“WHERE IS THAT BITCH ” - Part 02

We all took our places on the ship and listened to news reports about the massive demonstrations.

“Will the government give the people what they want?” we heard one rival reporter ask.

“They should!” we heard another rival reporter say.

When Delche said, “It’s time to make our move,” I felt my heart jump. I powered up the ship, engaged the weapons and set the power limits to max. for two cannons and to min. for the other two cannons. Delche confirmed the speed and coordinates and, as we listened to the newscasts, I put my finger on the autopilot button ready to engage.

“Now!” said Delche.

I punched the autopilot button. We moved at incredible speeds and I heard one energy cannon fire. About one minute later the other energy cannon fired. Then, suddenly, the ship stopped and hovered above our second target. I grabbed the joystick.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

Listening to reports from the ground, the mediums were reporting that two ships had been spotted firing at the strongholds and that the regime had surrendered and that their arms were being confiscated by the people.

“Ori, contact Vieria and find out what’s happening and what she wants us to do next.”

Both Delche and I were in a daze and not sure what was happening. Had we succeeded or failed?

Moments later Ori yelled, “We won, we won, we’ve got the weapons and the top echelons in the regime are surrendering.”

“What do we do now?” I asked Ori.

“Whatever we want. It’s over for the rats.”

Preparations for the party

“Where do you guys want to go now?” I asked Delche and Ori.

They both said they wanted to go home.

“I know where Delche lives but I have no idea where you live.”

“I can give you the coordinates,” said Ori.

“Unfortunately that won’t help me much because I don’t know how to navigate.”

Delche spoke up and said, “I have a solution. Let’s take Ori home first and then we’ll go to my place and you can stay with us. Then, two days from now we’ll go back and get Ori and we can all attend King Velion’s party. How does that sound?”

I looked at Ori and he said, “That’s fine with me.”

“Okay then, let’s do this.”

Ori gave Delche the coordinates and he punched them into the navigation computer. I set the speed and engaged the autopilot. Ori called his parents and told them we were on our way.

“You will come and meet my parents, won’t you?” Ori asked.

“Of course,” I replied and Delche agreed.

“I didn’t know you lived in the middle zone. I figured you were an outlander like me and Otsi here. How did you end up with Otsi?”

“Vieria,” replied Ori in a slow and low tone.

“Oh, I see, Vieria the great princess,” Delche said with a sarcastic tone of voice.

“Did you know that she called me a bastard the first time we met?” I said.

They both looked at me with a surprised look.

“Yes she did. When she saw the badge I’m wearing around my neck she freaked. She thought I had stolen it from her brother Voskot. Before I met her I knew nothing of Voskot’s family or that he was a king or that he had abdicated or that King Velion was his brother or that Vieria was his sister. The only reason I came into possession of this badge was because Voskot gave it to me. Just before Voskot died he handed me his badge and asked me to take the ship and use it to save his planet and mine from the Karons. I was the only person in your world who could gain entry, access and fly this ship. I don’t know if that was intentional or accidental. Voskot was a great friend, a wise man but unfortunately he’d been deceived by the people he trusted and they probably killed him. The rats sure played him.”

“Voskot fought for me and Asora when we were tried in court. He was my commander and chief when I was in the military. If it wasn’t for him I too may have ended up in jail with my wife and only because I was married to her. My daughter would have grown up without parents. So yes, I have to agree with you that Voskot was a good person, even though I don’t like the royals,” Delche said, looked at Ori and continued. “So, I take it you come from a prominent family, eh?”

“I guess so, but I never thought of it that way,” replied Ori.

We’ll be in your neighbourhood in a few minutes, is there a place where can we land?” asked Delche.

“Well, we live underground. I suppose we can land in the park right above my parent’s house. My place is on the other side of that grove of fruit trees,” said Ori pointing to our right.

Then, just as we cleared the grove, we saw a crowd of people congregating. Ori was surprised because he had never seen so many people in one place at one time on the surface.

Delche said, “It’s rare to see so many snobs together in one place.”

When they spotted the ship the people began to run towards it.

“Land here and we will walk to my house.”

I slowly dropped the ship and shut it down. I opened the door, we all got out and then I shut the door. When my guards saw the people running towards us they drew their weapons. Ori recognized some of them; they were mostly children from his neighbourhood. Ori said something to them and they stopped moving.

“What did he say?” I asked Delche.

Delche laughed and said, “He told them to stay back or your guards would shoot them if they get too close. Isn’t that hilarious?”

