by S. E. Weir
“I’m not sure what you mean.” Phina’s brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle it out.
Link smirked. “Well, he believes he’s a superhero who lives in a metal suit.”
“Oh!” Phina supposed that made sense. “Well, he goes with you to help the Empire, so isn’t that kind of true?”
“Bam!” Stark’s voice came over the speakers near them. “See, Wells? This girl knows. What’s your name again? Kidding. I remember everything.”
Link rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, Stark. You’re so amazing!”
“You know it, Sweet Cheeks!”
Link coughed and looked uncomfortable. “Yes, well, what were we talking about before? Right. How long ‘til we get there?”
“Sure.” Phina’s eyes sparkled with amusement, but she tried to suppress her smile. Maxim and Ryan grinned at her mentor, and Drk-vaen clicked his mandibles and shifted in his seat.
“So.” Link leaned forward to speak to all of them, resting an arm on the armrest between Phina and him. “Here’s the deal. What I’m about to tell you can’t be shared with anyone on pain of me and possibly the Empress herself coming after you. And trust me, there would be a lot of pain involved, particularly if it’s Bethany Anne. You will talk about it with no one, even those here when we are not on this ship. Agreed?”
Phina looked around as they all agreed. The guys had their serious faces on now. It amazed her how they could flip the switch that fast, but given the work they did, they must be used to it. Work she was now part of, she reminded herself.
“Excellent. The QBS Stark is a Gate ship.”
“What?” Maxim squawked.
Drk-vaen clicked his mandibles. “Like the QBS Archangel II?”
“Yes, but not quite as big.”
Ryan frowned and leaned forward. “How does that work?”
“I got that.” A holographic image popped up, showing a handsome man in his mid-thirties with dark hair. “Do you want the short answer or the long answer?”
“How about the short answer?”
“Ok, here it is. You ready? It does because Bethany Anne said it could.”
“Yeah, thanks, Stark. I was looking for a bit more than that.”
“Oh? Well, how’s your mathematics and astrophysics?” He gave them an explanation Phina only understood one out of every four words of and nothing that was material. Maybe she needed to read up on this stuff at some point so she had a measure of understanding. She put it on her mental to-do list.
“Okay, okay!” Ryan held up his hands. “I just wanted a simple explanation since I didn’t know it was possible for a ship smaller than a battlecruiser to have a Gate drive.”
“Well, this ship isn’t exactly tiny. I walked by a bunch of rooms on the way up here.”
Stark turned his holographic face to stare at Phina. “Are you calling me fat?”
“What? No.”
He shook his head, his expression of disappointment looking odd on the holographic image. “And to think I was really starting to like you, Genius Girl. They gave us a Gate ship they conveniently and purposely didn’t need anymore for my body, so it’s what I’m working with right now. I’m going to get a new smaller body as soon as they finish it. An up-and-coming researcher named Anne has been working on it for a while. Then I’ll be as slim and sleek as a Brazilian model. No, scratch that. A shiny silver corvette…”
Stark came up with a few more examples that gave the males some amusement. Phina turned to Link and whispered, “So, how long ‘til we get there?”
“Likely three days.”
Phina sighed as Stark gave them all the expression of an aircraft attendant. “You are now free to move about the cabin.”
The guys got up and took their stuff to their rooms to get situated. Phina pulled out her tablet, deciding to bite the bullet, as it were, and sent a message.
Hi Aunt Faith…
Star System Near the Edge of the Empire, Tluedor, Planet of the Gleeks
Braeden sat meditating in his favorite spot on top of the tallest rock formation. With all the turmoil of recent events, he welcomed a chance to relax and clear his mind as well as practice opening up his senses. He also waited.
Days ago, he had received a message from a member of the Etheric Empire. While the Gleeks were not Etherian citizens, the Empire commanded respect from many species, so when a representative asked to come and meet with his people to share some information on their current situation, he couldn’t deny the request. Fortunately, the day-to-day running of the commune still fell to him and Brother Gloeket. If Traekor had taken that over as well, the request would likely have been rejected.
Only one situation out of all that faced the Gleeks on their planet could be of interest to the Empire, and it wasn’t the recent lower yields in produce. Or that Braeden had begun to feel like a stranger among his own people.
No, the only situation the Empire would be concerned about was their coming conflict with the Baldere. His brothers were implacable about changing the course they had begun. Within a month, the population of the Baldere would be pruned back significantly. The brothers were just debating on the means to accomplish the task. The one concession Braeden had elicited from his brothers after much argument was to leave the young alone.
Braeden believed this situation to be the work of a small group of people, but his voice had been drowned out by Traekor’s fervent insistence on leading their people to war—to enact justice, he called it. Braeden called it foolish fanaticism. He felt ashamed, dismayed, and heartbroken that he could not sway his brothers to a better course of action.
But perhaps these human aliens from the Empire would bring the evidence needed to mitigate their resolve about going to war. He desperately hoped so. Based on the message, they might arrive today. He decided to let his thoughts go and become one with his environment for as long as he could.
