Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [21]
We flow from possibility to possibility. It is our nature.
“Then flow to a different one. How do I get out of here? You wanted to spread and propagate, didn’t you? Why should we just hope for someone to happen by? I doubt anyone’s been to this planet for centuries—if ever.” He picked up a rock and tossed it into the waves, where it was swallowed without a ripple.
The wental answered, All the resources of this planet are available to you—from the rocks beneath you, to the metals and minerals in the water, to all the living creatures in the seas.
“How does that help me build a ship? I have no tools, nothing but my bare hands.”
You have us.
Jess jumped to his feet on the rocky shore. “What do you mean?”
Do not underestimate your new powers and abilities. With the strength of the wentals within you, creating a physical ship can be…relatively simple.
In his mind he received images and a sudden understanding that left him breathless with the possibilities.
This sea, even with its minimal prehistoric ecosystem, still contained billions of living creatures—from gigantic monsters to microscopic organisms. An incomparable workforce. With wental guidance, all of them would cooperate to build a ship, one molecule at a time.
The wentals showed him exactly how.
Chapter 7—CESCA PERONI
Jess Tamblyn had vanished. In her office chamber within the main Rendezvous asteroid, Cesca found it nearly impossible to concentrate on her leadership tasks.
This unified cluster of space rocks around a dim dwarf star was symbolic of the Roamer clans themselves: each separate, yet held together by invisible threads. In the centuries that Roamers had lived on this outpost, the clans had bound the asteroids together with support girders, connecting walkways, and reinforcement cables. But such bonds could easily be severed and the asteroids of Rendezvous scattered again.
As Speaker, Cesca had to make sure the clans didn’t do the same.
Surrounded by thick walls, she reviewed reports from Roamer traders, studying the lists of goods, raw materials, and resources distributed among clan outposts. Forbidden from running their traditional skymines, some daredevil Roamers made blitzkrieg ekti strikes on gas giants, while others, such as those at the ambitious extraction facilities at Osquivel, broke down frozen comets to distill a trickle of stardrive fuel from their hydrogen. The EDF and the Hansa—the “Big Goose”—demanded any ekti the clans produced, and instead of being grateful for what the Roamers risked their lives to scrape together, they clamored for more and more, when none was available.
The clans were trapped in this uneasy business relationship, though they had theoretically established their independence, separating themselves from the Earth government long ago. The EDF seemed not to remember those details.
Cesca looked up as a visitor appeared in her office, a dark-haired young man with Asian features and an intent set to his narrow jaw. “Speaker Peroni, I’ve got news!”
Jhy Okiah had long held that remembering names and faces was a vital skill for a clan Speaker, and Cesca had diligently developed the skill, along with many others. She remembered that this young man flew one of clan Tylar’s ships, acting as an errand runner and delivery boy between Roamer outposts. He also had a reputation for getting easily lost…or at least sidetracked.
“It’s part of my job to receive news, Nikko Chan—though my preference would be to have good news for a change.” She saw from his flustered expression that such a report would not be forthcoming. She pushed the documents and commerce records aside. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
Nikko fidgeted, drying sweaty palms on his many-pocketed pants. “Four days ago I was flying back from Hurricane Depot to deliver a load of spare parts and pick up some large-output thermal generators for Jonah 12. That’s the frozen moon where Kotto Okiah is establishing