Douglas Kendall

by Jason the Rescuer

  Because the PILL prevented aging, the people of Infinity City were used to parents and their offspring usually looking as alike as if they were siblings -- even more so, since there was, on the average, greater genetic similarity between a parent and its offspring than between two siblings.

  "I was not aware the Infinity City Militia Guard was in the business of rescue, Mr. Jason."

  "We have only been doing this officially for about 25

  years." He was actually describing only himself. "Over the centuries, our patrols began finding and repairing more and more disabled spacecraft. It became more efficient to set up a specialized branch to deal with the problem. We can't tie up all our patrols rescuing people."

  "No, you certainly cannot," agreed Durdaine. "And, how fortunate for us that you came along. But, you know, I DO

  distinctly remember the Captain, peace be upon him, mentioning just before the accident that we were nearing some black hole that was a veritable nest of thieves and pirates. He said Infinity City patrolled the area. Is it still dangerous?"

  "We keep the area near our NEIGHBORS safe enough." BUT WHAT

  HE DOESN'T KNOW, thought Jason, IS THAT WE'RE NOW OVER 80 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY FROM THAT AREA!

  "Mr. Jason," inquired Ethera with a heavy-lidded look. "Are there many men on-board your ship, like yourself?"

  WHAT DID SHE MEAN? DID SHE MEAN... He pretended confusion,

  "Like myself? In what regard, dear lady?"

  "Well, I mean, your age."

  SHE THOUGHT HE WAS AS YOUNG AS HER! AH, THE BLESSINGS OF

  THE PILL OF LIFE!

  She continued, "All the men on board are either over 45 and under 16. There's no one my age."

  Durdaine explained, "My wife passed away shortly before the voyage began, and there was no one to take care of Ethera. She was only 10 then. I could not leave her behind," he said smiling over at his precious daughter. She gave him a quick token smile in return, and then returned her gaze to Jason, with another innocent tilt of her stately head.

  She complained lightly, with good humor, "Oh, the men here are either bothersome and stodgy oldsters lamenting the past, or young inexperienced boys."

  "Ethera...", Durdaine murmured. Then to Jason, "Yes, it is too bad there is no one of her age group. But, to start the new colony, only men and women with established credentials were accepted. The youngest that signed on was 30 years of age, and is now, of course, 45. We HAVE had an endless stream of births, though. But, the oldest is now only 15. I am sure Ethera will enjoy your stay here." Then, he waved an admonishing finger at his daughter. "Now, Ethera, do not interfere with the young man's work. He will be fixing the ship, you know!"

  "I can hardly believe there's someone my own age here." She batted her beautiful eyes at Jason. "And a man, as well."

  Jason decided he would not mind her company while he worked here, AT ALL. Maybe she would turn out to be the girl of his dreams. Ethera was certainly lovely enough. It was a good thing he looked more her age than his own, which just happened to be 45! Of course, the PILL kept Jason perpetually young at heart.

  Often to his own misfortune...

  Dinner went by pleasantly. The colonists asked Jason and Dalton about their work and Infinity City, but Jason and Dalton gave short, vague answers, and kept the subject of conversation in a matter-of-fact way on the colony ship, cleverly avoiding having to fabricate any further connections with any non-existent Militia Guard rescue service.

  After dinner, the curtain at the back of the banquet hall slowly opened to reveal an adjoining garden patio where cordials and after dinner sweets were being offered. Dalton moved slowly along with Jason, Excarver Durdaine, his daughter Ethera, and others from their table. He looked for the girl he had first seen. There she was! Was she moving toward the garden, too? He lost sight of her again. Dalton was not very tall, yet.

  The garden patio was amazing. Though it was inside a spaceship, it easily rivaled any beautiful garden Jason had ever seen anywhere in the Galaxy, even back on Infinity City. From the banquet hall, they walked out into an open courtyard, with a floor made of polished dark bricks. A few medium sized trees rose up from large planters with brick walls that came up to knee level, brightly filled with flowers. The trees were all of the same variety with glossy dark green leaves. Gentle spotlights splashed soft but lively colors here and there. Surrounding the courtyard, were many large bushes, and benches, and more planters with more flowers. The scent of the blossoms was delightful.

