Chapter 7: Palora

Javier was walking down the centripetal rotating ring of the Jian Seng. It had been at least seven more hours, and it felt nice to feel some sort of gravity pulling down on his body again. The lack of gravity was punishing towards those that were exposed to it the longest. Short-term spurts like this didn’t really hurt the body, but he felt the desire to get some sleep again. A part of him felt the need to talk to Shira. He even debated about going to her quarters to speak with her. It was the next morning, now reaching around 0600. However, the good news was that the jump and landing operation wouldn’t require the entire staff to be awake at 1000 to give any available support. Even then, the fact that the ship was going to be moving around a lot, flying, and landing in a planetary body and atmosphere would still require people to be strapped in. The good news was that the gamma shift he was a part of would be in the engine and centripetal ring while the alpha shift would fly down to the surface. It was the regrettable reality of operating in space. The times when people needed the sleep the most would rarely get it and were forced to work long hours again.

His thoughts went to Becky. She had been practically asleep for half of the watch, and for her, it was as if it were her only time to get any sleep. The fact was that everyone on the ship was used to working overtime.

As he continued to walk forward, he could see Shira standing by his door. Her back was perched to the door, and her tilon was open. A lit cigarette was sitting between her lips as she was swiping at projected images. Her shark-like tail protruded by the edge of the sliding door. Her one eye seemed to notice his presence as he was getting closer to her.

“Ah ... there you are,” Javier said as he walked up next to her. “I was about to go looking for you.”

She went and pressed the two metal strips together to close out her tilon. She then put it away while she gripped her cigarette with her two fingers.

“I heard about the assistance you gave to the engineers,” he added. “Impressive work.”

“A simple resolve by looking at it from a different view,” she calmly said.

“Ugh...” Javier commented as he put his hand to his forehead. “I have to readjust to having gravity to no gravity to gravity again. I apologize if it is doing loops for my body.”

“I would recommend going to the medic to see if they can offer anything for you.”

He shook his head. “Nah ... a little bit of sleep is all I really need. My replacement is on watch right now. You are welcome to come inside my quarters.”

Javier went and tapped the button on the panel by the door. The entrance slid open as he stepped inside. The empty quarters had become occupied again as he found a chair by a table to sit down. Shira followed behind him as she also found the other chair by the only table in the room. Even with her size, it seemed like it had cramped conditions for her. She seemed to concentrate on the cigarette smoke.

“I always see you smoke,” Javier said. “Every time I ask why you do it, you always avoid the question.”

She blew out a puff of smoke from her pointed nose. “Does a person like me need a reason to smoke?”

“Nah, I am just curious.”

“Do you feel like there is some extraordinary reason why it is done?”

“Hmmm,” Javier commented as he put his hands to the table. “It isn’t that. With you, I always feel that there is more to you than I even realize. It’s like I can be with you for years, but in the end, I only had scratched the surface when it comes to your personality.”

She pulled out her tin box from her back pocket and opened it. She pulled out the small ashtray and placed it on the table. She then tapped her lit cigarette to it before she put it back to her lips.

“Does a Shal’rein need a reason to smoke?” she asked him.

“No ... it is their choice,” he answered.

“Is there a rule that forces me to explain why I smoke?”

“No.”

“Then my simple answer is this. I enjoy smoking. There is no prophetic reason or some hidden cause for it. It isn’t to calm my nerves, cultural fad, habitual, or some other physical driving force for it. I smoke because I choose to. Nothing more.”

“Hmmm ... somehow I feel in the next several years I am going to learn about some ancient master that taught you about the prized art of smoking. Either that or I am going to learn about some hidden tragic past that I don’t know about where smoking is a release. Just wait and see.”

“Keep trying to figure it out,” she said calmly. “I have already provided the answer.”

“Ugh...” He paused as he rubbed his temples. “So ... you seem to be doing alright adjusting.”

“Of course.”

“No one else has made any offensive gestures to you? Anybody made any threats?”

“No to both questions,” she answered. “I am unharmed as I have been in the last several days.”

