Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Unexpected Results1

Harn was sitting cross-legged on the floor of their cabin; he looked even more elfin than usual - his lithe frame, silver hair and pale, fine features all conspiring to give the impression of the mythical race. Jane was probably unique amongst humans in realising fhurquil were both more and less. 2

The fhurquil had deliberately nurtured the misconception, for from the first contact with humans they had realised that within the human race there was a deep xenophobia. Some humans sought out the new and craved for knowledge yet others wouldn’t even trust disparate human groups. It was a dichotomy that the fhurquil were unable to understand and so they had mimicked the story of elves, which were exotic and yet known; in order to allay human concerns. It had at least partially worked.3

"So Jane; will you tell me now?" Harn's slight fhurquil lisp gave softness to his question but she could see how tense he was.4

"There was a fhurquil on board the 'Sally Forth,’" Jane replied softly.5

Harn was a blur of movement as he rose to his feet. "Do you know their name?"6

"Teolin Fe Ba Guin."7

"Teolin, searcher of the chaotic, Eoabat karbii ta Teolin uck Guin." Harn cast his eyes down and formed a symbol with his hands.8

"No Harn! Unsay it - she is still alive."9

"Ay! Tu tarnawa ~ Narg karbii. Jane how can this be? She was unmade!" Harn’s eyes were wide with shock and horror.10

Jane didn’t speak for a moment, then softly. "I called her back."11

"Even so, why did she stay?" Harn snapped, as if Jane was evading the real question.12

Jane hesitated. He was right; this might be the crunch point she realised. "I accepted her life - she is Ora te Ma furi maat vaal."13

"Jane! You could not! Do you realise what you have done! It is a most sacred tradition. How could you even know?" Harn paced like a caged cat.14

"The legend of Harkani Fe Bartoio ee Te Pu Nargan, when he crossed the great divide; he thought he was unmade."15

“Lel sareo narg e flavieo fhurquil!" Harn stormed.16

"Not a fhurquil story? What do you mean - whose then?"17

Harn was suddenly still. "I spoke without thought, of course it is fhurquil."18

Jane waited but Harn didn't speak for a long moment. "Have you heard of Ta Iilatama ywal?"19

"The red witches, yes, they were in the saga of Liolatin Pa Ta Beium. What of them?"20

"It was a story of theirs - but that is not the point. The important thing is you have bound her to your Vaal yet you are… narg Vaal." Harn looked away, as if ashamed of the words he spoke.21

"I did it to save her life - that was more important to me; besides, I am not narg Vaal…" 22

"Oh, so now you claim to have Vaal as well!"23

"No, of course not, but humans aren't narg Vaal. We are built this way."24

"Eiota ~ ta mu ipna teriqin!" Harn angrily waved a hand. 25

"It's not splitting hairs, listen! Humans are built this way - we have never had Vaal so we are not the same as a fhurquil who is suddenly bereft of one of their most important senses. It can't be the same!"26

Harn ceased his pacing and the anger seemed to drain from him. For a long moment he stood in thought. "That is true, I do not think it has been consider in that way before." Harn touched a hand to his cheek. "You realise if the Council accepted that argument, they would have to lift the kalmaga, on human visitors." Harn's eyes were very bright. "You could meet my family!"27

Jane shook her head to clear it. One moment she had been a sinner now she was a saint.  "But surely that would take months… or years?" She took Harn's hand. "You know how much I would wish that but I think you're getting ahead of yourself, and what of Teolin?"28

"Ay! Te forim ~ Yurp te o palim. You must promise me Jane - as if you had Vaal, that you will not keep her Ora ta Ma, for any longer than possible and that must be less than…" Harn calculated in his head. "No more than thirty standard days."29

"Even if it means her life?" 30

"Even then."31

Jane nodded, she had already gone way out on a limb it was time to take advice. "Very well, I will speak with her again and then release her."32

"Teptii a fharmina tepo."33

"Thank you, I'm going to get some sleep, I’m still not on station time; are you coming?"34

"I must contact the ambassador; I'll be as quick as I can."35

Jane nodded and Harn left their cabin. Despite all that had happened in the last day, or perhaps because of it, Jane was soon asleep.36

After a shower and a clean uniform, Jane headed first for the bridge. Harn had not reappeared but that was not so rare, he was often on fhurquil business when off duty.37

Tyron Schott, the navigator First was already on the bridge. "Ah Captain, did you sleep well?"38

Jane frowned up at Tyron. They were firm friends and it was unusual for him to use her title when they were not in operation. "Yes thank you First Schott."39

Tyron gave Jane a veiled smile, his dark eyes hooded. "I only ask because most of my team have been hard at work since your inquiry last watch."40

Jane grinned. "Ah, you mean my interest in the Ball Nebula?"41

"Just so, they thought they had better compute a course - just in case." Tyron peered down at Jane with a raised eyebrow.42

Jane chuckled. "Oh come on, you know as well as I do that we would never be taken that far off station."43

Tyron nodded. "Well yes, but you can't expect to start a search like that without stirring up a hornet’s nest."44

"So what have you got for me?" Jane asked her voice completely innocent.45

Tyron growled softly under his breath. Jane had still not answered his unspoken question - why she had wanted to know about the nebula. "Captain" Tyron sat down and swivelled on his seat to face the navicom. It looked almost like a child's toy, dwarfed by his huge hands. "We have the full science report of the only survey - elemental analysis, size and density estimates, positional cords, and a theoretical postulate of formation. Anything else you need?"46