Stretching out his mind, he was aware of his brothers moving around in the commune below and on the farms. The plants gently swayed in the breeze. Small animals thrived around the commune, feeding off the healthy plant life. There were insects in the air and larger animals some distance away. His planet was beautiful.
Just on the edge of his awareness, he felt something unnatural descending through the atmosphere. He tilted his head toward the disturbance with his eyes shut and realized it was a spaceship and not one of theirs. The shape was entirely different. Ah. The representatives from the Empire.
Perhaps now they could get somewhere.
Chapter Twenty
Star System Near the Edge of the Empire, Tluedor, Planet of the Gleeks
Phina was nervous as the shuttle descended. She tried not to show it, but she couldn’t help feeling anxious about meeting an entirely new alien culture. Stark had stayed above the planet’s atmosphere to keep anyone from being too nosy. He only gave them a little grief about staying behind but agreed that they didn’t know enough about the Gleeks to trust them closer to their technology, particularly the Gate drive.
As the Etherians exited the shuttle, they were welcomed by two Gleeks who were almost identical. They were tall beings with elongated arms and legs and a skull that was higher in the forehead than a human’s, as well as being elongated. Their skin tone was so similar to the dusty rock most of the planet appeared to be composed of that she presumed they wore clothing just to distinguish their forms. However, even their clothing was a similar shape and color. Phina wondered how she would ever tell them apart. As far as she could see, the Gleeks were practically twins.
“Greetings, Earthlings.” He paused and blinked eyes that had no eyelashes. “Your pardon. Greetings, Etherians. We welcome you to our planet, to our commune, and to our people. May we work together as one.” The Gleek on the left gave a slight bow of his head as he leaned over his staff. His voice sounded slightly raspy from disuse. “I am Brother Kroeden, and this is Brother Draeget. Please follow us.”
Phina nudged Link, who walked beside her while the three Guardians walked be
hind. “They spoke English. How do they know how to speak English?”
“We have visited your planet Earth twice. One of those times was roughly one hundred and thirty-five of your years ago, many years before you all left Earth.” Brother Draeget had turned his head at an awkward angle for a human, but on him, it seemed to work without much strain.
Link nodded. “Yes, I believe some Earthlings saw you and began a whole alien craze as a result, with UFOs and whatnot.”
Ryan snickered. “So, all those times people were shouting ‘Eeeek!,’ they were really saying ‘Gleeeek!’”
Maxim and Link chuckled while Drk-vaen clicked his mandibles, but the two Gleeks in front of them just stared at them as they continued to walk forward. The rotation their heads were capable of really looked strange.
“I admit, we had not prepared for the technological advancements that you Earthlings had developed so quickly since our prior visit roughly fifteen hundred of your years ago. Most humans at that point still had to ride your horses to get anywhere. After that unfortunate encounter you mentioned during our second visit, we had to withdraw and conduct our research more discreetly.”
“So, you yourself went to Earth?” Link clarified.
“No.”
“Oh? Then how do you know English?”
Brother Kroeden eyed them carefully before responding, “What one Gleek knows, all know.”
That bombshell caused silence, but after a moment, Phina couldn’t help herself. “What do you research?” Her curiosity drove her to know more.
The two Gleeks glanced at each other, and she felt a buzz grow in intensity within her head. They both responded at the same time. “Everything.”
She rubbed her skull, the buzzing growing more severe as they approached the commune. She searched her companions’ faces but saw nothing more than curiosity and interest. Strange. Just when the itchy buzz grew painful, Phina saw another Gleek stride up the path that angled off through the middle of the fields they had just walked beside from the landing pad.
The Gleek walking toward them looked a little different from the two they had met so far. The red cloak they all wore was of the same type and color, but this Gleek wore it more casually, not quite straight on his shoulders. His eyes seemed far more alert than the slightly blank stares of Kroeden and Draeget. Their eyes had the sense of people who were absent-minded, whose thoughts were elsewhere. This new Gleek appeared to be aware of everything.
“Welcome. I am Brother Braeden. Please follow us so we can commune together and discuss why you have come.”
They entered a bland building that was empty of everything that wasn’t strictly needed for practicality. They passed many other Gleeks and those gave each Etherian a slow nod, their bright green eyes staring. The buzz in her head increased from itchy and uncomfortable to somewhat painful to very painful. Phina wished she knew what it was. She had never experienced anything like it before, but she would really like the pain to go away.
Brother Braeden led them into a round room with several more Gleeks and encouraged them to sit in a circle on the floor. Drk-vaen found sitting on the floor difficult and stood behind the Empire’s side of the circle. Finally, the buzz died down, causing her to sag in relief. Phina took deep breaths as she tried to puzzle out what was happening with her.
Brother Braeden spoke, his eyes on Link. “Your message mentioned you had information about our current situation. Would you please share your information with us?”
“Of course.” Link glanced around the room, likely assessing the Gleeks’ posture and expressions as they spoke. His eyes moved back to Brother Braeden, who sat across from Link and Phina.
“We know an incident of some kind occurred some weeks ago on Vermott. Would you please tell us what happened to cause all your people to leave?”
The buzz started again, which made her brain itch with painful intensity. Phina reached up and rubbed her forehead, causing Link to glance at her.
