Alien Exodus by Mary Margaret Branning
On a bright and sunny day, far away and long ago, a family gathered in a luxurious home. Placed ‘round and about, flat, square plates tempted palates with professionally sculptured and decorated snacks. Beverages in hand, the family members waited with patience for their mother’s pronouncements.
None of the six grown and nearly grown children had yet commented on the long, tall, new sofa table behind one of the couches. Black haired Shelga had placed her cup on its oddly sculptured surface, and had forgotten about it. She’d asked her twin brother Shagen to get her a new one. Condensation dripped down the glass and made a wet ring on the new table’s strange surface.
Shelga and Shagen were young adult members of an obscenely rich family, the kind of wealth that makes the rules for the less well endowed, and then blatantly ignores those dictates in regards to themselves and their friends of the month. Few people remained friends with this family for much more than a month. Friends became sport for them, hangers on and wannabes to be tormented until they fled. Of course, if you were close to as rich as the Karradems, the torment wouldn’t be as intense for you. They’d tolerate you. If richer, they’d defer to you, and catered to your eccentricities. But few people or families matched or exceeded the wealth or the maliciousness of the Karradems.
They treated their legal staff fairly. They treated their maids and gardeners and animal keepers well, too, as long as these servants didn’t cost the family beyond management expenses. Once, the family had hanged a keeper after he caused, through ignorance, the death of an important breeder and her unborn son. But that had backfired as the family had had to do their own muck shoveling for a month until the other keepers and their menials would come out of hiding.
The new table shifted minutely, but none of the Karradems seemed to notice.
“Come now, family, stop carping. I have a plan,” Mother said softly as she entered. Mother was the tama Chelisa Karradem, always genteel and impeccably clean. Her hair was also black, but now probably artificially so. Others carried out her orders and often died before the act could be traced to her.
Mother enjoyed microexplosives. In her youth she had been hardeem, one of the four different types of very special soldiers of the Braxletl race who had conquered the other civilization on this fine planet called Haina. They’d left no trace whatsoever of their manipulations of those others, or those others.
Father had married her for her special education, and afterward, she’d plied her trade among the various corporations and families Father did business with. Hence Karradem Enterprises became the second largest corporation on Haina, second only to Bagarsa Corporations, run by Aina Bagarsa, who’d married Elsma Cretiphor.
Tama Elsma had been in tama Chelisa’s classes at University, and they understood each other well. A truce existed; they stayed well out of one another’s way, and used every security procedure known to them against each other. Therefore, the planet was effectively split into two halves; Karradem Enterprises ran one half, Bagarsa Corporations, the other.
Tama Chelisa headed security for Karradem, and the Bagarsas had the same arrangement.
Smaller corporations were allowed to compete with each other in businesses not wholly owned by either megacorporation. Karradem Enterprises and Bagarsa Corporations each owned businesses encompassing security, including police and militias, and others like waste management, mining, many manufacturing entities, energy, transportation, food and water supply, and investment firms. Because Karradem Enterprises controlled investments on one hemisphere, and Bagarsa Corporations controlled investments on the other, the megacorps indirectly controlled every smaller enterprise. The smaller corporations were also at the mercy of, say, waste management.
They were all horrible creatures. Most of the children took after their parents, and you did not defy the tamas. The few children who managed to squirt through the crushing fingers of the tamas’ iron grips suffered under the suspicion or diagnosis of mental defect, or worse, were deemed insane, depending on the strength or longevity of their defiance. Rendered harmless through various methods, up to and including ‘accidents’, the poor dears didn’t resist long.
Not human, Braxletls had no equivalents for concepts like empathy, compassion, mercy, or pity. Although tamas used emotions for their own ends, and could therefore, generously speaking, be considered empathetic, the results of their detections were the ruthless exploitations of others. Fortunately, they lived short lives. Unfortunately, they were fecund, and their trusts ensured that their style of rule would continue far beyond their deaths. The two corporations had evolved to their present state through many generations, the current situation being the most competitive and successful thus far, and the tamas would choose the controlling heirs. The Braxletls of Haina were rabidly greedy, familialy loyal, secretive, duplicitous, and entirely without scruples, but their manners were impeccable. Most of Chelisa’s and Elsma’s children had suppressed the insane rebellious traits successfully and had followed the tamas’ directions with perfect obeisance, so far. Perhaps this wasn’t so curious, as those offspring who did not submit to the tamas’ directives tended to suddenly and abruptly cease to thrive. Every mature Hainan practiced infanticide when necessary, but preferred to manipulate obeisance.
