by Bob Blanton
“We understand. Let’s begin. I recall that you offered to help us find another suitable solar system. Can we start there?” the empress asked.
“We did make that offer, and it still stands,” Samantha stated. “However, we do have conditions.”
“We expected that, what are they?”
“You must release all of your slaves, any non-Fazullan has to be turned over to us.”
“We would be more than happy to do that. We want them to be taken care of, and it would be taxing on us to do so. They are a shameful reminder of the barbaric nature of our former rulers. Unfortunately, we’re talking about over two hundred thousand people.”
“Oh, my. I assume most of them are Paraxeans.”
“Correct. There are 173,324 Paraxeans, 28,722 Aperanjens, and 20 Onisiwoens. Quite a few are children.”
“We had expected their numbers to be biased toward children, but the total numbers are higher than we had originally anticipated, but we will still be able to deal with them.”
The empress looked visibly relieved at Samantha’s pronouncement that they would be able to handle all of the slaves.
“Your other terms?”
“We will deal with the slaves first. As we remove them from your ships, we will move your ships into another isolated system. We will eventually need to take a few of your ships to hold the slaves. We will take your advice on which ships we should use. They will be returned to you. You will wait in the other system until we find a planet for you.”
“I understand. How long do you expect this search for a planet to take?” the empress asked with obvious skepticism. She was clearly feeling uncomfortable with this turn in the negotiations.
“We are already searching for habitable planets. We have been ignoring those that have gravity over 1.3 times our standard gravity. You seem to like gravity at 1.5 times standard. Those worlds have been logged, so we can send an expedition back to them to determine if they are suitable. We would be happy to have a few of your people accompany us. But you must understand the Aperanjens will get first choice.”
“A time frame?”
“One to two years,” Catie said. “That includes actually visiting the world to verify its suitability.”
“That sounds acceptable. Other terms?”
“Given that you have been oppressed and were not directly responsible for the problem, we believe that covers the main issues. We will need to spend time working through the details, but that will mostly be around logistics,” Samantha said.
The empress visibly blew a sigh of relief. “I don’t see any problem with your terms. How do you wish to proceed?”
“We will start with the Onisiwoens since that will be easiest. Can you identify which ships they are on?”
“That will be easy. They are all on the same ship; I’ve sent its designation to you. The other aliens are mostly segregated on different ships, but we do have two ships with partial populations of each.”
“We’ll try to handle the Paraxeans next. I need to spend time with their governments to decide how to best handle that large a population, but getting the ships identified will be a good start. Do you have any specific requests?” Samantha asked.
“We only ask that you allow us to rotate through stasis based on our own schedule,” the empress said.
“I don’t see a problem with that.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Okay, 173,324 Paraxeans, and most of them children. How are we going to deal with all of them?” Samantha asked.
“I’m not sure that Mangkatar can take all of them. Especially when there is such a high ratio of children,” Marc said.
“We should ask the other Paraxean colonies and Paraxea,” Catie suggested.
“Why Paraxea? We know the colonists didn’t want to go back to Paraxea. They felt that they’d be too out of touch,” Samantha said.
“But Paraxea should feel a responsibility for them. They might be willing to help relocate them and provide resources so it would be easier for the colonies to absorb them.”
“We’ll need to ask. And we have to put a priority on finding a planet for the Aperanjens,” Samantha said.
“I’ve already directed two probes to go back to the best candidates,” Catie said. “There are five other likely candidates, and they will check all of them out once they’ve done the survey of the best two.”
“Only two probes?” Blake asked.
“Weird statistics, but the best candidates were all in either sector five or sector eight,” Catie said. “I’ve changed the search parameters on the other probes, so they might find a good candidate going forward.”
“We can only work with what we have,” Marc said. “Sam, do you want any help talking to the Paraxeans?”
“Not yet. I’ll yell if I do.”
Chapter 19
The End Game
“Captain McCormack, please rendezvous with this ship and pick up the Onisiwoens. I think it’s time they all went home,” Blake ordered.
“Yes sir. Navigator, please put us next to the ship.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Everyone was relieved that the fighting had ended without too much actual fighting. Getting back to the primary mission of taking the Onisiwoens home was just what the doctor ordered, and to be able to bring the other members of the crew as well was just icing on the cake.
“Jump is programmed,” the navigator reported.
“Engage.”
“I need five minutes to maneuver into position. Are you going to send a Lynx to pick them up?” the pilot asked.
“I think that would be prudent,” Catie said. “Kasper, can you have Charlie and Dr. Juxtor added to the crew of the Lynxes? One on each, I’m sure the people we’re picking up would appreciate a familiar face.”
“Yes ma’am,” Kasper said. “Lynxes will be ready to launch as soon as we’re in position.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Captain Margakava, it’s so good to see you,” the Onisiwoen woman said as Charlie met her at the airlock. She was almost as tall as Charlie and had hair that was even bluer than his. She was also very pregnant and was carrying a small child and had another child in tow.
