(Two)

Moments later Remy once more joined his host in an after dinner discussion. Aiden did not join them this time, Babette had stayed briefly to serve them drinks and withdrew, leaving them by themselves. This time Trishnar honored his word and they discussed the Game.

Trishnar began by explaining some things about himself. He was in fact a King, or as good as one, and was happy living here in relative anonymity on this planet. The Dognan people lived a long life and at one hundred years of age, he was only half way through his expected life span. He had sired his sons long ago, he explained, and chose now to live out his middle years here with his Siskans. He was powerful and passionate, full of life. Remy knew this to be true, he had seen his host disappear only to return with two or more Siskans hanging on him contentedly. They were as insatiable as he was. Their eyes would grow droopy and they often dozed at his feet after he was finished with them. He would see Gambit looking at him and he would joke, "Sex makes them high, the poor dears. They grow so sleepy when they're happy. Better than lap dogs, wouldn't you say?"

The object and rules of the Game were still vague and undefined. Kimble was not as unique as Remy had thought, these empathic Siskan Courtesans were considered highly desirable but were quite rare and were sought after aggressively. They had been scattered across the many star systems under Dognan control as tokens to be found as part of this pathetic Game. How well the these Siskans were treated at Trishnar's contrasted sharply with the Game itself, because of the carelessness of where the pieces were scattered before they were found. They often fell into rough waters and were mistreated and abused before they were rescued by Trishnar. And that was Trishnar's primary motivation in collecting the ones he had - rescue - and he had good reason for it. Two of his six had been split when he discovered them. Gambit admitted he had learned from Babette that Aiden had been one of them, it explained his odd behavior and his shyness, there was much of the new Kimble in his sorrowful silence and watchful eyes.

Trishnar nodded, knowingly. Aiden had been off in the hands of the Muzla when he had been so badly treated. He had been melted on purpose to make him savage. The Muzla wanted him as a fighter for their Gladiator Games. He had fared no better with this than Kimble had at Station Nine. The fact was, these gentle Siskans were meant for play, not war.

When Trishnar came upon Aiden, he was hopelessly trashed, filthy and dirty, and wished only for death. He would attack anything or anyone that came close to him. Trishnar, acting on a desire to salvage, not merely collect Siskans for the Game, quickly sought out help. "I had the advantage," Trishnar explained, "..of not being alone in this as you are. I already had Babette in my possession when Aiden came and I had other outside help as well."

"De Games Master?"

"Among others," Trishnar answered with a vague wave of his hand, being a bit coy about that. "I'm telling you this so that you might understand what a big project a broken Siskan can be. By what you have said, your Siskan is damaged in two ways - both his body and his mind. I'm telling you it will be his mind that will be the hardest to repair. You say you live with other special people, mutants like yourself. Let them help you. He'll need all the love and support he can get. And always remember to be gentle and kind, but most of all – patient. Siskan Courtesans are like children, it's best if you treat them so, no matter what they may look like. Don't be afraid to spoil them a little," Trishnar ended, giving him a wink.

"Merci, I'll keep dat in mind," Remy replied, his voice as serious as it was honest. Patience and care he knew Kimble needed, it was nice to hear someone back that up. But there was more he needed to know. "If de Green a Channeler, what's de Blue, eh?"

Trishnar's eyes gleamed. "Receiver."

"What dat mean?"

"That, my dear boy, is more than I'm willing to say. Suffice it to say Aiden was valuable enough for me have him repaired."

"So all de colors 'ave a job den?"

"Yes."

"Give dis boy a crash course den, s'il vous plait. Don't wanna be tellin' no good ones to get lost, eh?" Remy teased, hoping for more.

Trishnar was willing to oblige. "The Green as you know is a Channeler. Blue is a Receiver as I've just said. Those two are the most rare of the established colors, there are reportedly only three each of those from a clutch of sixty. The rest are Brown for Builders and Red for Masons."

