Ensign Probus

by Wendie Nordgren

  “Babies! This is why we couldn’t take the rollers. They have a nursery here for their spiderlings.” Several feet away, I saw the beacon’s flashing red light and carefully walked to it. Pulling out my vid-screen, I scanned it. Simon and Eliot, watchful of where they placed their feet, joined me.

  “Can you tell to which of our governments it belongs?” Simon asked.

  Eliot frowned as he crouched beside me.

  I forced my jaw to unclench. The beacon was of the same highly advanced construction which I’d had the misfortune of seeing previously. “It’s made of the same alloy used in the probe and the shield disruptor used against us on Chione. I’d like to take it back to our rollers. I’ll try to figure out how to shut off the distress beacon while you set up camp.”

  Simon snorted. “Sure, you get the easy job.”

  I smirked at him.

  Eliot asked, “Why are they so intrigued by the distress call? How is it that they can even sense it? I can’t hear anything. Can either of you?”

  All around us, the baby spiders vied with each other to get closer to the alien technology.

  “Sound waves? Vibrations?” Simon guessed. He picked up the beacon and carried it back to the rollers.

  Eliot and I walked behind ZeeZee, Cass, and Thunderdrop who were helping the other spiders herd the spiderlings from our path. When we made it back to the rollers, Simon secured it to the back.

  “Hey, look,” I said while pointing at a ball stuck in a web. “I guess they liked the toys the two of you brought them.”

  Eliot didn’t reply. He had his hands on his hips and stared off with his back turned to us. When he turned to face us, his face was full of an anger I wasn’t accustomed to seeing upon it. “What the fucking hell is that thing doing in one of our forests on our planet? You heard what Teagan said about it.” He mounted his roller and led the way back to where we had camped the night before.

  I mulled his question over in my mind but didn’t know the answer.

  The moment we arrived back at our previous campsite, Eliot said, “Shut it off. Do it quickly. What if it is a message to aliens to attack our world?” His fear and concern were shared amongst us.

  “I need the table and a blanket to put it on to keep it from rolling around.” I grabbed some tools from my kit and sat on the chair Eliot thoughtfully placed in front of the table. He folded a blanket, making a nest of it for the beacon which Simon now handled as if it were our doom. Tossing my gloves aside, I turned the probe until I found a hidden control panel.

  “Teagan!” Eliot pointed at my left hand.

  The shimmer slid from my ring and into the device, shining like a pinprick of light before seeping into the beacon through a barely visible seam and vanishing.

  Quietly, Simon said, “It’s stopped. There’s no signal.”

  “Fuck,” Eliot said.

  “Wow. Didn’t you used to fuss at me for my language? Hypocrite.”

  “Under the circumstances, you may use the foulest language in your arsenal,” he whispered. ZeeZee stood at his side.

  Cass hopped onto Simon’s shoulders and watched over his head.

  I could feel Thunderdrop’s claws on my arms, but his claws weren’t the only ones I felt. Looking down, I saw dozens of spiderlings on my legs, crawling higher as if trying to get closer to the alien lifeform. My cousins shared my surprise. We hadn’t realized they’d followed us.

  “What’s attracting them if the beacon has gone silent?” I asked.

  “Clack chirp clack.” Thunderdrop showed me an image of the alien light and feelings of indescribable happiness.

  From within the device, there was a popping sound which had all of us jumping back. Then, it fell open. Inside, a small metal sphere rested on a bed of brown dirt. An unwanted memory assaulted me. I was afraid and cold, hiding from the one who would hurt me. I dug my toes into the dirt to try and warm them where I hid behind an old garage. My attention snapped back to the present and the two lights dancing around each other. Quickly, they merged flashing into one glittery light before sinking down into the metal sphere.

  The baby spiders on my legs made happy sounds and scurried away and into the trees to play. I glanced down at my vid-screen, relieved I’d had it set to record.

  “What the hell?” Eliot whispered.

  “Within the sphere was a second alien presence identical to the one on my ring. The two have merged into one and have sought shelter within a sphere contained within the distress beacon. I can sense them or perhaps it, empathically. Can either of you?” I asked my cousins. I kept scanning the alloy and the sphere, made of a similar material, before moving onto the soil.

