The Ambassador of Worlds was meant to arrive today. We were to negotiate on behalf of three new civilisations who wished to join The Collective. However, he never arrived. I knew we should have collected him, ceremony be damned. No-one knows what is happening and my daughter, she is coming. I can’t hold on longer, her birth will hurt. That strange sensation we never experience any other way, it comes with birth. My Mother told me. Her Mother told her.

Few things hurt us, death of our partners, death of worlds and…birth.

My mate sat alongside, patiently flexing his own ventrali—he was the second wonder of the universe. Aktarian ships are always female, as are humanity’s own Fold ships.

Until Daniel and now, his son, my partner. My daughter would make history again, but neither of us knew what the result would be.

The Ktral remain a tremendous threat to all the client worlds, their ships more and more toxic to reality as Thalresh’s influence allowed them to learn how to bind chaos, pure unadulterated chaos to their hulls. A fleet of their foul vessels could not take one of us, yet could wreak untold damage to entire star systems, rendering cubic light years uninhabitable by any other species.

The Aktarian ships, to me, made a huge mistake, eons ago, in not wiping out the species. Instead they defended their client species systems, wrecked individual fleets and drove them away. It was not enough.

It was never enough.

Chapter 0

She stared at the dead child. History made, twice. Her partner flew silent alongside her, his existence a third piece of history made.

“We are too late. We didn’t know if it could work.” He said. “Come away, leave her to space.”

“She should live forever in the sun.” She said, “That is the place for her.”

“No, you can’t. You know she could live forever in a terrible half life, unable to die, unable to stop. We knew it was a risk.” He said. “We leave her in peace, here, now. Her orbit will never end, she will never know suffering.”

The parents folded away, space was silent, the stillborn ship drifted on her eternal journey.

Chapter 1

The Great Ships, a title not used by humanity, remained few where once there were thousands. A few centuries could not see a huge rise in numbers, yet they were sorely needed. At last, three centuries ago, the few Aktarians in existence decided to help humanity create their own fold ships. In all important ways, these ships were very much like the Aktarians themselves.

Perhaps more so than we realised. Starship Whisperer, AD 3300

I held the little model ship in my hands, she barely filled my palm. She was quiet and still, not a wing quivering, not a flap or a vent stirring.

She was the smallest fold ship model I’d ever seen. Turning her over, I touched one of the tiny six fingered landing feet, entranced by the detailed articulation.

“How much?” I asked the old shopkeeper.

“You know that model is indestructible don’t you?” He said, his eyes sparkling at my interest.

“You know I’m not about to test that right?” The old rascal knew full well no model enthusiast would risk damaging such a piece of art just to disprove such a bold claim.

“It’s true I say, I’ve no reason to lie. Dropped it myself last week, not a mark to be found, except on the ground, right here”. He pointed at a tiny chip in the poured concrete floor of his shop.

I looked closely, the little ship was flawless. No crack, chip or mark marred her.

“Fine, she’s a beautiful example. What do you want for her?” I’d some savings, not a fortune but my parents paid for my university so I’d a little to spare for my own luxuries.

“A hundred credits.”

Ten times the value of a simple reproduction, not a chance. With reluctance I put her back.

“She’s a wonderful example, I thank you for your time.” I turned to leave, dodging the Kaliari skull masks, Thornian dangling nests and other oddities that festooned his shop.

“Wait, wait, don’t you have an offer of your own to make?” His shop was a little out of the way and no one had been in since I first picked up the model fold ship.

Fold ships—humanity’s first hope for reaching the stars, were able to reach everywhere in the known Universe, yet only carry one or two people. Our other option is our Alcubierre drive and we move city-sized ships with it, though it takes weeks to reach many of our colonies. Aktarians are too rare and independent—humanity is allied with a handful of these fabulous ships, they helped us bring our own fold ships to life.

I turned back to the shopkeeper, “Ok, I’ve got twenty credits, and that’s it.”

With gusto he entered the fray and ten minutes later, thirty credits lighter but weighed down with my new toy, I left.

Back at my digs I carefully lifted the model from the tissue wrappings—despite his claims, he still wrapped her like delicate porcelain.

The center of the mantelpiece was perfect, she fit nicely there. I had a dozen models of fold ships and Aktarians, this would be the last one whilst I was at University—my digs didn’t have any more room. My old bedroom was larger, the wooden farming lodge-our family home-was easy to expand, the mild climate required only basic construction, nothing exotic required. I had to leave behind many of my larger models, long term childhood projects reaching a metre or more long.

Dad had helped me build many of the model ships, he was still better than me at carpentry, though I’d the knack with metal work and technology. Between us we made a good team, but he wanted me to chase my dreams before getting tied down to the farm. Mom and he planned to farm the place another thirty years or more before selling it. They had plans of their own, and, if I didn’t wish to work the farm itself by the time I finished chasing the stars, they would sell it and get a pension out of it.

I settled down to eat, the pasta was only a little out of date this time. A year left to go, that’s it. My engineering degree will take me to the stars and perhaps away from stale pasta. I’d had it pretty good, my family, they’re farmers here but good folks, folks who believed that their kids should get every chance. I was tested for aptitude as soon as I could walk and was given all the support required to get the best education that Lorne, my planet, could offer.

Putting my tray down, I stood and picked up my new acquisition. Aktarians and fold ships had a few things in common—an animal-like head complete with eyes; many sets of wings, odd in a craft that flew mainly in the void; ventrali covering the head, wings and limbs—transparent fine ribbons that vibrated at impossible frequencies. Both species of ship look like a cross between a dragon and fictional notions of spacecraft or ancient atmospheric fighters—improbable aerodynamic features, wholly unneeded in the vacuum of the void. In reality, human made liners, cruisers and freight craft are all blocky bulky tapered cylinders—it’s these I’d be bound for at the end of my degree. Neither Fold ship nor Aktarian had a place or need for engineers.

Fold ships, our impossible dream made real, they weave their way between space with grace and ease. Humanity rejoiced when we created them—however we didn’t quite understand their limitations. Aktarians starships slowly increased their numbers yet six hundred years after first contact, they remained but a handful of individual ships. When they offered to help us build the fold ships, our governments had visions of vast armies of humanity folding from star to star, galaxy to galaxy.

What we got was quite, quite different. Fold ships were difficult to breed and even more difficult to partner with. Like Aktarians, they’d partner up for life. They can produce at most a couple of daughters, but only if conditions are right. Yet, as the shopkeeper mentioned, they were almost as indestructible as an Aktarian; a fact no-one had any real desire to find out. Most worlds were home to, at best, a dozen fold ships but their numbers were slowly climbing.

Everyone interested in exploring space dreamt of partnering with a fold ship or an Aktarian, but no-one understood what would make one choose a mate.

There was the crux.

You didn’t pilot a fold ship, as much as you can’t pilot an Aktarian. They were not exotic beasts of burden, they were not slaves or servants, they were not even obliged to obedience and often quite disinclined. You make your request, letting her know when and where you wish to go; if you are lucky, if she is amenable, she may agree to do so. That’s about as much as anyone knows.

I sat down and held onto the ship—I’d thought to place her on the mantelpiece, I’m sure— I looked into the half-closed eyes and drifted to sleep. I felt my hand lower to my chest and settled the model there.

My dreams were filled with stars, and then a single great sun, shining bright and hard, glittering corona flaming past my face. We were plunging into a star, yet we did not burn, we did not turn, just plunged on into the burning inferno. I felt a shifting in front of us, the light intensified, light drawing into us, filling and fulfilling us. Then, from nowhere, a great green and blue eye, a lopsided cat’s eye, regarded me. I knew this eye, most of humanity does, the eye of an Aktarian symbolized freedom and in my dream, this eye was here hanging ghostly over the star we…who is we?…were plunging into.

I woke with my chest warm and heavy—I’d left the model sitting there. The feet were folded under, I could feel her hull against me, and I imagined I felt more heat, even a little life. A little bit of ridiculous, wishful thinking. Lifting her off me, I put her back on the mantelpiece—there really was only just enough room there—and went to bed, still half asleep.

Upon waking I turned over and cursed as I crushed something sharp into my ribs. “Ow! What the hell.”

The model was laying there next to me.

“I thought I’d put you back on the mantelpiece last night.” I was sure I had, but my ribs screamed otherwise. I picked it up, it really was a high-quality model. Nothing was broken, except my own skin perhaps. It was a heavier model than I usually found, quite a bit heavier than I expected. I looked closer, the eyes—they were closed—now that is detailed. I know they were open last night.

“Ok, this is getting a bit silly.” I took it back to the mantelpiece and squeezed it into the space there. Nope, I really need somewhere else for it.

I left for classes. However, the mystery of the moving model haunted my thinking the rest of the day.

When I was very small, Dad bought me my first model. It was a little fold ship, delicate paper wings, origami fine with ventrali cut and fitted perfectly into place. We had to follow fine faint pencil lines to colour her in. It took us a week and I kept drawing over the lines. That model, being the most delicate model I owned, remained in the plexiglass box my Dad sealed it into when we completed it all those years ago.

That night the new model was still where I placed it, I scoffed at my spooked thoughts during the day. Fancy thinking it would have moved. Yet, I’m sure I left it facing the other way.

Against my cheek warm metal fingers are splayed, waking me in the dark. A pair of eyes, green on blue look at me, my own are crossed as the others are so close. I lay and stare, too tired to shift, the weight on my chest is comforting and I drift back to sleep. A dream, nothing more.

***
A little light, I feel, I feel! What is it? I know me, is me here, can feel it. Is slow. Me slow. Oh…
***

Chapter 2

The morning tells me something else, the weight is still there, a warm metal head lays against my cheek. I freeze, I know I did not leave my new model in bed. There is no doubt, it moved on its own. Yet, warm though it is, it lay still with one six fingered hand resting against my cheek.

Did I wake in the night?

Did I really spent the night cuddling a model fold ship?

How did it get there?

I lift it off me, and left it on the bed, clearly, I keep moving it whilst asleep. That can’t be good for my sleep, so I’ll just leave it there.

Why did I dream about the eyes and the claw? Why is it still now?

***
Waking? Move feel something, is there for me? I find it. That is for me. Oh can’t move me now. No life. Oh
***

Despite being partly created by humanity, our culture doesn’t know much about our own fold ships. Other than the difficulty of breeding them. The few pilots we have don’t have much to tell us either, something about their bond sets them apart, unable or unwilling to divulge the intimate details of their partnership.

Nevertheless, as I rode the maglev to the university, I browsed my phone for information on the fold ships. Aktarian infants were well known by now, they were born only a couple of feet long, their souls—a romantic word to an engineer like me—ignited by the sun dive taken by their mothers immediately after birth. What was known is the infant Aktarian is quickened to life by this process.

Was this true of fold ships? A pin prick spark of hope stirred. What if my model wasn’t a model at all?

I was making too much of this. My own dream of piloting a fold ship, a dream shared by millions of youngsters, biased my thinking and perhaps even my behaviour. A thread of coincidences inspired by the old shopkeeper. As I browsed I added the sun dive to my query.

One small quote appeared in the results. “Tsanarei was disturbed today. Our child was due and we were grounded, ordered to wait for the Ambassador’s return. She grew agitated, I could feel her throughout my mind. There’s nothing for it, we have to leave or risk an unquickened child.”

The quote continued to describe the rush to get permission to fold away. It was denied. Tsanarei folded anyway to the nearest star.

That was the end of the quote. It left me with an interesting question: What was an unquickened child? Was it dead and stillborn?

Further searches yielded no results however. My engineer’s mind refused to let go of the problem.

Was my model an unquickened fold ship?

There’s no easy way to know. For one, I wasn’t about to dive into the heart of our local sun. I didn’t have an adult fold ship to do this with. And there were no Aktarians resident around Lorne system either.

If my model was such a ship, it implied that new born fold ships were a lot smaller than Aktarian ones. It also implied something else: if I was right, I had a duty too, to find any way I could to quicken her.

That evening I picked up the model again, examining her with great care this time. She really was perfect, too perfect. Compared to her, all of my other models were amateur rubbish. Where they had minor imperfections, small bubbles and chips in the paint, hers was flawless, even under a magnifying glass; where they had joints that stuck a little, or in one case cracked, every single one of hers moved fluidly, silently, catching on nothing.

One more test, one I was loathe to do, but I had to know. I took a small diamond file and found an unobtrusive spot on her belly, and gently scratched the paint. It was fractal layered iridescent paint, a magnificent piece of work—and was utterly unmarked by the file.

The shopkeeper couldn’t have painted her that way. This is not a model.

My bigger question, how she was even in a shop, never mind unquickened, I couldn’t answer. However, I needed help.

***
Is tickle I feel it. Him again! Wakey Wakey c’mon Wakey wakey!!
***

I placed her on the table in front of me and focussed on my research. This needed fixing. This was some poor fold ship’s daughter and I’d no right to keep her.

“I’m gonna find your Mother.” I said as I typed furiously, looking for anything I could find about unquickened foldships. There were few clues. There were no records of anything like it happening to Aktarians at all and only my original quote about Tsaranei came up. And one other note from another university on Lorne, twenty years ago. He hypothesized that the sun birth of Aktarians is necessary to cause something he termed interdimensional ignition - connecting her soul to reality. Until that point the ship may have personality and experience but would have far less capacity to fold and fly.

In other words, until the sun birth, they couldn’t be all of who they should be.

As I read, the more certain I became: this is true of even humanity’s own fold ships. It explained why mine was mostly quiescent. Sitting there, I idly stroked her head, feeling the deceptively delicate ventrali under the pads of my fingers. Nothing would cut even the smallest of these tiny ribbons; if a Ktral fusion beam razed the planet, the ventrali would still be perfectly intact.

