by Jucha, S. H.
One afternoon, the SADEs took the children, Edmas, Jodlyne, Jason, Ginny, and the six other orphans, to the cliff top overlooking the First’s abode. Alex greeted the young ones and whistled an invitation, designed to call only the First, not wishing the children to face a clattering of adults and younglings. Despite the precautions, the ten children jumped behind the three SADEs after the First broke the top of the cliff trail and scurried across the grass to greet Alex and Teague.
That day was Ginny’s first view of Teague, and she was mesmerized by the boy, who thumped the alien’s blue green claw with abandon. When Teague whistled a greeting to the alien, Ginny peeked from behind Cordelia and imitated his whistle.
Aboard Idona Station, an accident rendered Ginny deaf. She received Terese Lechaux’s medical nanites on station and, after arriving on Haraken, the cell-gen injections, which cured Ginny of her hearing loss and other minor ailments due to her diet’s deprivation. But unknown to anyone, the nanites had restored the child’s innate ability to produce perfect pitch.
The First’s eyestalks swiveled to regard the youngling leaning from behind Cordelia’s legs. He whistled a greeting and was intrigued by the perfect imitation he received. With Teague at his side, the First slowly approached the youngling, who continued to peer at him from behind Cordelia. He whistled a query and received an exact copy, causing him to warble his humor. The youngling was untrained but had the unique capability of a Hive Singer, an individual treasured by the People.
Ginny was fascinated by the alien, and her eyes constantly flicked between the creature and Teague. As the two entities, alien creature and human boy, halted before her, part of her mind cried out to run from the monster, but if the boy could stand next to the creature, then so could she.
“Hi, I’m Teague.”
“Ginny. Who’s this?” she asked, stepping from behind Cordelia and pointing at the First.
“This is the First. He’s the leader of the Swei Swee. They live on the cliff wall. My dad rescued them.” Teague puffed up at the mention of his father’s deed.
Teague whistled an introduction of Ginny to the First, who extended a single, enormous, pointed claw to her. Ginny looked at Teague, who imitated smacking it with a fist. Not wanting to be found lacking in front of Teague, Ginny balled her tiny fist and smacked the top of the blue green claw as hard as she could, only to immediately yank it back and shake it vigorously to reduce the harsh stinging as tears formed in her eyes.
The First warbled softly at the youngling’s efforts. His eyestalks viewed the other younglings still hiding and questioned Teague as to their lineage. It probably wasn’t the best question to ask a young boy, who while he was near to mastering the Swei Swee language was still learning the subtleties of cultural differences. Teague replied that the ten younglings belonged to Julien and Cordelia.
The four eyestalks split between Teague and the children, and the First repeated his query in a slightly different manner and received the same response. He loosed a long, slow whistle, which the little human youngling imitated.
Originally, a SADE was known to the Swei Swee as a “Star Hunter Who Wasn’t” — Alex’s original description of an entity who they couldn’t see having confused them. Now, to see two of these individuals returning after half an annual’s absence with ten younglings and two of them nearly full-grown, the First was more than impressed, he was astonished at the pair’s fertility.
Two days following the children’s introduction to the Swei Swee, Alex gave Cordelia and Julien a warning that the First and a horde of matrons and young females would be descending on their home. The First had spread the word of the tremendous fecundity of Julien and Cordelia, and the hives wished to honor what they saw as a prodigious accomplishment on the part of two Star Hunters,
The Swei Swee arrived at the SADEs’ house followed by a train of haulers driven by Mickey, some engineers, and a large group of techs, who brought a swim tank for keeping breath-ways wet, a live bait tank for food, and a supply of the materials the Swei Swee females required. The females would use the same two-step process to build their homes that created Haraken traveler shells — a process dubbed by Mickey as the application of Swei Swee spit.
Much to the SADEs’ amusement, the matrons eyed the existing structure and ignored it. They built an entirely new residence complete with rooms for twice the present number of children.
Alex questioned the First as to the reason for the extensive residence, and the leader whistled his explanation, saying, “The matrons anticipate the birth of more younglings and are prepared to return in the future to enlarge the home as required.” Alex got a chuckle out of explaining the home’s enormous footprint to Cordelia and Julien.
But Julien wasn’t lost for a retort to Alex. “If the president would be so kind as to stop invading other solar systems, my partner and I would not have the opportunity to collect more lost children.”
Mickey and his engineers moved in behind the Swei Swee, who completed the residence in seventeen days, to do as they had done for Alex and Renée’s house, which was to cut in windows, add doors, install refresher conveniences, and add food-dispensing areas — all the sundry amenities humans required.
* * *
Now nineteen years old, Edmas was completing his first year at university.
Espero University was the brainchild of the scientists who had defected from the UE explorer ship, Reunion, during the UE’s incursion into the Hellébore system. The concept was born one evening during a discussion between Olawale Wombo, the scientists’ leader, and his philosopher friend, Yoram Penzig.
