Not With A Whimper: Survivors

by D. A. Boulter

  “Helen? Is she coming to interview more Yrdens for her paper?”

  “Not exactly.” Angela felt herself still coming to grips with the whole mess. With Captain Yrden so busy, she had delegated this to Angela.

  “After you transfer, after Twin Star picks up her cargo and passengers, she will take you – and Helen, and quite a few of the other passengers now in Venture – out of the system. We’re sending you to visit another planet.”

  Carol’s jaw dropped. “To another planet? Wow!” Then wheels started to turn. “But, that will take me far beyond the month. And I have a job to go back to when my vacation ends.” Her face sharpened. “Are you kidnapping me?”

  Angela laughed at the thought, then sobered. “If you want to blame someone, then you’ll have to blame your sister.”

  “Helen?”

  “You didn’t win at The Lottery, Carol.”

  “I didn’t?”

  “No. You’re here because you’re Helen’s sister. She will explain all the details to you when she gets here. To put it into as few words as possible, she believes that your life is at stake. She – and the Yrdens – brought you up to give you the best chance of surviving what is to come.”

  “And what is to come?” Carol looked at her out of narrowed eyes

  Angela could see the tension on the other woman’s face, in her posture.

  “Apparently, war.”

  “War?” Carol’s voice rose in volume and pitch.

  “Helen knows far more about this than I do. I just got briefed by the Captain today; I didn’t know anything about it, either – not before today.”

  “No,” she said. “I can’t go. I have friends, a job. All my belongings are down there, too.”

  “The captain tells me that Helen arranged for some of your possessions to come up. They are on FTL-1, part of the cargo that Twin Star will pick up.”

  “This is insane. I want you people to return me to Earth. I can’t believe this.”

  Captain Yrden had foreseen this reaction, and given her the answer.

  “Naturally, if that is your wish, we will return you to Earth.” The answer visibly calmed the other woman. “However, we can’t do that today. When we transfer Helen to Twin Star, you will go with her. From there, you can go back to FTL-1, and then down to Earth again. That’s going to take about four or five days.”

  “Okay. Then I’m going home.”

  Angela gave her a nod. “If you wish.” She looked at her chrono. “Very shortly, Helen’s shuttle will dock with us. The Yrdens decided to put her in your guest quarters. You’ll want to talk with her.”

  “Damn right.”

  “Before she gets here, I’d like you to consider something.”

  “What?”

  “From what Captain Yrden told me, Helen has suffered under considerable strain for months, if not years. The work she has done has caused the deaths of at least two people.”

  “What?”

  Angela nodded. “And she feels responsible, though it wasn’t her fault. Captain Yrden tells me that if Helen is correct about this war, then she, personally, along with help from the Families, has saved the lives of two hundred people. Right now, she’s on the verge of collapse.”

  “Helen? No. Helen has always been strong, stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.” Carol worked to get her mind around this latest bit.

  And Captain Yrden had put her, Angela, in this position to absorb the anger, the outbursts, in order that Helen White need not.

  She looked at herself, and barely recognized the woman she had become. So very, very far from the innocent cabin attendant on Amalgamated 684 just four months previous.

  The InShip Broadcast announced the arrival of the shuttle. Both women turned to look at the speaker in the room.

  “That’s her,” Angela said. “She’s probably exhausted, both physically and emotionally.” Angela had no idea if this were true on not, but it couldn’t hurt to bring up the possibility. “Are you going to attack her as soon as she arrives? Why not listen to what she has to say, first? Like I told you, I only learned about this today. Apparently Helen has lived with it for a long time. She knows much more than I do.”

  They sat in silence for a time, as Carol ordered her thoughts.

  “She’ll have debarked the shuttle, now. And someone will be leading her to her room – your quarters’ guest room. Shall we go to meet her? I can stay with you, if you want; I can call up Ken Ritter and Rolf to accompany us, as well, if it would make you feel more comfortable.”

  Carol sat, staring straight ahead, her eyes seeing nothing – or at least she gave that impression. Finally, her eyes focused.

