Chapter 9

Once they were able to slow down, translate the language of the inhabitants, and gain their trust, the Hooters crew learned that the inhabitants referred to their race by a term that boiled down to a loose alliteration of something like 'Moves Quickly.' In comparison to the other indigenous species on the planet, it was appropriate.

Since the star had no designation other than a type and location, the planets had no names, and given the nature of intelligent beings, this tends to be an intolerable state of affairs; the planet quickly became designated as MQ1.

The adults averaged approximately a foot in height by a foot long, half of which consisted of a luxurious tail for balance, and resembled tiny, long-legged, softly furred, bipedal bears whose color and markings seemed to depend on their surroundings.

Interacting with the tiny, relatively short lived, inhabitants for several months, meeting with the leaders of the various clans, learning of the lives, and customs of the MQ, resulted in the discovery that the adults exhibited no overt indications to differentiate the sexes since both had androgynous genitalia.

Their unions consisted merely of, what appeared to be, a momentary soft, face-to-face, full body collisions, which resulted in an almost instantaneous conception.

A few hours later, the nearly microscopic offspring, birthed directly into a small pouch containing a teat on the abdomen of either parent -- like the marsupials on Human Earth -- maturing quickly and leaving the pouch as self-sufficient in approximately a week, they were able to keep up with the adults, and attained adulthood in a little over a month.

The MQs were primitive but intelligent, possessing an extremely short-range telepathic ability. They exhibited an extremely inquisitive nature, and soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

It became apparent that forming a single point of contact for interaction between the species had little hope of success because of the constant change of members due to attrition from various causes, but thankfully they seemed to possess a 'Racial Memory' and the knowledge gained passed to the offspring at conception.

The interaction of the Crew with the natives had the inevitable effect of changing the structure of the culture from a strictly 'Hunter/Gatherer' society with a loose inter-clan arrangement, to the start of farming communes with a more central, representative form of government.

While in system, the Crew surveyed the planet, mapping the various deposits of metal, minerals, and usable resources, turning the results over to the MQ upon completion of the survey

The Crew decided to leave a probe behind in orbit, to continue the research into the MQ and other life forms on the planet while the Crew continued to explore the rest of the system. With many promises of a return in approximately a year, they departed.

With the defenses in place around the Seekers' planet, the Alliance settled down to conduct an intense, systematic search for those responsible for the hostile action against the Alliance.

They didn't have long to wait, as the projectile that had been launched at the Alliance center appeared on the detection systems only hours away from impact. This time there wasn't near the panic of the inhabitants of the planet. They didn't really have the time.

Time for impact arrived, the projectile came into contact with the 'Hooter's Shield' around the planet, and deflected at an angle that would continue into the void without effecting any other body in the Alliance. A device secured to the object, insured that a warning was projected ahead to warn others of its presence, and approach.

Alliance Protectorate vessels, back tracking the path, arrived on location at the origin of the projectile but still found only an energy signature that disappeared into the background clutter of the void.

Mendow, of the Nondeaka, received troubling rumors of impending trouble from several members of the extended family on the various planets. The information was short on actionable facts and long on speculation, but it seemed that a few of the Alliance members were becoming dissatisfied with their lot in the Alliance.

Admittedly, the alleged malcontents were of the smaller groups, but with all members treated equally in the Alliance, the rumors were troubling. Mendow decided it was worth investigation to find the cause of any malcontent. To that end, he dispatched a group to track down the source of the distress and report results to him as quickly as possible.

It had taken several months and not until after the projectile had been safely deflected did the investigation begin to bear fruit. Information had been uncovered that a group of beings, with extremely tight mental shields, had been fomenting dissent among the smaller members by sly innuendo that the larger members were trying to freeze the smaller members out of a lucrative endeavor.

The alleged endeavor was a myth, had never existed, used merely as a focal point to stir mistrust among the members. Of course, the group causing the dissention had disappeared shortly after starting the problem.

Even though evidence proved the gossip false, the damage remained, and the seeds of mistrust sown, which proved that even intelligent, telepathic entities can be misled when greed enters the picture.

Six months after leaving MQ1, the Crew received a message from the probe requesting their return. Upon arrival at MQ1, they were astonished by the transformation of the planet.

Extensive green houses covered a large portion of the landmasses not covered by trees with large storehouses and docks extending into the shallow areas near shore. What appeared to be miniature paddle wheelers were tied up to the docks and entering or leaving port in a nearly constant stream.

Everywhere they looked was a scene of intense action and industrious endeavor that resembled a late 18^th or early 19^th century economy.

Upon planet fall, the Crew met delegates of the MQ. They escorted them to a meeting of the ruling body, which had peacefully evolved into an elected form with the leader serving for eight years or until voted out of office.

The Crew learned that the MQ grew a form of algae in the greenhouses, turning it into a nutritious, sustaining form of bread, which had allowed the population explosion and rapid growth to an industrial society.

The ship AI predicted that, based upon the advancement of the species in just six months, and barring complications, would achieve the infrastructure necessary for mass transit in another six months, with prop driven flight soon after.

The probe when queried on the possible reason for the rapid advancement had no answers other than, given their high metabolic rate, the intelligence of the species, and increased food availability, the explosive rate of advancement was inevitable.

One of the Crew enjoyed old SCIFI shows from the history of Human Earth, one of which was called 'Star Trek.' One early episode of the show concerned a cuddly alien life form, which reproduced at a prodigious rate that threatened to overwhelm the ship. It was called, "Trouble with Tribbles."

The Crew wisely decided that none of the MQ be allowed to enter the vessel in orbit. The Crew refused requests of the MQ to visit the vessel to insure this would not occur, but, as is often the case, shit happens.