And since then, there’d been less tension between them, only closeness.
This is never how I imagined being in command, she thought. But I need you, Xue. You struck my passion into flame again, reminded me of why I go on…
And I have Molokos to help me keep things in perspective as a soldier and a leader.
And she needed Xon for his moral support, and Sivarek for the Engineer’s boundless enthusiasm—bringing hope out of adversity and change where it seemed there would only be death.
Reynard, too, was useful… the stoic yet confident professional, teaching her to endure and stay calm.
I need all of them, she thought. Maybe more than they need me.
Will this still work when we take flight, when I take the Captain’s chair? I don’t know.
It’s not the type of leadership that the regs would prescribe. I’m not even sure it’s Kane’s type of leadership, or how my father would have led a crew.
But on the ship, at this time, with these officers… maybe, just maybe I can make it work.
She exited the shelter and walk to the shore of the lake where the small cairn of reddish ore-tinged rocks marked Kane’s final resting place.
He’d want his body to stay here, she thought, where he fought for his ship and died for us, like a true warrior.
Xon had agreed.
Perhaps, she thought, someday… If I really feel I’ve done your legacy right… I can come back here in pride and remembrance.
You said this crew was the best in the Fleet, and you made want to believe that. I hate what the Valorians did to you—but I think I found a way to carry on.
She walked along the lakeshore to where Xon sat. Jeremy was still there beside him, sketching with his crayons, drawing the rocky landscape of the moon’s surface.
But Sivarek was no longer sitting at the shore with his hands in the water…
No, he was actually about five meters out into the lake now, floating on his back with hands spread out. Silvery fractal patterns whirled around his body.
The impromptu nanohubs, as he’d explained to her earlier.
“Why is he floating on the water?” she asked Xon. “Is he all right? He looks very weak. I’m concerned.”
Xon nodded. “He’s eaten a bit. I reminded him of your orders, Commander. But this morning, he insisted on immersing himself like this.”
“Is the process almost complete?”
“Yes,” Xon nodded. “From what he has told me, it is.”
Sivarek’s gridlined cyborg eyes flashed open, and he smiled weakly. “Commander,” he gasped. “Good, we’re done here. We’re almost ready… Going to fly.”
The swirling silver patterns in the water around him stopped, breaking into shiny strands which quickly dissolved into white foam.
From out in the lake, there was a churning, gurgling sound. The water began to bubble violently, waves rippling to the shore… Waves which grew turbulent enough that the Engineer’s body began to bob and bounce on the water.
“Rising, rising, rising,” Sivarek announced, and giggled weakly.
And out on the lake—
The ship emerged.
The top of the hull broke the surface of the water. It was silvery, shining in the sunlight—so dazzlingly bright so that Brattain had to look away for a moment, lest she be blinded in her one good eye.
When she looked back, she had to shade her eye. The light flashed towards her in rainbow hues, and there was a multi-colored corona around the ship where the sun struck it.
“Refraction,” she thought. “The diamond hull, of course.”
The sound of rushing water continued as the ship rose.
The shape of it… She had seen Sivarek’s designs on the holodisplay, but seeing the reconstructed ship with one’s own eyes was quite another thing. It retained the general shape of the Yamato-class destroyer that it was. But the blocky angles of the hull had somehow been smoothed. The projections had been rounded down, and the whole of it was subtly more organic looking.
Like a giant crystalline insect, it kept rising… The booms on the front of the ship emerged, sluicing up through the water. They were longer than they had been previously, and sharper. They looked like twin swords emerging from the front of the ship—reminding Brattain of the pair of samurai swords which Molokos practiced with.
When the ship had risen fully above the surface of the lake, its six landing gear descended from their recesses on the bottom of the main hull. These long, reinforced struts also shone with a coating of diamond nanoweave.
With the six legs, she thought, it really does look like some sort of fearsome insect. The booms in front looked like extended pincers.
She imagined what it would be like with the sensor sails unfurled, like a winged insect... Some kind of killer moth or butterfly, she thought. A really shiny one.
The ship’s maneuvering thrusters activated, and it began to move towards the shore.
“How is he doing that?” she asked Xon. “I thought we’d have to send Cruz to retrieve the ship.”
Xon shook his head, “I don’t know. I’m as much amazed as you are, Commander.”
But Sivarek smiled again and rasped, “This ship… We are this ship. I… I am the ship. The nanos harmonized. I’m directly linked, so long as it… lasts. I’m in control.”
The ship continued to glide over the camp. Now, all of the crew members had emerged from their shelters to stare up at it.
Out of the corner of Brattain’s eye, she saw Cruz, her lithe, nude body poised at the entrance to the shelter they’d shared. The pilot was staring up slack-jawed to where the diamond-hulled ship was gliding towards a spot not far from where it originally crashed.
Descending smoothly, the Musashi came down slowly until its weight was braced on the six landing gears…
And then, it just sat there, shining and proud.
“It’s done,” Sivarek whispered. “The ship… rebuilt better than ever. Everything done just… Oh! One thing we forgot… I forgot.”
