by S. H. Jucha
“It must be remembered that the alliance races hope to be the recipients of Omnian tech,” Julien added.
“So, who’s going to run the place?” Jess asked. He glanced around to see who would be the first to talk, but quiet stares met him.
Renée broke the silence with soft laughter. When Jess frowned, she said. “The reluctant outpost commander ... I understand individuals like this make the best leaders.” She ended her remark by placing a hand on Alex’s thigh and glancing across at Tatia and Julien.
Jess focused on Alex. “I believe you’re being hasty in your choice,” he said. “Think of the qualified candidates you’re passing over.”
“Have these individuals fought the Colony?” Julien inquired.
“Some,” Jess acknowledged, whittling down his hastily assembled list of names.
“Did they lead the effort?” Renée asked. “Meaning, were they called assault commander?”
“But I’m not an administrator,” Jess objected, switching arguments.
“I don’t believe that’s the job’s focus,” Tatia said. “It’s more about orchestrating a long-term fight against the Colony.”
“And you’re eminently qualified to do that,” Alex pointed out. “Furthermore, you’re Pyrean, which makes you an alliance member, acceptable to the Tsargit and the local government.”
While Jess wrapped his mind around the concept of being the outpost commander, a sudden thought occurred to him, and he glanced in alarm at Lucia.
Lucia laughed at Jess’s stricken expression. She leaned over, kissed his cheek, and said, “You’ll need a competent fleet admiral, and I’m taking the job.”
Jess breathed a sigh of relief and gripped Lucia’s hand.
“How are you going to inform the Tsargit?” Jess asked. “I don’t think a cube message is appropriate.”
“We will do that together and in person,” Alex replied.
“I’m sure Jarmonin will welcome us with open arms,” Tatia quipped and grinned at Alex.
“One question ... actually several thousand ... but one right now,” Jess said. “When the fleet sails, will every Omnian leave?”
“Omnians have always been free to do as they pleased,” Julien said. “It’s been the great gift of our planet. Individuals can work for Omnia Ships or not. We find the resistance a worthy cause, which allows fleet members to choose to work in alliance space, if that’s what they wish to do.”
“Commander, try asking Omnians for help,” Renée said. “We like to know that our efforts are appreciated, and that we can be of service.”
Jess glanced at Julien, who said, “Remember, Commander, we’re Omnian too.”
Later that morning, Jess called a meeting of the entire veteran force. He held it in the city-ship’s auditorium. When he arrived, he found many of the Omnians in attendance.
“This isn’t my meeting,” Alex announced to the audience, “but I wish to make the introductions. The Pyrean outpost needs leaders. As the instigators, who resurrected the resistance, we’ve chosen two of the leaders. I’d like to introduce you to Jess Cinders, the commander of Outpost One.”
Jess expected a mixed reception. He wasn’t prepared for the roar of approval he received.
The veterans jumped from their seats, noisy and applauding.
Embarrassed by the outpouring, Jess managed to raise a hand in recognition.
Alex held up his hands to gain the audience’s attention, and with his booming voice, he said, “There’s one more introduction to make.”
The veterans remained standing in anticipation.
Alex motioned to Lucia, who strode from her seat to take the stage.
“Now, I’d like to introduce you to Lucia Bellardo, Outpost One’s fleet admiral,” Alex said, when she stood beside Jess.
Lucia received the same explosive reception as Jess. She grinned and raised a fist in triumph.
Jess grinned at Lucia’s unabashed enjoyment of the celebration.
As the veterans’ applause and shouting continued, Alex quietly exited the stage.
Finally, Jess raised his hands, and the noise died. Then the veterans regained their seats.
“I’ve two things to say to you,” Jess called out loudly. “The first is the outpost’s purpose. It’s to protect alliance space from invasions within and without our territory. We’ll start with every system where we find the Colony. The second is that I need every one of you in the fight. The Tsargit will provide the credits, and the outpost will disperse stipends.”
Jess’s last remark generated a spirited round of whistling and cheering. It was one thing to risk a life for the good of the alliance. It was a better thing to do that and get paid.
After the audience was dismissed, and the veterans had spent the better part of a half hour congratulating the two new outpost leaders, Jess took Lucia aside. His purpose was to discuss the outpost’s future, except he wasn’t entirely present for the conversation.
“Jess, you’re not listening to me,” Lucia said. “What’s on your mind?”
Jess searched Lucia’s concerned face, as if he’d find the answer there. He regarded the delicately sculpted face that belied the strength of her personality, and he thanked his good fortune for finding her.
“I can’t get over the thought of abandoning this planet,” Jess replied. “In time, the Colony will overrun the natives. I wouldn’t wish that on any culture.”
“Well, if you’re not going to focus on our present conversation,” Lucia said, “I want you to imagine that you’re the commander of Outpost One ... oh, wait, you are.”
Jess grinned at Lucia’s antics.
“Good, I have your attention,” Lucia continued. “Now, choose what you think is best and get it done.” She kissed his temple and left him to think.
