~Skirting by by the skin of our teeth was our M.O. for years. The fleet narrowly avoided conflicts with the Zarakyssns, who took the place of the Grodrrns in doggedly pursuing us to the ends of the universe. We weren’t sure if the traitor or the stolen daughter were the priority being pursued, but the sheer volume of resources the Zarakyssns were willing to commit to the cause gave testament to the might of the Zarakyssn’s full horde.
And, not only that, it put into perspective how powerful the Fievegal must be in counter to be the only known empire to stand toe to toe and equal with the Zarakyssn horde.
There we were, caught in the middle. The temporary last of her kind Queen of darkness and caves, effective deserters from the most powerful military empire in the known universe, a treacherous War Queen from the largest empire in the known universe, and a tiny population of an endangered race clinging to survival with their help. Our fleet was ragtag by all senses, and nothing was easy. But, it was worth it. The struggle made us stronger. The chase made us faster. And, the assistance made us tolerant.
Mankind rarely faced extinction, and so, our enemies were always diverse; other races, other classes, other genders. But, when we teetered on the edge of non-existence, we traded enemies of self for one common enemy shared by every being of the universe; Death.
The oldest of common enemies became our own, and we worked to avoid his icy grasp and that of his minions.
But rare is the mission without complication.~
Little Bird sits in awe of the tiny classroom around her. She’s been going to makeshift classes for a while now, where Chief Grey insists she has to go to learn math and reading, and other basic skills he says all Marines need.
However, this class is different; it’s new.
And in her new class are the most wondrous of possible guests.
The Stranger’s princess egg hatched as well, and he named her Melody, and so now, Melody and Vivi are both in the class with Little Bird, sharing a desk because of their small size. The two cave princesses are adorable, with big eyes and cute faces, and their skin has turned a milky blueish color, following the nutrition they can have.
Along with them are a few other human children, as well as the two Grodrrn mommies, Neezha and Zhunkyk, holding their beautiful, speckled eggs. They don’t have to be in the class, but they wanted to see what the class will be like when their hatchlings are old enough, and provide feedback on what might be useful for a class teaching such different peoples.
Little Bird thinks the eggs are beautiful, and they have semi-soft shells, like a turtle, but hard enough to crack if the mommies aren’t careful, so they’re very protective.
And, last is the strangely shaped egg belonging to the Zarak Queen Syretia. Syretia isn’t like the other Queens. She wanted to study the humans specifically, and quickly fell in love with the independent thinking and merit-based lifestyle. She’s still kind of scary looking, but her egg looks like a semi-transparent purse. And, the egg is alone right now, since the Queen is still guarded by Marines, and she works as a doctor.
Vivi and Melody, even though they’re baby-age, are actually very smart, and can already count as well as Little Bird and the other students. Vivi is a little bigger than Melody, but they’re nice to each other, even though they usually bite each other to get attention. Because they’re always hungry, though, the teacher had to let them have snacks on their desks, which the other kids use to bribe the princesses for answers and for their attention, because many of the kids are fascinated by the small squid-like girls.
The teacher, Mr. Gustave, asks calmly, “Alright, children. Please write the proper name and spelling for this denizen of our fleet.” He shows a picture of a big reptilian standing on two legs wearing a green tee shirt and grey pants.
Vivi exclaims, “Jor!”
Melody adds in a deep voice -as deep as her tiny voice can- “Grrjiik noxziina mulk! {Kill her!}”
Melody and Vivi both giggle, and Mr. Gustave says, “Please don’t blurt out, girls. And no using other languages. I need to make sure you’re learning manners.”
Neezha quietly walks forward, kneeling next to the two princesses and whispering to them.
“I no mean that!” exclaims Melody. “Jor said it!”
Khla nods, “And he said it during a difficult time.” She gingerly touches the girls’ heads, adding, “I’ll teach you kind words later.”
Both princesses nod eagerly in agreement, and Khla nods at the teacher, saying gently, “Please excuse interruption, sir.”
Mr. Gustave nods, replying, “Thank you. Now, is everyone finished writing?”
The children all nod, including the two princesses. Mr. Gustave replies, “Good. So, who wants to share their answer?”
Several hands and tentacles shoot up. “Melody.”
Melody stands up, answering proudly, “Yarjie Jor is a Grodurr. Gee, arr, oh, dee, arr. Grodurr.”
