Syn-En: Culture Clash (SciFi Adventure)

Chapter One

Admiral. The scream penetrated the smart fabric walls of the inflatable mess hall half a second before a red-haired woman stumbled through the double doors. Panting, she placed both hands on her knees before glancing at the nine members of the governing Ting seated behind the conference table. The sky… It’s on fire!

Many of the civies in the inflatable building leapt from their seats and ran for the doors.

Sighing, Admiral Beijing York pushed out of his chair at the conference table. Damn it. The foolish humans were bound to get hurt in the chaos and, as a synthetically-enhanced soldier, Bei needed to protect them, even from themselves. Of course, the other cyborgs under his control would help. The sky is not on fire.

A mob pressed against the doors, pushing their way outside. Panic had rendered the civies deaf. Sensors embedded under Bei’s NeoDynamic skin registered their rampaging fear. Hell, human and Syn-En lives had become a cycle of alarm and calm since they arrived in this twelve planet solar system just six weeks ago.

It’s the aliens! They’ve returned! Civilian shouts buffeted the tent. Footfalls pounded the ground. We have to escape before the bombs hit.

Bei glanced at the Ting members, noted the agitation on the five civilian representatives’ faces and the bland expression on his three Syn-En officers. A few civies noticed that the Ting had not moved and slowly retook their seats.

Bei’s human wife, Nell Stafford had her jaw thrust forward, and her blue eyes narrowed. At over one-hundred-sixty-three years old, she’d survived the Great Plague of 2010, kidnapping by aliens and more than a century of sleep. Human panic must seem mundane. She pushed aside her plate and swiveled in her chair to face him. You know what’s going on, don’t you?

The other civilian Ting members leaned forward and turned to stare at them.

Yes. Using the cerebral interface implanted at the base of his skull, Bei merged part of his consciousness with the Combat Information Center causing a gray pallor to tint the pink room. Data packets flew around cyberspace. He focused on three streams of information, opening the bytes as they streamed by.

Just as he ordered, a trio of Starflight shuttles towed an alien freighter toward their camp. A grainy image of the alien ship suspended by cables as well as overlapping gravimetric holding fields, opened for his mind’s eye. He caught another telemetry transmission. The ships were on course and descending at a controlled burn. ETA in five minutes.

The sky was most definitely not on fire.

Nell blew her bangs out of her eyes and clutched his forearm. The sensors in his skin registered the tautness of her muscles and her elevated heart rate. What is going on, Bei?

We are bringing down the first of the permanent housing units. An alarm flare bathed the CIC in red. Bei opened the emergency communication. Twelve children had been knocked down by fleeing civilians and sustained minor injuries. Damn. How could any human think they’d survive on their own when civies panicked so easily? Using the Wireless Array, he issued orders for his ground troops. Enforce crowd control. Now. Orderly egress to the meadow.

Silhouettes of his men appeared at even intervals against the smart fabric. Bei’s auditory enhancements picked up the directions from his men and a few startled yelps of the civilians. Along the rectangular conference table, the civilian Ting members fidgeted in their chairs.

Housing units?

Bei winced as Nell’s question rang inside his skull. He quickly desensitized his hearing and focused on his wife. Her brow furrowed, and he detected the twitch of her left eye. Something had irritated her.

You mean to tell me, you’re bringing a Skaterian ship to the planet, she glanced up at the ceiling, baring the long column of her throat and the rapidly beating pulse, to be repurposed as apartments?

Bei nodded. That was what he’d said. "On Tier Ten. I ordered Captain Petersburg to select one of the freighters with the least damage. The Starflights are bringing her down. Bei pointed to the bright spot on the ribbed tension membrane ceiling. She’s coming in hot, burning atmosphere and superheating her hull. I think that is the fire the civilians fear."

With a thought, Bei shunted the data packet with the freighter’s schematics to the projector in front of the Ting’s conference table. A holovid of the ship spun on its stern. The rotating image highlighted the dark blast holes in the octagonal body as well as the pyramidal-shaped bow. Eying the projection, the Ting’s Housing Representative rubbed his hands together and leaned closer to the Fleet’s Chief Medical Officer sitting on his right.

Nell glared at the glow penetrating the Smart Fabric. If I remember correctly, those freighters were quite big. Will one fit on the tier?

While we were checking on the missing civilians, my men widened Tier Ten to fifty meters and carved out enough rock to support the base. He accessed the reports from his crew high on the mountain. The foundation had been excavated and leveled. Battens had been driven deep into the bedrock. Once attached to the guy lines, they would steady the ninety-story tall freighter until it could be permanently anchored. Chatter increased in the WA as thirty Syn-En cordoned off the area. More men deployed to Tiers Nine and Eight, preventing a few civilians from gathering their belongings from the barracks higher up the hill.

