by M E Wise
The rains pound at our window panes. From our level on the Cresche we can see over a long mountain range behind us is a great sea, greater than the Livewell and source of all the rain. It is the only ocean, by small standard of the name, on Mor’h to speak of. I haven’t seen it up close and oddly don’t care too. Every time I ventured into unknown territory I learned some awful lesson. Dae says I need to find a more optimistic outlook on life or I will become a bitter old man. I’m uncertain of that but I would be lucky to grow old with her.
I do miss the balcony of our domicile. The simplicity and ease of access felt right. Dae was always in close proximity, not lost on some level of an old monolithic monument. We have made great use of our wrist COMs to communicate but they are so impersonal. Say what I might about the Mor’h, the sharing is a closeness you grow to find comfort in. Dae’s running gag to “call her” with her hand gestured to her ear gets tired. I am content though.
“Reign.” Chimes in Ben’s voice on my COM. “Reign, put your ears on buddy!” He will drag on endlessly if I don’t answer him. Different impressions of different characters I am not aware of. At times I truly believe he is one of hundreds of personalities. Each one I am grateful for though. “Yes, Ben.” I respond never knowing where to look. “That’s not protocol bro!” He chastises me. “Again I cannot stress enough how important proper communications can be. I could be anyone on this end and you wouldn’t know it!” He expressed poignantly. I linked with him and gave him a scare. “Damnit Reign!” He cried over the COM. “That shits not right!”
“But it is you without a doubt.” I exclaimed. “What’s the need?”
“The usual but different.” He spouted. “The council yada, yada! Humankind yada, yada.” The council had been trying to have me come to the Cathedraline on some urgent matter consistently each return trip. They had even gone so far as to link with me across this distance while I was asleep. Needless to say I woke myself and Dae in a thrashing jolt into lucidity. We both thought my distancing was good for my recovery. She felt I had suffered some break down of sorts. I don’t believe that true but she is the doctor. He continued, “this time though they sent you a strange device, a matrix, they called it.” That peaked my interest. “I’ll be right down.” I said.
I took the elevator down to the basin. I knew Ben was there from the link I briefly had with him. So much more effective than these COM’s. I exited the elevator to Hermes offloading crate after crate. That Duraframe was a great utility to have around, even forced to carry the Hermes collective; that though was infinitely invaluable at times. I look about and find Ben and Squiggy toiling in the Aries. I can see them through the cockpit windshield. Ben waves and moves to meet me at the rear cargo hatch. I pass the newly decaled ‘Baby’ on the side.
“Let’s have it.” I say getting down to business. “What! No thank you?” Ben squawked.
“Thank you Ben.” I said snatching the device from his hand. It was eerily similar to the make of the Hermes collective housing. “Let’s hope this isn’t twenty more hive minds to endure.” I prattled. Hermes stood at attention. “Reign your address is noted.” The collective stated. “Oh burn!” Razzed Ben. I continued on my way.
That group was made for each other I thought. A phrase I had taken a liking to that Dae used to describe us. Made for each other seemed very truthful under the circumstances. I decided to stop in at the Garden of Life and see my favorite librarian and her aides. “Where’s my good Dae?” I called from the elevator. “Present and accounted for Mr. Mister!” She saluted with her teacup in hand. “I have something I would like to share with you.” I said. “The rest of your life I hope!” She smiled. Her beautiful red hair was askew as usual, parts in and out of a bun. I greet her with a long kiss.
“They sent me a care package.” I sat the device on the table in front of her. “They?” she questioned. Dalia and Wan Sah came to join us. “Oh they.” She said. Dalia and Wan Sah appeared to be linked, I joined them. They were exchanging the possibilities of the matrix. Neither knew exactly what it was but they had seen them before. Apparently they were of a rare castes responsible only for the Tah’l. “Council affairs.” States Dalia drawing attention to her wig that has now been curled to perfection.
