Gravity Storm: Order of Scion book 3, page 14
The Cadish alien sat back in a padded chair that reclined slightly under his weight. He rubbed the side of his jaw, just under the wide mouth of pointed teeth. Mitch Murphy had been recruited to join the Order of Scion. He couldn’t help but laude the decision, and he even wondered if Arq had hacked the military database as Fors’No had done. Either way, the Order had their man. Not just a human, but a physically and mentally enhanced human. Fors’No could make a case that he was super-human, possibly the finest specimen their race had ever produced. The species had potential, but they were not all like Mitch Murphy. In fact, from what Fors’No could ascertain, none of them were. They were a weak, technologically dependent, overcrowded species with nowhere to run to. G’all Gotha would crush them and within a few years, the human race would be extinct.
It was only a cheerful thought to Fors’No, who rubbed his hands together in anticipation of having a front row seat to the utter destruction of mankind.
On the far side of the heliosphere, another alien ship lingered. Arq was the only being aware that Fors’No had entered the system. He didn’t need a radar system, or visual confirmation. Arq could sense the entire system as the gravity ebbed and flowed. Perhaps if Fors’No had dropped in behind a gas giant, or among the remnants of the asteroid belt, he could have hidden from the Scion Master. But Arq was an expert on the Sol System. He recognized every ship, space station, comet, and bit of junk floating through the heliosphere. Everything had its own, familiar sense of pull in the ocean of gravity. The mysterious force existed everywhere. It was part of the fabric that held the universe together. But stars were massive celestial objects that exerted a strong gravitational field. The Sol System was a symphony of widely different sensations, but like a maestro conductor, Arq could sense any change in the gravity field.
“We have a visitor,” Arq said in a calm voice.
Juj was standing beside him. The twelve year member of the Order of Scion was a True Navigator, adept at bending space to travel across the galaxy. But he was practicing to become a World Mover. The amount of mental discipline it took to harness and control that much gravity was difficult to amass. Arq was mentoring him in the process.
“What?” Juj asked. “Where?”
“On the far side of the heliosphere.”
“How can you sense things that far out?”
“You must learn to feel it all. Concentrate on the gravity from the star and explore it as far out as it goes until you have the entire field in your mind.”
“It’s too big,” Juj argued.
“Or your thinking is too small,” Arq replied with a chuckle. “Which do you think is true?”
Juj didn’t reply. Obviously if his mentor could do it, the feat wasn’t impossible.
“There’s nothing that far out,” Juj said. “Why should you force yourself to include it?”
Arq understood his companion’s hesitancy. In many ways, learning to open one’s senses large enough to monitor the entire star system was like trying to swallow a planet in one bite. The amount of information was hard to bring in and disseminate if one wasn’t well rehearsed in the practice. It dissolved into noise that could overwhelm a person’s mind. But Arq knew it was like stretching a joint. If done correctly, the ligaments and tendons would stretch. It happened slowly, over time, but eventually one could learn to sense everything, just as Arq could.
“It’s all part of the system,” Arq said. “It won’t benefit you to only focus on what is easy to perceive. You must learn to sense it all, and then you will know when something appears that shouldn’t be there. Have you found it yet?”
“I think,” Juj said. “A ship, an old one.”
“Old, but familiar,” Arq said.
“Is that Fors’No’s vessel?”
“Very well done,” Arq said, knowing the starship was at the maximum distance from their own position just inside the massive circle of gravity emanating from the sun.
“It can’t be a coincidence that he’s here,” Juj said.
