A New Threat

by Aaron DeMott

  Bast watched them leave. She frowned and contacted Tomed telepathically.

  Three hours later the last of the pirates and their supplies had been rounded up. From the sparse number of crates they found, it appeared that someone had recently picked up a shipment. Rrrark had been able to find a trail for the ambassador. It led back to the airlock.

  Bast delayed returning to the ship as long as she could. She prowled around the building where the ambassador had been held captive. There must be something she’d missed!

  She didn’t find anything but the scents of several humans and a few fish in the refrigerator. Bast boarded the last shuttle to the Goddard and stared out the window for most of the trip.

  Ara was there when she stepped off the shuttle in the Goddard’s shuttle bay. “Hi, Bast.”

  “Hi, Ara. Why are you here?” Bast asked.

  “I’m checking everyone for any injuries. How’d you do?”

  “Fine. I only got into a little fight. No injuries.”

  “Oh, really,” Ara raised an eyebrow. “What’s that on your left side?”

  Bast looked over her shoulder. Caked blood ran along a gash from her shoulder to her stomach.

  “Huh. I didn’t even notice that. It’s nothing, only a scratch.”

  “Still—” Ara reached down and ran a finger over the wound. The cut was completely gone, even the fur over the cut had grown back.

  “Thanks, Ara.”

  “No problem. Ah, I see a marine who wasn’t so careful. See you later!” Ara waved and jogged over to a marine who was being carried out of the shuttle on a stretcher.

  According to Tomed, the after-mission briefing wasn’t for another two hours or so, depending on how long it took Nilre to interview all of them. Bast decided to grab a fish sandwich from the galley. She inhaled the delectable aroma of the fish and suddenly had a thought. She gulped down the rest of the sandwich and ran to the detention area.

  For the next hour, Bast sniffed all the captured pirates and compared them to the scents she had found in the building where the ambassador had been held. The men tried to look tough, but their eyes widened, they flinched away, and the smell of fear wafted off them when Bast sniffed them. Three of the scents from the room were not among the captured pirates. Rrrark was right, the ambassador had been moved a day or so before they had arrived.

  Chapter 16

  The whistle of a teakettle distracted Tomed. He flicked closed his holo-window and called out, “Hey, Nilre, the water’s ready!”

  Nilre emerged from her bedroom, walked quickly over to the counter, and lifted the squealing kettle from the hot element. She had changed into her usual attire which vaguely resembled a kimono.

  Nilre sat on the other end of the sofa and faced Tomed. She handed him a steaming mug. He raised a suspicious eyebrow.

  “It’s hot chocolate.”

  “Ah. Thanks.”

  The hot chocolate was a nice change from the inordinate amounts of tea Nilre usually thrust upon him. Not that he minded an occasional cup of tea, but he preferred it iced, and mostly in the summer.

  “I wonder if tea plants will grow on our new world,” he said.

  “So you’ve talked with the others about it.”

  It wasn’t a question. Nilre had doubtless talked to the other Psygens before he had. He re-opened the holo-window and brought up an image of the planet the Heim had found.

  “Yup. We all seem to be in agreement, so I sent in the preliminary papers for colonization.”

  “And we’re still waiting to hear back from UGAL?”

  “Yup. That part will take forever.” Tomed sipped his hot chocolate as they watched the hologram of the planet revolve around them. “Any ideas about a name?”

  “Zin,” she said without looking up from her teacup.

  “Zin? Why?” He scrunched his eyebrows at her.

  “It’s in an old book. Zin is a wilderness at the edge of the land promised to a chosen people.”

  “Hmm. Nice, but a tad presumptuous to call ourselves a chosen people, isn’t it?”

  Nilre took a sip of tea before she answered. “It’s just a metaphor, Tomed. I thought it’d fit. It’s not supposed to be exact.”

  “Nil, you’ve never been fun to tease.”

  Nilre opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a chime. Tomed reached out and pushed the flashing square in the hologram in front of him. He read the message and sighed.

