by S. H. Jucha
“Let me clear up a few misconceptions you have, Admiral. The three NT Tridents aren’t yours. They belong to your government, which signed an agreement, obligating you and your captains to follow my commands. If you order the New Terran captains to disregard my lawful commands you’re abrogating the agreement, outright, and that means that I can remove you from command of the NT Tridents.”
Again, Tatia picked up the muted sounds of whispers. She suspected it was Tripping and Morney discussing the validity of her argument.
“We seem to be at an impasse, Admiral. Do you have a suggestion as how to proceed?”
“Your controller will have received coordinates from Captain Cordelia. She’s marked an interception point. Proceed there immediately, and you’ll catch the squadron before we exit the system.”
“That works for me, Admiral.”
“One more thing, Admiral Tripping. Don’t ever challenge my authority again or threaten to divert your captains from following their duties. I won’t give you a second chance.”
Tripping was considering his reply, when Captain Morney cued him that the comm link had been cut by Admiral Tachenko.
* * *
The day before the fleet’s launch to hunt the Ollassa sphere, Alex and Renée took the opportunity to visit many of Omnia’s sites. In four years, the planet’s plains had changed in extraordinary ways.
With the fighter squadron enjoying time off, it was Franz Cohen who snatched the opportunity to pilot Alex and Renée around for the day and view the planet up close. He set the traveler down on the bluff overlooking the hive of Wave Skimmer. The Swei Swee was chosen as the First of several hives, which had combined to construct an enormous enclave against the face of a cliff.
After exiting the shuttle, Alex let loose an ear-splitting whistle. Renée, Franz, and he heard a resounding reply from hundreds of Swei Swee voices along the beach, out in the waters, and from the cliff-clinging domiciles. The response had Alex laughing delightedly, and Renée and Franz smiled at his antics.
The threesome worked their way down the cliff path, which the Swei Swee had cut and fastidiously maintained, mostly for their human visitors. As they stepped onto the beach, Wave Skimmer, who had been called to shore by other males and was dripping seawater from his search, whistled his greeting to Alex.
Alex thumped the huge claws of the First, who returned the greeting.
Despite Renée’s love of the Haraken Swei Swee, she found the Omnian Swei Swee intimidating. Wave Skimmer’s massive claws were each as great as Alex’s chest, and, on extended legs, the adult male stood a full meter taller than Alex. There was nothing in Wave Skimmer’s demeanor that indicated he was anything but an intelligent, gentle giant. But he’s so big, she thought, grappling with her anxiety.
On the other hand, Alex either had no concerns or he hid them well. After Alex’s greeting with Wave Skimmer, the two began walking or scuttling, as in the case of the Swei Swee, down the beach. They whistled their chat, like two old friends.
At one point, Wave Skimmer abruptly halted and turned to face Alex, who communicated to the Swei Swee for several moments. When the First’s sudden pause was noticed, the action along the beach froze. The hives stood still to hear what the Star Hunter First was saying.
“We’ve found a second world traveler,” Alex whistled, using the Swei Swee term for the Nua’ll sphere. “We will search for it.”
“Dangerous,” Wave Skimmer warbled. He feared for the Star Hunter First and his people.
“The world traveler is wounded. It will be an easy hunt,” Alex whistled, tweeting his derision of the sphere’s ability to defend itself.
“When?” Wave Skimmer asked.
“When the sky lightens tomorrow, my ships will sail and start the search,” Alex replied.
“The hives will think of you on the search. Come, Star Hunter First. I will show you our hive’s pride.”
Wave Skimmer led Alex along a long stretch of sand to where several youngsters were splashing in the shallow waves. He whistled lightly, and a young female broke away from the group and raced up to the First. She slid to a halt, tweeting a greeting to the First.
“Greet the Star Hunter First, young one,” Wave Skimmer invited.
The youngster issued a brief tweet, which Alex gracefully accepted. However, Wave Skimmer’s four eyestalks bent down to examine the young female, and hers drooped in concern.
