MILO

“But these readings can’t be true?” Dr. Birgitta asked, peering through a hand terminal with Beth on her side.

Were all scientists like this? In complete awe when weirdness stepped in front of them.

This kind of math was not Milo’s strong suit, these were not voltage or ohm calculations, these were mass spectrum analysis. It looked like an alien language.

Milo sipped at his coffee. “Just tell us.”

“This is much more than a metal structure around that solar system,” Beth said. “It’s like they decided that the best way to expand their territory was to build their entire solar system into a giant space station. With emphasis on giant.”

“That is a fuck ton of resourses,” Sam said.

Dr. Birgitta stepped up the view screen. “That is quantifiable and not that crazy. In relative terms. But how did they protect the material against the star’s heat and radiation? The superstructure is also moving at the same velocity as the solar system, how can it do that without breaking into pieces? What about the planets and moons? Have they been broken into material or somehow been adhered inside the superstructure?”

“They are obviously converting the emissions from the star into electric energy or at least into their own version of electric energy,” Beth said.

Something was off with all these explanations. If you cloaked your world like Beth suggested, why had the star been transformed or showed to be transformed from the Earth’s sun equivalent to a white dwarf? And it was not until afterwards that the superstructure came in view. It didn’t make sense.

“I don’t think either of us are correct,” Milo said, Sam nodded in approval. “The cloaking concept is too inconsistent.”

Beth sighed. “We have already moved on from the discussion. They must have been able to reflect our sensor pings. It is not that difficult. That is why it looked weird at first on the chart.”

Leo leapt back into the pilot’s seat, warning klaxons sounded and the bridge was painted red. “We are being targeted by the superstructure.”

“Calm down, folks,” Sam. “Sit down. This is the moment. If they decide to destroy us, there is no force in the universe that can save us. I don’t want panic on my bridge.”

Milo heard and understood the logic behind Sam’s commands, but the natural processes of the body could not be suppressed at command or at least he could not do it. Sweat prickled in his forehead, a cold traveled along his spine and his hands trembled as he tried to navigate the console. And he felt the urge to drain another fuel cell, just to be ready and prepared with his power if whatever happened. Feeling powerful helped to combat anxiety and being faced with mortal danger. The sweetness was at his tongue, but at least he didn’t command the tendrils to life.

“Leo, take us closer and keep all weapons cold. We are not starting hostilities,” Sam said.

Beth nodded in approval.

Leo’s face seemed to age within seconds. “I don’t have steering anymore, Capt’n. They have us in their net.”

“Right,” Sam said.

“Birgitta, look at those designs,” Beth said. “They match the bulbous structures that the alien ship had. We have come to the right place.”

Milo leaned back and let the scientists wonder and the Navy men bicker. There was really nothing he could contribute with. Not this time. His knowledge of battle strategies was scarce, he had never come close to the aliens before and he had barely had time to study what Dr. Birgitta had researched. It really felt wrong not to have a fuel cell ready at hand, just in case.

The lighting went first. Quickly followed with the consoles. Networks went down. Life support came to a crawl, but that would not be an issue for a while, since the corvette was already filled with a breathable atmosphere and passive filters would keep it that way for some time. How could they tamper with the electrical grid in such a specific way? Could they alter how electrons behaved? But why the gravity core stayed online, he could not tell.

“Nothing unexpected. Just like last time,” Beth said, but her voice didn’t carry the same confidence it used to. She was nervous.

Alright, Milo really needed that fuel cell now. But if the ship’s electrical grid had been altered, why would any of the fuel cells function? He gripped the seat’s armrests and sunk deeper. Could he try to drain the gravity core through a suppressed electrical grid?

The main view screen still functioned, showing how they were moved closer to the superstrucure’s wall. The spheres making up the surface of the wall segmented and rolled aside. Their ship floated slowly through the short tunnel and entered into a vast open space. Vast in relative to the size of their ship, but not to that of the size of an entire solar system. This open space could only be a fraction of the superstructure’s complete size.

