by C B Williams
“And it’s going to be way cheaper,” said Wade, who had been quietly nursing a beer. “Wormholes are already there. Star gates need to be manufactured.”
Jon’s brows drew together. “Cryo beds?”
“Cryogenesis. A deep-freeze sleep state for when you’re traveling great distances to a destination,” supplied Mink.
“We could offer that technology as well,” said Wren.
“Maybe,” Jon said. “We have something similar.”
“Really?” Spider asked excitedly, darting a look at Mink. “We’d love to compare technologies.”
Eloch raised his hand. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” he said. “We first need to speak with Jon’s father. Now, do we go to him or do I bring him to us?”
Jon sucked in a breath. “He’s much older than I am. I don’t know if his system could take the transition. There was a lot of pain involved.”
“I understand,” Eloch said, “It will be fine. I’ve learned how to make the transition nearly painless.”
“I have one question to throw into the mix,” Genji said.
Aiko laughed. “Of course you do.”
Genji offered her a slight smile, then looked at Eloch, “How can we be sure wormholes are even traversable in the FNs’ dimension? Our planets show up as energy sources. Jon tells us they have wormholes, but will our piloting technology work?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Grale said. “I’ll volunteer.”
Aiko put a hand on his arm. “No, I should.”
“I can send an unmanned ship through,” Eloch said. “After all, it’s the technology we’re testing, and you two are a resource I can’t afford to be without.”
Both Aiko and Grale sat back with their arms folded and glowered. “Unmanned,” they said in unison.
“That’s how it’s going to be,” Eloch said quietly. “I will be able to monitor it.”
He looked at Jon, “This technology requires a pilot,” he explained. “The only reason we can send an unmanned ship through is because of my unique relationship with this ship.”
Jon raised an eyebrow and glanced around the table. He noticed they accepted what Eloch told him as truth. He mentally shrugged, deciding if one man has the ability to bring another across dimensions, why not?
“But you haven’t tested your unique relationship by going through a wormhole before,” Aiko protested.
Grale coughed and looked sheepishly at Aiko.
She glowered and punched him in the arm. “You didn’t tell me?”
Grale rubbed his arm. “You and Wren were in Cryo. We were bored. You came out of Cryo. It just never got mentioned before it was my turn to sleep. Then things got crazy and I forgot. What can I say? I’m sorry, Kitten.”
“But you didn’t even bring it up with me when Genji, Kalea, and Wade made their plans to leave us,” she groused.
“That’s because I was thinking you were wanting off this rust bucket. I wasn’t thinking clearly, you know that.” He looked at her pleadingly. “I said I was sorry. I’ll make it up to you.” He winked and lowered his voice to a growl. “Kitten.”
Aiko glanced up at the ceiling and sighed, nearly managing to keep her face straight when Wren chuckled.
“When do we do the test?” Wren asked.
“What about now?” Eloch said. “I don’t want to lose this opportunity to meet with the admiral.”
Grale stood and offered his hand to Aiko. “Would you like to find the nearest wormhole with me?” he asked in the same throaty growl.
“Oh, Cowboy, the things you say,” Aiko said, batting her eyelashes at him.
Wren laughed out loud, and the others joined in.
Jon shook his head and caught Eloch’s eye. Eloch grinned and shrugged.
Chapter 23
Admiral Gaylord
Admiral Xerxes Gaylord needed to make a decision, and he needed to make it sooner rather than later.
He couldn’t sit, dead in space, for much longer. Not only was the crew beginning to grumble, but he was receiving more and more inquiries as to the status of the mission—his Mission, his magnum opus. The final jewel crowning his long, glorious career.
The final jewel, he thought with a glower, he would never claim if he couldn’t relocate his navigator.
But none of it mattered at the moment because the lost navigator was his son. His only son, Jonathan.
The shock of it. He was still reeling from the impossibility. No matter how many times he reviewed the ship’s computer recording of the event, he still couldn’t wrap his mind around it. How could this be? How could a man open up some sort of vortex, reach out, and pull his son through?
And his son—his expression, as if he knew what was coming. What secrets had Jon been keeping from him?
What secrets was he now keeping?
The admiral had ordered his Bridge crew to maintain strict secrecy until they could uncover the cause of Jon’s disappearance. It was an easy order to obey, he knew. Nobody on the Bridge that day wanted to describe to anybody else what they had seen. It was impossible. It was madness.
And so Admiral Xerxes Gaylord did something he had never done before in his entire career. He lied.
He covered up.
He came up with as many reasons and excuses as he could in order to keep the Defiance exactly where she was, dead in space, until he could locate his son and bring him home.
But time and excuses were running out. Although there were no higher ranks he reported to, he did have committees who had been nudging him for explanations. And colleagues, many of whom were friends, and those friends had begun to contact him privately to express their concern.
Yes, time was running out. Perhaps he could finagle one more week, but then he would have to abandon his search, abandon his mission, and go home, the conquered conqueror.
His ego would mend, he knew. He would recover. But to abandon Jon! From that he would never recover.
“Sir? Sir!”
