“Thanks, Alala.” She hugged her friends in great relief. It did in fact feel good to be in a relatively safe place, and with good friends beside her in her time of need.
Naero sensed Om and Alala sharing a rapid back and forth of information and greetings as well. They were talking all about upgrades and the KDM, and Om tried to explain their situation to Naero’s prodigal, AI offspring. Alala was the core of the hybrid ship that allowed it to be such a self-aware miracle–a living starship. While teknomancing to save her life, Naero inadvertently created Alala, patterned after her own mind.
Om and Alala, both being AIs, could communicate on a level and with a rapidity that Naero did not bother to intrude upon.
Now that she could breathe at least, Naero sat down to a fine meal with her friends, and spoke at length while they ate, about her situation, and what she needed to pursue.
She didn’t even know how to get around to explaining Womi to anyone, so she kept that little secret to herself, just for the time being.
As usual, Naero had far too much on her plate.
Yet, now that she was in good company, Naero could let her guard down slightly and relax a bit. She even allowed herself the pleasure to drink a few borbbles of Jett with her meal, and found them both satisfying and re-assuring.
She belched, rubbed her full tummy, and turned to Ty. “So, T. When are we meeting up with The Star Fox?”
His face fell slightly. “I can’t say, N. We haven’t had any word from Baeven, his ship, or his crew, yet.”
Alala cut in. “We are proceeding to search the area near Baeven’s last reported position. That is all the information that we have to proceed upon.”
Naero knew that they had already jumped away from Thanor-4, but she hadn’t known where they were heading yet.
“Well, I suppose that’s better than nothing.”
With time to kill, Naero and Om continued their startapping and replication efforts.
Yet that proved frustrating as well.
The worst thing was still trying to replicate herself.
Naero could create a lifeless duplicate of herself–that would pass as a dead body, but that was it. Try as she might, she could not perfect the ability to breathe the Lifespark into the thing, and have it live or move around, even for a little while.
She couldn’t get it.
We’re missing something, Naero.
Naero slapped her hands on her thighs in frustration.
Then tell me what it is, Om. Because I don’t have a clue what’s wrong. We’re doing everything the way we should, and it’s not working. So you tell me.
I just don’t know. Some insight eludes us. Perhaps if we explore the full life cycle, that will tell us something.
They kept going until Naero almost passed out again.
After five hours of solid slumber, Naero was summoned to the bridge. An actual distress call finally reached them on one of Baeven’s private channels, secret channels that only he could use.
Ty’s com officer opened the link and looked to him and Naero. “Ready, sir.”
Ty motioned for Naero to go ahead.
“Baeven, this is Naero. Good to hear from you. We have a lot to talk about. What’s up with the distress call?”
Usually it was Baeven coming to her rescue, not the other way around.
A female voice came over the link instead.
Naero recognized it as the voice of either Baeven’s strange ship, or one of his equally strange crew that she had not met in person yet.
“Naero, this is Jia. I’m glad we’ve found you. We desperately need your assistance.”
“What is it, Jia? What’s happened? Where’s Baeven?”
“That’s what we need your help with, Naero. He went off on a mission to investigate something very suspicious involving the enemy, and we have not heard from him since that time.”
Naero felt her own concern spike, as Jia continued.
“Baeven has been missing for many days–as if he vanished.”
28
“You don’t understand,” Jia attempted to explain.
Talking to her was like talking to Alala. Naero still didn’t quite understand exactly who or what Jia was. But Jia was making an attempt to describe her deep connection to Baeven.
The Shadow Fox and The Darkstar were both docked together, hurtling through jump space to their next search destination.
“Baeven and I are linked together very closely, in ways I cannot explain. Normally, I can locate him or determine where he is very quickly. But he disappeared days ago. I suddenly couldn’t sense him any longer. Something very serious has happened to him, and I cannot tell what, or where he is.”
Naero had to ask. “Jia…who are you? What, are you? How could you have such a connection with Baeven?”
Jia hesitated. “Naero, to answer your questions require long, complicated explanations, which I am not comfortable with providing at this time–without Baeven present. Once we locate him, then we can pursue such discussions further. But I ask you to trust me. What I have told you, is true.”
“I’m not questioning your veracity, Jia. I just want to understand things better. I hate to ask this, but what if…what if Baeven were killed or destroyed? Would that account for your lack of a connection with him? Would you two be cut off?”
“No, that’s not it,” Jia said. “Baeven isn’t dead, or disintegrated. If he was, I would know that as well. But something bizarre has definitely happened to him. We’re cut off, and he is in danger. I can sense that he is in great distress, but not exactly where or how. He is incredibly strong, but if we do not find a way to reach and rescue him–he will eventually die.”
They continued searching for Baeven in every way that they could possibly think of. Naero even tried dreaming about him at night, to see if she could pick up anything about him on the Astral Plane. But she clearly had no idea what she was doing.
