Rogue Stars

by C Gockel et al.

  Shima had the feeling that unlike other times a male had caught Chailen’s eye, this time it was serious. Tahar agreed privately that Chailen was smitten for good, but he wasn’t concerned. He had talked to Sharn’s family in confidence and had checked certain things were in order. They were in good standing with their clan; Sharn’s father was warrior caste, while his mother belonged to the healer caste. She could trace her lineage back through the generations with many notable healers among her ancestors and was more than worthy herself to rank alongside them.

  Unlike Tahar’s own family of scientists and engineers, Sharn’s had never been honoured with producing cubs strong enough in the Harmonies to join the Tei, but that was no black mark against them. Many fine families never reached so high, and Tahar’s own had only three as far as his line could be traced. Shima’s mother, Nidra, had been strong in the Harmonies just as Shima herself was, but Nidra’s oldest sib, Thrand, had been the one invited to join the-clan-that-is-not and change his name. Tei’Thrand was greatly honoured in Shima’s family, and Nidra was said to have been very proud of her sib and his achievements. Shima didn’t know him well, but he seemed nice enough for an uncle rarely seen. Shima sometimes wondered if she might have been Tei if not for her deformity. Where would she have been now if not for her eyes?

  She really couldn’t say for sure. Shima loved her work, and couldn’t imagine herself a warrior as many Tei seemed to choose. She could hunt as well as any, better than many in fact even deformed as she was, but to be a warrior trained to kill and destroy rather than follow her heart into research? She just couldn’t imagine it. The-clan-that-is-not held a special place among the Shan, and Tei were honoured. No matter their chosen paths they were always leaders and advisers. Set above others, to lead, to advise, and to inspire with one’s own performance... Shima thought it must be very tiring, but that is what it meant to be Tei.

  Shima finished the report on Adonia’s work and submitted it a few cycles after catching the remote. Her findings were all positive, and she was able to make good progress on her own work. Adonia moved from colleague to friend and introduced Shima to her family. They visited with each other and spent some of their free time together. Shima took Adonia hunting, and she seemed to enjoy it. Adonia took her to the coast where they walked on the beaches and climbed rocks or explored the caves.

  Shima’s circle of friends grew, and Zuleika soon became home. Child of Harmony and the city no longer felt so strange, though the planet still had the power to surprise. She might be working outside for cycles then suddenly notice all over again how odd the sun looked in the sky—so much bigger than back on Harmony. Or she might notice how thick the air was or how much stronger she felt, but then she would forget about it only to be surprised all over again when something reminded her.

  Shima spent most of her evenings caring for Chailen when she chose her own home to return to instead of Sharn’s after school, which was about half the time. Caring for her sib was not duty or chore but love. Perhaps it was because she was her only sib, perhaps not, but Chailen was special to her and Tahar. Next orbit, Chailen would be adult and would choose her own path. Shima didn’t think she would follow Tahar into engineering, and certainly she would not be a scientist. Perhaps she would mate Sharn first. If so, she would probably become a healer. Sharn had the Harmonies given talent for it like his mother.

  Adonia adored Chailen, as was only right, and of course wherever Chailen happened to be Sharn invariably was also. The four of them explored the city together sometimes, Adonia and Sharn conspiring under their breaths with heads together in an effort to find new things for Shima and Chailen to see or do.

  Everything at home and at work was wonderful.

  When Shima was finally able to give her father the present she’d found for him, she didn’t expect the reaction she received. He had been smiling and joking with her and Chailen, but then he took the gift box and his manner changed.

  Tahar looked inside and paused in surprise. “Where...” he reached inside and lifted out the remote. “This is...”

  “I found it at work,” Shima said oblivious at first to his strange reaction. “I was in Area Six. I had to sample some of Adonia’s work for her quarterly inspection and there it was. Isn’t it amazing? Where do you think it came from? I thought it was probably a remote sampler checking up on us, but why would the elders authorise something so silly? They can just read our reports any time they want—”

  “The elders did not send this,” Tahar said in a strange voice. “Tell me again what it was doing.”

