by S. H. Jucha
Tatia left the Méridiens in their current commands. She assigned four squadrons each to Deirdre and Svetlana, and Ellie received three of the new squadrons.
“For the Méridiens, let me inform you that Admiral Gaumata has command of four Haraken Trident squadrons. And the three Confederation squadrons assigned to Admiral Thompson are in the company of a New Terran squadron of four Tridents.”
The Méridien freighter captains and commodores were pleased to hear that they would compose a flotilla to accompany the city-ship, which they now understood was, by far, the most powerful warship in the fleet.
When the conference ended, Tatia requested Ellie to stay and speak with Reiko and her.
“You’ve probably been assigned to command the least cohesive group, Ellie,” Tatia began, when the others had exited the suite. “Two of your Méridien squadrons have trained under their own commodore. Have you given any thought to the organization of your other two squadrons?”
“My request is in Reiko’s comm queue,” Ellie replied.
Ellie had contacted the Confederation ships to learn the squadron assignment of the twins and Descartes, the SADE. Interestingly, she discovered they weren’t attached to a commodore, and she had inklings, as to why. It was the wish of Senior Captain Descartes, one of the most innovative of the Méridien trainees, who had wanted to serve under her if she was elevated from a captain’s position, as the SADE had put it.
Reiko ran through her comm queue. Like many others in Alex’s immediate orbit, the expedition’s preparations were proving to be exhausting, and her message queue was constantly stacking up.
“You’re requesting Senior Captain Jagielski be elevated to commodore,” Reiko stated, after reviewing the request.
Tatia regarded Ellie, giving her an opportunity to reply, but Ellie waited patiently for Reiko’s response.
“Well, I have no objections,” Reiko finally said. “Admiral?” she added, glancing toward Tatia.
“I’ve no objections. Reiko, please register the promotion in the database and signal the admirals. Thank you, Ellie,” Tatia said dismissing her rear admiral.
The salon door hissed shut behind Ellie, and Tatia and Reiko were lost in thought. Moments later, they both started to speak, and Tatia indicated to Reiko that she should go first.
“I was just thinking, Admiral, that Ellie’s command with Commodore Jagielski represents a particular asset for the fleet. It’s one that we should explore,” Reiko said.
To which Tatia added, “In my mind, they’re the wild card command, as Alex might refer to them. You’re not sure exactly how they’ll execute your orders, and their methods might prove to be better than the actions you had planned.”
* * *
Maria, Oliver, and Alphons met with Alex, Julien, Tatia, Reiko, and Ellie in Alex’s quarters. Maria had received her implant and, as was the case with any adult, she was struggling to adopt it.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Commodore Jagielski,” Alex said, opening the discussion. “What’s the consensus from your crews?”
“Thank you,” Alphons said, dipping his head in response to Alex’s recognition of his promotion. “Every officer and crew member is on board with cell gen injections. They can see the life-saving benefits. As for the long-term adoption of that tech, the expedition’s survivors can determine whether they want to continue their injections.”
It was a chilling comment from Alphons about surviving the expedition, and the audience glanced Alex’s way to see how he was reacting. His face was impassive.
“And the acceptance of implants?” Alex asked.
“We didn’t do so well there, Alex,” Alphons replied. “Every captain and the majority of officers, except for five, are willing to adopt them.”
“How about the crews?” Alex pursued.
“A total of twenty-three crew members have refused the offer,” Alphons explained. “If you add the five officers, you have a total of twenty-eight New Terrans who would be offline during any engagement.”
“What’s your opinion as to what should be done?” Reiko asked. She had plans for Ellie’s command, which included Commodore Jagielski. There was no time like the present to test the commodore’s strategic thinking.
“My first thought was to put the twenty-eight of them on one ship,” Alphons replied. “It would simplify matters, but then I realized that I’d effectively cripple the squadron with that ship and, effectively, my command. That ship would always be lagging in response time, and we’d be forced to defend it.”
