“Could you prevail upon her to review the data?” Fernandez suggested. “She’s the nearest thing we have to an expert in this.”
“I can, but not without Anne’s approval; Carolina has removed herself from the research community and with her departure, the upper level security clearances.”
White tapped a note into her infopad.
“Send me her contact information, Gerald; I’ll get her clearance reinstated.”
“Which brings us at last to these creatures who are supposedly threatening the Khorrans and Anashi people, and by extension, humanity,” Fernandez continued. “Personally, I find this part the most difficult to accept. We know even less about them, if they even exist, and their relationship to the other civilizations is something we’re expected to take on faith alone. For all we know, it is they who are under assault. Even worse, perhaps these Namadi are a fiction, carefully contrived to win our trust through the presumed benefit of a shared struggle.”
“They don’t seem to know much about the Namadi, either,” Underhill said.
“Exactly. These Khorrans could just as easily have sent the female to awe us with futuristic technology and an illusion of friendship, calculating against us all along. I would rather we not commit to backing the wrong player in so dangerous a game, only to find we have simply helped to dig our own graves. Nori?”
She waited a moment, gathering her thoughts. Second only to Fernandez, Noriko Nishikawa was one of the most powerful people in human history and her meteoric rise from humble origins in the working-class suburbs of Edmonton had made many envious, some suspicious and a few even hateful. Not yet fifty and the undisputed heir-apparent to the President’s chair, according to popularity polls, she carried a deliberate and thoughtful grace most admired and Fernandez counted her as the steadying voice among the whole of the government. She looked at the ceiling with a tilted head as she always did when searching for the best response.
“I must say, I also hesitated on the very points you just made, Eduard; our mysterious, alien emissary has shown us many marvelous advances, but we see nothing about this enemy of theirs beyond a description of horrible genocide. One would think an adversary so grave would be well-documented by now, yet these Khorrans and Anash know so little about them.”
White shook her head and said, “To be fair, the briefing from this former officer, Norris, indicated the Namadi are remote; they’re not a neighboring race to the Khorrans or Anash.”
“Yes,” Fernandez said; “but it also said the Namadi were discovered over twenty years ago; why wait until now to address a threat to their very existence?”
Nishikawa waved her hand.
“All that may be true, but after I thought about this for a while, the likelihood of a ruse became far less plausible to me. Both the Khorrans and Anashi are clearly advanced races with more than enough firepower to invade and even conquer us as it is. What would be the point of making all this up?”
“Then you believe Norris and this alien girl’s story?” Fernandez said.
“It would be more accurate to say I find it difficult to refute, Eduard. They have declared many things, but there is no way to know for certain without proof. We will listen to this man and his Khorran girlfriend, but our decision will be distilled very quickly to one of faith; we accept their story, or we reject it. Either way, the proof will be undertaking the journey to their worlds to see for ourselves—it’s just that simple.”
Fernandez walked slowly to the window again, watching as the lights of Geneva blinked on with the end of day. He looked only at White.
“Anne?”
“Yes, Eduard?”
“You seem to be less convinced than Gerald and Noriko.”
“The technical data obviously represents a culture far advanced from ours; I won’t pretend I wasn’t impressed, but…”
“But?”
“All this just seems a little too convenient for me. Our astronomers have been searching space with incredibly sophisticated equipment for two centuries, yet we’ve never seen evidence of these people in all that time?”
“We didn’t see evidence of the Sansesh, either and they’re closer by half.”
“The Sansesh are nowhere near these Khorrans and Anash, geographically or technologically—that’s not a fair comparison.”
“You saw the data, Anne; Gerald and your own people have verified the science. Everything they sent us is not only possible, it’s inevitable.”
“I don’t dispute the information’s validity, Eduard, but there are too many unanswered questions for me to accept this so willingly.”
