“And they just let you say thanks but no thanks and didn’t try to destroy or enslave you?” Tim asked, sounding as if he believed this as much as he believed in the Tooth Fairy.
“Well, we might have said that we would eagerly consider their offer and then have pretended not to remember the offer.”
“I think I get how your people work,” Reader said. “But they didn’t come back for your answer?”
“They moved on to the rest of the sentient races in our system. Despite the example, most seem to be considering taking the Z’porrah’s offer. Meaning we Turleens will be surrounded by enemies who used to be friends.”
“Why are you against the Z’porrah’s offer, Old Ones alignment or no?” Really hoped the Old Ones Muddy meant were the Ancients, not Cthulhu and his pals, but I took nothing for granted these days.
“Because we saw what happened with the Aicirtap. They used to be very calm and loving, happy in their world, and welcoming to other races. We used to have trade with them. But when the Z’porrah came to them not with war but with supposed peace, the Aicirtap allowed them to state their case. They were eager for uplift, excited about the possibilities. But their uplift went wrong. Perhaps not wrong as the Z’porrah intended, but wrong for what the Aicirtap expected. They tripled in size, ferocity, and hunger. The Aicirtap were peaceful and loving once. They are no more.”
“That sounds horrible,” Tim said.
“It was, and it is. We Turleens cannot allow it—to be turned into monstrous versions of ourselves. But the other races in our system . . .” He spread his hands. “They believe that the Aicirtap wanted to become as they are now, and believe it will not happen to them.”
“Okay, so the Aicirtap are warlike and such now. But why are so many fleeing? And, from what we know, also fleeing from systems that are on the ‘other side’ of Tau Ceti from where Earth is?”
Muddy shuddered. “They eat us. They eat everyone.”
“All the Turleens?”
“Yes. But not just us. Everyone. They will eat anything and they will nest in anything they cannot eat. They are voracious and vicious and they are spreading out throughout the galaxy. They must be stopped. And we are not equipped to stop them.”
“Aliens and Starship Troopers combined. Does it get any better than this? And how is it you think Earth is better equipped to handle this than your system? Why in the world do you think we’re the planet to run to?” Why did everyone think we were the planet to run to? It truly couldn’t just be because of me.
“You’ve repelled the Z’porrah,” he said as if this answered everything. Knew that it probably did, so didn’t choose to argue. “You have repelled them more than once, you have dethroned an emperor, you have stopped a systemwide civil war, and you are a God.” Okay, apparently, it was just because of me. “We wish to align with you, because the Aicirtap are deadly and they have aligned with the Z’porrah.”
“And,” Reader said slowly, “all of the inhabited planets in Sirius are about to align with the Z’porrah, too.”
CHAPTER 25
“WE NEED TO GET BACK to the LSR,” Tim said. “Jeff and Chuck and the others need to know what’s going on and what’s coming.”
“No argument, but we have to handle things here first.” Besides, I wanted all the answers I could get right now, before a million people would interrupt me to ask their questions. “Muddy, why would a Z’porrah ship be coming to Earth? Not the fleet, a lone ship.”
“I told you, the Aicirtap eat anything. They will eat Z’porrah, too, if those Z’porrah are not well protected.”
“But you said they’ve aligned with the Z’porrah,” Tim pointed out.
“They have, but if they’re hungry . . .” He shrugged. “The Aicirtap are dangerous, and though they are aligned with the Z’porrah, they are no longer controlled by them.”
“And you don’t think anyone else being uplifted by the Z’porrah will be controlled by them, either, do you? You think your entire system is about to become a larger version of what the Aicirtap are.”
“We do. The others fleeing most likely do as well. The Z’porrah particularly want to uplift the Q’vox.”
This was a new race I hadn’t heard mentioned before. “Who are they?”
Muddy scrunched his face up again. “I believe you would describe them as half man, half bull. But they are huge as compared to humans.”
“Minotaur people? Why not, right? Complete with horns and hooves?”
“Hooves on their feet, yes, and very long, large, sharp and strong horns.”
“So, they sound scary.” Minotaurs weren’t known as the cuddliest creatures from Greek mythology.
Muddy shook his head. “Most Q’vox are peaceful and placid. They love art and music and food and they do not eat other sentient life forms.”
“And whose ship would these Q’vox be in?” Reader asked.
“Most likely they would be with the Faradawn.”
Well, that tracked, at least based on Jeff and Christopher saying that the Treeship was packed. “So, why uplift them? Why uplift any sentient races that already have spaceflight? It seems like overkill.”
“It is,” Muddy said. “For we younger races, the hope is longer life—both the Old Ones and the Z’porrah have found the secret to longevity.”
Based on what we knew, this was true. And I could see how it would be tremendously appealing. Apparently the Turleens were suspicious-minded. Meaning I already had an affinity for them.
“Does it work?” Tim asked flatly.
Muddy shrugged. “Who can tell? We Turleens are not willing to give up our autonomy and what we consider ourselves to be in order to become the Z’porrah’s slaves.”
“You just said that the Aicirtap aren’t listening to the Z’porrah,” Reader pointed out.
“True. However, there is no proof that, should the Z’porrah trigger something, the Aicirtap would not become mindless automatons. We Turleens are not trusting of the overall motive, because we know the Z’porrah want an unstoppable army. And, if the uplift worked on the Q’vox as it did on the Aicirtap . . .”
“Yeah, we have gigantic minotaurs destroying everything and everyone.” Made a mental note that the Z’porrah wouldn’t be the only ones trying to get their mitts onto the Q’vox, and the other races, too. We had to neutralize Cliff and His Crazy Eights and Stephanie and the Tinkerer far faster than as soon as possible.
Kevin and Buchanan took this moment to return. But they didn’t have Manfred or Siler with them. Decided Muddy didn’t need to hear whatever they were going to tell us. “Muddy, would you please ask your people to stop genuflecting?” He smiled, nodded, and went to the rest of the still-bowing Turleens. Turned back to the others. “Malcolm, what did you find?”
“No need to sound so worried, Missus Executive Chief. Siler and Manfred realized something was wrong with their prisoners.”
“Mostly because those prisoners tried to overpower them in the elevator,” Kevin added dryly. “As Siler put it, that was something of a clue. There was no issue with our side winning, of course, and instead of bringing them out here to cause more problems, Manfred and Siler took them to a holding cell.”