Alien spaceship, Titan Orbit, Standard Year 403 after founding

  Dramatis Personae

  Robert Nagar – an alien that lives on Tundra as a human. He is the head of the Tundran Secret Service and in charge of the aliens in the Sarayan/Tundran solar system. Robert believes he is dead.

  Grant Pardo – an alien that lives on Tundra as a human. He is the head of the Tundran planetary shields project and the chair of the Megalodon State University’s physics department. Grant is a physicist, regardless of species. Grant, is also a giant.

  Daren Alger – an alien that lives on Saraya as a human. Archivist and historian for the Executive Office of the Srayan President. By alien standards, Daren is the normal one.

  Will Atwater - an alien that lives on Saraya as a human. He owns Atwater Ships, the largest spaceship manufacturing conglomerate on Saraya. Will is the youngest of the adult aliens, and while he is not at all genetically human, he was raised by a human mother.

  Pharel and Starel – Will’s children, who live on an alien ship orbiting Titan. They are not posing as humans. They are just alien.

  Amiya - the children’s eight legged pet.

  ---

  The ship’s hallway was a tunnel of emerald green moss, releasing oxygen into the air. Daren breathed deeply, enjoying properly oxygenated air and the smell of growing things. For the briefest of moments, he felt an uncharacteristic twinge of nostalgia for home, but it passed quickly. Daren quite liked Saraya, and it had plenty of oxygen, not to mention a climate nearly as pleasant as their second planet back home. And nostalgia aside, Daren was annoyed. “I’ve had a very pleasant trip, thank you for asking.” He said as he took a seat on one of the moss covered green armchairs and poured himself a glass of juice, a taste of home made from the plants they brought with them and only available on the ship. “Quite a long way, as it happens. But a pleasant trip, nonetheless.” He looked around the room. There were four of them. Daren and Will, who had flown for over four days to arrive from distant Saraya, and Robert and Grant, making the leisurely daytrip from nearby Tundra.

  Robert sent a characteristically glum look in Daren’s direction, ignoring his comment entirely. They were all going by their human names out of habit. Will was the youngest, and even he had been among the humans for nearly a century.

  Grant looked slightly bemused, as he often did. His freakishly large bulk was easily contained by the oversized chair as he stretched out, making himself more comfortable.

  Daren sighed. He was sitting across from a dead man, a freak, and a child. And this sorry group was the only link he had to real civilization. If Saraya wasn’t such a pleasant planet… “When is Dzaher coming?” He asked, not willing to let go of his annoyance.

  “Soon.” Robert said, gesturing his appreciation with a slight wave of his hand as Grant poured him a glass of juice.

  “They’re always so happy when they get here.” Will said with a slight grin. No one ever came directly to Saraya and Tundra, that would be too easy. Every one of them had the pleasure of spending time on what was informally referred to as cannibal moon. The humans on Tundra and Saraya, war mongering and blood thirsty as they were, seemed downright pleasant when compared to what they had all seen on cannibal moon. Carda’ans had no real notion of military discipline. But informally, the threat of being sent back to cannibal moon tended to keep everyone in line.

  “They don’t miss the joys of experiencing humanity in its purest form? How astonishing.” Grant said, showing his teeth in something that was not quite a smile. Over five hundred years ago, before the Carda’an presence on old earth had ever become public knowledge, the humans sent out nine colony ships. A secret mission with the ambitious goal of preserving human civilization in all its glory, safe from the threats of alien interlopers, the influence of artificial intelligence, and the bitter history of rival nations and racial strife. Cannibal moon, Tundra, and Saraya, were the local results of two of the nine colony ships. Grant wondered what the modern humans would make of it. Objectively, it did not seem to have gone all that well. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen Dzaher happy.” He added out loud.

  “Well, you’ve only seen him on cannibal moon.” Will pointed out. “Were you happy there, Grant?”

  There was a slightly awkward pause as everyone turned to look at Grant. Grant looked back, his face perfectly blank.

  “Anything more on the missing plutonium?” Robert asked into the silence, turning to Daren.

  Daren’s eyes narrowed noticeably. “Why yes Robert, as it so happens someone stopped by my office just last year and told me all about it. How could I forget to mention it? So glad you reminded me.”

  There was another pause. With Robert and Grant stationed on Tundra and Will and Daren stationed on Saraya, the four did not get together often, and the conversation wasn’t exactly flowing. Everyone was annoyed by the trip, and none of them had the kinds of jobs that made it easy to disappear without an explanation.

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  “How is John?” Will asked, turning to Grant.

  “John is fine.” Grant said flatly, causing Will and Daren to exchange a brief glance. Robert ignored the exchange entirely.

  “The kids made dinner.” Will said, trying once again to soothe ruffled scales.

  “It’ll be good to see the kids.” Daren agreed, relenting slightly. The children were worth the trip. Carda’ans did not naturally seek the company of others, but it was nice to see the kids once every ten years or so.

  ---

  The two boys started speaking before everyone had a chance to sit down at the table, standing side by side with Amia, an arachnid shaped animal with a fawn colored fur coat, whose mandibles hit the boys around waist level. “We want to go down to the planet.” They said, nearly in unison.

  “Which planet?” Will asked mildly.

  “Either planet.” Pharel hissed.

  “Any planet.” Starel echoed. “We can’t just keep visiting Titan. Nothing happens there. The space battle was fun, but we weren’t even allowed to go down there when it happened. And you can’t take off your space suit.” He waved his arm to emphasize his point, his skin momentarily taking on the emerald green color and texture of the moss in patches across his arm. His shifting abilities were not yet fully developed.

