A BRIEF HISTORY CONCLUDES (corrected record)
© 1999 by J. A. Stubbs
However, Platipla’s people discovered her by accident. His government learned to control some of the Star Children; starting with Telee Prin. His agents used them to invade other people’s thoughts. And they placed these children with some of their spy teams. While investigating the former crew members of the Fontil heavy cruiser, Rebonse; one team found an anomaly.
They found people who’s memories had been altered or had gaps in their recall. In time, they were able to retrieve suppressed remembrances from a Pilmissi doctor. They discovered that the doctor helped the ship’s first officer give birth fifteen years before. Yet there were no ship records of the birth; and no one seemed to remember ever seeing any children there.
Still, it was in the doctor’s memory that Alsatresa Falfil had given birth to a set of twins. Though no one who had been aboard the ship seemed to know that. The ship’s records showed that Alsatresa and her mate Cievirensee Falfil left the Rebonse, four years later. After they completed their terms of service. But there was no hint of any children; and no one knew where the Falfils had gone.
It became clear to Daliek Platipla that there were other Star Children he could not account for. Which only added to his paranoia. It made him more determined than before to account for each and every one of them. He also decided to create more of the Star Children on his own. And he redoubled his search for any telepathic people he could find.
Then his spies discovered that the Falfils were Hemites. Followers of that religious order only lived on a few worlds; and that narrowed their search. One of his capture teams found them living on their farm; on the Planet Fosfar III. Which is also known as Koni Vanti Hem, “The Colony of the Hem.” Armed with their thought screens and camouflage nets, his agents tried to take them by force.
They launched an assault against the main farm house early one morning. As the team had never seen these Star Children; and did not know what they looked like. They hoped to capture them as they slept. However the twins weren’t there. But their parents were. Who put up one hell of a fight; and were killed in the process.
The brother and sister were then sixteen years old. They had spent several days camping with other teenagers from their community. They came home to find the capture team in their house; and their parents dead. While there is no direct report of what happened during their encounter; we know Kkridee and Marrista Falfil killed the capture team that day.
Six months later, someone broke into the Governor’s palace on Kan Ke’ El II: the Planet Cip. Eighty-seven members of the palace guard and Platipla’s family members died during this intrusion. Including Daliek himself. The Kan Ke’ El were Gindi. A Vilorsiform species that had evolved a ‘two-heart’, blood pumping system. This gave them a “backup heart,” in case of illness or injury. Yet here they all died of heart failure.
Next The Kankreel War. Or return to Alliance Space or A Brief History or:
A Brief History Continues, or Science Fiction list, or Reading Library.
Thank You,
Wil Sansflaw