Timestar Read online

  She sat on the plush couch, in a daze.

  "Are you a slave?" she asked the monster. Nothing was real anymore. She was talking to a monster, but it was not her who was talking. Something else in her had taken over and was walking and talking for her, while she sat inside herself, watching and hiding.

  "No, I'm a machine. I am directed to see to your comfort, how may I effect this?"

  The whole mess became too much for her. The past few days must have caused her to hallucinate, and the strain had become far too much. Her mind became fuzzy and the light dimmed. She finally lost consciousness.

  When Sahn awoke the next morning, she found herself in a strange cot—a large, luxurious sleeping cot, but did not quite recognize it as a cot. Then she recalled the events of the evening before and the past few days, which had caused her to be where she was now. She wept, and remained under the cover, huddled, because the cover would protect her, as it did when she was a child.

  As she laid there, she re-examined her predicament; once a proud slave of the Imperial Palace, with prestige, short work periods, lots of spending credits, and a guaranteed early retirement on her home world. But now, shamed and tossed away like trash; handed to an alien who knew nothing of slave ownership, or even worse, thought he could set her free. She looked at her Imperial Slave uniform, in tatters with the insignias ripped away, and allowed her tears to moisten the cot coverings.

  After a while, she decided that she had already indulged in enough self-pity, and from then on, determined that she would meet whatever her new life had in store for her head-on. Her old life was a shambles. Perhaps Uunta had given her a second chance.

  She literally had to crawl across it to get out of the cot she had slept in. Four large Relmish could easily sleep on this 'cot'. She also noted she had been given her own sleeproom. She wandered out of her room to see two large, shining servant-machines standing guard in the main room of the suite. They took notice of her immediately, and rotated their heads to look. At once she backed into her sleeproom, fearfully trying to hide from them, knowing she was at their mercy. The silvery giant walked through the doorway.

  "Greetings and good morning. Is everything well?" it asked her.

  "Y-yes, fine," she answered, cowering, "Don't you ever sleep?"

  "I don't need sleep. The master has directed that you may move freely around the suite and seek nourishment, but please do not awaken him, unless there is an emergency."

  "I will not disturb him."

  "Very good. May I help you with anything?"

  "No, no… thank you."

  She must have exhausted herself, she thought, because the light of the late morning filled the main room of the suite, and it was unlike her to take so much sleep. She wondered what her father was doing this very moment, and how much sleep he had gotten.

  Sounds emanated from another room in the suite and she worried that she had accidentally disturbed her new master. Sahn, you’ve ruined your old life. Don't ruin your new one, she chided herself.

  "Did I awaken the master?" she asked the machine.

  "I don't believe so. You've been very quiet."

  One of the two new aliens appeared through the doorway from the other room where the noises came from. It walked halfway across the room and stopped when it noticed Sahn standing there.

  "Oh, good morning," it said, "You poor thing, don't be afraid," it sensed her fear, "Are you hungry?"

  Hungry? She was famished! But her fear had overridden her hunger. The voice of the alien was soothing and she calmed a little.

  "What's your name?" it asked in a friendly voice. Never had an owner been so polite with her before.

  "Sahn," she answered shyly.

  "Sahn. That's a pretty name, my name's Maria," the alien said.

  "Ma-ri-a," Sahn tried to repeat.

  "That's right." The alien moved closer to Sahn, but she kept her courage and did not back away, "Are you hungry, Sahn, would you like to eat?" The alien stared for a moment, waiting for an answer.

  "Yes… please," eyes to the floor.

  "Good, come on," the alien called 'Maria' said, as it pulled her toward a table. Its touch was cold, "sit here, and I'll get you something."

  A master serving her? Her father would be roiling if he knew.

  "Your physiology is very similar to ours. I think you can eat a lot of the same things we eat."

