The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

Preface

This is the second series of The Chronicles of The Tribe. In this first Chronicle of this series
we travel some decades into the future from where Chronicle 5 left off. In this series I have tried to
keep a more rigid grammar structure. However; form time to time, and usually because the speech
pattern of a character is awkward or unusual, the grammar may drift. To that end I am aiming this
series more toward older children, as they will appreciate good grammar whereas younger kids just
want to hear or read a good story. As before there will be five Chronicles in the series numbered 6
through to 10. The first of these is made to set the scene for the rest, so not much violence to begin
with, however I cannot say now if that will be always the case. Sexual content where the storyline
requires, will be implied rather than be explicit. (Interpretation is left to the reader’s imagination).

I had intended that the first series could be used by teachers/schools as an aid to teaching
good and bad grammar. It is up to the tutor as to how to interperate that. But in lieu of a suggestion,
I hope pupils might want to try and correct the grammar without destroying the flow of the story
and without making the characters sound too “posh”. I believe it can be done, and the pupil should
learn from the experience. I would also suggest a cross lesson project incorporating English, Art and
Media studies. For example; the writing of a script to an animated film based on the chronicles, the
creation of the artwork etc. and the use of Computer time and media work to produce the finished
article. If permission to do that is needed; especially if the completed work is to be used to raise or
accrue funding for a community project etc., I will try to arrange with the publisher that a means of
contacting me for a permission document issued and signed by me to be given.

This second series may well be the last Chronicles I will write, but I still have scope for other
related stories, a follow up to New Pastures is under consideration. I hope you will enjoy these
stories as much as the first set.

My Regards,

Malcolm Wright (Author)

The Chronicles of the Tribe - Series two

Chronicle 6 – In Continuum

Chapter1

A Blast from the past

Terraforming the old home world was taking longer than expected. The Impact object had a
core of highly radioactive elements and had triggered some unusual reactions with elements already
present in the planetary crust, magma and core. This had resulted in some serious overheating and
disruption of the crust. A few areas of the crust were viable but no sign of further solidification had
surfaced until very recently. The team currently overseeing the project had been drawn from a
number of the worlds within The Unity. Representatives from Flutvar, Aleutia Colony Provox, Mira in
the Achenazi sector, Terra Prime of course and some of the Buraxin Alliance worlds. The current
command team consisted of two representatives from the former Dark Empire, a Nephel called
Humerus and a genetically modified human called Georg Zanti. The latter representing the
Governance of Kiel, one of the worlds of the Dark Empire which was now referred to as The Sonoran
Trust.

The current commander of the Terraformers, an Aleutian called Fenton Briggs, was studying
the latest scans of an object found on the recent crust formation of the Arctic region.

“When did it show up?” he asked

“It just appeared on the scans twelve hours ago” replied
Geochemist KKtrrrfft, one of two Flutvarn on the orbiter Van
Gogh. The Flutvarn was using a translator ring “The really odd
thing is its composition”

“Oh! What’s odd about it, It’s unusually dense, but…” Fenton
started to say but was interrupted by KKtrrrfft

“Its shell is made of Krall metal! And, judging by the temporal
signature of its outer layers, it’s over 150,000,000 years old!”
the poor Flutvarn was almost purple with excitement.

“WHAT?? But that would put it planet side around the time of
the extinction of the Dinosaurs!” Fenton dropped the scans on
his desk “Has anyone from the other survey teams confirmed this?” He asked as he hurried to the
Trans-pad deck “Come; we need to get Georg on this as soon as possible” he added. Georg was the
team’s expert on everything Krall.

“I took the liberty of calling him and Humerus from the Equatorial orbiter. They’re headed to Terra
Edo now!” KKtrrrfft said and followed Fenton to the Trans-pad deck.

When the Great Exodus was forced upon mankind due to the impending impact of a comet
fragment, it was agreed that the planet be re-terraformed to make it habitable once more. To this

end a huge geo-stationary orbital platform was placed above the planet, it was named Terra Edo for
obvious reasons. It was equipped with all the latest Terraforming equipment, Atmospheric orbiters
for cleaning the atmosphere of contaminants, latest models of the advanced Mechanoids and Bio-
technology from Venus Colony, now called Venosia Prime. The orbiters were vast, oversized versions
of hovercraft with extremely powerful Gravitic Nullifiers. There was still a long way to go to get the
planet ready for seeding with any life forms higher than microbes. It had taken longer than expected
for the crust to stabilise enough to allow the Landers to start their work. Volcanic activity was still
rampant, and would be so for decades yet to come. As part of the Terraforming process, the planets’
rotation was greatly accelerated. This led to a shift in the tilt to almost vertical. A day lasted only
thirteen hours at current acceleration. It was surprising that anything of the former terrain survived,
but a small seed of the original crust had in the form of an equatorial island that was slowly being
eroded into the magma. However; one area around the North polar axis had stabilised. This “land
mass” was “floating” on a globe of boiling molten rock. Only in the last few days had the Southern
pole shown any signs of forming crust, but the seeds of a Southern polar land mass were there, as
were a group of small islands around the equator, these being a volcanic chain. Old Terra was now a
memory.

Georg greeted them as they entered the Bridge of Terra Edo.

“From what we’ve been able to gather, the object must have been deep down by the core. Our
Terraforming efforts must have dislodged it” he said. “Humerus has taken some Mechanoids down
to see if it can be accessed in any way” he added.

“Surely; Humerus can’t stand the conditions down there” KKtrrrfft queried as only a Flutvarn could.

“He’s got a Krall Exo-Suit with him, so he should be all right. The object should be visible on the
opticals shortly” Georg said as he adjusted a scanner screen. “There! See!”

The Mechanoids Optical units were capable of relaying what they saw to the Comms on
Terra Edo. The object had grounded on the southern tip of a promontory of basalt that had cooled
sufficiently to be firm enough for it to remain there. It was a huge sphere, perfectly smooth and
about three thousand feet in diameter.

“I’m relaying the signals my suit is picking up” came Humerus’ voice over the comms. “It’s kicking
out several kilowatts of broad spectrum static” he added “I can’t get closer, even the suit is having
difficulty filtering the interference – Great Maker! It’s vibrating the whole area. I can feel it through
the suit. Not exactly audible – sub sonic like pressure waves…” His voice started to break up.

“Can you get a better contact?” Fenton asked the comms technician.

“Sorry sir, it’s a problem with his suit. Look one of the Mechanoids has him in its Opticals!” The
young girl replied

On the view screen Humerus was seen indicating a problem with the Exo-Suits’ antennae.
One appeared to be bent. Another Mechanoid was attempting to repair it. The ground shook making
the first mechanoid turn to look at the object. It was covered in a writhing glow of multi-coloured
plasma. It rose about fifty feet straight up and hung there like a giant Christmas bauble. The
watchers on board Terra Edo gasped collectively. Lightning sparked from the bottom of the sphere.
Humerus and the Mechanoids dashed for the Lander. The Lander took off heading to Terra Edo.
Behind them the sphere followed their upward path. The Lander docked and its occupants headed
to the Bridge. The sphere took up an orbit two kilometres away from Terra Edo at the same altitude.

“It’s just hanging there, the static has stopped and… Something’s happening on its surface, up to our
right!” said the Comms technician.

Part of the surface started to darken slightly, shimmer, and then solidify into what appeared to be a
large docking port.

“Do you think that thing is manned by any chance?” KKtrrrfft asked

“After all this time! I doubt it” answered Humerus as he entered the Bridge “It’s more likely to be an
automated system. Still; it would have been great to actually meet a living Krall!” he continued. A
debate ensued as to what to do next. The teams’ Medical expert, Lana Treggin, a Buraxin, entered.

“That thing has no radiation at all now!” she announced

“Then it’s safe to approach?” Fenton queried.

“You misunderstand me; there is a total lack of radiation. There should be at least a background
level” she corrected him sternly.

“But how is that even possible? Everything has some level of background radiation. Is it absorbing
radiation? Humerus; have any of your people ever seen anything like this?” Fenton asked rounding
on the bemused looking Nephel

“Never! Although the Osir have ancient tales of a race that could mask their presence they were not
the Krall. That was a race known only as the “Old ones”” Humerus offered.

“Humerus: have you always had that blemish on your arm?” Lana asked. Humerus looked at his arm.
It was reddened in a streak from his hand to his elbow. Only now did he realise it was painful.

“I raised my arm as the sphere rose up, instinctively of course. But I was in the Exo-Suit?” the
puzzled Nephel exclaimed.

“Come down to Med Bay and I’ll do some scans” Lana said as she took him away

Georg spoke next “KKtrrrfft; have we any of those old Flutvarn encounter suits?”

“I believe so, but we hardly use them these days. We have the Unat shields for protection.” The
Flutvarn replied

“Humerus was protected by Krall metal and some sort of radiation caught him. I just want to be
better prepared. We’ll use the encounter suits and the shields. Fenton do mind if the two Flutvarn
come along?” Georg asked Fenton

“I can’t see where any caution from me is going to stop you. But take a couple of Mechanoids and a
Comms tech with you. There’s a shuttle docked on the side facing that thing. Take a couple of the
Venusian Globes with you as well. It’s about time we had a closer look at this” he turned to the
young girl at comms “Send the data we have so far via the Hive-Net to Terra Prime. I’ll be down on
the observation deck Oh; and send copies to Lunaris Edo; they’ll be quicker with a brief analysis of
the scans etc. We may need their help later. Call me with their reply” turning back to the others he
continued “What are you still standing there for? Go on get a move on!” The others departed for the
starboard docking port.

Preparations were underway for this expedition when Humerus turned up with his arm in a
sling. Lana had found a break in his right arm and had set it. The blemish was indeed some form of
radiation scarring, but the type of radiation was still unclear.

“Looks like I’m going to have to sit this one out” he said “I’ll correlate the data from you and the
Orbiters; they’re going to train scanners on the sphere too. Safe journey” he said leaving for the
Comms on the Terra’s Bridge. The others continued with getting ready for the trip. Georg was having
difficulty getting his encounter suit onto his large human frame. His cursing was making the Flutvarn
gurgle loudly. The Female Flutvarn, Stthhhrff, who had opted for an easier human name – Chloe –,
came over to assist.

“Although these suits expand or contract to fit all sizes, they can still be…
fiddly, for other races to put on… There is that better?” her wide froglike
face beamed a very broad smile.

“Yes; much better” was Georg’s soft reply. He had, since being a young
boy, always been awkward around females. He realised he was blushing.
“Thank you Chloe”.

“I think it would be better for the comms personnel if we use my
adopted name” KKtrrrfft said “it would prevent too much sibilance and
feedback” he continued “You should call me Kelvin” He too beamed a
broad smile. One of the Mechanoids made ready the Venusian Globes
for transit and the crew of the shuttle took their launch positions.

All was quiet as the shuttle flew out to the sphere. Their craft approached the “docking
port”. Close up; the size of the sphere and the port dwarfed the tiny shuttle.

“Something’s happening” Kelvin said and pointed at the lower right quadrant of the docking port.
“Its tilting back into the sphere!” he added. “It would appear we are invited in”

“Come into my parlour said the spider to the fly” Georg mumbled adding “An ancient Earth proverb I
was taught in childhood. It means we had best be wary!”

The Mechanoid Pilot manoeuvred the shuttle into a flight path that would take them into the large
aperture. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Suddenly the craft shook “We’ve been
caught by some sort of traction beam” the Pilot said as the controls jerked out of his grip. Over the
local coms came a series of garbled clicks, beeps and whistles.

“Let them take over Pilot” Georg said adding “I doubt very much that they would crash us into the
bay walls” then turning to Kelvin “Automatics, must be very sophisticated. Did the translator rings
get any of that stuff from the coms?” he asked

“Negative here” Kelvin replied

“I got some electronic message, sir, landing coordinates” said the other Mechanoid.

The tiny craft was expertly landed on a wide ledge about half way up one side of a vast illuminated
docking bay. Glyphs and other markings could be seen through the shuttles windows.

“Those aren’t Krall Glyphs, they look more like a form of Cuneiform, but they don’t form characters
as such?” said the Achenazi coms officer, Bria Star Flower, “just varied strings of three symbols.
Those larger Glyphs are similar to ancient Minoan forms!?” she added

“So if this isn’t Krall technology, which race did make this?” Chloe asked

“That’s one of the mysteries we’re here to find out” Georg replied. They disembarked and set the
Globes off ahead to what appeared to be a doorway set into a recess in the wall.

“This material isn’t metal, it’s almost like vitrified rock” Kelvin noted as they examined their
immediate surroundings. “The Hagunenon were capable of this kind of work, but they had a very
distinctive script. I’ll send a scan back to the Terra’s hive for comparison with known examples” he
continued.

Humerus interrupted, “That could be connected with the tales of the race the Osir called the Old
ones. I’ll see if I can set a coms link up with Fendor Prime and the Osir institute. They might be able
to shed some light on this” he finished saying when a series of further clicks and beeps came over
some hidden speaker systems in the bay.

“Excuse me, sir” said the Mechanoid that had picked up the previous communique “We are to stand
back from the doors, they open outward. We are invited in!”

They all moved back just enough for the large, heavy looking doors to open. They did so silently and
slowly revealing a dimly lit chamber within.

Into the Lion’s den.

The doors closed behind them and the lights slowly brightened. The room was dominated at
one side by a large dais decorated with more Glyphs and some bas relief images of winged beasts. At
the end of the room opposite the entrance doors were another two sets of doors. In the centre were
some chaise long, and low square tables. On two of these was some glass like structures. The ceiling
was also covered in images, depictions of various life forms and varied Glyphs associated with them.
Set into one of the walls was a frosted glass fronted cavity. It appeared to contain a recumbent form.

A blue light beam scanned them all in turn. An image appeared in one of the glass
structures, it was an image of Sol system, but from hundreds of millions of years ago.

“Forgive our sudden intrusion” came a soft voice from above them “We have analysed your
communications so as to better relay our… intentions” it continued. The timbre was slightly metallic.
”I am what you would call the vessels… computer”

Georg spoke up first “What exactly do you mean by intentions?” he asked worriedly

“Oh; they are not hostile, merely that we are curious, as perhaps you are. My creators left me on
this world damaged by a collision many millennia past. It is not the first time we have been here…” A
distant chime sounded “Please wait here I have to attend to some other matter elsewhere in the
vessel. Please make yourselves comfortable!” and with that the strange voice left.

“I don’t think this computer’s thinking straight. Millennia, when it should be millions of years. It
doesn’t appear to be in control of things properly” Chloe whispered

“I agree; we’d best watch our backs. Kelvin are the Globes working?” Georg asked as he signalled
them to look at the ceiling

“Yes; they’re working fine, though I still can’t get any readings on the radiation meter!” Kelvin
replied

They examined their surroundings for any signs of monitoring equipment. Bria was close to the dais
and noticed one of the figures was slightly out of alignment. When she touched it she found it could
be moved. With a turn it inverted and a clunk came from inside. A panel recessed and slid away. It
revealed a concealed control panel. “Hey; look at this!” she called to the others.

“Great Maker! That looks like one of the Hagunenon Cryo-system control panels found on that
moon. It’s much simpler though. Try the controls to the top right Bria” Chloe prompted. Bria turned
two of the controls and a loud hiss came from behind them. They turned round to see the frosted
glass slide away. Inside the cavity was a most curious form. It wasn’t Hagunenon, they were
reptilian. This creature was almost feline looking in its features. It was still held in a stasis field.

“Host or prisoner?” said one of the Mechanoids, voicing what the others were thinking.

Just then a small box like object on wheels trundled in via one of the other doors. It bristled with a
complicated array of devices and telescopic instruments, some of which looked decidedly menacing.
It whisked its way to the inert figure. Another chime sounded nearby and the voice was back. “I’m
sorry about that, I’m kept busy by all the demands from the vessel’s systems and… Oh! Ah! I see
you’ve managed to find her. She’s formerly a “pet” of the crew, she was injured in the crash and I
had a droid put her in the replenishment chamber. I’d completely forgotten about her. I’m
dreadfully sorry…” the voice stammered.

“Computer; are you aware of how many millennia have passed?” Georg asked

“I’m not sure my circuits were also damaged in the crash. I… Hum… Sorry I have no idea!” another
chime sounded “Oh my circuits! Whatever’s wrong now?” and the voice left again with an electronic
moaning sound.

“I’ll see if I can get a Mechanoid crew to come over and assist with
maintenance, sir” said the Mechanoid that had piloted the shuttle.
The “droid” had finished reviving the creature and whizzed away
back through the door. The cat creature stirred and moaned a little.
The creature was not uneasy on the eye, having a lithe female
looking form, as already stated the being was feline looking, and
covered in a golden brown short length fur, with a luxurious “mane”
replacing what would have been hair. A bikini style top and a sarong
style bottom formed the only apparel. Her “padded” clawed foot
paws were in a simple open sandal. She was opening her eyes – they
were the most stunning green eyes any of them had ever seen. She
emitted a low growl when she finally managed to focus on them
then a yelp as she stood up and clutched her head.

“Weerow, frrrr hufft!” were the first spoken sounds she made. She
staggered and Georg and Kelvin rushed to catch and support her.
They carefully guided her to one of the seats at a table. She didn’t resist their help, rather she
seemed distracted.

“What do you make of all… this Kelvin?” Bria asked

“I… well… I have to say I’m stumped. We have an obviously sophisticated and advanced piece of
technology; with a defective control system that, although artificially intelligent, seems to not know
itself that it is malfunctioning. An alien that is not one of the builders yet is intrinsically linked to the

place. We need to get a larger team here.” Kelvin said when he had gathered his thoughts. “We
need experts in fields that we have no skill in.” he added

Fenton interrupted over the coms link. “I’ve requested help from Venosia Prime and Terra Prime. It
will be a few hours arriving; so I suggest you get mobile and document/scan as much of the place as
you can. Humerus is in contact with the Osir and the Unat, apparently the female is from a race
known as the Lemurr. They are an ancient race; only a few dispersed colonies still exist in this sector.
I’m sending you a translation matrix.” he concluded and their translator bands updated their
language databases. The Lemurr shook her head “How long was I in stasis? And who are you?” she
was looking at Georg with a look that could have meant she wanted to eat him.