"Just the details of the star system inside."47

"What? …Damn, one to you, you got me there for a moment." Tyron laughed.48

"Two, I think there really is a system in there."49

Tyron looked at Jane for a moment to see if she was joking, then swivelled back to the console again, his fingers as skilful as a pianist's. "I don't think so Jane, see how symmetrical it is." The holographic picture rotated in two plains. "The survey team suggested it might be matter from a collapsed micro black hole, there wouldn't have been time for enough matter to have re-aggregated to form a star."50

"Give me a cord. poss." Jane reeled of the figures she had got from Teolin.51

A tiny red spot appeared about a third of the way into the nebular.52

"Well that's the clincher." Jane shook her head.53

"What is that Jane, what's going on?" Tyron was clearly bewildered.54

"That, Mister Bear, is now the official last know position of the 'Sally Forth' before we found it, three days later and most of the way across Fed. space."55

Tyron was clearly stunned. “Jane, how do you know this?”56

“There was a fhurquil aboard, she was confused but that was the cords. she gave me and she saw a system.”57

Tyron shook his head as if to clear it. “`This is amazing!”58

“I think you can say that again. I had better go and report to the brass – I’m sure there will be a survey but it won’t be us, still the practise won’t hurt them, will it?”59

Tyron chuckled.60

“Oh by the by, this better be Firsts only, until I’ve reported – okay?”61

“Of course my Captain.” Tyron bowed low. “And I didn’t hear you call me Mister Bear either.”62

Jane had a long wait for Admiral Santana; it was unusual for Captains to see the Commanding Officer, unless an appointment had been scheduled, or they were summoned.63

"Jane, good day, I'm sorry it took a while for my staff to get around to telling me you were here. Have you news of the fhurquil?"64

"Yes, ma'am and quite a lot more, if you have the time..."65

It took Jane an hour to explain both about the fhurquil and what they had found out about the nebula.66

Admiral Santana was clearly amazed by Jane’s story. "Well if nothing else it will solve your problem of secrecy, although I suppose that’s moot now. I shall have to put the whole incident and enquiry under a security blanket until the survey is complete. Have you seen your father yet?"67

It took Jane a moment to take in the apparent change of direction. "No, is he here, ma'am?"68

The Admiral gave Jane a wry grin. "It seems he is something of a fhurquil expert. I requested his help yesterday when I was setting up the enquiry panel, but I'll have to apologise to him now for bringing him on a wild goose chase - unless you would like him to assist you with… Teolin, was her name?"69

Jane nodded and then pulled a face. "I would prefer not to get him involved ma'am, unless I must. We have not always seen eye to eye - and he can be very stubborn."70

"Really, you surprise me." Admiral Santana chuckled. "On a more serious note though, it would be easier for us all if we keep it within Spacefleet now. You report back to me at ten hundred tomorrow. I should have heard from some of the investigators by then."71

"Yes, ma'am."72

As soon as Jane was outside the security field around the Admiral's office, her communicator blipped. "Captain, your father has been trying to contact you - he's on level fifty three in the lounge."73

"Thanks Susan, I'll go there now."74

Jane had very mixed feelings about her father. She had a great love for him, as her only parent, but they had also had some real stand-up fights, particularly about her choice of career.75

Jane found her father sitting at a table, with two fhurquil.76

"Jane, there you are." Her father stood and hugged her. "This is Suphren Te Mormn and Eolin Fe Ba Kaligan. We're working on some ancient texts, despite your damn Spacefleet whizzing us around the system."77

"Teenor eedoliphima to Suphren oi mea Eolin, Youli ootermin fe al teniamora." Jane touched palms with the fhurquil.78

"Ternor ~ orminy fhurquil sa tumina." Suphren smiled at Jane.79

"Steady on now you three, you know my spoken fhurquil is not up to this." Jane's father said, with a smile.80

"I just complimented your daughter on her knowledge of high fhurquil, sir, few fhurquil could quote from so obscure texts."81

Jane chuckled. "I think that I know more fhurquil stories than human. I can hardly ever remember any baby sitters other than fhurquil."82

The two fhurquil exchanged glances but didn't comment.83

"So Jane, tell us what is so vital we have to come over to chilly old Byron Four in such a hurry?" Jane's father asked.84

Jane pulled a face. "I'm sorry father they have put a blanket security over the whole enquiry, there are survey considerations that have come up." Jane shrugged. "Harn and I have something that might be of interest though." Jane told the three about her ideas.85

"And Harn accepted this reasoning Jane?" Eolin asked earnestly.86

Jane nodded.87

"Reio ttag Harn ip narg fo…" Suphren stopped in mid sentence.88

"Go on, the end of the special… what?"89

"Forgive him Jane; I do not think any other human could have understood fhurquil spoken so quickly or so unadvisedly." Eolin gave Suphren a hard look. "But these things are for Harn to speak to you of."90

"Do you mean because he is T’Pert?"91

"You know this?" Suphren gasped.92

Jane smilled and nodded; she wanted to say, 'no, but I do now!' but such a breach of confidence would be a very serious matter amongst the fhurquil.93

"Jane, please, I have hardly understood a word. What are you speaking about? What is it that is selected?"94

Jane winced, her father should have understood but if he didn’t… "It's a long story father and I have a lot to take care of right now but if you're still here in a day or two we'll sit down and have a long chat."95

Jane's father was clearly unsatisfied by this but knew how stubborn his only child could be and didn't press the issue. The four had a meal in one of the better of Leonardo’s restaurants and then Jane headed back to the ship. Harn was waiting for her. Just by looking at him Jane could see how excited he was.96

"This should be inscribed on yole bark, it is just a facsimile sent by sub-e." Harn, his eyes beaming, handed Jane a piece of paper. As she read it her mouth fell open and her eyes became round with surprise. It was the first ever invitation for a human to visit a fhurquil planet. "Oh my!" Was all Jane could gasp for a moment.97