by S. H. Jucha
“What do you propose as an alternative?” Harbour asked.
The engineers dived into a host of mechanisms by which intravertors could be delivered to a platform and launched from there. They explored various means with which to ensure an accurate delivery to the planet, spreading successive units across the surface. This was necessary, they explained, because the YIPS and the JOS kept geosynchronous orbits.
At one point, Harbour said, “Enough. I lost you somewhere after the explanation about a new platform and geosynchronous orbits. I’m going to have you meet with Advisor Cinders and Captain Stamerson. You can sell your ideas to them.”
The engineers smiled and stood up to leave.
“Not so fast,” Harbour said sharply, and indicated the engineers should regain their seats. “We haven’t covered the final point. Why do you think you should travel with the exploratory team?”
When Bryan and Pete looked at Olivia, Harbour did too.
“What do the Jatouche, the Crocian, or you, for that matter, know about Colony engineering?” Olivia asked.
“I presume that’s a rhetorical question,” Harbour replied, her eyes narrowing.
“Yes, well …” Olivia stammered under Harbour’s gaze, “you’ve got some good people, but I count two empaths, a captain, a dome administrator, a security officer, a console operator, an alien delegate, and two newbies. Where’s your engineering acumen?”
“Another good point,” Harbour admitted. “I dearly want to say no to you three, but you’re right. We’ll need your help.”
The engineers briefly celebrated their win, but Harbour cut it short. “Understand me,” she said harshly. “You’ll have to be trained to defend yourselves like the rest of us. Using your engineering skills will come only after we’ve made it to the alpha dome and secured it.”
-25-
Destinations
The final two members of the twenty, Nelson Barber and Jacob Deering, completed their repairs two days after Harbour spoke to the engineers about joining the team. Harbour met with the first mate and the mining tech to update them on the events that had transpired. When Harbour finished, she fully expected the men to request to join the delegates and the sixteen repaired who would soon be leaving for Triton.
“Tell me more about the Colony,” Nelson requested.
“Yeah, Envoy, I want to know more too,” Jacob said.
“Are you sure?” Harbour asked.
“Captain Flannigan owns a single ship,” Nelson said, “I’ve been his first mate for nine years. He intends to sell his ship when he retires. I make a decent living, but I can’t afford to buy his vessel. Seems to me, the only way I’ll get ahead will be earning a reward for joining the exploration.”
Harbour wasn’t pleased to hear that Nelson lacked an altruistic motive. Yet, in the next moment, she chastised herself for mentally passing judgment on the man. There was no doubt the explorers needed him. He was a trained and disciplined ship’s officer.
“How about you, Jacob?” Harbour asked.
“It’s kind of the same thing for me, Envoy,” Jacob said. “I’m a senior mining tech, but I don’t have the aptitude to become an engineer. I’ll probably never make enough coin to comfortably retire aboard the JOS. So I’m interested in an alternative.”
“Okay then. Let me show you what you’ll be encountering,” Harbour said. “Come with me.”
Harbour requested their guide lead them to a data center and call Kractik. Harbour watched the Pyreans’ eyes track the small Jatouche, as she set up the recorder’s replay. It occurred to her that the two men had been unconscious during their transport to Rissness Station. Since waking, they’d had a series of face-to-face encounters with aliens, and it showed in their focused stares.
Harbour opened her gates to sense the men’s emotions while they watched the recordings. Nelson evinced surprise and brief moments of fear, which he controlled. Jacob, on the other hand, wasn’t as calm, but eventually he suppressed his deep angst too.
“Well?” asked Harbour, when the viewing finished.
“A scary lot,” Nelson commented.
“Too scary?” Harbour asked.
“Depends,” Nelson replied. “Are we going empty-handed?”
“Everyone will be armed with either offensive or defensive weapons,” Harbour replied.
“Do we have a choice?” Jacob asked.
“No,” Harbour replied. “There are complicated rules that govern what we can do in the Colony’s dome versus anytime we encounter the Colony in other domes.”
