Twenty Six - Dhati Knows Best
"Traitor!" he screamed as he pulled the lever, ejecting the whining General into space.
Ambassador Treprestas Blastahdus Shaleedas Felance was livid, his piercing red eyes wide with rage.
"Traitor!" he screamed again as he pulled a second lever which sent a begging Major on his way to rupturing death.
Again and again he pulled the levers growing more and more agitated.
Beside him stood his new concubine, Ranilla. Every time he pulled a lever, she pulled an imaginary one with her clenched fist above her head.
"Lance dear?"
"What!?"
"Take a break. You�re straining your heart."
"One more!"
The Ambassador gripped the lever and pulled hard. "Thank you!" he shouted.
"Oh!" Ranilla gasped, "that was Eratia! She was my best friend! Why? Why did you kill her? She was totally innocent!"
The Ambassador turned with a wry smile. "Yes, and a good piece too, but you see, Ranilla, I�ve learned my lesson. This time our other party partner will be someone whom you disdain - and - someone who despises you from the start."
Suddenly, the Ambassadors eyes grew wide with terror. Eyes buldging, his face distorted into a horrified grimace. Ranilla gasped, thinking he was having a heart attack. She then reeled in surprise as the Ambassador dissolved before her eyes and disappeared.
~
Far above the Ambassador�s command carrier, a misty bubble of permutating geometry floated in space. Inside, the Ambassador found himself in a bright room full of strange objects.
"Treprestas, Treprestas, find me quickly!" The deep voice seemed to come from everywhere.
The Ambassador frantically grabbed the strange objects one after the other, shaking them vigorously and tossing them aside. There were hundreds of items including a carved wooden cockroach, a shrunken alien head with pins through the eyes, a glass cow�s tongue, a wax figure of himself, a plastic Kultaki baby-doll nailed to a plank, a bloody dagger, a thick hangman�s noose, a sandal with steel cleats, a polished green stone, a metal salamander and a brick of happy powder that turned to dust in his hands. "Where are you!?" he cried.
"Find me quickly Treprestas ... find me quickly!" The voice was almost giddy with delight.
Feverish and exhausted, the Ambassador reclined to the floor scooting about from object to object, shaking them and throwing them aside.
"No, no Treprestas. Use your head for something besides a crown hanger!"
On hands and knees the Ambassador crawled weakly towards a corner of the room.
He saw a small mirror on the floor and picked it up by the handle.
Struggling to his feet, he shook it a little and gazed directly into it. He gasped and screamed, flinging it away. It crashed to the floor, shattering into a thousand shards. Out popped a figure dressed in a white robe.
"Dhati!" he cried. Before him stood the ancient wizened Kultaki with long eyelashes.
"Oh Treprestas, this little game has been so exciting for me!"
"No, no ... I like women!"
"You like women?" The figure instantly changed into a beautiful Kultaki girl that looked exactly like Anadia. She ripped off her white robe and leapt upon him, clinging to him like a leach. The girl then morphed back into the ancient wizened figure and brutally violated him. It was impossible to get away and went on and on for a hellish eternity.
When it was over, it seemed as if a corpse, like the hull of a dead insect, still adhered to him. He peeled off the remains with his trembling clawed fingers.
"That was so good, Treprestas," the ancient figure spoke from across the room and tossed him a white robe, "Cover your indecency and let us go together into the palace."
The wall swung open like a door. Dhati stepped on through and bekoned the Ambassador who relunctantly followed. He could barely walk and he was still trembling. Dhati escorted him into a lavish hall with fountains and birds. He pointed at a three legged stool.
"Sit."
With painful difficulty, Lance sat down on the stool as Dhati took three steps up onto a platform and settled down into a plush wrap around easy chair.
"Would you like a snort of happy-powder to soothe you?"
The Ambassador nodded. He was still shaking badly. Dhati smiled a crooked smile while stroking his long eyelashes and blinked his eyes. A handsome young Kultaki boy brought a dish. With a tiny silver spoon he served Dhati and then the Ambassador, who began to calm down after two snorts.
"Come back over here," Dhati said to the boy. He grabbed the dish from the boy, buried his nose in the remaining happy powder and sucked it up like a vacuum cleaner. He lurched back in his chair dropping the dish which rolled down the steps, exhaled with a long wheeze, then cleared his throat. His speech was slurred. "Treprestas ... Treprestas darling ... you�ve been such a bad boy... what shall I do with you? A quantum fission starship? ... the pride of our fleet? ... gone ... gone forever. Do you have any idea how much one of those things costs? Would you like for me to set up an installment plan, or do you wish to pay me back all at once?"
"Your Excellency, I ..."
"Oh, just call me 'Dhati' now that I�ve gotten to know you."
"Dhati, I ... I was being careful ... if my men had just done what I told them to ..."
"Oh Treprestas, is that why you murdered so many of them?"
"They were insubordinate, sir ..."
"Just call me 'Dhati'."
"They were insubordinate, Dhati ... traitors ..."
�Traitors?�
"They ... they ... I gave them the frequencies to correct the problem. They were cowards!"
"Cowards?"
"Yes."
"Then ... they are responsible for the loss of the starship. Is that right?"
"Yes, yes ... they are responsible.
Dhati stared at him. Finally, he slowly began to shake his head. "No ... no Treprestas. You see ... that creation of yours came into contact with tachyon energy ... and was changed. Your frequencies were inadequate. You should have been more careful not to allow that thing back on board your ship. You are incompetent, Treprestas. Too busy partying. Too busy having fun."
"No ... it was ... it was ... that Pheledra ...�
�Treprestas darling, you were so delightful a moment ago. I�m going to give you a chance to redeem yourself."
"Oh, thank you Dhati, thank you ... what can I do?"
"What? ... well that�s up to you darling. You�ll come up with something. Oh ... would it be all right if my little boy played a game with you before you go?"
"Please ... please ..."
"Is that a 'yes'?"
"No, please ... please Dhati ... no!"
"Oh, okay. Too much vigorous playful activity might weaken a strong man like you and ... after all ... you�ll need all your strength now ... won�t you?"
"I�ll do what I can, Dhati. I�ll do what I can."
"Do what you can and can what you can�t. I have confidence in you, darling!"
Continue on to Chapter 27
PART 1
Introduction by the Author
Prologue
Ch.1-The Mission Ch.2-An Astral Roach Ch.3-The Conspiracy of Light Ch.4-The Kultaki
Ch.5-His Pestilency Ch.6-Brain Storm Ch.7-Feline Processing Ch.8-Red Alert
Ch.9-The Day of Days Ch.10-Empathic Agony Ch.11-Oldtime Melodrama Ch.12-Orange Flies
Ch.13-A Boots Assist Ch.14-Vision Delivery Ch.15-Sudden Capture Ch.16-Cat Torment
Ch.17-The Horror Ch.18-Cobi and Ana Ch.19-Playing Doctor Ch.20-Open to My Soul
Ch.21-Self Sufficient Monkey Ch.22-Total Destruction Ch.23-Alone in Space Ch.24-New Plans
Ch.25-Prepare for Contact Ch.26-Dhati Knows Best Ch.27-Healing and Peace
