Chaotic Futures, page 36
Suddenly, all eyes on the bridge turned to regard Sven.
Merlie added,
When the Storyteller exited the dark outside the Jumanus system, Peña broadcast for the attention of a short list of SADEs. Cordelia, Julien, Cremsylon, and Kreus came back to her.
Rather than show the units standing along the bay’s bulkhead, Sven sent three examples of the sisters’ decorative designs.
There were ticks of pause by the three SADEs, but Kreus cheered the endeavor.
Cordelia linked privately to Julien.
Cordelia chose not to respond. Instead, she continued with the conference call.
Peña shared her conversation with Tocknicka and subsequently with Janus.
Kreus responded.
The elder SADE’s comment caught the attention of Cordelia and Julien. Their time tucked under the bridges of Méridien starships were memories that remained resident in their kernels.
With that, Merlie accelerated the Storyteller, laying a course for Darmian.
Behind them, Cordelia tasked three Trident squadrons to accompany the Nyslara to the coordinates Peña shared. Then she noticed Julien aboard a traveler with Opal piloting him to the Alexander.
Julien laughed at Cordelia’s imitation of Alex’s younger sister, when she was a teenager. He knew she didn’t like the arrangement he’d proposed, but he also knew she saw that it was the better approach.
Far away, the Storyteller exited the dark outside the Radagul system. A short transit had the ship arriving below the ecliptic near Darmian.
Merlie guided the carrier around the planet to position it above the new city. Telemetry recorded skirmishes with Radag warriors at six different points along the wall.
Even with travelers floating outside the first wall and mini-minelettes dropping feverishly, the defenders’ efforts weren’t defeating the masses of warriors who attacked.
Warriors were seen to break through the wall’s defenders to race through the crops. They were intent on scaling the second and taller wall to reach the city’s inhabitants.
Those aboard the carrier were torn between their desire to help and the protectors’ decision not to accept it.
Behind the Storyteller, two small conclave freighters exited the dark above Darmian and accelerated toward the planet.
Before the captain could finish, sisters were racing for their cargo travelers and launching them as quickly as digital sentients could.
Elone was the first to arrive at a freighter. She entered carefully, as thirty environment-suited individuals with baggage and weapons stood against the bulkheads.
The ramp hadn’t touched the deck when Elone heard,
There was cheering aboard the Storyteller.
Immediately, Peña halted the drop of the avatars planetside. She sent most of her sisters to the plaza to handle the Dischnya’s baggage. Not surprising, she saw Sven jump aboard a ship.
Elone watched the Dischnya strip out of their environment suits. She chuckled and shared the main cabin’s visuals. The Dischnya were ensconced in the protectors’ suits. Each suit was uniquely colored.
Connecting to the protectors, Elone sent,
Elone guided the traveler to the inner wall that guarded the city. Some Radag warriors had nearly reached it. She dropped the ship and the ramp at the same time. When she could get as close as possible without taking fire from the energy weapons, she sent,
With howls, half of the Dischnya leapt off the ramp. They’d adopted the suits on Omnia with a vengeance. The opportunity to engage the Radags was too good to be missed. As they practiced with the suits, they studied the engagements of the Naiad suits that the protectors had provided.
The Dischnya recognized the dangers, but there was a portion of the race who had never been satisfied with Omnian life. Like the sisters under Nebulon, they yearned for the chance to engage adversaries who sought to harm others.
As Elone lifted, she saw the Dischnya race through the tall crops and attack the Radag warriors. The encounter was brief, as the warriors were caught completely off guard. She could hear a Dischnya team leader seeking the protectors in the open for a new assignment.
The second drop was similar to the first. The Dischnya leapt off the ramp, ran at the warriors, and eliminated them.
Immediately, Elone made a brief stop in the plaza. The ship was emptied of environment suits and baggage. Then she returned to the freighter. After being directed to the second freighter, she spread the next group of Dischnya along the first wall. The Dischnya jumped a short distance from the wall, as her ship took beam fire.
Soon, the Radag warriors abandoned the fight. They were demoralized by the sudden appearance of three hundred suited fighters.
In the plaza, the sisters and Sven had stood by to unload the first traveler. Suddenly, they were surrounded by hundreds of Radag city inhabitants.
“We’ve been expecting these defenders,” Gurderg said to Sven. “Residences have been prepared for them. We require a sister at the end of the line to record where we put environment suits and bags.”
“My job,” a sister announced to Gurderg.
“Form two lines behind Sven,” Gurderg announced loudly, and the inhabitants quickly organized themselves.
Then the sister ran to the end of the lines, which stopped at the first residence.
When Elone made her first drop into the plaza, she’d spotted the double lines of Radags and the group of sisters next to Sven. She spun her traveler to place the aft end toward them. The ramp dropped as she landed.
The sisters raced aboard and cleared the interior within a couple of minutes. Then Elone lifted, and the inhabitants went to work, handing the suits and baggage along the lines.
Traveler after traveler landed, and the sisters kept unloading.
As the residents tired, others took their place. They celebrated the final traveler full of Dischnya equipment to lift.
An hour later, the first load of avatars arrived.
Peña accompanied the first drop, and she sought the protectors, whom she found with Nebulon.
Peña eyed Nebulon’s avatar. The wear and tear was evident, and she’d used fabric to cover the exposed elements of her avatar.
The foursome watched the unloading of the heavy avatars, which went quickly with the Dischnya’s help.
Peña remarked, eyeing the protectors.
Peña noted that Escher’s and Ceda’s suits had stresses in the fabric. That and the scorch marks were sure to decrease the suits’ effectiveness.
Peña gazed at the hive of activity around her.
When Peña regarded the protectors, Nebulon, Escher, and Ceda, their faces showed quiet resolve.
The protectors roared their approval, and Ceda swatted Escher’s shoulder, as he grinned.
From a large space, where sisters lay waiting for new avatars, there was raucous noise.
Z spotted Peña’s frown.
Peña received tipped heads and hands across heart positions from each individual who faced her. Like the courtesies from the second-gen sisters, she felt awkward receiving these honors. Nonetheless, she dropped her head in acceptance.
