Hands, talons, paws, flippers, wings, tails, and tentacles reached for their voting talismans and flung them in the air to hover above. The bright, fluorescing crystals then produced floating points of green above each member indicating affirmative answers. An orange spot would have indicated a negative response, but there were none.
“Excellent. Let’s submit formal queries.”
More dots, now glowing different colors, floated into the amphitheater’s center and grouped themselves into constellations of similar hues. Once the shapes stabilized, each beamed a golden light to a particular Prime. Talismans had a consciousness of their own choosing speakers as they saw fit.
As Khan Panda’s talisman grew brighter, the others dimmed focusing everyone’s attention. “The first question is what do we tell the Council of Worlds about the Creators of Space and Odian Spek?”
As he sat, the talismans glowed equally—until Pias stood and they, again, shifted brightness. “We tell them everything. All the facts be laid out; Odian’s escape after Saaryki, every COS-related event since, every systematic coverup all the way through the Loronzon incident, and, now, what happened in the Nova system.”
Pias sat; Mattrolo rose. “The larger council will be angry, but they also know that admitting past, illegal coverups to the Assembly of Planets20 would likely result in the dissolution of both bodies. The Council won’t risk that. In addition, admitting the COS has endured would subsequently lead to the uncovering of the still active Voidwhisperer program which is technically criminal and certainly divisive.”
He was followed by the First Contact Prime of Sector 4, Luman Ontares. “Looking at the proposed revelations from a positive standpoint, we only need the council to see the logic of containment. Our long record of success is attributed to our reliably closed information loop. Once the COW as a whole are read in, they will understand. More important, they should be reminded how public engagement with a self-made enemy destabilizes us. That history speaks for itself.”
Jegareg responded. “Information leaks also speak for themselves, which is why, I’ll remind you, we’re here in the first place. Trust this data to the larger group and keeping it contained will be like threading a starfighter through an asteroid field. It’s hard enough to quarantine Class-T planets. This would require making records disappear, altering historic records, forging manifests, jamming signals, hiding missions, crews, and much more. With so many moving pieces, one is bound to fail. While I admit that the execution of this massive effort would be far easier with the full council’s cooperation, ultimately, it may not be our choice at all. The Nova incident has already involved too many outside Primes to ever close this box again. We move now, or we’ll be exposed forcibly—and that would be far worse.”
When Jedareg sat, the lights balanced indicating the discussion was over. Mattrolo’s booming voice echoed against the domed ceiling. “All in favor of revealing what we’ve done and what we know to the Council, including all we know about the Creators, please vote now.”
As the members complied, the cloud of floating talismans glowed green: no orange to be seen.
“It’s unanimous, then. Moving on. “
Manti La Scal voiced their second issue.
“What shall we recommend to the World Council regarding the fate of Bor’s son, Kruktusken?“ After a long, awkward silence she added, “Bor, it’s appropriate you have the floor.”
His talisman glowing, Bor felt the weight of many eyes as he took center circle.
“Kruk’s intent was righteous. While I admit it wasn’t handled perfectly in the heat of the moment, he provided a warning we sorely needed. Punishment should fall, not upon him, but me for mishandling his education. I submit we recommend Kruk return to a normal GSA rotation, far from any Creator-related activity, and distance himself from future involvement in high-level politics.”
All the grunting didn’t bode well. Bor was relieved when Trinna Tau rose but not for long.
“The penalty for revealing Prime-level classified information is to be stripped of any government rank and be imprisoned long-term on a mining colony. And some can argue this is an Article 37.”
Bor opened his mouth, then, too disciplined to break protocol despite his shock, he closed it.
Noticing his reaction, Trinna gave him a supportive glance before continuing. “However, since the information was technically not classified by the Council of Worlds, Kruk’s actions were technically not illegal. Kruk did everyone a tremendous service by alerting us to the Creators. My recommendation is that he not be punished.”
Bor was relieved but, again, not for long. When his dear friend Pias spoke, he was choosing his words too carefully for them to provide comfort.
