The Fire Eternal (Confederation Reborn Book 6)

by Bernard Schaffer

  There was a woman standing uphill from him, her long sundress rippling in the breeze, showing her tanned, trim legs, all the way up to her knee. She was holding a large floppy hat down on her head to keep it steady, and her hair spilled down to her bare shoulders in long, red curls.

  A human? he thought momentarily, until she stepped forward into the sun, the curves of her body silhouetted through the fabric of her dress. Oh yes, he thought. Definitely human. "Hello, there."

  "Hello, William," she said, smiling at him. She had an odd accent, one he could not place.

  "You know my name?"

  "Doesn't everyone know the famous William Kirn?"

  "Not anymore, they don't," he said. "And not everyone can get past the outer perimeter alarm."

  She started down the hill, coming toward him. "Why do you need an alarm?" she said. "Do you have many enemies?"

  "A few," he said, with a chuckle. He looked up at her, considering her more carefully. "Enough."

  "Well, I am not one of them," she said, holding out her hand as she walked past, brushing the side of his face with her palm. She headed toward the horse, and Kirn turned to watch her. She could not be more than twenty-five years old. Her shockingly red hair offset the darker tones of her skin, her curves barely contained by the flimsy fabric of her dress, and Kirn soaked in every inch of her, until a horrified thought struck him.

  He immediately began doing math in his head, subtracting twenty-five years from his eighty-three, trying to remember where he'd been that long ago, and more importantly, who he'd been with. Had there been any redheads? he thought. None who didn't have bright blue skin.

  She can't be my daughter, he decided. My days of making babies were long over by the time she must have been born. Oh my God, he thought. What if I'm her grandfather?

  "Excuse me, miss. Who the hell are you?" Kirn called out.

  "I am Tesha," she said, taking the horse's rein down from the branch. "And I have come a very long way to see you."

  "Is that right?" he said. He watched her climb up onto his horse's saddle and said, "Do we know each other? Are we…related?"

  "No," she said, looking at him curiously. She trotted the horse over to him and held out her hand, "Come on. Get up. We have a lot to talk about."

  He took her hand and fitted his left boot in the stirrup, gripping the edge of the saddle to hoist himself up. "This really isn't a two-person saddle."

  "It's not?" she said, turning and looking back. She lifted herself in the air slightly as he slid in behind her and said, "Can't we just press against one another like this?"

  He reached around her waist and took the reins from her, telling the horse to start moving. "You're absolutely sure we're not related?" he said.

  "We're not related," she said, laughing softly. "Why do you keep asking?"

  "No reason," he said. He could feel her narrow waist between his arms, and his hands rested on her thighs. Her hair was honey-scented as he inhaled, pressing close to her, with a good excuse that he needed to do so in order to see around her hat, if she asked. She didn't. And it was good to be alive.

  Very, very good to still be alive, he thought.

  3.

  Tesha wandered through the barn as he brushed the horse, and he found that he did not mind. He watched her out of the corner of his eye a few times, seeing her pick up a few of his old tools, inspect them, and put them back down. The dog sniffed at her, sticking its wet nose to her ankles, and she scratched his head until he panted and followed her more.

  Have you lost your mind, old man? She could be a shape-shifter, come here to fulfil a blood debt from some distant corner of the galaxy you can barely remember.

  He turned and looked at her again, and she caught him looking. She smiled playfully and spun away, lifting her leg slightly so that her dress twirled.

  If she's a shape shifter…kudos to whoever picked that shape, he thought.

  Still? he thought bitterly. At your age? Have you not learned anything from all those years chasing women from one end of space to the other? There's another man sleeping next to Sara every night, waking up next to her, telling her how beautiful she is, all because you fall to pieces around every good looking woman you see. When is it going to be enough, Kirn?

  He sighed and stopped brushing the horse, turning back toward Tesha. "You said you came a long way. Where was that, exactly?"

  "It is not a place you are familiar with, I'm afraid," she said.

