“Uh, erg. Ormond, do I really need to look this up?” Marc managed to sound dreadful. “My head is still ringing from earlier.”
“Try your suit’s painkiller dose,” Meriam said.
“Um, say what?”
“Your suit, it has all kinds of medicines and drugs that it can put into your body directly, without any kind of pain either. You barely feel it,” Meriam answered.
“How do you know that?” Lekiso said, breaking into the silent conversation.
“Oh, well, with the attack and the scare, my display popped up options to deal with my racing heart and elevated stress levels. Some of those options involved drugs, so I checked up on them. The suit administers them through microsensors connected to the dermal layer of our skins.”
Meriam sounded quite happy that she had worked something out before the rest of them.
“Uh, hey, you’re right, and it is working quickly too. My head is feeling so much better,” Marc said.
“Hey, Ormond, the Domum source of energy is also why they are one of the most important aliens in the Galactic Citizenship.”
“Say what?”
“Uh, I’ll get back to that. Let me explain: The Domums discovered a way to gather and store this kind of gas that is present in the inner areas of gas giants. Since gas giants are massive, like many times the size of Earth, they have a tremendous amount of gravity inside, like going deeper into the ocean.”
“The Domums built extractors that can pull up the gases from these inner layers, and one of the gases, they then extract in some kind of complicated process, which I think will make my head hurt again. This gas, when properly treated and contained, can be jolted with an electric current, which it then carries, magnifies, and gives out as energy.”
As the small man carried on, Ormond was thinking to himself about how much he missed Marc having to pause for breath when speaking out loud.
“So, basically, they can make these batteries of almost any size that hold gigawatts or more of power; only the consumption of energy defines how long the batteries last. Each of these carriage rings, for example, has four of their type six cells and can operate on them for months before needing replacement.
“The Domums even use much larger versions to power their starships and cities. The potential uses for this kind of simple and clean energy are limitless. It has no waste and no radiation. It’s the ultimate answer to a high-technology society!”
Ormond couldn’t help himself, Marc sounded so excited.
“Hey? Whassat, then?”
“Uh, you see, for any culture, like humans or Domums, to become a high-technology culture, they need power. Lots and lots of power. Without a huge source of power with no downside, the technology base of a civilization can’t support the growth of the civilization itself. Eventually, any high-technology civilization has to develop long-term clean energy sources. Or big ones with waste byproduct they can deal with without hurting themselves. Look at the Lanillans. They don’t mind the radiation waste, so they stopped building at nuclear power.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll take your word for that, Greenpeace.”
“Um, no, it’s not about the environment, at least not only. It’s about what you can realistically provide power for when technology gets big and sophisticated.”
Marc seemed to search around a bit mentally before he gave up.
“Never mind. What you need to know is that they have the capability to power anything they need to, which allows them to build a whole lot of things that we wouldn’t even try to because of the power restrictions.”
“Ah, check. Got it. Err. Thanks.”
Ormond could practically hear the amusement from the other three seeping in over the com channel.
“Yeah, coupled with superconductor technology, so there is no loss of energy, which the Domums got from the Aleran species…”
Ormond cut Marc off, thankfully, by marking out the view outside for everyone and saying, “Lookit that, then. Is that their command center?”
The Puzzle Box command center, which had grown in size over the centuries, was a mashup of metal girders and structures. With the nexus of hoops and rings all joined together in two spheres for the pair of major magnetic carriageways, the hubs marked two points along the length.
At the top, the enormous saucer-looking structure that was the primary communication and network hub for the Puzzle Box dominated the upper view from their carriage.
Meriam broke into Ormond’s thoughts about the size of the construction outside being more significant than anything humans had ever built on the ground with a question: “If these Domums run a galactic civilization, how come we’ve never managed to get a reply from them with all our radio and stuff from Earth? Are they trying to keep us out because we are too primitive or something?”
“Uh, no. Now that you mention it, it’s because we aren’t in the Milky Way galaxy at all.”
Marc didn’t sound right when he said that, which worried Ormond.
“What do you mean, mate?”
“Um, well. The Milky Way is the galaxy that Earth is in, one among the millions of stars that make it up. We are in another galaxy, an older one closer to the center of the universe, called NGC 1569 by us.”
“What the hell? How many light years away from home are we? And what the hell kind of name is that? I’ve at least heard of the Andromeda Galaxy.” Connor wasn’t happy, and he managed to sound it too.
“Hey, uh, the correct measurement used by astronomers is parsecs.”
“I don’t give a shit, Marc. Where the hell are we?”
“Sorry, uh, not on the same side as Andromeda. It hasn’t even been given a name yet by our astronomers, just the label. We are over a billion light years from Earth. Sorry.”
“Not your fault, mate,” Ormond couldn’t help saying even as he joined the others in considering precisely what they were into so very far from home.
