What’s impossible? Tolkut hated it when his officers failed to express themselves clearly. Submit a proper report!
That... the ship! It... is repairing itself! The impact of the rail gun hits... The holes... They’re growing back together!
Then shoot it with the torpedoes! Some nuclear explosions should break it into little pieces. Then I’d like to see it repair itself!
At that moment there was a violent jerk that went through the Bud, knocking some of the Mendraki off their six legs. Kimikizu also fell to the ground, but was able to get up again immediately. The lights on the bridge flickered briefly and then went out. It was pitch dark for a moment until the emergency lights came on, and the bridge was bathed in a dim, red light.
The energy control center’s been hit, the message came. Reactor three failed. Containment holding for now!
Tolkut knew that if the containment around the fusion plasma collapsed, they would all be doomed. The spreading plasma cloud could transform the Bud into a gigantic fireball.
The Iks’ small ship was more dangerous than its size suggested. It was time to bring it to a fiery end.
Fire from all torpedo launchers! Maximum rate of fire with everything we’ve got! he ordered. Continue avoidance maneuvers! We can’t take any more hits.
“Let me talk to him!” Kimikizu suddenly demanded. “If he knows I’m on board, he’ll stop the attack.”
Tolkut turned to the Techweaver. Can we do that?
I can enter and emit the airwaves that the vibration transducer picks up, or rather the signal sequence obtained from them, directly into the radio system without sending them through the actual transducer for translation. They should be able to receive this on the other ship.
Then do it!
Tolkut turned to the Iks again. Kimikizu, stop him before he dies, or you die along with us when he hits the bridge here!
Then he turned to the officers who already had their feet on the firing controls. Hold the torpedoes back, he ordered.
“Norok, this is Kimi,” said the Iks. Tolkut listened to what she was sending over the line. “You have to stop the attack, do you hear me? Don’t shoot anymore! I know you used the nanos to fix the flying machine, but in the long term it won’t be able to sustain concentrated fire from this ship. Furthermore, the Mendraki, as these creatures call themselves, are not hostile to us—at least not those aboard this ship! I don’t want you to die, Norok! The... The thought is almost unbearable to me. So now you know that I care about you! Listen to me! Please! The Mendraki on this ship saved me, and they’re ready to work with us!”
The enemy ship is turning, the scout reported. It seems to be taking a parallel course. And it’s not shooting at us anymore!
I’m getting alien radio signals I can’t decipher, announced the radio drummer.
Stop firing, Tolkut ordered immediately. Techweaver, he continued, can you feed these radio signals into the vibration transducer so both we and Kimikizu can understand them?
It shouldn’t be a problem!
Just a moment later, Tolkut’s thread vibrated, and Kimikizu could simultaneously hear the airwaves generated by the vibration transducer.
“Kimi? You can’t believe how happy I am that you’re alive! Then it was you who sent the tassel jay warning call? I thought you were dead!”
“But you didn’t listen to it, Norok! You should have stayed away, not attacked!”
“I wanted to avenge me... us... our fallen friends. I wanted to avenge you! How were you able to survive in the gas planet’s deadly atmosphere?”
“I wouldn’t have survived without the Mendraki on this ship. They belong to a group that wants to reach a compromise with us. They were the ones standing between us and the ship attacking our flying machine. They were trying to protect us!”
For a moment there were no signals on the radio bridge, and Tolkut was afraid that they had lost contact—or that the Iks had doubted Kimikizu’s words. But then the thread vibrated again.
“Except you and me, everyone else is dead! The ship was badly damaged, but I remembered what you said about the nanos. Kimi, it works! They could not only repair the ship, but to a certain extent, they can even fix new damage.”
“What a great idea, Norok! Like I said, I’m so happy that you’re still alive!”
“Kimi, I was also seriously... seriously injured!”
“What... what do you mean by that?”
“Your idea of using the nanos with us Iks—it saved me, too.”
“Oh, Norok, what have you done?”
“I had no choice, and now I’m afraid that I’m no longer the Norok you knew. I don’t know what the nanos did to me!”
Tolkut had no idea what the two were talking about, but he suspected it was some mysterious technology that could repair a badly damaged ship. And apparently an Iks too! But one look at Kimikizu showed him that she seemed shocked, as far as he was able to interpret her alien body language.
“Norok, as long as your mind is still the old one, you’ll still be the Norok I know. We’ll have to see about everything else!”
“What do we do now?”
“That will depend on what the different factions of the Mendraki decide. And it seems to me that they don’t really know that right now.”
Kimikizu had barely spoken when the remote scout interrupted the conversation.
Kasfok’s ship and those of his followers are on the move, he reported. Two of the previously neutral ships have joined them.
Are they heading toward us? Do you want to attack us? Tolkut asked.
That isn’t what it looks like. They’re headed for the location of the asteroid ship, which is approaching the orbit of the third planet, and is going to pass close by it.
Kimikizu and Norok had been able to follow the message because the Techweaver had passed everything through the vibration transducer.
The young Iks gave Tolkut a look that he could only interpret as hopeful. Her next vibrations confirmed his guess.
