by Ken Pence
Shiv asked how long had they toiled at removing the sand and the Peters being made a funny repetitive noise that was – laughter – it was humor. These beings knew the wonders of irony...how wonderful. The being, Peters, said it had only taken them a few time periods to uncover the whole city and it had been completely covered until then...how marvelous. This was going to be a fascinating trip. The beings never pointed their weapons after the kinship rite and allowed Shiv to recover weapons, spare pressure cylinders and anything else Shiv wanted. It was incredible. One moment Shiv was thrown out of the Dubi vessel – which violated their pact with Shiv – to be left on a barren planet. The next moment, Shiv makes a kinship pact with a totally alien species. Shiv must get home to record experiences...this was incredible.
LeiLei had told them all she knew and they had pulled up all the pertinent information they had on the Vicvic. It was scant little. They were from a distant part of this spiral arm toward the Core Worlds. They were listed as ferocious warriors and technologically adepts. Not much was known about culture or habits except they were listed as fair traders who constantly searched for profit. The manuals said that if you made a bargain with them you had better keep it.
The Dubi came out a lot worse in the histories. They were warlike and aggressive hybrids who used technology to offset their inferior forms. They were listed as users of others technology and thought the universe owed them rights because they had made it into space with stolen technology. We couldn’t say much about that since it had taken Rett’s technology before we ever got into space.
The Albert docked and unloaded before the Victoria docked. Captain Shuler made a huge concession and had LeiLei transferred from the Junior to the Odin – temporarily. Susan and Desiree went with her as a screening force and having three new females on the Odin turned many a head. The crew knew about LeiLei and they were curious. Her animal attraction really turned heads so the females flew to the conference room as fast as possible. Admiral Kyger and Captain Shuler were already there. They welcomed the females aboard the Odin and then got down to business.
“LeiLei, what did we get ourselves into with this kinship business?” he asked.
“I learned a lot at the Procyon facility as chief training machine consultant. An old being there, I don’t even know his species, took a liking to me,” she said and the men here understood that. “He told me about meeting this race called the Vicvic, when he was trying to find out about the teaching machines. He said they knew something about the origin of lamlee and he said he had learned of this ritual from an old Vicvic who owed him many obligations. He said it was used between equals and insured that neither side had to bargain with the other. If your kin needed something – you gave it to them willingly. When you are kin and profit is made – all get a share of the profit. You will fight to defend your kin and they will do the same for you. You will do nothing to knowingly hurt your kin. On a journey – your kin can freely leave at any time they wish.”
“How far does this kinship go? Do we feed it? Does it excrete? What dangers do we have aboard our ship?” he asked.
“Shiv will perceive all goods we trade as part hers.” LeiLei said.
“Hers?” Shulman said.
“Yes,” LeiLei said. “Shiv is a female as she is the larger. I doubt she will molt any more since she appears at a mature size and I doubt she will hatch a new brood of young. She will do what we ask and will give and receive information freely. She will be an ideal crew member that brings her own food and cleans up after herself. She doesn’t drink or excrete poisons like some species do. She is extremely strong – almost as strong as your battle armor I expect. She will help with any technical problem you assign her. You will honor her if you invite her to a meal with you. She may wish to try some of your animal food if you allow it – it would honor her that you share your food.”
“Great. Right now – I’ll get her settled and get her a tour of the ship. She seems to hit it off with Peters and I’ll just keep that arrangement for now. I’ll invite everyone over for a meal before we arrive at Tau Ceti. We can stop and scan when we are near system and make sure we’re not running into anything unplanned. I’ll keep her aboard ship here and let you folk get back to work. I want to button up here and head out by 1830 hours.”
Susan said, “Will do, Captain.” The females headed to transfer back to the Junior.
***
Shiv found the ship quite big. The cargo bays had two shuttles and another strange small vessel with a Tros working on it. How fascinating? It showed not the slightest interest in them but the beings aboard this vessel were only slightly larger than her, when she saw them without their exoskeleton. They appeared weak and meaty. Maybe it was this vulnerability that made them develop their obvious thinking ability...probably so. It had been very difficult for her race to develop and it was vulnerability that had caused her species to rise to intelligence. These humans breathed through orifices in their heads instead of their abdomens but her planet had had similar arrangements in some of its creatures.
The creature, Peters had an interesting gait and did not seem afraid of her at all while others, smaller, some female – shrieked when they met in the corridors unexpectedly. Peters made that repetitive sound – laughing – and Shiv actually liked him – very like some Vicvic. Peters took her to her quarters and it was very large. When she said it was large; he had told her that she could put anything in it she liked – she was surprised but didn’t think he meant she should use it to ovulate and raise a brood. He asked her if she liked the color of the walls and asked her if she wanted another color – how considerate. The walls were a difficult – unnatural color and her body would try to match but it would be a strain. He showed her how to adjust the color to a pleasant greenish yellow and she felt more at home. He also asked her if she would like to change the light spectrum, temperature, air flow patterns, humidity, or gravity. She thought he was making cruel fun with her like her brood mates but he was being pleasant, unlike most Vicvic males. She made it warmer, adjusted the light spectrum to a bit brighter, added a random airflow and turned down the gravity. She felt wonderful. How pleasant these beings were? Then, this male helped her set up her food machine. Other males had delivered it outside her door. Incredible. She asked him if he wanted to share some grubs but he said he had already eaten.
