by Brown, Ryk
“That the captain’s mess does not yet have a cook.”
“It never crossed my mind, to be honest. I figured we’d just have something sent up from the mess hall.”
“When you did not show up, I went looking for something to eat. Did you know you have entire pantry here?”
“I didn’t even know I had a separate kitchen in here.”
“Well, you do my friend. And it is full of food, let me tell you. So I decided to cook something.”
“I didn’t know you could cook,” Nathan admitted.
“Neither did I. I guess I spent so much time as a child helping babushka Vera in the kitchen, I picked up a few things.
“Babushka Vera?”
“My mother’s mother… How do you say? Grandmother?”
“Ah yes.”
“Very positive lady she was. Her name, Vera, it means ‘hope’ you know.”
“And she was a good cook?”
“Amazing, yes.”
“What are you making?”
“Golupzi.”
“What is that?”
“It is cabbage stuffed with meat, onions, carrots, and garlic, except we do not have garlic, or carrots, or cabbage. We also do not have tomato sauce or sour cream, so I guess it is not really golupzi. Maybe we should think of a different name for it. What do you think?”
Nathan peered into the skillet at the bubbling, rose-colored sauce. Floating around in the sauce were strange blobs that looked like large leaves of a plant that resembled cabbage. Vladimir had apparently tried to fill the leaves full of his meat and veggie mixture and roll them up neatly. Unfortunately, most of his attempts had failed, and the leaves had come unrolled, allowing their contents to spill out into the sauce surrounding them. Although it smelled appetizing, its appearance left something to be desired. “I don’t know. How do you say ‘mess’ in Russian?”
“Very funny. Wait until you taste it; you will see,” Vladimir promised as he began serving the few stuffed rolls that had held together.
“Do you think you made enough?” Nathan asked after he noticed the amount still left in the skillet.
“Babushka Vera worked in restaurants. She did not know how to make small portions.” Vladimir laughed. “We ate well, believe me.”
“Captain, Comms,” Naralena called over Nathan’s comm-set.
“Comms, Captain. Go ahead.”
“Sir, Lieutenant Commander Nash needs to see you.”
“Can it wait? I’m about to eat dinner.”
“She says it’s urgent, sir.”
“Have her come here,” Vladimir suggested. “We have plenty.”
“Maybe we should taste it first before we start poisoning the crew.”
“See if I cook for you again.”
“Comms, Captain. Send Lieutenant Commander Nash to the captain’s mess.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I wonder what she wants,” Vladimir said as they carried their plates into the dining room.
“She’s probably found something in the recon data from the Juntor system.”
“Where is that?” Vladimir asked as he took his first bite of the golupzi.
“A little over six light years from here,” Nathan said, “about three light years from Takara. There’s not supposed to be much there, a mining colony or something.”
“Then why recon it?”
“Tug thinks it would be a good place for the Ta’Akar to hide a few reserve ships.” Nathan took a tentative bite of his food. “Hey, this isn’t too bad.”
“I told you,” Vladimir answered, proud of himself. “It was not easy to make, let me tell you. I had to taste a lot of different Corinairan ingredients to find proper substitutes, so do not be surprised if you find a lot of vegetables in your cold locker with bites taken from them.”
Nathan took another bite. “What’s that unusual flavor? It’s really strong.”
“I don’t know what it is called,” Vladimir admitted, “but I used it as a garlic substitute. Did I use too much?”
“I’m not sure. I like it, but maybe it is a bit strong.”
“So, what other systems are we going to recon?” Vladimir asked.
“Pretty much all of them if we have enough time. I’d like to have an idea of where all the empire’s ships are located.”
The hatch opened from the corridor, revealing Jessica, Sergeant Weatherly, and a man Nathan had never seen before. He assumed the stranger was one of the Corinairan technicians. Nathan only hoped this man wasn’t there because Jessica or the good sergeant had caught him doing something untoward.
“Lieutenant Commander, Sergeant,” Nathan greeted. “What can I do for you?”
“I think you should talk to this guy,” Jessica told him.
Nathan looked the man over. He was a few years younger than Nathan, a bit on the scrawny side, and dressed in an unmarked jumpsuit much like many of the technicians working on the Aurora. “And you are?”
“Soloman, Captain. Dexter Soloman. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Mister Soloman was one of the volunteers that helped us retake the ship, sir,” Sergeant Weatherly stated.
“According to the reports, he’s the man who killed Captain de Winter.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m not sure, sir,” Dexter admitted. “There’s some debate about which of us actually made the shot. It was either me or my friend, Sal.”
“Well, either way, we owe you a debt of gratitude,” Nathan told him. “Would any of you care to eat? We have plenty.” Jessica and Sergeant Weatherly both declined. After a few moments, Nathan looked at Dexter. “Mister Soloman, how about you? Are you hungry?”
Dexter looked surprised at first, his gaze moving back and forth between the captain and Jessica, unsure if he should accept. Finally, Jessica nodded to him. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I’m actually very hungry.”
“I’ll dish some up for him,” Vladimir said as he rose from the table.
