Vortex incursion, p.38
Vortex Incursion, page 38
“And what else?” Cordelia prompted.
The three nannies exchanged glances. Kadie shrugged before replying, “We ate. We slept, and we cared for the children. That’s all we did.”
When the nannies saw the SADEs’ disturbed expressions, Indigo reached out her hands to pat the SADEs’ forearms. “Be at peace,” she said. “It’s better aboard the Alexander. There’s so much more to do and learn.”
“We’re happy to hear that,” Julien said. “Come, let’s say hello to others.”
Kadie dutifully inserted herself between Cordelia and Julien to grasp their hands, and Jewel and Indigo held the SADEs’ other hands.
Then the fleets’ leaders were led across ten meters of decking to greet Cremsylon.
“I see you’ve met our resident nannies,” Cremsylon said, smiling at the girls, who beamed in response.
“You’re in good hands now,” Kadie said, and the three nannies hurried to collect their charges.
“Their immersion must have been total,” Cordelia remarked, watching in her rearward sensors as the nannies apologized for the children and pried little hands off the various commanders’ coverings.
“Why do you have so many children?” Julien asked.
“You think of them as human children, as they would exist in your societies. That’s a mistake,” a voice from behind Cremsylon said.
Cremsylon stepped aside. “This is Bot-boy,” he said.
Julien and Cordelia regarded a tall gangly youth.
“Greetings. Doc and I were mickies,” Bot-boy said, he indicated a female teenager next to him.
The SADEs received imagery from Bot-boy. Two things about the sending took them aback. In less than a year, a local human had been implanted and was adept with the applications. The other item was the prior views of the two teenagers. Not only were they underfed, but they also looked worn and prematurely aged.
“The Alexander has a collection of the underprivileged,” Doc explained. “Most of the children you see were part of mickie gangs. As soon as they could be trusted, they would have helped the gangs scavenge used mining equipment.”
“Three of them are clones,” Bot-boy said, pointing at the children whose hands the nannies held. “They were destined for the mines at Doc’s age. Good chance that one of them would be dead or seriously injured as each decade passed.”
“What about dome medical services?” Julien inquired.
“Reserved for employees, not clones or mickies,” Doc replied, her lips twisting sourly.
Cordelia had visually catalogued the children.
Cremsylon allowed.
During the new arrivals’ visits aboard the Alexander, Julien spent time with as many individuals as time afforded him. He was able to build a thorough picture of mining planet operations, including the societal failures.
Later, Cordelia and Julien collected their suits and dropped planetside. Many commanders had already visited the domes, and they had warned their leaders of the rudimentary transport process.
After landing on the pad, Cordelia and Julien were in line to receive the services of a transport driver who preferred to drive by intuition.
As a precaution, three SADEs leapt ahead of the transport vehicle searching for an acceptable route.
Several times, the driver signaled to the SADEs about new vectors to search. The scouting SADEs had to admit that his instincts proved on target.
When Julien exited the transport, he sent to Cordelia,
When the outpost leaders were free of their suits, they greeted Denise Bell, who personally led their tour. Their discussions covered Delhart’s growth.
“Cremsylon has a preference for your planet,” Cordelia said, having noted the changes on Delhart’s surface, as the traveler dropped to the surface.
“Actually, I sought him out,” Denise said. “I saw an opportunity to support the Alexander and take advantage of your tech. That we’ve never used clones seemed to carry a lot of weight with Cremsylon.”
“But he stays,” Julien pointed out.
“Maybe this subject didn’t get covered,” Denise said. “I understand it was an idea volunteered by Z and Miranda. They thought that if things proved difficult at Kilmer with the aliens, then it might be necessary to pick a defensible location.”
“And an ice planet with no easy access to the domes would prove to be the best choice,” Cordelia surmised.
“Just so,” Denise replied. “Now that the fleet is here, I imagine the Alexander will be moving on.”
Cordelia’s silver bells sounded delicately.
“Those are wonderful tones,” Denise remarked.
“They were the favorite sounds of our mentor, Alex Racine,” Cordelia explained.
“Was that laughter?” Denise inquired.
“It can be used in many ways,” Cordelia allowed. “In this case, it was your assumption that the Alexander must follow the fleet.”
“No?” Denis queried.
“The Alexander belongs to the protectors, Z and Miranda,” Julien explained, “and they’ve a preference for associating with Cremsylon, who is the eldest SADE among us.”
“So, if you want to know where the Alexander might go, you’ll need to talk to Cremsylon,” Cordelia advised.
“SADEs don’t have an organizational hierarchy like our businesses, do you?” Denise asked.
“We’re more of a volunteer association,” Cordelia replied. “Julien is accepted as the leader of the SADEs, but neither he nor I expect to demand services from others. As for senior commanders, captains, officers, and crew, they serve the outpost for stipends, but they’re free to leave whenever they want.”
“It’s amazing that it works,” Denise said, shaking her head in wonder.
The tour lasted most of the cycle, and then Cordelia and Julien reversed their route and returned to the Freedom. Cordelia assigned two Trident squadrons, a Quadrant, and a freighter to Cremsylon.
Then the fleet moved on, looping through two anomalies to reach Kilmer. Finally, a single transit placed the ships midway between those at the far anomaly and Kilmer.
Kelley sent.
Then Julien and Kelley heard Cordelia’s laughter.
There was no need for Julien and Cordelia to visit the Kilmer domes. Their previous updates and visits had provided the information they sought.
