Perilous choices, p.16
Perilous Choices, page 16
part #11 of Gate Ghosts Series
Dakargk considered Rebtar’s viewpoint. Having that come to fruition would solve many problems. He just wasn’t sure what would be the assembly’s or the public’s reaction. In fact, there was the distinct possibility that the assembly might see a sentient governor as a defense against the conclave’s SADEs.
11: Iltaft’s Return
DEVONA, QUELLER HOME WORLD
BASYAT SYSTEM
Temtalum, Shoya, and Iltaft returned to the Basyat system in the company of many Trident squadrons. They’d left the Freedom and its escorts in the Yeret system.
Wymron saw an opportunity to test his newly acquired skills, and he sent a request to speak to Iltaft.
Shoya rode copilot in Temtalum’s traveler, while Iltaft closed her eyes in the main cabin. The Toralian left Shoya at the Alexander. Then she dropped planetside to return Iltaft to her house.
When Shoya located Gat’r, she hurried to his side. His hug was fierce, and she relished being in his arms. Then, too soon, he released her.
Shoya was stunned, and Gat’r took the opportunity to escape with the excuse that he didn’t want to be late for class.
After Gat’r left the cabin, Shoya sagged onto the couch. She wanted to be angry with Gat’r for not worrying about her, for not asking about what had occurred in the faraway systems, for not seeming to care that she had been in danger. But those thoughts paled in comparison to the hurt she felt.
Shoya connected to Temtalum.
Shoya complained.
After the conversation with Temtalum, Shoya reviewed the events from the time she leapt aboard Temtalum’s traveler to head for the anomaly. It struck her that she hadn’t called Gat’r to tell him what she intended to do. She wanted to stand and kick her behind, except she wasn’t anatomically correct to execute the punishment to her satisfaction.
As Shoya continued to think, she saw the multiple errors that she committed to make Gat’r worry needlessly. Gat’r, you must have felt like I abandoned you, she thought. Then she tried to focus on ways to make amends.
The next morning, Temtalum picked up Iltaft outside her house. She was surprised that Iltaft took a passenger’s seat.
As Temtalum approached the office building, another traveler was setting down. It gave her the morning’s second surprise. The other traveler’s controller listed a Queller trainee pilot, Gat’r, Wymron, and a SADE.
Wymron stepped carefully down the hatch steps and made his way into the building.
After Wymron’s traveler lifted, Temtalum descended, and Iltaft silently left the ship. It made Temtalum wonder what the actions on the anomaly’s far side might mean to the Quellers.
Wymron greeted Timteri, Iltaft’s senior admin, who led the elder to the holo-vid theater. Junior Elders Ergatisa and Lemtaca waited for him.
Spotting the junior elders, Wymron grunted humorously.
A few moments later, Ergatisa shared,
Wymron requested how Ergatisa discovered that, and the junior elder shared that he was linked to Temtalum’s traveler and noted when the pilot landed outside.
Then Ergatisa taught Wymron how to link to any craft if he knew the ID of ship or pilot.
When Wymron requested the Alexander, he received an acknowledgment from the controller. Then he grunted contentedly and ended the link.
Soon afterward, Iltaft entered the theater with Timteri on her heels.
The elders watched Julien encounter the Utilimat warships, identified by Minimalist’s narration. Much of the visuals would have been useless to the elders without Minimalist’s explanations.
The elders witnessed Julien’s rebuff by the Utilimats, and the leap of Captain Ophorous from her warship to the traveler.
After the strange meeting with the judimal and the investigation of the terraforming structure, Wymron requested a second halt and clarification.
This time, Iltaft was able to explain why the strained relationships between the Yerets and the Utilimats existed. She detailed the supposed goal of the structures, their enormous costs, and the egregious secret.
Wymron grunted derisively.
When the images of ice asteroids stationed in the inhabited world’s orbit appeared, Wymron leaned forward in anticipation. Then, when the first ice ball was thrown at the planet, bursting into a shower of ice particles, he applauded the effort.
The scenes of the thin Yerets with their faces to the rain electrified the elders and Timteri.
Lemtaca grunted at the irony.
The appearance of a multitude of Utilimat warships silenced everyone.
Then the holo-vid image faded. Text read that reinforcements had arrived.
Thereafter, Minimalist’s narration became more important than the images. The elders and Timteri learned about the deadly bead technology and the ability of the lance missiles to hunt ships.
Many times, the elders and Timteri saw imagery showing Iltaft as part of the investigation inside a warship. Every time Wymron saw Iltaft in dangerous places, he frowned.
The last major event was the evacuation of the Utilimats from the bead manufacturing site and its destruction. The horrific explosion caught the elders and Timteri off guard.
The vid finished and the audience sat in stunned silence.
When Timteri saw the elders falter, it bothered her. She saw Iltaft as the conclave representative and the expert at what had happened on the other side of the anomaly. In her mind, Iltaft was the individual to consult, which is why she queried openly,
Iltaft controlled her reaction. From the first time she’d met Timteri, she had high hopes for her.
