Journey Beyond the Sea - 19. Chapter 19

The impact never came. There was a further confusion of sound around him, and then Jem became aware of two things: someone had an arm around him from behind, a hand laid upon his chest, pulling him firmly back against their own body, and their other arm was propped upon his opposite shoulder.

And there was a silence so deep around him that he could hear others breathing.

He opened his eyes.

The arm propped upon his shoulder was Nico's and the hand at the end of that arm held a sidearm, pointed at Azim. The hand firmly upon his chest was also Nico's. The other boy had wrapped him in a protective embrace at the last second, his weapon pointed squarely at Azim's eye.

But it was not Nico who had fired.

Jem turned to look back over his shoulder. All the humans had their weapons out, but the muzzles were dropping even now to point at the deck. Except for Varin Mikulsa's sidearm. He had his arm pointed toward the overhead, the weapon in his hand still issuing forth a thin wisp of smoke. His arm was pointed upwards because it was held securely between both of Til Majors' hands, who had obviously forced Mikulsa's aim skyward at the very last second.

Jem turned forward again to stare at Azim, and then looked downward. The sharp tip of the alien's lance was poised a mere ten centimeters from Jem's stomach, having come in under Nico's arm before stopping. The barrel of Nico's sidearm was hovering an equal distance from Azim's eye.

Yet Azim seemed unconcerned, and showed no fear at the depth of that confrontation. Even as Jem watched, the lance turned to rubber and dropped to Azim's side. The alien stepped back then, and Jem took the deepest breath of relief he had ever taken in his entire life.

"Jem protect Bzup." Azim said then.

The alien's eye shifted to look over Jem's shoulder. "Nico protect Bzup. Nico protect Jem."

And then the eye moved again. "Miztermikulsa protect Bzup. Miztermikulsa protect Jem."

Another movement of the eye. "Tilmajorz protect Azim."

And then a last movement. "All protect. Jem-kind protect Jem-kind. Jem-kind protect Bzup-kind."

"I don't think he ever really intended to strike Bzup," Til said softly then. "Or you, Jem."

"It was an experiment," Ana added, sounding amazed to Jem's ear.

"A test," Nita agreed, breathlessly.

"You can let go of me," Jem heard Mikulsa say. "I'm done."

"I thought you were going to shoot Azim," Til responded.

"I was. Reflexes, Til. Year upon year of reflexes. Thank you for stopping me." Mikulsa sounded relieved. Very relieved.

"That was too close," Mister Sharples breathed.

Jem heard the soft snicks of sidearms being returned to their quick-release holsters.

Azim turned towards the massed members of his kind, and raised his tentacles and waved them. The alien issued forth another amazing sequence of sounds, and the crowd of aliens seemed to go wild, waving their arms or tentacles, and calling in their amazing voices at such volume that Jem cringed a little. Nico withdrew his arm holding the weapon, but it returned a moment later without the sidearm, to wrap around Jem, and the other boy laid his face against the side of Jem's head. "I thought I'd lost you."

It was spoken just loudly enough for Jem to hear. He turned around then, and Nico loosened his grip to allow that; and then Jem was hugging the other boy close. Jem turned his face into Nico's cheek, and closed his eyes, and let himself be held. He had to agree with Mister Sharples on this one.

It had been too close.

The sounds the aliens were making continued around them, and Jem finally became aware that they came across as happy sounds. He opened his eyes, saw his friends behind Nico, looking about with clear expressions of wonder. He couldn't help smiling then.

Something Varin Mikulsa had said the other day came back to him then:

"This was why my people got into the colonial exploration program in the first place, long ago. To see the stars. To experience what they have to offer."

It was, perhaps, the first time that Jem really understood what the man had meant.

He sighed, and tightened his grip around Nico. "I love you so much."

He felt Nico give a small laugh, and then the other boy was kissing his cheek. Jem turned his head, made the kiss a genuine one. But he was too aware of where they were, and who was present, and he only allowed it to go on for a few seconds before pulling back to smile at Nico. "Can we catch up later? There's so many eyes present!"

Nico nodded, gave him a last fond squeeze, and stepped back from him. They both turned to look at the aliens, and so were witness to them spreading slowly apart to make way for someone coming across the chamber towards them. Jem leaned forward in surprise as he realized it was Hans Kim, striding across the deck in the company of an Azim. The man was looking around, a faint smile on his face, but his gaze kept returning to the humans ahead as he crossed to them.

