by Shawn Jones
“Why did you side with them, JJ?”
“I did not sir. I sided with you.”
“Okay, why did you side with me then?”
“My grandfather worked his entire life to protect our family. My father did the same. From the time I first learned about you rescuing Rand, I knew you were like them. And now you have taken on that responsibility for the entire Collaboration, so you are going to need help.”
“Thank you, JJ.” Cort touched her arm and said, “I need to rejoin the others. Please contact Rand and Mike to let them know what is going on. Dar Sike needs to know too.”
“Sir, you know what has to happen, right?”
“Nope. That won’t ever happen, JJ. I lack the diplomacy necessary. I think that job is going to fall to Dar,” Cort chuckled, “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“Just how many secrets do you want me to keep, sir?” JJ asked with a smile on her face.
“All of them, Captain. Every last one.”
--
When Cort rejoined the others, Kim was wrapping up the tour. She had intended it to be just for Bazal, but after what happened with Verne, the others ended up joining them, if only because they weren’t sure what else to do. Bazal turned in his tank when Cort approached. “Cortland, I trust everything is well now.”
“Yes, Bazal. Thank you. Everything is well. Obviously we have some internal issues to resolve, but they will not affect our treaties. Why do I always feel like you know so much more than you let on, Bazal?
“Ah. I am sure you will find the answers you seek, General,” Bazal replied.
Cort didn’t have time to contemplate the cephalopod’s response before Speral approached. As usual, she was almost nude. Kim’s engineers had developed a chest pack for her that housed a small tank. Inside the tank was a compressed gas mixture which, through nasal tubes, allowed Speral to breathe indefinitely in a human-friendly atmosphere. Originally, Speral wanted to mount the tank vertically between her breasts, so Cort let Kim explain to her why that was a bad idea around human males. Cort had been gentle enough not to comment on Speral’s extreme blush, and in the end, the small cylinder of gas was worn across her chest, almost like a support device. It still made the men take a second glance, but at least they didn’t have quite as much fodder for their imaginations.
“Cort Addison, are you now the leader of your government?” Speral asked.
“No. Well, yes. temporarily I am. But only in the sense that the military is still entirely under my control. After I wrap things up here, I will be meeting with representatives from Earth and the Ares Federation to determine how best to prevent this from happening again.”
“Cort Addison, would it not be better to just assume command?”
“No Speral. Not for humans, and not for me.”
“Cort Addison, who better to lead humans than you who protect them?”
“Speral, humans aren’t like your people. We recognize the need for a powerful military, but will not submit to one. Even if I wanted to rule our people, which I don’t, they would feel oppressed. No matter how well or wisely I ruled and no matter how much our species prospered. No, humanity will never be subservient. That is also why we will never be a peaceful people. We will always strive for peace, but we will always be capable or war. It is a strength and a weakness.”
“Cort Addison, I understand. Your species is young. My own species was very warlike for many thousands of orbits. We have only adopted a truly peaceful nature since we were first contacted by Bazal’s people. It was their species which brought us into the Collaboration. Since then, we have been peaceful.”
“Just like that? You entered the Collaboration and became peaceful?”
“Cort Addison, no. We became peaceful before we entered the Collaboration. We became peaceful when we began trading with the Attans. Soon after they made contact with us.”
Cort turned to Bazal. “I see. Bazal, would you please stay here at Solitude for a few days? I know Kim, er, Kimberly would love to spend more time with you. As would I, once I have settled the internal issues our people are facing.”
“Of course, Cortland. I was hoping you would ask.” Turning to Kim he said, “Kimberly, do you think it would be possible to arrange for me to leave my tank and swim? It has been a very long time since I was able to swim freely.”
Kim smiled at the thought. “Certainly, Bazal. I can have a large cage lowered into the water to protect you from predators. Would you prefer fresh or salt water?”
“You need not trouble yourself, Kimberly. I do not need protection from your aquatic animals, and any water will suffice. I am capable of storing minerals internally, so the water’s makeup is not important.”
“Are you sure, Bazal? There are large carnivores in our waters.”
“I am sure, Kimberly. I will be safe. I only want to swim. For hours and hours, I want to swim.”
Cort watched the conversation, noting the calm in Kim’s voice. Calm she should not feel after what had happened less than an hour before. Thank you, Bazal.
Bazal turned in his tank to look at Cort again. You are beginning to understand, aren’t you Ares?
Yes, Bazal. Should I call you Belun?
Belun?
Cort took Kim’s hand and the group continued on in silence. But he still thought to Bazal. In our mythologies, if I am Ares, if I am the god of war, then you are my counterpart, aren’t you?