“I understand your caution, but I agree with Noriko; the only way we will know with certainty is going with them to this leadership summit. We can still decline, of course, but we may be putting our people in a far worse position if the threat presented by these Namadi people is real.”
White looked away.
“Very well, Eduard, but I reserve my final assessment until after we see and meet the alien female, whatever her name is.”
“She is called Onallin, I believe,” Underhill added blandly; “Onallin something-something—I can’t remember the rest.”
“Then we leave for the island tonight,” said Fernandez at last. “I would ask each of you consider next steps, however; we must be ready to move if circumstance demands it. Also, take these final hours before Norris and the Khorran girl arrive to reflect on what we’re about to do. It goes without saying, if they are indeed as they claim to be, the future of humanity lies in our hands; we cannot choose our path lightly.”
ONCE MORE INSIDE a Hyperthread, they settled for the journey to Earth. Norris fretted about the tunnel’s stability, but it became clear Haleth’s calculations were, as always, accurate. In the relative privacy of a cramped and narrow crew rest area, Governor Li listened patiently to Norris’ description of all that happened, but it wasn’t until she saw the orb reader’s contents that she seemed to understand. The images were powerful and she felt a sudden gratitude for glimpsing what only one other human could know.
She scrolled through descriptions of the events on Karroba, but video segments filmed inside Bera Nima from the central guard tower left her speechless. There were sector coordinates and briefing notes describing what the Namadi had done to innocent races and the effect was sobering, but something else held her in silence as other details emerged. It took a while, but Li made the necessary connections and realized at last the unique nature of Norris’ relationship to Rantara. She marveled at stills and videos of ordinary Khorrans and Anash, looking on in awe as a wondrous, magical future world revealed itself to her in the present. She said nothing, preferring instead to absorb all she could.
When she handed the reader to Lena Woll, Governor Li sat slowly behind Norris. He turned in his seat to stand, but she motioned for him to remain.
“Darrien, I don’t know what to say. These places—all of the events…”
He smiled and said, “It’s a lot to take in at once, Governor, but now you can see why my return is something more than a simple reunion.”
She leaned close so that no one else could hear.
“I noticed the description of your time in that prison.”
Norris looked down.
“Not the best vacation I ever had.”
“I had no idea the Lieutenant was once your captor,” she whispered.
“It’s difficult to explain.”
“I don’t doubt it, but there was something else in the text I didn’t understand.”
“Oh?”
“It mentioned the Lieutenant suffers from something called ‘Jodrall’s Condition.’ Is this an illness like one of ours?”
“It’s not really an illness, Governor.”
“But…”
“Jodrall’s Condition is unique to Khorrans and even then, extremely rare. It creates an abnormal physical strength; she has the power of ten—literally. It’s been like that since she was a little girl. Jodrall’s is like nothin
g I’ve ever seen; Onallin is capable of things that obviously made her prized as a soldier, but…”
Li edged closer, keeping her voice at a near whisper.
“And again, inside that prison where they held you?”
“That was a long time ago, Governor; she’s on her way back to a normal life now, just like you or me.”
“Of course. Please forgive my curiosity, Darrien, but I find the progression of your relationship with her the most fascinating part of all; how unlikely it was, yet more fortunate than I can describe.”
“I wouldn’t be alive today without her.”
“It would appear she could say the same about you, judging by this description of the place where all those memories of the dead civilizations were kept. You gave a part of yourself to help save her.”
“It was the least I could do, believe me.”
“Well, I’m glad you helped her find a better way. She’s certainly fond of you, that much is clear.”
“She’s an interesting girl, but no one I would ever want to cross, that’s for sure.”
Li looked out at the swirling light show where they raced through the Hyperthread.
“The President’s note to me before we left Tanus was unlike anything I’ve ever heard from him.”
“In what way?”
“He told me to use any measure necessary to get you and the Lieutenant to Earth—no exceptions. I believe your information, and also her blood sample analysis, has shaken the ministers, Darrien; they understand what your briefing will mean to all of humanity now.”
