by Karl Morgan
“Wow,” Dave said, “that was pretty harsh. I admit the thought of marrying you is pretty scary, but running out?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Admiral,” Charlie continued. “I didn’t find out until much later that Lyra had found she was pregnant, and reported it to the Chief Engineer at the time. I don’t even remember what his name was. She was reprimanded for getting involved with a local and ordered to return immediately. I never saw her again.”
“Don’t worry about my mom, Dave,” Lia began. “She is now governor of Day’s End, where I was born seventy two years ago. When she was booted out of Temporal Command, she took a job as a terraforming expert for the colony. Over the years, she moved up the ranks, got elected to the planetary council, and now runs the whole show. She never knew Dad would be in our time. She moved on. Even though it’s only been ten years for Dad, it’s been much longer for her.” She held Charlie’s hand tightly. “And look how great I turned out!” They all laughed. The sun was directly overhead as the shuttle set down in a newly built shuttle pad near the town center. They all removed their restraints and headed out into the midday heat.
Summer was the dry season in New Dublin. The temperature was around ninety degrees, with virtually zero humidity. The thin atmosphere made the sun feel even hotter. They hurried across the town square to the newly constructed Council Hall. They entered and were relieved by the air conditioning his crew had recently installed. Corrine Baker was waiting for them. She led them to the Council Chamber and offered them seats in the middle of the room. Around them sat the representatives from the forty population centers on high benches.
A very thin man stood and banged his gavel. He seemed to be about eighty years old in Dave’s time. He was unshaven and his hair was unkempt. “Admiral Brewster and other honored guests,” he began, “I am Adam Farso, representing the city of New Baltimore, and her five hundred souls. Today, I have been elected High Commissioner for the High Council of New Dawn. I welcome you to our home.” All the councilors stood and applauded. Dave rose and went to shake his hand, which was dry and thin, but very strong. He waved Dave back to his seat. “We have taken a vote on whether we should accept your help, and by a vote of thirty ayes, seven nays, and three abstentions, we agree to rejoin the High Council for Humanity. Meeting adjourned.” He slammed his gavel down. “Now, please join us in the antechamber for a cocktail reception.” More applause rang out. The entire group moved out of the chambers. All the councilors came to meet Dave and his crew. Handshakes and hugs were the order of the day.
Dave was ecstatic. New Dawn was going to be saved. He was very happy to meet and talk to each of the councilors and learn about their towns or cities and tell them his story. His crew had made preparations and brought down a large supply of champagne and other drinks. The Dawners offered their food and local drink, which was colorless and very strong. It was going to be a great day. He could now focus all of his attention on the Neptune situation. Just like New Dawn, he felt new confidence that there would not be a war with the Galliceans. Charlie, Aria and Lia were also enjoying themselves very much. Everyone was in a great mood, except Corrine Baker.
She came up to Dave and tapped him on the shoulder, asking him to step outside for a moment. When they were away from everyone else, she whispered “Dave, you remember about my great grandfather?”
“Of course, Corrine,” he replied. “And I will follow through on that too. When can I see him?”
“That’s kind of the problem Dave,” she said. “He’s disappeared again. When Drew and I told him about what happened on your ship, he was very excited to see Earth again. He started retelling the old stories about how he came here two hundred years ago with his wife and two daughters, one of whom was my grandmother. We had a couple of drinks together and said our good nights. In the morning he was gone. He left a note saying he couldn’t leave here without Jake and was going off to his secret place to get him.”
“Is that close to here? Who is Jake anyway?” Dave asked.
“It’s about a day’s drive. I think I know the way. I was going to go there now, but thought you might want to go along. You see, Jake is his imaginary friend. We told you some people think my great grandfather is crazy. He had told us for years and years about Jake. It’s a little scary. He’s an old man, and he’s entitled to any friends he wants, real or imaginary. With the sandstorm headed this way, I’ve got to leave now. Do you want to join me or not?”
Dave considered, and said, “We could take my shuttle and get there quicker.”
