The ships enter into a modified lockdown as they prepare for a more leisurely jump. Captain Long scheduled it in concern the Zarakyssns might have a way to track them, so they’re being abundantly cautious. The mining vessels were all recalled from the asteroids, and all external repair crews were brought inside the skins of the ships, and head counts are being performed. It’s a headache for the repair crews especially, because they have to clean up all of their tools, but no one argues. Not a single soul on any of the ships wants a repeat of the first encounter with what the Grodrrns call ‘the Zarakyssn Horde’.
Petty Officer Mina Coulson is no exception. She’s finally on break after watches, working parties, and drills broken only by sleep, and only one thing has occupied her mind. The Cave Queen requested the watchstanders not be burdened by companion duty for her, since she was mostly going to be healing, and if she needed anything, would ask Heloise. But, Mina hasn’t had a chance to actually check on the Queen since the battle, during which the second batch of the Queen’s eggs, laid mid-battle in the incubators to unburden her, were lost because the incubators weren’t actually turned on. Something which none of the Marines present at the time knew.
Twice now, humanity has lost the Queen hundreds of her precious eggs.
Mina hesitates at the door. Could the Queen not want to see her or anyone else? Is she angry?
The light lock door opens, allowing Heloise to step out. The former police officer jumps, “Oh! Mina! You scared me. Everything okay?”
Mina nods with a smile. “Mm-hmm. Just fine. I was just… thinking about stuff.”
“Mm, I see.” Heloise has some laundry, which is mostly bedding, in a basket. She asks, “You here for me or the Queen, Sweetie?”
The young woman replies playfully, “I always wanna see you, Mom!” She hugs the woman, earning a warm chuckle. Heloise teases, “Who are you, and what have you done with the real Mina?”
“Aha! Gotcha! I’m actually Rena! Heeheehee!”
Heloise ruffles Mina’s hair and kisses her forehead. She replies softly, “I haven’t forgotten since Hamlet, Sweetie.”
Mina replies tenderly, “I know, Mom…” During a school play, Mina was playing Laertes, and Heloise kept praising Rena, who was actually a smaller role in the play. Mina snapped and screamed at her on stage, storming off. The former police officer felt terrible, and never let it happen again, something even their own father flubs occasionally at brief glances.
Heloise says brightly, “So, since it’s the Queen, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. She’s been up and around the last day or so. Her English has gotten pretty good.”
“R-Really?”
“Mm-hmm. She learned to make a lot of the sounds like a paradise bird. She actually sounds creepily like the Captain.”
Mina chuckles, “Captain Long? Really?”
“Mm-hmm. You’ll see. I’m guessing she’s mimicking Long’s voice, since she talked so much over the announcing circuit. Or, she thinks she’s mimicking Jessica’s voice. Either way, she has obviously practiced a lot just this week.”
“Is she doing better?”
“Mm-hmm. Even still producing eggs. Twenty or so of them glowing already.”
Mina sighs. She was worried about the Queen’s injuries ending any chances to try again. Heloise smiles, adding, “Welp, I’ll…”
“How are you doing, Mom?”
“Me? I’m alright. Not gonna lie, I was pretty scared when the Zar-… roaches grabbed me. It all happened so fast. Next thing I know, we’re all being tossed around like ragdolls, and a GRODURN saves us.” She scoffs, “Talk about irony. Rushed back to our room, but everyone was gone. Craig finally showed up, scared out of his wits. Don’t blame him, either… Just tried to calm people down after that.”
Mina nods, “I get you. I’m so glad you both are okay, though.”
“Same to you, Sweetie.” She then asks curiously, “Have… you talked to the Grodurns? What are they like?”
Mina scoffs, “Not much. Craw is the only one I’ve dealt with, and she’s… big. And, she’s the smallest of them.”
“I know.” Heloise then smiles, “Well, Sweetie, I should get back to it.” She hugs and kisses Mina again, saying, “Have fun with the Queen. I think she’s painting right now.”
“Thanks Mom. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Mina watches Heloise walk away a moment before entering the light lock. The mature woman never had a reason to care so deeply for Mina’s family, herself included, but she does. It’s among many things on Mina’s mind, including Jessica’s nearly-ready-to-hatch egg. The baby is huge, stretching the egg to almost half-again larger.
