Children of Terra 04

Chapter 4

“Private Conference”

Aaron remembered their advance into a very technical section of the ship. He was certain it had to do with the propulsion or maybe with creating energy, but after their initial success, the gravitation changed and virtually glued them to the floor. Making even breathing a laborious task.

He was not sure it was the increase in gravitation or being exposed to the effects of these invisible but marvelous effective Sleeper Rays.

He still wore the same tunic, he still was free to move but he was no longer in the engine room and neither was he back in the place they had been initially.

He was in a smaller room that was furnished with easily recognizable items. Two beds, a chair, and a table. There were cushions, the floor was carpeted from wall to wall. The light came from indirect light sources behind the semitransparent walls. It all looked very clean, very modern but nothing really alien.

There were two trays with covered dishes on the table.

He also realized he was not alone, his roommate was the red-haired beauty from Belfast, Aoife.

The girl just came through an adjourning doorway and said. “There is a bathroom. The toilet is somewhat alien but useable, there is also a wash basin and a strange horizontal shower. It works almost like a dishwasher, but for humans.”

Her red hair was brushed and her big green eyes looked incredibly sad.

He nodded in acknowledgment and pointed to the other door. “I am sure it is locked, right?”

“No, it opens when you press the sensor button right next to it.” She said and went to the door to demonstrate. Indeed the door slid upwards.

He frowned. “All my life I dreamed about being aboard a starship. Now that I am, I do not feel so enthusiastic.”

The shorter, prettier Saran woman came in. “You do have starships? Vessels that are able to go faster than light or utilize trans-spatial jumps ?”

He remained seated, deciding to play along for now. The Norwegian’s violent approach was maybe not the best or perhaps not the only recourse. He shook his head. “No, we do not have real starships, but we have movies and TV shows. We do have literature and media that postulates and dreams about travel to other stars, about aliens and what the future may look like.”

She nodded. “We Sarans have such literature as well. While I am not sure what a TV is, I think I have a fair idea of what movies are. You can access much of Saran media from these tronic access panels, you find all over the room. They are moveable and can be carried on one’s person too.”

Aoife took the thin, postcard-sized device she found on the table. The black rectangle turned bright blue.

The woman said. “Simply speak to it. Say tronic and for example, have it display a list of entertainment choices or you can access a wide range of information.”

Aoife put the thing back down. Her sad expression has not changed. “Maybe I try later.”

The woman kept smiling softly. “My name is Niofre, and I am the Second in command of this Star bar ... starship.”

The woman no longer wore the white tunic she had worn when they saw her the first time, but a coverall like a garment, also in white and Aaron actually recognized it for what it was, a uniform of a military branch and a very modern looking space suit.

Niofre stepped closer to Aoife and took her hands. “I cannot imagine the loss and the feelings you must have right now. I lost loved ones in my life, but you lost everything and for that, I am so very sorry. I cannot replace your mother, we cannot replace your home. However, I promise you all of us will do everything in our power to make you feel welcome and I promise you I will do my best to be your friend.”

Aoife now cried bitterly. “But why can’t we go back? I promise I won’t tell a thing about all this. I won’t!”

The Saran officer took the crying girl in her arms. “It was not us who took you from your home, it was a terrible crime committed by others. However I told you Saran is only one of many civilizations on the Galactic stage, and there are those who are more powerful than us. We must be very careful not to add new enemies to the ones we already have.”

She brushed some of the red hair out of Aoife’s face. “Our queen went herself to the Planet of Universal Peace, participating in a conference with many societies and cultures who all have opened the gate to the stars. Treaties are made and alliances forged, enemies made and deals considered. You are important, but thirty human kids from a planet of no consequence cannot be the reason for war. It is a violent and harsh universe and I hope you understand one day.”

Aaron sat down on a chair. “I already understand, but it will kill my father. He will grief for me more than anything. Ever since mother left us, he focused on me and had so many hopes for my future. If there was a chance I could somehow send him a message and say goodbye, I sign up for your star fleet, as long as you don’t have red shirts of course.”

“Red shirts ?”

--””--

Melissa lifted the cover of the food tray and sniffed at it. “Smells a bit like boiled chicken served on a bed of some sort of grain-based mashed cereal.”

Sigurd just came out of the bathroom and sat down across the gorgeous girl.