“Now Norok and I at least know where we stand with your Netmaster. But what about you? Will you continue to help us? Protect us? Will you help us defend our home?”
Tolkut knew that any decision he now made would drastically change the future of the Mendraki. Could he just stand by idly and watch the attack? Could he just sit back as hatred and a penchant for violence continued to drive the Mendraki to war and annihilation?
Or was it necessary to break, once and for all, this cycle of violence that had already cost them their home planet? And was he really the one whose shoulders bore the ultimate responsibility? If they were to intervene on behalf of the Iks, it would mean shooting at other Mendraki. At the last of the Mendraki who remained! Could he actually be responsible for this? Would this make him not only a traitor to his species, but the very one to dig its grave?
Then Tolkut came to a decision. He couldn’t have said whether it was logical and rational, but he instinctively knew it was the right one.
Inform our allied Shipmasters and also the rest of the neutral ships. Report our discoveries to them and tell them that we will rush to help the Iks. We welcome everyone among us who wants to give us their support!
55th of Frien, 298
The cockpit had fallen silent. When he’d left the atmosphere of the gas giant, a vacuum had replaced the mixture of hydrogen and helium, so now there was no more noise. But the engines' vibrations in his back were also now gone since the flying machine was floating unpowered next to the aliens’ huge, cylindrical ship.
Norok knew it was time to say goodbye. The flying machine had fought bravely, but even against this one alien ship, the chances had been slim. In the face of several opponents, the nanomachines wouldn’t be able to work fast enough. So he had to leave the machine behind. It was difficult for him because he felt like he was betraying his crew. They’d been killed here on board, slaughtered by shots from the creatures whose ship he would soon board. But Kimikizu was there, and that was what made it easier for
him to say goodbye, what made it possible in the first place. The young Navigator had somehow managed to survive the gas giant’s atmosphere, facilitate communication with the enemy, and send him a message.
He had to find out how she’d pulled it off. He owed that to the Iks. Norok rubbed his beak with his right wing. No, he was lying to himself. It wasn’t about the Iks at all. He wanted to see Kimi again. Not Kimi the Navigator, but Kimi the possible nesting partner. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she was just what he had always imagined a partner to be—brave, open, imaginative. They’d build a nest together. If that’s what she wants, he said to himself, growing unsure. What would she do with an older guy like himself who couldn’t even take care of his crew? Wouldn’t all the young Iks be wooing her after she returned?
But that was just a possible future, and not even a very likely one at the moment. The generation ship was in danger. Maybe he could increase his species’ chances of survival. For that he’d have to leave the cockpit and board the alien spaceship where Kimi was waiting for him.
He switched the ship controls to automatic. From now on the flying machine would be following the alien ship. He unfastened the seatbelt and got up. Norok was about to float into space through the fissure when something hit his abdomen. He’d forgotten about the gun. He no longer needed it. So he released it from the belt and left it behind. Then he pushed himself off and floated out of the wide gap in the cockpit.
Kimi had told him the aliens would open up the closest possible airlock. Norok looked at the strange ship. It rotated so that he had to continually adjust his trajectory. There was no elegance to its exterior. It seemed to have been constructed only according to the principle of efficiency. It was a tube measuring several wingspans in length, with all kinds of attachments that could be subdivided into weapons and sensors, and it wasn’t always possible to tell the difference between the two.
The aliens’ magnetic cannons looked very similar to those of the Iks. But there were also optical weapons, which he recognized from the mirroring, and tubes from which the aliens could launch a kind of harpoon that had its own driver. He only knew these two types of weapons from history books. They were impractical for the small, elegant flying machines, because they required too much energy or too much space.
The sheer number of weapons carriers on the hull of the alien spaceship told him that the aliens were accustomed to violent clashes. The Iks had only waged various civil wars, which had been enough to bring their civilization to the brink of extinction. They had never encountered aliens—there were even eminent Knowledge Guardians who believed that, since they’d never come across alien life forms, the Iks were the only ones in the entire universe. Why were they fated to encounter each other in this system, of all places, which could have been a perfect home?
“Kimi to Norok.”
He suddenly felt warm. “Norok here,” he replied.
“Do you see the open hatch? Roughly in the direction of the spring?”
Spring was an old Iks word for south. It had been a long time since he’d heard it. It came from the time when his species had still followed the seasons. He focused on his magnetic sense. Strong magnetic field lines surrounded the gas giant. Norok turned his head in the direction of the south pole and noticed the rectangular black spot in the black-green outer hull of the alien ship.
“Affirmative,” he said.
Out of habit he angled his wings, even though this had no practical purpose in a vacuum. He aligned the suit’s nozzles and made a sweeping turn. As he approached, he noticed that the room on the other side of the hatch was lit up and that someone was standing inside. It was not an alien—Kimi was waiting for him, keeping her head lowered.
Norok started to dock. He clenched the bottom of the hatch with his toes and let the remaining momentum carry him into the airlock. At the same moment, he felt someone was holding onto him. He turned around. Kimi was holding onto his suit. Then he noticed the gravity. It was a good thing she had reacted so quickly, because otherwise he would have fallen. The gravitation worked outward and must have been caused by the ship’s rotation. It reassured him that the aliens couldn’t regulate gravity by any more advanced method than the Iks did.
