by S. H. Jucha
The opening of the inner airlock hatch triggered the overhead lights on, illuminating the cavernous space.
“Traveler frames,” Edmas said, marveling at the skeletons of two shuttles hoisted on fixed lifts. The Swei Swee’s original shells had long since crumbled under the continuous prodding and poking of engineers and techs.
“Dark travelers, Edmas,” Alex replied. “These were gifts from the Libran Swei Swee. They were the engineering basis of our reproductions, which you help build today,” he added. They threaded their way through empty workbenches toward the frames.
“We already have full-size models to test our spray technique,” Edmas enthused.
“That we do, my young friend,” Mickey replied.
Mickey crossed his arms and supported his chin with one hand. Edmas drew breath to speak, but a quick signal from Alex told him to wait.
“You gave me this idea, Alex, when you talked about spending credits to buy items that Harakens were easily producing,” Mickey said, after staring at a traveler frame for a while. “If we look at the timeline for producing a single, finished traveler, we’re talking about a lengthy process. Once the hulls are ready, we’ll need the components. But if we haven’t delivered any finished units, where are the credits coming from to buy the components? And, if we wait until we build the manufacturing capability, we’re adding a huge amount of time until we complete the first traveler. My thought is this: Who says we have to assemble an entire traveler?”
Mickey felt Alex’s eyes bore into his. Suddenly his good friend broke into a broad grin, and Mickey grinned back at him.
“We sell shells,” Alex and Mickey yelled at each other simultaneously, and their laughter echoed off the bulkheads of the huge bay.
Edmas smiled at the men’s antics, but his forehead was furrowed, and he looked at Cordelia for help.
“So, what do you think, Mickey, frames and shells only?” Alex asked.
“That’s the way I figure it,” Mickey replied. “Shells are the one element holding up the entire production line on Haraken. We trade or sell our shells for the components we need to complete travelers for us.”
“Which means we can complete travelers for ourselves within six months instead of a year or more,” Alex mused.
“I was going to object that the Haraken companies wouldn’t have access to the interiors,” Edmas said, a little embarrassed to confess his initial and erroneous thought, “But then it dawned on me that they can cut the hatches and access ports in any manner they choose.”
Mickey clasped a big hand on Edmas’ shoulder, and said, “Right you are, young man.”
Alex turned to Cordelia, but she anticipated him. “We can run estimates as to the proportional value of a shell and frame to the remaining components, Alex. But how do we value Swei Swee labor, and the acceleration opportunity we’re presenting to Harakens?”
“What was the backlog for travelers when we left?” Alex asked. This was one item the Exchange directors tracked carefully. The Exchange was heavily invested in companies that either produced components for grav-drive ships or were instrumental in assembling them.
“Approximately thirty-one years’ worth,” said Cordelia, smiling sweetly at the humans’ dumbfounded expressions.
Mickey whistled slowly. Edmas and Jodlyne stared open-mouthed at each other, and Alex whispered, “Black space.” Absolute quiet followed, as every entity considered the opportunity to sell traveler shells to fill thirty-one years of accumulated orders.
“Okay, we don’t offer to sell the shells outright to Haraken,” Alex said, breaking the silence. “The demand is an enormous number of credits waiting to be earned.”
“Yes,” Mickey exclaimed. “We go into business with Haraken companies.”
“The greater profit margin could be negotiated with a consortium of Haraken companies, rather than individual agreements,” Cordelia said, which gave Alex and Mickey pause.
“Okay …” Alex replied, drawing out the moment to order his thoughts. “What if instead of pushing Haraken to form a collective that could exclude other companies in the future, we made a deal with the Assembly representatives. We tell them that we’ll supply the government with frames and shells, and they’ll have to negotiate contracts with the suppliers and fulfill the orders with the completed travelers. Haraken companies and the government make credits, and we’re paid a portion of every sale.”
“I like it,” Mickey replied.
