Children of the Old Star

by David Lee Summers

  Just then, the doors used in case of hull evacuation came down sealing off the corridor on either side of him. McClintlock stood, dropping the knife. He pounded on the door leading back to the galley. Trapped in the corridor, he would never get the surprise necessary to trap Ellis. Looking around desperately he noticed an opening to the ship's ventilation system at deck level.

  Retrieving the knife, he used it to unscrew the bolts holding the grill in place. He ignored the scratches he was leaving in the paint. Getting the grill off, he was just able to squeeze himself into the ductwork. Knife ahead of him, he shimmied further toward the ship's stern.

  * * * *

  Mahuk and a grizzled mechanic poured over manuals in the engineering section. Their goal was to find a way to repair engine number four without a dry dock. Ideally, the engine would be pulled from the ship and the damaged parts replaced. The problem was that they had neither the facilities to pull the engine from the ship nor many of the replacement parts.

  "We can fabricate most of what we need in the shop,” said Mahuk, looking up from the display.

  The old mechanic shook his head. “What, and assemble the components in free fall beside the ship?"

  "Why not?” asked Mahuk.

  The old mechanic snorted. “It'd take the better part of a month to do that with no guarantee that it'd work."

  "I know,” admitted Mahuk reluctantly. “What do you suggest?"

  The mechanic scratched his tightly curled white hair. “The real problem is that three engines just don't have the oomph necessary for us to jump. We could get the power we need by moving the power conduits from the measuring systems to the three remaining engines."

  Mahuk shook his head. “Those power conduits are out on the hull. You'd have to go extra-vehicular to do that."

  "We'd have to do that to rebuild an engine. It's the least of our worries,” said the mechanic.

  Mahuk frowned. “Not only that, you'd have to re-sync the engines so we could go into jump with only three.” Mahuk pointed at the schematic. “Those engines are precisely tuned. Upping the power to them would be like strapping three quinnium warheads to our hull. One mistake re-synchronizing the engines and our component atoms would be scattered so far into the future that there's no telling whether there will even be a universe for them to wind up in."

  The mechanic inclined his head. “But it could work?"

  Mahuk sighed. “It could."

  "I can't think of anyone better able to get the calculations right to make sure we don't blow ourselves up."

  "I appreciate your confidence,” said Mahuk wearily. “I'm not sure it's well placed."

  The mechanic smiled. “Do you want to orbit the galaxy in this damned globular for the rest of your life?” The engineer shook his head. “Then we better get started on those calculations."

  Both men set to work on the computer. Each became entrenched enough in their work that they did not hear the scraping of someone forcing their way though the ventilation system, nor the scratching as that person worked nuts lose on a vent cover.

  * * * *

  G'Liat was the first to notice the trail of blood drops leading toward the vessel's stern, away from the galley. Each of the drops were about twenty feet apart, meaning there were only one or two per section. Ellis, Smart, and G'Liat followed the sparse trail. The captain led the way, using his access codes to open doors as they moved.

  They finally came to the open vent cover. G'Liat examined the scratches, then looked into the shaft. “McClintlock would be just thin enough to get through here."

  "None of us are, though,” grumbled Smart. “Seems like a good way to get us off his trail."

  "I'm not sure he cares if we follow,” said Ellis. “He would have been trapped in here. I think he just wants to get the drop on us."

  G'Liat nodded. “In fact, I think he wants us to follow.” The warrior turned to Smart. “Do you know where this shaft leads?"

  "It should follow the corridor. It goes back the way we've come or on toward engineering,” she said.

  "Or, I would guess it connects to all the rooms in between,” grumbled Ellis.

  "Maybe,” pondered G'Liat. “Even if McClintlock could get into the shaft, I doubt he has much room to maneuver. He'd pretty much have to travel a straight line until he got to another vent opening."

  "One that came out where he won't be trapped, like in the corridor,” said Ellis.

  "That would mean engineering, then,” stated Smart.

  Ellis stormed ahead, punching in access codes at each of the doors until they came to the engineering section. As Ellis opened the door, G'Liat shoved the captain lightly aside and pounced into the room. He motioned for Smart and Ellis to stay back.

