New Frontiers- The Complete Series

by Jasper T. Scott

  Somehow, he’d known. He’d known she would cheat, and that made her infidelity twice as bad. Was it some intrinsic part of her? A flaw too deeply-woven for her to deny?

  Alex’s message ended there, and he faded out of sight, leaving her feeling more miserable and alone than she ever had in her life. He’d just given her permission to be with David, but she didn’t want to be with him.

  I just want you, Alex! Caty fell forward with her face in her hands and sobbed. I just want you.

  * * *

  June 3, 2790

  (Wonderland’s Frame of Reference)

  Alexander stood at the bottom of Shuttle One’s ramp, surveying the damage to the hab complex by the light of day. There was nothing left but a mountain of char-blackened canvas clinging to equally blackened framing poles. It was like the carcass of some giant alien monster. The real alien monster lay somewhere in the center of those ruins.

  A stiff breeze blew, stirring big papery flakes of canvas to life and driving them like snow. Overhead, through the swirling ashes, the sky was a pale ice blue. It was a chilly morning for Wonderland, just under twenty degrees—not that Alexander could feel the weather through his suit.

  “There’s nothing left…” Korbin said beside him, sounding forlorn.

  Alexander sighed. “How’s your ankle?” he asked, nodding to the bulge in her pressure suit where the cast was hiding. Doctor Crespin had managed to fashion crutches for her out of spare framing poles.

  “Better.”

  “You’re lucky Max pulled you out. Whatever he was hiding, I guess we can rule out collusion with the enemy. If he was with the Reds, why would he save you?”

  “He wouldn’t.”

  “So Williams must have been the one who sabotaged our engines. What I don’t get, though, is why he didn’t just confess to it. He already confessed to planting a bomb.”

  Korbin shrugged. “Why would he admit to it? He’s already in enough trouble without adding to the charges against him.”

  “True.” Alexander nodded and looked away, back to the ruined hab complex. “Well, there haven’t been any other acts of sabotage since we caught Williams, so I guess that must be it. Fleet investigators will have to handle the case when we get back. Speaking of which, we need to pack it in. I’m going to go contact Davorian and have him set up a flight plan for us to rendezvous with the Lincoln. Meanwhile, I need you to supervise the crew while they collect their samples. Just make sure they don’t wander too far. At this point safety is our main concern. Even without further research we’re all witness to the fact that Wonderland is habitable.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on them, sir.”

  “Good. And Korbin?”

  She regarded him with eyebrows raised behind her helmet’s faceplate.

  “Cheer up. We’re going home. You’re going to see your kids again very soon.”

  Korbin flashed half a smile. “And you your wife, sir.”

  He half-smiled back and nodded.

  Neither one of them voiced their fears about what they would find on Earth when they returned, but Alexander still clung to stubborn hope. Caty was alive. She had to be.

  CHAPTER 31

  Three Days Later - June 6, 2790

  (The Lincoln’s Frame of Reference)

  Alexander watched their final approach to the Looking Glass on the main holo display. It still looked like a clear glass marble to him. It was hard to imagine that bubble of distorted space-time was a tunnel from one galaxy to another.

  Davorian had spent his time in orbit well. He’d studied the stars to identify familiar galaxies and their distances from Wonderland in order to triangulate Wonderland’s position in relation to Earth’s. All of his stargazing had paid off, because he was now positive that Wonderland was situated inside the local group at just over three million light years from Earth. More specifically, Davorian had determined that Wonderland was located inside the distal arm of the spiral galaxy M33, otherwise known as the Triangulum Galaxy.

  “ETA five minutes until we enter the wormhole,” Davorian announced from the helm.

  “Keep me posted,” Alexander said. Turning to his XO, he added, “Looks like our mission was a success, Commander.”

  Korbin nodded without looking away from the forward display.

  “How’s Max doing?” he asked.

