by P H Campbell
"And your society was fine with that?" Councilor Mortman was flummoxed by Seren's story.
"We grew up fast," Seren explained. "If you could bleed, you could breed. I was on that cusp, so I was basically in charge of myself and responsible for my own care and feeding. It didn't hurt me, because Borderlandians aren't tolerant of abusing kids. And it gave me some insights into how people think and act. Plus, it really helped my family. My birth mother had left me at an orphanage, because I was so strange looking. In her society, they're a very racist group, and you had to look like everyone else, more or less, if you wanted to live. She knew the Borderlandians were remarkably tolerant of racial types, so left me with them."
"How horrible," Councilor Mortman remarked. "Have you ever met her?"
"Oh, sure," Seren nodded, looking around then pointing. "So have you. Majel is my adoptive mother. Walentia is my birth mother."
Councilor Mortman looked where Seren was pointing, then looked back at Seren. He paused in his conversation to try to understand the society in which Seren had been born.
"There is much more to you than the briefings I have received pointed out," he told her.
"I'm fairly sure those briefings have left out a lot of critical, need to know, information," Seren smirked. "But I'm here now. This is your shot to change my perspective."
"I shall endeavor to do so," Councilor Mortman promised.
CHAPTER 14
Back on UGC 0751-C, the crisis was coming to a head. The UGW didn't have enough ships close enough to evacuate the entire planet. But no one had thought about the Shade Alliance having a colony ship that could do the job only a few days' flight time away from the stricken UGW planet. Treah made that suggestion to the council, and Looie relayed the situation to Seren.
That same day, Councilor Mortman asked Seren about her impression of Cinder.
"I'm not sure that's relevant to why we're here," Seren replied.
"A situation has come up on UGC zero seven five one charlie," Councilor Mortman replied. "We need to evacuate the planet faster than we had realized. We don't have enough ships in the area to do that. But the Shade still have the colony ship they stole, and Treah reminded me of that. They're close enough to evacuate everyone in time. My question really is, would Cinder agree to that?"
"For a steep fee, sure," Seren shrugged. "The Shade will want compensation and I'm sure they'd know the value of what they have. We Worlders can relate to that philosophy a lot better than pure altruism, even if they're not an ideal partner to ally with considering our position.
"But if you pony up an offer, say a few planets closest to their territories you folks have moved in on over the years, I'd bet Cinder would get it there on time if she had to get out and push."
"That might be problematic," Councilor Mortman remarked. "But it's not a matter of feasibility, but one of price, yes?"
"I'd say so," Seren nodded. "Mind you, I don't know for sure, but from how she and the Twins described the Shade, that's how they operate. And Cinder may be opportunistic, but she's very dedicated to the spirit of the Shade and only wants what's best for her people.
"Besides," she added significantly, "from what I understand, Lyle Dufour was fixing something the UGW did deliberately a long time ago that made it harder for the Shade to find habitable planets. I think it would go a very long way to easing any tensions there if the UGW provided a significant gesture of good will in asking the Shade for a huge favor by saving millions of UGW citizens."
Councilor Morton considered that aspect. Then he remembered what title Seren claimed to have in her government: Negotiator.
"It would seem that your skills as a negotiator, or whatever it is you do for your governments, are exceptional, Seren," he remarked. "You have adroitly arranged a position in which we have no choice but to do as you ask. Which would be more inconvenient for us? Lose millions of people, or have a billion people wait an extra year for a new planet?"
"That's not a math I ever learned to calculate," Seren admitted. "My experience is lives are always more important than convenience."
"The same math teacher taught us both," Councilor Mortman agreed. He stood and said, "If you'll both please excuse me, I need to convene with the Council about this matter. I'll take your input under close advisement."
Sasha watched him hurry away to a waiting ground vehicle then said, "That went well, I think."
"Me, too," Seren agreed. "Here's hoping Cinder gets a good deal."
"You're not worried about the evacuation?" Sasha asked, surprised by Seren's calm.
"No, Treah and Miralenda won't blow it up until they're in position," Seren shook her head.
"Wait, what position?" Sasha asked.
"They're not what they seem to be, Sasha," Seren told her.
"What are they?" Sasha wondered.
"Technically, they're both energy created by the entity we call UGC oh seven five one charlie," Seren explained. "They are, for lack of a better term, its consciousness. It created Miralenda from my conjuring, and her consciousness, which was part of the consciousness of the entity that came to rescue the one that makes up seven five one charlie. That entity integrated into the consciousness that Treah always was. It understands us and wants to learn more about us. But in its physical form, it's limited to what it can do in this dimension, so it will covert itself into energy, and move through space to protect The World from McGrew Portals for the indefinite future and we can teach it about humanity in a somewhat more direct fashion."
"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you had too much to drink," Sasha joked sadly. "Does that mean Treah and Miralenda will die, or go away?"
"I don't think so," Seren speculated, shaking her head. "They said they'd be around. I believe them."
"So the problems on seven five one charlie are of their making, and they'll control when things go boom?" Sasha asked.
