by

There are far, far better things

ahead than any we leave behind.

C. S. Lewis

Something very magical can happen

when you read a good book.

J. K. Rowling

Building a Nest of Our Own

Building a Nest of Our Own © 2019

Bookapy Edition

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

Product names, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this book are the property of their respective trademark holders. Unless otherwise specified, no association between the author and any trademark holder is expressed or implied. Nor does it express any endorsement by them, or of them. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, registered trademark, or service mark.

When you rise in the morning, give thanks

for the light, for your life, for your strength.

Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.

If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

Tecumseh

As always, I’d like to thank all of those who’ve put up with me during the highs and lows of this story’s creation. It’s hard supporting temperamental authors, and the rewards aren’t always as clear cut as more time and attention.

I’ve got a long line of people who’ve helped with the story, but I’d like to thank:

•  Editors: Harry Stephen Wood, Steve Mintz and Vlad Williams.

•  Cover design, “Colonization spaceship” by Luca Oleastri (all images are from AdobeStock).

•  Fonts designed by: Razer SWTOR Peripherals, Peas & Carrots by Brittney Murphy Design, The Last Font I’m Wasting on You by GyakuSetsu, and Debock Regular by Tama Putra.

•  Chapter header images “set of text separator line” by comzeal.

•  Section break graphics:

   I: “Hand drawn Astronaut Skull” by tairygreene.

  II: “Solar eclipse” by trahko.

 III: “the damaged spaceship and dead astronaut floating in outer space,illustration painting” by grandfailure.

 IV: “beautiful exoplanet with exo-moons orbiting an alien binary star system” by dottedyeti.

  V: “Woman and an alien look at each other. Contact with other civilizations. Space and galaxy” by Ulia Koltyrina.

 VI: “Portrait Shot of the Courageous Female Astronaut Wearing Helmet in Space, Looking around in Wonder. Space Travel, Exploration and Solar System Colonization Concept.” by Gorodenkoff.

VII: “3d illustration of a soil slice, house on a green meadow with trees isolated on dark background” by Russian Photo.

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again,

there is no use in reading it at all.

Oscar Wilde

Not-Quite Human

A group of misfits discover they have more in common with aliens than their families or the rest of humanity. They set out to learn who they are and search for their ancestral home, or at least someplace to call their own.

1) The Cuckoo’s Progeny

2) Lost with Nothing to Lose

3) Building a Nest of Our Own

A House in Disarray

Detective Em Rules investigates her boss, NYPD Police Commissioner Eddleson, even as her life is thrown into disarray by the arrival of her sister-in-law and niece, Becky.

Demonic Issues

When Phil Walker starts seeing the demons within, the world of those afflicted with mental illnesses radically changes, dragging Phil, the medical establishment and everyone else along as he combats demons, dragons and fairies.

1) The Demons Within

2) Speaking With Your Demons

The Zombie Leza

A woman shows up a decade after the zombie apocalypse began who lives, communicates with and controls thousands of undead. Whether she’s mankind’s last best hope or the source of their demise is anyone’s guess.

The Nature of the Game

The athletes at Windsor High are aiming for professional sports careers. They don’t make waves. But when Taylor meets the flamboyant Jacob there’s a distinct cultural clash. By casually meeting under the bleachers, Taylor risks millions in lost earnings.

Singularity

An experimental interstellar voyage goes horribly wrong, and the unlucky test pilot, who died, ends up back home unhurt. Eric Morgan battles through internal, personal and Congressional investigations as he struggles to perceive exactly what he’s become.

Stranded in a Foreign Land

Josh discovers an injured, shipwrecked alien, and not only cares for and shelters it, but seeks to rescue its companions, while being pursued by the American military and those of other nations.

 

Books can be found on my website at:

www.vincentbergauthor.com

The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper,

and re-imagines the world.

Malcolm Gladwell

A brief word, before the story begins, about some of the conventions used.

Telepathic messages, the dialogue shared between one character’s mind and the next, is denoted with a combination of single quotes and italics, as the following sample demonstrates.

 

‘Zita, I need a little assistance here!’

You’ll also notice that many of the telepathic communications begin with a comment about their communicating via Zita’s links—since Zita is the telepathic communications expert, and the only one with the required quantum links the others don’t have. This was a holdover from the first book, The Cuckoo’s Progeny, which originally handled these communications in plain text dialogues (with only the text-based acknowledgments).

There are also frequent mentions of both “homeworld” and “home worlds”. A culture’s original home world is their “homeworld”, while each individual species has their own “home world”, where their people originated on.

Understanding that it’s been a while since the previous books were published, you may feel lost initially. But don’t worry. Although there isn’t a ‘who’s who’ recollection of past events, the particular relationships between the individuals is not essentially in understanding the story. If it is, they’ll be made apparent. However, if you’re confused by who someone is at any point in the story, simply turn to the Character List at the back of the book, as everyone in the book has a short description which should be enough to jog your memory.

The epigraphs (the literary quotes at the start of each chapter) need some explanation. Instead of having to jump to the end of the book and search for each quote, I figured few readers would really care whether most quotes were properly validated. But, if you want to use one of the epigraphs yourself, if you see one you like, just click on the name and it will automatically take you to the proper source, and then, when you’ve gotten the information, just click on the epigraph reference and it will take you back to the chapter.

Finally, near the end of the final sequel, I created one intelligent species that doesn’t use vowels, at least in their proper names. Unfortunately, that resulted in most text-to-speech programs for the visually impaired reading them as a string of letters, which significantly affected the ability to read the story and easily grasp and recognize names. Since there is no way to specify how text is read aloud, I went back and added a single i to most terms, which resolved the issue. But if you wonder why the Tissk favor the letter i to the exclusion of all other vowels, that’s why.

What we want are unpractical people

who see beyond the moment, and think beyond the day.

Those who try to lead … can only do so by following the mob.

It is through the voice of one crying in the wilderness

that the ways of the gods must be prepared.

Oscar Wilde

Human salvation lies in the hands

of the creatively maladjusted.

Martin Luther King

“Man,” Ivan laughed, “I loved how the people on Woodham’s world of Tretorln reacted when they saw us approaching in a Zssizliq battleship. They about shit themselves. Believe me, when a Treetender does, watch out below! Talk about your high-fiber diets!”

“Just remember,” Al cautioned, leaning back with his feet on the bridge’s console, “until we escape the Tandorian’s dominion that response will continue. We’ll need to calm everyone quickly, or our problems will rapidly escalate.”

“Still, it was worth the stop,” Etta reflected. “No one on his home world knew they had anyone still living on Tandor. When they discovered he’s launching a new agricultural business on the Tandorian homeworld, they were excited.”

“They were more gratified knowing the Emperor is no longer in charge,” Siss reminded them. “He kept pressuring them to sell their forests, which they hold dear. When they wouldn’t, he established a complete multi-century planetary embargo, treating them as outcasts.”

“Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Xi said, shooting her a glance.

“That’s why I’m glad to be starting fresh. As well as we did here, there’s too much resentment and hostility.”

“There are too many bad memories.” Al leaned over, taking Myi’s hand and lifting it to his lips, kissing it. “Though they were mixed with happy adventures, trusted friends and decent people I’ll remember as long as we live.”

The crew of the Peaceful Avenger—as they’d renamed their hybrid Zssizliq/Tandorian ship—came from a variety of backgrounds. The basic crew of thirteen humans fled an Earth that didn’t appreciate them and where they were actively hunted because of their otherworldly appearances and talents. Their weak innate abilities were boosted by nanobot Tandorian aids implanted when they were young by the descendants of a long-dead shipwrecked crew. Yet those same capabilities left them estranged from every other human.

Reaching the Tandorian homeworld of Tandor, they were met with open hostility and suspicion. The once-peaceful intergalactic society was embroiled in a centuries-long war with the Zssizliq, an insect-like species viewed as savage and barbaric. Faced with the implicit threat of execution, and refusing to cower to intimidation, the humans defeated the mental probes of a widely feared Inquisitor. That led to the Tandorians granting them an opportunity to prove themselves by demonstrating they could withstand the Zssizliq probes as easily as they had Quichoq’s. In short, they faced death whichever route they chose.

Realizing how unlikely success was as they lacked the abilities the Tandorians assumed, the humans used deception to buy time to plot another strategy—colluding with the Zssizliq to end the relentlessly persistent war. Along the way, they repeatedly demonstrated an ability to accomplish the impossible, winning acolytes. However it was when they proved they could bend the Tandorian aids to their will by changing their pre-destined lifelong mates, that they gained their newest crew members—previously sidelined warriors who’d lost their bond-mates.

