Confluence Point

by Mark G Brewer

  "Ham, don't you dare, I want only you, and you're good enough for me." She reached for him, cupping, stroking and then took him in her mouth drawing an immediate response; and then holding him, she lay back on the floor, and urged him down with a single word.

  "Here . . ."

  Kneeling, he looked at her with such love and then propped himself on his elbows as she guided him inside her. Pulling him down she wrapped her arms around him for a moment in a tight embrace, holding him close before releasing him as he began to thrust, with slow strokes, his eyes locked on hers, drinking in her every response, and savoring every movement.

  Regan too, kept her eyes open, enjoying his rapture while mentally adjusting her own receptors, maximizing and yet managing her timing, watching for his reactions and then releasing all restraint as he came so that they climaxed together, a long wonderful moment of shared joy and love.

  They lay side by side on the hard floor, neither caring about discomfort. Regan turned to look at him, now lying on his back just staring at the ceiling.

  "What are you thinking my love?"

  He turned his head to look at her, and then with no hint of humor said . . .

  "Shouldn't we be smoking?"

  They both laughed like children, rolling together before she pinned him, astride his hips, holding him down at the wrists. She bent forward and kissed him.

  "Now Ham, if you're going to keep up, your lessons must begin." And she began to grind against him.

  * * *

  Leah and Marin would be back in another day she knew, time was running short. Walking with Ham through the park they both avoided discussing her leaving until they reached the lake. Sitting on a bench by the water he turned to her with something clearly on his mind.

  "Regan, this is going to sound self serving but really, it's not. I am working, gathering information, but this," and he gestured to his body, the android form, "this body is too important to my kind, I can't keep the gift to myself." And with the words she could feel the immediate transfer of files, passing smoothly through the open curtain.

  "They are blueprints for the androids Regan, everything needed to build them. Get them to Dahlia, she'll know what to do with them. I know it won't always be appropriate, but for a Mind, this is a dream. Please, will you do that?"

  "Of course I will, in fact it might help me too. And Ham . . . I'll still be back soon, a fortnight at most and it's important you stay focused. There are so many things we need to know, such as are there any threats here? Are they legit? And where are we? We need to know because Aaron's going to get this job done, I know it and I need to be sure I'm not bringing our people into a trap of some kind."

  "I'll get it done, and I'll be ok, don't worry."

  She kissed him, and then walked slowly with him through the empty park to the tube; it was a short ride to their building, to the room, to the closet . . . and then Dahlia.

  * * *

  The Searching Saucer

  Millions of square kilometers covered over many days and with scant reward. There was so little to show for so much time.

  The tiny ADF must have disintegrated, that much was clear. The two men, racing driver and accountant, assumed their usual, relaxed positions, eyeing the screen, a paltry half dozen segments all they had to show for their troubles.

  "Only one piece is identifiable, and it's not enough." Nelson rubbed his chin furiously with anxiety.

  "Hey, it's not the end of the world, that piece at least tells us something. It was headed outward, no real surprises there and it came from the left wing. Come on, you're the detail man, talk to me."

  Nelson grudgingly acknowledged the few points. "We know the box is centre left on the ADF, so I guess it's most likely that as it broke up the box would be somewhere between the trajectory of that piece and whatever the centre line was." He started to perk up at the ideas.

  Mario nodded. "Great and we have a fair idea of the centre line, so let's get going."

  "Mario, you're having some good ideas, but trust me on this, proper preparation will prevent piss poor performance. We need at least a few more parts to narrow this down. We're looking at trillions of cubic kilometers of space out there and we need at least a half dozen identifiable pieces just to give some idea of the volume we're dealing with."

  "Sooo, we keep looking . . ." Mario still looked remarkably cheery.

  Day twenty five . . .

  * * *

  Sindali, looking every bit the diplomatic powerhouse, slipped out of the conference room with suitable decorum. Once outside with the doors closed behind her she broke into a huge smile and pumped her fist, something she'd seen Leah do that she also found most satisfying. Finding a quiet corner she settled down to contact Regan and Marin. Closing her eyes she concentrated.

  [Is this a good time?]

  Marin replied instantly. [We've been waiting Sin, no problem, how did it go?]

  [Very, very well, although I'm not sure you will feel the same way.]

  [Just tell us Sin, come on - don't tease it out.] Regan subbed.

  [Well, it helped that the Premiers of Reubus, Tihan and Acura are all most impressed with their Orbital Minds. The discussions they've had and the assurances given mean they are definitely with us. The unfortunate deaths of the leaders on Fifino and Cora have held things up somewhat, however it seems on Cora at least there is tremendous support from the people. They have heard of the partnership possibilities with you in your system, Regan. Though they lack leadership at the moment they're inclined to accept a titular head and support Tihan in his administration.]

  [And Fifino?] Regan asked.

  [Fifino is more problematic, they've been thoroughly indoctrinated and no one is confident in their cooperation; it'll need a strong hand.]

