After the dark hours, during which the main hall of Satamia Star Station was one huge party room, came the quiet hours of dawn and sunrise. A few people, not yet asleep, readied the room for the day, then wandered off to their nests. Those who had retired early began to awake, find nourishment, make sure the main hall was in good shape, then go to their assignments, classes, or free-time activities.
A small conference room near the Mission Assignment Room was designed so every type of Satamia sapient life could meet together at once.
T’sss’lisss, Ashley, and Kolarrr’ka arrived early, their minds spinning and their knowledge pads flashing with all the details of the mission that needed their attention. Soon a giant sea turtle swam in through a shallow channel, followed by a dolphin. Through one door came a small bear and a large cat, then through a larger door, a huge horse.
The crew of the Manessa Kwi arrived a few minutes later and seated themselves on some benches against the wall.
Kolarrr’ka stood. “Ashley has put me in charge of the contact and evaluation phase, bok. Taking into account each of your strengths, please prepare for the following assignments.
“Trekila Spimalo, you will contact the cetaceans, all seven species, bok, and inform them of the possibility of evacuation in about twelve planetary years if it appears to be necessary.”
The dolphin, used to taking water samples, opened her mouth at the
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importance of the assignment, but closed it without speaking.
“Memsala, you will contact the giant testudine with the same message, bok. We also recognize that you are probably the wisest among us, so we welcome your input at any time.”
The sea turtle nodded slowly, and Kibi smiled with happiness that her Psychic Development teacher would be on the team.
“Boro, since you swim almost as well as a fish, you will be helper for both Trekila and Memsala. Please go sit with them.”
He grinned with excitement, quickly shed his outer clothes, and hopped into the shallow tank, then splashed a little water to make sure both his charges were completely wet.
“Malika-Terno, I am well aware that your species has chosen, on all the planets where they live, to suffer the cruel treatments dished out by the young dominant races in order to teach them and stand at their sides when they, eventually, grow up. That is a noble task, bok, but the equines of Ko-tera Three may not get that chance. Spread the word that evacuation may be necessary, and assure them that we will only follow that course if the planet is beyond hope.”
The huge horse, resting with his feet tucked under him, made a throaty sound and nodded.
“Mati, as I understand it, you could ride an equine before you could walk
. . .”
She smiled and nodded.
“. . . and since you’re so light, Malika-Terno will hardly notice you if a journey together is necessary.”
Mati hopped up and settled herself beside the horse’s muscular neck, stroking his golden hair.
“Ss’klexna Rrr’tak’fi, unlike you, bok, who can think circles around most of us . . .”
The small bear laughed, showing very sharp teeth. All the crew members of the Manessa Kwi smiled at her, remembering her story from one of the first videos they had ever watched.
“. . . the ursines on Ko-tera Three are not yet sapient, so your task will be much harder, bok. Attempt to determine what problems would arise if we
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tried to evacuate some of them to another planet. But keep in mind — they are not unique, so be prepared to withdraw without conclusive results.”
“I understand,” she said with a nod.
“Sata, if for any reason Ss’klexna cannot complete the evaluation, you must retreat to the ship or another place of safety immediately.”
Sata nodded as she went and sat beside the legendary Ss’klexna Rrr’tak’fi.
“Rini,” Kolarrr’ka continued, “you will provide general assistance to both myself and T’sss’lisss, but cannot go all the places we must go, so you may have few responsibilities outside the ship on this phase of the mission.”
Rini
nodded.
Kibi could feel herself trembling. The only remaining contact specialist was a large male cat. She recognized those stripes. She knew the day had come that he had foretold — she was now a Nebador citizen, and they were on a mission together.
She knew she wanted to be completely true to Ilika. She just wasn’t sure her body was going to cooperate.
“Toran Takil,” Kolarrr’ka continued, “you have the same task as Ss’klexna.
Evaluate the possibility of evacuating some of the great cats, but take no unnecessary risks.”
He blinked and nodded.
“Kibi, same restrictions as Sata. Help if you can, but above all else, come back alive and well, bok.”
Kibi sat down beside Toran Takil, but had no fear that coming back alive would be her main problem.
After a short discussion about the other near-sapient species they would be evaluating, the meeting broke up so everyone could get a hearty meal. When they returned to the room, T’sss’lisss stretched up from her coils.
