Approaching Oblivion (Jezebel's Ladder Book 4)
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“Hope for our race. I knew I could heal him. Even the worst of us can be loved. Being loved can make us become more. I knew I could make him see again, well enough to pilot.”
“See again?”
“You didn’t hear? Exiting that close to the sun blinded him. Toby kept his literal word about not killing Lou, but still tortured him.”
This revelation forced Yvette to sit again. “Mon Dieu! I tried to stop him.”
“I know. We all know. Toby was bent on revenge.” Mercy fretted at her necklace. “You saved my man. If there’s anything you ever need, ask us any time of day or night for the rest of our lives. We owe you that much and more.”
“Your man?”
“We pair-bonded, and we’re married now.” Mercy pulled up the cord around her neck to display Lou’s flight-school ring. Choosing to bond through the Collective Unconscious, a couple could share emotions and even mental talents like Mercy’s special density sense. On the downside, humans knew of no way to break this connection. When one partner died, the other wasted away soon after.
“I’m so happy for you.” Yvette sniffed. “Sorry. I cry at the drop of a hat these days.”
“It’s my fault. I was off having the time of my life while you were locked up.”
“You thought I was dead, but you deduced the truth. You rescued me.”
“Not fast enough.”
When silence stretched for too long, Yvette prodded. “What else happened while I was gone? People don’t want to say anything to me. They think I’m too fragile.”
“We use a new soap now,” Mercy said. “Rachael swore she could taste the old one in the recycled water.”
“Something important. How did you hurt your hand?”
“Toby attacked me with a scalpel after I broke his nose.”
“I was hoping he would evolve, learn. He’s selfish, but I never thought he would—” Yvette gave up any pretense of helping with the livestock and sat on the edge of a trough.
Mercy filled the trough with water as she explained. “It’s not entirely his fault. I found out that every time we immerse the ship under Einstein’s Rubber Sheet into subspace, it twists our brain chemistry. We think that’s why only Actives were allowed to come on this journey. The radiation released as we pass through a nexus makes us feel like we’re reading a page.” The golden sheets of paper distributed by the aliens on Earth each contained a lesson that transmitted directly to the brain, often rewiring parts. The experience was always life-altering and usually traumatic. “That’s why Toby was so obsessed and imbalanced.”
“That would explain his persistence. You have no idea how tired I was. He woke me from the freezer so many times, and he was so needy. Time passed for him between each session but not for me in stasis. It was like taking twenty medical-school final exams in a row, with no breaks in between,” Yvette continued. Subjectively, she’d been kept awake by a madman for days.
Mercy dumped a bucket of leftover corncobs into the feeding area, and the two friends wandered into the third bird area and sat in the small, wooden shelter. When the chickens saw the lab coat, they mobbed the nurse. Mercy snatched an enthusiastic young male and fussed over him with baby talk. Then she placed the bird in Yvette’s lap. “Here, Strut will protect you.”
The bird nestled in and allowed Yvette to pet it. “I’m afraid my monsters are too big for this gentle soul.”
“Then you can sleep in our room when you have nightmares.”
“Lou wouldn’t appreciate the intrusion. He’s a good man, but I wouldn’t do that to his honeymoon.”
“What if I could arrange for us to be together at all hours for the next eight months—professionally?”
The nurse’s face lit up. “Oooo. Tell me!”
“Well, I was saving the announcement until I was sure we wouldn’t lose it, but Lou and I are pregnant.”
Yvette celebrated for a while, with hugs and squeals of joy. The chicken on her lap hopped away from the ruckus. Eventually, she whispered, “From the size, I’d say this happened a few weeks before you got married.”
Mercy blushed.
The nurse waved her hand. “Please, this is my job.”
“It happened the first time we . . . you know.”
“There goes that myth.”
“I’ll have a legitimate need to see you. Multi-talent mothers are a very high-risk group.”
“New life is always a blessing. I’ll be happy to help you, dear.”