He also checked the food and then the drink provided in a plastic tumbler.

“I got the same and the drink is just plain water from the looks of it.”

Melissa grinned as she held up a plastic spoon. “No utensils. I guess they don’t trust us with anything sharp.”

“I noticed too. There is nothing in this apartment that could be used as a weapon.”

“We could stick those plates in a pillow cover. Would make a hell of a club.” She said.

Sigurd now grinned as well. “For a girl, you are very practical and not squeamish at all and yet you look like a Barbie doll. I would think you know more about lipstick and hair, but boy you showed me and them otherwise.”

“Looks can be deceiving.” Another smile graced her features for a moment or two. Then she started to eat, realizing just how hungry she was. “It is as bland as wet cardboard. Whatever meat this is, it isn’t chicken. It’s almost Tasteless.”

He too ate and has to agree, the food was filling, but otherwise not appealing at all. “Maybe they are punishing us with their version of prison food.”

She made good on her plan and stuck her plate into a pillow cover. “I am sure they have surveillance cameras or something on us, but I will be damned if I let them take me to god knows where without a fight.”

A voice coming from no particular direction at all spoke. “Indeed you are under surveillance and because you seem even more violent than the others, we had to resort to these measures. We do not want to harm, you and treat you with the same courtesy and hospitality as we are offering the others, however, we won’t tolerate any more uncontrolled violence from you. We do not owe you anything. You were captured by Freons and we intercepted them and liberated you. You have a few simple choices, try to adapt to your situation and comply with our laws and customs, or we going to space you. You have killed a member of this crew already and harmed many. This will not be tolerated, do you understand?”

Sigurd got up facing the door. “I am a citizen of Norway. I am from Earth. I do not know or clearly understand how I was abducted or by whom. I do not know if you are in liege with the Gray ones or not. While I have your explanation of things, I must first and foremost think of my family, my country and I guess my planet.”

Melissa stepped up and next to Sigurd. “It seems that Earth is in danger. If you are indeed aliens and this is real and not some kind of elaborate illusion, then the fact that you can abduct thirty of us without recourse is more than alarming. My world must be warned, steps must be taken to prevent this from happening again!”

The voice responded. “Earth is in danger indeed, in grave danger. The source is not us, the source of this danger are not even the Freons, but another species, uncontrollable, relentless and hungry for anything that is alive.”

A second voice said.” It is the Xunx. An insectoid species. They cannot be reasoned with, they do not negotiate. Thankfully they are not fully awake yet, and it will take at least a hundred years before this danger becomes acute.

We cannot take you back to Earth, but we can educate you and train you and maybe you will indeed be able to return to Earth as an adult in many years from now and prevent your species extinction.”

Melissa rested her slender hand on his shoulder. “They dealt us a rotten hand, but let’s play their game for now and see if we can’t get us a few aces on the way.”

She dropped her weighted pillow case. “Alright voice. I’ll be honest, my main goal will be returning to Texas and nothing in God’s universe can stop me from that, but I accept your laws and rules and appreciate you rescuing us and all.”

Then she glanced at Sigurd. “I guess we won’t see home for a while and get to learn how to play Cowboy and Xunx .”

Sigurd also agreed. “Alright then, we won’t cause any more trouble.” Silently he added. “For now.”

--””--

Aaron was quite sure it was morning as he woke from a deep sleep full of vivid dreams, he was unable to remember, the last images faded away before he opened his eyes. He had to admit Saran beds were much more comfortable than anything he had ever slept in.

The lights were still dimmed to a bare minimum creating a comfortable twilight. The need to relieve himself and the growling feeling in his stomach made him decide to get up. If this was indeed morning, it would have been Friday and he was getting ready for school. His heart sunk at the thought that he was indeed abducted, by aliens no less and unable to ever see planet Earth again.

He just was thinking about Earth, when he walked past an oval recessed shape in the wall, He was almost certain it was a shaded window. He reached out and touched the recessed material in the same shade as the rest of the walls, and it immediately slid upwards and revealed not only the true immensity, boundless depth of space, but also Earth, about the size of an orange in perspective, but he still could make out the North American continent, only slightly concealed by clouds, while South America was only visible in parts, the rest hiding underneath swirls of white.

