by Bob Blanton
“Cer Hastra, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed,” Blake said as the old man sat down. “I’m Admiral McCormack and this is Lieutenant McCormack and Commander Farmer.”
“Hello, Cer Hastra,” Catie said. “You might remember Doctor Mangalax, he was the lead doctor on the colony ship.”
“I remember him. Is he here?”
“No, he’s back with the other colonists. We can make arrangements for you to talk to him if you like.”
“I never liked him before and I’m sure he doesn’t like me either. But it’s good to know the colony ship made it.”
“Can you tell us what you remember after the attack on your ship?” Blake asked.
“Sure. I was even awake at the time, one of the few that survived,” Cer Hastra said. “We were attacked and the cargo ship was separated from the others. They went on; they had to if they wanted to survive. Somehow the Fazullans managed to slow our ship down and board her. They were really mad when they realized we’d fused all the electronics and that the reactor was fused as well. They were so mad that they started killing the crew. They tortured a bunch of them before they killed them. Don’t know why; we couldn’t understand each other so no one could answer any questions.”
“How did you survive?” Blake asked.
“I was a maintenance guy, kind of the janitor. I hid in an air duct until they got tired of killing everyone.”
“I see, please go on.”
“One of the officers had jettisoned the cargo. Set explosives on all the important stuff, so it was destroyed even if they’d been able to go back and find it all.”
“Clever of him,” Liz said.
“We had weeks to prepare. We saw their ships coming months before they hit us; things take a long time in space. That was the protocol we had. The Fazullans only got material out of that ship, no technology. I guess that’s why they were so mad. They could tell right away that we had better stuff than they did.”
“Then what happened?”
“They put the few of us that were still alive back in stasis chambers. Fortunately, our protocol didn’t require destroying them. They must have brought some kind of power source over to keep them running since they would only have been able to keep them running for a few weeks on capacitors and batteries.
“Anyway, when I came out of stasis, they made it clear that I was a slave. Not much different than before, except that they slapped me around a lot. I had to work in a factory taking care of machinery. Eventually, I learned their language. They took all the women away; I learned later that they were using them to breed more slaves.”
“That’s what we’ve been told,” Catie said.
“Terrible thing to do to people,” Cer Hastra said. “Anyway, I worked as a slave for sixty years, then they put me on a ship and stuck me in another stasis chamber. Then I woke up here.”
“What else do you know about the Paraxeans back on Fazulla?” Liz asked.
“I know there are a lot of them. The Fazullans really like having slaves to do their work, so they kept breeding more Paraxeans. The captain that captured us got really rich. He’s still getting richer, I assume.”
“What about the original colonists, like you?”
“There are lots of them. There were still some of them in stasis when I left. They wake one up every few years to interrogate them. I was used as an interpreter once. I guess the Fazullans can’t be bothered to learn a slave’s language. Stupid really; the interpreter would give the new awakee the lowdown to make sure they didn’t reveal anything important. Made it look like we were trying to encourage them to be cooperative.”
“What can you tell us about the Aperanjens?”
“You must mean those big, red people. They showed up about halfway through my time there, I guess that’d make it thirty years ago. That Fazullan captain who brought them in thought he was going to be rich. Big worker slaves. He made some money off of the technology, but it wasn’t much. Nobody wanted his slaves.”
“Why not?” Blake asked.
“They were scared of them. They’re as big as a Fazullan and fierce. One slave killed his master and the whole family after they beat him. They don’t take kindly to being slaves. The women don’t either, and they’re almost as strong and fierce as the men.”
“How did they react when the Aperanjen killed the Fazullan?”
“Why they killed every slave in that household. But that didn’t cow the Aperanjens any. They made it clear they would rather die than be treated like slaves. So nobody would buy them, and it doesn’t make any sense to breed slaves you can’t sell. That captain started selling them for missions like this, mining in the asteroid belt or on other planets. Then they could keep lots of guards on them.”
“What else can you tell us about the Fazullans?”
“They don’t treat their women any better than they treat their slaves. The women seemed to be nice; I was never hit by one of them. Some of the men seemed alright, but the bosses were always cruel. They liked to see you cower when they walked into a room. I guess it made them feel like real big men when someone they could kill whenever they wanted to would duck their head when they walked by.”
They couldn’t get much more out of Cer Hastra, he’d never been allowed to learn anything but the basics about Fazullan technology. Major Prescott had security take him back to a room where Catie made arrangements for him to call some Paraxeans he remembered from the original colony mission.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Our next guests are the Onisiwoens, there were only eight of them on the ship. ADI has just finished deciphering their language with the help of the ones we pulled out of stasis,” Major Prescott said. He pronounced Onisiwoen, O-Ne-Si-Wo-In
“Let’s bring them in,” Blake said.
