“Yeah? That worthless excuse for a Shield Nullifier nearly blew up my ship when I tested it out on the ship of pansy Elowan Endurium transporters. It killed half my crew. Did you really think that I wouldn’t make you pay for that?”

  So that’d been what had happened.

  A wicked smile drew across Ndango’s face. I was about to ask what was up, but then I heard it.

  I needed to keep him talking. “You threatened to destroy that Endurium freighter?”

  “Of course, I did,” he said, still trying to pinpoint my voice. “Nobody would ever just hand over their cargo if we didn’t threaten them.”

  A rustle of leaves caught the air.

  “But you actually tried to do it! Knock out their shields and blow up their ship, because they denied you your prize.”

  His eyes narrowed in on the patch of forest we were in.

  “Well, you can’t make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. Sometimes you have to write off a haul as a loss. Though, if you blow up a ship or two, eventually your reputation is such that they just stop fighting. And the Elowan are usually pathetic cowards. One ship down, and I could have had years of easy raiding the routes around Elan.” He raised a blaster in our direction. “Goodbye, McConnell.”

  The quickness in which it happened was amazing.

  Vines whipped out of the forest, wrapping around Farrow’s arms and neck. He gasped in shock as the vines squeezed and pulled at him with enough force to lift him from the floor. A dozen other similar gasps echoed throughout the room.

  Scores of deep-reddish compound eyes came into view among the trees. The Elowan took slow, methodical strides into the light. I even saw Tyelehn among them. Their leaves shook furiously.

  Elowan are among the most peaceful and gentle species in the universe. But being hunted for generations, nearly to extinction, has caused an immensely strong protectiveness streak to develop among their race. Reports quickly came into Interstel that ships detected having even a single Thrynn crew member aboard being fired upon, if they entered Elan territory.

  And Farrow just announced that he’d willingly attempted to destroy a ship full of Elowan space jockeys.

  Ndango stood up, and we both moved out into the open.

  “Interstel has only one punishment for those found guilty of piracy. And seeing as you’ve openly admitted to as much here, I’m just going to save myself some paperwork, and let these aggrieved parties settle their quarrel with you themselves.” She turned to look at all the gathered Elowan. “They’re all yours. Just don’t let the mess leave the Solarium.”

  The chilling sound of leaves vibrating throughout the chamber made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

  Ndango put a hand to my back. I needed no more prompting than that, and we quickly made it for the door.

  The strangled screams of the men as we left the Solarium is something that will haunt my dreams for years to come.

  “You missed a spot,” I said, inspecting the polishing job on the bar top, as I brought a rack of freshly washed glassware from the back.

  “I did no such thing,” M-09 replied with all the indignant tone that his computerized voice could manage. Farrow’s men hadn’t destroyed M-09’s memory core, and we were able to install his personality into a new body. It had taken weeks to construct the new and improved body. And worth every single MU.

  As good as it was to have him back, I’d made it a point to give him a hard time–once or twice a day–to get even for that stunt he’d pulled at the lifts. At least for a little while. Our bond had never been closer.

  I could not say the same about my working relationship with Tyelehn. The Elowan had saved our bacon in the Solarium, sure, but Ndango had revealed a disturbing truth to me after. I knew the Elowan were a plant species and that they needed sunlight and carbon dioxide as food. What I didn’t know was that they also supplement their diets by breaking down organic material through porous pouches in their vines. A smelly process that can take weeks to complete. As an allowance to this need, Interstel’s top brass had allotted a portion of Starport Central to a site where decaying organic matter could breakdown into the nutritional needs of the Elowan. The Solarium had been that place.

  According to Ndango, Interstel had permitted the Elowan to keep the deceased pirates as just such an organic matter. Learning that there was a jungle just a level above us with the bodies of a dozen pirates serving as alien compost was just disturbing.

  Needless to say, I don’t tease Tyelehn anymore.

  Business was good in the incident’s wake. Folks loved coming in and hearing about the shootout on Starport Central. I guess it made the place feel more like their homes on Arth. Of course, I would always leave out the details of the ultimate resting place of the pirates. Nobody else needed that detail.

  “McConnell, my boy, we’ve got some business to discuss.”

  I glanced up to see Nyll T’Lathll walking through the door.

  “We sure do,” I said, motioning him up to the bar. “You owe me a signature recognizing my debt to you is clear on that contract cube. And I’ll take possession of the deed while you’re at it.”

  The large Thrynn laughed heartily. “What makes you think that our debt is cleared?”

  “Because that’s what you said when I took that job for you with the fake Nullifier,” I answered hotly.

  “There was nothing wrong with the equipment that I supplied. It turns out that there is a species-dependent element that is essential to operating a Shield Nullifier. Tests without the imprint of the origin species has resulted in a number of explosive malfunctions.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a critical piece of information?”

  He waved off the idea, “A minor oversight from my sources.”

  “Your oversight damn near got me dead, T’Lathll,” I growled.

  He ignored my complaint completely. “Besides, I said that I wouldn’t need your services if I were to ascend to the heights of esteem on Thoss. While those artifacts were indeed quite valuable, it did not achieve the desired effect. So, you will remain in my employ.”

