The Gardens of Deathworlders: A Blooming Love (Part 128)

Part 128 A mission near its end (Part 1) (Part 127)

[Help support me on Ko-fi so I can try to commission some character art and totally not spend it all on Gundams]

Three days had passed since leaving the Uark'thilik homeworld and Tensebwse was beginning to feel restless. That time spent among those feathered theropods had been fun but not particularly physically strenuous. Beyond the few combat encounters with Hekuiv'trula warforms and occasionally climbing up and through ancient ruins, he had mostly just stood around and ensured the peaceful situation stayed that way. To say he had a lot of pent up energy would be an understatement. So he did what he was trained to do under the circumstances, run until he couldn't run anymore. The more physically exhausted he could become, the less his mind would wonder and lead him to trouble. Thirty laps around Karintha’s Dagger's main spin section, almost three full hours of running, nearly a full marathon, and he had yet to quell the turmoil in his mind.

This mental cloud wasn't due to leaving the Uark'thiliks. That much Tens knew for certain. They seemed like genuinely good people with honest intentions and a hopeful future. Though he doubted he would ever see any of them ever again, that may be for the best. A few thousand years from now, assuming the Uark'thiliks developed at a rate similar to his own people, Tens and Grompcha's future descendants may reignite an old friendship. In the meantime, they were left with a fully translatable historical and technical archive, the means of contacting emergency aid should their world be attacked, and a reconnaissance satellite to monitor their progress to the stars. Tens couldn't have imagined a better outcome. The Uark'thiliks now had an opportunity to grow and prosper like they never had before. That was enough.

In just two weeks, this mission would come to an end and Karintha’s Dagger would regroup with The Hammer. Though the possibility of more fighting always existed, the chances were very slim. The only thing Tens really had to look forward to was reuniting with Atxika. It took over thirty kilometers worth of running for the Nishnabe warrior to finally realize what was causing the cloud to hang over his head. Despite the fact the seasoned Fleet Admiral and young Lieutenant had only been intimate for a couple weeks before this mission had begun, his mental image of her had been lingering in the back of mind for the entire past few months. But Tens had no idea if she was still interested in him in that way. Official check-ins turning into personal chats and the special, off the record birthday call should have been all the hints he needed. However, as a fresh twenty-four year old, Tens could neither recognize those dead giveaways or understand why this weighed on him so heavily.

“Some water, Lieutenant?” A gurgling voice called out to Tens, pulling him from his anxious thoughts. How he initially missed the chitinous tentacle extending from the medical bay door was a mystery to him. Nevertheless, he came to a quick stop, graciously accepted the aluminum bottle of water, and followed the Derubion doctor's appendage into her clinic.

“Thanks, Doc Nu Nu.” Tens wasn't exactly exhausted from his three-quarter marathon, but he was breathing deeply and sweating like a pig. After fully stepping into the large medical bay, he saw the armored octopus perched at her desk behind a few active holoscreens screens. “I see you were monitoring my run. Did you see anything interesting in my biometrics?”

“Everything about your biology is interesting, Tens.” Doc Nu Nu replied with a jovial laugh that sounded wet, one of her tentacles typing in commands to alter the images on one of the holoscreens. “As you can see here, your skeletal muscles have three different fiber types with specific specialties. The one I am most fascinated by, and the type you seem to have spent quite a bit of time developing, is optimized for extreme endurance unlike anything I have ever heard of as a natural occurrence. I've even reached out to some of the physicians from your species to ensure you aren't just a truly unique individual.”

“Oh, I'm definitely some kind of different.” The young Nishnabe let out a tired laugh as he melted into the oversized chair he had plopped himself down into. “But I'm also not really special when it comes to physical abilities, especially among members of the Militia.”

“No, young man, you are rather special.” More wet laughter erupted from the armored octopus. “Maybe not in regards to your basic anatomy, but certainly in terms of statistics. According to the data I was given, you are easily among the top five percent of your population in regards to athleticism. And that isn't even mentioning your augments. The self-modification technologies your people have developed are just as impressive as your natural physical capabilities. Combine the two and… Well…”

“To be fair, Kyim'ayiks and Penidons taught us most of what we know about those kinds of technologies.” Tens tried to brush off the compliment with a bit of a chuckle. “And you haven't seen how far some of my people will take augments. A mentor of mine, a woman named Sheke, replaced both arms, both legs, and a few organs with actual cybernetics. My peripheral nervous system accelerator, bone density treatments, and connective tissue reinforcements are nothing compared to the work she's had done.”

“The physician I spoke to made a similar comment. He told me most members of your species prefer to remain natural, so to speak, while a few will modify themselves in the relatively subtle and limited way you have. But he did also mention that certain individuals push the absolute limit of what their bodies are capable of. With the support of Penidon medical technology, I'm actually a bit surprised your people have tried to tap into the central nervous system yet.”