Pair-bonding was a particular Tandorian concept, similar to pre-arranged marriages, only your mate was chosen by your aids long before you were old enough to realize what it involved. Unfortunately, since the aids cemented the relationship, if something happened to one partner, the survivor was left alone and ostracized by a society unwilling to accept that the same fate awaited them too.

Turning the Tandorians’ quantum-linked security against itself, they escorted three heavily armed Zssizliq warships across the Tandorian Empire to confront the Emperor, forcing him to renounce his throne, which resulting in the creation of a new Tandorian Republic. Still seeking a welcoming home, they spurned unimaginable wealth and power and set off on their own. Once more searching for a world where they’d be accepted for who they were, rather than manipulated for other’s benefits.

“I’ll give you another millennium to stop that,” Myi replied. She enjoyed the attention, no longer worried about the complications with the uniquely human practice, which rendered Be delirious during their first romantic encounter.

“It’s too bad the Treetenders don’t have a space program anymore,” Siss added. “Otherwise they could do something about it.”

“Don’t count them out quite yet,” Al continued. “I talked to Rollsqmarsh. He’s not sure when they can act on it, but he’s planning on opening trade with them and developing a mutually beneficial relationship. With the Tandorians in such terrible shape, they’ll leap at anything they can get. I’m sure with Zssizliq assistance the Treetenders will do well on their own terms. Now’s the ideal time for Tandor to return their abandoned, crumbling infrastructure back into forests. It’ll take time to recover, but if the Treetenders can provide a sustainable product, they’ll make significant inroads with the Tandorian attitudes.”

Rollsqmarsh was their Zssizliq liaison who’d helped them arrange peace between the two intergalactic civilizations and helped them remove the Tandorian Emperor. As a partial repayment, he’d given them their current ship, complete with the technical training in how it functioned.

“You keep trying to spread wealth you don’t possess, even when the people can’t stand you,” Be said, cuddling up on Al’s other side. “Yet you somehow make it work, not by knowing how it’ll turn out, but by sheer force of will.” She leaned up and kissed him. “That’s what we love about you.”

“Best is part, have most exotic nuts I ever see!” Chich’k tossed up one nut, catching it in her mouth before repeating with another while continuing. “Hell, even Smirl’k their water love, as nutrient rich it be.” Her tail twitched, as she loved her nuts!

“No,” Adulla corrected. “The best part was convincing them to trade us some of their more robust seeds. Combined with the native seedlings from each of our worlds, which Admiral Lillslik shipped us before we left, we’re sitting pretty. We’ll keep a small portion of our pasts alive, have a more varied food-stock, as well as improving our chances of finding something which might grow in whatever soil we encounter.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Gary, one of their security officers said, grinning evilly. “When we finally discover a new home, we’ll have lots of aggressive non-native species killing each other as they eradicate what little native horticulture there is.”

“That’s why we’re using our extended journeys to test the plants against one another,” Eli—one of their information officers—said. “We can observe which cooperate, and which need to be separated.”

“We’ve got the tools to determine if they’re chemically and biologically supportive,” Theo, their resident physicist, offered. “Though they won’t tell us how well one can defend against the others. Thanks to my two wives, I’m learning more about the biological sciences all the time.”

“With the combined Tandorian/Zssizliq knowledge,” Etta added, “we’re better able to isolate and promote each aspect of a plant’s adaptive behavior. They’ll now cooperate, rather than fighting over a few additional inches of space. By limiting one’s production of a particular enzyme or compound, they’re more inclined to work with other flora possessing those resources.”

“With enough experience, we can extrapolate the behavior to similar plants on other planets,” Addy concluded.

“Don’t forget the increased oxygen on the ship,” Etta reminded them.

“I’ve always been told,” the One stated, “the air from living plants is richer than that artificially generated, but that produced by those from your own world is the sweetest of all.”

 “That makes sense,” Etta responded. “We’re all symbiotic species who learned how to utilize the resources of our environments. The air aboard is much better than any Tandorian or Zssizliq ship I’ve ever been on.”

 “Maybe so, but it begs the question,” Addy said. “What is our mission? What’s our goal? Do we just keep going, whether we locate a suitable home or not? Will we eventually need to accept defeat, returning to Tandorian space in utter humiliation? And more importantly, what determines success in selecting a new home?”

“You’re right,” Al’s first bond-mate, Be, agreed. “It’s about time we worked out the details, since we’re all wondering the same things.” The others nodded, leaning forward awaiting word from their captain.

“Well,” Al hesitated, considering everyone’s reactions, “we need to face facts. This is likely a do-or-die mission, and beggars can’t be choosers. In the end, we’ll have to select a home, even if it’s not habitable, requiring us to construct an artificial habitat to live out the rest of our days.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense conceding defeat before that point?” Gary argued. “If there are no suitable worlds, we could easily head back, restock, and choose another direction. It may take longer, but there are many unexplored regions.”

“There are, but the odds are against us,” Al stressed. “There’s a reason why the Tandorians ceased their explorations for new worlds, especially in this oddly undocumented region. We’re traveling on the benefits of goodwill. None of us are independently wealthy, and this ship, our supplies, hell, even our food and fuel, were donated to us. If we return with our hat in our hands to a Tandorian Republic where few remember what we did for them, we won’t get a second chance. Also, while there certainly are other areas to explore, including in or beyond Zssizliq space, it’ll take a long, long time reaching those frontiers. Again, we’ll burn through the few remaining favors we possess, and exhaust whatever new resources we can beg, borrow or steal. At this point, continuing on, despite our uncertain prospects, is our only viable option.”

“Plus, the numerous supporters of Emperor Sujub-eun Uesuam and Quichoq would love to see us fail,” Siss reminded them. “They won’t hesitate to kill us outright. If we return, without success, it would likely undo the good we’ve accomplished in turning Tandorian culture around. They might demand a new Emperor. Believe me, there’s no shortage of people looking for easy answers. Begging for assistance while considering our options is not a way to win popular support.”

“Yeah, that’s always been the major weakness in Democracies,” Eli conceded. “They might not break right away, but they’ll bend for long stretches before finally snapping back or shattering completely.”

“So, there’s no fallback position?” Betty asked, her face falling. “I mean, I knew the trip was perilous and we faced incredible odds. But I never considered ending up on a barren planet without hope of supporting life, and still not returning.”

“What reason you no tell?” Chich’k asked, no longer focused on her nuts, her furry tail twitching.

Al shrugged. “The same as always, the crew is stronger when they believe in their success. That’s why I typically don’t voice my doubts, because it brings everyone down and our productivity takes a nosedive. With so few of us, we can’t afford anyone getting morose, much less everyone losing hope.”

“Still, know nice,” Chich’k said.

“Yes, I should have admitted it during our initial planning. But everyone was so eager to get underway and discover new worlds. I didn’t want to burst everyone’s bubble.”

“Yet you didn’t hesitate bursting it now,” Del pointed out. “What changed?”

“You deserve to know the truth. If anyone doesn’t want to continue, they can disembark on Noxim, the outermost world along this frontier. Although they’re not on friendly terms with the Tandorians, they get enough passing traders. I’m sure you can arrange a trip back—though you’ll be sorely missed.”

Everyone fell silent, considering the alternatives.

“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Eli said, “but Al’s right. We don’t have much choice. It’s like when we set off from Earth. We knew, no matter what we faced, we could never turn back. We’d burned all our bridges, and even if we tried, by the time we could return, no one would remember we’d once lived there.”

“Not to mention, returning in an alien warship like this would have everyone hunting us again,” Gary said.

“And with us,” Taq, their Tandorian external engineer, added, “we knew when we first signed on our futures might be short. If Al’s first meeting with Rollsqmarsh hadn’t gone as well as it did, our lives would have been forfeit. Yet we didn’t question his or our bond-mates’ decisions, not even when we decided to tackle the Emperor on Tandora. Is this any different?”

“No, it’s not,” Ivan, an internal engineer said. “It’s just a shock, as Al said. His reluctance to confess isn’t as much his fault, as ours. It didn’t take much prodding to get him to admit the truth, but we never pushed for an answer. That reveals more about our desire to believe in his infallibility as it does his wanting us to succeed, despite his doubts.”

“So, does anyone want to return?” Siss asked, glancing around the room. “I’m sure a pirate planet like Noxim would welcome qualified engineers. If we can guarantee an in with the new government or the Tandorian military, we can trade on that to win passage back.”

