“Yeah, you three for the ground part,” said Jim. “I’ll stand by out-system coordinating comms and support.”
“And me,” said Bonnie.
“We don’t have much time,” Rita added. “Goblin intel thinks the Stree fleet will leave for Stalingrad within a week to ten days. If we have any hope of getting there in time to change the outcome of this war, we have to get our ass in gear!”
“So let’s get moving,” said Bonnie. “Let’s get the Armidale loaded up and get the hell out of here.”
Rita nodded at the rest. “Agreed. The first transport of Human survivors to Phoenix departs Monday. We could launch on Tuesday if we can get approval from the Goblin leadership. We’ll have to have some support from them - we can’t do it alone.”
Suddenly, Ollie rose to his feet. He looked around the group, a strange expression on his face.
“Guys, I’ve been sitting here thinking about it. I’m converting too. I…I just…I don’t want to live as Human anymore without Helen. I hope you can all understand.”
And with that, Ollie suddenly turned and marched away after Tika and Rachel, so quickly that the stunned group simply sat, unable to speak for a long moment.
Finally, Bonnie spoke.
“I think Rachel’s decision tipped him over the edge, too.”
Rita gave a slow nod of agreement. “Yeah. But I think it’s more than what he just said. Have you guys noticed him making side-eyes at Rachel lately?”
“What?” Luke asked. “Rachel?”
“Yeah,” Bonnie smiled at Rita. “I’ve noticed that. In spite of what he said, I think he’s getting past Helen, and starting to fall for Rachel.”
“No!” exclaimed Luke. “Ollie and Rachel?”
“Maybe,” said Bonnie. “He may not know it yet himself. You know how men are. You have to drop a rock on them before they realize some things.”
“Well, he could do worse,” said Jim. “Rachel’s cute.”
Rita gave him a mock slap on the shoulder. “Cute?”
Jim rubbed his shoulder where Rita had hit him. “My dear, please remember that you are now a Goblin, but I’m still Human. That left a bruise, I think.”
“Oh, sorry,” Rita grimaced. “I forget sometimes. But don’t change the subject. You think Rachel’s cute?”
“No,” mused Jim, “now that I think about it, she’s actually gorgeous.”
Rita slapped Jim’s shoulder again. “You’re digging your hole deeper, bud.”
Jim rubbed his shoulder once more and grinned back at his wife.
“And that’s what I get for telling the truth!”
***
Hours later, Jim and Luke were sitting in Jim’s apartment, each clutching a cold beer, when the door chime rang. Jim got up to let in Tika. As Tika plopped down on the couch in front of them, Jim had to suppress a laugh as he saw Luke turn half-sideways in his chair so he wouldn’t be looking directly at her. Jim had gotten used to it; but having serious conversations with a completely naked female android was still new to Luke.
“I have bad news, good news and good news,” Tika began. “Which do you want to hear first?”
Jim grimaced. “Always the bad news first.”
“Our leadership has disapproved the use of the 200-odd Humans who agreed to fight with us while remaining in their biological state. They are afraid the Humans might have an unconscious bias to side with other biologicals against Goblins, either now or in the future. Those Humans will have to continue on to Phoenix as originally planned.”
“Crap,” Luke interjected. “Those people are going to be really disappointed.”
“Yes, exactly,” Tika agreed. “But now for some good news. There were thirty-seven Humans that agreed to convert to Goblins. Our leadership has accepted those few into our ranks. And in fact, they have a special mission in mind for them.”
“What mission?” asked Jim.
“I don’t know, it’s classified,” Tika said. “But they are giving them a ship - an old cruiser called the Darkstar - and sending them on a special mission somewhere. That’s all I know.”
“Well, at least that group will have a chance to do something useful,” said Jim. “What about the rest of us? What about our proposal?”
