The Uncharted Territories
Part 3 – Meeting Nykarene
I own Nykarene, Jonah and the Tenethor Planet
Jim Henson own everything else, right down to the floorboards
Tenethor Commerce planet
The figure was shrouded; no one could see her face but if they could they would be able to see the fair complexion and how sharply it contrasted the black plastic material which covered the right side of her face, the whole shape framed by hair matted from lack of attention and static from the hood.
It had been three solar days since Nykarene had infiltrated the research base, and as common sense had suggested she had not been strong enough to get from the base to her destination. By the time she had realised this she was left with barely enough energy to regain her physical form on the nearest habitable planet, the commerce planet she inhabited now. The whole episode had left her incredibly weak, unable to even consider another attempt at transport, and without funds she could not buy another ship.
The Banik was well and truly stuck.
She risked a glance over her shoulder, but found that no one was watching her sitting at the bar, nursing the same drink she had been nursing over an arn before, watching the somewhat luminescent blue liquid climb the walls of the glass as she turned it round and round in her hands, her own reflection within the liquid obscured. She was grateful for she did not desire attention…she doubted if that many free Banik's were wandering the planet.
"I'm looking for information on a Leviathan named Moya". Nykarene didn't believe she had heard the sentence until she had turned her head to see the source. A girl stood on the other side of the room, roughly the Banik's age possibly older, and dressed in simple travelling robes. Her hair was brown, her eyes a bright blue, and to the empathic Nyka it appeared that the remorse was radiating of her like a perfume. "Please, my ship is looking for her. Moya, have you ever heard…?"
The Luxan she was asking simply shook his head and ignored any further questioning. The girl, obviously frustrated, took a seat next to his with her back to the door.
Moya, she was with a ship looking for Moya. What were the odds, surely there was more chance of being swallowed by a Budong. Nykarene kept her eye on the girl as she spoke to the bartender, asking the same question she had asked the Luxan. The Banik didn't want to approach the girl in the bar, that would attract too much unwanted attention…wait till later…the girl must be staying somewhere…follow her to her ship. She finished her drink, cringing slightly as the aftertaste hit her full force, and made to motion the bartender over…
…but was stopped by the forced opening of the door. The entrance to the bar became covered by the thick frame of what could only be a Sebacean guard, although his attire was not Peacekeeper.
The Banik instinctively crept round to kneel behind the bar…she really didn't want to be seen by any form of security right now.
"I am looking for someone, a Sebacean girl by the name of Jonah Crichton. Does anyone have any information?"
The name sounded strangely familiar to Nykarene, as if she had heard it muttered in a different form before, and it also seemed familiar to the girl she had been watching, her blue eyes widening as she became deadly still, the only person in the bar not looking at the guard…which the crowd noticed…and the guard.
He approached her, his hand reaching out to take her shoulder and force her round.
Still kneeling down behind the bar, Nykarene stretched out her own hand, and with the other removed her mask, the intensity of the light hidden by her thick hood.
To the rest of the crowd, the guard turned the young girl sitting at the bar to face them…
…to the guard, the female he had in his hand was an old crone, the skin tanned with age, the eyes wide with fear.
"Apologies ma'am". The guard bowed out of politeness before turning back towards the door. A few microts later and activity in the bar returned to the way it had been before, except that the now quiet girl at the bar was very close to hyperventilation as she half fell from her stool and retreated up the stairs in the corner to the lodgings above the bar.
Nykarene replaced her mask, rising from her partial hiding place without even bothering to hide the immensely proud grin her face held.
She loved doing that.
The 'lodgings' she had hired was a bed within a communal dormitory, pathetically small but comfortable, a compliment from one use to sleeping in the best beds currency could purchase. At that very moment that was the least of her concerns as Jonah rushed into the thankfully empty room and fell onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. The whole incident rushed through her mind again and again…playing over the same twenty seconds.
She had recognised the guard, he was one of her fathers personal staff…he had seen her grow up, knew her every feature. Why hadn't he recognized her when her face had been barely a foot away from him.
She closed her eyes, trying to flood her mind with images, but all she could see were those of home, of her family, of her brother. Frell, it had been two solar days, and the guards were so close to finding her they were on the same planet. She couldn't keep this up for long…she would have to go back home…although she was afraid to even consider the consequences of the actions she had taken.
Why hadn't the guard recognised her?
