He wasn’t shouting, yet somehow his voice was heard equally around the antechamber. “Raa’Tiki, Guardians of the Primes, reveal yourselves and unlock the Anador.”
1 Cinkplod
Aray-likealiencreaturethathailsfromthetropicaloceansofOnd’Yallaweh.(AnexpansionworldoftheBaleens.)Witha“wingspan”of1.2-1.5tradons, it can leap and glide over the water for over 40 tradons at a time by rapidly expelling pressurized air from twin chambers in its body.
2 The Sea of Nedsewa
Large body of water in Dragsa’s northern hemisphere: roughly 7 million sq rudons. Named after an ocean goddess from Dragsan mythology, the Tusken ancestral home is located on its shores.
3 Dragsa
The Dragsan homeworld located in a trinary star system. One of the stars went supernova 1 billion turns ago and left a neutron star at the system center orbited by two K class stars. The supernova stripped Dragsa of half its oceans but seeded the planet with enormous quantities of rare elements. The unique radiation of their neutron star is what has been pinpointed as the direct cause for the evolution of Dragsan Recall.
4 Surfskimmer
A low altitude hovercraft that uses a compressed air cushion to fly at a max altitude of one tradon. It is extremely fast on water, lightweight, and uses negligible power, thus excellent for extended duration ocean voyages. It was designed by BriksandenLur during the Classical Galactic Era as a school project to help her older sister with her new fishing job. This new type of ocean hovercraft soon became commonplace in Dragsan culture.
5 NooktuskenDor
Was the head of House Tusken and uncle to KruktuskenBor and DraktuskenDor.
6 Rudiathen
Called the “big sister of the deep ‘’ in the old Dragsan tongue. It is a massive sea creature that breathes in water, and lives on Dragsa in the Sea of Nedsewa. Towering at 100 tradons in length, it has four giant fins for swimming, and an endoskeleton, with hardened skin and segmented armor on its belly and back. It bears a massive mouth that never closes, filled with filtration structures and paralyzing stingers. Despite its size, it is gentle, omnivorous, and will ignore all but large ships and creatures.
7 Glideboard
A water platform traditionally made for Dragsan surfers from the fronds of the giant Kedsewa Palm Tree. Less expensive versions are made from wood, polymer, or light flexmetal alloy. However, the most expensive boards are from reclaimed Rudiathen bone. Their scarcity owed to the fact that it is punishable by death to kill a Rudiathen outside of ceremony.
8 Tycan
Translated as “The First” from their old tongue, this sentient GSA species hail from the desert planet Lumathaan. Evolved to sentience during the Second Dark Era, they possess excellent eyesight and reflexes, armored skin, 99.6% biological water reclamation, and a strong resistance to heat and cold. They appear grey with spiky neck frills and are usually stoic, obedient, emotionally reserved, and analytic. They were enslaved as a species by a rogue system of the Anduuzilian Protectorate, then liberated by the GSA during the Reclamation Era. Most are strong believers in the mission of the GSA and commonly serve in military, piloting, and security positions.
9 Junadian
Called the “Roof of the World’’ in Osanii, this non-sentient lifeform is among the largest plant species in Alliance space growing up to 700 tradons tall. The leaves on a single tree grow in all known colors of the infrared, visible, and UV spectrum. Mainly found on its native world Monzama or on Primidious, it thrives with its roots in humid, tropical jungles and protection from the wind for its tall limbs.
10 Udarian Crystal
One of the most powerful objects in the known galaxy. Created from an Udari that willingly sacrifices itself, they transmute into a living silicate. These precious objects can be imbued with vast energy and programmed to grow into structures, ships, or whatever technology desired. The crystals contain a sleeping consciousness.
11 Reclamation Era
The time period heralding the end of the Second Dark Era (8.5 million turns ago). It began when the Dramurians discovered flowspace to escape the destruction of their planet from a supernova. They arrived at Zesperana, having sent messages ahead of time, and asked for refuge in exchange for knowledge of the flowspace drive. With flowspace, intelligent life again spread throughout the galaxy finding thousands of old and new worlds as well as species, most outside of the Warpgate system.
