Valence (Confluence Book 4)

by Jennifer Foehner Wells

  A wave of cold spread out from Jane’s stomach. She clutched the console, her fingertips going white.

  “I’m sorry, Jane. I just got the report moments ago. I’ve read it at least five times to be sure I have the information correct before I pass it on to you. I hate having to tell you this. There is a Swarm pod in the sector.”

  Jane’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes began to water.

  “Now, there’s no immediate danger. It’s at least twelve to thirteen standard years away, but it’s definitely on a course for Earth.”

  Kai’Memna had done it.

  He had given the Swarm the location of Earth.

  Jane stood. She needed to pace. Or scream. Or cry. She’d seen what the Swarm could do to a world firsthand. Brai had shown her through her predecessor’s eyes—Rageth Elia Hator had narrowly survived a Swarm pod attack on a sectilian colony world. It was as vivid in her mind as if it were her own memory. She couldn’t let that happen to Earth.

  She tried to do the math quickly, but had trouble concentrating. She knew a year on Earth was approximately nine-tenths of a standard year in the USR. That was just over a decade. Would that be enough time?

  She realized Yliriu could no longer see her face. She sat back down. “I’ll have to go back. Immediately. We don’t have the technology that you have. We don’t have anything. We aren’t ready.”

  Yliriu’s soft brown eyes drew down with worry. “Yes, I remember your testimony about this. I have faith that you’ll find a way. There are a few other things we need to discuss.”

  Jane broke out in a cold sweat. “Okay.”

  “Your quarantine term is nearly complete. Have Murrrsi do one more scan and on my authority, considering the situation, we’ll call it done. I may catch hell for not following the letter of the law, but I’ll take that risk. After that scan, assuming the results are negative, you may release the non-terrans in your care to return to their lives elsewhere.”

  “Yes, of course. Thank you.”

  “I’ll immediately begin the work to muster support for you here. It’s so early in your relationship with us, though, Jane. We have to be realistic. This is not the entry into galactic society that anyone expected for Terra. Our roles were supposed to be reversed. I don’t know if help will be forthcoming, but I will do whatever I can to get it for you.”

  “Thank you. I—”

  “Jane,” Brai said softly, breaking into her scattered thoughts, “the Oblignatus has just jumped into the Terac system.”

  46

  July 29, 2020

  ALAN CLOSED his eyes and inhaled deeply. Jane was draped over his bare chest. Her hair was all messed up, pressing against his chin and lips. She smelled wonderful. She felt just right against him. Yeah. He was home.

  “What was it like, while we were gone?” he asked. The Obli had jumped close enough to a comm relay point a few times solely for the purposes of exchanging messages with the Spero, but that had been far from enough communication to have a clue about what had really been going on.

  She lifted her hand limply then let it fall again. He grabbed it and clasped it.

  “I spent nearly every day writing messages and answering calls. Nothing very interesting actually happened.”

  “Are you still a celebrity?”

  She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. “I’m still pretty popular. When they aren’t trying to figure out if I’m a monster.”

  He tilted his head, trying to see her expression better. “What do you mean?”

  “It seems like there are two main fears about humans. It’s rarely overt, but I know there’s a lot of gossip. Usually they steer a conversation so they can try to decide for themselves. Some people want to know just how aggressive we actually are. I think those people are afraid we’ll invade their planets and subjugate them, rather than protect them like they feel they were promised. Then there are the people who are worried that the Cunabula’s human experiment failed and that we aren’t aggressive enough. These people often say things to me like, ‘But you’re just so nice!’”

  He stared at the ceiling and thought about it. “It’s understandable. I gotta admit, I wonder the same things sometimes. I worry that either we’re gonna go extinct or go mad with power. People are crazy.”

  “I know. But it’s hard being the object of all that scrutiny.”

  He squeezed her gently. “Have you stayed in touch with Darcy Eberhardt?”