  “Come on. We’ve got a meeting.”

  Bast blinked in a futile attempt to clear her sleepiness as she stumbled into the briefing room. Honestly, what was with these humans—calling meetings during late afternoon naptime? She slumped into a chair and glanced around the room. Her gaze fixed on Captain Trenton.

  The captain’s mouth was in a firm line, and he barely greeted the others as they filed into the room. Was he angry? Major Hood was already in the room. She turned her head as the door clicked open. Tomed and Nilre walked in and looked around at everyone in the room. They glanced at each other and sat down.

  “Bad news?” asked Tomed.

  “You could say that,” Captain Trenton replied. “UGAL Command on Earth received a message from the Paradise Colony fifteen minutes ago. In half an hour, it will be released on SatNet. Here’s a transcript.”

  The captain slid a tablet over to Tomed. He skimmed through the contents before he slid the tablet back.

  “The message is from Jokim Smarthe, formerly an aide to the colony governor. He announces that the Paradise Colony, along with Mining Colonies Three and Four, are claiming their independence from UGAL as the Human Republic. He’s now calling himself the governor of Paradise.” Captain Trenton paused for reactions. Everyone looked around and didn’t say a word.

  Finally, Tomed spoke, “I assume they made some demands after their tirade?”

  “Tirade?” Hrrarr asked.

  “I was about to get to that.” The captain rolled his eyes. “The next section of the message is a long, rambling diatribe about their reasons for succeeding from UGAL. Mostly they appear to be extremely xenophobic—various complaints about time and resources used with the SeQish and now the Meskka that—according to them—should have gone to better improve conditions for poor humans.

  “I want to pause at this point to re-assure our guests that neither UGAL nor myself believes or supports these outrageous statements. I don’t know where they got such an idea. Our trade with other races has brought access to medicines, materials, and cultural enrichment for all.

  “Anyway, the message goes on for several paragraphs about the Psygens. I showed Tomed the relevant section before the meeting so he’d be familiar enough with their accusations to present his side of the story. I suspect their suspicions about the Psygens are no more based on fact than their statements about human interaction with other races.

  “The separation of the colony from UGAL is going to cause enough problems, but Earth Government is worried a lot of people will believe enough of the nonsense about the Psygens and aliens to cause panic.”

  The captain nodded to Tomed. “There’s more to cover, but I’d like to give you a moment to address the accusations made about the Psygens. In the past we’ve depended on the Psygens to resolve situations like this. I suspect these accusations are a ploy to throw on enough suspicion to prevent people from calming down and addressing the problem with the colony logically.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” Tomed glanced at Nilre before he continued. “Most of the accusations are half-truths or embellishments. Much like taking pictures from a medical text and re-labeling them to show that a doctor has tortured a patient.

  “That said, many of them are true. We don’t prefer to tell the whole truth about our past because of the extreme reactions some people have. I’m sure most of you have seen such a reaction to something as simple as one of us healing someone.

  “I’d prefer we continue with this meeting and focus on dealing with the colony situation. Soon a lot of people will have the sam
e questions, and I’m sure UGAL or Earth Government will ask the Psygens for an official statement. I’d be happy to address any individual concerns after the meeting.”

  Tomed nodded to Captain Trenton, who pulled up a hologram of the Paradise system.

  “Until UGAL releases a formal decision on how to address the colony’s demand, the Heim and the Goddard have been ordered to the border of the area the Paradise Colony is claiming. We are then to stand by until further notice. Dismissed.”

  The captain stood and left the briefing.

  Bast turned to Hrrarr and Rrrark. Well, that rather proves it. What do you suppose this means for us?

  Rrrark turned to face her. That’s the question you should have been asking from the beginning. It depends on if this new group of humans wants to be left alone, or if they want to rid themselves of alien influence by force. And either way, we must decide whether to gain a new ally against them, or if the humans of Earth are just as dangerous to us.

