Preservation_Age of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Sarah Noffke

  “I knew that my mom and dad were in danger,” Eddie admitted. “I’d gotten word from my commanding officer that the station was being attacked. I knew my parents were there. Yet I made the call to go to Sari, the planet where the attack had originated, and rescue men I hardly knew.”

  “And that earned you a great honor,” Julianna pressed. “Most would have run from what was considered certain death.”

  “Most would have run home to save their parents,” Eddie corrected.

  “Your parents were trained to fight,” Julianna countered.

  “It isn’t the fact that I chose others over my family that has haunted me all this time,” Eddie said quietly.

  Julianna didn’t say a word, instead waiting patiently for Eddie to continue.

  “Right before the attack, I’d had a fight with my parents. My mother, as usual was hounding me to get married. My father always teased me about having children.” He laughed unexpectedly, no humor in his voice. “That’s what parents do, but I took it personally. They wanted me to have the same joys they had, but I didn’t see that at the time.”

  “Hindsight makes everything clearer.” Julianna agreed with a minute nod.

  A cold look crossed Eddie’s face as he brought his eyes up to meet hers. “Instead of shrugging them off, I attacked them. I was hurt that they worked so much and were always away when I was growing up. Like a child, I told them they’d abandoned me, leaving to the responsibility of others to raise while they went off on missions. Why would I do that to a child? They had each other, but often left me. It was stupid. I was stupid and I totally didn’t get it.”

  “You were also younger then,” Julianna reasoned. “We’re all fools when we are young.”

  Eddie nodded, but didn’t look convinced. “I was thoughtless, that’s for sure. I should have rescued them that day, but I chose not to…part of me was hoping someone else would do it. I’d convinced myself that they’d be okay, but the truth was I didn’t go back because I was too ashamed to face them. To tell them I was sorry. It’s silly, but there it is. I’m a coward.”

  “You did go back to Sari and save others, that shouldn’t be discounted,” she said.

  “Yeah, I know you’re right.”

  “You’ve been carrying these skeletons around for a long time,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically sensitive. “Don’t you think it’s time you forgive yourself? You made a mistake. You said things you regretted, and you lost your chance to make amends, to save those who truly mattered to you. But should you give up your future because you’re so ruled by the past?”

  Eddie dropped the piece of grass, letting it float down to the ground. He seemed to think for a moment, and then offered her a tender smile. “Do you know what my parents said just now when I confronted them?”

  Julianna shook her head.

  “They said that it was all okay.”

  “And you’re the architect of this reality,” she reminded him.

  “Which means, I’m starting to realize that even though I made mistakes, they’re not unforgivable,” Eddie said, a new lightness in his voice.

  The two sat in silence for a long moment enjoying the peace of the forest. The wind shifted the tree branches, making a gentle chiming noise. Julianna regarded the trees and the heavily padded, leaf-strewn ground. The forest wasn’t like any she had ever seen; it was different, but felt familiar, like Eddie. She liked that.

  She rose when Eddie did, both seeming to know it was time to return to reality, although the decision hadn’t been said aloud.

  Eddie paused and faced her. “Julianna, you asked if it made me feel better, apologizing to my parents…”

  “Yeah. You said it didn’t,” she replied.

  “It didn’t. But confiding in you about this…that’s made me feel better. Much better than I’ve felt in years,” he admitted, a thoughtful sincerity in his eyes.

  “Then it stands to reason that you should continue to do so.”

  “As long as you keep sneaking into my reality, I plan to do just that.”

  Eddie offered her his hand, and the two stepped back through to the other side, where what they saw was real and what they felt was pure.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Intelligence Center, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System

  Liesel drilled another hole into the ceiling, shielding her eyes from the metal dust that sprayed down.

  “You should have seen it,” Marilla stated, holding the ladder for the engineer.

  “It sounds delightful,” Liesel said. “Paris was supposedly an epicenter for art and culture.”

