Under normal circumstances, a message drone would return to its sender to be recycled. This particular drone that had just entered the main sector of the Chin family wouldn't. As soon as it had relayed the last bit of information to the recipient, via a point-to-point laser that crudely disrupted all other active transmissions, the drone self-destructed. In a pale yellow flash of light, the miniature craft, whose bare and straightforward assembly suggested a Xenon origin, was gone, its debris scattering into infinity at near light speed. The content of the message, however, compiled using the nested language of the Xenon, was this:
demand[9a0114].gen_value[0000f9a74fe3cfbc0900f1ffc6]{
intercept[0d079e].deliver[4039a1c0].object[0f71]{
unknown_jumpship[ff7f090cd4ba01ca14b0].vector[830a3f]{
gen_value[a0de.017f.9a40];
gen_value[fe00.d0ba.8211];
}
}
handover[cdee900916].position[830a02] {
gen_value[0000.0000.0000];
}
priority[dda7f1] {
high[fffff9];
}
confirmation[094e8ff0] {
required[f000];
}
}
The Patriarch of the Family Chin dismissed his seventh wife from his presence with a disconcerting snarl. The cantankerous bondswoman hissed something that no other Split of the Chin dynasty would have dared to even whisper in the presence of the sovereign. The Patriarch's eyes widened and he threw Ghinn t'Whht a stare that would have frozen anyone else's blood rock solid. With three fingers of his left hand he formed the sign for eternal pain and evisceration, but Ghinn only shrugged and left the throne hall. As much as her defiant behaviour infuriated him, he couldn't help but salute her for her undaunted irreverence. Maybe - just maybe - he wouldn't have her executed after she had given birth to the son she carried in her womb.
By the beard of Thuruk! Chin shook his head; there was no room for sentiment. Ghinn t'Whht would face the same fate as the other six women before her, and Tchil t'Ggt, daughter of the First Warrior of the Honh family, would become his eighth bond-wife. He shook his head again, his long white beard rustling, and picked up the message Ghinn had delivered on a plate made from pure Nividium. It was written in the broad letters of the Argon alphabet on the delicate wing of a space fly, in an ink of a Ghok's black blood:
Oh great Patriarch of Chin, ruler of the Split, subjugator of the Paranid, hammer of the Boron, bearer of the Battle Axe of Eternal Pain;
Hear the most obedient petition of we, the unfortunate people of Xenon, warriors against the unbearable brightness of light, bane of the Boron, carrier of the brain bone and from now until eternity, possessors of all that is known;
The ship of unknown origin, which is as you undoubtedly know able to jump without gates from one source of light to another, and that is now at an exposed position in a star system of the ever inferior non-Split, we would like to add it to our possession; because of the ancient pact between the great people of the Split and our kind, the unfortunate and mute machines, we do not dare enter your sovereign territory. Great would be our satisfaction if you were able to intercept the unknown vessel and deliver it to the position of our, the machine's, headquarters;
Naturally, we creatures of bare metals know that your time is occupied with immeasurably more important tasks; however, still we obediently beg for a word of confirmation that you will assist us in our mission;
With eternal thanks and diligent admiration;
Ambassador of the unfortunate machines called Xenon.
With a deep throated growl Chin crumpled the message wing into a ball and resolved to punish the translators with his own hands in trying to placate him with this pompous blather. They were obscuring the true message and thus they were stealing information from him. Even worse, the flattery was so stylistically uninspired as to be an insult in itself. The translators, no, the entire communications department deserved execution at the earliest possible convenience.
Seventeen mizuras ago the communications network of the palace had delivered the true content of the message to him, compiled in the nested language of the Xenon. It was a blatant demand, not a petition, and the Xenon were anything but unfortunate! Most likely, they ruled over more star systems than anyone else, and they were probably older than any memory of the stars.
Enraged, the Patriarch shouted and punched the armrests of the throne with both hands. His skin turned a sickly, yellowish grey, like the yolk of a rotten Teladi egg. Nothing was guaranteed to anger him as much as the incompetence and presumption of subordinates. His breath came in loud, quick rasps, the veins on his forehead throbbed alarmingly and it took him some time to regain a degree of control. Thankfully, there actually were a few competent and dutiful officers, ones that had never disappointed him. Especially high in his favour at this time stood young Cho t'Nnt, oldest offspring of Family Zein, his personal Special Representative. Endowed with the official seal of the Patriarch, he stood outside, and thus was above and beyond the military organisations, the secret services, and all the other Split institutions. And rightly so!
"Send me Whi t'Rllt," Chin barked at the computer. The leader of the Whi, a Family that currently held a long-term cease-fire agreement with the Chin, was the only person whom the Patriarch would have called "friend" – if that word had existed in his vocabulary. At the same time, and typical of the Split, Whi t'Rllt was also his archrival – a perfectly healthy and balanced love-hate relationship, so to speak. Naturally, Whi was gazing lustily at his friend-foe's throne with his one and only eye. If Chin made even a single wrong move, his Tazuras would be numbered and the era of the Whi Patriarchy would begin.