“That’s confusing,” Jacob said.
“This part of the galaxy has many sentient races. They’ve been gate travelers for longer than humans have been in space,” Harbour explained. “They’ve many rules, and we’re subject to them all.”
“What’s the hierarchy of the team?” Nelson asked. “There are Pyreans, Jatouche, and the … uh —”
“Crocian,” Harbour supplied, “who, by the way, is a Tsargit delegate.”
“A what?” Jacob queried.
“There’s much you’ve got to learn if you travel with us,” Harbour said. “For now, let’s deal with the immediate concerns. I lead the exploration. My second in command is Advisor Cinders. Any questions on that subject?”
“None, Envoy,” the two spacers echoed in unison.
“Good,” Harbour replied. “Now, are you still interested in going with us?”
“Aye, Envoy,” were the replies.
* * * *
There was no longer a reason to delay the return of the three delegates or the sixteen repaired Pyreans to Triton. Tacticnok had seen to the stocking of intravertor material at Rissness and was prepared to ship three sets of parts with the returnees.
Harbour chose to have a final private conversation with the delegates before they returned, and the foursome met in a private room.
“I’ll remind you that you’re elected or appointed delegates,” Harbour said in her opening remarks. “That holds true whether you’re here or at Pyre.”
“What are you driving at?” Idrian asked, suspicious of Harbour’s motives.
“Just this,” Harbour replied. “This delegation journeyed to Na-Tikkook to broker a deal with the Jatouche. A deal has been struck. Now, it must be implemented. The explorers have their duty, and you have yours.”
“Could you be more specific, Envoy?” Dottie asked deferentially.
“First, Captain Stamerson, I’m making you the Assistant Envoy,” Harbour stated. “You’ll be responsible for two things: Ensuring my objectives are met and replacing the delegates if they fail to assist you in accomplishing those objectives."
“Thank you for your faith in me, Envoy,” Henry replied, with a wry smile. “I’ll be happy to see to the fulfillment of your wishes,” he added, eyeing the other two delegates.
“What are we supposed to be doing?” Dottie pursued.
Harbour pulled out her comm unit, which she hadn’t used in a while, and sent copies of her notes to the delegates. “You have received the agreement, as I understand it,” Harbour replied. “They’re reminders for you, but you were present during Rictook’s pronouncements. What do you think I want?”
“Twenty Pyreans need to be recruited and delivered to Triton for repairs, at the specified interval,” Henry answered quickly.
“That will be a costly hire,” Idrian said. He was waiting for Harbour’s response, but she stared at him instead. “Therefore, the delegates must find a means of procuring the coin for the transport,” he belatedly finished.
“Start thinking in greater terms,” Harbour said.
“We’ll be sending groups of people for repair on a regular basis,” Dottie said suddenly. “Pyre needs a passenger shuttle with cargo space, which will be dedicated to transport to Triton.”
“Now, you’re thinking,” Harbour said, and Dottie beamed.
“More cost,” Idrian added.
Harbour ignored him and waited for the delegates to continue.
; “We’re going to have intravertor parts. We need more coin for the Pyrean Green fund,” Henry supplied.
“Yes, you will,” Harbour agreed. “Henry has been taking part in a discussion with Jessie and our three engineers. They’ve ideas about deployment of the intravertors that won’t involve risking the Belle’s shuttle. Henry, I task you with informing Captain Dingles that he’s forbidden to use his ship’s shuttle.”
“Aye, Envoy,” Henry replied smartly.
“These projects will cost an enormous amount of coin,” Idrian insisted. “Ordering a transport shuttle for Triton, absorbing its cost of operations, assembling intravertors, and constructing a new means of delivering them.”
“Yes, it will,” Harbour replied calmly, “and you’re the delegates who are in charge of making it happen. That is unless you’d rather take my place and face the Colony, in which case, I’d enjoy returning to Pyre without acquiring any deadly injections.”
Dottie paled, Idrian scowled, and Henry chuckled.
