by S. H. Jucha
The visitors glanced at one another in disbelief.
“It should also be made clear to you that it will take decades for you to become intimately familiar with our tech,” Miriamette said, “and at every step along the way you’ll have an opportunity to demonstrate your willingness to work together with us.”
“I can tell by your expressions that you don’t fully comprehend what Miriamette said,” Julien interjected. “Your first step will be to purchase or trade for finished products. Your next step will be to purchase the machines that will make products for you. At this point, your scientific knowledge must advance to a point where you understand the concepts and principles behind our tech. From then on, you’ll be independent of Talus. That is until the Talusians invent new technology.”
“Does the requirement to pay licensing fees end when we construct our own warships?” Sunnamis asked.
“The licensing fees never end for new ships,” Alex replied, in a hard voice. Neither Julien nor he liked the glances that were exchanged between council members and Sunnamis.
“And before I forget,” Julien said, which required Alex to hide his smirk. “Your ship’s controllers will always be accessible by SADEs.” Then he added, “Device to device, you understand?”
“Could you summarize your offer for my council?” Sotagar requested.
“Yes,” Alex replied. “Assuming President Sargut approves the terms of this offer, we’ll load it on your ship’s bridge database. Essentially, you must protect Talus for an annual before you can purchase a traveler. During this time, you’ll need to accept Omnian credits for some portion of your raw material and goods that you supply to Talus. This will allow you to pay the Omnian licensing fee for travelers you purchase. Protect Talus for an additional two annuals and you can purchase Tridents. At that time, any traveler you possess can have its beams activated.”
Miriamette added, “Understand that you’ll need to have your pilots and techs trained on our ships, which will have a cost. Furthermore, we’ll set the curriculum and qualification standards. It’ll be a pass or fail system for every individual.”
“I find those terms adequate, Alex,” Sargut replied sedately, while inside he was jumping out of his chair and flapping his wings.
“As soon as you have the proposal ready, I’ll be sailing for my colony,” Sotagar said.
“Taking your fleet with you, Commander?” Sargut asked.
“No,” Sotagar replied, as he stood. “I’ll be using a single ship, and I’d appreciate you giving our colony credit for Talus’s defense from the cycle of our arrival.”
“If your council accepts the proposal, I’ll be pleased to start the chronometer from that cycle,” Sargut replied.
“One more thing,” Alex said. “You’ll find a stipulation in the proposal that requires your council allow unrestricted transfer of citizens to and from your colony and Talus.”
“I’d have assumed that,” Sotagar responded, “but it should be stated for benefit of the council.” He glanced briefly at Sunnamis, and his brow ridges tinted just the slightest.
“A crew member is waiting to take you to a traveler,” Miriamette said, gesturing toward the door. “May the stars protect you on your journey.”
After Sotagar left, Alex eyed Sunnamis and waited.
“We’ll need to see the final proposal before we can make a decision,” Sunnamis said.
Julien activated a holo-vid at the end of the table. It displayed a document.
“It’s in our language. So, I’ll read it to you,” Julien said. “You’ll have a copy on your bridge database in Toralian.”
“I’ll leave the group to it,” Alex said, excusing himself.
As Alex headed toward his suite, he was contacted by Miriamette.
Alex chuckled to himself. SADEs often wanted a chart of options from beginning to end for any process.
Miriamette replied.
Alex sent in reply,
-30-
Exodus
Sunnamis and her council did sign the agreement, as did Sotagar’s council. Dortagut and Sotagar arrived at Talus in command of the protection fleets.
The commanders, officers, and crews of the protection fleets took advantage of their posting to learn Omnian tech, and the sisters were happy to educate the Toralians by putting them to work.
Miriamette and Suntred sailed aboard a Talus Trident to visit the other Toralian colonies and urge them to adopt the home world’s proposal. The Trident was loaded with examples of Omnian tech, but it was the warship and its travelers that represented the prime examples.
The orbital station received a second wing, allowing for a more robust transport schedule to and from the surface. The station continued its construction of Tridents and was now launching tri-hulled warships every three months from each of two bays.
However, the greatest change to Talus came with the arrival of the first passenger liners. The majority of immigrants were young Toralians, single and in family units. They came for the work. The Talusian society was credit poor, but it was opportunity rich.
The renegade bots had been eliminated, much to the Dischnya’s regret. However, that opened Toral’s land, and Sargut and Miriamette traded land, temporary shelters, and food for the immigrants’ services.
The newcomers were housed in large congregations. Some worked the land, planting orchards and crops. Others held jobs in construction, and a few, who had unique skills, were trained in Omnian tech. Each housing unit was an imitation of the ancient co-ops.
In time, the economy would shift to a credit-based system, but elements of trade and barter would always exist in Talusian society.