“What’s that?” Brattain asked?
“Stefan,” he whispered. “He is… I mean, I am... I’m kind of…oh… um, not feeling well.”
And suddenly, his composure lost, the Engineer began to thrash weakly in the water, sinking and choking as the water filled his mouth.
Brattain and Xon waded in and pulled him out. He was unconscious but breathing.
“Doctor,” she asked, “will he be all right?”
Xon took an injector, placed it to the Engineer’s neck, and nodded. “Yes, I’m giving him a restorative. He’s pushed himself very, very far… But he’s stronger than he looks, I think. Much stronger.”
Brattain smiled and touched the Doctor’s shoulder. “That’s good to know.”
A small figure stepped forward towards the shining, silvery ship, pointing.
It was Jeremy.
He seemed mesmerized by the diamond hull. “Pretty,” he said. “Pretty. Pretty pretty.”
Brattain touched the boy’s arm. He didn’t react to her… But he was smiling, looking at the ship.
“Pretty.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Brattain said. “Can’t wait to take her up. Cruz will be thrilled…”
She turned back to Xon. “Doctor, I’ll find someone to help you get Sivarek and your equipment onboard. There’s no response from the Fleet, and…”
“And…?” He stared back at her hopefully.
She nodded and smiled. “Like you said before, we have a duty to help those Colonists. Our destination is Earth. Time to get going.”
36
The flagship Mars streaked through the vacuum of space.
Captain Wesley Fitzgerald sat tensely in the XO’s chair on the ship’s imposing, shadowy bridge, watching the familiar face of a red-haired female Commander as she relayed her plans for the Musashi’s course.
...and we are currently en route to Earth to investigate the visions received by Mr. Seutter.
If true, we intend t
o liberate the Colonists under the authority granted us by the Coreward Dominion Accords. Message ends.
First Consul Wells sat in the captain's chair behind Wesley, the older man’s expression unreadable.
Wesley addresses his helmsman. “Adjust course and give me maximum acceleration to Earth jump point.”
He turned to Wells. “Sir, should I send them the order to stand down?”
The old man shook his head and sighed theatrically. “Alas, Captain… It wouldn't reach them in time. If the Valorians destroy them in their attempt, it will be easier for us. If not, we'll have to surrender the crew to appease them, anyway. However, I hope to keep the Engineer and the ship. If they've accomplished what she says, this feat of re-engineering the ship and incorporating Valorian technology… at least we can gain something from that.”
Wesley wasn’t sure why this bothered him. He had already resigned himself to the fact that sacrifices had to be made. Was it because of Liz and their prior relationship—was he still concerned for her?
Stupid sentimental weakness, need to be strong with the First Consul watching my every move…
But if there could be a diplomatic solution—a better solution?
“Sir, there's still a chance I can reason with Brattain once we get near the closest jump-point, over real-time. Our cover can only benefit from having a few survivors to confirm it.”
Wells nodded, rising from the Captain’s seat. “Much depends on the situation when and how we find it, but you may certainly try. I would be quite happy to prevent damage to that ship, at least. Meanwhile, I'll make certain our worst-case contingency is covered...”
#
In his quarters on the Mars, Wells stared at the impassive faceplate on the holographic image of the armored Valorian leader.
“Enoch, we have them trapped. Hold position until I arrive.”
“They have spilled the blood of the righteous. The Infidels must perish in the fire of Heaven.”
Wells shook his head. “If you want your precious Colonists, the ship must be taken intact.”
The armored Templar leader was unmoved. “The ship is sacrilege, the wings of Angels desecrated! It will be destroyed. And the Betrayer will finally be punished.”
“Enoch, there are very good reasons why that ship should be left undamag—”
The hologram disappeared in a flash, the signal cut off from the other end.
“Enoch?!” Wells pounded his fists on the desk. “Damn them!”
37
The newly-restored sick bay hadn’t changed much; unlike the bridge of the refitted Musashi, the plain gray walls and medical beds seemed the same as before.
Brattain sat patiently on one of the beds while Doctor Xon repaired the damage around her new eye, using a medical laser to excite the healing compounds which he’d applied there.
She’d spent days adapting to having monocular vision; now, with her other eye back—actually a quick-grown clone—she actually felt slightly disoriented.
“The clone's going to itch for a few days,” he explained, “but it's quicker than in situ regrowth. Sometimes the old-fashioned ways are still better…”
He put his tool down and turned to Brattain with a concerned expression. “So, how are you? With everything.”
She shrugged. “I'm actually okay. I feel... almost comfortable.”
Xon nodded. “Don't fight it. You've found a reason to command that has nothing to do with family name or social position. Trust your decisions.”
“I just hope we're not too late to help the Colonists,” she explained. “We’re moving as fast as we can towards the Earth jump point, but…”
“You could have headed back to Auris, forgotten about Earth. Just given the intel to Fleet Command, let them handle things. No one could possibly have faulted you for you following protocol.”
“That’s not what Captain Kane would have done,” she mused.
“And that’s what you base your decision on?”