He nodded his head. “I imagine that you would. What were you reading about earlier?”

“I was reading about the events that transpired that led to the failures of the sensor array. I have a hypothesis.”

“You do? You plan on working with the engineers again today?”

“I will need to go to Palora to verify if the hypothesis is correct.”

“You don’t have to go there, you know?” he told her. “You were busy helping the Gamma shift last night. You would be part of one shift and be able to get rest now ... have it where we both work together and have the same off hours together.”

“I know,” she responded with a very brief smile. She tapped her cigarette to the ashtray. “I will keep that in mind, but I will need to go to Palora to render assistance to the ship and crew. It will increase the operational threshold and capability of this ship.”

“Plus, it would make you look even better to the ship and crew,” he commented. “Although, I do imagine that you helping out last night will get around in the rumor mill today.”

“The opinions of the crew about me do not concern me. Only if it is perceived as a threat towards me do I have to prepare for it.”

“Ugh ... fine ... you win.”

Javier could see that she tilted her head a little bit. Her one eye was carefully studying his facial inflections. He felt like putting his head to the table.

“Do you feel that our conversations turn into competitions?” Shira asked him.

“Yeah, and every time I challenge you in some quarrel of words, I feel like I am going to lose,” he replied.

“That is not entirely true. Any leader that is going to survive and adapt to an environment must be a good listener as well. You may feel that you have little impact on my feelings and opinions, but you still do. In the coming future, I see you as the mate that stands beside me in battle. Much as you were on the Garja. The only difference is that you will provide important ideas, thoughts, and strategies to winning. You are my mate, after all.”

Javier’s thoughts had gone back to the assault carrier that she commanded. He still remembered the battle to escape back to the UHN. For a little while, she was absolutely correct. He stood beside her on her bridge. Even with her lowered rank and position, she had these forms of ambitions even if she never spoke verbally about it until now. He hadn’t even considered it.

“There is a possibility of it happening in reverse,” he told her. “I could be the one in command, and you are the one giving me the best ideas and maneuvers.”

“It is possible.”

Javier smiled a little bit. “I don’t suppose you are just saying all that to make me happy?”

Her only response to that comment was to take a drag from her cigarette. The tip burned hot momentarily before she blew out another puff of smoke. Javier waved his hands to wipe away the smoke.

“Hmmm ... sometimes you just need to ... show a little bit of emotion,” he said. “You do so much to keep it all bundled up. Honestly, the only time I saw you a little bit angry was yesterday at the mess hall. Any other time was something that occurred with you that you told me that I never really witness.”

“I was not angry at Obasi or his men,” she countered. “I only wanted to scare them to backing down.”

“You didn’t feel angry for one tiny second? Not even a little?”

“None. There was nothing gained by them being angry at me. The only thing that bothered me was that they were committed to a stupid action. If I had been an enemy, they would all be dead right now because of those set actions.”

“I guess it makes sense,” Javier replied. “I guess the only way to prevent that from happening is preventing the fires from starting in the first place.”

“Precisely,” she said as she took a drag from her cigarette. She breathed out a puff of smoke. “As much as I don’t care about the concerns of the crew, their perceived threats against me, I do have to prepare for. Adapting and preventing it from happening is the only way to stop it.”

A part of Javier had a lingering question in regard to the incident on Aphadus. If what she said was true, she didn’t do a good job preventing the people from attacking her until those people were right on top of her. Was she lax in her abilities? Was she saying one thing and not...

“It all comes down to planning,” Shira told him, interrupting his thoughts. “My only weakness is not having all the proper information before a battle. It is a common weakness for many. It can be combated, however.”

“Hmmm ... I felt that I was going to say something, but I guess I am getting tired.”

“Do you want me to let you sleep?”

“I don’t want you to go...” he replied. “Despite what I say about you, I do feel comfortable being around you.”

“That is both an emotional statement and a sign of wisdom,” she conferred to him. “You should have no shame in saying that.”

“I don’t.”

She took another drag of her cigarette. “Contrary to what you think, I am not emotionless.”