“You have my instructions; make them happen,” Harbour ordered. She could hear a captain’s authoritative tone in her voice, and she thought Dingles would be proud of her. “Gather your gear,” she added, “you’re on a shuttle to the Rissness dome.”
Tacticnok accompanied the Pyrean returnees to Rissness to ensure that they were escorted on their journey to Triton by a console operator, two soldiers, and crew to help transfer the intravertor crates.
After Harbour saw the returnees off from Rissness Station, she gathered the remaining individuals. They numbered fourteen.
“I’ve been speaking to Jaktook about the size of our team,” Harbour said. “He has some advice for us.”
“Our number is too great to journey through a gate as one group,” Jaktook said. “Yes, we could squeeze tightly together, but we’d be unprepared to defend ourselves on the other side. I’m recommending two teams.”
“That would require a console operator accompany each team,” Jessie interjected.
“Agreed, Advisor,” Jaktook replied, “and I remind you that I’m a dome administrator. While I might not know the console’s depth, as well as Kractik does, I’m fully capable of managing basic platform operations, programming cubes, and facilitating console communications.”
“Good to know,” Jessie replied, tipping his head in acknowledgment of Jaktook’s skills.
“I’ve considered Jaktook’s idea, and it’s suggested to me that we need to balance the teams,” Harbour said. “Team number one will be led by me and will comprise Devon, Mangoth, Kractik, Olivia, Pete, and Jacob. Advisor Cinders is in charge of team two, and he’ll lead Aurelia, Jaktook, Bryan, Nelson, Tracy, and Dillon.”
A good many Pyreans had questions on their minds, but Jessie silenced them when he firmly replied, “Aye, aye, Envoy.”
Jaktook listened to a call on his ear wig. “Envoy, Jatouche engineers are ready to meet with your teams.”
“Good timing,” Harbour replied. “Take us to them, please.”
The extended team was strapped into cars and rode toward the central axis. From there, the vehicles journeyed most of the station’s length. When the cars reached the programmed level, they exited the tube and moved outward until a location was reached where station’s spin imitated Na-Tikkook gravity.
The guide led the teams to a large bare space. It was an empty bay. Thirty-two Jatouche engineers and techs waited for them, and they were dwarfed by the stack of open crates, which were covered with a host of suits, equipment, and odd-looking devices.
Jaktook had an intimate and lengthy conversation with the head engineer. When finished, he turned to Harbour and said, “They had orders from Tacticnok to deliver material that would cover every eventuality of contact with the Colony.”
Harbour surveyed the Jatouche technical individuals, the stack of crates, and the amount of displayed equipment. “There’s enough here to outfit five or six teams,” she said laughing. “We’re in their hands,” she added.
Jaktook relayed to the head engineer the envoy’s request, and the Jatouche technicians swarmed forward. They led each team member to piles of vac suit equipment and helped them try on various combinations.
When an explorer expressed concerns about some small detail, the technicians would hurry to the side of the bay, where a line of machines waited. They would operate on the piece of suit or fabricate a new one. Step by step, each team member got exactly what they wanted.
Harbour took in the satisfied expressions and the emotional glow of her team members, “Well done,” she said to the lead engineer, who flashed his teeth in a broad manner. “Our packs next, please,” she ordered, and the process was repeated until the explorers were pleased with the results.
“It’s time for weapons,” Harbour requested. “I want them displayed on the deck.”
The engineers and techs lugged mounds of equipment in front of Harbour and lined them up. Then one by one they reviewed the intended purpose of each item, classifying it as offensive or defensive and its potential level of incapacitation.
“Recall, Envoy,” Jaktook said. “Other than the audio generator, none of these claims can be verified.”
Harbour glanced at the lead Jatouche engineer, who ducked his head and nodded twice in agreement.
“Envoy,” Mangoth said, pointing to the pile of mesh nets.
“Agreed,” Harbour replied, and Mangoth stripped off his pack, made room for the nets, and stuffed in as many as he could carry.
