The Lost Aria (Earth Song Book 3) Read online

  "Who knows what the future holds?"

  Chapter 7

  September 9th, 521 AE

  Planet Coorson, Traaga Leasehold

  The world of Coorson would be considered by most species to be the bitter end. To the Traaga, it was home sweet home. Not all species were fortunate enough to have powerful, wealthy, or influential masters. The Traaga were a pitiful example of that truth. The species that introduced them to the galaxy got embroiled in a catastrophic conflict with a higher order species a few centuries earlier and were all but eliminated from the stage, leaving the Traaga orphaned. The leasehold on their world reverted to the control of the Concordia council and it was worth too much to allow a penniless species like the Traaga to remain. Plus, they themselves were considered of little use. Only three hundred years since coming into the great awareness they were on their own.

  It eventually proved out that the Traaga did possess a few useful talents after all. Being born as an arboreal species they had no fear of heights. Their home planet was oxygen poor and high in natural contaminants, giving the Traaga an ability to filter most dangerous gases from the air they breathed. And they were willing to do anything for a credit. After a century of doing just that, their rulers managed to secure the leasehold on the world of Coorson. The Traaga scratched out a place to live through sheer tenacity, and their natural ability to live in places that would kill most oxygen breathers.

  The Portal flashed into life and out came the catlike forms of a trio of Tanam. Their two sets of emerald colored eyes were set deep into either side of their triangular heads. The eyes were ever in motion, scanning all directions for trouble. To say it was impossible to sneak up on a Tanam was an understatement. The rear set of eyes had no lids and were linked to an area of their brain which more closely resembled hearing than vision. Though unsuitable for detailed jobs like reading or shape recognition, the Tanam were aware of their surroundings in three hundred sixty degrees, all the time, even when asleep. The three beings looked around with their long flexible necks, able to turn their heads more than two hundred degrees from side to side. Long interlocking teeth snapped shut in disgust as they tasted the air. Trace chemicals in the atmosphere were detected and analyzed. In seconds their brains knew this was not safe for long term exposure, but the few hours they planned would be fine. Their bodies metabolized dangerous chemicals much faster than most other species.

  "Welcome noble Tanam," a Traaga said. Its four radial arms lowered the roundish torso in a somewhat conventional posture of respect. Its long neck retracted into its body as the torso lowered. From the notch in its armored torso the Traaga watched the three Tanam cautiously with black on black eyes adapted to a dark world. "May I inquire as to your visit today?"

  "You may not," the leader spoke. The Traaga used its limited knowledge of the Tanam to estimate the station of these two mysterious visitors. The incredibly muscled bodies of the Tanam supported six legs, the bottom two were purely for motivating, but the middle two could be used for fighting or running while the top two were for fighting or manipulating, mostly fighting if their species’ reputation was to be believed. And with up to four powerful limbs, each wielding ten centimeter curved and serrated claws, the Tanam could kill even a massive Beezer in moments. Were even the massive Mok-Tok a match for them? They varied in coloration, usually being either black or brown with only the royal family displaying white. Rank was denoted by shaved fur on the neck and head to display colorful tattoos, further accentuating rank or position. They wore little in the way of clothing except possibly armor in combat and belts to hold tools and pouches. The leader, the only one to speak, was mostly white with vast areas of shaved skin showing intricate tattoos. The Traaga was careful with this one. "Give us access to your local network," she demanded of the Traaga,

  "Agreed," came the quick reply. It scuttled sideways, staying low to the ground and showing none of its vulnerable neck. There was no doubt it would die fighting even one of the Tanam. Its body was bony and dense with powerful arms for defense. However, the neck was tender and fleshy. He found a computer terminal and keyed in a command. The Tanam used a hand to grab one of its tablets from a utility belt and accessed the now opened network connection. The Traaga Portal guardian activated a tracer program, just to be safe. Such an action, while not considered polite, was within the planet owners’ rights. The Tanam cast a single eye towards the Traaga, making it obvious they knew of the trace, then turned to its work.

