Coeus?

by Andur

  I lean back on my chair. “I simply can't believe that sharing thoughts and feelings like we are doing it is a fluke.”

  In that moment the door opens and Gideon is wheeled into the room, still lying on a bed. But his eyes are open and he is awake. I get up and run to his side, taking his hand. “Gideon, are you alright?”

  He is as pale as a ghost, but he smiles weakly. “Yes, though I feel like you sucked the life out of me this night. Are you sure you aren't a Succubus?”

  I bite onto my lower lip and look at the doctor. “His brain was damaged?”

  Gideon sighs deeply. “I tried to make a joke.”

  “Do you know what a fright you gave me? This isn't the time for jokes!” I answer chipped.

  The doctor steps in. “He'll be alright. It wasn't a relapse of the mutation, though it was caused by it. A special need of his new condition was overlooked. Apparently his body adapted so well to handling electricity that he can't live without it. His body's cells started to deteriorate when his nervous system's energy levels went a little too low.”

  He tilts his head. “Apparently he is able to freely convert electricity for his spells. He just has to see to it that he does not overuse his magic and if he does, he has to recharge by using a power source instead of waiting for his body to regenerate naturally. It's a downside, but being able to charge up with electricity is a nice ability.”

  Gideon smiles. “Isn't that cool, it's like being a battery! I just have to see to it that I don't deplete myself completely. I am like Raiden!”

  “No, you are not like that Mortal Combat character!” At least not yet. “Don't let it get to your head! And why were you even on such a low power level?” I ask.

  “Who is Raiden and what's Mortal Combat?” Ed mumbles.

  Gideon's expression turns troubled. “I drained myself intentionally for the purpose of training. After my mutation I wanted to learn everything that happened to my body. The only thing that I got out of it were those freaky eyes. I noticed that they turn brighter the more rested I am. So I tried to return them back to normal by draining my magic as much as possible. In hindsight that might not have been a good idea.”

  My eyes wander to the doctor. “You don't have a cure against foolishness by any chance?”

  The doctor shakes his head. “I can't tell people what to do with their bodies. I am just here to fix them up.”

  In that moment a message arrives me, but before I can read it Gideon already informs us on its contents. “It seems like our reconnaissance network found something troubling.”

  39. ~Trouble.~

  “

  Be everywhere at once and in the end you are nowhere. Believe me, it's true. God tried it.

  ”

  -A wise man's idea

  Kaus Borealis, Coeus

  Gideon

  I lean back in my rocking chair and start using it to its full capabilities. Everyone else inside the conference room has to use the uncomfortable stools, which don't even count as real chairs. At least in my mind.

  “Are you sure that you feel well enough?” Cyla whispers from my left.

  “Yeah, sure. They recharged me with a defibrillator. I am back to normal as far as I can tell. Though it seems like they incinerated the few hairs which I had on my chest. That's it for being a manly man.” I grumble and try to forget my awakening. If you believe yourself safely in your bed and wake up being surrounded by unknown people... let's just say it's not an experience I want to repeat.

  “They had to restart your heart!?” Cyla asks shocked. “Gideon, do you have a death wish?”

  “No. And I am sorry. The experiment was a stupid whim of mine. I'll never again experiment like that. I promise. There, are you happy?”

  Ed clears his throat to silence the room. There are three more high ranking officials besides us and him inside the room. One is a diplomat from the contact team, Bertram Thug. Another is the leader of the linguists, Paula Schwarz. The third new person Phillipe Etoulie, psychoanalyst.

  The fire-mage elder Zibil Firestorm is leading this meeting via a secure connection to Sol. His avatar is projected onto one of the empty chairs and just debriefed us once more to ensure that everyone knows what's going on.

  An hour ago one of our reconnaissance platforms registered a fleet of sixty-seven ships passing through Tarazed. They were coming from Sham and if they are keeping their course, then they are going somewhere in the direction of Albaldah, Shaula or Antares.

  The problem is that the Forlorn's settled worlds are in that direction. Judging by everything which we learned so far it's very likely that the fleet belongs to the Drazi.

  Zibil's avatar crosses his arms in front of his chest. “So we elders have to decide what to do. The Forlorn are a potential future ally and we got information which they might need. We could hide the fact that we saw that fleet long before they arrived in Forlorn space, but we don't think that the Forlorn will react well if they ever find out that we could have warned them.”

  “What's the problem in giving them the information?” Paula Schwarz asks. “I don't see the problem in telling them that possible enemies are on their way?”

  I raise my finger. “The problem is that by telling them we give up several of our hidden cards. First, they'll know for sure that we have FTL-communication.”

  “It's very likely that they've already figured out that one.” Ed throws in his own thought.

  I continue. “Yes, but they certainly don't have an idea of how powerful it really is. So far they can only guess at the speed and amount of information we can process.

  Second, Their ship isn't able to carry the information to their people in time. They know that we are faster than them, so they'll surely ask us. The question is if we want to reveal our method of star travel to them? We would have to reveal our weapon platform to reach the Forlorn in time. Probably we would also need to fight their battle.”

