Twenty-nine minutes after the transfer started, Ron opened his eyes. “Are we done?” he asked.
Lexi, with a final check of the diagnostics display, leaned over and kissed him as Geena stepped forward and took his hand. “How do you feel, darling?” Geena asked.
“Lexi’s a genius, Mom,” he replied, pushing himself up to a more upright position, excitement in his voice. “I’ve used the educator, what, only a few times over the years. It always left me with a headache and a groggy feeling that took days to wear off. And it is always a few weeks before I can really use the knowledge. But, wow! I feel fine, although my brain kind of itches.”
He shrugged. “Maybe a touch of a headache. But, the knowledge is all there, at least it seems like it is. Lexi, love, this stuff is so far beyond what I knew of state-of-the-art Accord technology I can barely believe it.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “I’m hungry.”
Urania said, “You guys go feed the man. Ron, we’re going to scan you daily to make sure nothing bad is happening in that head of yours. I think three weeks should be long enough for that. If there are no ill effects, I’ll clear you to take another. Geena, you can take the other ones you’ve been interested in at that time. But, and I’m going to insist on this, we do this slowly and always in here with the medical scanner going. I doubt that either of you could survive the marathon exposure we let Lexi suffer through.”
Lexi said, “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Let’s go eat.”
***
That night, after making love with his girlfriend, Ron lay back thinking about girlfriends in general and having a son in particular. “Lexi, would you register with me as life-mates on Cardin’s Paradise, or, if you prefer, marry me on Earth?”
She rolled herself over and sitting on his hips with her arms on his shoulders, said, “You’re thinking of Crane, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Crane, and you.”
Lexi smiled down at him. Then she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on his lips. Sitting back up, she said, “When I was growing up, being married was no more than a vague goal in my life. There are real advantages, some financial but mostly ensuring the safety of any children. Then there is the element of romance, which in a good marriage is always there, but sadly, can also be totally lacking. There was a time, lover, when being married to you would have thrilled me. Basically, the whole time we spent on the Borgol job. As it stands now, I’m thrilled just being with you.”
“Ah, was that a ‘no?’”
She shook her head. “Not a no, lover. We’re partners for life, Ron. We both feel it. You and I are going to be together for a long time. Formalizing our arrangement is going to be complicated. We’ll want Geena there, of course. But we’re also going to want your Grammin relatives. We don’t know them that well, but, gee, you’re their king. So, you know, if you’re going to make me their queen, you need to invite them. Jis has to be there. And most problematic of all, I want my father there.” She paused. “Then there’s the Kreesh.”
Ron shook his head. “Absolutely not. No way are the Kreesh invited. They’d eat the other guests.” He smiled. “I still want to do it. As soon as we can get everybody together. Because, after we deal with the Kreesh, kiddo, you’re going to want to go gunning for Unity. And none of us know what calamity requiring your unique skill set to deal with is going to raise its ugly head after that.”
Lexi nodded her head. “We’re going to have to get to Earth pretty soon. When we do, I’m going to have to tell Dad about all of this. He’ll probably believe me, at least I hope he does. If he doesn’t, I don’t know, maybe we’ll transport him up. What I’m afraid of is even if we don’t invite them, the Kreesh might crash the party. And Ron, I don’t know how we can stop them. I just know we have to stop them.”
He reached up and pulled Lexi forward until she nuzzled into his neck. He held her like that until she arched her neck and started licking his ear. When she sat back up, she said, rather abruptly he thought, “I want to take another shower.”
Relaxing in the shower with Lexi massaging his back, he said, “You never told us what a leap it was to take artificial gravity tech and put it in the floor of our shower. Most people don’t think it should be possible at all and those who do don’t have a clue how to go about it.” He turned to face her. “Honestly, Lexi, even now that I understand the principles and the technology I still can’t follow how you got from where Accord science stalled to where you’ve taken us now.” He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “I am continually amazed and exhilarated by you.”
She pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his hips bringing her eyes level with his. “Thank you, love. I can’t get enough of you either. It wasn’t a ‘no,’ sweetie, it was a ‘yes!’” She flipped on the drying cycle and as the warm breeze gently dried them, laughed and said, “We’ll register on your homeworld and have a ceremony on Earth. I guess we’ll have to see what’s involved on Grammin. In the meanwhile, I have a surprise for you. I think you’ll enjoy it.”
As he stepped out of the enclosure, still holding her, he laughed and said, “I hope it’s chocolate.”
“Better,” Lexi promised.
As Ron stopped at the door to their cabin, eyes wide, Lexi-on-the-bed said, “We’ve come up with a little game, Ron. You have two hours to figure out which one of us is Lexi-fiance and which is Lexi-not.”
Ron’s expression changed from total surprise to one of measured consideration as he set Lexi-from-the-shower down, wondering if he had asked a sim to marry him. “So, you’ve obviously dealt with the taste and smell issue or it wouldn’t be a challenge. I assume you’ve worked out how to drink coffee. And tomorrow you can start explaining to me why one of you isn’t unconscious with an educator cap on. Eventually, you’re going to need to generate a rubric for this tech, too.” He paused. “Two hours, huh? Challenge accepted. Er, is there a third you somewhere wearing the educator cap?”
