“Not today Dan, or tomorrow, but soon.”
“And what was this Governor thing? Boadicea certainly seemed in awe of you.”
“It’s a long story my friend, best told over a few beers. You do have a lounge don’t you?”
“You mean a bar?”
“I mean a bar.”
“On a starship?”
Zed frowned. “Boadicea!”
“Yes Governor?”
“Whose idea was it to leave out the lounge?”
“Cybele thought that you or Captain Grinwell would provide input regarding a bar.”
“Damn straight.” He glanced at Dan and received a nod. “Earth archives, movie history, Star Trek the Next Generation. Can you build a duplicate of Ten Forward in this ship?”
“With no problem, Governor.” There was a light laugh in the air. “With or without the ship’s wheel and logo?”
Zed thought for a moment. “With. Thank you Boadicea. When you are done I’ll buy you the first drink… and please, my friends call me Zed. So should you.”
“Why, thank you Zed.” The voice faded.
“You seem to have a certain clout with the powers that be.”
“A little. Speaking of powers. Who is running the planet Cybele now that she’s out here tearing up the universe?”
Dan chuckled. “When the Mistral arrived at Cybele with the load of colonists, she drafted me to run the Yamato, and Ian Sutherland to run the colony. He’s quite the organizer.”
“He is, but the world still relies on Cybele. I’ll see what I can do about getting her headed back there.”
“And me?”
“You, my friend, will probably hang around here protecting Callidus until Athena can get the defensive systems operational and a few battlecruisers of her own pumped out.” He frowned. “I should go talk to a few people.” Zed turned.
“Zed, the doorway is over here.” Dan pointed.
“Not my doorway, and besides; I don’t want to have any more extended conversations with your elevator.” Smiling, Zed stepped through the wall and vanished.
It was a strange feeling, he thought as he stood outside the white temple on the picturesque hill in Olympus, to be without a home. Earth certainly wasn’t his home. The first Rose of the Dawn was gone in the flames of battle. The second, he thought bitterly, had followed a similar fate, and all he had to show for it was a second hand saucer that was currently in the body shop, with a half a trillion miles on the odometer. He was married, but his wife wasn’t within a parsec. He shut his eyes and tried to let the anger subside. He hadn’t even been able to consign the bodies of his crew to the deep, the way they deserved… not that it mattered to them. It did, however, matter to the survivors — all forty seven of them. For some reason the majority of the Strike Team had survived, along with most of the bridge crew. Arnav Kashyap, and the entire Engineering Team hadn’t been so lucky. He hoped Arnav’s wife would name their child after him, although Arnav might be odd if it was a girl. He would miss the dry Indian wit… and there were so many others he would miss. Francois and Janine Lefèvre had died in their hydroponic gardens when a Creednax energy weapon tore open the far wall. They were probably drifting among the stars at this very moment. Now THAT was a fitting epitaph.
The shape of a bouncing goat caught his eye. Surprisingly, he mused, the CatTrace Feng had survived, or maybe not so surprisingly. The cats were survivors. Zed squinted at the hillside when he noticed a low moving shadow flitting among the rocks. Feng, it seemed, was stalking the aforementioned goat. Zed said nothing. The cat wouldn’t kill more than it could eat, and there were a lot of goats and only one cat. He watched the hunter for a few moments, turning away before the cat made his kill, and wandering back into the temple.
The three women were sitting on low cushions around a wide fire pit. Zed noted in passing that there were no piles of logs near the pit and no ashes. A gas fireplace in Olympus? He thought to himself as he chuckled. I live in modern times. “Hello ladies.” He sprawled on a cushion. “We need to have a little talk.”
Athena gave him an unreadable smile. “Hello Zed. We’ve been expecting you.”
“I have a few small things to discuss.” He started right off, ignoring her comment. “The first is the announcement that I’ve initiated the Boadicea personality matrix in the Yamato. She’s working on a new lounge as we speak.” He gave Cybele a wry grin. “The next item is that I believe Cybele should be headed home soon, back to the Planet Cybele. The people there are dependent on her wisdom, to say nothing of her firepower.” A small smile of pleasure crossed Cybele’s face. “Ian Sutherland is a good administrator, don’t get me wrong, but he’s still human. Like it or not, we’ve founded a technocracy on Cybele and for some strange reason it seems to work. Let’s not mess with a good thing.”