Xerxes blinked and looked around. He had been so lost in gloomy thoughts, he had forgotten he was sitting on the ship’s Bridge. “I’m sorry, Captain. You were saying?”
“I was asking for your orders, sir.”
The admiral sighed. “We will continue to stay put for one more week. I would like all available scientists, engineers, and whoever else we can think of, trying to locate and bring home our navigator.”
The captain nodded, concern wrinkling his brow. “I’m sorry, sir. I believe you misunderstood my question. The energy signal has returned, and I was asking what your orders are regarding the signal, sir.”
Xerxes straightened. “It’s returned? Good lord, man, have someone lock onto those coordinates ASAP and prepare to launch the fission generator wand. Navigator or no navigator, we need to at least establish a star gate so we can get home.”
“Yes, sir!” the captain said, relieved to be issuing orders after so much inactivity. Once the generator began to operate and the power source was contained, they could all go home.
He was ready for his nice, long leave. He saluted smartly and had turned to do his admiral’s bidding when he felt something shift, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He whipped around and gasped, unable to believe what he saw.
It was happening again!
Before the captain had a chance to call out a warning, the very fabric of time and space seemed to ripple and open with a bright flash of light that left him seeing stars. The same large man reached out through the opening, snatched the admiral, and pulled him through. There was another bright flash, and the opening was gone, along with the admiral.
Too stunned to do anything else, the captain sank to the deck and stared at the admiral’s empty chair.
For a brief moment, Admiral Gaylord felt intense pain, but before he could even react, the pain vanished and in its place was a warm suffusion of energy. His arm was released, and he sensed movement and a hand being placed on his shoulder.
“Are you okay, F
ather?”
His eyes flew open. Joy flooded through him. “Jon!” He reached out and pulled his son into his arms. “You’re alive! I thought I had lost you.”
He felt Jon patting his back. “Easy, Father. It’s okay. I’m fine. You? Do you hurt?”
The admiral shook his head. “No, not in the least. In fact, I feel much better physically than I have in a long time.”
“That’s good, Father, that’s good.” Jon smiled and gently extricated himself from his father’s embrace. “I’d like you to meet some people, Father,” he said, helping the admiral to his feet. “This is the crew of the Valiant, upon whose Bridge we are standing.”
Admiral Gaylord straightened as he tugged down his jacket. He scanned the faces, his eyes resting on a tall, broad man dressed in what appeared to be a tunic and leggings made from animal skin. “You!” he hissed, and reached for the sidearm he kept on him at all times.
Jon stayed his hand. “Wait, Father. They mean us no harm.”
“Mean no harm? How can you say that when both of us are here against our will? Get behind me, Jon,” he commanded as he wrested himself from his son’s grip.
He drew his weapon, the barrel weaving among all his potential targets. “Stay where I can see you or I promise you I will shoot.” One of them, a woman, hissed and stepped forward.
“Wait!” said another woman, this one small, with a mass of auburn coils snaking down her back. “Everyone just calm down. Can’t you see the man’s terrified?”
“I am not terrified,” the admiral exclaimed. “I am livid. I consider this abduction an act of aggression, and I am acting accordingly. Jon, get behind me like I told you,” he stated, aiming his weapon at the small woman who appeared to be the leader. “I demand you return us to the Defiance. Immediately. Or I will be forced to shoot you.”
“Of course you’re terrified,” the woman said calmly, ignoring the sidearm pointed at her chest. “Any brave and intelligent individual would be terrified under the same circumstances. But we’re not here to hurt you. Look at your son. He’s moving around freely. We simply want to have a conversation with you. And then you may leave.”
The admiral took a deep breath. “And Jon? Is he to be held as hostage?”
The woman smiled, her grey eyes kind. “Not at all. Jon can do what he wishes. Please, don’t be frightened. Just hear us out.”
The admiral took another deep breath and glanced at Eloch. “I am not frightened,” he huffed and lowered his weapon.
“I was frightened when I first laid eyes on him,” a woman said.
The admiral looked at her where she sat in a chair facing a viewing screen and assumed she must be the ship’s pilot.
“So was I,” another man said.
The admiral noticed how close the second man stood to the woman who had aggressively hissed at him. He was broad in the chest, although not as tall as the other, and had some sort of strange markings running down his arm. “Nearly soiled myself, in fact.”
Someone laughed.
“The Knack Man’s so full of knack, only a fool wouldn’t be afraid of him,” the pilot said matter-of-factly.
The man in question turned his head to look at the pilot, one brow quirked. “Knack Man?” he asked in a deep baritone.
The woman smirked. “My little nickname for you.”
The man snorted and returned his gaze to the admiral. “Will you put your weapon away, sir?” he asked calmly. “We have a proposal which requires your expertise and advice.”
Then Xerxes looked at his son, who nodded encouragement. He sighed and re-holstered his sidearm. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to listen.”
“Thank you, sir,” the woman with the masses of coils said. She grinned suddenly, and the admiral felt himself relax.
Jon touched his arm. “Do you trust me, Father?”
Xerxes looked at his son and rubbed his chin. “You know,” he said after a brief pause, “until this very moment, I’m not sure if I’ve ever thought about whether I trust you or not. But yes, I believe I do trust you, Jonathan. Indeed I do.”