  Eliot said, “Joy. A deep joy. Like becoming…. I don’t know. Belonging.”

  I’d shifted my attention completely to the soil. The alien had triggered a memory from one of my worst childhood traumas. It had been a clear message and cry for help, one I couldn’t ignore. The alien had wanted to be with me, to stay on my ring, to remain with me because it knew. Somehow it knew me. Even though we were different species, pain and abuse made us sisters. It wasn’t alien soil. The soil was from Earth, and the alien was a prisoner there, just as I had been. This wasn’t a race for technology. It never had been. This was a fucking rescue mission. I couldn’t allow an innocent sentient lifeform to suffer, and the alien knew it, but how did it know me?

  The sphere glowed brilliantly as it sensed my thoughts and emotions. Whatever it was, it had empathic and telepathic abilities, and the joining together had strengthened it. It was almost as if it was fragmented in some way.

  I reached down into the device and lifted the sphere from the soil, cupping it in my palm. My touch triggered a scan. A beam of light from the beacon was scanning my DNA.

  Then, a holographic image appeared in front of me. Unfocused, solid-black eyes stared out at nothing from the holographic construct.

  I heard blasters charging to life.

  “It’s alright,” I told my cousins.

  The male was one of the forgotten sons of Dr. Stanley Crispus, and I didn’t recognize this one except for his eyes and his resemblance to Zared and Izaac. He was older than Zared by a few years. His hair was cut short, and he wore short sleeves. His biceps bulged where those sleeves ended. I recognized the fabric. It was a cotton blend, a cheap one. I’d favored the same type of shirt when I’d lived on Earth where the summers were sweltering.

  The holographic image spoke. “If you are receiving this message, you are our beloved one, and we have failed to rescue you. We utilized every resource at our disposal, and they were considerable. Forgive us, beloved one. If you are hearing this, we have either succumbed to all of the voices and emotions or have died in battle against traitorous enemies, and this is our last chance to right an evil. Within the sphere you see before you is a sliver of a sentient being, not from any world known to us. It is being imprisoned and forced to recreate rudimentary forms of its own technology. We learned of this from the mind of a powerful male and used it to blackmail and extort technology and credits from him. It was selfish but out of a need to survive by finding you.”

  My thoughts took me back to Ambassador Jiri and the advanced technology which he had used to torment us. Had all of these bastards been working together against me?

  The holographic image said, “I’ve left you a clue in the beacon but dare say nothing more. Protect it, beloved one. Doing so might be the one thing to save you. You have my heart, but I take my fetid mind with me into the afterlife.” The hologram took a deep bow and vanished. Then, the countdown began.

  I found myself wrapped in silk and lifted high up into the trees. Beside me, Simon and Eliot dangled from lines of their own spiders’ makings. ZeeZee, Cass, and Thunderdrop chittered warnings to the wild spiders who scattered. Many of them joined us high up in the trees. Below, we heard less of a blast and more of a poof. Thunderdrop lifted me until I could sit on a wide branch. Then, he secured me to it and climbed down. Afraid of dropping the sphere, I put i
t in my pocket.

  I looked at my cousins and asked, “Is it just me? I was expecting an explosion. That sounded more like a loud fart, a deep, strong one, but still just a fart.”

  ZeeZee climbed down to aid Thunderdrop in investigating but left Eliot where he was. Grabbing hold of the line, Eliot knew not to bother trying to get down on his own. He’d have to wait with us until our bonded Silk spiders let us down. “I’m not a child!” he called down to ZeeZee. Eliot muttered, “He acts like I’m still a boy and not a grown man.”

  Simon asked, “What have you been holding back?”

  “I haven’t! I swear. I’ve told you everything. You already knew about Chione.”

  Angry chitters from below reached our ears.

  Sternly, Simon said, “I mean about the farting, young lady. Are you holding a fierce one in now? Were you hoping for an explosion so you could let it out without us noticing?”

