by Josi Russell
The being spoke again. “We are the Vala.”
Ethan was anxious to know how a Circinic-speaking people had made it all the way here. “Is this your home world?”
A sorrowful expression crept into Aemon’s eyes. “The Vala have no home world.”
That struck Ethan as terribly sad.
“We have been a slave race for as long as our history records,” Aemon said, “and have never owned ourselves.”
Ethan was grateful for the translator. “Can’t you petition for your freedom?”
“No,” Aemon replied sadly. “There’s no one to whom we can petition. And our masters would never free us. They depend on us.”
Aria, next to him, shook her head. “Depend on you, how?”
“They use our children in their ships,” Aemon said.
“Use them?” she asked.
Aemon spoke quickly, but the translator buzzed an error. Whatever Aemon was describing, the translator had no words for it. Ethan fiddled with the settings, but “no words found” kept flashing across the screen.
The Vala must have seen the humans’ confusion, because he gave up trying to explain exactly what their children could do. He simply reiterated that it was “special” and “valuable” to their masters.
“How did you fall into their hands?” Ethan asked.
“We were given to the Asgre to pay off the debts of our former masters. We do not belong to ourselves, have not since any Vala can remember. If the Asgre find us, we will be placed back into slavery.”
Pieces fell together suddenly, and Ethan wondered why he hadn’t seen it before. Kaia had let slip the name of the alien race in the dark ships over Coriol: the Asgre. This is what they were looking for.
“The Asgre are here,” Ethan said hurriedly. “They have come to Minea.”
Aemon glanced at his family. “Then we must go back into the caves,” he said.
“Will you be safe there?” Ethan asked.
“We will go to our sanctuary,” Aemon gestured to the others, and Ethan felt a thrill that he had translated the word correctly.
“The white room?” he asked, then repeated the word, “sanctuary,” in Ikastn.
“That is correct.” Aemon gestured to them to follow as the group walked back toward the cave entrance.
“Will you be safe there?” Aria’s voice was tense.
“The Asgre cannot detect us in the sanctuary,” Aemon said as they walked into the shadow of the cave’s arching mouth. “It is lined with a special type of stone which is impenetrable by the Asgre sensors.”
“We call it flowstone,” Ethan said, his mind filling with the image of the sparkling room.
Aemon nodded. “A fitting name.”
“I also saw it in the cavern where your children are sleeping,” Ethan said.
“Yes. It makes a shelter for us. We were pleased to discover it on this planet,” a shadow crossed Aemon’s features and he went on, “though it can also be a danger.”
“A danger?” The Vala stood on the wide platform of rock beside the Yynium staircase. Ethan stayed back from the edge. Aemon lingered, though he kept casting worried glances at the other Vala.
“Yes. We ourselves cannot move through it as we do through other stone. Its properties make it impenetrable to us as well as to the sensors.”
Ethan smiled. “So you can travel through stone. That’s how you disappeared so completely when I saw you in the caves.”
Aemon began to move through the rock as they watched, sinking slowly and serenely into the limestone. “That is correct. Only your flowstone and the metal our Asgre masters use in our cages, shackles, and slave quarters can contain us.”
“May we see you again?” Ethan called as Aemon moved into the rock.
“We must come to the lakes and rivers to drink. The minerals in the cave pools are too concentrated for our bodies. We must also have a few moments of sunlight to remain healthy, so we come out in the early morning and early evening. We are here, should you wish to speak to us again.”
***
The party was at Saras’s stone and steel mansion on Yynium hill. It was a gaudy place, with imported Earthwood and Earthleather everywhere. Just thinking of the resources it had taken to move those extravagances through the stars gave Ethan a tight feeling in his stomach. The children were surprisingly well-behaved. Theo Talbot made a special effort to come and tell Ethan so.
“Your children are delightful,” he said, reaching out to brush Rigel’s round cheek with the back of his finger. Rigel pulled away.
“Thanks.” Ethan actually expected Polara to climb under the tables or slide down a banister any moment, but she simply leaned against Aria, clasping her mother’s hand and casting a blank gaze around the room.
Their early trip out to introduce the children to the Vala this morning must have tired her out. It had been beautiful, seeing her running through the forest and splashing in the river with the Vala children. He wondered if she’d had a nap after Aria had taken her home today. Maybe they should take her home a little early. He blinked and refocused on what Theo was saying.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you the other day. Veronika can make people feel . . . unwelcome.”
Ethan fought a wry chuckle at the understatement, instead taking a quick sip of his drink. “It doesn’t matter. We just need to get the blasting stopped around the karst peaks. Is there anything you can do about that?”
Theo contemplated a moment. “Probably not without a very good reason. I’ve heard you believe there’s something down there. Do you have any kind of proof?”
“I’ve seen what’s down there. I could give you proof.” This was not the closed-door, no options conversation he’d had with Veronika and Saras. Theo had always seemed much more accommodating, much more likable than his colleagues. Perhaps he could help. “If we weren’t in range of Saras’s thought blocker, I could show you telepathically exactly what I’ve seen.”