“It’s still his ship, in my mind,” she said. “I can’t get rid of his ghost, but I’m not sure I want to. I need him now.”
“Perhaps that ghost is really just part of yourself, eh? Your own conscience and instinct. But we give faces to intangibles all the time… That’s just a human thing.”
A human thing, she thought. She almost mentioned the Valorians, “faceless” with their oily dark faceplates obscuring them, but she held her tongue.
You are human, Doctor, no matter what your heritage.
But our enemy…
Regardless of their DNA, I can’t view them as anything but alien.
Alien, and dangerous.
“Besides,” Xon added, “Harry had an excellent advisor in the ship’s Doctor. That’s one asset you have also, yes?”
#
The holo-fountain in the mess hall worked perfectly now, without the periodic glitches.
It was, Seutter had to admit, somewhat soothing.
Somewhat.
He sat alone, staring at a vial of his suppressant. He twirled it slowly around in his fingers…
The plate of protein noodles in front of him remained largely untouched.
The crew’s thought-voices in his head had him on edge. If anything, they seemed louder after the refit of the ship.
Voices of hope, excitement…
The brave crew of the RCS Musashi off on a rescue mission against all odds!
They’d seen what those Valorian bastards could do, hadn’t they? They were flying into a hornets’ nest—where one good sting could destroy a human mind.
They hadn’t seen what Seutter had seen in his link with the Valorian Unity. He had seen and felt it all… The cold, brutal efficiency and planning of the Valorians, accomplished in the name of some infantile religious dogma.
It would have been almost funny, had they not been so ruthless in enforcing their beliefs…
In his memory, the newborn infant is taken from the woman by the spindly, suitless Valorian.
Her hand reaches out desperately toward us...
Seutter jerked, clearing his head.
The damn visions. They didn’t see what I saw.
And now I can’t stop seeing them.
Feeling something—a presence—he turned.
Jeremy was standing there, staring at him.
He studied the autistic boy—who stood watching him with an intensity that made Seutter imagine that the boy was trying to figure him out, like an odd puzzle.
“How hard did your mother have to fight to get you away from them?” he asked.
The boy didn’t respond.
“You know, my brother did a lot of things to me. He made me hurt and made me want to die, to hide. I have been hiding, in my own way, for years. He showed me how fragile people are, and how vulnerable relationships make you. But he never took away my conscience. Did you know that?”
The boy was still silent. After a moment, he moved to walk away.
“He never took away my damn conscience!” Seutter shouted after him. “Took my pride, my strength… But not that!”
That’s why the voices in my head always hurt so much.
Instant empathy; some part of me has to care about them.
And that hurts.
“So, truly, the suffering of a single being is the suffering of us all.”
Damn it!
The idiot Engineer just had to bring that up…
Shaking his head, Seutter turned and considered his drug again...
His hand strayed to his temple, began to rub.
He sighed…
And he put the vial of suppressant back into his pocket, unused.
When he looked up again, Jeremy was gone.
A voice sounded over the room’s comm: Commander Brattain.
“Mister Seutter, please report to Engineering to prepare for the jump,” she ordered.
Good, he thought. I’ll get a few moments of serenity, at least.
38
Brattain entered the brid
ge with Xon behind her. She walked to the larger, remodeled captain's chair, hesitating before taking the seat.
Some part of me would be more comfortable just taking the XO’s chair and pretending Kane’s still back there behind me.
But my ghost captain can only do so much…
She took a deep breath, and tried to adjust herself to the brightness of the remodeled bridge. The reinforced walls here were of the same diamond nanoweave as the outer hull, and they shone like faceted mirrors.
It made the bridge seem brighter, and larger… But she’d already asked Sivarek to take care of it, whenever he had a chance. It was just too distracting.
Now, closing in on Earth, they had other priorities…
Seutter had made the jump hours ago. Now, they were performing reconnaissance on the planet, trying to determine what they would be facing.
“Status?” she asked.
Reynard replied: “Stationary at two AU's. Receiving transmission from recon probe now.”
She turned to Xon. “You're sure they didn't detect it?”
He shook his head. “They can't sense or affect machines. One of the reasons they fear the Corporate Worlds. Manned ships, yes… But the probe should get by.”
“Commander,” Reynard said, “readings confirm concentrated habitation on the surface and in geosynchronous orbit.”
“Lieutenant, display transmission, orbital view first.”
“Yessir.”
So that’s Earth, she thought. Humanity’s birthplace.
Now, it looked battered, despoiled. The seas were red with algae… Part of a long-failed experiment to rehabilitate the atmosphere. The continents were mostly gray and brown, with only a few swaths of green plant life struggling on.
Resources drained, devastated by centuries of warfare between countries and corporations…
Ironically, we might have the technology now to rehabilitate the planet. Modern nanos could probably handle the job… But the Republic’s moved on; we have more fertile and hospitable worlds in Coreward space.
Earth has just been… forgotten.
And off-limits, due to environmental hazards. At least, that was the official explanation…
Space Cruiser Musashi: a space opera novel Page 18
