“Searching the Drow’Voi ruins,” Ebed Teri answered. “They were looking for artifacts, working ones. Their team leader was certain that there were some down there, and she managed to convince everyone that it was worth the risk. Pure folly if you ask me, but there you have it.”
It did sound like a foolish venture to Lilith. Scientists had been scouring the Drow’Voi ruins for decades all over the Sisterhood, and had never found a single working device. The ancient culture had not only vanished entirely, it had also made sure to thoroughly clean house before doing so.
“Very well,” Lilith said, finishing her tea. “We’ll do what we can. And who knows, maybe we’ll even discover some Drow’voi artifacts—or even manage to settle this little feud once and for all.”
“Stranger things have happened,” the Colony Manager said, refilling Lilith’s cup.
USSNS Pallas Athena, Agleope System, Sagana Territory, United Sisterhood of Suns, 1043.02|22|07:22:29
“Agleope Control, this is the USSNS Pallas Athena, Battle Group Golden, requesting approach and orbital coordinates,” the Navcom officer said.
For a long moment there was only silence, although the Athena’s sensors confirmed that there were women on Siren and Storm listening to their signal.
Finally, someone answered. “This is Agleope Control, Station Siren. Please proceed on our coordinates and assume station as delineated. Welcome to our system.” A data burst followed this announcement, which was fed into the Navcom computer terminals.
“Well,” Lilith said to Katrinn, “that wasn’t so bad. Maybe the locals have solved their problems all on their own.” Katrinn rewarded her with a doubtful expression and was about to voice her misgivings, when another transmission came over the Com.
“Pallas Athena—this is Storm In-System Traffic Control. Disregard that previous message. Proceed to our coordinates and assume station over Storm. The legitimate government of this system welcomes you.”
With that, Navcom received an entirely different set of coordinates. This was immediately followed by a group of targets rising from Storm. According to Fire Control, they were older-style Norn interceptors.
“We are also sending an escort to guide you to us,” the Storm controller informed them.
Not to be outdone, another set of targets registered coming up from Siren. They were also surplus interceptor-fighters. “Pay no attention to Storm Control, Athena. We are sending an escort to guide you in!”
“Well,” Lilith remarked, arching an eyebrow, “that’s something different. What say you, ladies? Shall we let them fight over us?”
“Commander!” Ellyn n’Dira exclaimed, “You can’t be serious!”
“Don’t worry, Ellyn,” Lilith replied. “As entertaining as that would be to watch, we won’t allow such an event to occur.”
The women of Storm and Siren had much different ideas however. The Athena’s sensors showed both escort groups powering up their weapons and targeting each other as they closed distance.
Salus n’Hera, the Senior Fire Controller contacted her. “Commander? They look like they’re going to get serious. Instructions?”
“Navcom,” Lilith said. “Open a joint frequency between the two flights and inform them that if they do not power down, both of them, right now, that we will fire on them.’
“Assuming that they do calm down, notify both In-System Control stations. Tell them that we will send delegate ships to assume orbit over their worlds and that the Athena will visit them when we see fit to do so.”
“An excellent decision, Commander,” N’Dira commented.
“Now, let’s just hope they’re sane enough to comply,” Katrinn said.
“I can see now why the Manager on Thenti was so concerned,” Mearinn d’Rann interjected. “This is exactly the kind of thing that would doom any chance at full statehood. Frankly, I’m amazed that this situation has been overlooked for so long.”
“According to the OAE file, Thenti has some powerful friends in the Circle,” Lilith said, “and strong backers in the industrial sector that are hoping for full statehood. That adds up to a lot of overlooking.”
“Commander?” It was Salus n’ Hera again. “The two groups have powered down and are turning away from one another.”
“Oh, I am just overjoyed!” Lilith replied acerbically. “Now, let’s get on with this. I feel like a mother settling a dispute between two siblings over a toy. I’d say that a good corrective swat on the rear end is in order for both parties. Fire Control, if we see a repeat of any hostilities, disable the aggressor immediately.”
