Instead of answering, Ada walked around to the other side of Tabby's bed and lifted the blanket away from her arm. Instead of skin, the arm had been completely transformed into a beautiful blue crystal. A feeling of gratitude filled her, and Tabby immediately understood that the feeling was not her own.
"Sendrei found you like this on the planet," Ada said. "You were lying on a cylindrical crystal, roughly the size of one of Intrepid's missiles. Jonathan said you were severely dehydrated."
"The mother crystal … we have to go back for it," Tabby said.
"No need. We got it," Ada said. "Almost got blown up because of it too."
"How did you know?"
"What? That we needed to grab it?"
"Yes."
"Not because of your excellent communication skills," Ada said, with mild reproof in her voice. "Actually, it was Jonathan. I was trying to get us out of the crater and would have left it behind, but Jonathan just jumped out of the cargo hold and attached himself to the stupid thing. You'll have to watch the video. I'm not sure my description would do it justice. Let's just say that you and Jonathan now have more than a few things in common."
"Right. We have about nothing in common," Tabby said.
"We estimate the crystalline structure that has taken over the synthetic fibers within your body hosts in excess of two hundred thousand distinct Iskstar," Jonathan said, his egg-shaped vessel levitating up into view. "While it is true you are now a collective, we believe Ada is referring to our recent loss of the lower portion of our corporeal body as further commonality."
"Thank you, Jonathan, you saved us," Tabby looked a little confused, but lifted her hand as if to touch the egg. "Thank you all."
"Is that Tabby talking or Iskstar?" Ada asked.
"Yes. We are … together. Please, you must put me back into my grav-suit. Where is the mother?"
"The big crystal?" Ada asked.
"Your choice of words is interesting," Jonathan said. "You've used it consistently. Why do you call it the mother crystal?"
"The Iskstar was born from what is inside the crystal," Tabby said. "Without the mother, there is no life."
"The Iskstar are separate from the crystal?" Jonathan asked, unable to resist learning more.
"Yes. My grav-suit, please," Tabby said.
"You need to talk to Liam, Tabby," Ada said. "He's worried about you."
"They're moving on Kroerak," Tabby said, the information more of a feeling than specific knowledge. "The people of two galaxies will fail. The Kroerak will spread as a virus."
"That's kind of creepy, Tabbs," Ada said, peeling back Tabby's covers to expose the bright crystals that had taken over her legs. "Maybe come up with a few more details when you talk to Liam, okay?"
"When Kroerak and Iskstar were children, they lived in harmony. But a hunger festered inside the Kroerak," Tabby relayed, seemingly oblivious to Ada's work at pulling on her grav-suit. "It was a visitor who showed both species that there was life beyond their own world. Iskstar sought peaceful coexistence throughout the galaxies. Kroerak, however, consumed all they touched and were lost to their hunger."
"How long ago?" Jonathan asked.
"Time is hard. There isn't a reference," Tabby said. "Others don't really experience time the same way Iskstar does. I'm sorry."
"Apology unnecessary," Jonathan said. "You've already provided much information."
"Comms are set up in my quarters," Ada said. "I'd like to listen in. I know it's a big ask."
Tabby lifted from the bed and oriented vertically using the grav-suit. "You're family, Ada. We have nothing to hide from you."
"You know … you're … kind of talking weird, right?" Ada said as they entered the captain's quarters.
Tabby allowed a small grin. "There's a lot going on in here." She tapped on her temple. "I don't think Jonathan gets enough credit for not sounding like a lunatic."
Ada chuckled and opened the comm set. "Hornblower, this is Intrepid. Come in, please."
It took a few minutes for a response. "Intrepid, you have Liam and Marny, go ahead." The voice belonged to Liam.
"You sound like a warm bed on a lazy morning," Tabby said.
"Say again? Tabby? Is that you?" Liam asked. "Are you okay?"
"That was Tabby," Ada answered. "We've got a lot going on over here, but we're mostly calling to let you know we found her and she's mostly fine."