  Bast slipped onto the bridge and made herself as small as possible against the back wall. This would be the best place to see what happened next. The comm beeped half an hour later.

  “Right on schedule.” Captain Trenton rose from the command chair and stood next to the comm officer. “That’s the announcement from the former Paradise Colony. Go ahead and play it shipwide—everyone will see it eventually.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The face of a short, fat human appeared on the screen and started in on his message. The content was mostly what had been covered in the briefing, except he expounded on everything in much more detail than Bast thought necessary for a political statement.

  Bast found the claims against the aliens fascinating. She supposed she should be offended, but they were so outrageous she almost laughed. Apparently this group of humans blamed anything and everything that went wrong on aliens. After she had listened to it for a while, she stopped trying to remember any of it.

  The group’s claims against the Psygens were even more interesting. They claimed that the Psygens were really a group of aliens who had conquered Earth in the past—one more reason for separation, or true freedom, as they called it.

  Further accusations about the “Oppressors”—their name for the Psygens—included: they never aged, complete with a current photo of Tomed, and one of him supposedly taken at the formation ceremony of the Earth Government for proof; their so-called powers were faked by using science they kept from humans; and Bast’s personal favorite, they ‘protected’ the humans only to raise them for experimentation, and possibly food.

  Bast laughed loud enough at that one to distract the bridge crew. Captain Trenton looked over his shoulder at her.

  “Sorry. They can’t possibly be serious. Can they?” she asked.

  The captain looked grim. “I’m afraid they are. Most of them probably don’t believe all of it, but enough of them agree with that nonsense to overthrow the government on Paradise.”

  “What will happen to the people on the colony who don’t agree with the pirates?”

  “That’s why we’re here on the border. For now we have to wait for UGAL to decide how to handle the situation.”

  Bast lay back against the wall, curled her tail around herself, and sighed. The heroes in the adventure stories never sat around and waited forever.

  Tomed flicked off the holo. He and Ara had gathered in Nilre’s quarters to watch the Human Republic’s manifesto together. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or shake his head in frustration. He turned to Nilre to gauge her reaction. Sadness filled her eyes, yet she tried to hold back a smile.

  “Sad that they’re leaving UGAL over such funny nonsense?” he asked.

  “I suspect the other Psygens would have the same reaction to those claims.”

  “Yeah. I love the contradictions. They call us cheap charlatans, yet secretive and mysterious overlords at the same time. It’s rather frustrating, with all we’ve sacrificed for them.”

  “You’d think we’d be used to it by now.” Ara slouched in her chair. “Yet every time I heal an injury a human doctor has pronounced untreatable, I get the same reaction: partly awed and partly terrified.”

  Nilre shook her head. “Looking back through human history, humans as a whole have never dealt well with things they didn’t understand.”

  “Yeah.” Ara sighed. “It’s just irritating when we’re treated that way sometimes, especially since they made—”

  “Well, the important thing is how we deal with this situation.” Tomed cleared his throat. “We could— and probably will, later—argue about our role in humanity for ages. What’s the general reaction to the news, Nilre?”

  Nilre closed her eyes for a moment. “Thims is with UGAL command now—and he wishes we were there instead of him. As predicted, many people believe enough of this tripe to cause concern. UGAL has quietly requested we step down from our oversight role immediately to show the public that the claims are nonsense.”

  “Woo!” Ara jumped to her feet. “Played right into our hands!”

  Tomed smacked her on the arm. “It’s that kind of statement that causes confusion like this.”

  “Ah, I’m only kidding—and it’s just us here now anyway.”

  “So what did Thims tell them, anyway?” Tomed pulled Ara back onto the sofa.

  “He did well. He pretended to consider it, and then mentioned the application we’ve put in for colonization.” Nilre grinned at them. “You’ll be glad to know that our request has been prioritized and granted. We can start colonizing Zin as soon as the situation here is resolved. Apparently they’re grateful the request came in before all this started.”

