Disclaimer: "Farscape" is a protected trademark and I'm Just borrowing the
characters. I promise to give them back once I've used them, hopefully more
or less intact.
The Planet Zelnick and its entire people are my own invention.
Title: A Peacekeeper by any other name
Author: GitonCrais
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Keywords: After "Together"/Crais and Talyn
Summary: Crais stops Marauders to gain a foothold
A Peacekeeper by any other name
By GitonCrais
Part 1.
He had to go on a foray again soon. The fresh food he had brought on board on his first trip was wilting and there were only a couple of days of food- cubes left.
"Any luck in finding another Commerce planet, Talyn?"
Talyn beeped in the negative.
Crais went back to his star plotting. He had a smile on his face. He never knew that star plotting could be interesting but now that he was mapping the Uncharted Territories it felt good and pleasant. He had also come to realise that there weren't that many habitable planets. Some were barely able to sustain life, let alone intelligent species or even animals.
Being on board Talyn had a calming effect on him. He had come aboard this vessel as an angry, vengeful, aggressive and prejudiced ex-Peacekeeper's Captain. Now, after nearly a monen, he had turned into a calm, caring, less vindictive or aggressive individual. He could still be short-tempered, as he had proven when the two youngsters were on board but he seemed to be able to control it better now.
He had accepted Talyn as an equal species and was even sporting thoughts of peaceful co-existence with other species. He was starting to come to terms with Tauvo's death and had more or less admitted to himself that it hadn't been totally Crichton's fault.
Now his anger was mainly aimed at Scorpius and even then he felt he had to curb his feelings because of his link with Talyn.
He was sure he had not lost his prejudice completely. Contact with other species had been too short to do much about that. When he went planet-side the last time he admitted to himself that he was still wearing his gloves, only to take them off once he was back on board again. Sebaceans did not like to be touched by alien species and Crais was no exception to the rule. The fear of being contaminated was even further impressed on him by the Peacekeepers. On a sub-conscious level he agreed it was totally illogical and irrational, especially since most of the people he would be meeting from now on were mainly non-Sebecean. Not all species should be considered as sub-species but years of indoctrination to the contrary couldn't be shaken off so easily.
Because of Talyn he felt he had to change and he was willing to put quite a effort into doing so.
Talyn's happy chirping broke his reverie. He had found a populated planet
"Talyn I will be gone for a couple of arns. We will stay in contact through the link. Stay on the dark side of the moon and if you detect any trouble, warn me but do not engage in conflict. Do you understand?" Talyn beeped once in the affirmative.
He had landed the transport-pod at the spaceport near the town. When he opened the door of the transport-pod he noticed that the heat was borderline high. He would be able to move about but he would not be comfortable. He contemplated going towards the town when the sun had dropped below the horizon but there was no telling if he would still be able to conduct his business or if the heat would diminish sufficiently. Going back to Talyn and letting the Leviathan search for another Commerce planet was not an option either. The first planet he had encountered after leaving Moya had been well over two weekens away from his exit of starburst, the next one was two solar days away from that planet and this one had been at a distance of two weekens from the last. The food was running very low and he could not risk being too far away from the next habitable planet. If Talyn had been older they would be able to starburst relatively easy between solar systems but Talyn was too young and he wouldn't want to risk injuring the youngster. If he had to starburst let it be because it was desperately needed.
He squared his shoulders, shouldered his satchel and stepped out.
His uniform caused the people in the town to hush whenever he passed. "Yes," he thought bitterly, "My People are a space faring, colonising race and their Peacekeepers are renowned over the known Galaxy but for all the wrong reasons from where they started off from." Crais drew his shoulders back and pretended not to notice the baleful stares that were thrown at him.
The planet catered more for space-travel than the first planet he had landed on. This time he made sure to stock up well on more durable goods alongside the fresh foods. Talyn had not grown a cool-storage area yet but that was only a matter of time. The shopkeeper promised to have the goods delivered at his transport-pod after two arns.
He could hardly wait to get back on board. The heat was oppressive and he wiped his brow continuously, much to the amusement of some of the shopkeepers who seem to take their time to conclude the businesses. He needed some cold refreshments, anything to cool him down. The deliveries to his pod wouldn't be made for another one and a half arns.
He spotted the guesthouse across the street. It was cooler inside but not by much.
