{"id":2437,"date":"2022-10-22T13:29:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T20:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2022-10-22T13:29:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T20:29:10","slug":"the-bitter-ghosts-of-our-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/22\/the-bitter-ghosts-of-our-past\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bitter Ghosts of Our Past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story where someone sees the shadow of someone standing behind them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fleet Mother Andkura sat before a desk in her ready room. The air above the desk was littered with holograms of reports from systems throughout the Gathering. Her four large, compound eyes took in the chaos. The thin, wiry muscles of her arms writhed under blue-grey skin as her clawed hands opened and closed. Her whip-like tail swished side-to-side in agitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One notification popped up among the holos, demanding attention in harsh, blue light. With a wave of her hand, the reports closed, leaving only the notification. She motioned to the floating icon. \u201cFleet Mother Andkura.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The person on the other end was not what she expected. A human, making a direct call to someone of her rank and stature. The real-time holo meant that they were in Krinn space, close by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreetings, Fleet Mother Andkura. I have important information for you about your home world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI doubt it. I just left Gathering Prime and have had recent communication with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m talking about your real<\/em> home world, cradle world of the Krinn,\u201d he said. \u201cI should introduce myself. Dr. Allen Stund, director of the data archeology project on Krialla.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have my attention,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat have you found?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is something you need to see in person, not over a non-secured link. And we have some sensitive\u2026artifacts that need to be returned to your people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere do you expect that to happen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Terran Science Vessel Turing is approaching your location. We would prefer to meet here.\u201d He raised his hands to shoulder height, palms forward. \u201cPlease feel free to scan the ship carefully. We have no weapons beyond small meteorite defenses. You are welcome to bring an armed escort for your protection if you feel you need it, although I can guarantee you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andkura pulled up information on her holo display and linked in the bridge. \u201cWe have confirmed your location. You are ordered to heave-to for a boarding inspection. Helm, maneuver for contact and boarding. I\u2019ll be leading the boarding party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAffirmed, Mother,\u201d came the reply from the bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI look forward to meeting you,\u201d Allen said, offering a slight bow before turning off his comms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andkura stood at the shuttle door, waiting for the airlock seal to be complete. Her mantle flowed to just above her feet, decked out in designs of platinum thread and the collection of awards she\u2019d earned in her long career. She was flanked either side by armed troops in simple grey combat uniforms, their weapons slung in a casual yet easy-to-access position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the airlock doors opened, Allen greeted her. \u201cWelcome aboard, Fleet Mother Andkura.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are not of the Gathering Fleet, you can just call me Andkura, Dr. Stund.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCertainly, Andkura\u2026and please, Allen is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, Allen. May I send the inspection team to make sure your vessel is within treaty?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is one area that is off-limits due to privacy concerns, but that is where we will be showing you the\u2026artifacts. Your guards are welcome to accompany us if you trust them with the most sensitive of matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t, they wouldn\u2019t be my guards,\u201d she said. She turned toward the shuttle. \u201cStandard compliance inspection. I\u2019ll be personally inspecting the sensitive area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inspection team, each armed with a light sidearm, filed out of the shuttle in teams of two to spread through the ship. Andkura noticed tension in Allen, but not the sort that smugglers or pirates displayed. Rather than concern for the inspection teams, he ignored them entirely and was focused solely on her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you would, then, Allen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He nodded and turned to go. \u201cFollow me, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They walked through the ship, past crew members busy about their business who seemed more interested in the armed guards than a Fleet Mother in full regalia. Their path led them to a storage area in the back of the massive lab where the humans did their data archaeology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lab was unguarded, but the storage door was flanked by two women in security uniforms, armed with stun batons. They nodded as the group approached. \u201cDirector,\u201d one of them said, \u201cI see we\u2019re getting rid of the ghosts. This is your authorized guest?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGuests,\u201d he corrected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOrders are, no weapons in the artifacts storage,\u201d the other guard said, nodding toward the weapons Andkura\u2019s guards wore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m certain that the guards of the Fleet Mother are not going to discharge their weapons near the artifacts,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you say, Allen,\u201d Andkura assured. The guards nodded and put their hands behind their backs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee, all good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf anything happens, it\u2019s on you,\u201d the first guard said, pointing at the surveillance camera overhead. With that clarified, she pressed her palm against the door activator and the room opened. \u201cI don\u2019t really care, as long as we get the ghosts off the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scene in front of Andkura and the other Krinn left them shocked. Four desiccated Krinn corpses, still dressed in the finery of office. One wore the mantle of Great Mother of Krialla. The others wore the mantles of the Grand Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is the meaning of this?