by Bill Nolan
Serena
Book Two of the To’Ach’an Cycle
By Bill Nolan
Copyright 2018, 2019 All Rights Reserved
Quail Canyon Publishing
Willcox, Arizona
Cover Photography by NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope
The Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Used by Permission
Dedicated to Sara, for her loyalty and support during the last 52 years. I couldn’t have done any of it without you.
Introduction
This book is a sequel to Shanna, which is the first book in the series. If you haven’t yet read Shanna, we recommend that you do so before reading this book. While this book is a stand-alone story, it will be even more enjoyable if you have already read the first book in the series.
Shanna is the name of a self-aware, intelligent spaceship bonded to Robert Allen, who grew up on Earth. He built his first spaceship and went exploring, eventually finding he was a member of the To’Ach’an race of spacefaring humans. He and his chosen, Jane, opened Earth to trade with other planets in the Galaxy. The To’Ach’an are noted warriors, being much faster and stronger than other humans. The first products they sold on Earth were aircars, power supply boxes, and a communication device similar to a cell phone.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1, Beginnings
Chapter 2, The Clinic
Chapter 3, Philosophy
Chapter 4, The Dream
Chapter 5, The Trip
Chapter 6, The Nuste
Chapter 7, The Suram
Chapter 8, Protests
Chapter 9, Angela
Chapter 10, A Real Scout
Chapter 11, Surrender
Chapter 12, Treaty
Chapter 13, Angela Again
Chapter 14, Contact
Chapter 15, Trouble
Chapter 16, Traps and Battles
Chapter 17, The Meeting
Chapter 18, Cleanup
Chapter 19, Settlers
Chapter 20, Fundraising
Chapter 21, Hunting and Ecology
Chapter 22, Assassination and Preparation
Chapter 23, Departures and Arrivals
Chapter 24, New Hope
Chapter 25, Plans
Chapter 26, Settlers and a Birthday
Chapter 27, Giants and Surprises
Chapter 29, Blitzkrieg
Chapter 30, Conclusion
An excerpt from Book Three of the series: Warriors
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Chapter 1, Beginnings
Judy Davis was terrified, and she could barely bring herself to keep moving. The incredible fear actually made it hard to breathe. She stopped and took a few deep breaths, and then forced herself to walk. She couldn’t help but think about her daughter, Daisy, lying in a hospital in Chicago, dying of cancer. When she left her daughter to come to Tucson, Daisy had been probably only a few days from death, maybe less. Since that part of the old USA had not joined with either the Empire or the To’Ach’an, none of the advanced, alien medical care was available to the residents there.
Judy had travelled to Tucson supposedly to visit a relative, but she actually had no relatives here. Now she was trying to sneak into the new medical facility being built by the To’Ach’an. She was hoping to find and steal some miracle medicine that would help Daisy. She knew it was a long shot. OK, she was a doctor – a first year resident in oncology (of course) – but she still didn’t know how she would even know which drug to steal. It was the wildest kind of gamble.
The new facility was still under construction, and she had climbed the fence surrounding it. It didn’t seem to trigger any alarms. As she crept slowly toward the main building, she tried to stay in the shadows. She had worn dark clothes, and her dark skin seemed to be an advantage for once. Even her small size seemed like a plus. She had always been able to hide pretty easily. She was starting to get a tiny bit calmer when someone behind her grabbed both of her arms just above her elbows. She gasped a big breath to scream when a second person jabbed their fingers into her belly, right under her sternum. Just like that, she couldn’t breathe at all. The person holding her arms picked her up like she was nothing and carried her into the building, down a flight of stairs, and into a room shaped like an egg, with curving walls and ceiling. The door slid shut behind them, and the two people – one man and one woman – stripped her clothes off and threw the clothes and her pack into a bin which had opened in one wall.
Judy was frantically trying to explain that she had just been trying to help her daughter, and she wouldn’t have hurt anyone or anything. It was as though they couldn’t even hear her. They gave no sign that they understood, and her struggles were completely useless. They never spoke, and once she was naked they just dropped her on the floor and left the room. The panel with her clothes slid shut, and she was alone. A moment later she was pounding on the wall where the door had been and screaming for someone to come and help her. The wall wasn’t exactly padded, but it gave when she struck it, so she didn’t injure her hands. After a few minutes, Judy sank slowly to the floor, sobbing quietly. What had she been thinking? Daisy was going to die, and she wouldn’t even be there to hold her.
It was hours later when a female voice spoke into the silence of the room. “Tocal has looked at your case. You broke into our facility with the intent to steal from us. As punishment, you will be confined where you are for a period of 19 Earth days. Food and water will be provided. Let us know if you need to use a toilet. You will be showered once a day. Welcome to Tucson.”
The voice had barely stopped speaking when water jets in the ceiling began spraying pleasantly warm water over her from several directions. At first it was foamy, but then switched to clear. The water ran down a drain which had appeared in the floor. When it stopped, air jets blew through the room, again hitting her from several directions, and by the time they stopped, she was dry. Then a panel opened in one wall, and there was a tray with food and water.
