Earthers

by S. H. Jucha

  The morning passed uneventfully. Then Jess halted the hunt and used the traveler to eat and visit the facilities.

  The Zistarians squatted on the ground and pulled food from their packs. As the smells from their midday meal wafted toward Jess and Lane, she sent,

  Jess sent in reply. He heard Lane chuckle quietly.

  After the meals were consumed, Jess distributed the Loopah weapons that Lane had gathered, and the Zistarians’ spearguns were piled in the traveler.

  Then Lane lifted to share the remaining Loopah weapons with Aputi and Tacnock.

  Jess spent the next half hour training the Zistarians on the weapons’ operations. Having carried and fired rifle-type weapons, they quickly caught on to the Loopah’s operations.

  It was the multi-dart drum that impressed and delighted the Zistarians. And, as opposed to the Packeoes, the locals were excellent shots.

  Jess decided it was time to expand the search technique. He knelt in the dirt and laid out routes for five teams — four shadows and five or six Zistarians to a team.

  Indersan nodded and burped his approval. Then he separated his followers into groups and assigned leaders to each of Jess’s dirt spirals.

  When ready, Jess sent four teams on their way, while he led the fifth group, which included Indersan.

  The new strategy allowed Jess’s group to cover ground quicker.

  Overhead, Lane returned to overwatch after delivering Loopah weapons to the others. He kept Jess apprised of his teams’ locations. Within three hours, his group had eliminated eight insectoids.

  When Zista’s star cast long shadows, Jess called a halt to the day’s hunt, and the travelers returned the Zistarians to the original encampment. Then the pilots collected the veterans and the shadows.

  During the flight, Jess linked with Aputi and Tacnock to describe his new strategy, but it was unnecessary.

  Aputi enthused.

  Tacnock added.

  Aputi sent.

  Tacnock sent.

  Jess returned.

  Tacnock suggested.

  At the encampment, the Zistarians celebrated. Twenty-five insectoids had been located and destroyed, including innumerable soon-to-be-birthed young, and not a Zistarian life was lost.

  Soon after the festivities started, females joined the males. They brought hot food and drink. It was obvious that the drink was a local favorite. Copious quantities were consumed, which allowed the Zistarians to relish the cycle’s triumph.

  As the storytelling and laughter died down, the Zistarians started to sing. It was an unusual blend of voices. The males delivered a percussive rhythm that had a hypnotic effect, and the females wove their voices through the beat.

  Indersan walked over to Jess and Lane, who sat on the end of a ramp, which had been left a meter off the ground. He offered a container of the favored sweet-smelling liquid to them, but neither human was adventurous enough to participate.

  “Will you hunt when Zomastrom rises and brightens our world?” Indersan asked.

  “Yes,” Jess replied, “Our ships confirmed that twelve of the enemy’s shuttles landed. We know that each shuttle contains at least twenty insectoids. That’s a minimum of two hundred forty adults that scattered across Zista’s surface. We eliminated sixty-three in the last two cycles.”

  “We killed eight before you came,” Indersan said.

  “The hunt will continue for another six to eight cycles to finish the rest,” Jess said.

  “We will hunt with you,” Indersan said determinedly.

  “You’re welcome to join us, Indersan. Your citizens did well,” Jess said.

  Indersan stood, turned to the others, and croaked loudly. His voice interrupted the singers, and the males rose, held their weapons high in the air, and chanted repeatedly.

  “They salute you, Captain,” Indersan said. His lips opened wide, displaying a broad flat tongue.

  Jess eased off the ramp’s edge, faced the males, and touched two fingers to his brow. The males and females celebrated the gesture, and Jess retired his weary muscles for the night.

  Jess heard. The message repeated, and he thought he was dreaming. Then he realized that his shadow link was open, and Lane was using it to communicate to him.

  Jess opened his eyes and struggled to sit up. His hard-worked sore muscles complained to him.

  “Sorry, Captain, but you’ve an important visitor,” Lane said quietly.