“And your next thought, Captain?” Reiko asked.
“We send the twenty-eight home in one of the Tridents,” Alphons replied, holding up his hands. “It’s better than having them impede my command’s efficiency.”
“Unfortunately, Captain, we’re committed to supplying half of our Tridents to Alex,” Maria said. “That’s the four warships that are here now.” She attempted to ask Oliver a question via her implant, but she could only manage a ping, failing to establish a link.
“Suppose, Commodore Jagielski, this was your fleet, and this situation came up within one of your squadrons,” Tatia said. “What would you do?”
“Under those circumstances, Admiral,” Alphons said, enjoying the offer to consider all options. “I’d pack them up and send them back to New Terra aboard the Rover, with the Minister’s permission. Then I’d select twenty-eight Omnian replacements from volunteers.”
Alex glanced at his fleet admirals, who wore satisfied expressions. “Problem solved,” Alex said. “Does it work for you, Minister?”
“The Minister agrees with you, Commodore Jagielski,” Alex said.
Alphons stared at Maria, who wore a self-satisfied expression. “I’ve got to get mine and start practicing,” he said enthusiastically.
Within hours, New Terran crews began transferring to the Freedom, boarding travelers to visit the city-ship’s medical suites for implants and cell gen injections. One traveler visited the four New Terran warships, collected twenty-eight officers and crew, and deposited them aboard the Rover for the return trip home.
* * *
In the expedition’s final days, the warships, the freighters, the city-ship, the orbital platform, and Omnia City were hives of activity.
The Sardi-Tallen platform completed the fabrication of Luther’s comm-diverter systems. The engineering crews and SADES installed them, and Miriam duplicated her kernel for every installation, giving birth to what became known as the Sisterhood of Miriam.
Cordelia linked the freighters’ controllers to the Freedom. She designed maneuvering algorithms for the ships, allowing her to guide the escorts clear of the city-ship’s energy weapons, when she would be forced to deploy them.
Z and Miranda completed their work on the environment suits and the shoulder-mounted energy weapons for the Dischnya. The two SADEs and Myron took the warriors through innumerable safety drills and weapons training. Whether in a full environment suit or merely wearing the nose-elongated helmets, which fit the Dischnya muzzles, the warriors used a heads-up display and their eyes to aim the stun weapons.
With her extraordinary sensory range, Miranda discovered the Dischnya could produce a nearly subsonic vibration in their throat. It was a warning tone used to alert others in the nest to danger. Z and she designed a throat mic, which could detect the subsonic frequencies, and the warriors used the throat device to trigger their guns.
The day arrived when final preparations were complete — no more material to be produced, no more training to be practiced, no more algorithms to be coded, and no more supplies to be loaded. The expedition was ready, which meant there was one more thing to do. The last evening was dedicated to a grand fête aboard the Freedom and the Our People.
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sp; Each giant city-ship was built by the Méridiens to host a quarter of a million people for decades, while the ships journeyed to a faraway star and the people spent a lengthy time constructing domed cities.
Cordelia and Hector, captain of the city-ship, Our People, planned the event to take place simultaneously on their ships. Travelers arrived throughout the day, delivering humans, SADEs, a few Dischnya, and one Swei Swee.
Wave Skimmer rode in a traveler transport. This shuttle design used a rear hatch for conveying cargo loads. The Swei Swee’s human escorts were challenged to manage Wave Skimmer’s transport. The first step was easy, loading the Swei Swee, who waited on the rocky clifftop, into the shuttle’s hold. Once aboard the city-ship, the Swei Swee used his powerful six legs to turn his body slightly sidewise to navigate the airlock hatches.
The escorts walked ahead of Wave Skimmer to clear his path. The ocean-going giant occupied the entire width of the corridor, which could accommodate six or seven humans if they walked arm in arm.