“Er! We don’t know how long you’ve been in there. And I’m called Georg Zanti, I’m an Aleutian.” he
replied and introduced the rest of the party. She called herself Meorr of Leon; she had been on an
exploratory survey of the region of a distant star system called by her people Hurrfarr Seven. She
and her teammates were captured by the creators of this craft. When they explained how many
millions of cycles had passed since the craft had crashed into the Earth, she moaned and emitted a
low keening sound.

“Meorr have you any idea who or what these creators were?” Bria asked.

“They never referred to themselves by anything other than images relayed telepathically. They killed
three of my teammates before they realised that their minds were too powerful for our feeble
brains to accept their imprinted thoughts. They split us up between various craft and I never saw any
of them ever again” She began to sob and keen again. Fenton’s voice came over the coms.

“Can you get the Computer to try linking with our Hive-Net? The Techs think the two systems might
be able to interact!” Fenton sounded confident.

“We’ll try but it seems too distracted by system failures to understand we could help in some way”
Georg replied.

“There is another shuttle coming from Jehovah Orbiter with Techs, engineers and Mechanoids. They
should be able to help. But we need to get that Computer focused on sending technical data to the
Hive-Net. Terra Prime is sending support staff. We have been told to suspend Terraforming activities
forthwith and concentrate on the Sphere!” Fenton exclaimed.

Georg, Meorr and Kelvin went back to Terra Edo as the other crews arrived. Over the next
few days Meorr explained more of her time on board the sphere. When asked what her captors
looked like she could only reply

“I never saw them out of their “Metallic Encounter Suits”. They would only leave them when they
went back to the bridge, an area out of bounds to all but them. I got the impression that our
environment was toxic to them” She did take solace that some of her people survived and had
created thriving colonies. “May I be allowed to contact some of the colonies?” she asked after some
time.

“I don’t see why not” replied Fenton “I’ll see if I can get a coms link set up. Are your quarters here on
Terra Edo to your liking?” he continued

“Wonderful” she replied grinning and showing a disconcerting set of three quarters inch incisors
“Have the research teams located my den yet?” she asked

“Yes; and they asked me if there are any belongings you want specifically” Fenton added as Humerus
entered the bridge.

“Meorr, I have managed to find a distant relation of yours in the Osir database. She is Catrah of
Venarr out of Leon of Meniss” Hermes said having trouble with the Lemurr genealogy. “She is at a
colony in the Venarr system about thirty light years from the galactic rim” he continued

“Meniss was a great, great nephew, as you would say. His line is an old and noble one. His line were
gene techs, they gave all my people the gift of long lives. I myself am, physically, only eighteen
thousand of your Earth years, but I suppose, technically I am many millions of years old because of
the stasis. She, Catrah sounds like she would be an interesting choice of re-contact” she offered in
response.

“18,000!” Fenton and Humerus stammered together. That bombshell had them completely
flummoxed. Over the next few days many communiqués passed back and forth around the Hive-Net
and Terra Edo. At one point it was decided that the sphere should be moved to Lunaris colony for
further research in a safer environment so Terraforming could continue. The Sphere’s computer,
now fully functional and in control, agreed as the Sphere’s presence in the upper atmosphere was
having a dissatisfactory effect upon the crust formation in the tropical region of the planet below.
Fenton was being recalled and his replacement in command, one Alicia Thrung, part Untharan, part
Genovan, and would arrive in three days to continue the terraforming. He and Meorr were to go to
Terra Prime on the next available transport.

When Meorr heard of this she insisted on going to the Sphere to retrieve some personal files from
her “den”. Fenton accompanied her. He had found himself completely taken by this cat-woman,
despite the massive age difference, he found himself drawn to her in a way he could not explain, and
in a way that he had never had with any woman in the past. He was totally smitten by this feline
beauty. Meorrs’ “den” was larger than he had imagined, measuring some twelve, by fifteen, by ten
feet. The walls were lined with various printed fabrics; a strange heady scent filled the air. Lighting,
apart from isolated spots, was low, but still allowed for easy viewing. One of the highlighted areas
was a desk in one corner of the room. On this was a low flat console with some kind of flat panel
input tablet and a large oval flat display. Meorr went over to the desk opened a draw and retrieved a
crystal rod about 6 cm long. She placed this in a receptacle on the console, and proceeded to type on
the input tablet. Strange glyphs appeared in columns on the display as she typed a command
sequence.

When she finished; she pressed a button on the console and the display showed a graphic of
two columns, one filled in solid the other as an outline. As they watched the first column slowly
changed filled level as the other column gradually filled in.

“It’s going to take a while” Meorr said as she searched a recessed cupboard. She pulled out a small
box like object. Two cables and a long trench style overcoat. “Thank Leva; they’re still here” and
fished out some plastic looking cards. “My family records” she said. While they waited, Meorr put a
card into a slot on the box. She hooked one of the cables to a head band and plugged it into the box.
The other cable she did the same to and offered it to Fenton. He took it and put the head band on.
She touched a recess on the side of the box and…

Fenton was suddenly transported to an alien landscape. Everything around him seemed real,
and yet, somehow strangely familiar. Meorr was beside him in this frozen landscape, she seemed to
be almost ready to cry.

“This is my family homeland. That young cub over there is, or rather was, my younger sister Keerah.
The older male is my Grandfather and his son my father is chasing Keerah. Mother was the one
taking this Memo-Graph. Over there is the family home” Meorr said and she looked sad

Fenton wrapped an arm around her. She stiffened slightly, then relaxed and turned to him.

“I’ve experienced images like this before, as projections over
the Achenazi Translator Bands, but never in such … Amazing
detail” Fenton exclaimed ,adding “Although the bands’
principle use is translation, with practice, is it possible to
relay a telepathic message. I understand now why you
wanted to retrieve these files. Family is an important drive
in my people also”

“I have lived so long away from them, and now they are
long gone, it will help me to grieve and come to terms with
my current situation. This does a similar job as your Translator band” and she pointed to a gem
encrusted collar. “It was designed by my people many decades before we went out into space to
explore. It too can be used for telepathic transmission. It would be interesting to find out if the
devices are compatible” she grinned again with that vicious looking set of incisors.

A ping signalled the completion of the file transfer. The image was gone in an instant and
they were back in the room. She picked up the rod and a tray like holder and yet another cable.
Signalling that this was all she needed she scanned her “den” one last time and picked up a yellow
hold all. She put all the objects inside, put on the overcoat, and they left for Terra Edo. A transport
vessel, the Lenora Vidal, was waiting for them to take them to Terra Prime, formerly Terra Nova, to
meet with the Unity council before Meorr could be taken to meet with her relative in the Venarr
system.

Hermes was going with them; he was meeting with his House Brother, Jupiter, who had
news from The Sonoran Trust. He seemed uneasy around Meorr, giving the excuse of generations of
mistrust between birds and cats in explanation. This was completely lost to Meorr, her race not
having dealings with avian species, since no equivalent species evolved on her home world. Perhaps,
like Fenton, he found those incisors intimidating and disturbing. Meorr seemed not to care either
way. She actually became quite “chatty” with the two of them during the journey, relaxing and
becoming more open about her time with her “captors”. They always used the metallic encounter
suits when outside the bridge area. She had gathered that they did have a physical form, but could
only call them, by association, The Elders, since they were a very ancient race indeed. They were
spectacularly advanced, technologically, biologically and sociologically. They used many droids and
sub species as manual labour. Droids being used where there was risk to biological life. They treated
the galaxy as some sort of zoo, themselves as keepers, curators or historians. They had examples of
many of the older races in captivity. The Hagunenon were latecomers to their collection, and the
most resistant to their mind control. The Elders used them for heavy construction of facilities,
defence, and where sheer brute force was needed.

“That would explain the wall surfaces inside the docking bay aboard the sphere” Fenton said
somewhat absentmindedly. She in turn asked lots of questions about the Unity adding that her
people would welcome becoming part of it.

“We are very socially ordered peoples. I can see my kind getting on well with the Flutvarn. What was
it you referred to them as? Ah! Yes; Frogs with a sense of fun. I can see that working” she emitted a
loud purring, her species equivalent to laughter and grinned once more.

“Where the dead lie sleeping”

With Fenton, Hermes and Meorr away to Terra Prime, work on the sphere was taken over by
Dr Galena Fry and a specialist study crew from Lunaris Colony. The sphere had been landed in Mare
Imbrium (Sea of Rains) near to Sinus Iridium escarpment. A former site for a Lunaris mining
operation, it represented the safest place for further study. The Spheres’ Computer had been very
cooperative, surrendering vast amounts of accumulated data. It had also opened up more of the
ships internal structures to the exploration crews. Apart from the Sphere’s bridge…

“I’m at a loss as to why my unlock commands are failing to unseal and re-atmosphere the bridge” it
exclaimed “It’s as if a second A.I. unit has taken complete control” it added.

“Have you tried changing the translation index?” asked one of the Techs, Rupert Fire Star an
Achenazi from Mira. “The Elders could simply have used a colloquial dialect change” he continued

“I’d thought of that, but I have no incite as to what colloquial language they could have used. I
wonder if I tie-in your hive-Net if together we could crack it” Computer responded

“Well; at this late stage, I can’t see why it shouldn’t, but we have only a limited amount of time
before some Demolition expert decides to blow the doors open” Rupert said despairingly

“OK! here goes nothing” the Computer said then made a strange creaking sound as it linked the
Hive-Net into its systems and set about the task. Some three hours later a faint click came from the
seal on the door.

“Mission accomplished” the Computer said in a way that suggested relief “Atmosphere normal for
Human habitation! A strange choice of local dialect, Mexican-Spanish from the mid-west?” it added
somewhat puzzled.

The huge doors slid open silently, like all the doors inside the Sphere. The room was well lit
and huge. Inset into three of the walls were large frosted glass fronted chambers, twelve in total,
with vague forms recumbent inside. The control panels appeared dead. Twelve consoles on an arc,
and a smaller console to one side, with requisite chairs formed in front of a huge oval, slightly
curved, display. The Glyphs were of the Cuneiform type on all but one of the consoles, the smaller
one. The latter had a different form of glyph. It was almost pictorial in form, but unlike any seen
before. This panel was active. And a small display was flashing two lines of glyphs. They formed
groups of three and four glyphs separated by a single block of solid colour. The Computer had not
seen this script either, so could not help translate. At one side of the huge room were a series of
alcoves with ledges in and a strange sort of head gear in the ceiling of each. On the ledge of each
alcove were padded seats and a swing down bracket with what looked like a keyboard inset into the
bracket.

“The Elders appear to have been about ten feet in height judging
by the proportions of the “furniture”, and roughly humanoid in
form” Rupert said into his wrist recorder. He went over to one of
the Frosted enclaves. And pressed what appeared to be a door
locking mechanism. The door, much to his surprise, didn’t open
but slowly unfrosted revealing an impossible sight.

“Great Maker!” he exclaimed as he looked upon the form of one
of the Elders “Now YOU are a long time dead indeed!” In front of
him was a being of tall slim build, with hands terminating in three
long digits and a long bony thumb, long thin limbs and grey-blue

in colour and of light musculature. The chest cavity was large by comparison and the neck long and
slender. The head had an elongated skull structure with almond shaped eye sockets. The lids were
closed, but Rupert could imagine the cold black eyes they held. Its mouth was a basic lipless slit, but
it was parted revealing two rows of sharply pointed, pin like teeth. Even as dead as the creature
seemed, its sheer presence commanded respect.

“Well, well, well! Computer; patch my visual unit to the coms at Lunaris and ask that Dr Galena Fry
sees this immediately!” Rupert smiled wryly.

Dr Galena Fry was the current Unity Chief Xeno-Archeologist. She had only been in this role
since the retirement and subsequent death of her Father, Dr Felix Fry-Longfellow. He had taken the
role some three hundred years earlier. Thanks to longevity treatments and long periods of enforced
Stasis (She was an unruly teenager with a history of criminal damage) she was able to outlive both of
her parents disassociating herself by dropping the last part of the hyphenated surname. With
nothing else to do she had gone back to her studies and earned many degrees and the respect of
most of the scientific community. She had specialised in the Ancient races of the Galactic rim and,
when the opportunity to study a race as old as The Elders came, jumped at the chance with all the
fervour of a Vynerian Hell Cat. (Note by the Author: The Vynerian Hell Cat isn’t actually a cat, it just
looks like one. In fact it’s a form of Omnivorous Rodent, with a viscous streak, similar to the
Tasmanian devil and that creature’s nasty demeanour, mixed with the tenacious grip of a Pit Bull
Terrier.)

The image that confronted her over the screen on her desk had struck deep into her love of
the quirky. She had studied all the ancient reports of the race that Old Earthers called “The Greys”
for one of her course studies as a student. The Old Earthers had got one thing wrong with all their
conspiracy theories. These “Greys” were giants, and this intrigued her.

“Rupert; I’m coming over, DON’T touch anything till I get there. Damn those Old Earthers and damn
the Roswell incident. We have to keep a lid on this until we can get confirmation.” She grabbed her
field kit and barged down the corridor to the Trans-Pad station.

Rupert grinned to himself. It’s not as if they were going anywhere, the Greys were obviously
dead, and just one look at the decayed circuitry of the chambers was the tell-tale that they perished
long ago. He began to have mischievous ideas as to pour more frustration on his hated superior. An
idea struck him.

“Computer; are these chambers sealed? Is there any trace of the original atmosphere?” he asked

“They are hermetically sealed and locked from within. There is a trace of atmosphere, but it’s nearer
a vacuum inside.” the Computer replied

That made Rupert grin even wider. The results of Galena’s overenthusiasm could end up having
hilarious consequences. He began to giggle, and then stopped as he heard the Xeno-Archaeologist
approach the chamber. Galena entered the bridge and froze. The dimensions of the space
overwhelmed her for a few moments. Her jaw dropped. The walls were covered in inlayed silvery
glyphs from various races. She shook herself free of the spell that transfixed her. She reached into
her kit and retrieved a small device. Pressing a series of buttons she quickly did a scan of the form in
the recess. Realising there was only a trace of atmosphere she took a further reading. Rupert’s’ heart
sank; he was not going to get any fun out of this after all. Galena approached the chamber further.

“Have a Biology Tech bring an atmosphere replicator here as soon as possible Rupert, and,
congratulations on making a vital discovery.” She said after a while. “I have enough of a reading to

get a sample of their atmosphere to replenish the chamber. The occupant is in deep stasis” she
added

“But I thought… Oh of course the Roswell findings, brilliant, absolutely brilliant” he realised just how
much he had underestimated his boss. He ordered the Bio-Tech and the equipment then set about
documenting the entire bridge environment. He and Galena were in the final stages when the Bio-
Tech and equipment arrived. The Bio-Tech was a young Genovan female called Elisa Hu-Lang. Rupert
had dated her once… he had ended up in hospital with severe bruising to his ... more sensitive parts.
He whispered to her out of earshot of Galena.

“When did you get here? I thought you were on Halfords Moon” he quizzed

“About four days ago, we’ve been kept busy analysing the data from the rest of the Sphere. I’ve
been meaning to look you up after our last encounter, mainly to apologise for my… enthusiasm. Did I
hurt you much?” she said in response.

“Three weeks in intensive therapy along with some very nasty bruising, but I should have expected
that from a Genovan. I had been warned. That aside, I… Could we meet up later?” he asked in reply.
She winked and signed four thirty.

The replenishment of the atmosphere took about an hour. Galena didn’t want to take it too
quickly so as to avoid any damage. An engineer from Venosia Prime was going over the circuitry
belonging to the alcoves. He sat on one of the cushioned pads for ease of access to a service panel.
Vaguely listening to the conversations going on around him his concentration lapsed. His hand
slipped while he was taking a reading and the probe bridged two contacts. The loud crack of the
sparks made all in the room turn. Too late for him to react to, the strange headgear dropped onto
his head. His body went stiff and the machine activated. Images and text flashed across the inbuilt
visor screen. Whining sounds could be heard. His face muscles flexed violently then relaxed. His
mouth opened and he drooled. The head gear returned to its previous position and the engineer
slumped forward to the floor his extremities twitching. A medic was called for and arrived with two
orderlies and a stretcher. All eyes were off the Stasis chamber so nobody saw the faint glow that
appeared from the ring around the head of the being inside. On the rear inner wall of the alcove
flashing symbols appeared, they appeared to be counting down. The Stasis chamber control panel lit
up and started a chime. The Spheres Computer spoke softly.

“That’s not supposed to happen. It would appear your friend has somehow activated the revival
process, I do hope he will recover. The last time I recall this happening was with a Hagunenon Guard.
The poor creature went quite insane; the masters put him to sleep. They worked on his mind while
he slept and managed to correct most of the damage. The Guard was never quite the same. Always
walked with an odd hop after that!” …

“Out in the cold, cold, snow”

Meorr was impatient. She had been
civil when answering all the Unity’s Councillors
questions, answering them as able as she
could. Some questions she had no means of
answering not having the requisite knowledge.
Fenton felt her frustration, and sympathised.
He approached her where she sat on a window
seat overlooking Central Square.

“Do you want something to drink? There’s a part decent Mescal bar just down that side street
opposite” he offered, pointing the direction of the bar to her

“Are you trying to get me drunk? No; scratch that… Show me. I’m getting to the point where I might
just do something I regret. Why ARE they so slow?” She quickly adjusted the overcoat she was
wearing. “I can’t get used to the poor warmth.” She mocked shivering and grinned.

“We are in Nova Thule, they like the weather on the chilly side here. Look, I’m sorry they’re taking
their time. It’s a matter of diplomacy and protocols. You’ll get your visit soon. Now; let’s get some
warm Mescal into our systems. The Achenazi make it from a form of Cactus…” he explained about
the Anasazi and the Osir etcetera as they walked. The bar was not as crowded as he’d first thought.
The crowd consisted of mostly traders and a few tourists out for a walk on the wilder side of the
Home World Tour. They found a table at the rear facing the doorway and Fenton signalled a waitress
over. She handed them a Menu listing all the various mixed drinks available and the varieties of pure
spirits. He ordered them two Balerophon Sunrises and further explained that raw or “neat” Mescal
was extremely potent.

