Chapter 19
First Meeting
Scott thought back on why he was privileged on this information about Cleboe’s life, residence, secure travel arrangements and access to these passageways. All of this was due to the way they had met. He guessed that Jacque felt like he owed Scott his life and whatever was his was available to Scott. That’s it, simply said. He perceived that Scott was saving his life when actually he was saving his own life by squelching the attack on Jacque. Scott explained this to him many times but Jacque just simply ignored him. So Scott ended up way ahead in information, access and a true lifelong friend whose debt, as Jacque put it, could never be fully paid.
Scott recalled that incident that put him in favor of Jacque. About ten years ago he was right here. At that time Scott didn’t know he was on Jacque’s own little world. Scott was waiting on the two representatives, one each from these two neighboring planets. They, for whatever reason, were at each other’s throat. War was eminent and the arsenal each had would reduce both worlds to rubble and there would be few survivors if any. It was not a good situation. Each of these civilizations were reaching out to other planets for assistance in their plights. If this happened, if other worlds got involved, it could totally wreck a solar system.
The two worlds had agreed to meet with Scott's organization in a hope for some relief from the situation. They had each chosen a representative and they had chosen to meet on this particular dust ball of a planet because of the unbiased reputation it had gained.
Colby had chosen Scott as their representative. Scott had done this many times and had excellent result in almost all instances. Scott came here two weeks in advance to insure that there would be no surprises for the two dignitaries when they arrived. He also had to get the cooperation of this burgs security forces, if there were any.
Connection had been completed and thing were arranged for the meeting. Scott was taking a little personal time, and like several other species, he was at the central gym working out. There were your normal mixture of characters who were just trying to keep in some type of physical shape.
This one little character, let me emphasize the little and the character, stuck out like a sore thumb wrapped with a clean white bandage. Then again, maybe it was his lack of sticking out that gained Scott's attention. He was a little over one meter tall, not your typical sports enthusiast. He was doing some adjusting on the horizontal bars he had set up. They were set up in a most unusual configuration.
He had placed three individual horizontal bars about three meters from each other. At one end, three meters from the last horizontal bar, he had place a set of even parallel bars. These parallel bars ran perpendicular to the other bars. Not only were the horizontal bars three meters from each other, they were set at different heights. The first one was at least three meters high with the next one a half meter lower and the next one a half meter lower still than the last. That left the even parallel bars a half meter lower than the last horizontal bar at almost two meters high.
Once the height of the bars was as he wanted, he went from anchoring cable to anchoring cable and tighten each one, all twelve. The bars shifted with each movement of the securing apparatus but when all cables were tight the bars were again straight up and even.
With everything in place as he wanted Jacque went over to the chalk dish and began chalking his hands. Using the water spray bottle, he dampened his hands slightly and then applied chalk. With the palms of his hands now white with chalk, the little character walked up beside the even parallel bars, looming about a half meter above his head. He raised his hand in a gymnast salute of ready and began one of the most exhilarating bar routines Scott had ever witness, and he had witness the best several times while watching the universal Olympics.
That little Cleboe character began by bending his knees in a maximum squat and sprang flat footed into the air, executing a jackknife dive, landing in a handstand atop the parallel bars at the far end. He swung backwards between the bars ending again in a perfect handstand. He worked his way down the bars with backward swings between the bars into handstands until he reached the end nearest the first of the three horizontal bars. In his last swing, between the parallel bars, he turned as he came to a handstand. He did one more swing through the bars, this time a forward swing. As his swing went through he grabbed the very ends of the two bars and pushed off toward the nearest horizontal bar.
He executed a forward pike flip and cleared the horizontal bar in a seated pike position with his hands extended down below his seat open facing forward. As he cleared the bar it seemed to go right into his hand without any adjustment. As he started on the down swing toes first, he brought his feet in, toward the bar and then uncurled them, full length, as he continued his giant swing backward. This uncurling of his body on the down swing, increased his giant swing speed which enabled him to release the bar as he approached the apex of his swing and execute another pike forward flip as he went toward and cleared the next bar.
Jacque cleared the next bar as before and, without any adjustments, caught that bar and went again into giant swings. He repeated the same moves on this bar and he then launched himself at the final bar, the highest of the three. He did the same routine on this bar without the release at the apex. He continued on this bar with some high speed giants, two with two hands with releases over the top followed by exciting last moment catches. He did two giants with the left hand only and then two with the right hand only demonstrating uncommon strength. He did one more giant with both hands and released that bar on the way up leaving him in a fully layout position rotating backwards. He seemed to float and slowly rotate high above the middle horizontal bar. As he came down he was within reach of that middle bar.
He grasped the bar going into a giant swing and repeated the same identical release and layout with revolutions. He did the same catch and release to leave the last horizontal bar headed for the even parallel bars. When he came down level and in the middle of the parallel bars he had his arm fully extended with hands turned out. He caught the bars and pulled himself through a high speed swing. He released the bars as he again came parallel with them on the way up.
