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Celeste System
“Bridge to the captain.”
Commander Jutta Pernell placed her tea mug on the day cabin desk and touched her communicator.
“Pernell.”
“Two contacts dropped out of FTL at the hyperlimit. Beacons make them as Alkonost and Yatagerasu. Visual scans confirm.”
Pernell bit back the first word that came to mind — finally — and replied, “Thank you.”
Complaining about the long wait while mapping Celeste down to the last square millimeter wouldn’t have been seemly, although she was sure the officer of the watch shared her sentiments. He’d likely voiced that same thought when the CIC called with the information.
Try as she might, Pernell couldn’t remember who between the two captains was senior, and she hedged her bets rather than consult the Navy list. Besides, a quick conference call might be more efficient.
“Please open a link with both captains and suggest the leader of the Void Mission and the CO of the Marine battalion join in. I’ll take it in my day cabin.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“And ask Centurion Lee to join me. Pernell, out.”
The Marines of B Troop had completed their reconnaissance mission without being noticed by the locals four days earlier. Instead of staying on the surface, they’d torn down their forward operating base and rejoined Strix. Lee had privately admitted to Pernell they looked forward to their next mission aboard Alkonost after what he’d deemed a straightforward operation on what wasn’t exactly unknown ground.
The troopers from the 2nd Colonial Marines aboard Yatagerasu could have done the same job in the same amount of time, setting first contact back by two weeks. But President Mandus had wanted action to regain the momentum on Celeste after the deadly setback.
Lee showed up in Pernell’s day cabin before the new arrivals joined in and silently poured himself a tea from her private urn. He moved one of her guest chairs to one side of her desk and sat, facing the primary display, which came to life soon after with the feed from Alkonost and Captain Derwent Alexander’s solitary figure.
“I trust you had a pleasant trip, sir?” Pernell asked by way of greeting.
“Uneventful, Jutta. How are things?”
“Equally uneventful.” She nodded at Lee. “I don’t know if you’ve met your soon-to-be embarked Marine reconnaissance contingent leader.”
Recognizing his cue, Lee sat up straighter. “Centurion Garth Lee, B Troop, Reconnaissance Squadron, 1st Colonial Marines, sir. I have sixty-four troopers under my command.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Centurion. You come highly recommended by General Sarkis.”
“The general is too kind, sir. I was a lowly corporal in his battalion when he was a major. I’m surprised he remembers me.”
A smile danced on Alexander’s lips. “You never know who’s monitoring your career, Centurion. May I assume you’ll be ready to shift over as soon as we’re in orbit?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll use our shuttles if you don’t mind,” Pernell said.
“Not at all. I would have suggested it myself. Our first officers can take care of the transfer.” At that moment, the primary display generated a second feed, this one from Yatagerasu. “And here are the rest of our merry band.”
“Hello, Jutta,” Captain Vitt raised a hand in greeting. “Everything is good?”
“As well as can be, sir. Welcome to Celeste.”
Vitt nodded in reply, then gestured at the three people sitting around what was probably the replenishment ship’s main conference room table.
“Major Dozier, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Colonial Regiment, Friar Shakku, Chief Administrator of the new Celeste Mission, and Maryam, the mission’s leading sister.”
Both Pernell and Lee inclined their heads, a gesture those in Yatagerasu returned. Then, Dozier broke out into a big grin.
“How are they hanging, Garth?”
“Upside down from the trees, Major. And you?”
“Same, same. Job’s done?”
“Yep. Ready to move on.” A slight grin appeared. “After we see you fine folks settled in a nice place where the air is clean, the water pure, and the natives seemingly sane. By the way, we scanned Angelique and the old mission site, both from orbit and low-level drone overflights.”
“And?” Dozier asked.
“Lots of life signs beneath the city’s ruins and traces of the tech they took after overrunning the mission, which looks pretty damn eerie now that predation has stripped the flesh off the corpses of the native casualties and dispersed them. A field of bones, you might call it.”
Sister Maryam’s face tightened as if she were repressing a shudder. “A field of evil, more like, Centurion.”
Lee inclined his head in acknowledgment. “No doubt. Fortunately, the sites we reconnoitered are over a thousand kilometers from Angelique. If the Angeliquans hear about your presence, you’ll see them coming from so far away. Major Dozier’s people will enjoy a pleasant week or two of range practice with live targets.”
“They’re still human beings.” Maryam’s tone held a hint of reproach, barely noticeable, but neither Lee nor Dozier missed it.
“As you say, Sister.” Lee let his eyes meet those of Shakku and Dozier. “Shall we discuss the sites we observed now or when you enter orbit?”
He gave Pernell a brief glance to see if she objected to his taking the lead. But Strix’s captain merely shrugged.
“No reason why not now.”
Captain Alexander, as senior officer present, nodded. “We have little else to do while we’re on final approach. Please go ahead, Centurion.”
“Sir. As per our mission profile, we scouted areas near the mouth of the Harmonie River on the western coast of Baune. The first site was the second choice for the original mission, centered on the semi-ruined priory serving the old city of Havre de Grâce, which was flattened. The new settlement, which we dubbed Havre Two, is about five kilometers upstream of the old city’s eastern outskirts. We detected nine hundred and forty-two inhabitants and took as much biometric information as we could record from a distance. The settlement is surrounded by a three-meter-high wooden palisade, and they close the entrances at sunset.”
“Meaning there are threats.”
Lee nodded.
