Dual Domains, page 11
Goshling visibly brightened. The new projects ensured a boost in annual bonuses. “Your comm station parts are ready. Come this way,” he said and led Yerli and Lily to a staging location.
Lily optically surveyed the pallets, assigned modules to each one, and specified the loading order.
“Chief Timmons will walk your loadmaster among the pallets,” Yerli told Goshling. “Whatever number she assigns to the pallet, mark it clearly on the three outfacing sides and the top.”
Goshling pointed at a man who’d been standing by and indicated he should join Lily.
“Chief, these pallets are designed for Naiad freighters and Axis-ships,” the loadmaster explained. “They’ve got sharp runners. Be careful what you set them on.”
“Acknowledged,” Lily replied. Then she walked the loadmaster through the staging area.
Aboard the Norloth, Lorelei and Shoya stood outside module eleven. Both wore environment suits.
Lorelei had checked with Nalia and confirmed that Shoya had suit experience under Gat’r.
“We’re going to direct the loading of pallets from the fabrication station,” Lorelei said. “Normally, this would be simple, but we’re not driving the sleds. Both of us will be latched on in the module. I’ll communicate directly with the sled driver. You’re my backup. If you hear me give an instruction to the driver via comm, and you don’t see it obeyed, back the driver off.”
“How?” Shoya asked.
“Hold your arms over your head and cross your forearms. Don’t wave them around. Just hold that position until you see the sled reverse.”
“What if the driver doesn’t see me?” Shoya asked.
“Jump up and down. That suit is a tight fit. You’ll definitely attract attention, at least from the male drivers,” Lorelei teased.
Shoya did chuckle, but it was a nervous one. Being a mickie leader held a great deal of responsibility, but her arena on Kilmer was small and focused. Supporting the loading of a class one freighter was something altogether different.
“Ready?” Lorelei asked.
Shoya nodded, and Lorelei closed her faceplate. Then Shoya imitated her.
“Comm check,” Lorelei said.
“Loud and clear,” Shoya replied, giving a thumbs-up.
Lorelei rotated the pair through the airlock into the huge, empty module. Then she signaled the doors open.
Shoya stared at the dark, with its bright stars. Briefly, she froze. Then her hard-won control took over, and she focused on Lorelei.
Lorelei grabbed a pair of safety lines from the inside bulkhead and dragged the hooks across the deck to Shoya.
“Latch on,” Lorelei directed, handing Shoya one of the lines.
Shoya watched Lorelei snap her hook onto a ring on her waist belt. Then she imitated her.
“Latched on?” Lorelei inquired.
“Good to go,” Shoya said.
“Wrong response,” Lorelei replied. “Watch.” Then she repeated her query, yanked on the line to indicate it was truly attached, and called out, “Hooked on.” Then she repeated, “Latched on?”
Shoya yanked firmly on her line, grinned at Lorelei, and said clearly and firmly, “Hooked as I’ll ever be.”
“Good enough,” Lorelei allowed, laughing.
Shoya was mesmerized by the ease with which Lorelei walked around the deck and checked it for any issues. Then her bunkmate stood on the deck’s edge to wait for the first sled.
When the sled arrived, it wasn’t anything Shoya expected. First of all, the pallet was enormous. Second, the vehicle guiding the pallet approached under power. At about fifty meters, it used massive jets to decelerate.
Lorelei stepped to the side and directed the load to the module’s back corner.
Shoya could see sparks from the deck as the pallet scraped across it.
Lorelei signaled the driver to elevate the load. When the driver dropped the pallet, his skids scraped the deck.
“Where do they get these people?” Lorelei asked rhetorically, when the driver was out of range.
The loading continued without much difficulty until the module was half full. Although, Lorelei occasionally complained about the spotty comm connections with the drivers.
The next sled approached and was to place the pallet to begin a new row.
Lorelei lost her connection to the driver.
Without new instructions, the driver moved the pallet deeper into the module. The pallet dragged on the deck, and its sharp skids cleanly cut Lorelei’s safety line.
Lorelei hurried to the deck’s edge to reestablish her link. She expected to be brought up short at the deck’s edge and was stunned to find that she launched into space.
Shoya saw the accident happen in slow motion. Years of caring for her gang served her well. Two quick steps and a dive across the deck allowed her to grasp the line. A few meters of line managed to slip through her grasp until she halted the slide.
Lorelei’s line brought her up short. As she tentatively pulled on the line to turn toward the freighter, she heard, “I’ve got you, my friend.”
“Welcome words,” Lorelei said, as Shoya reeled her toward the bay.
The sled driver’s eyes couldn’t have been any bigger, as Lorelei passed by him.
Lorelei couldn’t help shaking her finger at him in remonstration to indicate her displeasure at his performance.
When the modules were loaded with parts, Shoya and Lorelei stripped out of their suits and set them in the cleaner. After a few minutes in the refresher, they hurried to dress.
