by Karl Morgan
“Dave, my team has monitored the ship the entire time,” Jake said. “There is no chance any tampering has occurred.” Darlene and Aria entered the ready room with a crewman who brought a cart with refreshments. After placing the cart, the crewman left. Fola was introduced to the women and everyone sat again.
“Fola, Charlie and I have shared what you told us with Jake, Darlene and Aria. We’re here and we are listening. Please tell us what you want us to know,” Dave said.
“In the few hours since your ship left, there have been major discoveries about the ceiling failure in the Balthazar community,” Fola began. “I’ve seen the new evidence, and I now believe that you were not the target of the collapse.”
“But it hit directly where we were staying,” Darlene said. “Who else was it meant for?”
“The struts were partially cut, but not evenly,” Fola replied. “The perpetrators assumed that the weakest parts would fail first, but the opposite happened. Whoever did this underestimated the forces in a galactic jump and must not have been very familiar with Hive activity. The waves of space-time and Source that buffet the planetoid are unusual and related to the strengths and weaknesses of the various Hives involved. In this particular jump, the smallest cuts failed first causing the panel to fall on your residence.”
“Where would the panel have fallen if it fell where they wanted it to?” Aria asked.
“On my shop,” Fola said. “I suppose I should have guessed that.”
“So, they were after you,” Dave replied. “But who lives over your store?”
“My apartment is on the third floor over my shop. The flat on the second floor was reserved for the High Consul from Tak-Makla,” Fola responded. “Fortunately, he never stayed there. He asked for his group to stay in the Alcazar community near the delegation from No-Makla just after he arrived on the planetoid.”
“That means the perpetrators damaged the struts before we arrived on the planetoid,” Aria reasoned. “Or at least did not know about the change of plans. But why would they target the tekkans? I thought the Society had been friends with them for hundreds of millions of years.”
“I think Dave already knows the answer to that question, Aria,” Fola replied. “He asked Alda Nackly a question that caused me to close my shop and join them. Do you remember, Dave?”
“I asked why there was a Society of Humanity and why no other races were ever added,” Dave said.
“That’s exactly right!” Fola shouted. “Believe me that the variety of life in the home galaxy is no less full than in your own. The Society trades with thousands of other worlds representing dozens of highly advanced societies. As you may know, the valakar started here, like humanity. Now they stretch to your galaxy with peoples like the Palians and Donnaki.”
“And the Galliceans,” Dave said.
“Actually, you will be surprised to know that the Galliceans are not valakar at all,” Fola said. “I believe they originated on Gallia in your galaxy. I mentioned that Chief Engineers have some unique abilities and some are even more advanced. I am able to see differences in the light strings of different species. There are similarities among all human species as well as all valakar. The Galliceans are very different though.”
“So, why is the Society closed to non-humans?” Darlene interrupted.
“Call it racism or ethnocentrism or lack of trust, I don’t know,” Fola said. “Since the Society is so big, it doesn’t need others. Every sentient species evolves to be the top of the food chain on their home world. All other species are seen as inferior or even as dinner. When a new and very alien sentient species is found, there is great ambivalence about how to deal with them. Should we conquer them? Should we trade with them? Should we eat them for lunch? It’s complicated and hard to work on level terms.”
“In my time, the Earth was divided into hundreds of countries and many races of humans,” Charlie said. “It was very difficult to handle race relations. Relations between different countries were ever more difficult, even if they were the same race!”
“So, you understand,” Fola said. “Now imagine if the zolo and nagli munching grass in the field demanded equal rights and payment for their milk? There are limits to what a human mind can accept. Since the Society is so large, it becomes the norm and acceptable. We don’t need to work with them, so we don’t. If we can trade goods and agree not to attack each other, then that’s enough.”
“Where do the tekkans fit in?” Dave asked.
“Long ago, the Society reached out to them and gave them key elements of Hive technology,” Fola continued. “Back then, we thought it was good to form bonds with other species as we entered a new galaxy. Their Hive could help us move our people and ships into your galaxy where we could build new worlds. But the experiment backfired. The tekkans were able to do much more with their Hive than we ever could. They offered to exchange technology, but by that time the Society had begun to distrust aliens. Rules were put in place to prohibit the transfer of any Hive technology out of human hands.”