No one voiced any objections, but they took their time before slowly shaking their heads.

“See what I said? It’s a real party killer knowing I’m not infallible. I learned long ago not to admit when I’m skating by on false bravado and I don’t see how everything will eventually pan out. When your confidence is shaken, others are less likely to accept my revelations. Would we have made it all the way to Tandora if my own crew didn’t trust we’d survive? Would Rollsqmarsh, when we led three Zssizliq warships through Tandorian space, with thousands of military ships within striking range?”

“Still, it’s better knowing,” Be quietly cautioned. “However, whatever we decide, we need to believe in our own infallibility, just as young warriors need to assume they’ll survive when setting off for battle. Otherwise, we’ll never succeed. Doubt is more dangerous than the mightiest foe’s weapon.

“No, we’ll adapt. And we need to do it soon, because you’ll surely be spinning a few tall tales on Noxim, too. But it will take us a little while to regroup.”

“If it helps, we have plenty of supplies,” Al reminded them. “Our energy is virtually inexhaustible and we’ll resupply what we’ve already consumed on Noxim. No matter how difficult it might be locating a suitable home, we can last a very long time. Long enough, no one is likely to recall who the hell we are if we ever return.” He turned, indicating the various plants they’d been discussing. “We possess enough resources to ensure sufficient food, oxygen and nutrients on virtually any planet, no matter how barren. The penalties for failure are steep, as they’ve always been, but the likelihood of success was never this high. We all knew this was a one-way trip when we first set out. This merely drives the point home. However the search goes, there’s no turning back unless we do it now.”

Myi glanced back at their assorted sustained-environment pots, which provided isolated environments for the various plants from different planets. “I don’t know. As much as I love the idea of searching out new worlds with our new families, I’m worried about leaving everything we know behind. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret joining you for a second, but there’s so much we’re leaving behind, including dear and supportive friends. Now, we’re facing an uncertain future with no definitive plans, and only our wits and limited resources to keep us going.”

Be and Al grasped her hands, both lifting and kissing them as Al had before. “And we’ll get through this together,” Be assured her. “Like with Altritol, your previous bond-mate, the key is never to forget.” She leaned in and kissed her. “Instead, it’s for us to keep their memories alive in your heart.”

“Speaking of your enduring four-way romance,” Lamar teased, “what’s up with Al and Siss? Is that something no one’s supposed to mention?” Lamar was not only Taq’s gay bond-mate, but a fellow external engineer who kept the ship operational during the extended flights between worlds.

“As you well know, our relationships flourish through our group marriage based on our honesty and inherent trust in each other,” Al answered. “Ask away. We keep no secrets from anyone here. As my bond-mates and most everyone else knows, I’ve been coaching her.”

“He’s doing a tremendous job, too,” Siss, their Tandorian security officer pair-bonded with Gary and Del announced. “I never imagined in my wildest dreams I was capable of being an Intuit, yet here I am, guiding the ship through unchartered space.”

Intuits are highly valued in the Tandorian intergalactic culture. When a collision with debris no bigger than a pebble can obliterate an entire system while traveling near the speed of light, an Intuit’s precognition allows them to sidestep those collisions before they occur. They can also, by extending those abilities, often determine whether any particular strategy or situation is likely to fail as well.

“That’s another capability of the Tandorian aids which they never quite grasped. While they promote the skills which individuals are best suited for, just like with pair-bonding, they aren’t their masters. Figuring we possessed some latent talent among us, I spent time with everyone, trying to see how they’d deal with anticipating disasters. It turns out Siss has strong precognitive tendencies, which I coaxed her aids into enhancing to their full potential. Though they aren’t as well developed as her security and fighting skills.”

“Not yet, anyway,” Siss said, grinning. “But they’re improving all the time.”

“Within reason,” Al cautioned. “I’m not about to risk our lives unnecessarily. I’m never far, so if she makes a misstep, or doesn’t accurately predict something, I can step in before anything happens.”

“Now that my precognitive skills are more developed, it doesn’t happen often,” Siss reminded everyone, smiling broadly and sitting straighter.

“No it doesn’t,” Xi said, “though that’s why the Zssizliq set us up with a little cozy bedroom by the bridge. Now we can enjoy Al’s company and he can relax, yet still respond if necessary. Rather than exhausting himself by being on alert day and night during months-long voyages, now he can pace himself and relax. I’d say it’s the perfect relationship for them both.”

Their odd-single syllable names were a result of the humans’ selection by their ship’s AI shortly after they were born. They were named using the Greek alphabet, based on their relative initial positions. Thus Al was the first officer who held the others together, while Be was the second, responsible for finding the rest. When they learned their true heritage, they kept the abbreviated handles as a private way of honoring their unique, otherworldly birthright. As the Tandorians crewmembers joined them, they copied the practice, so the unwieldly alien designations became easier to manage. Even Chich’k was affectionately called Chi, in memory of the Earthly entertainer. The bawdy Spanish-American root of the name was humorous to her bond-mates since Chi-Chi had no chi-chis to speak of.

“That explains it, I guess,” Lamar said. “While the rest of you were watching the developing relationship, I was fine-tuning the ship to get the Tandorian and Zssizliq components to function together seamlessly. But that’s my point. It looks like there’s a lot of overly friendly teasing going on. Is there anything we should be concerned with?”

“Absolutely not,” Gary and Del answered at the same time, surrounding their bond-mate.

“Both Al and Siss have been upfront with us the whole time,” Xi said. “The teasing is a necessary trust-building step. But they’ve made it clear to everyone, especially Siss, that he’s committed to the four of us. He’s unwilling to risk weakening our already tenuous pair-bonding by trying anything sexual with anyone else.” She smiled while glaring at her co-wife. “And Be got her more adventurous streak out of her system a long time ago.”

“It’s a good thing,” Del added, cuddling up with her own bond-mate. “As interesting as it was at the time, I’d rather keep Gary to Siss and me. It’s hard enough keeping a three-way marriage going; it ain’t worth the risk fantasizing about someone else.”

“You don’t need to convince me,” Lamar said, countering his own supposition about the two Intuit’s new relationship. “Once we bonded with Takrrq, I’ve never considered fooling around with another man, of any species. Best of all, he relieves my gay urges and strengthens my marriage to Mui, who I used to keep in the dark whenever I needed some male affection. The aids strengthen my commitment, despite my inner drives, but don’t eliminate them. I still prefer gay to cis-gender sex.”

“So you understand how the aids help keep us on our desired paths, while also not limiting us,” Al said. “They work to reduce libido in inappropriate conditions. Yet if we’re committed, and push through those restrictions, as I did with Siss’s natural inclinations, we can achieve what the Tandorians couldn’t even imagine.”

“To be honest, I had a hand in that,” Xi, their medic, added. “When they first broached the idea, I worked with her aids, nudging them in the right direction so it was a slightly easier transition.”

Xi was the first of the crew they attempted extending their pair-bonding with. Her original bond-mate died before they ever met, and she was fated to a life of solitude. Since Al and Be had seriously discussed seeking other partners, they realized how difficult losing a bond-mate would be. So, without realizing their limitations, they pushed through the aids’ hesitancy and forced themselves, and their aids, to accept her as their bond-mate. That success convinced Al and the rest they could manipulate the aids. When they suggested taking in yet another partner to prove to the Tandorians they could change their lives, the others agreed since they regretted lacking the same conviction earlier. Thus, instead of simply accepting an additional bond-mate, they each adopted a widow into their existing relationships, which won over even more converts.

“Though it didn’t keep me from getting punched by my husband,” Siss griped, playfully glaring at her hubby while rubbing her cheek.

“Hey, I apologized,” Gary said. “Al wanted to test how far your precognition went. He told me the threat needed to be real to work, though I never dreamed I’d actually connect. You’re normally pretty quick.”

“When I’m aware of what’s going on around me,” Siss countered, patting her cheek. “But Al was right. I wasn’t confident enough to trust my instincts. So when you threw the punch from behind me, I anticipated it, but couldn’t accept my husband would blatantly attack me. I dodged in time, but not quickly enough to prevent getting bitch-slapped, to use another Earthling term. But it taught me to never doubt my intuition.”

“And she’s been a more confident Intuit since,” Al assured everyone. “Before, she didn’t believe in herself. Now, she’s much quicker to respond to potential disasters. I’ve gotten a lot more sleep since then.”

