by M. D. Cooper
She felt a hand brush them away and she swallowed.
“She’s gone.” Khela heard the grief in her voice and Terrance’s murmured assent.
“I understand she’s been gone for quite a while now. But yes, her memory fragments have been removed—at least, for the most part. They can no longer bring you any pain.”
“She— I couldn’t save her….”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t know,” she raged suddenly, her voice turning savage. “She was within me, and now she’s gone. And the feeling, it’s so hollow. Kodi’s still with you, you couldn’t possibly understand.”
“Not how it feels to have had endured the fragments like you did, no,” he admitted, his voice soothing in its gentleness. “But you’re wrong about not knowing what it’s like to have your partner gone from your head.”
She stilled as he paused, his hand rhythmically stroking the side of her head, and waited for him to continue.
“The AI Council on Proxima mandated that the first AI I was paired with be removed.”
She saw a look of pain cross his features, and he hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“It was difficult,” he admitted finally. “Not nearly what you went through, I know. But I may have some small idea of what you’re feeling right now.”
She inhaled sharply, then turned her head into his hand. She hated herself for showing such weakness, but these past six months had been so long and hard and….
* * * * *
The visitors had offered to ferry Noa up to the Avon Vale to visit his daughter, and he’d gladly accepted. He sat in one of their shuttles, quietly observing their arrival from his position in the cockpit’s jump seat. Noa had been surprised to discover that the man piloting the shuttle was the ship’s XO; he’d expected someone of that rank to be tied up with more important business than ferrying an old physicist around.
Jason had apologized for asking Noa to sit up front, stating that they’d need the main cabin space for medics to transport the wounded and more critically infected up to their ship’s doctor.
The scientist had not been offended in the least.
On the way, Jason had shared the files his father had sent from Proxima, and Noa had been startled to realize this man was the son of the prominent physicist, Rhys Andrews.
Jason kept up a lively chatter throughout the journey, filling him in on the histories of the Avon Vale’s crew as he piloted them from the bunker directly to the ship, bypassing the mess that was currently clogging Galene’s main elevator.
With a deft hand, the pilot maneuvered them through the cavernous maw of the Avon Vale’s cargo bay and settled into the cradle assigned to them. Noa felt a brief shudder pass through the vessel as magnetic docking clamps came online, and then the pilot unstrapped.
“All right, then. Let’s get you over to your daughter,” Jason said as he gestured Noa to follow him.
The shuttle’s cabin was bustling with activity, with medics busy funneling their patients through the larger cargo exit, where volunteers operating floating stretchers awaited them.
Jason danced around the edges of the crowd and palmed the hatch on the shuttle’s starboard side. As Noa stepped onto the ship’s deck, the projection of an AI appeared.
“About time, Jason,” the AI said, and the pilot turned to Noa with a smile.
“Noa, I’d like you to meet our chief engineer and ship’s AI, Shannon. She’s offered to escort you to medical. Sorry I can’t do it myself, but the captain wants me.”
He shot a look toward Shannon’s projection as the AI snorted.
“On the bridge. She wants me on the bridge.” He grinned and turned back to Noa. “You’ll be fine with Shannon. She doesn’t bite…much.” With a wink, the XO turned and jogged out the bay door.
Noa bowed respectfully to the image of the woman before him. Bette had informed him before he left that Shannon might be prickly when they met.
“She can be a bit opinionated, and she holds nothing back,” Bette had told him with a smile. “But you always know where you stand with her. Shannon’s one of a kind. She was outraged at how Charley and I had been treated, though, that we’d been bought like property by the Matsu-kai. It took some convincing to get her to understand that you were as much a victim as we were—and that you had risked your own life, and Khela’s, to save ours.”
Bette’s words echoed in Noa’s mind as Shannon’s projection stood before him now, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. She walked around him, and he patiently waited for her to complete her circuit. As he did so, a part of his mind marveled at the extent to which this AI had adopted human mannerisms—more than any other AI he’d ever known.
Fascinating.
Shannon’s avatar came to rest with a small hmph, and she set her toe to tapping slightly on the sole of the cargo bay. He actually heard the sounds the AI projected of the action.
He raised one brow, his expression tranquil and composure serene, and continued to wait.
“Bette was right,” Shannon finally said. “You’re unflappable.” She smiled suddenly. “I think I like you, Noa Sakai.”
He raised his other brow, and the AI burst out laughing.
“Come on. Let’s go find your daughter.”
Noa hesitated. “I would like to extend my greetings to your expedition leader first—and my appreciation for the care he’s given to Khela. Terrance is his name, yes?”
