All That Glitters Ch. 60

All That Glitters - Ch 60

A threat forms. A project is completed. The Resestess is found.

Ikekiya's dreams begin to take shape. Pallanders completes the last of the repairs on Liramor Prime's commercial ships. A dream comes to reality and the Resestess is found.

© bigtddybr August 2023. This story 'All That Glitters - Chapter Sixty' or the series 'All That Glitters', cannot be transferred in whole or in part to any other site besides Literotica.com without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and bigtddybr must be credited for this work.

Due to the number of abbreviations, ship listings, and list of characters, in this story, I include a glossary that is now in a stand-alone chapter called 'All That Glitters: Notes v 13'. Any and all information that you want or need to know about the series is included in Notes. It will be updated frequently simply by re-issuing the chapter to Literotica as a new version.

There is little attempt to explain the back story, so it is necessary to read previous chapters to fully understand where we are.

As before, I claim sole responsibility for the story line. This story is a fantasy, with no basis in reality. Any similarity that you may perceive to current events, people, or situations real or imaginary is completely unintended. Look no further than the story line for its intent and purpose.

A big shout out to my editors, who wish to remain anonymous, for all the help they provide. If you find any errors still left in this chapter, they are mine, as I have ignored sage advise to make a silly point.

Please rate and comment. But keep your comments respectful. If you rant and rave or are disrespectful in your commentary, it will be deleted.

'Nuff said...enjoy.

Hidden Base, Unnamed Star System, Eighty-two Light Years from Terra

The base had been a secret military base of the Confederation of Planets and as such, was not listed in the open military budget. For this reason, it was one of four that had never been found by the Union after the war.

Until recently, it had been used as a pirate base, however, many of the ships that once used it were now gone, destroyed in a failed attack against Liramor-23. Along with the pirates, the base was one of the operational headquarters of the Orin Sallé, the former Emperor of the Confederation of Planet's personal assassins. The pirates that had been at the base were some of the roughest and deadliest known, yet they stepped wide of any of the Orin Sallé they encountered, such was their justified reputation.

There were perhaps fifty members of the Orin Sallé at the base who were in training as assassins, plus a group of fifteen actual assassins. The remaining three hundred personnel of the Orin Sallé were in support of those fifty. It took many years to train an assassin and not all of those trainees would be successful as the Orin Sallé had extremely high standards. Those that failed were added to the support teams to the actual assassins.

Being as secretive as the Orin Sallé was, no one knew how many actual members there were, or where they all were...

A man silently entered an office. He sat quietly across the desk from his commander waiting patiently for his orders. A woman he judged to be his own age came into the office and sat beside him, at least one arms distance away. Such a distance was too short to stop any of the Orin Sallé from killing someone, however, it was the respect that members showed to each other. The woman, too, waited patiently on the commander. Finally, the commander put his file aside.

"The Orin Sallé had taken you both in when you were orphaned," the commander began. "It has clothed you, fed you, educated you, and trained you. It is now time to return to the Orin Sallé some of what you owe.

"We have a priority target for the both of you. This target is special in many ways, not the least of which is that he is a member of the Black Lightning Combat Engineering Brigade," the commander let that sink in as the two opposite him reacted. The movement was slight but it was the first reaction they had made since entering his office.

The commander called up an image. "This is Raymond Clark, former member of the Lightnings and one of those who helped to destroy Emporium. Before, the Orin Sallé were the right hand of the Emperor himself. Hidden in the shadows, we did the Emperor's bidding as required. Now, we are no more than assassins for hire. Clark is one of the reasons we have fallen so low.

"Of the eight members of the Black Lightnings that came back from Emporium, two ended their own lives and two were killed by Orin Sallé, though in a manner that left the impression of suicide. That leaves four. Clark will be the most difficult to get to and kill. That is why I have chosen you two for this task. You are amongst the best of the Orin Sallé.

"Your cover names will be Gregory Dorman and Satrina Kalenka. You are to go to Liramor Prime and attach yourself to mining platform Liramor-23 in whatever capacity you can.