" 'Scuze-moi, patron. Dis sound a little like dey makin' sumptin'."

"You're very astute."

Remy waited.

Trishnar was silent.

"So dere's only four colors?" Gambit tossed out, still fishing.

"Supposedly. But I've heard talk that there might be others. Rogue 'grams if you will. These would be the most prized, only one of each new color, and even more rare than the Blue and the Green. They might not even be openly Marked. I've heard that there might even be a Purple, a Master 'gram. One that might possess the potential of all the colors combined, but that sounds a bit fanciful to me. I'm guessing that it was offered as a means to make the Game more exciting, but I suppose that whomever had one of these special 'grams might have an advantage." Trishnar's eyes gleamed, looking at Remy with purpose.

Shi'ow-ri? Remy questioned nervously. What dis mean?

/Guard your 'gram well, Remy. Kimble clearly might be more than he appears to be./

Damn! This game was becoming so dangerous!

"Tell me more about de Game, s'il vous plait," Gambit requested, never losing stride.

It seemed that the Game was in fact some kind of bizarre scavenger hunt. The goal was to collect and find as many of these special Siskan 'grams as you could. Each one of these 'grams was fated to find a special object - this would be Kimble's angel, Remy realized. The more 'grams you had, the more objects you would collect. Since these objects were supposedly talismans or powers of some kind, the more objects you had, the more power you could potentially possess.

Trishnar was aware that Jael was trying to play the Game. Some of what Bruce had said about Jael was true. He had been born to the Clan, the son of a pilot mother and a Dognan officer. He had left the Clan, disgruntled by their bigotry and sought out his father. He was accepted as a player of the Game as a bastard son based on the fact the officer was quite fond of his pilot mother. Jael was given limited rights and a free ride to this place. He jumped into the Game with vicious enthusiasm, making up for lost time quickly. He was the youngest player, but at the same time, was the most resourceful. He collected mutants with as much fervor as he did Siskans and soon took off on his own agenda. His hatred of the norms was an extension of his frustration at his mistreatment by the Clan. He saw the norms of this world as being just as bigoted and couldn't stand the sight of them.

Trishnar knew of a couple other players as well, but figured there had to more out there. He'd had no idea about Remy's possession of Kimble until now and used that as an example of an unknown. What wasn't said was that there would probably be some kind of big battle. If the objective was to own as many of these special Siskans as possible, it stood to reason the weaker players would be preyed upon by the strong. This frightened Remy a little. Kimble was marked, others would seek him out besides Jael. How would he keep Kimble safe?

"Do you know how many Siskans Jael has?"

"Eleven or so at my last count. He has hired some excellent hunters, your Victor Creed in particular. I myself am not that active a player, I prefer my Siskans to come to me. The ones I found came to be mine by fate, nothing more." Trishnar gave a sigh of playful exasperation as he went on to say, "I often find that having six of these wonderful Siskans can be quite a chore at times. As you well know, they require a lot of attention and looking after, especially my two special ones, Aiden and Babette. As special 'grams, they are my most powerful. I can only assume that Jael possesses some of these special 'grams himself. Jael had eleven Siskans in total at my last count. I can't imagine what he does with them."

Gambit could only shake his head in wonder. "Mebbe 'e 'ave a large crew like you to keep dem busy, non?"

"It would take a large crew, that's for certain. You can see that I share my Siskans with everyone. It works out for the best for all."

There was a pause and Remy asked next, "Tell me some about how you first met my Kimble."

"Certainly."

Trishnar hadn't been on Siska long when he saw Kimble for the first time. He had been part of the primary raid that first ravaged the poor planet, a most coveted position - he had first crack of the treasures there and was quick to take advantage of that. Along with the finest in gold and jewels, the very best in hand crafted statues and art, came a masterpiece of Siskan creation - a Siskan Courtesan of some beauty left unattended in the box as his jailers had fled. One of Trishnar's officers had brought Kimble to where Trishnar was working, the Siskan still tied in his bonds. "This one was found in the box."

