“I should have thanked John Captain for not handing us over,” Limex said as they walked down the corridor.
“He’s a good man,” Ben remarked. “When he saw the videos from your world he wasn’t about to send any of you back.”
“Has my government responded to what he did?”
“Not yet,” Ben replied. “Whatever response they come back with will be dealt by our government. None of you need to worry about that. The captain won’t make you leave as long as your people can live here peacefully.”
“I do apologize for how my brethren have acted. Although we are elated that the Screen have been defeated, most are angry that it was at the cost of our world. They cannot fathom that we are left with nothing on our world.”
“What about you?” Ben asked. “How do you feel?”
“If I could do to the Screen what they did to my people, I would do so without hesitation,” Limex admitted. “However, the Screen homeworld has been destroyed. We cannot exact revenge.”
Ben wasn’t aware of that. TERRA had publicly reported that the Screen’s world was under quarantine, nothing more.
“I cannot undo what has been done to my world,” Limex continued. “It is only best to move forward. All we can do is rebuild our identity as a race.”
“Sounds pragmatic,” Ben said. “You think you can convince the others to do the same?”
“I will do what I can to convince them,” Limex promised. “What your captain did for us was honorable, and I will not allow the others to disrespect that honor. And there is your honor to consider. Because of you, the captain learned of what is occurring on our world. I will never forget that.”
Limex put her wrists together and bowed slightly to Ben. He had no idea what that meant. He just smiled and nodded as they continued down the corridor. He was happy how things turned out. Perhaps there was a chance for the attorney to make a difference on the ship.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PHOENIX finally jumped into open space, traveling at faster than light speed to begin its journey of exploration. Shelly was starting to feel comfortable in her position as senior operations officer. The last couple of days had been challenging for her. Ship systems were checked numerous times to ensure they were in optimal shape, and she’d had to coordinate with departments to allocate resources they needed. Despite feeling overwhelmed at times, she was feeling more confident doing her job and found herself more at ease using Vish when needed.
It was early evening, and Central was bustling with activity. Shelly made her way to The Lounge. This was her favorite spot to relax after work. As usual, the venue was full of people. Max, his two bartenders, and three service bots were busy serving drinks to both human and alien patrons. Shelly managed to find an open spot up at the bar. She hesitated to take it when she saw Captain Roberts. He was chatting with a couple of civilians and didn’t notice his senior officer. She still found it uncomfortable talking to him while on duty. Even though everyone said he was an easy-going individual, she couldn’t imagine talking to him off-duty. It would be weird.
She reminded herself that he chose her for a reason and that she needed to stop doubting herself. Despite her apprehension, she decided to take a chance. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the open seat at the bar next to John. The captain had his back towards her and she did not attempt to make her presence known.
“Hi Shelly,” Max said as he made his way to her. “What can I get you?”
“Strawberry daiquiri.”
John heard her name and turned around. “Shelly! How goes it?”
“Good, sir.” She tried to conceal her nervousness. “I don’t want to bother you or your friends.”
“Nonsense,” John replied as he excused himself from his civilian friends. “We haven’t had a chance to chat one-on-one.” He motioned to Max and tapped his wine glass. “How have you been settling in your position?”
“It’s been fine, sir,” Shelly lied.
John knew better. Bret had already confided to him that Shelly was having some doubts about her ability to handle her position. “Be honest with me. If something’s bothering you, I want to know.”
“It’s nothing, sir,” Shelly insisted. “I don’t want you to think I’m not up to the challenge.”
“Shelly, you already got the job,” John reiterated. “If I wasn’t confident in your abilities, I wouldn’t have posted you to the senior ops position.”
That was the opening Shelly needed to ask what had always been on her mind. “I’m grateful you chose me for the post, but why did you choose me? There are more qualified officers serving on capital ships you could have selected.”
John smiled. “Yes, yes there were.”
Shelly was confused. He wasn’t disputing her statement at all. “So why pick me?”
John took a sip from his replenished wine glass as Max slid Shelly’s daiquiri to her. “Five and a half million credits.”
She was still confused. “Excuse me, sir?”
“That’s how much I was offered collectively by all the prominent families in TERRA. They were desperate to get their members posted to a senior position on PHOENIX and were willing to pay me good money. Hell, I could have retired and lived the rest of my life with no worries.”
Shelly wasn’t surprised he turned down the money. He was a man of integrity. “So why did you pick me?”
John demeanor became serious. “Those families used their money and influence to get whatever posts they wanted. None of them earned their positions. There’s no way I was going to let that to happen on this ship. Not while I’m in command. As for why I chose you, anyone who was coming to PHOENIX would have a huge learning curve. This ship has systems and facilities no capital ship possesses. It didn’t matter to me if an experienced or inexperienced officer was given a post. They needed to have the ability to function here. I read your Academy file. You did pretty well there…”
“I wasn’t at the top of my class,” Shelly pointed out.