“I’m happy to see you,” he heard over the radio device in his breathing mask.
“I’m happy, too.”
“Wait. I’m closing the hatch.” With her beak, Kimikizu pressed against a protrusion in the back wall that he wouldn’t have recognized as a switch, and the hatch slowly closed. Atmosphere was blown automatically into the airlock. He recognized it from the wisps of fog that poured in from the ceiling and floor.
“Is the air breathable?”
By way of reply, Kimi simply took off her breathing mask.
Noises were reaching him slowly. Norok gave a little kick of his foot and the echo was quiet, meaning the pressure was relatively low. He imitated Kimi and sucked the air into his lungs. It smelled strange, but it was a good feeling to breathe again without a mask.
“You can take the suit off now,” Kimi said.
He looked at her doubtfully. He’d feel weaker if he didn’t have the suit with its power boosters.
“Don’t worry, we’re among friends,” said the Navigator. “And the corridors have low ceilings, so the suit just gets in the way.”
He nodded and started to slip out of his armor. It was a strange feeling, because Kimi was undressing right there next to him. He had to remember that there were probably a lot of alien eyes watching them. Norok swallowed. “What are we going to do with the suit?” he asked.
“Just leave it,” Kimi said. She stepped directly in front of him.
Norok felt a strong attraction. He had to do something about it. He certainly couldn’t...
Then Kimi wrapped her wings around him. They hugged, and it felt right. “Thank you for coming,” she said.
Norok was glad when the inner door opened, since he couldn’t find the right words. Kimi put a wing protectively over his shoulders. He understood the gesture when he saw the first alien in front of him. It was profoundly ugly. The stocky, black body was only as tall as an Iks’ waist, had eight segmented legs, and peered at him from multiple compound eyes. Its head had a pronounced jaw and moved back and forth quickly, and its front legs also changed their position. A cold shiver ran down his spine. It was a good thing he’d left the gun in the flying machine, because otherwise he would have instinctively drawn it. The pressure from Kimi’s wing increased, probably intending to calm him down. Was his agitation so obvious?
“I’d wanted to warn you,” she said at ordinary volume.
He looked at her questioningly.
“They can’t hear us,” she said. “The Mendraki communicate through vibrations. And, as you can see, through dances. This one here is Tolkut, and he’s greeting us. He’s the Supreme Mother of this ship.”
“He?”
“Yes, I believe I’ve only met male specimens so far,” said Kimi.
“And how do you speak to them?”
“They designed a device that translates between vibrations and sound. It’s on the bridge.”
The Mendrak before them made a few movements, which Norok interpreted as an invitation, and then started to scuttle into the right corridor. He noticed the synchronized movement of its eight legs and shivered again with disgust. Once, he’d seen an animal that looked like a Mendrak in a documentary about the home world’s oceans. But where did this come from, the strong sense of revulsion he had when first seeing a Mendrak? He had to fight his body’s uncivilized reaction. The Mendraki were an apparently intelligent and sentient species —just different from his own.
“Let’s follow him,” Kimi said.
He nodded and let her go first. Before entering the corridor, he looked wistfully at the suit that had protected him from certain death so many times. Without it, he suddenly felt naked.
“Don’t worry, we’re safe here,” said Kimi, who must have noticed him looking back at the suit.
<
br /> Norok nodded.
With his eight legs, Tolkut was significantly faster than they were. The Mendrak paused now and then, turned his head toward them, and shuffled back and forth on his feet. Was he impatient, annoyed, or polite? Norok was unsuccessful in trying to come up with some interpretation. They would have plenty of time to understand the Mendrak properly if they managed to become friends.
It was a long way to the bridge. The corridors they passed through got gradually taller, and the gravity became somewhat weaker. Norok realized just how big the ship really was. How would the generational spaceship be able to handle 20 ships of this size? He could tell they were approaching their destination because they were coming across more and more aliens, who always pressed themselves respectfully against the wall and lowered their heads. This was probably because of Tolkut. What was especially strange was that this all happened without a word. The only sound was the pounding of many feet on the metallic floor.
Then Tolkut suddenly stopped, apparently waiting for something. A rather large door opened, and Norok felt a surge of warm air. The space beyond the door was considerably larger than anything he’d seen on the ship so far. It had several spiraled levels that were connected by ramps and thick ropes. Norok heard a humming sound that seemed to come from all the technical devices distributed around the railings.
Countless feet clacked on the metal floor only served to accentuate the lack of shouts and conversations that he would normally expect to hear resounding throughout such a bustling area. This general silence conveyed a ghostly atmosphere, which was in no way mitigated by the fact that he knew how the Mendraki communicated. Would he ever get used to it?
Tolkut led them up a ramp, where they stopped in front of something with a membrane that led Norok to believe it might be a communications instrument. “Is that your translator?”
The answer came not from Kimi but from the device.
Helium 3: Fight for the Future Page 21
