Chapter Ten: Celebration, Part II
Captain Nemo rejoined Sawyer and Mina not long after the diplomat attending to the party of Kelownans showed up again and dragged them off to one of the other celebration sights. Nodding to his companions, he settled himself to watch the intricate maneuvers of the dancing fighters. They were rather good, he thought, even if the movements were stylized beyond most practical use.
"Do you know where Mr. Skinner got off to?" Nemo asked.
Sawyer shrugged. "Last I saw him he was with that Aesop gal," he said.
"Asopiram," Mina corrected absently.
"Her. I think they went off to one of the other Celebration sites- Daria said there were a bunch."
The captain nodded. "I hope he doesn't get himself into trouble this time." The thief's off-key warbling at the All Hallow's Eve party was still fresh in Nemo's memory. He was simply glad that they had gotten out with as little fuss as they had.
"Of course, being human and all, what else can you expect?" someone drawled. Nemo frowned at the speaker, a tall, powerfully built Tau'ka with cold silver eyes. He did not like the alien's mocking tone at all.
Mina and Sawyer both locked their gazes on the newcomer, the vampiress pressing her lips into a thin, cold line and Sawyer frowning as much as Nemo was.
"Would you care to explain that comment, Mister…?" Mina said warily. She did not like his tone of voice at all. He was certainly not bothering to hide his obvious derision for the human race.
"I would have thought it was obvious," the Tau'ka said haughtily. "But then, since humans do have the intellectual sophistication of nematodes, perhaps I should use smaller words."
Sawyer's hand immediately jumped for the pistol he wasn't carrying, his weapons having been taken from him earlier that evening as part of routine security procedures.. How dare this upstart alien...! His companions, not nearly so hotheaded as he, held him back.
"Oh?" the Tau'ka said. "Dear me, temper, temper. You are a disgrace to the human species, aren't you?"
"I was under the impression that it was considered impolite to insult one's guests," Nemo replied coolly as he gripped Sawyer's arm more firmly.
The alien smirked. "Shame you aren't on Earth anymore, lok'tar. We play things differently out here. No room for brainless idiots out here."
"I see," Nemo said. He left the restraining of the League's young leader to Mina and stepped forward. This had gone quite far enough. It was time to show this Tau'ka that humans wouldn't be walked on. "As I understand, the saying is to emulate your hosts when visiting them." With that, Nemo bowed to the offensive Tau'ka, one arm behind his back.
Had Nemo slapped the alien in the face, the effect could not have been more dramatic than the alien's reaction. His face went dead white before flushing back into the full scarlet of fury.
The people around them went quiet as onlookers relayed what happened to their companions. Dozens of glittering eyes in every conceivable shade fixed on the four.
Acutely aware that he was now in the center of the spectacle, the Tau'ka glared at Nemo. "Very well then, human, I accept!" he spat venomously. "Dueling Hall in one hour!"
"A challenge has been issued and accepted," someone announced to the room at large. "A duel between Warrior Streit of Verris and Captain Nemo of Earth."
The entire hall went quiet at the announcement.
One voice broke the silence.
"Mai'tac!"
OSCOSCOSCOSCOSC
"Would someone care to explain to me just how Nemo got himself into a duel with Streit and why he is doing his level best to create an intergalactic incident?" Daria demanded as she stormed up to Sawyer, Mina, Skinner, and Fenix. "Streit K'shan, of all people!"
"He started it!" Sawyer snapped back, still looking furious. "You should have heard what he was saying about humans! Nemo gave as good as he got!"
Daria glanced at Mina for confirmation of Sawyer's story. The vampiress nodded and quickly explained what had happened as the Tau'ka reigned in her temper.
"And had Captain Nemo not stepped in when he did," Mina finished, "Either Tom or myself would likely have done something rather more permanent."
Daria was seriously tempted to go and bang her head against something hard. This was rapidly turning out into a nightmare. Nemo and Streit had just laid the foundations for an inter-planetary incident and she would bet the rank-rings on her badge that one of them was going to end up seriously injured, if not dead. And this incident would have nasty repercussions for both sides. The captain's actions indicated that the humans were too hot-headed to establish productive negotiations with the Tau'ka, and Streit had just made a fool of himself and proved that he was a xenophobic idiot, embarrassing the Tau'ka as a whole.
Not bad for five minute's work.
At least the captain seemed to have an idea of what he was getting into. Had Sawyer assaulted Streit for his comments- and Daria had little doubt that he would have, given that kind of provocation- a brawl would have broken out in the middle of the Celebration, embarrassing the Tau'ka and human races alike in front of representatives from all over the galaxy. Had it been Mina to respond, well, the cleaning crew would have needed to get out their supplies of hydrogen peroxide for the bloodstains.
"What's going on?"
Jekyll had joined the group, looking from Daria to Mina and then to Sawyer. The Tau'ka gave him a quick summary of what had happened while he'd been gone.
"So what do we do now?" Sawyer asked.
"I take you to the Dueling Hall and we hope that Nemo doesn't get himself killed," Daria replied. "Streit's good- very good. He's one of our foremost blade-fighters, and an Illusionist to boot. Thankfully, our rules prohibit the use of powers during this sort of fight." She cast her gaze around the room, noting the number of people leaving for the Dueling Hall. Nemo had certainly caused a stir- the room was abuzz with the chatter of the many Com-Paths. Not surprisingly, there was already a betting pool thriving. Also unsurprisingly, the odds were given as being against Nemo. "We need to get moving," she said. "The seats near the ring are always first to go when there's a duel."
The six moved swiftly out of the hall, unashamedly making use of Daria's status as a premier agent to push through the crowd. Jekyll hurriedly made his way to her side. "Explain this to me again," he said. "Nemo did what?"
Glossary: Lok'tar: Goa'uld slang for human, especially a System Lord's chief human slave. Used by the Tau'ka as a general insult, usually along the lines of 'bootlicker' when aimed at another Tau'ka. Aimed at a human, it's a rather racist slur. (Does anyone know if there's a specific term for being racist towards another species??)