Vortex incursion, p.29
Vortex Incursion, page 29
“Then again, we might be dealing with a race or races who are so far advanced that we can’t conceive of who they are and how they operate,” Lemtaca admitted.
“What’s the next step?” Iltaft inquired.
Lemtaca and Ergatisa reverted to their truncated form of speech to quickly exchange thoughts.
Iltaft could follow some of it, but she lost too many threads to be able to comprehend the elders’ conclusions.
“We request that you plan the programming required for three-eight-four,” Ergatisa said. “When we meet with Elder Wymron, we’ll learn of the final steps.”
“Tell us what you require to achieve what we’ve requested,” Lemtaca said.
“Time and coders,” Iltaft replied. “The additional programming could take half an annual if I worked by myself in my available shift time.”
“Compose a message to us that outlines the resources you require to accomplish the project within twenty cycles,” Ergatisa requested.
Iltaft would have questioned Ergatisa’s projections of twenty cycles, but she knew elders weren’t prone to misspeak. It drove home the critical importance of what three-eight-four had discovered and reported.
Two days later and on the appointed time, Lemtaca and Ergatisa were escorted to Wymron’s office.
“Considerations, young Elders,” Wymron intoned.
“More than requested,” Lemtaca admitted.
Wymron stilled his reaction, but he was pleased to hear the junior elder’s statement.
“Aliens on guard,” Ergatisa stated.
“Comm station or ships,” Lemtaca explained.
“Discussion required,” Ergatisa said.
“QASAP programming required,” Lemtaca added.
“Confirmation?” Wymron inquired.
“QASAP Manager Iltaft,” Ergatisa replied.
“Time?” Wymron pursued.
“Funds,” Lemtaca replied.
Wymron nodded his head in understanding. It always came down to sufficient credits to drive the projects.
“Preference?” Wymron asked.
“Twenty cycles,” Ergatisa replied, and Wymron received Iltaft’s proposal to accomplish the new programming with the time specified by the junior elders.
Wymron viewed the proposal and scanned it. He operated a discretionary budget that would easily cover the project’s cost. There was no doubt in his mind that he would authorize the expenditure, but he had to be seen to deliberate. It wouldn’t do to let the junior elders believe that the cost was insignificant — even though it was.
Lemtaca and Ergatisa were driven as Wymron expected. The longer the senior elder considered the proposal, the more they worried that they’d overstepped their bounds.
Finally, Wymron sent the proposal to his admins, approving the cost. Then he eyed his junior elders. “Begin. Report,” he said. Then he shooed them out of his office.
Anxieties dismissed, Lemtaca and Ergatisa returned to the QASAP tech department and located Iltaft.
Ergatisa was about to say, “Approved,” but he halted and switched to a more explanatory style. “Your proposal for a twenty-cycle period has been approved. You’ll submit requests for stipends to us, and we’ll see that they’re delivered for payment.”
“Have you the techs in mind that you need?” Lemtaca inquired, following Ergatisa’s lead in style.
“I require specialists who have programmed the QASAP ships,” Iltaft replied. “Many have retired. When I spoke to the individuals I need, I found them anxious to be part of the experiment.”
“When can you start?” Ergatisa asked.
“In two days,” Iltaft replied. “A QASAP programming hub is being resurrected for us.”
“We’ll require progress reports,” Lemtaca said, and he sent Iltaft the contact information for Ergatisa and him.
When Iltaft’s comm device hummed, she checked it. It was rare for an elder to communicate directly with others outside of their admins. She bowed her head, accepting the honor.
“I’ll keep you apprised,” Iltaft promised. When the junior elders left, she hurried to actuate the steps she’d put in place. There was a long list of things to do to get started.
Iltaft was nearly exhausted by the time she arrived at the QASAP hub in the early morning. With relief, she found her newly issued security allowed her entry. A tech greeted her and introduced her to the hub. The equipment appeared dated but she found it to be in good working order.