“Our people have our own varieties of Alcoholic drinks. “The Low Free” of our society make a spirit
so powerful it can polish steel” she boasted as the drinks arrived. Fenton sipped experimentally from
his sugar rimmed tumbler of a garish cloudy yellow fluid. Meorr took a swig from hers and coughed.

“I tried to warn you, Mescal has a fierceness all of its own”. She sipped more slowly and let the warm
liquor flood some feeling back into her chilled body. “I was a young Cadet when I had my first
encounter with this rogue temptation. My peers thought it would be a good idea for me to sample
the raw spirit. Two glasses and the next thing I remember is waking up in the Infirmary with some
very worried looking compatriots. I never did get an explanation for why I was naked from the waist
up and wearing a grass skirt from the waist down.” Meorr giggled as she pictured a young Fenton in
Polynesian dress. He was pleased that she was beginning to relax.

“My Father saw to it I had my first taste of the spirit when I was still a cub. I would have been around
thirteen by that time and just starting to take on my “colours of growth”, as you would say, I was
entering into the beginnings of puberty. It was only a mild spirit called among my people Thaghara,
fermented from the bark of one tree and the fruit of another. The liquor is distilled from the results
of the fermentation. It’s heady, sweet and deceptively potent. I drank almost a full flagon before the
first drink hit me like a Gudarah fist. I was ill for most of the next few days. It readied me for life’s
trials though.”

They made small talk as they sipped their warmed drinks. Fenton had not been allowed into
some of the Meorrs’ sessions with the Council, who were currently meeting here in Nova Thule, so
was interested in what the Council had asked her about. At first she was reluctant to say, but as the
Mescal took hold she relaxed and told him. Fenton’s’ communicator bleeped, it was a text message
from his friend on Lunaris Edo. As Fenton read the message his eyes widened. Meorr looked at him
worriedly as he continued to show strange expressions as he read further. When he finished he sat
back in his seat with a blank look on his face.

“What was in the message from ... Leah?” she asked “Good news or bad?”

“They managed to get into the Bridge on the Sphere. They found some of the crew in stasis …
They’re “Old Visitors” from my peoples distant past!” he said quietly. He then explained about
mankind’s encounters in its distant past with races from the stars. Recounting the Unat, the
Vahamat, the Osir and, more importantly, the mysterious Greys.

“We knew of their presence only by hearsay, until the incident at a place called Roswell. Back then
the bodies recovered were of a sub species, created as servants, as we now know. They were short,
we never suspected a ten foot version of the species!” he concluded.

“I never saw them out of their encounter suits. Perhaps the smaller Greys were “engineered” to
withstand your atmosphere. Now I know what they are, I can recall my Grandfather telling me of
legends relating to my peoples first encounters with Sky Gods” she related to him “If I get my visit I
could scour our peoples archives for those stories there may be some clue as to why they visited
Earth so long ago” she offered.

“Let’s get back to the Council chamber and I’ll relay this message, it may well be the tipping point to
getting you that visit. It’s a pity your Archive-Net isn’t compatible with our Hive-net, things would go
easier. With that they finished their drinks and headed out into the cold, wintry environs of Heput
Plaza and the trudge through the snow that had drifted in from the walls of the city.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch …

Galena had visited the recovering Engineer in the Infirmary. It was two days since the
incident and, with help from the Sphere’s Computer; he had been revived with only a minor tick. He
did recover with a considerable amount of implanted knowledge, but, because his brain had not
been prepared, he could only recall fragments of information, and they popped out in random
bursts. Apparently the Alcoves were some form of inductive learning device. The occupant of the
Stasis Chamber was another matter. The revival process was taking longer than expected. Because
the Greys atmosphere was toxic to humans, mostly Methane with some Hydroxide vapours, it had
been proposed that, when the Grey recovered, that he be transported to Titan whose atmosphere
might be compatible. She was becoming more and more frustrated. The bridge consoles had been a
nightmare to decode by trial and error. One Tech had mistakenly pressed a control thinking it was
for opening the lower airlocks, however, all she succeeded in doing was venting the contents of the
Sphere’s waste storage chamber all over the surface of the moon. Amusing as that was it didn’t help
with the complicated process of obtaining enough of a working knowledge of the cuneiform script to
create a translation matrix. Galena herself was frustrated at not being able to make tests of the
beings mental capacity. The Alcoves would have taught her much, but … or rather until, the
Computer and the Hive could work out a means of mitigating the ill effects, learning more about the
Greys and their history etcetera was pretty much “On hold”. Then word came that one of the other
beings locked in a dead Stasis chamber and was indeed dead. However; when it was taken from the
sealed chamber it began to decompose too quickly for any viable remains to be obtained. What little
material that was saved, a few teeth and bone fragments, showed that their skeletons were
reinforced with some kind of metal oxide, probably Beryllium, which seemed odd and pointed to a
home environment that was exceedingly strange. Her coms pager buzzed to draw her attention. She
looked at the display. Councillor Hubert Lestrange from Terra Prime wished to see her. She headed
back to her office and let the Councillor know he could meet with her there. He responded with a
reply that he was inbound on the Cruiser Jeramiah out of Mira. He’d be with her in about three
hours. She gathered her thoughts and some materials that she thought may prove useful.

“Rupert; I’m getting a visit from Councillor Lestrange. He’s inbound from Mira. He’s the Achenazi
representative. No idea what he wants, but can you help the Bio-Techs finish off with that trace
signature you found in one of the Alcoves?”

“Certainly; I’ll forward the results from Bio-Lab 4 when they come through. Initial tests show it to be
similar to a race known by the Buraxin, Insectoids from a rim world. It looks like our Greys were
using them for some purpose” he replied.

“Thanks Rupert. It looks like I’m going to be unavailable for a while, so you’re in charge.” She said.
She hated handing control to anyone, but Lestrange was a very important dignitary and as such
demanded all of her attention.

On board the Jeramiah; Hubert was going over the Achenazi archive reports from early in
their people’s settlement of Mira and other nearby star systems. These Elders or Greys seemed to
correspond to a race encountered living on a moon in the Eriade System. That moon, called locally as
Ferisa, had an atmosphere that was predominantly Methane and Nitrous Oxide. These species could
be related, though the races mentioned in the Achenazi archive were Blue skinned and about six feet
tall, green skinned and four feet high. He wanted to see one of these Greys for himself …

Chapter 2

Heading home?

Permission came quickly after the news Fenton brought to the Council. Meorr could go and
meet her relative and they needed no more answers from her. Fenton arranged for them both to
travel out to the Venarr System on a Buraxin Trade vessel the H’Gru’ Fen. Its captain was an old
friend of Fenton’s and only too willing to take them having a need to go there with trade items from
one of the other rim worlds.

“We’re taking some spices and agricultural machinery Fenton my old effendi” Jicklac Parr told them
as they boarded. “You’re Lemurr aren’t you Meorr. I’ve not had many dealings with your kind, but
those I’ve had were most useful!” he added

“Thank you Jicklac; the last Buraxin Trader I encountered had been captured by The Elders, whom
I’ve since been told are called The Greys, he was subjected to mind control and enslaved by them. I
must add that the control was not perfect and he rebelled so much the Greys wiped their encounter
from his mind and let him go. I believe his name was Yassmar Oleg” she replied.

“Ah! Yassmar. Poor fellow, he turned up out-of-the-blue at a seech on one of our outer colonies. We
couldn’t make head or tail of him; he kept breaking into a language we’d never heard. He seemed
completely mad. Now, from what you’ve just said, I see why. Poor soul, I’ll let our Council know. He’s
still around. The Greys must have given him some form of longevity treatment that means he never
seems to age.” commented Jicklac and had one of the coms crew send a message. “Now please; let
me show you to your quarters. Ma’am, yours is this way. Fenton I’ve put you in with Ger’hun. You
remember our Untharan doctor from your trip to Howrah Lee colony out by the former Gantrax
outpost. You two will probably have a lot of catching up to do no doubt” he added laughing.

Fenton remembered only too well how he and the “The good Doctor” met. He was playing
Jakkra Stones with one of the natives and Fenton needed treatment for a burn he’d received helping
a Biologist collect plant samples. That particular specimen exuded a sap that was highly acidic and it
rotted through his gloves. Ger’hun was amiable enough, but had not had a great deal of contact with
Humans, and made the mistake of thinking Fenton was a female at first. When the embarrassment
was over, he and the doctor got on well. Fenton found the quarters spacious enough, and put his
things in a locker. He then went in search of the ships Med Deck to see his old friend.

Jicklac took Meorr to a separate part of the ship, used for when the crew had family
travelling with them. He explained that, as he was not taking his wife and daughter with him, he was
letting her use his daughter’s quarters. Seeing Meorr settled, he was heading back to the Bridge
when Meorr stopped him.

“I have a ... somewhat delicate request. I understand that Buraxin women share one trait in common
with the females from my species. My kind have a long period between mating cycles, as do your
women folk. When Fenton and the Doctor have finished their reminiscing, could you ask the Doctor
to visit me to discuss my needs?”

“We don’t usually discuss matters of that nature with other races, but I think I understand what you
mean. I’ll see to it – discretely of course – and, rest assured, I won’t embarrass both you and Fenton
in the process. May I suggest you rest; we will be taking an evening meal in around two hours. We all
eat together in the ships Mess. Shahaan ‘a’ Salaam, as we say. Good luck and good fortune.” He left
and Meorr closed the door behind him…

Soulful pools of Jet

The Grey had begun to show signs of wakefulness before a
shuttle to Titan could be arranged. Its eyes were open and it had
made three attempts to communicate. Two of these were
incomprehensible images of unrecognisable objects. The last was
as near to a verbal message as it could muster in its weakened
state. It would appear to be a request for one of the metallic
Encounter Suits. Some of these had been found in a recessed
chamber behind the large display of the Sphere’s Bridge. The
Sphere’s Computer suggested that it might be wise to let the
atmosphere change and all other personnel leave while the Grey
donned its suit. Galena could not get rid of the image of those huge
black eyes looking at her. Without any features such as pupils, an
iris or corneas, it was hard to interperate just what those eyes were
conveying. A snippet of an old romance novel popped into her
head as she compiled her notes. “Soulful pools of Jet”. It actually
seemed very appropriate. For some inexplicable reason she felt sadness when she looked into the
Greys’ eyes.

“Rupert do you have the latest scans of the Greys’ anatomy?” she asked over her desk intercom.

“Yes I do! And they are… I’ll bring them along. You might find some of the head of particular
interest.” he replied.

Galena thanked him and sat deep in thought. What tales this creature could tell? What sights had
those eyes seen? It would be a while before any kind of rapport could be achieved. The matter of
telepathic communication, even if by the Achenazi Head Bands, was being debated by all the
disciplines of the Lunaris scientific contingent. She was at an impasse. It was at times like this she
missed her old mentor, Chandra Ziv. He had been a calming influence on her and was probably only
one of a handful of people she could talk and relate to. He had passed away only three months ago.
A thought struck her with all the force of a blow to the chest. She quickly accessed the Hive-Net
Archives. Yes; she was right. In the personal notes Ziv left were some names she recognised, one in
particular stood out. It was an old student of her Father, Isaac Nusal-Hallaran, a descendant of one
of the original Archivists. As luck would have it he was stationed on Venosia Prime. His speciality was
a study of Autism and Latent Telepathy. She prepared a communique and saw it sent from coms. She
was hoping that he would be suitably intrigued enough to offer to help. She had seen vids of his
work among the Autism plagued children of the Denarii from the Wishbeck System near to the Orion
sector. These poor kids would drift in and out of states of perfect clarity and communication to deep
retreat. When they were fitted with Achenazi Head Bands, they showed an innate ability to send

images telepathically over the Head Band’s transmitter. Perhaps a similar technique could offer
some sort of interchange between Human and Grey.

Rupert arrived with the latest scans and they both sat down together to look over them.
Most of them were unremarkable but one caught Rupert’s’ keen eye. “That’s an odd configuration
for any brain” Rupert said after some time studying a scan of the aliens’ upper skull cavity. “Take a
look at the top left quadrant” he said handing the scan to Galena. She took it and transferred the file
to the large viewing screen. She zoomed in on the upper left quadrant of the image.

“Oh I see! It looks more like a section of micro circuitry than brain matter. Could it be possible, I
wonder, that they replaced damaged tissue with bio-electronic circuitry. If so; it’s incredibly fine
work. You can hardly tell where real tissue ends and the artificial stuff starts. Absolutely remarkable,
not even the Unat and Osir are capable of this delicate work, despite all their eons of Genetic
Manipulation. Good find Rupert; you’ll be mentioned in dispatches.” Rupert was dumfounded, she
was praising him! Wonders would never cease.

“If I may, Dr Fry, I recall a Bio-Geneticist from one of the Unat worlds, did a thesis on the integration
of Biological and Electronic systems. She is touring the Achenazi Confederation Science circuit.
Should I send her a message of this discovery she might be able to help?”

“You could be onto something there. Do it; but make it discreet. We could put a few noses out of
joint with the teams coming from The Unity. Oh; and keep these scan files secured somewhere safe
should she want to join in this investigation. Nobody but we three should have any knowledge of
this, understood?” she said, giving him a wry smile and a wink. …

The evening meal aboard the H’Gru ‘Fen was a very social affair. Reminiscent of the ancient
Bedouin Nomads of the deserts on old Earth, dishes were served all at once with the individual
taking samples of each to their platter. Unlike Arab custom of eating with one hand, the Buraxin
used fine, delicate utensils. There were some dishes that would not have been out of place in a
Bedouin tent at meal times. There was steamed fish, various meats etcetera, and a selection of
deserts and speciality dishes. One Buraxin speciality was the dried, desiccated torso of a desert
lizard, similar to a Skink. The taste was a mixture of bitter and sweet. Usually it was drizzled with a
sauce. Eating it dry was a brave thing to do. It was rumoured to have aphrodisiac properties. Jicklac,
as host, decided on which speciality guests were allowed to try. He’d kept one especially for Meorr.

“Meorr, I would deem it a great honour if you would partake of the Hummerslaang Pie. I think you’ll
find it to your liking” he said as he summoned a server with the dish. Hummerslaang Pie was
primarily a form of steamed pudding. It was made of some form of curdled milk, a sweet gelling
agent usually a type of seaweed, rice flour, two kinds of citrus fruits and a fatty suet. On the whole
the ingredients could be from any world’s recipe list. It was the exotic spices that made this pudding
special. The actual spice list was a family secret mix of ten spices, passed down through the
womenfolk for generation after generation.

Meorr tentatively took a portion onto her desert platter. She sniffed it, the heady aroma
made her salivate. The taste explosion and the texture were such a surprise she coughed. It was
creamier than she had expected and lighter too, like a mousse. She had many tastes to assimilate.
First a honey, then cinnamon, then a citrus tang. The sensations went on and on. The crew waited
for her to eventually speak.

“I thought my first taste of Mescal was a shock! But this…Wow!” she tried another mouthful and
nodded her approval. The crew erupted in a round of cheering and applause. One of the unveiled
women beamed a smile. She had been the one chosen to cook the deserts. Her name was Lehran;

she was one of the few women in the crew. Unlike Bedouin and Muslim women on Earth, Buraxin
women were treated as equals in every way. Her present duties were to keep the ships records,
trading licences etc. in order. To be asked to cook for guests was deemed a social honour and she
had wowed the crew before with her ingenuity when it came to spicing up bland rations. She was
also the Doctors nurse on this occasion. So it would be no surprise later when Meorr was ushered
into the Med bay to discuss her “needs” Lehran was there. The two were of a similar physical age,
and knew of the difficulties of “women’s problems”.

“This is really embarrassing. Our two races share long periods between viability cycles, but I’m
worried as I haven’t had the usual indicators that a cycle is due. In fact it’s well overdue” Meorr
confided with Lehran.

“Does your species have a “menopause”?” Lehran asked

“Yes, but we don’t usually enter that phase until late maturity. I’m worried that The Greys may have
done something to alter the cycle. Could you tell from a scan if I’m … Pregnant? I recall my older
sister went through something akin to this when she was with cub” Meorr added

“The equipment on board is cumbersome, but I think I can adapt its use. You will need to disrobe.
Does your species have any taboos I should be aware of? “Lehran asked sympathetically.

“Nudity within the same sex group and in private is not an issue, public nudity on the other hand…”
Meorr said. The two giggled.

“I’ll make sure we’re not disturbed. It’s good to have someone of a similar spirit aboard. I can get
along with the crew, but I miss the intellectual equality. Most of the other female crew are more into
chatting about boys to be interesting, “you’re a breath of fresh air”, as the Terrans say” Lehran
laughed.

The examination and tests went smoothly. It would take a day or two for a final result, but initial
findings pointed to Meorr not being pregnant. It was a safe conclusion that The Greys had not
impregnated her artificially with a hybrid foetus. It was worrying that she was not following a natural
cycle, but this could be for a number of reasons. Lehran was of the opinion that it might be down to
Meorrs’ prolonged stasis.

Over the long flight, some three weeks, with trading stops along the way, the two women
grew close. Meorr opened up to Fenton more too. She even teased him about starting a
relationship. However; the trip to the Venarr system was approaching an end and the tentative
reunion process put a chill to that idea. Catrah had sent contact details to the Terran Embassy on
Venarr with a detailed map of the colonies remote location.

“Wow; that is remote. Why there I wonder?” Fenton mumbled

“Good hunting terrain probably!” Meorr countered “Only joking” she added “My kind like open
spaces to relax in. We are descended from a Hunter/Gatherer society” she continued.

“I’m glad to hear it. But seriously, do your people still hunt… Even just for sport?”