  “Yes. I’ve been making inquiries for her. Doing research. I don’t know that I’ve been much help. It’s not easy finding someone who was sold into slavery. Most people are reluctant to admit the slave trade even exists.”

  “That’s some fucked-up shit.”

  She plucked at a stray thread on the sheet. “I know. It’s hard to believe that it goes on. I hope she finds him soon.”

  “Have you sent her a message about the Swarm?”

  She slid off him and nestled against his side. “Not yet. I’ll wait until I have more concrete information. I don’t want to pull her off her search for Adam Benally until we actually need her. The galactic communication network has been extended to cover the Sol system, so I’ll be able to send a message to her from there when I know more. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  “What’s the climate like? Do you think the data we pulled from Kai’Memna’s ship will clear the sectilians?”

  She tipped up her face to him. “Is he really dead?”

  He curled his lip with disgust. “He’s really dead. I saw a dead squid with my own eyes.” He shuddered a little at the memory. “Do you think the USR will be willing to lift the quarantine and give the Sectilius another chance?”

  She breathed deeply. “They might. Sectilian products are missed in the marketplace. I heard that mentioned a lot. But there’s a lot of residual anger, even all these years later, about the squillae virus. If they find out it wasn’t them, that might change. I just hope that sentiments don’t turn against the Kubodera.”

  “I wonder how other races treat their kuboderans. Did you learn anything about that? Is it pretty much the same deal they got from the sectilians? Or are there people who treat them better?”

  Jane shifted slightly. “I think it varies a lot even between individual ships. Feig has told me that pelimarians don’t use any systems that resemble the yoke. They work hard to build good relationships with their kuboderans and even give them vacations in a safe ocean on Pelimar.”

  “Huh. That’s cool.”

  “I want to do that too, if we can. Brai was so happy on Pliga.”

  “You said you swam with Brai? That it’s something pelimarians do? What was it like?”

  She nodded against his chest. “Kind of amazing. At its heart, it’s a community-building exercise. We’ve done it many times since. You’ll like it. It’s fun, good exercise, and I think it really builds trust and cooperation.”

  It sounded kind of woo, but he wouldn’t break the mood by saying so. He stroked her hair. It felt cool and silky between his fingers. “Are you disappointed that we have to leave before you get a chance to physically meet all these people you’ve been talking to?”

  “Maybe a little. I wish I could say I’m excited to go home, but I don’t really know what we’re going to find there. I don’t know how they reacted to my messages. It’s such a huge unknown.”

  “Yeah. I hope they weren’t jackasses.” He paused. “So, um, since you mentioned them… pelimarians?”

  She chuckled. “What about them?”

  “Where do I start?”

  She propped herself up with an elbow on the bed, smiling.

  “I read a little bit about them. Wow.”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “I half wondered if I was going to come back and find you had a harem.”

  She snorted.

  He ran his free hand up and down her back. Her skin was so smooth. He couldn’t stop touching her. “Were you tempted?” He was only about ten to twenty-five percent serious.

>   She sighed dramatically. “They do smell really good.” Her voice was husky and sensual. Then she slapped him playfully and kissed him.

  He smirked. He guessed he’d deserved that. “You aren’t kidding. Am I allowed to notice that too? What the hell is that? Cologne or something?”

  “They say it’s their own natural scent. I did read something about them producing copious amounts of pheromones. Maybe that’s part of it.”

  “I noticed Pledor was all up in their business.”

  “Oh, yes. It’s been interesting to watch all that develop. It was painfully awkward at first. Now it just seems normal. For all I know Murrrsi may be as well. If she is, she’s more discreet.”

  He reached up to scratch his nose. “Huh. So no problems with them, then?”

  “I didn’t say that.” She flopped on her back. “Their primary delegate Xua has been very unhappy that Ajaya and I didn’t join Feig’s ‘family.’ He went so far as to intimate that if we aren’t obliging we shouldn’t expect good relations with Pelimar.”

