Omoikane 45 - Order of the Bendarri Empire.
The Aftermath of the event on Bendervar was pretty familiar by now. Lots of briefings with senior Admirals and Generals. They did NOT like my explanation about Federation sensors magically shutting down Rishan technology.
I didn’t especially like how mysteriously and magically it worked, either.
My older brother, Admiral Hailey, did NOT help me out there. It turns out he was the original Federation discoverer of the Rishans. The Rishan planet that chased a starship? Yeah, that was the Admiral and his USS Harrier.
He had extensive notes. I added what Momra said to the open file.
At the bottom of the notes, my brother described the effect of Federation sensors on Rishan gear: “This effect is safe and reliable. I have been asked for confidentiality about it. Aggressively scan all Rishan artifacts as soon as practical.”
Admiral Hailey knew why Federation sensors turned off Rishan gear, but he wasn’t telling. So, in a fit of spite, I read that entry to the Bendarri High Command Officers.
“And now you know as much as I do,” I said.
-*-
Worse - a lot of the incident happened within long-range scanners. So civilian media had images of the Pyramid wading through Bendarri ships like they were paper mache’, and then we showed up, and the Pyramid dropped dead.
Most of the Bendarri People considered us heroes. They loved us.
And then Nyankapon twisted the Sword of Omens “Momra said to the Captain, ‘You’re as bad as Neiterkob’,” Nyankapon said in an interview, “I must admit. He wrapped things up very neatly for us. I am glad Captain Hailey is on our side.”
I recall staring in horror at the screen. There was no way in hell I could ever live up to that.
Then, the Empress declared a ceremony.
As we prepared, the protocol officer said, “Her Majesty is marking the end of Momra’s threat. This sort of thing no doubt seems silly to people of action. Her Majesty wishes for the ceremony to mark an official end to the fear and panic that gripped Bendervar and the empire. It matters. The ceremony lends emotional weight.”
In full mess dress, Li’ira and I were awarded the Order of the Bendarri Empire in a pomp and circumstance affair. A “Confrontation with Momra” campaign medal was minted for all the survivors. And the Omoikane crew. They called it the Kedzaj medal. Fitting.
Then, the Empress unveiled Momra. His body was sealed in a block of something clear and smooth. He was on some sort of dias with a big plaque. He was still in the black hooded robe and had the jewelry he was wearing when he breathed his last.
I suppose I understood. She wanted to make a show of him being dead. His threat to the empire was as dead and sealed away as he was. I also found it horrifying. His corpse would be on display in a public gallery. Everyone could see with their own eyes. Momra was really and truly dead. Then I remembered how he spoke of the people of the Bendarri Empire, and for a moment, it didn’t seem that bad.
-*-
After that was the traditional reception, where very important people milled around and chatted amiably and socially. Li’ira covered for me by being charming and sociable.
A few people asked for pictures or short videos. Communicating via video is a skill. There’s a course on it at Starfleet Academy. You have to project a little. Be a little bigger. Be a little more definite and solid in what you say.
I very carefully did nothing like any of that and worked hard to come off as boring as humanly possible.
I noticed as the night progressed. Serving people and valets surreptitiously slid white cards to some of the VIPs at the reception.
Just as I was seriously thinking about how to politely say good night and bail out, The Empress called, “Thank you for coming everyone! We will now close this event.”
Everyone stopped, and together they sang a song. It was a song about how good friends are, how good it is to meet, eat and, drink and talk. And about how we all went away from this place, friends once again.
It was cute.
At the end of the song everyone said “Good night!” in a ritual unison closing. They slammed drinks and snacks and began filing towards the exits.
I shot a grateful glance at Li’ira and we headed for the exit, too.
Princess ZellenKa, heir to the throne, caught us. She was not quite as big as the Empress, but she was as large as she needed to be. “Stay with us a little while longer, yet.”
As the majority of the crowd was leaving, a select few stayed, The selected people left the reception hall via a different door. I think it was the people given the white cards. We went down a hallway.
Some distance back in the palace, we entered another room. Valets in their perfect, overly decorated uniforms held the doors open for us, but didn’t come in.
The new place was round. The walls were ellipses and curves. There were couches and ledges built into the walls. Everything was carpeted. Along one side, curved tables, built to match the curves of the walls held more food and drink and treats.
ZellenKa said, “Please, be comfortable, this is a safe space.”
HowaKi took off her outer robes, and her crown and laid them aside “Everyone, we have a few new people tonight so remember the rules. We’re all friends here, nothing said here leaves these walls. This is a safe space.”
Then she started taking off the rest of her clothes. The rest of the select crowd followed suit.
I looked at Li’ira. I must admit I was quite concerned. Li’ira looked surprised until she looked at me. She grinned and her face got darker green.
Oh, God.
Li’ira unfastened her coat.
Oh, God!
Since it was a place of confidentiality, what I’ll tell you is this. Being naked was just being extremely casual. It was removing all badges of status and office.
It was a cuddling party. There was soft music, and the attendees spoke gently and supportively. Lots of people sniffed other people in ways Federation Diplomacy manuals might have called excessive. I wound up falling asleep on the Heir to the Throne of The Bendarri Empire.
As far as Diplomacy goes, I’ve had worse nights.
-*-
At the end of the night, a cuddle pile of bear-folk, cat-folk, and what-not else was very nice.
HowaKi said “Jay, I’d love to get more time to hear your stories. But I’m afraid you have to go.”
I looked at her “What? Oh, okay.” I started to get up.
“Not like that,” She said “I mean, you and the Omoikane have to leave the Empire.”
I titled my head, “Yes, Ma’am. May I ask why?”
“You’ve stumbled into being a larger-than-life hero. I’m afraid Nyankapon was a little put out that he didn’t get to fight Momra.”
“Is that why he said that?” I asked.
“I think that may have been part of it. The Bendarri people love you, except for the ones who hate you. You’ve generated a lot of public energy and opinion. There’s no good way to deal with it, except to flee. We’re all fallible beings. My family and my friends here have the advantage of lots of scripts and ceremonies to fall back on. We have mechanisms for dealing with the public, and the crazies on the outer edges of public opinion. You’re out on a limb. “
ZellenKa said, “I’ll bet 1000 currency units that someone’s most of the way through explaining why Hailey is Momra’s lackey and it was all staged.”
“No bet,” Admiral GoronZa said
HowaKi said “Counter bet. Hailey is actually Momra in disguise and has used magic to seize all of our brains.”
That got laughs and zombie faces.
“How long until someone says that HowaKi should step aside and Hailey should take over as Emperor?”
“About the same time, really. It’s the same flavor of crazy but with the polarity reversed.”
“Really?” I asked, “Really?”
They all looked at me for a moment. Admiral GoronZa said, “You’ve been in your Starfleet quite a while, haven’t you?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Your Starfleet has a certain culture. Certain expectations for ways of thought and behavior.”
“Well, yes, Sir. I’m sure the Bendarri Space Navy has similar things.”
“Indeed, we do. But civilians do not. Not at all.”
“Freedom also means the freedom to be crazy, Jay. Most people are realistic and fairly rational. But they don’t have to be. There’s nothing that punishes them for asserting that Space and other planets are not real and this is all some sort of simulation. Or that we should push out HowaKi and name you Emperor.”
I blinked “Ummm, I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“It’s the law of large numbers. Most folks will be pretty moderate and middle of the road. But filter for enough of them, and you’re going to get crazies. Filter the crazies and you can find people who might be dangerous. We have to plan for them and figure ways to make sure the crazies can’t break things for everyone else.”
HowaKi gathered me into a hug. I was drowning in bear empress. “We can switch if you want to. I’ll just take the Omoikane and flee. You stay here and try to keep everyone happy while crazies find ways to mess things up.”
Li’ira’s voice was chirpy “Aye, Captain HowaKi! Course laid in!”
That got more laughs.
“Honestly,” I muffled, “I think you’d be a much better starship captain than I’d ever be at your job.”
“Diplomatically stated. Are you okay? Can you breathe?”
I wriggled my face free and took a breath “I’m fine.”
She let me go with an amused expression. Then she snuffled my scalp. “Hmmm,” she decided “Not bad for a human.”
“Thanks. I get that a lot.”
Li’ira grinned widely.
“Okay, Do you mind if we stop by Forgal on our way out of the Empire?”
“I’d prefer it if you took an indirect course—Zig zag. Wander around. Scan everything you can reach. Visiting interesting places is certainly allowed. Just try not to give the crazies any more of an excuse to be crazy.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
After we got our clothes back on and various snacks and drinks shoved in our arms, the Valets showed Li’ira and me to a service transporter, and we beamed back to the Omoikane.
Omoikane - The Bendarri Empire
-
jayphailey
- Posts: 1219
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Re: Omoikane - The Bendarri Empire
Omoikane 46 - The Grand Tour
Before we left Bendervar, we went into polar orbit and scanned the whole planet. As we did so, Varupuchu’s people fielded an amazing number of messages. Fortunately, Ireymalan and Lotara were very good and very quick about answering them.
Then we left the Bendervar system and headed for Teirciard. Momra’s black Pyramid was there in a parking orbit. They were arguing about whether to tractor-beam it to the ground at the location specified in their history.
Teirciard was the most diverse of the Bendarri worlds. Every race in the region was there. Teirciard also had people that were not found on any other Bendarri world. Momra over-did it when he was creating people.
Of course, you could say he overdid it by doing so once. I did not mention the people maker to the Bendarri. I didn’t know how to mention it diplomatically.
We made a polar orbit over Teirciard and played tourist for a little bit. Iryemalan, Galaglan, and the Damyip finished up repairs as we could.
Although Teirciard was the most diverse of the Bendarri worlds, it was also the least unified politically. Their planetary parliament was huge and everyone argued all the time. It was also the least developed and least populated world of the five Bendarri core worlds. There were large wild areas and large rural areas, with small cities dotted here and there.
There were also ruins. El-Aurian architecture. On the floor of the ancient ruins, molecules and odd compounds of elements from the sorts of things El-Aurians liked to make technology out of.
In Ancient times, Momra turned Teirciard into cartoon villain Athens. Now, the results of his cartoonish schemes were ruins and tourist traps.
Tillean and other members of the Omoikane Crew who were archaeologists or amateur enthusiasts, wrote up a report. I contributed but left my name off it.
This caused a controversy, and Tillean spent a lot of our visit arguing with eminent scholars of Teirciard. I think she enjoyed it.
Then, having scanned Teirciard top to bottom to ensure any residual Rishan technology was good and dead, we moved on.
-*-
We visited Varsanah, which was much less energetically dramatic than Terciard. We scanned an ancient temple of Momra there. There was an ongoing debate on whether to remodel, preserve, or destroy it.
The Varsanah foreign minister requested to beam aboard and meet me confidentially.
Li’ira and I beamed the minister and two assistants up and took them to a conference room. Li’ira secured it and made sure there were no listening devices.
The foreign minister had a gray muzzle, but was bright-eyed and seemed genuinely happy to meet us. “We understand you have six members of the Cult of Momra that have been exiled. They can come home to Varsanah, if they like.”
I blinked “The last thing I want to do is antagonize Empress. She pronounced the sentence in the room with us.”
“I understand. You will be protected in this matter. HowaKi is our Empress, and we are loyal. But her power is not absolute, and we feel she may have been a little emotional given the circumstances. We also do not wish any conflict, so we are ready to hide them appropriately.”
“We have a history, as a world, of a complex relationship with Momra. Our people stayed loyal to him even when others didn’t. The Cult of Momra had deeper cultural roots here. We understand people who have lost their way following Momra, and we also understand when people come to realize what a horrible mistake they’ve made. Redemption from following Momra is part of our culture.”
I thought about it “I’m not here to hold hostages. If your folks want to go to Varsanah, I won’t stop them.”