“Neither was I, and I’m PHOENIX’s ship commander. A cadet’s ability isn’t measured just by their class ranking alone. What caught my attention was your tenacity. You would redo assignments over and over until you got them just right.”
“I didn’t like making mistakes,” Shelly admitted.
“And you always corrected them. You were willing to learn from your mistakes and try again. You never let failure get in your way. To me, it was the perfect fit for the senior operations position. I needed someone who could come in and work the position unafraid of making mistakes.”
“If I could be honest sir, it hasn’t been easy,” Shelly revealed.
“Has the ship blown up? Have people died because of your self-doubts?” John could see those words put her at ease. “Anyone else new to that post would have the same doubts. I questioned Admiral Johnson when he chose me to command this ship. The bottom line is that you’ve done well in ops. You’re just going to get better as time goes on.”
Shelly was relieved to have this conversation with the captain. All her worries were now gone. Knowing the reason why he selected her made the difference.
“Thank you, sir. That means a lot.”
John raised his glass as he smiled. As he did, he spotted Andre entering the bar. He was still using a cane and limping as he walked.
“If you excuse me, there’s someone I need to see.” John smiled to Shelly as he went over to greet Andre.
The elderly civilian crewmember looked around The Lounge. He had taken the captain’s advice and was trying to go out on his own more often. It was tough. He constantly felt out of place no matter where he went. Despite the captain’s assurances that it would take time to adjust to living here, Andre still felt like a stranger.
“I’m glad to see your out and about,” John said as he approached Andre.
The elderly man was relieved to see the captain. “I’ve been doing as you said and going out more. I don’t want to keep bothering you.”
“You
’re not,” John assured. The captain had been enjoying his time with Andre. He never knew his father growing up and enjoyed listening to Andre’s stories about when he was younger and about raising a family.
“We can take a seat at my table.” John pointed to the empty table at the center of the club by the stage. The table was always reserved for the captain.
Andre nodded and followed him to the table. As they sat, a service bot came up.
“May I get you something to drink?” the red square bot asked.
John held up his wine glass. “I’m good.”
“I’ll have a glass of chardonnay,” Andre replied.
“Put it on my tab,” John told the bot.
“Very good,” it answered as it walked away.
“Sorry I haven’t had a chance to stop by to visit,” John started, but Andre shook his head.
“You’re a busy man. Don’t worry about me.”
John leaned forward. “Are you doing okay?”
“I’m making an effort. It’s not easy getting used to things here, but I’m trying.”
“What about your leg?” John asked. “Why haven’t you gone to medical to get it taken care of?”
Andre only shrugged his shoulders.
“I think you’ll be happier getting your health in order,” John suggested. “This is a big ship. Wouldn’t it be great if you could move freely without being in pain?”
“I’m not hurting,” Andre clarified. “My leg just gets numb and gives out sometimes.”
“Doesn’t matter,” John said as the bot returned and set Andre’s drink on the table. “Do yourself a favor, get it taken care of.”
Andre looked at John’s hands, which were full of scars. “What about your hands?”
John looked at them and put them on his lap underneath the table. “Old wounds.”
“Why don’t you get those removed?”
John didn’t want to go into the reason why he had them. “I keep them as a reminder to myself. I was in a pretty bad spot at one time. I keep the scars as a reminder never to get to such a place again.” They reminded John of when he descended into darkness. He was so upset losing Alex’sis, he tortured some Screen prisoners they had in custody and wound up killing one. He vowed never to act in such a way again. The scars were punishment for his actions.
“They’re not keeping me from doing what I want,” John pointed out. “Your leg…”
“I know you just want to help,” Andre interrupted. “I’ll think about it.”
“I hope you do. We have the best medical staff in the fleet with some of the most advanced equipment. They’ll be able to fix you up in no time.”
Andre changed the subject as he looked at the stage. “Do they do performances here?”
John quickly checked his holographic DAT. “Doesn’t look like anything’s going on tonight.”
Andre nodded. “There is something I’d like to try.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“I haven’t spoken to an alien since coming here. Would you mind introducing one to me?”
John smiled. “I’d love to.” Now, this is what Andre needed to do to acclimate to the life here. The captain was pleased that he was making an effort. He looked around and spotted a group of Onixins and Senfo at a table. “I’ll be right back.”
Andre waited as John went to the aliens’ table. The old man looked around, amazed that he was actually on a starship full of different aliens. He reiterated to himself what the captain had told him. He could find happiness here.
********
It was just before 2300 hours when John got back to his apartment. He wasn’t tired and could have stayed out longer, but Andre was not used to being out so late. John escorted him back to his quarters before returning home.
“How was your evening?” X asked as John entered the apartment.
“It was good. Chatted with Shelly, then met up with Andre.”
“Is he doing well?”
“Pretty good,” John replied. “I introduced him to a few Onixins and Senfo. He did well with them. I then introduced him to Unarnu. I think he was overwhelmed talking to a seven-foot tall Quix, but he got used to it. Unarnu was patient answering all of Andre’s questions.”
