The Aftermath Part Two

By Scott C. Anderson

This story continues from The Aftermath. Celia Reyes is once again pressed into service to help with the sudden disappearance of the warring continent of the Rullon Homeworld.
She has help, but the Qell Protectorate, and specifically Captain Pintar Fell, will assist Celia with the abduction of a people she finds all too familiar.
Celia will be pushed and attacked, lied to and manipulated, but she will never be broken.
Suitable for all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781716045240

Book preview

The Aftermath Part Two

The Aftermath Part Two

By Scott C. Anderson

This is a book of fiction. Characters, places, names, theories, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons, alive or dead, along with their events or locations is purely coincidental.

Disclaimer:  These stories are written in a conversational style.  And, this story, in part or as a whole, may be viewed from an alien perspective.  Wording, phrases, and grammar may suffer during the translation.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Fourth Edition

© 2020 by Scott C. Anderson. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-71604-524-0

Preface

Language imagery:  The advanced ability to mentally see and/or sense the words and phrases used by someone speaking a completely foreign, or alien, language. 

Celia Reyes, the main character in this story, had worked with the Qell and the Rullon to the point that she had mastered this form of communication. 

Her story started with, The Aftermath, and continues.

All through the night

There are currently seven inhabited planets within the known Qell Protectorate.  This sector of the galaxy is not a crowded place, and the four highly-advanced races currently living within the Protectorate Arm are at time of peace.

An interstellar train known as The Blue Northern has traveled the scheduled route that serves these seven planets.  In its seven hundred years of operation, the train service has had very few interruptions.

Celia Reyes, a well-respected woman visiting from Earth, sat within a specific passenger-car of The Blue Northern.  The truck and seven sections were on time and on schedule.  The Blue Northern was of Habron manufacture.  The truck, and this particular train car, were painted in the two-tone gray colors of the corporate logo.  The six remaining cars were painted or adorned in the colors of each homeworld. 

Celia had noticed that there were only a few observation windows aboard this train.  This was a condition that would normally cause the woman a slight case of claustrophobia.  Fortunately, viewscreens were mounted everywhere and offered a crystal-clear view of the exterior and never-ending starfield.

Tapping the controls of a nearby viewscreen, Celia changed the scan filter of a distant nebula.  The filter change altered to the brilliant colors that would define this type of anomaly.  Celia could see that several other passengers had taken her example.  ­­­The interior was cool and quiet, but Celia could not sleep.

This section of the galaxy was home to four advanced civilizations.  The founding race, known as the Qell, was spread across the seven planets.  Their initial colonization created the Protectorate Arm.  The woman from Earth would soon end her visit and return to her homeworld.  Celia vowed to explore as much of the Qell wonders as humanly possible. 

Captain Pintar Fell of Qell Protectorate Cruiser 78IIV7 had originally brought Celia to the third inhabited solar system within the Protectorate Arm.  The mile-long cruiser was shaped as an arrowhead with a very narrow bow and a wide squared-off stern.  The sleek and mostly deep-black ship sat atop a large circular drive engine, which hung as a disc from the keel of the cruiser.  The nearby Qell homeworld was one of seven blue-water planets within a social structure of ancient negotiated treaties and agreements. 

Celia was accompanied on this trip by Randy Peller, her new offworld friend.  The man was about the same age as Celia and currently worked aboard Captain Fell’s cruiser.  Randy had stepped away to use the restroom facilities, allowing Celia a few precious moments to herself. 

It’s a good thing he can’t read my thoughts.  The woman was now proficient with language imagery to the point of being able to communicate like a native.  The mental images of thoughts generated by words was something that was not specific to the Qell, but an ability learned through time and exposure. 

The human race of the Earth homeworld used roughly ten to eighteen percent of conscious brain power.  The average Qell operated at over forty-five percent.  Through the use of language imagery, Celia had expanded her capacity to a registered thirty-two percent, which was partially due to the woman’s exposure and insatiable need to learn. 

The comfort and familiarity of this language-use allowed Celia to accept the alien interaction to these new worlds.  This ability would soon be put to the test.

The view of the never-ending starfield was now an old friend.  The image of the interstellar traveler was reflected back to her from the viewscreen close to her seat.  The Rullon.  Celia spoke the words softy.   

We’ll be arriving at Porcine in a few minutes.  Randy returned with what appeared to be a bag of peanuts.

The still and quiet of the train offered the earth woman the first respite that she had known for a long time.  Looking back on her experiences, there were few regrets, though she had come close to losing her life on more than one occasion.

The interstellar train, The Blue Northern, appeared as a slender grouping of cylinders in space.  The truck and seven self-contained cars traveled at speeds that impressed even the most jaded interstellar traveler. 

The silver skin default of the Habron-manufactured train meant little, as the color-changing properties allowed the vehicle to alter from corporate colors to matte black.  The defensive systems of the train were also advanced to the point that the Blue Northern could repel any known attacker.  Consequently, the vehicle also generated stealth abilities to avoid an unknown or unlisted contact.  Choice, at least within the Qell Protectorate, was a valuable commodity.