One individual carried a mister full of water, spraying it over his shoulder to keep Wave Skimmer’s breath ways moist. Only two escorts found space within the lifts with the Swei Swee. Wave Skimmer lowered his heavy, dark blue claws to provide a place for the humans to sit.
Once Wave Skimmer reached the grand park, he could smell the water, which flowed through multiple streams. A brief whistle escaped his mouth parts, and he hurried toward a stream. An answering whistle arrested his headlong charge, which had most humans scrambling from his path, and SADEs pulling others clear of danger.
Hearing Alex’s command, Wave Skimmer slowed to a crawl, which was still faster than most humans walked. He reached the stream and eased into it, thereby preventing the enormous splash, which might have resulted, had not Alex called to him to desist.
Alex worked his way through the throng and arrived in time to catch Wave Skimmer, whose body was barely immersed a third of the way into the shallow stream, squirting streams of water into the air to fall on his carapace.
“Fresh water,” the Swei Swee whistled to Alex.
“Not too long in there, Wave Skimmer,” Alex admonished. “You know it’ll make you sick, after a while.”
“All water should be ocean water,” Wave Skimmer whistled in reply.
While Alex was warbling and tweeting with Wave Skimmer, Homsaff met Nyslara, as she exited a bay. Whereas Homsaff had all but abdicated her responsibilities as her nest’s queen, Nyslara’s influence had grown. She represented the Dischnya on the nascent Omnian Council, a governing body with representatives from every sentient lifeform on the planet.
Within the Council’s chambers, controllers translated Dischnya and Swei Swee for others. The SADEs, of course, needed no such help, but not every sentient understood the subtlety of others’ languages. The controllers accurately provided the subtext.
When Nyslara and Homsaff exited a lift into the garden, Franz Cohen spotted them, located Alex, and led the Dischnya females to him.
“Alex,” Nyslara said in greeting.
“Nyslara,” Alex returned. He was surprised that the customary hug from the queen wasn’t forthcoming. “It’s a wonderful thing to see the queens aboard this ship.”
“Change for the Dischnya continues,” Nyslara commented.
“I have a word of warning for the queens, Nyslara,” Alex said. “Someday you’ll possess your own long-range ships, and you’ll be tempted to visit Sawa, your home world. But, believe me, the Sawa entities are no longer Dischnya, as you know your soma to be. They were unlike you before we arrived, and they’re less like you now. Be careful. Be extremely careful.”
“I hear Dassata’s warning,” Nyslara said solemnly.
“In the future, I hope to return often and see great things taking place on Omnia. Moreover, I expect to see the Dischnya participating in those changes,” Alex said.
“We hope to see Dassata return often,” Nyslara said, her voice growing husky. She turned her attention to Wave Skimmer, saying, “Nyslara greets the Swei Swee First,” and Alex translated.
“The First greets Queen Nyslara,” Wave Skimmer replied. He couldn’t resist squirting some water into the air to watch the Dischnya hop back. His tweet evidenced his humor at the Dischnya’s long-running aversion to deep water.
“Wave Skimmer is in a good mood for such a somber occasion,” Homsaff huffed.
When Alex translated, he dropped the second part of Homsaff’s statement. Before he left, he called to a nearby SADE, Genoa, and requested he attend the threesome for translations. As he walked away, he glanced at the two queens sitting on a knoll of grass near the stream where the Swei Swee played, the SADE standing politely to the side.
Alex had planted a seed of peace years ago. It had sprouted, the roots had taken hold, and the sapling was already bearing fruit.
Immediately after Alex had left, Wave Skimmer stopped his play. It was an act anyway. He felt as Nyslara did. He rested at the edge of the stream near Nyslara, and his four eyestalks focused on her. “Do you think the Star Hunter First will return?” Wave Skimmer asked, referring to Alex.
“The challenge is great, because the enemy is great,” Nyslara replied. She pulled gently on the soft grass shoots, which were such a contrast to the hard, dry vegetation that dotted the plains of Sawa Messa. “It might not be a question of whether Dassata returns. It might be more important to be concerned if he is successful or not.”