According to the landlord there was no ice available, so, he had to settle for a lukewarm glass of Frelip Nectar, which was too sweet for this weather. Well, it was better than nothing.
He brought the glass over to an empty table at the back of the guesthouse. It was the coolest spot so far. Wearily he sank down in his chair, leaned back and half closed his eyes. With his mouth half open, he tried to circulate cooler air in his lungs. The rate of his heartbeat slowed a little, his breathing and the pounding headache eased some and the heat became almost tolerable.
"What are we going to do?" He heard someone whisper from a table nearby.
He shifted his gaze surreptitiously, his hooded eyes giving the impression that he was dozing or asleep.
Two men sat at a table about six paces away from his and whispered quietly at each other. Crais' hearing had always been exceptional, even for a Sebacean and his curiosity was peaked by the remark; anything to stop him thinking about the heat.
"I don't know but this can't go on much longer. Some people say that they have already taken over two towns in the north and that this town is their next objective."
"There is not much we can do about it. Where are we to go? Who can give us the guarantee it will be any better in the next town or that they won't go there or, worse, that they are already there? Can you answer me that?"
"Grelik, keep your voice down! You don't know who might be listening." He glanced over at Crais who pretended to be asleep. The man turned back to his companion, "If only we could get enough people together to break into their stronghold…"
"You don't know what you are saying! Look what happened to Shang'ar! The town had raised a militia to defend the city. They were not going to surrender and then Shang'ar was laid in ruins!"
"We must be able to do something…"
His companion reacted with a resigned shrug of his shoulders and they looked in silence at the drinks they were holding.
For a microt Crais was tempted to go over there and find out more about their conversation, and who or what was causing their problems. Then he decided against it. This was obviously an internal affair, he was an outsider and might be considered a spy if he showed too much interest. Besides he longed to get off this planet.
Another half arn went by and Crais decided to go back to his pod. The delivery should be arriving soon and the two men had stopped discussing the problem. He rose and crossed the floor to the exit.
Near the door sat a group of six boisterous men who were drinking and singing loudly, much to the chagrin of the other people in the place. Crais had noticed them earlier but had paid them no attention.
When he passed the group his coat brushed one of the men who jumped up from his chair and turned to Crais. He didn't seem to be impressed or in fear of Crais' uniform, which surprised the latter. He towered head and shoulders over Crais and Crais was not a very short person. His width was almost twice as wide as Crais'.
"Can't you look where you are going," glowered the man in Crais' face.
Crais looked up in the man's face with a steady calm, "If I have offended you I apologize."
The man turned laughingly to his companions, "Hear that? The little man apologizes."
Inwardly Crais bristled at the affront but now was not the time to pick a fight.
That option was taken away from him. The man turned back to Crais and without warning lunged at him.
Crais had already taken a step back for although he didn't want to be drawn into a fight; he had considered the man a potential enemy and was prepared for him. When the man came for him, he ducked and sidestepped. The man's arms closed over thin air. Crais had taken measure of his opponent, calculating size, strength and speed. Training and sparring in his off-duty time when he wasn't on campaign had kept him fit and combat-ready, this now stood him in good stead.
The man wasn't too pleased that a shorter man could elude him that easily and with an evil grin he moved towards Crais again, this time his movements were slower and more deliberate.
Crais waited. When the man lunged with one hand in a punching motion while the other moved sideways where he suspected Crais to be diving to Crais dropped to all fours and swiped at the man's legs, connecting solidly with one of the knees. When the other man was off balance Crais rose in one fluid motion and the open Panthak jab under the jawbone brought the other man down nicely.
Crais seemed hardly out of breath when he surveyed the room with a look that said "any more takers?" When nobody moved, he turned back to the door to leave.
One of the companions of the man who was brought down attacked him while his back was turned but Crais had anticipated that. When he felt the man's hands touch his shoulders he leant backwards and stepped hard with the heel of his boot on the man's instep. The man let out a howl and loosened his grip on Crais. Crais took the man's right arm, pulled it forwards and heaved him with ease over his shoulders before letting him crash into the door. His head connected with the door, there was a thud and another crumpled heap lay silent.
