“Can I eat my midrise meal first?”
“Actually, that’s a great idea. You’ll be eating in one of the commons areas, perfect bait activity. We had an operational zone picked out for this already, so I have teams in place. You can head over there now; we’ll stay in touch and track you like before. Remember, no direct communication back to us as soon as you leave here.”
“This is getting to be a habit.”
****
Narmer entered the commons area, trying to find something to eat. There were various stalls of prepared food and well as food dispensers that could make things from a very broad menu.
Standing in front of a dispenser, Narmer was trying to decide what to have. He wanted something new, exciting. But after a few twentynauks of trying to choose, he decided on an old favorite; it was just easier.
With his dispensed food on a tray, he maneuvered around the other people eating towards an open table near a walkway through the commons area. He sat and was trying to enjoy the meal, but he was apprehensive about meeting Deides again while being a target for Bebk.
He was reading some newsfeeds on his p-tab when he sensed someone close by. Startled he looked up and saw Deides standing near the table.
“Do you mind if I sit?” she asked.
“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?”
“Grow up Narmer. You’ve come out way ahead in this little melodrama. You’re here, aren’t you? You could be huddled up somewhere in the dark with the rest of the fools on Kepteyn. You should be grateful to me.”
“Grateful? What about the number of people that are dead because of all of this? And the people that should be here instead of me, you, and the Keepers? People of true virtue. My being here is stained with the blood of countless people, almost all of whom I don’t even know.”
“Narmer, those people weren’t in a position to take care of themselves or to take advantage of the opportunities made available to them. What good would they have been to us? They weren’t making us a better people. They were a burden. That’s why the Keepers are required. We can guide the future of our race. Mold it such that we can reach our ultimate potential. For too long, we’ve allowed the parasites to suck our vitality. We have allowed people to make individual decisions that were harmful to our society as a whole. We can make that change here. By the time our journey ends, all those generations hence, we will be ready to burst upon a new world and in a short time, surpass any ‘greatness’ that we ever would have had on Kepteyn.”
“The Pilgrim Project has already shown our potential,” Narmer countered, “our people have sacrificed in every sense of the word to make sure that we would survive. The very, very few that are continuing on stand on the shoulders of those that built Project Pilgrim. Especially those that kept our society going while the project was being completed. It will be an everlasting testament to our people.”
“We will succeed. Our purity of our goal will ensure it.”
Shaking his head, “Where do you see this going right now? You’ve been detained and will be once again. Probably permanently. Ock is dead. Bebk is on the run. The authorities are well aware of you- “
“Ock is dead? How?” she pleaded.
“He was trying to convince me to take a walk outside. Jegit stopped him.”
Staring at her, Narmer asked, “What do you think is going to happen when Bebk shows up here? How’s he going to resolve the situation that is beneficial to you, and him?”
“He’s a man of many capabilities. He’s gotten us this far. He’s exactly what I’ve been looking for; I have complete faith in him.”
“I’m confused, why did you come see me the past set to join with me then if he means that much to you?”
Smiling, “I didn’t say that he was all I needed. He knows that about me. Besides, how could I not want the hero of the hour? I’m attracted to fame and power. It’s the ultimate aphrodisiac.”
“Bebk will take care of me; he’s done so in the past. I’m already getting excited. This should be fun.”
“Narmer, don’t look around, but Bebk is making his way over to you. We are in position, so stay calm.”
“He’s here, isn’t he?” Deides asked expectantly.
“Yes,” Narmer said looking down at his p-tab.
“Hello, Deides. And you must be Narmer?” Bebk stated as he walked up.
“It is unfortunate that it has come to this. But we have too many Keepers in critical positions and too much at stake. I will miss you Deides.”
Then he raised his mag gun and shot Deides in the head. Narmer saw her head snap back and she began to fall back over her chair. Purely on reflex, he started a dive towards the floor. As he was going down, he saw Bebk aim at him, and he could tell what was coming. Just before the expected shot burrowed in his head, he saw Bebk jerk numerous times. Bebk was still able to fire, but his aim was off, and he hit Narmer in the left shoulder, spinning him out of his seat and onto the floor. Staring back up towards Bebk, he watched him fall face first to the deck. Then the pain exploded in his shoulder.
There was screaming and crying. Narmer realized that he was doing most of it. Sitting on the deck, slowly calming down, he was holding his destroyed shoulder together with his right hand. Blood was running freely through his fingers. From where he was sitting, he could see Deides laying on her back. The top half of her head was gone. Her eyes were open and staring at the false sky of the commons area. He started crying again. Jegit ran up, calling into his comms for medical assistance.
“Narmer, stay with me, help is coming,” Jegit was calmly telling him.
Narmer was not feeling so well. The light was getting dimmer. He leaned over to vomit, and he continued down to the floor and passed out in it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The light was on his face. He heard his name, from far away. But he did not stir. It was like a memory. And it was peaceful.
“Narmer…Narmer… Narmer, wake up,” said the soft spirit voice.