Surprisingly, Two Varsanah talked it over with the foreign minister and asked to stay on the Omoikane Not as exiles and criminals, but as explorers. I let them.
-*-
The Next stop was Serdesa, home of the Lizard folks. There was more than one kind there.
Serdesa was hotter and drier than Earth. Besides meeting and greeting, we were invited to be guests of honor at a review.
The folks of Serdesa put on the biggest military parade I’ve ever seen. Thousands and thousands of Serdesan troops marched. Many were various marching bands. Not only were there infantry, but special-purpose troops. Search and rescue teams with lizard-dogs. Did Momra make those? Or were they what Momra made the Serdesans from? All were in these colorful dress uniforms.
Li’ira and I were seated on a viewing platform, with a shade above us. Around us the Serdesan High Command. I met a few of these high level officers on Bendervar.
Drinks and snacks were passed around.
Not only was there the VIP platform but there were bleachers with crowds cheering on their favorite units.
Overhead, ships from the Bendarri Space Navy cruised by. They were much lower and slower than normal, suitable for a parade.
The Omoikane could have done this. But it was energy-intensive, and there usually wasn’t much of a point.
My personal favorites were the assault carriers. Big ships designed to carry shuttles and other vehicles for an orbit to ground assault or for other uses. The Federation usually used ours for disaster relief.
The carriers and their escorts flew by with an escort of various shuttles, attack ships, and fighters.
Three different aerobatics teams passed by, doing tricks and maneuvers.
They liked formations of five and multiples of five. Each representing one of the Bendarri core worlds
It was a long day, but not a bad one. After the Parades and displays were all done, we could see and hear parties starting up.
As we mingled with Serdesa High Command, Admiral Zsolask of the Serdesan High Command came up and shook my hand “Thank you for coming by. Your timing was excellent. Did you know when Parade Day was?”
I shook my head “No, Sir. We were just passing by.”
“Well, it was a good excuse. I’m told the troops liked a chance to show off for you and your crew.”
“They were wonderful,” I said.
“I’ll tell them you said so.”
We played tourist, some there, too. We found out there was a venomous lizard rat thing that was no fun to encounter.
We also toured “The Fortress,” an ancient military facility. It was stupidly large. Some of the old architecture looked El-Aurian. We were told that Momra trained his legions of troops to enforce his rule here.
There were places where statues and images of Momra had been removed - thoroughly, if not aesthetically.
Now, the Fortress was where the Serdesa military trained its people.
I was asked to give a lecture and review the battles I’d been in recently. The young Lizard folks asked a lot of questions. Some were intelligent and some not so much.
Somewhere along the way, I learned that most Serdesans were part-timers. Reservists. Serving a tour and then being a reservist was the expected course. Some Serdsans loved the service and never left, but for most of the population, it was… very casual and less… stern. Sort of like adult scouts, but with occasional blaster practice.
Parade Day was when many people threw on uniforms and marched while specialty units showed off.
Some Serdesans hunted badges, trying to get the greatest number of qualifications.
Major Sckolerta, an old Infantry officer, said, “I was here with a weapon in hand, ready to get on a ship and go fight Momra and whatever followers or machines he had. I thank the Great Bird that you stopped him. Our people are good. We’ve had people rotating to and from the Thasite front. But … I didn’t want to see what Fighting Momra would do to us. I knew we’d get him in the end. I was afraid it would be over lots and lots of our bodies.”
“I’m delighted we were in a position to help out,” I said, “Thank you.”
It meant a lot to me to hear that.
Before we left Bendervar, we went into polar orbit and scanned the whole planet. As we did so, Varupuchu’s people fielded an amazing number of messages. Fortunately, Ireymalan and Lotara were very good and very quick about answering them.
Then we left the Bendervar system and headed for Teirciard. Momra’s black Pyramid was there in a parking orbit. They were arguing about whether to tractor-beam it to the ground at the location specified in their history.
Teirciard was the most diverse of the Bendarri worlds. Every race in the region was there. Teirciard also had people that were not found on any other Bendarri world. Momra over-did it when he was creating people.
Of course, you could say he overdid it by doing so once. I did not mention the people maker to the Bendarri. I didn’t know how to mention it diplomatically.
We made a polar orbit over Teirciard and played tourist for a little bit. Iryemalan, Galaglan, and the Damyip finished up repairs as we could.
Although Teirciard was the most diverse of the Bendarri worlds, it was also the least unified politically. Their planetary parliament was huge and everyone argued all the time. It was also the least developed and least populated world of the five Bendarri core worlds. There were large wild areas and large rural areas, with small cities dotted here and there.
There were also ruins. El-Aurian architecture. On the floor of the ancient ruins, molecules and odd compounds of elements from the sorts of things El-Aurians liked to make technology out of.
In Ancient times, Momra turned Teirciard into cartoon villain Athens. Now, the results of his cartoonish schemes were ruins and tourist traps.
Tillean and other members of the Omoikane Crew who were archaeologists or amateur enthusiasts, wrote up a report. I contributed but left my name off it.
This caused a controversy, and Tillean spent a lot of our visit arguing with eminent scholars of Teirciard. I think she enjoyed it.
Then, having scanned Teirciard top to bottom to ensure any residual Rishan technology was good and dead, we moved on.
-*-
We visited Varsanah, which was much less energetically dramatic than Terciard. We scanned an ancient temple of Momra there. There was an ongoing debate on whether to remodel, preserve, or destroy it.
The Varsanah foreign minister requested to beam aboard and meet me confidentially.
Li’ira and I beamed the minister and two assistants up and took them to a conference room. Li’ira secured it and made sure there were no listening devices.
The foreign minister had a gray muzzle, but was bright-eyed and seemed genuinely happy to meet us. “We understand you have six members of the Cult of Momra that have been exiled. They can come home to Varsanah, if they like.”
I blinked “The last thing I want to do is antagonize Empress. She pronounced the sentence in the room with us.”
“I understand. You will be protected in this matter. HowaKi is our Empress, and we are loyal. But her power is not absolute, and we feel she may have been a little emotional given the circumstances. We also do not wish any conflict, so we are ready to hide them appropriately.”
“We have a history, as a world, of a complex relationship with Momra. Our people stayed loyal to him even when others didn’t. The Cult of Momra had deeper cultural roots here. We understand people who have lost their way following Momra, and we also understand when people come to realize what a horrible mistake they’ve made. Redemption from following Momra is part of our culture.”
I thought about it “I’m not here to hold hostages. If your folks want to go to Varsanah, I won’t stop them.”
Surprisingly, Two Varsanah talked it over with the foreign minister and asked to stay on the Omoikane Not as exiles and criminals, but as explorers. I let them.
-*-
The Next stop was Serdesa, home of the Lizard folks. There was more than one kind there.
Serdesa was hotter and drier than Earth. Besides meeting and greeting, we were invited to be guests of honor at a review.
The folks of Serdesa put on the biggest military parade I’ve ever seen. Thousands and thousands of Serdesan troops marched. Many were various marching bands. Not only were there infantry, but special-purpose troops. Search and rescue teams with lizard-dogs. Did Momra make those? Or were they what Momra made the Serdesans from? All were in these colorful dress uniforms.
Li’ira and I were seated on a viewing platform, with a shade above us. Around us the Serdesan High Command. I met a few of these high level officers on Bendervar.
Drinks and snacks were passed around.
Not only was there the VIP platform but there were bleachers with crowds cheering on their favorite units.
Overhead, ships from the Bendarri Space Navy cruised by. They were much lower and slower than normal, suitable for a parade.
The Omoikane could have done this. But it was energy-intensive, and there usually wasn’t much of a point.
My personal favorites were the assault carriers. Big ships designed to carry shuttles and other vehicles for an orbit to ground assault or for other uses. The Federation usually used ours for disaster relief.
The carriers and their escorts flew by with an escort of various shuttles, attack ships, and fighters.
Three different aerobatics teams passed by, doing tricks and maneuvers.
They liked formations of five and multiples of five. Each representing one of the Bendarri core worlds
It was a long day, but not a bad one. After the Parades and displays were all done, we could see and hear parties starting up.
As we mingled with Serdesa High Command, Admiral Zsolask of the Serdesan High Command came up and shook my hand “Thank you for coming by. Your timing was excellent. Did you know when Parade Day was?”
I shook my head “No, Sir. We were just passing by.”
“Well, it was a good excuse. I’m told the troops liked a chance to show off for you and your crew.”
“They were wonderful,” I said.
“I’ll tell them you said so.”
We played tourist, some there, too. We found out there was a venomous lizard rat thing that was no fun to encounter.
We also toured “The Fortress,” an ancient military facility. It was stupidly large. Some of the old architecture looked El-Aurian. We were told that Momra trained his legions of troops to enforce his rule here.
There were places where statues and images of Momra had been removed - thoroughly, if not aesthetically.
Now, the Fortress was where the Serdesa military trained its people.
I was asked to give a lecture and review the battles I’d been in recently. The young Lizard folks asked a lot of questions. Some were intelligent and some not so much.
Somewhere along the way, I learned that most Serdesans were part-timers. Reservists. Serving a tour and then being a reservist was the expected course. Some Serdsans loved the service and never left, but for most of the population, it was… very casual and less… stern. Sort of like adult scouts, but with occasional blaster practice.
Parade Day was when many people threw on uniforms and marched while specialty units showed off.
Some Serdesans hunted badges, trying to get the greatest number of qualifications.
Major Sckolerta, an old Infantry officer, said, “I was here with a weapon in hand, ready to get on a ship and go fight Momra and whatever followers or machines he had. I thank the Great Bird that you stopped him. Our people are good. We’ve had people rotating to and from the Thasite front. But … I didn’t want to see what Fighting Momra would do to us. I knew we’d get him in the end. I was afraid it would be over lots and lots of our bodies.”
“I’m delighted we were in a position to help out,” I said, “Thank you.”
It meant a lot to me to hear that.
-
jayphailey
- Posts: 1219
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Re: Omoikane - The Bendarri Empire
Omoikane 47 - Grand Tour 2
Radipaka was an interesting stop. I’d have said they were over-militarized, except for recent events.
Radipakans based their history on one major event. Almost exactly 400 years ago, Momra and his armies invaded and smashed Radipaka, leaving a blood-drenched mess. In the Radipakan narrative, it was like the Great Patriotic War for Russia.
The Radipakans were defeated, their cities smashed, and the survivors enslaved. The Royal Family was massacred except for one survivor, Neiterkob. Neiterkob and a handful of retainers fled their home world and landed on Teirciard, where they launched a guerilla war and gave Momra hell.
The stories have been told and re-told.
Eventually, the hero Neiterkob and his allies defeated Momra and banished him, liberating the five worlds.
The Radipakans have been preparing to re-fight that battle ever since.
It stood them in good stead against the As’Taan and the Thasites.
Becoming part of the Bendarri Empire took a while. The Radipakans weren’t fans of having their sovereignty questioned.
When we showed up, we found rings of defenses and ships everywhere. The Radipakans liked small, fast escort types. They had cruisers, dreadnoughts, and even a couple of outright battleships. But their forces were disproportionately smaller, faster ships.
We were greeted warmly, and our request for a polar orbit was granted.
-*-
Li’ira and I were walking around a big outdoor market. It was fun in ways. There was music and dancing, games of skill and chance.
The Radipakans were omnivores - but they preferred meat. So there was a lot of meat.
Including small furry animals that would soon be meat. Bunny-squirrel-looking things. Tiny fox-bats. Small kangaroo mice. All in cages having a horrible time.
I don’t like to think of myself as being squeamish. I eat meat. Meat from a replicator. But I’ve been to working farms and ranches. I’ve eaten fresh meat.
We did survival training. I was lucky enough to bag and eat a squirrel during that. You do what you have to do to survive.
But live food animals in cages fixing to be murdered was a little much for me.
Li’ira got a skewer of some sort of meat in a sort of barbecue sauce. It didn’t seem to bother her much at all.
