Space Pioneer 2 - The Titan Plot - 5. Chapter 5

Hulton went back on the bridge. Lest was sitting at a side console, brushing through the news. He looked up briefly when Hulton entered the bridge, then turned back to the screen. Hulton sat down and opened two windows on the monitoring screen. He looked furtively at the captain, then focused on the windows. One showed Jeff’s room, the other the corridor that led up to it. Tiana was sitting on her bed and Le’Ton and Corr were coming down the corridor. Both men were dressed in training suits and Le’Ton was carrying a bundle of clothes. The men stopped in front of the room and Le’Ton held a thumb up. Hulton looked furtively at Lest again, then unlocked the door of the room.

Tiana startled when Corr and Le’Ton entered. She rose to her feet and looked between the men. Le’Ton held out the bundle of clothes and spoke to her. Tiana was shaking her head in response. She made a step back and seized her veil from the bed. Corr intervened. He gestured, apparently explaining something, then pointed at the clothes that Le’Ton was carrying. Tiana was hesitating, but finally dropped the veil. She approached the men, took the clothes from Le’Ton’s hands and went into the bathroom. The two men were grinning and Le’Ton held a thumb up. Tiana returned a short while later, dressed in sweatpants and a long shirt. She brushed back her hair nervously, looked indecisively at the veil on her bed, but then straightened and joined the men by the door. The group left. Hulton turned his head to Lest, then opened another window. It showed the gym room of the ship.

The group entered the room and Le’Ton pointed at three training bikes. He helped Tiana on one of them and Corr adjusted her bike. It didn’t take long and Tiana was cycling expertly. The two men mounted bikes and the three of them were cycling and had a lively talk.

Hulton looked at the scene with surprise. “Hell, it was really easy to get her talking,” he said.

“What’s going on, Hulton?” Lest asked.

Hulton winced, then turned around. The captain was standing behind of him.

“Are you spying on me, captain?” Hulton asked.

Lest narrowed his eyes at Hulton’s blunt words, but got distracted by the scene on the screen. He looked at it in disbelief.

“What’s this? Hulton, explain!” Lest shouted.

“No need to shout at me. The plan has worked out. They’ve got her talking,” Hulton said sulkily.

“This is a case of insubordination. You won’t get away with it,” Lest said, starting for the exit of the bridge.

Doctor Midad was entering. “What’s going on? Why are you running, Lest?” he asked.

“Come and look,” Lest said, moving back to the front console. He pointed at the screen.

Midad followed him. “Astounding,” he said. “I wouldn’t have expected this from the Titan lady. Maybe she’s not what she seems. I’m almost sure she’s not.”

“What do you mean, doctor?” Lest asked impatiently. “Don’t speak in riddles, Midad.”

“We must talk,” Midad replied. “Let’s go to sickbay. I want to show you something.”

“I can’t go now, Midad. I must handle this situation. This is a severe case of insubordination,” Lest said.

“I must tell you something. It can’t wait. It has to do with the lady,” Midad replied.

Lest turned to Hulton. “We will talk about this incident later. Have them take the lady back to her room,” he said.

Lest and Midad left the bridge. Hulton activated the intercom.

“Please come to the end of your training session. The captain awaits you back on the bridge,” he said.

Corr and Le’Ton stopped cycling at once and looked at each other. Tiana stopped also and awkwardly climbed off the bike. The men were watching her and exchanged a quick look. Tiana looked at them insecurely. Le’Ton didn’t move, but Corr pointed at the door. The group left. The men led Tiana back to her room and Hulton locked the door from the bridge. Corr and Le’Ton hurried to their quarters and a short while later entered the bridge, dressed in their ship overalls. Corr’s face was white and Le’Ton’s was dark red. The men stopped short and looked at the empty captain’s seat.

“He was stopped by Doctor Midad. They have gone to sickbay,” Hulton explained. “The tongue-lashing’s just delayed, though. The captain’s really enraged. I hope you found out something useful.”

Corr and Le’Ton sat down.

Hulton looked between them. “He won’t kill you. Stop worrying,” he said. “You look as if under shock. One is white in the face and the other red.”

“It’s not because of the captain,” Corr replied. “We found out something. It is shocking.”

“What?” Hulton asked. “Did she reveal something to you?”

“It revealed when she climbed off the bike,” Le’Ton said.

“I saw it, too,” Corr added.

“And what was so devastating about it?” Hulton asked, his confusion increasing.

“She pulled up the shirt when she climbed off the bike,” Le’Ton said. “I happened to notice it.”

“Me, too,” Corr said. “I’ve never seen a female wearing sweatpants with a bulge.”

Hulton’s mouth opened slightly.

“No doubt about it,” Corr said. “The lady is a man.”

Hulton’s mouth was hanging open and Le’Ton’s face turned even redder.

“The lady is a man,” Doctor Midad finished his report on the genetic test that he had run on a saliva sample.

“Are you certain about it, Midad?” Lest asked.

“Absolutely,” Midad replied. “I took the sample from the fork he used. The genetic profile is 100% Titan. The sample isn’t from the Horus crew and the dishes the other Titan men used are still in their rooms.”

“The lady is a man,” Lest said, pacing the room. He stopped and studied a display in the wall, then turned back to Midad. “Did they kill Tian Mu’s daughter? Did a double take a place? Why a man? Why not a Titan woman?”

“I don’t know,” Midad said with a shrug.

“Did you find images of Tian Mu’s daughter in the space net?” Lest asked.

“I read a couple of articles this afternoon, but none contained an image of Tian Mu’s family,” Midad replied. “I guess the entire plot got out of control.”

“What do you think?” Lest asked.

