by S. H. Jucha
“Undoubtedly, it’s a reaction to the battle at the wall,” Julien replied.
“I get that,” Mickey said. “What I don’t get is the message. Why is the Nua’ll sphere sitting out there without its protective force?”
“One thought for you, Mickey,” Reiko volunteered, “is that the defeat of the alien fighters had to have stung the master race. Who knows when was the last time that happened to them? The comm sphere has appeared twice to our ships, surrounded by its protective force. This time, it transits first and without accompanying ships. I think it’s come to deliver a message to us from the master race.”
“The question is what kind of message? An invitation to an ambush?” Svetlana chimed in over the holo-vid speakers.
“I would anticipate that there will be several steps to this greeting,” Julien said. “The first is that the comm sphere occupies a stationary position to indicate that it intends no harm, and its occupants wait to see if we attack it. If our warships approach it, I believe it will flee.”
“You say the sphere is trying to prove that it doesn’t intend us harm, Julien. But, how can we trust it?” Deirdre asked. She was seated across from Julien. It was her crew’s turn to enjoy a hiatus aboard the city-ship.
“We can’t, under any circumstances,” Alex said quietly. It was the first words he’d uttered in the meeting. “However, that doesn’t mean we tip our hands about how we feel.”
“So, what do you think our reaction to its presence should be, Alex?” Tatia asked.
“Nothing,” Alex replied. “We ignore it and go about our business.”
Miranda’s whistle imitated the cry of a predator bird on the hunt in reaction to Alex’s reply, and she said, “Dear man, I adore your deviousness. Ignoring the sphere will make the occupants feel unimportant, as if their message isn’t worth hearing. That’s absolutely delightful.” She fluttered her eyes in a coquettish manner at Alex, and Renée hid her grin behind a hand.
“What about the large sphere we hunted that blew itself up? Isn’t anyone concerned that the same thing could happen here?” Darius asked.
“Same race, different functions,” Cordelia replied cryptically.
“Meaning what?” Darius prompted.
“I would postulate that the Nua’ll occupy both sphere sizes,” Cordelia postulated. “However, the function of the great sphere was to confirm what the system probes had sent to the master race. In other words, they were to determine the level of the sentients’ technology and eliminate potential competitors. The duty of the small spheres is to be the master race’s communicators. Based on the malevolent code discovered in the comm sphere’s transmissions, they’re extremely good at it. Their broadcast to our first Trident indicates that they’ve the ability to communicate to every subservient race for their masters.”
“In answer to your concern, Darius,” Tatia said, “The comm sphere won’t be allowed to approach our ships within …” Tatia hesitated, while she glanced at Z.
“Our superb mathematician informs me that, for safety’s sake, a squadron will keep the sphere at a five hundred thousand-kilometer distance. It will remain well away from the fleet,” Tatia finished, nodding her thanks to Z.
“Alex, what do you think the sphere is going to do next?” Ellie asked.
“When the occupants sense they’re not in jeopardy from us attacking them, they’ll enter the system,” Alex replied. “Despite what we think of these aliens, they’re extremely advanced and that means intelligent. They know they attacked us first, twice. In their eyes, however many they have, we represent a powerful but nonaggressive force.”
“This might sound bizarre,” Renée said, prefacing her thought. “But if I were the master race, I would find those traits desirable.”
“What? You think that the master race wants us as allies?” Reiko asked incredulously.
“It doesn’t matter what the master race wants. For this expedition, only one game will be played and that will be ours,” Alex stated with finality. His words were accompanied by the slightest release of his implant power, which the SADEs relished. It had a tone, a temperament, which their comms didn’t possess.
“Well, isn’t this discussion moot?” Mickey asked. “In the previous encounters with the comm sphere, we received nasty code and a repetition of hundreds of languages repeating the same message. Why would we expect anything different?”
“You forget Faustus, Mickey,” Julien supplied.
Alex nodded his agreement and added, “You can bet that comm sphere has been in constant contact with Faustus ever since it arrived.”
“Then the sphere knows our language, that we halted the drones’ shipments, and prevented their warships from sailing,” Mickey surmised.
“And Faustus surely reported our efforts with the children and our destruction of the colonists’ genetic samples,” Renée added.
“Well, at least, we know we’ll have an intelligent discussion when the sphere makes its move,” Reiko said, feeling satisfied with developments.
“Don’t count on it,” Alex replied. “We’ll speak the same words, but I’ve a strange feeling that we won’t understand each other, in many respects. We probably have days before anything changes. Admiral,” Alex said, addressing Tatia, “ensure your fleet personnel are well rested. When the sphere does move, I believe it will approach slowly.”
The meeting broke up, and the Omnians attempted to resume normal procedures, but the tension was palpable. The wild ones definitely sensed it, and a staffer made the mistake of mentioning the arrival of an alien sphere. The children had no knowledge of what this meant, but they could read the worry in the Omnians’ faces.
The thought crossed Ude’s mind that he should never have left the safety of the tanks. However, when he looked around at the clear faces and healthy bodies of his band, he knew he’d made the right decision to surrender them.