What to do, how to do it.

The first port of call was the fold ship sanctuary on the other side of Lorne. Perhaps one of them would help.

It would take most of my savings for a return journey but as I looked at the tiny ship sat on my coffee table, I felt little option. Either I’d find her mother, or I’d find help.

Decision made, I booked tickets to Syango, the nearest city to the sanctuary.

Chapter 3

A day later I stood outside the gates to the fold ship sanctuary. There were half a dozen dwellings here, huge mansions build specifically for the close interaction of pilot with his ship. I knew this much, a pilot never left his ship alone for more than an hour or two. No-one understood why, pilots never shared with outsiders and neither did their ships.

The gatekeeper, an old soldier, looked me up and down. “Do you have an appointment young man?”

Deference was automatic. “No Sir, I don’t. Do I need one?”

“Who did you plan on seeing? You know they are very private creatures?” He said.

“I know, I know, I simply didn’t know how best to approach this. Look, can I show you?” I reached into my bag for the bundle that was my suspected infant. I held her out as I discarded the wrapping.

“That’s a pretty model you have there. Who made it?” He said.

“Sir, I don’t believe she is a model at all.” I said, “I think she’s an unquickened newborn.”

“Hmm never heard of anything like that. Not sure I believe you, but you say you’ve from Elta university? That’s a trek for sure.” He said, stroking his beard, clearly torn between disbelief and not wanting to turn me away. “Look, wait here and I’ll see if any of our ladies will talk to you.”

He disappeared into his sanctum. I waited in silence, looking over the fence at the colourful dwellings within. Each was a law unto itself, all were large, with entries far bigger than any human needed. After that, there was little else in common. One was a candy castle, all primary colours, twisty towers and grand arches; another was a postmodern collection of cubes and metallic spheres held in improbable arrangements; another was a delicate single spire that reached far into the sky.

As I watched, one ship folded into existence along with her daughter and landed in front of the candy castle. Her child was a couple of meters long; she flipped, gambolled and barrel rolled over her mother’s body in excitement.

My heart pounded, I’d only seen them on my phone and in documentaries; yet now I was seeing a family barely meters from me. The mother turned to look at me as her pilot appeared through a small fold in front of her. The fold itself was visible as a blurring of the air, a darker patch easily missed if it wasn’t for the person stepping from nothing. He was dressed in a dark uniform, his long hair held back in a tight pony tail and he held a package under his arm.

They disappeared into candy castle, the great door swinging silently open. I couldn’t help but think, surely, they can fold directly inside? A mystery for another day.

The soldier came back. “Azri-Lii and Yetriana are here, neither ship knows of a missing child however. They want to see what you have there.”

I made to hand over the infant. “No, they want to see you too.”

Presuming my duty done, I was a little surprised. Fold ships rarely spoke to outsiders.

“Come on, this way.” He led off through the far gate.

The ship from the candy house was on the side waiting, along with her daughter. Her voice rippled over my skin, harmonies blending together to form words. “Please show us the child.”

A large six fingered hand stretched out as I approached, and I laid the infant upon it. She bought it up to her nose, inspecting the miniature ship, the action giving her a cross eyed look. I couldn’t help it, a giggle slipped past my lips causing the soldier next to me to look at me sharply. The adult ship ignored me though her daughter wandered over to me. She stood at waist height and stared at me.

“You want to fly too?” Her voice was higher pitched that her mother’s yet pleasant to my ear.

“Well, yes, I guess though I’m an engineer.” I shuffled a bit, “Isn’t it everyone’s dream, to fly?”

“I don’t know. Mom says I’ll need a pilot one day too. I don’t know why, I can fold and fly myself.” She said, doubt lacing her tones.

“Neither do I. I don’t know much about your kind.”

***
Wait you what is you? Know you. Oh wakey wakey wings c’mon he for me I want.. Wakey wakey!!
***

Her Mom turned to look at me. “Tell me something. Has this infant moved at all since you found her?”

“Well, yes.” I explained what led me to bring the ship here.

“I think you are going to learn a lot more then. You were right to bring her. And you’ve got a problem.” She said handing the ship back to me.

“Wait, can’t you find her mother?” I said, why was she giving me the infant back?

“No. Her mother is unknown to us. And this infant is different - she’s half Aktarian and half like us.” She looked at me steadily, “And she’s clearly chosen you. She’s too young to do that but for an unquickened infant to dredge up the energy to move at all says everything. If we took her from you, she wouldn’t quicken even if we left her in the heart of a star.”

“Oh.” Not the answer I’d expected.

“No, the problem is she needs to quicken, and you must be there with her. Her mother would be the one but she’s not here, you are and this little one has attached herself to you.” She looked away, clearly thinking. “Look, there is a larger question here and it may seem unfair, but you’ll have to forgive her. She’s attached to you already, it was the choice of an infant who has had no life experience, no experience at all.”

“Wait attached? What does that mean?”

“She can’t attach to anybody else. Think of it like imprinting with some mammals. Adult ships do this when they decide on their partner. They meet many people, talk to them, decide whom they like and those whom they choose have already decided they can make the commitment.” She lowered her head to mine. “This is the unfair part: you didn’t get an option and she is unlikely to bond to someone else if you decide not to become her partner.”

“Whoa, that’s a big thing.” I sat down abruptly, legs weak as I realised what she was telling me. I wouldn’t be an engineer on a starship, I’d be partnered with my very own fold ship. I wouldn’t have a wife and children; my ship would be my partner. I wouldn’t have a normal career, I’d have the run of the universe. I wouldn’t have a normal private life; my life would be my ship.

“Can I take a time out? I need to think about this.” I said. Like any good engineer, I needed to think this through.

“Silly boy. Don’t you want to fly?” The younger ship was laughing now, the giggling like dancing flutes in the air.

“Yes, well, this is all rather sudden.”

“Perhaps, but this is what has to be dealt with. You move out the way when a meteorite is flying at your head don’t you?” The mother cocked her head at me.

“Well, of course.” Ugh, starship metaphors.

“This is a bit different.” I stood up, some of the shakiness gone now. It would be a dream come true of course, yet I had doubts, surely it took a special kind of human to be a partner to these ships.

“Ok, look, I’m no-one special. So why me anyway?” I said.

“Oh you’re right. Your quite ordinary.” She agreed dismissive now. “However, you were there.”

Salve my ego why don’t you, Ship?

I declined to comment. “So what do we do next?”

“Are you happy to become her partner?”

***
I be hearing you all now, is just yes and silly I say you wakey wakey me and want you cuddles. C`MON!!
***

“It’s sudden, it’s unexpected, yet truth is like most of my generation, I’ve dreamed of you ships and, you know what, even if I hadn’t, I don’t think I could turn her away if I wanted to.” There, I said it. I surprised myself really, but it was true.

Dad and I built model after model in between school and farm work, we’d talk through tales of the daring life of a starship pilot: highly improbable acts of bravery, striking down pirates, chasing down bad aliens, helping good ones; all very silly in the light of growing up, but memories that spoke to me now.

Her satisfaction was clear. “Good. I wouldn’t like to have seen her fate if you’d refused her.”

I held the infant close to me. A bundle of dreams really.

“Well, what next?”

“She has to be quickened. You are going to get up close and personal with a star.” She replied. “My own pilot will need to wait here I think for this.”

The fuzzy portal appeared in front of me. “Come on, let’s go. There’s no time like the present.” She said.

I hesitated. “How do I get close to a star?” I was sure that I’d be no use flash fried by a million degree fusion furnace.

“Oh that’s easy enough. I’ll hold you.”

Like Aktarians, fold ships were hummingbirds to the flowers we call stars—they would dip even fold space into the very heart of a star for their food. The insane density, gravity and heat was energy and life to these ships.

I stepped through the portal and found myself in a quiet, dark space with one flight couch. “Sit down, lay back and we shall get going.”

Holding the infant against my chest, I did as asked. No straps were needed so I lay back and hugged the baby on my chest. I felt the smallest shift then glorious blazing light, the whole of my reality became light, light burning deep and through me, searing my soul and against my body I felt the infant move.

I saw nothing but light, light so intense I felt it. The infant pulled away from me, I felt her go, yet through my body her high pitched voice sang to me, her ecstasy became mine, weaving throughout the whole of my being, joining my soul to hers, my life to hers and in the maelstrom that was the heart of the sun, she become a brighter point of light, a blazing nova that I was unable to look away from.

She returned, her weight settled against me, this time hugging me close, so tightly as if she’d never let go.

Chapter 4

Darkness followed, we were sat back within Azri-Lii, and the slight shift occurred once more. The portal opened leading out to now dim light of Lorne, dim compared to the heart of the star.

Slowly I stood, stumbling as the infant I held shifted her wings and fidgeted.

She was alive.

I stepped out onto the ground and turned to face Azri-Lii. On impulse I bowed, “Thank you. Thank you for your help.” I said.

Dipping her head slightly, “You are welcome. You may stay with us tonight as you have more to do now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whilst no government has control over us, all fold ships and their partners are registered with the galactic authorities. You have rights and privileges; how else can pilots live hmm?” She said, “That little one will not move from your side for many years.” At this her own pilot reappeared from the candy castle and walked over.

“Hi, I’m afraid she’s right. My lady here hasn’t been so far from me since I first met her.” He held out his hand. “A bit belated, but I’m Jacques.”

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Marcus.” I said. He had a quick, firm positive grip. I stared at his features, his dark skin was festooned with fractal tatties, metallic fine webs of decoration that trailed and flowed down his throat, and reappeared on his upper arms and hands, even branching and curving, elegant and lacy over his fingers.

“When they are adult they can tolerate more distance, however the soul link is necessary for them to fly as they do. I’ve never seen a fold ship child so small mind.”

“Oh?” I said, still staring at the tattoos.

“Yetriana was just under a meter when she was born. Yours is a mystery. Does she have a name yet?” He asked.

“Well, I’ve not had a chance to think of that.” I remembered myself, and looked away, embarrassed but he appeared not to notice.

“No matter, she will tell you soon enough.” He said, “Come inside, I think you could do with food if nothing else.”

The events of the day were catching up, that was for sure.

He led the way into the candy castle, Yetriana and Azri-Lii following closely. My own ship closed her eyes and pulled herself into me and I held her tightly. It was peculiar, I didn’t wish to let her go.

Perhaps this was why fold ship pilots were so private?

Azri-Lii caught up to Jacques and he reached out to stroke her head. It was hard to believe, watching them, that she represented one of the most powerful forms of space travel man had ever created. The interior of the candy castle matched the outside, primary colours rioting over the walls and floors, comfortable bright bean bags everywhere, huge screens in every room, and the toys. Everywhere toys of all kinds, cars, ships, juggling balls, things to climb on, crawl into and more.

“Wow, that’s a lot of toys.” I said.

“Oh young fold ships love them. When I first encountered Azri-Lii, I never thought of their young as actual children. Man’s bias I guess. Most folks see a ship, like a car, as transport with a computer. Nothing is further from reality.” He said. Yetriana disappeared then popped up in front of us, straight through a space fold with two of her hands filled with juggling balls and proceeded to turn them into a blur of flying balls, at least three or four to a hand. “See, can you do that?” she laughed as she juggled.

“There is something I don’t quite understand about this soul bond business.” I said as I watched her playing, “How does Yetriana manage without having a partner then?”

“Oh that’s easy enough - she won’t leave our side until she chooses her own partner. Ordinarily I wouldn’t expect her to do that for a few more years. Your child there is a very special case indeed. Perhaps it’s needs must, we don’t really know.” Azri-Lii said.

“You mean it could have been anyone?”

“Possibly. Though the truth is, we don’t know. I searched a long time to find Jacques.” She said.

“I hope this isn’t too rude, but what took so long?” I was curious now.

“It’s hard to explain but imagine this: you are looking for your soul mate but have little to go on. First, he is not even of your species. Second, he must be open to relating closely to someone like one of us. Relating deeply.” She turned to regard me intensely. “Do you understand me?”

I hesitated,” Er, perhaps I’m not entirely certain.”

“A foldship’s partner is her mate, for life. Is that any clearer?” She said.

I blushed, realising what she was driving at. “OH…wait uh..how…never mind. I think I get it.” I don’t think I wanted to get any deeper right now.

Her laughter was deep and rich, “Where do you think little fold ships might come from?”

“Can we perhaps discuss something else….like food now maybe?”

“Sure, there’s plenty of time to discover the other.” She said.

I didn’t want to think about the other at all. It wasn’t particularly comfortable given the implications, especially as my own ship, my own partner was the tiny baby ship currently being carried against my chest. Yeah, I think I’d rather discuss food.

We sat down to eat, at least Jacques and I did. Yetriana spent the time chasing imaginary ships or something through one space fold after another in the grand room we sat in. Occasionally a ball or other object would fly by to be caught again by a disembodied hand that reached through a space fold to catch it. Apparently, this is normal behaviour as Jacques carried on calmly slurping up spaghetti whilst numerous projectiles appeared from nowhere and disappeared just as quickly.

He caught me watching him. “You’ll get used to it soon enough. They play with space folding the way kids climb fences and trees. It’s essential they do so—why do you think we have such large houses?”

“I don’t have the kind of space she’s going to need if that’s the case.” I said, thinking about the normal sized apartment I left this morning.

“No, you’ll have to get a plot here. Unless you choose to live on another world that is.”

“Oh, well, no I like it here, it’s my homeworld after all.” I said, the idea of leaving my family permanently didn’t appeal.

“What are your folks like?” Jacques asked.

“Ordinary farmers, they grow cereal crops, though most of the work is automated so it’s nice and easy.” I said, “They insisted that I get educated and do what I wanted with my life. They’re good people.”