Wymron grunted.
Timteri watched the junior elders’ eyes open wide at the thought of the senior elder in the hands of a trainee. Then she added,
Iltaft couldn’t help grunting her mirth, which caused the junior elders to frown. She thought to gently chastise them for thinking that Gat’r and the conclave wouldn’t take great care of Wymron. Then she suddenly saw the future. A significant portion of the Queller population would embrace the changes the conclave represented, while other aspects of the population would find it difficult to adapt.
As if Wymron had read Iltaft’s mind, he excused Timteri and the junior elders. When the trio was gone, he placed his hand over Iltaft’s, who sat beside him.
Wymron stared at Iltaft, as if he was searching for an answer. Then he squeezed her hand, lifted it, and shook it.
When Wymron stood, Iltaft did too. Then he sent,
Iltaft laughed at the contrast between the junior elders’ horror at Timteri’s statement about a Queller trainee piloting Wymron and the senior elder’s reaction. It illustrated what Wymron and she had recognized. There existed a growing dichotomy within the Queller population that would need to be bridged. A healthy future for Quellers would lie in embracing a plurality of races instead of fearing them.
On the return trip to the admin building, Gat’r sat quietly in the passenger cabin with Wymron, as the pilot trainee guided the traveler.
Wymron had enjoyed his time with Gat’r. They’d formed a strong bond, as the senior elder developed his implant skills. In fact, Wymron occasionally contacted Gat’r to request new possibilities. Their interaction usually resulted in the addition of a new app for Wymron.
This morning, Wymron was surprised that Gat’r and he hadn’t shared more than a cursory greeting. On the return trip to the admin building, it was the same thing. Seeing his destination come into view via the controller, Wymron linked to the Queller pilot and requested he hover high above the admin building.
The young pilot nodded and signaled the controller to ascend to a distance above the building. The traveler responded by smoothly rising to just under the overcast cloud layer.
That Gat’r heard that Wymron was experiencing something similar to him drew his interest.
Gat’r’s guilt multiplied. Not only had he been upset about his initial greeting with Shoya, but he hadn’t considered Wymron’s fears of losing Iltaft.
Wymron saw Gat’r’s distraught expression, and he patted the young human’s hand.
A few minutes later, the seat next to Gat’r was empty, but his thoughts dwelt on the senior elder’s simple and profound words.
The rest of the day passed in a blur for Gat’r. One trainee landed aboard the Alexander, and another trainee quickly boarded.
The pilot training was assisted by the constant requests for flights across the planet, between ships, and from the planet to the gates. The passengers were a mix of conclave members and Quellers.
Few of the passengers engaged Gat’r, as it was assumed he was monitoring his student, who was piloting the craft.
Actually, Gat’r was entertaining several arguments with himself. There was the persona that argued that he could have done more to engage Shoya while she was away. Of course, he didn’t know how he could have gotten a message through the anomaly. Then there was the persona that said he could have kept his worries to himself when Shoya returned. The third persona stated firmly that he had a right to feel abandoned and should have expressed his feelings to Shoya.
When all was said and done, Gat’r didn’t think much of any one of those thoughts. It came down to following his heart, and he knew what he had to do.
When class ended, Gat’r met with his students. he sent to his students.
A student signaled to ask a question, which Gat’r allowed.
Gat’r laughed, which interested the students. Their teacher often laughed gently when they asked a question without considering it first.
Gat’r waved his hands in negation.
When the class was dismissed, the trainees exited high on future possibilities. Not only would they be fully approved pilots soon, but they would be employed by a government ministry and earning comfortable stipends.
The moment the students were out of the classroom, Gat’r sought Shoya’s bio ID, but she wasn’t on the Alexander. Undeterred, he contacted the ship’s controller and queried for her location. What he received surprised him. According to the controller, Shoya had entered their cabin and had never left it. Furthermore, she’d shut down her implant’s reception.
Gat’r exited the classroom at a run, and he sprinted down the corridor.
SADEs reasoned Gat’r’s intent, and they cleared the way for him. An open lift whisked him to the level he sought. Individuals in the next corridor stood against the bulkhead.
In Gat’r’s haste, he failed to apologize, but no one held that against him. The SADEs had shared Gat’r’s concern for Shoya.
Signaling the cabin door meters before he arrived, Gat’r ran into the cabin and stood stock-still.
Shoya sat on the couch with her arms locked tightly around her legs, her knees against her chest. She stared at Gat’r in misery.
Gat’r was shocked at how much he’d hurt Shoya. he sent, walking slowly toward her. He fell down on his knees in front of her, placing his hands on her bare feet.
Shoya sniffed.
Gat’r detected an element of Shoya’s sarcastic tendency.
Using the power of his suit, Gat’r stood and pulled Shoya upright against him. He held her, as she did him. They stayed that way until Gat’r’s implants warned him of his suit’s power depletion. Reluctantly, they parted for Gat’r to signal his suit off.
