Stealing Endeavour: Book 1 of the Forever Endeavour, Amen Trilogy

by Martin Tays

  She stared at him for a long moment, considering, then simply nodded.

  “Okay. Go. Take Leo with you. Sandar?”

  Sandar looked at him uncertainly.

  “I understand you’ve become quite the navigator.”

  She hesitated, then nodded. “I… I guess.”

  “Good. You know where we’re going. Plot a course.”

  Sandar turned white. “But… I… what if I…”

  Moses shook his head. “Sorry, dear, I don’t have time to hold your hand. Can you do it or not?”

  She only hesitated a moment before responding. “Yes. I can do it.”

  “Go.”

  He then turned to Mattie and simply pointed to the helm. Mattie grinned and, without a word, moved off to bring up the maneuvering controls.

  Moses turned and looked around. “And everyone else? Spread out. There’s still tools lying around, and hatches open, and all sorts of potential energy just waiting to whack us right in the ass. Close it, strap it, secure it. We boost in thirty.” The room exploded into activity.

  Ami drifted over to Moses. Moses, orders given, was just staring around. He looked over at her as she came to a stop, then sighed heavily. “Jesus.” His voice was strained.

  “Yeah. Jesus.” She reached out and grabbed his arm. “How’d you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Why didn’t they knock you out?”

  “Ah.” Moses looked off, grimacing. “That would be my worm.”

  She looked at him, puzzled. “A what?”

  “A worm.” He pulled out his pcomp and gestured with it. “A nanoworm, to be specific. Horribly illegal, terribly dangerous, and the only thing I could do at the time.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Moses rotated around to look at her. She could see the pain in his eyes. “A long time ago, in a moment of paranoia, I bought a program from a black market dealer in Cleveland. A blanket self-destruct command.”

  “Self destruct for what?”

  “Basically, I nuked every nanite in my body.”

  “You WHAT?!?” The remaining people on the bridge turned at the shout, startled.

  He shrugged. “It was the only way to keep ‘em from shutting me down like the rest of you.”

  Ami was appalled. “Oh. Oh, my dear sweet Jesus. What… what was it like?”

  “Like being pummeled with ten billion very, very tiny baseball bats. Honestly, I’m mildly surprised that the shock didn’t stop my heart. The guy who sold me the mod told me that that happens in about a quarter of the cases.”

  “Oh, God… Moses…”

  “Shh. It’s okay.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to have to be careful for a while, that’s all.”

  Moses realized that the doctor was staring at him, a creepily fascinated expression on his face. He looked over at him, annoyed. “What?”

  The doctor gestured at Moses’ pcomp. “You have got to show me that program.”

  “Later, Baron Frankenstein. Which reminds me ― give me that damn controller.”

  The doctor handed over the device he’d used to shut down and later wake up Moses’ friends. Moses took the small control unit and looked at it with a disgusted expression on his face. He then grabbed an overhead brace, turned, and straight armed it into the bulkhead. It took three more tries before the sturdy little casing shattered.

  “Here.” He turned and handed the destroyed unit to the startled doctor. “You can have it back, now.” Moses then pointed to the life support station, now unoccupied. “Go over there, sit down, and strap yourself in. Don’t touch anything.”

  The doctor nodded, turned away, then looked back at Moses. “I don’t want to go with you, you know.”

  “You don’t have a choice. Go!” Moses made sure that the doctor had followed his orders, then turned back to Ami. He smiled tightly. “So… guess I’m captain, after all.”

  “Yep.”

  “Swell. Come on.” He pushed himself over to the communications console, Ami close behind, and keyed up the private channel to Rafe’s office. While they waited for the connection, he looked over at Ami. “Well. This should be interesting.”

  “In a Chinese sort of way, yeah.” A small grin crossed her face. “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  ☼

  Rafe had not quite worn a hole in the carpet, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

  He was in the far end of his office, on yet another lap, when the comm sounded. He looked over to Sam, who had been sitting back, content to see him pace.

  She looked at him, the comm panel, then back to Rafe. “Well? Are you going to get that, or should I?”

  “Oh. Oh, right. Check.” He dashed over to the desk and threw himself into the chair, slapping the floating key to accept the call. Rafe was terrified of who he might see when the line cleared.

  But it was Moses. He shut his eyes and dropped his head down on his desk, breathing “Thank God, thank God, thank God…” over and over again.

  Finally, he looked up again. Moses was staring out at him. “You look like shit, Moses.”

  “Thanks. Been a helluva day.”

  “I suppose.”

  “That’s eight.”

  Rafe sighed. “I really think you’ve run that joke into the ground, Moses.”

  “Story of my life. We’ve got the ship, not that you haven’t probably figured that out already. Grace is gone, along with his people. We’re spinning up the engines now.”

  Rafe stared at him, astonished. “Moses… how…”

  Moses cut him off with a gesture. “Does it matter?”

  After a moment, Rafe just shrugged. “No. No, I guess not. Moses, you don’t have enough people.”

  “Nope.”

  “And you sure as hell don’t have an experienced crew.”

