by S. H. Jucha
“If you’ll follow me, Envoy?” the administrator requested. “I’ll provide you accommodations until Mangoth arrives.”
Below deck, comm units were in hand to record the glyphs that accessed the third level and their room.
“Better to have too many records than not enough,” Devon quipped, hefting his comm unit.
“As explorers, I doubt you need my instructions on your room,” the administrator said.
“No, we don’t, but I’ve some questions,” Harbour said, as other Crocians deposited their duffels in the room.
“I’m at your service, Envoy,” the administrator replied. “I’m Hangor of the Logar. I’m clutch mate to Mangoth, and I find our meeting auspicious.”
“Why is that?” Harbour asked.
“Mangoth tells me that there’s the possibility of another exploration. If so, I wish to take part in your adventure,” Hangor replied.
“It’s not an adventure,” Jessie growled. “We lost a good man last time.”
“I lament your loss,” Hangor riposted, “but I need to accompany you.”
“Why do you have to go?” Aurelia asked.
“Mangoth was the first of the clutch to hatch. First males often grow to be the largest, the most dominant. Now Mangoth is a successful environmental engineer. I was second to last to break out of my egg, which is why I’m smaller. Our race values robustness. This is why I’m a dome administrator, who occupies a boring technical position. But what I lack in stature I make up for here,” he said, tapping the side of his formidable head with the blunt dark claw of a scaly hand.
“And another thing,” Hangor continued. “Mangoth celebrates your traits of strength and courage, but those weren’t what enabled your return. Across the alliance, console operators celebrate Aurelia Garmenti of the Pyreans. Hers is the image that we hoist above our heads.”
Aurelia’s mouth briefly hung open before she shut it. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Fortunately, Harbour picked up the conversation.
“Where in the alliance membership timeline do the Crocians fit?” Harbour asked.
“We’re near the middle,” Hangor replied. “The alliance was well-established and the Tsargit had been formed when we were invited to join.”
“Do the Crocians have a representative on the Tsargit?” Jessie asked.
“We do now, but it was many generations before we were offered a seat,” Hangor answered.
“What do Crocians think of the Tsargit?” Aurelia asked.
Hangor snorted. “Our representatives last two or three annuals before they resign. They’ve no patience for the endless debate of the premier races … the ones who formed the alliance and initiated the Tsargit.”
“We’ve met the Tsargit’s emissaries,” Devon offered.
“Veklocks … it’s always the Veklocks,” Hangor said. His chest rumbled, and it wasn’t a pleasant sound.
“Thank you for your time, Hangor,” Harbour said.
Hangor accepted the dismissal with aplomb. “I’m pleased to have been of service, Envoy Harbour,” he said. “Please make any requests you desire. It will be provided.”
Hangor pivoted on his short, stout legs toward Aurelia. “If you’d care to visit with my console operators and share your thoughts on the Messinants, they and I would be honored.” He tipped his long snout to Harbour and left.
“Admired by the entire core of alliance console operators,” Devon teased, while regarding Aurelia. “I wonder how many individuals we’re talking about.”
That Aurelia didn’t reply to Devon told the others how much Hangor’s comments had left her awestruck.
“Personally, I think that it’s admiration that’s well deserved,” Harbour said, smiling at Aurelia.
“Hangor has a good point,” Devon said. “If we take only one team, we need a good balance between brains and brawn. Hangor could be an asset.”
“And how do you see yourself?” Aurelia asked, finally finding her tongue.
“Why, Aurelia Garmenti of the Pyreans, I’m both,” Devon replied, exaggerating a huge grin and striking a bold posture. His antics broke the group into laughter, and they busied themselves making paste meals.
Afterwards, Aurelia and Devon decided to visit with the Crocian console operators.
Hangor was present to facilitate the discussion and lend a hand to operators when they were distracted by an exchange with the Pyreans.
After several questions, Aurelia waved her hands, interrupting the next one. “You’re asking the wrong questions,” she told the operators. “You’re exalting the Messinants.”
