Eloquent Tales & Blues

Ferrek kicked the metal wall. “No way this contraption kept anyone alive.”

A wry laugh escaped Fenton as he looked over at Ferrek. A slow smirk crossed his lips as he laced his hands behind his head. “As it stands, you’re right. This ship was cannibalized to construct the walls. After a century exposed to erosion and neglect, of course the thing won’t fly.”

“How’s it possible that this structure,” Ferrek said, indicating the decaying walls, “once transported people from another planet?”

Fenton nodded and dropped his gaze back to the computer. When the screen flickered, Fenton whacked the terminal, cursing. He eased back, dropping his head into his hands. “While the secondary systems are failing, the computers appear to hold the data.”

“Can you retrieve what Jarvis wanted?”

Fenton shrugged. “I’m hopeful.”

“What’s taking so long?”

As the screen went black, Fenton cursed. “I’ll have to find another terminal. Though if this console had failed a year earlier, we’d have lost a piece of history. This isn’t just scrap. It’s a landmark of endurance.”

“So, this is a wasted trip, then.”

Fenton inhaled sharply. “No, there’s a chance I’ll be able to retrieve the information if it hasn’t been corrupted.”

Ferrek leaned back and placed his foot against the bulkhead. The dwarf chewed his lip while he ran his hand through his beard. “How can you retrieve anything if the magic box isn’t working?”

“Think of it like a window. Everything inside looks good. We just need another one to use,” Fenton said, abandoning the broken system.

Ferrek’s shoulders slumped as he pushed off the wall and chased after Fenton. “What does that even mean?”

Fenton’s head whipped around as he stalked down the hallway, his fingers tracing the wall. “Sorry, that’s not something you understand, is it?”

“Who understands this sorcery?” Ferrek asked with a wry chuckle.

Fenton stopped and turned back to Ferrek. “You don’t have to understand the tech to help.”

“Why not bring one of your people?”

Fenton scanned the hall, then resumed his march. “You dwarves are hardier than my people, considering the creatures we’ve seen.”

Ferrek huffed, pounding the wall...

“There’s some information about my father in here,” Gilras said, sliding the tablet across the table. As Jarvis collected it, the king leaned back, grabbing his drink. “While most of those stories don’t concern me or my father, I found it all extremely interesting.”

Jarvis tossed the device onto the desk. Leaning against his chair, he asked, “Have your people ever encountered the shifters from Tarian’s logs?”

With a hearty laugh, Gilras lifted his goblet and peered inside. His gaze sank as his lips turned into a frown. He laid the cup down and jerked his thumb towards the door. “Can we move this conversation back to the banquet hall?”

A curse slipped from Jarvis’s mouth as he buried his face in his palm. He grabbed his tankard and poured the amber liquid into Gilras’s empty mug. The moment he finished, he thumped his now empty mug on the desk and retrieved the tablet. “We have things to discuss before we return to the festivities.”

“The shapeshifters from Tarian’s logs?”

Jarvis nodded, sliding the tablet to the edge of the table. “You’d think with creatures like those described in here, this planet couldn’t surprise me anymore. But they still do.”

Gilras gulped down more of his ale and belched before retrieving the pad and flipping through the entries. When he located the first entry that described a chemical that could counter the shifters’ abilities, he grinned. He tossed the pad to Jarvis and gulped more of his drink. “You’ve obviously retrieved information from your world’s previous expedition, but while you searched those records, did you come across the substance that Tarian’s people created to fight the shifters?”

“Unfortunately, when Fenton retrieved the logs, he found nothing more useful. He didn’t have time for a proper search.”

“Have you considered sending another team to Tarian’s shipwreck to retrieve more of the data it contains?”

Jarvis wiped his mouth and shifted in his seat. As his gaze drifted away from Gilras, he grabbed a small ball and squeezed it absently, weighing their dwindling manpower. After a few seconds, he pocketed the ball, licking his lips. “We still haven’t had the manpower to send anyone up there.”