Mina enters the Queen’s quarters gently, announcing herself, “Um, Cave Queen? It’s me, Mina.”
Heloise was right. The voice that comes back could easily pass for Captain Long, “Mina, over by bench. Come join.”
Mina makes her way through the dark room carefully. She’s in her casual clothes, so she doesn’t have her nightvision in her helmet, but the floor has faintly glowing markers in case a helmet runs out of batteries or breaks. Mina finds the Queen’s large form nestled on her beding. She remarks, “Mina not wearing helmet. See okay?”
The young woman is surprised. The Cave Queen is speaking profoundly well on her own. She replies, “I can, well enough. How are you?”
“Happy we escape. Injuries okay.”
“Good. Good. I’m surprised to hear you speak so well. You sound great.”
“Thank you. I practice. Nothing else to do while healing.”
Mina chuckles, “I see! You must’ve been working all day every day on it.”
“Yes.”
Mina chuckles. Not much else to say to that. She speaks slowly, but clearly, and seems to understand quite well. The young woman says more softly, “I… wanted to thank you more properly for saving us. And, for helping Jor.”
“This is our home. Of course I protect.”
It’s not lost on Mina in the slightest how much that statement oversimplifies. Humanity owes the Queen a great deal for helping defeat what Dzor calls the Zjikha. Especially since they haven’t successfully incubated any of her eggs as promised.
Mina, who was helpless after being hit by the Zarakyssn weapons, owes her everything.
Mina sighs, asking softly, “Thank you again.”
“No need. I love you.”
Mina is caught completely off-guard by this proclamation. She can barely think. She stammers, “L-Love?”
The Queen pauses, looking at her. “Is that not right? I cherish you. You humans are most precious to me.”
Mina sighs. She replies calmly, “Ah, I see. The WAY you said it is usually reserved for an individual you cherish more than anyone or anything else. A romantic partner, usually.”
The Queen hums in acknowledgment, chirping warmly. She returns once more to her task, saying casually, “Then I still use correctly.”
Heat fills Mina’s face as she stares at the Queen’s form in stupor. If anyone saw her face, it would be the pinkest of pinks on any color wheel. The Queen said it so casually and sincerely, Mina has no idea what to do.
The Queen offers her a slice of something that smells like cooked bacon. She explains, “I am told humans allowed to try now.”
Mina blinks several times. “Uh… Th-thank you.” She nibbles the strange, delicious-smelling vegetable from the Queen’s hand. Inside the skin, the vegetable is apparently much softer, and the Queen has already cooked this piece to a crispiness. Mina never thought she wanted bacon-flavored potato chips, but she’s eating one now, by all sensations. It’s not quite full chip-crispiness, but the Queen is also still experimenting with the hot plate and pan she was given.
Mina hums, distracting herself from embarrassment by saying, “Mmm! Oh my gosh! That’s sooo gooood!”
The Queen chirps warmly, biting the piece immediately after her. She replies, “I happy. Mina wanted to try, and I fear you would not like.”
Mina replies playfully, “Mina very much enjoys! Thank you!” She asks curiously, “You don’t have to ration food? Um, conserve it?”
The Queen smiles, replying, “I ration long before humans. Ness-nec-… Needed for surviving. Angelica allow me to control my own diet as long as I use only my garden here. Rest of brought food is being cultivated as… ehhh… back? Background?”
“Backup.”
“Yes.” The Queen affectionately touches Mina’s arm, saying, “Thank you.”
Mina asks, “Your garden is enough?”
The Queen chirps an affirmative, replying, “Yes. Humans give material from ehhh… C.H.T. tanks. When dried, makes plants grow better.”
The young woman’s stomach nearly falls out of her. The CHT tanks, or ‘Collection, holding, and transfer’ do just that. For waste. She knows, in the harder times, water is recycled from ANY source available, but she never sought or needed to know where solid waste went.
Ultimately, deep down, she knows survival outweighs anything. But, she can’t help but ponder the item she just ate being grown in one of the most foul substances in existence. The Queen, though, seems happy. And, she’s clearly been doing it for a while now. It’s letting her grow food more efficiently.