  “Who? The planet’s ruler or premier?” Jess croaked. He thought he sounded like a Zistarian.

  Lane shoved hot thé in Jess’s hand, and he sucked gratefully on the tube.

  “A traveler is above us with Rear Admiral Cordelia. She said not to wake you, but she’s been up there for a half hour,” Lane explained.

  “Oh, for the love of Pyre, Lane,” Jess complained. “Bring her down, but I’ll need a couple of minutes before you drop the ramp.”

  Jess quickly visited the refresher, took another deep pull on his thé, and walked aft as the ramp lowered.

  “Greetings, Captain,” Cordelia said quietly, as she had noted the Zistarians were still asleep.

  “Morning, Rear Admiral Cordelia,” Jess whispered. “A little celebration last night,” he added, indicating the forms tucked up in sleeping sacks.

  “So I observed,” Cordelia commented.

  Lane left the ramp in the slightly lifted position, as she had last night, and Jess settled on the end of it.

  “Tired?” asked Cordelia, which was a polite but unnecessary question. She’d examined Jess’s bio data, which indicated the low blood sugar and the slightly elevated inflammation. She sent a request to Lane, and the pilot came running with Jess’s drink. Then Lane hurried to prepare a meal.

  “Any bad news?” Jess asked, enjoying the thé, which Lane had sweetened.

  “None, Jess,” Cordelia replied. “When I saw that your teams intended to remain planetside for the hunt’s duration, I considered it expedient to come to you and communicate what’s transpired.”

  Cordelia’s use of Jess’s first name told him that the SADE preferred a personal touch for the purposes of this conversation. The SADEs often offered him small clues like that. He didn’t know whether they were tests of his perceptions or whether they were being polite.

  “Do you mean why the co-leaders left in a hurry?” Jess asked. “They’re not sailing back to Omnia after their experience on Zista, are they?”

  The delicate chime of silver bells greeted Jess’s question, and he smiled tiredly at Cordelia.

  “On that note, Jess, I’ve been asked to express the SADEs’ gratitude for your actions on behalf of Ser,” Cordelia said.

  “All part of the service,” Jess replied. He finished the thé just as Lane arrived with a meal and a second drink.

  Cordelia watched Jess dive into his food. He ate mechanically, and she questioned why repeated attempts to organize her emotional algorithms were unable to accurately comprehend what the veterans experienced. She thought the challenge was akin to the early days when she’d first spoken with Alex. He had been an unusual human for her to understand too.

  Cordelia sat quietly beside Jess while he ate and patiently waited until he finished his second thé.

  “That’s better,” Jess said quietly and stretched.

  Cordelia’s keen hearing picked up the pop of muscles and joints. It was another thing that SADEs could only empathize about humans. They had no equivalence.

  “Alex and Renée sailed for Sylia and Norsitchia,” Cordelia said.

  Jess stared at Cordelia
, while his brain rapidly stitched together recent events.

  “They’re going for permissions,” Jess reasoned.

  “Yes,” Cordelia acknowledged.

  “It was the incident with Renée,” Jess continued.

  “Precisely,” Cordelia replied.

  “We’ve a huge number of shadows that we can deploy,” Jess added. “That means we could use more veterans to direct them, but only if those veterans have implants.”

  “Yes, Captain. Good talk,” Cordelia said, and she left Jess for her traveler.

  7: Planetary Leaders

  Soshona, the fleet commander, touched her ear wig and informed Talsoma, the Sylian monarch. “The Omnian liner has appeared overhead, Your Excellency,” she said.

  “Alone?” Talsoma asked.

  “Apparently,” Soshona replied. “The other times, the fleet’s ships appeared in quick succession. This time, it’s been a while since the liner entered our space.”

  “Prepare for guests,” Talsoma ordered.

  In the afternoon, Talsoma and Soshona, with a royal retinue, waited for a traveler to arrive. When it landed, they watched Z and Renée exit first. Then another enormous SADE, a female, preceded a huge human male. Finally, another male of normal proportions appeared in the hatchway, but his exit said SADE.