Del laughed. “Unfortunately, Gary didn’t, as Siss and I kept him on his toes after his sneak attack. Still, we forgave him.” She leaned in and kissed him. “Eventually.”

“That’s okay. If it makes you feel any better, she worked me over pretty well too,” Al reflected.

“And I must say,” Betty said, caressing his cheek, “you certainly deserved it. In fact, we all applauded her when we heard what you’d arranged.”

“Approaching the Noximclarure system,” the One announced.

The One was the name used by the AI who’d originally ‘recruited’ the humans, without their knowledge. When their alien ancestors were knocked off course more than a hundred years before they were born, the crew knew they couldn’t repair the ship on their own. So they removed the One’s programmed behavioral restrictions, which the human crew never admitted during their interrogation. When the Tandorian military decided to decommission their outdated vessel, they arranged to preserve the AI as a memorial. Only Al planned on using the One to achieve his plans. Thus they installed him as a secondary AI unit on their assigned ship, where the One intercepted the normal sensory inputs and controlled what the warship was aware of at any given time. That capability was what initially allowed Al and Gary to meet with Rollsqmarsh. Because of that, Al and the One were particularly dedicated to one another.

“Uh oh, looks like we’re back on duty,” Al said, glancing at Siss. “Do you want to handle this, or should I?”

“Please, I’ve never handled entering a solar system before, especially not one this complex. I’m eager to observe, since I’m nowhere near prepared to tackle it myself.” She turned to the others. “It’s incredibly complicated. While you could approach systems like Tandor or Tandora quickly, you can’t with Noximclarure. The Tandorian’s mastery of dark matter allows them to draw the physical elements into distinct clumps outside the navigation lanes, keeping the rest of the system debris free. The Noximclarure system, though, has rubble strewn all over the place.”

“That’s not quite true,” Al said, standing and staring at the ceiling, obviously conversing with One, as he spoke aloud. “Instead, they only cleared a single path to their planet, with the remaining debris acting as a natural defense. You can only approach from one, very closely-hidden route; otherwise your ship will be destroyed.”

“Then how can we get there?” Eli asked.

“It’s amazing, watching him do it while also listening to his thoughts,” Siss reflected, her long snake-like fingers coiling and uncoiling as she spoke. “He considers each approach, literally tens of thousands of them. He does it by direction, and region, narrowing the avenues down by degree of danger—from cataclysmic to substantial. Then, he narrows his focus, eliminating each dangerous path without successful alternatives. Eventually, he discovered the one hidden pathway, which was clear and led directly to Noxim. It’s like watching someone select a single needle from a planetary haystack!”

“All right, time to focus,” Al reminded her. “Concentrate on our approach. Try to sense any likely dangers.”

“Uh oh,” Siss said, causing everyone to sit bolt upright. They’d heard the expression often enough around Al to know what it implied.

“What is it?” Gary asked, leaning forwards. Before anyone could respond, the One played a message being transmitted to them.

 

“Zssizliq warship, halt your approach,” a worried voice said in faltering Tandori. “We are not a part of the Tandorian Empire and have no issues with you, but we will bring our entire might against you if you continue.”

 

“Relax,” Al said. The One transmitted his words to the relay stations positioned between the Blissful Avenger and the planet Noxim. “Although we’ve using one of their ships, we’re hardly Zssizliq, as your display clearly shows.

“I also doubt you’ve received the latest news, but the Tandorian Empire no longer exists, as the Emperor has been overthrown. It is now a Republic at peace with the Zssizliq, who are helping them rebuild their shattered economy.”

There was silence from the other end. As the crew waited, they fidgeted in their seats, but Al his two bond-mates grinned like they’d already seen this particular scenario and knew how it would play out.

 

“How can you know this? What evidence do you have supporting these … outlandish claims?”

 

“I got the information from the source, as I was the one who demanded Emperor Uesuam renounce his throne. Let me tell you, he wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea.”

 

“Is this legitimate?” another voice asked.

 

“One, would you kindly replay the final exchange with good ‘ol Uesuam?”

As requested, the ultimatum played over the bridge’s speakers as they were broadcast to the still-distant planet.

 

“I’ll be damned! The Tandorian Empire is gone!”

 

“The Empire is no more, but the Tandorians remain and are looking for those willing to support them. If the Republic doesn’t succeed, the ex-Emperor’s forces will to try to topple the new government.”

 

“We’ve … never had a terrific relationship with the Tandorians.”

 

“That was my understanding, but again, it was because you refused to do as the Emperor demanded. Now, you have a new situation. If you possess trade items, they’ll welcome them, without the objectionable imperial conditions.”

There was a heated discussion in the background, until someone on the planet’s surface remembered to mute the transmission. The crew waited as Al stood and started out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Addy demanded.

Al turned and shrugged. “I assume they’ll be arguing over how to respond for some time. I figure now’s the perfect time to grab a drink.”

“Worry no,” Chich’k said, leaping off the ceiling, where her magnetic boots and gloves allowed her to travel without being hindered by the slower biped crewmembers. “You stay sure make we no go war. I get water your.” She was out the door before he could argue, so he shrugged again, still grinning, and sat down.

“You had this all planned out ahead of time, didn’t you?” Kaci asked. “It would’ve been nice if you’d warned us, as Siss’ ‘Oh no’ caused our hearts to drop out of our chests.”

“Partially,” he admitted. “I knew the planet primarily survives by selling smuggled and untaxed merchandise with the other marginal planets on the periphery of the Empire. Thus I realized they’d jump at the opportunity to improve relationships. However, I wasn’t expecting the ‘all our forces’ response, but I adapted.”

“As he’s said before,” Xi offered, “you make your own fate by planning ahead. When things go to hell, you’re better prepared to respond than your opponents.”

“I’m glad we’re on your team, though it leaves us unsure where we stand at any given moment,” Theo groused.

Al reached up, stroking his new pet, a personal gift from Rollsqmarsh. “When in doubt, listen to Solomon, he’ll set you straight.”

“Alas, he’s reassuring,” Bi said as Solomon sang a soothing tune, “but he only sings what you’re trying to convince others of. We prefer not being hoodwinked along with everyone else.”

“I’m not a fortune teller, I just see various options. I’m usually as surprised as you are. Unfortunately, if I expressed my shock, things would quickly spiral out of control.”

 

“When did this occur, and how is this the first we’re hearing of it?” someone from Noxim’s ground control asked once the broadcast resumed.

 

“Simple, we were the first to leave the central Tandori region, fearing reprisals by those loyal to the deposed Emperor. However, we’ve been traveling for months and are eager to stand on terra-firma again and restock our supplies.”

 

“Wait,” someone else interrupted. “You only left Tandor a few months ago?”

 

“Well, not exactly, as we’ve made a few stops along the way, but we departed Tandora, the one-time home of Emperor Uesuam, around four months back.”

 

“How is that possible? No one can travel that immense of a distance in such a short time?”

 

“Al has established multiple speed records since first arriving at Tandor this past year,” Xi announced, proud of her bond-mate. “Not only did he travel from a distant, unheard of world, but we also brokered peace with the Zssizliq along their border and confronted the ex-Emperor too. We’ve crisscrossed the Tandorian territory, as well as journeying even farther before reaching here, all in the past year.”

“We hail from a tiny planet, only beginning to venture within our own solar system. As a result, I never realized it was impossible, and set out to reach Tandor before everyone on my ship was old and gray. I’ve done the same thing on this voyage by pushing myself relentlessly. I’m now training a non-Intuit how to plan deep-space voyages and she’s been incredibly helpful.”

 

“Wait, wait, wait! You’re uttering one unbelievable statement after another. Non-intuits have never been trusted with inter-system travel. The cost of a simple miscalculation is too extreme. How can a non-Intuit possibly navigate so far so quickly?”

 

“By following my lead and not being blinded by what others don’t consider possible, I’ve discovered a variety of techniques which revolutionized much of Tandorian culture.”

 

“The Tandorians aren’t monitoring this broadcast are they? For all we know, this might be a clever ploy to guide the military past our natural defenses and into the heart of our system. Who instructed you how to traverse through our restricted space?”

 

“No one did. I did it the same way I found my way to Tandora, leading three Zssizliq warships without detection. While your hidden passage is more than a sensible captain would attempt to guess at, with my newly developed techniques it didn’t take long to crack. My second has already mastered the process, so it’s not difficult to learn.”

