Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi

by Adams, David

  Liao felt an uncharacteristic stab of disappointment. They had budgeted two weeks to install the new jump drive and accordingly, she had decided to take some long overdue shore leave on the surface of Velsharn. To learn that her beach-hopping would be cut dramatically short was a shame.

  She reached for her jacket, nodding. “That’s good news, but why did you need to interrupt my sunbathing to tell me this?”

  Summer folded her hands in front of her. “Well, unfortunately, in order to make it work at all, we need a Telvan military access code. I spoke to Ben about it. The Telvan are not big on security–we knew this already–but their access codes are very… broad in their application. For instance, with one of those we could shut down their whole facility, overload their reactors, or even power up their surface defense drones–like the ones that were protecting the wreck of the Giralan. So… yeah. We doubt these scientists will give us one just so we could use the jump drive. They’ve been helpful so far, but there are limits to their hospitality, I imagine.”

  "Didn't they know that it required the code before they offered it to us?"

  Summer shook her head. "Nope. They designed it, yeah, but then they pass the schematic to the military for approval. They added the requirement of the code and deleted the original schema for security reasons."

  Liao thought it odd the Telvan would trade them a jump drive they suspected they couldn’t use, but there was no sense being angry about it. In all likelihood, Qadan had no idea the drive required a code, and she knew Summer would be in a much darker mood if there were no way around the limitations. “What are our options? I’m guessing you have a plan.”

  Rowe nodded. “Yeah, a couple, but you ain’t gonna like either of them.”

  The idea that the key to finding James would be unpalatable didn’t rest easy with her. She was already struggling to remain objective.

  “Let me hear them, then I’ll decide if I hate it enough to beg the Telvan for one of their codes.”

  "First idea, wait around for the Telvan to fabricate one from scratch. Qadan says it will take two months, though." Summer smiled. "And he's really sorry. He kept trying to give me this string of pearls and apologizing, but I got Saara to talk him out of it."

  Liao suspected he wouldn't have known. She shook her head firmly. "Not going to happen, Summer. We need this thing now. What's option two?"

  Summer nodded, taking a breath. “I thought you'd say that. Basically, Ben still has his access code from the Giralan. It’s old, and we’re not sure it’ll even work, but we can hook Ben’s datacore up to our jump drive computers and get him to do the heavy computational lifting for us.”

  Liao pondered a moment, tilting her head to one side. “Okay, so? That sounds like a perfect solution. What’s the catch?”

  “The catch is, if he has full access to our jump drive computers, he has full access to the entire ship’s systems.” Rowe paused a moment, glancing down at Liao. “So, Captain, it basically boils down to how much do you trust it–him, Ben, whatever? With your entire ship.”

  Trust was a strange thing. Ben had proven himself to be a useful ally in their cause, and linking him more directly into their computer systems could prove to have any number of unexpected benefits. Liao’s mind played over the scenario; it would dramatically increase their computational power, and his knowledge and experience would be an amazing addition to their ship’s capabilities. Having a sentient mind reaching into their computer cluster would probably have all kinds of unforeseen effects, both good and bad, depending on how Ben conducted himself. Turning over full control of her vessel to Ben was a risk, but it seemed like it would be an acceptable gamble.

  Humans were odd beasts. They avoided so much risk in their lives just so they could arrive safely at their deaths. Some people lived entirely in a bubble. They went to a safe private school, they got their education in a safe field with plenty of employment, they worked a safe government job and took a safe, boring wife as their partner and produced safe, boring children before their safe, boring death.

  Liao had chosen a different life. She could have been a wealthy businessman’s wife, or a socialite, or even a high paid escort. But she had chosen a life in the military and had worked hard to get where she was, and she had taken plenty of risks; especially since she had assumed command of the Beijing. So far things had paid off, more or less, and she had become accustomed to the idea that sometimes you had to roll the dice. Sometimes you had to assess the options, analyze the risks, and take the plunge on an unknown.