“Shouldn’t we?” an operator asked.
“Maybe you should, and maybe you shouldn’t,” Aurelia replied, which only confused her audience.
“We’ve come to think of the Messinants as incredible engineers and, at the same time, a bunch of meddlers,” Devon explained. “They chose to augment species in a lengthy series of experiments, but they chose not to monitor the outcome. That’s why the Colony exists.”
“Regarding the consoles,” Aurelia said, redirecting the conversation. “Think of the Messinants as structural engineers. If you were constructing domes and consoles, what tools would you need?”
“Suppose you were launching a new comm satellite into orbit,” Devon said, picking up the conversation. “You’d need to establish contact with it and exchange information with it. We think many of the console’s mysteries are really the needs of the Messinants engineers, who had to integrate a new dome into an existing network.”
“We believe that each console has the capability to monitor the activity of any other console,” Aurelia added.
“If what you’re saying is truth, Aurelia Garmenti of the Pyreans,” an operator said, “then these capabilities would be most useful while a dome was new and empty.”
“Yes,” Aurelia replied excitedly, smacking the Crocian’s massive scaled shoulder. The look in the Crocian’s eyes was as if he’d been anointed.
Hangor was silent. He realized the tremendous advantage the explorers received by experimenting with the consoles of empty domes, and he yearned to do the same.
The Pyreans retired and slept for a third of the Crocian cycle. When they woke, they used the room’s facilities, ate a paste meal, and strolled to the upper deck. They found Mangoth conversing with his clutch mate.
Mangoth’s ear wig received the broadcasts of four medallions. He turned and roared with gusto. “Envoy, explorers, and the most magnificent Advisor Cinders.”
The races that customarily journeyed through the Crocian dome were accustomed to the roars of the home world race. However, they were startled by the intensity of Mangoth’s greeting of the pale humanoids, and they halted to listen to the whispers of medallions.
Mangoth waddled his immense bulk to meet the Pyreans. He tipped his snout, which displayed rows of blunt conical teeth, to Harbour, Aurelia, and Devon.
Jessie tightened his upper body’s muscles in preparation for what he knew was coming.
Mangoth clapped his meaty scaled hands on the sides of Jessie’s shoulders.
“Do we journey again, Jessie?” Mangoth asked.
“It’s possible,” Jessie allowed.
“Yes,” Mangoth hissed. The sound was extended due to the length of his snout and tongue. Then he clapped Jessie’s shoulders again.
“Hangor has told me of the birds’ visit, but he could provide no details of the exchange. I would hear this,” Mangoth said and gestured toward the dome’s ramp.
The Pyreans noticed that Hangor followed, and Mangoth didn’t object.
-8-
Weapons
The Pyreans and the Crocians returned to the room that Harbour and her team had used, and everyone settled in for a discussion.
“Start at the beginning of your contact,” Mangoth requested. “Every detail is important.”
Harbour indicated Aurelia and Devon should go first. The pair described the Veklocks’ arrival with the Jatouche. When they relat
ed their demonstration to the triumvirate, Hangor hung on every word.
“Is this a characteristic of the console that you intimated was a builder’s tool?” Hangor asked Aurelia and Devon.
“Possibly,” Aurelia replied. “It certainly can only be done in a dome that isn’t occupied by a mass of journeyers.”
“But you did accomplish this with merely the sounds of their voices?” Hangor pursued.
“We weren’t sure whether the console used visuals or sounds,” Devon replied. “A second test proved that voice alone completed the query.”
Hangor ruminated on that. “No race has recorded seeing the Messinants. It makes sense that the console programming wouldn’t depend on visuals alone,” he reasoned. “The Messinants might have kept a record of their uplifts by observing which races accessed their domes, recording both vid and audio of them.”
“That’s possible,” Aurelia allowed.
Harbour noticed a gleam in Mangoth’s eyes, as he listened to his sibling, and she could detect his pride.
