Chapter 3, The Book of Dreams
The Book of Dreams, Book One
Begin from the beginning, and join the adventures.
Previously in The Book of Dreams…
Kira returns home to her family to break the news of her new job offer and decides to take the job after receiving advice from her dad. But his warnings to stay safe sobers her up for the future ahead.
Now for the continuing story of Agent Kira Wood and the Book of Dreams…
At 12.00 hours, the shuttle Kira took from Tura City docked at The Cloud, the giant space station that orbited outside the atmosphere of Beta-1. The Cloud was its informal name. Its actual name was the Exo-Transit Center, but hardly anyone ever referred to it as that. During the war, the station served as a military base for the Interplanetary Security Forces within the Beta system. Once the war ended, the IPSF decommissioned and sent it to Beta-1, where it now served as a hub for traders and interstellar travelers and as branch headquarters for IPPA. To Betans living below, the station was only known as The Cloud. That was because on days when the sky was clear and the station orbited between the planet and its sun, it cast a shadow that was six hundred and fifty-four kilometers in length and eleven square kilometers in width, bearing a resemblance to the enormous cloud systems for which Beta-1 was famous.
Her head filled with her father's stories about the space station and the many species that lived there, Kira would gaze up at The Cloud, hazy in the sunlight and the atmospheric pressures, and dream of one day going there herself. That dream came true. Like many dreams, though, it faded into reality the moment she opened her eyes.
More than a year had passed since she left IPPA. Now she was returning to The Cloud under what she hoped were different and far better circumstances.
In the shuttle bay, she disembarked with the other passengers and searched around the gray, crowded surroundings. A small group of Starrian emissaries greeted one another. Despite their colorful robes and thin headbands, they were a serious and formal group. They had long, thin faces crowned with ridges that crossed their scalps like cornrows. One long dark stripe partitioned their features from the top of their brows to the tip of their noses. They made their way toward the port exit, animated by a vigorous, intellectual conversation.
An Oelling wearing the familiar blue IPPA uniform parted oer way through the group. Tall and thin, as most Oellings tended to be, oe had thin sea-green hair that matched oer skin, sexless features, and luminous eyes with lids that closed vertically. As oe approached her, oer calm and placid manner immediately set her at ease.
The official escorted her to temporary quarters in the IPPA base just off the Commissary, the busiest section of the hub, filled with restaurants, bars, and trading and holographic entertainment centers. It was a pleasure hive for travelers across the four quadrants, many of whom would most likely never see their homes again. Likewise Kira was embarking on a journey in which she may never see her home again, a thought that weighed heavily in her thoughts during the entire journey.
She had fought back tears after she said goodbye to her family at the shuttle port. They waved from the tarmac, her niece and nephews holding farewell balloons. She told them to keep them as a remembrance of her. As her father had told her, there were many ways in which they could keep in touch, but she knew that that wasn't the same. In spite of her sorrow, she did not regret her decision. It was an exciting position, and she was eager to learn more about it. Still, though at long last she was about to meet the Z'Dhia, her excitement could never crush the sorrow and regret that came with it.
As the Oelling started to leave, she asked how soon it will be before she met with her superior officer Field Director Wyzrnu. She immediately regretted asking when the Oelling blinked indifferently at her. She'd forgotten about their bureaucratic nature. They prized order and function above all else, and were rarely impulsive. So breaking the rules, no matter how arcane and justifiable, was an alien concept to them. Oellings occupied important positions at IPPA because they were efficient regulators. That didn't make it any easier to work under them.
"According to the Administrative and Managerial Protocols, regulation 531, section 1, paragraph 1, all administrative and managerial duties shall be enacted through the strictest of protocols regarding assigned schedules, appointments, and other council rosters or meetings to ensure timely updates of procedures and assigned duties thereof, and that is convenient and beneficial to all parties involved in said responsibilities," oe said in a soft-spoken, but high-pitched voice. "Your appointment with the field director is scheduled to begin in forty-eight hours Betan time."
