Celeste was standing near the main entrance to the Hitongu outdoor feast. Tara and Phog were beside her. Streams of Hitongu were strolling in through the main entrance gates. There was a long line of transports that kept rolling in and dropping off their passengers. The mood amongst the Hitongu crowd was celebratory. There were people laughing as they walked through the gates. Many of the Hitongu had dressed up for the feast. She saw unusual tops in vivid colors and robes with long trails. Celeste had witnessed a similar atmosphere the last time she had attended such an event. She had to admit that the Hitongu feasts were colorful and lively events.
There was a Social Collective that was assigned the task of arranging all the feasts and social events. She had heard that this collective was the largest, in terms of membership. It made sense as there needed to be a large contingent of people involved to arrange such a feast. The Social Collective was also known to be the most popular of all collectives in the Hitongu. Celeste hadn’t been surprised by it as the Hitongu were fascinated in socializing above all else.
“I cannot believe there are so many of them here,” Phog exclaimed, shaking his head.
“It only gets worse once you are inside,” Tara said.
“They really have no clue of the dangerous times they are living in,” Phog said. “How many of these feasts do they have?”
“I think ten every year,” Tara sighed. “But I was told that number keeps increasing. I think they just want more and more such feasts. It is like a cultural obsession to them.”
Celeste realized Tara was already regretting coming to the feast, but they needed to scan the people.
“Do you have such feasts on the Grekk home world?” Phog inquired, as he kept glancing at the crowds.
“We Grekk have much more important things to do than waste our time at such events,” Tara said proudly.
The truth was that Grekk citizens never placed any priority on the social aspect of society. Their focus was always on learning and dominating. It was ingrained from a young age. Grekk society frowned upon citizens who tended to spend time indulging in non-productive things.
“Once you are inside I want both of you to take two different paths along the area and start scanning the people,” Celeste instructed. “Try to move as quickly as you can.”
Tara had been able to modify a second device to scan for human DNA. Celeste hoped these two devices would be sufficient to do the scanning.
Phog turned to Celeste. “What are you going to do?”
“Mingle with the crowd I guess,” Celeste replied. “I also want to find that spy.”
Her last time at such a feast had been consumed by meeting people who only wanted to know more about the Grekk home world. Their fascination with the Grekk home world had been suffocating. As she had moved from person to person, she had been forced to recount the same story over and over again until she had nearly lost her voice.
“Do you think the spy will be there?” Phog inquired.
“I am certain,” Celeste declared. “Especially since the spy would by now know that I had been invited. If this spy is working with the Zandrax species, we need to identify the individual. The Hitongu may have many faults, but they don’t deserve an invasion by the Zandrax.”
Phog raised his eyebrows. “Do you really think the Zandrax would mount an invasion of this planet?”
“You know them better than I do,” Celeste said. “We have to be ready for every possibility.”
Phog agreed. “If the Zandrax take over this planet, they would have full control of the space corridor and dictate who could travel through this region.”
Celeste hadn’t thought too much of the impact of the Zandrax controlling the space corridor. However, such a blockade would put one-third of the galaxy under the Zandrax’s purview. Could this be Commander Anetho’s end-game? If that was the case, the Zandrax could easily then occupy Hitongu and extend its reach to other planets in this one-third of the galaxy.
“It is time to start,” Celeste sighed.
The crowds at the entrance weren’t getting any thinner. In fact, a queue had started to form at the main entrance leading down the road. This wasn’t the only entrance to the feast. To help manage the flow of the crowds, the Social Collective opened up several side entrances. Celeste walked ahead and joined the queue, with Tara and Phog one step behind her. Most of the people ahead of her were lost in their own celebrations. The noise in the queue grew louder as they slowly approached the main entrance. Once she stepped through the main entrance, a male Hitongu official approached her. “Envoy, we are pleased that you have taken the time to join us. My name is Eppham, I will be your guide for today’s feast.”
Eppham was probably slightly younger than Tara and wore a red and green Hitongu uniform with their multi-colored crest. Celeste bowed and followed him. She glanced back briefly. Tara and Phog had separated and begun to walk on either section of the outdoor area. Tara had briefed them that the DNA scanning device didn’t require them to scan individual by individual. Instead, it would be able scan and analyze a wide area, which could have any number of individuals.
“What about your friends?” Eppham inquired. “Do they need some guides?”
Celeste shook her head. “They will be fine on their own. I have told them to meet me back at the main entrance after the feast is over. Thank you.”
“As you wish,” Eppham observed and guided her through the throngs of crowds.
The outdoor area was split into multiple rows. The two center rows had two long tables that extended beyond her view. On both tables were an array of Hitongu food and drink. There were servers standing every few steps waiting to serve the guests. The Hitongu servers were dressed in reddish-brown robes scattered with speckles of purple feathers. Each server was holding a wide gold-plated dish full of Hitongu delicacies. Celeste couldn’t take her eyes off the servers. She suspected their attire was designed so as to ensure people would be able to identify them quickly. There were already Hitongu citizens forming small queues at each server’s station. It was dizzying. On the far right side, was a large tent with a huge stage and there was a live Hitongu band playing music. On the last visit, Celeste had found the music to be loud and annoying. Today’s music wasn’t any different. The instruments used by the Hitongu band were all oval in shape. Each of the ovals was covered in a bright color and emitted a different type of sound. Celeste gritted her teeth. The mix of the sounds produced music that she still found obnoxious.
