Chapter Nineteen of my current wip. As before, all and any comments very much appreciated

Please note: This is a weekly post

The next day Armar, Kookka and Joel took the fliers out to the farms to transport the operatives back to base for a full clutch meeting.

“What do we say?” Joel asked at the fly-port. “They’re bound to ask where the Techs are when they see us with the fliers.”

“Tell them I’ll explain everything at this meeting,” Jess said.

“Oh joy,” Kookka said. “This is going to be happy flying.”

“You could tell them to shut it,” Jess said. “That it takes us humble Monzas deep concentration to fly these Tech-constructs. And that reminds me, we need more fliers. I’ll put the call out at the meeting.”

“You’ll train them?” Armar said, voice deep with concern.

Jess grimaced. “Our present fliers could help out but I’m the zem, it’s my responsibility.”

“Oops.” Kookka nodded away from the fly-port. Canipse was heading their way.

“Launch minus one.” Jess slapped Kookka’s back. “Go!”

Jess watched the catering overseer halt in his tracks and stare at the rising fliers.

“Where’re they going?” Canipse called from the distance.

Jess waved the Techs’ leather-bound flight log in the air. “To the farms. All properly logged, no need to write a report.”

“To transport my harvest?” Canipse looked hopeful. A shame Jess had to disappoint him.

“To bring in the operatives.”

“But—”

“I promise, we’ll bring in your harvest tomorrow. For today I’ve scheduled a full clutch meeting. There’s much to discuss.”

“Zem Jess, the day you discuss anything will be the day I die.”

Jess arched his brow, then bit back his snort as he returned the log to the Techs’ hive. But he couldn’t restrain his smile. So Canipse had a repressed death wish? But his face fell as again he saw the bubble the Fire-keepers of Colabri had used to demonstrate the futility of suppressing a deep wish. Press down in one place, the bubble bobs up in another. That catering overseer needed watching. Already he’d been responsible for the death of an immature Itamakki.

And yourself? But my wish is not suppressed. I hate the Techs and I let it be known. His hand went to his shell-bracelet. The Techs had been responsible for his sister’s death.

*

Only the Zems attended the Techs’ briefing aboard the STC-Transporter, But Jess kept to the same format, arranging seating in arcs, the fibre-formed chairs borrowed from the hives. He paced while he waited for the clutch to settle. Above the whispered concerns of the operatives – what was this about, where were the Techs – Canipse’s voice spreading his version of the truth was abrasively loud. They should have taken him along with the Techs and stranded him too; that could still be arranged.

When all were assembled Jess explained what had happened to the Techs – his version, and apart from the water anomaly, the true version. “While myself and my observers were exploring the southern archipelago we discovered a…call it a strangeness. Where saline waves were washing the rocks, yet fresh water was jetting out. We reported this to the Techs who wished to examine this for themselves, and we accompanied them.”

Jess shook his head and spread his hands. “We did warn them of the dangers, that the rocks were slippery when wet, and it was inadvisable to venture too close to the edge. But how else were they to get their water samples? The waves crashed in and…” He closed his eyes as if he again saw that fateful moment. “Caught off balance, the Tech was swept out to sea. And when the other two Techs tried to save the first the sea took them as well. We observers were powerless to help. We cannot swim.”

He didn’t say that it wasn’t the water that interested the Techs, but the dense and extremely slippery layer of seaweed which they’d tugged at to disengage from the water-drenched rock.

“I don’t suppose you gave the sea a helping hand?” Canipse accused.

Jess glared at the catering overseer. “Do you really believe I would take such action when to do so would put the success of this clutch at risk? Now, I ask that we express our sadness at this tragedy by observing three bits of silence. After which I’ll explain the revised arrangements needed to cover this emergency.”

It took him those three bits to calm his anger. He then launched into the arrangements he’d set in place to handle the problems of being Tech-less. “Until such time as we are assigned replacement Techs, those of the clutch who can handle the fliers will be asked to do so. At the moment, to my knowledge that will be myself, my deputy Armar, Kookka, Joel and the medic Antel. If anyone would like to learn the skills, I shall be happy to instruct you. The more fliers we have on base, the better.”

Jess could see Canipse eyeing him. Was the catering overseer going to volunteer? Jess hoped not; he had no desire to teach the Tech-loving agitator.

Before Canipse had a chance to speak, Jess continued to explain the arrangements he and Armar had thrashed out late last night. “I realise without the Techs the farms have no means of communicating their needs to use here at base. To overcome this problem, we’ll fly your overseers out to the farms on a daily basis.”

Silence followed while operatives turned to look at other operatives. Jess watched Canipse. Would he say anything more to stir, to agitate, to object to what he considered some silly aspect of these arrangements? But he remained silent.

Jess was about to move to the next subject when the questions began. But these were mostly to verify and clarify the new arrangements. One of the textile operatives asked to be trained. Dorsin, from Hive Six.

Jess moved onto the next subject. The holos. “These are no longer effective at isolating our camps. I myself have witnessed a female Itamakki ignore the hologram and walk right through it.”

“We’ve had intruders, too,” said catering operative Vezu from Hive Seven, the textile farm Jess had been visiting when he’d had his encounter with the female Itamakki.

“Male or female?” Jess asked.

“Female,” Vezu said.

Would it be the same one? “Was it you who saw her?”

“Our domestic, Poalt.”

Jess scanned the faces looking for Poalt. Apparently Poalt realised and raised his hand. “Here.”

“Have you noticed any changes in yourself?”

Poalt shrugged. “What sort of changes would that be? But no.”

Jess nodded. Despite he wasn’t ready for that subject yet, he couldn’t move on without saying something. “Contact with the female can – no, I think will is the correct word – result in certain changes. Antel, our medic, will explain that. For now, it’s fair to say with this breakdown in perimeter’s effectiveness, we’re all at risk.”

“Where’s the risk when we have stunners,” Canipse sneered.

“On male intruders,” Jess said, “yea, use your stunners, then take the Itamakki back, well beyond the perimeter. But this won’t work for the females – they’re not to be touched in any way. They are now modified to such a state that they emit chemicals, just as our Monza breeders did. And these chemicals can and do trigger the immature Monza rapidly to become mature. Antel here will explain these changes. Antel?”

“Yea, but isn’t it easiest simply to stun the females, too?” Vezu said, as if Jess hadn’t just said.

“Antel believes the changes would still occur. Besides,” Jess said, “I don’t know if you’d be able to raise those stunners. Those females can be mesmerising.”

“That sounds like personal experience?” the observer Brib said.

Jess tried to still his lips, so they wouldn’t twist in annoyance. But he had thought better of his own observers than to draw attention like this to their zem.

“How long will this situation last?” Guul asked. The textiles overseer, he shared a hive with Canipse. Jess didn’t know him well, how alike to Canipse he was. “I mean, will Techs from our neighbouring clutches be aware of what’s happened? Will they send us one of their Techs to help us out?”

“This will eventually happen, I’m sure of it,” said Jess. “Now, Antel will you tell us what we need to know about the changes.”

To be continued next Monday

Thank you for reading. I’ll be happy to read your comments