Veklocks

by S. H. Jucha

  After a round of greetings, Mangoth roared, “We journey!”

  Most of the explorers’ day was spent passing from dome to dome. When they made the Sylian moon, they were greeted by Shevena and offered rooms on the third level.

  The foursome accepted. After a meal, they chatted about the Triton projects and what they might find when they queried the empty dome. Then they retired for the evening.

  Refreshed and fed the next morning, the explorers gathered on the deck. They found Solseena and her Tsargit committee waiting for them. Tacticnok and Jaktook’s subtle plan had worked.

  “Do you journey far, explorers?” Solseena asked, after she’d introduced her committee members.

  “One dome,” Aurelia replied.

  “Yet, you come armed,” a member, whose face continuously shifted hues, noted.

  “You’re welcome to make the journey into non-alliance territory alone. Then you can return and tell us it’s safe,” Devon offered casually.

  “Your words are impertinent, but your point is valid,” the alien replied.

  “It’s not impertinence if our lives are at stake,” Aurelia declared. She felt her power coiling and sought to gain control.

  “I warned all of you,” Solseena said sternly to her committee members. “Don’t expect to be honored because you serve the Tsargit. Humans don’t know our ways. Most important, don’t annoy an empath. You won’t enjoy the resulting experience.”

  Solseena turned back to Aurelia, and she winked — long white lashes closed over a brilliant blue eye.

  Aurelia kept a straight face and stared hard at the committee members, while Jaktook chittered and Mangoth rumbled.

  However, Devon scowled and wished he was a powerful empath. Then again, he thought, maybe it’s better that I’m not.

  “To business,” Solseena said. “If you make a single journey, we’ll accompany you.”

  “Why?” Jaktook asked.

  Another committee member thought to tell Jaktook that he had no right to question the committee. However, he thought better of it after the repetition of Solseena’s warning.

  “We wish to witness your prowess with the console,” Solseena said.

  Aurelia started to object, but Solseena interrupted. “We’ll abide by the agreement made in the council’s presence,” she said. “If you wish, you may block our view of the console, while you explain what you’re doing.”

  “We’re journeying to investigate the Colony’s expansion after our second encounter, nothing more,” Devon pointed out.

  “We’re content with that,” Solseena said.

  Devon didn’t think that was true. His glance at Aurelia said she didn’t think so either. Then he grinned at Solseena, who appeared unaware of what had just transpired between the humans.

  Aurelia turned toward Shevena, who’d stood to the side, and said, “We journey.”

  Shevena hurried to the console for the privilege of sending a Tsargit committee and, most of all, the explorers.

  Solseena signaled the members to wait, while the explorers went first.

  Mangoth unlimbered his launcher, withdrew a drum full of darts, and connected it to his launcher. Then he climbed on the platform and assumed a prone position. Devon, Aurelia, and Jaktook imitated his actions.

  “This is ridiculous,” the chameleon-skinned alien declared. “I won’t be subject to this ignominious display.” He chose to stand behind the explorers, who faced inward.

  The other members joined their companion. Then Shevena triggered the panel, and the group was bathed in the platform’s light.

  When the explorers and the committee resolved within the new dome, their fingers tightened on their launchers’ activators, but the dome was empty.

  “I said this was a ridiculous exercise,” the chameleon-skinned alien sniffed through his nostril slits.

  “You’re allowed to make one mistake, where it concerns the Colony,” Mangoth said, climbing to his feet. “Unfortunately, afterwards, you’re dead.”

  Aurelia and Devon hurried to the console, while Jaktook and Mangoth chose to check out the ramp and ensure that none of the insectoids waited below.

  Devon activated the master panel. Then a query entered into a secondary panel dimmed the dome, and the star field lit.

  “That star,” Aurelia said, pointing, “represents our present location.”

  Then Aurelia asked Solseena to speak. While she did, Devon entered a second query, and the star field altered.