“Won’t work, Dave,” she replied. “I’m used to seeing the landmarks as I drive along the ground. It won’t be the same up in the air. I don’t want him alone out there in the storm. He says that blue flashing, winged glass spider will keep him safe, but it’s only in his head.”
Dave’s mind was reeling. He thought again about the recurring dream. Those glowing creatures flying with him over the blue planet did look like spiders, he was almost certain. “Wait here, Corrine,” he started, “I’ll go tell Charlie what we’re doing. Then I’ll be ready to go. Within a minute, he met Corrine outside and climbed into her vehicle, which was more like a heavily armored truck. They sped down the main road through town and out into the barren countryside with the large sandstorm looming in the distance ahead of them.
Chapter 25
Dave was wishing he had reconsidered Charlie’s offer to take his place on the trip. Corrine was very intensely focused on the road ahead. After two hours on the main highway, she had turned off onto what was just a path through the dirt. As they wound their way into the hills, the surface got rougher and she was forced to slow down. He was grateful for that. “It’s not safe to go too slow around here, Dave,” she said. “The further we get from the city, the higher the chance of running into bandits.”
“Bandits,” Dave repeated.
“Life on New Dawn is rough,” she replied. “Many folks can’t stomach town life. There are too many rules and not enough money to go around. The meager existence we live today is only possible due to sharing goods from town to town. New Dublin has the most fresh water, and that’s one of our largest exports, along with fish. The soil is no good for a lot of crops, so we import those from other towns. Then there are the towns along our one ocean, like New London. We get our salt and seafood from there.”
“And the bandits prey on the truckers. That’s why this truck is so heavily armed,” Dave said. He heard a metallic plinking sound.
“That’s small arms fire, Dave,” Corrine replied before he could ask. “That happens all the time. The fact that I’m the head of the police and they know it makes me a convenient target. The main things I look for are land mines. Even this behemoth won’t do well if we hit one. I’m pulling off road to avoid that.” The ride went from bad to horrible as they headed off road. Dave wondered if he could survive much more of the shaking. They crossed over a hill and a large fertile valley lay before them. Along the edge of the valley was a large river flowing slowly in the direction of New Dublin Lake and a long, straight stretch of concrete highway. “That’s the road to New Baltimore, where High Commissioner Farso is from. It is the bread basket of New Dawn. Most of the crops on the planet are grown in this region. A lot prettier than New Dublin, isn’t it?”
It was. The valley stretched as far as the eye could see in either direction. Much of the land was fallow, but farms were scattered about, each with a large heavy fence around the buildings. Dave knew this was part of the planet that was terraformed. The conditions were just too ideal to exist this close to the barrenness of New Dublin. “Corrine, are we going to the valley? Is that where your great grandfather’s secret place is?” he asked.
“No, Dave,” she replied. “New Baltimore isn’t very secret. But don’t worry, we are almost there.” She turned up the side of a second hill. The climb was very steep and even bumpier. Near the summit, there was a large cut into the hillside that was not visible from the surrounding area. She pulled her t
ruck into that cut. Dave could see a small piece of pavement next to the cut where a steel door was concealed. A small armored vehicle sat parked there. “We made it, Dave,” Corrine said as she pulled alongside the other vehicle and turned hers off. “Keep an eye out Dave, this is not a safe place.” She pulled a revolver from her holster and stepped out of the vehicle, looking around carefully. Dave climbed out and crossed in front of the truck near the door. Corrine moved to the door and pressed a hidden switch, saying, “Great Grandpa, it’s Corrine, let us in.” He heard a mechanism moving in the door. Dave felt a sharp pain in his right arm and then heard a pop. He looked down to see blood soaking his uniform, and looked up at her. “Dave, you’ve been shot,” she said as he fell to the ground unconscious.