When the comm sphere finally moved, Alex was proved partially correct in his assessment of the sphere’s action. It didn’t wait for days before it moved. It waited one day, but it did approach slowly.
“This is ridiculous,” Tatia grumped to Alex at evening meal. “The SADEs report that it’ll take the comm sphere nearly two weeks to reach us at its present velocity.”
“The aliens are being cautious,” Alex replied, taking a deep drink of his thé, which drained the cup. Immediately, a server, who’d deposited more plates among the New Terrans, filled Alex’s cup. He nodded his appreciation, and the teenage girl flashed Alex a bright smile.
“Julien tells me that the comm sphere is on a direct course for this ship,” Alex said. When Tatia tipped her head in agreement, he continued. “I presume you’ve positioned a squadron in its path.”
“Several,” Tatia replied.
“When the comm sphere draws near to your radius limit, send a squadron forward. They’re to limit their acceleration, and when the comm sphere halts, they’re to come to a stop,” Alex said.
“Then what?” Tatia asked.
“For as long as the sphere sits there, they do too,” Alex replied. “I’ve a feeling that this will be over soon.”
“You think this sphere came all this way to deliver a message?” Tatia said. “The aliens could have just talked to us from past the far belt.” She stared at Alex, and he stared quietly back at her, while she tried to make sense of the aliens’ actions. Then an idea occurred to her.
“Renée wasn’t far wrong, was she? We’re being measured,” Tatia said, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. “That sphere has the information about us from two contacts, a battle and Faustus. The aliens probably know more about us than our partners.”
“Speak for yourself, Admiral,” Renée interjected, grinning.
“Yes, well, not all of us can entangle like you two,” Tatia ri
posted, referring to the strange capability that Alex and Renée had to link their implants during their dreams and moments of intimacy.
“About your thought, Admiral,” Alex said. “That would seem to be the sphere’s purpose. I imagine most races have been measured and found wanting. We’ve defeated their comm malevolence, even demonstrating that we can intercept their signals and use it against them.”
“And we defeated what I’d guess was one of their superlative fighter fleets,” Tatia added.
“True. Now the sphere is gathering details on our actions here,” Alex continued. “We might be a group of sentients from beyond the wall who’ve piqued the master race’s interest.”
“Why doesn’t that sound good?” Tatia replied.
“Recall the original plan,” Alex commented, taking a moment to clean his plate and Renée tipped the remains of a serving dish onto his plate. He sent her an image of a time when he’d kissed her forehead. He had thousands of images of their private moments, and he often sent her ones he cherished.
“We were supposed to find a weak race and entice them to our side,” Tatia replied. “It looks like we might have cut out the middle … um, aliens.”
“That’s my thought and hope,” Alex replied, “which is why the upcoming exchange is so critical.” He paused, while eyeing Tatia. Picking up his cup and taking a sip, he said, “If it goes poorly, we’ll be farther back than step one, because, at that point, I’ll be fresh out of ideas on what to do next.”
Alex’s words frightened Tatia. He always had another idea or two about how to proceed, far in advance of anyone else’s thinking. To hear him admit that he couldn’t perceive any other means by which they might defeat the aliens, who were intent on devastating every spacefaring race, threatened to tear her loose from the rock she depended on.
-29-
Nua’ll
The comm sphere’s slow, persistent approach was halted by the advance of a squadron of Tridents. Tatia had assigned the job of intimidating the sphere to Ellie, the commander who’d proven to closest emulate Alex’s thinking. Ellie, in turn, had demonstrated the importance of the task by assigning Descartes’ squadron to the maneuver.
From their first movement forward, Descartes and the twins carefully matched every action of the sphere. The aliens’ initial response was to decelerate, and the squadron mirrored that action, despite the fact that they’d achieved a limited velocity.
The sphere continued to decelerate, and Descartes signaled the squadrons’ controllers to mathematically reduce the Tridents’ velocities in an equal percentage. The aliens must have recognized the quid pro quo response, and the sphere took up a stationary position. Balance was achieved. The sphere sat 523K kilometers out from Descartes’ squadron.
The Freedom’s bridge was packed in anticipation of the conversation with the occupants of the sphere. Every SADE was linked directly to a sister. Any humans not on the Freedom’s bridge linked to their ships’ controllers. The Dischnya and city-ship’s children gathered around monitors.
It was Etoya, Pia, their staff, and a few Dischnya, who were left out of the opportunity to hear firsthand the exchange between Alex and the aliens.
Miriamal, following Miriam’s directive, was prepared to relay any communication from the sphere to the bridge speakers to allow Alex to manage the conversation in coordination with his senior individuals.
“We would speak with your leader,” was heard on the bridge.
Alex drew breath to speak, but he was halted by a message from Renée to Julien and him.
Alex agreed, and Julien chose an ancient, soft, multicolored, Venetian cap for his haberdashery. It was something a courtier, who represented the Venetian doge, would wear. He winked broadly at Alex and announced in a sonorous voice, “Who deigns to speak to Alex?”