“Mine are on Xant and well, they were not impressed when I was chosen by my lady here. They were expecting me to be part of the family business.” He said, mouth twisting at the memory.

“What was it?”

“They were planetary mafia. I was never quite their ideal boy, but I was their only son. It doesn’t matter, I would have skipped the place anyway, but Azrii found me first.”

“How?” I said.

“Oh, that’s a tale for another time. Come on let’s get you some sleeping quarters.” On saying this, he got up and led the way upstairs. Our room for the night continued the candy theme, with a great big bed and yet more toys everywhere.

“A tip for you, don’t stint on the toys. I’ve even caught Azri-Lii juggling and throwing stuff to catch through space folds before.” He said.

“Why toys?” Hard to imagine the dignified looking Azri-Lii secretly playing with toys.

“I’m not totally sure, but my guess is the colours and how different toys feel or fly when thrown. Your ship’s hands are far more sensitive than your own. They just happen to be indestructible. So, I guess it’s a sensory thing.”

Such a strange idea, a starship having such a rich sensory experience that they love toys. Yet, as I looked down at my own infant, it was hard to see her as anything but a winged child and well, children play.

“You’ll find you’ve plenty of funds to keep her in toys and chocolate. If she’s anything like Yetriana, she’ll have a weakness for sweet stuff - something they get from the Aktarian tech inside them.”

“Who pays this fund…and why exactly?” I didn’t believe in something for nothing.

“How much do you know about the alliance humanity has with Aktarians?”

“Not a lot.” I sat on the bed, sinking right down, it was tremendously soft.

“Aktarians defend their client species, only in our case they realised the best way was to help us create our own fold ships. Yet, despite everyone’s best efforts, we only managed to create a few viable ships. They’re as immortal as an Aktarian and well, produce as few young. Every single ship is precious, though humanity can only call upon partnered ones for assistance.” He said, “It’s in the interest of our entire race that we are well looked after.”

I didn’t know this. I wonder how many did.

He left for the night, I lay back holding my slumbering ship and slept, the day finally catching up with me.

This time the dreams were filled with stars, wings and glowing blue eyes with green pupils. I woke up to high pitched harmonies and a pair of blue eyes with bright green pupils staring into mine, inches away.

“Ugh, hi?” I reached up and stroked her wings, they tickled as they flickered and vibrated against my skin. She touched my cheek with one hand then lifted herself off me, sat hovering in mid-air.

I get up, she darts backwards, I stand, and she dives at me, catching me off guard, I tumble backwards back into bed. She is on top, cuddling again.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be is it?” I say, her only answer is to cuddle closer.

A knock at the door, Jacque announcing breakfast.

“Come on, we gotta get up.” I sit up, lifting her as I moved causing her to take off and hover. She was definitely a little heavier than yesterday. Plenty more alive too, her wings were shifting, her ventrali flexing, her claws questing at the air as if looking to land and latch onto something solid. That would be me, the moment I stood up. She nearly put me back on the bed again, even though I was ready this time.

“Ok, one of us needs to eat, even if you don’t.” I said. She gripped me tightly, unwilling to be parted for even a moment. It made dressing a challenge. I settled for leaving my shirt open for now.

The candy castle had a brightly coloured kitchen; I expected gingerbread men to come running out the door any moment. However, it was coffee and bacon I could smell, not baking. She finally let me part her from her landing spot on my chest, only to sit on the table watching me as I ate.

“We don’t know how long it will take for her to become vocal, it’s an unusual situation.” Jacque said, “Azrii-Lii tells me that pre-vocal infants don’t normally choose and bond. This usually happens within months of courting age instead.”

“Courting age?”

“Ah yes, I forgot, you’ve not really had much education on the inner workings of star ship lives eh? “ He smiled, “Well, we are fairly private folks. But your one of us now, so it’s only fair.”

“Fair? What do you mean?” I said.

“What he means is your little starship will grow into an adult starship. With adult starship needs.” Azrii-Lii’s head appeared through a hole in space next to me.

“Whoa, that’s a freaky trick! “ I said, coffee spraying out of my nose. “What on earth does adult starship needs mean?”

“Your ship is a baby, where do you think she came from?” She said gently, watching me closely as I turned over the meaning of her words.

“It does not matter yet. All she knows is she needs a protector and partner. Instinct. There is a time and a place for everything.” She continued firmly, “You simply need to be there for her when she needs you.”

I’d no intention of doing otherwise, though I was left somewhat discomfited.

Chapter 5

Ktral incursion, a million ships each many miles long, many miles wide, many miles deep—massive behemoths of aggression, dominance and ultimately chaos—sought to take all of human controlled space.

They sought wrong.

Light years mean little to an Aktarian, and they regard threats to their client species, the species that father their precious daughters, in exactly the same way a mother regards threats to her children.

Only an Aktarian has near instant ability to hit the threat head on with a force so unstoppable, we still see the myriad of new novea they birthed as they folded and struck, with relativistic force, ramming each monster ship and carving through them without stopping. Never did humanity learn more about how indestructible a Great Ship (a term from another age) truly is until they decidedly ended the Ktral threat.

They didn’t learn this as well as the Ktral themselves I think.
Starship Whisperer, AD 2950

The infant tilted her head to one side, examining me closely, her wings and ventrali in constant motion, a gentle wavelike dance, a dance that entranced me as I watched her in turn as I ate slowly.

My food finished, she pounced. It was a good job she was so small, as my arms were now full of hyperactive young fold ship who didn’t exactly lay still.

“Well, regardless of her age, she has taken to you.” Jacque said “I don’t think you could leave her behind, ever if you were inclined. Will you name her?”

“I’d assumed they named themselves?” I said
“Well, Mothers do.” He said no more. I understood.

I looked down at her, her wings still gracefully dancing against my hands, their flexing pushing my fingers with them.

“Katryana” I said, looking into her green pupiled eyes, going slightly cross-eyed as I did so. “You look like a Katryana, dancing gracefully through space and sky.”

As I named her, I felt a change come over me, a deeper connection to the tiny ship. She pulled herself up and laid her head against my cheek, the wind from her wings ruffling my hair.

Jacque quietly left, I barely noticed, lost as I was in my connection to her. A moment later a low harmonic hum signalled Azrii-Li’s own departure.

Katryana pulled away slowly and hovered in front of me, distant chords rippling and tickling over my cheeks and nose. The air around her body distorted slightly, her wings moved slowly, too slowly to explain her hovering. No-one had ever adequately explained Aktarian or fold ship flight—their own explanation of gravity webs was too vague to be helpful.

Her nose bumped mine as she drifted closer, examining me again; a disconcerting and eye straining experience, not least because her eyes were set either side of her head and gave her a comical squinty look when viewed from the front. I giggled. She flew backwards, startled, then promptly vanished.

I’d no warning, just the simultaneous sensation of the faint music she made and the weight of her feet on my head. She’d made her first fold. I reached up to grab her, she flew off before I touched her.

And that was it, for the next hour she darted through fold after fold, daring me to catch her, first round the kitchen, then throughout the house, up the stairs, in and out of each room, startling Jacque and finally provoking Yetriana into joining the fray who gleefully switched sides with abandon—sometimes catching little Katryana and throwing her to me—and sometimes snagging me onto her back to then fold off to the ball pit, or a bed and ditch me thus furthering Katryana’s own ambition to stay ahead of me.

I’ve no idea who won, or what counted as winning, I just gave up when my energy gave out. Young starships of either kind were going to get me very fit if this is routine.

“Is that normal?” I asked as Jacque walked into my room where I lay collapsed on the bed.

“Oh yes, though I’m afraid you got it worse and it’s likely to get worse as Yetriana hasn’t had quite the chance to play as she would like. So I’m afraid your um shall I say, victim number one now?” He said, “Truth is, young ships have to learn to fold space quickly, accurately and instantly. Playing is perfect so expect plenty more…exercise.”

At that precise moment her nose followed by her head appeared in the most peculiar fashion. It hung disembodied in the air in front of my face and I could hear high pitched giggling from somewhere nearby. “Er, hello?” I said.

She disappeared again.

“That’s going to take some getting used to.” I said.

“That’ll be Yetriana’s idea, I’ve no doubt. It was a game she used to play with me.” He grinned, then grimaced slightly. “Until she does it when you are in the necessary. At which point things get embarrassing.”

Azrii-Li appeared through the doorway, once more emphasizing the size of the opening, her fore leg came curling round Jacque. ”She soon learned where not to fold though.” She said.

“Yes, after I made a bit of an undignified mess that bothered me far more than it bothered her.” Jacque said, reddening slightly.

“Well, it’s not as if it could hurt her.” Azrii-Lii dismissed this.

“There is just one little problem with sharing your life with creatures such as these.” He said, reaching out to Azrii’s head. She rolled her eye at him, “Creature am I?”

“Hush, you know what I mean.” He held her close. “They share all of your life, that is what they do.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” She said, “It’s time we shared our history I think. Knowledge of our past is not shared easily, however you’ve got a partner who is going to need you to understand not just one species of ship, but two.”

“We still have no idea how or why she exists however, as far as we can tell, she is likely to have Aktarian abilities.” Jacque said.

“What do you mean?”

“Fold ships have never been able to travel outside of your universe, just anywhere within.” Azrii said, “However, the harmonies of Katryana’s ventrali indicate a depth and breadth of communication that promises to reach way beyond the reality you know. Into realities that we Aktarians know. If that is true, her parents made history with her conception and I’d dearly love to know who they were.”

“And how they managed it.” Jacque said with feeling.

This just reminded me of what I didn’t know, like how Yetrianna was conceived. I wasn’t going to ask, I’d known Jacque and Azrii-Li for a mere day.

That night I dreamed deeply, wherever I was, I was there and not dreaming. The space was vast, I wasn’t alone, and ahead of us I could see ships everywhere. These were not human ships. They were immense, inhuman, blocky and aggressive angles and they were coming, each one draining the life from the space around it, each one projecting a cold chill of dissolution, of an acid eating away the comfort of reality in the space around each ship.

Uncountable millions were coming, their hulls a poison to the universe they weighed upon.

I woke shivering, with Katryana held close. She was awake. Did fold ships sleep? The dream, I could still touch it. Still feel it, the vastness and the awful immensity of those alien vessels.

It was just a dream.

The following morning was chaotic with Katryana demanding cuddles then play, changing her mind frequently, vanishing halfway through a cuddle moment only to reappear on my head, behind me, anywhere she felt was funny. She also had no sense of privacy, reliably echoing Jacque’s comment about the bathroom, leaving me red faced and embarrassed and trying to get her stay still so I could wash her.

The bath was a hit with her when she found out what happens when her constantly vibrating ventrali hit the water—most of it ended up in the air as a fine mist fair threatening to drown me.

It was this moment Yetriana poked her nose in and invited the little winged minx to come play outside.

“Now you know why we have a lot of outdoor water. “ Jacque said as he nudged the door open, staying clear of the slowly descended mist.

“Yetriana was exactly the same, they can see the patterns made when their ventrali hits water. She tells me it’s very pretty.”

“It’s very messy. She shouldn’t take up decorating, unless it’s in a spray shop maybe.” I said, still peeved at being so thoroughly wetted down.

“It’s one of the very few problems with young starships, they get into everything.” He said. “I’m afraid yours may be even more trouble than usual: she’s positively tiny and being hybrid, positively a bigger nuisance.”

I hope he was teasing.

The doubled concerto of giggles and exclamations wafting in through the open window said otherwise.

I peered out. There were rainbows all around the garden. The source? Three great ponds, the middle one, as I watched, erupted in noses and wings, one set difficult to see they were so small, as both infants shot through the surface. A pool of water showed their entry point on the other side of the garden.

“As long as they do that, out there, we should be OK.” I said, fighting back my own laughter. I’d not given thought to having children, I was barely halfway through university.

“Oh it’s not unknown for Yetriana to flip through folds indoors streaming water everywhere, closely followed by any young ships in the vicinity.” Jacque said.

“There are more on Lorn then?” I was surprised, knowing the ships were so rare.

“There are three families here and we get occasional visitors, though not many. I understand that it represents most of the Aktarian or Fold ship population in this sector.”

That’s not many. There are a few dozen inhabited worlds in our sector, so that would mean less than one ship per world.

“Now you see why planetary governments feel a pressure to treat us as they do?” He said. “Every world wants its own cohort of Fold ships, even if they can’t get Aktarian couples. The advantages are too great.”

I knew the ships would do courier duty at times, occasionally they’d be asked to transport VIPs—these services were richly rewarded. However, their real aid was last required centuries before my birth: the great incursion of the Ktral where a number of client systems were attacked and taken over. A handful of Aktarians took on the vast army of gigantic miles long slaver ships and tore them apart, denoting several suns in the process.

The videos of the war were enough to secure their position in galactic society forever. I was shown the footage during an introduction at university, an elective course about the history of galactic society. The most haunting moment, for me, was watching Yissindra, a young ship barely two meters long, use herself as a kinetic kill missile.

The video taken by one of humanity’s own starships—The Kalandaru, a leisure cruiser—and home to her and her pilot. She hung in space a few miles from her sole opponent, a vast behemoth of a ship, that drew closer and closer, every sharp angle and edge cutting through space itself, a result of the shield tech that shrugged off anything humanity could throw at it. Like a flea to an elephant, she was barely visible despite live enhancement of the recording. Her vivid colours visible only when the nearest sun sparked off one flaring wing or another.

She left a red streak as she accelerated to impossible fractions of light speed and disappeared. The behemoth lit up, it’s shield tech dragged through the ship itself, slicing the hull into tiny cubes as the energy net pulled against each hard point, the force of Yissindra’s strike dragged it through the body of the ship. The shield no longer protected it, it killed the thing. Half a second later a second star was born as the engines were sliced and released their antimatter.

