by Dale Musser
I felt ill for a moment and was afraid I might actually vomit.
“There must be something we can do,” I said.
“Not we, but possibly you,” replied Wabussie. “However, it’s outside the scope of my position to tell you what to do or even suggest a plan. Before you say or do anything, I advise that you refrain from telling me, just in case the admiral decides to question me using a truth band.”
At first I thought he was joking, but the look on his face told me otherwise. I nodded, “Well, thanks for at least explaining the situation to me,” I said as I rose and turned to leave.
“Oh, since you already know that we have Ming’s base of operation, I can’t be accused of telling you against orders. Hence, I can give you this data without violating any directives from Regeny,” he said as he pushed a data cube across his desk. I looked at him a moment and picked up the cube.
“Good luck, Tibby. May the stars be with you,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied. “I just hope that will be enough luck for what I have to do.”
I took a brief moment to apologize to Wabussie's guard as I left. Then I returned to the MAXETTE and went directly to my office, where I summoned Marranalis for a private briefing and filled him in on the details.
When I finished, he just sat silently opposite my desk, staring at me with a shocked expression that consumed his normally stoic face. Finally, he said, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure. I only know that what I need to do I can’t do alone.”
“Admiral, I don’t think there is a man in the fleet that wouldn’t follow you into the sun if you asked them to.”
I sighed. “What I have to do may well be the virtual equivalent of that.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I think I need to arrange a very special and secret meeting. I can’t hold it here or on the NEW ORLEANS. I need a place where I can gather a few key people without anyone noticing or becoming suspicious.”
“Which people, if I may ask, sir? Maybe I can make some suggestions.
“Captain Mareoparen, for one. Also Captain Felenna, Captain Nybidong, Padaran… and Andy,” I replied.
Marranalis’s eyes widen at the last name. “That’s some list. I can see how it will be especially difficult to gather them unobserved into one location.” He thought a moment and then said. “What about the MIZBAGONA, Felenna’s flagship? It’s not a Federation ship, so there aren’t any Federation troopers to see your comings and goings. You could set up a gate here in your office, where Captain Nybidong, Captain Mareoparen and you could gather without triggering suspicion. Your bodyguards would be outside, so they wouldn’t know you’d left the ship. They’d simply assume the meeting is related to standard fleet business. The matching gate can be assembled in the meeting room on the MIZBAGONA. Andy could use the gate between Mars and the NEW ORLEANS and then use the paired gate to the MIZBAGONA from there. If you assign the right guards at the NEW ORLEANS for duty at the gate stations that day, you should have about as tight security as possible.”
“I like that plan. Great suggestion. How did you come up with it so quickly?” I asked.
Marranalis laughed. “Are you forgetting that I headed your security team for years before you brought me back to the fleet?”
“Ah, yes. Right.”
As we wrapped up the briefing, Marranalis paused a minute to ask, “Tibby, did you really toss Wabussie’s guard across the room when he blocked the door?”
“Yes. I’m sorry to say I did.”
“I wish I could have been there to see it, sir. I’ll bet he never forgets it.”
“I feel kind of bad about it. He was only following orders,” I said.
“Orders or not, you outrank Admiral Wabussie. His guard shouldn’t have tried to block you.”
“It’s not important. Compared to what we face, it’s not even worth noting. Anyway, see what you can arrange on the MIZBAGONA as soon as possible, including all the attendees that we’ve discussed.”
At this point I had endured enough stress for the day and I decided that I needed a break. I called Kala and suggested we spent the night at the estate, so I could relax a bit. Kala was delighted and informed me that Reide already at the estate. Lunnie was still at the Earth camp with Cantolla and her team, but it was unclear as to whether she would return to the estate afterward or spend the night in Earth orbit on the NEW ORLEANS.
I was looking forward to taking a nice quiet walk with Kala, possibly up to the upper lake; but it was raining when I arrived on Megelleon and it didn’t appear that it would stop anytime soon. Instead, Kala and I walked about inside the vast complex that made up the estate's main house. As always, I discovered things throughout the house that I never knew were there. I had no idea how many people lived in the main house, but I knew that there were over a thousand, possibly two, that resided across the estate as a whole. Even so, the estate was large enough that it was easy to find solitary time.
Somehow we wound up in a wing of the estate set aside for orphans that had been rescued from worlds all over the Federation. We passed by a large glass-walled exercise area, when I was surprised to see Jenira inside as she taught martial arts to a group of children between ages of ten and sixteen. It was obvious by their demonstration of skill that Jenira had been working with them for some time.
“How long has Jenira been training the orphans?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” answered Kala. “A long time now. I think she started when we were stranded on Desolation.”
“Where does she find the time? I mean, does she ever do anything else besides practice and perform security work for you and the twins?”
“She has a social life,” said Kala, “but her true passion seems to be centered around her swords and martial arts skills. Her Women with Swords assist her with training sessions, so she doesn’t do it all by herself.”
“What about Padaran?” I asked.
“Oh, she still spends a good bit of her free time with him,” Kala answered. “But their relationship doesn’t seem to be progressing very quickly. I’ve tried several times to bring it up with Jenira, but she always changes the subject.”
