In no time, the group whisked the two of them away to a sheltered place, gave them computers, network access, and imagers. While stewing in his cell, Patrick had mulled over the things he still needed to say. He had mentally rehearsed his speech over and over, polishing his anger and focusing his words.

Now that he finally had another chance, he let loose with a new broadcast, calling them all to arms.

132

Jess Tamblyn

After leaving Golgen, Jess and Cesca guided the Solar Navy and the Confederation ships to Charybdis to make their final preparations. Surrounded by a shimmering haze of energy, the pair stood in the command nucleus of the Mage-Imperator’s flagship.

What had once been a primordial ocean alive with the water elementals now appeared to be a scarred wreck. But Jess and Cesca had broken through to underground aquifers that gurgled up into hot, eager pools. Several of his faithful water bearers had returned seedpools of living water here as part of their work, as well. Those seedpools had flowed and multiplied. Right now, thousands of the tree-bubbles were streaming across open space from Theroc, accompanied by the water bearers in their own ships.

The battle on Golgen had left many of the Solar Navy ships battered and scarred, their anodized hull plates scorched, the solar sails in tatters. Nevertheless, the warliners still formed a mighty fleet with all the Confederation ships that had joined the group.

Adar Zan’nh was impatient to face the faeros as the numerous ships descended over the newly awakened oceans, but Jess assured him the process would not take long. “The wentals know what to do.”

Zan’nh clenched and unclenched his hands and spoke as if reminding himself. “A rush into battle is often a plan for defeat.”

“Give Kotto’s new idea a chance,” Sullivan Gold said. “It sounds like something Tabitha Huck might have come up with.” The Adar looked at him and responded with a faint smile before he nodded.

As the warliners swooped over the cracked landscape covered with large pools of resurrected water, the wentals simmered and rejoiced. The mass of ships cruised low over the glistening pools, and the rejuvenated oceans and lakes bubbled beneath them.

Columns of wental water leaped into the air like cyclones, and fountains of elemental liquid dispersed themselves into a thin spray. The living fog surrounded each warliner and Roamer ship in a cocoon of mist that sparkled in the hazy sunlight. As the combined fleet raced onward without pausing in their flight, each ship gathered a gauzy wreath of protective vapor.

Through their wentals, Jess and Cesca instructed the liquid entities to follow the patterns Kotto had earlier devised, forming themselves into frozen artillery shells. The ships in the combined war fleet drew more of the wental water into their holding chambers, and aboard each vessel, crewmen loaded the icy projectiles into gunports.

Also joining their fighting force, hundreds of pearlescent tree-bubbles arrived from Theroc, like foam droplets on a cosmic tide, each encapsulating a small but vital treeling. Nikko Chan Tylar and the rest of Jess’s volunteer water bearers followed along in their ships.

Jess could feel the powerful wentals surging within his body, ready to challenge their opponents. “The faeros incarnate can be destroyed, and the rest of the faeros can becontrolled. Just like the hydrogues. But it will not be easy.”

Cesca took Jess’s hand, and he felt the crackle of energy flow between them. She addressed the Mage-Imperator. “We will lead the charge. The faeros incarnate is as much our enemy as he is yours.”

They went to the warliner’s launching bay, emerged from the airlock, and shot themselves away from the ornate hull, tumbling out into the misty swath that surrounded the warliner. Gathering the droplets around themselves, Jess and Cesca formed a new wental ship for themselves.

Behind them, as the combined fleet left Charybdis and entered open space, all the ships were now veiled in misty shields. Flying their bright sphere in front of the gathered battleships, the new wental bubble shone like a Guiding Star.

In a great sparkling mass, the Solar Navy and the Confederation fleet streaked toward Ildira.

133

Tasia Tamblyn

Ihate bugs,” Tasia said, sealing the hatch of the Roamer cargo hauler in preparation for leaving the main Golgen skymine. “Ireally hate bugs. And you will too, Kotto — as soon as you get to know them.”

Kotto Okiah sat eagerly in the copilot’s chair. “I hope that doesn’t mean you’re having second thoughts and would rather be off fighting the faeros. We have to test the Klikiss Siren.”

“No second thoughts at all. My loathing for those bugs gives me all the more incentive to squash them. It is up to us, you know.”

Jess and Cesca, the Ildiran Solar Navy, and flocks of Roamer volunteers had all rushed off to Ildira. Tasia hoped that Robb, Admiral Willis, and the volunteer Confederation ships were accomplishing what they needed to do at Earth, without the Big Goose getting in their way.

That left the group of them — and Kotto’s gadget — to take care of the entire Klikiss race. Fair enough. She was up for it.

But Kotto had insisted that his research compies come with them in case he needed to modify the device on the fly. With those two going on the expedition, DD had asked to join them. And with DD came Orli Covitz and Hud Steinman. Tasia didn’t mind; they had all helped to develop the Siren.

As the hours passed, Kotto spent a great deal of time in the back with the three compies, tinkering with his Siren and running diagnostics. The device was an acoustic transmitter, about a meter across, assembled from dozens of mismatched components, circuit boards cannibalized from other equipment, and dangling power leads. Tasia had no doubt it would work. Kotto’s gadgets usually did.

Kotto tapped the curved dish as he explained. “A complex burst from this siren should incapacitate a Klikiss subhive, at least temporarily. If a group of insects is controlled by the thoughts of a single breedex, and we succeed in stunning that breedex by overloading its input, then they should all freeze.”

“I like the way you think,” Tasia said.

“I don’t know exactly how interconnected the various subhives are. We may have to do this quite a few times.”

“Trial and error, Kotto. We’ll figure it out.”

Despite his genius, Kotto hadn’t given much thought as to how they should conduct the actual test run. He had assumed they would simply fly down to the Klikiss-infested planet, land in the middle of a bustling hive, and switch on his Siren.

“Too much of a risk, if we don’t even know the Siren will work,” Tasia said. “Let me think about this — it isn’t your job to make military plans anyway.”