He was as ignorant and unaware of the planet as a whole as everyone else, only a selected few, had ever seen Earth from beyond the atmosphere. People only saw their neighborhood, some who traveled a lot might have a more global view of things, but the realization that he was not an American first, not a Jew first but a human from Earth.

He also knew that for all the exciting adventure and perhaps even opportunities this abduction would present, he would feel homesick to this beautiful blue pearl for the rest of his life.

He went to the bathroom and he too shared Aoife’s opinion about the Saran showers. They were fabulous!

Horizontal mounted rotating nozzles orbiting around the body spraying warm water mixed with a soapy solution and then rinsed. Just like a carwash or a dishwasher. Hot air streams drying the body completed the process.

He put on the tunic like a garment that was laid out for him.

A melodic charm made him turn to the door, the charm repeated and he knew someone wanted to come in. The door had no hardware, but he was a Trekkie and somewhere inside he enjoyed saying. “Come in.”

He simultaneously regretted the fact that his voice simply did not have the same gravity than his all-time favorite Captain Picard.

The person coming in was not Number One or anyone wearing a Star fleet uniform, but the Saran Second in command.

She still, or perhaps again wore the white, sleek spacesuit uniform

Combination. “‘Light of RA’s Eye’ to you Aaron Stein. I am Niofre and I am the Second in Command of this war bark named Samoteth”

“‘Light of RA’s Eye’ means the same thing as good morning?”

She smiled. “Yes, it is a greeting we use from sunrise till about midday. Then we say ‘Bright is the Eye of RA ’ until sunset. Finally, we acknowledge each other with ‘Peace of RA ’ after sunset.” She fully entered the room. “It pleases me that you find interest in our culture. I see you are among the first to rise, the Tronic informed me about your activity status. Did you find sleep and were the hygiene accommodations to your likening?”

“The bed is more comfortable than any I know, but I missed a toothbrush and paste for oral hygiene.”

She walked closer to the bed that was, as he noticed now, made just as immaculate and crease free as he had found it.

“The bed is a low Grav unit. I have it dialed to sixty percent. You can adjust its gravitation all the way to one hundred percent, or in Human terms Zero gravitation. Some people like it, some get nauseated.”

He was fascinated. “No wonder the cover felt like nothing, this is so cool.” Aaron then wondered. “Did you say you dialed it to the current setting?”

“Indeed, these are my quarters. The Samoteth is a vessel of war and we were not expecting to take on thirty additional passengers. So all command personnel vacated their accommodations to make you as comfortable as possible.”

With this gesture of hospitality revealed, he could not fault the Saran’s for this situation, they indeed rescued them and him from the Freons. He also believed now that the Sarans had no ill intent. “I thank you so much, but where are you sleeping?”

“In the jump tubes.” She made a grimace. “You too will soon get to know the tubes. It is necessary to be in a state of suspended animation during the jump as the human mind and those of all known species is incapable of being exposed to this trans-spatial condition in a conscious state.”

“I actually understand. Our minds are accustomed to a three-dimensional space, with the added dimension of time for which we already have no actual sense. If I understood Wolfgang’s explanation correctly, the mind is overloaded with a sensory information it cannot process.”

“You and this Wolfgang are amazing indeed, you will have no problem adjusting. I am certain.′ She then changed the subject. “There is a black box in the hygiene room. Put your face in it and it will take care of oral hygiene and the daily routines.” She walked to the bathroom. “I will show you.”

He did and realized that the ‘Number One’ of this ship was investing considerable time in him and most likely the others as well, in itself a day consuming job. “I must confess we should be much more thankful to you, the Sarans and you in particular.”

Her smile became softer and in Aaron’s opinion more genuine. “Being abducted is an emotional and physical ordeal and we cannot even imagine what it must feel for you. So I am grateful for the chance to make a little difference and you acknowledging our efforts makes it all worthwhile, I assure you.”

In the bathroom and with a touch of her hand she turned an entire wall section into a mirror. A sink basin appeared and next to it a wall shelf, with orderly lined cosmetic products, several wigs on stands and a black sizeable plastic box.

It had round soft corners and the top an oval impression, just like a negative casting form for a face mask.

“Simply hold it against your face and it will do the rest.”

He did and felt as if soft rubber wheels, brushes, and things rolled over his face, while something rubbery entered his mouth. He could hear the humming of tiny electronic motors. His teeth were scrubbed and then an artificial sounding voice sounded very happy, saying something he did not understand.

