"They already have," I corrected him. The ships that sent trade between our planets were no longer under Estreldez control. Our moon's filled up the ships for less and less in return each time they arrived. The trade routes were turning more into a tribute to keep them from invading than a real source of benefit for the planet and the clan.
When I arrived back to the dwelling on Bina's outpost, I found my treasure scrolling through code on her screens. And then a voice filled the room from the speakers, "The samples you gave me have been processed. You were right, the water supply from the mountain is clean, but the waterfall has arnut root growing on the rock wall behind it. Half of our water supply comes from there."
"Even so," Hazel said with a shake of her head, "Arnut root must be crushed to activate, and it would be in the rock wall itself. It would've had to fall from the wall, exposing the roots to the water, and not in high concentration. It doesn't add up."
"Yes, the trace amounts found at the waterfall shouldn't have been enough to cause the miscarriages. We have a team carefully removing the arnut from the wall without further contaminating the water. We'll dig up some of the tunnels to do some more tests between the falls and the clan."
"I am not the only one in need of a break," I whispered into her ear as she jolted a bit from her chair at my quiet approach.
"Great moons!" she yelped.
"Hazel?" the scientist from the labs questioned with concern.
"I'm fine," she huffed out. "Take care of my sister."
"The Almder's pregnancy is progressing nicely. It's the last of your father's seed and if it weren't for you, the princess may never have been given a chance. You know the Almder asks about you often…"
My mate sighed and wrapped her hand behind my neck to pull me against her. Her head nuzzled into my neck for strength. This was hard on her to keep her distance, but our daughter wasn't the only stubborn one on this moon.
"It isn't about us anymore, is it?" she finally said, the message not for me, but for her mother.
"Tell the Almder that the net is functional as it is but still has some blind spots to fix. There is a risk of using it too soon and a link failing. A link failure could result in pulling too much radiation too fast from the planet's surface. It is better to allow the radiation net to slowly fuel itself without directly drawing from the moons or the planet."
"You can tell her yourself," they replied.
"I don't plan on using it at all, my son," the Almder spoke from the speaker, having been on the call, it seemed, the whole time.
"You will have need of it," I said with measured words to keep my temper in check. Why allow me to build it if she won't use it to defend her planet?
"It is nothing more than a warning. A show to keep the krelin from overstepping again. My hope is that they see it and decide to waste their efforts in trying to dismantle covertly, while we continue to repair it as quickly as they decide to push their limits. This game will keep them busy enough while we train our clan to defend itself. Loric is one of our most promising offspring. I'll have a team assigned to monitoring the moon net, and a lab built on our largest moon to keep up with maintenance."
"A show is only as powerful as its performance. A sign won't tell the krelins anything," I muttered through gritted teeth. I would have to discuss our options to leave Estreldez if the Almder wasn't willing to defend my mate and my lifeborn. My daughter, Faith, would see war if the net went unused.
Hazel's fingers massaged through my scales, and I felt the heat in my veins quickly shift from agitation to something that required this communication to end immediately for more enjoyable endeavors.
"There is great risk in using the net," Hazel reasoned, her voice soothing despite my disagreement of how to protect this planet. "At least, the risk is greater when it hasn't had enough time to safely accumulate a radiation field."
"According to my calculations, it's possible a net failure could result in draining radiation from the planet's surface instead of the moons," the scientist added.
"Which is why, if the net must be used at all, every estreld would have to take refuge beneath a Glorbin Flower enforced bunker to be sure that they wouldn't be drained themselves," Hazel continued, "Lucky for us all, the palace has many glorbin decorated rooms, and an underground tarnpul oasis big enough for the whole clan. You should consider doing emergency drills for everyone to know where to go."
"That shouldn't be a worry when the net is complete," I countered, ending on a groan as Hazel's other hand reached behind to rub at my mating glands.
"Then complete the net, and perhaps the krelins will not confiscate the satellites too quickly to erode the safety of using it all together," the Almder replied, though I could hear the sarcasm in her voice. She was certain that the net would always be too risky to use. She accommodated the building of the net for Hazel and liked to see the drive of the youngling Loric taking initiative, but she had no intention of using it. Intention or not, having the option as a last resort was better than having no resort at all when the krelins came for them. And they would.
My second, Belder, sent messages through the trade ships. The human she was helping there was deteriorating, and she feared that his death would break the queen's mind on believing Estreldez was already hers by control of our trade. There wouldn't be much time. If my second was correct, then when that human died… so too would this fragile truce. Control of the trade wouldn't be enough.
"Yueril is certain that with the current set up that it could safely disarm a ship without demanding too much from the net. The risk is in trying to harness the radiation not already stored in the satellites," Hazel explained.
What she wasn't saying was that if my information about the Krelis Queen was accurate then there wouldn't be enough time to use the radiation net safely, nor enough time to train the clan on how to defend itself. The estrelds weren't warriors, and without using the satellites… this planet would be overrun by the krelins.
"I will not say this again," the Almder said with a serious tone that did not allow for distraction or disagreement, "The palace is not the only clan on Estreldez. Many smaller clans live across the lands, the deserts, and mountains. We have farmers who train hergslats and live with the herds. We have many who choose to live as our ancestors have without the comforts of the palace and the city, out in the open, with no emergency bunkers to hide in, nor a way of knowing that they should be hiding at all. To use this net, would mean to commit those estrelds to death in favor of saving approximately twenty percent of Estreldez in the case of link failure."
After a static pause she added, "Would you sacrifice yourself, your mate, your offspring for the chance that an untested radiation net saves a small twenty percent of the planet from what? Being held prisoner to giving tributes to the krelins? Giving them the title of sovereign over the clans that would most likely be alive to rebel in the future? Do you not think that we could send a distress signal to the trill to keep more than such a small number? I should not have to say this much. What you ask for is too much. The net will always be a threat and nothing more. I will not speak on it again."
The communication ended, and silence filled the room as I stared at the wall, stunned by the Almder's resolve.
Only Hazel's voice pulled me from my thoughts on how she gave the krelins too much credit for how they would rule over this planet if given the chance.
