Biosymbionce 2 XenDar

Biosymbionce 2

XenDar

By Joseph Philbrook

Copyright 2020 Joseph A Philbrook III

Smashwords Edition

Revision 6

Smashwords Edition License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. All characters are fictional. Any resemblance of any of the characters to actual people, living or dead, is purely an unintended coincidence.

The following contains mature subject mater.

It's content has not been censored. And may not be suitable for all readers.

The story is about a complex future. Where expensive highly technical solutions exist for nearly all diseases, including sexually transmitted ones. A future where some biological solutions have also been discovered. In both cases, the lack of medical consequences for promiscuous behavior, can eventually lead to a change in what is perceived as moral behavior.

The bawdry, often explicit, occasionally humorous and sometimes even erotic concepts found in this story are not the point of the story. But they are part of it.

To those offended by such content. You are hereby warned. It's in there!

Table of Contents

The following contains mature subject mater.

Friends

Chapter 1 : An Unexpected Rendezvous

Chapter 2 : Destination XenDar

Chapter 3 : The Forest

Chapter 4 : Chance Encounters

Chapter 5 : Run Like The Wind

Chapter 6 : New Discoveries

Chapter 7 : Twin Troubles

Chapter 8 : Anguish

Chapter 9 : Cultivation

Chapter 10 : Taking The Long Way Home

Chapter 11 : Panic And Remorse

Chapter 12 : Another Beginning

Chapter 13 : Collaboration

Chapter 14 : Retrofit

Chapter 15 : Departure

Chapter 16 : Homecoming

Chapter 17 : Because I Must

Appendixes

About The Author

Galactic Standard Units of Measure

Authors notes

About The Names In This Book

Friends

Strong of limb, kind of heart, fiercely loyal to your friends. For the least of them you would risk your all. No stranger you to strife or woe. Though for the making of friends you have a knack.

Your friends mean more than life itself. Yet from us you seek to hide the pain, that burns inside your heart. But we have seen your deepest wounds, the ones that never seem to heal.

Once your heart was filled with a love so rare. When from you it was cruelly torn, it left a hole, a cold dark void, an ice cold fire. The laughter of friends is a soothing salve. Yet that sting you feel, even when love you share.

When those friends come under threat, anger then does fill your heart. Woe to those who would them attack. You'll face these foes with a fury that burns both cold and hot.

You fill your home with those you love. Even so you can't stay put. Because a wanderlust ever tugs your heart. Though travel as you will, both near or far. Wherever you go, your friends will have your back.

Chapter 1 : An Unexpected Rendezvous

Nightshade was happy that they were on their way to the strange world of giant trees. It had so excited the daggerthorn, when they'd shared Tom's dreams of the place. She thought of the last time the daggerthorn had shared Tom's dream with her. It was, she thought, a beautiful place. Though there were parts of the dream that made it clear that it's beauty was flawed. Yet the winds must be blowing in XenDar's favor. Because it was the kind of flaw the daggerthorn were good at solving.

She sat in the copilot's seat watching Tom fly the shuttle. She didn't even mind that he had decided to do that himself. Instead of letting her use her tutorial interface to jack in to the automatic pilot. She didn't mind because that would make it more likely that he would let her take the null-Diver out of it's immersive stellar orbit. And if she had her way, she would also get to make the first deep subspatial jump towards XenDar.

Tom glanced at his beautiful black haired copilot. He loved the way her blue eyes seemed to sparkle when she was happy. Even if it did usually mean she was up to something. He figured she was probably thinking about talking him into letting her fly the null-Diver out of the sun's photosphere.

He decided to peek at her system files with the immersive crystalline interface. That Jake had built into his bones when he'd infused the cells of his dying body with daggerthorn DNA. The faint blue tint normally present in the ‘whites’ of Tom's eyes became a little more intense. As the microscopic remains of the exotic blue crystal that had exploded in his face, resonated with the crystal matrix woven into his bones, as he used the matrix to interface with the shuttle's crystal core computer system.

Tom had been a skilled hacker even before he could directly interface with any crystal based computer system. But now it was child's play for him to access Nightshade's ‘tutorial’ interface. As he had suspected, she had already done the math for the complex sequence of maneuvers necessary to safely pilot the null-Diver out of the local sun's photosphere, without breaking the stealth mode protocols. Nightshade had also computed a valid stealth mode flight path to achieve sufficient escape velocity from the sun's gravity well, to safely open a subspatial rift. Tom wasn't really surprised to see that she had precalculated the maneuvers necessary to approach the rift at the ideal angle to begin an inverse fringe effect flight as well.

Tom smiled to himself. She had so quickly learned the value of putting some distance between them and Gudjeon's star system. Rather than risk calling attention to it by initializing the deep subspatial jump in it's vicinity. He was still amazed at how rapidly Nightshade had transformed from her former life as a woodland wench, turned warrior adept. Into a command grade spaceship pilot. She was he thought, a little too dependent on her modified tutorial interface. But there weren't many pilots who were able to truly fly a ship manually. There were just too many variables. So most of the good ones, learned how to interactively use the autopilot instead. He wondered if Nightshade would try to reason with him, like the adept she was. Of if she would simply fall back on her other skill set, and try to seduce him into giving her permission to make the fringe flight.

Nightshade looked again at Tom's face. He was obviously enjoying the way their shuttle responded to his touch on the manual controls. ‘Good!’ she thought. If he enjoyed it enough, she might even convince him to let her make both jumps.