Nell poked his shoulder with her index finger. And you didn’t think to tell anyone?

The Syn-En knew. Bei refocused on his wife. She had suggested the very thing just moments ago.

Yeah, well what about everyone else? She slapped his chest.

Bei clasped her hands to stop her from hurting herself. Streaming the incoming reports from his men, he realized the civilians had just noticed the roar of the ships. Most still followed his men’s orders, but a few on level five refused to move and urged other civilians to ignore the Syn-Ens’ directives. Send me the civie’s IDs.

The names flashed back. One stood out. Orson Bryant. Forty-nine. Conman. Gigolo. Politician. Like most civilians, he’d volunteered to serve as Syn-En support to avoid jail time. Bei gritted his teeth. The Nature’s Harmony member was inciting insubordination and fear.

Beijing? Hello? Nell snapped her fingers in front of his face. Can you pull yourself out of cyberspace long enough to talk to me?

The Ting members, Syn-En and civilian alike, chuckled.

Glaring at his best friend and Chief of Security, Bei backed his consciousness out of the CIC. Laugh again Chief and you’ll be patrolling the kitchen. His men had the situation under control. An echo in his mind told him Nell’s cerebral interface was struggling to control her rampaging emotions.

I know you are used to being in charge, but there’s a Ting now. A government you should have informed to prevent this panic. Rising from her seat, she stomped toward the exit.

Bei’s long strides quickly closed the distance, and he fell into step beside her. The Syn-En are containing it.

With a huff, she stopped and poked his chest with her finger. Again. They wouldn’t have to contain it if you’d just told everyone.

Everyone meaning her and the Ting. Damn, but how was a soldier to perform his job with so many masters? And really it wasn’t as if the civies were equipped to help. The freighter should solve the housing shortage. You, yourself suggested it just moments ago.

She silenced him with another poke. Honestly, Bei, you need to work on your communication skills.

Bei was tempted to run a diagnostic on his com programs. I made a general announcement. As you can see, none of the Syn-En panicked.

Duh! She huffed. You made an announcement in the WA. Civilians are not wired for sound.

Bei blinked. She was angry on behalf of the civilians? Had he missed part of the conversation? When had she gone from lecturing him about how bad they were to defending them? He was tempted to replay his memory files but knew they wouldn’t help. Her logic was marvelously convoluted.

You have to find a way to keep them in the loop. Use the Twilight Bark, teach your men how to play telephone. I don’t know. Heck, just send your general announcements to all the holovids in the community buildings and the message will get across. But pull a stunt like this and mistrust will set in. If that happens, Orson Bryant will have a lot more followers. She crossed her arms and glared at him. Is that what you want?

An ache built at the front of Bei’s skull. Things were so much easier in space, before all these damn rules and rights. Hell, even the twenty thousand Syn-En regulations seemed simple and easy compared to this. He accessed the optical implants of the leader of security team stationed on Tier Five, viewing the scene through his eyes.

Between two pink buildings on Tier Five, Orson Bryant stood on an empty metal rations crate and shouted to be heard above the roar of the incoming ships.

A few green-clad civilians listened to his prognosticating, but most ducked into the inflatable barracks only to emerge a short time later carrying their belongings, no doubt anticipating the camp’s relocation. Lieutenant, spread the word about the incoming ship, then evacuate that Tier!

Aye, Admiral.

Bei disconnected from the soldier as the Nature’s Harmony zealot began his diatribe on the Syn-En. Bryant stated his reasons for settlement—

On his mistrust of technology. Turning on her heel, Nell stormed between the tables and shoved open the double doors. And now look what’s happened.

Outside, a few civies stared up at the waves of clouds rippling across the blue sky and the yellow patch glowing in the center. A fleeing man tripped, and one of Bei’s men caught him before he tumbled over the edge of the tier and plummeted four meters to the meadow floor. A couple dashed in front of Bei. The woman stumbled, and the bundle in her arms fell to the ground. Clothes and a pillow slid across the granite.

The man skidded to a stop and reached for her arm. We have to report to our mustering station and prepare to follow the Syn-En to safety.

With his help, the woman scrambled to her feet, snatching up her meager belongings as she went. Her wide eyes swept over the edge of this level to the grass below. Katie. We must find Katie. She was playing and….

We’ll find her. The man dragged the woman toward the stairs leading down into the meadow.

