SACRED TRUST

Chapter 1

I should have let Tata pick our destination, I decided as I gazed at the presumably dead Basilian sprawled near the dais dominating The Temple of Enlightenment in the Basili world capital of Basik. Discovering a body had certainly made for an ominous start to our study of Basilian religion.

My friend, Tata Junior, and I had recently arrived on Basili from Tata’s home planet of Arandis and had started attending BSU, the Basilian Scientific University. After school, we normally tried to visit a monument, or building, or museum, or attend a cultural event. We knew so little about Basili. Since we might be here for a time, we both understood the necessity of understanding our surroundings.

Our ambassador parents, and Tata and I, had ended up in Basik after getting kicked off Arandis—the only other inhabited planet in this solar system. Although our expulsion had been the result of Tata Junior’s action, no one mentioned the topic in his hearing. I suspected, though, his single-parent ambassador mother, Ilandus Tata, had had a few choice words for him in private.

“Nara, leave,” said Tata. His hands clasped behind his back indicated Tata's nervousness.

My universal translator and I had become used to Tata’s truncated Arandi speech. So I deduced Tata tried to communicate we should disappear.

Upon our arrival at the temple, I’d looked around the high-ceilinged main room and marveled at the numerous statues on display. Were they statues of gods…or perhaps ancestors? Various lit-up displays enticed us to wander the mostly dark room.

We hadn’t had time for any significant study before we came across the body.

Before I had a chance to respond to Tata’s request to leave, we were joined by four Temple staff members. Their flowing tweedy-blue capes indicated their church allegiance. Although normally wordier than Arandi, the Basilians spoke no words as they grabbed us. Tata and I struggled but to no avail. The church members tied us together, back-to-back, and made us stand on the dais beside the body, which still dripped its peculiar green blood.

The higher humidity and our struggle against our bindings had made me sticky with sweat, although fear may have contributed. One of only four humans on a previously undiscovered planet tended to up the stress level—at least mine.

“I guess we should have gone to the Space Museum like you suggested,” I said to Tata.

A growl escaped Tata’s mouth. Tata never understood my sense of humor, and it wasn’t easy for me to determine when Tata was being humorous, although I had to admit Arandi humor focused on areas I was not accustomed to—things like food and clothing. Who would’ve thought?

Oddly, I grew tired of looking at the same strange statue in my vision field. That circumstance, and the fact my back and shoulders were killing me, gave me an excruciating headache. I tried to stand straighter but being tied to the taller Tata made me slouch awkwardly while my arms were pulled up behind me. “Tata, talk to me. What’s happening?” He and the Basilians were out of my line of sight.

“One leave; others watch,” said Tata.

Tata’s voice betrayed him. I knew him well enough to sense his anxiety.

So that means we have three captors. No chance of escape.

I studied the body. I needed to take my mind off the ropes binding me to Tata and how my father, Naru Scotia, the human ambassador to Basili, was going to regret again bringing up an eighteen-year-old daughter on his own.

On the other hand, perhaps Eonus Tata, Tata Junior, or Tata as I sometimes called him, would be in greater trouble with his mother, Ilandus Tata, the Arandi ambassador to Basili, especially since Tata Junior was the reason we all got kicked off Arandis. Only time would tell.

The Basilian splayed on the dais gave me the impression of retirement age because of his light copper hair.

Do aliens retire? Do they even have the concept? Perhaps some societies did and others didn’t? I hadn’t encountered this notion on Arandis. I had more than a few questions for my ambassador father.

Unlike Tata’s people, Basilians showed variety in choosing their clothing colors.

The Arandi had strict color choices—purple and green garments for the males, red and blue garments for females—although black, white, and brown were worn by all.

Physically, the Arandi and Basilians were similar—humanoid, a somewhat skeletal body form, and curly locks of hair. Their similarity was what had actually caused the ejection of the four of us—Tata and I and our parents— from Arandis. Tata Junior found a secret that had been hidden from both populations—Arandis and Basili had been seeded by common ancestors. My father and I had found ourselves smack in the middle of the conflict, so once again I lacked human companionship, except for my father and his two human assistants, who happened to be a couple.

“Tata, look at the body and tell me what you see,” I demanded.

Tata shook a little as if to disagree, but then he relented and we shuffled our bodies around under the watchful twitching of our captors. The Basili moved closer as we twirled.

What had I been thinking? Now I would have to stare into the eyes of our guards.

Tata cleared his throat and seemed reluctant to speak. Normally forceful, his hesitation surprised me.

“What do you see? Come on, tell me.” Now his silence irritated. I wanted to jump up and start running somewhere. Our situation confounded my experience.

“Guards?” asked Tata.

“The guards don’t care.” I wanted to smack him—not that I ever had—but his concerns frustrated me. We had no control over the Basilian temple guards.

Tata sighed. A sigh was a common response amongst different humanoid alien species, and I hadn’t realized that until now.

“Older Basilian. Blood two spots. Probably knife twice.”

I hadn’t noticed two pools of green blood. On my next turn around on the dais, I’d take a closer look.

I knew Tata was uncomfortable when he squirmed in our weird embrace and his usual faint hint of rosemary grew stronger. So I said, “Let me see, again.” We shuffled around to our original position.

To my surprise, the two pools of blood were on the same side of the Basilian’s body. They were so close together I hadn’t noticed the break between them in my previous perusal. Since the spread of blood hadn’t grown much after our initial discovery of the body, his death had probably not been recent.

I decided I kidded myself, what did I know about either Basilian or, for that matter, Arandi physiology in the aftermath of death? I really must suppress my human notions and stick to the facts.

Glancing up, I noticed a watching Basilian. His uniform perhaps indicated an official of some sort. Although I knew, from personal experience, Arandi police clothed themselves in garish fabric covered in badges I had never met the equivalent Basilian. Possibly, they opted for black clothing with very little in the way of insignia. No matter, I was convinced he was an official of some sort.

The officer gestured at the temple staff to untie us. After that, I loved him! Being tied up had been a new experience. One I hoped to never experience again.

I rubbed my arms and said, “Officer, I am Nara Scotia. I am a human from—“

He interrupted. “I know who both of you are. I am Officer Aron Kikess of the Basilian police.”

Officer Kick-Ass! I tried not to laugh. I wasn’t totally successful, because Tata jabbed me with his elbow.

Kikess ignored us and made a call on his com. From what I heard, reinforcements were now on the way.

“What were you two doing here?”

“Easy peasy. We stopped by after school to study the temple. Tata and I know so little about Basilian culture so we are trying to study everything we can. In fact, we’ve been to—“

“Understood.”

I’d been cut off again. My babbling apparently wasn’t appreciated. “Show me your hands,” Officer Kikess demanded.

First Tata held out his hands. The detective took a close look and then motioned for Tata to turn his hands over. He repeated the procedure with me.

What was he looking for? Then it dawned on me he searched for evidence of green blood or other debris on our bodies. To top off the indignities we’d experienced today, he took a spray can from his bag and completely covered our hands with a chilly orange paint. Preserving evidence was my guess.

We waited in silence until a group of Basilians appeared. I assumed they were detectives, evidence gatherers, medical staff, and such.

“Call parents,” said Officer Kikess to Tata and me. At that point, he sounded like an Arandi, rather than a Basilian.

I had enough mobility under the dried orange goo to take my com out of my pocket. Thankfully, my com responded to voice activation.

Dad’s location was unknown, but he answered. “Dad, Tata and I are in a bit of trouble. Officer Kikess would like to speak with you.”

I could foresee the end of my future freedom.

*****

This is the end of Chapter 1.

Written by Roxanne Barbour.