They both laughed. “No, Ron.”
The next morning, Ron woke up alone in bed, as normal. He sighed. She could have left her sim in bed. Lexi never slept longer than a few hours. Like every other human he knew, as a rule, he needed more sleep than that. Also as was usually the case, he found her in the control cabin, chatting with Urania.
He said, “Good morning, Urania, Lexi. I had other things on my mind last night, kiddo, but I figured it out. You don’t need a cap if you have the Klaavaanit field over our cabin on. You inserted us both seamlessly into a sim world that looked like our cabin when I thought we got up to take that shower. Except we never really got out of bed, did we?. We were both already avatars. The second you, waiting on the bed, was a sim. I suppose it’s possible I showered with your sim, she was unbelievably realistic, and avatar-you was on the bed. I guess I still don’t know which of you was which.”
Lexi smiled up at him. “You are the smartest person I know, Ron Samue. I was the one in the shower and the last one you kissed before we went to sleep. But you were right about the other thing you mentioned last night; the avatars are upgraded so that they can now drink coffee without making a mess. I haven’t got them to the point where they can actually taste it yet. I working on that for Urania’s benefit.”
“I know you’re having fun with this stuff, lover, and it is impressive. But…” He bent over and lifted her from the chair, cradling her in his arms. Before Lexi invented the miniaturized gravity pads used throughout the ship, they would be in a zero-gee environment while traveling through hyperspace. Picking her up would have been a trivial feat in zero-gee but he was big enough and strong enough that it wasn’t an effort for him in full gravity either. “I would like to know that it is really you when I do this.” He bent his head down to kiss her.
“OK.” She relaxed into his body and sighed softly. “I have another couple of surprises. They won’t be ready until after we have Jis on board.” She paused and looked speculative for a moment. “Assuming they work at all.”
Chapter 36<
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Ackalon
It was called the Situation Room. It was an old room, so old, it predated the Accord itself. Part of a large complex excavated from deep within the bedrock beneath the Residence of the ruler of Ackalon, it was the military command center for the planet. It was designed to survive an orbital attack by enemy warships during a time when that was a realistic possibility. All of the modern technology was cleverly camouflaged so as not to intrude upon the staid ambiance pervading the room.
At the head of an ornate table carved from a single slab of dark red crystal sat Jis Boc Seckan. Also in attendance were her father, Ad Boc Seckan, and Commissioner Kanda Lo Hourd, head of her planetary defense forces and by extension, commander of her space fleet. Her father was there by her special invitation. More of a command, really, she supposed. Jis still felt weird commanding her father what to do. He was retired, she was Plicora.
The other six senior commissioners, those who oversaw the day-to-day continuance of her government were present in holographic fashion. It was the middle of the night in the capital city and most of them were attired in hurriedly thrown on robes, chugging hot beverages laced with stimulants. All of those men and women had already been given a quick summary of the reason for the emergency session. They knew they wouldn’t be returning to bed this morning.
Commissioner Lo Hourd, his voice gravelly, stated, “We of course have comprehensive dossiers on all three principals of Aeolus Investigations due to your past association with them, Jis. We have no reason to think our visitors are not who they say they are, other than that impossible ship they cruised into our system on.” He both shook his head and waved toward the projection of the impossible ship at the front of the chamber.
“I believe,” Jis remarked, her tone wry, “that I put an annotation in the Aeolus file to the effect that the impossible is Lexi Stevens’s stock-in-trade. You all know what that team did on Ostrieachia. Don’t for a moment think that anyone else in Accord space could have managed that. I go out of my way supporting their endeavors not because they’re my best friends but because the Accord needs them. Ackalon needs them. This morning we’re meeting to discuss why we need them.”
Lo Hourd grunted and said, “Yes. Yes, I saw your annotation.” He continued for the benefit of the off-site commissioners, “That ship, which we’re told they named Glaurang, transitioned out of hyper just inside of our detector envelop, suggesting they knew how far out our detectors extended. They’ve visited here before, so that in and of itself isn’t remarkable.
“They immediately began sending, on a restricted frequency let me add, identification data, volumes of non-technical data concerning their ship, and a politely phrased request for immediate access to the Plicora. While we were still in the process of reviewing their material, Jis commed with instructions they be allowed into Ackalon orbit. Before we could transmit permission to Glaurang, the ship headed in. It is orbiting above us now.”
Jis nodded. “Thank you, Kanda. I can fill in on some details they didn’t transmit. The ship you are observing is Wraixain in origin. The Aeolus Investigations team encountered it derelict in hyperspace while on their current job for the Vankovian emperor. Interestingly, they managed to successfully complete the Vankovian’s job as well, despite major distractions. I’m sure Emperor Nakaniti will be pleased.”
She looked around the table, wondering how many realized that yet another Accord world was now in the debt of the Aeolus Investigations team. Funny how they kept managing to do that. It started when Aeolus retrieved her Rose of Insight, placing Ackalon in their debt. They followed that with the rescue of kidnapped members of the royal family of Borgol, a mission that earned them the respect not only of Borgol, but of four other worlds also missing family members. And of course, there was Ostrieachia. Now, Vankovia, which like Ackalon, was highly respected. If Vankovia backed the plan Lexi and I somehow formulated while Lexi was both parsecs away and unconscious, then the other worlds of the Accord were very likely to follow their lead.