  My mouth dropped open, and then we all laughed. I couldn’t reach him to swat at him. “No! I wasn’t talking about me! I share my bathroom with husbands!”

  “Right, Teagan,” Eliot said.

  “Dreadful. They always want to blame the husband.” Simon shook his head.

  Long black legs became visible through the tangle of leaves and webs, most of which I was trying to remove from my face. Simon and Eliot had their feet on the ground long before I did. Thunderdrop fussed over me, touching his claws to my belly, and worrying over me before slowly lowering me into Eliot’s arms. The probe and its inner workings had been destroyed. Not even an Inquisitor would be able to glean anything from the warped, fragmented ruins which remained. However, there was always a chance, and the soil-covered mess rested atop a blanket.

  “I need something to put this in.”

  Simon brought over a waste disposal bag and helped me bundle the mess and place it inside. The table had suffered the most damage and had a circular dent in its center. Simon said, “At least, they weren’t trying to kill you. Whatever destroyed the beacon was designed to do so without causing undue harm.”

  Picking my vid-screen up from the table, I said, “Tell that to my tech. Poor thing.” It had a big crack across the screen. “You can hurl one of these against the wall, drop it in a pool, forget it in the sand, and it doesn’t get a scratch, but now look at it. It even stopped recording.”

  “Well, mission accomplished. Let’s set up camp,” Simon suggested.

  Pulling the sphere from my pocket, I stared at it and considered what it meant not only for the three of us but for all life in our sectors of space. Within it, were slivers of an alien being, one capable of constructing technology superior to our own, and someone held it against its will. I came right out with it.

  “The beacon was sent here for me to find. You heard the holographic recording. Are you going to let me leave Arachne for Earth with this, or are you going to alert the Galaxic Government? If you do, they will take it from me.”

  Sitting on the chair, Eliot rested his elbows on his knees and held his hands together, putting his chin on his knuckles. “If the alien is being held on Earth, the Galaxic Government might be behind it. It could be their motivation for recovering all of the alloy fragments along with any other evidence.”

  “Then, why would they have acted as if the Parvacs were responsible for the probe? Why not cover it up at the time?” Simon asked. He held out his hand. “May I see it?”

  I handed the sphere to him. Eliot and I could feel him reaching out to the alien with his emotions. Taking his free hand, I tried to share with him my empathic abilities. Eliot got up and sat beside him, placing a hand on his arm.

  Simon said, “It wants to go to Earth to be whole. It feels pain, longing, frustration, and helplessness.” The feelings washed over each of us. Then, it passed, releasing us from its misery. “How do we know who to trust?”

  Eliot said, “Who we trust or what we want is inconsequential. This being, although it is merely a fragment of its true self, has made its desire known to us. It chose to be with Teagan, residing on her ring. I believe if it wanted to leave this metal container and go elsewhere, it could. Had it wanted to stay on the Constantine with Captain Espanoza, it could have. I have no doubts that should Teagan take it to Earth, she will do all in her power to find the alien and free it.” Taking the sphere from Simon, he held it on the palm of his hand and pondered it. “To have the ability to excise a part of your own being and place it without and then to have it retain its cognizance is astounding. What part of itself resides within?”

  “Well, it’s in a ball-shaped container, so maybe you’re holding one of its nuts.” My cousins gave me looks which had me bursting out with laughter.

  “Cass,” Simon called. When he appeared, Simon said, “Wake us up in two hours.”

  “Clack.” Cass left, scurrying up a tree to guard us.

  I scrunched up my face at the short rest cycle.

  Eliot said, “Teagan, contact Zared. Tell him to prepare your ship. The Enforcers will have been monitoring the distress beacon. They will have already reported its deactivation and might be waiting for us.”

  Taking the sphere from him, I tiredly stood. “You’re right, and I’m not wasting two hours sleeping. I think we should leave now. Well, we should leave after I take a pee.” I raised an eyebrow. “Come on. Get up and pack up. Let’s go.”

  Simon grumbled at me.

  Once we were on our rollers, I telepathically called out to Zared and Izaac and through them the others, sharing with them all we had learned.

