“You think we are special? Why?”
“The future of this whole group is fluid. Most lives are set in the cement of their society. This group is different. It is adaptive and inclusive. That is a fertile environment for art.”
“Then you are happy to stay?”
Didjal tapped one foot. It sounded metallic against the deck plating. “We are excited to stay here. We have had little choice in anything since the Avaraks chose to attack Commorancy, but this decision was our own. We are pleased to connect with this small group. We are not uncomfortable with you.”
“Good. I am glad to hear that.”
“I will begin my work on that inverter.” The Enif gave a small bow and withdrew. The Supreme instructed the Tyzaran mechanics to remain on the Nivala, telling them to use the time to run all necessary calibrations after the maiden voyage.
The rest of us, Eshaan included, piled into the Nivala’s main shuttle and made our way planetside.
The oceans of Ulon Prime were impressive. The lack of depth meant that the oceans were criss-crossed with white caustics which shimmered against the sandy bottom of the seas. The water itself was a stunning color, one that defied description. It contained blue and green, but it was a tone that you could hardly tear your eyes away from. We stared and stared as the shuttle gently came down to settle in around eight meters of water. Only the top part of the shuttle protruded from the water.
We assembled at the forward hatch and input the clearance codes. The airlock deactivated and the whole door swung outwards.
The reflection of the sun across the water was dazzling. We hastily reached for the sun lenses that had been issued to us. They helped. After a few seconds my eyes adapted. I could see a series of rafts approaching the hatch. There seemed to be no form of propulsion, but they were moving steadily toward us all the same.
Zenzara pushed at me. “Let me see!”
I let her slip through to stand in front of me. She gave a small gasp of pleasure as her eyes adjusted. “It is beautiful!”
The rafts were nearly at the shuttle. We could make out small shapes on top of each of them. I screwed up my eyes, trying to make the most of my first glimpse of the Macers.
They were completely bald, as far as I could tell. Their skin was dark and cracked, so that it had split into tiny raised islands alternating with troughs all over them. Their eyes were enormous and a strange orange-yellow color. Their pupils in the strong sunlight were vertical slits. I had read somewhere that animals that needed to adjust to severe changes in light needed vertical pupils in order to adapt more quickly. Unlike my own rounded ones, they would cut off virtually all light very fast. And no wonder. The light reflecting off the surface of Ulon Prime was dazzling in contrast to the dimmer light under the kelp banks.
Their torsos were small and thin, but their limbs were quite different. Their arms and legs of the same length made them appear rather spider-like. They looked to be all legs. They bustled about on top of the rafts of kelp. I could see, as the raft came closer, that more of the Macers were pushing and pulling at the matted kelp to maneuver it in our direction.
Eventually it was docked safely underneath our shuttle hatchway.
Supreme Oznard pushed through the rest of us to take in the scene below her. She had straightened up to her full height and was looking most imposing. She lifted one foot to take the first step down.
Unfortunately, Zenzie beat her to it. She ducked swiftly through Oznard’s legs and threw herself with glee onto the soft kelp platform.
“Wheee!” she cried in a happy voice. “This is great!” She bounced once or twice and then jumped to her feet and began to shake hands with each and every one of the Macers, who were staring at her with their huge nonplussed, passive eyes. I don’t think they had ever seen anything like the young Tyzaran before. They extended their long front arms, however, and imitated her with some care. She giggled and pumped at their hands. One or two of them seemed to wince, but most simply resigned themselves to her enthusiasm.
Oznard finished descending to the planet and stood rigid, waiting for appropriate attention to be paid to her. The rest of us clambered down the welded ladder without much ceremony.
Zenzie finally ran out of exuberance and looked back at us, to see what we were all doing. Her crest fell as she saw the expression on Oznard’s face. “Have I done something wrong, Supreme?”
Oznard managed a tight smile. “Not at all Ty Zylarian. I am sure our hosts are impressed by your … eagerness. Although it would now be more appropriate of you to step back.”
Zenzie did so immediately, but half tripped over some of the mounded kelp, ending up unceremoniously on her backside. We grinned, though Oznard only seemed irritated. Zenzara backed away, stuttering an apology.
Two of the largest Macers came forward and executed welcoming bows. Oznard unbent a little. “Thank you. It is most pleasant to be here. Where would you like to have these discussions?”
Two of the Macers exchanged rapid-fire signs on their long fingers. The largest one turned to Oznard. “Here is appropriate,” it said. The slow speech was at complete odds with the lightning way the Macers moved and exchanged signs with each other. I saw that they were using artificial voice boxes which they pressed against large air sacs that each possessed around their necks. The spoken language was consequently slow and tone limited, dissimulating their natural character.
Oznard didn’t like that. She eyed the rest of us up. I realized she was unwilling to talk with us all there.
“This meeting is secret?” questioned the Macer. “You do not wish the Avaraks or the Spacelanders or the Enif to know about what we speak?” It extended a long leg and pointed at a representative of each as it talked.