Beth pointed at smaller sequences of bulbous pieces. “Those look just like the starship that we met.”

Their ship was pulled towards one of the alien ships. Would they be boarded? Should they stay on the bridge or move to a different compartment?

They came to a stop, a grinding sound went through the ship. Milo’s teeth clenched down, making his jaw hurt. The bridge’s lighting flickered back into life, but the consoles still stayed dead. Sam tightened the lid of his thermos, the squeaking sound was almost too much. They all turned to the bridge’s open bulkhead door. Milo held his breath.

Three black orbs floated in silence, their surfaces looking perfectly smooth and their distance to the floor never changed.

Milo sucked down some air. These were the aliens, just like Beth had explained them. He wrapped his arms around himself. ALIENS.

One hulking amalgamations of flesh walked behind the floating orbs, using its four legs for movement. A fleshy creature! A buzzing swarm of insects followed by the fleshy creature’s side. The insects stayed in a coherent shape. Could a swarm be considered a single entity? The two creatures stationed themselves behind the outer two orbs, leaving the orb in the center without a flesh. A set of eyes formed inside the insect swarm, it was sentient! Both the insect swarm and the fleshy creature held each a tree branch; the swarm’s branch floated inside it. Just like the twigs Beth had described. The frown in Sam’s face deepened, the Captain didn’t like that they had brought weapons onboard. Beth’s nose wrinkled as she stared intently on the middle orb and Milo could not understand for what reason, since that orb looked just like the other two.

A hologram came to life, projected from the middle orb, a video feed. It showed Beth leaping at an alien much similar to the hulking flesh creature. She broke its legs and hammered it into pieces. The brutality was absolute. How should he react to this? He had heard that she had fought them, but this was another level of violence.

What was he supposed to do with this information?

The hologram switched again for the middle orb’s projection. Beth again, but this time she held one of their twigs and stood behind the middle orb. That didn’t look too fortunate, but why show that? He shook his head.

The one sided conversation ended, the two orbs on the sides parted ways, the fleshy creature and the swarm following them out of the bridge. The middle orb stayed.

The consoles crackled back to life.

“Electricity is back. The two orbs and their companions left the ship,” Leo said.

“Good work, people,” Sam said, staring at the lingering orb. “So, what are we going to do with that?”

Beth stepped forward. “You saw the video. It wants me to bond with it. To fill the role which the insect swarm and the fleshy creature had with the other two orbs.”

“I also saw the video where you killed its friend,” Sam said. “Leo, do we have sensors online?”

Leo coughed. “Some passive ones, yes.”

“This alien looks to be wanting to stay behind here and I have a feeling that we don’t have a say about that. But I want to know where it moves. Track it, Leo,” Sam said.

“I will scramble something together,” Leo said.

“Good. See if you could cobble a video clip together too. We might need something when they return. Something that explains us and what we are trying to achieve,” Sam said. “Elizabeth, if this thing loves you so much, then it might stay in your vicinity. Keep tabs on it and report back.”

Beth nodded.

“This is goddamn weird and I am not going to stay too close to that thing. I am going for some coffee, you with me, Blue?” Sam said.

Milo came to his feet. “Yeah.”

Only the two of them went to the mess hall. The coffee brewer buzzed away as it prepared the beverage. Sam grabbed his usual seat by the table, Milo following his cue.

Sam rubbed the flesh of his arm where the human tissue connected with the cybernetic arm. “Goddamn. The balls on these balls. They think they can just walk in here and commandeer us. Disgusting.”

Sam’s cybernetic arm had gone limp when the electricity had been suppressed, Milo had been too busy in his own mind to have observed it. That must have felt weird. Milo went over and filled two cups for them.

“That is so sick of them to ask,” Sam said, grabbing one of the cups.

“You mean the interest they showed towards Beth? That was the weirdest negotiations I have seen,” Milo said.

Sam frowned. “That was no such thing, the negotiations have not even begun, they want an initial sweetener if I am understanding this. Did you not see the two different alien species behind the orbs? Then they showed a video of Beth holding the same kind twig and standing behind the third orb. It seems that to open negotiations, we will need to give them Beth, to serve them in place of the flesh creature she killed.”