Trishnar looked at Kimble with great interest. The Game had only just begun but already Trishnar was determined to collect whatever Siskans he could, he had seen soon enough just how sentient the Lushna-esk were and was distressed to learn just how many of them had been abused. He could see now he had just found another. Kimble was in the skin of a young man, his head down, but his pale blue eyes flashed up to Trishnar's just once, making him all the more beautiful in his shyness. Trishnar was intrigued and said, "Don't be frightened, I won't hurt you. What is your name?"

"Name's Kimble."

"Why were you in the box?"

Kimble looked away. "I wuz bad."

"In what way were you bad?"

Kimble looked up at him, curious and yet a bit defiant, as if he expected to be dismissed as unworthy - and why not? No one else here had ever tried to understand him, why would he think this Dognan man would be any different? "I tooks my clients' pain."

Trishnar smiled at this. He had already guessed by Kimble's broken speech he was one of the Lushna-esk. This was a common trait, a sign of damage. He knew nothing of Sheyman, he had made his assumption of Kimble's special status from the spirit in this Siskan's eyes as well. "You did this with your thoughts?"

"Sumpthin' like that, yeah."

Trishnar stood and held out his hand. "Show me."

He took Kimble to bed and learned quickly enough that Kimble was indeed empathic and special. What puzzled him, was that Kimble clearly possessed Quishnalay's Game codes, but was not openly marked. Again, Trishnar reiterated to Gambit that he had heard rumors of the Games Master sending out special pieces, ones with no obvious Mark. These 'grams were slated for special purposes, ones that he wasn't about to divulge even to Trishnar who was a cousin as well as a good friend of his.

/Not openly Marked, Shi'ow-ri repeated. /He's trying to tell you something. Listen./

Whatever it was, Remy's host kept it to himself. Trishnar went on to say he kept Kimble with him for a couple more days, using him frequently and with great pleasure. Kimble was a passionate and considerate lover, extremely well trained considering he'd had no formal education. Most 'grams received organized and structured learning. Kimble was completely self taught, leading Trishnar to believe that his first Master must have been an instructor who chose to buy a black market 'gram for his own use. Once he was sick, Sheyman must have tricked Kimble out to earn money to survive.

Trishnar grew quite fond of Kimble in that short time, there was something there in Kimble's eyes, a strength in his spirit. He was a good and considerate lover, compassionate and gentle. He was quick to laugh and to play, eager to please his new Master. But all was not well. Trishnar had an idea by then that Kimble might split. There was an air of sadness around him when he was alone, a cloud of great loss that hovered about him. Of course Trishnar knew nothing of Sheyman or of his death and its impact on Kimble, he hadn't thought to ask and Kimble didn't offer those answers on his own. Whatever was troubling this poor Siskan, Trishnar could see it was pervasive. Kimble was quick to cry, fearful of rejection, trembling with fright at the slightest correction and cowering as if he might get struck. Trishnar would never do such a thing, but it was clear someone else had. Trishnar couldn't possibly know that by then that Zander was already inside, just too weak yet to come to power. The seeds of Lakotashay were there as well. Perhaps if Kimble had been allowed to stay with Trishnar, she might never have been born. It wasn't to be.

Trishnar was an important man, the new leader of his recently inherited House, and as such was often spied upon. Trishnar explained that the Dognan royalty was divided into many houses, with four as the most powerful – Gildon, Revel, Shelam and his own, the House of Dulay. All four Houses were actively involved in the Game. The house of Gildon was Jael's family and the most aggressive players of the Game, to their House belonged the Games Master, the one who had set up this monstrous Game in the first place. They took the Game very seriously and were intent to win, no matter the cost.

