Tales from L.

Yaka was still in her tank in the moment, the reverie reaching its peak.

She tapped the broadcast one-way control, and after a moment, began to speak.

"We are born of fire and water.

We are born of passions and trained for a purpose.

I am the twenty-third of twenty four, next youngest and I am the last.

There is one chance.

One must be reborn in fire and the icy cold of space.

The fingers of sickly death reach for them, ever closer from all sides. Today is the day the withered hand of Death shall feel the touch of a wildfire..."

She trailed off, the recording function snapping inactive after a measured moment of silence.

Her mind returned to a time that seemed an eternity ago now, when she had swam in the waters of home with her family.

She found herself repeating softly from memory. "These are our waters."

Her eyes closed.

It was a moment before she realized her Companion was actually next to her tank near one of her eyes, one hand pressed against the transparency.

"I know, Yaka. It's nearly time now. It's your call this time - do we fight?"

Yaka actually chuckled.

She brought up a tactical display of the now-sealed location that the running ship had landed in.

"It's not about a political move this time, or a contract - it's the same fight it's always been."

Her Companion nodded, her coloration a deep rosy red.

"Same fight different day, Yaka. All systems are green. Let's go to work."

Yaka laughed again, muttering in an odd accent. "Time to be big damn heroes."

She raised the ship to an altitude that would allow quick access to any of the perimeter around the small button of metal.

The approaching twitching and undulating waves were far from uniform, but she could tell where the first surge towards the perimeter would be.

"Lock beams at reference X 125, Y 73.66 - Set for full power, focused burst, on my mark!"

Her Companion manipulated controls and refocused the beam weapons as ordered, manipulating them through her direct connection.

"Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

MARK!"

The beams of golden-red accelerated particles bathed the corner of the tactical map, leaving an irregular blob of molten metal and scorched regolith.

Her Companion spoke up at once. "First incursion repelled, zero breakthrough."

A quick scan showed two more points at opposites on the perimeter were near to being crossed as well.

"Quickscan, high-yield flash and burn at point Charlie and point Echo."

Her companion's reply was immediate. "Scanned and locked!"

Yaka shouted, "Fire!"

This time a hailstorm of blue eggs tumbled and struck two different parts of the perimeter and compound.

For an untold and terrifying fraction of a second, the objects were inert, some making the softest plops into the quasi-liquid biomass.

A furious blue-white flash blazed forth, melting most of the nearby metal and reducing everything else aside from regolith down to scattered and confused atoms.

Yaka's Companion spoke up again. "Beam weapons recharged. That plasma fire definitely has the mass avoiding that sector."

Yaka chortled a little. "I'm not surprised, most things don't like getting burnt down to nothing."

Her Companion's smile was audible in her voice. "Saving up a cache of them in case you have to Code Red the entire compound, of course."

Yaka eyed the targeting system, toggled several options, cycled through them. "Set beams to deep pen, heat and scorch."

At the toggled function and firing, Yaka shook her head and bumped her control tank.

"This is going to be a long fight."

The comm signal panel lit up.

Yaka's companion watched it closely.

"Yaka, the Red Alert has been acknowledged. Eris is now under the Red Flag."

Yaka thought she could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke again, and looking - saw one.

"All weapons clear to fire - Red Alert protocol in effect - just don't split the stone."

"Very good. Lock and load, beginning attack run. Going to start with the main mining complex - down to that heatsig. Scan it - if I'm right about this, we've definitely got a megamass NP outbreak."

The craft swam smoothly into the space over the large and oddly quiet mining complex.

"Firing now," said Yaka.

A barrage of light and explosives spattered neatly over the metal and it sheared clean and shattered into pieces, before being melted by the thermal explosives Yaka had used.

"Set beam weapons to single-target tracking and continuous fire," Yaka asked her Companion.

A panel of controls turned into a row of blue lights with a single circular toggle.

"Primed and ready," came the reply, though Yaka was sure she could still hear the smile.