“Good,” Jon said with a smile. “Then believe me when I tell you you’re going to need to suspend your disbelief and sit down because I doubt you’ll be able to stand after you hear what you’re about to hear. Come with me.”
He led his father to the copilot’s chair by Aiko, and, standing in front of him, said, “It was only a week ago, but seems like an eternity since I was sitting in this very same chair, Father, about to listen to the very same remarkable story you’re going to hear.”
He gestured toward the tall man who had pulled the admiral up and out of his ship. “The man standing over there, Eloch by name, is not at all what he appears to be. And…”
With input from Genji and Spider, Jon proceeded to tell his father everything he had learned during his week’s stay aboard the Valiant. “And so,” Jon said as he finished his narration, “I have taken it upon myself to be the mediator representing Eloch and his crew on the Defiance. I would like you, Father, to help us. They are as peace-loving as we are, and I think with what they are offering—the new technologies and assistance with testing and training pilots.—we have a solid case to present.”
Admiral Gaylord looked at his son through eyes he was sure appeared glazed over. “I am impressed with you, Son. Extremely.” He ran his hand over his short military haircut. “But you must know this is an immense amount of information for me to grasp all at once. I require some time to assimilate what I have just heard. And be assured, I will no doubt have many questions.”
“Understood,” Jon said and grinned. “You’re handling this so much better than I did, Father. I was so overwhelmed, my mind shut down, refused to think, and I surprised myself by taking a nap.”
The admiral nodded. “A nap sounds like a splendid idea,” he said.
Jon looked questioningly at Wren and Eloch. “May I take my father to my quarters?”
“Of course,” Wren said. “We’ll bring him some tea.”
The admiral cleared his throat. “Perhaps something a little stronger than tea?” he asked.
Jon laughed. “I already have some of that in my room. Come, let me take you there.”
With a last look at the split-view screen, the one where he could clearly see the outline of his ship and also clearly see it was not there at all, Admiral Gaylord followed his son off the Bridge.
“What do you think?” Wren asked Eloch when the pair was out of hearing range.
He nodded. “I think it went well. Better than expected.”
“He did seem intrigued,” Wren agreed. “Jon made a great case.”
“And he really perked up at the thought that his final act as admiral would be to bring harmony to their galaxy as well as new, potentially cost-effective technology,” Spider said.
Wren slid him a glance. “You caught that, too, eh?”
Spider smirked. “Hard not to. Our Jon sure knows what motivates his father.”
Eloch tapped his lip. “It will take longer than I had hoped. The Sisters of Vela Kentaurus...I worry about them.”
Wren slid an arm around his waist. “Is there something you can do to make them more comfortable?”
“I don’t know, Wren, but now we have the time to explore it.”
He turned toward Genji, Kalea, and Wade. “Now then, when would you three like to go home?”
Chapter 24
Endings and Beginnings
Mink hugged Wade fiercely. “You have been my Cryo partner for so many years,” she said and straightened to look up at him. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”
He rubbed the tear-stained spot on the front of his tunic. “It will be strange, Mink, but,” he continued with a glance at Spider, “I’m sure you’ll manage.” He grinned suddenly. “One more long sleep and I’ll be back on Longwei. First thing I’m going to do is grab some ferment and find a nice, sandy patch by the ocean to enjoy.”
“First thing I’m going to do is to shi
ft into my Nuri form and fly,” Kalea said, her eyes shining.
“Now, you know what to do going through the wormholes, right, Genj?” Aiko asked, gripping his tunic front. “There are only three you need to traverse.”
Genji patted her hands. “I do. I’ve been practicing like you wanted me to.” He looked over her head at Eloch. “Besides, I’m just the copilot. This bird can fly herself. Eloch’s proven that to you.”
Aiko nodded. “Still…” Her voice trailed off.
Genji smiled at her, his throat tightening. He nodded and squeezed her hands. “I love you, too.”
“My turn,” Wren said and waited for Aiko to release Genji.
When she took Aiko’s spot, she hugged Genji hard. “Where do I begin?” she asked, blinking up at him, “Thank you for being Eloch’s first real friend. Thank you for saving my life and trying to save my sausage leg. Thank you for your loyalty and your steadfastness. Thank you for that curious brain of yours.”
She sniffed and released him with a watery smile and took a step back. “Take that fission generator thing far away. Learn it inside and out, and then destroy it. Keep the Sisters safe, Genji.” She brushed a tear off her cheek, “And have lots of little Nuris and live happily ever after. That’s my final order.” She pushed him toward the small walkway connecting the Valiant with the new ship Eloch created, which they had christened the Vigilant.
Genji reached for Kalea’s hand and nodded to Wade. “Ready?”
“You bet,” Wade said, already in motion. “Got a Cryo bed with my name on it,” he said over his shoulder.
Genji looked at his friends one last time, memorizing each face, burning the image of them into his mind exactly as they were in that very moment. Grale’s hands were on Aiko’s shoulders, and she leaned back against him. Spider and Mink stood side by side, fingers brushing. Eloch had his arms wrapped solidly around Wren.