“Devon, the energy weapon,” Harbour said.
Devon stepped forward, but an engineer held up his small hands.
“Training first,” Jaktook explained.
“Make it happen,” Harbour said firmly.
The lead engineer communicated to several of his support staff. They scooped up suits, the weapon, and Devon and made for the bay’s exit.
Over the next few hours, Harbour, Jessie, Jaktook, and Mangoth consulted carefully about which weapons should be taken and who should carry them. They made an effort to share the offensive and defensive weapons evenly among the teams.
“I’d prefer an offensive weapon, Envoy,” Jacob objected, when he was assigned his device.
“What was your reaction, spacer, when you saw the recordings of the Colony species attacking us?” Jessie asked harshly.
“They didn’t bother me,” Jacob replied, before he remembered who had been seated next to him. He glanced at Harbour, whose narrowed eyes held his gaze. “Maybe a little,” he clarified, but Harbour’s expression added a frown. “Okay, maybe a lot,” he admitted.
“That’s why you can’t carry a deadly weapon, Jacob,” Jessie said.
“Listen up, newcomers,” Jessie announced in his captain’s voice. “One glance at a hissing red-black racing toward you will be enough to make you soil your skins. We know this, and we sympathize. You’re likely to fire a deadly weapon at the attacker out of fear, but if we’re in the Colony’s dome, you’ll place your team in jeopardy by breaking a Tsargit rule of conduct.”
“Imagine the reverse situation,” Harbour added. “Devon has left to learn how to fire an energy weapon. Due to heavy energy pack and firing tube, that’s the only device he’ll carry. When he reaches the Colony dome, he’ll be defenseless. My team must protect him.”
The division of weapons was completed, and Harbour thanked the Jatouche technical team for their efforts and told them that she would relay her appreciation to Her Highness. That comment garnered an enormous display of Jatouche teeth.
“Explorers, please divest yourselves of weapons, packs, and suits in discreet piles,” Jaktook instructed. “They will be transported for you.”
“Anything else?” Harbour asked Jaktook. When the Jatouche advisor shook his head, Harbour announced to the teams, “Pack up your personal gear. It will be stored at the Rissness dome.”
“I’ll order Her Highness’ shuttle,” Jaktook said, as he removed his gear.
The teams packed up, caught the shuttle, and transferr
ed to the dome. The Jatouche took care of the transport of their equipment. Soon after they arrived, Tacticnok and Devon joined them in a third-level dorm room.
“Successful trial, Devon?” Jessie asked.
“Oh, yes,” Devon replied. “We took a transport to Rissness and rode a vehicle across the moon’s surface. The engineer demonstrated the weapon for me.” Devon smiled, as he recalled the event, “They built it for me. So, they kept the energy pack on the back of the vehicle. It was too bulky for them to wear.”
“How did it work?” Pete asked.
“I’m informed this is a modified energy weapon,” Devon replied. “Apparently, the ones carried by the Jatouche soldiers allow variable controls. The engineers decided I’ll have a single need. My weapon has a limited range, due to the beam’s focus, and a moderate energy output. Nonetheless, at four meters, I was able to hole a piece of rubble.”
“So, it’s a deadly weapon?” Jacob asked.
“Well, yes and no,” Devon replied. “The engineers and I talked about the use of the weapon in light of the Tsargit strictures. There is the idea that I could use the beam to wound, if my aim was lucky.”
“What do you mean lucky?” Harbour asked.
“Where do you shoot a red-black or gray to wound them?” Devon retorted.
“Point taken,” Harbour replied.
After a brief rest, a knock at the door announced the arrival of a Jatouche tech crew. They set up a small, dark box with its own controller. They handed the controller to Mangoth and exited.
“This is the information provided in response to our request to journey to the Colony dome via an alternative path, Envoy,” Mangoth said. He operated the controller, and the small box projected a three-dimensional display of an enormous star chart. A blue line linked several stars. Then it separated into yellow and green lines. Where those two lines terminated, two red lines led to the same location.
