The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles Page 21

  The rest of the journey passed in silence. Turix Dayak' offered no more explanations and did not seem to want to engage in small talk. Eventually the car plunged into another tunnel and they were subsequently spat out into a small hangar filled with personal flyers. Each was about the dimensions of a stretched limousine, with a blunt, transparent nose forming a small cockpit to the front, with enough room for a pilot and three passengers, and stubby delta wings and a tail to the rear. Travis could see no exhaust or indications of propulsion, just the same as the shuttle that had brought him down from the ship when he had first arrived.

  The car stopped by a plane that looked no different to the rest and Turix Dayak' jumped out, indicating that Travis should follow without delay. She climbed into the cockpit and Travis sat next to her. The controls looked infinitely less complicated than the shuttle he had arrived on and within moments they were gliding towards a lift to the surface.

  Turix Dayak' touched a control and spoke. “Turix Dayak' requesting clearance to the surface.”

  “Flight plan and purpose?” A disembodied query came back.

  She touched another button. “Flight plan entered. Personal exploration.”

  “Acknowledged. Your flight plan shows a four hour sortie.” The lift raised the little craft to the surface and they were off.

  As they sped through the night sky Turix Dayak' seemed to relax a little, so Travis tried some gentle probing. “I thought the surface couldn’t support life. I assume we’ll be back before the sun comes up.” he had a fleeting thought that she was going to push him out and let him fry in revenge for…for what? None of it was his fault anyway.

  She turned and smiled at him. “That is what the suits are for.” she explained and showed him how to secure the hood, which formed into a ridged bubble as soon as the seal was made. It still felt all too flimsy for Travis’ taste. He would have preferred a full radiation hazard suit like the old James Bond movies.

  “What about oxygen?” he asked.

  She pointed out a small box under the hood, at the nape of the neck. “This device will supply a breathable atmosphere inside and keep you cool.” Again Travis made his scientism known.

  After about an hour’s flying, Turix Dayak' brought the plane to a hover and gently landed it next to a similar craft. She checked Travis’ suit was secure before opening the canopy. As they climbed out of the cockpit, Travis noticed that the sky was starting to lighten as the sun inched towards the horizon. He could see that they were on a hill overlooking the ruins of a city. He had seen similar ruins on his flight in, but these looked familiar, as if he had been here before. A short distance away he saw another figure, dressed identically to them, squatting on the ground examining something intently. Turix Dayak’ pointed at the figure and nodded. Intrigued, he walked over. As he drew nearer the figure became aware of his presence and looked up. Travis gasped as the face behind the visor came into view. He stumbled as his body immediately tried to take flight in panic but something held him in check.

  “Be calm, Travis Fletcher.” Xnuk Ek’ almost whispered, lowering her gaze. “I mean you no harm.” her voice had lost all the haughty arrogance he remembered and had been replaced by a desolate sadness.

  “What do you want?” Travis asked suspiciously, still on the point of flight and struggling to suppress his panic. He couldn’t believe that he had been brought all this way just so she could have another go at killing him, but there was something about her voice, as if there was no fire or life left, and her eyes looked dull and tarnished, like uncared-for silverware.

  “To ask your forgiveness.” she said quietly.

  Travis’ fingers automatically touched his chest. “Forgiveness?” he asked, unconsciously tracing circles round the scar under the suit.

  “I used you to satisfy my honour because I was not strong enough to stand up for what I believed.” she explained in a small and emotionless voice.

  “If you’d killed me we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” he countered.

  She hung her head for a moment. “True enough and I still do not understand why you live.”

  Travis’ mind shields immediately went up as he remembered his promise to Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe never to tell Xnuk Ek’ her gun was sabotaged and to the Council that he was never to discuss the kidnap attempt or the attempt on the doctor’s life. He knew that Wingu Kanzu linked everything together but was not sure how or why. But overriding everything, in Travis’ estimation, was the fact that this bitch shot him to regain her honour. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” he growled rhetorically. “Yet here I am. How does that make you feel?” His voice edged with anger.