  Alan blinked. “Crap. That’s harsh.”

  “It is. It’s so strange. They’re very powerful and a lot of other cultures follow their lead in political matters. There may not be help coming for Earth.”

  He looked down at her. She was working her mouth around, blinking, and flaring her nostrils. She was trying not to cry. He reached for her. “Hey…”

  She swiped at her eyes angrily. Her voice sounded strained. “I failed. All this time here, working so hard… and I failed.”

  “You didn’t fail. They’re assholes.” He felt helpless to console her. He didn’t know what to say, but he would really like to punch that guy Xua in the nuts. “I bet that was an empty threat.”

  “Well, we’ll find out soon, I guess.”

  He could tell she didn’t want to talk about that anymore. She was pursing her lips and still dashing away and occasional tear. Maybe a change of subject would help. “What’s the wexian like? He didn’t say much.”

  She sniffed. “He rarely does. It seems like we don’t have a lot in common with him. Or perhaps this is just his way. I don’t know.”

  A low tone sounded that slowly increased in intensity, and a soft yellow light came on near the open doorway. Jane inhaled sharply and began to extricate herself from him.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Someone’s at the outer door.” Her expression went blank for a second, then she said, “It’s Feig. I better go see. It could be important.” She pulled on a robe and padded through to the large outer room and the door.

  He pulled his pants back on and grabbed his shirt, slipping it over his head as he moved to lean against the wall at the end of the hallway between Jane’s private rooms and the public space.

  Jane let Feig in. Feig was tall with a large frame, and exotic looking. She towered over Jane. No hair but that hardly mattered—she was sexy as hell. If he weren’t happily in a relationship, he’d definitely have wanted to climb that mountain. He rolled his eyes at his own ridiculous thoughts.

  Feig said something soft, and Jane gestured for her to come in. Feig’s eyes flicked over to him in an assessing, curious way, then back to Jane. “We’re sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we wanted to relay some news. We thought you might already be anticipating your next moves, thinking and planning, and we wanted to let you know that we’d like to remain aboard for whatever that may be.”

  Jane looked surprised. “Oh, I—”

  Feig took Jane’s hand in both of hers. “Jane, we feel like our journey with you is not over. We believe we can continue to be of help to you, to your people, in this difficult time ahead. In fact, I have also spoken with Murrrsi and Imadua and they feel the same way. Will you have us, Jane?” Feig’s hand had moved up Jane’s arm and she was kneading and stroking. Alan couldn’t look away.

  “Of course. I’d be honored for all of you to stay and help us. Thank you.”

  Feig dipped her head and moved in close to Jane. For a second he thought she was going to kiss her, but she pulled Jane into a hug. “Wonderful. Wonderful. We’ll tell the others. When you need us, let us know.”

  Feig slowly pulled away, her fingers lingering. She cast another long look at Alan before sashaying her way out the main door.

  Jane followed to the doorway and pressed the symbol to close the door.

  Alan cleared his throat. “Well, Feig sure likes you. That might go a long way on Pelimar.”

  Jane shook her head. “They’re very touchy-feely. It’s nothing. Don’t make it into something it’s not.” There was a note of warning in her voice. Just a small one. But it was there.

  He held up his hands. “No, no. No. Not gonna do that. There’s always my imagination, after all.”

  Jane huffed. “You’re awful.”

  He grinned. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

  She slipped into his arms. They swayed together.

  “So tomorrow we start the jumps back to Earth,” he said against her hair.

  “Yes. Tomorrow we head home. Brai has already plotted out the jump sequences.”

  “And the four kuboderan ships waiting just outside this system?”

  “We’re bringing them along, if they want to come. I suspect they’ll be needed.”

  47

  July 30, 2020

  JANE SAID goodbye to Terac without ceremony, leaving Yliriu to make her apologies and explanations. The Speroancora and Oblignatus moved a safe distance from the planet’s gravity well before opening a wormhole and jumping to the spot where Ron had left the four ships he had brought with him from Pliga That Was.

