IronStar (75 page)

A word about the locals. The
Talamae culture is unique in my experience. They have a deceptively simple,
straightforward way of taking on the world that many Regnum planetary cultures
would do well to emulate. Their economy baffles me - it seems to be far more
trust-based than I’d have expected would be viable, but they work it as
naturally as breathing. They have virtually no sickness or crime, and very
little poverty. Their political system is just about the sanest I’ve ever seen.
I think someone at Xenoanthropology should get their research team over here,
even if they have to grovel a little for admission.

Part of their advantage seems to be
attributable to the guidance of their remarkable guild of priest-healers. You
will be interested in the clinical observations in Attachments 19 through 26. I
know Lt. Lockwood (
Utterson’s
CMO), thinks they’re witches. He said,
quote: “I can’t
find
it! Every time I try to measure whatever-they-do,
it comes up ‘random’. But almost every time they put their hands near a
patient, it’s like the damndest
coincidences
happen! Aieee…” - or words
to that effect. And that’s
after
factoring in the effects of that
glatha
-fruit
the UniDom rep almost peed her pants over. Speaking of local foods, Attachment
27 contains everything we know so far about its nutritional qualities, and the
planet’s edibles in general, including the excellent state of health of both
the
Arvida-Yee’s
survivors, which is as remarkable in its own way as the
fact of their survival itself.

And speaking of that good ship,
with Lieutenant Roehl’s assistance we were able to reconstruct their pre-impact
orbital elements rather accurately, and actually managed to recover a few
pieces of flotsam, from the very diffuse debris field still in orbit.
Perturbations from the planet’s inner moon did a pretty thorough job of
scattering most of it, including the largest piece of hull, which I badly
wanted. Since there were only the two suit signals responding to our hails, I
have closed the files on the other seven crew as LIA/PD. Memorial services were
held three days ago, on the surface. It hurt, just to watch. Do we ever get to
where it doesn’t hurt, Joe? Even though I have little love for the Navy Hymn as
a piece of music, it certainly has its place.

We’re as secure here as twenty
megatonnes of navy metal in fifteen hulls can make us, Joe. We’ve started work
on two of our new bases, although it’ll be a token effort until those
freighters arrive with the industrial fabricators and extra ordnance I ordered.
Attachments 12 and 13. Don’t worry about us. Go find that leak, and keep any
more Kruss from dribbling in. We’ll try to track their return leg from here,
but their grav sensors are as good as ours, so no guarantees they won’t shake
us.

Fifteen hulls - yes, I’ve sent both
FTBs to shadow the Kruss, wherever they run. The Mercantiles will have to wait
for the first commercial transport for a ride home, as will Lieutenant Roehl’s
pet Kruss. The locals have several orders inbound, and I simply can’t spare a
vessel to play taxi. Although right now the Mercs look happy as plebes on
prom-night, digging into the planet’s biosphere with everything they brought on
the
Meredith
. Everything we didn’t draft for humanitarian aid, that is.
Even that semi-annoying RegNet reporter has been just doing her job and filing
stories.

Although her big scoop will
doubtless be the saga of the Survey Lieutenant gone native, defeating the Kruss
Empire with one hand and hordes of barbarians with the other, against the
orders of the local Admiral. Actually I’m being a bit paranoid. Kirrah - Lt.
Roehl - has been scrupulous to edit the coverage to avoid exactly that spin
(Attachments 1 and 2). First time I’ve seen a MacKenzie Bond actually work.
But, the vid
will
show the most creative way of returning an enemy’s
ordnance I’ve ever seen. I can’t
wait
for the Scrutineer’s reaction,
when he hears ‘But your Equity, it was
their
illegal weapon in the first
place!’.

Ok, I’m starting to ramble, it’s
late, the Tac deployments and everything else you really need to know are in
the attachments. Good night, Joe, and thanks for everything you’ve done, for me
and for my mission, as well as for this planet and the millions of humans who
call it home.

Godspeed, and good hunting

Luce

“What is this darkness? What is
its name? Call it an aptitude for sensitivity. Call it a rich sensitivity which
will make you whole. Call it your potential for vulnerability.” - Meister
Eckhart,
op.cit
.

Report
to the Ro’ath’la
 
Elderhood, in the matter of
Kirrah shu’Roehl and the arrival of the Star-humans. Copies to Magisters
Slaetra shu’Urwakla and Brai’klao shu’Naei.

Dear
Friends:

As we
have by now all plainly seen, the ancient stories were much more than
allegories and metaphors, and the prophecy that people would someday return
from the stars was intended far more literally than any of us knew. Furthermore
we can now confirm that the uncivil behavior which we sensed had its roots in
our neighbors to the southwest, was supplemented by a force new to our
experience. I have observed most attentively the events of this remarkable
spring and summer, and now offer this assessment to be woven with your own.

One:
Kirrah shu’Roehl. This has been in some ways the most challenging part of my
task. Never in my experience has such strength-of-tools been combined with so
little training in a civilized being, although this appears endemic to the
culture in which she was nurtured. We may thank Source that our first visitor
was so abundantly blessed with native heart-light and mind-cleanliness. We may
also be thankful for the unfolding of events by which she first became linked
to the lad Akaray, and through him, to her own
kaena’hachk.
 
It was via this link I was able to first
observe, then guide her surprisingly retarded development in this area.

When
I saw her finally open to darkness, I was unsure what form it would take. For
one thing, we have so little experience with this happening for the first time
in a full-grown person. Furthermore, I was forced to rely heavily on the
tool-knowledge of her friend Do’ris shu’Finsh. When I realized where Kirrah was
following her darkness, I believed it was going to be a near thing indeed,
whether she would become lost in it. She teetered on the edge, yet her
mind-cleanliness was working to save O’dai lives even as darkness was coming
into its fully opened strength, and she was able to embrace the latter without
losing the former, as is the risk in those coming so late to this lesson.

