“It gets better, guys. It took me a while before it became second nature to me. I don’t even notice it now. It just feels normal.”
Ollie nodded hopefully. “Good. That’s encouraging. Because right now I feel like a two-year old.”
One by one, the rest of the group greeted the two, hugging them and making them welcome. After a while, the two newly converted Goblins sat down at the tablecloth with the rest of them.
“I’m sorry, there’s not much food left,” said Mark.
“No worries,” Ollie replied. “We don’t have to eat anymore; only if we want to appear Human to strangers.”
Rita nodded in agreement. “Another benefit of being a Goblin.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure that’s a benefit,” said Mark, finishing off one last piece of chicken. “This is a pretty good drumstick.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” said Rita. “We can eat if we want to, and the experience is exactly like before we converted. It’s just that if we don’t want to, or we have no food, we can mentally flip a switch in our brains and the hunger goes away.”
“Handy for missions,” said Jim.
“Exactly,” said Rita.
Jim couldn’t help but notice an involuntary shudder go through Gillian. He decided he’d better change the subject. He looked across at Mark.
“So…the first transport ship leaves tomorrow afternoon. And the entire Council is going?”
Mark nodded. “Yeah. I see no reason to leave any of the Council members here. The Goblins can handle this end of things.”
Jim smiled at Gillian. “Well, Sis, you keep Mark under control out there. Don’t let power go to his head!”
Gillian chuckled. “It already has. He told me this morning I’m to be in charge of Housing Administration. Without even asking me first!”
“And what did you say?” asked Jim, knowing his sister.
“Fat chance! I’ve got better things to do - I have to take care of Imogen!”
Jim cast a glance at Rita. He saw the shadow pass across her face briefly, then disappear.
“Too right,” Jim said. “She’s a handful!”
In his lap, Imogen squealed and squirmed at the mention of her name.
“So. You leave on the first transport tomorrow,” Rita said to Luke. “So this is goodbye, for a while.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Luke replied. He looked around at the group. “I’ll miss you guys.”
There was a long silence as everyone contemplated the future. They were going their separate ways - some to try and survive on a primitive planet, others to war.
Rita glanced at Bonnie. She knew Bonnie was taking Luke’s decision to go to Phoenix hard. She saw Bonnie put her head down, pulling at a blade of grass on the ground. Rita spoke again.
“Luke - Mark and Gillian are going to have their hands full getting the colony organized. Please help them all you can.”
“I will,” Luke said. “Misha and Tatiana and I will be there for them. We’ll make it work.”
“And help Gillian with Imogen for me. Please.”
Luke nodded solemnly. “I will, Rita. I promise.”
Chapter Fourteen
Stalingrad System
Dyson Ring
“Bonnie’s crying,” Rita told Jim.
Jim looked across the landing bay where the crew of the first transport to Phoenix was loading. He could see Bonnie, wrapped in Luke’s arms, both of them clearly distraught at the thought of being separated. He didn’t need Rita’s enhanced vision to see the tears streaming down Bonnie’s face.
“Well,” Jim said, and stopped. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“I’m going to go be with her,” said Rita, and she moved, stepping out to go across the landing bay toward Bonnie.
Jim stayed in place. He knew to leave them be. That was no place for a man who had once been Bonnie’s lover.
Former lover now, Jim thought. But still fresh enough that Rita has spurts of jealousy from time to time. Better to stay out of this.
Jim continued his work of guiding the last of the Human passengers thorough the rear loading tube of the transport ship. Anyone could have done the job; but Jim wanted to be here, wanted to take a personal hand in seeing off the first group of survivors to their new home on Phoenix.
It was important to him; after all, these were the people who would re-populate humanity. He wanted to say hello to them as they passed by, help them on board, wish them well.
Smiling, he held out an arm, directing a confused young couple toward the boarding tube. With a start, he realized the end of the line was approaching. The loading of Transport One was nearly complete. Another dozen people went by him, and suddenly it was done.
Jim stood back as Goblin crewmen began closing the hatch. With a thud, it slid down and latched, sealing the boarding tube. Another sound reverberated, and Jim knew the hatch on the ship side had also closed.