The part that left me shivering a little was her reappearance, as if nothing had happened, right outside the window of the Kalandaru. She still looked innocent and beautiful, hanging there against the dark of the void, sparks of her newly created short lived sun glinting off her body.

Aktarians don’t have guns.

They don’t need them.

Humanity lost one system—the Ktral came in such numbers, with such ferocity, it was a miracle we didn’t lose more. However, the Ktral lost their fleet.

There were only a few Aktarians, but they only needed a few. Folding space was near instant and each adult Aktarian packed an insane punch when they hit Ktral cruisers at near light speed. The mini novas from the impacts are still visible from some parts of the galaxy.

Time after time, various political pressure groups tried to ferment trouble based on fear: they feared the power of the Aktarian species, a power never turned on humanity or it’s allies. They got nowhere—there’s always an element of human society who fear anything new, anything different. The rest of civilisation feted the species and did everything they could to encourage them to settle and have more children.

Eventually they gave us Fold ships, a hybrid of humanity and Aktarian tech. Ever since then, the biggest wars in our galaxy were trivial, between pirate gangs and outlier settlements. Nothing that threatened wider civilisation and nothing to cause Aktarians to fight again.

However the scorched solar system, the billions burnt to nothing, the uninhabitable planet left dying and desolate—a cauterised cinder around a slowly fading sun also seared a memory into humanity and its allies. A memory of an enemy so terrifying that Aktarians could have asked for entire worlds and been gifted them.

No one could ever take seriously the concerns of the lunatic fringe who tried to lobby against the Aktarian presence.

We were all taught this at school and it was elaborated on as I took my University courses. Across all human controlled space, the history of Aktarian alliance and relationship with us was mandatory study. No government ever wanted to risk the relationship due to ignorance. Not since the Ktral incursion.

Chapter 6

The next few days were a frenzy of play and learning and I collected a few bruises and strains, my clothes some tears and stains, my pride some bangs and bumps: Katryana didn’t get any quieter. I only got rest by pretending to sleep—she always cuddled silently when I slept.

Following Azrii-Lii’s advice, I ordered a bunch of toys, including set of something called Cluster Drones. These had simple hive minds, soft outer shells and good flying coordination— an entire league of Cluster Drone combat games was based around them. They could work together to tag players with marker paint, evade capture and all sorts. I figured they’d give Katryana something to throw through folds, catch and wrestle with—other than me that is.

The drones arrived quickly, each one brightly coloured, bigger than Katryana and sported a pivoting turbo fan at each corner. They came as a set of seven and were self charging in sunlight, or kinetic impact: clever design, the more you bashed them, the more power they gained. Perfect.

“Let’s try these out, Kat.” I whispered to her. She was sat, quietly for once, watching as I unpacked the drones. Music lilted through the air, a questioning tone to the notes. She lifted off as I picked up the first unpacked drone and chucked it upwards. Wings flaring, she pounced to bring it down, but it was already powered up and dodged sideways. She missed and landed on bed. I snorted, never seen her miss before.

Musical giggles came from the doorway as Yetriana poked her head in. “Oh these look fun, can I play too?”

That was the day written off, the drones were perfect. Quick, unpredictable and, being designed for competition, incredibly tough. Both young ships had to adapt fast to catch them at all, though soon they were cooperating to create space folds to herd the devices together for easier hunting.

I got a well earned rest as they played, feeling great pride in Katryana as she improved her skill rapidly in a few short hours.

They set up goals to play one of the games described in the drones instructions: a variation of an old game, rugby. Only instead of having one ball, they had seven, each one unwilling to be captured and used to score a goal. The objectives ramped up in difficulty quickly: at first, simply hitting the goal with any drone would do, then they had to get all seven in any order but within so many seconds, if they achieved that, they had to do it in a sequence—blue drone, green, yellow and so on.

Then they’d do it against each other—this raised the noise level significantly. Yetriana fluting mild curses occasionally, Katryana just fluting but I guessed the meaning was similar.

I never figured out who won by the time we stopped to eat on the evening, but judging by Katryana’s excited fluting and restlessness, the drones and the game were a hit. The only downside was her increased coordination meant she took to throwing all kinds of random objects through short range space folds to catch them, leading to bodiless arms and hands appearing from nowhere hot on the heels of the latest missile shooting from nowhere.

“I know why you ships don’t have lasers and missiles.” I said as I casually dodged the latest projectile, forewarned by the slightest breeze caused by a nearby space fold. “Anything becomes a missile of opportunity with those damn space holes.”

My reflexes were definitely improving, I recommend anyone who wants to improve their reaction times, just live with a baby starship for a few weeks. It keeps you on your toes.

A few days after the cluster drones arrived, our front lawn was host to a grand two on two match, the other two being the children of two other fold ship families who were visiting.

This was the first time I’d seen pure fold ship children. Unlike Aktarians, fold ships do not have a hybrid inheritance: Aktarians normally have a dual childhood, their client species growing to puberty and a little beyond before the minds join together.

The visiting youngsters were a meter long, with two sets of wings rather than three, the ventrali less dense than either Yetriana’s or Katryana’s. Their colours were darker, shimmering deep greens and blues with silver and gold threading through in fractal patterns. They hovered restlessly, every bit as fidgety as our own ships were.

The game was set with two goals rather than one and the ships barely made it past their parents polite exchanges before diving at the drones that Katryana liberated from where I’d hidden them. You try hiding or securing things from her: space folding beats any security.

At first the visitors were at a loss in the target rich environment, more drones than ships gave them too many choices; however, they learnt quick, slipping and shifting, folding and feinting, ducking and dodging; blocking and catching, even managing to catch Katryana twice to throw her, giggling her wings off, into the goal, apparently not scoring but leaving all four of them in gales of choral laughter, the drones temporarily forgotten.

They gathered themselves and address the very serious business of trying to catch drones and score, handicapped only by bursts of uncontrolled giggles—laughter being the most common emotion from infant ships of either species from this display.

The afternoon passed in a storm of drones and wings, space folds and wind—every few minutes an arm or head would appear from wildly improbable places as one ship or other tried to predict or catch an errant drone; or in Katryana’s case, steal from the snacks we’d laid out for the human partners of the ships.

“What is the deal with the food stealing?” I turned to Jacque.

“They have a strong sense of taste, you’ll find out soon enough, the Aktarians were created with the intent they’d be practically immortal and motivated to explore. This means, well, they have an extremely sensual experience of reality.” He laid his hand on Azrii’s head, “At least that’s how Az explains it.”

“If we could not enjoy new experiences, why would we wish to explore at all?” Azrii-Lii added.

It made sense.

I finally caught Katryana stealing a large helping of an extremely rich chocolate cake. I watched in fascination as a near transparent flower like appendage unfolded from the tip of her nose, pulled in the portion of cake, compressing it and sucking the result into her nose. A faint flash of light appeared after a few moments.

“What on earth?” I said nudging Jacque “What is that about?”

The details of Aktarian refuelling roughly described ram scoops and using high density matter as fuel, but no-one had detailed the process in any depth. At least not in any of the main education courses I’d been on.

“Ah yes, she’s converted that mass to pure energy.” Azrii-Lii tilted her head to look past me at Katryana who was silently sneaking back through her hole in space to rejoin the game.

No-one was keeping score by now, the air was filled with musical laughter, the humming of wings and thuds of drones hitting goals, ground or, occasionally, an unwary ship. I nearly lost my coffee when I spotted Katryana hidden on the back of one visiting ship, holding position so delicately that her victim had no idea she was there until too late when the little minx foiled yet another goal and worse, scored beautifully through her own space fold that opened in front of the opposing goal.

The result was the pair of ships, David and Goliath style, took to chasing each other in a dazzling display of “now you see it, now you don’t” fold gymnastics.

At one point Katryana was held in the transparent ramscoop of her opponent—I held my breath, I knew what happened to cake—but she just giggled, spin, reach through a tiny hole in the air and tweaked the tail of her captor who immediately span round looking for her attacker, thus loosing Katryana who ended up sneaking back to the snack table again.

“You don’t have to worry you know, she can’t be hurt.” Jacque said, watching me.

“I know, I saw the histories, I know what we are taught, but she’s so small…

How do we know she’s as strong as the pure bred ships?”

“They’re all hybrids, though yours is more hybrid than any before, I know. However, I rather think she’s likely to be stronger, if that was even meaningful. Get her to crush you a diamond one day out of coal, or show you what happens when she squeezes iron hard enough.” He said.

I was curious now. “What does happen?”

“You get gold. And lots and lots of heat.” He smiled and pulled out a thick gold chain. “Az did this one for me when I said I didn’t believe her.”

It was a fine, filigreed piece of work with thick fat links of gold joined with lace like platinum joints and a diamond pendant the size of my thumb.

“It’s too showy really but it was the first thing she made me when she found out I liked gold jewellery. I’d never part with it but it’s probably worth more than the house.” He said.

“That has to be a kilo of gold right there Its stunning.” I said.

Just then, with little warning, I found my arms full of vibrating wings as Katryana landed on me. “The game is over is it?” I said as I stroked her steadily vibrating wings, the smooth material warm under my fingertips. For answer, she snuggled closer and worked musically, I almost heard words but couldn’t make them out.

It was a mystery why both Aktarians and fold ships took time to learn a language. The prevailing theory is all their spare thinking ability is used by their space folding but no one devised a means to test this and the Aktarians were not forthcoming either.

“Well I don’t know who won, but they sure had fun.” Jacque’s quipped as he eyed the cluster drones left in disarray on the great front lawn. Two of the sturdy devices lay unmoving—casualties of war.

“I’d say they got their money’s worth, for sure.” I said, as we all headed back to the house.

Chapter 7

My own legal status became clear over the next few days when a government agent came calling, a Mr Boyers, dressed in an old fashioned style, grey on grey, unmemorable in every way other than the content of his conversation.

“Marcus Avers, I presume.” He began, then stopped when he caught sight of a curious, but tiny disembodied head staring at him, jewel eyes glittering as they examined him. The head floated about, as if Kat was unwilling to show herself properly from wherever she was. Suppressing my own giggle, I reached up and, putting my hand through the hole in space, gently coaxed the ship through.

“Excuse me, you know how kids are.” I offered.

“Quite.” He started, then gathering himself. “I am informed that you are now partnered with a previously unknown fold ship?”

Of course he was informed, I placed the application a few days back at Jacque’s urging. He’d said that I’d be entitled to land, a building grant and a basic stipend as I was no longer available for any other form of employment.
Every so many years the government of one planet or another tried to redact this entitlement—politics being politics of course—but both fold ships and Aktarians merely withdrew their presence entirely until the party in question retracted the policy. My world had tried twice in three hundred years and I knew there was a movement against our privilege now. Those who forget history, doomed to repeat it or some such.

Truth is, I couldn’t take any other employment unless it required the partnership with Katryana. It had been tried, either a pilot unsuccessfully balancing his old career with his new life or being pressured to take other work by his family who didn’t accept the nature of the relationship.

“That is a fine, young ship you have there.” He emphasised the young. “How long before she is of service?”

Azrii-Lii appeared beside him at this point, her bulk, coming silently out of nowhere, startled him.

“Is that relevant Mr Boyers?” Her low musical him held a slight edge. “Age and ability has explicitly been excised from the rights to stipend ruling, and you know it.”

“Azrii-Lii, my dear, I do as I’m ordered and you must know that times are changing in parliament.” He began, his tone unctuous, as if calming a stormy sea.

“Parliament know better. Or do they forget history, do they ignore the records available to all, do they deny evidence?” She said.

“All I can tell you, history is written by people, and people do not always tell the whole truth. They tell the story that suits their cause. Surely you know this?” He said smoothly.

“I think you better serve your function and remove your person from our sight today Mr Boyers. My family were some of those people, and I’ll not take kindly to what your insinuating.” She said, the chords of her voice taking on a distinct disharmony.

He held his hands up. “ok, ok, well.” He turned to me, “are you ready to examine the terms of the stipend Mr Avers? Before we can award it, I have to be sure that you are truly partnered, and that you are both ready to serve when required.”

Azrii bristled, “Mr Boyers.. “ she began, but Jacque’s interrupted her. “Jonas, what is this stroke you are pulling? Serve when required? Since when does any planetary authority have this right? Sign nothing Marcus, this is a political ploy. There is no statutory requirement to serve.”
I withdrew my arm, I’d been about to take the envelope from the man. “No Sir, I think legal advice is required before we sign anything thank you.”

“I’m afraid you will regret that, the parliament voted in the statutory service in return for pilot stipend since Jacque’s time. And without it, you won’t be affording legal council.” He said. “I shall return when you are ready to commit to your duties, say a weeks time Mr Avers?”

With that he turned without waiting for my reply and headed back to his waiting flyer. The dark grey stubby winged machine took off with a whisper and whisked him away.

“I’d heard some rumblings about this, but I thought it came to nothing.” Jacques said.

“Clearly the fools are gaining sway in parliament right now. Forgotten their history, or don’t care for the truth.” Azrii-Lii said acerbically.

“It doesn’t matter, you can stay with us until the matter is cleared up or Kat grows up enough to work. It’s not a problem.” Jacques said. “Lots of work for fold ships and Aktarians both, always pays well.”

Chapter 8

Glyphr, the Aktarian term given to the patterned markings all Aktarian partners bore. No partner ever consented to having samples taken of skin marked in this way, so our best guess is the glyphr is some kind of nano or smaller tech linking partner to ship. Simpler glyphr occurred with Fold ship pairs.
Starship Whisper, Unknown Chronicles, AD 2540

The next few days were spent in a crash course on life as a working pair. My role was less obvious, sometimes merely being the hands or the human contact, though this downplayed the unspoken parts of the relationship.

