by S. H. Jucha
The extent of data a SADE assimilated meant they were rarely caught off guard. Yet, Juliette had never heard from Tacnock that his home world had defended against the Colony’s incursions. He was committed to helping those immediately around him. In the recent case, it had been the Sylians.
“Why did you come to this part of the galaxy, Olawale?” Leslie asked.
“I’m Envoy Morris, the Sol Enclave envoy, Madam President. Olawale and his people are Omnians. They’ve been assisting us in our search for the Honora Belle.”
“Now that you’ve found its descendants, what are your intentions?” Leslie asked.
“What we’ve discovered in this area of space has complicated our expedition’s original purpose,” Olawale replied. “This is best explained when we meet.”
“My information on your vessels is that our station’s terminal arms won’t accommodate them. Can your shuttles make planetfall?” Leslie asked. She heard many forms of laughter, recognizing that, in addition to Jatouche, Crocian and Sylian were among the company.
“Our apologies,” Jess said. “You’ll have to see our visitors’ shuttles to believe them. Name where you’d like them to land. Their ship won’t leave a mark.”
“If that’s true, please set the shuttle down at the Hall of Delegates,” Leslie requested. “It should be worthwhile to have the planet’s delegates witness the landing. I’ll meet our guests there.”
“Until then, Madam President,” Jess replied, and Esteban ended the call.
“At least five more domes have been overtaken by the Colony,” Kasie remarked. “That’s probably anywhere from fifteen to twenty gates that connect to other domes and that have to be defended.”
“I wonder if the Colony is constructing rings above those domes,” Tacnock mused.
“The Colony is nothing but dependable in their consistency,” Daktora said. “There will be rings.”
“Let’s hope those races found a way to prevent the insectoids from completing the rings and descending on their home worlds,” Jess said.
Olawale and Patrice found the defenders’ eyes on them.
“As I told the Pyrean president, our decision is complicated. We’ll talk more on this,” Olawale said.
“For certain,” Sam added, “we’ll have to find a better way of taking a dome. We can’t afford more losses like the first one.”
* * * * *
Lucia was taken aback by the blunt request, if it could be called a request. She was about to ask the reason why, but she halted that question in midthought. Unfortunately, she knew Juliette had received the start of her query. Instead, she sent one word,
Juliette recorded an instruction to thank Julien, when she saw him again. He’d shared his emotional algorithms and hierarchy with many a SADE. While his code, algorithms, and hierarchical order weren’t always fully accepted by the other SADEs, they did guide many in understanding and building their relationships with humans.
Olawale had the same reaction as Lucia. The commodore wasn’t requesting his permission, which led him to believe Juliette hadn’t requested hers either. He gazed at Esteban, who stared quietly back.
Olawale turned to the defenders and said, “Tacnock and dome administrators, you’re making a journey to Rissness. A traveler will be here shortly. Juliette will lead you.”
Kasie’s exclamation of joy was enjoined by the other administrators.
“Captain Cinders, we’ll need your help here,” Olawale requested.
Jess nodded dutifully, but he spared glances for his sister and friend.
“I’ll be fine,” Kasie said gently, when she sensed Jess’s spike of anxiety.
Tacnock flashed his teeth in encouragement to Jess. He said, “There’s a great deal to be done to defeat the invaders. I expect we’ll do much of it together.” Then he clasped forearms with Jess, as was their habit, and joined the others, who followed a crew member below.
-18-
Protect Rissness
Sharon flew toward the Judgment’s port bay. Any assignment that ferried a SADE represented an opportunity to explore the system, which she relished. She grinned at the prospect. As she neared the Trident, a traveler exited for her entry into the bay.
Juliette boarded the cargo traveler and checked the closed rear ramp for the tripod and stowed line, which had been used to drop into the Sylian shuttle tube.
Sharon slipped the traveler out of the bay and slid toward the liner, which sailed a mere fifty thousand kilometers away. She requested landing permission from Captain Lumley, who’d assigned a pilot to remove a traveler to make room for Juliette’s shuttle.
As soon as the bay was pressurized, the dome administrators hurried aboard wearing their suits and carrying their gear. Juliette regarded their Loopah weapons, caught Tacnock’s eye, and raised an eyebrow.
Tacnock glanced at the barrel of the launcher that stuck above his back. He said, “Habit. We like to keep them close.”
Kasie had heard the exchange, and she unlimbered her weapon and shrugged apologetically to Juliette. “Jess made me take his,” she offered, and the others chittered, growled, and rumbled at her tepid excuse.
