Rogue Stars

by C Gockel et al.

  “Nanotech is a medical process designed to prevent illness and extend life,” he said simply when he realised Kajetan was still waiting for an answer.

  “Extend life?” Kajetan said with her whiskers twitching. She glanced from James to Tei’Varyk and back. “How, and by how much?”

  “I am fifty-two years old, Eldest. That is the same as sixty-eight orbits. I will live, barring accidents of course, for another hundred and twenty orbits… perhaps more if fate is kind.”

  Kajetan hissed in shock. “You are an elder of your people?”

  James smiled. “No, Eldest. I am young yet.”

  Kajetan blinked at that. James was almost her age yet he was too young to be an elder. “What is your proposal?”

  James closed his eyes in abject relief. “First, Eldest, I must ask that my ship be allowed to emerge and be given safe passage. Second, I ask that you and my Tei discuss the future of our two peoples face to face. Third…”

  Aboard ASN Canada, in orbit of Harmony

  Never had the launching of a drone had such ceremony surrounding it, Colgan mused. Next to him stood Tei’Varyk of Chakra, gazing with pride at the view-screen where the six heavy cruisers, heavy fangs he should say, of Canada’s escort were displayed. Six heavies as escort should have filled him with pride that his ship was viewed with such respect, but all it did was intimidate him. He wished he had a carrier here, that would even things up right nicely.

  Jump technology wasn’t everything, he had found. Good weapons and good sensors made up for a lot, and those ships had both in abundance. He had learned a great deal since detecting the probe Wilder launched to survey the agreed upon asteroid. The signal might have been agreed upon beforehand, but it was still a tough decision to make. When he finally did come out of hiding, he was greeted by that little lot out there. Colgan remembered thinking he was a goner for sure, but then the lander suddenly appeared out of the shadow of the heavies, and Mark received a tight beam message…

  “Hello Captain,” Wilder said. “I’ve brought some friends over, if that’s all right?”

  “Friends?” Colgan said as his crew ran futilely to battle stations. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure, sir. Tell the Chief the Box worked great.” Wilder grinned and pulled Professor Lane into view of the pickup. “Can we come in?”

  That had been two weeks ago. Two weeks of discussions with the elders of the Shan—sometimes heated, sometimes not, but always ending amicably thank goodness. Today was the day to consummate the agreement hammered out by his team. It was far from what they had wanted to accomplish here, but they definitely had a foot in the door. All in all, Colgan felt he was ahead of the game. After all, Canada was still in one piece and so was he.

  “Contact Kajetan please, Mark,” Colgan said.

  “Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Ricks said and used the jury-rigged equipment donated by Tei’Varyk. “On screen, Skip.”

  “I greet you, Kajetan… elders,” he said standing and bowing to the screen.

  The elders were wearing headsets modified by Shan from the Chief’s originals. They listened to the translation and bowed to him in return.

  “With your permission, we are ready to launch the drone,” Colgan said, careful to enunciate the words clearly for the bridge recorders and the translation package.

  “I would speak to Tei’Varyk, Tei’Colgan,” Kajetan said.

  “As you wish, Ma’am,” Colgan said and stepped to one side giving Tei’Varyk unrestricted access to his elders.

  Tei’Varyk spoke rapidly in his own language. Colgan cupped his earpiece, and concentrated trying to ignore the gaps that Bindar had managed to reduce, but not eradicate.

  “…I stand ready to verify the agreement we have with the Humans.”

  “Good,” Kajetan said. “But that is not what we wish to discuss with you. I trust Tei’Colgan to do as we agreed; whether that means his people will also… we shall see. You have served well, Tei’Varyk. You have served our people better perhaps than we ourselves have.”

  The elders standing with Kajetan mumbled their agreement.

  “I thank you, but I did not follow your orders.”

  “That is not known outside of this group,” Kajetan said sharply. “It will remain between us. However, Chakra is for Tei’Unwin.”

