Redemption Song

by Henry A. Burns

  The little Alsoo shook itself and then began warbling to his remaining fighters. In ones and twos and then in small groups, the remaining Alsoo started to retreat. The marines started giving them covering fire. The last to begin his retreat was Speaker First-Son-First-Born. He pushed, prodded, and even hit some of the more recalcitrant Alsoo to get them moving before turning to leave. It was at that very moment that he was grabbed by a king Polig-Grug.

  “No!” shouted Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze in horrified unison as the insect-like creature bit the little Alsoo in half. The speaker didn’t even have time to scream before he died. Without thinking, Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze charged the Polig-Grug and swung their battle maces. They did not stop until they had smashed the legs of the king and the creature was writhing helplessly in pain. Cool Evening Breeze looked at the creature. “I know you can understand me,” she snarled. “We are going to exterminate your race,” she growled. “We will not stop until there is not a single one of you left.”

  The creature clicked and whistled. “Old are we,” came the translation. “Others have said the same, meat they were. Meat you will be.”

  Hendriks leaned closer. “Not this time,” he said. “Let’s go, Breeze.”

  “One second,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. She raised her battle axe and brought it down on the creature’s head with every ounce of her hate-fueled strength. The creature’s head exploded under the impact. She then picked up the mangled remains of First-Son-First-Born. “Marines, collect our dead and let’s go.”

  The squad searched through the bodies and collected every dead Alsoo they could find. When they were sure they had all of them, they began their slow retreat.

  “Hey, are you guys still on the Silent Shadow?” came Joseph Franklin’s voice just as they were approaching the shuttle.

  “Just leaving now, Joseph,” Hendriks replied.

  “Wait ten, okay?” Franklin said. “I got something to do.”

  Cool Evening Breeze and Hendriks looked at each other and shrugged. “We’ll wait,” Hendriks said.

  A couple minutes later, Franklin floated into the ship. His floater was piloted by the Alsoo neuter Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born. “Make this fast, Franklin,” Hendriks growled. “I want to get the stink out of my nose.”

  “You and me both,” Franklin replied. He pointed to a large bundle hanging off the side of the floater. “You mind getting that out of the bag and attaching it to the nearest power outlet?”

  “I got it,” said one of the marines. He removed the bundle and pulled a torpedo-shaped object out of the bag. It was less than a meter long and had two flat circular pads on one side.

  “Those pads are magnetic. Use them to attach it to a wall or something,” Franklin said. “Once you connect it to a power source, press the red button.”

  “Done,” said the marine a few minutes later.

  “Okay, we can leave now,” Franklin replied. “See you back at the Nieth,” he said, and Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born started piloting the floater away.

  “Hey, you can’t just leave without telling us what you just did,” complained Hendriks.

  “I didn’t tell you?” Franklin replied in shock.

  “Maker/he dizzy think/he,” complained Second-Daughter -Fifth-Born.

  “Probably,” agreed Franklin. “It’s a little gift for the Polig-Grug.” He smiled. “We found their home world,” he shrugged. “It won’t destroy them, unfortunately, but it will send a message.”

  “Boom,” warbled Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born. “Big/big boom.”

  “And that’s just going to be the first,” Franklin said cheerfully.

  “Eaters/they lots big/big boom get/they,” warbled Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born in satisfaction.

  Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze looked at each other and grinned. “Looks like you’re gonna keep your promise to the Polig-Grug.”

  “Looks like,” agreed Cool Evening Breeze. “We should go,” she said. “You know how Momma worries when we’re gone too long.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Hendriks. He and Cool Evening Breeze entered the shuttle.

  “Back to the Shrike, Core Sister,” Joseph Franklin said to the Alsoo. Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born warbled in amusement and piloted the floater back to Shrike One. Once he was safely back in the Shrike, he had Black Rocks pilot the fighter craft a few hundred meters away. Joseph spoke to his Torque and reviewed the results that were displayed to just his eyes. He nodded and then spoke a command.