“That is the best you can do for the human who has brought us peace? Greet and celebrate him, as it should be. On the following day, he goes to search for the hives’ greatest enemy and, if he fails, he might never be seen again.”
The two-year-old Swei Swee gathered her courage and lifted her torso on spindly legs. From deep in her genetic memory came the desire to celebrate the Swei Swee’s friend and protector. She sang in her high, clear voice, with purpose, composing her little verses on the fly. At the end of her song, her voice turned sweet and soft, as she wished Star Hunter First a long life.
Renée whistled her amazement, “Wave Hunter, the People have a Hive Singer.”
The First rose on his legs and whistled loudly in celebration, the hive joining in.
Alex chuckled and reached down to pick up the youngster. The two warbled softly to each other, before the young female tweeted, “Slide me.” She folded her legs tightly under her, and Alex obliged by walking to the water’s edge. With a tremendous heave, he threw the youngster, spinning across the shallow waters. Her high-pitched scream of pleasure waved in and out, as she spun in a dizzying pattern.
“Congratulations,” Alex said to Wave Skimmer, smacking the giant Swei Swee’s claws.
Alex, Renée, and Franz turned around and headed for the cliff trail, while the hive continued to celebrate the sharing of their wonderful discovery. It was Wave Skimmer who was silent, his four eyestalks focused on the humans. Successful search, Star Hunter First, the Swei Swee thought.
Alex, Renée, and Franz gained the traveler, and she said to Franz, “I want to see Omnia city next.”
Franz piloted the traveler across the ocean to Omnia’s second continent, where humans and SADEs had created their first city, which bore the planet’s name. When they landed, blue synth-skinned Trixie was there to greet them. She stood beside the city’s first, four-seat, grav car.
“These are similar to what we enjoyed on Haraken,” Renée marveled.
“GravMania’s newest product. I’ve been chosen to test drive this initial version,” Trixie replied.
“And promote Edmas, Jodlyne, and Esteban’s business as you flit around the city,” Alex added.
“Promotion and commerce. They go hand and hand, do they not, Dassata?”
“That’s true, Trixie,” Alex replied.
The SADE and the three humans loaded into the grav car. Alex sat in the back with Franz so that Renée could enjoy the better view. As they lifted, Renée twisted around to eye the rear seat. “I do have a minor suggestion for GravMania,” she said.
Trixie glanced behind her. “Yes, Ser, I see what you mean. Either GravMania makes a larger vehicle, or we can’t allow two New Terrans to ride together in the back seat.”
Alex and Franz grinned at each other. Their shoulders were tightly compressed together.
Trixie dropped elevation, slowed the grav car, and retracted the clear canopy. It allowed the men to extend an arm outside the vehicle and gain some room. As she flew, she gave the humans a running commentary.
“The city is growing so fast,” Renée said.
“The faux-shell technology is at the center of it all, Ser. Investment in support industries is growing rapidly. Despite that, demand is outpacing supply. It has the positive aspect of bringing humans and SADEs alike to Omnia. Even the Nua’ll are contributing to growth.”
“The Nua’ll?” Renée exclaimed.
“Now that Dassata’s query has led to the discovery of probes in every system that has been searched, there are new industries providing the means of destroying them. We’re fabri
cating parts for more than a hundred banishers, even now. And, we expect to receive orders from other systems to support the manufacture of some of the more esoteric parts of Tridents, travelers, and scout ships. This industrial growth is in addition to traveler manufacture, which is ongoing.”
“What of the Dischnya, Trixie?” Alex asked.
“An interesting query, Alex. I visited with some of the queens, six days ago. There are subtle schisms growing between the nests. The eldest queens want little change, but are grateful for their structures, which provide them much comfort. The younger queens are anxious for their young soma to embrace the new technologies. Those young attend school and fervently wish to become part of the spacefaring opportunity.”