  “I feel shame.” she replied, still avoiding his gaze.

  “Because you failed to kill me?” he bit back. He had no intention of giving her an easy ride.

  “No,” she shook her head slowly; “because I tried in the first place.” she paused for a moment. “Can you forgive me?” she asked again plaintively, looking at the ground.

  This was a complete role reversal, with Xnuk Ek’ needing something from him for a change, but Travis fingered his chest again, remembering the look of triumph on her face, the indescribable pain, the abject fear when he woke up blind and unable to understand anyone. “No!” he exclaimed incredulously. Her head snapped up and their eyes locked together for a moment. “Not yet.” he added dropping his gaze. Maybe not ever.

  She nodded sadly then beckoned him closer. “I want to show you something.” she pointed to the ground she had been examining when he had arrived and squatted again. Travis joined her and she showed him what looked like some random rubble, but she made him look closer. A number of rocks were strewn around, forming a natural enclosure with another about two feet square supported by these natural plinths, giving the enclosed ground partial cover. As he looked closer he saw a small spring of water bubbling up under the rock and running off to be swallowed up by the surrounding sand. Next to the spring a small green shoot poked its head tentatively above the ground. “Now watch.” she directed.

  As they had been talking the sun had risen above the horizon and the surrounding shadows were rapidly shortening. A few moments later the sun hit the area they were watching, the wet sand started to steam and dry out as the unfiltered rays struck the ground and surrounding rocks. The little spring started to bubble, then turned into a tiny geyser filling the small cavern under the rock with steam, which in turn broiled the little plant until it turned black and disappeared back beneath the surface. Travis looked at Xnuk Ek’ with his eyebrows knitted together, wondering what he was supposed to deduce.

  “I found this place by accident,” she indicated the immediate vicinity rather than the whole city, “before I joined the expedition to find you, and I still come here, more often since returning from Sol 3.” she explained. “It is the same cycle of events every time and it proves to me that, whatever the odds, life is persistent and maybe Otoch will sometime live again, just like Sol 3.”

  “Why did you bring me here?” he asked, taking a seat on a convenient piece of rubble. His muscles were beginning to ache from squatting for too long.

  “A dream.” she replied, taking a seat opposite him but maintaining a respectful distance. She could tell that her presence frightened him and she could feel he was straining to maintain his calm, so she was careful not to upset the delicate balance. She glanced down at the little geyser as it continued to spout steam into the atmosphere.

  “A dream!?” he responded. “What is it about you people and dreams?” he asked incredulously.

  “Yes.” she affirmed quietly, ignoring the tone of his outburst. “Vivid dreaming is one of the higher functions of your brain. Have you not noticed your dreams intensifying the more your higher functions waken?” she asked. You should ask your Ts’ats’aak next time you see her.

  He thought for a moment before replying. It was true that ever since that first dream that Xnuk Ek’ had given him while he was still in the healing tank, hi
s dreams had become progressively more intense and not only could he remember every detail when he woke up, but he could almost relive them whenever he wanted. Except for the period he was recovering from Xnuk Ek’’s attack of course, but the process actually seemed to have accelerated during his recovery, although he had no idea what most of them were about. Maybe this was a chance to learn something. “Tell me about your dream.” he prompted.

  “I can show you.” she offered, her face brightening.

  He felt the faintest brush of her consciousness against his shield. “No!” he jumped backwards in revulsion, nearly losing his balance on his rock. “You’re not getting anywhere near my head again.”

