by S. H. Jucha
“You take Aputi. I’ll take Sastisona,” Jess replied.
“Not Tacnock?” Lucia queried. “He’s going to be unhappy to be last to receive a carrier.”
“He will be until the moment he hears what I want him to do in the meantime,” Jess said.
Jess, Lucia, and the assault leaders caught a traveler. They expected to be making for the Freedom, but Jess realized they were headed for the outpost.
Exiting the traveler into a newly finished outpost bay, Tacnock quipped, “Looks better every time we come here.”
The veterans laughed. It was only their second visit.
Renée approached the veterans with a bright smile. “I wanted to show you to your quarters,” she said. “We want you to be comfortable between assignments.” Then she beckoned them onward.
The circular corridor led to a grav lift that whisked them upward through many levels. When they exited the lift, they circled a second corridor. A door slid aside at Renée’s approach. She led the others into a well-furnished room, extended an arm, and asked, “What do you think?”
“It’s a generous dorm room,” Tacnock said. “We’re appreciative of the Omnians’ consideration of our positions. How many of us will occupy the sleeping quarters?” He eyed the doors that he saw leading off the main room.
Renée was taken aback by Tacnock’s question. She was surprised that the veterans underestimated their value to the resistance and the alliance. “Tacnock,” she said gently. “This room is a salon. One door leads to the sleeping quarters and a refresher. Behind the other is an office. This particular suite is for Sastisona.”
The Sylian growled deeply in appreciation.
“Then we each receive a suite?” Aputi asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Renée replied.
“Who knew fighting the Colony would pay off so well?” Aputi marveled.
Renée stepped to the center of the seating arrangement. She signaled the low central table, which split and elevated a holo-vid. Linking to the controller, she delivered telemetry to it of the outpost from the Rêveur’s point of view.
The assault leaders inundated Renée with their thanks at receiving a private suite with its own vid.
“There’s more,” Renée said. She signaled a wall screen, and landscapes of worlds segued across the view. “The SADEs have collected imagery of many planets,” she explained. “They’re stored on your controller. If you link to an image, you can examine data on its location and geography. If you wish, you can peruse the image catalog about the terrain and the occupants.”
“Is there a catalog about Omnia?” Tacnock asked.
“Assuredly,” Renée replied.
With a self-satisfied growl, Sastisona strode to view her sleeping quarters. Tacnock plopped in a chair and felt the nanites move under him. He flashed his teeth at Jess. Meanwhile, Aputi chose to examine the office.
When the veterans reassembled, Renée sent everyone a link. “That’s the station’s layout. It’ll update every time Mickey’s SADEs release a completed area to you,” she said. “The controller is prepared to accept your queries.”
The assault leaders were left to peruse their new quarters, and Renée escorted Jess and Lucia up another level. In the corridor, they passed a conference room with clear view panels that faced the corridor.
“This is the fleet admiral’s suite,” Renée said, as she stepped through a doorway.
Lucia’s expectant smile faded. She surveyed a minimally furnished salon and turned to eye Ser.
“I apologize for my jest,” Renée said contritely. “We intended this suite to be occupied by the next fleet admiral. I didn’t think the present one would wish to stay here, or am I mistaken?”
Lucia and Renée quietly regarded each other.
Lucia felt she’d been taken for granted, and Renée realized her mistake was that she hadn’t offered Lucia a choice.
Smartly, Jess said nothing.
“I’ll have to view the alternate quarters,” Lucia said, choosing not to be easily mollified. “I’ve high expectations for my comfort.” She accessed the controller, located the commander’s quarters, and strode out the door. The suite she sought was on the same level.
Jess glanced toward Renée, who smiled at him, winked, and hurried after Lucia. For a moment, he stood uncertain. The last thing he needed was to have Renée’s ploy, game, or whatever it was backfire.
By the time Jess exited the suite, Renée had disappeared around the corridor’s curve. He linked to the controller, located his new quarters, and took off running.
The door to the commander’s suite was open when Jess arrived. He slid to a halt, walked casually through the doorway, and lounged against the wall.
Renée sat in a chair, and Lucia occupied a couch. Her arms were spread wide across the back of the couch.
“The place is passable,” Lucia pronounced. She’d taken note of Jess’s contrived posture and realized that he had no knowledge of what was transpiring. That pleased her.
Jess chose to casually gaze around. The furnishings and décor rivaled the Freedom’s owner suite. With effort, he kept his mouth from hanging open.
Renée was also watching Jess. She dearly hoped that her intent to surprise the couple didn’t cause them any trouble.
“Commander, you looking for a roommate?” Lucia asked indifferently.
“Yes,” Jess replied cautiously, “but she’d have to be a special person.”
“Who, for instance?” Lucia asked, and Renée hid a smile.
Jess eased off the wall and slowly walked toward Lucia. “I want someone with a strong personality,” he began. “She’d know herself. It would help if she was a good fighter, but underneath her tough exterior, she’d have a good heart. She would be someone who cared about others.”
“And where do you expect to find such an extraordinary individual?” Lucia asked. She was having a hard time equating herself with the person Jess was describing.
