Xenophobia - Chapter 34

    "Special?" Darrian asked with a lit of interest.
    Illiquina responded with a little nod as she tapped away on her datapad.
    "That seems contradictory to the idea that they were all the same model." Ferris interjected.
    "Doesn't it though?" she quipped back.
    "So why-" he began.
    "Let's call it a hunch." she said before handing the datapad to Darrian.
    Hesitantly taking the little computer, Darrian examined what she had laid out for him. It appeared to be some kind of a spreadsheet. It highlighted dozens of columns of information that made no sense to him, but three specific sets of data had been highlighted.
    'Termination Reason' and 'Reclamation'.
    "So you think the old judge was designed special then?" Ferris asked as Darrian studied the spreadsheet.

    "I don't think it started that way." she responded. "But for some reason, the old robot stuck out amongst his peers."

    After a moment of reading, Darrian understood why Illiquina thought what she did.

    "They cannibalized the others to keep the judge running." he said in shock.

    With the exception of a single DR robot which had been lost due to accidental explosive decompression, every other one of the judge's robots had been used in some capacity to repair him. Some of the units had been lost due to natural causes: mechanical or electronic failures of some capacity. Others had been intentionally dismantled and decommissioned with the intent to disassemble them.

    No matter how, though, the parts of his ten brothers had been used to make the sure judge kept running.

    "But...why?" Ferris asked in surprise as he read through the data himself. 

    "Again, I can't even take a stab at that without the judge's file." Illquina said with a hint of annoyance.

    "There had to be something." Darrian added quickly. "Something he did or said that was out of character. Something that made him stand out."

    "They all had the same purpose though." Ferris thought out loud. "So it must have been something big."

    "And that's why I think it was the Guillae." she shot back.

    In his sleep addled brain, the two ideas didn't connect. He was about to ask yet another question but Illiquina was kind enough to answer it before it could be asked.

    "Of the races in the galaxy," she said coolly, "which do you think would be the biggest threat to the Merrenian's desire for water."

    "The Guillae." Darrian echoed hollowly.

    "Right. The Guillae, at least at the time, were the only species that would have used water. Without their original file, I have no idea if the Guillae were an established race or the Consortium just stumbled across them. No matter the how, the Guillae would have been the biggest threat to their attempts to gather water."

    Darrian stared at her for a long moment, considering what hat just been said.

    "Then you think-"

    "The judge was involved somehow in the Guillae's removal from the Consortium."

    "Makes sense." agreed Darrian.

    "While that's interesting." Ferris said slowly. "This has nothing to do with Earth or the humans then."

    "Probably not." she agreed. "But it still seems strange that he reacted the way he did."

    "It does." Darrian agreed.

    "It doesn't matter." Ferris shot back. "We're speculating enough as it is. We don't need to build theories on top of-"

    KZZZT~

    "-nyone there?"
    They all turned in shock at the disembodied voice. The holographic imager started to generate the transmission from Jin'thun a moment later.
    "Hello?" he asked impatiently.
    "We're here." Illiquina said quickly and getting up from her place at the table.
    Despite his exhaustion, Darrian felt a new wave of energy rush into him.
    "Good. Because it's started." Jin'thun growled. "The Tulgucks have arrived."
    "Were you able to-" Ferris began.
    "We weren't able to do anything." he said gravely, cutting him off. "They've already begun their attack. The Mars colony has been destroyed along with everything in it."
    The room fell silent.
    "We're moving to intercept. But they've come for blood and their ships are faster and better equipped than we anticipated. We've already lost half our forces." he said quietly.
    "Where are they going?" Ferris  asked with horror in his voice.
    They all knew, but he had to ask.
    "Now that they're done with Mars." Jin'thun said slowly. "They're going to destroy Earth."

===

Next Chapter (TO BE RELEASED WITH THE FINAL BOOK!)
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

===  

(Hello Lovelies. I hope you enjoyed because this is our FINAL PUBLIC CHAPTER! From here on in, I will be doing a few things. On the backend, I will now be finishing the story and then re-writing and editing accordingly. The rewrite will make the story a little more cohesive since originally it was never meant to be a novel as well as adding a bit more character development. During this time period, we will be releasing regular, differing content but will also be starting to arrange things we need for the release including coverart and blog tours. the flip side is, you should finally see some different content then just Xenophobia. haha Have a wonderful day!)

Xenophobia - Chapter 33

    "To start, I feel the need to reiterate, these entries aren't directly about the Old Judge." Illiquina stated hesitantly.
    "We know that already." Ferris agreed.
    "Mmm." Darrian with a nod.
    "But it's something." Ferris added. "They were all from the same batch, right? Theoretically they have the same purpose."
    "A reasonable assumption." Illiquina confirmed.
    She let out a sigh and seemed to consider their two expectant gazes.
    "Well, the original batch consisted of a dozen units." Illiquina began. "Much like other robots from that era, they were identical in appearance, if not design."
    "At that time, they were pretty much just referred to by a basic code designation: DR." she continued. "After reviewing the files, I'm thinking that the old judge might have been DR-5. Not that it matters."
    "DR?" Darrian asked.
    "Diplomatic Robot."
    "So they were meant for diplomacy." Ferris observed. "Somehow I expected something a little more vile."
    Illiquina snickered to herself and tapped a few things on her datapad.
    "Diplomacy has many purposes, Rodent." she shot back snidely.
    Ferris begun to huff up at her aside, but Darrian weakly waved a hand at him. He didn't have the patience for their back and forth at the moment.
    "What do you mean?" he asked weakly.
    "I mean that people can use diplomacy for different things." Illiquina repeated.
    "That doesn't..." Darrian began.
    "They were designed to get something from someone." Ferris clarified.
    "Not just someone, but many someones." Illiquina confirmed.
    "You have to remember: this was the very beginning of the Consortium. The Merrenians had just discovered a half a dozen different races, all who had active war machines and armadas that vastly rivaled anything of their own." she continued. "But there was one thing that your species had that no other did."
    "Robots?" Ferris asked.
    "True, you had a mastery of robotics." Illiquina said with a nod. "Your evolution had demanded that for your exosuits."
    "More than that though." she said with a look of mild disgust. "The Merrenians were incredibly cunning and wonderful at wheedling what they wanted out of others."
    "But...what did they want?" Darrian thought out loud.
    "Sounds like not getting caught in a six species war was a good goal." Ferris remarked.
    "Water." Illiquina said simply.
    Darrian and Ferris glanced at each other.
    "Water?" they asked in unison.
    "Goals don't change much do they." Illiquina remarked.
    "Well. We all use water, don't we?" asked Darrian.
    "Now we do. But Merrenains were the first to really utilize water on a mass scale. It served a million purposes. But just like today it was an essential component in the cooling systems for Merrenian robotics and industrial capabilities."
    Darrian nodded softly but Ferris looked confused.
    "Things haven't changed much that way." she added in that way.
    "What's that mean?" Ferris questioned.
    "I means that the Merrenians still hold stakes in seventy percent of the galactic water stakes." she shot back with just a hint of anger.
    Darrian had never considered it before, but figured she must be right. He also doubted that Illiquina would embellish such a fact even with her occasional temper.
    "Ok. We wanted water." Ferris snapped back quickly. "Hell. If I remember my history classes correctly, the discovery of water was what drove us off planet. But what do the DR robots have to do with that?"
    "Because what better way to get what we need than to take it from others?" Darrian said thoughtfully. The words were slow but weighed heavy on his mind.
    Illiquina gave a little nod.
    "And what's better way to take from others?" she said coolly. "Than to have it given freely."
    They sat there in silence for a minute, considering what had been said. Darrian felt like lightning was jolting through his brain. Even with the sludge of exhaustion, the wheels began to turn again.
    "The Consortium's whole purpose...was to steal water? To take it from the other species?"
    "It's not like it says in the file." Illiquina said. "And it's not like the Consortium hasn't done wonderful things. But everything points to that. That and keeping the other species relatively passive to avoid unnecessary cost or wars."
    He couldn't believe what was being said. Thousands of rotations of peace and prosperity. Born of simple avarice.
    It was just too much to take in.
    "Then the old judge is just the last of the DR robots?" Ferris asked curiously. "The last remnant?"
    "Yes." Illiquina confirmed. "But I think it might be more than that."
    "How so?"
    "Well, I can't confirm without the Judge's profile...or the Guillae's..."
    Darrian tilted his head in curiosity at the mention of the plant people.
    "But I think the old judge stood out among his 'brothers'." Illiquina said quietly. "I think he was special in some way the others weren't."

