by John Corwin
The votes from the other Rrilk crews came in. One other crew voted to help. By an overwhelming margin, we'd lost the vote. We were doomed.
Chapter 17
Okay, maybe "doomed" was a pretty melodramatic word. But that's how I felt. It sucks going from hero to zero within the space of a few seconds. Zhrrii hated me now and I'd probably lost the support of her crew. I did find it odd that every other crew but one voted negatively. What had made the difference with them?
One of the crew leaders spoke up.
"We cannot understand this concept, Zhrrii. How would this not lead to our painful deaths by Shaval?"
Zhrrii made the Rrilk equivalent of a nod, which is to say she twitched one of her forward tentacles. I expected her to say nothing. After what I'd told her she probably held me in the same regard as Shaval.
"I have something to add," she said. "I was just told by one of the humans that they were responsible for the Sst attack."
Alarm spread through the holographic faces of the other crew leaders. The same one who'd spoken did so again.
"They are like Shaval? They wish our deaths?"
"No. She told me it was not intentional. She thought we were the ones who killed her kind."
"Never could we," he replied. Other crew leaders chimed in with their own assent.
"They can make the other Sst malfunction as well?"
"Yes."
"They do have power." His tentacles twitched as he mulled this fact. "Is it enough to defeat Shaval?"
"Shaval kills. Even if humans do not have more power, we should help. Earth is their Trrsha," Zhrrii said.
"We will vote again," the other crew leader said.
This time the votes returned unanimous. Tears of relief streamed down my face. People shouted and high-fived each other. Anil grinned at me.
"We did it, Luce," Kyle said as he picked me up and spun me around. "I can't believe we did it."
I looked across the room. Bethany was there, hugging Chris and jumping with glee. Chris was smiling too. His eyes locked with mine. He nodded. I wanted so much to believe that all was forgiven. That he would leave Bethany, walk across the room to me, and kiss me. But he didn't. He turned away after a few seconds and talked to someone else.
Kyle put his arm around my shoulder. "One battle at a time, kiddo."
I whimpered piteously and looked away from Chris.
"I swear if you don't celebrate with the rest of us I'm gonna kick your ass."
I mustered a weak laugh. "Guess I'm getting good at feeling sorry for myself."
"Oh you've always been good at that. I think it's about time you grew out of it."
"You're one to talk, nerd boy."
He laughed and turned to greet Anil as he walked over to us.
"Good job, Lucy," Anil said. "I've constructed something for you to commemorate the moment." He pulled a small marble statue from behind his back that depicted me shaking tentacles with a Rrilk.
I took it and laughed.
"That is so cool," Kyle said. "Man, I wish I could make stuff like that."
"Practice your meditation and you'll be doing it in no time."
I left the two of them and went back to Zhrrii. She was still talking to the other crew leaders. They agreed that keeping the work stoppage in place would make Shaval come. They were deathly afraid of that happening especially since none of them knew what to expect. I tapped into Zhrrii.
Ask them if any Rrilk has ever seen Shaval.
She hesitated. I felt her fear and sadness, but no hate seemed to be directed at me. If anything, I sensed terrible regret and shame. She asked the other crew leaders my question. One of them said no living Rrilk claimed to have encountered Shaval. Those who supposedly had were dead.
The computers on the ships automatically notified Shaval of their progress, or in this case, the lack thereof. Their communications travelled faster than the speed of light and there were communication relays a few hundred light years away. Otherwise, the Rrilk had no idea where Shaval was or how long he would take to arrive. It would be a tortuous wait.
* * * * *
Weeks passed. I continued to interface with Zhrrii and the others kept practicing as well. Soon we could all take physical control of our hosts. The Rrilk didn't object. They found it fascinating and enlightening. Those who had no human counterparts asked for their own. Kyle managed to scrounge up more volunteers after assuring them Anil's method was totally safe. Several volunteers quit, however, unable to stomach touching the Rrilk even though we told them how kind and gentle they were. The only ones left were some of the nerdiest people I'd seen. The kind who dressed up like Star Trek characters or participated in role-playing games as wizards and goblins.
On the other hand, they were unswervingly dedicated. Soon Zhrrii's entire crew had human counterparts.
But we had other problems. Zhrrii told me that another crew in India was having severe problems and that it was human related. Another group was possessing the Rrilk there but they were not communicating as I had. Instead they would take control of the Rrilk with no warning, flood their minds with terrible images, and make them do humiliating things. I had a feeling Harb was behind this. He'd ignored our group and Anil's teachings and stuck to his method of possession. I had no choice but to talk with him.
I called him, but he ignored me. I asked Anil to accompany me to India so we could talk sense into Harb. Anil told me he'd tried to speak with Harb several times when he'd started teaching us, but Harb had responded only with anger and jealousy.
"What should I do?"
Anil shrugged. "Take Kyle. Tell him we're all friends, all allies. Maybe he'll listen to you."