***
Darna n'Marni, the Colony Manager of Storm, and, if one took her claim seriously, the Manager of the entire Agleope system, sat at the conference table aboard the Athena tapping her fingers on the table top in irritation. It had been obvious from the moment that Lilith had laid eyes on the woman that she was used to having her way in all things.
“Madame n'Marni,” Ellyn n’Dira was saying, “The Navy’s position is a simple one. We are not in the business of recognizing the legitimacy of any group’s claim of governance. That job is for politicians, not sailors, and I strongly suggest that if you believe that Storm has a legitimate claim that you take up the matter with the Territorial Manager on Thenti.”
“We have, Advocate!” N'Marni retorted, her jaw clenching in anger. “And that weak-willed woman has done everything she could to avoid giving us an answer. We are tired of waiting, especially now that the Sireens have seen fit to invade our planet!”
Her opposition sat across from her, shaking her head and smiling. Sussanhya n’Tanaaya, the Colony Manager of Siren, was radically different in appearance to Darna n'Marni.
Due to the deadly levels of ultraviolet radiation on her motherworld, her skin was jet black, and this was offset by startling golden eyes and honey-colored hair. Thanks to a local insect that gave out a mating call high enough to permanently damage a normal woman’s ears she had also been born completely deaf.
And although N’Tanaaya could have easily used her psiever to communicate, she signed out her rebuttal to N'Marni’s argument with her hands instead. This proved to be far more eloquent. Her response came across with the same vehemence. She flatly denied N'Marni’s charges and angrily leveled a counter-accusation against the Stormites over an earlier incursion into their asteroid mining fields. She ended her statement with a rather rude and ancient gesture that had nothing to do with Standard Sign Language. Her middle finger.
“Did you see what that black skinned bitch just said to me? That’s what we‘ve had to deal with for years!” N'Marni yelled. “Their arrogance knows no bounds, even here! Commander, I demand that you intercede on our behalf as the only legitimate governing body in this system and aid us to bring order at last.”
Not to be outdone, N’Tanaaya made a similar plea and then pointedly turned her back on the Stormite.
Lilith had reached her limits. “Excuse me, but I can see that these negotiations are going nowhere,” she said. “So, I will refer to my Advocate here. Ellyn? I believe that in a case where civil disorder exists, that the Navy is empowered to establish a militarized zone of operations and impose martial law. Isn’t that so?”
“Why, yes, Commander,” N’Dira replied. “That’s true, but it hasn’t been done in over three hundred—”
Lilith cut her off. “Case law is on our side, is it not, Advocate? I believe you’ll find a reference to it in the Colony Mandates, volume 12, section 6101, subsection Freda.”
“Yes—” the Advocate agreed, calling the text up on holo, “Yes, it would seem that you are right.”
“Commander? What in the Lady’s name are you proposing? I demand that you—” N'Marni began.
“Madame, shut up!” Lilith snapped, “or I will have you and your sister colonist here clapped in irons as my first step in imposing some real order! I, for one, have listened to both of you bicker for the better part of a standard hour and I have heard more than enough. You two, with
the aid of our learned Advocate, will reach a settlement and agree to some form of co-regency.”
She got up from the table. “Now, I am going to get a cup of tea for myself and some fresh air. When I return, you will either present me with a sisterly set of compromises, or I will dictate our terms. Is that clear to both of you?”
Neither of them responded, and Lilith did not press the matter. Instead, she left them together in the conference room and headed straight for the serenity and silence of her quarters for a peaceful cup of tea and a czigavar. She needed both.
***
The scene that greeted Lilith when she returned brought a frown to her lips. The Sireeni was standing with her back to the Stormite woman, her arms folded in a pose that clearly expressed her refusal to communicate any further. And Darna n'Marni was staring out into space with her jaw set in defiant silence. Ellyn n’Dira shook her head and rose from her chair.
