Solbidyum Wars Saga 6: Defeat of the Tottalax (20 page)

Windsor also contained some rare minerals, one of which was a major component in the sleep-suppressing headgear used to resist the Tottalax weapon.  I was told the mineral also had other uses and was a valued component in electronic devices.  The export of this mineral alone could make the local citizens quite wealthy, now that they would be in control of its mining and distribution again.

After the reign of the Brotherhood on the planet and the enslavement they had undergone, they were most happy to have the Federation operating a base on their planet.  Moreover, the Federation presented itself as a prime market place for Windsor to sell and distribute its goods.

It had been some time since we had seen or heard of any sign of the Tottalax, and I was beginning to hope that their alliance with the Brotherhood had fallen apart.  So it came like a shock when Marranalis approached me with news from the Lunar prison colony saying that they had detected the presence of the Tottalax ship in Earth’s orbit.  Only a few select groups of men and women staffing the Lunar colony knew they were in the Earth’s orbit.  They alone had access to the room that monitored what was happening on the Lunar surface, and in space around the moon and Earth.  Their jobs were top secret, and all those working within this area were tested, and showed the highest levels of loyalty to the Federation and the ability to maintain secrecy.  To further guarantee security, this group never came into contact with the prisoners on the base.  They went directly between the Cantolla Gate and their assigned monitoring stations without speaking to anyone.

“Have they given any indication what the Tottalax are doing?”  I asked.

“They say the Tottalax seem to be seeding the atmosphere with something in the same manner we observed when we were there a few years ago.  Whatever they are doing appears to be cleaning up the atmosphere at an astonishing rate, and it’s the conjecture of the Lunar staff that the Tottalax are trying to make the Earth habitable once again.  They most likely intend to set up their own colony there.  They speculate that it could happen within ten years or less.”

“That quickly?  Hmm.  Maybe we should let them clean the place up and then take it back again.  It was their actions that ended life on Earth, but we still have earthlings living willing to reclaim the planet if is made livable again.

“Have the Tottalax shown any signs that they are aware of the prison colony on the Moon?”

“None that we can tell,” Marranalis replied.

“They probably have no need for the Moon; if they are truly amphibians, they most likely are only interested in aquatic worlds with higher humidity and more water area than land.  Tell the moon base to keep an eye on the Tottalax actions there and to keep me informed.”

With the battle at Windsor out of the way I was ready to meet with the Tottalax refugee at Irribis.  Using data and equipment we had discovered on captured Brotherhood ships and the base at Windsor, Cantolla and A’Lappe had been able to figure out how the Brotherhood was communicating with the Tottalax.  The Tottalax had no ears, and they didn’t vocalize.  All their communications occurred by flashing patterns on their skin much like cephalopods on Earth had.  It was ingenious and it must have taken a long time for someone to figure out the system for communicating with Tottalax.  The communication device that Cantolla and A’Lappe came up with for me consisted of a shirt-like device that looked much like a light beige colored T-shirt.  It had a plug at the bottom that attached to a small device that clipped on to the belt.  When I was wearing it, colored patterns would display on the front of the shirt in the Tottalax language.  A small camera on the belt device would pick up the pattern displays on the skin of the Tottalax and translate it into the Federation language, and it would be played out loud from a speaker in the device.  Even though we didn’t have any Tottalax to test the device, A’Lappe assured me with 99% probability that the device would work.  A’Lappe never seemed to lack in confidence.

“Tib, I think we should take Lunnie and Reidecor to see the aquatic show,” Kala said, when I told her things were in place for us to go to Irribis.

“Are you joking?”  I asked.  “They’ll be screaming and making all kinds of noise.  It will totally upset other patrons there.”

“Not if we get a private box at the event.  Tibby, people do it all the time if they can afford the boxes.  Remember the sound suppression device at the tables at
Tezu Lagong
on Megelleon?  Well, they have similar devices on the private viewing boxes at the orbital theater where the shows are.  I know because I've already checked it out.”

“For people who can afford it?”  I said jokingly, “Well I guess that leaves us out.”

Kala hit me on the arm, “Yeah sure, maybe we can sneak in, “she laughed.  “But seriously, Tibby, I know the twins would be absolutely fascinated by it.”

“All right, but I’m leaving it to you to make all the arrangements,” I answered.

Going to Irribis was an event in itself.  Kala and I each had our own security teams.  I had two Federation bodyguards and two from my private security forces, supplied by Padaran.  Kala and the twins had another four body guards supplied by Jenira, who insisted she be part of the security team.  All total there were twelve of us, counting the twins.  Since the box at the theater only held eight, four of the guards would have to take up station outside the box.

I had hoped to keep the event low-key, and I wore a formal diplomat cut uniform, with the special shirt A’Lappe had made for me to communicate with the Tottalax under my jacket.  I had decided not to wear my military attire, and I had my body guards wear mercenary style uniforms instead of the Federation uniforms.  Jenira’s team of women warriors, however, all wore their standard black uniforms with their two swords strapped upon their backs.

We’d arranged earlier with the management to use a private entrance, so we might avoid the general public, and they were very cooperative.  What we forgot to tell them was that we didn’t want any attention called to our presence, so we were caught unexpectedly when the master of ceremony for the show announced, “Citizens of the Federation, tonight we are honored to have in attendance two of the most honored and respected heroes in the Universe.  They are rarely seen in public, and we are pleased to have them join us this evening.  I call your attention to the Honored First Citizens, Fleet Admiral Thibodaux James Renwalt, and his bond mate First Citizen Kalana.”  As he was saying this spotlights lit up the private balcony box where we were seated.  The people among the audience began cheering, and I looked at Kala, who began to chuckle at my apparent frustration, and she said, “Get used to it, stand up, smile and wave to the nice people.”  We both stood up and in my best mimic of the royal gesture of the old British monarchy from my home planet of Earth, I waved and smiled.  Lunnie and Reidecor looked at both of us and then, assuming they should do something also, stood and waved at the people.