“You have been nothing but dry. You would give Ensign Wu a run for his money.”

“I am capable of emotion depending on the right circumstances.”

“That would probably have to be one hell of an event.”

“Not necessarily. For example, if I were an actor in a staged event, I would not hesitate to display emotion. If I were in the role of a spy, I would also be capable of showing emotion to sway individuals.”

“I haven’t even thought of that,” Javier wondered. “Would you be interested in playing the lowly princess of some high tower that...”

“No,” she simply answered.

“What if I sent you in as a spy that would...”

“No,” she answered again before he could finish the question.

“I bet you would be great at telling stories. I can picture the children all crowded around you and begging you to tell them about some famous battle that you partook in. I can imagine the emotions you sway from them from your utterly dry speeches.”

She studied him and could tell that he was mocking her. She was unimpressed as her cigarette was nearly burnt out. She stuffed the butt into the ashtray.

“You wish to hear a story?” she asked him.

“I don’t know. Maybe if it invoked emotion from it, I’d consider it. Besides, I already have my story to tell. I was the furthest traveling human that out beat Gabatrix or the UHN warship that bears his name. I had you to be a part of it.”

She seemed to wait a little bit before she finally told him. Her eye looked away for some time before it looked at him. “That is most likely not true,” she told him.

“What?” he asked in dismay.

“You were not the first human to make such a long voyage into Itrean space,” she said as she crossed her arms.

Javier almost couldn’t believe her. “I ... how? We met the Itreans in the JJ-78 sector. It is well recorded as the JJ-78 incident. It was the first time we ever encountered an alien race.”

“That is true. For the Aksren clan or the Itreans in general, it was the first time they encountered the human race publically.”

Javier leaned back on his chair. He crossed his arms and gave Shira his full undivided attention. It just seemed false by her statement, even if she was committed to telling it. Regardless, it had Javier’s attention.

“You wish to know the story about us?” Shira explained. “There are two supposed incidents where the human race encountered the Itreans before the JJ-78 incident. What I am going to tell you is a carefully guarded family secret. I view that it is safe to tell you this since I have long defected to the UWA. Even my mother only knows so much about this story.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes. I, unfortunately, only know so much about the first encounter, let alone the other one. One is verified while the other is unverified by my father that you know as Gular’shel.”

“Yeah, I know what you told about your father. He was a renowned tactician.”

“Yes,” she explained. “But do you know about the Gray Rhyolite?”

“The Gray Rhyolite?...” He paused as he thought about it. “That it is a name that few would know about unless they read their history books. It was supposedly a pilgrimage ship purchased by the Order of Vanatu and the Church of Pinheng. They were these oddball groups that believed in absolute freedom of the Martian government. My knowledge is a little bit sketchy on some things, but supposedly, they purchased an old freighter called the Gray Rhyolite and tried to convert it for long-distance travel. They had hopes of leaving and establishing their own colony but didn’t know where to go. Sometime in 2290 or 2291, I think the ship vanished while it was undergoing testing. It was a mystery at the time, but some thought that the Church and Order organization had launched some sort of secret mission with their members. All that is known was that the ship was never seen from again. Shortly afterward, the Order of Vanatu and Church of Pinheng would soon go bankrupt from their supposed failure of acquiring more ships for their pilgrimages. The mystery of the Gray Rhyolite would remain along with the crew that went with it.”

“I can confirm that story ... from my father’s perspective,” Shira replied.

Javier’s mouth had gone agape. He couldn’t believe it. He certainly wanted to know more about it.

“How?” he asked her.

“Supposedly, the ship had found its way to Shal’rein clan space. It was destroyed immediately for fear that it was an Emphra ship. There were only four survivors. My father questioned them and learned about the human race. With the ongoing fear of aliens due to the war with the Emphra, he decided that it was best to keep it as secret as possible. There was also fear that the Emphra might have gotten information about the human race. My father sternly believed in which he was also correct, that the UHN wouldn’t have had the resources to repel the Emphra fleets.”

