by M E Wise
“Some tea then?” I injected. We had started trying to develop some coded conversation for fun just to keep our constant eavesdroppers on their toes. In this case tea was the unannounced approach and bombardment of a local Mor’h. We have found together, delivering quick requests and making distractions, made for more pliable assistants. Something Dae said years as a woman provided naturally.
“Oh Dalia,” sang Dae as we rounded the entrance below. Dalia was not startled in any sense. She maintained the brutal focus that all Mor’h had. She was sorting through holo on a pad and randomly repositioning something being scanned. “How may I assist, Lady Dae?” she said awkwardly moving hair from her face. “The hair still looks wonderful!” Touted Dae. Dae had the notion of fashioning a wig for her counterpart. A fine black mane was made from synthetic but almost identical hair fibers. It could be styled and everything. Dalia had grown accustomed to it shorter and bushy. The deep black almost purple in the light accented her great Lo’Mor’h eyes.
“Your suggestion was well received.” Dalia rippled with color. Sometimes the Mor’h appear waiting for some invite to let their guard down. A behavior missed by me in my youth. Dae picked up on it in mere days. I would call it manipulation if Dalia and Wan Sah weren’t so eager to follow.
“Reign would like to further expedite the conversation on getting transportation.” Dae said.
“Or we could walk?” I added quickly. “But isn’t it a desert of sorts!” She returned.
“We would be lucky to survive on foot really.” I added grossly exaggerating.
“What a horrible thing! Dying of thirst or from exposure.” Dae bemoaned. “Too terrible.” I joined.
Dalia’s attention bounced back and forth. She tried linking but I thought about Dae naked. Dae thought about random delicacies from Earth. A lone Lo’Mor’h like Dalia would eventually become more receptive to lesser forms of exchange even at a spoken disadvantage. “Your intentions are again wildly rooted.” She stalled. “The issue is direction.”
“I want to go beyond the Livewell Sea. Nothing undesirable about that.” I stated bluntly.
“There are restrictions. These are not flexible branches.” We obviously had her flustered. She was using Mor’h euphemisms. “I have requested further explanation but have been denied.” Dalia paused waiting for some sign we would relent. Lo’Mor’h could ignore a great many things but much like humans, prolonged closeness with daunting stares generally caused further exposition. “Beyond the sea, among the white sands is a great history. All of history.” She continued. “Discussion is left for the Tah’l and chosen castes. My sharing is bound to different seasons.”
I linked with her to her relief. She was not hiding anything. Her knowledge of the area was of a different generation. She had either not been taught or never experienced the area or history there. This made me even more curious. Lo’Mor’h were generational clones, chosen specifically or through great screening. There was no telling how old some of them were; much like the Tah’l who defied time. I broke the link. “She doesn’t know why they won’t give her permissions.” I said to Dae while touching the side of my head which was our code for my having linked.
“And the mystery deepens!” She playfully sighed. “Why are you so bent on going there?”
“I’ll show you.” I took her by the hand and made for the balcony. I am surprised we haven’t worn a path in the flooring yet making this route so frequently. In some of Ben’s things was an older telescope. It was fairly powerful for its age. An Orion 100mm parabolic scope it said on some worn identifying plate. The stand was missing so I improvised one. Ben would have been proud. “Once I recognized what this was I have been secretly coming out at night to stargaze!” I admitted. “Reign when you leave the draft is chilling and I notice. It’s when you do it thirty minutes after sex I really notice!” She balked. I carried on dodging the hot coals.
“There it is.” I pointed. “Take a look.” Dae peered through the lens and repositioned herself as needed. The tower looked in great condition if somewhat dirty. Large irregular shrubs looked like giant dead coral. Without a closer look I wouldn’t be able to say. Randomly around the grounds were giant prehistoric columns much like prototaxites, fungus nearly twenty feet tall. I had to look them up in the holos. They were millions of years extinct on Earth. Many of the fauna and life here resembled prehistoric Earth. Q’ua Z had taught me that the very same algae that fostered life on Earth fostered life everywhere. In every sense the very pedigree for all living things was muck.