Niofre said.” The box is asking you if you wanted to access additional application programs because it is done.”

He took it off and was flabbergasted as he looked in the mirror. He did have the whitest, shiniest teeth all Sarans seemed to have, but also Saran eye make-up and painted lips.

She grinned. “I guess I should have offered you a box for males and not mine. Men do not wear lip color or eye shadow, but it looks quite nice.”

She showed him how to use the sink and how to use the box to remove the make-up.

“Everything has to be stow-able on a space barge. Artificial gravity can fail and even water can become a hazard.” She explained as she pushed the sensor to retract the sink back into the wall and close the shelf.

He nodded as it made sense. “Those tooth cleaning boxes are amazing, my dad would be a billionaire selling them, or out of business. You know he is a dentist.”

“What is a dentist?”

“A physician specializing in the care of teeth and gums.”

“Fascinating indeed. Do you want me to give you a little tour of the barge and you can also have a morning meal with others of the crew.”

“Can I wear a uniform instead of this pajamas thing?”

“Most certainly.”

A few moments later he wore the bright white, quite tight fitting suit, with padded panels on chest, crotch, hips, knees and elbows of a slight off white material.

She explained. “This is the standard Saran barge warrior suit. The collar contains a foldable helmet. The padded sections, are there not only to protect you from bruises in case of Arti Grav failure but also contain life support systems and an emergency oxygen supply to extend your available breathing air for about two hours.”

He liked the look and his inner geek wished his friends, especially Ricky. All he needed now was a low slung blaster pistol holster and a hand-held scanning device.

“Can you teach me, Saran, too?”

“We will have plenty of time until we reach Sara, the Throneworld for all of you using the Knowledge imprinter. This how I learned your language,”

--””--

Aaron had seen quite a bit of the ship, or the barge as the Sarans called their space vessels. He was deeply impressed by it all, especially the weapons deck, where huge missiles called Seth’s tooth could be loaded into tubes and released at a moment’s notice with a variety of payloads. He soaked up the information like a dry sponge and surprised the Sarans with his questions. Aaron almost felt like part of the crew, as they all wore the same style suit, except the men in general wore suits colored in various shades and with different arranged padded panels.

As he walked next to her towards the food service section, he asked. “I guess the white is reserved for command, and instead of rank insignia you use shades of color, correct?”

“White is reserved for the highest level of command givers only.”

He nodded and felt quite proud of wearing white. “But I have not figured out the reason for the different arrangement of the padded areas. Yours and mine have padded hips and chest panels. While the colored versions do not.”

She waved at a door in front of them and it opened like all Saran automatic doors as if some invisible hand would brush aside a curtain. As they both stepped through into a room clearly designed for having meals, she said with a wide grin. “Because we have different areas to protect. You are wearing one of mine, a female suit.”

He blushed and his ‘I wish Ricky would see me like that’ feeling was replaced by ‘I hope no one sees me like that’.

She waved her hand. “Let us eat. I am hungry as well.”

“I have not seen any men in white.”

“Men in commanding position are very rare, not unheard of, but rare. We Sarans usually do not have men in those roles.”

His face sunk. “So even if I would join your star fleet academy and learn how to become an officer, I would never command a ship or something like that?”

She padded his shoulder. “I think you would be one of these rare exceptions I am sure. You look well in white.”

--””--

The conference had ended and the queen was on her way back to the Saran compound, while Queens traditionally were carried by slaves or robots, this queen actually walked the rather short distance. She enjoyed being active and did not like sitting idle for long anywhere.

Still, she was surrounded by the highly visible armored guards of the Osiris order, the elite commando unit of the palace guard and black dressed members of the elusive Seth Shadows. Yet before the queen reached the compound, she received a special invitation to attend another smaller more intimate conference. The invitation came from the Ult ruler. An invitation she could not ignore.

She returned to the now empty auditorium. Most delegates and the Ptoni had left, but a few had remained and congregated in a small circle right at the center stage. There was indeed the Ult leader, to her dismay the Pan Saran Emperor and to her surprise the Saresii delegate. Servants had put chairs there for the leaders to sit.

In the presence of the other leaders, the Queen was suddenly reduced to be a peer and not the sole focus.