Three thousand people. Almost the entire day to get the ship loaded. But done.
Turning, Jim walked toward the front loading tube, which was reserved for crew. Now only Tatiana Powell and her husband Misha, with their baby Marta, remained outside the front boarding tube.
And Bonnie and Luke, with Rita hovering nearby. Still wrapped in a long embrace, Bonnie and Luke finally pulled apart as Jim approached. Jim stood back, not wishing to intrude. He watched as Luke reached up and brushed away the tears from Bonnie’s face.
“Be safe out there, hon,” he heard Luke say. Luke leaned forward for one last kiss, then turned to face Tatiana and Misha.
Misha glanced at Luke, read something in his face, and turned to enter the boarding tube first. Tatiana held Marta and followed close behind Misha, turning at the last second to wave and smile at Bonnie. Then she disappeared down the boarding tube.
That left Luke standing in the entrance of the boarding tube. He turned back to Bonnie with a forced smile.
“See ya later, babe,” he said. Then he was gone, disappearing down the boarding tube toward the ship.
Rita quickly stepped forward and put her arms around Bonnie’s shoulders. Bonnie slumped into Rita, putting her head down to hide her tears. Jim stayed well out of it. There was no place for him in that embrace.
“Jim!” he heard from behind, and turned to see his sister Gillian approaching with Mark. Gillian was pushing Imogen in a stroller - a sight so normal it caught Jim by surprise.
1,275 lights from Earth, on a Dyson Ring populated by Goblins, preparing to leave for a virgin planet, and here comes my sister pushing my child in a stroller like it’s a Sunday walk in the park.
“Hi, Sis,” said Jim. “Where in heck did you get a stroller?”
“Tika. I explained what it was, and she had them 3D print one for me. What do you think?”
“I think you’re a genius,” said Jim.
“Well, that goes without saying,” Mark interjected, smiling at his wife.
Jim reached down and took Imogen from the stroller, cuddling her in his arms as he heard Rita and Bonnie come up beside him. Bonnie, still wiping tears from her eyes, stepped forward and hugged Gillian, then shook hands with Mark.
“I’ll say my goodbyes now, guys. Have a safe trip. Make a home for us. We need a place to come back to, after the war. We’re counting on you.”
Mark nodded. “We’ll do it. Just make sure you come back to us.”
Sniffling, Bonnie nodded. She turned to Jim and leaned forward, kissing Imogen on the cheek. “And take care of this little munchkin,” she added.
Then Bonnie turned suddenly and walked away, head down, still wiping her eyes. Mark watched her go.
“She’s taking this hard,” he said.
“She is,” said Rita. “She’s lost a lot in the last few years.”
Rita gave a subtle sideways glance at Jim.
Including you, my husband. Maybe the greatest loss of all for her.
Then she continued. “She didn’t expect Luke to go to Phoenix with Tatiana. She expected h
im to stay with her. So she’s still in a bit of a state.”
“I think I was surprised, too,” Mark responded. “I understand his motivation, but I really didn’t think he would leave the Fleet like that.”
“There is no Fleet anymore,” Jim said somewhat bitterly.
“Ah, yes. I tend to forget that,” Mark spoke.
Stepping forward, Rita reached out her arms for Imogen. Before releasing the child to Rita, Jim kissed her on both cheeks, making her giggle. As Rita took her, Jim gave a slight head tilt to Mark, then stepped away toward the boarding tube. Mark followed him, puzzled. When they were a dozen yards away from the women, Jim paused.
“I heard some scuttlebutt I thought you should know about.”
Mark nodded, uncertain.
“Zoe DeLong pulled me aside as she was going on board. She said she heard from a friend of a friend that one of the council members is a ringer. Evidently a former Russian mafia guy.”
“Turgenev,” breathed Mark. “That son of a bitch.”
“Exactly. Watch your back. He’s almost certainly not working alone.”
“Roger that. I can’t believe we have to deal with this while we’re trying to survive on a new planet.”