One did not bicker in public. One sabotaged in secret. One also protected one’s own, unless one’s own became insane. Then the tama was expected to take care of the problem. The insanities of empathy, compassion, and indiscretion, though they had, for the most part, been murdered out, still tended to crop up occassionally.
A few sons and daughters had escaped. One, from the Karradem family, named Bobrin Karradem, had in fact run away by paying his way on a freighter. The mistake of his escape was due to a lack of attention to his antics, and was rued by the Karradems. They were privately and sometimes publicly questioned as to their fitness to run the hemisphere, but something might be salvaged of that mistake.
“We know,” said Mother, “that Apical Mining and Recycling Company of Ordoron, for unfathomable reasons, lets its employees mine asteroids for personal gain.” She noted her children’s confused look. “Strangely, most of their employees remain their employees for long terms. They retire quite wealthy.” Mother paused, trying to fathom the alien system.
Why the company did not take everything and virtually enslave its employees with poor wages until their deaths or incapacitations baffled her. ‘Share The Wealth’, one of Apical Company’s slogans, revealed their barbarity. Successful barbarians, though; the Apical Company was the primary business of Ordoron, and the bizarre Share The Wealth philosophy enabled them to care for their people well. She continued.
“We’ve received the wealth Bobrin collected while employed by Apical, and an accounting of his death.” She began to pace around the seating arrangement. Those of her children who were standing moved out of her way. The seated ones prepared to move if she decided to sit where they were. She stopped briefly to stare at the drink glass making a wet circle on the new table.
Shagen, the closest, removed the glass and, turning toward Shelga, murmured, “Go get a towel.” Mother waited with patience.
Shelga wiped the ring from the table’s top, wondering where her mother had dredged up this ugly thing, but not saying a word. Mother took a deep breath. Her chest swelled, making the single strand of polished, round, faceted, eight millimeter diamond beads roll and flash rainbow colors onto her face and around the room. Her children seemed mesmerized and distracted by the display. Mother knew. This was the only diamond bead strand on the planet, because Haina had no diamonds, and Mother’s husband, Datar, had imported the stones, keeping the source secret.
“So,” she barked, and her children twitched. All eyes fastened onto hers, not out of surprise or respect, but to see if she might be coming for them. Sometimes the children could evade abuse, for a while.
Mother hadn’t hit anyone for a very long time. She’d commanded the younglings’ attention before, but by the time the children reache
Datar had expected her to send an assassin after him, but she had refused. “He won’t be any trouble if he stays away, Dati,” she had said. He’d said, “What if he doesn’t?” So she’d put a hemisphere-wide kill on site warrant out for him just in case he did come back, to seem proper. Bobrin wasn’t stupid, just crazy. He wouldn’t be back. Strangely, his abandonment had saddened her instead of angering her.
Datar had looked suspiciously at his wife after these events, and their relationship had been strained ever since. Did the madness come from Chelisa, he’d wondered? He pondered still, and she was aware that he did. This was only natural.
Mother knew, so why set this particular course in motion? This path was unprecedented, that was certain. If she had killed her son, the need to avenge his death wouldn’t exist. Avenging his death would be seen as sentimentally insane, unless she pretended that she merely wanted to recover his murderer’s haul. That would be acceptable, as it would increase the family’s resources and subsequent respectability, and would nullify some of the talk. Tama Chelisa had found out through secretly purchased information that his murderer was quite a wealthy thing, a member of a long-lived species, and records of its stash had reached her eyes. This hoard would make the Karradems wealthier than the Bagarsa’s, but she had revealed this fact to no one. She would have these riches, and the entire planet would be hers, hence, the new table.