What? What?! Milo reeled back, his hands over his mouth. “No. No, that can not be true.”

But Milo knew, he didn’t want to accept it. They were asking for her in servitude. Was this the usual manner which these orbs conducted first contact? Or at least when trying to establish negations without throwing deadly beams at each other. They wanted Beth, they wanted a human being on their side.

“Your power, was it locked away or did you have access to it?” Sam asked.

Milo understood where Sam was getting to.

“I felt no difference from when before they suppressed the ship. I kept the sweetness on the tongue the whole time,” Milo said. “I could have brought it forth.”

Sam rubbed at the connected tissue. “Good. We might need to use that. Even though we knew that Beth’s power worked inside their suppression, I was worried since yours is still electricity based. But this is good. I have some ideas, we should try out.”

“You really think it is a good idea to go behind their backs? They are able to create superstructures that envelops entire solar systems,” Milo said.

Sam sipped from his cup. “They are different from us and obviously more advanced. But you are forgetting that they are not invisible. Beth killed one of their fleshy creatures and shattered one of their orbs. We are going to prepare for the worst possible outcome, in that way we will not be surprised when this floating ball kicks us in the face.”

“But…,” Milo started.

“No buts, Blue. I am the Captain for a reason and I will keep this crew alive,” Sam said.

BETH

Birgitta stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder. Was she trying to reassure her? Possibly. But the truth was, there was no reassurance for this.

“This will not be fine,” Beth said.

“No one will force you,” Birgitta said. “Did you see that swarm? They really do live in symbiotic relationships and they are different species. The orbs, the flesh creatures and the swarm. Three individual alien species.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Beth could not be angry with her, this was just the way Birgitta always behaved. With weird aliens being so close, every human concept of good behavior was thrown out the window with no regard for peoples’ feelings. She sank into the seat, they had stayed on the bridge. The orb had floated away, probably to explore the ship and she was not interested to run into it.

“You were right. Back at the Au-delà, when the orb had projected its hologram. It had wanted to communicate, not fight, but Admiral Harris gave the order anyway. The frightened asshole,” Birgitta said. “You were right, doesn’t that make you feel justified?”

“I don’t really care anymore for that,” Beth said, rubbing her knuckles. Her fists had impacted on the orb’s shell and cracked it during that encounter on the Au-delà. “They must feel pain, right? Then they might feel fear, too? What do you think that orb feels when I am around it? Because the one that stayed behind is the same one we captured on the Au-delà.”

“You are sure about that?” Birgitta said.

Beth nodded. “Positive. I recognise the markings on the shell. It’s scars have not healed properly, from when I hammered it with my fists.”

“Then it is also the same one we, you, released back into space. We saved it from Saif.” Birgitta sank into her own seat.

But how worth was that? She had killed its friend, its symbiotic partner. Was that like having a family member murdered?

“Our speculations were correct about the hologram,” Birgitta said. “They must have detected that we had visual organs. Spoken and written languages are difficult to translate. But if you replayed video feeds of the alien’s actions back to them. Given the right context and that decision is a genius for communication beyond species barriers.”

Diego Rubalcava had also stayed behind on the bridge and had listened to their conversation. “It feels a bit lucky. What if these beings had instead started screeching sounds and replayed painful screams. Those orbs have no eyes, how could they understand the concept of eyes?”

“There is no luck involved. Their bodies are entirely mechanical, they are more like robots then organic creatures. Either they created themselves or something else created them. And by the looks of it, they have interacted with a multitude of alien species before they met us. The point I am trying to arrive at, is that they understand the concept of eyes very well,” Birgitta said.

Beth cried out in pain, grabbing around her head. It felt as if someone had smashed a hammer against her skull. The pain bloomed, making her reel back.

“Are you alright?” Birgitta asked. “What is happening?”

The pain turned into agony.

Beth grunted, her brain hurt too much for her to summon her strength, the sweetness would not come to her aid.

