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“Command Central has decided that rather than risk the lives of another full team, this time they’ll send in a single spy. A female, more likely to be kept alive if the rumors of sex slavery are true. Because of the danger, we’re reluctant to order anyone to take on this mission. So, Commander Norris – in short, we’d like you to volunteer.”
She didn’t disappoint him. “Certainly, sir. It is an honor to be of service to the Federation.”
“We’ve prepared a cover story for you. Although you’re average in height here on Earth, women on Neodyma do not grow to six feet tall. There’s no chance of disguising yourself as a local wanting to join his cult.
“Instead, you’ll pose as a reporter eager to score the first intergalactic interview with General Tok. Appeal to his vanity. You’re going to make him a superstar, bring his amazing new concept in social structure to the entire galaxy. Assure him women everywhere will want to know how they, too, can be worshipped as goddesses.”
“But your real mission is to get as much information as you can about what’s going on in the general’s mountain fortress – and then get back here alive to tell us.”
***
She’d been on Neodyma for three weeks. The assignment had started out well. Although she’d been warned about the effect the star portal would have on her body, she’d ignored the advice to take a few days to recover and immediately set out finding a way to get to Petra.
Shortly after she arrived, AJ hooked up with a caravan traveling one of the trade routes from Alexandria on the coast across the mountains to Olympia. They welcomed her eagerly. Not only did she offer a large fee for her passage, she also provided a continual source of entertainment, telling stories of life on Earth around the campfire at night.
Before leaving Earth, she’d been fitted with a Tellex chip that rendered her fluent in any language after three or four hours’ exposure to it. With it, her brain made the shift seamlessly from one language to the next. She could regale her diverse audience with tales in Sumerian, Aramaic, or a dozen other obscure dialects spoken here that had died out long ago back home.
AJ found the scenery fascinating. Modern inventions were forbidden, but she hadn’t realized just how different things would be on Neodyma. The villages and towns were frozen in time, perfect replicas of what daily life had been like in the civilizations from which they came.
When they traveled through the portals, the settlers had brought camels and goats, sheep and cows, seeds for growing corn and rice and wheat. They tilled their fields the same way they’d done for millennia, with teams of oxen pulling the plows, and moved their trade goods by camel across desert and mountain or in ships sailing the vast Sea of Atlantis.
As a consequence, the environment was pristine. Earth had long ago surrendered the name of Blue Planet to Neodyma. There were no carbon emissions to pollute the air. With no sludge from coal processing and no oil spills, oceans and rivers flowed sparkling and clear. Endless forests teemed with wild game. The sky was an incredible shade of blue, reflecting huge deposits of azurite that rose up to create the range of mountains splitting Neodyma’s largest land mass in half. The jagged frosty blue peaks thrusting into the sky looked like giant glaciers advancing on the fertile green fields.
AJ spent seventeen days traveling across the planet with the caravan, the longest she’d ever been outside of an artificial environment. Neodyma was the most beautiful place she’d ever seen.
***
The puppy did her in.
If it hadn’t bolted, the little girl would never have been in danger. And AJ would have completed her initial reconnaissance without a hitch.
It was supposed to be a quick trip. Two merchants from the caravan had done business at the market in Petra when they passed by a year ago. For a hefty fee, they agreed to let her tag along when they headed for the city. Young and impetuous, they suffered from the raging, unregulated testosterone she’d learned about that made them foolhardy in their eagerness for adventure and sexual thrills. That might be why they were the only ones willing to risk taking a woman in disguise into the heart of the city.
Josiah, the grizzled old Bedouin trader who led the caravan, pulled her aside, hoping to talk some sense into her. “Do you understand how dangerous this is?”
She reached out and put a hand on his arm, a gesture she’d seen others use when they wanted to emphasize a point during a conversation. “I do, Josiah. And I thank you for your concern but I am trained in the arts of self-defense.”
Josiah shook his head. “Petra was founded over two thousand years ago by immigrants from Earth. Tok and his men have taken over the city. He drove out or killed off the previous inhabitants. No one is quite sure which. Then he moved in with his soldiers and a crew of miners recruited from some of the roughest lands on Neodyma. Tok keeps them in line with the promise their service will be rewarded not only with great wealth but also with unlimited access to beautiful women eager to serve them in every way. It is said that all the women in Petra are his slaves.”
“That’s why I must go, Josiah. If women in Petra are being held against their will, I need to bring this information to the attention of the Interstellar Federation.”
The old man tried again, his eyes dark with worry. “None of the men in the city can speak freely with strangers. The only place we are allowed to go is the central market, to buy and sell our goods. Foreigners are not allowed to remain in the city overnight. And females from our caravan are forbidden to set foot anywhere in the city, not even in the market. Women who live in Petra rarely appear in public. No one I know has ever spoken to one of them. I cannot vouch for your safety if you go.”
“I understand the risks, Josiah. But this is my job.”
The old Bedouin sighed and laid a hand on her head, murmuring what she thought was a blessing. Another arcane concept she’d learned about in preparation for this mission.
Josiah had provided her with a striped wool djellaba like the one her traveling companions wore. It covered the wearer’s body from head to toe. Everyone on Neodyma recognized the djellaba as the uniform of a Bedouin merchant. It provided protection from the heat of the sun during the day and from the chill winds that sprang up at night.
She tossed a fold of the cloth over her shoulder to cover her nose and mouth and pulled the hood up around her face, leaving only her eyes peeking out.
A guard stopped them at the entrance to the city. Mohza, one of AJ’s companions, opened the bags strapped to the camel they were leading, showing their trade goods – black sea salt gathered on the shores of the island of Bamuba and spices grown along Alexandria’s tropical coast. The guard nodded, motioning them to proceed.
A long, narrow passageway wound through the cliffs ahead. In briefings for the mission, AJ had learned Tok chose the site because, like the city it was named for, Petra could only be accessed through a long narrow canyon protected by towering cliffs on either side. Easy for guards stationed above to send an arrow through the heart of any intruder long before he reached the city.
Mesmerized, AJ couldn’t resist running her hand over the smooth, polished walls of azurite lining the canyon. Undulating bands of sapphire, cobalt, and aquamarine towered over her in a dazzling display, the colors flowing into each other to create new shades she didn’t even have names for.
The canyon walls were so beautiful, she was anxious to see the city itself. She’d seen photographs of the magnificent ruins of Petra on Earth. According to her last-minute briefing, the immigrants from Earth built the city on Neodyma as a replica of the one they left behind. Except these stone dwellings weren’t made of red-and-ocher sandstone. They were carved out of mountains made of layers of azurite, a mineral ranging in color from the lightest shade of crystal blue, nearly transparent, to rich indigo.
