Having listened in silence to all that the unrepentant invader had to say, the elder Hyfft now gestured imperceptibly. Tilting back his head, the fur of which was white with age, he gazed thoughtfully skyward.
“No doubt all that you say is true, soldier of Iollth. We of Hyff and our new friends as well stand before you utterly at your mercy. There is no hope for us.”
Oddly, in direct contrast to his words, the historian did not seem especially unsettled. Nor did the Delineator Joulabb. As for the pair of mercenaries, or whatever they were—Niyyuuan warriors—they had not even bothered to follow the elder’s lead and look upward.
They just started coughing again.
On board the orbiting Iollth flagship Am-Drun-za-div, one inconceivable report after another passed swiftly before the incredulous eyes of the affiliates of the dominion caste. Sa-ru-vam reacted so sharply to the abrupt flood of disbelief conveyed by the tenuous yet precise instrumentation hovering before her that she nearly lost her skullcap. Large but agile toes worked in tandem with small, delicate fingers in a frantic search for confirmation. The results were undeniable. She knew they had to be so as the chamber came alive with a zephyr of confirming whispers.
“How could this have happened?” she demanded to know of her colleagues. “What of our detectors?”
“All aimed toward the world below,” another operator declared, “and aligned to monitor the primitive but efficient artificial satellites of the inhabitants. Nothing directed outward.”
And why should there be? she reflected as she stared in dumbfoundment at the increasingly somber readouts. The Hyfft could barely and only occasionally mount even the most feeble opposition from their own world. There was no reason, none whatsoever, to expect an attack from behind, from the reaches of extraplanetary space to which the locals had never aspired, and which they had only cursorily explored with simple automated scientific instruments.
Yet the threat was there, undeniable and immediate. An entire array of self-propelled devices, a potent mix of atomics and kinetics, were poised to close the remaining gap between themselves and all five Iollth craft. Awaiting, no doubt, only a reversion of the command that had halted them just short of their targets. Their origin was clear, now that detection fields had been adjusted to reach out into space and sweep the firmament behind the orbiting vessels.
There were two of the strange ships. Extensive in size, alien in design, and perfectly positioned, they had launched their weaponry immediately after emerging from concealment behind the largest of Hyff’s moons. With targets now in range, the Iollth were situated to respond—except that their own weapons would take notably longer to reach the two attacking vessels than the latter’s already launched devices would to reach theirs. Assuming the efficiency of the latter matched their stealth, the result would be five Iollth ships and their crews completely annihilated, with no guarantee of destroying their assailants. Electronic predictors repeatedly confirmed what direct observation had already proposed.
Like many battles in space, the end of this one was determined before it could be started.
“The fleeing traders,” observed a thoroughly muted Aj-kil-won as he turned around, his feet preceding him. “Or explorers. One is forced to wonder now at their true purpose, their real intent.” A small hand gestured at his own floating instrumentation. “Simple traders and explorers do not carry this kind of weaponry. Nor do they deploy it with such tactical skill and efficiency. What interests me at the moment is not how, but why? We have no quarrel with these folk, whoever they may be. Why are they doing this?”
Sa-ru-vam had already given the matter some thought. “Absurd as it may seem, it appears that our Hyfft have somehow, through means unknown and unimaginable to us, acquired powerful allies.” Raising one foot, she indicated the lower levels of her own suspended readouts. “Whatever the reason, one thing is unmistakable. We are defeated.”
She knew that the soft murmurs of incredulity that echoed through the Dominion chamber were likely being echoed elsewhere throughout the flotilla. There were no records, none, of the inoffensive, harmless, isolated Hyfft ever making use of allies, or attempting to acquire them. This development was unprecedented. Had it not been, it was unlikely the Iollth would have been so swiftly and completely taken by surprise.