"Two days?"
"That was the closest appointment we were able to set for you," oe said. "There is a delegation of Starrian emissaries onboard to discuss matters regarding recent changes to prosecutorial regulations. Those matters take precedent. In the meantime, you are welcome to use the facilities on the Commissary. There is a holographic entertainment center, which, from what I understand, is quite popular with humans, as well as UV baths and a duty-free shop. Your quarters are also equipped with an entertainment center, a food and drink replicator, and bath facility. Now, if you excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."
The officer bowed oer head and turned toward the door. As the doors slid behind oer, Kira realized she hadn't asked for oer name.
She exhaled and began surveying her quarters. There were two rooms: a main living space and a bedroom, fully furnished and with a view of Beta-1 below. She went over to the port window and gazed at her home world. A hazy blue atmosphere draped across cloud cover that obscured much of the planet. Here and there were the occasional flashes of lightning. They glimmered like fireflies or wisp-'o-wills in the fairy tales her mother once read to her. From that distance, Beta-1 looked still and peaceful and untouched by whatever turmoil that might have lurked beneath its stratosphere.
Kira drew in a deep breath, then lowering her eyes, turned away.
During the forty-eight hours before she met with Field Director Wyzrnu, Kira ingratiated herself back into the IPPA organization. Her induction included a physical, booster shots (including Preventative Bioengineered Cellular Regenerative Shots), and an exam. The physical and booster shots were a cinch, but the exam was another matter altogether. It had been years since she took the first one; she wasn't sure how much she remembered. She spent an hour memorizing the hundreds of pages of arcane IPPA rules and regulations from the tablet the exam officer had given her. By the time she took the exam, she was surprised by how little it had changed. She recalled answers even to questions she hadn't brushed up on.
She was issued a blue uniform––a crisp jacket with upturned collar, pants, and regulation issued boots, clunky, godawful monstrosities––an identification badge, a communicator, and a weapon. She also received access codes to IPPA's database, including the site and code to gain access to and, if necessary, rewrite or overwrite computer database systems. "Memorize it," the requisitions officer said with the graveness of an undertaker. "It accesses command codes that can hack into and overwrite any systems in the galaxy." She frowned. "I thought operatives only had access to spyware. I'm not a spy, I'm a cultural diplomat, an attaché." The officer, acting as if he hadn't heard her, explained that the access code should be used only under extreme duress, then advised her to practice using her weapon at the firing range. She was far more baffled by this advice. What kind of assignment was she agreeing to?
Kira hadn't fired a weapon since her defense class during Level 1 course. The class was a prerequisite to moving forward to Level 2. She wasn't a very good shot, but she did well enough to pass.
 Her skills on the range hadn't grown worse, but they hadn't improved either. She fired her blaster at the little round mechanized ball that zipped and turned in the range. It made a loud alarm each time she struck it. Out of 100 points, she scored 74. She sighed and holstered her weapon. The Z'Dhia was out of luck if he was looking for a bodyguard.
The rest of the evening she stayed in her quarters. After taking a long shower, she recorded a message back to her family and imported images from her CC to her communicator. She lingered over pictures she'd taken of her family and various friends, then came across a photo she'd forgotten, one that was taken at her father's birthday party. There they all were, the entire family including Lailani, their faces beaming with broad smiles in front of a birthday cake, all content that their lives would go on as always.
She pulled her braids out of her face and exited out of the photo album page. After ordering a replicated meal, she read up on the debriefing material that was waiting for her when she returned from the range. It reiterated what she already knew––Idris-Sarran culture, the history of their involvement in the Galactic Wars, and information on the Z'Dhian and their cultural history among the Idris-Sarran. It was still a fascinating read. Though the Idris-Sarran rarely let outsiders onto their home planet, even more so after the occupation, Betans still learned some things about them during the war.
