by S. H. Jucha
“Do you not think his soma will continue to build on this planet?”
“What happens to a nest when the queen dies without an heir?” Nyslara replied, and turned to descend below.
Alex’s traveler stopped at the nests of Sissya, Homsaff, and Posnossa, in that order. With Alex’s help, Emile explained to each queen how to distribute the solution. The wasats presented their sub-commanders, who would be responsible for the process, and Emile was introduced to each one and repeated his directions. When each sub-commander acknowledged his instructions, the nest’s queen and wasat boarded the traveler.
* * *
With three young queens and their wasats aboard, Alex’s traveler landed in an empty bay aboard the Freedom. This was intentional on Alex’s part. He signaled everyone to exit the ship and the bay, while he stood in the aisle beside the queens. Posnossa, Sissya, and the wasats were calm, but Homsaff’s twitching tail indicated her eagerness to start.
The Dischnya would be hosted aboard the Freedom for a period of twenty-four days, while the tests ran. It would also give Alex an opportunity to see how the queens and their wasats adapted to a ship’s environment. The trip to Sawa, the investigation on planet, and the return trip might involve a much longer period of time.
Planetside, the SADEs set up simple comm devices outside a lookout hatch at the nests of the three queens. They were protected by small enclosures whose sides were layered with solar panels. The sub-commanders at the three nests need only press an overly large button and a call would be sent to Cordelia, indicating which nest was requesting contact with their queen.
A fourth comm device was installed for Nyslara. The Tawas Soma calls would be routed directly to Alex through any controller.
After Alex’s people exited the bay’s airlock, he led the Dischnya off the traveler. Their reactions were as expected. The metal-alloy deck and the cavernous space disconcerted everyone, except Homsaff, who walked around seeking purchase for her claws. Alex had no sooner led them into the airlock than Homsaff spoke her first request.
“Where are those who drive the ship?” Homsaff asked.
Pleased that at least one queen was taking an active role in learning about her new surroundings, Alex led the Dischnya to the bridge. It took a little while to reach the bridge, because the bright, wide corridors, the lift, and myriad other items warranted Homsaff’s individual attention.
While the group negotiated the Freedom, Alex signaled Miriam and Glenn to meet him on the bridge. He’d learned that the pair had done a wonderful job escorting and schooling the eight warriors during Emile’s workup of the queens’ scents.
Once on the bridge, Alex introduced the Dischnya queens to Miriam, Glenn, and Cordelia.
“What does captain mean?” Homsaff asked Cordelia.
“It means I’m in charge of the ship,” Cordelia replied.
“You drive the ship?” Homsaff asked, craning her neck to the left and right of Cordelia’s head.
“What do you search for, Chona Homsaff?” Glenn asked.
“Where is the captain’s gourd?” Homsaff asked, turning to Glenn.
Alex’s people were aware of the story of Homsaff and the pilot’s helmet.
“I need no gourd, Homsaff. I drive the ship with my mind,” Cordelia replied, tapping her temple.
Queens and wasats alike opened their mouths in awe. Landing in the monstrous bay and walking for a quarter hour to reach the ship’s bridge, they had experienced some of the ship’s awesome size, and the thought that Dassata’s soma could move the ship with her mind was stunning. But young Homsaff wasn’t deterred for long, and she moved on to her next request.
“We are high above our world, are we not … among the stars?” Homsaff asked, looking around at her audience for confirmation.
“The stars are far away,” Alex explained. “But we are above your world in what my soma call space.”
“Can we go see this space?” Homsaff asked.
“Homsaff, space is a dangerous place,” Cordelia replied. “It is extremely cold and there is no air to breathe. We are careful to keep our ship’s doors closed to keep our warmth and our air inside.”
Alex could see the young queen digesting that thought, while the two other queens stepped closer to their wasats, seeking some comfort at the thought of floating above their world where there was no air.
“If we can’t go outside to experience this space, can we see it?” Homsaff asked.
