Over the next hours, the SADEs learned the sounds for “affirmative” and “negative,” “adult” and “young,” “land” and “sea,” “world” and “star,” and many more. Cordelia continually generated new icons as the now-dubbed “Swei Swee” responded to her previous ones.
The icon of several Swei Swee surrounded by the outline of a silver ship generated a complex term that didn’t match any previously defined sound. Cordelia was about to call it “family,” but that didn’t match the adult pairing with young defined earlier. Julien coined the term “hive” for a group of the aliens within a single silver ship, and the word reminded Alex of his previous concepts of the inhabitants of the silver ships.
Over time, the SADEs learned the Swei Swee originally resided by the seaside, calling the ocean “endless waters.” “Death,” generated by an icon of an upside down Swei Swee with legs splayed, was to “travel the endless waters.” A silver ship was a “dark traveler.” The prison ship was the “world traveler.” The aliens’ comm was “singing to the stars.” “To search” was to hunt for fish, their ancient food source. That they were “denied the search” meant they were captive. “Seek shelter” was to seek safety onshore. “Hunters” were dangerous animals that fed on the Swei Swee. “Singers” were intelligent species.
When Cordelia attempted to define the inhabitants of the world traveler, it produced the only non-Swei Swee-like sound they had heard. As far as she could determine, it sounded like “Nua’ll.” The icon of the Rêveur produced a complex set of notes, which the SADEs determined meant “Star Hunters.”
The push and pull of images and sounds went on through the next day and into the second night. The engineering team slept with their heads down on tables or stretched out on the deck while the SADEs continued to work to identify the vocabulary and syntax the Admiral would need to converse with the Swei Swee.
* * *
In the morning, food was delivered again to the engineering team, and Alex, for one, never felt so grateful for a hot cup of thé. He sipped it slowly, savoring the heat and flavor, noticing most of his team was doing the same, attempting to wake overtaxed brain cells and boost energy levels. As they revived, food began disappearing. Trays were just being cleared when Alex and the engineering team received a message from Julien.
<Admiral, our icon display on the silver ship’s hull was overlaid 0.6 hours ago with a blocking pattern generated by the occupants, and the aliens have been repeating an audible message over and over. We have ceased our laser projection and have translated the message. We believe it is, “Star Hunters plus beams. Swei Swee plus, or perhaps add, search. Denied the search plus travel the endless waters. Star Hunters plus then minus Swei Swee.” In the background is a complex harmony of voices, which Mutter believes is the hive singing.>
<What’s the team’s summary?> Alex asked.
<We believe, Admiral, the lack of gravitational waves in this area would have led to the hive’s death due to an interruption of their power source. The Swei Swee perceive the energy from our beams as the gift of life, and it is our choice as to whether they live or die.>
-20-
The SADEs determined that they had a sufficient vocabulary and syntax for Alex to convey basic questions to the Swei Swee. Cordelia informed Alex it would take many more days to elevate their understanding of the Swei Swee language to a more sophisticated level. It was time Alex didn’t think they had—or so said the hairs on the back of his neck.
Alex mulled over the meaning of the Swei Swee’s choral song. When it finally came time to begin his line of questioning, he chose the most direct path for his inquiry, one designed to help him understand whose side the Swei Swee would choose to be on, if they had a choice. First, he needed to get the occupants’ attention.
<Julien, briefly flash the laser on and off,> Alex requested. The blinking of the laser had the desired effect. The hive went silent. <Julien, send “Star Hunters plus Swei Swee equals search the endless waters,”> Alex said.
In response to Alex’s message came a powerful bridge of voices, singing for all they were worth.
<Admiral, I believe you have made some entities very happy,> Julien sent privately.
<And it was the two of us who believed they should be offered freedom, Julien,> Alex replied. <I have never been prouder of your support, my friend.>
On the Freedom’s bridge, Amelia and Eloise had the more demonstrative reactions of those listening throughout the flotilla to the Swei Swee’s song of jubilation. They jumped up and down, hugging one another and then everyone in sight. Their antics had Tomas, Lina, and the bridge personnel smiling. Like Julien, Amelia and Eloise had been ardent supporters of the Admiral’s plan, and now were being proven right.