Mina swallows hard when the Queen offers her another slice. This one is fresh off of the frying pan. She doesn’t want to be rude, and it was delicious. She just has an image in her head now. Mina sniffs it carefully for any signs. The Queen watches her curiously.
Even paranoid, Mina detects no traces of anything foul, and her stomach growls in anticipation, seemingly forgetting just as quickly. Mina comes to a conclusion, though. Dying in the arms of the Queen because of something tasty would be far better than anything the Zarakyssns had planned for her.
And it was SO tasty.
Mina takes a more eager bite. This piece is right in the perfect zone; brittle-crispy like perfectly done bacon, rather than chips. It crumbles delectably in her mouth, and her knees melt. The Queen instinctively catches her, chirping worry before asking, “Mina?”
Mina says dreamily, “Perfect… God, I haven’t had anything so good in forever…”
The Queen relaxes, easing Mina to a seated position on the bedding. She says warmly, “I am happy.”
Mina replies sheepishly, “Truth told, I was stuck on how you said you grow these in… poo… and…” She takes a deep breath, redirecting, “But, it’s SO, so good!”
The Queen nods, replying, “I having fun with cooking food. Never cook before. I think surface-dwellers traded some cooked food, but they have different plants.”
Mina nods, replying, “I’m glad you’re enjoying it, because I HAVE been wanting to try.”
The Queen chirps eagerly. She starts preparing some of the others, talking idly with Mina as they normally do.
Mina essentially asks, “Are… you not… upset about your eggs?”
The Queen gently replies, “Sad, yes. But, we try. Try always better than discard.”
Mina gently touches the Queen’s abdomen, remarking, “I understand. I’m surprised you have so many already.”
The Queen chirps nervously, replying, “I… think rate increase… because of laying. Better diet. Body adjusting to life with humans. Sorry.”
“No no! It’s okay! It’s good, I think. It means we can keep trying, right? A-And with Jessica’s and Lieutenant Kane’s… M-Maybe…”
The Queen smiles, replying warmly, “Great hope indeed.”
The young woman relaxes. Once more, she worried over nothing. Relaxing with a dear friend, enjoying wonderful food; she can think of no better way to spend her day off.
***
The small mammalian creatures never seem to stop moving. They come and go constantly, in ships, to and from the hangar, and past her hauler which serves now as her prison cell. The Fievegalizz also mill about, talking with the mammals, trading supplies, and otherwise working.
It’s strange to see the Fievegalizz cooperate with another race. What her kind knows about them is that they are conquerors, taking all they defeat as tribute to their Fievegal. They indefinitely enslave races and use them as cannon fodder in large scale wars.
It genuinely makes her nervous that the big male Fievegalizz is the one translating for her. She wishes there was a way for her to communicate with the mammals directly. She’s not her sisters. She wants to understand these combative races. If too many races that resist unification band together, they could try to destroy the Shining Daughters. But, if they can learn to understand these races, maybe they can be convinced of the Divine Queen’s existence, as well as the Path.
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She has trouble uniquely identifying the mammals. They all have vastly different physical appearances when their armor is off, and without the bond, there is no distinguishable spiritual difference for her. She can see differences, but it’s like looking at a million fish swirling quickly and trying to identify a specific one.
However, a mammal and a Fievegalizz approach, followed by the Nizzkurrezz. She understands at once. She remembers discussions of the Nizzkurrezz when they were being unified. One of the younger {Medical Queens} like herself pleaded for them to preserve at least one Nizzkurrezz because of the strange ability they possess. The many-armed aliens, especially adults, can apparently communicate with any species freely. However, it was decided in consensus that they all were to be united all the same. And, when her sister who made the plea was discovered to have been willingly impregnated with the eggs of a lesser alien race, she was sentenced to death by the Chosen Queen and the Blessed Queens. They feared the Nizzkurrezz had brainwashed her, and they would not see the spawn of one born of a Queen’s body.
This Nizzkurrezz is a midsized adult, likely in the ninety to one-ten walks of the path range (208-254.1 years). It’s a fertile female, though she wonders what is being done with its eggs if it is this minimally burdened currently. This one has a cloth draped over its slightly swollen abdomen, and a cloth blindfold over its eyes, though it can locate its surroundings almost just as well with only its ears. It’s definitely on the healthy side, other than battle-related injuries which are healing well.