“Very close, Melody. Very close.”
Vivi quickly whispers to Melody, and the latter quickly exclaims, “WAIT! I mean, Gee, arr, oh, dee, arr, arr, en! Grodurn!”
Mr. Gustave scoffs, teasing, “Very good, Vivi.”
Melody pouts dramatically, but smiles when the other children giggle.
Mr. Gustave then asks, “How do we address our Grodrrn friends on the ship?”
Little Bird puts her hand up excitedly. She’s the only one.
“I know you know, Maya. Anyone else? Any guesses?”
The kids look at each other. Vivi cautiously puts a tentacle up.
“Vivi.”
“Uuhhmm… Sir or Ma’am?”
“If you know, that’s okay and respectful enough. What if you don’t know them or they’re wearing armor?”
Little Bird keeps her arm up eagerly.
Mr. Gustave chuckles, “Maya.”
“If you know, their title, then their name, then sir or ma’am, and any other time, ‘shipmate’, ‘cause they’re our crewmembers.”
Mr. Gustave nods, “That’s correct. Navy treats the Grodurns the same as any of us. And, since they don’t have a lot of general titles for each other, the Grodurns have agreed to use ours.”
The class goes similarly for the first part, where the class teaches a little about the other races on the ship. Little Bird likes especially when it’s new information, such as the estimated age Grodrrns can live to, how big they get, how strong the Cave Queen is, and how tall Queen Syretia is and might grow to be. The neat little facts are fun, and are about some of her friends.
After, the class becomes like her other classes before, where they teach math and reading, mainly.
Vivi is especially strong in math, while Melody struggles a little. In fairness, Melody is younger, but both of them are still extremely smart.
After class, Melody, Vivi, and Little Bird wait on Jessica to retrieve the two princesses, so Little Bird asks Khla, “Helmdra Craw?”
The Grodrrn pilot turns away from the other pilot to ask, “Yes, Little Bird?”
The girl grins, happy that even Khla remembers her favorite name.
“Are you excited to have a baby?”
Khla smiles warmly and tenderly. “Of course. Is a dream I never dreamed I could have. I am excited for hatchling to be a part of this fleet.”
“Do you get scared?”
Her smile softens. “Yes. I think everyone gets scared at times. From Vivi and Melody, to Yarjen Jor himself. He’ll never admit, of course. But, everyone feel worry, especially for family. But, here in human fleet, we all work together. Is special.”
Zhunkyk nods in agreement. “In Fievegal, Chulm’chn responsible alone, maybe bondmate too. Boot, here, doctors check. Schools preparing to teach. Is very hopeful.”
“Can… I be friends with your baby?”
Khla smiles, lowering her face to Little Bird’s and exhaling warm air on her collar. The warming feeling is very gentle and touching. Little Bird feels a relaxing wave over her, and Khla says gently, “I would be grateful, Little Bird. I am thankful for your friendship.”
Little Bird smiles.
An announcement comes over the intercom, saying, “Helmdraav Craw, Helmdraav Nyonnys, jump bubble discharge tee minus one hour. Please make ready to scramble shuttles.”
“Please excuse,” states Khla to Little Bird. She waves at the bright eyed princesses, who wave at her.
Melody states confidently as the Grodrrns leave, “I no afraid of anyting.”
Vivi retorts, “You is so! You cry when Stranger leave you here!”
“I not scared! I want stay with Daddy! Da’s different!”
“Meemee say her kisses let her stay with me ALL day.”
“Daddy kiss me too!”
Little Bird giggles, and she says warmly, “School isn’t so bad. We get to be together!”
Both princesses grin, and they agree, “Yeah!”
Mr. Gustave suddenly runs back into the room and slams the door. He says, “Girls, get to the back of the room.”
Suddenly startled, they ask, “What’s happening!?”
“Just do it, please!”
A sudden slam hits the door, and voices shout from outside. Fear grips Little Bird. The voices sound angry, and there are lots of them.
She scoops up Melody and Vivi, carrying them to the far corner as Mr. Gustave instructed, and she hides behind his desk. She notices Syretia’s egg, though, unattended. She doesn’t know if she should try to help it or not.
SLAM!
The voices outside almost knocked the door free that time, in spite of Mr. Gustave trying to hold it closed.
“Aliens are destroying our chances at survival!”
“They’re wolves in sheep's clothing! Hand them over!”