Yaka examined the thermal map of the first mining station and fired the focused beams like a scalpel, slicing into the shielded storage area with the unusually large and warm blob underneath.

A few seconds and the cutting was complete and something began gushing from the space, spilling this way and that like a boiling semiliquid.

Yaka made a sound that her Companion was unfamiliar with.

"Looks like a hive alright," said Yaka, her voice much quieter than before and lower than usual. Her Companion could easily detect her disgust.

The firing controls were modulating in front of her before Yaka even spoke next.

"High-yield TN barrage, going to have to scorch the site."

Her Companion laughed and said in a low voice, "...It's the only way to be sure."

After some months of cessation and hiatus - I am going to continue both Yaka's story and MNIM.

It was a little over 36 hours before Yaka fully returned to consciousness.

She woke and her vision slowly returned to normal, noticing her companion in her usual spot.

Her first question was spoken slowly, and was anticipated by her companion.

"What.... happened?"

The response did not come from her companion, it was from her comm, and the voice was definitely female, the tone firm, but not unkind.

"You confronted a specter from your past. It's something that's very hard for us, and can be impossible when we're alone."

Her eye darted to her companion, who answered before Yaka could speak.

"She's a friend, someone who remembers you. My studies of neo-orca biology and psychology suggested that her presence may be beneficial."

The voice returned, when Yaka did not speak or move.

"My name is Grayskies. If my presence is inappropriate or I have given you offense..."

Yaka finally found her voice.

She actually laughed.

"I was wondering why I dreamt of a grey skin in chilly ocean waters."

Greyskies laughed, too.

"It's a strong memory. If you would like a small vacation somewhere with decent deep water and pebble-sand, I can recommend a place."

Yaka chuckled, "You mean that meeting place was yours?"

Greyskies replied, her tone amused, "It does not belong strictly to me, it's in a trust - I am its present caretaker."

Yaka sounded almost at the point of laughter, "So you rent it out..."

Greyskies finished the thought, "To any of us that need the space. We are not transhumans or neo-Neanderthals. Our need for companionship is as much a part of us as our blood and our need for oxygen."

Yaka's companion spoke up, as both Yaka and Greyskies laughed in understanding.

"I am sure you both find it hilarious, but not all Homo Sapiens are as isolationist or as backwards as the Jovians, you know."

Yaka's laughter went unabated for many moments, then she replied. "Of course. Please set us to dock. I think I could use a little vacation between contracts."

Her companion's smile was visible, even from outside of the control tank.

"We've been docked here for a while now."

Yaka was settled into her primary control tank, eyeing displays when she caught what looked like a distant transmission.

"Burst transmission from near Lunar orbit," came her companion's voice a moment later.

"IDENT indicates an older destroy-" And her voice stopped as if a switch had been flicked.

"What is it?" Yaka was turning to look over the side where her companion usually made her presence known, but her color was wrong.

Before alarm or anything else could happen, the reply came. "I'm sorry, Yaka. I just made a discovery that registered very high on the scale of shock."

"Is that why you're purple?"

"No. That would be the mixture of dread and anger that I am feeling as a result of processing the shock."

Yaka nearly thumped her head against the side of the tank.

"What was that IDENT from?"

"That IDENT code was from one of the destroyers of Dragon's Squadron, Yaka," came the reply.

She simply stared at her companion, a whirlwind of emotions stirring within her.

"Ready a Red Flash. Power to all combat systems and get ready to speed-dial the whole damn solar system. We're going in."

Her companion's reply was simple. "Prepared. We're going to be there in about one and a half hours."

Yaka's eyes closed.

If this was a pirate or a hijacker... They'd pay for it.

If this was a salvage op... They'd pay for it.

If this was an AI takeover...

"Then they will burn," she said, softly.

The Phobos encounter was now a recent memory, and Yaka's ship was near an open-space station.

"Is something amiss," her companion was asking her.

"Your vital signs are showing increases right across the board. Almost feverish."

Yaka did not reply.