  Tei’Varyk’s stood stiffly with his ears flattened tight to his head and his nostrils flared wide as if facing into a gale. He was hurt by the loss of his ship, as any Tei or captain would be. Colgan stepped forward to protest, but Kajetan surprised them all by waving her ears in amusement.

  “Be not so distressed. Have I not said you have served well? We have two new tasks for you and any who will follow you from Chakra.”

  “Tasks?” Tei’Varyk said hopefully.

  “Yes tasks. The first is that you be the eyes and ears of the elders…”

  That translated as ambassador, Colgan was pleased to hear. He liked Tei’Varyk. Their discussions regarding the cat and mouse game they had played over the last few months were interesting. Duty permitting, he looked forward to a great many more discussions on many subjects.

  “The second task is to oversee the completion of Naktlon,” Kajetan said.

  “A heavy fang for me?” Tei’Varyk gasped.

  “Why so surprised? You would have moved on from Chakra in an orbit’s time, two at the most. Did you plan on leaving space and the fleet you love then?”

  “Never!” Tei’Varyk said horrified at the idea. “My mate and I wish always to serve in space. It’s where we belong.”

  Good answer. It was something Colgan would have said himself if asked that question. Space was his home, exploration his life and goal. He supposed he would be given another ship someday—a heavy cruiser like Tei’Varyk probably, but when that day came, he wanted to be able to say he had made the most of his time aboard Canada. This mission would burn brightly in his memory that was for sure.

  “Tei’Colgan,” Kajetan said. “You may proceed with your launch.”

  “I thank you, Kajetan, elders,” Colgan said and bowed. The screen cleared and returned to showing the heavies hanging in space. “Download the logs please, Mark.”

  “Aye, sir, downloading… download complete.”

  “Very good,” he said and was about to give the next order, but he hesitated and turned to Tei’Varyk. “Would you give the order for the elders, Tei?”

  “Honoured,” Tei’Varyk said and turned to Lieutenant Ricks. “Download the elders’ message to your drone please, Mark,” he said saying the last two words in English. Already his grasp of English was improving.

  “Aye, sir, downloading… download complete.”

  “Set drive to eighty percent,” Colgan said. “Coordinates: Alliance HQ.”

  “Aye, sir, drone programmed. Destination: Alliance HQ.”

  “Give the launch order please, Tei.”

  Tei’Varyk flicked his ears in acknowledgement. “I hear. Launch the drone.”

  “Aye, sir, launching. Drone away… drone has entered fold space, sirs,” Lieutenant Ricks said.

  “Very good,” Colgan said at the same time as Tei’Varyk’s, “I hear.”

  They smiled at each other. A Human smile, reflected against a Shan’s ear-twitching jaw-dropping grin.

  “Well done everyone,” Colgan said to his crew. “Nothing can go wrong now.”

  The bridge crew cheered.

  17 ~ Answers

  Zuleika spaceport, Child of Harmony

  James stood upon the taxiway and breathed deeply. The chill air was full of alien scents that delighted his senses. After so long aboard ship walking under the open sky was a relief and a pleasure. The breeze picked up and he faced into it. He could smell the ocean, but could not see it from here even though it was only a few short kilometres from the port; he had crossed the coast on his approach.

  “It’s beautiful here,” Brenda said smiling with eyes closed into the sun’s warmth.

  “You’re beautiful, but I agree it b
eats living aboard ship.”

  “Flatterer.”

  Brenda took his arm and they walked slowly toward the busy buildings. The port was a huge place, and although the Shan were different in many ways, some things were similar. Zuleika spaceport had a control tower with a three-hundred and sixty-degree view just like a Human port, and the taxiways and runways could have belonged to any number of Alliance worlds. The buildings were not the same, but even here James could see they had the same purpose as those found at a Human port. Hangars and maintenance depots were little different wherever you happened to find yourself. They had to be. The ships they serviced all had similar requirements. Things like repairs and refuelling.

