Annihilation: A Rose Grows In Weeds (38 page)

“What if you no longer needed the food you’ve been harvesting?”

The Eldest became very silent and said nothing. Then Rose said, “You didn’t always need to harvest food did you?”

The Eldest still remained silent and after a long pause said, “No, we didn’t. My race did not originally consume organic materials.”

Tag and Danielle were shocked but continued to listen to the conversation.

“What changed that, Eldest?”

“The race that originally destroyed us released a disease on our planets that destroyed our food source. Without it, we were forced to consume organic material. This small land of golden soil here is all that remains of our food.”

Rose nodded and said, “And since organic material is not your normal diet you are forced to consume huge amounts of it to live.”

“Yes we do and my race always feels hunger no matter how much they consume. The food we need only remains here in this small area that is only large enough to develop the leaders of my people. Your threat is the only reason I stopped our attack.”

“Why do you think the race released the disease on your worlds?”

The Eldest said nothing then Rose, Tag, and Danielle could hear the heavy mental sigh that came from him, “Because of our children.”

Danielle could not restrain herself, “What do you mean your children.”

The Eldest thought, “Who is that?”

Rose said, “She is my mother.”

The Eldest said, “Then she knows the importance of raising children properly.”

“What do you mean, properly?” Danielle asked.

“We had four stages of life before the Silver Monsters destroyed us; birth where our babies would put their feeding tubes in the food source and grow for ten cycles absorbing the energy and nutrients for their next sixty cycles; the second stage they would remove their feeding tubes and go out to explore the universe around them; the third stage is where they would return from their explorations, discuss their discoveries with others, reproduce and start their families; the final stage is where they plant themselves in the dirt and give back the things they’ve learned to their race in new ideas or inventions. To properly raise a child it must complete those four stages.”

Danielle thought a moment and realized that human development was very similar to the Plants. Then Rose said something that got her full attention. “It was your adolescents that caused the problem with the Silver Monsters, wasn’t it?”

The Eldest paused again and then said, “How did you determine that?”

“They wouldn’t leave the monsters alone.”

The Eldest’s thought turned hard immediately, “You don’t understand, they couldn’t leave them alone. Our adolescents were driven by their curiosity; it’s part of their makeup that drives them, and they could not stay away even if they wanted; the Silver Monsters were too much for them to resist. Unfortunately, the Monsters would not be patient with our children. We tried to stop them from following the Monsters but they just could not contain their curiosity. The Monsters didn’t even communicate with us about controlling our seedlings; they just destroyed the means for them to exist; then they released a disease that killed us all.”

Rose said, “They destroyed the food you needed to develop first.”

The Eldest remained silent showing his agreement.

Danielle thought, “That’s terrible; what happened after that?”

The Elders could hear the anger in the Stranger’s thoughts and wondered why it was there. These strangers just did not make sense to him. The Eldest said, “Our young became the tools you have seen attacking and harvesting planets. Their entire life is ruled by hunger and their intellect is stunted from improper nutrition. They are little more than savage predators with little or no mental skills. Our leaders are from here where they develop so that our children can be led to food sources to keep them from starving.”

Rose said, “I ask you again, if we could restore your food source, would you stop harvesting other worlds?”

The Eldest said, “We have tried for millions of years to bring back our food but nothing has worked. We could not trust you even if you could restore it. You would eventually try to eradicate my race.”

“Is it impossible for you to trust?” Rose asked.

“No, we trust each other; not outsiders.”

“You can’t understand someone willing to help you without an ulterior motive.”

“It’s there; you’re just not revealing it.”

“Eldest, I have just one more request and we’ll end our conversation and go about destroying each other again.”

“What is that?”

“I would like to bring someone here and take him to the surface to communicate directly with you.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“It will answer some questions about us that you would not even think to ask. I know you can guarantee our safety while we meet and after we talk I will leave your planet and allow you time to bring in enough ships to defend it.”

The Eldest thought for a moment and said, “I’ve seen your ship in action and I think it wouldn’t matter how many ships I brought in, would it?”

Rose paused and said, “No, we would still be able to destroy you but at least it wouldn’t be today.”

The Eldest smiled and said, “You’re right, not today. Bring whoever it is you want to bring and I’ll guarantee your safety.”

“Eldest, he will be coming in one of our older ships so you probably could destroy it but he will exit the ship in a shuttle and the ship will then jump away. He will have his screens down when he jumps in.”

“Fair enough, you know where we are.” The Eldest quit communicating with Rose and sent a message to his fleet surrounding the Kosiev.

Tag looked at Rose and said, “You are not going down on that planet without me with you.”

Rose looked into her father’s eyes and said, “Yes I am; you are going to Ross and get Mom and bring her back here while I’m on the surface.”

Tag stopped in mid thought and said, “Why do I need to do that?”

“Dad, both of you must be here quickly. It is absolutely necessary or everything will fall apart if you aren’t.”

Tag was struggling mightily with his fears. He heard Rose in his thoughts say to Danielle. “Mom, Dad will be coming to get you shortly in the Kosiev; please be ready for him when he arrives.”

“What are you going to do, Rose?”

“Visit the Plants with a friend.”

Danielle was scared but thought to Tag, ‘Come get me, I need to be there. Don’t leave me here while our baby is there.”

Tag looked at Rose and said, “Who is going down with you?”

“You know, Father, the one who is most like the Plants, Uncle Dorg.”

Rose pushed her com and Admiral Dorg appeared on her display. “Uncle, I need you to follow the next instructions I give you exactly as they’re given.”