“That ship is now under the command of my good friends and sometimes partners, Lexi Stevens and Geena and Ron Samue. You all met them during my coronation last year. It is late, and you will receive full transmittals as more is known, so I will keep this as short as possible tonight. The crux of the matter is that a race known only to us in legend is re-emerging. The Kreesh are back.”
She watched as, almost as though they had rehearsed it, each of her commissioners slowly took a sip of their beverage, giving them a moment to consider her statement. Under some circumstances, that would have been amusing. Not tonight. Not in this situation. “I have been sensing this for months now. I’m sure some of you have been as well. I am also, just so you understand some of what is going on, in more or less constant mental contact with Lexi Stevens. I cannot explain it. We are almost sharing thoughts across interplanetary distances. It’s not telepathy, at least not in the normal sense. It is not an ability the Rose of Insight has granted to any of us before. However, that woman has become a sort of living Rose. She’s also, to a limited extent, become a telepath. It seems to me the two abilities may be merging. I knew they were in-system and who they were long before Kanda’s people received their transmissions.
“Regardless, I will again be joining the Aeolus team in order to combat the threat posed by the Kreesh. In my absence, my father will assume my duties.” She glanced at him, a tender smile on her face. “I know you were looking forward to a relaxing retirement, Father. I’m so sorry. I just don’t think either of us has a choice in this matter. This is going to be a long engagement. I have to go and none of my deputies have your depth of experience. Nor do they possess your level of facility with the Rose.”
He smiled warmly back at her. “I am not as tired these days as I used to be. The meds your friends provided seem to be having an extraordinary rejuvenating affect. I agree, there is no choice. I glimpsed wisps of this when we picked up the Rose on Cardin’s Paradise, injured though it was. You need to be on that ship, daughter. There is much at stake here.”
Jis nodded, remembering. “You said they would be needed.” She looked around the room at her Commissioners. “The ship these people arrived on, in some areas, is already centuries ahead technologically of anything the Accord worlds can produce. You all should be familiar with Lexi’s dossier. If not, you need to be. Be aware that technology-wise, she will be upgrading Glaurang further. Due to the Kreesh threat, we will be continuing the build-up of our fleet and accelerating the refurbishment program of our existing assets.
“Kanda, you will be reporting directly to Lexi for the duration of the emergency. She plans on revamping starship design. At your discretion, if you decide we would be more effective concentrating on the construction of new units, you can scrap the refurbishment project. You’re also going to immediately need to step up recruitment and training efforts. We’re going to need crew for the new ships. I’ve been talking around it, but to be clear, as of now, Ackalon is on a war footing. We either stop the Kreesh or we die within the next twenty to thirty years.”
She paused, looking around at the holo images, watching the faces of her people as that sunk in. “As Plicora of Ackalon, I am implementing immediately Article Seven, Section One of the Accord bylaws appointing Lexi Stevens our Ultimate Commissioner. She prefers the term, ‘Marshal.’ We will abide by her wishes.”
She gave them another moment. “Kanda, I’m going to want volunteers to serve as crew on Glaurang. Time is short so I know not to expect many. Do the best you can. I’m not sure she realizes it yet but she’s going to be bringing Earth into the Accord. I want a small diplomatic mission coming with us too. We’ll be leaving no later than tomorrow evening.”
Her gaze encompassing all of the attendees, she said, “The other Accord worlds will be following a like course in short order. The Kreesh took out the race that built that monster of a ship nine hundred years ago. That’s why we don’t encounter Wraix in Accord space anymore. Now the Kreesh are coming for
the rest of us.”
“Yes, I sense impending disaster for us all,” Ad Boc Seckan confirmed. “Death and darkness swelling outward across all of civilization. Yet on that ship, one being shines with a brighter light than any I have ever sensed.” He shook his head in wonder. “Not that she needs it, but I fully endorse my daughter’s decision to place the future of Ackalon into the hands of Lexi Stevens. I, too, sense that she embodies the only chance any of us have.”
Chapter 37
Borgol
Borgol was almost as easy as Ackalon, although their arrival caused much more of a stir. There had been no time to forewarn the Borgolians via even a message drone. Glaurang would have bypassed it while in hyper, despite the day spent gathering a crew on Ackalon. And, of course, there was no one like Jis Boc Seckan for Lexi to communicate with. As at Ackalon, they transited from hyper just inside the Borgolian’s limit to detect them. They waited there.
The planetary defense fleet responded within minutes, heading at maximum speed to intercept the intruder. The two times the team had been here previously, none of them had paid any attention to things like what Borgol’s in-system military presence was and what its response to an invasion might be. Now, sitting on Glaurang’s bridge, eyes on the three-dimensional display, Ron looked very concerned as he said, “This really isn’t good.”
Aeolus Investigations Set 2: Too Cool To Lose: The Continuing Evolution of Lexi Stevens Page 35
