by S. H. Jucha
Dillon paused, a frown on his face.
“Having second thoughts?” Theo asked.
“I’m just wondering if this is for real,” Dillon persisted.
“Who chose you two?” Theo asked.
“Maggie, hostess of the Miner’s Pit,” Tracy replied.
“And who does Maggie work for?” Theo continued.
“Captain Cinders,” Dillon supplied.
“Well, the offer to ship my patients to Triton to make the journey through the gate came from Dingles, the first mate of the Belle. So, you have Captain Cinders and Captain Harbour directing this project. Which one of them, or is it both of them that you don’t believe?”
Theo wasn’t entirely convinced of the saneness of this adventure, but he acknowledged that much of his angst stemmed from his tendency to be overprotective about his patients. Exposing them to the trip’s lengthy journey was bad enough, but turning their medical care over to aliens really bothered him. However, he intended to project a brave face and convince his patients and the medical personnel that this was a superb opportunity.
The frown on Dillon’s face remained, and Theo took sympathy on the youths and decided to offer a bit of advice. “I can see that the two of you have not been treated fairly by life. You’re young, and you’re already wearing multiple prosthetics. But my warning to you is this: Don’t let your accidents turn you into cynics. Always keep your eyes and ears open for new opportunities. Sometimes they can come at you in odd ways like this one. Now, join the crew.”
Tracy punched Dillon in the arm and jerked her head toward the crew, standing next to the sleds. On the way over, she said, “You ask anyone else about the legitimacy of this opportunity and I will personally throw your butt off the ship. And I don’t care if it’s underway. I’m tired of wearing these hunks of metal in place of my arm and leg. I want the chance to get rid of them.”
Dillon started to object, and Tracy stuck a finger in his nose. “Don’t!” she said, in a tone that Dillon recognized was his sister’s final word on the subject.
* * * *
Knowing that they wouldn’t be picked up by a ship for two to three weeks, at the earliest, the engineers descended to the dome’s secondary level to pick out accommodations. By now, using spacer parlance, they were achieving what they considered level-one dome qualification.
When Pete headed for the traditional glyph that marked the room with the most cursory appointments, Bryan halted him.
“Anybody else interested in exploring?” Bryan asked.
“I am,” Olivia replied. “If the domes are similar in layout, except for maybe the number of platforms and levels, there should be an access door to the third level down there,” she added, pointing the way. “I’m curious to see if this dome’s subtler attributes will respond only to the long-gone Gasnarians or they’ll be available to humans too.”
“Do you remember the glyph?” Pete asked.
“I remember the one Jaktook touched,” Olivia replied. “I’m hoping it will be the same.”
Near the end of the corridor, Olivia began searching for the glyph among the multitude of etched, glowing symbols that festooned every Messinants surface, including the decks. After a while, Olivia dropped her hands to her side, admitting her idea was probably wrong.
“I thought Jaktook walked in farther than this after we passed through the airlock,” Bryan supplied, eyeing the distance to the Messinants exit hatch.
“And I think you’re looking too high, Olivia,” Pete commented. “Jaktook reached to just above his head.”
“I was considering that this place was built for the Gasnarians, who were similar in height to us,” Olivia replied.
“I stand corrected,” Pete said. “You’re right in your thinking. Bryan, how far down the corridor do you think we should look?”
Bryan measured the distance and stepped about fifteen paces toward the dome’s platform ramp. He faced the wall, held his arms out, and said, “We search this area. If we don’t find it, I’m at a loss for any other ideas.”
Minutes later, Olivia loosed a shout of glee and touched a glyph. A hidden door recessed and slid aside.
“Well done, Olivia,” Bryan congratulated, and the two men studied and memorized the glyph.
The engineers descended to the third level. This time, the three of them recognized the glyph that would open the room similar to the one that they stayed in at the Rissness dome.