  The sound of my blaster powering up from under the bar caught T’Lathll’s attention.

  “No, I think we’ve concluded our little arrangement. Right after you’ve signed off on that contract, that is. Or we can wrap things up in a messier fashion. I know some place where they’d delight in seeing your body rot.”

  He studied my face for a moment. “You’re bluffing.”

  “Try me, T’Lathll. It’s been a crazy few weeks.”

  With a snarl and a huff, he pulled the cube out of a pouch and after making his mark on it, slid it across the bar. “Don’t think I will forget this, McConnell.”

  “You and me both,” I smiled. “But you’re welcome to come back and reminisce on it over a drink, if you do.”

  He sneered at me again, then stormed off.

  I holstered the blaster back under the bar. After steadying my nerves with a shot of whisky, I looked over to the newest wide-eyed patron to walk up.

  “Welcome to the Black Box Lounge. What can I get you?”

  The Rock of Truth

  By Bart Kemper

  “Arth is going to die a fiery death, killing everyone on the planet with no hope for survival.”

  Benu Llano’s final statement was supposed to spark a denial, even outrage. She hoped to be laughed out of the room. Instead, the top executive of Interstel looked expectant. Finally, realizing there was nothing more coming, he sighed.

  “Captain Llano, we knew this before you began this work. It’s why you are here. We need you to give us options, not just confirm what the team in New Oxford told us while you were still in the hospital.”

  Her nose twitched at a waft of something faintly acrid that slipped in as the door opened and closed. The Velox second-in-command, Vice Director Phexipotex, nodded toward Director Terrence Willwater. Being deep underground in Old City meant never escaping the centuries of a closed-loop biome supporting four organic species. Intellectually, she knew it was part of the old colony that wasn’t pushed above ground after 3505 and survived the Dark Times, the date and significance popping up unbidden in her thoughts like commentary in an educational vid.

  Normally this part of her brain was an asset, feeding her valuable data even under stress. Right now it was an annoying kid’s voice chirping in her head who wouldn’t shut up. She’d been kept down there, under guard, for over a month “to better focus”. She could not shake the feeling they would not let her leave. She knew too much, to include that the ancient reclamation system still worked well on corpses of any Arth species. The Vice Director waved a red segmented arm.

  “Please, Doctor, continue.”

  After years of working in Interstel, Benu was still surprised the Velox not only managed to feel more personable than their Human boss but also would remember things she preferred, like her academic title to being called “Captain.” She had earned “Doctor” with hard work. She had earned “Captain” with nightmares.

  It was Benu’s turn to sigh. Whether let her live or not, she felt like she was sending more people to die without even the closure of being part of Arth’s cycle of life. Survival on the adopted planet included being fed into the recycler to help all, regardless of species. It’s a tradition that has continued to this day, well after reclaiming the surface. Only our androids were outside of that, but they served all in their own way. Now she was part of pushing more of Arth out of the gravity well, never to return, never to be part of the cycle that unites them, diminishing the whole. Knowing she was clinically depressed as part of PTSD did not make her feel any less fatalistic. If they killed her, it would be for speaking the truth.

  “The first wave of exploration was more than proof of concept. We …,” she paused, then corrected herself, “the first wave was led to believe it was a hurried response to rediscovering endurium.”

  Her flat tone did not give the energy source the verbal capitalization that was typical on Arth. It was a subtle change of inflection that was dissonant to Willwater. She had lost her faith. It was a faith no longer ardently practiced on Arth but was still a bedrock for the species to live and work together. Hers was not a lost faith to disuse or speculation, it was one shattered by seeing the strings controlling the figures making the shadows on the cave wall.

  “In actuality, the last two centuries of growth were controlled by Arth’s government. I use this term loosely as there was, I mean is, the officially elected structure the general public knows and the others that have kept the data from Noah 2 safe after the political collapse millennia ago. This ancient history bears directly on current affairs, else I would not have been given access to it.”

  Both directors nodded. Phexipotex indicated minor pleasure and agreement with antennae movement patterns that mirrored the sentiment of Willwater’s slight smile.

  “Arth has been in full mobilization for over 50 years. What the public thought was a wealth of newly discovered information was actually the carefully coordinated release of information. Same with finding a source of Endurium, taking it out of the realm of myth and religion.”

  Willwater noticed the change in inflection.

  “There are massive gaps in the data made available to me, but given we had begun sublight exploration over 100 years ago, something big happened. Too big to share with the planet, but either small enough or remote enough to not be self-evident to the masses. I hypothesized it’s the latter – something outside of our system.

  “The first wave of exploration was not a public event. That’s another data point indicating the threat was known. What we, I mean the first wave did not realize was their assignments were not optimized for success but to provide specific data. Crew mix, ranging from all one species to fully mixed; species assignments by position; training and experience; performance in different environments; the list goes on. I also have the list of considerations that were not tested against because of the, ah, limited number of subjects.

  “Every ship had a data recorder that downloaded once they were in the Arth system or passed an Arth vessel, enough to record 4 years of all 13 vessels if it was needed. In the event of the ship’s destruction, the recorder’s box became an endurium-powered probe returning to Arth. As of this point, we have 11 of the 13 recorders.”

