Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation (23 page)

“What about you A’Lappe?  Do you concur?”  I asked.

“Yes, I do.  It would be a complicated puzzle for anyone who doesn’t have an understanding of your quantum mechanics, and that is pretty much unheard of in the Federation, save for a few scientists from your Earth, and most of them work for you.  Besides, they have one more problem, and that is the power needed.  The Brotherhood simply doesn’t have the means at the moment to produce enough power for the gates to operate.  Only we have that.”

“So I am taking it, you HAVE found a new source of solbidyum.”  I stated.

“No, but I found something almost as good, a new relative in the same family, hitherto unknown.”  A’Lappe said looking around to see if anyone other than those at our table were paying attention.  Seeing that everyone else was actively engaged in conversation, he said in a voice so quiet I barely could hear him… we call it solbidnite.”

“Solbidnite!  Is there enough to go around?  I mean how much exists?”  I asked.

“More than enough, Tibby, it’s much finer than solbidyum, just a fine dust really, but there is a huge amount of it, and its power output is nearly as great as Solbidyum; powerful enough to power the Cantolla gates.”

“We’re going to keep that a secret, that and its location?”  I said.

“You don’t need to worry there,” Admiral Regeny said.  “Neither A’Lappe nor Cantolla will even tell me where it is, and believe me, I have tried to get it out of them.”

I laughed, “Admiral, I doubt you would ever be able to pry it out of these two if they didn’t want you to know.  However, I do need to know,” I said turning to A’Lappe, “if its location is such a big secret, how do you harvest it??”

“Ah, Tibby,” A’Lappe said grinning, “There are secrets that you have and secrets I have.”  I could see that he was going to try to use this as a means of getting me to tell him how I detected his presence when no one else could.  “Well, A’Lappe, I guess we shall be keeping our secrets then, won’t we?”

“Well, Tibby,” Regeny said as he dabbed his lips with a napkin and pushed his chair back from the table, I noted a slight stain on his jacket but said nothing.  “I hate to eat and run, but I need to get back to the Capitol and meet with some of my staff.  I’d like to see you in my office tomorrow afternoon to discuss the fleet situation and to make contact with Admiral Stonbersa.  He’ll be glad to hear you’re back.  He wants to get to his sector and whip the fleet into some semblance of order there.”

It felt strange watching the Rear Admiral walking out knowing that in just a few minutes, he would be light-years away in the Capitol at Megelleon.

I wanted to go back to Kala’s and my suite and to the twins, but there were too many people who wanted to see me and welcome me back, and it was hours before I was finally able to break free.  I also wanted to thank Padaran and Jenira for the outstanding job they did in rescuing Kala and me, but they disappeared shortly after the meal, and I didn’t see them again.  There was one more thing I needed to do before I returned to my suite.  I contacted the bridge and asked if Regata was still in the observation pod on the side of the ship.  I was told he was, and I got directions to the location.  It seemed surreal walking about my ship once more, and I feared that at any moment, I would wake up and find myself back on Desolation with Kala and the twins.  It took me several minutes to find the observation pod Regata was in.  I was glad that Kala was not around to remind me that I really needed to learn more about my ship.  When I found him, he had darkened the tint of the pod glass, so he could look directly at the star without harming his eyes.

“Regata, may I join you?”  I asked.

“Ah, Man-Who-Speaks-for- Thumumba, most certainly.  I am very sorry not to have been at your welcoming home dinner, but I have discovered something most extraordinary.  This star contains what I have been sent to search for.  There is inside of it a living intelligence like Thumumba.”

“There is?”  I said in amazement.  I had never thought of that possibility in my time on the planet.

“Yes, I have been trying to communicate with it, but it is quite young and its thoughts are unorganized.  It is only a few millennia old and barely self-aware.  All the solar flares you see are a result of its efforts to gain control over its environment.  It is like an infant trying to learn to walk.”

“Have you informed Thumumba about this?”  I asked.