Neither species of ship would fold blindly, if they didn’t know the target, they needed to navigate like any other craft. They’d use their gravity Web manipulation to get less than light speed acceleration along with linear folds along the line of sight. This effectively gave them a real space speed, averaged out, of tens to hundreds of light years per hour, skipping in and out of reality like a flat stone on an immense pond. Once they’d been somewhere, they could always fold directly next time so return journeys were near instant.

I had to learn the ins and outs of interstellar regulations for light couriers, VIP transport and special laws and exemptions relating to sentient starships. Most of this consisted of teaching the new pilot how ports and governing authorities were allowed to apply laws and not.

It amused me to find I had the equivalent of diplomatic immunity for just about every form of crime though several addenda noted that trustworthiness of individual pilots was accounted for in future dealings. In others words, don’t be a jerk, you may not get work.

As important as this was, it was a yawnfest and Katryana only had to giggle and pounce before I was thoroughly distracted, not unwillingly, into whatever mad game she felt like playing next.

Nose to tail, she was half as long as I was tall, and I’m not a short guy. From the outside, I guess our antics would puzzle people as the public only ever truly saw the adults, working and acting professionally, even wise and mysterious at times, though now that notion makes me snort. I’ve seen the sober Azrii-Lii sneaking chocolate, or indeed playing with the cluster drones when she thought I wasn’t watching.

Three weeks after I arrived with Katryana, I noticed the lines in my skin, faint patterns running over my hands, in my face and more prominently over my torso.

Just like Jacques.

I traced them in the back of my hand, the skin didn’t feel different at all, except for a few tingles and sparks, inside, where I touched the marks.
At breakfast I asked Jacques about the markings.

“They’re called glyphr, and they normally only occur in Aktarian partnerships. They are a physical link to your ship and confer increased lifespan among other advantages.” He said.

I’d never heard of them before. They were beautiful and echoed Katryana’s colours.

“They’ll become denser and more complex as time goes by.” He said, taking off his jacket and bearing his chest. The lines were so numerous that his skin merely provided a dark contrast to the purple, silver and red shaded fractals layered into it.

“Wow, those are fantastic.” I said.

“Thanks. They became denser when Yetriana was conceived, that’s what makes me think they signify connection.” He said.

“Oh. How was she…? I trailed off, realising the implications for myself. I couldn’t quite see it though, it was a subject clearly not publicised widely.
“Of course, you’ll find out enough for yourselves when the time is right and that’s a long way off.”He said, dressing quickly, hurrying away from the awkward moment.

Katryana was playing with Yetriana out the back I could hear the pair of them giggle and singing at each other. Her song is more coherent every day now and I could almost make out childish words emerging from her music.

For once alone, I decided to just walk. The evening was pleasant, the sun was setting and I’d not seen much of the grounds beyond Azrii-Lii and Jacque’s house. The houses were a wild variety of castles and mansions, each with unique often brightly coloured decoration and great oversized doors. Given the precision of their space folding, it seemed a redundant feature to me.

I walked for twenty minutes before there was a slight hiss, then the coloured dwellings faded from view.

Chapter 9

When I came to, I woke to a faint but steady roaring that filled my brain as I looked around. I couldn’t move, I was in a box or something coffin sized. What the hell?

I felt solid bands around my ankles, waist, wrists and neck. I was gagged so deeply I panicked as I became aware of it and I tried to cry out but sharp acid pain ripped into my throat, then my spine, tormenting me until I stopped trying.

I don’t know how long I was there. It was forever.

The bands kept shocking me. Sometimes if I moved at all, sometimes I’d be partly asleep, sometimes I’d be shocked for no particular reason at all.
The indignity of my captivity became ever more evidence as time went on and nature took its course. Whoever put me here intended it be a while, I was plumbed in quite securely, no need for removal for any basic body need. Every so often I felt something slide down my throat into my stomach and hunger I didn’t know I had faded.

The journey went on and I grew despondent.

Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days and days felt like lifetimes as random shock after shock melted my mind, etched away my sanity and threatened my identity. The constant slow feeding and my inability to control my own functions, the darkness, the constant faint hum all served to reduce my sense of self.

Memories of my life passed through my mind, each memory more ragged edged than the last, torn by shocks, ripped by pain, until all I hung onto was Katryana’s eyes in mind, gentle jewels lighting the darkness in my mind.
It may have been a week, it may have been a year before I saw light again. The box shook, the shocks ceased, and a crack of light appeared, searing my eyes after weeks of velvet blackness.

The box lid opened. Three figures in shapeless black clothes, black hoods covering their heads surrounded it, looking down on me. I saw them through a blur of tears, unable and unwilling to make a sound, the conditioning of the shocks ensured that.

The bands remained locked on my limbs, though they unclipped from the coffin like box I’d been kept in and I was dragged out, blinking and stumbling, barely able to keep my balance or see straight. However I was recovering quickly, despite the impediment of the equipment still attached to my mouth and nether regions.

I was led off the ship, out into a bright, red dusty desert plain. We crossed the seared ground, the hot air clawing at my throat, shrivelling my lungs and making me gasp. A concrete entry lay buried in the side of a low hill, it as to this I was led, down through thick dull metal doors, a steep steel ramp that wound on and on, burrowing deep into the planet or so it felt to my aching legs. The bands around my limbs chafed and bit, I still imagine the burning electricity they inflicted. What the hell was I doing here?

What happened to Katryana? The first time in what felt like ages, my head began to clear, I could think of her. And began to cry, I couldn’t help it. She’s still an infant, and I remembered Azrii-Lii telling me, the infant ship could not bond to another. But I was gone. They wouldn’t be able to find me.

Who were these people and why, why the hell was I shackled?

We wandered through cold corridor after cold corridor, door after door, steel airlocks securing one section from another biometrics at each stage. This wasn’t a trivial gang, this was serious. But who?

Finally we halted at a plain grey door, heavy and intimidating. It hissed open on hydraulics, it was thicker than my arm was longer. I was pushed in, manhandled into yet another coffin like box, this time I could see it properly.

It opened in sections, allowed access to the upper body or lower, and it featured places to fix limbs, presumably using the rings that felt quite firmly attached. I tried to fight being pushed into the thing, the last one was an unending torment and my heart began to pound with fear. Up till now I’d felt numb, except for thoughts of Katryana but now, faced with this, I couldn’t do it, wouldn’t do it.

They handled me easily, my journey had weakened me and I was not known for an athlete anyway. I wriggled and kicked, mutely, unable to utter a sound as when I did the device in my mouth and throat burned me mercilessly.

A rage grew in me, over shadowing the fear, I could feel my skin prickling and some semblance of strength returning. Who the hell were these people, how dare they steal me from Kat? My struggles didn’t quieten and I finally struck one guard so hard his head head gear came off and he was revealed, pale skinned, steel balls showing where eyes should be.

He struck me on the head, hard, I went down, limp and they bundled me into the hateful device. It immediately began to apply hard shocks, random mind numbing bouts of pain as they closed the lid, sealed me in and left me to its tender mercies.

I lost time and sense again, I could feel less and less. Yet I held onto the image of Katryana as the machine worked on grinding me down. I held onto to thoughts of my young ship, the tiny hybrid infant who chose me and who was waiting for me to find my way back. I held onto thoughts of the future I wanted with her, how she would always playx I could see it so clearly. As the machine made my body suffer in silence, my mind entered memory and thoughts of her. I grew detached from my body, whatever my captors wanted, I don’t think it was this. I couldn’t think at all in my body, so, leave it behind, it’s not a lot of use.

The image of Katryana grew clearer, I could see her looking at me, feel her in mind.

Where be you went? Gone you did, why? Me want you you want me no?
I cried out, in my mind, I yelled out, taken I was and she all I wanted.
Bad men? Taken you? Why?

I felt her confusion, this dream Katryana, I know the real one would be as confused. I told her what I could, not much at. Of a desert, and my time in the dark.

I find you yes? I take you, back me you come. Wait for me.

I hadn’t the hard to tell even a dream ship that waiting was all I had choice of anyway. So I said of course I’ll wait forever.

I woke, the shocks kept coming but I’d slept. The shocks were less, they hurt less. Lots less. Maybe the batteries were dying. I could hope.

They came back, opened the top half of the box and sat around the table watching me. They were in black uniforms, head covered by dark masks, near featureless and plain.

“It is very simple what we want. There is no question of not getting it. It is not a request.” The speaker sat at the head of the table. “you will be implanted with a control device, and then the rings you wear will be sunk deep into your flesh grafted to the bone and used to ensure your total cooperation.”

“Your ship is now our property. You will direct her, or you will suffer debilitating pain enough to drive you insane.”

I was horrified and mute. Unable to object, rant, yell and rage.

They wheeled my casket to another room, an operating theatre I guessed, lay me down and quietly, coldly, went to work.
There was no pain relief. I was merely paralysed, a mute pile of meat to be opened up and picked over. I felt every cut and drill, every item put in to sap my will. Yet as they worked the pain grew distant, less, and the wounds were clearly healing too fast to suit them. They cursed, I didn’t know why, but they kept cursing as they worked on my spine. At this point I was almost indifferent, the curing hadn’t stopped but the pain, it had. I could feel something else instead, tingling over my skin.

I know the last operation put something in my head I felt a sharp punch in my skull as they drilled it out, the grinding against bone more torture to my ears than of pain. I couldn’t tell them it did not feel like it would do anything.

I couldn’t fight back, I was restrained, now by bands of steel under my flesh. My tears were dry, I could no longer cry but my feelings were strange, I should be more upset, angry, fearful. They’d done the worst they’d drilled into my body and placed permanent restraints on who i was. Yet, I felt they’d freed something else.

They placed me back into my box, wheeled me back to the cell I’d stayed in where, waiting for mez was the leader of their pack.

He looked at me appraisingly and examined the surgeons work. “Where are the stitches?” He asked, surprising me.

“He healed, almost before we could implant him properly.” One of the men from the operating room spoke from behind me.

“You have the ganglion control unit in his head though, right?” He said tone darkening.

“Yes yes, definitely. He won’t have any will of his own when you activate that.” He said.

My mind went white with horror. I knew what they’d fitted me with.
Ktral slaver controls.

Chapter 10

My mind gibbered to itself as I realised the depth of the trouble I was in. A few humans had been found with such implants installed. Every one a corpse. They’d been found in private gladiator compounds and sex slave trade ships. A man fitted with them would be induced to perform any task the control holder desired and could describe. The technology was semi sentient and able to adapt its understanding to that of the host and it fed directly from the physical and emotional suffering of its host. That was the ganglion implant.

The bands were a combination torture, restraint and power conversion device.
And I was the unwilling slave to one of these devices.

I’d been left free in the cell when they left me this time. Now I was implanted, I was no threat at all. The only place to lie down was the cold stone floor or the coffin. The electrocutions continued inside now, I would spasm and present they were worse than they were, they only tickled now.

The first three nights I lay on the floor, the coffin was the home of my first day’s in captivity. I didn’t hear from dream Katryana again until the third night.

I can find you. Bad men gonna go splat. I can find you.

Stay away I said to the dream. Bad men want you. They put evil in me to make you do what they want.

I say to Aunti Az then. Is ok. I say her what you said. Is ok. We fix.

You can’t I say but she’s not listening. I wished it was her, really her. But no one ever mentioned any form of mind to mind contact with either species of space folding ship.

Auntie Az? For some reason that small signal of family, an aunt, her aunt, hearing the dream ship saying that made me cry. Then it made me angry.
These fuckers. Who the hell are they? I began to take it apart in mind. There were few pirate groups now, whilst Aktarians and fold ships could not be everywhere, everywhere they could be, they got to, instantly.

Perpetrators were not blasted or even attacked. No, an Aktarian ship would simply reach in, take the captains, fold back to authorities and come back for the crew. Over time planetary governments soon learnt to keep detainment facilities for just this purpose, the criminals taken were given a life of productive labour and everyone, except the ex pirates were happy.

The door to my cell opened. A figure stood there.

“Time to demonstrate your new fittings.” He said. “Climb back into your conditioning chamber.” He indicated the box.

No way. The thing terrified me. Weeks of random electrocution and close, suffocating darkness saw to that. Endless hours of pain, never ending immobility.

I didn’t move straight away.

He frowned, the electricity coursing through my nerves increased in power, the pain intensified and a sharp clamping in my head caused me to try and cry out around the restraint in my mouth.

Gradually my body moved against my will. Grudgingly muscles obeyed the will of another and I was helpless to stop it.

A passenger of a ship on auto pilot I watched with horror as my body, slowly but surely, fitted itself precisely as ordered, even reaching out to pull the lids into place and sealing myself in on command. My heart thundering in my ears, my breath rasping rapidly through my nose, I couldn’t move a muscle to express the terror ripping through me.

I just obeyed and couldn’t stop.

Mercifully I blacked out.
I woke to bright lights, paralysis and the feel of the surgical table beneath me again. Voices around me.

“He resisted.”

“Not possible. No biological organism can resist the parasite.” Another voice, darker, deeper than the first.

“You didn’t see the wounds closing up. He recovered quickly.”

“We are not reversing course, we must have that ship under control. I can offer you additional control options. Pain enhancement, no creature can handle that.” The deep voice continued.

An officious third voice spoke up. “Very well, you will be rewarded handsomely. My government is determined that we will have a defense against these ships.”

A government. Was it mine? Who?

Then I latched onto the surgeons words, my wounds healed fast. In all the panic and treatment, I’d forgotten. How could I forget. My wounds healing so fast, could only mean one thing.