She was actually afraid to go there herself again directly, without being completely trained. She somehow felt certain that the Mystics would be watching for her there, and might be able to trace her back to her physical body. She just didn’t know what was possible and what wasn’t.
As the hours passed into the next day, they continued to jump in several directions, to several possible locations, all further and further out into the Unknown Sectors beyond the border.
Closer and closer it would seem–to the unexplored mysteries of the Gamma Quadrant. Closer to their mysterious alien foes.
Naero continued to work with Om on startapping and replicating each day. They had reached another plateau, and it was far more difficult without having access to a zoo, or a continent full of real animals and lifeforms. The few cats, birds, rodents, lizards, insects, and fish that Ty’s crew had on board as pets really didn’t count for very much.
Plus, their owners were extremely reluctant to allow their precious pets to be used as test subjects, no matter how much Naero promised that they would not be harmed.
She was reduced to petting and handling the various creatures in order to get genetic samples to work with, and that proved very inefficient.
Perhaps an attempt at a smaller version of herself might work better.
She replicated one that was only about half her own size at .76 meters.
No dice. Same as before. The Lifespark would simply not take hold and animate the replicant naturally from within.
She re-absorbed her latest failed attempt.
Why? Why didn’t any of it work?
Perhaps it has something to do with the increased levels of brain activity of a sentient being. The body cannot live if the brain and the mind are not also alive and in proper sync with the body.
You might have something there, Om. I’ll take those parameters into consideration. But you also said something before about studying the life cycle. When I was with Master Vane on Janosha, he taught me many lessons just like that. It was the only true way to fully understand the complete development and funct
ion of any lifeform.
On a whim, she replicated a squawking, island sea bird–from raw memory. It started out as a fertilized egg in her hand, hatched and rapidly matured into an adult, and then quickly died.
Naero re-absorbed it.
Next, she replicated a marine reptile, also from memory, and passed it quickly through its life cycle before it died. She studied precisely when the Lifespark took hold and grew, and when it left the body.
She was even startled to see a small glowing orb of the Lifespark itself, that returned to her, its source.
She replicated another one. And this time, she cut off the reptile’s senses and kept it in a deep coma, so that it did not suffer during the process.
There was no reason to cause the replicants undue pain.
At last Naero felt she had gained enough important insights to try something completely different.
Naero formed a Cosmic egg or artificial womb in her hands, an incubator of life. She replicated herself slowly, from fertilized egg to infant–and infused the Lifespark gradually as needed, until the infant could emerge and survive independently.
So that was what she looked like as an infant and toddler. It did match the pics and vids of herself that she had seen.
She kept her replicant in its protective coma, passing it through the entire life cycle and forcing it to age, studying the brain, mind, and the intricate life force energy levels and flows in the replicant all the while. Om helped her keep notes.
It was kind of freaky to watch a version of herself age so rapidly.
And when her replicant breathed its last breath, she nearly sobbed.
Again, she saw the same little glowing orb of life force energy that had come out of her, and now returned, melding back with herself effortlessly.
Naero re-absorbed her replicant.
She had witnessed something like that once before back on Janosha, with the elderly Tua who surrendered their lives. Had it been their souls that she had seen, wending their way free of their bodies, going on to their next journeys?
Then Naero realized. She’d been so focused on the attempt, that she forgot about what she had actually accomplished.
She did it.
She had succeeded in bringing her her own, full-sized replicant to life. It had been born, lived, and died, all in the span of a few brief moments.
Now she understood the full range of life.
Next, she played with the size of the replicant, creating and absorbing them within seconds. Full size, half-size, one-quarter size–one tenth. She could make them any size she wanted. With adjustments, she could have made a giant version of herself, if she so desired.
At least then she would be taller.
Without warning, she pitched forward onto her face, nearly blacking out.
Om barely caught them, rushing sustaining energy back into them.
Great progress, Naero, but that’s more than enough for today. Let’s get you some rest again. You need it. Stop driving yourself to the point of exhaustion.
I did it, Om. I understand what to do now. I can do it.
Om put her to bed. No arguments.
Tyber was having about the same degree of luck and frustration with a tek project that Baeven and Naero had given him. The concept was for a new type of stardrive. Not a jump drive–but a leap drive. A drive that would propel starships over far greater distances in shorter periods of time. The next great paradigm shift in star travel.
Naero and Om had stumbled upon some of the concepts that they gleaned from the KDM, yet they were far from complete. However tantalizing the leap drive tek was, it remained a long way from being useable in any way.
She wished that they could crack the KDM, or even learn the wormhole-forming tek of the enemy, or the gating abilities of the Kahn-Dar. All seemed beyond them and their current knowledge and understanding.
Ty continued to work with Alala and Om. Her abani Ty was one of the few Spacers outside of the Mystics who could teknomance–an ability Naero had quickened in him. And through Alala, he could speak with Om about the KDM, and various tek ideas. Om could even do so while Naero slept.
Naero finally leveled with Zhen, Jia, and Alala about her little crippled Kahn-Dar friend, Womi.
