Chapter 46

Chris once she was rested seemed less on edge. I had to admit, that I felt the same way. Pulling her close we followed all the data we could from the probes and Cal's interpretations.

Four hours after the rescue operation began Mom materialized in our shadow and entered her previous boat bay. Her hatches opened, and thousands of stunned barbaric Tandra and other races drifted out on her tractors. Cal took each of them, and deposited them into a very large stasis chamber, made ready in advance. There was no way that three of us, plus Mom and Cal, could take care of all of these people. With both Mom and Cal scanning the individuals for necessary skills, I felt that no trained person would get through our hands.

When almost forty thousand individuals, stunned and packed like sardines had been removed from her holds, she returned for others. A quick upload, showed us the conditions she found on the surface of the planet. Since the plants had been sending out meat, then there was no reason to investigate any irregularities if they were found.

Time passed slowly and each of us stood watch, till the wedding festivities started. Cal's auxiliary ships brought in more of the desperate people, and they to were again processed and put into stasis. Chris became irritable and needed constant reassurance and attention. The cure I used seemed to work for me as well as for her. John had no such help, and his mood steadily soured.

Hours before the wedding, a major flotilla approached. Their number almost doubled the present complement of major ships. Cal's interception of the communications showed us, that the new arrival was the groom, King Sook, aboard the dreadnaught 'Disembowel'. The pronunciation of the ship's name was too difficult for Human vocal cords to sound. His betrothed, Samlay, daughter of King Tinsu, waited in the palace, for the groom's arrival. From Cal's thoughts on Samutz culture, we could just as easily find a battle taking place, except that King Sook would reunite two Samutz empires, and not need to this time.

All of Cal's data on the Samutz Empire actually covered only King Tinsu's territory. These two systems had been at one another's throats for centuries. This was very unlike Samutz. They would kill their enemy, instead of aligning through marriage. The empire of King Sook was only twelve systems. Other small one system monarchies abounded throughout this section of the arm, and paid homage to either of the two kings.

The hectic pace of the meat processing plants slowed and stopped. Mom and the other ships had brought in almost three hundred thousand people. A hundred and ninety thousand remained, hidden below the surface of the planet. With some Tandra volunteers, the rest of the crew boarded the ships, and returned with what captives they could.

I stood, as my girls were deposited on the deck of one of our larger boat bays. They immediately ran to me, with outstretched arms. They all looked haggard from loss of sleep, worry of being caught, and all the loads they took upon their shoulders, when dealing with such desperate and destitute people.

The rescued Tandra, stood in awe of John and me, as we greeted the returnees. The men formed ranks, and stood at ease, awaiting a formal dismissal. When all the men had come to parade rest, they snapped to attention. I walked in front of the men and decided that my thanks must be given.

"I want to thank all of you for putting your lives on the line, to save these people, even though they are not even your species. All of you were just following orders, but I know, that you went far beyond those orders to make these people as comfortable, and as safe as possible. Many would have died from simple misunderstandings. If it weren't for some very quick thinking, the Samutz would have found what was happening, and killed all of you."

I was referring to some men in particular, that had gone into the streets of the capital city Suron. They went to recover individuals that had escaped from the sewers, and tried to make their way to the countryside. In one case, a few Samutz had seen the escapees, and were starting to give an alarm. The men had dispatched them, and hid the bodies in the sewer, with the stunned bodies of the escapees.

I knew the men appreciated our notice of their commitment to the cause. Our new guests knew next to nothing, of what was going on, because they could not communicate well. Much later, they would remember this time, if we lived that long.

The men were then dismissed to get cleaned, eat and sleep. The former captives were put into stasis, to await settlement in either a new home, or the one they came from. I still hated to do this, but we hadn't enough people to get all of them reacquainted with Tandra technology. A happy exception was finding a few thousand Tandra, with an education similar to the ones on Earth. They had been taken out of stasis, by the Samutz, after they forced their way into the dome, using some thoroughly brainwashed Tandra. These again took the chairs to begin healing, and regaining their priorities and self esteem.

Just before the wedding, Cal gave me the devastating news. The new king and queen were being given a system to play with, and feed off, during their honeymoon. If King Sook found it suitable he could add it to his empire, as a gift from his father-in-law. The direction and distance said that it could be no other than Sol.

King Tinsu had offered to take the planet, for the new family, but King Sook wanted the pleasure, even though Tinsu had already assembled a training crew to do the small chore. This crew, he did not know, were no longer in existence.

Part of the reason for our preemptive attack on Epsilon Eridani, was to gain some of the weapons we needed to defend ourselves. The first captured ship told us that the same weapons were to be used against us. Now I could see that much more than just those few ships were to come against a very weak Sol system.

