When the shuttle from scout ship Fifty-three Kliclu am) Sewn Kiack.<) reported a juicy colony of the One-Horns, the swarm had been hungry for conquest, and more to the point, the Young had been even hungrier. The lair of the One-Horns had proved elusive and was much sought after, since the members of the race thus far encountered possessed a particularly satisfying capacity for emotional projection. Shock, fear, outrage, loathing, and an unplumbed depth of capacity to suffer and emote anguish -when correctly manipulated made even one of these beings a sweet feast for the Young.
But this time the Khieevi had been -worse than thwarted. According to the shuttle soldiers -who survived, the -world -was filled -with nothing but shadows of One-Horns and their buildings, shadows that could not be touched or hurt or killed and had no redeeming nutritional value to either soldiers or the Young. Worse, there were the growing things with the prominent white sexual organs, similar in appearance to stationary growing things on other -worlds. These emitted pheromones of fear which had seemed promising, but when the shuttle soldiers attacked them, the growing things had the temerity to attack back! The entire ground fleet had been lost and many of the swarm ships infected by contaminated shuttles, which nonetheless returned to their ships. The Young knew. The fear and pain of their own elders had been fed to them as a substitute for the alien food, but it was not enough. So much time had elapsed since a proper feeding, nothing -would satisfy the Young now but the actual physical bodies of their elders, whom the eldest of the Young would replace.
This -was The Path, the driver knew. In time, the elders, such as him, grew weak and unable to serve, and had to be eliminated and replaced with fresh, fierce Young, who in turn served the even more vicious, malicious, and avaricious Younger. So now the swarm would return with nothing to offer but themselves, their own bodies, their own pain and anguish and fear, to be devoured by the slavering hordes of their offspring.
The driver regretted this with a deep bitter regret that the Young -would find added a nice tang. He himself had replaced a used up, -worn out elder -whom he personally devoured only a few brief time units ago. His turn at the Gathering should have lasted many, many more time units. It was not right. It was not fair. It did not suit him. But it was The Path.
Between his agitation and his pain and the lack of attentiveness on the part of the other crew members due to similar distractions, he veered somewhat off course, folio-wing several other members of the swarm -who were also affected and also deviated from course.
His was the first ship to spot the alien vessel. It did not appear to be accelerating, nor orbiting, nor moving in any way. Nor did it appear to be damaged. The equipment detected life signs. The other ships of the swarm also spotted it. It -was still a great distance away and if it -was fast, it might yet evade them. But if it was not, here was food to offer the Young, -who might be so busy feeding, they -would forget to consume a few stringy old elders.
The hydroponics garden of the AcaSecki now blossomed with exotic flowers of crimson and orchid, lilacs so real they seemed fragrant, jasmine and roses of all descriptions vying with frangipani, plumena, and lush lotus blossoms floating in a pool of crystal water, fed by a sparkling fountain.
As each child looked at the others, he or she saw not another child but either a beautiful (if rather plump; Hafiz always made his holograms in the images of his own desire) houri or a dashing thief. The ladies were scantily clad in clothing that included many layers of silken veils and skirts, balloon-legged pants with slits down the sides to show shapely limbs, and lots and lots of clanking silver and gold coin jewelry. The thieves "were clad in Berber blues, their skins dyed by the indigo in their clothing, or in striped robes colored in the soft golds, saffrons, russets, and browns of a desert most of the children had never imagined. Now it stretched out before them, just beyond the boundaries of the gardens. Each child was alone among fascinating strangers, all of them listening respectfully, attentively to the voice of Hafiz Harakamian. Ouds and doumbeks, tambourines and zills, a whining flute spiraled and curled around Hafiz's words, illuminating each as colored inks adorned the alphabets of ancient holy books.
And that was only the backdrop!
Hafiz's tales came to life between him and the children.
The story began, "There was once in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before, on Kezdet, before the Federation, a poor but enterprising lad, by name Habib, son of a lowly designer of inexpensive gaming software. Sadly for Habib, before he had reached his fifteenth year, his father passed into the land foretold by the Three Books and the Three Prophets, and Habib, whose mother had long ago run off with a smoothtalking merchant of space travel insurance, was left alone."
He went on to demonstrate how the young Habib found his fortune in a magic lamp - a lamp that, -when used in the sleep pods of space travelers in cryosleep, prevented deaths that had been occurring due to lack of vitamin D. But Hafiz made the lamp look like an ancient magic lamp and coming from it was a genie-in cryosleep.