“How old is she now?” I asked. “I mean, she and Padaran must be in their mid to late thirties by now.”
“Well, as you know, we don’t know Jenira’s exact age. The treatments administered by the Brotherhood when she was a sex slave messed up her biological clock and, since she has no idea how long she was a slave, there’s no way to calculate her years. We can only guess at her age, but I would agree; she’s probably in her mid-thirties by now.”
“You know, Kala, I just realized that I have no idea how old you are. We’ve been together all these years and I’ve never thought about it until now. I know that here in the Federation, with all its modern miracles of science, people live longer and stay younger. Just how old are you?”
Kala laughed and said, “Is it important?”
“Well, no, I guess not. I mean, if I never thought about it until just now I guess it’s not important at all really.”
“Good,” Kala said with a mischievous grin. “Then you won’t mind if I don’t tell you.”
“Hey, that’s not fair,” I objected.
“Besides, even if I were older than you, you'd still look older than me, the way you’re aging physically.”
“So you are older than me...?”
“I didn’t say that," Kala teased. “I said if I were older than you.”
“Hm. I have a feeling you really aren’t going to tell me, are you?” I muttered.
“Nope!” Kala said with a grin as she gave me a quick kiss.
We continued walking about the estate until we eventually came to a large atrium area where people liked to socialize. An assortment of ornamental plants was arranged throughout the area and interspersed with paths, benches and bistro-type tables with chairs. A small stream meandered through each space and a picturesque reflective pool served
as the centerpiece of the of the room. As I gazed around me at the pleasant surroundings, my eyes fell upon Reide and Rory sitting at a table. They appeared to be having some sort of serious discussion and it was obvious that Rory was upset. As I watched, the tension seemed to escalate until Rory abruptly got up from his seat and left the atrium. Reide stood up and called after him, but Rory paid no attention.
Kala and I approached him. “Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Rory is angry with me because I’m thinking about joining JAC. He wanted to join with me and I told him he can’t – you know, because of his condition. He got upset and said he wouldn’t ever get to see me again. I tried to tell him I’d come back to see him often and that we would still be friends.”
Rory was one of the few people in the Federation with Downs Syndrome. The condition was quite rare, because it could be detected early in pregnancy and treated with gene splicing that corrected the condition before birth. In Rory’s case, his home planet had just joined the Federation about the time his mother became pregnant with him and this diagnostic technology hadn’t yet been introduced to the planet’s health systems. Despite his condition, he and Reide became great friends. Rory was a savant when it came to math and other technical subjects. He grasped and understood math and science concepts that most educated adults struggled to comprehend. Outside of Reide, Rory didn’t have many friends and those that he did have weren’t as close to him as Reide. There was no doubt that it would be a very difficult transition for Rory, if Reide joined the JAC.
“Dad, if I do this, will you and mom bring Rory with you when you come to visit me during training?”
“Certainly,” I said. It was then that I first realized just how serious Reide was about joining the JAC.
“Could you maybe invite him regularly to have dinner with you, mom and Lunnie? We’re kind of like family to him, you know,” he said sadly.
“I think we can do that,” I said as I glanced at Kala, who nodded back at me with a smile.
“Dad, I think I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to do it. I’m going to join the JAC. Tomorrow I will go into the city and sign up.”
Reide excused himself and ran off in the direction Rory had gone. I watched silently until he was out of sight.
“You look lost in your thoughts, Tib. How do you feel about this?” asked Kala.
“To be honest, I’m not sure. Since Reide was a baby, I’ve never expected him to join the military or even show interest in it. I have very mixed feelings about it. On one hand I’m concerned, because I know it’s going to be a lot harder than he thinks. He’s never had to live under the kind of discipline that he’ll experience in the military. On the other hand, I think it’ll be good for him, because he’ll gain a finer appreciation for family and friends – and life in general – and it will serve to develop in him a larger sense of discipline.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Tib. Both Reide and Lunnie have had more discipline than most children in the Federation. You’ve forgotten that Jenira spent a lot of time babysitting and training them. There aren’t many individuals in the Federation who are stricter task masters than Jenira, when it comes to discipline.”
“Hm, you may be right. I’d never given that any thought.”
“Tib, I see Cantolla over there. I thought she and Lunnie were still on Earth. I wonder where Lunnie is. Excuse me while I go ask her if she knows.”
I followed Kala until we caught up with Cantolla. I was always stunned by the beauty of these two women – Kala with her dark hair and olive complexion and Cantolla with her stunning figure, ivory skin and her reddish-brown mane of hair. Both women were eye catchers and head turners in their own right, but when the two were together, everyone just stopped and gawked at them.
“Cantolla, I thought you were still on Earth. Lunnie said she was staying there to help with some experiments. Do you know where she is?”
“Oh, hi Kala. Hi, Tibby. I had to return so I could check in with assistants who are working on another project here at the estate. Lunnie is still on Earth. She insisted on helping Truath with some aquatic testing. I suspect they’ll be finished sometime tomorrow. I believe she planned to return afterward.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. I was afraid for a moment that Lunnie had wandered off and everyone returned without her,” said Kala.
