The Span of Empire: Chapter Sixteen

    The Bond of Ebezon, standing as kochan parent to Terra taif, had constructed several structures on Terra for their own use. All of them were low in build, with the curving lines that pleased the Jao. Most of them were built on coastlines of seas or large lakes. None of them were large; pretention was not part of the Bond’s mode of operation. Unlike the actual kochans like Pluthrak or Dano, the Bond’s focus was not on planets as such. Planets were not possessions to them; they were merely platforms from which to launch ships, squadrons and fleets.

    Preceptor Ronz acknowledged that. Nonetheless, over the last two years he had gravitated to one particular Terran Bond structure as a place to go when he wanted solitude, quiet, and time to think.

    It was located on the coast of that large island that the Terrans called Greenland; a misnomer if ever there was one. The Terrans had apparently been concerned about a global temperature warming trend before the Jao arrived. Glacier melt on Greenland had been one of the things some of them had pointed to as evidence of “global warming.” However, various bolide strikes on the planet during the planetary conquest and early years of the occupation by the Jao had thrown enough dust and particulates into the atmosphere that the trend had not only been arrested, it had been reversed. And nowhere was that more evident than on Greenland.

    Ronz stood, hands clasped behind his back, posture effortlessly neutral, and watched the snow swirl outside. Unlike many of the Jao, he liked cold weather; it was one of the reasons he was drawn to this particular location.

    At the moment, he was appreciating the randomness of the snowflakes dancing, yet all the while they eventually submitted to gravity and settled to the ground. A metaphor for something? Perhaps. And perhaps simply a beautiful act by the universe.

    One particular swirl swept a cloud of the falling snow upwards. His eyes followed it, and remained gazing upward. Something was changing.

    “Caitlin, what are you up to now?” he murmured.

    The messenger ship from Ban Chao had returned with five days of solar studies on the IS class star during Caitlin’s sleep shift. When she awoke that morning, the Starsifters had finished reviewing the data and were ready to report to her and the Fleet Commander.

    “The report indicates that it was good you sent Ban Chao,” Wrot said without greeting as they met at the door of the conference room. “I don’t think any other ship, not even Lexington or Pool Buntyam could have survived what they jumped into.”

    “It was an appropriate use of assets,” Dannet said as she entered behind them. Again Caitlin was reminded that Jao were not human. That casual disregard of personal risk of hundreds of crew and jinau just grated on her.

    Taking her seat, Caitlin looked to Brakan and Matto. “Well?”

    Matto manipulated his com pad, and another hologram sprang into view, a large red globe.

    “The target star,” Brakan said. “With the extrapolation from the measurements taken from Ban Chao, we can tell you that even for an IS class variable it is odd. The good news is its cycle seems to be about 60 days for full expansion and contraction. The almost good news is that it appears the expansion cycle is mostly stable, but does fluctuate slightly.”

    Matto touched his com pad again, and the hologram began a slow expansion to a point almost half again as large as the original, then began contracting.

    “That minimizes the risk?” Caitlin asked after watching a full cycle.

    “Yes, Director,” Brakan replied.

    “How soon can we jump?”

    “In approximately twelve Terran hours,” Brakan said.

    Caitlin looked to Dannet. “What’s our status?”

    “All ships ready for jump,” the fleet commander replied.

    “Give the orders, then.”

    “Yes, Director.”

    Dannet and Wrot both assumed angles for committed-to-action, and the fleet commander and the Lleix rose and exited the conference room. Wrot looked to Caitlin. “A challenging beginning,” he said.

    Excitement flooded Caitlin, an excitement she hadn’t felt since not long after beginning the search for other civilizations. “Maybe so,” she said, “but we have to start somewhere.”

    Twelve hours later, Caitlin was once again on the command deck of the Lexington, seated at the station near Lieutenant’s Vaughan’s that had become her customary location. He had taken time to program a couple of data feeds from his station to hers, so that she could have at least a minimal idea of what was occurring without having to ask questions or distract any of the crew.

    Tamt was standing by her, and another of the bodyguard detail was beside the door. Captain Miller was supposed to join them shortly.

