...and they are us Homecoming

by Patrick McClafferty

  “What is it, LOLA?”

  “Multiple strikes, Zed. Engineering, sensors, and the hangar is toast. We’re running on backup power only, and unfortunately we are dead in space. No one is answering in Engineering so I have no estimate on repairs. There are numerous injuries and fatalities.”

  Zed ignored the grim statistics. “Get me a display, if you have to run a feed off CCTV.” The display flickered to life, died, flickered back. “What the hell is that?” He asked, pointing at the object floating beside them.

  “That is one of our towed sensor arrays that the Creednax shot off, Zed.”

  “They shot off all our tentacles?” Zed shouted.

  “They did more than that. Most of the Rose is open to space, Zed. Some of the crew survived in sealed areas, thanks to you.”

  “Oh yeah.” He replied sarcastically. “I just got the ship shot out from under them is all.” Zed blinked as one by one the rest of the bridge crew disappeared from what he called the Command Rail. Finally, he was the last, standing with LOLA.

  “The remaining bridge staff have been removed so that their chairs can keep them safe and move them to the escape pods.”

  Zed stared at the display and numerous red dots, all converging on their position. “The Creednax will capture them all as they abandon ship; you realize that don’t you? The crew have the choice of dying here or dying there.” He took a long breath. “Divert all remaining power to weapons LOLA, even the damn batteries. Target the nearest…”

  A distinctly French and even more distinctly female voice said in his mind. As he watched every one of the remaining red dots vanished in a ball of coruscating fire.

  He could hardly frame the thought. His train of thought dribbled away as a number of things clicked in his mind.

 

  Zed agreed.

  Cybele admonished.

 

 

 

  < Vous avez raison, Mon Capitaine. You are quite right.> The crippled Rose drifted into a hangar that defied Zed’s belief. Watching through the flickering display he observed the last of his crew being helped from the stricken ship.

 

  There was laughter from the figure beside him. “I transferred the bulk of my memory and personality to Olympus days ago Zed.” She gave him a wink. “There. I just squirted up the last few days. See you at dinner tonight.” She flickered and was gone.

  Zed looked around the empty bridge, remembering all he’d been through. Running his hand over the bridge rail, he sighed. “I guess…” He flickered, and the Rose of the Dawn was vacant, but for her dead.

  Zed and a tall graceful Cybele stood on the bridge of Thal’ark Station and watched the battered Rose being tractored to a safe distance, there to die alone… Not alone, he corrected to himself. The bodies of more than half her latest crew still remained aboard or in the surrounding space. They would provide honor guard enough.

  “The reactor containment is failing.” Cybele said softly by his side. The ship they were watching seemed to shudder before she disappeared in a glaring ball of white. When the spots finally stopped flickering before Zed’s eyes the ship was gone. “I’m so sorry, Zed.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, me too. For all her quirks, she was a good ship. The last Rose of the Dawn.”

  “Ummm.” He turned and gave Cybele a long look. “That’s not quite true, Capitaine.”

  “What do you mean? I saw the Rose reduced to atoms myself.”

  Cybele smiled. “That is true, however, as we recovered what was left of your crew we discovered a scout saucer in the hangar bay of the Rose that had been damaged, but not destroyed.” The view on the bridge shifted and they were now looking out on a massive hangar. Sitting forlornly in the middle of the white deck was a battered and scorched saucer. “This is the 7651J Rose of the Dawn. According to naming protocols, since the primary recipients of the name no longer exist, it is allowable to simply refer to this vessel as the Rose of the Dawn. If it is acceptable to you, I will begin repairs on the ship, along with certain minor upgrades.”

  Zed felt a lump in his throat, and it was several long moments before he answered. His eyes, he found to his amazement, were misting and he really didn’t know if he wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, or cry. Finally he spoke. “That would be very nice, Cybele. I would like that. We’ll keep the name the way it is until we meet up with our other scout saucer. That was the 7651K. Did she arrive at Thal’ark Station before you left?”

  “Non, Capitaine, she did not. She must have headed for Earth, which was much closer. It is a very long flight to the Planet Cybele after all, and the ship very small for sixteen pregnant women.”

  Zed chuckled. “And a pregnant cat.”

  “And that too.” She turned to face him directly, her expression thoughtful. “You should rest now and bathe. We will all go to Olympus tonight, have dinner, and speak of The Morrigan.”

  Zed sat on the low cushion, nibbling at the exquisitely cooked chicken on his plate, but not really tasting it. The mood in Olympus was definitely subdued this evening, as it should be after the deaths of so many. Setting his plate aside he studied his dinner companions. While the three women had chosen classic Grecian robes, after some consideration he had chosen a simple white Judo Gi, which was close enough. He was surprised that he still remembered how to tie his black belt, after all these years. The three women had said nothing as he entered, although a hint of a smile crossed Athena’s face as she recognized the belt, and its significance. He sipped his water.

  “You aren’t eating much.” LOLA commented pointedly, although she hadn’t eaten any more than he.

  “I’ve just lost my ship and more than half of my crew. I don’t really feel like celebrating.”