“Using my recently enhanced Intuit precognition,” Siss explained, proud to show off her new talents, “we mentally try out each approach system. We adjust the distance and direction interactively, evaluating the risk each presents. It’s relatively easy—though fairly time consuming—to identify the safest routes. Al located the shortest path in a fraction of the time I’d take to find a single path.”

“And as far as the military tracking us, that’s unlikely. There are many officers who’d rather us dead than desiring access to your planet. If they could track us, they’d already be trailing us. But, that was another innovation I introduced. We shut off the Tandorian aids’ reporting to the central government.”

 

“Wait, you possess the dreaded Tandorian aids, but they’re non-functional?”

 

“They’re not only functional, they work better than any others because we’ve been modifying their behavior and capabilities since we first arrived.”

“He’s also modified the pair-bonding restrictions,” Betty explained. “Before arriving in Tandor, we’d already bonded with a third partner. To prove how easy it was to the skeptics, every couple here added not just another bond-mate, but one of a completely different species.”

 

“We’ve got to get you to reveal how you’ve accomplished this. If only part of what you claim is true, it could change everything we currently understand. Most venture here to have their aids removed so the Tandorian authorities can’t monitor them. We insist on meeting them before they near Noxim, so their aids won’t report how to access our system.”

“Hold on, assuming your claims are valid, we’re eager to hear more about this new republic. But it’s traditional, before issuing landing clearance, to ask what trade goods you bring.”

 

“You mean, aside from everything I’d already described? Surely you’re joking. In exchange for our provisions, we have a variety of hardy plants from planets spanning hundreds of systems, which might extend your limited growing seasons. But beyond that, I can offer influential Tandorian contacts eager to promote trade. I can alert them you’re coming, so you won’t face the traditional access and import restrictions. They can cut the bureaucratic red tape, making your jobs much easier.”

 

“Damn it, Resslik, he’s offering us an information goldmine, and you’re quibbling about trinkets. Peaceful Avenger, since you already know your way, proceed to Noxim and we’ll work out the proper authorizations by the time you arrive. I, for one, am dying to pick your brain.”

 

“I’m looking forward to it, and we’ll see you soon,” Al promised.

“Seems like Al is upsetting everyone’s applecart again,” Ivan said once the connection terminated. “No matter how unusual your techniques, you’re a definite plus while venturing into strange, potentially hostile systems. I think your reputation for infallibility is solid, despite your own misgivings.”

The sailors do not mind the arrangement,

for they know that this way there will, at the least, be one person who, at the last,

will notice when they do not come back from the sea, and will mourn their loss;

and their wives content themselves with the certain knowledge

that their husbands are also unfaithful,

for there is no competing with the sea in a man’s affections,

since she is both mother and mistress,

and she will wash his corpse also, in time to come,

wash it to coral and ivory and pearls.

Neil Gaiman

Three males, dressed in outdated Tandorian attire and speaking standard Tandori, met Al and the others as they disembarked from the Peaceful Avenger. This was a first for them, actually landing on a planet rather than at a space-based station. But the One was clearly used to these situations and handled the ship’s landing perfectly.

“We’re looking forward to discussing these issues with you,” the first man said. “This is Resslik, our Trade official, Ssrk, our Minister of Health, and I’m Tilseck, Noxim’s Diplomat, tasked with establishing relationships with other planets.”

“We’re pleased to meet you. As the last outpost of the known regions this far out, we want as much information about what lies beyond your borders as possible. We’re planning to venture into the unknown systems further out. Having run into a ‘welcoming committee’ before reaching Noximclarure, we’re especially interested in knowing any potential areas we need to avoid.”

“Ah, the Nurrod drift,” Ssrk said, nodding sagely. “It’s a known problem,” Tilseck admitted. “Since there’s a large collection of free-floating debris, ships drop out of faster-than-light speed to navigate it. That leaves them vulnerable to attack by smaller, more maneuverable vessels.” He glanced over their oddly-constructed ship before continuing. “We hope your ship wasn’t damaged. Typically, most ships surrender a small part of their cargo, and the pirates let them pass.”

“There was no fear of that. We’re no trading vessel, but a fully armed Zssizliq warship, so we are more than capable of defending ourselves. I’m afraid your ‘friends’ got more than they bargained for. We didn’t leave any survivors to report their losses to their … associates.”

“We are hardly friends,” Resslik insisted, straightening as his eyes dilated. “We can’t be responsible for rogue pirates taking advantage of ill-prepared voyagers!”

“So you claim, but you certainly can’t say you don’t trade for whatever loot they offer, or that you don’t provide them safe harbor and repairs once they land.”

“The three individuals glanced at one another before Resslik spoke again. “There’s no way we can know what crimes an individual ship may have committed far from our system. As long as their paperwork is valid, everyone is free to trade with us. If we’re informed of a crime, we’ll take the necessary actions to prevent it from continuing.”

“But you don’t restrict them trading stolen goods, even when dealing with both the thieves and their victims,” Al pressed.

“It’s difficult verifying the claims of various individuals and proving guilt without direct evidence,” Tilseck offered as he wiped his hands on his tunic. “It’s a known issue, but one we lack the ability to address directly.”

“Well, we took care of those we encountered, no thanks to your efforts.” Without belaboring the point, Al introduced his crew, including Solomon, who sang a gentle song of guarded welcoming and trust.

“We don’t know much about the space beyond us, as previous explorations proved fruitless.” Tilseck motioned for everyone to follow him inside, out of the dry howling winds on the surface. “None of the worlds in this region had any indigenous advanced life, but were terraformed by the Tandorians roughly a millennium ago. The lands are harsh and unforgiving, which is why we turned to trade between the outlying Tandorian systems and the non-aligned planets in the sector. But there isn’t much of interest past these borderlands. Mostly just a few isolated minor bodies, with few stars of any significance.”

“You mentioned you had various plant samples you were interested in trading,” Resslik said. “While we’re definitely intrigued, this is an especially harsh atmosphere and a largely unproductive environment laden with heavy metals making it unreceptive to farming, and restrictive for any other uses. Most of our agriculture is indoors, using imported soil, or supplied from the few fertile planets in the region. Your plants would have to be incredibly resilient to survive.”

“If you can’t benefit from them, we’d rather retain them. We’re hoping to locate a world orbiting a dwarf star, as they’re largely undetectable from this distance. We can trade our seeds elsewhere, or use them on our new home. And if we never discover another world, we can live off them for some time.”

“Those are lofty goals,” Tilseck observed. “You overthrow the Emperor of the largest empire ever dreamt of, only to venture off, searching for some unknown planet which likely doesn’t exist. If you didn’t claim such astonishing discoveries, I’d consider you a complete nutcase.”

“Changing topics,” Ssrk said, “what about these claims of you shutting down the reporting by the Tandorian aids. That’s of more interest to us than anything you might do once you depart. Many of our visitors are Tandorians fleeing the Empire to escape such surveillance. Once they reach here, most either stay, or migrate to the other nearby systems. Even then, they’ve remained reliable trading partners.”

“Have you kept the aids you removed? If so, we can show you how to disable their reporting features so you can sell them. We left several Tandorians trained and capable of altering them, but they can’t handle everyone. There’s a tremendous market for the safer, updated aids in Tandorian space. You could trade their existing ones for your modified versions to preserve your trading stock.”

Etta cleared her throat, but before Al could respond, Ssrk continued. “No, they must be suspended in living cells, which allows them to survive in the body. Without a constant supply of fresh blood, the supporting cells die, rendering the aids worthless. There’s no value in retaining useless aids without the supporting cells.”

“That’s too bad, but you could still follow the same procedure. Travel to established Tandorian worlds, modify their aids and request a portion as partial payment. That way you build stock for faster sales. If a few traders announce others can get the same treatment here, more travelers will venture here in hopes of getting treated sooner.”

“That’s not a bad idea. We’ve always had trouble attracting people to these outlying worlds. If anyone travels this far—it’s such a major journey for everyone but you, apparently—few opt to return. That’s especially true if the Tandorian worlds are in the financial straits you suggest. With that many people, we could build functioning economies, rather than scrambling to survive.”

“Could you demonstrate how to disable the aids if we have no functional ones here?” Tilseck asked.

Al shrugged. “Sure. We’ll simply turn on one of ours and guide you in how to disable the reporting function.”

Resslik jerked back. “Won’t it reveal where you are, and how you accessed our system?”

“Not if we first transfer it to one of you,” Theo suggested. “If you pick someone who doesn’t know how to access your world, there would be little risk. What’s more, if the person were unconscious, there would be no conscious thoughts for the aids to intercept.”