He turned to the other four at the table. One of the men who had intended to get up to help his friends now slowly sat down again when he looked at the dark cloud that passed over Crais' face. Contained anger was showing in Crais' eyes and his breathing was more rapid. The exertion had made him too warm and he didn't relish it at all. At the moment he was still in control and had not used his full strength to take out his opponents but there was no telling what would happen to the next person who tried to accost him.
No one at the table tried their luck, they all looked at him silently while his stare bore down on them.
He was warned when on the point of turning to leave he saw one of the men look shiftily to his right shoulder. He ducked and sidestepped to the left but could not avoid that part of a chair contacted heavily with his right shoulder. His arm went numb.
Due to his size and strength, the first man had regained consciousness sooner than Crais had anticipated and had snug up behind him.
Crais felt for his right shoulder while stepping away from the brute who grinned maliciously at him. It would hurt like Hezmana for a little while but didn't seem to be broken. There was no time to think about it at the moment.
He dropped his shoulder a bit more and put a painful expression on his face. The ruse worked.
The man moved forward and tried to grab his right shoulder. Crais moved forward too, moving his left shoulder under the man's armpit, turned and faced away from the man. He took hold of the man's left wrist, used two fingers to apply pressure on two pressure-point in the man's wrist, which resulted in a yell of pain and slackening of the man's arm's muscles, then he took hold of the man's whole arm, twisted it and threw him over his shoulder with almost the same ease as he had done to the other man. The man crashed into a table and lay dazed on it, this time Crais took no chances and followed up on his action by planting his left elbow with force on the man's chest. He heard a crack and the body went limp. A quick glance told him the man wasn't dead but he wouldn't be trying to pick a fight in the near future either.
Breathing heavily through his nostrils and trying to suppress the pain in his shoulder by sheer will Crais now turned to the other four, "I would suggest you take your two comrades home… Now!" He glared at them, "Before I get my second wind back and this time I will not wait until another one of you decide to try his luck with me. Do I make myself clear?" Two of them nodded silently. "Then move!" He had not raised his voice by much but the last command had sounded like a thunderclap.
The other four scrambled away from the table and moved over to get their friends out. One turned to Crais, trying to say something, but Crais just stared at him and growled lowly. It was enough to hasten the men to leave the guesthouse quickly before "the madman" followed up on his threat.
Crais felt drained and clutched his shoulder. One of the other guests came over to ask if he was all right. He straightened up, nodded briefly and turned towards the door to leave.
The fight and the heat had taken their toll. He could feel his face flush red, perspiration showed on his brow and the room seemed to spin. He reeled and steadied himself on the back of a chair.
"Here, let me help you," a surprisingly gentle voice said, "Please, sit down."
Crais looked up and saw the man he had seen talking earlier.
"I will be all right in a minute," Crais said hoarsely, not even believing his own words.
"You will feel better once you have rested a bit."
Crais hated to admit that he did need a small respite. He felt himself being gently pushed in a chair and after a motioning from the man a glass of water was pressed in his left hand. Automatically he brought the glass to his lips and was surprised to taste ice-cold water. It revived his flagging spirits and he nearly finished it in one gulp. It helped cool him down and gratefully he looked up at the man who ordered another glass.
His head was feeling less hot and slowly Crais regained his senses only to be reminded too soon of the throbbing pain in his shoulder. His mind was assaulted by frantic questions of Talyn through his transponder. Although the link was weak at this distance, the speed of Talyn's questions made him slightly dizzy. Silently he assured the youngster that he was all right.
"Are you in pain," asked the man in response to Crais' clouded expression when Talyn questioned him.
"Just a minor discomfort that will pass soon. Thank you for your concern but I have to be going now." He made to stand up but was still not steady on his feet and sat down again.
"A healer should see about your shoulder," said the man.
Crais just wanted to get off this planet as soon as possible but a visit to the healer's wouldn't do much harm either. He nodded in reply.
"My name is Janek and yours?" asked the man while he helped Crais to his feet.
"Bialar," he answered curtly, deliberately giving his first name.
When they walked down the street to the healer's shop Crais wondered why they had all turned friendly. When he had walked into the guesthouse it had been obvious that his presence was not welcomed due to the uniform he wore. This man in particularly had eyed him with mistrust. He suspected that the fight had something to do with it.
The healer's shop was cool inside, being build against a rock face helped create this effect and Crais could feel his body-temperature drop slowly. After the exertions of the fight the short walk in the late afternoon heat to the healer's shop had not been a pleasant one. He had started to feel dizzy and disorientated.
