by Rod Little
“But they didn't transform until someone entered the Boneyards,” Bohai said. “A Sayan tried to steal the Seed from its resting place. That's what triggered the Saratu attacks.”
“Someone in the Sayan command thinks he can control the Saratu by possessing the seed. I am not sure that is the case, as you did not control them after you collected the object. Their logic may be flawed.”
“Sheni's boss,” Sam said.
“According to the books, someone needs to seek out the Seed to engage the Saratu,” Bem said. “That starts the balancing process. In this case, the creatures intend to attack the invaders on our behalf. By waking them up, the enemy has caused a problem for themselves. The Sayan ambition or greed may be what helps your cause.”
“But they woke up long before anyone went into the Nebula,” Bohai said. “Remember, the two centipedes stowed away on our ship. They hitched a ride to Earth. They knew something was wrong.”
“We don't know when Sheni's ship entered the Nebula,” Sam said. “It might have been around that same time. She's not been honest or... cooperative with information. Maybe that's it. Her crew started all this.”
“And gave us a way out,” Shane said.
“I don't follow you, Sir,” Bem said.
“We take the... green Seed, or whatever it is, to Earth. And we send the creatures with it. Lusus will try to get it, and the creepies will try to protect it. You see, we have a new weapon on Earth: the creepies.”
“An alliance,” Bohai said. He bit his lip as he considered the possibility. “Maybe an army of spiders, together with the Saratu, if they can work together, can push the Sayans off Earth.”
“We don't want to push them off Earth,” Sam said.
Everyone paused and looked at him, surprised by his off-base comment.
“Aren't you the same guy who wanted to blow up the two ships on the port side out there?” Shane asked. “It is the port side, right?”
“Not exactly...” Bem started, but Sam cut him off.
“I mean, yes, we want Lusus and the rebels off our planet. We want them gone,” Sam spouted. “But as for the rest of Neptune, people like Dexter's wife who had to live underground her whole life... they deserve some sunlight. We need to share it with them. The world doesn't belong to us, either.”
“There is plenty of room on Earth,” Camila agreed. “Our population is down to almost nothing. If we can get rid of all those lizards, there's room for all of us.”
“I suppose we could take the Western Hemisphere, and give them the Eastern,” said George.
“Or... we could just share it all,” Sam said. “We can live together, side by side, as neighbors. Can't we? I mean, if most of Neptune's people are like Dexter's wife. They don't have anything against us. They just want to live above ground. I think we can be neighbors without fighting.”
“Provided we eliminate Lusus,” Bohai said. “We both know he won't share. And he gets his men all worked up.”
On that point Sam concurred. “Yes. He needs to go.”
“I've got no problem with that,” George said, and nodded to Stu, who frowned back.
“Wars are not easy to win,” Stu objected. “But I admit, we might have a clear edge. If we outnumber him by a lot... and it would have to be a lot, we might be able to pull this off.”
“War is serious,” Jason said. “You sure?”
“If we can get their President, Loxtan, to agree, and we have the Saratu on our side, we might have that edge,” Bohai said. “We might have exactly what we need to end this peacefully.”
Sam snapped his fingers. “Then we need to go see Dexter. We'll need his help.” That might not be so easy, he knew.
“But first... those two warships outside...” Shane said. “You get your wish, Sammy.”
The lasers on Starbase 21 were as powerful as they were precise. Bem was able to target the two enemy vessels in such a way as to disable their weapons and their main engines. Those modified ice-cutters were blown clean off the struts of each warship. Additional weapons mounted on the wings were also vaporized. In a final maneuver, Bem took out their primary engines.
“Now they can return to Neptune or Earth, but only using emergency backups,” Bem explained. “It will take them weeks to get to either planet.”
“And they cannot fire on us?” Sam asked.
“They cannot.”
“Good. We're safe to leave. The Vortex can go back to Earth and get the last of the refugees.”
