Chapter 18

Raista, 31 Demaa, 4395 Orthodox Calendar

Wednesday, 17 November, 2008, Native Regional Reckoning

Kosiningi Emergency Response Center, Zoka Prefecture, Karis (Old Karinne Designation)

It took a while.

Jason had been taken to a room that looked like a hotel room, a sterile kind of place with a single bed and an old computer-like unit sitting on a desk under a window and a chair, but nothing else. He sat in that chair, for a very long time, and tried to come to grips with the truth that was revealed to him, to them.

The Karinnes were genetically engineered.

That was…was unbelievable. The house experimented on itself. They had to be crazy! And after the engineering experiments, they continued on with a breeding program, trying to evolve the perfect Karinne. The entire house seemed involved in this effort, everything revolving around this core goal, all other research and projects merely side efforts to keep the Karinnes busy while they waited over the generations for the arrival of their ultimate progeny.

What would they have done if they would have succeeded? What would this “perfect Faey” have done?

It seemed…evil. These people, they had become blinded by their own obsession. They had lost sight of what they were doing and become consumed by the act. He remembered what he read, that the Karinnes had become withdrawn from the Imperium, arrogant, scornful. If they would have succeeded, if they would have produced their ultimate Faey and built the ultimate machine to pair with her, how would that “super being” see the rest of the Imperium? Would she see them as her own people, or would she and the Karinnes seen them as inferior beings, people that had to be controlled, which would have started a war?

God.

Jason couldn’t blame the rest of the Imperium for attacking the Karinnes. God, they may have saved themselves.

He sat there in the chair, sometimes with this elbows on the desk, sometimes leaning back looking up at the ceiling, sometimes leaning back and looking out the window, trying to understand, trying to wrap his mind around it.

It just wasn’t hard to fathom that he was descended from an artificially produced line that might have started a fourth civil war.

Oh, his origins didn’t bother him quite that much. He could accept that he was the product of genetic engineering, that the Faey that had come to Earth and been his ancestor was one of the Generations. Despite a thousand or more years of dilution of that “perfect” DNA by human breeding, he was still enough of a Karinne to function as one of their Generations, able to use their gestalts, able to comprehend the communion of their telepathic computers.

But to him, it was like discovering he was the long-lost great-great nephew of Adolph Hitler. He was part of a family, an organization, that had totally lost its mind and embarked on a project that destroyed their morality and consumed them in nothing but the need to be right, no matter what it cost them or their house.

And their destruction was the result. A destruction he could not blame on anyone but the Karinnes.

There were other organizations he could look at that way…like the Nazis.

The project is a failure, he thought to himself, remembering the words. The project failed before it began! Thank God that Koiri Karinne understood that at the end and forbade the survivors from restarting the program!

He sighed and stood up. It was late afternoon now, and the sun was setting over a sea of gorgeous crystalline blue. A dead ocean, but a pretty one. “Time to get to work,” he grunted to himself. There was more to do. Miaari sent him here to learn the truth, but this revelation was not the whole truth. There had to be something here that would save Earth from the Trillanes, and he had to find it. And he had to know, he had to know what had happened, he had to know more about the Karinnes.

He wasn’t exactly sure where he was, but he had no trouble getting around. When he realized he was lost, wandering in what looked like a hotel or a dormitory, a long hall lined with doors with similar rooms to his, a map appeared in his mind’s eye, supplied by the gestalt, showing him the entire compound. It marked him a route back to the computer core, which was his destination, and guided him with arrows in his vision when he reached turns. It guided him unerringly back to the core.

There was no one in the computer core. Casting out showed him that everyone was either resting or basicly just dicking around. Lyn, Bryn, Sheleese, and Ilia were in a large building near the ocean, probably looking around, Maya and Min were down at the beach on the west side of the island, Myleena was in one of the rooms in the building where he’d been. Songa and Myri were upstairs, Meya and Yana were close to the compound, out in the forest, probably looking at the trees.

What was it Koiri Karinne said? That the last surviving CBIM would finish cleaning up the radiation? Was it also responsible for the trees here? “Did you clean up the radiation?” he asked aloud, mainly to himself.

[Correct,] the voice of the computer sounded in his mind. [It was my task to recover this planet after the attack. I have partially completed that task, but am unable to continue due to the loss of too many remote units. I no longer have the resources to continue the reclamation effort.]

“How, how do I, uh, answer?” he asked.

[Merely send to me, Jason Fox. But you must send in the same manner I send to you. I cannot hear conventional sending. I have been told that it is very easy for the Karinnes to do.]

In the same manner. The way the computer sent did feel different, more…logical. More structured. He wrapped his mind around the idea of it, and tried to answer. He failed, then closed his eyes and tried to think like that, and tried again.

[Like this?]

[Perfect. It is good to see you well. I hope I did not inconvenience you too much, Master Karinne. I fear your cousin is not in as good spirits. I am monitoring her now. Her vital signs are stressed, and her mental activity is elevated and disjointed. She is suffering from shock. I regret answering your question in the manner in which I did. I did not realize you would react so to the answer.]

[It was a shock,] he told it. [But theres more to answer, computer, and I have to know.]

[My answers are yours, Master Karinne, and it has been my designation, or name, to be known as Cybi. All security protocols have been removed by Koiri Karinne, except the protocols around the technical data of the Program. I am permitted to answer questions about it, but not help you restart it.]

[Trust me, I never want to see it restarted,] he answered. [And don’t call me that, my name is Jason. Call me Jason. We were sent here by a Kimdori. How did they get involved? What was their role in all this?]

[The Kimdori? The Kimdori and the Karinnes were very close, Jason.]

[How did they get involved in the Program? They had to be involved in it.]