The Ult was old, she could tell despite the non-human appearance. She did not know how the Ult chose their leader, no one knew much about the Ult society but she knew his name was Nuk Stokes. If he had any official titles, the Ult did not share that either. He simply was addressed as Nuk, but there was no doubt about his importance, The Ult brought six of their feared dreadnoughts and the Kuthka-Ult, the legendary fleet defeater ship into the system. That rarely seen ship was over 1400 Stadi long, dwarfing the ships of any other society by magnitudes. The Kuthka-Ult, so it was rumored combined the same firepower than an entire Saran fleet and even the Nul  and the Shiss feared it. It also did not need to jump from gravity well to gravity well but utilized a completely different way to travel between the stars, by entering quasi space and thus bypassing the light speed and time dilatation limits of real space.

The queen was quite aware of the latest technological developments of the empire. Her scientist had discovered the principles of this, much more reliable and better way to travel FTL only a few years ago. It allowed traveling too much further distant stars, far exceeding the range of spatial jump drives. It no longer relied on jump points and trajectories, but her scientist had not been able to make it a viable, method as it not only consumed so much more energy and thus made it impractical, there were no sensors and thus no navigation possible. She heard the Ult had somehow figured out the energy problem but had to rely on regular jump ships to go ahead and send signals to the Kuthka-Ult. Sarans and many others more or less abandoned further development in favor of improving jump calculation technology.

All this went through her head as she sat down on a free chair, crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap.

Nuk Stokes could not move his head like humans did as he did not have a

Neck, but he made a gesture with both of his hands indicating that he was pleased she followed his impromptu invitation. “Thank you for coming too, your majesty. Would you mind telling your Seth shadow, your aides and slaves to stay back? We are all leaders and I want to talk freely without being overheard by servants or spies from other societies.”

She waved her hand. “Naomi, Sarun leave us now and let the shadows know, I will not tolerate even them in earshot.”

Nuk again spoke. His face very fish-like had no readable impression, but he managed to sound pleased. “Your Seth Shadows are widely renowned and feared indeed.”

It was the Pan Saran Emperor who agreed. “There are no deadlier assassins, more efficient bodyguard in the universe, they have powers that cannot be explained.”

The Saresii woman brushed back her hood and revealed and exotic beauty with large purple eyes and precious shimmering silver hair that fell down like a precious veil all the way to her shoulders. “Not magic, your excellence. Psionics and ancient forgotten but very advanced technology. It would be interesting to see a competition between them and the Gray cats of Sares .” The Saresii woman gestured and one of the empty chairs started to float. The heavy piece of furniture kept rising and then suddenly like a projectile shoot through the air and crashed, with tremendous speed into the seemingly empty stand of the Kermac, rendering the lectern and the chair into a shower of splinters and debris. A Kermac in gray suit, pierced by dozens of splinters emerged completely dazzled, and bleeding.

The Saresii woman spoke, her voice seemed to thunder in everyone’s mind.

“Lackey and spy of the Kermac, you have not been invited. Thank your gods, I let you live! Now go and report all this to your master. Tell him also we are more than prepared to make the earlier mentioned payment. Now be gone!”

The Kermac stumbled up the stairs and disappeared behind the curtains of their entrance.

As if nothing had happened, the Saresii woman tugged on her cloak and graced everyone with a faint, arrogant smile. “You all know of Psionics I assume?”

The Saran queen nodded. “We do know it describes the ability of certain talented individuals to do seemingly magical feats. We know it exists and is based on physics we do not yet fully understand. We do have talents who use these gifts, these powers, but I am certain we have none who are as powerful as Saresii talents.”

“You may have them now!”

“I fail to understand.”

“You rescued thirty Terran juveniles, perhaps all of them are talented. Two of them are already using Psionics on a level equal to Saresii. This is the reason they have been chosen for abduction by the Freons .”

The Pan Saran Emperor gasped openly. “Terrans are psionic gifted?”

“It appears to be the case, the Freons stole a Saresii device of the First Age of Knowledge and used it to locate these talents on Earth. The gray-skinned meddlers have invested considerable resources to uncover the secrets of Psionics, which completely eludes their kind on a natural basis. We did not study the Terrans but acquired some of the Freon research

It appears Terrans on average are not talented, but they seem to have a considerable pool of potentials and a few that are on par with Saresii.”