===

Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 32

    Darrian felt himself begin to nod off but quickly shook himself awake.
    Blearily, he glanced around the big conference table again.
    He felt tired.
    More than that he felt exhausted. Sore. Abused. His attention had fizzled out long before Ferris had shown up to 'relieve' him. Despite this, he didn't even the will to get up and leave. So he just stared at the table.
    "You ok, man?" Ferris asked for what seemed like the millionth time.
    Darrian meekly nodded in way of response.
    "Come on, Darrian. You look terrible." Ferris said with a hint of concern. "Go home. You could use the rest."
    "I'll be here when Jin'thun contacts us." he added quickly.
    Darrian slowly turned his attention towards his compatriot who offered him a friendly smile.
    "Can't." he said shortly.
    That sat in silence for another indiscernible period of time. They had already done this same song and dance several times, but neither had broken their stead. But the outcome had yet to change. Ferris kept gently nudging him and Darrian just responded that he couldn't leave.
    Not that he wouldn't leave. He couldn't.
    Darrian had to wait for the inevitable. He needed to know what was happening at Mars.
    If only they would contact them, he would know what was happening.
    In the silence of the room, it seemed like everything that had happened up til now, that had led up to this, was constantly replaying in his mind. Even worse, a thousand scenarios born of fear and anxiety took heed when he managed to slip free of the past.
    What is the Gorderians and Tulgucks started an all-out war? What if this one conflict, over this one questionable species tore apart the very Consortium? What if despite everything, the humans were destroyed and...
    His mind was a turbulent mess of terror and remorse. 
    If only he knew what was happening.
    "Well..." Ferris began.
    Darrian glanced back at him.
    "Illiquina should be here soon." He offered.
    "Yea." Darrian said in way of response.
    Illiquina.
    That had been the other thing that had been bothering him.
    Did the Old Judge fit into any of this somehow?
    Every time that question cropped up, it was like a viscous black ooze that mucked up his mind even further. In slipped into the cracks of his thoughts and gelled his anxieties together; making him wonder how it might all be connected.
    But each time, he would eventually reject it.
    The Old Judge is nothing. He thought to himself. Just a stupid old robot.
    And so he'd continue stressing in silence. At least until Ferris tried to get him to go home again.
    True to Ferris's word, however, Illiquina showed up shortly thereafter. She walked into the conference room and immediately focused on the weary Darrian.
    "What are you still doing here?" she asked pointedly.
    "Can't get him to leave." Ferris offered.
    "Darrian?" she asked.
    "Can't leave." he said quietly.
    Illiquina glowered at him before turning her smoldering annoyance on Ferris.
    "Hey. I've been trying."
    She approached him and her demeanor softened.
    "Darrian. Go Home."
    "Can't."
    "Why not?"
    "I need to know what's going on."
    "And you will." she offered in probably the gentlest tone the little Cadrax had ever spoken in. "But you need rest."
    He looked at her, but found himself simply staring through her.
    "Please." she said quietly.
    "I'll even walk you home." Ferris added.
    "No." Darrian said shortly.
    Illiquina and Ferris exchanged glances.
    "How long have you been awake?" She asked.
    "Don't know. Cycle maybe? Probably a little more."
    "You've been awake for an entire cycle?" Ferris asked shocked.
    "Yep."
    "Ok." Illiquina snapped. "Go home. You don't get to sit here til you die of exhaustion."
    Darrian glared down at the tiny Cadrax. He was considering just digging his heels in. It's not like she could physically move him. There was Ferris though...
    "Now." she said sternly.
    "What about the Old Judge?" he asked, the thoughts oozing through the cracks of his mind.
    "What about him?" asked Ferris.
    "Wha-" Darrian felt his words stumble. "What didn't you tell us?"
    Illiquina sighed and her tone softened once again.
    "That's what you've been stressing about." she said.
    "One of the things."
    "I was going to wait for everyone." she said hesitantly. "But if I tell you, will you go home?"
    "Mmm." he grumbled in confirmation.
    "Fine." she said as she settled in next to him.
    In an instant, she had her odd looking datapad out and was tapping away furiously. Maybe it was his tired mind, but he still couldn't figure out where she hid that thing.
    "Let's review, shall we?"

===

Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

===  

 (Hello Lovelies. So, I wanted to address something real quick. I know we're going slow but it's primarily related to me wanting to get these final chapters right. On top of this, I've begun the inital re-writing process since, as mentioned before, all posted chapters have been a first draft. That said, I'm only going to do one or two more public chapters. I'd like to leave the climax for the release of the book. Once I've released the last few public chapters, we'll return to a schedule of more random writings, discussions, etc. along with planning for blog tours and things of that nature. 

Sorry about the wait, but I promise more is to come. Hopefully the whole re-write and editing won't take too long, but I know a few good chunks will take a while since now I KNOW the characters a bit more and can make it a more of a cohesive story with strong character arch. See you next time!) 