[They were critical to it.] The hologram of the nude image of Sora Karinne appeared before him, and then she raised her right hand to direct his attention to another hologram that wavered into being beside her. It showed a Kimdori male and a Faey female standing side by side. [Kimdori have unusual genetic abilities, Jason. They can invade and transform alien organic matter to match their own viral structure, but they can also invade the nervous system of other creatures and gain access to it, tricking the victim creature’s nervous system into believing that the Kimdori is merely another part of itself. In this manner, they can access the brain of a host creature and extract information.]

[Okay, I knew some of that, but not how they did it.]

[Kimdori DNA was the base of the bio-organic crystals that form the core of a biogenic computer,] the image told him. [Their metagenic properties allow them to adapt dynamically, and it was through a combination of Kimdori and Faey DNA, combined into the DNA of a silicon-based crystalline life form native to the Kimdori homeworld, they developed special organic but non-living crystals that had telepathic awareness.]

Holy cow…that was fucking brilliant.

[There was a problem, however. The crystals were telepathic, but Faey could not undestand them. They could understand each other well enough, but they lacked the ability to interface with Faey. They could not solve this problem, so, instead of trying to build a computer that could interface with a Faey, they—]

“They made a Faey that could interface with the computer!” he gasped aloud.

[Indeed. That was the beginning of the Generations program. The Kimdori assisted us in this as they assisted us with the crystals. A recombinent DNA sequence was generated that combined the necessary aspects of Faey and Kimdori DNA that would give a Faey the necessary sensitivity to interface with the biogenic crystals. The experiment was a success. Then, gene therapy was ordered for the entire house after it was refined, and in this it was moderately successful. Some Karinnes successfully took the treatment and their DNA was altered. Some died from the treatment, and some had their bodies reject the treatment, and they remained unaltered. But enough of the house was changed to permit expansion of the gene pool by breeding. My image’s namesake, Sora Karinne, was the first child born of altered parents. All CBIMs carry her image as their visual interface in her honor. She was the First Generation, and the mother of your line, Jason.

[After the institution of the Generations program, other breakthroughs were made. They developed a new type of biogenic crystal that could receive Faey sending, but not respond. But, instead of abandoning the Generations program, they decided to continue on, for the Generations were still far superior to the new technology. They did refine this new system, however. Gestalts were made for the unaltered members of the house made of these new crystals. They didn’t give them the same functions as true gestalts, but they did allow for some moderate usefulness. These interfaces allowed unaltered Karinnes to issue telepathic commands to machines, but only on a one way basis. They also lacked the amplifying abilities of the gestalt. They were built to resemble a gestalt, however, and it became a tradition for all members of the house to wear what you now wear, Jason. The gestalt and the interface became the singular identifying mark of the Karinnes.]

Jason touched the gestalt on his face, and pondered that. That was a…logical, way to go about it, he guessed. If they just couldn’t build a computer that could send to a Faey, well, just make a Faey that could send to the computer. [But how did the Kimdori get involved? Why are they so concerned about me? Miaari said that the Kimdori care very much about me, and I don’t understand why. What’s the connection between the Karinnes and the Kimdori?]

[The Karinnes and Kimdori are deeply intertwined, Jason. We served as their intermediary in many things, and they helped us in the Program. The Kimdori kept several of the clans here, on Karis, where we helped train them and prepare them for their duties. After the Generations program began, the Kimdori saw the Karinnes as simply a new branch of their race. They called the Karinne “cousins.” Even though there is less than .01% of Kimdori DNA inside you, they felt that that was enough to consider the Karinnes family, because they would look upon the Karinnes and know them, just as they knew each other. That unseen side effect was why the Kimdori saw the Karinnes as family.]

Jason lowered his head and pondered it. It did make a kind of sense. If the Kimdori saw the Karinnes as part of the family unit, part of the family, they would definitely go to great lengths for them. Pack mentality, Symone had called it. [Was this what Miaari wanted me to find out? Is this the truth they’ve been hiding all these years? The origins of the Karinnes?]

[They would never reveal a secret, Jason. It is against Kimdori ways. They are bound by ancient oaths to never reveal what they know of us. They would not tell you the truth, even though you are one of us. It would be forbidden.]

[Yeah, I figured that out. Kiaari told me once that the Kimdori cared very much about what was happening, but they weren’t allowed to directly interfere.]

[They also are forbidden to insinuate themselves in the affairs of others of their own volition,] the computer told him. [They may interfere if hired by another as part of their own activities, but they cannot take initiative. The Kimdori are watchers, Jason, not meddlers. They meddle when and where it suits them at the behest of the involved races, but they take no direct hand of action, in any matter that is not solely their own.]

[Well, that explains why Kiaari always says she’s doing what she was hired to do, and would never tell me what to do, only suggest,] he mused. [But I think they broke those rules for me. Miaari sent one of her clan Elders to cure me of a disease I contracted on Moridon.]

[Ah, the bio-agent. That is what brought the Kimdori and the Karinnes together, Jason.]

[How so?]

[Well, the Moridon, being who they are, saw the Kimdori as a threat to their security. So, they engineered a complex molecule bioagent to attack any Kimdori that visited Moridon. It was effective, but what the Moridons probably did not realize was that it took a long time for the agent to do its work on a Kimdori, and that those Kimdori infected by the agent were contagious. To make the story a short one, it literally threatened their race with eradication. I am sure the Moridons did not intend this,] the computer mused. [It is not their nature. The Kimdori came to the Karinnes in desperation, seeking help to find a cure, for it was well known that Karinne science and their geneticists were among the finest in the galaxy. The Karinnes found a cure for the bioagent and saved the Kimdori race. Since that day, the Kimdori have been the staunchest allies of the House of Karinne. And, as I think you have deduced, the Generations are also vulnerable to that agent. The segments of Kimdori DNA it attacks are also part of your DNA, and to the agent, you look like a Kimdori. It killed several Generations that visited Moridon until they were able to develop a vaccine.]