“Bor, I know I speak for many when I say that removing Kruk from the Nova system is a bad idea for an abundance of reasons. Foremost, we cannot show any further favoritism. Second, we need a trustworthy source there; undoubtedly, there will be information we’ll need access to. I feel we should recommend that Kruk remain there. It would highlight that he performed an important service to the galaxy and will continue to serve the GSA loyally.”
Not entirely under the individual’s control, the talismans were also created to prevent silent dissents. When Bor pulsated an angry orange-red indicating his feelings on the current subject, it drew nervous glances.
Pias took no notice. “Lastly, if Kruk is removed from government, as you suggest, all Bor’s efforts at grooming him for the Inner Council which we agreed to will be wasted.”
As Bor weighed his fear against the logic and his son’s restored career, his talisman returned to its neutral color. When it came time to vote regarding Kruk’s return to the Nova System, his vote was absent. The Inner Council followed all larger GSA statutes, and Article 81 was clear on nepotism. His dejected face said all that was needed with a green hue illuminating all around.
“Moving On.”
Jedareg presented the third question. “How did the creators know about Nova?”
Each relevant department Prime provided what they knew.
Socrula Paru presented transportation intelligence. “We have had no record of other ships of any kind in the region. That rules out direct recon which was unlikely to begin with.”
Archivist Mattrolo said, “There’s nothing in the public domain that could have led them there. We’d already removed any traces of god-impersonators who’d visited Nova.”
Bor spoke for communications. “There’s no record of any unusual comms to or from Nova. But, I assure you, there are ways of transmitting without detection.”
Jedareg finished with an obvious conclusion. “Only significant operations knowledge could allow the Creators such a success. They knew the precise location of the probe, so that intel had to be current. Therefore, it’s highly likely the Nova quarantine program has a mole. Nova has been locked down, so the mole must still be there. A full Council of Worlds investigation will find them. I’ll lead it myself.”
Bor, realizing how he could further solidify Kruk’s position, spoke up. “May I suggest deflecting two asteroids with one collision? Undoubtedly, Jedareg’s efforts will swiftly find the mole, but simply capturing them might be a dead end. Since Kruk will be there, may I suggest that if he quietly seeks out this mole, we may be able to learn more?”
Voting commenced; the talismans glowed green.
Scalipio asked the fourth and final question. “What do we do with Odian?”
Pias himself answered. “Using whatever means necessary, as quickly and quietly as possible, remove him and all of the Creators from the galactic equation. I know some may fear that doing so may lead sympathizers to revel, but, I promise you, allow him a single breath of diplomatic air and he could unravel our control from planet to planet. This is far from an unreasonable assumption.”
He projected the Nova debrief across the amphitheater. “In case you missed it, analysis of the disabled enemy ship showed it was machine-piloted. Unremarkable in itself but there�
�s more. As expected, by the time we pulled the pilot from the craft, its kill switches had wiped the navigational logs. We thought the same happened to its strategic mission programming, but further analysis revealed it never had any. Meaning, it wasn’t programmed to attack; it did so, for lack of a better word, voluntarily.”
He gave that a moment to sink in. There were no questions, no grunts, just thoughtful silence and, from those who had faces or other emotive organs, reactions ranging from bemused to grave alarm.
“Odian Spek is capable of appealing to machines. If he can convince them to join his cause, he can convince anyone. Intentionally or not, he may incite another machine uprising21. My people remember what that cost the galaxy. I, for one, do not wish to test the Kaleans’ loyalty to the Alliance.”
Seizing the opportunity, Bor initiated the vote. “All in favor of removing Odian Spek and any members of the COS by any necessary means for the good of galactic stability?”
For the final time, all the lights burned green concluding the Inner Council gathering.
Pias wrapped up some ancillary details. Bor, wanting a moment to himself, was among the first to exit the Sanctuary 19 tower. Despite his and Kruk’s missteps, they were still intact. Despite the looks he imagined he was getting, he felt comfortable they were on the right side of history. He was even getting used to not knowing whether things were happening because or in spite of his errors.
