Veklocks

by S. H. Jucha

  “I’m to inform you, Envoy, that the council has chosen to forgo protocol this one time,” Solseena replied, “They’ll meet with you in two cycles if the envoy will be patient a little while longer.”

  Solseena shifted her weight slowly from foot to foot, while she waited for a reply that was slow in coming.

  “Two cycles,” Harbour repeated sternly. “On the third cycle, we’re gone, and the alliance can fend for themselves against the dangerous horde that’s coming for their domes and worlds.”

  “Thank you, Envoy, for your continued patience. I’ll inform the council,” Solseena said, before slipping out the door.

  * * * *

  Solseena considered her options, as she accessed a car. Director Fessen had complained stridently to her committee about the explorers’ weapons. After the director left, the committee deliberated, and Solseena, the committee’s head, was delegated to speak to the explorers.

  However, Solseena’s conversation with the explorers didn’t go as planned. She was convinced by Advisor Cinders that an important opportunity was about to be lost if the explorers left Hyronzy Station.

  After Solseena’s report to her committee of her interaction with the advisor, it was agreed that they should force the council to hear the explorers. Now all that she had to do was make that happen.

  Solseena exited her car to endure the slightly heavier gravity of an inner ring that the council’s head preferred. She was greeted at the door by staff and asked to state her business. She explained that it concerned the explorers. Moments later, she was told by the staff member that Ulgart was busy and that she should make an appointment — in about eight or nine cycles.

  “Please inform Councilor Ulgart that the explorers have lost patience and trust in the Tsargit,” Solseena said politely. “They’re intending to leave and are intent on abandoning the agreement. Fortunately, they’ll be taking the insectoid weapon with them. Ugly looking thing.” She knew her last statements would catch Ulgart’s attention.

  The staff returned and said to Solseena, “The councilor will provide you with a brief amount of time to make your report.”

  “Why should the Tsargit be concerned with impudent explorers, who haven’t the courtesy to wait until they’ve received an invitation to attend us?” Ulgart stated bluntly before Solseena could speak.

  “Councilor Ulgart, were you aware that the explorers lost two of their members?” Solseena asked.

  “Unfortunate,” Ulgart commented. “Accidents, I presume.”

  “No, Councilor, they were killed by Colony weapons,” Solseena replied.

  “So they tell you,” Ulgart retorted.

  “They’ve proof of the weaponry,” Solseena replied. “One of these devices is aboard the station now. I must say it’s a disturbing thing. A long tube that’s so simple in design that it’s difficult to believe it’s deadly. One of the explorers has requested a place to … how did Director Fessen phrase it? Oh, yes, discharge it. Apparently, the explorers aren’t sure whether this particular weapon holds an active device or not.”

  Ulgart’s long slender neck hoisted his head into the air, and he gazed in earnest at Solseena, who stared quietly back at him.

  “Make your point, Solseena,” Ulgart demanded.

  “We believe the explorers have critical information to impart to the council,” Solseena replied. “When the envoy’s advisor spoke of the Colony’s expansion, I asked if they’d acquired a second dome, and he all but laughed in my face. When you put these things together … the loss of their companions, the Colony possessing weapons, and intimations of expansion … I believe the council should hear them immediately.”

  “All right, Solseena, add them to the next session’s calendar planning,” Ulgart allowed.

  “With respect, Councilor, that’s more than a hundred cycles away,” Solseena replied. “The envoy has been informed that the council will meet with them within two days’ time. Otherwise, she and the explorers would have immediately left the station.”

  “You overstep your authority, Solseena,” Ulgart said, a third of the length of his body swaying angrily in front of her.

  “You’ve every right, Councilor, to ignore my invitation to the envoy,” Solseena retorted, refusing to be intimidated. “When you do, the explorers will leave, taking their data with them. Then the alliance will remain ignorant of any danger because the council couldn’t be bothered to give them a few moments of its precious time.”