[Maeda Karinne.]

[She was one such victim, yes. But there were others that did not become common knowledge.]

Okay, that just answered a lot of questions. That was why the Kimdori were so hell-bent to help him, it was why they were going to such extemes. Not only was he considered family, he was among the last of a branch of the Kimdori “family” that was wiped out. And that loyalty was instilled by the act of Karinne doctors, who had helped the Kimdori find a cure for a deadly disease.

That was how they knew how to cure him.

[And the Kimdori knew everything,] Jason realized.

[Everything that the Generations knew, the Kimdori knew,] the computer, Cybi, affirmed.

[Wow. Well, how did you survive the attack?]

[My computer core can be withdrawn to the upper mantle of Karis,] it replied. [At the beginning of the attack, I was evacuated, and I was reseated in my original position after it was safe to do so. This is the Disaster Recovery Center, Jason. This compound exists to deal with a disaster. The Karinnes planned for disaster, but I do not think they could plan for what happened to Karis. When it was over, I was the only CBIM remaining, and upon me fell the task of undertaking disaster recovery procedures.]

[What is a CBIM?]

[Command Biogenic Interface Mainframe,] Cybi replied. [I am a supercomputer with the necessary tertiary systems to interface with distant remote units, since the planet’s communication system was destroyed in the attack. Those remote units, or robots, have cleaned up the radiation, but I lack sufficient maintenance facilities to maintain them. Their lifespan was only measured at two hundred years, and they far exceeded that time frame. Over the years, they began to fail. Now, there are none left. The last of the reclamation units stands non-functional on the far side of the island, after it managed to seed the island with stored plant seed. I have other tasks to perform, for it is my duty to restart the ecosystem of the planet, but I no longer have remote resources available to carry out these tasks.]

[What else is here? I think Miaari sent me here to find something that’ll help with what’s going on on my home planet.]

[Explain.]

It was hard to explain, so Jason tried instead sending a jumble of memories and experiences. In the blink of an eye, he tried to transmit enough information for the computer to understand what was going on on Earth.

[I understand,] Cybi noted. [The Karinnes did not keep what you would call a standing military, Jason. There were some prototypes and some concept ships, but Karinne had no navy, and had no army. There are three prototype warships at the lunar base, and within this facility there are two very old Nova fighters and a Karinne dropship, all three of which are unarmed. There is, however, a Gladiator E-mech, in the main hangar, which is armed and armored, but it is currently offline and in need of repair. The reclamation unit that failed on the island brought it from Zurya Prefecture when it was recalled. Karinne technology was much different from Faey technology. If you are to repair them, you must understand this.]

“Well, that’s what engineers do,” Myleena said from the doorway. Jason turned and looked at her. She looked a mess, her eyes a bit puffy and her hair askew, but she gave him a wan smile. He reached out his hand to her as she approached, but she pushed her way into his arms instead. He held her for a long moment, giving her comfort.

Are you alright? Jason asked.

I’ve felt better. That was one fucking hell of a bomb that Kimdori whore dropped on us, she told him in reply. I just realized a bit ago that freaking out wasn’t going to do anything to help, so I gathered up myself and decided to come down here and find out what the fuck happened.

[Now that the two of you are together and alone, I must ask this. My scans determine that both of you are of the 97^th Generation, which gives you equal status within the house. So, which of the two of you would have higher rank within the house?]

[Higher rank? What do you mean?]

How did you do that? Myleena asked in surprise. Send like it does?

Sharing a mental memory with her, he showed her how he had learned it. [Like this?]

[Just so,] the computer said, the image nodding. [Now, which of you would be of higher rank within Karinne?]

[Well, I’m a Merrane by birth,] Myleena told the computer. [Jason would be the ranking Karinne, because he’s not already part of another house.]

[Then it falls upon you, Jason.] The image motioned with its left hand, and a tiny door opened in the floor. A pedestal rose up from the floor, and then the top of it opened, revealing a small box. To Jason’s surprise, the box rose up from the pedestal and floated over to them. [As the ranking member of Karinne, this belongs to you.]

Jason took the box, and felt that it had no wires or anything. How had it moved? He opened it, and found himself looking at a soft cloth cushion. Wedged into it was a gold ring, upon which the face of it was engraved the crest of Karinne.

It was the insignia ring of the Karinnes!

[This, the ring of Karinne, now belongs to you. I would name you Grand Duke Karinne, but you would be lord of a dead planet and ruler of a house of two,] it said with not a little cynicism. [But I was bade by Grand Duchess Koiri Karinne to surrender unto the ranking survivor of the house this ring, and thus I have fulfilled my duty.]

Jason looked at it. It looked to be made of gold, but it was strangely warm to the touch. He turned it over in his hands and held it so they could both look at it, and Myleena reached down and touched it, slid her finger along the border of the crest.

[Well, at least it’ll be a nice souvenir,] Myleena sent with dark humor.

[Something to set on my mantle,] he agreed. [So, there’s nothing here I can use to fight Trillane?] he asked Cybi.

[There are things here, but it would take a great deal of work,] Cybi answered. [I believe a reclamation unit could be converted into a battle unit, but it would need extensive repair and refit.]

[Then why did Miaari send us here?] Jason fretted. [My people are in danger back on Earth! I know this is important, that she felt it was vital I know the truth, but damn it all, I’m needed back home.]

[For one, I am glad you have come, Jason. I have waited for centuries for the Karinnes to come home. Now I have purpose once more, rather than waiting alone and in silence.]