<For the first question for our new acquaintances, Julien, send “Dark traveler equals Swei Swee.”> Alex was attempting to understand if the silver ships belonged to the Swei Swee.
<Admiral,> Cordelia said, after considering the response. <I translate the response of the First as “Dark traveler equals Nua’ll plus Swei Swee.”>
<This makes sense, Admiral,> said Julien. <The Swei Swee would appear to be the simpler beings. They were fishermen, and I would suspect miners of some sort, who were able to biologically construct crystal structures, possibly their homes. A telling point is that while the prison ship and the silver ships appear to move about on the same technology, the hulls are quite different. I would surmise the Swei Swee constructed the fighter shells around Nua’ll technology. If the Swei Swee did build the hulls, they would be able to enter and exit the hulls biologically, once planetside. However, they might be limited to exiting their ships only into a habitable, atmospheric environment. It would be an effective containment strategy by the Nua’ll.>
<Julien, send “Swei Swee world,”> Alex requested.
They received a set of sad warbling tones. The translation appeared to be “Swei Swee world equals negative.” While Alex considered the ramification of a “negative world,” the rear of the silver ship produced an image of a small Swei Swee, the same icon that Cordelia had used. As everyone watched, the image grew in size and a small Swei Swee emerged from the large entity and grew in size again.
“Two generations,” Alex murmured, and Julien relayed Alex’s words over the vid he was broadcasting. The generation cycle was repeated over and over. When it stopped, Alex exploded. “Black space, eight generations! They’ve been captive for eight generations.” Julien relayed only Alex’s latter statement to the flotilla. Unfortunately some Librans and New Terrans could read lips.
<Cordelia,> Alex said, <it’s time to get more creative since the Swei Swee are escalating communication. Create me a vid of Libre circling Arnos. Julien, when Libre completes one circle, send the tone for “one” and when it finishes a second cycle, send the tone for “two.” Cordelia, halt your vid after two cycles, then send a second vid repeating their vid of the young to adult Swei Swee, but play it slow. Julien, send a slow count synced to Cordelia’s second vid from one and up, repeating it for each cycle. Both of you, when you reach eight cycles, the number of imprisoned generations, repeat the vid of the transitions from young to adult and the count.> It was a complex question, but Alex needed to know if the Swei Swee had enough intelligence to be treated as partners against the prison ship or if they were just passengers along for the ride planetside and all the technological capability came from the Nua’ll.
Cordelia and Julien cycled through the vids and audio signals three times. A small cacophony of conversation broke out inside the silver ship, and it went on for nearly a quarter-hour.
“It appears, Admiral, we may have stumped them on this one,” Mickey said.
He had barely finished speaking when the display of young to adult appeared on the silver ship’s hull and the audio picked up a double-tone whistle.
<Fifty, Admiral,> Mutter sent, <which, if the Swei Swee have understood your question correctly, it means the annual cycle of Libre, at 1.2 Méridien years, times thei
r response of fifty equates to a lifespan of sixty years.>
“Admiral,” Mickey said sadly, “their race has been imprisoned for somewhere around 480 years.”
“Yes, Mickey, and I think it’s high time they were freed!” Alex said.
<Julien, send “Dark traveler sing dark traveler,”> Alex ordered.
<The response is affirmative, Admiral,> Mutter said. <The silver ships can communicate between one another.>
Now the escape plan begins, Alex thought. <Cordelia, I need a vid of the prison ship and two silver ships. Give me a dotted line that starts at one silver ship and extends to the other one. Keep repeating the line extending from one fighter to the other as if this was a comm signal. Form a circle around the prison ship after the dotted line is in its second iteration. Put that vid on a loop. Julien once the vid starts playing send “Dark traveler sing dark traveler,” then pause and send “Nua’ll.” Repeat the vid until we have an understandable response.>
After the Swei Swee watched the vid, the response was the now familiar odd sound followed by a single warbling tone, which translated as “Nua’ll negative.”