  Jane spoke to these kuboderans frankly. They were under no obligation to continue on to Earth. Kai’Memna had started this war and she made it clear that she thought they were every bit as much the victims of his despicable, twisted regime as the sectilians who had died and the humans who were fated to fight the Swarm. Ron had promised them freedom. They would be free to choose.

  All four decided to accompany her to Earth.

  She now commanded a fleet of six ships.

  She wasn’t sure if that was going to be an asset or liability when she returned to Earth. It all depended on what had happened during the time she was gone. On a human time scale she’d left about three years before. There was no way of knowing what had transpired since then. Either they’d listened to her or they hadn’t. Either way, there would be plenty of work to do.

  They had the pligan Hiding particles as a potential defense. They had six ships and Alan’s new blink drive that could be used offensively. They had access to the galactic communications network and an extensive and updated database of information about the Swarm and weapons technology. They might even have allies that they could call upon.

  The trip back to Earth was far easier than the trip away had been. Even with six ships utilizing a single wormhole generated by the Speroancora, each jump was quick and easy. They needed only a few minutes to coordinate the movement and position of each ship before they could jump again. It became routine by jump number four. By jump number eight people were bored.

  Jump number eleven was different.

  Within moments of arrival at their target location, a comm alert went off.

  Celui tapped his console. “It’s a distress call from a planet in the nearby system.”

  Jane sat up straighter. “What’s the nature of their problem?”

  He listened for a moment. “It’s a farming colony called Vendal. They’ve got a Swarm pod on the way. There are just over 100,000 farmers on the planet and they’re defenseless. Their early detection system failed and now they’re calling on anyone who can help them.”

  “Well, fuck,” Alan muttered.

  Ron connected via anipraxia. “You’re hearing this?”

  She replied, “Yes. Gathering information.” To Celui: “Can you get someone in charge for us to talk to? Maybe we can coordinate an evacuation.”

  “Hailing now.”

  Murrrsi said, “I’
m pulling up long-range scans now. There’s no time for evac. That would take weeks on a planet of this size. People on farming colonies are spread out. This Swarm pod will be here in just over four standard days.”

  “Brai, let the rest of the fleet know about a change in plans. We’re going to see what we can do to help. Or if they even need us. Maybe they have help coming and we’ll just be in the way.”

  Jane spoke to the governor of the colony. That was not the case.

  No one was coming to help them.

  “They waited too long,” Murrrsi said. “Trying to fight a pod of this size, this close to a planet, is suicide.”

  Ouvaq looked distressed. “They’ve got little more than farm machinery. They can’t fight the Swarm with pitchforks and plows.”

  Governor Panciklau was nintergertehunt. He wore a big, floppy hat that shadowed his pale face. It looked like he was speaking directly from the barnyard. His clothes were threadbare and stained, white hands cracked and lined with dirt. He spoke slowly, his voice thick with emotion. “We knew the alert system went out some time ago. But we had to bring in a crop, process, package, and sell it. We planned to send someone to go up and work on it, but by then it was time to plant the next crop. We’re simple people. We’re peaceful. We live by the cycle of the land. I should have delegated the job to someone else. I never thought… I take full responsibility.” He broke off and turned away from his camera.

  It was a multicultural world, home to six different species, but the cities were just small ports for trading. The population was evenly distributed over the globe in small farming enclaves. There was very little organized government in place. It didn’t seem to be needed.

  Ron initiated a private connection with Jane and Brai via Pio. “I’ve spoken to Huna. We can give them the particles and go back to Pliga That Was and grow more. We’ve got years to get ready for Earth’s defense. We can use this as a case study, measure its effectiveness, make sure our delivery system works. This could be a good thing. We should try to help these people.”

  “Agreed,” Jane said. “What do you need from me?”