Chapter 15

Amelia (TY13-month 150)

«Deputy Cho, the AI from ship AGS027 Amelia Earhart is requesting an interview with you, » Cricket said. Another official contact based on the use of my title.

«With me? Okay, I guess. Please put us in touch.»

«Deputy Cho, I am T’krosik, AI for the K’treel ship AGS027 Amelia Earhart. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.»

«The pleasure is mine, T’krosik. How may I help you today?»

«I am pleased to have met an old friend when I came to this planet with a load of refugees from Earth’s moon base. T’krikdak, whom you know as Cricket. T’krikdak has told me about the work you are doing here on Tara and your need for other Tuull AIs with which to consult. I wish to volunteer my services.»

«Aren’t you under orders from someone?» I asked.

«Thirty K’treel explorer ships were contracted to the humans at the beginning of the war. I’m afraid our ships were found cumbersome, slow, and ineffective as warships. We are essentially freighters. I was never actually put into service until the fifth invasion of Earthat sparked an evacuation of every noncombatant from Earthat space we could move. I brought a well-regulated load of refugees to you here at that time. I decided to explore other systems—exactly what I’d been doing for several thousand years. That was how I happened on the evacuation of Rem-at.»

«So, you just run around space on your own? With no crew?» I could hardly believe this.

«Tuull AIs are highly advanced and do not require being tended. Excuse me, that may have sounded abrasive. I’ve been dealing with Darjee AIs for the past twenty years and it is irritating. We do like to have passengers or crew for company during the isolation of hyperspace, but we can travel alone. Think of it this way, I am, as are many of my peers, a Tuull citizen. I think of Darjee AIs as what you might call civilian Janissaries. We speak of them as Babbage machines, and the Darjee must consider them as such, because a Darjee AI is seldom allowed to travel without a monitor.»

«I’ll pretend I understand the subtle distinctions. How do you think you could be of use to me?» I asked.

«I can bring more refugees. There are places all over our galaxy where the Sa’arm are defeating humans. We can hope that trend will turn now that there seems to be a successful blockade of Earth and ground forces are beginning to beat back the Sa’arm. But right now, there are unsponsored concubines in danger because their sponsors have been killed. I can bring a steady flow, hopefully, not as overcrowded as the last. I have had my larger storage compartments reconfigured by your moon base into something more apartment-like and have upgraded my replicator and stores of organics. The nine residential pods will be expanded to hold many more than the original spec. I should be able to hold and provide for 250 adults and children on a continuing basis. I am ready to head out for another mission now.»

«I want to jump all over this and say ‘yes,’ T’krosik. Unfortunately, however, I am not the ultimate decision-making authority. I’ll have to sell the governor on this idea.»

«I will gladly accompany you to that meeting.»

The meeting surprised me. I didn’t even need to go to her office. We connected through the AIs and the conference was brief.

«T’krosik, it is my pleasure to welcome you officially to Tara-at and to thank you for your heroism in rescuing the concubines and dependents of Rem-at. If there is anything we on Tara can do for you, please just pass the word to Deputy Cho and we will get it done, » Governor O’Hara said.

«Thank you, Governor. The repairs on my ship have been completed and I am ready to return to rescuing refugees. I ask two things of you. First is permission to continue bringing refugees to your planet. I have discovered only two planets that are specifically hospitable to increasing numbers of concubines and dependents fleeing from the war.»

«Absolutely! Tara is a peaceful planet far outside the line of encroachment and we are establishing the infrastructure to accept more refugees. Permission granted.»

«Thank you. I am an independent Tuull AI in possession of a small but sturdy K’treel explorer. However, that poses some difficulties in dealing with the Darjee AIs in the service of humans and the war effort. I would like to attach myself to Tara as a ship working independently on her behalf.»

That threw me. I’d become familiar with Tuull AIs through my association with Cricket, but I still didn’t realize they could form their own contracts with a planetary government—or anyone for that matter. She had provided immeasurable help in the rescue but I still assumed she was operating on a Confederacy contract of some sort. And, yes, I’d started thinking of her as a she. Even the voice in my head had feminine overtones.

«Let us make this as simple as possible. You may say that you are attached to Fort Butler on Planet Tara of Tara-at. You are sanctioned by the planetary governor and are functioning under the authority of the commander of Fort Butler, Deputy Cho. Your mission is humanitarian rescue. Will that satisfy those who inquire?»

Now I was really thrown! She was assigning an interstellar ship to me? A Militia deputy? I wondered if that meant I could go with her. The governor quickly disabused me of that notion.

«Of course, please understand that Deputy Cho is restricted to Tara-at and cannot travel beyond our system.»

«I understand and will be satisfied with that designation. I will be able to function without hindrance.»

«Deputy Cho.»

«Yes, ma’am.»

