Tabatha stood looking into Addalyne’s eyes and said, “Yes, we can take the time for you and Joshua to teleport to the surface. I hope the results of the tests prove you two are compatible. It would bother me to tears if you two stepped away from your relationship.”
Chapter 5 – The Yutaka Blood Line
The skipper saw the brown envelope that the Genealogy Department at IFTT Headquarters had just teleported to the ready room inbox of the Yutaka III. She picked up the envelope and read the name on the front: The envelope was for Addalyne Yutaka. Tabatha spoke to the computer and said, “Computer, speak into Addalyne’s implant and ask her to report to the ready room.”
When Addalyne stepped up to the ready room door, the computer spoke to the skipper and said, “Addalyne is at the kitchen entrance of the ready room.” Tabatha was already pissed at the computer and she screamed. “WELL, LET HER IN, YOU USELESS BAG OF SILICONE. DON’T MAKE HER STAND OUTSIDE LIKE SOME RECRUIT REPORTING TO HER COMMANDING OFFICER.”
When the door slid open, Addalyne smiled at Tabatha and asked, “Having a bad day with your hired help?” Tabatha giggled and said, “I did not intend for you to hear those words, Addalyne. The computer is insistent upon making every task a chore. I am not pissed at anyone else, especially you, just this nasty computer. The reason I called you is on the table beside my inbox. It appears official.”
Addalyne picked up the envelope and laughed. She said, “Why did they not just send the information to the computer and ask to have it placed in my files. They did not need all of this fancy looking documentation.” Tabatha smiled and said, “I suspect they wanted to add a little extra expense to what they have already charged you for the testing. The IFTT is sneaky that way.”
Addalyne thanked Tabatha again for allowing her to get the testing done and paying for it from Yutaka III funds, and then she said, “I will take this to my quarters and then return to work. See you at lunch, Skipper.”
The skipper said, “I suspect you are very anxious to see the results of the testing. Please take a few minutes in your quarters to digest what the testing disclosed. You may also return the envelope here to the ready room and place it in one of the crew compartments within the vault if you are concerned about its contents being disclosed.”
When Addalyne read the testing results, she began to cry. The tests proved that she and Joshua would never be able to have children together. If they married and wanted children, they would have to adopt. Once she dried her tears, she began reading the DNA results a little further. She had requested the second DNA study to see if she was in any way related the Jill Yutaka or any of Jill’s ancestors. What she read there forced the air from her lungs in a loud gasp. She stood up, trying to calm her emotions and her surprise. She read the results again and then sat back down. Her legs were shaking too hard to remain standing.
After a few minutes, Addalyne spoke to Aldo and asked, “Aldo, would you request time for me to speak to the skipper? I have information from my DNA testing that I need to share with her before anyone else discovers what I have learned.” Within two minutes, Aldo spoke to her and said, “The skipper will see you now. You are welcome at your convenience.”
When Addalyne stepped up to the ready room door, the door slid open. As she stepped into the ready room, Tabatha stepped up to her and said, “You have been crying. Come sit with me in the control room where we can talk in private.” When they had both sat down, Tabatha pressed a button beside her chair and said, “Computer, this room is in lockdown mode. You will not record anything said in this room, nor shall you query Addalyne’s implant until I open the door. Do you understand the rule?” They heard three chirps in the overhead speakers.
Addalyne opened the envelope and said, “The tears came when I read that Joshua and I could not have a child together. I will have to discuss that information with him later. The reason I have requested this private meeting with you is to discuss the results of my request to compare my DNA with that of the Yutaka family to see if Jill Yutaka or any of her ancestors are relatives of mine. I have documents passed down to me from my parents that indicate I am the Sister of Ronnie Yutaka, the designer of, The Empress, the original starship in the Yutaka fleet. These DNA tests prove that my parent’s documents are accurate. I am a late born Sister of Ronnie and Janet Yutaka. That information places me as Jill Yutaka’s aunt. I feel that it is pertinent that I pass this information to you, my skipper, and seek your guidance as to whether or not I should pass the information on to Jill Yutaka. I would dread having Jill hear about this information after some loose tongue at the Genealogy Department at IFTT Headquarters leaked the information.”
