Earth Song: Twilight Serenade

by Mark Wandrey

  “You have to, it’s a tradition.” Judith gave a single chuckle and nodded. “We thought we’d combine hers and mine since I’m afraid we’ll still be on Nexus when February 14th rolls around.”

  Minu wanted to change the subject but had a hard time:

  “I heard you’ve been visiting with Alphonse, that’s good.”

  “Yes, we saw him just yesterday. We had lunch, actually. There’s no change, of course.”

  “Are you still sure you want to have him in the program?”

  “Of course, Imperator.”

  Minu did laugh that time. The title just sounded funny to her sometimes. She’d almost wanted to use General or Commander, but that didn’t sound right. “Call me Minu.” The woman nodded. “Are you ready for next month, Faye?”

  “I’ll be ready. It’s not too often a translator like me gets to go halfway across the galaxy!”

  A short time later Minu and Aaron found their elder daughter trying the cake. Like her younger sister, she didn’t seem to know what to make of it

  “You having fun?” Minu asked her daughter. The young woman had a confused look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “She does not appear to be eating her cake.”

  Minu snorted and Aaron guffawed. “Of course not,” Aaron said, “what one-year eats more than a few bites?”

  “Then what is the purpose of this ritual?” Lilith persisted.

  Minu and Aaron looked at each other as Lilith speared the cake floating in her zero-gravity excursion environment and took a bite of it. Two of Ariana’s kids were peeking from behind a food table at Lilith’s blue crystalline robot with wide eyes. Lilith appeared like some otherworldly being to them. A legend come alive and attending a party.

  “I guess it’s more for us than her,” Minu admitted. “People like ritual events to mark the passage of time. It makes us feel better. And we always do certain things at these events.” She looked at Aaron for help.

  “We did it when I was a little kid in New Jerusalem,” Aaron said. “Though the icing wasn’t blue, and the dog kept trying to lick it off us.”

  “Ritual tradition…” Lilith said, making a face as she took another tiny bite. “I think I understand.”

  She took the piece of cake in her right hand and with a smooth motion drove it into Aaron’s face.” Aaron grunted in surprise and Minu put a shocked hand to her mouth. The other kids at the party squealed in laughter.

  There was a long moment as Aaron gasped around a face full of cake and icing. Then cake was flying everywhere. Minu laughed as hard as she ever remembered laughing in her life. So hard that she never saw the piece Aaron hit her with.

  Minu would later claim that she had no recollection of the great Lilith Cake War. Sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder has strange effects. Though rumors persisted of a picture of her long red hair thoroughly smeared with blue icing, and her sitting on Aaron’s chest, grinding a huge double handful of cake into his beard.

  Chapter 36

  December 31st, 535 AE

  Planet Nexus, Core System, Concordia

  “So here we are,” Minu said to herself from bridge of Ibeen Alpha.

  “A momentous moment,” Lilith agreed a short way away. Minu hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud, so she just nodded. “I hope you have considered every angle.”

  “As many as there are to consider,” Minu said and reached out to pat her daughter on the arm. The lithe girl was floating in space watching others operate the starship they rode in, a new phenomenon for her. That it was a Beezer crew she had trained no doubt made it even more novel of an experience. After more than thirty days in the ship Minu looked forward to landfall again. “Thank you for coming and leaving your ship behind.”

  “Chris Sommercorn is watching over it with the Fiisk CI,” Lilith said. “Aether is as secure a location as we have. I’m confident enough for the time being.”

  The command center wasn’t a CIC, like on the Kaatan. It looked more like a bridge should, at least to Minu. A curved compartment with screens along one wall, work stations scattered around, and a big seat near the center that held a large, rather odoriferous humanoid with massive horns with intricate carvings in them.

  “We have entered orbit,” Isook grumbled and huffed, the words emerging as English from Minu’s translator.

  The partial view of the stars projected on the forward bulkhead shimmered, resolving into normal space. There was the sweeping curve of a heavily forested planet with bright white moon just rising above the horizon.