  “Your Excellency, this is my partner and co-leader, Alex Racine,” Renée said.

  “And these are SADEs, Julien and Miranda,” Alex added.

  After introducing the royal retinue, Talsoma turned to lead the visitors to her private quarters, but Alex asked her to wait.

  “I wish to introduce you to a critical component of our efforts, Your Excellency,” Alex said, and he signaled a shadow that sat inside the ship.

  The shadow leapt through the hatch and scurried to Alex’s side. Julien had altered its programming to key on Alex instead of Jess.

  “This is a shadow,” Alex explained. “It’s a clever hunter of insectoids. We’ve more than two thousand six hundred of them, and we can easily acquire more. However, we’ve one problem.”

  Talsoma examined the shadow, and Alex had it orient toward her.

  “It can kill?” Soshona asked.

  “Yes, via the laser head,” Alex said, pointing at that portion of the shadow.

  “And your problem?” Talsoma inquired.

  “I summoned the shadow with an implant, the device in my head,” Alex replied. “While shadows are efficient hunters, they need expert guidance.”

  “From veterans,” Soshona concluded.

  “Precisely,” Alex replied.

  “How do our troops fare?” Talsoma asked.

  Inflexions in the ruler’s voice alerted the SADEs, who had begun comparing data on the words spoken by Talsoma and Soshona.

  “They’re doing well,” Renée replied. “Pims hunt, while riding shadows. They’re protected by your troops, and the pairing has been extremely successful.”

  “We request your permission to offer implants to your troops, Your Excellency,” Alex said.

  “Let’s retire and discuss your request,” Talsoma said. “Instruct your little warrior to attend us.”

  When everyone was settled in Talsoma’s quarters, the ruler focused on Alex. “Why do you carry an implant?”

  Alex explained the values, and then told Talsoma that every Omnian, except the SADEs, carried one.

  “The veterans have adopted them to communicate with one another, the shadows, and us,” Julien added. “The implants give them advantages in insectoid encounters.”

  “You implanted alliance races?” Soshona asked.

  “Captain Cinders, Tacnock, and the Crocians, at their requests,” Renée replied.

  “Are there negative results?” Talsoma asked.

  “None,” Julien replied. “SADEs and medical staff handle the procedures. Thereafter, they monitor the bio data of the implanted individuals. The alliance members have been observed around the chronometer ever since they received their implants.”

  “Can they be removed?” Talsoma asked.

  “Yes, but that presents a future problem,” Alex replied. “With implants, your troops experience a heightened world of personal connections. Fighting the insectoids becomes a more intense experience, as they share their thoughts.”

  “Then you’re expecting our troops will want to keep their implants when the Colony is defeated,” Talsoma surmised.

  “We are,” Renée said, “and we’re prepared to offer the tech to your entire race.”

  Alex resisted turning his head toward Renée. His partner had made the offer to entice Talsoma into granting permission to her troops. While he thought it was hasty, they did need the Sylian veterans.

  “What if only a portion of the troops accepts your tech?” Soshona asked.

  “Then those individuals could be paired with shadow forces,” Alex replied. “The other troops would remain in the traditional support method that Captain Cinders first employed at Pimbor.”

  “How does our captain fare? We’ve not heard from him lately,” Talsoma said.

  “He’s well,” Renée replied. “He saved my life during an encounter with a red.”

  “You have more courage than I do to risk facing the insectoids,” Talsoma remarked.

  “I thought I was testing a principle. It turned out that I was just being foolish,” Renée replied.

  Talsoma nodded her head slowly in sympathy, and Renée admired the glint on the ruler’s snow-white fur.

  As silence descended on the conversation, Julien investigated what the SADEs had been sharing.

  “Your Excellency, are you considering recalling your troops from Pimbor?” Julien asked.

