“I am heartily sorry youfeel that way but, you must admit, the Lignatian-Human contact wassomething you initiated. The people of the Valiantdidn’t ask to be part of this grand experiment ofyours, they didn’t even consentto it.”
“Neither did we consent tobeing deceived. Why did you appear when you did? How did you knowof the humans on Tolu?”
“We picked up theirdistress signal and noted the apparent presence of a human who weknew for a fact, had died hundreds of years ago. If you’re accusinghumanity of running some kind of long con on the Lignatians – thevery notion is preposterous. The Valiant was destroyed in anaccident – your ownprobes should have told you that—”
“You have bragged of yourcunning and resourcefulness. It is preposterous to suppose such arace would take advantage of our error as soon as they discoveredit? How long have you known of the situation here onJileesa?”
“We got our first inklingof it when the Lovelacestumbled on the Aurora’s distresssignal.”
“Very convenient thathumans were exploring in this region of space – with so little ofinterest nearby.” Ricci could see this situation was rapidlydevolving and so took time to offer a detailed explanationof Lovelace’s original mission in that sector. Millua asked, “You admit toremoving a valuable resource from that planet. Did you havepermission from the planet’s inhabitants?”
“We paid for theinformation from the alien race who discovered it, yes.”
“Were they inhabitants ofthat planet?”
Ricci saw no advantage indissembling so he admitted, “No. The planet has no sapientinhabitants so there was no way to communicate withthem.”
After a moment of silence,Millua decreed, “I see more and more that humans in their naturalstate are a most cunning and avaricious race. We cannot trust inanything these humans impart. Vipin Drawde, escort them back to thechamber. We will deliberate on a suitable remedy.”
Drawde asked, “Does thismean a possible delay in bringing Experiment Alktata to itsconclusion?”
“No, that will proceed asscheduled, when the Aurorareturns to Jileesa. It appears they will be ableto do so, now, without our assistance.”
The energy barrier betweenthe humans and the Lignatians abruptly turned once again opaque.While Ricci was mulling over the unsatisfactory encounter, Kaplitaasked Drawde, “When you say that you’re concluding ExperimentAlktata – I assume that means you’re planning to send all of thehumans to New Earth. How long will that take?”
The blue figure turned andstarted walking out of the cramped space into the corridor – onlyresponding to the question once Ricci and the others had followed.“No, we will not be sending the humans to New Earth. They haveproved, once again, that they are unable to survive on theirown.”
Ricci was unsurprised tofind that the Aurora had been a repeat failure. “How many times have youtried?”
“The latest was the thirdsuch expedition. And last. The Lignatian populace has wearied ofthis burden. Wayru Millua rose to power by promising to relievethem of it.”
“If I might ask,” Jacowaysaid, “how does Millua intend to do that? What was the exactpromise?”
There was a pause, ominousin its length, before Drawde finally answered. “The promise wasthat another failure would result in an immediate shuttering of thehuman environment – along with those who reside in it.”
They were all stunned, butBayer was first to put it into words. “Shuttering? That’s a niceway of describing mass murder. You’re talking aboutkilling the thousands ofhumans that you Lignatians brought into being.”
Drawde replied, “I canpromise that it will be an entirely painless process. No human willbe sensible of any discomfort.”
“But there’s no need forthis! If you don’t want to send them to New Earth, send them all toUniterrae,” Jacoway urged. “We’ll be glad to take care ofthem.”
“The decision was made bythe Council before your arrival. The Regional Section Headsendorsed it by an overwhelming majority and it is, therefore,irrevocable. No additional Lignatian resources will be expended onthe humans. The ships and other supplies which were readied forthat journey, are all to be directed back towards Jileesa. Theywill not be made available to transport the humans toUniterrae.”
The slim hope of reprieveMatt had been nurturing, curdled within him. “I don’t believe thisis actually about resources. Millua is determined to make a show ofkilling all the humans. And now that includes theLovelace crew, too.”Ricci stared at Drawde, challenge in his eyes. “That’s the remedythey’re debating for us – isn’t it?”
“I would imagine so – yourknowledge of Jileesa’s precise location will seal your fate. TheRuling Council is unlikely to make any move that would risk ourplanet being exposed to the rest of the galaxy.”
***
Jacoway was dumbfoundedand sickened by the casual attitude the Lignatians were displayingtowards the proposed slaughter of thousands of innocent beings. Hecouldn’t help but admire the captain’s ability to coolly demandthat Vipin Drawde escort them back to the shuttle. When Drawdeinformed them that they would not be allowed to rejoin theLovelace, Ricci stillinsisted on being allowed to spend the intervening time on theshuttle rather than in the Lignatian-Human contact zone.
Drawde asked, “Why do youwish for such a thing? I must tell you that we can render theshuttle incapable of flight in the human containmentarea.”
“I’d like to inform therest of my crew about our situation. If their lives are on theline, I think they deserve to know that.”
“The Council will notallow that. Your ship is heavily armed and Jileesa cannot risk anattack.”
“I would have thought youpeople also have ways of neutralizing our weaponry.”
“We have defensivetechnology, but the best defense is to give your people no reasonto attack in the first place.”
“I see.” After a briefpause, Ricci asked, “Is the Council’s deliberation likely to belengthy?”
“I am afraid so. Even ifthe Ruling Council makes their decision quickly, a matter of thisimport must be ratified by Jileesa’s entire legislative body –including the regional heads. It will take some time to gather themall – probably more than a day, as you measure it.”
“If that’s the case, thenwe will be much more comfortable on the
