by S. H. Jucha
“One of the wedges disobeyed the president’s edict,” Cordelia continued. “Under the admiral’s order, Captain Alain de Long launched an attack, released a single device, and rapidly exited his Trident from the field. The weapon detonated in front of the Syslerian’s lead battleship.”
On the holo-vid, images of the Syslerian battleship and a swarm of travelers appeared.
“If the device exploded in front of the battleship, why is the aft end truncated?” Tatia asked.
“The SADEs within Hector’s fleet, who were led by Lydia, developed the devices with adaptable settings,” Cordelia replied. “Their design allows them to vary the strength of the resulting EMP wave to suit the target. Unfortunately, this was the weapon’s first deployment, and the settings were stronger than required. Massive electrical fires ignited throughout the ship. When the engines lost containment, the engineers separated the ship’s aft end to save the majority of the crew members.”
“And the travelers are rescuing crew?” Tatia asked, enlarging a vid from the ship’s rear. “That’s a monumental effort,” she commented, watching the Syslerians slide along a line into a traveler, while SADEs assisted others to exit their ship’s hatches into makeshift airlocks.
“Most of the lives lost from the weapon’s deployment were due to the ejecting of the engines,” Cordelia said. “The final traveler to provide rescue was piloted by Lieutenant Neffess. The SADE, Figaro, and the lieutenant managed to save the Syslerian commander, captain, and first officer.”
“And the remains of the battleship?” Tatia inquired.
Cordelia presented a series of images showing the massive ship being whittled down as it traveled through a gauntlet of Trident fire.
“When the battleship lost its maneuverability and then its engines, the battleship had been sailing directly for Toral,” Cordelia explained. “This was the admiral’s answer to eliminating the remaining mass. Otherwise it would have impacted the planet and possibility ended the negotiations.”
The final images were of Hector placing the Our People in the path of the hulk. As Cordelia had first demonstrated, Hector spun the city-ship, and it fired its twin beams, as they came to bear. Then the city-ship slipped to the side and raked the remaining mass of metal. A bright flare temporarily blinded the telemetry. When it cleared, the ship’s final portion of hull was gone, and chunks of metal and material were expanding outward.
“A beam hit a missile cache,” Tatia remarked.
“Precisely,” Cordelia replied.
The SADEs watched Tatia straighten. She was alert, and her eyes glistened.
“Admiral?” Miranda queried.
“I had my concerns about Hector and Ellie taking on the trouble in the Talus system,” Tatia replied, “but they’ve done a marvelous job. I’m proud of them.”
Tatia dismissed the emotional moment and returned to business. “Let’s look at what we need to do,” she said. “Z, Miranda, will Vyztram launch all drones at once?”
“More than likely, the Deloy will order it,” Miranda replied. She supplied the holo-vid with images from when Alex, Trobath, and the SADEs passed through the privacy screen into the Deloy’s quarters.
“That young one is the Deloy?” Tatia asked in amazement.
“Yes, Admiral,” Miranda replied.
“No wonder this issue has turned into such a thorny mess,” Tatia said, her tone indicating her frustration. “We’re dealing with a child, who controls a population, an AI, and a dangerous force of drones.”
“Alex has had his hands full with this first contact,” Cordelia admitted.
“So, the synopsis is that the Deloy will order Vyztram to launch. The odds are high that the AI will be required to send every drone, and the priority target will be the Freedom. Do I have that right?” Tatia inquired.
“Precisely,” Z answered for the SADEs.
“Fine. Then what’s our best offense or defense?” Tatia asked.
“This fleet can offer no offense,” Alex said, as he entered the bridge.
“I see you’ve been kept abreast of the proceedings,” Tatia remarked.
Alex accepted a mug of thé from the server, paused, waited for Renée to arrive, and then he handed it to her. She smiled at him, patted his cheek, and headed for a command chair. Then Alex accepted another mug and chose the empty chair between Tatia and Renée.
“I want one of these drones,” Alex continued.
“We need one of the engines within the drone, which we believe to be based on antimatter containment,” Julien said, as he walked onto the bridge.
“Did you wake anyone else, Cordelia?” Tatia asked.
“Actually, Admiral, you were the only one who insisted on having your sleep disturbed,” Cordelia retorted.
“The rest of us have set rules within the controller to be notified of certain events,” Julien explained, defending Cordelia.
“Except for me,” Renée added. “I’d have been happy to sleep, but when my extravagantly sized pillow rolls out from under me, it’s difficult not to be woken. And worrying about what might be happening doesn’t induce me to return to sleep.”
