“But Vovokans and Celarans are not the enemies of the Trilisks, right? It must be some other ancient race they fight.”
“This is too strong of a theory to ignore. We need to check that system for signs of a Trilisk presence,” Telisa said.
Telisa made herself a note to prepare that investigation.
“Admiral Sager,” she said. “Have you had a chance to analyze the intelligence that’s been gathered on the target and come up with a plan?”
“I have,” Sager said hesitantly. Telisa immediately picked up the cue: something was wrong.
“Yes? A problem?”
“You’ve seen the same thing I have,” Sager said hesitantly. “That system has been heavily fortified by an advanced and xenophobic race. I think it must be their home system. The satellite system makes Sol’s defense grid look like a scant afterthought. The other admirals are balking at the idea of attacking that system.”
The other admirals, but not him. Is that the diplomatic way of saying it?
“Even with Shiny’s tech enhancements for fighting Destroyers?”
“That helps, but Shiny himself has committed no battleships to the effort.”
“But we have the Celarans on our side,” Telisa pointed out.
“Very few of them. They’re only here because this is their homeworld. It was the center of their civilization. They don’t want to take the war to their enemy.”
“The Cylerans do, and they’re powerful.”
“The Cylerans are super-soldiers by our standards. But they aren’t a fleet power. They’re individuals. Think of them as Space Force heavy assault robots,” Sager said. “Are we really going to be fighting them at point blank range inside of ships and orbital stations?”
Telisa shook her head. “I didn’t think we would at first. And we certainly aren’t going to land on a planet and attack them in their own oceans.”
“But?”
“But now we have suspicions about the Trilisks. If we can find them—”
“Then the Cylerans would be perfect for precision strikes to remove them,” Sager finished for her.
“Yes. The Cylerans are so flexible they can operate in the aquatic environs of the Quarus. And armed with Maxsym’s toxin, they would have a good chance to succeed.”
“We’ll have to ask Maxsym if his compound we used in the poison gas would work in water,” Magnus said. “And if it can penetrate Quarus host bodies.”
“Let’s hope it can,” Telisa said.
***
Maxsym’s link sent him an interrupt, breaking his concentration.
Telisa. She is no doubt wanting an update.
He accepted the channel, including its video feed. He saw Telisa’s face in front of a ship’s wall on the Terran Iridar.
“Maxsym. Our plans to show the Quarus our strength have hit a rough patch. Have you learned anything interesting about them?”
Interesting?
Maxsym erupted into laughter with a touch of the maniacal in it.
“So much! Everything about alien physiology is interesting!”
“Okay. What would I find interesting?”
“I’ve managed to discover their method of reproduction,” Maxsym said enthusiastically.
Oops. Did I just imply she is obsessed with sex?
“Really? Already?”
“Yes. It turns out, if you break a piece off a Quarus, it eventually grows into another whole individual.”
“Wow. Is their knowledge... what is that called? Do they have genetic memory?”
“No. Well, unless their brains are actually separate symbiotic organisms with their own genomes! I believe the individual with the brain piece would stay... itself, and the new piece would essentially have an infant mind. Of course, they may have high tech methods of getting around that.”
“If you rip an arm off, wouldn’t the arm eventually starve?” Telisa asked.
“Ah, yes, it would unless cared for. I suspect in their distant past, they had preferred places to separate that might have made things easier. But at their level of technology, it’s quite likely they’re very good at taking care of any piece they end up with and growing it to maturity. I should be clear: I’m speculating here, though I do speculate with some authority.”
Telisa smiled.
Maxsym sent her a pointer to his main overview of the project, which showed a three-dimensional representation of a Quarus. More information was easily accessed from dozens of attached panes in their PVs.
“Is it one organism? We saw armored legs very different from the soft central bodies, and you just mentioned that thing about their brains...”
“I was only mentioning an unlikely caveat. Sorry to muddy the water. The samples we have indicate this is just one creature going way back into its evolution. Their legs are probably armored because those parts are the most likely to be exposed to harm. Also, the legs can wrap around the soft part of their bodies kind of like the Cingulata would roll themselves up.”