The minute lasted an eternity, but the moment of hell subsided finally, turning her head numb. She went down on her knees and sighed with relief.

“I don’t know what happened except for the sharp pain,” Beth said. “I still feel groggy.”

Could it have been Saif? The idea of him forcing his will on her again created a sick feeling in her stomach. She rubbed against her temples, trying to get him out of her head.

“Please, please. It cannot be him. No! Not again,” Beth said. “Birgitta, stay away from me! I don’t know if it's him. I don’t know what he will make me do.”

Beth urged her friend away and pushed herself into the corner of the room.

“Tern.” A grinding metallic noise.

“What?” Beth asked.

“Tern.” The same metallic sound.

Beth raised her voice. “What? Tell me?”

Birgitta was  confused, but with her arms crossed as if protecting herself. “Is Saif doing something to you?”

Obviously, Birgitta had not heard the voice. The voice was only in Beth’s head.

The orb floated into the room, ignoring Birgitta and stopped a few paces in front of Beth. Silent and its black surface seemingly perfect without emitting any light or emotion, except for the small traces that were left from the damage Beth had inflicted on it.

“Tern,” the voice said.

“I think THAT thing is in my head,” Beth said. “You didn’t hear a metallic grinding sound that said ‘Tern’?”

Birgitta’s eyes opened when she started to realize. “No, I didn’t. The alien speaks inside your head? Like Saif?”

“Devou Clan,” the voice said.

Beth nodded. “Yeah it did. It is still doing. No, it feels nothing like Saif’s perverting actions. I only hear words, my thoughts don’t feel controlled.”

“Tern. Devou Clan,” the voice said.

“Birgitta, do these words mean anything to you? Tern. Devou. Clan,” Beth said.

“Clan is an English word, but in this context it reveals little,” Birgitta said. 

Beth had never heard tern or devou before. Were they parts of the alien’s language? Why would it think that she could ever understand its tongue? That made no sense.

“I don’t know what clan could mean in the context of the other two words. Languages have never been my interest,” Birgitta said. “But, let’s analyze the situation. If the theory of the orbs living in symbiosis with the flesh creatures, and also the swarms now, is true, what does that tell us? The orbs must have a method of communicating with those, so why would it not construct a way to communicate with you? Sure, it could use the hologram projection method, but it is slow and contexts are easily missed out. The holograms might be used only initially, with the goal to achieve this. Instant, mentally based communication. It makes sense.”

Beth felt where the situation was going and she didn’t like it. The facts. The orb only made an effort to communicate with her. The orb showed a projection of her holding one of their twigs, standing behind them like their other companions. These things pointed to that the orb had already decided. She would not have any say in it, in theory.

“Tern of Devou Clan,” the voice said.

Beth grabbed Birgitta’s shoulders. “It’s name! Tern. Tern of Devou Clan.”

The orb gave a little shake. It must have detected that Beth made the correct conclusion.

“Look. Did you see the brief shake? It acknowledged my deduction,” Beth said. “I think.”

“How could I have missed it?” Birgitta said.

It was terrifying how the orb was able to tap into her mind, much like Saif had done. But where Saif had sought to control her the alien only had spoken its name. But still, it was unnerving. Should she try to force it out with her power? If the orb tried anything invasive or made her uncomfortable, she would. But for now, she was interested in knowing where this all would lead.

“How is everything going here?” Captain Samuels walked into the bridge.

Milo came tightly behind. “Oh, oh!”

“I am having no say in this,” Beth said, gesturing with her arm at Tern and then back at her. 

Captain Samuels nodded. “We guessed that too.”

“I understand why they don’t use sounds to communicate. Tern is here.” She pointed at her head. “We don’t think they will use the hologram projections anymore. It is slow and ineffective compared with this method of communicating.”

Milo stepped towards her. “I don’t like this.”

Captain Samuels growled, staring at Tern.

“And Tern, what is that? Its name?” Milo asked.