“Agreed,” said Shane. “It's ready. We can leave by tonight. Unless there are any objections.”
There were none. Stu didn't like it, but he agreed it was the best way to move forward.
“Crews have been changed. I'm going, and I want a few of you with me. Sam, you and Bohai are in the cat-bird seat.”
“What does that mean?”
“You two are back in the Praihawk, and my plan has been green-lighted. Are you with me?”
“It's a bit of a risky plan, but we're in,” Bohai said, speaking for his best friend, too. Sam agreed with a bob of his head. Bohai's brow scrunched up, calculating what he needed to do. “We'll oversee the transfer of... cargo, I guess we'll call them. I need a couple of hours.”
The cargo was the Saratu.
“Get to it, gents.”
Sam and Bohai entered the science lab to find Walter arguing with Dexter, as usual; this time about the testing procedure for the Seed. They had the orb held inside a device meant to test the chemical composition of objects. The green globe turned as the probes examined it.
Like a green potato in a microwave, Sam mused.
He interrupted the scientists. “Guys! Maybe none of this matters. The thing isn't a weapon.”
“I disagree,” said Walter. “It generates a massive amount of energy. And it communicates.”
Dexter added: “It binds the Saratu together in a hive mentality. They act as one, and thus creates a weapon in them.”
“But it's not a weapon the way you think,” Sam argued. “According to the journals, it's a religious artifact.”
That stopped them short.
Both Dexter and Walter pondered that piece of information for a few seconds, then nodded as if they actually understood everything in a sudden burst of enlightenment. Despite their disagreements, the two men were very much alike. Sam had no idea what they thought they understood. Most of it went over his head.
“Ahh, that makes sense,” said Walter.
Bohai tapped the glass incubator holding the Seed. “Can you cook in this thing?”
“Don't tap the glass,” Walter said. “It's not a fish.”
“Now I get why everybody wants it,” Dexter muttered to himself. His eyes shifted from the computer analysis screen to the object, back and forth. “It's like the Holy Grail. We found the grail.”
“Regardless, get that thing ready for transport,” Sam said. “We need it secured on the Praihawk again. Two-de-sweet.”
“Where's it going?” Walter asked, but Dexter already knew.
“You want to take it back to the Nebula.”
“We do. Yes.”
“Where it can do less harm,” Bohai said. “But first, the Vortex leaves today for Earth. Dexter, you're requested on board.”
“Really? Seems I just got off that damn rock.”
“Oh, and one more thing,” Sam said. “Wear your best underwear.”
“Why?”
“Because we're going to war.”
Part IV
“Fear twisted us into knots. I questioned my own sanity. As we drifted into the horrid vacuum of space, my final thought was of the stars behind us. And then the Creature, it swallowed me whole.”
- Notes from the Earthian Star Charts
Chapter 38
An endless dandelion field stretched out to nowhere. President Loxtan Vahr gave orders for it to be cordoned off to allow the Vortex to make a rare landing. He had agreed to allow this final rescue of the last of the Earthlings willing to evacuate. H
e also agreed to meet with his brother and a delegation from Starbase 21: Shane and Camila.
In two hours the great ship Vortex would land in New York, eighty miles from the city. Loxtan would have his own entourage to support him, but the Vortex crew wasn't worried about reprisals. Not from Loxtan. It was Lusus who worried them. And Lusus would also be in attendance, but for a different reason: they were returning Sheni to him.
The Vortex crew of seventeen men and women, and one prisoner, plus one spider, each tended to duties that would prepare them for the next stage. The ship also carried the Saratu; the cargo bay was a sardine can filled with them. They were part of the plan. War with Lusus was not only possibly, it was likely. Loxtan's reaction to their plan would be a key element. It would take every ally they could muster to defeat the well-armed rebel warlord. If Loxtan did not agree to stand against his rebel counterpart, the plan might not unfold well for anyone.