The Nizzkurrezz speaks in the mammal tongue to the mammal, and the Fievegalizz watches with its typical angry expression. It’s clear the Fievegalizz wants her and her sole egg destroyed. But, the mammals have spared her. Perhaps they crave understanding as much as she.
The Nizzkurrezz reaches close to the plasma door. The Queen urges, “{No! Wait!}” as she waves her hands. Anything that reaches through the plasma door will be burned. She searches around the hauler as the three watch her curiously. The Fievegalizz growls something most-likely disparaging, “{Theess waste of teem. War Queen stalleeng. Does not want commooneecate.}”
The mammal replies, “{Let’s see what she does, at least. She probably realizes we have finite patience.}”
She quickly finds what she’s looking for and activates it. She moves it to the plasma door, and the other beings take steps back in caution. The device; a wheel-shaped orifice with a rubbery inner gland seal, springs from her hand once it’s close to the plasma shield, and it locks into place in the plasma field, floating in the thin barrier. The jump startles the three, and the Fievegalizz steps in front of the mammal as it snarls.
But, she has no tricks. Just truth. She withdraws one of her ration bars and touches it to the plasma, demonstrating how it burns. The mammal says something, “{Ensign Hancock said his suit and Lopez’s got scorched on the outside when they passed through.}” She then sticks her whole arm through the orifice, which is a passthrough device. She pulls her arm back, humming warmly. Now the Nizzkurrezz can reach safely through.
The Nizzkurrezz looks at the mammal, and the mammal speaks “{Go ahead.}”
The Nizzkurrezz reaches cautiously through with one arm. She takes a seat near the orifice so the Nizzkurrezz doesn’t have to reach far inside. The mammal remarks something, “{So… her kind do know about the Cave Queen’s species.}” Once the Nizzkurrezz is touching her, the Queen’s voice says on its own, “{I know why you know what I am, but this human wishes to question you. Tell us who you are and why you come.}”
She is instantly relieved. Curiosity is mutual. She replies, knowing the Nizzkurrezz can understand, “{I thank you. I am a Sister of the Shining Daughters, a Uniter Xenomedicine Queen. I humbly thank you for your congress.}” All the while she speaks, the Nizzkurrezz writes. Written language has been absent in the Shining Daughters since the days of the Stones. In fact, the Stones are the only written text of the Shining Daughters that remains in existence, and only the eldest of Sisters can read them. Generally, the Sisters don’t need written text, as they can convey thoughts to each other or their soldiers almost instantly. But, she knows many more primitive species, especially, maintain archaic written languages for communication.
The Nizzkurrezz needs to do so because it understands her fine, but it’s much more difficult to speak in other tongues at the same time. It shows the message to the other two, and the Fievegalizz growls. To her surprise, she understands what it says, “We KNOW theess. She stalls.”
She cries out, “{I do not! Your bias is poisoning everyone else!}”
Before the Nizzkurrezz even finishes writing, the Fievegalizz, who can clearly understand the United language, retorts viciously, “Beeas!? I woonder why! They need no beeas anyway. You attack theess fleet!”
“{Your kind resists! And, you force those you conquer to resist! We want only Unity!}”
“Uneetee!?” He huffs, adding, “Where all the uneeted rasses?” His words make enough sense, but for whatever reason, they don’t sound entirely right to her. He adds, “Eef you uneet, why they all gone?”
She remains silent for a moment. The brutish Fievegalizz blasphemers could never understand.
Finally, the mammal speaks, and its voice is much easier to understand through the ears of the Nizzkurrezz, “Calm down, please, Yarjen. Questions, not arguing. Remember?” He snorts in disgust, and suddenly, her suspicions on who rules whom in this relationship is changing. The mammal says, “Do this if you understand me.” She angles her head up and down. She mimics with ease.
The mammal continues, “Good. That saves us a step, at least. You’re going to have to explain better, because from where we stand, your soldiers attacked without warning and tried to harvest us like… food animals from a sea. And, nothing has changed that, yet.”