"Yep," Seren nodded. "That will give the entity the energy to transfer most of its special energy to our system. Treah and Miralenda will be the receivers. Katy will use the Talon to put them where they're supposed to go. After that, they'll be a north star and a south star in our skies. Since they control when the planet changes, they'll have the time to get everyone off of the planet before it turns to energy."
"So, no worries?" Sasha asked.
"Only over Murphy's Law," Seren smiled.
On UGC 1182-C, Cinder was all but biting her nails. She hated to wait. She was a woman of action, and patience was not a trait she'd learned easily. When the QUESTOR technician announced an incoming signal from UGC 0001-C, Cinder deliberately had to calm herself down to appear surprised by the call.
"I thought I would be speaking with Bleath," the human female UGW council member who appeared on the screen stated. "It is a matter of urgency that I speak with him at once."
"I'm Cinder," introduced herself as she sat down in front of the screen. "I'm the new leader of the Shade Alliance. What's up? I thought we just negotiated a fairer deal with you folks."
"We have," the woman acknowledged. She was a much, much older woman who appeared to have experienced a lot of life before ascending to the UGW council. "And we apologize for the inconvenience our predecessors created for your people."
"That's refreshing," Cinder noted. "Apologies are nice, but cash is better. Not that we're complaining about the new treaty, mind you."
"In that vein, I believe we have an offer for you which will work to our mutual advantage," the Councilor who still hadn't introduced herself, stated. Her manner of speaking and tone hinted at her being refined, but Cinder detected hints of roughness around the edges that didn't really mesh with her appearance.
"A woman who gets right to the point, I like that," Cinder smirked. "What's the offer Councilor… What is your name, anyhow?"
"Councilor Juneau," the elderly woman smiled. "And the offer is simple. We have a pressing need to hire your colony ship to rescue the inhabitants of UGC zero seven five one charlie from imminent destruction."
"Sounds dire… Wait…," she paused. Then continued, "I was just there a month ago or so. We left Treah there. What's going on?"
"We're not sure, to be honest, but we believe the planet is becoming unstable," Councilor Juneau told her. "We have initiated evacuation orders and all resources have been pressed into service to find and round up all of the inhabitants of the planet for immediate evacuation."
"To where?" Cinder wondered.
"At the moment, it's less a matter of where than it is by what means they'll be going," Councilor Juneau replied. "We only have the means to save a few thousand. The colony ship can carry millions we can negotiate a final disposition for them."
"This could be the beginning of something very good, or something very bad for us," Cinder noted. "I'm open to negotiation."
"Instead of monetary payment," Councilor Juneau offered, "we will give the Shade Alliance the system UGC eight three eight two. It has one very habitable planet and two that can be terraformed. Its resources are nominal, but sufficient to fully develop the system itself in exchange for your using the colony ship to evacuate the inhabitants of the UGC zero seven five one system and hold them in stasis until a final disposition is settled."
"My counter offer is to have two very habitable planets with at least the same level of resources to fully develop them," Cinder replied. "That can be in the same system, or in two. Terraforming isn't something we're able to start, so they're not that valuable to us in the short term.
"If that's agreeable, we'll take the inhabitants of UGC zero seven five one charlie off your hands for you, or we can ship any who want to go to the UGW back to you on our dime."
Councilor Juneau considered the counteroffer, then nodded once, "We have an agreement, provided your colony ship can leave immediately for the UGC zero seven five one system."
"We'd need to get personnel aboard to help stuff folks into stasis pods first…" Cinder mentioned.
"The R&R crews already on the planet will assist in that, and will have the residents ready for evacuation when you arrive, if your ship leaves within the hour," Councilor Juneau insisted.
"I think we can mange that, barely," Cinder agreed, sounding irked, but knowing full well that everyone was already on standby for moving out at a moment's notice. They had been for the last two days.
"If we detect the colony ship on course within the hour, we have an agreement," Councilor Juneau stated. "And in case you're wondering, if they don't leave by then, they won't have time to evacuate and be safely away before the planet disintegrates."
"I'll pass that along with the offer terms," Cinder noted. "Might put some life into their motivation to help the UGW."
"If you succeed, the UGW will be in your debt," Councilor Juneau mentioned.
"Yes, that the part about this I like the most," Cinder admitted. "But time's wasting. Nice talking with you Councilor Juneau. I'm sure we'll be talking again."
"Given that you seem to be a much more reasonable and level-headed individual than your predecessor, I am equally certain of that as well," Councilor Juneau agreed. "Safe skies, Cinder."
The screen went dark to reveal the reflection of shock on Cinder's face.
"Safe skies" is what the Shade used to say one another to identify themselves as Shade when others might be listening.
"I'll be fucked," Cinder muttered, then hit the intercom. "We are a go. Depart in forty-five standard."
"Yes, Cinder," the reply from the Fusions and those manning the colony ship's main systems came back.
Forty-five minutes later, with the Botany Bay firmly secured to the hull of the colony ship and ready for H-Space, the colony ship set course for UGC 0052-A, the official Universal Galactic Catalog number for The World.
A few days later, they dropped out of H-Space, matched a pre-calculated speed and trajectory, then cut the Botany Bay free to be a space station in relatively close proximity to the most lucrative parts of the system's exceptionally lucrative resources. Moments later, it re-entered H-Space on the way to UGC 0751-C to evacuate the planet.
