Just seconds after they had finished restraining it the elder one regained consciousness with the same high pitched screeching that it had made just before is passed out. The Orlak strained hard against the self-assembling nano-fibre binders that held its legs and upper appendages firmly in place. Borda and Tinesh fell backwards away from the creature with haste. Even a well bound Orlak could do serious injury.
Del already had his plasma pistol in hand and quickly let off a warning round that vaporized a hole in the roof several inches wide as close to the Orlak’s head as he could manage without actually hitting it. The elder one took enough notice to stop moving and making noise.
“Tell the elder one that if he tries to attack us or escape the next round will be through his head!” ordered Del angrily. The sound of sporadic plasma rifle fire in the distance a reminder that time was of the essence.
Now that the elder one was prevented from entering its flowered form Alpha had to resort to his audible language so he launched into a long series of woodwind like sounds. The elder one replied in kind.
“The elder one understands, but is not concerned. The elder one says I am unholy and will never see Drrdetala again for my treachery,” replied Alpha. If there was ever a hint of recognizable emotion in his voice it was now and it was evident even to Del that was deeply upset by this notion.
“Don’t worry Alpha if we succeed in stopping this war you will be a hero and they will let you live on Drrdetala. If I have to I will take you there myself,” reassured Del, hoping that what he was saying was not somehow even more offensive or blasphemous. “Tell the elder one that we are not here to kill him we just want to speak.”
Alpha relayed the message.
“The elder one says that he will not speak to the unholy and that we will die whether we kill the elder one or not.”
As if to emphasis the point there were several grenade blasts from the street below and urgent message crackled through his neck communicator.
“Major, we have one down and we are retreating to the first level of the building!”
“Understood,” replied Del grimly. “Just give us as much time as you can.”
Del paced back and forth in between Alpha and the bound elder one as he tried to think. If the elder one did not care about saving his own bark then there was no leverage for him to work with. There was only one way to find out whether it really did care about self-preservation or not. It was not the way he had envisaged negotiating peace, but in his mind he had no choice.
Del turned on the elder one and pointed his plasma pistol at its head. The elder one did not flinch or attempt to move, it simply stared back at Del in what was presumably a show of defiance. It was time to call its bluff so Del aimed the weapon at its nearest upper appendage and blew the end of it with surgical precision. The elder one screeched loudly and writhed about on the ground as it tried in vain to free itself from its restraints.
“Tel the elder one that unless it will talk with the unholy I will shoot off every appendage it has and then cut open its body and pull all its special flowers out!” shouted Del.
After another warning shot the elder one finally quieted down and listened to Alpha. Its response was slow and strained. It could not hide its pain.
“The elder one says it will listen to the unholy for as long as you still live. You should expect a slow and painful death when the Orlak come.”
The sound of small arms fire was now echoing up through the stairwell shaft. The Orlak were pushing Ceeda and what was left of his team upwards faster than he expected. In several minutes this would all be for nothing.
“Alpha I need you to tell the elder one how the war started. Tell him about Drrdetala and what we are going to do to it unless we can talk to the eldest ones and make peace between Vaslus and Orlak.”
Alpha turned to Del.
“The elder one will not believe this.”
“Just do it!”
Alpha relayed the message at length and the elder one listened quietly. When Alpha finished the reply from the elder one was short and sharp.
“The elder one will not believe us as I am unholy.”
“Make him believe Alpha, you have to convince him we are serious or this war will end up destroying both our civilizations and Drrdetala!”
Alpha was quiet and un-reactive for long moments and Del was tempted to shoot both he and the elder one and try against the odds to extract what was left of his team. Then Alpha slowly bent forwards until his head was low enough to show the device attached to the back of his neck.
“Remove the device. I understand the truth about the war. I will remain peaceful to save Drrdetala.”
“Even if you could I don’t know how to turn it off safely. It will kill you if I pull it free.”
“It is the only way. I must make the elder one understand that it is my own mind that says this. You promised to take me to Drrdetala, please take me there when I am gone.”
The small arms fire was getting very close now. So close that Borda and Tinesh took up defensive positions in the top of the stairwell for a final stand.
Del looked to Alpha and then the elder one. Then with an angry sigh he yanked out the nano controller from Alpha’s neck. The effect was immediate and Alpha dropped to his four knees as the neurotoxins coursed throughout his body and his mind.
He spoke rapidly to the elder one who spoke back rapidly. With some effort Alpha looked back up at Del the immense pain he was in evident on his otherwise emotionless face.
“I am holy again. The elder one…believes,” said Alpha his voice slurring as he started to lose control of his bodily functions and green fluid started to drip from his mouth. Del leant down next to him and tried to prop him up. “Stop fighting here…I…Drrdetala...”
His last words were hardly intelligible and did not make sense, but he could manage no more as he fell forwards to the rooftop dead.
“Release me and I will stop Orlak from killing the Vaslus here,” said the elder one suddenly. It spoke Vaslusian better than Alpha had.
“Son of a bitch…” cursed Del, but he had no choice as Ceeda and his one remaining team member retreated onto the roof top along with Borda and Tinesh. He quickly released the nano-fibers and the elder one rushed to its feet and opened its head and chest to the waning sun.
Within moments the combat stopped and the Orlak retreated back down several levels. Del ordered his men to also stand down. Suddenly an eerie quiet fell over the roof top. A moment later the elder one returned to its normal form and looked at Del and the others.
“The younger one believed its words to be true. I do not believe these words and the eldest ones will not believe these words. Vaslus must show this weapon.”
“I think that can be arranged,” he replied and then into his neck communicator he opened up the direct emergency link to his command post. “Ello report in!”
“The Orlak have stopped their attack. We have suffered heavy casualties, our defenses have pulled back into the command centre perimeter, we are low on ammunition and power for the shield dome. I doubt our ability to repel any more sustained attacks.”
“Tell the men to stay alert, but do not move from their positions or fire on the Orlak unless fired upon. Then get me a direct channel to the Rear Admiral!”
“Yes sir!” was the relieved reply. After a few tense moment the channel opened and was crystal clear this time.
“Rear Admiral negotiations have commenced.”
“Major you just made General,” replied the Rear Admiral.
“It might be a bit early for battlefield commissions just yet Rear Admiral. We currently have a local cease fire in place, but to take this higher they want a demonstration to prove we are not bluffing. Perhaps a small moon orbiting one of the outer planets?”