“Your turns,” Devon said to the other pair.
Jessie and Harbour detailed the short conversation with the Veklocks at the Triton dome and the longer discussion at Rissness Station.
Mangoth’s deep rumble was accompanied by Hangor’s only slightly higher one.
“The birds have met their match,” Mangoth said.
“Will the requests that we made to the triumvirate be communicated in their entirety?” Harbour asked.
“Yes, you can depend on the Veklocks. They’re true emissaries of the Tsargit,” Mangoth replied.
“The primary reason the Tsargit prefers to use Veklocks is the species habit of mating in threes,” Hangor explained. “It allows a greater balance of judgment in negotiations than one or two individuals and serves to deliver a more accurate report.”
“So, our requests for infrastructure support are a given, if we explore the domes for the Tsargit and educate them on Aurelia and Devon’s findings,” Jessie said. “Let’s discuss the final two items we put on the table.”
“The Tsargit has the power to find a way to get Tacticnok approved access to Triton,” Mangoth said. “The Tsargit sent the Veklocks. That shows their commitment. They will solve the issue, but the Jatouche might not accept the solution until Triton infrastructure is completed.”
“What about the weapons?” Devon asked.
“The Veklocks did say they would investigate the races to see who might have something from their heritages,” Harbour pointed out.
“That won’t happen,” Mangoth said definitively.
“Agreed,” Hangor added. “The triumvirate will make polite inquiries, and they’ll report to the Tsargit that they were unable to fulfill your extraordinary request. They know they can’t tell the Tsargit that they’ve provided you with weapons.”
“Well, we’re not exploring the domes and coming face-to-face with the Colony without better weapons than we took the first time,” Devon declared. He eyed each Pyrean, challenging them with his gaze to disagree with him.
Mangoth and Hangor spoke rapidly to each other, mentioning names of races that the Pyreans had never heard.
“It might be best to solve this problem yourselves,” Mangoth offered, when Hangor and he finished their discussion. “First, it might be helpful to discuss who’ll be exploring.”
“Jessie and I believe it should be one team,” Harbour said. “No greater than the number of members with their equipment that can easily fit on a platform.”
“Efficient,” Mangoth said, nodding his approval. “We must have room to maneuver, and we mustn’t be concerned for the needs of a second team.”
“How many Pyreans will journey?” Hangor asked anxiously. He was concerned that the slots might be filled.
“At this moment, only the four of us know the details of the Veklock agreement and are considering going,” Harbour replied.
“Then there would be room for Mangoth and me,” Hangor suggested sincerely.
The Pyreans regarded Mangoth, who felt compelled to answer for his sibling and himself.
“Hangor isn’t as magnificent as me,” Mangoth said, opening his massive jaw, as proof of his statement, “but Hangor is clever, and he is a Crocian. We will go.”
The Pyreans could feel in their chests the deep subsonic vibrations produced by the contented Crocians, and Harbour could sense the other Pyreans’ relief. They’d wanted Mangoth, and they were more than happy to get two Crocians.
“Will the Jatouche accompany us?” Hangor asked.
“I hope not,” Harbour said.
“It would be better if none did,” Mangoth agreed, “but Jaktook might not be dissuaded. That one has the spirit of a Crocian.”
“Have you considered making weapons?” Hangor asked.
“That’s been on my mind ever since we returned from our explorations,” Devon said. “The fundamental problem is one of repeated firing.”
“Exactly,” Jessie added. “We could make all kinds of deadly throwing weapons, but that’s not enough. We need something that will last throughout our journey, but we don’t know how long that will take. The weapons have to be light enough to wield and have enough power to knock down a red with one shot.”
“A formidable set of requirements,” Mangoth admitted.
“What about the new simian race?” Hangor asked his clutch mate.
Mangoth rumbled a rebuke to his sibling.
“What new race?” Jessie demanded.
“They’re a non-alliance race. They’ve yet to learn their console’s operation,” Mangoth replied. “Alliance members aren’t allowed to journey there now that the race has gained their dome.”