“Not since we developed synthetic food replacements and our longevity treatments. The urge to
hunt was suppressed by the latter” she replied. She grinned showing her incisors again. Jicklac
summoned them to the H’Gru’ Fen’s Bridge. They arrived just as Jicklac was finishing a conversation
with a crew member from Engineering.

“Ahh! Great news you two. It looks like we’ll be dropping you right outside the settlement. My Chief
Engineer has informed me the Colony here specialises in mineral refining equipment. One of my
clients requires upgrades and the Colony lacks a supplier of fresh spices so… We’ll be landing in an
hour at Proxima to exchange some cargo then we’ll head out to your relative’s settlement Meorr.
Fenton the harbour master needs to talk with you about some matter concerning a development at
Lunaris. If you can complete your businesses in good time you can travel to the settlement with us”

“I’m sure I can see that it’s completed quickly, besides, The Doc owes me a hand of Triton Bridge.
Just a small wager you understand” he replied with a wink. The assembled Bridge crew stifled a
round of laughter. Jicklac scowled, and then he burst out laughing.

(Authors note: Triton Bridge is played with a deck of cards with 5 suites, Bones, Rocks, Water, Stars
and a set called Schisms. The symbols vary depending on local culture but the Bones are always
skulls. A pair of dice is also involved. One die has the usual 6 numbers as dots, the other has four
coloured faces and the last two are marked plus and minus. The rules appear complicated, but when
mastered the game can be played quite successfully for profit. In that respect it can be as addictive
as Poker.)

The Brain Game

R’Pak Nuur, a Lenivan from Frenetia, and a member of The Order of
Sisterhood was the Bio-Geneticist that Rupert had mentioned and when
contacted was more than willing to collaborate. She had a blank spot in her
schedule and would get the next vessel from Mira to join him and Galena. In
the event a military survey ship, the Rotan Klu, was the fastest ship heading
that way. She sequestered travel and was surprised to be accepted. That was
until she saw the crew manifest. The Captain was an old friend Marcus Gwent from Terra Prime.
They had been lovers at one point, but he had been unable to accept her races custom of partner
sharing. It had led to some embarrassing moments. Perhaps he had “mellowed”. As she approached
the boarding ramp she could see him standing at the doorway waiting. He looked… older, more
refined. The years had been kinder to him than her. Jealousy was not a trait of her race so she simply
put the thought aside. He stiffened as she approached.
“Welcome aboard Dr Nuur, May I say you look…” He never completed the sentence as she
interrupted him. All it took was a glare and a flash of her blood red eyes and he stopped.

“Marcus! I have a tight schedule. Can we please dispense with the pleasantries till later? Where is
my billet?” she snapped, hoping to have put enough emphasis to her words to gain the effect.

“Certainly; it’s this way. You’re in guest compartment seven. The crew lounge is at your disposal if
you wish.” He replied, taken aback by her curtness. He had a young ensign take her bags.
“Well!” he thought “She’s abrupt. I may have to tread carefully”.

After she had settled in, she decided to explore the ship.
She had not seen one of her kind before. As with nearly all
military craft, the Rotan Klu was sparse on frills, but did afford
more luxury than most. Cabins for the crew were roomy.
Facilities were designed to accommodate all genders. The crew
had several alien species aboard this trip. Some were from other
world’s military research divisions, so there seemed to be a
common line of camaraderie among them that made getting
along easy. She recognised two Physicists from the Gilgar
Imperiate. The predominant race there being insectoidal in
nature. They would appear to be a married couple, both wearing
the traditional sash couples wed for a long time wore. One
morose individual looked, almost human from behind, but the
whiskers on the upper part of his pointed ears were a dead giveaway. He was a Lingaran; and in
hunting garb with a bow and quiver on the table in front of him. It looked like he was disappointed
about being there. R’Pak approached him. He was sitting at a viewing port with an empty glass in his
huge hands. He stirred from his deep revelry when she sat down beside him.

“Forgive my unsocial manners ma’am. May I be permitted to get you refreshment?” he said in a soft
deep voice.

“Mescal Inoxi; if you please. You are Dr Hurt Wigfall if I’m not mistaken?”
she replied. Marcus was at the bar, she noticed him stiffen and grimace.

“You are not mistaken. And I recognise you too, Dr Nuur. Mescal Inoxi it is.
I’m here on behalf of The Sonoran Trust. The ship is headed to the Brandt
Moran Lens; a new micro-star has recently started to form. I am to log the
events for the Unity Astronomy Coalition. Forgive my mood; I was on a
family hunting trip when the call came in. The timing is… unfortunate!” He
went to the bar and returned with two drinks.

“Micro-stars are a recent discovery, to see one form is surely to be an
astounding experience. It’s a pity my field of research is Bio-Genetics; I did have an interest in
Astronomy as a child.” R’Pak countered. The two of them chatted, R’Pak carefully avoiding the real
reason for her trip. At the bar Marcus downed his draft and left the lounge in a glum mood.

Galena had received a reply from Isaac. He was heading in her direction having had word of
the Sphere’s discovery. He had some of the modified head bands and a couple of his students were
adept in using them. He offered to help with communicating with the Grey just as long as they got to
study the Learning Alcoves. Galena had replied in the affirmative, he should be arriving in three days.

“Rupert; can you prepare some quarters for our honoured guests” she said over the intercom.
Rupert had anticipated her request.

“Already in progress; I’ve secured two suites near to our section of the base. I’ve also had word from
Dr Levi Strauss of the Genovan delegation. He and his team want to look into the Sphere’s Neuro-
Electronics. He may also be interested in the Brain scans. Should I prepare copies for him too?”

“Neuro-electronics; Hmm. Might be useful. But keep it discreet I don’t want others getting too
curious. Has the Engineer recovered any further from his ordeal?” Galena replied.

“Somewhat; he’s more sure on his feet and his memory flashes are becoming more precise. It would
appear he was imprinted with some kind of condensed index listing basic descriptions of subjects on
file. Hence the fragmentary nature of what he recalls.” Rupert added then continuing “The Psych
team think he’ll stabilise soon and recall everything in more detail. He has developed an interesting
lilt to his voice, sort of like ancient Welsh!”

“The Sphere’s Computer did say that the subject of the previous incident was not left unscarred by
the experience. I suppose we’d best consider this a warning to take a more careful approach when
testing the Sphere’s equipment without consulting the Computer. I think we’ve come off lightly.”
Galena was saying when the Coms link on her desk flashed its indicator. She had a message from
Central Intel. “I have to take this. I’ll talk with you over lunch” she quickly concluded the
conversation and took the text message. It was encrypted with a cipher she recognised.

“Well; what have you for us Ilka?” She decrypted the file and read the report. Fenton Briggs was the
name that stood out. Ilka had been monitoring his activities since he had left for Terra Prime. He’d
been a little naughty regarding who he had been speaking to about the Sphere. He had tried to
disguise his messages to his contact in The Sonoran Trust Council. “So Fenton; you know the Kinray
Group. That minx Setara is behind this. I did warn you about her. Time to get equally dirty I think…”
she said quietly to herself.

The Kinray Group were a rogue group of businesses with connections to various Criminal
organisations. The group’s agendas were uncertain, but could be a means to “legitimise” the
criminal’s activities and to launder the profits of those said activities. Central Intelligence had
recruited Fenton as a sort of double agent. Setara was the Groups Financial Advisor in this sector.
Galena and she had run into each other on numerous occasions when the Group was starting trading
alliances outside The Sonoran Trust. Galena had been duped into legitimising shady investment
deals by Setara. Galena was unaware that Fenton was a double agent and assumed he had fallen
under Setara’s spell. She was also unaware that Ilka was also reporting to another “interested”
party. Thus it was that the plan she hatched for Fenton’s return was doomed to blow up in her face.
She had no idea just how close the other “interested” party was. Soon all the players in this
particular Brain Game would be together. Unknown to all The Grey had been watching, waiting, and
was far more conscious than first thought.

Catrah the Magnificent

Fenton made it back to the H’Gru’ Fen in good time and the ship was soon on its way to the
outskirts of the colony. The ship took about an hour to make the journey and landed just as Fenton
reached Meorrs’ cabin. He politely knocked on the door. Meorr opened it slowly. She had changed
clothes. She now wore a short jacket over a blouse and a long flowing dress. The colours seemed to
clash in his eyes, but she seemed comfortable with them.

“Lehran loaned me some traditional Buraxin women’s clothes. I packed in such a hurry for this trip.
Do you think I look… feminine enough?” she asked as they made their way to the Bridge.

“You’d look stunning regardless of what you wear. But; for my taste, a bit bright. But what do I a
mere man know?” he grinned as he said the latter. “Besides; the weather here is much better than
Nova Thule, almost like a Genovan Summer, The choice will probably be cooler than my dress
uniform” He added. And, as if he needed to prove it, he stiffened in salute. She purred, and then
emitted a rasping sound, her races equivalent of a loud guffaw. He smiled the added “Jicklac has
been accessing the local databases. He’s discovered Catrah is actually some form of local dignitary.
Her full title is Catrah out of Venarr Holder of the Chalice of Grarh and Huluth the Magnificent.
Meorrs’ eyes widened when she heard this.

“I had assumed the Royal line went dead with the last Empress. Apparently my people have
reinstated the traditional title structure. I believe it means she is a noblewoman of the court,
responsible for the upkeep of the court. Females dominate our society, with males taking figurehead
roles. Or that is how it used to be.” She explained “Grarh and Huluth were the principle dignitaries
under the Empress and her Consort. They took care of the day to day matters. Every… what is your
Terran equivalent... Ah... Prime minister and Chancellor have taken those names as titles of their
office. The entwined Chalice being the symbol of that office” she added. She retreated deep into
thought as they entered the Bridge. Jicklac was standing at a console with a tall figure dressed in a
hooded robe. Both turned as Meorr and Fenton entered. The tall figure looked like a younger, but
male, version of Meorr. His eyes widened as he caught sight of her.
“Mistress of Leon; my humble apologies at not recognising your Pride name. I am Furrem-Laxis out
of Hurran of Kimeer. I am sent to guide you to the compound. The Pride is in mourning for the
passing of a Furlax, the last of his generation. Strangers are usually not permitted, but with your
prides’ stature…” the male Lemurr said as he went down on one knee.

“Please rise Hurran, and just call me Meorr. The Terran, Fenton Briggs is with me as a representative
of his Council. As a visiting dignitary, he would be most welcome I’m sure. This Furlax, what was his
pride?” Meorr said in such an authoritative manner it threw Fenton for six.

“His pride is Jermaxia, from the Buraxin sector colony. His name was the same as his ancestor, Duran
of Jermaxia third of the Vulax Triumbrate mistress” Hurran replied returning to his feet. That was
when Fenton noticed the uniform he was wearing, Black Velvet-like material with gold coloured
brocade swaging. He was wearing sandals of the type worn by the Ancient roman legions of Old
Earth.

“He must have been a great age; does anyone claim his title and estate?” Meorr asked

“His relation from Atraxis has agreed to take on the decadency. He is much younger, but highly
venerated. Mistress Catrah bade me make haste, she awaits your council on some other related
matter” He stiffened and did a strangely effeminate sort of salute.

“Very well; Jicklac, it looks like we with be parting your company. May I thank you for your gracious
hospitality” she said as she took his arm in a two handed shake. Jicklac winced at the force but
recovered enough to respond.

“It was my honour Milady. Your presence graced us, your smile warmed us and your parting saddens
us. As we say in our own tongue, Shivla ‘a’ Kumshar. Tukluk sheloh. Roughly translated, May the
creator shine the way to safety on the path ahead” Jicklac bowed slightly.

Pleasantries over Hurran guided them to a strange looking Howdah atop an even stranger
looking beast. Looking like an overgrown Ox it was laid down with its legs folded like that of a cow
resting. They boarded the Howdah and, once seated, the driver gave a short signal and the animal
rose up. Full height it stood about as tall as an Indian elephant. Unlike any Ox Fenton had viewed in
history files, the sounds this creature made sounded more canine than bovine. It would bark and
growl as it struggled with rough terrain. Presently the rough ground gave way to vast prairie. In the
distance were the outlines of the settlement. It was more like a small city than the kind of
settlement Fenton had imagined. Meorr had explained that the Furlax were evolutionary cousins of
the Lemurr. They were a spiritual race, more like the Buddhist Monks of Old Earth their society was
ordered on religious grounds. They were excellent mediators, accountants and scribes.

“Our two peoples live in total harmony. They quite seriously refer to themselves as “The
Accountants of the Universe, Keepers of its soul”. They are a more ancient race than the Lemurr.
They tend to view all other races as unruly children needing to be kept in check and taught how to
behave” said Meorr and she purred in laughter.

“They sound more like the Old Tibetan Monks from my peoples past. Their society still exists in
Terran colonies all over the Galaxy. Theirs is one of the few religions still around after The End and
the First Great Exodus.” Fenton responded “They made crucial investments during and after the
Economy Wars that allowed for them to gain footholds in many of the colonies. I know a few of their
order. I can see why this mourning could be of significance” He added.

Their journey went swiftly, the pace quickening as the animal recognised its surroundings. It
made a beeline for a low, squat structure. It turned out to be a set of stables and a form of Guest
house or Lodge. Hurran removed his robe revealing a lithe form. Fenton was startled to see he was
sporting a 60 centimetre tail, similar to the big cats of Old Earth. Meorr explained that Guards were
not “docked” when reaching adulthood. All other Lemurr surrendered their tails as a mark of
ascension into adult society. Tails were the playthings of the young. In the case of the Guard, it was a
sign of fitness and stamina.

“My Father’s Guard had their tail tips dyed blue, to show their allegiance to our Pride. One
lieutenant, K’reerah, used to carry me around on his shoulders. He was a distant cousin, so the
familiarity was tolerated. He died in an exploratory mission while I was still young. He was given a
full military service. I cried for weeks after.” She told him, looking sad and a little pensive.

“The more I hear of your people the more I see similarities to societies of Old Earth. Genealogy is a
hobby of mine. Your people are a strange mix of hierarchal order and communal society. I don’t
think I’ve seen anything similar in the known galaxy” Fenton said adding “I find that both intriguing
and fascinating!”

Chapter 3

The Grey and the Blue

Isaac and his two students were experimenting
with the headbands as Galena walked in. The boy was
called Running Cloud Bow Feather, he was Achenazi, and
the girl looked pale and thin. Her name was Miranda, she
had been found during a survey of an outpost in the
Lenivan system out by the galactic rim. She was Human
and an orphan. Buraxin traders had taken her into their
clans. It was soon apparent that she had been genetically
enhanced when her telepathic gift surfaced in a mental
scream during a nightmare.
“Miranda; send me a picture from your book” Isaac asked
“I just want to calibrate the band a little finer”

“There how’s that” Miranda said excitedly as she sent a telepathic image of a generator circuit.

“Great! Thanks. I’d forgotten you were studying to be an engineer” Isaac replied and noticed Galena
approach. “Galena It’s great to see you. I heard about you getting this job, but I was out on a deep
survey mission. This is Miranda and that is Running Cloud, though he prefers Ben”

Galena shook the teenagers by the hand. Miranda flashed a message to Ben and they
smiled. “I hope you two aren’t having a private joke at my expense” she said looking stern

“No, Ma’am. We just like to mind chat” Ben said and thought a picture of a rose at Galena, who was
astonished to be able to receive it clearly.

“Isaac; that’s astounding I’m not wearing a band!”

“Ben’s one of the strongest telepaths the Achenazi has produced. Miranda is even stronger. They are
both looking forward to meeting the Grey”

“That’s going to be soon. He’s only one of three viable out of the 13 that had been the crew. I say he,
we’re not sure about sex at the moment. It’s tried to communicate a couple of times since it fully
revived, but somewhat frustratingly, we only get streams of images too indistinct to make head nor
tail of” Galena informed them “It was able to flash one of the Flutvarn a complete alphabet. That’s
helped us to understand the settings on the alcoves”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about them. Could Miranda have a look at the circuitry? She seems to
be an Engineering savant!”

“I don’t see why not, though as she is only a child still, her skill could put a few noses out of joint.
Miranda do you know of Heinz Kellerman?”

“Yes; ma’am, I have studied his entire thesis on Polaron circuits and his other works. I also know he’s
on Lunaris, I had hoped to be able to meet him, and to work with him will be an honour”

“When he finds out how talented you are Isaac might lose a valuable student. I’ll arrange it as soon
as possible. We have a warning of a solar storm headed our way, so we will need to get to the
radiation shelters. Though not for an hour”

“Surely; the Sphere shields against radiation by absorption, so why don’t we all go there now?”
Miranda asked.