“Please, please, I’m sorry. Please let me see my little girl before she dies.” Judy was answered by nothing but silence.
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Jim came home to find his wife, Tiffany, crying. He held her, but there was really no way to comfort her. They were in big trouble. When the aliens arrived they had been doing OK. Jim was a fairly successful car insurance salesman, and Tiffany was a social worker. They had bought a nice home in the Rolling Hills area of Tucson, and their kids were both in grade school. Jim Jr. was just seven, and his sister, Amber, was nine. Then it all fell apart.
Aircars had caused the auto insurance market to slide downhill like an avalanche, and the new government didn’t do welfare. Tiffany got laid off and Jim’s income had dropped steadily until it was now half of what it had been. Their house was in foreclosure, and they were behind on all of their bills. Tiffany was crying because her car had been repossessed earlier in the day.
When the aliens had arrived, they had bought one of the power boxes and had it connected to their home panel, so at least they had electricity. The city was letting them make what payments they could on their water bill, so at least that was still working. Their neighbors had all bought the aircars – at least those who were found compatible with them. The aircars never broke and needed no fuel. They also never crashed or collided. Insurance just wasn’t necessary.
After they got the kids put down for the night, Jim and Tiffany sat around the kitchen table to see what they could come up with. They had loved the old United States, but that was no more. In four short years it had been washed away, broken up into several, smaller pieces. Their piece had asked the To’Ach’an for protection and governance. Jim and Tiffany h
ad voted against that, but it passed. The Galactic Empire was also involved somehow. A lot of their friends had gone to the new government for help, but Jim and Tiffany somehow felt that was traitorous to their old country, even though it no longer existed. Now they felt like they were going to have to make that step.
Tiffany said, “I don’t think we have a choice, Jim. We will be homeless soon. I don’t know what they can do to help, but we have to at least check it out. It won’t hurt to go to one of the offices and ask.”
“I know, Tiff. I know you’re right. I’ve been thinking the same thing. The old United States is gone. There is no point in trying to be faithful to it. We have to think of the kids. Tomorrow morning let’s get the kids off to school and then go see what they are willing to do to help us.”
The following day they headed off to the closest office of the new government. It was just a mile away, in a strip center located at Broadway and Camino Seco. The young man at the counter was very polite, and he gave them a bunch of forms to fill out. There were tables and chairs, so they sat down and went to work. The forms package was about 40 pages. It took them until almost noon to complete them all. A few times they had questions, and the nice young man was very helpful. Nobody else came into the office the entire time they were there.
When they finally finished them all, they took them back up to the counter. The young man placed them into a tray, and they started to zip into the machine. The young man said they were being scanned. It took less than a minute. The man said to just wait a moment. Sure enough, just a minute or so later a voice said, “Jim and Tiffany, do you want our help?” They both answered, “Yes.”
“OK,” the voice continued. “We have an appointment opening this afternoon at 2:30pm. It will take about an hour probably. Will that work for you?”
Jim answered. “Our children get home from school about 3:30. They are too young to be home alone.”
The response was immediate. “We will have someone at your house at 2:00pm so you can meet them before you leave to come here for your meeting. They will stay at the house and provide care for your children until you return. Do you have any questions?” Jim and Tiffany had no questions.
A couple of minutes before 2:00 a man and woman exited an aircar and came up the walkway. They introduced themselves as Jethro and Cathy. They explained to Jim and Tiffany that Cathy would be watching the kids while Jethro took a look at a few things around the house. It did look like it needed some maintenance. Ten minutes before their meeting, Jim and Tiffany said goodbye and headed out.
Once back at the location, they were immediately shown into an office. The woman in the office stood to greet them. “Hello, I’m Sally. I will be explaining our offer to you. First, you do understand that in order for us to help you, you will have to pledge allegiance to the To’Ach’an?”
Jim answered. “Yes, that was clear on the papers you had us fill out.”
“OK,” Sally replied. “Let me get right to it. First, we will pay off the balance on your house. Then you will pay us back for it. We don’t charge interest, so that will save you a lot. I know one car was repossessed, but you have another one, so that isn’t an issue. We will pay off the remaining car and all of your other debts. We will also test you for compatibility, and if you are compatible, we will set you up with an aircar.”
“Tiffany, we run a lot of day care centers around the city. You will be assigned to one of them. We think Jim should go to school and get retrained. He will be tested first to determine interests and skills so we can match him with the right course of study. It would probably be best for your children if they transferred to one of our schools. Now, Tiffany will draw a salary for working at the daycare, and Jim will get paid while he goes to school. The payments to us will get deducted out of your pay, and you will get the rest. It will be about 1145 zarigs a month, which, as you know, is easily enough for you to live on, especially since you will have no payments coming out of that.”
“Jethro is looking over your house while you are here. We will want to put in some improvements. When that is done, it will be completely impervious to weather, insects, earthquakes, and even most attacks, and will be much more energy efficient. Naturally you will also be eligible for our health care, which is provided at no cost. Do you have any questions?”