  “Mirkwood,” Gregg said from behind Minu. The rest of the council was on the bridge with her as well as Sergeant Selain. Her entire personal squad was on board Ibeen Alpha. “I was there a couple times. Those industrial ruins just keep on turning up good bots.”

  Minu had never been there, though she’d seen reports and images of Mirkwood. The moon had once been an incredible industrial center. Now, like all the others across the Concordia, it was a rotting waste. But now, from orbit, she could see more. Craters. The moon had been bombarded at one point.

  “It’s the polar city we want,” Minu pointed out. “Come on, we better get ready to disembark. Isook, our thanks for the ride.”

  “You are most welcome, Imperator.” He rose to his towering three meters and bowed in a show of respect. “We are here to sell goods as well. It shows our prestige, having a starship! This is a great day for your people. We await you on the other side of Awakening.”

  “My thanks,” Minu said and returned the bow of equals, then lead the group out of the bridge and towards one of the Ibeen’s numerous small craft bays.

  The cruise was a long one, and the Ibeen not nearly as fast as the Kaatan. Even by getting a jump on the trip by meeting the Ibeen at Deep Blue, the five hundred final lightyears took a month of travel. Minu had decided it was more prudent to use the Ibeen instead of the Kaatan, and would draw less attention if they were noticed. Still, they’d been escorted by three Eseel piloted by Chosen. Commander Chris Sommercorn had handpicked them, and Lilith approved.

  In the bay their modified Phoenix waited, the Rangers already aboard and gear stowed. The former Chosen council, now known as the military council, Sergeant Selain, and of course Faye Larson all came aboard. A pair of Beezer spacers bowed to Minu from the bay’s door.

  Aaron stood next to her with Mindy. “Momma!” the girl called and almost managed to leap from his arms.

  “Hey baby,” Minu said as she expertly snatched the girl before she could fall. “We’re going for a ride!” The girl giggled and kicked against her. She mounted the ramp with the Rangers right behind her, motors whined and the ramp came up and sealed behind them.

  “All aboard,” she said into the intercom and headed forward. There was no real sense of movement as the ship lifted off the deck, did a graceful hundred-and-eighty-degree spin and accelerated out through the forcefield that kept atmosphere from spilling out.

  Minu reached the cockpit and gave the pilot a peck on the cheek as she dropped into the extra rear engineer’s seat. It could serve as a gunner’s position in a pinch as well, though the ship was officially unarmed. Mindy looked around with curiosity at all the flashing lights and buttons. Minu was careful to keep her out of their reach.

  “How we doing, dear?” she asked.

  Aaron glanced back over his shoulder at her and gave a wink. “No problem,” he said as the ship was already nosing down towards the planet’s surface.

  “Any signs of other ships in orbit?”

  “Yes,” Aaron said. “None have expressed any interest in us though.”

  “Well that’s good,” Minu said. She could just see one of the long needle shapes of the Eseel gunboats shadowing them in their descent before the viewscreen began to be washed out by flashes of reentry plasma.

  “Father seems to have it well in hand,” Lilith said from the copilot seat. Her usual shore leave bot had been replaced for this trip as well with a more conventional crab bot upgraded with gravitic system
s made on Bellatrix.

  Aaron took an aggressive angle of attack to minimize their time in upper atmosphere. In only seconds the plasma show ended and they were plummeting towards the ground. He pulled back on the controls and the ship leveled out, pulling more than a hundred gravities. None of them inside experienced any sensation at all except for Aaron. The system he’d designed induced a slight percentage of maneuvering sensation to the pilot, part of what he called a real world synaptic feedback system.

  “Helps the pilot feel connected to the craft,” he said. “One of the problems with Concordia ships, they’re like playing a video game.”

  The ship skimmed over the endless forests of Nexus’ equatorial region and soon they began to thin out, then disappeared altogether. They flew over a narrow series of canyons filled with rivers that had carved their paths over untold eons. And then a city came into view. Lilith found her navigational beacon and relayed it to him.