“We pulled the same trick with the crowds at your restaurant and it worked.”

Ori looked nervous as he led the way down some stairs, through a number of well-lit corridors and through a white door. A man and woman dressed in white came to the door and greeted us. Ori said something to them and they extended their right hand. Both Delche and I shook it. They were not firm handshakes. They sat us down on soft chairs and served us pink jelly on tiny square, clear glass plates and water in tiny square, clear glasses. There was a tiny triangular metal spoon on the side of each plate.

Both Delche and I felt nervous. Ori seemed to be tongue tied.

I told him to thank his parents and also tell them that I had had a similar but darker jelly when I lived with Prince Voskot. When they heard that I knew the prince they were impressed.

After Delche and I had one bite of jelly, Delche declared that we needed to go because we were expected at home soon and we didn’t want to be late.

We said goodbye to Ori, who seemed ashamed to speak Macedonian in front of his meek and snobbish parents, waved goodbye to the parents who seemed like they wanted us to go and we left.

When we were on the surface Delche asked, “Have you even been near a hive full of bees?”

“Yes.”

“How did you feel?”

“Very apprehensive,” I replied.

“Well, that’s how I felt in there today.”

“What was with the handshake? These people don’t shake hands. It felt like I was shaking a dead fish,” I said.

“Ori told them it was an earth tradition and to be polite.”

“They are both small, thin people. Ori is much taller than them. And what’s with the white clothing?” I asked.

“Ah, the white. In the beginning people in the middle zone wore white to reflect the sun and keep cool. It’s always been hot here. White later became a symbol of the middle zone and now it’s the symbol of prominence. Mostly educated people live in this area, doctors, lawyers, professors, people who think they are better than us.”

“Delche, were you one of them when you lived here?”

“Never! Certainly not after I returned from my mission to earth. Your people in Macedonia taught me a thing or two about how to be a good person.”

When we arrived at the ship the kids had gone.

It only took us a few minutes to get back to Delche’s restaurant. Delche couldn’t wait to get out of the middle zone so we flew out of there like a bat out of hell.

It was late evening when we arrived at the restaurant. We hadn’t had lunch that day and were starving.

“There is no place like home,” he said. “I like it here. I feel comfortable.”

Airam, excited, ran out onto the street to greet us. She said something to her father and pointed at the people. I looked around and saw people walking the streets at night.

“Do you see that? That’s what Airam came to tell me, that the people are starting to feel free to walk outside at night.”

He paused for a moment and said, “Airam tells me that most of the rats are in custody and, since they voluntarily surrendered, they will not be prosecuted. They will only be fined and all their ill gains will be confiscated. Those who committed murder will definitely serve jail time. It’s all over for them.”

Someone called out from inside the restaurant. Airam said something, grabbed us by the hand, pulled us in and sat us at a small table for two. The man who had yelled, a huge man, brought us some food, said something and patted me on the shoulder. Airam brought us a small bottle of rakia and a couple of shot glasses.

“No rakia for me tonight, please, I have been drinking too much lately. But I promise you I will have some another time,” I said.

“Ah, what kind of Macedonian are you?” Delche asked and told his daughter to take the bottle back and hide it somewhere.

“I never drink alone,” Delche said and laughed. “That’s what an old man in a Bitola village told me, then pulled his flask out and took a gulp. When I looked at him he said, ‘Well I’m not alone, you’re here aren’t you?’ Ah, those were good times.”

When we had finished eating I said, “I should go back to the ship and go to bed. I will take my package with me and put the uniform on, to see how it looks.”

Delche looked disappointed and before he could say anything I said, “You have a lot of jobs to do here and I don’t want to be in the way. Besides, I’m coming back tomorrow morning for breakfast. You still have eggs, right?”

He stood up, slapped me on the back, smiled and said, “Go, see you tomorrow.”

I waved at everyone who was busy working and left with my guards following close behind.

I went straight to bed and the guards parked themselves in their usual place in the ship and powered down so that they could recharge. I wondered if I could sneak out of the ship without them and what they would do. But I was too tired and lazy for games. I later found out that they were activated when I pushed the ship’s door open button. Fat chance of getting away from them, I thought. But if you think about it, the ship is only a chunk of metal without its captain. The guards were there to secure the operation of the ship by making sure its captain was alive and well.

The next day my portable communicator went off and I jumped out of bed. I pushed the answer button. It was Delche.

