The Voyage Home

by D. J. Holmes

  “If it helps us defeat the Elders, it is a regret I will happily live with,” Kevin said as he raised his face and looked his great grandmother in the eyes.

  Simmons let out a long breath. “Ok. If you two are prepared to live with the consequences of your actions, I will leave it at that. Are you?”

  “Yes,” Kevin said quickly.

  Sarah didn’t join him. Simmons’ words sounded ominous. She didn’t know what she was agreeing to. Mentally, Kevin sent her a shove. He didn’t want to upset his great grandmother any more. “Yes,” Sarah said reluctantly.

  “Good,” Simmons said with a small smile. “I will be holding you to that. Now, despite my disappointment in you both. I am honest enough to admit that what you did today was impressive. We are going to have to rethink a lot of our strategies after those two simulation runs. How do you rate your performance, is that how you have fought Destiny in real life?”

  “Not quite,” Sarah said. “Well, to be honest, I’m not sure. I lost myself in that last simulation. I got caught up in the moment. I will have to review the simulation to see just what I did. However, I don’t think it was too out of the ordinary. Thanks to whatever your nanites did to my brain and my neural pathways, and the new neural implant you gave me, my reaction times have improved. I think today was the best I have ever performed in a combat situation, however, my level in previous battles wouldn’t be too far off today. What you saw is the level of skill and tactics that I needed to survive going up against the Elders. All your ships will have to be that good.

  “But you haven’t seen any Elder ships flown with the same skill as yourself?” Simmons stated.

  “Not to the same level,” Sarah answered. “However, I have encountered a lot of variance. I believe many of the Elder crews rarely practice or run simulations. Once we really challenge them, it’s possible the Elder fleet as a whole may ramp up its training. If they do, then pilots as good as me may emerge. I don’t see why they wouldn’t. I am nothing special.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Simmons replied. “For a human, you certainly are exceptional. My concern is that your skills may in part come from your Elder DNA. If they do, then the Elders may be able to match you with the proper training. We should have the results from your full DNA spectral analysis in another day or so. Maybe then we will be able to answer that question.”

  “Maybe,” Sarah said unenthusiastically. She wasn’t looking forward to getting the results back. The process that had been used to infuse Elder DNA into her had attempted to insert new DNA into multiple locations in her genome. Without the sophisticated technology to analyze her DNA on Earth, no one had been able to check the success of the procedure when she had been young. Simmons had said it was possible that more DNA alteration than had originally been intended could have occurred. The technology had been completely untested.

  “Can you tell us,” Kevin asked hesitantly. “What does this mean for us?”

  Simmons paused and looked from Kevin to Sarah and then back to Kevin. “I don’t quite know,” she began. “There is no documented case of a couple imprinting with each other who weren’t already married or at least in a serious relationship. The point of imprinting is to form the closest possible bond between two people. Only people who have spent years getting to know one another have gone through the process.

  “They do so, because they want to become as close as humanly possible. As I understand it, the imprinting process allows two minds to touch. It allows a couple to share their innermost thoughts and desires. The point is, I believe, that for couples who already know so much about each other, the imprinting process is the final step. Imprinting opens oneself completely to the other person. It forms such a close bond that imprinted couples normally get to the stage where they can’t stand to be physically apart. It is like a kind of mental torture to separate them. When one dies, the other usually takes their own life.

  “What it will mean for you two, I am not sure. The effect may not be as strong, you two may just become close friends. Or, you may eventually fall in love. Perhaps imprinting will not mean having to forgo marriage and a family. Or you may grow to hate each other. It will be hard for you to really hide who you are from the other person. One or both of you may see something you don’t like. I’m hoping it will just lead to a closer friendship between the two of you. You only met this morning after all, hopefully that means the imprinting process was not as strong as it normally is.”

  Simmons words jolted Sarah. It was true, she and Kevin had only met a few hours ago. Yet to her, it felt like they had known each other for months. Looking at Kevin, she could see he was thinking something similar.

  “Tell me this,” Simmons said, “How do you both feel about each other? Are you aware of what the other is thinking and feeling? I know several couples who have imprinted. They are constantly aware of the other person.”

  Sarah looked at Kevin, when he nodded, she started speaking for both of them. “We are aware. I can feel Kevin’s mind in the back of my own. I can’t tell what he is thinking. But his emotions are pretty clear.”

  “And how do you feel about each other?” Simmons prompted.

  Sarah looked at Kevin again. This time she wasn’t going to volunteer to go first. She could feel Kevin trying to hide his feelings from her, she was trying to do the same. She could also sense a lot of embarrassment. She wasn’t sure if it was his or hers.

  “Well?” Simmons prompted.

