The Dispossessed, Jared/Jensen, 2/14
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Chapter Two: Ocacea
Jared woke to a flapping sound, like a flag in the wind. The open flaps on his tent were blowing in the hot desert wind. He squinted, glad of the tent's shade protecting him from the full force of the blazing Ocacean suns. He started to rise, but thought better of it and lay back down. Amazingly enough, his head no longer hurt.
“Ah, you’re awake!” A woman’s voice greeted him.
A stillsuited figure was seated at the foot of his bed near the tent flaps, grinding something with a mortar and pestle. Jared watched as she gently worked whatever was in the stone bowl with sure twists of her wrist.
“And how do you feel?” The woman’s gentle voice broke through his woolgathering. She clicked along her jawline, and the stillsuit hood retracted completely to reveal the face of an older black woman with tightly coiled hair. She regarded him patiently.
“Yeah, better, much better. My head doesn’t feel like it’s coming off my shoulders anymore.” Jared rubbed at his forehead. The omnipresent pain of the last few days was completely gone.
The woman bowed her head. “I told the Kah that another two days of sayhoya sleep would do you good.”
“Two days?” Jared’s eyebrows rose. These people were putting him under at the drop of a hat. Getting free of them was going to be harder than he thought.
“It was the healing sayhoya. Your body was well, but your head still had a ways to go. I had you drink a mixture ofyaya root with mercio. Fixed you right up!” The woman’s eyes twinkled with satisfaction.
Jared pushed himself up carefully. “I don’t know what all that means, but I feel great. Better than the last time I was conscious. How did you heal my burns so fast?”
The old woman’s gaze grew guarded. “Ah, now that is a different beast. Best not discussed with outsiders. Suffice to say you are well again.”
“Very well. Thank you. I’m Jared, by the way.”
“And I am Loret’ta of the Psychonda pod I am the head medico here.”
Loret’ta poured her ground ingredients into a small bag and handed them to Jared. “If the headache returns, and the gel doesn’t help, put a little of this on your tongue. You should be back to your old self in a couple of days.” She packed her supplies away in a leather bag and rose to her feet, announced, “You should sit outside, get some fresh air. Good for the body. I‘ll send Belaya with food and more water. You need to regain your strength.” Dusting her stillsuit off, she put the mortar and pestle in her bag and turned to leave. “Goodbye for now, Jared. I will see you at the supper gathering. Don’t forget your canteen! You tolerate heat better than my people, but no one tolerates Ocacea’s suns as they are now.” With a sad smile, she closed up her stillsuit hood and left.
Following Loret’ta’s advice, Jared shifted outside into the shade of the tent's awning. Someone had thoughtfully mounded up several cushions, so Jared was able to lounge comfortably. The morning breeze was still cool enough to be comfortable. He tried to contact Wix on his wrist comm, but got nothing, the shuttle AI offline for the moment at least. The cloud of radioactive pollution suffusing Ocacea’s ionosphere made contacting the Jolly Roger in orbit a no-go as soon as it entered the atmosphere.
It was hot, well over 30C, the two suns burning bright in Ocacea’s pink sky. One was the size and color of Terra’s sun, but the other was an older, smaller sun, darker orange. There was a soft breeze with the odd lonely cloud floating by. The area beyond his little camp was now a hotbed of activity. Fully ten or more people were at work at a series of tables under the leafy shade of many nearby trees. They all wore black stillsuits and goggles. He could see bits and pieces from his ship being worked on.
A stillsuited figure separated from the group of workers and approached. Broad shouldered and tall, with a purposeful stride. Jared noticed the man had a rather sexy bow to his legs. He crouched in front of Jared and touched the side of his jaw to lower the bottom half of his face mask. Jen’sen. He’d know those lips anywhere.
Jared stared at him, unspeaking.
Jen’sen sighed and tilted his head as he watched Jared.
“Are you going to kill me? Or just take my ship?” Jared finally blurted out.
“We wouldn’t have gone to this much bother to save you if we simply wanted to kill you. We actually have need of your services and your ship.” Jen’sen glanced away, looking at the men working on the shuttle parts.
“You could have just asked.”
Jen’sen gave him a sour look and rubbed at his neck. “We tried to. You wouldn’t take our hails.”
