Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  He’d come down from the En’or she’d laced his tea with yesterday, and was glad she’d only given him a low dosage. It had been enough to alter his consciousness, and he was grateful for it to be out of his system. He didn’t tell her that, though. It would only upset his leader. Or was she? Captain Baldwin was his real leader. If he were to define his loyalty, he didn’t know which side he’d land on.

  She must have taken his silence as awe. “It is quite remarkable. Can you believe we’ve been able to assemble a fleet to rival the Concord’s own? We are but one minor faction, hiding in the shadows for centuries while the Concord fought a dozen wars, feuding within their own circles, fending off Border attacks and dealing with petty issues. We are the true power, Ven. Do you see that now?”

  Ven blinked at this, and refrained from speaking for a second. “Certainly.” He did, and her words were only solidifying the deception he felt. He’d grown up on Leria, in a tiny remote village, being taught in the ways of the Ugna, but not once had anyone mentioned other planets, or that the Ugna had so many people within their ranks. If he’d heard they had spaceships, he wouldn’t have believed it. Everything he understood was shrouded in a cloak of mistrust, but he didn’t tell her any of this. “You have done a wonderful job accumulating so much wealth and honor.”

  “Do not think it was only me. This has been in the works for generations, Ven.” She nodded to the crew members moving through the halls. They were all so reserved, so different than the humans, Tekols, and Zilph’i on Constantine. On his ship, they spoke to each other and made friendly interactions, but this place, for all its beauty, had no heart.

  “Can you show me the boiler room?” he asked, only noticing he’d used Reeve’s term for it too late.

  “Ven, please do not belittle yourself to the petty jargon of those beneath you. It is the engineering room, and I’d be happy to have someone escort you there. I have… pressing business.” Elder Fayle waved over a tall woman, and a slight smile passed their leader’s face. “Hanli will show you the rest of the ship.”

  Fayle turned, leaving them alone in the center of the corridor. “You are familiar with Elder Fayle?” the woman named Hanli asked. Her eyes were a dim pink, her skin paler than his own. She wasn’t bald like many of the Ugna, but her hair was cut short, styled to the side. He liked it.

  “I am. She taught me as a child,” he told her.

  It must have clicked, because she finally glanced at his uniform, seeing it didn’t match the white and gray garb of the Ugna fleet crew. “You are him… Ven Ittix.”

  He was a little surprised she knew his name. “That is correct.”

  “I am suddenly nervous to be in your presence,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Because you are a hero of mine. The first Ugna to venture into the Concord, to work on a cruise ship, to actually hold an executive title among the Founders,” she said. Others gathered nearby as she said the words too loudly for Ven’s taste.

  “I am no different than you,” he advised her.

  “That is not true. Without your role in the Concord’s fight with the Statu, or the Assembly, we would not have been in the position we are in. We would be secreted away, ceaselessly training,” she said.

  This piqued his attention. Ven nodded at the crew but set a hand on her arm, distancing them from the others. “Can you show me the engineering room, then perhaps the bridge?”

  “Of course I can. Come with me.” They started down the hall.

  “Where did you train? How long have you been working on this ship?” he asked. Hanli didn’t appear much younger than he was.

  She peered around, as if seeing who was close enough to overhear her response. “We cannot say.”

  “Even to one of your own?” he asked.

  She tapped the emblem of the First Ship on his chest. “You are also one of them.”

  So that was how they saw him. A hero, but also an outsider. Ven couldn’t really blame them. He couldn’t decide where he truly belonged.

  “But I have been stationed on Vastness for ten Standard years,” she answered.

  “You must have been a child,” he told her.

  She smiled at this. “You are too kind.” Her hand found his arm, and something coursed through Ven, an unfamiliar sensation he’d never experienced. He met her gaze and his stomach flipped, feeling sick. Was he ill? “Are you okay?”

  He broke from her touch and nodded. “I am.” He felt her reaching out for his mood, her senses seeking his, and he prepared a wall, a barrier to block her. She frowned but didn’t speak about it.

  “Come, I will show you to engineering.” They continued wordlessly, until they reached the rear of the vessel. The doorway wasn’t guarded, and the entrance slid open, triggered by their movements.

  The sounds were almost recognizable, comforting. The ship’s drive was fueled by the same Bentom ball hovering in the center, and the entire room was bright and crisp, even sterile. He thought Reeve would like this. “Would I be allowed to bring a Concord crew member to see this one day? She is smart and would appreciate this experience. Perhaps she could discuss things with your chief of engineering.”

  “I am sure he would appreciate the stimulation, but you would have to clear this with Elder Fayle. No outsiders are permitted on our ships, as you know,” Hanli said.

  Ven actually hadn’t known that, but now he did. Captain Baldwin had asked him to make friends with the other Ugna, and that was what Ven was attempting, but he thought he might be failing at it. He moved to the nearest wall, utilizing an empty console screen. He brought up some of the engine’s parameters, scrolling through the readouts. It was impressive, and he told her so.

  “We have been lucky enough to work with some of the Zilph’i engineers over the years. They did assist the construction of the fleet,” Hanli said.

