“You going to tell him the rest?” Pilar asked me just as the door opened to readmit Richard.
“The bar was already closed,” he mourned. “I left the dishes on the bar like he instructed, though. And, uh, tell me the rest of what? Are you two seriously saying there’s more?”
“You could say that. I just don't know how, if anything, it pertains to the case.”
Richard sighed and sat back down on the bed. “Go on, hit me with it. In for a penny, in for a pound. Whatever it is looks like it’s botherin’ you, so you might as well get it off your chest.”
I looked beseechingly at Pilar.
“Oh, no. You know your people’s version of history best, so know how to best relate it.”
“Our people’s version of history?” Richard asked, emphasizing each word.
“Damn it,” I muttered, facing my long-time friend and deputy. “Yeah, so, there might have been some poetic license in our history lessons.”
“Okay…”
I looked at Pilar once more. “Please, tell him how your people met mine. I’ll tell him the rest of the stuff.”
“I want to hear it from you,” Richard insisted. “If I am going to be told history as I know it is filled with lies of some sort, I want to hear the words come out of your mouth, not his.” He flicked his gaze over to Pilar, who stood up and moved to stand at the window, fussing with the draperies to better keep the light out. “Not that I think you’d lie to me, but emotionally, I think I can deal with it better coming from someone I know well.”
“And place your full trust with,” Pilar added softly. “Completely understandable.”
“Okay, so you know how our ancestors left Earth and all that. What they didn’t tell us was that we met the Ilyirzi before arriving at this planet. They noticed us entering this sector and in fact escorted us here.”
Richard raised a hand to stop me. “Hold on. They have space ships?”
“Not just ships. They have giant metal cable car things that reach some kind of suborbital platform where they board ships to their space station.”
He blinked. “So why haven’t we seen any aircraft or anything? Surely if they have all that, they have aircraft?”
“They do, from what he’s told me, but they don’t use them if they can help it. This is their home world and a long time ago, they colonized other planets in this sector and then the Ilyirzi decided to turn this planet into a sort of nature preserve. The ones living here are the caretakers of that.”
“And they let us settle here? Why didn’t they take us to another one of their planets?”
I looked to Pilar, hoping he could help with this one. I wasn’t disappointed.
“At first we were unsure of your people’s true intentions. Were you truly simply looking for a home to call your own, a planet to nurture and care for as the crew claimed, or did the spirit of conquest also dwell within? Also, our tech is far more advanced than yours and we worried about the struggle it might present to your people, the temptations it would bring. In the end, the decision was made to bring you here, which was your stated destination, and see how true to your word you were about caring for the world and wishing only peace with us.”
“And the crew landed the ship and promptly began holding those they woke from stasis from the truth and the people who could make them aware of it,” I added for good measure.
“You know, I always did wonder why we are taught with such reverence about Earth history and its ideals about freedom from oppression and how that one place didn’t want any kings and shit so they declared independence.”
I nodded. “It’s why Freedom Rings has the name it does.”
“Yep.” Richard popped the ‘p’ as he spoke. “Yet here we are, with Lords and a ruling Council. This has all straight up been a power play, hasn’t it? The crew saw a chance to be big mucky mucks and used the vamps, sorry, I mean Ilyirzi, to scare us into falling in line.”
“They make electricity by pulling in the coldness of space,” I told him.
“Oh my god. Really? Damn, you guys really are more advanced. Why didn’t you guys intervene? We’re here in your world.”
“We wished for harmony, so kept nudging to try to better establish common ground.”
“Okay, I guess I can understand that. But damn…” He sucked in his top lip. “Is there anything else that I don’t know?”
I hooked my thumb out, jerking it to point at Pilar. “This guy here? He and his brother are basically Ilyirzi royalty. One day, they’ll rule over this planet, and the space station and stuff, and will represent us in their government.”
Richard stared. I’d shocked the words right out of him.