Chapter CHAPTER XIX—THE OTHER BEINGS

Iris waited for me outside of the Spirit Room when I returned. I found her alone, leaned causally on the wall opposite the ancient portal doors. Only one of her bare feet was on the floor monitor, allowing the vessel’s computer to stream data to her based on her accessed thoughts. The other foot she left propped up behind her, flat against the wall.

She looked down at something on the floor monitor directly under her, so involved in what she reviewed that she did not seem to notice me at first.

As I watched her from a distance, noting that her body seemed completely at ease. In contrast, her gaze appeared supremely focused. As I approached her, I could feel her anxiety and frustration. That alarmed me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked apprehensively.

She looked up, and seeing the concern on my face, smiled. “How ironic,” she said in an amused voice. “I’m not used to being read. You really are a natural.”

, I thought.

She kicked off of the wall with one graceful push of her mounted foot.

“I need you to come with me,” she added in a more subdued tone.

I did as she instructed without protest or complaint. I followed her for what seemed like five whole minutes. She did not speak the entire time. Although I wanted to ask where our destination would take us, I did not dare utter a sound. I sensed that now was not the best time.

We began to wander into parts of Qego Mouyo that I had yet to see. I had to stop, mentally at least, and ponder the size of this submarine vehicle. I had not thought to inquire about its dimensions, even after I found out about the other Veex.

I realized then that in order for me to be quarantined from the rest of the residence in the amount of space that I had explored, the submarine as a whole must have been huge. I had not seen any of the other Veex during my stay thus far.

We turned a corner and entered a space in which the hallway appeared narrower. Iris began to slow down, so I looked over her shoulder to see what lay in front of her. There, postured straight as a board stood Rahim, looking magnificent as ever. I had not seen him since the time he disappeared in the Meeting Hall.

Though I was not sure why he had left, I could tell that he remained upset about the fact that I could read emotions I did not understand the phenomena any more that he did. It seemed unfair that he seemingly blamed me for something that his own sister introduced me to, awaking in me the latent ability that I had yet to understand, let alone master.

Rahim looked up at us as we approached, clearly expecting our arrival. From the look on his face and the tension in his stance, he must have been waiting there for a while. He immediately proceeded to meet us halfway, urgency in every step.

He looked directly at Iris when he spoke and appeared to ignore my gaze. “Where have you been, Dear Sister? We are all waiting for you!” he said in a stressed tone.

“Firstly, you need to calm down, Brother,” she cheeped. Rahim deflated on the spot. I stifled a giggle. Who knew a voice so sweet could be so commanding.

“I apologize—it is just that—”

“Secondly,” she continued not waiting for him to finish speaking, “She was in the Spirit Room.”

“Oh—” he said in an understanding tone.

“Thirdly, she was not notified of this little ‘gathering’ in the first place.” She applied her sarcasm heavily on the third point.

“Lastly, who was it that disappeared on the spot and failed to inform any of us prior to knockoff yesterday morning of an important tribunal that they themselves had set up, forcing me to find out at the last minute?”

Wisely, Rahim did not respond.

“That’s exactly what I thought,” she concluded huffily.

Reflective silence followed her rant.

“Well Dear Sister,” he finally said, “In addition to not telling Kaya about the meeting, it appears I may have missed one other important detail in my— bewilderment.”

“And what would that be, Brother?”

“I forgot to inform her regarding the attendance of our delegates: Nevaeh, Sbapoid, Oluh, and Yzee,” he whispered panic but clearly audible. I could feel his nervous apprehension from where I stood.

My attention was immediately captured by his emotions following the string of curious names. I had no idea who he referred to, though the concern in his tone worried me. I wondered whether or not these mysterious people would cause me any physical, mental, or emotional harm.

“So—” Iris replied, not showing the slightest bit of concern.

“So—she does not know they are, let alone they are, the fact that they are on this vessel and in meeting!”

Iris shrugged after each of Rahim’s points, dismissing his concern entirely. “What’s your point, Unhenie?” I could tell that Iris was becoming annoyed, not that she had started off in a grand mood.

“My point is that Kaya is an Earthling and Earth is, at most, a Level 4 planet. She might be a bit alarmed at meeting four extraterrestrials!” Rahim emphasized, seemingly frustrated that he had been forced to speak so bluntly about an issue that seemed, to him at least, so severe.

“Well, I know you all.” I chimed in optimistically, attempting to hide my angst.

Rahim did not acknowledge that I had even spoken.

“Good point,” said Iris reluctantly, “She’s clueless.”

“Kaya,” Iris explained. “There are four foreign diplomats on Qego Mouyo. Nevaeh Legna of Eniam, Sbapoid Lewjapo of Nogero, Oluh Shel Bel of Aldirof, and Yzee Wen of Amabala.”

“Okay—” I said hesitantly.

I recognized the names of two of the planets from my brief with Jules, but I still did not see the issue. From his description, these people seemed kind and innocent.

“They’re a bit different from us,” she continued.

“How so?” I asked calmly, though internally I became guarded. Conversations like this always made me feel that way.

America considered me to be a minority in America. Technically, I fell into three minority classifications: half African-American, half Mexican-Latina, all woman. People often judged me based on delusions they carried about people of my physical structure or cultural attributes.

As a result, my mind tended to be alerted by words like: “different,” “they,” “them,” “us,” “those people”, and “you people”. Depending on the context, those words could be considered profanity to my ears.

The Veex, despite their obviously heightened intelligence and physical attraction, had not come off to me as the prejudiced sort of people. They did not seem to be the type of individuals that would have delusions of grandeur or superiority. Then again, I had only met three of them.

Maybe I had been too quick to place them on a pedestal, ignoring their flaws. It would not be the first time I had done so in my life. That is exactly the road that had led to JJ’s existence.

