Chapter 38

Rocky used his field effects to position his companions in the ready cradles. Pete and the girls strapped them in, after which everyone coached the new Eridanis through the audio, visual and sensor connections. In very short order, Gemma and Jewel were enjoying the novel sensations, looking at everything, talking out loud and flying all over the place.

Pete, concerned that the two new residents might need explaining, sent subtle probes to the neighbors. His discovery both infuriated and saddened him. Opening a private channel to his stony friend, he asked Rocky to take the newbies on a long test flight, casually observing the area between here and the distant swamps. "Take care to avoid detection. Altitude and stealth shields are advised. I want you to give me an unbiased report."

"Any particular reason? Might this have something to do with your unsettled feelings?"

"Yes, but that is all I willing to say before you take a look around."

Rocky gathered his crèche mates and 'took them for a flying lesson'. Pete, in the interim, asked Amy about moving the Asylum if it became necessary, again on a closed channel.

"Boss, I haven't given it any thought at all." Amy replied. "Think we might like a different climate better?"

"I guess you could say that. I'll let you know more later." He answered. "While you're working on it, think about how many different ways we generate energy and the least we can use and still get by without danger or hardship."

He collected the girls and sent them inside. "I don't want you all to get too attached to this place, Pixies. If Rocky tells me what I expect to hear, we are not welcome here. Our hosts are being less than honest with us."

Amy spoke through the intercom. "Boss, Rocky wants to talk over the radio. It won't be overheard."

"Put him on, dear. Rocky, talk to me."

"Pete. The lizards are on the move. Tens of thousands of them, several species together. They appear to get along quite well, not like we were told. A number of bearcats and wolves are traveling with the group." Rocky added, "The bad part is that they are armed. The lizards have weapons tech, primitive next to us, but weapons none the less."

"That confirms it. When I spied on the locals earlier, I eavesdropped on their plot to get rid of us. Basically, they have lied to us about nearly everything. The apex species do not engage in open warfare because of fear, not mutual acceptance and respect. We, as a new power are feared. We upset the balance."

"But, we're not bad people. We just want to get by." Cam insisted.

"This is still a warrior society. That concept is not within their understanding. Everyone wants to be top dog. Or cat. Compare it to the Cold War days on earth. Governments constantly strived for the upper hand. The primary reason it never heated up was the cost to all sides was not acceptable. The only global cooperation came in sci-fi movies when earth was invaded. Hostile intent was always assumed even there was no proof."

"That makes us the Michael Remys of this play, 'The Day Aurora Stood Still'. I remember he got shot for his troubles." Allison said. "I don't like this movie."

"But Gemma passed the test when she entered into the planet's influence." Jenny interjected. "That has to count for something."

"That means we have no plans to destroy Aurora proper. It is likely she cares not a whit what the surface denizens do to one another." Phoebe counseled. "She likes us because we woke her up from a long sleep. We gave her news of other worlds when we were in recovery mode. She likes us because we stopped the invaders from strip-mining her very substance. However, she did not raise a figurative finger to stop them from enslaving the natives."

"Neither did the bearcats, really. They showed up rather late for the party. I think they were content to let the bad guys eliminate their competition, not thinking they would be next." Pete agreed. "So now it appears the lizards are not killing and eating each other as advertised. There are more of our two-faced friends than we imagined. They must have numbers and enough technology to feel confident in taking us on."

"The most they can accomplish is a siege." Lisa said. "We took down a spaceship for fuck's sake. They're just a bunch of overgrown house pets. Pete was right. Don't trust cats."

His daughters and sister sent their own mental probes. "Peaceful coexistence is alien to this place. Shared knowledge is unheard of. A barely contained cold war is the norm. They expect a race as powerful as we are to conquer as they would." Spring discovered.

Star added, "Giving them opposable thumbs would allow them to kill each other more efficiently once they eliminated us."

"They have to know we can kick them all to Sunday. They must think we are too weak minded to waste the lot of them, or so peacefully gullible we will let them boss us around." Rani was getting angry. "We did not come here to be dictators, but we will not be pushed to our knees either."

"Amy, what are our power options? Can we be mobile? Are the geothermal generators mandatory?"

"Boss, I have very good news with a large question mark. If we decide to move on, we can switch to fusion power. I can envelope a chunk of the ground under and around the house in our force field as reactor fuel. We have the FTL drive and the AG drive. The house is mostly empty space, so mass is not a great limitation. Rocky's density makes him almost as heavy as our building with an equal volume of dirt attached."

"Tell me how long can we go between stops for more reactor mass and is the exhaust waste something we should sweat?"