“Yet?” Tens appeared perplexed by the suggestion that such a cybernetic technology was even possible. To his knowledge, which was mostly based on non-human experimentation in the field, attempting to directly interface technology with a person's brain was a surefire way to cause severe mental degradation. Considering his current state of mind over a woman he probably shouldn't be dating, he couldn't imagine doing anything to make it any worse. “Why would anyone ever try to mess with the central nervous system?”

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“Ah! Atxika!” The hologram of the Third Qui’ztar Matriarch had a quite curious and excited smile on her face. “I was hoping you'd contact me outside of our normal scheduled check-ins! There are some very interesting rumors floating around regarding first contact with a pre-Ascension species.”

“Yes, my Matriarch.” Atxika bowed her head and did her best to maintain a stoic expression. “I'm not sure what exactly you've heard, but I hope to inform you of the most recent development on the special mission the Order of Falling Angels have been deployed on.”

“First of all, I must ask… Did Royal Ambassador Shlin really pull some… Let's say… Shrewd political maneuvers to force a GCC committee to hold debates, vote on a resolution, and enact a decision in less than a week?”

“It was actually two committees, my Matriarch. The Pre-Ascension Sapience and First-Contact Committees to be specific. And it was under forty-eight hours, not a full week. But… Uh… Yes. Royal Ambassador Shlin has proven to be worth every single credit we pay her.”

Atxika's office began to echo with the Matriarch Herathena’s deep and booming laughter. Her hologram's head leaned back and the flowing tassels of her ornate dress shook with each breath. Every politically savvy person in the GCC knows that Ko Ko Krokes have a natural knack for negotiation. Their Royal Academy at StarMoon Station had become a magnet for people destined for high positions as policy makers and advisors. But the thought that anyone, regardless of their connections, could essentially force action from the GCC in such a short time was almost unimaginable. If Herathena’s own diplomats hadn't informed her of the rumors, she wouldn't be able to believe them.

“In all my years…” The Matriach's hysterics slowly calmed but her smile still spread far beyond her prominent tusks. “If you hadn't hired her for your fleet, I should have hired her for my Diplomatic Corp! Such talent almost feels wasted as anything other than a chief negotiator. But enough of that. Please, enlighten me as to the situation regarding the… Pre-Ascension sapient species your fleet made first contact with.”

“To begin…” Atxika typed in a few commands into her desk mounted terminal to check the security of the communication line and send over an official species profile. “They call themselves U-ark thil-iks, which roughly translates as the ‘second people.’ They are of theropod morphology, have feathers capable of extreme color changes, and stand a bit shorter than Krokes but with about fifty percent more body mass. And if the reports from Captain Marzima and the Turt-Chopian academics are to be believed, their mentality and levels of general intelligence are perfectly suited for eventual Ascension to the galactic stage. They even have an established writing system dating back a few thousand years. Two of the Turt students claim that if it weren't for the now-eliminated threat of Hekuiv'trula warforms, the Uark'thiliks would already have developed basic forms of metallurgy, farming, and mechanical power utilization. If that is true, we may be a few tens of thousands of years at most from welcoming a new neighbor to the interstellar community.”

“Excellent!” Herathena genuinely seemed excited despite a slight hint of disappointment in her hologram's crimson red eyes. “Is it at all possible that they may develop faster than a few tens of thousands of years?”

“That is certainly possible. They do have access to a complete archive of history and technological development data left to them by a galactic standard species who died off during the War of Eons. However, I am no expert in the field of pre-Ascension development.”

“And that was one of the rumors I was most curious about.” The Third Matriarch let her excitement slide into something a touch more sly. “A data archive from the War of Eons would be invaluable to relatively young species such as ourselves. It is said that certain standard technologies from that era surpass. It is quite fortunate that these Uark'thiliks were discovered within our jurisdiction.”

“My Matriarch?” Atxika broke her composure and gave her cousin a suspicious look. While Herathena had always been an extremely compassionate and considerate woman, the Fleet Admiral also knew exactly how cunning and ruthless her older cousin could be.

“Imagine if the Second, Fifth, or, heaven forbid, the Eighth Matriarchy had been involved with this situation.” Herathena let that statement hang in the air a moment, giving her younger cousin a few moments to really think about it. “People with… Let's say… Weaker senses of equity and foresight… “

“It truly would be a tragedy.” Atxika chose her words very carefully. Those three Qui’ztar Matriarchies, though still mostly honorable in their dealing with other Matriarchies, are not led by such a gracious or wise woman. “The Uark'thiliks absolutely deserve the opportunity to develop on their own and in peace, not exploited for the gifts left to them by the former inhabitants of their world.”

