The Lost Aria (Earth Song Book 3) Read online

  From the side slithered in a trio of T'Chillen, all in ceremonial armor just like Tak'la. His fear turned to confusion. This had all the trappings of a formal offer for war. He didn't know if a high order species had ever offered war to a second tier species such as his own. And why would the T'Chillen do that, now of all times? The Rasa made good on the losses to the T'Chillen of the beamcasters several years ago. A lucrative offer, accepted in the mediation council. Additionally alarming was the absence of the Tanam on the pedestals. The Tog were not looked upon well by the T'Chillen, Tanam and Mok-Tok. There was no dispute of the grass eaters right to their status, but they were the weakest of the five high order species. The Tanam were missing on purpose and it was just as chilling as the T'Chillen in its ceremonial armor.

  “Good, the betrayer comes in armor!” the T'Chillen hissed and pointed with its gleaming tail spike.

  “What demands do you make of the noble Rasa?”

  “Noble,” hissed and spat the T'Chillen before addressing the council pedestals. “The T'Chillen have been betrayed by these sub-creatures, the Rasa. They have been allowed to participate in minor ways of our most secret projects. Many of those projects would benefit all the species of the Concordia.”

  “Indeed,” spoke to Tog councilor, “the unselfish giving of the T'Chillen is well known.”

  “With thanks,” the T'Chillen spoke without realizing it was the victim of the Tog's foil. “We were repaid this trust with an act of preeminent betrayal. Using knowledge they gained while working on our secret projects, at a secret facility, they have raided that location and stolen irreplaceable materials and caused great loss of life.”

  “This is a lie!” Tak'la snapped. “We have worked faithfully for the T'Chillen for centuries; we would not betray this trust regardless of the gains!”

  “The T'Chillen will present their evidence,” the hall echoed.

  A large section of wall to either side of the pedestals cleared and began to display scenes of carnage. Dead T'Chillen, warriors and technicians, many blown to bloody bits, others appearing all but unharmed. Destroyed heavy weapons emplacements were side by side with banks of ruined computer storage racks and scientific instruments. There was a quick view of the area where this battle took place and Tak'la saw a narrow window looking out into space. This took place at Enigma then? He was doubly confused now because his people had been escorted there through a very complicated route. He would not have known how to lead an assault there even if he wanted to. Finally he found himself unable to remain silent.

  “This is horrible damage, to be certain, but where is the evidence my people committed the offense?”

  “For you to view, your own deceit!” The images resolved again to the debris of a crushed transport. The design was old, one that the Rasa no longer used. But there, partially uncovered, were the remains of a mangled Rasa corpse. He watched in stunned silence as another, then another was revealed. They all wore Rasa shock trooper armor and one even held the remnants of one of their signature accelerator rifles. Along one side was a scroll of secured data, date stamped, verifying Rasa DNA. Tak'la snapped at one of his aides who quickly recorded the data.

  The remainder of the evidence was presented and Tak'la was given his chance to repudiate it. He was still scrambling to understand. No such operation was ordered. And because of the secrecy imposed by the T'Chillen, no such operation was even possible! But he was in a corner, with no way out. You could not refute this sort of evidence by just claiming you didn't order the attack, or didn't know how to get there.

  “The Rasa request time to compose a response,” he said, a desperate move.

  “We are not inclined to give it to you,” the Mok-Tok said menacingly. Neither of the other councilors contradicted the being. Tak'la ground his jaws as he feverishly thought.

  “Supreme leader!” the senior aide barked.

  “Yes!” Tak'la turned to his tablet and read the results. The DNA matched the records of a Rasa soldier. At first he was struck stupid, and then he looked at the last assignment. Assigned – Human Vendetta / Commander – Var'at. “The Humans!” he all but yelled in the council chamber, bringing shouts of outrage and a menacing hiss from the T'Chillen accuser. However on hser pedestal, Tak'la saw the Tog turn to regard him ever so slightly.

  “What are you implying?” hse asked.

  Tak'la addressed the councilors together. “A contingent of my soldiers, against my orders, has allied with Humans, a Tog client, to perpetrate this betrayal. The people of the Rasa have no involvement in this!”

  The T'Chillen representative turned his eye stalks on the Tog councilor, slowly and with obvious distaste. There were few in the Concordia who did not know of the mutual loathing between those two species. The Gulla councilor spoke up for the first time.

  “You suggest a secret alliance between an uncontrolled element of your own soldiery and this minor species, the Humans?” Having set his course, Tak'la agreed. “Is it not true that only a short time ago you executed a failed vendetta against these Humans? Yes, of course it is, I sat on that war council and allowed the vendetta. So having been humiliated by these insignificant hominids, your soldiers have joined with them in a plot against an old ally, the T'Chillen.”

  “I do not understand it myself,” Tak'la complained, the desperation in his voice being conveyed well by the halls translator system to all the councilors, “but the Rasa people are innocent of any complicity in the crimes against the T'Chillen! Investigation needs to take place-”

  “No investigation!” roared the T'Chillen representative.

  “What does the T'Chillen demand in reply to being wronged?” asked the Mok-Tok, the actual voice of the being unheard by any except the translation system.