“What was your first clue that I was . . . ?” Mercy fished for an appropriate euphemism for pregnant out of wedlock.
“A sordid, man-hungry vixen?” Yvette teased. “You wouldn’t wear Lou’s shirt unless your own didn’t fit.”
The large T-shirt read ‘Don’t Blink.’ “How do you know it’s his?”
“I was with his former girlfriend Vanessa when she bought it for him, dear. It’s from his favorite Dr. Who episode. Does that bother you?”
“The British sci-fi or the underwear model he probably isn’t over yet?” Mercy shrugged. “If we threw out every item of clothing another woman gave him, he’d spend most of his time naked.”
The nurse gave a throaty chuckle. “Which is how you got into this situation in the first place.” Arm around her friend, Yvette said, “Tell me one thing that delights you about him.”
The younger woman smiled. “Sometimes he wakes before I do, but he can’t get out of bed without waking me. I’m a light sleeper. So he lays there and waits for me to wake up on my own. He can tell by the change in my breathing.”
“Then what?”
“He sings to me. This morning, it was ‘Have I Told You Lately?’ He was a little off tune, but it’s been playing in the background of my mind all day. It helps to fight that voice that says I’m not good enough.”
The nurse pulled her into another embrace and held her so tight she could barely breathe. “Cling to that joy this hard. Don’t let the rest pry your fingers away.” When the other woman released her, Yvette asked, “What else did they tell you to hide from me?”
Mercy struggled to find a way to broach the subject. “Sanctuary was arranged as a test to see if mankind was mature enough to enter space.” After a pause, she added, “We failed.”
“Because Toby broke the Charter?” Yvette asked.
Mercy nodded. “But there are loopholes. Sensei will give us a second chance to take the test. It’ll be harder this time. We need to visit a planet at the very edge of our ship’s range and help the race that lives there the way Sensei helped us—give them twenty-seven ideas, just like they gave us. We could be responsible for an entire civilization reaching the next level, as well as Earth being granted the stars.”
“Isn’t that playing God?”
“We benefited from that interference. Millions of lives were improved,” Mercy argued.
“What about culture shock?” Yvette asked.
“We’ll concentrate on baby steps. We owe it to the aliens to pay the debt forward. The majority of the crew already voted in favor.” Mercy neglected to mention details about the dissenters.
Grudgingly, Yvette conceded. “I’ll do my best to make sure we proceed without causing harm. I just thank God Toby’s in the freezer, and I never have to see him again.”
Mercy’s guilty silence spoke volumes as she avoided eye contact.
Yvette gasped, “No!”
“Red needs you to testify at the trial tomorrow.”
Backing away from Mercy, the nurse repeated, “No.”
“You’ll be fine. You need to face Toby in front of everyone, pin him down like he does one of his bugs.”
“I won’t testify.”
“What?”
“Toby will want to ask me personal questions on cross-examination, and I refuse to speak to that man, even through his attorney. I don’t want to look at him.”
“How are we going to convict him without your testimony?” Mercy demanded.
“Don’t worry, he’ll self-destruct,” Yv
ette insisted. “Just give him enough rope.”
Mercy asked, “What about attending the trial? Toby has the right to face his accuser in court.”
After staring at Mercy for an even longer period, Yvette whispered, “I have one condition.”
“Anything.”
“You must keep your baby away from Snowflake.”
“What? Why?”
“The interface changed your brain from the first time you used it. Prolonged exposure made Lou blind,” Yvette insisted.
“That’s not fair. Drugs, restraints, and being too close to the sun had a lot to do with that.”
The nurse shook her head. “You had nosebleeds and migraines every day for the first week you used Snowflake. We know the interface reformatted your neural paths. That could impair your child’s neurological development.”
“I’m sure there are safeguards.”