Arq agreed. News of the attack on Vodex and the destruction of the Scion Academy had only just reached them a few minutes before Fors’No dropped into the system. The initial reports were sketchy, just that an attack had occurred and resulted in a complete evacuation from the academy, along with news that a visitor had arrived just in time to thwart the brunt of the surprise attack and take down the invading ship. No details were included, no names, but Arq knew that Qwii and Mitch Murphy had recently left the Terra System, with plans to stop at Vodex. It didn’t surprise Arq that the human warrior had played a part in the defense of the Scion Academy. Mitch Murphy was physically unmatched. Arq had traveled the length and breadth of the Milky Way galaxy. He had seen hundreds of intelligent species. Few were as fast as Mitch Murphy, and even less were as strong, but none had the combined physical talents as the human member of the Order. And Qwii reported as much after their first few encounters with the Fray. Once Mitch Murphy’s control of gravity allowed him to fend off those attacks by his enemies, few stood a chance against him in a physical altercation. And the sudden appearance of Fors’No in the Sol System was all the proof Arq needed that his choice in the first human invited to join the Order of Scion was a good one.
“Is he here for us?” Juj asked.
“I doubt it,” Arq said. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that he entered the system on the far side of the heliosphere from us.”
“If not for us, then what is his purpose here?”
“My guess would be to plan an attack,” Arq said.
“On the humans?”
Arq nodded. “The Fray are up to something. And I’m guessing they want Mitch Murphy occupied when they come against us in earnest.”
“What should we do?”
“At this moment we wait to see what Fors’No will do.”
“If he attacks?”
“Then we will stop him,” Arq said.
“And risk exposure to the humans?”
“Word from Terra of Mitch Murphy’s abilities will have already reached them,” Arq said. “Human communications are excellent. And if Fors’No attacks, which I doubt he will do, the humans will realize there is greater power in the universe than they know of.”
“And if the Fray are here for intelligence?”
“Then the humans must be warned,” Arq said. “We will return to the Terra System and speak to the commander on the planet. Mitch Murphy has already revealed himself to them. Our presence in their territory will not be a total surprise.”
“As always, you know best,” Juj said.
It was a fine compliment, and Arq knew the humans better than anyone outside their solar system. But he knew that no plan was perfect. Arq had no idea who was pulling the strings of the Fray. It was impossible to plan for a fight with a foe you knew nothing about. Arq would have said that a surprise attack on the Scion Academy was impossible, and one that ended in the facility’s total destruction was laughable, but he had recently learned exactly that had happened. It left him feeling cold. Terror had hatched inside him, and was scratching and clawing for control of his mind. He had to fight it to think rationally. The Order of Scion was in real danger for the first time since he had joined the Order more than thirty-two years ago. If they weren’t careful, they could all be killed. It chilled him to think of what a galaxy without the Order of Scion to protect it would look like. And he was determined not to let that happen, no matter what the cost.
Suddenly, the ghost ship on the far side of the galaxy began to move. Arq could feel gravity building all around it. Fors’No was leaving the system.
“He’s not here to fight,” Arq said. “Not this time.”
“But he’ll be back?”
“We have to assume that he will. The human race is no longer an isolated species. Trouble has found them.”
“Can you tell where he’s going?” Juj asked, panting a little.
“No,” Arq said. “Don’t wear yourself down trying.”
The ship on the far edge of the system disappeared in a rush of gravitic power. Arq felt the fabric of space flatten out again. Like water, it always sought to find level. Arq marveled at the Creator’s wisdom and design. The Universe was a masterpiece, and he was determined not to let the Fray destroy it.
“We must travel back to the Terra System,” Arq said. “Go and make preparations. I will decide what to tell the humans.”
Juj gave a small bow, then left his mentor. Arq turned back to look out across the busy star system. Lights glimmered and reflected off the thousands of space vessels spread across the space between the planets. To some it might seem messy and crowded, but to Arq, it was a beautiful sight. He was thrilled to see humanity taking advantage of everything they could in their small corner of the galaxy. There’s was a race full of potential. Arq was happy to have spent his life preparing to show them the truth and beauty of the Creator’s plans for them. The Sol System was his home as much as theirs. And he was prepared to die fighting to defend it.