  A mechanic lay across a console, his throat cut, blood still oozing to the floor. The warrior scanned the room. Aside from the low-lying consoles in the middle of the room, there seemed only one other place McClintlock could hide.

  The warrior turned around slowly to find the evangelist holding a knife to Mahuk's throat. “Don't come any closer, G'Liat,” said McClintlock. “I have no intention of killing Mahuk. It's Ellis I want."

  Ellis stepped into the room and dropped his knife to the floor. “Let Mahuk go,” said the captain. “I'm here."

  "No!” cried Smart. “He'll kill you."

  "If I can, I will,” said McClintlock with a slight inclination of his head. “I don't know if the evil one can be killed, but I'm willing to die finding out."

  Ellis kept his eyes on McClintlock, but spoke to Smart. “Mahuk is your only way home.” The captain took a step toward McClintlock. “Clyde, let him go."

  McClintlock's eyes moved from G'Liat to Ellis to Smart. Just as Ellis saw McClintlock drop the knife and loosen his grip on Mahuk, the captain felt two hundred pounds of force shove him into Smart. The two tumbled like rag dolls into the corridor.

  Ellis gasped for breath as he struggled to get back to his feet. He staggered to the door to see McClintlock swinging his knife wildly at G'Liat. Mahuk lay on the ground, a knife wound in his side. From a distance, Ellis could not tell whether it was fatal. Looking up again, Ellis watched in horror as McClintlock's flailing blade connected with G'Liat's head. G'Liat let out a low growl as yellow blood began to seep from his cheek.

  The warrior stood and watched for a minute, then struck out with his massive six-fingered hand. The Rd'dyggian caught McClintlock's arm and squeezed. The knife fell impotently to the ground as the captain heard bones splinter and crack. McClintlock's expression turned from rage to terror.

  "G'Liat!” yelled Ellis when he finally found the breath. “Don't do it!"

  Seeming not to hear, G'Liat pulled McClintlock toward him. Ellis launched himself at the warrior and rebounded when the warrior did not move. The captain watched helplessly as the warrior's free hand closed around McClintlock's neck. After only a momentary struggle, the evangelist's body went limp and the warrior let him fall to the deck.

  "How could you?” cried Ellis horrified.

  "He was only human,” said G'Liat. His Rd'dyggian accent was especially strong.

  Kirsten Smart stepped in and knelt next to Mahuk. She felt for a pulse. “He's still alive,” she said, relieved. She stepped to the intercom and told the bridge to re-open all sections and ordered the emergency medical techs to the scene.

  "You may arrest me.” G'Liat said to Ellis. “I will not resist."

  "Why did you have to kill him?” asked Ellis, his palms upward.

  "It was the only way to guarantee your safety and the safety of the ship,” said G'Liat simply.

  "You could have restrained him just as easily.” Ellis sat cross-legged next to the lifeless body of Clyde McClintlock and closed the evangelist's eyes. “Mine Enemy is growing old—I have at last Revenge—The Palate of the Hate departs—If any would...” The captain's voice choked before he could finish the last of Emily Dickinson's verse. He looked into the alien warrior's black eyes. “Damn you,” whispered the captain.


  * * * *

  That night, Kirsten Smart arrived at Ellis’ cabin. Ellis lay on the bunk staring at the ceiling. Smart sat down at the table. “How do you feel?” she asked.

  "Like hell,” he said. “How's Mahuk?"

  "The med techs say he'll be okay. He was sliced pretty bad, but nothing major was cut.” Smart smiled warmly, trying to tell the captain that everything would be okay.

  "Does he have a plan for getting us home?” asked Ellis.

  "He does, but he won't be able to perform the repairs himself, now. His repair plans involve re-routing some of the power conduits on the hull. Someone will have to go outside the ship to do it.” She leaned forward. “But, there's not much of a hurry. I thought you'd want to try to contact the Cluster before we went back."

  Ellis looked toward Smart. His eyes were red-rimmed. “G'Liat and Clyde were both my friends. Maybe that friendship was dubious, but I cared about both of them. In the end, each of them betrayed me. My heart's not much in this anymore."