“You have an ally that you didn’t have previously.” A grin spread across Gilras’s lips as he lifted his mug. He drained the last of the beverage and slammed the tankard onto the desk. He scooted to the seat’s edge and leaned forward, tapping the tablet. “Not to mention you possess interesting weapons that should free defenders from the wall for such an expedition.”

“The drones won’t replace the men on the wall or in the tower.”

Gilras rose, circling the desk, and with a powerful jerk, he pulled Jarvis to his feet. He clapped Jarvis’s back and pushed him toward the exit.

“With threats like these shifters, we can’t afford to be careless. We’ll need every advantage we can get,” Jarvis said.

Gilras grabbed a tankard from the table and shoved it into Jarvis’s gut. “Despite the horde, you need to learn how to relax. Death is this world’s constant companion...

“You or your messengers popping into my workshop daily aren’t going to expedite my work, Jarvis.” Cecile’s shoulders sagged as she rolled her eyes. Her fingers wrapped around the tool as she slammed it against her workbench. She tossed the implement onto the counter before cracking her knuckles on the table’s edge. “In fact, the more you pester me, the longer it’ll take to fabricate whatever you’re asking for. If you want it done, stop asking when I’ll complete it!”

“Are you finished with your tantrum?”

Her mouth scrunched, tugging her lips into a scowl. “Excuse me?”

Jarvis leaned against the doorframe as he chewed his lip and tapped the edge of the door. “When you’re stressed and frustrated, it’s not uncommon for tirades like that to rush out of your mouth.”

“Fine, maybe I’m a little worked up.” Cecile closed her eyes as she rubbed her temples, and a tense silence filled the chamber. When her eyes opened, she drew several breaths as she pulled a stool out from under the workbench. With a huff, Cecile plopped onto the seat and folded her arms across her chest. She reached out and plucked a bolt from the table and twirled it about her fingers. “Regardless, stop harassing me for a timeline. There’s no clear finish line for this, and you know it.”

“I know it’s not easy, but you’ve had some success with the flight engines.” Jarvis stepped inside and leaned over the workbench, examining the collection of parts. “Especially considering the drone you were playing with during our previous visit.”

“It’s a matter of scale.” Cecile dropped the bolt as she pulled a box out from under the table. She eased it onto the counter and pulled out seven of the mini-drones. “I’m capable of creating all the toys you want. However, I’m unsure they’ll do much good in providing the aid you’re expecting.”

Jarvis lifted a drone and turned it over in his hands. One eyebrow rose as his voice carried an edge of urgency. “Could you alter the design to carry some of our weapons?”

“Are you looking for remote-controlled attack drones?”

“These won’t counter the enemy’s aerial threat that’s been mercifully absent recently.” Jarvis laid the drone down before clasping his hands behind his back. He reached up and massaged his brow with one hand. “Though depending on what you attach, they may help thin out the enemy’s ground troops.”

Cecile shoved the box down the table and lifted a drone to examine it. “You’d need a swarm to make a dent in anything substantial. And no matter what weapon I attach, it won’t pack enough punch to drop anything the size of the monsters we’re up against...

Sebastian’s foot tapped as his head whipped about. Two figures approached from different directions. The nearest figure was his friend, carrying a sack over his shoulder. The other was an elegant man with hands clasped behind his back and a baton tucked under an arm.

When Jimmy reached his friend, he dropped the bag next to Sebastian with a muffled clatter. Sebastian grasped his friend’s arm. “Look, the maestro’s on his way. Please don’t do anything to scare him. Just act like a normal person.”

“That’s offensive.” Jimmy shook his head as he opened the bag and removed a tambourine. “I’m the poster child for normal.”

“What did you haul over here?”

Jimmy tapped the tambourine with a grin as the cymbals rattled and gestured at the approaching conductor. “I brought everything I’d need for my big musical debut.”

Sebastian examined the sack and groaned. “You brought a collection of tambourines.”