Tabatha sat reading the document and then finally looked up into Addalyne’s eyes. She smiled and said, “I suspect that in the near future, I will be calling you, Boss.” After another few minutes, Tabatha said, “I think that I should request that we teleport to The Empress, or to whichever vessel Jill is aboard at the moment, and discuss this with her. I too would hate to have information like this in my possession and have Jill find out from other sources. With your permission, I will request a meeting immediately.”
When they stepped out of the control room, Addalyne said, “Thank you for listening to me. I will get back to work; William is most likely getting pissed over my absence.”
When Addalyne stepped up beside William, she said, “I am sorry to have been gone so long. I got back some information I requested from the IFTT and I needed to discuss it with the skipper. I will work while you take a break if you need to.” William turned to face her and said, “Addalyne, you do not need to apologize to me. You have a personal life, just as the rest of the crew and no apologies are required. However, I will take a moment to get a cup of coffee from the kitchen. Can I bring you a cup when I return?” Addalyne smiled and said, “Thank you, William. Coffee would taste good right about now. My mouth is dry after being nervous around the skipper.” He smiled and said, “You will soon come to understand that the only time Tabatha screams or has a tantrum is when the computer pisses her off. Her crew does not make her angry. She is always willing to help or do whatever she can to make life a little easier. Just be honest with her every time you talk with her and you and the skipper will never have issues.”
When William returned with the coffee, Addalyne seemed distant and her eyes were red as if she was about to cry. When he handed her a cup of coffee, he asked, “Addalyne, I don’t mean to pry, but are you okay. You seem very emotional. It is unlike you to be tearful.” As the words left William’s mouth, the tears began to run down Addalyne’s cheeks. He stepped up to her and took hold of her hand. He handed her a clean towel from a pile on the workbench and listened carefully to her words. She said, “I will be okay in a few hours. I just found out that the Demords female body I live within will never bear a child if I should marry a human. I had hoped that was not the case, but now I will have to deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, no human has asked to marry me, but I had to have the tests done to settle the issue within my own mind. Now, I need to tell Joshua of the discovery. I hope he does not break off our relationship once I tell him. He may not wish to continue loving a female that cannot bear him children, the one thing we both would want in a long term relationship.”
William pulled Addalyne into his arms and let her cry for a moment. When she settled, she stepped back and dried her eyes with the towel. Just as she finished, Shelley stepped into the room. She walked up to Addalyne and William and said, “Are you two okay. Are you having an argument?” Addalyne giggled and said, “Far from it. I could not keep my tears from running down my face and William comforted me.” Then she turned to William and said, “Thank you William for being my friend and listening to me. Now, I need to find Joshua and talk to him.” Addalyne stepped up on her toes, kissed William on the cheek and then headed off to find Joshua. William said, “I believe Addalyne will tell you and the rest of the crew the reason for her tears, but for now, I need to remain silent on the matter.” Shelley
squeezed his arm and said, “As you should. Being a good friend sometimes requires a closed mouth and an open mind.”
When the computer summoned Addalyne to the ready room, she passed Shelley on the way to her quarters to pick up the folder containing the DNA results. She stopped and talked to Shelley and moment and then said, “I have told Joshua that my DNA tests showed that he and I could not bear children if we ever decided to commit to a long term relationship. Joshua is a strong man. He will not show his hurt feelings in front of me; however, he may need a close friend to talk with. If you are around him, please give him your ear and possibly your shoulder for a moment or two. I love the man, but I feel our relationship may be over.”
When Addalyne stepped into the ready room of the Yutaka III, Tabatha said, “Jill is aboard The Empress and is expecting us. I need to contact Shelley to take over command of this vessel and then we can be on our way. We have been invited to the evening meal with Jill and her crew after our meeting.”