I begged Cal to try to find their itinerary. Given enough time, we could mount a suitable defence. Cal doubted if all of the ships would go on the honeymoon. The king would go to his home planet first, to display his new bride, before taking a few ships to subdue a primitive planet. Even one ship, could easily take Earth, and all the inhabitants, even with our stepped up defences.

In an almost all or nothing gesture, I ordered all of the smaller ships to resume deliveries of the beer, spirits and virus. This time we used any and all strains. If a few percent lived through one contagion, then they were not likely to live through two or more. Almost three quarters of the new ships accepted our largesse, along with many of the old ones. The notable exclusions were the major ships of the groom. Their training must have precluded them taking any gifts, even if from the king's future father-in-law's people.

The ones that refused our offer were targeted by the small probes carrying only the long term virus we released on the planet below. They went out in clouds, to attack the goliaths. They infiltrated the other ships through any hatch only secured with a shield. Luckily, all the ships had some areas that were weak enough that they could enter. Their numbers were much smaller, than I would like. It took a lot of time to make the specialized virus that they carried. Their small numbers had been sent off regardless; hoping against hope, that they would do the job assigned them.

As this was happening, the local equivalent of television was used to beam the scenes of the actual wedding, to the others on the planet, and those still in space.

The locale was much like an arena in ancient Rome. Thousands of spectators crowded the seats as two pairs of Samutz came out. King Tinsu and his daughter from the west side. King Sook came from the other, accompanied by another Samutz I took for his best man.

Fifty metres from one another, the groups stopped and waited theatrically, for the crowd's approval. When a roar was heard, that shook the structure, Sook and Samlay approached each other alone. The intervening area was wet. Mud started to creep up their ankles, and eventually to their hips. Simlay sank into the mud and then stood up. The mud now covered her to her neck. Sook looked fairly confidant as he moved toward his intended. Simlay did not want to come too close for some reason and stood just outside his grasp.

This seemed to be much more than a reluctant bride. King Sook started first and jumped close with a burst of speed that I was amazed at. He punched the bride enough to knock her back into the mud. She sank, and came up fuming. Keeping low, she worked toward her opponent. Sook kept facing her, till he was facing the glow of the local sun. At his first squint she attacked. A hand went for his eyes to incapacitate him, while another threw mud to hit his eyes if he moved.

He knew of the diversion, and moved a step back. The quick step was not very sure, and Samlay jumped on him, trying to gouge his eyes again. He punched her once, then again, with the other hand. She staggered and lashed out again with some mud. This time the eyes were hit, and in that second she jumped on him, and tried her best to kill him.

Sook reared up angrily, and punched her in the face many times. He took her by the throat and pushed her under the mud. Her struggles were frantic. His arms ran green, with his blood and hers. An arm came up from below with a vengeance. It held a coconut sized rock. King Sook staggered back from the blow, leaving his opponent momentarily free.

Simlay regained her feet and breathed deeply. She kept a wary eye on her opponent and went after him before he was completely recovered. Sook was able to dodge the first strike with the rock but the second grazed his skull. A fit of rage seemed to take over and he viciously backhanded his truelove, knocking her back into the mud.

This time he seemed to know that his life was on the line and advanced on his bride-to-be. She came quickly to her feat but Sook took her neck in his left hand and repeatedly struck his fiancée in the face. When she quieted a bit he drove her body beneath the mud again and soon had to hold tight to her squirming body.

When she quieted he waited ten seconds, and pulled her out, and turned her over, to tie her hands behind her back, with some golden rope at his waist. Her face remained at all times beneath the surface of the mud.

The crowd cheered and cheered. Sook took the unconscious female, and threw her over his shoulder, and returned to his best man. They retraced their steps, and left the arena. Moments later the large and powerful craft left the planetary surface, to meet up with the dreadnaught.

The girls and I got ready, but the ship remained stationary in its orbit. Four hours later the same ship left the dreadnaught again, and returned to the planet. Our probes gave us the image of a now dutiful wife hanging onto her husband's arm, as they walked down the ramp, and into the palace.

The reception was not televised, but I was actually glad of the fact. The sights I would see would put me back into the same condition I had been in twice before.

Seven and half hours later, Cal warned us of the ships being made ready. The new couple boarded, and left for the dreadnaught. Like a well organized military operation, the ships left the system. The capital ships left for a star by the Tandra name of Zindor, about twenty three light years distant. The others pealed off and dispersed in the same general direction, but would not be able to keep up with the larger ships.

