Outcast

by Guerin Zand

  “It’s normal to be concerned when you can’t explain something like this.”

  “You don’t get it, Stella. That’s not what I’m concerned about. I can’t explain it, but it’s like I know there’s something wrong and I need to do something about it. I don’t know what that something is, or what I’m supposed to do.”

  “You mean like a premonition?”

  “Maybe, Julie, but I’ve never had a premonition. How would I recognize one if that’s what it is? I just have this overwhelming feeling that something is wrong and it’s not going away.”

  “Let’s just go ahead with what we have planned. When you come back for your next scans, tell us if there are any changes in these feelings. In the meantime, we’ll pass on our findings to some other experts to see if they have any ideas. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to contact us, ok?”

  “Alright, Stella.”

  Chapter 19

  What’s A Pirate to Do?

  Maria and I returned to our quarters after the visit to the medical center. We had spent most of the morning there and I wasn’t sure what good would come from it. When we entered our quarters, Gamma came running and jumped up into my arms. Seeing her did help make me feel a lot better.

  Before we returned to the Earth ship from Ganymede, my daughter had our friends somehow add a second suite to the quarters. It was on the opposite side of the main living room from Maria’s suite, and close to the master suite. The addition included a third bathroom, nursery, a room for what now I suppose was our nanny, Prima, and enough closets to make any woman happy. Maria tried to explain to me how these quarters were of some alien modular design that made the expansion a snap. I acted like I cared when she told me all about it, but I didn’t really. What I was wondering was how Prima had become our nanny, since I hadn’t had a say in it. I just accepted this since I didn’t want to upset Prima again. I was sure that whatever I said would have gotten me in trouble with someone. It simply wasn’t worth it.

  I was bouncing Gamma up and down, doing the usual daddy type things, when the doorbell rang. Maria went to answer the door and she walked back into the living room with Milly in tow.

  “Hey, Milly. Have you met Gamma yet?” I didn’t know. No one ever told me anything. Prima or Maria could have introduced the two when I was busy with other things. Hell, someone decided Prima would be her nanny, and I only found out when I noticed Prima had moved in.

  “No, I haven’t. It’s nice to meet you, Gamma, I’m Milly.”

  “Hi, Milly.”

  “Another daughter, Guerin? You know you are outnumbered now.”

  “Tell me about it. You know Prima is living here too? She’s our new nanny, I guess.”

  “Maybe that’s what caused your nightmare?”

  “I don’t think so, Milly, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

  “So what are your plans? Are you going to stay around for a while or what?”

  “That’s a good question. I haven’t had time to really think about it. All of a sudden, I have another daughter to raise, and I don’t know what Maria’s plans are. I do have this overwhelming urge to move out or run away.”

  “You could just stay for a while and take some time to figure it all out.”

  “I guess. It’s sort of putting a crimp in my wild and crazy life as a pirate for sure. Gamma might be a little young for pirate raids and boarding parties.”

  Milly laughed as well as the rest of the adults in the room. Gamma giggled just to be part of the fun.

  “That’s probably a good guess, Guerin. Anyways, I dropped by to see if you’d like to have lunch with me. What do you say?”

  “The whole family or just me?” This new family was also going to put a crimp in my love life as well. There was a lot I hadn’t thought about before I decided to take custody of my newest daughter.

  “I guess the whole family. Why not? Why don’t you join us as well, Prima?”

  “That sounds like fun, Milly. Thank you. If you could give us a few minutes, I’d like to get Gamma changed first.” Gamma was still wearing her favorite bunny onesie.

  “That’s fine, Prima.” I just shrugged.

  “I want to change to. I’ll be right back.”

  “Why do you need to change, Maria?”

  “Oh, Dad.”

  I guess that was a reason. Well, at least it was a short answer, so I let her go without making a big deal out of it. Family outings. DEAR GOD!

  It only took 30 minutes for them all to get ready. Milly and I just waited for them in the living room and chatted a bit. She asked about the nightmare and we talked about that. She mentioned that she would be heading back, to the station she was currently assigned to, tomorrow. We agreed to have dinner together, without the whole family. I had a feeling the family lunch wasn’t really in her plans for today, but she was being a good sport about it.

  I loaded the family, Prima, and Milly onto the transport pad. I let Maria drive since I was holding Gamma. If I was around, Gamma had to be in my arms or sitting in my lap. At least she wasn’t having problems staying with Prima or Maria when I was unavailable. We headed down to the ground level and the food court area. I hadn’t had a chance to check it out since I had returned. There had been a lot of changes in the last few centuries.

  It was a beautiful afternoon down on the main level where the food court was located. The food court was sort of on the border of the “city” and the green areas. You could grab something to eat and walk just a little way to enjoy that meal in the great outdoors. It wasn’t really the outdoors though, I mean the way we think of outdoors. Still, it was always a pleasant place to visit and get away from the urban atmosphere in the rest of the dome city. This started me thinking, something that often got me in trouble, or at the least, left me more confused than before I started thinking.