He finally reached them, and stopped. "Well, I know all this hoopla can't be for me."

"Mister Kim," Mikulsa said, sounding surprised. "Why are you here?'

The pilot waved a hand around the chamber. "The hull of this ship is proof against com talk, I guess. I couldn't reach any of you, and I needed to get a message to you." Kim held out a hand, in which was a folded hard copy from the Raptor's printer.

Mikulsa stepped forward to take it. He read it quickly, briefly looked surprised; and then his eyes came up to lock on Jem. "It's for you, too." He smiled, and extended his hand, with the hard copy between his fingers.

Jem was surprised, but stepped forward to take the message. He looked down at the words printed there, as Nico read over his shoulder:

By majority decree, the Colonial Administration has voted to guarantee the safety of all alien visitors to Benteen under the full-rights clause of the Compact On the Right to Life pertaining to A-Prime lifeforms. Varin Mikulsa and his team are requested to offer our visitors our enthusiastic welcome, and to begin immediate talks on establishing a meeting between the governing officials of Bzup-kind and the governing officials of humankind on Benteen. It is our desire to have accords in place before the arrival of the vessel from Earth, in order to further cement in law the agreement to peaceful relations between our two races. Any and all emissaries from the vessel currently grounded on Hakin Island will be welcomed in Hennessy with all honors due the ambassadors of a foreign power. Or, if preferred, representatives of this administration will be happy to transport themselves to a meeting aboard the visitor's vessel, or to any agreed-upon place of meeting between. So signed and recorded on this day and date, and entered into official records for preservation.

--Dimaskar, J, for Colonial Administration

Beneath that message was another line, in the same print:

The vote wasn't even close! The welcome is a genuine one! Well done, Jem-lad!

--Master Terpin, Vespris

Jem felt his eyes water, even as Nico whooped and clapped him on the shoulder.

And then the others were crowding around, and looking at the message, and for a moment everyone was talking at once. Jem turned then, looking for Bzup, and found the alien standing in the same place as before, just watching everything going on. Jem raised a hand and waved it, trying to get the attention of those around him. "Wait, wait a second."

Jem walked back to Bzup, and laid a hand gently on the alien's side. "Bzup."

"Jem?"

Jem sighed happily. "Jem have message for Azim. For Bzup-kind."

Bzup's transducer vibrated to life, instantly becoming almost invisible, and a curiously haunting tune issued forth. Or, the part that Jem could hear of it sounded so. A brief whistle deep in his ear made him realize that some part of Bzup's call had risen above his range of hearing.

But the effect was immediate. The alien celebration quieted, and Azim came back to stand with them.

Jem turned to Mikulsa. "Is it okay if I tell them?"

The man smiled. "I can't think of anyone better."

Jem took a breath, looked from Bzup to Azim, and back again. "Jem have message from Jem-kind."

Azim's transducers emitted a faint buzz. "Jem say what Jem-kind do?"

Jem nodded. "Yes. Jem say what Jem-kind do." He gently cleared his throat. "Jem-kind welcome Bzup-kind to Benteen. Jem-kind meet with Bzup-kind. Jem-kind protect Bzup-kind."

Azim turned to Bzup, and offered a brief and pleasant melody.

Bzup turned to Jem, and even Jem could see the pleasure the alien was feeling. "Jem. Bzup-kind protect Jem-kind. Jem. Bzup-kind stay on Benteen."

* * * * * * *

"They'll leave at some point, certainly," Nita said, as they sat around the kitchen table in the Raptor. "They'll want to see if the Righoff path to their own worlds has been re-established, as well." She nodded. "They'll want to go home, if they can."

"I think some of their people will remain, though," Til said, looking happy. "Someone has to man the embassy!"

"This ship coming from Earth," Ana inserted. "There's no way we can know if it came directly from Earth. Couldn't it be from one of the colony worlds?"

"Most definitely," Mister Sharples agreed. "I have even entertained the idea that this is simply another scouting mission following Righoff lines, and that these people will be shocked to find Benteen at their next stop!"

"Is that possible?" Nico asked, pausing with a spoonful of his stew hanging above the bowl. "They might not know we're here?"

"It's very possible," the engineer replied. "They could have been following an entirely new path, just exploring. The shift in the Righoff lines that has allowed them to get here may be an entirely different route than the original one the colonizer took to get here."

Jem grinned at Nico. "It this amazing, or what?"

Nico laughed. "It makes Marksman look dull." He shook his head. "It's even better than hunting orx!"

