Bactine (21 page)

"The staff of the hospital was wonderful, Seigner Dandra ko Galem," Daniel said, as he caught Gaguran trailing after Rayko who was disappearing in the crowd. "I hope to be able to reimburse the people who paid for my stay there."

"No need to worry about that, Mr. Zacharias. The Ship Owners Society has provisions for incidents like these," Clelem said.

Then Warlem, his son, cut in. "Father, the senator has arrived, would you please join us?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Zacharias." The two men walked off to greet a thin guest who wore a remarkable green robe. The man had long, wavy blond hair and a large nose. That was a senator?

Daniel frowned and sipped some more of his wine. Then he slowly walked into the large hall, to satisfy his curiosity. He had to know where the arches of water ended up.

Daniel felt a stranger in the large house. His suit did not make him stand out, but his size did. Oh, there were several people in the hall who greeted him and entertained some socialising, but there was no real connection. He longed for the company of the people of the Pricosine, or the comfort of his own space in his apartment.

A large buffet, spanning almost a dozen of tables, was opened in an adjoining room. Daniel had not a clue what most of the food was, so he picked from the large plates carefully.

"Lavish, isn't it?" someone asked Daniel, who was studying a plate with curly pink things. It was Warlem, the poet and shame of the family.

"It is, indeed. And I don't know most of it either," Daniel confessed. He had taken an immediate liking to this young man who was one of the few normal people here, as far as he was concerned.

"Those are safe," Warlem pointed at the pink curlies. "Avoid the green vegetables if you do not like sour food, and the yellow cubes over there are sweet." He picked one from the bowl. "And delicious." The cube quickly disappeared from view and fingers.

Daniel appreciated the assistance, and approved of the choice of food he carried away from the tables, looking for a place to sit down.

Warlem followed him with a plate of his own. "I was highly entertained by what I heard had happened to my sister," he said as he sat down next to Daniel. "And please, do enjoy the food. It is prepared by the the cook that was on the boat."

"Ship." It popped out before Daniel knew it.

Warlem laughed. "You are one of them. How quaint."

Daniel failed to see the quaintness but ignored the remark. He was glad to have some company.

"Rayko was highly distressed about your behaviour on board. I assume you know that?"

"There were a few incidents, indeed, but from my view they were not too bad."

"You, sir, need to learn about women and clothing. Tearing her dress has signed your death warrant." Warlem chuckled.

Daniel grinned along with him, recalling the moment. "Luckily she managed to trip all by herself."

"She tripped? Oh dear, and you were there to see it? Sir, you are braver than I had already had given you credit for, by showing yourself here tonight. And you are still standing - well, sitting, after meeting her. She must like you." Pleasure danced over Warlem's face as his eyes searched for his sister. "The poor sod never gives up," he sighed before taking a bite of his food.

Daniel frowned and scanned the room, seeing Gaguran standing close to Rayko in a rather odd way. The woman ignored him completely, yet he looked as if he was having the time of his life. Daniel grinned.

"Ah, you heard about him, I understand," Warlem said. "And there he is, feeling completely inconspicuous." The poet shook his head, sending his hair jumping.

"Warlem, I require your seat for a moment." Clelem suddenly stood with them.

Warlem got up and walked away, without a word. It was something that surprised Daniel.

"Mr. Zacharias, I hope my son was not being his indigestible self," the Seigner said as he sat down. "He has the habit of making himself unwanted in many ways."

Before Daniel could reply, the man continued: "I want to thank you again, personally, for the work you are doing. You saved a ship, a cargo and the lives of many."

"It is what I am supposed to be doing, sir," said Daniel. "Sometimes an assignment is harder than other times."

"Yet, you have gone beyond tasks, Mr. Zacharias." Clelem nodded and stared into the crowd for a moment. "I assume that you have things under control?"

Daniel wondered about that question. "I would hope so. But could you elaborate your question, please?"

Clelem reached for a new glass of wine. "Of course. There has been word in Ship Owner circles that there are people trying to trick employees into switching positions. If you know what I mean."

"Ah. I see." Daniel thought back to the offer of Huajo, the fat ship owner he had met. "In that case, Seigner Dandra ko Galem, everything is under control."

"Very good. I am pleased to hear that. Do enjoy your evening, Mr. Zacharias." With that, Clelem got up and disappeared in the crowd that kept moving like living tapestry.

Daniel finished his food and returned to the other room to get rid of his plate. He returned to the main hall, studied some faces and paintings, and went back to the large fountain where glowing fish were swimming. The sun had since long set, and the light of the animals was fascinating to watch now.

Small groups of people were now forming, all wrapped in their favourite subjects. Daniel moved around the room, feeling lost again. He could not locate the poet, which made him feel even more alone. Suddenly, as he passed an open door that led into a side room, he recognised the voice of Clelem. The man sounded very aggravated. He then also heard the voice of Rayko.

"Father, no, I hate that man and I am sufficiently disgusted that you asked him to come here," she said.

Daniel leaned against the wall, prepared to walk off at the slightest change in the room.

"Rayko, you need to know your place and respect your upbringing. The man saved us a lot of money. He risked his life for the company, and captain Xhylor told me he did all he could to make your life on the ship as pleasurable as possible."

Daniel was painfully aware that he was listening in on a private conversation about him. He knew he should not be here, but he also could not rip himself away from it.

"Child, you should listen to your father," said Clelem's wife.

"Mother, please. If you knew what he did to me on that ship! It was... it was... arghhh."

