The Long Road Home

by Max Swan

Lieutenant Huang cleared her throat. “So what about the real Professor, what happens to him?”

  Nadir answered, “The Major will abduct him. We can put him in the freezer until we have completed our refit.”

  “What happens after we drop him back into his life and he has to wonder why he has no memory of all these advances in physics he has made?” Lieutenant Huang asked, cocking her head and raising her eyebrows.

  Blake wrinkled his nose. “What’s it matter? The Garan’s already know these theories. His fate will be the same as the rest of humanity here.”

  Paul gave a deep, weighted sigh, and said, “It’s possible the Garan’s could learn about us through him. Even in the freezer he’ll have memories a Vaman could extract. Then they’ll come looking for us.”

  “By which time we’ll be well away from here,” Blake said.

  “You hope,” Paul said, rolling his eyes.

  “We could hold him in my quarters and make him think he’s still on Earth. Dose him up on serup to keep him docile and pliable,” Nadir said.

  “When he decides he’d like a swim, and discovers that the ocean is a three-dimensional holovision illusion, I think he’ll know something is up,” Lieutenant Huang said with a grin.

  “We can reprogram it,” Dexter said evenly, “So the thought of moving beyond the balcony frightens him too much to try.”

  “Someone will have to speak with him while he is here, and obviously it can only be Captain Blake or Lieutenant Huang,” Barrett said, making Nadir and Dexter shift uncomfortably in their chairs.

  “Well it won’t be me, that I can guarantee,” Blake said crossing his arms gruffly.

  “We could use a holographic host,” Huang said, feeling she’s about to be shafted as the most junior officer present.

  “That’s a possibility,” Nadir said.

  Paul said, “OK, let’s say it works, and we succeed in convincing the Professors friends and colleagues I’m him. Which I doubt. We’ll need more than a boring equation to convince them to give us plutonium.”

  Lieutenant Huang smiled, “We could give them a geodetic field manipulator. Do twenty-fifth century Garan’s already have that?”

  Dexter nodded. “In our universe they did. They used them as power stations.”

  Colonel Nadir nodded impressed. “Good idea Lieutenant. A GFM would impress them no end.”

  Paul worried. “The moment we unveil any new technology some military meat-head will try to take over, making it harder for us.”

  “It may make it easier, especially with an invasion coming,” Blake suggested.

  “They don’t know an invasion is coming. But I have to agree with the Major here. He may come under enormous pressure from Earth’s Governments once the technology is unveiled,” Barrett said stiffly.

  “What you have to do on Earth will be difficult,” Nadir began, “We’ll all face obstacles that will test us during the next three-months, that much is certain.”

  “We’ll do our best to uphold our end, Colonel,” Paul said looking at Barrett whom nodded agreeing.

  “Major, report to Medlab12 this morning so your appearance can be adjusted. You’ll need a few days to heal,” Nadir ordered.

  “You mean a few days for Blake to shit stir me about it,” Paul noticed Blake’s smile.

  “I’m sure Gordon will be too busy to notice. Captain Barrett, you’ll need to organize identification,” Nadir ordered.

  “Yes Sir,” she replied.

  “Anyone have anything else to add?” Nadir inquired.

  “Yeah, I notice you haven’t mentioned anything about the sabotage of the qdrive,” Blake said frowning.

  Nadir turned and looked at Paul as if to give him the floor. However, Huang got in first. “It has to be someone sitting here doesn’t it?” They watched Paul intensely as he searched for the right words to say.

  I find it dubious someone in this group is a saboteur, even if most of them are exasperating, Paul thought. Even so, the circumstantial evidence pointed to that. Marines have been turned before, given enough leverage, he thought. Even political factions in the Corps had tampered with missions before. As they looked at him, he found it difficult to keep his emotions controlled. Too many people had died because of him already, and if he isn’t careful these officers may also die. As much as he wished he could go back and change what had happened, he knew that they needed him now. Maybe that’ll make the saboteur back off for a while.