Alex glanced at Cordelia, who said, “It’s the optimum arrangement for us and the social needs of Haraken. It’s well considered, Alex. The SADEs will work to determine the value of our offering prior to negotiations.”
“We’ll need an organization for the agreement with the Assembly,” Mickey said.
“Omnia Ships,” Alex replied, with a smile.
“I have a thought too, Alex,” Edmas said, and he was slightly intimidated when his seniors focused intently on him. “Anyway, I think it’s worth mentioning.”
Jodlyne nudged Edmas’ elbow to encourage him.
“Well, Alex, you mentioned building a medium carrier. Was its purpose to transport the shells to Haraken?”
“Originally, no, Edmas,” Alex replied. “The need for a carrier would have depended on which warships Tatia and her people selected and how many fighters those ships could carry. If I had my preference, we wouldn’t have one. That said, when we started talking about delivering traveler hulls to Haraken, I thought the carrier a good idea for that purpose. Why?”
“I was asking myself why we should be responsible for transporting travelers to Haraken. I mean, why should we have to wait to build a carrier to deliver what Haraken companies are hungering to possess? Why not request Haraken send a carrier to load up every shell we’ve built? All we need to kick our process in gear are girders, metal-alloy nanites, and faux spray.”
Edmas’ mistake was to be standing between Alex and Mickey, who simultaneously slapped him on the back, congratulating him on his brilliant idea. Alex and Mickey did have the grace and the reflexes to catch the young Sol native, as each shot forward.
We were correct in our assumptions, Cordelia thought, watching the threesome grinning at one another. Wherever Alex went, he and his people generated economic opportunity. The Exchange and the SIF would be reaping huge returns for decades to come, if not longer, from their investment in Alex’s expedition.
Alex and Cordelia left the engineers alone in the bay, and Mickey looked thoughtfully at Edmas and Jodlyne. “What we need to do, my friends,” Mickey said, “is access the interviews that were completed with the Independents, and talk with Ophelia, Perrin, and Maynard to see who we can recruit. We need ship architects, engineers, techs, chemists, biochemists, and anyone else we think of who can help us design and build industrial ships and warships.”
“What about the platform’s construction?” Edmas asked.
“Recruit first,” Mickey replied.
“Why are you listing the soft sciences?” Jodlyne asked.
“Recall several things that Alex said. Originally, he told Willem to consider what it would take to accommodate the Dischnya aboard our ships. Then he told Tatia that the count of Independents was less than he anticipated, and he suggested that Dischnya warriors could make up the crew shortfall. And now he’s asked Emile to create a scent to allow the queens to travel with him.”
“Where’s he intending to go?” Jodlyne asked.
“Who knows? Besides Alex, maybe only Ser and Julien,” Mickey replied. “But the point is, my young friends, if Alex has mentioned this several times, we better be pre
pared, which means we’ll need help figuring out how to accommodate those warriors.”
Edmas slowly shook his head at the incredulity of the thought. “One moment Alex is hugging a queen, and the next he’s recruiting her warriors.”
“That’s our Alex … going where every human and SADE believes it’s unwarranted to go.”
“Do you think Emile will figure out how to make the queen’s scent work?” Jodlyne asked.
Mickey sighed and placed a heavy arm around the shoulders of each of his young engineering partners to guide them toward the bay’s exit. “This is the world of Alex. Don’t ask if someone can or can’t do something. Ask yourself how it can be done. That’s what Alex is always doing. And if we’re going to be contributors to this little expedition of his, then that’s what we’ll need to be doing.”
* * *
When Emile requested transportation planetside from Cordelia, Julien took charge of making the arrangements for him. The biochemist’s value had increased exponentially to Alex’s expedition with the invention of the faux shell spray, and it only grew greater when Alex depended on him for a solution to extricate a nest’s soma from their dependence on a queen.