“I hope they’ll listen, Governor; this is going to be a long and unbelievable tale.”
“Perhaps,” she said, “but one they must hear.”
They sped on through the shimmering tunnel, exchanging pleasantries and abbreviated life stories. Lena, it seemed, could not get enough of Rantara’s descriptions of life on Belex, declaring at last that she would visit the Khorran home world one day, no matter the outcome of their mission. For his part, Norris listened to Li recount the more prominent events he had missed since his ill-fated trip to the Copernican Maze. There were notable sports championships—at least those she could remember; the discovery of three new, M-class planets that could be reached by Plexus in less than seventy days, and a short list of actors and musicians from Norris’ youth who had either died, or were about to.
Rantara listened, too, but little made as much sense to her and Norris did his best to interpret or explain. Instead, she contented herself with more images from Earth and the myriad cultures that thrived there. Absent the mostly hegemonic nature of Belex and Khorrans in general, she smiled at each distinction between Earth’s people and the seeming contradiction of unity that made humanity whole. Norris watched her study, but in a sudden and unexpected twist, she leaned close with a determined expression.
“Maybe I will buy one of these bikinis after all.”
He smiled and whispered, “Thank you, Mister Réard!”
Rantara had no idea what it meant and Norris had no intention of telling her.
On their fourth day out from Tanus, they slid quietly from the tunnel in a brilliant flash and it occurred to Norris their exit was the first time such an event ever happened in the Solar System. Lots of Plexus gates, he thought with a smile, but never from a Hyperthread. Relieved the transit had gone off without event and proving the stability they had been promised, he reached for Rantara’s elbow and whispered, “Remind me to never question Haleth again.”
Beyond, the tiny, piercing glow of the sun appeared at last. So distant still, it seemed to Norris no different an experience than observing Venus or Jupiter in the summer skies above Earth as he made his first try at amateur astronomy with Uncle Clete’s 8-inch reflector. Their approach from beneath the system’s orbital plane made it more difficult to find and identify the other planets, but as they drew closer, Norris pointed at last to the stunning blue of Earth.
“That’s where I’m from,” he said to Rantara.
She looked on and smiled.
“So much water!”
Does it look anything like Belex?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “It’s very similar, but our oceans are nowhere near that size.”
“Magnify the image and you can see Antarctica—our southern polar continent.”
“It’s enormous!” she said, sounding every bit the delighted tourist. “And beyond?”
“Another continent called South America, but it gets much wider toward our equator. Farther still is North America, where I was born.”
She smiled, delighting in the moment and its primal connection to Norris.
“I can see mountains covered with snow!”
“The Andes,” Norris replied. “Very beautiful and great for skiing.”
“Skiing,” she said, suddenly recognizing the word in her new-found English vocabulary. “Ah! The sport of sliding down a snow-covered hill on two slender…”
Norris laughed and said, “When there’s time, I’ll take you up to another beautiful place called Austria so you can try it for yourself.”
Moments later, the first hail came in from the Earth Defense Network’s routing station on Titan; their pre-set transit code had been received.
“Welcome, Governor Li; you’re identified and cleared for a direct approach to Lilienthal Orbital Station.”
Rantara looked at Norris and he nodded to encourage her.
“Acknowledged,” she said with a slight shrug, hoping her sharp, Khorran accent went unnoticed.
Their short journey was nearly complete and as the ship sped on through the darkness, they shared a last dinner together before preparing their things. After Rantara finished a last-minute shower, she found Norris where he sat with Governor Li at the control station.
“Darrien,” Li began, “I noticed from your records it has been quite some time since you last visited Earth?”
No one forced him to it, but time spent in the distant, Outer Rim Colonies drifted by like the deceptive, hidden current of a great river—neither worrisome nor even noticeable, yet always moving.
“Yes, it has.”
“How long?” Rantara asked softly; he had never told her outright.
“Eleven years.”