“Don’t be. Your aliens aren’t as benevolent as Red preaches. Though I won’t speak ill of them unless we’re sheltered like this.” Yvette pointed to the wooden roof above them. “They listen to and watch everything in the open, in Olympus, and the tunnels.”
“Maybe. Probably. Why is that bad?”
“They had to know Toby was unstable before we did, before he even had access to Olympus. Yet they let him in. Why? The test is more important than our lives. They live to examine us under a microscope while we suffer.”
“It’s not like that,” Mercy soothed.
Yvette grabbed Mercy’s shoulders as she hissed, “I begged Sensei and Snowflake to help me so many times. I pleaded in that shower and the luggage room whenever Toby left me alone.”
“Snowflake can only obey the planners. Sensei only talks to Red, and then only in the landing bay.”
“If the aliens are forcing us to follow our charter, why aren’t they preventing or reporting the crimes? Why did you have to uncover it?”
Swallowing hard at the severity of her accusation, Mercy admitted, “The sanctity of the test is paramount to them because they can never allow a virus to enter the space controlled by the Union of Souls. I’m not sure they consider us truly sentient until we pass.”
“The others need to know this.”
“Why? What does it change?” Mercy asked.
“If the aliens are as smart as we think, you didn’t fool them. For some reason, they wanted you to go on this makeup mission. Ask yourself why. What are the aliens’ motivations?”
“Snowflake has imprinted on me like the chicks did. Maybe he argued for us.”
“Is that chance worth the life of your unborn child? Are all the things that have gone wrong really our fault?”
Mercy closed her eyes, unwilling to descend into bitterness and fear. Calmly, she said, “If I honor your condition, will you go to the trial with me tomorrow?”
“Only if I never hear how altruistic Red’s precious aliens are again.”
“I’ll inform her,” Mercy said meekly. “Have I damaged our friendship by telling you all this?”
“I’ll recover in a few days. You freed me from Hell and bled for it. I know your heart.”
Chapter 5 – The Inevitable
Early the next morning, the ship submerged fully into subspace and caught the jet stream toward the ceiling of the galaxy at the rate of a light-year per day. The milky windows of the habitat rippled with rainbows of static-induced light.
Yvette sat behind the prosecutor’s bench, wanting to be anywhere else. She could feel the pity in everyone’s eyes as they milled around the rounded niche in the rock wall slated to become a barn. “Where’s Sojiro?”
Mercy whispered, “Last night in the cafeteria, Sojiro showed a double feature, Psycho and Heathers. Then he asked people to vote on which sociopath Toby most resembled. For attempting to sway public opinion during the trial, Z assigned Sojiro monitor duty in Olympus.”
Wrapped in the lab coat, Yvette shivered. “It’s getting colder already.”
“Half a degree per day,” Mercy agreed.
Red strode over to her place at the bench and hissed, “Shh. It’s starting.”
After Nadia announced the time and crew present for the camera, Herk marched Toby before the court. The defendant’s nose and right wrist were splinted, his eyes blackened, and he had a goose egg on his forehead.
When Yvette raised an eyebrow at Red, the prosecutor said, “Don’t look at me. Mother Hen over there did that before I could rub his nose in the carpet.”
The nurse put her head on Mercy’s shoulder. “How did you know what I wanted for my birthday?”
Lou announced, “Doctor Tobias Baatjies, you’re accused of kidnapping and raping Nurse Yvette Chenonceau. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty,” said the pale nanobiologist.
Red shot out of her chair. “Liar!”
“He can’t lie,” murmured Yvette. “He is infected with the Ethics page. You need to change how you ask and lead him to the unavoidable.”
Lou faced the space between the defendant and Herk. “Dr. Baatjies, you’ve been found fit to stand trial but not to serve as your own counsel. Commander Zeiss has been chosen to stand as your defense. Are you satisfied with this selection?”
“He’ll be fine, as long as I get my say,” Toby agreed.
“In that case, we want to put Toby on our witness list,” Red responded.
