{"id":3308,"date":"2025-02-03T13:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T21:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/?p=3308"},"modified":"2025-02-03T13:24:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T21:24:46","slug":"interdicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/interdicted\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERDICTED"},"content":{"rendered":"

Durrast grunted as he turned over one more rock. One more of ten thousand around him. The greenish sunlight filtered down through sandy haze blown up by a recent sandstorm, and grit was getting in his eyes. He wiped them tiredly, then wiped his hands clean on his budding horns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing under the rock this time, not even giant scuttlebeetles. Still squatting, he sighed, then squinted at the sun on the horizon. Too early to head back in, really. He set down his portable harvester and reached for the mesh bag clipped to his belt; hefted it thoughtfully; concluded he might barely have enough desert mushrooms in there to sell. He could make big eyes at the merchant, play up how he was just a little kid, maybe?<\/span><\/p>\n

Ugh, embarrassing. One more rock, then. Maybe down in the ravine there, where shadows gathered and moisture might lurk.<\/span><\/p>\n

He gingerly headed downslope. The terrain bore the typical signs of having been carved away by aggressive miners. He\u2019d have to watch out for sudden holes. If he fell in, he might die, and that would be quite an inconvenience \u2013 he\u2019d ReLife back at town, but all these mushrooms would be left behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

There! Under an overhang and shielded from the sun, just what he was looking for. More than he could fit in his bag! He pointed the harvester at them, and let the beam of light carefully separate the mycelium from the rock, keeping the fungus as intact as possible. As usual, a tasty meat-like aroma rose from the mushrooms, and Durrast\u2019s stomach growled.<\/span><\/p>\n

A sudden streak, glaring whitegreen light, then a pressure wave knocked him off his feet. Then came the sound, and a shower of dirt and sand. He rolled out from under the overhang before it gave way, clutching the mesh bag of mushrooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

It took him a moment to not feel dizzy as he stood. Then he climbed a rock and peered up over the edge of the shallow ravine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crashed ship. Not much left of it, honestly. Smoke was already rising to the greenish sky. And limping away, skin already crisping in the heat, was a pudgy fishlike human, not very tall, clearly a bit wounded. His huge aquatic eyes were frantically looking in every direction at once.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lomeisen\u2026! A Hansian!<\/span><\/i> Durrest had never seen one before. This planet\u2019s climate varied between hot and dry, and hotter and dryer, so Hansians tended not to visit. Mostly Terrans and Gertans like himself here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tentatively, Durrast tried to casually say Yo! \u201c<\/span>Zobek!<\/span><\/i>\u201d It came out as a bit of a tentative croak. He cleared his throat and shouted it. \u201c<\/span>Zobek!<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hansian stopped and looked around, then fastened his huge eyes on him. \u201cOh, thank goodness. Where the waves go, young friend.\u201d He was already gasping in the heat. \u201cI think I need\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then he faceplanted into the sand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/span><\/div>

A bit of water poured generously on both the head and down the gullet helped the fellow enormously. He explained his name was Plissashl, but to call him Pliss. He had a camp kit, so it wasn\u2019t long before they had a small portable stove going, a few mushrooms on the griddle, and a bit of light as the sun started to dip low enough to make the ravine a bit draftier and darker.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFeels almost like a beach party back home,\u201d Pliss said. \u201cGo with the flow, we always say. Sand around, a cookout, all we\u2019re missing is some surfboards and waves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest had no idea what a surfboard was, and didn\u2019t say a word.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting,\u201d Pliss said, taste-testing the mushroom patty with his tongue. He took a delicate bite, and swished it around in his mouth like it was wine. \u201cMeaty, but sweet, somehow, with an aftertaste like pears. Have you ever had pears, boy?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest shook his head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo much for you to discover in this Galaxy, as you grow! Of course, there are many sorts of pears, tart ones, sweeter ones\u2026 Hmm.\u201d Pliss chewed. \u201cYou don\u2019t happen to know the species name for these do you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest shook his head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPity. And my equipment is burned up in the ship. Hmm, you have a harvester tool, surely that would sample\u2026 but wait, no genetic sample module?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest shook his head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh well.\u201d Pliss swallowed noisily and reached for a second patty. Durrest could see his day\u2019s earnings vanishing rapidly into the Hansian\u2019s mouth. Pliss went on, mouth full, \u201cI\u2019m a baker, you see. Might make for an interesting ingredient. Don\u2019t talk much do you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest shook his head, then asked, \u201cWhat happened? Why\u2019d you crash?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

An evasive look came over the baker\u2019s face. \u201cOh,\u201d he said airily, \u201cjust a malfunction in the \u2013\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Both their Newsnet comms pinged at once. Servitor override, planetary broadcast. An Interdiction.<\/span><\/p>\n

PLEASE REMAIN CALM. WE ARE SEARCHING FOR INTERDICTED CONTRABAND. RESISTANCE MAY RESULT IN THE EXTERMINATION OF ALL LIFE ON YOUR PLANET. RUDENESS MAY ALSO RESULT IN THE EXTERMINATION OF ALL LIFE ON YOUR PLANET.<\/b><\/p>\n

