“It might be that we’re not doing anything that rouses their curiosity,” Jai pointed out. He pushed his curry away from him and sat back, the green tea he liked in a porcelain cup in one hand. “We just don’t know what will bring them running.”
“Last time, they staked out the Ige Ibas, and waited for us to arrive,” I pointed out. “Maybe they’re doing that with some other ship, in some other section of the galaxy.”
These were all possibilities that Lyssa had come up with only a couple of hours ago. I was playing devil’s advocate, because sometimes a human mind could reach for weird associations that a more literal shipmind wouldn’t consider. Creativity was one of the Turing flags for that reason.
“Or they didn’t like the way we responded to them last time, and won’t be back,” Lyth said. “Bullies usually fold when they meet someone with backbone.”
Kristiana shook her small head. “These guys aren’t bullies. They don’t get pleasure out of pounding on the little guys.”
“Then what are they?” I asked, for she was a politician and understood how power worked.
Her forkful of lasagna hung in midair, dripping tomato sauce and cheese, while she considered. “They were strictly business. They gave up after you proved to be too much trouble and left. They didn’t crumble at the first resistance the way a bully would. And they didn’t hang in there until the bitter end the way a patriot would.”
“They cut their losses,” Dalton murmured and reached for the shepherd’s pie.
Kristiana nodded, then remembered her lasagna and went back to eating.
Jai tilted his head a little, considering me. “We have no choice but to wait and see if they come to us once more. We have no idea what attracts their attention, or what makes a target look promising to them.”
“We only know that they have learned to take humans,” Fiori added. She always looked tired and today was no different. “We don’t know what they want with them.”
I nodded. It was wearing her down, not knowing what had happened to Mace. Dalton seemed to be bearing up better than her, but I knew that he had been spending long hours exercising and putting himself through all the old Ranger drills he’d learned in basic training, that kept the body flexible and ready for battle. He looked sleek and fit, and was likely sleeping better at night than Fiori, who didn’t have a surgery or patients to keep her occupied.
“Kristiana says we must wait. Does anyone disagree with her? And if you do disagree, what do you propose we do, instead?” I asked.
“I think we should take the fight to them,” Calpurnia said.
“We don’t know where they are,” Yoan countered.
“Or where they’re from,” Anderson Marlow added. “It could be that this one ship Danny encountered is some sort of rogue outfit. Pirates that leave their peace-loving race ashamed of them for their ways. We can’t judge their whole species based upon the action of the one ship and crew we’ve seen.”
“Four ships taken, that we know of, so far,” I pointed out.
“Among the millions that ply the known worlds,” Marlow shot back. “My argument still stands.”
I nodded. “So, we should stay?”
Silence.
Jai said, “That is why you brought us here, isn’t it? You wanted us to re-examine why we are here and commit to it once more.”
I smiled at him. “It helps stop us going crazy, if we remember why we’re here. And here is another question for you. At what point do we say this isn’t working, and go home?”
“Go home and do what?” Juliyana asked in a reasonable tone. “I have a contract to complete and a lot of money rides on it. I stay out here until I find the bastards.”
Calpurnia didn’t look happy about that, but she said nothing.
“It’s our son out there somewhere,” Dalton said. “I stay out here until I get him back.”
“Me, too,” Fiori added.
Sauli waved his steak knife at me. “As long as you’re putting on dinner parties, I’m in.” Which was sweet of him to say because I knew the Omia would have the luxury food files.
“You might need me,” Lyth said. “I’m staying.”
I looked at Jai and Marlow. “You two came along because you wanted to know what was going on, but you have lives and commitments—”
“We all do,” Kristiana interjected.
“Granted, but Jai isn’t saying anything, and Marlow just looks thoughtful.” I stared at them. “We can take you back whenever you want.”
Jai was still cradling his teacup in his hands. He sipped, not at all bothered by having everyone stare at him.
Marlow glanced at Jai. Their gazes met and Marlow nodded the smallest amount and sat back.
“The thing is, this shouldn’t have happened,” Jai said.
“What? Pirates stealing people?” Yoan asked, puzzled.
“I mean, an alien species that appears to be bipedal, about our height, our level of intelligence and with a degree of technology that nearly matches, if not out-strips our own, but not so much that they’re unstoppable.”
“The odds against that are so remote, it’s nigh impossible to compute,” Marlow added, his voice low and soft. “I’ve sat through more meetings with scientists than any of you could possibly withstand, so I know a bit about this, because they had the same arguments about the array, and how impossible it was that the thing should exist.”
“Despite the fact that it existed?” Lyth shook his head. “Scientists…”
Marlow just grinned. “Same situation here. We have come across aliens who rightfully shouldn’t exist…at least, not in this time and place.”
“The section of the Carina arm that humans have settled,” Jai said, “what we used to call the Empire, but now just call the known worlds…it is an infinitesimally small portion of the galaxy. Humans developed on Terra so long ago its location