One aspect about their social customs was the importance of names. They believed a name was more than an identifier; it was a bond that shaped relationships between the named and the namer. To truly know someone is to know how she will be called. Each individual contained the multitudes through her relationships with other people, planets, the universe. An Idris-Sarran name could be as specific and intimate as the relationship she chose or to whom she was assigned. To a child, an Idris-Sarran could be named one thing; to a lover, something else entirely. This was a sacred form of identification which bound all Idris-Sarran to one another as they were to the universe. To call someone out her name was not only an insult but an act of betrayal. When an Idris-Sarran died, all the names were released to the universe, never heard or spoken again.
It was a strange custom and yet she related to it. She recalled the pet names her father once called her mother––dove, angel heart. Names given in love and affection that were no longer spoken from his lips. His nickname for Kira––baby girl––will likewise slip from the present and into the past. The part of her that was named and longed to be named would be part of that past as well. She wondered if the Idris-Sarran grieved over such losses, or did they embrace them as a natural occurrence in the universe.
Kira reached for a glass of wine on the table and continued reading. At the end of the document was a link marked in red Addendum: Important Classified Information. She frowned. She wasn't aware there'd be classified information or that she'd have access to it. The link led her to another page. She set her glass back down and read it. The addendum was short and unrevealing, but it was curious. It did provide an important bit of information that might explain her assignment. This particular n'dhia, she read, almost caused a diplomatic blunder, and a very serious one, from Kira's estimation. IPPA stepped in to mediate. That doesn't happen unless relations had soured considerably. No doubt, the Idris-Sarran were involved. But with whom?
Kira furrowed her brow as she gazed out of the window. If this Z'Dhia had been involved in a near galactic incident, then why wasn't he censured? Why have an attaché assigned to him? And what caused this near cataclysmic event?
She reached over for the glass and took another sip. She would find out eventually, but she brimmed with questions. At the very least, she thought as she drained the glass, this assignment was far more intriguing than she thought.
•  •  •
"Please, sit down." Field Director Wyzrnu gestured to the chair in front of oer desk.
Kira sat in the chair and straightened her uniform, which felt tight and starchy against her skin. It was exactly 12.00 hours to the minute, forty-eight hours after she first arrived on The Cloud. Of course, she made certain that she arrived early because Oellings did not tolerate tardiness. She learned that lesson enough times during her year at IPPA to fail to make that mistake again. If she had been late for the meeting, then another would have been scheduled, followed by a lecture about tardiness, and how the rules and regulations were there for a reason.
It was a good system, providing a rigorous structure that kept chaos and instability at bay. The one thing she was certain she wouldn't miss when she left IPPA were its rigid rules of arbitration. Now she welcomed it like a child returning home from school.
Field Director Wyzrnu leaned forward in oer chair and began scrolling through a tablet on the desk. Like the official who greeted Kira when she arrived at the station, the field director had a long narrow face with sexless features, yellow, penetrating eyes and long hair the color of sea foam. There was a serenity about oer that was typical of all Oellings, like celestial beings from another dimension.
"I trust you've reviewed the material that was uploaded to your communicator."
"Yes, I did."
"I also trust you've been informed of your responsibilities as an IPPA officer."
She folded her hands in her lap. "Well, not entirely."
Oe blinked, eyelids sliding vertically. "Were you not informed of your responsibilities when you were deputized yesterday?"
"I'm not certain. Everything happened so fast."
"According to regulation 1, section 2a under headline IPPA Field Officers and Rules of Conduct, officers committed to or assigned with duties of office within IPPA must be thoroughly informed of and agree to official responsibilities stipulated within the codes of conduct and consequences thereof. I will now enumerate all twenty rules of engagement and codes of conduct for officers in the field."
Kira's smile froze as Field Director Wyzrnu, in a very slow and deliberate voice, listed all twenty bullet points. Kira knew the regulations by heart, but she did not interfere in Wyzrnu's duties. The last time she did that, the officer quietly upbraided her for interrupting protocol, then started all over again––all twenty bullets points from the top. This time she kept her mouth shut.
