Alien Skies, page 12
part #3 of Wakanreo Series
Kamuhi nodded wordlessly.
Joenne swore again. “What the hell am I supposed to do with you? Your job is to see that everyone else follows local customs and doesn’t upset anyone, and you caused the biggest upset we’ve had in decades!”
“Yulayan and I got married two years ago,” Kamuhi said, trying to keep his temper in check. “There was some grumbling at the time but no one seemed that worried about it. The Disciples of Paruian even sent a representative to the wedding.”
“Yeah,” said Joenne. She started walking again and Kamuhi fell in step beside her. “No one fussed much until you left and took her off planet the first time—and then again after she became the first Wakanrean to medically end shahgunrah. Then suddenly the religious fanatics came out the woodwork and started babbling about defiling the sacred blood of Paruian by dragging a parundai to alien ground. And the qatorglynai start protesting about ThreeCon disrupting the Wakanrean way of life.”
“The qatorglynai were a problem before that,” Kamuhi pointed out. “They’ve been protesting for years.”
“Maybe,” admitted Joenne. “But you didn’t help calm things down any.”
“Look,” said Kamuhi, “Yulayan and I are two individuals who met and decided we wanted to marry. Neither Wakanrean law nor ThreeCon regulations forbid a Wakanrean and a Terran from marrying. And I certainly never dragged Yulayan anywhere. I don’t think anyone ever succeeded in making her do something she didn’t want to do, and I never even tried.”
“All right. So you didn’t force her to leave the sacred soil of Wakanreo. But you’re going to be a magnet for criticism, Hailoaka. I don’t need that right now. I’ve got enough to do.”
By now, Kamuhi’s temper was up. “I didn’t ask for this assignment, Macaulay, but I got it. Until I get orders elsewhere, I’m staying in Yiangliun.”
“Fine,” she said. “After I show you the base, you’re assigned to the office while you read up on local customs. You do realize that this isn’t Wisuta? It’s a good deal more provincial, and it’s a lot easier to offend local sensibilities.”
Kamuhi didn’t attempt to argue with her logic or her order. They walked in silence for a while, and then Joenne showed him the medical center, the library, and the agricultural office.
“You’ve been assigned an apartment on base,” she said as they came out of the last office. “I’ll show it to you now. You can take your bag over later.”
The apartment was on the second floor of a two-story building. It was small but comfortably furnished; the smaller bedroom had a bed instead of a crib, but he knew a crib had been ordered and would arrive before Yulayan and Malia did. After the place they had lived while he was in training on New Iberia, Kamuhi didn’t think that Yulayan would complain. He was looking at the larger bedroom when he turned around and found that Joenne was standing right next to him. Instinctively, Kamuhi backed away a little.
“How long have you and your wife been separated?” she asked.
“Several months,” Kamuhi said, too startled to say anything else.
“That’s a long time.” Joenne moved a little closer. “I’ve been assigned here for over two years. There aren’t many Terrans in Yiangliun, not that live here, anyway. Now that you’re here, there are eight Terran men on base and six of them are married, counting you.”
Kamuhi didn’t say anything.
“Your wife won’t be here for almost two weeks,” she said in a coaxing tone. “That bed’s going to get cold and lonely at night. I could help you warm it up. I’m really good at that—damn good. I can promise you that you’d enjoy it.”
Kamuhi shook his head. “No. I appreciate the invitation, but no thanks.”
Joenne didn’t seem disposed to take rejection. “I was at OPI, too. I remember how it was. It’s a long course, out in the middle of nowhere. Lots of people managed to forget they were married. I know that for a fact. Are you telling me you went months without a woman in your bed when you must have had your pick?”
She was standing right next to him now. Kamuhi looked down at her and frowned. “Look, you’re out of line here. My personal life is my own business. You made an offer, I said no, and that’s it. Leave it alone.”
She tilted her head a little to look up at him. “You mean it, don’t you? You’re really not interested in a little something on the side, no strings attached?”
