by Jay Toney
When the sun started setting, turning a fiery red on the horizon, I gathered my clothes and escorted the girls to an outdoor grill, where I ordered dinner for the three of us. The meal consisted of a thick and juicy piece of meat, similar to steak, and a side of french fries. I knew my day in the sun was over, but there was always tomorrow.
We left the simulation, heading back to our quarters. Tomorrow, I would check to see if Doc was making any progress. I sat on our couch between Jewel and Amber watching a movie on our monitor, and enjoying their company.
The next morning I felt somewhat refreshed. After breakfast, I called Randolph to have reconnaissance cameras installed on my marauder. Jewel and Amber overheard my call, and volunteered to fly with me.
"Where are we going?" Jewel asked.
"To get some information on the third and fifth planets. We may have to do a raid, good intelligence is essential for a successful raid."
"Will it come to raiding the planets for the supplies we need?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."
We launched, heading towards the fifth planet. We flew at maximum speed to reach the planet as fast as possible. With our ships new propulsion, the marauders were only slightly faster than half of their speed. If I took the Persephone to each planet, that would lead to suspicions I wanted to avoid.
It took a few hours for us to reach the first planet. The planet was largely covered with snow and ice. It didn't have any axial tilt, leaving only a small green belt around its equator. The three of us dove towards the planets surface, and I started recording the landscape while we were skimming the surface. We didn't receive any calls challenging us.
The land looked lifeless. There were no machines harvesting or tending the crops. I didn't see in people at all. Even when we flew over one of the few cities, it appeared dead, without any activity. Having recorded enough, we left heading to the third planet.
It was much closer in relationship to us, than the trip to the fifth planet was to our fleet. I changed the memory crystal, readying the cameras for the next planet. I put my marauder on autopilot and began viewing the video stored on the memory crystal. The images flashed by to fast to see any detail, so In had to slow video down, so it appeared in what looked like real time playback.
I watched the video for the next hour, streaming the video to Amber and Jewel so they could watch, and perhaps catch something I didn't see. Everyone was dead. I didn't see a single living person on the planet. It was hard to imagine that everyone suddenly died in only a weeks time No bodies were collected for burial or disposal. They were just left were they collapsed.
When we got to the third planet, the topography was much different. The planet was rotating on a nearly 30 degree axis. We flew down to the southern hemisphere, where the climate was better for human life during this time of year. I ran the cameras again, passing over the colonies, and farms. Not much could be seen from our altitude, and airspeed, but what little I saw appeared lifeless.
On the way back to the Persephone, We reviewed the video captured by our cameras again. It was no different. Bodies laid dead in the streets everywhere I looked. There was no sign of human life.
It was late by the time we got back to the Persephone. The three of us had dinner in our cabin, reheating frozen meals. I put the video of the first planet we visited, on our monitor, slowing the video playback. I called Doc to see if the video files might be of help. When he heard that I made a reconnaissance flight to the other two planets, and brought back the camera footage, he hurried to my suite.
My deevil started chattering for attention. He climbed up onto the back of my couch and started chattering and pointing at the screen. After he was sure he had my complete attention, he point at the monitor then at himself.
"You know it would be much easier if you could talk to me."
He let out a series of shrieks and chattering.
"Well I guess it isn't. I'm sorry I don't speak deevil."
He pointed at the people on the monitor again, then at himself.
"The people are deevils?"
He shook his head and tried again.
"The people are like deevils?"
He nodded, then shot out his tongue, then made slow chewing motions.
"They are also like food?"
He shook his head no, then scurried over to me and bit me on the arm.
I thought I might have the message, after the bite.
"The people are like you and the niffids?"
He nodded, then curled up acting like he was exhausted.
Doc came in and watched the images on both memory crystals.
"This plague is worse than I expected. I can't find a means of communication between the people, and nothing I have tried works. Everyone will be dead in just a few weeks, the way it is spreading."
My deevil reared up and started screeching again.
"Doc, my deevil wanted me to tell you that the people I recorded are like both the deevils and the niffids. I'm not sure what that means. Do you have any idea what he is talking about?"
"Your deevil is a genius. I should have realized it earlier."
"I know he is smart, but I didn't think he was that smart."
"I'm not talking about your deevil, I'm talking about his message. He was telling me that the people of this system are genetically engineered humanoids, just like the deevils and niffids are genetically engineered. We have been searching for a disease. What I need to look for are genetic markers to see what is wrong."
Doc crossed the corridor and beat on Miranda's door.
"Miranda, hurry up. We have been searching for the wrong type of treatment. Nathaniel's deevil has put us on the right path to cure the people. We have to hurry."
They both raced to sickbay.
"Nathaniel, have you been talking to your deevil again?" Amber asked.
