by S. H. Jucha
Duggan and Katie had sat on the sofa, confounded by the news that their gentle son was using his Méridien tech in such a manner.
“Does Director Stroheim hold a grudge against Alex?” Katie had asked in trepidation.
Christie had burst out laughing. “That’s the funny part, Mom. Director Stroheim said he has learned more from Alex about being a better human being than through his entire Méridien life. He says his initial meeting with Alex was a wake-up call that he heeded.”
Since it appeared Christie knew much more about Alex’s present circumstance than they did, Duggan had begun questioning Christie. “So you believe Alex won’t permanently return here?”
“Do you remember that injured wild diablo puppy that Alex brought home? It was dying of starvation, and it was too far gone to take food. Every time Alex tried to help, the puppy bit him. He never quit trying to save that puppy despite being bitten twelve or fifteen times until …”
“Until that puppy died,” Duggan replied, completing Christie’s point. “Now he has a quarter-million human people depending on him.”
“Exactly, Dad,” Christie said. “Put that together with Renée herself, Alex’s submersion into Méridien tech, especially his implants, and I think Alex will have a new life, one far away from us.” She had paused for a moment to stare at her feet before she had raised her head up and looked at her parents. “And I don’t want that.”
* * *
Alex sat at his cabin desk, working on the flotilla’s launch schedule, which was dependent on the arrival of the last supplies and the processing of the pioneers. His scheduling app said he had a few more moments before an interview with a pioneer family that Director Stroheim wanted his opinion on.
Alex looked up as Renée came through the cabin door—followed by Alex’s own family. He jumped up from behind his desk and rushed to hug them.
Alex stood absolutely still while his eyes took in his family.
“See what I mean about his implants,” Christie said. “I will bet you hover-car privileges that he just requested a delay of his scheduled appointment and was told, probably by Julien, that we’re his appointment.” She was rewarded by Alex’s expression shifting from a quiet stare to that of a raised eyebrow. She felt herself folded into her brother’s massive chest and a kiss planted on the top of her head.
“Clever girl,” Alex told Christie. He invited his family to take a seat as he threw a pointed look at Renée. He knew she had to be part of the subterfuge. All he got in return was a wink.
Once everyone was seated, Alex asked them for a moment.
Alex came out of his fugue to stare at his family sitting quietly and respectfully on the cabin’s couch. Renée, on the other hand, was perched on the edge of his desk, one leg crossed over the other, and an anticipatory grin on her face.
“It’s so much better to watch Alex wrestle with problems that don’t have the possibility of us ending up dead,” Renée said.
“Thank you for your assistance, my dear Co-Leader,” Alex deadpanned.
“It’s my pleasure, Admiral,” Renée responded as respectfully as possible, trying to tone down her excitement.
As the father in this situation, Duggan decided he should start the conversation. “Alex, is our application in order?”
“Yes, Dad, it appears to be,” Alex replied.
“Have we provided an ample amount of funds for the endeavor?” Duggan asked.
“More than enough, Dad,” Alex said.
“Then your hesitation is one of discrimination,” Duggan said, cornering Alex with his final point.
The gleams in the eyes of Christie and Renée resembled predators that had spotted prey.
“If our paperwork and funds are in order, why are we sitting in front of you?” Duggan asked. “I understand all of the other applicants are interviewed by either Sers Monti or Stroheim.”
“Your application was probably singled out by the SADEs because of their concern for me. Our new world will be fraught with dangers … from the environment, from the lack of infrastructure, and potentially from aliens. It will be a dangerous world for many years.”
“But not too dangerous for Renée,” Christie said, which caused Renée to look at Alex and arch an eyebrow in question.
I should have banned those vids when they first came aboard, Alex thought. Renée was becoming extremely artful at manipulating their conversations through feminine wiles, something she hadn’t exhibited when they first met. Although, now that he thought about it, those wiles weren’t all bad.
“More importantly, Alex, there’s your children to think of in this new world of yours,” Katie finally spoke up.
“Wait … what children?” Alex asked, getting confused. The combined force of personalities in the room was getting difficult to manage.
“My grandchildren, Alex,” Katie replied. “Who will care for them while you’re out building a new society? You are expecting to have children, right? I mean, it is possible isn’t it between the two of you?” Katie asked, glancing between Alex and Renée. “I mean between Méridiens and New Terrans.”
Renée hadn’t enjoyed herself so much since she’d first gone to bed with Alex … except for the first time he linked with her implant while they made love … and then there was that other time …
Snapping out of her reverie, Renée returned to the discussion, saying, “Yes, Ser Racine, children are quite possible between our peoples.”
“Oh good. That’s settled, then,” Katie replied.
“What’s settled, then?” Alex asked with frustration, rising from his chair.
Duggan started to correct his son’s temper, Admiral or no Admiral, but Renée intervened. She slid off the desk, signaling with a hand for Duggan’s patience, and walked over to Alex, sliding her arms around him. Looking at Alex’s family, she smiled, feeling the happiest she had ever been. “Alex, my love, it’s obvious that your family is trying to tell you that despite the dangers, they want to be with you. They want the family to stay together, and I honor that sentiment. I would wish you to do so as well.”