“So the Swei Swee can communicate between fighters without the Nua’ll hearing them. How foolish of the jailers,” Alex murmured.
<Cordelia,> Alex ordered, <play a vid of the prison ship with a world below it, but not Libre, and icons of the Swei Swee floating up from the planet to the prison ship.>
<Place the Swei Swee inside a silver ship, Admiral?> Cordelia asked, puzzled by Alex’s request.
<Negative, Cordelia, float the Swei Swee icons up by themselves.>
The response was a series of whistles and tweets, one of which was unfamiliar to Alex. Before Alex could question the SADEs, a new, heretofore unseen icon appeared on the rear of the silver ship, and the unfamiliar tone was repeated.
<Well I’ll be,> Stanley Peterson sent, <those things are now teaching us new words, Admiral. That odd tone must be “rings” or “ringed.”>
<A ringed dark traveler,> Alex translated.
<I believe that is correct, Admiral,> Mutter sent.
<So this ringed dark traveler is a ship we haven’t seen,> Alex said. <It would have to be bigger than the silver ships and of a different design if the silver ship hulls are Swei Swee creations.>
While the team considered Alex’s words, a second image appeared on the fighter’s hull. An odd, tube-shaped ship, similar to an ancient projectile, with concentric rings down its length appeared. It was positioned for a side view. Four silver ships, placed bow to stern, stretched underneath the ringed-ship to indicate its length.
<Julien, send “Ringed dark traveler negative,”> Alex requested, hoping the capture-ships no longer existed.
The response was “Ringed dark traveler positive.” It was followed by an icon of the prison ship with four ringed-ship icons overlaying its image. Mutter translated the long series of audio tones that accompanied the image. <Admiral, their message is “Four ringed dark travelers; ringed dark travelers plus world traveler.”>
<Capture-ships, Admiral?> Julien asked. <Vessels that the prison ship has kept aboard for centuries and that haven’t been needed for any other function?>
<Perhaps waiting for the day when these slaves revolt or die out and need to be replaced?> Cordelia wondered.
Let’s see what type of allies you would make, Alex thought. <Cordelia, I need an image of Libre with silver ships over top of the world. Julien, send “Star Hunter world.”>
The response was loud and strong, almost vehement. The SADEs and Alex could translate these simple sounds by now. It was “Negative, hunter world.”
<Julien, send “Star Hunter world positive.”>
Despite the alien nature of the communications, there was no mistaking anguish in the desperate response of “Negative, Nua’ll hunter world.”
<Julien, send “Star Hunters” and send the tones for “one hundred” twenty-two times,> Alex ordered.
This time there was no immediate response, only silence. Then first one individual and then another emitted odd, warbling tones until all joined into what could only be called wailing. The blended notes had a way of mesmerizing yet, at the same time, subtly fraying the nerves of the humans listening. A loud whistle cut across the hive’s lament, and the chorus ceased.
The engineering team heard the now recognizable whistles and tones of the First, but the message was too complex for easy translation. When the message ended, absolute silence fell—no background conversation, no chorus, no sound whatsoever.
<Mutter?> Alex requested.
<Your pardon, Admiral, but the message contains new tones and subtle changes to previously known notes and tweets.>
<I need your best guess, Mutter.>
Several moments of silence came from Mutter. Alex considered the ramifications of asking an AI as old as Mutter to guess. Probably an unfair request, Alex thought.
<Admiral,> Mutter finally said, <it is my supposition that we are hearing a message in two parts. The first part is an abject apology. The First repeats his message several times of the Nua’ll, hunters, and world. He appears to be communicating that the Nua’ll had identified the entities on Libre as hunters, which the Swei Swee consider aggressive entities against their kind. The second part of the message appears to offer us, the Star Hunters, to send the Swei Swee as travelers of the endless waters. I translate this as they are offering their lives for the harm they have done to the Star Hunter people.>
<Well done, Mutter,> Alex sent. Many of the pieces fit together and backed his suppositions, but he couldn’t help feeling he was missing something. The difficulty lay in asking complex questions with their simple vocabulary. He decided to posit a query and hoped the Swei Swee provided the answer as to why the Swei Swee hadn’t turned on the prison ship.