"Here is your mission profile and target dossier. The funds and equipment available for this mission are listed in section D of the dossier. This dossier will be returned to this office before you leave. Only your memories of it will be permitted to leave this base.

"The reward for your success will be great as the pair of you will be feted as the elite of the Orin Sallé. You will probably be made instructors after your successful return.

"Failure has but one option for you....

"Go forth in the name of the Orin Sallé and bring success to our name," the commander rose and snapped a salute to the pair, who rose and returned it. They left the office as silently as they had entered it...

Semt Shall, The Lost Shall, 1145 Kilometers Northwest of Asoc Shall, Asocar, The Asocan Realm, 364 Light Years from Terra

The shuttle landed gently on its struts and a lone figure stepped out of the side hatch wearing full Combat EVA. The figure reached back and pulled several items out of the shuttle which promptly raised back into the air.

War Dragon Vice Admiral Raymond Clark Sai-Rai was conducting a survey of Semt Shall which had been destroyed by a thermo-nuclear blast. He had forty-five minutes to complete his survey and return to his present location.

Most of this kind of work would have been completed by roving drones, however, the ever-present radiation had knocked out four such drones over the course of the week, of which two had been recovered. So, Raymond went in himself.

He knew the approximate locations for the first of the failed drones and moved in its general direction, taking quick samples every ten meters. He found the first drone in a small depression some three hundred meters from his start point. The depression acted as a reservoir for radiation, which was what had knocked out the drone. Raymond put it in neutral and rolled it back to the pickup point then continued his task.

Everything he was doing was being recorded via his enhanced suit systems, which were tied to several very high-end sensors temporarily pinned to the outside of his EVA suit. The information was being broadcast back to the home base for this expedition, a cement fort just North of Semt Shall that had been Belgedra's former hidey hole.

He found the second rover another two hundred meters from where the first was found. It had fallen into a slightly deeper depression which his sensors indicated was showing very high radiation levels. Raymond threw a rope over it and pulled it out of the depression then scanned the device to see if it was salvageable. Just barely...

He put it in neutral and pulled it along back to the start point using the rope to do it. This one he would not touch directly and said so into his comms unit. His timer went off indicating it was time for his extraction.

"That's all, sir, your time is up," the person monitoring his actions stated firmly over the radio link. These were Combat EVA suit radios, well suited for the hard radiation and rigors of space, so they would work in a heavily irradiated environment.

"We are bringing slings in for the rovers so leave them where they are now. Place your samples in the box and make ready to be evacuated," the order came.

A few seconds later, the shuttle returned. Raymond stepped back as an Asocan in Combat EVA slipped out of the shuttle with a camera and sample kit. He nodded to Raymond and immediately began his visual sweep of the area.

Raymond stepped into the shuttle and was quickly brought to the expedition's base camp. He was directed to the special shower unit where his entire suit was washed with specialized soap designed to capture radiation and break it down. The soaps were a product of Feeyan science. Because of their home world's proximity to its star, the Feeyan knew all about radiation.

Two techs in radiation suits were scrubbing the outside of his EVA suit with what was effectively small brooms normally used to sweep concrete. They washed him twice before a full sensor scan allowed him to move to the specialized EVA chamber where he was helped out of his suit, again by people in radiation suits. This particular EVA suit would eventually be scrapped due to radiation but it still had some uses left in it.

************

"I'm glad we found the rovers. Maybe we can replace their electronics with something more hardened," Raymond commented.

"We are already looking at that but we won't know how much of a change we will need before we get them back here," Umatran (Scientist of the First Order) Tanakram Mutt Beng informed him. "We had not anticipated the pockets of heavier radiation that the rovers encountered which effectively shut them down. If they cannot be successfully washed, we will have to write off these toys. "Maybe we should ask the Feeyans about what they use?"

"Good idea. I would prefer to salvage the rovers if possible. They are expensive models," Raymond noted, getting a nod of understanding from Tanakram.

"We will do what we can, but I will always err on the side of caution when dealing with the recovery of Semt Shall," Tanakram stated formally for the record.

"How is the mixing of the sand coming?" Raymond asked.

