LF Friends, Will Travel

Collateral damage - Part 5

The room was... Strange, even by Terran standards. Gaudy, tacky, trying too hard. It was difficult to tell exactly what style it was trying to invoke; as if someone had taken every Terran culture, sloshed them together in a container, added ice and then had poured out this atrocity of design.

The room was lit only with hundreds of prayer candles that lined the walls, leaving the far side shrouded in darkness and casting deep shadows along the marble pillars that 'held up' the ceiling. The ceiling itself is an intricate wood panelled design that very much did not go with the three gold and crystal chandeliers that punctuated it.

The rest of the room was filled with random artwork, everything from famous paintings known to be stolen, through to thrift store knockoffs. A Picasso originally thought to be lost during the great colony rebellion was placed next to a picture of a boat done by an unknown child, a Michelangelo statue carved in marble stood almost haphazardly behind a cheap looking giant plastic Buddha. Nothing matched, nothing was given priority, nothing had a theme.

Even the floor itself was wrong, a cheap packed dirt instead of a more standard metallic flooring, intersected by two flowing streams filled with expensive fish and other flora. Of course like everything the oracle did, this was all done for a meticulous reason: An intelligent adversary might be able to use clues from a more standard design to estimate a place of birth or even an age range. Their job was to store information, not give it out, not to give anyone looking for the actual identity of the little known galactic figure any possible information or clue.

In the centre of the room a giant medieval tapestry was being used as a rug, upon which two Raha were knelt, or at least as much as their physiologies allowed them to kneel. The one on the left was Lut'har.

Even with the information he had gained from the subservients the trail had gone cold. Nobody had seen a whisper of "A Shining Star", and the most logical path from the original location to Terran space gave nothing.

Which was why he had gone to see the Oracle.

To his right knelt a second Raha. Gat'Karwas situated under Lut'har's command, being considered ambitious, talented, having quickly risen up the ranks into his current position. Most Raha would have seen such a person as a threat and taken steps to remove them, but Lut'har specifically had his position because the devotion to the royal line was his main goal. He was a rarity among his species, one who did not care for the power he wielded per say, but instead was truly devoted to his religious cause; he was not the kind of Raha to burn the funeral pyre of someone who might otherwise serve Int'ch.

"Oh Bright one, why are we wasting time dealing with a mere Terran."

He had to give Gat'Kar credit, he really did know how to lay on the charm with superiors.

"This Terran is possibly one of the few to grab their species' full potential. If you need information, and you know how to find them, the Oracle will sell any piece of knowledge you require. It is how I knew about the assassination attempt on King Lanthas, or about the plot from the Lelzoil royal house to depose the Raha from the Estorian empire."

He could see the surprise twitch through Gat'Kar's antenna. Those were the events that had solidified Lut'har as head of the Int'ch Elite guard, and had deposited upon him a reputation of being all knowing.

"But Bright One, why are you telling me this?"

Lut'har turned to focus entirely on his subordinate.

"You have risen quickly through the ranks and no doubt seek to supplant me at some point. Out of everyone under my command you are the most likely to succeed."

Lut'har could see the slight spasms of panic running through Gat'Kar.

So you already have a plan, interesting.