“This is ridiculous! Don’t protect those monsters! Open up!”
Mr. Gustave growls disgustedly, “Waiting until the Grodurns leave to attack the smallest. Bunch of heroes here.”
“What do we do!?” cries Little Bird.
Both of the princesses are crying, and Mr. Gustave replies, “Stay there! It’ll be okay.”
She doesn’t believe him. It’s the same thing two adults she trusted more than anything said on Earth. It’s the same lie she was told before she was all alone, saved only by a teen waitress that stumbled across her. He has that same emptiness to the statement. He’s just as afraid as they are.
Little Bird’s eyes water. She’s terrified, and she just wants her family; her Marines. Chief Grey, Fisher, Fredericks, Dumas, the Coulsons, Long, Hancock, the Stranger, and even Khla and Dzor.
Her eyes widen. She says quickly to Melody and Vivi, “Princesses! Scream!”
The girls are crying, but the littlest Marine says again, “Please, Melody and Vivi! Scream as loud as you can!”
They finally look at her, still sobbing. Melody seems to get it first, and takes a deep breath. She lets out the loudest, shrillest, most ear-piercing sound Little Bird has ever heard. It’s physically painful, like a handful of needles in the girl’s ears.
Vivi joins her, and the noise is nearly unbearable. The two girls alternate breaths and screams, and Little Bird joins them.
Mr. Gustave falls to the floor as the door is bashed open and two people wearing black masks storm in, with many more behind them.
The ear-piercing screams of the two princesses gives the assailants pause, but they start towards the desk.
A surprising shape seems to melt into the room, though, darting from the hallway ceiling in under the top of the doorway -and over the heads of the other humans pushing in- and up to the ceiling of the classroom, dropping down quickly. It’s a gigantic insect wearing golden clothes, and she drops down to the floor, aiming and firing a weapon without hesitation at both of the assailants in the room as one heads for the girls and the other rears back to hit the egg sitting helplessly in a chair with a bat. Both assailants collapse, and the alien queen jumps away from the doorway, firing at the assailants trying to rush in after they size up the adversary. Some of the people scream and run away, but many are trying to attack the Zarak War Queen. She fires repeatedly, but they’re getting closer. She readies her secondary set of arms on some other kind of tool or weapon, but a new noise shakes the whole area.
A bone-rattling roar fills the hallway, and many of the people Little Bird can see fall as they recoil from the direction the roar came from. Little Bird recognizes the roar as the mightiest warrior on the ship, a surprising rescuer. No sooner, a shrill chirp-like roar also comes from the other direction, and the panicked assailants find themselves cornered.
Of course, Dzor is not a gentle Grodrrn by any stretch, and his massive form stomps in a sprint, bowling through the humans in the hallway like an actual bowling ball to paper pins. He catches the doorway only barely, heaving himself into the room as the humans cower away from him. He roars again, snatching the egg from the chair as the humans find themselves close. They’re now the ones screaming in terror as a massive creature bears his giant, sharp teeth and free-hand claws at them.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
One surprise attacker from the hallway attempts to club Dzor in the head with a bat, but the impact does nothing to the Grodrrn, and he simply looks over his shoulder. With a vicious swing, Dzor clubs the human with his fist, launching the attacker against the wall. The man crumbles to the floor, coughing weakly.
Dzor looks directly at Little Bird, and he states grufflyy, “Harmed.”
The tiny girl stares at him, frozen. He tries again, “Are you harmed?”
All three girls, Melody, Vivi, and Little Bird, shake their heads.
He then looks at Syretia, who is equally afraid of him, but he says sternly, “Check human male.”
Syretia looks at Mr. Gustave, but the teacher coughs, saying, “I’ll be okay. Thank you, Yarjen. Uh… Queen Syretia.”
Dzor nods, asking loudly, “Hallway?”
Little Bird can hear more human voices saying loudly, “GET ON THE GROUND! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!” These voices are Marines, and a swarm of humans meets the crowd of protestors.
A marine jogs in with a rifle ready, saying, “Hallway is contained. What’s the situation here?”
Dzor looks at the attackers that simply cowered before him, who haven’t moved since, and they flinch. He snorts, growling, “Contained.”
Vivi and Melody both hug Little Bird, crying again as they stay where they are. Marines gather the assailants, handcuffing them or binding them with anything they have, and shepherding them outside.
