43.

Diego watched nervously as the holographic representations of the probe and the Keeper slowly came together from millions of miles apart. Using both the advanced sensors of the flagship and the controls and sensors of the deep space antenna, he guided the drone airlock of the science vessel, overriding the errors that it threw due to failing to recognize the ship. It responded to the commands only thanks to the efforts of the crew in ensuring that the original equipment was used.

The probes were set to scramble their astrogation data should attempts be made to access their data without following the proper handshake procedures. For security reasons, of course.

As it was, they were trusting the Yonohoan government that the Toormonda’s data banks were truly secure, and that nobody could sneak a peak at the probe’s origin points.

“Probe docking complete. Power down probe now,” came the request from the holographic Captain Moon standing beside him.

“Powering down probe,” he confirmed.

“Mission success,” she said, and in the background Rajesh leapt into the air and shouted for joy.

“That’s the last of them,” Diego commented. “Remarkable that it’s already over.”

“We returned to the science mission two months ago, Diego,” Moon pointed out.

“Yes. But compared to how long we spent on the Seeker it’s gone by in a flash. Partly because we’ve been so busy, whereas before the time was broken up by all the minutia of life aboard a long-flight spacecraft. It felt like we were on the Seeker for years, but only on this mission for a few days,” he clarified.

“You’re sure that the Topokans haven’t been freezing you without your consent, right?” Moon asked.

“There’s a procedure they’re supposed to follow for when they do that. One of them is required to be there when I wake up with a weapon. For me. I mean, they’re supposed to give me a weapon and explain what happened and why. Then, if I want to, I’m allowed to kill them.”

Moon’s breath caught for a second. “It’s easy to forget sometimes with how advanced and gentle the Yonohoan are that so many of their traditions come from the time of a terrible war.”

“I know.”

“How is it, sharing the ship with them?” she asked.

“I made two of them run into each other the other day. I surprised one of them, who sprinted in the other direction straight into one who was rushing in the other direction to get away from Rajesh. They collided face first, and it looked like something out of a cartoon. I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing. I felt bad about it because they were terrified, but it was just so funny.”

“Have you gotten close to any of them?” She asked.

“I don’t speak the language, Captain. They’re less terrified of me than they used to be, although they still avoid Rajesh like the plague. But aside from ones which occasionally try to sneak up on me to obtain my scent, I pretty much just pretend they’re not there.”

“We do, at some point, want to study the and open diplomatic relations with them,” she reminded Diego.

“I know captain. But that’s going to be a long ways down the line, if we want them to trust us. They have a racial memory and they’re slow to change their minds. When we tell them where earth is, they’ll park a few observation ships in orbit for a few of our generations. Eventually they’ll decide whether or not to make contact based on their own logic and reasoning after those observations,” Diego explained.

“And if we try to expedite the process?” she asked.

“Captain Moon, as cultural liaison and de facto ambassador to the Yonohoan people, I formally recommend that we allow the Topokans, AKA Xenosapiens sulivans, to approach the people of earth on their own initiative. I suggest that if the government of earth wishes to establish relations with them, they transmit our location and wait a minimum of five generations before further contact not mediated by a Yonohoan agent,” Diego said formally.

“That bad, huh?” she asked.

“Apparently they used to be all over the place in this galaxy, ma’am. When the war broke open they pulled back to only the worlds of the Yonohoah. The Yonohoans have been trying to get them to return to their abandoned colonies for tens of thousands of years,” Diego explained.

“Have they had any luck?” Captain Moon asked.

“Not really. Everywhere that the Sulivans used to live has a human colony living there now,” Diego answered. They won’t even go inside the stellar pressure bubble without an express invitation from the world’s human government. If these guys did know where earth was, they would tell the Yonohoans, but that’s all they would do about it. They’re officially listed as an endangered species by the empires, but they won’t cooperate with the efforts to ensure that they return to their pre-war population levels.”

“Why not?” Captain Moon asked.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“It has to do with the ancient pack again. They may only walk on the lands where Eodar’s ancestors walked, and each matron may only give birth to as many cubs as the last living son of Eodar. The way that they’re interpreting that means that if Eolai has one hundred children, they’re allowed to start rebuilding their population. Until then they’re entirely dedicated to preserving the bloodlines of the Yonohoans so that they’re able to fulfill their other sacred duties,” Diego explained.

“Such as?”

“Funeral rights, for one. The Yonohoans do not bury their dead, captain. They leave them where they lay until they begin to smell, and then the Topokan will take them away. I haven’t been told what is done with them after that,” Diego said.

“That sounds like the most alien thing I’ve heard about their culture so far,” Captain Moon confessed.