  Solseena let her words hang in the air. Then she added, “The advisor did say that the Pyreans intend to form an alliance with the Jatouche and the Crocians to counter the Colony. He made their discoveries about the insectoids sound truly ominous.”

  Ulgart thought about what Solseena said. He ceased his swaying to think. She was a level-headed administrator, not prone to disturbing council members. He disliked the idea of requesting a sudden alteration of the calendar and disquieting the other councilors’ routines. He considered seeing the envoy alone after the cycle’s session.

  A thought occurred to Ulgart, and he asked, “You said that you spoke to the advisor. Was the envoy not present?”

  “She was,” Solseena replied. “The advisor explained that the envoy was annoyed with the Tsargit, as were all the explorers. I was told that it was for my protection that the envoy didn’t speak with me.”

  “She threatened to use a weapon against your person?” Ulgart asked in agitation. His long tongue shot in and out of his mouth.

  “Certainly not,” Solseena replied, indignant at Ulgart’s implication. “Councilor, are you not aware that the envoy and one other of her party are empaths?”

  “I recall hearing that Pyrean females have some latent mental capability,” Ulgart replied. He didn’t wish to admit he’d only overheard two councilors discussing the subject.

  “The advisor took great pains to ensure that he spoke quietly with me. It gave me the impression that the envoy’s power was significant, and the advisor indicated such. He might have said more, except the envoy became perturbed and abruptly dismissed me,” Solseena explained.

  Solseena enjoyed throwing multiple points at Ulgart, who was accustomed to receiving his information in steady drips and having cycles to digest it.

  “I’ll discuss the possibility of a meeting with the explorers at the coming session in six cycles,” Ulgart said, feeling that he was making a considerable concession.

  “The explorers will be gone on the third cycle from now,” Solseena said in a perfunctory tone. “I’ll inform the committee of your decision.”

  “Your presence here was a committee request?” Ulgart asked.

  Solseena’s committee managed alliance race relationships. It was one of the most powerful and influential committees within the Tsargit. Councilors were often chosen from its ranks, and Solseena was its head.

  “Yes, it was,” Solseena replied. “I told you that we consider it imperative that the council meet with the explorers. At this time, the envoy’s patience has expired. They were packing to leave, when I convinced them to stay.”

  “By telling them falsely that they had an appointment with my body,” Ulgart shot back.

  “I said that the choice is yours, Ulgart,” Solseena said, curling her lips away to reveal her sharp, white canines. “However, if you refuse to meet with them. I’ll be forced to communicate that to the membership. My committee considers the situation that critical.”

  The two Tsargit administrators locked eyes. Ulgart’s gaze was the more hypnotic, but Solseena had on her side the decades of frustration built up from dealing with the council’s interminable delays. It was Ulgart who was the first to blink.

  “In two cycles,” Ulgart reluctantly agreed. “We’ll see the explorers after the close of the general session.”

  “As you wish,” Solseena said gracefully. As she turned to leave, she couldn’t resist triumphantly hoisting her long white-furred tail high into the air. She could hear Ulgart’s hiss behind her, and she flashed her ca
nines. Ulgart’s time as council head was marked, and she had designs on being the individual who would fill his vacancy.

  -20-

  Tsargit Council

  Tiknock arrived to escort the explorers to the council meeting. “Are you ready, Envoy?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Harbour replied. She turned and her eyes roamed over the team. They received her message. They stood, donned their packs, and loaded their arms with weapons and satchels.

  Mangoth added the Colony’s tube to the twin launchers and satchels that he carried.

  Tiknock stared openmouthed at the explorers’ preparations. Before he could express his concerns, he heard, “Lead on, Tiknock.” It was clear to him that the envoy wasn’t interested in hearing his recommendations.

  After a lengthy ride and transfer to two other cars, Tiknock paused at a pair of heavy, embossed metal doors. He stood patiently, waiting to be admitted.

  However, Harbour wasn’t willing to be as forgiving as Tiknock. After a quarter hour, she turned and walked through the midst of those who had been standing behind her. Immediately, the other explorers followed her.