The mystery of Warlem's whereabouts was solved when his voice sounded. "Hmm. He saved your life when something with sails happened, he carried you on board and down again. Yes, I can see why you hate him. All these horrible things, dear sister."

Daniel suppressed a smile and feigned interest in an ugly bouquet of flowers.

"You should keep your mouth shut, idiot." Rayko obviously was far from amused.

"Rayko, your language, please," her mother pleaded. In vain.

"Father, I want that you remove this person from the house now. If you don't, I'll tell Slindris to do that. I can't stand him, I can't stand the way he mocks me by just looking at him, I can't stand... anything about him!"

Clelem seemed to have enough of this scene his daughter was causing. "Rayko, stop this. I tell you to behave and be at least courteous towards the man. I have enough other things to attend to, like why another idiot is not able to control his associates when I ask him to. And you will not tell Slindris anything, do you hear me, daughter?"

A few seconds later, Rayko came steaming from the room. Daniel had heard footsteps so he had veered up from the wall and pretended to be passing by. She almost ran into him. The look she treated him to was one of rage and utter contempt, then she pushed her way through the guests and disappeared.

"Oops," he mumbled. Suddenly he needed some fresh air. He cruised through the hall again and found the large glass open doors that led out to the garden. The wind greeted him, and he breathed in deeply. There were only a few guests there.

Daniel found his way alongside the great garden, following the glowing sticks that lit the paths. He reached the far end of the garden and leaned over the balustrade, looking out over the lights of Zoroon. "You don't belong here, boy," he told himself. "You're not very wanted except for your skills, and look what those got you. Being rebuilt twice. And-" he shivered for the first time "-the second time they used the skin of dead people for it. Way to go."

He tried to banish all thoughts from his head, but that proved harder than it sounded. He wondered if being here on this planet was a good idea. He wondered where Rhonda was. Maybe he should get in touch with his sister, quit the army for real and retire near where she lived. Wherever that was.

"Mr.Daniel Zacharias? May I distract you for a moment?" The voice that spoke was gentle, warm. Daniel turned and found that it belonged to the thin senator in the green robe.

"Oh, uhm, of course." Daniel was taken by surprise by the man. "Good evening. I'm afraid I have not caught your name."

"You could not, dear sir, as I never let it fly. My name is senator Sygra Dirrit ko Asac."

They shook hands. "A pleasure, senator."

"You do not strike me as a very happy person, Mr. Zacharias. The only one, in fact, as everyone is enjoying the party." The senator leaned on the railing.

Daniel held in his snort. "Miss Dandra ko Galem was not very pleased just now."

Sygra smiled. "I am sure she'll get over it. I heard from her mother that Rayko's team lost their game this afternoon, which cost them the regional title."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Daniel said. It probably was a race in cross-stitching or something equally exciting.

"You are not," the senator commented calmly. "You are an intriguing person, Mr. Zacharias. You put your life on the line for Clelem's ship. He speaks highly of you. There are many ship owners who would pay a dear price to have you on their ship. And you seem unhappy."

Sygra turned to Daniel. "What is happening inside you, Mr. Zacharias?"

Daniel was slow to react.

The senator put a hand on Daniel's arm. "Would you accompany me to a seat out of the wind? I'm afraid my old bones cannot take the weather like they used to." They walked to a bench with thick cushions, a large plant behind them, a dozen glowing sticks in front of them. "This is better. I appreciate it, Mr. Zacharias. Now, tell me. What is going on inside you?"

Daniel hesitated for a moment. Then he started telling the senator about his feelings, his thoughts, his worries.

Behind the large plant, unseen and unheard, sat someone, listening to the conversation.

"You see, sir, after being saved from death twice, after changing into someone yet again, it is hard to decide to what people I belong. After the Bactine operation, my own people did not really accept me for who I was. But the other Rebuilts also didn't. Then I got shoved away, to this planet. No offence, sir, it is a nice planet. But it is hard for me to call it home."

The senator nodded. "That must be hard. You struggle and the gratification is not coming. But you are still alive, young man."

"True. But at times I wonder if that is all worth this. I was an Assault Marshall, up for becoming sergeant. Instead of that, I am set up, there's a stain on my name. And now I am here, sailing on a ship fighting pirates and waiting to be chopped up again."

Sygra patted Daniel on the shoulder. "Perhaps you should give it some time. You've undergone some impressive traumas, Mr. Zacharias. Time is the best healer for this. The fact that you are here shows your strength. You could have stayed at home and sulk, sir."

Daniel grinned. "Thank you, senator. I'll give it some more time."

"There's a good man," the senator said. "I really appreciate your confidence, Mr. Zacharias. Now, if you will excuse me. My old bones need the warmth of the inside again."

"Good evening, Seigner Dirrit ko Asac. Thank you for your ear."

The thin man smiled down at the still sitting Daniel. "I hope we can meet again someday." He slowly walked off, his robe flowing left and right as he moved.

"I doubt it," Daniel mumbled. He also got up and after a last look around the garden, he went inside, getting ready to leave.

Behind the plant, a shadow waited for a while, then also slipped into the house.

Daniel walked through the see-through tunnel, reached the reception building and one of the ladies who were still there found his coat. The floater was already waiting so he stepped in and waited until the thing had taken him to the platform at the foot of the hill. Once there, he saw a long line of carriages waiting. Both the men who had been there when he arrived were gone, so he walked to the first carriage and made it take him home.

All this trouble for a few hours...