The decision was mine, and I knew I had to get to Zindor first. The 'Disembowel' could do almost three light years in a day. The eight day cruise would be only two subjectively for the crew. Since Samlay had been exposed to the virus she would only have two more days at journey's end, to live, while the rest of the crew had six.

If I was able to get to Zindor first, and again spread the virus, it may eventually be looked on as an attack by King Tinsu. If there were any survivors, then I would start a war that would do better at killing off the Samutz, than I could possibly hope to accomplish myself.

A quick acting virus would present Sook with a dying planet, and his crew as the walking dead. The last thing he would be looking for is a honeymoon planet to feast upon. Mom and Cal made ready with more of the viruses that we planned to fight with.

We left on a course at right angles to King Sook, to allay any fears if we were discovered. Once at the Mardaf Limit, we immediately went to the maximum speed possible. The girls were tired, and needed my attention nevertheless. I made love to each, in the tenderest way I could, and our speed allowed us to make the same eight day trip in one and a half hours. The other females, that were awake, seemed to help, which was an unheard of occurrence. Only the bonded group had previously been able to do this. Did this mean that all the women here were in this group?

We stopped short of our objective, and sent probes into the system. Zindor orbited a red giant. The comfort zone here was 450 million klicks, not the 150 million that the Earth enjoyed. The main city Farnac was even larger than Suron was. The defences around the planet make the planet we left, look like a tourist resort. There were large forts, evenly space, around the planet and ready to repel any invasion imaginable.

Three Omicron class ships kept vigil, as well as hundreds of other smaller ships. Giant troop transports, with their own landing craft, stood ready. It looked like Sook was ready to actually launch the attack against his father-in-law, or some other very strong enemy.

This system too, had massive ship building capacity, but looked much different than the Tandra made system on Samutzi. The sensors brought back lots of information, about the many planets and moons of the system. It became clear, that the Samutz worked on the labours of the previous masters of this system, but they were not the Tandra.

The long range scanners could not pick out the various types of aliens, only the ever present Samutz. This would mean that the food source was kept inside buildings, or shipped in and went directly to the consumer.

Cal had been building probes the entire time we remained around Samutzi, and this is when we would use most of them. Again, we were restrained by the ability to manufacture enough of the long term viruses, to complete the job to my satisfaction.

All ships went through a military blockade, and we would not be able to dump large volumes of contagions, even if we had the supplies to do so. We would need to rely on their natural ability to multiply in this case. The other quick acting virus was easily replicated, and available to us, and this went into many of the probes, that would be held in reserve.

The chain of Samutz sensors around the system assured the security of the Samutz, from massed intruders. We were obliged to stay far away from any ship, and rely on our own probes.

Through discussions with Mom and Cal, we found we could only use, the now standard way of attacking. The long term viruses would be dispatched as soon as possible, hoping to bring their lives to a less abrupt end.

The more important ships were dealt with first. Hundreds of probes went out to the battleships and hundreds more to the troop carriers even though they were only partially loaded. The chain of forts got only a few, but the amount of traffic they got, insured that the various viruses would spread regardless.

Small unobtrusive packets of death rained down on the planet, to spread as best they could, unaided. Other probes targeted important government buildings, and military complexes. These probes too, had the ability to compromise the computers, and AIs, that controlled the planet. The amount allotted to the planet was less than the ships in orbit, for the ships and orbital forts were the planet's main defensive positions.

Hours later, most of our stores of probes and virus were exhausted. More was being produced, and made ready, for the new ships that were entering and leaving the system, all the time.

Mom slipped out of her new home, and left, to drag cometary debris and ice from the periphery of the system, to keep up with the demand for raw materials. Her tractors gathered all that she could, compressed the debris into packets, and left it to allow her to hunt for more, without dragging a visible mountain behind her. We too retreated, and did our own hunting for raw material, but did not do as well as Mom did, on her own.

I had talked to many of the Tandra techs, but had stayed away from the mainly Softay and T'aut. They seemed to be very frightened of me, because to their eyes, I was almost as big as a Samutz, and therefore must have some of the other attributes, as well. My fast pace and determined manner, usually told them to stay out of my way, for fear of getting me angry, if I ran into them.

A tutor had given me their languages, for neither could mindspeak well. The Softay language was soft and easy to get off the tongue, but spoken very quickly. I had heard many Earth languages that seemed fast when heard by a person that did not understand the language. Here the Softay language was conveyed very fast.

The T'aut, on the other hand, spoke slower and seemed to put a lot of thought into every word they spoke. My jaw and tongue, made speaking the language difficult, even when I had all the technical skills of the Tandra behind me. Their stance and gestures conveyed a great deal of the meaning. I could use Mom or Cal to translate, but this way seemed to be cheating, or less polite.