Together, they studied the diminutive dragon and attempted to come up with a plan to regenerate his stricken condition.
“I know this much,” Zhen told Naero. “He, she, or it–is a Cosmic energy being of the first order. It’s as bad as trying to study Shalaen, or your own unique weirdness, for that matter, N. I’m pretty sure that you can only regenerate this creature on the same level of existence as it. You will have to transform yourself at the same time in order to even have a chance.”
“Interesting. Are you also telling me that Womi doesn’t have a gender?”
“Not specifically, from what I can tell, even as an energy creature. Plus, their race are shapeshifters. They could be whatever they wanted to be at a given moment, if it served their needs.”
Naero went on referring to Womi as ‘him.’ That was easier for her.
Sometimes they had to go into adjoining rooms to discuss things. Womi was not only quite the wit, but his raw intelligence was off the charts. Plus, he remembered everything that he saw or heard perfectly.
And they still were not convinced that he would not betray them somehow in the end, after they did heal him.
Womi tried to heal himself, but that did not work well, either. He only stabilized his energies in his condition, and grew slightly larger.
He took to locking his jaws onto his tail like a tiny ourobos. Naero wore him like a pretty sapphire bracelet on her right wrist. He liked sleeping that way, finding the close proximity of Naero’s own Cosmic abilities comforting and invigorating.
At times he lightly snored in his teeny voice, but even Naero’s sensitive ears barely picked it up, and only when things were deathly quiet around her, like at night.
Naero tried three times to transform into an energy being on a similar wavelength and combination of energies as Womi.
All three times, her efforts failed.
Yet on the fourth try, she sustained it, biomanced, and tried to open some of the Kahn-Dar’s broken energy pathways down his spine from his head, focusing on the point of injury.
She gasped and paused. Becoming an energy being for long periods of time magnified all of her feelings and emotions to a very high degree. Everything she experienced became incredibly deep an intense. Every sensation became difficult to control. That was a new complication to deal with, as if she didn’t have enough control issues.
The attempt was especially exhausting, and Naero quickly felt drained after only several minutes.
She had to startap again just to keep from passing out.
Oh! Oh! Womi exclaimed. I feel…something!
Zhen and Naero looked.
Clear for all to see, the tip of Womi’s tail began to twitch, and wave back and forth slightly, rather that hanging still and limp, as usual.
Finally, they had another breakthrough on a different front, within the hour.
Baeven’s spy probes signaled that the unique energy signatures of the enemy G’lothc cruiser had passed in and out of a certain area of deep space–and more than once.
Jia instantly changed course and headed in that direction. It was the only new clue that they had.
They barely discovered the first Ejjai freeze world as they passed on through that way.
This was obviously an enemy holding and staging area for Ejjai freeze troops, lying in frozen stasis, just waiting to awake and receive their masters’ commands to attack.
Several billion Ejjai, sleeping on that one nameless world, complete with all of their fleets and equipment. Ready-made for an invasion.
Naero instantly considered destroying them. Her fists clenched, her temper peaked, and burned hot, whenever she thought of the ruthless, murderous Ejjai.
Alala, Jia, and Om all cautioned her.
“We c
annot harm them,” Jia said.
“She is right,” Alala added. “Then the enemy will be alerted to our position, and that we have passed by this way. We can mark the location on our charts, and arrange for allies to destroy them later, when the time is right.”
Naero shook her head and scowled. “I remember the High Crusade. I know very well what that number of Ejjai can do–the wanton destruction and butchery they can inflict on helpless populations. It will haunt me forever. All of the Ejjai need to die. We must wipe them all out.”
Ty waved a hand before her face. “Easy, killer. Take it easy. We can’t tip our hand, just yet.”
But the secret base also alerted them to the fact that they were entering enemy territory. Even Jia felt that they were on the right trail this time.
Baeven had slipped off alone in an insertion pod. After his second jump in this direction, his crew had heard nothing back from him since that time.
Out of the black, Naero went to Womi and asked him. “Have you ever heard of a world called Xanathar?”
“No,” he replied. “I can’t say that I have. Is it important?”
“No, just a weird legend. I was just curious, what with the Kahn-Dar being so far-traveled and all.”
“Sorry. I am very grateful for our progress. I want you to know that I do intend to keep my end of our bargain, if you can fully restore me. I never thought I would say this, Spacer Naero, but I’m actually starting to enjoy myself with you. It would be a pity if your Cosmic illness destroyed you in the end. You must not let that happen.”
“What do you know of such things, Womi?”
“Not much, just that I can sense the Cosmic disease growing within you. You must find a way to stabilize your messed up internal energies, or they will most definitely destroy you. Such things are a very serious concern.”
“Anything you can tell me? Any serious advice, something I might try?”
“Not in the least. I have no idea what type of creature you are, or how the power Cosmic affects you. I’d be of little help. I can’t even regenerate myself.”
“How long do you think I have?”
Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury Page 25