CHAPTER 19
“The facility is booked,” Master Thorn Isska Sonso declared as he walked out of the administration building with an air of confidence. “We will send word that the gathering is to take place in three days.”
“Is that enough time for all of us to assemble?” Master Caltrix said with some doubt.
“The majority will come,” Sonso said. “Besides, the less time we give our enemies to prepare, the better off we’ll be. Our response to their heinous actions must be quick and decisive.”
Mitch fell in behind the small group of aliens. He was the tallest of them by far, but not the strongest. Physically, he could best them all, but when it came to power over the force of gravity, he was the weakest among them.
But it wasn’t strength or power that he was concerned with. Master Sonso sounded like a CMC general, the kind the troops on the ground usually made fun of. There was some tactical sense to what he proposed, but Mitch had a bad feeling. He felt like he was floundering around in the dark, blindfolded while their enemies could see everything.
“Proper accommodations are the next priority,” Master Sonso said. “We shall proceed to the Excelsior on 283rd street. I am told it has rooms suited to each of our races.”
Mitch knew that didn’t pertain to him. He was the first human in the Ventron System, the first to set foot on Pappisbad. But he didn’t need a room. The Luska was his home, and he was happy to stay on the ship. It was parked in a landing port that was between the towering hotels, each one was hundreds of stories tall, and the massive auditorium where the Members of the Order of Scion would convene.
Mitch spoke in a quiet voice to Qwii who walked beside him, following the Masters of their Order.
“That was fast,” Mitch said.
“Your kind has a saying, ‘Money talks,’” Qwii replied in an equally quiet voice.
“What kind of money do they take here?”
“Money varies from planet to planet. Most trade in precious metals; gold, silver, platinum.”
“And we have that?”
Qwii nodded. “Our mandate does not forbid the accumulation of wealth. The Order is able to obtain vast quantities of tradable minerals without mining or building installations.”
“We can use the Power to levitate wherever we want,” Mitch said, thinking of how he got the Cidian to make his sword.
“It is a useful skill. A few hours in orbit around a planet that cannot be mined any other way and we can obtain enough of the valuable minerals to fund whatever the Order seeks to do.”
“Nice,” Mitch said.
But he had already begun to notice the strange looks the little group was receiving. The locals didn’t seem all that friendly. Mitch thought it was odd behavior on a trade world. He had seen more aliens than he had ever imagined just on the walk from the meeting facility offices to the hotel, and yet he didn’t think he had seen two of the same kind. Either he, as a human being, wasn’t welcome on Pappisbad, or the Order of Scion wasn’t.
The lobby of the hotel was opulent, a wide open space with a towering ceiling covered with ornate tiles. The floor was polished stone, the support beams were all gleaming brass. The front desk was made from a dark, exotic wood that was topped with crystal, and held together with brass fixtures. The alien behind the desk had three heads.
“Are we staying here?” Mitch asked Qwii.
“One of us should be here at all times,” his Nagani mentor replied. “The Masters shouldn’t be alone.”
“Agreed,” Mitch said.
He and Qwii spread out. Mitch could feel the various aliens moving through the lobby, and in the rooms behind it. His senses were on high alert and he could feel the various materials the employees carried, from cleaning supplies to fresh towels. There was a small group of aliens lingering in a nearby lounge sipping exotic drinks that Mitch didn’t bother trying to identify. He wasn’t sensing anyone with weapons, guns, or blades hidden in the strange clothing or carried in their luggage.
The Masters booked rooms and were escorted upstairs. Qwii went with them, and Mitch stayed in the lobby where he continued to get strange looks. Eventually, a pair of odd looking aliens approached him. They had four arms, two were thick, muscular, and long, and two were tiny and folded onto the middle of their chests. Instead of a nose, they had nostril slits on the sides of their neck, and their brains were obviously hidden in a different part of their thick bodies. The tops of their heads ended just above their tiny, black eyes, and sloped down sharply, so that it appeared that their faces were on some sort of board that stuck up out of their chest instead of in a proper head.