“Hair day ladies?” I questioned playfully. Dalia’s eyes widened and she half smiled as the Lo’Mor’h do. Wan Sah also had new pink hair held in place by random blossoms and twine. “Looking great.” I made sure to include her. She also smiled.
Dae and I take our leave to the spire lab at the peak of the Cresche. We had discovered most of the lab was link calibrated. But once calibrated, access could be given for local use with hand recognition. This allowed for Dae to have greater use of the equipment and file access. We find a terminal with a massive holo monitor to our liking and begin the process interfacing the device. “Look for some port or something to insert it.” Said Dae searching the sides and back of the desk in front of us. I take special note of her bending about. She catches me. “Ahem sir!” She scolds.
I see at top a seat of similar shape. I place the matrix near the nest and it lights up and locks into place with a clink. Dae jumps at the noise! “Lucky!” She teases. The holo monitor flashes to outer space. A scene from an array or probe maybe fills or viewing space. I recognize the numbers in the corner as a date and time. It is current. “This is a live feed from space.” I blurt. “But where?” I questioned out loud. Dae pulls out her tablet, logs on and looks at her star charts there. “It’s not local but I could be wrong. The constellations don’t seem right.” I notice two ball knobs on the console.
I roll one ball to move the view, another to zoom in and out. “I think I may have used these in some sort of school when I was younger.” I said to answer Dae’s inquisitive look. I work the console to track some motion I notice in the far bottom right of the screen. “It’s the Kuiper Belt!” I exclaimed. “We are looking into the Sol System.” Dae was intrigued.
“So they have given me access to the network of arrays! But why?” I puzzled. “For the homesick maybe?” Referring to Dae and Ben. “Such a convenience, I don’t think is on the agenda. It’s something else.” Dae added. I looked further and I saw on the side to the left a list of links. “Ah I see. These are files like I had on board the Hermes.” Some were familiar signs; Q’ua Z, S’lei and some others that would be call signs of a kind. There were also reference signs, links like hyperlinks in Earthen exchanges. I clicked on one of the largest files.
A recording began to play. At first the sound quality was terrible because of so much background noise. As what was obviously applause died down we could hear a single voice giving an address or speech.
“Attention! Secretary of Forces Dominuus Anastas; on deck!” Came an announcement with the sound of a group stamping to attention.
“Rest company!” Entered a new voice. “Hoooooo!” Came a mass group response that vibrated and distorted the feed. “Good, good. A real pleasure to see such inspiring loyalty! As only the elite Orbital Guard exemplifies!” Continued the Secretary.
A raucous reply of calls and cheers follow those words.
“Is there video of this file?” Asked Dae. “Maybe it’s compressed?”
I tapped the orb interface like a button and the screen that was obviously minimized popped up on the massive monitor. We look at each like nothing was a miss. Dae smiled looking forward. A massive room with a huge windowed expanse of grey and deep space held at least 300 Orbital Guard. At the podium ahead was the man on the holo during my torturous affair on the Flagship Stonewall. A small gallery of officers and well-dressed on-lookers wait after a standing ovation.
“Ladies and gentleman of the gallery, respected officers and my fellow soldiers; today I bring you to the Moon under unity and decisive intentions to rectify a wrong.” The speaker has a commanding presence. “Everyone in attendance at this moment have been chosen to take part in and keep solemn the events explored in detail here and the speech I am about to make.”
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br /> “Hoo.” Came a thunderous but short response from the soldiers below.
“That’s the kind of response that we’re looking for!” He bellowed. Cheers followed. “I don’t have to go into great detail when I mention the day the wall fell.” He paused dramatically as a scene appeared behind him of the Flagship Stonewall with a gaping hole in its side. “Our great Flagship was attacked! Attacked from her insides!” He swung his hand wildly. “Attacked from the inside just like we have been attacked from the inside.”