“I wholeheartedly agree. That should be the right of all sapient beings.” The large hologram of a blue woman pulled out a tablet and began tapping away excitedly. “With their homeworld being so close to our exclusive economic zone, and deeply within our assigned Military Command patrol routes, it should be relatively easy for us to ensure that right will be protected. I'll just need to work on some local and galactic legislation to modify our EEZ and establish one for the Uark'thiliks for whenever they eventually Ascend. We may even be in a position to leverage our recent alliances with the Kyim’ayik, Penidon, and Nishnabe governments since they are the only ones nearby. They would most likely be quite thrilled with the possibility of having another friendly neighbor.”

“Speaking of another potential friendly neighbor.” Atxika interjected as her normally stoic mannerism fully returned. This never bit of her report wasn't part of any official records and needed to be discussed with the respect it deserved. “Do you remember the special addendum to the report I submitted several months ago regarding our escort mission for the Kyim’ayik colonial expedition?”

“Of course…” Herathena’s gaze raised from her tablet, her fingers smashed in a few quick commands, and placed the device outside of the hologram's view. “The one involving the so-called Green Arnehilians. Have they finally shown their true colors and done something dastardly?”

“No, my Matriarch! Uh…” That quite serious question threw Atxika off, causing to quickly search for any relevant reports. “The latest update from that situation is… Everything is fine. It seems their group’s Mayor has officially placed their saucer-ship under the full command and control of the Kyim’ayik colonial governor.”

“Oh! That… That is surprising but lovely to hear.” The Third Matriarch’s smile returned but not quite as wide as it previously had been when discussing the truly innocent Uark'thiliks. “Are you going to tell me you met even more of these supposedly friendly Arnehilians?”

“Sub-Admiral Haervria made contact with a fleet of combat vessels calling themselves the Green Flag Second Freedom Fleet, Eighth Sub-Fleet.” As Atxika began to explain, she sent through a highly encrypted data file through the comms link. “They were sent to the system under false pretenses by an unknown party associated with GCC Military Command. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, one Admiral Harideth offered his sincerest apologies and an unconditional surrender before Karintha’s Dagger even entered the system. From what Sub-Admiral Haervria could gather, they were once members of the Arnehilian slave-caste of the Suelivela Dynasty who were able to organize a rebellion and steal a large number of Arnehilian vessels when the Nishnabe Confederacy cracked the Suelivela capital world. They've essentially been surviving as nomadic sustenance farmers and miners while occasionally attacking the remnants of the Suelivela Dynasty.”

“If that's all true, then you weren't joking about another potential friendly neighbor.” Herathena's expression sat as a mixture of surprise, relief, and deep irritation. After a moment's pause, the negative emotions won out and she began rubbing the bridge of her nose while letting out a groan. “Going back to the first part about the false pretenses from a party associated with Military Command… Was it those shit-eating Vartooshi?”

“That is our current working theory, yes.” Atxika's confirmation caused Herathena to let out another groan.

“The Nishnabe warned me about this, you know? Elder Bmashgnew told me flat out that the Vartooshi would lie, cheat, and steal to get their hands on the latest Nishnabe military technologies. I just never imagined they would do something like this! Maybe I should order more while divesting from all Vartooshi enterprises just to prove a point. Less than a percent of a percent of our economy flows through the RPS network, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to compensate for any retaliation.”

“That’s all far outside my area of expertise, my Matriarch.” Atxika let just the faintest smirk poke through professional demeanor. “As for the strategic ramifications of having a self-sustaining fleet with a moderate combat force in our patrol routes, especially one so copacetic, are mostly good. The most prominent downside would be the public opinion regarding any official and public agreements. The existence of Green Arnehilians is still largely classified by GCC Military Command. That being said, I have informed our Nishnabe Militia partners of the situation and request they ask questions before immediately shooting anything saucer-shaped.”

“Pretending to ignore them while keeping an eye on them wouldn’t be an official or public agreement. As long as they don’t cause problems, they aren’t a problem.” It was clear Herathena’s mind was still focused on formulating a subtle but direct response to Vartooshi subterfuge. In an instant, the hologram's gaze went from wandering to staring straight into Atxika’s soul as a smirk began to form. “And speaking of our Nishnabe partners… How is the young Lieutenant…? What was his name?”

“Lieutenant Tensebwse.” Atxika had to strain to keep her freckles from lighting up while saying the man’s name. “He is continuing to prove his unmatched capabilities throughout this extended mission. Each major report I receive depicts some sort of impressive accomplishment of his. There was even a video in the most recent combat reports showing him single-handedly destroying a small horde of Hekuiv’trula warforms.”

“I’m going to need you to send along that video at some point.” Herathena’s smirk grew to be the widest it had been so far. “BD combat footage has become the source of entertainment for both myself and Hitchoxi. Lieutenant Tensebwse’s performances are always especially spectacular. You really should find a way to keep him around. A warrior like that is just as rare as a Royal Ambassador who can force through a GCC vote in less than forty-eight hours.”