A New Threat

by Aaron DeMott

  The outer door opened just as she reached the end of the entry hall. Master SarrOw entered and blinked at her before he scratched on the door to the Council room. The door cracked open just wide enough to admit him and then shut with a heavy thud as soon as he slipped through.

  Bast stared at the closed door for a moment before she turned away and almost ran into Rrrark.

  “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  Rrrark bent down to lick at his paw. “Find out anything?”

  Bast glanced back toward the large door. “Not a thing. I can’t hear through the door, and no one who’s come out has said anything.”

  Rrrark lifted his head to look at her. “People have come out?”

  Bast flattened an ear in frustration. “Yeah, a few. Pages, I’m guessing. They leave, then come back with either a note-block or a person.”

  “We’ll just have to wait for them to come to a decision then.” Rrrark shrugged. “We’ve both given our opinion to Master SarrOw. He’ll give our reports to the Council.”

  Bast sighed. “It’s just so frustrating to sit here and wait.”

  “Hmm,” Rrrark yawned. “Have you heard how Tomed or Major Hood is doing?”

  Bast flicked an ear in annoyance. “Not yet. Nilre said she’d let me know as soon as she had any news. That was over an hour ago.”

  Med bay, aboard the Goddard

  Tomed groaned and opened his eyes. Nilre peered over him. A lock of hair had escaped from the band in her hair, her brows were furrowed, and she had a slight frown. Were those tears at the corner of her eyes?

  “Nap time over already?” he asked.

  She smiled. Such a pretty smile. She should smile more often… He blinked and then looked around. He was in the med bay on the Goddard.

  How’d I get here? I was on a planet… something important…

  He blinked again. My mind seems to be wondering a lot today. Probably painkillers—wait. Why do I need pain killers?

  “Oh yeah, the battle,” he mumbled.

  “Are you awake yet?” Nilre asked.

  “Kind of…” Tomed fell back against the bed as he tried to sit up. He turned his head to look where his right arm should be. Strange. I should feeling something when I look at it. Might be shock or those painkillers. He turned back to Nilre.

  “I forgot. How’s...what’s left of my arm?”

  Nilre frowned as she reached forward to brush a stray lock of hair off his forehead. “Well, we managed to keep the nerve endings alive.”

  Tomed raised an eyebrow. “But you haven’t started stem cell therapy yet.”

  “Yes, but…” Nilre drew out the last word.

  “But?”

  “Doctor Zoet isn’t sure it will work. And since the Heim is already on the way back, we’re going to have Ara look at it before anyone makes a decision.”

  Tomed took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He must have fried most of the nerve endings if it was bad enough to need Ara’s help.

  “So am I stuck here until then?”

  “The doctor says you can leave when you’ve recovered enough to keep the remaining nerves in your arm alive.”

  Tomed shrugged. “Okay. How’s the Major?”

  Nilre avoided his gaze.

  Tomed laid his left hand over Nilre’s. “Is he dead?”

  Her gaze flickered back to him. “Not yet.” Nilre’s voice was just a whisper. “But close to it. He’s been put in stasis until Ara arrives. There’s nothing Zoet can do for him.”

  Nilre slumped against the wall in her room after she shut the door. She wanted to stay with Tomed, but he needed more sleep before he could leave the med bay. That and she didn’t quite trust herself to be alone with him right now.

  The Psygens had long ago agreed not to reproduce, for the safety of humanity. To that end, they didn’t pursue relationships with each other. Earth didn’t need to add children with uncontrolled powers running around to its already long list of problems. A plethora of birth control methods were available, but even in this modern era, none of them were one hundred percent effective. So they had decided to stay celibate until the situation changed.

  Nilre agreed it was the right decision. That didn’t mean she had to like it. She cared a lot for Tomed, probably more than she should. Right now she just wanted to be with him and help him through the loss of his arm any way she could, but she was afraid one of them would say something they shouldn’t. Not that the situation was terribly romantic—it was just she was tempted to give more of herself than she should, and that could lead to other inappropriate things later. She rubbed her forehead and the bridge of her nose with both hands and then pushed away from the wall. Anyway, Tomed really had to work through this on his own.

  Nilre sighed as she stripped off of her battlesuit and stepped into the shower.

  Tomed groaned as he reached for his drink with his missing right hand—for the third time in as many minutes. He was alone in the Goddard’s mess hall and grateful for the solitude. Friends of his had been injured in battle before. He had always done his best to cheer them up. Now he realized how annoying that was. He growled as the door to the mess hall opened, before he looked up to see who was bothering him. Nilre stopped in front of him.

  “Sorry. I really want to be alone right now,” he muttered.

  Nilre pulled out a chair and sat across the table from him. “You’ll feel better if you talk about it.”

  Tomed didn’t say anything in reply. He concentrated on raising the glass with his left hand and took another drink.

  “Alcohol?” Nilre nodded toward the glass.

  Tomed snorted. “Huh. No. I thought about it. Decided it probably wasn’t the best thing for me right now. This is an old drink, not very popular anymore. Called ‘root beer.’ Mostly herbs and carbonated water.”

  “It sounds... interesting.”