“Hard to believe,” Olivia remarked, when she walked through the door and threw her duffel down. “This room probably hasn’t been accessed for centuries, but it looks and smells clean.”
Pete touched a glyph to extend a bed from the wall. He dropped his duffel, plopped down on the pallet, and declared, “Home sweet home!”
Bryan accessed the food dispensers. He didn’t ask if anyone else was hungry. Following their rehabilitations, all the engineers were experiencing increased demands for calories. Olivia and Pete hurried to a table, while Bryan served them paste and water.
“Hope our pickup doesn’t take too long,” Pete said, around a mouthful of paste. “I’m getting tired of this stuff.”
“I was wondering if we should contact Captain Harbour now,” Bryan mused, as he took a seat at the table.
“I think we should wait,” Olivia offered. “Captains Cinders and Harbour have to be stunned by Tacticnok’s offer.”
“I agree with Olivia,” Pete said. “I had no idea that Her Highness was going to propose what she did, and it nearly pried my deck shoes free.”
“None of us knew the specifics, but I can’t say that I was surprised that Tacticnok made the offer,” Olivia replied.
“Why’s that?” Bryan asked. He paused for a moment to look at his new hand, as if it was a stranger that had dropped by to visit him.
“Ask yourself why the Jatouche, specifically Tacticnok, are being so amazingly generous,” Olivia replied. “First, she gives us free medical treatment. Then she offers medical services to twenty more of our people and intravertor parts if Captain Harbour takes the envoy job.”
“So why do you think she’s doing this?” Pete asked.
“I don’t have an answer, but we need to put our heads together and think on it,” Olivia declared. She was tempted to divert her head. In this intense mood, she was likely to lose control of her saliva, and people had often been sprayed. However, Pete and Bryan had taken to sitting on either side of her. It was their means of training her that she no longer needed to do that.
“We’ve been to Rissness,” Olivia persisted. “We’ve met alliance members. There are things we’ve seen and done that have made impressions on the Jatouche, and Captain Harbour needs to be given a heads-up about what the Jatouche might want from Pyreans and her.”
“So, we enjoy our paste, and then we do some thinking. We can talk to the captains in the morning,” Bryan concluded.
The engineers talked late into the night, scouring their memories for every incident witnessed on the Jatouche moon and station. They picked apart the conversations they’d had and what they observed. It was fascinating to them that comparisons of visual details revealed a great deal of commonality, but memories of conversation were often quite disparate.
When they were mentally exhausted, they slept and slept hard. Many hours later, Olivia woke, glanced at her comm device, and jerked upright.
“Time’s a wasting, boys,” she shouted. “Facilities, paste, and top deck, in that order,” she called, as she raced to be first in the facilities.
In short order, the engineers were standing in front of the dome’s console. Pete and Olivia were relying on Bryan. As a propulsion engineer, Bryan constantly monitored readouts and ran diagnostic applications via panels and submenus. His experience most closely related to the console’s operation.
“Let’s see if I understood this correctly,” Bryan said, which didn’t engender any confidence from his companions.
Bryan touched a panel and selected the third item down. A menu popp
ed into the air. From the menu, he selected the fourth item from the top. He hoped he’d selected the comms connections submenu, because the glyphs remained indecipherable. The panel projected various icons overlaying the Gasnarian system. Each icon was representative of a ship. The colony ship’s icon was the one that Kractik had taught them, and it was stationed at Emperion. Bryan smiled as he selected it.
“Well done,” Olivia said, clamping a hand on Bryan’s shoulder.
“This is the Belle. Are you aliens or humans, because I don’t recognize you?” Birdie quipped. She had the engineers’ faces on her monitor.
“Handsome Pete is back, I’m happy to say,” Pete crowed.
“Of all the people, Drigtik and Gatnack had to invite to Rissness,” Birdie lamented, shaking her head. Then she snapped upright, and asked, “Say, you don’t think the Jatouche could make people look younger?”