* *
The five humans’ silence didn’t seem to fluster the Domum security guards.
They got off the magnetic carriage when it docked in the command center hub without comment. Lekiso was impressed with their diligence, though; not once had either of the Domums let down their guard or been distracted from watching the humans.
Their conversation had stopped in the carriageway, and the only comment was what she had said to keep them focused. A simple “Stay on task, people” had helped them all get their heads back into the situation.
As weird and helpless as everything felt, she knew that the officer training was still right: stay busy, stay focused, and gather Intel. If possible, she would set up communication with Earth. The distance involved was mind-blowing, but she knew her priorities.
If she had only had the time to prove herself in the officer’s exam. Providing aid relief to the African countries had called to her, delaying her chance.
The Domums led them all into an elevator of the same design as the one they had used in Enone Hub. This one traveled longer because they went all the way up the command center central structure, right to the very top—where, of course, the commander would be.
At least their military seems to operate similarly to ours. The thought swept through Lekiso’s mind as the lift doors opened and the guards moved ahead of them along a corridor between two low steps on either side.
She noticed that Connor and Ormond were both also staying aware of their surroundings, Ormond with more practice, while Meriam and Marc were absorbed by the view.
To either side of the passage they walked down, there were banks of displays where other Domum dressed like the two guards were at work. Beyond them, the arcs of the command center saucer construction swept past; the view out over the Puzzle Box was spectacular. Within the windows were display graphics and markings tracking moving objects or highlighting stationary ones.
A real operations center. Lekiso could admire the organization shown here.
At the end of the lowered floor serving as a passage, they came to an
other station door. Markings on the side of the door were translated in Lekiso’s display when she looked at them: “Presiding Commander Obragon Vax.”
Lekiso couldn’t help the humorous thought: So, even the aliens like having their name on the door.
The two guards didn’t pause; the door opened a half-second before they would have collided with it, and the humans followed them inside the large room. The commander’s office was lavishly decorated with a host of things that Lekiso had not expected.
The floor was carpeted in some kind of fabric with designs made from small feathers, which she couldn’t get a good look at, not if she wanted to be ready when the commander was there waiting for them.
He was also a large Domum.
Even seated, he looked down on Lekiso. He sat behind a big desk made from either plastic or wood of some kind, its matte surface unscratched and gleaming. The wall behind him had a banner of some sort with a grid pattern of lines and dots.
Her memory implants were filling in some details about it being a mark of his family house, but there was a lot more behind that, so she reserved it for later recall.
On their right, just before the door, stood a large mannequin adorned in a gray and black rig upon which were mounted big oval panels. Lekiso thought it looked like some kind of armor, but much bigger than a human could wear and very bulky.
She remembered the Domums were heavy-worlders, so he could probably carry that weight, and it would be full tactical gear for him.
On the left wall were some big displays, currently blank, arranged above a lengthy desk with eight chairs so the office could double as a briefing and meeting room when necessary. Everything was bigger in size and looked sturdier than what humans would build, further evidence of just how different the environment was compared to what Lekiso was used to.
“I greet you, humans.” Commander Vax, at least that’s how Lekiso thought of him, had a bald head and the typical prominent Domum bones under the sky-blue skin of his species.
He also wore a handlebar mustache proudly, the hairs going white on the ends but otherwise an unrelieved black. Her memory implants had something to tell her about it being a sign of his stature that he could grow the mustache, but for now, she focused on what he was saying.
“You may find it interesting to know that I tried to look your species up in the galactic database.” Commander Vax did not get up.
He remained seated and spoke to them calmly over the top of his overlarge desk. His hands were flat on its surface, and he didn’t seem to be annoyed or excited. The two guards had moved to stand one on either side of the room by the door after they’d come in.
“But do you know what I found?” He smiled at them with his big, white, blunt teeth.
Lekiso almost replied with a “No, sir!” but managed to reign in the impulse.
The man projected a keen authority, something she had experienced only a few times in the United Nations forces.
Getting no reply, the commander continued. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing, no reference to you or your biology. Now, I know we have been getting refugees in, but surely, if you knew to come here, you would have dealt with someone, some species, before now?”
Lekiso found herself at the front of her little group, so she assumed she should answer. “I greet you, Commander.”
Awkward!
She managed to avoid twitching from the desire to salute. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t know if you have us in your database or not.”
“Oh? Now, that is also interesting. So, since you have killed a Lanillan—in self-defense, I acknowledge—and you are an unknown species, I thought I would bring you here to ask you one thing: what are you doing here?”
The other four humans all looked at Lekiso with various expressions of surprise as she answered honestly: “We don’t know.”
There was a moment of silence before Commander Vax exploded with a hearty Domum laugh.