Kyle and I arrived in India a few minutes later. I wasn't surprised to see that the Rrilk crew in question was camped just outside Dharavi, Harb's former stomping grounds when he'd been alive. We found him and his group inside the cube. A Rrilk jerked spasmodically in front of them, dancing to Indian music. Harb was laughing and clapping his hands. I felt sick. Kyle made a disgusted noise. Other Rrilk gazed at their possessed comrade. From my time with Zhrrii I could interpret body language from her kind. These Rrilk were horrified.
"Harb, what are you doing?"
His head snapped left to face me. His eyes widened then narrowed. "How did you find me?"
"The Rrilk told us."
"Who?"
I pointed at the clustered Rrilk crew. "That's what they call themselves. Don't you speak their language yet? It only took us a matter of minutes to exchange that info during our first merge."
He sniggered. "Oh, I very much doubt that. These creatures are impossible to understand."
"You're hurting them and you seem to be enjoying it."
"What's not to enjoy? They killed us and now we're having our fun." Harb's group consisted of six boys no older than himself. Half were Indian, the others white, Hispanic, and black. A young Indian girl emerged from the possessed Rrilk, a smile on her face. The group of children spread out around me and Kyle. They glared at us, the innocence of their young faces twisted with malice.
"These aliens aren't the ones who killed us. We've enlisted their help."
"You lie." Harb's voice was hard. Just as it had been when he'd accused me of lying to him about Nick.
"No. We want you to join us. We've found an easier way to merge with them."
"You steal my work and call it your own. You're a bunch of thieves."
This was going nowhere. One of the Indian kids punched Kyle in the back. Kyle spun and glowered at him.
"You little brat."
I restrained Kyle's fist as he drew it back. "Not now." I turned back to Harb. Somehow I had to convince him to stop this. "We need you, Harb. Without you, none of our advances would have been possible. Your method was the foundation for everything."
His glare softened but only slightly. "I knew you would remember me, Lucy. I'd thought Anil had corrupted you."
"Anil is the first to admit that your method gave him ideas. You proba
bly would have thought of it yourself. But nobody listens to you."
Harb nodded. "It's always been like that. The Indian beggar boy is all they see. But you've seen more." He took my hand and stroked it like a boyfriend might. I barely restrained a cringe. Even thinking about Harb, a kid, as my lover was skeezy. No matter what, I wasn't going there. Not even if it meant leaving Harb out of the group.
"Will you return with us? Help us prepare to fight the real killer?"
"And who's that?"
"Someone the Rrilk call Shaval."
Harb rubbed his chin. "I've heard that word in their minds."
"But you don't speak their language?"
He frowned. "It's been hard with these monsters."
I sure as hell didn't want to get him on a negative train of thought again. "Will you come with us?"
"I want Anil to come to me. I want to hear from his own lips the apology I'm due."
That brat wanted an apology? I was ready to kick his little ass. But I couldn't provoke him. Harb could wreck everything if we left him running amuck down here. He could harm these poor Rrilk and cause us to lose our only ally. I excused myself and walked outside. Kyle followed, a grim expression on his face.
"This kid's a loose cannon, Luce. Damn it, if he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him."
A horrible thought came to mind. I could have the Rrilk destroy Harb's body. He would be gone and his band of pre-pubescent disciples would disintegrate. But if I did, that guilt would torment me forever. Well, at least until Shaval came and annihilated us all. I wasn't capable of murder, not even if the victim was technically dead. And I didn't know where his body was anyway.
"We have to get him onboard. That's all there is to it."
"Fine. Tell Anil to come grovel before His Holy Greatness then."
Anil arrived after a short conversation in which I outlined Harb's demands. He approached Harb and his merry band of rascals and apologized. Harb's lips pursed and he tried to stare down his nose at Anil. Hard to do with the height disparity. I wanted to knock that smug look off his face.
Harb led Anil away from the group and spoke with him for a few minutes then Anil came to us alone.
"I will remain here for a while and teach them. Harb does not want to come back with us."
"But we need you there," I said. "Why can't they get instructions at our base?"
"There's no changing his mind and he must use proper technique or the Rrilk here will suffer. Besides, Zhrrii's crew is well spoken for. It's best that each person stay with one host rather than sharing one with many. The side effects could be hazardous for the Rrilk."
That much was true. I had tried changing to another host and had to start from square one. Every individual was unique and took time to get used to.
Kyle and I returned to Atlanta. I merged with Zhrrii and told her about our success with Harb. She expressed her gratitude. She didn't feel as distant from me as she had after my confession. I still felt horrible about the death of her mate. I was responsible. He'd died having never been to Trrshaa. My reckless actions had saved the spirits of dead humans from vanishing but at the cost of several Rrilk in her crew. I wondered if they were now ghosts like us or if their beliefs about death changed their fates.
A klaxon sounded.
What's happening? I asked.
Incoming communication.
I don't remember that alarm the last time one came in.
The origin is from off world.
Shaval?
Shaval. Her body trembled.
I released myself from her and told the others. We along with the rest of the Rrilk crew clustered inside the holograph room. A Rrilk symbol for "standby" flashed in the air above the console. The communications engineer notified Zhrrii that the signal was being broadcast to every Rrilk cube on the planet.
