Rufus still seems nervous. “The people of Cygnus Prime have a deep hatred for Jasmin. The reasons are left to rumors. Yet, the tiny planet is shunned, even though it is relatively close to Cygnus Prime. It is a good location for a data collection and storage site. We make do, living in secret, deep within the planet.
Your efforts have been extremely helpful to our cause. Yet, because of you, Cygnus Prime has redoubled their efforts to destroy the Resistance. We lost contact with our colleagues there. It has been a long time since we have been able to make contact. Rumors speak of your destruction, the destruction of humanity, by a mighty Empire Attack Fleet.
“I hoped to make contact with the Resistance when transiting Cygnus Prime to come here, to Kreahaam. None were allowed to leave the shuttle transports that move between the portal domes. As such, I had no chance to make contact, or come to find if any remain. We thought it likely humanity had been absorbed into the Empire.
Tee nodded. “And you found us here in the Kreahaam system, with no interest in destroying the people who invaded us, coming instead to give them freedom.”
“Just so,” said Rufus. “I was sent here, at great risk and expense to my community, to see if we might find what happened to your people, only to witness this marvel.”
That’s interesting. “It’s quite a hike, from relatively close to Prime, to Kreahaam.”
Rufus is giving me quite a look. “It is as you say. A maximum burn flight to Prime in our only stealth craft. I was able to make my way to a mining colony in the Cygnus Prime system. Forged graft-certs, documents, provided cover. They were far inferior to what could have been provided by the local Resistance, but evidently good enough, allowing me to join a work team crossing by portal from Prime to Kreahaam. I found myself in constant danger, hiding in the shadows, seeking whatever information could be found about your people.”
Tee thinks we’re done, not interested in a small group on some lifeless planet in the Cygnus Prime system, not when we had a war to fight. “I’m glad you were here, then, Rufus. You can tell your people humanity is just fine. We have been able to free those of Kreahaam. Perhaps someday, who knows when, we might be able to get to know your people. It’s been nice chatting with you.”
Rufus isn’t done. “You don’t understand. Jasmin is the only planet, circling a small star, a dying star, that you call Cygnus Minor. When humans arrived on Jasmin to build a portal, in stealth, you can now understand our suspicions. Perhaps you can even understand when I tell you, many demanded termination. Our commander swayed the council to delay destruction of your people and portal, and to send me on this mission of discovery, as to what became of the humans.”
That got the table buzzing with conversation. Cygnus Minor has only one actual planet, the location of the teleportation gate under constructed near Prime. They’ve been working on the gate for months, careful to hide the activity from the sensor arrays of Cygnus Prime.
Rufus doesn’t seem as nervous any more. “Yes, I see from your mannerism, you now understand.
“Yet, on Jasmin, we did not understand why humans had come to build a teleportation portal. Our ruling council was certain the effort would be directed against our group. Only the strong intervention of Commander Hartung stayed the destruction of your people, and propelled me on this journey to find you before the portal is opened. I must warn you, the portal will be destroyed, along with the workers, before it can open.”
Tee probably knows the schedule for the... Jasmin gate opening. I know it has to be opened at least nine days before we hit Prime via Jabberwocky. It will take the gate-ship time to cruise from Jasmin to Cygnus Prime. Unless Rufus’ people destroy the gate. That would certainly ruin our invasion plans. This conversation is fast becoming very complicated.
Tee snatched his pid. “Patch me through to General Whitehall. I don’t care where he is. No, you listen to me! This is Undersecretary Trollkin, calling on a matter of the highest urgency.
“Never mind. I’m sending my Solcom security code. Be ready to initiate a retinal scan.
“Have you verified my identity? Very well. Now, tell me, exactly, where General Whitehall is at this moment. Send the coordinates. Thank you.”
Tee is now refocusing on Rufus. “Rufus, I need to know more about the situation on Jasmin. I have a method of... how to explain... linking our minds to allow a more thorough sharing of information. It is not harmful. You can ask Scotty. He has done this with me. Would that be acceptable to you?”