"What's this about a bed?" Liam asked.
"You are in danger, Love," Tabby said. "Tell the children of Earth, the brave children of Abasi, and the many who sail with you that your path leads only to death."
"What's going on, Tabby?" Liam said. "You don't sound right. Ada, are you sure she's okay?"
"Listen to me, beautiful child," Tabby said. "The Kroerak hunger will consume all."
"Sorry, Liam, she's not exactly in full control of her body," Ada said.
"What do you mean? Not in control of her body?"
"The synthetic portion of Tabitha's body has been transformed into crystal," Jonathan said, having followed the procession into Ada's quarters. "She is host to many Iskstar. We believe the warnings originate from Iskstar and should not be taken lightly."
"They took over her body?" Liam asked.
"It was her choice," Ada said. "I assume your mission is underway."
"We're preparing," Liam answered.
"Understood. I think we're going to be late to the party," Ada said. "We're just now making our way out of Mendari system."
"Do you still have that Mendari fleet after you?" Liam asked.
"Yes, but they're falling back too far to be of any concern," Ada said. "I'm glad we had speed on our side, because they pack some serious punch."
"How did we miss an entire fleet?" Liam asked.
"Everything was asleep when we first arrived," Ada said. "Problem for another day, though."
"Tabby, are you still with me?" Liam asked, thumbing the ring on his finger. He was rewarded with a return pulse a moment later.
"Liam, you have to listen. Kroerak have experienced hundreds of civilizations. All who've attacked, have failed," Tabby said. "It's the only reason the Iskstar allowed themselves to be used as weapons. But they want only to defend us."
"Don't you see? That's why we have to try," Liam said. "The Kroerak must be stopped. We have a new weapon. It will be enough."
"The Kroerak do not need weapons to win," Tabby answered. "It will not be enough."
"How can you know?" Liam asked.
"It's just a feeling," she answered. "But the Iskstar are ancient, I think you should listen to them."
"It's too late for that, Tabby," Liam said. "Entire fleets are in motion. I couldn't stop this thing if I wanted to."
Chapter 20
The Quiet Before
Mhina System, moon Kito over Elea, Hornblower
One of the things I most despised about leadership was that more often than not, what I wanted to do often conflicted with what I knew needed to be done. Tabby's condition was critical and according to Jonathan, her body was slowly rejecting what the Iskstar had done to her. Our best hope was to attempt an extremely risky surgery to remove the infected portions of her body – something she'd rejected out of hand when it had been brought up.
According to Tabby, the surgery would result in the death of hundreds of thousands of Iskstar sentients that lived in the crystalline masses that had taken over her legs, a portion of her back, and her left arm. It wasn't lost on me that those exact areas of her body were the ones taken by pirates and replaced by synthetics so long ago.
I'd run myself ragged. We were preparing York to defend itself in the absence of Hornblower while simultaneously preparing Hornblower to once again engage with the Kroerak. While my time talking with Tabby had been limited, it had also become increasingly difficult to find something to say. She'd resigned herself to what she thought was her fate: dying for the cause of many. The concept was something I understood at a high level, but not when it applied to my best f
riend and life-mate.
"When will the Confederation fleet arrive?" Tabby asked, changing the subject.
Intrepid had left the Mendari system and had been sailing toward Kito for fifteen days, with at least twenty more before they would arrive. Apparently, combat maneuvers used to evade the Mendari fleet had further drained their fuel supplies and they were limping home. I was glad that Intrepid wouldn’t take part in the great battle that was to come. While Ada was a fantastic captain in her own right and Intrepid was both fast and now deadly with an Iskstar-tuned weapon, a small voice in the back of my head agreed with Tabby's assessment that our attack on the Kroerak homeworld wouldn't be successful.
"Forty warships entered the Mhina system late yesterday," I said. "They'll send two fuel tenders to Kito but the majority of the fleet is headed directly to the wormhole that leads to the Kroerak."