“Good question, Birdie,” Olivia replied. “You’ll have to ask Tacticnok, when she comes back.”
“I think I might be afraid to know the answer,” Birdie said, wincing. “Do you three want one or two captains?”
“Captain Harbour, private conversation, Birdie,” Olivia replied.
“Understood,” Birdie replied and connected the comm call to Harbour, as requested.
“Captain, we need a few minutes of your time,” Olivia requested.
“One moment,” Harbour replied. She put off her next meeting, entered her study, and hooked up her comm unit to a monitor for a better view of the engineers. She marveled again at the sharp image the dome’s console transmitted.
“I still can’t get over how well the three of you look,” Harbour marveled. “How do you feel?”
“Ten years younger,” Bryan replied. “Zystal, the Mistrallian, asked us if we’d like our structural deficiencies repaired. He was referring to our bones, muscles, and joints.”
That the engineers so glibly talked about alien species and their members, as casually as you’d mention crew members, gave Harbour an inkling how immersed these three were in Jatouche culture.
“And to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” Harbour asked.
“Do you have an idea why Her Highness wants you so badly, Captain?” Olivia asked.
“Or maybe it’s Pyreans in general,” Bryan quickly added.
“I think it’s both,” Harbour replied.
“Why do you think that is, Captain?” Pete asked.
“I’ve bits and pieces but no sure conclusion. Why?” Harbour asked.
“Could you share with us your thoughts? It might be important,” Olivia requested.
Harbour spoke for a while about the conversations she’d had with Tacticnok and Jaktook, and the impressions she gathered from their inadvertent comments. When she was done, the engineers engaged in an internal dialog. It lasted long enough that Harbour cleared her throat to gain their attention.
“Sorry, Captain, it would take us days to recount some of the incidents that we experienced on the other side of the gate,” Olivia apologized. “But our overriding impression of the Jatouche that we gathered from our visit is that they are greatly respected for their medical services but not much more.”
“Be more specific, please,” Harbour requested.
“That’s just it, Captain, we can’t be more specific,” Bryan protested. “There might exist a wonderful alliance, encompassing sentient races, but it’s not like all members enjoy equality. Our impression is that the Jatouche are lesser members, and they think, in some way, Pyreans and you can help them with that.”
“Are you going to accept the envoy position, Captain?” Pete asked.
Olivia smacked his shoulder for his impertinence.
Rather than be upset, Harbour laughed. “It’s good to see the Jatouche didn’t change anything about your personality, Pete. I would have missed that part of you.”
Pete grinned, as if he had been vindicated.
“If you go, Captain, pay particular attention to Rissness Q-gate five. It has a defensive placement around it,” Olivia said. “I think you should talk to Tacticnok and her father about the Colony.” She saw Harbour check her comm device and figured they might have used up their time. “We can tell you more later, Captain, if you have to go.”
“My time is short, but there are some things I have to relay to you,” Harbour replied. “The Splendid Metal is headed your way with twenty individuals aboard for transport through the gate. I’m accepting that portion of Tacticnok’s offer. I need the three of you to do several things.”
“We’re ready, Captain,” Pete announced.
“Can you communicate with Captain Flannigan when he achieves orbit position?” Harbour asked.
“Bryan can,” Olivia volunteered.
“I’m fairly certain I can, Captain,” Bryan qualified, frowning at Olivia.
“You’ll need to train them on where to land the shuttle, how to approach —” Harbour began explaining.
“Captain,” Olivia interrupted. “You’re talking to three experienced, detail-minded engineers. We’ll take care of the landing party and educate them about the dome.”
“Of course you will,” Harbour apologized. “Most important, eighteen of these individuals are critically injured. They came straight from medical.”
Harbour heard Olivia’s sharp intake of breath. “Exactly,” Harbour continued. “Transport to the dome will be difficult, and you need to have Jatouche medical personnel come to our side of the gate to administer to them.”
“Will JOS medical personnel travel with the injured through the gate?” Bryan asked.