  The architecture was unlike modern Human buildings. Back home, they would be made of steel and glass, but here he saw a lot of wood and stone. It looked odd in such a high tech setting as a spaceport, but pleasing to the eye all the same.

  “We have a reception up ahead,” Bernard said from his place next to Janice. “More speeches I shouldn’t wonder.”

  “You know very well that the Shan do not go in for such things,” Bindar said promptly.

  “I meant us, my friend!”

  James chuckled. Captain Colgan had asked him to give a speech to the crew when Brenda and he had first arrived back aboard Canada. He gave a second more detailed report at his debriefing with the senior officers, and after that, another debriefing by his colleagues in the contact team.

  When the news broke that contact had been made with an alien race, there had been a great deal of unrest among the Shan. There had been panic in the cities with thousands of Shan simply dropping everything and running for the hills. They were understandably afraid of aliens. They remembered the Merkiaari too well to believe Humans were friendly.

  Kajetan and the Council of Elders had made broadcasts one after the other to calm their people, but it wasn’t until Jeff Colgan and Janice Bristow were called upon that calm began to return. Jeff had helped the elders by answering their questions during live broadcasts. He explained about the Alliance, and how the Fleet protected it against the Merkiaari. His willingness to meet and talk with the Shan alone and on their own turf helped the situation immensely.

  As the weeks past, each of the contact team’s members had played their part in the broadcasts. James had drawn on his knowledge of history to paint a picture of the Alliance and how it came to be. David held a class on Human physiology, mainly due to some highly respected Shan healers asking their elders to facilitate it. The session was recorded and broadcast the next day and had been repeated pretty much every day since then.

  Bindar had found himself trying to teach the Shan the rudiments of the English language, while Sheryl was inundated with requests about her knowledge of science and technology—especially nanotech. The Shan were fascinated by everything Human related.

  There were very few Shan who did not know at least one Human name, and many knew them all. Cubs would choose their favourite Human to learn about; they took pride in their knowledge and made a game of besting each other with questions on the subject.

  He’d had enough speechifying for this lifetime, James decided. “I vote Brenda gives the next one, if one there is.”

  Brenda punched him on the shoulder. “Hey no fair!”

  “It’s fair. I haven’t heard one speech out of you this entire trip!” he said, rubbing his arm as if in pain, but he was joking.

  Brenda had chosen to teach the Shan about the plants and animals found by the Alliance on alien worlds. The Shan were fascinated by her and who could blame them? He was too.

  A small group of Shan approached to greet them. James stiffened when he recognised the aged Shan female at the centre of the group. There could be no mistaking that patterned pelt and grey speckled muzzle. It was Elder Jutka. This was the first time Jutka had deigned to meet the whole team. Before this, only James and Brenda had spoken with her, and then only via the comm.

  James bowed deeply. “You honour us, Elder.”

  “You honour us, Elder,” Brenda said with a bow. “May I introduce my colleagues?”

  “You may proceed,” Elder Jutka said, her nostrils flared as she gathered alien scents. Her whiskers, grey with age drew down at something she smelled, but rose again a moment later.

  Brenda inclined her head politely and introduced the others. “Janice Bristow, professor of exobiology.”

  Janice bowed. “You honour me, Elder.”

  “James has spoken highly of you,” Jutka said and touched her paw to Janice’s palm in greeting.

  “David Harrison, professor of biology,” Brenda said and David stepped forward.

  “You honour me, Elder,” he said and bowed.

  “I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what you have discovered,” Jutka said inclining her head in return before touching David’s hand.

  “Sheryl Linden, professor of physics and engineering,” Brenda said ushering Sheryl forward.

  “You honour me, Elder.”

  “Ah!” Jutka said, her ears quivering and straining forward. “I look forward to discussing this thing called nanotech with you. It is a fascinating concept. To think such tiny machines can exist…” Jutka twitched her ears in puzzlement. “How can it be possible?”

  “I have my reference texts aboard Canada, Elder. They are all in English, but perhaps you would like copies? I’m sure you can have them translated, or perhaps I could go through the relevant sections with you?”