  Zared said, “I’ll report your findings. We’ll wait for you at the forest’s edge in a shuttle.”

  I followed behind Eliot back the way in which we had first trekked through the webs and trees. Through my helmet, he said, “Father will not be pleased that you have cut your visit so very short.”

  “After you privately explain it to him, I think he’ll understand. I hope he agrees with what we have decided.” I knew instinctively that whether or not he agreed, Ethan would never betray our trust.

  Eliot said, “He will. Clearly, it is the right thing to do. A sentient lifeform has chosen you as its champion. Fight for it, sweet cousin.”

  Worry of everything that could go wrong plagued my mind.

  “Stop worrying,” Rozz said into my thoughts. “You’re making better time coming out than you did going in.”

  He was right. Our way to the beacon had been slow and tedious, fraught with webs. I asked Rozz, “Are they monitoring us?”

  He laughed quietly in my mind. “Have you forgotten what we’re capable of? Walter entered Enforcer headquarters and has them believing the beacon is still active. It will buy us some time.”

  I didn’t have to worry about the Enforcers, so I started worrying about my children. They would be so disappointed about leaving so soon. They had been having so much fun with Suzy in Simon’s pool.

  Rozz said, “They are sound asleep in their beds. Pierce and Lorca watch over them.”

  I let my touch on Rozz’s mind go so I could concentrate on getting over a partially rotted log. We did make much better time, unimpeded by the webs and with assistance from the spiders serving as our guides. However, when the forest road finally came into view, I was sore, exhausted, hungry, and filthy.

  “Visual confirmation,” I heard Kaoti report into a communicator.

  Rolling out of the tree line, I powered off my roller and dismounted, rubbing my inner thighs and then stretching my lower back. Kaoti dropped from a tree to my side. A welcome breeze blew against my face as I removed my helmet. Then, I realized it was a shuttle landing on the road. The hatch opened revealing Eli and Rovek. Turning to Eliot and Simon, I kissed each of their cheeks. “I love you. I won’t let you down. I can do this,” I promised.

  “We know you can. Hurry. Don’t let anyone stop you,” Eliot said.

  Simon looked at me with worry in his blue eyes. “We’ll keep our ears open and try to find out who is funding these pirates who attacked you, but should Er
ic allow any information to slip, we won’t betray his confidence any more than we would betray yours.”

  “I’d never ask of you to betray family. But, at the moment, it’s not like Quaid and Eric are even treating me like family.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Teagan,” Eliot said.

  I shrugged. “Whatever. I’ll show them.” Winking at my handsome cousins, I followed Thunderdrop inside of the shuttle. Simon came with me and handed over the waste disposal bag with the beacon’s remains. Kaoti took it from him and stowed it. “Inquisitor Beck, the beacon was set to self-destruct. We collected of it what we could.”

  “Very good, Ensign.”

  I held the sphere out to him, but he didn’t take it. Of course, he knew. They may have given me the illusion of privacy, but my Omnes Videntes were always with me. They knew about it and for our safety had reported it. The Inquisitors listened carefully while I gave my report. Sounds of Eliot and Simon loading the rollers kept distracting me. Once I’d told them all of the pertinent information, I asked, “Why haven’t we lifted off yet? I thought we’d be at the land port by now.”

  Eli said, “To leave now would be a tactical error. The Constantine would pursue. In fact, Espanoza has already sent covert teams to search your ship and Cormac’s for the alloy.”

  I stared at him in shock. “She got a team on our ships? Where were my guards? How is it that they allowed such a thing?” I was disgusted. I had the deadliest Imperial Guards in all of known civilization, and they had let the Militia sneak aboard our ships? I felt amusement from my Omnes Videntes through the bonds we shared.

  “I ordered them to,” Eli stated. “Espanoza suspected we had taken the alloy. Now, she has confirmation of it. Furthermore, her team stole samples of it, and they think we are none the wiser.”

  “But,” I held up the sphere.

  “Ensign, if we leave now, the Militia will know you found something of importance. Instead, we will encourage the Constantine’s captain to believe that the distress beacon was nothing more than a dud released from an unreported starship malfunction.”