With nothing to do but wait, several days passed peacefully until the transport ship finally crossed the border of the no man's land surrounding the Hogloos territories.
Sava had returned to swim several times, greatly appreciating the luxury of having a swimming pool on board a spaceship. She had also attempted the course again, but only when she was certain that Lhom would be absent during these periods.
There were of course other distractions on board, despite the absence of Network during the travel, except for the acquisition of essential information by the ship. Lhom had a large collection of digital books recorded on the onboard memory, mainly technical works but also many adventure stories, sometimes completely fanciful. They had also asked the synthesizer to print a few board games where the two Homs could compete. At first, they had also invited their prisoner to distract herself in this way, however, not only did she systematically win, but she did not seem to enjoy it: she treated it as a new boring task that she was asked to perform. She seemed to spend her days at her command post, studying in detail the data that Lhom had authorized to arrive.
A message having informed them that the ship was approaching its final destination, they prepared to disembark. It was at this moment that Xini gave them her conclusions:
“I analyzed the data collected by your ship. Your pursuers have been slowed down, but they are still there. I was able to identify them.”
She finished her sentence there, her jaded gaze contemplating the expectant ones of the two Homs. Lhom frowned and asked for more explanations:
“So? Who are they?”
“One of the pursuers corresponds to a small fleet of high-end Administration ships, gathered together under the same camouflage dome. They stopped at the border. Another pursuer is visibly a Hogloo ship and it is following us closely, without trying to get closer. Finally, the last one… It’s an unlisted ship model… It seems to have managed to always be first compared to the others, but it currently remains at a distance, following us from afar.”
This third pursuer seemed to worry the prisoner: while she remained indifferent when mentioning the other two, her brow furrowed slightly as she spoke of the last ship.
“Unlisted?” the captain asked. “Not unknown, right?”
Xini seemed embarrassed but finally spoke:
“Indeed. Without me, you would have had no way of knowing that this ship continues to follow us. It is a more advanced model than anything you know... Maybe even a prototype.”
“Who does it belong to, and what does it want from us?”
“I do not know these answers... But it may be linked to the administered secret services.”
“I see...”
She was hiding something. However, he had enough knowledge of this nameless people to know that she was not lying: these creatures took great pride in the fact that they never lied, or at least only once in their entire lives. A curious custom, but one which forced a certain confidence in their words.
When they got off their ship, they found Thuyskr waiting for them. He explained that this stopover would be longer than the others and that they would go aboard the fortress to meet the mission manager who was handling their case.
As before, the two Homs were armed, but they knew that in the middle of enemy territory, it made no difference.
Brought by a small shuttle of Hogloo design, but apparently non-living, the visitors could see their destination through the large windows of the vehicle.
It was a planet whose color from space oscillated between black and red. The view blurred as the device accelerated and crossed the multiple energy shields of protection that surrounded the atmosphere, then a new scenery appeared.
As far as the eye could see, the ground of the planet was covered with military-looking structures and cannons of different sizes. The landscape seemed devoid of any organizational logic and stretched as far as the horizon could see.
Sava swallowed: a fortress planet of the Hogloos. Taking or destroying such a horror could cost the attackers the ships of an entire galaxy, without necessarily ensuring the success of the attack. It was said that the capital of the Hogloos, where their supreme warlord reigned, was called Fortress when its name was translated into administered. It was likely that its appearance was not much different from this monstrosity. Perhaps this planet was Fortress? After all, its real location was unknown.
The ship landed in an underground hangar whose massive doors opened a few seconds before its arrival and closed immediately after. There was a real underground city with buildings composed of enormous steel columns that supported a visibly reinforced vault. Thousands of warships of different sizes and models were spread out between multiple docks teeming with people coming and going on their own business, often carrying impressively large munitions.
The Hogloos did not hesitate to use the most varied technologies in their arsenal and many ships corresponded to what was sold on the administered arms market. Others were partially or totally organic monstrosities.
The passage of the visitors was immediately noticed by the Hogloos and even Harhogloos who populated the place. This was evident in the evil glances and aggressive postures revealing as many weapons as possible.
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Two colossal-looking Hogloos approached and began to escort them, without any apparent consultation with their guide.
When they finally entered an imposing-looking underground building, Sava heard Lhom take a breath. She inhaled too. Among the Zcarbbs, although the soldiers vibrated with a more intense desire to kill her, she had not felt so much in danger. Only Xini seemed insensitive to the outside atmosphere, perhaps simply out of a lack of desire to live.
The colossi that accompanied them abandoned them in the building's lobby. Unlike the living ship, this place seemed to be entirely made of metal and neoplastic, quite similar to many administrative buildings. Given the hostile characters they encountered, it was probably not an embassy of the Administration, but this place was perhaps designed to welcome foreign visitors. In any case, that was the impression Domeria had.
Thuyskr led them to an office. As the doors closed behind them, the visitors truly felt like they had returned to civilized space. It looked like a high-ranking official’s office, perhaps a bit large. The walls were decorated with various weapons and hunting trophies… some belonging to intelligent species.
The pleasant impression of normality disappeared after this important detail.