Mister Sharples grunted, but it was not an unhappy sound. "I have a feeling I'll still be looking for an assistant!"

Jem sighed at that. His feelings on simply being a shotsman or an engineer aboard an orxhunter had changed, he thought. Oh, he could do it, and enjoy it, even for some years. But...now he knew it was not how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He had a new calling.

He turned to look to where Bzup stood, back by the bunks. The alien had insisted on accompanying them back to the Raptor, and Jem had a feeling that he would be seeing a lot more of Bzup now. He smiled at the idea. He was immensely fond of the little alien, and had come to understand that that affection was returned. They were friends, now, hopefully forever.

This fact had been noted by the administration back in Hennessy, and most of the people now sitting around the table in the Raptor had been offered positions dealing with the aliens. Mikulsa had declined right away, citing his need in security for the towns of New Australia. "My instincts...and my reflexes, are for another sort of work."

Ana had also declined, her feeling being that Nita was better suited for any position as a biologist dealing with the visitors. Nita had taken her invitation to join seriously, and had asked Jem what he and Nico would be doing.

"We've both decided to accept," he'd told her candidly. "But we don't want to look in a hurry." And then he'd grinned. "We told them we want to think about it some more, and talk to our families.."

The girl had laughed. "Then that's what I'll do, too."

The most surprised of them all to be ask to participate was Til Majors, who had simply never really thought of leaving the position he loved aboard Vespris. He had also asked Jem what he and Nico were going to do, and when told they were waiting just now, he had agreed it was the wise thing for all of them to do. It was still early in the game, definitely.

But Jem knew his mind was made up. The chance to work with Bzup and his people was a draw he could never ignore, and live with himself. He knew that Nico felt the same way. That he and his friend would be together in this was really the last part of the equation. I go where you go, Nico had told him. And Jem knew that he felt the same way.

Jem's thoughts came back to the table. His spoon was simply hovering above his bowl, unguided. He smiled. He'd better eat before it got cold!

As he plunged back into his meal, he saw Nita staring off into space, and grinned at her. "You look like I feel." When she didn't respond he waved a hand at her, and her eyes suddenly focused on him.

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. What was that?"

"Nothing. You certainly have been preoccupied lately. What are you thinking about?"

She smiled at him. "Oh, Bzups and Azims - things like that."

He nodded. "I'm all ears."

She frowned. "I'm trying to get a handle on this protect thing. I'm sure that Bzup's people use it with a slightly different meaning than we do."

Jem nodded. "I think so, too. I think there's a trust component that is way above what we might feel goes with just protecting someone."

"There's an idea. If that's true, than we'd better understand that. If they're placing an extreme measure of trust in us, we need to make certain no one screws that up."

"You think someone will?" Nico asked.

"Maybe not on purpose. But we need to be careful, anyway." She sighed. "I'm also thinking they have a great respect for life, and are wary of anyone that doesn't."

"I don't think that's us," Til said. "They know we hunt, but they do, too, in a way, as fishing is still hunting. Both our species have to eat to survive."

"And neither of us seems to waste anything. And we don't kill for sport, as people once did."

Nico looked from face to face, and then smiled. "They're different from us, and they're also very much like us. I think we'll get along."

Mister Sharples tapped his cup with a spoon. "Here's to getting along!"

"I wonder how Bzup's people knew the ship coming to Benteen was an Earth ship?" Til asked then. He turned to Mister Sharples. "Is there a way to tell?"

The older man made a face, and smiled. "If there is, I don't know it. Until we met Bzup's folks, there was never a need to determine that. Every ship that came to Benteen was from Earth, or one of her colonies."

Nico gaped, and stared at the man. "You mean the ship coming here might not be a human ship, or a Bzup ship?"

The engineer shrugged. "If it was just us, relying on the tech we have operational at this point, we'd have no idea who it was until they actually got here. But I asked Bzup how they knew, and he just said, 'Azim know'. That tells me they have some way of at least knowing if an approaching vessel is one of theirs. And this one isn't."

Nita sucked in her breath. "But it could be other aliens?"

Mister Sharples laughed. "Bzup said no. And the idea that there is suddenly a population explosion of star travelers in this part of space doesn't sit well with me. I'm inclined to trust Bzup on this one."

Jem grinned. Humans! And not from Benteen! "I won't know what to say to them."

Til smiled at that. "I have a feeling it will be some time before they get to you. The folks back in Hennessy are probably scrambling, themselves, wondering what to say!"

