Ep.#2 - Rescue (The Frontiers Saga - Part 2: Rogue Castes)

by Ryk Brown

“He didn’t deserve to die,” Connor protested.

  “Perhaps not,” General Telles said, interrupting him. “But Marcus was smart to eliminate him. Once the thread of a lie is pulled, things begin to unravel at an accelerated rate. Your true identity could have been exposed.”

  “But I’m not Nathan Scott,” Connor insisted, rising to his feet. “I may be a physical copy. Hell, I may even act a lot like him. But I am not him. I don’t have his memories, or his experiences! For cryin’ out loud, I don’t even remember my parents, or my brother and sisters! Nothing! Nothing before I woke up in that hospital on Corinair!”

  “Wait a minute,” Jessica interrupted. “Did you say brother and sisters?”

  “What?” Connor stopped, completely lost.

  “The profile we created for you didn’t say anything about a brother, just sisters.”

  “A slip of the tongue!” Connor said dismissively.

  “Perhaps not,” the general disagreed.

  “Have you been having dreams?” Jessica asked.

  “So what if I have,” Connor argued. “Everyone has dreams!”

  “About your brother, and your sisters?”

  “In my dreams they are, but so what? Hell, I once dreamed some old guy was teaching me to fly this crazy looking contraption, with two cloth-covered wings and a propeller in front. A propeller! Can you believe that?”

  Jessica looked at Telles. “They’re still in there.”

  “There may yet be hope,” the general replied, equally intrigued.

  “What the hell are you two talking about?” Connor demanded to know.

  “All of Nathan Scott’s memories are stored in your head,” Jessica explained. “They were put in there during the restoration attempt. Your brain just doesn’t know where they are stored. It’s like trying to find items in a massive warehouse, without any kind of map.”

  “You’re making my head hurt,” Connor said, getting frustrated.

  “The Nifelmian device is designed to retrieve from, and restore to, a Nifelmian brain,” General Telles explained. “One that has been altered through genetic manipulation. Imagine that your brain is a computer, and that the memory center of your brain is akin to a computer’s data banks. The computer’s operating system knows how to read the storage map, thus allowing it to retrieve data at will. Unfortunately, the Nifelmian device was unable to restore that map. The memories are there, but your brain does not know how to find them. They are, essentially, unmapped.”

  Connor stared at the general, dumbfounded.

  “Now, my brain is starting to hurt,” Dalen mumbled.

  “So those dreams…they’re real?” Connor asked.

  “Nathan Scott had an older brother, and four sisters,” General Telles stated.

  “And his grandfather taught him how to fly in a replica of an ancient, propeller-driven biplane,” Jessica added. “They’re not dreams, Connor. They’re memories. Nathan’s memories. Your memories.”

  Connor sighed, shaking his head in disbelief again. “I can’t believe this is happening.” He looked at Jessica and General Telles. “What is it you people want from me?”

  “We want you to become Nathan Scott again,” Jessica replied.

  Connor looked at General Telles, then back at Jessica. “What happens to me? What happens to Connor Tuplo?”

  Jessica sighed. “I don’t honestly know.”

  “Well, who does?”

  “Michi and Turi,” Jessica answered.

  “Well, then, let’s ask them,” Connor said.

  “That’s the problem,” Jessica replied. “They’re trapped on Corinair, along with several others.”

  “We need your ship, and your copilot, in order to rescue them,” General Telles added.

  “Why not use one of your ships?” Connor wondered.

  “There are more people than we can carry in a single jump,” the general explained. “And a second jump would be too risky.”

  “Hell, a first jump is too damned risky,” Marcus muttered.

  “Then use one of your boxcars,” Connor suggested. “You could probably fit a few hundred people in one of those things.”

  “Boxcars will not fit into the insertion environment,” the general said.

  “How many people are we talking about?” Connor asked. “And what do you mean by insertion environment?”

