ChienChu nodded toward the front of the shuttle. Jepp had stripped to the waist and allowed Alpha to dress his wound. “And Jepp? What do you think of him?”
Feathers rose and fell. “I intend no offense to either you or your race—but he seems unhinged.”
“What are you two talking about?” Jepp demanded.
“Stop whispering.”
“Sorry,” ChienChu replied. “I asked how your companion came to be with the fleet. Nothing more.”
“Good,” Jepp said sourly. “You may be a big deal on Earth—but not out here. Hostages are expendable—so shut the hell up.”
The Hoon monitored the exchange but learned little of value. The soft bodies seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on meaningless communication. No wonder they were doomed to extinction. The shuttle announced its arrival, scooted past a picket ship, and was welcomed back into the fold. Though unable to meet with the Sheen envoy, the Thraki had been seated at the back of the room when Holander launched his murderous attack and felt themselves lucky to have escaped unharmed. But now, as Andragna reboarded his battleship, he felt more than a little depressed. The Confederacy knew about the twins.. . and negotiations had proven fruitless. His people would fight alone. The Hoon would make a move soon. Unless he moved first. Expression grim, the admiral entered the lock.
Soon after the shuttle put down, ChienChu was escorted through the nano-draped bay and out into the ship’s sterile corridors. It was then that the security units seemed to lose interest and wandered away. Jepp, still angry at the manner in which he had been cheated, turned his back and left. That left Veera to explain. She steered the cyborg toward her compartment. Sam took care of the translation. “There’s nothing biologicals can do to hurt the ship—so the Hoon allows them to roam free.”
“But where is everyone?” ChienChu asked, as he looked around. “Machines don’t need airlocks—biologicals do. What happened to the beings mat created these vessels?”
“That is an excellent question,” Veera warbled as they entered her cabin. “Especially in light of the way the Thraki look. I had never seen one until I boarded your ship. They were sitting toward the rear of that big room. I’m sorry about the lack of furniture—but you could sit on that box.”
ChienChu accepted her invitation. Outside of some cartons stacked along one bulkhead, and a nest shaped bed, the compartment was nearly empty. *’ ‘The way the Thraki lookT What does that have to do with anything?”
“They’re small,” the Prithian replied patiently. “Did you try the seats on the shuttle? Jepp hates them. That’s because they are too small for his frame.”
ChienChu frowned. “What are you trying to suggest? That the Thraki created this fleet? That they programmed the Sheen to pursue them? No offense, but that makes no sense whatsoever.”
“Perhaps,” Veera answered calmly, “but I’ve had time to study the matter and would ask that you consider the following facts: The creators were diminutive—and so are the Thraki. You’ll have to look long and hard to find any sort of written symbols on this ship—but what few there are bear a close resemblance to Thraki pictographs. More than that, take a close look at Sam here. The Thraki like robots and are good at designing them, so much so that they spend a good deal of time and energy creating handcrafted mechanical pets. Is that a matter of coincidence?
Maybe. But maybe not. Then there’s the matter of the religion One of their most fearsome gods is referred to as ‘The great Hoonara.’ The computer that controls the fleet is called *the Hoon.’ “
ChienChu felt a rising sense of excitement. What if the teenager was correct? But how could that be? It seemed illogical “It makes for an interesting hypothesis,” the industrialist allowed, “but why? Why would the Thraki do such a thing?”
The Prithian cocked her head. “Are you familiar with the concept of symbiosis?”
“Yes, it refers to dissimilar organisms living in close association with each other.”
“Precisely,” Veera agreed. “Organisms living in a mutually advantageous manner. And that could explain what’s going on here. Suppose that the ancient Thraki feared for the future of the species? Thought their civilization had grown too comfortable, too privileged, too prone to decay. What if they decided to recast the future? To transform themselves from pleasure seekers to a race of warriors? Forever pursued—but strengthened by the process?”
ChienChu was stunned by the sweep of the youngster’s vision, by the manner in which she jumped to what seemed like a wild hypothesis, but one that rang true. Perhaps there had been a society like the one she envisioned. A culture so rich, so self-satisfied, that it started to rot. And maybe there had been visionaries, males and females who saw where the rot would lead and took steps to prevent it. If so, they would launched a fleet, no two fleets, one for the machines programmed to hunt them down, and one for themselves, or those who agreed to go, for it was hard to imagine that more than a few hundred thousand beings would sign up for such a plan. And the strategy worked! Not for every individual, not for those murdered by the Sheen, but for the organism as a whole. It might have been noble in a twisted sort of way if it weren’t for the fact that the Sheen had attacked other races as well, and more than that, continued to do so. Except. . .
ChienChu found the Prithian’s eyes. “You are brilliant, i Veera—truly brilliant. Your hypothesis makes a great deal