She never tired of watching her blond headed thorn wizard. Especially when he seemed happy. It didn't matter how much she learned about the technology, that she had once thought of as magic. He was her pledged thorn wizard. And ever since the day the presiding sister adept had convinced him, to preside over Nightshade's acceptance of the rank of adept among the desert peoples of Gudjeon. It had been her sworn duty to protect him. Even from himself, which wasn't easy. So she had followed him to other worlds. And in the process, she had learned more than a little of the true nature of the universe. But the more she learned the more she found herself relying on her training as an adept.

Nightshade's musings came to an abrupt halt when she noticed Tom's expression change and the ‘whites’ of his eyes become a vivid shade of blue. She was even more concerned when he disengaged the safety locks on the shuttle's weapon systems. Then just as quickly, most of the tension left his face. Though she noticed that the blue in his eyes remained intensely vivid and he didn't reset the safeties.

Tom glanced briefly towards the copilot's seat. He wasn't surprised to see that Nightshade looked concerned. She wouldn't have missed his initial reaction to the data his microcrystalline matrix had received from the null-Diver's AI.

I think we're OK, he explained. "It's just that the null-Diver detected the arrival of a guild long range shuttle. It dropped in to normal space on the other side of Gudjeon. So even guild technology will be hard pressed to spot our stealth launch until we clear the planet.

More importantly though Nightshade, the shuttle has been saturating the sun's entire photosphere with a message for us. I don't know what the slag the Admiral's doing here. But he's asking for a ‘face to face’ with us...

I'd like you to open a secure com-link, the moment we achieve escape velocity. Offer to dock with his shuttle on our way to the null-Diver."

Nightshade smiled as she connected her personal tutorial interface to the shuttle's communications computer.

"Hello Admiral, Nightshade transmitted. Tom suggested that we rendezvous with you, on our way to the null-Diver. I'll even keep my ship suit as transparent as you like."

"Thank you for the offer Nightshade, the Admiral's image screeched. Unfortunately, I bear tidings that are not compatible with such pleasures. Tell Tom I also bear a message from the Guild council.

I await your arrival on board my shuttle. End transmission."

Tom didn't bother with the navigation computer as he matched velocity with the Admiral's shuttle. He hardly bothered with the docking thrusters either. He had timed the shutdown of the main thrusters perfectly. The shuttles were perfectly aligned when the docking clamps engaged. Even so, Nightshade checked the air seal before opening the outer airlock door. Tom smiled his approval as they stepped into the Admiral's airlock.

There could be no doubt that this was the Admiral's personal starshuttle. As they stepped out of the airlock, Nightshade noticed that it's walls were decorated with hundreds of antique weapons. Or rather with very functional replicas, constructed out of more durable materials. Like the stainless steel recurved bow he had demonstrated considerable skill with, the first time they met. Her warm recollection of the occasion quickly dissipated, when she saw the expression on the Admiral's face.

Welcome aboard, he screeched at them. "I'm afraid I have some disturbing news for you Tom. Which I'm here to inform you of, with the blessing of the council. But I'm under express orders to give you a message from them first.

Please sit, both of you. I've a pot of freshly brewed asulrod tea to share with you while we talk." As he spoke, the Admiral was pleased to note that Nightshade had listened and her ship suit's opacity was set to merely slightly translucent.

For her part, Nightshade considered the heavily tattooed martial arts master, who's skin was such a dark shade of blue as to be nearly absolutely black and who had a deceptively lightweight frame, to be somebody she respected and genuinely liked.

The tea had been brewed with freshly harvested blue asulrod. It had been a while since either of them had any of it, that hadn't been laced with either daggerthorn nectar or elixir. But they found it delicious this way too. Both Tom and Nightshade spent a moment savoring the aroma and the flavor of the high quality asulrod.

So what does the council want me to know badly enough to send you ‘here’ Admiral? Tom asked after his second swig of tea.

The message I bear from them is threefold Tom, the Admiral continued screeching. "First I'm to tell you that they are aware of the disturbing information, that I thought you should be told of. Second I'm instructed to tell you that they found the information sufficiently disturbing, that they have now decided to implement your suggestion. They wanted you to know that they will be instituting all three parts of your suggestion.

They have already selected a team of three of those remaining questors, who's nanosymbionts are bound to the original nanosymbiotic pact. Who are now working on developing a new strain of the unbonded nanosymbiotic seed nanites as we speak. They have already made the modifications you suggested to the current official questor's oath. They have also issued an edict requiring all existing questors, who are operating under the flawed rules of nanosymbiotic conduct, to bind themselves to the new oath with life pledges. Their edict requires all of that to be fully implemented within a single GS year. But the council themselves, have already pledged themselves to the new oath."

The Admiral paused for a moment as he took another sip of his tea.

The third part of their message is to express their sorrow for the loss you suffered at the hand's of the renegade questor known as ‘the bounty killer’, the Admiral resumed screeching. They said they now consider it most appropriate, that it was you who terminated him.

Information that could inspire the council to not only take my advice but to make a point of telling me so, must be disturbing indeed, Tom said. But more than that, I note that your voice is a little less violent than usual Admiral. That tells me that you yourself, find this information extremely disturbing.

You do know that as a nanosymbiont, the Admiral screeched back. I could project such distress, whether or not I actually felt it.

I know you ‘could’ Admiral, Tom acknowledged. But I'm also sure that you simply ‘wouldn't’. You value your personal honor too highly, to so deceive a friend.

Correct, the Admiral resumed. I also highly value the particular friendship you mention. I can only hope that it will survive, what I have to tell you. The Admiral paused long enough to gulp down the last of his cup of tea.

It took me several overcycles to track down the bounty killer's fleet vessel, the Admiral began to explain with closed eyelids in the softest screech Tom had ever heard him use. "The crew of the Juggernaut were unaware that their questor was dead. So they were still observing the extreme stealth protocols he'd ordered.