Nico bumped a shoulder against Jem. This is fun!

Jem could only smile in return. Yes, it is!

Jem became aware of movement then, and looked up as Bzup arrived at the table. "Jem. Azim come here?"

Every jaw at the table dropped. "He wants to come here?" Jem asked in surprise.

Bzup released a pleasant Zzzzzz, that almost reminded Jem of laughter. "Need talk. Eazier Azim come here than all go one-zhip."

"How does he do that, without a communicator?" Til wondered aloud. "How do they talk like that?"

Nita smiled. "Why, the same way they reproduce, of course!"

Everyone laughed at that. Jem turned to Mikulsa. "Can he come here?"

The bearded man frowned in thought. "I see no reason why he can't. But this is Mister Kim's vessel. We need to ask him."

The pilot was enthusiastic. "I'd love to have him come. When?"

"Now," Bzup returned, with another buzz of humor.

Kim nodded. "Tell him to come." He dug out his pad, and tapped it. The nose of the Raptor seemed to turn transparent then, and they had an enhanced view of what was just outside. They were in time to see the lightshow that heralded the opening of the large doorway in the edge of the alien ship, and then a lone figure was making its way towards them, slightly bent forward against the wind. Kim touched his pad again, and the area outside was lit with a soft glow, enhancing the view immensely. It was Azim.

"Come on," Mister Kim said, heading towards the entry.

There was an air shield across the entryway just for situations like this. The system blew a brisk jet of warm air across the opening, through which it was very difficult for the colder outer air to enter the Raptor. More lights came on as the stairs descended, and soon Azim was making his way up to them. He passed through the warm air barrier, and Kim immediately closed the door behind him.

Bzup released a quick blast of sound, to which Azim responded with a like reply. Jem beckoned the alien away from the entry, towards the warmer kitchen. "Azim. Jem."

The alien responded. "Azzzzzzzzzzzim. Jem."

"Azim," Bzup said, "Bzup."

Jem noticed that Bzup used the shortened version of both their names. The new arrival looked back at Bzup a moment, and then his transducers all briefly blurred with motion. "Bzup. Azim."

Introductions were made all around again, but they went faster now with the shortened names. Mister Kim was the last to speak to Azim, and followed it with a smile of pleasure. "Welcome aboard my ship."

Azim looked around the interior of the Raptor, and seemed to find the spacious interior more than he had expected. "Hanzkim. Good!"

Jem smiled at the alien. "Azim want talk?"

"Yez, Jem." The alien settled himself on his pseudopods, and Jem had the distinct impression that Azim was relaxing and making himself comfortable. "Azim move one-zhip. Where?"

Jem frowned, not understanding. "Move one-ship?"

Bzup spoke then. "Bzup-kind be clozer to Jem-kind. Move one-zhip. Where?"

Mikulsa whistled in surprise. "Well, that seems clear enough. They want to move their vessel closer to us."

Mister Sharples laughed. "It is a bit of a trip up here from Hennessy!"

Mikusla pursed his lips at that. "Yes, it is. It would be a benefit to have them closer. But where?"

"New Australia is a big continent," Nico reminded.

Nita nodded. "It is. But it's also a dangerous one, away from the protective walls around our towns. We can't just have them land anywhere."

Mikulsa nodded. "Their ship is big. We don't have an unused open area inside the walls of any of our towns that's large enough to accept it."

Jem felt a thrill course through his body. "The plains outside Nocksic Bay are more than large enough. And they're safe! They have the best wall between them and the interior there is: the Barrier Range!"

"There's ustric that come down there, now and then," Nico said. "They're pretty big."

"And pretty slow," Jem countered. "I think Bzup's people would be very safe there."

"Man has a point," Til said, grinning. "I can't think of a safer place for them to land, myself."

"And Nocksic Bay is only about fifteen minutes from Hennessy by grav flyer," Mister Kim pointed out. "I think the people in Colonial Administration would find that a very good fit."

"We'd have to ask them, of course," Mikulsa said, but his smile said that he liked the idea, too.

"Of course!" Mister Sharples returned, laughing.

Jem and Nico exchanged grins. The alien ship, right there in Nocksic Bay! Jem found the very idea a thrill to consider. He turned to Bzup then. "You could meet my parents. And Old Kebin Styles!" Jem grinned at the idea of his godfather meeting aliens! He sighed. "My mom will love you, I know."