‘Peace’ then? I suppose that is appropriate. We are both necessary, Cortland. I learned that too late. Yes, we are both necessary. But I believe we are passing into a time of your realm, for mine has fallen. Our fate lies in war, it seems.
We have the same goal, Bazal. But neither of us can achieve it without the other. Should I speak to you before I speak with the human leaders?
They should not know at this point.
Who does know? Who knows your true nature?
Cort sensed a hesitancy in Bazal’s answer. The council knows of my telepathy, but not its extent. The Collaborative Council. I believe Speral suspects more, though. She has proven her honor. I am not against her knowing. But I would prefer that they not know that which you now ken.
I will not share your attributes with anyone. That’s your place, Bazal. I am asking if I should know more about your nature and place in the Collaboration before I determine the course our species must now take.
You are wise to ask. But that you ask should be your answer, should it not?
As they turned the final corner back to the main compound, they exchanged farewells with those who were leaving. Finally, only Kim, Cort, Speral, and Bazal were left. Yes, Bazal. I will delay the meeting with my people until you and I have spoken. It must be soon though.
I will not leave until then, Cortland. For now, Kimberly needs you as well. Be there for her. Afterward we can commune. Then you will be able to lead your people.
I don’t want to lead them, Bazal.
And I do not wish to be that which I am, Cortland. Would that I could exact my own vengeance, but that should be left to you, Ares. Some of us do not control our destiny. We are but mere puppets. That is the lot to which you and I are bound, Cortland. So long I have waited for you.
Fuck.
Agreed.
--
“You are preoccupied,” Kim said later in their quarters. “What is wrong?”
In reality, Cort was trying to wrap his mind around what had transpired with Bazal. He couldn’t talk to her about it, but there was plenty more for him to share. “I’m sorry, babe. There’s a lot going on. Now I’m in the middle of a power play by my own family. I didn’t want this.”
“I did not either. Why did Verne go off like that?”
Cort thought about what Jeff Pence had found. The man’s infatuation with Kim was horrific. “I think I misjudged him. I thought he could handle the authority. That’s why I pushed him for the job even though he and I didn’t get along. Maybe he saw it as a chance to rid himself of me, I dunno. He killed his wolf. I
let it down too. I thought him having one would be good for him. I sacrificed her to keep the peace.”
To Cort, every word he had said was true. He reached down and scratched Zandra’s neck as she rested her chin on his lap. Her eyes lazily opened and took in the room before gently closing again. Kim covered Cort’s hand with her own and spoke, “Honey, that’s not your fault. Any more than what he said about me or JJ was.”
“How are you? Really, Kim. How are you?”
“It stung at first. I nearly broke down. Then you spoke to me. You had just killed Verne, and you were facing a military coup. Gods, I didn’t know what JJ was going to do until the Marines grabbed Verne. I wondered if she was going to order them grab you. They would have had to kill us both. All that and the new intel about the enemy. You had so much on your shoulders right then, and you were willing to set it aside just to be there for me. That gave me strength. If you could carry that load and still think of me, I was strong enough to not need you to. I can’t explain it better than that. You gave me strength with those few words.”
Cort thought of Bazal and his telepathy. It wasn’t just me, love. “What about now?”
“Now? Now I am okay. I am sure there will be times when it hurts, though. But for now, I am content. How about you?”
“I need to meet with everyone. Our people first, then the civvies, then other alliances. But ultimately, I think humanity has to unite. We can’t do this as a fragmented society.”
Kim picked a brush up from the table next to her and began to groom Zandra. Coke watched and became jealous. It was almost a game they played. The result was always the same though: She would end up brushing one wolf until the other nosed the brush, then she would switch. It would go on until they were both asleep. She asked Cort, “What do we have to do?”
“We have to fight. we have to fight for those who cannot.”
“Humanity has always done that.”
“Not always, Kim. And much of humanity has forgotten how to fight. I have to teach them.”
“No. We have to teach them. Our pack will teach them.”
Cort’s comm chimed. He put in his earpiece and answered, “Addison.”
“Hey, Gramps. We need some direction. You can’t kill a prime minister and then disappear.”
“Fuck you, Rand. It was your coup.”
“No, sir. It was yours and you know it. There was no other way this could go down. That’s why Mike and I prepared for it. But all that is water under the bridge. You’ve gotta step up now.”
It occurred to Cort that of all the modern humans he had met, Rand had adopted Cort’s twenty-first century ways and idiosyncrasies more than anyone else. Even contractions. Rand was beginning to use them as much as Cort himself did. He also thought he could hear Joe Walsh playing in the background at Rand’s end of the connection. “I want to talk to Dar first. Then the Ares leaders. Then the other alliances.” But first I need to talk to The Confessor.