She heard someone climbing the stairs to the lodgings. "Who is there?" She said, trying to mask her voice as best she could as she turned to make ready a quick escape.
"A friend". Standing at the top of the stairs was the girl who had been sat opposite Jonah in the bar, her hood down to reveal short, messy red hair and a masked face. Jonah instantly recognised her as a Banik, even though this was the first one she had ever actually met.
"Jonah Crichton". The younger girl correctly assumed. "I trust you have recovered from your incident in the bar".
"It was you…you did something back there?" Jonah realised, intrigued.
Without warning, the stranger removed the mask she wore showing Jonah for the first time the incredible brightness that engulfed the 'missing' portion of her face. At the same time a strange image appeared in front of Jonah, like a flying bird, so real she felt she could reach out and touch it.
"I am a Banik of the Nykarene sub-species. I have the ability to alter perception, create illusions…hallucinations". The younger girl watched as Jonah reached out, her hand passing through the bird slightly, as if it was air. She waited a few microts, and then replaced the black mask. The image of the bird disappeared with the glowing light. "It's draining; I wouldn't have been able to hide you for much longer back there".
Jonah tried not to think of the possible outcome…had the guard stayed just a few microts longer. "Why did you hide me?"
"Because we are both seeking the same thing it seems". She invited herself to sit on the bed beside Jonah's. "I have information on Moya, not only how to contact Moya, but her exact location…which lucky for you also happens to be my destination at the present time". Nykarene smiled. "If your ship would be willing to offer passage, I would be willing to share my knowledge…be your guide".
Jonah considered this complete stranger who wanted conditional passage on her ship, without any form of reason other than that Moya was where she needed to be. Nykarene seemed to sense her apprehension.
"Trust me Jonah you most probably won't find a much better proposition anywhere else, these territories aren't called uncharted for nothing you know".
It was true that she was unlikely to find a better offer, but was this offer genuine?
"I saved you from the guard didn't I?" Nykarene reminded her, a token of goodwill.
Jonah breathed in, held it, and then let it go. "I'm leaving tomorrow at dawn, Meet here". She pointed at the floor indicating the room they were stood in.
"You won't regret this Jonah Crichton". The Banik assured her before making her exit, a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she passed the Princess.
Tenethor Orbit
The ship Jonah had 'borrowed' was a private transport for no more than four people, which meant it had more than enough room for the two girls and their cargo for the trip. Nykarene explained that their destination was a region of space called Kelsa Yon, a Leviathan holy ground.
"Like a temple?" Jonah asked, but Nykarene simply smiled enigmatically, not answering the question.
Jonah skilfully piloted the ship out of orbit of the planet, pointing it in the direction Nyka had given her. "Why do you need to go to a Leviathan holy ground?" She asked the Banik.
"I'm meeting someone…Business". Nyka looked at Jonah out of the corner of her eye. "Yourself?"
"My father…I'm trying to track him down, and he use to be a crew member on Moya". She ignored the nagging voice telling her that after nearly a hundred cycles he was most probably dead, for every instinct and feeling was telling her otherwise.
"And the guard, are you an escaped prisoner?"
"I…it depends what you mean by prisoner".
"My parents were slaves".
The Princess shook her head. "I wasn't a slave…not in that sense of the word. I was in the hierarchy, destined for great things, but the power and responsibility wasn't what I desired. I wanted control over my life to see the stars and live my dreams. So I ran away… to be free". Jonah turned to face Nykarene and felt guilt. Baniks as a race were good at hiding their feelings, but nothing could mask that look in the younger girl's eye. "What am I calling a lack of freedom? You were a slave"
"My parents were slaves". She smiled proudly. "I'm uninhibited".
"What does that mean?"
Nyka pointed towards her plastic mask. "No metal. When my people are born into slavery the parasympathetic functions of the gill is disrupted, removing their ability to naturally control the energy. It makes them…"
"Makes them Easier to control". Jonah finished.
Nyka nodded. "Although I wear one, I don't really require any form of mask…" Her speech broken by a yawn she looked down at the tier floor. "Not many people of my people can say that". The Banik said nothing more, angling her body away slightly to signal the end of the current conversation.
Silence filled the small ship.
"So…Nyka…what kind of business do you do?" Jonah asked, just as eager to change the subject.
"Varies". Nyka was more or less talking in her sleep.
Jonah programmed in the coordinates she had been given, switched the ship to auto pilot, and followed suite.