  “He’s still in med bay under quarantine, but Doctor Crespin and McAdams can’t find anything wrong with him. We should probably release him. If you’re worried, we can keep him in a pressure suit until he gets to his G-tank. The tank will act as an effective quarantine unit.”

  “I think that would be the safest course of action. If viruses on Earth sometimes take weeks to incubate, then the same could be true for Wonderland, and we may not know we’re dealing with a harmful pathogen until it’s too late.”

  Korbin nodded once more. “That’s what McAdams said.”

  “Well, she’s a smart girl.”

  Korbin arched an eyebrow at him.

  “What?” he said.

  “Just rumors, Captain.”

  Alexander felt a frown crease his brow. “What rumors?”

  Korbin switched to a private comms channel so that the rest of the crew wouldn’t overhear. “Before we entered the G-tanks, McAdams left the memorial service saying she was going to go find a bunkmate for the night. At that point you were the only one who’d left the officer’s mess without a partner. We all just assumed…”

  “That the captain was sleeping with his junior officer, and breaking his marriage vows while he’s at it.”

  Korbin shrugged. “You wouldn’t be the first to give into temptation in absentia. What happens in space stays in space, Captain.”

  “Well, I didn’t. McAdams came to my quarters, drunk. She tried something, but I turned her down, and that’s more than I should be telling you. Next time you hear the crew gossiping about their captain, I hope you’ll have the sense to put those rumors to rest before they travel.”

  “Yes, sir,” Korbin replied.

  Alexander blew out a breath and shook his head. He hadn’t meant to be so defensive, but it wasn’t just about the inappropriateness of the crew talking about him behind his back. It was about the sanctity of his marriage, and the fact that everyone just assumed allowances should be made for infidelity due to the nature of their circumstances.

  What happens in space, stays in space.

  Those words echoed through Alexander’s mind with mocking clarity.

  What if Caty felt the same way about their situation?

  Now that he knew they were going home, and much sooner than anticipated, he wished he hadn’t given his wife permission to move on. He’d been a fool. What if she took his advice? He could only hope she hadn’t gotten his message.

  Thinking about messages reminded him what they had to do next. “Hayes—”

  “Sir?”

  “Get ready to send a transmission through the wormhole with our reconstructed mission data, along with my report.”

  “Is that wise, sir? We don’t know who’s waiting to receive our message on the other end.”

  “We have to risk it. If something happens to the Lincoln while we’re all asleep, and we don’t make it back, then all of this will have been for nothing. We use encryption algorithms for a reason. Punch it, Hayes.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  * * *

  May 22, 2791

  (Earth’s Frame of Reference)

  Caty didn’t even turn to look when she heard the front door open. She sat at the kitchen table, warming her hands around a cup of hot tea and chewing her lower lip as she thought about the impossible predicament she was in. Peripherally, she saw David walk in. His stride faltered when he saw her sitting there.

  “Hola bella,” he said.

  She didn’t reply. She didn’t feel beautiful, and besides, she wasn’t talking to him.

  He pulled out the chair in front of her and reached for one of her hands.

  “Mi amor, perdónam
e.”

  Forgive me. She wasn’t even thinking about him slapping her, but this was probably the thousandth time he’d apologized for it over the past four days. There hadn’t been any further incidents, but her trust in him was still thin and brittle as ice.

  She risked glaring at him, and saw his brown eyes big and sad and full of hope—hope that this time she really would forgive him.

  Forgiving and forgetting are two different things, she thought.

  On the other hand, could she really afford to be so strict with him now? They both had bigger issues to deal with. Part of her was bursting with joy, but the other part…

  Afraid. She was afraid of how he would react. What if he lashed out again? She could smell the alcohol on his breath. He wasn’t drunk, but he wasn’t sober either.

  “Háblame,” he implored. “Por favor. I’ll even talk to you in English. Just don’t ignore me.”

  Her lip twitched and she looked down into her tea cup. She began circling the rim of the cup with her index finger. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Looking up, she found his eyebrows raised, and his head tilted with one ear angled toward her. He wrapped both hands around hers, trapping them between the tea cup and him.