“I have no idea what a Cingulata is—”
“Was.”
“Was, but I think I follow you. Their legs protect their soft bodies.”
“Yes. And the many appendages on their main body serve as manipulatory organs like our hands. They possess a complex nervous system that makes these short limbs very precise, I’m sure.”
“Any other major discoveries we should know about?”
“It’s all major from a xenobiological perspective. Ah. They have organs that secrete complex chemicals into the water. I can’t figure out if it is a kind of venom, or if they communicate with these chemicals—”
“Slow talking, if that’s the case,” Telisa said. “Oh, could that explain why they talk in large batches of information?”
“I have no idea. The chemicals could also be to begin digestion of meals before ingestion of the matter, or to mark territory, or for sexual attraction or reproduction... I don’t know yet.”
“That’s good progress, considering you have nothing more than a few tissue samples.”
Maxsym took her very literally.
“Oh, I have a lot more to work with. We have water samples from their station, attendant logs, data collected by the Celaran assault force scanners—”
“Still, I’m pleased with the results. Keep working on it. Would you be willing to take out an hour for me to do a favor?”
“Yes?”
“I want you to examine Magnus.”
“What? Is he sick?”
Telisa paused.
That is not like her.
“My copy told me that Shiny has altered Magnus subtly. She said that not only are the team leaders always host bodies, but that he had been altered to be more subservient.”
“Ah, yes. I know what she’s talking about, as we discovered that together. I’m sorry I did not bring that up with you myself. I can fix this.”
“Really? Please do. I really appreciate it!”
“All the male team members require a shot,” he said. Her face froze. “I do not joke. One dose should take care of everything.”
“Wow. Okay. I’ll send them your way in the next 24 hours.”
“Got it.”
“Is there anything else you want to talk about?” she asked.
Maxsym’s gaze shifted from hers slightly.
“There is another project...”
“Yes? You like to multitask?”
“I hope you would agree with your copy, the Telisa I was working with previously,” he said. He gathered his courage.
“We had been working on the biology of Trilisk host bodies,” he said.
“Let me guess: she wanted to keep the advantages and lose the vulnerability,” Telisa offered.
“Exactly. Even if it costs some of the advantages, if we could alter the host systems—your system—to no longer broadcast itself as a host and instantly accept control from any nearby Trilisk, it would make all of us a little safer.”
“By all means, continue. Let me know if
you need samples from me. However, please keep the Quarus analysis as the first priority for now.”
“I will, I promise. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, Maxsym. Just keep making progress.”
Chapter 21
Telisa checked the crew’s status in her PV. It was night by the ship’s clock, which had been set to slowly synchronize with Celara Palnod’s 25 hour day. She believed that Magnus, Marcant, Jamie and Maxsym were asleep. Caden and Siobhan did not appear to be asleep from the network clues she could pick up without violating their privacy, but it would have to do. As things went on the Iridar, everything was as quiet as it got.
Telisa continued down the corridor and came to an armored door at the center of the ship. Beyond lay the ship’s bridge and command arsenal. Her link opened the door. She padded past the lounges and smooth display surfaces into the arsenal beyond. There, light of several different colors played against the walls. At the back of the small room, in a corner, floated the source of the light: the Trilisk AI.
Telisa sat on a stack of weapons cases and stared at the Trilisk artifact.
I need your help.
For some reason, she had decided to do this directly before the AI, as if her proximity could affect the strength of whatever tenuous connection all living things seemed to have with the ancient device. Some part of her knew she had decided to do this at night and in secret reflected her shame at the measure.
Telisa closed her eyes and started to visualize. She saw the fleet united in purpose to protect the fragments of Celaran civilization. She saw the admirals, the Cylerans, and the Celarans resolved to stand up to the Quarus aggression. There was no bloodthirst, no battle lust, only the understanding that through strength would come safety.
When she opened her eyes, a half hour had passed. She had an urge to ask the AI to forgive her for attempting such an awful manipulation. Her thoughts turned to the race that had created this device before her.