    Caitlin knew she was keyed up. She knew that the Ban Chao had survived the jump, so that paved the way for Lexington to jump next. She hoped that meant that Ban Chao had not suffered damage or casualties, but that wouldn’t be clear to them until they arrived themselves.

    And if Tully wasn’t there to meet them, she’d kill him.

    She gripped the chair arms as build-up toward jump began.

    “First framepoint generator set,” one of the crew announced.

    “Second framepoint generator set.” That word from another tech came on the heels of the first announcement. Caitlin could feel the vibration in the ship’s structure through her feet.

    “Third framepoint generator set.” Now the vibration was stronger, and she thought she heard a low hum, almost a growl.

    “Fourth framepoint generator set.”

    “Fifth framepoint generator set.”

    The last two reports came one right after the other, and the vibration jumped markedly. Caitlin looked down at her hands and noticed that her knuckles were white. She made herself relax, and shifted her posture towards calm-in-storm.

    Dannet, of course, had been standing watching everything, unmoving except for her head turning, angles all neutral.

    Terra-Captain Uldra looked at readouts over a tech’s shoulder, then straightened.

    “Navigator, you may jump.”

    Tully watched as one after the other, the other ships of the reinforced fleet exited the photosphere of the target star, each seemingly none the worse for the experience. Apparently having the pathfinder ship go ahead really did make a difference in how the other ships could travel. It made Tully all the more appreciative for the Jao’s skill in frame travel.

    The first four ships to follow Ban Chao were the battleships: the veterans Lexington, Arjuna, and Pool Buntyam, followed by Sun Tzu, the replacement for the wounded Vercingetorix. Tully heaved a sigh of relief when the last of them cleared the edge of the photosphere and joined the others in clear space. With that much firepower now in place, even if the system had held those who would contest the fleet’s passage, the chances of them succeeding were now remote.

    There was a span of a few minutes between ships. When the next one came out of the photosphere and its shape became clear on the main view screen, Tully sat up and took notice.

    Vanta-Captain Ginta for a moment slumped into formless posture, then assumed the angles of beholding-pleasant-encounters. An air of relaxation moved through the room in a wave.

    Tully stepped up beside the captain and pointed at the screen. “What’s that one?”

    “Bond Ship 15467,” Ginta replied.

    “Uh-huh,” Tully said. “You want to tell me what kind of ship that is and why she’s with us?”

    “That is a framepoint ship,” Ginta said. “It will travel with the fleet and lay framepoints after each jump. Without it, it will be a very long and slow voyage home.”

    Tully considered that for a moment. “Good ship to have with us.”

    “Indeed.” The captain’s voice was dry enough to serve as a desiccant.

    It took a few hours to bring the fleet through the Locus Point jump and out into clear space in the target star system. The fleet wasn’t much larger in terms of combat power than it had been, but Fleet Commander Dannet and Lieutenant General Kralik had agreed that if the fleet was going to go in harm’s way so far from their home stars and without quick access to Ares Base or the other systems of the Jao/human alliance, they’d need to take a lot of supplies with them. Under Caitlin’s oudh Dannet had commandeered every available ship in or near the base system to serve as stores and ammunition ships. Kralik hadn’t emptied the warehouses and storage nexuses of the base to fill those ships, but what he had ordered had put a severe dent in the base’s supplies.

    Caitlin was at dinner when the last ship cleared the corona transition. Her com pad beeped at her, and she tapped the accept control with her fork handle while she swallowed a bite. A recent picture of Ed was replaced by Dannet’s face staring out at her.

    “Director Kralik,” Dannet began in her usual direct mode.

    Caitlin choked down the last of the bite in her mouth. “Yes,” she husked.

    “All fleet ships have arrived and are in orbit. Several are in need of minor repairs, but nothing serious was experienced.”

    “Good.” Relief flooded through Caitlin.

    “I have ordered Bond Ship 15467 to begin laying and activating the framepoint.”

    “How long will that take?” Caitlin asked, turning schedules in her mind.

    Dannet gave her the typical Jao “as long as it takes” expression through the com pad.