“When do you think they’ll be ready, Trixie?”
“Not surprising you ask when and not if, Dassata. I would expect to see the desire of the young ones manifest in some form of demand to their queens within the next three to five years.”
“What about introducing them to aspects of this city?” Alex asked.
“This has been proposed and discussed, Dassata. What we do not envision is how to integrate them into our world. We are certain that if they visit the city, they will want to stay, and we’re concerned for the creation of something similar to Sadesville.”
At the mention of the tiny, poorly outfitted enclave of SADEs, who were the first to immigrate to Haraken from the Confederation, Alex winced.
“Let me think on it, Trixie. I’ll see if I can’t come up with a means of eliminating that problem, when the Dischnya are ready to join Omnian society.”
“By the way, Trixie, say hello to Hector for me.”
The electric-blue face turned to Alex, and her mouth split into a wide smile. “Dassata, you know us too well.”
When Alex, Renée, and Franz finished their aerial tour of the city, they said goodbye to Trixie, who hugged each of them.
“May the stars protect you,” Trixie whispered in Alex’s ear.
“Last stop, Nyslara’s compound,” Alex said to Franz, as they boarded the traveler.
After a short flight over the waters to the Dischnya continent, Franz announced,
Alex and Renée picked up the controller’s view of the ground.
“Imagine that,” Renée commented. “Looks like the entire Dischnya soma turned out.”
Alex eyed Renée, who maintained an indifferent expression on her face.
The trappings of the waiting queens were evident at the rim of the vast body of Dischnya. Franz headed there and chose a spot 20 meters in front of them.
Alex, Renée, and Franz stepped from the traveler, and Nyslara’s young heir, Neffess, broke from the crowd and raced forward on her long, slender legs. Despite her small, 1-meter stature, she covered the ground quickly and jumped into Renée’s waiting arms. Hoisting the young heir up, Renée received a wet tongue in the ear for her efforts. It was a sentiment of pups, who had yet to learn the manners of adult Dischnya.
“You’re growing so quickly, Neffess,” Renée complimented her.
“You go?” Neffess asked, as Renée sat her on the ground. It was a sign of the changes in Dischnya society that the pups were bilingual.
“Yes, Neffess. I have told you this,” Nyslara said, as she approached the humans. Her command of the human tongue was limited, but she kept working at it.
“Stay,” Neffess pleaded, but a soft growl from Nyslara had the youngster backing behind her matriarch.
The queens of the Dischnya nests stepped forward to array themselves beside Nyslara.
“Dassata, Ené, and Fanz,” Nyslara said, greeting the humans. Her snout, sharp rows of teeth, and long tongue managed the last two names as best they could.
“We understand you leave on the sky’s new light to hunt your enemy,” Nyslara said in her native language, which the Omnians could translate with their implant software, and Alex nodded his agreement.
“You take warriors?” Homsaff asked. One of the rare young queens, Homsaff trained with many of the battle-scarred wasats and senior warriors under Myron McTavish, commandant of the Dischnya military training academy.
“No, Homsaff. We hunt the enemy in our ships. We land on no worlds. Someday, Dischnya warriors fight with Omnians, and, someday, Dischnya will crew starships, but not today,” Alex replied in the Dischnya tongue.
It always surprised other humans how fast Alex adopted an alien language, not only their words but their speech pattern and mannerisms. In this case, Alex started with his hand, palm up but low, before he swung it gently to the side, a Dischnya sign of negation.
“Dassata promises this?” Homsaff asked.
“It’s not in my power to promise this, but I see it happening,” Alex replied.
Homsaff dipped her muzzle in acceptance, though she was disappointed. She felt her warriors were ready to fight with Dassata and his kind, despite being unable to envision the circumstances under which that would happen.
“No warrior,” Neffess huffed from behind Nyslara’s powerful legs.
“What would Neffess be when she is queen?” Renée asked.
“Neffess fly starship,” the heir replied, stepping into the open and pointing at the sky.
