Homeworld (Odyssey One) (11 page)

The clock ticked down until the last moments, and Eric heard Daniels announce the transition without listening. He closed his eyes, focusing on looking bored and maybe a little tired, in case anyone was watching. He doubted they were, but it never hurt to keep up appearances.

This time he only just felt the effect before it began to spin his molecules off into the void, catching barely a glimpse of the stars beyond the hull of the
Odyssey
when his eyelids were stripped from him and swirled into the black.

Shortly after, his eyes followed suit, and it was done.

CENTRAL COMMAND, MONS SYSTEMA, RANQUIL

“BUOYS IN THE outer system just reported an FTL event, Admiral.”

“Bowshock?” Tanner asked, rousing himself from bed as he slapped the commlink open.

“Negative. Signature matches the
Odyssey
’s drive system.”

Rael relaxed back, considering that. “Very well. It’ll take them a few hours to drop to Ranquil. I’ll be up in three unless there is an emergency.”

“Very well, Admiral.”

The link went quiet and Rael rolled over onto his back, trying not to disturb his companion where she was sleeping. The arrival of the
Odyssey
, or any ship from Earth, was far from bad news, but he was beginning to wonder if they were bad luck.

The previous day he’d received word back from the two ships he’d assigned to investigate some odd readings on long-range scans. The Drasin were clearly abroad again, though this time they didn’t appear interested in any of the Colony worlds. With trouble brewing, the
Odyssey
appeared from the depths of space.

Almost overly convenient,
Tanner smirked as he closed his eyes again.

The
Odyssey
had passed the checkpoints quickly on their way down-well, the unique configuration of the ship making it clear who they were and that they were most emphatically not Drasin. Eric idly checked the cut of his dress uniform, knowing that arriving on-world would be a bit of an affair.

The crew of the
Odyssey
was greeted with enthusiasm on Ranquil, at least by the civilian population. The military were respectful, and considerably more reserved. Not that he blamed them for that; he’d be leery as well of a foreign warship that had the capabilities the
Odyssey
had shown.

“Bridge to Captain Weston.”

“Weston,” Eric said, after tapping the button on the intercom.

“We’ve achieved stable orbit over Ranquil. Admiral Tanner sends his greetings and an invitation to dinner. Colonel Reed and Ambassador LaFontaine also sent their greetings along with similar invitations.”

“Got it,” Eric answered. “Did you deliver the mail?”

“Yes, sir, as soon as we hit orbit.”

“Good. Make sure that the care packages are all loaded for delivery as well.”

“Wilco, Cap.”

Reed and the Ambassador could wait, he decided. Not too long, obviously, but Eric would rather spend time with Admiral Tanner, and as he had no orders to the contrary, that was precisely what he was going to do.

He made his way back to the bridge, double checking that the
Odyssey
was in a very high orbit. They were well past the planet’s Van Allen belts, and he was hopeful that would keep Central from perusing their computers. Nothing much he could do about his own mind. There was no diplomatic way to avoid setting foot on Ranquil, but few of the secrets he knew were of much use to either a disembodied intelligence or to the Priminae themselves, so he’d take his chances.

“Shuttle is ready to launch, Captain.”

“Right,” Eric said and nodded. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”

“Aye, sir.”

Rael Tanner watched from the shelter of a building as the large Terran shuttlecraft settled into a low hover over the landing pad. The Priminae pad was hardly enough to accommodate the big craft, so the pilot had to keep the shuttle in a delicate hover as the ramp descended and passengers disembarked.

It was an impressive bit of flying, considering that he knew it was done largely by the pilot’s hand and skill rather than automated control. From previous conversations with Weston, Tanner was aware that the Terran craft could perform the maneuver on automatic as needed, but few of their military-trained pilots used it. Automatic flight control was for civilians.

Weston stepped lightly off the ramp, alone, pausing only to glance back and wave the shuttle off before he turned and continued to where Tanner was waiting. The back blast of the shuttle banking away in a controlled maneuver rumpled the
Captain’s uniform a bit, and he was casually patting himself down when he stepped inside.

“Welcome back to Ranquil, Captain.”

“Pleasure to be here, Admiral.”

Eric smiled as he spoke, nodding to the smaller man. He wasn’t exaggerating. He genuinely enjoyed what time he could spend on Ranquil. The city center, Mons Systema, was the largest population center he’d ever seen or imagined. It made megacities on Earth look like rural backwater towns. Much of the construction was megalithic and it held a decidedly ancient feel that Eric enjoyed.

Most of the planet was untouched nature, with a few of these megalith cities dotting the landscape. He didn’t know a lot about sociology, but he’d spoken with more than a few amateur historians and professional consultants about the Priminae world and people. An advantage of being who he was: When he asked to speak with the top minds on the planet, they competed to see who got to answer his questions.

A lot about the Priminae was all wrong.

They were human, for one thing, and that didn’t make any sense. Evolution charts on Earth still had a few holes in them, but they were damned near complete, so it didn’t make sense for Earth to be some long-lost colony. Humans had evolved on Earth. Period. End of story.

So who were the Priminae? Transplanted humans from Earth?

Possible. Unlikely, however. They had too long a history, going back ten thousand years. Unless that was all false, it would indicate that they’d been around a lot longer than that. There was strong evidence, however, that the Priminae weren’t local to the worlds they inhabited. The megalithic cities, for one. Most of the people Eric had spoken with believed
that any culture that evolved on a particular world would have spread all over it, and not be grouped so perfectly into a few huge cities.

Of course, the fact that they call themselves the “colonies” was clue enough on that issue,
Eric thought as he and the admiral walked through the fused stone corridors side by side.

“As you say, Captain, it is always a pleasure to have you here on Ranquil,” Tanner was saying as Eric refocused his attention from where his mind had drifted.

“It was nice not to be shot at this time.” He grinned. “It was an uneventful, boring trip down-well.”

“Boring is good,” Tanner acknowledged.

“Speaking of, any sign of the Drasin since we returned home?”

“Yes.” Rael became more serious. “They’ve been skirting our worlds for the most part. I currently have two ships tracking a possible swarm some distance from here.”

“Any idea what they’re up to?”

“None, I’m afraid,” the admiral admitted sourly. “They’ve stayed at the edge of our best scanners, and while they haven’t moved to avoid our ships, we’ve been reluctant to get too close.”

Eric nodded, opting to be diplomatic rather than say anything.

It wasn’t that the Priminae captains and crews were cowards; he’d seen enough to know better than to think that. They just didn’t like to think aggressively, let alone act that way. If something came knocking on their door, sure they were willing to hammer it back, but it didn’t occur to them to go and stop the bastards cold out in the black of space where they could cause little harm.

Given a bit more military power, Eric would be advocating that the NAC spearhead an all-out offensive on the
Drasin. Those things were a menace to everything he personally cared to name and had to be taken out. For the moment, though, staying hidden was Earth’s best hope. The Priminae didn’t have that option. They’d already been found, so to his mind they didn’t have the excuse, but they still opted to hold back.

A war for survival wasn’t any place for restraint.

That said, he’d learned enough to know that the Priminae just didn’t think that way. They were the epitome of pacifists up to the point of self-defense. At least they weren’t the type to stand by and be slaughtered, but he still felt that they needed to belly up to the line and take the fight out to the enemy.