The Emperor glared at the queen. “No doubt the thirty will end up in the ranks of the Shadows. Be aware that we also have invested resources into research and acquired defensive technology from the Saresii. Queen of Saran we will increase our efforts in research and find a way to defend ourselves against these Psionics.”

The Saresii woman spread her arms in a gentle gesture. “Our political and social standings are diverse indeed. There is much animosity and anger between us all, but there is also much that we have in common. Much blood has been spilled and lives have been lost, but remember our common roots. Roots, even we Saresii share.”

The Ult blinked with his big watery eyes, “We Ult are not human and we do not have talents that are able to use Psionics.”

The Saresii woman’s arrogant features did soften a little as she looked at the fish-faced Ult. “Yet there is DNA evidence that your species, just as we Saresii and the unpleasant Kermac share a common origin. It would not surprise me to learn that the Mystics of the Blue Isle are Psionic users”

The Ult opened his big maw, revealing rows of small but needle sharp teeth, a clear indication of his kind developed from a predatory life form. It took him a moment to process the information. Then he said. “It appears the Saresii do know more about the Ult than we believed any outside society would.”

“We Saresii once roamed the stars much further and with much more advanced means. While almost all of the technological achievements are forgotten, some of our old friends are not. There might not be many records on your worlds after all this time, but Saresii and Ult had always favorable relationships.”

She then returned to focus on them all. “The concept of a Galactic Council was a great one. A forum for all space-faring societies united under broad common rules, allowing for a platform where conflicts could be discussed and resolved before things escalate and lead to war.”

They all listened closely now, certain the Saresii woman had more to say.

And she continued after only a small delay. “There are dangers looming in the future. Dangers none of us can face alone. The Y’ALL will most likely return one day. The Xunx will eventually become a threat to us all and there are certainly many more we do not know off.” She gestured across the amphitheater-shaped auditorium of the galactic council. “This was a grand idea, but it is dead. The Kermac have already made a farce of it and will continue to try getting control over it all. Those who could chance things have removed themselves and decided to ignore all this.”

The Ult agreed. “We Ult are currently deciding on this very subject and already agreed on limiting our involvement to mere observation. Yet I too share your sentiment, Saresii. The universe is unforgiving and better faced together. I personally had great hopes for this Council indeed.”

The Pan Saran emperor pointed his flat hand towards the Queen. “Our conflict has somewhat stalled because of the council. This is, by all means, a good thing, war is terrible in any case and especially so if fought between brothers and sisters. The council was always welcomed, neutral ground to us, to discuss and sometimes deflate escalations.”

The Queen agreed but did not want to be seen doing so with the leader of the rebels and her societies first and foremost enemy, so she graced the assembled beings with an almost unnoticeable nod.

The Saresii woman got up, and her voice colored by more emotion than anyone thought possible. “I am here to see if we cannot lay the foundation for a new council, an assembly of sort.” She once again raised her hands. “I Know your societies are locked in a civil war. The atrocities and wounds caused by both sides are deep. Any organization or society of whatever form this envisioned new council might take, with both the Saran and the Pan Saran societies would be impossible to propose openly right now, but if there is perhaps a common denominator that could be developed such a Council might be possible in the future.”

The queen surprised herself, almost as much as she surprised the others when she spoke.” Saran is encrusted in traditions and this civil war lasting for  2000 years and many generations. It has become a way of life for many, but had cost so many lives and caused so many tears. I am the queen, but not even I cannot simply declare peace and accept Pan Saran as an independent society. I must be seeing them as the rebels and up risers they are. There have been assassinations before, as there are several dynasties all of which claim rights to the Falcon Throne. As much as I rule, there are the powerful priests who can easily usurp a reign and place a Queen more aligned with their views on said throne. I am risking much speaking these things to you right now.”

The Saresii woman gently shook her head. “No, Queen Ammothep the IXth. You may speak freely as you all can. Your shadows are formidable, your Praetorian guard is not to be trifled with but our meeting is secured by Saresii means.”

“And yet the Kermac managed to sneak in and see us meet.” The Ult said.

The Saresii woman turned to face the amphibious being. “I can sense and read every mind on this planet, including that of the Kermac wizard despite his primitive thought shield, the long-range telepath they keep in their basements compound and unfortunately also every Ptoni mind. I allowed the Kermac servant to see you all and report it to his master. I also added information of my own to the message he formulated to the LRT, just let them know that Kermac meddling and ambitions are not only under surveillance but there are measures taken to counteract them.”