He knew it was a bit odd, but he felt sorry for the computer. A thousand years of carrying out its final tasks, waiting for survivors to come home that may never arrive, with nothing to do but wait and to listen.

[I’m sorry you had to be here alone for so long, but we’ll be leaving soon. Is there some way we could take you with us?]

[No, my core is not designed to be removed from this facility. But if you can repair the main communications array on top of the communications building, I can establish a link with your gesstalt that would allow me communications. You may return to your Earth, but I will be able to send you messages. I can also query other installations, other compounds, and see if any other systems are operational. They might be of use to you. It would permit me to gain contact with the lunar base, for example, see if there are any biogenic systems still online. The attack fleet did not know it was there. It is undamaged. The lunar base did not have a CBIS, but it did have a biogenic mainframe.]

[Could there have been survivors?] Myleena asked.

[If there were, they would have fled long ago,] Cybi answered. [It was their descendents I hoped would return to Karis. For all we know, they have. You could be their descendents.]

[Maybe Jason’s, but my Karinne ancestor was Zuy Merrane—er, Karinne.]

[Brother to Gora Karinne,] Cybi said immediately. [Married into House Merrane for the purpose of producing a child with Sera Merrane, a genetically superior female. He was to return to the house after producing the heir.]

[That’s why I’m here? Because the Karinnes wanted to breed with a Merrane?]

[The short answer, Myleena Merrane, is yes. House Karinne saw admirable genetic qualities in a Merrane female, and wished to introduce her genetic qualities into the line. Zuy Karinne died after impregnating Sera Merrane, and so that offspring remained within House Merrane. Plans were made to return the child to Karinne, but the house was destroyed before those plans were executed.]

[They were going to kidnap the child?]

[I do not have that information. It is possible,] Cybi answered honestly. [It is not the first out-of-house breeding ordered. Genetically superior Faey from outside the house were often used to enrich the line. My scans indicate that the young Faey female Jason’s memory designates as Private Yana would be a prime candidate for such a breeding partner. My scans indicate she is gifted in talent, on par with a Karinne female.]

Let it go, Jason warned in normal sending. Let it go. Remember, this was a thousand years ago, and it’ll never happen again.

Damn right it won’t, she agreed heatedly.

[Jason’s ancestor was not one of the lunar crew, for his DNA indicates he is directly of your line, Myleena,] the computer told them. [The only unaccounted for member of your line from that era is Zera Karinne, older sister of Zuy and Gora Karinne, a xenobotanist by scientific profession. Records indicate she was on a scientific expedition to a rim system at the time of the destruction of Karis. I would assume that instead of returning to the Imperium, she fled into unexplored space, and ultimately landed on your Earth.]

[That makes sense,] Jason mused, thinking about it. [What we pieced together is that the Faey that came to Earth lived there. If they were Karinnes who fled the Imperium after Karis was destroyed, it explains a lot. It explains why they never left, it explains why the Imperium didn’t know about Earth. Back then there wasn’t interstellar communications, there was no way they would know.]

[There was interstellar communication back then,] Cybi sent, a bit derisively. [House Karinne has utilized harmonized Teryon communications for centuries before the destruction of Karis. That, obviously, is how the expedition knew to flee rather than return to the Imperium, or attempt to return to Karis.]

[Teryon? What is a teryon?] Myleena asked.

[A teryon is an energy particle that exists only in hyperspace,] Cybi responded. [Karinne engineers devised a means of modulating harmonic teryon strings to broadcast transmissions utilizing hyperspace. The energy particle was named in honor of Tery Karinne, who discovered it in 2329.]

[I’m not sure how good we’ll do, but me and Myleena can try to fix the communictions tower,] he told Cybi. [It sounds like it uses a technology neither of us have ever seen before.]

[I will download all appropriate schematics and technical data to your gestalt, to aid in your repairs. Myleena Merrane also needs a gestalt. There are unimpinted gestalts stored in this room.] A detailed map of the compound flashed in his mind’s eye, showing a location of a storage room in one of the smaller buildings off the main command center. [I suggest you replace the gestalt you have as well, Jason. It is an older model, and its software is outdated. There is a newer gestalt model in storage that will have more processing power and memory, and its transceiver has more transmission range than yours.]

[I can take it off?]

[Of course you can take it off,] she sent with a smile. [Just ensure you turn it off before doing so, or the gestalt will have to be restarted before you can use it, if you ever use that one again. Tools and other equipment is stored in this area.] Another mark in the same building appeared on the map in his mind’s eye, supplied to him by the gestalt. [I have linked to your gestalt, Jason. If you have need to contact me, you need only commune with me through it. When you imprint your new gestalt, send to me, and I will establish a new link.]

[Alright. I think we’ll go tackle that right now, I think both of us could do with a little busy work, to help sort through all of this.]

[I will compile a list of known resources and possible military technology and their locations. I will also compile a list of locations for all inoperative reclamation units. These will be ready for you to peruse at your leisure.]

[Alright. Thank you, Cybi.]

[No thanks are needed. It is a pleasure you cannot understand to be able to serve once again, instead of wait in silence and hope for your return.]

[Well, you’re not alone anymore.]

[Thank Trelle.]

Jason and Myleena left the computer core room, and Jason looked at her as they walked. She seemed quiet and thoughtful, she glanced at him, then she smiled and nudged him with her shoulder. “I’m alright,” she told him. “It’s just so much at once, ya know?”

“I know how that feels,” Jason grunted. “For like two years now, I’ve been dealing with shocks on a daily basis. First there’s when I met Jyslin, then I find out I’m a telepath. Then I leave New Orleans because I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed in the Faey system. I get there and work my ass off to build something, I see it all knocked down, then I find out that Trillane is kidnapping human beings and selling them into slavery. I decide to go after Trillane, then I lose so many people at the explosion in Chesapeake. Then I started the rebellion, I find out the human telepaths are part Faey, I get captured, I escape, and now here I am. Learning that I’m the product of genetic engineering and that the Karinnes built stuff that I’ve never heard of. Just another typical day for me,” he muttered darkly.