A tiny connection between programs within Julien’s kernel had become persistent, and he chose to act on it, initiating a query to the Freedom’s database to search the backgrounds of Daelon Independents who might be potential assistants for Emile.
Emile, accompanied by Jodlyne, boarded a traveler to find Julien, Étienne, and Alain waiting for them.
“Are we expecting trouble, Julien?” Jodlyne asked.
“Expecting it, no. Prepared for it, yes,” Julien replied, and the twins smiled at her.
The traveler settled on the outskirts of Nyslara’s nest, and the passengers continued to chat happily while they waited for the lookouts to summon the queen or wasat. As it was, both of them climbed out of the tunnel and used their long-legged gaits to close quickly on the ship.
After the brief greetings, Jodlyne uttered, “Uh-oh.”
The others followed her gaze, and the queen cheerfully rubbed the small bulge in her belly.
“By my scent, I will be producing an heir,” Nyslara said, and she gazed proudly at Pussiro, who rose slightly on his hind legs.
“Congratulations, Chona Nyslara and Wasat Pussiro,” Julien said formally. “Dassata will be pleased to hear of your good fortune.”
“Pardon, Nyslara,” Emile said in his poor Dischnya. “Baby changed scent?”
“Emile wishes to understand how the pup you’re expecting has changed your scent,” Julien translated. Simultaneously, he sent the Dischnya phrase and its translation to the humans to help them with their education in the language.
“A queen’s scent often changes,” Nyslara replied. “First, when she comes of mating age; again, when she’s fertile; and another, when she’s expecting. The scent will be different still if one of the expected will be a female pup.”
“How do these changes affect the soma?” Julien asked.
“Dischnya accept every scent change of their chona, but they are most content when they have a mature queen who is not carrying pups.”
“What’s the purpose of your visit, Julien?” Pussiro asked protectively.
“Dassata wishes to travel to Sawa and requests the company of one or more queens. The trip might involve many cycles of Nessila,” Julien explained. The SADE didn’t require Nyslara’s reply to understand how his request was being received by the wasat. Pussiro’s lips were rippling in agitation.
Nyslara touched her mate’s hindquarters with the tip of her tail to calm him, and replied, “My soma would be greatly discomfited if I traveled any distance from our nest in my condition. I may not even visit your ships above.”
“Dassata would not wish to see the Tawas Soma nest discomforted in any manner,” Julien said, diplomatically. His answer had a calming effect on Pussiro. “Emile Billings,” Julien said, indicating the biochemist, “is a man of the sciences. Dassata has asked him to discover a means by which a queen might leave the nest for an extended period of time and leave her scent for the soma.”
“This is possible?” Nyslara asked.
Emile nodded enthusiastically, and Nyslara and Pussiro exchanged glances.
“What would Emile require?” Nyslara asked Julien.
“He would take small samples of breath, hair, skin, and oils from a queen to examine and duplicate, and he would require two of the queen’s soma to act as test subjects, who would reside on a ship above for some number of cycles, but not enough to harm them,” Julien replied.
“Could this scent you create, Julien, be given to another nest?” Pussiro asked.
“There is nothing to stop the deliberate spread of the scent to another nest, except the queens’ commitment to the Fissla,” Julien said. He could see where Pussiro’s thoughts were headed. The wasat was worried that warriors from one nest would use their queen’s scent to disturb or even take over the soma of another nest. It would be an act of aggression, contrary to the peace agreement.
“I imagine Dassata would not tolerate such behavior from a queen or her soma,” Nyslara said.
“You imagine correctly, Chona Nyslara. He definitely would not,” Julien replied, and he gazed pointedly at Pussiro.
“Who would hold these scents?’ Pussiro asked, undeterred by Julien’s implied promise.
“That would be up to each chona, whose scent we create. This is not planned for every queen,” Julien explained.
Pussiro opened his muzzle, but another touch from Nyslara’s tail halted him before he could ask his question.