  The Tanam leader worked with the computer, deadly claws taping out commands with surprising grace and gentleness. The Traaga watched a respectful distance away but one of the other two hissed at it. The scuttling being moved farther away. Seela was of royal blood in the grand Tanam line, one of the highest orders of species in the Concordia. She'd grown up knowing the power her species wielded, and thanks to her upbringing she had no qualms about using it to her advantage. She was here this day by order of her mother, matriarch of all the Tanam. It was a small scent trail to follow, but when the matriarch gave an order, it was obeyed. To not do so would risk a challenge. The hair rippled along her flank, a sign of disquiet, or even fear.

  After a minute with the tablet she turned it off and replaced the device in its pouch. The Traaga severed the network access. "Will the honorable Tanam require anything more?"

  "We are to enter your world to search for contractors to work on a facility in our space."

  "Very good," the Traaga said through his translator. "Permission for twenty standard hours is granted. You may find transportation outside." Defense fields were deactivated and the three Tanam prowled from the room. The Traaga stayed where it was, grateful it wasn't the one the Tanam were seeking. Its people were becoming known as good traders, but bartering with a Tanam was like trying to deal with a solar flare.

  Outside of the Portal facility, Seela hissed in dismay. It was planetary afternoon and an intense bluish light flooded down making it several degrees too warm for the felinoids. A blast furnace wind blew debris and dust through the air at high velocity as well and everywhere was the chatter of Traaga. This wasn't a city, it was a junk pile. She had never been to the frontier; that was a job for low stationed sisters, or even better; a client species. But she had seen images of junk pile worlds, ancient decaying piles of buildings and equipment. This city was little different from those places. The building holding the Portal looked like the most permanent, well-built facility in view. Most others appeared to be built of local materials or constructed from cast off Concordian components, temporary buildings, or even cargo containers, all thrown down with no sense of order or proximity to its neighbor. It reminded her of a refugee camp she'd raided during a war shortly after beginning her service to the matriarch. And worst of all was the smell which it assailed the senses in a relentless wave of putrid odors, many unidentifiable and no doubt rotten. Seela shook her head and mewed, hopelessly trying to clear her nose of the olfactory nightmare. Slowly, she was able to calm the inputs to her brain.

  Once she had control of herself she moved out into the street, following the directions gleaned from the haphazard planetary network. Her sisters followed close behind. In most cases Seela would not have brought one of her two direct sisters along, too much chance they would try to claim some or all of the credit. This mission had already taken months and was not proceeding the way it should. The possibility of failure now outweighed that of being able to personally claim all of the credit. She'd exclusively used those of the warrior caste until now and unfortunately they'd failed her over and over. No matter how many throats she ripped out, they just continued to disappoint. Following this cold trail was taking valuable time, and despite the efforts put forth so far, it was quickly running colder. Muscles in her snout unconsciously opened her nostrils wider to allow more scent across sensitive detection organs. She overrode that and closed her nose as much as possible, but not before sneezing several times.

  "The stench of this place," Kelaa, moaned behind her, "it makes my bra
in burn."

  "It is horrid," Veka agreed, "but you need to learn control," she admonished. Veka was the eldest among them but fortune had not favored her in her endeavors. Kelaa snapped her jaws in annoyance at the delay.

  The streets, if you could call them that, swarmed with Traaga, but of course what else would you find on Coorson except gamboling, smelly, worthless Traaga. They were everywhere on the ground, climbing walls, swinging from wires strung between buildings. It was horrid watching their disgusting movements, so unnatural, so skittery and without the natural fluid grace of a sister, or even the clumsier, yet comparatively graceful brothers.

  They followed the map until it led to an intersection in the road, and that was when they realized how easy the going had been. The computer demanded they follow a road down an alley. The previous thoroughfare, crowded and cluttered, had been a major road compared to this. The alley was paved only with mud and rocks, and still more Traaga. Millions of Traaga like an infestation of fleas. Unlike earlier, there were now children in evidence. Seela's gums pulled back from her long deadly black teeth and the nearest Traaga young fled in a panic. If it was possible, the young were even more hideous than the mature creatures. Only a completely uncivilized species allowed their children anywhere except the carefully controlled training grounds where they were made to understand how to act around adults. This was the worst offense of them all, and there were many on this world.