  She nodded. “I think, sometimes, you have to take a gamble. Ben’s shown that he means us no harm. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting him crash on the Beijing’s couch, at least for a little while. I’m confident that he’ll be a very powerful asset for us, especially when it comes to getting us those jump coordinates. The Tehran, well, I don’t need to tell you how important it is to our military operations that it’s returned and her crew rescued.”

  And important to me as well, Liao mused privately.

  “Okay, Captain, if you’re sure that’s a good idea…”

  Liao smiled. “I’m not. Not completely, but I want to trust him. I want Ben to see that we’re not like the Toralii who marooned him on that planet, that we’ll treat him like a member of our crew, with all that the privilege entails. I really think our best chance to survive in this great big galaxy is to build up our allies. We’ve made some here, and we made one with Ben. I want to keep up our winning streak.”

  Summer nodded. “A’right, Captain, as you wish. I’ll begin to make the changes immediately.”

  Liao reached out her hand, gently touching Summer’s foot. She looked up at her chief engineer with a pleasant, relaxed smile.

  “How about you do it tomorrow?”

  Chapter VII

  “Progress”

  * * *

  Operations

  TFR Beijing

  Near Velsharn Research Facility

  Toralii Space

  Velsharn was stunningly beautiful, and the day passed far too quickly. Liao wished she could stay there forever. Get a little cabin on the beach, stay with the Toralii, and have her child. She would teach it to speak Toralii, English, and Chinese. She could borrow one of the Telvan scientists’ short-range shuttles and take her child into space. She could teach him or her science, art, military protocol. Raise the perfect little child, all on her own.

  It was an attractive proposition. Although it would be scandalous, nobody would stop her, nor say that she hadn’t served with distinction, or question her decision to retire. She imagined the Telvan of Velsharn would be her companions. They would treat her and her child well. Saara would probably stay, too, and there would be others. Some from the ship, some from elsewhere—from Earth, maybe. They could make Velsharn a nice home. She knew Fleet Command would probably brand her a traitor, strip her of her rank, and have her arrested, but she allowed herself the daydream for a time.

  But her life would be incomplete without James. She knew that even if she could stay on Velsharn, she would spend the rest of her life casting her eyes to the stars, wishing fruitlessly that James could be with her and their child.

  There was work to be done, and wishing and daydreaming weren’t accomplishing anything. Fate helped those who helped themselves.

  So it was with a genuine, fond sadness that she bid Qadan farewell, then boarded the Broadsword that would take the last of her crew from the surface and return them to the Beijing.

  As the heavy gunship lifted from the large clearing that served as the launch point for the small craft, Liao moved forward to the cockpit, watching the blue surface of the island slowly disappear from view. She felt a faint sense of longing, as though leaving behind her home forever, and she cast her thoughts back to the very first time she had left the Earth’s surface for her command aboard the Beijing. She was filled with nervousness, excitement, and anticipation.

  But not longing. She didn’t miss Earth at all. Som
e things, yes; the street seller on the corner who sold the most delicious dumplings she had ever tasted, the neighbor with the extremely rare breed of cat she would occasionally feed and play with, Earth’s sun rising at the dawning of a new day.

  It was difficult to articulate just how much the visit had affected her, but the few days she had spent on Velsharn had felt more like home than any other place she had ever been. She felt as though she had finally found a place where she belonged. Something called to her from Velsharn’s shores, and she could not place it, but it was a welcome, attractive thing that made her long to return.

  The blue sky out the cockpit window slowly faded to the dark, inky black of space, and Liao pushed such thoughts away from her mind. She had a job to do. They had secured access to the Telvan advanced jump drive that allowed them the faintest hope of recovering the crew of the Tehran. She could dwell no longer on the beautiful planet she had just left. James was counting on her.