He was just coming to the next plot turn in this tale when Calum Baird called down, "Hafiz, will you cool it with the special effects? You're draining the power of the ship's computer."
"Nonsense, my boy," Hafiz said. "My holograms take up very little power." Normally, he might have taken Baird's warning under advisement but he had yet to perform his best trick.
Finishing the story, he laid out the nutrient bars on an ordinary table, then had dancing girls in tinkling costumes cover the unappetizing fare with roast swan and hummingbird tongues. Discerning from the puzzled silence that met him, even through the holo-disguises he had cast upon the children, he tapped the computer pad and replaced the swans and hummingbird tongues with burgers, fries, onion rings, milkshakes, soft drinks, and ice cream treats.
The children lunged for the table.
The lights went out.
The burgers, fries, rings, and banana splits and sundaes turned back into nutrient bars and the sloe-eyed houns and slyfaced thieves turned into disappointed children suddenly shivering in the dark.
Soon another light appeared on the circular metal stairway no one used because the lift was more convenient. "Come on back upstairs, everybody," Calum said, "while I get the computer back up. Don't worry. Even if it proves to be difficult, the Haven will be here soon and we'll have help.
Unfortunately, the Haven was not the next ship to reach the stranded AcaSecki.
"What do you mean, you lost them?" Rafik demanded of an uncharacteristically flushed and flustered Johnny Greene.
"Just what I said," Greene replied. "After we got the allclear to return to MOO, we agreed to rendezvous at the AcaSecki's coordinates. But by the time we arrived, there was nothing there but empty space. We hailed them over and over but didn't get a blip. They just disappeared."
Rafik held his breath for a long moment before he replied. "Johnny, you folks turn the Haven around and get back to Federation space on the double. We know the Khieevi left the vine world, but we don't know where they went from there."
"You think they got the Accufeckil" Johnny asked. "But- we talked to them just a few hours ago."
"I don't know what happened. But one vessel full of kids has disappeared with Calum and my uncle. We can't risk the rest of you. Go back. Get the posse if you can-after all, Hafiz's baksheesh provides a lot of private schools and widow's and orphan's pensions for Federation forces, and even though this isn't their turf, we are under their protection. I hope."
"Gotcha," Johnny said. "But get word to us the minute you know something, okay?"
"We'll try," Rafik said grimly.
"Saltwater?" Acorna asked. "Is that all?"
Miiri nodded. "Simple saline solution. It breaks down the sap enough for it to liquefy but it doesn't seem to harm the sap's ability to alter to its fungoid form and destroy insectoid tissue. We replicated some of the remaining carapace tissue and the liquefied sap was if anything more virulent than in its original form, just as an acid's potency may be increased by mixing it with water."
"That makes sense," Acorna said. "Though it wouldn't be as tenacious as the sap."
"No," Becker said, scratching his mustache, "but you know if we could have had some in aerosol torpedoes to shoot into the orbiting Khieevi ships, we could have taken out more of them."
Miiri shuddered. "How horrible," and looked at her work as if she had given no thought as to how it would be used.
But Aari said gently, "Mother, these are Khieevi we're talking about, remember. You've seen them. You say you felt what they did to me."
"Your mother knows, Son," his father said. "It's just not the Linyaari way."
"Which is why you need people like Hafiz and Nadhari and me," Becker said. "There are still Khieevi out there. I think it's a good idea, in our copious leisure time, to whomp up a batch of sap and sea water. I can scrounge around here and see if I can find the makings of some aerosol torpedoes. You Just never know when that kind of thing will come in handy."
Acorna frowned. "Maybe it would also be wise to return to the vine world and collect more sap there. The plants not only buried the Khieevi in their sap, but also submerged themselves. I'd like to make sure the plants are regenerating properly too. If they need any special climactic conditions to help them grow, perhaps Dr. Hoa could be of assistance."
"Good idea, Princess," Becker said. "But you know RK. He wants to spend a little time with Nadhari before we ship out again."
"I see," Acorna said, smiling. "It doesn't have to be done right now."
But at that moment, Nadhari Kando burst into the lab. "Becker!" she said urgently, then nodded slightly to the Linyaari who were also present. "I have to ship out right away. Sorry."
"I'll go with you," Becker said immediately.
"No. You can't. This is my responsibility. Hafiz hired me to protect him and his people and now the AcaSeckl has disappeared." Acorna grabbed Nadhan's muscular forearm to get her attention, "What do you mean, disappeared? Calum was on that ship as well as Hafiz-"
"And Maati," Kaarlye, Miiri, and Aari said at once. "I know, I know. I should have gone with the Harakamians but he wanted me here to protect his investment," Nadhari said.