“Magaxia, I thought we’d never meet again,” Charlie said. “I’m so sorry for what has happened to you.”
“We weren’t abused, apparently we’re too fragile for them,” Magaxia said. “And I do finally have a family; I’ve always wanted children.”
“I see,” Charlie said as he knelt down so he was even with the three-year-old. “Welcome to Onisiwo,” he said. “Do you want to go home and see your grandparents?”
The child just nodded, obviously confused and uncomfortable in the microgravity. Charlie picked up the two-year-old and moved into the Lynx. “Let’s get you aboard. We’ll be able to take twelve on this ship, the others will be put on the next ship. Then we’ll be headed home. Captain McCormack assures us that once we head out, she’ll keep us in gravity until we land.”
“Oh, that will be nice. Some of the children are not handling the microgravity well.”
“Don’t worry. The accommodations on the Roebuck are exceptional. We’ll have everyone settled in a couple of hours and be on our way.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Catie met the first Lynx in the flight bay. As soon as it was pressurized, she had rushed out to meet the released prisoners.
“Magaxia, this is Captain Catherine McCormack,” Charlie said, introducing the first woman to Catie. Two other women quickly appeared at the Lynx’s hatch cautiously making their way down the stairs, each was pregnant and carrying a young child. Marines followed them carrying their other children.
“I’m happy to meet all of you. We were so happy to learn that you all had survived,” Catie said. “Please follow me and we’ll get you settled into your accommodations.”
Charlie grabbed Magaxia’s oldest child, a girl. He whispered in her ear, “She’s a princess.”
The child’s eyes went wide in wonder. “R
eally?”
“Yes, just wait, you’ll see,” Charlie whispered.
Catie led them to the cabins that were right next to the flight bay. They had rearranged things so the twelve cabins closest to the flight bay were available for their new guests. Everyone wanted to ease their transition.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Magaxia, thank you for agreeing to this interview,” Catie said as Magaxia joined her in her office.
“Call me Maggie, Charlie suggested it would be easier on both our ears,” Maggie said.
“And call me Catie,” Catie said. “Has everyone settled in?”
“Yes, we’re doing well. Thank you and your crew for taking such good care of us.”
“You’re welcome. I would like to explain a few things, and answer any questions you may have before we begin the interview, or debrief might be a better word for it. First, how are you handling the translations, is your earwig comfortable?”
“Yes, it seems fine.”
“Some people like to use two when they’re engaged in long conversations, it helps to limit the volume of the foreign language, so they only hear the translator.”
“No, I like hearing your voice,” Maggie said.
“Okay. As you know, I’m Catherine McCormack, the captain of the Roebuck, the ship we are on. We were bringing Charlie and the part of the crew we rescued with him here to Onisiwo when we realized that the Fazullans were about to invade, which is how I came to be captain of the Roebuck instead of a more experienced military captain,” Catie said.
“I see, you do seem to be quite young.”
“I am. Our world is still fractured into many nations. Delphi, my nation, controls our space fleet. Actually, it’s controlled by a corporation that is controlled by a very small group of people. My father uses that core group for certain missions, our way of keeping some of our technology and plans secret.”
“I see.”
“Let me introduce you to our DI, ADI. She is a sentient digital intelligence, much more than an AI that you are probably used to.”
“Hello, Maggie,” ADI said. “I’m pleased to meet you.”
“She’s sentient?”
“Yes. She is our only sentient DI now,” Catie said. “The Paraxeans have a few, but they’re rare. We also have several AIs, and the ship’s AI is called Roebuck, or ship. Say hello, Roebuck.”
“Hello, Maggie. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Both of them have female voices.”
“Yes. The history of the culture I grew up in, tends to give ships a female gender. We’ve adopted it. We might change to using both genders; it seems funny to call the Galileo ‘she’ since the person she was named after was male. Now, ADI has been keyed to your Comm, so any time you want to talk to her she will answer. The same for Roebuck. The rest of your crew will have access to Roebuck. And all of your Comms are very powerful computers. Your Comm is handling the translation.”
“Oh, interesting.”
“As I said, they’re powerful. But we’re still learning the subtleties of your language, so if something sounds odd, or even improper, I hope you will first assume it is a bad translation.”
“Of course.”
“We’re still eighteen days away from your homeworld, so be sure to ask us for anything you need to be comfortable.”
“Eighteen days? How is that possible?” Maggie asked.
“We’re under constant acceleration,” Catie said.
“Oh, so that’s why there’s gravity.”
“Correct. We are actually accelerating at 1.4 times standard gravity, but it cycles to make it easier on your heart.”
“I see. So that would mean your standard gravity is similar to ours.”
“Yes, Onisiwo is .95 standard gravity,” Catie explained. “Another thing, I would like to express my sympathy for the horrible experience you had to endure. Right now, our doctors do not have enough experience with your physiology to help much, but Dr. Moreau is going to stay on Onisiwo and work with your doctors to adapt the Paraxean and Terran medical technology to your species. Eventually, they should be able to help.”