The bounty killer had actually been committing atrocities for a long time. But he was very good at making sure there was no incriminating evidence. I did not like him but I had no proof of his crimes."

The Admiral paused and looked directly into Tom's eyes.

But that is no excuse, he continued screeching. For my having failed to make him the focus of a personal investigation. If I had dug deep enough I might have uncovered his crimes before he ever set foot on Quavin. The Admiral paused again for a moment before continuing.

I pride myself on my ability to determine peoples character, just by observing them for a few subcyclets. If I had only listened to my instincts about him, instead of believing that the rules of nanosymbiotic conduct, embedded in his nanites would be enough... He paused again.

Hidden deep in the superstructure of the Juggernaut, he continued. I found a trophy room, filled with various body parts, cut from several thousand people. I ordered a report based on the DNA of his victims. We were able to identify less than half of them. But one of those we did identify was a young woman named Rosabel Coggerson.

Tom jumped up out of his chair onto the table. As he did so the daggerthorn within him transformed both his fingernails and his toenails into razor sharp claws. He was visibly shaking with barely contained rage.

You should know Tom, the Admiral continued screeching. That I've locked down my nanosymbiont, so that it won't be able to intervene. I've also left instructions with the guild fleet and extracted promises from the guild council. That there will be no retribution of any kind from the Guild. For anything you should choose to do to me.

You would just sit there, Tom demanded. And let me tear you to shreds?

Yes, the Admiral resumed screeching. What happened to your wife and unborn child was my fault. So my sense of honor demands it of me.

Tom stood there trembling for nearly two subcyclets before he gained control of his rage.

No Admiral, he said tensely. It was the bounty killers fault. And he's already paid for it. Then the claws began to fall off and the biosymbiont's eyes rolled back, though his eyelids remained open. And he fell, unconscious, off the table.

The Admiral would have caught Tom before he hit the floor. But Nightshade was closer and could have been injured if she had collided with his nanosymbiotic body. So he let her catch him. That's when Tom's seizures began and Nightshade pulled a flask out of her boot.

If you would still be a friend to him or to me, she said. Then help me get this elixir into him.

At which point the Shuttle's computer initialized an emergency alert signal. And displayed an image of the null-Diver climbing out of it's immersive stellar orbit at full power. The computer warned that all of the null-Diver's weapon systems were fully energized. While it's own combat systems were locked offline. Then it advised them that it had detected the energy signature of a synthuel reactor initializing. The Admiral ignored his computer and helped Nightshade.

With the Admiral's help, less than half the precious liquid missed Tom's mouth. And even as Nightshade retrieved the flask she kept in her other boot the seizures stopped.

Don't waste it Nightshade, Tom said weakly. I'll be alright.

You will drink all of the second flask Tom, Nightshade said. Even if I have to get the Admiral to hold you down, while I pour it down your throat.

All right, my sweet adept, Tom capitulated. I'll drink it. Right after I tell the null-Diver's AI to stand down.

The ‘whites’ of his eyes, briefly turned a vivid shade of blue, before returning to their usual nearly white shade of light blue. Then the Admiral's shuttle's computer turned off the alarms as it detected the second shockwave like energy signature, of the null-Diver shutting down the synthuel reactor. And it's sensors indicated that the null-Diver's weapon systems were once again offline.

Tom took the flask from Nightshade's hand and virtually poured it down his throat before handing the empty flask back to her.

Satisfied? he asked.

No! she replied in utteronce. But it will do till we get onboard the null-Diver. Where I should still have a few gallons of elixir in stasis. Then switching back to interspeak, she continued. "It's a good thing you like the taste of elixir, cause your going to be drinking a lot of it Tom. As she said this she stroked his blond hair. She was sitting on the deck of the shuttle. Tom was laying on it, except for his head, which was cradled in her lap.

Tom stood up, pausing briefly in the process to kiss her.

Don't blame yourself Admiral, Tom said somewhat stiffly. "You were not then aware of the flaws the Professor inserted into his version of the rules of nanosymbiotic conduct. Which he embedded in the unbonded nanosymbiotic seed nanites. When he convinced the guild that it was safer than relying on the original nanosymbiotic pact, to guide the development of prospective questors. You were not to blame for what happened to Rosabel. As to our friendship, I still value it. And I see no reason for it to end.

Nightshade and I however, have places to go in the null-Diver. I'd invite you to join us but you would be obligated to tell the council where we went. And I'd like to avoid the complications of being someplace they wouldn't like.

So my friend, all I can do is to pledge that my reasons for going there are honorable."

Then I shall have trust in your honor, the Admiral replied. "I pledge not to try to track the null-Diver to it's destination.

By this time the Admiral had reactivated his nanosymbiont and relied on it to maintain the detached decorum that fleet protocol demanded of him.

Before you go, he screeched, "There are a few things the council bid me to only inform you of, if you decided to spare my life. First they wanted me to thank you on their behalf for not depriving them of my services. Then I'm to tell you of a few conditional council edicts that were activated by your decision. I am to explain that Mr Peterson and yourself have been the topic of much debate among them since your meeting with them. As have been the daggerthorn that you have unleashed upon the galaxy. They have spent much time analyzing your behavior patterns along with those of other people, such as Yolonda Rivermon, that have already been affected by close association with the daggerthorn. They calculated a high probability that you would gain sufficient control of your anger to spare my life. Which decision validates their opinion that the daggerthorn is in fact a ‘beneficial species’ suitable, at the discretion of planetary governments, for export to any human inhabited ecosystem.

