.1.
At last, we reached the fourteen lonely, outlying Lalita planets in the late afternoon, and we couldn't have done it at a better time. I forgot Marko almost immediately. Whenever we docked at Mirandus, we would tether the ship to an ancient tree and climb down to a warm - well, once warm - welcome from friends, with cheers for my dad and a crown of flowers for me. But at Lalita 1, we had to circle till we found a huge, heavy rock to fasten the Celerity to, and there was no loud laughter nor ecstatic squeal from the people. There were only the large, tearing eyes of a people robbed of the peace they'd once known, and several fell to their knees and sobbed. It made us, their relief, only wish that we had been quicker.
Dad had told me that the Lalita planets were a beautiful, pale blue, with its sky-colored grassy plains and mountains. The system's people - if you could call them people; they walked upright and used human speech but resembled black lizards with patches of multi-colored fur - had a peaceful, farming culture. Their lives revolved around the land they lived on. But the invasion of the Scabrous Empire left Lalita 1 a dismal, floating gray rock. I shuddered to imagine the state of the remaining thirteen planets of the Lalita system.
We were put to work immediately, taking our orders from the Captain of the other escort ship, the Adept. We first divided the relief goods aboard the Montressor Blossom into fourteen parts. In our longboats, we were to split up and distribute the goods among the fourteen planets. The Captain of the Adept, however, decided to keep the crew of the Celerity on Lalita 1.
The food had to be divided again. The Lalitans wouldn't need the clothing we'd brought; their scales and fur seemed to serve them well enough. If we'd known, we would have brought more food. We had to provide some form of medical support - but how do you care for a furry black lizard? We had to examine living conditions; were there enough shelters? We at least had to build our own; we'd be here for at least another month. And in that month, we were also supposed to help them rebuild their villages and restore their livelihood.
As Marko and I silently unpacked some of the crates - including the one that had started our voyage so beautifully - I couldn't help thinking that my dad was right in putting me in relief operations. There were other ways to help the Alliance combat the Scabrous Empire. I tried to give an encouraging smile to the Lalitan child curled up on one of the gray rocks.
Marko had seemed to regain some sense once we'd landed, and he'd simply and silently followed Lakan's orders without any accidents or pointed rude remarks. He seemed detached and went through his jobs like a machine, and when he was tired, he sat on the hard ground and leaned back against the rock where the child had perched. It crawled off and, once on the ground again, ran on its hind legs to its mother nearby. Marko had spaced out into a trance.
Trying to ignore him, I picked up the last crate and made for the platform where Lakan and the other officers were distributing the goods. Marko stopped me in midstep by pulling on my coat. Surprised, I turned to meet his blank stare.
"Have you seen it?" he asked weakly.
I shook my head, having no idea what he was looking for. He let go of my coat hem, and I continued on.
"Thanks, Aaren," Lakan said, taking the crate from me. "Now, at ease. Take a break." He looked over my shoulder at Marko, who was still staring into space by the rock. "I'll take care of him." I hadn't offered to get Marko back onboard the ship, but as I walked away, I realized I had been about to do it. I shook my head. The lizard child waved shyly at me on my way back to the ship.
Once onboard, I went below to stretch out on my bunk. From the pocket watch somebody had left on the floor, I learned that we had worked into the wee hours of the morning. Lakan had already sent my fellow cadets back onto the ship, and apart from their faint snores, I could hear the ticking of the watch on the floor. I didn't bother to pick it up.
I was supposed to collect my belongings so I could move into a shelter in a few hours, so I decided to skip sleep and restack Lakan's books first. "A Complete and Unabridged History of the Interstellar Alliance" had been the first. That had been followed by "Earth: Asteroid, or Former Source of Life?" and "The Life and Times of Broscatos MIV, Emperor of Scabrous". I still had to go through three more, but I doubted that I'd finish with the new work on Lalita 1. They were "The Montressor Scouting Handbook", "Scabrous as a Second, Third, or Fourth Language", and... I froze.
The last book was bound in Mirandus paper, and I puzzled as I ran my fingers over the clothlike off white cover. Scholars and scientists on Mirandus still used scrolls, so what I was holding had to be brand new and secret... Slowly, I opened the book and read the handwriting - for it was handwritten - on the first page. "By Felixa Helikos Simaun, Queen of Mirandus, with notes by Lord Lakan Helikos of Mirandus. For Marko, when you finally break out of your shell."
I blinked and turned the page. It was decorated with the black whorls and swirls that were similar to Marko's strange birthmark. In the center was the title: "A Short Biography of Marko Peter Simaun, Crown Prince of Mirandus".