  “Yes, yes!” Jutka said excitedly and shocked everyone—especially the Shan accompanying her—when she bowed to Sheryl. “You honour me with your offer of teaching, Sheryl.”

  “The honour is mine,” Sheryl said solemnly.

  Brenda was at a loss for a moment and it took a nudge from James to put her back on track. “Ah… I… This is Bindar Singh, Elder. He is our professor of linguistics. He’s the sole reason we can converse and understand one another.”

  Jutka bowed even as Bindar did. “I thank you for bringing our two peoples together, Bindar.”

  “You honour me, Elder,” Bindar bowed again. “I could not have accomplished my goal without a great deal of help from the others.”

  James smiled. “You must excuse Bindar, Elder. He is too modest, but we love him anyway.”

  Bindar’s face heated in embarrassment. His friends chuckled and murmured their agreement. Jutka dropped her jaw in a grin and her ears flicked and twitched in what was great amusement in a Shan.

  “I understand you are here for just a short time.”

  “That is true Elder,” James said. “We cannot leave our work unfinished for too much longer. The Council will require a complete report before they can brief the next team.”

  “It is important work,” Jutka agreed. “I have arranged for you all to stay in Zuleika with me and my mate. I have planned a tour of our city and of the Markan’deya. You will find it interesting James, considering your area of study.”

  “The Markan’deya?” James said uncertainly. “The… ah... memory of the people?”

  “The memory of the race, I believe,” Bindar corrected. “A museum perhaps.”

  “Museum?” Jutka said trying the Human word carefully.

  “A place where records and items pertaining to our history are displayed,” Bindar explained. “People visit a museum to learn about our history.”

  “Then you have your own Markan’deya.”

  “We have many museums, Elder. On Earth—our homeworld—there are hundreds. Some are dedicated to Human history, others to natural history. There are even some dedicated to old wars—lest we forget how terrible war is.”

  Jutka’s ears went flat. “You must see our Markan’deya. If you want to learn what it is to be Shan, you must.”

  “We all wish that,” Janice said.

  “Come then, let us go now,” Jutka said turning away.

  James exchanged glances with the others before they all hurried to catch Jutka and her escort. The elder had been very grim. James
was careful to stay behind the Shan, but Jutka imperiously motioned him and the others forward so she might speak with them.

  “Tell me of the Alliance.”

  Janice took up the question and launched into their well-used explanation. She knew it by heart. They all did. “The Alliance is composed of two-hundred and thirty-four—”

  “No, tell me of your people. I have heard enough of your Council and Fleet for now. What are your people like? What do they do, how do they live?”

  Janice smiled. “People are people anywhere, Elder. Some live in cities, some in space on our stations and ships. We have teachers and soldiers, factory workers and farmers, actors and musicians, scientists and doctors… the list is endless.”

  “Actors?”

  “People who entertain others, Elder,” Brenda said. “We like to write stories and watch people pretend to be the characters. We have plays, and holodramas written to mimic real life, but often the story is fiction.”

  “Lies used to entertain?” Jutka said doubtfully.

  The Shan had a rich aural and written history. Those stories were re-enacted at special times, but James only now realised they were all factual accounts of real historical events. His mind raced over the data he had been compiling for months aboard ship. No fiction at all. None. Why hadn’t he realised what that could mean? If looked at from a Shan point of view, fiction was another name for lying.

  “Not lies, Elder,” James hurriedly explained. “All those who watch them know the stories are not real life. The holodramas work because people willingly submerge themselves in the stories. Humans enjoy them. I always like to imagine myself as the hero who gets to save the Alliance.”

  “Ah! You wish to be other than you are, I can understand the fascination. If the Harmonies had not chosen my course, I would most likely have become an engineer as my father was. I sometimes like to imagine myself inventing some great new thing. Something so special everyone would know my name.” Jutka smiled remembering her younger self. “The Harmonies however, have a way of guiding us along unsuspected paths.”