Rufus looked at Scotty. Then he sort-of laughed. When he laughs, it reminds me of a snarl. It reminds me of Steve. But what’s so funny? Oh, I get it. He just met Scotty, what, yesterday? Not much time to build a relationship of trust. But Rufus is going to comply with the delve.
Rufus looks bewildered from the delve, but Tee seems satisfied. “Rock, you’re with me. Here are the coordinates for our port. Viz, you keep an eye on Rufus, here, until we get back. See what else you can discover. Be creative.”
Be creative? Okay. I wish Steve was here. “So, Rufus, tell us about your people. Let’s start at the beginning. Your world of origin, that was invaded.”
Rufus just glanced at the ramp exit, showing the beginning of a nervous tick. “Of course, Viz. It was a very long time ago. Our friends on Cygnus Prime had already changed by then. They grew ever more hostile year by year. It seemed only a matter of time before they would choose war. We prepared for that eventuality. And we reached all the harder for the stars. Let me think. It was something more than 2,000 or more of your years ago. My people had successfully colonized a distant world.
“It was then that an explorer came home with some... I’m not sure how to explain... eggs may give a reasonable picture. These eggs contained... worms. It was a predatory species, taking hosts and turning them to mindless nests in which they could grow and mature. The mature monsters would eventually find another host for a different use, imbedding and controlling them to function in the world.”
Fierce has a faraway look, remembering our time on Crimson. “We call then Gall.”
“You know of them, then,” said Rufus. “Some of my people managed to flee in starships. Some bid we make haste to the world of our colonists. But there was a terrible fear that these... Gall... might still be hiding among us, even as our ships took flight. The fear was unfounded, but those who favored quarantine persuaded my ancestors to flee to one of the other habitable worlds that had been discovered.
“My people lost so much. It took centuries to regain a semblance of our former culture. Then, those of Cygnus Prime came. When they knew we were of Karrin, fearing the Gall, they crushed us and left us to die. I suppose that was better than what we would have faced with the Gall.”
I could almost cry. “Rufus, we have a good friend, living on Earth, who is from your colony world. In fact, my team and I, we’ve visited your world of origin. And we’ve fought the Gall.”
Rufus things I’m joking with him. “You are kind, Viz. But, have you no teachers to tell you it is wrong to tell untruths. Next, you will try to tell me you have run with the Krill.”
Roll has a smile going. “Rufus, we actually have run with the Krill, literally. We’ve fought along-side the Krill. I was nursed back to health by the Krill. Just saying.”
This is fun. “We are always happy to make the acquaintance of a true son of Karrin.”
Rufus is looking at Scotty for an answer, probably hoping a worlds-wide hero would speak the truth. “Aye, me friend. These be people of good name and great renown, who roam the galaxy as you and I do walk the streets. It tis me great honor, privilege as well, to have heard many a story of their adventures on Crimson, Turkskee, and Ringolar.”
Rufus seemed to understand our slightly butchered names for worlds he would know from childhood stories, which invited a little more fun, at least as I saw it. “By the light of Ringolar, the truth is made manifest.”
Rufus was silent for a while. “Yes, I have seen ancient... videos... of the colonists saying th
is, as the light of... Ringolar... glowed on their faces. Your portal, on Jasmin, is to be used against Cygnus Prime. You humans intend to free us all. How can it be? We must get word to Commander Hartung! Before your portal is opened.”
Tee is back from visiting the general, rounding the ramp in time to hear Rufus’ exclamation. “At ease, Rufus. Our teleportation gate opening is on hold. But we will need to visit with your Commander Hartung very soon. When can you be ready to leave?”
Rufus is at attention. “I am ready to leave now. Will we fly at once with your magic?”
Tee is all smiles. “We have no magic, Rufus. But we can travel to Jasmin very quickly. We have some time. Gather your things and meet back here in... when the town hammer chimes, or vibrates, whatever it does.”
Then Tee turned his attention to us. “Shockwave, full gear, my tent, one hour.”
As we were heading out, Tee took Rock and me aside. “You two, cloak, and keep an eye on Rufus.”