“What kind of soldier are you, sleeping in until the middle of the day. Get down here, your breakfast is getting cold.”

“Why are you calling me on this thing?” I asked.

“Because you don’t know how to work the other thing. Or did you want me to come and wake you up in person?”

I decided to dress in the camouflage uniform Vos had given me. I hadn’t tried on my new uniform so I decided to take it with me to Delche’s restaurant. I ran down the hill and sure enough my guards ran right behind me.

“You got here fast?” said Delche, sat me in the usual chair at the big table and brought my eggs. He looked at my package and angrily said, “I see you haven’t opened your package. Well, I opened mine

and the uniform is all white. I’m not wearing white; you won’t catch me dead wearing white.”

“In that case I won’t wear it either.”

We sat there opposite one another and ate in silence. Delche broke the silence and apologized for his angry outburst, which had nothing to do with me. He was fighting an internal struggle.

“I want my Macedonian colours on the uniform!” I said resolutely.

“What?!” he asked abruptly.

“I want my Macedonian colours on the uniform I’m going to wear!” I repeated and then said. “I also want the Macedonian sun painted under the ship and I will only attend Velion’s party if I am allowed to land the ship in his garden. We have the power, we dictate the terms. I’m sure the people in the outer zones would want to see us do that, wear something different from the same old white they had to live under for years. This is their victory, our victory and we shouldn’t allow the elite to bully us.”

Delche jumped up and began to yell, “YES, YES, YES!”

Everyone looked at him and thought he’d gone mad. He called his wife, daughter and a few of his close friends over and told them what I had said. There was silence. His wife said something.

“She said it is strictly forbidden to bring arms to the royal party and our ship is full of arms,” Delche translated.

Tell her this I said, “You want change, this is change, we voluntarily pledged loyalty to the royals, we fought for them, every order we followed came from Vieria, now we want something simple in return.”

“Also tell Asora to talk this over with Vieria. These are the terms under which we go to the party, otherwise we won’t go.”

“I will wear the Macedonian colours too. And I will contact Ori and get his input,” Delche said.

Asora went to the other room and Delche pushed a number of buttons on his communicator and spoke to Ori in Macedonian.

When he hung up I said to him, “I’m so happy to hear you speaking Macedonian with Ori.”

“Well, it’s not what you think. We spoke Macedonian because he didn’t want his parents to know what he said. He also said he wants to leave home right now. He wants us to go and get him as soon as possible. And, oh yes, he will be happy to wear the Macedonian colours.”

Moments later Asora was back with a smile on her face as she said something.

“What did she say?”

“She said Vieria was thrilled with the idea. She too was looking for change but didn’t know how to approach the subject without sounding like a dictator. Well, we solved that problem too.”

“That’s fantastic! Now let’s go and get Ori.”

Delche looked at me, hesitated for a moment and said, “You don’t need me, I don’t want to go back there again.”

“I need you, I don’t know how to find him alone or how to use the navigation computer. If you don’t want to go inside the house then contact Ori and tell him to wait for us somewhere outside, on the surface and we’ll pick him up.”

“Good idea. Well then what are we waiting for.”

On the way to Ori’s we discussed ways we could change the uniforms to include the yellow and red Macedonian colours and the Macedonian sun.

“You know something, I know a tailor who has a shop a few blocks from my restaurant who can modify the uniforms. I also know an artist, who occasionally drinks rakia with me. He will paint the Macedonian sun under the ship for practically a bottle of rakia.”

“What are you going to pay the tailor, two bottles of rakia?” I asked jokingly.

“Don’t mock me. I will do whatever it takes,” he replied in a serious tone of voice.

To change the subject I looked down and said, “Look down there, houses and no houses. There is a straight dividing line between the parks and the houses, why is that?”

“Because after the great wars the middle zone went underground in case there was another war and left the rest of us on the surface. They drove all the aliens and immigrants out of the middle zone and pushed them into the outer zones. Now all we are good for is paying taxes. Ah, don’t get me started,” he said and stopped talking.

Moments later we spotted Ori and picked him up. He was quiet when he took his seat and didn’t even greet us. Delche and I looked at each other and knew something was bothering him, but what? Was it us?

Moments later he dumped the package with his uniform on the floor. We noticed it was open.

“What, you don’t like the uniform?” Delche asked.

He took a while before he spoke and said, “I’m not upset with you or with the uniform. I’m upset with the racist attitude of my parents. They are selfish and chauvinistic and I’d rather not talk about it.”