“Our success might come through a series of conflicts, which we must win in every case,” Homsaff said, her voice a near growl.
Nyslara and Wave Skimmer eyed the young queen. While it was true that they were staying, while she was going, none of them was certain what the future held for the Dischnya. If Alex and the Omnians were unsuccessful, then those left behind would wonder when it was their turn.
The evening’s fête exhibited a bittersweet tone. Friends and acquaintances had no idea how long they might be separated or if those traveling with the expedition would ever be seen again.
-8-
Three Transits
The expedition’s journey to the wall required three separate transits to avoid celestial obstacles. Julien had calculated the original course to the wall from the research compiled by the Haraken observatory platform and shared with him by the SADE Jupiter.
At the end of each of the first two legs of the trip, Alex halted the fleet for weeks. Crews were rotated aboard the Freedom to relieve their boredom. More important, the respite allowed the admirals to mix with the Trident commanders. It was thought that if this had been done when they hunted the sphere, then Tatia and her reports might have detected the emotional pressure building in Admiral Tripping.
Tripping’s quest to prove his value to New Terran society led him to risk his ship and crew in a desperate maneuver to capture the sphere, and it cost his crew and him their lives.
At the end of the first leg, Alex focused many of the SADEs on working with small groups of New Terran crew members to further their implant control. The crews were improving rapidly, and Alex surmised it was due to the upcoming confrontation. None of the New Terrans had a desire to be caught wanting.
On the third day after the fleet completed its first transit, Alex convened a council composed of the fleet admirals, commodores, captains, Julien, Z, Miranda, Mickey, Miriam, Luther, and Myron.
Mickey setup a holo-vid on the small stage that projected their destination, and Julien controlled the display’s input.
“When we speak of the wall,” Alex said, opening the discussion, “we’re referring to the curvature of space, which defines where the alien races exist that we’ll confront. Beyond the wall, we’ve detected spheres, by their comm transmissions. On this side of the space curvature, we’ve detected more spheres and a great many probes.”
Julien set a glowing, yellow dot not far from a star system.
“Julien is indicating the spot where Admiral Thompson stationed our Trident after we sent up a flare,” Alex said.
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p; “A flare?” a freighter captain asked.
“We used a banisher to dump a probe into the gas giant at the outer reaches of the nearby system,” Alex explained.
Julien highlighted the gas giant, orbiting in the system’s far limits.
“We waited quite a while for someone to show up. When they did, this is who we saw,” Alex said, indicating the holo-vid.
Julien played the sequence of arriving ships, accelerating the timeline.
“You’ll notice a protective globe of ships is formed first,” Alex said, adding a blue sphere to highlight the formation. “The globe’s center is left open for the arrival of the final vessel, a small sphere. Although its design imitates the large spheres, which invaded our worlds and carried heavily armed ships, this smaller version of the spheres doesn’t appear to act in that manner. Its primary job seems to be communication.”
“Everyone should be aware that while Alex says communication,” Tatia interrupted, “you should not interpret that as merely conversation. As you know, protective comm devices have been installed in the fleet’s ships to prevent this small sphere from turning them into floating rocks.”
There was a shifting in seats, and Alex narrowed his eyes at Tatia. From his point of view, it was too much information too soon. He’d wanted to paint a more positive picture of the operation before he spoke about the dangers.
Tatia, for her part, appeared unfazed by Alex’s pique, but inside she was remonstrating herself. Her job was the battle strategy for any fights. It wasn’t her place to second-guess Alex’s presentation or his overall approach to the alien races unless she felt it endangered the fleet.
“I’ll get to the method by which we’ve protected every ship in the fleet later,” Alex stated firmly. “As I was saying, the small sphere will be the source of any communication, but confronting the comm sphere is not our primary objective. However, accomplishing my plan won’t be easy.”