  This was news, a very interesting bit of information. None of the Founders were supposed to know about the Ugna fleet, and yet the same Founder that currently had one of their own in the Prime seat had aided the Ugna over the years? Now the Ugna were brought into the fold easily, and it had occurred while they were on Leria. This was too intricate to be happenstance.

  “Why are you so quiet?” Hanli asked.

  “I was only thinking about how far our people have come, and how thrilled I am at our expansion. We are strong, and our due has finally transpired,” Ven said, covering his bases.

  She smiled again, an off-putting sight from an Ugna. Still, he found himself enjoying it. “Would you care to see the bridge?”

  “I would like it very much,” he answered truthfully. Perhaps he could gather more information before the tour was over.

  ____________

  Reeve stared at the wall, wondering how much longer Doctor Nee was going to be. At least they were finally out of their suits.

  She used the borrowed network to research the Minon people, since they had more data than the general Concord system. Reeve found this curious. She thought there must be a better way to integrate each Concord partner’s software programs to interact, so they could all share information with greater ease.

  It was something she’d bring up with the admirals… which might include Captain Baldwin soon. This bothered her more than she’d expected. In reality, she and Brax had only been crew members aboard Constantine for a few months, and the fact that she was so committed to the ship and the other people around her spoke volumes.

  She’d never been so reluctant to leave a post before. Over the years, Reeve had appreciated being able to work on different vessels, to train with other minds, but maybe it was her age that changed things. Were her years of wanderlust over, and was she willing to settle down? Maybe not just professionally, but in other capacities too? Cedric’s death had stung.

  Reeve stared at the screen, forgetting where she was. She pictured the abrasive Tekol man and smiled. Their relationship had been quick and fleeting, but impactful. And now he was dead.

  “How’s it going?”
Treena asked.

  Reeve was so caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn’t even heard the office door open. She peered back at the impeccably put-together commander. “The Minon are remarkable. The Border station is very old construction, outdating the War by fifty or so years. It was one of the few regions untouched during the Statu invasion, making their planet Talepen a refuge for millions of people over the course of that decade-long conflict.”

  Treena took the empty seat beside her and listened.

  “Because of this, they had some really brilliant biologists and doctors on planet. Some of them decided to stay after the War and make a home on the Class Zero Nine world,” Reeve told the commander.

  “And I assume they had something to do with this...woman...Yunrio was referring to the other day?” Treena asked.

  Reeve nodded, scrolling over the data. “I guess so. Most of the records are blacked out, likely after the cloning laws took effect forty years ago.”

  “What I don’t understand is why it took so long to have a rule in place on cloning,” Treena offered.

  “He denied she was a clone, but he’s being extremely circumspect. I don’t think we’ll learn the truth until we land on Talepen.”

  “I agree. If they were cloning to save their race, is that so bad?” the commander asked.

  “Good question. There are so many worlds and races involved in our government. Each of them has their own set of religions, ideologies, and history. Why is it okay for the Founders to tell a race they can’t do something like reload their consciousness into another vessel? Let me go about this another way,” Reeve said, thinking she might be overstepping with the explanation. “If you were offered another body—like this one, but flesh and blood—would you take it? It would be you, cloned from your very cells, and again, it would be susceptible to the same illness and harm that your original form was, but it would be you.”

  Treena glanced at her arms, her gaze settling on her hands, where the fingers flexed a couple times. “I don’t know.”

  “So you’d consider it? That’s what makes this all so complicated.”

  “And what do you think? Scientifically?” the commander asked.

  Reeve paused, tapping the desktop. “I think it can work, but the problem exists because of ethics and values, and people swapping bodies, or stealing identities, or any other thing you can think of. At the end of the day, people are unscrupulous and greedy—at least some are—and that ruins things for everyone else. I suppose most of it depends on what your beliefs are when it comes to the Vastness.”

  “Does the Code reference this type of thing?” Treena asked.

  Reeve knew Treena believed as much as any normal crew member, but she’d been through more than most of them, and that tested faith unlike anything else. “The Code does speak on consciousness, but nothing so cut and dry that you can take it for scripture.”

  “What other information do we have about the Minon?” Treena asked, returning to their original topic of discussion.

  Reeve brought up some images of their government officials. They were dressed nicely, with bright white uniforms and friendly smiles. “They don’t look like the Seeli, do they?” she asked.

  “No. They’re very… beautiful. It’s interesting to see how different they are, yet they come from the same planet,” Treena said.

  “It’s remarkable what a million years under different planetary conditions will do to the same genetics, isn’t it?” Reeve grinned at the commander.

  “But they still each have problems with reproducing at the same time in history. That’s odd in itself,” Treena said.

  They continued talking for another half hour, passing the time while Nee finished the last of his tests, and eventually, an exhausted version of the doctor passed into the office, slumping into an empty chair. He blew out a cheekful of air and sighed.

  “Could you be any more dramatic?” Reeve asked him.

  He shook his head, meeting her stare. “These people are in a dire situation. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “Any links to R-emergence?” Treena asked.