The guild council has also decided to ratify over 90% of the articles of indentured sentience you convinced the Alliance to adopt on the daggerthorn's behalf. They stress however, that in the event that a planetary government elects to consider them a harmful species, their right to eradicate them from their ecosystem shall supersede any ‘right to life’ that would otherwise be owed any cluster of them that had reached sufficient complexity as to achieve a recognized state of sentience.

Contingent on your acceptance of that limitation to the rights of the daggerthorn, the guild council has elected to bestow upon you the honorary fleet title of rank ‘Civilian Commander’. Which title includes a significant level of real command authority over the vast majority of guild personnel. Which would enable you to more effectively intervene on the daggerthorn's behalf in the event that some of the daggerthorn should be mistreated."

That is a question I'll have to ask the daggerthorn, Tom replied. "But if it increases the chances of some of them being allowed to emigrate to some of the worlds they find interesting, then I expect they will agree. Especially if the guild will endorse the right of any such condemned sentient daggerthorn cluster to send a live seedpod, containing a racial memory of any new knowledge it has gained, back to the rest of it's kind.

But my willingness to accept even an honorary title of rank in the guild would depend greatly on what, if any, obligations such a rank implies."

I told them you would say something like that Tom, the Admiral screeched. "They pledged that the only such obligation they would impose is that you continue to deal with the guild and it's sworn representatives in the same honorable way you have so far always done. But you should be aware that your rank would instantly become null and void in the event that you should ever choose to become a pledged member of the fraternal order of the Free Spacer Alliance.

As to the daggerthorn's right to preserve it's racial memory, such a stipulation is within the scope of the authority the guild council gave me to negotiate with you. And as of now I will insist on that much even if you decline the honor.

I'd like to suggest that you provisionally accept your new rank until you can confer with the daggerthorn. You could then resign your position without prejudice should the daggerthorn decline to agree to our terms."

In that case I hereby provisionally accept, Tom agreed.

The Admiral treated Tom to the full ‘parade’ salute of a fleet officer and stood at attention while he replied.

As the provisional commander is no doubt aware, he screeched. "Less than 10% of our fleet personnel can reasonably be directly augmented by questors. So the vast majority face the same risk of stasis saturation, as do any passengers. Except that a fleet vessel is much more likely to require all hands on deck, in places not suitable for the forced migration of anyone who is suddenly unable to return to their stasis chamber. It is one of the hazards that fleet troupers must routinely endure. Accordingly, fleet stasis chambers are designed to minimize the risk of reaching stasis saturation. And our post stasis processing is usually able to detect the warning signs before the cumulative effect quite reaches the critical threshold values. This usually makes it possible for the afflicted to survive at least one more stasis field initialization. Which makes it possible to transport them to their chosen retirement destination.

Nonetheless, stasis saturation occasionally reaches critical levels before such warning signs can be detected. At one time the only hope such unfortunates had was limited to any suitable retirement habitats within the range of a fringe effect flight. When Jake Peterson introduced medium range subspatial jump ships they gained the option of arranging passage on an Alliance ship. Which passage the guild is happy to arrange for them. But that isn't always possible. I can tell you that keeping suddenly afflicted troupers company while they live out the rest of their lives in the subjective time of a long range star flight, which they can no longer escape, is not a pleasant experience.

The council hopes that you, as the owner of the new technologies in your Deep Jump Ships would be willing to license the inverse fringe flight portion of the technology to the guild, so that we can at least routinely carry medium range emergency shuttles on all our capital ships. And to collaborate with us on a project to find a way for such individuals to survive the compression phase of a long range subspatial jump."

The Admiral remained at attention as Tom replied.

Under what terms do you propose to license the inverse fringe technology? Tom queried. And how can I be certain that it won't be used to undermine the value I already licensed to the Alliance?

The guild proposes, the Admiral screeched. That you grant us a limited license to manufacture and deploy inverse fringe shuttles only for the express purposes of transporting guild personnel and property. With the only exception that such shuttles may also be used, at guild expense, for any mercy flight of anyone afflicted with stasis saturation, their property and any family members who elect to travel with them. It is our intention to offer such transportation, as a free lifetime benefit, to anyone who reached stasis saturation while onboard any guild starship. We will assume all production costs and any liability for such shuttles. For which license we will pay to Hillside Technologies the greater of either half the price for which they will offer to build similar shuttles for free spacers or twice our actual production costs. We will further pledge that in the event that we decommission any such shuttle we will assign, without charge, to Hillside all salvage rights to the decommissioned shuttle. We will agree to the same terms for the licensing, production and use of any new technology produced by the collaborative project we proposed. And that any such new technology may, at your discretion, be licensed to the Alliance under the same terms as the original Free Space Accord.

The council must want this badly to offer such favorable terms Admiral, Tom commented.

Then he used the microcrystalline matrix embedded in his bones to access his ship's AI computer. Which resulted in the ‘whites’ of Tom's eyes turning an intense shade of blue for nearly half a subcyclet before resuming their normal light blue tint.

The null-Diver's AI concurs with me, Tom said. That, with the provision that the cooperative project is to be based at some Hillside facility, the terms you describe are acceptable to me.

Agreed! the Admiral screeched.

Then he again saluted and just before breaking his formal stance of attention he resumed screeching. And that concludes our business commander.

Then the Admiral assumed a slightly more relaxed posture before offering a personal blessing.

Go in peace my friend, he screeched. And may our next meeting be less stressful.

In response to which Tom presented the Admiral with a nearly flawless salute. Then he grabbed the Admiral's hand in the traditional hand clasp of a Gudjeonite woodsman.