  “Her work caused deaths?”

  “That’s what I understand. Whose, I don’t know. Perhaps she’ll tell you, but don’t push her.”

  “God, how awful.”

  “Shall we go meet her?”

  “Yes,” came the subdued response, “let’s.”

  When they arrived at Carol’s suite, they found Jane Yrden standing outside the door. Carol’s face blanched.

  “Doctor Yrden! Is everything all right?”

  Jane smiled at her. “She’s had a rough time, and needs to relax, but she should recover quickly.”

  The doctor’s gaze took in Angela. Angela nodded at Jane, recalling how she had helped her when the Yrdenns first brought her and Wen aboard Venture.

  Carol turned to Angela. “I’ll go in alone.” She looked down at the cat she carried. “Well, with Hurricane.”

  “I’ll be right next door if you want me,” Angela said, and got a smile and nod from Jane Yrden.

  “Good,” the doctor said. “And if anyone needs me, you know where to find me.”

  Carol opened her door, and stepped inside. The door closed behind her.

  “You did good work, Angela,” Jane told her. “She’s calm. I think Helen needs her calm. Sorry to have imposed on you like this.”

  It became clear. “You told the Captain to put me in the middle.”

  Jane nodded. “Again, I apologize. It seemed the best thing to do. Now, do you need anything? Anything at all?”

  Angela considered that. “Yes. I think I need to be alone to sort this all out in my mind.” She stepped down the corridor to her rooms, entered her code, and watched the door slide open. Without looking at the doctor again, she stepped through, and allowed the door to close behind her.

  The Yrdens had used her. They had known about this long before Carol had ever come aboard. How should she react to that? Should she feel anger? Gratitude that they hadn’t burdened her?

  And then she realized that she foundered in trivialities.

  War?

  * * *

  FTL-1

  Monday 23 August

  Owen Yrden gave Major Sharon Temple of the USNA a hug and a tender kiss. “I love you,” he said in return to her similar declaration.

  He couldn’t believe that he was leaving her behind. Only two months had passed since he had left Venture a boy, and now he returned a man. A man who had abandoned his love. It didn’t matter that she had willed it, forced it, even.

  To his surprise, he got pulled into the cockpit with the pilot.

  “Heard you finished your detector course, Owen,” Pilot Wen Pearson said. “Good. I could use another pair of eyes up front.”

  To his shock, what with passengers on board, Owen saw that no one filled the co-pilot’s seat.

  “What’s going on, Wen? Where’s your co-pilot?”

  “Haven’t you heard? It’s busy season.”

  “Yes, but no co-pilot?”

  “We’re stretched. Anyway, buckle up, we’re kicking off as soon as we get the word that the cargo hold is sealed.”

  The shuttle kicked off FTL-1 only seconds later. Owen quickly fastened his restraints, and Wen accelerated the shuttle away from the dock. Once clear of the station he did a burn that had Owen gasping.

  “Take it easy, man!” His eyes went to the detector screen. Nothing showed. H
e went to mid range, then long range. “Looks good,” he said.

  Looked good, but traffic abounded. Wen received vectors from Traffic Control, but, still, this kind of acceleration seemed uncalled for.

  “I have my orders, Owen. Just keep a sharp eye out.”

  The shuttle continued accelerating far past the time that any previous shuttle had cut engines for the long glide to its destination.

  “They gave you orders to waste this much fuel?” he asked.

  “And as soon as I get you to Venture, I’m coming back the same way. Taking departing people over to Twin Star.”

  Finally Wen ended the acceleration. “You keep your eyes peeled. I’m going to take a short nap,” Wen told him.

  And that seemed strictly against regulations. But with the USNA about to take over FTL-1, he supposed that someone had told the pilots that they could throw out the rulebook.

  Owen let his eyes go over the detector screen while his mind replayed scenes of him and Sharon. He still felt a hollowness in his stomach, still wished that she might have come with him. It wasn’t fair that the situation kept them apart. But at least he knew that she loved him. Otherwise she wouldn’t have almost forced his father to kick him off the station, days of leave still left.