  “Fifteen to twenty persons,” the general replied. “And the insertion environment is a cave.”

  Connor’s head snapped back in surprise. “You want me to let Josh jump my ship into a cave? Are you nuts?”

  “He’s done it before,” Jessica said.

  Connor looked at Josh.

  “Piece of cake,” Josh bragged.

  Connor suddenly felt the need to sit back down. After a moment, he regained his composure. “Assume for a moment that I agree to all this, and we manage to pull it off and rescue all these people, including the two clone doctors. Then what?”

  “Then,” the general began, “we can better answer your questions about what happens to Connor Tuplo, should you agree to become Nathan Scott.”

  “This isn’t making any sense,” Connor argued. “If my brain hasn’t been, how did you put it…genetically manipulated? Then how are they going to make me reconnect with those memories, and become Nathan Scott?”

  Jessica sighed, looking at General Telles, who nodded his approval. She looked back at Connor. “By transferring everything in your head, into a new, genetically manipulated, cloned body.”

  Connor stared at her, unable to believe what he had just heard. “You’re saying… You’re saying there’s a third, clone? That there’s another one of me somewhere?”

  “Yes,” Jessica replied solemnly.

  Connor was speechless for a moment. “Jesus,” he finally said. “I can’t believe you people. What gives you the right!” he exclaimed, rising to his feet again. “This is my life you’re fucking with!” Connor turned to look at his crew, then back at Jessica and General Telles, before throwing his hands up and storming out the hangar office door into the night.

  Jessica moved to chase after him, but General Telles grabbed her arm to stop her. “Perhaps it is better if we give him some time,” he suggested.

  Jessica looked at the general, tears in her eyes. “But what if he never comes back?” she asked quietly.

  “Main power is offline while they put in new power distribution lines to the nacelles,” Dalen explained. “He couldn’t take off if he wanted to.”

  “It’s a big planet,” Jessica insisted.

  “He’ll be all right,” Marcus promised. “He always storms off this way when he’s upset.”

  Jessica shook her head. “That’s not like Nathan.”

  “That’s the point,” Josh said, getting up from his chair and heading for the door. “He ain’t Nathan.”

  * * *

  Josh poked his head up through the companionway hatch from the Seiiki’s main foredeck into her cockpit. “Figured I’d find you here,” he said, continuing up the companionway steps once he was sure the captain was there.

  “Come to talk me into becoming Na-Tan?” Connor guessed.

  “Actually, no,” Josh replied, moving forward and slipping down into his usual position in the copilot’s seat.

  “I thought Nathan Scott was your friend.”

  “You’re my friend too. Probably even more so than Cap’n Scott was.”

  Connor looked at Josh, surprised.

  “I was only with the Alliance for two years, and I was only around Cap’n Scott for the first few months. After that, Loki and I were usually off flyin’ the Falcon. We hardly ever spoke. I’ve been flyin’ with you for five years, Connor. Five years, sittin’ right here next to you. I’d say that makes you a l
ot more my friend than Captain Scott ever was.”

  “But he was a great man, right?” Connor said. “Captain of the Aurora. Savior of the galaxy.”

  “He was a great man, sure,” Josh agreed. “But his circumstances sort of demanded greatness of him. He didn’t really have much choice in the matter. In fact, he didn’t really want the job.”

  “He didn’t?” Connor was genuinely surprised.

  “Hell, no. Not at first, at least,” Josh explained. “Sure, he grew into it later. Probably even came to love it. After all, he was a natural-born leader. That much was pretty obvious, even to a Havenite like me.”

  Connor thought for a moment, looking out the forward windows at the city lights beyond the spaceport. “Am I like him?” he wondered.

  “Yeah, you’re a lot like him.”

  Connor turned to look at Josh. “Just like him?”

  “I’m not gonna lie to you, Connor. Sometimes, it’s hard not to call you Nathan…although the beard helps.”