She treated his shoulder, "You will feel sore for a couple of days," Crais nodded knowingly, he had been there before. "The numbness will wear off soon. This ointment should help ease it. You are Sebecean, aren't you?" Crais nodded wearily. If it wasn't obvious from his physique his uniform must be a dead give-away. "This planet is not good for you."
"That is quite obvious," snorted Crais, his patience growing thin.
"If you intent to stay longer, these herbs might help to bring down your body temperature. It is normally used in bringing down fever and should not be harmful to you. It should be infused by hot water, after that it can be drunk cold."
She handed him a bag of herbs. Crais' first reaction was to say "No". He had no intention to stay here longer than was absolutely necessary, but the herbs would come in handy when he would visit other planets with the same temperature. He accepted the bag gracefully.
When they left the healer's shop darkness had fallen and although it was still warm outside Crais felt better with the drop of temperature.
"Darkness falls quickly here on Zelnick," said Janek next to him. Crais had almost forgotten about him. "Where are you staying," he asked.
"I am not staying anywhere," answered Crais grumpily, "My transport pod is at the spaceport and I will be heading there now. My… crew is waiting for me."
"It's very dark and the roads are treacherous…"
Crais spun to him, "Are you threatening me?"
"No, just warning you. The two men you bested in the guesthouse belong to a band of men who don't take kindly to being opposed and they might be waiting for you."
Ah, now the turn-about became clear. "I am not interested in you internal disputes," he said, not feigning that he had not overheard the earlier conversation.
Janek now dropped all the pretext of being a concerned townsman, "We need someone like you, Bialar. We are desperate!"
"How do you know I am the man for the job? Just because I can outfight two men in their cups? A stranger? You must be desperate," he ended with a sarcastic sneer.
Janek dropped his voice, "We are. We don't have anyone who can lead us."
"And you think I can?"
"You are a soldier, an officer. You are trained to fight and to lead. You can bring in the other Peacekeepers to help us defeat them. Please!"
His voice had risen and Crais was worried that they could be overheard, "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"
The joy he saw on the man's face made him want to retract his words.
"Yes, sure, my house is not far from here."
With a sigh Crais followed Janek.
The Planet Zelnick and its entire people are my own invention.
Title: A Peacekeeper by any other name
Author: GitonCrais
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Keywords: After "Together"/Crais and Talyn
Summary: Crais stops Marauders to gain a foothold
A Peacekeeper by any other name
By GitonCrais
Part 1.
He had to go on a foray again soon. The fresh food he had brought on board on his first trip was wilting and there were only a couple of days of food- cubes left.
"Any luck in finding another Commerce planet, Talyn?"
Talyn beeped in the negative.
Crais went back to his star plotting. He had a smile on his face. He never knew that star plotting could be interesting but now that he was mapping the Uncharted Territories it felt good and pleasant. He had also come to realise that there weren't that many habitable planets. Some were barely able to sustain life, let alone intelligent species or even animals.
Being on board Talyn had a calming effect on him. He had come aboard this vessel as an angry, vengeful, aggressive and prejudiced ex-Peacekeeper's Captain. Now, after nearly a monen, he had turned into a calm, caring, less vindictive or aggressive individual. He could still be short-tempered, as he had proven when the two youngsters were on board but he seemed to be able to control it better now.
He had accepted Talyn as an equal species and was even sporting thoughts of peaceful co-existence with other species. He was starting to come to terms with Tauvo's death and had more or less admitted to himself that it hadn't been totally Crichton's fault.
Now his anger was mainly aimed at Scorpius and even then he felt he had to curb his feelings because of his link with Talyn.
He was sure he had not lost his prejudice completely. Contact with other species had been too short to do much about that. When he went planet-side the last time he admitted to himself that he was still wearing his gloves, only to take them off once he was back on board again. Sebaceans did not like to be touched by alien species and Crais was no exception to the rule. The fear of being contaminated was even further impressed on him by the Peacekeepers. On a sub-conscious level he agreed it was totally illogical and irrational, especially since most of the people he would be meeting from now on were mainly non-Sebecean. Not all species should be considered as sub-species but years of indoctrination to the contrary couldn't be shaken off so easily.
Because of Talyn he felt he had to change and he was willing to put quite a effort into doing so.