  How was it that the temperature on this ship, and the shuttles, was so perfect for humans? Every day you could walk around in shorts and a t-shirt and feel perfectly comfortable. What about the other races on the ship? Just like we all had different standards for measuring time, wouldn’t we all have different standards for the perfect climate? Did the aliens just set the A/C to a setting they knew we humans would like? We’re they just being nice since we were probably too stupid to figure out how to dress properly? Were their clothes, especially those annoying Bree onesies, actually equipped with some nanotech HVAC system?

  I know when I visited other planets the climates varied. I had to check the temperature, as well as other semi-important things, like the breathability of the local atmosphere, and dress appropriately. Could it be that these aliens were just fucking with our heads somehow? Making us think or feel the climate was just fine, when actually we were burning up in the pits of Hell? Maybe I had become a bit jaded, being a seasoned spaceman and all, but I always leaned toward the aliens were fucking with us explanation. I was usually right, at least 75% of the time when I opted for that answer. I saw no reason to doubt my instincts in this case. It was always the simplest explanation as well, which is usually another good indication I was correct. In cases like this, I would just keep my curiosity to myself. They were a bunch of fucking show-offs, and I preferred not to feed their petty little egos.

  The food court was busy. I saw what appeared to be crowds of humans. I had been told there were a thousand or maybe a little more on this ship. There were also a lot of new food choices reflecting the increased human population. There was a White Castle, McDonald's, KFC, and a few new, more contemporary fast food chains now popular on Earth. In addition, there was the local favorite Earth Burger stand. I hauled my newest daughter straight to the White Castle line. I ordered her a cheese slider, a chicken slider, and a chocolate milk. For myself, I ordered 6 double cheese sliders, an iced tea and an order of loaded fries for us to share. Of course, the rest of my party went off in search of vegan fare. The lines at those counters were relatively short.

  I put Gamma down, and after a lengthy explanation, convinced her that s
he needed to walk on her own so I could carry all this food to our table. She wasn’t happy about this, but when I explained the only other option was to leave the chocolate milk behind, she agreed. All the old parenting tricks were slowly coming back to me. The others were already seated, since the lines at the vegan counters were so much smaller, so I pointed out where they were sitting to Gamma. I handed her the bottle of chocolate milk and told her to go grab a seat. She broke into a full run, her chocolate milk raised high in the air, screaming to everyone that would listen that she indeed had chocolate milk.

  I arrived at the table a few seconds later and I took a seat next to Gamma. She tried to scoot over and sit on my lap, but I pointed out that all the other big girls at the table weren’t sitting on someone else’s lap. This somehow made sense to her and she happily returned to her seat. You could see she was really proud to be a big girl now. All the women at the table laughed at me, not Gamma. I simply shrugged my shoulders and started to work on my meal.

  “You know, Guerin, you could stay on this ship for a while. It would probably be a good environment for Gamma.” I wondered if that was why Milly wanted to have lunch. Was there some reason she wanted me to stay on this ship? She was leaving tomorrow, and she hadn’t said for how long she’d be away. The truth was, she actually lived on that station of hers and only visited this ship on occasion.

  “If I did, what would I do here, Milly?”

  “You could raise Gamma and maybe spend some time studying. There is still so much for you to learn. You could find something that interests you and apply yourself. You might find it rewarding.”

  “I find being a pirate very rewarding. I travel all over, and I learn about all the other worlds. Sometimes, experience trumps education.”

  “You don’t have to stop traveling. You could even come to the station I’m assigned to for a visit. You’ve never been to one of our stations. Wouldn’t that count as an experience?”

  “You know I have problems being around a lot of Bree for an extended period of time. Besides, I feel more in charge on my own ship.”

  “You mean the one you stole from Julie?”

  “Allegedly, Milly, allegedly. If she tries to take it from me I’ll see her in an ASTN court. I don’t think she wants that.”

  “You still have this need to piss her off don’t you. She’s not very pleased with your latest antics you know.”

  “Gee, Milly, that’s a big surprise. Just what antics have pissed her off now? I like to keep a record for myself. That way I have an idea what I can do next to piss her off. I don’t want to make the mistake of repeating myself.”

  “Well, stealing...”

  “Allegedly!”

  “Allegedly stealing her shuttle. Do you have any idea how much grief she’s taking over that? Her piers enjoy joking that she may possibly have been outsmarted by a mere human?”

  “We mere humans do what we can.”

  “Yes. Then there’s that little trick you pulled on her when you went to Ganymede.”

  “What trick?”

  “Putting her in the middle of your negotiations with Mei.”

  “Oh that. The way I see it, it’s about time you Bree quit hiding behind me. You like to interfere as long as you can blame it on me. It’s not like she’s never put me on the spot like that.”

  A feeling of dread all of a sudden consumed me, like a Canadian cold front in the middle of winter. I looked behind me to see the source of that dread. Julie was standing there looking down on me. Remember what I was saying about a beautiful afternoon a bit earlier? You can scratch that. I should know better than to say something like that and tempt fate.

  “Do you mind if I join you, Guerin?” Julie had that sickening grin on her face.

  “Would it make a difference if I said yes?”

  “Thank you.” Julie took a seat across from me and next to Milly.

