Return

by Blaze Ward

  They were alone.

  Lazarus had been expecting this conversation. He knew all the others well enough to understand their cares and concerns, including Addison. Most just wanted to be safe and productive.

  Eha was the representative of something greater than just a cargo runner’s crew.

  Lazarus programmed a control to beep when Cormac was ready for command.

  “Good evening, Eha,” Lazarus began, as if they hadn’t all just eaten dinner together a few hours ago.

  “Hello, Lazarus,” she replied. “We need to talk.”

  Lazarus kept the grin off his face. Back home, a woman started a conversation off that way when she was about to dump you. Or at least give you the ultimatum of quitting her or quitting the Navy.

  Lazarus had never married after that.

  He nodded for her to continue.

  “Are you really planning to overthrow the entire galaxy, Lazarus?” she asked bluntly.

  He was a little taken aback, but only by the ferocity of her words, however mildly she might have spoken.

  But she was right. He could see that in the way she phrased it. Ajax was intended to push Westphalia all the way back. To win that war against the Human supremacists. Nothing the Innruld had was capable of stopping a fleet of warships from either Westphalia or the Rio Alliance. The many species of Innruld space would almost be innocent bystanders caught up in the storm.

  “I hadn’t planned it that way, Eha, no,” he said after a moment to process all the implications. “The Rio Alliance wants peace, but Westphalia is intent on conquest. We would have fought all our wars in ignorance of you folks, and then eventually stumbled across an Innruld vessel of some sort, maybe a free trader like Addison.”

  “What would have been the outcome?” she asked.

  “Depends on who would have won the original war,” Lazarus said. “The Rio Alliance would hopefully welcome even more non-Humans into the fold. Westphalia would have probably put you on reservations without access to space, to eventually wither and die.”

  “And now?”

  Lazarus shrugged, a gesture common to both species.

  “Now, I want to sneak home and see who our spy is,” he said. “Introduce you folks to my superiors and see what we can do to establish trade. To make the galaxy a better place.”

  “But you fear your own kind.”

  She hadn’t asked a question so much as stated the thing that haunted Lazarus’s dreams when he tried to sleep. Like why he was on the bridge in the middle of the night.

  “How did the authorities on Zhoonarrim Station know to raid that tea shop while we were all there?” Lazarus deflected the conversation back onto her.

  “A leak,” she replied, nodding in acknowledgment. “Perhaps a spy feeding the authorities information.”

  “Just so,” he said. “Someone told Westphalia how to find me. Where. When. If I just sail up to headquarters to say hello, all of you are at risk of spies or assassins.”

  “You still haven’t answered my original question,” Eha said. “Does all of this necessitate overthrowing the entire galaxy? Innruld, Rio, and Westphalia?”

  “Do you have an alternative, Eha Dunham?” Lazarus asked. “Innruld know the Humans exist, but not where to find them. At least not yet. Addison and his crew know much more. I can work as a pirate for a short time, but this ship was never intended to operate that way for long. When we arrive somewhere, news of new species will ripple out. The galaxy will have to change. At that point, the only question is how much.”

  “I have pledged my life to overthrowing the Innruld and their hold on all the other species,” she said. “Why could you and Addison not just recruit a crew of non-Humans and do that? Why do you need to return home first?”

  “Why not just leave the non-Humans behind then?” he countered without any heat. “Sail back someplace safe and pretend I never heard of Churquen? I have no more love for Innruld than you do, Eha. But that culture has been stable for centuries, and nothing is going to change much. The Rio Alliance is being pushed back by Westphalia now, so I need to return to fight. The others chose to come with me, including yourself.”

  He paused to study her face. It wasn’t as expressive as a Human’s, covered over as it was with scales, but he had spent enough time around Addison now to see some play of emotions around the eyes and how the scales on the cheeks moved.

  “What are you truly afraid of, Eha?” he asked in a quieter voice.

  “Humans have the power to completely overwhelm Innruld space, Lazarus,” she said quietly. “To turn into another set of overlords, and one we could not cast off, not without finding another set of space-bound wizards with even greater technology to do the job.”

  “Humans are coming,” Lazarus said. “It is only a matter of time. Your luck was that I came first, and came now, rather than an exploration fleet in a century or three, when our technology was even more advanced, since the Innruld prefer everything static.”

  “Can you guarantee that the Rio Alliance will welcome us?” she snapped. “Accept us as full members? Allies? And not just the next crop of peasants?”

  “Rio? Yes,” he said. “That’s what the Rio Alliance is. Humans, Moah, Gnashiiley, and Atomarsk working together for a common good. Churquen, Ilount, Vaadwig, Yithadreph and the others should be part of that. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all sentient creatures are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those are the words from our Founding, Eha. They are the Rio Alliance.”

  She nodded, falling silent.

  “I hope you’re right, Lazarus of Bethany,” she said.

  He didn’t know what to say as she slithered off her coil and made her way to the hatch and opened it.

  “I hope you are right.”

  Seven

  Addison

  Addison had never imagined the power that a ship like Ajax represented. The casual capability for destruction frightened him, even when Lazarus had felt comfortable enough to leave a nervous Churquen in charge.