“So the entire Society is out to get the tekkans,” Charlie said. “They are such a peaceful race. That hardly seems plausible. Aren’t there other civilizations with Hives? Didn’t Loni Arrak tell us that?”
“Loni? I’m not surprised. You have to remember that she is a young Chief Engineer and was born in your galaxy,” Fola replied. “While she received excellent training, she and the others in your galaxy are not as closely linked as the Chief Engineers here. The only Hives we know of are either human or on Tak-Makla. But it’s not the whole human population that is the problem. It is a few at the top of the Society who are trying to hold it together. They want to keep Hive technology a secret by keeping one Society and all Hives human.”
“What does that mean for the Free Society?” Dave asked.
“Good question, Dave,” Fola laughed. “The leaders of the Society know that if we break into Free Societies, eventually one or more will include non-humans. That’s the main reason you are here now. But even if there were a few hundred Free Societies in this galaxy, a few would invite non-human to join and the lock on Hive technology would be broken. They will not allow that.”
“So we are all wasting our time here,” Dave replied. “We came here for nothing.”
“Not at all, Dave,” Fola smiled. “You are here to do the greatest thing in the history of the Society of Humanity. You are going to get approval for a pilot of the Free Society in your galaxy. Our councilors will see how humans, maklans and Galliceans can live together in peace. Lord Balak is also here with Lord Arrak. When they talk about the Free Society, the public will hear and yearn for it. Whether the government wants it or not, a new day is coming to the Society. And I am so happy you are here to help us now.”
“You believe they will allow the pilot?” Darlene asked. “They could just say no and send us home.”
“That won’t happen, Darlene,” Fola said, “because you have Balak and Arrak on your side. Those men defined the difference between the Society and the Free Society clearly. Now both are on the same side. The High Councilors cannot ignore that without serious trouble in the Society. But this is not about a meeting on Earth Prime. You need to travel around and take your case to other key worlds. Off of this planet, everyone will treat you like the saviors you can be. I guess you can tell that I’m very excited.”
“I hope we can match your expectations, Fola,” Dave said. “My goal is to get the Free Society in my galaxy. We need that to counter our enemies like the Donnaki and Maklakar. If we accomplish that, I’m happy. If we need to travel around with Wendo and Antar to do it, that’s what we will do. But if the High Council gives us the green light tomorrow morning, I’m petitioning for a jump back in the afternoon.”
Fola laughed out loud. “Dave, you haven’t dealt with our bureaucratic mess yet. You’ll be lucky to have the first meeting in a week. I would recommend not spending too much time orbiting this planet waiting. Get a schedule and coordinate with Wendo and
Antar. They can pick the planets you should visit. Then get out of here and don’t come back until the day before your meetings.”
“Okay, Fola, I understand,” Dave replied. “We’ll do our best. Before you go, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Do you think they were out just to kill High Consul Gongaleg, or you too?”
Fola laughed again. “Whoever arranged for the consul to be in my building had a sense of humor. You know I’ve been wrongly marked as a member of the Free Society. If they could get me too, that would have been a nice bonus. Of course, what they didn’t know was that I wasn’t there anyway.”
“You weren’t there?” Dave said. “Where were you during the jump?”
“I was baby-sitting Ilsa Nackly, Alda’s sister,” Fola said. “She usually spends time in my shop when she’s not in school. I went over to Alda’s house to help her through the jump. It’s good that I did with all the damage and commotion. The poor little thing was scared to death!”
“Thanks for the update, Fola,” Dave said. “If you think of anything else, please let me know. I hope no one finds out you were gone.”
“Don’t worry about that, Dave,” Fola said. “It’s another of those Chief Engineer skills. I leave traces around the station that confuse any agents from the Hive. If they come around my shop physically, my staff tells them I stepped out. And if worse comes to worst, and they know I was gone, I’ll just change what they see in the Hive.”
“That’s not possible, is it?” Charlie said.