“It’s not your parents, it’s you,” Delche said. “You’ve changed, you have seen the world with your own eyes and how beautiful, ugly and messy it is. Now maybe you can understand how I feel. But, enough of that, you can’t please everyone, you are your own person and you have to do what you have to do, rise above the crap and let’s have

some fun. Are you up to some drinking? My treat… It’s always my treat.”

Ori began to laugh and said, “Yes, rakia for me.”

“Poor Ori, we have ruined you,” I said.

Moments later we landed and went straight to the restaurant and sat in our usual places.

“No eating or drinking until we solve this uniform problem,” Delche said.

Airam came over to the table and asked her father something.

“What did she say?” I asked Ori.

“She wants to know what’s wrong with us not eating or drinking.”

“Tell her Delche.”

He spoke to her for a long time. She then went away and came back with a sketch pad and drew a coat and pants, sketched stripes on them and coloured them red and yellow. She went through a number of variations until we were all happy. I then took her pad and drew the Macedonian sun and pointed at the left arm of the jacket just below the left shoulder. She understood and sketched it in her drawings.

I then showed Delche and Ori my badge and asked them if we could make cloth replicates and paste them below the right shoulder. They both thought it was a good idea.

“This is to honour Vos, my mentor,” I said.

I then told Delche to tell his daughter to draw and colour the Macedonian sun properly so that the artist could paint it under the ship. Airam did that for me.

“Okay, now we can eat and drink,” Delche declared and the servers brought our food. Airam retrieved the bottle of rakia she had hidden the day before and put it on the table along with three shot glasses.

After we ate we took the sketches Airam had made for us and the uniforms and walked to the tailor shop. Ori, my guards and I stood outside while Delche went inside.

We stood there quietly and waited. Moments later Delche came back.

“The uniforms will be ready tomorrow afternoon but the tailor needs a photograph of your badge. I will take it inside and bring it right back.”

With great hesitation I gave him the badge but not because I didn’t trust him. What if he was ambushed and it was stolen? I couldn’t access the ship without it.

Ori must have sensed my apprehension and said, “It has a tracking device, if it’s lost the guards will find.”

Moments later Delche came out, gave me the badge and said, “Let’s go find the artist.”

We walked a long way, turned left and walked for several blocks and finally came to an open space.

“I recognize this place,” I said. “This is where we shot that police truck a while ago.”

Ori agreed.

“This is where the artist lives and works,” Delche said as he pointed.

“It’s a junkyard,” I exclaimed.

Delche went in and Ori and I waited at the gate looking at all the junk and art pieces he had made from junk.

Delche came back and said, “He will do it and have it ready tomorrow but we have to bring the ship here and land it on that junk pile so he can access it from underneath. He will give us a ladder to get off and on the ship. Now let’s go and get the ship.”

About half an hour later we were back and I carefully landed the ship on the junk pile. When I opened the door we were about two metres off the ground, enough clearance for the artist to work under it. We each climbed down the ladder. The guards jumped off.

I told Delche to tell the artist to make sure he paints a large sun so that it can be seen from the distance.

Delche spoke to him at length.

“What are they saying,” I asked Ori.

“They’re haggling over the price.”

When Delche was done talking he said the ship would be ready tomorrow and asked what we wanted to do for the rest of the day.

Ori and I looked at each other and came up with nothing.

“You can’t think of a single thing outside of eating, drinking and shooting?” Delche asked mockingly.

“What else is there?” I said jokingly but was serious.

I had been here on this so-called civilized planet for over two months and had been living like a barbarian. I had no idea what these people did for fun or how they earned their living. And honestly, I didn’t want to know because deep inside I wasn’t ready to settle here, I wanted to go home.

Ori jumped in and said, “I thought I was happy until I met you two, now I don’t know what I am. Being at the top of my class, I thought I had a good grasp of the world and as it turned out half of what I was taught is lies and crap. I was fed a lot of crap about a lot of things, especially about the righteousness of the rats in the

government and about how corrupt and immoral the Karons and the outlanders were and only because they belonged to different cultures. My parents are ashamed of me for holding different views and for getting mixed up with you outlanders. But they couldn’t wait to surrender me to Vieria, only because she is a royal. Ah, the hell with it all.”