Juliette used the ship’s controller to scan with the Pyrean comm protocols Esteban had obtained. She searched for the type of contact she required and located one.
“Who is this?” the operator requested.
A control administrator intercepted the operator’s call. Moments earlier, he’d received Pyrean security’s update warning of the visitors’ fleet.
“Inbound shuttle, this is administration control. We have you on telemetry. Your trajectory and velocity indicate you’ll arrive in two to three hours. Please confirm this data.”
The operator hadn’t increased his telemetry view to take in ships that far out from the moon, and he definitely hadn’t searched for vessels above or below the system. There’d been no reason to do so. The administrator and he exchanged knotted eyebrows at the prospect of a ship closing the indicated distance in the time estimated.
Sharon was linked to the traveler’s controller and was party to the exchange. She smiled at the administrator believing a craft’s transmission would only belong to the bridge crew. Juliette and she overheard a quick discussion among several individuals. Then the administrator replied that they could manage the traveler.
“A red-green beacon will alternately pulse when you’re close to your bay,” the administrator said. “The bay’s location faces Triton, and it’s on the lower levels. Our antenna structure indicates down.”
“You won’t need your suits,” Juliette announced to her fellow passengers. “You can leave them aboard. Whether you leave your weapons will be a personal choice.”
Later, when they exited the traveler into the station’s bay, Juliette noticed that every defender, including Kasie, carried their launcher and satchel of drums.
Had Juliette inhabited an avatar similar to Esteban’s, although with her own synth skin, she might have appeared as a Pyrean. Instead, her exotic Méridien-styled face and body set her apart and attracted the stares of others.
The group was escorted to a terminal arm and gate. They were given priority seating on a shuttle to the Triton moon.
After landing on Triton, they rode a car through the dome’s tunnels. Tacnock quipped, “This method of dome entry is so much easier.” His quip caught Salsinona by surprise, and she issued a rough cough, a Sylian expression of amusement.
As they climbed the dome’s ramp, Juliette received the broadcasts of medallions draped on three statues.
“The first three explorers to lose their lives,” Tacnock explained, when he saw Juliette focus on the statues. “They’re a Pyrean brother and sister, Dillon and Tracy Shaver. The Crocian is Hangor of the Logar. Envoy Harbour is responsible for their statues being here.”
“It’s appropriate that recognition be given to those who risk their lives for the welfare of others,” Juliette commented.
There was a slight delay while the console operator enthusiastically greeted Kasie and asked how she’d made her way back to Pyre.
“Only the one platform, as you indicated,” Juliette said to Tacnock.
“The end of the line, you might say,” Tacnock replied. “There are many like this in the alliance dome network. You’d have to ask the Messinants why they didn’t create connecting loops instead of dead ends.”
“A fascinatingly enigmatic race,” Juliette remarked.
The platform lit and delivered several aliens of various shapes, who quickly climbed off. Kasie waved to the others to follow her, as she walked toward the gate.
Tacnock regarded Juliette, whom he walked beside. He asked, “Are you nervous ... that’s probably not the right word ... do you have concerns about the journey?”
“The Messinants have adequately demonstrated a superior level of intellect and engineering,” Juliette replied. “There is only a minimal possibility that some aspect of my hardware, crystals, or code might be corrupted or rendered inoperable. I look forward to the experience and am interested in what my senses record.”
Tacnock’s jaw closed with a click. It was the most clinical response to a question about nervousness that he’d ever received.
The group assembled on the platform, and the operator sent them to Rissness. When they arrived, Tacnock spared a concerned glance for Juliette. She winked at him to indicate that she was fine.
There was a moment of stillness inside the Rissness dome. Journeyers had stopped to regard the assorted aliens who’d arrived from Triton. All but one carried a Loopah weapon.
Then a Jatouche recognized Tacnock, and the dome’s operations were halted, while Tacnock was swarmed by members of his race, who were thrilled to see him alive.
After the greetings, Tacnock used his ear wig to call the dome’s administrator. A Jatouche male by the name of Kroctic introduced himself to Tacnock, and in turn, he was introduced to the others.
When Kroctic’s sensitive nose failed to detect an expected scent, he asked Juliette, “Are you human?”
“I’m not,” Juliette replied. “This is an avatar. I’m a SADE, a self-aware digital entity.”
“Then you serve the humans,” Kroctic pronounced, satisfied that he had understood the entity’s role.
“I’m an associate of humans. I serve no one,” Juliette said evenly.
Kroctic’s confusion was evident. In his mind, bots, which he considered Juliette to be, were created, sold, and owned. He might well have been responsible for another significant faux pas except he caught the expressions of the other arrivals. Their eyes dared him to make a second misstep and insult their companion again.
