Double Spiral War Trilogy

by Warren Norwood

  “My Confidante told me. Shall I tell you more?”

  “Of course! Yes, please, tender one.”

  “Let us make the exchange first. I sense you are in need.”

  Leri did not want to wait, but she would never have insulted an Isthian by demanding anything. Already he was sucking on her nipple, replacing her antibodies while taking his nourishment from her blood, and despite her anxiety about the Verfen, she felt herself relaxing. As Shetotem’s music swelled around her, the Isthian settled into a steady, gentle rhythm, rocking against her, pulling back, stretching her nipple with firm strokes in time with the music. Slowly Leri gave herself over to it, letting her mind drift as her body warmed to the exchange.

  She never felt the Isthian stop and was slightly surprised when he spoke softly, his breath cool on her wet nipple.

  “My Confidante said the Verfen were coming for an exchange.”

  “Are they like us, then?”

  “I do not think so, Proctor Leri. I do not believe they seek this exchange, yet I cannot say what it is.”

  “How does your Confidante know these things?”

  “That, too, is a mystery. Perhaps it learned these things from one of my brothers in the sky. My Confidante does not tell much and the questions are hard.

  Leri smiled to herself. “What else do you know, tender one?”

  “Very little.” The Isthian paused. “My Confidante said it had been a long, long time since the Verfen had been here, since before anyone can remember, but their coming–“

  “They’ve been here before? I don t understand. There is no record of the Verfen actually coming to Cloise.”

  “That is true, Proctor, but my Confidante seemed quite sure about that and said that their coming would, be a time of peace and turmoil, and questions and answers.”

  Leri shivered. “This frightens me, tender one.”

  The Isthian gently stroked her nipple. “Do not fear, Proctor. I caught no sign of concern from my Confidante. Now, forgive me, but I must leave.”

  “May your blessings double, tender one.”

  “By the grace of the Elett,” he said before scuttling off her back and disappearing behind her.

  Leri was confused and upset, and that made her angry.

  Exchanges were usually times of rest and meditation, a release from tension, and a surcease of worry that left her feeling stronger and more content than before the exchange. They should not be times for disturbing questions.

  What could the coming of the Verfen mean? Who knew anything about the reclusive aliens from the center of the galaxy? Why would they want to come to Cloise? And how did the Confidante know they were coming?

  Should I question a Confidante? she wondered. Would it do any good? Or would I only get questions in return? Only once in all her experiences with Confidantes had one actually made a positive statement. Every other time they only asked questions, good questions, to be sure, questions that helped her find solutions to her problems, but not statements.

  Yes. She would seek her favorite Confidante.

  Weecs entered her chamber just as she started to leave.

  “Ranas wishes to speak to you,” he said.

  “Good. Yes, of course,” she said quickly. Perhaps he had some of the answers she needed. She slithered past Weecs and rushed to the communicator in the adjoining chamber.

  “I’m here, Ranas,” she said anxiously.

  “Greetings, mate of my nest,” his voice crackled from the ancient communicator crystal. “I have disturbing news for you and for all of Cloise.”

  “The Verfen are coming,” she said.

  “How did you know?”

  “An Isthian told me. He said that he had learned it from a Confidante. Is it true, Ranas? What does their message say?”

  “I believe it is true. I will read our translation of their message, but you must keep in mind that we cannot be sure of our accuracy.”

  “I understand. Please read it.” Her heart pounded as she waited for him to read.

  “Very well. It begins, ‘To Leri the Proctor of Cloise and all (something untranslatable) of Cloise’s burrows and (we believe the next word means deep or depths), the (untranslatable)

  of the Verfen and all (the same word as before) from our depths assure you that your protection will begin upon our arrival, being ready to (something) and accept our trust.’”

  He paused.

  “Is that the whole message?” she asked.

  “No. The rest of it was easy to translate because it was mostly binary numbers, several dates, and two sets of coordinates. The problem is that they don’t mean anything to us. We have no equivalency chart to tell us what their dates mean relative to ours. We don’t know what the coordinates are for or why they are included in the message.”

  “And nothing else, Ranas? This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “We think the last part is a request for confirmation.”

  “The more I learn, the more this frightens me, Ranas. I want you to return to help me determine what can be done. While you are doing that, I am going to a Confidante to seek –“

  “No. I’m sorry, Leri. I cannot return.”

  “But Ranas. I need you here.”

  “And I must stay where I am. It is my decision Leri. Do not anger yourself over it.”

  She trembled. “By the grace of the Elett, I will try to accept your decision,” Leri said slowly, “but by the same grace I pray that you will reconsider.”

  There was a long silence before his voice spoke again. “You question a Confidante. I will stay here and encourage your translators. Together we may come more quickly to a solution. I will talk to you again at the end of the next season.”

  “By the grace,” she said, “be careful.”

  “By the grace, mate of my nest, I will.”

  As she left to go see her favorite Confidante, Leri felt as if a hard, thin tail were wrapping itself around her heart.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  “Archer’s dead, sir,” General Schopper said as soon as the aide let him into Admiral Stonefield’s office. All the Joint Chiefs were waiting for him. “We just received the news. The Ukes shot his lander right out of the sky. Brigadier Newby, Colonel Langford, and most of Archer’s staff died with him.”