Talyn's happy chirping broke his reverie. He had found a populated planet
"Talyn I will be gone for a couple of arns. We will stay in contact through the link. Stay on the dark side of the moon and if you detect any trouble, warn me but do not engage in conflict. Do you understand?" Talyn beeped once in the affirmative.
He had landed the transport-pod at the spaceport near the town. When he opened the door of the transport-pod he noticed that the heat was borderline high. He would be able to move about but he would not be comfortable. He contemplated going towards the town when the sun had dropped below the horizon but there was no telling if he would still be able to conduct his business or if the heat would diminish sufficiently. Going back to Talyn and letting the Leviathan search for another Commerce planet was not an option either. The first planet he had encountered after leaving Moya had been well over two weekens away from his exit of starburst, the next one was two solar days away from that planet and this one had been at a distance of two weekens from the last. The food was running very low and he could not risk being too far away from the next habitable planet. If Talyn had been older they would be able to starburst relatively easy between solar systems but Talyn was too young and he wouldn't want to risk injuring the youngster. If he had to starburst let it be because it was desperately needed.
He squared his shoulders, shouldered his satchel and stepped out.
His uniform caused the people in the town to hush whenever he passed. "Yes," he thought bitterly, "My People are a space faring, colonising race and their Peacekeepers are renowned over the known Galaxy but for all the wrong reasons from where they started off from." Crais drew his shoulders back and pretended not to notice the baleful stares that were thrown at him.
The planet catered more for space-travel than the first planet he had landed on. This time he made sure to stock up well on more durable goods alongside the fresh foods. Talyn had not grown a cool-storage area yet but that was only a matter of time. The shopkeeper promised to have the goods delivered at his transport-pod after two arns.
He could hardly wait to get back on board. The heat was oppressive and he wiped his brow continuously, much to the amusement of some of the shopkeepers who seem to take their time to conclude the businesses. He needed some cold refreshments, anything to cool him down. The deliveries to his pod wouldn't be made for another one and a half arns.
He spotted the guesthouse across the street. It was cooler inside but not by much.
According to the landlord there was no ice available, so, he had to settle for a lukewarm glass of Frelip Nectar, which was too sweet for this weather. Well, it was better than nothing.
He brought the glass over to an empty table at the back of the guesthouse. It was the coolest spot so far. Wearily he sank down in his chair, leaned back and half closed his eyes. With his mouth half open, he tried to circulate cooler air in his lungs. The rate of his heartbeat slowed a little, his breathing and the pounding headache eased some and the heat became almost tolerable.
"What are we going to do?" He heard someone whisper from a table nearby.
He shifted his gaze surreptitiously, his hooded eyes giving the impression that he was dozing or asleep.
Two men sat at a table about six paces away from his and whispered quietly at each other. Crais' hearing had always been exceptional, even for a Sebacean and his curiosity was peaked by the remark; anything to stop him thinking about the heat.
"I don't know but this can't go on much longer. Some people say that they have already taken over two towns in the north and that this town is their next objective."
"There is not much we can do about it. Where are we to go? Who can give us the guarantee it will be any better in the next town or that they won't go there or, worse, that they are already there? Can you answer me that?"
"Grelik, keep your voice down! You don't know who might be listening." He glanced over at Crais who pretended to be asleep. The man turned back to his companion, "If only we could get enough people together to break into their stronghold…"
"You don't know what you are saying! Look what happened to Shang'ar! The town had raised a militia to defend the city. They were not going to surrender and then Shang'ar was laid in ruins!"
"We must be able to do something…"
His companion reacted with a resigned shrug of his shoulders and they looked in silence at the drinks they were holding.
For a microt Crais was tempted to go over there and find out more about their conversation, and who or what was causing their problems. Then he decided against it. This was obviously an internal affair, he was an outsider and might be considered a spy if he showed too much interest. Besides he longed to get off this planet.
Another half arn went by and Crais decided to go back to his pod. The delivery should be arriving soon and the two men had stopped discussing the problem. He rose and crossed the floor to the exit.
Near the door sat a group of six boisterous men who were drinking and singing loudly, much to the chagrin of the other people in the place. Crais had noticed them earlier but had paid them no attention.
