The Telgoran offered a simple grunt that Titan understood.
“Come.”
The tall, thin alien then turned and walked out of the room.
“Yes,” Titan offered in return, then followed.
Two other aliens waited outside the room. The three were indistinguishable. All had similar gray skin and overly large heads. Their tunics, while not identical, were fashioned from the orange leather material and covered them only from neck to mid-thigh.
Titan was marched down a long tunnel that appeared to be drilled through the rock of Telgora. The tunnel was five meters high and just as wide. Carvings, similar to the one in his room, were hung at regular intervals along the tunnel. While all seemed to be fashioned from the same metallic ore, not all the carvings were dull, like the one in his room. Some were polished to a high-gloss shine—others only showed moderate gloss. In each instance, the selected finish added depth and texture to the work.
Interspersed with the carvings, Titan spied statues made from the same gray metal. The statues varied in size. Some were relatively small, less than a meter high and a meter long, while others towered all the way to the ceiling. All were glorious, and most depicted the herds that lived on the plains. Every now and then, he spied a statue of a plant or a carving of a landscape devoid of life. But nine out of ten showed a view of the herds.
The Telgorans were gifted artists. Their ability to shape the stone into such wonderful creations was incredible.
Orange coverings, similar to the one hanging over the door to his room, were scattered along the tunnel between the statues and carvings. Titan knew if he pulled them back, he would find other rooms. He wondered how many Telgorans lived behind those curtains.
They soon came to a junction with another, similar tunnel, and he was escorted to the right. This tunnel was built on a slight decline and the party began a slow, but steady descent. The regular placement of carvings, statues, and orange-covered doorways continued.
As they descended further beneath the planet’s surface, they passed several junctions in the carved rock. Usually they proceeded straight through each intersection, but once they turned right, and twice they veered left. They also began to meet and pass other Telgorans, first as individuals, then in groups. Each of the groups waited silently for Titan’s escort to pass, then followed.
Within minutes, Titan estimated the crowd of Telgorans following them to be more than a hundred.
Soon after the groups joined the procession, Titan was able to pick out the males from the females. The females wore orange tunics that were similar to the males. Besides the tunics, they wore a wide belt of yellow leather wrapped tightly around their midsection. The belts emphasized slightly larger waistlines and buttocks than the males seemed to possess.
The human had no idea how far beneath the surface of Telgora they were when, after what seemed like an hour, the tunnel they were in opened into an enormous, bell-shaped cavern.
The floor of the bell was easily a kilometer from side to side and the ceiling was easily half a kilometer high. If he hadn’t seen the roof as it curved over them, Titan would have thought he was standing outside.
The cavern was much better lighted than the room where he had been held. Although the source of light was still a mystery, the illumination gave the appearance of daytime, further encouraging the feeling of being outside. The ornate carvings and statues circled the entire room.
In addition to the hundreds of Telgorans following behind, the cavern floor must have held ten thousand or more of the tall, thin individuals. None of them spoke or made any kind of sound.
Titan stopped in his tracks and stared in awe at the crowd. He watched as the assembled masses turned slowly and faced him.
When every Telgoran in the cavern had turned their direction, the male who led him into the cavern slowly bobbed his head up and down. It reminded Titan of a slow, exaggerated, nodding motion.
Up and down.
Up and down.
The male was soon joined by the two nearest natives, a male and a female. Then the four just beyond them started the strange slow bobbing.
Up and down.
Up and down.
Within seconds, like ripples washing out from where Titan stared, those Telgorans just beyond them started nodding. The ripples expanded. More and more of the assembled masses nodded. It took about sixty seconds before all of the Telgoran heads in the cavern were rising and falling slowly.
Up and down. Up and down.
In sync, they bobbed.
Titan’s body responded to the movement and, without any conscious effort, his head bobbed with the crowd. It felt right, like he belonged.
Seconds after the heads in the farthest corners of the cavern joined the ritual, all movement abruptly ceased. With no visual or verbal cue Titan could discern, it simply stopped.
Okay, that was weird.
Titan was prodded from behind by one of his guards. He took the hint and continued farther into the cavern. When he reached a point he guessed was halfway, he was told to stop.
“Sit,” the lead guard grunted and pointed to a spot on the ground. Titan was glad he had taken his turns on the training table. His communication was not great, but he knew enough of the language to follow basic commands.
He sat.
The Telgorans in the cavern all nodded once, in sync, then sat as a group. It was a nicely choreographed move that seemed fluid, practiced.
Without preamble, the lead guard, who Titan could now discern from the other Telgorans around them, issued a single commanding grunt.
“Speak.”
Titan was unsure how to start, or what to say. After a few moments to gather his thoughts and search for the proper grunts, wheezes, and hand motions, he started with the first basic truth that came to mind.
“We… hate… Minith.”
He was answered by a collective, single nod from the Telgorans.