"Good, we currently have more than one hundred tons of the new material, which we are desperately trying to keep dry," Tanakram told him rather tongue in cheek.

AsocAR was very much a wet and swampy world so keeping such large amounts of sand from getting damp before it was applied was become a problem. The material that was mixed with the sand had been provided by the Feeyan, who understood radiation at a level that most peoples did not, their home world orbiting much closer to their star than most other worlds did letting it be bombarded by hard radiation every day. Most other species would have died because of the radiation but the Feeyan had thrived and now were helping with the situation in the Lost Shall.

"We may have to think about making it in whatever batch amount lets us do our best at keeping it dry," Raymond suggested.

"Wouldn't that make it a longer process at recovery?" Tanakram asked, a worried look on his face.

"We are looking at eight to ten years to bring the radiation levels down to acceptable levels, Tanakram. A few extra months will not be a big deal in the long run," Raymond remarked.

Tanakram thought about that for a moment then gave an Asocan nod of his head, a large circular motion of his snout instead of the human up and down motion (Only the Asocans and the Pod-Drran/Maha-Rrin did this though the Pod-Drran/Maha-Rrin motion was much smaller than the Asocans who had snouts while the Pod-Drran/Maha-Rrin did not).

"I am surprised at all that we have the opportunity to recover the Lost Shall. Had it not been for the Palda Incident, we might never have the opportunity to do so," Tanakram remarked.

The Palda incident was when Junelliya, Ikekiya, Zarreniya, and Prakeshya, had been visited by the Goddesses and Gods of AsocAR and had helped to send the dead of Semt Shall to the Land of the Departed. One of the aftereffects of the incident had been a dramatic lessoning of the hard radiation in the area. The reduction was more than enough to allow the team to basically clean the area and recover the Lost Shall for potential future use. However, it would take most of a decade to accomplish.

"With the hopefully temporary loss of four drones, we will need to make up the difference with live workers if we want to stay on track," Tanakram stated.

"Dangerous to our volunteers. We need those drones back in operation. Maybe we should look at acquiring some Feeyan drones. At least they will be better suited for this environment," Raymond answered. "Once we know the concentrations of radiation, we can plan how to place our sand. That should be by the end of the month. That will allow us to clean up the upper level."

"The upper level will be the easiest as we can dump it out as required from the shuttles," Tanakram replied. "We cannot dump sand into the lower levels. We will need a method to distribution large volumes of sand to those levels without endangering the workers."

"I'll put my engineering degree to work on that and see what I come up with," Raymond let him know.

"I need to return to Liramor-23 today and won't be back for at least a week," Raymond informed Tanakram.

"I'll manage," Tanakram told him with a grin. "I'll keep you posted."

Capital City, Terra, The Sol System

The Right Reverend John Joseph Dalman was watching as more of his people walked away from his ministry. Since Mike Hollister had made his pronouncement about aliens having souls, many of those who were not as committed as other members were leaving the more right-wing ministries and heading for those like Hollister's. Conversely, Dalman had seen many of Hollister's people come to his ministry in return, though the cumulative losses and gains were not in Dalman's favour.

On top of that, Mike Hollister had been praised by President Holloway himself for his help during the recent events on AsocAR. Hollister had been made out to be a hero over the incident and was awarded the Presidential Bronze Medal for Distinguished Service - Terran Union.

He turned to his right-hand man, James Leary. "James, we need some kind of event that we can protest against," Dalman mused.

"Might not be possible here on Terra, sir," Leary replied. "Most of the big events are now completed for this season. The UDC (Union Diplomatic Corp) and IPPF (Interplanetary Police Force) are watching Denders Resort because of the consulate at the Johal Compound. Access to the compound, even the temple there, is by invitation. They take a dim view of anyone else trying to access the compound and Denders, being a private resort, prosecutes protesters on their property.

"As well, Denders has upped their security because of the expectant Asocan couple in the swamp there, so there are few places with enough of a concentration of aliens that we could get to. We might have to look at other planets, such as Liramor Prime, to find an event to protest at," Leary finished.

"Keep an eye out then. I would not want to wait until next summer season to do something. The sooner the better or we may be overlooked by events," Dalman finished.

