Planetbound by DM Arnold (best contemporary novels TXT) 📕

“I was afraid for both of us. Yasuko, I think we may be ready to take Nicky off your hands tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“We must become a family. We've already lost three months.”

“Of course, you're right. He's been a delight, Nick.”

Suki stepped into the kitchen in her short robe. “I was going to bring up a tray,” Nyk said.

“I need to get out of that apartment.” She opened her arms to her mother and embraced her.

“I must go to the market today,” Yasuko said. “Maybe you'd like to come with me.”

Suki sipped from a cup of coffee. “I'd love to. Nick, would you come too?”

“I can't -- I have other commitments.”

“Oh, someone needs a change,” Yasuko said and picked up Nicky. She headed for the makeshift nursery in the guest room.”

“What are your plans?” Suki asked. “The lab again?”

“Yes -- and Jonathan wants to see me.”

“About the diamonds?”

“Yes -- we're trying to come up with a way to move some into the market.” Nyk refilled his coffee cup. “He told me how much diamonds are worth on this world. I hadn't a clue. No wonder Seymor can afford that penthouse on Park Avenue.” He took Suki's hand. “He also told me how much that stone you're wearing is worth.”

“Now do you understand why I was reluctant to accept it?”

“Yes -- I feel a little foolish.”

Yasuko returned with Nicky and set him in the infant seat. “I'll get dressed,” Suki said, “-- if I remember how.” She kissed Nyk. “See you tonight.”

Nyk walked into the jewelry shop. Jonathan gestured him into a back room. He opened a safe, withdrew a flat case and opened it. Inside were two rows of glittering gems. “These are our share of the first set of stones we sent to be cut. Aren't they beautiful?”

“They're breathtaking.”

“Most of these are far to rich for my clientele. I'll try to interest some more upscale shops in them.” He looked into Nyk's eyes. “Nick, I love gems. I love running this shop. The diamond trade is a closed community. I could never break into it -- because of my origins. I've had to satisfy myself with a small neighborhood shop. It's been tough. With gems of this quality -- I -- we'll be able to break into it in a big way. A big, big way, Nick.” He brushed a tear from his face. “It might take some time, but these stones will attract attention. The diamond community ignored me when I knocked on their door. Soon they'll be knocking on mine.”

“I'll bring some more raw stones,” Nyk said.

“Let's start moving these into the market first.”

“I'll bring some and you can have them on hand when you're ready for them.”

“He's down and asleep,” Nyk called to Suki. He undressed and slid into bed. She hopped on the bed, kissed him and cuddled under his arm.

Her eyes met his. “What?”

“I just like looking at your face.”

“Nick -- you are being careful, aren't you?”

“Yes -- so careful I think I'm becoming paranoid.”

“I had a phone call today -- from Illya Kronta.”

“Illya called you?”

“He was looking for you. We had a nice conversation -- he tried to convince me he was trying to help us. I swear -- though we spoke in English, he had a noticeable French accent.”

“Illya was an ExoAgent, about twenty years ago. He was stationed in Paris. It shows the Agency's attention to detail -- Illya's Earth name was Pierre LaCroix. They taught him French, and English with a French accent.” Nyk caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “He told me a bit of his story. He fell in love with an Earth woman -- an American student spending some time in Paris. They lived together for a while.”

“What happened to them?”

“He was discovered and sent up. He never had the opportunity to say goodbye.”

“How sad.”

“He said he loves her to this day. She had an odd name -- Daphne, I think. Yes... Daphne. It strikes me as an odd name.”

“It's not so odd. Do you remember Miss Wallace from my shower? Her name is Daphne.”

“And, I suppose she spent time in Paris when she was a student.”

“As a matter of fact, she did.”

“She reacted oddly when we met... I wonder...”

“I'll call her tomorrow.”

Suki led Nyk to the street in Brooklyn and pointed to an apartment building. “That's it.” Nyk followed her to the entrance and pressed the button marked D Wallace. The door unlocked with a buzz.

“Sukiko -- you're looking good,” her old teacher said. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better.”

Daphne glanced at Nyk. “Mr Kane...” She returned to Suki. “Let me look at you -- you still are my favorite student. What did you want to see me about?”

“Miss Wallace -- you spent time in Paris, right?”

“Yes -- many American students do. It was nearly twenty years ago. I was an art major, and I went there to study the old masters.”

“But, you changed your major.”

“Many students do that, too. What is this about?”

“Have you ever heard the name Pierre LaCroix?” Nyk asked.

Daphne stood and turned from them. “That's a name I haven't heard in many years. Yes, I knew Pierre LaCroix.” She looked at Suki. “What is this about?”

“Would you like to explain?” Suki asked.

“Okay,” Nyk replied. “Daphne, vir Illya Kronta nom't kont't-zi?”

Her jaw dropped. “Ji. Mi li-kont't.” She turned to Suki. “I knew it! I knew he was one of them! I didn't know if you knew.”

Suki showed her the ring. “I'm engaged to one of them. How did you know?”

“By his Floran racial characteristics. They pass for Caucasians, but if you know what to look for -- the shape of the eyes, a hint of epicanthic fold, the outer corner slants up ... the blond hair, sparse beard, light body hair... It's mainly the eyes...”

“And, how they look into yours.”

Daphne nodded. “Have you seen images of their world?”

Suki shook her head. “I've been there.”

“Oh! I'm so envious...” She turned toward Nyk. “What's your real name, Nick?”

“It's Nykkyo. Tell us about Illya.”