Jess took a seat in the front row of the deserted auditorium. What Lucia proposed allowed him to drop the concerns that had restricted his thinking. He let his mind wander over the possibilities.
31: Goddess
When Jess surfaced from his ruminations, he focused on the stage, where he’d stood less than an hour ago. He smiled and hurried to locate Alex, whom he found in an engineering lab.
Taking a lift to the city-ship’s lower decks and briskly walking a corridor, Jess caught up with Alex, as Julien and he exited the lab.
“Alex, I’d like a favor,” Jess said quickly. When Alex raised an eyebrow in query, Jess added, “I’d like to leave a group of shadows on the planet below.”
“Commander, I’m not going to question why you want to do that. Do you know why?” Alex asked.
“No,” Jess replied, perplexed by the response.
“We built the shadows to further the resistance’s efforts. When you accepted the commander’s position, you became the resistance’s leader. The shadows are yours to do as you please with them.”
“Great” Jess said excitedly and clapped Alex on the arms. Then he raced off.
“We’ll have to work on his leader’s decorum,” Alex said, watching Jess sprint away. When he regarded his friend, he saw fairy dust cascading from the crown of Julien’s head. “What?” he inquired.
“The commander just queried the controller for Homsaff’s location,” Julien said. “I believe Jess has more in mind than the shadows.”
“This should be interesting,” Alex replied. He grinned and wrapped an arm around Julien’s synth-skinned metal shoulders. Then the two friends strode down the corridor.
“You want me to do what?” Homsaff sputtered, when Jess located her and explained his idea.
“I know it could be dangerous, Homsaff, but I can’t think of any other way to help the natives and protect the shadows,” Jess replied.
“
What makes you think this will work?” Homsaff asked.
“I spoke to the SADEs, who referenced stories of primitive cultures,” Jess replied. “These early societies searched for means to explain their existence. They invented stories of supernatural beings, who originated them. They referred to these entities as spirits, gods, or goddesses.”
“So, what? I’m to become these natives’ goddess?” Homsaff asked.
“Something like that,” Jess said. “The SADEs recommended I speak to Ser. Apparently, she’s fascinated by fantasy vids, and she should have some ideas on how to make this work. If we play this right, I think we can get the natives who built your statue to accept the shadows.”
Homsaff steadily regarded Jess, while she marshaled her thoughts. “I’ll do it on one condition,” she finally said.
“What do you want?” Jess asked.
“You’ve four carriers. You’ll need four assault leaders. I want to be one of them,” Homsaff declared. Her tail stood imperially behind her, and the tip twitched.
Jess smiled at her request and her posture. “Homsaff, you’d have been offered the position anyway.”
“Good. Then I need only survive this grand gesture of yours,” Homsaff retorted.
As Jess left his meeting with Homsaff, he contacted Renée, who was fascinated by his idea. They met in a garden, and she shared images with him from her favorite vids and texts.
“Did any of these entities exist?” Jess asked in shock.
“From what I can tell, no,” Renée replied. “The genre is called fantasy, and the images represent concepts of what Earthers wished or feared could exist. What reactions do you want Homsaff to generate during her visit with the natives?”
When Jess finished his visit with Renée, he sought out some SADEs in engineering and explained his request, sharing some images from Ser.
Preparations were swiftly completed, and Jess requested Homsaff, Lucia, Aputi, and Tacnock join him for a drop planetside. They were accompanied by fifty shadows, which crowded the traveler’s interior to the extent that a significant portion of them clung to the hull’s vertical sections.
“I look ridiculous in this,” Homsaff complained to Jess. “It won’t work. The natives won’t understand its purpose.”
“Actually, you don’t,” Lucia replied. “The SADEs did a great job. You resemble an ancient queen ready to do battle with an enemy horde.”
Mollified by Lucia’s remarks, Homsaff regarded Tacnock and Aputi, who vigorously nodded their agreement.
Sharon enjoyed addressing Jess as commander. Last year, something had urged her to join the Omnian-Sol expedition to search for the Honora Belle. Then successive events beckoned her, and she’d heeded the calls. There was no doubt in her mind that she’d seek a post on one of the carriers or remain on the Judgment, if that option were offered. She wouldn’t be returning to Sol. There was no one waiting for her there.
“Remember what we rehearsed,” Jess said to his small audience. “We’ll be practicing what Renée calls pageantry. Don’t speak, Homsaff. Use your arms and gesture majestically. The rest of us need to be careful to remain hidden behind the curtain. Otherwise, we’ll ruin the effect.”
Jess had chosen a time when the males had returned to the camp.
Telemetry recorded their feast and dancing around the firepit. Then the natives had retired to their simple huts.
Sharon slowly lowered the traveler toward the camp.
The ship cast a shadow that startled the youth tending the fire. He leapt up and yelled in alarm. That brought the males running with their spears.
Via the external sensors, the veterans watched the males hurl their spears at the ship. They heard muffled thuds against the hull.