  “Now you see the connection between this dome and the origin of the speaker’s voice,” Aurelia said, directing the committee to observe the line connecting two stars.

  “One journey, and yet the two stars are so far apart,” a committee member marveled.

  Devon added the newly discovered query to the same panel.

  “Now you can see in the display where the other consoles are communicating to this one the presence of Sylians,” Aurelia explained. “Note that a single line connects this dome to the entire group of highlighted stars.”

  “It’s because this dome is on the periphery of alliance territory,” Solseena surmised.

  “Why are you supposing those are domes where Sylians are presently?” a member asked.

  “We believe that the console is augmenting the earlier query, which was predicated on the last individual to speak before that query was made,” Devon said, “but we’ve no proof of that.”

  “Then it wouldn’t be of use if we tested this query with other voices of the committee members since we don’t know where our race is at any one moment,” a bearded individual with pointed ears postulated.

  “For the committee, that would be true,” Devon replied. Then he held a finger to his lips, spoke, and entered the first query again.

  The star field shifted to indicate their dome’s connection through a host of stars to a faraway system.

  “Triton,” a committee member guessed.

  “True,” Jaktook replied.

  “Now, watch carefully,” Devon said. “I’m adding the second query.”

  The display dropped the zigzag course to the distant star and left a single highlight around their dome’s location.

  “What was the point of that exercise?” Solseena asked.

  “I was the speaker,” Devon explained. “Humans are only in this dome. None of us are at Triton, the only other dome we could have been occupying.”

  “And we’re to believe that these exercises were identical when we’ve no way of knowing what you’re doing?” a committee member challenged. “You could have simply found a means of requesting the consoles offer indiscriminate displays.”

  Aurelia sent waves of her power to calm the reactions of her fellow explorers. Inadvertently, it splashed the committee members, which was also helpful.

  “I appreciate that you have your doubts,” Aurelia said, addressing the committee. “We wanted to show you these particular queries so that you could compare their output to what we’ll enter next. Pay attention to the stars connected to our dome.”

  Devon cleared the panel. He readied the first query and nodded to Aurelia, who had pulled her comm unit, and she played the file containing the sounds of the Colony. Every explorer’s nerves tightened on hearing the clattering of pincers. Then Devon added the secondary query.

  The collection of stars that were expected to connect to the present dome didn’t appear. A line from their present location shot across the dome’s display and disappeared at the point where the dome’s short wall projected the energy field.

  The explorers and the committee wandered to the edge of the dome.

  “Does the line indicate that there are stars beyond what the field can project?” Solseena asked.

  Aurelia glanced at Devon, who turned around and examined the star field overhead. “Look at our dome’s position,” he said.

  “It’s in the central area of the dome, as we’ve come to expect,” Jaktook replied, perplexed by the problem.

  “Aurelia, do you
suppose that vid rotation control we discovered would work on the star field display?” Devon asked.

  Aurelia grinned, kissed his cheek, and hurried to the console.

  The couple had learned from Kractik how to shift a dome’s view, but that was for a change of the internal view. They’d discovered that the view could be manipulated to examine a dome’s exterior view, and that view could be rotated across the entire hemisphere.

  On another panel, Aurelia accessed a submenu. She drew her finger across the projected screen to shift the star field display.

  “It’s working, but you’re not moving it in the right direction,” Devon called out unnecessarily.

  With a little experimentation, Aurelia managed to move their star to the other side of the dome’s hemisphere so that the stars of the Colony could be seen.

  Just when Aurelia thought she had the display in a good position, she heard Devon say, “Oh, for the love of Pyre!”

  -39-

  Assembly

  Henry organized the Assembly’s first conference. They had no official location, and he chose to hold the initial meeting on the JOS. It was scheduled to run for an entire week. Cabins were assigned, and the station assumed all costs.

  In addition, Henry authorized a temporary stipend for the representatives until the Assembly voted on a pay rate for themselves that Henry would be required to approve.