When
she later opened, reluctantly but fully, to the child Ulla’ta her
kaena’hachk
had harmed, I knew she was safe. In my Assessment she is now firmly on the path
to balance. As I write this, I can see the two of them through my window,
sitting in the School courtyard together, making another costume for Slaetra’s
old doll. I believe it’s intended to be a miniature of those wonderful
‘Survival Suits’ the Reg’num uses. The child has been greatly aided by several
tendays in their healing device. The restoration of her eyesight and maimed
hand has done much to restore her trust in life, and in Kirrah. Much, of
course, remains to heal.

Yesterday
Kirrah’s device-which-speaks faithfully reminded her that the date of rescue
she calculated on first landing so long ago, had finally arrived. She appeared
amused at her earlier fears. I sometimes wonder how much of my own concerned
involvement with her process had to do with necessity, and how much with
my
fears for her, and for our people. Once again, I find myself re-learning how
deeply Source delights in our trust.

Two:
the Reg’num Dra’koo’nais. Here, we touch wonder and death-love and death-fear
and remarkable gifts and profound ignorance, all in a thousand pieces, all
roiling like an irwua-nest. For examples: in their language, the concept of
strength
seems inherently connected with ability-to-dominate, with no flavor of
ability-to-create. Indeed they separate the very idea of
shee’thomm
 
most perversely into two words, one meaning
ability-to-dominate and the other meaning risk-of-blame. Their closest word for
healing seems to mean only body-repair. We appear to have scant choice but to
conjoin with them, and while my fear tells me I cannot predict the outcome, it
was only a few penstrokes ago I was re-learning my trust in Source. I therefore
suspend further Assessment of this culture, while passing on a few encouraging
comments about individuals representing it, in Assessments three through five
following.

Three:
Lucinda Fleetmaster. I have had a little opportunity to Assess her in person,
and by the way, I wish each of you the opportunity to practice Assessment
through one of their device-which-shows-images. I believe Lucinda is a truly
heart-radiant warrior, one who has made some odd but apparently successful
accommodation to the death-loving elements of her culture. Our material safety
is in good hands with her above our world, and I am encouraged that one such as
she has been given such
shee’thomm
among them.

Four:
Ad’reen shu’Gilman. This woman would have made an excellent Wrth. She, and to
some extent the man she is paired with, have also achieved their own viable
balance with the death-love which permeates their culture. I would like to say
that all Reg’num warriors who wield such terrible powers have ath’laz
 
such as these. I cannot, but I am encouraged
that such as these are drawn to their army, and I find further hope in the
manner in which their Fleetmaster allowed them to avoid the punishment which
their death-loving rules would otherwise have imposed for their brave actions
on our behalf.

Five:
the ‘regen tanks’. Far more than the simple instruments which Kirrah used to
repair the heart and replace the blood of the soldier Ana’the so many tendays
ago (ref. my interim report 4), these devices are able to reconstruct whole
limbs and organs. I am told by one of their healers, whom I have no reason to
disbelieve, that a person’s head could be removed whole from their body and
still they would be repaired and ultimately, with much effort and practice,
regain connection fully with their body. Yes, fully. Think about that, my
beloved friends. For while we may deplore the theme by which their
device-that-heals sees the body as but another machine, it also suggests that
in our pursuit of wholeness, we may have neglected the body-as-machine to the
detriment of our
karadoiz
.
 
Another branch of the vine to consider.

Six:
the Kruss. I have seen only one of these small persons, and must now infer
their entire race-ath’la. I simply cannot. I can say that they are both
physically overwhelming for humans one-to-one, and, by Kirrah’s account, that
their culture has brought death and enslavement to every weaker people they
have contacted. This is supported by their willingness to pervert healing tools
into weapons, and indiscriminate weapons at that. Yet they too are part of
Source’s creation. I do not know whether they will return to our world, and we
may be thankful for the security of Lucinda’s fleet over our heads.

However
in all prudence I took advantage of the ample opportunities to gather samples
of life-braid
¹
from the one which was held prisoner for
several tendays, while I tended its injuries and watched its most remarkable
healing. I am relieved to report that its alien life-braid grew well in my
small workshop, and was responsive to a range of standard attenuating agents
²
,
and to two of the four small-life antagonists
³
I designed for
it. Samples are wax-sealed below on this parchment for your further study. I do
not know whether the Reg’num deals in such life-tools, and indeed I am
reluctant to mention their existence until we know more of their culture, since
those tools could so easily be used to extinguish the Kruss as a species.

Unfortunately
this also means we will be unable to take open advantage of the new learning
for limb-regeneration we have obtained from my study of the creature’s
life-braid. My few private experiments have shown it is adaptable to some other
species, and I have no reason to doubt it would work with humans. If the
Elderhood concurs, this gift must be left untouched for some little time yet,
and we shall rely on their ‘regen tanks’ for this service. Indeed our new
friends seem to attach so much value to our glatha-fruit, we should probably
proceed with caution before opening other, larger questions.

Conclusions:
The Reg’num and the Kruss both merit our close attention. Either could devour
our little world if left unwatched. We are fortunate in our friends, most
particularly Kirrah and Lucinda, and the former is now firmly on the way to
healthy and productive adulthood. Watch the children, Akaray and Ulla’ta. I
sense potential in them both. Life unfolds into life according to Source’s own
pattern, and I release my fear-of-future, as a burden unworthy to be borne
further. Stay watchful.

In life and light and life eternal,

Your servant and ro’shapa,

Issthe shai’Ro