by Drew Briney
And so she recalled yesterday’s climactic event in her mind once more:
“Greydon, engage all linatech panels to transmit a message to the entire crew. Override all private studio settings, stop any existing programs or transmissions, and include a backup transmission to go to everyone’s personal database; tell me when that is ready. Vardn, we are changing course – effective immediately. Evelia has our coordinates. She will give those to you while I speak with Greydon.”
“Sir,” Greydon clapped out in his traditional, snappy militaristic style, “panels are engaged and ready for transmission. I presume you prefer holographic over audio, is that correct.”
“Yes, thank you Greydon.”
While Blaze began offering instructions, Evelia gave coordinates to Vardn who responded with no small amount of surprise. They were going to a planet not too far from where they were already located. Unbeknown to him, the planet had been largely destroyed by exiled aliens many generations past and there were exiled aliens there now.
She remembered watching the alien ship leave, remembered how it seemed like the alien ship was moving instead of her own spaceship, and remembered how her heart felt more than a little empty to have finished this portion of her first journey in space. It seemed so very anticlimactic in some ways – exhilarating and full of hope in others.
“In addition to all members of Team Grey, everyone interested in researching and perhaps colonizing this new planet should meet on deck five in T-minus one hour.” His instructions had given Evelia barely any time at all to review the instructions that the alien captain had given her earlier that day.
At least, it seemed like it had been earlier that day. Evelia hadn’t been sleeping regularly like she was supposed to. Her sessions occasionally left her oblivious to her daily routine, causing her to sleep during the days and unable to sleep during the nights. Days were beginning to jumble themselves together out here in space anyway. It was mostly dark on a space ship – outside that is – with constant speckles of light slowly and monotonously passing by. The inside of this ship was bright and colorful, engaging and inviting. At least the inside of the ship seemed lively – thanks to Robin, she considered. She still hadn’t met Robin and made a mental note that she would have to meet her soon.
Meanwhile, she blankly stared out her window – a linatech panel that showed the outside. Ironic, she thought, that the captain’s chambers doesn’t even have a view of the outside world. I guess he sees enough of that while leading the crew from aboard deck, she reconsidered. Her thoughts customarily sporadic after finishing a teaching session from the magic woman, Evelia’s mind turned again to the new planet and the plans to leave some crew members behind.
There were few members of Team Grey. These were people that Evelia had identified with very negative energy patterns on the day Blaze had taken his role as captain of the ship. Probably, the rest of what would have been Team Grey were dead – victims of Blaze’s rampage the day before he became captain – Toka’s renegades. Some Team Grey members remained in custody and were awaiting their trial for their misdeeds but some had been released because there was nothing to implicate them in any wrongdoing. Now, remaining Team Grey members would be colonizing the new planet. At best, Evelia felt apprehensive about this detail; at worst, she felt guilty. But what else could be done? Throughout history, there had always been bad people – they had to live somewhere didn’t they? And she and Blaze and the crew would be returning a couple years from now. Anybody who didn’t want to stay on the planet would be given the chance to work on another planet – or moon – and ultimately, those people would not be working with Team Grey any further.
At least, that was the plan.
The alien captain’s plan had been quite simple – and it had played out quite nicely.
Based upon her knowledge of energy patterns, Evelia had identified people who were too pure or gentle to be left behind with characters that might be less than honorable. Based upon ship records and prodigious questioning of crew members over the past several days, Blaze had identified crew members who were essential to running a tight ship and who might be indispensible resources when the ship landed back home. By the time these details had been sorted out, the crew members selected to colonize the moon had been large enough to carry out the goals and objectives originally laid out by Dr. Boyd while being small enough not to jeopardize the success of running such a large spaceship. And ultimately, there had only been one individual who reported any sense of strong disappointment: Aria.
Disappointment may not have been a suitable word.
ARIA PACED BACK AND FORTH in her chambers, wondering whether or not there was anything that she could do to persuade Blaze to let her participate with the research team on the new planet. She was, after all, the most well rounded, preeminent geneticist and biologist on board. True, she didn’t know hardly any of the geneticists or biologists who had been chosen for the team so it was possible that she may not have gotten along with them especially well but that was relatively unimportant to her – she had, after all, handled life with Toka by her side for several years now. On the other hand, if anyone would have objectively asked who would most enjoy taking a couple or few year’s sabbatical to do scientific research on a new sphere, the answer would have been resoundingly in favor of Aria. If anyone would have objectively asked who would be the most knowledgeable and helpful on such a trip, the answer would have been the same.
Nevertheless, she had been shortlisted off of the team with very little explanation. When she had offered her objection, Blaze simply responded that he needed her aboard the ship. That was it.
At first, this had seemed rather arbitrary and unwelcome but then she remembered that he had been nervous about his genetic enhancements. She mulled over the probability that other crew members could help him with that and seriously considered pointing out that detail. But then, she thought better. She had no one to blame but herself if Blaze wanted her aboard ship to look after his health needs. And then again, if there were any silver lining to dashing all of her hopes about the most exciting stage of space exploration, it was her consideration that Blaze would probably want to visit her regularly to make sure that nothing unwelcomed would be happening to his mind – or body. Part of Aria told her that she was unworthy of his attention and that she should leave well enough alone. But the more pressing, selfish part of her demanded that she focus on these considerations with reckless abandon.