Bei picked up a doll made of knotted rags with crudely stitched features. This new world was so different yet familiar. For a moment, he felt out of place and missed his orderly Syn-En life. Yet hadn’t he worked hard for this chance? Hadn’t many of his men died on their way to create this new world? New. He’d have to adapt and adjust. Communications would be a good place to start. Bei set his hand on Nell’s waist. You wish me to tell the civilians everything?

She rolled her eyes. Just the major things, you know, like you’re bringing in an alien freighter to make our lives easier.

Another group of civilians hustled by. Bei scanned the meadow. Civies queued up by their appointed stations. Some fanned their faces while others waved to the new people filing into the meadow. Barrack liaisons counted and recounted their charges before shouting for missing personnel.

Nell nudged Bei. Now would be a good time to make the announcement.

Ten minutes ago might have been better. Still the entire camp had almost finished mustering for evacuation. If they ever did come under attack, the civies’ quick response might save their lives. Using the WA, he patched into the com links embedded in the collar of every Syn-En uniform.

Citizens of Terra Dos, this is Admiral Beijing York. His voice swelled around him.

Those he could see on Tier One and in the meadow stopped and glanced about as if searching for him. A few of his men pointed to him and faces turned in his direction.

Nell stood on her toes and whispered in his ear. Make sure you apologize for not telling them about the ship.

Bei jerked away from her. She wanted him to apologize for doing his job?

She kissed him quickly on the cheek and wiped away the perspiration trickling down her cheek. It will make you seem more human.

Building rapport. He understood the tactic. I apologize for not informing you earlier about the ship and for causing alarm. I wish to assure you that neither the stratosphere, nor any part of Terra Dos’s atmosphere is on fire. Nor are we under attack.

The smattering of civies on the stairs worked their way to his level and inched closer to the Ting’s meeting hall. Nell linked her arm through his.

Bei made eye contact with many of the civilians. As you are aware, we have a housing shortage, and the dampness has caused some illness to those less hearty.

Nell nodded. Let them know it was my idea.

More civilians joined the audience in front of him. Their attention bounced from Nell to him and back again.

Bei wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He knew the civilians didn’t exactly trust the Syn-En, and that his wife tipped the balance in his favor, made this new alliance work. Nell suggested we repurpose the downed alien craft as quarters. We will be setting the first of the freighters on Tier Ten.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at them. Now tell them you need their help making it livable.

A few of the male civilians around him chuckled while the women nearby nodded and grinned. Some exchanged glances.

Bei felt his face heat. Were they enjoying watching a biologic order around a Syn-En or was it as simple as these odd dynamics between human males and females? Either way his sensors picked up no animosity, only support and interest. We will need your help in dividing the freighter into habitation modules.

Homes. Nell glanced up at him.

Bei shrugged. That was what he’d said. In addition, we will need help constructing permanent structures for schools and public forums from the quarried bricks.

She squeezed his waist. What about space? Tell them they are welcomed there as well.

Bei increased the com’s volume as the rolling thunder of the descending ships shook the mountain and a flock of chickcharney squawked by. With a thought, he reduced his auditory sensitivity to mute the roar but still allow him to pick up the civilians’ comments. You are all valuable members of the Fleet. If any of you choose to resume your duties in space, we can add you to the next rotation.

A few nearby civilians raised their hands.

Bei scanned their Ident chips and added them to the roster. Anyone else?

The rest shook their heads.

Nell covered one ear with her hand before standing on tiptoes and shouting in his ear. Can I speak to them as well?

Bei winced. His mate had a point about keeping her informed. Yes.

Clutching the side of his uniform, she pulled herself up his frame and yelled into the com link on his collar. Hi everyone.

The Syn-En stationed around him winced.

Security Chief Rome shot lightning bolts through the WA. Doesn’t your woman have a volume button, Admiral?

Inside the CIC, Bei adjusted the maximum decibel level allowed for civilian’s voices then spoke above the noise in Nell’s ear. You needn’t get so close to address the others.

She nodded, removed the silver medallion from his collar and held it two inches from her mouth. The Ting will be taking suggestions for ways to improve our new society. We already have plans to weave cotton and wool from native species. But we’d appreciate you recording on an available e-tablet any skill or handicraft that you can contribute.

Faces turned away from them to stare at the sky. Almost all the civilians had their ears covered. Many of the younger children had started to cry. The white clouds caused by the Starflights’ superheated plasma vents hid the peaks of the tallest mountains.

CMO Doc Cabo’s voice streamed through the WA. Admiral, the decibel level is rising too high. The Syn-En implants are compensating, but if we don’t distribute ear protection soon, some of the civilians are going to bust an eardrum or two.