He showed her more as she ate her munched her grubs. He demonstrated the screen and how to access general information about the ship. They had already granted her limited access to their knowledge. She asked if she could have a bar to cling to for dormant periods in the dark. Her species were diurnal and he explained his were too but did work sometimes at night when necessary... More and more similarities... He showed her how she could design simple things on the computer by telling it what she wanted in Trade and then they could build it for her. Her own furniture in her own design...She had always wanted her own furniture... maybe she should hatch a brood...not yet – it wasn’t good manners.
***
The ships rendezvoused at their coordinates and scanned the Tau Ceti system for any stressed fields on the systems four planets. The planet the humans had visited on their first voyage had a slightly eccentric orbit. It was moving from a cooler period where there was only vegetation near the equator to a period when there was vegetation that would spread across the planet. Tau Ceti and its system’s planet were metal poor compared to Earth with only about 60% of the mineral wealth. The planet’s gravity was a bit less than Earth with a thinner atmosphere. The orbital period varied from 240 days to 231 days. The planet’s inhabitants were bipedal humanoids with technology saved from the previous warm period. They had libraries with printed books and had some metal working. Susan had encountered one male on her last voyage by accident when her flight control unit in her suit had malfunctioned. They were planning on going back since they had promised.
The scans of the system showed no other ships or fields and the Odin and Junior moved several times to complete scans
of all four planets, their moons and larger asteroids. Captain Shuler had promised Shiv that she could join him for dinner so they could talk about her contribution to the expedition. The Captain’s table was set and a prop was set to his right for the guest of honor. All the captain’s other guests had been warned about the dinner and were still prepared to come.
They put small U-shaped barriers up around each table spot and everyone moved to their seat. Shiv entered and Captain Shuler indicated the prop next to him. “Please move here as our honored guest. Let me know if the seat – the prop – is suitable for you. We sit when we eat.”
“As do we,” said Shiv’s translator. “This prop is just right. Your computer copied the one from my room.”
“That is correct. I understand you don’t drink alcoholic beverages like we do but I propose a toast. It is one of our traditions. We lift glasses, praise our friends and partners and then drink a little to show we all agree. I hope your drink is suitable. It was suggested by a new member of our crew,” the Captain said and they all raised their glasses of red wine.
Shiv looked at her glasses. She had two shallow glasses with wide brims. One held water but the other looked like their red wine and alcohol would not be good for her to drink. She lifted the red liquid to her lips, smelled it...incredible. Whatever type of animal blood it was...delicious.
The Captain said in his toast, “May you all have many favorable trades and long lives!” The phrase had been one suggested in UmBllatt’s old traders manual.
Shiv lifted the glass and tasted more of the liquid. It was wonderful but she knew she shouldn’t have too much fluid. It was enough that the humidity in her room could be adjusted so she almost never needed to drink.
The next courses came with a small metal dome over their meals. The Vegans ate their fruits and veggies and the Captain ate a steak. Shiv was brought a plate and it contained several small furry animals that tried to hop away. Shiv’s instinct stepped in and faster than thought, she had snapped the animals’ necks and greedily devoured them.
The dessert course was next. Most of the group was served a dish of raspberry sorbet, the Captain’s favorite but Shiv was served a small dish of uncooked – but warm pork ribs. She crunched through them as rapidly as the rest gobbled up their sorbet. The plates and shields were removed from the table and the Captain turned to Shiv. “How can you help us with our trades?” He asked.
“She looked at him. “You serve an excellent meal Captain. I have been eating grub for so long I had forgotten what a proper meal tastes like. I can help you find uses for the lamlee. Peters said that you have never gotten your teaching machines to work well. That is easy for lamlees to do. I will help do that first if that is okay,” she said. She liked that new word. It had many meanings and saved a lot of time. “I think lamlee have many more uses.”
“We are going to a planet in the system we call Tau Ceti to help an alien friend we met a while ago. We hope to find him and start trade but we don’t know if they have anything to trade,” Shuler said.
“It is my experience, Captain, that a smart trader will find something to trade and the poor trader will not. I will look hard to help find trade goods,” Shiv said.
“We need to teach him Trade – we have power sources and many cylinders but not very many teaching machines,” Shuler said.
“That is a good problem. I will work with the team building the translators. Is it possible for LeiLei, Desiree, and Joel to work with me here?” Shiv asked.
“I will ask Captain Williams and Doctor Schroeder, Desiree’s mate,” the Captain said.