  The most populated world in the Concordia, both seat of government and trade hub. Wars began and ended on Nexus all in the huge halls of government. And humans had an appointment with destiny.

  “Any indications of hostilities?” Minu asked. She was ready with their defenses if necessary. The Eseel were close to hand as well. The Phoenix came to a stop and hovered.

  “Other than scans, no.”

  “You were right,” Dram chuckled, “they won't risk upsetting the hornets' nest.”

  “The ancient laws are very explicit,” Minu said, “to initiate armed hostilities in this solar system is to invite a war of annihilation.”

  “I have communications from the Tog diplomatic mission,” Lilith said. “They inform the audience is prepared as arranged and will receive you in an hour at their embassy.”

  “Send my compliments and acknowledgment,” Minu replied. “Access the planetary net and let’s get our bearings.”

  Aaron continued to fly the shuttle with Lilith ready should he need help. The traffic was astounding. From where Minu sat in the gunner’s seat and watched, she didn’t want to be in his shoes. Mindy was asleep.

  “You managing this?” she asked her husband.

  “It’s like a demolition derby,” he grumbled. “I can’t believe they let you fly manually.” Outside, the three Eseel pilots were keeping in tight formation.

  The main city on Nexus, simply known as Prime, was made up of orderly swirls of avenues lined with towering office spires leading out from the center of the city where there resided a dome soaring two kilometers into the sky. In a short time, she'd be inside that dome. For now the shuttle banked onto approach to a huge tower.

  It wasn't hard to notice the diplomatic missions of a senior species, unless you were blind. There towers were indicative of their nature, though regardless of how aggressive they were, all dominated the landscape.

  The T'Chillen building even looked serpentine, with five separate towers curling together to make one that itself angled at the top like the head of their namesake.

  The Tanam was simple yet bold, looking like is chiseled from the living rock of a mountain leaving only veins of precious metal remaining to reach towards the sky.

  The Mok-Tok was a square monolith of ceramic concrete piercing the sky, splitting at the top to taper to two ends, one pointed, the other blunt.

  The Goydook was arguably the most grandiose, being a spiraling tower entirely of moliplas filled with water from their world. All manner of creatures could be swimming inside. The first humans to see it had almost laughed out loud, calling it the galaxy’s biggest aquarium.

  The most amazing was probably the Hgog embassy. It resembled an inverted pyramid missing about half its blocks, and it was floating and slowly spinning just above its mirror structure rooted on the ground.

  “Now that’s amazing,” Minu said. The Hgog were known for their technological mastery, and their embassy was a testament to that.

  “I bet it will be amazing if the power ever fails,” Aaron noted.

  And there was the Poolab mission. Four narrow pyramids in a square with another balanced atop their points. Minu knew next to nothing of them. They were largely retired from the Concordia's daily life. The species was supposed to be the most technologically advanced of all the Concordian species. Rumored to be the Hgog’s original protectors.

  Finally they saw the building the Phoenix was descending towards. It was the shortest building, but also the largest in land area. Seeming simple in the lower fifty floors, at the top it was a huge parabola filled with a miniature grassy plain just like on Herdhome. Most species said they were the weakest of the higher order species in the Concordia. Those who knew them only spoke that deep waters held many secrets.

  The landing area was one of several ceramic concrete pads that were raised from below the grass when necessary, the grass pivoted up on huge gimbals only to close again over the pad once the ship had landed. It was more than big enough for the sixteen meter length of the Phoenix and spoke to Minu of an older time when large craft coming and going from the heavens were not as unheard of.

  In the depths of the Tog compound, automated systems came alive. The Phoenix shuttle was taken by gravitic lifters and moved off the pad and onto a parking area. A pair of Beezers and a solitary Tog waited as the ramp lowered on the Phoenix.

  “Imperator Groves,” her translator spoke after rendering the silent Tog gestures into English, “welcome to Nexus. I am Ok'ig, P'ing's assistant.”

  Minu had sent P’ing a message about her new title and changes, but received no reply. She’d been wondering if they didn’t approve. Now she knew.