  He cleared his throat and said steadily, “I hope the saboteur realizes that working with us, for now, is in their best interest. If they want to survive the coming invasion, and maybe get home, killing me or damaging Ship will make it impossible. I plan to interview each of you before I go to Earth. The preliminary investigation may reveal a suspect, but given the shit we’re in, it’s is going to be a slow affair I’m afraid. Considering a potential killer or killers is sitting among us, we have more pressing problems at the moment.” Paul looked at Nadir to indicate that had finished discussing it.

  “Thank you Major, I expect full cooperation with your investigations,” Nadir said. “Well, you have assignments for the day. I suggest you finish breakfast and get to work.” Colonel Nadir stood, and they did as well. He looked like a frail old man as he stood there contemplating them. Like an old soldier, haunted by the memories of past campaigns wondering how soon his end will come. You would have expected a nurse to step forward and help him. As if to contradict the image, he turned and walked strongly to a patch of Ships flesh, and melded. They sat in silence and began eating the remains of their breakfast. Paul looked around the remaining officers wondering who it could be, feeling his nerves build at the prospect of interviewing them. They were already on edge, and his questions might push them over.

  *****

  Later that morning, Paul found Lieutenant Huang at the sensor array removing damaged parts. He watched her from distance for a moment enjoying the rear view of her, as she leaned over a rail working on something below her. She stood abruptly and looking at a circuit board in her hands, then spun to catch him.

  She frowned. “May I help you, Major?”

  Paul blushed and started walking toward her. “Err… Sorry Lieutenant, I didn’t mean to creep up on you,” he said.

  She shrugged. “The only creeping I saw, Major, is you staring at my ass.”

  Paul stopped and blushed again. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  Lieutenant Huang smiled knowingly. “Don’t fret it. So I guess you’re here to question me, right?”

  “Yes, that’s my plan,” Paul said, fiddling with a palmcorder. “An informal talk for now. If I need an official statement, I’ll arrange that in accordance with protocol. Are you up for it?” He smiled at her.

  “OK, if you don’t mind me working as you do. There’s so much to do here as there is.” Lieutenant Huang is an attractive woman, but since the murder of Sheena he had not been that interested in the opposite sex. However, today he found himself feeling self-conscious in front of the Lieutenant.

  “Ah, so according to Ships records you boarded at 0525hrs the day of departure with Captain Blake. What did you do after that?” he asked, acting casual.

  “Um I went to my quarters to stow away my gear, had a shower and changed into uniform. I met Captain Blake in Enginelab to prepare for the journey,” she replied throwing the damaged circuit board into a pile of others near the door.

  “So when you went to Enginelab Captain Blake was already there?”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” she shrugged, and she again bent over the rail and began pulling out another circuit board.

  Paul tried hard not to look at her rear end, which of course the Lieutenant noticed and smiled to herself about. “Did you have any access to the qdrive, or did you see Captain Blake access the qdrive before departure?” he asked, looking at his palmcorder.

  She stood with a circuit board in her hand looking at it. “We each have access to it, but I didn’t see Captain Blake enter the qdrive housing at an
y time I was in Enginelab. There’s no need for him to do so anyway.”

  Paul frowned, “Why is there no need?”

  “It’s never turned off, because it still needs to provide energy to feed Ship while we’re in port. They only reduce its output.” She suddenly held up the circuit board and smiled saying, “Look, the first undamaged one I’ve recovered. You’re a lucky charm, Major.” She giggled making Paul smile as well.

  “Happy to oblige, Lieutenant. Back to the questions eh?”

  “Sorry, Major.” Huang said, putting on a mock serious face.

  Paul blushed, though feeling stupid for doing it he pushed on, “Did you enter the qdrive at any time?”

  “I’m a Systems Engineer, Major. I’m not qualified to work on the qdrive, so I never go near it unless there’s a problem with the workstation located in the housing. And before you ask, there were no such problems before we left Bolaris.”

  “Did you speak to the Captain in Enginelab at any time?”