She looks at the Nizzkurrezz. While talented warriors, survivalists, and communicators, the Nizzkurrezz are notoriously unwise about themselves. They don’t know the purpose of the fleshy pouches on their heads, why they’re so sensitive to light, or the fullest extent of their communication ability. She points at the Nizzkurrezz, and then at the human. She says, “{If the Nizzkurrezz links us both, we can communicate better.}”
The Fievegalizz makes a grunting noise that sounds amused, and says when the mammal looks at him, “She wants the Cave Queen to link you. Leek translator.” The ‘Cave Queen’ as they call it, nods its head. The mammal asks, “Is that safe?”
The Uniter Queen replies, “{Yes.}” The Nizzkurrezz looks at her and then the mammal, unsure.
She says more sternly, “{Yes. It is safe. Nizzkurrezz can let go at any time.}”
The Fievegalizz growls, “She will agree, knoweeng her, ond I warn you now, harm either, ond I reep you to pieces slow. We both know theess door not stop me.”
The mammal curves its lips, saying warmly, “You know me so well. Are you okay with trying?” It looks up at the Cave Queen.
The Cave Queen nods and touches the mammal’s head. She states slowly and gently, “{Voices and meanings will disorient a little at first. Focus only on meanings in your mind.}”
The mammal struggles a little, and the Fievegalizz growls. The mammal says sternly, “I’m okay. It’s just… new. I hear her voice and mine and the Cave Queen’s echoing each other. Even when I talk. It’s… just something to get used to. Are you okay, Cave Queen?” The Cave Queen nods. Both the mammal’s and her voices say, “{I am okay. Strange, but not hurting,}” in their own languages.
The mammal then says, “Okay. I’m Captain Long. I’m a human. And, I’d like to know what you intended to do. And, don’t just say ‘Unite’. What does ‘unite’ mean to you?”
She begins gently, “{Unifcation is the ceremony. The Divine Queen’s light has dimmed due to the rampant spread of heresy and blasphemy. It is our path to journey upon to unite all of the worlds who have strayed from the Divine Queen’s light. And, in so doing, when the time comes, we shall all join our Sisters among the Infinite Sisters spread throughout the cosmos.}”
The Fievegalizz makes a new noise that she understands now as laughter, and he states dryly, “She say that weeth sooch faith. TELL them what the ceremony is.”
She replies, “{It is the joining of our souls to a greater purpose and to brighten our light when we join the Infinite Sisters. It is an end to all doubt and blasphemous thought. It is salvation from lonliness and isolation, from war and famine. It is the preservation of all in the light of the cosmos.}”
The Fievegalizz laughs with more irritation. Captain Long, the human, gestures at him, “It’s okay.” It turns back to her, saying, “He’s right. What does the ceremony entail? Sacrifice? Eating the bodies?”
“{It sounds undesirable in the lens of the Fievegalizz, but you must understand, life is sacred to us, and moreso, the spirits. We prepare all for the Path before they walk, including healing them from wounds of their own resistance.}”
The Fievegalizz snarls, “Resistance!? No one wants be eaten! Not so hard to oondorstond!”
Captain Long asks curtly, “Do you eat the bodies of your prisoners; yes or no?”
She replies, “{Yes. B-But AFTER they pass of the Divine Queen’s own calling. It truly is a blessing to join our Sisterhood to become one of the Infinite Sisters in passing on.}”
The big reptile snorts, “A blesseeng to become feces. Nivor thought of that way.”
She accuses, “{No Fievegalizz has ever been united. He knows not of what he speaks.}”
Captain Long shakes her head, replying, “Gotta agree with him here. It sounds to me like you believe that if you capture and eat enough members of other races, you’ll become a star, and if you eradicate all other races in the process, your goddess star will appear.”
“{You oversimplify as blasphemous races always do. It is a divine ritual, and you let that reptile’s words taint its purity.}”
“No, I’m listening to you with as open of a mind as I can. But, regardless. We –the humans, Cave Queen, and Grodurns- are content with being blasphemers. We won’t go quietly because your beliefs make NO sense to us. If it’s such a blessing, how come you don’t perform the ritual on each other?”