Tiffany spoke right up. “Can’t I get retrained as well?”
“Of course,” Sally answered. “The longer term plan is for you to go to school once Jim finishes. That will probably be about a year from now. Some of the schools require off-world travel, and we thought it best if you didn’t both do that at the same time, because of your children. The reason for Jim going first is simply because his current skill set isn’t as easy to match to an available job as yours.”
That put a smile on Tiffany’s face. “OK, that sounds good. Thank you.”
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The worldwide auto industry was hard hit by the introduction of the alien air cars. Naturally a lot fewer cars were being sold, and so the factories which manufactured them were closing or operating only part time. That was just the tip of the iceberg, though. Lots of smaller companies made parts for the car companies. One of those, located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, made wheels. Within a year after the arrival of the aliens, the plant closed its doors. One of those laid off was an electrician named Jimmy Burns.
This was a huge problem for Jimmy and his wife Janet. They were both in their mid-fifties, and Janet was not well. Her rheumatoid arthritis was so bad she was in a wheel chair, and she had just been diagnosed with cancer. The chemo and radiation held it back, but it was not eliminated. Her prognosis was not good, and now their health insurance was gone. Jimmy was getting unemployment, and he was making money on the side installing the To’Ach’an power boxes, but their financial situation was slipping. Luckily their car was a Prius, and Jimmy had replaced the batteries with one of the alien power supplies even before he was laid off, so fuel cost was zero. These power supplies could be easily set to produce the 288 volts DC used by the Prius. He had also installed one on their home, which was located just outside the little town of New Boston, Michigan.
The only upside for Jimmy was that he had more time to pursue his love of hunting, particularly waterfowl hunting. There are some good spots around SE Michigan for ducks and geese, and Jimmy knew them all. He also hunted deer in season and had seldom failed to take a nice buck. Jimmy read books about hunting in Africa and other more exotic locales, but he realistically knew he had no real chance of ever doing that. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to leave Janet for that long anyway. He did buy lottery tickets now and then. Hey, somebody has to win, right?
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Total despair is not easy to deal with. Angela was on her sofa with a 9mm Glock in her lap thinking about death. Two years ago, she thought she was on her way to fulfilling her lifelong dream. She had spent her life preparing to study whales. It had been her passion since her parents had taken her on a whale watching trip when she was 8 years old. Because of it, she had studied in school like her life depended upon it. She had been number one in her high school graduating class and got admitted to Stanford with a scholarship. Four years of straight A’s later, she went on to grad school where she continued her outstanding performance. In the last few weeks before receiving her PhD, her dissertation advisor had tried to seduce her. She had tried to be nice about it and explained that she wasn’t a lesbian.
Her professor blew up at her. “You have never had a boyfriend. What was I supposed to think?”
“I’m sorry, Dr. Richards. I just never had time to date. I am always studying. I’m sorry.” It was true. Angela had never dated, not even once. Never. Now she was sitting on her sofa with a gun in her lap. She was 25 years old, a virgin, and had a now useless PhD in marine biology with an emphasis on whales. Nobody would hire her in her field. Dr. Richards had somehow put the word out that she was nothing but trouble. How could she be trouble? She had never had so
much as a traffic ticket.
After about an hour of staring at the pistol, she gently set it on the coffee table and picked up her iPad. Going out to some local sales sites she placed an ad for an “estate sale” to be held that weekend. She was going to sell everything she owned. It was time to make a change.
Chapter 2, The Clinic
Maria was excited! Growing up, she had dreamed of being a doctor. After being forced into prostitution, she had thought that dream was forever dead, but the arrival of the To’Ach’an had changed everything. Now she was a healer, and now she was going to open her own clinic in Tucson, Arizona. Showing Robert Allen around was the most fun she’d had in weeks. “Well, Robert, what do you think?”
“I think it’s interesting that you call this huge place a clinic, that’s what I think. This is great, and the hotel for family members waiting for someone in the tanks is brilliant. Those suites are nice! People aren’t going to want to leave.”
“Thanks, Robert. We are going to fix a lot of broken and sick people here.”
Much of the western part of the former United States had broken off to form their own country, and they were now under the protection of the To’Ach’an. Along with that had come huge financial help, mostly from the Empire, and that included free health care for all citizens of the new country. Her clinic would be the most well-equipped facility so far, and she expected to be swamped at first. Minor cases would be referred to other facilities. She was set up to treat the most serious issues, with almost 5000 complete tank facilities. Death had a new enemy, and for once he might be outmatched.
It had been over four years since the To’Ach’an had come to Earth, along with an even larger contingent from the Empire, and there had been radical changes, not just for Maria. Many countries had ceased to exist, and others, like the United States, had broken up. Many pieces had joined to make new nations. Some of these tried to remain independent, while others allied with the Empire in exchange for major help with the transition. Only one had sought protection from the To’Ach’an when they split off from the United States. It started with Arizona, but Texas, Utah, and the southern half of New Mexico quickly joined. Within a year, the new nation included Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Alaska, along with much of Eastern Russia, Western Canada, and some parts of old Mexico.