“I’ve already thought of that, but the Computer told us it would have to move the ship away from
the surface as there is a side-effect of the absorption process” Galena replied adding “The Sphere
absorbs radiation, uses the spectrum it needs and spectrum shifts and re-radiates what it doesn’t as
a gravimetric wave. That’s what burned Humerus’s arm and cracked his bones when the Sphere
launched. The storm headed this way would re-radiate lethal levels of shifted radiation if the Sphere
remains on the surface”

They made their way to the deep levels under the base. On the way Rupert joined them. He
was carrying a strange looking object.
“Ma’am, Isaac; Brian said you might be interested in this. It’s called a “Resivistor” by the Greys. They
took it from a Gantrax command vessel. Apparently it allows for deep space Telepathic
communication” he said, slightly out of breath
Some of the Techs had taken to calling the Sphere’s computer Brian. It didn’t seem to object so the
nomenclature stuck.
“It looks similar to one of the Untharan translators, though I don’t recognise those parts” Isaac said
as he took the loop like object from Rupert. “It’s larger and slightly more oval, but essentially similar
to the Untharan units” he added

“When did the Computer give you this” Galena asked

“Oh; only about ten minutes ago, one of the other Greys made Brian aware of it” he replied
“They must want to try and communicate with us better” she said to the others. Miranda asked to
look at the unit. She turned it around in her hands, pressed on certain locations and finally found a
panel that could be removed.
“The circuitry is certainly not Untharan; I saw some of the Gantrax units at the Thule Academy on
Praxia. Those were recovered from a shattered Gantrax battle cruiser. The circuitry is designed to
use Polaron Energy. So it would be unwise for Humans to use it as it stands. Perhaps I can see if the
circuitry can be adapted” she said

Ben spoke next “I could adapt Unat shielding if you can’t reproduce the circuits, but it’s still going to
be a loose fit on any Human, even Max Herschel!” he chuckled.
Isaac and the two students laughed loudly at this leaving Rupert and Galena puzzled.
“Who’s Max Herschel?” Galena asked…

Gentle Giant
Max Herschel had suffered as a child, from the ridicule and taunts of his peers, to the poking
and prodding of the medical “Experts”. He had been a normal child at birth, but as he developed it
soon became apparent that there was something not quite right about his growth pattern. Both of
his parents had died not long after his second birthday, so his grandparents had raised him. There
was nothing in his family history to account for what happened to him as he turned five. No history
of any genetic or other medical issues, so it came as a shock when the changes and growth spurts
began. He became very hairy to begin with, earning him the nickname of Wolfie by the other
children. By seven he had lost all of his hair. And he had grown in height and bulk, far more than his
peers; he looked more like a sixteen year old. His head was slightly misshapen, more ape-like in the
brain cavity. The pattern continued. By the time he attended Lower Academy he looked more like a
Gorilla than a human. His DNA said otherwise. The other students were just as unkind as his earlier
peers. But his bulk and strength would soon prove to be his more useful aspects.
During the last semester of his time at Lower Academy, around the time of the end of term
party, Max and the only two friends he really had were getting in some final practice for the sports
finale. The Academy had revived an ancient sport called “Grid Iron” or Football. It turned out Max
was a natural, as were Frenzy and Grip, real names Jason Cravitz and Mort Vergon. Preparations for
the party were underway in the main sports hall when something unexpected screamed out of the
East headed for the Western Industrial complex. The complex was situated about five kilometres
from the outer Academy Campus. It crashed into one of the bio digester plants that produced
electro-gel for the storage cell factories on Genova. There was a bright flash and the resulting
explosion and shockwave were heard and felt as far as Century City.
The shockwave had a devastating effect on the roof trusses of the Sports hall. The three of
them ran into the building to help rescue casualties. The emergency services arrived soon after Max,
Frenzy and Grip. The roof had collapsed inward at the centre. Outriggers that had supported the
trusses had fallen and blocked the exits to the north and east. Rescue efforts were concentrated
there. It would never be known for certain, but a prank that other students were setting up for Max
was also housed in the roof and it was possible that this had contributed to the collapse. As nobody
owned up to it, the matter remained unresolved. The section with the “prank” had fallen intact over
a concession stand trapping five girls. Max rushed to the area and using his body’s considerable bulk
and strength managed to raise the roof section enough for rescue workers to retrieve the injured
girls. The “prank” chose the moment Max let the roof section fall to trigger.
Despite being acclaimed as a hero the pranksters had left their mark indelibly across Max’s
large forehead. Etched in permanent scar tissue was one word…

“It’s really a pity about Max, but in the end his size always made him a target. The word on
his forehead is “Old English”, he still has it today much to the amusement of kids and some of the

student fraternity. The word is “Dunce”, meaning oaf or idiot” Isaac explained. “But his huge size did
come in handy when he was made Commander in Chief of the Patrol” he continued.
“Children can be so cruel at times; I remember well what I used to get called. It left me bitter for a
long time and probably caused a lot of my “unruly” behaviour while growing up” chuckled Galena

“The storm should be over in about an hour, so in the meantime, why don’t we let these two have a
more detailed look at the “Resivistor”. While we three take a look at the scans of that Grey’s brain”
said Rupert. Galena, Rupert and Isaac headed to a secluded section of the shelter and Galena
handed a pad to Isaac.

“Take a look at the highlighted section” she suggested.

“I see. In humans and other races that have latent Psi or Telepathic abilities this area of the brain is
slightly more developed than normal. What I see here points not so much to repair as a form of
artificial enhancement. That part of the bio-circuitry for instance” He pointed to an enlarged area on
the screen “that looks almost like the Nano-circuitry in the Achenazi headbands that was added by
the Osir. This section is similar to the memory crystal structure of the Krall archive crystals” He
adjusted the focus in tight around a group of cells just at the edge of the “rebuilt” area.
“That’s odd? I’ve seen a similar arrangement before. Galena; are you aware of the work of Jürgen
Kurtz from Nova Thule?”

“I’ve heard of him, he’s a specialist in Bio-Engineering, he was responsible for the developments in
the Bio-Mechanoids”

“This linking circuitry is almost identical to the interfacing in Bio-Mechanoids. Kurtz overcame the
incompatibility issue only after employing Krall techniques. The Greys have managed to do the same
at a genetic level apparently. I really must find a way to talk to them”

R’Pak was dismayed that the Rotan Klu could not land at Lunaris due to the solar storm and
had to remain in a parking orbit, more so when she learned about the Sphere needing to return to
space for the duration of the storm. She was in the lounge again. Marcus was there looking
despondent and she felt sorry she had treated him so badly since coming on board. She felt
ashamed that she had used Wigfall like that and decided to make amends while they awaited the all
clear and, in the process, clear the air. He was sat at his usual position at the bar. She walked over
and sat beside him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been… distant Marcus. I was not sure just how we were situated since our previous
encounter. I guess I was still… upset over your attitude to my people’s customs. May I buy you a
drink?”

“Genovan Whiskey sour thank you” he said curtly. The barman served the drink
in another glass. He downed it in one, tried to look resolute but ended up
coughing and spluttering helplessly. She laughed, and he managed a smile. “I’d
forgotten how harsh that stuff can be” he said between coughs. He ordered a
soda water to ease his burning throat. She ordered a Mescal Inoxi and another
Genovan Whiskey sour.

“I suppose I’d best come clean. I still find your peoples practices… disturbing, but I was with The
Order back then and…” he started to say but she interrupted.

“I didn’t know about that at the time or I would have taken things slower. It wasn’t till much later,
after I’d done some research that I found out about what The Order imposes on initiates. I hope you
will forgive me. On another matter; my Brood Sister needs two promoters to get her into the
Academy Military Excursion Survey of The Sonoran Trust. One candidate has already come forward,
you remember Ludic? He’s one, but finding a second in a related field is proving difficult…”

“Stop right there! I can’t as I’m also sponsoring another cadet; however I think I know of someone
else… Dramon Felix, he’s current head of a Patrol Legion in the region he might promote her. What
are her speciality fields?”

“She’s qualified in Bio-Mechanics, Nano-Neurosurgery, Gene therapy and Exobiology! And she has a
minor degree from the Thule Astrophysics Department of Stellar Cartography” she said

“That’s an impressive list. A lot of the former Dark Empire is relatively uncharted. Her Stellar
Cartography could prove useful on its own. I’ll forward her details on to Dramon. I would have
thought you would object to a Military Expedition?”

“I have no choice in the matter, she is a very stubborn young woman and driven by her urges. Her
parents helped me through a difficult transition period so I owe them. Her name is G’Nar Tuulk…”

“General Tuulk’s daughter!” Marcus coughed and spluttered “I think I need a stronger drink.
Barman; Neat Sylan Mescal no ice! R’Pak you really know how to shock a man!”

I’m Blue…

The Greys that had survived were using gestures to show the
technicians how to control the Sphere’s thrusters, but the controls were
proving difficult for human hands so control was returned to the ships
computer. One discovery that was made while exploring the Sphere’s
engineering section was another Stasis chamber with another alien inside.
Looking like a smaller version of the Grey’s this alien was Blue in colour. It
also breathed a different mix of Methane and other gasses, as prevalent
in the chamber. The Greys seemed to despise it and would not even
comment on it. Isaac and the others would have to find out more when
the Sphere returned to the moon’s surface.
Brian, the Sphere’s Computer would only say that the two species were
“related” and left it at that.
From examinations of the remains of the other Grey’s it was becoming apparent that they were
clones, genetically very similar to the species that had caused such a problem at Roswell. The Blue
alien on the other hand had a specific gender and was obviously one of a “pair”. Since the sex organs
were not visible, the Grey’s being neutral in gender; its sex would have to remain a mystery until it
could be revived. In the meantime, the Techs were taking readings while the ship rode out the solar
storm.

Galena and the others were literally in the dark regarding all this as the power grid tripped
out when the storm hit the base’s generator bank. The emergency lighting took a few moments to
cut in but emergency power also meant no coms until the storm passed. Besides, what coms there
would have been would most certainly have been swamped with static. So they busied themselves
getting equipment ready and testing the headbands.

“I think I can adapt the Resivistor to interface with Mechanoid A.I. circuitry. To adapt it to a Human
physiology is going take a lot longer” Miranda announced “besides; Mechanoids have built in

safeguards in the event of an overload” So saying she accessed Hive data on Mechanoids and set
about the task. One of the Mechanoids even volunteered to test the realigned Resivistor. Ben looked
up from the work bench he was sat at
“I think I may have a solution to the stability problem we were having with the headbands Isaac. By
focusing the optical interchange beam through a Krall Crystal fragment the beam variance
diminishes. It also lessens the power requirements. I don’t see why no one has thought of this
before. It may actually help increase the range of the headbands” He beamed a satisfied smile.

About an hour later Rupert absentmindedly wandered into the chamber holding a report
from the medical centre.
“Er; Galena, Isaac… children, the Blue has been revived. It has donned an encounter suit, the Gold
one we found, and has started drawing symbols. I think it wants to talk with you! They’re making
preparations to move it to our location. The storm has not fully abated and we can’t move from this
section just now” he stopped and stared at the sight in front of him. Galena, Isaac and Ben were
looking up at a Mechanoid that was floating just above head height spinning like a top. “What the…”
he didn’t get to finish the sentence as he was lifted bodily into the air, much to the amusement of
the others. “What on Terra is going on?” he shouted.

“Sorry Rupert, R7ZU seems to have gotten carried away by his new found ability. It’s a side effect of
the mods that Miranda did to the Resivistor so it can be interfaced with Mechanoid A.I. circuits.
Mech Telekinesis, what do you think?” The mechanoid relented and lowered them both to the floor.
Rupert felt uneasy and turned a little green “You’d think I would be use to low gravity by now.” He
hurried to the rest room. The others’ amusement was curtailed by the arrival of the Blue alien and
two patrol officers. The alien was wearing what looked like a metallic choker around its neck. This
was visible through the domed, transparent helmet covering its head. The alien seemed to be of a
slightly more muscular figure than the Greys. It had an unusual gait, a cross between the swagger of
a male and the sashay of a female. It made a strange warbling vocalisation. Then Miranda and Ben
stiffened. For a moment, they looked astonished then they smiled. Miranda spoke first.

“Our visitor is ready to use our telepathic skills to attempt communication…Her words, not mine…”
Ben continued the strange exchange as if the two children were acting as one voice…

“She apologises for the rude behaviour of her fellows, but they consider themselves superior to her
and her kind…” R7ZU spoke next and explained that the Blue alien was a member of a regressive
race, a genetic throwback to a time when the Greys had been a binary sex species. The exchange
continued in this manner each of them speaking in turn. It transpired that Blue was called K’ru
N’Varr. The Greys used pictograms as names. Her race was a related species and had not taken the
route of cloning as a means of reproduction. Her mate had been one of the Bridge crew, and had
been killed in the accident that had caused the Sphere to become buried on Terra all those millions
of years ago. They had been in pursuit of a rouge deep space probe. Its A.I. unit had become
unstable. Based on biological circuits it had basically suffered an episode of dementia. The craft was
captured but the Sphere had strayed into an asteroid knocking both it and the Sphere off course and
into the tertiary planet of this system. The Sphere crashed into a southern ocean and broke through
the crust where it was caught up in the swirling Magma and propelled to the planets core. The
Asteroid collided with a continental mass. It was decided to go into stasis till help came along.
Miranda concluded the strange conversation
“From your minds I gather our actions were responsible for a mass extinction. Please accept our
humble apologies” K’ru looked directly at Galena and made a series of warbling vocalisations, these
were relayed from a grille at the base of the domed helmet. Her thin lipless mouth turned down at
the ends. Rupert returned and came up to the right of Isaac who was stood mouth open with a look
on his face that epitomised the word gormless.

Over the next few days; both the Greys and K’ru met with all the specialists on Lunaris. R’Pak
and two others quizzed them on their biological achievements. The Greys seemed unduly proud of
their work; K’ru was a little more reticent. Her species had developed alongside the Greys and were
equally advanced, more so in the other sciences. Hubert Lestrange had appointed himself as Unity
Coordinator for the various teams and disciplines. The Achenazi archives had been very useful. The
Greys found on Terra and the Blue alien had been separated from their respective societies for so
long they had a lot of developments to catch up on. The Greys were more surprised than K’ru about
the Roswell incident. One of them; whose pictographic name was “Yellow-yellow Red-rock- strata
layer” (which obviously meant something entirely different in the Greys own language) was less
aloof than the other two and helped establish a language matrix for the teams to use. It was the
youngest of the clones and, as such, more curious than the rest. It had even managed to master
Terran and would speak if verbal concourse would make an explanation easier for the teams to
understand. K’ru was less reticent to work with this clone than the others. She too had learned to
vocalise, but preferred Flutvarn to Terran as her vocal chords were similar to Flutvarn ones. This was
usually just for general chat; she would use telepathy for more detail conversations. One day she
walked into Galena’s office making that warbling sound. It transpired this was her species equivalent
of laughter. She looked Galena squarely in the eye and spoke.
“The clones have decided on easier names for all to address them. The youngest wants to be called
Fred; the eldest has opted for Shirley and the other Fido! Can you believe that?” And she made the
warbling sound again.
Galena chuckled, “Fido? Did anyone explain about pet’s names?
“Yes; but the concept is lost on them. So, for that matter is humour.” And she warbled again. “On a
more serious note; I understand that you found Meorr in a resurrection chamber. I do hope she’ll
not judge us harshly. We were in our inexperienced stage of exploration when we came upon her
kind. We were fascinated in her species high intellect, and surprised at the feudal structure of their
hierarchy. From the history archives of your worlds past societies, we find another contradictory
example. The nations you called Japan and China. In all our races travels we have encountered many
examples of a hierarchical structures like these surviving for long periods. It puzzles us as we
developed along a more socialist route. Even in our earliest history we find no Feudal society. It
would probably explain why later expeditions to this region and old Earth were fascinated enough to
interact. I refer to what you call the Roswell incident…”

Watched and studied

From further conversations with the aliens it became apparent that The Greys, more so than
K’ru’s people, who called themselves The Alurak, were interested in Humans for their genetic
possibilities. The Human Genome and that of our near ape cousins was particularly easy to
manipulate. Since the Greys, who called themselves Ulahri, and the Alurak were Methane breathers.
Manipulating a native species to produce an Oxygen breathing hybrid seemed a viable way of
studying mankind more deeply, hence the creation of the sub-species that had caused such concern
at Roswell and other incidents. The Hybrids were the latest in a long line of Biological “probes” that
both aliens had used when encountering life forms where the planetary atmosphere was not
compatible. The Bio-probes were controlled remotely by a telepathic link. That explained the stories
of ancient visitations on many worlds throughout the galaxy. K’ru apologised for the activities of
subsequent expeditions, but hoped that the Humans could understand the reasoning behind the
Ulahri’s curiosity in Terra. That partly stemmed from the Gantrax having an interest in Terra also,
albeit they saw Terra only from a strategic viewpoint.
“Have the Ulahri or the Alurak studied the Gantrax at all?” asked Galena

“We encountered them in the Osir’s home galaxy when they
were first venturing out into space. That was long before I and
my generation came into being. They were strange to us, being
of a Hive mind nature with no sense of individuality” replied
Fred “We also found them particularly resistant to our mind
control!” He added with what counted for a grimace. Shirley
interjected…

“At that time they were still using verbal communication via
sub-space relay. Their encounters with the Unat soon changed
that. Their verbal communication system which they used in
the confines of their planetary hive cities may be of interest to
your biologists. Miranda and Isaac seem to have made great
strides in getting the alcoves useful to other life forms like
yourselves. When this is achieved it is hoped that you could
access the data we have on all the races we have watched and
studied. Please bear in mind our database is, as you say,
somewhat out of date!” the clone concluded.

“On Our part; we have been trying to find others of your respective races, but it would appear that
both races seem to have left this and the Osir’s galaxy for “pastures new” a long time ago” Rupert
countered adding “I take it you were responsible for the genetic marker code that we find in many
races in the two galaxies, a sort of indexing system perhaps?” Fido answered Rupert’s question…

“I’m afraid not. We found that and similar markers in all the life forms we studied, even the
magnificent reptiles that dominated Terra at the time of our crash landing. I feel sorry that we
contributed to their demise. But we had no control over the situation. Those beasts were on the
point of evolving to a higher form. The outcome of that would have been most interesting!” Fido
concluded. The Ulahri had mastered using the headbands easily once a power level limiter was
fitted. Their vocal chords had, as a race of telepaths, atrophied to the point of being useless. On the
whole the Ulahri were an overall enigma.

“When at first we set out to deceive…”

Across the galaxy Meorr and Fenton were using their visit to foster better relations between
the Lemur and the Unity, with some success. Catrah was more amenable to the idea than some of
her kind, likewise Meorr. Who had decided that a “relationship” with Fenton might prove an
interesting prospect, but things would have to be “taken slowly”. At Nova Thule; Ilka was compiling
her weekly report for her mysterious benefactor. Galena had no idea that Ilka had been trained in
her art by an acolyte of The Order. That acolyte was a cousin of Galena’s. Jason Kilroy-Hung was the
regions foremost espionage captain for The Order. Most people in the Unity recognised that The
Order was a Pseudo religious Sect, loosely based on the ancient Scientologists of old Earth. They
fostered relations with all sorts of organisations to get whatever they wanted or needed by
whatever means necessary. With the opening up of the former Dark Empire, The Order had fostered
links with a number of contacts of, shall we say, dubious nature, the Kinray Group being one of
them. As a source of information they had been very lucrative. Their use as partners soon showed
questionability, hence the recruitment of Fenton Briggs and some others as go-betweens and spies.
Ilka; being in the offices of the Unity High Council had proved a valuable asset and a means of
coordinating, collating and redistributing the gathered information. Nobody would suspect such an
innocuous clerk of being anything but that, a clerk and secretary.