Well, that went well.
From there, he told the story of how the Minith arrived on Earth and how he and his group had come to be on Telgora. It was not easy with his limited vocabulary, but he seemed to get most of his message across. The telling took him over an hour—an hour in which he was met with the occasional group nod, and one or two group grunts requesting he repeat himself.
As he neared the end of his talk, he told the assembled crowd about Ceeray, and asked that he be allowed to bring her to the Telgorans. The request was met with a single grunt.
“Wait.”
The lead guard sat quietly for a moment, then began the slow nodding motion again. As before, when those in the furthest parts of the cavern added their nods, the motion in the cavern ceased abruptly and without warning.
Titan did not know how he knew, but a decision had been made.
“Go,” the lead guard wheeze-grunted. “Bring the speaker.”
Titan contributed his own nod.
Chapter 24
“Approximately eighty-three percent of all Minith vanished with the planet, sir.
“Of the remaining population, which totals just fewer than two million Minith, fifty percent reside here on Waa. The remaining fifty percent are spread across the thirteen other planets in the Empire.”
Ghin calmly delivered the report Truk had commissioned days before. The numbers were staggering. Truk almost regretted that the home planet had been destroyed.
Almost.
“Militarily, we lost a great deal. More than eighty percent of all Minith military forces were stationed on Minith, including the upper echelons of the War Council.
“Of the remaining forces, which total roughly five hundred thousand soldiers, twenty percent reside here on Waa. The rest are posted to the outer worlds.
“The remaining forces represent experienced soldiers who—”
“Enough!” Truk interrupted the flow of data with a word and a raised hand. He had heard enough.
“What you’re saying is that we can still hold what is ours, but we cannot ex
pand to other worlds. We can still produce the goods we need; we just cannot get those goods delivered. Is that a fair statement?”
“Um. I believe so, Governor Truk. Yes. That is an accurate statement.”
Truk heaved his large body from the purple chair. He began to pace the length of the back wall—it had become a well-worn track over the past weeks.
“Ghin, the Minith are soldiers and traders. It is what we do. What good is having experienced soldiers if we cannot expand to new worlds? What good is holding the worlds we have if their resources sit idle? We need to get those resources to our partners!”
“I understand, sir,” the aide answered timidly.
Truk stopped abruptly before his desk and slammed his fists on the top angrily. His ears lay back fully upon his head.
“Do you?” Spittle flew across the desk. A few drops landed on Ghin’s suit.
“We have commitments, Ghin! Commitments that must be met, or…” Truk bit off his words; fought to gather control of his emotions. He resumed his back-and-forth movement across the room.
He refused to let Ghin see the concern or the fear he felt. Minith did not show weakness to underlings.
Truk stopped pacing. He looked blankly to the ceiling as his mind turned over rocks and considered the possibilities that lay beneath.
“Ghin, when is General Soo scheduled to depart for Telgora?”
“I believe he and the rest of the contingent are departing tomorrow, sir.”
“Excellent.” Truk marched calmly to his large chair and sat. He relaxed back into the deep cushions and smiled. Telling the general of the mothership on Telgora had been necessary at the time. Now it seemed less so. But it did not matter.
“Have the general report to me as soon as possible.”
* * *
Soo was preparing for the deployment of his hastily assembled unit when he received the summons from Governor Truk. With so much to do in the next twenty-four hours, the interruption rankled. A civilian could not understand the enormity of swapping an entire contingent of soldiers like the one on Telgora.
The planet held more than ten thousand Minith warriors, many of whom had spent years dealing with the planet’s population. They possessed experience and training key to protecting the mining operations from the Telgorans.
Soo had tried explaining the impossibility of the task to Truk a week earlier when he was handed the mission, but the governor would not be swayed. He wanted all forces swapped out within a month. It was an impossible task, but he was careful not to tell Truk that. If the Governor of Waa—and the leader of all Minith—wanted it done, he would accomplish the mission. Or at least, allow Truk to believe it was accomplished.
Soo was willing to tell the governor what he wanted to hear while working to make it a reality.
All of these things went through Soo’s mind as he stood in front of the governor’s desk. He knew to walk a fine line. Truk was not one to cross, even if he was a civilian.
“General, what do you know about our commerce initiatives?”
The general was surprised by Truk’s question. He had expected to be drilled on the readiness of the replacement force.
He took a second to form his response before speaking. “Governor, I know a great deal about our commerce initiatives.”
Truk’s left ear twitched. Apparently he had not expected that response. The governor probably thought all Minith soldiers were ignorant of anything outside of capturing worlds, enforcing quotas, and stamping out rebellion.
“Really? Tell me what you know.”
Soo knew he was being tested, so answered as succinctly and completely as he could.