Most of the people there were cat people. Momra really outdid himself there. All sorts of cat people.
In ancient times, they divided up into castes and tribes. Intermixing was frowned upon. Tiger folks here. Lion folks there. Mixing was frowned upon. Mixers and their children were exiled to lives of poverty and misery.
After the war, this idea was aggressively murdered.
Now, the majority of Radipakans were some sort of multiple mix of cat-folk.
There were still folks you could positively identify as being one breed of cat folk, but they were rare.
Li’ira and I sat down on a bench outside a music tent. Radipakan music was… interesting. I didn’t especially like it. Lots of high-pitched, almost yodeling calls over a heavy bass and drum baseline with some sort of electric lyre doing jazz-like improvisations.
The louder, the better.
They had the strangest-looking ear plugs for sale all around the venue.
As we sat and I tried to figure out how to flee the bunny gulag and not lose any strange new worlds cred, a Radipakan woman approached. She walked right up to me. Barely spared Li’ira a glance.
“Grrrreetings,” She purred at me. She was sandy tan, with a dark face and dark ears.
“Hi,” I said, “I’m Jay, and this is my partner Li’ira.”
“Pleased to meet you both,” she said, still focused on me.
“How may I help you?” I asked
“I know this is going to sound very odd. May I touch you?”
“Uhhhhhh,” It was a very strange request,
“Carefully, I don’t wish to make you feel bad. But I find you fascinating. Really fascinating.”
“I can see that. I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”
“Only as far as you wish to go. Making you unhappy would be very sad to me.”
“Uhhhh, Okay?”
She approached and very carefully scritched my scalp. It felt pretty good, but the situation was too weird to enjoy it.
Then she worked her way behind my ears. Still nice. Then, still kneading and scritching gently, she put her nose against my scalp and breathed in deeply. And purred like she was going to break something.
She slid in beside me on the bench away from Li’ira. She leaned into me and just hugged me, Purring. “Thank you,” She murmured.
I gently reached up and scritched her behind her ear.
She purred even more, and kind of rolled on me. It would have been cute from a house cat. It was a little weird and awkward from a humanoid cat person I just met.
Then she put her head in my lap. I scritched her ears. She very daintly reached out and put one hand on Li’ira’s thigh. And heavy a deep, contented sigh, purring all the while.
“Zhelra,” A deep voice said.
A male, showing a lot of Lion stood there, carrying packages like they’d been shopping.
“What are you doing?” He asked her.
“Komazzsha,” She murmured from my lap “These are my new friends Jay and Li’ira. This man, Jay, gets it.”
“You have made a spectacle of yourself,” He said in a kindly tone.
I looked at the bench to find more room. Li’ira skootched over towards me. Zhelra wriggled onto both of our laps. She grabbed my hand and snuffled it, purring.
Komazzsha sat down “Thank you for being tolerant of my mate,” He said “I see you’ve met the human-ophiles among us before.”
“Umm, no?” I said
He peered at me, “Interesting. I’m told that on some human worlds, they have creatures. Felis Catus Domesticus. How do you feel about those?”
“Some of my best friends have been Felis Catus Domesticus,” I said. I was underselling. Some cats have been family members.
Komazzsha squeezed his eyes at me and rumbled, “I see. I thought this might be the case. Among humans, do you find some irresistibly drawn to house cats?”
“Yes,” I didn’t mention that I was one.
“Ahhh, then you understand. Zhelra has this affliction but in reverse. She finds humans almost irresistible.”
“You’re cute. And you smell so good.” Zhelra said from my lap.
“But not me?” Li’ira asked.
Zhelan looked up at her “I’m sorry. You’re very cute. But you don’t smell the same.”
“Your odor is interesting,” Komazzsha said to Li'ira “There is a tang to it I can’t identify. But for some of us, Humans are just too much."
I thought about it “I find your affection pleasing and affirming. I am glad you’re here, Zhelan.”
She purred louder and rolled in my lap somemore “Oh, he really gets it!”
I just enjoyed petting and scritching this woman I didn’t know for several minutes.
Komazzsha said “Zhelan. Really. Time.”
Reluctantly, she got up. Then she planted a fuzzy kiss on my forehead. “Thank you, Jay. Have a good day.”
And they left. Zhelan turned and looked at me as they left and squeezed her eyes at me.
I sat there and processed that for a bit. Then I carefully said to Li’ira, “What in the fuck.”
She grinned merrily. “Maybe I can get a good price for you at the pet shop.”
-*-
Later we found many of the human crew people on the Omoikane had similar encounters. Not all went as smoothly.
A small minority of Radipakans found humans cute and cuddly. The majority of the Radipakans just shrugged and said, “That’s them.”
Another minority of Radipakans were vocally anti-human.
Li’ira and Galaglan found places in the planetary network where Radipakans shared pictures of humans, human children, and humans in humorous situations. Often with silly captions.
Did any of the Omoikane crew keep any of these? I don’t know. I didn’t ask.
-*-
After a nice visit, we were wrapping up and preparing to move on. We got a message “Please report to [coordinates] for a high-level debrief.”
I figured it was going to be Nyankapon.
Li’ira said, “I really want to go with you.”
I said “I can’t guarantee how this is going to work out. “
“That's why I want to come along.”
I nodded. “Harksain, you have the bridge. If something stupid happens, fall back and contact the Bendarri.”
Varupuchu’s face was eloquent, “I have the bridge.”
-*-
We beamed down into a large office. The ceiling was tall. The furniture was large.
Nyankapon sat behind a desk. All the furniture and fittings were sized to him. The desk was cluttered with tablets and devices. And actual paper.
I looked around. There were bookshelves. Large books in a language I couldn’t read. Artifacts. Trophies. Pictures of happy cat people.
Li’ira and I came to attention. I bowed. I didn’t know what else to do.
“Welcome. Be at ease. We’re out of the public view for now. “His voice was deeper than I remembered. He stood up. He was bigger than I remembered.
“Would you like anything? I’ll have someone bring beverages if you like.”
“No, thank you, Your Majesty,” I said.
He looked at me. Hard. Like he was looking at my soul.
“So. How does it feel to be a hero?”
“I’m sorry if I have offended you, sir, I wasn’t aware.”
“I have spent my life working on being the second coming of Neiterkob. I learned to fight with the Sword of Omens, you know.”
I looked at him and tilted my head “How’d you find anyone to provide a challenge?”
He laughed. Hard, “You’d be surprised. When I was younger there were some who felt that by permanently injuring me, they could alter the balance of power around the throne. There were a few who felt I was unworthy of the Throne and Sword.”
He let that hang.
“I killed many. The experience altered all who seriously challenged me. And, If you know the buttons to press, a Klingon is always up for a fight.”
“At the moment I could have settled the question permanently, for generations. The moment when I could have been the hero I was destined to be. You swoop up and usurp my fight with some bullshit magic. You, a hairless, weak monkey boy with barely enough muscle power to move yourself around.”
“Had I known, Your Majesty, I’d have fed Momra the right lines. He’d have happily called you the same names he called Neiterkob.”
That got another chuckle “You think so?”
“How can we help you? How can we transfer that victory to you?” Li’ira asked.
“That’s a very good question. I am not sure I really know,” he said. “Power is a weird game. It’s all about emotions and perceptions. In its own way, it’s worse than anything the Rishans ever invented. Power drives people insane. People you should trust betray you. People with whom you share take stupid and insane risks to take it all and not have to share. You have to watch everyone. You have to prevent all knives aimed at your back, even when most of them don’t exist.”
Again, I felt my face scrunch up “That sounds very Klingon. Or historical from Earth. But I thought…”
“You thought we were more civilized? You thought we had a more modern form of government?”
“Ummm, yeah.”
“Sometimes, we do. We have all the mechanisms for it. But it comes and goes for my people. Sometimes, they just pick a leader they like and they run with him or her. Radipakans like faces. They like personalities.”
“And now,”
“There’s an Earth expression I like. I have a tiger by the tail.”
I blinked rapidly.
“And you. You stumbled into the middle of my juggling act and you take the shiniest ball out of play. What am I going to do with you?”
Li’ira said, “Go find the biggest, meanest Thasite you can find, fight him in front of a camera, and then march him through your capital in a Roman Triumph.”
“A what sort of triumph?”
Li’ira gestured towards one of his screens “May I?”
He gestured politely.
Li’ira called up the history files on Roman Triumphs.
They read the entry to each other.
Nyankapon stood straight up and paced, looking very Lion/Tiger-like “It’d take a campaign to locate and isolate the right Thasite stupid and crazy enough to go for it. It would cost lives, treasure, ships and gear.”
I could see the numbers running in his head.
“An apt but expensive solution to my problem.”
“The Thasites volunteer to be the bad guys. Might as well take them up on it when it works for you,” Li’ira said.
“I shall mull it over,” Nyankapon said “It has promise. Until then. I want you to endorse me. Appear with me, smiling and happy. Wave to the people. And then leave. Remove yourself from the sight of the Rapidakan people. Become a happy memory.”
“Would it surprise you to learn we already have that instruction from HowaKi?”
“For all her size and physical strength, she is subtle and always steps ahead. I might be able to take her in a physical fight. But she is clearly better at the game of power than I am. Now, let’s plan our happy appearance together.”
-*-
And that’s how I wound up on a balcony waving at everyone with the biggest smile I could manage next to Nyankapon, King of Radipaka.
He picked me up and set me on his shoulder. Easily. Like I was a child. I kept smiling and waving. Then he put Li’ira on his other shoulder.
“Wheeeee!” Li’ira called
“SMILE LOUDER!” Nyankapon bellowed “MAKE THEM BELIEVE IT!”
No one could hear him over the crowd.
“I LOVE RADIPAKANS! YOU’RE ALL INSANE! JUST DON’T KILL US!” I grinned and waved.
Li'ira laughed hard
Nyankapon laughed and waved to his adoring people.
Radipaka was an interesting stop. I’d have said they were over-militarized, except for recent events.
Radipakans based their history on one major event. Almost exactly 400 years ago, Momra and his armies invaded and smashed Radipaka, leaving a blood-drenched mess. In the Radipakan narrative, it was like the Great Patriotic War for Russia.
The Radipakans were defeated, their cities smashed, and the survivors enslaved. The Royal Family was massacred except for one survivor, Neiterkob. Neiterkob and a handful of retainers fled their home world and landed on Teirciard, where they launched a guerilla war and gave Momra hell.
The stories have been told and re-told.
Eventually, the hero Neiterkob and his allies defeated Momra and banished him, liberating the five worlds.
The Radipakans have been preparing to re-fight that battle ever since.
It stood them in good stead against the As’Taan and the Thasites.
Becoming part of the Bendarri Empire took a while. The Radipakans weren’t fans of having their sovereignty questioned.
When we showed up, we found rings of defenses and ships everywhere. The Radipakans liked small, fast escort types. They had cruisers, dreadnoughts, and even a couple of outright battleships. But their forces were disproportionately smaller, faster ships.
We were greeted warmly, and our request for a polar orbit was granted.
-*-
Li’ira and I were walking around a big outdoor market. It was fun in ways. There was music and dancing, games of skill and chance.
The Radipakans were omnivores - but they preferred meat. So there was a lot of meat.
Including small furry animals that would soon be meat. Bunny-squirrel-looking things. Tiny fox-bats. Small kangaroo mice. All in cages having a horrible time.
I don’t like to think of myself as being squeamish. I eat meat. Meat from a replicator. But I’ve been to working farms and ranches. I’ve eaten fresh meat.
We did survival training. I was lucky enough to bag and eat a squirrel during that. You do what you have to do to survive.
But live food animals in cages fixing to be murdered was a little much for me.
Li’ira got a skewer of some sort of meat in a sort of barbecue sauce. It didn’t seem to bother her much at all.