  Tomed stared down into his glass. “I guess I’ve just been lucky so far, huh?”

  Nilre got up and walked over to the counter. She started to make a cup of tea. “Oh?” she called over her shoulder.

  Tomed shuffled in his chair. “It doesn’t quite seem real that I might not get my arm back.” He paused. “I’ve seen others get worse injuries than this. I think some of the close calls I’ve had are catching up to me.” Tomed looked up from his root beer. “What kind of tea are you making?”

  “Nepeta.”

  “Herbal?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re going to make me try some, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  Tomed grimaced and muttered about liquid grass under his breath. Nilre seemed to like to drink anything that anyone, anywhere labeled ‘tea.’ Some of them were downright unpalatable. He hoped this wasn’t one of them.

  Nilre returned to the table with two cups. She set one down in front him.

  He pulled it over and sniffed at it. “Yup. Smells like grass.”

  “That’s what you say about all herbal teas.”

  Tomed shrugged and grinned at her. “I’ll try yours if you try mine?”

  One corner of Nilre’s mouth pulled down, but she didn’t say anything as she lifted his glass and took a sip. She coughed and then took another sip.

  “Tastes a little like sarsaparilla tea. I’m not sure if I could get used to the bubbles.”

  “Some of the same ingredients,” Tomed muttered as he blew on the tea to cool it.

  He took a sip and swished it around for a moment before he swallowed. “Yup. Grass.” He took another sip. “I’m not sure what kind of grass though.”

  Nilre set her teacup down on the table to let it cool. “So...what if Ara can’t grow the arm back?”

  “I don’t know.” Tomed slumped in his chair and stared into his teacup. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

  “For not thinking about it, you’re moping quite a bit,” Nilre said quietly.

  “Mmm.” Tomed swirled his root beer around before he finally looked up at her. “What’d you do when y
ou lost your leg?”

  “I finally explored my parent’s religion. It seemed to help them, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to look at it. And what I found wasn’t just a set of rules, it... I’d be happy to talk about it with you. “

  Tomed set the cup down on the table. “You’re still trying to convert me? I told you a long time ago how I felt about that stuff.”

  “Not exactly.” Somehow, she kept a smile on her face, though she did lean a few inches away from him. “I care about you and want to share something that’s important to me, but I can’t and won’t force you into anything.”

  Tomed stared into her eyes for a moment and then stood. “Thanks. I’m going to see if we can get a shuttle back down to the surface and check on things there.”

  He felt Nilre’s eyes on him as he walked out the door. Just before the door shut behind him he heard her sigh softly and the cups clinked as she took care of them.

  Bast ran down the trail out of the Great Forest. Rrrark was right behind her. Nilre had contacted her a few hours ago with news that Tomed was going to be okay, and they were on their way down to the surface. The shuttle should arrive in a few minutes. Bast slowed to a stop as she reached the plain and looked to the sky for the humans’ shuttle.

  “There.” Rrrark nodded off to the west.

  Bast squinted. She could just barely see a tiny dot in the sky. The dot grew steadily larger until she could make out the outline.

  Bast bounced on her toes while she waited for the shuttle to land, the door to open, and the ramp to fully extend before she ran up to greet her friends. Tomed and Nilre were the first down the ramp. Nilre had changed from her battlesuit back into the flowing garments she usually wore. Tomed, instead of the normal one piece shipsuit, wore blue pants and a white shirt with sleeves that came almost to his elbows. A white bandage was wrapped where his right arm should have been.

  Bast walked over and rubbed the side of her head against his waist. “We’re glad you’re alive.”

  Tomed smiled at her. “Well, I was worried too. I was doing fine until I looked over and saw Nilre crying. I figured something was really wrong to get her worried. Turns out I only lost an arm.”

  Nilre made an indignant noise as she elbowed him in the ribs, but Bast saw a twinkle in her eyes.

  “How is Major Hood?” asked Rrrark.

  Tomed glanced at Nilre before he answered, “Not well. He’s in stasis until we can get him to a specialist.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Rrrark cleared his throat. “The Council would like to speak with you, when you are ready.”

  Bast again paced in front of the door to the Council room. She growled at the door. Tomed and Nilre had been in there for over two hours. After four more rounds, she was at the far end of the room when the door creaked open. She bounded back to the door and almost knocked Tomed over as he and Nilre exited the Council chamber.

  “Well, how’d it go? What happened?” Bast jumped up and down and flicked her tail as she waited for an answer.

  “I’m not sure.” Tomed sat on one of the benches in the entry hall to the palace. “One faction doesn’t want to have anything to do with us, another is in favor of proceeding cautiously with diplomatic relations, and there are a handful—the queen included—that haven’t made up their minds yet and seem to be honestly trying to assess the evidence.”

  Bast flicked an ear. “Who’s winning?”

  “Well, it’s hard to say.” Tomed yawned. “A few others presented arguments before it was our turn, and the numbers in either group seem to change depending on the evidence presented.”

  “The difficulty is that everyone, in their own way, really does want what’s best for your planet—thus the changing opinions,” Nilre said.

  “So what do we do in the meantime?” Bast swished her tail back and forth. “The pirates are still a threat to everyone, no matter where they came from or whose fault it is.”