"You're going to be leaving soon then?" Tabby asked.
We'd agreed to stop talking about the larger events around us and simply enjoy the time we had left. Even so, the conversation was strained and I had a persistent lump in my throat.
"We're lifting off in a few minutes. Tabby, I feel like I'm never going to see you again," I said, breaking our agreement.
Tabby thumbed her ring, communicating more than she could say. "I know," she answered.
A knock at the door to my quarters interrupted our conversation and I wiped a tear from my cheek.
"I gotta go, Tabbs. I love you," I said.
"I know," she answered, turning off the comms. Despite the heavy moment, I smiled at the inside joke.
"Cap?" Marny's voice barely penetrated the entry hatch.
I stood, straightened my vac-suit and grabbed a med-patch from a stack on my desk. I wasn't about to let the crew see me as mopey or defeated when we were headed into battle. I placed two thin strips beneath my eyes. After waiting a moment for them to clear my face, I blew out a hot breath, removed the patches and palmed open the door.
"We ready?" I asked, forcing my voice to sound positive as I looked into Marny's face. I was surprised to see a similar strip hanging beneath her eye as if she'd torn one of the patches as she'd removed it. "Uh, hold on a sec." I reached over and peeled the remnant away.
"Appreciated, Cap," she answered, just a little too snappily.
"Little Pete doing okay with Mom and Flaer?" I asked.
While Marny had insisted on bringing Little Pete with her to rescue us from Picis, she would not bring him on this trip. I saw her logic, the Mhina system would be safe from Kroerak, something she couldn't have guaranteed when she'd left Zuri so many months ago. On the other hand, our next journey would be perilous indeed, Iskstar-tuned weapons or not.
"Your mom's great," Marny said. "She didn't even bat an eye and says she'll raise him as her own if anything happens."
"That's a little morbid, right?"
Marny shook her head. "Not really. She knows what we're up against. Peter's safety is my highest priority now. It's a big relief to know he's got family."
"What a pair we are," I said, turning toward the bridge. "How have you done this all these years? Why would you come back to it after getting out of the Marines?"
"That’s a question every combat soldier asks," she said. "Hardest years of my life were on Baru Manush as a civilian. Running security for a space station isn't like being in the shite. The pull of combat isn’t really something you can turn off. You haven't experienced it."
"I've seen plenty of battle," I said defensively. I was surprised she would say such a thing. I was positive I'd seen more combat that most soldiers.
"Aye Cap, that you have," she answered. "Ever wonder why we always end up back in the crapper?"
"You can't believe that's my doing?"
"You want it straight up or a lie?"
"You think I'm looking for fights?" I asked, incredulous. The implications were huge if that was the case. That would make me responsible for Tabby's current condition and I found such an idea hard to accept.
We'd stopped in front of the entry to the bridge and Ken Stolzman stood at the opposite end of the passageway, having just exited the lift. I chuckled, recognizing he didn't want to get into the middle of a conversation between Marny and me.
"Come on through, Ken," I said, waving him over. "You know, I never had a chance to ask. Do you have family back on Earth?"
"Roger that, Captain," Stolzman answered. "That's why I signed up for the mission to come to Dwingeloo and look for Kroerak."
"You didn't know, Cap?" Marny asked. "The Marine who saved us on the first Kroerak invasion was Ken's dad."
I recalled floating through space in our Popeyes, in the middle of doing a high orbit insertion, when our guide – apparently Stolzman's dad – had been killed.
"Your dad was very brave," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Without his sacrifice, Earth might have been lost."
"Good of you to say, sir," Stolzman answered. "I hope I can live up to the name."
"Walking onto that bridge today takes a lot of courage," I said. "XO and I will finish up and be there in a minute."
"Aye, aye, Captain," he said.
"XO?" Marny asked after the door closed.
"You have more titles than the North American Library of Congress," I said. "Seems like we should pick one that's actually appropriate."
