|
|
Homeworld Return - blackjack
:: 05/05/01 ::
Chapter 16
Hjihad realized the glare was gone at the same time that he felt the rush of cool air. It was bitterly cold, and immediately he realized what was happening - the T-Mat had punctured the bridge of his ship, leaving it open to the vacuum. He wrenched his eyes open, in panic to reach the lift that would take him away from the leaking command center of the Kuun-Lan, and received a shock upon seeing the place that he was in - a high-ceilinged, rounded room, completely white but dimly lit, its only entrance a wide rounded archway in the far "wall".
And another surprise as he saw the beings that he was with.
One of them appeared to be Hiigaran, but his dark gray-blue uniform without any Kiith symbols destroyed any doubt that he was Ytterbian. The uniform was nearly the same as the combat fatigues that Jakare had been wearing in the cockpit of her craft, loose and baggy, with a variety of black cuffs tightened around various joints. He guessed from the array of small medals and insignias on the lapels and breast of the man's jacket that he was high ranking, perhaps even the commander of the fleet. His hair was a shiny black, same as Jakare's, and his eyes were a deep dark green. His skin had a darkly tanned but sickly coloration to it, that of a man born in the sun but kept for too long out of it. His face was as confused as Hjihad knew that his had to be, but when he spotted Hjihad a spark of anger crossed his face.
Hjihad's eyes, though, were drawn not to the normalicy of the Ytterbian, which seemed strangely out of place in this alien room, but to the creatures that stood at the entrance to the room and the eerie view behind them. All three of them were tall, perhaps ten feet, he guessed. Their short, thin but powerfully built legs were bent normally to begin with, but then came an extra backward joint, and he realized that the creatures' legs were in fact incredibly long. As were their arms - they reached down to the alien's "knee" and ended in a pair of multi-jointed fingers with small pads at their tips. Their torsos were compact and for the most part thin, widening at the shoulders, and on top of a long thin neck sat a hairless head that eradicated any remaining semblance of familiarity. The head was oval, but longer than a Hiigaran's and with a double jaw that split to the left and right as the things worked their mouths. Their eyes bespoke of age, age greater than he could imagine, and he was transfixed by their intelligence as they sized him up. Their bodies were dotted with mechanical implants, covering various sections of the creatures' torsos and some of the limbs. The configuration was vaguely similar on each of the three beings, all with a central circular plate that appeared to be a sort of docking node for something.
And the vista behind them was even more incredible than the beings themselves. Rows and rows of canister-shaped pods, filled with a viscous blue murky liquid, stood against the walls of a vast chamber. There were too many to count, Hjihad thought, a mind-boggling stretch of chamber upon chamber, all holding a blurred figure suspended in the liquid.
Hjihad's amazement was apparently not reflected in the Ytterbian man. In a loud, angry tone, he spoke to the three figures. "Why have I been taken from my ship?" he demanded, and appeared to grow even more agitated as the creatures refused to respond.
His eyes were suddenly caught upon the central figure as it slowly advanced and looked down at him. He could not tell what emotion was displayed upon its face - indeed, even if there was one - as it turned to stare at the Ytterbian for a long moment. Then, it turned to both of them again, and spoke in a deep, half-mechanical voice, its odd jaw distracting Hjihad. "We have brought you here to show you something that few know. We have seen the war between your species, but not until now have we seen the need to intervene lest you destroy each other."
It turned slightly, and back again, cradling a miniature galaxy in its hands. Hjihad gasped at the detail of the holographic model, at the precision of the tiny galactic cluster. "Long ago," the creature said, looking at the galaxy it held, "a race already millions of years old came to this galaxy from far away. We know them only as the Ancients." In its hands, the holographic projection zoomed in, giving the impression of speeding past star after star towards a reddish-blue globe - a planet.
The alien resumed speaking. "They found only one race, developing amongst thousands of lifeless worlds. They took this race under their wings, protected them while they advanced into space, and then greeted them with joy as the only other space-faring race in the galaxy. So as to expand their great empire, the Ancients seeded planet after planet with their own genetic code, planting the embryos that would one day become race after race created in the Ancients' image, and gifted the First Race with a gift - the gift of being one with their vessels - and assigned them to guard the fledgling species as they developed, as much from outside harm as themselves.
"With that, the Ancients left, promising only to return every hundred thousand years or so to check on the progress of the new Unbound and the developing races on the myriad worlds. But eventually they stopped coming. Still, the Unbound took upon themselves the mantle that had been given to them, and formed the Galactic Council to reunite their own diversifying races."
The alien looked down at the holographic image with a great sadness as it zoomed in on a globe that Hjihad knew very well - Hiigara. "For eons we protected the Bound from themselves, until finally the words of the Council began to outweigh their actions and our policing fell into decay. It was only inevitable that the Bound cause harm to themselves after that, and three thousand years ago they did. One Bound race, the Taiidani, attacked the head of a great and peaceful empire, slaughtering its civilians and shattering the culture of a great world. The Unbound were only barely able to intervene and halt the Taiidani, but according to our laws Hiigara was theirs. We had no choice but to send the Hiigarans out into the void."
The Unbound creature looked at the Ytterbian. "One of the many Exiled convoys landed upon a lush, verdant world, rich in resources, and out of fear and anger built themselves up into a formidable force. Another group," it looked at Hjihad, "landed upon a harsh, unforgiving desert planet. And so were formed the Ytterbian and Kushan peoples."
The Ytterbian was shocked, but said nothing as the T-Mat continued. It raised its hands far above its head, brushing the ceiling in a gesture the meaning of which Hjihad could not identify. Its voice was raised as it continued that tale. "We T-Mat, seeing that the Council was no longer able to stop the Bound from destroying themselves, split away from them, taking upon ourselves the responsibility of guiding you through your evolution."
It lowered its hands and glared at the Ytterbian. "But now we have seen a threat large enough to eradicate the Hiigarans forever - the Hiigaran exiles themselves. You Ytterbians, in your blindness, have time and time again slaughtered millions of your kin, unable to see beyond the mask of your hatred for the Taiidani. It is our belief that your races would be a hundredfold more powerful if you worked together, side by side, as the brothers that you were meant to be. And now this cataclysm has directed us to force."
It leveled a long bony finger at the Ytterbian. "You will stop attacking the Hiigarans. The planet is rightfully theirs. Their claim was made first, and though you as Exiles have a blood connection to the world, it is not yours to take from your brothers, unless they are willing to share it with you."
The T-Mat looked over at Hjihad, and he felt his blood turning to ice under the unforgiving glare of those ancient eyes, eyes that told of countless eons, of experience even beyond those years. They spoke of seeing death and destruction firsthand, the fall of empires and the rising of new ones, an endless cycle as old as time. The alien's eyes probed him, and opened Hjihad himself up to the great knowledge that the T-Mat held at his fingertips. And without speaking, the being asked him a single, simple question.
Hjihad spoke immediately, still transfixed by the eyes. "Yes," he said slowly. He looked over at the Ytterbian. "We will share our world."
The man nodded. The T-Mat nodded. Hjihad strode over to the man who had only minutes ago been his enemy and, without a word, extended a hand. The commander looked puzzled and then grasped it in the ancient symbol of companionship on Hiigara ages past.
"Thank you," he whispered.
<< Homeworld Return: Chapter 15 <<
>> Homeworld Return: Chapter 17 >>
|