“This is an honor, sir,” Dexter said, a smile filling his face as he took a seat at the table. Jessica sat down next to him. As usual, Sergeant Weatherly maintained a watchful position from the hatch.
“Are you from Corinair, Mister Soloman?” Nathan asked.
“Actually, that’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Jessica told him. “He’s not really from Corinair after all. He only led us to believe he was.”
“You lied to us?” Nathan wondered. Vladimir returned with a plate full of golupzi and a glass of water, setting it down in front of Mister Soloman.
“It was more like I lied to the Ta’Akar, sir,” Dexter responded. “It just spilled over onto you.”
“What the hell is that stuff?” Jessica wondered aloud.
“Glopzi,” Nathan responded.
“Golupzi,” Vladimir corrected.
“I think you were right the first time,” Jessica commented.
“So if you’re not from Corinair, where are you from, Mister Soloman?” Nathan asked.
“I’m from Ancot,” he responded as he took his first bite.
“But you do speak Corinairan, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir, I do. My father was born and raised on Ancot. He spent ten years teaching advanced agricultural techniques at a technical school on Corinair. I was actually born on Corinair. We moved back to Ancot when I was about seven, I think.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Captain, when I was drafted into the service of the empire, my father warned me not to reveal my relationships to the Ta’Akar.”
“Why?”
“My father is a rather influential man on Ancot. He feared that, if the Ta’Akar knew who my father really was, they might use me as leverage against him at some point. When I was in training camp on Takara, my bunkmate was from a rural part of Corinair, and he had trouble learning the Takaran language. Since I still remembered most of my Corinairan, I helped him learn the language of the empire. We spent hours talking each night. He told me of his homeworld, and I told him o
f mine. I knew so much about him and the village he came from that, when I was assigned to the Yamaro, I simply pretended to be from Corinair.”
“But the officers on board the Yamaro surely had access to your personnel records,” Nathan commented.
“Of course, but I doubt any of them ever paid me a nod. Besides, if any of them ever asked where I was from, I would just answer loudly that we were all Takarans now, and they would smile and walk away.”
“But you fought to retake this ship,” Nathan said.
“To be honest, sir, I was just hoping that it would allow me to get back home to my family on Ancot. Few of us who serve ever make it back home.”
“So I’ve heard.” Nathan noticed that Mister Soloman had finished his meal. “Would you like some more?”
“No, sir. I’m quite full. Thank you. It was quite delicious. I wouldn’t mind having the recipe. I used to cook in a restaurant on Ancot before I was drafted.”
“You’ll have to speak to Lieutenant Commander Kamenetskiy. He did the cooking.”
“Oh God,” Jessica said.
“I will be happy to share it with you,” Vladimir promised.
“Thank you, sir.”
“So you were born on Corinair, moved to Ancot, and then pretended to be Corinairan on the Yamaro. Why are you telling us this now?”
“Like I said, I would prefer to get back to Ancot if I could. It is my home, after all. Besides, I understand that you’re looking for someone to convince my people to join the alliance.”
“Yes, we are.”
“If that’s the case, my father is the man you need to be convincing.”
* * *
“Man, I hate recon flights,” Josh complained. “Is there anything more boring than cold-coasting through a star system?”
Loki chose to ignore Josh, his attention still focused on the passive sensors that were currently monitoring the Norwitt system. Unlike the last system he had flown through with Tug, this one did have something of interest; it was the home of the Ta’Akar empire’s primary off-world pilot training facility, and that increased the risk significantly. Loki knew that a ship could come out of FTL nearby and spot them at any moment, at which point he would have only seconds to jump them away to safety.
“I’ll take your silence as agreement,” Josh stated.
“Try to relax. We’ve still got eight hours left before we reach the next jump point.”
“Eight more hours?”
“Then we have to recon Taroa and Korak as well,” Loki added.
“What if I need to drop a load?”
“That’s why we used the head before we left. It’s also why we’re not supposed to eat a heavy meal before a mission.”
“We weren’t?” Josh answered, a guilty tone in his voice.
“You didn’t.” Loki suddenly had visions of Josh defecating in his suit.
“Relax; it’s Corinairan food, remember? It’s all meat and fiber, not a piece of bread or a dumpling in sight. Been that way for weeks now. I’m down to once every other day now.”
“Can we choose a different subject?” Loki asked. Josh went quiet for a moment, much to Loki’s relief. Unfortunately, his silence didn’t last long.
“Hey, Loki. Have you ever thought about taking this ship and just jumping away?”
“You mean not finish the mission?”
“No, I mean just taking the ship and going rogue. You know, go explore the galaxy and stuff.”
“Are you nuts? Where would we go?” Loki wondered. Josh’s question had managed to distract him from his sensor suite.
“Anywhere. We could visit your family and pick up some supplies, then just keep on going. There’s gotta be at least a few more inhabited worlds out there.”
“Out where?”
