The transport's door lowered to the windy landing pad with a quiet whir. The air was thin and freezing in the high mountains of the Rimmer Highlands as General Tahnnu and his guards strode down the metal ramp to the high secondary pad adjacent to the listening post. They could just make out the twenty mile tall form of Shalmiraine through the morning mists in the distance. Kohl-Tahni Special Forces Sergeant Brak asked, "Sir--permission to speak freely?" Tahnnu said, "You ask in the common tongue of Balaam? Not in our mother tongue of Kohl-Tahnue? By all means, Sergeant." "Sir, King Kruag of the Scavs was quite angry at your breach of protocol at revealing our core mission to spy on this planet of Balaam! I've been on your security detail for only two months...perhaps I've had my mind poisoned by the culture of this world...Sir--I have to ask: Was that wise to do?" Brak knew that openly questioning the wisdom of a leader's decision might well cost him his rank, much less his life. Tahnnu stopped and looked with a curiously detached look at Brak. "WHY do you ask me?" Brak sounded apologetic when he responded, "Sir, forgive me. I just feel so much like a part of this world. All of us who have Kohl-Tahni blood were born here. Our mission ship came here so long ago--over two hundred years ago! We've changed. Due to the Blight, we born here can never go back into space. The ship's flight crew will abandon us here to our fates. We'll be cut off forever, not of this world and a part at the same time." Tahnnu nodded and stepped off the ramp, while Brak went over to the cable-bridge from the precarious landing-pad to the mountainous trail around to the listening post. The General spoke slowly of the wind,"I understand your concerns. THAT is the burden of leadership. I need to find out what, 'Multiple instances of First Physical Contacts' actually means. That's why we're here, Mister! The Mission's ship-crew will NOT be revived until we have definite information to advise them about. Given my druthers--I'd sooner keep them on ice as long as possible and deal with the situation ourselves if at all possible." He patted the young soldier on the back and said, "Mister, that's why I told Kruag. He's been my friend almost seventy years. I owed him the truth, at the very least. This information affects everyone on the whole planet. Just now, there is precious little civilization on this planet to respond to this threat. Except maybe for us. Let's go." Brak nodded and stepped onto the bridge and snapped out, "Sir! Yes, Sir!" They stepped quickly across the bridge and headed to the listening post to get the latest updates about what was going on. They could smell the change in the world was coming, and they knew the fate of the world was in their hands. They feared that knowledge. --to be continued-- Media is Poser 6, Vue 6, Wings3d, and Blacksmith2.2