His momentum carried him high above the bars and to one side. After his release he tucked in a ball and pulled at least four backward flips. He said later that it was five, but who was counting. Then he landed, feet first and solid, no step and no movement. He landed as if he had simply jumped up in the air and came right back down. He raised both his hands as if he were completing a successful Olympic routine, saluting unseen judges that would score his routine. He did a ninety degree turn facing me and raised his hands again as he almost clicked his bare heels.
What the hell, Scott thought as he applauded, and so did everyone else, well, those that were capable. The gym had actually become void of moment during his performance and routine.
The gym slowly returned to activity as most patrons returned to their less than exciting exercise routines, all except for me. Scott had decided long before his routine ended that he had to meet this extraordinary individual. This individual that could turn a couple of standard inanimate chinning bars into a visual masterpiece of live aerial art work, he simply had to meet.
Cleboe was washing his hand as Scott approached. He evidently sensed Scott's approached and turned toward him.
“Excuse me, I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed your exhibition on those bars. My name is Scott Standard, I am a Coordinator.” Scott said as he extended his hand.
Cleboe, having finished his hand washing, quickly dried his hands and shook Scotts. “Jacque Cleboe.” He said. “Tavern Owner.”
This was the normal greeting procedure on this planet, stating your name and then your occupation.
Jacque had returned to the removal of perspiration that had accumulated on his face and arms with the blue terry cloth hand towel he had casually slung around his neck while they exchanged greetings.
“Tavern owner? You look more li
ke a professional gymnast to me.” Scott said indicating the bar arrangement with a wave of my hand.
“Oh, it’s just a hobby. I own bars and I like to practice on bars.” He smiled at his joke about the two different types of bars. “Actually the gym bars are something I really love to play on. I love to perform an excellent routine or see an excellent routine performed. That is why I spend most of my spare time here practicing my routine.” He paused and smiled as he continued. “I feel like today’s routine was one of my individual best and I felt that with this routine I could have won any gymnastic bar competition anywhere in the galaxy. I am really pleased with today’s results.”
“You should be pleased, it was the best I have ever seen and I have seen the greats.” Scott said.
“I thank you for those kind words, let me buy you a beer and you can help me celebrate this small victory over gravity.” Cleboe invited me.
Scott quickly accepted this invitation since Jacque's demo on the bars had dashed all Scott's hopes of gaining any positive attention with his feeble excuse of a bar routine. Him doing a bar routine now would be like having a first year, Byloain soloist student, play a chorus of space walk just after the Galaxian Stilliants had finished their rhapsody of ‘First Lift Off’ and ‘Elliptical Orbit in A Minor’. It just wouldn’t do, besides, these patrons of the gym are here to work out, not lie around laughing at some clown who….., well, you know or so, Scott was thinking.
They left the gym in conversation not really aware of their environment. A short distance away from the gym they were suddenly surrounded by six Quadusiants. They seemingly appeared out of nowhere and they seemed to be upset with Jacque or Scott. How much they couldn’t tell, the Quadusiants have no facial expressions, however, Scott knew they only waved their appendages when they were very upset. The way these guys were waving their extremities, upset was an understatement. Scott thought he had suddenly parachuted into the hills of California and into one of those windmill generator farms of the 1980’s during a wind storm. True those rotating blades were dangerous but these waving arms were even more menacing. What made them so menacing was the fact that their fighting mode was activated and their needle claws were unsheathed.
Everyone called those needle claws two steppers. They were so named because if you were touched by those exposed claws you might get about two steps before you fell dead. There still is no antidote available to counteract their deadly poison.
As the perimeter they had created started to shrink and close in on them Scott felt he had no choice but to react. He hit his personnel stun emitter. All activity ceased and the Quadusiants dropped in their tracks. Their appendages turned limp and appeared visually liquid while flowing to the ground. Their multiple limbs collected around their individual bodies with the previously withdrawn sheathing relaxing and once again covering their deadly claws.
The stun emitter was not selective and Jacque had also fallen as if he were dead. Since this condition is not permanent and has varied effect on different species, Scott didn’t wait around to find out the length of time it would take for these cheerleaders to revive. He grabbed Jacque and slung him over his shoulder in a fireman carry and took off. they rounded the nearest corner and went across the street into the bar called the Nugget.
As they entered the Maitre d’ saw the package Scott had on his shoulders and led them to Jacque’s private booth. Scott thumbed the revive button on his stun emitter and Jacque came back to life. He sprang to his feet throwing up his arms as if to protect himself from the recent unwarranted attack. It took a moment for him to realize where he was. He looked around at the bar and at Scott and slowly started to relax.
Scott explained what had happened, what he had done to stop the attack and he apologized for putting him under with the stun emitter. Jacque accepted the fact that the emitter was non directional and that it was not discriminatory in its victims. He was and continues to be so very grateful. Since that minor episode, no matter how many times Scott tells him he was just protecting himself, he has treated Scott like his best and only friend and everything Jacque has also belongs to Scott. He says it’s because, sure Scott saved himself when he hit the stunner but, Scott saved him when he picked him up and carried him away into hiding before the attackers regained consciousness. Whatever, that was the reason Scott got to see and use Jacque’s subway and transportation equipment.