Since Fenton’s information of the discovery of the Grey’s existence, The Order had taken a
deep interest in the activities on Lunaris. Ilka’s workload had proportionately increased with all the
reports and data being flashed back and forth across the Hive-Net. It had taken longer for her to
compile this report than previous ones as Jason had asked for specific information about the alcoves
and what was contained on their database. She finished and encoded it just a little before mid-day.
She would deliver it to the drop off point during lunch. A work colleague was approaching; she
quickly hid the crystal and made an effort to look like she was tidying her desk of unwanted
materials.
“You ready for lunch Ilk?” Sandra Hustrom, Ilka’s counterpart in the Thule Council’s maintenance
department asked

“Just about; where did you say we were going to try today?” she replied

“It’s a new Genovan place called “Ichtigs Kooking Emporium”. You’d think they’d have made an
effort to spell the thing correctly. Apparently that was down to the sign painter, and the owner liked
the quirkiness of it! Their speciality is Northern Provincial quisine!”

“Oh! I’ve had Yorgflaast and Murgh roast before. It wasn’t what I expected and nearly choked at the
amount of spices used. I’ll see what else they have on the menu I don’t want Henry and the others
complaining about the smell” and she laughed. The two of them left to go across the cold, wintry
Council Plaza to the winding streets of Thoth’s “Old quarter”. When they found the place it was
unexpectedly bright and colourful. Reds, yellows and purples seemed to be the order of the day as
regards décor. Susan found them a table and asked for a menu and drinks list. They ordered their
respective drinks; Susan opted for Untharan scented tea, Ilka Buraxin Jekkta. Their meal choices
were more personal with Susan being the less adventurous, opting for Savoury Falovar on a bed of
fresh green vegetables. Ilka had ordered Roasted Jumvass on wild rice, with a savoury side dish of
Sukreet, a sort of shredded and pickled root vegetable. While they awaited their order they started
their favourite game of assessing the worthiness of the male patrons in the dining room. There were
some obvious tourists, a couple of Untharans, and a contingent of students from various worlds who
had broken studies at the University and were chatting loudly over their meals. In one corner booth
was a solitary Koodon. He appeared to be having difficulty with his bowl of live Sugar slugs. As Susan
scanned the tables behind Ilka she gasped and said, in hushed tones…
“Don’t look round, but three tables behind you is seated Darth Radev the playboy entrepreneur
from Volkor in The Sonoran Trust”
Ilka used one of the establishment’s tall wall mirrors to check the view behind her.
“It can’t be I heard he was on Hel Tar, the Untharan game world, known for its gambling dens and
brothels. It has to be someone who looks like him…” She stopped herself short. It was him and that
was his Genovan bodyguard. Her eyes widened.
“It has to be him that’s Rufus Hemp his Genovan protector; I’d recognise his handsome features
anywhere. You do know Rufus was voted most seducible male in a bathing suit on Genova three
times running” Susan insisted.

This development both exited and worried Ilka. She would have to forego the drop off and
amend her report. Darth was the estranged son of Multi-Trillionnare money magnate Rillik Radev,
rumoured to be the chief money man for the Kinray Group. The opportunities that sprang to mind
were endless. Darth whispered something to Rufus and the tall, muscular bodyguard stood up and
sauntered over to their table.
“Mr Radev would be honoured if you ladies would join us at our table. I’ll see to it that your order is
delivered there.” His voice was a mellifluous, rich baritone. Susan was obviously struck by this
handsome man and stammered a barely audible
“Y –Yes we w-would like that v-very much. Wouldn’t we Ilka?” Ilka had to admit that the prospect
was not that unpleasant so also nodded agreement. He guided the two women to vacant seats at

Darth’s table and introduced them to his charge and other guests at the table. He then signalled a
waitress over and explained that the ladies order was to be diverted here to Mr Radev’s table and he
would be footing the bill. The women were quickly the centre of attention for the whole dining
room. Darth was not quite what Ilka had expected. He was slight of build, pale complexion, devilishly
handsome and very soft spoken. He was also very astute and steered any conversation about his
father out of the way. He was; however, more forthcoming about his own business interests in The
Sonoran Trust. They chatted while they ate.
“The meal is almost over. Ilka could you possibly make excuses for yourself and dodge out of work?”
he asked
“I’m sorry Mr Raved, but my employer is an important Council Elder. He doesn’t mind me taking
time over lunch, but I have to file a dozen reports, collate facts for a lecture he’s giving at Thule
University and a large number of internal memos that are to sort. I wish I could” she replied fairly
truthfully
“Oh what a shame. Perhaps later tonight; say seventh hour or eighth? We could make an evening of
it. I could have my driver pick you up and return you” He pleaded. Susan nudged her with her elbow.
She thought a moment then said…
“Very well; I shall be ready for eighth hour. How could I refuse such a courteous request?” He smiled
“Eighth hour it is then. Good day ladies. I have enjoyed your company” The men stood as the women
rose to leave. Susan winked at Ilka as they left the establishment and ventured into the icy Plaza.
“I have a date also. Rufus is getting the night off, so he’s going to take me on a boat ride across Lake
Impetuous, then supper in Bret Town, who knows what after that?” she winked again
“Susan; you’re incorrigible!” Ilka mocked. They both laughed as they entered the Council building.
Ilka was already formulating plans to use the impending evening to her advantage.

Chapter 4

A world in rebirth

Since the departure of the Sphere Alicia Thrung had managed to get the Terraforming
process back on track. In fact; when the Sphere departed the gravimetric shower from the re-
radiations of its shield, boosted the crust formation process. There was now a long chain of large
islands at the equator and two substantial land masses at the poles. The atmosphere, already
saturated with water vapour had started to cool and the first clouds were forming. The whole
process seemed to have shifted several gears. So the discovery of the Sphere had made the job
easier in many ways. She had also instigated a series of meetings to get to know the crew better,
which also helped with the transition process and change in command. Not many Human crews
would take to an Untharan being the boss, let alone a female Untharan. Some old prejudices could
cross species barriers apparently. The Mechanoids were another story. They were loyal to whoever
was in charge. Alicia had experienced this before and had a wide range of tactics she’d accrued over
the years. Slowly the crew was beginning to trust her. One thing in her favour was that she was part
Genovan, and that had given her a strong presence. She had returned from one of the Southern
Orbiters to terra Edo. There appeared to be some kind of commotion happening in the engineering
repairs bay.
“What’s going on Carter?” she asked
“Oh just a little fun competition. Two teams are seeing how fast they can strip down and re-build a
skitter. Keeps the morale on an even keel!” he said with his quirky accent. “Whichever team is
quicker gets a crate of Mescal and a weekend furlough! I pay for it myself. It’s also a good
motivational tool. Your boy Uther is something else. I aint seen any guy that strong do so delicate
work.” He added. Alicia had brought her eldest son along with her as a way of getting him used to
the rigors of his impending adulthood. She had thought that the environment and helping out with
the heavy work would be helpful in lifting the depression he was suffering that all males of her race
went through toward the end of puberty. Judging by what she was now witnessing the idea had

worked better than she could have expected. Carter continued, “I’ve seen him strip down a gravity
slope unit for a dozer then re-build something so fine as the control whiskers of a crystal matrix with
equal ease. I tell ya, I aint seen the like before. You have a good un’ there ma’am and there’s no
doubt!” Alicia let herself smile
“We’ll have to try this out with other crew some time. But you’ve given me an idea about how we
can boost cycle times with the biologicals. We’re having difficulty getting standard seeding methods
to stay stable. A little competition to get the techs thinking “outside the box” might get us results.
Let’s face it; if we can finish ahead of schedule we get a huge bonus and I can’t think of a better
morale boost than that, can you?”
“I like your thinking. I’ll rope Hendricks from Bio in, he knows his crews best, any thoughts about
incentive or would you like him to take care of it?”
“A crate or two of Mescal isn’t likely to be an incentive for that lot, but a furlough on Halfords Moon
might be a start, unless Hendricks thinks of something else. Let me know what you decide; and if it’s
Halfords then I’ll get onto my friend at the Study group there and get clearance from Unity HQ.”
“Kayo ma’am. Ah! We have a winner; excuse me I have to present the prize” He saluted and went
over to the crews. She headed for the observation deck to meet with Humerus, who had returned
from The Sonoran Trust with a gift.

Humerus was dressed in a strange livery Alicia didn’t recognise. She had once had a brief
relationship with the Nephel. He still looked much like she remembered. He turned as she walked in.
She remembered how those deep blue eyes had captured her.
“How’s your arm? I heard about what happened, and what’s with the uniform?”
“My arm’s fine and you still don’t mince words I see. It’s the livery of the Turon Clan House staff. I
took on the colours after Jupiter left on sabbatical. It’s only a temporary position, but he didn’t know
who else to trust. You’ve worked miracles here; I’ve not seen this kind of… Well; I suppose you want
to know what that little present I brought with me is” he replied
“Straight to the point with you isn’t it. Yes I’m curious, but I thought you’d want to rest up a little
before getting back into things. Did you see Uther your God son when you arrived?” she asked
“Yes; he’s a handsome young man, takes after his father” he chuckled “I want to get started as soon
as possible. The Techs have brought me up to speed. Interesting developments on Lunaris eh? Oh;
I’ve heard from Fenton, you’re going to love this gossip, it would appear he and Meorr are “in a
relationship”. Sorry a little unkind of me I know, Garreth passing only two years ago, but Fenton of
all people…”
“Humerus, can we dispense with the chit-chat. There’s a more pressing matter. After you left, word
came through about your father. I know you and he don’t get along, and since Garreth’s death I’ve
let things slip, He signed up for the mission to Gantrax!” she interrupted him.
“WHAT? The old fool! I still think that reconnaissance mission is a BIG mistake. How could the
Council have let him?” Humerus’s crown feathers arched up in fury.
“He didn’t give them a choice. Besides he’s the best Xeno-linguist that was available, add to that his
work as diplomat and... Well you can guess the rest. Your mother wasn’t too pleased either, but you
know how stubborn he can be. Remember when he found out about our affair? I thought he’d
explode. Before you settle in I suggest you visit your mother. Humans get so…”.He nodded, he had
brought his parents from the Empire some time ago as a matter of reconciliation. Although he was
predominantly Nephel, his mother had been among some Humans that had been captured during
the time of The Dark Lord. His father had been allowed to take one as a servant. He and the female
became close after The Dark Lord left and Humerus was the result of their union.
“Yes; you’re right... Now; that crate that’s down in Biologics, it’s something that a Buraxin trader
found on a secluded world in the Harax system. I thought it could be of use here, when we start bio-
seeding. From what we’ve been able to gather from the natives, it’s a leftover from an ancient
civilisation. The race that made it, called the “World Builders” by the natives, is known to have died
out many millennia ago. It looks as if it’s meant to kick-start the process of accelerated evolution.
There was even a record of worlds it had been used on.”

“Brilliant! The way that the Terraforming process is going we might be doing first Biologicals in about
a month, only bacteria at first but… Did you think it could be modified to boost the process? More to
the point have we an instruction manual?” Alicia asked
“I gave Lisa the details on two data crystals. It might take about a month to get to speed on how it
works anyway.”
“Good! Why don’t you take that month to square things with your mother? I’m sure our Flutvarn
friends can hold the fort till you get back. I’m glad to have you here, a familiar face. It will make the
work pass quickly” and she gave him a peck on the cheek. He blushed.

The alarm stirred Fenton to wakefulness, but didn’t do a thing
to wake the recumbent form next to him in the bed. He rolled over
and stared at her sleeping. Meorr looked more kitten-like when she
was deep in sleep, like she was now. He didn’t have the heart to wake
her. He carefully slipped out of the bed and closed the bathroom
door behind him as quietly as he could. The hotel they were in had
thoughtfully put them in an en-siute room that was intended for
newlyweds. It afforded some privacy away from the tourist sector.
The manageress understood the wants of young couples just forming
relationships, besides the room wasn’t booked and her staff were
discreet enough to let the weary pair lie. She was an old soul, with an
attitude from a more pleasant time in history. She too had fallen for a
handsome man once, in fact she was still in love with him, and
Alfredo, who ran the Hotel bar, had married her some fifty years ago.
Fenton and Meorr had turned up the evening of their hosts
Anniversary. As a consequence they had caught them in a giving mood...
Jicklac had brought them back to Mira aboard his new vessel the K’raahn Vekor a full class
larger than H’Gru’ Fen. Meorr renewed her friendship with Lehran and had caught up with all the
gossip. Lehran had found a beau; a Zyxani Engineer called Frillit Thurigson. They were getting serious
enough to be making marriage plans. Zyxan had been an outer rim Thule colony at the time of the
first expansion, so the local’s names were a hangover from that era. It had fallen under the auspices
of the Dark Empire and then liberated by the Untharans some six hundred years ago. The Buraxin
had been among the first to form trading relations with the lost colony. Lehran was behaving almost
like the other female crew that she had once disdained. Meorr and she struck back up where they
had left off. Fenton had gotten back in with the crew and had managed to beat the Doctor at Triton
Bridge, having learned a few clever moves from some of Catrahs’ palace guard. He had instantly
become a hero in the crew’s eyes. Jicklac, as always, was more restrained…

Showered, shaved and scented, Fenton was getting dressed as Meorr woke up, she
stretched very cat like and opened her eyes, focussing on Fenton “Mm mm… ‘Morning my love.
What time is it?” She asked sleepily.
“It’s a little before tenth hour. Jason Hightower of the Achenazi Council of Elders wants to see us
around noon. I’ll see if I can rustle us up a little breakfast while you get ready. That was some night. I
don’t know where those old folks got their energy from”
“You had plenty of energy last night too” she purred, and she playfully slapped him across his
bottom as he rose up from the bed. He kissed her and went down to the lobby to find Marcia the
owner’s daughter who was also the Hotel cook.

Jason Hightower was in charge of the Achenazi archives and had discovered more ancient
records of his ancestors encounters with the, as they now knew, Ulahri. He had found them after
Hubert Lestrange had departed for Lunaris. Fenton and Meorr had to go to Lunaris on their way back
to Terra Prime and he was intending to ask them if they would take copies of the files with them. It
was something else in the Archives that he’d come across that was giving him concern at this time. A

record of an encounter with the Lemur the Anasazi ancestors of the Achenazi had left. He would
have to broach the subject with tact. He was distracted by the couple’s arrival…
“I’d forgotten how filling those pancakes were. You seemed to like the savoury ones; I don’t think
I’ve seen anyone devour them so quickly!” Fenton joked. Meorr punched him playfully in his ribs and
he feigned hurt. Jason was waiting for them at the door of his chamber.
“Ah; welcome you two. Please come in and make yourselves comfortable. I have some good news
and some … more disconcerting news…” He let them get seated and told them about the Ulahri
records and Fenton immediately agreed to pass them on to Lestrange. He hesitated then spoke to
Meorr…
“Meorr; when our first ancestors, the Anasazi, came to settle this region of space they made many
discoveries. One of which concerns your people the Lemur. It was about two millennia after the
battle with the Gantrax. Were you or any of your people aware of an outpost on a moon in a nearby
system that was occupied by a Lemur garrison at that time?”
“We had a couple of survey vessels go missing in the region around that time but most of their crews
turned up later surviving on a remote ice world. They had been attacked by some vessels they didn’t
recognise. But as far as I know we had no military presence here. We were in our phase of making
trading relationships at that time. That’s when our people first encountered the Osir and the Unat”
she replied adding “If it was a military outpost it was here in secret and probably without consent of
the Governing Council. Back then a lot of that kind of stuff went on”
“From what I’ve been able to piece together from the fragmentary records of that era, a lot of the
files got corrupted during a gamma burst when a nearby star went nova, it would appear this
Garrison ship came across an abandoned, but intact, Gantrax facility. It would also appear to have
been some sort of biological research centre. Some of the crew became infected with an agent and
turned on their superiors. When the Anasazi found the place the remaining garrison personnel had
set up a quarantine zone. The poor Lemur who had been infected but not contracted the disease
had become carriers and as a last resort, driven quite mad by their predicament, they entombed the
complex in a radiation barrier. The Anasazi for their part agreed to place a minefield around the
world and to place a beacon to warn others not to approach” he continued to describe the
symptoms of the disease in all the horrific detail directly from the archive account.
“We had always wondered where the disease came from; we call it Veyrak’s dementia. It would
appear from your ancestral record that an early version of the viral agent was released amongst our
people as a test. If this disease could be made species specific you have a means of wiping out whole
races leaving their worlds open for colonisation. I can’t begin to describe how sickened I am by the
thought. May I pass this information on to my High Council?”
“Yes; by all means. I don’t have records of what happened later, but I would imagine the world is
empty of life by now. From what the Anasazi doctors were able to glean, the virus dies out after
hosts die. So it is only infectious while the hosts are alive. The place may be safe to approach by
now.” He finished.
“I’d get your people to take all precautions, if your military is anything like ours then the Complex
will have been booby-trapped!” Fenton added sternly.
Jason made arrangements for Meorr to contact her people using one of the new pan-galactic
subspace arrays the Hive-net was now linked into. A cumbersome system, but it afforded a better
compatibility with the Lemur systems.

