by S. V. Brown
“No, especially when the moon is full.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“It was an old Earth saying.”
“You know the information about Earth is not reliable.” She didn’t know he was one of the few left and he’d altered his identity and DNA enough to fool most people.
She sighed, “I sometimes wonder about our descendants. What they were like. How they lived. What they did with themselves in such a short time.”
“No you don’t.” Earth was no longer.
“I do, sometimes.”
“Let me enlighten you; they destroyed their planet, didn’t care for their animals, abused their resources, they lived in small houses with no land, some lived in what they called cities ...”
“What would you call them?”
“Messes. Anyway, they were born, lived badly and then died. We can thank our Founders that we don’t live like that.” Here we go, he fell for it again.
“Actually, while I applaud your devotion to the Science Founders they were unscrupulous and were going down the same way as the Earthlings. The difference being they unlocked aging, once given the blueprint, and now had thousands of years to bring death and destruction to the cluster.”
“My ancestor was different.”
“Ah, the great Professor Chen. Yes, but his profession was devoted to animals anyway, after the Tunuen was attacked, or so says history.” She lifted her glass of wine to make a toast. “Here’s to the real saviors, the Elysians.”
He lifted his glass. “To the Elysians and here’s to freedom.” Oh, no. He had done it now.
“Ah, yes … freedom. Be obedient or die.”
“How about, to choice?” He tried lifting his glass again.
“True choice would mean there are no restrictions. We could do as we want.”
“If we wanted that we could leave the Joiran Cluster.”
Tharini frowned; her husband had made a good point. Damn. Chen knew he’d won. It didn’t happen very often but it meant he got to choose her wardrobe tonight.
Games
{[JOIRAN CLUSTER] [Mador] [Wasps Nest]
[361977/1288/49/autumn]}
Tzand knew the timing was right. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Everything was reliant on this one move. His partner screwed up her face, dreading the moment. She held her breath, feeling the strain in her lungs. The suspense was killing her. They had been playing Praxlock for two days non-stop. It was a game of strategy, endurance and chance.
He pulled out the chip and watched the random holopoints blink out. He had miscalculated the last equation. But he quickly saw another opportunity. His Prax partner saw it first and imprinted a chip with an equation. She inserted it and the holovision completed the picture. The perfect hornets’ nest.
“Same time next month?”
“Absolutely.”
Tzand left her to pack up the game. It was her turn to pack up, though he made sure he took his plate full of crumbs. She had enjoyed sharing his snacks on the first day and was reluctant to leave the table lest he made any moves without her knowing. Part of the strategy was to make sure your opponent went with you if you left the table, or you visually recorded the game while away or had a third party stand guard.
He admired the coastal view as he left. She lived right on the shoreline and had clear sea views. Still, he preferred his view of Wasp’s Nest, made of dark, matted domes, and attached village. The hornet nest port was a large, multi-story construction with various openings to allow space craft to land and take off. Any crates or ships classed Titan had to use the outer openings specially supported to carry their weight. Most Titan class vessels orbited the planet and sent down their ferians filled with people, livestock, or goods.
The sky overhead was clear as he used his airvehicle to drive up the mountain to his home. Unlike some commanders, he had a simple stone house. The typical housing was nest format but Tzand liked to have a little variety and steered away from the usual design. He decided a couple of days’ sleep to catch up on hours missed would make him feel like a human again. His chin was rough with stubble and he probably stunk. They usually overcame that little problem by having a shower together but it was the wrong time of month for her. They always timed toilet breaks while the opponent began formulae calculations, which normally took a few minutes each.
He lay down for a few seconds, or so he thought, when he was rudely awakened by his alarm. He flung himself up and off the couch where he’d laid down. The alarm indicated an emergency call from the admiral.
“Admiral.” Tzand tried to look alert as he stared at the admiral’s image.
“We need—” the eyes narrowed as they look in his appearance “—been playing Praxlock?”