    The com pad chimed again, and a message from Lieutenant Vaughan scrolled across the bottom of the screen: “Estimate 36 to 48 hours to deploy, activate and test.”

    “Never mind.” Caitlin waved a hand to clear the issue away. “I will call a meeting tomorrow for all senior captains and commanders. Word will go out soon.”

    “Understood.”

    And with that the com pad cleared and returned Ed’s picture to Caitlin’s view.

    Tully took a shuttle over to the Lexington to join Caitlin’s meeting.

    Wrot fell in beside him as they entered the conference room. “So, how was the jump?”

    “Fine,” Tully said blandly, catching a glimpse of Caewithe’s trim figure out of the corner of his eye. She smiled at him for a brief second. He flushed and dropped into his seat.

    Wrot took the seat next to him and gave him a direct look.

    “No harder than usual,” Tully said. “There were a few tight moments but the Vanta-Captain really knows what he’s doing.”

    Wrot’s whiskers moved and his head tilted in one of the Jao postures. Tully guessed at disbelief.

    “Okay, we almost got burnt to cinders,” Tully said in a low voice. “Drop it, will you?” His relationship with Caewithe Miller might be in the past, but still, the last thing he wanted to talk about in front of her or Caitlin was how bloody scared he’d been.

    Wrot stroked his cheek, and murmured, “We must compare notes.”

    “You’ve been on a pathfinder jump?” Tully asked.

    Wrot’s form communicated smug even without using Jao body language. Tully could read that rather well.

    Caitlin cleared her throat, and Tully faced forward.

    “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought since our return to Ares Base,” she said. “From what we’ve seen of the Ekhat presence in the Orion Arm of the galaxy, they appear to have started closer to the center and worked their way out. We have no clue as to whether or not they’re in the Sagittarius Arm. Once we arrive there, if we don’t see them, we will head inward from that point. I believe that will increase our chances of finding an extant society.” She glanced around the table.

    “Or increase chances of encountering the Ekhat if they are also in the Sagittarius Arm,” Wrot commented.

    Caitlin nodded. Tully noted a tightness around her mouth. She wasn’t happy about that possibility. “A risk I believe we must run.”

    Tully also noted that she had not called for discussion. She was growing into this leadership stuff, he thought to himself.

    Caitlin looked to Fleet Commander Dannet. “I would like to make the next jump as soon as the frame-point is set and functional. Please plan accordingly.”

    “We will be ready,” the former Narvo said. “Is there anything else?”

    Caitlin stood. “No. Keep me informed of progress.”

    Dannet rose to her feet, her large-even-for-a-Jao body dwarfing all but the Lleix. The rest of the council followed. Tully lingered for a moment, hoping for a quick word with Caewithe. But Caitlin swept out the door ahead of everyone and her bodyguard of course had to go with her.

    He started to follow after them, only to see Lim step in front of him.

    “Colonel Tully,” she began. He nodded in response, and she continued, “We have an agreement that you will teach me to fight. I am ready to begin.”

    “Whoa, whoa,” Tully held up his hands. “I agreed to have you taught to fight. But things are a bit up in the air, right now.”

    “And in this fleet, when will they not be?” She looked down and folded her robe a little closer to her body.

    Tully noted that Lim’s command of English idiom was rather good. But then, he would expect no less from a Lleix.

    “Fair point,” Tully acknowledged. “Part of the problem is that the man I want to begin your training is on Ban Chao, not Lexington.”

    “That is not a problem,” Lim replied. She looked at him, black eyes focused on his. “Pyr and I were joined by Garhet of Terralore a few days ago after it was decided that we need to have at least one of us with each of the senior Terra taif leaders. Pyr and Garhet will remain on Lexington to observe and interact with Director Kralik and Wrot. I volunteered to move to Ban Chao to observe you and your jinau leaders. If it is acceptable, I can return to the ship with you now.”

    “Wait a minute,” Tully said, holding up his hands again.

    “You do not want me?”