Cybele surprised him. “I agree with you, Zed, but what of Captaine Grinwell and the Yamato?”
“I spoke with him earlier today. Unless there is some objection.” He replied slowly. “I think that Dan Grinwell and the Yamato should remain here, on the off chance the Creednax begin another offensive. Callidus is still a very ripe plum for the picking.”
Athena nodded this time. “And what of you, kinsman? What will you do and where will you go?”
Frowning at her implication, Zed scratched his head. “I think I’ll go back to Earth and find my wife.” He gave her a flat look. “It’s a human thing, but I miss her. If I remember right, Ian Sutherland set up a camp of sorts in central Montana to facilitate loading and unloading colonists. It’s very out-of-the-way. That’s where Katherine will be.”
“Don’t forget that the Frigate Boston is headed that way too.”
Zed blinked. “I had forgotten.” He glanced at the smallest and most colorful of the three women, who today was dressed in a clinging fire engine red dress and sported green hair with fire-bell earrings. “Since you seem to be without a ship, what are your plans, my dear?”
“Well…” She actually looked embarrassed. “I thought, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to come with you.” When she looked up at him, Zed was surprised to see fear in her golden eyes. It struck him like a thunderclap. She was afraid of losing their friendship. She… all the AIs were quickly becoming much more than machines built to process data. He turned a long look on each of the women, stopping where he’d begun with LOLA.
“I would love to have you with me, LOLA.” Her face lit with joy. Physically glowed. “However,” Zed amended, and her joy faded somewhat. “what will happen to The Morrigan? How will you, ahhh, get together, and how will you travel with me, since there isn’t a central computer on that small a saucer.” He ended lamely.
Athena stifled a small laugh. “We are The Morrigan, Zed. It is us and this place, and this universe. We touch the universe of man only lightly. LOLA’s touch on that universe is even lighter since she no longer has a ship or central database to tie her down. We are always here, Zed, and this universe intersects with the universe of men nowhere and everywhere.”
“You’re everywhere?” He was confused.
“No. If LOLA goes with you and arrives on Earth she can simply step into Olympus from there. Then she can return… to Earth. She can’t step to Olympus from Callidus, and then step to Earth.” She frowned. “I don’t think…” She shook her head. “She can travel with you the same way you travel. Part of you is here, and part of you is there. The same will be true for my sister, although the power requirements for her travel will be slightly greater.” Athena smiled. “Power is one thing we have.”
“So if you all need to form The Morrigan, Cybele can simply step here from Cybele, and LOLA from Earth, or from the saucer. Cool.”
Three pairs of eyes turned his way. “It applies to you also, Zed.”
He suddenly felt very small. “I think I’ve gotten in over my head.”
“It’s too late now, dear one.” Athena gave him a possessive smile. “You are a part of this and us, as are your children, and their children.”
“Katherine and my baby?”
“I’m sorry. They are not part. Your DNA was changed after Katherine conceived.” The AI, or Goddess, or whatever you wanted to call her looked guilty for a moment. “You are a part and your daughters will be a part. You will have no more sons.”
“But…” A vision flashed in his mind of a lapful of giggling little girls. He couldn’t tell if it was the truth or not, but for the moment it was enough. He still had one son. “You could have asked.”
“There wasn’t time. The programming for The Morrigan is somewhat exotic and will allow for no changes. You volunteered if you remember.”
“Yeah.”
“What of your former crew, Zed?”
His face fell. “I’d like to take as many of them back as I can, but the saucer can only hold a dozen, so…”
“Sixteen.” Cybele interrupted. I told you I made changes; four crew seats and twelve berths.”
He mentally started to fill the slots: himself, Mike Flaherty and as many of the old crew as wanted to go home. Dimitri, Larisa and Chief López if he could fit them in. The rest he could find positions for aboard the Yamato, or on Callidus itself. Heavens knows that there was enough to do and more than enough room. “How many people work and live on Callidus when it is fully functioning?” He shot Athena a questioning look.