"But time is wasting. I've commandeered the Ifrit. It's the fastest ship in Hafiz's security fleet and well-armed."
She took the time to explain about the Haven's transmission. Becker frowned. "If they're not -where they're supposed to be, I'm not sure fast is going to do you any good, Nadhari. I've got those banks of long-range scanners on the Condor. And the Khieevi communications device. And Mac."
"It's too slow, Becker. And you already told me, it's not packing firepower." She hesitated and then said, "Although ..." "What?"
"You've had good success defeating the Khieevi without weapons and you do have that unconventional navigation style. Your tactics might come in handy. If you still -want to join me."
"No ifs ands or buts about it, lady," he said.
"Good," she said and turned on her heel, as if expecting him to follow.
"Captain," Acorna said. "We can follow in the CorSor and keep the scanners working and Mac monitoring the Khieevi transmissions. That way if we learn anything, -we can transmit to Nadhari's vessel and you'll have the advantages of both ships."
Becker leaned back and gave her a kiss on the cheek before Nadhari snagged his hand and yanked. "Thanks, Princess. But you can do that from here and we can read you. No sense you taking unnecessary chances. Besides, I need you to make sure the sap shells get made and Condor, at least, is outfitted with them. Don't want to get caught with nothing but a tractor beam to fight those klackers again." Nadhari released his arm and threw the door open. He followed her calling, "Hey, wait up, Punkin. Just a sec."
"What?" she asked sharply.
"What about the cat, is he going or staying?"
"He is already aboard the Ifrit but wouldn't allow the checkout procedure to proceed. I divined his purpose was that you should be told of the mission."
"I should hope so!" Becker huffed into his mustache. "That's the only reason you came for me?"
"Of course not," she said. "But -we -will discuss that later. "Yes, ma'am. I know. It's of the essence," Becker said, and -waved to the others as he allowed himself to be hauled away.
Acorna and Aari conferred -with Gill and Rafik.
"Do you think you can locate the materials for making the aerosol torpedoes Becker described?" she asked.
"Are you kidding?" Gill asked. "We have the best engineering help available in all areas."
"And Uncle Hafiz has never been one to turn his nose up at the lucrative business of arms manufacturing," Rafik added. "I can think of at least six of our friendly neighborhood merchants -who could supply what's needed immediately."
"Good," Acorna said. "Miiri and Kaarlye cannot be a party to turning the sap into -weapons, you understand, but since it's a simple matter of mixing sap and saltwater, there should be no problem with others mixing the formula. We need to return to the vine world. We Linyaari must communicate -with the vines, heal them if the Khieevi attack truly injured them."
"Good thinking," Gill said. "Some of the non-House Harakamian merchants may resist having their ships fitted with the torpedoes, but I think from -what we've seen, as long as they're in this sector it's really the only smart thing to do. Maybe if we show the vids the moon camera took of the sap's effect on the Khieevi, it will be easier to persude the skeptical owners to accept the modifications."
"I'll talk to any of them who have reservations and make sure they've seen the vids," Acorna said. "After all, having the modifications made would be useful for their own protection from Khieevi attacks." She paused for a moment. "Of course, it would probably help persuade them if House Harakamian offered to pay for the modifications."
Rafik laughed. "You're beginning to think like a merchant, but not one who's the adopted daughter of Hafiz! However, I'll authorize it if only to aggravate the old boy into showing up again just to tell me off. Meanwhile I'll appreciate any help you can give me persuading the merchants to think like a team, at least during crises. I'm doing my best but I haven't Hafiz's gift for imperiousness."
"I'll see what I can do," Acorna promised. "And Aari and I have a somewhat different perspective on pacifism where the Khieevi are concerned. Both of us will be glad to help supervise the preparation-and maybe the deployment-of the torpedoes and the ships to carry them in case they're necessary to rescue the AcaSecki," she said, and her voice had a catch in it.
"Of course," Gil said reasonably. "We've no evidence yet to suggest that the Khieevi were responsible for the disappearance of Calum and Hafiz and the kids."
"No," Rafik agreed. "But it's a pretty big coincidence that they should disappear so soon after a Khieevi attack. I think that whether we have evidence or not, we have to be prepared for the worst."
"Of course," Acorna said thoughtfully, "The sap isn't the only thing that will kill Khieevi. For the merchants who can't be persuaded to modification, as long as they are otherwise armed, they have some protection."
"Yes," Aari said. "The Khieevi are used to preying upon people like mine and the Niriians, who do not fight back with any sort of weapon."