She was recklessly unaware that Evelia had identified Aria with Team Red – the team that she heavily encouraged to go down to the new planet because they each had disconcerting energy patterns. Initially, Aria ranked very high on this team of potential miscreants. However, in light of recent events, Evelia was willing to give Aria the benefit of the doubt and to assume that her erratic energy patterns resulted from sufferings under Toka’s abusive hand.
In contrast, Blaze held no concerns about Aria whatever – his interest in keeping her aboard ship was entirely self serving and his thoughts about her potential inability to be a strong asset in his efforts to start a new, pristine colony were virtually nonexistent. He failed to carefully acknowledge her weaknesses. She was intelligent. She was breathtaking. Her talents would be an asset to any group of people. That was all that mattered. All things considered, he thoughtlessly forgave her for her bad acts and blamed them on her background and circumstances. She was a victim. She needed compassion, a second chance, the benefit of the doubt.
Oblivious to these considerations, Aria resignedly consoled herself that her poor fortune in returning home without exploring this new planet was the result of her own failings. Perhaps, she even considered, this will turn out for the best. Then, for the first time in many moons, she noticed a silent, yet growing feeling within her heart encouraging her to be a better person, to live life more fully, to be loyal to her captain and her people.
CREW MEMBERS LINED UP like a band of inexperienced youth, haplessly making a windy curve that only qu
asi resembled a straight line, reminding Greydon that this crew was largely untrained and unknowledgeable about the disciplined routines of the kind of military unit he was accustomed to. Nevertheless, he observed their enthusiasm as they waited for the captain’s final inspection. A military unit would have remained largely motionless while responding to Greydon’s snappy checklist. These people were too eager to hold themselves rigidly respectful. Largely unaware of the failings of his own training, Greydon couldn’t help but subtly scowl in disapproval before barking out a punch list needed for the colony:
“Package of blank linatech cubes to store new information.”
“Check.”
“Transmission information and instructions.”
“Check.” Rapid swathing movements over his personal cube began to slow a little. It seemed that this was probably item one hundred or more but at least it was the last item on the page.
“I don’t see rations on the list. Did we already cover that?” Greydon queried, a little puzzled, perhaps distracted.
“Yes sir. We covered that earlier.”
Greydon shifted between pages with uncertainty. He started reading from the top of the only page he didn’t recall reading.
“Safety gear?”
“Same thing sir. Covered earlier.”
“First aid?”
“Checked earlier sir.”
“It looks like everything is covered then – is that the end of your list?” Greydon asked, still a little uncertain of himself.
“Gratefully, everything has been checked off from Dr. Boyd’s list sir. There is nothing left to do. All items are aboard the transport vessel, all items are checked off, all exiting crew members have reported to this deck and are ready for final inspection.”
“Thank you,” Greydon responded, grateful to have meticulously finished this stage of the journey. Truth be told, he was excited to be returning home. He would have preferred to have stayed there after the great explosion and after he watched Dr. Boyd euthanize order members in that tent. It seemed such a long time ago but the memories haunted him daily. It seemed disrespectful to have left so many of his friends and colleagues behind, strewn upon the landscape next to heathens and genetic freaks of nature without a proper burial. He hoped he could somehow make all of that right, that the journey home could resolve things that had been unresolved, that time would heal things that needed healed.
“Captain!” The excited exclamation startled him. Greydon clicked his heels, turned around, and stood erect, awaiting orders.
“Greydon…” Blaze started to speak but forgot that Greydon wouldn’t be able to resist the need to report the instant he heard his name.
“Yes sir,” he began. “Sir, all equipment is ready and the crew is prepared to board the transport vessel.”
“Thank you,” Blaze answered, only subtly annoyed at Greydon’s enthusiastic militarisms. Back home, in his Order, these formalities were relatively insignificant in comparison to Greydon’s training. Blaze was simply accustomed to effortlessly leading Order members in whatever activities they were involved in. Sure, superiors could override the orders of someone lower down the line but there was virtually never any animosity about this and no one felt a need to be harsh, condescending, or ultra-disciplined about following orders. There was a strong sense of duty to do whatever was best for the community and to do whatever was moral and ethical and right. External constraints to force discipline had been unneeded. Blaze wondered whether or not these formalities would become a necessary evil in this new environment where there were so many more people under his authority. He doubted it would – but based on Greydon’s conduct, the possibility was ever present in his mind.
Eyeing each member of the new crew, one individual at a time, he wondered what would happen to them and silently entertained many questions before he began speaking. What would they learn? What would they have to report? Would any of their discoveries really be helpful to mankind? Would all of this effort produce real results? How would he evaluate their report when they came back? Blaze was a trained protectorate, a leader of men in battle and in physical training. Despite his insatiable mental curiosities over many subjects, he was no scientist. And looking upon this crew, he couldn’t help but wonder whether or not the aliens were correct: would they self destruct in a generation or two? Even if they did, Blaze probably wouldn’t live long enough to learn about it – he would simply hear their reports and possibly move them to another location after they felt that they had learned enough. In the end, what did any of this really matter to him – or his people?