  “While we’re on the subject of your annoying antics, Guerin, would you mind telling me what you did with the Alacians?”

  “I kept my word, Julie. I didn’t send them into the gravity well of a black hole or some star.”

  “Exactly where did you send them?”

  “I don’t see what difference that makes, Julie. I kept my word, just like you did by giving me the knowledge to immobilize them.”

  “You’re playing games, Guerin.”

  “I think I’m being very, I don’t know, Bree?”

  “You also promised you wouldn’t kill them.”

  “And I didn’t, Julie. In fact, I didn’t even harm them. If they get hurt or killed where I sent them, it will only be because of their own actions.”

  “Guerin?” Julie gave me that same old disapproving mother look I knew so well.

  “They have their ship, they can communicate with their home planet. They can last for a few hundred years on the supplies they have. If their own people won’t help them, it’s not my fault. Unlike you, I wasn’t going to just send them home with a note from the Principal’s office.”

  “Is this your way of getting even with us for not warning you about the suppression fields?”

  “Do you think I’m that petty, Julie?” I tried my best to look like my feelings were hurt. I was never that good of an actor. “Besides, if I had just sent them home, they’d most probably be in serious trouble. I may have just saved their lives.”

  Milly decided to change the subject. She knew her mother and I could go at this for the rest of eternity if she didn’t. “We’re trying to figure out what Guerin should do, I mean, now that he has Gamma to consider.”

  “Well, he could just leave Gamma with someone more responsible and go back to wherever he came from.”

  “Julie!” Milly always referred to her mother as Julie when we were in public. “Is it really so hard for the two of you to just get along?”

  “YES!” Julie and I responded in unison. Gamma found this amusing.

  Milly simply sighed. She knew it was hopeless. I think she was just glad that we hadn’t killed each other yet. “So anyway, I think you should stay here for a while, Guerin. Gamma could use some stability. If things continue to progress as they have been, first contact is only a few short years away.”

  “But I really don’t have anything to do with that. Roger will be your ambassador on Earth. Diane will remain as the technical liaison. The truth is, my role as emissary is unnecessary now. I don’t see the point in sticking around. I’d like to take my family back to Earth for a while, so Gamma can get to know her homeworld.”

  “Your role as emissary is not obsolete, Guerin.”

  “I disagree, Milly. What is left for me to do? I was only called back to handle this current conflict. Am I supposed to just sit around, wait for the next human crisis, step in, and just keep repeating that?”

  “You still don’t understand, Guerin.”

  “Well, then why don’t you explain it to me, Julie?”

  “First contact is just one step. The Collective will take a more proactive approach with humans after that. As humans explore and visit new worlds, they’ll need our guidance even more. That’s what your job has always been. To act on our behalf and help guide humanity as they progress.”

  “Isn’t that what Roger will be doing as your ambassador to Earth?”

  “No. Roger’s job is political in nature. His job will be as the conduit for communication between the Collective and humanity’s political structure. Your position is more of guardian and/or guide. You were right in a way, about having been doing what we wanted over the last few centuries. You’ve traveled around quite a bit. You’re familiar with hundreds of races on different worlds. That knowledge makes you an asset.”

  “Isn’t that what diplomats are for?” Maybe I was dense, but I still wasn’t sure what they expected of me.

  “Let me see if I can explain it to you in another way.” That was Julie speak for, let me put it in terms a child can understand. “In the early days of the United States, who was it that met with the indigenou
s people of the land? It wasn’t diplomats. It was the explorers, merchants, and settlers who reached out into areas of the land before their governments. It will be the same as humans travel out into space. These people generally relied on guides who had explored those areas before.”

  “But I’m just one person, Julie. In your example, there were several guides including some that were native to the land.”

  “Exactly, so you will need to help train others to be guides as well, recruit people from other races to help. Why do you think we have all of these humans here on this ship?”

  “I thought they were here to be trained to help Roger and Steve.”

  “Steve’s marines will cease to be. The current human political structure will evolve into a centralized system representing all of humanity, not just Earth or its local star system. That system will have their own military and some of the marines will be absorbed into that. Many of the humans here joined with Steve and Roger because they want to be explorers. Even a lot of the marines want more than to be simple soldiers. You should understand that.”

  “So, I’m supposed to train these thousands of explorers?”

  “Yes.” Milly looked at me like this should have been obvious. “Like I was trying to tell you, you should consider this ship as your home base. You’ll still be traveling, but you’ll also take new recruits along with you. They will, just like you did, make lives for themselves out among the other worlds. They’ll return, train others, and so on. You will build a network of these explorers who will lay the groundwork for eventual political relationships between humanity and the other races. You and Steve will lead this effort.”

  “Have you told Steve about this?”

  “He knows.”

  “Maybe this makes sense. I need to think about it. I’m worried about Senri. This is not what she signed on for.”

  “Speaking of Senri, the Chendek ambassador would like to speak to her.”

  “What about her pardon, Julie? I won’t turn her over to the Chendek government against her will. As far as I’m concerned, she has asylum aboard my ship. We’ll leave here if anyone tries to take her against her will.”