  “Anything, my love. Tell me. I will listen.”

  Caty wanted to object to the way he kept addressing her in a romantic way, but she contained herself. David might not be the prince that Alexander was, but he was here, and he was trying to make amends. Maybe that also meant that he deserved a second chance. She took a deep breath and let it out in a shaky sigh. She could work her way up to it some more, but she didn’t want to draw this out. Sometimes it was easier just to deal with things head-on.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said.

  David flinched, his head jerking back as if she’d punched him. His hands recoiled from hers.

  “¿Como? ¡Es imposible! Tienes…”

  “I’m three weeks late. I got a blood test. It’s positive. Then I got another one to be sure. It’s positive, too.”

  David’s eyes narrowed suddenly. “You tricked me?”

  Caty’s jaw dropped and hot rage came boiling into her chest, puffing it up with air. “I tricked you?”

  “You have an implant. Everyone does. You’re supposed to be sterile until it’s disabled. So you must have disabled it without telling me. Then you seduced me…” He began nodding as if it all made perfect sense. “All you wanted from me was a baby. You used me.”

  Caty shook her head, incredulous. “No.” Unbelievable! She began rising from the table. “Never mind. I’ll figure this out on my own.”

  “Wait.” He grabbed her wrist, turning it white.

  She eyed his hand. “Let me go.”

  “If you didn’t plan this, then how did it happen?”

  “I don’t know! Implants fail. Sometimes they move out of position or they just don’t work. They’re not a hundred percent effective.”

  His grip loosened and some of the suspicion left his gaze. She jerked her wrist out of his grasp and turned away, shaking her head.

  He stepped in front of her, blocking her way. She felt cornered. Her heart began to pound…

  “I’m sorry for the way I reacted. Give me another chance.”

  Caty frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, regarding him with thinly pressed lips. She thought she’d just given him a second chance. Now he wants a third. Three strikes, you’re out.

  He went on, “I’m still processing. This is… good news,” he said, as if trying to convince himself. “Yes.” Now he smiled, fully convinced. “Very good news. I promise I will do everything I can to be the best father, and… more than just a father, if that’s what you want.”

  “I don’t know what I want yet, but you are the father, so you’d better be a good one.”

  “I will. The best.” David grinned.

  “Good. You can start by not drinking anymore.”

  David blinked, shocked. Then his lips curved up in one corner. “If I don’t drink, I’ll die of thirst. I have to hydrate myself.”

  “I agree, but water is better than alcohol for that. No more alcohol, David. I’m serious.”

  His wry expression vanished, and he blew out a sudden breath. “I need to relax somehow! You never see me drunk do you?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you just hide it well.”

  He shook his head. “One or two drinks a day, that’s it.”

  “Every day. And how do I know that one or two doesn’t turn into three or four? Listen, you want to make this work, you want me to forgive you, you’re going to have to show me you’re serious.”

  David hesitated, eyes narrowed, teeth grinding… at last, he nodded. “Okay. For you, mi amor.”

  “Good, but alcoholics don’t just quit because they want to.”

  “I’m not an—”

  She held up a hand to stop him. “Whether or not you are one, you’re going to go get yourself adjusted. Tell them you slapped me, and that you have problems with alcohol. You’re in the North, not the South. All it takes is a few minutes in a gene parlor and you’ll be cured.”

  “You want to turn me into a puppy dog who will sit and roll over when he’s told? How am I supposed to protect you if you take away all of my strength?”

  “You slapped me. I had a bruise on my cheek for two days. Mrs. Walton asked me about it, and I had to lie and say I was robbed so that the police wouldn’t come for you. Does that sound like protecting me?” David swallowed visibly, but said nothing. “You’ve been coming home smelling like beer for weeks… months now that I think about it, and that’s the last thing you need with your impulse control problems.”

  “I…”

  “Don’t do it for me. Do it for yourself, and for your baby.”