Their instruments had shown the three visiting starships fleeing the Hyff system prior to the Iollth’s arrival. Developments now revealed this apparent flight to have been a sham, a clever diversion. Somehow, one of the alien craft had managed to simulate three departing drive fields, leaving the other two to conceal their presence behind the bulk of Hyff’s largest moon. And in fact, as she contemplated the most likely scenario, her own instruments revealed the presence of a new approaching signal: the absent, and deceiving, third alien craft.
Bitterly, she condemned the certitude and overconfidence that had allowed her kind to be overcome without a fight. The question now was: Why had these mysterious newcomers involved themselves in a confrontation that was none of their business, and what did they intend to do with their victory? She suspected that she and her kind were likely to find out very soon.
Meanwhile, there was nothing for them to do but surrender.
“There’s nothing for thems to do but surrender.” Commander-Captain Gerlla-hyn’s observation might have been obvious to Berred-imr and the rest of his staff, but it was far less so to the one anxious human and curious dog who stood in the command room off to one side and out of the way.
“I don’t understand. Nobody’s fired a shot.” Walker looked to his left, to where Sque squatted on her tentacles, as bored with the proceedings as she was with any that did not orbit around her.
“Nobody’s even barked.” Tail wagging energetically, eyes alert, George stared in fascination at the schematic that floated in the air before them all. It showed clearly the surface of Hyff, the five Iollth ships, the two Niyyuuan vessels, and a scattering of bright pinpoints of light, each one representing a lethal, self-propelled weapon.
It was left to the hulking Braouk, leaning up against one wall as he did his best to avoid stepping on any of the participants, to explain. As he did so, he gestured with both eyestalks as well as all four upper limbs.
“No valid reason, to pursue a clash, already won.” Both eyes rose at the end of their stalks to study the glowing schematic. “Niyyuuan weapons systems, in excellent position to, finish fight. Whereas the Iollth, have not even commenced, weapons deployment. For them to, do so now would, be suicidal.” While one eye remained on high studying the projection, the other dipped down low to regard Walker. “The tactics of advanced armaments, Marcus. Combat in space, between ships, is not like limb-to-limb fighting on a solid surface. Preparation is more important than execution. Outcome is often, foretold before anyone needs, to die.”
“Communication is coming in.” Everyone turned to where Gerlla-hyn was speaking aloud. There was a pause, but only verbally. Around the command center, Niyyuuan technicians and crew were actively at work.
“The Iollth have surrendered,” the Commander-Captain announced. “The battle is now formally as well as tactically won.” Strident whistles of satisfaction filled the room.
Some battle, Walker thought. Not even insults had passed between ships. “What now?” he wondered aloud.
“Why now,” Sque commented, “we discuss with the Hyfft how they wish to treat with their former tormentors.” One tentacle reached up to clean an eye. “Civilized folk would come to some peaceable, mutually satisfactory arrangement for future relations that would not involve the subjugation and exploitation of one species by another. Revenge being a term employed only by the primitive, I would expect the Hyfft to demand it in some measure.” Other tentacle tips quivered. “I do not expect, but would be delighted, to be surprised. I am especially glad that our intervention was able to be accomplished with no loss of life on either side.”
Walker frowned at her. As was often the case, the K’eremu’s words left him with
the distinct impression that there was more she could say, that she knew more than she cared to share, if only she would choose to do so. And as was often the case, she remained silent and offered nothing more on the subject at hand. He tried another tack.
“We still don’t know what happened to the Iollth landing parties,” he pointed out.
“That is so,” she admitted. “One can only hope word was received from on high before much violence was committed.”
Trotting over to the K’eremu, George sniffed one extended tentacle. It promptly coiled sharply away from him. It was clear to Walker that his four-legged friend also suspected Sque was holding something back. “What do you care, squid? These Iollth have plagued and mistreated the Hyfft for centuries. Sounds to me like it would do them collectively good to have the crap kicked out of a few of them.”