“Evil is universal, Mark. You know that. Develop a network of people you can trust to help you keep an eye on him and his pals. They’ll be trying to put a shiv in your back from the get-go.”
“I think I’ll put Luke in charge of the Security Team. He’s a good one.”
“That he is. Anyway, good luck. You’re going to need it.”
Mark nodded. He looked across at Gillian and Rita. They were walking toward him slowly, conversing. Rita was holding Imogen. Reaching the boarding tube, they stopped for their final goodbyes.
Jim saw tears in Rita’s eyes. He knew letting go of Imogen was hard for her. But behind her, four Goblin crew were standing impatiently, ready to close the hatch.
Rita kissed Imogen, once, twice, again, then reluctantly let Gillian take her. Jim leaned in, kissed his daughter one last time, and then Gillian put her in the stroller. Mark gave Jim one last thumbs-up, and the three were in the boarding tube and gone. The hatch came down and sealed the tube.
Jim moved to hold Rita as the tears streamed down her face.
“Oh, Jim. Are we doing the right thing? Should we just go to Phoenix and let someone else fight this war?”
Jim smiled. “You know we’d never be happy sitting on Phoenix while others fought this war. And besides - if we don’t fight and win, the Stree will be coming for our daughter. We can’t let that happen.”
Rita leaned into him, forgetting for a moment her new, heavier body. It was all Jim could do not to lurch to one side. But he managed, putting an arm around her shoulders as the tears came down her face.
“We’ll see her again soon, babe. We just have to kill a few Stree first.”
Stalingrad System
Dyson Ring
Next morning, Rita and Tika went onboard Armidale for final cargo loading before their mission departure to Stree. Standing in the cargo bay, Rita looked at Tika with some concern.
“Do you think this is a good idea?”
Tika thought about it for a while before she answered. She was staring at eleven containers packed in the cargo hold of the Armidale. Two were small, roughly the size of a fat suitcase. Eight were larger and looked like coffins. The last was even larger, like an oversize coffin for a giant.
“Yeah. I think it is,” she mused. “And what other choice do we have?”
“Well, yeah,” said Rita. “But I’d rather think we have some chance of success than think of this as a suicide mission.”
“Absolutely,” agreed Tika. “I wouldn’t be going if I thought we had no chance.”
“No chance of what?” asked Bonnie, coming through the hatch.
Tika grinned at her. “No chance of kicking Stree ass.”
“Ah, gotcha. Well, I think our chances of kicking Stree ass are excellent,” replied Bonnie. “Are those the blanks?” she asked, pointing to the eight coffins.
Rita nodded. “Yep. Dormant Stree bodies.”
Bonnie paused before Tika, hands on hips. “Can I see one? I’ve only seen holos so far.”
Tika shook her head. “No, not now. The containers are sealed until we need them. It might cause a glitch if we open one prematurely.”
“Eight of them?”
“Yep. Rita, Rachel and I, plus the Intel crew that are coming with us,” said Tika.
Bonnie walked to the smaller suitcase-sized objects and stared at them.
“And this is what you use to zombie somebody into Goblin form?”
Rita frowned at her, but with a twinkle in her eye. “Yeah. And you’re next.”
Bonnie shook her head. “I don’t think so, babe. Since Luke is staying Human, I am too. Besides, I’ve decided I like me just the way I am. And what’s that big coffin? Is that the bodybuilder?”
“Yep. It allows us to assemble an android body from the scan of a bio. So when I zombie you into Goblin form, I’ve got someplace to put you,” laughed Rita.
“Hmm,” said Bonnie, staring at the coffin-shaped device. “So is that what Jade used to make you in the first place?”
“Of course not,” replied Rita. “I was originally cloned from Human DNA. Jade grew me into adult form as a pure bio. That was Ashkelon tech, not Goblin tech.”
“What an adventure you’ve had,” Bonnie said.
Rita shook her head. “Adventure is not the word I’d use, babe.”
Behind them came a voice. “As much as I hate to interrupt your nostalgic moments, we have a lot of work to do. We have to perform final prep on the scanners and the bodybuilder.”
Bonnie, Rita and Tika turned. Two rather large Goblins stood at the cargo hatch.