  “We worked well together,” Kevin finally said. “Sarah is a great pilot. She is also dedicated to freeing Earth. She has spent her whole life trying to get back, trying to get answers. I trust her. I think we will make a great team. If we can’t fight the Elders when it comes time to confront them, then we can at least help train the fleet that will. We will be the best instructors there are.”

  Sarah smiled inwardly. Kevin’s answer hadn’t exactly been what Simmons wanted to hear. Sarah understood, she didn’t know quite what she felt for Kevin. She certainly didn’t want to share her thoughts with Simmons.

  “I agree,” Sarah said when Simmons settled her gaze on her. “We worked well together. Everything else is new to me. I’m still trying to sort all this out.”

  “Ok,” Simmons said. “I’ll settle for that for now. Though I will want to have regular meetings with you both to monitor just how things are progressing. I have already taken the liberty of contacting a couple who are good friends of mine. They have been married for sixty years, for the last twenty they have been imprinted. I want you both to meet with them regularly as you try to figure this out. You can ask them any questions you have and they can talk you through how the bond develops. Do either of you have any questions for me?”

  Sarah could think of at least a couple. She didn’t ask them though. The whole meeting had been awkward enough. She just wanted to get away and get some time to herself.

  “Ok then,” Simmons said when Kevin didn’t speak either. “I guess we are all but done. I can’t say I’m not disappointed in your actions. They were rash and foolish. But at least you made a genuine mistake. You both may leave. I advise you to take some time together and talk this over. It will likely take you weeks and months to figure it all out, but the sooner you start talking it through the better. Sarah, I’ll work time into your schedule so that you can join the fleet training staff. For today you may rest until our meeting tomorrow to go over the results of your scan. Kevin, you will be receiving a promotion and joining the staff as well. Together you will be playing the opposing force in most of the simulations we run from here on in.”

  “But I am close to graduating and joining my warship,” Kevin protested. “I want to be a part of the fleet now, we need to be ready in case the Elders find us. We also need to be ready for when we make our move on Earth.”

  Simmons shook her head. “You agreed to accept the consequences. Think about it. You and Sarah cannot be split up now. You fight too well together, and she is too important. When one imprinted couple dies,
the other usually commits suicide or goes mad. You will not be seeing active service. I cannot risk your life, because risking you will risk Sarah and she is irreplaceable. You can devote your life to preparing the fleet for the eventual attack on Earth. But you will not be joining the fleet’s list of active officers.”

  Kevin made to protest, but Simmons silenced him with one raised finger. “And you will not be flying in the mission to liberate Earth when it is launched. Sarah will not be entering the fight until the Elder fleet is defeated, and if you are there, you will be staying with her. I simply cannot risk you now.”

  Kevin opened his mouth, then he shut it again. Sarah felt the truth of his great grandmother’s words hit him. She felt disappointment, regret and then emptiness wash over him. Her heart went out to him, yet there was nothing she could say. She had forced him to imprint with her, anything she said now would only make matters worse.

  “Is that all?” Kevin asked in a very low tone. He was obviously trying to control his voice.

  “For now,” Simmons said. “Just make sure you don’t take this out on Sarah. You should have known better.”

  “I understand,” Kevin said as he stood and walked out of his great grandmother’s office.

  “You are dismissed,” Simmons called after him.

  Kevin didn’t respond. He was already passing Simmons’ secretary.

  “May I go?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes,” Simmons said. “But don’t forget our meeting tomorrow. I will want to go over today’s simulation as well. We obviously have a lot of changes to make to our fleet plans.”

  “I’ll give it some thought tonight,” Sarah promised as she got up and rushed after Kevin.

  When she got out into the corridor, she couldn’t see Kevin anywhere. She was about to access Hope V’s main computer to locate him when she realized she didn’t need to. She could sense where he was. Keeping her distance, she followed him as he moved through the asteroid. When he stopped, Sarah accessed the asteroid’s schematics. He was in an observation blister.

  She paused in front of the access hatch. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for it to open and then made her way inside. She was relieved to see they were alone. Moving to his side, she sat down. Kevin was staring out an observation window at the stars.

  Sarah didn’t know what to say. She felt torn. She felt guilty for practically forcing Kevin to imprint with her. She also felt sorry for Kevin, she could sense his hurt and disappointment. A part of her just wanted to run away and leave him alone with his thoughts. Another part felt like she needed to stay with him. She was confused. Kevin was confused too. He was angry at her, yet he wanted her to stay.

  I guess this is going to take some figuring out, Sarah thought. What have I got myself into now?

  Chapter 41

  Two months after their first simulation run Sarah and Kevin had settled into a routine. Every morning they would take on several destroyer crews in a series of simulations. Kevin would then work with the other instructors while Sarah went to whatever meetings Simmons had arranged for her that day. She had spent much of the last month familiarizing herself with the different departments within Hope V. It seemed Simmons wanted her to have an experiential knowledge of almost everything that went on within the asteroid.