  Shima glanced at Chailen who gestured with her tail that she didn’t know what was wrong either. “Well, I didn’t see it do anything really, but I found some of the plants had been damaged. Sampled but not tagged properly. I was tagging one of the plants myself when I caught sight of that thing. I pounced on it. It did try to get away, but there are controls underneath. See?”

  Tahar had turned it over and opened the hatch. His ears flicked acknowledgement. “Yes I see. These symbols... which one did you use to turn it off?”

  “The red one.”

  “Red, you’re sure?” Tahar said sounding puzzled. “Green surely?”

  “No it was red. I tried green first and nothing happened. Why, what’s wrong?”

  “Probably nothing,” Tahar said with false cheer. “Thank you for the gift, Shima. This is very unexpected.” He raised the device to his face and breathed in to sample it. “Most unexpected, but greatly appreciated. Thank you.”

  Shima smiled. “I thought of you right away. I knew you would like it.”

  Tahar replaced the remote in the box. “I do, I can hardly wait to play with it.”

  Chailen laughed and Shima did too.

  Tahar didn’t.

  Tahar could hardly keep thoughts of the alien device out of his head all that cycle, but finally night fell and he was able to take his treasure to his workroom and delve its secrets. Alien. There was no doubt in his mind it was alien, but how could such a momentous thing come into his cub’s hand and then to his just like that? It was incredible! It was like the opening chapter to a saga where the hero stumbled upon some great thing that would change the world. He snorted. This was no heroic saga, but the device certainly had the power to change his world... or its masters did any way.

  Thoughts of the aliens themselves sobered him. He really should report this find and hand it over to the decon team that would surely be dispatched to spirit it away, but he just couldn’t do it. He had speculated on alien origins for years. Engineers like him could hardly fail to do so when so much of the tech they worked with was based upon alien principles and designs gleaned from the war years.

  Most modern Shan tech had a basis in Merkiaari artifacts left behind by them. Anti-gravity drives for example, used in planetary transport everywhere today, were little different than those found within the Merkiaari grav sleds used to attack his people hundreds of years ago. The principles derived from those hated war machines, were the foundation of the tech used to produce artificial gravity within Fleet ships. The stations in orbit could not have been built without alien technology to base them upon, and many other things taken for granted now would not have been thought of without it. His people had much to be proud of, but without the war they would be far behind where they were today. Perhaps still in ships without gravity and powered by solid fuel rockets of all things!

  No, he wanted to play with his present first. He would report the discovery. He would. But he wanted to satisfy his curiosity first. Nidra would have loved this, he thought wistfully as he entered his workroom and set the box down on the table. His mate had always felt that the Merkiaari were just one of many aliens ‘out there’ waiting to be discovered. Tahar had to admit it made sense. Why would the Merkiaari have warships and weapons unless they expected to need them? Obvious really. They must have encountered other races before. That observation was one reason Nidra had been so determined to make her designs work, which in turn led i
nexorably to the accident and her death.

  Tahar stared down at his gift. “Well my love, it’s time to open the box and learn what has come calling this time.”

  He wasn’t completely irresponsible. Trouble would find him for doing this regardless, but to lessen the consequences he recorded everything he did with full voice and video capture on his comp. He raised the device out of its confinement and discarded the box. Holding it before him, he turned it over and around so that he had a record of every side and surface. He used a claw to point out the various hatches and spoke calmly and clearly.

  “It’s definitely a remote akin to those I use up at Hool Station. Shima said this one was taking samples of plants, so it’s not likely to have welding equipment aboard it or electrical testing sensors like one of mine. It’s very light. I don’t recognise the material. I don’t think it’s made of metal, or if it is, it’s unlike any I have seen or heard of used by us. Shima said she used the red button to deactivate it. I’m going to try the green now to see what happens.”

  Tahar gripped the thing firmly and pushed the green button. Nothing happened at first but then Tahar realised its weight had diminished further. Carefully he released the device and allowed it to float unrestrained. He was delighted by this evidence that it used anti-grav for propulsion.