“Yes, Admiral.” No doubt his pink eyes were accentuated by bloodshot whites as well.
“Get down here immediately. No wait, you look like an inhabitant from the Linet swamp. I’ll send someone to pick you up. You’ll have to postpone your holidays for a few days.”
Tzand yawned and just had enough time to wash, shave and eat before a vehicle indicated its arrival outside his shaded property, which was teeming with trees and understory plants. He grabbed out his hat from his vehicle before sliding into the seat of the admiral’s private airvehicle. The admiral’s attaché did a double take when he saw Tzand.
“Two days straight.”
“I’d suggest a quick sleep then commander. I’ll take the long way round.”
“It’s not that urgent then?”
“It’s urgent, but getting there a few minutes later won’t change anything.”
Tzand grinned. The admiral had finally convinced the young engineer Ard to work for him as his attaché. He certainly had a mind of his own. Taking his advice, Tzand allowed his eyes to close and enjoyed over half an hour of sleep. He felt refreshed when Ard woke him.
They had driven through the lower tunnels and parked outside the admiral’s offices. Other vehicles were parked slightly away. Tzand recognized most of the vehicles; the whole Nest council must be present.
Ard lead the commander through the maze to the largest conference room. The circular room had chairs situated around and graduating up. On the floor facing the half circle sat a large metal, rectangular desk. Nest officials sat around the desk, along with a serious-looking delegation of Joiran Coalition officials. Ard’s face had settled into his usual bland façade and he left the room. Tzand was now grateful for the short sleep. He’d be here for some time.
They gave him enough time to sit down; he hadn’t quite gotten comfortable when the onslaught began.
“It came to our attention by Captain Sorance and Professor Sorance that Trimador instigated and then proceeded to hide the kidnapping.”
“The evidence?”
Tzand was getting the short version of what had already been a grilling couple of hours if he was reading the admiral’s face correctly. He opted for the cautious approach not knowing how much was discussed.
They passed some pictures over. He studied them and noted the blown-up sections carefully highlighted. Not only did he recognize the Trimador symbol but knew it was on Mardez’s hand. The miniscule tattoo on his middle finger next to his nail was recognizable.
“I believe, Commander Tzand, that you were against this kidnapping from the start.” A delegate from Kreid spoke. She looked at him hard.
He now knew the Nest had confirmed that they were responsible. “That is correct.”
“You have measures in place to prevent such a thing from happening if you felt strongly about it; why didn’t you practice those measures available to you?
“I was off world, Professor Maderson. When I returned I was given the report and saw the implications.”
“And yet you kept quiet all these years.”
“The Nest set up all possible measures to find the girl and to help the search. I did not feel that by revealing who was responsible would help. In fact, I felt it would hinder the investigations.”
>
“Why so, Commander Tzand?” A bird-faced man with brown eyes eyed off the smooth albino face, rare in the Cluster.
“It was felt that emotion may get in the way.”
“This is a bad thing?”
“Yes, General Idfarin. It would have distracted from the real problem.”
“And that was?”
“To find the one person who may be able to save the Joiran Cluster.”
“You realized the project’s potential?”
“Yes. When I came to the final conclusion of the report the kidnapping had already happened. I just returned to Trimador, and I was with the admiral when the report of the attack of the kidnappers came. I carefully weighed up the options and decided it was in the best interests to support the admiral in doing everything to help find the crashed vessel and hopefully the girl.”
“But it was you who made the decision to keep quiet at that point. The admiral wanted to come forward.”
“That is correct. For the reasons already stated and because I knew we might be restricted to planet. This would hinder our SpyNet.”
“We’ll get to the SpyNet presently; you had presented the admiral with a PASO prior to that meeting.”
Tzand nodded, meeting the admiral’s resigned eyes.