Xenophobia - Chapter 31

    "You're there already?!" sputtered Illiquina.
    "H-How?" asked A'alan't 32 who appeared just as shocked as Illiquina.
    Ferris and Darrian exchanged confused glances. They were certainly surprised that the Gorderians had somehow reached Mars before the Tulgucks, but still...
    Jin'thun gave the group a hard look before he responded.
    "Do you know anything about folding space?" he asked them gruffly.
    "No?" Ferris offered unhelpfully.
    "I know that it's great for traveling long distances, incredibly dangerous, and wildly inaccurate." A'alan't 32 added.
    "All true." Jin'thun confirmed. "It's even worse when you're firing off into a solar system. But we made it through with minimal losses."
    Darrian felt his throat tightening.
    "How many-" he began.
    "Four ships were lost in the fold." Jin'thun responded flatly.
    Darrian responded with a soft nod. He felt a shiver run down his back as he thought about it.  
    Four ships. Four ships full of people lost well before fighting even begun. And if the Tulgucks could be talked down? Four ships possibly lost for no reason.
    "I'm sorry." A'alan't 32 offered, taking the words from Darrian.
    "As am I." Jin'thun growled softly.
    Straightening himself up, Darrian steeled himself. They would need to think ahead for now.
    "What do you need from us?" he asked.
    "Not much you can do." Jin'thun said bluntly. "If I have someone nearby, we'll keep you up to date. But short of that, the Merrenians aren't worth much."
    ~ZZZT~ "I take offense to that, Fur-face."
    As if on cue, the holographic image split into two. On the left, Jin'thun. On the right, Harris.
    "Harris!" Ferris exclaimed.
    "Oy." he responded with a nod before turning his attention towards Jin'thun.
    "Harris." Jin'thun growled. "How did you-"
    "My literal purpose is to watch and listen. You think I didn't patch into your comms the moment you ripped a hole in space, you're sorely mistaken."
    "This channel is supposed to be secure..." Jin'thun responded with venom, his attention focused away from the imager.
    "Don't blame your comms-officer." Harris interjected. "I'm just better than him."
    The two images sat in strained silence. Darrian had seen Jin'thun's explosive temper more than once and expected another outburst promptly.
    But it never came.
    "Fine." Jin'thun snarled. "What do you want, Harris?"
    "Better question: What do you want?" Harris responded snidely.
    "Okay. What do I want?"
    "I bet you want access to the Tulguck armada's intranet."
    For once, Jin'thun seemed less angry and more flabbergasted.
    "You're serious?"
    "I'm talking to you on a spliced channel." Harris shot back with a smirk. "What do you think?"
    Jin'thun considered for a moment.
    "A'alan't 32." he said. "If you could arrange someone to stay nearby for the next cycle, I would greatly appreciate it."
    "Of course." she responded before glancing to the others. "We'll take shifts?"
    There was a series of nods in agreement.
    "Fantastic." Jin'thun said gruffly.  "It seems you and I have much to discuss, Harris."
    Harris didn't say anything, but simply wore that same smirk. A moment later, the imager blanked out, leaving them once again in the dark room.
    They sat in silence for a few moments before A'alan't 32 spoke up.
    "So who's willing to start?" she asked.
    "I will." Darrian offered.
    "I'll do next shift." Ferris added.
    They both agreed with little nods before settling back into their spots.
    "Next cycle is going to be long." Darrian observed with a heavy sigh.
    There was a mutter of agreement before everyone but Darrian started to make their way towards the door.
    "I'll be back by early cycle." Ferris said as he left.
    Darrian waved them off with a little smile before looking around the empty conference room. It had never occurred to him how cavernous it seemed without the other councilors or the old jud-
    His attention snapped back to the closed door.
    In the excitement, the group had totally forgotten to go over what Illiquina had found.
    "I hope it's not important." he muttered to himself.

===

Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 30

    "Get out of that solar system." A'alan't 32 said with a mix of stern decisiveness and motherly concern. "Let events play out however they will. You're done there."
    "Ma'am?" Harris asked with a lit of surprise.
    "If the humans are gearing up, that's a third army that's mobilizing for battle in that same area. First the Tulgucks, then the Gorderians, and now them."
    Darrian and the other councilors quietly regarded her for a moment before she said.
    "It's not safe for you to stay there anymore."
    Harris seemed to consider this for a moment.
    "You're not wrong." He said after a thinking for a second. "But I'll have to decline."
    A'alan't 32 gave him a quizzical look.
    "Given your direction," Harris continued. "I'll offer those few individuals I have with me the opportunity to head home. But I, at the very least, will stay here until the conflict has resolved itself."
    "But why?" Cagool demanded, sounding quite confused.
    "Monstrous as the humans are in their design," he responded, "I've grown quite interested to see this played out until the end."
    "No matter the outcome." Harris finished with a glance back towards A'alan't 32.
    A'alan't gave him a small nod.
    "Thank you." she said softly.
    There were several other nods and murmured agreements from around the room.
    Harris regarded the room for a moment before saying, "I'll send you a quick report of anyone who is staying and anyone who is going. That way you know which of the survey team to expect back home."
    A'alan't 32 nodded once more before terminating the transmission. The holographic imager went dark and the room eerily quiet with it.

    Despite the fact that there was no real survey data to review and that they had no mediator, the councilors spent the majority of the cycle in the conference room.
    Some of it was spent reviewing the personnel list that Harris forwarded shortly after his transmission. However, the majority of it was spent discussing and pondering what this sudden preparation might spell for them and the impending armada.
    "Not to mention the galactic community." Darrian had offered stoically.
    The implication of what humans might infer from their first interactions with alien races being violent was not lost on any of the councilors. Given how war-like the humans tended to be, the thought of what might come from aliens being viewed as hostile was terrifying to consider. If these naturally violent creatures expected violence, they might enter the universe with the intent to do harm.
    The one thing they could all agree on, however, was that whatever happened on the next cycle would determine the future for the species. The Tulgucks would reach Mars and, three cycles later, Earth.