As ships rose through the canopy and headed toward the archipelago center, there was a momentary atmospheric dimming: an unnatural aurora that cascaded across the vector right above them. It was the signal that the Council of Worlds was about to begin.
Despite the imminent deadline, Bor saw one vessel screaming toward the isle. It was Tordok, of course. Late as usual.
Instead of landing at the tower, though, he veered off and touched down on a lower jungle platform. Perplexed, Bor headed along the trails to bring him up to speed. Someone had to.
He was greeted by a sleek, dark, glowing craft. Definitely not standard GSA issue, it was a Quasar Screamer22. They were terrible on interplanetary maneuvers but one of the fastest flowspace fliers in existence. Not necessarily a ship you’d expect an explorer to use.
Tordok leapt down from the cargo bay before the ladders telescoped.
Bor moved to meet him. “Well, at least you’re consistent.”
Out of breath and clearly disturbed, Tordok grabbed Bor’s shoulders and whispered as if there were someone around who might hear. “I know full well we have to get to the Council meeting, but I had to delay leaving as long as I could. We found something in the Distant Zones23: evidence that the Creators have been out there tampering with unmapped worlds.”
The considerable catalogue of Bor’s previous worries were instantly overshadowed. Looking deep in the Metra’s eyes, he saw his own fear reflected back. The only sound was the tropical breeze rustling julonga fronds until he asked.
“Are you sure?”
Tordok dropped his arms and spat indignantly. “Am I? I’ve dedicated the entire 3rd Expeditionary Fleet to this. They’re deployed and monitoring beyond contact range. Of the last four sentient systems we catalogued, we found three confirmed encounters between the Creators and the indigenous sentients—all within the past thirty turns.”
He briefly displayed the contents of a data chip on a tiny holoscreen. “Even with combuoys, I couldn’t risk transmitting information like this, so our messengers relayed this on Quasar Screamers. It was my turn when I got the Council summons, but I had to wait for another runner skiff with a mission update.”
Bor’s mind raced like a Screamer in flowspace. Spek had been busy in death. Had he just been toying with Nova?
“There’s more. Unsubstantiated, but we’ve heard rumors of a planetship.”
Bor relaxed at once. The very idea was so insane Tordok must have taken too many stims or hadn’t gotten enough sleep. He was just babbling nonsense. Still, the data looked real, and the fear on his face was sincere.
“I came to you directly because sensitive communication is your strength. No one knows about this other than my personal Explorers and you and I. Honestly, I… don’t know what to do.”
His own head spinning, Bor managed to put a comforting hand on Tordok’s shoulder. “You were right to come to me. It’s far too important to throw out into the universe. We’ll figure out how to proceed but not here. Get to the Anador24. We’ll contact the Inner Council after the meeting.”
Dubious, Tordok turned off the datachip. “This can’t wait long, Bor.”
“I know. Trust me, I know. A lot’s happened here, too. Just to bring you up to speed, Odian Spek is alive and the Creators attacked a T-Class quarantine planet.”
The Metra Prime looked about to faint when another countdown aurora arched across the sky drawing his attention upward.
“Go,” Bor urged. “Now.”
Jogged into the moment, Tordok made a formal parting gesture before running back into the Quasar Screamer. Bor ran back, arriving at the Bridalgo just as Pias broke away from a conversation with Scalipio and Manti. They two saying goodbye, they headed for the paths.
“Tordok?” Pias asked, bemused. “That why you’re late?”
“Yes, I was giving him an update. We’re all in agreement. He’ll meet us at the Anador.”
“Excellent. Time to go shape history!” Noticing Bor’s dark expression halted Pias’ excitement. “Now what?”
“Pias, circumstances have grown immeasurably more complex even from nine nolaprikes ago…”
“What did Tordok say?”
“The Creators are recruiting from the Distant Zones.”
Whatever calamity Pias expected to hear about, it wasn’t this.
The engines roared to life, but the two of them sat in silence as the Bridalgo took off soaring over Sanctuary 19 and onward to the Anador.
1 Fried Equak
Popular Ulroni street cuisine. The equak is a small, lizardlike invertebrate that taste delectable when seasoned, dipped in batter, and cooked in burning oil.