Then Iltaft and the tech waited for the QASAP programmers to arrive — him patiently and her impatiently.
Iltaft heard the programmers shuffle down the corridor before they entered the hub. These were senior Quellers. As such, the quills were long and thick. Fifteen had accepted her request. She stood as the programmers entered the hub.
The programmers formed a semicircle around Iltaft, and she and they made introductions.
“Time is short,” Iltaft told her audience. “And this is an experiment. It’s never been done before.”
“What’s to be proof of our success?” a programmer asked.
Iltaft had considered this question herself. “I think it would be when three-eight-four returns to Devona with an invitation from the alien races to meet.”
“So, we work for an invitation,” the programmer replied, happy to have a goal. When he shook his long quills, the others did too.
“Are we ready?” another programmer asked the tech, who tipped his head to the seniors and had ensured the hub was prepared.
The programmers found chairs, sat down, and waited.
“This is what I know about three-eight-four’s encounter with the aliens,” Iltaft began. “In addition, we have suppositions from two junior elders, who are driving this project.”
Quills rustled. The programmers hadn’t expected the project’s authority to go so high.
“By the way, the junior elders require reports,” Iltaft said.
“Reports might be inadequate for elders,” a programmer offered. “Their roles will need to be intimate.”
Iltaft nodded her acceptance of the suggestion.
Four cycles after Lemtaca and Ergatisa had left Iltaft to begin the project, they received her invitation to attend the programmers and her.
When the junior elders entered the hub, quills of all lengths created a ruckus, as Iltaft and the programmers stood and paid tribute. Surprising to them, Lemtaca and Ergatisa dropped their heads in respect for the seniors.
“We wish you to review our decision tree,” Iltaft said, by way of introduction. “We’ll provide the programming that manages each section, but we want you to see and comment on the possible exchanges between the aliens and three-eight-four.”
The tech pushed two chairs toward the central monitor, and a programmer brought up the tree.
“First contact,” Iltaft pronounced. “The left branch is for the presence of an alien ship, and the right branch is for its comm station.”
For half a cycle the junior elders, the project manager, and the programmers worked through the decision tree. Subtle changes were made, but, overall, Lemtaca and Ergatisa were pleased by the coders’ thoroughness.
Before the junior elders left, they ensured the project team knew that they had done well. Soon after, Wymron learned of the progress.
By the time the next elders’ meeting convened, the project was nearing completion, and Wymron prepared to surprise some elders and anger others.
The individuals most taken aback were Lemtaca and Ergatisa. They were intercepted at the hall’s entrance and led to Wymron’s broad perch that sat above the rows of elders. There they occupied chairs beside Wymron.
Wymron regarded the junior elders’ forlorn faces. “Premature sharing creates worry,” he said to them.
Mercifully, for the junior elders, Wymron placed the programming of three-eight-four as the first item on the agenda.
“Liberty. QASAP ship. Encounter with aliens,” Wymron began, using elder speak.
“What liberty?” an elder asked.
Wymron gestured toward the junior elders, who were invited to explain to the assembly.
Try as Lemtaca and Ergatisa might, they failed to encapsulate the lengthy steps they’d taken without being constantly interrupted by the elders. Their reasoning and assumptions were second-guessed at every turn. However, they managed to provide answers that the majority of elders accepted.
When the junior elders finished, Wymron indicated that they should take their seats. Then he addressed the assembly. “Opportunity. Necessity. Future. Opinions?”
The elders were quiet except for the occasional rustling of quills.
Then one by one, they accepted Wymron’s operation and his intention to contact the aliens.
When Iltaft’s team completed the coding, the final complex program was uploaded to three-eight-four.
The QASAP ship, with its new directives, set sail to return to the location where its construct was taken.
23: We Must Do Something
KILMER, DAIMLER SYSTEM
PURE POUR PLANET
“For the near future, diplomacy is dead,” Kelley said.