My glance must have been easy to translate. “Don’t worry, Viz. Just tail him to where he’s staying. Make sure he doesn’t stop somewhere along the way. You’ll still have time to pack.”
Sure. Like even an hour is all kinds of time to pack for a mission. Are all men like that? Even Rufus with his, ‘I’m ready to go right now.’ For pity’s sake.
***
Bugs have special organs for hearing, located near their knees, of all places. They are very sensitive to vibration as well. The town hammer was very loud, and I’m sure I felt the vibration as well as we gathered outside the pub to meet Rufus. I, for one, could have used the extra time packing, or something. Instead, we all traipsed back to the pub, only to stroll right back to the tent. Left, left, left, right, left. Thankfully, earlier Rufus practically ran to the little hostel where he was staying.
The construction team and troops on Jasmin have been notified via QuIM that we will be arriving shortly to their port-zone Alpha-One. It’s an enclosed structure leading to an underground meeting area, so we won’t need vac-suits until Rufus is able to set a meeting with this Commander Hartung. He has a transceiver of some sort to make contact after we arrive. It’s still May 30th.
Tee told Rufus what to expect, that we’ll arrive in a climate-controlled setting, but I have one more word of advice. “Rufus, trust me, you’re going to want to close your eyes when we port. The shift in scenery, when crossing from here to there, can be disorienting. And bend your knees. Seriously.”
It's obvious Rufus isn’t going to close his eyes, which are so wide open I’m worried his eyeballs might fall out. “Thank you, Viz.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I would not think of doing that. Thank you, Viz.”
The port is uneventful as we untangle a few inches above the ground in a standard teleportation control zone. This one looks to be an underground cavern. As I warned Rufus, the change in scenery, and dropping a few inches, is disorienting. I reached out to lend him a little support as soon as my feet hit the ground, stopping him from an awkward fall.
“Told you.”
“Yes. Thank you, Viz.”
A small military escort is taking us to an assembly area that doubles as a conference room. Vac-suits with radiation shielding are available in an adjoining room. While Tee has a short meeting with the Venom Base officer in charge, Fierce is going to take a few minutes with Rufus to update the translator module database.
Fierce is already done. “It’s a small universe. Rufus speaks one of the main Crimson languages, the same one as Steve. There has been some language drift, basically a dialect shift. There will be some new words, but our translator won’t have a problem with interpretation.”
Tee is back. “This Jasmin resistance group is top notch. Our guys haven’t noticed a thing, and they’ve been watchful, what with Cygnus Prime so close. They’re mostly stuck with passive detection methods, but I would have thought they’d pick up on something odd.
“Rufus, are you ready to make contact with Commander Hartung?”
“Yes, Mr. Tee.”
That provokes a laugh from all of us. I guess we’ve finally gotten used to calling Grandad Tee instead of Mr. T.
Rufus is confused. “This noise, I understand, is the sound of amusement. Laughing. Scotty warned me this was a sound of pleasure, and that I should not be concerned. Then he told me a... joke. It was actually quite funny. Have I inadvertently made a... joke?”
The truth is, we’ve been way to wound up, and needed a release. “No, Rufus, not exactly. It just reminded us of the old days. Good job. Thank you.”
Rufus has that confused look once again. “Very well. In order to contact my people, I will need a line-of-sight to a hidden array that is on a... mountain peak. If you have a map of the area, I can find the best location for communication.”
The mountain peak is a thousand miles from here. Our best option is probably to port to a location close enough to tag the peak. Rufus is concerned. There are all sorts of hazards in areas that are unknown. It may be best to port directly to one of the Jasmin surface hatches leading to his underground city. But there are other hazards, like automated defense systems and soldiers with itchy trigger fingers. No one goes outside without a transponder to register them as friendly.
Fierce has an idea. “How about this? We piggyback Rufus’ laser comms to a QuIM transponder. See what I mean?
“Like this. Rufus’ comms and QuIM transmitter are attached to a drone. And we get to stay in this nice warm facility, while Rufus phones home.”
Rufus has a concern. “My fear is that your transmitter is not line-of-sight and may... spill. Spill? The Primers may pick up the signal.”