  “It’s been considered. We thought to do it while your great ship was still in alliance space,” Talsoma replied. “However, recent messages from the commanders to me and from the troops to our citizens via cubes exhibit exhilaration at winning the fight against the insectoids.”

  “The shadow didn’t frighten you, Your Excellency, when you saw it,” Miranda stated. “Instead, you were curious to examine it closely, when you had only seen images of it.” The SADE wanted to point out that some of Talsoma’s and Soshona’s comments were disingenuous.

  Alex eyed Talsoma, and the ruler blinked twice.

  “Does Sylia have a favored world position with the Pims because of the presence of the Sylian troops?” Alex inquired. “I imagine it would be advantageous to be one of the first to get the advanced robotic technology.”

  “It’s being discussed,” Talsoma admitted.

  Alex folded his arms and leaned into his chair’s back, and Renée chose to quietly regard the ruler.

  “It seems our needs and desires are inextricably linked,” Talsoma commented.

  “It would seem so,” Alex allowed.

  “In which case, I would deem it prudent to foster our relationship,” Talsoma added. “I give my consent for you to offer your implants to my troops, and I’ll send a message to the Pimbor commanders. It must be understood that their consent will be voluntary.”

  “It’s imperative that we must possess the technology to remove the implants after you leave alliance space,” Soshona added, to which Talsoma nodded in agreement.

  “Agreed, as long as those choices are voluntary,” Renée stated flatly, and she saw fur bristle on Soshona’s neck.

  “We intend to create a peacekeeping outpost at Pyre,” Alex quickly interjected. “Sylian troops who maintain their implants would be welcome in service there.”

  “Why would you need to protect the Pyreans?” Talsoma asked, suddenly on alert.

  “It’s an outpost for the worlds in this area of space,” Julien said, displaying the alliance star map on his holo-vid. “Coincidentally, Pyre sits in the center of the alliance worlds.”

  “Do you intend to be our minders?” Soshona asked dubiously, examining the sphere of stars.

  “We intend to protect the alliance from any form of interference,” Alex said. “In addition to the dang
ers that we know exist, there are others yet to be discovered.”

  “This will be a fragile beginning,” Talsoma remarked.

  “All beginnings are,” Renée replied. “Trust is built through deeds. Removing the Colony’s incursions at the risk to both our citizens is the proof that our races require.”

  Talsoma nodded her head gravely. Then she stood and offered her hand to Alex in the tradition she’d shared with Jess and Kasie.

  When Talsoma did the same for Renée, the co-leader held the ruler’s grip and said, “Excuse me.” Then she gently stroked the white fur on the back of the hand. “Exquisite,” she murmured, and Talsoma’s blue eyes shone brightly.

  “Surprise, surprise,” Alex said, after they’d boarded the traveler for the return to the liner.

  “It appears the race for Pim tech is underway,” Julien commented.

  “I couldn’t be happier for the Pims,” Renée said, “although I wonder if they might need some financial advice.” She’d regarded Julien, as she’d made her remark.

  “Having Talsoma’s approval, we’ll visit Pimbor sooner than later,” Julien replied. “I’ll speak to Phette, Oforum, and others about the opportunities present in negotiations and contracts.”

  “Thank you,” Renée said sincerely.

  Aboard the liner, Alex, Renée, and Julien made the bridge.

  “Successful negotiations?” Captain Francis Lumley asked, eyeing the faces.

  “Yes, and illuminating information,” Alex replied. “It seems that events might be outdistancing our actions.”

  “Like dropping a stone in a pond,” Francis added. “It’s difficult to arrest the ripples, which spread in all directions.”

  “Just so,” Alex agreed.

  “Norsitchia?” Francis asked.

  “Yes,” Alex replied. “Julien, who’ll we be meeting?”

  “Ophelia communicated to us that a type of cooperative leads the race,” Julien replied.

  “Are the members elected representatives?” Renée inquired.

  “Ophelia’s data was limited, and she’d never heard how the cooperative was selected,” Julien replied.