Narmer with much reluctance, opened his eyes just the slightest. He could sense someone close, but he could not see them.
“Narmer, I need you to wake up. It is important,” the spirit voice said.
Opening his eyes further, he could see shapes start to take form. Someone was hovering over him.
“Narmer, can you speak to me?...Narmer?“ the spirit voice again.
His eyes now fully open, he was looking at the spirit. It had to be a spirit. He knew that face, the voice…
“Meilen,” he croaked.
“Yes, Narmer, it’s me. I need you to remember for me. Can you tell me what you’ve been doing?” she asked.
Trying to think of something. There was something that he needed to remember.
“Where am I?”
“Tell me what you remember, I need to hear you tell me.”
“My midrise meal. I didn’t get to eat my meal!”
“Yes? What else?”
“Shouting, crying…I was shot! And Deides…”
“That’s good. From what he’s saying, I’m thinking that there was no further damage. Between the loss of blood and shock, we didn’t think that he was going to make it there for a while,” Meilen explained, “My concern was brain damage due to the blood loss and how slowly he came back once we repaired the shoulder. Now it looks like he’s turned the corner.”
“Meilen, what are you doing here? You are supposed to be on Prominence,” he said hoarsely.
“I am, and so are you. You gave us a bit of a scare. But it looks like you are on the mend. We’ve been waiting for you to recover from the anesthesia. You had to show us that your mental abilities were unaffected before we could continue.”
“It wasn’t that bad, in comparison to the other guests’ lunch experience.”
Narmer turned toward the speaker; it was Jegit.
Narmer was still confused, trying to put together what he remembered. And he was curious about his surroundings. He could see the soft white walls lit from behin
d. He was lying in a bed. He noticed the wide strap across his stomach that was loosely cinched. He tried to sit up, but when he tried to use his left arm to push himself up, it would not respond. Looking over at his arm, he noticed that his left side was immobilized in a soft looking, but very stiff wrap the started at his neck and wound down to this wrist.
“We had to remove a lot of destroyed tissue, bone and muscle. We were able to replace the joint with an artificial one. It will take some twentyrises before that is fully usable. But the prognosis is good. Like I was explaining to Jegit, the loss of blood was our biggest concern. You were all but dead when you arrived. You came in right after the last midrise, and it took us almost two chirps to stabilize your vitals before we could operate. By the early set, you were closed up and brought here to recover,” Meilen recounted.
“You were taking a longer time than expected to come around, so we're starting to suspect more internal or brain damage. If we weren’t getting the expected response this rise, we would have to start scanning your brain. But it looks like that’s behind you now.”
“I’m so surprised to see you,” he whispered.
“I couldn’t let the hero of Nunet fall into the hands of just any Healer.”
He smiled weakly, “Some hero, two times I was almost killed during the span of one early rise.”
“You weren’t going be killed…” Jegit snidely interjected.
“That’s not what my Healer said.”
“Well, you’re here now. You don’t look so bad, and you smell better than the last time I saw you. That’s such a Greenie act, losing your midrise meal,” Jegit chided with a smile.
“I am officially done with your Section. I am retired.”
Jegit, smiling, “That is for a later discussion. I wanted to get you updated on what’s happened since your meeting with Bebk.”
“With the death of Bebk, Deides, and Ock, we no longer have any leads on any other Keepers. They’ve gone quiet. We are hopeful that they plan on staying that way for the Departure. Any mischief that they might perform at this point would be counterproductive to their aims of bringing others to the Light.”
“That was a little surprising about Deides. Tough break. I was half convinced that her involvement was minor, on the edges. What you found out about the Keepers was completely unexpected. With new eyes, we will have to revisit all the intel we’ve put together the past cycles on the Keepers. Which isn’t much. We’d heard a little about them, but couldn’t make any real connection to any major, or minor events during that time.”
Jegit continued, “The news from Kepteyn is bad. There has been widespread unrest and destruction by members of the various death cults. Armed groups are robbing and killing normal citizens as well as each other. The Boha Home Guard, whose members were too old to be Selected, have mobilized to tamp down as much of the unrest as possible. There are some zones that they’ve been able to secure that are acting somewhat normal this ria. They hope to enlarge these zones over time. The fear is that upon the actual Departure, the truly dangerous elements will release the horrors of the Ancients on the public.”
“Narmer, I need to get back to my Section. We are five chirps from Departure, at midrise. I’m hoping that things stay calm on Prominence. But that hasn’t been the case at any point since we left for the launchport. I’ll be back later to discuss your future,” Jegit said with a sly smile as he turned to leave.
“I’m retired!” was Narmer’s strenuous reply.
Narmer turned back to look at Meilen.
“Um, I’m still in shock, I think. I cannot believe that you’re here. I can’t believe that I’m here.“
“So, tell me about your life, Narmer, what have you been up to?” Meilen asked.
Chuckling, “It was pretty dull and quiet up until the past few rises, I was just waiting for the End Times. The highlight of my day was…” he said as he started searching around his bed.