12 Ulron
One of the nine founding species of the GSA. They are the most peaceful, longest living, and the least populous of the nine, with most still residing on their homeworld, Neruda 8. Starting as a tadpole-like creature that evolves into a stronger, more durable body, they can metamorphosize up to 7 times. They have an extremely long childhood and are virtually immortal if they remain in their nascent stages. They must evolve into their final form to exist beyond their homeworld for any long duration, at which point they lose their ability to heal and can no longer breed. They possessed lifespans of up to 30,000 turns during the Second Dark Era due to a symbiotic relationship with their planet. But after the Reclamation Era, industry and commerce inevitably affected the ecosystem, and within a few generations, they sacrificed relative immortality for civilization. The Ulron now live to the ripe age of 1,000 to 3,000 turns.
13 Digestion Blocking Nanite
Are highly adapted GSA tools for extended duration tasks under restricted conditions. It is a microscopic machine that processes and breaks down bi-products of organic digestion allowing for food consumption without creating excrement. Versions of moderate success have been recorded since the Classical Era. The widespread Generation 1 was developed by the biosynth conglomerate, Pelkon-Intok.
14 Arpedime
A seven tentacled land species that hail from mudflats in the heavy gravity of Trantor. The Arpedime’s cerebral cortex is unusually large creating heightened empathy which has evolved the species to have an elevated understanding of the arts.
15 Obsidian 7
The farthest orbiting planet of the Obsidi System. It is a dark, moody, rocky world that was terraformed and became known as a retreat from the busy core. In time, the GSA founded the Sector 6 Academy of Arts here. Since then, the world has been an artistic hub from which come the main influences of fashion, art, and music for 10,000 kulons around.
16 Havlangar
The government retirement planet of the GSA located in the Skulvar System, Sector 5. Its name translates as “where knowledge sleeps” in Old Metra. It was chosen from an early census of newly explored planets 36,000 turns after the formation of the GSA. Barely habitable, it was special because it contained Builder ruins and a deactivated Warpgate, but it was not on any maps of the Warpgate system. Why the Builders had removed it from their society remains unknown. Some terraforming work improved the ecosystem, and it was decided to be the final residence of any life-term Primes. There, the GSA transformed a small continent and built the Citadel of Thought for the retired Primes to live in. As per Amendment 33, all “Life-Primes” are never allowed to return to normal GSA life after serving the galaxy. The Raa’Tiki still continue to protect their Primes there until their deaths.
17 Nithon
A snake-like sentient species from the planet Koorpal. They breathe oxygen, have four eyes, a mesoskeleton, and can grow 2.3 to 4 tradons long. They have two tails that split and create 1⁄3 of their body length. They are extremely strong and fast in close quarters, with toughened scales. They are generally too nice and are poor at reading social situations, while a few are sociopathic.
Fifteen
The Council of Worlds
The air before them shimmered. Pixelated, golden motes appeared defining the contours of unseen beings. Coalescing, they flashed into solid shapes encircling the Primes. The light evaporated but not without leaving burning silhouettes on Bor’s retina. In place of the glow stood monsters of legend. Six to a Prime, their appearance elicited screams, gasps, and squawks from the uninitiated.
The Raa’Tiki’s dark, stolid features and segmented appendages were every bit as terrifying as Bor remembered. Their upside down, triangular heads had four eyes spread across faces covered in clicking scales and spines. Cobalt-bladed tarsi jut from each appendage capable of piercing thick, titanium plating. Seeking better balance on the crystal floor, they shifted their limbs from arm to leg, yet somehow remained silent.
Nothing about their appearance alluded to their inexplicable species’ ability to become invisible. They seemed to carry no weapons or tech of any kind, but they were born killers perfectly suited to protect Primes. Two antenna stubs atop each head were a reminder of the loyal sacrifice they’d made to serve the GSA. Despite his queasiness, Bor knew this was probably the safest place in the galaxy.
