Solbidyum Wars Saga 6: Defeat of the Tottalax (35 page)

“I see, sir,” he said.  “I’ll make contact with Nybidong right away.”

Over the next few days, arrangements were made for the carrier
MAXETTE
and the starships
SOKAIA
and
FARWAR
, to transfer through Cantolla Gates at the borders of Sector 3 nearest to Weccies.  After the transfers were accomplished we traveled cloaked to the Weccies system, where we stationed ourselves and waited.  We had no idea when the Brotherhood would strike, but all indications were that it would be soon.  Of course, with the Cantolla Gates aboard our ships, it was possible for us to transfer back and forth between other ships and locations throughout the Federation, and I was making daily trips back and forth among the
MAXETTE
, the
DUSTEN
and the
NEW ORLEANS,
sometimes several times on the same day.  After we were inside Weccies space we had three patrol ships, equipped to set up a temporary gate large enough for starships, in case we needed reinforcements. 

I had three of the new RMFF penetrating torpedoes shipped to each of the starships as well as the three on the
MAXETTE.
  I hoped that if we needed to use them, they would work and cause sufficient damage to the Brotherhood ship to persuade them to either surrender, or leave the Weccies vicinity.  While we waited, I had time to meet with Tot, who was now communicating with both Truath and with A’Lappe.  I decided to visit with Tot on the
NEW ORLEANS,
and arrived to find Truath wearing one of the communication shirt devices and talking with Tot inside his living quarters.  A’Lappe was there, and Truath was fielding questions and answers between Tot and A’Lappe.

“How are things going?  I asked A’Lappe and Truath.

“Slower than I would like, A’Lappe said, “but we are learning things.”

“Anything we can use?” I asked.

“Not unless knowing that the Tottalax cannot survive in water temperatures above 29C or air temperatures above 31C, and then it’s only for a short period of time.  Also, they are cold blooded and go dormant in temperatures below 15C, so they are pretty much restricted by temperatures.  When in air they must have extremely high humidity, or they need misters to keep their gills wet.”

“Interesting,” I said, “Can we create a weapon that will cook them or freeze them?”

“I’m not sure we can freeze them.  The insides of their ships are environmentally controlled, so it would be difficult to freeze them unless you can disrupt their power supply.  As for cooking them, I’m not sure how you would accomplish that.  It would take thousands of ships all firing on their ship at one time with lasers to heat it up enough to cook them, and then only if their hulls are made of a material similar to what we use.  It’s possible our lasers wouldn’t even heat their hull, as we know it’s made of some other organic material and not affected the same way metal hulls are.”

“Hmm, what about microwaves?” I asked thinking about how I used my microwave oven back on Earth to heat water almost instantly.

“Microwaves?  I hadn’t thought of microwaves,” A’Lappe said, “I suppose we could fashion a microwave weapon that we could focus for a specific range that would allow us to heat up the water inside the Tottalax ship, but only if the hull doesn’t block microwave energy.  It’s possible, since the hull is of an organic type material, that it will also heat up with microwave.  I still have the sample with that broken rod that was removed from the
ALI
on Desolation, I can check and see how it reacts to microwaves.  There is no guarantee the rest of their ship is of the same material, but if it is, and it works, we may have a weapon we can use against them.”

“Truath, would you ask Tot if he is comfortable and if his accommodations are satisfactory, or if there is anything he wants or needs?”

“It is unnecessary for this female to repeat your words, Chief of Humans, this device you use translates all your symbols no matter who speaks,” the translator box on Truath’s belt translated, as Tot flashed colors and patterns.

“The place you have given me to live is comfortable and better than I have had since leaving my home waters.  Everything I had asked for has been provided, I am grateful for your generosity.

“Do you intend to kill my people who use our ship to assist those you call the
brood mates
?”  As before the translating device was unable to correctly identify the word Brotherhood and this time translated it as
brood mates,
or at least so I assumed
.
 

“It is not our desire to kill them, but if they do not stop their attacks against us and continue to assist the Brotherhood, we will have to,” I said, “We are hoping that if you communicate with them, next time we encounter them, they will listen to you and no longer fight with the Brotherhood against us.”

“They will not look at me or see what I have to say if I try to talk to them; I am no longer (static screeching sound) to them,” he said.  Obviously, he used a word or phrase that didn’t translate into the Federation language, and we had no idea what it was.  I looked at Truath and asked,” Do you understand what the word was that didn’t translate might have been?”

“I’m sorry Admiral, I don’t.”

“Something did not translate?”  Tot asked.  “Let me try to say it differently.”

“My people no longer accept me as their leader, they will not see my images if I flash to communicate with them.  I am no one of authority to them.”

“But can you not reason with them?”  I asked.

“Only leaders communicate and reason.  Others only see and follow,” he said.

“I think he means that their race is one where only certain members of their species have the ability to think for themselves, to reason and make decisions, the others are more or less mindless drone-like creatures,” Truath said.

“This one is correct with its comments,” Tot replied. “Before I made choices, and others listen and did what I say.”

“But now they no longer do?  What changed?”  I asked.

“When my sibling convinced our brood mates I was not fit to be their leader, because I refused to agree with the wishes of the ones you call the
brood mates,
they made a unified decision, I should no longer be leader,” Tot answered.  Again, phrase
brood mate
was used for the Brotherhood, but this time also referring to Tottalax in positions of leadership.

A’Lappe asked, “Do you understand what he means by
brood mates?