  As she sensed Kevin approaching her quarters, Sarah pulled her mind out of Hope V’s main computer. While the last two months had been full of exciting new experiences and discoveries, the chief of which had been when she had flown a human destroyer in a battle sim, there had been one ongoing frustration. She was nowhere nearer to finding a way to escape. Stealing the prototype corvette was still her best option. Yet she couldn’t find a way to override its security protocols without alerting everyone on Hope V. Before she finished disengaging the corvette’s docking clamps, Hope V’s flight control would have the asteroid’s outer access hatch locked up tighter than a slave collar. Every morning she spent at least an hour thinking of a way to get off Hope V, yet she was still stumped.

  Already dressed, she jumped off her bed and made her way to the door when Kevin arrived. As she walked out, he smiled at her. Slipping her hand into his, they turned and walked towards the flight simulator deck. Sarah took a moment to think about their relationship. Kevin had started walking her to their battle simulations a week after they had imprinted. Holding hands had been a new development just this week. Neither had said anything, they had just reached out to one another at the same time. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. She trusted him with her life, she knew that for sure. She also found herself feeling more relaxed and at ease in his presence all the time. Holding his hand had an even stronger calming effect on her. She had also noticed that as the weeks had rolled on, having to be physically parted from him was becoming harder and harder. She guessed that, in part, that was what explained the hand holding. It was a way for each of them to get over the anxiety of being parted overnight.

  Beyond that, she didn’t know what to think. She had done as much study on human imprinting as she could. As far as she could tell, it was different to what had occurred between her and Alexandra. The Elder process was designed to allow an artificial intelligence to attune itself to an individual’s personality. Human imprinting had been an accidental discovery. It was the result of two minds being forced together in a way they had never been designed to be. Certainly, Sarah knew she wasn’t growing to hate Kevin, the more of him she saw and felt, the more she appreciated. That was as far as it went though. She had been pushing any other feelings to the back of her mind. Escaping was her priority. She couldn’t allow herself to become distracted from that. Alexandra and Divar deserved to know she was ok.

  “What are you thinking half breed?” Kevin asked out loud.

  He had a cheeky grin on his face. He knew full well she had been thinking about him, though he wouldn’t know exactly what. Instead of answering, she gave him a playful punch on his shoulder. He also knew she hated being called that.

  The results of her DNA analysis had largely been what Simmons had expected. The procedure carried out when Sarah had been in her mother’s womb had aimed to alter 0.01% of her DNA. In the end, it had resulted in 0.0102% of her DNA being replaced by Elder DNA. It meant she was even less human than she had feared. Though it was a small amount, it was something she was very sensitive about it. She feared the other Hope Fivers would look at her as a half breed, as someone who would never fit in.

  Sarah knew Kevin thought her fears were silly. She could feel how her viewed her. His jokes were his way of letting her know that he didn’t care. If he did, he wouldn’t have been making jokes about it. Reaching out with her mind she examined Kevin’s thoughts of her. She felt warm as she sensed his acceptance. To him, she was as much a human as he was.

  “My thoughts are my own,” Sarah said as she playfully pushed Kevin away with her free hand. At the same time, she mentally pushed his mind away as well. “A gentleman shouldn’t pry.”

  “I see,” Kevin said as he stuck out his tongue. “I’ll leave the lady to it then.” Putting action to his words, Kevin let go of her hand and fell into step behind her. “Ladies first,” he said.

  Sarah immediately felt a pang of loss at their physical separation. In her mind, she could sense Kevin mentally sticking his tongue out at her. He knew she didn’t like being parted. Sarah guessed Kevin was trying to make a point. She wasn’t ready to think about their relationship though. Instead, she turned her mind back to Alexandra and Divar. She missed them. As much as it hurt not to be holding Kevin’s hand. It hurt more not to know where they were, what they were doing. They had become a massive part of her life over the last year.

  Kevin grabbed her hand and spun her around. “What?” Sarah asked as she sensed his frustration.

  “When are you going to tell me?” he asked.

  “Tell you what?” Sarah asked as a spike of concern ran though her. She quickly tried to remove all thoughts of Alexandra and Divar from her mind. The last thing she nee
ded was for Kevin to tell his great grandmother about her desire to escape.

  “The thing you have been hiding from me for months now,” Kevin said.

  “There is nothing,” Sarah said instinctively.

  “I know what you are planning,” Kevin said. “You have done a good job hiding it, but I know. You are trying to escape. You want to find your friends, don’t you?”

  “I’m not,” Sarah lied.

  Kevin just looked at her and smiled. “It’s me you’re talking too.”

  “Fine,” Sarah said as she tried to control her emotions and block Kevin from sensing them. “You caught me. But it has just been a thought experiment. I don’t really want to leave. Hope V is the safest place in the galaxy for me.”