"Yes, this time Doc called him a genius. I knew he was smart, but a genius?"
"I'm sure Doc also got a lot of information from the camera footage."
"I don't know about Doc, but my deevil did."
"Come to bed, Jewel and I are tired."
Climbing in bed with Jewel and Amber was just what I needed. I hoped they weren't to tired.
****
The next morning I decided to check on Doc. He and Miranda were up all night working. Knowing Doc, he wouldn't stop until he found a cure. I got a couple of breakfast meals from my pantry, and headed to sickbay. Both Doc and his assistant were busy at their computer terminals.
"Any luck Doc?"
"We're getting closer, but something is missing. I can't think of what that may be. The people are dying because they lack some type of symbiotic relationship."
"Have you been able to check and see if they have any deevils and niffids? Maybe my deevil meant, more than the fact that they were genetically engineered. Maybe they were all engineered by the same source, each needing each other to survive?"
"I don't see any of our deevils or niffids suffering."
"The niffids are needed to clean our waste and pollutants. Deevils eat the niffids to maintain their population, and the deevils bond with their human partner."
"Nathaniel, if you were a devil or niffid I'd kiss you. You're not, so get out of our way. We have a possible cure to try."
I left their meals and headed back to my quarters.
"Have Doc and Miranda come up with a cure?" Jewel asked.
"I don't know about them, but I made a suggestion, then things got weird. I told Doc that the people may depend on deevils and niffids to live, then he told me if I was a deevi
l or niffid he would kiss me. Then he kicked me out of sickbay. Usually he tries to keep me there."
"Maybe you're as much of a genius as your deevil is. Lets celebrate. I know of a resort on Spicer II where we can spend the day."
****
"Nathaniel, its about time you showed up. I've been looking for you all day. I don't know how you stumbled upon the cure, but its going to work. I'm raising tens of thousands of niffids in a couple of incubators, to disperse on the space station and planet. Several deevils have volunteered to reproduce and bond to the people of Vista. Their presence, should slow and stop the people from dieing. When they have a healthy population of niffids and deevils again, they will become healthy again. I've told them everything we know about caring for our deevils and niffids. They have a second chance now to get it right."
"Stumbled upon the cure? Isn't it possible I just might be intelligent?"
"Don't give yourself to much credit. Your deevil must have told you how to cure the people. We can dock now and get our ships serviced."
I headed to the bridge. Jewel and Amber were waiting.
"How did it go with Doc?" Jewel asked.
"He'd rather believe my deevil told me how to cure the people, than me coming up with the information on my own."
"Don't take it to bad, you really do have the smartest deevil on the ship."
"Call the station and get docking clearance. Let the Lucy know they can dock now too."
"Your clear to dock, white section dock one."
I sat at the helm controls, and maneuvered the Persephone to the dock. After docking I shut down the controls.
"Amber and Jewel, lets get lost for a couple of weeks."
They didn't need anymore urging. They led and half pulled me to the airlock. The girls were not in so much of a hurry themselves, to get off the ship. I missed the last chance to have any shore leave, so I had been aboard the Persephone for quite a while. They were in a hurry to get me off the ship.
With Natty bonding with Red, they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to feel depressed or sorry for myself. With Jewel and Amber, there was no way that was going to happen. We each shared a mixed quarter of our souls with each other. We could never use the bonding disks to join with another person again. The cost to us would be to much. We were soul mates for life, and maybe beyond it.
Do Unto Others
The Sirrah System according to our files and Red was a big question mark. Every visit to this system was different to Red. Sometimes he was treated as a welcome guest, other times he was treated with hostility. The best way he could describe the way we would be treated, was as if our treatment would be determined by a coin toss. I had visited many systems throughout the Alliance and its border worlds. Generally treatment towards visitors was welcomed, with few exceptions.
Sirrah IV was one of the exceptions. Not only did they not want us visiting their planet, for trade, they wanted us out of their system immediately. After trading insults, Red suggested that we move on. We didn't need to stop, and could bypass the system easily. I however wasn't going to let it go. No one insulted a Roberts and no one told a Roberts he wasn't welcome in their system, and not pay the price. The planet people would have to be taught a lesson.
There wasn't anything we really needed, but I was sure we could find something they didn't want taken. It was long past time to set up a raid. The first part of a successful raid was to gather intelligence. The next was to destroy their defenses. Afterwards, teams would loot predetermined sites. Finally we had to return to the ship and divide up the booty.
It sounded simple, but it wasn't. I had been on several raids, everyone of them successful, but not without losses and injury. We headed out system, then turned back hiding our return, in the shadow of the planets moon. We entered lunar orbit, staying hidden on the dark side of the moon. A small satellite was launched to receive and transmit communication signals. Jewel started monitoring communications from the planets surface.