Kroctic cleared his throat, and he managed to say, “Welcome to Rissness. How might I be of service?”
“Juliette has journeyed here to teach us how to permanently block the Colony from accessing your gate,” Kasie stated flatly.
“Is this possible?” Kroctic asked.
“The SADEs have already demonstrated this skill within the Sylian dome,” Salsinona said firmly. She wasn’t any happier about Juliette’s reception than the others.
“I thought the Colony captured that dome,” Kroctic said.
“We took it back,” Bortoth said. He opened his snout and snapped it shut to emphasize his point.
“What do you need from me?” asked Kroctic, eyeing the weapon-carrying individuals arrayed in front of him.
“I’ll require complete control of your console for a short period,” Juliette replied. “Please announce to your journeyers that they’ll be momentarily inconvenienced.”
“The Jatouche are medical providers,” Kroctic objected. “Journeyers can arrive without notice. They might require immediate medical attention for life-threatening conditions.”
“Then I’ll provide my information in short sequences,” Juliette replied. “The rest of you might want to record me.”
Immediately, every administrator, including Kroctic accessed their recording devices.
The SADE stepped behind the console operators. “The key to the menus that you must use are found in these three glyph groups at the base of the console,” she said.
The console operators, having heard Juliette, shifted to eye the symbols she spoke about.
“Each of these groups has been tried in every panel menu and in every combination,” Kasie pointed out, “I, myself, have tried them. They didn’t activate anything.”
“Recall your comments about the Messinants and their suspected sense of humor,” Juliette reminded Kasie. “Within the lexicon, we discovered extremely complex symbols. What proved enticing to us was that the lexicon contained symbols not found anywhere on the Sylian deck or corridors. It was Orbit who discovered that the dome’s glyphs could be layered over one another to match those in the lexicon.”
“Oh, for the love of Pyre,” Kasie exclaimed.
“Precisely,” Juliette replied.
Kroctic glanced at journeyers who were annoyed at being ignored and had reprimanded the console operators. The operators were frozen. Having heard Juliette, they were staring at the three groups of glyphs in amazement.
“For this first exercise and to access the necessary sub-layer, which is critical to my instructions, you enter the first glyph from each group into the first place in the projected screen,” Juliette lectured. “The entry order of the three symbols is unimportant. It’s the completed image that’s accepted by the console.”
Juliette turned to Kroctic and said, “Please halt your journeyers.”
Then Kroctic announced a slight inconvenience to those waiting on the deck and platforms.
The console operators stepped aside at Juliette’s approach. She accessed the master panel, dove through the menu to the last item, selected it, and accessed the final item in the submenu.
“Here is your sub-layer location,” Juliette said, “and here are your entrie
s.”
Without glancing at the deck, Juliette entered the nine symbols, overlapping three sets of glyphs from each group. The response was the projection of an entirely new menu. It was one the administrators had never seen.
“This one,” Juliette said, pointing at an item in the submenu, “will give you access to the lexicon.”
“In what language?” Kroctic asked, totally immersed in the lecture. At this moment, it didn’t matter to him who or what classification Juliette occupied. He’d accepted her as a master advisor.
“The lexicon compares a glyph to one or more images,” Juliette replied, “and often a short vid represents the more complex symbols.”
Juliette pointed overhead, twirled a finger, and Kroctic announced the resumption of operations to journeyers.
“There are two more operations that I perceive as critical for you to understand,” Juliette continued. “The first is how to lockout the dome’s entry. This will allow only the console operator’s species to access the airlock hatches, which will close them immediately on entry of the request. The second is how to lockout a gate, making it inoperable remotely and internally until the lock is removed. Both of these operations are located under the same menu. I’ll show you the location of the first and demonstrate the procedure without activating it.”
Juliette requested Kroctic halt the journeyers again, while she walked the administrators through the lockout of the gates. In this case, she pointed out the glyphs on the deck that completed the procedure, but she didn’t enter them.
Afterwards, Kroctic allowed the gates to be opened.
“Why can’t we access this sub-layer while we continue the dome’s activities?” Daktora asked.
“Astute question,” Juliette replied. “The activation of this sub-layer halts all general panel menus. It’s our conjecture that this is done to allow edits of the sub-layer menu settings, which might overwrite the primary layer’s codes.”
Kroctic held up a hand. He was reminded of his first day as a console operator trainee.
“Yes, Kroctic,” Juliette said politely.
“After you perform this next operation, how will we know if it’s successful?” Kroctic asked.
