“Very well, put him through.”
“Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph, this is Sub-Forgue Molth… commander of this Marauder fleet. Would you please make yourself visible… disengage from stealth mode, if you would be so kind?”
Molth listened to dead air for several moments. Distant background noise sounded like papers being shuffled.
“I knew your father, Parliamentary Head Molth. Is he still alive?” Eminence Calph asked.
Sub-Forgue Molth’s heart rate increased exponentially. “Ah, no sir… he died, um, two years past.” A pregnant pause then ensued, with more crinkling of paper.
“He was a true leader, within a difficult Howsh bureaucracy. He will be missed. Now listen to me carefully, Sub-Forgue Molth. I was marooned on planet Earth for over ten years and have commandeered the Evermore. The Pashier I believe you are seeking, Captain Tow, has died. But not before he destroyed three Howsh Scout ships. I witnessed their destruction myself. Tow was one clever Pashier, I have to give him that. One more thing… there is a foul heritage pod still on board this vessel. Unfortunately, I do not have the means to destroy it myself.”
“I understand, Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph. I will immediately make provisions for you on board the command ship. Once on board, we can destroy the Evermore—along with the pod.”
“Unfortunately, I am suffering with Paltrope. Do you know of it?”
“Yes, Eminence Calph.”
“Then tell me… has a cure been found for this foul disease? Perhaps one over the past few years?”
Molth reflexively made a bitter face. Paltrope was a highly contagious, disgusting disease that caused hundreds of oozing skin legions. He too had been tested for it recently. Luckily, his facial growth was nothing more than an out-of-control mole. What he did know was he didn’t want to get anywhere near that very contagious high commander.
“Yes, Eminence Calph. Your particular… ailment will require Califer Ionization Therapy… CIT. Unfortunately, the treatment is only available back on Rianna 5.”
“Well, then you must escort me there at once!”
“Rianna 5 is hundreds of light-years’ distance from our current coordinates, Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph. I am truly sorry, but I have direct orders, from Lorgue Prime Eminence Norsh, to reassemble our fleets at another planet, called Primara, once my mission here has been completed.”
“Yes, yes, I’m familiar with Primara. It’s located at the far end of the quadrant… in the opposite direction of Rianna 5!”
“Again, I apologize. A quick detour to Primara first, then we should be able to accommodate you, sir,” Molth told him. “Again, it is an honor to speak with you. This… today… is an historic event!” Although Molth had little doubt he was speaking to the high commander, he still would feel more at ease if his eminence would remove the stealth mode cover on the Evermore—to personally ensure that Eminence Calph was indeed alone on the vessel.
Molth continued, “At this time, would it be possible for you to come out of stealth mode, Eminence Calph? It is protocol… as I’m sure you are—”
Eminence Calph cut him off. “Ask me that again and I’ll have you transferred to a scout ship, scraping out shit from sub-deck collectors. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, I do apologize, Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph.”
Calph, now taking a more conciliatory tone, continued, “If you really knew what advanced Paltrope did to someone, you would understand why I do not want to be observed. Fortunately, the Evermore’s stealth mode prohibits prying, invasive optic feeds. It allows me some privacy.”
“Yes, of course. I understand, Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph.” Molth let it go, having zero doubt, anyway, who he was conversing with.
“Good, stand by. I will be joining your fleet within minutes, then you will have visual sighting of the Evermore. Together, we shall move toward Primara in all due haste.”
Chapter 46
With the exception of Brian, the entire Evermore crew—Cuddy, Kyle, Jackie, and Tony—huddled into the bridge to witness the historic, impending event. Cuddy doubted anything like this had ever occurred before, where a Howsh fleet would actually escort an enemy—Pashier—spacecraft.
“And what… they’re just going to let us merge into their fleet, like we’re one of their own?” Kyle asked skeptically.
Cuddy shrugged, not completely sure what to expect either.
“There they are,” Tony said, pointing out the forward observation window. “Fuck… look at the size of those things!”
As they approached the Howsh fleet, five large warships changed their positions, reassembling into a horseshoe formation.
The orb said, “I am being directed to decrease speed and bring the Evermore into their awaiting formation cluster.”
“Guess it’s too late to back out now,” Jackie said, glancing over to Cuddy.
“Like she said, it’s too late to back out now. Go ahead and merge us in, Bob.”
“There is an incoming hail for Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph, Captain Perkins. I have implemented a translation module so you can better understand what is being said.”
Cuddy nodded, then glanced back at his desk, at the stacks of papers, and wondered if he would need to help Bob out again, like before. “Okay ... answer it.” There was a definitive clicking sound, then Cuddy heard the same voice—it was Molth.
“Greetings, Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph. I have forwarded our specific course parameters, as well as the FTL configuration settings your ship’s AI will need in order to synchronize precisely to the rest to the fleet.”
All eyes turned to Bob as he began to speak in a gruff, bear-like, voice. “That’s fine. Can we move things along now, Sub-Forgue Molth? Paltrope is an impatient malady. If you want me to survive the journey, you’ll keep your drives running hot. Blaze the fastest trail to Primara. We need to get moving.”
“Yes… Supreme Eminence Calph, we will be underway in just a few moments.”
“The channel is closed now, Captain,” the orb said.
Tony began to laugh out loud. “I can’t believe that voice… the words that came out of your mouth, or speaker, or whatever it is you have, orb. That was awesome, dude!”
The orb ignored the remark.
They all watched as Bob navigated the Evermore into position within the other larger vessels.
“We are underway, Captain. We will be reaching FTL in two minutes.”
Cuddy felt the Evermore’s drives’ vibration beneath his feet, then the inertia dampeners kicking in. “ETA for Primara, Bob?”
“Ten days, Captain. Less, if they do as instructed and increase their FTL speeds accordingly.”
“So we have ten days to prepare for phase two,” Cuddy remarked, to no one in particular.
“Phase two? So this is what… phase one?” Jackie asked.
“That’s right.”
“What’s phase two, other than not getting ourselves killed?” Kyle asked.
“To convince the Howsh, as a species, that it is no longer in their best interest to destroy Primara, nor the remaining Pashier.”
“I didn’t know there were any Pashier left,” Jackie said.
“Yes, there are a few,” Cuddy said, not elaborating further.