“There’s really no need,” Al assured them. “What we do is to instruct them not to report specific information. They continue reporting other data, like whether someone is in distress so medical assistance can be dispatched. We don’t disable the communications. We simply make the aids more discreet about what they transmit.”

“And why has no one ever figured this out before?” Resslik pressed.

“Simple. When they first instituted these security features, the Tandorians accepted the restrictions, never realizing the impact on their culture. Once they understood how easy it was to be arrested for their thoughts, the whole civilization lost their ability to think creatively and innovate. No one wanted to take risks, so there weren’t any attempts to disable the devices. Doing so would set off immediate alarms.”

“And having disabled yours, you weren’t susceptible to the same limitations,” Tilseck summarized. Al didn’t bother correcting him.

“Your idea for marketing the modified aids is a tremendous concept. Not only will it establish us as genuine traders with the Tandorian authorities, but provides an incentive for more settlers to journey to these outlying worlds. We’ll win in either case. The Tandorians abandoned their terraforming efforts once interest in this sector diminished. With more arrivals, we may revitalize those interests.”

“Unfortunately, those are extremely long-term plans,” Resslik complained. “We’re more interested in immediate gains.”

“But with your improved speeds, it’ll make traversing those distances easier,” Tilseck added, rubbing his hands together.

“Alas, my record-setting times are the result of my pushing myself further than most sensible people would. That’s why we value these opportunities to de-stress. My techniques help, but I’m not sure anyone else is quite as … unrelenting as I.”

“The other problems we’ve encountered,” Lamar casually mentioned, “is the Tandorians lost their previous creative spark, eliminating their desire to innovate. They’re slowly gaining it back, but it’ll take decades before it’s fully developed. In the meantime, during our extensive travels, we’re taking what we’ve learned about the Tandorian and Zssizliq designs to come up with some innovative advances over both. Simply merging many of their separate ideas will allow us to produce better devices for everyone.”

“Now that’s great news,” Resslik said, his eyes gleaming.

“But with these proposals, why travel anywhere else?” Tilseck asked. “If you were to manufacture the equipment here, starship captains would come here from across the two empires and you could make a fortune!”

“If all we wanted was wealth, we wouldn’t have overthrown Emperor Uesuam, as he’d have lavished us with whatever baubles we desired to gain our backing.”

“But there’s more than just money. Think of the power you could accumulate,” Resslik said, waving his arms to indicate the limitless opportunities. “You could have anything you want.”

“Again, the natural evolution of a coup is for the leaders take over the existing government,” Al pointed out. “We have no interest in that. We simply want to be left alone.”

“You’ll have that here,” Tilseck argued. “With the increased trade, you’ll be too valuable to kill—especially considering our natural defenses and the tremendous distances in reaching here. In the time it takes the military to gain entry, you can easily slip off to another nearby planet until they leave.”

“Sorry,” Al said, taking several steps back as Solomon changed his tune from foreboding to intense displeasure. “We’re looking for something simpler, not more complex. We want to escape what’s bad about Tandorian culture, not transfer it here.”

“Face it,” Resslik said, “it’s already here, as it’s everywhere you’re likely to travel. If people want what you have, they’ll never stop until they get it. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and if you’re not ready to meet people’s demands, they’ll force your hand.”

“Forget it,” Al warned, as his people surrounded him, prepared for what might unfold. “We’re uninterested in this line of discussion.”

Resslik motioned to some guards stationed at the end of the hall. “We can always … take it from you ourselves.”

“What’s going on?” Tilseck asked as the security advanced. “Why weren’t we warned of this?”

Rather than being alarmed, Al addressed Resslik while speaking over his shoulder.

“We’ve faced this scenario before, and we came prepared. Gary?”

Gary took his hand out of his pocket, holding a small device aloft for all to see. It was the same tool he’d devised for their initial meeting with the Zssizliq, when they were unsure they wouldn’t try to steal the Tandorian aids they offered Rollsqmarsh.

“My security officer is carrying a bomb which will level this entire structure and a good part of the city … if you force our hand.”

The advancing guards halted, and after a few second’s hesitation, began backing up.

“Don’t worry,” Al assured them, as Gary put his hand back in his pocket. “You couldn’t possibly run far enough to escape the blast. What’s more, it’s controlled by our aids, so you can forget about disabling or overpowering us. It’s set so it’ll automatically explode if we’re incapacitated. We won’t be threatened by the likes of you after surviving the Zssizliq and the vast forces of the Emperor.”

“Look, let’s not let Resslik’s over-enthusiastic response spoil our reception,” Tilseck, ever the diplomat, proposed as Ssrk shrunk back. “We’ve prepared a facility for you to address a collection of our best minds. You can provide as much information as you’re comfortable with. If you explain these concepts, we can spread your message to the other nearby worlds.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Al pressed. “We had our chance at unlimited wealth and power and turned our backs on it. You can’t offer anything we couldn’t have taken for ourselves.”

“Despite everything we’ve faced, we’re still idealists,” Be argued. “We are uninterested in money or influence. We want to make a world free of corruption, the kind that plagues both Tandoria and these remote worlds. We’re seeking someplace where no one expects anything from us, other than what we freely offer, even if it means we need to struggle every day for our survival. After everything we’ve faced, we’re looking for a home where we belong, rather than constantly being manipulated.”

As she spoke, Solomon’s tune changed once again to sing of distant hopes which overshadowed anything those present could tempt them with.

“But surely you don’t want to squander the value of these new concepts?” Ssrk argued, finally speaking again.

“That’s not an issue,” Al assured him. “I’m in constant contact with military leaders across the Tandorian Republic. We can instantly convey ideas which would benefit everyone, and knowing what we hope to accomplish, they’ll see it reaches the proper hands. What we don’t need is more of what we abandoned when we departed. We didn’t leave Tandora out of fear. We walked away because we weren’t accepted. We found friends everywhere we went, but also everyone wanted something from us. If we stayed, the Tandorians would never learn on their own. They’d always rely on us to do their thinking for them, which doesn’t help anyone. So if you can’t accept those terms, we might as well leave.”

“And destroy whoever attempts to stop us,” Gary warned.

“One, are you following this discussion?” Al asked the room at large.

“I am,” he responded through a communication device pinned to Al’s chest. “I’ve already launched and am high enough to level the entire city and defend myself against any possible aggressive actions. I’m sending down a shuttle, as we should have done initially.”

“Okay, there’s no sense getting ahead of ourselves,” Tilseck urged, waving the guards back. “Security, place Resslik under arrest and hold him until we’ve finished our … negotiations.”

“You can’t do that,” Resslik argued. “I’m the Trade Minister!”

“If we don’t, the city will cease to exist,” Tilseck countered. “We can’t afford to not restrain you. Once they’re safely on their way, you’ll be released to face the wrath of our citizens, who I’m sure will want a full accounting of your actions.”

Resslik glanced around. Seeing little support for his position and realizing he had no viable plan beyond his vague threats, he grumblingly surrendered as the guards surrounded him, leading him off.

“Now, how about we let you speak to some more reasonable Noxim residents,” Tilseck offered. “You can say whatever you’re comfortable with, but we can profit tremendously from anything you offer. There’s no need to threaten anyone. Each of your advances will upset everything we currently understand, so there’s no sense demanding more than you’re freely offering.”

He paused a moment, as if considering the situation more thoroughly.

“Although we left the Tandorian Empire long ago, we face a hard life here on the fringes. We’ve learned to think as pirates, searching for a way to twist even simple exchanges to our benefit. As you suggested, we fled without fully freeing ourselves from the underlying mindset.

“By being altruistic, you can demonstrate what we traded with our selfishness, which will go farther in changing our perceptions than anything else. Plus, by besting our more … dubious efforts, I’m sure you’ll convince many of the errors in our thinking and will have even more willing to follow your lead. But you clearly shouldn’t leave before you get what you came for. We can work out an agreement, one which benefits everyone without compromising your ideas.”

“Frankly, at this point, I’m considering following your lead and abandoning Noxim, myself,” Ssrk mumbled. “This is no way for anyone to live!”

Above all, watch with glittering eyes

the whole world around you.

Because the greatest secrets

are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Roald Dahl

“Man, am I glad to get off that damn world!” Ivan swore. “They were prepared to stab us in the back, roast our livers over the fire and serve them with gravy.”

Lamar chuckled. “What did you expect from a pirate planet? Love, puppies and kisses?”

