by Juno Wells
Phan normally excused himself for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. Stacy has always assumed he took the midday meal with his family and maybe shadowed his brother as he went about his security duties. Today was no different. As he was leaving, Captain Meric entered the medical unit
Stacy was still a little wary of being around him after being rebuffed. Still, she was the ship’s physician, therefore it was her duty to see to his medical needs. Stepping forward, she asked, “What brings you to the medical unit today, Captain Meric? I hope you aren’t injured or sick.”
“Fortunately, I am neither. I wish to accompany my scion for his midday meal. Would like to join us?”
Staring at the normally reticent captain for a moment, she realized right away that something was different. He wasn’t wearing what Phan called his warrior’s face. His horns were not slicked back against his head in their normal display of submission. She noticed his wings were held in a more relaxed position, rather than in a tight fold behind his body. He was the only warrior on the ship who wore battle armor full time and tucked his wings to protect his wing base. It was a typical fighter’s stance for the Dracon. Today his presentation was anything but normal for him. “Are you certain that you’re well, captain?”
“Yes. Do I not look well to your eyes, my queen?”
Scanning his finely chiseled muscles, Stacy shoved aside the reply that came easily to mind. There seriously wasn’t one single inch of the man standing before her that wasn’t perfect. Her eyes lifted back up to find him gazing warmly at her. Yep, she was definitely reading too much into his behavior today. That’s about the time she realized he’d stressed my in the honorific title they all used for her. Again that was kind of unusual.
Stammering, she managed to make words. “You look fine, Captain Meric. Why don’t you and your son go on without me and enjoy some time together. It will give Timric and yourself a chance to discuss his first day in medical. I’m going to stay and load the plasma we synthesized into the cryo freezer.”
“We will assist you with that job, so you might join us.”
Okay, now she was confused. Why was the man who never wanted to spend an extra minute in her presence suddenly asking her to dine with him? The most obvious explanation was that he wished to their professional relationship to appear normal for his son, who was looking from his father to her and back again. Having no wish to be awkward, she acquiesced to his request. “Thank you. We can load the plasma and I’ll put the machine into self-cleaning mode. It shouldn’t take but a few minutes.”
“Thank you, Queen Stacy.”
“No problem. I know this is special day for Timric and I’d be honored to spend time with the two of you.”
They were quick about loading the cryo freezer, she adjusted the machine, and they on their way inside of a half an hour. Meric led the way and Timric walked behind her, both with their hands resting comfortably on what she assumed was a ceremonial dagger hanging at their sides. It was kind of cute how Timric mimicked his father in everything related to being a warrior.
Once they were seated with their food, Meric spoke. “Thank you for mentoring my son. Learning basic medical skills is a requirement for young warriors. We’re fortunate to have a well-trained healer in our healing unit.”
“I didn’t think your ships flew without a healer.”
“Before we came here that was true. Our queens were particular about having one available at all times. Since coming to the Naxis there are not enough properly trained healers to cover the queens on Dracon Two and the five ships that now compose our fleet.”
“I’m happy to be of service. Thank you for having me on board. Is it considered impolite to ask how the search for the Moltan vessel is going? My last status report was last night. Has anything changed?”
“Nothing a queen asks could be construed as impolite. We believe they are on the other side of a dark star and that’s why are sensors are not picking up their heat signature or exhaust trail. We are going around the star and will continue looking for their exhaust trail. I intended to give my update in person or I would have sent it after making rounds this morning.”
“Thanks for the update. Your son is a pleasure to have in the medical unit. He’s so polite and diligent in his duties.”
“I’m pleased to hear that.” Shifting his attention to his son, Meric caught his eye. “You’ve been pretty quiet, Timric. What do you think of being in your apprenticeship? Is being out among the warriors and queens everything you hoped it would be?”
“Everything I hoped and more. I enjoy learning new skills, and working with our queen has been acceptable.”
Great, thought Stacy. I’m acceptable. It beats being unacceptable but faint praise indeed, coming from the young warrior. “I made a copy of the curriculum you sent. I estimate we can get it done within six months, I mean lunars.”
“My own apprenticeship in the medical unit lasted a year.”
“Timric’s a bright boy. He also pays attention to details and is a fast learner.”
“I’m a young warrior, not a boy.”
Meric’s voice sounded off low and deep, whispering the youth’s name before turning his attention back to Stacy. “I imagine that after the rigors of training at my side, picking up medical skills would be easy for him.”
“If you just invited me to lunch to be condescending about what I do, I’ll think I’ll head back to the medical unit.”
His golden skin blanched a bit. “My words were not intended as an insult. A warrior’s training is very involved. One has to memorize vast amounts of information on diplomatic protocols, physics, astrometrics, and a variety of other disciplines. If he were becoming a true healer, it would be comparable. However my scion will just be learning basic lifesaving skills, so that should be much easier that what he is used to.”
Relaxing, Stacy nodded. “I see what you’re saying. Sorry, I misunderstood.”