Myleena gave him a look, then burst into helpless laughter. “And I thought I had a bad day!” she laughed, slapping him on the shoulder.

They reached the storage room, and found boxes and boxes of gestalts, meticulously marked with the model number. Jason looked at the various models, but then a blinking outline lit up in his mind’s eye around one box; clearly, that was the box that held the proper gestalt. He opened it and found it packed neatly with about a hundred of them, laid out in a staggered packing system and wrapped in individual sealed plastic-like bags. Myleena took one and tore the bag open, then turned it over in her hands. Like this, right? she asked.

Yeah. Just be ready for it. It doesn’t really hurt, but it’s kinda scary.

I remember when you put yours on. Okay, here goes.

She set the device on her ear, fidgeting until it was comfortable, and then laid her hair over it. She quickly sat down cross-legged on the floor, and Jason knelt down with her and held onto both of her hands. Those hands clamped down on his own when the gestalt began to imprint, and she began to send wildly, chaotically, with amazing power. Jason had to shield himself from her, but given they were touching and that touch amplified their communion, it made it hard. She shuddered, then started to convulse, and Jason literally had to push her to the floor and hold her down until the convulsions eased, then stopped. She took in a deep, cleansing breath, then opened her rose-colored eyes and gave him the strangest look. [Amazing!] she sent in the communion manner. [I feel—it’s amazing! The gestalt really does amplify your talent, doesn’t it?]

[Yes, it does.]

[I can feel it touching the back of my mind. It’s like it’s a part of me! Wow!] She touched it gingerly. [Now I really am curious what would happen if I took it off without taking some kind of precaution.]

[I do not want to find out,] Jason told her. He took out another of the gestalts and opened it. He touched the one on his face and ordered it to shut down. It did so, leaving him feeling a little dizzy when the sense of it vanished from the back of his mind. He took it off and set it aside, then put the new one on.

It wasn’t half as bad this time. He knew what to expect, and in a way, that helped him endure the imprint much better than the first time. He did not send wildly like he and Myleena had done the first time, and though there were some spasms, there were no convulsions. It still wasn’t exactly pleasant, though. When it was over, the gestalt informed him that all systems were operational, and it was ready for tasks.

[That wasn’t as bad as last time. Guess you get used to it after a few episodes.]

[I hope it’s not like that every time. It’d make me scared shitless to take this one off. That was not fun.]

[Yeah. Well. Let’s get those tools. Cybi?]

[Yes, Jason?]

[We have our new gestalts. Can you download all that data to us both? Both of us are engineers, it’ll help if we both have the information.]

[Certainly. Are you ready to receive?]

[Yeah, go for it.]

[Data download is commencing now.]

A chaotic jumble of information collected into the memory of the gestalt, a memory that was separate from Jason’s mind, but a memory he could see, could look through, could sort. He waded into that memory, and found that everything he would need to know to diagnose and repair the communications system was present in the gestalt’s memory.

Amazing. The device was a harmonic teryon transceiver, which broadcast communications directly into hyperspace utilizing an antenna made of hyperdimensional matter, matter that existed in all dimensions in the same capacity. The antenna appeared in hyperspace the same way it appeared in three dimensional space. It was powered using, surprisingly enough, metaphased plasma. Phased plasma technology didn’t exist in the era of the Karinnes, but obviously, the Karinnes had mastered the technology and never told the rest of the Imperium. And their mastery of it surpassed even modern standards. The type of plasma phasing was nothing like he’d ever seen before. It was double metaphased; the metaphased plasma was itself metaphased, something he didn’t think was possible. The technical schematics, plasma conduit diagrams, logic flowcharts, and physical illustrations were also there in the gestalt’s memory, all the technical data they would need to troubleshoot the array, find the problem, repair it, then bring it back up. And it was complex. The Karinnes, their technology was beyond what he learned in school. It was beyond current mainstream Imperium technology. What he was looking at in the memory of his gestalt might be sitting on a lab table in Research and Development, or Black Ops…but here it was, built over a thousand years ago and apparently having been in use for years before Karis was destroyed.

Holy Lord above. Over thirteen hundred years ago, the Karinnes were more technologically advanced than the modern Imperium. If they hadn’t have been wiped out, how much further along would they be now? It almost boggled his mind to even think about it.

“Fuck,” Myleena grunted, touching the gestalt on her face with a single finger and looking at him, as she apparently was doing what he was doing, looking through the memory of her gestalt. Man, she picked that up fast! “I’ve never seen tech like this, Jason. This makes us look like we’re still using electricity! Trelle’s garland…if they were this advanced, how the hell did they get destroyed by Merrane?”

“Because they never prepared for war,” Jason told her. “The computer, Cybi. It told me that Karinne didn’t have a real naval fleet, just some prototypes. It had no army outside of some robots I guess, and I dunno about any automated planetary defenses, Cybi never mentioned them. I guess what they had here was no match for a Faey battle fleet. I guess they never believed that the other houses would violate their neutrality, so they never really prepared to defend themselves.”

“All those brains, and they were that stupid?”

“Intelligence and wisdom aren’t the same thing,” Jason said sagely.

“That’s true enough. Let’s go get some tools, and see if we can’t get that array working. Why we’re doing this is beyond me, but hey, it’s something to do. And you were right. I think a little manual labor will help me sort some of this out. It’s better than sitting in my room going bonkers thinking about it.”