“I already have,” Jess replied. Then he grinned.
Lucia patted the place beside her. “Why don’t you come over here, Commander, so that we can discuss this roommate arrangement?” She swallowed slowly to ease the lump in her throat.
When Jess crossed to sit beside Lucia, Renée rose and slipped out of the suite.
“What would you like to know?” Jess said, eyeing Lucia’s face. Her beauty had caught his attention, but it was the woman who held it.
Lucia was mesmerized by the way Jess gazed at her. No one had ever looked at her in that manner. She dropped the pretenses. “I need to know nothing,” she said, sliding into his lap.
* * * * *
In the morning, Jess visited Tacnock’s suite. The Jatouche flashed his teeth at Jess’s entrance.
“Enjoying the accommodations?” Jess inquired. It was a rhetorical question. “Any fruit juice yet?”
“You know there isn’t. Stop teasing me,” Tacnock shot back. “The hydroponic gardens are installed, and the seedlings are planted. The fruiting will take time, and I look forward to the results.”
The mention of seedlings prompted a question for Jess, and he linked to the controller and requested green spaces. He was supplied with a wire diagram of the station that indicated the number of parks the outpost would possess. Included in the number was a grand park similar to the great garden onboard the Freedom. The parks would be one of the last items to be installed, but like Tacnock, he looked forward to that day.
“What brings you to my suite?” Tacnock asked.
“The Ormand and the Chesterfield will sail with Aputi and Sastisona as assault leaders,” Jess replied, taking a seat across from Tacnock. “The admiral and I will each accompany one of the carriers.”
Tacnock shut down the holo-vi
d, which receded into the table. He regarded his friend quietly, whom he knew well. There was much more to come.
“The Blakely won’t return to Pyre for another eight cycles,” Jess explained. “In the meantime, I’m asking you to do something important for the resistance. It might be dangerous.”
“In that case, I volunteer,” Tacnock replied swiftly, flashing his teeth broadly.
“Don’t be too hasty,” Jess warned, and Tacnock’s levity evaporated.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Tacnock requested.
“The alliance’s status quo has existed for so long that I don’t think we know the truth about the Colony,” Jess explained. “It’s been centuries since the insectoids made their first appearances in the alliance domes, including Rissness.”
“And without weapons too, if you don’t count their pincers and venom,” Tacnock remarked.
“Looking back at that moment, what do you think about it now?” Jess inquired.
The question caught Tacnock off guard. He paused to recall the historic details surrounding the Colony’s invasion of Rissness, the Jatouche moon. There was utter panic within the dome, the journeyers were attacked and killed without warning. The battle to retake the dome had been long and hard.
“I think the Colony was as surprised as we were,” Tacnock said. “The insectoids learned the console’s elementary secrets, and they chose to test the gates. One of those gates linked to Rissness.”
“That’s my thinking,” Jess said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees.
“Then why the precipitous attack?” Tacnock asked.
“Don’t misunderstand my line of questioning,” Jess said, waving off Tacnock’s query. “We know the Colony is an aggressive species, who’ll fight anyone or anything that stands in the race’s way. I’m merely pointing out that the insectoids probably didn’t know what they’d find in those initial forays from their dome. So, they came unprepared.”
“Since that time, the Colony has worked to overcome our defenses,” Tacnock surmised.
“Precisely,” Jess replied, hearing the SADEs’ voices using the same term.
“What does this conversation have to do with why you’re here this morning?” Tacnock asked.
“The Colony was blocked on entry to alliance worlds. Harbour, Jessie, and the original explorers said they discovered the Colony rapidly expanding to non-alliance domes,” Jess explained. “Why the urgency?”
“That’s obvious,” Tacnock replied. “The insectoids’ need to dominate drives them.”
“True,” Jess said, drawing out the word to invite further thoughts.
“And possibly population pressures,” Tacnock added.
“I think those two are inextricably linked,” Jess said, with intensity. “In that regard, I believe the Colony threw every resource into securing other worlds.”
Tacnock regarded Jess with a deep frown that threatened to merge his bushy eyebrows. He knew Jess was asking him to reach his own conclusions.
“If the Colony was forced to expand due to overpopulation, what’s to stop the insectoids from having the same problem on every world they invade?” Tacnock mused. He didn’t expect Jess to answer him, and his friend didn’t. “Probably nothing,” he added, answering his own question.
“And?” Jess prompted.
Tacnock considered everything Jess and he were discussing. It centered on the Colony’s initial expansions and the reasons that drove it. Suddenly, he was thunderstruck by what he concluded Jess was leading him to consider.
“You think the Colony’s home world succumbed to the race’s insatiableness,” Tacnock declared.
Jess leaned back in his chair and smiled at Tacnock.
37: Departure
Sam Fleetfoot disembarked from his traveler into an outpost bay, and a Sylian trooper was tasked to escort him.
“Lieutenant, if you’ll follow me?” the trooper requested. She caught Sam’s glance at her ruined eye and scarred face.
“The Jatouche medical station is taking troopers in the order of worst cases first,” the trooper explained. “I’m scheduled for admission in another thirty-six cycles.”