  “Is that why you usually call me Captain?” Connor wondered.

  “Maybe, I don’t know. I mean, you are the captain.”

  “Then I am him. Or at least a clone of him.”

  “Depends on your definition, I suppose. I mean, you look like him, minus the beard of course. And you sound like him. You even talk like him, mostly. I think the rest of us have sort of polluted your vocabulary a bit.”

  Connor smiled. “Marcus, for sure.”

  “But, there are things about you that are different from Nathan. If you were both in the same room, I’d be able to tell you apart, I’m sure of it.”

  Connor tugged at his beard.

  “Even without the beard,” Josh insisted.

  “Thanks,” Connor replied. “I needed to hear that.”

  “Of course, you do have that bump on your nose, from when it got broke in that bar fight on Kaladossa.” This time, it was Josh who smiled.

  “Do you think I should do it?” Connor asked, looking Josh in the eyes.

  “I don’t know that I can answer that for you, Connor,” Josh admitted. “No one can. No one but you. I do think you need to learn more before you decide, though.”

  “What if I decide not to?” Connor asked. “What if I decide to take off as soon as they finish the repairs? Will you and Marcus come with me?”

  Josh looked down, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Cap’n, Loki is my best friend, from way back. Long before you, long before Nathan. He and I have been through more than you can imagine. His wife and baby girl are among those who need to be rescued. I can’t not help him. This ship, or another, I’m gonna jump something into that cave, and get them outta there. So no, if you go, I’m staying. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is. Friends don’t leave friends hangin’. Now, I can’t speak for Marcus, but I’m pretty sure he’d say the same. Loki is like a son to him.”

  “Crew is family,” Connor muttered, almost to himself.

  “That’s what you always say.”

  “I’m kind of wishing I didn’t, at the moment.” Connor sighed. “If your friends need our help, then that’s what we’re going to give them.”

  “You sure about this?” Josh asked.

  “About the rescue, yes,” Connor replied. “About becoming Na-Tan… Well, let’s just say that I’ve got a few questions to ask those two clone doctors first.”

  * * *

  Travon Dumar rejoined his guests, stepping out onto the dining deck that overlooked the lake.

  “You have received word?” Doran Montrose asked, noticing the look on the retired admiral’s face.

  “I have just received a communiqué from General Telles. They are prepared to rescue us.”

  “When?” Yanni asked, sitting up straight in his seat and leaning forward with interest.

  “Tomorrow at noon.”

  “At the caves?” Doran confirmed.

  “They’re going to jump into a cave?” Yanni asked doubtfully. He looked at Doran. “Is that even possible?”

  “Apparently, it is,” the admiral replied.

  “I can think of only a few pilots crazy enough to try,” Doran commented, exchanging a glance with Travon.

  “Telles knows what he is doing,” the admiral insisted. “He is not one to take foolish risks.”

  “How are we going to get there?” Yanni wondered.

  “In Jerrot’s truck,” Dumar replied. “With the wine barrels removed, there should be enough room in the back for us all, including Jerrot’s family.”

  “Now we have to take his family, as well?” Doran asked.

  “In exchange for his help in smuggling you out of Aitkenna, yes,” the admiral replied. “That was our arrangement.”

  Doran did the math in his head. “So, this ship must have room for eleven, in addition to her crew.”

  “It is eighteen people, not eleven. Including my extended family, and Jerrot’s,” Dumar corrected him.

  “And, it must be jump capable. It cannot be a shuttle or boxcar. What other ships does the general possess?”

  “One called the Seiiki,” Dumar said. He noticed a surprised expression on Doran’s face.“But, by the look on your face, it appears that you have.”

  “You both know her as the Mirai. She was given to Captain Scott’s clone, Connor Tuplo, after being retooled by acquaintances of Marcus’s, with a new name and registry as the Seiiki,” Doran explained.

  “Marcus Taggart?” Dumar asked.