May the winds favor you Admiral, Tom said. And may the trees soothe your spirit.

It wasn't until the airlock closed behind his guests that the Admiral broke decorum and did something that he hadn't done in millions of years. He gave in to his tears. He cried for the pain and suffering, his failure had cost so many of the bounty killer's innocent victims. Tom might have forgiven him. But he doubted he'd ever forgive himself.

When their inner airlock door closed behind them, Tom touched Nightshade's arm. Then he looked deeply into her clear blue eyes.

I know you can sense the pain in my heart, he explained. "But I promise, I'll be alright. I just need to spend a little while alone with my memories of the life I should have had, with the first woman to win my heart. Under the circumstances, I'd like to ask if you'd mind jacking in to the autopilot, and get us aboard the null-Diver.

And then, would you mind if I shared my tears with the daggerthorn while you make the initial fringe flight away from Gudjeon? After which I think it might even be best if you were to make both jumps?"

No, I wouldn't mind, Nightshade replied. I think dreaming with the daggerthorn would do my thorn wizard some good. But if you'll listen to your wench adept, you'll ask them to custom blend some nectar for you. Of course, that will all happen after you drink another full flask of elixir. Right Tom?

All right Nightshade, Tom surrendered. I'll drink another flaskful if it will take some of the worry out of your eyes.

Nightshade jacked in to the auto pilot. It didn't take long to program the autopilot to fly the shuttle to the null-Diver. She was too good a pilot to let the autopilot run unmonitored. But once she engaged her program, protocol said she only needed to maintain a focus setting of 10%. She set her interface's focus to 25%. Which allowed her to divide the remaining 75% of her cognitive ability between thinking about the fact that Tom had once been married. Wondering what could possibly have happened to her that was so bad, that the Admiral would have been willing to die for it. Worrying about the emotional turmoil Tom had been under since the Admiral spoke the woman's name. And of course, keeping an eye on Tom.

She knew the parasites that had infested his brain when he'd been bitten by a cursedone were all dead. The Thornmaster had made very sure of that. But there would always be a risk of seizures. And the high mother had made her pledge to never let him face anger or sadness alone. But the same high mother had advised Tom to rely on the daggerthorn for support. And he wouldn't be alone, if he was communing with the null-Diver's daggerthorn cluster.

Nightshade also knew that the null-Diver had already covered most of the distance between it's former immersive orbit and the Admiral's shuttle. So she only had about 10 minutes to wait, till she could hand Tom another flask of elixir. ‘No,’ she thought. ‘Not minutes, they were headed for a world that used Galactic Standard units of measure, so she needed to start thinking with them. In about 4 cyclets, she would be on board the null-Diver, and be able to take a few flasks out of the stasis box that kept the elixir fresh.’

When the landing shuttle reached the null-Diver, protocol required she set her interface's focus to at least 50%, while the shuttle returned to it's parking cradle. Nightshade set it to 75%. Though at no point during the shuttle flight, did she devote less than 25% of her cognitive ability, to the task of worrying about her thorn wizard.

Nightshade checked that the doors to the shuttle bay had closed without error. Then she checked that the atmosphere within the shuttle bay was correct before she opened the shuttle's outer airlock. Tom seemed preoccupied, as he let her lead him through the inner airlock, into the null-Diver's primary habitation module. As soon as Tom stepped inside, a hologram of the Thornmaster appeared.

"Welcome aboard Tom, the hologram said. I presume you're on your way to XenDar and that Nightshade is with you. I've loaded some data about XenDar into the null-Diver's AI Tom. Along with Steve's mission report for his second visit to the place. It contains some things that both Nightshade and the daggerthorn should be aware of. So I'd recommend you be in a ‘shared waking dream’ with them when you access it.

I know that you know something about the Resonance Tom. But Nightshade should know that was once the guild's premier long range transport ship. It was owned and operated by one of the greatest questors the guild has ever had. He was called ‘the Captain’. The Resonance was a huge vessel of planetary proportions and it had a fanatically loyal crew of nearly two billion. The crew had adopted the name of Nearkin. And I was once an honorary member of the crew. The Captain had the amazing capacity to augment his entire crew.

But it happened that the genius who invented the networked control interface that he embedded into the nanites which made nanosymbionts possible. Wasn't an acceptable candidate to become a nanosymbiont himself. Which fact eventually twisted his mind. And the time came when he chose to start a campaign to take over the guild.

The energy field that protects Tom from unfriendly nanites, is based on the weapon the Professor created to murder all those nanosymbionts, who he couldn't control. The Captain was his first victim. I wasn't aboard the Resonance that day. Had I been I might have been able to keep the Nearkin from spending several thousand generations, in the subjective time of inverse temporal dilation, fanatically chanting their lament. As they unwaveringly sacrificed themselves and the ship their captain bequeathed to them. To destroy the Professor along with University, his artificial world-ship.

University was in a simulated orbit around XenDar, when the Nearkin rammed the Resonance into it. Enveloping it with the Resonance's inverse temporal dilation field long enough for the wreckage of both colossal vessels to be pushed far enough away by the Resonance's momentum. This saved XenDar from being consumed by the black hole that powered University.

Considering that the former guild council had been imprisoned by the Professor on University at the time. It's small wonder that the Guild is a bit testy about XenDar. As am I, I might add. You will need to use extreme stealth procedures, if you're to avoid interference from the guild.

Now I think I've kept you standing there long enough, everything else you need to know is in that data packet I gave your AI. The Thornmaster paused briefly before adding with a smile, May the winds of space favor you, and the null-Diver's daggerthorn soothe your spirit."