The video of the flagship being repaired behind him changed to the ceremonies of the people who expired that day. A photo of the Vice Admiral of Science Molnar appears distinctively. “We lost distinguished men and women that day to a terrible act of terror!” He slammed his podium. “But I don’t have to remind you do I. Not this group of soldiers.” The raucous crowd again roared. “No, not this group.” He shuffled some papers. “All of you have been briefed on the current crisis. You have also signed your life to the cause!” He shouted triumphantly. The crowd came even more alive.
“We have, ladies and gentleman, my soldiers; a Mortalien Crisis! We have been invaded.” Slides of the video captured of a Lo’Mor’h from 26 years ago appear behind him. It is coupled with random pictures of Halfers in different states of circumstance. “They have come and polluted our children!” He cried shrilly. “They came and parlayed our minds to be weaker than theirs, our bodies some experimental petri dish!” He steps back barely audibly yelling. “Look at this! Look at it!” Holding his hands high to the images above him.
Returning to his podium. “A mortal crisis from an alien invader.” He said solemnly.
A picture of myself larger than life appeared behind him. I was bound and crucified in that damned lab. “Reign this is insane!” Dae held my arm and pulled close.
“This Mortalien Crisis encroaches on our sovereignty as a species. Deep space vessels have long said they believed the asteroids and meteorites at the edge of our galaxy were alive. We laughed at them and their mythos. The folk lore of deep space rock huggers!” The crowd chuckled. “But we know now there may be a reason only unmanned probes and satellites left the Kuiper Belt unscathed!” He pointed to a slide of the asteroid that held the array we used to find the Hermes.
“We lead them right to it.” I said feeling foolish.
“These devices have been found all over the rim of our space. They are nearly impenetrable, indestructible and completely malevolent. From what we gather they are a net. A net to keep the prey in!” He shouted dramatically. A rumble waved over the crowd. “But we have been diligent! Diligent I tell you my fellow humans!” They cheered hanging on his every word.
“We had a captive in that being there!” He pointed to the picture of me again, shown as beaten and captive added to the scenes. “We had him! But he managed to escape with a Halfer prisoner and what we only hope was a mind controlled human shield. Human shields is what we all have been! A skin to hide behind or within.” He paused long and cool. “But no more!”
The room was electric with cheering, whistles and applause. This ovation lasted a good minute. The Secretary’s smile was smug and empowered. Our lone camera feed panned over this secret chamber meeting. The rousing of the crowd was carefully crafted. Pitched at the right moments to maintain control and create a fevered union.
“I know this information is daunting. It shook me to my very core.” He placed his hand to his chest. “We cannot waver in the face of this crisis. We have to hold onto our humanity! Our beliefs and our metal have been tested but we few will build on this Mortalien Crisis and return dignity to our sovereignty.” A lone figure appeared just off-screen. “I have been granted special privileges to form a solution to this great violation. My first act is you fine men and women here today. Volunteer soldiers!”
“Hoooooooooo!” Came a thunderous call from the company below. Further distorting the audio for the moment.
“My first act as you have been briefed is to initiate you all into the SPEAR. You will become humanities SPEAR!” The crowd again rose loudly. “And I give you your first commanding officer to further explain.” The figure moved heavily to the podium in a very imposing frame. “OG Special Command Gorgon Pri!”
“That man is a lunatic!” Dae said resoundingly. “They had him in custody for incredible insubordination, violence, drunken disorder; he was even suspected of terrorist activities on Mars!”
“Ab Infantia Usque ad Finem!” Pri’s deep nasally tone filled the hall. His beret sat tight on his head and his glasses on the tip of his nose. His massive armor swallowed him. “We are at an end to our infancy said my father to me on the face of Mars.” The soldiers rustled. “On Mars we knew struggle and we were held, for a better word captive. A came to be a man in this captivity and learned to survive in this captivity. I escaped this by becoming a soldier in the Orbital Guard.”
The crowd seemed more behind him now.