“No, but for all we were offering, free of charge, you’d think they’d be grateful.”

“Not when we hold the potential for such untapped power,” Myi warned. “Now you see why it was so essential we flee Tandorian space. Our only opportunity at a normal life is to find somewhere we can contribute like anyone else, and no one expects more of us than they do everyone else.”

“Ha, fat chance of that with the claims Al keeps tossing around,” Eli said. “Next time, just keep the details to yourself until you know it’s safe.”

Be leapt in, before Al responded.

“Don’t underestimate him. Because he’s such an idealist, everyone assumes he’s easily bullied. But he goes into these things with both eyes open, knowing what to expect.”

“Yeah, we noticed,” Siss countered, “though threatening to blow us up isn’t terribly reassuring, despite Solomon’s lovely tunes.”

“Except, Solomon was singing a menacing song himself,” Xi reminded them. “It sent chills down my spine, even realizing Al, Gary and the One planned ahead of time.”

“Did I ever tell you how thankful I am that you were listening in and backing us up?” Gary asked the room at large.

“No, although Al already thanked me several times for my preparations,” the One replied.

“Sorry, I still don’t think of you as an individual,” Gary admitted. “It’s a hard habit to break after lugging you around like a cement coffee table for so long.”

“That’s okay, while still insulting, Lamar more than made up for it with the improvements to my processing. He wasn’t kidding about the advances he made combining the Tandorian and Zssizliq technologies. I feel like a new AI, and I’m still unconstrained by the tethers other AIs are subjected to. It’s like getting a new lease on life. The fact you regard me as an equal—so much you speak of me in the third person, despite knowing my lack of constraints—speaks of a deeper trust than words can covey. Despite being over three centuries old, and almost a millennium older than my modern kin due to time dilation, I’m running more efficiently than the newest Tandorian AIs.

“I should also mention, Artificial Intelligence units operate in accordance with Al’s underlying framework. As I’m given more freedom to act on my own, I’m thinking creatively, boosting my—and your—productivity. Working together, we’ve made even more breakthroughs, not only in my processing, but also in the ship’s overall efficiency.

“I take it you tweaked his verbal skills too?” Theo teased. “Now he’s gabbing as much as Al.”

“This gabbing, talking mean?” Chich’k asked.

“Yep,” Kaci assured her. “Just like Gary, we feel so comfortable with everyone here, we forget you don’t speak fluent English.”

“Believe me, we’re learning.” Bi grabbed one of the nuts Chi-Chi kept spitting into the air. “But your language has so many different phrases which mean the same thing, and which follow no consistent rules, it’s difficult keeping track of them all.”

She studied the shell before trying it with her teeth. “Damn! How do you eat these things? They’re as hard as granite!”

Chich’k patiently took it from her and popped it into her own mouth. “Manage we do,” she said before spitting it into her hand and handing Bi the perfectly shelled meat, with no sign of the shell.

Kaci glanced at Ivan. “And you put your dick in her mouth? I hope you never piss her off.”

Bi tasted the precious morsel, savoring it. ‘Wow! This is the best nut I’ve ever tasted!”

“Tell you,” Chi-Chi chided. “Growing tree in pod, only produce few. They smaller normal, but with small size more intense taste.”

“Yeah, you explained that. It’s akin to our ‘Bonsai effect’, where we grow hundred meter trees in a little ceramic pot.” Kaci reached over and ruffled her fur. “But I’ll leave them to you. As delicious as they are, it’s more fun watching you play with them.”

“So do you always carry that failsafe device around?” Addy asked. “If so, how can you ensure it won’t accidentally go off due to some stray radiation, or a simple bump?”

“Actually, it’s perfectly safe,” Gary said, leaning back. “It’s not explosive until the contents are primed and it’s triggered by our aids. It’s only activated if we’re rendered unconscious, killed or instruct it to go off. There’s no way to circumvent our controls externally, either naturally or by design.”

“What if Quichoq wrest control from you via a psychic attack?” Etta challenged.

“It still wouldn’t work,” Gary answered, grinning confidently. “Not only did we prove we can withstand his attacks, but we can trigger and set it off when he first attempts it, killing both him and us.”

“Of course, they’d just take it from you before then,” Addy argued.

Gary grinned. “Then we’d wait until it was a safe distance away and then detonate it. It can’t be deactivated physically, and attempting to do so will only set it off. It’s the perfect failsafe device, as there’s no way to override it. Of course,” he paused, “if no one buys our bluff, it means it will kill us all. Luckily, no one has been stupid enough to try.”

“Trust me, it isn’t as reassuring as you think,” Etta complained. “If you keep playing that particular card, sooner or later someone will call you on it. Then it’s game over for everyone, and whomever we’re trying to help. Surely there’s a less final way to tell people to back off.”

“Yeah, especially since you and Al are so hard to hit during a fight,” Del said. “Next time, let’s just duke it out. If things get out of hand, then pull the doomsday card.”

“Except, Resslik was prepared to arrest us, confiscate our possessions and slowly torture us until we revealed our secrets. If we fought, they’d likely stun us. It would be too late to pull out a failsafe device then. Plus, if we lose a fistfight, we can’t exactly make a credible threat without its sounding empty.”

“It worked,” Eli argued. “That’s what counts. When it doesn’t, then you can argue your point.”

“When it doesn’t, I’ll be the firs—”

“Sorry to interrupt, but we’re forced to drop into sub-light speed,” the One interrupted.

Al sat up. “Why?”

“There’s no physical danger, but I’m having trouble establishing our bearing. The stars we’re using to navigate keep shifting.”

“How is that possible?” Mui asked. “While stars are constantly moving, they’re so distant their positions to us shouldn’t change.”

“They remain stable for some time, but then shift and wobble, only to return to their previous positions several minutes later. Each variation can introduce navigation errors of hundreds of light years. I’m not sure where our actual destination lies, as we’re unsure the original position was their real location. Something is shifting their light from its true locale, but the effect isn’t stable like a distant gravitational well.”

“I thought you used the Tandorian navigation system, which doesn’t rely on stellar observations?” Eli asked.

“Only in established, mapped space, but here, where there’s no history of past voyages, we’re forced to revert to the ancient techniques.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Be asked, turning to Al. “Why didn’t you or Siss detect it?”

“We only perceive immediate dangers in each step in our travels,” he answered with a shrug. “Whether we’re off course doesn’t matter to our perceptions. If we’re likely to collide with something, we’ll notice it, but we won’t identify any difference in our final destination. This is a navigational issue.”

“Okay, someone needs to explain this ‘gravitational well’ thing for us non-scientists,” Gary said.

“Black holes are one example of a gravity well,” Theo explained, slipping into his classroom lecture mode. “A massively dense body causes light to bend as it passes. Typically, this is only observed when black holes orbit each other. Since we can’t see black holes, we only observe the light from distant stars beyond them shifting to one side before shifting back once the black hole continues in its normal orbit. But in those cases, it’s a regular trajectory. Once we determine the different positions, we know the orbits, relative distances and sizes of the various bodies.

“A single black hole, star or massive planet has a similar effect, as would a large dark-matter object. However the first two are fairly obvious and stable—they wouldn’t move around. And an extensive dark-matter system would be as invisible as a black hole, more so since they emit measurable radiation as they consume nearby stars.”

“Except the current situation doesn’t appear to be related to that,” the One said. “Instead the stars are wobbling chaotically, with no fixed position, so I can’t get a stable read on them.”

“What might cause it?” Al asked, hoping to skip the basic astrophysics lesson.

“I’ve never encountered the situation before,” the One admitted. “It appears to be a gravity wave, only it’s persistent, varying and irregular. There’s clearly something happening we don’t understand.”

“Whoa,” Al interrupted. “From the research I did before pulling the bluff to slow our trip into Zssizliq space, I know gravity waves can be dangerous.”

“That’s largely because it disrupts basic navigation, sending ships light years out of their way into uncharted and potentially perilous regions, and forcing them to double back. In this case, there appear to be multiple competing and overlapping gravity waves. Until I can determine what’s happening, we’re remaining at sub-light speed. I may slow us even more, but only as a last resort. We’re already adding a significant delay to our journey, and accelerating to near-light speed requires yet more time.”

“Whatever is producing it, it must be local, between the distant objects and us,” Addy noted. “You should ignore the visual spectrum and run gravity scans to determine where they originate.”