  The Belle had offloaded Lindsey, Pete, and Bryan to the Pearl, whose tanks were full of slush, to make the run for Pyre and deliver the new delegates to the JOS.

  The domes’ underground groups had continued to communicate via the domes’ vehicles. The families might have lost their weapons but not their security personnel. As far as the delegates and their organizations were concerned, the future was still uncertain.

  The downside delegates chose to travel topside as a group. The El’s manager was forewarned, and he reserved a lift exclusively for them. After the delegates’ baggage was stored in the lower deck of the car, they boarded. Many had never been topside, and the zero-g effect was unsettling to them.

  When the El docked on the JOS terminal arm and the doors opened, Henry and a crew of spacers boarded.

  “Welcome to the JOS,” Henry said. “I look forward to working with you. For now, these individuals, who are ex-spacers, are here to assist you. You’ll be paired up with one of them. We want to ensure that your experience walking the ramp and transiting the ring are comfortable and safe. Please stay seated and belted until we’re ready.”

  The spacers checked for deck shoes and found a few were unprepared. Spares from the El’s stock were borrowed. Then the delegates were demonstrated the walking method of stick and move. When the spacers felt their charges were ready, they were requested to release their harnesses and stand. The spacers watched to make sure the downsiders stuck their feet to the deck.

  Slowly the group left the El, ascended the ramp, and transited the ring. Then the spacers led the representatives to their cabins.

  The assignment of the spacers to the delegates was for the entire week. They would ensure the delegates’ personal needs were met, that they were aware of the schedule, and that they were on time for the assembly functions.

  Noel and Gerry shared a cabin.

  “That was an experience,” Gerry said, when their guides left them.

  “The lift, the walk in zero-g, and the ring, you mean?” Noel asked.

  “Yes, I’ve never been topside, and the zero-g effect was enough to make me resign my seat and head downside,” Gerry admitted.

  “At least the station has gravity,” Noel pointed out.

  Gerry sipped on a cup of water to settle his queasy stomach. He was lost in thought, and Noel let him ruminate.

  When Gerry finished his water, he regarded Noel and asked, “Did you get a close look at our guides?”

  “I did,” Noel replied.

  “The man with me had a prosthetic leg,” Gerry said. “Yet, he handled himself gracefully in zero-g, while I floundered around. But it was the condition of your guide that hit me harder than the zero-g.”

  “I know,” Noel agreed. “Prosthetic arm, ruined face, and young, at that.”

  “So few downsiders carry injuries of any sort,” Gerry said. “Topsiders, especially spacers, lead incredibly tough lives. It makes me feel guilty.”

  “Did you know that two delegates are what the envoy refers to as the repaired?” Noel asked.

  “By the aliens?” Gerry asked.

  “You’re topside and a member of Pyre’s first Assembly,” Noel gently warned. “They were repaired by the Jatouche.”

  “How did you learn about the repaired ones?” Gerry asked.

  Noel had two sources for the information, but he kept the discussion with the envoy and the advisor to himself. He explained. “They’re Bryan Forshaw and Pete Jennings. Both are engineers, and they’re two of the first three to visit Rissness Station. I learned much of this from Sergeant Tulafono.”

  “Who?” Gerry asked.

  “Caitie and I communicated with the commandant prior to his dropping downside,” Noel admitted.

  “Were you the ones who told him about the stun stick caches?” Gerry asked, rising to get another cup of water.

  “Guilty,” Noel replied, “and we advised him to change the airlock codes.”

  “Well done,” Gerry replied enthusiastically, gesturing with his filled cup and sloshing out some of the water. “What else did you learn from the sergeant?”

  “Sergeant Afato Tulafono was one of the repaired,” Noel replied. “In fact, many of the officers who accompanied the commandant downside were repaired spacers.”

  “Not a bad idea for recruits if you want to brace family security,” Gerry admitted. “What do you think of the commandant?”