“You blew me out of the sky!” Jared countered, letting some of his anger show, now that he knew they weren’t going to kill him out of hand.
“That was supposed to have been a shot across your bow. We had hoped to talk to you, convince you to help us.”
“So, what? You kidnap me?”
“Not deliberately. But now that we have you-I’m hoping we can come to some arrangement.”
Jared fumed. “What do you want?”
“You were on your way to Aluka to pick up something we are very interested in.” Jen’sen watched him carefully.
Jared stared stonily at the horizon.
“You were to meet a Kreeg merchant named Gar’ret and retrieve twelve Otec. You would call them energy pearls. They have already been paid for by the Kreeg Governor of Sedaptus, who holds your contract.”
“Sounds more like a job for an Empirium security force than a smuggler.”
“Ah, but we both know you’re far more than you seem, aren’t you, Jared of Pada’le-ki?”
Jared continued to stare at the horizon, but inside he was in shock. What kind of a hole did he have in his security systems, that this backwater raider could learn his true identity?
“Don’t worry, your true identity is not of concern to me. What is important is getting a meeting in person with the Governor of Sedaptus, and for us to see him put the Otec to work.”
Jared replayed that in his head. Jen’sen’s words had an odd ring of truth. It didn’t mean he didn’t also want to steal the energy pearls. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t guarantee that. My contract didn’t include a face to face meeting. It’s a pay’n’drop situation.” Jared saw no reason to deny any of this. Obviously Jen’sen had good sources to have gotten this much information already. He probably already knew this. “If you’re not going to kill me outright, what’s going to compel me to do all this? Risk my reputation? Not to mention the wrath of one of the most powerful governors in the Kreeg alliance?”
Jen’sen sat and crossed his legs. “I don’t know how much you know about the Kreeg, but they are a blight on the galaxy.”
Jared continued to stare off into the distance. This wasn’t news to him. The Kreeg were a menace, but so far he had managed to stay clear.
Undeterred by Jared’s apparent lack of response, Jen’sen continued. “They destroy wherever they go. What no one realizes is that a millennium ago, there was a great war. Our gods beat them back to the outer fringes of the galaxy and set up a perimeter to keep them out. But over time, things changed; people forgot the lessons learned by the Great Clash, and the gods’ defense mechanism faltered. The Kreeg found their way back somehow, and stole the Crown of Vokar, which controlled the defense grid. Without the grid, the Kreeg were able to return to the Alpha quadrant, more destructive than ever.”
Jen’sen’s expression was somber. “Legend has it the Crown wasn’t destroyed but was hidden somewhere. If we can get to this birthday celebration that Governor Samte is hosting, we can find our answers. Our intel says he wants to have his party-orgy-at the Ocacean temple he’s found. But we couldn’t find out the location of the temple. If I can get to the altar and charge it with the pearls, we can find the location of the Crown and retrieve it.”
“You’re on Ocacea, why not go to your own temple? Wouldn’t one temple be as good as another?” Jared asked, not quite believing this whole fanciful tale. “I assume you have one?”
“The Kreeg have polluted our planet so badly, no signal can get through the radiation blanketing the planet.”
“You’re sure about that? Have you ever tried it?”
Jen’sen looked at him, a steely expression in his eyes, “Lieutenant Governor Dreeble took twelve Ocacean slaves to the temple to try and make it work. When they couldn’t get the altar to do anything, he shot them -one after another. The next day, he hauled in another twelve to start over, but the Otec exploded into dust. Seemed enough evidence that the signal wouldn’t get through.”
Jared hung his head, “I’m sorry for your loss. But why are the Kreeg even interested in the temple to begin with?”
“There is a myth, a legend among the Kreeg, that the temples are the source of all life. The Kreeg Governor thinks immortality might be found there. If the Otec contain nearly unlimited power, what might an Ocacean temple hold? I think he hopes to find out. The new temple Samte has found is on a moon. He’s built a whole complex around it.”
“Immortality, huh? That’s a powerful reason to want to use the pearls.”
“I don’t think that’s what the temple does. It mentions they are a source of life, not ‘immortal’ life.”