I think, Tom began. I need to ask several things of you Nightshade. I'm going to need you to use your skills as both a wench of the woodland warren. And as a warrior adept of the Gudjeon's desert people. Some of what I'm going to ask, you will not find easy Nightshade.

No! Nightshade said with a frightened quiver in her voice. Please don't ask that of me. My spirit could not again survive it.

I would not again ask my wench adept to judge whether her pledged thorn wizard should be allowed to survive. It was a cruel thing I did when I forced that on you. Especially as there were none with whom you could share that terrible burden with. And now that I truly know how that feels, I simply could not.

Nightshade was briefly puzzled by Tom's words. Then she was suddenly unable to hide the look of shocked indignation that crossed her face and showed in her voice.

Is that what the Admiral made you do? she exclaimed, And he said your friendship is important to him! Just you wait till the next time he dares to show his face around me.

There's no call to punish him for it Nightshade, Tom admonished. "But yes, he did just force me to judge his fate. He doesn't accept failure well in anyone, least of all himself. When he decided that it was his failure to put a stop to the bounty killer, that allowed him to do such horrible things to so many people. He lost faith in himself.

My friendship does matter to him Nightshade. I've done a bit of research on him and did you know that you could count the number of people to whom he has ‘ever’ professed friendship with, on the fingers of one hand.

But getting back to what I started to ask of you, some of it will not be easy."

My thorn wizard's wish, she pledged. Is his wench adept's command.

That's just it, he explained. "I'm not asking as your thorn wizard. I'm asking as your friend.

There is in me an old wound, that has festered for too long. I must face my own heart and come to terms with a sorrow, that I simply cannot bear to share with you. And yet I shall need your help.

Your tutorial interface doesn't need to be physically plugged in for the null-Diver's AI to resonate with it, if I tell it to. So you will be able to control the fringe flight, while you cuddle with my body. As I dream with the daggerthorn. This must needs be a dream of a true sleep. It cannot be a waking dream and I need you to not turn it into a shared dreaming. But I will need you to use the same adept skill, with which you ensured I would sleep deeply, just before the daggerthorn first shared my dream of XenDar with you. I will also need you to use your skill as a wench of the woodland warren. To make sure that my body doesn't forget that I'm still loved.

But the hard part for you will be, that I need you to resist any temptation, to actually wench me. For in my dream, I will need to remember my wife and remain faithful to the love she once shared with me. And I need to know that you would do that for your friend ‘Tom’, even if he were not your thorn wizard.

Will you do that for me Nightshade?"

Go up to the greenhouse deck Tom, she replied. Get comfortable with the daggerthorn. But do not fall asleep, while I fetch you that flask of elixir you promised to drink. Then I will cuddle with you. Once our inverse fringe flight is stably locked onto the inner virtual surface of the fringe barrier, I will help you to fall into a deep slumber. And if the daggerthorn will let me, I will stay out of your dream. But you do know that the daggerthorn will likely share echo's of your dream with me the next time I dream with them.

Tom tenderly kissed her forehead and headed for the outer canopy of the surrounding daggerthorn cluster.

Chapter 2 : Destination XenDar

With the exception of her ‘tutorial’ interface's headband, Nightshade was naked when she arrived on the greenhouse deck. Tom was also naked. As he lay cradled in a hammock like cluster of daggerthorn branches. She handed Tom the flask of elixir she brought with her and climbed into the ‘hammock’ with him.

The daggerthorn will be best able to help me, Tom explained before drinking the elixir. "While their ‘awareness’ is stimulated by the disruptive subspatial energy waves that they protect us from. I do not know how long the dream will last. But it will be important not to interrupt the daggerthorn's state of enhanced cognitive ability until they are content to let me wake up.

It doesn't matter if we overshoot our target exit point from the fringe flight. We would need to calculate the following deep subspatial jump, just before it's inception anyway."

When he finished talking Tom quickly drank the elixir. While at the same time he reached out with the crystalline matrix woven into his bones, and instructed the Ships AI to resonate with Nightshade's tutorial interface. He reclassified it as a primary control device.

Nightshade gasped slightly when she realized she was suddenly ‘connected’ directly to the ships computer. She was surprised to find the connection quality was just as good as if she had physically jacked in. Then she noticed that her shipboard rank had been upgraded from ‘flight crew’ to ‘mission commander’. Tom was still monitoring the interface and he used it to explain.

"I doubt you'll need it, he virtually said. But if we should encounter hostiles or other emergency while I'm unconscious. I don't want any red tape between you and the weapon control systems. Just remember that as ‘mission commander’ the null-Diver won't question your commands. So I wouldn't order it to shutdown the synthuel containment field while we're inside the subspatial rift if I were you."

"Very funny, she replied. But you need to start relaxing. And that's an order."

"Yes commander, Tom acknowledged. End transmission."

Nightshade saw the blue tint that surrounded Tom's brown eyes, fade to as close to white as she had seen it in a long time. Then she set her interface's focus to 75%. And she quickly verified the position of the null-Diver. She also checked that it had sufficient outward inertia from Gudjeon's sun to make it safe to fire up the rift generator.

Nightshade knew that there was little chance of any passing ship detecting the rift itself. And that unlike the ripple effect of a deep jump penetration of the rift's virtual surface, the oblique angle at which she would penetrate the barrier, would be hard for even guild technology to detect from a distance of more than 1 GS lightyear. She also knew that a smooth transition to fringe could cut that distance in half. So just before the null-Diver entered the rift, she briefly cranked her interface's focus to 100%.