“That is incredible. Your father learned about us? He decided to keep it secret ... how many knew about the human survivors?”

“Few among the Itreans did. It was easy to disguise that fact since there were only four from the freighter.”

“What happened to those survivors?” Javier asked her. “The war with the Emphra ended in the UWA calendar of 2299. Surely they would still have to be alive.”

“Circumstances would prevent that from happening. Each person has their own story that I only know so much of. There was only one that was still left from the Emphra War. She passed away from illness in 2317. The others disappeared. It is unknown of their true fates. The secret was well crafted as there was no word of the encounter with your people until 2349 of your calendar.”

Javier was amazed by this whole concept. The idea of humanity making contact in a limited fashion with the Itreans prior to JJ-78 seemed somewhat unbelievable, but it started to make sense as he thought about it. Itrean space was utterly vast, consisting of almost a third of the galaxy. It wouldn’t have taken much in eventually encountering them by some rogue entity in the human race as a whole. Something did make him wonder, though.

“This ... woman,” he asked. “She passed away in 2317. You were born in 2326.”

“What about it?”

“I mean ... your father fought in the Emphra War and encountered the survivors of the Gray Rhyolite. He only had a few that knew about their existence. Wouldn’t have someone had found out about them? Like what about his mate?”

“Gular’shel was a renowned hero to the Itreans as a whole. Few would question him. As for his relationships, the human woman was his mate. There would be no fear of the secret getting out.”

“Your father...” he paused as he thought about it. “He married a human woman before

marrying Veleshar. Wow ... Did ... they have any children?”

“No. There were little resources available to help them, and asking for medical assistance would end up exposing her to the public.”

“Right. It wouldn’t have made sense for me to ask that either, knowing that you weren’t going to defect until you could prove that T’rintar clan medical technology would make that possible.”

“Correct.”

He was shaking his head as he held his hand up. “Shira, this is amazing information. You helped solve a case of a mysterious vanishing of a ship in human history. I mean ... this woman was essentially your mother.”

“No,” Shira said. “My mother is Veleshar. Both women are completely unrelated.”

“True, true, but you had some prior knowledge about us when most other Itreans didn’t.”

“That is true to a point. My father secretly trained me in English, claiming that it was an ancient language of our people. Later before his death, he confessed and swore me to secrecy that I wouldn’t tell the other Itreans, including my own mother of the humans he befriended.”

He nodded. “I see ... I don’t know what to say about this. You sure that you are not pulling some prank on me?”

“I am not.”

“So in the end ... humanity did already know about your people...”

“In limited fashion, yes. However, I can safely claim that your record of traveling further than any human being will remain. Under my father’s wishes, he would request that few know about this secret. It is under my request, therefore, that you do not tell the others about what I have told you.”

“What about the supposed encounter?” he asked her.

She gave a brief nod. “To answer that, I must ask you how much you know about the Emphra War and my father?”

“Pretty much what you had told me and what I researched. It was a life and death struggle against the Emphra. Your father helped lead fleets into battle, sometimes facing against overwhelming numbers.”

She did a couple of quick nods. “During one of his campaigns, my father had encountered an Alara’jal shipyard. It had been long abandoned by its clan members as they were extinct. My father managed to crack into its databanks that had been wiped clean. Technicians managed to put some pieces together. It is mentioned that an Alara’jal ship had picked up an alien of unknown origin. This is mostly due to the fragmented data. It was described that the alien had two arms and two legs, but nothing else. The rest of the information was lost with the only speculation that he or she might have taken a ship from the clan to never be seen again.”

“The Alara’jal...” Javier thought about it. “They were the fourth clan that existed over two hundred years ago.”

“Correct. They were believed to have been all wiped out long before the war with the Emphra. Their last confirmed sighting was around your year of 2161.”

“2161? That would be impossible for a human to be taken captive or travel into Itrean space. We didn’t even have gate folding technology then. That was during the Earth to Mars Exodus.”

