Stardust Dreams (9 page)

Cherry didn't bother to
conceal her fascination with his story. "Then how were they stopped?"

"When they attempted
to attack Norona, they hadn't taken into account that, unlike the people
previously conquered, the Noronians possessed superior mental abilities of
their own. A highly perceptive person discovered the deception and put a stop
to the Illusians' goal. To determine Illusia's fate and maintain interplanetary
peace thereafter, the Consociation of Planets was formed with the Ruling
Tribunal of Norona as its leader.

"Due to the treachery
of those barbarians, it was decided by the Consociation that they were too
dangerous to be given free reign of the solar system, but the Ruling Tribunal
was strongly opposed to committing more violence than had already been
perpetrated. Instead of destroying Illusia and its people, the warriors were
all gathered and returned to their home. Then a barrier shield was created
around their planet, which prevented anyone from leaving or going to Illusia. The
last message received from them before they were blocked out was a blood oath
to one day destroy Norona and all its allies."

Cherry's eyes opened wide. "Innerworld
is a Noronian colony. Does that mean the Illusians intended to destroy Earth as
well?"

"Exactly,"
Gallant confirmed with a nod. "But until recently, the threat had been
forgotten. Illusia has been visually monitored at a distance by the
Consociation ever since. Over the years, they watched the barbarians set aside
their warlike ways and develop into a peaceful farming and industrial
society."

"I get the feeling
you're leading up to the big finish here, but I don't have a clue as to what it
might be."

Gallant gave her points for
astuteness. Fortunately, he was a master at keeping some things hidden. "The
monitors show that a prolonged drought has stricken Illusia and its inhabitants
have been relaying visual distress signals from all over the planet."

"Let me guess. The
Consociation is trying to decide whether to respond, or let the cretins die
off."

For that, he gave her a
thumbs-up sign. "The representatives are divided about the wisdom of
raising the shield to give assistance, regardless of whether it means the
survival of the race. At least half of the reps still recall the stories their
ancestors told them about the Illusians. The other half feels the time has come
to reanalyze the harsh judgment bestowed on them."

"But you said that was
four hundred years ago. It's totally unfair to assume the Illusians are still
the barbaric animals they were then."

Gallant's mouth dropped
open in surprise. "Do you really believe that?"

"I wouldn't say it if
I didn't believe it. You're the liar, not me. Anyway, I got a taste of that
kind of unwarranted prejudice when I first arrived in Inner-world."

"How can you compare
the two? Outerworlders had been given their freedom long before that."

"Freedom, yes, with
limitations. Equality, no. There were plenty of Innerworlders who believed
Terrans were an inferior species capable of terrible violence. Aster and Rom's
joining helped change some attitudes, but not all. I still run into a diehard
bigot once in a while.

"I realize it's not
precisely the same, and you obviously side with those who assume the Illusians
are still dangerous, but don't you see how wrong it is to judge them today
based on the crimes of their ancestors? Shouldn't someone try to get more facts
before a decision is made?"

Gallant never expected her
to sympathize with the Illusians. It would have been much easier to remain
indifferent to her if she had despised them. "Uncovering the facts is what
my mission is about."

"You said you were
employed by the Consociation." Cherry inched forward, anxious to find out
what all this background was leading up to. "Are you saying your mission
has something to do with the decision about Illusia?"

He nodded, relieved that
she was making this so simple for him. "A short time ago, the Weebort
trader you saw secretly sold a document to a Con rep. He claimed the document
had somehow been smuggled through the Illusian shield and contained information
that would help them decide Illusia's fate. The Consociation employed a
language and antiquities expert, who confirmed that the document's paper could
have come from Illusia, and that it was written fairly recently in a known
Illusian dialect."

"Then what's the
problem?" Cherry was beginning to lose patience with his long narrative,
and it was making her fidget.

"Unfortunately, the
expert had barely begun the translation when he was killed and the document
disappeared. Two others who had handled the paper were also murdered. The
method was incineration, just like the Weebort's assassination, and Frezlo had
been spotted in the vicinity at the time of the crimes.

"I had hoped to get to
the Weebort first and find out what he knew, but now the only lead I have left
is Frezlo. If nothing else, he could tell me who hired him, and that could get
me a step closer to the truth."

Cherry frowned. "In
other words, if I had heard the Weebort better, your mission might already be
over. But the one word that the computer translated was
counterfeit.
Maybe
the Weebort was trying to say the document was a fake."

Rubbing his chin, he
appeared to be giving her suggestion serious consideration. "That sounds
logical, until you consider all the deaths so far. If the document was a fake,
it wouldn't matter what it said. No one would have had to steal it or hire an
assassin to prevent the Consociation from learning what it said. They could
have let it be known that it was worthless much more easily, so I tend to
believe the document contained information someone didn't want revealed."

Cherry agreed with his
assessment. "Considering their ability to create illusions, is it possible
that everything the monitors are picking up is an elaborate hallucination? Maybe
counterfeit is a really loose translation."

Gallant's smile was broad
enough to show his straight white teeth for the first time. "Good
deduction. You have the makings of a tracker, Cherry."

She laughed. "I've
been told something like that before. The fact is, I just like figuring out
puzzles. So what do you think?"

"The problem with that
reasoning is that all we have to go on is what was recorded four hundred years
ago. At that time, it was understood that the Illusians' ability involved
tricking another being's mind. The monitoring system involves machines."