“You don’t need to worry about that. At least half the men on the crew will always make sure Lunnie doesn’t get left behind,” Cantolla said with a grin. “I constantly have to tell them to get back to work and stop flirting with her.”
“I hope she’s not distracting from the work you’re doing there,” said Kala.
“Oh no, not at all. She is actually a very good assistant. She’s intelligent and really serious about the work we’re doing. I hope she continues with her interest in biology and in the Earth Recovery Program.
“She told me Reide was talking about joining the JAC. That surprised me. He gets along so well with A’Lappe and shows a real aptitude for science. I really expected him to follow through on those interests.”
“Yes, it came as quite a surprise to both Kala and me as well,” I responded. “He’s going to the city tomorrow to sign-up.”
“He’s that serious about it?”
“Yes. Witnessing the devastation at Alamar-4 had a major impact on him. Now he knows firsthand what we’re fighting.”
“Well, if he is anything like his father when it comes to war, the Brotherhood doesn’t stand a chance with both of you in the military,” Cantolla teased. “By the way, I’m curious about Senator Yungman’s sister. Have you heard anything new about her recovery?”
“No. The last report I received stated that she was still pretty much in a state of shock and confusion. The mental and physical suffering she endured at the hands of the Brotherhood may have damaged her permanently. I’ve asked Dr. Hughes to see if there is anything he can do to help her.”
“I’m not sure how much I believe in that mental health stuff that Hughes practices. It seems a lot like the magical beliefs held by superstitious natives on planets like Alle Bamma. From what I can figure out from my discussions with him on the subject, the mental and emotional problems suffered by most average people come about because of taboos and self-imposed beliefs and moral drama that becomes some sort of obsession or crutch. They simply need to take things less seriously and move on with their lives."
“In some cases, that’s what Dr. Hughes tries to get people to do; however, I imagine the loss and repeated trauma experienced under Brotherhood tyranny is another thing entirely,” I said.
“I think it would just be easier to strap a headband on them and erase the memories that cause the problem,” replied Cantolla. “What Hughes does sounds like placebo nonsense that wastes a person’s time. Bring them into a room, strap the headband on them and twenty minutes later they walk out with no remaining sign of the memory. Tell me honestly; you were being treated by Hughes after your crash at Goo’Waddle. How much did he help you?”
“Uh, actually I saw him only one or two times. I was too busy to follow up with the treatments.”
“My point exactly,” Cantolla grinned. “And here you stand, a fully functioning normal individual. You didn’t need this psyche... whatever he calls it, stuff.”
Kala laughed. “Psychology. If you were around him more often, you might not hold that opinion.”
Cantolla looked at Kala questioningly, but Kala only grinned.
We were interrupted by a call on my wrist com.
“Tibby here,” I answered.
“Admiral, I was able to set up the meeting as you requested. It’s scheduled for tomorrow morning at the location you specified.”
“Thank you, Captain,” I answered. I turned to Kala and Cantolla. “Ladies, you will have to excuse me. I need to speak with A’Lappe. Kala, I’ll be back shortly. We can have a nice dinner in about two hours, if that is alright with you…?”
“Certainly, Tib. I’ll ask Piebar to fix us s
omething special.”
I transferred through the Cantolla Gate at the estate to the NEW ORLEANS and went straight to A’Lappe’s lab. Since A’Lappe never slept, he was almost always in his lab – and this occasion was no exception.
“Tibby! I wasn’t expecting to see you with all that’s been going on,” said A’Lappe when I entered.
“This visit wasn’t exactly planned, but a new situation has arisen and I hoped you might have some good information on your attempts to find that rundadudite… or whatever that stuff is you need to make the PLABEs.”
A’Lappe laughed. “It’s called rundadite, and no, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find its source. I have managed to get enough samples to construct four PLABEs, including the one installed on your personal transport, but that’s it. I’ve located a few other samples stored at universities, but they refuse to relinquish them.
“I see. I was hoping for better news. Nevertheless, see if you can finish construction of at least one more PLABE and install it on the MAXETTE and ship the other two to Marranalis as soon as they’re completed. I wish right now we had enough to equip all of our ships. I fear we’re going to need them desperately very soon.”
“I’ll see what I can do to find more, Tibby, but I’m afraid it could take years, possibly lifetimes, before we find another source that we can tap.
“You’re about due for another treatment aren’t you?” A’Lappe added.”
“Uh... yes. Tomorrow night, I believe.”
“I have something new that I want to administer along with your treatments. I’m hoping it will ease some of the discomfort.”
“Discomfort! That’s what you call it? I’d hate to see what you call pain,” I responded.
A’Lappe chuckled. “Well, when it comes to pain, I’m certain that you’re an expert, considering all that you’ve been through. Is the treatment pain any worse than what you went through after your crash on Goo’Waddle?”
“Honestly, it’s more intense initially, but the pain after Goo’Waddle was of longer duration; so in that respect it may have been the worst overall. That being said, the first thirty minutes after a treatment is most certainly more extreme than the pain I felt after Goo’Waddle.”