    "Do we know if the ships Harris mentioned will reach Mars by the next cycle?" Darrian asked.
    "Ships?" responded Ferris.
    "The ones that were en route to Mars."
    "I think so." Illiquina confirmed. "Based on the speed, they should actually reach there by early to mid cycle."
    "Just in time to meet the Tulgucks." A'alan't 32 said quietly.
    The four of them sat quietly, the implication weighing heavily on them. While the other councilors had left, they had stayed by Illiquina's request.
    "So you wanted us for something, Illiquina?" A'alan't 32 asked as she settled herself heavily at the conference table.
    "I did." she confirmed and drew out her datapad.
    It always bothered Darrian how she seemed to pull that thing from nowhere.
    "Did you find something new out?" he asked her.
    "I did actually." Illiquina repeated with a knowing smirk.
    She quickly tapped out a few commands on her datapad. To their surprise, the holographic imager powered up a moment later.
    "Oh wow." Ferris commented. "I didn't know you had access to the imager."
    "I don't..." she said, her voice drifting off.
    The imager hummed for a moment, glew, and, to the group's surprise, generated the image of a diminutive Gorderian.
    "Jin'thun!" they exclaimed with surprise.
    "I'm glad you're still in conference." he said growled out. "I was worried tha-"
    Jin'thun took a moment to regard the empty room.
    "It's just you?"
    A'alan't 32 nodded.
    "Correct. It's a long story."
    "You can tell me later." he said quickly. "Get the judge."
    "About that-" Ferris began.
    The group proceeded to fill Jin'thun in on the details that he'd missed: the Judge, the malfunction, the disappearance, and how they seemingly weren't being provided a mediator by the Merrenian government. They got the impression that Jin'thun was in a rush and tried to make the details short and to the point.
    "So who's mediating the meetings?" he demanded.
    "Officially...no one." Darrian offered. "However A'alan't 32 has stepped up to help try and lead us."
    "Good enough."
    "So what's the issue?" Ferris asked
    "We've arrived." he growled. "We're in orbit over Mars and waiting for the Tulgucks to arrive."

===

Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

===  

(Hello Lovelies. So, I just wanted to apologize for the delay and let you know that it is related to our previous discussion. At the moment, I'm still undecided as to how we will proceed. However, no matter our direction, I need to return to regular updates. I deeply appreciate all the recommendations and will be considering many of them. Thank you. That said, I hope you enjoy!)

Xenophobia - Chapter 29

    Darrian felt a welling sense of excitement deep inside him.
    The humans were preparing for a fight.
    But wait a second...
    "How do we know it's regarding the Tulgucks?" Darrian asked hesitantly. "Surely there must be some kind of a response to whatever is happening on Mars. How are you sure this isn't it?"
    "Well..." Harris began.
    "He's right." Ferris quickly added in. "Why would you presume that it was in response to the Tulgucks?"
    Ferris glanced around and a few nods of agreement confirmed they were wondering the same.
    "Actually, it's..."
    "What are they even doing?" Ugul asked absently.
    Harris gave them all a look of annoyance and they quieted.
    "You want answers or do you just want to hear each other prattle on?"
    "Answers, please." Ferris responded in an almost playful manner.
    "Our apologies, Harris. Please continue." A'alan't 32 added quickly.
    "To begin, with regards to Mars, the humans already responded while you all were on vacation."
    "We weren't..." Cagool started to protest.
    "The humans," Harris quickly emphasized, cutting Cagool off. "dispatched two ships en route to Mars. While we're no longer on the planet, imagery of their departure suggested that they were a touch more prepared this time."
    "Prepared?" Darrian asked.
    "For mounds of violence, I'd expect." Illiquina offered.
    "You'd be correct." Harris confirmed. "However, shortly after the ships departure, the humans seemed to have noticed something. I can only presume it was the Tulgucks."
    "You said that earlier." Cagool interjected. "Why do you think it was the Tulgucks?"
    "Because the humans stopped fighting." Harris said. "And they started building."
    The councilors all exchanged confused glances.
    "Look, what do you know about humans?" he asked when he realized he hadn't made himself understood.
    "They're scary." Ugul offered.
    "They breathe oxygen." Illiquina added.
    "They love to fight each other." A'alan't 32 said thoughtfully after a moment.
    Harris nodded his confirmation.
    "One of the primary consistencies, and the reason the Tulgucks were scared of them in the first place, was the humans' tendencies towards war and violence." Harris stated. "And about a cycle ago, intraplanetary violence, particularly extreme measures between geographic locations utilizing ground troops and heavy artillery, ceased by 96%."
    "W-wow." Stuttered Ferris.
    "Wow indeed." Harris confirmed. "Instead they have all suddenly dedicated themselves to construction."
    "Of what?" asked Illiquina.
    "Warcraft. Space-faring warcraft."
    The councilors fell silent once again.
    "How-" A'alan't 32 began.
    "We, of course, are unable to properly determine exactly what the humans are building, particularly those units behind closed doors." Harris said quickly, cutting off A'alan't 32. "But we've counted a minimum of eight hundred separate spacecraft of varying degrees of sophistication."
    "You're serious?" Cagool asked. "You expect us to believe that, in less than a cycle, the humans have mobilized enough to begun construction of nearly a thousand craft."
    "Minimum." Harris confirmed.
    Cagool stared hard at Harris, seemingly choosing his next words carefully.
    "It's not like it matters." he finally said. "The most powerful weapon they have are nuclear devices. They're crude...they might as well throw rocks."
    "Perhaps, but even with the single trip to Mars, they were able to vastly improve upon their own technologies for the second trip." Harris said. "With motivation, I'd say the humans might just be able to rustle up more than you give them credit for."
    "It won't make a difference." Cagool snapped to the councilors' surprise.
    "That said." Harris said turning to A'alan't 32. "My men and I will be leaving their immediate orbit and spacegrounds. I don't care to be used as target practice once those ships are mobile."
    "Understood." A'alan't 32 confirmed.
    "I'll remain within the solar system and use long range systems to keep an eye on them, but I think the Tulgucks might be in for more of a resistance than the planned for."
    "That's absurd!" Cagool exclaimed.
    "Absurd or not." Harris said coolly. "Believe me or not. I'm telling you that the humans are gearing up for a fight. And, for the first time in their existence, it's not going to be with each other."

 ===

Next Chapter (Coming Soon!)
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 28

    The next cycle past without word from Illiquina or the Merrenian council.
    The cycle after that passed with equal silence.
    Darrian felt his nerves beginning to fray at the thought that time would simply pass endless while he wasted away in his office. Illiquina would accomplish nothing and the humans would die in a blaze of hellfire without any help from the outside.
    It was on the dawn of the third cycle, roughly one cycle from the supposed arrival of the Tulgucks at Mars, that he finally received a summons.
    And he was surprised to find that it was from A'alan't 32.
    "Report to the council chambers." was all the message said.
  