  "It would all make a disgustingly great feast," Kelaa said from behind and the side. Veka just bobbed her head in agreement. Seela had yet to feast on the flesh of a Traaga, and if the taste was at all like the smell, she prayed it would never happen. A deep secret of the Tanam was that they prided themselves in having tasted almost every sapient species in the Concordia, and rated them in their individual culinary attributes. What true predator would not revel in feasting on the flesh of a defeated adversary? To ignore your nature was to surrender to another’s interpretation of civilization.

  "We must follow the law here," she reminded her sisters, "we cannot hurt or kill unless they break the law themselves." Her sisters growled their understanding and consent. She didn't worry about Veka, of course, age and wisdom tempered most of her decisions. It was Kelaa that concerned Seela. Young and impetuous, she seldom passed up a chance to try something new, no matter how ill advised. They all carried a formidable armament, far in excess of tooth and claw. Despite the laws, Seela thought that perhaps the three of them could end the lives of every living vermin in this so called city. She found the mental exercise rather liberating.

  Eventually the trail led to an actual structure in that it had a foundation, walls, and a roof and wasn't just resting in the mud. A sign over the doorway in three different Concordia script described it as a guild hall. "Thank the Lost," Seela said as she clawed at the door. Despite her care she nearly tore it from its rusty hinges.

  "That door was locked," came the first voice on the inside, a series of scrapes and clicks translated by the three Tanam's translators. There in the gloomy interior sat a despondent looking Veelox, if it were possible to tell the mood of an insectoid. It was perched on a long table covered in old obsolete computers and a large moliplas jar full to almost overflowing with squirming little grubs. Seela wondered if they were the creature’s food or offspring. The insectoid made a halfhearted attempt to clean one antenna with razor sharp mandibles then reached for another before remembering it only had the one. The shiny black wing cases rubbed against each other with a high screech.

  All three Tanam yowled and rocked back onto their hind legs, making the middle legs ready for combat. The Veelox held up a half dozen limbs and shook its head, huge multifaceted eyes showing no emotion. "I apologize, great Tanam sisters. The Traaga have only rudimentary hearing and the songs my wing cases make go unheard by them. I have forgotten myself."

  "It is forgiven," Seela said and returned to four legs. One of her sisters mouthed "Songs?" incredulously to the other as Seela continued. "Please forgive me for damaging the doorway, it was so feebly made I had not realized it was bared."

  "It is nothing," the Veelox said with a wide gesture of several arms, "the workmanship is of a very poor quality."

  "Indeed," Veka agreed.

  Seela cast her a sidelong look and turned back to the Veelox. "You are the master of the guild?"

  "I am," the Veelox said, preening its sole antennae again. "The Traaga have difficulty negotiating equitable contracts, so it is left to an outside intermediary like me to handle the deals." Its heart shaped head cocked sideways, mouth parts moving before it began communicating again. "Three Tanam, of the noblest line, on Coorson just to seek a Traaga contract? Highly unusual."

  "We are not here seeking a contract," Seela said.

  The Veelox wing cases made a couple little chirping sounds, not the cacophonous screeching of earlier, but almost a plaintive question. "What then can this humble guild master do for you?"

  "We are interested in a contract the Traaga carried out a year ago."

  "The Traaga are very industrious. Don't let the condition of this world fool you, they are in the state they are, more as a result of misfortune, than anything they did wrong."

  "We could care less the conditions of any of these scuttling little minor species," Kelaa snapped. The Veelox nearly jumped out of its chitin at the threat. The Veelox were just as minor of a species as the Traaga, if slightly more cultured and careful in their dealings with higher order species.