Fola just winked and smiled. Jake landed on his chest and the two disappeared.
Chapter 31
It took a day to get meeting schedules from Earth Prime. Fola had been correct. The first meetings were not scheduled for eight days. Antar and Wendo arrived on Nightsky and provided a list of planets to be visited during that time. The farthest planet was Narta Ela, which was several days away at maximum velocity. Fortunately, most planets had orbiting portals to expedite passage. Earth Prime had five portals which were in use constantly to support the traffic. Given the noted passengers on board, Nightsky was given priority usage of a portal. After waiting in line for five hours, the ship slipped out of space and time and arrived at the Narta Ela portal.
Narta Ela was a large planet, with a diameter of eleven thousand miles. Oceans covered one-half of the surface and three massive continents covered the rest. The planet was very green with forests and jungles covering two-thirds of the continents. All the mountain ranges were low and tree-covered. Only a few peaks were high enough to have a permanent snow cap. The non-forested lands either clung to the coastlines or were in islands surrounded by trees. The bulk of the eight billion people on the world lived in ten major cities. A single Hive was being built in the outskirts of Tanman, the capital and largest city on the planet. Narta Ela was surrounded by a thin ring, similar to No-Makla and eight small moons. A single yellow-white sun was ninety-five million miles away.
Rainor Prebow was the current president of the Planetary High Council. He eagerly agreed to meeting with the dignitaries on Nightsky and scheduled celebrations around the planet to commemorate the visit of Wendo Balak, Antar Arrak and the descendants of the settlers of Earth 47. He also approved shore leave for any crew members and heartily recommended the seaside city of Boolea or the hunting centers in the Baala region.
A single shuttle dropped out of the bay doors on Nightsky toward the thick atmosphere. Dave Brewster and the rest of the group were strapped in and watching the planet grow as they approached the atmosphere. In exchange for an invitation to the celebration, Captains Jon Lake and Lauren London piloted the shuttle. The chemistry between them remained very strong, even though Lauren had been assigned to a desk job on Earth since her release from the Predaxians. Jon repeatedly asked Dave to help her join their team, but all of Dave’s ships had full crews and excellent captains, and neither Jon nor Lauren were prepared to resign. Dave knew they were both young and that fate would provide an opportunity at the right time. The shuttle slipped through some cloud cover and emerged over a vast jungle stretching to the horizons.
“Admiral,” Lauren reported, “the Kong-Fa and Manila have made the jump to Narta Ela. General Fa-a-Di and Ambassador Mencius send their regards and request a team of maklans to jump them to the surface in time for the celebration.”
“That’s great news,” Dave said. “Please contact Jake and ask him to handle that. Be sure to send them the coordinates for the landing site.”
“Aye-aye, Admiral,” Lauren replied.
It had not taken much effort to convince the Galliceans and Kalideans to leave Earth Prime and join them. The prospect of sitting in their ships for eight days while the bureaucrats stalled was enough to convince them alone. Dave had also told them about the sabotage on Hive 1008 that could have killed him, and everything that Fola Untor had told him about life and conspiracy in the Society of Humanity. It became obvious to Fa-a-Di they could be targets as well, due to human contempt for other Beings. Everyone knew it would be better to stay together for security. Since their passengers did not have the recognition factor of Antar and Wendo, they were not able to get an expedited jump. The two ships opted to travel to the closest planet with a portal, which was eight hours away as top speed. That extra delay caused them to arrive just now at Narta Ela. With the help of the maklans, they would arrive at the celebration before the shuttle.
The jungle receded and vast farmlands lay below the shuttle. The people of Narta Ela were determined not to spoil the wilds of their planet, so agriculture had to be very efficient to feed the eight billion from a small portion of the land. Even with that, the planet was a net importer of food. The only resource they had in abundance was seafood, given the large oceans. Narta Ela was the home world of the Ela race. As such, the Planetary High Council served as the leaders for the twelve hundred Ela worlds. To make up for the lack of food, they became expert traders, handling almost one-quarter of all Society trade. The home world became a center of science and culture, with hundreds of the best universities and museums to be found anywhere.