“Ori, what we are doing here is bringing change, change never comes easily, and you have to destroy the old to build the new. When your parents realize what you have done and how you helped change the course of history, they will understand and appreciate you. Let me ask you this, what is history going to say about your parents? Nothing, not even a mention, but I will guarantee you, children in the future will be reading poetry about Ori the magnificent, a crewman of the great warship ‘Dragon Fire’, oh I hate that name, which defeated the Karon Empire, brought down the corrupt government on this planet and sent the mighty galactic destroyer back to its own galaxy. And this is only the beginning. If you still want to be part of this great change, ask Asora to give you a position in her government, think about what you want to do and ask. Her husband is your best buddy, how can you fail?” I said.

Ori took a big breath and said, “I could use a stiff drink right about now.”

“We’ve ruined him!” I said and Delche concurred.

“Well, like I said, all we know how to do is eat, drink and shoot. It’s one better that just eating and drinking,” Delche said with a tone of disappointment.

We returned leisurely to the restaurant and sat in the usual place. It was nearing evening and the place was filling up fast. We were tired of talking to each other so we sat there sipping our rakia slowly and watching the people socialize and talk politics. For the first time since I had arrived here I felt very alone. All those voices, all those conversations were meaningless to me; not knowing the language was a great handicap. My guards didn’t help my situation. I’m sure I would have received a tap or two on the shoulder but everyone was afraid to get close.

The time passed fast. Time moves fast when you have too many drinks. Ori and I said goodbye to everyone and were ready to go.

“Are you going back to the ship to sleep?” Delche asked. Like he didn’t know the ship was inaccessible.

“No,” I said. “We’re not that drunk, we’re going to the hotel on the next block, the owner offered us free rooms. We’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

I don’t remember much of what happened after that. In the morning Ori came and got me and we were back in the restaurant. Delche apologized for not having us stay at his place. He only had one spare room.

We drank a lot of tea with our breakfast that morning in an attempt to rehydrate. We all had a headache and didn’t feel like doing anything. Airam came by, collected the plates and said something.

“What did she say?” I asked Ori.

Delche was holding his head in his hands.

“She said she’s glad she doesn’t drink.”

We sat there drinking tea and feeling sorry for ourselves while watching the others work.

“We’re a bunch of slackers, aren’t we?” I blurted out.

“We should go for a walk,” Delche suggested.

Ori and I agreed.

We walked down the street very slowly and stopped in front of a barber shop.

Delche looked at me, laughed and said, “You look like a barbarian. You could use a haircut and a shave. You don’t want to look like that standing in front of royalty do you?”

“I agree but I have no money and I don’t want to constantly impose on you.”

Just as I finished talking the barber came out and loudly invited us in. He grabbed me by my arm and my guards pulled out their weapons. Delche had to tell him to let go and move slowly because my guards were very sensitive and might shoot him.

He laughed out loud and yelled something.

Ori said, “We’re getting free shaves, haircuts and a wash.”

The barber constantly talked as he worked. Delche kept moving his head in agreement.

Ori said, “He’s talking nonsense, little stories about his customers and that we are his most famous customers to date, and things like that.”

“This is who he is,” I said to Ori. “You can accept people and appreciate them for who they are or you can be like your parents.”

He quickly apologized.

“We are friends, and friends care for one another, there is no need to apologize.”

It took more than an hour for the barber to do his job but when he was done we looked fantastic. We thanked him and he thanked us.

From there we went straight to the tailor. Ori and I stood outside while Delche went in and came back with our uniforms. He unfolded one and we looked at it.

“I like it, I like it very much,” Ori said.

“I knew you would, look at the contrast between the white background and the yellow and red stripes in the front and back of the jacket and on the side of the pants. I love the round yellow on red Macedonian sun on the arm and how it stands out on the white background. We’ll be the envy of the party I’m telling you, and they will wonder why they didn’t think of it themselves,” replied Delche.

“The uniforms are indeed beautiful, look at the stitching, especially the complex colours and patterns of Voskot’s badge,” I said.

“Stop calling it Voskot’s badge. It’s your badge, you did more with it in a month than Voskot did in his lifetime,” Delche said.

Delche put the uniform back in its package and decided to carry all three of them.

Not long after that we arrived at the artist’s junkyard. The artist said something.

“You’re just in time, the paint is just about dry,” Ori translated.

I went under the ship and looked. It looked fantastic. He said something to Ori.

“The paint is reflective at no extra charge; people can see it in the dark when lights are shining on it. It will be my most famous masterpiece. Imagine that?”