She sat behind him and reached for his hand.
“I wish we could’ve come here under different circumstances, Darrien.”
“I know,” he replied. “Maybe next time, we won’t have to sneak in like burglars in the night.”
At last, the stunning, blue gem grew larger, filling their view port with the crescent that separated the sunbathed day side of the planet from the night, awash in the glittering lights of cities like gold dust scattered across an obsidian sphere. A second hail from the controllers at Lilienthal Station brought with it unexpected vectors to a touchdown point in the western Mediterranean, off the coast of Spain. Norris turned at once to Governor Li.
“What’s this all about, Governor? I assumed they would bring us in at the Congress buildings in Geneva.”
“We agreed to meet with the President and his senior Cabinet advisors at his private residence on Ibiza, Darrien; news of the Lieutenant’s presence would very quickly spread and could cause a panic. It is regrettable, but this event must be conducted under the most stringent security measures.”
Slowing in the thick atmosphere, they leveled off in the overcast above Morocco, slipping silently past the Atlas Mountains at seven thousand meters. Minutes later, the ship angled beneath the clouds on its final approach, speeding neatly across the wave tops. Rantara gazed at the lights of the island until they were nearly upon it, circling over Cala Llonga beneath a clear sky until they eased onto a shuttle pad inside the walled compound.
Before the hatch was released, Li nodded to Lena. From a small bag, she handed Rantara a thin, hooded cloak and it was clear they thought of the risk of exposure to unwanted eyes.
“This will keep you covered up until we’re inside,” Lena said.
At last,
an aide to the President trotted toward them, making for the shuttle as quickly as he could. When he reached the hatchway, Lena intercepted him immediately.
“They’re almost ready.”
“Yes, okay,” he replied nervously, but it was clear he didn’t understand. Suddenly, his jaw went slack as Rantara stepped slowly from the crew rest compartment, but Li hurried them along.
“Let’s not waste any time, young man; please show us to President Fernandez.”
As they moved quickly across the landing pad in a gentle, warm breeze, Norris noticed at least a dozen heavily-armed Terran Defense Forces soldiers scattered across the inner compound. No matter the historic significance of the event, the President’s handlers were taking no chances. A code input disengaged the locks and the door swung slowly open, pouring light from a long, narrow corridor onto the ramp to reveal a small group, gathered in a circle against a wall. Fernandez stepped forward at once, motioning for two hulking guards to remain where they were.
“Welcome home, Huan,” he said. “I am delighted you and your distinguished guests made it to us without difficulty.”
“Thank you, Eduard; this is an amazing event, and we’re very excited to have a part in it.”
Rantara pulled the cloak slowly from her shoulders, handing it to Lena. They watched in silence, taken at once by her imposing stature, but also a steely calm and purposeful expression. It was a single moment in time, yet all understood their fortune to have been present for the first ever meeting with an alien on Earth soil. She moved toward them, effortless and graceful, but it was her amber eyes that held each of the dignitaries as she went first to Fernandez.
“Thank you for receiving us, President Fernandez; I am very pleased to meet you.”
Fernandez took her hand, but the words wouldn’t form. It was awkward, waiting for him to speak, until his aide whispered, “Sir?” At last, his trademark smile returned.
“On behalf of the Terran Unified Congress, and all of humanity, I am delighted to offer our warmest welcome, Lieutenant Rantara—welcome to Earth.”
The President’s aide moved them swiftly into the adjacent chamber where a handful of lesser dignitaries and administrative officers waited in anxious and heightened anticipation. The moment was profound, if slightly surreal, as each of the gathered officials tried their best not to stare. Norris watched her, but Rantara seemed unfazed by it all, moving from one introduction to the next as a normal and easily understood task to be completed. She requested only a small tube of water as they guided her to a chair along one side of an enormous, oval table. When they each found their seats, Fernandez came quickly to the point.
Echoes of Esharam Page 29