Most of the people there were cat people. Momra really outdid himself there. All sorts of cat people.
In ancient times, they divided up into castes and tribes. Intermixing was frowned upon. Tiger folks here. Lion folks there. Mixing was frowned upon. Mixers and their children were exiled to lives of poverty and misery.
After the war, this idea was aggressively murdered.
Now, the majority of Radipakans were some sort of multiple mix of cat-folk.
There were still folks you could positively identify as being one breed of cat folk, but they were rare.
Li’ira and I sat down on a bench outside a music tent. Radipakan music was… interesting. I didn’t especially like it. Lots of high-pitched, almost yodeling calls over a heavy bass and drum baseline with some sort of electric lyre doing jazz-like improvisations.
The louder, the better.
They had the strangest-looking ear plugs for sale all around the venue.
As we sat and I tried to figure out how to flee the bunny gulag and not lose any strange new worlds cred, a Radipakan woman approached. She walked right up to me. Barely spared Li’ira a glance.
“Grrrreetings,” She purred at me. She was sandy tan, with a dark face and dark ears.
“Hi,” I said, “I’m Jay, and this is my partner Li’ira.”
“Pleased to meet you both,” she said, still focused on me.
“How may I help you?” I asked
“I know this is going to sound very odd. May I touch you?”
“Uhhhhhh,” It was a very strange request,
“Carefully, I don’t wish to make you feel bad. But I find you fascinating. Really fascinating.”
“I can see that. I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”
“Only as far as you wish to go. Making you unhappy would be very sad to me.”
“Uhhhh, Okay?”
She approached and very carefully scritched my scalp. It felt pretty good, but the situation was too weird to enjoy it.
Then she worked her way behind my ears. Still nice. Then, still kneading and scritching gently, she put her nose against my scalp and breathed in deeply. And purred like she was going to break something.
She slid in beside me on the bench away from Li’ira. She leaned into me and just hugged me, Purring. “Thank you,” She murmured.
I gently reached up and scritched her behind her ear.
She purred even more, and kind of rolled on me. It would have been cute from a house cat. It was a little weird and awkward from a humanoid cat person I just met.
Then she put her head in my lap. I scritched her ears. She very daintly reached out and put one hand on Li’ira’s thigh. And heavy a deep, contented sigh, purring all the while.
“Zhelra,” A deep voice said.
A male, showing a lot of Lion stood there, carrying packages like they’d been shopping.
“What are you doing?” He asked her.
“Komazzsha,” She murmured from my lap “These are my new friends Jay and Li’ira. This man, Jay, gets it.”
“You have made a spectacle of yourself,” He said in a kindly tone.
I looked at the bench to find more room. Li’ira skootched over towards me. Zhelra wriggled onto both of our laps. She grabbed my hand and snuffled it, purring.
Komazzsha sat down “Thank you for being tolerant of my mate,” He said “I see you’ve met the human-ophiles among us before.”
“Umm, no?” I said
He peered at me, “Interesting. I’m told that on some human worlds, they have creatures. Felis Catus Domesticus. How do you feel about those?”
“Some of my best friends have been Felis Catus Domesticus,” I said. I was underselling. Some cats have been family members.
Komazzsha squeezed his eyes at me and rumbled, “I see. I thought this might be the case. Among humans, do you find some irresistibly drawn to house cats?”
“Yes,” I didn’t mention that I was one.
“Ahhh, then you understand. Zhelra has this affliction but in reverse. She finds humans almost irresistible.”
“You’re cute. And you smell so good.” Zhelra said from my lap.
“But not me?” Li’ira asked.
Zhelan looked up at her “I’m sorry. You’re very cute. But you don’t smell the same.”
“Your odor is interesting,” Komazzsha said to Li'ira “There is a tang to it I can’t identify. But for some of us, Humans are just too much."
I thought about it “I find your affection pleasing and affirming. I am glad you’re here, Zhelan.”
She purred louder and rolled in my lap somemore “Oh, he really gets it!”
I just enjoyed petting and scritching this woman I didn’t know for several minutes.
Komazzsha said “Zhelan. Really. Time.”
Reluctantly, she got up. Then she planted a fuzzy kiss on my forehead. “Thank you, Jay. Have a good day.”
And they left. Zhelan turned and looked at me as they left and squeezed her eyes at me.
I sat there and processed that for a bit. Then I carefully said to Li’ira, “What in the fuck.”
She grinned merrily. “Maybe I can get a good price for you at the pet shop.”
-*-
Later we found many of the human crew people on the Omoikane had similar encounters. Not all went as smoothly.
A small minority of Radipakans found humans cute and cuddly. The majority of the Radipakans just shrugged and said, “That’s them.”
Another minority of Radipakans were vocally anti-human.
Li’ira and Galaglan found places in the planetary network where Radipakans shared pictures of humans, human children, and humans in humorous situations. Often with silly captions.
Did any of the Omoikane crew keep any of these? I don’t know. I didn’t ask.
-*-
After a nice visit, we were wrapping up and preparing to move on. We got a message “Please report to [coordinates] for a high-level debrief.”
I figured it was going to be Nyankapon.
Li’ira said, “I really want to go with you.”
I said “I can’t guarantee how this is going to work out. “
“That's why I want to come along.”
I nodded. “Harksain, you have the bridge. If something stupid happens, fall back and contact the Bendarri.”
Varupuchu’s face was eloquent, “I have the bridge.”
-*-
We beamed down into a large office. The ceiling was tall. The furniture was large.
Nyankapon sat behind a desk. All the furniture and fittings were sized to him. The desk was cluttered with tablets and devices. And actual paper.
I looked around. There were bookshelves. Large books in a language I couldn’t read. Artifacts. Trophies. Pictures of happy cat people.
Li’ira and I came to attention. I bowed. I didn’t know what else to do.
“Welcome. Be at ease. We’re out of the public view for now. “His voice was deeper than I remembered. He stood up. He was bigger than I remembered.
“Would you like anything? I’ll have someone bring beverages if you like.”
“No, thank you, Your Majesty,” I said.
He looked at me. Hard. Like he was looking at my soul.
“So. How does it feel to be a hero?”
“I’m sorry if I have offended you, sir, I wasn’t aware.”
“I have spent my life working on being the second coming of Neiterkob. I learned to fight with the Sword of Omens, you know.”
I looked at him and tilted my head “How’d you find anyone to provide a challenge?”
He laughed. Hard, “You’d be surprised. When I was younger there were some who felt that by permanently injuring me, they could alter the balance of power around the throne. There were a few who felt I was unworthy of the Throne and Sword.”
He let that hang.
“I killed many. The experience altered all who seriously challenged me. And, If you know the buttons to press, a Klingon is always up for a fight.”
“At the moment I could have settled the question permanently, for generations. The moment when I could have been the hero I was destined to be. You swoop up and usurp my fight with some bullshit magic. You, a hairless, weak monkey boy with barely enough muscle power to move yourself around.”
“Had I known, Your Majesty, I’d have fed Momra the right lines. He’d have happily called you the same names he called Neiterkob.”
That got another chuckle “You think so?”
“How can we help you? How can we transfer that victory to you?” Li’ira asked.
“That’s a very good question. I am not sure I really know,” he said. “Power is a weird game. It’s all about emotions and perceptions. In its own way, it’s worse than anything the Rishans ever invented. Power drives people insane. People you should trust betray you. People with whom you share take stupid and insane risks to take it all and not have to share. You have to watch everyone. You have to prevent all knives aimed at your back, even when most of them don’t exist.”
Again, I felt my face scrunch up “That sounds very Klingon. Or historical from Earth. But I thought…”
“You thought we were more civilized? You thought we had a more modern form of government?”
“Ummm, yeah.”
“Sometimes, we do. We have all the mechanisms for it. But it comes and goes for my people. Sometimes, they just pick a leader they like and they run with him or her. Radipakans like faces. They like personalities.”
“And now,”
“There’s an Earth expression I like. I have a tiger by the tail.”
I blinked rapidly.
“And you. You stumbled into the middle of my juggling act and you take the shiniest ball out of play. What am I going to do with you?”
Li’ira said, “Go find the biggest, meanest Thasite you can find, fight him in front of a camera, and then march him through your capital in a Roman Triumph.”
“A what sort of triumph?”
Li’ira gestured towards one of his screens “May I?”
He gestured politely.
Li’ira called up the history files on Roman Triumphs.
They read the entry to each other.
Nyankapon stood straight up and paced, looking very Lion/Tiger-like “It’d take a campaign to locate and isolate the right Thasite stupid and crazy enough to go for it. It would cost lives, treasure, ships and gear.”
I could see the numbers running in his head.
“An apt but expensive solution to my problem.”
“The Thasites volunteer to be the bad guys. Might as well take them up on it when it works for you,” Li’ira said.
“I shall mull it over,” Nyankapon said “It has promise. Until then. I want you to endorse me. Appear with me, smiling and happy. Wave to the people. And then leave. Remove yourself from the sight of the Rapidakan people. Become a happy memory.”
“Would it surprise you to learn we already have that instruction from HowaKi?”
“For all her size and physical strength, she is subtle and always steps ahead. I might be able to take her in a physical fight. But she is clearly better at the game of power than I am. Now, let’s plan our happy appearance together.”
-*-
And that’s how I wound up on a balcony waving at everyone with the biggest smile I could manage next to Nyankapon, King of Radipaka.
He picked me up and set me on his shoulder. Easily. Like I was a child. I kept smiling and waving. Then he put Li’ira on his other shoulder.
“Wheeeee!” Li’ira called
“SMILE LOUDER!” Nyankapon bellowed “MAKE THEM BELIEVE IT!”
No one could hear him over the crowd.
“I LOVE RADIPAKANS! YOU’RE ALL INSANE! JUST DON’T KILL US!” I grinned and waved.
Li'ira laughed hard
Nyankapon laughed and waved to his adoring people.
-
jayphailey
- Posts: 1219
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Omoikane 48 - Forgal
Omoikane 48 - Forgal
We were escorted into a suite in the clinic. There was an ancient woman on a medical bed. The chief medical officer and her hand-picked staff were there, doting.
“Captain, Commander. This is Takala. The last surviving crew member of the Star Leaf.”
I drew myself to attention. The ruins of the Star Leaf were now a park in Alpha City. They’d crashed a very long time ago.
“Takala, these are Jay Hailey, a Federation Starship Captain, and his Second in Command, Li’ira O’Keefe,” The chief medical officer introduced us.
Takala peered at me, “Harumph. Human. Not from our batch. Good. And you, young woman. Why are you green?”
“My species is colloquially called Green Orion,” “Li’ra explained “Although we have a lot in common with humans, we’re not humans.”
Takala blinked at her “Pretty thing, though, aren’t you?”
Li’ira took the compliment out of it, “Thank you.”
“Alright, Kids! Give me a moment with the Captain.”
The Chief Medical Officer looked like someone just killed her dog. “Ma’am?”
“G’wan, Git! I just want a moment of privacy, and then we can do the sacred elder things you kids like so much.”
The medical staff reluctantly left the suite.
Takala got off the bed and moved better than she had any right to. I squinted. Underneath the ancient skin, there was a thin but intact woman. She went to the window and looked out over the city. “They’ve built up more. Captain, what’s the human population of this planet?”
“Our sensors read about five hundred million people. I didn’t get a demographic breakdown.”
“Are those repulsor lift vehicles I see? They’ve made some progress.”
“They’ve made friends,” I said. You could still see where parts of the city were built for wheeled vehicles. “The Bendarri shared high technology with the Forgal people.”
Takala turned toward me “How many of the people of this world share the same seven faces?”
“The majority,” I said.
Takala shook her head “Amazing. Just amazing it worked.”
“What worked?”
Takala sighed “They’re listening, you know.”
“Should they not be?”