Pliss froze as he listened, mushroom patty halfway to his wide mouth. There was a brief pause in the broadcast, then it resumed.<\/span><\/p>\n

ALSO, DON\u2019T SNEEZE ON US, ONE OF US IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO RUST.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOh <\/span>crurf<\/span><\/i>. Do you know anywhere to hide?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTown,\u201d Durrest said briefly. He was curt, half scared and half excited. A Servitor Interdiction! <\/span>Lomeisen!<\/span><\/i> He\u2019d seen patrols of course, and once a Seeder ship flew overhead. But the fact of that matter was this planet just didn\u2019t have much life on it, so the Servitors just didn\u2019t care. Then a thought occurred to him. Not much life also meant nothing much for them to care to save.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUh, they aren\u2019t serious about exterminating all of us, are they?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pliss was frantically packing up his camp kit. \u201cOf course they are, kid. What, never interacted much with them before?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cN-no.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pliss paused, then tucked the kit away in his molecular compressor pack, where it dwindled down to miniature size. \u201cLook, they try to keep species alive, but they don\u2019t care very much about any one individual. We\u2019re disposable. No matter how much our work matters.\u201d He sounded bitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWork?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, kid. Work, like preserving cultural heritage.\u201d Pliss was ready to go, looking one direction and another. \u201cWhich way is town? We have to move.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest hefted the mushroom bag onto his back, and pointed silently. His knees were shaking a little, and it wasn\u2019t the weight of the bag. <\/span>Extermination of all life on the planet.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pliss paused. Looked him up and down. Looked into his eyes. Closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Exhaled it slowly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSorry kid. You must be freakin\u2019 out. <\/span>Sipiss!\u201d<\/span><\/i> he cursed to himself. \u201cLook, they\u2019ll never suspect you. And it saves the work. I don\u2019t matter, in the end. We\u2019ll meet here in two days, at dawn, okay?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest had no idea what he was talking about, but he felt his eyes getting big. Maybe he wasn\u2019t as grown up and tough as he thought. Maybe the galaxy was full of much scarier things than giant scuttlebeetles, or pears.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pliss knelt before him, and handed him a folded piece of paper. \u201cHere, take this. We\u2019ll split up, you go to town and I\u2019ll go the other way.\u201d He put his long webbed hands on Durrest\u2019s shoulders. \u201cYou\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He stood, and began to run as best he could with his rolling waddle. Just before rounding a corner of the rockface, he said over his shoulder,  \u201cEven if they find it, they\u2019ll know it\u2019s not yours. You\u2019re just a kid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But he sounded uncertain about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest stood there for a bit, paper in his hand. Then he tucked it in a sock. Once he couldn\u2019t hear Pliss\u2019 heavy breath, he started trudging back to town with the heavy mushrooms on his back.<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/span><\/div>

Shadows were getting longer as Durrest reached the outskirts of town. Suddenly, his eyes stung from bright light as the dusk was illuminated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two meteorites fell from the sky just off to the side, glowing hot and angry. As they got close to the ground, their rate of descent slowed, and a crater of sand formed around them. Two metallic balls, spinning rapidly end over end; then they slowed until they paused hovering, and then slowly unfolded into the shape of two Servitor hunter-killers.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of them was rusty, while the other gleamed metallic and clean.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, this planet is great. Really great,\u201d the rusty one said. He stretched his needle fingers out, cracked his neck with its ungainly head. \u201cReally eases the rust spots to have low humidity. Just have to watch out for the grit in the gears, you know?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We are within standard operational parameters. The climatological environment is of no consequence. Standard issue lubrication can handle silica-based particulate matter,<\/span>\u201d the other said in a monotone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust saying,\u201d the rusty one said cheerfully. \u201cIt just feels good!\u201d He did a flawless little dance move, toe pointed out, and the angle of the blades on his legs and arms perfect. \u201cLike a holiday!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The silver hunter-killer looked at the rusty one with its blank flat eye sensors. \u201c<\/span>This is not recreational time. We are seeking pernicious corruption. Once it infects a planet, it never dies. It is passed from host to host forever. It replicates, an infection that cannot be cleared.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no pineapple upside-down cake, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d the rusty one said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I do not understand entity type \u2018pineapple upside-down cake,\u2019 and do not understand what this signifier means to your programming.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest, still standing there stock still, could swear he saw the rusty Servitor actually sigh. A small bit of steam even emerged from a neck joint.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDude,\u201d the rusty one said. \u201cYou really need to get the sensory upgrades.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Degrading your assembly is a probable cause for your chassis developing rust.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey now!\u201d The rusty one spun at his waist swivel point, and smacked the other Servitor with his metal arm. The force of the blow would have cut Durrest in two. The other Servitor was unmoved. The rusty one glared at him and said \u201cThat\u2019s offensive. I was <\/span>made<\/span><\/i> this way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The clean Servitor said nothing in response.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFine.\u201d The rusty one looked around, and spotted Durrest. \u201cYou. Come here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest trudged towards him, no longer very excited to see a Servitor up close.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s in the bag, kid?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDesert mushrooms.\u201d He proffered the mesh bag to the Servitor. He had to hand it up \u2013 this was the largest sentient thing he had ever seen, bigger even than Grrogho, the Skwatchi who ran the tavern and spent all day complaining about the heat.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rusty robot held the bag in fanblade serrated hands tipped with needles, while the clean robot ran arms covered in micropellet projectile vaporizers over the mesh bag, and played some sort of sensor beam over it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGross,\u201d the rusty robot pronounced. \u201cNever did like mushrooms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Local organic fungal species,<\/span>\u201d the clear Servitor pronounced. He spun his torso, and played the beam over Durrest, starting at the head and working downwards. It tickled, then started to burn. Durrest felt tears start in his eyes as the beam worked its way down his chest, then to his knees, and \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d the rusty Servitor said. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole town to check.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The burning sensation stopped at the top of Durrest\u2019s boots. He opened his eyes, and saw the two robots stalking towards town.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not exterminated!<\/span><\/i> he thought to himself. <\/span>I stood up to deadly Servitors! Lomeisen!<\/span><\/i> And they\u2019re here looking for the Aberration! I wonder if Pliss had spores? <\/span><\/i>He stopped suddenly, dropped to the ground, and pulled off his boots to check his feet, where the Servitor\u2019s beams hadn\u2019t. Frantic, he checked his skin all over where he could see, anywhere the paper had touched. <\/span><\/p>\n