  [They'll get a strong Ham.] Marin laughed.

  [Anyway, we have agreement from Reubus, Tihan, Cora , Acura and of course Dahlia that the Minds are to be accorded full citizenship. They will have responsibility for maintaining order within their own community and the big three, Reubus, Tihan and Dahlia have been accorded oversight responsibility.]

  [That's great news Sindali, well done.] Regan was clearly relieved.

  [Regan . . . I said you might not feel the same way . . . there's more.]

  [Uh-huh?]

  [The Minds were only prepared to take up the responsibility under your oversight and covering.]

  [What? What does that mean?]

  [It means they submit to your leadership alone. Regan, ultimately you're the only one they're prepared to trust. They believe, and I tend to agree, that you're also the only one whose authority is unquestionable.]

  [Excuse me but what the . . . unquestionable . . . me?]

  [Regan,] Marin interjected, [they're doing this because it's Ham they're wary of, they all respect him but at the same time . . . what's that phrase? He scares the bejesus out of them.]

  Regan looked reluctant [So if Ham's the one with the power, why not make him the covering then]

  [Regan, for goodness sake, you can be so blind sometimes, Ham's your man, and they're counting on you to control him]

  [Oh.]

  [Regan,] Sindali continued quickly, [it might surprise you but the Premiers are in agreement as they see you as a neutral party. With you in the role no one feels that they're taking second place to another Orbital. They've seen your willingness to help out Dahlia, and to try to work with the people of Cora even though they attacked you. On top of that they can't deny the people support you. They want you to accept a role as titular head of the system. For all intents and purposes it's a ceremonial position . . . except of course they are under no illusions about the reality . . .]

  [Ham you mean.] Marin smiled happily.

  [Exactly Marin, no one said it directly but I think the Minds are quite clear where the power lies. As long as you're around Regan, as a restraining influence, they are more than comfortable with the arrangement.]

  [Babe, this is great, you'll be like a benign dictator.]
Marin sounded pleased but Regan wasn't convinced.

  [The Premiers, how can they possibly be happy with this?]

  [Regan, they're politicians, this way they get to keep their roles and nothing really changes except things run better. They look good, the great statesmen . . . oh and did I mention that they get to keep breathing?]

  [Oh come on, they don't really think the Minds would ever do that?]

  [Which Mind are we talking about?]

  Regan didn't respond for a long moment. [Tell them I'm honored . . . and I'll think about it.]

  [Of course, you must think about it, it's a big decision . . . but don't leave it too long.]

  Sindali opened her eyes and scanned the room, pleased to find she was still alone. She hugged herself, a shiver of excitement passing through her and then broke into a huge smile.

  So, Regan leading the system; that can only be good for Dahlia.

  She stood confidently to return to the fray, it's always easy to be the bearer of good news.

  * * *

  Regan was running out of steam. After ten days of system tours, photo opportunities and hand shaking she was tiring of the attention. Reubus and Tihan were always solicitous of her time, eager to be seen with her whenever they could, as were the Premiers though they quickly moved on to more important matters once the camera opportunities were gone. That suited her fine; I'm not aiming to change the galaxy! Sindali was right; little would change, at least in the short term.

  Dahlia and Ham concentrated on acquiring all the resources needed for home with insertion ready power sources being the main priority. They could manufacture most of the hardware they needed with the fabricators at Hillary, and now they would return with enough exotic matter to power a fleet. Dahlia's ideas on essentials required both for Hillary Station and the Earth added hugely to their list and it became clear they would need several transports in addition to the Behemoth to freight everything back.

  The most interesting cargo on the return back home would be people, Coran family members of those who stayed in the solar system plus around two hundred new Coran youth looking for an adventure. Marin and Leah had vetted them well with Ham's assistance. They were all experienced miners, hard workers and multi skilled. Some would work on building the Orbital, others would move straight to the outer system mining asteroids or to Saturn to mine the moons, harvest methane or some other project that might assist expansion into the solar system.

  And, she thought, some might even be perfect for an adventure to quite another side of the galaxy.

  To house and transport the system immigrants they decided to lease two huge interstellar freighters, one of which would stay as a temporary base for the outer system. The other would commence regular return trips, at least two monthly depending on demand. Aaron's attentions were diverted temporarily to work on the drives and all going well they would have capability to get underway soon should they want to.

  The Behemoth would be retained as spoils of war, much to the chagrin of certain Coran officials. In addition Ham assured her at least one other warship would be waiting for her at home.

  As they neared the time of departure Regan reviewed her personal plans for the future. Able now to move instantly between star systems, all she needed was a bodily presence in each place to complete the picture. Dahlia would have just such a body for her in weeks, and once home Hilary would do the same for her there. Then she could snap wherever, whenever, with Ham. Just the thought left her breathless, and Ham embarrassingly excited.

  For now she decided to be patient and resist the temptation to snap home. There was another Regan there after all; it could wait.