“Okay,” she said.
The team developing the Earth teaching machines thought of using the language cylinder in their device—as if they were trying to record and play an old 78 Long Play record on a DVD player. The lamlees reconfigured both an Earth version of the recorder and an Earth teaching machine player. The lamlee in the recording machine was very easy to meld with Earth components and made it so they could copy language or any other type of learning cylinders from Procyon. They still did not know how the lamlees knew to reconfigure circuitry but the theory was that they rapidly adapted when power flowed and adapted to the most advantageous configuration. The ability to produce new teaching machines could depress the market, as the Earth models were noticeably smaller and lighter.
This could greatly affect Sirius’s market since they made all the new learning cylinders. The Earth crew planned to send them the new designs so they could stay in business and mass produce the cylinders more easily. They finished the modifications and examined the nano recordings of the adaption process; displaying it on a large screen. They further discussed the implications and it seemed the lamlees took any competent design and evolved the best way to complete the task. They evidently got the energy from the circuitry itself even after being stored for eons. We sent several of the units to the Junior, while the others were kept on the Odin.
LeiLei had heard the lamlee makers came from a galactic core world but Shiv, with more experience and being the resident expert on lamlee said they were made by a cephalopod race with eight tentacles. That was the rumor anyway. They reportedly had adapted to explore the land and later spread out across the galaxy but had not been seen for many centuries.
Tau Ceti
The scanning and examination of Tau Ceti continued. The photo and ground penetrating radar recon of Tau Ceti 3 was as thorough as a week long survey could be – not very extensive. The planet was coming out of a long period of cooler weather. The equator was lush with vegetation but it was beginning to spread out. There was a lot of water on the planet but it was generally underground. There was less metal than Earth. They remembered the general area where Susan had met the alien Hllouge. Hllouge was the assistant record keeper at the time and Susan had gone to his village. They had pretty much decided where to land and there were radar images nearby that looked intriguing in their similarity to the city uncovered at Procyon.
The Junior stayed in orbit and the Victoria picked up Andrew and Susan from the Junior as the Albert went toward the landing site with a crew of soldiers in battle armor. They had decided there was never a reason to go unprepared. The Victoria and Albert both carried a field generator that could cover a small area, one of the new training machines, and trade goods along with additional soldiers in battle armor.
Andrew noted to the soldier next to him – Peters – “I see we are coming loaded for bear.”
“General Kyger and Captain Shuler recommended we travel heavily armed as standard protocol since we are just starting out and want to get a reputation for being strong,” Peters said and Andrew nodded agreement.
Andrew and Susan both gave him a thumbs-up in their form fitting white suits with gold tinted bubble helmets. Andrew appreciated Susan’s form through the thick, but skin following materials. Even the new armor and strength augmentation had done little to hide that Susan was very female. Susan was admiring Andrew similarly as they exited the ramp of the shuttle at the edge of the forest clearing near the village. The three soldiers exited also but could be seen only as a shimmer or distortion as the five flew through the forest to its edge.
They walked as they approached the village and Susan took the lead. The short natives noticed them and the women and children ran away as the men grabbed bows. Susan went up to biggest tribesman that hadn’t run away. Susan remembered a few of the words she had learned in the point talk session she had had with Hllouge, the assistant record keeper. She said, “Where Hllouge?” using his name and one of the few interrogatives she had learned.
The native found his voice and drew his bow. Susan increased her field strength since she had felt the hard thump with one of these bows before – they shot arrows very fast. The native started yelling and said female and motioned follow me. Susan called the Albert and asked if they had them under observation. They answered affirmative and Susan asked if they had the large boulder, about twenty meters away, in view. They said yes. She told them t
o watch her for when she raised her hand. Susan said they were to use their disruptor and dissolve the boulder on her signal. They answered affirmative with a chuckle.
The native was yelling,” Gobble gobble something female, and follow him gobble gobble” or some such crap.
Susan said, ”Where Hllouge?” -- raised her hand and pointed at the boulder.
The boulder disappeared in a whoosh and the native stopped yelling and lowered his weapon.
Susan repeated, “Hllouge. Where?”
The native motioned for them to follow and was a lot more servile. He kept watching Susan’s hands to make sure she wasn’t pointing at him. He took her to the largest building in the village and shouted.
A male came out wearing an elaborate outfit of some type of woven cloth. He had several necklaces on. One of these caught her eye and made Susan fly into a rage. Before Andrew could stop her, Susan shoved the leader to the ground and ripped the necklace from him. She shouted, “Where Hllouge?” through the amplifier on her suit.
Andrew came up to her and asked her what she was doing. She held up the necklace which held the half credit duralloy coin she had given Hllouge.
Andrew looked around and the natives stood their ground and had drawn their bows which were pointed at the two beings in white. Andrew said, “Little help here guys,” and the three soldiers turned off the camouflage covering and appeared among the natives.