    “No,” Tully said. Lim seemed to stiffen, and he hurried to say, “I don’t mean I don’t want you on the ship. You just caught me off guard is all.” God, now he was getting in trouble with prickly extra-terrestrial women! What next? “Look, if you want to come over to Ban Chao, I’ll approve that. And yeah, it will make it some easier to start your training. But you’re going to be surrounded by Jao and humans, with no other Lleix on the ship. You sure you want to take that on?”

    Lim stared at him for a moment, black eyes unblinking, aureole doing a slow rise around her head. “How will that be different from my life before now?”

    Tully looked at Lim; saw the set of her shoulders, the full extension of her aureole, and the stillness of her hands. “Right. We leave for Ban Chao in an hour. Can you be ready by then?”

    Lim gave him a human nod, turned and exited the conference room. Tully stared after her. “Women,” he muttered. “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them, and can’t leave them behind.”

    He thumbed the call list on his com pad. A moment later First Sergeant Luff’s face was looking at him out of the surface of the pad. “Colonel? Something I can do for you?”

    “Yep,” Tully said. “Top, I need you to notify whoever is in charge of quarters on Ban Chao that we need to find a room for one more. Lim of Terralore elian is going to be joining us.”

    “A Lleix?”

    “Yep. And Top?”

    “Yes, sir . . .”

    “I’d like her in ship officer country if you can manage it, but close to me and to the jinau quarters.” He started to thumb off the call, but stopped to say, “Think of her as a new lieutenant, Top–lots of book knowledge but short on experience.”

    “Joy.” The first sergeant’s tone was so dry it could have withered a field.

    Tully laughed. “She’s pretty sharp, Top. I doubt she’ll make many of the mistakes a fresh shave-tail would make.”

    “No, she’ll make new and unusual ones.” Luff’s tone shifted to one of resignation.

    “See to it, Top.”

    “Yes, sir.”

    Aille krinnu ava Terra was preceded into the Earth headquarters of the Bond of Ebezon by Yaut krinnu ava Terra and Nath krinnu ava Terra. They had been requested to attend upon Preceptor Ronz not long after a courier ship had arrived from Ares Base.

    The preceptor greeted them as they entered the building. As with most Jao structures, the concept of straight hallways with doors opening off of it never seemed to have occurred to the designers. Ronz watched as they shifted almost unconsciously to a more released carriage of their bodies. He had noted before that Jao who spent a lot of time with humans would often minimalize their body postures. It was curious to him that even these three, members of the top five figures in Terra taif, appeared to be doing it.

    He beckoned without words, and they followed around a curving wall into a dimly lit space with cushions and other Jao arrangements scattered around. At a gesture from him, they all settled onto soft dehabia blankets, all the while eyeing him closely, blatant-curiosity written into the lines and angles of their bodies.

    “It is possible,” Ronz began as his Pleniary-superior Tura entered the room quietly and settle to a blanket of her own to one side, “that the human propensity for ollnat may have passed into excess.”

    Aille’s angles flowed into focused-attention. “In what way?” he asked.

    “Caitlin Kralik has reported on the progress of the survey expedition,” the preceptor replied.

    Ronz said nothing further, looking over the three leading members of the Terra’s new taif. They were smart and fit, their nap lustrous with frequent swims. Aille had the advantage of being rather open-minded for a Jao, able to adapt quickly, a long-time characteristic bred for by Pluthrak, his birth-kochan. Ronz watched angles flow across and through Aille’s body so swiftly that even he had trouble following the changes. He appreciated that Aille made no effort to mask or neutralize those movements. It indicated a trust that not many would have been willing to offer, not even to one who stood in the place of a parent kochan.

    Aille’s body settled into perceived-boldness. “She has abandoned the search?”

    “Yes and no,” Ronz said with a fillip of admiration-of-perception in his own angles. “Caitlin has concluded that the Ekhat are so prevalent in this galactic arm, and the possibilities of finding surviving sufficiently civilized races to ally with us are so low, that another approach must be developed.”

    “And did she propose such an approach?” Nath asked, her angles reading foretold-certainty.

    “No.” Ronz stood and crossed to look out the elliptical window, staring into the moonlight. “She has wielded her oudh and decided. Caitlin will lead her fleet across the void to the Sagittarius Arm, and establish her search there.”