Rrilk numerals replaced the flashing symbol and counted down to zero. I half expected the ship to explode. Shaval was a badass, no doubt, so he might just as soon lure the crews into their ships and detonate them for punishment. Instead, another Rrilk symbol appeared. This one said "Transmitting".
"Worker Zhrrii, your Sst suffered malfunction approximately one standard cycle ago," a somewhat robotic voice said in the Rrilk language. "The computer reported the loss of four crewmembers, including former crew leader, Worker Dhrii. You are now crew leader. Explain why work has not recommenced." The transmit symbol changed to one that said "respond".
Zhrrii's tentacles quivered. Trying to come up with a cover story had been difficult since the Rrilk seemed incapable of lying. Instead, we'd come up with a version of the truth they could tell. Something that would hopefully lure Shaval in without him remotely killing them.
"The Sst suffered a malfunction which could happen again. We cannot resume operations without risk to crews. We ask for your help."
There was a long pause then the transmit symbol reappeared. "The risk to your crew is immaterial. You are hereby ordered to recommence work."
I groaned. This was not going as hoped.
Zhrrii seemed to gather herself for a moment before replying. "There are forces on this planet which will continue interfere with operations. This may result in widespread damage to your goals here. We request direct help."
The pause was even longer this time, stretching for over ten minutes before the "Stand by" symbol reappeared. The minutes stretched into an agonizing hour before the voice replied.
"Request denied. Recommence operations."
The hologram blinked out.
Chapter 18
I sat alone on a quiet playground in a dead neighborhood, trying to meditate. Instead, I kept cursing myself. We'd never lure Shaval here. If the bastard was too lazy to come kill us himself, what would make him come now? Kyle called me. I almost ignored him but decided I could use some company. He appeared a moment later.
"We did it," he said, glee on his face.
"Uh, did what? Failed?"
"Ciirr, my host, and I rigged their transmitter last week to trace any incoming calls just in case Shaval contacted them."
"You know where Shaval's home world is?"
"Maybe. We know about where the transmission came from."
I jumped up and whooped. "This is great. He doesn't come to us, we go to him. Maybe we can possess his sorry ass and jump in a volcano."
"Not quite," Kyle said. "You're forgetting something."
"What?"
"We're stuck to our solar system. I never figured out how to go further in space than last time without something pulling me back in."
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" I said in a wheezing voice.
"You're quoting The Godfather at a time like this?"
"It's not like I have anything more productive to add except, oh crap! That is a problem." I thought about how many lives were at stake now. Not just the six billion human spirits, but the Rrilk as well. If they didn't resume operations, Shaval might throw a switch somewhere, kill them off, and send in more. Maybe we could convince the next crews to go along with us as well, but it'd probably cost their lives too. My conscience couldn't handle the deaths of so many.
"Hmm." Kyle stroked his chin. "If we vanish when our bodies do, that means we're somehow chained to them."
I thought about what Anil had said about how we were locked into patterns from living most of our lives in a flesh and blood body. "What about the really old ghosts people have seen? If their bodies are decomposed, how are they still around?"
"The Rrilk conversion method changes matter into quantum fuel. It radically alters the molecular structure. Maybe the spirits lose cohesion and can't exist anymore. Natural decomposition takes a long time for everything to completely break down."
"We're missing something," I said. "But I think I see where you're going with this. If we take our bodies with us, we might be able to go anywhere."
"Exactly."
"That means we'll need a ship."
"Damn it. That's not going to work."
"The Rrilk have space ships, so we're good, right?"
"They have shuttles that travel a little slower than light speed. At that rate it'll take us forever to get where we're going. The big ships can't go that fast either."
I sat back down and mused. A shuttle wouldn't solve the problem in the short term. We had no idea how long it'd take Shaval to get here even if we could lure him. If he didn't have access to anything faster than those shuttles, we might not have much to fear for a long while.
"Kyle, why don't you ask Ciirr to take you and your body into space. Go on a little joyride and see if your theory is true. At least then we'll know for sure in the eventuality that Shaval shows his ugly mug."
"I'll do better. They have massive stasis chambers used to transport samples from different worlds with them. Maybe they can gather all our bodies and store them so they don't decompose further in the meantime."
"Just our bodies, or the bodies of the general populace?"
He shook his head. "We're the only ones doing something about this problem. Maybe just our group and family members."
"That just feels wrong. How many bodies could one chamber hold?"
"Maybe a hundred thousand human bodies. But some of that space is already taken up with species from the other planets they've been to."
"They have an alien zoo in their ship and you didn't tell me about it?"
"It's not like you can look through bars and see them. The chamber is divided into cubes, like a pet store, except you can't look inside the sections that are under stasis."
"And it'd probably be a bad idea to cut the creatures loose."
Kyle shuddered. "Ciirr told me there are things in there that could kill off indigenous life on our planet in no time."
"Lovely."
I spoke to him for a few minutes about the dangers of introducing alien creatures to Earth--something that might make for an interesting Animal Planet show if anyone figured out how to make television work in Heavenly. After he left, I paced around a bit, hit a mental block, and figured it might be time to look in on a few loose ends.