Chin had previously ordered the leaders of the six most influential families, Whi, Honh, Thyn, Zein, Tharka and Quay to attend the palace as he intended to issue new orders in light of the changing situation. Only Whi t'Rllt and Zein t'Nnt had arrived so far, and the others weren't expected for another Tazura or two, at least.
With a loud creaking rumble that echoed for several sezuras through the dungeon gloom of the Throne Hall, the heavy stone portal opened and as the echo faded, Whi t'Rllt respectfully approached Chin's throne. Clad in a flowing, richly decorated tunic, the ageing family leader wore his long white chin and cheek beards in the traditional fashion; proudly, unlike many of the younger Split, who kept their beards short or shaved them off completely. He hinted at a bow, and formed the sign for strong sword and profitable prey with the fingers of his right hand. The Patriarch answered the bow with the slightest nod – more would have been an inappropriate concession that might send him straight to Thuruk's proverbial dungeon at a later point in time.
"Take note," the Patriarch said, indicating the original Xenon message on a view-screen. Whi studied the nested terms attentively, sitting down on the Patriarch's left side – unasked. Chin let the small insubordination pass.
"One thing immediately catches my attention," Whi said after a short while. "The unusually long designation code they use here for the unknown jump-ship."
"Very attentive, my friend," the Patriarch agreed. "And this leads us to one conclusion, namely, the machine-creatures have defined this designation only most recently."
"Not surprising – one can hardly surpass the news value of a… a jump-ship."
"Whi – you will inform me of the latest insights of your clan's intelligence service!" the Patriarch ordered. The older man hesitated visibly – just for an instant, but enough to cause the Patriarch's grimace to deepen. Whi had hoped to be able to profit from a head start gained by the fact that the foreign space ship had entered the realm of the Split through his clan's jump-gate. But of course he didn't have a choice; to evade a question by Chin, the Patriarch of all Split, would mean his instant death and all his possessions, including subordinates, bond folks and vassal families would be taken by the Patriarch.
"My Lord, the most important information seems to be that the propulsion system of the alien ship is superio
r to our fastest scout ships. Even the machine-creatures have a hard time keeping up with the intruder."
The patriarch rested his arm on the throne's massive armrest, leaned over and brought his face confidingly close to Whi's.
"Then why, think you, does the intruder not use his miraculous jump-drive? The same jump-drive that so vociferously proclaimed his arrival here in our realm. Why doesn't he use it to make a safe distance between his ship and the machines, huh?"
Whi shook his head thoughtfully. "His technology is superior to ours in every respect – he feels safe."
"And that's exactly the wrong conclusion!" the Patriarch of Chin shouted and jumped to his feet. "Look here!"
Whi stood up hurriedly, while the Patriarch went behind the pedestal throne to the view-screen controls and summoned a new image - a graph labelled 'Gravitational Pulse,' showing two overlaid curves. The blue arc, labelled 'jump-gate event' was almost flat, showing a small increase just after rising through the zero axis crossing point and then a slow, gradual ascent. The red trace started abruptly at zero and rose above the blue. It was labelled a 'jump ship event'.
"My scientists assure me that the jump-gates as well as the alien jump drive must be based on the same principle, even though it's not fully understood. But these figures here…" – he pointed at the projection with his fingers forming 'triumph and prey for the patient' – "these figures do actually prove that something went wrong with the alien ship. It must have suffered an accident!"
Chin circled the throne, walking on the pedestal steps to look down on Whi. The old family leader's skull glistened faintly yellow in the light of the incandescent mantles and was blotchy with spots. Disgusted, the Patriarch sat down to evade the sight.
"I don't have to reiterate just how important it is for us to lay our hands on that ship. As soon as the scientists have unravelled the secret of the jump-drive, the Split will rule the universe! We will dissolve the Commonwealth of Planets, enslave the Argon and Teladi, and terminate the Boron. We will smash the Paranid's sanctuaries right in front of their eyes, and the Xenon will be our source for cheap spare parts!"
And I am going to strangle him with my own hands right on his throne, Whi thought, but he said. "What a vision of grandeur, my Patriarch. How can I be of assistance?"
"For the time being it would already be of great help if you didn't stand in my line of view. You are not transparent," the Patriarch growled with almost straight lips.
Whi stepped aside quickly. Thuruk's beard! Perish will this exuberant temper of his soon enough!
Almost as if Chin had read his friend-foes thoughts, the corners of his mouths sagged again. "Unfortunately, we are not the only ones to know about this alien ship. My special representative was able to glean a lot of information from our stupid allies, the Paranid." He stood up and again adjusted the view-screen controls to display more details about the intruder. "The Paranid negotiator didn't want to hand us the promised data-octahedron for reasons unknown. But… well, it's sufficiently known what these religious fanatics call data security, isn't it?"
Whi snorted disdainfully. "Probably the octahedron has relayed the whole of its content to about every receiver online within a two-parsec radius, without even being asked for it."
The ease with which a properly equipped person could penetrate the Paranid data banks was an open secret to all intelligence organisations, except the Paranid, and the others worked hard to keep it that way.