Shannon shot him a wicked, mysterious grin. “Like I said…let’s go find your daughter.”
He could hear her chuckle as she sent her avatar through the cargo bay’s doors and out into the corridor. As she exited, he could have sworn he heard her say, “oh, this is going to be good.”
The ship’s medical bay was both familiar and foreign all at once. The equipment and interfaces he spied held the differences one would expect to see from technologies that had progressed around a different star. And yet, they remained fundamentally unchanged.
It was a welcoming sight to a man who, for the last six months, had been relegated to the limitations of his bunker—and the war-torn remnants of his planet’s once-advanced technologies.
The Avon Vale’s chief medical officer, Marta, looked up as they approached.
“Noa, it’s good to see you.” She gestured to one of the bays off the area’s mainspace. “Khela’s right through here.”
He heard the murmur of voices before the door slid open and he and Marta entered. When they did, he had eyes only for his daughter. She was propped up in a medical bed and she looked…wonderful. Healthy and whole, the daughter he’d lost months ago was restored to him now, though with a shadow of grief he knew only time would heal.
Standing next to her was the man he’d asked Shannon to introduce him to, and now he understood the AI’s laugh, as he spied Khela’s hand interlaced with his.
Both turned at his entrance, and Terrance nodded a greeting as he unthreaded their fingers, murmured something to Khela, and brushed a tendril of hair away from her face. Noa saw the flash of emotion that passed between the two, and his heart gave a little lurch. He recognized that look; it was the same one he’d shared with Khela’s mother, Irene.
He experienced a brief pang at the thought of the woman he’d lost so long ago, but was happy for Khela and what she seemed to have found.
Our girl, Irene. Our little Khe-chan. She’s found someone. By the ancestors, what does a father do now?
He met Terrance’s eyes as the man approached.
“I’m sure you two have a lot of catching up to do,” Enfield murmured, the man’s eyes searching.
Noa smiled slightly and gave him a brief nod. “Thank you for saving Khela.” He included the doctor as he added, “And for healing her, too.”
A look of relief passed over Terrance’s face. “It was the least we could do,” the man murmured. He glanced at Marta and then over to Khela. “I’ll be back later,” he promised, and then he left, Marta following after him.
Khe
la smiled as Noa approached.
“You’re doing well?” he questioned, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.
“I am. They’ve restored all my damaged bits that the nano messed up,” she said wryly, fingering the blue-black lock of hair that had fallen once more into her face. “I hate to think I’m this vain, but I have to say, I really missed my hair.”
He smiled at her. “I couldn’t help but notice that someone else seems fond of it, as well.”
His daughter, the Marine, actually blushed. “He does, doesn’t he? Although, it’s nice to know he seemed to like me even before.”
Noa sat back, pleased at those words; then a frown crossed his face, and he leaned toward her again.
“But Khela, what’s this I hear about him shooting the sister of one of his own officers?”
AN UNEASY TRUCE
STELLAR DATE: 09.17.3246 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: ESS Avon Vale
REGION: Galene, Tau Ceti
Kodi sent his agreement.
The soft, irregular click of claws striking the medbay deck drew his attention, and Terrance looked over to see the platinum-furred figure of a Proxima cat limping toward him.
He received the fleeting impression of an obstinate rebellion, but it was overlaid by a sense of curiosity and determination as the cat paused by his side.
he announced, and gathered himself into a crouch.
Before Terrance could stop him, the big cat uncoiled, leaping up onto the bed where Khela lay. His landing was light and agile, despite the injury, and he settled next to her with a satisfied huff.
He reached over to smooth Khela’s hair back, his other hand still cupped around her cheek, where she’d turned her head into his palm.
The cat fixed him with baleful aqua eyes and announced,
Terrance blew out a breath.
Kodi’s laugh sounded in Terrance’s head.
The AI’s voice warned him of Marta’s approach even before Terrance heard the doctor’s soft footfalls. He removed his hand from where it cupped Khela’s head and felt his face heat a bit as he caught the doctor’s knowing smile.
“I had the autodoc give her a sedative,” Marta spoke softly. “She’ll rest for a few hours and will feel much better when she wakes.”
She made a shooing motion with her hands, and Terrance grinned and stepped away from the unit, moving outside the room. Marta followed.
As the door swished softly closed behind them, the doctor pointed to the exit. “Off with you. I know for a fact that I have a dozen patients or more landing soon, and I need all the space available to treat them. At least Beck’s no longer taking up his own bed.” She winked and then arched a brow at him when Terrance was slow to move.