The Blue Northern decelerated as it approached the inhabited blue-water world within the Porcine Solar System.  The train slowed high above the planet, as it would not enter the atmosphere.  Within this procedure, only one section of the train would detach and lower to the surface. 

The single car designated to land on Porcine disengaged as the train came to a full and complete stop.  The drive system of the individual train car then came online and began to lower through the atmosphere, destined for the allport near the City of Sur-la-Mer.

Glancing at her screen, Celia could see the true color changing abilities of the train.  The detached section altered from a matte-black to a deep jade with gold trim, a standard for the Porcine conveyance.  The gloss enamel of the vibrant green color reminded Celia of a Faberge Egg, only on a much larger scale.

At this same time, a similar train car lifted from the allport at Sur-la-Mer and gained altitude.  The two cars would then exchange places.  The train car carrying passengers and freight from the allport would then continue-on to the blue-water world within the Korr Solar System, the next in line.  The train car left behind on the surface would then be offloaded. 

As the Blue Northern would return to its scheduled route, new supplies and cargo could be transferred at the leisure of the allport crew.  The new passengers and fully self-contained section joined the interstellar train, and locked for travel.  Within moments the train continued on its way towards Korr.

Celia appreciated the efficiency of design and lack of delay by the operations of the line.  The reconnect of the train car was known only by the actions emitted on the status viewscreen.  The reconnect locked, followed by a clearance to depart.  With little to no feeling of movement, the Blue Northern sped away from Porcine at an incredible speed.

Randy and Celia sat through the car exchange, as this was still a new experience for the woman.  Randy then pointed to an observation window and the slowly-moving starfield.  The main forward viewscreen offered an unmoving field of stars, while looking to the right or left gave a slow-motion view of the passing universe.

This never gets old.  Celia said the words softly, as if a whisper.

Randy was about to answer, but could tell a rhetorical question when he heard one.  The next stop would be Korr, and then on to the Qell homeworld, their final destination.

Celia and Randy had been taking in the sights while touring Pinkett, the farthest planet from Qell within the Protectorate Arm.  Randy was then given urgent news from his captain.  There was an active problem on a distant world known as Rullon, outside of the Protectorate Arm, that was not good.  The man was also provided with a quick explanation and a request to return home.  Randy then felt that it was his duty to explain the details to Celia, as he knew she would want to be included in the Rullon contact.

During Celia’s time with the peoples of the Qell Protectorate, she again noticed the lack of incivility among the four distinct races.  The use of language imagery, which allowed two people speaking entirely different languages the ability to communicate, was a quality that Celia had sharpened to a fine art.  The words Sir or Ma’am were never used.  Respect, or the lack of it, was easily detected when using language-imagery skills.

Celia also found that the traits that she had witnessed so often on earth became enhanced by the use of language imagery.  Lying was unheard of, as the action could easily be detected during a conversation.  She could also easily detect when someone was uneasy with her.  Through practice she could tell the differences between unfamiliarity, shyness, and a conscious but clumsy effort to not offend an offworlder.

Language imagery, or the art of seeing the words and images of your speech, was now becoming second nature.  Earlier, when dealing with the imminent asteroid strikes of Earth and Rullon, Celia could make the distinction between someone unfamiliar with her, and those appreciative of her work, yet mindful of her privacy.  The strong sense of understanding replaced the emotional misconceptions, which Celia found to be a relief.

Randy explained that the frantic emergency calls from Rullon provided details that were still sketchy.  Minister Pavlo Toll, and Talian Sims with the Commission for Foreign Affairs, had called Captain Pintar Fell with an urgent request.  It appeared that a large number of the population on Rullon had been removed, seemingly overnight. 

Minister Toll had been told that a warship projecting a Colar signature had been spotted in orbit, just before the opposite side of the world went dark.  As worldwide communications began to clear, it was discovered that a swath of citizens from the Imperial Continent had been removed.  Satellite images indicated the presence of the cities and civilization, but few lifesigns were detected.

Minister Pavlo Toll begged Talian Sims to ask the Qell for help.  Talian was already in the process of contacting the Qell, when the minister’s urgent request was received.

The two major continents of the Rullon homeworld were in chaos.  The leading government of the planet had yet to fully survey the disappearance of the people within the Imperial Continent. 

Aboard the Qell cruiser, Paylon Tenn, the principal archeologist and advisor to his captain, reran his long-range scans three times before offering a theory. 

It appeared that the Colar employed an offensive nanobot system derived from outsourced alien technology.  For the system to work, four individual nanobots were required to connect in series.  When deployed and attached to the human nervous system, the alien device would allow complete control over the will of any individual human being.  When connected to a central hive control system, anywhere from a single to a large group of humans could then be guided and controlled.

Paylon’s research shocked the man to the bone.  His presentation on the bridge of the Qell Protectorate cruiser was meant for all to see. 

Scanned traces found