  Our weapon's platform is a powerhouse with seventy mark eight fusion reactors. That's equal to an asteroid colony. It's able to carry our whole fleet over thirty light-years in a single jump. Originally we designed it as an armed shipyard with limited repair functions, but someone decided to turn it into a juggernaut for fleet assistance.

  We also thought about something like a fleet carrier, but we ditched the entire concept. Our biggest ships have a hard time even scratching the enemy. There is no point in creating a swarm of annoying mosquitoes if they aren't able to deliver a deadly punch.

  Small ships lack the needed power level to take on the enemy and our rockets don't need to be carried to their target.

  Zibil nods slowly. “So we called you to get a few final opinions from the contact team at the site and the fleet's commander. What you say now may very well influence our decision.”

  Oh, that's right. I totally forgot that I am the fleets most experienced ship commander. That makes me the one who's responsible in case something unforeseen happens.

  The elder changes his attention to Paula. The blue haired linguist starts fidgeting in her chair. “All I can say is that we seem to be able to communicate nicely. The initial problems were solved. The misunderstandings are getting fewer, so it's not like the Forlorn are too alien. They can be considered as unproblematic neighbours.”

  Phillipe Etoulie takes over. “From our point of view they seem to be on an understandable level. Their society can be compared to human societies from Earth, though I warn of humanizing them. They are far from that.

  It seems like bargaining with them is possible.”

  The wiry Bertram is next. “From a diplomatic point of view we can deal with them. Though there seem to be things which they try to avoid telling us. But it's on the expected level. We aren't telling them everything either. It's much too early to say anything for sure regarding the Forlorn.

  But! I wouldn't make this decision dependent on the Forlorn alone. We have to keep in mind that they seem to represent just one species among many.

  I've no doubt that w
e can afford angering the Forlorn. The important question is if we can afford looking bad in front of the other races. The Zeen at least seem to have their fingers in many different pots. And there is one of them with the Forlorn contact team.”

  Zibil nods slowly. “I'll forward that last consideration to the other elders. It has to be considered that we could cut off relations with other species if we don't warn the Forlorn. We'll have to publicly emphasize the point that the Forlorn aren't responsible for the Oibras incident in that case.”

  The elder's avatar flickers and disappears.

  We spend our time with talking until he finally reappears again half an hour later. “Tell them. If the Drazi are really as dangerous as they are saying then it's better if they have to chew on the Forlorn as long as possible. Also assist them if you can, but don't put the fleet unnecessarily at risk.” He disappears again.

  I purse my lips. “Well, that was a short set of instructions with a lot of room for interpretation.”

  Ed smacks his forehead. “Let's go to the habitat. The faster we get this over with the better.”

  Kaus Borealis, Asteroid Habitat

  Ilin Kleio

  “Look. This time we get the big bosses as visitors.” Ayo points at the approaching group of aliens.

  I turn away from the alien whom I was just talking to. “How can you tell them apart from each other? I am still envying you for that ability. The only ones I can identify are the technicians and that's only because there are just two of them.”

  Ayo happily approaches the new arrivals and raises a hand to greet the male technician. “May you live long and prosper. I've watched the first twenty episodes of Star Trek, just as you suggested. It was very interesting to learn about one of your race's fantasies.”

  Gideon also raises his hand. “I see that you took a liking to the Vulcans, but sadly we have no time to waste in idle talking. We've found something disturbing and we want to hear your opinion on it.” He raises a hand and the miniature sun above us dims down. Then a huge star chart appears above our heads.

  I recognize the part of space which is supposedly between us Forlorn and the Mages. The chart also spans a huge part of the space down the spiral arm.

  “A few hours ago we spotted a fleet of sixty-seven ships. They are heading towards your worlds.” Gideon informs us. “We think they are Drazi. And they are going in this direction.”

  Another wave of his hand zooms in on a star further down the galactic arm and I get to see a map of a solar system with a cloud of ships and a dotted line which is indicating their path.

  One of our military advisers steps forward, looking at the holographic display above us. “By the two suns. There are enough of them to punch through our standing defences. It'll take days to gather enough ships to stop them. How old is this information?”

  “It's happening now.” Gideon answers bored.

  Ayo starts dancing and twirling around himself, causing all the aliens to step away from him. “Instant communication over several dozen light years! That's even more interesting than gravity manipulation. How far can you reach?”

  The technicians remain silent on the matter. Apparently they have no intention of sharing their technology with us.

  I already noticed that they are avoiding to tell us how this magic of theirs works exactly. All we get are very abstract explanations. The female technician outright refused to explain magic, insisting that she has no idea how to explain it. When Ayo asked for her to try anyway she simply asked back 'And how do I explain the sense of touch to someone who doesn't have that sense?'.

  The military adviser folds all his hands to his body. “This is infuriating. We can't even get this information back to the senate. There is no time to make a difference. They'll run amok on our worlds.”