Birgitta pulled him back, her voice eager. “Not too close. Yes. Tern of Devou Clan.”

“Is it still you, in there, Beth? Do I need to burn Saif’s influence away before you tear this ship in two” Milo asked. His hands were tensed into fists.

Beth stood up. “No, stop that. Yes, it’s still me. Tern is different from Saif. Where Saif sought control, Tern just wants to communicate. The difference is distinct.”

“I am sorry, I just wanted to make sure,” Milo said. His hands relaxed.

“If I was under Saif’s control, I would have killed you all before we got away from Europe13. I am pretty sure that I am safe,” Beth said. “This is our chance to open amidable communications between humans and Tern’s people. If this is their way of speaking, we need to honor it. We cannot mistrust them at every corner,” Beth. “Then all this will be for nothing. All the sacrifices we did when isolating ourselves from mankind would have been for nothing.”

“I agree,” Milo said.

Beth had to say what she said and focus on that she was comfortable with Tern in her mind. This was their only way to connect with the aliens and they surely needed it, if there would be any prospects for an alliance. But in truth, the idea of having anybody else poking around inside her mind again turned her stomach sick.

“It feels natural that Tern should be able to read my thoughts, if he is able to place his own inside my mind. Thoughts are complex, they are so much more than just the language in what we each think in. They have context, emotion, meaning and intent tied to them. If Tern is able to tap into my mind, I guess he can perceive those things, even though the English language is beyond him. But I will speak so everybody can understand the context of our conversation,” Beth said. “And relay any response.”

The crew nodded in agreement.

“How can you be sure that Tern is a male and not a female?” Diego asked.

Beth sighed. “I don’t. But we need to start somewhere. Tern, I am ready. What is the next step?”

“Tho. Thoug,” Tern said in her mind. “Thoughts.”

Beth relayed the answer even though she couldn’t understand its meaning. Not yet, at least. Tern needed to learn their language, but before that he needed to learn the building blocks of human thought.

“I think it will take time for Tern to reach a more open syntax,” Beth said. “I and Birgitta have discussed the subject. You see the swarm and the fleshy creatures? We think they are different species entirely, separated from each other and Tern’s kind. Thus, it is obvious that the orbs have the possibility to learn alien languages. Maybe an individual's thoughts are the key. But it is just pure speculation until we are able to communicate better with Tern.”

Birgitta had nodded through Beth’s brief speech, and Beth smiled at that thought. They got along well. It felt great having a friend by her side that understood her.

“But I don’t have to like it, even though you seem to,” Captain Samuels said.

Diego stepped forward. “Me neither, but I am seeing the necessity of it.”

“Good for you,” Captain Samuels said, starting to leave the bridge. “Elizabeth, I will be waiting for those reports. Good luck.”

Milo smiled at her and followed after the Captain. Milo looked relieved at being able to leave the bridge, he was afraid of Tern.

Milo always told the truth and what he thought, he was a good person. He had even pushed against his own friend and Captain to save her life, hours after she had hammered his father into pieces. Captain Samuels on the other hand, was cold and stark. She could not tell what went on inside his shaved head. His ability to switch from calm and collected straight into combat with relentless violence was uncanny. It was not normal. She would rather stand closer to an unknown alien being than Captain Samuels.

“I will be staying, if you don’t mind?” Diego said. “Even though I am a bit scared of Tern, his physiology rubs at my curiosity.”

“That’s fine,” Beth said. “But beware, it might grow boring real fast.”

“Yeah, this will take time. But the sooner we attack the problem, the sooner we will solve it,” Birgitta said. “Diego, feel free to chip, because we really don’t know what we are doing.”

Diego nodded.

“Thoughts,” Tern said in her mind.

Beth relayed it to the others. “I don’t know what he wants. Suggestions?”

Tern floated closer to her. “Mo.”

“Move? Maybe he wants you to move away. He did float closer to you,” Birgitta said.

Beth stepped away from Tern.

“Mo.” Tern floated closer to her again.

“Molecule?” Birgitta asked.

“A mooing cow?” Beth said. “I have never met a real cow before.”