  The derelict ship slowly turned until its prow was pointed away from the sun. The Shrike drones detached and shot away as the Silent Shadow’s main engines powered up. The ship began to glow brighter and brighter, and then with a soundless roar, the ship seemed to stretch—and then, like a soap bubble, it vanished as if it never was.

  “Hey Franklin,” Hendriks’ voice came through the Torque. “Just wondering, how come you used the Silent Shadow? That was a pretty small bomb. You could have used a Shrike.”

  “Killing two birds with one stone, Hendriks,” Franklin replied. “I figured a rogue black hole would be better off among the Polig-Grug than here.”

  “Ah, good point. Thanks,” Hendriks replied. “Hendriks out.”

  Captain Kasumi checked the status reports as they flowed past her vision via the Torque. “Looks like we got them all,” she said in relief. “Still, I’ll advise all governments to keep an eye out for unusual disappearances or sightings.”

  “Agreed,” said David Eisenstadt. “I’m still surprised at how crude their attack was.”

  “I wouldn’t call using a singularity crude,” disagreed Mel.

  “I was speaking about their tactics,” Eisenstadt replied. “It was barely above throwing rocks. It was crude and obvious and not what I would have expected from a spacefaring race,” he said in complaint. “A five-year-old would have come up with something more sophisticated.”

  “I think you’ve put your finger on it, David.” Jeremy Blunt rose from his seat and walked over to a wall where there was a life-sized image of a Polig-Grug. “Kings may be intelligent, but according to the records we have, their tactics are almost instinctive. They try to overwhelm their prey’s defenses.”

  “But doesn’t that mean that once they realize they’ve failed, they’ll just try again?” Mel suggested. “Only with even more ships?”

  Eisenstadt nodded. “Most likely,” he agreed. “But now we know where they live,” he said with satisfaction.

  Bright Sunlight listened as humans and Rynn discussed the possible future. He looked at his daughter with understandable pride. You’ve done more in the past few sun paths than your entire species has been able to accomplish in the previous one hundred, he thought. He turned his head to look at Jeremy, only to find the older human looking directly at him. Bright Sunlight briefly covered his eyes in respect. He stood.

  “Well, Daughter, you seem to have everything under control,” he said. “Now it is my turn to do the same.”

  “Father?” Kasumi asked in surprise.

  “We can’t let the humans be the only ones doing all the fighting.” He waggled his crest in amusement. “I need to get back to Nest and convince the other powers that we should be building our own Hunters.” He briefly covered his eyes. “I do hope you will visit the home of your birth sometime soon.”

  Kasumi stood. “I was told that seeing my home may be all I will ever be able to do.” She walked over to her father, placed her hands on his shoulders, and touched her forehead to his. “Spirits protect you,” she said earnestly.

  Again, Bright Sunlight briefly covered his eyes. “The truth that you are is like the sun,” he said solemnly. “At first I refused to see that truth and was indeed blind.” He smiled. “The truth that you are will illuminate the path that we must travel,” he said. “Your name will live forever, Kasumi Blunt of the Forest Cabin Clan.”

 
42

  TO BE TALL

  First-Son-Second-Born was now the speaker for the Alsoo. He was young to be a speaker, but the eyes that looked out at the world were old. With the aid of the split-tails and their magic, a new burrow had been dug in a single Light. Already the females were making the bare chambers more habitable. He side-winded up the ramp that led to one of the guard towers. The split-tails had offered to build the towers and citadel as well, but the speaker had convinced them to just provide the building materials.

  The speaker slithered along the walkway that led to the first and only completed tower. The second was still being built. From his vantage point, he could see most of the compound. Big split-tails and small split-tails were everywhere, and while the split-tails would look toward the burrow and towers frequently, few would approach. Speaker warbled quietly when he saw one of those few who did approach.

  It was one of the big split-tails—the one the previous speaker had called the spirit speaker. It was difficult to tell one big split-tail from another, but he had no difficulty recognizing this one. The big split-tail halted just at the boundary. The split-tail grunted and hooted. “Greet/me Speaker/you,” said a second voice.