No one in the UGW noticed that the Botany Bay was no longer in the UGC 1182 system. Nor had they noticed it had left with the colony ship.
Cinder sent a message to Looie once the Botany Bay departed the UGC 1182 system.
"It sounds like the plan is moving along," Looie reported to Seren after Cinder's call. "I've informed the others."
"Thank you, Looie," Seren sighed, relieved. The hardest part of the plan was making sure the Botany Bay could get to the UGC 0052 system undetected. Since it was smaller than a colony ship, and the colony ship had power to spare for space travel, overburdening it for a short trip from the Shade Alliance to The World's system wouldn't blow out power systems.
Once the Botany Bay was put into orbit, the colony ship could continue on its way without any worries about straining ship's power. If someone commented about the delay, it would be explained by the fact the colony ship hadn't gone into H-Space in more than a decade and they had to fix some issues on the way to and from the H-Space jump points.
They even rigged the logs to prove it.
All that remained was for the delegation to carry through their part on schedule, and for Talon to position Miralenda and Treah at the right points at UGC 0052-A by the right time.
Treah and Miralenda were on Talon, the latter having been introduced to him by Katy. Miralenda was entranced by the AI who controlled the entire vessel. Treah had already worked with him in the past when she had been part of the crew.
"We need to put these two into specific positions above and below a planet at UGC zero zero five two alpha," Katy told him.
"We have no ship suits to protect them," Talon mentioned.
"We won't need protection, Talon," Treah told him.
"So, it's time," Talon stated, as if he knew all along what Treah's true nature was. "In that case I suggest using the Superhawks. We only carry two, but they will go toward a worthy cause."
"What's a Superhawk?" Miralenda wondered.
"I will program their flight path, and program the ejections," Talon asserted. "I presume you want simultaneous egresses?"
"Yes, Talon, thank you," Treah agreed, then turned to Miralenda, "They're space vehicles. We'll remove anything not of us, each of us will get into a Superhawk alone and Talon will fly us to where we need to be, then push us into space on our mark. When that happens, the Talon must be very far away, since it will convert our mass to energy, and it could damage him."
"I'll be at full shields," Talon assured them. "I'll be fine."
"The energies we will be releasing may overwhelm your shields," Treah advised him. "They have no analog in this dimension. They will be like nothing you've ever experienced."
"We'll be well out of the way," Katy promised them.
Because they needed Treah for communicating the status of the planet to the Galactic Council, Talon stayed on the surface of the planet for the entire evacuation. Having Miralenda aboard made it easy for Katy and Talon to know when the end of the planet was near. Treah would come aboard before that happened. They'd already arranged for Katy to bring Treah back to the UGW. Only they failed to mention that "the UGW" didn't mean an actual planet over which it had jurisdiction, nor one upon which they'd all land.
"I think we're about ready," Miralenda remarked as the ground began to shake even more than it had before.
"Yes, it's time," Treah confirmed, coming aboard at that moment.
"Raise ship," Katy stated.
The Talon lifted off the surface of UCG 0751-C for the last time, knowing that in a few short hours, the entity would turn the planet into pure energy, and the two women with Katy on the Talon would… Change. Katy wasn't certain if that was death, or something else, but she recognized the necessity in the sacrifice. The Treah she thought she knew was never really a human. She was always the manifestation of a powerful entity who wa
nted to learn more about the dimension to which it had traveled in the distant past. The new woman was apparently something similar, but different. Katy vaguely understood her role in things, but as it was, she wouldn't be able to explain it to someone else in any way that made sense.
But she was crystal clear, as was Talon, on what needed to happen first.
With the chaotic goings on near the R&R ship as it, too, prepared to depart, no one noticed the Talon's departure. Minutes later, the Talon reached the H-space jump point and transitioned, on course to UGC 0052-A known to its inhabitants as The World.
CHAPTER 15
Back on Earth, the delegation's time for their stay was drawing to a close. They had been "on the road", so to speak, for almost half a year standard. Everyone was looking forward to getting back home, giving their reports, and hoping the council wouldn't penalize them for more or less subverting the entire reason for their leaving.
Seren knew what Thoria expected of her. Thoria would likely placate any of the other council members who might object to sharing their system with aliens who could better exploit the resources than the Worlders ever could. A new world for their new neighbors was a small price to pay for that service, especially since The World had no native technology capable of even getting into space, let alone mining mineral-rich asteroids and planetoids.
"Any word?" Seren asked the Twins as they boarded the mining ship after saying their farewells. They had their own QUESTOR unit as a courtesy, and codes to call all the people they knew – except for Katy Reynolds who the Council didn't even know they knew.
"Not yet," Looie reported. "The Talon should be leaving for The World soon, though. According to the timetable, the colony ship should finish the evacuation sometime around now, and that's when the Talon is supposed to lift off for the World, too."
"Miralenda will know when it's safe to blow the planet," Seren said, then paused, shook her head, and sighed. "That'll be the second planet she's mostly destroyed. I wonder if she thought about that."