The Unbroken Chain

The Alurak High council contacted Lunaris about a month after the Sphere landed back on
the Moon’s surface. K’ru brought them up to speed with the events that she knew and they
reciprocated the information. There had been recent disconcerting news about the Ulahri that were
still living in a region near the Unity territories. A strange illness was taking hold that, if some means
of blocking the spread could not be found, looked like it could wipe out the entire species in a few

hundred years. There were some Ulahri that seemed to be immune to the disease and it was hoped
that these clones might supply a clue to terminating the disease before the end of the race came.
The Alurak; despite their equal experience in Genetic Manipulation, Gene Surgery and other fields,
such as the engineering of sub-species, were dependent upon the Ulahri as a symbiotic connection
had been made long ago in the distant past. If the Ulahri died out then The Alurak would lose a
source of raw, basic genetic material for Biological repairs and the Ulahri would lose a means of
extending their long lives. The two species had a common ancestor in the far distant past. As the two
species diverged each developed along similar lines. Eventually one race opted for a radical means of
rapid reproduction, cloning. By sheer presence of numbers this race dominated the other slower
reproducing one. Eventually the Clones found the flaw in their method of reproduction - Gene-pool
degradation. The ancestors of the Alurak used this disadvantage to gain a liberty from the Clones
dominance. A deal was struck. The Alurak exuded oily enzymes that were vital to the initialisation of
the cloning process. The Alurak found use for non-viable embryotic material from the cloning
procedure for biological surgery, the embryonic tissue being almost undifferentiated was ideal for
this and the Cloning process supplied sufficient quantities for this to work. The two races became
symbiotically linked. The threat of extinction of one would severely disadvantage the other, a catch
twenty-two situation. For countless millennia the bond formed an unbroken chain.

Locations for Cloning ships were supplied to the Unity so the viable Ulahri could be
contacted. K’ru was asked to coordinate efforts. However; she would not be alone. An Alurak
Science vessel and Medical vessel were enroute to assist with analysis of the situation and to provide
whatever assistance was needed. The team of specialists gathered on Lunaris immediately offered
their help and the governing body of Lunaris agreed to allow Lunaris colony to be base of operations.
It afforded opportunities for both sides. Fred, one of the clones, even offered genetic material for
comparison, apparently an uncharacteristic move for an Ulahri, to start the process. It would be a
while later that other stable samples could become available. It was also apparent that such ancient
races that were still around could not go extinction with the loss of all their accumulated knowledge
as so many had done before. This was a chance to salvage the situation and tip the balance for
younger, up and coming races to obtain a better foothold.

“We realise now that our foolishness in choosing this route sowed the seeds of our destruction. We
have, as you say, been given a wakeup call. We hope that you can forgive our races arrogance, and
we humbly accept your help. Perhaps we have “specialised” too much, maybe it’s time for the
children to grow and take care of the parents” Fido, the eldest clone said when it heard of the
efforts that the worlds of the Unity were offering. “On behalf of my peoples; I thank you”. The Ulahri
quickly learned how to use a Flutvarn device used to allow speech for patients with vocal cord
damage. It could be linked to the patient’s brain inductively and focussed on the appropriate centres
of the individual’s brain. Even though that area had become less used by the Ulahri, it was soon
stimulated into activity by the devices and now it was difficult to stop them talking. The sound that
came out had a strange sibilance to it, not quite metallic, but approaching it. It was almost sing-song.
K’ru had become an Ambassador for her people, temporarily, until more of her kind could get back
from their distant survey missions. She had taken to the role remarkably well. The Alurak ships were
slow by comparison with the Unity fleet vessels, but the Alurak were extremely long lived and
therefore their ships didn’t need fast drives for the purposes they were put to. She had also had
news of her mate, whom she had thought lost in an attack by residual Gantrax forces when she had
started on the joint mission to study the Sol System and its nearby regions so long ago. He had
thought her lost too and had taken another mate. Their descendants were now headed back to help
with the revival project.
“In a way I feel relieved, but in another way sad. But I must be practical; I cannot pine for a long lost
love. I’m still young for a female of my kind. We have learned so much about other races now too,
thanks to the Krall archive. And recent knowledge of the “World Builders” goes some way to
explaining the proliferation of habitats in the two known galaxies. They must have been the ultimate

Terraformers.” She said as she and Galena walked into her office. “I’m glad they placed you in charge
of the project, I relate to females better than males.” She added.
“My solitary role is going to be temporary as, supposedly, there will be a Xeno-biologist arriving to
joining me in the role. It’s put a few noses out of joint, but apparently that’s something I’m readily
capable of!” she laughed “I still have a reputation of being “abrasive”. That also probably goes a long
way to explaining why I have difficulty in having relationships. Speaking of which, the latest work
done on your two species genomes has thrown up some interesting possibilities. There are some
pairs in the “Code” and reproduction sequences that look similar to Flutvarn and two other
amphibian races. It looks as if interspecies mating could be possible. Though the genetic switches in
the Ulahri would need to be triggered to allow for sexual reproduction” Galena revealed
“Oh; that’s going to be a shock to their systems. The psychological barriers would be the first real
hurdle, they have become so dependent on cloning and artificial maturation, it’s going to take a
massive shift of paradigm to get them to accept that idea. Even you have to admit they are the very
essence of stubborn” and K’ru made a trilling sound.
“Yes; you’re probably right. Now then, down to other matters. I’ve seen you looking at Rupert in an
admiring way, you’re not thinking of him as a possible mate?” Galena chuckled
“Only as an experiment, I doubt our two species would be compatible, but it would be fun trying!”
And she trilled again. Rupert walked in and they both laughed, leaving Rupert looking puzzled.

The Power of the Gods

With Humerus away, and the Flutvarn busy with the strange device, Alicia decided to delve
deeper into the Haraxans and their so called “World Builders”. After only an hour or so she had
records of contacts and legends from over thirty systems. In each case the race was referred to as
the “World Builders” or the World Makers”. Other races had simply referred to them as Gods or Sky
Spirits, Makers of the World. It was becoming apparent that these “World Builders” were a very
ancient race indeed, and when she widened her search, their presence was noted in the same galaxy
that the Unat and Osir came from. What was infuriating was the so called “Manual” which was in a
rare dialect of Hagunenon. It read more like an extract from the Egyptian Book of the Dead than a
technical manual and had probably been translated by some ancient scribe, in an attempt to convey
what the “Gods” meant. They did accidentally find out how to trigger a huge EMP burst that almost
fried the local network. In the meantime; she had instigated an acceleration of the Ocean forming
process by bombarding the surface with huge ice blocks taken from Saturn’s Rings. This had
developed into a target practice game among the Techs. At the current rate of precise impacts they
should have very deep, well developed Oceans and inland seas within a matter of weeks. The
planets rotation would have to be slowed soon and the axis tilt returned. This was always a tricky
moment.

“Shuttle from Orbiter Farrago on approach ma’am” a comms officer said over her office intercom.
“Good, send the crew to the mess and have Captain Lucas report to me.” She replied
Henri Lucas had been a new addition to the teams. He was an accomplished coastline designer. The
plans for the world below included some very sophisticated inlets and lagoons. There was also the
Hallaran Archipelago to sort out. It would soon be time to finalise these plans and implement the
sculpturing. If the alien device could be made to work, this process would be greatly speeded up.
Henri walked into her office about twenty minutes later.
“Ah; Henri, did your survey show any major anomalies we need to worry about?” she asked as he
entered

“The northern pole land mass has a large fault line running through it, but we’d already had
indicators for that happening. There is a strange thickening of the crust on one of the volcanoes on

one of the larger equatorial island chain that might prove problematic, but otherwise we are ready
to go” Henri responded.

The two of them went over the revised schedules together and came to an agreement as to the
order the changes needed to be implemented to create the features they wanted. It was a good
feeling for Alicia to be able to delegate itineraries like this. It left her time for her personal life. It had
been two years since her mate had passed away and the rest of her family were becoming worried.
It was uncommon for a female to be without a mate for so long. But she, for her part, felt no urge to
find a suitable mate in the time. She was fast approaching her races time equivalent to human’s
menopause. So any mate would have to be a “soul” partner who had already had children from
other marriages. Her recently deceased mate had been her third marriage and had resulted in four
offspring, Uther being the youngest. That could be why she felt compelled to give him the best
possible start in life that she could. Untharans were basically descended from a warm blooded
reptile ancestor. However, unlike the great reptilians of old Earth, their ancestor had developed a
sparse fur coat and long manes. This was realised in the modern Untharans as a ridge of stiff hair on
the crown of the head, longer in females than males. She was a cross breeding with the more
Human like Genovan (her mother). So she also had faint hair patches on her body with a smoother
skin than most Untharan females. Curiously, this had made her more attractive to Untharan males
than her own kind. During her puberty she had had to fight off many suitors and became an object
of envy among the other girls. Her previous mates had all been Untharan, but this time she wanted a
change. Another Hybrid race might be a good choice. She had found herself strangely attracted to
the Nephel, in particular Humerus. He had been without a mate now for over half his adult life. He
was young when he had taken his first mate and was not affronted to talk about that. His second
mate had been killed during a survey mission only a year or so ago. She would take the approach
slowly to begin with…
(Authors Note: Mid-life Untharan females can be very persistent in hounding a suitable mate. Like
human females they have a “ticking clock” of viability. So as they approach that ending of
reproductive ability their efforts get very frenetic.)

Lisa, her Flutvarn name was almost unpronounceable by others, was making a detailed
examination of the control circuitry of the “Seeder” as they had come to call the Alien device. It was
made to create various modulated forms of radiation that would affect growth and composition of
Biological Matter. That much had been gleaned from the “Manual”. Even if they only managed to get
it around 20% operational, the effect on the initial Bio-seeding with microbes could be greatly
accelerated. The EMP outburst had proven that. Although an Electronics specialist, she did have a
subsidiary education in Bio-logics. Humerus seemed to have confidence she would be able to
unravel this mystery, so was determined to prove him right. Her assistant, a young Delevan male
called Norvik, was tinkering with one of the emitters from the object that had started to smoke
during the EMP release. The circuitry was crystalline and used Polaron Energy to power it.

“Miss Lisa; I’ve found the damaged area. It might be possible to use slivers of Krall memory crystal to
repair the damage, but we cannot reproduce the replacement “fibres” to the same finesse as the
originals, so the results could be unpredictable to say the least. I would even go so far as to say that
the original purpose of this circuit was as some form of fuse” he said adding “To that end I suggest
making the replacement in some sort of ceramic cradle to make changing it out easier in future. The
makers probably just changed the whole emitter.”

“Good idea Norvik. Perhaps we should look for similar circuits and do the same to them also. After
all we don’t know for certain if any other examples of the device are around now after all this time.
I’ll get the Techs in Engineering to try the new matter printing units to make the replacements. Do
you think you can work up some schematics for them?”

“I think so… It will take me about an hour though. May I see those recent scans of the interior
circuits? I think I could pinpoint the replacements we need to make.”

“Today we take on The Power of the Gods and bend it to our ways” Lisa said absentmindedly “Sorry
just daydreaming as the Humans say. Good; let’s get on with it.”

After handing over the Achenazi Archive files and meeting with other members of the Unity
High Council, Fenton decided to treat Meorr to a tour of Terra Prime. She readily agreed, and their
first port of call was the New Ching Alliance Territories. Their current location was the coastal
province of Neo-Manchuria, in particular a renowned restaurant called “Madame Butterfly’s” after
some ancient operetta. The food was said to be of the highest standard. Reproducing ancient menus
was their speciality. Meorr and Fenton had opted to try a strange
dish called Hasperat, a sort of salty brine doused, bitter salad served
in a rolled flatbread as a starter. They intended to follow that with
something sweet or spiced but were undecided when their starters
arrived.
“Phew; is it meant to smell so strong?” Meorr winced, and made
Fenton laugh at the way her face curled up.
“It’s supposed to enhance the fragrance of the following courses by
tweaking the palate. I’ve had it once before, you’ll find the taste surprisingly mild in comparison to
how it smells. But it does leave a strange aftertaste, hence the Aleutian Flower Wine.” Fenton said as
they took their first bites. Meorr was indeed surprised by the pleasant salty taste
“It’s a bit like a salted dried meat dish we have, though not so tough in texture. I like it” and she
munched happily. “You chose the starter, so may I choose the second course?” she said as she
sipped the wine.

“By all means, there’s a bewildering array. No wonder this place has such a reputation. I know it’s
mostly synthetics and replicates, but wow, the standard…” he replied “It was good of Elder Vincent
to secure this “Vacation” I don’t think I could have afforded it otherwise. It would be almost a year’s
salary at my old pay grade”…
She scowled at him then grinned. They settled down to enjoy their meal.

Vincent had been only too willing to arrange the “Vacation” though it would almost be more
like a “Busman’s holiday” for Fenton. It would allow him time to adjust to his new position. The
Council had made him Unity Ambassador to the Lemur. When Meorr heard this she purred out
loudly and confided that Catrah was petitioning on her behalf for her to be the Lemur Ambassador
to the Unity. She even joked then and there about getting married and cementing the union of the
two races. That had made Vincent laugh, but, on reflection, he now thought that might not be such
an absurd idea. He’d insisted that both of them make sure they allowed time to enjoy their own
company. It was obvious the two were attracted to each other. He was reminded by this of his own
tentative steps with his late wife Leonora. How he had fumbled his way through their first “date”.
How, when it seemed right, he’d been so nervous at the prospect of asking her father for her hand in
marriage he’d almost fainted.

Fenton and Meorr were about three days into their “Vacation” when a message came from
Galena and the teams on Lunaris. The Ulahri and Alurak were about to set up a permanent base on
Triton.
“That’s wonderful news Fenton. They will feel better breathing live atmosphere than the recycled
and synthetic stuff in those suits.” Meorr said when he told her “It might even help the Ulahri to
recuperate and reconsider the Geno-manipulation therapy. I know how set in their ways an Elder

Race can be. Our people encountered a race of Amphibians on a system near the galactic core that
was so stubborn; they vowed to die out than accept help from “children”.”
“I know some Humans like that today. Take a look through our history and you’ll find many
examples. Stubbornness seems to be a universal prerogative of the old everywhere life has evolved”
Fenton responded. “I hope we never end up like that in our dotage” and he chuckled. She gazed
deep into his eyes.
“You really mean that don’t you. I can see it. I see now why I was drawn to you the very first day we
met. The choice I made that day was the right one.” She said and ruffled his hair
“Oh; and what was the other option may I ask?”
“You don’t want to know” she grinned showing her incisors and then bit hard on a long strip of dried
meat…

“Operation Gandalf”

The “Seeder” device was to be tested in just over an hour. Some microbial life had been
made ready as had an area on the largest equatorial land mass. It was agreed that the Mechanoids
should conduct the test. If all went according to plan, the effect of the devices emissions should be
observable about an hour after that. The microbes had been put in three brackish pools of iron oxide
rich water formed in shallow depressions. It had been raining acid rain for about two days solid. A
break in the weather had allowed the setting up of the equipment. The atmosphere was still
polluted with sulphides and carbon dioxide, and low oxygen meant the choice of bacteria had been
obvious. The mechanoids were shielded from the worst the planet could throw at them by the alloys
they were made of so could remain to record and observe. The others had left to watch proceedings
from the safety of an Orbiter.
“Who came up with the name for this test?” asked Lisa
“Councillor Edmunds of the Terran Federal Conservatory; He liked the name of the Wizard in
Tolkien’s Lord of the rings. No one wanted to go against him” Norvik replied.
“I suppose we can put up with that, I’m not one for historical works myself” Humerus added.
Alicia was poised finger over the button that would start the whole shebang.
“Initiating device, all Mechanoids retreat to the safety bunkers, just in case this all goes pear-
shaped!” She said over the Comms. “In three, two, one…” She pressed the button and…

On the surface the device began to whine in build up to what was hoped to be a cycle of
bursts. The air around the device became highly charged, sufficiently so as to form a haze of blue-
green Saint Elmo’s fire. Under the dark, sullen sky it seemed like a bright sunburst had punctured its
way through the murk. One of the observing Mechanoids mumbled “Let there be light”. At that
moment the full force of the first burst erupted… There was no sound initially as the expanding
dome of energy waves blossomed out. The light was so intense that the Venusian Globes shut their
visor cells. The Mechanoids too found the light extremely bright. Then the shockwave hit the remote
vid units and shook them violently. One of the Mechs turned around and the view relayed to those
on the Orbiter showed a wall of hazy brightness shooting away into the distance. The Globes and the
vid units then focused on the pools. Sensors showed a sudden and marked rise in oxygen levels,
rapid increase in Nitrogen and other gasses. The pools began to change colour with deposits of
sulphides and phosphates. The bacteria were multiplying at a terrific speed. They were extracting
Carbon and other elements and producing mineral deposits. They were behaving like stromatellites.
The rate of growth was so huge it was visible to the naked eye…
“W-W-WOW; and that was only at 20% power!” Humerus stammered “I-i-imagine what’s going to
happen when we seed those inland lakes and seas!” he added wide eyed
“I think we can definitely say that was a success” Alicia managed to say after a brief silence “Those
“World Builders” really knew their stuff. Wait! The Bio monitors are showing something odd, Lisa
pull up units seven through twelve”. Lisa did as she was told. On the screens before them some of
the slimy microbes appeared to be undergoing a change.

“Is that what I think it is? … Do we have accelerated evolution? That group are becoming Oxygen
breathers.” Norvik said excitedly.
“It would appear so” said one of the Flutvarn Biologists “And judging by the rate of change I’d say by
this time tomorrow we may have single cell plants!” he added. Lisa thought to herself “Now we have
become God” then out loud she said “I think I understand what that last passage in the “Manual”
should read now. It should read… “Light blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance!””
There was a few seconds silence and then the place erupted in laughter and cheers.

The Chronicles of the Tribe Series Two

Chronicle 7 – From Dark to Light

Chapter 1

Death leaves its mark

Morden Vasilly loomed over the remains of Jaden Whelks, a local gangster, with a
sadistic grin on his twisted face. Two others, his accomplices and siblings, Marven and
Mundey, were keeping lookout. He reached down and wiped
the thin blade of the stiletto on the victim’s sleeve. Leaving the
calling card of a White Mimosa flower in Jaden’s breast pocket
he rose up and joined his brothers. It was a little before noon
on Kelgar, a world in the Luxaan territory of The Sonoran Trust. “Time for lunch, murder
always makes me hungry” he said and laughed, His brothers nodded. They were triplets; all
had qualified with honours from the Assassins Foundation on Luxor Prime some twenty
years ago. With the changes happening in the former Dark Empire, as “discreet”
dehumanisers, their services were in demand from many of the crime families that ran the
Underground as the society of Crime Syndicates was called. This “hit” had been ordered by
someone for The Kinray Group and that was all they needed to know.

