Shakiran: Larissa’s Story

Chapter One Concentrating on what someone was saying wasn’t usually this hard. Focus, Larissa. They’d given each of us a Palm-pad to take notes on, so I thought I’d better take notes, or at least look like I was. The presenter droned on about the natives of the planet we would be studying, but this wasn’t new information. Everything he’d said so far was in the reports I’d received after being accepted for the job at Voyager Division. But I wouldn’t be studying the natives. My job revolved around the plant life and Althar 3 was teeming with it. I needed to get up and walk around the room. If I sat here any longer, his monotone voice would put me to sleep. The only interesting thing in the room was the Shakiran sitting on the opposite side of the table and to my right. It was hard to keep my eyes from drifting back to him. White-blonde hair almost as long as my own, and those piercing dark eyes. With so many people from different planets here on the space station, another Shakiran stood out. Our height difference was one of the main reasons, being head and shoulders above the average race. The only other person here that was as tall was the Ziflarian sitting to my left. She was amazingly beautiful with her dark skin and long, black, curly hair flowing over her shoulders. Most Shakirans had fair skin and blonde hair, so our races were polar opposites when it came to colour. I looked around at the other new employees of the Voyager Division and my eyes found the Shakiran’s again. He was looking straight at me, his brown eyes almost black. I quickly looked away and tried to concentrate on the presentation. My heart rate picked up. He’d been stealing glances at me the whole time. I assumed it was because we were both Shakiran, but maybe there was more to it. I hoped there wasn’t because I was here to work, not socialise, and that meant no relationships. At all. I didn’t want all the hassles that came with it. I tried to see what he was doing by keeping him in my peripheral vision and he was staring at me. Again. I wanted to look, but I managed to keep my attention on the blue eyes of the presenter, who stopped abruptly and announced that we would be going around the room introducing ourselves to the group. I took a deep breath. I would find out his name. Stop it. We were sitting at a long table with three people on each side and one sitting at the end. The presenter, Fenrick, looked at the woman to his left. She sat on the opposite side of the table from me, but to my left. She was short and had shoulder-length sandy-brown hair and excitement flashing in those blue eyes. She cleared her throat. “I’m Zhenna Rhodarma and I’m a computer programmer from Earth. I’ve never been off-world so I thought I’d sign up to see the universe and I will do what I can to keep the computers running smoothly at Station Jannali.” The presenter smiled warmly. “Thank you, Zhenna.” He turned to the man to her right. “Next?” The man was taller than Zhenna and had a rugged appearance and broad shoulders. “I am Mosuti Kyah. I’m a Linguist from the planet Moftar. I have extensive experience in first-contact liaisons with new races.” The presenter raised his eyebrows. “You’re the Talent sent to study the Altharian languages, yes?” “That’s correct.” “Hmm. Fascinating.” He looked to the Shakiran. “And you are?” “Janssen Malakua. I’m a botanist from the planet Shakira.” A botanist? I sucked in a breath and his eyes darted to me as he continued. “I aim to study many different plant species in the universe in order to take that information back to Shakira to improve the crops we grow in my family’s business. In the meantime, my priority is to offer my expertise to your company.” A botanist. What were the chances of two people from Shakira applying for jobs as botanists on a planet out on the edge of the Known Universe at the same time? Especially since Shakirans usually choose careers in the military. His eyes met mine again and I closed my mouth and looked away. I’d been staring too long. “Very good. Yes,” Fenrick said. He turned to the portly man at the end of the table. “Yes?” “The name is Kami Olion. I’m a sociologist from Setlur. I offer my services to you, but I have some questions.” “Mmm-hmm. Yes?” “Will we be expected to go out into the jungle? I mean, I have my health to consider. There would be diseases that we aren’t immune to and then there’s the dangers of the wildlife—” “Don’t worry, Mister Olion. Your position will involve indoor work only. It’s in the job description and in your contract.” “Hmm. Well. Yes. I was just clarifying this before I fully committed myself. You understand?” Fenrick nodded. “Yes, I understand. But you do understand that you have already signed the contract, thereby fully committing yourself to this position, yes?” When Kami didn’t answer, he looked to the man next to me. “Now to our next candidate—” “And there’s also the question of the two week’s travel,” Kami said. “Surely the company can use a better class of ship to get us there faster than that?” Fenrick pursed his lips. “Voyager Division is paying for your tickets and providing you with accommodation and all meals aboard the ship, sir, so I’m sure you will be—” “Voyager Division is a large company. Surely they can afford a faster ship.” He sighed. “Mister Olion, the Acronis is a well-equipped Class IV cruiser and it is the ship the company uses. If you have a problem with it, I suggest you take it up with my superiors. I am merely here to give you the information you will need before you set off for Althar 3.” Kami grumbled under his breath for a while. A person who complained about everything and behaved like a child was without honour or integrity. Fenrick looked again at the man on my right. “I’m sorry. Please continue.” This man was probably the shortest person in the room, but his eyes were bright and alert. “Hey everyone, I’m Lanu Ricksha. I’m a sociologist from Vanitha. I’m so excited to be joining you all on this journey and to be studying newly-discovered races.” Fenrick smiled and I could see he was as relieved as I was that he was nothing like Kami. “Thank you, Lanu.” He smiled at me and nodded. I sat a little straighter. “I’m Larissa Malinya. I’m a botanist, also from Shakira.” Now it was Janssen who sucked in a breath. “I’m interested in the use of plants for their medicinal qualities and look forward to studying the new plant species on Althar 3.” Kami turned to me. “I thought you Shakirans were all bloodthirsty warriors and here we have two of you who are plant lovers.” My fists clenched and I glared at him. “We are not bloodthirsty. Do not make assumptions.” Janssen’s eyes were fire. “You understand that a society cannot function without food, yes? Other professions are needed.” Fenrick spread his arms wide. “Now, let’s calm down here. Let’s channel peace. I will ask Mister Olion to refrain from making any derogatory comments about fellow workers. It’s part of company policy, which forms part of the contract you have signed.” Kami mumbled under his breath again, but didn’t say anything more. I hoped that he decided to cancel his contract so he wouldn’t be going with us. Fenrick turned to the Ziflarian. “Please go ahead, dear.” She smiled and looked around the room. “Hi. I am Bazeelia Shamari and I am a scientist from the planet Ziflar. I am looking forward to working with you all. The discoveries we will make together will be awesome.” A scientist. I smiled. It fit her well. I looked around the table. We had a mixed bag from across the universe, which would make things interesting. I tried to imagine us working together as a group. I’d spent my whole life surrounded mostly by Shakirans and the occasional alien, and my grandmother was Taonese, but to see so many diverse races in the same room was different. And exciting. Most Shakirans had a very narrow view of the universe and our history was marred by many wars with other races on nearby planets, but with my grandmother being from Taon, I had a somewhat wider view than other Shakirans. I was looking forward to this job. I would be able to observe people from so many places — without getting personally involved with their lives — while learning as much as I could about the flora on the planet. I had to remind myself that I was here to work, not to make friends. My heart grew heavy. This wasn’t what I’d originally planned to do after my graduation. Things changed in an instant as soon as the news of my grandmother’s death had come through to the university. I needed to get away from my life for a while and get over losing the last member of my family. I needed to somehow heal my broken heart and move on with Gran’s plan to use plants to heal instead of the usual Shakiran way of war and death. I tried to smile. This would be a perfect distraction until I had my emotions under control and my head sorted out. Once my contract was up, I would put all my efforts into finding new uses for my plants and healing as many people as I possibly could. I couldn’t get rid of my heartache, but maybe I could prevent someone else’s.