“I’m famished,” Shoya commented, as they headed for the meal room.
“Freighter work will do that to you,” Lorelei replied. As they reached the meal room, she let Shoya precede her.
The room was full. The entire crew, except for the first mate, was present, and they loudly applauded, whistled, and stamped their feet.
Yerli approached Shoya and extended his hand. “Well done, Shoya,” he said.
Shoya didn’t get the chance to reply. She was mobbed by the crew offering their thanks.
Later, as Shoya and Lorelei sat down to their meals, Lorelei said, “Now, you’ve another family.”
8: Invitation Received
DEVONA, BASYAT SYSTEM
QUELLER HOME WORLD
Commodore Tocknicka’s fleet emerged from the dark trillions of kilometers away from the coordinates supplied by QASAP ship three-eight-four. The location purported to be the Queller home world.
A Trident squadron sailed outboard of the small fleet, protecting the carrier, the two Quadrants, the freighter, and the scout ship.
Gistamia interjected.
Julien chuckled. His captain had been selected by Admiral Cordelia, and he was sure that the Hyronzy had received a list of dos and don’ts to protect her partner.
Knowing the lengthy time for passive reception of telemetric data, Tocknicka connected with the Vivian’s Reflection.
Immediately, the Vivian’s Reflection dropped away from the fleet and transited to the nearby system’s rim. The Queller home world was one hundred ten degrees reverse spinward from the scout ship when it appeared out of the dark.
The scouts waited cycles for their appearance to accrue for the Quellers’ data collection services.
Killian was correct.
Quellers carefully surveilled their system and surrounding space. Despite the distance from the rim that the fleet arrived it was soon reported to the senior elders. This was true for the scout ship on the rim.
When the report arrived on Devona, an administrator hurried to Wymron’s office.
Following the senior elder’s directive on this subject, the administrator stepped past the waiting line and silently indicated the incoming message.
Wymron nodded, and the admin, with a rustle of quills, quietly exited. The senior elder, beckoned the next admin, handled the male’s business, and then directed him to find two junior elders.
When contacted by Wymron’s admin, Lemtaca and Ergatisa made their way to the senior elder’s office. At their arrival, the admin line dissolved, and a privacy screen closed behind the junior elders.
“QASAP success,” Wymron said, in the typical truncated elder style.
“Outpost ship?” Lemtaca queried.
QASAP three-eight-four had returned cycles earlier to the Basyat system, and Manager Iltaft had personally downloaded the report. She was excited by her team’s successful contact with the aliens, and she contacted the junior elders who’d commissioned her to design the QASAP ship’s first contact program.
“Ships,” Wymron corrected. He sent the sighting report he’d been studying to the junior elders.
“Substantive value to formation,” Ergatisa commented.
“Unsure. Protective,” Lemtaca added, eyeing the tri-hulled ships.
Then both juniors saw the second portion of the report and the accompanying analysis. Their eyes grew wide, and they regarded Wymron hopefully.
“Agree,” Wymron replied. “Single ship. Rim. Waits.”
“Response?” Lemtaca queried.
Wymron extended a hand toward the junior elders.
“Preferred method?” Ergatisa asked.
Again Wymron indicated them.
The junior elders rose, tipped their heads, and exited the office.
Wymron gave a thought to the upcoming assembly. Handing the first contact project to junior elders had stirred opinions among the senior elders, but that wasn’t the part that had bothered most of them. It had been deciding to speak to the aliens instead of sending ships to shut down the continuum. Then again, few knew the secret that Wymron was holding close.
The administrators kept an eye on their comm devices. When they saw Wymron’s privacy screen drop, they reformed their line.
Lemtaca signaled Iltaft and requested she meet them in the usual place.
Iltaft’s complex surrounded a peaceful garden, with several fountains and many places to rest.
The junior elders found the manager waiting for them.
Their favorite seating location was occupied, but, at the elders’ approach, the four techs stood, tipped their heads to the elders, and slipped away.
Iltaft had received the sighting report and had time to review it before the elders arrived.
Shifting into citizens’ elongated speech, Ergatisa said, “First, your program initiates contact. Then the QASAP ship returns with the alien language. Now the aliens have come. You’ve done exceedingly well, Director Iltaft.”
Iltaft was about to thank the junior elder for his commendation when her new title registered. She dipped her head in appreciation of the honor.
“Your reverence isn’t necessary,” Ergatisa said. “It’s Devona that is appreciative of what you’ve done.”
Then the junior elders returned the courtesy to Iltaft.
Passersby were taken aback at the sight of elders honoring a citizen, who appeared as astounded as them.
Iltaft had a sudden unnerving thought. Will my work still be appreciated if the aliens attack us?
“To work,” Lemtaca said.
“How will the senior elder respond?” Iltaft inquired.
“After we choose the method, we’ll inform him,” Ergatisa replied. His quills shook in a rare public display of his humor.