The desk, the central element of the room, was made of solid wood, carved. The style was not exotic and it would not have looked out of place in the home of a deputy or a high-ranking official. Definitely an imported product from the Administration. Behind it, sitting on her own tail, a female Hogloo seemed lost in thought. In all likelihood, she was using the strange neural capacities of the Hogloos to analyze a few questions and transmit information inaudibly.
She immediately turned her attention back to the intruders. Her glassy eyes saw their pupils return without her having made the slightest movement with the rest of her body. She darted her forked tongue, then stood up and looked down on the visitors. Not being particularly imposing herself for the Hogloos, barely reaching six feet, she nonetheless towered over the three strangers.
“So,” she said in a voice that was neither warm nor hostile, “you are Libre, Sava and Xini? I am Tryalode, I administer foreign relations within this base.”
Some Hogloos tended not to use last names, except when they took the time to give someone’s full surname. Sava looked at the creature in astonishment. The fact that it was female was obvious, but her forms were too mammalian, although covered in scales and not skin. The Hogloos were oviparous, however. The legends they shared with the Homs claimed that both species were originally human, before the Tadlomas modified them. The appearance of this female Hogloo seemed to confirm it… Unless there were oviparous that breastfeed?
“What’s wrong? You’ve never seen a Hogloo woman?”
Sava jumped. Had she looked too surprised. Glancing at Libre, she saw that he had turned pale and that his hand had tightened on the butt of his pistol, ready for the weapon to control it and be drawn. However, neither of the two Hogloos in the room made the slightest movement.
“I… actually,” Sava said with difficulty, “I’ve never met a Hogloo woman in the Administration… I thought you had the same physical appearance as the males…”
Tryalode burst out laughing. A clear, crystalline, honest laugh. It was so unexpected that even Xini’s eyes widened. Quickly recovering from her hilarity, but keeping an amused smile, she answered the questions Domeria might have:
“It’s true that some combat bodies are so thick that you can’t tell the difference, under the layers of armor, but no: we’re not like most reptilians. It’s true that there are relatively few women sent on missions to your territory, for political reasons. We have a reputation for being more aggressive than men and killing many more people in our wake.”
“Ah… I see… a bad stereotype…”
“Oh, that’s not entirely wrong. We are not more aggressive, but the number of ‘collateral damages’ of our passages is indeed higher. (She frowned and a grimace revealed her sharp teeth.) But it is entirely the fault of your Administration: under the pretext that we are women, there are far too many idiots there who think we are less dangerous than men and dare to make... indecent and dishonorable proposals...
“Yes… But… it’s deeply illegal: you can easily report them to the Law Enforcement so they get a fine…”
“No: it is an attack on honor. The only answer is death.”
The slits of Tryalode’s reptilian eyes blinked in a disturbing manner as a sort of bloodlust emanated from her for a brief moment. She instantly became cordial again.
Sava sat down on one of the chairs placed in front of the desk, realizing afterward that her legs were wobbly. The others sat down as well, the Hogloos leaning on their own tails.
“There’s so much trash to exterminate in your inferior civilization,” the manager continued, “but our army will take care of the big cleanup another day. I think it’s appropriate to get back to the matter at hand.”
The Homs nodded without saying anything. Even if Sava understood the sentiment, the method of punishment was a bit harsh. It was quite unlikely, however, that Tryalode had been deployed in the Administration and her knowledge of its population must have been limited to videos on the subject: the majority of administered citizens were not stupid enough to approach a Hogloo… unless they had a few drinks in their noses… Yes: if she went there, it would not end well for some people…
“So, you wish to converse with the master geneticist Zoghoze about his recent contract, as well as to have some information from us on the subject. Is that correct?”
“Exactly,” said Lhom, taking control again, “we would like to know everything that is possible within the limits of the contract… and the means to override these limits, if there are any.”
“Yes… typically Hom… Knowing that you are currently wanted as an alpha-rank criminal, can you confirm to me that your research will not harm the Administration?”
“You mean that if she does its harm, you will have no problem giving us the information?”
“Indeed.”
“A priori, it will be something positive for the Administration, since we are tracking possible internal corruption.”
“Too bad… But we will still do our best to help you, within the limits permitted by honor.”
The negotiation then began, with Lhom asking questions aimed at determining the limits of the contract and the people concerned by it. Having more clearly defined the limits, the Hogloos representative agreed to give a more informative conclusion:
“We can therefore, under these conditions, confirm that this is an official contract with your secret services. The official framework is the fight against the Zcarbb infestation and the details did indeed involve a hive infiltration and the transport of a living princess. Additional details are not divulgeable.”
“Do you think you can put us in contact with the master geneticist? Ah, can you also provide us with the supporting documents proving the data you are providing us?”
“Maybe and yes.”
She had answered fairly quickly: Lhom paused for a moment, his AI reminding him of the two questions and their answers.
“So, where can we meet Master Geneticist Zoghoze?”
“He has a lab on one of your planets, in the Utela galaxy. The exact coordinates are in this document. You didn’t think to look in the list of Master Geneticists working in your space?”
Sava and Libre’s eyes met. Neither of them had remembered that such a list existed. Accessible from the alpha level, it nevertheless required a special request that Lhom could not make in his circumstances.