  "Oh, I've been around the block once or twice. Try me."

  "Tell me, William, what do you know about Lucasian Crystals?"

  He was becoming impatient. "What's there to know? They power every starship in the cosmos. Our enemies want more of them, and it's our duty to prevent that. Is that what this is all about?"

  "No," she said softly. "Soon, in just a few short decades, you will discover new sources of energy that render your dependence on Lucasian Crystals all but nil. They will become distant reminders of the past. Your people will use them as accessories for costume jewelry, actually."

  "You speak as if you know of the future," Kirn said.

  "That is because I do."

  Kirn turned back to his horse and continued brushing, trying to sift through the conversation in his mind before continuing it. He needed his bearings. Time to figure out some sort of strategy. Living in the woods all this time had made his brain soft, he told himself. Pull it together, Bill. There's something happening here, and you need to get ahead of it.

  "They must not have very good taste in the future," he said over his shoulder, forcing a slight smile. "Lucasian Crystals are all dull yellow. I can't imagine a pretty young woman like yourself wanting to wear them as earrings."

  "Not all of them are yellow, William," she said, coming around his side. She put her hand on his shoulder and stroked the side of his neck with her thumb, "And powering starships is the least of what they can do."

  He closed his eyes as she moved her hand up through his hair, brushing her nails against the deep gray there, and he whispered, "What do you want from me? I'm an old man."

  "What makes you think I want anything from you?"

  "I'm not a fool," he said, opening his eyes and grabbing her hand by the wrist. "There's only one reason a young girl comes on like this to someone my age, so either get on with what you intend to do, or get the hell out of here."

  "Young girl?" she said, smiling. "Is that what you think I am?"

  He stoked the fire, turning over thick logs that he'd split himself earlier that year. Over his shoulder he spied Tesha standing in the hallway that ran from his bedroom to his kitchen, looking over the blank photographs decorating the wall. There were older portraits, with elaborately designed frames, and more modern designs made from thin pieces of flexible screens that you simply unrolled and stuck to the wall wherever you wanted it. The screens of every image were dark, and Tesha ran her fingers along their surfaces, touching their glass surfaces.

  "Why do you turn them off?" she said.

  Kirn braced himself against the fireplace to push himself up, groaning slightly. The fire was going good by then, giving off heat and the light smell of cedar. He came around the corner and stopped, looking at the long row of empty pictures. "Sometimes, I don't want to remember. My life is like this hallway. I pass through it, seeing all of the things I loved, but leaving them behind. By the time I reach the end, I'm the only thing left."

  One image sat higher than the others, apart from the cluster, in a simple black frame. Tesha nodded at it and said, "May I see that one?"

  Kirn leaned past her and touched the screen, unlocking the image within. He watched the image of a handsome young man appear, smiling at the camera, his blue eyes glimmering with fierce intelligence and a hint of mischief.

  "Who is he?" Tesha said, but Kirn had already turned away.

  "Are you hungry? I can make dinner," he said. "And not from the replicator either. I've actually taught myself to cook a little."

  "I thought rep
licators were superior to prepared meals? They do away with all the human error, do they not?"

  Kirn nodded, "That's true. But they also do away with the…jazz of it all."

  "Jazz?"

  "Jazz!" he said, snapping his fingers. He ducked into the cabinets beneath his stove and started rooting through the pots and pans stacked there. "Back in Earth's late nineteenth century," he called out, "music used to be very controlled and rehearsed. Musicians were expected to hit every note perfectly. One always knew what to expect. But then." He pulled out a large pot and smacked it down on the counter, making Tesha jump slightly and laugh. "Jazz was born."

  He turned to his pantry and started pulling out glass containers filled with spices. "People improvised. They made it up as they went along, just letting the music flow. Soon, an entirely new sound was born. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't structured, but it was bold, unexpected. Pure."