“So if you don’t believe it, what do you think you could get there?” Jared stared at Jen’sen thoughtfully.
“I’m hoping it can help us locate the Crown. With it we could recharge the defense grid. Send the Kreeg back to where they came from.”
Jared’s brows knit. “So what, you think you can take on the entire Kreeg Alliance? Pffft.” Jared snorted in derision. “I don’t know what you’re smoking out here in the desert, but most of your people are enslaved and scattered across the galaxy, and your planet got pounded back into the Stone Age. How are you going to accomplish all this, even if I did agree to help you? It would take a hundred worlds all working together to rid ourselves of the Kreeg.”
“The system is already in place. We just need to reactivate it.” Jen’sen’s determination was unyielding.
Jared shook his head. “Jen’sen, I feel for you, man, I do. You seem like good people, I mean other than the blowing me out of the sky thing. You didn’t deserve all this.” Jared raised his hands, taking in the brutalized world around them. “But I have a contract. My reputation would be in shreds if I didn’t finish it. I can’t help you.”
“But you can finish it. I just need you to take me with you. All I need is five minutes alone at the altar with the pearls, and I’ll have what I need. Help me get there, and you’re done, no strings attached. And you’ll have done a great service to me and my people.”
“And what would be in this for me?” Jared crossed his legs and leaned back. “You surely don’t expect me to risk my life and my reputation for nothing, do you?”
“Obviously not.” Jen’sen snorted derisively and reached into his pocket. When he opened his black-gloved hand, two pearlescent marbles sat in his palm.
Jared licked his lips. “And what are those?”
Jen’sen smiled. “Otec, energy pearls, you would call them.”
“Seriously? I’ve never seen one in person. I thought they’d be shinier or something.”
Jen’sen dropped them into Jared’s hand; they vibrated gently in his palm. The sensation sort of made sense, he thought, considering there was enough energy in one pearl alone to power a whole planet for a hundred years.
“Help me, and these can be yours.”
Jared furiously calculated in his head. “Two of these would be worth-”
“Billions of signets,” Jen’sen finished for him. “And all you’d have to do is take me with you.” Jen’sen’s hand covered Jared’s, closing his fingers over the pearls. A small blue spark jolted between them, and Jared dropped the pearls instantly. Jen’sen’s head reared up in puzzled surprise.
“What? What? They’re not going to explode, are they?” Jared stared down at the two pearls. Their opalescent outer shells were moving now, swirling as they sat on the sand, but no further sparks shot out of them.
Shaking his head, Jen’sen snatched up the pearls and rolled them around in his hand. “No, it’s nothing.”
Jared side-eyed him. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, but it had been something significant. He swallowed over a sudden tightening in his chest. He rubbed his sternum, sweat rolling off him in waves. Was that nerves, or some kind of reaction to what he just experienced? He had to be imagining this. Jen’sen’s story was starting to get to him. It was so crazy, with so many holes in it….Jared didn’t actually believe any of it, but if Jen’sen didn’t kill anyone or steal anything, maybe this was doable. Which would leave him with two energy pearls to do with as he wanted…
“You would be very rich," Jen’sen said dryly, not quite hiding his contempt.
“And if I don’t want to do this? What, you kill me?”
Jen’sen shrugged. “Then we keep you here, with my people, while I steal your shuttle and that fancy ship of yours you’ve got hidden away on our moon-and finish the job on your behalf.”
Jared’s eyebrows shot up, “You’d impersonate me?” He laughed, “Seriously? You got balls, I’ll give you that.”
“Only if I have to. The Governor doesn’t know what you look like. Neither does your contact here on Ocacea. You’ve been quite careful of your identity. In the end, almost anyone could show up saying they’re Jared of Vosk. All the Governor wants are the Otec.”
Jen’sen pocketed the pearls, his expression inscrutable. “I’d advise you not to try to escape. We are hundreds of kilometers from the nearest town. Even with a stolen canteen, you would not make it in this heat.”
Jen’sen paused, waiting for a response. When none came, he rose. “Think on it, Jared of Pada’le-ki. If someone doesn’t stand up to the Kreeg, they will destroy all the known worlds, devouring everything. Think you are safe? It’s only a matter of time.”