“Julien is right,” Alex said, focusing everyone on the problem. “We need the engine, but that will require Vyztram’s cooperation. If the AI is required to launch the ship’s entire force, then we’ve lost that opportunity.”
“Can we focus on our defense if, as you believe, we can’t offer an offense?” Tatia asked.
“We could offer an offense, but it would be useless,” Alex replied. “We’d have to drive a traveler, with or without a pilot, at a drone. The resulting detonation would wipe out nearby ships. It would take only one or two drones to get past our defense and strike the Freedom to destroy it. I question if our beam guns would be of use. If the drones came inside our beams’ range, the SADEs estimate that the destruction could be catastrophic when the drones’ energies were released. Most at risk would be every source of powered crystal.”
Tatia gazed at the four SADEs on the bridge. None of their faces revealed the thoughts in their kernels, which were composed of crystal. It was typical of Alex to express the danger in terms of Omnian lives rather than the ship itself. Under the best of conditions, it appeared that the ship might lose much of its mass, and at worst, it would become space debris.
“We can’t use the belt’s asteroids as locations to ambush the drones. They’re too maneuverable,” Tatia said. “That leaves one defense available to us. We lure the drones outward and eliminate them with as many NNEMPs as it will take.”
“I think that’s the strategy,” Alex said, sipping on his thé. “Other than the arrival of Hector’s fleet, do we have any other updates?”
Renée caught Alex’s glance. “The last update from Killian was that Scarlet Mandator was frustrated by the unwillingness of the other mandators to accept the SADEs’ translation of the Life Givers’ messages.”
“Does Scarlet Mandator accept the translations?” Alex inquired.
“Yes, the mandator does,” Renée replied. “Now, that you’re aboard this ship, I think you should connect with Scarlet Mandator and discuss the options.”
Tatia cleared her throat, and Alex acknowledged with a slight shrug and raised eyebrows that he’d derailed her conversation.
“Z, how many drones does the Arcus have?” Tatia asked.
“One hundred twenty-three. It was one hundred twenty-four,” Z replied.
“Do we know how close two drones can get to each other when they’re active?” Tatia asked. She waited while the SADEs conferred.
“When in flight, the drones maintain a safe distance from one another, equivalent to eleven point one three kilometers,” Miranda finally replied. To Tatia’s perplexed stare, she added, “We had no idea. Therefore, I asked Vyztram. The AI saw no reason not to share.”
Tatia frowned, and Alex knew why. She didn’t approve of Miranda communicating with Vyztram. His senior admiral distrusted Vyztram after the Omnians’ experiences with Artific
e.
“Formation,” Tatia queried, with a subtle growl in her tone.
“We separate the Freedom from the Tridents,” Alex replied casually.
This time it was Renée who was also frowning.
“Why expose the Freedom?” Tatia asked.
“We’re what the Deloy wants,” Alex explained. “As I see it, we’re fighting a child. She has zero experience in warfare. We have to present her with the perfect target. This will allow Vyztram to appear to cooperate with her wishes and give us the opportunity we need.”
While Alex spoke, he used the holo-vid to display the fleet exiting outward. The Tridents led the way, accelerating faster than the Freedom. From the Arcus, the drones launched in two waves.
Tatia nodded in understanding. The waves were due to the fact that only one drone could exit a bay at a time.
As the waves chased the fleet, the Tridents appeared to be racing ahead, while the Freedom fell behind.
“Nice,” Tatia said quietly. She wore her predator’s expression. “We appear to be the straggler ... the vulnerable target.”
“You just have to ensure that you take out the drones before they reach us,” Alex said, staring directly at Tatia. “I’m hoping this ruse will force the drones to bunch up, but they might remain within their two launch waves. If they spread out, the fleet must be prepared to transit.”
Alex directed his final comment at Cordelia, who acknowledged his requirement with the tip of her head.
20: Compromise
Scarlet Mandator had rarely experienced such impatience.
It was atypical of Ollassa to feel restless. However, the moment the species became space capable that had changed. Then the great Nua’ll orb, with its destructive ships, sailed into the Worlds of Light, and the feelings intensified.
The Omnians’ arrival provided temporary relief, but they broadened the understandings of the beyond, and Ollassa anxiety grew.
However, impatience was a new emotion for Scarlet Mandator, and the other mandators were the cause of it. No argument Scarlet Mandator could make convinced the mandators to come to some conclusion as to the meanings of the Life Givers’ messages.
In exasperation, Scarlet Mandator said to the convened mandators, “The Worlds of Light will remain vulnerable to the races from beyond until we possess the technology to protect Ollassa from predation. As the Ollassa who possesses the crescents, I choose to accept Alex’s proposal that we must seek technological improvements from the Elvians.”