Instead, a conference was convened aboard the Freedom with Z, Miranda, Kelley, Captains D’Arcy and Racine, Minimalist, Luther, and the scouts.
“We’ve the resources to manage the two incursions, at the same time,” Julien began the conference.
Then Cordelia explained her deployment of ships at Naiad and Delhart, adding the primary purpose of the Naiad support was to construct two pairs of comm stations for each endangered anomaly.
“Deployment at the Krackus anomaly can take place after relations with the Krackus are established or we take Helgart,” Cordelia said.
“What must be decided is how to divide our fleet resources — commanders, ships, and SADEs — to engage the disparate alien races,” Julien continued. “The nature of the Imperium Empire seems easy to comprehend. We’ve seen their like a few times before now. We’re curious about your impressions of the race who created the ovoid.”
“I’m reminded of the story of how the Jatouche and the Pyreans first met,” Z said. “A young female royal ventured through a gate to Triton. She and her companions believed their ancient adversary had been decimated. But the Triton dome’s activation had them imagining remnants of the aggressive race had survived, repaired the console, and intended to attack the Jatouche again. Instead, they discovered a new race had arrived aboard a colossal colony ship, built a station above the smoldering planet, and established domes in the choked atmosphere. The royal’s curiosity was the beginning of what was to become the strongest racial bond in alliance space.”
“When did my partner become a social philosopher?” Miranda quipped, which elicited laughter around the table.
Z’s smile was wry, and he shrugged his shoulders in imitation of many New Terrans, notably Alex Racine.
Julien and Cordelia stared quietly at Z. The protector had characterized the impending confrontation in a manner they hadn’t considered.
“There’s something to what Z says,” Nira interjected. “We believe the ovoid was entirely automated. It discovered the anomaly, sent a probe to investigate the other side, found an alien race, and followed its directives.”
“Rather like a gardener discovering an infestation and taking steps to eradicate it before the remaining fruit was contaminated,” Bethley reasoned.
“But you destroyed the gardener’s treatment,” Julien pointed out.
“Perhaps, the more critical question to ask would concern the ovoid’s report,” Minimalist said. “The ovoid witnessed our removal of the sphere, and the resulting explosion in the nearby star was most likely registered.”
“If the ship is automated, the data would be relayed to the makers but not an opinion,” Luther hypothesized.
“The makers will see that we removed the sphere and never fired weapons at either construct,” Killian noted.
“Passive containment,” Cordelia mused. The more she thought about the actions at the Naiad anomaly, the more she perceived the reason for Z’s story of the Jatouche and the Pyreans.
“How will the ovoid race react?” Dominique inquired. “That’s the question we should be asking.”
“And how will we greet their reaction?” Trium added.
“A good reason for deploying the comm stations as soon as possible,” Julien said, giving a nod to Cordelia who’d hastened their construction.
“A Quadrant, such as the Freedom, stationed on the other side of the Naiad anomaly would be nonthreatening,” Miranda opined. “The comm stations would allow for the summoning of a quick reaction force waiting in Naiad space. That’s if it was necessary.”
“Subtle positioning,” Cordelia said, agreeing with Miranda.
“Is that consensus?” Julien inquired.
“Yes,” Kelley replied. “In the Krackus region, the scouts acted passively. Still, their small ship elicited a massive missile barrage. We invited them to speak with us, and they set a trap. Diplomacy will never work until the Krackus understand our strength. Do you think those efforts are your forte, Julien?”
Kelley was correct, but that didn’t make it any easier for Julien to hear.
With Alex, Julien knew he was always the voice of reason or conscience. He was not the instigator of aggression. Even later in life, Alex concerned himself with strategies and left tough encounters to his admirals to execute his plans.
The fleets’ original and formidable admirals had created a few SADEs. Other than that, their great-grandchildren were distributed among the stars. Few senior commanders remained in the outposts who had fought the great challenges that Alex and his fleets had won.
“Needless to say, we’re unprepared for the Imperium Empire,” Julien summarized.
“According to the scouts’ original encounter and the diplomatic mission, Krackus technology is easily countered,” Z said. “But, based on the number of dissidents incarcerated at Helgart, the empire occupies a vast swath of space. Their forces will be extensive.”
“Am I hearing that we should concentrate on holding this anomaly and leave the Krackus alone?” Julien asked. He didn’t think that was the case, but he believed his close companions were skirting the issue.
“There is no option that allows us to leave the Krackus alone, Julien,” Miranda said. “You know this, and you don’t need us to state the obvious.”
Julien gazed around the table at the waiting faces.
“A small group of ships, which I will lead, will focus on the Naiad anomaly,” Julien said. “Messages have been sent to other outposts requesting what forces can be spared to report here. In addition, a freighter will arrive with a Q-gate and ring assembly.”
Julien reached out a hand to grasp Cordelia’s, which rested on the table. “Fleet Admiral Cordelia will lead the forces at the Kilmer anomaly. In concert with the senior commanders, she will develop the strategies used to encounter the Imperium Empire.”
Miranda eyed Cordelia, whose demeanor indicated her sadness, and the protector tipped her head in recognition of the separation the partners would soon face.
As the conference group exited the Freedom, Cordelia sent to Julien,
Julien grasped Cordelia’s hands, and he touched his forehead to hers.
Cordelia replied.
Julien sent.
30: Twin Prongs
Following the conference, Cordelia and Julien engaged in one of the more tense discussions that they’d had in the last century.
Cordelia laughed and not pleasantly.