  “Nope.”

  “And you’re going to do this, anyway, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay.” Rafe nodded. “Just checking.”

  Moses leaned forward into the pickup. “Rafe, you should be here. Your people should be here. I know that. But you’re not, and they’re not, and that’s that. I’m… I’m sorry, Rafe. Surprisingly, I really am.”

  “Yeah.” He looked over to the security person, now standing by the desk, then back to the vid window. “Well, not half as sorry as I am. Bastard.”

  “Look, Rafe…”

  “I know.” He stared at the viewscreen for a moment, then made a shooing gesture. “Go. Take care of my ship, Moses.”

  “I will.”

  Ami leaned forward into the pickup. “Mister Deppner?”

  Rafe looked over at her. “Um? Yes, Ms. Vespucci?”

  Ami blushed, looked away, then turned back to the pickup. “Pink. They’re pink, today. With little flowers on ‘em.”

  Rafe blinked.

  “I just thought you’d want to know.”

  “Ah. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate that.” He nodded at her solemnly, then turned back. “Moses?”

  Moses looked out at him, pain evident on his face. “Rafe?”

  “Good luck, God speed, and goodbye.” He killed the connection before Moses had a chance to respond.

  Rafe leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. He finally turned to the operative, who was now sitting on the edge of his desk staring at him. “So. Ms… what do your friends call you?”

  She smiled. “Sam. My friends call me Sam.”

  “May I?”

  “Please.”

  He turned his chair and looked out of the window. “So, Sam, what’s next for you?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea. Certainly not continued employme
nt in the Security Directorate, I can tell you that much.”

  “Yeah? Well, I can sympathize. I get the feeling I’m out of a job, myself. You know what?” He spun around to face her. “I wondered recently how I’d feel about it if I lost my job. I feel… I feel good.”

  Sam looked out the window, herself. After a moment, she replied. “Yeah. I think I know what you mean. I feel good, too.” She looked back down at Rafe. “You want to get something to eat?”

  Rafe considered her for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. Why the hell not.” He stood, straightened out his tunic, and walked around the desk.

  Sam looked down. “By the way,” she commented, “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Those are great shoes. Where’d you get them?”

  Rafe stared at her blankly for a moment, and then fell over laughing.

  “People often ask me what it was like, facing a world so completely changed from what I had known growing up.

  My response is generally to start laughing.

  When they ask me what I’m laughing about, I tell them that the first song I heard after I woke up from a hundred and too many years of cryostasis in the year of our frikkin’ Lord Twenty One Twenty Seven was Eight Days A Week by the Beatles.”

  Simon Ho with Val Berry, from “I Was A Teenage Corpsicle!”

  “Socialologists started referring to it ― in their urge to label what they can’t understand ― as ‘Cultural Stasis’.

  It was pretty obvious in hindsight, too. You see, what generally drives change in society is the new supplanting the old. And for that to happen, the old has to get out of the way.

  Got that? The Old. Has to get Out. Of the Way.

  And, obviously, they ― okay, we ― didn’t. And as the demographic started to shift, the sheer number of nostalgia addled old farts began to simply overwhelm the desire for change just for change’s sake.

  Speaking as an old fart, I like it.”

  Patricia Albertson, President, AARP

  “You know something? There’s just sooooo many times you can listen to America sing Horse With No Name before you just go bugfuck.”

  Elton Addams, on “Charlie Varis Interviews…”

  Chapter 17

  “A man is not old as long as he is seeking something.”

  Jean Rostand

  “These remarkable images have been obtained by a stringer on board one of the orbiting industrial hubs.” Jin Suave’s voice was professionally strained. He was feeling the tension as much as anyone currently watching the program.

  “As you can see, the hijacked spaceship has not yet made its move, though I’m sure that there is frantic activity going on inside… Oh! Oh, my God, ladies and gentlemen! It’s exploded!! The Endeavour has been destroyed!!! Oh, no! Oh, God! Oh, the humanity!” Jin Suave, in a window to the side of the main vid display, actually went so far as to press the back of his hand to his forehead in distress as he spoke.

  “Jin? Jin, If I may?” The scientific adviser for this special live airing of Haven2Night! interrupted from one of the auxiliary vid windows.

  The reporter looked over, stricken. “How could this happen?!?”

  “Well, technically, Jin, the Endeavour hasn’t as much exploded as it has, well, not exploded.” The adviser replied patiently. “They merely released the cocoon. What you’re looking at is a couple of thousand chunks of foam filled Mylar Two drifting away from the craft. If you look carefully, you can see the ship now.”

  In the central display the image zoomed in. True enough, through the tumbling slabs of silver tantalizing bits of the starship could be seen.

  “Yes. Yes, of course.” Suave cleared his throat. “I knew that.” The reporter quickly changed the subject. “Hal, perhaps you could tell us what’s going on over there at this time? What do you believe they’re doing?”

  “You’re looking at a situation where two trained crewmen and a handful of… of, well, wipers, really… are trying to do a job normally performed by thirty highly trained and motivated Exploration Corp personnel.” The scientist shrugged. “Briefly stated, I believe that they’re running around like crazy and screaming a lot.”