“Cybi said if we can get the array working, she can see if she can make contact with other installations. See what’s still up and running.”

“Oh. That’s a good reason.”

It was an educational experience.

Well into the night, the two of them crawled all over the communications system for the compound, tracking down the problem. And it was so bizarre.

They had no experience with this technology. This dual metaphased plasma system was new to them, and neither of them had ever heard of harmonic teryon communication systems. But the gestalts filled the gaps. Any time they looked at something unfamiliar, the gestalts told them exactly what it was, exactly what it did, and supplied a detailed schematic or conduit diagram to them of its internal workings. Despite having no knowledge of the system, the information and step by step instructions they could access through the gestalts allowed them to comprehend this technology and work up a course of action to troubleshoot the system and find the problem. Both of them were gifted engineers, with a knack for technology, and that engineer’s soul allowed them to work out how this system worked.

Five hours after they began, they tracked down the problem. The problem was a burned out main plasma exchanger up by the antenna, which had required them to go up to the antenna with a replacement unit that Cybi had tracked down for them. Using a flying platform and with the help of Maya and Min, they carted the new unit up there and started the work to get out the old one. It required a great deal of disassembly, for the failed unit was deep inside the antenna array, requiring them to gut the thing in order to get at it. The gestalts kept track of every piece they took out, showing them a detailed diagram of how to reassemble it when the time came.

It was strange to see the Marines out of armor. They had found some old clothes, what looked like old uniforms or soemthing, for they wore matching gray pants and a gray ribbed fabric tank top in the muggy, warm summer night air. They found boots as well, soft black calf-height boots that had no laces or buckles or snaps. Maya’s clothes fit, but Min’s were a tiny bit loose. She was a small girl, the shortest in the unit.

Careful! Jason warned as they pulled out a teryon generator. This thing is delicate, don’t bang it around!.

How do you know that? Min asked.

The gestalt told us, Myleena answered as they laied the teryon generator on the platform, on top of a series of removed plasma conduits. There, we can get at the exchanger now. Hand me the annealer Maya.

Myleena all but crawled into the hole they’d made to reach the exchanger, as Jason held onto her waist. She unannealed its housing from its mount, then grabbed hold of it. Okay, pull me out, she sent, and Jason and Maya carefully pulled her out as she pulled the exchanger along with her. Jason and Myleena heaved it over the side of the platform and let it fall to the roof below.

Maya laughed. I never expected to see a couple of techs do that!

That’s what we do with misbehaving equipment, Myleena told her. It gets spanked.

Remind me to leave if your vidlink ever goes on the fritz, Min sent dryly.

My vidlink is too afraid of me to go down, Myleena told her. Hand me the Dyson tool, will ya? Gonna need some help in there. I swear, the Karinnes musta been midgets or something. I can’t hold the unit in place and anneal it into position at the same time.

The space only had room for one person, so the smallest of them, Min, was chosen to help Myleena in the crawlspace. The two of them crushed into the space, Min literally laying on her back holding the unit in place while Myleena laid on top of her, working to get it secured. Jason and Maya held lamps up so they could see what they were doing. Ow, watch your elbow! Min complained.

I’m trying, Myleena growled. This isn’t easy, you know. Just hold it in place for another few seconds. Jason, hold the light up. More. Right there. Got it! Okay, help us get out of here.

They pulled the two of them out, and Myleena immediately crawled back in. Alright, give me the first conduit section, let’s get it back together.

What’s it like Jayce? Wearing that thing? Min asked.

It’s like having a computer attached to my brain, he answered, picking up the first conduit section and handing it in to Myleena. Right now, it’s got all the technical specs for this system in its memory, and me and Myleena have been using that to repair this thing. Believe me, without it we’d have no idea what we’re doing.

That’s fuckin’ right. This is tech I’ve never seen before, and trust me, I’ve seen tech that no one outside of Black Ops has seen before. This makes some of the stuff in my lab look like a boy’s builder set.

What makes it different? It looks like plasma stuff to me, Maya sent.

Yeah, it’s plasma, but it’s dual metaphased plasma, something I didn’t think was possible, she answered. Some of the new systems coming down out of research are starting to use miniaturized metaphased plasma power systems for power, but this is like fifty years ahead of us, and this shit is like fifteen hundred years old.

Really?

Yeah. Black Ops would come in their pants at the thought of coming down here and tearing this place apart. What we could learn from what the Karinnes left behind, it’d be a fucking quantum leap. She was quiet a moment. And that’s exactly why it’s never going to happen.

What do you mean?

I don’t want them coming here, Maya. I don’t want to see what little is left of the Karinnes ripped apart. This place, it’s like a page out of the past. It’s history. It, it’s like this place is almost holy, ya know? I don’t want to see it violated, even if it does mean we pass up a chance to learn. I don’t want to see a team of Black Ops techs ripping open Cybi and killing her just to see how she works.

Cybi?

The computer, the one down in the basement, Jason answered. It calls itself Cybi.

It’s AI, Artificial Intelligence, Min noted. I’ve never seen one so advanced before. It even seems to have emotions.

Yeah. When she talked about how long she was waiting for us to come back, Jason sent with a shudder. I could feel her loneliness. Half the reason we’re fixing this array is so she can keep in contact with us when we leave. I don’t want to leave her here all alone. That would be…cruel.

You’re a good man, Jason, Maya sent, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him warm look.

Jyslin has all the luck, Min complained.

It took them about an hour to reinstall everything they had to take out in order to get at the exchanger, as Jason and Myleena took turns doing the work of reassembling the unit, since it was hard, cramped work in the compartment. Jason and Myleena closed the access panel when they were done, and Myleena clapped her hands together as if to shake free dust, and waved for Min, who was closest to the controls for the platform, to take them down. “That’s that. Did we leave out any pieces?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Maya said after looking around, and the platform descended to the roof.

