by Thadd Evans
I remained silent, weighing my thoughts. He was right. The only planet that had inexpensive tritium was Red Ten.
Minutes later, after leaving the passenger compartment, I reached the bottom of the steps, hoping the passengers would arrive soon.
A male voice, someone I couldn’t see, announced, “Hello.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
Close the entrance, Dr. Xio and the passengers came walking toward me. Dr. Xio announced, “Jason, we arrived a moment ago. Are you ready to leave Danig?”
“Yes.”
Baaax shouted, “Let’s go!”
I replied thankfully, “Good idea,” and climbed the steps, the passengers behind me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I entered the bridge and sat down. To my right, on the curved floor, the hatch leading to the equipment room housing some of the ship’s interferometric telescopes, and optical computers opened wide. Vren stepped out of it, headed for his seat.
“All spectrometer systems go?” I asked, continuing the rest of the procedure.
“Go, and glad to go,” said Vren.
Thankfully soon I heard the main engine start, and ST7 rose. Near the center of the screen, the hangar roof slid open. ST7 took off, ramming us against our seats.
We reached outer orbit when, on my left hand, Ieeb’s voice announced, “Jason, hello!”
I looked down. At the top of my wedding ring, where the sound was coming from, a small eye morphed and turned into Ieeb’s face. Much to my surprise, the tiny gray metallic face winked at me playfully.
A small holographic screen, clearly created by the ring, appeared above my left hand. Near the middle of the screen, a video of Ieeb in the white dress, the outfit that she had worn on our wedding day, brightened. She smiled. Jason, whenever you’re lonely, just say, Ring.Ieeb, and this panel, a device with videos of me on it, will pop up. It’s a gift that Baaax and Fi created.
Now, I’m going to recite one of my poems. Hopefully, it will lift your spirits.
“Of course it will,” I smiled. The ring chanted on.
Dance with me
When I think of the stars above Litor, I remember you
When you touch me, I shiver with excitement
In the morning light, I see your face, and think about our wedding, one of the happiest days of my life.
I love you so.
The hologram vanished. I hesitated, trying to get Ieeb off my mind, because I had to fly ST7 and the next few steps were critical. At the same time I hoped I’d see Ieeb, the only family I ever had, again soon.
Vren grinned. “That’s an interesting wedding ring.”
I nodded, smiling.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When ST7 was close to Icir, a convoy of fifteen Obno starships, freighters with wide round bows and flat sterns, vessels designed to be escorted by twenty stingray-shaped Council Navy destroyers, emerged from the back of my screen. This was a live message, not a recording. Along the sides of each destroyer, between hexagon-shaped protective shields, laser cannon turrets were aimed in several directions.
A 3D life-sized hologram representing a real time message from a Council Naval Officer materialized close to my chair. The CNO, a male Aito, frowned. “Jason, Vren, I am Commander Charig.
“Four weeks ago, Captain Hireb, one of the Obno ship’s skippers, called and told me that if my fleet didn’t escort them the rest of the way to Icir, LN ships would attack them soon.”
“Have the LN fired at them yet?” I paused, shocked by his message.
“No. But two weeks ago, when we were seven hundred ten thousand, three hundred miles from here, several LN ships shot five Obno interstellar craft. After boarding one of the ships, they killed everyone and stole the gold shipment.”
“It…” I broke off as I watched what else was happening on my screen.
A laser beam fired from thousands of miles away, coming from a vessel that our telescopes hadn’t detected, hit an Obno freighter, the Monm, and ripped off several housings.
Commander Charig shouted, “Captain Hireb, tell every captain in our fleet that six LN ships, vessels which are four thousand miles off our port side, have scored a direct hit on the Monm. Commence firing!” Charig vanished. His Council Navy destroyer had switched off all communications devices with us, preparing for battle.
I set an evasion course into the nav-comp, trying to watch the battle.
Every Council Navy destroyer returned fire on the LNs. Then the beams converged, compacting to one micron in diameter, and gravitational waves spread out, coming from the crushed space.
Near the bottom of my screen, sixty miles from us, four LN ships—bird-like intergalactic vessels, consisting of two boomerang shapes connected on the flat sides—appeared, uncloaking. The grav-waves hit them, and every ship disintegrated.
As I shuddered, watching, a laser beam from an LN cruiser hit a Council Navy destroyer. It exploded.
Vren yelled, “Eighteen more LN ships have just arrived!”
One third of the Council destroyers fired.
Nine LN craft disintegrated.
We flew port, trying to get away from the battle, and went around an Obno freighter.
A laser hit the rear end of a Council destroyer, obliterating its tail.
Every destroyer fired.
Several LN craft blew apart, and the remaining LN ships veered starboard—and took off.
I slowed our descent, thinking hard. After years of study, the Council Navy had created lasers designed to overlap, reducing the space between electrons. According to a recent email, a message sent by Commander Charig, although the Aito, the LN and the Ulthe had manufactured similar devices, none of their lasers functioned properly.
Much as I would have loved to know what technique the Council fleet used to coordinate the beams, I knew they’d never tell me.