While everyone else was admiring the painting of the Macedonian sun I climbed up the rickety ladder, entered the codes, tapped the handprint with my hand and opened the ship’s door. Then they climbed up the ladder, including my guards. Before closing the door we waved goodbye to the artist.

“I’ll give him his money the next time he comes to the restaurant. He wanted to do the job for free but I know he’s poor, I convinced him to take some money to pay for the paint,” Delche said.

I had the docking robot take the ship off the rickety platform using impulse power to make sure we didn’t tip over. After I took control

we landed the ship at the usual place, took our uniforms with us and went back to the restaurant to try them on.

Airam was excited to see the uniforms. These could become famous uniforms and she had designed the colours on them. Delche gave the sketches back to her.

After we put the uniforms on, Airam helped us adjust them so that they fit perfectly. She couldn’t believe how good they looked and how good we looked in them. We all looked like high ranking military officers. She was very proud of her father.

Airam said something.

Ori translated, “Take the uniforms off and hide them. Take them to the ship and put them on before you take off for the party tomorrow. Mom and I will be there, I’ll act surprised when I see you.”

We took Airam’s advice, took the uniforms off and took them to the ship. We each put our uniform on our chair and returned to the restaurant.

When we came back we realized that we didn’t have proper shoes to go with our uniforms so we went walking down the street until we found a shoe store. Unfortunately they only sold custom made shoes. When Delche told the cobbler what we needed them for and that he was Asora’s husband, he agreed to make them for us for free the same day. He measured our feet and had his assistants drop everything and start making our shoes. He then told us to come back before dark.

“I’m starting to like this… being famous,” said Delche. “I just hope it doesn’t corrupt me.”

His words made me nervous and I wondered where the dividing line was and how many little favours it would take before we were corrupt just like the rats.

“Delche, I want you to make a list of every favour that was done for us including your own expenses so we can pay for them. If we

continue to accept favours like we have done so far, we could damage your wife’s reputation as an honest person and I don’t want to be responsible for that. We are accusing others of being corrupt, but what do we do? Accept favours and free stuff! I will find the money and we will pay for everything we have taken so far.”

Delche agreed without reservation and made a list.

“The rakia too?” he asked jokingly.

“No. When your wife legalizes the sale of rakia then we’ll think about it.”

When it started getting dark outside we went back to the cobbler. The cobbler told Delche that the shoes were ready and we went in the back to get them. They were white. I wasn’t happy with the colour and neither was Delche.

“I prefer them to be brown,” I said.

Delche asked the cobbler if he could change the colour to light brown. The cobbler wasn’t happy. Then Delche told him he was prepared to pay full price if he painted the shoes light brown. The cobbler agreed and went to the back.

“We don’t have money,” I told Delche. “How are you going to pay for the shoes?

At that point Ori said we still had the account Vieria had given us and we could take money from there.

The cobbler came back and the shoes looked fantastic. We tried them on and they fit perfectly. Ori gave the cobbler the account to charge the shoes against. After that we went back to the tailor, artist and hotel and paid them. We also paid Delche’s friend who had given us provisions for the ship.

Both Ori and Delche refused to take money for their services.

It was late at night when we went back to the restaurant. Delche offered us food but we turned it down.

“Thank you but no more food, we’ve been eating all day, it’s time to rest.”

We said our goodbye’s and Ori and I went back to the ship.

King Velion’s party

We got up early the next morning and went straight to Delche’s restaurant for breakfast. After breakfast we used Delche’s facilities to shower. Ori had his shower first and I had my shower with my guards standing just outside the shower stall. I had always regarded my guards as machines but standing naked in their presence made me feel awkward. Delche had his shower last. Asora and Airam had already gone when Ori and I arrived at the restaurant. They had been picked up by Vieria’s limousine and had been taken somewhere for a meeting.

After we showered we left the restaurant and went to the ship. When we arrived there was a message from Vieria waiting for us. She gave us the coordinates for where the party was to take place and what time to arrive. She also told us that there was a special landing pad in the garden where we were required to land.

“It will be marked with a particular symbol which Delche and Ori will recognize,” she said.

We were to arrive at exactly ten o’clock. We had two hours to kill.

I was nervous and excited when I asked, “What do you guys want to do to pass the time?”

We were all nervous, especially Delche, who I figured would be the least nervous.

No one had any ideas on how to spend the time.

I looked around and my eyes landed on one of my guards. I had an idea.

“Ori, it would be nice if my guards wore uniforms like ours. How long do you think it would take for you to create holograms in the computer?”