Theo blinked several times, quickly, apprehension showing on his face. “I’m . . . uncomfortable with that idea,” he said. “Perhaps you could introduce me to them? I could meet them?” Theo laid a hand on Ethan’s arm. “It’s the only way I can help.”
Ethan tried to consider the implications of showing Theo the Vala. He didn’t want to bring more danger to them through his carelessness, but he needed someone on the inside of the Saras company. Someone who could make decisions.
“Meet me at the docks about an hour before sunrise tomorrow. We’ll go up the river.”
***
Theo showed up in a cruising boat fit more for a lavish party than a trip into the wilds. Aria and the children stepped aboard and immediately stationed themselves by a window to watch the river slip by. Aria gave Theo directions as they cruised.
The boat was much more comfortable than the raft made of crates, but Ethan worried that the motor might scare the flighty Vala away. When they were nearing the cave entrance, Ethan said, “Can we quiet it down? I don’t know how well they’ll respond to the sound.”
“Sure thing.” Theo cut the big engines, using only a silent sol motor to provide navigation and just enough thrust to move them against the current.
Ethan guided Theo to the little sandbar where he’d been leaving the boat the last few times he’d traveled here. They departed and walked through the jungle. The timing was perfect. Minea was on the brink of waking. The mists hung heavy between the mountains and the sky lightened very gradually as they neared the cave’s exit.
Ethan saw the surprise on Theo’s face as he saw the Vala. They came to Ethan’s family, speaking rapidly. Polara, whose eyes still held that weariness he had noticed the night before at the party, said a few words in Ikastn, and the Vala children cheered her.
Ethan noticed that the children of the Vala avoided Theo. He felt mildly bad for the man as the beautiful Vala children embraced Aria, carried Rigel, and played a game of tag with Polara.
“They will get more used to you,” he said.
> Theo’s eyes were filled with questions. “Where did they come from?” he asked. Then piling more questions on top of the first, “How did they get here?”
Ethan shrugged, “We’re still learning about them. The translator isn’t very reliable with such an obscure language as Ikastn, and I’m still learning myself, but we know they came fairly recently. Within the last few Minean years.”
“But the orbital defense detected no ships until the Asgre,” Theo protested.
“They don’t use ships. They are able to travel in space without ships.”
Theo looked baffled by this. “Why are they here?”
Ethan thought of the dark, ominous Asgre ships. He could not reveal that. Not yet. He still had a hard time fully trusting Theo, or anyone at Saras.
“They are seeking a new home.”
“They should continue to seek,” Theo said, a carefully controlled tightness in his voice. Had he guessed that the ships above Minea and these beings were connected? Maybe that was okay. Maybe he would help protect the Vala, not only from Saras, but also from the Asgre.
“Will you talk to Saras about the blasting?”
“Why do they want the blasting stopped? Can’t they just move to another cave?”
Into Ethan’s mind came the picture of the cavern, filled with sleeping Vala.
“Not now. They need to stay here at least a few more weeks.”
“What happens in a few weeks?”
“Their sleepers awaken,” Ethan said. “The Vala children are depleted, and they are resting. Once they wake up, they can move on if necessary, but I think we should consider letting them stay. They saved us. They’re happy here. The planet has the resources they need.”
“Daddy! Come and see the fish!” Polara was leaning over the river, her Vala playmates peering into its depths beside her.
“I’ll be right back,” Ethan said, slipping off the translator and handing it to Theo. He went to see the fish, then chased a froglike creature with the children. When he came back to Theo and Aemon, they were deep in discussion about the caves.
Aemon was describing the white flowstone room where the survey crew had found the symbols carved into the rock. “It is our safe room, our sanctuary.” Aemon was saying. Ethan took the translator back, remembering the delicate beauty of that room. It seemed fitting that it was their sanctuary.
The sun was rising higher, and he saw the Vala beginning to gather back together, preparing to go back into the cave. Their shining skin reflected the sun. Aemon stood and bid farewell for the day.
“We must get under cover,” he said apologetically, “the sun is difficult for us to bear.” He took Ethan’s hand and pressed it to his forehead, and then Theo’s, before moving back toward the cave.
Ethan heard Theo gasp beside him. He glanced at the man, who held his hand in front of him almost reverently. “Wait!” he called. Aemon paused.
Ethan followed Theo’s gaze and saw what had frozen him so completely. Shining in the place his hand had touched the alien was an oval of pure Yynium dust.
Theo’s voice was frantic as he reached his other hand toward the translator. Ethan stepped to him and let him speak. “Where did this come from? How did you get it?” He gestured at the Yynium.
“I think they have mineral manipulation abilities,” Ethan answered. “They can remove whole blocks of that stuff from the rock.”
As he said it, he realized the folly of putting that kind of power in front of the most Yynium-hungry company in the universe.
“Maybe we should go,” Ethan said, waving to the children down by the river.
Theo ignored him, walking instead toward Aemon. “Where?” Theo begged. “Let me see.”
Aemon gestured to one of the other Vala and spoke softly. She returned with a block of the Yynium from the staircase, which she set on the ground in front of them.