Cordelia signaled Alex and he agreed. “On these monitors, Homsaff, I can show you images taken outside the ship. Up here,” Cordelia said, as she pointed to the central monitor, “is a view of space.”
Homsaff stared at the monitor, approached it, and stretched her hind legs until her muzzle was close to the monitor. Then she sniffed it.
“It isn’t space itself, Homsaff,” Miriam said. “You’ve looked through your lookout’s scopes, have you not?” When Homsaff agreed, Miriam added, “We have scopes around the outside of the ship, and these are views from those scopes.”
“The stars look the same as they do from our planet,” Posnossa said. Although she was nervous about the questions Homsaff was asking, she was disappointed that this first image was rather mundane.
“As I said, Posnossa, the stars are far away. Farther than you can imagine,” Alex said gently. He signaled Cordelia and tilted his head toward a second screen.
“This is a view of Dassata’s first ship,” Cordelia explained. The Rêveur filled the screen, and it caused the queens and wasats to chortle.
“This can’t be,” Sissya said, being the first to regain control. “Dassata would never fit inside it.”
The Dischnya’s viewpoint caught Alex and his people by surprise, and human hands went to mouths to disguise their grins.
Cordelia zoomed smoothly to one of the Rêveur’s hatches. “Dassata enters and leaves the ship by this doorway, she explained.” Then she slowly widened the view to display the entire ship.
“How large is this ship?” Sissya asked.
“As long as your nest is wide,” Cordelia replied.
“And this ship?” Homsaff asked.
Cordelia sent a diagram to a third screen behind her. It showed the relative sizes of the two ships. “Notice that Dassata’s first ship, which we call Rêveur, is slender, while this ship is round like a plate. And it would take seven of the Rêveur, laid end to end, to cross this ship, called Freedom. This ship can hold many soma.”
“How many?” Posnossa asked.
“More than eighty times all the Dischnya on Sawa Messa,” Alex said.
The queens and wasats repeated Alex’s words to one another, desperately trying to wrap their minds around a ship that could carry so many.
Once again, it was Homsaff who absorbed the information and launched into another train of thought. “Your ships are made of metal and such, Dassata, they must be heavy. Why do they not fall to the ground?”
“Come,” Alex ordered, “I will show you to the rooms where you might rest and sleep. Soon after, you will join us for a meal.” He led a grateful group of Dischnya, except for Homsaff, off the bridge.
Cordelia was resetting the screens to the views she required before Homsaff exited the bridge. The young queen stopped in the bridge’s passageway to stare at the images.
Miriam gently urged Homsaff to continue. “Dassata waits,” she said to the queen. Glenn and she had learned that there was no stronger persuasion for the queens than to be told that
Dassata needed, requested, or thought better of something. While the technique couldn’t be overused, its judicious application accomplished wonders of persuasion.
“It’s a magic word,” Glenn had enthused once to Miriam. The Independent had begun enjoying the Rêveur’s library and was entranced by fantasy vids.
Homsaff’s unflagging curiosity set the pace for the Dischnya in the days to come. Miriam and Glenn took charge of their daily tours. Posnossa and Sissya exhibited patience and their wasats followed in their wake. But Homsaff had questions at each stop for every individual she saw. Afterwards, she raced ahead to explore the next venue.
Woosala, Homsaff’s wasat, a grizzled and graying commander, struggled to keep pace with her. Woosala was a sub-commander, who was promoted to wasat, when his predecessor, Foomas, was judged for his treachery and dispatched at the Fissla.
Six days after landing aboard and following a midday meal, Homsaff finished her food in the usual quicker-than-everyone-else mode, even cleaning up Woosala’s plate. She jumped up, tail twitching, an indication she was ready to proceed with the tour.
In one of those interspecies moments, Glenn and Woosala exchanged glances of resignation.
Miriam witnessed the exchange, and signaled Glenn that they should separate the Dischnya. Glenn would take Posnossa, Sissya, and her two wasats. She would lead Homsaff and her wasat. While Glenn was reluctant to task Miriam with Homsaff, nonetheless, he was grateful.