“Nope. QuIM is quantum realm stuff. Undetectable. No worries. As for the drone, even with a disorderly wind, it will self-stabilize to allow a tight beam to the exact coordinates of input. Piece of cake.”
“This is wonderful. My father will want to trade for this piece of cake technology.”
It’s time for Tee to step in. “Yes. All in good time. Let’s rig the comms and get this party hopping.”
Two minutes. That’s all it took for our comms expert to rig a drone and send it on its merry way. Hopefully the battery, or whatever it is that juices Rufus’ comms, will hold for another couple of minutes as the drone takes flight. It’s a relatively clear day here on Jasmin, making for a nice laser guided flight, and providing opportunity for a long-range call over our cobbled comms system. And we already have a signal. Ring, ring.
“This is Commander Hartung. You are on a dedicated frequency. Enter your identity code.”
“Commander Hartung, this is Rufus. Father, I have urgent information to relay.”
“This is not possible. There have been no ships in the vicinity, for a very long time.”
“Sir, I have made contact with the humans, and am with them now. Here, at their base. Father, sir, I was just on Kreahaam. They, the humans, invaded the Kreahaam worlds, three days ago.”
“It is good, then, that they have brought you through their invisible portal, prior to their inevitable defeat.”
“They have not been defeated.”
“How can this be? Our intelligence is not so out of date. The humans must be double-blessed, and the Dahkoreen have removed their forces from the Kreahaam system. Did you make contact with
“We did meet, and exchanged data. He has tapped into the Kreahaam Defense Grid. I was blessed to be with him when the invasion began, to watch it unfold. Sir, the invasion is over. The humans have prevailed. They destroyed all the Dahkoreen ships, even the Destroyer of Worlds.”
“Bahhh. This is not possible. Have they harmed you, my son? Let me talk to their commander. If they have permanently damaged your mind, we will end this now.”
“No, father. I am well. It is all true. They have come to set the worlds free of the Dahkoreen. Here is their commander.”
; Tee has a very determined look. “Commander Hartung, this is Commander Trollkin. What your son says is true. Though, I would describe the Kreahaam situation a bit differently. Rather than invading the worlds of Kreahaam, we have liberated them.”
Hartung is taking a moment. “Are those of Kreahaam not the ones that invaded your home world?”
“They are the ones, though it is the drug induced compulsion their queens and the tyranny of Dahkoreen that drives their atrocities. We are the sort of people that feel it is important to consider the cause before judging the effect. While we do not accept excuses for war crimes, these were controlled by very powerful drugs over which they had no control. Their queens were killed, with only a few left to imprisonment.”
“Commander Trollkin, it would be an honor to meet with you in person.”
“Thank you, commander, it would be an honor to meet you as well. We have a bit of a schedule to keep, if you don’t mind meeting as soon as possible. Perhaps you could choose one of you access hatches and relay the coordinates to us now. With that, my team, and your son, can arrive within moments.”
“Then you will have the... coordinates, in the time it takes for 5 breaths. We will meet as soon as you arrive.”
It has taken a bit longer than 5 breaths to don vac-suits, but we’re ready in record time. Ready to port in: 3, 2, 1. We’ve untangled near a nondescript hatch. If you’ve seen one hatch, you’ve seen them all. Most of the time that seems to be the case. Rufus didn’t even stumble this time. Two soldiers are waiting to escort us through the hatch.
It’s a quick-cycle airlock, which is good. We can probably ditch the vac-suits. I usually take atmosphere and inorganics readings, while Para does an organics sweep. The vac-suit register shows the air in here is acceptable. Good enough in this case. The nice soldiers have a spot for our gear. Oh, and our weapons. That’s fine. Your house, your rules. Rufus has already run off somewhere, to find his dad no doubt.
The rest of us are enjoying a short walk down a hallway, to a meeting room with table and chairs. Crud. I was hoping for a tube ride and a quick tour of the city. So far, so dreary. I wonder if there are children here. Parks. Anything. I hear activity beyond the other door. Here’s Rufus, and Commander Hartung, I presume.
Invasion: Journal Three (Shockwave Book 3) Page 24