    Arriving at the conference room, Darrian approached A'alan't 32 and Illiquina stand at the far end of the table. However they quickly waved him away.
    "Not now." A'alan't 32 quickly said. "After."
    He looked around to realize that it wasn't just them. The other council members were slowly filtering into the room. Not only Ferris, but also Cagool, Cherryl, and Ugul.
    "What's this about?" Cagool demanded.
    "Oh, don't complain, Cagool." Ferris snipped at him as he settled at the table.
    "I'll complain if I want to." Cagool started in defense. "We don't even know where the old judge is or if he'll be joining us."
    Darrian had been wondering the same thing.
    So far, they'd requested the Merrenian council to provide a second middle-man for their council, but their requests had since been ignored. He'd considered it might be that someone behind the scenes might think it useless to assign a middle-man of the entire species would be dead in a matter of cycles, but Darrian tried to ignore that paling thought.
    Instead, he took his spot and looked expectantly at A'alan't 32.
    "At this point, it doesn't matter if the old judge is here." A'alan't 32 said to Cagool. "We have work to do."
    "Does it really matter? They're going to be dead in a couple of cycles. Then we find a new council."
    "Don't talk like that." said Ugul with a hint of sadness to his voice.
    "It matters." A'alan't 32 declared firmly.
    "Why?" Cagool asked again.
    "Because Harris and his team are still doing their jobs." she responded coolly. "The least we can do is return the favor."
    Darrian nodded and there were murmurs of agreement. Harris and his team were still out in a hostile, unforgiving solar system where they had to steer clear of toxic oxygen gasses, mutant plant monsters, and an incoming armada. The least they could do was review the information and send back responses.
    Or tell them to come home.
    "Just bring them back." Cagool snapped sharply, as if reading Darrian's thoughts.
    "No." Darrian said firmly. "If the old judge was right about anything, it's that we need to gather as much info as we can."
    "About those Guillae things?" Ugul asked.
    "About anything."
    There were a few sidelong glances, but it was clear that they were simply tired of the bickering and arguments.
    "Fine." Cagool said with resignation. "Anything's better than just sitting in my damn office all day."
    A'alan't 32 gave an approving nod and a smile and went about working the datapad. While she was not nearly as quick as the old judge with it and she needed to ask Illiquina for help a couple of times, she soon had the holographic imager running hot. A moment later, they were flipping through the messages from Harris.
    Many of them were so drull that Darrian regretted agreeing with A'alant 32.
    For all of the terrifying images that they had seen from Mars of Human-Guillae hybrids and the implications there-in, the data being sent in was almost non-existent. No video, no audio, and almost exclusively sampling and satellite imagery. Miles worth of long-range scans and data but nothing substantial. It was only after the hundredth orbital survey that someone finally said it.
    "They're not on the planet anymore."
    "You're right." agreed A'alan't 32.
    "But why?"
    Tense glances were exchanged, followed by a few unhelpful suggestions as to why the survey team might have retreated to orbit, but it was quickly agreed upon.
    "We have to contact them. Figure out what's going on."
    It took another few minutes of fiddling with the datapad before they got anywhere. Illiquina was talented and A'alan't 32 had watched the old judge, but neither of them really knew half of what he did up there at the front of the table. It wasn't until someone had the bright idea to reverse trasmit an old message that they got anywhere.
    A moment later, they were greeted with the steel-faced grimace of Harris.
    "Well isn't this a surprise." he commented. "Where's the old judge?"
    "We don't actually know." responded Ferris.
    The councilors took time relaying the incidents that occurred several cycles back; of the odd behavior and the sudden disappearance. Harris listened intently, but Darrian couldn't help but notice a twisting look of concern.
    "So that's it then? He just went crazy and ran off? No one's seen him since?" he asked in summation.
    There were a few murmured agreements.
    "Well damn." he groaned. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to proceed from here then. I'll have to try to reach out to the Merrenian council directly."
    "Good luck with that." mumbled Ferris.
    "Don't bother." Cagool said. "Just come home. No point in being out there."
    "I can't." Harris responded.
    A'alan't 32 gave him a sidelong glance.
    "Why not?"
    "It's the humans." he said, returning her gaze.
    "What? There are still survivors after that catastrophe on Mars?"
    "No. Mars is a wasteland...if you can call it that. Technically, there's already vegetation regrowing around the bases but the humans themselves have all been...converted."
    "Then why stay?" asked Darrian.
    "You might have noticed that we've returned to orbit?" Harris responded.
    "I was wondering about that." commented Ferris.
    "It's so we can keep a better eye on Earth and Mars." he said thoughtfully.
    "Why?" asked Illiquina bluntly.
    "Because I only have so many people." he responded in exasperation. "I can't send recon teams to both locations. I have to use long range imaging."
    "I think what Illiquina means," offered Darrian, "is why are you so focused on watching both."
    Harris remained quiet for a second before responding.
    "It's the humans. I think they've noticed the incoming Tulgucks. The humans on Earth are mobilizing some sort of counter offensive unit. They're preparing for the attack."

 ===

Next Chapter (Coming Soon!)
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 27

    The others glanced around at each other, not sure what to say. Illiquina watched them with an excited look that quickly dwindled.
    A moment of silence later, she buried her face back in her datapad and started pounding away.
    "I'm not sure I understand." Darrian said thoughtfully, the first one to speak again."So whoever it was that changed the info in the archives...they forgot to remove the information on the old judge's brothers?"
    "In essence." Illiquina responded with a mischievous smile, still typing furiously.
    "Wow." Ferris said stupidly.
    "Yep!" she said gleefully.
    "That seems like a huge oversight." Ferris continued.
    "Yes and no." Illiquina remarked.
    Ferris and Darrian traded confused glances.
    "What do you mean by that?" Darrian asked.
    Illiquina didn't respond.
    The silence grew louder, intensified by the incessant tapping.
    "Illiquina?" A'alan't 32 finally interjected.
    "Mmm?"
    "What do you mean?" A'alan't 32 repeated.
    "Well..." she said looking up. "whoever came through and changed the information on the judge did alter the information on the judge's brothers."
    Ferris let out a sharp, annoyed groan.
    "Then how is it any better than the judge's entry?" Ferris demanded.
    "Because they only deleted the info." she responded with a joyous grin.
    Again, they found themselves just staring at the little Cadrax.
    "How is that any different?" Ferris asked. "Or useful?"
    Illiquina's face darkened.
    "Actually, it's very useful." She quickly spat. "The judge's article was deleted and altered. His brothers only had specific segments removed and nothing else."
    "Or redacted, if you will." she added as an after thought.
    "How is that-" Ferris began.
    "Oh for the love of-! You really don't understand how your archive servers store information, do you?" she spat.
    "Illiquina." A'alan't 32 interjected once more with a warning in her tone.
    "Oh fine!"
    "Treat us as if we know nothing." Ferris quipped.
    "Like that would be hard." she snapped.
    Illiquina straightened herself up and took a deep breath, setting the datapad to the side for a moment.
    "Look: the archives are meant to store information." Illiquina started. "Meaning that, unless it has a good reason to, it doesn't simply purge information."
    "Information like 'old records', perhaps?" A'alan't 32 offered.
    "Precisely."
    "So you're saying that deleting something isn't a good enough reason to purge it from the archives?" Darrian asked, sounding utterly confused.
    "No! With multi-thread archiving, deleting something is just the beginning!" she said more excited than annoyed now. "If anything it's really just a hindrance."
    "I don't get it." Darrian said.
    "Me either." added Ferris.
    Illiquina stared at them with a look of complete derision.
    "Like I said: me know nothing." Ferris quickly shot out.
    Illiquina groaned under her breath.
    "Deleting is just the first level of the multi-thread purge in these systems. It removes the information from being readily displayed but it doesn't actually get rid of it. Unless the actual articles were altered...changed to reflect new information...none of the information in the stored backups is going to change."
    "In short," she continued. "If I can dig into the backup servers, I can pull out all of the information about our judge's dear old brothers."
    Darrian stared at the little Cadrax in awe. She was small and unassuming but she very well might be the most impressive one of the group.
    "Tha-that's incredible." stammered Darrian.
    "Damn straight."
    "What do you need from us?" asked A'alan't 32.
    "Absolutely nothing." she retorted. "Unless you know how to manually bypass 768 bit encryption or know how to plant a worm that will bypass security and draw out their database backups without triggering something?"
    "Do what now?"
    "That's what I thought." she said, scooping up her datapad.
    "How long should it take?" asked Darrian.
    "A while." Illiquina offered. "It might be worth heading home at this point. I'm going to keep working and let you know when I've made some headway. Very well might be a cycle."
    "Good luck." Ferris offered.
    Illiquina snorted and disappeared out into the hall.
        And with nothing better to do, the group said their goodbyes and made their way to their respective homes. That night, for the first time in a while, Darrian wasn't thinking of the humans or what was going on in their Sol system. His thoughts were racing with the possibilities with what Illiquina might find.