Theo leaned over it, folding his tall frame down to inspect it. He ran a hand across it, looking up at the Vala in wonder.
Ethan saw the opportunity. He remembered what his salesman passenger, Chip, said about convincing people. You had to work through their desires and fears if you wanted to persuade them.
“What would your boss pay for pure Yynium?” Ethan asked quietly. “Yynium that doesn’t have to be refined? Yynium that could be shipped out immediately for Earth, and would even be useful in the small amounts you could send on an RST ship? How much?”
He saw the gleam in Theo’s eye and remembered what Chip had told him. Make it personal. “And what would he think if you were the one to give it to him?” Ethan asked. He lifted the chunk of Yynium, and Theo’s eyes didn’t leave it as he rose. “What do you think? Could we work out a deal to protect them if they could provide Saras company with the best Yynium in the universe?”
He held out the block, and Theo took it reverently.
“Can I trust you to talk to Saras?”
Theo caught his eye and held it. “You can.”
“Show him this, and I’ll answer his questions as best I can.”
Theo nodded. As the Vala walked back into the cave, and the children piled into the boat with Aria, Ethan and Theo navigated the stones at the water’s edge. Theo, Ethan saw, was shaking, slightly. He must be more excited about the Yynium than Ethan had realized.
Ethan heard Theo slip on the slick stones and turned to see him go down. The block of Yynium fell, too, and fractured into several small pieces.
Theo swore, scrambling to pick them up. Ethan walked over and helped him, gathering chunks of the sharp orange material. He handed some to Theo and slipped some in his own pockets. Polara would like some in her rock collection, and Theo had plenty to show Saras.
***
Kaia was with her father on the base when Galo’s big Asgre ship moved to the edge of the city and began easing itself to the ground.
“They’re coming out.” Reagan said, and she heard a mixture of relief and fear in his voice. The moment he knew exactly where the Asgre were going to disembark, he assembled the ground troops. And they moved together, stopping just outside the curve of the last houses on the edge of Coriol, where the ship was landing. Kaia saw her father put himself between the aliens and the humans, and she moved to stand beside him.
The troops behind them were trained Coriol Defense Troops, at the ready. Kaia watched the ship descending through the atmosphere, feeling its heat and breathing the dust it stirred up as it landed. As it neared, she saw something she hadn’t noticed before. Below it seemed to be a small suspended cage, half-hidden by the landing gear and tarnished with eons of warp travel. Inside the cage was a small, fragile being. Kaia took two steps forward before she remembered what Ethan had said: “Warnings.”
She stopped, waiting.
When it landed, six beings disembarked. Clad in black flexible suits, with masks covering their faces, the Asgre approached.
They had four arms. Kaia shuddered to think of the advantage that would give them in a fight. They were angular, sharp. Kaia thought how much Saras’s VP, Theo, looked like them, with his skeletal face and long, gangly arms. She wished he were here so she could compare them.
Kaia was glad to see that they were much smaller than the Others of Beta Alora. Judging by the hiss of the suits, they were not perfectly suited to this atmosphere, either. That could be an advantage.
Reagan stepped forward. He spoke his own language, relying on the translators the Asgre carried with them to convey his message.
“You have not been cleared to land here. I am Admiral Reagan,” he said, and Kaia heard his name come out as Ray-gun through the translator. “This is a colony of the United Earth Government. You can’t come here and—”
The Asgre at the front of the little pack, whose black suit bore several red bars, stepped forward, bowing slightly and raising a hand courteously. His wheedling voice cut the air and the translator formed the words: “I am Galo, of the Asgre. We do not wish to inconvenience you.”
“Why have you not responded to
our hails?” Reagan demanded.
The alien took a step back, as if surprised. “We have not received any communications from your planet.”
Kaia could see that the response was not what her father had expected.
“We’ve been sending them for weeks,” he replied.
Galo conferred with his companions. He fumbled with a device on his forearm, switching through various frequencies. Finally, he paused.
“Ahhh.” The translator brought them his words, “I see. This is my own error.” He tapped the control and the humans’ message began to play clearly, sounding tinny in the evening air. He listened to it all the way through and then switched it off. “This line came through only as an unintelligible buzzing before my translator was online and I foolishly disabled it.” He bowed. “I offer my sincere apologies. We are not here for combat. We are simply here to retrieve our property. When we have gathered them all, we will leave your planet with haste.”
“What do you mean? Your property?” Kaia saw Reagan move forward. “We have nothing of yours.”
Galo inclined his head and spread his four arms wide, possibly trying to judge Reagan’s sincerity. “Then it is your assistance we require. Our slaves have escaped.” He gestured at the miserable little being in the cage below his ship. “They are called the Vala, and they are vital for the transport of our ships. I must reclaim them with haste.”
Reagan spoke forcefully. “Don’t be so hasty. We don’t allow slavery here.”
“I’ll just gather them and take them immediately out of your atmosphere,” Galo said smoothly. “And you’ll never have to see any of us again.” He smiled. “Unless you need something shipped, of course. Then I would ensure its safe arrival by transporting it in my own Cliprig.” Galo gestured to his ship.