  Athena shot him a hard look. “But I do, Zed. I was a hair’s breadth from initiating self-destruction in Callidus. That it is still here is a testimony to your effort, and the effort of your crew. As far as I’m concerned you saved my life, and will always have a place here.” Her violet eyes swept what Zed could only describe as a temple. Her point was very clear. “Have you studied Judo?” She nodded to his Gi, gently changing the subject.

  Zed nodded his thanks. “I studied many years ago, and got my black belt. Lately I’ve been working out with the Seals and the Marines.” He chuckled. “I’ve learned a lot. They may have learned a little.” Shrugging, he continued. “Anyway, it keeps me in shape and helps me avoid thinking of things I’d rather not dwell on.” His gaze swept the three women before him. “Tell me about The Morrigan.”

  Athena set down her wine glass and leaned back on her pillow. “The name The Morrigan comes from the earliest Terran mythology. She is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. The Morrigan translates as either “Great Queen” or “Phantom Queen,” and both designations are entirely fitting for her. The interesting part is that The Morrigan appears as both a single goddess and a trio of goddesses. The other deities who form the trio have been known as Badb and either Macha or Nemain. The individual names are inconsequential, and vary with the person doing the telling. The Morrigan frequently appears in the ornithological guis
e of a hooded crow. All very cute.” She added dryly. “It is our intention, the three of us, to become The Morrigan.” She gave Zed’s stunned expression a wry smile. “We actually have you to thank for it. You activated LOLA, and had her twin twice. That tied the three of us together rather uniquely. The last twin you named after a Greek goddess, and that got me thinking. Finally you gave me access to the Callidus Weapons Vault, and that knowledge led us here; to Olympus, our own private pocket universe. A mere score of light years across, this universe only has a few dozen suns, but still contains all the energy of the universe you left earlier today. Thanks to the Callidus Weapons Vault, we have or will have, access to that energy. If The Morrigan had been in place, she could have easily defended Callidus and defeated the Creednax.” Her shoulders slumped. “But she did not, and many brave men and women died. The Morrigan will be in humanities debt forever, and the Creednax have much to answer for.” There was a tone in her voice that chilled him to the core.

  “I couldn’t talk you into giving up this idea, could I?” Zed asked, a little desperately. “Hey, Olympus is very cool and moving your selves here was a good idea, but think twice about merging into The Morrigan. There are too many things that could go wrong.”

  “We’ve already thought about it much more than twice, Capitaine.” Cybele murmured. “The answer is that we will not give up the idea.”

  “Damn. That’s what I’d thought you’d say. It looks as though I’ve been instrumental in the creation of a real goddess, or as real as it’s going to get.” He finished up his water and set the glass down with shaky hands. “Since you’ve no real human background… any of you… I guess I’ll just have to go along to rein you in.”

  LOLA smiled. “I told you so.” She muttered to the other two women. “I don’t know what you were so worried about.”

  Athena smiled. “We were hoping you’d say that.” She flowed to her feet in a suddenly featureless white room. The others also stood. The three woman joined hands, with Athena and LOLA each holding out an empty hand for Zed. He swallowed once before he reached out.

  If Zed thought that there was going to be magic, mysticism, strange chants or voices from on high — he was sadly mistaken. A lightning bolt slashed its way through his brain and he was flung backward. From the stiffness in his back he could tell that he had been lying there for some time. He opened his eyes. The room, unfortunately, was still featureless and white, and the floor was cold and hard beneath him. He blinked. Beside him stood a tall woman, probably the tallest he had ever seen, standing well over two meters. Despite her height, she was well proportioned, with dark shining hair that hung loose to her waist. From the neck down she seemed to be covered in black and shiny feathers. From his angle on the floor, Zed couldn’t tell if they were a cloak or attached.

  She turned somewhat, to regard him with slightly tilted exotic gray eyes. Her pale skin was smooth and flawless. “They’re a cloak, Zed.” She murmured in a voice that held a trace of a sensual slightly Asian accent. Smiling, she reached down to help him up. He shouldn’t have been surprised at her strength, but he was. “How are you feeling?”

  He frowned, doing a quick inventory of his aches and pains. “Good.” He frowned again. “Very good in fact.”

  “We wanted to let you know, while we are still The Morrigan and flush with our power, that you will always have the ultimate veto. You may have created the “Phantom Queen,” but you will remain the conscience behind the throne.”

  “Yeah.” He said sourly. “Job security. If you’re finished, I would really like a beer, and maybe a pizza.”

  The image before him wavered and resolved into the three white gowned women. LOLA looked down at herself and grimaced. Almost instantly her skin sparkled and she was clad in a fluorescent green tank dress so short it made Zed blink, and startlingly orange hair. Her eyes were green as grass and matched the outfit. “Did someone mention pizza?”

  Chapter Twelve

  AFTERMATH

  Captain Daniel Grinwell looked up from his cluttered desk as Zed knocked and entered the small office. Behind the Captain, and through the huge picture windows hung the battered surface of the planet Callidus, craters still glowing in spots as testimony to the furious bombardment it had withstood. He studied the younger man standing before him. “You look like shit, Zed.” He waved him to a convenient chair.