“That is also correct. Unfortunately, I have not had enough time to fully analyze what had happened. My father decided to keep the information mostly mute due to the lack of information. It also possible that it might not have been a human being and might have been something else that was similar to your race. Again, the Alara’jal were wiped out, taking any secrets with them in the process. There is something that I did pass to Fleet Admiral Anaya. I gave the data chip of this incident to her for further analysis. The data from the Alara’jal shipyards at least provide some data of other ships that might have fled before it too was destroyed during the war with the Emphra.”

“I wish that you did decide to tell me about it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have minded in trying to figure it out.”

“I only gave the chip to her just prior to the departure. I have all the data that I will pass to you.”

“So in the end, you did decide to reveal this?”

“Only the supposed human encounter in 2161. The Gray Rhyolite must be kept hidden from other knowledge.”

“Somehow...” he thought about it as he scratched his head. “I would feel that if an Itrean ship had appeared during the Earth to Mars Exodus, it would be all over the history books. Weren’t the Alara’jal huge?”

“They are taller than Shal’rein, yes. Again, I would recommend looking into it when you get a chance. It might help solve any possible discrepancies that might have occurred during that year in human history.”

He was still shaking his head. “Man ... to have gone through that. Those people end up meeting an alien race for the first time. I can only imagine what had gone through their heads. All that during a time when the Itreans were fighting for their lives.”

“All of our lives,” she corrected him. “The Emphra are dangerous beyond human comprehension, including our own. My father’s actions were necessary.”

Javier’s mind was putting all of her words into memory. He had so much more to ask of her, but he could feel exhaustion kicking in more and more.

“It’s been something else, hasn’t it?” he asked her.

“What has?”

“Like ... you tell me about a history that I didn’t know about. I end up getting pulled into your life like you were some tidal wave. On the one hand, I felt like I was going to die, and now I’m here on this ship.”

“Variables are a common sight in a person’s life,” she told him.

“Yeah ... it is. Just ... so much has happened in a couple of months alone. I remember you mentioning about the UHN Columbus a while back. To think that the Emphra could still be out there. Now the whole fiasco with Batrice is in full swing. God ... my friend Kane and Ifra lose their son from a bombing.” He paused as he shook his head. “I even had to help provide testimony for that young pilot from Batrice. All because they are changing their own history...”

“When life becomes unpredictable, it is important to come up with contingency plans. It is the only way to have some control when the unexpected occurs.”

The way she said the last couple of sentences seemed to reverberate through Javier’s mind. Perhaps it was just her tone, but his body was begging to relax. He looked closely at her and felt the lingering yawn start to kick in.

“You are tired,” she said. “Go and eat or get some sleep. Do not worry about me. I will be fine.”

“Hmmm ... maybe you are right,” he said. “So much shit ... good and bad. At least you are here. Just make sure that you don’t push yourself too much. You are not invulnerable either.”

“I would assure you more. You have nothing to worry about. You have proven to be a viable defender to me even against possible overwhelming odds.”

Javier smiled at her. “Yeah. I think I wouldn’t mind eating after I get my sleep. Hopefully, the ship should be back, and we can continue eating together.”

“Just make sure to keep yourself strapped to the bed. The ship will be moving around in the next few hours.”

“Good idea...”

The Jian Seng sat at the edge of the great ring of Fort Golconda. The circular array attached to the tethered space station was one way for non-gate folding ships to get around from solar system to solar system. In the distance were other freighters, transports, and warships that gave a clear path to the vessel. The inky blackness of space and distant stars were everywhere.

The accomplishment of Gabatrix had stood before the tiny transport’s path. Its array was powering up. A small vortex of black, blue, and purple was beginning to form. Moving in a circular pattern, it was tiny at first but gathering in strength.

Inside the bridge of the Jian Seng, Captain Lifen sat in her center seat along with four other crew members that were properly seated and strapped in. Her headphones were on as she was monitoring communication’s traffic. Shira sat in the secondary navigation and weapons console. She had overlaid the projected display of her open tilon over the buttons and controls. The two metal strips were magnetized to the surface and provided a holographic tutorial and description of each toggle and switch. Her one shark-like eye was scanning the surface, noting what each one did. Her vision was not even focused on the main bridge’s massive display that showed the gate array in full operation.