  Kirn pulled his freezer door open and inspected the packages on the shelves. "My mother never cooked with the replicator. She never even bothered to measure ingredients. She eye-balled it. That lady was a real rule-breaker. Some would say that explains a lot about my style of command," he said, laughing to himself. He found two packages and said, "I can grill up a decent steak, if you'd like."

  "Perfect," she said.

  "Would you like wine?"

  "Real wine?"

  He grinned slightly at her and said, "Are you a connoisseur?"

  "No. I just thought a purist such as yourself might have some."

  He nodded toward the basement door and said, "First shelf on your left as you get to the bottom of the stairs."

  "Any kind in particular?" she said, going toward the door.

  "Anything red will do."

  She looked back at him, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a sharp, playful look, and said, "So you like red?"

  Kirn shook his head and sighed, laughing as she disappeared down the steps.

  Over dinner, he inspected the bottle Tesha had selected and nodded approvingly. "Chateau Auguste, Vandelans," he read from the label. "I think this was one of my retirement gifts. Not bad, though. Not bad at all."

  Kirn set down his glass and leaned back in his chair. Tesha had lit a candle and set it on the center of the table. Its light reflected off of his empty glass, and the green glass of the wine bottle, and sparkled in the impossibly beautiful young woman's eyes as she looked at him. A thin gold chain around her neck glinted in the light, vanishing down into her generous bosom. "I think I figured out what's going on," he finally said.

  "You did?"

  "Kelley sent you. Didn't he? He never could keep to himself. What happened, was he afraid I was out here dying for company, so he hired you to surprise me?"

  "Are you implying that I'm some sort of…girl for hire, William?"

  "Listen, I'm not complaining," Kirn said. "You're a lovely woman, and this is the best time I've had since coming here, but to be honest, that's not something I've ever participated in and I don't intend to start now. There's no need for you to, well, you know."

  "Fulfill the terms of my contract with Dr. Kelley?"

  "Exactly," Kirn said, pouring himself another glass of wine. "I'll never tell him, I swear."

  "That's good," Tesha said.

  Kirn drank half the wine in his glass and nodded.

  "Because he would have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Tesha said. "I am not a girl for hire."

  Kirn dropped the glass back down to the table and said, "Fine. Then why are you here? No more games. No more stalling."

  Tesha stared at him a moment longer, then said, "As you wish." She reached down the front of her dress and pulled up the chain hanging there, covering the object at the end of it with her hand. "Tell me, William. Have you ever seen one of these before?"

  He looked down as she extended her hand toward him, opening it to reveal a shining blue crystal, its edges flashing. Kirn's eyes widened momentarily, but then quickly withdrew as he shrugged calmly and said, "I've seen plenty of blue gems before, Tesha."

  "You know perfectly well this is no ordinary blue gem. The yellow Lucasian crystals gave starships the power to travel faster than the speed of light. Confederation has no idea there are other crystals, or what they can do. Only a handful of outsiders have even seen these, having been allowed to set foot on the sands of Kazar V. I am one of them, William Kirn. And so are you."

  "Who the hell are you?" Kirn said, getting up from his seat. "And what the hell do you want from me?"

  Tesha closed her eyes and raised the crystal into the air, murmuring to herself, and the crystal began to glow, bathing the cabin in a soft blue afterglow. A brilliant beam of light erupted from the stone, shooting across the room, to form the shimmering image of a man in a hooded robe, standing on the center of the living room floor. A blue crystal hung from the man's neck, receiving the light from Tesha's own crystal, as if the connection were powering his image.

  Kirn moved around the table, staring at the priest from Kazar V.

  "If you are receiving this message, our emissary has found you," the hooded man said. "We trust that she has explained the importance of your mission."

  Kirn glanced sideways at Tesha, who smiled sheepishly.

  "Many years ago, a member of our order turned to darkness. His desire for power unlocked forces of evil that we had never encountered before. Your friend, Captain Hunter, suffered one of them as a result. We hunted the rogue priest and dealt with him accordingly. Since then, we have struggled to repair the damage caused by this incident. Unfortunately, our efforts to do so failed."