[Cybi, we think we got it fixed. Can you start it?] Myleena called.

[One moment.] The equipment inside the spire gave out a muted hum, and lights began blinking at the top of the metal spire. [The array is up. It is running a diagnostic now. I believe it is operational. Thank you, Jason, Mistress Karinne.]

[Call me Myleena,] she told her.

[Myleena. The array is operating. The transceiver units are also operating. The array is fully up and working. Sending an open query to all units. One moment.]

The array gave out a sudden higher-pitched whine, as it obviously began to transmit.

[Kosigi is responding. That is the lunar base. It is on emergency power.]

[Is it a CBIM like you?]

[No, Kosigi has a Mark IV Mainframe, not a unit of my technical advancement. There were only six CBIMs, and I have confirmation that the other five are destroyed. I am getting responses from most of the satellites in the sensor jamming network. Those units should not be operating,] she mused to them. [They should be inoperative after this much time.]

[Unless the Kimdori have been maintaining them,] Jason offered. [They have to know about this place. I think they’ve been keeping it secret.]

[That is possible. I am receving a reply from a scout vessel 7,538 light years from here, at Nebula GF1848. It reports it has no crew aboard. I am receiving echoes from several mainframe units on Kimdori Prime, but not responses. Those units lack the necessary equipment to reply, but their biogenic crystal lattices are detectable by my array.]

[The Kimdori have biogenic computers?] Jason asked in surprise.

[Why would they not? They can interface with them the same way they interface with the minds of living beings, and they were key to their creation. A biogenic computer would be the most logical computer for them to use.]

[She has you there, Jason,] Myleena grinned.

[I will recall the scout vessel, if you so wish it. It is fully operational and is capable of jumping back to Karis.]

[Go ahead, call it back. We might be able to use it to get back to Earth.]

[Sending the order. It will arrive in 1.2 days. It must clear the nebula before it can jump back to Karis. Kosigi responds that it has two prototype destroyers and a light cruiser docked, which are salvageable with maintenance, but it has no power to open the bay doors. It requests a maintenance team to be sent or the restoration of the main power station on Karis, which is impossible. I will respond by ordering it to remain in standby for now. Its emergency power will last for 1,685.5 more years, so it is in no danger of power failure. Is this satisfactory, Jason?]

[Why ask me?]

[Because you are in command of this planet, and it is your orders I obey,] Cybi answered.

[Oh, go ahead and do what you think best. I’m not really qualified to give any real orders here, Cybi. I really have no idea what the hell is going on.]

That seemed to amuse Cybi. [Be patient, your Grace. Leadership is a learned skill more than it is a natural quality.]

[Please don’t call me that.]

[Yes, Jason.]

“It’s working,” Jason said to Min and Maya. “Cybi made contact with the lunar base and a single scout ship somewhere out in the galaxy that’s still working. The base is a bust, but the scout ship is on the way back here. We can use the scout ship to get home.”

“Nice,” Min said. “I’m hungry. Let’s go grab some of those tasty field rations,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m getting a little tired. Wonder what the others are up to?”

Where are you guys and what are you doing? Jason called in an open sending that reached all over the island.

Me, Meya, and Sheleese are on the way back from checking out a big fuckin’ robot on the other side of the island, but it’s in pretty bad shape, Myri called. It’ll take some major work to get it up and running. It’s been sitting there for at least a hundred years. The others had better be finishing up that inventory I told them to do.

We’re almost done, Sarge. Not much here. I found a small armory of about fifty weapons, but that’s it, Ilia answered.

We’ve got two small single-seaters I think are some kind of old fighters over here in the hangar, and a pretty old dropship that might still work, Zora added. I’m inside it now—wait, got it. This thing still works. Took me a few to get the hang of this layout, this is different than any dropship I’ve ever seen. Damn, after a thousand years, it purrs like a vulpar. Okay boss, we got an operational dropship here.

They got quite a bit of stored equipment, but I can’t make any sense of any of it, Bryn chimed in. It’s all weird shit I’ve never seen before.

Nothing edible around here at all, boss. We’re stuck with field rations til we’re done, Lyn reported. I tested the plants, and none of them are digestible.

I’ve finished up testing the water, Sarge. It’s clean, so we’re good on that, Yana reported. It’s saltwater though, so we’re gonna have to run it through a purifier.

I’m in the infirmary. There’s not much here I’m familiar with, and I’m not sure how much use it’s going to be. I’m going to need some time to try to work this out. I wish Rann were here, he was so good with the technical things, Songa sent sadly.

What’s your status up there, Jason?

We’re done repairing the comm array. It’s up and running, and the computer has made contact with a lunar base and a lone unmanned scout ship out somewhere in the galaxy. She recalled it, and it’s on its way back. We can use that to get off the planet. The lunar base says it has 3 ships in its bay, but it doesn’t have power to open the doors to let them out.

Are they operational?

No, it said they need repairs.

Sounds like the scout ship is our best bet. I’m not too keen on hitching a ride with that robot ship back to Draconis. Alright, everyone, stand down for tonight. Grab some bunks over in that hotel, grab some food, and take it easy. We’ll pick up again in the morning.

After a dinner of field rations, everyone claimed a room in the hotel building beside the main operations center, but Jason couldn’t sleep. He ended up sitting on a sandy beach just beside the compound, lights from the compound washing light over the area enough to let him see, see the white sand, see the waves crashing into the beach in soothing rushes of sound, feel a warm breeze blowing in from the sea. This place was so much like Earth…well, at least here on this island. There wasn’t a single animal anywhere on this entire planet, except for the twelve Faey and lone human here.