Alex looked at Renée, who was glowing with contentment, and he thought of all that she had been through, losing family, friends, and associates. She had been adopted by his family and was as anxious to keep them close, and apparently that’s all his family wanted.
“You should know,” Alex said with deadly seriousness, “the agreement I’m drafting will require pioneers receive implants and cell-gen treatments.”
“Yes!” Christie said.
“Dad and Mom, are you going to be okay with that?” Alex asked.
Katie reached out to grip Duggan’s hand, squeezing it nervously. “Yes, Alex, we are,” she said.
“Then I will refer your application back to Director Monti for his review. When the pioneer agreement is completed, you will need to review and sign it before the application is approved.”
Christie jumped off the couch with a cry. She and Renée hugged each other, jumping up and down together before Christie ran to hug her brother.
It was Alex, Duggan, and Katie who were carefully eyeing one another, each of them wondering what they had just gotten themselves into.
* * *
In the waning days of the flotilla’s final preparations, Edouard and Miko were on a test flight with the Outward Bound. They were the only two individuals aboard. Julien was monitoring their operational parameters. He was being cautious since the shuttle was the primary transport of the Admiral.
“Are you excited about our new start, Lieutenant?” Edouard as
ked. Miko had gotten very quiet the last few days, and he feared for what might be occupying her thoughts.
“I haven’t made any decision as to whether I’ll remain with the flotilla or resign my position, Captain,” Miko replied.
Edouard’s heart lurched. He had failed to communicate his interest in her, and now he might have lost her.
Miko was pleased to see the consternation on Edouard’s face. The gentle, quiet Méridien had become very dear to her. But despite all they had been through, he had yet to express anything to her other than perfect manners. It was Edouard’s overlong glances at her when he thought she wasn’t looking that she had first noticed. And it wasn’t just the length of his gaze. She saw the change in his expression whenever he watched her, his longing for her quite evident.
“Do you find Méridiens difficult to be with?” Edouard asked, concerned she didn’t find him suitable.
“Not at all, Captain,” Miko answered simply, keeping under control the smile that threatened to creep out. “In fact, I find some Méridiens quite attractive.”
“There are … uh, others you find attractive,” Edouard asked.
Miko couldn’t contain herself any longer. “How can your people have such an advanced society and simultaneously be so oblivious?” She signaled the controller into a fixed trajectory, released her harness, and crawled into Edouard’s seat. She spread her legs across the arms of the chair to support her weight, grabbed his face with both hands, and planted a firm kiss on his mouth. It wasn’t tentative or short. Miko had been dying to kiss Edouard ever since they had risked their lives together, driving the Outward Bound to its limits to lift the Librans to freedom.
Edouard felt certain his shock showed in his frozen expression, but Miko continued to ply her mouth over his. The gentle warmth of her lips banished his thoughts that protocols were not being observed, that a partnership had not been negotiated. We aren’t Méridien; we aren’t New Terrans; we aren’t Librans, he thought. We’ll make our own way. Then he leaned into Miko’s kiss and returned it with all the passion he had held inside.
When Miko finally pulled back to take a breath from Edouard’s amorous response, she smiled at him and a delightful thought crossed her mind: You’re mine now, Captain.
-29-
Accompanied by Renée, Tatia, Edouard, and the twins, Alex was transported via a Libran shuttle from the Rêveur’s bay to the Freedom. After disembarking, they made their way to the city-ship’s enormous bay where the dark travelers had been deposited. When Alex had last seen the fighters, they’d sat alone on the bay’s bare deck.
Engineering had permanently pressurized the bay and sealed its gigantic bay doors with nanites. Despite that precaution, Alex’s group was still required to pass through an expansive airlock to gain access to the bay.
Instead of a bare bay, the huge cavern was a hive of activity. Bright lights illuminated every meter of the deck, crowded with engineering benches and hundreds of engineers and techs going about their work.
The two dark travelers no longer sat on the deck. They floated in cradles of grav-pallets two meters above the deck, surrounded by cages of metal bars. Sensors were attached along every meter of the bars. In an imaginative move, Mickey had split a massive power conduit and attached each end to the ship’s bow and stern, allowing the intact shell to complete a circuit of energy and power the Nua’ll technology. For the shell with a hole, the engineers had fed power cables directly to the interior equipment, bypassing the drive.
Alex located Mickey via implant and navigated toward him. The engineers and techs nodded politely to the august personage as they passed and then resumed their frenetic activity. To Alex, it resembled a hive at work and their efforts gave him hope. The financial success of his g-sling program had opened up so many possibilities for his family. Now he needed something even grander to fuel their new society. In his mind, he couldn’t think of a greater opportunity than to be the producers of grav-driven shuttles.