The capital city peeked over the horizon. Tanman was vast, with a non-Hive population of eight hundred million. There was a narrow ring of suburbia on the outskirts of the city, forming a break between the farms and the center city. The city was more than one hundred miles across with countless skyscrapers stretching from suburbia to the center of the city. The tall buildings were in ten different clusters, defining the major neighborhoods of Tanman. The buildings stopped suddenly, leaving a five mile diameter park in the center. Only a few marble structures marred the gentle rolling hills in the center. As the shuttle descended more, they could see a large area set up for the evening’s festivities. Rainor had told Darlene that more than ten thousand citizens of the city had been invited to the party. The roof of one large marble building opened revealing a landing area for the shuttle. Jon Lake maneuvered the shuttle to align with the markings and was guided down to the ground by ten soldiers. As the engines stopped, a group of dignitaries came toward the ship. Dave could see Mencius, Fa-a-Di and De-o-Nu at the back of the group. “The show is on,” Dave laughed.
The ambassadors exited first and were introduced, followed by Antar Arrak and his wife Zina, Wendo Balak and his granddaughter, Serena Vanatee and then the rest. Dave was at the back of the group and helped Jon secure the shuttle. They were adjusting the security panel when a voice behind them said, “Admiral Brewster, I presume.”
Dave turned to see President Rainor Prebow standing with his right hand out. Dave shook his hand and replied, “Mr. President, it is a pleasure to be here on your world. This is Captain Jon Lake, master of the star cruiser Nightsky and my dear friend.”
“It’s great to meet you too Jon,” Rainor smiled as they shook hands. Rainor had the same dark color and black eyes as Lieutenant Silva Odeen, which should not have been a surprise since this was an Ela planet. What Dave could not have known from seeing the Lieutenant on the screen was the Ela were very tall. Rainor
was more than seven feet tall and towered over Dave.
“I have heard so much about you, Dave Brewster,” Rainor laughed. “I am astounded that descendants from our early settlers in your galaxy have come home to us. This is a wonderful experience for me. I have been speaking to your friend, General Fa-a-Di and he tells me you enjoy a nice whisky from time to time. You must join me after dinner to sample some fine Ela whiskies. The general says he has some Gallicean whisky with him and I am thrilled to try that too. I may be prejudiced, but I think the Ela make the best in the Society. Please come with me.”
The group walked toward the doors as the roof closed over the shuttle. As they stepped outside onto the grass, the throng of guests burst into applause. There were ten glass circles in front of them on the ground. Each had a handrail all around. Rainor stood on one and motioned Dave and Darlene over. Once ten people were standing, Rainor said, “Please hold the rail.” The disk slowly rose into the air and moved over the crowd, who continued to cheer. More dignitaries moved onto the other disks and moved toward the dais, until only the Galliceans and maklans were left. They extended their wings and flew around the crowd to wild hooting and applause, with the maklans flying in circles around the Galliceans.
Special tables and seats had been provided for the giant Galliceans and the tiny maklans at one end of the table. Rainor sat in the center, with Antar, Wendo, and the ambassadors flanking him and his ministers next to them. Dave sat next to Fa-a-Di with Jon, Lauren, Aria and Charlie. Hundreds of waiters moved around the tables, pouring brown liquor into small, crystal glasses. Rainor stood and clipped a small microphone onto his black and golden robes. He raised his glass to the crowd and said, “This is a great day for Narta Ela and the entire Ela race.” Thunderous applause filled the area. He motioned for the crowd to be quiet. “Tonight we will celebrate the presence of two of the Society’s greatest leaders, Antar Arrak and Wendo Balak, who have come to give us their solution to the overwhelming problems of the Society. We also celebrate the presence of the descendants of our Society in the Ulagong Galaxy. And we will meet new friends from that galaxy who are not human, but not that different from us. In accordance with our tradition, all such celebrations must begin and end with a taste of Ela whisky. To our visitors and each of you here tonight, I bid you welcome.” He drank the whisky and shouted, “Now, let’s get this party going!” Applause and cheering broke out again.