“Phassse Two of the misssion, which is my resssponsssibility, isss lesss well defined right now. The monkey mammalsss of Ko-tera Three have sssent a probe to their outer planetsss. It includesss a plaque that expresssesss a ssslight awarenesss of their sssituation, thanksss to the Temporandek Teacher they were given. We are planning the misssion ssso that Phassse One will be finished about when the probe completesss itsss work and becomesss nothing
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more than a . . . what’sss that sssaying, Ashley?”
“A message in a bottle.”
“Thanksss. At that point, we will review everything we know, lisssten to all available wisssdom, including Manesssa’sss training ssspecccialissst Arantiloria, and decccide what to do.”
T’sss’lisss descended into her coils and Ashley stood.
“Our best guess of mission duration is eight, maybe twelve days. Food and water re-supply will be possible on several uninhabited islands of Ko-tera Three. Please prepare yourselves and your ship, and gather at the Manessa Kwi in eight hours.”
Satamia Two, their first destination, had fascinated the crew since their early days on the star station, being one of the few worlds in the region of Satamia that hosted a true mortal civilization.
A civilization, they now understood well after Ashley’s mission briefing, was one that had passed the three tests of population, power, and pollution.
Before that, a race of sapient people might have language, technology, and many other trappings of civilization, but if they hatched all the babies they wanted, grabbed all the power they could get, and fouled their nests, they were no different, in the eyes of the universe, than simple non-sapient creatures. They would be watched over and guided, but would not be considered a truly irreplaceable part of Satamia in Nebador, any more than the algae in a pond, or the mice in a field.
The crew members pondered this, some silently and some in conversation, as they stocked the Manessa Kwi from the pallets that floated in with food, fuel, and other supplies.
To Rini, it made perfect sense, but he knew Mati was troubled by the limitation on having children. She went back and forth as they worked to prepare the ship, sometimes sharing with Sata her frustration that people on a civilized planet couldn’t have all the babies they could support, later admitting to Rini that even though the parents could support them, that didn’t mean the planet could.
Sata listened to Mati, but was going over in her mind the many times her parents had made use of slaves, at least indirectly, because they had the
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money to do so. Ilika had never done that, she reminisced with Boro in the utility room. As soon as he bought the nine slaves, he freed them, promising to do nothing to stop them from leaving even before their bills of freedom were done. Kodi had tested and proven that promise.
Boro encouraged her to forgive her parents. It was nearly impossible for a single person to go against their culture, he believed. But he admitted complete ignorance of how a planet could get from constant abuses of power, like slavery, to a true civilization, and planned to ask Ilika, Ashley, or maybe Arantiloria.
As Kibi stocked the galley, she wasn’t sure she wanted to have any children. She just didn’t relate to the craving of some people to fill the world with whining brats. Her own childhood had been painful, her home without love or respect. Then slavery had shown her what people did when they got a little power, and she wanted no part of that game, either.
She was stacking large packets of grass in the storage room, and pondering the third test of mortal planets — pollution — when her eyes suddenly opened wide with a realization. On Satamia Star Station, there was no pollution at all. The great station tree and other plants took care of the air, and no one smoked or did anything else to pollute it. The water was constantly monitored and cared for by the creatures who lived in it, and a few tireless machines they lovingly tended. Even trash, every bit of it, was reused in some way. On most planets, she knew, trash was burned or just piled up, deeper and deeper.
Malika-Terno needed no seat in the passenger area, just a clear space on the floor. T’sss’lisss had her own seat in the front row between Ashley and Kolarrr’ka, but seemed happier sharing a seat with one of her partners, sometimes both at once.
Kibi programmed two new seating arrangements, one for viewing the big screen, the other for gathering around the table.
Unlike the one deep-space mission Kibi remembered, the specialists could not bring family members on this trip. It was expected to be much shorter, the work more intense, and excursions outside the ship more frequent. Kibi smiled and felt very lucky to be able to curl up with her lover in their cabin,
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even though moments when they were both off-duty might be few on this mission.
She watched from her console as the specialists got settled, stowed their travel bags under the bench at the rear of the passenger area, adjusted their seats, and chatted about the mission.
Malika-Terno requested that Kibi test his emergency inertia net, and it worked perfectly, ready to hold the big horse in one place on the floor during unexpectedly-rough flight.
Memsala and Trekila Spimalo both poked their heads out of the open section of tank at table level, and reported that all was well with their aquatic environment.
Toran Takil was already curled up in his seat, eyes closed, napping.
Ss’klexna Rrr’tak’fi had an intuition, and she gestured for Kibi to come close so she could share it privately. “Something tells me we’re going to have passengers at some point on this mission. You might want to plan an alternate seating arrangement . . .”