Celeste kept a private comms link opened with Tara and Phog at all times. She took a deep breath as Eppham brought her to the first group of Hitongu. She recognized a few faces from her previous feast. And, so began another round of idle chatter while Eppham stood to one side. The group of female Hitongu were all decked out in bright colored gowns. Celeste was glad she had worn her uniform. She despised gowns and found them to be a hindrance that constricted her movements. She didn’t know how these female Hitongu managed to last so long in those gowns. The group asked her many questions of the Grekk home world. Celeste smiled as she replied. Although the Hitongu didn’t seem so interested in other species, their hunger to know more about the Grekk was unrivalled. Most of them just listened, but didn’t really ask many intelligent questions. Celeste wondered whether they even cared for her responses. Some of the female Hitongu had a glazed look over their eyes while others kept looking around at the crowds moving about.
This was the phase of the feast where everyone waited for the arrival of the Leaders Collective. That would signal the official beginning of the feast although the people had already started drinking and even consuming some of the food. As the Hitongu continued to speak in front of her, Celeste tuned out a bit and shifted her eyes around. She caught a glimpse of Tara in the distance. Tara was slowly moving amongst the crowd with her DNA scanning device. It wasn’t obvious that she was scanning the Hitongu. Even if she had been obvious in her scanning of the people, Celeste doubted any Hitongu would have been in their right mind to notice it. Celeste hoped Phog was being equally discreet. She didn’t want to cause an uproar at their feast. Her eyes then caught sight of Hirti walking over to Tara. She was annoyed that Hirti would distract Tara from the importance of the mission.
“Envoy, it is my pleasure to see you again,” a voice spoke from behind her.
Celeste turned and smiled. It was one of the familiar females from the Leaders Collective. “Wetiya, good to meet you again. I didn’t have a chance to say anything earlier on the display.”
“That wasn’t a suitable time at all,” Wetiya highlighted. “Eppham, I will take over from here.”
Eppham hesitated before reluctantly nodding. He stepped away from them and disappeared into the crowd.
Celeste felt a bit more at ease now that Wetiya was here. Wetiya had also been at the negotiating table with General Palt during her negotiations with the Hitongu species. Wetiya had been one of the first Hitongu to take her out for meals and show her a bit of Holru. Celeste had enjoyed the time away from the negotiating table. It was also one of the rare negotiations where the host species had spent some effort to bring her around their society. During that time she had learnt more about the Hitongu culture and also found Wetiya to be a free spirit who had a voracious appetite for exploring the galaxy.
“It was great to see that you had become part of the Leaders Collective,” Celeste remarked. “You will be able to make significant contributions.”
Wetiya glanced around. “I was fortunate to join the Leaders Collective at the same as General Palt. It made the transition easier. But it isn’t that easy being part of the Leaders Collective. The bureaucracy amongst the different Collectives are getting worse and worse. Each time the Leaders Collective must step in to resolve the issues amongst the other Collectives. It is exhausting and takes a lot of time away from us when we should be focusing our efforts on bringing Hitongu forward. Shall we take a walk away from these crowds? I know how difficult my people can be around other species.”
Celeste motioned and followed her. She was glad to get away from that group of female Hitongu. As Celeste accompanied Wetiya, she realized the crowds were getting smaller and smaller. They walked through a row of trees. The sounds of the feast had begun to fade away and, with it, the obnoxiously loud music. Celeste realized she needed a bit of silence after being surrounded by so many people. Being with Wetiya brought about a sense of peace. Wetiya was the closest person she had that she could call a friend in this galaxy. During her trips to Hitongu, she and Wetiya had managed to form a strong bond. It had been an unexpected bonus for Celeste. As her travels took her fittto many planets, it was often difficult to find time to even make friendships. However, Wetiya had been the exception. The multiple trips to Hitongu had also helped in strengthening their friendship. Even when she was away from Hitongu, Celeste would often send images of her travels to Wetiya.
“I want to show you this wonderful new spot I recently discovered,” Wetiya stated. “It shows another angle of Holru, which you most likely have never seen before. Hitongu is changing quickly in different ways and with it Holru and the other cities. One day, Hitongu will be as mighty and famous as the Grekk Empire.”
Celeste smiled. Wetiya’s obsession with Holru hadn’t seemed to have changed. It was the one constant in her friend’s life. However, there was a long way to go before Hitongu reached the status of the Grekk Empire. It would take multiple generations for that to even happen.
There was a message on the private comms with Phog.
Finished scanning my area. No human has been detected.
She had expected it. Not every Hitongu attended the feast. There would always be a segment of Holru that chose not to show up. She hoped Tara would have better luck finding the hidden human.
Celeste glanced back up at Wetiya. She was holding a phaser aimed at her.