  Beyond the garden were still more trees, as if the garden verged upon an entire forest. Soft, sweet music rose out of nowhere turning the area into a realm of magic.

  The murmur of conversation rose and fell. Gay laughter was often heard. The ladies and gentlemen drifted about, their gowns and robes giving them majestic stature. Dalton discreetly looked about, anxious to see that special girl. Where was she? He had not seen her come out. What if she was not out here?

  Jason offered Ethera a cherry-colored cordial in a tiny crystal goblet with a deceivingly large reservoir at its bottom.

  With aristocratic grace, she accepted the tiny glass with her white-gloved hand. As she sipped it, she looked Jason up and down. "Are you married?", she asked directly, a little half-smile playing across her enchanting mouth.

  "Not yet," his standard reply to THAT question. "I'm looking for a very special kind of lady. I assume you are single, also??"

  "Why, yes, of course! Everyone here is old enough to be my father, or young enough to be, well, a baby-brother. Now, you haven't told me. How many other young men, say under 30, are aboard your marvelous sailship?" She was gently swaying back and forth in time to the nearby soft music, her gown also swaying, her head delightfully tilted to the side, touching the little crystal goblet still to her lips.

  Marveled Jason at her charm and beauty. This girl is one in a million! He smiled. "We have a small crew. Only a few of us under age 30." He raised his eyebrows. "I'm the only one who happens to be single."

  She touched her tongue to the corner of her lips, looked him up and down, then said, "Oh, I think you'll do, for now, at least. Unless a knight in shining armor happens by."

  Jason could only laugh in response. This was going to be one fun Adventure...

  Dalton looked down at the ground, completely dejected. SHE

  had not come out to the courtyard. He took a deep breath and sighed. He had found himself sighing all night. He felt so stirred up. He did not like the feeling. He could not think straight. He moved out beyond the courtyard, to be alone with his thoughts. The brick flooring turned into a soft, well-manicured lawn, with many tall bushes, some ornate benches, and more brick wells. Who was she? Would he now ever see her again?

  He and Jason would be working in the broken sections where he was sure he would never see her. They wouldn't bother with a big dinner like this again. He'd never see her anymore. But, so what?! What did HE need with girls, anyway? He was an Adventurer now. AND, a rescuer. He basked in his new found sense of self-worth. There was work to do... And suddenly, THERE SHE WAS!

  He froze in his tracks. The sounds of the courtyard could still be easily heard behind. He had just walked around a tall bush, and there she was with her back to him, standing at a tree-well. The little brick wall came up level with her narrow waist.

  She was looking down at the flowers. At least he THOUGHT it was her. He could not see her face. But the girl he now spied had the same flowing golden hair, and the same pink dress. Oh, so pink! He had never seen such a beautiful color before in his life!

  Then, the girl started turning, and looked back at him over her shoulder, with no surprise at all, as if she had known he was there all along. He looked at her. He felt his heart begin beating so hard he thought for sure she would see it bulging in and out of his shirt, loose as it was. But he could not look away from those calm, dark mysterious eyes.

  Suddenly, he noticed she was smiling at him in just a warm friendly way. He smiled back without thinking. Then, she
slowly turned her head back, and once more regarded the flowers of the tree well. Dalton thought for sure his pounding heart was going to burst from his chest!

  Jason and Ethera had invented a merry game. He would pick out someone or another couple, then he would guess their characteristics, including shortcomings, habits, and preferences.

  Then Ethera would correct him, revealing all the secrets learned over the years living in a sealed-off ship, everybody crowded together. It was not really crowded, she admitted, but everybody always knew where you were, and there was never any place really new to go to.