The mandators’ stalks rose and vibrated with indignation, requesting they be heard, and Scarlet Mandator ignored them.
“I’ll accept the conditions under which you will allow Elvian cooperation to exist,” Scarlet Mandator beamed. “I’ll present those to Alex Racine. If he does not accept them, then I’ll communicate with him until we have an agreement.”
This time, Scarlet Mandator acknowledged Citron Mandator’s raised stalk.
“You are making unilateral decisions for Ollassa,” Citron Mandator accused.
“Why do you think I wear the Life Givers’ approvals?” Scarlet Mandator asked rhetorically. “I believe that Ollassa are being urged to embark on a new path. It’s a matter of our survival. I’ll endeavor to protect our way of life, but I must seek Alex Racine’s help to direct us.”
When it was Plum Mandator’s turn, the bloom beamed, “Will you allow us time to produce our conditions?”
“Yes,” Scarlet Mandator replied. “I’ll wait to receive your list until I complete my midday refreshing.”
The following day, Scarlet Mandator stepped from the warm shallow mineral bath where stalks absorbed replenishing nutrients and water. Mist Monitor informed Scarlet Mandator that a message waited and together they viewed the mandators’ conditions.
Scarlet Mandator didn’t need to see the monitor’s twitching petals to know that the mandators’ requirements were too onerous for Alex to accept, but the leader had promised the mandators to try.
Signaling through a panel, Scarlet Mandator requested Killian’s attendance. When Killian arrived, the mandator asked to speak to Alex.
When Renée walked past, she immediately co-opted the conversation, taking a few moments to chat with Mist Monitor. Then she said goodbye, kissed Alex on the top of his head, and left the suite but not before she linked to Alex to listen.
“Alex, I must tell you that there is division among the Ollassa,” Scarlet Mandator beamed. “The concept of allying with a race from beyond is foreign to most.” The mandator made a quick correction by adding, “except for Omnians.”
“I will need more detail, Alex,” Scarlet Mandator said.
Alex was hoping to evade this part of the conversation.
“Then this entity isn’t like Julien and Killian,” Scarlet Mandator offered.
Alex had never dealt with a race so hard to read as the Ollassa. In this conversation, he was intently watching the mandator through Killian’s eyes. Usually the stalks, petals, or fronds betrayed the mandator’s emotions. However, the Ollassa bloom was the source of the ultrasonic wavelengths that communicated speech. There was never anything to discern in what appeared to be a large blossom, which was similar to an enormous sunflower.
“Please provide more detail,” Scarlet Mandator requested.
“This is a strange arrangement,” Scarlet Mandator commented.
Alex replied.
“You were speaking about the digital sentient,” Scarlet Mandator reminded Alex.
“What would be the result of this operation on an entity of this type?” Scarlet Mandator inquired.
“A great loss,” Scarlet Mandator acknowledged. “I presume that you’re attempting to save Vyztram.”
“It’s what I would expect of Omnians,” Scarlet Mandator beamed. “Are the core’s Elvians the only aspect of the Arcus that the Ollassa would need?”
“Drones?” Scarlet Mandator queried.
etails in hopes of not turning Scarlet Mandator away from the opportunity the Elvians represented.
“Allow me to present the mandators’ conditions,” Scarlet Mandator said. “You’ve made it clear that the entire Elvian population, Vyztram, and power from drones represent what the Ollassa must accept or refuse. Some mandators consider the Elvians dangerous animals. As such, they were adamant that if Ollassa were to accept the greater number of the ship’s residents, then the Elvians must not set foot on the World of Light.”
“They may occupy any of the system’s bodies but the World of Light,” Scarlet Mandator beamed.
Alex had his first glimpse of emotion from the mandator. While Scarlet Mandator was participating in a general conversation with him, the stalks, petals, and fronds were calm. When the mandator discussed the conditions, the petals started curling to the rear.
Killian, who had access to Julien’s extensive library of Ollassa emotional signals, replied,
The Scarlet Mandator doesn’t like what the other mandators are demanding, Alex thought. He wondered if Scarlet Mandator had the authority to overrule them. He decided to respond to the mandators’ conditions, and then he’d question Killian about any mandator conversations in which he’d participated.
Alex waited and watched.
Scarlet Mandator’s petals curled tighter rearward. Then they suddenly straightened, and the stalks extended slightly.
“Ollassa need technological superiority to repel invaders,” Scarlet Mandator beamed. “I believe this to be the essence of the Life Givers’ message. Therefore, let’s discuss the conditions under which you think this could work.”