2 Neruda 8
The homeworld of the Ulron since the Classical Galactic Era and the Capital of Sector 3. Its natural ecosystem once allowed the Ulron to live in relative immortality during the Second Dark Era. When the Reclamation Era rejoined the Neruda System with the galaxy, the garden of immortality was poisoned. Within a few generations, the Ulron had sacrificed their long life for a more ubiquitous civilization. To mitigate this, the planet is divided into hemispheres by a giant wall. One half of the world is industrious and a massive GSA city; the other half is preserved wilderness. 97% of all Ulron are born here. Their nascent forms are highly sensitive to toxins.
3 Liyathin System (occurs on final paragraph of page 173)
A single G class star system that contains an unusually high density of naturally occuring habitable planets: Neruda 6, 7, 8, and 9. It is scientifically proven that an ancient impact shaped the unique system when Neruda Prime, a super massive rocky planet, was impacted 900 million turns ago shattering and reforming into Neruda 1 through 9. A later impact ejected Neruda 7 life onto Neruda 8.
4 Maruuvean
A fast, high energy species that move by taking powerful leaps with telescoping bone legs propelled by coiled, springlike fibers. They are also known as “tree walkers”; their method of transport evolved from safely jumping between trees on the predator filled plains of U’uvea.
5 Pontonian
A bizarre, humanoid species that have their eyes in their hands. They are native to Ponton Prime of Sector 3. They are uptight, snobbish, and are usually wary of physical confrontation due to their limited ease of holding weapons but are known to be unrivaled kickboxers.
6 Primidious
The capital planet of the GSA, home of the Anador, and currently the most advanced Udarian technology ever weilded by the Alliance. It is a government center with no permanent residents created on a terraformed world in an unoccupied system in Sector 5 to prov
ide the greatest neutrality. It is a meeting place for many high level GSA functions involving Primes, including the Council of Worlds.
7 Bridalgo
Pias Abbotkrine’s personal transportation vessel, a Nuukon Class Starship, 25 tradons long, patch 5 capable, with cloaking, double shields, flares, drones, and defensive railguns. The Nuukons were developed to dramatically reduce the need for military escort of Primes and Assembly members due to their incredible speed.
8 Recall
A Dragsan ability to fully and consciously immerse into memories. Thus, the observer may relive past events with perfect clarity and find details that were unconsciously gathered but yet to be realized. Recall was practiced by all Dragsan through the Second Dark Era but is now performed by less than 1 in 1000. Only those with genetic aptitude towards the ability, coupled with turns of training, are able to Recall.
9 Metra
“Those who live in the shadow of the Ring,” are the proposers of the TAOTA and first founding species of the GSA. The Metra are: humanoid, calm, calculated, highly intelligent, never quick to violence, and have an interlocking exoskeleton. The Metra understood the necessity to destroy the Warp- gates to save the galaxy at the end of the Classical Era. They protected and preserved a large portion of galactic knowledge through the Great Silence.
10 Plop
An Anduuzilian derogatory term for a migratory Anduuzil who has never lived through a true winter.
11 Fandaxian
One of the nine founding species of the GSA. The name translates as “keep your mind and claws sharp.” They are a therapod looking creature: orange, covered in scales, and native to the hot scrublands and jungles of Azoeleo. They have a powerful, whiplike tail, excellent smell, acidic tears, and are compatible with Voidwhisperer implants. They are fiery, passionate, and determined. When the Warpgates fell, Azoeleo was overpopulated, and they fought a 700 turn war against an alliance of Rakilla and Droteans for control of their system, in which they ultimately triumphed. Then, the Fandaxian WarKing declared the Fandaxians smash every egg before 30 frikes old. This took a small dent out of the population and continued periodically, but at random, until the Reclamation Era by which time their population was reduced by 80%. By that time, they had rebuilt their sublight interstellar civilization to 39 other systems; 11 of which failed, and 7 others suffered an atomic ending, but Azoeleo and 21 colonies thrived.
Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance Page 20