Dorg looked at Tag on his display and could tell Tag was not comfortable with what was happening. “Do you agree, Prince Gardner?”

Tag looked at his daughter and felt fear like he had never known and he started to say, No,” but then his senses warned him about making a bad decision. He ran his hand thru his hair and said, “Do exactly as she says, Admiral. She is now in command of this project.”

Dorg was worried but he said, “What do you want me to do, Rose?”

“I am sending you some coordinates for you jump into this system. I want you to jump the Rossville here with all your screens down and as soon as you enter normal space I want you to leave in a shuttle and come to the Kosiev to pick me up. Once you’re clear of the Rossville, it will jump back to the fleet and wait for you to call it back.”

“Where are you and I going?”

“We are going to land on the Plant’s home world to have a discussion with their leaders.”

Dorg looked at Tag and if expressions could beg for help, Dorg had one at that moment. Tag looked at him and said, “Hurry Admiral, our time is short.”

Dorg took a deep breath, pressed his com and said, “Mikado, you are now in overall command. I am going to meet a Princess.”

The Rossville disappeared into null space.

Mikado looked out at the millions of Algean ships just a short distance from his fleet and wondered, “What are the Gardners doing?” He wondered if the Algean fleet shared his fear.

The Plant Fleet Leader watched another ship disappear from the Strangers fleet and wondered what was happening at the Sacred Grove. The entire Algean fleet felt fear for the future of their race.

The Rossville broke into normal space a mile from the Kosiev among thousands of Plant ships that did not attack. Dorg left in a shuttle and the Rossville immediately jumped away. Dorg piloted his shuttle around the ships between the two SR ships landed in the Kosievs’ landing bay where Rose entered his shuttle and said, “I will fly the shuttle, Uncle, I know where we’re going.’

Dorg watched as Rose deftly moved the shuttle out of the bay and headed toward the planet. Dorg said, “That was one of the smoothest uses of shuttle jets I’ve ever seen, Rose.”

“I didn’t use the jets, Uncle, I moved it with my mind; now calm down and let’s go meet the Plants.”

Dorg couldn’t help himself; he was afraid but if this thirteen year old was going in, she was not going in alone. He would die to protect her and this was as good a place as any. She was just so young and small. Her blonde hair hung down to the small of her back in a braid and she looked just like a miniature Danielle in her small space armor. She looked at him with those startling green eyes and then placed her hand on his arm and said, “We’ll be ok, uncle; the Eldest has promised us safe passage.” Rose smiled to herself and felt the love she had for this brave Cainth Warrior who had a bigger heart than even he realized. Pardoning him for the death of the colonists was the best thing her parents had ever done and hopefully the reward for that was about to be paid. She loved him from the moment of her birth when she felt him outside her birthing room. His demons still haunted him and she wished she could help him put them at rest; perhaps this experience would help do just that. She noticed the group of tall bushes on the surface below and brought the shuttle to rest directly in front of the grove a short distance from the yellow soil. She opened the shuttle door and took Dorg’s hand and walked out to the where the yellow dirt began and then stopped and waited. One of the tall bushes walked up on its roots and stopped just in front of her. She spoke her thoughts so Dorg could hear what was being said, “Hello, Eldest, you do not appear anything like I thought you would.”

The Eldest looked down on the small creature in front of him and said, “Nor do you. You’re much smaller than I thought you were.”

“Eldest, this is one of our highest ranking military leaders and I believe that you would learn a lot from seeing his memories. I know you can use telepathy and I want you to see our people from this warrior’s eyes.”

Both the Eldest and Dorg both said at the same time, “Why?”

Dorg looked at the Eldest and the Eldest looked at Dorg at that same moment; Rose said, “Because the two of you are more alike than you are different. Look at his memories, Eldest, and we will leave your planet and resume our conflict if that is your wish. Uncle Dorg, look at his memories as he looks at yours so we can better understand this race.”

The Eldest looked at the little Stranger then turned his attention to the one she had brought to him. He entered Dorg’s mind and Dorg heard him say, “Show me your life.” Dorg thought back to his childhood when his father began teaching him to hate the Humans. He started with the original Cainth invasion of Earth where human outposts on Mars and moons of Jupiter were totally destroyed.

Rose watched Dorg carefully and could feel the Algean leader examine her friend. She sat down on the ground just outside the yellow soil and waited.

The Kosiev entered normal space just outside the atmosphere of Ross and Danielle’s shuttle fired its thrusters and moved into its landing bay. O’Donald heard the all clear from her console and ordered an immediate return to the Algean home world. The Kosiev broke back into normal space where it had previously been and waited. The hundreds of thousands of Plant ships surrounding them waited with them.

Danielle thought, “Rose, what is happening?”

“Hi, Mom; Dorg and the Eldest are sharing their thoughts and I’m waiting for them to finish.”

Danielle thought quickly, “May we join you on the planet?”

Rose didn’t say anything for a long time and then Danielle heard, “It’s not safe for you yet. Don’t get upset, Mom, I am safe; I have the Eldest’s safe passage and no Plant would go against his word; just be patient.”

Rose continued to sit and wait and she noticed that the other bushes in the grove had moved close to where she was sitting so that they could observe her. “Looks like they still have some curiosity,” she mused.

Finally after three hours the Eldest and Dorg broke their connection. Dorg was sitting on the ground and he looked at Rose and said, “I have misjudged these creatures completely. They have such a tragic history. The universe has not treated them fairly.”