The Reflection had returned from Helgart, and Kelley chose to hold a conference on Kilmer. The participants had been given the time to review the relevant images and conversations from the Krackus encounters.
“What’s to be done about Helgart?” Lily inquired. Her expression said that she wasn’t interested in a casual response.
Yerli blinked in surprise. His crew chief had always been a levelheaded individual, who had rarely expressed her emotions.
Kelley hesitated to answer Lily. He knew she didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
“It’s clear that the Imperium Empire won’t be persuaded to talk to us,” Z said. “According to our Tritium sets, they’ve had centuries of successful conquests. The executors know no other pathway. Inquisitor Tarbar is proof of that.”
“Waiting for the Krackus to come through the anomaly would seem to be a mistake,” Yma volunteered.
“On that, I agree,” Dorsa said. “We need to update Julien.”
“It’s been done,” Captain Dominique D’Arcy said. “When the Reflection didn’t return as scheduled, we knew that the conference had failed. Z sent a long message to Julien.”
D’Arcy chuckled. Then she added, “It was strictly a protector-style communication.”
“I merely pointed out to Julien and Cordelia the fallacy of keeping the majority of the outpost fleet at Thartath, while events in this region of space required much of those assets.”
“Z’s logic is commendable,” Yma interjected. “Nearly half of the second-gen sisters have been distributed to the outposts and the local planets.”
“What about the remaining sisters?” Lily inquired.
“According to a recent message from Tocknicka, the number of enthusiastic volunteers for Axis Crossing space is dwindling. The sisters have been choosing the outposts. The Emergence sisters might be the last to be received for Naiad humans,” Gistamia replied. “Unfortunately, that would leave the outpost fleet with recalcitrant first-gen and second-gen sisters.”
“Perhaps, we should examine the problem from the Krackus point of view,” Kelley offered.
“We can be assured that there’ll be no more probes carrying dissidents coming through the anomaly,” Bethley opined.
“I believe that there is an opportunity to exploit,” Killian said. “According to Kreus and Korvath, the conference was prepared to take place. It was the inquisitor who perpetrated the deceit.”
“True,” Dorsa said. “Pressure on the peacekeepers led to Imperator Deckus confronting Tarbar.”
“To date, your approaches to the Krackus have been passive,” Z said. “This has been commendable. However, you’ve met a combative foe. It’s time to change tactics and teach a lesson.”
“What kind of lesson?” Kelley asked guardedly.
“Evict the Krackus fleet from the Helgart system,” Z replied.
The other SADEs calculated the possibilities and the ramifications of doing that, and the humans wondered if a protector’s advice would be heeded.
“It’s clear that the Imperium Empire believes that its strength is insurmountable,” Kelley said. “A lesson in superiority might be required.”
“There is another element at play in the Helgart system that we should keep in mind,” Gistamia offered. “To paraphrase Kreus, the inquisitor’s presence was to ensure that we didn’t infect the empire. Sentient digital entities are an anathema to the executors.”
“It’s too bad that we can’t speak directly to the Imperium,” Lorelei mused.
“If nothing else, we can have Fleet Imperator Deckus take our message to the Imperium when he flees the Helgart system,” Z proposed.
“Was that the true purpose of your communications to Julien?” Kelley inquired. He received Z’s satisfied smile in reply.
“We would need a considerable force to combat the peacekeepers,” D’Arcy suggested.
“Perhaps not,” Killian responded. “Imperator Deckus folded after only a single peacekeeper was partially damaged, and he was threatened with a weapon we didn’t possess.”
The audience chuckled or made polite noises at Killian’s bluff against the fleet commander.
“You believe that the Krackus commanders are entirely too protective of their peacekeepers,” Gistamia surmised. “If that’s true, then they probably aren’t battle-tested.”