“Your request for a mission to infiltrate the Stree High Command has been approved by our Leaders,” said Tika. “However, they honestly think you’re delusional to believe you can sneak into the Stree system, make it all the way to Stree Prime, and get into their Naval Headquarters without getting caught. On the other hand, they have nothing to lose. And there’s always that one-in-a-billion chance you’ll succeed.”
Jim grunted. “C’mon, Tika. At least give us one-in-a-million.”
“Fine,” grinned Tika. “One-in-a-million. Feel better?”
“Much,” grinned Jim back at her. “Can we leave on Tuesday as we proposed?”
“Yes. That works perfectly. Transport One will depart for Phoenix with the first batch of colonists on Monday. We can leave the next day.”
“You’re coming with us?”
Tika grinned even wider.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t think of anything better than to take this fight right to those Stree bastards on their own home world. We may not win the war, but I’ll bet we get to kill some Stree!”
Jim was now so excited he sprang to his feet, pacing around the room. “So who’ll be in charge? You?”
Shaking her head, Tika responded. “No. Our leadership wants this to be a Human mission, not a Goblin one. Rita will be in overall command. Our Leadership considers her the ranking survivor of the Human EDF at this point. Bonnie will be second-in-command. Of course, Captain Stewart will have operational command of the Armidale.”
“What else?” asked Jim.
“They’ll give us one Goblin Intel team for support. Other than that, you Humans are on your own.”
“That’s fine. I like it that way. That gives us a chance to get our own back for their attack on Earth.”
“Exactly. But of course, there’s another reason the Leadership prefer this to be a mostly Human mission.”
“And what’s that?”
“They don’t think Stalingrad can hold against the Stree. After the war, there may be no Goblins left to carry on the species. Their thinking is that maybe any Humans that survive your mission can at least carry on the memory of who we were.”
Grimly, Jim looked at Luke, then back at Tika.
“So you’re saying, we’re a remnant tossed to the wind, in hopes we may survive when all else is lost.”
“Exactly,” said Tika. This time, she wasn’t smiling.
***
“Did you hear?” Rita asked Jim, cuddling with him in their apartment. Both were hot and sweaty. They had been proving once again that all the bodily functions of Rita’s android body worked properly.
“Hear what?” Jim asked, playing with her hair. “I’ve been too busy to hear anything.”
“Luke’s not going with us on the mission. He’s going to Phoenix with Tatiana.”
Jim pulled his face back from Rita to look at her clearly.
“What? You’re kidding!”
“No. He told Bonnie he thinks his place is with his daughter and grandchild now. He said he’s fought his wars; now he wants to take care of Tatiana and baby Marta.”
“And what did Bonnie say to that?”
“She’s disappointed, of course. But she agreed with him. She told him to go, and she’ll catch up to him at Phoenix after the war.”
They were both silent. Both were thinking the same thing.
If Bonnie survives the war…
“And because of that, Bonnie has decided to stay in Human form,” Rita added.
“What?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t want to convert. She said if Luke is going to Phoenix as a Human, then she’s going to stay Human as well.”
“But Rachel and Ollie are converting?”
“Already did. Last ni
ght. They’ve already started training with Tika.”
“Both of them took it really hard, losing their lovers like that.”
“Well. We all took it hard. We all lost people.”
“But those two lost everything. Family, friends, and their lovers. More than anyone else.”
“Yeah,” Rita agreed.
“So when’s Luke leaving?” Jim wondered.
“Monday. On the first ship. With Mark and Gillian.”
“So let’s have a little celebration for them all, what do you say?”
“Like what?”
“Maybe a picnic? Tomorrow? In the park?”
“That sounds good.”
After a short silence, Rita spoke again.
“I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I’ve decided to send Imogen with Gillian.”
“Well. I knew you would.”
“No. I mean permanently.”
“Oh.”
“I thought we had put war behind us; but looks like it seeks us out no matter what we do.”
“Yeah. I’ve noticed.”
“It’s not fair to Imogen or to Gillian to keep this up in the air. So if you agree…”
“Yeah. I agree. War is no place for a child, and it looks like we can’t escape from it. That seems to be our destiny. So - yeah.”