The glyphr. My connection to Katryana.

I’d no time to think now, fresh pain assaulted me as places in my armpits, groin and neck were sliced opened quickly, something new inserted, something that wriggled and slipped in the most disgusting way and made me vomit as the pain of the things fitted themselves into place within each wound.

“There, that’s better. We developed these for particularly stubborn slaves. Some species don’t respond as well to electricity but all species feel pain.” The voice growled. “This is too important to fail. Do not return the pilot to his ship until he has passed all the tests, without hesitation.”

Tests?

The world went black and I woke once more to darkness, hot stifling closed darkness.

I was released into a large room with a variety of weapons, swords, axes and other less easily labelled items on tables ranged around.

In one corner stood a clear cage with several other people, all restrained as I was, standing there mute and still. In the center was a ring, maybe ten meters wide, blood spattered and dirty.

It didn’t take much to guess what it was for.

A prisoner was released.

“You will fight. You will take his life, nothing more.” The voice was electronic, disembodied, uncaring.

I stood still. Then the pain began. Tidal waves of insane agony ran rampant through my nerves, shredding my soul, my will, my identity. The world started to fade, but it was dragged back into cold, clear reality and then my nerves were dipped in acid, I wasn’t gifted with unconsciousness, I simply lay, convulsing on my side, aware of nothing existing but pain.

I tried to move, to obey and as my intent to obey became clear the pain lessened. I approached the ring, as I did so, the acid retreated back along my nerves.

The prisoner, a large human dressed in rags, hair long and dirty, face bruised and worn, faced me. He curled up his fat fists, these too were bruised, and held them up expertly.

I didn’t think I’d be killing anyone.

I copied his stance, then pain finally releasing me as it was clear I was doing as ordered. He struck first, I was aware of the blow, my head even rocked back but I didn’t feel it. He hit me again, I stumbled from the force, but once more didn’t register any pain.

I tried to punch but I was clumsy, slow and uncoordinated. It was the first punch I ever recall throwing. It missed.

He smiled grimly round the restraint in his mouth. It was a metal plate locking over the lips and sealed seamless in place round his head.

He stepped in, punched one, two, head then body. A rub snapped. I know because I heard it. No pain. A felt something slipping gruesomely inside then a click, a wrongness that faded. I twisted away, my movements hadn’t changed. He chased and launched a flurry of punches, kicks and knee strikes, knocking me down, breaking my bones, making me grunt through the gag.

There was no real pain, just effort.

He stopped, exhausted.

I stood up, panting through my nose. He looked at me wild eyed. I could feel bones grinding in my arm, my knee, rubs and nose. There isn’t a lot to me and he was easily twice my mass. Yet, every broken bone was painless setting itself straight.

I tried rushing him as he looked at me wild eyed at my apparent recovery. I wasn’t angry at him. No, I was furious at the slavers.

The fury burned as I knocked him down and ran past him. I was not fighting this man. Let the pain come. I dare you. Do it I screamed in mind.
I’d nothing to lose.

I couldn’t have Katryana back, no she could survive without me, i could not risk these people gaining control over her. Better I died than that.

My mind made up, I turned to the weapons on the table. The pain burned in me, but I held it back now, I felt it before, Ii knew its flavour now. I picked up the axe, turned and walked back to my opponent.

The pain pulsed harder and harder, the parasites inside knew my intent.
I ignored them.

I gave him the axe. I knelt down. Presented my neck.

He stood. There was a hiss, a clatter and a thump and his body hit the floor.
The man was dead.

“That was a failure. We will try again tomorrow.” The cold voice spoke again.

This became a pattern over the next three days, in between fights, I was subject to more and more intense torture as the parasite learned what hurt me worst and tried to use it. Yet, I managed to resist even when it tried to work on my mind. Emotions came and went, depressions and panic imposed on my awareness, but time after time, after the first dreadful shock, the second time was easier.

I grew no better at throwing punches but on day three, I stopped my opponents rush, cold with one hand. I pushed him back and he flew abruptly, several feet and ended up on his back.

I was stronger. Maybe the pain caused it. I knew that most people couldn’t use their full strength consciously.

The session was terminated along with my opponent.

Whatever they used to switch my mind off like a light, still worked. Though not as well. I could hear them whispering urgently.

“This isn’t working. How is he resisting the control?”

“No one has ever taken a pilot before. They are fools, the party, they have no idea.”

I finally slipped into unconsciousness.

When I woke, again I was on the operating table. Still mute, paralysed and helpless.

“I can only see one choice now. Skin him.” The dark voice said. “It is his tattoos, we need to analyse them, duplicate them, insert our own devices inside.”

At this my mind froze. The surgeon said “He will die.”

“Then we have lost nothing. You are failing anyway. Our deal is off if you fail. Your choice.”

The surgeon went silent, he started to obey. I felt the blade on my leg. The paralysis vanished, and I jerked in abject panic, my knee striking the surgeon in the head with the force of my uncontrolled spasm. He fell limply and I rolled off the table, they’d trusted to the parasitic implants to hold me.

The pain built and built the parasites burning me with every sensation they’d learnt I hated. They varied the sensation, making me grunt through the infernal gag, but it still didn’t stop me. I charged at the men in the room, no art or skull to my attack. They clubbed me, struck me, shot me but they’d done their work well: pain was no longer my enemy and I healed faster than they could wound me.

I kept clumsily rushing them, over and over, until at last the three men were unconscious or dead, lying in ragged heaps where is bashed them into walls and door, cupboards and floor until they could move no longer.

Chapter 11

I felt the gag fixed into me. Sealed to my skin, and around my head, I could feel no way to remove it. I searched the surgery, found the bone saw, perfect. No longer afraid of the pain, I attacked the steel band at its thinnest point and held the saw in place.

Eventually, the saw was cutting into me, the steel parted and I stopped. Pulling at the thick steel I gasped as I was pulling my skin. The device was fixing into my skin all the way around. Grimly I tore flesh and disgusted at the ripping noise, pulled the hateful device apart. Finally it yielded and I retched as I pulled the plug from deep down my gullet. There was little pain and I felt the torn flesh healing up in moments.

The parasites were pulsing pain through me faster and faster trying to overwhelm my senses, but I was no longer heeding it. Nothing they could do would change my course now.

First, I had to get clear to somewhere safe. I needed to get a message out, Katryana needed to know I was safe.

Outside the surgery the corridor was bright and cover was sparse. Several more black clothed figure ran down on seeing me, yelling for me to halt, then shooting when i did not. A shot hit my head, I felt the wetness and stumbled, falling down. But, I picked myself up and ran on, not knowing where I was going, but not stopping just the same. I felt my head, the wetness remained but the skull was whole.

I couldn’t stop to wonder. The men would find something that would kill me, I was sure of it, so I pressed on.

The complex was a warren, I ran and ran, turn after turn, each corridor the same, no signs or hints of where to go, how to get out. It was a torture all itself, endless running, constantly breathless yet I didn’t ture easily, my pursuers fell back, the way behind was silent.

At least I reached what looked like an exit. Was it the one I came in? I couldn’t know, I was barely able to think when they brought me here. It didn’t matter. From an adjacent corridor running feet, a dozen men and the leader.

“Halt, you cannot leave.” He said. “Even if you made it outside, the parasite will kill you if the desert does not.”

“The parasite tried, your men tried, and I’m still here. And I’m going home. You have nothing. But tell me something. Why?” I said, determined to get answers.

“Are you a fool? Why? Have you any idea what you have? Any idea of the power of the ship that has attached itself to you? Of what our government could do with that? Rule absolutely, never be dictated to again?”He snorted, “Why? If you was a patriot, we could work together.”

“You mean after weeks of senseless torture, you propose it would be patriotic to let you control Katryana? She has a name you asshole.” I spat back. “You claim to speak for a government?”

I was no political animal but I was quite sure that no planetary government would condone this.

“How do you think I got this?” He gestured.

“Oh I don’t know maybe the Ktral you are working with. How could you?” Anger stirring again, “You would betray humanity to be patriotic.”

“Merely using their aid. Nothing more.” He dismissed this with a wave. “You have a choice now. Submit to the control spare yourself the pain and allow our world to gain your services as a true patriot. Or defy me here and die, leaving your precious ship all alone.”

“Better alone than controlled by creatures like you.” I yelled, charging headlong at him at I did so.

I stuck him so hard he flew back high over the heads of his men, struck the wall with a full thud and slid to the floor, lifeless. I stood still, shocked at how easy taking his life had been. The men, as one, took aim and shot me, over and over. I stood and slowly collapsed as the bullets took their toll, temporarily overwhelming my ability to heal.

They stopped firing. I was on my knees swaying, dizzy with blood loss. Then, they gasped as I stood, the bullets sinking into me, a disturbing sensation as my wounds closed and my strength returned.

They changed magazines, reloaded and took aim. I ran at the nearest shooter, struck him with my shoulder, he bounced off the next soldier who stumbled into the next one. The next few minutes became a brutal artless melee, just like the surgery. Professional fighters striking and shooting me, and me, raging like a manic ragdoll, charging and grabbing, bashing and pushing them over and over, until one by one, limbs or heads broke and they were rendered immobile.

I was disgusted by the blood, the harm I had to inflict, but every move against them I made, I heard the leader talking of Katryana as an it, to be controlled. And then my pity for the lives of these men banished.

I never fought. Never raised fists. I had a quiet life, an easy life. And now I was getting a crash course. The way to Katryana was through their blood. Their sacrifice. They took and obeyed orders of a despot and, I had a duty to the young ship, the ship who joined her life to mine.

At last I stopped, the corridor awash with bodies and blood, and my vomit. I hated this. Hated it. What the hell was I doing here?

Quickly I searched the leader for a key card, whatever happened I was not staying here.

A massive blow sent me flying hard into the wall, smashing my face, cracking the concrete. Another flattened me in place, smashing more bones and concrete.

I fell limp, battered to the deck. Above me stood a matt black figure, far taller and broader than any man. Armored or so I thought.

“You are mine.” The deep voice from the surgery. The Ktral?

My body knitted itself back together, faster this time, as if the trauma accelerated the process. I rolled away, as quick as I could.

“Impressive. Tell me, do you think you can survive losing a limb?” Its deep voice took on an conversational tone as it pulled out a dark edged sword.

I didn’t want to find out. I ran, he chased, heavy ponderous steps. He was slower, or I was gaining speed. I knew I was not going to defeat him by charging at him over and over. I held the key card close, I had only one play, and prayed that the transport was still there.

I ran and ran, the Ktral falling behind as panic pushed me faster and faster, legs pumping and pounding harder and harder, muscles burning but not faltering, all other pain gone now, no electric shocks, no torturous jolts of any kind, just honest burn from muscles being exerted far beyond their capacity. Muscles tore and healed as fast as they tore, the short sharp jabs of pain the only signal of each injury, as they healed they gained strength, pushing me faster and faster.
I was back where I started.

The Ktral a long way behind now, thudding steadily along sure of its prey, sure of an easy victory. If it caught me, it’d be right, I knew it. There was no way to heal losing a limb or worse, my head.

The door, a thick airlock door, opened at the key card to my relief and I rushed through, presented the card to the next door lock and felt tension drop a little as the inner door dropped back into place.
The heat from the sun blasted me as I staggered outside. The ship was there. Next to it, another ship stood, its edges all wrong, the colours sapping life out of the sun striking it. It must the the Ktral’s.

I ran for the human transport ship, a drab grey wedge with stubby wings that stood, rear entry ramp open, as if the previous weeks had never happened. I ran aboard, hunted for the close ramp button, hit it and as the ramp closed, I ran through to the bridge of the craft. I was alone.
And had no plan.

Chapter 12

All engineers knew how to fly common craft, we were told, if you can’t fly it, how do you know what it should do?

It never made complete sense to me, but the lessons were fun so I’d paid attention. A good thing I could at least get off the ground.
But navigating?

I didn’t even know where I was. I fumbled round the controls until I figured out the basics, then took off. The only way the Ktral would catch me now would be to shoot me out of the sky. At least Katryana be safe from being controlled.
At this thought I checked my wrists, the steel bands had sunk into the flesh and joined to the bone. There should be lumps.

There were none.

The same was true for my ankles and waist. I’d forgotten about the throat, but that was gone too. The glyphr stood out against my pale skin, deeper and more vivid, more complex, twisting and branching into finer and finer detail now.
“What the hell.” I whispered aloud. Did this mean the parasites were gone too?

There was no pain at all now, no shocks, just memories. The blackness, the pain coming in waves I couldn’t predict. But that’s all it was, memories.

Where were we?

The craft I flew was small, we couldn’t have gone so far. The sun, was merely the nearest small star and that was a guess based on how much light I could see from it. Was I even facing the right way to see it? I turned the ship slowly to examine the sky. My best guess, we were still in a system adjacent to Lorn’s system.

The central star was fierce blue white, the world below had a thick hot atmosphere. Maybe that would be enough clues.

I found the comm array, and called back to Lorn station. With no idea who was in on this, I had to chance it. The Q comm was quickly answered by a tired voice, a voice that gained energy once they verified my status.

Azrii-Lii was right. As a partner to an infant like Katryana, I was treated with immediate concern. “Hold on Mr Avay, let me contact the Aktarian compound.”
“Thank you.” I said relieved. I didn’t know how they’d find me in the vast blackness, but having some hope was better than none.

Jacques voice came on the line. “Thank the void, your alive, where are you?” I could hear Katryana’s chords singing loud, almost discordant in the background. Crashing sounds also, I guess she was not staying still.

“Orbiting a desert world, possibly in a system not far from you.” I said. Not far in the void still covered light years, but that was nothing if they could locate me.