"Yaka, you do have a white card, if I guess right about the cause of this."

The reply was instant and harsh, and surprised.

"How did you discern that from staring at my vital signs?"

Her companion laughed a little, "I'm more sophisticated than a timepiece, Yaka. If you were feeling ill, you would have voiced a concern about your health. This means... something else."

The response was slow in coming.

"I have no pod. I'm isolated, but I feel the biological drive. I'm not in any position to start a pod of my own. Not psychologically. Not physically. My work means that any pod I begin must do what I do."

There was a resounding sound in the ship.

Her companion's tone was calm, kinder than it had been.

"Don't hurt yourself, I beg you. If this is something that you simply want... Sorted out and over with, I think I know how..."

Yaka scoffed and thudded again, but not nearly so viciously.

Her companion continued.

"There is something that will keep you from pregnancy if you wish it, and there is a station that may.... assist your needs."

Yaka was silent for a long moment.

"Give me the treatment and take me there."

Her companion did both without a laugh, smiling knowingly.

Yaka was idling, enjoying the return flight, when her companion chimed in.

"Excuse me, Yaka - but there's a transmission from one of the Martian moons."

Yaka's tone was serious.

"I see the transmission profile - Phobos, isn't it?"

"Yes. They're..."

Yaka's perceptions sharpened.

"That's a Red Flash. It looks like things are going to get considerably less tedious," she said.

"You're right of course," her companion spoke from her usual position. "I'll make the calculations - we can be there in about 45 minutes."

"And make sure we come in hot - but keep sensors moving. It wouldn't be the first time a rookie comm officer lit up the system by leaning on a button," came the terse reply, though Yaka's companion could clearly hear the amusement in her tone.

"Martian Command did threaten to feed you that lieutenant, didn't they?"

Yaka made a small, disgusted noise.

"I don't know if they were threatening him more than me."

Her companion laughed softly.

Yaka was immersed.

This was not merely a state of her physical being, since she nearly always was.

She found herself swimming in an ocean of sound, as well as a duplicate of the ocean that had been her birthplace.

The familiar blue flicker near her left caused her to smile a little.

"I see you've implemented the sound system as I had suggested," came the voice she had grown used to hearing.

"I considered it a better solution for portability and your far more sophisticated hearing, Yaka."

Yaka could not see her companion clearly enough to make out her features, but she could clearly hear the pleased smile.

"It's an experience," she replied. "I can feel the sound as well as hear it - I'm glad that the Upper Cetaceans weren't the only ones from the World that were musical."

She laughed, softly.

"I gathered a large library of music from the century or so preceding the Fall. Odd as it may seem, that was my original purpose, collecting and analyzing similarities between music."

Yaka asked, "You were originally a... collector and analyzer of music? Just how much of this was there, and how much demand for aural pattern recognition was there?"

This time, her companion laughed a while before replying.

"Oh, my friend, my companion in the sea of stars - you simply have no idea..."

Yaka joined her friend in the laugh then.

The mirth abated after a march of minutes.

"What's our next op?" Yaka asked, once her desire to laugh had faded enough to speak.

The reply was only a moment in coming. "A calcium extractor on Luna. It's been rogue for a while, and I think it might be repurposed. Recon, scan what you can. If it's just pulling minerals or idle, then we can go deeper. If it's being used for automata, then it's explicitly not under the Mercurials' control."

Yaka was looking at a map and diagram of the facility.

"Small one this time - I'll skim it."

Her companion chuckled. "Be careful about that - high velocities are still high velocities even in Lunar gravity."

"I'd like to try the sound rig for a combat run."

The laugh came again. "I had a feeling you might - my waldos are making sure that the pilot tank's properly rigged."

Yaka gave an approving sound.

If mechanicals were worth taking down, they were worth taking down to a beat...

"Mission log. Dragon recording. Timestamp Twenty-{static interrupts} zero-five hundred hours, Universal Coordinated Time.

"Transmitting via Forward Fleet from Battleship Halifax.

"All units of the Wedge report in."

