Imperium's Demise, page 27
Seeing the elders hesitate, some Matas called out a single word. Others picked up on it and repeated the word, turning it into a loud chant.
Shoya signaled her companions to about-face, and they waited while the throng’s volume increased.
Hesitantly, the tech stepped in front of the conclave members, and he raised his hands to the audience, who immediately quieted.
“Who are you?” Shoya managed, pointing at the tech.
“Director of Mythrea’s Design and Engineering Department. I’m called Malfisp.”
“Captain, you regard me, but Kreus speaks. If you’re biological, how do you manage that?” Malfisp inquired.
Shoya laughed gently. “Good question,” she replied. “Poor Mata words,” she added, touching her head. “Kreus, SADE. Good Mata words. Send from my mind.”
“You’ve tech in your head with which you can converse with others?” Malfisp sought to understand.
“Yes,” Shoya replied. “Speak all conclave.”
Malfisp beckoned Shoya close, until she leaned near his face. “Kreus,” he whispered.
“I know what we need. Who must approve our request?” Malfisp queried.
“When can you talk to him?” Malfisp asked.
A different voice issued from Z’s machine. The audience heard, “I’m Cremsylon, leader of this flotilla.”
Malfisp touched Shoya’s chin gently, and he nodded at her.
As Shoya stood, she watched Malfisp turn toward the crowd and issue the loudest whistle in varying harmonic tones that the conclave had yet heard.
In perfect imitation, the Matas returned Malfisp’s whistle.
The elders retreated to the edge of the throng, and Malfisp replaced them.
Malfisp regarded the huge machine and the conclave members standing in front of him. “I don’t wish to sound demanding, but I don’t want this opportunity to slip through our hands,” he said. “I’ll speak, and you can tell me when I’ve exhausted your generosity.”
“We’re listening,” Shoya replied.
Briefly, Malfisp turned to regard his citizens.
The congregated Matas whistled soft tones of encouragement, which the conclave members carefully stored.
Turning around, Malfisp said, “We repelled the landings of the Krackus and the Radag commands multiple times with our transports. It cost the lives of many citizens, but it taught the invaders a harsh lesson. We’re small and weak in body, but this is our home. We made the invaders pay dearly for their attempts to possess it.”
Having shared the Mata’s pain, Malfisp drew himself to his full height, which wasn’t much of a demonstration. However, his intention wasn’t wasted on the conclave members.
“When the Krackus and the Radags retreated for the final time, they retaliated,” Malfisp continued. “We were just reaching into space. Then Radag commanders ordered the destruction of our three shuttles.”
Malfisp waited for a reaction from Shoya, who he focused on, knowing that she was sharing with others.
“Continue,” Shoya encouraged.
“When the Radags gained their warships, the Krackus ships destroyed our satellite ring,” Malfisp said next. Then he waited again.
“Understood,” Shoya responded.
“We were building an orbital construction station, which was about seventy percent complete,” Malfisp explained. “They fired missiles into it until there was nothing left but small debris.”
Still Malfisp saw that Shoya waited. He extended his small arms wide and tipped his head to the side in apology.
Malfisp blinked twice, as his thoughts caught up with the fact that Cremsylon had skipped past negotiations and formal approval to how to replace what the Matas lost.
“We’ve everything you might need, Leader Cremsylon,” Malfisp finally replied. “Although, it will be in our language and with our engineering codes.”
“I’ll remain here,” Malfisp promised.
Malfisp grinned. Then he turned to his citizens and signaled with a few whistling notes.
The conclave was serenaded for nearly half an hour with one song. It had complex movements, and frequently, the audience whistled in counterpoint. The Song of the Matas, as it was to be known, would become one of the most shared pieces of music among the conclave.
When the audience finished, they held out their hands toward the conclave members.
As the seconds ticked past with no other movement from the Matas, Kreus stabilized his four rears legs. Then he extended the front toward the assembled citizens, which had the Matas whistling.
Immediately, the conclave members imitated the Matas.
Then arms were dropped.
The Matas whistled in appreciation of the moment, and the SADEs echoed them, which delighted the crowd.
Soon afterward, the conclave members loaded Kreus, and Shoya lifted slowly. Then she rapidly made for the Alexander.
Kreus transferred out of Z’s machine, gathered several SADEs, and headed planetside.
The Matas had waited in the plaza. In fact, the audience had grown. However, Malfisp and others could be seen preserving room for the traveler to land.
Kreus carefully squeezed the ship into the space left for him. He lowered the ramp a third of the way, allowing more responsible Matas to shoo the young ones out of the way.
The other SADEs allowed Kreus to exit first. Malfisp was waiting at the edge of the ramp.
“Greetings, Director Malfisp,” Kreus said.
“I know that voice,” Malfisp replied in surprise. “Kreus?”
“Yes,” Kreus replied smiling.
“Is your body suffering some sort of ailment, or has your face been deliberately created to appear that way?”
“It’s deliberate,” Kreus replied. “The reason why is a long story.”
“Hopefully, there will be time to hear it,” Malfisp responded. “My department occupies much of a large building in another city. How will you be able to follow my transport?”
