by Power, P. S.
So having her try to push him around mentally as well was too much. If she got on her knees it would be very hard for him to say no as it was. A thing that he'd have jumped at, if he wasn't half convinced that she was going to try and use some unknown trick to have his baby, against his will.
So he was putting that one off.
When he got back to his pod, a thing that Taman had given him, proving he was ungrateful and probably rude, he shook his head. Still, it was his now, and while he wasn't that tired, he knew that would be coming later. At the wrong time for his life's schedule.
The sun was just coming up for the day, which he still had off, so he went running, not knowing what else to do with himself.
Then, when he got back, having kept it slow and short, it being a rest day, he tried making some things, using magic. The first thing he did was set up a new magical chest. It had occurred to him several times that having more of the things could be useful, so making his own was better than leaving it. That was just copy work, if from memory, so he tried to make a thousand of them at once. It worked, but ate up six hours. It was really clear that there was a big difference between making a copy of his own work and other peoples.
To test that he made more blank stone pieces and then rapidly created a thousand lights. He managed that in two hours even, and they all worked, so it seemed to be all about how well he knew what he was making. To test it, he tried another big batch of floating chests, which took half the time of the last one.
Then he had to stop, since he was running out of space inside his little pod house.
That was a funny thing to have happen really. He had too much magic. It was also a real problem if he wanted to walk around inside ever again, so he loaded up a large chest, floating just outside his door, with the nearly three thousand things that had been made. He kept twenty of the chests, and a hundred lights, then loaded the rest of the first batch into the thing.
It hovered outside his front door, peacefully, the thing nearly a third the size of his house, and seeming to be made of black polished wood.
That meant it was nearly late enough for an early dinner by the time he was finished. He'd skipped out on luncheon, having been working. That was accomplished with a trip to see Tam-Unit, who set him up with a very complex meal, that had three courses. Just as he finished his delicious pie, which was made with peaches, sitting right next to his best friend, Tam-Unit, his pocket buzzed at him.
Fighting to get the thing out, his fingers sticky, even though he would have sworn he hadn't touched the pie with his hands, having been using a fork as he sat on the focus stone next to the blue box, he saw a strange sight.
The face on his handheld was wrong. Not ugly or anything, just unfamiliar. As in, no one he'd ever met before. At first he thought it was a commoner, though the look was a bit too frank and open. There was solid eye contact for one thing.
"Dareg of Earth?" The person speaking was elderly, male, and had the same brown on brown look that the Forten leadership did. He also looked like a really muscular commoner, but clearly wasn't, his face being too sharp in some way.
What he was called was close enough to be correct, if strange sounding.
"Yes? How may I help you today?"
"Ah, good. I wasn't certain I had the right name. Some have been saying it was Darien. We heard that you gave the Ysidril some new light producing units? They're sharing them, of course, being Ysidril, but most seem slated for the dead mech ship so far. I was wondering if I could beg a few of them for the Forten? I've seen a demonstration, and I have to say that I'm impressed." The man looked hopeful, but there was a hint of annoyance underneath it all.
Probably because it seemed as if Dareg liked the Ysidril best. Which he did. He couldn't have said why, but they were his favorite group so far. Still, he had been favoring them a bit.
"I have nineteen hundred of them you can have? I was just playing around earlier, and made some for practice. Do you... Also want some floating chests? I have as many of those suddenly, and really, five to ten of them is more than enough for a single person. I don't have that much stuff, you know?"
The man looked baffled, so Dareg walked over to the one outside his hut, showing a picture of it to the man, then went inside to get the little tile that it wanted to follow around.
"They carry things. You can reset the look to any kind of box really, and make them bigger and smaller. The biggest for this is probably about the size of my tiny hut here? They'll follow whoever has the amulet. If they aren't needed, you can turn it off. The tiles can go in a pocket, since I didn't make holes for string or chain on them. Like I said, I was practicing. That's a bit of an oversight on my part."
The man smiled at that, and started asking questions.
"There's no energy used? Like the lights?"
"Right. They don't really exist, so don't take any energy to do work. A lot of our magic does things like that. Not all. I've been making copies of things made by some of the best builders though, so did it their way." He moved the handheld to catch how the box was following him as he started to walk to prove it worked.
"And we can have all this? Or... I know that you've been working through the Ysidril. Which is happy for us. The Forten... We did not respond well to them at first. It took nearly ten years, and we killed many of them. It was a horror. They don't fight, but my people do, when scared too much." The admission didn't make the elderly man seem happy.
Dareg nodded.
"You can have these. I just need to get them to you. I recently lost my ship." That made it sound like he'd misplaced the thing, but there was a look from the older fellow. One that spoke of understanding, and oddly, pride.
"We saw that. Your deposition about the events, under your odd anti-lying measures. They were on the devices that were provided to us. We... Hadn't realized that we'd be allowed that level of access, to be honest. Now I just need to work out how to get those from there. I know that the Ysidril have been handling that for us so far. Wise of you, arranging that. You can't really trust the Mechs, and the Forten are at least as bad." The words weren't even playful, though the man didn't seem to hold any real heat about it all. "Oh, I'm Yarl, by the way. Leader of the Forten. The President. It's an old term. It basically means that I was voted in, instead of it being by birth."