* * *
Woosala waited until Homsaff lay down for the evening. Then, rather than return to his room, he sought out Glenn, who had a nearby cabin, and made his appeal. Glenn signaled Alex and guided Woosala to the owner’s suite.
The cabin door slid aside, and Woosala stepped through, immediately greeting the pair in front of him. “Dassata, Ené,” he said.
To Alex’s eyes, Woosala appeared severely discomforted, and Alex requested if the wasat was ill and offered him a chair. But Woosala declined the seat and remained standing.
“How can I help you, Woosala?” Alex asked, concerned for the grizzled warrior’s condition.
“I’m unfit to serve my queen, Dassata,” Woosala admitted, hanging his head. “She is a vibrant, young queen, who requires a mature wasat to guide her, but perhaps one —”
“Younger than you,” Alex finished gently.
“Messlan, the sub-commander you met in our tunnels and who carries the queen’s scent in her absence, is the perfect choice to serve Homsaff. I appeal to you, Dassata, to request the exchange.”
“How is the commander’s transfer normally made, Woosala?” Alex asked.
“Usually on the wasat’s death, Dassata, or when the wasat is unable to perform his duties.”
“And, if the wasat is unfit to execute his duties, what happens to him?”
“He asks for the queen’s mercy.”
A short intake of breath from Renée punctuated the silence. It didn’t take much imagination to realize what those words meant to the Dischnya.
Alex signaled Miriam, who woke Homsaff and told her that Dassata had need of her. Rather than wait for Miriam to guide her, Homsaff raced ahead to the owner’s cabin, and Miriam was surprised at how unerringly the queen navigated the corridors and lifts to reach the suite.
Miriam signaled Alex of Homsaff’s impending approach, and he triggered the cabin door for her. Homsaff fairly burst through the doorway, only to stumble to a halt at the sight of her wasat standing there, a forlorn expression on his face. Her first thought was that Dassata was dissatisfied with her behavior and would return the two of them to their tunnels.
“Homsaff, Miriam has told me of your exceptional curiosity and energies expended to learn our ways. I’m proud of you,” Alex said, to encourage the obviously crestfallen, young queen, and it created the intended reaction. Homsaff perked up, but still cast a wary eye toward her unsettled wasat.
“We have a problem for you to solve, Homsaff, and you’re offered two choices. You can solve the problem in the usual Dischnya manner or you can choose our way.”
“What is wrong, Dassata?” Homsaff asked.
Alex glanced toward Woosala, who turned to his queen and repeated his plea to be replaced by Messlan.
Homsaff was struck to the core. She was responsible for delivering the death blow to her matriarch, Chafwa, who attempted to kill Dassata. It was the most terrible thing she’d ever done, and she had no desire to repeat that, even if her wasat was requesting the service. Stricken, her muzzle lips trembling, her eyes appealed to Alex. “I would hear Dassata’s way,” she said, and it came out a little choked.
“For my soma, it’s called retirement,” Alex replied. “When warrior commanders have served faithfully and can no longer fulfill their duties, they step aside and another takes their place. The valuable experiences held by those who retire guide their leaders and others. It’s a waste to eliminate them.”
“The nest has always been challenged to support elder Dischnya, Dassata. Food is scarce, and each soma must contribute to the nest’s food supply,” Homsaff said, attempting to explain the tradition.
“But that will no longer be the case, Homsaff,” Alex replied.
“If Dassata teaches us his ways, so that the Dischnya can feed our soma, as he does, we will have no need for the old ways,” Homsaff reasoned.
Alex had a glimpse of the shrewd mind that lurked in the young body. Faced with a challenge to accept a dramatic change in her people’s ways, the young queen bargained for a promise of a better future. Alex grinned, and Homsaff bared her teeth in return.
“The Dischnya will learn our ways and feed their soma as we do,” Alex promised.