“They already know. The people here. They’re self-replicating clones. We crashed here by accident. I had to repurpose top-secret biotechnology to allow them to survive. These people. They’re all clones of my shipmates. The only survivors. I was waiting for rescue. For some word from home.”
“I’m sorry. If any of your nav data survived, maybe we can try to backtrack your ship.”
She shook her head “I doubt it. We fell down a wormhole.”
“It couldn’t hurt to try.”
“You’ve rescued us in a different way.”
“Oh?”
“Genetic diversity. The whole self-replicating clone thing was a desperate attempt to work around only having seven survivors. If your people can share some different DNA with my kids, I think they may just make it, long-term.”
“We’ve already been approached,” I said, carefully avoiding how. Li’ira kept a straight face.
“Yeah, sure. Just make sure this clinic gets actual samples, okay?”
“For people who feel comfortable donating, sure.”
She peered at me. “Consent. Things must not be too bad for your people.”
“Yeah. I think you could say that.”
“I hope I get a chance to get used to that. So, tell me Captain Human Man, why did my kids think you were important enough to wake me up over?”
I sighed deeply, “There were a couple of incidents where we did our jobs and wound up in the public light while doing so.”
“Aha. War heroes. Random destruction and mayhem chose to throw random folks up as heroes. And then you get stuck trying to live up to it.”
“Sort of,” I said “You have the gist of it.”
“Okay, War Heroes. I’ll take a shower, get something to eat, and then we can let the kids fawn and celebrate.”
“Why did you have top-secret biotechnology on the Star Leaf?” Li’ira asked.
Takala looked carefully at Li’ira “I don’t suppose it could hurt now, could it? It was an attempt at peace. My people were in a war. A never-ending war. We couldn’t get out of it. There was no victory, only battles here and there. We charged ourselves up with righteous anger to defend against marauding monsters, and it turned into hate that wouldn’t die.
“My shipmates didn’t know. We were delivering the package to a neutral world. We were going to create a hybrid being. Us and our enemy. Together. Unified by a new species. But the Razanoids kept it too secret. Most of their military didn’t know our mission. We kept it too secret. My own shipmates didn’t know. We got swept up in another pointless battle. No one knew our courier mission was an undercover peace mission.
We got shot to pieces, and to escape we used damaged drives that put us here.”
“So, you used technology that was intended to create hybrid people to make these humans?” I asked
“More than that. I had to use some of the Razanoid DNA to make clones work. They are the hybrid children. They’re the peace that should have been.”
“And you didn’t tell your shipmates?” Li’ira asked
“The whole thing was weird and creepy enough without making it worse.”
Li’ira covered her reaction with a grim face.
“So, Captain War Hero Human Man. Commander Green Orion Pretty Lady, we’re going to go out there and tell a planet full of people how wonderful they are. How well they’re doing. That grandma is impressed and proud of them. Because I am. Each and every one of them deserves to hear it. We’re going to tell them that their ancestors would be happy and proud they’re here. That they are a worthy legacy of an advanced people.”
I rubbed my head. Yeah, actually, the people of Forgal did deserve to hear that.
“Are they still palling around with those Animal People?”
“Oh, yes. They’re enthusiastic members of the Bendarri Empire.”
“Like something out of a childrens’ book. I really thought I was hallucinating first time I laid eyes on ‘em.”
-*-
We stepped outside the door to the suite to let Takala get her shower and dress. The Forgal medical people were looking at us with stunned faces.
“How much of that was new to you?” Li’ira asked.
“The part about the Razanoid DNA,” The Chief Medical Officer said.
“We, we grew up on stories of the war between the Solians and the Razanoids. The Razanoids were the terrible monsters,” A nurse said.
“The stories we were raised on. It was warmed-over war propaganda. The Razanoids were the monsters to fight, the enemy to defeat. The epitome of all that was dark and evil.”
“And now, you find, you were also the Razanoids all along,” I said. “Poetic.”
“The part where we are the result of a desperate ploy for peace,” Another medical person said. “I’m not sure Takala ever told our foremothers the whole truth.”
“Well, now you have a choice. How are you going to relate to this knowledge? Are you going to tell your people this?” I asked.
“What are YOU going to do?” The Chief Medical Officer asked me.
“Nothing. This is a Prime Directive issue. The Federation and Starfleet have no position on what you choose to do. Your world. Your people. Your choice.”
The door opened and Takala emerged dressed in something conservative and dark red. “Oh, my God, you’re beautiful,” She said to the people in the hallway “You have no idea how hard we fought to get to you. You have no idea what you mean.”
“Probably better if you’d told us sooner,” the Chief Medical Officer said.
“I was too used to keeping secrets. I was too used to living under wartime conditions. Too used to doing whatever it took to accomplish the mission no matter the cost. I guess I’m the last casualty of the old war,” Takala said. “I’m the past. You people. You’re the future.”
“But are we really? Are we really people? Or are we genetic monsters?”
I jumped in “My job is to explore the deep recesses of space and find new people and new civilizations. I know people when I see them. You’re people.”
‘How much of us is Razanoid and how much is Solian? How much person and how much monster are we?”
“You’re as much of each as you chose to be,” Li’ira said. “You’re exactly the same people you were this morning. Don’t get twisted. You found something interesting about your family history. Great Grandpa was on the other side of the war. It happens.”
“This is going to take a while to sort out. Can we do it over breakfast?” Takala said.
-*-
We took Takala to see the wreckage of the Star Leaf. Crowds gathered. Planetary Grandma was out and about.
“How long have you been in hibernation?” I asked her.
“Oh, off and on about 1500 orbits of this world around its primary. They called the star Journey, after the President of the Solnoids.”
She went and touched the ancient hull metal in the park. Then we went over to a picnic pavilion. A concrete slab, with a roof held up by timbers. Benches and barbeques.
Takala looked at the horizon, moved a little and looked again, “Here.”
“What was here?”
“The hut where I spend about thirty years trying to raise up enough kids with enough knowledge not to starve to death. They expect me to be reverent of the ship. It was only a starship for me for about six months. Then it was our shelter and our tool kit as we tried to make a colony without enough people or supplies.”
I breathed deeply. It sounded scary and awful. I looked around “And now, it’s a really nice park.”
She slowly sat down at one of the benches and savored the nice day. It was sunny, warm but not hot. Fresh air played in the park as much as any of the park goers. “I like it better this way, really.”
-*-
Word of the origin of the Forgal people leaked within the day. By that night it was a scandal.
Takala called me, personally. I took the call in my office. “Hey, the President wants to see me. I need you to come with me.”
I squinted “Getting involved in local politics is not -”
“I need outside witnesses. I may need to ask you for a ride out of here. They might just try to bury me under the ship and claim it was all senile ramblings.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose “OKay. Where and when?”
-*-
The next morning we beamed down to the presidential palace. We were escorted to some sort of reception room. Takala was already there.
“Huh. Handsome blue guy. I like the antenna!”
“Thank you,” Varupuchu said.
This time I brought Harksain and had Li’ira stay behind on rescue watch.
“How many different kinds of people do you have?” Takala asked
“Lots,” I said “The number of people in contact with the Federation goes up daily. “
“Twenty-three different species on the Omoikane.” Varupuch said, “The Zarians, Tanaki, Humans and Aneilogs are the largest numbers.”
“You’re almost as bad as the animal people,” Takala said.
“We aspire to be worse,” Varupuch said dryly. “Madam Takala, may I scan you?”
“Why?”
“Our chief science officer has asked me to,”
She looked at us carefully “I’d prefer if you didn’t…. Wait. Go ahead. I’m curious about some things.”
Varupuchu scanned Takala with his tricorder and uploaded the scans to the Omoikane.
“I’m neither medical, nor science by my primary training. But even I can see that you’re not entirely human,”
She sighed “May I see it?”
Varupuchu handed her his tricorder, she peered at intently “Ooo. This is much better than what we had. And I’m not sure…. But…” she moved the image of the scan around the screen with her finger. “Okay,” She handed Varupuch his tricorder back “I’m in much better shape than I had any right to expect.”
A Forgal person in a very high-ranking uniform came out of the big door “They’re ready for you- Wait, what are they doing here?”
“They’re with me,” Takala moved into the next room.
“She’s asked us to be human rights observers,” I said apologetically
“Ma’am, Ma’am!”
We followed Takala and the flustered staffer into an Ops room. It was a mix of command center and conference room.
The President of Forgal looked at us, unflustered. “Welcome Takala. Welcome guests.”
“They don’t need to be here,” an Older woman in what could only be the Fleet Commanders uniform said.
“They’re with me,” Takala said “I think I still have senority on you, admiral.”
“Stop,” The President said. You could tell. He had a presence. “We have no time for foolishness. Madam Takala. I’d like you to explain yourself. You’ve revealed things about us in one day that you never told us in 1500 years.”
Takala sighed “They’re from outside, Mister President. I’d kept things so secret for so long. I guess I felt the need to be validated.”
“And one of us wouldn’t have sufficed?
“You…. you’re my kids. The fact that this is blowing up kinda makes my point.”
“We built a space force and armed ourselves in case the Razanoids came back!” a General snarled. “We’ve been training to fight them for generations!”
“The stories you tell yourselves about what happened…. I couldn’t stop that. My shipmates, your foremothers … that war was all they knew. Of course, those were the stories they had. Making up better stories… that was on you.”
“We’re not in crash investigation mode, yet,” The President said “We’re still trying to recover enough not to crash. Madam Takala, please tell me about this secret peace mission we’re the products of.”
“There were always some contacts between the Solians and the Razanoids. There was always a minority among each that felt the war was unwarranted. They never prevailed.”
“There was also, always a minority among both sides that relished the war and viewed the opposition with such hatred that no compromise was possible. During the heaviest fighting, the peaceful factions kept talking and working towards peace.”
“During the ceasefires and lulls, there were always terrorists and renegades who created acts of violence.”
“In time the math became clear, both cultures were spending themselves into oblivion. We were pouring our resources and people into the war, never to return.”
“Two peaceful factions cooked up this idea - that if Solian/Razanoid hybrids could be shown, then it undid a lot of the worst of the hateful talking points. The hope was by showing a physical instance of unity, that then the peaceful factions would gain more momentum. We could turn away from war, and focus on nurturing the future.”
“That sounds hopelessly naive,” the President said.
“There was a secondary plan. We’d use the hybrid race as a backup to take over when both sides crumbled into dark ages from the stresses of the war, then the hybrids could take over and run things a little differently.”
“Which faction were you in?”
“Personally, I was in the hideout and replace faction. Be careful what you wish for. I think, once all the arguments were heard, and the plans decided, I was moved to the public display version of the plan, mainly to compartmentalize information. I could never reveal knowledge under interrogation that didn’t have.”
“Do you feel that we should work towards returning to Solian space and conquering it in order to run it properly?”
“Absolutely not. Fate threw us clear of the war. Fortune gave us a clean slate. You should take advantage of that, and grow how you will, free of the past.”
That got a long sort of sad pause.
“You know we’re in a war, now, right?” one of the Admirals asked.
I could see Takala’s heart break “Really?”
“Yes. Some people called the Thasites. They think they’re destined to rule the Galaxy. They showed up and started shooting. Our military power isn’t where we need it to be, but we’ve been contributing. We’ve been fighting alongside our Bendarri friends. We’re working on building our world to be a true power.”
Takala looked very old “I guess it never really ends, does it?”
“Peace is always possible. We’ve made some progress on the Thasites. It’s not much, but we have a thread. A small thread of hope. In time, it’ll be more,” I said
“Describe this progress. Describe your thread of hope.” The President said.
“My brothers were recently fighting the Thasites in the Fulcrum Region. They dealt a solid defeat to the Thasites. From what I’ve read, the Thasites’ concept of operational security is poor. So, we have agents and explorers interacting with Thasite culture.
When on the attack they present a united front, behind the lines - they’re a little fragmented and disorganized. That means we can learn things. We can get to know their culture.