But he was just following instructions himself.
Intuitively, Blaze trusted the aliens much more than himself in these matters. They had something he didn’t have: peace and tranquility. And he wanted these things in his own life; he wanted these things for his fellow crew members. And so, he needed to trust them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt the same feeling he had felt just before he found Toka beating Aria only this time, there was something different. The feeling wasn’t instructing him that something was wrong; subtly, it was telling him that something was right. Something about this would be a great blessing to everyone involved. He couldn’t recognize where this feeling was coming from but somehow, he felt to trust it. Somewhere, in the recesses of his psyche, he began to understand that this was the right thing to do.
Pulling deep within the reservoirs of his soul, Blaze delivered a very short, but inspiring speech for the departing crew, giving them encouragement and praise for their hard work and the hard work that they had ahead of them. He offered his best wishes, his support, and expressed his greatest hopes for their success. He promised to return: two years if they reported too many challenges, longer if everything went well. And then, unceremoniously, he ordered them aboard the transport vessel and watched them depart, suddenly invisible as two large atmospheric barrier doors cut them off from his view.
Blaze turned around. Although he had every air of confidence, he lacked the snappish pace of Greydon who shadowed him closely. He believed he had done the right thing. He hoped he had done the right thing. And it seemed the prospective colonists agreed with him. Every one of them looked very enthusiastic and anxious to begin this new era of exploration – to study this strangely beautiful new sphere of life.
Remembering that he had no need to go to the main deck to observe the planet, Blaze turned around again and ordered the large linatech paneling off to his right to show the view on the other side of those large atmospheric barriers. Briefly after the panel responded, the transport vessel’s boarding deck closed, encapsulating the crew members like some hungry predator. Then, the transporting deck opened wide to allow the small ship’s exit. Thrusters engaged, the vessel quickly launched. Blaze watched as the ship grew smaller and kept his gaze upon it until he saw that familiar flare of light as it entered the atmosphere below. The ship would stay on site until Blaze returned.
Everything had worked exactly as the alien captain predicted.
Success, Blaze concluded with a notable degree of growing gratification over this small accomplishment. His anxiety seemed to dissipate entirely as the ship passed outside of his vision. His muscles relaxed – and his mind followed. He mustered a smile for his fellow crew members as he turned once again to make his way back to the captain’s seat on deck.
As he passed the doors and into the hallway, he failed to see hidden, angry eyes that did not share his satisfaction, eyes that he would have sent with the other colonists had he been aware they were aboard his ship, eyes that were unforgiving and that glared harshly as he passed by.
SPRAWLING ON ALL FOURS, Blaze struggled to maintain consciousness. The blow from the alien creature left him dizzy, off balance, and suffering from blurred vision. He did his best to channel the energy around him and fleetingly wished he hadn’t been so aggressive in pursuing heavily modified simulated aliens this morning. As he felt the energy swirling around him, he heard the beast approaching from behi
nd and guesstimated that it was already within closing distance. He jumped and focused on channeling the energy to enhance his physical strength enough to reach a large branch hovering a good nine feet above the ground – and a good four feet in front of him.
Success – but barely.
Hands loosely gripping the branch, he swung himself heavily towards the tree trunk and then quickly sprang back towards the gargantuan beast, thrusting the speared tip of his staff towards its heart with all of his strength. The alien easily swatted the staff to the side and pounced upon the young warrior with all of its weight. Darkness wholly enveloped him until his involuntary sleep was interrupted.
“Simulation ended,” announced the emcee.
Initially, only Blaze’s subconscious registered the announcement but soon, his consciousness returned - if only foggily. He slowly pushed himself off of the ground and winced, his ears ringing and his head aching. It would be a minute or two before his body offered any semblance of recovering from that last blow. Five hundred pounds of alien muscle slamming you into the ground was not the most pleasant experience he had had in the simulator over the past several days but he was learning – and as he learned to manipulate the energy around him and enhance his own physical abilities, he was gaining in his ability to defeat larger, faster, and stronger opponents.
This time however, he had to face some disgrace in the form of a glaring failure. Still, the small audience of onlookers was impressed – both because of his daring bravery and for what he had been able to accomplish against such a large, hulky opponent – but that didn’t make him feel much better. Neither did Evelia’s commentary.
“You expect too much of yourself Blaze,” she consoled. Her ever soothing voice did manage to calm him down a stitch but his discouragement overwhelmed any effort she was making to help him feel any better about this loss. “Today marks one week since you were first able to stand up at all.” Evelia realized that Blaze was not looking towards her and gently waved her hand towards his gaze to regain his attention. “Hey!” she continued jestfully, “Remember? Just because you have super genes to boost your recovery doesn’t mean that you don’t need any recovery at all. Aria said a normal person would have been down for at least another month so don’t be so discouraged.”