  ☼

  “I have not screamed. Not once.” Moses looked from the program toward the nav station, where he was helping Sandar complete the plotting. “Have I?”

  “Do you want the truth?”

  “Don't be silly.”

  “Then no. You’ve been the very picture of civility.” Sandar glanced up toward the image, where most of the ship was now visible through the rapidly expanding remains of the cocoon. “She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?”

  “You think so?” Moses glanced back up at the image. “Huh. I always thought she looked a bit like a doughnut with a pencil shoved up its ass.”

  “Oh, thanks. Now I want a doughnut.”

  “Sorry.” Moses turned away from the console and raised his voice. “Bridge to maneuvering. Cath?”

  Leo’s face popped up in a vid window. “We’re a bit busy, boss. Cath’s off hardwiring a couple of recalcitrant safeties.”

  “Oh, goody. If we all die, remind me to smack her.”

  “You’ve got it.” Leo grinned. “Shouldn’t be a problem, though. All the major systems are up ― there’s just a few redundants that are being finicky.”

  “Primary fusion?”

  “On line.”

  “Excellent. And the main engines?”

  Leo gestured grandly. “At your command.”

  “Slave control to the helm and standby, then.” He looked over from the window toward the helm station. “Mattie?”

  The dark skinned girl glanced at her panel, then back toward Moses. “Ready to go, as soon as we know where the hell we’re going.”

  “Fair enough.” He rotated around his hand grip to look down at Sandar. “Well?”

  Sandar shut her eyes, took a deep breath and said a quick prayer. She then opened them, reached out and keyed in a command.

  “Got it.” Mattie said from her seat behind the helm controls. “Thanks.”

  Moses shared a look with Ami, who was across the bridge. She gave him a thumbs up. “Okay, then. Shipwide.” He only paused a second before continuing. “All hands. Drop whatever you’re doing, sit your damn butts down and strap in. We are underway one minute from… now. Check in with Ami when you’re secure. Shipwide out. Ami? Let me know if anyone’s unaccounted for.” Following his own recommendations, he then pushed over to the command chair and fastened himself in.

  The doctor, who was awkwardly trying to tie the ends of his lap belt together, looked over. “Is it too late to ask if I can just get out and walk?”

  Moses glared at him, but Ami pushed quickly over by his side. She rapidly fastened his belt and yanked it tight, eliciting a startled grunt from the doctor. She grinned a bit and glided back to the communications console, where she strapped herself in.

  “Thirty seconds. Bridge to maneuvering. Leo? Is Cath secure?”

  “I, um, I asked her about it.” Leo answered from engineering. “She told me to fuck off.”

  “Did you?”

  “Yep.”

  “Well…” Moses shrugged. “If anyone knows what full thrust’ll do to an unsecured object, it’s her. She’ll be fine. Bridge out.” He looked over at the anxious expression on Sandar’s face and repeated himself. “She’ll be fine. Honest. Fifteen seconds. Mattie? It’s your circus.”

  “Yes, sir.” They were both so distracted by events that neither noticed how she’d addressed him. “Shipwide. All right, people, boost in ten… nine…”

  As the count continued, everyone on the bridge braced themselves for acceleration. The doctor whimpered, just a little.

  “Forward view.” Moses said quietly, looking toward the front of the bridge. A new vid window sp
rang up, showing bits of cocoon still tumbled at the edges of the display field. But, directly ahead of the ship, there was nothing.

  Nothing but the stars.

  “… two… one…” Mattie touched a control and leaned back in her chair. An almost unnoticeable pause… then, flatly: “Ignition.”

  Far to the rear of the anxious group on the bridge, the massive engines came to brilliant life, straining to move the enormous ship from its resting place. Slowly, grandly, gloriously, the exploration vessel began to move.

  After two hundred and fifty years of exile, the UESS Endeavour was underway.

  ☼

  Vanya Viktor Valentine stared at the large video window floating over his desk. Without looking away, he spoke. “Mister Grace? Do you see what I see?”

  In a nearby auxiliary window, Grace grimaced. “Urm. Yes, sir.”

  “The ship is moving, Mister Grace.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He finally looked over. “Why is the ship moving, Mister Grace?”

  “They started the engines, sir.” He replied, reasonably.

  Valentine’s hand shot out to grab the auxiliary window. He pulled it in front of him and yelled. “Of course they started the engines, you idiot! Why are they still on the ship? Why are they getting away? And, for the love of God, why are you naked?”

  “I have on my underwear, sir.”

  “Yes. And it’s a side of you, Mister Grace…” Valentine shuddered. “That I never wanted to see.”

  “Sir, these are extremely comfor…” He stopped at a look from Valentine.

  The large man looked past Grace, toward the other half-naked people in the shuttle. “Which of you is in charge of the strike force?”

  “That would be me, sir. I assume full responsibility.” Another auxiliary window popped up and Miles looked out at Valentine, a serious expression on his face.