Sheni was allowed to roam freely on the ship. Even though she was a prisoner, she was not seen as a threat. After all, they intended to hand her peacefully back to her people; she had no reason to complain. Nor had they searched her for weapons or other devices. Now she intended to use that misguided trust to her advantage.
The Praihawk was in the Vortex hold, and the Seed was on the Praihawk. Plans had been changed to allow for Sam and Bohai to join the mission to Earth, and then – if successful – they would split off and go back to the Nebula with the Seed. Sheni intended not to allow that to happen.
She slunk through the halls of the ship, one hand always in her pocket, touching the green glass ball: a fake version of the Seed. It rolled between her fingers, as she slipped into the science lab.
The lock on the lab's specimen vault was easy to negotiate. She was an expert thief, and labs often had low security features. Few thieves were expected to steal a tube full of space goo or ion particles.
Foolish Earthlings, she thought smugly. You still don't respect what you don't understand.
She marveled at how cavalier they behaved with a treasure of such magnitude.
They don't understand it. But they will.
She retrieved the Seed and replaced it with her counterfeit replica in the vault. The real artifact went into her pocket. Now all she had to do was blend into the background and wait for the landing. This gift to Lusus would put her back in the game. She would get a command of her own again. A new ship.
All her lies were paying off; she had fed half-truths and tiny lies to Dexter and his friends. She had even lied to the Defense Minister. She wasn't only a science officer – the science ship had been under her command, and she knew exactly what the mission's intention was. Now she schemed to get a new ship and a new commission.
The Vortex was cleared for landing in the designated weed field that fit its mass. A ground landing of a ship this size was unusual, but today it was needed. People and equipment were to be loaded.
Dust and dirt swirled briefly into the air; sunflower and thistle buds bent sideways or ripped away and escaped in the temporary cyclone. In the nearby woods leaves twirled airborne and were swept aside, as the ship touched down on the soft grass. Struts were extended to steady its form. Its engines quieted. Then all became calm again, and the leaves alighted on new ground. A stray sunflower head tumbled forever across the green until it vanished.
Fifteen soldiers stood outside the field almost half a mile from the ship itself. Only two men dared approach it; now they strode across the grass. It was Loxtan Vahr and one of the senators representing the citizens of Neptune in their new settlement.
The two men gazed up at the mighty ship as they trampled the weeds and made a path toward its main hatch. They stopped two hundred feet away and waited with extraordinary patience. Neither man fidgeted or spoke, their hands folded politely in front of them for seven minutes. The breeze tugged at the lapels of their oddly cut suits, fabric made of silk from Neptune's only indigenous insect: the Aureliun Silkworm.
When the hatch to the Vortex opened, they still waited. Three people exited the craft and paraded toward them, and still they waited. The delegation would come to them.
On arrival, Shane extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. President.”
Loxtan Vahr looked at the hand in disdain. “Do we really need to exchange germs? Can I simply say Thank You for your planet, and Good-bye?”
Shane drew his hand back. Sarcastically, he answered, “Yes, sure. Why not. That's not too impersonal or weird. Anyway, I'm Shane Summer.”
“Soren Jayden's son.”
“Yes. In the flesh. And this is Camila, and you know your brother already.”
Loxtan gazed dispassionately at his sibling, then the girl, and back to Shane. “What deal do you have for me? Your message mentioned an alternate offer. One that you claim will suit me well.”
“Yes, well... we appreciate your kind offer to let us evacuate more people. But that just leaves you alone here with that crazy lunatic, Lusus.” Shane summoned his courage and plowed forward. “Well, anyway, we were thinking the two of you don't see eye to eye. So would you prefer to share the planet with us? A more peaceful approach to life on Earth.”
“With you?” Loxtan tried not to smile. This was a joke, surely.
“Well, yes. Share the land with the Earthlings already here, and with some of the Starbase people who want to come back.”
Loxtan raised an eyebrow. “You're serious.”