Understood. Bei checked the CIC archives and found that earplugs were standard issue for all Syn-En kits. An emergency supply had been also brought down from the fleet. He sent the location to his Security Chief. Rome, find the crate.

Aye, Admiral.

Men, begin distribution and notify Chief Rome of anyone not protected. Bei dug into the pants pockets along his thighs. He found small round plugs at the bottom and rolled them between his finger and thumb before brushing aside Nell’s hands and slipping them inside her ears. The orange foam expanded filling the ear cavity.

Oh! She jumped at the contact, then smiled. Hey, I can hear people speaking.

The Syn-En used these before the cerebral interface was perfected. Bei handed off his second pair of plugs to the closest civilian.

The woman looked at them with a frown. Pain flared in her face, deepening the lines around her eyes and lips.

Bei’s sensors registered the increased volume. He pointed to her ears then to the plugs.

She quickly tucked them inside. Thank you, Admiral sir.

Bei nodded, but switched his attention to CIC.

Doc had used his medical authorization to activate the Hive-mind and was simultaneously checking the status of all the civies through a web of Syn-En interfaces. Everyone has received ear protection. But I have twenty-nine ear bleeds among the older civilians.

Copy that. Let me know if any turn critical. Such fragile beings, so unsuited to settling an alien world. Yet they were Bei’s responsibility. They had been caught up in Earth’s treachery and had been forced to ally themselves with the Syn-En.

Will do, Bei. Doc switched off the Hive-mind to transmit his orders through the WA.

Sir. Admiral. The woman on his left spoke softly.

Bei glanced down at her, scanning her ident chip by habit. Elizabeth Windsor. Tier Six, S2 Barrack liaison. A civilian from the European Consortium stripped of her rights when a product she invented caused lethal side effects. Bei noted that the company’s CEOs had blamed their scientific staff for the failing and avoided any legal punishment. Yes, Citizen Windsor?

We, she pointed to the group around her, we think the Syn-En should have the new quarters. They’ve been sleeping outside for the last four weeks, and it’s not right.

Bei scanned the handful of nodding men and women staring at him. All had served aboard the fleet, not dirtside like other civilian support. My men are used to it and are better adapted to temperature variations.

Elizabeth shook her head, an action mirrored by the civilians around her. But we’re starting as equals here, so they should get first dibs on the new quarters.

Equals in rights but not in physiology, Bei wanted to point out but the look in Nell’s eye stopped him. The children are more vulnerable and need a climate controlled environment to remain healthy.

Please. Nell snorted waving her hand in front of her face. Just because we’re flesh and bone doesn’t make us weak. Humanity survived hundreds of thousands of years before implants or air conditioning were created.

Elizabeth nodded. And those tents are better than what most of us grew up in or owned during our time as citizens.

Citizen mortality rates among the middle and lower classes are the highest on Earth. Bei folded his arms across his chest. Despite their united front, he would not waver in what he knew to be true. Biology was weak. The Syn-Ens have only lost a handful of new inductees in the last forty years.

They’ve also had consistent nutrition, medical care and education. Elizabeth fiddled with the medical insignia on her lapel. It’s what we want for our children, and why we volunteered to join the Syn-En on this new world.

Bei smiled. The civilian support crews had been forced on this mission to settle Terra Dos because he’d volunteered the Syn-En. A sultry mist thickened the air as the Starflights’ cargo radiated heat into the valley.

That’s right, her supporters echoed.

A man separated from the crowd and stepped to Elizabeth’s side. When he wiped at the sweat beading his forehead, his ident chip fed Bei his particulars. Nelson Windsor, who had confessed to an unsolved bank robbery to join Elizabeth in the Corps. They had married before leaving Earth. That freighter looks plenty big enough to house the sickest of the children and many of the Syn-En.

The ship measures three hundred and thirty-five meters high, forty-three meters across the deep and stands sixty-seven meters wide. We should have enough housing for several hundred family units. Bei glanced up at the foaming clouds. His optical sensors distinguished the octagonal shape of the one hundred thousand metric ton cargo ship. Despite the magnetic shielding, its hull glowed yellow from the heat of punching into the atmosphere. The thick tow lines strained to control its descent. The older civilians who are ill must be placed as well.

That ship was turning into trouble and it hadn’t even landed.

Nell brushed Elizabeth’s shoulder. Of course, those at risk get first priority, but then it should be those without homes.

Bei contained his irritation at her siding with the civilians. He shouldn’t be surprised. Despite her disparaging remarks about people in general, Nell was always rambling about human achievement before synthetic enhancements. The Syn-En will move into the empty tents until there are enough repurposed freighters to house everyone.