She pauses. She racks her brain for an answer, but she has none. It never crossed her mind before. Of course, if the Queens did Unite each other, they wouldn’t be able to spread as far. But, it even goes deeper than that. Many of the Queens compete using the worlds they unite, often flaunting the size, difficulty, or blasphemous-ness of the race being united.
The human asks another question, seemingly expecting no answer to the previous, “Are there any living members of the races you ‘unify’?”
She starts to answer, but halts. To her knowledge, cut off from the other Queens, the answer is no. At least, not for very long. Every member must be Unified. So sayeth the Stones. She replies softly, “{With exceptions like this Nizzkurrezz… no…}” Captain Long nods.
“{B-But! My duties are to ensure the United experience as natural of passings as possible, as if they live a natural life.}” The Fievegalizz chuckles, but she continues, “{I heal wounds, I study atmospheric, bacteriological, viral, and dietary needs, and I ease suffering if the Uniter Educator Queens exert too much harm.}”
“Harm? The… Educators… They harm prisoners?”
“{Never intentionally! They use tried and tested methods to re-educate the race being United and raise their understanding of the Divine Queen and the Path.}”
This time, the human laughs, remarking, “She had me at ‘re-educate’. I’ve heard all I need to. We won’t be uniting willingly.”
“{Please! You don’t understand! If you accept the path-…}”
“No, you don’t understand. We all, Zarakyssn, Grodurn, Human, Cave Queen; we ALL have a right to live and walk our own paths. If you want to burn ours to the ground, don’t be surprised when some of us start a fire ourselves. You may not see it that way, but you’re conquerors, just like the Yarjen says. Maybe you’re a little more merciful than he describes, but it doesn’t mean you have the right. Every culture tells itself lies. Every single one.}”
“{Please, we only wish to save you from your blasphemy.}”
“Your beliefs are blasphemy to my religion. So, which of us is right? We’ll each chose ourselves. But, my religion doesn’t want me to kill and eat you. Do you see what I’m saying?”
She pauses. This creature doesn’t seem to want to listen. The Path is the only truth. It has been so longer than time. This human sees only herself, not the big picture.
The human sighs, redirecting, “Fine. We obviously disagree on that. So, tell me, why did you sneak aboard our big ship? Were you hoping you could steal one of these haulers back and fly to your sisters in the other fleets?”
She replies candidly, “{It crossed my mind. But, I CHOSE not to fight to escape. Please consider that. I stay because, here, we have two resistant races, plus the last surviving Nizzkurrezz, cooperating in ways I never see or hear of for both the Fieve-Grodurns or the Nizzkurrezz. I am curious.}”
The Grodrrn takes particular notice of her last statement. Captain Long asks, “{So, you’re spying on us? And, you’re telling me? Why?}”
“{I wish to understand WHY you resist unification. Why you would crave struggle and independence over peace and divinity. I wished to see if diplomacy is an option.}”
“Oh, trust me. Diplomacy is an option. But, we’ll never Unite willingly. Not by your definition. If diplomacy wasn’t an option, my friend here would have jettisoned you long ago.” She gestures at the Grodrrn. Captain Long then continues, “He also tells me your kind, the {Shining Daughters}, can communicate over great distances using some form of hive mind bond.”
She turns frustrated, complaining, “{I told him last time, I can’t feel the bond right now. It’s nothing but silence. It’s how I was able to decide to board your vessel, and to heal your fallen member. Whom I did NOT eat.}” She glares at the Grodrrn.
Long redirects, “Why should we believe you? We have no way of detecting your ability.”
“{I swear it’s the truth! By the Divine Queen’s light, may she shun me from the cosmos, I am cut off. Silence. I could be killed for telling you all I have!}”
Long looks over her shoulder at the Grodrrn. He leans close, whispering to her, but the Nizzkurrezz’s connection makes it heard, “Thot I theenk eez true. {Shining Daughters} notoriously secretive. Curiosity also forbeeden.”
“You think she’s telling the truth?”
He looks at her, studying her a moment. He replies to the human, “I THEENK we should not troost. Egg could have bond. Heeden soldier could have bond. Even Fievegal know too little abott {Shining Daughters}.”