“We can find you, do you have an emergency beacon on board?” Jacques asked. “There are three nearby systems and Azrii says only one has a desert planet with breathable atmosphere and a blue white sun.”

I rooted around the panels until I found the covered button and key marked Emergency. I turned the key, then hit the button, it lit up silently.

“Sit tight, try to stay away from the Ktral until we get there.” He said. The line went dead and I stared at the blinking beacon, my mind at last quiet.

An alarm rang out. The Ktral ship was in orbit and chasing me. They didn’t know I was free of their control now. I bore down on the thrusters hoping I was too valuable to merely shoot down. The Ktral gained, began shooting, my craft jerked as I was hit, one engine taken out.

“Dammit” I muttered, wondering how long my healing ability would keep me alive in space.

The Ktral kept coming, he fired a steady blue beam that locked onto my craft and held it, the arrested spin caused my to fly out of my seat and smash into the far wall. Blood trickled from a gash in my head before it closed up and the pain vanished.

The harsh edges of the Ktral ship were silhouetted against the desolate bright yellow of the desert planet below. He drew me in, closer and closer, the detail of his ship clearer now, the stony looking metal, the eye aching fuzziness against space itself.

I hunted frantically for weapons - the ship was unarmed, there was nothing on board. Just a bare transport ship, bereft of any gear.

Then, a sight I’ll never forget, right in my window, a tiny winged form appeared. Just hovering, staring at me. Behind her, a gout of escaping gases obscured the planet below and the blue beam flickered and died. The Ktral tried to fire another weapon but it died, merely flickering on the barrel of the forward blaster.

She’d flown through the craft, I could see the planet through the small hole she’d tunnelled through when she struck it. The Ktral was still alive on board, it fired through the hole, struck her body—my heart stopped—but the glowing shot merely ricocheted away into the void, no effect on her at all.

The Ktral ship exploded as another winged form struck it, holing it near the engines. Azrii’s larger form meant a bigger hole was torn, and being so close to the engines, the damage was critical. The debris flew, mostly sideways, only a little headed our way but one piece struck the left forward window, cracked it and air began to whistle out.

Katryana disappeared and landed right on my lap, her body warm rather than cold from space. She stared into my eyes, a rising hum of chords urgent and questioning, I could just about hear words formed in the music. Bad man gone now. Home you come now?

“If I can make it without suffocating first.” I gasped out, the air was getting thing.

Is easy, peasy, watch this She replied as she lifted off me again. The air around her shimmered as the ramscoop unfurled from her nose.

“Uh oh, I saw what happens to cake in there.” I said nervously.

Is easy, not eat you! She fluted back as the ramscoop grew and grew then surrounded me like a bubble, I had to jump to bring my legs up and into the scoop. The air remained thin, but breathable. The scoop material was smooth, unyielding to my touch yet flowed at her will.

Now we go, easy peasy. She said, pushing me backwards, the rising hum of her harmonious resonating through my skin and bones as I felt the fold in space form behind me.

Chapter 13

We folded through and onto the front lawn of home back on Lorn. She retracted her scoop then dived on me, would not let me up at all. You stay, you play and you don’t go again!

She was at once angry and happy, fluting at me madly, her words clear now in the thicker atmosphere.

“I didn’t mean to go, I just went for a walk, that is all.” I said, defensively. I gave up trying to get up, there was no point in trying to shift her if she didn’t want to move.

Azrii’s voice came from behind. “Little one, you’ve done well, but you must let him up sometime.”

He no go, not again.

“Yes, Kat, I know, I won’t.” I said. I think I understood, maybe, why partners to these ships were so private.

Azrii padded over and put her head down to me. “Can you tell us what happened? Who took you?”

I wanted to spare Kat the worst of it but she wasn’t going to go and play, not for a long time. So, as sparingly as I could I recounted the events since they saw me last.

“Three weeks you’ve been gone.” She said, “That’s a new tack, attempting to control the partner of a young ship. It couldn’t work for long.” She didn’t explain further.

Jacques appeared, “We must report this.”
“To whom? They claimed they were sponsored by our government.” I said.

“It is unlikely to be anything other than a splinter group, a covert faction wanting to take over.” He said.

I was less sanguine about it, that base looked like a well funded operation to me.

Nevertheless, we contacted local authorities and stirred up a buzz of activity. Hour after hour I was questioned about the torture, the people and my contact with the Ktral. I was probed and tested, repeatedly, until I protested loudly that I was going home if they didn’t quit with all that prodding.

One team made the mistake of attempting to question me without Katryana by my side—they were left with the repair bill for the interrogation room and several officers were reassigned as a result. Not everyone understood the relationship between fold ships and their partners, but certain individuals got a crash course that day.

Mr Boyers appeared again, during the final round of questioning. “Now do you see why it is your duty to sign the stipend agreement? Just to prevent opportunists like this?” He said.

“I see nothing of the sort Mr Boyers, in fact, how do I know you knew nothing?” I retorted, doubting his complicitness but perfectly willing to have him think I suspected it. “As far as I’m concerned, if Jacques and Azrii-Lii agree, we will move to a world without the political machinations that are clearly happening here.”

He drew back, alarmed, the anger in his face fading as he took in my meaning.

“But you’re a citizen of this world, do you not feel a duty towards it.”

“Whilst factions of my world feel it’s ok to torture and maim, to control my ship through me, no, no I do not.” I said acid clipping my words. “Some assholes kept me in the dark, in agony, losing my mind for days and days, then tried to use alien implants to control my will, to have me kill, to take life on their request, just to prove their tech worked. And all this so Katryana here would do exactly what they asked.”

At this Katryana flew into his face, her wings buzzing discordance, painful to our ears, at him. He backed off.

“Well..well…uh..” He began. “I’m authorised to sign over your stipend and bypass the new asset requisition bill. It’s so new that a case can be argued that you paired before it’s inception.”

“Thank you.” I said simply taking the e-paper from his hand and skimming it. It entitled us to a plot in the compound, funds for building and a living allowance far in excess of the average working man.

I had nothing further to say as I signed. The terms were short and simple—a necessity as most signatories could move worlds in an instant. They simply stated that for the during of our taking Lorn as our home base they would be obliged to provide us an ongoing stipend, however if we chose to move to another world, we were obliged to notify them once the stipend started elsewhere.

I pressed my thumb to the agreement and Mr Boyers hurried off, not wishing to having Katryana in his face any more.

She flew back to me and took up her customary position, the all enveloping hug. “Someday we are going to have to find another position for you. You’re getting too big.” I said. She’d grown to the point where hugging her sitting down was all but impossible.

Chapter 14

We were let go shortly after and I persuaded Kat to simply ride on the maglev rather than fold us home. A touch of normality is all I wanted right now, a ride in the crowd with ordinary people, people not out to control and torture, to take something from me to control Kat.

Last time we used a maglev she was tiny and inactive. So, it was her first time.
Fold ships and Aktarians are vanishingly rare. Most people have some idea of them, but few have met one. A fact I’d completely forgotten as we walked to the station.

Adults were restrained, mostly, in their reaction but children? We had a crowd following us as we got closer and closer to the station. She hovered at waist height rather than walk, and carried one child or other most of the way, with anxious parents doing their own hovering. She had fun, whereas I had to stop looking around anxiously for possible assailants but I was determined, my experience was not going to rob us of a normal life.

We arrived at the station, a cavalcade of perfect strangers and their children in tow, it was difficult to disentangle ourselves from them, more so because they were warm and friendly after the walk acquainted more and more of them with Katryana. It didn’t help that she decided that whilst were waited, to practice her juggling through space holes routine, a game learned from Yetriana and now facilitated by at least children who giggled as they donated shoes and toys for her game. Soon the little crowd grew bigger and I half expected someone to layout a stall and sell tickets.

“Kat, we need to go.” The crowd had grown to the point of becoming a potential problem for the station.

She fluted minor disapproval but complied, flicking the children’s belongs back to them, much to their delight, through quickly folded holds in space right above their hands. Watching her do that was better than any magic show.

I rested my hand on her vibrating wings as we climbed aboard the train, the crowd now slowly, reluctantly dispersing. The limited space of the train at least prevented too many people gathering for a look at the little ship casually hovering alongside me. An elderly couple sat opposite, they sat quietly admiring Katryana discreetly, the gentleman sneaking looks over his E-reader, the lady alternating between the window and frank staring.

“Excuse me young man, what is her name?” She finally asked,

Katryana hovered forwards, put her hand out and fluted at her. I just about caught the syllables of her name, but the puzzled look on the lady’s face told me she had not.

“She’s called Katryana, Ma’am.” I said bemused by the interaction between them. Kat was looking at her questioner closely, perhaps she was the first elderly human the young starship had ever seen. For her part, the lady reached out slowly and stroked the Katryana’s head, encouraged by crooning chords in time to her touch.

“Really, Kat?” I said, laughing.

She tilted her head at me and blinked, slowly. Why do these ships have eyelids?
“She’s very pretty.” The old lady said.

Katryana just sat there, content with her ministrations. The rest of the journey passed quietly, interrupted only occasionally when she decided to find out what lay further up or down the train, though she always return, space folding quickly back to me, as if frightened I’ll disappear again.

Once home, Jacques took me aside. “You need to learn basic combat. At least learn how to finish a fight fast. Some opponents will take too long to defeat with your charging them to death tactic.”
Now I had time to think about what happened.

“How’d I recover so quick?” I asked.

“You appear to have become an unusually rapid healer, no other pilot is recorded as having such a speed of healing.” He said, “I think the glyphr is responsible and I think it learns. You were tortured in a manner designed break you down yet remain intact. The glyphr must have worked on the level of trauma you experienced. Cut me and I’ll recover in minutes and hours. Not seconds.”

Azrii-Lii folded in front of us. “The hybrid nature of Katryana is partly the cause. The glyphr are not nanotech but picotech, tech based at the level of subatomic assemblies. However, I can see in your glyphr much more than that. The human tech isn’t the problem, it’s that you have tech inside the pico tech. Femtometer level construction, constantly fading in and out of reality.”
“What does this mean to me?” I understood nanotech, routine starship tech required its use.

“Whoever her parents are, one of them is an Aktarian scientist.” She said.
I never thought of the starships having other occupations. My face must have betrayed me. “Oh it’s not that far fetched, we’ve had a long time to develop technology to allow us to interface with the various civilisations we worked with.”

“Oh, I think I assumed.. Never mind.” I said, at a loss.

She reached out and cupped my face in one six fingers hand, it was very warm to the touch. Kat stirred at this.

“Dear boy, how old do you think I am?” She said.

I didn’t answer and she laughed. “I’m still young, maybe four centuries in old earth time. I met Jacques oh, three centuries ago.”

I resisted the temptation to quip he didn’t look a day over three hundred. Because he looked thirty to me, at most.

Was this what I had to look forward to?

“By Aktarian standards, we are all infants. Katiya McKerry, the first human Aktarian hybrid, was born over thirteen hundred years ago and her Mother is certainly older than humanity itself.” She went on, “You’ve a few years with Katryana to look forward to.”

I didn’t know how to process this.

The sky above cracked alarmingly, the air darkened and a thick blue beam hit the ground, many miles away yet clearly visible. A great gout of steam exploded into the air, moments later the thunder reached us, and in the distance a great gray wall towered over the skyline.

“Tsunami.” Azrii-Lii said said forcefully. “The Ktral are here. We must help.”

Chapter 15

An Aktarian ship is not a natural aggressor. Aggression is natural when you are vulnerable, when you can easily be a victim. Neither of these apply to the physical self of an Aktarian. Whilst many races in many universes learn how to destroy each other, Aktarians want to know others, connect to others. They were built for connection, connection with reality and all it contains.
It is why an Aktarian carries no guns. Starship Whisperer, Unknown Archives AD 2090

She folded away after Jacques disappeared on board. I was at a loss, Katryana looking at me, her fluting enquiry lilted gently, clearly over the distant roar of the wall of water.

The compound was situated hundreds of meters above sea level, we were safe enough from it. Unlike the thousands of homes only a few short miles from the waters edge. Within moments entire communities would be lost. The Ktral tactic was clever, they went after the vulnerable targets first.

Above, the sky darkened, hundreds of black dots swarmed down, resolving into the dark eye itching shapes of Ktral craft. I wanted to run into the house, hiding Katryana away, but one look at her with her wings a quiver, her ventrali vibrating madly, her body shaking-she wasn’t going to hide.

She picked up a rock, the side of a man’s head, crushed it with her ram scoop until it glowed white hot, the light hurting my eyes, then spun to a blur and launched it, the air cracking at the missile blurred through the sound barrier and ignited at the speed of its passage. It struck none of the black dots, but high above them, an expanding halo of crimson light testified her aim.

“Er, wow, how did you even see that?”

She didn’t answer, she was busily hunting for more rocks. There were only a few, each of these, crushed to insane density, then flung with whip crack fire trails, found targets, often more than one, as the extreme velocity punched them Ktral invader after Ktral invader.

Yetriana appeared, “Come one, I know where we can get more stuff to throw.” She sang at us.

Kat turned, looked at me, opened her scoop, I jumped as once again she pushed me through a fold, following her friend.

The rough red rocky terrain of a quarry awaited us, tons of rubble everywhere, still well above sea level but much nearer the devastation caused by the tsunami. Houses smashed to splinters as if an army of giants having stomped them flat, then stomped them again and again in a orgy of rage.
I grimaced at the sight, so many killed for no reason.

Both ships wasted no time, as I looked round, the air was filled with meteors in strange reverse, heat washing over me as I stood, passive, useless in this battle, as white hot compressed rock after rock lit the sky, tracer fire at hypersonic speeds, aimed at invader after invader. The cloud of attackers rippled and ruptured, as one by one they flared in silent explosion as rock after rock found their mark.