  His father. Johannes had even agreed to him showing her the Catastrophe Core – in case things went very badly on FTL-1. And that said something, for his father didn’t like Major Temple at all. And Major Temple she remained to him. He didn’t see the woman inside the uniform, just the uniform.

  At least he, Owen, knew better. And, one way or another, he would get back to her.

  “Wen,” he shook the pilot’s shoulder lightly.

  Pearson awoke instantly. “What?”

  “Something coming from Venture. Its present course should see it pass by, maybe 50 kilometers away, but—”

  “But that’s worth waking the pilot for. Good call.”

  “Pilot Pearson?”

  Wen gave him a wary glance.

  “Mr Yrden?”

  Owen had to laugh. Perhaps he had overdone the formality of it. “I need you to tell me something.”

  “If I can.”

  “When we rescued you, you saw the pirates, didn’t you?”

  Wen remained silent.

  “Well.”

  “You’re not supposed to ask me about that.”

  Owen smiled. “Major Temple figured it out.”

  Now he truly looked wary. “Major Temple?”

  “She’s liaison on FTL-1. And my ... uh ... girlfriend.”

  Wen closed his eyes. But he opened them again and sighed. “What did this Major figure out?”

  “Sharon,” Owen said, wanting to talk of her as his partner, not as an instrument of USNA policy. “Sharon figured out that you saw a USNA patrol ship. She says the only thing that made sense was that the pirate who destroyed 684 was a USNA patrol ship.”

  “You don’t know what you’ve done, boy,” Wen said.

  “Actually, I do. She’s on our side. She—”

  “She’s part of them. And yes, a damned USNA patrol ship killed all my friends, destroyed my chances, left me in Venture, a pilot without a ship to fly.” He glared at the front screen. “And now that they know, my life – hell, Angela’s life – isn’t worth a damn. They’ll hunt us down and kill us.”

  He should have kept his mouth shut. Too late, now. “They don’t know.”

  “You just told me they did.” Pearson fairly quivered with anger.

  “No, I told you that Sharon figured it out. She didn’t report it. Instead, she warned us of an imminent takeover of FTL-1 by the USNA. That’s why I’m on this shuttle now. That’s why we’re pretty much abandoning ship – FTL-1, that is.”

  Wen stared directly ahead. Five minutes passed in silence. “And this USNA Major is your girlfriend?”

  “My lover,” Owen replied, suddenly proud of it. “My lover, my friend, my partner. And, one way or another, I’m going back for her.” He paused and shrugged. “I just don’t know when.”

  “A major? She must be in her mid-thirties.”

  “She’s twenty-seven.”

  “Young and smart, it seems. Well, I hope for your sake that she is your friend. ’Cause it might get pretty uncomfortable for you if she isn’t.”

  As they approached Venture, Pearson spoke again. “I don’t suppose you’re up for another trip. Gotta go back to Twin Star as soon as we refuel and take on passengers.”

  “Sorry, can’t. Dad has forbidden it. And he’s still Venture’s captain, even if he is on FTL-1.” He gave a half-snort, half-laugh. “Sharon’s doing, I think. In return for the information she gave us, she made him promise to get me off the station and, preferably, out of the system. And you know the Yrdens: Fair Trade; We Pay Our Debts.”

  Owen dropped the detector’s power as they closed with Venture, then turned it off. Wen glanced over at him after Venture’s computer took over the docking. “Maybe she is your friend. I wish you all the luck. My own didn’t turn out so good. I hope you’ll do better.”

  And that seemed genuine.

  “Thanks, Wen. Safe trip.”

  “Safe trip, Owen. Me, I’m going to sleep until they tell me I’m loaded and ready to go.”

  He adjusted his seat, and lay back, eyes closed.

  * * *

  Venture

  Bettina waved Owen in. His return came as something of a surprise as he had leave scheduled, and shouldn’t have boarded for another five days. Perhaps station living had worn thin.