  The reptilian head turned to regard Tak'la with both eyes. His mouth opened slightly and venom dripped from rows of fangs. “We demand extermination.”

  Chapter 6

  February 15th, 522 AE

  Kaatan Class Cruiser, Interstellar Space

  A month slid by quicker than most on board the Kaatan expected it would. Each of the crew found ways to amuse themselves and spent an hour each day working on their understanding of the ship. Pip was quickly recovering from his years of coma half-life, his body regaining its tone and his mind learning to work with the new artificial parts. He spent only a couple hours a night sleeping, using the remainder of the evening working through his link with the computer and reading. Minu had lunch with him every day, talking with her old friend and trying to get a sense of what his new level of function was.

  One afternoon Pip called her out on it. “What do you want to know about me?” he asked her over his sandwich. With his help, the food system was producing nearly perfect fare now.

  “What do you mean?” she asked with poorly feigned ignorance. The salad sat half eaten, her hunger suddenly gone.

  “We have lunch almost every day, Minu, and it's always the same thing. ‘What do you think of this?'

  'What do you think of that?’; 'Do you remember that time?' Etcetera, etcetera.” He regarded her with his own green eyes, not as brilliant a shade of green as hers, but with an intensity they didn't have before his recovery. “You should just ask me to tell you what my condition is.”

  “You don't expect me to simply take your word for it, do you?” The question burned in her throat, but it needed to be said. It was a commander’s job to do more than just ask how her soldiers were; she needed to verify that information through actions.

  Pip considered her for a moment before picking up his sandwich and taking another bite. “Right out of the leadership manual,” he said after chewing and swallowing. “So what is my commander’s opinion of this soldier’s condition?”

  “I find your basic condition to be restored; however there are indications of lasting damage in your interpersonal reactions.”

  “Is that it?”

  “Not entirely. You are now possessed of an unusual detachment with your fellow humans, preferrin
g to spend more time with the ship’s computer via your wireless connection or reading whatever literature is available. The attention you've spent to recover your physical condition seemed commendable at first.”

  “But now?”

  “I have to believe it is a newly installed need to be perfect in every way quantifiable. Before, this manifested mainly in technical knowledge and scientific skills, as noted in your Chosen file. Now it is extended to every aspect of your life.”

  “I see. So what is your conclusion on my fitness for duty as a Chosen?”

  “You're fit enough,” she said and picked at her salad.

  “There's more. So say it.”

  “Pip, I don't know what to say. I...what happened to you was my fault. We left you behind. It almost cost you your life, and I did cost you a part of what made you the person I loved.”

  “You don't love me anymore? And what kind of love was that? Friendship? Brother-sister love?” He lowered his head slightly and regarded her cautiously. “Romantic?”

  “Most of those...” she shrugged, “maybe all of them. When you woke up you said you were sorry you didn't stay that night. I don't think a week went by I didn't wish I hadn't driven you off. I wish you'd been my first lover.”

  “I can't be your lover now, Minu.”

  “I know, that time is gone.”

  “I'm changed now, you know that.”

  “You know you have someone who's been waiting to see you again. Waiting almost every day?”

  “Who?”

  “Cynthia.” Minu explained to Pip how his girlfriend had been watching him faithfully, sitting almost every day since he was moved into the coma care facility. And how she'd moved to Tranquility to be closer to him. He listened attentively, nodding from time to time. “Were you lovers?” Minu asked when her story was over.

  Pip shook his head. “We kissed and talked about it, but it never happened. We were going to spend a week’s leave together when the vendetta heated up. What do you think she will expect of me?”

  “I think she wants to be your wife. Do you love her?”

  “You wanted to know what's wrong with me? What didn't make it back out of that coma? You just found it. Call it passion, call it love, whatever it’s called, I don't have it any more. I can sense that old feeling for her, just as I sense it was there for you too. There is still desire, of a sort. I'd very much enjoy having sex with you...”

  “Pip!” Minu snapped, her face turning red, but he was on a roll.

  “Everything works. I masturbate every day. Strangely enough I can do it much more often than before.” Minu tried to find something interesting in the bottom of the salad plate, immensely grateful they were the only ones in the little mess hall. “The orgasms feel good, and with the additions to my brain I can make them happen without even having to touch myself. I had twelve one night a week ago until they started to hurt. Not sure what that was all about.”

  “Pip, you are making me very uncomfortable.”

  “I'm sorry, but you asked. I've wanted to know if I can have sex still, and since I've never done it with a girl, there is no baseline to make comparisons. I asked Cherise yesterday and she became, almost angry.” He looked up at her, confusion on his face. “Am I a monster now, Minu?”

  “No, of course not! You're just different now. You've been changed in a way no one ever has been before.”

  “You've had a cybernetic prosthesis for years, how am I different.”

  “My prosthesis didn't change my personality.”

  “Will you have sex with me?”