The door opened and three Onisiwoens were led in by the security guard. They were very humanoid in appearance. They had dark skin with a blue tinge to it which matched their bright blue hair. They were similar in height to the Fazullans, about 175 centimeters tall. But they were smaller, thin, almost frail. When they smiled, they had teeth much like humans, not the canine-like teeth of the Fazullans.
“Please be seated. I hope our translator is adequate. Please let us know if you are confused by something we say,” Blake said.
“Thank you, your ADI and ANDI have been very helpful. They seem to have a good command of our language now,” the lead Onisiwoen said. “My name is Charlie.”
“Charlie, how did you come up with a name like that?” Catie asked.
“Our names are long and complex,” Charlie said. “We use diminutives when we talk among friends, I’ve selected Charlie after hearing your Marines try to say my name a few times. I like the sound of it better than the mangling of my real name.”
“And your two companions?” Blake asked.
“This is Leharo, he is my second in command, and this is Juxtor, he is our doctor.”
“I’m pleased to meet you,” Blake said. “You know Major Prescott; this is Commander Farmer and Lieutenant McCormack. I’m Admiral McCormack.”
“Your daughter? I see a resemblance,” Charlie said.
“My niece.”
“We wish to express our thanks to you for rescuing us.”
“We were happy to assist,” Blake said. “Can you tell us more about your homeworld and what happened to you?”
“Our homeworld of Onisiwo is just beginning to explore the fringes of our solar system. We were part of a mission to the outer planets in our system.”
“How is your system configured?” Catie asked.
“Our system has two inner rocky planets, then an asteroid belt, then three gas giants, and a few exoplanets.”
“So, you were a small crew?” Blake asked.
“Yes, there were fourteen of us. I believe that eight of us were on the Fazullan ship.”
“That’s correct. We do not have any information about the other six members of your crew. Can you tell us about them?”
“They
were all women,” Charlie said. “We are not sure why the Fazullans would keep the women.”
“Can you tell us how you were captured?” Blake asked, ignoring the comment about the women. It was clear that the other two preferred that Charlie be the one doing the talking. Blake didn’t know if it was a chain of command thing, or they were just uncomfortable answering questions.
“Our ship was coming to Yiyara, our second gas giant. We were to land on one of her moons and set up an observation post. That is when a Fazullan ship came out from behind one of the other moons and fired upon us. We were on a peaceful mission and did not have any weapons. We surrendered and they boarded our ship. They took us prisoner and put us in those stasis chambers. We do not know what happened after that.”
“You said a Fazullan ship, does that mean you know it wasn’t the one you were just on?” Catie asked.
“No, I believe it was the same ship.”
“Do you think the Fazullans captured your solar system?” Liz asked.
“I do not think so. We didn’t see any other vessels and our planet may not be venturing far into space as of yet, but we do have powerful orbital weapons,” Charlie said.
“He’s equivocating,” Catie messaged to the others. “Dr. Juxtor, did you have any problems adapting to the environment in their ship?”
“We did not. Major Prescott placed us in an isolated set of rooms during our trip here. During that time, I and his team were able to determine that exposure to the Fazullan air and environment did not pose a threat to us. We also verified that your air would be safe as well.”
Major Prescott nodded his head. “Ma’am, we spent the first two weeks in full exosuits. It wasn’t until two days ago that we got out of the suits.”
Catie grimaced. “I’m sure that wasn’t a pleasant two weeks.”
“We train for it, ma’am.”
“So you weren’t able to identify any technology from your world on the Fazullan ship?” Blake asked.
“That is correct. Major Prescott had us escorted into all the sections; we saw no trace of Onisiwoen technology.”
“What would you like us to do with you?” Blake asked.
“We hope that you will return us to Onisiwo.”
“Do you think your world is ready to learn about other civilizations out here?” Catie asked.
“We have been confident that there are other races among the stars. During the two years before our expedition, we got some fragments of radio signals that indicated another civilization. I assume they were from Fazullan scout ships.”
“Just fragments?” Catie asked.
“Yes, the signals we first picked up were distorted and lasted for three or four months, then we got nothing for about a year, then they came back. We were supposed to try and get a better read on them during our mission.”
“And you never detected them before? Were you looking before?” Catie asked.
“We have been searching the skies for signs of extraterrestrial life for over one hundred years. The first signal we received that strongly suggested its existence were the ones we received just before our mission began.”
“Back to the discussion of returning you to Onisiwo,” Blake said. “Would you be willing to show us which system is yours?”
“We could try,” Charlie said.
“I sense some hesitation.”
“You did rescue us, but we really don’t know that much about you.”
“I can understand your caution . . .”
“Is this your home system?” Catie asked as she put a star map up on the display.
Charlie’s eyes gave him away as he clearly recognized the surrounding stars. Blake gave Catie a questioning look.
“Antares probe found it, detected signs of civilization, and moved on. But given our assumptions about how the Fazullans got there, plus the timing of the signals, this is the system that the data points to.”
“Yes, that is our system,” Charlie said. “If you can tell me the timing of this star map, then I can probably determine the date. That would tell us how long ago the Fazullans captured us.”