Ori became excited and said, “Now that I have something to do, I’ll start right now but we should put our uniforms on first so that I can

model the holograms on them. I would also have to take a picture of your badge and create a hologram of it for the arm pads.”

“Do it!” I said.

Delche, turned to me and asked, “Are we going to the party armed?”

I thought about it for a minute and said, “The guards are going armed, not us. I know you don’t like these people, let alone trust them, but that goes both ways. We have to show that we are confident and not afraid of anyone. I’m sure there will be many rats at the party but I can assure you that if they make a move they will sign their death warrant. My guards will extend their protection to the three of us; we just have to make sure we are always close together.”

Delche was somewhat reassured but he still had his doubts.

As soon as Ori got dressed and put on his new uniform and shoes he dashed to his panel and began to work.

He told Delche to, “Stand still so I can see what belongs where on the uniform.”

When Ori was finished looking at Delche he took a picture of my badge and continued to work.

In the meantime Delche showed me how to enter coordinates into the ship’s navigation computer and how to activate them for the autopilot.

“Now you can take trips to unknown destinations by yourself. See this symbol here; if you get lost push it, set the speed, you know how to do that, and then engage the autopilot. The ship will automatically bring you here to this spot.”

I thanked him and asked him how much longer until departure time.

“Stop asking me that, you can look at the clock yourself, there’s one in front of you. You make me more nervous every time you ask for the time.”

There was a yell, Ori declared he was done and asked me to say, “Guards, Macedonian mode.”

“Why Macedonian mode?” I asked.

“Just do it, that’s what I thought of at the moment. What difference does it make anyway, just do it!”

“Guards, Macedonian mode,” I said.

“Wow, they look so beautiful, like real women,” said Delche

Ori then said to me, “Ask them to disengage from the dock.”

I did. Then he asked Delche to stand beside one of them, which he did.

Ori got out of his seat and examined both Delche and the guard, made some mental notes and went back to his panel. I was about to say something but he stopped me and said, “Stand by.”

Moments later he said do it again.

I again said, “Guards, Macedonian mode.” And then I said, “I feel funny saying that.”

Ori didn’t care. He got up again and reexamined his work.

He sat down on his chair, took a long breath and said, “Done.”

“Are you done with me?” asked Delche.

“Yes… Thank you.”

“I just remembered. We should put on and wear the medals Vieria gave us. Find them and pin them on your jackets over your hearts,” I said and showed them how.

Moments later I said, “It’s time to go,” and turned on the engines.

The guards returned to their docks.

Delche took his seat and said, “They sure look beautiful.”

After we were off the ground Ori said he wasn’t sure he was going to finish designing the uniforms for the guards on time. Delche told him to stop doubting himself.

We flew in silence the rest of the way until the park came into view. We looked down and saw thousands of people among the flowering fruit trees. At the top of the park was a long table with a row of people sitting behind it. Ori pointed at the symbol where we were expected to land. The landing site was at the bottom of the park away from the people.

“I have never seen so much white in one place,” said Delche.

“And since when were you ever invited to a royal party?” I asked sarcastically.

“Ha! Ha!” he replied.

“Nobody is looking up,” Ori said.

“You want them to look up? Then let’s give them something to look up to.”

I pulled the joystick back as far as it extended. The ship’s engines exploded with a great force as the ship shot into space.

“That should get their attention,” I said.

Then taking a circular motion I took the ship down, slowly closing the circle as we descended until we were flying above the people’s heads.

“I’m sure everyone has noticed us now.”

“I’m sure some even filled their pants,” Delche said.

“I’m sure there will be hell to pay for that stunt!” declared Ori.

“Well, I can see that you’re no longer nervous,” I said and pushed the door open button. I then instructed the guards to protect all of us and told Ori to go out first. He hesitated but I told him in my tradition the captain leaves the ship last. Ori stepped out first.

There were cheers from the crowd as we got off one by one. My guards followed me very closely as I got off and closed the door.

I didn’t think too many people in the crowd knew that the women behind me were actually my guards and not my dates, so there was a lot of whispering about that.

After we got off the ship a man came over and told us to stand side by side in a straight line. He then introduced us as follows:

“1st Lieutenant Ori, officer of communications!”

“Commander Delche, officer of navigation!”

“Commander Otsi, Captain of the ship Dragon Fire, and his two personal guards Glory and Morning!”

Cheers followed along with whispers.

“I see you got a promotion,” I said to Ori.