  “Well, it’s not like we haven’t been looking for a way out of that role for a long time anyway. I’m just glad—” A loud beep interrupted Tomed. He jumped up and checked the comm panel next to the door. “Trouble. A large ship is on an intercept course. Looks like the von Braun.”

  Ara rose to her feet. “I’ll be in med bay, ready to fake miracles, if anyone needs them.”

  The bridge hummed with the noise of several conversations when Tomed and Nilre stepped inside. A schematic of the Paradise system showed the von Braun and its intercept time on the main holographic display at the front of the bridge.

  “Incoming transmission from the von Braun,” announced Lieutenant Strouse. “Text only.”

  The captain looked up from the navigation console and nodded to her. “What’s it say?”

  “The message reads: ‘Goddard: stand down and withdraw from the border. P.S. They made me say that. Personally, if you want to fight, I’d love to, but you didn’t hear that from me.’ Its signed ‘Captain Loker.’”

  Captain Trenton raised an eyebrow. “It says that verbatim?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The captain glanced at Tomed. He shrugged.

  “Lieutenant, have we received word back from UGAL on how they want to handle this?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Lovely. Suggestions, Psygen?”

  “I haven’t heard anything official yet.” Tomed sat in the chair next to the captain. “But the propaganda they spewed has been more effective than we would have wished. Unofficially, UGAL would like Psygens to distance ourselves from our oversight role so as to not lend any imagined credibility to the rumors. I’d also like to reassure everyone that we are, indeed, not evil alien overlords.”

  Captain Trenton chuckled. “Duly noted.” He sat in his command chair and crossed his legs. “Stall it is then. Lieutenant, send a response to Mister Loker stating that we are awaiting final instructions from UGAL, and in the meantime, we are merely making ourselves available in the event we are needed. Also, send a coded message to the Heim requesting that they rendezvous with us ASAP.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The captain turned to Tomed. “Unofficially, what do you think?”

  “I think we’re in deep—oof,” He was interrupted by an elbow to the ribs from Nilre. “Sorry. I think we’re in trouble no matt
er what happens at this point.”

  The captain nodded, a grim look marring his features.

  “Captain, we’ve got a response from the Heim.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “They’re on their way, sir. ETA is twenty minutes.”

  “If you’ll excuse me.” Nilre stood and headed toward the door at the back of the bridge. “I’ll be in the conference room trying to get more information from our ‘friends’ out there.”

  Tomed waved to her and slumped in his seat. Nineteen minutes later Lieutenant Strouse announced the Heim’s arrival. A moment later the comm beeped again.

  “Sir, we have an incoming transmission from UGAL. It’s marked priority code one.”

  “I’ll take it in my office.” Captain Trenton stood and left the bridge. He returned shortly and waved for Tomed to follow him. He led the way back to his office and shut the door after they entered.

  “UGAL is continuing to negotiate with the pirates. Apparently they’re making some outrageous demands. They’ve confirmed that they have the SeQish ambassador and are threatening to harm or kill him unless UGAL gives them what they want.”

  Tomed nodded and whispered back: “My sources tell me the UGAL Council is split on the issue of granting the colony independence from UGAL control. Did your sources confirm?”

  The captain raised an eyebrow. “Not explicitly, but that’s the impression I got. Right now the pirates have us over a barrel until we get the ambassador back. Unofficially, I’d like to ask you to work with Nilre and our Meskka guests, if they’re willing, to see if you can retrieve the ambassador.”

  “And officially?” Tomed asked.

  “Officially, UGAL is negotiating with the pirates to secure the ambassador’s release before they do anything else. I don’t think the pirates are going to give up their trump card easily though.”

  “Not likely,” Tomed glanced over his shoulder for a second. “Nilre’s working on it.”

  “Tell her I appreciate the effort. Oh, I can’t let you use any UGAL equipment for this mission. However, it’s been hectic around here lately, and I’m sure a lot of stuff has been misplaced...”