  “Hi, Owen. I hear you did well on the detector course. I assume you’ll want me to assign you to a shift on the bridge.”

  Owen didn’t match her smile. “I have a datastick from Dad, Bettina.”

  “Oh, do you? Know what’s on it?”

  “Probably. We found out the USNA is about to move on FTL-1. Within the next seven days.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “And how did we find that out?”

  Her eyebrows went even further up as Owen explained. It came to her how Johannes had rescued Jaswinder, and how she had saved the family from financial ruin, and raised them – and the Family Trading League – up to the heights.

  And now Owen’s conquest had possibly saved them again.

  “So, we’re going to be drawing down our population on FTL-1 as quickly as possible, transferring them over to Haida Gwaii – possibly via Venture.”

  She groaned. Just what she needed. “I’m running a hotel,” she said, which caused Owen to smile.

  “Does Bill know?”

  “I don’t know, but I have another datastick which I’m supposed to deliver to him.” Owen shrugged. “Dad wants me to see Mom, too.”

  The boy didn’t look too happy about that. She remembered that Jaswinder had missed his graduation, and how she, Bettina, had convinced him to go to FTL-1 for the detector course partially to take his mind off of that.

  “Your mother’s still pretty busy, Owen. But I’m sure she’ll want to see you.”

  “Maybe.”

  Time to play the wise, old aunt.

  “Owen.” She waited until he looked up. “All of us have worked harder than we’ve ever worked before. Your Uncle Matt is ill from overwork. Your mother has such a load on her shoulders as you or I never have had. She has the lives of every person on Haida Gwaii in her hands, and she’s terribly afraid that she will kill them all if she makes the slightest error.”

  His face remained non-committal. And he said nothing.

  “You’ve graduated from more than the detector class, Owen. You’ve become a man – in every sense of the word. You have a woman who says she loves you. You’ve made a vow to go back for her. You’ve brought the Family information that may save many lives. Now, I’m asking you to be a man with your mother. A man. Not her son, not her child, not her baby – no matter how she thinks of you.”

  The boy straightened up. A good sign.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  “It’s
not what I want you to do, Owen. It’s what a man would do. You need to support your mother.” She waved her hand, stopping him. “No, not by helping her in the lab, or anything like that. Simply acknowledge that she’s where she needs to be. You don’t need her to watch over you any longer. And you don’t show any resentment. She feels bad enough as it is.”

  “I doubt that.”

  Bettina laughed without humour. “Remember the day you left for the course?” He nodded. “Well, Jaswinder came to me to try to convince me to not let you go. She wanted to take you to Haida Gwaii with her, so that you two could have time together.”

  Owen started. “That wouldn’t have worked.”

  “No, it wouldn’t; it would have made it worse. She has no time for anyone, not even her son or daughter. I convinced her to let you go.”

  “If I hadn’t gone, I never would have met Sharon. I guess I have to thank you for that.”

  Bettina waved that off. She, like Johannes, didn’t trust anyone from the USNA. But she knew enough to not say anything to Owen. He obviously believed in her. And, if things didn’t go extremely, surprisingly well, he would probably never see her again. Let him have his memories untarnished by his captain’s suspicions.

  “Well, I look forward to meeting her. As to your mother, though, Becca went over once, and came back the next day. She played the role of a woman, even though she’s only sixteen. She told me that her presence only distracted her mother. So she came back.”

  She seemed to be getting through. His face showed a composed soul – if any such thing as a soul existed.

  “I’ll go see Becca. Then I’ll try to get some sleep. Call me when you have a place for me going over to Haida Gwaii.”

  “Good man.” Bettina looked up the schedule – the schedule that people like Matt, Bill, Johannes, and everyone else had left in tatters. “You have an hour. I’ve a workboat going over. You can ride shotgun.”

  “An hour. I’ll take my bags with me in case they want me to stay.”

  Bettina sighed as he left the room. She plugged in the datastick, and started reading what Johannes had written. By the time she finished, she felt more like swearing than ever. It appeared that their worst fears had come true.