What’s wrong? He spoke over their linked channel.
I don’t know. I feel this weird buzz in my head every so often, and it itches.
Link’s eyebrows rose higher than she had ever seen them and he was still as he glanced at the Gleeks.
Is that a problem? Well, aside from being uncomfortable for me.
He appeared lost in thought as he spoke absently. It’s very curious. I should have known you had even more surprises in store.
Oh, yeah, that’s me. Surprise Girl. I could be a superhero with Stark.
He glanced at her, his eyes showing amusement. He turned back to the Gleeks when Brother Kroeden spoke.
“We would prefer to hear the information that you spoke of first, but given our perception of your intention to help, we will tell you that we lost two of our brothers.”
“Dead?”
The Gleeks all shook their heads at the same time, which was eerie.
“Worse.”
Phina stared at them, barely noticing a shudder rippling over Ryan’s body from the corner of her eye. What could be worse than death? Link nodded as if it made sense to him. She would bug him about it later.
Deciding that was enough to show good faith, Link began speaking. “We do have some information, but we do not have all that is needed to make sense of the whole situation. We would like to propose that you stop your war preparations and send a group with us to Vermott so that we all can gain the entire picture. What information we do have indicates this is a small group of people, not a population-wide issue.”
This revelation and proposal seemed to startle the Gleeks, and the buzz intensified. Brother Draeget showed the most surprise. “How did you know our plans?”
Link nodded at Phina, which drew all eyes to her. She felt even more uncomfortable than usual about being the center of attention since the green, slightly unfocused eyes of the Gleeks combined with their hairless skin and elongated skulls caused them to seem all too alien. Only Brother Braeden differed as he tilted his head and focused his eyes on her.
As Phina explained how she had figured out what had happened between the Gleeks and the Baldere, she felt Brother Braeden’s gaze on her. After she finished, the buzz in her head was painful, so she reached up to press and rub around her ears where it bothered her the most. Since it didn’t really help, she lowered her hands, but not before she took note of his face.
If he were human, she would have said Brother Braeden looked astonished.
Braeden looked at the human girl in amazement. How could this be? He lost himself in his thoughts while the voices around him faded. It shouldn’t be possible, yet here she was—assuming what he believed was true.
Mentally he reached out to her again, carefully approaching her consciousness. In a normal human’s brain, that consciousness was static and inflexible to his mind, with no resonance. He stopped reaching for her mind and reached out to two of the human male brains to check. Yes, they had the static inflexibility. He checked the Yollin’s brain and found the expected flexibility but the same static state as the humans. The third and larger human male brain startled him in that it wasn’t static, but there was no flexibility. Curious.
Yet, as Braeden turned back to Phina’s consciousness, he could see quite easily that while the girl’s brain was structurally human, there were many more connections being made than in a typical human brain. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but her consciousness was not static, nor was it inflexible. He wouldn’t have been able to see even this much had he not honed his mental awareness to expertise. Even now, it was a strain to focus.
He relaxed his awareness and rested his consciousness next to hers. Her consciousness flared out, reaching, knowing his was there but not stable enough to make a connection. It was this instinct that caused her pain, and it wouldn’t be resolved until she left the Gleeks or learned how to stabilize the connection herself.
Braeden gently withdrew from everyone so that he was isolated in his own mind. He couldn’t deny he felt a certain relief at the la
ck of voices in his head, but there was also a sense of loss. He processed the options and realized he had only one ethical choice.
He just had to convince his brothers.
A hand on his shoulder shook him out of his reflections. He turned his head to view Brother Kroeden gazing at him impassively, though his eyes reflected concern. He felt a nudge on his consciousness and reached out.
“What is happening, Brother Braeden? Is there a concern?”
“Yes, definitely a concern.”
“Then we will send the representatives of the Empire away.”
Braeden grabbed Kroeden’s arm as he turned. He could feel the surprise of his brother as he looked back.
“I mean, we have concerns to talk about privately before we decide who will go with them.”
He viewed Braeden curiously. “You believe we should go with them? You think what they say is true?”
Braeden turned back to see the human girl watch their exchange with interested but pain-filled eyes. The older human male next to her was scanning them all confidently but with a narrowed gaze, as if trying to determine what the Gleeks would decide.
“Whether what they believe is true remains to be seen, but I’m convinced that we must go with them.”
Phina observed the Gleeks, who were still communing on the opposite side of the room. The five from the Empire had withdrawn, and they were provided with finger foods, the most delicious fruits and vegetables Phina had ever tasted.
They also had been given a drink Phina had never imbibed. The only thing she could come close to was a drink that had all the sweetness of juice and the aftertaste that wine tended to leave but none of the heaviness, like a Coke without the bubbles. It was puzzling but very refreshing.
Watching the Gleeks proved similar to watching a lizard look around as it sat quietly, though without the reptilian stare. Their movements were economical and could have been easily missed unless you looked closely. A flick of the eyes here, a slight turn or tilt of the head there, or small movements in their hands were all that indicated something more than meditation was taking place as the Gleeks sat in their circle, almost motionless.