“That ability to gain knowledge, the ability to move among them … that’s the thread of hope. In time, by knowing them better, we’ll be able to arrange it so they get their needs met by means other than war.”
“Your war goal is to gain understanding and empathy for the Thasites?”
“The Federation’s goal is always greater understanding. The first goal in a fight is to survive. But then we want to know what we’re fighting over and if there’s a way to resolve things less violently.”
One of the Generals got mad hearing me say that, “Naive claptrap. Optimistic bullshit.”
“I’m out here ready to bet my life and the life of my crew on it. My homeworld’s history has dark periods where violence and brutality ruled. We had to be fanatical optimists to get out of that.”
“My home world, as well, has examples of this,” Varupuchu said “We’re not big fans of our human friends roaming around and jumping in everyone’s laps and getting us involved in problems that are not ours. But the relentless, implacable optimism that lies at the core of the Federation, it changes things for the better.”
“You make it sound very attractive,” The President said “It’s something to consider.”
“I’m sold,” Takala said “I need some of that relentless optimism.”
“Don’t you see?” I asked, “You folks already embody that. You just have to see it in yourselves and then let it out. Takala and her shipmates raised an entire population of children in the hopes they’d build a better world. You people are the living descendants of hope. You have Solian DNA and Razanoid DNA, but it’s glued together with hope.”
The Forgalian President said, “That’s a good one. May I use that?”
“If it helps, sure! Please do.”
“Now, we have to identify just how much of our DNA is Razanoid and how much that affects us.”
“Can we help?”
“Do you have any molecular geneticists on your ship?”
“As a matter of fact, my chief science officer’s first specialty lies in that direction. I believe Tillean and her people can help.”
“Please.”
“Alright, who should we talk to cooperate with your science community?”
We were escorted into a suite in the clinic. There was an ancient woman on a medical bed. The chief medical officer and her hand-picked staff were there, doting.
“Captain, Commander. This is Takala. The last surviving crew member of the Star Leaf.”
I drew myself to attention. The ruins of the Star Leaf were now a park in Alpha City. They’d crashed a very long time ago.
“Takala, these are Jay Hailey, a Federation Starship Captain, and his Second in Command, Li’ira O’Keefe,” The chief medical officer introduced us.
Takala peered at me, “Harumph. Human. Not from our batch. Good. And you, young woman. Why are you green?”
“My species is colloquially called Green Orion,” “Li’ra explained “Although we have a lot in common with humans, we’re not humans.”
Takala blinked at her “Pretty thing, though, aren’t you?”
Li’ira took the compliment out of it, “Thank you.”
“Alright, Kids! Give me a moment with the Captain.”
The Chief Medical Officer looked like someone just killed her dog. “Ma’am?”
“G’wan, Git! I just want a moment of privacy, and then we can do the sacred elder things you kids like so much.”
The medical staff reluctantly left the suite.
Takala got off the bed and moved better than she had any right to. I squinted. Underneath the ancient skin, there was a thin but intact woman. She went to the window and looked out over the city. “They’ve built up more. Captain, what’s the human population of this planet?”
“Our sensors read about five hundred million people. I didn’t get a demographic breakdown.”
“Are those repulsor lift vehicles I see? They’ve made some progress.”
“They’ve made friends,” I said. You could still see where parts of the city were built for wheeled vehicles. “The Bendarri shared high technology with the Forgal people.”
Takala turned toward me “How many of the people of this world share the same seven faces?”
“The majority,” I said.
Takala shook her head “Amazing. Just amazing it worked.”
“What worked?”
Takala sighed “They’re listening, you know.”
“Should they not be?”
“They already know. The people here. They’re self-replicating clones. We crashed here by accident. I had to repurpose top-secret biotechnology to allow them to survive. These people. They’re all clones of my shipmates. The only survivors. I was waiting for rescue. For some word from home.”
“I’m sorry. If any of your nav data survived, maybe we can try to backtrack your ship.”
She shook her head “I doubt it. We fell down a wormhole.”
“It couldn’t hurt to try.”
“You’ve rescued us in a different way.”
“Oh?”
“Genetic diversity. The whole self-replicating clone thing was a desperate attempt to work around only having seven survivors. If your people can share some different DNA with my kids, I think they may just make it, long-term.”
“We’ve already been approached,” I said, carefully avoiding how. Li’ira kept a straight face.
“Yeah, sure. Just make sure this clinic gets actual samples, okay?”
“For people who feel comfortable donating, sure.”
She peered at me. “Consent. Things must not be too bad for your people.”
“Yeah. I think you could say that.”
“I hope I get a chance to get used to that. So, tell me Captain Human Man, why did my kids think you were important enough to wake me up over?”
I sighed deeply, “There were a couple of incidents where we did our jobs and wound up in the public light while doing so.”
“Aha. War heroes. Random destruction and mayhem chose to throw random folks up as heroes. And then you get stuck trying to live up to it.”
“Sort of,” I said “You have the gist of it.”
“Okay, War Heroes. I’ll take a shower, get something to eat, and then we can let the kids fawn and celebrate.”
“Why did you have top-secret biotechnology on the Star Leaf?” Li’ira asked.
Takala looked carefully at Li’ira “I don’t suppose it could hurt now, could it? It was an attempt at peace. My people were in a war. A never-ending war. We couldn’t get out of it. There was no victory, only battles here and there. We charged ourselves up with righteous anger to defend against marauding monsters, and it turned into hate that wouldn’t die.
“My shipmates didn’t know. We were delivering the package to a neutral world. We were going to create a hybrid being. Us and our enemy. Together. Unified by a new species. But the Razanoids kept it too secret. Most of their military didn’t know our mission. We kept it too secret. My own shipmates didn’t know. We got swept up in another pointless battle. No one knew our courier mission was an undercover peace mission.
We got shot to pieces, and to escape we used damaged drives that put us here.”
“So, you used technology that was intended to create hybrid people to make these humans?” I asked
“More than that. I had to use some of the Razanoid DNA to make clones work. They are the hybrid children. They’re the peace that should have been.”
“And you didn’t tell your shipmates?” Li’ira asked
“The whole thing was weird and creepy enough without making it worse.”
Li’ira covered her reaction with a grim face.
“So, Captain War Hero Human Man. Commander Green Orion Pretty Lady, we’re going to go out there and tell a planet full of people how wonderful they are. How well they’re doing. That grandma is impressed and proud of them. Because I am. Each and every one of them deserves to hear it. We’re going to tell them that their ancestors would be happy and proud they’re here. That they are a worthy legacy of an advanced people.”
I rubbed my head. Yeah, actually, the people of Forgal did deserve to hear that.
“Are they still palling around with those Animal People?”
“Oh, yes. They’re enthusiastic members of the Bendarri Empire.”
“Like something out of a childrens’ book. I really thought I was hallucinating first time I laid eyes on ‘em.”
-*-
We stepped outside the door to the suite to let Takala get her shower and dress. The Forgal medical people were looking at us with stunned faces.
“How much of that was new to you?” Li’ira asked.
“The part about the Razanoid DNA,” The Chief Medical Officer said.
“We, we grew up on stories of the war between the Solians and the Razanoids. The Razanoids were the terrible monsters,” A nurse said.
“The stories we were raised on. It was warmed-over war propaganda. The Razanoids were the monsters to fight, the enemy to defeat. The epitome of all that was dark and evil.”
“And now, you find, you were also the Razanoids all along,” I said. “Poetic.”
“The part where we are the result of a desperate ploy for peace,” Another medical person said. “I’m not sure Takala ever told our foremothers the whole truth.”
“Well, now you have a choice. How are you going to relate to this knowledge? Are you going to tell your people this?” I asked.
“What are YOU going to do?” The Chief Medical Officer asked me.
“Nothing. This is a Prime Directive issue. The Federation and Starfleet have no position on what you choose to do. Your world. Your people. Your choice.”
The door opened and Takala emerged dressed in something conservative and dark red. “Oh, my God, you’re beautiful,” She said to the people in the hallway “You have no idea how hard we fought to get to you. You have no idea what you mean.”
“Probably better if you’d told us sooner,” the Chief Medical Officer said.
“I was too used to keeping secrets. I was too used to living under wartime conditions. Too used to doing whatever it took to accomplish the mission no matter the cost. I guess I’m the last casualty of the old war,” Takala said. “I’m the past. You people. You’re the future.”
“But are we really? Are we really people? Or are we genetic monsters?”
I jumped in “My job is to explore the deep recesses of space and find new people and new civilizations. I know people when I see them. You’re people.”
‘How much of us is Razanoid and how much is Solian? How much person and how much monster are we?”
“You’re as much of each as you chose to be,” Li’ira said. “You’re exactly the same people you were this morning. Don’t get twisted. You found something interesting about your family history. Great Grandpa was on the other side of the war. It happens.”
“This is going to take a while to sort out. Can we do it over breakfast?” Takala said.
-*-
We took Takala to see the wreckage of the Star Leaf. Crowds gathered. Planetary Grandma was out and about.
“How long have you been in hibernation?” I asked her.
“Oh, off and on about 1500 orbits of this world around its primary. They called the star Journey, after the President of the Solnoids.”
She went and touched the ancient hull metal in the park. Then we went over to a picnic pavilion. A concrete slab, with a roof held up by timbers. Benches and barbeques.
Takala looked at the horizon, moved a little and looked again, “Here.”
“What was here?”
“The hut where I spend about thirty years trying to raise up enough kids with enough knowledge not to starve to death. They expect me to be reverent of the ship. It was only a starship for me for about six months. Then it was our shelter and our tool kit as we tried to make a colony without enough people or supplies.”
I breathed deeply. It sounded scary and awful. I looked around “And now, it’s a really nice park.”
She slowly sat down at one of the benches and savored the nice day. It was sunny, warm but not hot. Fresh air played in the park as much as any of the park goers. “I like it better this way, really.”
-*-
Word of the origin of the Forgal people leaked within the day. By that night it was a scandal.
Takala called me, personally. I took the call in my office. “Hey, the President wants to see me. I need you to come with me.”
I squinted “Getting involved in local politics is not -”
“I need outside witnesses. I may need to ask you for a ride out of here. They might just try to bury me under the ship and claim it was all senile ramblings.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose “OKay. Where and when?”
-*-
The next morning we beamed down to the presidential palace. We were escorted to some sort of reception room. Takala was already there.
“Huh. Handsome blue guy. I like the antenna!”
“Thank you,” Varupuchu said.
This time I brought Harksain and had Li’ira stay behind on rescue watch.
“How many different kinds of people do you have?” Takala asked
“Lots,” I said “The number of people in contact with the Federation goes up daily. “
“Twenty-three different species on the Omoikane.” Varupuch said, “The Zarians, Tanaki, Humans and Aneilogs are the largest numbers.”
“You’re almost as bad as the animal people,” Takala said.
“We aspire to be worse,” Varupuch said dryly. “Madam Takala, may I scan you?”
“Why?”
“Our chief science officer has asked me to,”
She looked at us carefully “I’d prefer if you didn’t…. Wait. Go ahead. I’m curious about some things.”
Varupuchu scanned Takala with his tricorder and uploaded the scans to the Omoikane.
“I’m neither medical, nor science by my primary training. But even I can see that you’re not entirely human,”
She sighed “May I see it?”
Varupuchu handed her his tricorder, she peered at intently “Ooo. This is much better than what we had. And I’m not sure…. But…” she moved the image of the scan around the screen with her finger. “Okay,” She handed Varupuch his tricorder back “I’m in much better shape than I had any right to expect.”
A Forgal person in a very high-ranking uniform came out of the big door “They’re ready for you- Wait, what are they doing here?”
“They’re with me,” Takala moved into the next room.
“She’s asked us to be human rights observers,” I said apologetically
“Ma’am, Ma’am!”