 ===

Next Chapter (Coming Soon!)
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 26

    "What was that today?" Ferris demanded, glancing at Illiquina.
    They were once again in the darkened meeting room, joined by A'alant 32 and Darrian, standing in a small semi-circle. While there was a touch more planning than the last time around, they had still elected to keep the lights off and the door locked.
    Don't want someone thinking we're up to something. Illiquina had said.
    What? Like we're not at this point? Ferris had retorted.
    That hadn't gone over well given Ferris's annoyance and Illiquina's barely contained rage.
    Not five minutes later, it looked like they were about to start fighting again.
    "What do you mean by that?" Illiquina snapped back. "That damned 'bot is a lying piece of-"
    "No, no, no." Ferris quickly backtracked. "I'm not talking about your eloquent tantrum earlier today."
    "TANTRUM?!" Illiquina's entire upper body flushed.
    Despite her diminutive stature, Illiquina looked like she very well may try to tear Ferris clean out of his robotic exosuit.
    "Enough." A'alan't 32 stated firmly. "I've had enough of your fighting recently."
    "She started it." Ferris grumbled.
    A'alan't 32 pointed a single, transparent blue digit at him.
    "Are we done?" she asked flatly.
    "Yes." they both answered in conjunction.
    "But I don't understand." Illiquina interjected quickly. "What happened after I left?"
    The group took a few moments to explain everything to Illiquina. They went over the sudden change in tone. The strange observations that the judge somehow thought something different would happen and that it seemed like he somehow felt responsible for the deaths of the humans. They ended by recounting his sudden 'Insufficient Data' comment and how he near about fled the conference room.
    "He's a dirty liar." Illiquina griped. "Covering his tracks."
    "I'm not so sure." Darrian said hesitantly.
    "He's a robot." Ferris observed. "Sure, an old robot designed with the capability to learn...but still just a robot. He's got a base programming. He shouldn't be capable of doing something as implicit as outright misdirection."
    "Well, clearly he is." she snapped.
    A'alan't 32, who had taken and settled in a nearby chair during the earlier discussion, seemed to glance back over the table. Much like the old judge did earlier, it was as if she was rewatching the hologram of the altered human.
    "That doesn't make sense." A'alan't 32 said quietly.
    "Than what do you think it is?" Illiquina demanded.
    A'alan't 32 glanced over to the small Caldrax and considered her for a moment before glancing back.
    "I don't know."
    They stood in silence for a moment. In the low light, they all looked distracted. Concerned. Even Illiquina whose voice burned with rage still looked more upset than she did angry.
    Something didn't add up.
    "What's the old judge's programming?" Darrian asked, thinking out loud.
    "Come again?" Illiquina responded.
    "You said that he shouldn't really be able to do something like lie. It wouldn't be within the realm of his programming." he responded, motioning towards Ferris. "But what if it was. So again..."
    "What's his programming?" Ferris echoed Darrian.
    "Who knows?!" growled Illiquina. "All of that information was deleted! Did you forget the last time we were here? All we know is whatever is in that damned file!"
    "He's a diplomat." she started to count off. "He's a robot. He's part of a larger team of-"
    Illiquina suddenly went blank.
    "-of other robots...with the same purpose..."
    Darrian looked at her sideways.
    "Yea? We know that."
    "No." she said, her entire mood flipping in an instant. "No. no. no. no."
    Illiquina fished out her datapad out of seemingly nowhere and began tapping away on it furiously. Darrian couldn't help but wonder where she'd stowed it because he couldn't remember her coming in with it.
    "What is it?" Ferris asked, clearly confused.
    There was no response. Simply incessant tapping.
    "Illiquina?" A'alan't 32 asked.
    No answer.
    They stood there staring at the little Cadrax in silence as she pounded away on the datapad. Seconds drew to moments in utter quiet, filled only by 'taptaptaptap'.
    Just as Darrian was about to ask again, Illiquina let out a cheer.
    "YES!" she shouted far too loud. "Yes! Yes! Yes!!!"
    "What?" Ferris asked, clearly annoyed by the antics.
    "I have a way to figure out what the old judge was programmed for!"
    "What?" Darrian said, taken aback. "How? The archives were altered."
    "His brothers." she said with a growing smile. "We still have information on the other robots that he was a part of! We can figure out his real purpose!"

===

Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 24

    Darrian stared aghast at what he had just seen.

    "Wh-what was that?" he stammered, his eyes transfixed on the hologram.

    "Was that a Guillae?" Ugul quickly added, sounded just as shocked.

    Everyone looked to the old judge. However the old judge seemed just as transfixed on the near-silent hologram.

    In the image of the overgrown laboratory, there were still a few little green and brown specks floating harmlessly in the air. The quickly deflating plant cocoon could be seen wilting near the edge of the image. In the distance, the audio could barely pick out the sound of scattered screams and occasional bangs.

    Those were quickly silenced.

    After a drawn out moment of watching the dust settle in the hologram, Illiquina spoke up.

    "Judge." she said in a soft yet demanding tone. "Answer him."

    "No." he said shortly before glancing at Ugul. "That was not a Guillae."

    "Then what the hell was it?" Ferris asked with more composure than Darrian thought he could muster at the moment.

    Once again the old judge did not respond. Instead, he glanced from Ferris to Ugul to Illiquina and finally back to the derelict image.