“Yes, sir. When?”
Cort looked at the display on his wall. 2000 hours North American time. Fuck. When am I going to sleep? “0800 North America. What’s going on at Mars? No, scratch that. That’s your problem. Just set up my meetings. I’ll be on Earth for them. Two hours apart if possible.”
“Yes, sir. Get some sleep, Gramps. You sound like shit. Mars out.”
--
Cort was walking along a stretch of path that led through a copse of oak-like trees when Bazal joined him. The wolves were running among the ancient, naturally sculpted topiary. Coke was as large as Zandra now and promised to be nearly as large as Sköll had been. It was hard to imagine the little patch of fur that used to harass Zandra so long ago. The memory made Cort think of Kay once again.
“May I join you, Cortland?”
“Of course, Bazal. How are you?”
“Better than you, I suspect. I have had much longer to adjust to my burden, Cortland. You are just beginning to realize yours.”
“No, my friend, I have always known my burden. What I am just beginning to realize is its scope.”
“Perhaps. If I may speak freely, I have been through this many times. I can anticipate many of your questions, so I believe it would be better for me to tell you something of my story. Then you can ask any additional questions you may have. Is this acceptable?”
“Of course.”
“May I commune with you? It is less… complicated for me that way, and it will take less time.”
“Of course. Thank you for asking, Bazal.”
Once a new being realizes my nature, courtesy demands I ask permission before joining with them in this way. You are unique Cortland. Very few beings ever grasp this ability, and even then only after some time. Generations in some cases. For you to do so after such a short time is intriguing to me. I shall ponder it for some time after this day.
My home planet was quite vibrant. There was very little land above water. Originally we ventured onto it only for exploration, but over time, we developed methods of manufacture and science that were attainable under water. We first reached for the stars some twenty thousand of your years ago. Within two centuries, we had discovered ways of jumping through space. The first to do so came back changed. We had always been protected from radiation by our atmosphere and oceans. We did not take that into account when we reached for the abyss of space.
Those who went to space seemed normal upon their return, but as they reproduced we realized their young were quite different. They seemed to vocalize without sound. Within a few generations, there were very few of us left that were not telepathic. By then we knew the reason for it, and developed technology to protect us from further mutation.
Keep in mind, we had never developed any type of military. At home, it was not needed. Indeed, it wasn’t until a thousand years after we first left our home system that we discovered those who make war. They destroyed one of our ships in that first encounter. We had thought then that communication wasn’t possible through space. After that encounter, our scientists came to realize that the shielding we used on our ships to protect us from radiation also blocked our minds. They began to develop and find other ways to protect us, including minerals that we ingested, and we returned to the system where our ship had been lost.
Upon arrival, we were confronted again by the occupants of that system. Our people heard the other species thinking about how they would destroy us. One scientist on the ship simply thought, “Do not destroy us,” and the enemy complied. We found that most species we encountered were susceptible to our suggestive thoughts to one degree or another, so that became our defense. We did find some species that were immune to our suggestion. They were usually, but not always, from systems exposed to disproportionately high amounts of certain forms of radiation.
It was during this time, some 17,000 years ago, that we first encountered the crystal. We did nothing because we did not know how to do anything. We realized within a few more centuries that that crystal was expanding and we began to move ahead of it, warning other species of the threat. Some species tried to fight the crystal, but none were able to. Many had not even achieved the technological prowess to leave their own atmospheres, much less flee their system.
Our vital requirements were usually so dramatically different that we could not help them. We did what we could though. We remembered them by creating vast archives of their history. We have millions of tomes recounting the history of peoples who have been gone from our galaxy for millennia. We decided to find other species that weren’t yet in danger and enlist their help. Thus the Collaboration born. Over time, the current system of relocating endangered peoples was developed.
Eventually, the Collaboration become an economic group as well. When Speral’s species was found, we manipulated them into joining us. Ah, Speral’s people. Truly the most deadly species known in this galaxy. Until you, anyway. Do you know they have a microbe within them that analyzes any living thing they touch? Were you to just shake their hand, the microbes analyze your touch
and synthesize poisons that are added to the sacs in their spines. Within hours of touching you, they have the ability to inject you with that poison. It is quite deadly. I daresay it would even defeat your synthetic blood. Either the metallic type or your newer biotic type.
They were too dangerous though. Over several generations, they became more docile under our influence. Had we not manipulated them so, perhaps they would have been able to fulfill your current role. We did retain their technology though. It was modified to allow Collaborative species to deflect weapons used against our ships. That is how Atlantica’s weapons were used against it. You surprised us though, Cortland. You did not give us the chance to deflect your weapons. Not even Speral’s acute reflexes are capable of defending against your weapons.