We followed Takala and the flustered staffer into an Ops room. It was a mix of command center and conference room.
The President of Forgal looked at us, unflustered. “Welcome Takala. Welcome guests.”
“They don’t need to be here,” an Older woman in what could only be the Fleet Commanders uniform said.
“They’re with me,” Takala said “I think I still have senority on you, admiral.”
“Stop,” The President said. You could tell. He had a presence. “We have no time for foolishness. Madam Takala. I’d like you to explain yourself. You’ve revealed things about us in one day that you never told us in 1500 years.”
Takala sighed “They’re from outside, Mister President. I’d kept things so secret for so long. I guess I felt the need to be validated.”
“And one of us wouldn’t have sufficed?
“You…. you’re my kids. The fact that this is blowing up kinda makes my point.”
“We built a space force and armed ourselves in case the Razanoids came back!” a General snarled. “We’ve been training to fight them for generations!”
“The stories you tell yourselves about what happened…. I couldn’t stop that. My shipmates, your foremothers … that war was all they knew. Of course, those were the stories they had. Making up better stories… that was on you.”
“We’re not in crash investigation mode, yet,” The President said “We’re still trying to recover enough not to crash. Madam Takala, please tell me about this secret peace mission we’re the products of.”
“There were always some contacts between the Solians and the Razanoids. There was always a minority among each that felt the war was unwarranted. They never prevailed.”
“There was also, always a minority among both sides that relished the war and viewed the opposition with such hatred that no compromise was possible. During the heaviest fighting, the peaceful factions kept talking and working towards peace.”
“During the ceasefires and lulls, there were always terrorists and renegades who created acts of violence.”
“In time the math became clear, both cultures were spending themselves into oblivion. We were pouring our resources and people into the war, never to return.”
“Two peaceful factions cooked up this idea - that if Solian/Razanoid hybrids could be shown, then it undid a lot of the worst of the hateful talking points. The hope was by showing a physical instance of unity, that then the peaceful factions would gain more momentum. We could turn away from war, and focus on nurturing the future.”
“That sounds hopelessly naive,” the President said.
“There was a secondary plan. We’d use the hybrid race as a backup to take over when both sides crumbled into dark ages from the stresses of the war, then the hybrids could take over and run things a little differently.”
“Which faction were you in?”
“Personally, I was in the hideout and replace faction. Be careful what you wish for. I think, once all the arguments were heard, and the plans decided, I was moved to the public display version of the plan, mainly to compartmentalize information. I could never reveal knowledge under interrogation that didn’t have.”
“Do you feel that we should work towards returning to Solian space and conquering it in order to run it properly?”
“Absolutely not. Fate threw us clear of the war. Fortune gave us a clean slate. You should take advantage of that, and grow how you will, free of the past.”
That got a long sort of sad pause.
“You know we’re in a war, now, right?” one of the Admirals asked.
I could see Takala’s heart break “Really?”
“Yes. Some people called the Thasites. They think they’re destined to rule the Galaxy. They showed up and started shooting. Our military power isn’t where we need it to be, but we’ve been contributing. We’ve been fighting alongside our Bendarri friends. We’re working on building our world to be a true power.”
Takala looked very old “I guess it never really ends, does it?”
“Peace is always possible. We’ve made some progress on the Thasites. It’s not much, but we have a thread. A small thread of hope. In time, it’ll be more,” I said
“Describe this progress. Describe your thread of hope.” The President said.
“My brothers were recently fighting the Thasites in the Fulcrum Region. They dealt a solid defeat to the Thasites. From what I’ve read, the Thasites’ concept of operational security is poor. So, we have agents and explorers interacting with Thasite culture.
When on the attack they present a united front, behind the lines - they’re a little fragmented and disorganized. That means we can learn things. We can get to know their culture.
“That ability to gain knowledge, the ability to move among them … that’s the thread of hope. In time, by knowing them better, we’ll be able to arrange it so they get their needs met by means other than war.”
“Your war goal is to gain understanding and empathy for the Thasites?”
“The Federation’s goal is always greater understanding. The first goal in a fight is to survive. But then we want to know what we’re fighting over and if there’s a way to resolve things less violently.”
One of the Generals got mad hearing me say that, “Naive claptrap. Optimistic bullshit.”
“I’m out here ready to bet my life and the life of my crew on it. My homeworld’s history has dark periods where violence and brutality ruled. We had to be fanatical optimists to get out of that.”
“My home world, as well, has examples of this,” Varupuchu said “We’re not big fans of our human friends roaming around and jumping in everyone’s laps and getting us involved in problems that are not ours. But the relentless, implacable optimism that lies at the core of the Federation, it changes things for the better.”
“You make it sound very attractive,” The President said “It’s something to consider.”
“I’m sold,” Takala said “I need some of that relentless optimism.”
“Don’t you see?” I asked, “You folks already embody that. You just have to see it in yourselves and then let it out. Takala and her shipmates raised an entire population of children in the hopes they’d build a better world. You people are the living descendants of hope. You have Solian DNA and Razanoid DNA, but it’s glued together with hope.”
The Forgalian President said, “That’s a good one. May I use that?”
“If it helps, sure! Please do.”
“Now, we have to identify just how much of our DNA is Razanoid and how much that affects us.”
“Can we help?”
“Do you have any molecular geneticists on your ship?”
“As a matter of fact, my chief science officer’s first specialty lies in that direction. I believe Tillean and her people can help.”
“Please.”
“Alright, who should we talk to cooperate with your science community?”
-
jayphailey
- Posts: 1219
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Re: Omoikane - The Bendarri Empire
Omoikane 49 - House Usigati
My heart was beating in my chest. My hands were sort of sweaty. I wanted to run. We were in a hallway outside an apartment. I looked at Li’ira. She was very straight faced. “You’re making me nervous,” she said.
It was time to jump. I reached out quickly and pushed the doorbell.
The door opened. There was Captain Usigati. She was both frumpy and radiant. She was beginning to show her pregnancy. She was dressed for comfort. Shapeless comfortable pants, an oversized smock of something soft. She smiled brilliantly at me “Jay! Good to see you! You must be Li’ira!”
Usigati hugged Li’ira and said, “Please come in. Welcome to my home.”
The place was huge. We took our boots off in the entryway and walked into a living room that you could almost land a shuttle in.
A man reading a tablet stood up. He was taller than me, and thinner. He had thick black hair. “This is my husband, Ado,” Usigati introduced.
Another man, still taller, with broad shoulders and red hair came out of a hallway. He was wearing shorts and had cyber-legs starting just above his knees. “And this is my husband Atok,”Usigati said.
Ado shook my hand and very seriously said “Welcome. So you’re the Earthman Usigati was talking about.”
“This is Captain Jay and Commander Li’ira from the Omoikane,” Usigati said.
“She talked about your ship as much as you,” Atok said.
“Dinners almost ready!” A blond woman who looked about twenty years older than the rest of them said, “Pleased!”
“This is my wife, Oda,” Usigati said “She feeds us, so we have her trapped here.”
Oda laughed “You’ve trapped me! Well, I’ve trapped you!”
“Why is that lady GREEN?” A boy said from the hallway
Ado looked back at the boy “Oriji. Manners.”
Usigati pointed at a boy and a girl lurking in the halfway “These are our current children Oriji,” The red haired boy waved “And Okimifu,” a dark haired girl with big brown eyes nodded solemnly.
“Li’ira is from a species called Green Orions,” I explained to the boy “They’re from The Orion colonies and… well, they’re green.”
“Are you always green?” He asked
Li’ira said “We have a friend who can change colors. But I am always green.”
“Dinner is about ready,” Oda said “Let’s set the table.”
It was a fun night, breaking bread with Usigati’s family, asking questions, answering questions and trading stories.
They considered Usigati’s pregnancy a wonderful gift.
Late that night as we were wrapping up, Usigati said “Let’s discuss names.”
I blinked. It hadn’t occurred to me.
“Do you people have a custom?”
“Ummm, sort of?” I said, “we borrow the names of parents and grandparents if we don’t have a clear preference.”
“And you don’t have a preference?”
“Ummm, Nothing that should over ride yours. My father’s name was Joseph.”
“Then her name shall be Joseph.”
“The feminine form is Josephine.”
“We’ll let her pick which one she likes.”
I liked that idea “Good.”
We made our goodbyes. I promised to come by again, when I could.
We exited the apartment and walked out of the building. As we walked, my head was spinning. I didn’t really know how I felt or what I should feel.
“How did she do that?” Li’ira asked
“Do what?”
“She was BEAUTIFUL,” Li’ira said, “Something about her elicited a strong reaction in me.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I got that, too.”
We beamed back to the Omoikane.
-*-
Tillean, Dr. Hobolisk, and Galaglan were in sick bay, scanning Takala. Dr. Iria the chief medical officer from the Clinic where Takala was kept in cold sleep was there, too.
Takala said “We were called Synthroids.”
Tillean “For synthetic people?”
Takala said “Yup. I started out as a sort of knockoff of the chief of intelligence for the Solian Nation.”
Galaglan said **How did they keep control of you?**
Takala sighed “By instilling patriotism and a sense of duty in me. I don’t think they realized how these feelings would evolve and change as I went on. Sometimes I think I was never meant to live as long as I have.”
Hobolisk said, “I can see that. You’ve aged differentially. Some parts of you are very old. Some parts are in much better condition.”
“So… what if my skin dies before the rest of me?” Takala asked.
Hobolisk shook his head “I love this job. I am not sure your skin can do that. There are complex interactions going on here.”
Galaglan said **We have technology that’s similar to your body. I think some of our stoner-type tech could be adapted to help here. But there’s a lot of biological interactions in play. It’s not just your skin. Many of your organs are hybrid synthetic and organic. **
Tillean said, “I have some ideas, but a lot of the work in the area is actually outlawed by Federation law.”
That got a reaction from everyone. Hobolisk said, “What do you have in mind?”
Tillean said, “Well to simplify it, I think We could clone some of Takala’s tissues and then do some telomere therapy and get the cells thinking they were much younger.”
Hobolisk said, “There were experiments like that happening on Tanak before the Federation came. It was tricky and difficult. I don’t know why, but our research never reached a public release phase that I recall.”
Dr. Iria said, “Our experiments in that direction have about a fifty/fifty result, either it works and the patient gets a strong rejuvenation effect or they get a wildly aggressive cancer. We’re still working on tracking down why. Worse, the older the subject is, the more likely telomere therapy gives them cancer. As you can imagine, advancing this field ethically is difficult.”
Tillean said, “Let me do some research and get back to you.”
Galaglan asked **Takala, may I share your medical information with The All? This is a fascinating problem.**
Takala asked, “The who now?”
**The Ane exist partially in a telepathic realm where we can all communicate with each other psionically, no matter the distance. We can share not only words and thoughts but also experiences, memories, and concepts… It’s a lot of fun and very difficult to describe to those who haven’t experienced it.**
“What all of the Ane? How do you maintain your individuality and not get subsumed?”
**We’re built for it. Humans and other species can be trained for it. But being part of The All is natural for the Ane. Our brains are similar in some ways to yours, but in other ways we’re quite different.**
“You know, the bear people are simpler.”
**In some ways perhaps,** Galaglan grinned **May I share your information? I feel millions of curious Ane may be able to find a solution to our problem where only a few of us here might not.**
“Uhhh, sure.” Takala said, “In for one, in for a hundred.”
“If your people are aliens, how do you know so much about human genetics?” Dr Iria asked.
**Some of our best friends have been humans. We don’t hold it against them,** Galaglan said **it gives us reasons to learn things about human genetics and biology. Some humans even learn things about ours.**
“How long have you known humans from Earth?” Dr Iria asked
**From Earth? About 18,000 years. Other humans, longer.**
“Oh.”
“How about Vicharrians? Aborians?” Tillean asked
**Only since the beginning of the Federation. Somehow you all escaped our notice until comparatively recently. **
Tillean grinned “We’ll have to work on being flashier.”