Vivi cries, “Yarjie Jor! Tank you!”
Melody adds, “Tank you!”
“Thank you, Yarjen Jor,” says Little Bird as well, sniffling.
The Grodrrn snorts, retorting, “I chase War Queen. She hear cry before I do.”
The three thank Syretia, “Thank you, Queen Syretia.”
Dzor snorts again, but he makes hand gestures at the Zarak Queen. She’s still nervously pinned to her own corner, glancing from Dzor to his hand. He looks at the egg, and she chatters and buzzes cautiously and nervously.
Dzor looks away, but he holds the egg towards her. He turns it over without issue, and she cradles it affectionately. She chirps and buzzes more happily. After a moment, she walks over to the three girls, shrinking a little cautiously as she passes Dzor, and she gingerly touches Little Bird’s head. The girl is admittedly nervous, but the bee-like Queen buzzes softly.
There’s a pause, and Dzor reluctantly translates, “She say ‘thank you’. You save daughter.”
Both Cave Princesses hug the queen’s arm, and Little Bird hugs her as well. Kindness goes a long way, and Little Bird is equally thankful the Queen heard them and arrived as quickly as she did.
Mr. Gustave remarks, mostly to Dzor, “Dumb luck I was coming back this way when the protestors came around the corner. They’re getting elaborate.”
Dzor grunts coldly, “Should all be try treason. Hatred of us one theeng, boot disroopt sheep operations should be unforgeevable.”
“We’re all cooped up in here and under a lot of pressure. People are bound to snap.”
“No ixcooss. Should follow sheep commander. End of discussion.”
“If only it were so simple.”
The massive Cave Queen suddenly squeezes through the door, striding nervously towards Little Bird. She doesn’t hesitate to lift the little girl, carefully and gently. She chirps and coos in her own language before saying, “Okay? Okay? Hurt?” She inspects Little bird closely, as well as prodding the two princesses.
All three insist they’re okay, and the Queen hugs them. She keeps holding them as she asks Dzor, “Why they attack children?”
The Grodrrn commandant replies, “Children weak.”
Mr. Gustave adds, “They’re easy targets. I think they had someone watching the hall for when Craw and Nyonnys left, since even they are too much for normal humans to handle.”
Dzor snorts, growling at the last of the attackers being filed out, “They lucky. Eef I een chorge, I keel them all on spot.”
“Me too!” squeaks Melody.
Mr. Gustave says a little sternly, “You don’t mean that, Melody. Grodurn military policy is different. Yarjen Jor, thank you for showing restraint in my classroom. Violence may have uses for good, but there isn’t always a need to kill.”
Dzor crosses his arms, retorting, “Serves porpisses, though. Fewer leekly to try.”
“We’re working on it. The main instigator is still unidentified.” The newest voice to speak is Lieutenant Commander Kane as he enters, visibly showing relief as he sees everyone is okay.
“DADDY!” exclaims Melody as she springs from Little Bird’s grasp to leap to him, covering a surprisingly long distance. He catches her, and she excitedly crawls up his arm and neck to hug his face.
“I’m happy you’re okay, Princess. Yarjen, thank you.”
Dzor snorts, nodding at Syretia. “She first to arrive. Protect all children.”
Kane looks at Syretia, and he speaks to her in her language. She seems surprised, and she hugs her egg warmly, chirping back at him happily. Dzor won’t look at her, but he doesn’t say anything mean, either.
Little Bird asks, “Stranger?”
Kane looks at her, and she continues, “Why don’t the bad people go to one of the other ships? Why do they hate Melody and Vivi, and the Queens, and Craw and Jor, and the others?”
Kane’s expression softens. “Hate is an overextension of anger, and an inability to separate individuals from objects of hatred. Many people can’t distinguish between the Grodurns that want to help us and the ones that want to hurt us, as well as the Zarakyssn Queen who helps us and the ones that want to hurt us.”
“But, the Cave Queen never hurt anyone! How come they want to hurt her and the princesses?” The little girl sniffles, and Vivi gingerly hugs her neck.
“Doesn’t matter. Hate is blind to logic. People hate human people just as easily as anyone else. Some people simply succumb to the toxin and try to spread toxicity rather than acknowledge their own problems and accountability. We’ve always been that way.”
Dzor scoffs, adding, “That eez not unique human trait, een my ixperience.”
Kane nods, and Little Bird asks, “Isn’t there any way we can change their minds?”