  Ten minutes later, the gunship docked on the Beijing, depositing the last of the crew aboard the ship. Well after the dozen or so people crammed into the small gunship had departed and the craft had been parked, Liao remained in her seat. Her body was back on the ship, but her heart was still on Velsharn’s beaches. She felt that if she waited long enough, the squat, heavy space fighter would lift off again and return her to the surface.

  Eventually, though, she unclipped her seat belt and stepped onto the cramped hangar bay. As her boots hit the metal, her eyes met Kamal Iraj’s. Her First Officer nodded her way, falling into step with her as she drew close.

  “Captain. I trust your stay on the surface was a pleasant one.”

  Liao gave a polite smile, answering with a deliberate neutrality she hoped wouldn’t betray her desire to return. “It was very restful, but I’m glad to be back. What do you have for me, Commander?”

  He handed her a clipboard. “Well, first things first. We’ve begun the process of integrating the upgrade that Qadan’s people provided, but we are short a number of parts that we need to link it into Ben’s systems. The Telvan don’t have them on hand, and we can’t fabricate them onboard the ship. Everything seems to be working just fine, but we can’t perform any jumps or even test it. Summer’s a little pissed.”

  Liao frowned, examining the brief report attached to the clipboard. “I thought the upgrade Qadan gave us was just a single extra component? He didn’t mention anything about all these other parts. I guess he just assumed we had them or could fabricate them. Can we implement a workaround? Or is there some other way we can get the jump drive to function using what we have already?”

  Kamal gave a low chuckle. “To paraphrase Miss Rowe, no. But we have a plan.”

  Liao raised an eyebrow. “Another plan. Am I going to like this one any more than Summer’s half-baked idea?”

  “Well, Summer came up with this one, too. Ben gave us the specifics and worked on the details, so if you’re happy to ignore the source of this course of action, I think you’ll be content. The idea is pretty simple; we jump back to Karathi and take the parts we need from the Giralan.”

  Liao regarded him, absently tapping the clipboard on the palm of her hand. “Well, we have the jump coordinates, and the planet’s abandoned. It wouldn’t be a big effort. But the Giralan is ancient and in terrible shape. How do we know those bits even work?”

  “According to Ben, the ship has the parts we need. The Toralii didn't take them because they're common and easily manufactured, and he didn't think we'd need them. They still work. He said he spent so long on that planet he had the condition of every piece of the ship checked and rechecked. There’s enough there to add in the extra part, although it’ll take some time to clean off the rust and to integrate it with our gear.”

  She frowned. “I’m not entirely happy with the idea of mixing half-century-old alien technology into my ship’s systems. It’s one thing to lift a component wholesale and metaphorically bolt it on the side. It’s another thing entirely to start mixing and matching parts. He won’t like it.”

  The He was the Beijing. The ship’s ‘gender’ was set at Liao’s insistence. Tradition dictated that ships were always female; this was, she presumed, because most captains were male and ‘married to the job.’ Because of this, Liao insisted the Beijing was male.

  Kamal nodded. “Summer says she’s up for the challenge, but I don’t think that woman believes she has any limits.” He paused as they turned down a junction, heading towards Liao’s office near Operations. “It’s good to see her starting to get back to her old self, though.”

  Liao thought so, too. “How did she react on the surface, surrounded by Toralii?”

  “Aside from her quick trip down to the surface to talk to you and the initial landing party, she didn’t really participate. I don’t think she even managed a visit, except when work took her there. I asked her twice, but she insisted she didn’t want to. I… well, to be honest, I think it had something to do with the Toralii. She probably didn’t want to be reminded of the battle.”

  That troubled Liao. She had enjoyed her time on Velsharn immensely and had hoped some time spent on the surface might speed the redhead’s emotional recovery.

  Liao motioned for Kamal to turn down the corridor to the Operations room. “What about the rest of the crew?”

  He smiled at her, folding his hands behind his back. “Once the first reports came back from the surface about how beautiful it was, the Broadswords couldn’t shuttle people back and forth fast enough. I think the pilots that stayed should be given some kind of reward or something–they were working flat out, and I’m pretty sure they barely got a moment on the surface. From speaking to the senior staff, I think the crew had a relaxing time, and they’ve returned refreshed and ready to work.”