“Hold your suspicions until I’ve finished speaking please,” chirped Iris, interrupting my thought process.

.

“As I was saying, Eniams, Nogerons, Aldirofese and Amabalians are different sorts of creatures from Tepons or Earth-Humans. We all have a different biological make-up. However, we share many similarities in the environments that we inhabit. Tepons and Earth-Humans are similar enough to be considered physically compatible though.

“If you travel your universe enough, you will see that this is not usually the case between foreign species.”

“I can believe that,” I agreed.

“In reference to each of our six home planets,” she continued, “Though extremely different in some ways, they have atmospheres that are breathable to each of the seven species in question with minimal variances.

“Aldirof is an extremely cold and foggy planet. It is composed mostly of solid carbon dioxide, or cardice. I believe the Earth-Human term is ‘dry ice’. As a result, Aldirofese are covered in thick fur and nearly blind. They have large eyes, but they’re practically of no use. Keep in mind, Oluh may be short, furry, and resemble an Earth-Child toy, but don’t get too close to him. His claws are sharp as scalpels and his breath is comprised of deadly gas. It’s actually bottled and sold across the galaxy as a poison.

“You have less to worry about with Yzee. Amabalians are mind-tempered and less deadly on the surface—unless you provoke them. They are, on average, much taller and larger than Aldirofese or even Earth-Humans and Tepons. Their gaze can seem intimidating, invasive even, but the most alarming feature of the Amabalians, however, is their skin.”

I twitched. Iris sighed and continued.

“It’s not a color thing. They are covered in scales due to the harshly hot, tectonic, and radioactive nature of their planet. They shed often, which some people find revolting.”

I had a feeling that she counted herself among that crowd.

“But he’s harmless, right?” I asked wanting to be set at ease.

“Actually, I don’t know if Yzee is a ‘he’, but Yzee is harmless, yes.”

“What do you mean, you don’t if Yzee is a he?”

“Amabalians can change their gender at will. They are similar to amphibians on Earth prior to puberty, switching from male to female unwillingly, but once they have matured, they have a choice of whether to exist as a male or a female. This ability serves them well in our universe,with some planets being male-dominated and others being female-dominated, but it is rude to ask them which they are at any given time, so we keep all references to their kind gender-neutral. I suggest you do the same.”

I nodded, only a little wary of my ability to be gender-neutral.

She continued by saying, “Nevaeh is the most humanoid of the four though she is nearly as colorful like as a prism of light, both physically and personally. Her feathers are mostly pink and purple. To you she will resemble a human mixed with a bird and butterfly, but she is not an animal. None of them are.

“I’ve seen what you Earth-Humans do to birds. If you’re not eating them, you’re imprisoning them in small cages.

“She is a highly trained scout and hunter. Her stealth and prowess is unmatched by any creature known to Tepons, including other Eniams.

“Sbapoid is equivalent to a humanoid spider with a scorpion tail. He is the closest things we have to a disagreeable individual on Qego Mouyo, though I doubt he cares. The Nogerons are a fierce bunch. They are sneaky, ruthless, and magical. I say magical in the sense that no one has figured out how to reverse-engineer their technology or spiritual techniques.

“He’s paranoid, to boot. Just the other day, he nearly took my head off with one of those stupid spells he shoots from the stinger on the end of his tail. And I was in the hallway first!”

“And you let him roam around? A mystic spider-scorpion!”

“A diplomat of Nogeron cannot be confined indefinitely.” She sounded somewhat disappointed.

If these aliens looked as strange as they sounded, I felt I could be a flight risk in the near future. I took three deep breaths in order to calm my rapidly beating heart.

“Here, take this,” said Iris handing me a small electronic device that resembled a tiny hearing aid.

“It’s an automatic translator. It will help you understand those who have not yet learned English.”

I slipped the hearing-aid-like device in my right ear. I felt it sink into my ear canal, much like the contacts had sinked below my retina. I reached up with my hand and felt around for it. What I could feel amounted to a small bump on the outside of my ear canal.

“It’s practically gone,” I whispered.

“Yes, it’s discreet,” answered Iris. “The technology is similar to the contacts you were given. The device is fully integrated with your nervous system, making it fully operational with your brain. Either Tepon device can be retrieved for maintenance by Alec if they malfunction.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “But level with me Iris. What are the odds of me being killed or mauled in there?” I asked hesitantly.

“Don’t worry about that, Kaya,” Rahim replied reassuringly. “The delegates are nothing like that—none of us are!”

My eyes shot to his. He looked at me for a split second before quickly finding a spot of interest on the floor.

I looked down, too. The monitor looked blank.

“Zero percent chance,” said Iris with a small smile, not acknowledging the awkward exchange between Rahim and I. I returned my attention to her. “These are all professional representatives of their people. Yzee is an exceptional individual. Nevaeh is wonderfully pleasant. Sbapoid is interesting, at least. Oluh, on the other hand, is a pain in the—”

“Well, I think that is enough information for now,” interjected Rahim. “They are waiting on us inside.”

“Whatever,” said Iris. She rolled her eyes at Rahim and winked at me. She brushed past him in one fluid movement and headed for the final destination.

A moment passed before he and I realized that we stood together alone. Without even chancing a glance my way or uttering a peep, Rahim quickly scurried off after Iris.

I stood there dumbfounded, preparing to meet aliens, a life-changing experience no doubt. Rahim, who acted like a five year old boy afraid of catching cooties, had begun to get under my skin.

I thought angrily.

“Get a move on, Kaya—no time to sulk,” called Iris over her shoulder.

I reluctantly followed behind the two of them, throwing daggers with my eyes at Rahim’s back as I walked.

I could hear Iris giggle.