The LCDR puts his hand on her shoulder, as the Cave Queen hugs her still, and he replies softly, “People have tried since the dawn of time. In the end, the best thing we can do is to try to keep the message of compassion and love stronger than hate, and our friends will join us.”
Dzor adds his own wisdom, “Compossion eez weakness. Boot, is not bad weakness. Perhaps weakness encourage to grow stronger.”
“He’s right. We all have things we care about to protect, and so, we grow stronger to protect them.”
Melody coos as she hugs Kane’s ear, “I become strongess and proteck daddy.”
He chuckles and replies warmly, gingerly petting her with his finger, “Sounds good, Melody. Protect me well, please.”
Vivi adds, “Yeah! Me too! I’ll pwoteck everyone!”
Little Bird smiles. She replies softly, “I took an oath. I will too.”
***
Fisher and Dumas ready their gear as Khla readies the shuttle they’ll be taking to retrieve whichever ship is first found, while Helmdraavv Nyonnyss will be taking a Grodrrn shocktrooper and Fredericks. Their missions are ultimately simple; reach the other ships, regroup them with a third ship, and then the Polonia will join them. This will account for all but one ship, which will be retrieved by the first shuttle complete.
Ideally, they can retrieve the ships without issue, as they should be within a few astronomical units of each other. This is rather large in the basic scale of space, but tiny in the grand scheme. It’s almost the equivalent of being a city or maybe a state away for an airplane. But, the inherent risk will never go away.
Khla reports back to them, “Jump completed. Communications established with fleet ships. All ships intact. Mm… Argonaut reported trapped in gravity well. Polonia, Manta Ray One, please adivise.”
Long’s voice comes back, “What are the risks of extracting a ship from a gravity well?”
Dzor’s voice can be heard in the background of the radio, “Possible not salvagable by teem shoottle reach. Recommend focus on other sheeps first. If holding altitude, will steell be holding when can be rescued. If not, waste of precious time attempting to rescue.”
Long sighs. “I’ll talk to Captain Decklette. Is there any reason they can’t use their jump drive in atmosphere?”
Dzor replies, “Can be doon, boot reesky. Some atmospheres chain reactshoon. Othors reflect EMP and interdict booble on mistake. Fievegal believe theess how Zarakyssns deescovor interdiction ticknology original. Addeeshunal, atmosphere eenside booble expand violently when booble dissolve at end oov joomp, ond rupture hull eef dense enough atmosphere. Too many unknowns. Boot, may be worth reesk. Up to Copton Decklette.”
Long nods. “Manta Ray One, Polonia; retrieve Gaia and regroup with Providence. Manta Ray Two, retrieve Andromeda and regroup with Providence. We’ll head to the Honolulu and regroup with Providence. Then, we’ll discuss travelling to orbit near Argonaut and attempt rescue or evacuation, whichever is necessary.”
Khla replies over the radio, “Manta Ray One retrieving Gaia, aye. Manta Ray One requesting permission to deploy.”
After Nyonnyss makes the same confirmation, Long states, “Manta Ray One and Manta Ray Two, you have permission to deploy. God’s speed, teams.”
Dumas remarks in the cabin only, “Anyone feel more scared doing this than fighting bugs?”
Fisher replies, “No. But, it’s up there.”
Khla replies as she navigates the shuttle, “Fievegal ships almost always jump separately, so we’re familiar with closing distance and regrouping. Not much concern. Real concern is Zarakyssns. They know we still close. And, Sherryn’s likely heard pulse. Yarjen claim they don’t have robust FTL ability, but we should be cautious. Fortunately, Yarjen Jor and Helmdraavv Nyonnyss speak Sherrynn.”
“What about you?” asks Dumas cautiously.
“I… know words. I still hatchling during Sherrynn conflict. Grow up study for humans.” She drops that line of thought quickly, saying, “We small enough not to draw attention, hopefully, but they may become aggressive if they detect full fleet together.”
Fisher remarks, “Here’s to hoping they leave us alone and chase off the Zarakyssns instead.”
“Hear, hear,” replies Dumas. Khla adds, “Agreed.”
Fisher asks curiously, “Any idea what kind of aliens the Sherrynss are? How big, how many teeth, etcetera.”