Cal was the one that warned me of a potential problem, and a solution for one of our own problems. An older female Softay was despondent after losing her only child. The father happened to be one of the casualties inflicted on the gentle race. If help could be given, then we would be seen as a more benevolent race. Cal told me that the others of her kind had their own problems to deal with, and ignored the distraught mother. I had very little call to get any of the techs to help, other than the Tandra, even though there were almost a few thousand of the combined races. Perhaps this would be a way to get them to help me, and in doing so help themselves.

The distance to the bay was considerable, but I did not want to enter unannounced, so I came as close as I could, with the matter transmitter, and walked the remainder, whistling Greensleeves as I went. The tune was simple and slow enough, to perhaps get them to react less. I didn't want them to think they were being raided by the Samutz again. The Softay were stunned to find me, in what they came to think of, as their home. The bay was one of the largest, and stretched for over half a klick, and about a quarter wide. There was enough height to take in most of the ships that we ran across. Now it contained some troop transports, some assault landing craft, and a hundred or so fighters, of various sizes. They were not pressed for room, for the craft and the barracks attached to this section, would take almost ten times more than their number.

The Softay backed away, and the slow moving T'aut were caught against a small alcove. I stopped whistling, and spoke to them in their own language, and said, "Hello, good beings. I came down to find out if you were getting all the things you need." The terms I used were as close as I could use, to the T'aut way of speaking.

There was no reply. The T'aut were about a metre high, and just a little taller than the Softay. Small pink and green scales covered their entire body. The effect made them attractive. The head was almost round with a mouth that reminded me of a turtle. Some even had their mouths open in the same gesture, that a Human would have, and there were no teeth evident. Their hands sported only three digits, but were sufficient to do almost any job.

Cal told me that they enjoyed a warmer environment, than the Softay, and the bay was already the best compromise we could make, without one or the other suffering. The ships in the bay were all on standby, and little could be done to them, even by the techs.

"Cal, I would like you to form another shield around their area that will keep the air to their liking, and the area outside it to the Softay. Do we have enough supplies to make portable shields, to keep them comfortable outside their area?"

"Yes we do. There are many semiautomatic fabricators that would do the job nicely. Do you want me to automate them?"

"No, Cal I have a better idea."

There was little I could do now to make them comfortable, except make some warm spots for them. I turned slowly, and walked over the four troop transports, that they used for homes. Some of the younger ones fled my approach, thinking I would hurt or eat them. I placed my hand on the interface panel, and got access to the computer on the ship. I instructed it to begin warming the interior, and increase the relative humidity. A small screen was installed over the doorway, to keep the moisture in, but everyone could enter or leave if they wished.

By the time I got to the fourth ship, the T'aut had decided that I probably wasn't going to eat them yet, and just hid in the interior or behind small ships, on the bay floor.

As I finished, I spoke aloud to the ones hiding, "The ship that now carries us has just passed instructions to the food replicators in the troop transports, to change the food, to better suit you. The communal room too will serve food tailored for each of the races here. Later, when we are less pressed for time, we will improve things more. The troop transports will now respond to everything you ask it, and within its power, as long as it is considered safe. Rest and recover from your time with the Samutz. You will not fall into their grasp again. There are now a few fabricators, dedicated to your use. I would like you to make some personal shields, of the design best suited to your bodies. After that is completed, you may use them for your own needs."

I walked to the other end of the bay, with slow measured steps. Cal said, "The T'aut are talking over your speech, and do not know what to make of it. The younger ones aboard the ships are sampling the new food, and find it a lot better, than the plate provided them previously. The older ones are much more comfortable, in the warmer air. Some of the older techs cannot understand how they now have a relatively free access to the fabricators. Before everything was made for the Samutz exclusively."

The Softay saw that I killed or maimed none, but still stayed out of my way. All but a few, however. A youngster of only a few years had not heard the warning, and the others chasing him or her, in a game of tag. The youngster looking behind, did not see me till too late, and ran into my legs. He careened off them, and fell to the floor tangling with some of the closely following pursuit.

The rest stooped dead in their tracks, at the sight of the one armed, monster before them. The smallest in the pile was crying a high pitched wail, as only a child can make. I helped the child to its feet, and the rest quickly ran back to relative safety. The youngest looked to be a boy, now that he was close. He was on his belly with a bumped head. I gently picked him up with some difficulty, with one arm, and held the small bundle close. His arms came up to hold me, as he recovered, till he felt my uniform, and the crying immediately stopped. I did not need to read his mind, to know he was frightened out of his mind. A wet feeling down my front, told me how frightened he really was.