When oe finished ten minutes later, oe asked her to sign a vocal imprint agreeing to the stipulations oe listed. Kira assented, which Wyzrnu recorded in the tablet.
Once the regulatory matters were out of the way, Field Director Wyzrnu got down to business. Oe explained that Kira was to accompany a n'dhia on his missions to recover stolen artifacts from his planet, in this case, volumes of the document known as the Book of Dreams.
She was responsibility for ensuring that the z'dhia followed the rules agreed to by the Idris-Sarran consulate and file field reports back to Wyzrnu.
"Is that understood?"
"Affirmative."
"Mark that Agent Kira Wood, ID Badge #A-67900-x has stated affirmatively that oe understands and agrees to the regulations as stipulated by The Articles of Protocol for Field Agents in the IPPA Regulatory Handbook."
"May I ask a question?" Wyzrnu nodded serenely. "I thought the Idris-Sarran had full autonomy on their recovery missions. Has that changed?"
"The regulations regarding recovery and retrieval have not changed. However, the z'dhia with whom you'll be assigned has violated a few IPPA regulations regarding territorial restrictions."
"Territorial restrictions?" She frowned. "You mean with the Ro Kan Empire."
"You are about to receive highly classified information. Please state that you acknowledge such information is classified and that you are unauthorized to share and/or spread said information to parties not affiliated with the assignment you are about to fulfill. Failure to follow this order will result in one, an immediate dismissal from your post and two, prosecution."
"Acknowledged."
Wyzrnu noted her acknowledgement through a vocal imprint. "On a previous mission the z'dhia breached Ro Kannan territorial space when he traveled to Krollox-5b1, a trading base in the Ro Kan Empire. Ro Kannan immediately apprehended oe and ordered oer to go before a military tribunal as an enemy of the state."
Kira was well aware of the Ro Kannan unique justice system. The accused were forced to fight in a military battle to the death with an executioner. The duel involved the use of a broadsword or Vrik-lik, that had tremendous import within Ro Kannan cultural history. If the accused wins the battle and kills the executioner, then he is innocent. If the executioner kills the accused, then the verdict is guilty. It was a brutal form of judicial review.
"I'm assuming the z'dhia was found not-guilty."
"Not quite. When the Idris-Sarran learned of the breach, they demanded that the Ro Kannan return him to their custody. The Ro Kannan refused. They believed they were within their rights to prosecute anyone who breached their territories. That was when the Idris-Sarran launched a complaint in the General Court. The regulations against violating travel restrictions were quite clear and the Ro Kannan were within their rights. The Idris-Sarran pointed out that they had every reason to believe the Ro Kannan possessed stolen artifacts from their planet and that they were within their rights to recover and retrieve these artifacts wherever that may take them. The Jurists considered the arguments and determined both parties had valid complaints. A hearing for arbitration was scheduled, but then something curious happened.
"During the court hearings the Ro Kannan had scheduled to transport the z'dhia to Ro Kan where the trial was to commence. The Idris-Sarran demanded that the trial be suspended until the jury reached a decision regarding the matter. The Ro Kannan were particularly adamant about not following IPPA rules as established by the Jurists temporary ruling. IPPA warned Ro Kannan not to transport the z'dhia from Krollox-5b1. They did so anyway. According to sources, they transported him to the Bijoonian planetary system on a merchant vessel, which was the only vessel departing from Krollox-5b1, and then be remanded to Ro Kannan security forces, who intended to transport him to Ro Kan. However, the merchant vessel was hijacked by unknown sources and the z'dhia removed from custody."
"So he never went to trial."
"The hearings were scheduled as planned and the Jurists of the High Court reached the conclusion that the Idris-Sarran had violated three separate regulations and was fined. The Ro Kannan threatened to attack a battle cruiser that was patrolling the space on the boundaries of Quadrants I and III."
An information blackout surrounded the entire incident. It was a delicate situation. IPPA authorities feared that if other member planets were aware of what happened there would be panic and calls for retaliation.