The Pan Saran emperor actually seemed to relax a bit and said. “I share the sentiment of her majesty, our war has gone for too long and I too wish to see it end in my lifetime.

Two millennia of war have indeed caused much grief. Both sides know instinctively there never will be a victorious side, we are to evenly match. This galaxy has room for us both of us but just like her Majesty for me openly proposing any sort of cooperation would cause me to be removed by my Senate and a new Emperor will be elected, who will adhere to maintaining the conflict.”

The Ult snorted. “I do not suffer such problems, fortunately, the Ult are not ruled by queens and emperors. While I greatly respect the ones present, I fail to see the need for rulers. However, we are friendly to both empires, as they have never extended their conflict involving others and have always respected us. Speaking for Ulta, I too would like to see peace between you and truly welcome the idea of a new council that unites us in some way or the other so we can tackle bigger problems together.”

He leaned forward. “The Xunx may expand far enough to touch regions and worlds we consider ours, and the next time they expand we will be hard-pressed to stem their progress.”

The Emperor agreed.” They are only on tech four but could reach five the next time and what they lack in tech they make up in numbers.”

“A billion battle ready, trained Xunx warriors breed to maturity from stored breeder planets in less than a day. This is the danger the Xunx present.” The Ult added.

The Saresii remained standing. “All this we know and all this is the reason I am proposing a secret society consisting of us. While our respective societies are not ready for open dialog, as we Saresii also carry much reservation in associating ourselves with anyone, we can begin the process by affecting minute changes, subtle and over a long period of time. The chance might not happen in our generation and maybe not in the next, but if we and our successors stay the course I truly believe the day may come when Ult, Saran, Pan Saran and Saresii live in some form of united society.”

The Ult got up, offering his fish web-connected fingers to shake the hand of the Saresii. “You do know more about the Ult society than many. If this is indeed so, you know I cannot keep this secret from the Ult society as I am not a leader per say, but I assure you not a living breathing entity outside Ulta will ever know about this alliance. What you just proposed was prophecies to us and all I can offer is the full and unconditional support of Ulta.”

The Saresii woman took the non-human hand and said. “I know enough about you Nuk Stokes, to trust you.”

Now the Pan Saran Emperor rose to his feet and also offered his hand. “The chance to begin any sort of healing between Saran and Pan Saran alone is worth the effort. So I shall pledge my word to do whatever I can to achieve this goal, or at least put Pan Saran into the right direction as long as I live.”

The Queen was last. “It is hard to find new words when the previous speaker summed it up so eloquent, but I too will work in the shadows and under the cover of secrecy to make this proposed future a reality. No Saran should die by Pan Saran hand and none of my subjects should lay hands on Pan Sarans who are whatever differences we have, our brothers and thus family. Yes, we must forge plans to stop the Xunx, curb the meddling of the Kermac and as the Saresii said, prepare for the Y’ALL.”

The Pan Saran Emperor folded his hands on his lap, “What about Terra?”

The Saresii woman sat back down. Earth is the one thing both Sarans and Pan Sarans agree, there are indications in my estimate that this world will be that common focal point that will be the reason for some kind of lasting peace. For now, openly violating rules might not be a wise decision. Until we managed to solidify and perhaps realize our plan. That what remains of the Galactic Council is still a force of stability, at least for the near future.”

The Ult agreed, council members still respect the Saran claims and as long as there are no open attempts to raise the Terrans to the Galactic Stage before they are ready themselves, we can openly protect this world on the outside from others.”

“What about the thirty Terran juveniles?”

“We suggest they do not go to Saran or Pan Saran worlds but instead proceed to the World of Old and attend school with other gifted individuals. There they will learn about the galaxy, about many other civilizations and how to harness their psionic gifts. They will obtain knowledge and a little discipline. Something we Saresii feel is sorely lacking, whenever we observe Terrans or consume their broadcasts.”

“To what end?” The queen asked. “Every school and every training ends one day.”

“They may freely choose their destinies then, become Saran or Pan Saran even Saresii. Roam the universe as free individuals and perhaps if the time comes aide their homeworld.”

Chapter 5 »