    “Ah,” was Aille’s only response. He went neutral for a moment, then flowed into wry-amusement. “Ollnat with a vengeance, as Wrot might say.”

    “Indeed.” Ronz turned his back on the window to face them, moonlight pouring around him and turning him into a shadowy figure. “Where a Jao with her charge would systematically examine every possible system, gleaning in a well-harvested field, Caitlin has decided to move to a different field altogether. And can we say that she is wrong?”

    Silence.

    After a moment, Ronz sighed, and returned to his former position. “Even if I wanted to stop her, by now they are either about to leave Ares Base, or they have already begun the voyage.”

    Yaut broke his silence. “And what does Wrot have to say about this? He will have reported as well, I’m sure.”

    “Wrot,” Ronz began, his angles pure neutral, “is deeply concerned. He does not question Caitlin’s oudh as such, where another might, but he questions whether the risk that she is undertaking lies within that oudh.”

    “He would not say that much without making a recommendation,” Yaut growled out, leaving unsaid the so tell us already to let his angles of impatience speak instead.

    “Wrot made no recommendations, but he did suggest that the Bond get directly involved in the expedition.”

    “Would that be wise?” Aille said, his golden-brown body abandoning curiosity for concern. “The Bond does not take sides in kochan affairs.”

    “No, it would not. There are reasons I would rather not go into at this point,” Ronz said, “but the Bond has been by no means unanimous in its support of the policy I have followed here on Terra. If I officially involve the Bond in this matter, I will possibly raise up conflict within the Bond which would be much better avoided, not to mention stirring the currents of politics among and between the kochans.”

    The room was silent again as the others contemplated what had been said.

    “What ship?”

    The voice was almost atonal, the pitch and placement was so sloppy. Third-Mordent was instantly infuriated even before the hologram field flickered and filled with the face of a lesser Ekhat.

    “Put me through to a harmony master,” she fluted in response in descending quarter-tones, her anger adding an edge to the notes.

    “What ship?”

    Third-Mordent’s fury flashed, and she spun to put her face close to the hologram pickup. “You disgrace to the Harmony! You dare to intrude! I bring word for the harmony masters, and only them! Once they find that you have delayed me, you spawn of a servient and a defective male, they will give you to me.”

    She could feel her vision narrowing in the predator’s stare; feel her fore-shoulders pulling into attack position. Her right forehand blade rose into the field of the hologram pickup.

    “I will eat your progeny! I will geld your mate! I will rend you like a servient! I will kill your progenitors, and theirs! I will purify your line from the Harmony, you stain on the fabric of the Melody!”

    The hologram field blanked as she swung her forehand blade at it. Third-Mordent sat back on her haunches, panting. In a moment, the field swirled before presenting a different visage to her.

    Third-Mordent’s rage evaporated instantly. She recognized this Ekhat. The tegument faded to the shade of old ivory; the age grooves around the mandibles; the scar that creased the tegument around the left eye; all established that this was the oldest living harmony master in this quadrant, Ninth-Minor-Sustained.

    “You bring dissonance to this system,” the harmony master sang in cold bell tones, ringing in full step ascending. “Justify yourself or be purified.”

    “Harmony has been broken,” Third-Mordent keened, her dirge echoed by the Ekhat behind her.

    Ninth-Minor-Sustained stiffened. “Explain!” Her voice glissandoed down into almost a subsonic tone. It throbbed even through the communication link into the hologram projector.

    “Descant-at-the-Fourth will add no more notes to the Melody,” Third-Mordent sang again in descending whole tones, each sharp-edged, each precise. “Her system is filled with dissonance. All voices are dead. Her harvester and its dancing daughter-ships are broken, stumbling in aimless orbits.”

    The harmony master’s eyes widened and her head moved forward just slightly. She became essence of predator, and despite herself, Third-Mordent shrank back.

    “Come to me here!” Ninth-Minor-Sustained intoned. A light flared on a panel in Third-Mordent’s ship, a tone pinged.

    The hologram emptied.