control entire planets.”
“I think they are all that,” Temar said. “They’re just also petty and vindictive and really obsessed with making threats.” Temar stepped back to allow Shan to change seats.
“Yeah, I think I’m glad that they’re up there and we’re down here.” Shan hesitated for a second, his hands pausing over the control board, and Temar knew exactly what he was thinking. If the inner planets had come back earlier, Ben might not have hurt Temar.
“Me too,” Temar said as he stepped close enough to put his hand back on Shan’s shoulder. What had happened to him wasn’t on the same level as interplanetary war. Sometimes he had to remind himself of that, but it wasn’t. He was here and safe, and Ben was nothing more than bone fragments in a sandrat nest. “So, what do we have?”
Shan touched a number of controls, sorting through menus that came up on the computer screen until a face appeared. A few of the messages were actual vid recordings, but most had been text. Temar figured the texts were easier to transmit, because the man in the picture had the edges of his face pixilating in and out of existence.
“That’s new,” Temar said as he looked at the fancy uniform. Most of the messages that had come from vid had been from some woman or man in a plain uniform sitting in the middle of a room crowded with electronics. This man had gray hair, but he still had the sort of stiff posture and wide shoulders that reminded Temar of vids of soldiers.
“Greetings from the Alliance of Free Planets. I’m Commander Peter Stovall. I have to say, gentlemen, you have surprised us all. Welcome back, Libre.”
Temar closed his mouth, his teeth clicking together. Standing behind Shan, he couldn’t see the expression on Shan’s face, but he had to be shocked. Actually, shock didn’t even describe the feeling that ran through Temar right now, bleeding into every cell of his body. Commander Stovall was a real man… this was someone from another planet staring at them. This was too inconceivable for his brain to even comprehend.
“Um, greetings,” Shan said, his voice weak. “We’ve had some technical issues down here.” It was several seconds before Commander Stovall answered, but that was still much faster than Temar expected. In school, they’d learned that subspace wasn’t really space or beneath anything, but rather one of many contiguous dimensions with rules of physics that allowed signals to travel faster than light, but the relays and stations required for subspace communications meant that it took minutes or even hours for signals to get from point A to point B. Temar studied Shan to see if he was surprised. After all, Shan understood the technical end of space far better than Temar… or almost anyone else on Livre at this point.
“That’s some technical issue. You’ve been missing in action for a quarter of a century. I don’t mind telling you that we thought the planet had died.”
“We… uh… the mechanic in charge of the unit recently… passed away.” Shan cleared his throat. “So we recently had someone new look at it.”
After the few seconds it took for Shan’s words to cross space and reach him, Commander Stovall smiled. “Well, we’re glad to have you back. We had a mission planned for Libre in a few years, but we honestly didn’t expect to find survivors.”
“Livre,” Shan corrected the man.
“Excuse me? I didn’t read that.” Commander Stovall leaned forward and did something to his controls.
“Livre, with a V. The planet is Livre,” Shan said.
Commander Stovall leaned back. “Copy that,” he agreed. “The prewar records have some holes in them. Old-world agents blew a couple of our document storages, so we’ll get that updated. Livre it is. And we are glad to see you. The old saying goes that survivors survive, and colony people have a habit of surviving in unlikely situations. We’re glad to see you surviving.”
“We are.” Shan
“I think they are all that,” Temar said. “They’re just also petty and vindictive and really obsessed with making threats.” Temar stepped back to allow Shan to change seats.
“Yeah, I think I’m glad that they’re up there and we’re down here.” Shan hesitated for a second, his hands pausing over the control board, and Temar knew exactly what he was thinking. If the inner planets had come back earlier, Ben might not have hurt Temar.
“Me too,” Temar said as he stepped close enough to put his hand back on Shan’s shoulder. What had happened to him wasn’t on the same level as interplanetary war. Sometimes he had to remind himself of that, but it wasn’t. He was here and safe, and Ben was nothing more than bone fragments in a sandrat nest. “So, what do we have?”
Shan touched a number of controls, sorting through menus that came up on the computer screen until a face appeared. A few of the messages were actual vid recordings, but most had been text. Temar figured the texts were easier to transmit, because the man in the picture had the edges of his face pixilating in and out of existence.
“That’s new,” Temar said as he looked at the fancy uniform. Most of the messages that had come from vid had been from some woman or man in a plain uniform sitting in the middle of a room crowded with electronics. This man had gray hair, but he still had the sort of stiff posture and wide shoulders that reminded Temar of vids of soldiers.
“Greetings from the Alliance of Free Planets. I’m Commander Peter Stovall. I have to say, gentlemen, you have surprised us all. Welcome back, Libre.”
Temar closed his mouth, his teeth clicking together. Standing behind Shan, he couldn’t see the expression on Shan’s face, but he had to be shocked. Actually, shock didn’t even describe the feeling that ran through Temar right now, bleeding into every cell of his body. Commander Stovall was a real man… this was someone from another planet staring at them. This was too inconceivable for his brain to even comprehend.
“Um, greetings,” Shan said, his voice weak. “We’ve had some technical issues down here.” It was several seconds before Commander Stovall answered, but that was still much faster than Temar expected. In school, they’d learned that subspace wasn’t really space or beneath anything, but rather one of many contiguous dimensions with rules of physics that allowed signals to travel faster than light, but the relays and stations required for subspace communications meant that it took minutes or even hours for signals to get from point A to point B. Temar studied Shan to see if he was surprised. After all, Shan understood the technical end of space far better than Temar… or almost anyone else on Livre at this point.
“That’s some technical issue. You’ve been missing in action for a quarter of a century. I don’t mind telling you that we thought the planet had died.”
“We… uh… the mechanic in charge of the unit recently… passed away.” Shan cleared his throat. “So we recently had someone new look at it.”
After the few seconds it took for Shan’s words to cross space and reach him, Commander Stovall smiled. “Well, we’re glad to have you back. We had a mission planned for Libre in a few years, but we honestly didn’t expect to find survivors.”
“Livre,” Shan corrected the man.
“Excuse me? I didn’t read that.” Commander Stovall leaned forward and did something to his controls.
“Livre, with a V. The planet is Livre,” Shan said.
Commander Stovall leaned back. “Copy that,” he agreed. “The prewar records have some holes in them. Old-world agents blew a couple of our document storages, so we’ll get that updated. Livre it is. And we are glad to see you. The old saying goes that survivors survive, and colony people have a habit of surviving in unlikely situations. We’re glad to see you surviving.”
“We are.” Shan
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