Aggressor fleets continued to arrive, but as the months passed, they came less frequently. In most cases, the fleets took one look at the commanding presence of five fleets and two monstrous oval ships and fled. Occasionally, there were a few flurried launches from the invaders before their hasty departures. However, they were fired from outside the system. A portion of the missiles died in the belt. The remainder went ballistic soon after passing through it, which left the defenders plenty of time to safely eliminate them.
The commanders and officers of the Toralian protective fleets often rode aboard the Tridents, as the warships destroyed the fields of projectiles. Sisters accompanied the Toralians and displayed the action on holo-vids.
Sargut and Miriamette ensured the visiting fleet personnel became well-acquainted with the attributes of Omnian-designed warships. The Talusians would need captains and crew for their new ships and hoped to recruit some of the Toralians.
Life throughout Talus settled into a comfortable routine. For the Omnian fleet, it was a period of peace, but not for everyone.
Alex was frequently asked by Asu and Willem when he’d be ready to escort them to Haraken. The pair had considered making the journey unescorted until they’d heard of the encounte
r with the Dutterites. More convincing was the number of fleets attacking Talus. Neither of these events instilled any great confidence in reaching Haraken unchallenged.
However, Teague became increasingly irritated with his father for not supporting their earlier return. Ginny cautioned patience, but she wasn’t having any success. As tension between father and son grew, Ginny began to suspect that it had to do with something else other than when they returned.
“I don’t understand why Teague is so angry at Alex,” Ginny lamented to Renée in a private moment.
“He’s not mad at Alex. He’s upset about his circumstances,” Renée explained. “When Teague and you are exploring the stars, Teague has his own life. Here, at Talus, he lives in Alex’s shadow. Everything in this system revolves around Alex and for good reason. This was Artifice’s lair. This was and is a war zone.”
“Can’t Alex and Teague talk this out?” Ginny asked.
“They’ve met several times, as you know, but while the conversations are convivial, they don’t relieve Teague’s frustration,” Renée replied.
“So, Teague won’t be at peace until we’re underway, sailing home,” Ginny concluded.
“Probably not,” Renée lamented.
Several weeks later, Alex and Renée sat on the grass in the Freedom’s grand park. Alex stared at the fish in the pond. They’d been there for a while, and Renée sensed Alex was loath to leave.
Renée detected Julien’s approach.
The SADE stood silently behind Alex. He’d been surprised to discover that Alex had shut down his implant’s comm app. He’d found the couple by locating Renée, recognizing Alex’s ID was offline, and calculated the two were together at the park.
Julien sat beside Alex, who glanced briefly in his direction. He chose to sit quietly and observe the fish with Alex.
Eventually, Alex asked softly, “Important news?”
“I’ve our reason for leaving,” Julien replied.
“Have we needed one?” Renée asked. She knew Julien’s sensors recorded her, and she winked. It had been time for the fleet to sail for a while.
“What’s our reason?” Alex asked, drawing his attention away from the pond to regard Julien.
“We’ve received the Gotlians’ signal,” Julien replied.
Alex’s lips curled in a ghost of a smile. He had a faraway look in his eyes, as he said, “Finally, a good reason to sail the fleet.”
Julien nodded in agreement. When Alex returned to staring at the pond, he rose and left, without making a sound. As he walked away, he thought, Enjoy your moments of peace, my friend.
Not long after Julien departed, Alex reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the tranquility of the fish swimming in lazy hypnotic circles. He gave Renée a tired smile, stood up, and offered her his hand.
Renée felt the strength in Alex’s arm, as he easily pulled her up from the grass. She placed her hands against his chest. “The Talusians will be fine, my love,” she said. “You’ve given them a wonderful start. It’s time to let them develop their world without us.”
“You’re probably right,” Alex replied. He kissed Renée, and they walked slowly along a path to exit the park.
“Cordelia,” Alex said, as he later entered the bridge, with Renée at his side, “Conference comm, please, with every fleet officer, captain and above. Include every principal Talusian.”
Cordelia coordinated the linking of the largest conference she’d ever organized. Toralian battleship commanders and captains were called to their bridges and instructed to conference with their lead ships. Links were formed across Talus to ships, to the orbital station, to domes, to mining sites, and to Toral.
“Ready, Alex,” Cordelia said, after a lengthy delay, during which Alex paced the bridge, thinking about what he wanted to say.
Renée occupied a command chair, with Julien standing nearby, and she watched Alex out of the corner of her eye.
When Alex heard Cordelia, he paused, moved to the center of the bridge, and chose to speak rather than send.
“At this moment, I couldn’t be prouder of this system’s inhabitants,” Alex said. “Not long ago, an entity ruthlessly ruled this domain, subjugated races, and eliminated sentients by the billions. Today, the federacy’s races are free. It remains to be seen if they’ll use their freedom wisely or continue to squander it on revenge. The Toralian home world has been rescued and is being rebuilt. I’m confident that the Talusians under President Sargut will ensure the new society thrives.”