“What are you looking for?”
“My p-tab. Did anyone find it?”
“it’s here, behind you,” she said as she reached over him and grabbed it off the ledge above the head of the bed.
Narmer could smell her, a lot of memories came rushing back.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he thumbed open his p-tab.
“Here in the righthand corner. Finally, it says ‘0’… I’ve been counting down for cycles, dreading it. But now it’s here; I’m here, you’re here. I never imaged this ria like this.”
Smiling, “Ok other than a boring countdown to your fate, what have you been doing with yourself?”
Narmer recounted his past since they last saw each other. Speeding over the wasted cycles. But as he started in on the last half-twentyrias, he got into great detail.
“…then there was lunch, shooting, blood, and me here, with you.”
The shock on her face stopped him.
“I cannot believe all that has gone on. The destruction of Nunet was traumatic enough for me to just hear about. For you, that was just the first part of a full ria of mayhem. And more excitement than most get in a lifetime.”
“Well, I was almost killed twice, so enough for two lifetimes…” he said with a shy smile.
“Your turn, tell me about being Selected and coming up here. How long have you been here?”
Sitting down and scooting closer, she started, “My spal, Kuhf and I came up two cycles ago. After getting trained to work in low gravity and the void, our priority was to develop this,” she was waving an arm around the Section, “we designed and equipped this facility and other Healing Centers around the ship.”
“But first, most of our initial work was done in the replication and manufacturing domes that surround Prominence. Let me show you.”
Meilen got up and dragged a vid on a wheeled stand over to the bedside.
“I’m showing scenes of the surface of Chon-su around Prominence. You can see the various domes and construction spaces almost completely covering this area of Chon-su. The pre-fab modules were constructed, connected, wired, plumbed, etc. and tested extensively in these large bays,” she said pointing them out.
“We were trained to troubleshoot and repair every possible item in the Section. After all was ready, the modules were disconnected, brought aboard and then reconnected in place. I know what’s behind, under, or over everything you can see around and everything you can’t. We only get the one chance, so we have to be prepared. All this in addition to my normal duties as a Healer.”
“For the hundred thousand citizens on board, there are two hundred Healers and support staff. Once we catch and mate up with Vosc-nu, we will start up the school to train future healers. They will be needed on our long journey. “
“It is a little different having the rest of your life already planned out and scheduled, but also comforting in a way,” she noted.
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had a plan for a while, and I still don’t. But I do have some time now that I’m ‘retired’. I’ll figure something out.”
“I might have some ideas…”
Narmer turned towards the voice. Marda was on her way in through the hatch.
“I came to check on you before I headed to the Engineering Section. We are less than four chirps from Departure. It is a momentous ria, and I wanted to see if you’d like to watch the event from Engineering. That’s where most of the action is,” she said smiling.
“I don’t see why not, we could set up a transport bed in there if you have room. He’s just going to be spending time healing up and not moving much for a few twentyrias. He can sit around there as well as around here. I’ll get him sent down within the chirp,“ Meilen offered.
Narmer was swiveling his head back and forth between the two women as they made plans for him.
“I have to get going. See you there,” Marda said as she squeezed his good hand, turned, and left the room.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” he whined.
“Not really.”
CHAPT
ER THIRTY-THREE
“…outside of our virtual tour, it would take you a full chirp to walk the half teru down the length of Prominence, uninjured,” Marda said smiling, “and almost as long to walk around her internal circumference.”
She was pointing at one of the vid screens that she had arranged around Narmer’s bed that they had put along one long wall. The wall contained the emergency energy storage cells, so he was out of the way enough.
“Prominence is based on the same hexagonal cylinder as any of our ships larger than a shuttle. The outer hull is armored and studded with sensors. The next layer inside of the hull is twenty spans deep and filled with water. This layer performs a number of functions. One function it performs is as a shield from the ria rays that are prevalent throughout the void. Another is it acts as a stable flywheel for Prominence once she spins up to provide gravity. It also acts as a heat sink to extract heat from the environment and slowly leak it into the void. And, of course, it is the storage for our water.”
“The next layer is varied. There are bands that run on the inside of what looks like the ground. From the ‘thrust tail’ end of the ship, the first band is the Engineering Section where we are now. Propulsion, environmental, docks, power generation, and fuel storage are all contained here. The controls and connections for the overhead Ria simulation are here as well. The simulation runs from one end of the ship to the other down the center of the cylinder. It’s designed to mimic the output of Ria so that the plants, animals, and people get all of the benefits of its heat, light, energy and health qualities.”
“The next band is manufacturing and commerce. The production and economic centers of our new world. The replicators, assemblers and all the necessary raw materials are stored here.”
Pointing to each band in turn of the model on the vid, Marda continued, “Moving over to the next band, it contains recreation centers, art halls, eating and entertainment establishments, religious centers, health centers, competition fields and nature parks. The Council is located here as well.”
Pilgrim One: Prominence (Project Pilgrim Book 1) Page 15