“Can I get you anything?” the bot asked.
“Just water and maybe a little snack,” John answered as he slumped on the couch. He took a few moments to collect his thoughts as X rolled into the kitchen. He went over what he needed to do tomorrow. “Vish, any new messages for me?”
“One new message from Mars. It is from David Block.”
The name got John’s attention and he sat up. David was one of his best friends at the Academy, along with Billy Pedia. It was David and Billy who were responsible for distributing PHOENIX’s adventures to the public during the Screen mission. For a brief time, David served aboard PHOENIX but found living with aliens too disconcerting. He relocated to Mars to work at the communications station.
John was anxious to hear what he had to say. They hadn’t spoken since his friend left PHOENIX. The captain did keep in regular contact with Billy, who had just been promoted to senior communications officer of the Mars center. “Play the message, Vish.”
“Hi John, it’s David. I hope this reaches you in time before you’re too far out of range. I’ve been wrangling with how to approach this, but there’s no easy way. I wanted to give things a chance here on Mars before I sent this message.
“I made a mistake. I should have never left PHOENIX. I’m miserable here. No one wants anything to do with me. Despite what Billy and I did, everyone acts like he’s the one who put his life on the line to get your story to the public. I’ve been treated like the rest of my family. People barely tolerate me. I’ve been told more than once I should leave TERRA. Mom’s divorcing dad and she blames me for him losing his commission. Both my brothers have also been drummed out of TERRA. My entire family say I’m responsible for what’s happened to them. They want nothing to do with me.
“I’m alone here. The only person I have is Billy, and I rarely see him anymore. I think he’s keeping me at a distance because he doesn’t want to jeopardize his own career. I know I struggled with life on PHOENIX, but I’d rather live there then spend the rest of my life here. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but if there’s any way you could arrange to get me back to PHOENIX? I’d be so grateful. You’re all I have left, John. Please help me. I anxiously await your reply.”
The message ended. John said nothing. He didn’t even notice X offering him the food and drink he asked for.
“Your body posture indicates you did not expect the message to contain such contents,” X observed.
“I had no idea how bad things have gotten for him,” John muttered. “I talked to Billy several times. He never mentioned any of this to me.”
“Is it possible David has concealed his problems from Billy?” X postulated.
John couldn’t fathom that being the case. “They’re best friends. He shouldn’t have to hide this from Billy.”
“Are you going to get him?”
John was about to reply instinctively “yes” but found himself holding back. Things weren’t that simple anymore. He wasn’t that brash cadet who would act without thinking first. He had responsibilities now, a mission to undertake. He already defied TERRA by refusing to off-load the Cresorians. They certainly wouldn’t be happy if PHOENIX showed up at Mars to pick up one person.
“I’m going to have to sleep on it,” John replied.
CHAPTER EIGHT
John barely paid attention during the senior staff meeting in the board room. His thoughts were preoccupied with his friend David. As soon as he got up to start his day he contacted Julie and had her listen to David’s message. He needed another opinion and she was the only person he trusted to give him an honest answer.
“I expect the new diagnostic test we designed for the engine will proceed uninterrupted while we are traveling at faster than light.”
“Thanks,
Postun,” Julie said to the Onixin chief engineer. She turned to the rest of the staff. “That’s it for ship business. Is there anything else?”
Tim Richardson spoke up. “The astronomy department contacted me this morning with a peculiar finding. They picked up an anomalous object in their sensor sweep of one of the sectors they were studying.”
That got John’s attention. “What sort of reading?”
“I’m hoping Unarnu can tell us,” as Tim looked at the Quix. “I sent you the data this morning.”
The science officer brought up a holographic image of space. “After careful examination, I was able to isolate the location of the anomaly.” An arrow appeared and pointed to an area of space.
“It’s not too far from us,” Shelly noticed.
“Is it an energy reading?” Bret asked.
“Yes,” Korifluxinina replied. “Based on my analysis, the object is emitting a minute energy emission. Review of sensor data has been unsuccessful in determining what sort of energy emission it may be.”
“An unknown object, something we’ve never encountered.” John was excited at the prospect.
“Let me clarify my statement,” Korifluxinina added. “It is unknown as our sensors do not have sufficient resolution to determine what it could be. All I can say is the object appears quite large and is discharging a unknown energy discharge that is almost undetectable.”
“It does not appear there are any ships in the vicinity,” as Rudov looked at the surrounding area.
“Vish, how far is the nearest star system from the object?” Julie asked.
A second arrow pointed to a star on the map as Vish replied. “The nearest star system is six light years away.”
“We can get there in nupo junx,” Jufo said. “Six and one quarter human hours.”
Discovering something new is what John needed to focus his attention. “This is what we’re out here for. Let’s alter course to investigate. Unarnu, you and Shelly work with the science departments to come up with a game plan to study whatever the object might be. Tim, have a contingent of fighter bots ready to launch, both for defense and retrieval.”
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