  Too much too quickly, she admonished herself. She withdrew as she saw the faintest glimmer of trust she had just rebuilt with him evaporate away like the water from the tiny geyser at their feet. Travis was sure he saw a tear run down her cheek behind her visor. “Of course.” she responded submissively, with a quiver in her voice, and he immediately regretted his outburst. Whatever his feelings, she was trying to reconcile with him and he was swatting her down at every turn. But was it no more than she deserved? He was not so sure anymore. He did not want to be responsible for utterly destroying this exquisitely beautiful, proud, elegant, incredibly intelligent and possibly psychotic woman from the stars. Who knows what their Code of Honour would demand of her next. Although she had not mentioned it, would her honour put her life in his hands? He was not sure if he could take that responsibility.

  “Please tell me.” he asked, almost gently. He had questions of his own that needed answering and maybe this was good place to start. She raised her face and smiled wanly. She had caught the edge of his dilemma through his still imperfect shields and held onto that thread of hope.

  “So what does it all mean?” he asked when she had finished.

  She looked at the unassuming little man across from her. “I do not know and I am troubled.” she replied. “But what is clear is that our futures are intertwined somehow.”

  “If you believe in clairvoyance.” Travis snorted dismissively, but it was only a half-hearted attempt to hide the fact that he was clearly rattled by what he had heard and disturbed by the outcome for a number of reasons. Not least of which was that it seemed that something big was coming that would affect them both.

  “Dreams are full of symbols.” she carried on, ignoring his scepticism. “The meanings of some symbols are self-explanatory while some are more obscure.” she explained. “You are an unknown quantity which seems to have had an impact on the symbolism of my dreams.” she had omitted the final and most obvious symbols of her dream which were his inexplicable affection for her and that her inaction would kill them both. Or were they just metaphors? Dreams could be so imprecise.

  “Maybe I can help.” he suggested, still not completely convinced but trying to make a small atonement for his earlier outburst. He was also completely out of his depth and comfort zone and maybe this would help him to get a better understanding of the events that were pulling him along.

  She nodded her thanks. “The intersection in the road with the bridge,” she began, “with the indecipherable signs. It is obviously a decision of some sort, but the choices are still hidden from me as shown by the signs I cannot read.”

  “It is also a reference to my name.” he added. Her head snapped up and she looked at him in astonishment. “My name,” he affirmed, anticipating her question, “Travis means someone who stands guard and collects payment for crossing a bridge.” he paraphrased the meaning he had read when he was a boy, to fit the circumstances.

  “And the weapon you carried?” she asked.

  “A bow and arrows.” he nodded. “My name again. A Fletcher is someone who makes arrows.” That one was easy but ultimately disturbing as she had correctly woven the obscure meaning of his name into her dream without any frame of reference.

  She shook her head slowly. “I still cannot decipher a meaning.”

  “Maybe you’re not meant to.” he replied then outlined his last dream, finishing with a description of a large dragonfly screaming in his face for him to wake up. He was surprised and a little taken aback when Xnuk Ek’ laughed. It was the first time he had heard her laugh since the altercation in his cabin and he had forgotten how enchanting her laugh was and how it made him feel. He shook off the feeling and asked for an explanation. She pointed at her friend who had remained in a motionless vigil between the two flyers all this time. “Yes, I know that much, but why a dragonfly?”

  “Turix Dayak'” she explained, “It means Dragonfly Dream in our language.”

  “Oh shit.” he muttered to himself. He stood and walked round in a small circle to stretch his legs. “This is too weird.” he looked out at the shattered ruins around them trying to make sense of it all. Recognition crept up behind him and slapped him on the back of the head. He looked down at Xnuk Ek’ and then back at the ruined city around and below them. “This place.” he said. “I’ve been here before, haven’t I?” he finished in an accusatory tone.

  She nodded, squinting up at him through the sun’s glare.

  “That dream when I was still in the tank.” The memories were opening up in front of him like a book.

  Xnuk Ek’ rose elegantly to her feet and stood next to him, but not too close. “Yes.” she affirmed. “I showed you this scene.” she swept an arm over the ancient devastation around them.

  “And everything else?” he asked.