“Not just tambourines,” Jimmy said, pressing the one in his hand against his stomach. He stepped forward, lifting a finger. “I also brought tuning forks. And one triangle, for the emotional range.”

Sebastian shook his head, burying his face in his hand. “Don’t embarrass me.”

The conductor stopped a stone’s throw away from the friends, licking his lips. He eyed the bag, the pair, and the bandstand. It wasn’t much, but it would do for this impromptu audition. He gestured to the stands. “Mm, there’s a moody sky. We should have excellent resonance. Let’s begin with the Largo. Two bars in, you cue me and then follow my lead.”

“Understood,” Sebastian said with a nod as he hustled to the stand.

The conductor smiled as he withdrew the baton and tapped his thigh. “Finally, a flutist who listens.”

Jimmy paused halfway to the bandstand and brandished his tambourine like a royal scepter. “I don’t play a flute. I’m here to add the percussion.”

The conductor’s gaze whipped from Sebastian to Jimmy several times before he closed his eyes. “You’re with him?”

“Unfortunately,” Sebastian said, his head dropping.

“Very well.” The conductor tapped his baton on his thigh and took a deep breath. “One note out of time and I’ll leave.”

Jimmy dropped his bag and elbowed Sebastian. “No pressure!”

As the Conductor lifted his baton, raindrops pelted Sebastian’s head. He looked up and found the large hole in the canopy. He shook his head and moved to a drier section. “Why does the universe schedule rain just for me?”

“At least you’re pre-watered.” Jimmy said, clapping Sebastian’s back. “This way you’ll grow better.”

With a grumble, Sebastian took a brief breath and began a slow, mournful melody. Within moments, the conductor’s baton began controlling the course of the music. At a brief pause in the piece, Jimmy leaned forward. “Is it my cue?”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he flashed a glare at his friend. “Not yet.”

The conductor eyed Jimmy as he continued to lead Sebastian through his piece. After several more somber moments, Jimmy leaned forward during another lull. “How about now?”

“No!”

Jimmy’s shoulders slumped as the song meandered in its somberness. However, after a few moments, when the song began to turn brighter, Jimmy’s face glowed as he added the jingle of his tambourine to the song.

Sebastian whirled around and leaned toward his friend, waving a finger under Jimmy’s nose. “What are you doing?! You’re not even involved in this!”

“What was that?” The conductor rushed forward and slammed his baton on the bandstand’s stone floor. “Why’d you disrupt the piece?!”

“It felt like the perfect time to add a touch of the tambourine.” Jimmy eased his friend back as he stared at the conductor. “It was meant to add emphasis, drama, a flourish!”

“It sounded like a raccoon stuck in a shopping cart!” The conductor ran his hand through his wet hair as he chewed his lower lip.

“That’s interpretation!” Jimmy shook his head as he wrapped his arm around his instrument...

Jarvis' thumbs massaged his temples as a loud grunt tore through the gun encampment. He turned away from the battlefield and plucked his radio off his belt. "Fenton, those monsters are devastating our eastern defenses. Why haven't you dispatched the dwarven detachment to shore up the line?"

A garbled reply cut through the heavy din.

Jarvis pulled the comm to his lips as his eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"They're currently supporting our western defense."

Jarvis slammed his fist into the wall before dashing across the cluttered chamber and sliding behind another firing position. With a guttural growl, he placed the scope to his eye and studied the skirmish. "They'll survive without our allies. Get them over to the eastern flank."

"Do you want them cut to ribbons as they bounce between breaches?"

"Fenton, I'm not in the mood. Send them down the tunnel!"

"Having them disengage will devastate both fronts."

Swallowing a curse, Jarvis's gaze focused on the western defenses as he tapped the closest gunner's helmet. "Do you see what's holding up the dwarves?"

The gunner nodded.

Jarvis squeezed the gunner's shoulder. "Clear them a path."

"Yes, sir," the gunner said, as he shifted his weapon and started thinning the herd. A second later, the other nearby gunners joined him, creating an opening for their allies.