“Likely, but we saw nothing more than wild animals capable of entering barns and making off with domestic fowl, piglets, lambs, and other small things. The village survives on farming and fishing, the former using draft animals and the latter sailboats. None of the farmers or fishers carry anything more than large knives, although we spotted hunters with lances and bows and detected animal traps in the woods. They use candles and tallow dips after dark, but no one stays up long.
“Compared to the records left by Centurion Loumis concerning the Angeliquans, these people seem peaceful and almost civilized, albeit at a definite preindustrial level. Still, they have a forge, a cooperage, cloth manufacturing, and other cottage industries,” Lee smiled, “and a distillery along with a brewery. However, we saw no evidence of religious practices or activities hinting at violent behavior. And finally, there is regular trade along the coast and upriver. You’ll find the details in the package I’ll transmit shortly, both raw data and refined analysis. As a site, it seems promising. More so than Angelique in any case, even though it’s not a large community.”
Shakku stroked his chin while nodding.
“If there’s regular trade between coastal settlements and inland up the river, it has built-in transmission channels.” He glanced at Dozier and Maryam. “Questions?”
“How are the defensive possibilities?” The Marine asked.
“No better and no worse than anywhere else we checked out. The old priory is on a low rise, and once you clear out the brush to put in fields, you’ll have excellent lines of sight and fire. More importantly, there aren’t enough humans in the village to present even a minor threat, and you’ll easily notice large numbers of outsiders entering the area. This one is probably the best of the sites we scouted, if only because, as Friar Shakku noted, it has lines of communication with several other settlements, including the alternate sites.”
“Any sense of how they’d react to the arrival of strangers?”
Lee shook his head.
“Negative, sir. We weren’t spotted. But for what it’s worth, they strike me as reasonably peaceful and hardworking. Friar Shakku and Sister Maryam will have to figure out whether they’re just as xenophobic as the Angelique natives or ready to receive their long-lost cousins from the stars.”
“Tell us about the other sites,” Shakku said.
“Certainly.” Lee described settlements differing from Havre Two only in details such as the number of inhabitants, variety of cottage industries, and distribution of food sources.
As before, Shakku glanced at Dozier and Maryam when Lee finished speaking, then said, “I think we’ll land a first contact party near the village you call Havre Two and see how the locals react. If they accept our presence, then those inhabiting the surrounding settlements should also do so.”
Alexander leaned forward.
“It’s your show, Friar. We’ll stick around for a few days after taking Centurion Lee and his people aboard, just in case you encounter trouble. In fact, how about you let me know when you feel safe enough you no longer need Alkonost’s presence? Yatagerasu isn’t helpless.” He gave Vitt a quick grin, which she returned with a wink.
“That she isn’t, Captain,” Shakku replied as he allowed himself a small but serene smile. “Captain Vitt gave us the grand tour, and Yatagerasu is indeed an impressive vessel. I’ll feel more than safe with her in orbit while we go through the delicate process of first contact. I think you may depart at your convenience.”
“And miss the show?” A broad grin split Alexander’s face. “Not a chance.”
“The show? You think first contact will be entertaining?” Shakku’s face took on an unmistakable air of inscrutability. Alexander couldn’t tell whether the friar was irked or amused.
“I prefer the term enlightening.”
“No doubt.” The friar’s tone was as dry as Wyvern’s Central Desert, where it rained once every thousand years, proof he was teasing Alexander. “Then, by all means, please stick around and watch us make first contact.”
“And what’s the plan for that?”
Shakku knew Alexander was asking as the senior Hegemony officer in the Celeste system. Therefore, he lost his inscrutable air and leaned forward.
“A shuttle will land Maryam, myself, and four Brethren along with a section of Marines at a hidden site near Havre Two an hour before dawn, exact coordinates to be determined based on Centurion Lee’s data. After daybreak, we will approach the settlement on foot, leaving the Marines to guard the shuttle and stand ready to assist if needed, something I hope will not happen. From there, we shall play it by ear. If the natives remember the empire and the Great Scouring, they should have no issues understanding that we come from another human world.”
“And if they turned those sad events into sky demon myths like the Angeliquans?”
Shakku gave Alexander a slight shrug. “As I said, we’ll play it by ear.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to have Marines with you? Maybe a company’s worth?”
“No. If we’re not safe without the Marines, we won’t be safe with them. And the mission fails before it begins.” When he saw the doubt in Alexander’s eyes, Shakku smiled. “The Almighty will provide.”
“The Almighty didn’t provide for the people in the Angelique Abbey.”
A sardonic expression lit up Maryam’s face.
“That’s because the Almighty will not protect those guilty of hubris from the ensuing nemesis. We wanted the largest population center because we felt capable of handling such, based on the Old Order’s experience with the Hatshepsut natives. Worse yet, we didn’t take the time to study the natives’ suitability.”
“And you think the ones observed by Centurion Lee’s unit are suitable?”
“More so than the Angeliquans, without a doubt. Any society practicing large-scale agriculture and cottage industries, never mind trading peacefully, will have greater potential than hunter-gatherers, scavengers, or herders. But we’ll have to see for ourselves.”
“That’s basically the plan, Captain,” Shakku said. “If the people of that settlement are amenable, we can reclaim the old priory, set up the field hospital, and begin spreading modern medical practices to gain their trust. I don’t doubt that they experience their share of injuries from hard physical labor, especially those engaged in fishing.”
“Didn’t the first mission do the same?”
“Yes, but the Angeliquans weren’t interested in our healing. They wanted tools, implements, and technological items with no strings attached. What medical care they accepted was more a way of studying us and confirming we were sky demons. Or at least that’s what our late Brethren thought.”
“Then let’s hope your ministrations will win this bunch of natives over.”