  “Greet/me Spirit Speaker/you,” the speaker replied.

  “Short time big talk/you me question,” the spirit speaker said. “Big talk/you me warrior/you warrior path/you.” The spirit speaker held a long pointed stick, very much like the one the speaker himself carried.

  The spirit speaker executed a number of moves that the speaker could recognize as being for fighting, and a few he did not but could almost see the sense of them. Regardless, what he saw impressed him. Warrior/he, the speaker decided.

  “Spirit Speaker/you teach/we question,” the speaker asked and repeated a number of the moves.

  “Alsoo/you two-hand-one hands of warriors/you teach/you me,” replied the sprit speaker. “First sun step here/me.”

  “Two-hand-one hands of warriors/we. First sun step here/we,” agreed the speaker. “Pledge/oath.” He slapped his chest.

  “Pledge/oath,” agreed the spirit speaker. The big split-tail slapped his chest and then walked away.

  The speaker watched him go, and then he walked away himself. He had much to do before the following morning—the least of which was to find twenty-one warriors willing to fight alongside the split-tails.

  Jeremy walked back to the administration building in the compound. As expected, Morning Stars Fade was waiting patiently. “He agreed to the training,” Jeremy said.

  “I had no doubt that would be the case,” Morning Stars Fade replied. “Emily has already spoken to Raindrops in a Tide Pool,” he said. “They will give the Alsoo a wide berth during training.”

  “Miss Fields seems most competent,” Jeremy observed with a smile.

  “Very competent,” agreed Morning Stars Fade. He tilted his head slightly. “When did you know, Teacher?”

  Jeremy chuckled. “Everyone has potential, Disciple,” he said. “It’s just more obvious with some.” He added, “Miss Fields will be a good companion to you and whomever you choose to complete your core.”

  Morning Stars Fade briefly covered his eyes. “I think so too, Teacher,” he agreed. Morning Stars Fade looked toward where the Alsoo were building their sanctuary. “Will they survive, Teacher?”

  Jeremy’s expression became somber. “I don’t know, Disciple,” he admitted sadly. “The odds are against them,” he said. “What I do know is that we must do what we can to improve those odds.”

  The princess walked through the city and came upon the Temple of Light. With her were her longtime companions: the mist, the faceless one, and the stone giant. Curled around her neck was her newest companion, a little crystalline red and green snake. The princess stopped at the steps of the temple and knelt. She clapped her hands together twice.

  “I am the princess. I who have thirsted have learned there are those for whom thirst is all they have known. I who have hungered have learned that there are those who have never once known what it is like to not be hungry. I have stood before you naked, but it was by my hand and not thrust upon me by another,” she said. “I never expected to walk this path, and I fear I will fail.”

  “Failure only exists if you let it,” came a familiar dry voice. “Failure is only when you give up.” The old monk walked down the stairs. “The path forward is hard, and there is no guarantee that you will succeed, but not trying leads only to darkness and extinction.” The old monk smiled. “Remember, you do not walk this path alone,” she admonished. “You have forged an alliance that, even if fate deems otherwise, will shake the foundations of heaven.”

  She placed a hand on the princess’s head. “Do not worry about a failure that may be and instead focus on what is.” She looked past the princess and directly at the companions. “Morning Mist,” she said to the mist-like being. “Remember, keep your vow and seek out all who threaten.”

  “I will, Grandmother,” the mist-like being replied in a faint voice.

  “David,” she said to the stone giant. “The giant must wake or it will be destroyed.” There was a sound like stone on stone as the giant nodded.

  “And you who bear my name, I charge you with the most difficult task.” The old monk reached out with a hand and touched the faceless figure. “You will forever be her shield and her shadow,” she said. “But know this and hold it as truth: you are my granddaughter, my blood, and I could not be prouder.”