“This SPEAR is as follows.” A screen appeared above of molecular charts and a DNA strand. “The Special Performance Enhanced Armored Rogue is the soldier we need.” The acronym was also listed above. “We have a sample of our foe. He bled and broke before our will under a great deal of effort. But broke he did.” He was so imposing. “We have some of his technology.” My original vacuum suit appeared on the wall behind him in the hands of scientists. “He is vulnerable to space. Vulnerable to injury. Vulnerable to death if I find him!”
The crowd roared. He smugly nodded his head and continued.
“We will even the playing field. Adapt our humanity to his skillset both natural and unnatural. We will use his technology to reverse engineer our own brand of armor!” He pounded his chest with a solid thud. The crowd cheered. “I, like yourselves; have pledged my life, my body to this cause.” He reached behind his neck and the shot of the back of his head filled the screen. He had a port in his neck behind a high collar on the armor. The screen filled with only him. “We will hunt them in our space! Find them in their space! And we will champion all of space!”
The soldiers were foaming with fervor! The Secretary joined him in a show of solidarity. They held their hands up in victory.
Their pleasure pulpit was deep with satisfaction. We had inadvertently caged the mouse and turned it into a lion.
Sovereign Chapter 7
Of Life and Men
My time with Dae here on Mor’h has led to some of the greatest moments of my life. The past six months have challenged us all. We endured and I have had many deep thoughts on bonding with her further. She calls this concept marriage. I am aware of it and find the act somewhat unnecessary. The ceremony as it usually is in these cases is the most important part. Dae and Ben introduced me to something called a birthday, surprising me with a party even though the they did not know the date of my birth. They make life an unending treasure, worthy of pursuit and claim.
Dae and Ben experienced the first recycling of a Lo’Mor’h in Wan Sah. They discovered her withering away in a quiet comfortable spot in the Able Garden beneath the Cradle of Time. The Gardens of the Cresche seem to provide much solace to the Mor’h brave enough to venture here. We delivered Wan Sah to the Cathedraline together; an empty shell-fearing we had not found her in time to synchronize with her genetic twin. I had shown her the body that would replace hers in the Cradle of Time, in all of her years she had never seen anything of the process except for reporting in to be reborn or waking up in a vat confused. She could not recall to us how many times this had occurred. Wan Sah returned a few weeks later; renewed and patently youthful looking.
I swore I would not interfere with such processes while here at the Cresche, and we have not. The Tah’l have given us every ounce of support to carve out our own path here. I am still unresolved as to how I can forgive their many transgressions. It wasn’t the lies, or the secrets as it was an issue of trust. The acts are done. As Ben would say, “You only live once! Unless you are friends with an intergalactic war criminal of alien origin; then you
get recycled on Tuesdays!” I am not sure why Tuesday is significant.
I sadly spend a great deal of my time watching the Sol System on the holos. Every once in a while I have the unfortunate seat to see an array bombarded as the view goes dark. Another celebration for the OG repelling the alien menace. The locations replenish themselves though. I am not sure if the Humans are aware of this or not. Many of the alpha arrays self-replicate the many smaller array and replace them. There is also the invisible watcher’s like myself. If I am watching there is nothing to suggest the Mor’h are not. They could easily phase shift new strings of array into Pluto’s Belt. They probably have a staging point full of them. And here I sit and daydream more reasons to distrust the other half of my people.
We have received several more followers or devotees depending on whether you ask Dae or Ben. At least five more Lo’Mor’h can be seen at the basin below and I had twice encountered Tah’l in Dae’s company at the library below. I trust her completely when she says the aged old Tah’l is here of his own curiosity. I haven’t yet had the courtesy of a meeting. I am not a leader by any means. We operate like a council ourselves. A Tri-Utopia as Dae calls it. We have been finding strange markings on the supporting columns of the tower. Some graffiti that no one is owning up too. The image has no discernable value in their history here. Five circles crudely connected by lines? Two larger ovules connect together and lead upward to a branching path of three smaller orbs.