"Okay," Marny laughed. "Back to our conversation. You're not looking for fights, Cap. You're just not willing to look the other way when something needs doing. What I'm saying is, when you finally try to let go of all this fighting, you're going to wrestle with it."
"Good thing we don't have to worry about that today." I opened the door to the bridge and raised my voice. "Because I'm ready to go kick some bug ass."
"Oorah!" Marny grunted.
"All hands, this is your captain," I said, allowing the AI a moment to open ship-wide communications. "Today we set sail on possibly the most important mission of mankind. No matter the outcome, I could not be prouder of your willingness to stand forward and put yourselves on the line. I won't mince words and I won't sugarcoat it. We're up against an enemy that has, to this day, obliterated all challengers. This enemy has taken what is not theirs, has murdered our families and countless billions of peoples across multiple galaxies. But today, this ends. Today, we will take decisive action … we will take bold action … and we will put an end to the blight so many cower from, so that all civilizations might live in peace. Today, most of all, we bring judgment to the Kroerak."
Marny returned my smile as we enjoyed the exuberant cries from the crew.
"All hands, report system statuses and prepare for liftoff," she said. "Captain, I assume you'll want the number one spot?"
I nodded at the pilot who sat in the portside pilot's chair. With a smile, she stood at attention as I approached. "At ease," I said. "I'll give her back once we're in orbit."
"Aye, aye, Captain," she answered enthusiastically.
Taking the lead pilot's chair, it was my responsibility to run the pre-sail checklist. Stolzman, seated to my right, was already working his way through it. I scooped off the lower half of the work and tossed it onto the crisp vid-screen on the forward bulkhead.
"I can do that, Captain," Stolzman said.
"Negative," I answered. “I want the seat, I take the work. It's only fair."
"Did you know my dad very well?" Stolzman asked, as we worked on validating the systems.
"I'll be honest," I said. "I was a little afraid of him."
Stolzman laughed. "I guess you did, then. You weren't the only one."
"Once we get under way, I'll clip out my personal data-streams of him," I said.
"I'd like that. I wasn't able to get back for the memorial," he answered. "And don't hold back his last moments. I owe him that much."
"Can do."
I continued working through the checklist. We were heavy with fuel and munitions, but it was nothing compared to a belly full of York townspeople and their livestock. Once I'd com
pleted my checklist, I switched to view statuses for the other sections of the ship. As expected, engineering was the last to complete their work as they had by far the most critical systems.
"Captain, I'm showing green," Marny announced a moment after the last status updated. Hornblower wasn't at one hundred percent, but the dings and scrapes we'd received were both well-earned and not critical. I felt they gave the old girl personality.
"Open channel with York municipal and all-ship," I said.
"This is York," Mom answered.
"This is Hornblower, requesting permission for liftoff."
"Permission granted, Hornblower," Mom answered. "Godspeed. Come back safely. There are a lot of people here who love you."
"Copy that. Oh, and one more thing," I said.
"What's that?" Mom asked.
"Cue Big Head Todd and John Lee Hooker's, Boom Boom Boom," I said.
I heard a slight groan as an ancient electric guitar started playing and a raspy-voiced musician sang. I'd previously instructed the AI to cut right to the chorus because it was exactly what I was after.
Boom boom boom boom …
Bang bang bang bang …
I didn't wait for what I knew would be a chorus of groans and slowly pushed forward on the left stick. Hornblower's powerful engines shuddered to life sending a great cloud of dust billowing out around the big ship. At the same time, I flicked a virtual lever with my right hand, switching the right stick to grav-repulsor controls. With almost no warning, Hornblower lurched forward as it came free of the ground.
"Hold on there, girl," I said sliding two fingers up the stick and nudging more power into the forward grav lifters. It was tricky business that I was glad the AI was helping with. After sliding down a hill ten meters, I regained control, only after dragging the aft keel along the hard surface of the overly-small landing strip we'd been perched on.
"You good, Captain?" Stolzman asked, his voice calm.
Judgment of the Bold Page 23