  “Yes. He and Josh volunteered to act as protectors for Connor Tuplo. They signed on as his crew, without Captain Tuplo knowing their true mission.”

  “Then, it is young Mister Hayes who will be piloting the Seiiki into the crystal caves,” the admiral realized.

  “Either he, or Connor Tuplo,” Doran said.

  Travon sighed, shaking his head. “So, in a manner of speaking, Nathan Scott is coming back from the grave to save us yet again.”

  “I suppose so,” Doran agreed, a slight grin on his face. “It is his destiny, after all.”

  Travon did not look amused. “We must pack only that which we can carry. Inform the others that we will depart at sunrise. I will contact Jerrot to secure our transportation.”

  * * *

  Connor and Josh returned to the Ghatazhak hangar office, rejoining Jessica, General Telles, Dalen, Marcus, and Neli. Connor glanced at his crew, and then exchanged glances with Jessica and the general without saying a word. He took a deep breath and then spoke. “I need to talk to my crew,” he told Jessica and General Telles. “Alone.”

  “Of course,” General Telles replied, moving toward the exit.

  Jessica followed, exchanging glances with both Connor and Josh, but saying nothing. She had already put enough pressure on Connor.

  Once the door closed and they were alone, Connor spoke. “Okay, so now you two know as much as I know,” he said to Dalen and Neli. “And, apparently, Josh and Marcus know more than all of us, but we’ll get into that later.”

  “You gonna do it, Cap’n?” Dalen asked, unable to contain his excitement. “You gonna become Na-Tan?”

  “One step at a time, Dalen,” Connor replied. “First, there’s the rescue mission.”

  “Then you’re going to do it,” Neli surmised.

  “Yes, I’m going to do it,” Connor admitted. “But only because it’s the only way I’m going to get all my questions answered about who or what I am, and if I should become Nathan Scott.”

  “And because it’s the right thing to do,” Josh reminded him.

  “And because it’s the right thing to do,” Connor agreed.

  “The right thing to do?” Neli said skeptically. “For who? You don’t even know those people, and now you want to risk all our lives to resc
ue them? How is that the right thing?”

  “They’re our friends, Nel,” Marcus said. “Friends who would do the same for us. That’s what makes it the right thing to do.”

  “I’m in,” Dalen blurted out.

  “Hold on,” Connor urged, holding up his hands. “I already know that Josh and Marcus are in. Hell, they’d go with or without the rest of us.”

  “Damn straight,” Josh agreed.

  “But neither one of you has any obligation to these people,” Connor added.

  “And neither do you,” Neli pointed out. “You don’t know them either.”

  “But I do know that I wouldn’t even exist, if it weren’t for these people,” Connor replied. “And that makes me feel awfully damned obligated to try to rescue them.”

  “And if we decide not to go?” Neli asked.

  “Well,” Connor said, thinking a moment. “I suppose you can wait here for us to return.”

  “And if you don’t?”

  “Nel,” Marcus started.

  Connor held up one hand, interrupting Marcus. “It’s an honest question, Marcus.” Connor sighed. “If we don’t make it back, I’m sure the Ghatazhak can arrange transport for you to whatever world you wish to go to. I can probably make that a condition for my participation.”

  “What, so I can start all over again, with nothing?” Neli did not seem pleased with the idea.

  “It’s the best I can do, Neli. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?”

  “It’s not like this is my fault, Neli,” Connor defended. “It just is what it is.”

  “I’m in,” Dalen said again.

  “I got that,” Connor replied. He looked at Neli. “I’d rather have my entire crew with me, Neli. A crew I can trust. I don’t know these people.”

  “And yet you’re still willing to risk all our lives to help them. And all because they told you some story about you being Nathan Scott’s clone.”

  “It does answer a lot of questions,” Connor admitted. “Put yourself in my shoes, Neli. If you didn’t remember anything about yourself, about your past, your family, where you came from… Wouldn’t you want to know?”