  The alien busied itself with a machine for a while, and in almost no time, it placed hot food in front of her. She did not understand why the alien thought she could eat hot food, but even worse, she did not recognize anything in front of her. She stalled for a few moments. She had known from the service kitchens that many aliens ate their food hot, some cold, and others had to be exactly somewhere in between.

  "Don't worry, it's safe for you. I've studied your peoples’ physiology, and I know this is good for you. You may not like its taste, but if you don't, that's all right too. You don't have to eat anything you don't like."

  Sahn started picking up little bits of the food, and sampling it, as the alien looked on, eating as it did. The alien, Maria, had been right. Some of this food tasted horrible, but other items were very tasty. So she ate all the things she liked, and left the things she did not. Unfortunately, there had not been enough food there to alleviate her hunger. She was afraid to ask for more, but did not have to ask. The alien sensed her need.

  "More? You must be very hungry."

  She was. And more food came in short order. The second serving came with more of the foods she had eaten already, but the foods she had turned away were gone. In their place, were other foods she had not yet tried. This time, though, the servings were much larger, and she was certain she would not be able to eat it all.

  "Good morning " came from across the room.

  It was the Master. She stopped eating, hopped out her chair and knelt before him.

  "No, no. No need for this. Please, don't bow to me." Gently he reached down, helped her up and sent her back to her chair at the table.

  "Good morning, Frank," Maria said, cheerfully.

  "Well, I see our guest's been eating. That's a good sign," he said as he made his way towards the table and sat beside her.

  She held her eyes to her lap where her hands were clasped, and waited in terror for what would come next.

  "It says its name is 'Sahn', but I think 'it, is a 'she'," Maria said.

  "A female?"

  "Uh huh."

  "Is this so?" the Master asked her.

  "Yes… Master," she answered shyly.

  "You should not call me Master, my name is Frank. And you also don't have to avoid looking at me. It seems odd that this morning your eyes would be averted. The first time I saw you during a very large reception, you looked right at me. You were much bolder then."

  "Forgive me," she begged, almost in tears.

  "Nothing to forgive," he said, grinning, "I thought it a bit amusing."

  She recognized his intent, but did not understand it. She raised her head up slowly, and gazed at him. And immediately felt embarrassed for doing so, and found herself staring at her hands again.

  "Good for you, Sahn, good for you," the Master said, "You've made the first step towards being free."

  "Free?" she looked up.

  "Yes."

  "But… you will not be my master?"

  "I wouldn't know what to do with a slave. Nor do I believe in such practice."

  "But I have nowhere to go?" she said, "There is no place where I can be free."

  "What about your home world, we'll take you there."

  "There is no freedom on my home world… I am told. I would be hunted, and returned here to accept a new master."

  The Master appeared confused and looked at the other alien named Maria. He seemed to realize that this presented a problem. Now, their mouths were moving, as though they talked, but no sounds came out. This went on for a few moments.

  "Do you know of another world you could go to?"

  "Ma
ster—"

  "Call me Frank… please."

  "Frank," she almost stuttered over it, "I would have no family, no friends, no others of my kind."

  "You have a family here?"

  "Only my father."

  "Where?"

  "Here—in the palace. He is an Imperial Slave."

  "Well, maybe we can arrange for him to go with you."

  "But… I love my father, but I would have no friends,"

  Frank immediately realized what the Relmish slave was referring to. She was talking about Relmish friends. She was fairly young—probably a teen adolescent.

  "We can't stay on this planet forever, Sahn. We have to move on sometime. We're only here on a scientific expedition."

  "Perhaps… you could help to free my people?" she ventured.

  "What?" came the obvious reply.

  "I'm sorry, I did not mean that."

  "Ooooh, maybe that would help explain what this is all about," he said as he set the transparent reader disc on the table in front of her.

  The disk! she thought. She had forgotten all about it. She looked at it, and felt she had been at least blessed it was not in Iskolian hands.

  "You have read it?"

