She took a deep breath, held it for a five count, then let it slowly out, repeating the process two more times. The guy was a jerk, but those were a dime a dozen back home. At least he wasn’t as bad as Totaxxis.Thatone was a real menace. More than that, he was prying into her origin. Her homeworld. And that could prove problematic if he learned she had lied about being part of the Dotharian Conglomerate.
Their rules were strange, and the penalties harsh. There was no telling what they might do to her if they found out she was not who she said she was.
She was about to continue her walk when a small detail of the incredibly detailed ancient tapestry on the wall where she’d happened to stop caught her eye. There was a vast amount of artwork lining the walls, accumulated over the millennia the sect had been in existence, and this was a particularly old one.
“Hang on,” she murmured, leaning closer. “That’s not right.”
The scene was benign, at least at first glance. A large group of priests carrying some sort of holy relic or high-tech totem, she couldn’t be sure exactly what it was. It was a procession through what appeared to be a somewhat primitive village, the locals comprised of several alien races, all of them watching the men in their midst with expressions of awe and wonder clear on their faces. This was likely a first-contact experience, the ways of the Dotharians, and the Norvalian Sect by extension, presented as a new world was welcomed into the fold.
But something was off.
It was a tiny detail, hidden in the stitched depths of the tapestry. So minor compared to all the other exciting and colorful things happening in the rest of the image. But there it was, tucked away yet clear to see.
The priests were walking in ranks, uniform in their appearance and holy attire. All men, or so it seemed. Yet there was one irregularity woven into the design. A different figure walking hand-in-hand with a priest tucked way in the back of the group. One with longer hair and a curvier figure.
There was a woman in the ranks. And she appeared to be more than just a random person walking with the man. And they were holding hands.
Ella looked at the small projected placard hovering below the artwork. Provenance and date of creation were present,yet the creator was unknown. The artwork, however, was old. Thousands of years, in fact.
“What does this mean?” she wondered, her mind already noting the vastly distant time period in which it had been made. A very early era of the Norvalians, and one she would most definitely be shifting her studies to, for her own edification if nothing else.
But maybe there was something there. Something interesting. It was going to be a fun sort of treasure hunt at the least and enlightening at the most. Lost in thought, she continued on her way, rounding the corner to the final corridor that would lead her outside.
“Watch where you walk, female!” Totaxxis’s gruff voice startled her, his imposing presence all but running her over when she bumped right into him, bouncing off his solid mass.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you.”
“Obviously.”
She moved past him, leaving the conversation at that. The sooner he was shrinking in her proverbial rear-view mirror the better.
“Your world. Earth, you called it. What system is it located in?” he called after her.
Shit.She stopped and turned back.
“Uh, I don’t know what you’d call it. Like I said before, we’re really new to the conglomerate, and I’m sure our name for it doesn’t translate. Even if it did, who knows what your name for it is?”
He stared, coldly assessing her, the muscle in his jaw flexing slightly.
“Hmm. Perhaps. But I must wonder if some other parties survived the Raxxian vessel’s crash. One with more knowledge than your feeble human mind can retain.”
“Hey—”
“And if so, they might be better able to answer my questions.”
Ella had a lot of things she wanted to say, and none of them polite. The guy was pushing her buttons. She saw the little glimmer of malicious intent in his eyes and bit her tongue.
You’re not getting shit out of me, buddy. It’s not going to be that easy.
She smiled bright and put on her best go-fuck-yourself customer service voice. “I wish you the best of luck with that. I’m sure scouring the planet will be a rewarding outing for you. And who knows? You might be successful before the year is out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I do need to be getting on my way.”
Totaxxis looked as if he was about to say something more but held his tongue. Ella had no intention of waiting for him to change his mind. She hustled off and was outside in a flash, making a beeline to the archives.
Nilkis was at his usual spot, restoring an old text. He didn’t even look up as she approached, though his hearing was quite acute.
“Those are for you,” he said, his head slightly tilting toward a pair of fairly old books at the far end of his workstation.
“Actually, I was wondering if you could maybe help me find something a bit older.”