There were hundreds of craft, only a few dozen destroyed when the flock turned and dived for our position.

“Kat, we need to move quickly!” I shouted. Self healing wouldn’t help if I got vaporised. She turned, folded next to me, grabbed me again with ceremony and followed Yetriana through another fold, this time onto a rocky beach, miles from the quarry. It was still flooded but the water rapidly receded now and the granite rocks were ideal, once Kat crushed them to heavy metal densities.
Between the two infants, two dozen or more Ktral craft met their end before we had to retreat as a great blue beam struck Kat hard, centre mass. She didn’t move, the beam splayed all around, narrowly missing me, slicing rocks and deep into the sand, instantly glassing it until she finally twisted, and caught the beam with her ram scoop, absorbing the energy, crushing it into herself until it stopped, then spat it directly back, white this time, thinner, sharper, straight back from where it came.

A dull boom rumbled above the clouds, another glowing halo of destruction, another large Ktral ship shattered, the source of the blue beam I guessed.
I stared at the tiny ship, coming to terms with just what she could do. Yes, I’d known that Aktarians had few known physical limits, but to witness almost casual shrugging off of power so great that splashes of it glassed the ground around her, was shocking.

Bad ship be gone now, more is coming! Her voice a loud cacophony of flutes and strings, sang loudly over the howl of the wind whipped up by the alien tsunami.

Our battle was a strange one, a pattern of folding from vantage point to vantage point, stopping for both young ships to hurl more compressed rocks, then folding on again as the Ktral swarm locked onto our location. Neither ship could carry me inside yet, they had to make do with grabbing me in their ram scoops before folding to the next location, Katryana determined that I wasn’t to be parted from her again, despite my slowing them both down.

The swarm of Ktral were visibly thinner now, but a new danger arose: thousands of smaller pods rained down for miles and miles around; many landed nearby, splitting open and disgorging hulking great Ktral troops, each nine foot tall, half as wide, armored in the same dark fuzzy metal as their ship, the eye hurt to look at them long.

Several landed by chance nearby, one grabbed for me, several went after the young ships. The armour caused pain as it brushed my skin, I twitched away and ran for Katryana and Yetriana. Kat turned, disappears through a fold, there was a smash and clang that ran through my ears, I turned, inches from my head a great dark fist was halted by a slim, tiny six fingered hand, a hand barely large enough to cover two knuckles. As I watched, the hand crunched tight, there was a flash of light then an explosion blew the huge trooper back and sent me flying.
I landed softly, to my surprise and flutes whistled indignantly at my side. Those games of catch paid off. I looked back, the trooper staggered up, it’s arm and part of its shoulder was gone.

“How..?” I began but I was knocked flying by another blast, this time aimed at Yetriana who didn’t catch it in time. She didn’t move, didn’t budge at all, just calmly grabbed another lump of rock and with careful, considered grace, threw it through the enemy soldier and the one behind it. A hole appeared, no fuss or mess, through both bodies and they fell where they stood, crumbling to their knees in a slow collapse.

Is we go now, we gotta. You can not stand, they gonna bash you.

Her infant fluting phrases trilled out as she struck yet another alien warrior head on, sending it flying high in the sky to crash down amongst its comrades. She rushed me, Yetriana following, she grabbed me and folded away.

Chapter 16

We ended up on a nearby cliff overlooking the invasion. No pods had landed here, we had a few moments peace as we looked down on the battle below. Kat was hovering around me, unsettled, none of us knew what to do for the best.
Neither ship could carry me properly yet, so I was an encumbrance, but Kat wasn’t prepared to leave me and Yetriana wouldn’t leave Kat. We could fold from place to place, the infants meting out damage, me just watching but would it be enough? The sheer number of attackers was overwhelming, the Ktral were endless.

What provoked them now? Was it my escape? I saw one, he moved faster than the troops below, maybe he was higher rank. Or had they been planning this for some time?

“Can we talk, ladies?” I said, we needed to think about this.

Is bad people fighting, we must be helping. Katryana fluted, her words still tricky to make out.

“We need to plan Kat.” Yetriana said.

“Look, I’ve never been in a fight, not until my kidnapping, and neither of you have been in battle before.” I said, “I don’t know how to help for the best, or what else you can do. Can you talk to your Mom?” I looked at Yetriana.

“I can but she’s busy, there are so many Ktral up there.” She said.

I sat and thought as we gazed upon Syango, the city beginning to smoke and burn below.

Rock throwing would only go so far and I doubted Kat could accurately limit the power of her throws to just catch the enemy. In the distance a number of craft hovered over head, troops jumping from each one, dropping like a flood of ants, shiny, black and impersonal.

There were patches of fighting already, human soldiers beginning to muster and fight back, though only the heavier weapons were of any use against the solid armour of the Ktral.

Azrii-Lii folded above the city and began laying into the drop ships, grabbing them one by one and yanking them through space fold after space fold, within minutes the sky above the city was clear of alien craft, leaving just the troopers who’d landed successfully—a big enough problem alone.

A few hundred Ktral landed, each one able to hold its own against a much larger group of humans.

Syango was the only major city on Lorne, along with possessing the only space port. Without that, major cargo traders would have a hard time transferring goods from the station above.

More troops would come, but even as I watched, tremendous explosions rang out, small clouds sprouted, evil short lived mushrooms of destruction dotted the city. It wouldn’t be enough.

“Come on, let’s go and help Azrii-Lii.” I said. This was my world and, dammit I wasn’t hiding out. I healed fast, I could at least help get people out the way of the fighting or something. Anything to be useful.

“aim at the biggest group of Ktral you can see.” I suggested.

Kat fluted at me, grabbed me and, followed by Yetriana, folded through and behind a large phalanx of alien soldiers slamming their way through the streets of the city. She put me down then the two tiny ships did some slamming of their own. The display was shocking, I felt ill as the tiny innocent infant flew through a trooper who’d turned to raise his weapon at me. The speed of her passage, unhindered by his body or armor, left a great hole ragged and wet through the centre mass, dropping the figure where it stood.
The rest of the squad, as they turned were slammed into, thrown through space folds out to into space, or, having fired their weapons, incinerated by return of the own fire.

All the invaders advantage lay in numbers, we had to dispatch as many of them as possible as quick as we could. I hung back, not seeing a good way to help.
A boulder struck me in the back, sent me flying into a shop front. Glass sliced my face, a solid wall broke bones, I lay in a daze but in little pain as my body knitted itself back together, the slices closed up, the grazes and contusions disappeared. I ran out, grabbed a fallen alien blaster-it was hard to carry, even harder to shoot, but I fumbled and struggled and bought it to bear. It took me three shots but I managed to strike my assailant with focused pulse blasts, melting half the head and right arm.

Finally, I had some use. I turned, trying to aim the thing as two more aliens ran at me, alerted by my shooting. One lost his lower leg but the other reached me, snatched at the weapon and struck at me. This time I dodged, the aliens were strong but bulky and slow in their armour, I was the reverse. My arm started to ache from toting the blaster whilst running and dodging, however the pain faded even as I noticed it. The weapon felt a little lighter, moving where I needed it more freely.

My opponent staggered as high powered rifle blasts struck and splashed over his helmet and chest, several shots landing together and final breaking through the armour. I added a shot from my own weapon and the Ktral collapsed, giving me a moment to recover my breath.

Chapter 17

Aktarians chatter and sing across the vastness of space with ease, but everyone else struggles. As if the universe was built for Aktarians or maybe Aktarians were perfectly formed for reality.
Starship Whisperer, Unknown Archives, AD 2950

A squad of five human soldiers and several other alien species, ones I didn’t recognise, ran up to me.

“Are you with the Aktarians?” The lead runner had gold insignia on his shoulder. I couldn’t identify his rank.

“Yes, yes I am.” I said.

“Good, I’m Captain Wilkes and I need you to get them to the space port, we need to protect the com-site, can you do that? The Ktral are trying to cut us off from support here.” He said quickly. Most humans thought Aktarians and fold ships took orders from their partner. He made sense so I let it pass.

“I’ll tell them. You need it cleared right? “ I resisted the urge to salute, I wasn’t military.

“You got it. Clear them them out before they destroy the com-site.” He said.

Human worlds were linked, loosely by starships, and tightly by entanglement com-sites. No one could produce entanglement communications relay assemblies smaller than a few hundred feet—the error correction, the interference cancellation, the many worlds collapse algorithms only worked with massive arrays of entanglement sets. Worse, every set was one of a matched pair, the other light years away on another world, and used as relays. Every world sat in the center of its own web of entanglement, linked at most to ten other worlds.

These in turn were linked to yet more, but at most, ten at a time per com-site. Replacement costs more than a rich world’s annual production of goods. Our world would take a decade to pay for a new one.

Deeply armored, heavily barricaded, protected from orbital strike, there were just two ways an attacker might take one out: Kamikaze capital ship strike, or large ballistic asteroid; or, heavy frontal assault with micro nukes.

The former was prevented by the presence of fold ships or Aktarians: either ship able to smash such missiles head on, or even merely ablate it with fold after fold, sending the excess mass colliding back to the parent missile.
The latter, well, I had to make it clear to Kat where our priorities were.
The immediate area was calm, at least compared to the explosions and yelling in the distance.

The squad leader stepped back as Kat folded in place in front of me. We go now, more bad things. She fluted at me.

“That freaks me out, the way they do that.” The squad leader said. “She’s tiny, I’ve never seen them quite so small. How does she carry you?” He looked doubtful.

“We get by. She’s young yet.” I said. Kat just tilted her head at him and blinked slowly as if sizing him up.

At that moment several Ktral chose that moment to fire on our group but Kat caught the blasts, snapping out her ram-scoop—a huge inverted umbrella— causing a whip crack of air as it opened, then held and compressed the beams, then spat them back at the ground in front of the invaders. The blast went off with the force of a dozen grenades, sending concrete and Ktral flying everywhere, smashing them through walls and windows and demolishing nearby buildings.

The explosions deafened me, the world rang distant and hollow, the thudding of concrete and bodies hitting the ground echoing and remote.
I yelled, my muted voice muffled in the cotton wool of my overloaded ears.
“Kat, I need you to tell Yetriana, the spaceport. Can you do that for me? We gotta protect the com-site.” I said.

She bobbed and vanished, moments later both ships re appeared, holding extra weapons for the squad, looted laser carbines and other items they’d stolen from the invaders.

“You’ll have to lead us to the space port, neither ship has been there yet.” I said.

He did a double take, “Can they not just fold us there?” He said dubiously.

“They’re young and haven’t been to many places yet. To fold needs a proper place sense. Either they can see it in real time or another ship close by can pass this on.” I said. “And the only adults are stopping the Ktral landing more troops.” My knowledge of Aktarian space folding had grown substantially, I forgot at times, most people had no idea.

We ran from building to building, cover to cover, the captain leading the way, one ship or other staying close to the group, the other folding ahead. From time to time an explosion or thump revealed a cluster of Ktral meeting their demise as the scouting infant took appropriate action. I couldn’t bear to think what effect the violence must have on the minds of the infant ships, but we didn’t have a choice but to let them handle things. Our group would last five minutes at most without them.

The com-site itself was heavily defended with automated guns, drones and several platoons of regulars, plus shield generators that were holding up well to the constant bombardment of the Ktral. However, they were outnumbered and as we arrived a dozen heavier guns were being assembled by the invading force.
“Those need to be taken out, the shields will only hold for a few minutes against them.” The captain said to me, looking at the young starships hovering attentively. He spoke almost as if he didn’t think the ships could understand him. An attitude I never saw before, but was confirmed when he jumped as Katryana fluted directly at him “ Guns need splatting then yes?

She didn’t wait for an answer. The next moment the nearest gun sailed merrily through the air, in several pieces, to land with explosive force directly into another group surrounding another energy gun, resulting in a satisfying mess of enemy personnel and weapons.

A third group bought their gun to bear on her and struck her with a bright ruby beam with a force that caused rubble around the beam to vibrate and collapse.

This time she didn’t spit the beam back. She merely caught it, swallowed the energy, and kept swallowing. Her body began to glow a little, her wings again size, depth of colour and her body grew. Tiring of her meal she finally folded through to the gun and sent it through a space fold, directly behind the com-site shield, into the middle of the defenders.

Our guys approached it warily but after examination, shifted it to where they began to enthusiastically apply the ruby ray to cluster after cluster of attackers, razing them down, a field of bloody crops being cleared. It really was an efficient gun, as nine foot soldier after nine foot soldier turned to ash under the beam.

This turned the tide. The Ktral lost gun after gun, as Yetriana and Katryana attacked position after position, scattering the squads, making it easier for my group and the site defenders to pick off individuals. I hung back, unable to do more than spot the shooters in the group and stay out of the way.

Silence.

The haze hung in the air, dust and smoke clearing slowly, the last Ktral finally silent. We approached the defenders position, unwilling to fold in directly into battle stressed hair triggers from our own side. Friendly fire isn’t.

A ragged, worn voice called out, “Identify yourselves.”

Wilkes called back, “I’m plainly a nine foot tall Ktral disguised as a human escorted by Aktarian infants.”

A nervous chuckle. “Right Sir, can’t be too careful.”

TBC 10/01/2025

StarshipWhisperer3

Aktarian Tales 3: Katryana

by

Richard Griffiths & Katiya McKerry

Copyright 2019

Contents

Chapter 0

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Aktarian Tales 3: Katryana

by

Richard Griffiths & Katiya McKerry

Copyright 2019

No part of this publication may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form without the written consent of the author/publisher.

Contents

Chapter 0

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17