The Tomb World Ch8 (Patreon)

Eliza followed behind Danials and Jefferson as they boarded the Staff of Lore. The meeting had taken hours to get through, but even after all that time they walked away with little new information. As the hatch closed behind Eliza the three of them let out exhausted sighs, Jefferson put a hand to her neck and slowly popped it.

“How long until we get effective translators?” Captain Jefferson asked, mental fatigue taking its toll on her as she failed to uphold the same rigid posture Eliza had always seen her exhibit.

“It's only the second day.” Daniels grumbled. “It was a while before we could effectively communicate with the Kunan’ai. And their language was easier to grasp. Our Gotari friends seem to have a tonal language just as complicated and unintuitive as English. That’s going to complicate things. There’s a reason the Union tries to push Galactic common over translation software.”

“It's going to take some time before we’re capable of sharing complex ideas” Eliza chimed in.

She and Daniels were the only people present who were familiar with the long and drawn-out process that was first contact. It had taken some time before they could easily talk with Bra’tal and his advisors. And they had previously been able to skim old radio transmissions to better understand their language. One of their goals for this meeting was to convince the Gotari to give them some digital records for them to feed into the translation software. The other goal had been to get a better understanding of what kind of mess they were wrapped up in.

It had taken hours of miming and very fragmented sentences, and even still they were unsure of what they were told. Daniels guess about their situation had been more or less on point, the Gotari originated on the now desolate world, their ancestors had been confused by the Ecumenopolis for centuries, until they finally launched probes to get a direct view of the world. After that they entered into an international space race to reach the ‘City-planet’, first research outposts, then permanent bases using the preexisting infrastructure, until they finally created self-sustaining colonies. Much like humanity and her homeworld of Mars.

Though unlike with Mars, the Ecumenopolis had already been habitable from the start. Meaning their colonies were self-sustaining much quicker than the human ones.

After that the conversation got a little murkier as they began approaching concepts that were harder to explain in simple terms. From what they could tell the Gotari began to map and explore the world, venturing many layers below the planet’s surface city. The upper city had been crushed under falling orbital structures and the rust resistant metal had slowly fused under the heat and pressure of its own weight. Making the top layer worthless for salvage and archeological digs. But the lower levels were another matter.

The expeditions yielded immense boons to their civilization as they unearthed highly advanced technology. Sustainable fusion, superconductors, and advanced alloying processes all made their way back to the homeworld and revolutionized everything. They entered into a sort of ‘Golden age’. But it didn’t last long.

Fezzen and the female one called Veena had been leading the conversation up until then, but once the conversation started to broach heavy topics the stoic Foric took over. He explained, very briefly, that the Swarm was awoken and that they activated one of the planets ancient defense systems to hold the Swarm at bay. After that Foric called their meeting to an end, inviting the three humans to showcase their strengths the next time they met while also inviting them to take a tour of Moulvus. Which was the nearest Gotari city.

“They left a lot unsaid” Daniels said, putting voice to what both Eliza and Jefferson were thinking. “Its still early days so I’m not expecting much. But what they did say has left me nervous. That Swarm has us and them trapped on this world, escaping isn’t an option since the space sharks can emit anti-warp fields and are faster than our sub-light speed. I spoke with Nelson, he said that even if we stripped Lory down to just her hull and engines we couldn’t beat the space sharks max speed. Same with Sheila and Soo.”

“Should we signal the main fleet?” Jefferson asked.

“Not yet. We only have a vague idea of their numbers and capabilities. Besides, the Astaroth is the only cruiser we have still in Orion, with the Asmodeus to launch in a month or two. And calling back First fleet could take some time. Our best goal right now is to gather more intel and better scope out the problem. The Gotari have been fighting the swarm longer than us and might have some valuable insights.”

Jefferson frowned at that name “I still feel a little awkward hearing that name. They didn’t have a species name before we met them, our presence is already affecting their culture.”

“Unavoidable” Daniels rebuked “any contact will result in cultural bleed through, this happened with the Kunan’ai, and with humanity. Change isn’t necessarily bad, so long as its voluntary and in the spirit of growth. And it goes both way, seeing the nuclear devastation of the Winter World and the crowded bunkers of the Kunan’ai has changed my view on those kind of weapons entirely. There’s a difference between hearing about the consequences, and seeing it firsthand.”