“I feel sorry for the poor beggar; but he had his fingers in too many pies to go unnoticed by
Him. It was only a matter of time. Did you sweep him Morden?” Mundey asked

“Yeah; and we’ll check out the spoils later back home. Don’t want to attract too much
attention” he replied. Marven was quiet; he nudged Mundey and pointed to a Café. The
three of them crossed the quiet street and went inside.

A little later; in the alleyway where they had left Jaden’s body in a slowly thickening
pool of its own blood and fluids, a form stepped out of the shadows. It looked down at the
crumpled remains. It counted fifteen stab wounds, twelve slashing cuts that had inflicted
only just enough damage as to cause bleeding. Oddly the body had a strange look of peace
upon its countenance. The form crouched down beside the pool of blood and recovered a
sample in a small vial. It rose up and pulled a small communicator from a coat pocket.

“Officer G17885 to dispatch. Detective Krank reporting a murder in the back alley of Gundy
Street, lower east side. Have forensics here and post a patrol. I don’t think I should be
involved as it happened in the vicinity of my domicile. Any suggestions would be most
welcome!” he said.

“Central dispatch to G17885; Command want you to stay put. Lomax and Dreck are coming
to assist. You OK Felix?”

“Yeah, just a bit of a shock and it is Detective Inspector Krank to you. Tell Lomax that the
Doc will need a liquids kit too. I have a sample I’m sending to the Lab by Courier Droid now”.
A small round flying object buzzed down and he put the vial inside its sample cavity.
“There’s no ID on the body, but I recognise the victim. The Chief might want a media block
putting on this one.” He took out his pocket recorder and began documenting the scene. He
stopped as if he’d realised something and took a closer look at the corpse. Putting on gloves

he opened the right side pocket of the jacket with a pen. There was a rolled up wad of
money inside, Unity Currency. He stood back up and scratched his head saying out loud
“Not surprised they took everything else and left the money” The Forensics wagon and
Coroners truck arrived and Doc Harrigan got out.

“Its Jaden Whelks Mary; looks like a professional killing, but Lomax’s not
going to like what I found in his right pocket” he told her. And he held it
open for her to see.

“Oh; this is going to cause a heck of a ruckus. You did right to get a
Media Block on this one. You look a little pale, go sit on that step. Ah;
here’s Lomax’s car now.” Felix did as he was told. He felt ashamed
reacting as he had, but he’d never had a killing happen so close to
home. Dreck came over and squatted down beside him.

“I know how you feel; remember when they came across Larry Givens in the Bedor district? I
was living with Marcia just two doors away, never heard a thing, and I puked myself silly for
days. Lomax’s taken this one hard too. He was married to the guy’s Granddaughter for
Maker’s sake!”

“Thanks Dreck, Lomax is going to take it even harder when he checks the guy’s right jacket
pocket. He’s looking now. Uh oh! Get ready for fireworks!” Lomax shot up and started into a
tirade at dispatch. Dreck and Felix just looked at each other and nodded. Forensics was all
over the place with a fine toothcomb. It could be days before all the results came through.
Lomax was called over to one of the Forensic team who was counting the currency he
picked up one of the notes and handed it to Lomax. He looked at it and frowned, handed it
back and had the technician put it in a separate evidence bag. Lomax turned and headed
towards the two of them with a gloomy look on his face.

“20,000 Unity Credits and a 100 Groat note; sound familiar Krank?” he said when he
reached them.

“Yes; the signature payment method of the Caveat Brigade. If Whelks has had dealings with
them the Syndicates would have been none too pleased. Did you recognise the calling
card?”

“The Assassins Federation; yes, that means we’ll have a devil of a time finding out who killed
him. Whoever they were left no obvious signs. Not even a trace of DNA, so the techs tell me.
Charlie; can you see if any of your informants, sorry, “informal acquaintances” has heard
anything. This makes the third killing in as many months” Lomax asked Dreck. Dreck nodded
and rose to leave, but turned to Krank and took the older detectives hand to help him up.

“You sure you’re OK. Maisie said you sounded strange over the comms?” he asked Krank

“I’m fine; you do as Lomax says” he waited until the young detective was out of earshot
then turned to Lomax “This one’s not going to look good for the Chief. It’s bad enough that
this guy had the Chief’s Grandson roped into a gambling debt. It’s going to look like the
Chief had him popped!” he said to Lomax

“You forget about that. I’ll fend off the trouble makers in that quarter. In the meantime, I
suggest you go and see the widow. I’ve something I need to check out first. I recognised
something else, that 100 Groat was a forgery and I know who made it!” Lomax winked as he
left to join Dreck in their car. Krank had done this duty many times in his long service. Telling
a loved one that their wife; husband, son, daughter or relative was dead had to count as the
hardest part of the job for any policeman. In this case it was harder as Silvie had been one of
Felix’s informants in the heady days of his youth on the force. She had still kept giving drips
and titbits of information to the force long after Felix had made Detective Inspector. He
headed back to his garret and took off his arm band. She’d recognise that meant this was off
the record, and an official visit would come a little later. He picked up his keys and went to
the lock up where he kept his car.

The drive over to Whelks’ mansion was done in complete silence. He parked a short
distance away and walked up to the gates. A security camera swung around and the voice of
Arthur, the Whelks’ doorman came from a speaker.

“The mistress is expecting you Mr Krank. We had a call from Mark Wiggins a moment ago”
There was a buzz and a click followed by the pedestrian gate opening. He strode up the path
and the door was opened as he approached. “She’s in the drawing room, third door on the
left sir” Arthur said and pointed down the hallway. He opened the indicated door and went
in. Sylvie was stood by the large marble fireplace. It was obvious she’d been crying. She
turned to Felix and sighed.

“Mark thought it best that I knew before you crashed your way in. I’m shocked, but I knew it
was inevitable. Jaden had been up to some shady deal with a broker in the Unity. I said it
would all end in tears, but he wouldn’t listen. You know how he was when money was
involved.” She burst into deep sobs. “I know he was a scoundrel but I loved the big lug” She
sat down on a sofa and signed him to sit beside her. He sat down and took her hand in his

“I hope your nephew Mark has not said too much. The Chief wants a complete Media Block
on this. Apart from the way this looks for him there’s the fact he was murdered, by
Assassins no less, that sort of attention don’t come cheap!” he interrupted her then added
“That broker wasn’t legit. Jaden had a wad of Unity Currency on him with a 100 Groat
wrapped in. That means the Broker was with the Caveat Brigade” Her eyes widened he put a
finger on her lips “I’d suggest a closed casket for the service; the Assassins cut him up very
bad. Have you got anyone you want here with you?” he asked

“My cousin Leonie and her husband are the nearest. She’s a nurse too, so can help me with
Victor. He’s not going to take this well. He had a bad relapse last month and still hasn’t
recovered. This is going to make him worse.
There’s some sort of specialist with him right
now” she said sighing again. Felix nodded
agreement. She was taking this better than
he’d expected she would Felix thought. Victor
was her son from her first marriage. He had
been in the Black Guard and was a promising
lieutenant. That was until his patrol came
across a rabid Gantrax, sole survivor of a
crashed scout vessel. Unable to link with the

Gantrax hive mind; it had gone mad. Victor had been stung in his left side. The rest of his
patrol killed it but failed to keep the stinger. They incinerated the body. The medics did all
they could. The poison ravaged him, making his nervous system fire sporadically in violent
spasms. He would recover from time to time, but there would be no cure until the Unity and
the Unat arrived in the Empire. As it was; only a partial cure could be made. He occasionally
relapsed. A maid came into the room and whispered something to Sylvie

“Victors awake, and the strange thing is he’s lucid!” Silvie exclaimed and they rushed to
Victor’s room…

Lomax and Dreck were in a rundown suburb of Hellion City, known locally as Bedlam
Bronx. They had taken an auto cab rather than their car, so as not to arouse suspicion. They
were stood in front of a dishevelled apartment block. It had once been a smart looking
Hotel, but now looked like a stage set from some crummy tri-vid horror movie. The name
above the door read “Jupiter Vistas”. Lomax read the occupant lists on the door entry
system and pressed the button for the Janitor. A creaky voice came from the dilapidated
speaker.
“What da yaws want?”

“We can’t get no answer from 113, Can you buzz us in, we is the Force” Lomax said using
the best accent he could manage. The door lock clicked and buzzed and they entered the
hallway.

Inside was surprisingly clean and bright looking. The Janitor looked at their ID’s and
pointed them to the elevator. It was a manual contraption that must have been at least a
couple of decades old, but it looked brand new. They entered and pressed the button for
the appropriate floor.

“How come this place is so clean?” asked Dreck

“It’s a Force owned place for “people of interest”. We keep a number of these places
around the city. This one’s for old lags that have health issues. The Janitor is a retired Officer
from The Black Guard. The “inmates” are allowed certain freedoms in exchange for a little
service doing monitoring of the Underground Sub Space system. The guy we’re going to see
is one Carlo Perkin. He was a master forger. It was one of his notes that was found in the
wad the Caveat Brigade gave Whelks”

“An invite eh? Clever” Dreck responded. They found the room and entered. Carlo was
recumbent in a chair at a desk. He was wearing a breather kit. He looked round at the two
of them and smiled.

“’Steve Lomax; it’s good to see you. Sit yourselves down. I was just finishing a little piece for
the Chief. He wanted a copy of that old document of his Grandpa’s. What brings you to the
neighbourhood?” he said motioning them to a sofa.

“One of your old notes a 100 Groat turned up
in a Caveat Brigade payment. You wouldn’t
happen to know what that’s all about now
Carlo.” Lomax asked

“I gave up on that game ten years ago, must be one of a few still in circulation. I haven’t
made any since. Caveat Brigade you say. Hmm…; did hear something about a hit being
planned by one of the Syndicates on the “Grape Vine” a fortnight ago, but nothing since.
The origin was The Kinray Group’s “twitchers” Hagron and Splitt. I take it that’s where the
money trail ended then.” Carlo said winking. Dreck was about to speak out when Lomax
stopped him.

“Alright Carlo, I’ll fill you in, but you have to come clean about what you know”. Lomax
recanted everything that had happened and what they had surmised. When he described
the Assassins work Carlo was visibly shaken.

“There’s only three killers use that style of hurt The Vasilly triplets. I heard about them from
young Tommy in 79. That lad’s got a lot of worry on his shoulders. He was on Luxor Prime
when the three of ‘em “Graduated” from the Foundation. Highest honours they got. Evil
buggers too.” Dreck interrupted Carlo

“Tom Hasperand; known as the Song Bird of Korva. When did he end up here? I thought he
was upstate in Hedebar Prison” he looked at Lomax for an answer but he just shrugged and
asked Carlo to continue.

“If they’ve been hired by the Kinray Group then it has to be a Syndicate cleansing. Do you
want me to keep a discreet ear on things Steve?”

“Sure; you have my private number, don’t put anything you get through regular channels”

They made their leave and headed back to the auto cab stop. Dreck could see the cogs
turning in the look on Lomax’s face. “If this is the start of a Syndicate war the Chief is going
to go ballistic” he said as the cab arrived. He punched in their destination and the Force
payment details and they buckled in. “We have to keep a lid on this. Anything like this hits
the Media and there’ll be a panic like the crisis of ‘99”. The cab sped off through the evening
murk. Carlo fired up his monitoring equipment and then roped in his floor neighbours when
the chatter got heavy.

A matter of Loyalty

In the offices of Hagron & Splitt Attorneys at Law; there was no sign that anything
was out of the ordinary. Their receptionist, a bubbly little blonde Delevan was filing her
nails. The phone rang and she answered it.

“Oh; it’s you; I’ll connect you to himself now” she flicked a switch on the exchange and
routed the call through to Hagron’s desk. She settled back to finish her nails when the
shouting started. Hagron was screaming down the phone. The shouting stopped and his
door burst open. He stormed out of the main door slamming it behind him. Splitt appeared
from his office.
“What was all that about Shirley?” Splitt asked

“He got a call from you know who and just flipped!” Shirley answered. “I haven’t seen him
this mad except when he was handling that case for the Jakarta Syndicate last year!” She
added.

“Leave it to me, something serious must have happened. You get back to filing the reports.
If He’s involved we might have a visit from the Force! Leave them to me also!” he said and
went back to his office. He retrieved his pocket communicator. He pressed in a sequence of
numbers and waited. It buzzed and he switched on the screen. A text message was all that
came through in response to his code. It was encrypted. Rummaging in his desk drawer he
pulled out a small black book. Working slowly he decrypted the message.

“Internal problems. Hostile takeover. Destroy all documents relative to 39822” He read to
himself. He went over to his hidden vault and opened it. He took out several small recording
cards and a ream of print. In the corner of his office was a small, well-disguised, compact
disintegrator. He placed the cards and ream inside and closed the door. A light came on and
a high pitched humming sound filled the air. The light went out. He would need a new
partner if this went any further. Unless; that is, someone wiped them both out first.
Syndicate politics could be extremely ruthless. If some of their “clients” knew about his
connection with the Lucerne family, He Josiah Splitt would be the first to be “liquidated”
among the assets. Telford Hagron was currently storming toward the local transport hub
thinking “How could that fool have been so stupid?” He felt a sharp pain in his neck and fell
to the floor. Two burly individuals picked him up and bundled him into a black limousine.
They got in closing the doors as the vehicle sped off…

In Victor’s room; a tall Vahamat was standing in the room talking with Victor. She
turned when Felix and Sylvie entered. She smiled and introduced herself. “I’m Denarius; I
am a Neuro Reconstructionist. That means I specialise in the kind of inductive therapy that
regenerates damaged nerve tissue. I heard about your son and the damage caused by the
Gantrax venom while on a sabbatical in the Gildar system. I’ve only administered the first
session of the treatment, but, as you can see, your son has responded well to the
treatment” She let Sylvie approach Victor and talk with him. Felix approached Denarius.

“You are a long way from Unity territory; forgive me if I’m suspicious but, your kind were
none too welcome around here only a few decades ago” he said

“Your suspicion is understandable for a “policeman”. Actually I have been here before,
probably forty years ago, I was captured by the Black Guard and forced to administer to the
wounded. They guarded my presence jealously; if the Guardians found out they would have
been punished. When the Dark Lord left and the Empire fell over to the Unity I was released
and sent to my home world to do service in the teaching hospitals there.”

“Forty years ago… Oh yes; I remember now, there had been an uprising in one of the labour
camps on Riskelion. The Guard were sent in to quell the riot and were beaten back. The
Nephel Guardians ordered the whole system locked down. Too many lives were lost in the
ensuing fight. My Uncle was among the first injured to return to the Garrison Hospital in
Mercy Creek. You mean to say you were working in Mercy Creek then?”

“Yes; your uncle wouldn’t have been General Hephaestus Mortimer Krank by some chance.
You do have a look about you of him. He was one of the first patients I had that needed
major surgery.”

“Yes that’s him. He was sworn to silence on the matter by his superiors. But after his
retirement he came clean to the family. It was he that made me join the Constabulary. I had

been an unruly child, the discipline of the Constabulary, it seemed, would “sort me out”. He
was right of course!” His wrist chronometer vibrated to inform him of another appointment.
He made his excuses and left. As he was leaving the front door; Arthur surreptitiously
handed him a note. He put it in his coat pocket and headed to where he’d parked the car.
When he had settled in he opened the note. It was in a hand he knew and read

“Word on the Grape Vine is Hagron is being called in to mediate a dispute in a Syndicate run
venture. You might be getting another corpse to deal with. V.v.G”

Arthur had passed on a message from another of Felix’s informants; he signed
himself Vincent van Gogh. Vincent was his real name, and he was a commercial graphics
artist by profession. Sub-Space Monitor as a hobby. The fact that Vincent knew about
Whelks meant that someone at HQ had leaked word of the investigation to the
Underground. If the killers were wise they would have left for another sector by now. This
would probably also mean that the Chief was blasting all at HQ, so he decided to find Lomax
and Dreck and catch up with what they had. Lomax was no fool when it came to confronting
the Chief in his “Irish”. The two of them would probably be in Maxim’s Café Bar. He headed
off to the Downtown district making sure he wasn’t followed…

Chapter 2

“It’s only Business”

Telford came round to find he had been tied to a chair in the office of the Head of The
Kinray Group. Mortimer Glass was staring at Telford with a wicked looking grin on his face.
“I do not think your client…” he looked at a sheet in front of him then continued “Luis
Lisette Bordeja former Head of the Battelle Syndicate will be requiring your services after all
Mr Hagron. It would appear he has met with an unfortunate “accident”. He apparently
seems to have slipped whilst inspecting the mincing equipment in one of the groups Pet
Food factories. Messy way to end one’s life you’ll agree” Glass oozed the statement from his
pursed lips. Telford winced. “I really do appal hostile takeovers; they tend to leave open
ends that need tying up!” He added winking in a sinister fashion. “But you need not worry
on that count; the Kinray Group will need you to continue supplying your services to the
newly “merged” Syndicates” He snapped his fingers the two goons that had drugged him
came forward. “Gaston; Herne, please untie Mr Hagron and make him comfortable we have
matters of importance to discuss. Mr Ha… May I call you Telford; it’s a shame to make this
so formal. Telford could I offer you a Singorian Brandy?” Telford rubbed his wrists and
decided to play along; after all the man before him held the lives of hundreds in his hands,
which figure now included his partner and himself. He took the offered Brandy and listened
to the proposals of the Head of the Kinray Group.

Lomax and Dreck were in window seats watching the scene outside. It was sunny
and they ordered Krank a strong Klipka; a local substitute for the long extinct Coffee drinks
that used to be found on Terra. He savoured the first sip before telling them his news. When
he’d finished he added a Savroi Cake to his order and let the news sink in. Lomax was the
first to speak.

“If there has been another killing; we should be hearing about it soon. If my suspicions are
correct, the Kinray Group will make a bid to expand their territory. All we do not need right