“Mother, may we do anything for you?” her third son, Ragard asked. The question bordered on insanity; it could be interpreted as compassion, and implied she’d somehow gotten out of her depth. But Ragard was Ragard. He knew the limits of her, and father’s, and his siblings’ tolerances, and frequently clawed at them, if not playfully, then purposefully. Most likely he was just displaying his greed and eagerness to help plunder the assets of their enemy.
She grinned at him. Her strong teeth shined almost as brightly as the diamonds. He shrank back a bit into himself.
“We are going after Bobrin’s murderer’s holdings. They are substantial,” she stated plainly.
She felt shock course through her children, and other emotions, but not the ones she wanted to sense them feeling. She sighed. So much work, these adult children. A substitute for experience didn’t exist. Then again, she walked a fine line here, exploring new territory, bound to cause confusion, even reticence. She would nip that in the bud immediately.
“His murderer’s personal wealth would run our total hemisphere, without any other input, for an entire year.”
Gasps. Ragard smiled and strode up to her.
“Mother!” he exclaimed. He brushed her cheek with his own, an intimate and affectionate gesture, and stood besides her facing his siblings as if he’d come up with the plan himself. His immediate support gave the others their cue.
“Oh, excellent. How shall we accomplish this... acquisition?”
“You have a plan! Tell us.”
‘Yes, Mother, please tell.”
“Clever, Mother, when shall I ever be as you are?” This from Anama, the youngest.
Such clever children, Mother thought to herself, pleased. However, Anama, the flatterer, wasn’t much of a thinker.
The new table shifted again and this time Ragard saw it move. He stared.
“Never mind, Ragard,” Mother murmured.
“I have its description,” Mother said. She’d had her agent pay an Apical Company records employee a goodly sum for the information. “I’m in possession of the vessel’s most recent co-ordinates. I purchased a suitable ship to return its cargo to us, and an agent to take it.”
“The animal won’t let its wealth go willingly, Mother,” Shagen said.
“What kind of agent?” Famaca asked.
“What will the Company do, Mother?” Kranson queried.
“How will you keep the agent from taking off with the treasure, Mother?” This was Dorcad’s question.
Chelisa paused a moment and made a mental note about her daughter’s perceptive skills. Dorcad, still too young to take over any of the family’s business functions, would obviously become a skilled manager.
“These are all excellent questions, my children. I’m impressed with you all. At this point I’d like to tell you that because you’ve all been so perceptive; I’d like to hand out some promotions. I don’t think I need to say that I’m counting on you not to disappoint me.”
“But Mother, you just did say,” Anama chimed in her still childish voice.
Perhaps she could put Anama in charge of the stables when the time came for her to contribute to family business.
The infantile panic which flashed across all of their faces amused her, but they recovered in haste, and she was again impressed. She praised herself internally for rearing such a fine batch of future entrepreneurs, for the most part.
“The agent is an assassin, a pilot, and an expert in security systems and making entry into secure facilities. He is bonded and licensed. This is what his people do, well, the ones who work off planet. They have excellent reputations.”
“This sounds expensive, Mother.”
“This adventurer will receive a start up amount, I’ll reimburse its government for the cost of leasing the ship, and after we’ve assessed the take, a percentage.” Actually, Mother had contracted to pay the hitter four point three percent of the value of Buster’s treasure, and had signed several lifetime trade contracts with its minister of trade, her lifetime, not theirs.
“What percentage?”
“Not your concern dear.”
“Will we still have enough to run the Enterprise for a year after you pay this hitter this generous amount?”
“Of course, all expenses are factored in.”
“Even considering the cost of the ship?” Anama said, trying to show off. This was the second smallest expense.
“Yes, dear.”
“And the advance?”
“Yes.”
“What if this agent doesn’t come back?”
“It will, we’ve already covered this.”
“What guarantees this, Mother?” Shagen frowned.
“Trade agreements, dear. Also, the individual has agreed to be injected with a small explosive capsule. If the job takes longer than a specified amount of time, I will allow access to a data pack that will reveal an extension code. This can happen three times. At the end of the fourth extension, our assassin must be on Haina to receive the last code, or it will die. It has agreed to these terms.”
“That’s impressive, Mother,” Ragard said. “Will you tell us about our promotions?”
“Yes, Ragard. In fact, you’ve an appointment with the University administrator to arrange your schedule of classes. You will be following your mother’s footsteps into the field of security.”