Once the null-Diver was sliding along the virtual surface smoothly enough to trust the automated systems to keep it there. Nightshade set her interface's focus to just 20%, so that she could pay sufficiently close attention to Tom, to keep her promise.

It's time for you to ask the daggerthorn for a custom dose of nectar Tom, she said gently.

Tom reached out to one of the thorn bearing branches over his head. He gripped it at the base of a dangerous looking thorn. And let the daggerthorn feel his desire.

The daggerthorn was already very aware of Tom's emotional distress. And promptly began transforming the thorn in question, while it converted the liquid in the thorns poison sack into nectar. By the time the nectar had been specifically formulated to relax him enough to fall asleep. The thorn itself had swollen, as it's surface softened, until it resembled a somewhat narrow teat. Tom pulled on the branch until the nipple like tip of the modified thorn was close enough for him to suck on it. He didn't need much of the liquid it dispensed to begin to fall asleep.

As he slept, part of him was aware of the sensual way Nightshade was cuddling with him. He was aware of the feel of her naked body against his. And he was very aware of their mutual desire. But Nightshade was skillful and she carefully kept his arousal just below the point where he would want her enough to stop the rest of his mind from dreaming with the daggerthorn.

When Tom eventually woke he felt somewhat better about himself and about having found a measure of happiness in his life without her. He doubted that Rosabel would have ever understood the open nature of the relationship he had with Nightshade. But the fact that unlike the many prostitutes one could find on almost every inhabited planet in the galaxy, the wenches of Gudjeon never tried to charge a fee for any sexual services they choose to render, would have gone a long way toward Rosabel deciding to like Nightshade. And he concluded that given that she couldn't be with him anymore, Rosabel would have been happy that he had Nightshade to help him keep the nightmares at bay. She wouldn't have wanted him to waste the rest of his life grieving for her.

Tom disentangled himself from Nightshade as he sat up. Then he gently kissed her on the forehead.

Thank you Nightshade, he said. How long have I slept?

Almost one and a quarter overcycles, she answered. I figure the effective distance we've traveled so far is over 5,500 GS lightyears. Shall I bring us back to normal space so we can prepare for a deep jump?

No, Tom replied. Don't do that. Jake suggested that we be in a shared waking dream with the daggerthorn when I access that data he left in the AI for us. I think that would be more effective while the daggerthorn's awareness is boosted by the subspatial energy their shielding us from. So lets have a quick snack. Then we can begin the waking dream.

Alright Tom, Nightshade replied. But we can do better than a quick snack. I think we should breakfast on a hearty bowl of soup or stew. I've grown fond of that lamb stew that the autochef does such a good job of. Why don't you just stay put and I'll go fetch us a couple of bowls?

Sounds good to me, Tom replied. Then he watched the way Nightshade's bare backside wiggled as she hurried off toward the inner habitat where the galley was located. She was only gone for about 5 cyclets before she returned with a stasis box. Which she immediately deactivated, revealing the contents of two large bowls full of stew and a half a dozen thick slices of crusty bread to sop up the ‘gravy like’ broth and a couple of mugs of blue asulrod tea. Tom wasn't surprised to notice that she had opted for the kind of wooden spoons commonly used on Gudjeon, instead of the stainless steel spoons the autochef would have dispensed.

Having spent more than an overcycle fortified only with daggerthorn nectar, they were both hungry. So it wasn't long before the stew and bread were gone. Tom guzzled down the last of his tea and asked Nightshade if she was ready for the shared dream.

That depends, she replied. Is it okay if I wench you properly while were entwined in the dream?

Yes Nightshade, Tom replied. I've made peace with my memories of Rosabel. And I know you won't mind if I also think about her while we do so. So there's no reason why you can't. Just remember we both need to absorb the information I'll be using my microcrystalline matrix to retrieve from that file Jake left in the AI for us.

Nightshade just smiled as she climbed on top of Tom, and reached up to get a grip on one of the daggerthorn's branches. Tom reached out and grabbed another branch. Considering the way Nightshade was wenching him, it wasn't surprising that the shared dream started out erotically. But as Tom began to access the data, his mind once again compartmentalized. One part was focused on the carnal pleasures he was sharing with his wench adept. Another part was feeling the daggerthorn's exhilaration at the heightened state of awareness it got from the subspatial energy it was protecting it's humans from. And a third part of his mind began absorbing the up to date info on the security measures, they would have to circumvent to reach the surface of XenDar undetected by the guild fleet that protected it. He could feel that Nightshades awareness was also, for the first time during one of their shared dreamings, beginning to compartmentalize. Which he thought should improve her retention of the data he was absorbing. Meanwhile yet another part of both their minds began to absorb the details of ‘the Questor's’ report on his second visit to XenDar. It took the form of a dream, where it all felt like it was happening to them.

Questor's shuttle was in stealth mode as he selected a secluded landing site a little nearer to the cave. He quickly used his shuttle's adaptive camouflage to conceal his shuttle on the island like hilltop. Then he started down the hill. Which was covered with vine like plants but nothing that really resembled trees. For that he'd have to descend a little closer to the ooze covered forest floor.

Once he reached them he would walk along the top of the large branch like creatures that connected the separate giant trees they were in symbionce with. The branches were actually a strange form of animal the local people called a BranchCritter. Which was in a compound symbiotic relationship with both the towering trunks to which they served as branches and with the many kinds of upside down vines with their roots firmly embedded in the BranchCritter's underbelly.

The trick was to reach the BranchCritters in the first place. The more dangerous denizen of the forest sometimes hunted among the hills. But the real difficulty was that before he could get near enough to one of the giant trees to reach it's BranchCritters, Steve would already be in it's shade. Then he'd have to move very quickly before the voracious insect like omnivores, that nested in the mucky ooze of the forest floor, found him.

