The Index -|-
Zara sat with Viinox at a red console, that was one of many on a wall that gently curved away from the floor. There was a row of consoles in fact, all of them silent, with only the occasional blinking nub. From Viinox, she had received all of the necessary overrides and had added her and Kanta’s bio signatures into the Xi command structure.
She looked to her left at Viinox. It was a good friend and always had been. It was instrumental in her escape from Mangas and his Xih crew. It had been her right hand and it could certainly be trusted. With a smile, Zara patted Viinox’s shoulder.
It looked at her in askance.
“I appreciate you, Viinox,” she said. “You are good and loyal. Thank you for helping me and for being here with me. I know all of this hasn’t been easy for you.”
There was silence and Viinox’s neck slits fluttered rapidly before resuming their normal cadence. Finally, its bright blue eyes blinked. “Thank you, Zara. I am happy to help, and uh… I appreciate you as well.”
“Well,” said Zara with a grin, “I have been unable to obtain any decent information from this console despite all my efforts. Can you help me? There are two things I want. The location of Nidix and any information about the Xih.”
Viinox tilted its head down slightly as it appeared to consider. “History became legend. Legend became myth.” It sighed quietly. “Nidix will not be found.”
“I don’t believe you. I need your help. I need detailed maps of Xi space and lists of lore about Nidix. I need to figure out how to properly query this obtuse data system. It’s ridiculous.”
Viinox began with the basics of the Xi data architecture which stored everything in a letter-by-letter structure. What made it so difficult for Zara was that that the letters were related based on the tiny squiggles, called hea, on the lower left of the written character and the amount of neck slit airflow needed to properly accentuate the letter. Combined with the fact that there were several thousand letters, Zara found it very difficult to follow the logic. Viinox stayed with Zara for hours.
Though Zara was annoyed that Kanta seemed to understand the system quickly, eventually Zara pieced together her way of discovering data within the Xi system. Despite that, she was not as quick or efficient as any Xi could be. She broke down the search into separate tasks, searching for clues about Nidix first. There were clues, but all of them were fairy tales that ended in mere dead air. It seemed on the surface that Nidix was only a bedtime story and had no bearing in actual reality.
That evening when Zara and Kpleeb ate together, she brought up the situation. “Da,” she said, “Nidix is nowhere. It’s like the wind except you can at least feel the wind. There is no Nidix except in the kind of stories that are irrelevant.”
Kpleeb shrugged and shoved another spiced tuber into his mouth. “Dey hava be sowher,” he mumbled through his food. With a swallow he continued. “How can every Xi know about Nidix but none of them know where it is? There has to be a record somewhere, even if it’s five hundred years old.” He paused and raked his hair with his blunt fingers. “Have you looked at star maps?”
Zara nodded as she chewed. “All of the maps I’ve found are spotless. No Nidix. It’s not like it was there and had been sanitized. It was simply never there.”
Kpleeb stayed silent and continued to chew.
Zara continued. “Da, I even looked at children’s songs about the Predominant hoping that there would be a treasure map of sorts in the words.”
Kpleeb nodded. “Good idea. What about looking in very old star maps? Maybe there was a time before Nidix was such a closely guarded secret.”
“Hmm. Maybe. I was unable to find any star maps that were old. I need to look in different places.” Zara shrugged. “Anyway, I haven’t spent a lot of time looking for the Xih, not yet anyway. Maybe tomorrow. How long do you want to stay here anyway?”
Kpleeb leaned back and stretched. “I think it will take another few days to get the Xi to accept the control I have over them. I was looking at the map, and I think we should jump to Cupet. It’s just far enough to make a successful jump and is in the right direction – toward the core.” He tapped a nearby console and a large star map burst into view above them. He squinted at the map for a few moments before pointing with his knuckle at a spot of light.
“Cupet is blue.” He drew an imaginary line with the same knuckle. “Oiitr says that Yefrtil is a very old and highly populated Xi orb. It’s the first orb we will encounter that is in the region of the core.” Kpleeb scratched his scraggly beard. “I think that I will find large ships there, but maybe the Xi will also have more defenses.”
“Are you worried?”
“Nope. We will have the new ships join us at Cupet with a full coat of kerflk.” He grinned. “The Xi aren’t ready for us. They have spent a thousand years and more without any real fight. By the time they realize the gravity of the Builder at their door, it will be too late.”
“I hope you’re right, Da.” Zara stood and sighed. “Time to sleep for now though. I have much to find and little time in which to search.”
###
Kpleeb gritted his teeth and blinked as Cupet flashed into view. The orb was grey with three enormous rusty red swirls spread across its surface. He could see storm clouds bunched up at its poles and a liquidy line at its equator.
“Oiitr, land four ships at the Iteek’s palace. It looks like the communications hub is nearby. The Greki and Hsstak should land there as well. Leave a few ships in orbit to protect against any Xi that may decide to appear.”
It took another hour for the Greki to settle in a large three-pointed city center that was surrounded by soaring and shiny spires. Kpleeb stood in the room where the external door began to open. “What’s the name of this city, Oiitr?”
Oiitr answered quietly. “Kiipir. The Xi settled here on Cupet almost four-hundred and twenty-six Ko in the past. It is a very old city, and I am grateful that it still stands.”
Kpleeb shook his head. “Over seven hundred fifty years by Phaedro’s clock.”
“737,” said Oiitr. “Some of the Xi relics here are quite exquisite. The Iteek will be particularly arrogant.”
Kpleeb turned his head and looked at Oiitr. He had never heard a Xi express this kind of opinion of anything. “Well,” he muttered gruffly, “it better not be too arrogant to me.”
Greki’s door began to retract, and four Ganix warriors wielding lightning spears jogged gracefully out into the city center. When Kpleeb stepped out onto the Greki’s ramp he staggered as a thin bolt of gray matter impacted the center of his torso.
“Get down!” he yelled. He rolled behind the two Ganix who had immediately placed their backs to him. The other two leapt into the crowd of Xi. The bounding warriors caused a commotion as they headed through straight as an arrow toward the distant spot where the bolt had erupted.
Kpleeb touched a pressure point on his bracelet and began to run. “Follow!” he bellowed.
The two remaining Ganix passed him almost instantly, and in a few seconds Kpleeb plowed into the Iteek with his right shoulder. He knew which one was the Iteek because its outfit was so extremely shiny. There was a muted clatter as several of the Xi were bowled over, and the warriors stood over the group like cats over a cowering mouse.
“You will pay for this!” Kpleeb said loudly, sweeping his hand toward the crowd. “I have been generous. I could have killed all of you from orbit, but I did not.”
Just then, the other Ganix warriors came back from their errand carrying a small bag with they handed to Kpleeb.
“Thank you.” Kpleeb turned toward the Iteek who was still beginning to stand. He turned the bag on its end and emptied a pile of glistening riiat onto the pavement before him. “Your assassin is no more. May it forever lose the presence of its ancestors.”
The Iteek recoiled at the sight of the Xi remains so carelessly poured out before retaining its self-control. “You are an animal,” it said softly.
“I did not ask for this,” growled Kpleeb. “When you plan to kill me, you should do a better job.”