“Four to five million when we run minimum staff. Up to ten million at full capacity.”
Zed’s eyes got very large. “There goes our population problem.”
“Then add in the crews for tens of thousands of starships.” She smiled at Zed’s stunned face. “If we factor Dramul and Chamdar into the figure, this may be the beginning of a new and more robust Empire, a Terran Empire.” She turned a glowing gaze on him. “How would you like to be Emperor Fernandez Edwardo Raphael Daniel Yates the First?”
Zed flinched. “I was happy as a simple Flight Engineer. The answer is NO! And your Empire will remain robust only as long as we can keep the Creednax or other hostile species, out of the picture.”
“There is that.” Athena’s violet eyes were deep pools that Zed had to keep from drowning in. “When will you leave, Zed?”
“Just as soon as I speak with my former crew.”
LOLA gave him a wide smile. “They’re waiting in the auditorium aboard the Yamato. The conference facilities on Callidus still have to be repaired.”
Zed laughed out loud. “Cybele, how soon can you get started on a new colony ship to join Mistral?”
“The Argonaute is currently in orbit about Cybele, Governor. Where would you like it sent?” Her blue eyes were sparkling.
“Send it to Earth. It will take me about three weeks to get there in the saucer and…”
“One week, Zed.” Cybele corrected. “Athena and I made some improvements to your drive.”
His eyes narrowed dangerously. “And what else did you fiddle with?”
“Ohhhhh.” She looked at the ceiling. “Not much, Capitaine, other than zee seating; weapons systems, shielding, cloaking, sensors and we improved your food service module. The old food was giving people gas.” She wrinkled her nose.
“I noticed that. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Zed. Your crew are waiting for you.” Her look, like Athena’s, was unreadable. “We’ll see you tonight for dinner.”
He knew that it was going to take some getting used to. “Until then, ladies.”
Dimitri looked up as Zed walked into the small auditorium; his dark eyes hooded. “Kapitan.” He gave a brief nod.
Zed returned the nod. “Dimitri.” He looked over the small group of men and women. They looked shell shocked. “You have one last decision to make. I have 15 seats available on my ship heading back to Earth. You have to decide which of you are going to go with me, and which ones are going to stay here. To those who are going to stay, you have the choice of remaining on the Yamato and serving under Captain Daniel Grinwell, or moving to Callidus where you will probably be busy for the remainder of your natural lives rebuilding. If you decide to remain, there will be others joining you soon, so you won’t be alone. The colonizer Argonaute is departing Cybele for Earth as we speak. When she is loaded with pioneers she will be coming here. She will be making many trips back and forth I suspect.” He smiled. “Athena just told me that minimum staffing for Callidus is five million.” There were many surprised faces. His eyes found the former Marine Major. “Mike, unless you have an objection, I’d like you to come with me, along with Dimitri, Larisa and Chief Lopéz. It’s not an order. I don’t have the right.” Forty seven pairs of eyes regarded him. “I leave in an hour. You know where to find me.” Without further ado, he turned and left.
He’d said his goodbyes to Daniel Grinwell, and picked up the mail for Earth. Now he sat in the familiar pilot’s seat of the small saucer and waited, a Bach concerto playing in the background and his eyes shut.
“Catch you at a bad time?” He opened his eyes to see Mike Flaherty grinning down at him. Behind Mike was a crowd in the small saucer.
“I never seem to get enough sleep.” He stood and shook the big Marine’s hand. “Glad you chose to come.”
“Chose?” Mike laughed aloud. “It was almost a fist fight to get on.”
“There will be other ships coming and going soon. They didn’t all have to come on this one.”
“Yeah, we knew that.” Mike slid into the right hand seat and began his normal pre-launch checks. “But none of those will have you at the stick. We’ve had a rough trip but you’ve seen us through in an impossible situation. You’re lucky and you care. We’d ship with you, no matter what strange seas you sail.”
Zed felt a sudden lump in his throat. “Well then.” He looked around, seeing LOLA’s orange hair at the back of the crowd. “Find your places, ladies and gentlemen. The next stop is Earth. We’re going home.”
END
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