“Yes,” Kamuhi said. “I mean it.”
Joenne sighed a profound sigh. “Sheesh, first they dump an assistant on me and then he turns out to be a prude. It just isn’t my day.”
She turned around and walked out of the apartment without another word, waiting for Kamuhi by the lift tube. Kamuhi breathed a sigh of relief and followed her.
He spent the rest of the day getting settled in at the liaison office. Joenne demonstrated how the files were kept; she reviewed the calendar of upcoming visitors, and she showed him the reference files and other information on Wakanrean laws and customs. She never mentioned her earlier offer, and Kamuhi was happy to let the matter drop entirely.
That night he slept alone in the otherwise empty apartment. He had a lot of trouble sleeping. His conversation with Joenne had reminded him just how long it had been since he and Yulayan had been together. He lay alone in a bed meant for two and ached when he thought about his wife.
In the morning, Kamuhi was groggy. When he walked over to the base cafeteria for breakfast, he found that the facility was entirely automated. There were no personnel assigned to it, unless you counted a servoid that rolled smoothly between the tables scanning for anything that needed cleaning. Looking around, Kamuhi decided to do some shopping later. Eating in an empty apartment would be preferable to eating in this wasteland.
When he opened the door at the liaison office, Joenne Macaulay was already there. She had a small hand-held terminal and she was clicking off something as Kamuhi walked in.
“Good morning, Hailoaka,” she said, without looking up.
“Good morning, Macaulay.”
She folded the terminal, slipped it into a pocket, and picked up her bag from the desk. “I’ve got to get out to some farms in the outlying district to set up an agricultural tour. We get several agricultural tours a year, even here in the boonies. They’re always popular because Wakanreans make very good use of chemicals; they can combine pest repellents and plant foods in environmentally safe ways that no one else does. Also, most farmers still grow real food, not just biomass for synthesizers.”
“I thought there was an agricultural office here?” Kamuhi asked.
“The other base offices are for Wakanreans who want information or assistance from ThreeCon,” she explained. “Wakanrean farmers go to the agricultural office for information. We’re the ones who deal with any non-Wakanreans who visit here.”
“Am I coming with you on this trip?”
She shook her head. “Nope. You stay right here and do your homework. You may be God’s gift to physics, but you’ve still got a few things to learn about this part of Wakanreo.”
She was gone soon after, and Kamuhi made himself comfortable as he sat back to do some reading. He was immersed in a treatise on Yiangliun civil law when the door opened. It was Lieutenant Ianachh.
Kamuhi came to attention and saluted.
The Shuratanian returned it and looked around the room frowning. “Where is Liaison Officer Macaulay?” he asked.
Kamuhi explained his superior’s absence.
“But why didn’t she take you with her?” Ianachh asked. “Surely you need to learn your new duties as soon as possible?”
“I’m learning some background on the Yiangliun district first, sir.”
Ianachh frowned again. “Ask Liaison Officer Macaulay to come see me when she returns, will you please, Kamuhi?” The Shuratanian’s face changed subtly, and he smiled. “How are you getting settled in otherwise? Is the apartment adequate?”
“I’m fine, sir. The apartment will be okay.”
“Good, good.” Ianachh smiled again. “And how are you getting along with Liaison Officer Macaulay?”
“Very well, sir.”
“Not giving you any trouble, is she?”
Kamuhi couldn’t help but think about the previous afternoon and he tried, not entirely successfully, not to blush. “No, sir,” he said.
Ianachh stared at him hard, but Kamuhi said nothing more. The lieutenant stayed a few more minutes, making Kamuhi thoroughly uncomfortable, and then he left.
Later that afternoon, Joenne Macaulay returned to the office. She came in and dumped her bag on the desk with a weary sigh.
“Whoof,” she said. “Some of those farmers could talk the tail off a Shuratanian. They must be lonely working out there in the middle of nowhere, so when they get company, they don’t want to let them go.” She took the portable terminal out of her pocket and handed it to Kamuhi.