    "I don't know." he said after another eternity of shocked silence.

    Reaching down, he picked up his datapad and began typing something. The entire conference table watched as his fingers flew over the screen in a flurry of speed. In the quiet, the tapping sounded as deafening as if he were pounding on a table.

    A moment later, the hologram flickered out of existence and he set the datapad down.

    "I've informed Harris and his team to investigate the incident further." he said quietly. "I've also insisted they use utmost caution to avoid those things."

    "They were human..." Darrian said aloud as the thought pervaded his mind. "Those things...they used to be human.

    "It certainly seems like that would be the case." the old judge agreed.

    "But how?" Illiquina asked quietly.

    The old judge could only shrug in response.

    Darrian found himself glancing at A'alan't 32, the only one in their little group that had an intact archive regarding the floramorphs. Illiquina and Ferris were both doing the same. A'alan't 32 was simply shaking her head.

    She doesn't know either. he thought.

    They were in uncharted waters.

    However, Illiquina either mistook that idea or couldn't accept it as a possibility. In an instant, Darrian saw her dismay and horror turn to unfettered rage.

    Rage that was directed towards the old judge.

    "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" she growled.

    Several heads around the table stared at her in surprise. The old judge being one of them.

    "Come again?" he asked, the shock plain on his robotic features.

    "YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!" Illiquina bellowed; a surprising sound from her small frame. "DIDN'T YOU?!"

    The old judge stood, looking utterly incredulous as he tilted his head. Some of the other ambassadors were backing up a bit from the table. Some look shocked. Other confused. Only A'alan't 32 looked almost embarrased.

    Or was it annoyance?

    "Why would you think that?" the old judge asked, sounding almost offended.

    "Oh please!" Illiquina snapped. "You kept going on and on about how this would be some kind of an important experiment. How we needed to use the time we had to study what we could. You knew!"

    "Of course I didn't." the old judge defended himself. "If I realized it would create..."

    The old judge stared at the empty space where the hologram had been for a brief second before continuing.

    "Whatever that was, then maybe I'd have had the analytics team get involved."

    "Sure." Illiquina grumbled. "To plant more cameras maybe."

    If the old judge had looked offended earlier, now he looked outright angry.

    "What are you trying to imply, ambassador?"

    Illiquina barked a fake laugh.

    "I'll actually don't know. I don't know anything about you OR the Guillae. That's actually the problem!"

    A'alan't 32 looked up in shock and surprise; as did Ferris and Darrian. While it wasn't unlawful to yell at a robot, Illiquina's hacking into the archive code certainly had been.

    "Tell me, 'bot." she said with utter disrespect. "Why don't you tell me why it is that your file-"

    "Enough!" A'alan't 32 yelled as she shot out of her spot. "Sit. Down. Illiquina."

    Illiquina's wrath turned towards A'alan't 32. For the briefest moment she looked as though she might start shouting at her too. But, as she glared at the Bivvie, a flicker of realization crossed the little Cadrax's face.

    She let out an angry yell and, with nothing further, stormed out of the conference room.

    "Keep this up." Ferris muttered under his breath. "And we're not gonna have much of a council left."

    "Guess it won't matter soon anyway." Ugul regarded back quietly.

    A'alan't 32 shot them threatening glances before turning her attention towards the old judge.

    "My apologies for her disrespect, judge."

    "It's not your place to apologize for another species' ambassador." he said, clearly collecting himself.

    "Of course not." she agreed. "But you must be able to see where she's coming from can you not?"

    A'alan't 32 glanced around the table at the worried and shocked faces of the other ambassadors.

    "It all seems a bit suspicious. First your enthusiasm and now...this."

    "I suppose it is." he agreed quietly.

    "So tell us judge." Ferris said, speaking up. "What is it that you did expect?"

===

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter 

Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 23

    As dawn broke the following cycle, Darrian settled into his place at the conference table.
    He was the last one to arrive.
    "I know some of you may be itching to review the new information from Mars." the old judge said after the initial greetings had been exchanged and the meeting begun. "You'll be happy to know that Harris has already queued up a wealth for us."
    Darrian appraised the old judge with unease. Something about the robot seemed almost happy this morning. Perhaps it was another learned emotion, meant to lighten the mood given the harshness of the last cycle.
    But still...
    "Have we heard anything back from Jin'thun?" Ugul asked quickly.
    "We have not." the judge confirmed.
    Perhaps Darrian was imagining it. Adding just some imagined level of villainy. But it sounded like the old judge was just a little too elated when he said that.
    The table groaned and muttered to each other. Discussions about whether or not the Gorderians would make it in time to save the humans were clearly heard around the table.
    The old judge quickly rapped on the table.
    "Enough." he said shortly. "Now, we have a hologram stream sent in from the analytics team. It would seem that the humans on Mars are alive. In a manner of speaking."
    "What does that mean?" Ferris asked with a bit too much anger in his tone.
    The old judge either didn't hear Ferris or simply chose to ignore him. He quickly tapped the screen of his datapad and the familiar scene of the lab appeared from the holographic imager.
    It only took a moment before someone asked.
    "What the...hell? What happened?!" A'alan't 32 said, shooting up from her spot.
    The scene in front of them, despite being the same viewpoint as the cycle before, was drastically different. Previously, there had been a clean, well-kept lab environment filled to the brim with shiny tools, smooth surfaces, and humans in safety attire working diligently. Now, it was as if the lab had been overgrown by a rain forest.
    A strange, humid mist seemed to hand in the air of the lab environment. Heavy, plantlike growths seemed to have covered the walls, floor, and even shrouded the large viewport window that looked in on the surgical theater. The room was dark, with the plant growths covering the fluorescent lights, but Darrian could clearly make out some kind of gooey ichor dripping from the ceilings above and little speckles of green and brown floating about in the mist.
    "It would seem," the old judge said coolly, "that there were some interesting side effects from the humans interacting with the Guillae."
    Darrian felt his throat tightening. All he could do was stare at the image. It was so drastically different than he'd seen the cycle before. He was in too much shock to do anything else.
    Around the table, many of the other ambassadors seemed to be going through the same thing.
    "I-I don't understand." Illiquina stammered. "What happened to the humans?! You said they were alive!"
    "In a manner of speaking." the old judge echoed
    As if on cue, Darrian noticed movement to one side of the hologram. A large trunklike section of one of the plants taking over the surgical theater seemed to thrum and move a little. It seemed to bulge and throb as if there were something moving about inside it.
    It moved like this for several moments before one of the bulges seemed to grew too far. A palm and five digits, which everyone readily recognized as the five-fingered hand of a human, was pushing against the membrane from inside the plant itself.
    The flesh of the plant gave and gave and then tore, letting out a moist, squelching sound as it ripped open. A spray of green and brown burst freely into the already heavy air of the lab and the human that was trapped inside the plant cocoon pulled itself free.
    That's right. Darrian thought. It was a cocoon.
    For the human that freed itself from the plant was not like any he'd seen in studying earth. Standing before the camera nude, she still resembled a human female. Her eyes were dark, sunken in, and the normal white of the sclera was a cavalcade of blood red and algae green. Her flesh: a palid, lighter tone now showed all of the veins and arteries that crisscrossed beneath. All of them ran deep, emerald green. Her body appeared soft and voluptuous by human standards, yet closer examination revealed that her flesh had taken on a strange solidity; as if she were covered by a hard shell.
    The most disturbing for Darrian however was the expression.
    Vacant. Hollow. Empty.
    Her eyes and her face seemed to display no intelligence or range of emotion; almost as if she were a walking corpse.
    "What...happened?" Ugul asked.
    The old judge seemed just as transfixed with the images as the other ambassadors. While he didn't look quite as horrified, there was no fabricated joy on his face now.
    Darrian didn't know if the old judge expected this kind of imagery, but he definitely didn't appear to be enjoying it either.
    "Isn't it obvious?" the old judge said. "Just as I said before: there would be interesting side effects from these two species interacting..."
    No one dared say anything more for a long while. What was there to say? No one could change what had happened. What WAS happening. No one even knew it was GOING to happen. Yet here they were with front row seats.
    And there she stood. Silent. Just standing there staring off into nothingness.
    That is, until a scream echoed somewhere offscreen and, in an instant flurry of violence and speed, the modified human shot off after the noise.