Harbour quietly observed the engineers, wondering how to phrase her next request.
“You want us to go with them, Captain, don’t you?” Olivia guessed.
“Yes, I do,” Harbour admitted.
“And here I was getting excited about showing off handsome Pete to the women who missed me,” Pete exclaimed.
“Just think, Pete,” Bryan interjected, “if you go back, you can ask Zystal to fix the injuries to your personality.”
“Behave, you two, Captain Harbour feels bad enough about asking us to go,” Olivia said. “Truth is, Captain, we’d be happy to go. There’s more to learn over there that can help Pyreans, and it’s a pretty exciting place.”
The fact that Bryan and Pete were nodding in agreement made Harbour feel a great deal better.
“What about the intravertor parts, Captain?” Pete asked.
“Stage them at the exit lock,” Harbour requested. “Captain Cinders spoke to Captain Flannigan. He’ll transport those to the YIPS. The injured are your priority. Once the Jatouche prepare them for transport through the gate, I’d like you to accompany them and stay with them until they’re returned.”
“Anything else, Captain?” Bryan asked.
“Only that the Splendid Metal launched late last evening from the JOS, and Captain Flannigan is burning reaction mass to get to Triton in the shortest possible time. One of the severely injured is his first mate,” Harbour replied.
“We’ll take care of them,” Olivia promised.
“Thank you,” Harbour said, wishing she could send the engineers some of the affection she felt for their sacrifice.
“No need to thank us, Captain,” Pete replied. “Look at us. We’re looking fine, thanks to your efforts with the Jatouche. The women will have to wait a little bit longer for their handsome Pete.”
“I don’t know about that, Pete,” Bryan shot back, “There was that blue-skinned female with the complicated ocular structure. I think she had most of her eyes on you.”
While the men bantered back and forth, Olivia said, “Triton dome out,” and closed the connection by touching the Belle’s icon.
-8-
Commotion
Jessie Cinders was right about one thing. Their broadcast of Tacticnok’s announcement did cause a tremendous commotion Pyre-wide. Much of the populace had gotten over the shock that aliens existed and that they were able to move through gates cr
eated by mysterious entities called the Messinants.
As long as the aliens stayed on their side of the gate, there was a certain amount of comfort among Pyrean citizens. Now, new concerns arose. Pyreans had journeyed to the alien home world and returned appearing renewed, and more humans were being sent there.
The fearful wondered if the newly rejuvenated were entirely human anymore. Thankfully, for Pyreans, this was the minority view. There were a good number of spacers and stationers who had suffered irreparable injuries and wondered if they could journey to the Jatouche home world and receive the same treatment. Of course, the questions that followed those thoughts were: how to gain transport to Triton, the price of the medical services, and how to pay an alien race for them.
Then again, there were other citizens who were thinking in much more strategic terms. Another load of intravertor parts and the offer of many more meant that someday the entire surface of Pyre would be habitable. There was a significant problem with the path to that kind of future. Her Highness Tacticnok wanted Harbour as the envoy, and she’d been abundantly clear about that.
For wealthy downsiders, such as the council’s triumvirate, that was unacceptable, and they schemed how to minimize that condition of Tacticnok’s offer.
“Most important,” Dorelyn Gaylan said to her audience, “Harbour has to be assured that we support her accepting the envoy position. That’s critical. Without her, there are no more intravertor parts.”
“What about the bodies?” Rufus asked.
“If you hadn’t buried so many out there, you wouldn’t have so much to worry about, Rufus,” Lise shot back.
“Let me ease your mind, Rufus,” Idrian interjected. “I had some tests done. The gases that have permeated this planet’s surface layers are incredibly corrosive to flesh and bone. So, if you stop burying bodies, all evidence will be gone in about three to four more years.”
“Enough,” Dorelyn scolded. “We need to focus on the bigger picture.”
“Why are you meeting here in my office?” Lise demanded.