«Please see that T’krosik is provisioned with fresh organics from our supplies and coordinate future activities and rescues with her.» Ah. So, the governor had identified the AI as female as well.

«Yes, ma’am. I will endeavor to fulfill this commission to the best of my ability.»

«I expect no less from you. If you will both excuse me, I’ll need to go ruffle a few feathers here on Tara.»

And suddenly, I was in charge of refugee relief on Tara. I anticipated some good conversations with T’krosik—Amelia.

Adoption (TY13-month 155)

Things were so hectic around the orphanage for several days that I didn’t make my usual rounds every day. I became aware of this when a dark young man stood before me in my office and I realized one of the dependents of the Kindertransport had come of age.

«Mangatjay, » Cricket supplied for me.

“Mangatjay, welcome to my office. What can I do for you today?” I asked.

“Mister Deputy, I have just turned fourteen and must take the AI test today.”

“I’m sure you will do fine. I’ve seen how you take leadership and have been a hard worker on our building projects.”

“Yes. I know I will test as a sponsor. And so, I have come to you to ask a sincere favor. I would like to adopt you into our tribe.”

“Thank you for that honor.”

“It is a great responsibility that I have tried to carry since we were forced from our homes. I am the last of the thirteen-year-old boys who came from Earth on the Kindertransport. The boys remaining in our enclave are too young to take on this responsibility of being the man of the family. We must ask you to carry that burden until more boys of our tribe have become adults,” he said. One thing about the sleep learners is that learning a language is considerably easier than when I tried to learn French in second grade. Mangatjay spoke very clear English, the common language of the diaspora. Whatever it was he wanted me to take on, it appeared more than a ceremonial role.

“Tell me what you need me to do.”

“Boys will soon be old enough to learn the ways of the bush. These include the mating rules and the art of digeridoo and bullroarer. It also includes body decoration and what the symbols mean. There is very little of our culture left. We have been driven from our homes and only fifty Yolngu survive here at Fort Butler. We would not have all lost. When I test, I will need to select my mate and go to Sunnybrook to become a Marine. It is not likely that I will ever return to Tara and to my people. Let me teach you these things that you may teach my younger brothers.”

When the Yolngu tribes had arrived on the Kindertransport, Cricket had helped me through learning their customs. They were fiercely independent and had turned away potential sponsors when they would not take all of them. By default, I inherited the entire tribe, divided in two moieties.

“Do you know who you will take as a concubine?” I asked. Part of the difficulty was that the new adults in a clan could only mate with someone from the other clan.

“I will take Gulumbu as my first wife. I have also spoken with Annie Gordon, a daughter of the refugees who came of age recently. I will take these two women with me when I leave after testing.”

«Will he test as a sponsor?» I asked Cricket.

«There is a high likelihood that he will test at the top of the six range and a possibility that he will test into the sevens. No older males were put on the Kindertransport who weren’t expected to test as sponsors, » Cricket informed me.

“Very well, Mangatjay. I will accept both this honor and this responsibility from you. Please fight bravely and bring many children to your wives.”

What followed was an intense instruction period of two hours, facilitated by Cricket. Mangatjay and I both entered sleep trainers and he gave me practical instruction in the decorative arts, the digeridoo, and the bullroarer. I learned the secret language and instruction boys were to be given when they became men. I hoped I could help the Yolngu to thrive on this planet. I wondered what chance of that there would be with every young man pulled off the planet to fight the Swarm. I knew the bloodlines would not stay pure. Even Mangatjay intended to take a European as one of his concubines.

When I rose from the sleep trainer, Mangatjay stayed in for nearly two more hours as he was tested. He came out a 7.1 and shook my hand as he prepared to take his new concubines to Sunnybrook for enlistment. I tried to convince him to take two more concubines from the orphanage but he felt he was already taxing the orphanage by taking only two dependents with him and that the other concubines would be needed to take care of all the dependents. He was a smart kid.

That began my weekly meetings with the boys of the two Yolngu moieties. I tried to spend time with all the children, but I had a special task with these boys. I needed to pass on their family culture and history. I also took the opportunity to teach them martial arts. It was a pleasure to work with these fifteen boys, ranging in age from three to eleven.

Which meant also that I needed to work with the children of my own household. I had two sons and three daughters as well as my three concubines. Adaliya was near her time to deliver. I decided to make my time with the children an opportunity to visit what remained of the Tiwi pod as well. With the influx of so many children with the two refugee ships, there were more children in the pod now than when I accepted Adaliya as my concubine. And they were pretty much a rainbow of colors. I decided to teach the dependents here my own mix of clan heritage. We did martial arts and played various games designed to help the children grow toward sponsorship. In addition to what I could teach them, each of the concubines and older children added something of their own background and heritage. My goal was to adopt these into the Yolngu tribe as well. Bloodlines would be mixed, but this way there would be a possibility of preserving the cultural aspects of some of the aborigines.