  “We spoke briefly when I first entered Enginelab, and he continued to complain about you, and the mission. Oh, and having such a small crew, that really pissed him off. The same stuff he said as we boarded. I got away from him as fast as I could,” she said.

  “I don’t blame you. When we entered the subway what was Captain Blake doing?”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t know.”

  “Why? You were with him weren’t you?” Paul asked, surprised.

  “I was in the same area, but I was doing my job at the time. I wasn’t watching him,” she said rolling her eyes.

  “All right, I understand. When you did see him what was he doing?”

  “Well initially he was powering up the qdrive when I first entered Enginelab. Once the malfunction started to occur, he did nothing that I’d consider suspicious. Sorry Major, the security recordings will probably be more helpful than my memory.”

  “Yes, I’ll review those later. After we entered the void what interaction did you have with him?”

  “We knew of the sludge bomb not long after it detonated, of course,” she shivered as she remembered.

  “How did Blake seem while you were working on the qdrive?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ah, how did he react to the sabotage?”

  “Are you kidding? He was furious about it. I never heard the word ‘fuck’ said so many times in my life,” she said, and grimaced.

  “Did he ever mention anyone else during this time?”

  She giggled again. “Only you, and how it was all your fault,” she said.

  “OK thanks for that, I think that’ll be all for now.”

  “So am I a suspect?”

  “Are you confessing?” Paul asked cheekily.

  “I confess I’m innocent,” she laughed, flicking her hair.

  Paul laughed. “If you think of anything else, let me know. OK?”

  She looked down at the damaged sensor array, then back up at Paul with a frown. “If you discover who it is, you’d better keep them away from me or you’ll have to arrest me.”

  Chapter 7

  Paul opened his eyes, feeling disoriented in the dim room he called out, “Lights!” The lights came up to reveal the white sterile environment of Medlab12. He felt his body to check if everything is still there, feeling a new pudginess around his midriff. He sat up and slid off the bed to the floor and looked around. Dex had left a sandwich and drink, his clothes, and a mirror. He picked up the mirror and looked at the damage. He now had a bald head on top, his hair looked slightly darker, and his face fatter, and wrinkly. Picking up a photograph of the Professor nearby, he did a comparison.

  “Not bad,” he said, noting the change in his voice that surprised him. “Hello, I’m Professor Richard Starr,” he spoke again airily into the mirror. He couldn’t get over how much like his father he looked. It amazed him that a man of around fifty looked so old. He dressed and picked up his sandwich and began eating it while he walked to the trail. His uniform felt tighter, now his body is fatter than he is used too.

  Once he returned to his quarters, he sat at the computer station with a glass of vodka in hand. Touching the console on the station in his quarters and said aloud, “Requesting access to the personnel files of all crew now aboard Ship. Major Paul Goddard, Chief of Security, Clearance number Alfa, zero, six, one, two, Foxtrot, X-ray, golf.”

  The computer responded, “Voice-recognition pattern not confirmed. Require retinal scanner for clearance.” Paul had forgotten his vocal cords had been modified. He reached to edge of his station, and detached a cone-shaped device, and placed it over his right eye.

  “Start retinal scan,” he said to the computer.

  A flash of light came from the cone. “Retinal scan confirms identity. Would you like your voice-recognition pattern altered, Major Goddard?”

  He put the cone back into its slot saying, “Yes.”

  “Your new voice pattern is stored,” the computer said.

  As the six names of the crew on Ship appeared, he took a mouthful of vodka thinking about the improbability of these people being traitors. He touched Nadirs name, and a menu came up. Touching the service record tab, it opened. He had many citations and medals for acts of bravery in space combat, not surprising because he was the original Keeper for this Ship, commissioned in the thirty-first century. Impressively, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for the most recent battle at Pratnas-Three. Nadirs most recent psychiatric evaluation painted him as a grumpy old man. However, Command still considered him reliable, loyal, and competent. Paul chuckled thinking, At least they got the grumpy old man part right.