Her husband shook his head. “Objection—Ethics officers have the right to refuse testimony. He can’t control the side effects well enough to prevent unrelated information from leaking out. The burden of proving your case lies on the prosecution, not the defendant.”
Oleander said, “Sustained, reluctantly.”
“Speak only to me,” Zeiss advised his client, “no matter what she says.”
Both sides took their seats.
Red called Herk to the stand. He presented the physical evidence gathered at the suspended animation unit after the field had been disengaged: the gag, restraint marks, the drugs in Yvette’s system, Toby’s semen, and various other signs force had been employed.
“Most people use the stasis chamber in what position?” asked Red.
“Seated in the built-in chair, facing the entrance,” he replied.
“How was Nurse Chenonceau discovered?”
“Kneeling on the chair, her back to the entrance, and facing the wall.”
“Why would someone do this?”
“First-time killers do this when they can’t stand to look their victims in the eyes.”
“When they know what they’re doing is wrong and hurting someone,” Red concluded. “Your witness, defense.”
Toby whispered in the ear of the commander, who pulled back sharply.
Zeiss cleared his throat. “Officer Herkemer, did you also find evidence of a pedicure?”
“Yeah, a scraper and nail polish.”
“Could she have been exposing her heels so Toby could smooth out the calluses?”
“Are you shitting me, boss?”
Zeiss sighed. “Yes or no?” The surreal question caused the muscular man to look around the room for support or cues. “You may examine the evidence photos and your notes, not the audience.”
“I guess.”
“And given that scenario, wouldn’t some of the skin shavings have a less ominous cause?” Zeiss asked.
The head of security admitted this with a grudging, “Maybe.”
Glaring at the defense bench, Red followed up with, “But all the other evidence still points to forced sex?”
“Definitely,” said Herk, glad to be back on the popular side.
When the questions were done, Oleander said, “Thank you for your assistance in this difficult matter, Officer Herkemer. You may resume your seat.”
Zeiss approached the judges and whispered, “My client admits to intercourse—even rough sex—but claims it was consensual.”
“He can’t prove that!” Red said. Her anger flared out through the Collective Unconscious, and people could smell burnt toast.
Pouncing on the outburst, Red said, “Your honors, the defendant has just testified. That means I can cross examine him on the stand.”
Zeiss buried his head in his hands as they swore in his client.
“For the record, you have proof of consent?” Red opened.
Toby said to Lou, “Your honor, may I ask the courtroom a question to prove common knowledge?”
“He doesn’t get to ask questions!” Red objected.
Lou sighed. “You did ask him to present proof. I’ll give him a little leeway, given the severity of the charges.”
“Let’s have a show of hands,” Toby sneered. “Who here knows Yvette offered to lay me on the beach at Red’s eighteenth birthday bash.”
Half those present raised their hands, including Red herself. “But one offer—”
“Do you deny she still loved me? Had she been with another partner since?”
“No, but—”
“Who helped her arrange the booty call? Who knew what she was intending?”
Oleander, Johnny, Lou, and Mercy raised hands.
Toby pointed to his own chest with a thumb. “I can’t lie, and I’m telling you, she offered to have sex any way I wanted for that whole week.”
“Why?” asked Red.
“Pardon?”
“When she suddenly offered this, you didn’t think it strange?”
“Women offer men attention all the time to change their behavior, or make them do things they don’t want to do. Who here has had that happen to them?”
“Irrelevant!” Red shouted. “Don’t you dare blame the victim.”
Toby’s left eye twitched. “She loves me.”
“Why in that context? What condition was she in?”
“Drugged and strapped to the wall,” he admitted. “But that was just to keep her quiet, so she wouldn’t spoil the surprise. I didn’t want to hurt her. I never meant to hurt Yvette. I know what you’re thinking, but she said yes. The drugs were no different than Lou pouring alcohol down some coed’s throat.”
“He’s never forced a woman!” Mercy shouted.