“Then again, you can ride in our transport,” Kreus returned, indicating the traveler with a sweep of his hand.
“We’re a fragile race, Kreus,” Malfisp said. “We must be encased in special suits to withstand gravitational forces.”
Kreus smiled. “Then fortune rides with you, Director. We harness gravitational forces. You’ll suffer no discomfort aboard our ships. Who else would need to ride with us?”
A small group had closed behind Malfisp while he spoke to Kreus. They urged him forward, and they climbed the ramp with him.
“How should we travel?” Malfisp asked, gazing around at the seats.
“Any way you wish,” Kreus returned. “You can sit, stand, or lay in the aisle.”
The Matas thought the idea of lying in the aisle during the launch of a shuttle as ludicrous, and their whistles made that clear.
One of the engineers felt a breeze on his neck, and he looked behind him. A low moaning whistle escaped his lips. Alerted, the other Matas turned to see open sky beyond the hatchway.
Malfisp regarded his booted feet in dismay, as if they had betrayed him by not warning him of the lift. “You cancel gravity?” he asked Kreus.
“In a manner,” Kreus replied.
Malfisp and his engineers entered into an excited discussion, which was interrupted by Kreus.
“Which city?” Kreus inquired, holding out his palm holo-vid with a display of the countryside.
Malfisp grinned at his companions, touched the display, saw it react, and swiftly moved it to locate their destination.
Then the engineers’ lively conversation resumed.
The next time Kreus disturbed the Matas, it was to point at the open ramp and the tall buildings beyond.
For several days, the Matas taught the SADEs the means of identifying elements of their engineering drawings and demonstrated their mathematical measurements. Materials required the interpretation of labels and conversion of atomic structure symbols. The list went on, and the SADEs diligently pursued the details.
During every possible break, usually around Mata meals, the engineers quizzed the SADEs about their technology.
Malfisp even had time to hear the story about Kreus’s face. It enthralled them. Knowing Kreus and every Krackus prisoner was freed from Helgart gave them insight into the conclave’s nature.
When the SADEs were finished, they said goodbye to the Matas and returned to the Alexander. Soon after, the flotilla’s ships rendezvoused, and they sailed for the dead system.
19: It Doesn’t Make Sense
DEAD SYSTEM
EXECUTOR DAKARGK’S TERRITORY
With the Trident’s detailed telemetry from its original visit, the flotilla had no need to hide deep in the dark to discover the Krackus smelting operation.
However, Shoya requested that they remain far below the planet to ensure that every peacekeeper could be tracked.
It was a logical request, but Gat’r knew better.
Deep in the night, he was wakened by a cascade of images from Shoya. He came alert and witnessed the restless movements of her limbs.
Shoya struggled through her chaotic state to focus on her partner’s entreaties. Eventually, she opened her eyes.
Gat’r explained, pulling Shoya close.
“Sorry,” Shoya mumbled in Gat’r’s ear, as she moved to make their bodies contact fully.
Gat’r responded.
Gat’r kept his face neutral. He’d achieved the first part of his plan. His partner’s fears had been momentarily banished. In fact, he believed the warrior woman was rising to strike. That thought made him want to celebrate aloud.
Shoya pulled away, sat up, and crossed her legs. She was careful to keep a foot pressed against Gat’r’s midriff to indicate that she wasn’t angry with him.
Shoya moved to place her back against the bed’s bulkhead to think.
A link appeared in Shoya’s implant, and she followed Gat’r’s suggestion. She was absorbed, as she followed the stories of Mila Pappas and Salus. These tales didn’t document their use of probes, which she’d studied. Instead, they detailed the means by which the pair invented techniques to augment their orders. Despite the risks, they constantly succeeded.
Gat’r responded.
Shoya slapped Gat’r’s chest and laughed at the idea.
Gat’r closed his eyes, intending to remain awake. However, Shoya’s fitful sleep had tired him too. In no time, he was breathing deeply.
Shoya spent most of the night studying Mila’s tactics. She admired that the Naiad hadn’t adopted repetitive techniques. In that regard, Mila’s strategies were much like her own actions against Temtalum. That thought helped to restore her confidence, which had gotten low.
Dropping her link with the controller, Shoya sat envisioning the peacekeepers and how she could make use of the flotilla’s assets. When a concept occurred to her, she grinned, tucked next to Gat’r, and fell asleep.
The next morning after the early meal, Shoya convened the council.
Crew members flooded Gat’r with their thanks. They knew that it would have been a challenge to take on the seven peacekeepers that now occupied the planet’s inner orbit.
When Kreus activated the Alexander’s holo-vid, Cremsylon shared it with the other ships and the SADEs.
Cremsylon received a link to a vid from Gat’r, and he played it on the council’s holo-vid and sent it to the other ships and the SADEs.
Everyone was quiet while they watched the vid play. It was a Trident recording of the Liberation in action. The liner started outside a system and sped toward it. Before entering the system, it spun on its horizontal axis. Then a traveler, which had been outboard and held by tethering beams, was whipped in system.