The theater where the performance was taking place was unique.  I was told it was the only one like it in the universe.  In the area one would think of as being the stage, there were three aquatic pools.  The performers would enter these pools and by means of special anti-gravity devices, the gravity around the pools was negated, causing the water in the pools to rise up and form into three spheres suspended in the air.  The performers would swim around inside the balls in aquatic ballets.  At times, they would swim rapidly, shooting out of one ball of water to sail through the air between them, and then into the next sphere.  The master of ceremony explained that this was extremely dangerous, as in zero gravity the water adheres to the performer’s skin, almost like a goo, due to the absence of gravity and the surface tension of the water.  As a result, water was coating the swimmers’ faces like a thick paste, making it impossible for them to inhale without clearing the water away during the brief seconds between the spheres.  As each performer broke through the surface of their aquatic spheres, they would use a graceful gesture to sweep water from their faces while exhaling sharply, and then quickly inhaled as much air as they could before they entered the next sphere.  This was all done with remarkable precision, and the performers made it look easy, but I was sure it was more difficult than it appeared.

The production was truly beautiful and surprising.  At one point during the show, some performers left the aquatic spheres and breathed in some colored smoke compounds.  After re-entering their spheres they blew bubbles doing astonishing things with them by joining and combining them in all sorts of amazing patterns.  I was carefully watching the act, and I noted that many of the performers held their breaths for nearly three minutes.  I mentioned this to Kala, who told me that many of them breathed a special mixture of air before the performances, and they also ingested some drug that helped keep their blood oxygenated at a higher level than normal.  It was approximately one-third of the way through the performance that a strange-looking individual entered the larger center sphere.  While he was humanoid in appearance, he had webbed fingers and toes.  His skin was a pale grey, and he was hairless.  He had huge black eyes.  Once inside the sphere, his body flashed brilliant colored patterns as he swam about interacting with the performers.  I noted there were several red lines on his neck, and I realized that this was the Tottalax called Tot and the lines were gills.

Unlike the other performers, Tot didn’t exit or leave the sphere he was in, nor did he break its surface for air.  He was obviously quite at home in this environment.  I began wondering if he was saying anything with his skin pattern changes, as I knew this was how the Tottalax communicated.  I unclipped the translation device from my belt and aimed the small camera at Tot, but the distance was too great for me to get a reading.

I expected Lunnie and Reidecor to make a lot of noise during the performance; however, I was amazed when they sat totally quiet and absorbed.  The only other time I can ever recall them being so still was when they were sleeping.  The grand finale was spectacular as the gravity was gradually restored under the aquatic spheres with the actors inside them.  As the spheres began to descend toward the pools below, they also began to change shapes, flattening out slowly; at the same time, the bubbles inside the spheres began to rise to the tops of the spheres where, as they reached the surfaces, broke in puffs of colored smoke.  Meanwhile, the performers in the spheres swam around, eventually breaking the top surfaces of the water just as it settled into the pools.  Perhaps settled isn’t the best word to use at it was more like a splash at the end.  However, the performers managed to stay in the water the entire time.  With the gravity restored, the water no longer clung to their faces, and they could breathe normally once more.  The audience went wild with cheering and foot stomping, the Federations version of applause.  Lunnie looked at me and said, “Daddy, make them do it again.”

Reidecor was still staring into the water and the pools, and I had a feeling he was trying to figure out how it worked.  I was hoping he didn’t figure it out too quickly or next time I went to use the pool on the
NEW ORLEANS
I might find it floating in the air.

I noticed when the performance ended all the performers left the pools except for Tot; he remained behind swimming in the center pool.  We had made prior arrangements with the management to meet with Tot after the performance, and as the theater emptied of patrons, we were escorted from the balcony box and through a series of corridors by a member of the staff to the area of the pools.  As we approached Tot exited the pool and went to a small locker at the edge of the performance area and extracted a collar-like device he placed around his neck.  The device was attached to a small hose and a tank that was on a belt Tot had placed around his waist.  He then activated a switch and I noticed small puffs of vapor coming from the collar device near his gills.  I realized this device must keep his gills moist so they didn’t get too dry.

I quickly removed my jacket to reveal the special shirt A’Lappe had made for me, and I activated the translation device.

“That was an amazing performance,” I said as the colors and patterns began to display on my shirt.  Tot looked at me for a moment in what I assume was an expression of amazement, and then he stepped forward and lightly touched the fabric of the shirt.

“This is an amazing artificial skin you wear,” the translating device sounded as brightly-colored patterns displayed across Tot’s skin.  “It is better than the screens used by the others to communicate.”  By the others, I assumed Tot was referring to the Brotherhood, but I could not be sure.

“Tell me human, what is your name?  He said.

“I am called Tibby by my friends,” I answered.  The Tottalax looked at me for a moment and then replied, “You are the one that the other humans refer to as ”, a sequence of squawking sounds were produced by the translator, and I got the impression it was something untranslatable to Federation language, “…speak of and wish to kill.”

“We call them the Brotherhood, and yes, they do wish me dead.  I am their enemy.”

“Then we share an enemy,” Tot replied.

“What do the others in your race think of the Brotherhood?”  I asked.

“The others of my race are not allowed to think or have opinions,'” Tot answered, “only the Dazards are permitted to think or have thoughts of value.”

“Excuse me, but what is a Dazard?”  I asked.

“Dazards are of the (squeak, squawk sound) brood and are the decision makers for the (squeak, squawk sound).  Only the Dazards think and make choices”