21 Chapter 21 :

Planetside, Maradisaè, 3rd of March 2119.

Lidaron, Street Level.

Time, 19:38

Commander Bentham Magnler

He would never get over the funny feeling given to him by the teleporters. Magnler reappeared, not beside FTL as he had expected, but beside Laecian, at the forefront of the procession. It must have jumbled up their positions. If the Alfan besided him gave no indication that this was out of the ordinary. Then again, Laecian never gave away much of anything.

A ring of elderly Alfan sat in vaulted chairs. The one in the centre spoke first.

"Laecian Lianaï, Ara Amaifel. My star welcomes you, friends."

"My star shines in thanks, friends." answered both the Alfan Captain and Ara, bowing.

Magnler noticed that these Alfan seemed much more elderly than any others he had met to date. They were tall and fair, but possessed an aged feel to them. He knew at once that they had seen at least as many centuries as he had years.

One of them, to his left, felt different though. She was unlike any other he had seen, for she looked old beyond mesure. Her skin was wrinkled and her face, though still fairly beautiful, was cracked and elderly looking. She seemed... older, wiser and more powerful than any other Alfan in this room.

"So what brings you here, Captain?" asked the elder.

For a moment it looked like Wells was about to speak, but Laecian was faster.

"As I am sure you have heard, we have been attacked in orbit. Fortunately these assailants have thought it best to fall back, but only after taking these people," he gestured to Wells and his crew, "forcefully with them. These people who have decided to stand by us. Thankfully, these brave souls have thrown their lot in with us and escaped their captors. They seek now to give you information with which we can broker a treaty or cease fire that could hopefully lead to peace."

The Alfan looked pensive for a moment.

"I see," said the old Alfan woman in a surprisingly croaky voice, every other Alfan turned to look at her with what almost seemed to be reverance, "These, humans have threatened us. They could have gone back to their homes, but instead, they decided to join in our plight. I think we must do two things : First, assemble the armies, we must not be caught out by this again. Second, assemble a diplomatic team who will visit their ships, perhaps in high orbit of Maradisaé." she turned to Wells, "Captain, if I am not mistaken you wish to speak, your insight could prove invaluable for this to function."

"I... yes." answered Wells, "I have to warn you that some humans are... for lack of a better word, evil. They look only to gain more power and wealth."

"That is barbaric!" interjected one of the Alfan.

"It's what helped push our develloppment, constant competition." replied the Captain, "But in any case, they will find you to be a threat, as they have already demonstrated. It's not in our nature to make friends easily. There will be some who will be absolutly sure you are the enemy. Mainly those who can get personnal wealth out of it and... where do you get all this gold?" he gestured around, frustrated.

The Alfan all looked around.

"Gold, silver, quartz, lapis, marble... these are our favored building materials when laced with carbon nanotubes. Why?"

"Gold is rare on Earth, where we come from. It's worth a lot. As is most of this other stuff. And," his eyes passed over large gems, each a different color with intricate designs inscribed in silver, gold or lapis, suspended over the heads of each Alfan elder, "those gems alone are probably enough to buy a small continent."

All the elders, with the exeption of the eldest, looked over their heads.

"These represent our families's houses." she said, "They are worth much, but any could get access to such gems, if a fair bit smaller. They are not particularly hard to aquire."

"On Earth, they are priceless."

"Priceless?" asked one of the Alfan.

"Yeah, you can't attach a price to them they are that expensive." answered Wells cautiously, "Do you not have a monetary system?"

The Alfan that asked shook his head, "No, the Darudain have one, but we have never needed it."

"So how do you get things?" asked Xeing.

"We ask." answered the Alfan as if it were ovious.

There was a short silence. At last, the elderly Alfan woman spoke up.

"So you think that the humans will not want to negociate because of the mineral wealth in our home? That is indeed dire. But what do you make of it?"

"Us?" Wells seemed pensive and surprised, "I don't know. I certainly wouldn't do a thing like that! It's the corporate businesses that the government listen to, and they will want access to this planet for it's wealth. So that's what the gov's gonna do. I bet enlistment has already started."