“Our choice?” Iltaft repeated, dumbfounded by the enormous responsibility. Then true to her sharp mind and decades of experience, she reviewed the sighting report and the data. “Extreme guile or an open hand?” she asked, indicating the Vivian’s Reflection on her device.
“What’s your analysis of the language learning program?” Lemtaca inquired.
Iltaft frowned, and her quills rustled quietly, indicating her confusion. She’d supplied a detailed summary of the program with the QASAP report. Then she realized what the elders sought. They wanted an opinion of the language program in light of the aliens’ arrival.
“The aliens are practiced in the art of first contact,” Iltaft replied. Then light dawned in her eyes.
“Our thoughts exactly,” Ergatisa responded. “The ships beyond might represent or hold multiple races.”
“What of the exchange, Director?” Lemtaca inquired.
This time, Iltaft considered what the QASAP ship had delivered and compared it to the aliens’ willingness to respond to the invitation.
“Multiple races aboard. Evidence of sophisticated programs and comm control,” Iltaft opined.
“There was the shift in communications style,” Ergatisa pointed out.
“Analysis of the exchange indicates a high level of probability that the primary communicator was responsible for the entire sequence,” Iltaft volunteered.
The junior elders hadn’t considered that piece of evidence, and they exchanged thoughts in the elders’ style, which Iltaft was unable to follow.
Addressing Iltaft, Lemtaca said, “The speaker might be a digital sentient.”
“That would account for the ability to start the exchange in an elongated style, and then switch to a truncated manner, which the QASAP program could better handle,” Iltaft offered.
“If accurate, then the speaker would have identified the nature of the QASAP ship,” Ergatisa mused.
“Undoubtedly,” Iltaft said. “Yet, despite the rather limited first contact, the aliens came here.”
“And they came a long way with few ships,” Lemtaca said.
Iltaft’s head tipped to the side in a query.
“The senior elder believes that the small number of ships and the manner of presentation indicates a nonthreatening presence by the aliens,” Lemtaca explained.
“Is the small ship on the rim waiting for our reaction?” Iltaft wondered.
“Possibly,” Ergatisa allowed.
“Or are the aliens just being polite, and they’re waiting for us to see them?” Ergatisa posited.
“That fits,” Iltaft declared excitedly. “The aliens take measured steps. They discern the nature of our continuum vanquisher, and they remove it when they realize that no lives will be lost. Then they discover the QASAP ship and accept the contact. Now a small contingent arrives. Everything indicates a limited response so as not to frighten us.”
“We agree,” Lemtaca said, after a brief exchange with his companion. “We wonder if every elder will accept our analysis of benign visitors.”
“The elders could assume these steps hide the aliens’ practiced guile at conquering other races,” Ergatisa added.
“There is room for that thinking,” Iltaft allowed, “but I consider that it doesn’t take all the facts into account.”
“Arguments against that reasoning?” Lemtaca queried.
“Consider the nature of the language program,” Iltaft proposed, leaning on her training methods.
The junior elders accepted the challenge and engaged in their fast abbreviated back and forth.
“The program’s key feature was that it was one way,” Ergatisa volunteered.
“Which tells us what?” Iltaft pursued.
“It was important to the aliens that the supposed occupants of the QASAP ship could speak to them,” Lemtaca promptly supplied.
“The aliens learned they weren’t speaking with a biological,” Ergatisa concluded. “That means that they’ve only learned a digital program and not our vocal language. Not knowing anything about our race, they still decided to come and with few ships.”
“An elegant challenge, Director,” Lemtaca complimented, and Iltaft tipped her head respectfully.
“This discussion has been useful,” Ergatisa said. “Now we must decide how to contact the aliens.”
Simultaneously, the trio’s devices signaled alerts, and they examined the newest sighting reports.
“The alien ship at the rim has retreated,” Lemtaca noted.
“But not in the same manner in which it arrived,” Iltaft said.
“Notable,” Ergatisa agreed.
“The small ship chooses to arrive undetected but sits on the rim where we can see it,” Iltaft reasoned. “Instead of disappearing, it sails toward the collection that waits far out. That’s a signal for us.”
“The aliens don’t know our technological capabilities,” Lemtaca quickly surmised. “The small ship points the way to the others in case we needed the information.”
The trio grunted politely to indicate the humor of the realization.
“Then I think we’ve our answer in how to respond to the aliens’ first movement,” Iltaft said in complete satisfaction.
“We appreciate that you’ve the answer to our primary query,” Ergatisa said. “However, it would be helpful if you expressed it so that we would ensure Elder Wymron clearly understands your intention.”
Iltaft dipped her head in apology, accepting the gentle rebuke. “We must not try to outthink the aliens. If our analysis is correct, they’re masters at first contact, and, in this case, we’re naïve. Therefore, it’s best to imitate them.”