"Hmmm. What if,
instead of a hallucination that's all in the mind, the reason why their
illusions seemed so real is that the image actually has, urn…" She formed
shapes with her hands in the air between them.

"Mass?" he filled
in for her. "Or at least the perception of mass. That could explain it,
even if no one comprehends how it could be done. If you accept that possibility
though, then one major problem is still left. If the Illusians have truly
changed their ways, there's nothing to fear by raising the shields, and aiding
them would be the proper, humane thing to do.

"But what if they
haven't changed, and it's all an illusion? How much stronger are they today
than they were four hundred years ago? Could we stop them once the shield was
removed, or would they have figured out where they went wrong the last time and
have corrected the weakness?"

"I get the
picture," Cherry said, but her mind was still trying to locate missing
pieces.

"I'm glad to hear
that, because I need your help."

"My help? You already
know everything I know about this business."

He shook his head. "I
don't need help with what you know, but what you
do.
I need you to do
a little acting."

Cherry laughed. "Now
that's an interesting twist. Don't tell me. You kidnapped me to save you and
Mar-Dot from terminal space boredom. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I
have an important appointment coming up back in Innerworld, and as long as the
Illusians haven't taken it over yet, I intend to be there, not here,
entertaining you while you chase bad guys."

"You're not taking
this very seriously, Cherry. Don't you believe anything I've told you?"

She shrugged her shoulders
and rearranged her legs. "I suppose I believe you, but it's so… I don't
know, beyond my experience maybe. Remember, I'm only a lowly Terran, and where
I come from, the kind of story you just told only happens in the movies. Please
try to understand my side of this. I'd help if I could, but since I don't see
how, I just want to go home.

"Aster's in the last
month of her first pregnancy. I should be there with her right now. And the
appointment I mentioned is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an actress. Theodophilus
himself will be conducting auditions in Innerworld for the Noronian Performing
Company. I
have
to be back in time for that."

"You have an
incredibly selfish attitude," Gallant said in a nasty tone.

She looked surprised at the
intended insult, then admitted, "Sometimes I am incredibly selfish, but at
the moment I'm simply being logical. If the Consociation hired you to
straighten this mess out, they must have faith in you. Therefore, I do, too. I
see no reason why my life should be turned upside down in the meantime."

"I suppose I should
thank you for that vote of confidence, but the fact remains that I do need your
help with something. When is this
important
appointment of
yours?"

She quickly figured how
much time had passed. "Twelve days."

"Then there's no
problem. I'll have you back in plenty of time for that. I'm sorry you'll miss
some of Aster's pregnancy, but I'm sure Rom is taking good care of her. And
you'll be back long before the birth."

Cherry still had a few
remnants of anger sim-mering inside that had to be let out. "First you
physically abused me and kidnapped me. Then you lied about taking me home right
after I allowed Mar-Dot to touch my mind. Why should I believe you now?"

Gallant had to do a little
more chin rubbing before he could come up with an answer for her. "You
have a valid point. But I have another. You can't get back without my
assistance and the journey will be much more pleasant if you accept what I've
said. Also, I could undoubtedly complete my mission without your help, but with
it, I should be able to end it much faster. Thus, if you'll cooperate with what
I have in mind, I'll be able to return you to Innerworld that much
quicker."

Cherry got up and paced the
few steps back and forth within the narrow cabin. It didn't sound like she had
much choice when he put it that way. "What would I have to do?"

Gallant grinned with what
Cherry supposed was a sense of victory. "Just a little acting. There's no
reason to go over it until we get where we're headed."

"Which is?"

He got up from the bunk and
opened the door for them to return to the bridge. "A fascinating little
planet called Zoenid."

Cherry nodded as if she'd
heard of it before. She figured if they were following Frezlo there, it must
have a civilization of some sort. And civilization meant transportation. If
Gallant turned out to be lying again, she might be able to hitch a ride home
with someone from there. Meanwhile, she would keep him guessing as to whether
or not she intended to cooperate. He deserved to sweat a little for what he had
done.

She glanced up at him as
she passed through the doorway and gave him her answer. "I'll think about
it."

Dot was facing the doorway
as they entered the bridge. She was clearly anxious to hear how the
explanations went, but neither Gallant nor Cherry satisfied her curiosity
aloud. Gallant was brooding again however, and that told the he-she things had
not gone as well as hoped.

As Gallant returned to his
station, Cherry wondered what she could do to occupy herself for several more
days. She wasn't accustomed to so much inactivity. Considering her alternate
scheme to hitch a ride home with someone else, one problem came to mind. Gallant
had been able to deceive her because she didn't know how to determine where
they were in space. As long as she remained ignorant, she would continue to be
dependent on him or any other pilot she found.

Strolling around the
control panel a few times, she finally decided how to reduce her disadvantage. Putting
on her sweetest smile and dripping southern honey, she faced Mar. "Mar,
honey, Ah think what y'all do is absolutely intriguin'. It would truly please
me to learn more about navigatin' this heah ship." Gallant's groan made it
clear she had laid it on a bit thick, but Mar's expression was one of pure male
delight.

Glancing at Gallant, he
asked, "With the captain's permission?"

Cherry thought she could
hear Gallant's teeth gnashing, but after a few seconds he grunted his approval.
She bestowed her charming smile on him in thanks, even though he was back to
not looking directly at her.

After pulling out Mar-Dot's
bench seat, she made herself at home and started asking questions about the
panel in front of her.