L-1894 The Piscium Apartment, Liramor-23, 109 Piscium Star System, 106 Light Years from Terra

Junelliya had just come back from recording a new lecture at the local campus of Malton University. It was a dry piece and she was trying to find ways to spice up its delivery before releasing it and the process had left her somewhat mentally fatigued.

The door to the apartment whisked open to a chaotic scene of two little girls and two adult women dancing away to music blaring from the room's main 3-D monitor, with the Cats 'dancing' in the air over the quartet. On the screen was another woman whose movements the quartet were copying as she encouraged them to participate.

Hanalei smiled at her mate and signalled her to the dining table where tea was waiting.

"What's going on?" Junelliya asked of the whimsical scene in front of her.

"That is Barbara Coleman, dance instructor from Liramor Prime. We contacted her for our two little ones as per Ululla's suggestion to use dance as a way to increase the children's coordination and movements. The children liked her and have been working with her for about an hour. This is the finale of her session and she is making it fun for the children. Of course, our bigger children wanted to get in on the fun, too," Hanalei laughed.

As Junelliya watched amused, the foursome went through the movements as Barbara bounced around. The children were very much enjoying the free movement, while Sylvie and Violletiya were obviously hard pressed to keep up and were being left behind.

Finally, Barbara slowed things down for everyone and brought things to a stop.

"Wow! I have never had two new participants that have done as well as you have!" Barbara stated getting cheers from the children. They thanked 'Miss Barbara' and went over to greet their momma.

"Hello, I am Dr. Junelliya Harlen, co-mate to Hanalei," Junelliya informed Barbara.

"Wait, Doctor of Music Junelliya Harlen?" Barbara asked.

"One and the same," Junelliya admitted.

"Well, that explains their ability to stay with the music," Barbara grinned while eyeing the children.

The door chimed and Aylliya, Clarrisiya, and Urano entered. "We invited ourselves to supper, I hope you don't mind," Clarrisiya stated as she handed over a container of meats.

The children cheered and gave hugs to their friends. They excitedly told them about dancing with Barbara.

"Urano, this is Barbara Coleman, dance instructor," Hanalei explained.

"Hello, I am Takebayashi Urano, head of the daycare/school here on Liramor-23," Urano introduced herself. "This is Aylliya, and Clarrisiya, two of my specialist daycare workers."

"Well, I don't think I have to ask about their specialty considering their hair and skin tones," Barbara smiled at the pair from Hollander's World. That brought nods of appreciation from the ladies.

"What did you think of our little stars?" Urano asked.

"I was quite surprised that children of three could dance that well," Barbara conveyed.

"Three?" Urano asked.

"I didn't tell her how old they were," Hanalei admitted.

"I be year and half," Ikekiya explained to Miss Barbara.

"I be two and half month newer," Zarreniya stated then laughed at her sister's look.

"That not nice, I no tell new word now," Ikekiya said and turned her back on her sister.

Zarreniya was taken aback by her sister's outburst.

"You not share word? That bad," Zarreniya said, looking crestfallen.

Ikekiya turned to see her sister's look and it broke her heart. She came over and gave her sister a hug. "I sorry. I tell you word...'Shiishtakeen'. It mean 'Hello friend' in Umick.

"Shiishtakeen? I say right?" Zarreniya asked.

"You say right, but you say only to Umick, and you have no Umick friend now," Ikekiya informed her sister, who suddenly looked very sad again.

"No worry, Zarry, we make friend for you," Ikekiya told her sister, giving her another hug.

"Awe," Barbara said. "Your children are so cute. So, what's this about their age? Are they truly the ages they stated?"

"They are," Urano replied with a laugh. "You may have heard of 'Les Enfant D'or'? Well, these are they." She laughed as a look of surprise passed over Barbara's face.

"Barbara, would you be interested in doing a daily dance routine for the children in the daycare?" Urano asked.

"I could be persuaded to do so. It was definitely fun to play with these two little ones, but if you are on Liramor-23, does that mean we would be dancing with other than human children?" Barbara asked.