All Novel Sweet
65
Leo excitedly pulled out his comm and touched the controls. Soon a booming bass line filled the space around them and Leo bobbed his head to the music. Nann reached over and shut it off as the wide eyed Chuuruthians were covering their sensitive ears. Leo looked towards them with a contrite wince. “Apologies.”
Their guide had drifted to a stop as it looked at Leo. “Was… was that a recording of one of my sessions at the club?”
“Yes, is bootleg. You are famous!” Leo grinned. “I did not understand was you. Until now.”
The Tik seemed to be stunned as it looked at Leo and the others without moving. Finally it began moving towards their destination once more though it remained facing Leo. It extended a tentacle towards the man and Leo took it in his hand once he saw Gee’s gesture that he should.
“I am deeply touched that my creations are being shared amongst those who appreciate them. Thank you so much for sharing this. This is a unique experience for me. I will need to contemplate its significance,” BassDrop said then retracted its tentacle and turned to face the platform they’d arrived at. It emitted a quick burst of noise and got a burst in return.
A bench rose from the deck of the platform across from the two old Tik. The group sat and took a closer look at the ones they came to speak with. Where the Tik they’d seen on their arrival were bright and shiny chrome, the chassis on these two were dull and badly pitted. They also showed significant wear and tear in terms of dents, scratches, and deeper injuries.
The newer Tik settled itself between them and the older Tik touched it with a tentacle. “Neither of the elders has the means to speak directly but they can tap into my speech center and speak through me. They will do so now.”
“Hello, you may address me as One,” said a deep voice. The old Tik on the left raised a tentacle. “You may address me as Two,” gestured the other, it’s voice higher in pitch.
“Why do I feel an almost uncontrollable urge to name them?” Nann whispered to the Major.
“The Tik developed a unique relationship with Humans who seem to have an overwhelming compulsion to name things,” the deep voice said, sounding amused. Nann blushed at being overheard. “Our young have a compulsion to obtain names from Humans. We think it might be something in the Instantiation matrix but as it’s essentially harmless there is no need to look further into it. Two and I were Instantiated millennia before this relationship developed, indeed longer than Humanity itself has been self-aware, so we feel no such need.”
Two’s voice returned. “I do admit to being curious as to what names you might have chosen in this instance.”
Nann looked at Gee who nodded with a smile.
“One, Socrates. Two, Plato. The names just popped into my head as we sat down to face you.”
The deep voice chuckled. “Interesting choice of names. Not really applicable to our true role-”
“I like it. I am Plato,” Two said immediately adopting the name.
One made a noise which sounded strangely like a gasp of shock and annoyance. “Fine. You are Plato. Our visitors may still address me as One-”
“Socrates,” Plato blurted, interrupting once more.
The noise emitted once more. “What if I don’t wish to be addressed as Socrates?” the deep voice growled.
“You don’t?” Plato asked.
There was silence.
“Might we begin?” the Chuuruthian Security Minister asked.
“Of course… you may address me as Socrates.”
Nann grinned.
“Thank you. Socrates, Plato, you indicated that you have been alive for an exceptionally long time. During this lifetime did you ever have interaction with a race of beings called the Mahrell Drun? We understand they were forced out of the Gate Network and their Gate was destroyed,” Stenn asked.
More silence.
Finally Socrates spoke again. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time. Yes, we were working for the Kel-Fahr during the time of the banishment.”
“Banishment?” Gee asked.
“The Mahrell Drun were master manipulators. They destroyed so many lives and even caused some races to slide back into the dust from which they sprung. The Tik do not follow a belief system which supports personifying good and evil. However, the Mahrell Drun’s willingness to trick others into destroying life for their own selfish gain and their insatiable greed makes it very difficult for us to not think of them as evil.”
Plato took up the tale. “When it was eventually discovered that they were the root cause of the destabilization of so many worlds the Kel-Fahr finally saw the threat and responded with all of their might. The Mahrell Drun had several worlds under their thrall which attempted to fight on behalf of their hidden masters but all perished. When the Kel-Fahr reached the Mahrell Drun’s home planet they found it to be abandoned. Not one Prime was found. So they sterilized the world and destroyed its Gate.”
Socrates’ voice was rough as he continued. “The Kel-Fahr hunted down the Primes. There was never more than five at any time as their ambition made them fight amongst themselves if their numbers increased. However, only three were found and they were destroyed down to the atomic level.”