Our escort motioned to me to be quiet and made a hand gesture.

Seconds later Asora and Airam showed up and, without saying a word, escorted us up the hill to the big table.

The crowd was silent.

While Delche, Ori, Asora and Airam looked down as instructed I looked at the people looking at us.

When we arrived at the top Asora and Airam stepped to the left and Asora introduced us to the royal family sitting behind the big table.

Asora started with Ori and ended with me and the guards. When she was done a man standing to our left introduced the royal family. He started with King Velion, his wife and seven daughters from oldest to youngest.

I looked at each daughter individually and only recognized one, Anelia. She looked at me sheepishly and then turned away. She was the one who was responsible for everything that had happened to me.

I looked around, Vieria was not there.

When the man was finished introducing the royal family, King Velion began to laugh. He had a long and funny laugh. His laugh reminded me of the sound our donkeys made back in my village in Macedonia.

Velion spoke for a long time. I have no idea what he said. When he was finally done he looked at me, pointed and said something. He then pointed at his daughters, said something and stopped talking.

He looked at me as if expecting an answer. There was silence everywhere and no one said a word.

Finally Asora spoke up and told the king that I didn’t speak their language.

The king said something and waved his hands.

Ori said something. The king then motioned to him.

Ori looked at me and said, “The king is offering you one of his daughters. It is our tradition to do that with our heroes. And since you already know Anelia he suggested you take her as your bride. Or you can choose another daughter.”

I looked at each one of his daughters behind the table from left to right. They were all smiling except for Anelia who looked mean, like she wanted to murder someone.

I told Ori to say the following to the king and make it sound good and polite. “I thank you my king very much for offering to make me part of your family but I am already married. I am married to that ship which can’t survive without me. I too can’t survive without it. And if I can’t survive then I can’t serve you and your good people on this planet.”

When Ori was done talking Asora began to clap, many followed. The king shook his big head and waved at everyone to stop clapping. He then pointed at the man to our right and the man came over to pin a medal on my chest. My guards instantly reacted. They moved in front of me and drew their weapons. I moved my hand. They lowered their weapons and went behind me. There was a big gasp coming from the crowd and then there was silence.

“Let this be a lesson to you all!” I said (in Macedonian).

Delche almost burst out laughing but Asora gave him “the look” and he cut it out.

I waved the man to come back and he pinned the medals on us. He gave me the medals for the guards and I put them in my pocket. He couldn’t pin them on the guards because their uniforms were holograms. It was sad watching him try.

When the man was done with the medal pinning we were escorted to a table below the king’s table and the three of us sat down. Asora and Airam were escorted back to their own table with the dignitaries.

When attention was taken away from us we began to notice things. Delche noticed that there were cameras all over the place taking pictures. Ori looked around and estimated that there were over one thousand people in attendance. I looked at the food on the royal table and our table. It consisted exclusively of preserved fruits, jellies and brown and white dried cubes. There were glasses filled with water.

What kind of a party was this, I wondered.

“We could use a stiff drink of rakia just about now,” I said.

Both Delche and Ori agreed.

“Everybody is eating, we’d better eat something, we don’t want to insult our host,” said Ori.

Delche was about to say something but I said, “Don’t!”

We each picked up our little triangular spoon and dipped into the three varieties of jelly they had set on the table for us.

Moments later a woman came over and whispered something into Ori’s ear.

“We have been summoned to go to the table where the dignitaries are.”

We got up and followed the woman down to where Asora was sitting. There was no place for us to sit.

Asora said something to the others around the table and they each had their chance to speak.

She then told Ori to tell me, “We have taken a vote and we unanimously agree to send emissaries to Barkon, the Karon planet and to the trader’s galaxy to open embassies for the purpose of trading with them. We want your ship to escort our people there.”

Delche told me, “Don’t argue with her here, do what she says and don’t make her argue with you. It will make her look weak.”

I agreed.

I told Ori to tell her the following and make it sound good, “I graciously accept your orders and will do as you ask.”

After Ori spoke to her everyone shook their heads in approval and smiled.

After that we left and walked over to our ship. I opened the door, waved goodbye to everyone who was looking, closed the door and slowly lifted off and vanished into the sky.

After we left we all took a deep breath and began to relax. I set the speed and pushed the home button and off we went, destination; Delche’s restaurant.

“I owe you two a lot for giving my wife her moment,” Delche said.

“Did you know that Airam was the only person waving back when we waved at the crowds before we left?” I said.