  Minu thought for a minute and almost said yes. Then she saw Aaron's face, as if he were sitting there with them having lunch like he had a few times. They'd not shared a bed again and something unspoken was hovering there, something neither of them were ready to face up to. Would one night of love lead to something more? Her own fear of what she did was keeping her from making the next move, and he was willing to give her that space. For now, they sufficed with running together each night, but she was sure he wished she'd invite him into her cabin every time they finished. “I can't, Pip.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I'm in love with Aaron, and like an idiot I had sex with him back when we first got the ship.” The admission was out of her mouth almost before she thought about it. For a moment, she was glad someone knew, even if it wasn't the one she should be admitting it to.

  “I know.”

  “Huh? How do you know?”

  “I have access to the internal monitors. I saw the recordings.” Minu's face burned bright red and she looked down. “You shouldn't be embarrassed, it looked very enjoyable. I've watched several times while I-”

  “Pip, please!” she barked and slammed her fist down on the table. It gave a crack and she realized she'd used her right arm. “You have to learn what is appropriate and what isn't!

  It was his time to look down and feign interest in his food. “I should know what not to say, but I don't. It's worse than not being able to love; I know what that was like. With this, I have no sense at all.” He shrugged. “I guess a price had to be paid.” He tapped the gleaming dualloy plate replacing part of his skull. “You can trust me as a Chosen; I guess you just can't trust what I'm liable to say.”

  “Can I trust you not to tell Aaron what I told you?”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do. And please, stop using the recording of his and my lovemaking as a personal porno.”

  Two days later the Kaatan slowed as it entered the Midnight star system. Aaron was able to bring them into orbit around the world where the Portal was located in only a few hours. Minu watched from her command chair as the power levels dropped to nine percent. As Pip told them, accelerating and decelerating cost a lot of power; but the view from the wrap around displays as they moved into orbit was worth the price of admission.

  “Not much of a world,” Ted said of the dark brown and black ball of dirt far below. The curve of the world stretched out before them and the landscape moved by at a visible pace. The images from Earth taken by the space program, and those of their own few satellites on Bellatrix didn't do it justice.

  “I think it's spectacular,” Aaron said, giving voice to Minu's feelings.

  “Pip,” said Minu, “prepare one of the shuttles.” The four small shuttles were only about a quarter the size of the one they'd ridden before. A simple needle shape meant to ferry crew between ships or to the surface of a planet. Pip nodded his head and the power level dropped again, to eight percent.

  “Shuttle number one is fully powered and will be available in five minutes.”

  “Who's on the away mission?” Aaron asked, making Minu roll her eyes.

  “Just me,” she said and tried to think of where she'd stowed her laser communication gear. She glanced at Pip for a second, thinking about taking him down to the Portal as the Weavers wanted. It wasn't going to happen though; she wouldn't risk him this soon after getting him back. There would be time on Bellatrix later.

  “No way are you going down there solo,” said Aaron.

  “I think I can handle a phone call home.”

  “I'm sure you can, but can you pilot a ship during reentry?”

  “The shuttle pilots itself,” she reminded him, “we've all gotten the instructions from Pip.”

  “Yes, and he also told us that should the link be broken with the ship, then the pilot better be a good one.”

  “He's got you there, boss,” said Cherise from her station.

  Minu didn't look back at her. The two had hardly spoken for some time, and just as you didn't have to know how to fly to use the shuttle, you didn't have to be empathic to see her pain. After she'd seen Minu and Aaron on their nightly run, hence forth she'd been sure to be nowhere in sight that time of the evening.

  “Fine, but that's it, no more arguments.”

  “I must ask to go as well,” Var'at spoke up. “It is for no concern for you that I ask this, though we have linked our fate to yours.
I want to be there.”

  Minu considered it then nodded. “Only you though, I want the ship to still have enough crew to proceed if anything happens to us. Ted and Bjorn, finish preparing your communications. Pip, is the codex ready yet?” Still reclined where he floated in the CIC during operations, Pip's hand moved almost like a sleep walker and retrieved a data chip from his uniform pocket and held it out to her. She took the chip and put it in her own pocket. “Each of you have your personal messages ready in five minutes and meet me at the shuttle.”

  As she'd requested, all the other humans arrived at the shuttle entrance. Aaron and Var'at wore light field packs and were armed, while the others just looked concerned. Minu silently collected data chips from her friends, their private messages contained inside. She'd already packed the encrypted laser transmitter into her pack with which she would contact their home. Var'at no doubt carried similar letters for his soldiers to their friends back on Bellatrix. The formalities complete, they boarded the shuttle as the rest watched in silence.

  The descent was quick and smooth, the computerized piloting link to the Kaatan functioning flawlessly. The compensators held them in their seats gently and counteracted the eleven Gs of the shuttle’s terminal plunge through the thick atmosphere of Midnight. Aaron carefully watched the controls, his hands tensed and ready to react the instant a problem should be detected.

  Once the speed of rapid reentry had fallen to manageable levels, the shuttle deployed stubby wings which bit into the thickening air and began to steer them towards their destination, the remnants of a settlement abandoned before humanity learned to harness fire. Sensors swept the ancient colony, and finding it abandoned and with no landing beacons, it informed the pilot. “Ah ha, see!” Aaron cheered and took control. “And you said not to worry about it.” He angled them around the ruins and began to look for a good place to set down.