Bzup released a pleasant Zzzzzzz.

Mister Kim nodded. "Let me get a channel open to Hennessy. Mister Mikulsa? Will you come with me?"

The two men moved toward the front of the Raptor.

Jem turned to Azim and smiled. "We'll find a place for one-ship. It's big!"

It took less than an hour for everyone to talk back and forth, before the invitation became official. Bzup's people were offered a landing location on the plains outside Nocksic Bay.

They were going.

* * * * * * *

The Raptor fit easily through the large door in the side of the alien ship, and they were surprised to find the entry tunnel had widened into a decent-sized chamber capable of storing the craft. The trip to Nocksic Bay would be short, they knew, even though it would take them longer to get there than it would have in the Raptor. This was not due to any lack of performance by the alien's technology, but rather due to the size of the ship. Shooting through the clouds in a kilometer-wide vessel at even a thousand klicks per hour would create quite a disturbance in the atmosphere. Azim felt it much better to take a more restrained approach to in inhabited region.

The chamber around the Raptor became like what the nose of that craft did in flight: apparently turned transparent. It was due to a similar technology, perhaps, a thin-film display applied to the inner walls, which then reproduced whatever the external video pick-ups observed. Most of the humans elected to sit in the comfort of the Raptor for the trip, but Jem and Nico had gone with Bzup back to the large chamber where the stars shone overhead, linked by the red, twisting turns of the their Righoff line representations. Bzup made one wall of the chamber into a huge display that showed the way ahead of the alien scout ship, but left the stars glowing above.

The three of them watched as the alien vessel lifted from the ice of Hakin Island, and seemed to shake off her layer of snow. The huge vessel turned, until the glow on the horizon that was Benteen's star was centered in the display, and then headed off in that direction. There was no feeling of movement, no tug of acceleration. It felt very familiar!

"We're going home," Nico said quietly, snuggling up against Jem. Jem had showed Bzup an image of the sofa the boys had in their cabin, and Bzup had had it reproduced for this trip back to New Australia. It wasn't identical, the one Bzup providing being all one piece; but it was soft and quite comfortable, and perfect for the journey they were now taking. Bzup stood beside Jem and watched with them as the vessel entered the clouds and started towards the glow in the distance. That glow would only brighten and move upwards in their view, as the polar region was left behind them.

Jem smiled, and leaned his head against Nico's. "I'm so glad I found you."

He could feel Nico nod in answer. "Me, too. I can't wait to see where it all goes now."

Jem nodded. "Uh huh." He turned the other way, reached out a hand, and gently laid his fingertips on Bzup's side. "Jem touch Bzup."

The alien turned his large eye their way, and reached out his own hand and laid it on Jem's wrist. "Bzup touch Jem."

More mysteries, Jem thought. More wonder.

Here now was the view of the world he had set out to find when he had first left home to go to the sea on Vespris. Only now he knew that not only was that world bigger than he had ever thought it could possibly be, but that the mysteries it held were far more unusual and interesting than any he had ever imagined. And, incredibly, those mysteries had sought him out even as he had gone looking for them, growing and filling with life even as he looked on. The mysteries he had only once imagined, he had discovered, were real.

And best of all, he had found someone who shared his love of mystery, who thought just like him, and who would go where he would go, and who would always be there. Someone special.

Or...two special someones, perhaps? Bzup had taken the chance of all chances in coming to them, in an effort to make the random encounter of their two species much more than a glancing blow in the dark of night. Bzup had seen greater things in the mystery of that encounter, and had pursued them to the very end.

"I'm kind of sorry, in a way," Nico said then, watching the view of the sky before them. "It was a wonderful adventure, but it's almost over. It's almost done."

Was it?

Jem considered that, found the very idea appalling. The adventure, over? No! It would never be over, as long as they continued to pursue it.

He sighed then. "Oh, that's not true at all. It's not done." He looked over at Bzup. "Bzup? Do you feel the adventure is over?"

The alien emitted a faint buzz, indicating he wasn't sure what Jem meant; but then seemed to note Jem's smile. He suddenly raised a hand, and waggled his three fingers in the air.

"See?" Jem said. "Bzup agrees with me. The adventure is not over."

When Nico laughed at that, Jem pulled him closer and hugged him. And then he pointed up at the small white dot above them, making its way towards Benteen through the dark interstellar night along the mysterious lines that bound the stars together.

"The adventure isn't over by any means." Jem said softly. "In fact...it's just beginning!"