  “I like him. He’s a straightforward, no-nonsense man,” Noel replied. “I overheard his conversation with Rufus Stewart. The two men yelled at each other through the house’s front door.”

  “I heard the rumors. Did they really break down the door?” Gerry asked.

  “It wasn’t they,” Noel replied, chuckling at the memory. “It was one officer, Sergeant Tulafono. Biggest man I’ve ever seen.”

  The next morning the guides took the delegates shopping for skins, which would protect them against the slight chill of the station. Gerry was one of the individuals who needed deck shoes.

  “Strange garb,” Gerry commented to his guide, as a group of men and women passed them in the main corridor.

  “Spacers on downtime,” his guide, Everett, said. When Gerry frowned, Everett explained. “Nearly every spacer, but the captain and the first mate, has utilitarian black skins. When their ship docks, they have two or three weeks of break. It’s called downtime, and they decorate their skins by wearing anything that captures their imagination.”

  “How long are they outbound?” Noel asked.

  “Depends on their fortune, supplies, and severity of accidents,” Noel’s guide, Rosa, replied. “It’s usually between four to six months.”

  “What about their wives, husbands, and partners?” Noel asked, aghast at the thought of being separated from his family for so long.

  “For the few who do have relationships, it’s hoped that the spacers make enough coin to support those left behind,” Rosa replied.

  “And don’t get hurt or killed while they’re outbound,” Everett added.

  “What do you two think of the medical station being built off Triton?” Noel asked.

  The delegate’s question brought the guides to a halt. They glanced at each other before they focused on Noel and Gerry.

  “How do you two feel about the aliens?” Everett asked. Gone was his convivial tone.

  “Never met one. So, I can’t tell you,” Noel replied.

  “You’re a delegate. Do you welcome them or not?” Rosa asked brusquely.

  To Noel and Gerry, the tension was palpable. It reminded them that they were no longer downside workers. They’d entered the world
of politics, and the decisions they made could help or hurt people.

  “What I said stands,” Noel said evenly. “I’ve never met one. So, I don’t know how I’d feel personally. However, I think what the aliens are doing for Pyre is a wonderful thing.”

  “And we’ve the envoy, the advisor, and rest of the explorers to thank for that,” Everett declared.

  “Yes, we do,” Noel agreed, which eased the group’s angst.

  “I, for one, can’t wait to be repaired,” Rosa said. “I was on the YIPS before I got tapped for this job. I worked with Olivia Harden and saw her before and after.”

  Gerry looked clueless, and Noel explained. “Olivia Harden was the other member of the first group to be repaired with Pete and Bryan. Her face was …” Then he stumbled.

  “Like mine,” Rosa finished, “only worse. She’d even lost an eye, and the Jatouche fixed everything.”

  Rosa’s wistful expression was evident to Noel and Gerry.

  * * * *

  The following day, the morning was consumed with the opportunity for the delegates to meet and mingle on the auditorium’s stage.

  Henry provided refreshments, and he wandered through the throng, chatting and getting to know the representatives. He couldn’t help but notice that topsiders and downsiders had formed their own groups, and a sigh escaped his lips.

  “Trouble?” Lindsey asked, approaching Henry from behind.

  “More like challenges,” Henry said, gazing from one group to the other.

  “By far, they’re a good bunch of people,” Lindsey remarked. “They need time to adjust to their new responsibilities, and I think you’re the right man to lead them.”

  Lindsey walked on, and Henry thought on what she’d said. When he heard that an empath had declared her candidacy, he was fairly certain that she wouldn’t be elected. However, when Lindsey did win, he was delighted. He didn’t know yet how she might influence the delegates, but he had hopes. Individuals would find it difficult to dissemble in her presence, and that was an extremely valuable asset to bring to the Assembly.

  While Henry stood there, he watched two downsiders walk over to the topsider group. They introduced themselves to Bryan and Pete. Then the four men returned to the downsider group.