“Then, Woosala, I retire you,” Homsaff pronounced. “I will choose a new wasat when Nessila rises.” Although pleased with her decision and the outcome of the conversation, she noticed neither her wasat nor Dassata shared her enthusiasm.
“Do you remember what I said about the value of those who retire, Homsaff?” Alex asked.
“Their words carry weight and should be heard,” Homsaff replied. Then the lesson sunk in. She curled her tail about her and straightened her hind legs slightly, assuming the stance of a mature queen. “I would take your advice in this matter, Woosala,” she said.
-14-
Sawa
When Alex announced to Renée that he was making preparations for Sawa, she sensed something was wrong.
“You don’t want me to go,” Renée said, taking a seat beside him on the couch in their suite.
“It’s not that I don’t want you with me; it’s that one of us needs to stay here. The construction projects have barely begun, and then there are the new SADEs and Daelon Independents.”
“Who wish to see a leader; but, Alex, I’m not that person,” Renée objected.
“You’re the closest thing I have to a replacement, my love. Every individual respects you.”
“Every individual respects you, Alex. I’m admired by virtue of my association with you.”
“Then you admit that you’re admired, my love.”
Renée climbed into Alex’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “By some much more than others,” she said, staring into his eyes before she kissed him. “When do you leave?” she asked.
“In two days Emile’s scent test will be concluded. So far, it’s been successful. I’ll be leaving the day after that and traveling light.”
“Then come, my love. If I’m going to be without my partner for a lengthy period of time, I want to stock up on some of his attention,” Renée said, jumping up and tugging on Alex’s hand.
* * *
Alex readied his people for the trip to Sawa, the next planet inward, and the home world of the Dischnya.
The only ship making the trip would be the Rêveur. Alex requested Captain Lumley provide a minimal crew, so that more hands could remain available to work on the construction projects, as opposed to sitting aboard his ship with little to do. The Daelon families with their young ones were transferred to
the Freedom, where Renée took care to house them one deck above the bridge and forward, where it would be easier for Cordelia, Ophelia, and her to keep an eye on the children.
Miriam and Glenn were aboard the Rêveur to manage the young queens and their wasats — SADE, Independent, and Dischnya had bonded well. Joining Alex would be Julien, Z, and the twins. The liner would carry two travelers and two pilots, Svetlana and Deirdre.
Pia considered accompanying Alex, as the medical specialist, but she had her hands full, caring for the Daelon Independents, who, for some reason, seemed to have discarded their careful Méridien work procedures, which stressed safety. Instead, Pia recommended that Alex take Miranda. She said to him, “If anything ugly happens on Sawa, Alex, you’d be better served by an individual who was equally adept at putting a human or a SADE back together.”
Among those individuals lamenting the lost opportunity to join Alex’s expedition to Sawa were Willem and Franz. Willem’s work on Omnia had barely begun, and he couldn’t afford to divide his focus, although he dearly wished to go. Then there was that other sticking point. Willem worked for the Haraken Assembly, and Alex no longer represented Haraken interests. As for Franz, he itched to participate in another adventure.
Sawa orbited 124 degrees clockwise on the ecliptic from Sawa Messa. From orbit to orbit, the Rêveur’s trip took slightly more than two days.
Homsaff spent most of the trip on the bridge with Captain Lumley, except when Messlan insisted she get some food or sleep. Francis Lumley was a patient man and, having enjoyed entertaining the Daelon children, he was happy to chat with Homsaff, with Miriam’s help. The SADE stood by to act as interpreter for Homsaff’s questions, and Messlan was present to keep a watchful eye on his young queen.
The subject of space travel was repeated many times, in various guises, throughout Homsaff’s questions. The queen couldn’t grasp the immense distance between planets, much less between the stars. Worse, she couldn’t understand how the Rêveur covered the vast distances so quickly. But, it had to be said, Homsaff was, if nothing else, persistent. Where any other Dischnya might have accepted the concepts as too great to comprehend, Homsaff never quit. She would simply choose another way of addressing the issue.