“We’re not alliance members,” Harbour replied.
“Regardless, the Norsitchians will forbid you to journey there,” Mangoth stated.
“And how will they manage to do that?” Aurelia declared defiantly.
“They aren’t alliance members, Mangoth,” Hangor said, emphasizing Harbour’s point. “The Norsitchians can object, but they don’t have legitimate grounds to make a complaint to the Tsargit, and if they tried, the Tsargit wouldn’t heed them.”
“The brightest one of the clutch,” Mangoth rumbled, indicating Hangor with a dark claw.
“I want to know why we’re talking about this race,” Devon inquired. “What do the Norsitchians know about them?”
“When the Norsitchians learned to operate their console, they tested their platforms,” Mangoth explained. “One of their gates led to an empty dome. It was situated on a moon that orbited a densely green planet. They set up scopes and recorded the extensive fauna population.”
Hangor grew impatient with his sibling’s long-winded explanation and chose to interrupt. “The Norsitchians saw a simian race. They possessed rudimentary technology. They walked upright and carried weapons strung across their backs. Their scopes revealed that the planet is populated with numerous aggressive carnivores.”
“What do these weapons fire?” Jessie asked.
“That’s not known,” Hangor replied.
“Do the simians still carry them?” Devon asked.
“That’s unknown too,” Hangor offered with an apologetic shrug.
“A non-alliance race we shouldn’t visit. A race that might have weapons, which fire something unknown. And a race who’ll speak a language we won’t understand. Is that an accurate summary?” Jessie asked.
Mangoth and Hangor briefly glanced at each other. Then they turned to Jessie and tipped their snouts up and down.
“Good to know what we’re up against,” Harbour remarked with a wry smile. Addressing the Crocians, she said, “You two remain here.” Then she headed out of the room, and the other Pyreans hurried to follow.
“Envoy,” Hangor called out, “you’ll know when you reach the Norsitchians’ dome. Look for the flowing headpieces.”
“What’s the plan, Harbour?” Devon asked, as they made their way to the platform deck.
�
��We go see the simians and try to get some weapons,” Harbour replied.
“We can’t communicate with them,” Aurelia objected, “and we can’t buy them even if we did know the language.”
“We don’t need to talk, and we don’t need to purchase,” Harbour said. “Not as long as I’ve got you two,” she added, laying a hand on Jessie and Aurelia’s shoulders.
Jessie laughed. “We pantomime, and we trade.”
“Trade what?” Devon asked.
Aurelia found Harbour and Jessie staring at her. She grinned, when she caught on. “We trade knowledge of console operations for weapons,” she said.
“Oh, we’re going to break a lot of alliance rules,” Devon commented. It sounded dire, but he was chuckling.
The group gained the upper deck. Aurelia hurried to the console and requested the Norsitchian dome. The operator directed her to the appropriate platform, and journeyers stepped aside on hearing the medallions’ messages.
As Harbour signaled the operator, Devon asked, “What do you plan to say to the Norsitchians?”
Before Harbour could answer Devon, the Messinants energy connected the Q-gates, and they disappeared from the Crocian dome.
At successive domes, Harbour requested the Norsitchian dome.
After one journey, Aurelia remarked, “I believe we’re here.”
The Pyreans noticed the console operators had manes of hair that flowed from the top of their heads in a long cascade down their backs.
“Great looking, but not too practical,” Jessie commented.
“They’re all female,” Harbour added. She’d noticed that their tight uniforms emphasized a double row of breasts.
Devon received the answer to his question about what Harbour intended to say to the hosts.
A Norsitchian responded to the medallions’ messages. As she approached the group’s platform, Harbour stepped off and headed for the only platform that wasn’t in use.
The Norsitchian attempted to wave the humans off, but she was loath to interfere with individuals who were announced as explorers. It occurred to her that this was the beginning of another exploration. She acquiesced and returned to supervise the console operators.