The K’eremu’s silvery horizontal eyes withdrew even farther into their sockets. “That is typical of the scatological appraisals that I have come to expect from lower lifeforms such as yourself. Simply because the Iollth are militarily superior to the Hyfft and the latter have been courteous to us does not automatically mean that the Hyfft are superior to their invaders in all other ways. We know nothing of these aggressive visitors other than what the Hyfft have told us. Truly, enough to induce us, or at least you and the Niyyuu, to decide to help them. I maintain that is insufficient grounds for condemning the Iollth unreservedly.”
Walker frowned down at the K’eremu. “How can you side with them, Sque? You saw the same horrific historical documentation as the rest of us.”
Tilting back her upper body, she looked up at him. “I side with no one who is not K’eremu. I am simply saying that while the Hyfft have grounds for abhorring the Iollth, the rest of us do not.” A pair of tentacles gestured at the massive floating image. “It may be that our hosts will wish to execute a sampling of their tormentors. There is no compelling reason why that should be our wish. The Iollth have done nothing to us. It is one thing to intervene to settle a quarrel. It is another to take permanent sides.”
She was right, Walker realized. Having been exposed to the historical evidence of the Iollth’s depredations, he was pained to admit it, but there was no reason why he and his friends should take an active interest in punishing the invaders.
Or did the K’eremu have something else in mind, as she so often did? If that was the case, she was not volunteering her thoughts. He saw no reason to try to draw them out, as they would only be revealed in her own good time.
Certainly the Niyyuu seemed happy with the outcome. Once the surrender had been recognized and accepted, Gerlla-hyn left the necessary follow-up details in the capable hands of Berred-imr and came over to join them.
“There to be a formal ceremony of surrender on surface.” One limber, two-fingered hand indicated the hovering schematic. “All our weapons to remain in position until then, and maybe for some time afterwards, until we certain of Iollth intentions. Knowing nothing about them, cannot trust them so easily.” Wide, golden eyes gazed down at them while Braouk in turn regarded the Commander-Captain from on high.
“Should alls be most pleased at success of strategy. Could not work second time since Iollth now aware of our stance, but that is good thing about such tactics. Need only work one time. Is some regretfulness among crews. Not have opportunity in historical times to utilize modern weapons.”
Haughtily superior, Sque turned away in disgust, surrounded as she was by inferior minds. Only accident and circumstance had caused her to fall in with these Niyyuu, not to mention a Tuuqalian, a canine, and a human. It could just as easily have been with these Iollth. How she longed for home and intellectual surroundings that, however fractious, were steeped in common sense!
Addressing himself to Walker, Gerlla-hyn continued politely. “As nominal director of forces, is decided you must attend surrender ceremony.”
Walker looked startled. “Me? But this is something for the Hyfft to handle, and for your people to oversee.” He spread his hands. “I wouldn’t know what to do or say.”
“That goes without saying,” Sque put in, but by now no one was paying attention to her.
“Not need do or say anything,” Gerlla-hyn assured him. “Only needs you provide presence.” Now that the “battle” was concluded, his frill was completely relaxed, as were his quadruple tails. “Is useful defeated Iollth see that Hyfft have support of not just Niyyuu but four other sentient species as well.” His gaze shifted beyond Walker. “Yous all should attend.” Both eyes settled on Sque. “Perhaps even K’eremu deign to grace ceremony with presence, so as to demonstrate innate superiority of at least one species among victors.”
Sque, who had turned away, now pivoted in place. A few desultory bubbles emerged from her pink speaking tube as she idly jiggled some of the garish metal ornaments that decorated her smooth frame.
“I suppose it is necessary. For purposes of efficiency, if nothing else. These Iollth should cooperate more easily once they see that there is at least one superior mind among their vanquishers. Very well, I will come along. If nothing else, it will provide the opportunity to visit the local ocean once more.”
As Walker hoped, the Hyfftian capacity for tolerance far exceeded any desire for revenge. While there were certainly elements among the population who sought such, especially among those who had directly lost ancestors to incursions by the invaders’ predecessors, they were compelled to mute their feelings in favor of the Great Government’s decision to conclude a formal and permanent treaty of peace between their species and the Iollth. Whether understanding would follow peace was something only the progress of future relations could decide.