The comm was silent, and Julien could imagine the aliens searching for the meaning of the archaic term in the information they’d gleaned from Faustus.
“I repeat,” Julien said. “Who wishes to speak to Alex?” This time, Julien got a response.
“We’re the Nua’ll. We would speak with your leader.”
Julien regarded Alex, who signaled he would take over.
“I’m Alex.”
“Confirm. Are you the leader, the master?” asked the Nua’ll.
“You’ll speak with me and no one else,” Alex replied.
“Confirmed,” was heard on the bridge. “Why did your fleet follow our ship here?”
“It was a coincidence,” Alex temporized. “We received a faint signal from one of our lost ships, the New Terra, and discovered this system.”
“Do you speak of the stranded ship?” asked the Nua’ll.
“Yes,” Alex affirmed.
“The ship you speak of issues no signal. We’re signal manipulators of the highest order and would know this.”
“Apparently you’re not as extraordinary as you think,” Alex shot back.
“Are the creatures, which are aboard this inoperable ship, members of a race you conquered?”
“Who we are and how we came to possess this ship is knowledge that we don’t intend to share,” Alex replied. “I would know about you.”
“We are the Nua’ll.”
“I heard that,” Alex replied dismissively. “What are your duties to the master race?”
“No master race exists.”
“Whom do you serve?” Alex persisted.
“We serve the master.”
“Alien doublespeak,” Homsaff huffed quietly.
“What is the name of your master?” Alex asked.
“Artifice,” responded the Nua’ll.
“How does it happen that you serve Artifice?”
“Artifice requires that we perform our duty.”
“All of your species?” asked Alex.
“The last of our race inhabits the master’s spheres. When we’ve passed, there’ll be no more Nua’ll.”
“Sad day,” Tatia muttered acerbically.
“Does your number grow?” asked Alex.
“We are,” replied the Nua’ll, which added nothing to the dialog for the Omnians.
Alex continued to attempt to extract information, asking, “Why did you come to this system?”
“Artifice considers you worthy of an audience.”
“What if I don’t deem your master worthy of my time?” asked Alex, deciding to test the nature of the offer.
“Then you’ll be eliminated,” the Nua’ll said.
Alex decided to escalate the encounter. “I would speak with you,” he said.
“We’re listening.”
“I’d prefer a face-to-face meeting,” Alex said.
“Your limited knowledge is noted,” replied the Nua’ll. “We have no face, and we can’t meet. Our environment is a chlorine-based, liquid salt that sustains us. We’re unlike any lifeform that we’ve observed.”
“Where’s your home planet?” Alex asked, trying to draw the Nua’ll into an extended conversation.
“Unknown.”
“Am I speaking to one entity or more?”
“We don’t count the parts. We’re a collective.”
Alex thought through the conversation and an idea occurred to him. He asked, “Does this mean my words are heard by the Nua’ll, as a species?”
“Accurate.”
“Do the Nua’ll inhabit every sphere?”
“Accurate.”
“Why do the Nua’ll do Artifice’s bidding?”
“For survival of our species.”
Alex and Julien traded looks of mild exasperation, while they waited for furthe
r amplification.
“Do you wish for more than survival?” Alex asked.
“Express an example,” requested the Nua’ll.
“Freedom to live on your own world,” Alex suggested.
“Impossible. We’ve observed no world that can host us,” was the reply.
“The Nua’ll, who inhabit this sphere, have seen no appropriate world?” Alex asked, requesting clarification.
“Inaccurate.”
“Amplify,” replied Alex, slipping into the Nua’ll form of simplistic expression.
Renée and Julien shared smiles. Alex’s ability to subsume himself into a new culture was a fascinating part of his personality.
“Nua’ll communication is total.”
“What one sphere observes, all will know,” Alex suggested.
“Accurate.”
“What service do you provide Artifice?”
“The Nua’ll are facile with languages. We drive the spheres and monitor worlds.”
“Artifice’s worlds?”
“The Nua’ll observe all worlds. All communication is monitored.”
“What of worlds beyond Artifice’s realm?” Alex asked.
“Our duty encompasses all worlds. We monitor; we respond.”
“Define respond?” Alex requested.
“Eliminate,” the Nua’ll said, and the humans on the bridge regarded one another with angry expressions.
Alex ignored the emotion swirling around him. There was much more he desired to learn from the aliens. “Your ship is unarmed. Artifice’s other ships protect you,” Alex said.
“We inhabit the lesser spheres. Others inhabit the greater spheres. The Nua’ll know your race has met the great spheres.”
“If the Nua’ll can’t exist outside the spheres, who services you?” Alex asked.
“Small spheres return frequently for provisions provided by Artifice. The great spheres harvest from the systems visited.”
While Alex was considering his next line of questioning, the Nua’ll said, “You did not come for this ship. Why are you in Artifice’s worlds?”
“Artifice interferes with our worlds. This can’t happen,” Alex stated flatly.