“Queens do not apologize to warriors. When warriors misspeak, they clarify themselves, for the mistake was theirs.”
“Do you mind if I ask why you do that?” When he didn’t immediately answer, she clarified. “I don’t have a fragile ego, nor do I need a constant reminder that queens can do no wrong. Draconian warriors manipulate every situation to reflect their belief that women are correct simply because we’re female. I can assure you that I make mistakes and I don’t mind owning up to them.”
There was a significant glance between Meric and his son. It was Timric that spoke first. “You almost sound like you believe warriors and queens have equal status aboard this ship.”
“In a situation like this, humans would consider the captain to be the highest status person on board this ship. Next would come whoever heads each department or unit. That’s where I would fall, because I’m in charge of the medical unit. It goes by job duties, not by gender. While I’m in the medical unit, I’m a person who heals, not a woman.”
Meric finally took a bite of his food and chewed before responding. He had a pensive expression on his face. Timric was totally confused. “I can see the logic in what you say, my queen. The Draconians believe that queens are more important for two reasons. Queens are few and that makes them thousands of times more valuable than a warrior. Secondly, without a queen there would be no young. The queens must therefore come first and always be protected.”
Timric chimed in his two cents worth. “Warriors are also sturdy and built to withstand conditions that would easily kill a human queen. We must use our strength to protect those who are weaker. It is the way of the warrior.”
“I can see it from your point of view as well. Human women might not be as sturdy as a warrior, but we’re not weak. What we lack in physical prowess we make up for in mental abilities.”
Meric almost smiled. “This we can see, for your points are well thought out. There is something else you should be aware of, my queen. Warriors take their duty to protect others very seriously. It’s what gives our life meaning. A warri
or without a queen to protect is not thought to be a true warrior. I am certain that you would not wish to diminish Timric or myself by forbidding us to shelter you under our wing.”
That was clearly a euphemism for protecting a person. “I’m not trying to upset your operations or diminish your warriors. I’m just trying to get you to understand your true worth.”
“It is strange to hear you say that, my queen, because my scion and I are trying to get you to see your true worth. Queens are special for many reasons, not just their ability to breed us. Since most warriors live out their entire lives without enjoying intimacies with a queen, they truly enjoy the kindness, frailty and beauty that females bring to our lives. Males and females are two halves of the same whole that fit together seamlessly.”
“You’ve become down right chatty, Captain Meric. It’s all good information and I’ll think long and hard about what you have said.”
They turned the conversation to Timric and the youth was all too happy to have the awkward conversation end. Stacy couldn’t help but ask herself what the hell was up with their good captain. This was the most he’d ever spoken in her presence. He was the last person on this ship who should be concerned with the frailty and beauty of women, since he’d already stated he had no interest in mating one.
16 Dark Star Surprise
Meric
Meric stewed in the captain’s seat. Things had gone terribly wrong at their midday meal. He’d meant the conversation to go smoothly, and for his queen to see him not just as a captain, but as a father, in hopes of her rekindling the idea of mating him. Instead, it turned into a battle of wills, each trying to convince the other of their importance in the general scheme of things. Meric didn’t care about parsing out where he fell in terms of power and status. Being a warrior meant thinking about more than just one’s own petty needs for control over others. Why was that so hard for her to see? If today was any indication of his ability to lure a queen, Meric was totally incompetent in that area.
He was furious with himself for allowing his fears and anxieties to rule his emotions the first time she approached him. If he’d been able to get his head together then, he could have had her in his bed all these many nights. It galled him that she seemed to like his scion better than himself. She had the kind of parenting instincts that he’d only ever known warriors to have. It was forcing Meric to reevaluate his perception of a mother. It was a word not often used by his kind anymore.
“Sir, we’re coming around the dark star now.” Lardon’s voice was tense, and he kept his hands on the console in case he had to make a navigational adjustment quickly.
Tabor’s deep voice sounded off from the security console. I’m not picking up anything on short- or long-range scans.”
“I want maximum shielding up on all ships.”
“Yes sir. I’ve communicated your command to the other two ships.” Tabor was all over it today. If his security officer was wary, Meric knew there would be trouble. Calen’s voice crackled over the com. “Pull back now, captain.”
Meric leaped from his seat, shouting, “All ships pull back around the dark star. Retreat immediately.”
Calen had the knowing. It was his family gift. If he said pull back, they were damn well going to do it.
Once they were back in place, Meric brought Calen up on the view screen. “What did you sense? Was there great danger?”
“I sensed heat, great pain and something more evil than even a queen mother.”
Meric’s head dropped down slightly and his wings popped open. “We will take no chances with our queens. Send out probes to each side of the dark star, just out of the range of its gravitational pull. Set up line-of-sight probes to scan the far side of the dark star. We need to know what we’re dealing with in order to formulate an effective strategy to mitigate the danger.”