Gill grinned. "We all saw that they blow up as easy as anybody if somebody lobs some ordnance at them."
Rafik grumbled into the little goatee he was affecting these days, to make himself look more lordly in the performance of his administrative duties as head of House Harakamian. "True, but the sap works better than anything we've seen."
Acorna and Aari rose. Rafik felt a bit sad. Their little girl was all grown up into a beautiful young lady, and from the look of it, had chosen her mate already. He hoped they'd all live and prosper long enough for him and Gill-and Calum and Hafiz-to have Linyaari grandbabies.
Acorna's voice caught, "I hope they're okay. I can't bear to think the Khieevi have them."
The crash of the computers was a temporary matter, of course, and Hafiz was rather put out with Calum for making such an issue of it. The man's panic had spoiled Hafiz's story for the children, who had been blessedly quiet while Hafiz had held the attention of all, which was practically his favorite way to interact with anyone, especially children.
For two such wizards of the keyboard as him and Baird, not to mention a certain amount of help from some of the children, who were quite talented in that area, restoring the ship's computer to operation was scarcely a challenge. Without the additional load of the hologram programs, the power soon returned along with all of the other amenities.
Including the com screen and the telescopic viewport. Hafiz was making final readjustments to certain navigational calculations when Baird tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the viewport.
"Yes, yes," Hafiz said, glancing up. "It is good that it is operational ..." and then he stopped and stared, as a sinister looking vessel began filling the viewport. "Hut-hut, my boy!" Hafiz said. "Get us out of here this instant!"
"I'm way ahead of you," Calum said. "But we're going nowhere. They have us in a tractor beam."
The children were exclaiming, and some crying. The two Linyaari, the girl Maati who was so talented herself with holograms, and the youth Thariinye, crowded close to the console.
Suddenly the corn screen lit up and one of the ugly bug faces leered at them, before being replaced by a scene of the Khieevi torturing a Linyaari prisoner.
"Oh, no, you don't. Not again," Maati said.
The driver of the Khieevi ship designated Fourteen Klack^i am) Two Kiiclu was the first to put his tractor beam on the vessel containing the life forms.
As soon as he had them, he could not resist looking into their vessel to see what his courage and intelligence had netted. He could hardly believe his luck. The ship was filled with humans-most of them immature! How the Young -would love that! And even better, there were two tender One-Horns aboard.
With considerable glee, hampered only a little by the arrival of his fellow stragglers, he began running the demonstration of Khieevi diplomatic methods when dealing with aliens. The Niriians had proved so unsatisfactory that the driver decided to give the One-Horns a little preflight fright by showing what had been done to dismantle the body of the last One-Horn captive.
That should tenderize their youthful emotions, get them ready to scream all the way back to the homeworld, providing a substantial emotional appetizer before what was left of them could be physically delivered to the Young.
The driver could not resist, before boarding the ship and scooping out the sweet One-Horns and humans from the hull, taking a look to see their fear and horror at the film he had just transmitted. The smaller of the One-Horns stared back at him, baring her teeth, Then she raised a metal canister of some sort, dipped a gloved hand into it, and pulled out a glob of the horrible, carapace-eating sap, which she smeared across the corn screen.
Perhaps the Young would rather extract the One-Horns and humans themselves.
The AcaBecki had simply disappeared.
Nadhari shook her head in disbelief. "How could it have just vanished?"
"There's a lot of space out there," Becker pointed out, sounding a lot more nonchalant than he felt.
"Of course there is," she said, her voice overly sweet, as if talking to someone with a bad case of stupid. "But the Ifnt and the other security ships have the ion trail ID for the AcaSecki and all of the other ships on MOO. And the trail ends here. Poof!"
"I wish I had my maps to check," Becker said. "Maybe they have a Bermuda Triangle in this quadrant."
"A what?"
"Well, long ago back on Mother Earth, there was this area in the ocean where airplanes and ships disappeared without a trace. It was called the Bermuda Triangle and people thought-"
"Yes?"
"That maybe aliens from outer space were responsible." His voice faded off at the end.
"That certainly stands to reason in this case," Nadhari said dryly.
"Can your ion trail ID thing check for other kinds of ion trails-those not left by Hafiz's or his allies' ships?"
"Like Khieevi ships for instance?" she asked. "I don't know, to tell you the truth. We only had one encounter with the Khieevi in Federation space and that was rather brief. I'll check for any strange trails however."
She worked at the control panel for a bit, the colored lights bouncing off the planes of her face, and then said, "Got it."
"What?"