  “How can they run amok on a world with that few ships?” Gideon asks. “They don't have the troops. Someone would need five hundred thousand ships of that size to subdue the population of an entire planet.”

  Ayo stops his weird dance and freezes up.

  I shake my head. “I think you underestimate the determination of the Drazi. They'll throw asteroids on the planet and eliminate major population and industry centres. Once the planet's population is beaten beyond recovery they land a small group of colonists and start reproducing. Their numbers can explode within a few years and they have no problem with fighting a ground war that lasts for generations.”

  The masked one tilts his head. “If it's like that, then we'll deliver the information for you. You just have to tell us what you want to say to your authorities.”

  Our military adviser shakes his head. “It won't help. The only fleet which is powerful enough to stop them outright is at the home system. We need to collect ships from several worlds to stop them, even if our ships are more powerful than theirs.”

  Gideon turns to Cyla and makes a strange gesture, pointing at his head. “It seems like they've spread their forces so thin that they can't stop an incursion.”

  The female technician elbows him.

  I look to the ground. There is no need to ask for the meaning of that gesture. The worst thing is that Gideon is right. We've made a fatal mistake even though we knew what's coming. But who knew that such a big fleet appears out of nowhere?

  Ayo steps forward, facing the aliens. “Can't you stop them?”

  40. ~A little Trip.~

  “

  Ask too many questions and you might get more answers than you want.

  ”

  -A wise man's idea

  Kaus Borealis, Asteroid Habitat

  Gideon

  Who would have suspected that the weird alien is the one who asks for our intervention? Ayo doesn't seem like the overly caring type to me. I suspect that he is able to space someone if it grants him the knowledge he seeks. And if he can match it with his strange behavioural code.

  Ed raises a hand to deny the question. “Why should we risk ourselves?”

  “Aha! So that means that you can do something.” Ayo leans closer. “You should help the Forlorn because it's the morally right choice?”

  “That's up to interpretation.” Bertram, our diplomat intervenes. “First and foremost we've a responsibility to our own people. We can't change the universe and it would be foolish to grant every request just because we're asked.”

  Ayo wriggles with his strange, stick-like arms. Obviously he dislikes our point of view. But Bertram is right. One who plays the saviour of all may end up as a legend in the end. Legends have the undesirable attribute of being dead and in the process of being forgotten.

  The Zeen decides to try another approach. “And what if you get something out of it? Like our power generation? You want it, am I right?”

  That may be so, but are we really in a hurry to get it? We've thought about various way to defend Sol. I shake my head. “There is no need to push for this technology. We can wait. Sooner or later we'll get it. Either by figuring it out ourselves, by trading with you or with someone else. It's just a question of time.” Apparently we just have to go to the centre and there we will find lots of trading partners.

  “Then how about my help? If I write a beneficial report about your species it'll have a huge impact on the society of civilised races. It'll boost your reputation.” Ayo offers.

  “Does he have that much authority?” Ed asks.

  “Do we want to be in the centre of attention?” I ask.

  Maybe? From what I gathered Ayo is a Zeen contact agent. Originally he was supposed to study the Forlorn, but when we appeared he forced them to add him to their contact team. The Forlorn weren't able to refuse him because the Zeen are influential and standing outside Forlorn law.

  They are one of the oldest and most powerful known races. It might be nice to have a good word from them should we ever decide to meet this so called society of civilised races.

  Just by talking we've already given away a lot. I even was against the idea of trading blood samples with them. But how else are
you supposed to know if being in the same room with them is a good idea? It's highly unlikely that any sane person would step even close to something from a completely different ecosystem to play guinea pig.

  One may never know if their common cold is the black death to us or vice versa. I've to propose much stricter regulations on this matter to the SDF.

  “If you give us the technology and put in a good word with the society, we might be able to present the deal to our elders without having violated our duties.” Bertram proposes.

  “Your elders? That's your government?” Ayo tilts his head. “But that takes too long.”

  “Our government is formed by fast deciders. You don't have to worry. Actually they've already made up their minds on various circumstances. We got a lot of room to navigate.”

  One of the Forlorn steps in to stop Ayo. “But we can't give them that technology. Who knows what they might be able to do with it!”

  The Zeen turns to the one who's upset with the deal. “You can't give them the tech, but I can. This is a deal between the Zeen and the Mages, not between the Forlorn and the Mages. I am just accelerating what would happen anyway. The zero point generators are common knowledge amongst the civilised races.”

  The upset Forlorn doesn't give up. “But they aren't even members of the society.”

  Ayo rummages through his belt pouch and retrieves a blue, cylindrical crystal from it. “I've no doubt that they'll be accepted. Their technology alone is an entry card to the society. Their membership will be granted even if they don't share their tech and simply provide black boxes for FTL-communication.”

  “Why are you doing this? And why do you have educational information crystals with you?” The Forlorn who is known as Ilin asks Ayo.

  “Because I am a contact agent? And I know that your people have an issue with asking for help when they need it. And I dislike genocide. And I dislike the Drazi.” Ayo hands the crystal to Bertram, who hands it to me.