“The other two were never found?” Gee asked.
“One should have been on their home planet. Primes always left one of their own on their home world. But the Kel-Fahr never found it.” Plato answered.
“No evidence of the other one was found either.”
“We suspect the Allsa Komanae are the descendants of the Mahrell Drun.” Gee said.
“That is highly doubtful,” Plato remarked.
“Why?” Gee asked.
“From the time of the banishment all Gates carry code that prevents Prime’s from passing through them without being genetically damaged to the point of sterility. The Kel-Fahr imposed this code on the Gates and they are the only species this was done to. Allsa Komanae pass through the Gates all the time. They have done so for centuries yet their population remains steady.”
“Have there ever been any dramatic increases or decreases in their population as one might expect with mass sicknesses caused by natural means or otherwise?” Stenn asked, clearly recalling their own near pandemic.
“No, looking at their numbers over time they progressed to their current population and have remained within five percent of that total ever since. Exceptionally stable but then so is the Tik’s population.
“You are only tracking the Allsa Komanae who pass through Gates though. You don’t know their population on their home world,” Gee pushed.
There was some hesitation. “Yes… that is correct,” Socrates conceded.
“Getting back to the Mahrell Drun, we have evidence that one exists and is in fact working with the Allsa Komanae. Would it be possible to get a digital transcript of the history of the Mahrell Drun and their subsequent banishment?” Major Ash requested.
“Of course. Did you meet this Prime? Do you have direct evidence of its existence?” Plato asked.
It was the Major’s turn to hesitate. “No, we didn’t and we don’t. We just have a confession from one Allsa Komanae and a pattern of activity that seems far better organized than anything the Allsa Komanae have ever achieved before.”
“With the Mahrell Drun, that’s more than you’d typically get. We have done what we can. Good luck to you all,” Socrates indicated.
“Thank you very much for your assistance with this!” the Major said.
The two senior Tik disconnected from BassDrop who moved to the Major. “I can upload the file they gave to me.” She pointed her comm at the Tik and it touched the input jack for a moment. When it pulled the tentacle back she saw the file was in her storage.
“I’d like a copy of that as well if you don’t mind,” Secretary of Defence Kressel indicated and BassDrop uploaded the file to his comm as well. “We should return to my office so we can contact these trusted officials of yours on Earth.”
The group followed their Tik guide back out to the entrance to the building.
Leo held BassDrop’s ‘hand’ once more then they made their way back to the vehicles and set course for the Ministry of Defence’s office.
Once more they were given priority and the vehicles reached the high velocity they’d had on the way to see the Tik. No one felt like talking as they were all deep in their own thoughts. The commandos understood that their next step would either get them the access to Earth they desperately needed or show them they could never go home. Gee and Bal sensed their unease and had no words of comfort to offer.
Soon they could see the beautiful low rise buildings of the Chuuruthian government’s headquarters and their speed gradually slowed until they parked next to a two story building tucked back behind some lovely flowering trees. They exited the vehicles and followed Kressel into the building and down a long corridor to a large conference room. A younger female Chuuruthian rushed into the room.
“How may I be of assistance?” she asked Kressel.
“Fire up the comm system in here and get me a secure line to Earth,” he replied. She immediately moved to the console and began setting up the protocols. The large display at the end of the room flickered to life. Kressel turned to the Major. “Who am I calling?”
The Major shared a look with Nann. “Brigadier General Rosseau. I served under him for five years. I trust him more than anyone else. He will be at the Ministry of Defence in Paris, France. I will give you his contact number.” She sent him the data from her comm and Kressel forwarded it along to the tech.NôvelDrama.Org: owner of this content.
“Once you are speaking to him and have his full attention, send him the data pack and tell him the following phrase, ‘Major Ash says Shanghai Insider’. He’ll know what that means.” She looked around the room. “In case his comm is monitored where can we stand and not be in the camera’s view?”
Kressel pointed to the corners of the room next to the screen. The team moved to stand in the blind spots and Gee and Bal joined them.
“Are we clear?” Gee asked.
Kressel looked at the young technician who checked the camera’s view and nodded. He turned back to the Altarian’s and the humans and they indicated they were ready. He took a seat next to Security Minister Stenn and nodded back to the tech. She set up the call then left the room. It was up to the Defence Secretary now. He initiated the call.