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Jared nodded off in his nest of pillows. When he awoke, someone, maybe this Belaya Loret’ta had mentioned, brought him food and silently refilled his canteen. She was smaller than Loret’ta, slim with small, high breasts and narrow hips, in the ubiquitous black stillsuit. Jared tried to talk to her, but she never spoke nor opened her face mask, slipping away with a simple bow.
The camp was still a hotbed of activity as shuttle parts were ferried back and forth to be repaired. Jared looked dubiously at the canteen, but drank anyway. He figured Jen’sen had no need to drug him now, Jared was fully healed, and Jen’sen had already explained his plan.
As he slowly ate his meal, Jared tried to figure what angle Jen’sen was trying to play. It must be something. Maybe he wanted enough money to buy his people a new planet or something. Or a ship to take them out of the sector? If he could grab the pearls here from Gar’ret himself, why did he need Jared’s co-operation? Why take the chance of going to the Governor’s party at all? Two pearls could keep everyone in this camp living like kings for years. Was Jen’sen that dedicated to his self-appointed mission?
Jared rubbed his head. It didn’t make sense, but then, neither did the man. He was his prisoner, sure, and Jen’sen had made it clear he didn’t have any particular love for him-more like disgust, actually-and he did order him shot out of the sky. But somehow Jared didn’t think his life was at risk. How much more could this Crown possibly bring in, to be worth all this risk? Jared shook his head. He had too little information. He’d have to do some snooping around to fill in the blanks. The man was a conundrum, he’d give him that.
Finished with his meal, Jared stood and dusted himself off. He slung his canteen over his shoulder and grabbed up the cloth that had covered the tray of food, tying it over his head to drape down his neck. Outside the shade of his tent Jared was hit with the full, blinding strength of Ocacea’s two suns, and it was hot. He wasn’t Ocacean or as sensitive to the heat as these locals, to have to wear a stillsuit for the short time he imagined he would be here. But it was easy to imagine he’d need protection of his own to survive if he lived here full time. He’d have to stick to the trees and shaded areas if he was going to last long at all.
Ready as he’d ever be, he headed in search of his shuttle. From the comings and goings, it must be just beyond the line of boulders where Jen’sen had made their camp.
Sure enough, there was the Rumrunner, looking only slightly the worse for wear, considering she had been knocked out of the sky. Jared looked her over with a critical eye. The stern nacelle had been completely rebuilt, and it looked like they were testing it. Other than that, there were only a few spots where they were still arc-welding patches in the little shuttle’s sides.
He walked to the open hatch. No one tried to stop him, so he continued inside. With the environmental system running, it was a reasonable temperature inside. His second flight chair had been taken out of its wall slot and put to use. Now the two chairs were occupied by stillsuited figures, their helmets fully down, doing operations checks. He glanced back at his small storage bay at the back of the ship; his few pieces of cargo were still there, untouched. So they weren’t thieves.
“Report.” Jen’sen's voice behind him startled him.
"My team is almost done, Kah.” A blond man with bright blue eyes turned in his seat. “We’ll be ready for you to leave by tomorrow afternoon."
“Good. Thanks, Chris. I wanted us to arrive in Aluka before sunset.”
“You’re assuming I’m coming with you,” Jared replied calmly.
“It seemed a logical assumption. But with you or without you, the craft leaves tomorrow afternoon. If I leave without you, you know what happens.”
Jared’s chuckle was mirthless as he replied, “Yeah, I take up sand sculpting as a hobby. Maybe get myself one of those fancy stillsuits so I don’t wizzle up.” Jared’s lips thinned. “You think you have this all figured out, don’t you?”
“Well, a certain amount of it. Luck and chance always enter into it, too.”
Jared removed his improvised headcloth and ran his hands through his dusty hair. “I hope the Sho-der your guys know what they’re doing with my baby. She needs to stay in the air. Oh, and the port impeller sticks.”
“It’s already fixed,” Jen’sen replied matter of factly. “Oh, and you probably need some of this. From Loret’ta.” He tossed him a small jar, this one a different color than the one from the previous night.
Jared caught it out of the air and tilted his head at Jen’sen in question.
“Sunscreen.”
Jared took it gratefully.
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