Dave was flying again over the blue planet. This time the dream was different. He remembered being shot and looked at his arm. The sleeve was still blood-soaked, but he saw that one of the flying creatures had extended a slender tendril and was touching the spot where he was hit. The pain went away, and he could see the blood disappearing from his uniform. Even the hole in the garment was mended. He looked at the creature and thought he could see it smile at him. It was glowing very bright blue. He tried to say thank you, but no words came out. In his mind, he heard a calm voice saying, “You are quite welcome, Dave Brewster.”
He suddenly awoke to find himself inside Corrine’s great grandfather’s secret place. The place was a storage bunker built to store terraforming supplies. His crews had recently built several hundred such depots on Far Sky. The room was very large, almost one hundred meters long by fifty meters wide. Mountains of unused equipment surrounded them. He looked at his arm, which seemed to be healed, although the sleeve was still covered in dried blood. He felt remarkably good for a man who had just been shot. He sat up and could see Corrine asleep on an improvised bed. A few meters further, he could see the old man working in a makeshift kitchen. Dave cleared his throat and offered a weak “Hello.”
The man smiled broadly, grabbed two cups and filled them with fresh coffee. He strode over to Dave’s bed, extending his hand. “Admiral Brewster, I’m glad to see you back with us. I’m Corrine’s great grandfather, Horace Hildebrand. How are you feeling today?”
Dave smiled and gladly accepted the cup of coffee. He took a sip and found it to be excellent. “I feel fine, Horace, especially with this great coffee. I am grateful to you or Corrine for mending my arm so quickly. How long was I asleep?”
Horace pulled up a chair and sat next to Dave. “Three days, Son. I’m not surprised, you needed the rest to recoup the blood you lost,” Horace replied. “And you don’t owe us any gratitude Dave. It was Jake who fixed you up.”
“Jake, but Corrine told me . . .” Dave started.
“Oh, don’t listen to her and those other folks in town,” Horace scoffed. “Look at your arm, young man. Do you see any scars or sutures or anything?” Dave looked and saw only his own smooth skin. “You know what it’s like on New Dawn. Do you think we could do anything like that?”
“So, Jake is real,” Dave asked. “Can I meet him? Is he here?”
“Oh, he’s here alright, but he’s kind of shy,” Horace said as he looked about. “I talked to him about you and your ships coming to help us. He was very happy. I told him I wanted him to go to Earth with me. He wasn’t too sure about that though. He did ask is he might be able to use some of your equipment to help him get home. I think he called it a portal, or portage, something like that.”
Corrine had heard some of the discussion and came to join the men. “You still telling stories about Jake, Great Grandpa?” she asked.
“Corrine Honey, look at the man’s arm! It’s completely healed,” Horace insisted. She looked at Dave’s arm and was amazed that the injury was gone. “Did you do that? Do you think I could have done it? Certainly you don’t think Dave fixed himself?”
Corrine looked very concerned. “Dave, when we got you inside, we did what we could to stop the bleeding. That I remember. He said he had some remedies he had found here in the bunker that might hold you until we could signal your ship. Once you were stable, I was so exhausted I had to sleep. I guess I’ve been sleeping a couple of days now.” She turned to her relative, held his hand and gently said, “Okay Great Grandpa, let’s say that Jake is real and he did this. Why don’t you ask him to come out and meet us?”
Horace pulled his hand away, stood and started pacing. He ranted, “I don’t know if I will or not. You don’t believe me. Your family thinks I’m crazy. You’ll just make fun of Jake and me.”
Dave stood and walked up to Horace, looked him in the eyes and said, “Horace, I believe you. I have been having dreams about a blue planet full of creatures like Jake. I thought it was a random dream, but they keep coming back. In each dream, I am flying with thousands of the glass spiders over a blue planet. A space ship is attacking their city and they try to fight back, and I go with them. The ship turns its fire on us and we have no defenses. As I slept after being shot, I had the dream again. Only this time, I remembered my arm and looked, and one of the spiders was healing me. I could hear it talking directly into my brain and I understood what it said. I think the spider in my dream was Jake. If there is one of those creatures who can communicate with us, it can save their whole planet and prevent a possible galactic war. We’ve got to get back to my ship.”