<Julien, send a short vid of the encounters of the Daggers and silver ships this last time. Show the losses on both sides. Simultaneously send, “Swei Swee search Star Hunters; Star Hunters search Swei Swee; Swei Swee negative search Nua’ll.”>
On the fighter’s rear, the outline of the Nua’ll ship appeared and a bright yellow-green dot began blinking on and off in the center of the dot.
<Anyone with an idea?> Alex asked.
Julien began enlarging the image on the engineering vid screen while the team watched. Soon the bright blinking dot filled the screen. It wasn’t a single dot. It was composed of a mass of individual dots. Julien kept enlarging the image until a single dot revealed a circle encompassing the dim outline of a Swei Swee.
<Their young … hatchlings,> Alex received from Renée. He relayed the thought to the team, sending, <Renée says the circles are Swei Swee eggs, hatchlings. That’s the Nua’ll’s leverage. They’re holding the Swei Swee young hostage to keep the parents in line.>
Alex took a moment to consider his next line of communication then ordered, <Julien, send two messages, one after the other. Send “Swei Swee search the endless waters,” then “Star Hunters plus Swei Swee equal Nua’ll negative.”>
When the team received no response, Julien sent the message again. Everyone waited in silence for a reply. Of interest to every human of the flotilla was that no discussion took place among the Swei Swee. The decision appeared to remain with the First.
Finally, the First’s whistled response came through clearly. Mutter translated it as “Swei Swee search the endless waters; Nua’ll travel the endless waters.”
<Julien, send “Affirmative,”> Alex sent, sitting down in a chair, a satisfied smile plastered across his face.
The team heard the hive chorus a single tone, repeated over and over, but with endless twists and turns on the basic note. In their implants, they heard Mutter repeat, <“Affirmative, affirmative, affirmative.”>
The First’s whistle ended the chant and his following notes were translated as “Star Hunter First.”
Cordelia took the initiative to project an image of Alex in
his Admiral’s uniform on the rear of the fighter. It effectively ended the celebratory chorus.
<You may have frightened them more than the Nua’ll have, Cordelia,> Alex quipped, taking notice of the absolute silence.
“Admiral,” Claude said, “if you will, please regard the resonance imager.”
Alex walked over to the imager’s output screen, which showed the Swei Swee hive bobbing up and down in unison. The scene gave Alex an eerie feeling.
<It appears you have accumulated more admirers, Admiral,> Julien said as he inserted the thermal image into the Engineering Suite’s broadcast to the flotilla. <One wonders when you will cease collecting the lost and forsaken of this universe.>
-21-
Since Alex and the SADEs couldn’t think of a way to communicate to the Swei Swee that they needed time to think, it fell to Cordelia and Mutter to keep them entertained while Alex met with his officers. Cordelia had already designed the next 1,571 icons and vids she would employ, so she made use of the time to add to the Swei Swee language base.
Julien sought to divest himself of overwhelming duties. He relayed the Engineering Suite’s output to Cordelia, passing her the responsibility to filter the final output to the flotilla, but he kept for himself the creation of the vid destined for New Terra every three hours. It freed his processing power to manage the demands of the Admiral’s meeting with the flotilla’s officers, which entailed mirroring the Rêveur’s holo-vid to the Money Maker and the Freedom.
As one of the earliest SADEs, Mutter was hard pressed to juggle her responsibilities which were managing the holo-vid display for the Captain and crew, driving the analysis of the Swei Swee’s responses, and maintaining the Money Maker’s operations. That she was accomplishing her tasks, even if barely, pleased her to no end.
Alex, Andrea, and Edouard gathered around the Rêveur’s bridge holo-vid. Lazlo, Ahmed, Tatia and Sheila were gazing at the mirrored-image on the Money Maker’s bridge. Captain Cordova and Tomas were spectators on the bridge of the Freedom. They didn’t expect to participate, but Alex wanted them to know his plans and under what conditions they should employ their emergency orders. Julien linked all of their implants in a conference comm.