Dae was cautiously optimistic. “I can see the appeal.” She settled in. “What do we know of it? The area and the ruins?” She asked. I had never thought of the tower as ruins. That would make a lot of sense given the small population the Mor’h had reduced too. There could be ruins everywhere on Mor’h and I had never had the opportunity to study, explore or even glean their importance or insignificance. But such a tower would hardly seem something you would abandon. “Reign! Mor’h to Reign!” Dae joked.
“Nothing. They won’t cough up anything about it. Not in the holos. Not in links. Nothing. That’s the luster. Dogma or something.” I spoke in broken sentences engrossed in thought.
“No one said I have never broken any rules. I’m here with you right.” Dae supported my interest. “Let’s do this prepared and do this right.”
Sovereign Chapter 4
A Desert Tale
“So much for the right way!” Dae yelled out as we could no longer maintain altitude.
Dalia was firmly strapped into a wall restraint; her weave had turned hilariously sideways on her head but we had no time to laugh. The Hermes frame was inert and tightly bundled into the bay next to her. I sat co-pilot as Dae began maneuvers to land. “Ben made this look so easy!” She confessed. We had commandeered the Aires from the space port under cloak of night. Together we had decided it technically wasn’t stealing as it didn’t belong to anyone in this solar system. That also meant no one in this solar system had properly repaired it.
It had taken a full week for us to move supplies into this flying wreck under the guise we were using it for storage. Hermes had sat silent and powered down for several days inside. I removed his long range link for fear he had some auto connect or disconnect related to our plans. If the collective warned or alerted someone too early; this hapless adventure would be cut short. Even as it was being cut short now! We were moving along fine and suddenly systems began shutting down all over the ship. Maybe we flew into some dampening field. Of course these are all presumptions!
“Brace yourselves!” Dae ordered. The craft hit reasonably without force. We slid to a stop slightly a mile beyond the banks of the Livewell Sea. You could smell the salty sea air even at this distance. I checked my vacuum suit for any damage and gave Dae a once over. All was safe. These suits would maintain our persons in reasonable comfort in any environment, though damaged would risk everything. Even Dalia who made release of herself, fixed her hair and signaled an odd thumbs-up to Dae. I looked to Dae and she winked. “That wasn’t too bad for my fifth flight outside of a simulator!” She proudly exclaimed. We were all in one piece and that is what mattered.
I had broken down a small tram into manageable parts and packed it into the cargo hold. The once stately rooms also held crates and supplies. We packed like we may need to survive in the wreck if need be. Dae had the idea of climbing to high altitude first in case the engines failed instead of flying low. This would give us a chance to clear the sea which unfortunately was the case. We also had Dalia acquire some stun guns. I guess you couldn’t call them a gun. I don’t think the Mor’h ever developed hard projectile weaponry but these were mounted on the wrist and gripped in the hand to fire balled light that stunned creatures beyond linking. We requested them on the ruse of dealing with our slug problem!
I locked the stunner as we affectionately called them onto my wrist COM. They interfaced and it had a digital power bar for, I suppose, battery supply. I opened the bay doors
and the light from the sand was bright even at night. I stepped out to a soft crunchy noise. The sand was heavily mixed with what seemed shell, like beach sand. What an odd mix? There was no motion nearby so I began moving parts of the tram outside for space inside. Once that was done I returned to the group. Dae and Dalia were sorting out boxes that had fallen and the contents of spilled crates. Dalia began putting supplies into the hold that Ben nearly died in. Dae saw my distracted posture and resigned to assign Dalia a new task and area to sift.
With the cabins cleared, we decided to rest until dawn. A few hours of rest could mean the difference in a hostile environment. Dalia also chose to meditate the way Mor’h rest. Dae believes we can trust her not to contact other Lo’Mor’h and I in turn trust Dae; with my life if necessary. I am certain that is mutual. We curl up together tightly in the smaller cabin, too many memories remain in the other.