Jefferson and Eliza both gave Daniels a look, though neither was the same. Jefferson looked at Daniels with suspicion, wondering how much he had changed while he was the Captain of Lory. Eliza on the other hand felt her heart melt because she also knew that Daniels had changed. They both had.

They were both a long way from the woman who had disdained the rough Terran man who had taken her job, and the man who held a sword to a woman’s throat in anger.

Daniels, completely oblivious to the two different looks he was getting, sighed. “At least it was a traditional name that they chose for themselves, and not something we assigned them like the Trikes.”

Eliza frowned “What’s wrong with Kaydic?”

The two former marines gave her a baffled look. “Your way too insulated for your own good.” Jefferson remarked with a shake of her head.

“Eliza,” Daniels began, his voice exasperated and uncomfortable, as if he was embarrassed to be explaining something this apparent to an adult. “The name the Union gave the Trikes was the name of the most dominant ethnic group. The one who won their world’s equivalent to both world wars through bioweapons, atom bombs, and genocide. Some Trikes feel insulted being called Kaydic since that’s the name of their conquerors. Most Trikes you see on stations are from minority groups who fled oppression.”

Eliza blinked “Oh, I thought Trike was just some dumb nickname, like Limey, or Yank.”

“It is, but its also what non-Kaydic Trikes prefer to be called.” Jefferson explained.

Eliza felt ashamed of her ignorance. She thought back on the joint study she did with Kaydic researchers and wondered if she had been offending everyone by using what she thought was the proper name. Likely not, they had all been from their planets national research institute, so they likely were Kaydic. Had she been snubbing her nose at all those dumb nicknames when they were really the preferred monicker. “What about Bone’men and women?”

“Just a dumb nickname” Daniels answered. “Human mouths can’t make the same sounds as they can, so we can either butcher it or call them something else.”

Eliza let out a sigh of relief.

“Getting back on topic, I still have one lingering question.” Jefferson interjected. “Why did you bring up Adam and the Christian creation myth?”

Eliza frowned “While I don’t agree with the myth part of that statement, I was wondering the same thing. Why did you bring religion into a diplomatic first contact meeting?”

Daniels turned away a put a hand to his neck. “It just sort of…felt right.”

“It felt right?” Captain Jefferson asked, her voice tinged with skepticism.

“Well yeah, you heard Foric, the name they chose for themselves has obvious religious connotations. Mentioning Adam and Genesis went a long towards humanizing us in their eyes. Well not humanize, but you get my meaning.” He saw the blank looks from Eliza and Jefferson and sighed. “This isn’t like with the Kunan’ai. Where we could come and go as we pleased, we’re in their hanger, in their home, and on their world. Their leaders might decide to that they’re better off figuring out our tech for themselves and storm out ships. And while they might be shorter than us I, any determined assault is bound to succeed since they have the home field advantage. And even if we somehow repelled them and escaped, we would be back to where we started but without locals who know the situation inside and out.”

She watched as the body language of the two ship captains became less open and more wary. The two former soldiers had just realized they were in potential enemy territory and their combat instincts had kicked in.

“They might try to pull a Roswell on us.” Jefferson muttered as a hand drifted to where a pistol would have been if they hadn’t gone into the meeting unarmed.

Eliza scowled “First contact proved that Roswell was a hoax. Declassified documents proved that it was an experimental flight system being tested. And there are no grays amongst the many species of the Union.” Nearly two hundred years into the space age and UFO abduction stories and alien probing still happened.

Daniels snorted “The funny thing about crack pot conspiracy theories is that they don’t go away just because you have really good refuting evidence. It just evolves into something crazier.”

Jefferson chuckled “Had a friend who used to go Big Foot hunting in the mountains, his latest expedition was to the Hellas Pont.”

Eliza blinked “But those are on Mars.”

The two former Marines laughed at Eliza’s frustration. Their growing unease and tension gone.

Daniels was the first to calm down, he caught his breath and looked at Eliza with a smirk. “Well, we can cross those bridges when we get there. Right now things are still peaceful, and we should keep it that way. Jefferson, you can bunk down here for the night, no point going back out after we said our goodbyes. Eliza, meet with Kenichiro and see if you can offer some insights into the Gotari language.”