That was helpful of him to fill in.
"Oh? Like the Premier of Austra? Neat. I can... Probably set that up for you. Where are you?" The part where it was one one of the home ships was just common sense, but that didn't tell him which one.
"F-Two. The Ysidril will know where that is. If you come in at the main..." He stopped and then said a word that wasn't Standard at all. The man had a strong accent, but had been clear and understandable the whole time. That they didn't really speak like Dareg did at home was likely, however.
Dare shook his head.
"Port?" It was a guess, but Yarl smiled, a bit chagrined.
"That's a good enough word for it. Port. Yes. Go to the main port. I can have people standing by there. Please let us know when you plan to come? Can you also arrange for someone to help us learn to use them? The interface is different than what we use."
Dareg thought about it, and decided he could just go with it, if he could be picked up quickly enough.
"I can do it. It isn't that hard. Let me see if I can get anyone to answer me? I wish I had my ship." He forced a smile, but the man didn't react to that in the slightest.
"This is wonderful, Dareg of Earth. I look forward to meeting you."
"And I you, Yarl, of the Forten. See, that sounds silly, doesn't it? Dareg of Earth... People here just call me Dareg." He grinned and shook his head, getting a small twitch of the lips in return.
The man straightened a bit, and raised his chin.
"And I am known as High President of the Forten, Yarlor Sta'Benson." Then he paused and grinned, to show he had a real sense of humor. "But everyone calls me Yarl. I hope you get in touch soon?"
Then the
thing went back to smooth focus stone. After a second sigils came back into being, so he looked up Hess's name, given that he was in charge of all the new fleets jump ships.
The conversation was polite, and fast, since all he had to do was mention the other conversation, and what he'd made earlier that day, which got a bob up and down from the purple and green multi-armed being. That meant he was pleased, Dare thought. That bobbing thing.
"I have sent Neesa for you. It being her task for the time being. Would it be welcome to speak of the planned exchange of young beings soon? Neesa and myself have both felt most comfortable there, and the other groups are eager to strip information from your world, prying in without permission? That is what they accused each other of. I don't know how true it is."
Dareg could see it. Spying was a thing, after all.
"I hope they don't get too into that. We don't really have time for people to start arguing and fighting with each other. The Adversaries are enough."
"Agreed, Dareg. We were told to ask for thirty to be brought? That is not equal to the group that you had here before however, is it? That was eighteen..." It was a guess, but seemed like a good one, given that the being hadn't been there for it himself.
Really, how that had been worked out, Dare didn't know. Not spying, most likely. That probably meant some kind of device had been used to look at them, even inside their ship. Through a shield. That or the size of the ship had been judged, very accurately, and the pattern of how he, personally made room for people had been judged perfectly.
He shrugged, then spoke, since when you got down to it, he wasn't in charge of anything. Just pushy and the kind that said things like he was.
"That shouldn't be a problem. That gives ten from each group? That works. I need to get with some people here, to host them and firm that part of things up. They'll all need supplies, too. I'll make sure they have what they need. Maybe... Some way to make gravity less for your people when they are here? That should be doable." Clothing, toiletries and communication devices. Shields for them all, as well. Ones that would reduce the weight of things around them all the time at a level that could be set by each being.
Hess bobbed again.
"Would doing that next month be allowed? Then having them stay for three months?"
It was a long time, but seemed about right to him. It took time to learn about people.
"Let me see if I can set that up? I have to ask, since the real work won't be mine on that part. It sounds good to me?" Getting with the King made sense, but so did Sam Builder. They needed to have the incoming people go to different lands too, or it would be boring for them.
As he stood there talking to Hess, a mint green ship started to settle. It was smaller than it had been the last time, but the shape was the same.
"Ah! I think Neesa is here. I need to get with President Yarl, so he knows that we're coming."
The Ysidril bobbed again, then spoke, his tone a bit sharp for him.
"Please tell Neesa that I expect her back at our dwelling before the second section? She has studies, and while helping our friends is important, it cannot outweigh her studies."
That was a bit different, but it made some sense.
"Are you and Neesa..." Dareg didn't know what the relationship would be there. His guess was daughter, but they were aliens, so he let himself go silent.
Hess made a soft hissing sound.
"I am her teacher. Mentor? She lives with me, and it is my duty to aid her in learning enough to be a competent adult. That requires responsibility, as well as study. Risk as well, in small measure."
"Ah. Hence sending her to us like this? In case we seduce her away with trinkets and fine foods... That's a risk. Sooner or later the King will want her to come for a meal. The palace is pretty nice."
The Ysidril opened his mouth, several times in a row.
"That is good! I had thought that she might break rules there, not knowing them, but yes, fine foods... That is a weakness of mine, I must admit. Especially meats. They aren't good for me, but I do love them."
"I need to go. Now that I have that knowledge, I'll know what to bribe you with, if needed." That was playing, but Hess got that, it seemed. They parted as he walked, the floating case behind him, moving steadily, rather than the slight wobble that the old kind had. That was due to how they followed the device the field was on. His was a bit smoother that way, but less responsive, delaying its motion by about half a second when he started to move.