  “Which P'ing?” Min could have sworn the Tog grinned as it bowed before replying.

  “The P'ing you are accustomed to dealing with, as well as several others.”

  “This should be interesting,” Gregg said just behind her, to which Minu nodded.

  “Aaron,” Minu said to her husband coming down the ramp, “please see to our entourage being quartered? The councilors and I need to attend to a meeting.”

  “No problem,” he said. She leaned in and kissed Mindy quickly before turning to Ok’ig. “Please lead on.”

  The two Beezer were dressed in military garb from their planet, which was really only harness and beamcaster rifles slung over their shoulders, and escorted all the humans down off the pad and into the building proper. The head of the guard offered a respectful nod to Sergeant Selain as his column of Rangers marched down the ramp with Aaron and the other non-council members.

  The interior of the building was standard Concordian construction in the grander, older style Minu had seen all over the galaxy. Gravitic lifts between floors, the occasional sliding walkway that used floor-generated moving gravity zones to carry people along (always long broken and salvaged on the frontier). The displays of extreme wealth and influence you expected to find in the diplomatic mission of a higher order species.

  Ok'ig took them to a conference room, a wide semi-circular room that overlooked the artificial valley of the building roof. The angle made it feel like you were anywhere but a sprawling mega-city like Nexus. There was a boardroom style table with glasses of water and a big tray of snacks. Minu wasn't surprised to see human style foods. Selain and Corporal Fuller stood inside on either side of the door. Selain had been unwilling to leave her with no guards at all, even here.

  Everyone found a place to sit in the many human chairs, except Lilith who just hovered nearby. Some got water and tried snacks while Dram wandered over to enjoy the view. Minu stood and patiently waited, Gregg nearby. After only five minutes the door opened and three more Tog came in.

  Minu was at first confused. It was like looking at a digitally modified image containing three P'ing. They were all perfect copies down to the mottled brown/white patterns on hser flanks. Minu let her eyes unfocus and used her training to find differences, any at all that could tell them apart. There, it wasn't immediately obvious because all their eyes appeared the same, but each of these three had slightly different sha
pes to them. Some subtle variations. Was there also a difference in the shape of those long dexterous hands? The one in the center nodded hser head and Minu knew that was the one she knew.

  “Greetings, Concordian master.” Minu affected a deep bow.

  “Not for much longer, “ P'ing replied. “From our First, to the Imperator of humanity. We have reviewed your histories and find that a fitting title, just like Legate for your subordinate leaders.”

  Minu bowed again.

  “Greetings,” the other two spoke at the same moment, the translator around her neck producing a strange echo effect.

  “How am I going to address you separately? I can't call you all by the same name.”

  The original cocked its heart shaped head and looked between the other two before hser hands began to move. “You may call me P'ing-to. This one is,” hse gestured to the right, “P'ing-so, and the other P'ing-ro. P'ing-so is in charge of relations with the Concordia and will guide you through the ceremony. P'ing-ro is in control of our space assets, with hser you will plan the operation we have discussed.”

  “I understand. We look forward to working with P'ing-so on the coming announcement and P'ing-ro on the operation we’ve planned.”

  The two nodded when their names were mentioned. Yes, she was sure now, P’ing-to’s eyes were more angular than P'ing-so's rounded ones. And P'ing-ro's eyes were thinner, kind of pinched. Her mind was already setting the new designations in place. She addressed P'ing-to, the original one. “Does this mean we are ending our work together?”

  “As you end our time as a client, my duties will shift from management to relations with your species. We hope to continue working together.”

  “I am sure we will. Let me introduce some of my Legates. You know Legate Dram Aluvala, my second in command and in charge of our scouts.” The P’ing all bowed to him.

  “This is Legate Gregg Larson, in command of our Rangers. Legate Cherise Macubale, logistics command. Legate Jasmine Osgood, research and scientific development. Legate Ken Benedict, training and recruitment. Legate Bjorn Ganose, special projects. And our newest Legate, Lilith Groves, black navy.”