  The priest lifted the crystal around his neck to hold aloft, saying, "We have studied the Lucasian crystals for a millennia, seeking to understand their relationship with the forces of nature. In our arrogance, we thought we'd come to know all there was. How terribly wrong we were. You must go back, William. You must go back, and undo the evil that we unleashed."

  "Go back? What do you mean, go back?" Kirn said.

  "Your ship. Your crew. Your people. All of them are in danger if you refuse. Go back, William. Before it is too late," the priest whispered.

  "Go back to what!" Kirn shouted, but the beam of light cut off and the priest vanished once more. Kirn turned to Tesha and said, "What did he mean about my ship? Did something happen to the Endeavor?"

  "Yes," Tesha said.

  "That's not possible," Kirn said, turning away. "She's been in drydock since I retired. They're thinking of putting her in the Academy as a museum attraction. They wouldn't dare reactivate her without telling me. That's my ship," Kirn hissed, feeling his chest constrict and his temples throb. "My ship!"

  "William, calm down," Tesha said.

  "Where did they send her, and who did they put in command? Let me guess. Dan Haines? It's not bad enough he has Sara, now he has my ship too? Where is she? Answer me!"

  "Be quiet for a minute and I will explain!" Tesha shouted over him. She watched the old man turn toward her, his face puffy and red from strain. She got up from her seat and moved toward him, wrapping her hands over his shoulders and pressing against him, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Where has got nothing to do with the Endeavor being in danger. It's a question of when."

  She reached for the strap on her left shoulder and dropped it down over her arm, then did the same with the other on her right. She grabbed the dress around her waist and slowly began sliding it down to the floor. Kirn looked away, "I could be your grandfather."

  "I doubt it," she said. "I was one hundred and four the year you were born, William. You, of all people, should know that things are not always as they appear."

  She took his hand and raised it to her cheek, pressing it there, feeling its warmth. Kirn looked at her then, seeing her body in the flickering candlelight. "And this? Is it your true form, or did you just choose to appear this way?"

  Tesha kissed the palm of his hand and said, "I can do many things, but changing my appearance is not one of them." She pushed his han
d down across her chest, and toward her stomach to where the crystal hung. She slid the crystal into his hand and wrapped her hand around his. "One of the Dark Priest's disciples escaped backward in time to the moment your crew arrived. He hid among the others and infected one of you with his essence. Now, that man is possessed and he is going to kill as many of you as he can. He intends to use the Endeavor to destroy the Priests, and enslave the galaxy."

  "What man?" Kirn said.

  "The one called Walter Bryant."

  "Walt?" Kirn whispered. "He always was a hothead. Can't we send some sort of warning to the crew?"

  Her eyes met his, large and round in the dark, and she said, "There is only one thing we can send back, William."

  "You want to send me."

  Tesha leaned up and kissed him on the neck, then his chin, and his lips. "It is the chance for you to be as you long to be. A young man again. Captain of the Endeavor."

  "But for how long?"

  Tesha smiled gently as she reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt. "For as long as you choose."

  "Are you one of the Priests from Kazar V?"

  She bit his ear gently, her hands caressing his sides and back as she whispered, "No. They don't leave their planet. I just assist them when they need it. My mother was a Confederation officer, and my father was a four-hundred year old Tsukai merchant. The Tsukai are esteemed telepaths, but only when they experience heightened…stimulation." She kissed Kirn's cheek, then the side of his neck.

  He reached for the crystal dangling on her chest and lifted it, looking at its bright blue surface, and said, "So how do we turn this thing on?"

  Tesha's fingers worked down his chest, toward his belt, and she worked at the buckle to get it undone. "Can't you tell, yet?"

  Kirn kissed her then, giving in to the moment, giving her all of the time he'd spent alone and wishing he could go back and do it all over again. "There's one thing," he said, in between kissing her. "I'm not sure how the eighty-three year olds are where you come from, but for a human it's kind of old."

  She cocked her head at him, "Do you not find me attractive?"