A side of the vessel, which was a small six sided shape at the moment, formed a hole in the middle, with a ramp leading up to it. Neesa waddled over and saw him coming already, so bobbled a bit.
"Dareg... You have a tiny ship behind you?"
He glanced back, and got what she meant. It did look a bit like that, from a certain perspective.
"A carrying chest. I have some things for the Forten. More lights, and boxes like this. I had some extra suddenly, and no storage for them. Oh, we need to hurry, I think. Hess wanted me to remind you to be back by the second section? Something about studies. Which... I know how that is. I have some in the morning too, and need to sleep first." He was tired already, having been up for a day nearly, but he used the wakening device, as he climbed the ramp. The box moved in easily enough, and settled to the floor inside, when he put the tile down on the deck. He didn't know that a floating box would do anything in a ship as it moved into orbit, but he also didn't know it wouldn't, and really didn't want to find out as the thing bashed him at thousands of miles per hour.
Neesa moved to the front, and followed the take off protocol carefully, but as soon as they were in orbit, about three minutes later, she jumped. That move had them at her home ships instantly, the view impressive, for about ten seconds. Then they jumped again, and started moving rapidly toward the center of a very large, kind of planet-like, moon.
Neesa spoke as she dove toward it.
"F-Two. We should be inside in a few moments. There is time however. The second section doesn't start for..." She stopped and made clicking noises, her mouth opening her mouth just a tiny bit. After ten, very well timed clicks, she glanced back at him.
He'd stood for the whole trip, sitting not being needed.
"Seven hours? I think that's close. It isn't something we have to worry over. If I'm late, from helping others, then that will be allowed." She seemed certain of that.
Dareg watched what was going on, as they landed. A hole opened up in the large moon, sliding to the side, slowly, and Neesa guided them in. Then they had to wait, for the hangar, or whatever they called it, which was a large space, to fill with air. As soon as that happened, a group of fifteen Forten walked out of a wall, moving quickly. One of them was dark, and not all of them were vastly muscular or anything like that. Three were, and all had silver hair. They did all seem fit, even in the distance, however.
Dareg got out, bringing the case with him, as the people closed the distance between them. The chest bumped the side of the ship as he started down the ramp, but by slowing down, and picking the tile up a bit the black box didn't try to drag its way down the ramp. The things needed controls for that, which should be doable, Dare thought. Ways to direct how it flew using thought as you moved.
The Forten, if they were all that, moved at a good walking pace, but had started at a healthy distance from them. The mass of air moved in and out of the space was insane, since they could have avoided all of it with a good airlock. They clearly had them, since one of the walls had differently shaped sliding doors. This ship could have used any of them.
That meant, he supposed, that the Forten were trying to treat him like he was special. That, or showing how powerful they were. It was impressive, he had to admit. The space was at least half the size of the Noram space port, on the ground. The ceiling was at least that high, up above them. Neesa came to stand by him, speaking softly as people came up.
"That one, near the front? That is President Sta'Benson. I learned of him in my lessons. I don'
t know who all the others are. I think... It's hard to tell. You humans all look alike. I think their economics secretary is with them. That brown woman, there?"
The lady pointed to had skin that would be normal for Noram, and the eyes were right for that as well. The hair, too, if he were going to be honest. It didn't fit the face however, which was attractive enough, but out of place, for a completely different reason. One that, Dare had to admit, would be all about how he viewed her, not the face itself. After all, she looked identical to his mother. Not close, but like a perfect match. Except that his mother's eyes had been a lighter shade. He thought he remembered that. It was her however.
The blood rushed from his face, but no one noticed it. Even as they all got there. On the good side, once he looked around a bit, it was clear that some of the others were familiar too. Yarl, who he'd talked to not long before, for instance.
Also Kevin Straughan.
The man, this version of him, was shorter, by nearly a foot, and had green hair and eyes, with a complexion that was nearly a match for the old, now dead, Kevin. This fellow, who Dare had to imagine wasn't going to be called that in this particular location, seemed to simply be part of the group, however. None of the others seemed to be recognizable to him at the moment, which meant very little. It was tempting to just confront the beings, but there was no way for them to win, in this place and time. Not against two of them.
So instead, he forced a smile.
"Hello! I'm Dareg Canton. Of Earth. I brought some boxes and lights that I made earlier. I was asked to come and show you all how to use them? So, let's get to that? It isn't hard. In fact, why don't you each get one, and try it out?" It was hard, clearing his mind while he opened the box and passed things out. Almost impossible.
By the time the women that looked like his mother came up to him to take her two tiles, he was able to read her fairly well. At first it didn't make sense to his mind. That was due to him not wanting to believe it.
Almost certainly.
The thing there was that she felt... Normal. Like a regular person. Real and whole. Her mind was slightly disarrayed, but not mean or cold. Green Kevin however wasn't there to his magical sense in the slightest. It was really strange, but as far as he could tell, that meant that the brown woman, one of the Forten leadership caste, was the real thing. An actual person, not a copy.