  "Very well, high born daughters. With whom were the contacts that you are interested in?" Seela told the guild master. "Yes, um… let me see." Its sudden movements and jumbling of computers spoke of nervousness. Seela flexed and un-flexed her middle arm claws over and over; scraping at the ceramic concrete and making chips pop and fly. "You see, the species you inquire of are very good clients. Young and small, but they pay in advance or barter lucrative food contracts! The Traaga are particularly fond of the later."

  "Did you think we care what kind of customers the filthy skittering Traaga like?" Kelaa rumbled, moving closer to the Veelox in her graceful fluid movements, her blazing red eyes fixed on it. "Or how much the scrambling trash Traaga like their food?" She spat the word for Traaga, her long teeth flashing in the rooms artificial light.

  "You have to understand, noble sister!"

  With a flash of motion too fast to follow, Kelaa's right foreleg shot out, black claws slashing. The Veelox's only remaining antennae arched through the air to land on the dirty floor where it twisted and spasmed as if still attached. The Veelox reeled away, too late to stop the blow. It fell off the table and twitched, wing cases popping open and four gossamer wings emerging to help it escape.

  Seela shook her massive head. Overreacting was always one of Kelaa's short comings. The sister continued, bounding forward and sending the table on which the Veelox had perched crashing across the room with enough force to splinter against the wall. She lunged and caught one of the Veelox's wings in her mouth and crunched the delicate chitinous structure. The sounds the Veelox made were not translated, but none listening would have any doubt they were screams of agony.

  "Enough sister," Seela said calmly. Kelaa released the screaming Veelox, backing up slowly and spitting out inedible pieces of wing.

  "Is there nothing in these insects edible?" she asked her sister. Veka laughed a barking laugh.

  "I beg of you, I beg of you," the Veelox said over and over.

  "You will answer our questions, or I will allow my impulsive younger sister to see what parts of you she finds to her taste." Seela leaned close and used all four eyes to examine the writhing insect. "You have a lot of parts to sample, and if I understand insectoid physiology, it will take some time for you to die."

  They exited the guild hall and back into the brutal heat of the Coorson sun. Kelaa was still trying to clean green and yellow goo from her muzzle and making disgusted retching sounds. Who would think with so many tender parts that none of them were edible? Kelaa emptied her
primary stomach into the dirt and used a middle hand to retrieve a nutrient pack from her utility belt. "Disgusting beyond words," she said as she took a bite of the nutrient meat mixture, chewed and spat it out, cleaning her teeth and mouth. She ate the rest of the pack and cast a rueful gaze at Veka. "Next time you eat the alien."

  Seela finished entering the data in the computer she held in a front hand as she walked then put the device away. "We need to exit this world before the dead bug is discovered."

  "It is of little concern," Kelaa said but still hurried her pace as her senior sister instructed. "Who will miss one Veelox?"

  "These things can be touchy," Veka agreed, "we had no provocation to kill that being."

  "You are too overreacting," Seela scorned, "it may not have been necessary to kill that alien, and it might have had more information it would have been willing to give if you weren't chewing on its thorax."

  "I am sorry sister," Kelaa said, lowering her head almost to the mud covered ground. She found another chunk of chitin in her teeth and spat it out. "I have learned a lesson."

  Though it was her right to further punish for killing without permission, Seela let it go. The Veelox had given up some important information before succumbing. Impetuous she might be, but it often got results. She found herself wishing she was not in charge so she could get away with impulsive things like that. Ripping the Veelox limbs off one at a time reminded her of being a youth and tearing the wings off Kafa living in the trees of her pack mother’s compound. The small warm blooded fliers cried loudly when their wings were torn off and tried gamely to get away. But unlike the Veelox, the Kafa were tasty to eat after the game lost its amusement.

  "I look forward to tasting the blood of our true prey." Kelaa said her teeth flashing in the blue sunlight. They all bobbed their heads in agreement, that would be something to look forward to trying, for many reasons. And with the data she now had, Seela was certain that day was getting closer. “I have never tasted a hominid before,” she mused as the Portal building approached, “the humans look very tender.”