“Oh, Mother, I’m so pleased! I’m going to be hardeem!”
Ragard threw himself on the sofa in front of the strange table he’d forgotten about.
“What about us, Mother?”
“Shagen, you will report to your father’s business and learn at his side.”
Shagen couldn’t speak. He knew this meant he would have an excellent chance to succeed his father when the time came. He threw himself down next to Ragard and they slapped and punched each other silly.
“Shelga, you have a choice. You can work for your father or you can learn to run this house. Take your time to decide.”
“Oh, I’ll take the house, Mother. Who do I report to, you or Kadi?”
“Kad
The youngest three jumped up and ran around each other just like they’d done as energetic young things, and then they, too, collapsed, but on the couch, which faced their three older siblings.
The conversation had been intense.
The table behind the sofa occupied by Ragard, Shagen, and Shelga moved in a sort of undulation. Mother simply watched as the surface shimmered like water and the illusion of furniture quivered away. The thing that had been disguised there still looked like a table, it’s back straight and the end parts bent like table legs. It adjusted itself by rearing up on its hind end. As it towered over the sofa, the three elder offspring finally noticed the creature. They almost broke their necks by snapping their heads around to look, and their eyes threatened to pop out of their skulls. The older children’s mouths dropped open. Shrieks resounded and Ragard, Shagen, and Shelga flew over the other couch, dragging their siblings with them toward the door, not because they cared, but for fear of mother. She might have plans that would be disrupted if any of the siblings were killed or damaged. And she would make them pay for their neglect.
Famaca seemed to be welded to the couch. She barely breathed.
The three younger ones resisted because they hadn’t noticed the beast. They’d still been playing, and slowed their brothers’ and sister’s attempts to pull them out of harm’s way. Ragard ran to the room’s exit, a large archway, dragging Anama and Kranson with him. Shagen had hold of Anama as well, and grabbed at Dorcad, but missed. Shelga hugged and lifted little Dorcad and ran with her the exitway. The older boys seemed to be using the younger children as rear shields.
When the juveniles looked back, they witnessed their mother expressing amusement, standing calmly next to the thing. Mother flipped her hand over toward the monster and exclaimed, “This is our hitter.”
The alien being, twice as tall as Mother, was evenly segmented, and each segment had two short legs sticking out, one on each side. The appendages curled forward. These limbs, at least a hundred of them, tapered to segmented points. It stood, if you could call it that, in a kind of backwards ‘s’ shape, with the bottom end on the floor curled away from them, and the upper end curled forward.
Even its mother would be afraid of that face. The eyes were small in proportion to its size. Two large, curved scimitars came forward from the edges of its dorsal-ventrally flattened face. They were hollow, and the poison channel could be seen arching back from the tips of the yellowed pincers. Its ventral aspect, dull silver, blended to cream toward the center. Its dorsal aspect, powder blue on the outer edges above the silver, shaded inward to shiny grey, and a dark metallic blue stripe ran down the center of its back from its head to its end. Two fleshy protuberances went backwards from its... whatever.
“What is that?” whispered Anama, the first to regain her voice, showing one of the first signs of promise that today. Mother appreciated the self control she’d exhibited. Or, maybe she was just too stupid to stay silent. Hard to tell.
“I’m not sure,” Mother said. “Its speech doesn’t translate well into ours. But Paktchikt comes well recommended.”
“Who recommended it?” Shagen demanded.
All the kids lined up with both couches between then and the creature.
“One of my mentors, dear.”
The kids relaxed slightly.
“Well then, welcome,” said Ragard to the thing. He cleared his hoarse throat.
Intelligent noises emitted from the translator belted around its middle.
“Yes, well,” said Mother, clasping her hands in front of her surprisingly feminine, floral-printed, leather belted robes. She had enjoyed her little surprise. It had been a full day.
Kadi appeared, standing at the entrance to the dining hall. “Time for dinner,” Mother said. “Paktchikt, I don’t think there’s a need for us to meet again until you are successful. Good luck.”
The translator made some more noises as the creature flattened out. Putting all the pointy parts of his legs on the floor, it scooted past the children and went out the door.
Chapter Five
Vacation With A Side Of Business