When he passed the group his coat brushed one of the men who jumped up from his chair and turned to Crais. He didn't seem to be impressed or in fear of Crais' uniform, which surprised the latter. He towered head and shoulders over Crais and Crais was not a very short person. His width was almost twice as wide as Crais'.
"Can't you look where you are going," glowered the man in Crais' face.
Crais looked up in the man's face with a steady calm, "If I have offended you I apologize."
The man turned laughingly to his companions, "Hear that? The little man apologizes."
Inwardly Crais bristled at the affront but now was not the time to pick a fight.
That option was taken away from him. The man turned back to Crais and without warning lunged at him.
Crais had already taken a step back for although he didn't want to be drawn into a fight; he had considered the man a potential enemy and was prepared for him. When the man came for him, he ducked and sidestepped. The man's arms closed over thin air. Crais had taken measure of his opponent, calculating size, strength and speed. Training and sparring in his off-duty time when he wasn't on campaign had kept him fit and combat-ready, this now stood him in good stead.
The man wasn't too pleased that a shorter man could elude him that easily and with an evil grin he moved towards Crais again, this time his movements were slower and more deliberate.
Crais waited. When the man lunged with one hand in a punching motion while the other moved sideways where he suspected Crais to be diving to Crais dropped to all fours and swiped at the man's legs, connecting solidly with one of the knees. When the other man was off balance Crais rose in one fluid motion and the open Panthak jab under the jawbone brought the other man down nicely.
Crais seemed hardly out of breath when he surveyed the room with a look that said "any more takers?" When nobody moved, he turned back to the door to leave.
One of the companions of the man who was brought down attacked him while his back was turned but Crais had anticipated that. When he felt the man's hands touch his shoulders he leant backwards and stepped hard with the heel of his boot on the man's instep. The man let out a howl and loosened his grip on Crais. Crais took the man's right arm, pulled it forwards and heaved him with ease over his shoulders before letting him crash into the door. His head connected with the door, there was a thud and another crumpled heap lay silent.
He turned to the other four at the table. One of the men who had intended to get up to help his friends now slowly sat down again when he looked at the dark cloud that passed over Crais' face. Contained anger was showing in Crais' eyes and his breathing was more rapid. The exertion had made him too warm and he didn't relish it at all. At the moment he was still in control and had not used his full strength to take out his opponents but there was no telling what would happen to the next person who tried to accost him.
No one at the table tried their luck, they all looked at him silently while his stare bore down on them.
He was warned when on the point of turning to leave he saw one of the men look shiftily to his right shoulder. He ducked and sidestepped to the left but could not avoid that part of a chair contacted heavily with his right shoulder. His arm went numb.
Due to his size and strength, the first man had regained consciousness sooner than Crais had anticipated and had snug up behind him.
Crais felt for his right shoulder while stepping away from the brute who grinned maliciously at him. It would hurt like Hezmana for a little while but didn't seem to be broken. There was no time to think about it at the moment.
He dropped his shoulder a bit more and put a painful expression on his face. The ruse worked.
The man moved forward and tried to grab his right shoulder. Crais moved forward too, moving his left shoulder under the man's armpit, turned and faced away from the man. He took hold of the man's left wrist, used two fingers to apply pressure on two pressure-point in the man's wrist, which resulted in a yell of pain and slackening of the man's arm's muscles, then he took hold of the man's whole arm, twisted it and threw him over his shoulder with almost the same ease as he had done to the other man. The man crashed into a table and lay dazed on it, this time Crais took no chances and followed up on his action by planting his left elbow with force on the man's chest. He heard a crack and the body went limp. A quick glance told him the man wasn't dead but he wouldn't be trying to pick a fight in the near future either.
Breathing heavily through his nostrils and trying to suppress the pain in his shoulder by sheer will Crais now turned to the other four, "I would suggest you take your two comrades home… Now!" He glared at them, "Before I get my second wind back and this time I will not wait until another one of you decide to try his luck with me. Do I make myself clear?" Two of them nodded silently. "Then move!" He had not raised his voice by much but the last command had sounded like a thunderclap.
The other four scrambled away from the table and moved over to get their friends out. One turned to Crais, trying to say something, but Crais just stared at him and growled lowly. It was enough to hasten the men to leave the guesthouse quickly before "the madman" followed up on his threat.
Crais felt drained and clutched his shoulder. One of the other guests came over to ask if he was all right. He straightened up, nodded briefly and turned towards the door to leave.