The crystals beneath them grew together raising the floor. As they moved skyward, the entrances to the antechamber and side chambers were swallowed beneath the rising edge. The ceiling recessed allowing them to ascend further.
“What’s happening?” The question identified the asker as new.
Bor remembered wondering the same when he was a fresh Prime and the full Council met to decide the fate of the Saaryki. The tone had been equally somber then, but the novelty made it all so exciting. He wished his mind were as unburdened now as it had been then.
Someone along the circle answered the novice. “In the unlikely event that one of us were an imposter, the original’s six Raa’Tiki would be dead. To safeguard against infiltration, opening the Anador’s first door requires a unique energy burst that can only be produced by the simultaneous decloaking of all 1,026 Raa’Tiki.”
With a light grinding, the upward movement stopped. The Raa’Tiki guarding their backs, the Primes turned to face the inner wall. Bor removed his voting talisman. It was hot, though he had not activated it, and glowing the same orange as the Anador.
He put his free hand out to the inner wall. Wherever his fingertips touched, weaving trails of light danced along the impenetrable surface. The other Primes did likewise: talisman in one hand or appendage, another touching the wall. Ribbons of light flowed from every point of contact snaking along until they connected with each other.
The circuit complete, it was echoed by a solid, lava-like river within the crystal. Pias nodded at Bor, then passed his hand through as if it were mist. Gliding, Trinna Tau passed through as effortlessly as a neutrino through a planet.
Bor took a deep breath and followed suit. His body phased through; he had a feeling, not unlike slipping into warm water. Held in warm, comforting energy, surrounded by what looked like the heart of a star, he had no sense of direction or place other than relative to the similarly suspended Primes to his left and right.
The orange plasma flowed to the horizon shifting and bending along the planet’s magnetic field lines. Tiny stars, carried in undulating patterns by the liquid winds, twinkled. The Anador was alive. He could feel it. How? One theory was that each crystal was the remains of an individual Udari1, that they’d built their great cities from their dead. Whatever it had been, now it was an entire mountain: stoic, impassive to the miniscule beings temporarily touching its history.
Experience told Bor his goal wasn’t far. Still, his lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen by the time he emerged into the Anador’s heart.
The Zundrillian to his right likewise gasped for air. “Wow, I’d forgotten how difficult that was. The Udari must not have known many carbon-based lifeforms.”
“True. On the lighter side, they did create a stable phasing field that doesn’t disintegrate your DNA.” Bor’s tone expressed his admiration.
The heart was an amphitheater of sorts. A tall, cylindrical chamber, it reached nearly to the structure’s top where brilliant sunlight filtered down. The floor here was composed of hundreds of stepped hexagonal terraces. The highest at the edges led down to the lowest in the center. While many shared the ambient glow, a sizable fraction were dim and colorless: one hundred seventy-one, to be precise, matching the number of Primes.
Arriving from various points along the wall, all together for the first time, they descended. As each Prime took their place on a terrace, it glowed. The hexes were more than adequate. Designed for beings much larger than Bor, even Pias comfortably fit on one.
Once the final terrace was occupied, a rumble, accompanied by a low whine, indicated the activation of some large machinery. In unison, the Primes bent and touched their talismans to the floor. Beneath his feet, Bor could see the cell and crystal structure stretching downward forever.
The rumble and whine rose to a fever pitch. There was an abrupt flash and then silence. As the walls and ceiling became solid once more, the sunlight darkened.
This was now the place without time, a temporal bubble, known as The Valador2. The council could spend a turn here while outside, only a few prikes passed. It was the Anador’s true power—allowing full debate with no adverse impact on governing.
When the structure first grew, the Valador was unlocked: its walls permeable, its purpose unknown. After much analysis, and even more trial and error, the GSA managed to decipher its rules. Each hexagonal terrace a Prime stood upon contained a talisman that was a key. If any talismans were removed, the space was locked and could only be reopened by the same number of talismans. Everyone had to leave and arrive together, and the temporal bubble could only be activated or deactivated if all the occupants “keyed” simultaneously.