  “Thank you, Grandmother,” the faceless being replied. “I wish I had known you.”

  “No more than I you,” the old monk replied. “Now go. You have more tasks to perform.” She turned and started back up the stairs. Then she stopped and turned back. “And tell that old fool that he still has work to do as well.”

  Mel opened her eyes in the darkness. “Oh lord, now I’m starting to have dreams where my grandmother speaks to me.”

  “Me too,” Morning Mist said in a tiny voice. “She said I must seek out our enemies.”

  “The giant must wake,” David Eisenstadt said in a hushed voice.

  Kasumi sat up and smiled. “The path will be difficult, but for the first time, I truly have hope,” she said. “We might as well get up. We have work to do.”

  43

  WAR PAINT AND WAR DRUMS

  “Probe has entered the Polig-Grug system, commander,” reported the drone operator. “Running self-checks.”

  “How long before we start getting data?” asked David Eisenstadt..

  “Twenty Earth minutes, commander,” replied the drone operator, a Rynn by the name of Meadow Flower. “Assuming the Polig-Grug don’t destroy it first.”

  “Understood,” Eisenstadt replied. “Keep me updated.”

  “Of course, commander,” replied the drone operator.

  Eisenstadt nodded and turned his attention to other matters. Being commander of the human/Rynn war fleet consumed much of his attention. There were status reports to review, expenditures to approve, and tactics to devise. But the commander’s attention kept being drawn back to the still blank display screen. The Rynn designer who had built the war room had questioned the need for a central display, as the Torque would provide just as much if not more detail, but he had acceded to David’s request. After a while, David stopped pretending to work and locked his gaze on the display screen.

  “First data coming in,” the Rynn drone operator finally reported.

  “Onscreen,” the commander ordered. The drone operator chirped, and an image formed. The commander frowned. “What in blazes am I looking at?” he asked. “Where is the Polig-Grug home world?”

  The Rynn drone operator chirped to her Torque, as did several other technicians. For several minutes, that was all that could be heard. Eisenstadt continued to stare at the screen. He had reason to be confused. Instead of a planet, he was looking at something that looked like an orange sl
ice—even more so since the object was orange-ish in color.

  “The object is approximately 225,000 kilometers in length and 75,000 kilometers at its widest point,” a technician reported.

  “It has an atmosphere,” another technician reported in tones of surprise.

  “Life signs,” reported a third.

  “Commander, I think we’re looking at an artificial habitat,” the drone technician said.

  “Artificial?” the commander said in disbelief. “It’s five times the size of Earth.”

  “Artificial,” confirmed the technician. “What we are looking at is, I believe, what remains of the Polig-Grug home world and probably all the planets, asteroids, and everything else that was in that system.”

  “It’s a Dyson Ring,” the commander breathed.

  “That would not be an entirely accurate description,” said the drone technician. “But technically correct.” Her crest lowered but did not flatten. “That’s even beyond Rynn technology.”

  “Something does not add up,” the commander said. “If creating that is beyond Rynn technology, it should also be beyond Polig-Grug technology.” He looked at the image. “Meadow Flower, get as much data as possible. See how close you can get the probe to that.” He leaned back in his command chair. “Something does not add up.”

  The speaker for the Alsoo led his select group of warriors to the training ground. The sun was just peeking over the distant hills, but the spirit speaker was already waiting for them. “Greet/me you, Spirit Speaker,” said the Alsoo speaker.

  “Greet/me you, Speaker,” the white-furred split-tail replied in the strange double voice that all split-tails used. “Greet/me you, warriors.” He pointed to the drawn circle that enclosed most of the training area. “Start/we.”

  The split-tail spirit speaker walked to the drawn circle and waited for the Alsoo warriors to form into lines. When they were assembled, the spirit speaker picked up his staff. “Lau/move called/this.” He said and demonstrated. His staff swept upwards. “Sot/move called/this.” The staff swept downwards. “Hand of hand Lau/move, hand of hand Sot/move. Begin.”