“What are you?” They asked in common.
Mitch looked at them but didn’t answer. The pair looked exactly the same, identical twins that bobbed and swayed even when they weren’t walking on their short, springy legs.
“Dressed up like a religious wacko,” the alien on the left said. “The Order must be getting desperate for new fools.”
“You don’t really believe all that religiosity do you?” The one on the right asked.
“You should move along,” Mitch warned them.
“It speaks,” the alien on the left declared. “I guess you didn’t get the message. Your kind, whatever it might be, ain’t welcome here.”
“Why is that?” Mitch asked, confused for the moment into thinking they were hassling him for being human.
“No one here wants to hear a sermon,” the alien on the right said.
“You can work your magic someplace else,” his companion added.
“Proselytizing is illegal on Pappisbad,” the first alien continued. “Permanent ban if you’re caught.”
“I’m not here for that,” Mitch said, struggling a bit with the translation.
“We don’t want you here at all,” the alien on the left said.
“It’s no mystery what your kind can do,” the other alien snarled.
Mitch was just about to point out that if the twins knew what he could do, then perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to make him angry. But he was saved from making a bad situation worse by a glamorous looking alien in a silky, black dress. She looked like a human from the waist up except her skin was a light green color. Instead of legs, she had what looked like the tail end of a snake. The strange body stretched out from the bottom of her dress and she moved as it slithered over the floor.
“Are these Dorians bothering you?” She asked as she slid up behind them.
Mitch hesitated for a second, glancing at the twins before he answered.
“No,” he said. “I’m fine.”
“The Excelsior doesn’t tolerate racism of any kind,” she said in a forceful voice.
“We were just leaving,” the twin on the right said.
“Didn’t know this place catered to the likes of those rag wearing kooks,” the other snapped as they bobbed and weaved their way to the big, rotating doors.
“I apologize for any insult you may have endured,” the snake woman said. “My name is Rona, and I’m the general manager of the Excelsior.”
“Mitch Murphy. I’m with the—“
“Order of Scion, yes, I recognized the robe. But I’ve never seen your race before. Would you be insulted to share a little about yourself?”
“Not at all,” Mitch said. “I’m a human.”
“Human,” she said, flashing a dazzling smile at him. “How nice. Are there many of your kind in the Order of Scion?”
“No,” Mitch said. “I’m the first.”
“Well, it is a delight to meet you, Mitch Murphy. I would offer to buy you a drink, but I’m not sure what humans ingest.”
“Water is all I need,” he said, trying not to get distracted by her alluring voice. It took some effort to keep tabs on the activity in the lobby and carry on a conversation with Rona.
“Water we have in abundance,” she said. “Allow me to get you a bottle.”
She slid away toward the lounge. Mitch tried not to watch her go. He wasn’t sure what he thought of the serpentine lower half of her body. It was surreal being in the posh hotel and seeing dozens of strange aliens. He remembered going to the city around Christmas when he was seven years old. His parents took him ice skating on a massive rink in the center of the Salt Lake Megapolis. There were hundreds of kids there that day, some with fancy, expensive clothing, others in mere rags. Every race, culture, and ethnicity had been represented there that day, and Mitch had been in awe at the sheer diversity of it all. He felt small, and a little frightened in the throng of skaters. His ideas about the world had changed that day, and he realized his perceptions about the universe were changing too. It would be impossible to count the number of different alien races just on Pappisbad. And once again he was struck with a feeling that the way of the Order of Scion, their mandate to bring the races together in harmony, was bigger than just an idea, or philosophy. The truth was, Mitch couldn’t imagine humans all getting along, much less thousands of alien races. Could they be inspired to expand their reach in the galaxy? He thought so, but humanity was just too different to all get along. People were easily offended, quick tempered, and prone to violence. How many of the alien races on Pappisbad were the same, he wondered.