“And you?” Eliza asked with crossed arms.

He gave sideways glance before shifting his gaze directly forward. “I’m going to reveal our footage and sensor data with Nelson. Try to devise and an escape route and plan of attack if things get dicey.”

“You want to continue pushing diplomatic talks while also planning for a fight?” She asked, her voice dripping with displeasure.

“I am doing whatever I can to keep our people alive.” He said firmly.

“Where was that attitude when we learned about the dangers this mission posed?”

“That’s different” he growled “Those were orders, and now that we’re here I have to do what’s best for our people.” And without another word Daniels began to march out of the airlock.

Jefferson remained behind to give Eliza a single stern look. It wasn’t reproachful, it was more like she was finally acknowledging Eliza as a potential threat. But a threat to what? Jefferson wasn’t as heavily built as Daniels or Astarte, but she was packing more than enough muscle to subdue Eliza with a single punch. Jefferson turned away and marched after Daniels. Leaving Eliza alone with the orders her captain had given her.

~~~*~~~

Daniels heard the tromping feet of Captain Jefferson behind him as he stalked towards the helm.

“Jackson, can we have a minute?” she called from behind.

Daniels flinched “I told you I don’t like being called by my first name.” he turned and looked her head on. Her armor had the same black lacquer and gold trim as Daniels and the other Hellworlder captains, though hers also came with an artificial wolf pelt draped across shoulders. A signifier that hers was given to her by Lucile, Captain of the Lucifer. Whereas Daniels had been awarded his armor by Astarte of the Astaroth. Her hair was tightly braided and pulled up behind her head in a tight bun. Daniels looked into her brown eyes and didn’t see the stern sharpness of Captain Jefferson, but the soft and familiar gaze of Sam.

She smiled softly “Sorry, you’ll always be Jackson to me. For me your brother was Daniels, and you are Jackson.”

He felt a sadness stab his heart. Sam was younger than Daniels and came up in the same cadet group as his younger brother Riley. It was common for Cadets to call each other by their last names since its what the drill instructors were always shouting, at least until they got familiar enough to start assigning nicknames. Just as Jackson was Daniels to his friends and brothers in arms, Riley was Daniels to his. “Fine, Jackson will do.”

She smirked mischievously “I could call you Whiskey, like the old days.”

Whiskey had been the incredibly creative and well thought out nickname and callsign during his days as a Marine grunt. Before he had become a captain in the Hellworlder fleet.

“The old days are gone. You and I are both captains now, we need to hold ourselves to a higher esteem.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk with you.”

“Are you referring to Eliza’s parting barb?”

“I am.”

Daniels sighed, “Lets go somewhere more private, my quarters are down this hall.”

She nodded and followed Daniels down the hall. He led her to his Captain’s quarters, the door slid to one side and they both stepped through to the privacy of his suite.

His room wasn’t much, he had the luxury of a full-sized bed on a spaceship, a private bathroom equipped with a small shower and sink to wash his face, and a small corner desk with several neat piles of paper besides his computer screen and keyboard. Unlike other Hellworlder ships he didn’t have an attached office to his quarters, instead his office was just outside of the bridge along the ship’s central hallway.

His upbringing with the Vet clans and later cadet training had left him with the deeply ingrained instincts to make his bed with tightly tucked sheets and perfectly fold his robes before putting them away. The Hellworlder fleet was in general much more relaxed about things like made beds and folded uniforms, and some from the Vet clans took to letting their rooms slide into chaos and disarray. But he never could, it was too deeply ingrained into his brain.

The only personal touch that made his room less than a textbook example of military professionalism were the photos he had hung on his wall. After the mutiny and Lory’s refit Daniels finally felt comfortable enough in his ship to pull them out of his lock box and hang them on the wall. He had the picture of his first ship, the Tartarus, framed in a walnut frame and hung right above his desk. In an identical frame next to it was a picture of the Staff of Lore hovering out of Temple Drive Yards fresh out of her refit. Below those Daniels had a picture of himself and Astarte on the day he had received his promotion to Captain, he didn’t want to mark the occasion with anything fancy, but Astarte had insisted on the photo. A jaded part of Daniels had thought the photo was for propaganda or to boost morale, but only one copy was ever printed. And that copy was on Daniels wall.