“Sir, we hold fourteen planets now, including Waa. Each of those planets produces resources, which are then traded to various planetary partners for resources we require, as well as…”
Soo hesitated. It angered and shamed him to admit what he was about to say. He fought to keep his ears erect.
“Well, sir, we exchange resources for protection. And for guarantees of non-aggressive acts by several of our partners.”
Both of Truk’s ears twitched. He had not expected Soo to know that detail.
“Tell me, General Soo,” the governor replied calmly. His voice did not convey anything other than calm. “How does a military man possesses such extensive knowledge of Minith trade relationships? I just learned of these… issues… recently.”
It was Soo’s turn to be surprised. Not that Truk had just learned of the trade issue with its partners. Most Minith, unless they were closely involved with direct trade negotiations, would not know those details. His surprise was that Truk would admit not knowing. It was rare that a superior would ever admit any shortcoming to a subordinate. Soo appreciated the openness and responded in kind.
“Sir, my brother’s wife was a member of the trade committee on Minith. She reported directly to the Minith Trade Commander.”
“Ah. So she is one of the lost, then.” Truk referred to the millions who vanished with the home world.
“No, Governor. She emigrated to Waa two years ago. She now works as a resource specialist, responsible for ensuring the Waa have the materials they require to continue their work.”
Soo withheld the information that his brother’s wife, Rala, was banished from the home world by the Trade Commander. She was too good at her job and he had used the reassignment as a way of eliminating a competitor.
“Really? I would like to meet with your brother’s mate, General Soo. Can you arrange that?”
“Certainly, Governor. At your convenience.”
“This afternoon, perhaps?”
“Of course. I will speak with her right away.” Soo wondered what he had just gotten Rala involved with. It was evident that Truk had concerns with the trade agreements that were in place.
Of course...
With the destruction of the home planet, the Minith agreements with its partners had to be in jeopardy, which meant that Truk was facing threats from one or more partners. Rala’s experience could be invaluable to him.
Her experience could be invaluable to their entire race.
Suddenly, the task he had been given to replace the forces on Telgora paled in comparison to the larger issues facing his people.
“Sir,” the general spoke lowly and with clarity. “What can I do to assist?”
Governor Truk smiled weakly. He apparently understood that Soo had worked out the issues facing the Minith.
“So, General. You understand our situation?”
Soo nodded once.
“I believe I do, Governor.”
“Excellent. Then you know we face a severe challenge.”
Truk stood from his desk. Soo watched the leader of his race begin to pace.
“That’s why I have called for you, General. Your orders have been changed.”
That got Soo’s attention.
“Yes, sir,” he stated simply.
He was anxious to hear what Truk had in store. Whatever it was, it had to be better than the impossible posting to Telgora.
“We must rebuild our logistics supply capabilities. That is our first priority. I have succeeded in pushing back our delivery dates to all partners by a year, but I fear it will not be enough.”
Truk stopped pacing and turned to face the general squarely.
“If we cannot meet our new deadlines, we must be prepared to defend ourselves. Find a replacement for the Telgora assignment.”
“Yes, Governor.”
“But you are not to tell him about the mothership,” Truk stressed. “Your forces there can still perform the search of the compounds, but there is no need to let anyone else know about the mothership. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Governor.” Soo understood Truk was fighting against an angry population. They wanted answers and revenge. Keeping the mothership under wraps would help stave off demands for action.
“Then I want you to dedicate yourself fully to the protection of our race, General.”
; Soo stood straighter. His mind raced with ideas, problems, and solutions. Finally, a challenge worthy of his attention.
“I would be honored, Governor.”
“And General…”
“Sir?”
“I want to turn the tables on our so-called partners. I know our forces are diminished, but we must find a way to conquer them. The Minith will stand in the shadow of no one.”
Soo smiled. He had been thinking the same thing.
General Soo exited the governor’s office in haste. He had much to do, but his first order of business was to speak with Rala. She needed to meet with Truk right away.
Soo knew his brother’s mate would play a vital role in the future of their race. She was an expert at trade, having been involved with most, if not all, of the agreements that had been made between the Minith and their partners over the past ten years. She knew many alien representatives by name. She knew their cultures. Hopefully, she would know how to gain their trust, which was critical. Individuals who trusted you were far easier to defeat than those who did not.
More than anything else, Soo had to caution Rala.
She could never let Truk know that his brother, her mate, was an officer posted to Earth. If the governor knew that detail, he would never trust either of them.
And that would make it much harder to unseat him when the time came.
As he had for the past week, Soo wondered where his brother was, and if he were involved with the destruction of the home world.
It seemed unlikely.
Treel was always such a loyal Minith.
Chapter 25
“So, what you are saying is that they have a single mind?”
“No,” Ceeray explained to Gee. “They have individual minds. They can go about their daily lives with no problem. They can take independent actions. But they also share what you could call a ‘mass mind.’”
“Meaning they can read each other’s minds?” Titan tried to clarify.
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