid to touch anything. All the countertops were either wood or stone. The smells were powerful and invigorating, and though he had never smelled them before, they weren’t alien.
Leesol took a wooden bowl of greens from a wall cooler and handed it to him, smiling at his expression. They walked back into the dining room, and Keelic halted in his tracks. Leesol bumped into him, almost spilling the water pitcher she carried.
The waterfall was glowing purple. Brighter where the water was faster, the entire waterfall’s movement showed itself in shifting dancing tracery. Leesol walked around him, and poured water into glasses on the table. Keelic tore his eyes from the spectacle and gazed at her. He had a sudden urge to show her something impressive, and thought of the simulator.
The door to the room opened and the adults entered. Keelic’s parents exclaimed in wonder and walked to the window. Mr. Hallod and Keelic’s father launched into a discussion of the cause for the glow. Leesol guided Keelic back into the kitchen, and they retrieved more food. Throughout the meal he helped Leesol bring in each course. Mr. Hallod explained what it was and how it was prepared using the ancient art of gourmet cooking.
After dessert, Mr. Hallod led everyone back into the circular front room. He let Keelic’s parents find seats, and spoke to Leesol and Keelic, who were standing off to one side. "Do you play chess, Keelic?"
He nodded.
"Leesol has a chess set I think you’d like."
Leesol led Keelic through another set of halls. He wondered what was behind all the doors they passed. They ascended another stair, and came into a room that looked out over the valley below. One whole side of the room was window, and Keelic walked straight to it. Leesol left the lights off and came up beside him. The alien valley, faint in moonlight, rolled away before them to vanish into darkness. Mountain peaks with patches of snow towered on either side.
Leesol asked, "Do you like music?"
"A lot. Do you?"
"Oh yes. My favorite is Beethoven."
Keelic’s eyes grew round. "Really?"
She nodded. "And Vivaldi."
"I like Rimsky-Korsakov and Biztaga. Also Iklarze and Tchaikovsky."
It was her turn to look hopeful. "Nobody except Terrans even knows who they are. Where did you hear them?"
"Anny plays them for me all the time. She likes them, too. She’s the most awesome Announcer in the galaxy." He lowered his voice and leaned toward her. "She lets me get snacks at night. And doesn’t tell. She knows all my secrets—well, not all, but most. Once my friend Tamarin wanted to come over when his mom and dad and mine were gone, but he was grounded, and Anny let him come over for two days. She’ll let me do anything."
"Anything?"
"Absolutely."
"I guess you’re pretty lucky then."
They turned from each other and looked out the window.
"Lyn, can you play Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto?" asked Leesol.
"Sure," responded the Ann.
Music surrounded them.
"Where does Tamarin live?"
Keelic looked at the sky, and didn’t answer right away. His voice was small when he said, "Pesfor 3."
Leesol glanced at him, and to change the subject she said cheerfully, "Let’s play. Lights, please."
Keelic looked at what was obviously Leesol’s bedroom. A big bed was covered with a black comforter with a supernova in the center. A stuffed animal of a type Keelic didn’t recognize was tucked in neatly under it. The walls had star maps and three-dimensional cutaway images of various science and probe vessels. One in particular caught Keelic’s eye. A model hung in the air above it, and Keelic walked over to get a better look.
"The Galahad," he said, peering around the model to see if anything was holding it up. "Can it fly?"
"Yep, and it even has working sensors."
"Cold."
Looking around the room, Keelic found the chess set. Every piece was a warship. Black was Quat-lat Kay-ku, white the Terra Corps. He picked up each piece and turned it over in his hands. He especially liked the queen, a Lasiter Attack Frigate. Holding it in both hands, he couldn’t speak for a while as the weight and glory of his secrets whirled inside him. Leesol sat and watched him, waiting, curious about his reaction, but too polite to ask.
He put the piece down and sat opposite her. Determined to go easy on her, he soon found himself in difficulty. Her father came in, studied the board for a moment, then left. After an hour of fierce battle, in which a besieged Keelic took a heavy toll on his attacker, his king was cornered and checkmated. He felt no angst, for he had fought his hardest. To lose to Leesol was better than beating Anny. There was a warm feeling in his chest, and he wanted to stare at her in fascination, but was afraid to show how he felt.
"You’re really good," said Leesol into the silence.
"Not really."
She asked, "What kind of defense were you using? I don’t remember the name."
Keelic swallowed. She knew the names of attacks and defenses?
"I…I don’t know. I learned from Anny."
"I really liked that game," said Leesol. "My dad always beats me."
Keelic smiled. "Anny makes it easy for me sometimes, and I win. She says it’s so I can learn, but I know she’s just being nice. My dad doesn’t play with me."
"Want to play again?"
He tried but had used his energy in the first game and lost quickly. She didn’t offer to play again, and they sat looking at the board for a while.
"You use the Sicilian Defense, I remember now. Never use the same defense twice." She looked at him, suddenly worried, as if expecting him to be offended because boys didn’t like having their mistakes pointed out.
Keelic nodded. "If your opponent can anticipate you, you have already lost."
She smiled shyly, but her eyes sparkled.
He said, "I don’t remember who said it, some general, I think." He wished he had the courage to ask if she liked him.
His parents and Mr. Hallod walked in.
"It’s time to go," said his mother.
Reluctantly, Keelic stood up from the board and followed the adults back to the shuttle bay. As his parents were saying good-bye to Mr. Hallod, Keelic gave a tiny wave of farewell to Leesol. She waved back and smiled at him. Warmth spread through him, and he carried her image all the way home and into bed.
As he drifted off, he realized that he had never been out of contact with the alien, which was amazing. He decided to think about it tomorrow.