Hobolisk said, “There are some treatments I can apply that’ll help some for now.”
“Please,” Takala said.
“We could put you back into hibernation until we have a treatment regimen in hand.” Dr Aria said.
“No, thank you. Honestly, I’ve had enough hibernation for a while.”
-*-
Iryemalan said, “Captain, I have something.”
“In my ready room,” I said, standing up. “Lt. Karabal, you have the bridge.”
Karabal and Tarla looked at each other. They were friends from Tanak. It was Karabal’s first time as officer of the Bridge. I maintained my dignity as I went into my ready room. They were cute kids. Karabal was Varupuchu’s assistant Ops officer.
“What do you have, Iryemalan?”
“Clues from the preserved data and images are sparse, but I have a candidate location and time period.” The wall screen in my ready room showed a galaxy. It wasn’t ours.
“Galaxy Messier 110. About 8000 years ago. My confidence is 87%” The image zoomed into a stellar cluster.
87% was way too low. Finding anything at all was remarkable, but the result was too fuzzy for my liking. “Alright. Call around. Let’s see if anyone has any subspace telescope time to look closer at your target zone. I’d like a less fuzzy number to offer the Forgal.”
“Shall I share my information with the Forgal science establishment?”
“Please do.”
Then I heard Lt Karabal “Captain Hailey, to the bridge, please.”
“Keep working on it Iryemalan. Good work.”
“Thank you,” She said.
As I walked out the thought rattled in my brain. Humanoids littering this galaxy was thought to be an artifact. But the Forgal were human. From a galaxy two point six million light years away.
Karabal brought me back into the moment “Captain, we’re getting a distress call.”
On the screen there was a Musari. White fur with blotches of brown and black. “I’m Captain Hailey of the Federation Starship Omoikane,” I introduced myself.
“Yo, Fed Captain. You’re the other direction from what I expected. My friends are in trouble here. We were told by another Federation ship that you’re the rescue guys. We’re not really rigged for it.”
“What sort of trouble?”
He showed us a scan. An Orion light raider, very dim and distorted, “They stopped answering calls. They’’ve come to a stop. Something is mostly blocking our scans.”
I looked at their location. A red giant about 21 light years away.
“Alright,” I sighed “We’re on our way. Stay safe yourselves. I don’t want to try a double rescue.”
“Agreed. Thanks, Federation Dude.”
I sounded the recall. We had practiced enough now.
-*-
It took a few hours to get everyone back and get ready to move. “Take us out. As soon as we’re clear, best speed to the distress call.” I ordered.
We left Forgal.
I kept a scan of it on my small armrest display. Part of my heart was there, now. I was feeling a lot of things, and I had no clear idea what they were.
Li’ira caught my eye and nodded once solemnly.
My heart was beating in my chest. My hands were sort of sweaty. I wanted to run. We were in a hallway outside an apartment. I looked at Li’ira. She was very straight faced. “You’re making me nervous,” she said.
It was time to jump. I reached out quickly and pushed the doorbell.
The door opened. There was Captain Usigati. She was both frumpy and radiant. She was beginning to show her pregnancy. She was dressed for comfort. Shapeless comfortable pants, an oversized smock of something soft. She smiled brilliantly at me “Jay! Good to see you! You must be Li’ira!”
Usigati hugged Li’ira and said, “Please come in. Welcome to my home.”
The place was huge. We took our boots off in the entryway and walked into a living room that you could almost land a shuttle in.
A man reading a tablet stood up. He was taller than me, and thinner. He had thick black hair. “This is my husband, Ado,” Usigati introduced.
Another man, still taller, with broad shoulders and red hair came out of a hallway. He was wearing shorts and had cyber-legs starting just above his knees. “And this is my husband Atok,”Usigati said.
Ado shook my hand and very seriously said “Welcome. So you’re the Earthman Usigati was talking about.”
“This is Captain Jay and Commander Li’ira from the Omoikane,” Usigati said.
“She talked about your ship as much as you,” Atok said.
“Dinners almost ready!” A blond woman who looked about twenty years older than the rest of them said, “Pleased!”
“This is my wife, Oda,” Usigati said “She feeds us, so we have her trapped here.”
Oda laughed “You’ve trapped me! Well, I’ve trapped you!”
“Why is that lady GREEN?” A boy said from the hallway
Ado looked back at the boy “Oriji. Manners.”
Usigati pointed at a boy and a girl lurking in the halfway “These are our current children Oriji,” The red haired boy waved “And Okimifu,” a dark haired girl with big brown eyes nodded solemnly.
“Li’ira is from a species called Green Orions,” I explained to the boy “They’re from The Orion colonies and… well, they’re green.”
“Are you always green?” He asked
Li’ira said “We have a friend who can change colors. But I am always green.”
“Dinner is about ready,” Oda said “Let’s set the table.”
It was a fun night, breaking bread with Usigati’s family, asking questions, answering questions and trading stories.
They considered Usigati’s pregnancy a wonderful gift.
Late that night as we were wrapping up, Usigati said “Let’s discuss names.”
I blinked. It hadn’t occurred to me.
“Do you people have a custom?”
“Ummm, sort of?” I said, “we borrow the names of parents and grandparents if we don’t have a clear preference.”
“And you don’t have a preference?”
“Ummm, Nothing that should over ride yours. My father’s name was Joseph.”
“Then her name shall be Joseph.”
“The feminine form is Josephine.”
“We’ll let her pick which one she likes.”
I liked that idea “Good.”
We made our goodbyes. I promised to come by again, when I could.
We exited the apartment and walked out of the building. As we walked, my head was spinning. I didn’t really know how I felt or what I should feel.
“How did she do that?” Li’ira asked
“Do what?”
“She was BEAUTIFUL,” Li’ira said, “Something about her elicited a strong reaction in me.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I got that, too.”
We beamed back to the Omoikane.
-*-
Tillean, Dr. Hobolisk, and Galaglan were in sick bay, scanning Takala. Dr. Iria the chief medical officer from the Clinic where Takala was kept in cold sleep was there, too.
Takala said “We were called Synthroids.”
Tillean “For synthetic people?”
Takala said “Yup. I started out as a sort of knockoff of the chief of intelligence for the Solian Nation.”
Galaglan said **How did they keep control of you?**
Takala sighed “By instilling patriotism and a sense of duty in me. I don’t think they realized how these feelings would evolve and change as I went on. Sometimes I think I was never meant to live as long as I have.”
Hobolisk said, “I can see that. You’ve aged differentially. Some parts of you are very old. Some parts are in much better condition.”
“So… what if my skin dies before the rest of me?” Takala asked.
Hobolisk shook his head “I love this job. I am not sure your skin can do that. There are complex interactions going on here.”
Galaglan said **We have technology that’s similar to your body. I think some of our stoner-type tech could be adapted to help here. But there’s a lot of biological interactions in play. It’s not just your skin. Many of your organs are hybrid synthetic and organic. **
Tillean said, “I have some ideas, but a lot of the work in the area is actually outlawed by Federation law.”
That got a reaction from everyone. Hobolisk said, “What do you have in mind?”
Tillean said, “Well to simplify it, I think We could clone some of Takala’s tissues and then do some telomere therapy and get the cells thinking they were much younger.”
Hobolisk said, “There were experiments like that happening on Tanak before the Federation came. It was tricky and difficult. I don’t know why, but our research never reached a public release phase that I recall.”
Dr. Iria said, “Our experiments in that direction have about a fifty/fifty result, either it works and the patient gets a strong rejuvenation effect or they get a wildly aggressive cancer. We’re still working on tracking down why. Worse, the older the subject is, the more likely telomere therapy gives them cancer. As you can imagine, advancing this field ethically is difficult.”
Tillean said, “Let me do some research and get back to you.”
Galaglan asked **Takala, may I share your medical information with The All? This is a fascinating problem.**
Takala asked, “The who now?”
**The Ane exist partially in a telepathic realm where we can all communicate with each other psionically, no matter the distance. We can share not only words and thoughts but also experiences, memories, and concepts… It’s a lot of fun and very difficult to describe to those who haven’t experienced it.**
“What all of the Ane? How do you maintain your individuality and not get subsumed?”
**We’re built for it. Humans and other species can be trained for it. But being part of The All is natural for the Ane. Our brains are similar in some ways to yours, but in other ways we’re quite different.**
“You know, the bear people are simpler.”
**In some ways perhaps,** Galaglan grinned **May I share your information? I feel millions of curious Ane may be able to find a solution to our problem where only a few of us here might not.**
“Uhhh, sure.” Takala said, “In for one, in for a hundred.”
“If your people are aliens, how do you know so much about human genetics?” Dr Iria asked.
**Some of our best friends have been humans. We don’t hold it against them,** Galaglan said **it gives us reasons to learn things about human genetics and biology. Some humans even learn things about ours.**
“How long have you known humans from Earth?” Dr Iria asked
**From Earth? About 18,000 years. Other humans, longer.**
“Oh.”
“How about Vicharrians? Aborians?” Tillean asked
**Only since the beginning of the Federation. Somehow you all escaped our notice until comparatively recently. **
Tillean grinned “We’ll have to work on being flashier.”
Hobolisk said, “There are some treatments I can apply that’ll help some for now.”
“Please,” Takala said.
“We could put you back into hibernation until we have a treatment regimen in hand.” Dr Aria said.
“No, thank you. Honestly, I’ve had enough hibernation for a while.”
-*-
Iryemalan said, “Captain, I have something.”
“In my ready room,” I said, standing up. “Lt. Karabal, you have the bridge.”
Karabal and Tarla looked at each other. They were friends from Tanak. It was Karabal’s first time as officer of the Bridge. I maintained my dignity as I went into my ready room. They were cute kids. Karabal was Varupuchu’s assistant Ops officer.
“What do you have, Iryemalan?”
“Clues from the preserved data and images are sparse, but I have a candidate location and time period.” The wall screen in my ready room showed a galaxy. It wasn’t ours.
“Galaxy Messier 110. About 8000 years ago. My confidence is 87%” The image zoomed into a stellar cluster.
87% was way too low. Finding anything at all was remarkable, but the result was too fuzzy for my liking. “Alright. Call around. Let’s see if anyone has any subspace telescope time to look closer at your target zone. I’d like a less fuzzy number to offer the Forgal.”
“Shall I share my information with the Forgal science establishment?”
“Please do.”
Then I heard Lt Karabal “Captain Hailey, to the bridge, please.”
“Keep working on it Iryemalan. Good work.”
“Thank you,” She said.
As I walked out the thought rattled in my brain. Humanoids littering this galaxy was thought to be an artifact. But the Forgal were human. From a galaxy two point six million light years away.
Karabal brought me back into the moment “Captain, we’re getting a distress call.”
On the screen there was a Musari. White fur with blotches of brown and black. “I’m Captain Hailey of the Federation Starship Omoikane,” I introduced myself.
“Yo, Fed Captain. You’re the other direction from what I expected. My friends are in trouble here. We were told by another Federation ship that you’re the rescue guys. We’re not really rigged for it.”
“What sort of trouble?”
He showed us a scan. An Orion light raider, very dim and distorted, “They stopped answering calls. They’’ve come to a stop. Something is mostly blocking our scans.”
I looked at their location. A red giant about 21 light years away.
“Alright,” I sighed “We’re on our way. Stay safe yourselves. I don’t want to try a double rescue.”
“Agreed. Thanks, Federation Dude.”
I sounded the recall. We had practiced enough now.
-*-
It took a few hours to get everyone back and get ready to move. “Take us out. As soon as we’re clear, best speed to the distress call.” I ordered.
We left Forgal.
I kept a scan of it on my small armrest display. Part of my heart was there, now. I was feeling a lot of things, and I had no clear idea what they were.
Li’ira caught my eye and nodded once solemnly.