  “Envoy,” Tiknock called out. He’d heard the soft hiss of the doors opening.

  Harbour stopped, took a deep breath, exhaled, and reversed course.

  “Don’t ease up,” Jessie whispered to Harbour.

  The council’s chambers surprised Harbour. She expected to see five to seven members. Instead, there were more than thirty seated in an arc. Various furniture designs accommodated the unique physiology of the councilors.

  “Lead Councilor Ulgart, I’ve the privilege of presenting Envoy Harbour of the Pyreans,” Tiknock announced.

  A side door opened, and Solseena padded softly into the chamber.

  “To what do we owe the pleasure, Administrator Solseena?” Ulgart inquired.

  “My committee has requested I attend this meeting and report,” Solseena replied, folding her arms and taking a solid stance.

  Ulgart was disturbed by Solseena’s presence, but he managed to say, “Welcome to the proceedings, Administrator.”

  Addressing Harbour, Ulgart said, “Envoy, our time is preciously short. Please make your report succinct.”

  Harbour felt Aurelia’s ministrations. The young empath projected calm, which helped Harbour maintain her composure. She turned to Mangoth and nodded.

  The Crocian walked up to the broad curve of table that separated the councilors from its petitioners. He placed the tube on the table in front of Ulgart.

  “A gift?” Ulgart asked.

  Solseena kept her composure. She knew what the Crocian had carried, and she was distressed to realize how little attention Ulgart had paid to her words.

  “Of a sort,” Harbour replied. “It’s an insectoid weapon. We’re not certain, but it might be active.”

  Ulgart hissed and reared back. The other councilors issued noises from warbles to grunts to rumbles, each one expressing their consternation.

  “We thought the council should know what the alliance will soon face,” Harbour said, ignoring the councilors’ reactions. “How many races have weaponry to repel the insectoids if they invade their domes?”

  “The three potential incursion points have been nullified, Envoy,” a councilor stated.

  Tiknock walked to a small enclosure that was located at the side of the chamber. He loaded Jaktook’s recorded data and accessed Harbour’s first requested image. It was projected by lasers into the air in front of the councilors.

  Harbour walked through the image to stand between it and the council.

  “Two of our explorers, Aurelia and Devon, have unique skills with the Messinants consoles,” Harbour said. “This is a query of a console after cueing it with the sounds of the insectoids. The console displayed the stars whose domes reported the Colony’s presence.”

  “This is conjecture,” a councilor accused.

  Harbour pointed to a star. “We call this location delta. The dome has five gates, including our entry gate and another that leads through two more domes to the Colony’s star. The other three gates lead to what we call adjunct domes. We passed through delta several times to investigate these three domes. The Colony was found in each one, and here’s imagery of our encounters.”

  Tiknock triggered the next data set.

  The councilors watched Jaktook’s documentation of the aftermaths of the multiple fights. The scenes displayed grisly images of insectoid body parts, the destroyed bodies of two explorers, nets, tube weapons, and hissing grays huddled on ramps. Several councilors left their seats gagging and retching.

  “You’re receiving proof that four of the fourteen domes that the console identified as usurped by the Colony were, in fact, intruded by the insectoids,” Harbour declared. “They not only occupy those domes, but they’re prepared to defend them with clever ambushes and crude, but effective, weapons.”

  “Wait outside, Envoy,” Ulgart ordered. “And take this thing away,” he added, gesturing with his short limbs at the tube.

  Mangoth collected the weapon, and Tiknock led the explorers from the chamber.

  “What now?” asked Devon, when the chamber doors closed behind them.

  “Patience,” Jessie cautioned. “We’ve got their attention. Let’s see how far that takes us.”

  The team waited for the better part of several hours. Then Devon and Jessie began to pace.

  “I thought you said we were supposed to be patient,” Aurelia quipped, when Jessie passed her chair.

  Thankfully, for Jessie, the chamber doors slid apart, and Solseena beckoned them inside.