  "Yes, I have. And it says some very interesting things. I'll go ahead and meet with this person, but I'll have to tell you now, I'm not this 'chosen one' they're talking about." Sahn's eyes dropped again, and the alien, Frank, knew her thoughts. "Did you think I was?"

  "For a time… I had hoped."

  Frank could feel the sadness in her voice.

  "What if we were to free your father also, and if you have a friend in mind?"

  "Where would we go?" her point was made.

  "I don't know what else to do here, Maria. From this disc, I can tell she's in danger if she stays here. It might be a good idea to try and get to the bottom of this 'chosen one' thing, and find out why these people are asking for me."

  "Many of my people say that you are the Chosen One, but I cannot tell you why… here."

  "That's true, this room probably has a thousand bugs in it."

  "Bugs?"

  "Nevermind. We may have to put her on the ship until we can figure out what to do with her."

  "What is 'ship'?"

  "It's a safe place for you to stay—just for a while."

  Sahn could not imagine such a thing as a safe place for any slave to be. Later that morning, she was introduced to Trong, and told he would escort her to safety. The alien Frank was having words with the High Lord Traaka, one of the most powerful lords of the Empire. Arrangements were made for her transport to—somewhere?

  "Go with Trong, Sahn. He'll escort you."

  "Yes, Mas—uh, Frank."

  Again, Trong lead her to the big hallway, and onto a hover-car. The car lifted itself and began descending through the floors and winding its way through the immense palace, making its way to the main entrance. There, Trong guided her to another hovercar, one for moving around outside the palace, and they boarded it.

  Other slaves, and even Iskolian citizens looked on as she made her way towards the car, amazed that a common slave was going to use transport which was exclusively reserved for emissaries. Sahn recognized one of the Imperial Slaves tending the palace garden, and looked over to him, as he looked back. She was comforted in knowing someone would be able to tell her father she was still alive. Sahn had never ridden in a hover-car before, and she wondered at the beauty Iskolians had built for themselves, as she watched their world go past below her.

  Arriving at the spaceport, she suspected she would soon be boarding one of the great starships that adorned this place. She braced herself for a long stay inside the cramped quarters of a grounded starship, and wondered why the Chosen One told her it would be a 'safe place' to stay.

  When they arrived at the place, the hover-car settled near the ground, and Sahn's heart sank. The alien's starship was even smaller than she expected, and probably one of the smallest ones. What made her think the new off-worlder/alien had the power to help her people? His 'starship', would be shot down before it ever launched itself, and chances are, if this happened, she would be in it.

  She followed the instructions her new master had given her. But wait, he was not even her master, she had no master, she had nowhere to go. Her status was nil. She was nothing. She grasped at the realization that she was truly, no longer a slave. But she now had no direction in her life. Trong was guiding her up the ramp of the alien starship that she was about to board, and she stopped. She looked out across her world, in the bright sunshine, and knew she was lost, right down to her soul. She felt different in this new light, and her fear arose as new meanings approached her. Trong broke the spell she was in.

  "We must move forward."

  "Yes, we must," she agreed.

  At the top of the ramp, an opened door awaited her, but the doorway held a strange phenomenon, as it were, water that falls in a sheet, but is not water. She stared at it, but did not move.

  "The power level has been reduced," Trong said, "It is safe for you to pass through."

  Why did this machine carry such power in its voice, she wondered? She believed Trong, and stepped up to the 'water that falls, but is not water', when a voice came from behind the mysterious curtain.

  "Walk through slowly, please."

  It was a gentle, friendly voice. She did as she was told, and as she did so, her fur rose as it had never done before. Her skin tingled, and occasional sparks zapped her. In a moment, she was through.

  "Please stand by for identification and surface sterilization," the voice came from the walls, as the door closed behind her. She knew there had to be a speaker somewhere.

  She waited, and again, her fur rose and her skin tingled, but walking away would not help this time. The sparks did not hurt much, so she endured them.

  "External sterilization complete, subject identified; authorized female alien, ex-Imperial Slave, race; Relmish, authorization required; please wait… authorization confirmed, please enter, Sahn. Welcome aboard."