Olawale and Yoram were mulling the contributions they might make to Haraken society, when the little philosopher said, “The Confederation’s Méridiens receive most of their education via implant, and the curriculum is firmly established, but what about the Harakens? They’re a mixed society of Librans, New Terrans, Méridiens, and … refugees,” he added, indicating Olawale and himself with a wave of his hand.
“To refugees,” Olawale agreed, toasting his friend with his cup.
Yoram laughed and rubbed a hand over his 1-inch growth of hair. He couldn’t get over the fact that after three decades of a completely bald pate, he now sported a full head of hair. “Another key difference from the Méridiens is that these people don’t have a static technological base; they’re inventing faster than one would believe,” Yoram continued. “How do the children keep up with the incredible changes in their society’s technology? What and where is the unified source of information that is continually updated?”
“University,” the two men had cried out as one, laughing at their synchronicity. The UE scientists discovered their calling and their contribution to Haraken society.
The Assembly approved funds for the university’s startup, and the scientists smartly recruited specialists to contribute their time as guest lecturers: Mickey taught engineering, the SADEs fulfilled an entire list of instruction from finance to interstellar exploration, Cordelia taught art, and Mutter instructed music courses. Alex was even dragged in to teach civics and government. Terese and fully another thirty Harakens brought their skills and experience to the new students.
Over the next four years, Espero University hired permanent professors, and the campus grew, building laboratories, lecture halls, administration buildings, and student facilities. The Assembly, reviewing the success of the university, felt compelled to underwrite the entire cost. Free education through the collegiate level was deemed a necessity to ensure the planet’s children contributed to a strong and healthy society.
As for Ginny, she developed a fondness for music. It was the means by which Cordelia first calmed her when her hearing slowly recovered and the noise of the world crashed in on her. The sound of Cordelia softly singing for hours to her was something she never forgot.
Ginny was entranced by Mutter, the SADE’s Hive Singer, who could compose and sing in the Swei Swee’s whistling language. She spent much of her spare time in Mutter’s
presence, especially when the SADE visited the Swei Swee. But then, Ginny had a secondary purpose — the young boy who played with the Swei Swee. She was as curious about Teague as she was his playmates.
* * *
The morning after Edmas and Jodlyne overheard the conversation between Cordelia and Julien, they helped feed and prepare the other children for the day.
At one point, Cordelia said, “Enough, Edmas, you’ll be late for your first lecture.” Then as she received a comm, she added, “We have a guest … at your request, it seems.”
Z landed at the sprawling home in his personal transport, having to forgo his flit, since he was ensconced in his Cedric façade, the huge New Terran avatar that housed an extensive array of weaponry. He was prepped for the twins’ operation to trace the escape route for Henry’s people, which would take place later in the morning.
The SADEs, Edmas, and Jodlyne retired to a private room at the boy’s request. To the ex-tunnel rats’ relief, Julien and Cordelia graciously ignored the question of how the teenagers acquired their information.
“There’s a reason that Étienne and Alain are having trouble finding this club,” Edmas added. “The location is passed by word of mouth, and the offer is made only to young people like us, although no one has approached me.”
“But someone has asked me,” Jodlyne said, “and we’re sure the club you’re looking for is the same place this boy is offering to take me.”
“How are you sure?” Julien asked.
“How many clubs are you searching for?” Jodlyne asked in reply.
“An excellent point,” Z admitted. “We’re looking for one club, and she has received an offer for one.”
“We can locate this place for you,” Jodlyne said earnestly.
The SADEs discussed the issue privately. Cordelia was adamant in her opinion, which was no, emphatically no. Julien, who saw the value of the teens’ offer, was hesitant to contradict Cordelia.
Z sent to his fellow SADEs.
Even years later, Z treasured the memories of the teens’ first ride on his ancient horse avatar. Jodlyne whooped and yelled, “Look at me, Edmas,” as Z rode first one then the other teen across an immense meadow. The teenagers were always the first to see his newest avatars, and if the constructions could accommodate humans to ride in or on, they were the first to do so. That Edmas studied engineering at an advanced level at university was due largely to his love of working on the avatars with Z and Claude Dupuis, one of the Méridien survivors of the Rêveur.
“Enough,” Jodlyne said, interrupting the SADEs’ comms. “We appreciate that you are concerned for our welfare, but you forget that we survived for years harassing the militia without being caught. We are not strangers to danger. So, if you are undecided, why don’t we ask the president if he would like our help getting his sister back?”
At the mention of Christie, Cordelia retreated from her objections. Without Alex, her life, as rich and complete as it had become, would not have been possible.
“We will support your decision to help,” Cordelia announced, “but under one condition, which is inviolate. You don’t take a single step in this investigation unless it is approved by one of the three of us or the twins.”
* * *
After Edmas’ last afternoon lecture, which was an in-depth examination of nanites’ mobility given by the SADE Dane, he hurried home on his flit to scoop up Jodlyne and return to Espero’s city center. Nearing a million in population and counting, the founding Librans were astounded by the growth of their capital city.
Landing near a group of shops frequented by many of the city’s young, especially visitors, Edmas and Jodlyne strolled the shops, purchasing small, sundry items to keep up the front.