Tabatha worked with the computer to contact Shelley and ask her report to the ready room. When Shelley entered the room, she walked up to Addalyne and hugged her, then turned to the skipper and listened to the skipper’s words. Once Shelley took over command of the Yutaka III, she contacted the IFTT and teleported Tabatha and Addalyne to the ready room of The Empress.
When Addalyne, Tabatha, Trish and Jill had seated themselves in the control room of The Empress, Addalyne looked at Jill and then began explaining the reason she had requested the meeting. She said, “My mother’s parents lived at IFTT Headquarters on the Regnieloc Asteroid in the distant future, around the years 53,000 AD. When the end of time cycle came around, my mother, Angela Rebecca Yutaka, also known simply as Rebecca, flew the original Yutaka Starship, which your father, Ronnie Yutaka designed and programmed, back in time to the year, 20,914 AD. Rebecca then changed the name of the vessel to, The Empress, and registered it with the IFTT. When Ronnie Yutaka turned twenty-one years old, Rebecca, my mother, turned the vessel over to him. Just before she teleported off The Empress for the last time, she wiped the computer database clean of any record of the future adventures. Later, my mother, Rebecca married my father, William Smith and they conceived me. My father was a Demords and I am a True Blood Demords through and through. I know this information is hard to believe, but please understand that I have the documentation to prove it, as does the IFTT. They have placed most of that documentation here in this envelope. I have two copies of my mother’s Time Travel Computer logs that my mother saved before she wiped the memory card of The Empress to prove my claims.”
Addalyne continued by saying, “Jill, I mean, Skipper, I had the computer aboard the Yutaka III help me with the math to insure I got it right. I am your aunt. Even though I am twenty-four years old and you are three hundred and sixty four years old, the math does not lie. I had the computer printout the information so you can help verify all of this. I am not here telling you this for financial gain or to exploit this newly found Yutaka status, I am simply here presenting this information to prevent you or your family from hearing it from some loose tongue at the Genealogy Department at IFTT Headquarters. I fully expect you to investigate and substantiate the information with the IFTT or anyone else that might be able to verify my heritage. My relationship with the Yutaka family does not matter, I wish to continue my tour aboard the Yutaka III as an electrical engineer and then move to the next position where you or the IFTT places me. Skipper Yutaka, you must understand that there appears to be some misinformation about some of your parents ancestors. The documentation the IFTT discovered on the planet Quantum proves the errors.”
Addalyne opened her mouth to continue speaking, and then closed it. Then she looked into Jill’s eyes and said, “I have said enough. You have the original copies of the documents that the IFTT sent to me this day. All I request is a copy of them so I can place them in the vault aboard the Yutaka III.”
Jill passed the folder to Trish Wilson. Trish stood up, opened the control room door and began copying the documents. Addalyne sat as still in her chair as possible while trying to remain calm. She played with her fingers, fiddled with her hair and then began to squirm around in her chair. Tabatha finally said, “Sit still girl. You are among friends. No one is going to teleport you to some distant asteroid to hush you up.” Those words would haunt Tabatha for weeks to come.
When Trish returned and closed the control room door behind her, she passed both the originals and the copies to Jill. Jill passed the originals to Addalyne and said, “I would prefer that you have the originals. I will place the copies in my safe. While we were talking, my computer has been busy. It has double checked the documentation and read the computer memory logs from the original Yutaka supplied to you by the IFTT. There appears to be no question that the information is accurate and legitimate. I now have only one thing to do.” Jill stood up, motioned to Addalyne to stand up and then she wrapped her arms around Addalyne. She hugged her long and hard before saying, “The computer has explained to me why I knew nothing of my Aunt Addalyne until now. I fully understand how your mother, Rebecca, time traveled back to the 201st century and brought the Yutaka home. Welcome to the Yutaka family, Addalyne. I will introduce you to my crew and family during the evening meal.”