He sat back in his chair, the motion making him taller, and said, “From your companions’ expressions, I would say that you have told the truth. Good. I do prefer to have an honest conversation once in a while. Especially with the general kinds of Beings I have to bring up here for…discussion.”
Lekiso understood the emphasis that the Domum put on the word: it was the same military speak to say something without saying it.
“We are attempting to discover our purpose here ourselves,” she replied carefully.
“Hum, are you, now? I take it this is not some philosophical or religious quest by your tone. You seem to be genuinely confused.” The big alien tapped one large blue thumb on his desk; the other three fingers just about rumbled along with the motion.
“I will take you at your word, then. But be warned. We have loaded programs into the station network that will monitor your every activity from now on. The only place we will not intrude is aboard your own vessel, so if you want privacy, I suggest you stay on board. In the meantime, feel free to use any facility in the Puzzle Box, but bear in mind that we are watching you. One death in self-defense, with evidence on your side, we can understand, but don’t let there be more such accidents.”
Obragon Vax, commander of the Puzzle Box, leveled a stare at Lekiso that promised dire consequences if there were to be any more…discussions…needed.
She understood him perfectly.
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
Her response did get a smile from the big blue alien, one with respect in it.
“Good, and please try to stay away from any more of the Devourer spawn. They are very dangerous.”
Lekiso noted that her memories didn’t flare up at the mention of the name, so she asked, “The Devourer? Commander? Was that the parasite that brought the corpse to life?”
Lekiso’s background in Africa came with a profound respect for the dead, including a deep-seated revulsion for what had happened to the body of the Lanillan.
“Yes, that is a spawn of the species we call Devourer. Usually, it is under much better control, and you should not have another incident like that one. But if you do see one, kill it immediately. It is a parasite. It will kill you and turn you into an animated body as well, and worse, absorb you into a larger biological collective.”
Lekiso shuddered inwardly, wondering again why she didn’t seem to have any more information on these creatures when everything else usually came with the pain of more information she could barely absorb.
Obragon Vax gave a nod to the two guards, who stepped forward.
“Now you may go. Please, have a pleasant stay.”
* *
On his desk display, Obragon Vax watched the humans leave, and he considered their brief meeting.
Like all Domums, even in his own thoughts, he used his full name. No Domum would ever give up their Manor name. The Manor was everything and held onto in achievement and failure, no matter what.
“No matter what,” he mumbled to himself, his gaze straying to the holograph of his wife and son that he kept on a shelf embedded on the wall to the side of his wide desk.
Very few other species that the Domums had met as they built their Galactic Civilization could understand the great importance of a Manor.
“Ah, well.” Obragon Vax gave the dreadful memories of his failure a push to the side in his mind and concentrated on his processor display.
He had activated it to watch the humans leave. Rising out of hidden paneling on the surface of the desk, its multiple screens showed the status of the Puzzle Box.
The sensors they had deployed in the Enone Hub and park were all operational and constantly scanning for more of the Devourer parasites. So far, there were no signs of them, which was good news. The extensions of the special scanners were deploying into the old mine shafts just to be safe.
Only one parasite would have been alright in some senses. Sometimes, the Devourer liked to scout out or explore.
He switched the systems to the outside view from Enone Hub, centering it on the gigantic wedge that w
as the Devourer Hivemind’s starship. It had arrived days ago and contacted them for the usual protocols. Then it had given over certificates and codes to their systems as required.
After that, it had gone entirely silent.
If the Devourer were scouting around, it wouldn’t have let the parasite be seen, and as per requirements of its behavior, it would not have taken a body. There was no such thing as a rogue parasite.
So far, their attempts to ask the Hivemind what had happened were being met with the same lengthy silence. If it carried on for too long, then Obragon Vax would need to send someone to literally knock on the airlock.
He switched his screens, so they showed the scans of the vessel these humans had arrived in.
What bothered him the most about the scans was how normal the vessel seemed to be…
* *
Connor was lost in thought when Lekiso spoke over the private channel. “Can their monitor programs hear us, Marc?”
“Uh, oh, let me check.”
They waited in silence on the magnetic carriage as it sped through the rings, taking them back to Enone Hub. The Domum guards had escorted them down the lift of the command center and to a carriage that had been waiting for them.
There, the guards had left them to carry on without them.
“Uh, no, no, our communications are secure against listening in and are monitored for any intrusion. I’ve got their status in my display, so I’ll see if anyone even tries.”
“OK, good. Thanks, Marc. Good job there.”
There may have been a slight snicker from Ormond over the com, but Connor couldn’t be sure.
Lekiso ignored it. “We need to discuss what has been happening. I suggest we take the time on the carriage trip back to the hub, and that we go back to where we started and see if we can find a way onto our ship—what our ship apparently is, anyway. The Vector it is named?”
“So, you want to debrief us then, luv?” This time, Ormond spoke clearly, and he sounded more than mildly sarcastic.
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