“I see,” Lilith said. “Apparently, this must be how you handled the previous attempts by the Teritorial Manager to settle things. Well, I am not going to respond like her. Security!” This was directed to the Marine guards at the door. “Take these two to the brig straightaway!”
“Commander!” Darna n'Marni cried, “This is outrageous! How dare you!”
“I think we have already discussed how I dare,” Lilith responded, “Volume 12, section 6101, subsection Freda. And if you think this is bold, just wait until I send our Marine detachment down to your respective planets and lock everything down. Then you might have a legitimate reason to complain. It’s a pity that we’ll probably wind up having your Colony Charters revoked, but the Sisterhood will not tolerate this ridiculous little civil war that you two seem to be so bent on waging.”
She waved to the two Marines, who began to escort the pair out of the room. As she was being led away, Darna n'Marni’s shouts could be heard all the way down the corridor, and if Sussanhya n’Tanaaya had had a voice, Lilith was certain she would have joined in the chorus of dissent. Thankfully she didn’t, and couldn’t.
“I’d say without exaggerating that that went rather poorly,” Ellyn n’Dira observed sourly.
“I hadn’t expected any better,” Lilith replied. “I just hope that a night or two in the brig will force them to see reason. Otherwise, I might have to make good on my threat to send down the Marines.”
She called up Security on the com and reached Captain t’Gwen in her squad room. “I’ve just sent two prisoners down to you, Captain. Please make sure to put them in a cell together and also make certain that they have only one prisoner kit between them. One blanket, and one set of eating utensils. No more.”
Her security chief replied affirmatively and Lilith cut the connection. “That might help get the message across.”
“The Goddess wills the way” N’Dira said, but her tone belied her doubts.
‘A night or two in the brig’ actually turned out to be several days. In the end however, Captain t’Gwen notified Lilith that the two women had finally agreed to renew negotiations. This time, when the meeting was reconvened in the conference room, both parties were in a more reasonable frame of mind.
USSNS Pallas Athena, Storm, Agleope System, Sagana Territory, United Sisterhood of Suns, 1043.02|25|05:69:27
Jon fa’Teela ignored the looks that he was receiving from the women around him as he rechecked his chair harness one final time. The shuttle had just entered the atmosphere of Storm and they had been warned to prepare themselves for the intense winds that circled the planet.
Troop Leader bel Taralynn, the leader of the Marine Special Search and Rescue team, Red Squad, took advantage of the relatively calm layer that they were traveling through, and braced herself against a support strut as the shuttle rose and dipped.
“All right, ladies,” she said, “listen-up! This is a rescue and support mission. This afternoon, the two colonies of Storm and Siren agreed to cooperate in a joint effort with our forces to locate a scientific team that was lost on the Plain of Screams. They checked several Drow‘Voi archaeological sites in the area and found the dig at site number 4081. Two of our SAR teams have already been downside for the last 12 hours, and we’re going in to augment their efforts.’
“Our mission will be to work with the locals, and search areas that haven’t been covered by the other two teams. If we find anyone, we’ll conduct a rescue op. I’ve been told that we’re taking along our neoman here because the brass had some warpy notion that he might actually be useful out here. I don’t know what that means, but at least he can carry all the heavy stuff while we do the real work!”
A few of the Marines laughed and even Jon cracked a small smile. In reality, he had been attached to the S and R team for two very good reasons; the first was because the teams needed all the extra hands they could get to cover the huge search area. The second was because he had had some S and R training as part of his Infantry Specialist Courses, and wasn’t anywhere as ‘green’ as the Troop Leader was making him out to be. Not that he was about to contradict anyone. Just being involved in the special operation was a welcome respite from the monotony of the Ord Stores.
The lighting in the cabin changed from white to red and Bel Taralynn listened to her com headset. “The pilot says that we’re leaving the calm air and headed for some real turbulence. Buckle up, troopies! It looks like it’s going to be one wild ride down!”
The Troop Leader hastily took her seat and strapped in just seconds before the winds hit them. The entire ship reverberated with a loud bang and the vessal was tossed sideways. Then another gust slammed into them from the opposite side with equal violence.