“I think the real daughter was on Cleus for whatever reason, perhaps indeed for getting the independent expertise on her mental and emotional health,” Midad said. “The Cleus ship was supposed to take her back to the Empire of Titania. I can’t tell what happened to her, but the wrong Tiana took her place and boarded the ship. I suspect the rich vendee, who bought the crates on board of our ship, plans to marry her. The marriage will make him Tian Mu’s successor.”

“Do they really think no one will see through their plot?” Lest asked.

“If it was planned carefully and in detail, they might get through with it,” Midad said. “The Titan upper class women go veiled from early childhood on. Outsiders would not be able to tell if the woman was Tian Mu’s daughter. I think that even persons close to the family would have difficulties identifying her. Tiana is an only child. In my opinion, only her parents would be able to identify her 100 percent. Actually, only the mother, I think. I could imagine the head of the Empire of Titania only sees his daughter once in a while.”

“They don’t talk about personal matters in their conversations,” Lest said. “No one can stumble upon a lie or anything remotely suspicious. What about the mother? Is she still alive?” he asked.

“I think so,” Midad replied. “The death-days of leader and spouse are recorded, but I found nothing in the records.” He stopped short, went to a device, searched for a while and then produced an article on the screen. Midad brushed through it.

“Listen,” he said. “When a Titan woman marries, her family status changes by law. Parents and siblings are no longer her closest relatives. Her husband is considered closer to her by law. This means she can take off her veil in front of her husband but no longer in front of parents and siblings.”

Lest was thinking. “They just need to make sure that the marriage is solemnized before her parents can see her again,” he said. “On a spaceship perhaps? Is this even possible?” he asked.

Midad studied the article. “The marriage must take place on Titan territory in front of a civil chamber or two Titan judges. Bride and bridegroom must consent. Both must be twenty-two years of age. The woman must present a statement of consent signed by her father. It’s a general declaration of consent. The father declares his willingness to hand over his daughter to her husband, who, from the date of marriage on, must care for the woman,” he said. Midad looked up. “In Tiana’s case a further requirement must be met. The independent medical expertise on her mental and emotional health.”

“I guarantee they’ve got all the necessary documents, authentic or false,” Lest said. “And I can tell you exactly where this marriage is supposed to take place.”

“Where?” Midad asked.

“Rho 59, the dwarf planet on the edge of the Titan empire,” Lest replied.

Midad nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Lest,” he said. “But it leaves one question unanswered.”

“Which one?” Lest asked.

“Why did they replace Tian Mu’s daughter by a man?” Midad asked.

“The answer is actually very simple,” Lest replied. “The marriage candidate is into men.”

“This would in fact explain the plot,” Midad said, his eyes meeting Lest’s.

Lest smiled briefly, then left and went back on the bridge.

Corr and Le’Ton watched the captain warily as he walked to his seat and sat down.

“The operation was meant to retrieve information, captain,” Corr said.

“Which operation?” Lest asked in confusion.

“The gym room,” Le’Ton replied.

“Oh, this,” Lest said absently.

The men exchanged a puzzled look.

Jeff entered the bridge and sat down. He was looking around. “Is this a meeting?” he asked.

Corr cleared his throat. “We’ve found out a shocking fact,” he said.

“The lady is a man,” Lest said.

“How do you know?” Le’Ton blurted out.

“What?” Jeff asked. “What are you talking about?”

Lest told them what Midad had discovered and what they had learned from the space net articles.

“I understand the disguise, the long robe, the scarf and the veil, even the plastic bag with the underwear,” Jeff said. “It’s all meant to deceive us. But why the long hair? The scarf and the veil would have sufficed in my opinion.”

“There are monitoring systems everywhere, even in private rooms,” Hulton said. “I think the long hair is just to make sure no one will become suspicious. Maybe he’s wearing a wig.”

“He didn’t put on the scarf and veil in his room or in the gym room,” Corr said. “The disguise is somewhat useless with a careless behavior. “I wouldn’t have gone to the gym room in his place.”

“I guess this is what happened on the Cleus ship. The Cleus crew found out about the truth,” Lest said.

“And were killed for it. Bright prospects, indeed,” Hulton said.

“We need not confront the Titans with our findings,” Corr said.

“What did they do to the real Tiana?” Jeff asked.

“Better don’t ask this question,” Corr replied.

“She looked beautiful. I liked her,” Le’Ton said.

Corr patted his shoulder. “A mist arose and the fog has not yet lifted. In the dead of the night we stumble about in the dark. This is a poem written by Ches Aron, a Daglon poet,” he said.

“Never heard of,” Le’Ton replied curtly.

“How about this twist on the poem? A mist arose and the fog has not yet lifted. In the dead of the night we grope about in the dark,” Corr said, grinning.

Le’Ton blushed, rose from his seat and left the bridge.

“This was downright mean,” Lest said.

“It was meant as a joke,” Corr protested.

“I found it well to the point,” Hulton remarked.

“I didn’t know you were interested in poems, Corr,” Jeff said.

“I must balance Hulton’s new interest in cooking,” Corr said. “The purchase of the pre-prepared food was an excellent idea, by the way, Hulton.”

“Thanks,” Hulton replied. He turned back to his devices, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“We need to have an open mind about new developments,” Lest said. “We’re getting nowhere without making progress and ultimately stop dead in our tracks. We must look ahead and not turn back.”

“A good one also. Ches Aron?” Corr asked.

“No. An original by Lest Edorta,” Lest said, rising to his feet. “I’ll go and seek Le’Ton.”

The men looked after Lest.

“He rarely uses his surname,” Corr said. “And I didn’t know he was interested in poems. Did you know, Jeff?”

“No, it’s new to me, too,” Jeff replied. “This trip is full of surprises. What next?”