A female, perhaps the mother, came out and raised her arms, but would come no closer.

"You may come and take the child," I said in my best possible approximation of their speech. She hesitantly came. She was only a little over a metre tall, and if her hair was longer, she would remind me of 'It' on the 'Adams Family'. Her arms were long for her body, as well as her legs. Something along the lines of a monkey, except that there was no tail. The face had very short hair, that showed wide spaced eyes, and nostrils open in the front, with a very short turned up nose. The hands had four long digits, with a non-retractable claw at the end.

She came forward with her arms stretched as much as possible, to keep her body away from me, and recover the child. I took the small bundle, and reached out the same way, with one arm. The child balanced on my palm, and I placed the bundle into her hands. Immediately after getting the child, she retreated four metres, and continued to watch me, and the dark spot on my uniform. The child like the adults had tangled hair that would look a lot better if combed or brushed.

I had a comb in my back pocket, and I ran it through my own hair, to show her what it was for, and said, "You can take this, and try to straighten the boy's hair. Catch it." I tossed it, because she would not come closer. Her hand came quickly out, and snatched the comb out of the air, as if by magic. These people would make great ball players, if given the chance.

"Cal, could you make this without too much difficulty?" As I pictured a small plastic disk.

"Will this do?"

From mid-air a ceramic disk of almost the right proportions appeared, and fell before me. I reached out, and caught it before it fell far. It was quite light, but not too much.

I turned to the woman and asked, "Will you walk out to the open area, so I can throw this to you?" She did not want to do this, but decided to comply. Probably because it would take both of them further from me.

She went about ten metres, and I did my best to judge the weight, and flight characteristics of the 'Frisbee'. Activating my navigational aids, I threw the disk to her in a wide arc that came to her from the side. The disk was neatly snatched out of the air.

"Throw it back."

The disk flew to land close to my feet. I picked it up, and threw it back again. The woman had to be told again to comply, and this time I had to run to catch the projectile. This frightened her a little. Throwing the disk back right away, made her forget her fear, and the disk came back quicker and more accurately. I threw behind her, and she needed to reverse to catch it.

A thousand or so eyes followed our action, as the disk flew back and forth. The last time I threw it up at an angle, till it almost touched the ceiling, and came back to the woman easily.

The boy wanted down, now that his fears were forgotten, and to possibly get the Frisbee. This was the second time I had used this device, to win over friends, and I considered buying stock in the company.

The Frisbee went faster and faster. I played all of my old tricks, to put the Frisbee close but not close enough to be caught properly. The woman had very good reflexes, and hand/eye coordination. It did not take her long before she to was trying to get me to miss. The boy set up a howl, for his turn, and I threw it to him, in a gentle arc.

I moved to a different position, and we had a three way toss. The boy enjoyed this and laughed at our antics at trying to catch the elusive device. I tried to make it seem much harder, than it seemed, so his tosses were seen as very difficult to catch, till I missed and fell spectacularly.

The boy came running over to see if I was hurt, and I grabbed him and using a leg to pin him loosely. I tried to tickle him with my one hand. I was very lucky for the boy did happen to be ticklish, or the entire act would have resulted in another interspecies fiasco. I quickly got up, and ran for the Frisbee, and passed it to the boy who was just recovering from the unexpected attack.

We played a few more minutes, before I called a halt, and allowed the two to continue to play. I did not know if the adults played with the children or not, but I did have hopes in this matter. Walking off to what I thought a safe distance, seven boys raced to their companion, to investigate his find. Cal gave me a dozen more, at my request, and the boys were stunned to find all twelve flying towards them at once. I turned as they were still in the air, and went to my main objective.

Cal's intel told me that the depressed mother's name was Nedue. She was presently in a far corner of one of the troop carriers, and beyond his passive scanners. My route took me past many startled Softay, as they came from around corners, or onto my level from above. I started my whistling again, and walked to a section in the far back. I found her sitting on her knees staring at the bulkhead, and rocking back and forth to her mumbling speech. The golden fur was dirty and unkempt. It was as if she had not cleaned herself for a long time. I had seen this before, in people trying to wish themselves to death, after a great personal tragedy.

Everything Cal told me about her seemed to be correct, and I knew what I had to do. Luckily I was prepared for some of it.

"Cal, are you ready to transport her?"

"Yes, Admiral."

"Then do both of us at the same time, and be prepared to sedate her."

She and I both disappeared, and materialized in the large shower room I had made for my family and myself. Nedue had not even noticed the change in locale, and her keening cry now seemed different in the much larger room. The smell coming from her was not as nice as I would like. It smelt acidic, if not from her equivalent of uric acid.