“If that were to be the case, demonstrating our Tridents’ capabilities against one or two of the battleships might dissuade Deckus from wanting to commit his entire fleet to the engagement,” D’Arcy said. “Damaging some engines could make our point and limit loss of Krackus life.”
“It would be wise to prepare for a fleet battle and hope for a lesser fight,” Z warned.
“Until reinforcements arrive, there’s little we can do in Helgart,” Kelley said. “I’d like to continue our conversation about what the Krackus, especially the inquisitor, will be doing in the meantime.”
“Difficult to say,” Trium replied. “Strategy lies in the hands of the inquisitor, and there’s little he can do, except request reinforcements, which is doubtful.”
“Why?” Yma inquired.
“The inquisitor would be required to report that the entire fleet was bested by a single small alien ship,” Trium replied.
“Unenviable predicament for the inquisitor,” Yma offered. She took the laughter that she heard to be supportive of her remark. Although, she hadn’t meant it to be humorous. She spent a few ticks of time reviewing the statement and looking for an alternate interpretation.
“The inquisitor’s report to the Imperium might simply say that he successfully repelled the enemy from Helgart,” Lily said. “Afterward, he could say that his job was done and pursue his next assignment.”
“If he did, that would be in our favor,” Kelley allowed. “We’re more likely to convince Imperator Deckus to abandon the field if the inquisitor isn’t present.”
“Did anyone discover how many dissidents are on Helgart?” Lily asked.
While most shook their heads, D’Arcy connected to her Trident and relayed the request. As the younger Tritium set was on the bridge, observing the holo-vid display, the answer came quickly.
“Approximately sixteen hundred,” D’Arcy replied to Lily. “Why are you asking?”
“I’m thinking of transport and resettlement,” Lily replied offhand, which caught everyone’s full attention. Staring evenly at the individuals who surrounded her, she added, “I don’t intend to leave the dissidents in the hands of the Krackus any longer than necessary. We should discuss how we intend to move the dissidents and where we intend to place them.”
“There will be challenges,” D’Arcy replied, lightly laughing. “The Tritiums speak of Kelter, who resembles an ancient mythological Earth animal.”
“How did you discover that?” Lorelei inquired.
“The Tritiums nearly live on my ship’s bridge,” D’Arcy explained. “Primarily, they’ve enjoyed images and stories of the races and planets within the conclave.”
D’Arcy sent a link to Dorsa, who imaged an ancient Earth print on his holo-vid.
“Seriously?” Lorelei queried, as she regarded the fierce creature that towered above humans seeking to destroy it.
“The Tritiums thought this image was hilarious,” Dominique said and then chuckled as she recalled the triplets’ high-pitched squeals. “Apparently, Kelter is a Gorder, and they’re a race of philosophers and thinkers.”
“Our Quadrants have huge bays. We can transport citizens of any race,” Lily said, reminding everyone of the subject she wanted to cover.
Kelley regarded Lily quietly. Then he said, “Chief, think on this. Would the dissidents want to be freed to find a new planet together, or would they prefer to be returned to their home worlds?”
“I would believe the last option would be impossible until the Imperium Empire relents, one way or the other,” Lily replied.
“Then do you think they’d be happy moving to a new world?” Kelley persisted.
“No, but if we took control of the Helgart system, the dissidents could be made comfortable on that planet until they could return home,” Lily suggested. She shrugged, as to relent arguing, and Kelley didn’t press the point.
∞
Cycles later, the Nyslara looped through the Axis Crossing, transiting to Kilmer, and comm traffic between the outpost’s ships was intense.
Nira, Minimalist, Luther, Miranda, and the suited figures from the Nyslara were anxious to learn of events at Helgart. Likewise, those stationed at Kilmer wanted to hear about the fleet’s exploits on the other side of Naiad’s far anomaly.
Each side found the other group’s news intriguing and frustrating. Neither venture to the anomaly’s far side had resulted in unparalleled success.
As Miranda phrased it,