I hear the song. A somber note. Singing to the sands. A sentinel tone.
Dae and I both began to scurry awake before our alarms sounded. The energy of our situation made it hard to focus on sleep. How does one focus on sleep anyway? I had bouts of insomnia most of my life. With insomnia it rarely occurs to you that sleep is a focus, more like you are focused on everything so randomly that your subconscious surrenders rest for a hostage in return for a guilty partner in fatigue. Adapting to this however is not without its suffering. You miss sleep and want it back!
I like elusive things. I love one of them; the mind of Dae. Peace, future truth, and this damned urge to find out what the white tower holds are what keeps me going. Q’ua Z would challenge me to avoid digging in the garden, turning the soil out of season or fighting the roots of everything I came across. He would never have consented to this breach of protocol. I sometimes felt he resented me in that brotherly way. I was special and he was the first born. No one paid enough attention to him and he went about his responsibility of protecting the troublesome sibling without a care. Only his tolerance waned with no other authority around. That is when I argued and he ignored me like a menace.
Those times have not changed much. We avoid conversations and confrontation even if he would say this affair was a one-sided human experience. I was tainting the sharing; always tainting the sharing. I opened the bay doors once again for some natural light. Dae forced some rations on me even though I didn’t feel hungry. The plans I had created adapted for a desert skiff modification on the tram lit up on the palm pad in my hand. The changes were easy enough, panels added here and there to protect us from blowing debris. A minor level increase in hover height to account for an uneven path. I approximated three hours of work. The skiff was entirely my idea while thinking of a way across the bleak plain and dunes if our ship failed. Lucky guess!
Halfway through the build I began to sense random movements around me. Dae and Dalia were in the Aries collaborating on the use of small handhelds for recording and testing of any scientific discoveries. It couldn’t be them. Normally I would sense insectae or other larger creatures well in advance but nothing pronounced came through. Then I saw it. “Swarm!” I called out. I retreated toward the Aries abandoning my work. Dae ran to see what I was yelling about. She sees the mass of crawling insectae bounding from the trunk of a fallen fungus tree. I ran up the ramp and starting closing the cargo bay door behind me, stomping several as they launched mercilessly in pursuit. Their crunching, squishing demise turned my stomach.
By themselves, one would be a startling find but thousands were a nightmare! “What the hell are those things?” Dae cried out. They began to climb the hull and claim the Aries as some sort of receptacle that held their food. The clinking and scurrying of their feet caused shivers up the spine. “Dalia?” Dae looked to her. “Not my caste.” Is all she replied.
“I’ll boot up Hermes and see what he has to say!” I pull out the remote tucked inside my vacuum suit. The eyes and sorted lights on the Duraframe flickered in sequential orders. “System restore.” The voice rang out. “Local link has changed. Searching for backup. No back up in proximity. Boot complete.” I unfastened the restraints and Hermes stepped forward quickly. “A swarm of aggressive unidentified insectae are upon us.” Announced Hermes. “We’ve got that!” I said loudly over the persistent noise of crawling bugs. Hermes moved in close to inspect a crushed specimen. “The cephalothorax would suggest crab or arachnid. The elongated tail is indicative of scorpion. The behavior is hormonal like a hive of bees or ants. We have a new species!” Celebrated the Nala Tah’l voice of the collective five.
“Turn it off!” Begged Dae. “Hermes we need a solution to this problem!” I challenged.
“This vessel is not adequate to create the pulse necessary.” Hermes’ collective voice says. “However the heat vented from the port exhaust of this vessel may suffice.”
“I’m already on it!” Dae declared pushing by to the cockpit. “Engine burst in five, four, three, two…” and she smashes the ignition of the waste on the nacelle nearest the swarm. Screeches now join the scratching sounds. “They seem to be retreating.” I say looking through a portside window. Dae also watches from the cockpit windshield. The smaller bugs move away in mass. Only to reveal a much larger bug coming to their aide. “This is bullshit!” screamed Dae.