  “I will go tomorrow. Te prometo.”

  “Good. I want to see the adjustment report. If we feel like they over-adjusted something, we’ll go back and fix it.”

  David began nodding. Before she knew it, he wrapped her up in a big bear hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her in a circle. “Te amo, Caty!”

  He loved her. Did she love him? Did it matter? They were going to have a baby together, and for that baby’s sake, she had to do her best to make things work. “Yo tambien te amo, David,” she said, but it came out sounding like a question.

  He put her down and withdrew to an arm’s length to look her in the eye. “¿Me amas?”

  He obviously didn’t hear the question mark. She hesitated. “I care about you,” she said, trying to backtrack from love.

  “What about Alex?” David asked, again choosing not to read between the lines.

  “He sent me a message over a year ago, telling me to move on. To be happy. I just got it—the day that you slapped me.”

  David’s eyebrows floated up. “He told you to move on?” David shook his head. “Then he never loved you.”

  Caty recoiled from him, shoving him away. “How dare you!”

  David took a deep breath and held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. What I meant was… I can’t imagine ever letting you go. I don’t know how he could do that if he still loves you. Maybe he has also moved on, and that is why he told you to do the same.”

  Caty’s jaw dropped. That hadn’t occurred to her, but maybe it should have. He was a captain on a ship with plenty of women, and over the past ten years he’d spent far more time with them than he had with her. Maybe he’d been cheating on her for years already and she hadn’t even known? She remembered the engraved pocket watch she’d given him before he left, and then she remembered that he hadn’t thought to get her a parting gift. Suddenly, that looked more like neglect and emotional distancing than simple forgetfulness.

  “I am sorry, Caty. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He’s gone. What we had is in the past. It’s time to focus on what lies ahead. Even if he comes back, it’s too late. Too much time has passed, and I’m having a baby with you
, not him.

  David nodded, stepping in close to her. “You have made me a very happy man.”

  Caty searched his eyes, trying to gauge the truth of those words. The love she saw shining in his gaze warmed her heart and melted some of the ice between them. She relaxed her posture and smiled. “Get yourself adjusted, David. We have a whole life ahead of us, and I need you to be the best possible version of yourself if we’re going to make it work.”

  “I will, and it will work.” He leaned in for a kiss. Caty resisted the urge to turn away, reminding herself that she had to make an effort, too. The scent and taste of him filled her nostrils, and she relaxed still further. He wrapped his arms around her, and suddenly the whole world felt right. For a brief, blissful moment, forgetting didn’t seem so hard.

  She forgot all about David’s outburst, and all about Alex. This time instead of feeling guilty, she felt justified. She knew she was doing the right thing. They hadn’t planned to get pregnant, but by some miracle her implant had failed, and maybe that was a sign—something telling her to move on.

  David withdrew, leaving her in a dreamy bubble of hope. Suddenly, her world looked bright, as if from now on everything was only going to get better, not worse.

  Onwards and upwards, she thought.

  CHAPTER 32

  June 6, 2790

  (The Lincoln’s Frame of Reference)

  “I’ll take him from here, Doctor,” Korbin said.

  Doctor Crespin looked uncertain. “I should be the one to escort him to the G-tanks. He is my responsibility.”

  “You have enough to do as it is. The crew’s safety is just as much my responsibility as it is yours. I’ll make sure he doesn’t take off his helmet or otherwise compromise the integrity of this ship.”

  Crespin scratched at the stubble on his face. Obviously he needed to give himself another round of depilatory treatments before he entered the tanks. “Okay.”

  Korbin flashed a smile at Max. “Let’s go.”

  They marched away, out the doors from the med center and down the corridor to the nearest elevator. The Lincoln was still under one G of acceleration, so gravity was functioning normally throughout the central column, but soon, once everyone was safely ensconced in the G-tanks, the ship would go from one G to ten and continue that way for almost three weeks while it accelerated up to half the speed of light.