Goddess of the Galacticide Episode 26 - Risking the Chéé

Episode 26

Linuka’s broken legs could not heal fast enough to push her body out of the way.

It got dark even before the alien shuttle crunched into the hangar wall. She could hear the metal bend and deform around her, but she didn’t feel pain, just a benign consciousness enveloping her body.

Was this what death felt like?

Witnessing her Uurmi leaving her body after a lifelong uneasy companionship while her body floated weightless in the void?

The darkness turned solid, and rough to the touch.

“I got you, human.”

Oonzu. Silicate columns appeared around Linuka and the darkness lifted. The Traaz had covered her immobile body at the last moment, his hardened crust absorbing the impact. His body reconfigured from a protective shell to a multi-legged weightlifter, pushing the shuttle hull back into the hangar.

“Thank you” sounded weak, but when their Uurmis' sentience met, Linuka embellished the Klikchaa thought patterns with deep, sincere gratitude.

“Don’t thank me yet,” thought Oonzu. “The cursed plants grew into the sky and grappled the cruiser.”

Linuka lost touch with the rough Traaz underbelly and the cold metal wall. The Remnants must have turned off gravity inside the hangar, maybe to assist Oonzu in his heroic deed, or to confuse the intruding vines, still lashing around, seeking either victims to ensnare or an anchor point to grapple onto.

Floating without control, she saw the thickest vines advancing through the narrowing entryway of the hangar, pushing to seal the Chéé’s most vulnerable spot. Long, thin, bendable fibers whipped around the hangar even after getting cut by the maw of the main portal.

A rumble. Oonzu shot out a spindly arm, clawing into a hull breach of the shuttle. Another protrusion caught Linuka around her waist.

“Hold on!”

The Remnants were firing the Chéé’s thrusters to free her from the green grip. No gravity, no friction. They’d be tossed around at the mercy of centrifugal forces. A roar. The intrusive growth was funneled so violently through the remaining slit that it peeled off half the biomass in one hair-raising sound of thousands of ritualistic hunters skinning their prey alive. Fluids and shards sprayed into the chaos of the hangar, then the massive doors closed.

Any remains of what the angry planet had inserted into the Remnant’s ship fell to the floor. Gravity was back. So was the pain of hitting the hangar floor again, barely mitigated by her connection with Oonzu. The closed lock shut off the screaming thrusters, leaving them with a hiss, promising the hangar turned battleground to be flooded with breathable atmosphere once more.

Oonzu’s grip eased, and Linuka sat up. The hangar floor transferred light vibrations only. The battle cruiser had broken free from Green Wave’s wrath, no doubt heading for higher orbit.

“Can I thank you now?” asked Linuka.

The Traaz re-formed into his familiar four-legged shape.

“Yes, human, now seems a good time. You are welcome. Could not bring myself to let a customer die when they are calling for help, even a difficult one.”

“I didn’t call for help. Don’t get me wrong, I needed it. But… everything went so fast.”

“Perhaps you did not have to think about it. Survival instinct?”

Her Uurmi. When the treacherous entity no longer saw a chance of being released into Green Wave’s ecosystem by way of Linuka’s death, it changed tactics and started healing her again. And called a fellow Uurmi for help.

“Shaajis! Skipper!”

Privates Kso and Yots had emerged from the Hikshuur unharmed. Kso helped Linuka to her feet. Her legs tingled, the familiar sign of her fast healing working in overdrive.

“Are you hurt?” asked Kso.

Linuka shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

She smiled. The first time the marines were brave, or confused, enough to touch her, treat her like a fellow human.

“Where is the boss? Was he with you, Shaajis?”

“On the surface, yes, but we got separated in the chaos.”

“He’s nearby,” said Yots. “Alive. I can feel it.”

She is right, thought Linuka.

She could sense the Traaz’s Uurmi, feel the reverb of the Isonomih’s nano replicons, and she could hear a faint choir of human voices; some hurt, most dazed, but all alive. Including the most seasoned one.

“Over there.” Linuka pointed to a pile of shredded plant matter. “Help me.”

Oonzu, Kso, Yots, and Linuka dug through the amorphous plant matter until they got hold of a hard shell. Cha Dzeeny’s helmet. The visor flipped up, revealing a serious face.

“Private Yots, is this the way to wake your commanding officer?”

“Sorry, boss, we’ll come back later.” Oonzu ripped several vines off Cha’s chest plate, and Yots, despite her promises, helped the Commander to his feet.

“What’s the situation, Private?”

“Unknown number of wounded on board the shuttle, but no dropouts. The shuttle survived the lift, at least structurally. The Hikshuur had a rough ride but appears operational. Skipper Oonzu is here, and so is the Shaajis. And, as you can tell…” she pointed around “…bio containment protocol 1 failed. Spectacularly.”

Cha sought Linuka’s gaze. “Shaajis. I thought I lost you. We lost you.”

“Still here, Commander. Lost your handgun, though. I’m ashamed to report I didn’t fire a single shot.”

“I doubt our small arms fire made a difference, Shaajis. But here come the people whose weapons did.” He pointed behind Linuka.

Remnant cores hovered toward the group, helping—or herding—the marines from the Võmémééř shuttle along. Had they surveyed the prize ship’s interior looking for survivors in need, or worried about their technological loot? Whichever the case, all humans accompanying the AIs could walk on their own feet.

“The Dark AIs can’t be happy,” said Cha Dzeeny. “Can’t blame them after how this went down. There is your former tutor, Shaajis; maybe she can convince them not to throw us overboard.”

“They won’t,” said Linuka. “They should be grateful.”

Ignoring Cha’s raised eyebrows, Linuka turned to Tswa sni sni. “I’m glad to see everyone alive or operational. Please give the individual cores of the Remnant crew our warmest thanks. Tell them we appreciate their help as a gesture of goodwill and a trust-building investment into our continued partnership.”

“Linuka, are you certain this is what you would like me to tell them?” asked Tswa sni sni.

“Please convey my words unchanged.”

“I shall. The link of the crew asks what the nature of a partnership would be.”

“Tell them,” said Linuka, “we will continue to need transportation, and perhaps orbital fire support. In return, the Remnants will continue to have access to first-rate Võmémééř technology, which they can keep for their own purposes.”

“The link acknowledges the quality of our finds on the plant world, but wonders what cache of items might be so valuable it justifies risking the Chéé—again.”

“Ask them if they remember the vision of 4007, their prophet, the core who led them to this galaxy. He wanted to create a domain for the machines, giving them a fresh start in their own star cloud.”

“They remember.”

“We got the location, and the means to take control of the only sphere drive array in this galaxy. We require an Isonomih crew to operate it, transport us to a target of our choice and back. Then the Remnants can keep control of the drive. Use it to find 4007’s haven. Leave Akaa Upsa, do whatever they want with it.”

The briefest pause indicated the Remnants must have had the equivalent of a heated discussion about her proposal, but the response still came as efficiently as it was quick: “The link accepts the partnership.”

She wasn’t certain if Cha Dzeeny groaned in pain because of his injuries or the sheer weight of deep-frown disapproval making him stagger. Linuka, her legs almost healed by the Uurmi, grabbed under his left arm and propped him up.

“They help us get the array, fly us to the Dark One’s galaxy, and leave us there, Shaajis,” he said under his breath.

Linuka forced a smile. “I know.”

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