"Well then, I suggest we prepare." stated a male Elder to Magnler's right, "Prepare our forces, and secure our space."

"I agree." said the Eldest, "See to the preparations Gallindan."

The Alfan nodded and navigated his control panel for a couple of seconds. He pressed down and a second later he was gone.

"Now when you say enlisted...?" she continued.

"Calling in reserves and non-career military." explained Wells.

"Ah..." she followed that with a sigh, "And how many soldiers do you think your... United Nations, yes?... will be able to muster."

"I really don't know. I haven't heard of anything more than five hundred thousand men being deployed in any one system. That's a big number, but I don't know if they can muster more."

"I see... can we hold off those numbers?" asked the Council member sitting in the far right.

"Not for very long, I should think." half muttered the Eldest, her voice hard.

There was general nodding.

"Well at the very least these brave individuals should be given food and rest for their efforts." she continued, in a more gentle tone.

"Thank you." said Magnler.

"From my soul." she answered.

Magnler was taken aback at this, but he quickly tried to hide his surprise. It was probably some custom or sign of acknowlegement of theirs, he resolved to ask Ara later.

"But Bëthryna..." interjected one of the Council members.

The Eldest, Bëthryna, cut him off, "Thia, Yes?"

"It's Alfaniastaraenëena in a week, there will not be any free rooms."

Bëthryna studied her for a moment, "That is true."

"It is of no consequence." said Laecian sharply, "My house has plenty of space, I can house them, though it would be a tight fit."

"My home is not large, but I think I can get one or two more people in." piped up Ara.

Laecian nodded to her, "That would give me enough room, with two per guest room." he turned to the group behind him, "Would this suit you?"

"Yes! Absalutely." answered Wells.

"Perfect, it is settled. Council, we shall not hold you any longer."

"It was our pleasure, and sorrow." said Bëthryna.

Laecian nodded and placed his left hand on his chest, like their hand gesture meaning loyalty, but with the other hand.

With that, the Alfan Captain took them back to the teleporter which promptly took them down.

"Decide now who goes where." said Laecian, once they had reappeared in the lavishly decorated lobby, he turned to Wells, "Although I suggest you should come with me."

Wells nodded, then he turned to his crew, "Lauren, Imogen, you two should come with me, and... Josh?"

Wells seemed to notice FTL was hanging close to Magnler.

"Hmm?" he asked, uncertain.

"Do you want to go with me?" demanded Wells clearly.

"Uhhh... maybe?" he answered.

"I'll go with you, Alex." stated Xeing firmly.

"Oh, alright then. FTL, you're with Magnler at Ara's place?"

"Ok. Cool."

Ara looked over to him, "Are you ready to go?"

Magnler nodded.

"Wait a sec..." exclaimed FTL, he carefully straightened his mustash, which had begun to droop in the warm summer air, "Yep."

Ara looked a bit off from this, but if she thought something of it, she didn't express it, "Exellent, let us be off."

She bade farewell to Laecian, and after agreeing on meeting at the Ivelliosmirian, she began leading them through the spacious streets of Lidaron.

Alfan of all shapes and sizes passed them. All wore either humanlike shirts, trousers and skirts, or flowing robes and dresses of all colors. Many Alfan had blue, green and bright red hair, and sometimes, their skin would glow in a complementary colour as if they were being illuminated by some invisible source. Magnler noticed Ara's skin occasionnaly glowed a warm reddish-golden color.

"So what's Alfaniastar...?" asked Magnler, tailing off towards the end.

"Alfaniastaraenëena? It's our most beloved celebration. It is held every decade."

"And it is this week?"

"Next, in 9 days time."

"And what's it about?" inquired FTL.

"It celebrates the union of our species. When we ended our wars and joined together to build a brighter future. We put aside whatever differences we had then and, mostly, helped each other. We treasure this celebration, though none but Bëthryna can remember it's origins."

"How old is she?" asked FTL.

"I cannot tell you her age." FTL looked dejected, "For one, it is not respectful to tell someone else's age, for second, I do not know."

"Oh, I get it, I just thought..."