“Dassata needs queens to guide him during his visit to Sawa,” Nyslara said, thinking her way through the issue. “Yet, none of the chona have ever set claw on the home world. One queen would be as good as another, in that regard. More important, Dassata would need chona who would be willing to risk the trip and are ardent supporters of the new ways.”
“Nyslara is correct in her analysis,” Julien commented. “In that regard, I believe you’re indicating that we should visit Sissya and Posnossa.”
“You’re insightful, Julien, as I would expect Dassata’s close adviser to be,” Nyslara replied. “However, I would add Homsaff and myself to your experiment.”
When Emile heard the translation, he queried Julien. he sent.
“Emile requests to understand how Homsaff’s immature state would be of help in his efforts to understand a mature queen’s scent,” Julien said.
Nyslara and Pussiro shared quick glimmers of recognition. Both of them were fascinated by how Dassata’s soma could speak their thoughts to one another. They had discussed many times how this technology might aid the Dischnya. “Explain to Emile, Julien, that, after me, there is no fiercer supporter of Dassata than Homsaff. She would risk much to be part of his efforts.”
Julien paused and tilted his head to focus. Then he said to Nyslara, “We wonder why you would want to be tested when your scent will change after the birth of your pups.”
“The soma would live on your ship while Emile experiments with them,” Nyslara said thoughtfully. “Recall, Julien, no other Dischnya, but Pussiro and I, have set claw aboard your ships above. At least, Simlan and Hessan, who I would volunteer, are familiar with your kind. They will calm the other soma.”
“Wise advice, Nyslara,” Julien acknowledged.
“It’s in every Dischnya’s favor to see Dassata succeed with his plans,” Nyslara commented.
“So it is for all of us,” Julien agreed.
It was an insightful moment for Nyslara. She had perceived the Dischnya as chasing after Dassata and his soma. Now, she considered that Dassata’s soma were chasing their leader too.
“You have fou
r sample sets to collect Emile … Nyslara, Sissya, Posnossa, and Homsaff,” Julien said to the biochemist. “Chona Nyslara, we appreciate your advice. I’ve informed Dassata of your condition, and he requests that I inform you of his sincere wishes for the safe birth of your pups.”
Jodlyne dropped the sampling kit to the ground and unpacked a set of tiny vacuum tubules. Pussiro barked a command to the lookout, who yipped in reply and ducked below.
By the time Emile and Jodlyne had collected their samples under Pussiro’s watchful eye, Simlan and Hessan came running from the tunnel entrance.
Nyslara gave the two warriors their instructions, adding, “Don’t let the alien technology overwhelm you. You’ll be safe, and, if you’re patient, you might enjoy your time above.” However, she couldn’t resist a jibe. “But don’t let their pallets eat you.”
When Pussiro’s warriors turned wide-eyed stares on their wasat, he shook his head in negation. They glanced back at Nyslara, and the queen chuffed, her lips wrinkling in humor.
While Jodlyne coded and packed the samples, Julien nodded politely, and the group headed for the traveler.
Watching the aliens and her soma retreat to the ship, Nyslara said, “Julien spoke to Dassata, who is far above us, with his mind, while he was conversing with us.”
“The metal soma are indeed intriguing, my queen. I wonder if the Dischnya could ever possess some of them.”
“You’re thinking in the old ways, my mate. You don’t possess ones like Julien or Z. However they’re created, they have a will of their own. It’s their choice who earns their allegiance, and you should note well, they give it to the likes of Dassata.”
Nyslara turned and strode back to the tunnel entrance. She was hungry again. As the queen walked, she wondered when the time would come that she no longer had to descend into the ground’s darkness.
* * *
Following the collection of two warriors from each nest and samples from the other queens, Emile and Jodlyne’s traveler landed aboard the Rêveur, and the soma were greeted by Miriam and Glenn, who were assigned by Alex to be responsible for managing the Dischnya.