Even though he was intellectually aware that the battle-ready shuttle could withstand the savage forces that were battering against it, Jon found himself praying fervently to Jesu and Mari that they would reach the ground safely.
His fellow Marines adopted a more laissez-faire attitude about the whole adventure, with the Zommerlaandars in particular letting out loud rodeo cheers. One of them even yodeled when the shuttle suddenly encountered a particularly nasty patch of air and dropped before regaining control. Everyone around him seemed to find this extremely funny and laughed and shouted to each other over the screaming winds.
Five long minutes passed before Jon’s earnest petitions to the divine were finally granted, and the shuttle touched down on the surface.
“Go-time, troopies!” Bel Taralynn shouted. “The pilot tells me that we’ve managed to land in a relatively calm area, pretty much right on top of the dig site. Grab your gear and follow my lead. Use your helmet HUD to keep track of the team and our objective.” This last remark was directed to Jon, and he nodded his understanding.
Bel Taralynn regarded him uncertainly, and then grabbed up her pack off the storage racks and buckled it on. She dropped her helmet visor and ordered the egress door to open with her psiever. Grey dust and howling winds immediately filled the cabin as she stepped outside, vanishing like a ghost into the swirling maelstrom. Jon was the third person out of the hatch.
He quickly discovered that the ‘relatively calm area’ that they’d landed in was gusting at no less than 88 kph according to his HUD. The neoman struggled just to stay erect, and followed his teammates as best as he was able. Just walking forward proved to be a major effort and he realized that without the HUD giving him a reference point to travel towards, that he would have gotten himself hopelessly lost just a few meters from the shuttle.
The Drow‘Voi ruins, such as they were, proved disappointing. Instead of the imposing towers that were so common elsewhere in the galaxy, all Jon could see when the grit cleared, were piles of wind-blasted rubble. Over the eons, the ferocious climate of Storm had destroyed everything that the Drow’Voi had built on the surface and scoured the area nearly flat. To Jon’s untrained eye, the place seemed to be nothing more than a rock-strewn plain and he wondered how the Sireeni science team had even found the location, much less known to dig for anything below the surface.
As Bel Taralynn had promised, the S and R team didn’t have far to travel. The dig site was only a hundred or so meters from their landing zone, designated by a single battered marker light on a pole. The entrance to the site turned out to be a rough hole in the ground that the group was forced to enter one at a time.
When Jon’s turn came, he dropped down into it without hesitation and landed in a small, dust-filled chamber. Even though they had only descended a few meters, the wind’s noise was halved and he was able to see around him without the aid of the HUD. The chamber that they were in was smooth and white with only the rough edges of the entrance to mar its otherwise ageless perfection. At the far end, an oval shaped tunnel led off into the darkness. Bel Taralynn turned on her helmet light and walked straight into it without looking back to see if anyone was following.
The team traveled down the tunnel for the next ten minutes, with only their lights to give the passage any shape or form in the otherwise seamless blackness. Then, up ahead, Jon thought he saw a faint glow. Drawing nearer, he realized that it wasn’t just an illusion created by his mind. The tunnel suddenly opened out onto a much larger chamber, lit from the corners by portable work lamps. A group of women, some in Marine greys, others in navy black or the olive drab of the Territorial Marshals were waiting for them, examining a map on a folding table along with a rotating holo of the tunnel complex. The senior-most Marshal and a Marine officer looked up from their work and came over together to greet the team.
“Lieutenant Barbara t’Charli, 10th Territorial Marshals” the Stormite said, saluting them. “Welcome to the wild gaanz-hunt.”
“Glad to have you ladies aboard,” the Marine officer added. “Captain Vera n’Lissa. I’m coordinating the operations of the other two search teams.”
Troop Leader bel Taralynn returned their salutes and gestured for everyone in her team to drop their packs and join the group at the table.
Sisterhood of Suns: Pallas Athena Page 48