Did these creatures believe themselves gods? Or is this nothing more to them than a handy tool, a convenient, all-purpose solution to everything from opening a can to fixing a gravity drive?
Telisa was halfway back to her quarters—and Magnus—when her link alerted her. It was Admiral Sager.
“Yes, Admiral?”
“Good news. I’ve managed to get everyone lined up for the assault. I showed them footage of the Quarus in action a few hours ago, and they’ve all gotten back to me. I guess they saw the aliens as the ruthless killers they are. All the officers are behind you now.”
By the Five! So quickly!
“That’s excellent news, Admiral. Keep helping the Celarans down below and prepare the assault plans. Tell them the PIT team has a few high-tech solutions in mind that will give us a critical advantage.”
That’s understating it.
“That’s perfect. It will help seal the deal.”
The Admiral paused and looked aside to indicate he had a PV interrupt. After a moment, he turned back to the camera.
“The Celarans have indicated a change of heart. I don’t know how you did it, but they’re ready to join the attack fleet! I can see why Shiny has put so much trust in you, Team Member Relachik.”
“I think you’ll find the Cylerans equally motivated. Talk to you in ten hours,” she said and closed the channel.
If only I deserved that trust.
Telisa returned to her quarters in silence. When her door opened, she saw Magnus stir in the sleep web. He shifted to regard her.
“There you are! Up at all hours... the Trilisk Special Forces never sleep,” Magnus said and smiled at her.
When Telisa did not return his smile, his own faded. His eyes narrowed.
“What have you done?” he asked.
“I used the AI to galvanize this alliance to attack the Quarus,” Telisa said.
“What? Why?”
Telisa felt a sense of dread. What if he did not understand? Could she stick with the decision on her own? And what if what she had done really was wrong, and she was causing a war to heat up?
“You and I know the Quarus are bloodthirsty now. Maybe it’s the Vovokans’ fault, maybe it isn’t, but the Quarus are going to keep attacking.”
“Yes. I heard the speech you gave to them.”
“I really believe it.”
Magnus’s mouth compressed into a thin line, but he said nothing.
“Say it,” Telisa urged. “Let me have it. I want to discuss it. It’s not too late for me to undo what I’ve done, if you can convince me I’m wrong.”
Do I want him to talk me out of it or validate my actions?
“You’re not any better than Shiny,” he said. “You’re forcing these men and women... and Celarans, to fight even though they chose not to. You’re dictating their actions ‘for their own good’. That must be exactly what Shiny’s doing on Earth.”
“Yes. You’re right up to a point—but there’s a critical difference. Shiny’s doing it because it’s optimal for him, whereas I don’t want this war at all. I just want to go find and understand aliens and their technologies. But we have to save the Celarans first.”
“Shouldn’t the Celarans want this for themselves?”
“The Cylerans do want it. They’re ready to fight, because they’ve freed themselves from fear. The Celarans are peaceful herbivores that have always used flight to escape, and they’re not emotionally equipped to deal with a problem by fighting. It really is best for them to fight now, though. And that’s a conclusion backed up by the Cylerans’ willingness to fight.”
Magnus nodded. “And the Space Force fleet? Not all of those ships are robotic. All the capital ships, the scout ships, and the older cruisers still have personnel aboard. Many of those people will die.”
“What’s going to happen if we let the Celarans be exterminated? We’ll be next, and we’ll be alone.”
“Shiny might protect us,” Magnus said.
“The Quarus and the Celarans are already more advanced. Shiny can try to catch us up, but is Vovokan technology superior? I don’t know. We also don’t know how many worlds the enemy controls. We have to ally with the Celarans and stand together, now.”
Magnus took a deep breath.
“Your method worries me, but I agree. I don’t like what you did, but I like that better than the Celarans dying and Terra being in danger of sharing that fate. We should attack together, show them the new alliance, and then give the Quarus one last chance to stop their aggression.”
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
THE END of The Celaran Solution (continued in The Celaran Pact)
From the Author
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
The Celaran Solution (Parker Interstellar Travels Book 9) Page 18