No little tentacles. No wriggling worm things. He even checked his eyeballs in the reflection in the shiny bits of his harvester. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m clean.<\/span><\/i> Relieved, he put on his socks, tucked the paper in again, and put his boots back on.<\/span><\/p>\n

He walked back to town, standing a little taller, feeling a little older, a little bit tougher. Like a survivor.<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

The next morning the town was roused and summoned to the central plaza by the fountain. The two Servitors were there, and between them, held in their crushing grip, was Plissashl the Hansian baker. He was battered and bloody, and where his arms were held crushed by the Servitor pincers, they bruised purple and green.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAhem!\u201d said the rusty Servitor. \u201cAnnouncement incoming!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

NewsNet pings sounded across the crowd watching. Durrest stayed behind larger adults, peeking through Grrogho\u2019s legs only occasionally. Sometimes it helped, being small. He wanted to stay out of Pliss\u2019 view, just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n

ANNOUNCEMENT. OUR GENEROUS FORBEARANCE ALLOWS YOU TO LIVE. NO SIGNIFICANT INFESTION WAS FOUND. NO SUCCOR OR ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED TO THIS ENEMY OF THE OLD ONES. YOUR EXTERMINATION IS NO LONGER REQUIRED.<\/b><\/p>\n

Sobs of relief broke out across the gathered townsfolk.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t Cornucopia,\u201d Pliss mumbled through swollen giant lips.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rusty Servitor shook him harshly, and Pliss went limp. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter! What were you thinking? You know it\u2019s still a plague.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We are obligated to take you to molecular disassembly to ensure a lack of infestation,<\/span>\u201d the clean Servitor intoned.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pliss sagged between them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rusty robot extended telescoping sensors from the vicinity of what might represent his nose. Then he sniffed at the nearly unconscious baker. \u201cCan\u2019t believe you\u2019re throwing your life away on this. Not like it\u2019s over strawberry shortcake, either. Ah, the ethyl butyrate levels when the berries are fresh!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The clean Servitor hunter-killer momentarily froze, then rotated his head towards the rusty one. \u201c<\/span>I believe I comprehend. Relative esters provide sensory inputs you can assess via particulate analysis. This is what you call\u2026 smell and taste?<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah!\u201d The rusty Servitor got enthusiastic. \u201cIt\u2019s so fascinating. Like, the difference between ethyl butyrate versus ethyl methylphenylglycidate, it\u2019s dramatic but somehow organics clump them both as strawberry\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>My neural net might find these additional inputs of interest after all\u2026<\/span>\u201d said the clean robot, as a whirlwind formed by his massive feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pliss started to struggle as the two robots began to curl into hovering balls and glide away, but it was no use. As the three of them zoomed into the sky, Durrest heard his scream: \u201cBut it\u2019s my grandmother\u2019s recipeeeeeeeeee\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Durrest felt very small and young again, at that moment. Like something soft caught in the gears of a very large whirling machine he only faintly understood.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an alley later, the young Gertan unfolded the paper, and worked at deciphering the unfamiliar letter shapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

1 cup candied fruit\u2026<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

He wondered if he could substitute mushrooms.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":217806712,"featured_media":3311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1462,1457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-lore-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/INTERDICTED-I.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdLeGO-Rm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217806712"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starsreach.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}