  Jason looked around, and spied a short, portly old man with balding gray hair and a tremendous moustache dancing with a tall, thin woman of about the same age. She wore a light blue robe, and her gray hair was coiffed up like a pile of disks. Her robe hung so straight due to her thinness, and she drifted about so smoothly that Jason imagined she could have been just a department store mannequin, bust only atop a long pole with wheels at the bottom. The old man, if he were wearing a uniform would have looked like an old retired military officer. He wore a plain dark brown suit instead, with gold pinstriping. Jason guessed he was head of some shipboard military guard, and the woman was his wife.

  Ethera looked at them and snickered into her hand. No, she informed Jason, the man was His Excellency Anson Dorfer, Director of Biology, and Lady Aleda Reid, Director of Hydroponics.

  Neither had ever married, though the amount of time they spent together was causing a scandal.

  Jason looked around for someone else. Where was that young pretty girl Dalton was so interested in? He'd like to know about her background. Maybe she had an older sister. Oh, well... He saw a tall, gaunt man in a dark blue suit with a waste coat with white ruffles. Jason surmised he had been aging for quite a while. Actually, everyone around the garden had been aging for significant amounts of time. All except the few adolescent youngsters because the human genome was not programmed to begin aging until the mid-twenties. What had he learned at the table?

  All the adults were at least 45-years-old...

  This man's hair was tied back in a short pony tail which made his long pointed nose even more prominent. "Who is he?", Jason asked. "Some professor of physics or computer science?"

  "Far from it," Ethera reported dryly. "That's His Excellency Anthony Gorton, Manager of Logistics. Father complains that he is completely corrupt. He meters out our remaining precious supplies depending on what favors he receives in return. Father has tried to replace him but he has an...

  Let's see, what does Father call it? An 'entrenched supporting network of cronies.' As one might expect aboard a cooped up spaceship, we have our share of political intrigue."

  "I'm sure you have." Jason had never rescued a spacecraft that did not. He looked around and saw a very large middle-aged woman talking excitedly to a group of ladies and gentlemen patiently listening. She wore a billowing yellow dress with white ruffles at the corset. An extremely large bright yellow bow in her hair made her look to Jason like a child's doll. He thought she looked like she was trying to sell something. Sales?

  There couldn't be any here. He gave up, and pointed her out to Ethera.

  "That's Lady Abigail Conover, our Entertainment Director.

  She is most probably trying to convince people to get involved in some new program. Lady Conover is a learned scholar of the psychological sciences. But she has not been very successful at coming up with anything fun to do so far. She is unsinkable, though, a very energetic friendly type. I enjoy when she comes to visit. They all come to visit Father. Lady Conover is actually a descendant of our original Henry Conover, and reminds us of this all the time. She's madly in love with Dr. David Douglas over there."

  Jason looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a man sitting on a bench encircling one of the flower wells. He had a drink in his hand, and was pleasantly watching everyone else.

  Jason did a double-take. The man's thick mop of hair was an unusual light rust in color. So was his neat goatee. Was that coloring natural? Jason had been all over the Galaxy and had never seen a human being with natural hair coloring that varied from either yellow, brown, or black. The darker colors were more prevalent. Both Jason's parents were dark-haired, Jason obviously had received their recessive genes of lighter pigment.

  Of course, on Infinity City you could easily though expensively take a genetic treatment to alter your pigment to any available color.

  The man with the red hair was an interesting looking fellow, and wore a dark gray suit with a fascinating bow tied in front of his throat. He was medium in build but must be very tall for, while sitting, his legs extended out at a great distance. The man gave Jason a friendly nod and smiled. Jason smiled and nodded back. "What's he do?", he asked Ethera.

  "He's Director of Planning, Engineering, and Construction on the new world. There's nothing for him to do on the ship, though. He spends his time studying on the computer and playing his musical instruments. He keeps to himself, though he often goes to dinner at Abigail's apartment, but only if there are other guests, well almost always." She whispered behind her white-gloved hand, "He's not Conovarian! He was hired for his expertise from a world called Great Scotia where many have red hair like him. Father says they make very adaptive scientists and engineers. I'm sure you've heard of this planet."