She admits, “He… Speaks the truth. At least of my egg. If it is a Queen, the bond would start forming soon. But, for the connection to be strong enough to trace, a Queen must be educated and baptized on-…} She halts. It IS absolutely forbidden for her to speak the name of the Shining Daughter’s holy world to outsiders. She finishes, “{Our homeworld.}”
The aggravatingly astute Grodrrn retorts, “{Shining Daughters} nivor speak oov homeworld. Espishally name. Have her name homeworld. Or, bittor, have her geev coordinates. Fievegal records know its location.”
That can’t be true, can it? That would be the grandest blasphemy of all. If an outsider visited their homeworld,… But how could it be possible? She calls his bluff, “{You lie. No outsider ever walk the holy world.}”
“Copton Long right. All cultures lie. To selves most oov all. He stood een your Queen of Queen’s throneroom with a sword to her neck and forced her to call the truce.”
“{N-No! That is a lie! You are a deceptive blasphemer poisoning others with your lies! Th-The truce is because-…}” She really wishes she COULD congress with the others now more than ever. She knows the truce with the Fievegal exists large scale, but she’s not certain why. It can’t be his reason, though. It can’t.
It comes back to her, “{Because Chosen Queen see your Saurmynnyka as Queen, too. She is on the Path. That is why.}”
The Grodrrn laughs hysterically, stepping away a moment as he laughs in the boisterous Grodrrn way. She adds defensively, “{I-It’s true!}”
The Grodrrn is indisposed for a long time. Long states, “Just what little I know about BOTH of you, I don’t believe your version is accurate. Whether or not his is, I don’t see your kind seeing everyone as blasphemers and then accepting an outsider as a Queen.”
“{W-Well, if his story is true, th-then the Chosen Queen would have been tainted, a-and she would have to be replaced!}”
The Grodrrn finally says, “Woonhoondred ond three ‘walks on the Path’ ago.”
She fidgets with her hands. It can’t be true. It must be a lie. That’s about when she was laid, so she wouldn’t know. But, something deep in her subconscious gives her doubt.
No! She must NOT be swayed by these heretics. They are playing mind games. Elaborate mind games.
Captain Long breaks the silence, saying, “Look, we have limited options. Our safest route is to jettison you, dead or alive, and let you fend for yourself so we can go back to mining and just generally trying to survive. But, if you truly wanted diplomacy, I wish there was some way we could trust you. But, so far, we can’t. We don’t know how to block your ability, so keeping you is not an option. Anything to say for yourself?”
She thinks long and hard. What can she say? The human isn’t wrong. It refuses to see the logic of the Path, and it’s closer to the Grodrrn than she could ever hope to achieve. She looks at her egg, nestled in the small manger she made for it. It’s the only thing of any value she has; her last shred of status as a Queen. She crawls to it, and the Nizzkurrezz releases her. She carries the egg back, gently setting it on the deck before Captain Long, separated only by the plasma door. She puts the Nizzkurrezz’s arm back on her head, saying softly, “{I offer you the only thing I have. My last egg. Unless I can find a mate, that’s all that remains of my status as Queen.}”
Long again looks to the Grodrrn for guidance. He shakes his head, unsure. She continues, “{I swear it is true. A Queen is only as powerful as her army, and without my bond, I have none. Any surviving soldiers I have now will die before I heal, which I believe I will. But, until then, I only have this egg.” She strokes it gently.
The Grodrrn says quietly, “I not sure what to say. {Shining Daughters} give and trade nothing. Theess… oonprissedent.”
“{You have every right to hate and mistrust me. As blasphemers, that is given. But, I do want to speak while my thoughts are my own, alone. The Grodrrn speaks truth on one account. Curiosity is forbidden. So is giving gifts or status to blasphemers. When my Sisters feel my thoughts again, they will come for me. But, to kill me.}”
Long sighs. She says softly, “I won’t separate you from your child. But, if it gets that far, WE will be educating and raising it. And, as for you… we’ll try to figure something out.”
She stares in silent disbelief. She thought, at best, the human would give her a working ship to flee in. Instead, she can stay? And, she can keep the egg? Is this what binds these strange creatures together? She was raised that the hand of the uniters must be one of resolve. And yet, this creature’s hand is one of compassion. And, two different races go to war for that hand willingly.
Maybe this was the right choice after all.
***