Alex was struck by the accuracy of Trixie’s analysis. The Dischnya young had received a taste of a better life, having crawled out of their dim tunnels to inhabit Omnian-designed and built structures. Now, they wanted more than a communal existence of bartering on the dusty plains. They wanted what the Omnians had.
Alex raised a hand high in the air, saluting the Dischnya, and the soma tilted their muzzles to the sky and howled as one. The harmony of thousands of voices dominated the plains.
When the Dischnya salute died, Nyslara stepped close to Alex. Long gone were the admonitions of wasats that it was dangerous for queens to close on one not of the nest.
“There are no words, Dassata,” Nyslara said, her muzzle mere centimeters from Alex’s face, her eyes boring into his. “You and your people have fulfilled my dreams for the Dischnya beyond what I could have imagined. Know that the entire body of Sawa Messa soma send their wishes for your safe return.” On a final note, Nyslara slipped her muzzle to the side of Alex’s head, and a long tongue curled around his ear. When she pulled away, she barked her laughter, as Alex grinned at her.
Alex raised his hand once more as the three humans turned to board the traveler. When the hatch closed, it silenced the tremendous howls of the Dischnya.
“Everyone is entirely too sentimental today,” Franz said, as the threesome made their way forward. “You’d think they believed we can’t handle a nearly unarmed sphere. It’s like they aren’t expecting us to return.”
Renée had taken a seat, but Alex noticed that Franz had stopped and was waiting for a response from him. It was the specter of Alex’s premonitions. He realized that the emotional farewells had unsettled his fighter group leader, which wasn’t good. But Alex didn’t have an image beyond the one he had shared that he sensed there had been other spheres than the one at Libre, which had proven to be true.
“We will take the necessary steps to trap and confront the Nua’ll without unduly risking our people, Franz. Be assured of that,” Alex said.
Franz accepted the answer and hustled to the pilot’s cabin.
When Alex sat beside Renée, she took his hand in both of hers, squeezed tightly, and then leaned back into her seat to be alone with her thoughts.
-16-
Return to Ollassa
The Trident squadron and scout ships rendezvoused with Tripping’s ship before exiting the system, and the NT Geoffrey Orlan assumed its place in formation. The five Omnians ships formed a wedge, and Tripping chafed that his Tridents were relegated to positions behind the wedge.
Killian and his companions had rece
ived their new scout ship, Vivian’s Mirror, in time to test the vessel and announce it ready for service. The other five scout ships had completed their assigned search patterns and returned in time to accompany the squadron on the hunt.
After a long transit, the fleet exited into the Ollassa system. The SADEs initiated the search for a probe, focusing on the broadcast signal. Immediately, they detected a strong signal and others that ranged from faint to barely detectable.
Having determined there was a probe monitoring the Worlds of Light, Alex ordered the Vivian’s Mirror forward.
The fleet was required to traverse about one-third of the Ollassa system to close on the probe. In the meantime, the scout ship came abreast of the nearest Ollassa warship. Trium linked to the ship’s comm systems, and Bethley, utilizing Julien’s Ollassa lexicon and ultrasonic frequencies sent,
“It’s one of the progenitors’ seedling ships,” the tasker said, who managed the ship’s comms, the bloom turning toward the executor. “It’s requesting to speak with Scarlet Mandator.”
“Tasker, respond to its query,” the executor ordered.
“How?” the tasker asked. “The aliens won’t comprehend our coordinate system.”
“It was said that Julien used images to first converse with Scarlet Mandator. Monitor, try sending an image to the seedling ship,” the executor ordered.
The monitor thought, wondering how to communicate the information to the aliens. Staring at the navigation board, the monitor had an epiphany. First, the monitor annotated a display of the Worlds of Lights with a small circle and placed next to it the shape of the seedling ship. Then a small plus sign located the Scarlet Mandator’s ship position. Finally, a line connected the two positions.