  But they were making greater speed across the cosmos than Addison had believed possible, even making single jumps and recalculating the next stop when they determined where the gravity depths of the galaxy had shifted them.

  You opened a hole in the universe and stepped through.

  Awe-inspiring. Frightening.

  According to what Addison had read, the ship emerged from such a jump with a flash of brilliant azure light that was a collected blueshift, so you had to announce your arrival in a grand way, as opposed to just slipping out of a trans-light tunnel at your destination politely.

  This was going to change everything. Hopefully, the Churquen would be able to survive such a flood and prosper, even if they didn’t swim worth a damn. Too much hinged on his coils now.

  Addison looked over at Lazarus from the station where he was commanding. They had left the Human console in place, since Lazarus would continue to command later, but Addison was going to be in charge for now and his console was just as good as any other.

  All he lacked was to be seated directly behind Kuei and Wybert. And he understood why Lazarus was hesitant to take Wybert with him on his mission.

  But for a very brief time, the dangerous warship Ajax would be commanded by non-Humans. Flown by non-Humans. Even, Gods save them all, fought by non-Humans, if it came to that.

  “You’ll be okay?” Lazarus asked.

  Again.

  Addison nodded, understanding the Human’s unvoiced concern: what would Addison do with a ship like this while he was gone?

  “We will be fine, my friend,” Addison reassured him.

  Again.

  “Just make sure that you completely destroy the Innruld if it comes to that,” Lazarus said.

  Addison nodded.

  They had plans in place, the two of them. If something happened to the thing that Lazarus called a Mission Team, and the
worst resulted, Addison was to take Ajax back into Innruld space and start his revolution. Nothing there would be able to resist him, and Addison had the contacts to recruit enough of a crew to do the job.

  Going the other way, the Rio Alliance might welcome a group of unknown aliens flying Ajax home to them, but Addison and his crew would be quickly separated from such a powerful vessel and probably held as some sort of prisoners for a while.

  Whether Addison told the Humans the truth at that point would come down to how destructive he was feeling.

  “Go,” Addison commanded the Human. “We will be fine here, patrolling slowly and training carefully while we await your news.”

  He watched Lazarus nod to himself once before he finally turned and walked out of the room rather than speak again.

  Aileen had shared some of the things she knew about Lazarus, and the return to Ajax, so Addison understood the potential for guilt that the man carried. Anything might happen out here, but Addison knew that he would be safer running at the first hint of trouble, even possessing a death-beam like Kirov’s Lance.

  He did look forward to meeting that Human, Kirov, one of these days, just to perhaps better understand a mind dedicated solely to finding ways to kill and destroy.

  And Wybert would be upset that he couldn’t play with such a thing.

  Addison was just fine hiding.

  Eight

  Lazarus

  The two women were already aboard the pincke when he arrived in the landing bay and boarded the vessel.

  The term pincke was ancient, going back to maritime sailing on Earth itself and referred to an ancient class of flat-bottomed ships with shallow draughts and large cargo capacities that allowed them to serve in a variety of circumstances. Originally a Dutch word, it had somehow come into space to describe the standard cargo shuttle that almost everyone used, the only differences generally being the interior furnishings, and which of the two front seats was for the primary pilot.

  It was long and narrow. Bigger than the koch and with all the space dedicated to cargo, rather than transporting Humans in any sort of comfort. In fact, the only nod to convenience was a small head, tucked forward behind the cockpit, opposite a pantry and kitchenette. If you wanted to sleep on a pincke, you either racked out on the deck, or hung a hammock from one of the many hooks available.

  Aileen was already strapped down in the co-pilot’s seat today, with Eha coiled across and around a jumpseat she had pulled down as an anchor. Both were dressed in what Lazarus had requested as second-best clothing. Tan capris and a blue vest for Aileen. Eha had a rust-colored shirt and her usual harness with pockets and hooks.

  Both women looked a little silly with standard issue Rio Alliance Navy pistol holsters on, but Lazarus wasn’t about to let them go anywhere without at least a Manticore-brand light laser pistol. His own Ares was much heavier, but both alien women could handle a Manticore in combat if they had to shoot something.

  Nobody but Humans and Kreeghal had the shoulders to handle anything heavier for long anyway.

  “Status?” Lazarus asked Aileen as he buckled himself in.

  “Pre-flight complete and we’re ready for departure,” Aileen smiled up at him with all of her whiskers today.

  Completing a basic familiarization course for certification with the pincke had been a requirement, before Lazarus would ever let her fly one. He only had two, and no easy way to repair them if something happened.

  “You take us out,” Lazarus decided. “I’ll handle communications.”

  Immediately, she moved her hands to the flight controls, a two-handed yoke like an ancient ground vehicle, but with buttons and levers everywhere you could reach.

  “Ajax, this is Shuttle Number One, prepared for departure,” Lazarus said.

  “You have clear skies, Shuttle One,” Kuei replied brightly. “Ajax is secured for flight operations.”