A few hours had passed. Shira knew that Javier was asleep, but her mind seemed focused on the task at hand. She knew that she stuck out like a sore thumb in a room full of human beings.

Beside her was the current pilot on duty. Petty Officer Zhao was mostly an unremarkable individual that had a mixed complexion like many UWA members. Shira had observed him occasionally talk to others while mostly keeping to himself. He would sometimes look over to her and her controls but say nothing on the matter. Manthan that Shira already knew was manning the engineering console. Ensign Lynch was operating the communications console. He was a pale and red-haired type of character supposedly born on Earth. She had observed him be rather talkative but seemingly had little relevant information. She already knew that he was supposed to be the one that was in command, but Lifen insisted on being in command for this watch. Instead, Lynch manned the console for the place he was usually the best assigned at, and that was communications.

“Status on the gate array?” Lifen asked.

“The gate to Palora is nearly finished,” Lynch replied. “It is at 75% formation. Approximately one minute and two seconds remaining.”

“Very well,” Lifen replied as she tapped a couple of buttons on her console. The overhead speakers of the Jian Seng activated as she prepared to address all the personnel on the ship. “Attention everyone, this is your Captain speaking. We are making the jump to Palora in less than a minute. I ask everyone to remain strapped in. Alpha shift will remain on duty watch. Beta Shift will remain in command of the crew habitat module while the Jian Seng lands on the planet to pick up our cargo. That is all.”

Lifen tapped and closed the overhead channel of the ship. She looked over to Lynch as she gave a brief sigh. She didn’t seem bored but was tired of the monotony of protocol.

“That is a really interesting way to learn the system,” Zhao told Shira without turning his head to her. His words had a thick Chinese accent to them.

Shira’s brow peaked a little bit. “Have you seen a tilon before?” she calmly asked him without looking at him.

“No.”

“It is an Itrean version of your tablets. I open and close the magnetic strips to use them much like your computers would. All Itreans utilize them in one way or another.”

“Hmmm ... interesting.”

“Finally glad to see you two talking to one another,” Manthan happily replied to the both of them.

Both Zhao and Shira said nothing in response. Only the shark-like tail of Shira twitched a little bit as it was pressed to her butt and edge fabric of the seat. The engineer seemed preoccupied with the status of the ship on his console.

“Status green from Fort Golconda,” Lynch added. “Wormhole at 95%.”

“Copy,” Lifen said.

Shira momentarily looked up at the viewscreen. She could see that the wormhole generated in the gate array was fully stable. The crackling shimmer of blue lightning erupted from the central vortex. The glowing particles spun around the swirling center. It was difficult to make out what was on the other side.

“So much easier to fold space from a gate,” Zhao said.

“It is easier to utilize massive heavily powered pre-fabricated arrays than using probes to accomplish the same task,” Shira replied.

“Don’t some of the Itrean warships have prefabricated arrays?” Lifen asked her.

“Yes,” Shira answered as her finger looked over the largest of switches. “The T’rintar clan utilize prefabricated gate array scout ships and siege cannon warships to escape as quickly as possible.”

“I wonder why they don’t use them regularly?”

“Cost. Both of them are expensive to manufacture and hard to travel from solar system to solar system with a large ring in tow. The siege cannon warships, however, use the gate arrays to shoot from solar system to solar system ... quite interesting really, but questions arise in practicality over cost.”

“We are ready to jump,” Lynch interrupted the conversation. Lifen nodded her head.

“Zhao, punch it,” Lifen ordered.

“Aye, Captain,” Zhao said as he grabbed and pushed a small lever. His other hand was tapping other buttons as the Jian Seng’s rearmost three engines began to glow blue. A bright blue flame plumed from the thrusters as the ship lurched forward, heading straight into the vortex. The inertia pushed the crew backward into their seats as the ship was gaining speed. It wasn’t a heavy jolt but enough that if you were not secured, you could fly slowly backward unto something.