  Smart stood and walked over to the bunk. She took Ellis’ hand and held it tightly. “I won't betray you,” she said. “I think we should at least look around, while we're here."

  Ellis looked at the ceiling. “I think we should get home.” The two were swallowed by an uncomfortable silence for several minutes. “If Mahuk is well enough to write down instructions on how to repair the engines, I can go out and do the fix."

  "That can wait until tomorrow,” said Smart. She sat on the edge of the bunk and pulled off her boots. She swung her legs onto the bed and held the captain. “For now, let's sleep."

  Ellis turned to look into Smart's eyes. “The military is supposed to desensitize you to death. Tonight, I just feel sick."

  "That's the way it should be,” she said. There was no malice in her voice. She just held the captain tighter and buried her face in his shoulder. He could feel the material of his nightshirt grow damp as her tears began to flow.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Simon Yermakov helped Ellis into a space suit. The captain and two mechanics planned to leave the ship and modify it so that it could get back to the Milky Way galaxy where it could be repaired. As Ellis inserted his hands into the white gauntlets, he wondered how G'Liat was doing. He thought he should go talk to the warrior. However, something compelled him to continue getting ready for the mission outside the ship.

  Yermakov placed the helmet on the captain's head and smiled as he locked it into place. “Looks like everything's okay, Skipper. Hope you can fix this thing. Being out in this globular gives me the creeps."

  "I hear you,” said Ellis. The captain motioned for the two mechanics to follow him into the air lock. As the inner door sealed itself behind them, Ellis brought up a list of modification instructions on his armband. He was reading the instructions as the outer door opened. Looking up, the captain's mouth fell open at the sight that greeted him.

  Light flooded into the airlock from countless stars hanging against a backdrop of even more stars. Ellis was used to seeing clumps of stars hanging in a sea of black velvet, like the Milky Way streaming its way through a rare clear Nantucket night or constellations filling ship viewers. This, on the other hand, was completely different. The two mechanics were likewise taken aback by the sight. Ellis simply turned off the light on the helmet of his space suit and motioned for the two men to follow him out.

  In the eerie light of all the stars, it was not hard to find the power conduits in Mahuk's instructions. The work of rerouting them was more difficult than Ellis had pictured. The conduits were not designed to be moved, so the captain and mechanics had to break numerous welds and remove quite a few bolts from the black Erdonium hull of the ship. By mid-morning, Ellis was sweating profusely inside his suit and longed for a shower.

  By noon, the captain was starving and ordered the work crew inside the ship for lunch. Eating only emphasized the loss of McClintlock. The captain knew the warrior had been right and the evangelist had to be stopped. As Ellis took a bite of his sandwich, he wondered at the fact that McClintlock had seemed like nothing but a nuisance until he was gone. Taking a last sip of lemonade, the captain realized how much he missed the conversation, no matter how deluded, of a man who had shared the common experience of communicating with the Cluster.

  After lunch, Ellis and the two mechanics returned to work. After about two hours, the conduits were welded securely into their new locations. The captain ordered the mechanics inside to run simulations and make sure the modifications would work. Ellis, on the other hand, felt compelled to stay outside the ship for a short time.

  Holding onto the outside of the ship, Ellis stared into heart of the globular cluster and wondered momentarily where the Cluster had gone. As he wondered, he began to feel an emptiness and a sense that the last months had been wasted. Before he sunk into despair, though, he thought about Kirsten Smart and smiled. If nothing else, gaining her friendship had made this voyage worthwhile.

  Just as Ellis started making his way back to the airlock he felt a presence. Looking over his shoulder, he gasped as a glimmer of silver appeared among the reddish stars. A metallic object moved toward the Sanson at incredible speed. It did not take long for the captain to realize that a Cluster was approaching. The Cluster stopped some distance from Sanson and Ellis wondered what it was up to. Alone, out on the hull of his ship, the captain felt naked and vulnerable. Another glimmer of silver appeared and Ellis inclined his head as a second Cluster approached. The captain was frozen in place when he saw a third glimmer. As had happened every time before, Ellis could not tear his attention away from the alien vessels. Someone yelled something into his helmet speakers. He thought it was Kirsten Smart yelling for him to get inside.