He tensed in his seat while his crew put the probes in place and began the scan. He hit the com and linked to the medical unit. “My queen, we are in a precarious situation. Please be on standby for causalities.” Rather than speaking publicly about Calen’s clade’s gifts, he explained, “We’re getting some strange reading behind a dark star. We’ve fallen back for now. My plan is to send probes in first. You can link with the main view screen if you like. That should keep you in the loop.”
“I won’t keep you, captain. May the goddess of war be with you, sir.”
The screen went blank and Meric sat in stunned silence. Their queen had not only called him “sir,” she’d bestowed her blessing on him personally. It was a show of support and faith in his ability to handle this crisis. Something loosened in his chest again.
Within sixty microns they had the probes in place. The screen lit up with information from the scans. Tabor spoke from the security station, “We’re sensing something huge, sir. It’s biological in origin. I’m trying to match it to known life forms and coming up empty.”
Meric stood up and stared at the telemetry readings. “Could it be some kind of insectoid swarm?”
“I doubt it, sir. We’re getting one heartbeat every seven microns.”
“There are very few organisms that can survive in the void of space.”
“It makes sense that over millions of years of evolution some kind of organism would adapt itself to the rigors of living in space. Permission to disperse light probes, sir. We might be lucky enough to get a visual.”
“Permission granted. Fire when ready.”
“Light probes away, sir. They’ll detonate when they sense something solid.”
After a wait that seemed longer than it actually was, the probes lit up. Several of his crew let out audible signs of shock. Meric murmured. “Gods of chaos, what is that thing?”
He looked the creature over. It seemed to recoil from the light probes. It appeared to be a huge gelatinous blob with thousands of long tentacles or filaments growing out of it. The coloring was very light and almost transparent, like the creatures found in some oceans. It didn’t appear to have a skeleton. Meric couldn’t see evidence of any means of locomotion. Until it jumped forward and one of the filaments grabbed onto the light probe, shoving into the interior of the blob. They watched it blink out and then light up and melt away into nothingness.
“I need some speculation on what we’re dealing with immediately.”
Tabor spoke. “Our science team has narrowed it down to two options. It could be the remnants of mutated biological matter that hovers just outside the gravitational pull of the dark star to feed off its dark energy. Or it could be a creature from another dimension that’s sealing the breach between both dimensions with its form.”
Meric frowned. “Neither of those explanations is remotely believable.”
Stacy chimed in her thoughts. “I wonder if a biological entity could have been trapped in the space between two dimensions and began growing a mutated cell mass on either, designed to feed the creature in the middle. Maybe it blindly gropes objects to consume and feeds off dark matter during the long periods of time between proper meals. What we’re seeing may look nothing like the actual biological entity. Think of what it’s like when you burn your skin and a blister swells up. It creates a small pocket of body fluids, probably serum or plasma.”
“That makes a little more sense. Set two warning beacons to alert other vessels that the area is not safe. Then get us back to the search.”
Tabor looked up from his personal viewing monitor. “Has it occurred to you yet that the Moltan ship may have come round the dark star and been consumed? That would have been our fate if not for Calen.”
Dropping back into his seat, Meric mulled that over in his mind. This was practically the only sector they hadn’t searched. If they came around the planet, they’d have been absorbed by the creature. There was no doubt in his mind about that. Still, the problem with searching for a mobile ship was they could be moving around into the sectors he’d searched already. “Back track the way we came, keeping sensors on. Drop a monitoring probe in ever sector we c
lear. We’ll give it final sweep and then check the probes. If there is no trace of the Moltan vessel, we will assume they are dead.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also mark a data file of the information we’ve gathered and transmit it to Queen Hope on Dracon Two. Advise that she share the data with the Intergalactic Council. I’m sure they will want to send scientists to study this anomaly.”
Tabor grinned. “We discovered a new life form. Doesn’t that mean we get to name it?”
“You’re always so eager to name new things. I’m leaving this one up to you. Perhaps we can call it Tabor’s twin.”
“Careful my friend, that almost sounds like humor.”
“You are becoming ever more confused the longer we are in space. I believe you have some form of space dementia. You should have our medical team have a look at you.
Tabor frowned at his lighthearted jab. “I think we should name it in honor of Calen, since we would have been consumed by the beast if he’d not spoken up.”
“Agreed.”
Grateful to have the crisis averted, Meric tried to work out the probability of the Moltan ships being destroyed. It was more than fifty percent. The thought of someone as evil as the queen mother being eaten by an entity that likely wasn’t even sentient almost made him laugh. It made him realize what a wicked sense of humor he really had. After being abused by Stonara for eight solars, he knew just how malevolent Draconian queens could be. A little voice in the back of his head corrected him that it was their symbionts that were evil. The verdict was still out on whether the queen was much like her symbiont. The one thing he was fairly certain of was human queens were nothing like the queens he’d known. They represented a chance to live a better life, one filled with love and caring. The more the idea settled on him the more Meric craved the experience. After today’s miscommunication, he knew that he needed a better plan.
17 Strange Happenings