  * * *

  The Searching Saucer, Interstellar Space

  Nelson looked at the image floating in the centre of the control area and shook his head in amazement.

  "How on earth could you build that image from the miniscule information we've been able to gather?"

  Mario looked particularly pleased with himself. "I think it's rather good, very helpful."

  "Mario we can't base anything on that. You realize you've done the equivalent of drawing a new dinosaur based on the discovery of something that might be a toenail."

  "Nelson," the racing driver appealed to him, "we're getting closer and that's the main thing." He crossed his arms in smug satisfaction.

  Nelson shook his head and turned back to the holographic image. An almost complete ADF looked back at him, based on only the twelve pieces of debris they had recovered. Stretching out from the central figure, lines extended in three dimensions showing the trajectory each piece had taken following impact. While it frustrated him to admit it, the representation did give some hope. Several of the pieces hinted at a likely range of paths for the black box. Still, the volume of space to search given the time since the impact was still far too big.

  He turned back to Mario with a genuine look of sadness, not really wanting to disappoint him.

  "Mario, I'm so sorry, but we need to keep looking for more pieces. It's like this. I understand the box is still moving away from us as we speak and not chasing it seems counterintuitive, however the volume of space to search is so large at the moment we could be looking forever.

  Even if it takes us more weeks to narrow that path down, at least it means we can chase straight after it, go right there. Time we invest now saves time later. Do you understand?"

  "I might understand, but I don't like it."

  "I know my friend, I don't like it either . . . back into it?"

  Mario nodded reluctantly.

  Day forty nine . . .

  * * *

  Dahlia

  All was finally ready for the journey home, the three huge ships now stocked and peopled to the maximum. An air of excitement filled the vessels and in the restricted ship space no one wanted to delay departure longer than necessary. Regan however had one thing she wanted to be sure of before she left. She closed her eyes and snapped to the hub for her meeting with Dahlia.

  The gracious woman, with long white dress and hair in a bun watched eagerly for Regan's reaction, hoping to please.

  [So, what do you think?]

  [It looks magnificent Dahlia, perfect. Thank you, I can't wait to take it for a spin.]

  [It's the latest you know Regan, far more powerful than is really needed in our environment. You'll need to dial that power down in most circumstances.]

  [I'm sure I'll adjust, we can test run it when I return. I don't want anyone else wearing it, understood?]

  [Of course, and I'll be building more anyway, provided you're happy.]

  [Dahlia, can we leave that until I return? By all means build one for Ham to his preferred spec but I'd like to talk to the Minds about protocol before this is unleashed on the system. It will be an enormous shock you know, and not just for the people. The Minds are going to struggle with this too.]

  [Of course, they don't even know about the possibility at this point. I'll keep it under wraps and make sure Ham does the same.]

  Regan took another look at her android image nestled in the storage chamber, the potential of it again sending a thrill through her.

  [Thank you my dear friend, you have done well, and I promise I won't be long.]

  [Travel well. We'll look after everything, don't worry.]

  She reopened her eyes to the STEIN Traveler control room, a quick scan revealing all her nearest and dearest were already with her. With a gesture she called Jared over, wrapping one arm around him to pull him close. She was ready.

  "Take us home Ham."

  And without any fanfare the ships began to move, cheers quickly breaking out throughout the vessels.

  * * *

  The Saucer, Interstellar

  The holographic ADF image had changed little; however debris lines around it now expanded from it in all directions, like a geometric pattern with the spread looking more and more regular as more gaps were filled; important gaps.

  Nelson stood staring at the display, his eyes unfocused a
s if a billion kilometers away. Mario watched, waiting impatiently for feedback, one leg crossed over the other, jiggling it up and down in frustration.

  "Well, can we move?" He finally asked. Five minutes was far too long.

  Nelson turned to him, still frustrated and knowing persuading his partner to wait would get harder and harder.

  "Come over here Mario, I want to show you something."

  "Shit . . . you don't need to say any more, I know what you're going to say, I'm not stupid you know, but this would be a lot more interesting if we just went a little further out, don't you think?"

  "Please, I understand how you feel, I feel the same way believe me, but I'm fighting it and I want to show you why."

  "You know I know why, I know everything you do."

  "That's true, but there are some things your version of us doesn't like to think about, just as I fully acknowledge this version of us, me, can be a bit pedantic. Come on, bear with me a moment."

  Mario didn't bother to walk the few steps, instead disappearing and materializing again, a hovering ghost, just to Nelson’s left. Nelson ignored the irritation, gesturing instead to the hologram.

  "First, this has been a good exercise; your hologram was a good idea. If you look at the debris lines we've established I guess we could say with ninety percent certainty that provided the box survived it has a path somewhere within this cone area."

  A transparent pinkish cone appeared, beginning at the impact point and expanding out to the edge of the room. It had the appearance of continuing on through the wall and it wasn't a stretch to imagine it disappearing off into space.

  "Now, for the sake of scale, I'll reduce this."