The Supreme flushed. She didn’t, of course. But she couldn’t quite see how to say so. “I represent the Supreme Council of Tyzar,” she began.
The Macer nodded. “You wish to form an Interstellar Alliance,” it said in its measured tones. “Then it is good to have other races present. Is it not?”
Not, if we were to believe Oznard’s body language. We shuffled our feet, uncertain what to do.
Zenzara smiled widely. “An Interstellar Alliance? I like that! I am happy to be here!” She sat down on the rush-like matting and settled herself, clearly prepared to be entertained.
The Macers exchanged more flashing finger talk, and then sat down next to her. The leader signaled to the rest of us to form part of the circle. We all obeyed, except Oznard. The Supreme was left standing as we all hunkered down.
I could have sworn that she rolled her eyes, but in the end she sat down too. Denaraz, behind me, folded himself down into a cross-legged position as soon as she did. He was the only one of us who had waited for her. It didn’t seem to make her any happier.
“Please … to speak?” The Macer invited her with an expansive movement of his hand.
She pursed her lips for a moment, before deciding to go ahead. She summarized recent events quickly, telling of the ZEPH drive, its expropriation, and the resulting conflicts. She most definitely said nothing about the attack on the space station at Tyzar by the Enclave.
The two Macers spoke at length to each other, their brown hands flashing in the Ulon sunlight. “We do not travel to the stars. Why do you seek us out in this?”
“Because you are key to the Major Shells. There are only seven races in the Shells, if we count both Spacelanders and Flatlanders as one race.”
What? I shook my head. That wasn’t right. I opened my mouth to speak. “You can’t—”
“Can’t what? Call a human a human? You are the cause of all this unrest.”
I scrambled to my feet. So did Sammy and Mel. The raft rocked slightly. “We will not sit here if you are to speak of the Terran Omnistate and the Space Trust in the same breat
h! There are eight members of the Major Shells! Eight, not seven!”
Chatter broke out. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the subject. Finally the Macer held up a large hand to silence us all. “Nothing can be discussed further until this point is clarified,” it said calmly. “Advance is impossible if the boundaries of the groups are unclear. We will meet again tomorrow. We should all reflect on this matter. Please return to your spacecraft until the morning.”
We made our way back up the ladder and inside the shuttle. Oznard was furious with me. “How dare you think you can speak at such a time! You have no place at these discussions!”
I glared back at her. “It seems I do. Or did you think you could disrespect the Spacelanders like that? Our home is in the Landau Rift, which forms one of the Major Shells. Or did you forget that?”
Her eyes slid to the two Enif present. “The Landau Rift is home to the Enif. They are autochthonous. You are not.”
“I … I …” I swallowed, unable to get the words out.
Didjal and Eshaan chattered together, their fingers drumming against the other’s arm. They did not tell us what their conclusion was.
“I am going for a swim.” Zenzara was still looking happily out of the hatch. “We have time, don’t we?”
“We do not.” Oznard’s tone was icy. “I am not staying overnight in this small shuttle. None of us would sleep! We shall return to the Nivala.”
“No swim?” Zenzie sounded disappointed.
“Certainly not. Out of the question.”
One small crest drooped.
“You can have a quick dip,” I told her, prepared to do battle with the Supreme over this. “Just in and out. Tomorrow you can do more.”
“Thank you, Mallivan!” She tore off most of her clothes and let herself down hand over hand down the ladder. A couple of seconds later she was swimming in the stunningly-colored water, laughing and diving and dipping and splashing.
“You are not the leading rank on this ship,” the Supreme told me icily. “That would be me.”
I shrugged. “You gave us the Nivala, and this shuttle is part of her. I make the decisions on board. You make the decisions outside.”
Her crest was super spiky. Even being a Supreme didn’t make you immune to anger, then.
Denaraz stepped in front of me, throwing me a warning look as he did so. “Supreme, may I escort you to your seat? I am sure this delay will be … minimal, won’t it, err … Captain Mallivan?”
Used to hearing everyone call me Ryler or Rye, the honorific caused me to blink. Captain. Even on the Faraday I had never thought of myself as a captain. It sounded so strange to my ears.
Denaraz was still looking fixedly at me. Telling me to pick my battles. And he was right. Of course he was. It wasn’t my job to be deciding whether the Spacelanders were considered an independent race or not. That was for people way, way above my pay grade.
I nodded. “Of course. If you would all take your seats, I will effect the necessary checks before takeoff. By the time I have done that all the crew members will be on board.” I hoped. Zenzie was still splashing around in seventh heaven down there.
Seyal ushered me towards the bows. “They will be, Captain.”
I gave her a smile and went forwards to take my place in the pilot’s seat. Time to mend bridges then. Only, I didn’t feel at all like mending anything. I felt like tearing the Supreme into little pieces and feeding her to the Vaers. Perhaps I needed the evening to cool down. I was pretty sure Captains weren’t supposed to do that sort of thing.