"This could have jeopardized the Mutual Nonaggression Pact. However IPPA mediators convinced the Ro Kannan to sit at the negotiation table. The Ro Kannan were willing to drop all charges against the z'dhia on three conditions. One, that the Idris-Sarran make a vow to never invade Ro Kan territory again. Two, that IPPA negotiate with the Ro Kan Empire to reset territorial boundaries to include nearby mining colonies they abandoned after the war."
"Well, they were certainly quick to exploit that." The field director stared at her, no doubt puzzled that oe should be interrupted with a fairly obvious statement. "The third reason?"
"And three," oe picked up again, "to capture and return the individual responsible for hijacking their transport."
"Do they know who that is?"
"They are under the impression that the hijacker was Idra Marlena Diallo."
"Idra Marlena?" she said, stunned. "The pirate?"
Field Director Wyzrnu nodded.
Kira leaned flabbergasted in her chair. Anyone who lived in the Beta system knew who Idra Marlena Diallo was. She was one of the few survivors of the Tau Vestra Massacre on Beta-4, an assault by the invading Ro Kannan forces on the last and uncompleted terraforming project in the Beta system. The massacre drew Earth settlements into the war. From what Kira recalled, Diallo had been abducted and forced into servitude in the Ro Kannan mining colonies before Interplanetary Security Forces rescued her. She later joined the forces in the waning years of the war.
After the conflict ended, she left IPSF due to a dispute over its handling of the underground slave trade that continued in spite of its abolition in the IPPA member state territories. Traders abducted Xarite and Najiumian refugees and sold them back into the Ro Kan Empire. IPPA had been working strenuously to end trafficking, but not as fast or to the satisfaction of antislavery groups. Radicals like Idra Marlena formed armed coalitions which attacked and hijacked transports, then returned refugees to the IPPA territories. She and her merry band of pirates were a bane to both the Ro Kannan and IPPA. But among most Betans like Kira's father, she was an "Interstellar Harriet Tubman."
"As you can see, these are delicate matters."
To IPPA Idra Marlena was a rogue. Her actions disrupted the very delicate balance the organization had achieved after the war. One little mistake and the entire enterprise could come crashing down, driving the four quadrants into chaos.
Kira asked if they knew for certain if Diallo was responsible for rescuing the z'dhia. Oe shook oer head. Only the z'dhia knew and he refused to say.
"Do you now understand why it is important that these matters be handled delicately? The Idris-Sarran have the right to recover their stolen artifacts, but their negligence is affecting our ability to manage peace in the four quadrants. The z'dhia you've been assigned to has a history of this kind of negligence. We need you to make sure he follows the rules. The very balance of peace in the four quadrants depends on it. Do you have any other questions?"
"Just one," she said. "During my deputization, I was given a weapon and access codes to spyware. The weapon I understand, but the access codes? I fail to see how that would be relevant in my line of work."
The Oelling lifted oer chin and leaned back in oer chair. "It is only a formality. All agents working under the jurisdiction of the Hall of Jurists receive this code. It is mandated in the regulations guidelines. Shall I recite them––"
"No, no, I'm aware––"
"According to regulation 1, section 1, under subsection 2a: 'Officers committed to or assigned with duties of office within IPPA must be thoroughly informed of and agree to official responsibilities stipulated within the codes of conduct and consequences thereof.' Since you have expressed confusion on the matter of regulation 22, section 2, under subsection b4, I shall recite it to you…"
After oe finished, Kira agreed to uphold the responsibilities of her office. Field Director Wyzrnu asked if she had any more questions. She smiled again and shook her head. Even if she did, she wasn't going to risk yet another lecture.
  "Very well," Wyzrnu said. "You will find the z'dhia in Dock 13. He is awaiting your arrival."
This concludes Chapter 3 of the Book of Dreams. In the next chapter, Kira meets the Z’Dhia at last, but will he accept Kira as his attaché or will he be more than she bargained for?
Let me know what you think so far and be sure to subscribe to continue the adventures of Agent Kira Wood and the Z’Dhia.