“Thumumba always knows what is going on in my mind.  He is most excited about this discovery and has been using my mind to try to converse with the entity, but progress is slow, and it may take years before they can have any dialog on even the most primitive of levels.  Nevertheless, Thumumba is most excited, for now he knows he is not alone.”

“Will Thumumba come here to meet with this entity?”  I asked.

“Perhaps in several million years, when this young one is more in control; right now it would be futile as the being still has no real concept of itself, let alone others.”

“Will you be going home to Alle Bamma now that you have found this entity?”

“I am not sure.  Thumumba has not spoken of this yet.”  As we watched we could see a large coronal eruption shooting out into space; luckily it was not in the direction of Desolation.  “There,” Regata said, “It’s kicking like a baby in its mother’s womb.”

“Is that what you call solar flares?  Kicks in the mother’s womb?”

“It is about as close an analogy as I can think of.”  Regata said with a smile.

“So are all solar flares caused by entities inside stars, like Thumumba?”  I asked.

“No, not at all, but an entity like is in this star can cause solar flares while it is trying to learn and control the environment around it.”  Regata answered.

When I finally got back to our suite, I was surprised to find Kala on the floor with the twins.  Lunnie was crawling around on all fours checking out everything while Reidecor sat next to Kala playing with his toes.

“How does it feel to be home again?” I asked Kala.

“Wonderful!" she exclaimed, "absolutely wonderful.  Did you know that Piesew set up a nursery for the twins while we were gone?  You need to see it.  It has everything.  Even a diaper changing robotic device, no more dealing with messy diapers for us,” she said happily.

“Remind me to give him a raise.”  I said.

“And you should see the toys… all sorts of stuff.”

“How come they aren’t playing with them now?”  I asked.

“Oh they are too busy exploring.  Lunnie is checking out everything.”

“Yeah,” I said.  “I see Reidecor is checking out his toes.”

Kala laughed, “Yes it’s strange, it’s like this is the first time he’s ever really noticed them.  He wiggles them and then grabs them and laughs.

“Sometimes he worries me, Kala.  I mean let’s face it, Lunnie seems to be more advanced than he is.”

Kala frowned and looked at me.  “Oh, Tibby, Reidecor is perfectly normal for a baby his age.  Yes, Lunnie seems to be more advanced, but all that can change.  Reidecor may fool you.  Right now, he is normal and happy; what more could you ask?”

While we were talking, Lunnie had crawled across the room and picked up a brightly-colored toy that had ever-changing light patterns going on inside.  She picked it up and placed it in her mouth and then crawled back across the room looking ever so much like a dog carrying a bone.  When she reached me, she sat up and took the toy out of her mouth and handed it up to me with a big grin.  I noticed something still in her mouth and went to get it out with my finger when suddenly Lunnie chomped down, and I felt pain.

“Ouch?”  I said and looked in Lunnie’s mouth again.  “Kala” I said excitedly… “Lunnie has a tooth.”

Kala rolled over next to us and looked in Lunnie’s mouth.  “Well, by the stars,” she said, “she does.”  Kala rolled back to Reidecor and looked in his mouth.  “Nothing here, but it looks like one is almost ready to appear.” 

“Tibby, I enjoy our babies, but I think I’m going to enjoy them a lot more here on the ship.”  Kala said as she lay back and stared toward the ceiling.  A grinning Reidecor promptly crawled on top of her and drooled on her face.

That night for the first time in six months Kala and I slept on our bed in the
NEW ORLEANS
again; the twins were in their own room right next to ours where we could hear them if we were needed.  The adventures and action of the day quickly took its toll, and we all slept soundly until the morning.

The first thing I did when I woke up was to head to the pool where I swam laps.  All my labors on Desolation had me in pretty good physical shape.  I practiced my martial arts moves daily while there, and I was lean and trim, but the lack of regular swimming was showing.  I was just finishing my twentieth lap when Kala walked into the pool room and began disrobing.

“This isn’t fair,” she said as she got in the water, “you’re getting a head start on me warming up.”

“Oh like that matters,” I joked and splashed her.  “Who’s watching the twins?”