"That I would know the age of every council member?" she laughed, "No, I do not concern myself with their years. Why should I? They may be on a council, but that makes them no more important than you or me."

"Ok, ok." he muttered, abashed.

"I am sorry, sometimes I can come over rather strongly, or so my nathrönaya says."

"Nathrönaya?" asked FTL, slaughtering the pronunciation.

Ara noticed, she winced. Then was silent a couple of seconds while she thought about how to explain it.

"I don't know how to say it, he lives with me, I'll introduce you when we get there."

Suddenly Magnler felt even more awkward. He hadn't realised Ara lived with someone.

"Are you...?" he asked tentatively.

"What? He is living with me for a while. I am welcoming him for the duration of the Alfaniastaraenëena. He came early because otherwise, someone else would have probably gotten there first." she answered informatively.

"Ah... so not in fact...?"

"Oh... Ashea forbit, no. I mean he's nice and all but..." she paused for a moment, glancing at Magnler, "he's not my iastaraya."

FTL rubbed his temples with his thumbs.

"So many words..." he moaned.

Ara stopped, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Natroneyo, iastareyo, alfanturkistan... so many words. How are we ever gonna communicate without explaining every other word."

Ara, again, winced at his pronunciation.

"I think it is the more complex composed words that are not being translated. But they are easy to understand once you know the root words."

"Yeah, ok."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yep!" he exclaimed, straightening up, "We were going..." he pointed off into the distance.

"Yes..." said Ara cautiously, starting off again slowly, still watching the security officer, oviously worried.

They arrived soon thereafter before a large, again white, building. It seemed far plainer than the other buildings they had entered so far, yet it was still resplendant in it's own measure of gold, silver and gemstones.

The lobby was large and bright, and several well dressed Alfan, mostly male, stood behind a long, white, shiny desk.

"Miss Amaifel, you have finally returned!" he exclaimed, beaming.

"Yes, I have. Tell me, is Erevan home?"

"Absolutely, The Wanderer returned a half hour before you walked in."

"Thank you. You have been most kind."

"As always." he smiled, "Oh, but Ara. Who are these fine gentlemen?"

"Ah, yes. Bentham, Josh, meet my peniaya, Aust. He runs the appartment building."

"From your faces I wouldd say you are not from around here are you?" he asked.

"No." said Magnler.

"I would never mean to be rude, but, I can feel something... for lack of a better word, strange, about you."

"Yes, that would be normal." confirmed FTL.

"And may I ask why that would be?"

"We're, um... aliens." he stated uncertainly, "Gosh it's wierd saying that."

"You are... aliens. You are not Alfan? Or Darudain?"

"Neither, we're Humans."

"Humans. Well I would never have thought to see that in my life. For what it is worth from my humble self, welcome to Maradisé."

"Thank you."

"We should go." interrupted Ara, "I'm going to get them settled in."

"Right. Well it has been a pleasure meeting you."

"Same." shouted FTL as he was dragged away by the other two.

They walked up a staircase. There seemed to be no floor design, and swirling, illogical branches of the stairs winded off into the unknown.

"Here we are..." said Ara.

Magnler couldn't read the four sigils on the door, although he did recognise two as being the same symbol. The door itself was no different from other doors, and it slid open without a sound.

The inside was a large, open room with huge glass windows on the far end. There were elegant and comfortable looking chairs and sofas, along with a low table set in their midst.

A timeless figure sat facing them, drinking from a tall gold rimmed glass.

"Erevan, hi."

"Ara, a pleasure to see you've returned. And I was just beginning to enjoy myself..."

Ara half smiled and dropped her bag by the door. Erevan stood at that and walked over.

"Ah, forget my little jest there, I meant no disrespect. And who are these fine gentlemen?" he asked, the paragon of politeness.

"These are my guests, Bentham and Josh."

"Ah, now those are not common names. Pray tell, where are you from?"

"Umm..." began Magnler.

"Earth." interrupted FTL.

"What do you say? I have never heard this dialect."

"Right!" exclaimed Magnler, "He doesn't have a translator."