“This map is six months old,” Catie said.
Charlie gasped, then shook his head. He studied the map with his two colleagues for a few minutes; after some back-and-forth discussion among them, they reached a conclusion.
“I believe this shows that our mission was captured four years ago,” Charlie said. “But it is hard to imagine so short a timeline.”
“Any reason not to tell them?” Catie messaged Marc, Blake, and Liz.
“Go ahead,” Marc said.
“Charlie, we believe that the Fazullans reached your system via a wormhole that opened at the fringe of your solar system.”
Charlie was shaking his head. “What do you mean a wormhole? That is a hole left in the soil by a small creature. I am confused.”
“Sorry, the translation of wormhole is correct.”
“Sorry about that,” ADI messaged.
“Our translation program didn’t have the other meaning we have for the term. We also use that term to describe a dimensional tunnel in space-time. It connects two points that are light-years apart.”
“But the gravitation distortion would tear the universe apart.”
Catie nodded her head. “If the connection were made in the same dimension, it would create a problem. But the wormholes seem to absorb the mass at the entry completely before that mass can start exiting the other end. So the dimensional transition isolates the two ends.”
“Okay, I think I understand,” Charlie said. “Please go on.”
“Once they reached your solar system, it would only have taken a few weeks for them to reach the gas giant where they attacked you, then the same amount of time to return to the wormhole. We suspect that their end of the wormhole is around half a light-year from their homeworld. We also believe that the wormhole moves every few months among three systems. That would mean that it would only be the time between their leaving your system and reaching Artemis that we have to account for.”
“And how were you able to send a probe to our system to make that star map?”
“We’ve discovered how to create an artificial wormhole,” Catie said. “We’ve been looking for habitable planets with our probes. One of them was directed into the quadrant of the galactic arm where your planet is. As I said, it detected signs of civilization, so it logged the data and avoided the system.”
“This is too much; I need time to think,” Charlie said. His two colleagues signaled their emphatic agreement.
◆ ◆ ◆
After a break for lunch, they met the next group of aliens. They called themselves Aperanjens. They were even shorter than the Fazullans, built like fire hydrants. Catie thought they could probably lift one of the taxis they had on Delphi City.
“Thank you for joining us,” Blake said as the three aliens were shown into the conference room. “I’m Admiral Blake McCormack; you know Major Prescott; joining us are Commander Farmer and Lieutenant McCormack.”
“We are glad to meet you. Please call me Bear, this is Rhino, and she is Wolf,” Bear said pointing to his two companions. “We selected names from your language to make communication easier.”
“We appreciate that, however the translation program on our Comms wouldn’t have trouble with your true names.”
“We know, but this makes it easier for us. We have good hearing and can tell when you’re using a different name that then gets translated, and the sound of you trying to pronounce our names is very harsh to our ears.”
“Then, Bear, can you tell us how you came to be prisoners of the Fazullans?” Blake asked.
“I can tell you,” Rhino said. “I have been in stasis since we were captured. Wolf and Bear were just children back then.”
“Then please tell us what you know.”
“Our colony ship was attacked and captured by the Fazullans. We didn’t expect to encounter anyone on our journey to the new planet, so we had no defens
ive forces with us.”
“Can you help us understand where and when this occurred?”
“We can give you an idea of where by using star charts, but we’ve been in stasis since the attack, so we have no idea of how long ago it was. In fact, most of our people were in stasis during the attack.”
“I’ll bring up a star chart, tell me if we’re close,” Catie said.
“Those stars do not look familiar,” Rhino said after everyone spent time examining the star map.
“How about these stars?” Catie asked after switching to another map.
“Those do not look familiar,” Rhino said.
“Damn.”
“Catie, what’s the matter?” Marc asked.
“I think the wormhole may have jumped since then. That will make it difficult to find their homeworld. Rhino, can you describe the star system you were passing at the time of the attack?”
“What is a wormhole and how did you know they would be passing a star system at the time of the attack?” Bear demanded.
“It’s related to how the Fazullans were able to reach you,” Catie explained. “They could only have attacked you within a few million kilometers of a star system.”
“Will you explain that to us?” Wolf asked.
Catie repeated her explanation of wormholes and paused to let them ponder it.
“Does that mean you could take us back to our homeworld?” Wolf asked.
“If we can figure out where it is,” Blake said. “Is that what you would prefer?”
“We have discussed what we want, and we all agree that we would prefer to finish the colony mission, but that is not possible.”
“Can you tell us which star system you were planning to colonize?” Catie asked, “Or were you just looking for one?”
“No, we had a specific system we were traveling to. It is about four light-years spinward of the place we were attacked,” Wolf said.
“So we can continue to try and figure out where that was, or we can find another system for you. Was there a specific reason you had selected the system?”
“It was close to our homeworld, twenty light-years, and it appeared to be compatible.”
“Would you be interested in another system?”