Chapter Thirteen
Stalingrad System
Dyson Ring
“I hereby call the first meeting of the Phoenix Council to order,” said Mark, gazing around the table. Somehow a gavel had been found, and he tapped it gently.
He sat at the head of the table. Beside him sat his wife, Gillian. At the far end of the table, opposite Mark, was a Goblin android.
Between them sat seven people - the new Council members of the government of Phoenix. One of them was Rick Moore - the young man who asked Mark the first question during the meeting in the amphitheater. Another of them was Zoe DeLong - the female Marine pilot Mark had noticed during the meeting, the one who had asked the second question. Mark had gone out of his way to research them, investigate their backgrounds, and had liked what he found. He had then lobbied their respective apartment blocks to have them nominated for the Council, and each of them had won election.
Gillian had chided him for interfering in the nomination process, but Mark had gone ahead with it anyway. He had been in the Army too long to leave things to chance when he found good leadership, and he was sure he had found it.
“Has everyone introduced themselves?”
Nods and acknowledgments went around the table.
“Good. Then let’s get started. We have a lot to do. Let me begin by introducing Beto, our Goblin friend at the end of the table. The Goblins have been kind enough to provide us with a team of advisers. That team of Goblin advisers will travel with us to Phoenix and help us get established there. Beto will be the leader of the team and serve as a non-voting adviser to this Council. He is a biologist and botanist. A good combination to help us.”
Beto inclined his head slightly. The Humans around the table returned the nod, greeting him.
“Our next order of business is to elect a governor. Do we have any nominations?”
“Yourself,” Zoe said quickly, beating everyone else to the punch. “You have the most experience in both administration and military affairs. It only makes sense.”
Rick Moore happened to be gazing across the table at this moment. He saw a sour look flash across the face of the man in front of him - Turgenev - then just as quickly dissipate, the man’s face returning to the semi-permanent smile he had worn since they sat down.
Turgenev, thought Rick. He didn’t like that.
“Second,” Rick said quickly before anyone else could jump in.
“Ah,” said Mark. “I thank you. Do we have any other nominations?”
At the far end of the table, one of the new council members, a Korean named Jeo Deok Won, raised a hand.
“I nominate Mr. Turgenev. He operated a large food distribution company in Russia. He also served as an officer in the Russian military. I believe he would be best qualified to serve as governor.”
“I second,” spoke up a Chinese woman, Choi Ri. Rick noticed a quick glance between her and Turgenev.
Ah, thought Rick. Something doesn’t smell right here.
“Do we have other nominations?” asked Mark. Everyone looked around, but no one spoke.
“Then, since I’m now a nominee, I’ll hand the gavel over to Mr. Moore to chair the discussion of qualifications and conduct the vote,” said Mark. He winked at Rick as he passed him the gavel.
Stalingrad System
Dyson Ring
“What a beautiful day!”
Tatiana held baby Marta and smiled at the sky. She spun in a circle, winking at Misha as she spun by him.
Luke and Misha had no choice but to laugh at the comment.
“Every day here is a beautiful day,” Luke chuckled.
“Well, yeah, but still…it’s beautiful!”
High above them, the artificial sun of Central Park stretched from one end of the Human section to the other. The long, fat tube a quarter mile above them was just far enough away to provide a warm, sun-like glow of heat on their skin.
“To me, though, it gets monotonous,” said Jim, sitting on the grass on a bright checkered tablecloth. In front of him, a near-empty picnic basket stood, the contents pretty much demolished by the group. Nearby, Imogen ran through the grass, Rita and Gillian chasing after her. In a playground across the small creek from them, children played, laughing and calling out to each other.
“Monotonous?” asked Bonnie, just finishing up a remarkably realistic chicken drumstick provided by the Goblins.
“Yeah,” Jim replied. “Every day’s a perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold. Twelve hours of light, twelve hours of darkness. The food’s an almost perfect imitation of Earth food. The water is pure. The apartment blocks are clean, and everything works. There’s nothing broken or out of place.”