  Chester hunched over his workstation, eyeing the screen with intense focus, trying to ignore the distraction of the construction going on behind him. “It was pretty quiet when we were there, as I intended.”

  “Why didn’t you go to Noircun?” Marilla asked Liesel.

  The engineer pointed to the ground where various items were strewn. “Mind handing those to me?”

  Marilla passed Liesel a strange device that consisted of a short pole, fabric, hooks and handles.

  “Thanks,” Liesel said, taking only the support stand from her. “I decided it best to stay behind and install these yoga swings, so they’d be ready for you when you got back.”

  “I still think you need to have your head checked if you think I’m taking my breaks in that trapeze-thing,” Chester stated, giving up on work for the moment and spinning around to face the women directly.

  “You should really try it before passing judgement. The swing is great for back and neck discomfort.” Liesel installed the beam so that it hung horizontally, suspended a few inches from the ceiling.

  Chester tilted his head from side to side, stretching his muscles. “My back and neck are fine.”

  “They won’t be, if you keep slouching over your desk,” Marilla reprimanded.

  Liesel took the other parts of the yoga swing from Marilla and hung them from the short beam. “The jung-fibres do sound amazing, though. I’m glad you got to experience them. Chester, remember that conversation we were having about how there’s a synchronization to life, and that we’re all connected?”

  “I remember you said you could prove it, and then coordinated a distraction so you didn’t have to,” Chester joked.

  “Ricky Bobby, how do the jung-fibres work?” Liesel asked, standing on her tiptoes to hang the yoga swing on the last hook.

  “They read the consciousness of the host and then construct the setting they find,” Ricky Bobby stated without missing a beat.

  “Why?” Liesel challenged.

  “Their purpose is unknown, according to my research,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “And yet you chose this activity because you thought that it would have the best chance of altering the morale of the ship, isn’t that right?” Liesel ventured, testing the security of the swing.

  “Experiencing a reality of our choosing is considered a magic of sorts,” Ricky Bobby reasoned.

  “I’d agree with that,” Chester said.

  “So you’re telling me that the best thing we can do is experience ourselves?” Liesel’s eyes stayed pinned on her work, although the question was obviously directed at Chester.

  “I’m not sure I see where you’re going with this,” Chester admitted.

  Liesel withdrew a wrench from her overalls and tightened the bolts in the ceiling. “Before, you stated that life was meaningless, and that the uncertainty of it made it so our main purpose was to preserve ourselves for as long as possible, until our inevitable death.”

  “I stand by that notion,” Chester said, starting to realize the trap he’d walked into.

  “And you, Ricky Bobby?” Liesel asked, tightening another bolt.

  “I reserve the right to change my mind,” the AI said, his voice low.

  “Because if life is meaningless, the act of experiencing ourselves should matter very little. Actually, if we aren’t even connected, it would be impossible for the organisms to read us and create
our virtual reality.” A beat later, Liesel added, “In theory of course.”

  “Look, Liesel Diesel. I like video games, and those are simulations, but that doesn’t mean there’s a purpose to all this,” Chester argued.

  Marilla shook her head. “But that’s exactly what it means. What if the purpose is to experience ourselves? And that’s what the jung-fibres do, in essence. The only way they can do that is through connectivity.”

  “And still they will come to an end, and I will, and you too, sweet Mar. Life is progressing toward a breakdown,” Chester stated.

  “‘Life’, as in form, but not in consciousness.” Liesel slid the wrench back into her pocket. “I’d venture to say that consciousness is timeless.”

  “Well, here we go talking about souls and stuff again,” Chester joked.

  “You can call it what you want,” Liesel stated. “But, just for fun…Ricky Bobby, when did the jung-fibres originate?”

  There was a moment of silence. “I don’t have a date of origin for the jung-fibres.”

  “And why not?” Liesel asked.

