LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) (25 page)

"Our people abhor physical aggression. There's not a single person on this planet who has ever purposely harmed another sentient being. Of course, there is the possibility that the proper attitude could be attained by certain select individuals... in time. Unfortunately, we may not have that time."

"I thought you said there was no immediate threat," Tarla said when Parisia paused for more than a moment.

Parisia and Iris shared an apprehensive glance. It was becoming quite clear to Tarla that the Advisor was the more cautious of the two and, though they seemed to be in accord most of the time, Parisia occasionally ignored Iris's advice to play it safe.

This time Parisia hedged. "There is no impending danger that we are certain of. Just an unsubstantiated rumor. If it turns out to be true, we must be prepared. If it is false, it would still be wise to have a defense system in place against a possible threat at some later date.

"As I was saying, none of the citizens of Heart have the necessary attitude to implement a viable defense plan in the near future. You, on the other hand, have lived with violence all your lives and have very recent experience with a deadly confrontation on a planetary scale. Thus you have an ability that we wish to utilize.

"In summary, we are asking you to create a defense system which would encompass everything from plans and strategy to weaponry and implementation. It is our hope that while you are doing that, we will find volunteers within our society willing to carry out your plans. Training those women for their new duties would also fall under your jurisdiction."

If Tarla had been given a hundred chances to guess what Parisia had been leading to, she would never have come up with the right conclusion. "As much as we would like to make a deal here, I'm afraid you've overestimated our capabilities. We're not experts at waging war. We've merely learned how to survive in a violent world."

"Which is more than we know how to do," Parisia countered. "In some ways, our technology has advanced far beyond yours but with instruction we believe you could comprehend it. You would simply have to determine ways to redirect the use of that technology for our defense. The four of you have most of the basic expertise needed—leadership, mechanical and navigational ability, and the proper attitude for defense. I assume the other six women have worthy skills that could be contributed as well."

Tarla sighed. "It's not—"

"Wait," Iris said, holding up her hand to stop Tarla's protest. "First hear what we are offering. In exchange for creating and implementing a defense system, your women will be given complete freedom in our society. After your work for us is done, we will allow any of your people—women and men—to return to Earth if you still wish to do so at that time."

"So you
do
know how to do it!" Tarla exclaimed. "You lied?"

Iris shrugged.

"But Nadia said the magnetic pull went only one way."

Parisia arched an eyebrow. "Nadia also told you her name was Parisia."

"Will you give us a moment, please?" Tarla stood and motioned for Robin, Lee and Alicia to follow her to the kitchenette for a whispered conference. She was hoping one of the others had some alternative ideas, but they were as bewildered as she was by the unexpected proposition.

None of them believed they were capable of doing what was being asked of them. It was possible that Parisia could stretch out their duties indefinitely just by saying the defense system was not yet finished to their satisfaction. They had no reason to trust Parisia or Iris about anything.

But they
had
offered to send them home to earth.

With nothing better to offer, they seemed to have no choice but to accept and negotiate for the best terms possible.

Tarla waited several tense seconds after they were reseated to present their counter-offer. "We will
attempt
to create a defense system, but you must free
all
the Earth people on the farm immediately. No more antidotes for women or men. And finally we wish to set a specific time period for our return to Earth—upon completion of the defense system or six months from today, whichever comes sooner."

Parisia and Iris reflected little surprise at the demands. In fact, they didn't even need a private conversation for Parisia to give their reply. "Six months is unreasonable. Remember, we will need you to train our volunteers after the system is in place. One year,
and
you put in at least six full days every week during that time. Next , we will agree not to medicate your women, but under no circumstances will we release the Earth men from the commune, with or without the antidote."

"That's understandable," Tarla said with a nod, having been certain that was what they would say about the men. "Considering the structure of your society and the personalities of some of the men in our group, I can see how it could present a number of difficulties if they were all released at one time. On the other hand, there are men in the commune whose expertise far outweighs our own. It would be foolish not to take advantage of their talents and skills. Allow half of our men to leave the farm, drug-free, and you'll have a better defense system than anything we could create alone and it will be in place in half the time."

This time Parisia and Iris did need a private conference, and it took several minutes before they agreed on the next concession.

After they returned to the group, Parisia said, "Releasing even one unmedicated Earth male among Heart women is an incredible risk that we would prefer not to take. And yet, we understand that committing violence and waging war are deeds more suited to men. Therefore, we have a final compromise to offer, but it will have to be a completely confidential one. If you do not agree, you will be returned to the commune and we will not have further discussions with any of you."

Tarla frowned but nodded her understanding.

"We propose that you choose ten men, and only ten, whose skills would be most helpful in completing this project. Each of the ten women may keep one of those men with her in the residence we will provide. She will be held responsible for his behavior. To outsiders it must appear that the men are your servants and that you are all abiding by our laws governing contact between the genders. Also, the men must behave as though they are taking the required antidote.

"If anyone suspects that the laws are being broken, our deal will be automatically negated. Naturally, Iris will review everything you need to know in advance of your integration. Do you accept these terms?"