  Captain Barrett seemed to follow the usual path into Central Intelligence. A gifted student, the first to get into the Corps Academy straight out of High School from her home world. Veleuse, he thought disdainfully, now there’s a fucked up place. He looked at her psychological profile and found several red flags. Barrett had been a victim of severe physical and sexual abuse from her father as a child. As a result, it made it difficult for her to make friends as an adult making her ideal for space missions, according to the shrinks. An Intelligence Officer shouldn’t make friends with those around them, that way they can remain objective in their reports, it read. Paul shook his head at the coldness of the assessment. His experience is to the contrary, isolated officers become paranoid, often making them petty and narcissistic. He read a report about the abuse she had suffered as a child, and his heart broke. Fucking Veleuse, he thought, I’ve got to admire her for getting away from there. Her journey through the academy, and her service since had been exemplary. She also had received several citations from Central Intelligence. Barrett was with him when the colson torpedo was launched, it didn’t seem feasible that she is involved.

  He worked through Dexter and Huang’s file and found nothing that could show a motive that they may be involved. To his disappointment, he didn’t have the security clearance to see what work Dexter had been doing for the last few years. He refilled his glass with vodka, and had a stretch. He returned the console and brought up Captain Blake’s file. Something immediately caught his interest. A reference to Blake being held prisoner by the Garan’s in the past. He quickly moved through the file to find the report. He read that Blake was reported captured by a Major Michael Moyse when Garan troops ambushed them on a peacekeeping mission on Celias in the Orion sector. Blake was held captive for six months on the Garan controlled world of Hranias until that world was liberated by the EMC. Blake claimed he was sold to the Garan’s by a Major Moyse. After Earth forces liberated Hranias, Major Moyse disappeared so Blake’s story had never been confirmed. Moyse was listed as MIA. Blake was cleared to return to duty five months after he was freed from the Garan farms of Hranias. Five months doesn’t seem long to recover from something as distressing as that, Paul thought.

  The rest of Blake’s file was report, after report, of the insubordination he showed Greeters who had served on this Ship during his post. Command had pushed
for Blake to be discharged from the service, but Nadir had argued vehemently against it. Paul wondered whether support for Nadir’s request to leave Blake on his Ship had come from somewhere in Command too. Maybe Nadir is involved in a Keepers faction, Paul thought. Blake is the Colonels pet, and loyal to the old Keeper. He would probably do whatever Nadir asked without question, a useful tool to have should he need it. A thought hit him that made him stand with a gasp. What if Nadir brought the device on board using his security clearance, and Blake planted and detonated it for him, Paul thought? Meaning there are two saboteurs on board. The question remained: why? Tomorrow morning he will go to Enginelab and interview Blake. He’d better have some good answers too, Paul thought.

  *****

  The next morning Paul walked into Enginelab and eventually found Blake working at a monitor looking at wiring diagrams.

  “Ah, excuse me Captain?” Paul said evenly but feeling his stomach churn.

  Blake spun with a sneer on his face, but when he seen the new modified Paul, he burst out laughing. “Oh shit, that Brainiac did a number on you, Major.” He kept laughing.

  Paul shook his head irritated already. “Yeah, OK, keep a lid on it, Captain.”

  “No, really, you look good,” he burst out laughing again.

  Paul crossed his arms and said sternly, “I want to talk to you about the sabotage.”

  The laughter died quickly, “I’m very busy here Major, I don’t have time to scratch my ass.”

  Paul relaxed his body trying to show calm. “I understand, we’re all busy. I could arrange for a formal statement that will go in your permanent record, if that’s what you prefer?”

  Blake sighed. “Very well, ask your damn questions.”

  Paul nodded and activated his palmcorder, “I see from the records that you boarded on the day of departure with Lieutenant Huang at 0525hrs. What did you do after you boarded Ship?”

  Blake went rigid. “I stopped off at the Colonels office and said hello. Then I came to Enginelab.”

  “Do you always speak to the Colonel when you first board Ship?”

  Blake crossed his arms. “At the start of a mission, sure. I consider Colonel Nadir a friend, and sometimes he has special orders for me.”

  Paul raised an eyebrow. “Did he have any special orders for this mission?”