There were several newer ones as well. Him and Eliza standing with a group of Kunan’ai after they had finished drafting the Constitution of Fawn’kar. They had been brought in to watch the signing since they were the reason any of it was possible. Beside it was a photo of Bra’tal and his advisors first exploring the land that would become their capital.

And set aside from all the other photos was a single picture of Daniels, his parents, and his brother posing on the deck of the Astaroth on the day before they had shipped out for the battle of Grayland. It was the last photo of his brother before he had taken two dozen BB’s from a claymore mine, shielding Daniels from the blast but dying on the spot. Every time Daniels passed it he rubbed his thumb on the corner like a good luck charm.

Sam locked her eyes of Riley and rubbed a thumb over a the same corner. “Funny how life works.” She said softly. “A man can survive hurtling towards a planet in a drop pod while under fire, get in a fist fight with a pirate, rip out that pirate’s throat with his own rusty combat knife, and die to a claymore only hours later. Kinda makes life seem very random. I might die to some alien sickness before that swarm of space sharks decides to attack.”

Daniels shrugged “That’s life, death can come at any moment, nothing is guaranteed. Last year I tried to go down with my ship after mutineers took it over, but here I am. Alive and stuck in some other fustercluck.” He sat on his bed so that Sam could take the chair.

Sam snorted “I heard about that, must have been a relief. Knowing one moment that you were going to die, and then get rescued.”

“Relief isn’t the word I’d use, stupid is more accurate. I didn’t even consider having the Beelzebub board and subdue the enemy, I was so set on dyeing in a heroic sacrifice that I totally ignored the fact that I didn’t have to die.” Daniels stared at his folded hands.

Sam pursed her lips “I heard something else about that day, a baseless rumor that you kissed your lieutenant before ejecting her escape pod.”

Daniels’ head snapped up and looked Sam in the eye. She in turn was searching his for an answer.

“So its true.” She said after seeing the answer in Daniels heart.

“Yes” he said.

“Was it just a dumb attempt to get a kiss before you died, or do you have feelings for her.”

“The later.”

She scowled “No offense, but she doesn’t seem like your type.”

“Your telling me, she was a pain in the ass the moment she came aboard challenging me at every step. Calling my morality into question, my competence.”

“I take back what I said, you and Riley always had a thing for women who called you on your shit.” Daniels gave her an affronted look and was about to defend himself when she pressed on. “Is it really wise to have someone like that on your ship, let alone your second in command?”

“What kind of question is that? Eliza is an excellent second in command, she’s my bridge to the science crew. She keeps them in line and appraised of the situation, so we don’t have another mutiny over a misunderstanding.”

“I just watched her challenge your authority in an airlock. Can you honestly tell me that your judgement on this matter is being clouded by your feelings?”

“Yes, I can” Daniels said, his voice getting louder as his frustration mounted. “She challenged my authority in the company of a fellow captain, not a crewmen. Just as your challenging my judgement right now. Our lieutenants aren’t just yes man, they’re there to temper our minds and alert us when we’re making a bad call. Eliza is a pacifist through and through, and she reminds me that not every situation calls for a violent response. Whereas my instincts are to see everything as a threat and respond in force.”

“We’re soldiers, of course we’d respond with military force.”

“And that’s why we’re in charge of the ships, but you and I both need to remember that we’re not commanding warships with hardened combat veterans. Our mission is a civilian one, not a military one. Learning the difference was the first lesson I learned on the . You haven’t had to yet, but the difference is very important for our continued relationship with the Gotari and proving that we can be friends.”Tartarus.You haven’t had to yet, but the difference is very important for our continued relationship with the Gotari and proving that we can be friends.”

Her eyes were hard as he lectured her, and he saw that he was now talking to Captain Jefferson, and not the more laid-back Sam. “I see. I will take your advice under advisement. Thank you for listening to my concerns.” She said stiffly.

“You had a valid complaint, and it was right for you to voice it. That said I hope it’s the last I hear of it.”

She nodded “Understood, then I’ll take my leave.”

“Room 36 is unoccupied, please use it and make yourself comfortable.”

She nodded once more and strode out of his room. Daniels let out a sigh once the door slid close with its iconic whoosh. The situation was stressful enough as is, he didn’t need any discontent between his lieutenant and fellow captain. He hoped this was all that he would hear of it.