“It is for that reason Tzand that this Delegation Body has requested that the admiral retire and you receive its newly vacated appointment. We expect to be kept updated on what is going on, Admiral Tzand …”
Tzand wanted to correct her but she jumped in, “… I am familiar with your customs. That you are not officially an admiral without the ceremony, but for the sake of this conference the Nest has kindly given permission to provide you with this title and all ongoing responsibilities from this point.”
Heads around the table and surrounding chairs nodded.
A Nest Official announced for all superfluous staff to leave. Over three quarters of the number left. The ex-admiral was escorted out.
Ard was shown in. He took a position behind Tzand. The remaining bodies found a closer position to the main table. There were about sixty people left in the large room. Ten delegates and fifty Nest officials.
Kwi, a leader from Behemoth, straightened her back and glanced around the room. “It came to our attention, Admiral, that you and Ard made an arrangement after that first meeting when you had found out the girl had been kidnapped.”
“That is correct.”
She looked down at her screen tilted at the head by forty-five degrees so that she could read it in comfort. “It says here you two spoke at some length and decided that Ard would accept the admiral’s offer to become his attaché. That he would report to you regarding any—” she looked him directly in the eye as she spoke the next two words “—stupid decisions—” she noted he did not appear discomforted by her disclosure or stare “—and that Ard was to keep you up to date with the latest information on both the search and the attackers.”
“That is correct.”
“We understood most of what was required of Ard and, while we may differ in organizational structure and procedures, we are not here to tell you how to operate. What we do want to know is why did you want the information on the attackers?”
“To give to you now, Kwi.” Tzand smiled at her and, noticing her response, he glanced around at Ard, who immediately went to a table top computer and accessed information that now appeared on everyone’s screen.
“We thought that the main focus for everyone would be on finding the girl. We thought that by also finding the assailants this could possibly help us find the girl. I had received some disturbing reports while I was off Trimador that some planets were registering missing people. We investigated further to try and discover why anyone would go missing in the Cluster. I find it hard to believe, not that our system is perfect, but it’s certainly better when compared to the scanty Earth history.” His pink eyes followed the report that had been a culmination of five years’ work. “Ard discovered that there were some disruptive groups within the Cluster who also disappeared. We were able to trace these groups to others who haven’t disappeared and are now currently in the process of finding out who they are and what they are doing.”
Kwi spoke again. “Back to that SpyNet issue; when Trimador, over eight hundred years ago, originally set up its form of rule, many of those in the Joiran Coalition had suspicions that the SpyNet could produce serious ramifications. We allowed it so long as it stayed on planet. Now we know that it has in fact crept out and the SpyNet is happily operating in at least five planets that we know of.”
Tzand kept quiet about their estimates.
She continued. “I’m sure that figure is an underestimate but we will discuss that issue later. For now, we will simply say that it has both destroyed you and saved you.”
The Ambassador for Apis spoke. “Trimador has broken its word with its SpyNet and gone against its original Charter. However, we feel that you, Admiral, have properly conducted yourself and have sympathy for the Project. It is for this reason we will need to work with you to discover the obvious current problems the Cluster is having. We will provide you with a selection of individual’s representative of the Coalition and top members in their fields.”
Kwi continued. “We feel that the Nest is sorry for its action and has tried to repair the damage. So that you know the full scope of the actions conducted against Project Wolf, you will meet with the Saxe Genetic Council and discover why the following punishments will be put in place.”
Here we go; Tzand and Ard had discussed the possibilities and would now find out who would win the bet.
“This Delegation Body do find the Trimadorians responsible for the kidnapping of Serafina Alessandra Reos and Genetic Samples ZXD512 and VDC635 … guilty. The punishment is as follows:
“Number One. All Trimadorians are hereby confined to planet until this matter is resolved. All travel off planet is to be suspended immediately. The exception being any investigations.
“Number Five: Trimador will receive a 500 point penalty at the Games …”
Neither Ard or he had thought of a game penalty.