  Captain John Mark Ellis pushed himself away from Sanson's hull toward the group of Clusters. As he floated in their direction, he saw a fourth glimmer.

  PRODIGAL CHILDREN

  Once again, John Mark Ellis found himself in a room surrounded by antiquities. This time, though, the room seemed more orderly than before. Ellis noticed that he was free of the constraints of his spacesuit. In fact, looking down, he noticed that he wore no clothing at all. Fortunately, the room was pleasantly warm.

  Looking around, Ellis found a nineteenth century French armchair. He felt the hard wood of the armrests admiringly then sat down in the chair, making himself comfortable. As he looked around the room, he realized that much of what he saw was nautical. He saw old brass lanterns and compasses. A wooden ship's wheel hung on a wall. As he looked at the furniture, he realized it was not merely nautical; all of it represented styles he had seen in homes on Nantucket. Despite sitting nude in a room full of very familiar antiques far from the normal range of human travel, Ellis felt quite comfortable.

  "Only human. The expression has a certain irony,” came a voice from behind the captain. The voice had a strangely resonant timbre. It only took Ellis a few seconds to realize that it sounded like a Titan accent. The captain turned to face the sound of the voice. The woman he had seen at 1E1919+0427 walked up behind him. She paused, examining the captain with iridescent green eyes. Moving around the chair, she sat down on a sofa, crossing thin, but as before, strangely nondescript legs.

  A woman with blue eyes stepped from behind an oak armoire. Like the first woman, black hair flowed over strangely rigid breasts. Letting his eyes wander down her body, he saw that her soft-looking belly had no navel. “Only human does not seem so ironic to me."

  "Imagination is power,” said the woman with green eyes. “See how this one interprets our communication. It can turn emotion into visual imagery. The appendages never did that."

  "The appendages?” asked Ellis, his eyebrows raised.

  "Imagination?” There was a hint of laugher from the blue-eyed woman. “He sees us all the same."

  "We are sensual creatures,” retorted the green-eyed woman. “He interprets that sensuality in a most fascinating way; a way that is most useful and a way that I wish to explore furth
er."

  Ellis noticed a third woman standing in front of him. She had fiery red eyes and seemed to glare at the captain. Involuntarily, Ellis shrank from her gaze. “It understands details of our communication. It is dangerous."

  The green-eyed woman turned to face Ellis. She uncrossed her legs and put her hands on her knees, evaluating the captain. Sensuality, but not sexuality, thought Ellis, reddening as he caught himself staring. Looking back at her face, he thought he caught a hint of a smirk. “We have searched for the appendages. Instead, we found humans, Rd'dyggians, Zahari, and others. Humans know the appendages and are close to them."

  Ellis licked his lips. “What are you?"

  A fourth voice sounded from behind the captain. “The intelligence is minimized without the appendages.” Turning around, Ellis saw a woman with vivid violet eyes.

  The captain folded his hands in his lap. He began to realize that the four women were not speaking directly to him. He was simply hearing what they had to say.

  "The humans show promise,” said the red-eyed woman. “Perhaps they would serve in place of the appendages."

  Ellis held up a finger to speak, but was interrupted by the blue-eyed woman. “Too independent. So are all the others we have seen. Only the original appendages will do or we..."

  The violet-eyed woman slunk around Ellis and sat down next to the green-eyed woman. She shook her finger. “The human hears and understands. More than just one human hears and understands, but the one among us hears exceptionally well."

  Off in the corner of the room, Ellis caught a glimpse of something soft and furry. Standing, he moved over to retrieve the furry object. It had black button-eyes and a smile stitched onto its gray fur. The captain recognized one of the teddy bears he had owned in his youth. “The humans know the appendages,” said the green-eyed woman.

  "What do we do about the humans that are here?” asked the red-eyed woman, sitting down on a stool.

  "Nothing,” said the green-eyed woman. She folded her arms. “They are harmless to us."