There was a studious effort on behalf of all those on board not to discuss the topic any further. We more or less ignored each other all that evening. I retrenched to my cabin and refused to join the others. It was a cowardly way out of the discomfort, but I guess I wasn’t the first captain to take that way out. I pleaded paperwork and disappeared.
“What are you going to say tomorrow?”
I almost jumped out of my skin. “Shells, Zenzie! When did you sneak in?”
She looked pleased with herself. “You were concentrating on that schematic.”
“Please knock first!”
“I did. You didn’t answer, and I was worried about you.”
I thought that was unlikely. Still, I did know that when Zenzara wanted something she would chip away at it until she got it. It would be easier to give in.
“How can I help you?”
She gave me a broad smile and sat down on my bunk bed, on the other side of the cabin. “What are you going to say tomorrow?” she repeated.
“How should I know? It isn’t really my business, is it?”
She made a disapproving face. “Of course it is. How could it not be?”
“I’m not a politician.”
“Thank fitz! I don’t like politicians.”
“Well, then. What do you expect me to do?”
“I expect you to fight for your people. You can’t let the rest of the Spacelanders down.”
“Better people than me will deal with this.”
She shook her head. “No they won’t, because this will all be decided tomorrow and by the time the high-ups in the Space Trust get to hear about it, it will be too late to change anything. You have to argue the Spacelander case tomorrow.”
“Me? Why me?” I thought for a moment, picking and discarding possibilities. “Mel knows more about the law. She would be the better person to do it.”
She gave me a pitying look. “You can’t foist this one onto Mel.”
“I don’t foist things on people.”
“Yes, you do. But you mustn’t, not this time.”
“How come you know so much better than me?”
“Because I have been thinking about things while you have been staring blankly at stupid schematics, that’s why.”
“You are a rude little brat, you know that?”
She giggled. “I know. But, Mallivan, will you take my advice about this?”
“Oh, all right. I suppose I can get Sammy and Mel in here. And, yes, I will try to put a case tomorrow. Now, do you mind leaving me in peace?”
She skipped out of the door. “Of course. Thank you, Captain!”
I growled as the door shut behind her. I had no idea what case I could put the following day. This was going to mean a sleepless night. I bet our future Chyzar would curl up and sleep like a log. I’m pretty sure I growled again.
I hadn’t been wrong. It had indeed taken three-quarters of the night to find an argument that might win this debate. Mel, Sammy and I had called in Neema, who had insisted in dragging Anzany into the whole question. Between Mel, Neema and Anzany we had quite a good picture of the history of the Spacelanders. Even so, it took us six hours to wheedle it all down into something even half-way convincing. That left us with two hours of sleep each.
I can truthfully say that I was not at my best when Zenzie sprang into my cabin the following morning, carrying some juice for me. Her bright and cheery face was extremely irritating. I glowered at it.
“This is all your fault,” I told her.
“Thank you!” She beamed at me. “I do my best.” She did a small twirl on the spot. “Of course, you are getting on a bit. I expect you get tired easily.”
“What? I am not old. I’m only twenty-eight!”
She nodded. “I know. I’m eight.”
There was a long silence as I tried to think of a comeback and couldn’t. So I drank the juice and expelled her from the cabin. I needed to shave and get dressed. The morning was not set to be easy.
The first cloud on the horizon was Supreme Oznard, with a depressed Denaraz trailing after her. He raised his eyes at me, something she luckily couldn’t see.
I read the warning in his
gesture. I bowed. “Supreme. I hope you rested well?”
“Why should you care how I rested?”
It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “Do you require anything, Supreme? Can I get you something to eat or to drink?”
“You cannot. I am perfectly well, thank you. I have decided that you and all your group will stay on board Nivala today.”
“I am sure you have.” She looked at me sharply, causing me to rectify. “That is, I am sure you would prefer to go down to the surface alone. Unfortunately I cannot allow it. It would put you in danger.”
“Danger!” she scoffed. “What possible danger could I be in from the Macers? They are the most honorable and most pacific race in the Great Shells!”
I made my expression bland. “Even so, it would not be protocol to send you down alone.”
“I am a member of the Supreme Council. I make my own protocol.”
“I am sure, on Tyzar, you do. Unfortunately I am not Tyzaran, so it is not my Supreme Council. On this ship you cannot give the orders.”
“I provided you with this ship!” Her crest was standing on end, despite her efforts to control it. “You will do as I say!”
“I’m afraid I won’t. I remain the captain of Nivala, and I give the orders.”
Her face smoothed out completely. It was one of the most menacing things I have ever seen. “You will do as I say!” The last word was hissed through her teeth.
“My whole group will accompany down to the surface of the planet, or no-one will go. Is that clear enough for you?”
Denaraz winced and took two steps back.
Oznard’s face went taut then slack then taut again. “I see. You intend to take no notice of Tyzar.”
I shook my head. “On the contrary. I intend to take very careful note of Tyzar, and of all the Supreme Council says or does. However, I will not sit back while you eliminate the Spacelanders from an interstellar alliance. I would be a poor sort of patriot if I did.”
Termination Shock Page 19