A chorus of voices, masculine and feminine report back in sequence.

"Logged. All ships and fighters show green and ready.

"Spotters and scouts watch southwest and west-southwest perimeter.

A male voice, sounding a bit excited. "Swerve reporting in. Southwest perimeter idle."

A female voice, sounding calmer. "West-southwest perimeter showing distant activity beyond visual range. Recommend blue-water passive sensors to active."

"Dragon acknowledges."

Dragon hovered there, in the control tank, sensors showing the family unit dozens of others like them, forming a neat and professional geometric wedge. Sensors showed arcs of sonar scans.

She could almost feel them all together, side by side.

"Swerve. Positive signal from southwest. Holy..."

"Yaka. Active pinging from west-southwest, incoming and fast."

A more musical voice, "Singer. I've never seen this kind of pinging."

Dragon let out a breath. The moment had come. "Form a line! Hold fast, and let none pass us!

"These are our waters!

"The waters of us and our ancestors!

"We surrender them to no one!

"No ship!

"No mortal!

"No machine!

"STRIKE THEM DOWN!"

Dragon's sensors lit up like a hailstorm of spots and streaks as fire was opened from the foremost of the Wedge.

She could see the sheer number of ships and... who knew what else coming from the southwest.

Her sensors also reported the beginnings of launches from the surface back on the Island.

"Alpha engaged," came the familiar masculine voice. "Heavy fire. Concentrating on enemy capit-KSSSSSSSSSHHH". Her board showed Alpha's battleship and the two destroyer escorts simply... vanished from the map.

"Yaka! High-capacity energy weapons in use!"

"Singer! Active pinging! I think th-KSSSHHHH"

Dragon's eyes darted to Singer's sensor platform, before the map flickered.

She took a deep breath once again.

Two launches from the island now. Four.

"Destroyers scatter! Six! release the biters!"

"At once," came the terse reply.

The underwater force sitting in total silence and waiting moved into action, and the barrage of capital ships faded at and near the forefront of the wedge.

Eight launches. Nine. Ten.

"I am free," came Six's voice before another burst of static.

The northern end of the wedge was rapidly becoming overwhelmed.

"Open the fist!" Dragon signalled, and the remaining ships of that line started to fall back, before winking out.

"No... Have to hold them. Have to hold them."

"We have to-"

A flash, a shadow, and no more.

"Yaka! Dragon is hit Dragon is hit! Dra-{static interrupts}"

End of log.

A female voice with no obvious accent speaks.

"November 19th, Twenty- {static interrupts} -ject Phi Kappa.

"The pod is in excellent health, after PK15 was treated for a minor dental infection.

They have begun choosing names - all of them are remarkably fast readers and learners.

The Uplift Board has approved all 24 members of PK for White Card status.

PK has requested that their names be recorded in their own voices, so, here it goes."

"Number one."

A deep, masculine voice speaks. "Alpha."

"Number two."

A strong feminine voice speaks. "Dragon."

"Number three."

A masculine voice, of a higher pitch and a noticeable Russo-Slavic accent. "Fyodor."

"Number four."

Another masculine voice, this a baritone and possessing a more subtle accent. "Yoshi."

"Number five."

A feminine voice, soft with a definite Celtic lilt. "Gabrielle."

"Number six."

A baritone voice with a noticeable British accent, and the tone has the suggestion of humor. "Number six."

"Number seven."

A feminine contralto, speaking almost as if singing. "Singer."

"Number eight."

A masculine tenor, speaking with an accent reminiscent of the American Northeast. "Drake."

"Number nine."

A feminine alto, speaking with a clipped crispness and no detectable accent. "Frigg."

"Number ten."

A masculine voice, speaking with no recognizable accent. "Lund."

"Number ele- {static interrupts}

"Number twenty-three."

A soft, feminine voice, speaking with a slight accent. "Yaka."

"Number twenty-four."

A youthful-sounding masculine voice. "Swerve."

"This concludes the requested introductions."

End of log.