Doc sat next to her, discarding useless chatter, and recording essential elements of communications. In the past I had experienced pilots that had taken part in raids before. This time Doc and I were the only experienced pilots. I needed some one who was not only a good pilot, but a crafty one who could adapt to changing situations. My Vorg pilots were good combat pilots, and would play a part in the raid, but not as reconnaissance pilots. I wasn't sure about Natty. She was as good a pilot as I was, but now she was limited, not being able to communicate with the ships AI. She also was limited by her human brain, and the slow way we processed and handled data. That left me with a very short list to choose from.
"Jewel, get me Randolph."
Randolph appeared on the viewscreen, "What can I do for you Captain?"
"I need Amber's marauder fitted with reconnaissance camera's, and memory crystals."
"What about mine? I'm going with her aren't I?" Jewel asked.
"No, this is a solo reconnaissance mission. One ship can fly in and be overlooked, two ships are enough to alert the spaceports defenses. We don't want them alerted and scrambled. I need her to bring us back footage of the spaceport and surrounding buildings. This mission is about gathering intelligence, not combat."
"Why her?"
"I not only need a good pilot, I need someone who is devious and crafty. She is the only one I know other than myself, who fits the criteria."
"I don't know about devious, but she is crafty."
"I assure you, she has a dark side to her. Its one of the things I love about her. She will do okay."
"And me?"
"I love everything about you and your magic fingers. You give the best massages I have ever had."
"Liar."
She smiled when she called me a liar, so I knew that I was safe, at least for now. In her own way, she was crafty too. I took Amber into the anteroom to have a private talk with her.
"Amber, I don't want any heroics, If they scramble get out of their. I'd rather skip the raid than loose you. If you are able to, we need several shots of the starport and surrounding buildings. Try to follow behind local traffic when you can, if you can't fly out a distance before turning back and go in at a different approach. We need information, not heroics. I know you can do it. I've done it many times myself. Its just like how we were flying in the Vista System, but we are much closer. Get some sleep now. You leave at midnight local time."
"Can I bring Jewel as a copilot?"
"Not for this mission, I need you alert, without any distractions. There will be more missions where we will be able to fly together."
Amber went to our cabin, and went to sleep, an Alarm set to get her up in time to fly the mission. I kept Jewel up late into the night, not allowing her to sleep until after Amber left for her mission. Given the chance, I was sure she would have sneaked off with Amber.
****
I flew down towards the planets surface well away from the spaceport. Unlike Nathaniel, I kept my ship in a straight, steep dive towards the surface, trying to mimic the occasional asteroid entering the planets atmosphere.
While still at high altitude, I began searching my sensors for a ship that would take me near, or over the spaceport and its facilities. There were very few choices, this time of night, with most traffic being cargo shuttles. I found one that would fit my needs, and flew in, slightly above him, with my formation and anti-collision lights off.
When we were near the spaceport, I started recording. The shuttle veered off, changing its course for a landing approach. After I was past the spaceport, I turned off the recording and continued past the spaceport and well into the country, before changing course. I was able to do this two more times successfully. On my last pass things
changed.
I followed a cargo shuttle, like I had the past three passes over the spaceport. This time there were patrol craft waiting. They flew after me demanding my surrender, as I was completing my last pass. I was ordered not to engage them in combat, except as a last resort. I also couldn't just outrun them heading back to the Persephone.
The region to the north was full of mountains, so I headed that way, advancing my throttles. I had a good lead, but not enough to shake them. I needed some cover, fast. I turned on my search lights, and began scanning the canyons and valleys below me. After about 20 minutes of flying I found something that looked promising to me. I dove into the canyon and flew through the canyon as fast as I could. My pursuers followed, but dropped further back, in the narrow winding canyon. A large overhang with a shallow cave appeared just ahead. I reversed my thrust, and started my repulsorlift engines. I pulled into the cave, and lowered my ship, settling on its landing gear. Then I cut all power, and waited.
The patrol craft shot past, without spotting me. I waited, knowing they would be back soon. I wasn't disappointed by them. They came back, playing their searchlights on the canyon walls. The entrance to my shallow cave remained hidden by the rock outcropping, and they passed by. The patrol ships continued their search until daylight before giving up and retuning to the starport.
I eased my marauder out of the cave and flew north for an hour before climbing away from the planet. No one pursued me on the way back to the Persephone.
****
"Amber is everything okay? We all expected you back here hours ago."
"You should have let me bring Jewel along. It would have given me someone to talk to while I was hiding in a cave."
"That's precisely why I didn't. I wanted you focused on your mission, and not talking. Had she been with you, both of you might not be here now. I had to learn the hard way, be glad you didn't."
"I guess I see your point, but ... ."