Vren’s eyes opened wider, amazed. “Jason, I’ve never seen any fleet compact space and send out waves. How do they maneuver the beams so precisely?”
I smiled. “That’s a good question.”
“If the waves go in the wrong direction, they would destroy the Council fleet, the Obno freighters and ST Seven.”
I remained silent, considering that.
Chapter Thirty
We parked between Aito starships, close to Wcip. “Vren, I need time to repair my ship,” I told him. “Then I’ll have to look for passengers. Right now, I don’t have enough money to rehire you. Will you be available in six weeks?”
“Probably. When you’re ready, send me an email.”
“Good. I hope you’ll work for me again.” We shook hands.
Vren chuckled, “It was an amazing journey,” and he left.
Much to my surprise, a screen popped up, close to my ring. Near the top of the screen, Ieeb smiled. The name of my next poem is Night.
Silhouetted leaves obscure the indigo ocean
you touch my cheek and whisper my name
a flute begins playing slowly
now I smell an orchid
Watching the video, listening to it, made me feel lonelier than ever. I took the ring off and stuck it in my pocket. As long as it remained there, the videos wouldn’t appear. Hopefully, if I didn’t look at them, it would be easier for me to stay optimistic about seeing Ieeb again.
Then it dawned on me. The odds were, I probably wouldn’t see her for years.
I spoke into my tablet, “Yeliv, are you there?”
“Yes.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. I haven’t heard from you in ages.”
“No surprise. I just got back from Danig. What have you been up to?” Since I’d spent most of my time flying just below the speed of light, Yeliv was now several months older than me.
Yeliv said, a friendly tone, “For the last six months, I’ve been designing apartments for the Hecoip Company. I enjoy doing it.”
“Excellent. By the way, how is Nianda doing?”
“She lives near Diso, a
town near Exoit’s west coast. After she recovered, she met an Aito man and they moved there. This is her email address.”
“That’s great. Diso’s a long way from here. I’ll contact her tomorrow.”
Yeliv nodded.
“How is Ambassador Yar?”
“Just fine. She’s extremely busy, appointing superintendents for thousands of language schools. Ambassador Yar is an amazing soul!”
“Why don’t you come over to ST Seven in a few weeks? By that time, the ship will be updated. I’ll make dinner and tell you about Danig.”
“That would be nice. Contact me when you’re ready.”
“Have you seen Greg and Tia?”
“I saw them several weeks ago.” He gave me their phone number.
“I’ll call them right now,”
“Good.” He hung up.
I dialed. Greg’s voice came out of my earplugs. “Hello.”
“It’s Jason.”
“Good to hear from you.”
“I’d like to invite your family over to ST Seven.” I told him my about recent arrival.
“We’d like to see you, but two days from now, we’re leaving for Meia, a town in Northern Gryy, a place that’s about three hundred miles from Wcip. Five weeks from now, we’ll return.”
“I’ll call you after you come back.”
“That’s fine. See you then.” He hung up.
I dialed again. “Is Ambassador Yar there?”
“Who is speaking?” A man with a formal and impersonal voice queried.
I responded, just as politely, “Jason Six-Sixty-Four.”
“Right now, she is busy. I will let her know you called.”
“Okay.”
He hung up.
I felt disappointed. Ambassador Yar was probably too busy to speak with me. If that wasn’t bad enough, the man with the formal voice didn’t recognize mine. I was just another fan, a pushy stranger who wanted to meet Ambassador Yar, the legend.
Chapter Thirty-One
Four weeks later, while I was on the bridge, a friendly man’s voice came out of my earplugs. “Hello, is this Jason?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“My name is Jao. I’m Ieeb’s brother. She had a terrible accident while she was on Danig. An hour ago, the Obno freighter she was on reached the Hia spaceport, and they took her to Yiy Hospital. That’s where I am now.
“Because your marriage license isn’t recognized on Icir, a doctor called me first. But Ieeb wants you to come to the hospital right away. How long will it take for you to get here?”
“Thirty minutes. Can I speak to her?”
“Not right now, she’s asleep. When you arrive, I’ll tell you more.”
“Was she on a stellar craft that crashed?”
“Like I said, when you arrive, I’ll give you the details.”
“I’m leaving now.”
“Good. See you soon.” He gave me the room and floor number.
I uttered several quick commands, putting ST7 into sleep mode, and left the bridge.
After entering Yiy’s front door I spoke into my tablet, trying to reach Jao. A busy signal came out of the device. The tablet dialed again, but the line was still busy.
I stepped inside an elevator. Close by on a floating gurney, an Aito patient whose eyes and nose were covered by a bandage began moaning. “Somebody stop the pain.”
A Nurse tapped his shoulder, and he subsided.
Listening to him deepened my worry. Was Ieeb in as much pain as he was?
The door opened. I left the elevator, went down the hall, and entered the indicated room. Next to a bed, a tall Dseo man with a narrow face and deep-set eyes looked at me. “Are you Jason?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Jao.”
We shook hands. I glanced at the bed. On it, Ieeb was lying face up, asleep. Her upper torso, the rib cage, was wrapped in bandages.