The official ceremony of surrender was more low-key than Walker had anticipated. A comparably important agreement on Earth would have taken place amid a certain pomp. On Hyff, a handful of representatives of the defeated Iollth filed silently into the official gathering chamber of the Overwatch of Pedwath. Accompanied by her daily equivalents, the city’s Delineator of the Day was present, as were envoys of the Great Government.
The chamber itself was large but not awe-inspiringly so. Among the Hyfft, representatives of the government felt no need to intimidate those from among whom they had been chosen. The chamber was big enough to accommodate citizens and civil servants engaged in business. Fortunately, the bowl of the slightly curved ceiling was two Hyfftian stories high. This allowed all the participants in the ceremony to enter and file toward the sunken center without having to bend, though Braouk had to do some squirming to make his way inside via the main entrance. Just as Sque pined for the damp and cloudy surroundings of K’erem, the Tuuqalian wished fervently for the wide-open spaces of his own world. Though he was far too polite to say so, he was tired of dwelling among midgets.
Deliberately, he turned his eyestalks away from one of the many Niyyuuan media recorders who sought to document his reaction. They filled the chamber, roving purposefully among Hyfft and Niyyuu alike, their presence and purpose as well as their evident freedom of movement a continuing bafflement to the already disoriented Iollth.
The uniforms of the invader were quite spectacular, Walker observed. Layers of clashing colors clothed their bottom-heavy attire while small stripes of metal adorned their fronts and massive thighs. They did not hop, but rather lifted first one side of their bodies and then the other as they advanced. Under other circumstances their style of personal locomotion would have prompted a smile. Any amusement he and his companions might have felt at the sight was mitigated by their knowledge of the history of Hyfftian-Iollth relations. Given the opportunity, he knew that the funny-striding aliens entering the chamber would happily have slaughtered everyone within.
Instead, badly duped and overcome by Niyyuuan tactics, they had been brought to this moment. There would be no elaborate ceremonial signing of documents, Walker had been told. Such archaisms were unnecessary. Terms had already been agreed upon. The Iollth would cease their raids on Hyff. Any future visits would take pla
ce under the aegis of the peace agreement that had been agreed upon by the two species.
Looking askance at the Hyfftian chairs that had been provided for them, the four members of the Iollth delegation finally arranged themselves in a line on the lowest level of the multi-level chamber, settling back on powerful haunches. Overhead lights shone flatteringly on their uniforms. Though it was always difficult to interpret alien expressions, George voiced the belief that to him the visitors looked uncomfortable but far from beaten.
“Tough bunch of fatties,” the dog commented from where he stood atop a seat.
“They’re not fat,” Walker corrected him. “They just taper toward the top. Big legs and lower bodies; small upper limbs, necks, and heads.” He gestured. “Look at the muscles in those legs. You can see them through the clothing.”
“Even a Chihuahua could run circles around them.” Letting out a derisive snort, the dog settled himself back on his own haunches. “Soon as this is over with, we’re out of here.”
“Yes,” Walker admitted. “The Hyfft helped us; now we’ve helped them. We’re even.” Reflexively, he glanced toward the transparent center of the ceiling. “Tomorrow we leave for Tuuqalia.” And hopefully we’ll find it, he added by way of silent prayer. Not only for Braouk’s sake, but for their own. He didn’t care to think what their next step would be if the Tuuqalian’s homeworld could not be located.
Below, Ki-ru-vad’s attention drifted from the high-pitched chirping of the Hyfft who was presently speaking, to the upper levels of the chamber. Not one but four non-Hyfft aliens stood or sat there, observing the proceedings. He was at once intrigued and confused by their appearance. None of them bore the slightest resemblance to the Niyyuuan allies who were responsible for the defeat of his kind. Where had they come from, and what were they doing here, at this significant and degrading moment? Were they simply friends of the Hyfft, or the Niyyuu? Observers? Or something more? It was important to know, because of the Commitment.
The Candle of Distant Earth Page 11