As he got closer to the ooze, Steve had his nanites contain the scent molecules that normally emanated from his body. He hoped that would be enough to stop the omnivores from detecting his presence.

Steve thought that the local name for them ‘MuckTeeth’ was very appropriate. They lived in the odorous muck of the forest floor. And if they found you, all you would have time to notice about them would be their teeth.

His nanites would protect him from them of course. But there would be so many of them, that even his nanites would be hard pressed to stop them all. So a few might get through his outer defenses. And the bite of the MuckTeeth were reportedly quite excruciating.

It would be better to get up into the trees, where they wouldn't follow. Then he spotted what he was looking for. One of the BranchCritters that curved their way around the hill he'd landed on, had undulated far enough over the lower slope of the hill. That he could reach it without stepping into the dangerous shade.

He pulled a nanomorphic pellet out of one of the hidden pockets of his nanomorphic garment. Which he had set to resemble the poncho of a WildRunner. He placed the pellet on the side of his walking stick, near it's unusual ring like handle. The pellet stuck like it had been magnetized. Though it was not magnetic force that held it there. He pointed the stick towards a point in the foliage that grew down from the BranchCritter's belly that was nearly 200 arms over his head. The pellet rapidly accelerated along the shaft of his stick. To which a thin gossamer strand of nanomorphic thread tethered the pellet. Which had transformed itself into the dart that flew from the end of the stick and embedded itself in a vine stalk. Then Steve commanded the thread to thicken, which made it's length get rapidly shorter. Pulling him up out of harms way.

He considered using the same technique to climb the rest of the way up to the ShellWay that he intended to walk on but he decided to reuse the nanomorphic pellet by commanding it to become a sling. So that he could hang his stick on his shoulder. While he commanded his nanites to grow him a set of metallic claws with which he was able to quickly scramble up the foliage and pull himself up onto the BranchCritter's hard shelled back. As soon as he touched the BranchCritter itself however, he could sense a vague foreboding coming from it. He was well aware that what passed for the BranchCritter's brain was much too decentralized for him to learn anything by having his nanites map out it's circuits. So he simply walked along the ShellWay until he reached one of the huge tree trunks that the BranchCritter had a symbiotic relationship with.

Then he again had his nanites provide him with claw like fingernails, that could grip the rock hard bark of the great tree trunk. Up which he climbed until he found another BranchCritter that extended into the distance, in approximately the direction he wanted to go. When he touched this BranchCritter he felt again the same vague foreboding.

When he felt it again from the third BranchCritter he touched, he decided he should hurry. He was soon running along the ShellWays faster than any WildRunner could have. Two cycles later, he was looking down at the old looking BranchCritter. That appeared to pass through a cave like tunnel in the exposed rock ledge on one end of an oblong hill. It was of course a different BranchCritter that came out of the other end of the tunnel. They were connected by an ancient ForkHub within the tunnel at a junction with the deep dark passageway and an even older, very unusual BranchCritter. Unlike it's brethren it didn't have upside down vines and bushes, growing out of it's belly. Instead it had a moss like growth that Steve knew would have overgrown some of the strange BranchCritter's narrow shell. Making it slippery in places.

He reached the ForkHub inside the tunnel junction before he felt the presence that had sought to draw him into the pit. Questor was alarmed to notice that it felt much weaker than before. He wanted to run down the narrow OverShell of the Mossy BranchCritter within. But it was far too slippery. The ancient BranchCritter also sagged much closer to the floor of the cave than before. The slippery moss like growth now covered most of it's OverShell. Worse still the BranchCritter shuddered weakly as he walked along it. The deeper into the cave he went, the more he felt as though he needed to hurry. He also sensed an element of despair in the weak presence. He worried that he may have waited too long. It wasn't until he passed through the archway into the first of the five chambers that he sensed any awareness of his arrival. There was a small glimmer of hope. But above all there was a sense of a desperate need for him to hurry.

Questor was now convinced that this presence he felt was one of the Kindred and that the ancient being was near death. Throwing caution to the winds, he ran to the inner chamber and dove head first into the pit below. He commanded his stick to provide more light as he began his leap. As he plummeted into the depths of the slightly curved shaft, Questor let the other end of his stick rub lightly against the smooth wall to keep his distance from it stable. Soon he could see a door like opening just to one side of the stone hand holds. As he approached it he began to see what looked like the bottom of the shaft, which appeared to terminate in an uninviting pool of a dark slimy substance. He also sensed that his path was through the door like opening.

With an acrobatic maneuver that would have amazed any observer, he tucked his body into a ball like pose and rotated 180°. Then as he straightened his body back out he caught the last handhold above the opening. At the same time he used his stick to push against the side of the shaft. The result was that he swung his body into the opening, landing heavily on the floor of the passageway beyond it.

The passageway led to a circular chamber. It's walls were covered in patterns of crystal in several different colors. Some appeared to be carved into bizarre three dimensional forms. Some of the shapes were like long curved rods connecting various objects with a single complex structure against one wall. A few of those appeared hollow and filled with various fluids. Just above that structure there was a shelf with a small pool filled with the liquid that had evidently been pumped through the tube like crystal shapes. And partially immersed in that liquid was a huge but unmistakable living face. It's eyes were blinking. Questor sensed distress at the unfamiliar brightness, so he muted the glow from his stick until it was a dim glow that barely illuminated the chamber enough for his enhanced vision to see by. There was a sound like a sigh and the huge eyes opened wide.

At last you have come, a faint voice whispered silently in questors mind. "Please listen closely for