“They mourn their dead as keenly as we do ours, Captain. Every time a family member dies, there is expected to be a migration to the place where their body fell. Depending on the circumstance, it can be shameful if a family member doesn’t arrive before the Topokan take them away,” Diego explained. “But they don’t do graveyards. If they want to honor the dead, they light a fire at the place where they fell.”

He paused. “There is an eternal bonfire on planet Totola where it’s said that the last Eodar died as an old man, having lived a life of freedom and pleasure, having never once taken the life of another human. The Topokans and the Yonohoans work together to keep it burning. They use natural materials for it, and they’re not allowed to put it out until the Last Son of Eodar passes from this world forever. I’m expected to make a pilgrimage there when we return to planet Totola.”

“They’ve kept it burning for tens of thousands of years?” Captain Moon asked.

“That’s what I’m told.”

Captain Moon shook her head in disbelief. “Sergeant, I need to get back to my crew to begin the process of processing the final probe.”

“Of course, captain,” Diego said. Her hologram vanished, and he sighed. After all of that work, it was almost anticlimactic to be done. All that was left was …

Oh, right, he wasn’t going home with the others.

He’d never be able to set foot on Earth again. There was a chance that soon, subjectively to him, everyone he knew would be old. Or possibly even dead many years. Once Eolai had trained him in his duties and responsibilities as a Son of Eodar.

He sighed. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Perhaps Eolai would simply train him over the next twenty years or so, spending the rest of his time in stasis or with his family. Then, one day, Diego would simply … never see his sworn brother again as Eolai was placed in stasis until after Diego had died.

It would be a valid strategy. Allowing Diego to live his natural lifespan while Eolai underwent stasis would expand the time that there was a living Son of Eodar significantly. More than enough to pay back the amount of time that it would take Eolai to educate Diego.

It was ruthless, but Eolai would consent to it, Diego knew. And the Topokan would do it as well.

He didn’t want to think of it, so he went to the exercise area. He had been exercising regularly since boarding the flagship, regaining his lost muscle tone and, with the help of Yonohoan medicine, his bone density as well. The human exercise equipment was simultaneously alien and, at the same time, exactly the sort of thing that he’d expect to see in a high-end gym.

He was using a modified machine to do a one-handed bench press when the doors opened and Eolai joined them.

“Your science mission has been a success,” Eolai stated, his voice celebratory.

“It seems that way,” Diego agreed.

“We have never fought,” Eolai said.

Diego frowned at the non-sequitur. “I gave you a pretty good tongue-lashing after you surprised me with the brotherhood ceremony, brother,” he pointed out.

“Yes, but we have never exchanged fists. As brothers do. It is the responsibility of the older brother to ensure that the younger brother can defend himself, if the younger brother is old enough to learn,” Eolai explained.

“Oh,” Diego said. “You want to spar?”

“Yes. I have been waiting for you to recover from your deprivation aboard the Seeker . I have reviewed your most recent medical scan and determined that you are ready to begin your combat training,” Eolai explained.

“Right. It’s been a while since I’ve had a tumble with anyone. Try not to mop the floor with me too hard,” Diego agreed, and they moved to one of the padded areas. They were both dressed in the simple gray clothes that Eolai had always worn, allowing complete freedom of movement. Eolai kicked off his sandals, and Diego copied him.

“Is there any ritual or do we just--”

Eolai moved. Diego knew that he’d moved because he was in one place one second, and the second his fist was embedded in Diego’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. Eolai was fast. Superhumanly fast, Diego realized. He had known that the man was athletic, but he hadn’t realized the gap between the two of them.

This entire time, when they had competed in sports, Eolai had been lowering himself down to Diego’s level.

The way that an older brother plays with his younger brother, Diego realized abruptly. At least, if the brother is kind and doesn’t mind letting the little brother win sometimes.

“I apologize. I wanted to show you the true difference between us at this time,” Eolai said. “I thought that an abject lesson would be the most effective.”

Diego gasped as he rolled around on the floor. He managed to get his air back, and he pulled himself back up to his feet.

“I didn’t hear no bell,” he muttered, determined to put up a better showing than … whatever that had been.

“You never cease to amaze me, Diego. It is like you were born on the wrong planet, to the wrong family,” Eolai said.

“Or perhaps I was born at exactly the right moment at the right time to the right parents to be me,” Diego argued. “Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be.”

“Very good,” Eolai said. “Come, let us unlock your reflexes together. Soon, you shall see the world in a very different light.”

Eolai moved again. Not as fast, but still too fast for Diego to follow. And once more Diego found himself falling to the ground as he was thrown across the room by his older brother.

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