As the images of dead cities, oceans and forests flashed on the screen, the Pav began to keen. Sitting through that was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, but I had a moral obligation to stick with it.
It took a few hours, but we finally got through the whole story. The group seemed perplexed.
“You want us to decide? To return to Aszjan or settle a different world?”
“That is correct.”
The Pac huddled and argued in low voices for several minutes.
Hazjiar, who seemed to have taken on the role of spokesperson, said, “Why?”
“Because we don’t know you well enough to know what would work best for you.”
“Why not?”
“Because we haven’t been studying you for long enough.”
“Why not?”
Oh, holy… “That’s not important. We will make the decision if you don’t want to, but we wanted to give you the option first.”
“And there are twenty thousand of us? Why not more?”
“That’s how many will fit into the two ships that we were able to build.”
“Why?”
What’re you, a four-year-old? I would have to nip this in the bud, before I blew a transistor or something. “Again, not important now. Are you willing and able to make that decision? If not, let us know and we’ll take care of it.”
“We will discuss this. Is there food?”
“You mean at the new planet? Oh, you mean now. Sorry. I’ll get some.”
Fortunately, Jacques had thought of stocking up on standard Pav food and drink. I decanted a small supply and delivered it. The Pav laid in as if they hadn’t eaten in a week.
I stared in shock at the free-for-all. So far no one seemed to have lost a limb, but that could just be luck.
Jacques chuckled at the expression on my face. “No, that’s pretty much normal feeding behavior. Miss Manners would never catch on with these people.”
I shook my head. “Count them after they’re done, okay? Make sure there are still eight.”
*
At Hazjiar’s request, we provided images of the proposed colony planet. It possessed a marginally heavier gravity, with correspondingly thicker atmosphere, but was similar enough to Aszjan that adaptation wouldn’t be an issue. The flora and fauna would be completely unfamiliar to them, of course, but it didn’t include anything too large to deal with.
We promised the Pav any help they needed, regardless of their decision. They seemed heartened by that, and I privately sighed in exasperation. Again, we were going to be responsible for another client race. If Jacques wanted to be involved, fine, but I resolved to keep my distance.
*
“We will choose the new world.” Hazjiar stood tall and spoke with confidence. I knew that the decision hadn’t been easy, or unanimous, but I was impressed at their willingness to even make a decision.
She looked down, then continued in a softer voice. “We do not like the idea of all resources being supplied by you. No offence, but we do not know you.”
I grinned at Jacques, who smiled back and shrugged.
“That’s fine, Hazjiar. We’ll get started right away. It will be necessary to put you back to sleep. But we’ll be gentler, this time.”
Hazjiar nodded. By coincidence, a nod meant the same thing to the Pav as it did to us. “When we awake, we will be there?”
“That’s correct. And we will have set up an encampment for you to live in until you can build something for yourselves.”
Hazjiar cocked her head slightly. “I am curious. Why do you do this? Who is paying you? Or do you expect us to pay you?”
I chuckled, which the translation routine converted to the Pav expression of humor. And a good thing—who knew how a human chuckle would come across.
“We don’t use money, Hazjiar. We have no need for it.”
This statement produced a look of shock. Apparently capitalism was alive and well in Pav culture. After staring at the monitor for a few more seconds, Hazjiar turned away, while muttering something that sounded like “Dozhagriyl.” The routine translated it as “critters with broken brains.”
The Pav seemed reluctant to return to the stasis chambers, and generally acted like a bunch of kids trying to delay bedtime. Eventually, though, we managed to cajole them all through the door and into the prep room. Within an hour, they were all squared away.
“Well, Bill, I guess this is it.”
“Not quite yet, Jacques. A couple of the guys did some scavenging. We’ve managed to retrieve enough resources to put together a couple of version-3’s for you and the other Bobs who are bodiless right now. It’ll take few months, but at least then you’ll be able to ride escort instead of supercargo.”
Jacques nodded. “Thanks, Bill. Let’s do that.”
*
Finally, departure day. The two refugee ships, officially named REFUGE-1 and -2, brought their SURGE drives up to full power and turned their bows to aim for HIP 84051. I watched their departure from the forward camera of one of the Bobs that was still in-system.
With the departure of the refugee ships, there was no longer any reason to maintain a presence in this system. It represented our greatest failure, and several Bobs had complained that it felt as though it was full of ghosts. Everyone who didn’t have a reason to stay had long since left, and now most of the rest of us would be departing. A couple of eighth-generation Bobs had volunteered to stay behind and do a post-invasion survey.
I looked at Andrew across the table, waiting for him to speak. Finally, he took a deep breath and leaned forward to put his elbows on the table. “Everyone is gathering at Gamma Pavonis. Threats or no, the Others still have a Dyson Sphere to build. They won’t halt everything while they march off to Sol. We want to be ready next time.”
I stared into space, nodding. “Meanwhile, Riker has started building dreadnaughts at Sol, and I’m building a fleet in Epsilon Eridani. Ditto Oliver in Alpha Centauri. We have the cloaking nailed now, so we’ll be able to give them a harder time of it. The root problem, though, is still to produce enough ordnance to make a dent in the Others’ armada. The size problem is still overwhelming.”
“This is all just a delaying action.” Andrew shook his head morosely. “As long as the Others are always making the first move, we can never defeat them. All they have to do is huddle for a decade or two, rebuild, and we’re back to square one. We have to take the fight to them.”
“This is true, and you know damned well it’s been the subject of many a moot.” I glared at Andrew. “I have an idea that I’m working on that might form a final solution, but I’m not sure yet if it’s even feasible. And even if it turns out to be workable, it’s a long game. Meanwhile, we’re also trying to gear up to an invasion fleet. Maybe we can drop in on the Others and pay our respects.”
Andrew’s only answer was a predatory smile.