The white robe leaned forward murmuring, “Good to see you again, Braden.”
“Good to see you, Bashar. How’s married life?”
“I have no complaints. Solanje sends her greetings.”
Elise turned around to study them, which silenced any further conversation as the whole lineup stared back. So that was Richard’s younger brother. Reports she’d received indicated that he had explored several star systems and battled hostile aliens. Were they the same ones her fleet had engaged? If so, that might explain why the creatures had fought so violently.
She wanted to get him alone and trade stories, but at that moment, Chrissy, Amanda, and Herb arrived.
She saw Chrissy’s bewildered eyes scan the room until she spied Elise. Then, she yanked on Amanda’s hand. “There’s Commander Fujeint. Are we going to stand near her?” she asked in a voice loud enough that the whole room heard.
Amanda leaned down. “Right next to her. Everyone in the fleet will see us on their monitors, so be sure to wave.”
Casting a glance at Merek, Elise noticed a stillness overcome her guard as soon as he saw Amanda enter. They’d grown up together with Trajan and the original Amanda, who took on the role of parents to raise their clones. Apparently, something was going on that Elise was unaware of, but Chrissy’s arrival diverted her from any more speculation.
Amanda gave Elise a quick smile and grasped Chrissy’s hand tighter. She nodded at Merek and murmured a greeting, which Merek responded to with a grunt.
Herb stood to her left, and his pale blue eyes and white hair stood out in spite of his small stature. He was Tate’s pick to represent the older folks in the fleet to the Alysians.
The door jammed with cameramen and reporters who filtered into the room. Richard escorted a man, who she soon realized was President Armstrong, to a seat behind her.
He tilted forward to address the short, muscular man. “Greetings, Shenji. Did you have trouble getting here?”
The man groaned. “The path was perilous. Even now, the winds blow strong, scouring the land and turning the fertile Ching T’Karre into a desert.”
She heard the president rustle behind her. “I’m sorry to hear it. Richard seems to think these visitors can help.”
“If they can make the rain come and not some alien apocalyptic disease, I would welcome them.”
Elise pretended not to understand what was being said, but she knew these leaders were important for her people if they wanted to make a home here.
At the back of the room, Tate raised his hand to her. A man shouted, “All right everyone. Cameras will roll in five.”
The room grew quiet.
Elise cleared her throat and felt her palms sweat. She still struggled with the language, but Tate had approved her speech and made her rehearse it until her jaw ached.
The man behind the camera chopped his hand down, signaling for her to begin.
She walked up to a center podium and gazed into the camera with a smile. “Greetings, good people of Alysia. I am Commander Elise Fujeint. We come to Alysia from a world called Earth, which is located in the sol system at the edge of this galaxy.”
The panorama of Alysia became a whirling sea of stars with one highlighted. It began blinking. She pointed toward it.
She let them study the image. “We are as human as you are. We even share the same DNA.”
Another pause. “We could be your ancient ancestors.”
Mutters rippled around the room.
She waited for the murmuring to die away. “We hope to help you return this world to its former beauty.” She pointed at the projection, which showed scenes of an earlier Alysia.
From out of nowhere, an object came flying and cracked against her black top, oozing a yellow viscous liquid down her front. Merek stepped in front of her just in time to catch what Elise realized was a second egg across his chest.
A voice cried out, “You’ll bring nothing but disease and more mouths to feed. Go home. We don’t want aliens here.”
Immediately, security wrestled the man to the ground and whisked him away, but the damage was done. Chaos broke out in the room. People shouted and pushed each other. Chrissy began crying, and those seated behind Elise vanished... except for Braden. Coming up to her, he said, “I’m so sorry. I apologize for my people’s rude behavior.”
Richard rushed up. “Elise, are you hurt?”
She straightened. “My dignity is a bit bruised, but otherwise I’m fine. I believe we have a problem, Richard.”
Braden shook his head. “It’s merely a handful of rabble rousers, but it looks like there’s been a security breach.”
Glaring at him, Richard took her arm and said, “Let’s get away from here.”
She turned to the cameras, but all but one camera was off. She gazed at it in despair. “We only want to help make your world beautiful again.”
The red light winked at her and went out.
Chapter 12
Fleet
Elise sat at her desk on the space station, running her hands through her hair. Grabbing several strands, she shrieked, which caused Merek to come running, phaser drawn.
“Shoot me. Just shoot me now,” she moaned.
“What? Where?” Carefully, he peered around the small office as if assassins would spring out at any moment.
“How did mother do it? How did she deal with crisis after crisis and retain her sanity? I’ll never be able to take her place.”
Holstering his weapon, Merek grunted, “Oh.” He paused. “Trajan said she took it one step at a time and kept moving. She really had no choice. You don’t either.”
“Oh, yes I do. I’m going to offer my resignation. I can’t be here on the station and run the fleet at the same time.”
“Sure you can. Think of the station as the flagship.”
“Gah! This tin can a flagship?”
Merek gazed around. “It’s getting better. We’re cleaning it up, making it look almost decent. Give it time.”