“Here,” she said. “You can review the new data and then file it. Those two farms are all set for the tour next week. Remind me to prepare a handout for the tour group. We expect two Terrans and three Milorans from a mixed colony world.”
Kamuhi took the terminal. “Lieutenant Ianachh asked me to tell you he wanted to see you.”
“Bloody hell.” Joenne sat down and put her feet up on another chair. “What does he want anyway? He doesn’t usually pay any attention to the liaison office unless someone important is coming through.”
“I don’t know. He came in about an hour after you left.”
“What?” she asked in surprise. “You mean he actually walked all the way over here? He didn’t just call on the com?”
Kamuhi nodded.
“What did he say, exactly?”
“You want it word for word?”
“Yeah, if you can do it word for word, tell me word for word.”
Kamuhi reviewed the conversation in his mind and then gave her the entire exchange with the dialog separated by “I said,” and “he said.”
Joenne watched him open mouthed. “Bloody hell, Hailoaka. Do you remember everything anyone says to you?”
“Not forever,” Kamuhi admitted. “But for a short time, yes. I can recall any conversation for a day or two.”
Her expression reflected her disbelief. “All right. Tell me the one from yesterday, with you and me. Start where I asked you how you knew Jared Harlengin.”
Kamuhi had to think a minute.
“I said ‘You didn’t read my file all the way. This is my second visit to Wakanreo. The first time was when I was a civilian.’ You said, ‘How did you meet the Planetary Commander?’ I said, ‘He’s a close friend of my wife’s father. In fact, they’re glynunshahai.’ You said, ‘What? Is your wife Wakanrean?’ I said ‘Half—’”
“That’s enough,” interrupted Joenne. “So you really can do it word for word. Tell me again what the lieutenant said.”
Kamuhi was beginning to feel like an audio recorder, but he repeated the conversation a second time.
Joenne shook her head. “He didn’t say why he had come over here. All he did was ask where I was and how were you getting along. Plus he added that crack about was I giving you any trouble.”
“Wouldn’t it be simpler just to go and ask him what he wanted?”
“You don’t know Ianachh like I do. Nothing is simple with him. He likes to lay traps.”
She debated a few more minutes then finally left for Ianachh’s office. She was back in a very short time.
“All right, Hailoaka,” she said, yanking a chair away from the desk and pushing it to the middle of the floor. “Sit.”
Kamuhi had been selecting a few texts to read that night. He walked slowly over to the chair and sat down.
“Now,” Joenne stood right in front of him, “what are you trying to pull on me?”
“I’m not trying to pull anything.” Kamuhi leaned back in the chair, folded his arms across his chest, and stretched his longs legs out in front of him. “What makes you think I am?”
“Because Ianachh just reamed me out but good. He couldn’t seem to decide if I was deliberately sabotaging your efforts or merely neglecting you to a criminal degree.”
“I told you exactly what he said to me and what I said to him. The only other time I’ve seen the man was yesterday in his office. You were there. You tell me how I tried to pull something on you?”
Joenne was pacing slowly back and forth. “He’s up to something. I know he is. I just wish I could figure out what it is.” She stopped pacing. “What was the part about was I giving you trouble?”
Kamuhi started to repeat it again, but she stopped him.
“No, don’t give me the word for word stuff. Just tell me what he said and how he said it.”
“He asked very politely how was I getting along with you. I said equally politely that we were getting along very well. Then he asked if you were giving me any trouble.”
Joenne stopped him. “Why would he say that? What did he mean by it?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Was he being snide or anything?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And you said no?”
“Actually, I said ‘no, sir.’”
Joenne was reluctant to let it go, but finally she sent Kamuhi home with his texts and closed up the office.
Kamuhi ate a solitary dinner of synthesized food in his own kitchen and went to bed early. He was awakened in the middle of the night by a familiar voice.
“Wake up, Hailoaka,” it said. “I need to talk to you.”
Kamuhi sat up in bed. The light was on in the bedroom, and Jared Harlengin was sitting on a chair in one corner of the room.