The process went on for ten minutes. Tzand rubbed his eyes. The initial stimulate of the last couple of hours was wearing off. It seemed the game of Praxlock was years ago. Ard placed a drink to his left. Tzand hadn’t even seen him leave the room. As he sipped it he realized that it was a stimulant. A rumbly voice down the table said they’d all like a drink and something to eat. Ard disappeared and came back with the requested refreshments. Twenty minutes later everyone was energetic again. Ard had given them all stimulants; Tzand was sure it wasn’t just the food and drink on its own merit. He groaned inwardly but no one mentioned anything unusual.
They had all briefly read the report and were astounded at the mention of the Terasians. After much discussion, they decided to pack up to rest for a few days. Time could be spent coming back to this room to do further reading or research but the information was locked and coded to this room only.
Kwi spoke up, “We thank the Nest for its cooperation. Congratulations are in order for Tzand, though we wish it had been under different circumstances. Individual meetings with kidnapping instigators will be held four days from today. This issue of the Terasians will become priority one in the next meeting, which will be two days hence, first light. We’ll need all the original manuscripts of why they were created and why they were rejected and who now works in collaboration with them. If they are causing trouble, we must deal with them decisively, as our ancestors should have done.”
She looked at Ard who was still standing like a rock behind Tzand. “Our thanks to you, Ard, for the refreshments. I’m sure we all found them stimulating.”
Chuckles filled the room. Typical, thought Tzand. Only Ard would get away with something like that. Still, that’s why he’s my attaché.
They all stood. Some left quickly, others moved around the room to talk. Some of the Nest officials shook Tzand’s very white hand; they w
ere pleased with their choice. One very longstanding official came over, unsmiling. Still, there were hardly any smiles in the room; it was not a smiling occasion even though he felt the lack of smiles keenly regardless of what was happening. “Well done, Tzand, with Ard beside you, you make a great team.”
Ard managed to get Tzand out and drove him back home, the quick way. Ard left him at the front door. The last thing Tzand saw was the underside of his quilt as he collapsed into his bed stark naked. His last thoughts were of his shortened holiday.
Kingly Deceptions
{[SPITHRA] [Erus] [Darcerus]
[151409/376/257/autumn]}
The autumn weather had settled in and she loved the new smells it brought with it. Erianna held the latest Eventus in her hand. It had been proofread and was ready for mass printing to go to the two million readers on Erus. She sat in her office, pondering the latest news. A Captain Sorance and Professor Sorance, roughly a month ago, had finally uncovered the mystery of who was behind the kidnapping. Trimador was now facing the consequences.
The Sorances had acquired some land. Taya had offered a reward to anyone finding or giving information regarding the girl’s kidnapping. Erianna had wanted to offer some land on Erus a year earlier than Taya but her husband had not only overruled her, but so had others on the council who supported the offer. It had been humiliating and, once again, she left the council chambers hurt, angry and rebellious. She had felt deeply for the parents of the girl and wanted to keep people motivated to find the culprits.
“Thank you, Zare.”
She lifted the freshly brewed coffee to her lips, smelling the aroma as she sipped at the edge of the cup. The door closed gently as the secretary left Erianna in peace. She swiveled around in her chair to view the capital Darcerus. Mostly she could see treetops and birds flittering in and out, forever busy, building nests to ready for their young.
Thoughts turned to her own dilemma: her husband, the beloved Sovereign of Erus. Thankfully, he was away but he would return shortly. She was tired of walking on eggshells and tired of having to stay one step ahead. Moreover, she had discovered a quandary with her planning some time ago. She organized things so that she and Ed were apart from him as much as possible. But in doing so she was finding it hard to build the Death Portfolio she had started two years ago. But she was not going to expose Ed to more heartache just so she could take decisive action. She had to keep patient and busy; when Ed was older then she would allow for more exposure of the abuse between her and her husband. Then she could take action. No one else was suffering on the account of the Sovereign. Or so she originally thought.