It had been too much. He laid back and looked at the unfamiliar stars, his eyes automatically seeking out the constellations that his father would always point out to him, but they weren’t there. How did they get here so fast? Just yesterday, he’d never have believed that they’d end up here, with the crest ring of the Karinnes in his pocket, and them doing repairs to help a sentient computer keep in contact with them when they left. He expected to be on the way back to Earth, or already be there, by now. He had hoped to be back at the mountain, back with Jyslin. But he was here, on this dead planet, discovering that his lineage was more amazing than he ever believed, and that his ancestors had left behind technology that would be considered highly advanced even by today’s standards.

So much intelligence. So little wisdom. Had they become so arrogant that they believed nobody would dare attack them, so they didn’t even bother building a defense to protect themselves? Did they believe that the other houses would honor their vows of neutrality to the point where they did not take precautions? Or did they simply become so blinded by their own ambitions that they ignored the defenses of the house? He guessed he’d never really know. Cybi might know, but in a way, he almost didn’t want to ask the question. It was the distant past, and it wouldn’t be a very good story.

It was almost too unbelievable, and it did make him curious. Cybi had told him that only some of the Karinne line had been altered. He wondered how the house operated with the Generations on one side and the unaltered Karinnes on the other. How did the unaltered Karinnes see their altered cousins? Was there any friction within the house? He guessed he’d never know, but it did cross his mind.

So much to think about…too much to think about. It was all so overwhelming. So many questions, so much speculation about what had happened, how things had led to this point. The only real satisfaction he got out of it was that he finally understood how the Kimdori were tied up in all this. They had been helping him because he was considered a cousin to them, a relative, and they wanted him to know his history. They wanted him to see that he was the legacy of Karinne, and Miaari had sent him here, to Karis, to show him where he had come from and the melancholy pride of being part of something that had at once been so grand, so visionary, and also so ominous, so dangerous. The Karinnes had had the potential to be a tremendous asset to the Imperium if they ever would have shared the technology they created, but also be the most evil, sinister force unleashed upon the galaxy, using their advanced technology and their genetically altered members to conquer the inferior.

Yet they had done neither.

It could have all turned on the motivations of a single House ruler, he supposed. Instead of doing either of those, they simply remained quietly motivated to continue their nearly mad objective, ignoring the Imperium, ignoring reality, and focusing with what Jason saw now was suicidal focus on a single goal.

But that was the past. It would never be repeated, if only because there were only two Karinnes left.

He thought about what was ahead of them. They had to get back to the mountain, and do it without leading Trillane right to the base. If there was something here he could take home to help them there, he’d be overjoyed to find it. From what he’d heard, it was now basicly a state of war back on Earth, as Jyslin unleashed her fury over Jason’s capture upon Trillane, and Trillane became more and more extreme in their retaliatory actions. He had to get home and put a stop to it. Jyslin’s actions were understandable, but the lay human population was starting to suffer because of it, and if they turned the people against them, they were doomed to failure. He wasn’t sure how they were going to get there, but they’d find a way. If he could just get close enough to make contact with someone, they could send a dropship for them.

Footsteps reached his ears, and he turned his head on the sand to look. Songa was approaching him. He sat up as she sat down beside him, then she leaned against him. He put his arm around her. They said nothing, sent, nothing, for a long time. He was used to this. Songa found comfort when someone was holding her, and sometimes she needed that comfort even now, months after the death of her husband. She didn’t like to be alone, especially at night. She put her head on his shoulder and simply enjoyed his company, and all he could really think of was how hard all this had been on her, and how he felt responsible for her loss. She didn’t blame him in any way for Rann’s death, but they had been there helping him. If they’d have stayed home, if they hadn’t have gotten involved, then Rann would still be alive.

And that would have gone against everything both of them believed in, he realized. Rann had died doing what he loved, doing what he needed to do. If he had stayed home, he wouldn’t have been being a doctor.

But he still owed her. Songa would get anything she needed, and if there was ever anything he could do for her, it would be done. He owed this woman so much, and he would always be there for her.

She lifted her head and looked up at him, the reached over and put her fingers on the gray metal of the gestalt delicately. It looks good on you, she told him. I don’t think I told you that.

I’m already used to it.

Does it slide around?

No, it kinda glues itself into place. It’s not uncomfortable, though.

Oh. Jason, will you do something for me?

Anything, Songa.

I’m lonely. I don’t want to be lonely.

He understood what she meant immediately. And he would be a terrible friend if he didn’t give her what he wanted. He leaned down and kissed her, gently, and she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled herself into his embrace.

It had been a good thing for her. And it wasn’t all that bad for Jason…and he knew that Jyslin would have approved in a heartbeat.

Jason woke up early and left the room Songa had claimed as her own before dawn, letting her sleep peacefully. He could never be Rann, but at least, for one night, there was no pain, there was only the simple pleasure of making love with someone she liked very much, which to a Faey was a more than acceptable thing. It was a night spent doing anything but mourning her husband, and Jason supposed it was another step towards completing her mourning for him.

One thing, though. Songa was a biter. He was going to have to have a little talk with her about that.

He turned a corner, and almost fell down backwards, because he nearly walked headlong right into Miaari!

“Miaari!” Jason gasped, putting a hand over his heart. “You scared me to death!”

“May, may I?” she asked hesitantly, holding her hand out. “Jason, are we still welcome in your house now?”

He gave her a surprised look, then laughed. “I couldn’t be angry with you!” he exclaimed, pushing past her hand and simply giving her a warm hug. “I see what you wanted us to find, Miaari. For what it’s worth, thank you for showing me my heritage.”

“I am very glad you’re not angry,” she said in relief, putting her hands on his shoulders. “I thought you might be upset when you discovered the truth, and realized we have been hiding it from everyone, even you.”