  Tomed leaned back against the wall. He started to put his hands behind his head, then sighed and put his left hand in his lap.

  “Nilre and I invited them to witness our interrogation of the prisoners we’ve captured. Hopefully, it will open a process where we can officially start working together.”

  Rrrark stood and stretched. “I believe it’s time to eat. Shall we see if the dining hall has any leftovers while we await the Council’s decision?”

  “That’s an excellent suggestion.” Nilre stood and followed him out a side door, Tomed right behind her.

  Bast shrugged and padded along after them. She paused in the doorway for a moment to decide what she wanted to eat. The raw meat salad looked good. She opened her mouth to say so, when she heard her mother’s voice in her head.

  Bast, please come to my office right away.

  Yes, Mother. I’m on my way. She replied.

  She quickly excused herself and slipped into the hallway. Did her mother, the Queen, want to see her about personal or professional issues? Either way, it was impolite to keep her waiting. Bast increased her stride.

  The guard at the door to the Queens office didn’t so much as bat an ear when she approached and let herself in. She wasn’t in trouble then—if she were, she would have been escorted.

  “Your Majesty.” Bast bowed as she greeted her mother.

  “That’s hardly necessary when we’re alone.” Her mother smiled and waved Bast forward.

  “Sorry, Mother. I just don’t want to take advantage of our relationship, and I get business and personal relationships mixed up sometimes. It’s hard to tell where they separate.”

  “Very true.” Mother looked Bast in the eye. “And this meeting will be no exception, I’m afraid. What have you heard about the Council’s decision over the aliens?”

  “Not much,” Bast stood and paced back and forth. “I gave my testimony to Master SarrOw, who in turn gave it to the Council. I’ve seen a few people come and go, but I haven’t been able to get anything out of them. Tomed and Nilre didn’t seem too upset when they left the Council chamber, but they didn’t seem too happy either.” She cocked her head and thought for a moment. “Humans are hard to read, though.” Bast stopped pacing and lay down with a sigh. “What’s going to happen, Mother?”

  Mother stretched out her neck and gave Bast a lick behind the ears. “Well, that’s a good question. Right now the Council is in recess to allow everyone to think over the evidence.

  “Which brings me to why you’re here. Both sides have excellent points. I need to hear your opinion. From the account Master SarrOw gave, you’ve been around both the best and the worst the aliens have to offer. Do you think we should have anything further to do with them?”

  Bast stared at her mother.

  “I don’t know,” she finally said.

  Mother smiled and licked her cheek again. “I’m not asking you to make a ruling, dear; I just want your opinion.”

  “Oh. Well, I don’t know what’s best for our people. I’ve made friends among them. A few of them are bad, but as a whole, they seem to feel the same way about the bad ones as we do. It’s hard to say, they’re… they’re so different from us in many ways.” Bast cleared her throat and looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry I’m rambling. I’m probably not helping, am I?”

  “Bast.”

  Bast looked up at her mother.

  “What do you want to do about the current situation?”

  “I want to go back with my friends and help them find the ones responsible for the attack on our world and stop them from doing this to anyone else.

  “I don’t know how, but I feel there’s something more I can do—and if I don’t, more of these pirates will come bother us, and other innocent people too. I have an opportunity to help stop them, and I want to do what I can.”

  “Well said. However, do you think there’s a possibility that the humans are putting all this on as a show, just to see what we’re capable of before invading?”

  Bast’s tail shot straight out behind her and puffed out. Sh
e took a deep breath and willed the fur down before she spoke.

  “Never. The humans I know are just as shocked at the actions of the bad humans as we are. They’re rogues, like the clanless here.”

  Her mother’s ears flattened to the sides of her head. “It’s been a decade since we’ve had any clanless, and there are only ever one or two of them at a time. Hrrarr reported that there were hundreds of these human pirates.”

  “So?” Bast fought the urge to rise and start pacing again. “These pirates are just as un-representative of their race as the clanless are of ours. Are we just going to hide here on our world and pretend they don’t exist? I may be young, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. I’ve spent time around the good humans. They’re different, but they do hold similar values to ours. I think we should partner with them against what is now a common threat.”

  “Perhaps.” Her mother was silent for a moment. Only her tail flicked back and forth. “You make a good point. However, we still don’t know enough about these humans to know how that kind of relationship will play out long term.”

  “Well, Tomed said something about inviting some of the Council to watch the interrogation of the prisoners. Come watch. I’m sure if you’re around them enough you’ll see.”

  Her mother rose to her feet and padded over to Bast. She rubbed the side of her muzzle against Bast’s, and then gave her a lick on the forehead.

  “That’s an excellent idea. Go join your friends for lunch. I’ll see you at the humans’ shuttle when they’re ready.”

  Bast was the last one to enter the room aboard the Goddard where the Meskka were gathered to watch the humans interrogate the pirate prisoners. Her view of the front was completely blocked. She found a human-style chair that had been shoved back into the far corner of the room, slowly made her way over to it, and hopped up on top of the seat. The chair was just large enough for her if she sat up with all four of her feet as close together as she could get them. She flicked her tail until she found her balance.