Once the meeting was over, Trish and Jill took Tabatha and Addalyne on a tour of The Empress. The vessel was truly impressive. It was twice as large as the Yutaka III and had a fully functioning growing room where the crew raised vegetables and fruit; something the crew of the Yutaka III had not yet begun to plant. As Jill and Trish talked, Addalyne wondered if she would ever have half as much knowledge as these two incredible women. They were simply amazing.
When the two women arrived in the cargo bay, Trish stepped up so her nose was inches from Addalyne and said, “When we hired you, we understood you had an implant. However, you did not inform us that you suspected you were a relative of Jill. As far as I am concerned, you withheld that information during the hiring process. Pirates or anyone else who were intent on sabotage, or wished to blackmail my crew could have used that information. Withholding information like that at the time of your hiring is grounds for me to fire you immediately. I am going to take you to the ready room and teleport you to the IFTT Headquarters where you will explain all of this to General Williams. Addalyne Yutaka, I now terminate your employment on any Yutaka owned starship.”
Trish took hold of Addalyne’s wrist and tried to pull her arm behind her back. When Trish’s eyes cleared, she found herself lying on her back, looking up into Addalyne’s angry face. Just as Trish tried to leg sweep Addalyne, Jill and Tabatha stepped into the cargo bay. They watched as Addalyne sidestepped the leg sweep and took two steps back. When Trish began to rise up off the floor, Addalyne said, “If you wish to play nice, I will let you up off the floor. If you are intent on grabbing hold of me again, I will alter your bone structure to resemble that of a twisted pretzel.”
When Trish quickly regained her footing, she raised her hands and took an offense stance. Jill spoke to Trish and said, “Partner, the computer just informed me that Addalyne is not someone who will take your playful attitude in stride. She is quite capable of turning you into that pretzel she just described. She is Demords trained and Demords strong. Please stand down.”
As Trish relaxed her stance and stepped back, Addalyne said, “Trish, if you will escort me to the ready room, without touching me, I will allow you to teleport me to IFTT Headquarters as you wish. Tabatha, Skipper, would you teleport my belongings to me at headquarters?”
Trish led the way and Addalyne followed. When they arrived in the ready room, Trish contacted the IFTT and explained that she was sending Addalyne to them to answer to General Wilson.
General Williams was standing in his office at the headquarters building when Trish’s message arrived. The general spoke to the radio operator and agreed to the transfer. The general knew Addalyne well and was anxious to find out why Trish had relieved her from duty aboard the
Yutaka III.
When Addalyne stabilized in the control room of IFTT Headquarters, she turned and looked at General Williams as he spoke to her. She explained that Trish was angry that she had not disclosed her suspicions that Jill might be a relative at the time of her hiring. The general said, “Let’s get you registered and have a security badge issued for you. I will arrange quarters for you while we sort this out. If Trish is determined to follow through and forbid you from returning to the Yutaka III, I will place you on staff here at headquarters. I have a science officer who would love to put your talents to good use around here.”
Once Addalyne had a badge and a room assignment, she headed off to the cafeteria to get some food. She had not eaten since last night at the evening meal. She had missed breakfast; working to help Tabatha seemed more important at the time and she was too emotional at lunchtime to eat anything. Now she was starving.
When she had filled her plate, she paid for her meal with the remaining funds she had in her flight suit. The cashier said, “You can pay with your security badge if you like. My computer shows that your former employer deposited your wages and termination bonus in the bank here at IFTT Headquarters. If you step around to this side of the monitor you can see your fund balance.” When Addalyne looked at the screen, she knew that Trish would be pissed again if she discovered the huge termination bonus Tabatha had just paid her. When she had finished viewing her funds, the cashier said, “I will now mark your bank account information as private, only viewable by you. If you visit the bank on the first floor in the morning, they will help you create a login so you can monitor your funds on any secure monitor in the facility. Your security badge will pay for any purchases you wish to make today and tomorrow. Tomorrow when you go to the bank, they will update the security chip in your wrist. Then you can simply wave your arm over any scanner and pay for your purchases.”
The Chronicles of Addalyne Yutaka Page 6