Alex paused, ordered his thoughts, and continued. “Omnians will always think fondly of the Talusians, and we’ll take umbrage with those who seek to harm them.”
Alex’s audience could hear the strength in his voice, as he underlined his promise to defend Talus.
“We came to Talus to defeat humankind’s and our allies’ enemy, Artifice. We accomplished that with the help of others. Along the way, we’ve made new friends. But now, it’s time. Most of us have been away from home for too long. In seven days, our fleets will set sail, although not for home. We’ve one service to render before that. The Gotlians, an impoverished race, need our help to establish a foothold on a new home world.”
Alex took a deep breath and exhaled. He felt he’d said all that needed to be said. He closed with, “May the stars guide your paths and ours.”
Cordelia closed the comm.
It was an unsettling moment for everyone and for different reasons.
For the fleet veterans, it was recognition and relief that they’d survived what had appeared to be an insurmountable challenge when so many hadn’t. Their thoughts turned to the future, and they considered what was to come.
Many crew members had dedicated their lives to the fleet, and their income was tied to their service. Then there were the Méridien Independents, who wondered what would happen to them if they returned to the Confederation.
Work throughout Talus slowed, and travelers flew, as friends met to share a meal, chat, and say goodbye. A perfect example of the impending poignant separations was Chandra and Miriamtess.
The SADE operated a construction bot, clearing sections of a dilapidated city to make room for new housing. Chandra connected with her and caught a traveler to the surface. The ship was loaded with humans, who wished to visit with the sisters.
After the traveler landed and lifted, Chandra waited at the landing site. She received Miriamtess’s comm ID and watched a multi-tooled bot on treads roll up to her. When the bot came to a halt, Chandra climbed aboard a flat portion of the body.
For the remainder of the day, Chandra rode with Miriamtess, as the SADE continued her work. In many ways, it was like their early days — a human pilot and a SADE in a box, and the pair couldn’t have been happier. It was the dedicated time together that they relished. Miriamtess needed to dedicate only a small portion of her capabilities to her effort, allowing her human friend and her to talk of the past, present, and future.
There was one pleasant thought they shared. It was Miriamtess’s choice to inhabit the bot. When this work was done, she could transfer to any avatar she chose.
Alex and Julien spent the day with Sargut and Taralum. Their conversations concerned ways to grow and secure the Talusians’ future. By the afternoon, they sat in the owner’s suite. Renée served the Talusians their favorite fruits, and Alex and she drank thé.
“I expect Suntred and Miriamette to return with signed agreements from the other councils,” Sargut said. “Afterwards, we’ll be inundated with offers from the colonies for trade. How do we determine the best ones?”
“You mustn’t enter any negotiations without considering what it is you want from them,” Alex cautioned.
“Then we tell them our needs first,” Taralum declared.
“No, you let them put their offer on the table first,” Alex corrected. “That way, you know where both of you stand, and they only know their side.”
“I see the wisdom,” Sargut said, nodding his head agreeably.
“But our needs are constantly changing,” Taralum pointed out. “It will be difficult to prepare for a negotiation, especially if there are multiple ones within a few cycles or on the same cycle.”
Julien recited a list of materials and their quantities. He droned on until he’d mentioned fifty items.
In reply to the Talusians’ quizzical stares, he said, “Those are, in order, the most critical products that you need, at this moment.”
“Without Miriamette’s presence?” Taralum asked, as it was common knowledge that she was visiting the colonies with Suntred.
“The list was supplied by a sister on the orbital platform,” Julien replied.
“What one sister knows, they all know,” Alex added. “You only need any one sister with you during negotiations. As you seal one deal, the sisters will update your list of needs.”
“The sisters are your assets, in this regard,” Julien explained. “You must spend time with them to understand the value of their kernels … what you can consider their minds. With their ability to communicate across space via ships and installations, they’re an asset that must be leveraged for all Talusians.”
When Sargut and Taralum left, they flew aboard the president’s traveler to the orbital station. They chatted with the first sister they came across.
Later, that sister updated Julien on the contact.
* * *
Ude was furious.
In his first three years aboard the Freedom, he’d learned the Omnians’ ways. In the morning, he worked in food services, and in the afternoon, he studied at a monitor or toured facilities. The SADEs directed his education.
When Artifice was captured, Ude couldn’t have been happier. He dearly wished to be present when the power was shut off and the entity was extinguished. He waited to hear news of Artifice’s demise, but the announcement never came.
One day and tired of waiting, Ude asked a SADE why he hadn’t heard. The SADE explained to him that the sisters had requested Artifice remain powered, and Alex had agreed.
Ude felt betrayed by the Omnians, especially by Alex. In the evenings, he immersed his time in learning about Toral, and the SADEs were always pleased to answer his questions. However, the more he learned, the more frustrated he became.