  “Because they originated with consciousness, a starting point which can’t be determined,” Ricky Bobby answered.

  “Because before we had the ability to actualize, there was no history,” Liesel stated triumphantly.

  “The consciousness of our life is, in essence, the purpose,” Marilla said, sounding breathless. “To know we exist and to experience ourselves—that’s the reason for all of this. Making even our eventual end, not a concern, but rather a comma in a never-ending sentence. Consciousness always was and always will be, and transitions us forevermore. As long as there’s awareness, there will be no end.” Marilla paused, then turned to Chester with a smile. “She’s deflated your whole point.”

  The hacker shook his head as he shrugged his shoulders, admitting defeat.

  “I couldn’t have put it better myself.” Liesel pulled the ferret from her front pocket, where he’d been napping. “Would you please hold Sebastian?”

  Marilla took the ferret, showing him extra fondness.

  “A mind-blowing philosophical conversation, followed by, ‘hold my ferret’,” Chester said with a laugh.

  “The revelations of life often happen during mundane, day-to-day activities,” Ricky Bobby stated.

  “So you think this was mind-blowing, eh?” Marilla asked, her brown eyes wide with excitement.

  “I thought it was interesting, but I’m not sure if it will change my life,” Chester admitted.

  Liesel tested the yoga swing one more time, yanking on it. Then she stepped off the ladder, angling her head downward. She wrapped her legs around each of the strands of fabric, securing herself with the handles that hung down, doing a full inversion.