“I think in the first usage in his answer he is referring to those born at the same time of a select group, who were bred to be leaders and have the ability to make decisions and lead.  The second use of the term applies to the Brotherhood.  I’m afraid this translation device has some difficulty deciphering certain words; apparently Brotherhood is one of them," Truath replied.

“Ah… that’s sort of what I was thinking too,” I answered.

“I think I can give you a bit more information,” Truath said.  “I've been talking to Tot and asking him about biological aspects of his race.  They are oviparous, and the females lay eggs in a shallow pool of water.  At the time of the egg laying, the females emit a powerful pheromone that attracts the males and induces a biological reaction, causing the males to produce, and emit, sperm in the pool that fertilizes the eggs.  The males then watch over the eggs until they hatch.”

“Sounds a bit like frogs to me,” I said and then realized that I was the only one there who knew what frogs were.  “But I don’t see how that is so pleasurable that the Tottalax males would want to breed all the time.”

“From what Tot has explained to me, the pheromone effect on the males is very powerful and pleasurable to the males, almost drug-like.”

“I guess that would explain it, but I don’t see how they determine leaders and brood mates.”

“Breeding is regulated by categories with the leaders and thinkers being at the top level.  They get to breed with select females of their own caste.  They are set apart from the other Tottalax.  The laborers and others breed in separated groups.  With the upper caste, the leaders, all the breeding females lay their eggs in the same breeding pool, and all the select males deposit their sperm into that pool.  All the eggs develop and hatch about the same time, and that batch all are brood mates.  The males and females are separated at that point and raised and trained for their caste.  Similar breeding occurs for their other castes as well,” Truath explained.

“Sounds complicated,” I said.

“There are many species of animals, as well as other intelligent races that have similar reproductive methods and cultures,” A’Lappe added.  It’s not that uncommon.”

“I have learned some things about you humans’ reproductive methods.” Tot began, “It seems to be a very inefficient method, having a single offspring at a time.  In the same amount of time, a Tottalax male and female could have hundreds of offspring.  More efficient.  Female Tottalax do not carry their offspring about in their bodies, and they are not hampered from work because of it.  Humans are inferior when it comes to reproducing.”

“Ah, yeah… but I think we will stick with it for a while longer,” I answered.

“I do not understand,” Tot replied, and I laughed.

“So, you do not think the Tottalax on your ship will listen to you?”  I said, going back to the original topic.

“They will see me, but they will not see my words,” came his reply.

“I think he means they will see him physically, but they will reject his comments,” A’Lappe said.

“Thanks, I was assuming that as well,” I said.

“What about the leaders on the ship?  If they are thinkers and leaders as you one time were, won’t they see your words and give them some consideration?”  I asked.

“No, I have been rejected, and they will no longer see what I say,” Tot replied.

“Would you be willing to try to communicate with them, even if they do not see?  I asked.

“I will try if you wish,” Tot replied.

“Good, because if they do not see you and heed your words, we will have to kill them.”

While we waited for the Brotherhood and Tottalax to make a move on Weccies, I had a chance to catch up on other events and details.  Rear Admiral Regeny and Admiral Wabussie were still conducting their fake briefings and meeting on Megelleon every day.  They staged their meeting try to make it appear that we were convinced of an attack on the inner planets by the Brotherhood, and that we were beefing up our forces in those areas.  I also had our security tightened up on the Cantolla Gates and transfer hub, even though the system we had in place worked exactly as it was supposed to.

We received reports from the FSO agents that the Brotherhood was upset.  They had no idea what happened with the troopers attacked the Cantolla Gate at Enpowor.  They knew we had captured them, but didn’t know how, nor did they have any idea what happened to them.  We were getting information from within the Brotherhood ranks that they believed we had killed them all.

The hostages who had been taken by the Brotherhood at Enpowor were returned, and though they were interviewed by the news, they were unable to provide any information that made much sense.  All they knew or remembered was that they were forced through the Cantolla Gate by the Brotherhood captors, and they felt much lighter; then seconds later they all fell asleep.  When they awoke they were at a military hospital on Megelleon, where they were checked out and debriefed about their event.  Then they were taken through Cantolla Gates, either back to Enpowor, or on to their intended destinations. None of them had the slightest clue where they had been after passing through the gate at Enpowor, and all of them believed it to have been a station somewhere in space.

I met with Cantolla and A’Lappe about the sound-recording fungus, and A’Lappe said that they had developed a fogger system that we could use at any time to rid the offices on Megelleon of the fungus.  Admiral Wabussie reported that we now had an FSO agent who had gone undercover at the facility that serviced the cleaning robots that installed and monitored the recording fungi, and that two suspects were under observation, but so far had not led to a higher-up in the Brotherhood chain.

While I was visiting with Wabussie, I asked him,” Has there been any news on Sisopan, the woman who recruited and tricked Bandur?  Last I heard, you said your agents believed she was headed to Tetteferd 3.”

“We had an agent waiting when the ship arrived at Tetteferd 3.  No one resembling Sisopan’s description left the ship.  However, about seven hours after all the passengers, except one, had disembarked, this strange individual left the ship,” he said as he queued up an image on his vid screen from his computer.  The light was dim, as the scene shot late at night with little light.  Wabussie adjusted something on the computer as the image changed to look like it was in full-day light.  What I saw resembled a Nibarian, however, this individual was too tall to be a Nibarian, and the build wasn’t right.

“So what race is that being?”  I asked.

My guess is it’s a human, most likely Sisopan in a disguise to make people think she is a Nibarian.”

“But she looks nothing like a Nibarian. She's too tall, and she doesn’t walk right for a Nibarian.”