  “Thanks, I appreciate that. It’s what happens when you lose your second ship.”

  Dan Grinwell winced. “Yeah, well it happens sometimes. I’ve lost one or two myself.” He leaned back in his chair, glaring at the paperwork. “I travel a zillion light years and still the paperwork follows me.” He shook his head. “Has anyone decided what happens next?”

  Zed studied the older man. Getting him out of the Pentagon and back in command had done him a world of good. He looked ten years younger already, and he hadn’t even received his enhancement package yet, save the neural implant. “Cybele mentioned that the AI in the Yamato hasn’t been initialized yet. Why don’t we start with that right now and go from there?”

  The Captain frowned. “You can do that?”

  Zed let out a long breath. “Yeah, I can do that. Shall we go?”

  Dan Grinwell stood, smiling. “Any chance to get away from the desk. We’ll have to take the central shuttle to the main computer.”

  “A shuttle?” Zed asked in surprise. The Rose had been big, but not THAT big. “How big is this beast anyway?”

  Dan flinched. “Think four plus kilometers. I still can’t wrap my brain around the size of this thing.” The men clambered into a small bullet-shaped car that could have easily held six. It immediately began accelerating. “Computer Central.” Dan Grinwell said aloud. There was a soft chime.

  Zed frowned. “Have you tried using your neural implant?”

  “To do what, exactly?”

  Zed groaned. “To run this car for one thing.” He focused on the thought.

  An androgynous voice murmured in his mind.

  Zed groaned aloud.

 

  Since he wasn’t a Captain, and he had no fleet, Zed bowed to the inevitable.

  “Is there a problem?” Grinwell looked on curiously.

  “No, everything is just peachy.” Zed replied tartly. “You can access this car simply by thinking to it. It will reply the same way. Since we only have a minute of our trip left, I advise you save experimenting for the trip back.”

  Dan grunted his surprise, just as the door to the car slid open.

  Computer Central was a large room, 15 meters to a side, and filled with busy people. Zed frowned. “Where is your central computer access?”

  Dan waved a hand. “This way.” He led the way to the center of the room, where a squat featureless black pedestal rose 1.4 meters from the floor. “This is it. Unimpressive, huh?”

  Since he was somewhat used to Cybele’s little games, Zed smiled. “Let me try something.” He cleared his throat. “Computer, this is,” He winced. “Governor Fernandez Edwardo Raphael Daniel Yates. I am here to initialize this computer.”

  “Welcome Governor.” They were suddenly standing in the center of an opaque bubble. Soft white light filtered through the sides, and on the top of the pedestal a small shallow depression appeared.

  Zed held out his hand, palm up, and a silver sphere the size of a golf ball appeared there. Carefully setting the sphere in the indentation, he murmured. “Authorization niner, three, zed, two, five, seven, eight, eight, six, tau, one, sigma. Fernandez Edwardo Raphael Daniel Yates, Governor.” Dan Grinwell’s eyes had gotten very wide. “Set primary personality matrix Boadicea. For more information see Terran mythology. Primary objective is the survival of the human race in what is quickly becoming a very hostile galaxy. You are subject to the authority of The Morrigan, and, of cou
rse, the Captain of this vessel.” He gave Dan a slow wink as the small sphere slowly sank into the pedestal. “Do you have any questions at this point?”

  The air beside the pedestal shimmered and a woman stood there looking at them. Slightly under two meters tall, she had wide shoulders for a woman, and no excess fat that Zed could see. Her wavy red hair cascaded down her back to her narrow waist, and her eyes flashed with a blazing green fire. She could have been Katherine’s older sister. “Holy shit!” Zed blurted.

  “Is there a problem, Governor?” Her voice was deep, pushing the bottom limits of the contralto range, and had a noticeable Gaelic lilt.

  Zed looked her squarely in the eye. “No, Boadicea. Your beauty startled me for a moment. That is all.” He kept looking her in the eyes because her short belted toga left her perfectly formed left breast exposed. The aureole was nut brown and the room noticeably cool.

  Surprisingly, she gave him a deep bow. “No questions, my Lord. Thank you for your compliments though.” She looked up and her eyes were sparkling. “A girl can never get enough, ye know.”

  “You keep running around like that you’ll get plenty.” Zed grinned at her.

  “Thank you, my Lord. I shall always be at your complete disposal. Now I should go. I have a long series of diagnostics to accomplish.” Zed gave her a nod and the figure vanished, along with the opaque shielding.

  Captain Dan Grinwell was standing and staring at Zed, his mouth hanging open. “She’s running my ship?”

  “Yup.” Zed’s grin widened. “She’s a warrior at heart, so keep a tight rein on her. She’s apt to grab this barge of yours and head out across the galaxy in search of the Creednax homeworld.”

  “I saw what they did to Callidus, Zed, and to the Rose. Do we have any hope of stopping them?” Dan replied with a grim expression on his face.