Chapter 434 (2/2)
”Our people apparently existed largely off of insects and foliage,” Brentili'ik said. ”Some meat, mostly one or two species.”
”We ate everything that couldn't outrun or outfight us,” Harvey said with a shrug. ”Once we learned to throw a rock and spear fish, we ate everything, and I mean, everything,” he gave a laugh. ”There was type of dirt called edible clay that we could eat. Most of the flora and fauna we've encountered in the galaxy was largely edible, weirdly enough.”
”Really?” Brentili'ik asked.
”There's some protein differences, but despite what our scientists figured out before we left our solar system, pretty much every type of flora and fauna we've encountered has been edible with only a little preparation,” Harvey shrugged. ”Taste, now that's something different.”
”Humans are weird,” Brentili'ik repeated for the thousandth time.
”Indeed we...” Harvey started.
The holotank flashed and the Terran Confederate Armed Services Communication System icon appeared.
Harvey leaned back and picked his sandwich back up.
Brentili'ik ran a paw over her head, pushing down her hair, then tapped the floating rune.
Her heart swelled when she saw her husband's face. He was gray around the muzzle and eyes, on the tips of his ears (the horrible cybernetic had been replaced by a vat grown tissue implant), but his whiskers were perked up and he looked happy to her eyes.
”Vuxten,” she said softly, reaching out and touching the hologram.
”Brennie,” he answered. He looked behind him, then at Brentili'ik. ”I don't have long, only a few minutes. Everyone in the Division is getting to call home, and there's a lot of us and only one hypercomm.”
”I understand,” she said.
A human face pushed up next to him, a Terran with an eye patch covering one eye and yellow hair.
”Hey, Vux's wife!” he said, waving one hand. A female's hand with pink fingernail polish moved into frame, grabbed his color, and pulled him away. He made an ”EEP!” sound as he was pulled out of frame.
Vuxten laughed. ”Sorry, that was a friend,” he smiled again. ”Things are wrapped up here, so we're moving out. I'll be able to talk more once we get to where we're going.”
”I understand,” Brentili'ik said. ”How are you?”
”Busy. We're integrating a bunch of Lanaktallan, so we're really busy,” Vuxten said. ”How are Ilmata'at and Synthal'la and the podlings?”
”They miss you,” Brentili'ik replied. ”They wonder when you'll be home.”
”Umm, probably a few years,” Vuxten said. ”You know how it is. Could be as long as five years.”
Brentili'ik had known her husband for a long time, knew when he was lying.
But she was also a politician now, and familiar with the way the military operated.
She kept silent about the lie.
”Are you well?” Vuxten asked.
Brentili'ik nodded. ”I got reelected to my position,” she sighed. ”My opponent took third.”
”Who took second?” Vuxten asked.
”The political party called 'Three Podlings in a Trenchcoat' who's speeches consisted of nothing more than recordings of the random babblings of podlings and videos of podlings dancing and playing,” Brentili'ik sighed. ”It was embarrassing.”
Vuxten laughed. ”It would have made for interesting press conferences.”
”If I try to resign, then Three Podlings in a Trenchcoat become the System Director,” Brentili'ik mourned.
Vuxten snickered. There was a beeping and he looked serious. ”I'm out of time. I love you.”
”I love you too,” Brentili'ik said.
The holo held Vuxten smiling at her for a moment, then went back to the hypercom logo. After a minute it cleared.
Brentili'ik went over and sat down.
”His unit's on the move. Maybe coming back for more training,” Harvey said, tapping the top of the table to reclaim the sludge of the au jus sauce in the dish, the empty drink, and bring him back another strawberry slurry.
”Maybe,” she sighed.
”MilCom isn't going to keep Telkans on the same length of rotation they keep humans. You don't live as long,” Harvey said. ”Your life expectancy is roughly the same as ours used to be,” he shook up the bottle and cracked it open, a wisp of cold condensate puffing out. He took a long drink off of it. ”He's not going to be one a twenty or fifty year tour.”
”Like you?” Brentili'ik smiled.
”As far as twenty year posts go, this isn't a bad one,” Harvey said. He set the bottle down.
Too hard. The glass top of the table cracked, the bottle shattered in his hand. He lifted his hand, looking at it. His fingertips were trembling and as Brentili'ik watched, two of his fingers curled inward.
Harvey turned to look at her. ”Madame Director, I need you to summon emergency services and alert my replacement,” he said. Just during the sentence his speech began to slur and as Brentili'ik watched blood glimmered along the edge of his lower eyelid.
Brentili'ik slapped the emergency medical icon.
Harvey slid down out of the chair and laid on the floor. Brentili'ik moved close, not close enough to get hit if Colonel Harvey seized, but close to him.
”What's happening?” she asked.
”I don't know. I'm getting cyberware failures across the board,” he said. ”Shit, I'm blind.”
Brentili'ik took a risk and moved close, picking up the human's hand. She was holding it when the medics rushed in.
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Shulkek stood next to Brentili'ik, dressed in a formal looking suit, staring at the graph projected in the holotank.
”You're sure?” Brentili'ik asked.
”It's hitting Terrans all over the sectors. Some kind of strange neural issue. Cyberware interface failures, their own brains not recognizing bioware organs, even problems with nerve and tissue connectivity,” Shulkek said. ”Harvey was the first, so was Descartes. They're so heavily modified, so TIS believes that it's a direct attack.”
Brentili'ik nodded. ”I want information. See if you can figure out if the Terrans know about this. See if anyone's figured out a way around it.”
Shulkek nodded. ”I'll put my best men on it. Right now, Madame Director, my place is here, next to you.”
Brentili'ik sat down in her comfortable padded chair and swivelled it to look out the window.
”I want to know if this originated from the Lanaktallan or someone else. If it wasn't them, I want to know who,” she said softly.
She paused a second, watching as lightning played in the clouds.
As the thunder rolled, she spoke softly.
”An attack upon one is an attack upon all.”