Tarla summarized the deal as it now stood, then asked Robin, Lee and Alicia if they had questions or were ready to decide. Reluctantly, all four voted to accept.

"It's better than returning to the farm and vegetating for a century while waiting to die," Robin said with a sigh.

"We'll do it," Tarla told Parisia in a much more confident tone than she felt. The problems they would have to overcome were mindboggling—not the least of which was selecting the ten men to be freed and pairing them up with the women.

Chapter 13

By keeping her soft underbelly flat on the floor and all fifty of her legs curled tightly against the hard black shell of her back, Yeoman Ugmish assumed the most proper pose of respect as she slithered quietly into her superior's niche. She waited until he twisted the top half of his segmented body toward her and rubbed his antennae together.

"Was the mission a sssuccesss?" Commander Xytoc hissed through the narrow space between his two front fangs.

She twitched her antennae once in response, careful not to raise her head until he gave her permission to do so.

"You may rise and ssspeak."

Ugmish unfurled her legs and lifted her body off the ground. He was still half a length higher than she stood at full elevation. His hooded black eyes dared her to give him bad news, causing both of her stomachs to churn even though her report was positive.

"Special Envoy TM7 has returned from Faxona. The mission was a success. The plans for the FTL transport have already been delivered to research for analysis."

"Excccellent. Tell them I will expect a preliminary timetable for retrofitting it to our ships by firssst sssunrise."

"Yes, sir," Ugmish replied, knowing she would bear the brunt of the analysts' tantrums when they heard that deadline. The commander might have used the word
preliminary
, but he would hold them to whatever estimate they gave, and unfortunately, he always demanded answers in half the time needed to supply realistic ones.

"Return to me after you've delivered that message, I may have need of you."

With an obedient bow, she slithered back out of the niche as quickly as possible.

Not for the first time, Xytoc congratulated himself on having found a yeoman who was as efficient at her duties as she was accommodating to his personal needs.

He stretched and scratched his lower belly with a pair of his hind legs. FTL travel! He had been skeptical when he first heard of its development. It was almost too fortuitous to be believed.

He should not have doubted the predictions of Master Stargazer Po, who had told him that he was the one who would lead the Velids into the final battle against their deadliest enemies.

The portion of his brain that housed the memories of his ancestors seemed to burn a bit brighter as he contemplated the glorious victory awaiting him. The fires of vengeance had been kept alive through the many generations passed by preserving those old memories.

Xytoc called them forth now to inflame his purpose and fortify his commitment.

It had begun as a mission, to seek out other life forms and study them to increase their understanding of the universe. That mission was to be ongoing, generation after generation, as the Velid ship made its way through myriad galaxies, exchanging information. Reports were transmitted back to their home planet after each encounter.

The first disaster had occurred in the Templar System, when they landed on a small, unnamed planet inhabited by a primitive life form that had yet to learn how to build shelters or farm for sustenance. They were frighteningly ugly specimens of a race who utilized only the rear two of their four legs for movement. They lacked even the barest skills needed for universal communication. The creatures were terrified by the visitors and went into hiding. Two Velids tracked them down to try to make them understand that they had come in peace. For their efforts, they were captured and stoned to death.

Many generations later, the Velid expedition found another, more advanced planet inhabited by the same four-limbed species. The beings were known as humanoids and the planet was called Heart. Recalling the Templar beings' negative reaction to the Velids' natural appearance, they morphed their outer appearance to match the natives' bodies, thinking it would put the Heartlings at ease. That time the entire landing crew was killed, without provocation, and the shuttle destroyed.

It was clear that the grotesque species had an innate, lethal hatred of the Velid race, regardless of which shape they took. The humanoids had to be stopped before their civilization progressed to space travel and threatened the Velids in their own galaxy. Prior to the remaining Velids departing from Heart's solar system, the mother ship repaid the humans with total extermination.

As an added precaution, they buried a sonic emitter beneath the planet's surface. Its job was to send out an intermittent beacon to warn others of their kind of potential danger.

From that point on, the purpose of the expedition had altered from academic studies to searching for and annihilating all humanoids. Most recently, the battalion of exterminators had returned to the Templar System and eradicated every hint of civilization on the small planet where the first vicious attack had occurred.

Because of the development of FTL transport, information was suddenly being traded on an intergalactic scale in incredibly short periods of time. The Velids now knew there had been a sufficient number of survivors on Heart to repopulate the planet and that those beings had since mastered space travel. Believing that it was only a matter of time before their enemies successfully launched an attack against the Velids, Xytoc was convinced that they had to strike first in order to survive.

The only way to do that, however, was to move the fleet across the galaxy at such speed that the attack would be a complete surprise. And for that, they needed to retrofit their ships with the latest technology. Thus he had sent Envoy TM7 to steal the plans for the FTL transport from the Faxons. Using the Velid metamorphic ability to duplicate any living organism, the envoy's mission had hardly been a challenge.