Crystalline Coil: Being the Light
Xenophobia dooms the expedition
Saor reset the life support controls and raced to the commander’s quarters to get the egg before Rissan returned. He would destroy it, show Rissan that it was an abomination, a misuse of the ancient ways, which allowed only equality with their own kind.
He grabbed the egg from the nest, sensations flooding his consciousness: kaleidoscope images of light and color, roaring music and noise, muscle contractions both painful and orgasmic, palpable fragrances and smells, and whatever else his cerebral cortex could register and decipher. He writhed and staggered, lashing out blindly with arms and tail to destroy the helix.
Losing consciousness, he collapsed, shattering the egg and scattering the stones.
***
Rissan checked the navigation system and log, reeling from the experience below and trying to comprehend the present situation. Where was Saor? What had he done?
"Task force approaching bearing 3.239," said a crewmember. "Looks like an ER, maybe the Ecava."
"Engage ECM, prepare interceptors and lances, begin evasive maneuvers, and hold on tight." Rissan's mind raced to find solutions. "Locate Officer Saor immediately. Send a message to the task force that our systems are malfunctioning, that our intentions were for mutual benefit."
"Security check, sir. Officer Saor is in your quarters. He isn't responding. We've called medical."
"Good job. Keep him there. I'm on my way."
***
Rissan found Saor sprawled across the deck amid the collapsed pile of precious stones, his digits wet with the blood oozing from dead egg.
The medical team was assessing the damage. "He's alive, sir, but in some kind of coma, like he was electrocuted."
"That's very likely. I was conducting a high-energy experiment here." He picked up the dark sapphire, now dull and opaque. The sense of it being alive was gone. "Clean up the egg and preserve it in stasis. Put all these stones back in the alcove so each one is in the light."
"Aye, Sir." Two members of the medical team carried Saor to sickbay, while the other cleaned up the mess. Had Saor wiped out an entire race?
Flesh creatures merely went into suspended animation in E-space, but the Crystalline Coil probably died, like the crystal he held in his hand. How could he explain that to an irate Elder Race? The ship shivered as the Ecava aimed a shot across her nose.
"Commander Rissan, we need you in the Command Center."
"On my way." He would soon find out. And then what would he do?
***
The face of the Ecava commander snarled. "Enemy of the Crystalline Coil, prepare to die. I, Ihrig Llah, am your executioner!"
The Elder Races were always unpredictable; the Ecava were more mysterious than many others.
Captain Rissan began to speak before he knew what he could say. "Stay your weapons, Ihrig Llah, of Ecava. We of the Slithy Sibling Society of Thre'threth, I myself, Captain Krotch Rissan, are not your enemy, nor enemy of the Crystalline Coil."
Llah fired an interceptor. The ECM kicked in, meeting the missile with a countermeasure. Energy waves buffeted both ships.
Rissan felt the sapphire he still held grow heavier. He placed it on the interface panel of the comm link and spread both talons across its surface. It seemed to vibrate in his claws, as if coming to life. When the Ecava fired another interceptor, in turn intercepted, the sapphire regained more of its fire, and Rissan began to feel Lapiz Lazuli's psychic presence.
"Focus energy beams on this crystal, light, radio, ultrasound. You," he nodded to the security officer, "Set your hand weapon on its lowest energy and fire continuously into the crystal."
"Sir, you might..."
"Now!"