  “And what about you?”

  Kamal seemed momentarily flustered, glancing over his shoulder and waiting until they were in a secluded section of the corridor before speaking.

  “I stayed on the ship, Captain. With Lieutenant Peng. It was karaoke night, so…”

  She gave him a nod. “So you needed a drinking buddy, huh?”

  Kamal flashed her a playful wink. “A little more than that, Captain.”

  Liao blinked as the man’s meaning settled in. “Oh. Oh.” She grinned. “Well, good for you. I felt guilty about leaving you with the ship while I bummed around on a beach, so I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

  Liao did not think much of Peng, but she could admit that he was attractive. And, apparently, Iraj’s type.

  “Believe me, Captain, I was much happier up here.”

  They stepped into Operations, giving a curt nod to the skeleton crew on duty, then moving over to Liao’s office. When the door was closed, she grinned at her XO.

  “I bet you were. He’s cute.”

  “He is.” Kamal smiled, then deftly changed the subject. “But I am worried about Summer. If you could have another chat with her, I think she’d appreciate it.”

  Liao nodded. “I’ll have a word with her about it.”

  She walked over to her desk and eased herself into her chair with a light groan. A slight frown appeared on Kamal’s features as his eyes took in her posture.

  “There was one more thing, Captain.”

  She squirmed to get comfortable, reaching down to smooth her uniform. “Yes?”

  Iraj hesitated, as though reluctant to say anything, then sighed. “Don’t take this personally, but I think you should allocate more time in your day to the upkeep of your personal fitness. I don’t know if it’s because you relaxed a little too much on the Toralii planet, or if it’s just the stress of what you’ve been through over the last few weeks, but I noticed you’re putting on some weight. It’s not good for the Captain to appear out of shape or unfit. It makes a poor impression on the crew. We need everyone at our best, especially you.”

  Melissa felt a surge of anger and, before she had a chance to consider the implications her words tumbled out of her mouth. “I’m not
fat, I’m preg… pregnant.”

  She didn’t know why she said it, and she regretted it immediately. Iraj’s eyes widened.

  An uncomfortable silence filled the air. “I… Kamal, I’m sorry you had to find out like this. Obviously, I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while and I promise you, I was going to tell you eventually, I just had to wait until the time was right.”

  Kamal nodded slowly. “I understand. How long have you known?”

  “I’ve… I… since I was injured in the battle with the Seth’arak. Doctor Saeed is the only one who knows, apart from Saara. And now you.”

  His posture changed, becoming more formal, his gaze locking on Liao’s. She imagined he was annoyed–and rightly so–the Toralii civilian had known about an important development before he had, but his sense of duty and stoicism prevented him from raising the complaint directly.

  The Iranian man’s voice was even but firm. “I see.”

  Liao sighed and put her head in her hands. “I’m sorry, Kamal. I am. She found out while we were on Velsharn. I let my defenses down, and it kind of slipped out. Now that she knows, it’s probably good you do as well. I can’t keep it a secret forever.”

  “No, I don’t think you can.” His face softened slightly, forming the beginnings of a smile. “Congratulations, though. I’m guessing it’s—”

  “Yes, it’s James’s.” She emitted a soft groan. “The press are going to have a field day with this one.”

  “I imagine they will.”

  Liao returned her hands to her lap. “Well, at least the distance between us and the nearest reporter is measured in light years.”

  “Small mercies.”

  Liao nodded, echoing Kamal’s sentiment, but she didn’t have anything meaningful to add. It was her fate, something she would have to deal with when it came up.

  Kamal excused himself to make sure all the crew were back on board, leaving Liao with her thoughts until her radio crackled and Operations informed her she had an incoming transmission from the Sydney. She requested that Hsin, their communications officer, place the call through to the internal communicator on her desk.