  With a red face, she said, “A Zen Proverb says, ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water’.”

  ~~~

  Julianna had been exercising in the workout facility, running on one treadmill, while Harley ran on the other, when Penrae had burst in. The Saverus had spoken so fast that Julianna had to make her repeat herself three times. Her emotional state was causing some strange side effects—namely, she was shifting through different forms, like a wire had been fused wrong.

  “I really hope I’m right,” Penrae stated as they hurried down the long corridor, headed for the Intelligence Center.

  “We’ll find out momentarily.” Julianna gave Penrae a look of encouragement.

  She was finding her current reality a bit strange, with the large snake on one side of her, and her new dog friend on the other.

  Pip, will you please have the captain meet us in the Intelligence Center? I think he was planning on resting for a little while, so you’ll have to wake him.

  How do you know he is napping? Was that what he told you when you slipped out from between the sheets?

  Pip, you and I aren’t friends anymore. And no. Will you just tell Eddie that we might have a breakthrough?

  I would, but I can’t seem to reach him.

  Julianna halted. What? Is everything okay?

  Yeah, it’s fine. I’m just not trying, is all.

  Pip, seriously, this is important.

  Then I’m sure that Ricky Bobby will do it for you. He’s good like that.

  Why won’t you interface with Eddie? You wanted to be in his head.

  Rick Bob said he’d take care of it. I’m going to ring off. I’ve got a splitting headache.

  Pip! Pip! Julianna called after the AI, but received no reply. When she rounded the corner into the Intelligence Center, she halted, surprised by the sight before her.

  Liesel, the battlecruiser’s chief engineer, hung suspended by fabric a few feet off the ground, her legs in a butterfly position, and her hands praying in front of her chest.

  “It was Shunryu Suzuki who said, ‘The world is its own magic’,” Liesel shared, her tone airy.

  Julianna cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. “Chester, we need you to do some quick surveillance on Savern. Penrae has just woken from a dream.”

  The Saverus took a deep breath, still looking rattled. “It’s true. I think I saw a vision of the ark on Savern.”

  Chester, Marilla and Liesel simply stared in awe as the Saverus shifted into the form of an elderly Asian man, then to a little girl with pigtails and then back to her original serpentine body.

  “Right, can you give Chester some specifics?” Julianna stated, trying to snap everyone into focus.

  Running footsteps stole everyone’s attention again as Eddie appeared in the doorway, anticipation on his face. “I just heard from Ricky Bobby. What’s the news?”

  “Nothing yet,” Julianna stated, turning back to face Penrae. “Go on, then.”

  “In my dream, I saw a place I know from the Saverus’ history books,” Penrae began, flickering through a few different forms as she spoke. “I’m not sure how I didn’t consider it before, or why it randomly occurred to me now, but it absolutely makes sense.”

  “Do you have anything specific?” Chester asked.

  “In the dream, the ark was on Savern, in the north of the western hemisphere. That region is the birthplace of the Saverus, and is considered holy ground.”

  “Chester, does that give you enough information to start a search?” Julianna asked.

  The hacker was already busy typing on his computer, sifting through various records. Marilla had also hurried to her own desk and was hurriedly searching.

  If I were Ricky Bobby, I’d be telling you a big, fat ‘I told you so, regarding the little getaway, Pip stated.

  But you’re not, and he doesn’t gloat like that.

  But still, that little R and R does seem to have had its benefits…aside from you and the captain, if you know what I mean. Hint, hint.

  I thought you had a headache?

  Of course I didn’t. That’s only something you say when you want to get out of something. You’ll learn that, especially now that you and the cap—

  Finish that sentence, and I will have you disconnected from me.

  You should know that your threats trigger my abandonment issues.

  When were you ever abandoned?

  It’s previous life stuff.

  Julianna rolled her eyes, tuning back in as Penrae explained what she’d seen.

  “That area is quite large; it will take the scanner several hours, if not a whole day, to do a thorough sweep,” Chester stated.

  “Wait, your scan includes the entire country of their birthplace,” Marilla stated.

  “Riiiight…” Chester drew out the word.

  Marilla continued to type frantically. “But if you narrow the prameters to include only historical sites, and confine it by markers I’ve cross-referenced from Savern’s history based on importance, then…”

  Chester picked up a transmission that Marilla messaged over, and copied the information into the scan. “It boils the search down to a less than hun
dred-mile radius,” he finished for her.

  “Which will take how long to search for something that meets the ark’s description?” Eddie asked.

  Chester’s computer made a ding sound.

  “Approximately no time at all,” the hacker grinned.

  He pulled up the location marked in red, and zoomed in, revealing a giant warehouse that almost blended in to the yellow hue of the sand, except that it sparkled, since it was covered entirely in gold.

  “I believe we’ve found our ark,” Eddie announced excitedly.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Hatch’s Lab, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System

  “Don’t touch that!” Hatch warned.

  He waddled around the corner to stop Eddie, who was extending a hand toward a device floating in a small antigravity chamber about the size of a shoe box.

  Eddie’s hand snapped down by his leg, and he skirted his eyes to the side like a child caught doing something wrong. “I was just stretching.”

  “Right,” Hatch said, sounding unconvinced. He reached out and opened the container, plucking out the device, which mostly contained a small, handheld screen.

  “Ricky Bobby said you had something we’d need for the mission,” Julianna stated.

  “He was right, but I can’t make the captain a brain before you need to leave,” Hatch said, offering Eddie an unsympathetic smile. “Sorry, Scarecrow.”

  Eddie laughed. “And you call yourself a wizard.”

  “Mechanic, actually,” Hatch corrected and held up the device. “Once you find the client in the ark, you’ll use this to lead you to the receiver, which will be where the Saverus plan to relocate Savern.”

  “And then it’s ass-kicking time,” Eddie said with a smirk.

  “How do we know that the client for the Tangle Thief will be located inside the ark?” Julianna asked.

  “Because that’s the best spot for it to be when operated,” Hatch explained. “The Saverus will be most concerned with the ark—”

  “Which is why they’ve plated the building in gold,” Eddie interrupted.

  Hatch rolled his eyes. “Yes. This is not a rerun, kid. I swear, whatever you do, don’t breed. Well, I don’t have to worry about that, now, do I? No one would be stupid enough to partner with you.”