The Patriarch nodded. "Indeed! But already, the Teladi have detailed information as well. Just how much Kingdom End and Argon Prime know is currently unknown. Our intelligence services are working full force to assess that."
Whi raised his hand to his chin in an unfinished gesture and frowned but, before he could say anything, the Patriarch ordered him to remain silent.
"You shall listen and learn."
Chin linked to a Message Drone and recorded a communiqué to be sent to the Bone Scout, his Special Representative's ship.
"Cho, proud warrior of the family Zein! The alien intruder is now on Split territory. Cho will position his ship in the solar system of Thuruk's Beard and await the events to come. In the case that the intruder slips through the mesh of our defence, I want him to follow the ship, no matter how fast it can travel. Should he lose sight because of the intruder's acceleration advantage, I demand he relocate it – even if this will send him to the remotest corner of the universe. He has to proceed sensibly, especially on contact with non-Split."
The Patriarch rose from his throne again, leaned into the camera and knitted his eyebrows threateningly. "I trust that you understand! Too much has already been given away by uncontrolled actions of badly trained Split. I have the highest expectations of you."
The Patriarch of all Split closed the connection, but before doing so, he formed 'sceptical trust and chance to gain honour' with two fingers of his left hand. This young officer deserved the respect of his Patriarch – at least for now!
With a few short commands Chin attached a file of the most recent information to the message and sent it off to the Bone Scout, currently returning from Teladi space.
"And now," Chin ordered the computer, "You get me the deaths man." From the corner of his eyes he noticed Whi wincing. The Patriarch's lips curved a little. No, not him - not today!
"Whi stay here until I return. I must take care of something in the communications department."
CHAPTER 21
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt
In the mind of the common man, solar systems were immense, inconceivably vast oases in the void, in which the average density of material was billions of times greater than that of interstellar space. However, these islands of stone and gas, bound to their orbits by the relentless pull of gravity towards gargantuan atomic fireballs, were still virtually empty from a human point of view. Sure, there was a planet here, a comet there, and a gas-giant a bit further out – but even light itself would take minutes to reach the innermost planets and several hours to cross the paths of the outermost ones.
Way out, the light of a sun was cold and powerless. Just one star in many – the brightest certainly, but already so tiny that one would have to search the sky for it, if one didn't already know its position.
The X shot along at a good tenth of the speed of light; unimaginably fast but still far too slow to traverse a star system really swiftly. Luckily, the mysterious builders of the jump-gates had taken care of that, bringing their technical marvels into matching orbits and leaving them there, so that gates connecting adjacent stars were mostly only a few light-seconds – or light-minutes at the most – from one another. Most star systems had more than one jump-gate; two to four were not unusual, but five or only a single one were rarely seen.
The jump through the gate was unspectacular; just a modest soundless firework display. The ride itself was smooth, almost vibration free. Kyle was amazed and impressed; he had hardly expected the ancients' extraterrestrial technology to work so cleanly and without problems.
So what now? The picture from the rear-facing camera showed the jump-gate disappearing slowly into the star-studded background. There was nothing to be seen of the stalking Xenon. Kyle didn't know whether the attackers would follow him any further, but saw no reason why they wouldn't. But he knew he had the legs on them and could escape any time – the lead he had attained before the jump spoke for itself. Kyle ordered Valerie to switch off the engines – every minute of fuel that he saved was valuable.
"Valerie, what can you tell me about this star system?"
"The galactic position is, as before, unknown to me. I can see two planets, and it is quite likely there are more beyond my visual range. There are three jump-gates to unknown destinations, the nearest only a few astronomical units away. With my limited sensors I can see seventy-four installations, some stationary with respect to the solar orbit, some mobile, a few at close range. There is active radio traff
ic on all known frequency bands; however, they are using a language which is unknown to me."
"No Teladi anywhere?"
"No Captain. No Teladi. And no Argon either."
"Hm." It could be that this was the home star system of his pursuers, or on the other hand it could be the territory of some other species; Kyle was so bereft of data concerning this part of the universe that he had no choice but to surrender to chance. He needed help; dashing from jump-gate to jump-gate, using up fuel and nutri-bars was no solution to his problem. On the other hand, those Xenon could materialise out of the last jump-gate at any time and this was the most likely scenario of all. If he went to the creatures that were evidently resident here for help, he might bring their space stations or, even worse, their planets to the attention of his pursuers and he couldn't risk that. This left only one option open – he had to put real distance between himself and the enemy ships before he could call on the Teladi, Argon or any other of the "locals".
"Valerie, set a course for the nearest jump-gate – seventy-five percent throttle."
The computer obeyed, the small spacecraft gradually coming around on attitude jets, until its snub-nose pointed towards the jump-gate. The instruments indicated it would be a four-hour trip and Kyle intended to make good use of the time. He ordered Valerie to look for known star patterns, although he did not have high hopes that anything would come of it. Her memory only contained standard modern star maps and not the centuries-old ones from the days of the terrestrial star fleet. Depending on his position in the galaxy, however, there was always a chance of identifying patterns consisting of stars that were far enough away from both the Earth and his present location.
Farnham's Legend: The beginning of the X-Universe saga (X Games Book 1) Page 14