  Of course he had suspected it from the moment he saw it—there were no thruster ports or wheels, so what was left? His people had so far failed to make anti-grav drives in such a compact form. That was how he knew it was alien and not home built. Besides, it literally smelled alien. This remote, insignificant in itself, would revolutionise how anti-grav drives were made. His clan would do anything to own this thing. With it they could design an entirely new generation of tech.

  Tahar shivered, his delight tainted by dark thoughts as he foresaw some problems. If the knowledge was released in the wrong way, it could cause chaos. The makers of current designs could be ruined. He chewed his whiskers in concern but could see no way to avoid it. It wasn’t his place anyway. Perhaps the elders would release the knowledge to everyone all at once so that no one was given unfair advantage. Whatever, that decision was far above him.

  He watched the device hovering and realised it wasn’t going to do anything else. That told him something as well. Its pilot was no longer in control of it. It wasn’t one of the self-guiding pre-programmed models he sometimes used for repetitive tasks. If it had been, switching it on should have been enough to trigger its programming. That it waited for input seemed to suggest it needed a driver. He didn’t have the equipment here necessary to replicate a control station. A shame, he would have enjoyed putting it through its paces. He would have to be satisfied learning its secrets through dismantling. He took hold of it and turned it off.

  The next cycle dawned with Tahar still hyper alert. He had segs of recordings and a box of alien tech parts. He knew he could put it all back together but didn’t see a need. Besides, when the authorities saw it they might ask him to reassemble it and join the team to investigate its secrets. He would give up his place on Hool instantly if offered that. He had no doubt big things would come of Shima’s discovery. He wanted to be part of something great again. With that in mind, he knew who he needed to inform first; Nidra’s favourite sib, Tei’Thrand.

  Tahar knew perhaps more than was good for him about the clan-that-is-not. For instance, he knew through Tei’Thrand that all was not as harmonious within that clan as perhaps it appeared to be to outsiders. The war had broken more than the Great Harmony. It had caused factionalism within Tei ranks. Tei’Thrand belonged to the most progressive group, those who believed in change and pursuing the dream of creating the Great Harmony anew amongst the stars, but they had taken a huge blow when the FTL project failed so disastrously. Since then, their opponents had held sway.

  Tei who opposed change couldn’t seriously be called regressive, no matter Tei’Thrand’s scornful use of the word to describe them. They didn’t want to roll back history and return to a time when clan fighting clan with crude stone and bronze weapons was the norm, but they did want to limit progress to small incremental steps. Very few of them chose outward looking castes such as the scientists, and none were spacers—ever. Tei’Thrand’s group embraced space and the Fleet. All of Fleet’s ship commanders belonged to that progressive outward looking group.

  There were of course Tei who belonged to neither faction. Those who saw merit in both stances or were for harmony no matter how it be achieved, but by their very natures they did not have a strong voice in Tei councils. They were always seeking conciliation and tried to mediate between those they thought of as the extremists of their clan. Negotiation and compromise was their position in any dispute. Not a strong position to start from. They were never warrior caste.

  Tahar checked the time and decided to call Tei’Thrand right away. The male wouldn’t mind being awoken for this, not once he watched the video in the data packet Tahar had prepared for him. He wasn’t sure what would happen, but something would and wanted to be a part of it. That might be tricky to achieve if Tei’Thrand decided to keep the information quiet. He could easily suppress it, telling only those he trusted within his own clan. Or the elders might order Tahar to surrender the device and keep his silence. All kinds of scenarios played out in his head as he waited for his call to be accepted.

  Tei’Thrand appeared on the screen. “Tahar! How good to see you, it has been too long.”

  Tahar bowed his head. “Tei, an honour as always. I apologise if I woke you.”

  “Not at all. I was already up... meetings later. I wanted to get a few things done before that. How are you and the cubs doing? All settled in now?”

  “We’re fine. Chailen is making friends fast as always. Too fast,” he growled thinking of all the males who came sniffing around her those first few cycles. Tei’Thrand laughed, and Tahar gestured his embarrassment with a dip of shoulder and tail. “I think we should block out some time for her mating ceremony soon. She hasn’t said so, but I think Sharn is the winner. I doubt she will choose her caste before mating.”