She stood up. “Get a shuttle ready. I’m going to The New Found Hope to call a fleetwide conference. I’m sure they have questions and complaints. I need to face them. I’ll not run away from failure. Mother never shirked her responsibilities and neither will I.”
***
Now returned to her former quarters on board The New Found Hope, Elise watched the familiar holographs of her captains arguing around an artificial wood table on the communications platform. Chay T’Sang had assured her that if she needed to set up holo conferencing in the space station, his tech team could do it. But here was home, and she paused a moment to study the familiar faces as they took their place once more at what she thought of as “the captains’ table. Added this one time, Dr. John Luttrell lounged next to her prepared to offer medical information.
Captain James Bradley tapped his communicator and shouted, “What’s with the Fujeints and poultry, Commander?”
That broke the tension, which had been building over the recent egg-throwing broadcast, and several captains laughed at his remark.
Shaking her head, she answered, “Damned if I know.”
She had promoted Tango to the captain of The New Found Hope and was pleased to see him sitting in her usual spot.
“I say we nuke the bastards,” Captain Longstaff yelled. “Maybe then they’d show more respect.”
“Shut up, Henry. That’s hardly a solution,” Captain Bradley retorted, waving an arm that rippled through the other captain’s holo projection.
“All right, calm down. It’s not a good idea.” She put authority into her voice, but they continued to shout.
Enough was enough. As long as she commanded the fleet, which might not be that long, she would at least receive respect, egg wash or no.
“Silence!” All heads swiveled her way.
Their attention finally captured, she carried on, “There’s a lot to cover and you need to act like captains, not children. But I do want to say it’s good to see your faces again. I regret the
humiliating incident with the eggs during the broadcast. I had hoped it would work out differently. We have some natives we’re going to have to win over if we want to stay.”
“I say we leave.” A belligerent Sergei Kusov of the Stoyki spoke up. “To hell with them.”
She held up a hand. “That option is on the table, but right now we need to regroup before we travel anywhere. I’ve brought Dr. Luttrell into the discussion because several ships have discovered a resurgence of our chicken virus that is disturbing. It seems that poultry can’t leave us alone.”
With that comment, agitated talk started up again.
Raising his hand, John indicated he wanted to speak.
He cleared his throat and looked around. “We have been able to arrest further spread of the poultry virus, but we don’t know how many infected are still in cryo. I encourage any of the captains who haven’t updated their nanites to do so immediately. Then, triage your people as we are running low on supplies.”
That announcement spawned increasing alarm.
“I’m making serum as fast as I can, but it requires ingredients that are in short supply on the ships. However, this planet has what we need. We must gather critical resources before any ship decides to leave.”
“Listen to me,” Elija interrupted. “Before anyone fires up their antimatter cyclons, I visited the planet with Commander Fujeint. We now possess a large parcel of unspoiled land for us to settle, thanks to her negotiations.”
Elise felt relieved to hear someone argue for staying.
Elija continued, “There’s an abundance of game, fish, and fertile soil for crops. This fleet has traveled hundreds of years and trillions of miles, facing danger and hardships to find this one single place where we could survive. Here we might not only survive, but thrive if we simply exercise a little patience. Not all the inhabitants want us to leave.”
“Doesn’t look that way,” Captain Spencer grumbled.
Elise jumped in to support her clone. “Captain Fujeint’s right. Study the information. View the pictures. Then decide.”
John leaned forward. “Also, the Medlab needs more time. Anyone brought out of cryo without nanites is subject to stroke or heart attack. Cryo weakens the body’s organs. That’s what happened to Captain Fujeint. She wouldn’t have died if she had updated her nanites, so tell your people that procrastination isn’t an option. Don’t allow her death to be in vain.” John held up a hand as his voice choked on his last words, and he gestured for Elise to take the floor.
She added, “Anyone thinking about leaving better inventory his ship first. It might be smarter to wait here for now and resupply… build up depleted resources.”
Their remarks were met with a lot of grumbling.
Elise continued, “The Alysian leaders have assured me that those first on station will be able to descend soon, and that means you need to ready a second batch of ship passengers to enter the station.”
Captain Naomi Johnson of Pilgrim’s Pride interrupted, “It will leave us an even smaller population to operate the ships.”
“But it gives us is a better idea of who wants to go and who wants to stay.” Elise scanned the flickering faces. “Find out who is prepared to live on Alysia. That should guide your selection for the next wave of station occupants.”
Captain Longstaff raised a hand. “How long is this process going to take? We need a leader who will be firmer with the natives. I don’t want to be stuck here forever.”
“Yes, and that’s the second piece of business I want to discuss. I’m willing to offer my resignation as commander if you are unhappy with the job I’m doing.”
Her announcement brought utter silence. She examined each face in an effort evaluate how they felt.
“Who would replace you?” Captain Spencer asked.
Naomi suggested, “Captain Bradley?”
“No way,” answered Bradley, rubbing his nose. “I wouldn’t have the patience for all your stupidity.”
“Do we want to vote?”
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s hold a vote of confidence. If I don’t get a majority vote, you select a new commander.
Surprisingly, she received a majority—if not a unanimous vote of confidence. And a few faces weren’t as cocky.