The house of Gildon soon discovered that Trishnar had found an unmarked Lushna-esk Siskan in one of the Siskan holding pens and was keeping him under wraps. This Siskan was unmarked and most mysterious. It was hard not to know this, Trishnar was brother to Karl, the man who would later become Jael's father. The two were close and in and out of each other Houses for business and family gatherings. Spies from the house of Gildon came while Trishnar was out for the day to work and stole Kimble away.

Trishnar was furious, but with no real proof of who the actual thieves were, could do nothing. The rules were clear, he could not attack without proper cause. Time passed and soon Gildon was the house mainly in control of Cerise. They fell under attack by the Clan and their properties taken. Many of them were lost as were their possessions, Kimble included. Once he heard of this, Trishnar had assumed poor Kimble was destroyed in the raid, he hadn't figured the Clan intelligent enough to be able to use the 'grams even if they were discovered. He was wrong about that, the Clan were smart enough to use them after all, just not for their proper purpose. This he hadn't quite learned until he had heard Remy's most interesting tale of the Clan and Kimble's history.

Remy listened to Trishnar's tale with rapt curiosity, but something still nagged. "One t'ing's buggin' me 'bout all dis," Remy couldn't help himself but say.

"What's that?"

"Kimble tell me dat he speak like Sheyman did 'cause 'e love 'im so much an' miss 'im when he died. You now suggestin' dat Kimble talk all screwed up 'cause he was broken. It don't add up."

Trishnar considered his answer. "I don't know what to say, only that Kimble was not the first Lushna-esk shattered 'gram I'd heard speak that way. It's either all mush or Z's with them. Mixed up context and jumbled up phrases."

"Like Babette?"

"That's right. It's like the logic and phonetic centers get fried from being melted."

Remy waved his hand. "Wait a minute, Kimble speak dis way b'fore 'e was melted."

"And you know this, how?"

Remy shrugged impatiently. "'Cause 'e was melted after we brung 'im home."

Trishnar smiled at him enigmatically. "And you are certain of this because...?"

As best he could, Gambit next tried to explain about the file sharing that took place between him and Kimble. It took some time, but Trishnar let him speak uninterrupted, that smile still there. "That's quite a tale, but you still haven't answered my question."

Gambit glared at him like he was an idiot.

"What's the very first memory you and Kimble shared?"

Remy thought about this. "It was a meetin' out on a balcony 'tween Kim an Sheyman."

"So you never saw Kimble born?"

"Non," Remy answered slowly, getting the point. "No I didn't."

"Let me tell you something of Siskan 'grams. They consist of gel, but also have three stars. Those stars inside them are the basic hardware, their 'brains', if you will."

Remy nodded. He recalled the stars he had seen inside of Kimble when he had been stabbed.

"The primary star, the most important one, holds all the personality codes. The second is a energy processing unit and determines what source of energy the hologram will use to recharge itself. The third star controls the physical body, its skins and such. A dead third star means the 'gram will never again be able to shift or alter its appearance in any way on its own."

Again Remy nodded, understanding now that this could explain why Kimble could no longer shift. Of course, if that third star was damaged, so could any one of the others. That thought chilled him.

Trishnar continued to explain,"It is possible to replace the primary star completely on a 'gram. This would in effect erase that 'gram's first created memories and personality, like starting from scratch. It would also in effect erase whatever special codes that 'gram might possess. A primary star has many components, multiple drives. Now, if a primary star was stripped and rebuilt instead of merely replaced, some damage would remain even though the memories on that replaced drive would be lost forever. You mentioned the way Babette speaks? Her primary star was rebuilt but not replaced entirely. Her personality and most of her memories were left intact, but not her speech patterns. A 'gram that might possess special codes might have a primary star rebuilt, but never fully changed. Your Channeler, if his primary star was fully replaced, would lose his full potential and Channel no more. No one playing the Game would be so stupid as to remove a 'gram's full potential like that."