"I'll translate." said Ara, and she conveyed FTL's answer

"Earth? Where is that? I have never been to such a place, and they don't call me The Wanderer for nothing."

"It's a different planet. We're aliens."

Ara translated.

"Ah... I see why you get along with Ara then. A more knowledge hungry person you will never meet."

"You haven't met Anne yet." laughed FTL.

"Anne? Who is this?"

"Oh, right. She is our science officer. Her philosophy is 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'." explained FTL.

"Interesting. Well I'd love to meet the rest of you. Ara, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. It seems to me like you may have much to talk about, and it's high time I cooked."

"Thanks." answered Ara.

"From my star."

They walked farther in, and seated themselves around the low table. Magnler looked around, he felt uncomfortable around others, not least the security officer.

"So what does 'from my star' mean?" asked FTL, breaking the silence.

"It's polite. It's what you say when someone has thanked you."

"So kinda like 'you're welcome'."

"I don't know your language. I suppose if it makes sense to you..."

"Ok, that makes sense." FTL paused, thinking furiously, "Beb, any questions."

Magnler gave him a warning stare at the use of his nickname.

"Um... so... can we speak more of your language?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, can you start to teach us some words maybe... or common phrases."

"I don't know what I can do about that. I suppose if you ask me a phrase you would like to know, and I'll translate it for you."

"Ok that sounds fair... anything you want to know how to say FTL?"

"Oh. Of course, how do you say 'Where is the nearest...'"

"Yeah, no! Bad idea." interrupted Magnler, not wanting to know what came next in the sentence.

"Hey, I was goint to say 'teleporter'."

Magnler looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course you were." he said sarcastically.

FTL gave him a mischevous grin. And looked expectantly at Ara. Both of them took out there translators.

"Utra é aiaetheï idiamasa."

"Utra... é... aiaetheï... idiamasa?" they echoed, and reinserted their translators.

"Close enough." she said. They coached them through every sound until they could pronounce it properly.

"Okay, good. I also thought you might want to know some general words. How about yes and no?"

"Sure." answered FTL as they took out their translators, "Start with yes, then say no."

She aquiesced.

"Na." then after a lengthy pause, "Lé."

They repeated after her.

"Good. That's perfect. Any other ideas?"

"I have one!" exclaimed FTL. Magnler eyed him warily, "How about OK. And the basic pronouns. I, you, he, she, it, you, we, they, and so on. And mabye basic verbs like is and have."

"Not bad ideas." admitted Magnler.

"Do you mean OK as in 'fine' or 'agreed'?" asked Ara.

"There's a difference?"

She nodded.

"Um... 'fine'." suggested Magnler.

They again removed their earpieces and listened to the translations. With OK being 'ashué'. Then going from I, 'e', to they, 'ï' and the verbs like is, 'sol' and have, 'alsh'. She also explained bits of grammar, such as conjugation of verbs. Simply place the equivalent pronoun of the relevant subject at the end of the verb as it's ending. Thus you had to think ahead about what you'd be referencing or you would end up with nonsensical or missplaced verbs.

They continued exchanging language, both english and Älfanimael, the Alfan speech, until all three had achieved a low level of comprehension of each other's vocabulistics. Both men could recognise and respond to a few clearly spoken Alfan phrases and words, and the same could be said for Ara in english, if not a bit more.

In any case, it was just before midnight when they finally called it a day. Both Magnler and FTL were utterly wiped, having spent an exhausting day. Ara too seemed to be tired, yet she continued being an admirable host. Erevan, seemed not to tire over the course of the evening, and picked up some words of english, even as he taught the humans his own tongue.

Ara showed them to their room, which FTL would be sharing with Erevan. The double bed in the middle of the room seemed to worry the security officer for a few moments but his expression relaxed when Ara motioned and the double split into two singles.

Ara then wanted to give Magnler her bed, taking one of the low sofas. Magnler stubbornly refused, taking the sofa himself. They argued for fifteen minutes before Ara let it rest and took her own room.

And silence descended as they fell into a deep sleep, not seeing the shooting star trail that was Commander Elysium arc through the sky...