Some enemies of the Galactic Star Alliance thought the talismans were a weakness that they could be stolen or destroyed. But when a crippled Prime’s cruiser was drawn into a star and pulverized, along with the talisman, the Anador simply grew another. As for theft, the Raa’Tiki ensured that would never happen.
The Valador activated; the Primes were free to move about. Most gathered in social groups near the low center. Many sat on the terrace edges… feet, tails, and tentacles dangling.
Across from Bor, a cheerful voice rang strong and clear. “Before we begin, does anyone need additional nutriment?”
It was the Kalean, Enareggario, the Entropless Energy Prime3 of Sector 1. Living machines, the Kalean’s mostly humanoid anatomy shone like fine ceramic but bent and twisted like real tissue. In some spots, armored panels covered his body. In others, transparent plates revealed whirling, dazzling machinery. Importantly, they could morph their features at will.
At the moment though, Enareggario’s face was absent until a Duma Prime announced. “I need a resupply. We practically ran out the door.”
In response, a beautiful visage appeared wearing a Rakilla tribal mask. What features were visible beneath the stoic veil looked part Dragsan, part Valkon but with metal skin and glowing tattoos.
Enareggario claimed he changed faces often to gauge how people reacted to different species. Bor suspected he just enjoyed messing with the mortals.
Several Primes stepped up to the Kalean and presented their nutrient imbeds. Sufficient food and water were crucial for those inhabiting a room they would not be leaving for an unknown amount of time. Bor’s implant worked with the nanites, leaving him no need to eat or relieve himself. The problem for those lacking this symbiotic biological advantage had been solved by the Kaleans. They could store nutrients and water as superdense energy and easily carry enough for all.
Enareggario’s fingers morphed into siphons that he connected to each Prime’s imbed. While Sprog Doorlig’s pack was being filled, he jokingly asked, “If you can keep enough water for all of us in the tip of your finger, why haven’t you conquered the galaxy?”
The Kalean chuckled. “There is no need for such violence, Sprog. Time is of little consequence. The Kaleans will exist long after the expected lifespan of your mortal civilizations. Once you’re dead or have evolved beyond this plane of existence, the Kaleans will inherit this galaxy. It is an exciting future for certain.”
Unable to read the machine’s blank face, Sprog laughed and hastily turned away. “Next?” Enareggario asked.
“B
or, you’re staring.” Pias had walked up quietly behind him.
Bor frowned. “They’re a race of sentient machines, with technology so advanced, it makes the Anador look like a brick, yet they treat us as equals. Why? Even after 300,000 turns of peacefully coexisting, I still don’t trust them.”
“No one does. That’s why they’re not part of the inner council,” Pias whispered.
Once nutrients were supplied and recording devices calibrated, the Primes returned to their terraces. There, they removed their talismans and let them float to the center. Shortly, a hundred and seventy-one orange stars formed a revolving constellation.
When it changed to white, a pinwheel of beams colorful as an aurora, flew forth connecting each talisman with its owner. One by one, the beams trembled, then vanished until three remained. When they turned red, the corresponding talismans separated from the constellation and hovered over their owners.
The first, an Onphont4 named Brooznoor Ren, announced, “The Mediators have been chosen.”
The second was a tall, poised Kitta5, Pika Ru’Yak, veteran Agriculture Prime. The third, Barulka Nimitz, Effective Policing Prime of Sector 5. Recognizing him, Bor moaned. He was not a preferred choice.
The Mediators made their way to the central floor and proclaimed in tandem, “So commences the 5337th Council of Worlds.”
Brooznoor continued. “The Council having been summoned by Effective Force Prime Pias Abbotkrine of Sector 1, he shall take the floor. Naturally, we’re all terribly curious what matter of Galactic security he deems merits such a gathering. Not since the Creators of Space were a threat, have we held such a meeting.”
Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance Page 22