  “The council wishes me to express our regrets for the loss of your companions,” Ulgart began. “Your agreement stipulated that you’d explore the Colony’s expansion and share the knowledge that you possess about the Messinants consoles. We’ve made arrangements for your two knowledgeable individuals to meet with Tsargit scientists. That will complete your obligations.”

  “What about your side of the bargain?” Jessie asked.

  “Advisor, you’ve not been recognized,” a councilor barked.

  “My team doesn’t need to be recognized to speak,” Harbour said with authority. “My advisor asked you a question, Councilor Ulgart. Answer it.”

  Councilors glared at Harbour and Jessie, and they stared back.

  “After you’ve shared the information about the consoles, we’ll judge the value of your data,” Ulgart pronounced officiously. “Our ruling will decide the extent of our participation in the agreement.”

  Harbour regarded Jessie, and they began to laugh. Quickly, the other explorers joined.

  Ulgart and the other councilors were affronted, and he called for the explorers to cease their humiliating noises.

  Instead, Harbour and Jessie whirled around and headed for the chamber exit with the other team members following closely.

  “Administrator Solseena, get them back,” Ulgart ordered.

  “I’m an observer, Councilor Ulgart,” Solseena replied, flashing her teeth. “I’ve no other duties here.”

  “To your room or the shuttle, Envoy?” Tiknock asked, as Jaktook and he hurried to keep up with the explorers.

  To Tiknock’s mind, the envoy’s actions were a puzzle. However, he had Tacticnok’s directives to trust the envoy and facilitate her needs. If anything, he was receiving an excellent example of how to contend with the stodgy council. If it wasn’t for the seriousness of the situation, he’d be chittering all the way back to his room.

  Harbour glanced at Jessie. After she informed him of what she wanted to accomplish, he was her chief strategist.

  Jessie responded, “I think we have leverage. I’d give it another day or two, at most.”

  “Back to the room, Tiknock,” Harbour requested.

  Inside their room, the team dropped their weapons, satchels, and packs.

  Jessie noted that Mangoth was treating the red’s tube more carefully. “Now you’re worried the tube could be active,” Jessie teased M
angoth.

  “When I grabbed it, I was sure the red had fired it,” Mangoth replied. “However, when I watched Jaktook’s documentation, I realized that the red, from whom I took the weapon, wasn’t the one who I thought had fired at me before I killed it.”

  “So, you might have been lugging around an armed weapon?” Devon asked. Then he started laughing.

  The others laughed or chittered. Then Mangoth added his booming voice. The team had their moment of release. It was their time to appreciate surviving their harrowing encounters with the Colony.

  Harbour and Aurelia made greens and noted that their stock of ingredients was running low.

  Staff brought the explorers food, and the team took the opportunity to eat and relax.

  For better or worse, they’d met the council. Now they’d have a short time to wait to discover how the council would react to their dismissal of Ulgart’s ludicrous pronouncement.

  Not long after they’d eaten, the explorers had another visitor. It wasn’t Tiknock as Harbour had suspected. It was Solseena.

  The Sylian walked confidently into the room and sat beside Harbour. “Quite artful, Envoy,” she commented.

  Jessie noted that the Sylian had no fear, not even concern, about potentially suffering from Harbour’s ill mood and her power.

  “Who have you been speaking with, Solseena?” Jessie asked.

  “The Jatouche are new to Tsargit representation,” Solseena replied. “Tiknock needs allies, and I offered my services in exchange for information. He tells me that Pyrean empaths never intentionally harm an individual with their capabilities. You, Advisor Cinders, led me to believe otherwise.”

  “Did I?” Jessie asked innocently.

  Solseena waved Jessie’s protestation aside. “Your gambit was effective,” she allowed, “and it produced a meeting with the council. Now I want to know more about what I heard and saw in your presentation, and I want you to understand what walking out on the council means to the alliance.”

  “You mean the council,” Aurelia corrected.

  “I mean the alliance,” Solseena riposted. “The council’s greatest priority is the needs of the councilors. My committee and I are concerned for the alliance.”