Page 44 of Experimental Voyage
“What’s wrong with it?”
“The shiftgem set in it needs to be replaced. It’s the original set she used for Pandora’s life support system, and one of the stones has a hairline fracture in it. As such, there is a vibration, thus the yellow light. I only know about the fracture because I looked over every stone with a magnifying glass and spotted it.” Delta pressed a few buttons, and the yellow light winked out. “As I don’t want a shiftgem fracturing on the flight, I’ve shut that down until we’re back.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t find the fracture yet,” I admitted.
“She is wearing blinders. Those shiftgems are precious. She saved for years to earn the set so she could safely take Pandora into space. There are going to be tears when they are retired from space travel. I’m going to have them turned into baubles for her and Pandora, but this will be their last voyage. I already have a replacement set for her. My father took care of acquiring them. Of course, Viva would be more rested if she hadn’t spent all of yesterday trying to fix the system before we left. She didn’t ask for my opinion, and that isherset, so she wants to fix it. I know better than to get involved at that stage.”
I grinned at the thought of the woman battling her spaceship while her husband watched and bided his time, waiting for when she asked for help. “There’s a lesson to be learned here, isn’t there?”
“Always check your shiftgems with a magnifying glass when you have some demon possessing a complicated system,” he confirmed. He pressed a few more buttons, and the ship, in a feminine voice, announced that the autopilot was engaged and all defense systems were active. “I know you’re taking a lot of maintenance and engine courses, so I’m going to skip that part of space travel. I know they’ve been barring you from taking anything that might translate to figuring out how to pilot a craft. Your teachers are of the opinion that youwillleave if given a single opportunity.”
I really would. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the invitation, but…” For a long moment, all I could do was stare out the bridge window at space with its countless twinkling stars. “Cremora Delta is a beautiful place, and the people are very kind.”
“But it’s not where you want to be.” Delta smiled, joining me in admiring the vast expanse before us. “Where do you think you will go?”
“Home to visit comes to mind, but not to stay. After seeing all this, I don’t think I could just go back to Schwana Major and juststay.”
“I didn’t get it until traveling with Viva. I’d left Cremora Delta, but I’d done it out of duty rather than a lust to see what was beyond my front door. Did you know I almost lost my life on the voyage I met Viva?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t, no.”
“I was put in stasis by the rest of the crew. It turns out there were traitors on board, and they wanted to frame my father. One of the conspirators got to know me, decided he couldn’t abide by what they meant to do, and broke our life support. He rigged the straws so I would go in, and he died along with the others on board. It was luck I lived. I learned a lot about life, death, and the universe then—and that I didn’t want a life in the universe without Viva in it.”
I could understand that.
Every day, I missed Waldren, Palta, Squeakers, and even the Veloc, especially Herserael and his sense of humor. The sense of loss had haunted me from my first day on Cremora Delta, and I wondered if time could ever fully heal that rift. “Is it strange that I feel similar to everyone from that experimental voyage?”
“It would be stranger if you didn’t, I think. The Veloc are lovable. Sure, they’re terrifying when you first meet them, but while they’re predators, I’ve never met a more honorable race in my travels across the universe. Once you’ve made a friend in a Veloc, you will have that friend for life. Betrayal usually ends in death, though.” Delta tapped at the buttons on his armrest, and after a few moments, a star map appeared. “Display Veloci Minor,” he ordered.
A red ring surrounded one of the planets.
“Veloci Minor is one of the nesting worlds of the Veloc. As far as I know, every clan has at least a hundred members living onit as a symbol of unity. The Emerald Crests and Crimson Crests have larger populations, and they’re among the friendlier clans. Veloci Major is disputed territory, and only the ruling clans of the Veloc have permanent residences there. The other clans have communal living quarters, and they exchange members once a year. Every ten years, the ruling clans are selected. The next year or two will have a selection, and we’ve been invited to witness it.”
“You don’t sound thrilled about that.”
“Display Veloci Major,” he ordered, and the red circle moved to a nearby world. “Don’t get me wrong, but the Veloc tend to go overboard when they’re fighting over who gets nesting rights on Veloci Major. And that’s basically what it is—rights to have nests on the safest of the Veloc worlds. Veloci Minor is the second safest world for them, but hatchlings are still stolen at an alarming frequency. There are a few every year. There are no known instances to date of it happening on Veloci Major.”
Ah. And from what I’d seen of the Veloc, they would kill to protect their little ones. “And the Veloc are explorers?”
“Veloc hate space travel, truth be told. They do it anyway, and it’s a rite of passage for them to go into space on a venture. That’s how Waldren and his sister were rescued. It was one of the rite of passage voyages, and the Veloc will check into places where colonies were reported but no longer transmit. Usually, they offer burial rites to the deceased, but every now and then, there’s a survivor or two, and they rescue them. I’d say there are two or three failed colony rescues every year across the universe. Mostly, the colonies fully fail, and the planet is registered as hostile to the species that perished. Then another species will try a colony. It’s… lethal.” Delta winced. “And it wouldn’t surprise me if the Veloc do their best to try to convince you to avoid being part of a colony. It’s legitimately safer to be part of the expeditions to find places to attempt the colonies than to be part of the colony.”
That matched what I knew of exploration in general. “Being part of a colony involves staying on one planet for an extended period of time, Delta. I am not interested in that. Our jaunt to Melody? That was fine. We were leaving, even if it meant we would wander through the reaches of space for the rest of our lives.” I shrugged. “I think I’m a lot like Viva. After a few weeks, I start going mad if I’m not doing research and exploration work. And while I appreciate the schooling, I am itching to apply what I’ve learned.”
“That is something we can help you with. Now that the autopilot is engaged, let’s go see what the Veloc want to teach you. This section of space is as boring as it gets, and we have several hours before we reach the first gate we’ll be taking to where Waldren was born. Just try to manage your expectations. This will not be a pleasant journey.”
“No, it won’t be. But it’s a necessary one. He’s seen my circumstances, and it’s only fair I better understand his.”
“You may not like what you learn,” Delta warned me.
“Well, he was feral and prone to biting the Veloc trying to help him. Frankly, I’m astonished his sister wasn’t wild.”
“Oh, she was plenty wild, but her Veloc was wise beyond his years and used food to tame the beast. Let’s just say Waldren is a free spirit and leave it at that. I don’t want to get bitten.”
“Does Waldren have a reputation of biting people?”
Delta grinned at me. “Anyone willing to bite a Veloc deserves respect, and he didn’t just try to bite one—he successfully bit several, numerous times. Let’s just say his clan adores him, and it’s not just because of his sister. Veloc enjoy when theirhomo sapiensclan members are feisty. The fact I keep dodging being adopted into a clan is driving the entire lot of them wild. That I have blood ties with a clanwithoutbeing an adoptee is driving everyone even wilder. I suspect the Veloc are going to corner me.It would not surprise me if the clan that manages to claim me will earn majority status at their gathering.”
Having seen how excessive the Veloc could be, I could easily believe they would go to such lengths. “And we can just leave the bridge? It’s not going to be a problem?”