  “Hmmm. Normally I would not approve of that order of things, but I know Sharn’s family and their clan is solid. They won’t let the pair stray too far from the proper path.”

  That was Tahar’s feeling as well. He had investigated Sharn’s credentials as was only proper, and had found nothing to fear. He would make for a good mate, and his clan had many fine healers within its ranks. Perhaps Chailen would be inspired to join them.

  “Listen Tei, Shima has found something that you need to see. It’s a little... well, shocking. Can I send you a packet? I would like to wait while you watch if that’s all right?”

  Tei’Thrand blinked. “Well, if it’s not too long.”

  “Eight segs, but I don’t think you will need to watch the entire thing now. You will understand after watching the first tenth of a seg. Maybe right away if I know you.”

  “You intrigue me, Tahar. And yes I know you did that on purpose! Very well, send it.”

  Tahar did so with a few deft keystrokes and waited.

  “I have it... hmmm, you weren’t joking. A big video file eh? Let’s see...”

  Tahar watched Tei’Thrand’s puzzled expression dissolve as he played the video. It didn’t take even a tenth of a seg. Tei’Thrand’s ears were quivering with excitement after watching the opening sequence.

  Tei’Thrand focused upon Tahar again. “Where is it now? Does Shima know what she found; does she know to keep her silence?”

  “I have it here with me, still disassembled, and no, Shima doesn’t know what we have. She thought the elders sent it to check her work.” Tahar smiled at the thought. Tei’Thrand didn’t. “No point in alerting her by telling her to keep it a secret.”

  “Agreed. I’m coming over to collect it.”

  Tahar hesitated. “About that—”

  “No games!” Tei’Thrand snapped. “This is momentous news. Astounding... dangerous.”

  “I a
m aware,” Tahar said stiffly. “There are many people I could have notified. I chose you for a reason.”

  “We are family, Tahar, but this goes beyond that.”

  Tahar waved that away impatiently. “I am not trying to blackmail you, you idiot!” he snapped. “The thing is yours regardless of what you decide to do, but I would appreciate a little consideration. I did come to you after all.”

  Tei’Thrand relaxed. “Apologies. Yes, you did come to me. What consideration?”

  “When the time comes, I would like to be included somehow. My work up at Hool is...”

  “Boring?” Tei’Thrand said with a laugh.

  “Unsatisfying,” Tahar qualified. “I miss the time Nidra and I enjoyed on the FTL project. That was a once in a lifetime thing I know, but now? Surely something will come up. Even if it’s limited to in system propulsion.”

  Tei’Thrand inclined his head. “Your background is consistent with any team set up to research that sort of thing. I would not have to try very hard to have you included I’m sure. Nidra... I wish...”

  “Yes. I wish too, every morning and every night,” Tahar said sadly, but then straightened. “Thank you. I will expect you here shortly.”

  “I’m leaving now,” Tei’Thrand said and closed the connection.

  Tahar sat back and stared at the blank screen thinking about what he had set in motion. He had no doubt that Tei’Thrand would turn this discovery into something that would benefit the progressive thinkers of his clan. Tahar had no problem with that; he had a lot of sympathy for their beliefs and his caste would as well. Things were going to change again, hopefully for the better, but change they would. That would not make the traditional land bound, and some would say backward looking, Tei happy. They could make things difficult.

  “I wonder what the elders will say about it,” Tahar mused.

  Not that he would ever learn that. He doubted there would be any announcement of this discovery. No, the alien device would quietly disappear. Suddenly new discoveries would just happen, and researchers would announce a breakthrough. That is how Tahar expected things to proceed. No mention of aliens he was sure. They didn’t need a panic amongst the populace, but quietly the Fleet commanders would be told to keep extra vigilant. Tei’Thrand would use back channels or something like that. Tahar had no real idea what Tei’Thrand planned to do, but he would surely do that at the very least.