  Both executives noticed a tremor in Benu’s dark-skinned hand holding the tablet.

  “In summary – not any of it mattered a damn. Regardless of variables, the first two or three missions mattered the most. Beyond some basic understanding of science and engineering and ability to use your ship and equipment, nothing prepares you for this enough to make a goddamn bit of difference. All of the years of training, of being kept from our families……”

  She paused to compose herself, rubbing her stubbled head unconsciously.

  “Long preparation did not differ significantly from those who used training suites to upload information directly to their brains. Teamwork and chemistry were discriminators, but there are too many variables to know how a crew will gel once they leave the system. It begs the question of teamwork and chemistry producing mission success or whether mission success is what ties the group into a team.

  “It could be both,” Willwater said.

  Benu looked up, her eyes locking onto Willwater’s grey eyes framed by silver-grey hair, then shifting to Phexipotex’ faceted red-brown ones. She nodded.

  “Regardless, it was projected that half would make it through their first few runs, with the rest learning how to extend their operational range. Up to 3 ships were forecasted to be active at the end of the 18 months. The losses … were within parameters.”

  The two executives seemed pleased with the summary. The Velox’ emotions were in the gestures and body stance, but the Human’s brown skin was creased into smiles like a well-worn leather mask. His glowing, rich complexion was a contrast to her ashy, dry, uncared for skin. Benu dropped the tablet on the table, the anger and pain making the red scar over the left half of her face redden while the rest of the deep coffee colored face darkened. She smashed her good right hand on the table.

  “Quit looking so pleased, dammit. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I read the report myself. We weren’t supposed to make it back. As it is, half of the crew died while Navigator H552213 and Engineer G942333 —"

  “The other two have been wiped, reassigned new designators, and are in service elsewhere, Captain Llano,” Willwater said, emphasizing her rank. “The ISS Akcatphopexphopxi, or Enduring Flower, officially returned, coming in after the ISS Hyperion. In your official files, your crewmates were recognized as heroes and your bravery was lauded in taking over for Captain Xiaxttse, which also gave you your promotion to Captain of Enduring Flower.” Willwater’s frustration cracked his corporate façade. His deputy leaned his red-carapaced body forward and clacked his mandibles, bringing attention to himself and breaking the tension.

  “I shared hive alignment with Captain Xiaxttse, what you might call ‘cousin,’ Doctor Llano. I share some of your loss, but to honor them we must use the knowledge they … all of you … sacrificed for. The second wave will be in full view of the public, using our space station without any attempts of deception. You now know everything we learned, everything done in New Oxford to prepare the next group, and our logistics constraints. What are your recommendations?”

  Benu relented. She picked up the tablet. The schematic of the new class, the ISS Intrepid, filled the wall screen.

  “Give them enough to learn. 10,000-15,000 monetary units, enough for four cargo pods and some training. As this curve shows, it gives us optimal returns on investment…”

  For the next four hours, she briefed the two most powerful people on Arth, at least in relation to her. To be fair, they asked good questions, Benu reflected. They didn’t seem to have the normal Arth politics of the multi-species forced settlement. Over a thousand years of four different biologies working together and not wiping each other out was always attributed to the wisdom of the Four and the power of the Rock of Truth, with the more secular minded attributing it to “good common sense policy.”

  Instead, she had discovered it was a carefully cultivated construct that had different groups controlling things, usually using indirect means but sometimes reaching in directly. Interstel is supposed to be an entrepreneurial stroke of genius by Willwater. The son of a mineral mining magnate, Willwater speculated on growing space flight and establishing orbital facilities before the rediscovery of Endurium and super-photonic travel. In reality, it was a scheduled development as part of their full mobilization. The appearance of being a serendipitous business development is less alarming than announcing the re-allocation of resources to explore the galaxy before the means of doing so was made public. It wasn’t just for public consumption on Arth. There were some indications of spies from outside of Arth, but without the full context she now had, it had looked like paranoid ranting. Her task was to build upon the deception so Arth will be ready to act on what the next wave of exploration brings back.

  She had been as ignorant as the rest of the planet. There was already a plan in place, but it was set prior to the first wave launching. Her job was to update it using the data learned in training and launching the first wave. Her wave. Now she is part of the insider cabal, but without any of the family or organizational backing most of the string-pullers seemed to have. Interstel was now her faction.

  Benu mapped out projected losses, when to raise Endurium prices, when to announce the threat, and other “discoveries” along with presented alternative courses of actions and their forecasted second and third order effects. She also advocated opening up the process to wildcatters – people who did not attend Interstel’s long training course.

  “The odds favor the Interstel trainees the first few missions, but not decisively. Further, any training program will have strengths and weaknesses. The act of focusing on one thing creates a gap in another area. We are dealing with a lot of unknowns, it is in the definition of ‘exploration.’ Including those with skills from in-system space work, industry-gained expertise in engineering and systems, or just are the right kind of crazy can cover an unforeseen gap in knowledge or training at a decisive moment.”