The much larger bug briefly pauses to allow the smaller swarm to mount it’s back. “Mother looks very unhappy!” Quips Dae. “It has a face?” I ask dryly. Meanwhile Dalia has disappeared into her cabin. Dae and I both stared at each other in surprise. The Mor’h have fear responses? Then it dawned on us she may try to link for help! “I’ve got her!” Dae said. “Take care of the bugs!” She sneered.
“I’m going to squish it!” I said confidently. I ran to the pilot’s seat and began firing up the lift off controls. Even if the vessel couldn’t fly maybe it could lift off just enough to get above that thing and crush it on its way down. Easily the size of two men already, it reared in an offensive challenge twice as tall. “Hold that pose!” I screamed. The Aries lifted slightly and my poor piloting didn’t matter. This was gravity and that didn’t require training. To my surprise the bug remained steadfast. Dae staggered to my side. Hermes fell clumsily forward. And I spun the craft over my target and shut off the engines. We dropped to a loud popping and crunching sound!
A few remaining smaller insectae ran for the stump they came from. The ship seemed completely unharmed minus the loosing of our stores again. I decided to go outside and see if it was dead. As I lowered the ramp a leg swung wildly by! We all were startled. The other limbs to the exposed side twitched violently and slowed to a stop. A horrible green and yellow ooze bled from the beast. “We will call it the desert king arachid.” Announced the Nala conscience joyfully. “Shut if off Reign!” Belted Dae again. I hugged her tightly and she and I laughed heartily. “How is Dalia?” I asked.
“I am well Reign.” Dalia said weave in hand. “My hair is in need of reattachment.” She reached out to Dae, her large doe eyes vibrating. “Awe. I’ll get right on that!” Said Dae.
The skiff was unharmed and there was no waste of time testing too many things. We loaded essential supplies, secured the Aries and made for the tower a few miles away. “This is the Cadillac of trams Reign!” Chortled Dae. She caught my questioning look from behind my goggles. “A long classic car my grandfather had, it was a convertible.” She touted. “Oh never mind!” She pointed ahead as we approached familiar landmarks we had seen through the telescope.
The large shrubs were more like coral upon closer inspection. We slowed down but did not stop. Other large creatures that looked like giant millipedes ten and fifteen feet in length took notice of us. They did not pursue though. Different aged remains littered across the desert like beach. Either water once covered the area or Mor’h had a strange geological leftover from a previous age. Only the age wasn’t that long ago, several millennia maybe. Hermes flashed continuously taking information in and logging unknowns. I did feel though that his database was already substant
ially full of history here. Either the programming had firewalls or the collective wasn’t sharing.
A few large dunes separated us from the tower now. A distinct tone could be heard. “Do you hear that?” I asked Dae loudly over the skiff. “What?” she asked. “Can you hear that tone?” I asked again. “What tone?” She answered confused. I looked back at Dalia and she had her eyes closed. She seemed to be meditating on something. The Hermes unit was also flashing consistently. I could see the spire clearly above any dune no matter how tall. The tone grew louder but remained tolerable. It was a lonely call. Like some operatic resonance. It wasn’t the typical sentinel tone. This sound was internal but it felt wrong. At the very least it was new to me.
“Are you ok Reign?” Dae asks touching my cheek. “Of course!” I answered her earnestly. “It’s that strange sound.”
Dae looked around the skiff as I watched her. She was intrigued but reserved. Her strange companions were entranced. I was free to think but the other’s definitely seemed in another reality. I was on autopilot if truth be told. I was homing to this place even though I had not been here before. My dreams and obsession seemed to have coalesced on this place instinctively. “It is a half a mile tall! If not more!” Said Dae astonished. “More,” I guessed. How did I not see this before?