  “Damn,” Stonefield cursed.

  “Who’s in overall command?” Josiah Gilbert asked as he thought about Mica being with the invasion fleet.

  “Dirtside, it’s Colonel Elgin. He’s our most experienced officer out there right now. For the fleet, it’s Admiral Ticjicsic with Dawson as his second. “

  “What were their initial losses?” Avitor Hilldill asked. “How bad was it?”

  “Heavier than we expected. The first-day summaries from Elgin and the legion commanders indicate that the Ukes were waiting for us.”

  “A security leak?” Stonefield asked. “Or efficient Uke preparation?”

  “Whatever it was, they were defending three of the four landing zones we picked and had closed on the fourth one within two hours of the landing,” Schopper said. “I request the Joint Chiefs’ permission to go forward immediately and take overall command of this operation.”

  “That’s how we lost Mari,” Erresser said sharply.

  “I’m hardly the ranking general in the Planetary Force” Schopper said. “McLaughlin, Novak, King, and Danielites, all have either seniority or rank over me.”

  “No,” Stonefield said. “We cannot afford the risk of –“

  “Then who are you going to send if you don’t send me? There aren’t enough generals around with combat experience who aren’t pretty creaky in the joints right now.”

  “I think he’s right,” Gilbert said. “We can bring General McLaughlin in here immediately. She’s already somewhat familiar with the planning and goals of our operations.”

  “But she’s in the hospital,” Admiral Lindshaw protested.

  “She got out yesterday.”

  “But is she fit for duty?”

>   “The doctors said she was,” Stonefield said, “and of all the senior generals, she probably had more combat experience in the last war than the others.”

  Gilbert was pleased that Stony was making Schopper’s case for him and hoped the others saw the logic in the decision. “I think McLaughlin’s the logical choice. With her experience and familiarity with the planning, plus her availability, do we have any better choice?”

  “I suppose not, Josiah,” Stonefield said. “But sometimes I think we’re crazy to send our most talented people forward.”

  “That’s where the war is,” Hilldill said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t wanted to chuck this administrative job and get out there yourself, Stony?”

  Stonefield ignored the question and turned to Schopper. “It looks like we’ve decided that you can go, Thedd. How long will it take you to turn over your office to McLaughlin?”

  Schopper smiled grimly. “If she’s ready, two days at most to get her current and enhance the background she already has.”

  “Unless anyone has something to add,” Stonefield said, looking at the rest of the members of the Joint Chiefs, “I think you’d better get started immediately. I’ll get someone down in transport to find you a route that involves the least hassle, and Josiah, you can contact General McLaughlin. Anything else?”

  “Maybe there is something else,” Schopper said suddenly. “You asked me if I thought Uke intelligence had sniffed out our plan or if they were smart enough to pick the right places. I think I’d like to know which it was.”

  “So would I. I’ll put Fleet I.D. on it.’’

  Gilbert snorted. “Fleet Investigations couldn’t find its face with a mirror. My clerks are better investigators.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  “Put Hilldill’s people on it. Flight Corp has better intelligence networks than anybody else.” Gilbert knew that Stonefield wouldn’t like that suggestion because he didn’t like Hilldill, but Gilbert hoped he would accept the facts and put his personal likes and dislikes aside. With Stony he was never sure.

  “Can you take care of that?” Stonefield asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Hilldill said with a smile creeping onto his lips. “And I thank Admiral Gilbert for his vote of confidence.”

  Schopper saluted. “I’ll be going now.”

  “Check with me before you go, and make damn sure you take care of yourself out there,” Stonefield said. “And tell McLaughlin – well, never mind. I’ll tell her myself. You’ll have enough to do.”

  “Good luck,” Gilbert said as Schopper started to leave, “and God’s speed.”

  “Thank you, sir. Thank all of you.”

  As he left, Gilbert watched him with a sense of trepidation, which was interrupted by Admiral Stonefield.

  “When are you leaving for Bakke, Josiah?”

  “Ten days at the outside.”

  “Then we’d better finalize these modifications to the plan. Are you sure that your fleet is going to be strong enough?”

  “I am. Don’t forget that we’re going to add those ships that are waiting now in the March Cluster.”

  “I haven’t forgotten - that, Josiah. I just don’t want to leave anything to chance.”

  Nothing to chance, Gilbert thought as he turned his attention back to the plans. His brain would try to leave nothing to chance, but the element that his heart wished most was more certain was totally outside his control, and that element was Pajandcan. He wished Mica hadn’t spoken to both of them, but now that she had, Gilbert was surprised to find himself emotionally eager to see Pajandcan again, and that pleased and annoyed him at the same time. But even as he worked over the modifications with Stonefield, he sensed that part of his mind was still thinking about his meeting with Charlene Pajandcan.

  21

  THE FIRST THING SJEAN BIRKIE REMEMBERED after Janette questioned her the second time was waking up in a darkened hospital room to the sound of someone screaming. Only after a nurse had come in, turned on the lights, and given her an injection did Sjean realize that she was strapped to the bed because she was the one who had been screaming.

