“Welcome, Admiral,” Doctor Egolu said as Absen entered Conquest’s crowded physics lab. “This is Doctor Plessk, our senior physicist.”
Absen kept the surprise from his face as he saw an ancient Ryss male, stooped and white with age. The Ryss made as if to rise from his seat, but the admiral quickly waved him down. “Honored to meet you,” Absen said in passable Ryss, the language chip in his head feeding him the words. “I didn’t know we had a Ryss scientist aboard.” He remembered he’d left the makeup of the contingent up to Trissk, not paying much attention.
“I am an anomaly to my race, Admiral,” Plessk said in his own language. “A male that did not want to be a warrior. Unlike in the old days, in current Ryss society that desire is viewed almost as a perversion. If I wish to spend my few remaining years doing the work I love, I have to do it among Humans or Sekoi. So, here I am.”
“Here you are indeed. What can you tell me about the FTL drive?”
“Very little, Admiral,” the Ryss said. “But perhaps, just enough.” Plessk raised a shaky paw to signal Doctor Egolu, who turned on a holoprojector showing a cutaway diagram of the Sun. “The Meme intelligence says that they detected gravitic anomalies in the star where the Scourge attacked approximately sixteen minutes before they appeared. This tells us the FTL drive is gravitic in nature. Some among us think they use gravity to generate power. Some believe they use solar power to lens gravity into a singularity, which in turn can create a wormhole. Some –”
“Doctor, I’m not a scientist, I’m just a simple old warrior. Please proceed to the conclusion.”
“Yes, well...” This seemed to throw Plessk off for a moment, but then he recovered, blinking watery eyes. “I believe we can give you at least sixteen minutes’ warning of the Scourge’s appearance.”
“Outstanding.” Absen said. “Doctor, if you can do that, you will have given us a key to defeating this threat, and I thank you.” Bending over, he made another attempt, as he always did, to avoid an enormous waste. Whispering in the old cat’s ear, he said, “Doctor, you don’t have to endure this degeneration from old age. The Sekoi have a virus available that will return you to health and extend your life, perhaps indefinitely.”
Plessk patted the admiral absently with a soft paw. “Thank you, Eldest War Leader, but even I am not such a pervert as all that. I will go to my ancestors when they call me home, and gladly.”
Hissing with frustration, Absen straightened and composed himself. “I understand. I will make sure your people know of your accomplishments. Perhaps in time even Ryss will accept that scientific discovery is just as honorable as victory in battle.”
“Now that I would like to see.” The ancient cat’s eyes sparkled.