Kamuhi swore an ancient Shuratanian curse.
Jared smiled. “That’s always been one of my favorite curses. It sums up one’s heritage succinctly and promises a truly painful ending.”
“What in the hell are you doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night, Harlengin?” Kamuhi demanded.
“I wanted to talk to you. Get up! I need to ask you some questions.”
Kamuhi put on a robe and followed Jared into the kitchen. The commander had made a pot of quascha, and he handed Kamuhi a cup.
“Sit down,” he said.
“Damned generous of you to invite me to sit down for quascha in my own apartment,” Kamuhi said sourly. “Which brings up the question of how you got in?”
Jared’s smile was tinged with smugness. “Always make friends with Security, Kamuhi. They know the best tricks and they have the most fun toys.”
“I’ll remember that. Now what do you want?”
“Are you always this grumpy when you wake up? Yulayan must have the patience of a saint.”
“Except where her work or Malia is concerned, she has the patience of a four-year old. Now ask your questions so I can get back to sleep. I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“All right,” Jared said. “Why did Lieutenant Ianachh shu Pttach cite Liaison Officer Joenne Macaulay for sexual harassment of a subordinate?”
Kamuhi almost choked. “What?” he said, putting down his cup. “He did what?”
“That’s what it says in her file as of this afternoon. And since you’re her only subordinate, I thought maybe you could shed some light on the incident.”
“There wasn’t any incident. She never harassed me. Ianachh is crazy.”
Jared leaned back in his chair. “You’re quite sure? She never made any suggestive comments or dropped any little hints?”
Kamuhi didn’t say anything.
Jared frowned. “Come clean, kid. I want the truth, and I want it now.”
“Look, Jared, she never harassed me. It was a purely personal conversation between two adults. Can’t we let it go at that?”
“No. Not if you can’t answer my question.”
“She’s good at her job,” Kamuhi argued. “I’m sure she has a good record. Does what I tell you have to go into her file?”
“Ianachh’s citing her is already in her file, Kam,” Jared said quietly. “What you tell me will help determine whether it stays there.”
Kamuhi sighed. “She never harassed me,” he repeated. “She was showing me the apartment, and she came right out and offered to go to bed with me—quite literally. No strings attached, she said. I said no thanks, and that was that.”
“She never threatened you with a bad review if you said no?”
Kamuhi shook his head. “No.”
“Did she ever seem resentful or angry about your turning her down?”
“No. She acted naturally after that. She was very helpful about showing me what I needed to know back at the office. There was no suggestion of resentment.”
“And she never offered any inducement for saying yes?”
Kamuhi gave his superior officer a wry look. “Define ‘inducement.’”
The commander smiled. “She never offered any job-related inducement if you accepted her offer?”
“No, never.”
“But you still told Ianachh about it?”
“No,” Kamuhi said. “I didn’t tell him anything. I didn’t tell anyone until just now when I told you.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. It’s the kind of thing that happens all the time. One person makes an offer, and the other one says yes or no.”
Jared frowned again. He leaned forward in his chair. “Then how did Ianachh know about it?”
Kamuhi thought about it. “I think she’s got a reputation for this kind of thing— not harassing people or anything, just being on the make. The transport pilot who brought me up here was dropping hints, but I didn’t realize what she meant. I think Ianachh is just making an assumption. I also think I confirmed it when Ianachh asked me if Joenne had given me any trouble. I suppose I looked embarrassed when I said no. I tend to give things away like that.”
Jared nodded. “It sounds like he was gunning for Macaulay.”
“She said he lays traps.”
“The question is, why would he try to trap her?”
Kamuhi shrugged. “I think I must be the reason. Although I can’t imagine why, Ianachh sucks up to me like you wouldn’t believe. He calls me Kamuhi for one thing.”
“I just called you Kamuhi.”
“You’ve known me a lot longer than he has. In fact, I wondered if he thinks I have some kind of pull with you.”