Kodi interjected, his tone droll.
“Don’t tell me you two don’t have anything better to do with your time, or I’ll set you to work stripping bed linens and reloading injection ampoules.”
Terrance raised his hands and backed out into the corridor. “Going! I have it on good authority that I make a terrible maid,” he replied with a wink of his own. “I guess I’ll just be on my way.”
* * * * *
“C’mon, dude. Council’s waiting—and I’m hungry.” Jason grinned from his position inside the shuttle’s hatch as Terrance broke into a slow jog across the Vale’s main cargo bay.
He nodded to the Sable Wind’s aft cargo compartment as he asked, “Is our freight loaded and ready, too?”
Jason nodded, and then ducked back inside to give Terrance room to enter.
The FSTC and Galene’s acting president—a legitimate acting president—had requested a contingent of their ‘Centauran guests’ be present for this first official briefing. Terrance had asked Jason and Calista to join him, leaving Landon in charge of the Vale. In a surprising twist, the Galene contingent had also asked for Tobias by name. The Weapon Born had taken the elevator down from the ring earlier.
Terrance knew there was a story there, and he couldn’t wait to hear it. In the meantime, he’d ordered a sampling of some of Enfield’s most valuable trade items to be transported down with them. It was intended as a goodwill offering, in case any of the Galene officials took issue with the fact that Phantom Blade had exchanged weapons fire with GSC forces, however well-intentioned the actions had been.
As Terrance reached the shuttle’s hatch, he felt the ramp beneath his feet vibrate from the humanoid frame that trailed behind him. He caught Jason’s knowing smirk and released a long-suffering sigh as the XO turned to address the AI in Terrance’s wake.
“I heard Landon assigned you to babysitting duty.” Jason’s voice held a trace of amusement, which Logan ignored as the profiler ducked his frame through the hatch and ordered the shuttle’s ramp to retract.
Logan just grunted.
Jason shouted a laugh, slapped Logan’s frame, and slid past him into the pilot’s cradle. A moment later, the AI had settled into the point defense position just behind Jason, although Terrance knew the station would not be needed on this trip.
“You’d think we’re all a bunch of incompetents, the way Landon’s acting,” Terrance grumbled, but he regretted his words the moment Logan stirred.
“I think he will always be overprotective,” the profiler said, his tone pensive.
Jason shot Terrance a glance before saying in an affable voice, “Not a bad vice to have, I’d say.”
Logan didn’t respond, and the three lapsed into silence as Jason finished his preflight and Shannon released the bay doors. With a slight push, the rails upon which the shuttle was docked released the little ship, and they floated free of the Vale.
Jason expertly spun the craft and sent it on a gentle arcing curve toward the planet’s surface and the city of Meshuggah, Galene’s third largest, and the one least ravaged by both battle and phage. It was on the southernmost tip of the continent, beyond the elevator that had so recently seen comb
at.
And isn’t that an appropriately-named place to hold a meeting about the recent state of events….
As they neared their destination, Terrance could see the Avon Vale’s captain standing on the roof of city hall, waiting for them at the edge of the landing pad with Tobi by her side. Calista’s dark hair haloed around her, whipped by currents generated by the shuttle’s thrusters, as Jason brought the Sable Wind to rest with a flourish.
As Terrance exited, he was amused to see the small group of admirers keeping Tobi company. Jason had told him that tales of Beck’s heroics had spread throughout Galene, and a sighting of one of the cats usually drew a small crowd. Beck had made another trip down to the planet long enough to submit his testimony, but Marta had ordered the big cat back aboard the ship soon after.
Tobi had been happy to step in and accept accolades on his behalf, especially once she’d discovered the Galene equivalent of bonito flakes. The Proxima cat fairly preened with all the attention she was getting. She was sitting tall next to Calista, awaiting their arrival.
“How’s Khela?” Calista asked as they disembarked.
She tucked an arm through his and pulled him off to one side for a moment, as Jason bent down to greet Tobi.
“Marta managed to remove most of Hana’s fragments, and she’s certain they’ll no longer cause her any pain,” Terrance told her as he watched the lean, muscular feline strop the pilot’s legs once in greeting, then turn to glide gracefully toward him and Calista. “Although the doctor was less sure about whether she’d be able to pair with an AI ever again.”
Calista smiled as the big cat butted Terrance’s proffered hand with her head, and then reared back, wrinkling her nose.
Kodi made a sound like he was clearing his throat.