“Everywhere,” Josh insisted. “Think about it. Our ancestors fled the core worlds of Earth and headed farther out into space. They ended up a thousand light years from home. That means they were in stasis for about a hundred years! That is a long time to be asleep, my friend.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that our ancestors weren’t the only ones to head out into space.”
“Sure, but they could be anywhere,” Loki pointed out. “How would we know which way to go?”
“I’ll bet most of the people that fled the core only went a few hundred light years out. If we headed back toward Earth, think of what we might find along the way.”
“Uh, the Jung? Did you forget about them? For all we know, they’ve already spread a few hundred light years out. For all we know, they could be in the very next sector, about to invade the Pentaurus cluster.”
“Then we’d go a different direction.”
“The galaxy is an awfully big place, Josh. The chances of us finding another inhabited world outside of our own sector are so astronomical…”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
“Besides, where would we get food? What about air to breath and water to drink? The recycling systems in this ship will only last so long.”
“Leave it to you to shoot down my fantasy with practical logistics,” Josh complained.
Loki suddenly felt bad. He knew his friend was only fantasizing. The fact was he had never seen Josh as happy as he was these days, despite the frequent dangers. In fact, Loki himself was happier than he could remember, and that didn’t make sense to him. They were caught up in the middle of an interstellar war against an enemy with greater numbers and, for the most part, superior technology. It was dangerous, yes, but it was also exciting, and he was getting a chance to fly some amazing ships in some incredible situations. More importantly, he was doing something that had meaning, something that had purpose. He was part of something big, something really big. Although the enormity of it scared him to death, it also made him quite proud.
“I guess it would be fun,” Loki finally admitted.
“Yeah, it would!” Josh agreed, happy that his friend was willing to partake in the fantasy. “I figure for food and stuff, we could fly some missions for people.”
“What kind of missions?”
“I don’t know, missions that only a ship like ours could fly, like this recon mission.”
“I don’t think there’s going to be much demand for recon missions, Josh.”
“Something else then.”
“We could convert the weapons bay into a passenger compartment. I’ll bet we could easily fit three of four people in there.”
“Like an interstellar jump taxi. Now you’re thinking, Loki.”
“We could also carry urgent cargo in there.”
“Yeah, we could be smugglers!”
“I was thinking of something more legal.”
“Why not? How the hell are they going to catch us?” Josh insisted.
“What about Kaylah?” Loki wondered.
“There you go, ruining the moment again.”
“What?”
“It’s not like we’re married or something,” Josh insisted. “We’re just having a bit of fun.”
“I was just asking,” Loki defended.
“What about Deliza, then?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen the way you smile when she’s around,” Josh teased. “And I’ve seen how she always finds a way to be near you when she’s in the same room.”
“She’s only a child, Josh.”
“A child who has the hots for you.”
“It’s not going to happen,” Loki insisted.
“Why not?”
“She’s what, sixteen, seventeen years old?”
“There are girls that age getting married and popping out kids on some worlds, my friend.”
“There’s also the fact that she’s Tug’s daughter,” Loki reminded him. “Or have you forgotten that part?”
“Yeah, that would make things kind of tricky, wouldn’t it?” Josh admitted. “Screw it; we leave the women behind. It’s just the two of us. Besides, we’ll prob
ably meet tons of girls along the way.”
Loki’s attention returned to his instruments, his interest in the fantasy waning. “I think we’re better off staying where we are,” Loki mumbled.
“Well of course we are,” Josh agreed. “It was just a harmless fantasy.” Josh stared out of the canopy at the stars. “Still, it’s an interesting one.”
“Yes, it is.”
Josh continued staring out at the stars. “Hey Loki,” he said after a few moments, “you got anything to read?”
Loki pulled out a data pad and floated it forward to Josh. “Here.”
Josh caught the data pad as it floated past his right shoulder heading forward. “What’s this?”
“The captain gave me a bunch of stuff about Earth history. He studied it in school or something. I guess he’s supposed to be some kind of an expert. He thought I might find it interesting.”
“Did you read it?”
“I started to, but it’s a bit depressing. It starts right after the plague and covers the history of the recovery of Earth. Pretty gruesome stuff. Makes Haven look like a paradise. He said it gets better at the end, where there’s a bunch of historical stuff found in the Data Ark. I just haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Josh turned on the data pad and began skimming over the table of contents, looking for a section that piqued his interest. “Do you think we’ll make it?” he asked as he scanned the contents list.
“Do I think we’ll make what?”
“Do you think the Alliance will be able to defeat the Takarans?”
“I do not know, Josh.”
“Well, if it all goes to shit, we can always jump away and go rogue,” Josh stated.
“Of course.”
* * *
“As you were,” Nathan ordered as he made his way to his seat at the head of the conference table. “Jalea, nice to see you once again,” he stated as he took his seat. “I hope your mission on Ancot was not too difficult.”
“It had its moments, Captain,” Jalea responded.
“I’m sure it did. However, the information provided saved countless lives, as did the sacrifices made by your operatives during the raid on the Ancot garrison.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Your incitement of the crowd in support of Na-Tan could not have come at a more opportune moment,” Cameron commented rather sharply.