Remy shook his head with a snort. "So you suggestin' Kim was melted somehow b'fore we even met? By someone we don't even know about? Dat 'is stars got rebuilt - but not changed - and dat's why he talk all funny? I ain't buyin' it. Kim never say nuthin' about ever be melted. He say Sheyman make him and dat 'e talk like Sheyman 'cause 'e miss him when he die. How about dat?"

Trishnar was thoughtful a moment, but then offered, "Perhaps it wasn't that Kimble talked like this Sheyman, but Sheyman talked like him."

"Eh?"

"No, really. You said Kimble's memories are garbled, not complete. Perhaps he's got things a bit backwards. What if Sheyman's illness extended beyond this Heward's syndrome?"

"I'd say you was reachin', patron. But continue, s'il vous plait. Dis still interestin'."

His host laughed at the tease. "Siskans were humans, yes? This means they would be susceptible to the same diseases, the same problems. The Siskan Royal family was very exclusive in their marriages and suffered from terrible inbreeding. Many of their children were mad, insane. Indulge me here - What if Sheyman was autistic or mentally challenged in some way? What if he'd been injured in his brain?"

Remy just laughed and shook his head. This was turning into quite a tale. Impossible that it could be true. He would have seen something of this while he was there...but then again, Kimble's memory files had been shattered, incomplete.

Trishnar continued, not the least bit daunted by Gambit's disbelief of his theories. "No, really. You said Sheyman was rich, but lived on his own. I tossed out earlier that perhaps he'd been a trainer, teaching Kimble on his own. Perhaps both are true. What if his illness or injury isolated him and he chose to spend his time with a 'gram? Someone who would accept him as he was unconditionally. He acquired it illegally, using some of his father's connections. Kimble comes in, already damaged in some way and repaired. His Lushna-esk flaws apparent to one who might know, not so to one who doesn't. A Lushna-esk can be very therapeutic, you know this already. A mentally challenged, infatuated trainer might just mimic one he loves with all his heart."

Remy was silent a moment. "I guess I'd 'ave to chew on dis one a bit."

"Fascinating isn't it? Putting a puzzle together."

"A puzzle wit'out all de pieces. Fallen say she find Kim all broken from de Clan, dat she build him wit good components. Dat's why 'e survive bein' melted by de plasma."

"Hmm, perhaps," Trishnar conceded without really agreeing. "Did she say what he looked like when she found him back on Cerise? How did she recognize him for what he was?"

Remy shrugged. "She didn' really say."

"I'll just bet she found a cube of gel wrapped around a battery and a single star. A damaged primary star."

"Guess she an' me gonna have some discussion on dis when I get back."

"Did it ever occur to you that Kimble survived being melted by plasma, not because of his components, but because of his codes?"

Remy shook his head. "Now you gettin' a little out of 'and, patron."

Trishnar merely laughed. "Let's see. He survives both a Ristle overload and a plasma burst? Tell me, do you know of any other Siskans that might walk away from two such events?"

"Aiden did, right? 'E been melted t'ree times, n'est ce pas?"

Trishnar's grin spread a bit wider, Gambit was catching on now. "A Channeler would have to process vast amounts of energy through his weapon."

Remy sat still. He hadn't considered this. "An' Aiden?"

"Well, let's just say his potential deals with energy as well."

"What does Receiver mean, Trishnar?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." The Dognan King stretched in his chair. "It's late and I must retire. Consider my words, sleep on it. Tell me in the morning how foolish I was for thinking it. I do so hope you will continue to stay. I have enjoyed your presence here."

"I t'ink I can fit in another day," Remy teased, his eyes glittering. The fact was he was having a blast. He was gaining control of his new power thanks to Babette and there was more he still wanted to learn about his Siskan and the Game. He knew he wasn't finished here just yet. He was counting on Henry's word that Kimble would be okay. He was lost in this magical place and the outside world just seemed so far away.

"Good. Another round of racquetball tomorrow?"

"Bien sur. Sounds real fine."

"Good, tomorrow then."

"Night, y'all."