  The internal doors opened, and Sahn walked in, seeing immediately that she was alone. She turned to see that Trong had not come in with her, and now thought even he would be better than no company at all. But small though the ship was, it appeared to be about as luxurious as the Imperial suite in which she had spent the night. Perhaps it would not be so bad.

  She wandered toward the front of the ship, and found odd-looking chairs facing some windows. Windows! She looked out the windows.

  "How can this be?" she said to herself. The ship was rising, but she could feel no motion at all. She became panicky as the ship nosed upwards and began accelerating. She saw the ground moving away at a dizzying pace as the little ship shot through the thin clouds in the upper atmosphere. The sky ahead grew darker and darker, and there were stars in front of her. She was in space!

  "Sahn, what've you gotten yourself into now?" she said to herself.

  She looked out the other window and saw the entire planet of Iskol below. The little ship made a course adjustment but continued moving along the same general direction, but now seemed to be slowing. As it slowed, she could see a large object approaching directly ahead.

  "Uh oh, this is it."

  The object slowed as it grew ever larger before the little ship. Then she realized the object was an enormous starship, but it was not moving, this one was. The little ship closed the gap slowly, and as it approached the larger vessel, Sahn noticed three other tiny ships facing the monstrosity. But now she recognized these as something she had seen before—patrollers! What were they doing here? Then in a rush it dawned on her, "That's his ship."

  "Affirmative," the computer answered her, and she jumped.

  Now she understood why this alien had so much clout. His starship was as big as the Imperial Palace itself, or larger. And judging by the size of the three tiny patroller craft, it was larger than any of the starships she had seen at the spaceport.

  A tiny light was now
visible on the side of the starship, and the light gradually grew larger as the little ship approached it. In a few more minutes, the small light became a huge docking bay for the tiny little craft she was in. The little ship approached and entered the larger one, and all motion stopped.

  "Please stand by for shuttle bay pressurization," came the computer voice again.

  After a few minutes, the voice came back, "Shuttle bay pressurized; please exit now."

  Doors opened, as pressure valves released and spewed noise into the air. Systems remained on, but light streamed in through the doorway she had initially come through. She walked to the exit and looked out into the immense bay. Two of the strange friendly aliens were walking towards her. She stepped out the door and walked down the ramp. When she got to the bottom of the ramp, the two were waiting for her.

  "Rubble gruble roffu romp, grifon rabin zapen fob," one of the aliens said to her. It sure sounded friendly, but she did not understand a single word of it. They reached out to help her off the ramp, but this time their touches were soft and warm.

  "Schmigen lofen," it said again, holding her hand and pulling her along.

  She followed. The three walked across the bay together and through some doors into a hallway. There, a third alien met them.

  "Welcome aboard, Sahn. I hope your trip was pleasant."

  "Yes, thank you," she said.

  "My master has instructed me to be your guide, for the time being, until you're a little more settled and comfortable. My name is Marker."

  "Are you a slave?" she asked, seeing he was an alien, and had referred to Frank as his master.

  "Of course not, I'm a machine. These two however, are real, they are Nikki and Tia."

  "Rubble rof glibol hamon."

  "Nikki says she's pleased to meet you."

  "Please tell her, I am happy to meet her too."

  Greetings went on this way for a minute or two, and then Marker guided Sahn to the main dining room to get some food. Sahn was quick to sort through which foods she liked and which she did not. After lunch, she was given a tour of the ship, including the bridge, from where she saw the whole planet of Iskol and the three tiny Iskolian patroller craft. They looked so helpless against such a giant as this. Marker assured her that many of those little craft had attacked the ship she had rode up here in and did not even scratch it, though he did not give details as to how or why this could be. After a while, she was guided to a large, luxurious apartment, and told this is where she would be staying until her problem could be worked out. Marker left and explained he would be right outside if she needed anything.