“I am always serious,” Shane said. Nothing could be further from the truth, but in this case he was serious and his offer was genuine.
“A strange proposal.”
Finally Dexter spoke, but as if it pained him to exchange words with his brother. “A smart proposal. You know Lusus will never let you be in charge.”
“Indeed.”
“And he won't stop until he is the sole dictator over this whole planet. Do you want such a heathen, a man who has forsaken our religious beliefs of pacifism, do you want such a man to rule your world? Both worlds? If he gains Earth, he will also take Neptune. You know this to be true.”
The Neptune civilian representative started to speak, but Loxtan raised one hand like a traffic cop, and the man closed his mouth.
Loxtan deliberated for a moment. “I admit, that is an outcome I do not wish.”
“So let us help!” Shane said. “We'll help you get rid of Lusus and his rebels. Then you can share Earth with us. We're good people.”
Good people? Loxtan found the notion ludicrous. In his view, there were no good people. And certainly not those who pollute their own world. These are not good people, he concluded. But he also wanted to be rid of Lusus. And these people were not as bad as the rebels. A lesser of two evils.
“Two points,” said Loxtan. “First, how do you know you can trust me? Trust us?” He pointed a hand to the civilian representative next to him. “How can you trust anyone to share habitation with you peacefully?”
“Dexter said you will keep your word. Religion and all. And I trust him.”
“Indeed?” Loxtan narrowed his eyes into a squint. “Point two: how do you intend to rid Earth of Lusus and his army. They are far better armed than you, and my men have no weapons with which to assist you.”
Shane shared a look with his friends. “We have a plan. You need to trust us. We have the spider army, and we have our own secret weapon. We also have these things... well, how can I explain...”
“We have the Saratu,” Dexter said. “Creatures born from centipedes to protect the Earthlings. Or rather, their own religious totem.”
The senator spoke for the first time. “I believe we have seen them. They are populated in great numbers here on Earth. They are attacking all of us, though. Both sides, the rebels and the citizens of Neptune.”
“Only because they don't understand the difference,” Dexter said. “We will explain to them. Or rather, their own kind will explain it. We have over a hundred of the Saratu on board our ship.”
“Indeed,” Loxtan repeated. That s
eemed to be the only word he could commit to today.
“Our Saratu can explain to their counterparts here on Earth that only the rebels are to be attacked. Or better yet, if you took your people out of harm's way until the war is over...”
“You want us to evacuate? Retreat?”
“For safety,” Dexter said quickly. “Merely pull back into space until the battle on Earth is over. That way, there is no confusion. The Saratu, the spiders, and our own human army combined can bring him down. We only want you out of the way. And a promise that you won't oppose us.”
“And when he is fallen, we share Earth? You will not try to force us off, too?”
“We'll share, we promise,” Shane said. “You have my word.”
Camila had remained quiet, but she now gave the President a somber nod. “We are committed to the same goal. We want the same thing, for all of us to rebuild Earth and live in peace. It can be better than it was... Even than it was before your invasion. It can be... less violent.”
The President mulled these words, then pulled his senator aside and whispered at great length. He held his fingers to his chin and made no hand gestures. After a long discussion they stepped back toward Shane. He ignored Dexter.
“We agree. But we have already landed a group of Neptune civilians. It will take some effort to get them back into space.”
“I wouldn't dawdle, then,” Shane warned. “You might want to start on that now, today, because it's gonna get nasty down here real fast.”
“And you? What is your first maneuver?”
“No need for you to concern yourself,” Dexter said. “You simply need to get out of our way. Leave Earth to the Earthlings. When it comes to war, they are experts. Of this you can be sure.”
Camila put her hands on her hips. “We'll gather our forces and begin to surround his camps. We have a lot to do, too.”
“And another detail...” Shane turned and motioned toward the ship with two fingers, a signal. Two people exited through the hatch and marched out to join them. A man and a woman cut through the grass with long, rapid strides.