Marooned - Christie Golden [42]
"Once, it was not broken," continued Hrrrl. "There we lived, and ate, and slept, and mated, and worked the mines. Mishkara is cruel on the surface, but it houses a great deal of mineral wealth. Our greatmany-past fathers harvested the fruits of the deep earth. You can see them everywhere," and Hrrrl waved a hand extensively. "Jewels of untold value, for the Sshoush-shin to trade for goods. Minerals that powered our ships. We even have the beautiful and rare crystals that make warp drive possible here on Mishkara. All harvested through the labor of our great-many-past fathers, under the watchful eyes of the guards. And I would trade all of them for one crop that grows strong and healthy."
The bitterness in his voice was undisguised. Janeway couldn't blame him.
"Were the guards cruel to your ancestors?"
"Sshoush-shin are not a cruel people," Hrrrl re plied. "We needed each other. The convicts mined Mishkara's wealth and the guards gave us food, shelter, and protection from the hostile creatures who call Mishkara their true home. You were lucky we found you first, Janeway. Many others you could encounter here are not as benevolent as we are. And in addition to the native animals, you were also in danger from the descendants of other convicts who were brought here."
"Other races besides the Sshoush-shin?"
"Many other races," growled Hrrrl. "Many who were takers-of-lives, who liked to hurt for pleasure. We assumed that their governments must have traded many goods for permission to deposit their criminals on Mishkara.
"With the coming of other criminals, not the Sshoush-shin, the security increased. Everyone suffered then. There was no trust, no mutual back-andforth any more. More security measures were installed. There was an attempted rescue from outside powers, so they installed unmanned, automated, limited-range sentinel vessels in orbit around Mishkara. No one lived outside of New Hann, so an artificial ion field was created. It could be manipulated from a vast control center inside New Hann. When the storm was not active, ships could land with new loads of prisoners or supplies. If a ship attempted to land without giving the correct code, security would not deactivate the field. When the ship entered the atmosphere or tried to leave the atmosphere under these conditions, it would generate a powerful ion pulse. This pulse would render the ship useless. So you see, Janeway, your situation is nothing new to us. That pulse is what happened to your ship."
"I see," replied Janeway grimly. She glanced over at Tuvok. "Aren would appear to have most of the cards. Please continue, Hrrrl. How did the dome get broken?
How did your people get free?"
Hrrrl glanced down at his hands, flexing his powerful fingers with their sharp claws. Janeway believed him when he said his people were essentially peaceful, and that they were not "takers-of-lives." But not so long ago, they were not so peaceful, if their claws and teeth were any indication. She suspected that they, like the Vulcans, had chosen to overcome an innate tendency toward violence by willingly embracing a culture of peace.
"It was better before," he said softly. "Better, when the guards and convicts coexisted without fear of one another. The new, strange races, with their cruelty, brought about the advanced security measures. These in turn made us even more isolated. With the artificial ion storm in place, little could grow, be nurtured from the sun's light. With the new fear the guards had toward the convicts, they were terrified of a violent escape attempt. So the guards were not permitted any ships of their own, lest the criminals break free and steal them. We were utterly dependent on the supply ships, both convicts and guards. All of us."
"The logical conclusion is that something did happen," said Tuvok. "At some point, for whatever reason, the supply ships ceased to arrive."
"And a dark day that was indeed," said Hrrrl. "We had heard rumors of war with the Thatli-an insectoid race that the great-many-past-fathers