“I met him at the Louvre. We kept bumping into each other, and we started seeing each other. At first, I thought he was a Frenchman. As I got to know him, I realized he wasn't like any other man I had ever met. He was...”

“He was the kindest, gentlest, sweetest person you had ever known,” Suki interrupted. “I know -- it's another characteristic.”

“Yes -- I fell in love with him, and he with me. He asked me to move into his apartment. As an impoverished student, I accepted right away.”

“How did you discover he was a Floran?”

“It was an accident. One morning in his apartment I was awakened by an odd noise. Illya was sleeping like a log -- he had overindulged in a local vintage. I located the source of the noise. It was a communications device about the size of a paperback book. It had odd lettering, and I realized right away it was an advanced technology -- far beyond that of Earth of that day -- even of today. I woke him and confronted him. He told me his real name -- about his world -- why he was here. He began to teach me the language. It became our private way to communicate.”

“How do you feel about our mission?” Nyk asked.

“Nykkyo -- I believe sustaining yours is our world's best and perhaps only hope. Some day -- after the Centauri mission and you can reveal yourselves to us -- our world may face a global catastrophe. I cannot believe a people as gentle and benevolent as yours would stand by and watch billions of their fellow beings perish.”

“Was Illya responsible for you switching your major?” Suki asked.

“Yes. He told me he was an amateur historian with a fascination for the early days of his world. We would sit overlooking the Seine, drink coffee or wine and have long talks about the nature of history and the future. I had never thought much about history before.”

“Then, what happened?”

“He disappeared. I came home to the apartment and all his effects were gone. I never heard from him again. He told me it might happen. I had to leave Paris. I changed my major to history and decided on a career in teaching -- to pass on some of what I learned from Illya.” She looked at Suki. “Things must be different, today -- if you two can be engaged.”

“I'm afraid not. I chose to leave the Agency and go native.”

“It appears Illya made a different choice.”

“No, Daphne -- I'm sure the choice was imposed on him. Suki and I still risk his fate. You still love him, don't you?”

“Yes... Illya was the reason I never married. After loving him -- I could never love another man. I don't know if he's alive or dead.”

“He's on the homeworld, very much alive. Would you like to speak to him?”

“Is that possible?”

Nyk wrote an address on a slip of paper. “Meet me tomorrow at nine. I can't make any promises.”

“I'll call in sick -- I'll be there.”

Suki led Nyk toward the subway station. “What do you think your life would've been like if you hadn't met Miss Wallace?” he asked.

“It would've been horrible. I was out of control.”

“Yet -- you would've met a man and had a child.” He pondered. “Suki, all those times you told me, without my help -- you'd be dead... I told you it wasn't likely. Now, I think you were right.”

Nyk stood, leaning against the office building. A clock on a bank down the street read 9:08. A yellow taxi stopped at the curb and Daphne Wallace stepped out. “I'm sorry I'm late,” she said. “I almost chickened out.”

“This way.” He led her into the building and up the stairs to the FloranCo offices.

“Good morning, Mr Kane,” said Jaquie. “We see nearly as much of you now as when you worked here.”

He spotted Seymor in his office and beckoned Daphne to follow. “Good morning, Nick,” Seymor said. “To what do we owe this honor?”

Nyk closed the door. “Bon'matina, Seymor. Xe damta Daphne Wallace es. Ni nu vidfon utili ard. Mi dev vidfon-voka fet.” He gestured Daphne behind the desk and brought up a vidphone screen.

“Nykkyo!” Seymor sputtered. “Have you lost your mind?”

Kronta's image appeared. “Bon'taka, Illya. Xe damta zidiri ard.”

Daphne stepped behind the camera. “Pierre! C'est tres bon de tu voir!”

Nyk took Seymor's arm and led him to the spare office. “Come -- they need time together. I'll fill you in.”

“I can't believe it,” Seymor said. “To imagine our friend Illya involved in such.”

A rap came on the door and Daphne entered. Her eyes were red and she clutched a handkerchief. “He wants to speak with you.”

He sat behind Seymor's desk. “Nykkyo -- What you did today was either an extreme cruelty or an extreme kindness -- I don't know which. How did you find her?”

“Daphne Wallace was Sukiko's history teacher. She was the one who turned Suki onto a career as a historian. If Suki never had met Daphne, I never would have met her. Don't you see Illya? I had thought I was responsible for her temporal interference. I wasn't -- it started with you.”

“Yes -- I do see it. I was so smug thinking Daphne was safe. My interference crossed over to Sukiko. I shudder to think of the potential outcome of my foolish, selfish indiscretion. I shall immediately tender my resignation and turn myself in as a temporal criminal.”

“No, Illya. Don't you understand? The very act of placing Floran agents on Earth is temporal interference. Any of us could be crossing the street. A taxi swerves to miss us but hits and kills an Earth person -- someone with future connections to the Centauri mission. Temporal interference may be a force of nature -- like the butterfly, the turbulence from whose wings ignites a storm that spawns a tornado that destroys a village. The only way to stop it is to shut down the Agency and pull all Florans off the face of this world -- until after the warp jump accident.”

“We need the Agency to survive. What can we do?”

“Rather than adhere to rules and regulations drafted by planetbound temporal theorists, we must give those in the field the prerogative to do what they believe is right. I'm the one living it, Illya -- and I have as much to lose from temporal contamination as anyone -- maybe more. And, we must have faith.”

“Faith? In what?”

“That the future unfolds as Destiny intends. She has invested more than five thousand Earth years in our creation. I can't believe She'd let it go to waste. I thought I was to blame for Suki's situation. Now I believe Destiny sent me