===

Next Chapter (Coming Soon!)
Previous Chapter 
Start at the Beginning

=== 

Xenophobia - Chapter 22

    Darrian started to respond, but stopped.
    He looked from face to face, considering what had just been said. He had felt like something was odd about not being able to find any info on the Guillae; but the information had been altered? Even then, he had never thought about looking into the old judge.
    He simply didn't know what to say.
    After a moment of staring blankly at the other ambassadors, Illiquina decided to break the silence.
    "Let me ask, Darrian: what do you know about the old judge?"
    "Well..." he started softly, racking his memory. "I know he's supposed to be many hundreds of rotations old. He was created by the Merrenians at the conception of the Consortium to help deliberate, translate, and navigate the political situations that would arise from multiple species interacting."
    He thought for a moment before adding:
    "If I remember correctly, he was one of a dozen or something like that? There used to be a lot more but now he's the only only left over."
    Illiquina nodded in agreement.
    "Picture perfect to his archive entries."
    "Are you saying that's not the case?"
    "We don't actually know." A'alan't 32 stated.
    "All we know is that the information was removed." Illiquina added before glancing at A'alan't32. "We're hoping that the Bivvie might have record of something additional but..."
    "But it's not likely that the old judge was heavily documented. At his conception, he was little more than a worker drone for the Consortium and likely didn't garner attention." A'alant 32 finished.
    "So, in short, we have no idea what dirty secrets that thing has." Ferris growled in annoyance.
    Darrian considering asking about the Guillae when the question occurred to him that he should have asked right away.
    "How do you know any of this?"
    "Well. I mean it makes sense if you think about." A'alan't 32 said. "Why would the Bivvie care about a random robot drone? Particularly when-"
    "No." Darrian said, cutting her off. "I mean how do you know there was some kind of alteration?"
    Everything they were saying felt right. Felt correct in lieu of this nagging feeling that something was wrong. But he couldn't let himself fall prey to wild speculation.
    The other ambassadors glanced back and forth between each other before Illiquina responded.
    "It's in the code." she said simply with almost a confused tone.
    "Code?" Darrian asked perplexed. "What code?"
    Darrian stared at Illiquina, perplexed. She wore a similar look of confusion, as if she didn't understand the question.
    "She means the code for the archives." Ferris offered.
    "I...don't know what that means." Darrian stuttered.
    "Come here." Illiquina said, motioning him closer to him.
    Darrian stepped closer and only then realized that Illiquina was holding a small, strange-looking datapad in one hand. It was notably slimmer than his own work pad and it seemed to be rimmed with small tabs and nobs along the outside edge that could be manipulated.
    Illiquina tapped the screen and brought up an image that she offered up to him.
    The image didn't make any sense to him. It appeared to be nothing more than a random assortment of letters, numbers, and symbols. Here and there he saw things that might vaguely represent words, but all together it proved little more than gibberish.
    "I don't know what this is, Illiquina." he stated with unabashed honesty.
    "You and me both." Ferris offered.
    "Aren't you Merrenians supposed to be experts in robotics?" Illiquina said with a huff. "How is it you don't know coding?"
    "The smart Merrenians make it easy for us dumb ones." Ferris said with a smile.
    "What he said." Darrian said, pointing at Ferris.
    Illiquina let out a soft growl of annoyance before pointing to the a certainly clump of letters and numbers.
    "Here." she said. "Do you know what that means?"
    Darrian offered a little shrug of confusion.
    "THAT!" she said with a sharp tap. "Is the file having to do with the Guillae."
    "Okay..."
    Illiquina huffed again but decided to try a change in tactics.
    "When did the old judge say the Consortium encountered the Guillae?" she asked.
    "Couple hundred rotations ago?" he offered while looking to Ferris and A'alan't 32, who both nodded in agreement.
    "Couple hundred." Illiquina confirmed before pointing to another blotch of numbers and letters. "Than why would all of the data have been removed and then edited twenty rotations ago?"
    Darrian stared at the stream of logic on the screen blankly. He tried to make sense of what she'd said. What he was seeing.
    "It says that?" he finally asked.
    "Yea." she said with a nod. "The data for the Guillae was actually very bloated. Huge in size. All of the sudden, about twenty years ago, it was all deleted and reduced to a fraction of a percent of the original information."
    Darrian considered that for a moment, not sure what to say.
    "Something similar happened with the old judge." she continued, moving further down the stream of information and pointing to another batch of code. "Here."
    "It was edited twenty rotations ago?"
    "Not for the judge. His information changed about forty six rotations ago. Just like the Guillae, his file was outright deleted and then edited to a notably smaller portion of info."
    "Maybe it's some kind of coincidence?" Darrian asked. "And maybe some kind of data loss or something forced them to rebuild the archives?"
    "If that were the case," Illiquina said with an annoyed tone in her voice. "Than I wouldn't have record of it in code."
    "Whatever happened or why," she continued. "Someone actively changed the information on the Guillae and the old judge. Removed information. And I wouldn't doubt that they changed it to meet some hidden agenda."
    "But...why?" Darrian asked, his head swimming.
    "That's what I hope we'll find out." Illiquina said softly before glancing at A'alan't 32.

===

Next Chapter
Previous Chapter 
Start at the Beginning

===