Khla replies honestly, “I’ve only read a few entries on them. Small. Insectoids, I think. They about human sized, but with long legs similar to Cave Queen, but exoskeleton. Definitely not Grodrrnoid at all like any of us. They much like, mm… Earth spiders, I think. Or crabs. Not sure which. They have strange range weapons, though. Fievegal never get chance to study. Mm… I think uses some sort of pull to pull particles through target, if that makes sense. As said, not sure how works. In space battle though, I’ve heard Yarjen Murf speak with Yarjen Craw of battles where asteroids pulled from long way away by weapons, and devastate Fievegal light ships.”
“Great. Space spider wizards.”
Dumas chuckles, “Talk about a sticky situation.”
“Don’t even start.”
Fisher then approaches Khla, asking to change the subject, “So, Craw, if you don’t mind my asking, is there a reason you didn’t try to talk your dad into staying?”
She glances over her shoulder at him, replying, “He is Baskylla Jardzen. He has duties to Fievegal, which serve interests of Grodurra. I have duties here, which serve Grodurra AND humans.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
She sighs, “Yes. I ask if he consider staying. But, he wish to see Miss Laurel and her child to Fievegal safely.”
“Huh… Gotta say, all things aside, he seems like a pretty honorable dude. Good offset to Yarjen Jor.”
Both Dumas and Khla chuckle, and she replies, “Yarjen Craw is very honorable. Not just as Chulm’chn, but as Yarjen as well. Almost as honorable as Yarjen Murf.”
“Murf was the huge guy, right?”
She nods. “He older than Yarjen Craw, and once served as Baskylla Jardzen, but he demoted.”
“Really?”
She nods, “I was never told why, though. Usually, though, Baskylla Yarjen is highest rank Grodurns can achieve, unless they have direct ties to Saurmynnyka or Haeroshaws.”
Dumas asks, “If you don’t mind, how come you call your, uh, Hulm’hin by his title, rather than, I dunno, ‘Chulm’hin’, or ‘dad’ or something?”
“He is military superior. Military hierarchy MUST come first. Is looked less upon that I even serve on his ship, but we never had issues.”
She turns back to the front, saying, “Jump nearly complete. Stand by.”
The two marines chuckle, and Fisher jokes, “I’m not even sure why we’re here. Not much a couple of rifle slingers can do in a space dog fight if we get into one.”
“I request. Murf once say, never fly alone if don’t have to. Co-pilot or radio operator or even reassurance can make difference. And,... You protected me more than once. I appreciate you.”
The light fades, and the three survey the space where they drop out of jump. Sure enough, the Gaia is visible, floating idly in the glow of a distant, bluish-hued star.
The communication channel instantly blinks, and Khla opens it. Captain ___________’s face appears, and (he) says a little nervously, “Please tell me this is… Craw, right?”
Khla nods with a smile, “Helmdraavv Craw reporting as ordered to retrieve Gaia and regroup with Providence.”
Dumas says warmly, “We’re here too, Cap’n, in case that helps.”
He chuckles, “Very much so, thank you marines. Please don’t get me wrong though, thank you for coming, Craw. Admiral Long’s message seems to make enough sense. You pulse and we’ll jump, correct?”
“Yes, Captain. Moving to position and commencing pulse shortly. We have only digital visuals for now, though, so please alert if visuals change.”
“Right right, Grodurn ship. Got it. So far, we’re clear. I’m recalling all hull watches. We’ll be ready when you are.”
“Affirmative. Stand by for pulse.”
Khla activates the the gravionic pulse, and Fisher watches the pulse scan across the detector screen. Different colored dots appear rather quickly, with tags in Grodrrn describing what they are. One is large enough to be a planet, or the star itself, and is probably the same one visible on their initial jump.
The Grodrrn pilot transmits the coordinates to the Gaia, and the Captain says, “Coordinates recieved. Jump drive charging. Stand by for jump.”
“Aye, Captain. Do NOT mistake coordinates. Will position us dangerously.”
He nods, “Understood.”
The next jump goes similarly smoothly, and Fisher remarks, “That’s it? You just make jumps until the fleet arrives at location?”
Khla nods. “Advantages and disadvantages to all warfare tactics. But, jumping this way often lets ships arrive from vastly different directions when engaging a world. This can offset planetary defenses and catch off guard. Especially because ships will be arriving only moments apart, typically. During fleet pursuits…” She trails off.