Once cleared, Jarvis activated his radio. "They're good to go. The dwarves need to be where they'll do the most damage. We'll do what we can to keep that hole clear and provide them with covering fire."

"I need you to confirm that order."

"Fenton, open the gate and get our allies out there!" Jarvis spun toward the eastern front and tossed a power supply to a gunner. The soldier quickly snatched it up and began swapping it for the spent one. Once the gunner finished, Jarvis yelled, his voice slicing through the din. "Reinforce the eastern wall!"

"Moving the dwarves has left our western defenses dangerously exposed now."

Jarvis swore as he rushed back to survey the raging battle, discovering a score of treeants lifting green-skinned monsters onto the wall. Initially, as the beasts landed on the path, the turrets vaporized them. Then a clever treeant grasped the edge, allowing the green-skinned monsters to race past the automated defenses.

"Take out the treeants!"

The cannon team next to him adjusted its aim and fired at the nearest treeant. The beam tore through the creature's back, splitting it in half, and the monsters racing up its length fell into the flaming ruins of the tree. With the first target and its payload engulfed in flames, the crews shifted their attention to the remaining treeants.

Jarvis rushed to the next team and tapped the gunner's shoulder. "Take out the trees! If we don't cut them down, we'll be overrun by those vicious green-skinned beasts!"

"The dwarves are clear of the walls!"

"Copy that, Fenton." Jarvis lowered his radio and took a deep breath. "There are two objectives! Take out those shambling trees and protect the dwarves!"

"Roger that," all the crews echoed.

Jarvis spun and pointed at the teams resting against the walls. "Are those cannons ready for use?"

Gregory hovered one hand over his heated cannon. "They still need to cool off."

Jarvis clenched his jaw, studying the cooling cannons...

“Are the outer moons within sensor range yet?” Beatrix asked.

With a sigh, Lora turned her chair away from her console and buried her face in her hands. “We’ll call you when we arrive at the gas giant.”

Beatrix’s glower hardened as she kicked the doorframe. “We don’t have to reach the planet before I scan its satellites.”

Zander rested his head in his hand. “You’ll be able to inspect all the moons soon. Can’t you just wait till we get there?”

Beatrix walked into the cockpit and claimed the last station. “You’ve kept me out long enough. All the equipment is here.”

Lora adjusted her controls before flicking the display. Leaning back, she dropped her head into her hands. “Whatever, Beatrix. Why are we scanning these moons?”

“After what destroyed Laria, the triumvirs refuse to anchor us to one world,” Sarra said.

Lora twirled in her chair, sighing and shaking her head. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Previously, the Federation would only settle a single planet in a system.” Zander grabbed his canteen and took a sip. “It didn’t care if there were multiple planets that might support a colony.”

“But why are we wasting our time with the satellites?”

With a smirk, Sarra tapped Zander’s shoulder. “Does it matter?”

He capped the canteen and offered it to her. “Not when the triumvirs tasked us with scanning anyplace that might sustain life.”

Lora’s eyes closed as her head fell back. “But the moons…”

Beatrix activated the console. “Those can support an atmosphere. And we know nothing about what’s already there.”

Her fingers worked the dials while she hunched over the display. With a sigh, she glanced over her shoulder. “That said, three of them aren’t large enough for the purpose.”

Lora gripped her station, stopping herself. Her head whipped towards Beatrix as a smile grew. “Can we leave?”

Sarra tsked at the pilot. “Not yet, Lora. Four more satellites orbit Aurora Three.”

Lora slammed her hand to her forehead, muttering, “Aurora Three?”

“Don’t you like the name?” Zander asked.

Lora’s face scrunched as she leaned toward him. “It’s a little lazy.”

“I think Olyver chose the names,” Beatrix said, adjusting her console. “Can you alter our heading?”

“Why?”

“Based on the preliminary scans we took upon arrival,” Beatrix said as she transferred the adjusted bearing to Lora’s display...