“How would they help?”
“They have the ability to dull memories. I’ve had it done to deal with a bad experience I had four years ago. My best friend, Liz, had it done to deal with an experience she had before then. Liz is the strongest, most confident woman I’ve ever met. She’s like a sister to me. But even she had nightmares. I’m telling you so you can talk to your crew, let them know there’s hope for anyone who is suffering. Liz told me that you and your crew are probably the toughest of the Onisiwoen women, having been selected to be astronauts, but like I said, Liz is the toughest woman I know.”
“Did you make this offer to the men?”
“We have, but they spent most of their time in stasis, so I don’t think they were as traumatized as the women. Their nightmare ended right after you were captured, while yours just began.”
“Thank you, I’ll let everyone know about the option. Some of the women are struggling with being forced to become mothers and being treated like slaves. I’m sure knowing that those memories can be dulled away will help. But some may not wish to have it done. They wouldn’t want to lose the memory of their children’s first years.”
“The procedure is far more selective than that. I remember everything that happened around my incident with clarity. Only the feeling of being trapped has been dulled.”
Maggie nodded her head. “That sounds better. I’ll make sure everyone understands.”
“Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I’d like to start the debrief,” Catie said.
“I’m sure I’ll have questions, but I’m okay with starting.”
“For the debrief, we’ll be joined by that core group I mentioned. They will only be listening in. They might send me questions that they want asked, but you shouldn’t notice them.”
“No, I would prefer to see them if you don’t mind,” Maggie said.
“Okay, let me register your Comm to the conference. . . . There you go. Now, this is my father, Marc McCormack. He is the CEO of MacKenzie Discoveries and the Monarch of Delphi, which just means he’s the big boss. Next to him is my uncle, Admiral Blake McCormack, he’s the head of our space fleet. They’re not actually in the same location. On the other side of my father is his wife, Samantha Newman, she’s our interstellar ambassador. Beside Admiral Blake, is Commander Elizabeth Farmer, she’s a close friend as well as an experienced wing commander. And beside her is General Kalani Kealoha, he’s the head of our Marines. They represent the inner circle of MacKenzie Discoveries and Delphi’s Security Council.”
“I’m honored to meet you.”
“We’re all honored to meet you as well,” Marc said. “We’ll try to let Catie run the debrief, but feel free to direct questions to any of us.”
“Are you all related?” Maggie asked.
“No, just the three McCormacks,” Samantha said. “I married Marc last year. But we all behave like one big family.”
“Thank you, that helps put things into context.”
“Now, could you tell us what you can remember of what happened?” Catie asked.
“I’ll try. You already know about the capture of our ship. Once we were captured, the ship was towed back to their base. I now realize that means to the fringe of our system and through the wormhole. It took about four weeks. During that time there was a physical exam, and a lot of follow-up exams. We didn’t speak each other’s language so there wasn’t any sharing of information.
“At their base, the women were offloaded from their ship, and then I believe that ship departed, I guess to go to Artemis. We women were placed into a section where we had beds for sleeping and food. It didn’t take us long to realize we were all pregnant.”
“What base?” Blake messaged Catie.
“You keep mentioning a base, can you explain what it was?” Catie asked.
“It was a space station,” Maggie said. �
�It must be right next to the wormhole. I didn’t feel any high acceleration, just about 1.5 Gs, so it couldn’t have been far if we got there from our second gas giant in just four weeks.”
“A space station, not a ship?”
“Yes, I’m very confident it was a space station,” Maggie said.
“I’m not doubting you,” Catie said. “I’m just wondering what happened to it. There isn’t a space station there now. ADI?”
“Cer Catie.”
“On the common channel,” Catie ordered.
“Cer Catie. One of the ships the Fazullans are flying looks like it could have been the hub of a space station. Eight other ships have sections that might have been part of the ring,” ADI said.
“That makes sense. They were putting everything they could into space to move their population. Using the space station that way would increase their carrying capacity.”
“Yes, I estimate an additional fifty thousand Fazullans could have been accommodated by the sections from the space station.”
“Sorry, Maggie. Please go on.”
“We were on the space station for four years. I’ve had two children in that time as did most of the women. Based on their features, we believe they all had different fathers.”
“Maximizing the diversity of the population,” Catie whispered.
“Yes, that was our thought as well. We were forced to clean the space station. There were only a few Fazullan women on the station, so since the men refuse to do anything menial if there is a woman to do it instead, we were kept busy.
“After the first year, there was a flurry of activity. The Fazullans seemed to be very distraught. Then things settled down, but there was a sense that something major had changed. Our lives were mostly the same. Then after four years we were all herded into another ship and put into stasis.”
“I suspect the first event was when they decided they were going to take Onisiwo for themselves. The timing of when you were put into stasis would probably have been when the first of their fleet reached the wormhole and they started to wait for it to cycle to Onisiwo so they could invade,” Catie explained.