“You were on the right track, but now you have derailed,” Diego said. “Like he started with ‘tho’ then expanded it to ‘thoug’ and finally into ‘thoughts’. Tern is learning and he is learning fast. Combining ‘move’ with ‘thoughts’ doesn’t make sense. I think that ‘mo’ refers not to ‘move’, but to ‘more’. Beth, ask him if he wants more thoughts.”

“More thoughts?” Beth asked.

Tern floated closer, bumping slightly at her. “More thoughts.”

Beth smiled. Yes, Tern wanted more thoughts.

Birgitta fist bumped Diego’s shoulder. “Good work, Doc. I didn’t know that you were so observant when it comes to languages.”

“Languages are interesting,” Diego said.

“Diego, Brigitta, more questions! Supply me,” Beth said, feeling eager to help Tern learn.

SAM

Leopold’s private quarters was something else. The walls were decorated from ceiling-to-floor with various flight pattern charts, as if the pilot had used them as wallpaper. Not the fancy, old school relics from the past Earth. But instead it looked like the german pilot had plastered the walls with tactical and originally designed starship flight patterns. Sam recognized a few of the moves, and their result, avoidance or offensive, but there was much more he didn’t recognize. What went on inside Leo’s head?

“Capt’n, thanks for coming. I know the timing is bad, with the aliens and all. But I just needed to talk to you,” Leo said.

The wrinkles in Leo’s face seemed even deeper and more distinct than usual. Leopold had been recruited a decade ago, officially he had been too old to serve already then, but Sam wouldn’t miss an opportunity to put an experienced pilot like him on his crew. The pilot was a key function and its seat should only be occupied with able bodied people. Like Leopold Ryan.

“Time is always short. You know this already, Leo. It’s all down to priorities. And this goddamn alien sphere on my ship, I can do nothing for it,” Sam said. “When my crew is uncertain I will be there and help, that is how we roll. Shoot, man.”

“I am growing old, Captain. I cannot circumvent it, and neither can you, being isolated this deep into space and outside the known charts. You are depending on an old, frail man ,” Leo said, swallowing. “My reflexes are not as they used to be, I am not an ace flyboy right off the academy any longer. I rely more and more on predefined patterns and the ship’s A.I. to decide which pattern to run. I don’t have the quickness that the flyboys have. I am obsolete. If the engagements get too wild, too hot, I will not be able to keep up. I cannot guarantee that we will make it through another run in with an enemy as strong as that dreadnought. Too many cannons, too much firepower. One or two good hits from that and we are done.”

Sam gave the pilot a moment to rest, so he himself could gather his thoughts. His old friend had put all the cards on the table, confessing his doubts and weaknesses. But they were not weaknesses, they were signs of a lack of confidence.

“Leopold. No matter who holds the sticks or commands the vessel, there are never any guarantees that we will survive. Bad luck is a real factor. But you, Leo, are the most skilled pilot that I have ever had the pleasure to serve with. You are not weak, where the flyboys are quick, ruthless and impatient, you are instead clever, thoughtful and able to predict things they cannot. Your original patterns have saved us countless times, many more times than our nukes and lasers ever could. It is your mind that’s important, not the quickness of your hands. There is no need for you to feel bad. You are still the person I handpicked for this job,” Sam said.

It was obvious, Leo almost cracked up crying. The tension and stiffness had all been resolved and replaced with a face and posture of someone who was at ease and comfortable.

“Thank you, Captain,” Leo said. “It means a lot. You have the qualities that every pilot wants in their Captain.”

“Of course, pilot. Any day, any time, just give me a call,” Sam said. “And I will be there.”

Leopold leaned forward. “Well, it’s not like you could find any other pilot around these parts of town, anyhow.”

Sam smiled as Leo smiled. Good, his pilot had been satisfied. He nodded and left Leo’s private quarters. A few words in the correct order and pacing could have the biggest impact in peoples’ lives, it was interesting, really. He saw what his crew needed, but he would never be able to feel what they felt.