The fight and the heat had taken their toll. He could feel his face flush red, perspiration showed on his brow and the room seemed to spin. He reeled and steadied himself on the back of a chair.
"Here, let me help you," a surprisingly gentle voice said, "Please, sit down."
Crais looked up and saw the man he had seen talking earlier.
"I will be all right in a minute," Crais said hoarsely, not even believing his own words.
"You will feel better once you have rested a bit."
Crais hated to admit that he did need a small respite. He felt himself being gently pushed in a chair and after a motioning from the man a glass of water was pressed in his left hand. Automatically he brought the glass to his lips and was surprised to taste ice-cold water. It revived his flagging spirits and he nearly finished it in one gulp. It helped cool him down and gratefully he looked up at the man who ordered another glass.
His head was feeling less hot and slowly Crais regained his senses only to be reminded too soon of the throbbing pain in his shoulder. His mind was assaulted by frantic questions of Talyn through his transponder. Although the link was weak at this distance, the speed of Talyn's questions made him slightly dizzy. Silently he assured the youngster that he was all right.
"Are you in pain," asked the man in response to Crais' clouded expression when Talyn questioned him.
"Just a minor discomfort that will pass soon. Thank you for your concern but I have to be going now." He made to stand up but was still not steady on his feet and sat down again.
"A healer should see about your shoulder," said the man.
Crais just wanted to get off this planet as soon as possible but a visit to the healer's wouldn't do much harm either. He nodded in reply.
"My name is Janek and yours?" asked the man while he helped Crais to his feet.
"Bialar," he answered curtly, deliberately giving his first name.
When they walked down the street to the healer's shop Crais wondered why they had all turned friendly. When he had walked into the guesthouse it had been obvious that his presence was not welcomed due to the uniform he wore. This man in particularly had eyed him with mistrust. He suspected that the fight had something to do with it.
The healer's shop was cool inside, being build against a rock face helped create this effect and Crais could feel his body-temperature drop slowly. After the exertions of the fight the short walk in the late afternoon heat to the healer's shop had not been a pleasant one. He had started to feel dizzy and disorientated.
She treated his shoulder, "You will feel sore for a couple of days," Crais nodded knowingly, he had been there before. "The numbness will wear off soon. This ointment should help ease it. You are Sebecean, aren't you?" Crais nodded wearily. If it wasn't obvious from his physique his uniform must be a dead give-away. "This planet is not good for you."
"That is quite obvious," snorted Crais, his patience growing thin.
"If you intent to stay longer, these herbs might help to bring down your body temperature. It is normally used in bringing down fever and should not be harmful to you. It should be infused by hot water, after that it can be drunk cold."
She handed him a bag of herbs. Crais' first reaction was to say "No". He had no intention to stay here longer than was absolutely necessary, but the herbs would come in handy when he would visit other planets with the same temperature. He accepted the bag gracefully.
When they left the healer's shop darkness had fallen and although it was still warm outside Crais felt better with the drop of temperature.
"Darkness falls quickly here on Zelnick," said Janek next to him. Crais had almost forgotten about him. "Where are you staying," he asked.
"I am not staying anywhere," answered Crais grumpily, "My transport pod is at the spaceport and I will be heading there now. My… crew is waiting for me."
"It's very dark and the roads are treacherous…"
Crais spun to him, "Are you threatening me?"
"No, just warning you. The two men you bested in the guesthouse belong to a band of men who don't take kindly to being opposed and they might be waiting for you."
Ah, now the turn-about became clear. "I am not interested in you internal disputes," he said, not feigning that he had not overheard the earlier conversation.
Janek now dropped all the pretext of being a concerned townsman, "We need someone like you, Bialar. We are desperate!"
"How do you know I am the man for the job? Just because I can outfight two men in their cups? A stranger? You must be desperate," he ended with a sarcastic sneer.
Janek dropped his voice, "We are. We don't have anyone who can lead us."
"And you think I can?"
"You are a soldier, an officer. You are trained to fight and to lead. You can bring in the other Peacekeepers to help us defeat them. Please!"
His voice had risen and Crais was worried that they could be overheard, "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"
The joy he saw on the man's face made him want to retract his words.
"Yes, sure, my house is not far from here."
With a sigh Crais followed Janek.