Elizabeth and her husband exchanged glances. Both shook their heads at the same time and opened their mouths as if to argue.

Nell crossed her arms and glared at Bei. You’ll just keep putting it off. There will be a lottery for the empty rooms. Everyone will be entered, including the Syn-En.

Elizabeth and her group nodded approval.

Agreed. Bei prioritized the order among his men. The least modified of the Syn-En will be bivouacked first, then the oldest.

Nell laced her arm though his and tugged him away from the crowd. Fabric snapped in the gusts kicked up by the thermal currents. The WA crackled with chatter as the Starflights began their final approach.

Chief Rome’s blond avatar appeared in the CIC. Tier Ten is clear. Starflights, you have a go for landing.

Bei scanned the lines of civilian and Syn-Ens snaking down the tiers to escape the heat. You don’t want to watch?

Not really. Nell led him through the clusters of stationary observers. Besides I’ll see it another time, and you can monitor through the WA.

They walked to the edge of the tier. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. I love you, you know.

Bei clasped her to him, thigh to thigh, hip to hip. His body’s rhythms synched with hers. He cherished these moments of just being with her, of being something more than himself. He stared at the natural slope of the mountain and the shrubs clinging to the pink rock. Ten-legged ants scurried over the ground, harvesting the fallen, brown leaves. A pink adhene stopped to pick up a curled bean pod. The ferret-like creature quickly cleaned the beans from inside the brittle husk then stuffed them into its furry jowls. After combing through the lavender feathers on its head, it scampered across the rock toward another pod.

When her hand stroked down Bei’s chest, his body temperature rose and desire pushed aside the contentment. His fingers slipped under the hem of her tunic and explored the soft skin at her waist. What do you wish to say to me that requires privacy?

What makes you think I want to talk?She toyed with the black hair above the sensitive fake skin covering his cerebral interface

The static electricity generated by her touch sent desire crackling through his circuits.

I have memorized every pleasure response your body has made from the hitch in your breath to the tempo of your heart. Your current state could indicate foreplay or strong belief in a proposal. Could he persuade her to the former? He caressed her cheek and watched her pupils dilate. While he tasted the delicate skin of her neck, he brought up a terrain scan to find the perfect place for their tryst. There. A small clump of bushes fifty meters away.

Nell’s breath hitched as he sucked the skin above her jugular and her desire perfumed the air. Thank you for listening to me about the communications. I know you’re not used to taking orders and all.

Bei swept her into his arms. She weighed so little. He stepped with assurance over the uneven terrain. The need heating his body propelled him faster. I don’t know. I find some of your orders quite pleasurable.

Hmmm. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she nipped his ear.

The ship set down on the Tier Ten, shaking the mountain and sending rocks trickling down the slope. Bei’s footing slipped and a moist fog enclosed them. Why the hell was it taking so long to travel fifty meters?

Nell lowered her hand to his chest and tweaked his nipple.

By some miracle his cerebral interface kept his lungs working. He veered toward a clump of three bushes and set his wife on her feet. Between the fog and the foliage they should have enough privacy. At least for a time. Bei snapped his connection to the WA.

She jerked his shirt off and flattened herself against his bare chest. Moist kisses traced his jaw. Do you still think I want to talk?

No. He tugged her tunic over her head. His hands trembled as they reached for her bare breasts. He loved her skin, the softness, warmth and heat of it, but mostly, the response of her nipples. And the taste…

Something niggled at Bei’s implant and pain flared across his skull.

Nell reared back, her hands clutched his head, as if fearing to break contact. Bei what is it?

I’m getting a distress call. The message was garbled almost unintelligible. He ran it through the CIC’s processors, cleaning it up.

Who’s in trouble?

Fear crystallized in Bei’s blood. He wrapped his arms around Nell and held her close. He didn’t want to tell her, but she needed to know. We are. The Skaterians sent the distress call.

Citizens have the right to health care.

Article XI, BoRaR

Terra Dos Articles of Government

Chapter Two

I’m beginning to hate those feather-headed cricket people. Cradling her bare breasts in one arm, Nell plucked her tunic off the bush on her right and slipped the green fabric over her head. A chill burrowed into her bones despite the sultry air. What could the Skaterian message say? Good God, what if they turned her into a mindless automaton again? They’d already kidnapped her once, placed her in stasis and shot her through space. Only by God’s grace and her husband’s preprogrammed stubbornness had she ended up with Bei and not become the mother to a human-alien race.

Once the shirt draped over her chest, she punched her fists through the sleeves and steadied her trembling hands by