“Jenira.  She came by a few minutes ago and announced that she was now their official nanny/bodyguard and that if I had anything I wanted to do, to go do it.  When I left she was sitting on the floor with them, and all three were laughing.  I just wish she would speak.”

“I know,” I said sadly, “she’s vowed she won’t speak again until the Brotherhood has been destroyed.”

Kala started swimming laps and even though I had just finished twenty laps, I joined her.  Soon her competitive nature kicked in, and before I knew it, she was starting to outpace me.  I picked up my pace, and quickly we were side by side again.  I saw her turn her head and look at me, and then I saw her grin, and she really started speeding up, and the race was on.  I think I would have beaten her if I hadn’t swum the twenty laps earlier, but as it was, we both hit the wall at the same time once again.

“No fair,” I said as I tried to catch my breath, “I’m all tired out from my earlier laps.”

“Ha,” Kala said mockingly, “you always have an excuse.  If you hadn’t limbered up earlier I would have left you behind in the steam created by my speed through the water.”

I was about to challenge her to a rematch when my com link beeped.  I swam to the side the pool and picked it up.  “Tibby here,” I said.

“Tibby, welcome back, Dr. Hughes here, it’s been a long time since we had a session, and considering the ordeal you’ve just gone through, I thought that now might be a good time for us to get together.”

Dr. Hughes was a psychiatrist from Earth and had been a member of the Mars colony that we had rescued.  Shortly after his arrival on the
NEW ORLEANS
he pointed out that we didn’t have a ship's counselor or mental health professional aboard and convinced me of the need for one.  Unfortunately for me, he saw me as his primary client and constantly wanted me to sit in his chair, so he could sort through my thoughts.  “Could we make it another time?”  I asked.  “I’m scheduled to meet with the Admiralty this afternoon to discuss urgent matters regarding the war, and I really need to see to other matters here with the ship with my crew before I go.”

“Well I guess we can, but after all the things you’ve been through in the past and with the latest events, I think you need to decompress and sort this stuff out.  Keeping it all bottled in is only going to create more stress.”  In my mind, this conversation was starting to sound like a segment from an old Earth TV show where when the adults talked, all the children heard was
Wah, wah
wah, wah wah wah.

“Once things settle down and I’ve had a chance to catch up on events I’ll make contact with you.  Will that be alright with you?” I asked.

“Well I suppose so, but don’t stretch things out too long.” he replied.

Once I severed communications with Dr. Hughes I said, “Kala, I really need to go meet with A’Lappe and Cantolla.  You’re welcome to join me if you wish.

“That’s alright, Tib, after spending the last six months with you daily on Desolation, I could use a little time without you.” she said through a grin.  I stuck my tongue out at her as I headed for the shower.

Twenty minutes later found me walking into the lab where Cantolla and A’Lappe, along with all their assistants, worked their scientific magic.  “Tibby,” Cantolla said as I entered the room, “I’m glad you came down to see us this morning.  A’Lappe and I have so much to show you.”

“Where is he?”  I asked as I looked about when I didn’t see him.

“He is down in the hangar bay helping a crew load the components for a Cantolla gate on a patrol ship to be delivered to one of the starships in the Urbane System.  It will take months for them to get there, but once they do and have it set up, we will instantly be able to move from here to there simply by walking through the gate.  After that we can construct, or pass through the materials necessary for them to construct a larger gate sufficient for a starship to pass through.  That will allow a squadron or fleet of ships to transport the distance in mere seconds instead of months.”

“A’Lappe said something last night about an improvement in communications and that the DSC system will soon be obsolete.  What’s that all about?”

“A’Lappe got the idea to use smaller versions of the Cantolla gate inside a radio-like device.  Essentially each gate has its own frequency paired gates.  What A’Lappe has done is to figure out a way to make thousands of these gates on an microscopic scale mounted in a wheel inside the communication device.  When the wheel is rotated into the correct position, it is powered up and opens the gate to the matching paired particles on the device you are trying to communicate with.  Once the miniature gate is opened a small light beam with digital information is carried through to a receptor in the receiving machine giving you instant communication, over what otherwise would be the distances of light years.”