Chapter 13
Missing
Pulling his chair toward Elise’s desk back on station, Richard tapped his communicator. “Fifty! Fifty people want to sponsor Amanda. Forty want Chrissy, and at least thirty women want Merek.” He sat shaking his head. “And that last camera shot of you has gone viral. Pure gold.” He thrust an image of that anguished plea into her face.
She pushed it away with a scowl. “No one is taking Merek. I need him for protection.”
Richard pretended not to hear as he studied his new comm. She’d persuaded the captains to let him have one, and now she regretted the decision.
“Only five want Herb, but that’s not bad, considering how old he is.”
The man must be deaf. “My people aren’t up for grabs to any Alysian that can pay enough!” She slammed a hand down on the desk. “I don’t sell my people to yours.”
He looked up. “These people will take them in, provide a home, a job, and explain the Alysian culture to them. They will protect them. As for Merek, you’ll have Angel to protect you.” The eyebrows raised.
Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she answered, “He blinks in and out of air. Besides, he’s not Terran or even human.”
“Trace is in contact with the Enjelise as we speak. Actually, they approached him after I convinced them to watch over you.”
“You?”
“I told them you were important to me.”
“And what? Now they’re going to drop their lives and watch over me on your say so?”
“The Enjelise, at a certain stage of their existence, take on a mission and with that responsibility comes special powers. Angel would take on human form and receive certain augmented powers if he accepts the calling.”
“Seriously? Because you tell them that I’m special, a highly evolved being dedicates his life to being my guardian angel?”
Richard regarded the ceiling, glanced sideways, and wrinkled his nose. “That pretty much sums it up. Oh, by the way, I’m included under his protection too if you accept.”
“That’s a deal breaker.”
“He’s a powerful being that would be good to have on your side.” Richard paused. “You have to admit that he’s been effective. How many times has he saved your life so far?”
She paused, acknowledging the point.
“Before you decide, meet him. Let me set up an introduction.” He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I’ll be in touch.” Then, he brushed off his pants and slipped out the door before she could argue any further.
She suspected Richard beat a hasty retreat on the theory that no outright negative was a positive, and he wanted to leave before that assumption was questioned too strongly.
***
Jay Luttrell walked into the husbandry section and immediately smelled a whiff of fur, feces, and rabbit food floating aromatically throughout what they had dubbed “The Farm.” At one lab table, the head of a small blonde bent over a round object. In her hands, she held a twelve-inch, hollow, plastic ball with her nose pressed to its surface.
As he approached, she was saying, “Now, Oscar, if you do a good job, you’ll get treats. You need the exercise. You’re getting fat.”
“What do you have there, Chrissy?”
Her head popped up. “Oh, hello, Dr. Luttrell. I’m getting ready to take Oscar out for some exercise. He’s getting fat. At least I think that’s it. He could be pregnant again.” Inside, he noticed a pudgy gebbit.
Jay scanned the lab, noting the large number of gebbits. “Pregnant? And it’s named Oscar?”
“Oh, each of them carries both sexes, and they’re always cuddling. That causes lots of babies.”
Jay noted a large number of gebbits in the cages, and it hadn’t b
een all that long ago since the infamous gebbit caper had happened.
A lanky, sandy-haired teenager sauntered up. “Hey, Dr. Luttrell. What’s up?”
“How did you get so many gebbits?”
The kid’s brow narrowed, and he shot a glance at the murmuring girl, then pursed his lips. “I’d have thought that you, of all people, understood the process, being a doctor and all. All these in here are related to Oscar and Bitty.”
Jay waved his hand around. “From just two gebbits?”
The kid shrugged. “What can I tell you? It’s true. Actually, there were more, but we passed some along to the other ships. They’re tasty, but the problem is that the kids turn them into pets and then make a fuss when they’re slated for the stewpot.”
“It would seem they are exceedingly fertile.”
“That’s an understatement.” Bryce nodded. “And, here they have no natural predator. On Alysia, everything eats them, so they have learned to be adept at escaping predators.”
Chrissy tugged on his pants. “Here’s how you give them exercise. They need exercise or they get fat.” She put the ball down and, from inside, the gebbit started to roll the ball away. “See?” She laughed and ran after it
The ball whirled out the lab’s exit.
“Don’t go too far, Chrissy. I promised your dad I’d keep an eye out.”
The answer was a fading giggle.
The kid held out a hand. “Hey, I’m Bryce. I’m in charge of the husbandry unit today. I don’t know what I’m doing here, watching gebbits and kids, but here I am.”
Extending his own hand, Jay shook the kid’s. “Call me Jay. Dr. Luttrell’s a bit formal. Most people think of my father when they say it. I’ll take two of your gebbits if you can spare them. It’s for scientific research.”
Bryce put his hands in two big pockets of his lab apron and rocked back on his heels. “Doc, now don’t take this wrong, but you must keep a sharp eye on these critters, or you’ll have a lab full of gebbits before you know it. You’d better take the one and be safe. I’m responsible here right now. My head would roll if things got out of hand. We monitor gebbits very closely.”
Somewhat Alien: The Station (Terran Trilogy Book 2) Page 9