Sam heard a contented rumble from the Sylian female’s chest, as they cycled through the airlock. “What?” he asked.
“In most cases, repairing this damage would have cost me much of my savings,” the trooper said, indicating the damage with a blunt-clawed thumb. “Because I’m part of the resistance, the Jatouche will fix everything for free.”
“Afterward, will you return to the fight?” Sam asked, as they walked through a gleaming new corridor.
“Affirmative,” the trooper replied definitively. “I’ll exterminate insectoids until the Colony doesn’t exist anywhere in alliance space. When the Colony invaded our dome, my siblings and I lost family members.”
Sam had heard that sentiment from many of the younger races.
That included the Pims. They were awakening to their newfound opportunity, and there was no fiercer proponent of embracing the possibilities than Oforum, the Pims’ new president.
As if reading Sam’s thoughts, the Sylian trooper asked, “How are things on Pimbor?”
“Settling nicely into place,” Sam replied. “The last of the Pims are exiting their tunnels in droves. Pim riders and shadows haven’t reported an insectoid, adult or juvenile, in eight days by the time I left.”
As the pair rode the lift high into the station, the trooper asked, “What brings you to the outpost, Lieutenant?”
“The commander,” Sam replied, as if that explained everything.
The trooper sent Sam a link to the station’s structure. She highlighted the commander’s quarters for Sam.
“I can find my way from here,” Sam said, as the lift doors opened. “I wish you good fortune when you return to the field.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” the trooper replied, touching a fist to her chest.
Sam followed the implant map around the corridor’s curve to Jess’s quarters, and the door slid aside, as he neared it. Stepping into the nicely decorated salon, Sam’s eyes went immediately to the second occupant. Kasie sat on a couch across from Sam, and she smiled warmly at him.
Jess watched Kasie’s reaction to Sam entering the salon. It wasn’t necessary. Kasie hadn’t closed her gates, and his mind received a feeling of deep contentment.
“Come in, Lieutenant,” Jess said cheerfully.
“Commander,” Sam replied respectfully.
“That’s true, but it’s still me,” Jess acknowledged, as he stepped around the seating arrangement and clasped forearms in what had become a common veteran greeting. He directed Sam to take a seat.
Kasie stood to welcome Sam. After her initial broadcast, which she was sure her brother felt, she’d quickly shut that portion of her gates to curtail her sending. However, she kept her receptive capabilities open, and she was pleased by what she sensed.
“Greetings, Kasie,” Sam managed to say.
“Hoisted anyone on your shoulders lately?” Kasie asked, grinning.
“A lot of Pims. Do they count?” Sam replied, returning Kasie’s broad grin in kind.
Kasie sensed the heated emotions pouring out of Sam for her, and it was all she could do not to throw her arms around his neck.
“If the two of you would take a seat?” Jess requested. He took note that Sam chose to sit close to Kasie on the couch, which immensely pleased her.
“Sam, you’ve done a great job on Pimbor, keeping the Pims safe, while the planet was retaken,” Jess said. “From the reports I’m receiving, it sounds like your job is completed. Alex is warning us that the fleet might sail soon. Are you intending to return to Omnia?”
This was a part of the commander’s job that Jess disliked. Lucia had asked him if he wanted her to attend the meeting, but he’d told her no.
“If this meeting goes wrong,” Jess had told Lucia, “then I don’t need my sister hating you too.”
“I don’t know
. I hadn’t made up my mind,” Sam said hesitantly.
“Then you’re open to staying in alliance space?” Jess inquired. “If so, I’ve got a job for you.”
“As what?” Sam said guardedly. He’d had enough of leading teams to fight the insectoids. The constant emotional pressure of dangerous contact had taken its toll.
“Outpost One’s head of security,” Jess replied. “It would be a promotion to major, with a stipend attached. To say that I need someone like you, whom I can trust, is an understatement.”
The surprise on Sam’s face was what Jess hoped to see. He’d communicated frequently by cubes with Juliette. The SADE had informed Jess about Sam’s reluctance to return to the role of assault leader. She’d also said that the lieutenant had frequently inserted Kasie’s name into the conversations.
“A nice offer,” Sam replied, “although, is a position like that even necessary with the alliance races?”
“I wondered about that myself until I had a conversation with Ophelia,” Jess replied. “She warned me about organizations taking advantage of our supply chain and offered to vet the processes for us. I’ve contracted Pyrean security services. This position would work closely with her and her staff.”
“If forms of price manipulation are in existence, then it would behoove those organizations to have individuals on the inside who can communicate the opportunities to them,” Sam mused. “The outpost would be hiring these individuals unknowingly.”
“Now, you see what concerns me,” Jess replied. “So, are you interested?”
“I think I’d like to talk to Kasie first?” Sam replied, turning to look at her.
Suddenly, the men were overwhelmed by the sheer power of Kasie’s sending. It swept through their minds, leaving both of them with silly expressions on their faces.
“Kasie,” Jess managed to say.
Immediately, the sensations disappeared, and the men shook their heads in an attempt to clear their minds.
“I think that answers my question,” Sam said, reaching for Kasie’s hand, and she clasped his with both of hers.