When the males backed off in trepidation, having failed to injure the thing they saw floating above them, Sharon dropped the ship to within a meter of the ground.
The cargo shuttle’s rear ramp faced the natives. Females and youths huddled behind the males, who growled threats at the invading entity.
Homsaff took her position, and Jess signaled the ramp.
From the natives’ viewpoint, the massive object opened a mouth lined in silver. Then suddenly she-who-hunts-the-demons stepped from the entity’s mouth.
In reality, Homsaff slid through a curtain of metal foil. It was slit in several places to give the veterans slots from which to fire, if the queen’s reception turned ugly.
When Homsaff stepped onto the ground, she spread her arms wide and held them there. She felt like a fool, but Ser had suggested these mannerisms. To her surprise, the males prostrated themselves. The females copied the males, pulling the youths down with them.
Homsaff was encased in brightly polished metal, except for her head, which was adorned with a metal crown. She walked toward her statue. After regarding it, she nodded slowly and approvingly several times.
The queen’s actions brought the males to sitting positions, and the females and youths imitated them. The males’ hopeful expressions eased the fears of the others.
Adhering to the rehearsals, Homsaff’s tail rose and cracked the air twice. It was the signal for the shadows, which streamed out of the ship. They crowded around the queen and her likeness.
The males jabbered excitedly to the remainder of the camp and pointed at the shadows. It was obvious that they’d tried to describe the things they’d seen on the trail, probably with little success.
Homsaff rested her hands on two shadows. She patted them lovingly, making a point to the natives. On her signal, four shadows whirled, targeted the mounted skulls, and fired their lasers.
The males rose and carefully approached the skulls. They stared in fascination at the small scorch marks burned in the center of each trophy.
Then Homsaff raised her arms, turned in a circle, and cracked her tail once. On cue, the shadows paired and raced from the camp in different directions.
Slowly and with all the grace and presence Homsaff could muster, she returned to the traveler and slid through the foil curtain.
Jess signaled the ramp to close. Then Sharon lifted the traveler slowly. At a hundred meters elevation, she accelerated the craft, and it disappeared into the sky.
Homsaff was inundated by congratulatory comments and pats on her armor. She chuffed, and her tongue lolled outside her long muzzle. Turning to face Jess, she said, “You, Commander, are a crazy individual. Crazy clever like Pussiro, one of the great Dischnya wasats.”
“I think it’s going to work,” Jess said, with relief. “If we’d just dropped the shadows to hunt, the SADEs predicted that they would consume their power banks through the use of their lasers faster than they could recharge with the grav cells.”
“Which would have left them vulnerable to the adult insectoids, when they figured that out,” Aputi interjected.
“Now,” Tacnock added, “they’ve a safe place to return and recharge. The natives of this camp will believe the shadows belong to their warrior goddess.”
“All hail her royal personage,” Jess intoned.
Homsaff chuffed and regarded Lucia. “I wish you good fortune with your partner. He’ll require careful observation.”
“What about the other polar region?” Homsaff asked.
Jess frowned at Homsaff. “You’d have to repeat your actions by deliberately stepping into an ambush. Forget the complexities of whether you’d survive the encounter or the natives built a statue to you. I’m not risking you,” he said with authority.
Homsaff’s head tipped to the side. She regarded Jess carefully. An understanding of Nyslara’s a
ffection for Alex struck deep. As a queen, she’d enjoyed the soma’s respect because of her rank. Here, she didn’t hold the highest position. Nonetheless, she was valued and treated as an equal. Her life counted.
There was silence as Jess and Homsaff regarded each other, and Lucia chose to interrupt the moment. “Time to return to the Freedom,” she said, touching Homsaff on her armored shoulder. “We’ve done all we can for the natives of this dying world.”
The veterans knew the odds were miniscule of this culture advancing to the age of spaceflight and discovering the dome’s secrets, before life on this planet became untenable.
* * * * *
The fleet sailed for Pyre, and Jess chose to take the opportunity to recruit for the outpost. Following Lucia’s advice, he met with Julien, Z, and Miranda.
“I need several things,” Jess requested of the SADEs. “First, I need an organization chart for the outpost, including crew positions for ships. Second, I need the titles of any individuals serving in the departments or military commands. Third, I need suggested compensation for them.”
There was a pause, and then Julien replied, “Done. Here’s the link, Commander, to your information, which is on the Freedom’s databanks. These charts will be transferred to the outpost’s controller when it comes online. We suggest that any time you or your subordinates recruit an individual that you update this personnel database.”
Jess thought about maintaining the outpost’s information and operations without SADEs. He regarded those in front of him. “When the fleet sails, the three of you won’t be staying, will you?” he asked.
“We’ve enjoyed your company, dear Commander,” Miranda replied, “but our duties are with the fleet, specifically with Alex.”
“I understand,” Jess replied. “If I don’t get the opportunity, I want you to know it’s been a pleasure. I’ll miss you three.”
“Not to worry, Commander,” Julien said. “You’ll definitely be seeing us again.”