  “We can’t be stuck here any longer.” Pharel said, his voice somewhat calmer. “And the ship listens to us now. We won’t stay here forever.”

  “It’s not good for our mental development.” Starel added.

  “Neither is spending too much time on the human net.” Grant noted. Absent mindedly, he reached down and fed Amiya some of the food from his plate. Grant liked animals.

  “How often do you visit Titan?” Daren asked as he started his meal.

  “Often.” Pharel said. “We’re bored.”

  Robert turned to Daren. “Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know what happened to the plutonium mined on Tundra during those early days, when Saraya was still in control. But one thing that’s been bothering me – we were never able to find a record of it leaving Tundran space. There is the possibility that it’s still here.”

  “On Tundra?” Robert asked, his voice calm. Everyone around the table went silent, even the kids. Everyone knew what Saraya had done on Tundra fifty two years ago. Robert died, fifty-two years ago, during Sraya’s attack and destruction of Dragon City. Weapons grade plutonium under Sarayan control, hidden somewhere in Tundran space, was setting off serious alarm bells for everyone at the table. Human or Carda’an, in a nuclear attack, they all burned the same.

  “If the Sarayans used the plutonium to make nuclear bombs, which they certainly had the technology to do on site in Tundran space, the bombs could still be on Tundra, or on Titan.” Grant said, studying Daren thoughtfully.

  “It could be on Tundra or Titan.” Daren agreed. “It’s also possible that the plutonium is back on Saraya. But it’s less likely.”

  “Why is it less likely?” Robert asked.

  Daren shifted somewhat uncomfortably. “I cannot be certain, but I suspect. We went over every shipping record for the time period.” He admitted somewhat hesitantly. “The ship and I.” Daren liked to come off as effortlessly brilliant, and didn’t especially appreciate getting caught doing the work. But after what happened to Dragon City, he was willing to do the work. It just wasn’t enough. Whatever the Sarayans had done with the missing weapons grade plutonium, they kept it hidden well.

  Robert nodded thoughtfully. “Let us suppose that Saraya, famously lacking in weapons grade plutonium and uranium, used the plutonium found on Tundra in the early days of their colonization, to make nuclear bombs. Let us further suppose that they left these bombs somewhere in our system.”

  “Our?” Daren mouthed in annoyance as he continued to eat his food.

  Robert ignored him. “Presumably, they would use such weapons as a last resort, if they believe they are losing the war.”

  “Which they will.” Daren said helpfully. “In spite of having more guns, more people, more resources, more ships. I could go on. Somehow, miraculously, the Sarayans will lose. Why is that, I wonder?”

  “How will they detonate the bombs?” Robert asked, once again ignoring Daren.

  “Remote trigger, they could send the signal from anywhere.” Will observed.

  “Or the Sarayans on Titan could do it.” Starel said.

  “Sure.” Pharel nodded. “The Sarayan station orbiting Titan could do it. They’ve been here the whole time. And their captain is a creep.” He added.

  “What?” Will asked sharply.

  “I said…” Pharel began.

  Daren snickered into his food. Clearly, the children had been out and about.

  “Well done.” Robert said unexpectedly, ignoring the glare Will shot his way. “Keep an eye on them.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Keep an eye on them from the ship.” Will said. “No more going to Titan, or the Sarayan station.”

  “But dad…”

  “No.” Will shook his head. “When the Sarayans start blowing things up, people die. Stay on the ship. Please.”

  “Then we should go to Saraya instead. If they’re the ones nuking everyone, it must be perfectly safe there.” Pharel pointed out.

  “You can’t go to Saraya until you’ve learned to keep your human skin.” Will said patiently. “And what will you do with Amiya? She won’t like being left alone.”

  “We have drugs to boost our shifting ability. If we take the pills we can both do it perfectly. And Amiya can come with us, couldn’t she? The humans don’t know what kind of animals live on their planets anyway. Amyia could be native.” He crossed his arms stubbornly.

  “And if you run out of pills?” Will shook his head. “Keep practicing. If you can keep your human skin, you can go.”

  Both boys leaned forward, their interest peaked. “You swear it?” Starel asked.

  “I do.” Will confirmed, ignoring Daren’s look of surprise. “But remember, if you keep nuking everyone, sooner or later, someone will nuke you back. Saraya, is far from safe.”

  “Robert would know if Tundra was planning anything.” Pharel said. “Robert always knows.”

  Daren’s teeth bit down on a roasted tuber with unusual force. “Forgive me for my inability to foster a close relationship with Saraya’s chosen leaders. The humans keep electing psychopaths and I find their company painfully intolerable. Reviewing shipping receipts seems downright pleasant by comparison. But perhaps I should eliminate all these pesky complications and select their leaders myself? That seems to be the trend these days. Shall we play, Robert? You versus me?”

  “I have not interfered with…”

  “Really, Robert.” Will spoke up unexpectedly, siding with Daren. “No one believes that.”

  Robert turned to Grant.

  “The Hawks make lovely pets, Robert. We all understand.” Grant rumbled.

  “Preserve life, preserve resources, observe.” Will repeated their mission objective. “The preservation of life is our first priority.”

  “They are equal in priority.” Robert said. “And what exactly are you implying?”

  “That we should interfere.” Will said bluntly. “Before the human war escalates, and more lives and resources are wasted.”

  “Daren and Will would like their own pet.” Grant said helpfully.

  “I’ll think about it.” Robert said.