“So far, you’re describing Utopia,” Mark said with a smile.
“No. It’s not,” said Jim. “It’s a trap. It’s a trap that sucks people in, makes them think they have nothing to worry about, that everything will be just fine.”
“And we know better,” Luke agreed. “Phoenix is out there waiting for us. A primitive planet that’ll take everything we have to survive. And beyond that, the Stree. Preparing their attack.”
“I have a question,” said Mark. “Why won’t the Goblins let some of us stay here? It’s a perfect environment. Obviously providing for us doesn’t stretch their resources much. They could let the women and children stay here, for example, until the men have a viable colony established on Phoenix. Then the women and children could follow.”
Jim’s smile disappeared. Digging at the grass with a stick, he frowned, sighed, and shook his head.
“The Goblins have serious doubts they can survive this war,” he said. “And they know the Stree will destroy this Ring if they get a chance. The Goblins don’t want to be responsible for thousands of Humans dying if it comes to that.”
“Ah. Yeah, I can see that,” Mark mused, thinking it through. “So I guess we’ll be safer on Phoenix, even if the conditions are primitive.”
“What’s this I hear about you appointing Luke to the Council?” asked Jim, winking at Tatiana as she returned to the group and sat across from him, bouncing baby Marta on her lap.
“Well, you know I was elected Governor,” Mark said.
“Yep, I heard that. And I heard it was quite a close call.”
“Yeah. I won by one vote. Turgenev and his buddies put together quite an effective coalition, and in a damn short time, too. Not sure how they did that. If it weren’t for Rick Moore and Zoe DeLong, Turgenev would be governor now.”
“But you won. So it’s all good.”
“Yeah, I won. Barely. But anyway, well, you know the Governor gets to appoint his replacement.
I think Luke is perfect for the job. So I tapped him to replace me.”
Winking at Tatiana and Luke, Jim looked back at Mark.
“Well, I think you screwed up. Anybody crazy enough to stick their destroyer in front of a full battlecruiser cube has no business claiming sanity.”
Luke frowned at Jim.
“I seem to remember a Merlin fighter off my port beam about that time. One I believe had your name painted below the cockpit.”
“Touché,” grinned Jim. “Two of a kind - and both crazy!”
“You got that right,” Mark said, laughing at them both.
Jim looked past them toward a trio approaching.
“Oh, my Lord,” he said. “Look who’s coming!”
They all turned to see.
“Oh, gosh!” blurted Tatiana. “It’s Rachel and Ollie!”
Sure enough, Tika, Rachel and Ollie approached the group. Rachel and Ollie were walking a bit strangely, somewhat jerkily. Both had their head down and seemed to be concentrating on placing their feet properly.
“Oh, I know that feeling,” Rita said. Jim turned to see Rita behind him, holding Imogen and staring at Rachel. “The first couple of days, you feel like you’re learning to walk all over again,” she added.
As the three approached, everyone stood to greet them. The two came up to the group and stopped, Tika stepping to one side to allow Rachel and Ollie to be greeted first.
Bonnie stepped forward quickly and gathered Rachel in her arms, giving her a huge bear hug, while Jim jumped up, moved to Ollie, and grabbed him around the shoulders, shaking his hand.
Bonnie stepped back, reached up and smoothed Rachel’s hair where the wind had blown it askew, and then leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Welcome back, hon. We’re so glad to see you. How do you feel?”
“Basically, great!” said Rachel. “Just as Rita described. I have tons of energy; I feel like I could run a thousand miles. My senses are incredible. But my coordination is off. This body is so much more powerful than my old one. But Tika says I’ll be fine after a few more days.”
Rita handed Imogen to Jim and stepped over to Ollie, kissed his cheek, then moved to Rachel. She embraced Rachel and also kissed her cheek.
Remnants: Broken Galaxy Book Five Page 9