“Hey there,” a voice behind Jodlyne called, and she turned to find the boy they sought.
“Oh, hey, Serian,” Jodlyne replied. “You remember Edmas?” She had thought of the New Terran teenager as attractive, but knowing that Serian was enticing her to a dangerous club elicited an entirely different emotional response. However, she played the game as if she was aboard Idona Station, and Serian was just one more member of the militia, who were the enemy of the rebels, her people, before the Harakens arrived.
The two boys nodded to each other, and Edmas wandered away to give them some privacy, but he kept a close eye on Jodlyne. He had always thought of her as the skinny, crying eleven-year-old girl he discovered hiding in the tunnels, someone who would always be his responsibility.
After Jodlyne’s parents were arrested by the Idona Station militia for aiding the rebels, she chose to run away rather than face transport to an inner world and internment in a UE-run orphanage. Watching Serian chatting with her, leaning into her space, and Jodlyne playing him as they had toyed with the militia made Edmas smile, but it also made him examine her a little more closely. At seventeen and with the aid of the cell-gen injections and Haraken food, Jodlyne was no longer a malnourished child.
“So what do you think, Jodlyne, you interested?” Serian asked.
While Serian was talking, Jodlyne happened to glance toward Edmas, and she missed the boy’s question, having to ask him to repeat it. The look on Edmas’ face was one she hadn’t seen before, not directed at her anyway, and, deep down, she experienced a tiny thrill. It took you long enough, she thought.
“Yeah, I could be interested, but it has to be tonight,” Jodlyne replied.
“No splats here! Pick you up?” Serian asked. The thought of Jodlyne crowding onto his flit behind him was producing a serious fantasy for the teen.
“Meet you there. I’ll take my flit like I’m going to a friend’s house. I can’t stay late … just for a few hours.”
“Okay, meet you here at 24.50 hours,” Serian said, with a winning smile, pressing a small card into her hand and hurrying away.
Probably running to find more fools to give his cards to, Jodlyne thought.
The two teens examined the card, which had a pair of decimal-separated numbers. Edmas twigged to it first. “Clever … locator points in the city.” In his implant, he pulled up a map of Espero, located the grid points, and shared the map with Jodlyne.
While Jodlyne was thrilled with their success, she was much more interested in testing what she thought she had observed a few moments ago. She leaned close to Edmas and asked, “How do you want to play it?”
Edmas frowned and pulled his head back, but a slight blush colored his cheeks, and Jodlyne had her answer. So I’m no longer a lost, scraggily, tunnel rat to you, she thought with satisfaction.
-5-
Henry gave up the instructions to the twins for contacting his leader, Cherry, who would facilitate the team’s exit from the planet, without any encouragement — except for the part where Étienne asked Henry if he would rather talk to the president than them.
Following Alex’s explicit instructions, Étienne and Alain took six troopers armed with heavy weaponry and Z, housed in his Cedric-suit, who was a substantial weapon in his own right. Z accessed the unit’s security module outside of the room Henry rented, and the Harakens searched it for information that might help them locate the girls, but nothing turned up. They did locate Henry’s contact card tacked to the ceiling. It was hidden in plain sight, camouflaged by blending into the ceiling’s coating, until a UV light, stuck to the bottom of a drawer where Henry said it would be, revealed the card.
Following the grid points on the card, the team ended up at a small warehouse used to store
New Terran imported goods. Covering three of the exits with troopers, the twins let Z take the fourth door, which he entered by slamming a massive boot against its center. The reinforced metal door bent in about a half-meter, hung there for a moment, and then the entire door frame tore away from the building wall with a resounding screech of metal.
The warehouse was loaded with goods, which Z scanned. They were legitimate goods, and a search of the premises was no more fruitful. Cherry, if she even existed, was not to be found.
One of the troopers did discover a cold room, which didn’t seem to be unusual for a warehouse, except no one could think of any frozen New Terran goods that Harakens might purchase. Z snapped off the cover of the security mechanism, accessed the circuitry, and quickly overrode the system. Inside the twins and Z discovered three human corpses stacked one on top of the other and sealed in clear, vacuum bags.
“Let me guess … Busty,” Étienne said, noticing the pronounced outline of the uppermost frozen body. “Fangs and Legs must be the other two.”
“I’m not sure I understand the New Terran concept of escape route,” Alain remarked.
“What’s obvious is that the individuals we are dealing with are much more lethal than we might have surmised. I suggest we proceed with that concept in mind,” Z said.
“Meaning?” Alain asked.
“Shoot first, and query them later,” Z remarked and marched back out of the cold room.
While the troopers recovered the bodies, Z searched records for the warehouse’s owner, discovering it had been recently rented by a New Terran company by the name of Desmonis Distribution.
* * *
The raid on the club was fraught with issues before it ever got started. According to Henry, the operators of the club would be dispensing drugs, which necessitated Terese and her medical teams accompany the forces making entry into the club. But Terese was bothered by the lack of information about the chemicals being distributed and to what extent they represented a danger to the teens.