Her legs and hips were gone.
My blood ran cold.
Jao frowned. “Just over a week after you left, she went outside with several guards—and a Tiel attacked her. Although they killed it, the reptile bit off her legs and hips. They placed nanites on the lower part of her torso to keep her alive. If the surgeons can’t attach cloned hips and legs soon, she’ll die in a few months. These nanites are only a temporary solution.”
“I’ve only heard vague rumors about cloning body parts. What else do you know about it?”
“Forty minutes ago, they took Pluripotent stem cells from her torso, neck and head and placed them inside a chamber. By tomorrow morning, those cells should have regrown complete new body parts. During the operation, which should take place tomorrow, Dr. Reiv’s team will sew both legs and hips onto her torso.”
“How will they do it?” I’d only heard rumors of this kind of operation.
“After the new body parts have been placed against her torso, Dr. Reiv will insert nanites into the space between her torso and hips. They’ll attach the new body’s arteries, veins and capillaries to the original vessels first. After that, they’ll connect the other tissues. If the operation is successful, Ieeb can resume a normal life. Dr. Reiv and his team have already performed sixteen operations like this.” He grinned weakly, a forced smile.
I exclaimed, “OTA doesn’t know how to do this!”
He blinked, but said nothing.
Wanting to know more, I spoke into my tablet. According to a medical database, Pluripotent stem cells didn’t need an embryo. In most cases, they reversed a mature adult cell’s morphological state. Fortunately, the new tissues matched cells within a patient’s body. Because both sets were identical, the patient’s white cells along with antigens didn’t attack these new tissues.
However, sometimes during regeneration, exons and introns, segments of DNA, changed. As a result, a patient’s antigens and white blood cells rejected the new tissues, and the patient died. The problem was that nobody knew why the altered exons and introns provoked the rejection.
There was another concern. Using Pluripotent stem cells tampered with a cell’s morphology, its physical state. Every cell that was inside a tree, a human being, an animal or any organism, had assumed a particular shape because the cell needed to collaborate with its surroundings, the rest of the body and planet that it lived on. Tampering with any cell’s morphology might make it harder for Ieeb’s new body to fight off many diseases, particularly viral ones.
“What are her chances?” I swallowed, nervous hard.
“It’s a complicated operation. There’s…a twenty percent chance that she’ll survive.”
Just then Ieeb opened her eyes. “Jason,” she smiled weakly. “I’m glad you’re here. I want to marry you now. It would make me feel better.”
“Did you forget—” I started to say.
Her brother spoke into his tablet. “Certificate Center, this is Jao Pre. Email me a marriage license.” In an instant, the document appeared on his screen. He blinked. “Ieeb, Jason, just say your names and my tablet will print them, including both your signatures on the license. You can hold the ceremony later.”
“Ieeb Pre.”
“Jason Six-Sixty-Four.”
Jao tapped his finger against the tablet. “Legally, you’re married.”
Ieeb grinned weakly, a tired look on her face. “Jao, Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ieeb whispered, “Jason, I love you so. If I die, take care of our daughter, Seeta.”
Daughter? I wondered, but didn’t say it. “I love you. I missed you. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”
“I’m tired.” She closed her eyes.
Jao and I left the room.
“Where’s our daughter?” was the first thing I said.
“She’s downstairs, sleeping in a nursery.”
“Where are Ieeb’s father and mother?”
“They live in Heem, a small town nine hundred miles from here. Both of them are old. They can’t travel.”
My belly muscles ti
ghtened. What if Ieeb didn’t survive?
Jao hesitated for a moment, a gloomy look on his face. “We must watch the operation on a monitor. Among the Dseo, watching doctors as they operate on your father, mother, siblings or your spouse is considered an act of compassion. Not doing so is an insult. It implies that you don’t care if Ieeb lives or dies.”
I nodded. “I’ll watch. In the meantime, I’d like to see my daughter. I won’t wake her up.”
“No problem.”
We entered a room. A nurse, a Turon woman with blue skin, whispered, “Can I help you?”
“This is Seeta’s father.” Jao touched my shoulder. “He hasn’t ever seen his daughter, because of… complicated circumstances.”
The Nurse frowned, concerned that we would wake up every child in the nursery. She pointed at a crib.
Inside the crib, a pretty infant girl’s face was partly obscured by shadows.
Jao and I whispered, speaking to the nurse, “Thank you for letting us see her.”
She grinned.
We headed toward the waiting room.
I murmured, “She looks like Ieeb.”
Jao smiled. “Yes.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jao and I entered the viewing-room and sat down. Near the bottom of a wall-mounted screen, text indicated that the surgical procedure would start in a few minutes.
“Does Ieeb have any other brothers or any sisters?” I asked.
“No.” His face was back to its usual impartiality.
“What about other relatives?”
“She has several cousins, two aunts and an uncle.”
“Will they come to see her?”
“No.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
“Unlike me, all of them live near Qua, a town about four thousand miles from here. Ieeb spent so much time at work that she lost touch with them. If it weren’t for this accident, Ieeb wouldn’t have returned to Icir for several years. Where is your family?”