  After two weeks, she even sounded like a Rio Alliance pilot. He made a note to tell someone how useful all the basic training videos were, when you needed to train a new crew in a hurry. Hopefully, the bosses would let him keep his friends aboard and supplement them with others, instead of grounding him for piracy and everything else.

  Of course, Ajax was more dangerous than any ship in the Rio Alliance fleet, too, if it came to that, but he thrust such thoughts from his mind and concentrated on the first step of his return to friendly space.

  “Unlocking docking cradle,” Aileen called out in a slow, measured cadence as her hands moved. “Powering up maneuvering thrusters. Soft contact only confirmed. Detachment confirmed. Stand by for powered flight.”

  Lazarus was poised to step in and override, but she was handling it like a pro so he began to breathe easier. A quick glance back at Eha confirmed that she was just as nervous, so maybe it was okay.

  The pincke turned away from the big ship and aimed like an arrow at a star in the near distance.

  “Ajax, this is Shuttle One,” Lazarus called. “Stand by for redshift.”

  Aileen glanced over and the look in her eyes was a strange combination of apprehension and excitement. That made sense, as she was about to do something nobody she knew had ever done, fly a shuttle with star drives.

  “Engaging,” she said breathlessly as a furry hand came down and pulled the levers into contact.

  Pincke Shuttle One blinked out of the universe.

  Nine

  Aileen

  Wow. Just like that, and they were gone. Aileen wanted to pinch herself to be sure, but all the stars out the forward portal were different than they had been just a moment ago.

  Even the space around them tasted blue.

  Aileen smiled over at Lazarus and winked.

  “Arrival at primary destination,” she said. “Confirm coordinates.”

  That was his job, since he had let her fly. And she had just traveled through trans-space so fast that nobody saw it. Opened a portal and went zip.

  This was going to change everything, once these sorts of things were available in Innruld space. Or whatever people started calling it after the tall shits who used to be in charge got knocked off their pedestal of beauty.

  Aileen had never intended to be a revolutionary. Nor a rebel against the supposed natural order of things.

  She was just a puzzle-solver who wanted to travel in space instead of settling down and having kits. Revolutionary had come later, when it became clear that the Innruld ruled and everyone else served. And that Addison Wolcott was more than he seemed.

  Aileen supposed she should probably feel some level of guilt or remorse for the lives she had helped destroy, but they were Innruld lives. The Overlords of Everything. And the drugs she helped the Underground deliver weren’t useful against anybody else.

  And the Innruld really did deserve it.

  So what did that say about what was coming next?

  Humans.

  Addison might have his doubts, but not Aileen. The Innruld stood about as much chance as a fart in a spacesuit. Stinky and rude, but not really going to do much to everyone else.

  “Coordinates confirmed,” Lazarus replied as she sat and considered whether or not Aileen Enjehn was evil.

  Or rather, how evil she was.

  The Innruld were doomed. She would have done it slowly. One of those boxes at a time. Grind down lives into chemical dependency. Let the overlords slowly breed themselves out of existence over the next century.

  The Humans were going to do that much, much faster. And a lot of it would be her fault.

  She could have spoken up. Or rather, not spoken up. Not challenged Addison when Eha called for him to deliver the Human to her and her masters. Not threatened to quit, along with everyone else, if anything happened to Lazarus.

  Not called Addison’s bluff.

  Aileen kept her thoughts to herself and her whiskers forward as she calculated the next step on their flight. She’d been planning on handling sensors and nav today, with Lazarus flying, so she took it as a compliment from the man
that he thought she could do it all.

  Maybe next time, she’d have the ship to herself and could fly it anywhere she wanted.

  Where did she want?

  Aileen wasn’t sure.

  “Current coordinates are off by about eight light-minutes,” Aileen said aloud.

  “And that’s better than expected with a pincke on a jump of this distance,” he replied. “Usual error factor is thirty light-minutes when you jump that many centuries.”

  Centuries? Light-centuries?

  She’d lost track, overwhelmed by just jumping.

  Aileen spun the map back to a larger area view, until she saw the system where Ajax was waiting for them.

  Crap. All that, and we’ve just jumped farther than the long axis of Innruld space, too?

  She kept her muttering inside her head and dialed things back down.

  “We’re going here?” she asked, stabbing a spot on the screen with a stubby, furry finger so like his, and yet so different. “A pirate base?”

  “We don’t know that it’s a pirate base, Aileen,” Lazarus reminded her. “It’s just an outpost well outside Rio Alliance space on the far side from Westphalia. And it handles an amazing amount of traffic for the tiny population in the system.”

  “Smugglers,” she said.

  “Probably,” he grinned back. “If you’re outside of certain legal boundaries, you aren’t paying taxes on things, and if your cargo is big enough, that’s worth the time and consumables to make that sort of round trip.”

  “And you trust the sort of folks we’ll find there?” Eha asked from the backseat, just before Aileen could.

  “About as far as I could throw them,” Lazarus replied.

  That took her a moment. Yithadreph didn’t throw things like Humans apparently could. Her shoulders didn’t have the rotation of his, or the musculature. She certainly couldn’t throw a small rock at one hundred miles an hour, like Humans reportedly could.