  “Whatever else you saw was your own subconscious filling your dream with symbols that you could identify. I just set the scene and gave you the message.”

  “You were wearing a coat made of mist or clouds.”

  “Wingu Kanzu, my Nuuktak.”

  “There was a bird that seemed to be made of rainbows.”

  “Niji No Tori. Her name means Rainbow Bird.” Xnuk Ek’ explained.

  “And some incredibly beautiful butterflies.”

  “Sundaravāda Ciṭṭe.”

  Travis remembered the butterfly emblems on the old doctor’s robes when they were in his Mindscape. “And there was one last thing; you had a star on your forehead, and a red sun, like it was going down or something.”

  She bowed low.

  “That represented you?”

  “My name means Evening Star.” she turned and looked over the ruins. “It must have been an amazing city.” she whispered in awe, shifting the focus away from herself. “I can never get used to it.”

  He stood next to her, looking at her profile. She was still exquisitely beautiful, but now much less threatening. However, he still kept a discrete distance.

  Turix Dayak' appeared at their shoulders and interrupted their reverie. “We should go.” she said to Travis. “Please return to the flyer, I wish to talk to my friend.”

  Travis nodded and turned to go, but Xnuk Ek’ reached out and touched his arm. He tried not to flinch. “Is there still hope between us?” she asked. He looked into her eyes which were brimming with tears. He nodded his head slightly and she answered with a smile before he turned and walked back to the planes a short distance away.

  He leaned against the front landing strut, waiting for his pilot who looked to be in deep conversation with her friend. Xnuk Ek’ had her head bowed while Turix Dayak' held her hands. He was sure he could see Xnuk Ek’’s shoulders shaking rhythmically as if she was crying. Eventually they embraced and his pilot re-joined him.

  As the little plane climbed into the sky, Travis looked out of the canopy and contemplated the conversation he had just had. Once they had reached their cruising altitude, Turix Dayak' broke the silence.

  “There is something about you I do not understand, Travis Fletcher.”

  Travis brought himself back to the present and turned in his seat to regard Turix Dayak', who pointedly studied the controls of the small aircraft as if she did not want to catch his eye.

  “Why would Xnuk Ek’ jeopardise her future and the future of the Xi Scorpii by attempting to kill
you and then risk The Council’s anger by meeting with you again after it had been specifically forbidden?” she was not angry, just perplexed. It was obvious that Xnuk Ek’ had not enlightened her and Travis did not fancy getting drawn into that conversation. He was still sceptical about the emphasis that was being placed on people’s dreams.

  “You must be very close friends to have stuck with her after what she did.” he countered, changing the tack of the conversation.

  “I am her only friend now.” she replied, still refusing to catch his eye.

  “I thought everything had been worked out with err, erm…her boss.” he finished, snapping his fingers in frustration, which did not work well in the suit he was still wearing.

  In spite of herself, Turix Dayak' turned and smiled at Travis’ stumbling, showing a little of the carefree woman he had met, oh so long ago now. “Wingu Kanzu did exactly as he promised: he did not put Xnuk Ek’ in front of The Council for her actions and he allowed her to graduate and become Nuuktak.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Travis shrugged.

  “He amended her records to show that she had a conflict, a Paradox of Honour it is called, which is why she did what she did.”

  Travis did not understand what she meant by ‘Paradox of Honour’ but he did not press, he was more interested in what sounded like some Earth style dirty, two-faced, double dealing. “So he got her to promise not to make any trouble, in return for not pressing charges, and then fucks her over anyway?”

  Turix Dayak'’s eyebrows knitted together as she sorted out the colloquialisms before continuing. “Even though she is now Nuuktak and she has been off world and been part of the mission that found you, no-one will wish to be her Paal Kanik. Her friends have also deserted her, including Lak’in. They do not want to be tarnished by her reputation. She has become xtaabay, invisible to this world. She has nothing left to live for.” she finished, still studying the controls.