Corrine had sat down on Dave’s bed and was shaking her head bewildered by what he had just said. She said, “Wow, Dave. Now I’m beginning to think you two are sane and I’m the crazy one. But we’re not going anywhere now. We are in the middle of the sandstorm. It will likely take another day or two to pass. There is nothing to do but sit and wait.” She walked over to Horace and threw her arms around him. “I’m sorry for not believing you Great Grandpa. Can you forgive me?”
He hugged her close to him. “There’s nothing to forgive, Honey. Half of the time I thought I had gone crazy too.” He looked around the room and shouted, “Jake, we’ve got company. Admiral Dave is here to take you home. Come on out now.” A few moments passed and a flicker of blue light caught their eyes at the far end of the room. The glasslike creature floated through the air on its gossamer wings and landed on the table in the kitchen area. Horace said, “When Jake likes to talk we need to sit close to him. He’ll touch us with his little arms and can speak directly into our minds.” The three took seats at the table. Three slender tendrils rose from Jake’s body and one touched each of the three.
“Hello Dave and Corrine,” it thought to them. “Horace likes to call me Jake because it’s simpler and more human. My name is Jacomofledes Benomafolays and I am from the planet No-Makla, which I believe the people on your home world call Neptune.”
“Jacomofledes,” Dave said aloud, “I can see now why Horace calls you Jake. First let me thank you for healing me. More importantly, I think your home world is in big trouble. I want to help you and prevent a galactic war.”
“Dave,” the thoughts came through again, “you are quite welcome. I have sensed danger for No-Makla. Like Horace and Corrine, I am stranded here. We maklans are normally able to make space and temporal jumps without a portal, but I am too far away to jump without other maklans. What can we do together to stop this tragedy?”
Chapter 26
The sandstorm lasted two more days. Dave and Jake were able to get the air conditioning and water treatment systems running. They also turned on the exterior sensors, which did not work well with the storm overhead. Dave told Jake the whole story about the possible Gallicean attack on No-Makla. Jake was certain he could warn his planet if he were able to use a portal to jump back to the Earth solar system after the storm cleared.
On the last day of the storm, Jake told Horace, Corrine and Dave about the history of his race. The maklans were an ancient race, older than many of the stars in the galaxy. Their home world, named Ai-Makla, was destroyed when their sun became a nova more than one billion Earth years ago. Two hundred thousand years before that, they
developed the technology to calculate when their star would die. There was global panic when they learned how little time was left. All of the planetary resources were reallocated to focus on moving the population to other star systems. Stars were too distant to reach by traditional space flight, so they had to find a better way. It took them one hundred thousand years to develop space jump technology. A massive portal was created in orbit over Ai-Makla. It was used to launch smaller portals near planets in neighboring systems. Smaller ships jumped through those portals to examine planets for suitability to maklan life. Eventually, over ten thousand portals were built and spread out through the galaxy. The portal near Io was put there by the maklans a billion Earth years ago. It was the last portal to be built.
Dave had always assumed that humanity or perhaps the Kalideans had built those portals. Eventually, the maklans found five hundred suitable systems, including the Earth system. Thousands of colony ships were launched through the portals to bring the maklans to their new homes. In the last ten thousand years before the Ai-Makla nova, temperatures started rising dramatically on the home world. The sun was becoming more unstable, with large gamma ray pulses shooting through space. There was widespread damage on Ai-Makla and in orbit about it by those pulses. The portal was moved to the side of the planet away from the sun to protect it. The colony ships were on their own in their new solar systems. Maklans were fleeing Ai-Makla as quickly as possible. Soon, there was virtually no governmental infrastructure as the cities emptied out. Jake said his ancestor was on one of the last colony ships that jumped to Io before the nova. Legend said that all maklans through the galaxy looked to the Ai-Makla sun on the date and time when their sun was supposed to die. The nova was very bright and looked like a second sun for several weeks before it faded into a nebula. Each year that day is remembered as the Great Rebirth.