Dumas remarks, “Come on, Helmdraaff. We’re friends now, right? We know you don’t mean anything by it at this point.”
She cautiously continues, “For fleet pursuits, arriving apart effectively places ships in a scattered arrival, which places for flanking more often than not.”
Dumas asks, “Isn’t there risk of ships… I guess, arriving on the exact same spot?”
She nods. “Is always a risk. Is why Fievegal so cautious when approaching a planet. Very easy to arrive inside planet or moon or asteroid. Recon flights especially used for ensuring approach. Small jumps far more accurate than large jumps, and emergency jumps like human fleet have been making have been lucky.”
Fisher jokes, “Good thing there’s more space than stuff, I guess.”
Khla nods. “This risk, obviously, is why Argonaut is in position it is in now. We all drift apart, and because of length of jump, Argonaut drifted closest to planet. Lucky did not emerge inside planet.”
“How often does that happen, in your knowledge?”
“Not often for Fievegal. But, has happened.”
Fisher gently taps Khla’s shoulder with his fist, saying, “Well, way I figured it, we got extra lucky. We got the best pilots, best Yarjen, and best shocktroops the Fievegal had, I reckon. Minus Khla and Mrff, I suppose. But, they’re on our side-ish, so we’re not bad off.”
She smiles, replying, “Thank you for praise. Human fleet offer adventure and opportunities Fievegal lacks, obviously.”
Dumas remarks, “I don’t want to be the butthole, of course, but I was curious… Do Grodurn females lay infertile eggs if they haven’t… uh… bonded?”
Khla giggles, asking teasingly, “Asking if I am like chicken, Dumas? Hoping for Grodurn omelette?”
All three of them laugh, and he admits, “Well, not gonna lie, I’d be curious…”
She looks ahead, monitoring the ship’s readouts. “Advantages and disadvantages to all things. I’ve heard Haeroshaws sell unfertilized Saurmynnyka eggs. This tells me yes.”
“Oh… That kinda sucks. Human ladies just bleed for a week and want to murder everyone around them.”
Fisher scoffs, and Khla looks at them, smiling gently, “I do not know for certain what is to come, but I ask you let me see how I feel before ask for omelette.”
Both marines turn more serious and gentle, and Dumas replies, “I actually was expecting you to say no. Earth snakes don’t, I think, so I assumed. Not to be heartless, but if you feel nothing for an otherwise empty egg, I don’t think you’ll have trouble finding something to do with it.”
Fisher changes the course of the conversation, saying, “I’m more interested in meeting your hatchling and seeing what a baby Grodrrn looks like. Hopefully, it’s one I can beat at arm wrestling.”
Khla and Dumas chuckle warmly, and she says, “Thank you. Is exciting, but I am trying to be cautious about optimism. Just because embryo developing does not make a child yet.”
Dumas jokes, “Besides, it’ll be half Jor and half Craw. Baby Craw will probably be able to take both of us straight out of the shell.”
Everyone chuckles together again. Khla teases, “There is hope for Fisher. I hear Zhi are very weak and fragile-seeming. Maybe only match full grown human male.”
They laugh this time, and Fisher retorts, “Challenge accepted, Craw. Challenge accepted.”
The Gaia’s bubble dissolves, and the Providence is turning in a slow pivot.
Captain Murdock’s face appears, and he says, “Argo just issued a distress call. We’re jumping now. Get close.”
Khla asks, “What of other ships?”
“They’re regrouping at the Argo as well.”
“Is it an attack?” asks Dumas.
“Unknown. All they issued was the distress beacon.”
Fisher whispers, “Something isn’t sitting right.”
“Agreed,” whispers Dumas.
Khla asks quietly, “Why say that? Argonaut is likely losing altitude.”
Fisher looks at her, replying, “Why wouldn’t they tell us so, then?”
There’s a moment of quiet in the shuttle. No one wants to leave an entire ship to the confines of oblivion, least of all marines, but Fisher isn’t wrong. Something is off about receiving only a distress beacon from an entire ship that was communicating with Admiral Long less than a couple hours ago.
If the ship was completely under attack, wouldn’t those ships have appeared on the scan? Or, wouldn’t any EMP disabling normal communication also disable the beacon?
Murdock, however, has gone into action mode. His ship is the towing ship, the repair ship, and the all around support vessel. He’s prepared for a lot, and has the experience to back it up.
But are any of them really ready for what’s waiting?
***