Alex discovered Mickey seated at a small desk, surrounded by an array of vid monitors. In front of him, a small holo-vid projected the internal structure of a dark traveler. A line of people had formed at the desk, and Mickey alternated between his current petitioner and studies of the monitors and holo-vid for answers to the questions.
Alex joined the line, which advanced slowly, his people smiling at his choice.
An engineer approached the back of the line, unsure of what to do until Renée motioned him forward, and the slender Libran found himself staring into the broad back of the Admiral. My partner and children will not believe this, he thought.
Mickey finished his conversation with the New Terran tech, whose inquiry dealt with the Nua’ll crystal energy collectors, which powered the grav-drives. Mickey had been turned around, studying a vid display of energy equations. His back was to Alex.
“Yes?” Mickey said with exasperation when the next individual in line failed to ask his question without fanfare. When no answer was forthcoming, Mickey said, “This is not the time to be shy, Ser.” Then he turned around to find his Admiral patiently waiting with a smile on his face.
“Might you have a few moments for me, Chief Engineer?” Alex asked.
Mickey jumped to his feet, the laughter of the group reaching his ears, and then his own smile broke out.
“I believe that can be arranged, Admiral,” Mickey replied, a hint of red tingeing his ears. Before stepping around his desk, he rolled his big shoulders, twisting his neck in different directions, popping vertebrae and stretching tight muscles. If the truth was known, he felt grateful for the interruption, especially one that would require a high overview of their efforts, which undoubtedly the Admiral wanted.
Mickey led the group through a series of bench setups, explaining the steps he had taken and hoped to take. “Admiral, on the one hand, we have an easy win. The SADEs have designed analytical devices to test the structure of each part of the interior. They believe that given the proper facilities, which will have to be land-based, they can re-create a dark traveler’s operational structure.”
Mickey’s statements brought the entourage to a halt.
“Mickey, are you saying we can build a grav-drive shuttle?” Alex asked.
“We can build the internal workings, Admiral, not the shell. But, yes, we should be able to make an exact replica.”
“Don’t worry about the shell right now, Mickey. Do I detect a catch?”
“Yes, Admiral, we have a ways to go before we understand the science behind the operation. However, the design is fairly simple. The Nua’ll make enormous use of crystals, both as energy collectors and in their circuitry. Just about everything is crystal in nature. So we can replicate a dark traveler and probably operate it with a controller, but we can’t vary the design until the SADEs work out the science behind the technology.”
“That’s still excellent news, Mickey,” exclaimed Alex, slapping Mickey on the shoulder.
Alain, who was standing directly behind the Chief, managed not to flinch at the resounding clap.
“We don’t see any impediment to building the fabrication locations or machines we’ll require, depending on the world you’ve selected, Admiral,” Mickey said, hinting at Alex to disclose their ultimate destination.
Mickey never received his answer, as implant scheduling apps warned their owners of the Admiral’s meeting and the group began following Mickey toward the bay’s exit. Each of the cavernous bays of the Freedom emptied into a central corridor, which acted like spokes on an old-fashioned wheel and intersected wide corridor rings as they advanced toward the ship’s center, passing banks of lifts at each major intersection.
On their way down the corridor, Alex received a quick warning of “Incoming” from Tatia, which was her term for attack fighters on approach. An instant later, Eloise slammed into Alex’s side with a quick greeting of,
away.
* * *
The flotilla’s senior officers and Directors were assembled in the large conference room located behind the Freedom’s bridge. Alex’s request to assemble in person promised important announcements.
When everyone was seated, Alex began without fanfare, saying, “The flotilla will be breaking orbit in four days. Julien has been tracking the Confederation Council, and they have recently returned to Méridien. That will be our first stop, but our stay will be short. I have a few things to say to the Council.” When Alex noticed the consternation on the face of the Librans, he said, “People, speak up.”
“Admiral,” Tomas began, “the Council will not be amenable to a meeting with us in general and you in particular. It is my opinion that they will not grant you an audience. If they do, it may be eighty to ninety days out from your date of request. That would be their signal that they are holding your audience with displeasure.”
“And an important note, Admiral,” Eric added. “For an audience, you submit your petition to the Council Administrator. It’s reviewed by the Council. Once the audience is granted, you and you alone are ushered into the Council Chambers at the time of your appointment. The Council Leader announces their approval or disapproval of your petition. At no time do you speak.”
The Librans shifted uncomfortably in their seats. It occurred to them how different their lives had become in contrast to the Confederation’s archaic and stultifying rules. The New Terrans were also uncomfortable, but for a different reason. They were stunned that the Council had no concept of a fair hearing, offering no opportunity for a petitioner to have their say.
On the other hand, Alex was grinning, and Renée, who recognized the sign, began to laugh.
Tomas and Eric realized the absurdity of what they had said and joined Renée’s laughter. It dawned on the entire group that while the Confederation and New Terra had their ways, they no longer belonged to either society. Theirs was the first new human society in this corner of the galaxy in 700 hundred years. They would decide what was appropriate or not for their people.