“Ladies, let me introduce Commander Hajo and Lieutenant Luda,” said Tika. “Commander Hajo will command the Goblin Intel team for our Stree mission. In addition to being an intelligence expert, he’s also a master pilot and guru of all things logistical. And Lieutenant Luda is our expert on the bio scanner and the bodybuilder. If we have to zombie any Stree, he’s the one that can do it.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Bonnie said. Rita nodded in agreement. “We’ll get out of your way and let you get to work!”
Hajo smiled. Rita couldn’t help but notice he seemed to be smiling mostly at Tika.
Ah ha, thought Rita. I think Tika has a secret admirer. Or not so secret…
“Thank you,” Hajo spoke. “We should have all cargo loaded and be ready to depart in about an hour. I suggest you ensure you have all your personal gear on board and stowed in your cabins. It’s a long way back from Stree Prime if you forget something.”
Bonnie and Rita laughed. “Too right. We’ll get to it!”
Stalingrad System
Dyson Ring
The old Goblin cruiser had been in mothballs for at least fifty years. The Goblins had converted the ship’s AI to one copied from the Armidale, and modified the controls to better suit a Human crew. They had verified the engines and systems were operational. Then they handed over the keys.
The small Human crew - recently converted to Goblins - were still unsteady on their feet, still trying to fully assimilate their new state of existence. But their impatience had gotten the better of them. They had finally convinced their trainers to let them go aboard the old cruiser and check out their newly assigned ship.
Surveying the bridge, Commander Ying Woh shook his head.
“This is a piece of junk,” he said to Captain Gilbert Ostend. “I’m surprised it evens hold pressure, considering Goblins don’t actually need pressure to survive in their ships.”
Ostend couldn’t resist a wry smile. “Don’t forget, Commander Woh. We don’t need pressure anymore either.”
Woh shook his head. “Dammit, I keep forgetting that. You know, it isn’t just the physical conversion that’s so upsetting. It’s the mental one as well. I keep thinking like a bio
logical creature.”
Ostend nodded. “We’re all going through that. I keep finding myself wondering when we’re gonna have chow, then I remember that eating is optional now. It’s a really disconcerting feeling.”
Woh looked around the bridge at the crew diligently checking and re-checking consoles, bringing up systems, checking weapons, and trying to get the engines started. He heaved a long sigh.
“We’ve got a lot to do to clean up this old tub.”
“Well, yeah. But we can’t expect them to give us a front-line warship.”
“Yeah, but still…this old tin can? If this were the old EDF, I’d refuse this thing and send it back to the yard for refit.”
Ostend had to laugh at that. “The ‘old’ EDF? That’s funny. After all, the EDF was only created three years ago. So it can hardly be called ‘old’, you know.”
“Well, you know what I mean.”
“Yeah,” mused Ostend, gazing off into the distance with a thousand-yard stare. “I know. Back in the old days. When the EDF still existed.”
“Yeah. Any more details on our mission?” asked Woh.
Ostend shrugged. “Only a bit. Tagi told me we won’t be fighting the Stree directly. They have something else in mind. Something more covert, she said.”
“That’s disappointing. I was really hoping to punch some holes in some Stree ships.”
“Well, doesn’t matter. As long as we have something useful to do.”
Woh nodded and began walking around the bridge, looking over the shoulder of the crew, trying to make sense of the Goblin consoles. Ostend remained standing at the back of the bridge, shaking his head.
“I’m glad I converted to a Goblin,” he muttered under his breath. “In this old wreck, I think I’m gonna need nine lives.”
Chapter Fifteen
Stree Prime
Stree Flagship
High Admiral Sojatta sat in his command chair on the main bridge of the flagship SGH Prophecy.
Loosely translated, the Stree characters SGH stood for Stree God’s Hand. And that was exactly how Sojatta felt today.
God’s Hand. The Hand of Righteousness. The Universe is with us. We will crush the apostate Goblins. We will grind them into powder. When we are through, the Universe will not even have a record they ever existed.
Remnants: Broken Galaxy Book Five Page 10