  “I can’t say for sure, but Yunrio is denying any cloning on Vaxiar,” Nee told them.

  Reeve was surprised he admitted as much. “We need to contact R-emergence. See what they say.”

  “I’d err on the side of caution. R-emergence is tightly linked to the Concord and heavily funded by our headquarters on Nolix. We should research this more, and do some digging,” Nee said.

  “Very well. Are we ready to leave, then?” Treena asked the doctor.

  “Yes. Yunrio has asked to join us on our trip to the Border station and Talepen.” Nee rose and picked some lint off his left glove.

  “That’s fine. Maybe he can help us in some capacity,” Treena said. “I’ll send word to Captain Bouchard that we’re leaving Vaxiar.” The commander left, followed by the doctor, and Reeve closed the screen down, joining her small crew as they headed for the underground facility’s exit.

  ____________

  They were only two days from reaching Driun F49, and Tom wasn’t sure how to feel about that. If things went off without a hitch, they were to bring the Ugna to the surface, stay there for a week while they scoured the land, and then leave them to their own devices. Tom had only been given this mission as the deadline for the looming decision he needed to make, and he was nowhere close to making up his mind.

  He stood from the desk, running his fingers over it. He peered at the digital picture of Constantine’s first command vessel, taking up half of the wall space on this side of the office. Andron was one of a kind, and even now it was being refitted with some updates and being added to their fleet. After the Statu battle, most of the old relics were being recommissioned, and Tom was glad they’d be exploring space once again.

  “Constantine,” Tom said loudly enough for the program to recognize the command. The youthful version of his grandfather appeared, and Tom smiled at the sight.

  “Hello, Captain. What can I do for you?” Con asked.

  “Where is Elder Fayle at the moment?” Tom asked.

  “I haven’t seen her, and she’s not chipped for our ship, so I cannot be sure,” he answered.

  “Did she return with Ven from Vastness?” Tom hated their casual use of her lead ship’s name. It borderlined on blasphemy.

  “The records don’t say,” Con replied.

  “Fine. Can we talk?” Tom strode across the room, staring out the built-in viewscreen along the wall.

  Constantine came to join him, arms at his sides. The projection flickered a few times and turned to face him. “What would you like to speak about?”

  “How did it feel giving up Andron?” Tom asked.

  “Honestly?”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Tom said with a smile.

  “It was the best feeling of my life. At the time, at least,” Constantine told him.

  “Care to elaborate?”

  Con nodded, motioning to the desk, where he took a seat across from Tom’s prestigious chair. For an AI, he still preferred to have discussions seated, which was an interesting revelation. “I spent far too much time on Andron during the War. I associated her with all the pain and losses during that decade. She was the reason I never saw my wife or your mother during those early years of her life. I ran from that ship when it was finally docked outside Nolix, Tom. I kid you not. I ran and didn’t look back.”

  “I have a feeling the story doesn’t end here,” Tom said.

  “I was happy for a couple of years after. Admiral Keen was a real bastard, though. His words after the War stuck with me, and I hated what the Concord had become. For a while, I took to my role as admiral with such passion, it surprised even me. I wanted to make changes, to help from the inside, but every time I attempted to do anything of value, my ideas were rejected, stifling my enthusiasm. It was then that I began to look to the stars again and dream of being behind the controls on Andron. To chase a rumor past the Borde
r, to investigate a newly-discovered planet, to research a distant asteroid belt for possible resources.

  “Stuck on Nolix, I wasn’t able to do any of those things.”

  Tom breathed in deeply, and felt his own chest constricting. Could he do the same thing? It didn’t feel like it.

  “But you know what?” Constantine continued.

  “What?”

  “It eventually improved. I saw my family every day, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the universe.”

  Tom let his words sink in, and heard the wisdom behind what his grandfather’s AI was offering him. He was implying it was going to be okay, regardless of the decision. That each came with a benefit, depending on what Tom wanted to do with his life.

  The only issue being, Tom didn’t have an answer.

  “Thanks for sharing,” Tom told him.

  “Anytime. Are you struggling with the decision?”

  “I am. Do you think this Concord is really much different than the one you worked for?” Tom asked, curious of his opinion.

  “I think there are some differences, but at the root of every government, there will be secrets, disruptions, and buried bodies you won’t want to hear about,” Con said ominously. “Be steadfast, be vigilant, be strong.” The Code saying was powerful, and Tom nodded.

  “What’s your take on the Ugna?” Tom realized he’d never asked the AI the question, and Constantine wasn’t often forthcoming with opinions unless prodded. That was where the real version of the man vastly differed from the AI.

  “They’re tough to read. The mere fact that they have telekinetic abilities is astounding, but not overly surprising. There have been records of this ability throughout the millennia, only they were rare and often unconfirmed.”

  “What does that mean?” Tom asked.

  “I think perhaps the Ugna originated with two of these people finding one another on Leria, mating, and creating more. Then they likely retrieved outside stock, other telekinetics from a different part of the world, and they expanded from there,” Constantine said.