\u201d Andkura asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow much do you know about the devastation of Krialla?\u201d Allen asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know what remains of our history. The Gathering fought against the Scattering. When the Scattering forces realized they were losing, they bathed the planet in radiation, destroying it. The Great Mother and her entire council were killed in a direct blast on the palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn memory of the beloved Great Mother Nirdik, the Gathering continued on in the colonies, eventually naming one of them Gathering Prime and setting up the new government there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a nice story,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThe unfortunate fact is, it\u2019s entirely false.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andkura leant over the corpse wearing the mantle of the Great Mother. \u201cThere\u2019s no way that\u2019s the real Great Mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGenetic analysis says it is,\u201d Allen said. \u201cWe found them in a hollowed-out asteroid bunker. We found the bunker thanks to a beacon identifier we recovered from what was left of the safe under the Great Mother\u2019s palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what to expect on the asteroid, but that\u2019s what we found\u2026along with some personal journals. It seems Great Mother Nirdik left control of the government to her daughters and nieces in the colonies, albeit with forged documentation so they couldn\u2019t be linked back to her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed to a Krinn terminal set up at a desk in the room. \u201cThat\u2019s got direct access to all the data we\u2019ve been able to recover from Krialla so far. Everything related to the Great Mother, the Grand Council, and the devastation are indexed for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sat at the terminal and worked with the six-hundred-year-old technology. It took her just a few minutes to acquaint herself with how it worked, and she dove in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andkura had no idea how long she\u2019d been reading document after document, watching holo after holo, learning the history she\u2019d never heard. She\u2019d just opened another document when a shadow fell across the screen. The sudden realization that someone was standing behind her made her start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guards had their weapons at the ready, gone from relaxed and bored to ready to fight in a moment. They just as fast retuned to a relaxed state when Andkura waved them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAllen, this is\u2026,\u201d she faltered, \u201ctoo\u2026. Why did you bring this to me rather than directly to Gathering Prime; to the Council?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat have you learned?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was no Scattering. Nirdik and her council were losing favor and began to label any who spoke against them as traitors; part of a plot called the Scattering. It started small, but the more that spoke out, the more the Scattering became the enemy, the more support she and the council had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat she would\u2026the whole planet\u2026just to save the party\u2026I\u2014I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThinking about that,\u201d Allen asked, \u201cwhy would you think I would bring it to a Fleet Mother rather than the council?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andkura\u2019s tail whipped, hitting the floor with a sharp snap. \u201cThe current Great Mother is not very popular, and suddenly we\u2019re patrolling for rebels in the colonies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGeorge Santayana, a human philosopher said, \u2018Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.\u2019 I, for one, take those words to heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure yet what to do with the bodies,\u201d Andkura said, \u201cbut we\u2019ll take them back with us to get the ghosts<\/em> off your ship. Why you believe in such nonsense is beyond me, but I will honor it by removing them from your presence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen laughed. \u201cNo, that has nothing to do with it. The \u2018ghosts\u2019 we\u2019re talking about are the recordings and documents we\u2019ve recovered. They tell a horrific tale of those in power holding on in any way they could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAttempting to erase your history was a shrewd move on Nirdik’s part; not to mention the dissidents that died in the nuclear storm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen put a hand on Andkura’s shoulder. \u201cThe reason humans place so much importance on our history\u2026our real<\/em> history, warts and all, is to remember what not to do again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd those memories are the ghosts you speak of?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. They will haunt us as long as we remember, but they will rise again in existence as soon as we forget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen made a sweeping gesture toward the room. \u201cThese are your ghosts, Krinn<\/em> ghosts; do with them as you will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI recommend listening to them, sharing their stories far and wide, and proclaiming \u2018Never Again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andkura stood in silence for a moment. \u201cI will spend the time it takes to return these to our ship to think on the best course of action. Perhaps an appeal can be made to the council.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. \u201cA human leader, hundreds of years ago, trying to prevent a war said, \u2018The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForty-one rotations of the planet later, that war started. Brother against brother, a single nation divided against itself. I believe all <\/em>sapient creatures have \u2018better angels of our nature,\u2019 but they fall silent unless we can acknowledge and accept the bitter ghosts of our past.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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