  After that, things got worse.

  When she slept, she had nightmares about giant insects crawling around inside her skull and eating her brain, or of ice-cold talons that shredded her flesh, or of falling down an endless well while fluorescent demons laughed at her.

  Again and again she would wake up screaming. Again and again someone would come into her room and give her a sedative. And every time she would try to fight the sedative, slapping herself to stay awake, haunted even in her stupor by the horror on the other side of consciousness. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she always lost the fight and the insane cycle would repeat itself again and again and again.

  Sjean had no idea how many cycles she went through. All she knew was that one day she woke up with light shining through her window and she wasn’t screaming. Her head ached with a dull, pounding pain, but she wasn’t screaming. Something inside told her that she had exhausted the nightmares, and she clung to that hope-filled thought.

  It wasn’t true.

  The nightmares returned. But after that day of sunlight, they did not come every time she slept. The headaches were still there, pounding away in the top of her head, yet gradually, very gradually, she knew she was escaping the terror.

  Her doctors were impressed. They encouraged her, taught her mental-relaxation routines to go through just before she went to sleep, and carefully monitored her progress. Finally, after fifteen days with no nightmares and only minor headaches, they released her from the hospital.

  The morning after her release, Sjean went to her lab, discovered that the Wallen detonator was missing, and immediately left to find Caugust. When she stormed into his office, he looked surprised to see her.

  “What did she do,” Sjean demanded, “steal it? Or did she sweet-talk you into letting her have it?”

  “Slow down, Sjean. Slow down. The doctors said you should avoid excitement, so calm yourself,” Caugust said, “and tell me what you are talking about.”

  “You mean you didn’t know the detonator was gone?”

  Sjean was sure that couldn’t be true, but she was willing – no, wanted to give him the benefit of whatever small doubt she had.

  “That project has been on hold since you went into the hospital,” he said, avoiding her question. “It will take a while to put together a new team for you. That will give you –“

  “What happened to the detonator, Caugust?”

  “The project was put on hold,” he repeated. “As I was saying, while we are putting a new team together –“

  “Dammit,” she said putting her hands flat on his desk and leaning straight into his ruddy face, “answer my question. What happened to the detonator?”

  Caugust tilted his chair back and looked at the ceiling, slowly shaking his head. “Janette took it,” he said in a heavy tone of resignation.

  “Just like that? She just walked into my lab and hauled it away?” Her head was pounding, and as she straightened up, a wave of dizziness swept through her.

  “Sit down, Sjean. You look terrible.”

  “Yes,” she said, leaning heavily against the arm of the chair as she sat down. “All of a sudden I feel awful.” She paused and tried to read his face, which had a pained look of its own. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the detonator is missing and you haven’t told me why.”

  “Sjean, do you know how much of our business depends on the good will of Sci-Sec?”

  “No. And I don’t care. We’re talking about something much bigger than –“

  “We’re talking about seventy-five percent of Drautzlab’s business under government contract,” he said sternly. “Janette would have gotten the detonator from us whether I gave it to her willingly or not. She was quite prepared to use the brain-search on me to find it and have it taken out of here.”

  “So, you let her brain-search me, but when it came your turn, you n
oviced out and gave the detonator to her.” The sarcasm only made Sjean’s head hurt all the more, but by now she had a great deal of experience in living with the pain.

  “Yes, if that’s the way you want to look at it.”

  “And do you know what she plans to do with it? Like attach it to something, some innocuous little device we’ll all come to know and love?”

  “I couldn’t help it, Sjean. She’d have had it one way or the other. What difference does it make?”

  “It makes a big difference. You could have tried to stop her or made her take the answers from you. At least then you’d have something left, some integrity…something!”

  “All right. You’ve made your point. I’m a spineless scientist, afraid to stand up to the little inspector. There. Does that make you happy? Or would you rather I broadcast it throughout Drautzlab so everyone will know how worthless I am?”

  Sjean felt suddenly embarrassed for him. “I’m sorry, Caugust. That’s not what I meant to, I mean –“

  “Of course it’s what you meant, because it’s the truth. Do you think I have no conscience at all? I’ve been over and over what happened, but there’s no way I could let myself off the responsibility circuit.”

  “I believe you,” she said softly, “but that doesn’t change what you did. Or what you’re asking me to do,” she added.

  “What am I asking you to do that’s so wrong?”

  He looked genuinely puzzled, and that distressed Sjean as much as anything. “You just said we would assemble a new team to go back to work on the Wallen. I can’t do that, Caugust. Not now. Not after what’s happened – and what may happen if Janette manages to get the other half and make the damn thing work.”

  With a sigh he said, “It has to be done.”

  “No, it doesn’t. That’s the point, Caugust. It doesn’t have to be done.”

  “Do you know who was here while you were in the hospital?” he asked suddenly. “An oversight investigation panel from the Tri-Cameral and the Combined Committees. Seems that Sci-Sec reported the weapon’s existence to them and they came to assure themselves that we were making sufficient progress and had everything we needed to get it into production. Do you understand that, Sjean? They want us to produce fifty or sixty of the damn things.”