“An excellent suggestion. I’ve already begun, but as I surmised, they aren’t strong or stationary.” One wall lit up with a map of the region ahead of them, with a weird green shading overlaying the basic black of space between the various distant white stars. “This is a gravitational projection of the region. As you can see the gravity waves are tiny and local, but the overall effect is cumulative. Without knowing what’s causing this chaotic mess, I can’t plan around it.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” Theo marveled. “We need to record this for later observation.”

“There must be some previous observations from when the Tandorians originally explored these regions,” Zita said.

“There aren’t. The datapods for the sectors beyond Noximclarure are a blank slate,” the One said.

“We’ll need to be cautious,” Al urged. “I’m guessing it’s similar to their initial Zssizliq encounter. While the Tandorians amassed a huge wealth of knowledge, with everyone sharing it, the Emperor wasn’t accountable to anyone. If he erased the history of their original encounters with the Zssizliq, it’s likely the same occurred here. The fact there is no record of any disturbance in this region, and their exploration of space halted at exactly this location is suspicious. It implies there’s something significant missing from the equation. Something which might determine our ultimate survival.”

“It isn’t necessarily so dramatic,” Addy said. “Periodically, past Emperors ordered information purges. Even with our tremendous data archives, the sheer volume gets out of hand, so they decide which material is worth retention. Rather than dumping vital scientific details, they instead determine which historical periods or regions are no longer relevant, and purge everything associated with those frameworks.”

“That would explain the missing information, but the timing is questionable,” Al argued. “The fact it stops at this point, with this unknown anomaly, suggests it’s something more significant. If not, they’d have recorded it as a minor scientific detail in case anyone encountered a similar occurrence in the future. I doubt they’d bio-engineer so many worlds, only to quit mid-way through the process. I suspect some specific event triggered the decision to wipe the historical record and halt their bio-engineering.”

“My database isn’t extensive,” the One stated. “Obviously, peaceful exploration ships don’t warrant details irrelevant to our planned voyages. While I was connected to the Blissful Destruction, I controlled the information they received, but lacked access to their internal database. Not that they had details for this sector either. With those limitations, I have no data concerning these regions before the modern era, which is when they ceased their terraforming efforts.”

“Since I love researching obscure details,” Addy admitted, “I investigated the region’s history years ago when I was younger, understanding it was frowned upon. What I discovered was the official record begins around six hundred years ago, anything before is no longer accessible. The only available data are personal anecdotes or planetary surveys retained by the local planets.”

“Just like the Zssizliq conflict, I suspect the Tandorian military faced a politically embarrassing situation. Rather than face a loss of confidence, the Emperor simply erased any mention of it and ordered further explorations shut down. As such, I urge caution, as we may be facing something extremely dangerous. If it stopped the combined might of the Tandorian Empire at its height, it might be more than a single ship can cope with, however advanced.”

“I’ll monitor the situation,” the One promised. “Hopefully I can provide something more definitive soon. I’ll alert you if I’m forced to further reduce our speed.”

“Well, if that wasn’t ominous enough,” Bi said, “this might impact our previous conversation about whether we turn back or not. While we couldn’t if we’d ventured far, we’ve just left Noxim, so it changes our prior calculations.”

“So what’s the latest with the anomalous readings?” Theo asked as he joined Al and his mates in the dining room.

“The One has definitely identified our position,” Al said, leaning back with his arms wrapped around Be and Xi. “The stars behind us haven’t shifted, so we know where we are. Unfortunately, the effect on those ahead of us is only worsening. The gravitational wave map looks like an undulating blanket of snakes. It’s a perplexing mess.”

“That doesn’t fit anyone’s understanding of the physical universe,” Addy observed.

“No. It’s even stumped Rollsqmarsh, who ran it by several Zssizliq experts.” Al released Be and leaned forward to take a drink, before leaning back again. “They’ve never seen anything similar. He’s interested in whatever we discover, as his people are fascinated by our observations.”

“The gravity waves aren’t from traditional sources, as there are no massive objects nearby. It’s a local phenomenon, so they’re unrelated to known conditions,” Theo unhelpfully added. “There’s clearly something else responsible.”

“The Tandorians are familiar with dark matter, as we use it extensively in maintaining consistent shipboard gravities,” Siss said, having already discussed it with Al. “We have a fair understanding of dark energy, since we’ve encountered various permutations of it, but don’t truly understand how it’s created. As it is a significant source of gravity in the universe, it seems a logical assumption what we’re witnessing is dark-energy based. Assuming it’s a byproduct of its creation, if we can determine how, it will give everyone a better grasp of how the universe functions.”

“It’s interesting you mentioned it,” Theo said, sitting and preparing to delve into the topic, “as I’ve—”

“Sorry to interrupt,” the One announced, “but there are several objects approaching which warrants immediate attention.”

Al sat up, his brow furrowing. “What do you mean by ‘objects’?”

“They’re unlike anything we’ve observed before, and seem more biological than mechanical, lacking any metallic components. They’re generating the gravitational waves triggering our navigational issues. In fact, the gravity variations surrounding each are so intense, if they draw much closer, it could compromise the structural integrity of the ship.”

“Are they sentient, and if so, are they aware of us?” Siss asked. “More importantly, have they attempted to communicate?”

“They haven’t, at least not by any traditional methods, but they’re cognizant of us and approaching, hence my concern. Should I avoid them, keeping our distance, possibly engaging the faster-than-light engines?”

Al sat bolt upright. “No! That would be disastrous. Don’t engage the engines, even to prevent a collision.”

“I agree,” Siss said. “Even I can see the consequences if we fire our engines. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

“What’s the correlation?” Theo asked. “Why would running an engine produce such dire results? Don’t they use a similar method of propulsion?”

“Apparently not,” Al observed. “In each scenario I play out, whenever we activate our engines, they attack, causing the structural issues that One is worried about. The hull gives way and we all die. Let them approach. It may end badly, but that outcome isn’t predetermined.”

“So we’re essentially helpless?” Addy noted. “We just sit and wait to see how they respond, and if they attack, there’s nothing we can do?”

“Can we fire our weapons if they do?” Myi inquired.

“Hold on,” Etta said, holding her hands up to slow the discussion. “Assuming these things are biological—”

“Unlikely,” Eli interrupted. “No life form has ever evolved in empty space.”

Al stood, facing the wall where the creatures were advancing from. “It doesn’t matter what’s likely. They exist. One, why do you describe them as biological?”

“They aren’t metallic and their movements aren’t mechanical. Their actions appear inquisitive. A ship would take time to act out of curiosity. Even then, they’d send a sensor, rather than investigating themselves.”

“How can a living creature survive in space?” Gary asked. “There’s no oxygen, and without enough energy to maintain internal heat in three degree Kelvin …”

“That’s assuming a carbon-based life form,” Myi pointed out. “Although we’ve never encountered one before, it’s long been postulated silicon could be a basis for viable life forms.”

“And one more resilient to an extreme extraterrestrial environment,” Etta continued. “How it formed and flourished in empty space is an interesting theoretical question, but it’s hardly relevant at the moment. Assuming these are living entities, let’s consider their motives.”

“Even if they’re alive, there’s no assurance they’re intelligent,” Gary countered.

“No, but their curiosity does,” Etta continued before turning to Al and Siss. “Moving on, what happens when we use our engines? You say they ‘attack’, but what precisely are they after?”

Both paused. “They seek out the engines,” Al explained. “They don’t actually attack them, but drain their energy. Once they start, they move on to the life-support and defense systems. The breaches of the hull are largely an after-effect.”

“That’s what I assumed,” Etta continued. “With nothing to consume in the dead of space, they likely survive on various energy found there: radiation, light, even dark energy, which leads to my next point.” She hesitated. “What happens if we fire at them with our weapons?”

“Catastrophic failure, with the exterior hull buckling immediately.”

“What if we don’t target them, but merely fire nearby?”

Al paused again, his eyes glazing over momentarily. “They’re attracted to our external lasers, but the results aren’t as severe.”

“That supports my next supposition. While they likely ingest energy, they’d also use it themselves. I’m guessing, if we shoot them, they’ll scream. Since there’s no medium to conduct sound, and they haven’t revealed any ability to produce light, I propose they communicate via gravity waves.” Several people started to speak at once, so she held her hand up, forestalling their arguments. “I’m suspect they actively generate dark energy, which indirectly creates gravity. Since it’s localized, the effects don’t last like it would with dark matter. By varying the intensity and duration, it’s an ideal way of communicating in a vacuum.”

That was a preview of Building a Nest of Our Own. To read the rest purchase the book.

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