  "Oh, of course!" Jason lied. But he wanted Ethera to regard him as a great Galactic traveler. He looked around.

  There were several women about the garden who, though aging, were still such striking beauties that Jason was dying with curiosity to meet them. He used the questioning game with Ethera to learn more about them.

  He learned a great deal about the colony ship that night.

  Political intrigue was rife. He had learned during his rescue missions to avoid this at all costs. During this mission, he realized, he and Dalton would have to avoid the colonists as much as possible to stay out of trouble. All except maybe Ethera, he lustily thought to himself.

  Ethera interrupted their questioning game to ask Jason if he would take her aboard his sailship to meet the others of his crew. Jason was thinking more and more about taking her aboard his ship, but not to meet the crew.

  She seemed to read the general trend in his thinking, but rather than disengage, she tauntingly reached up and gently stroked his firm, set jaw, which she found gave him such a determined, even unstoppable look. He was in perfect shape. His uniform complimented the contours of his well-toned muscles.

  Here was a man who took pride in his masculinity. She found her cheeks warming. How unladylike! What would father think? He would of course, disapprove. The thought of her father raising and lowering those delightful old bushy eyebrows, as he always did when he chastised her, made her suddenly giggle. She raised a gloved hand to cover her mouth.

  Jason was suddenly taken aback. What was she laughing at?

  Him? His jaw? He HAD shaved, hadn't he? Yes, definitely.

  Quick hair cut, cologne, manicure, mouthwash; why he had even trimmed his nose hairs! He decided she was just being a girl.

  Someday he would have them figured out. Then look out, Galaxy!

  They'd all be his!

  Dalton found himself walking over to the girl. I CAN'T

  BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS! SHE'S JUST A GIRL, SO WHY SHOULD I FEEL

  SO NERVOUS. BUT, SHE'S PERFECT! AND, SHE SMILED AT ME! ME!!

  He came up boldly behind her, though a little to the side so he could see more of her. He was taller than she! By a head! She just stood there pretending not to notice him, looking down at the flowers about the tree, pretty little pink roses, just slightly richer in color than her soft, supple gown. Dalton breathed in the fragrance of the roses thinking it was HER

  fragrance. He was enraptured by just being near her. NO WONDER

  THIS SHIP IS CALLED THE HEAVEN, he thought. SHE'S AN ANGEL! He sighed. He found himself saying, "My name is Dalton. What's yours?" She softly said, "Monique." He lifted his knee up so he could
set his foot on top of the low brick wall to her right.

  Then, he rested his elbow on his knee, put his cheek on his hand, and drifted out of time, just experiencing her being so close.

  He could even see her chest rise and fall with her gentle breathing, the delightful little flowers of her bodice the same pink little roses as the ones before her in the well. He wanted to stay here like this with her forever and ever more!

  She raised her head, and looked to the right though not quite at him, as if she had just heard his thoughts. Then she continued turning her head back just a little more, until she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He was so charming!

  So young, but trying so hard to be mature. She had been watching him secretly all night. He moved with grace and purpose, not like an adolescent at all. Like a cat on the prowl? ( There were cats aboard the colony ship. Against all regulations and precautions someone had smuggled one into Colonist Segment #3.

  It had been a pregnant female. Secretly, one by one, people of high prestige had acquired cats in Colonist Segment #1. A good friend of Monique's had one. )

  Something told her that he would seek her out wherever she would go. This made her feel special, and she even felt a little thrilled by it. She decided to test her theory and move off to see if he would follow. She could not move to the right. He had captured that flank. She would escape to the left. What if someday he captured both flanks, and made her surrender?

  She drifted softly off to the left, looking back as she disappeared behind another tall bush. There he was smiling after her, his foot still up on the brick wall, his face still resting on his hand. Then, he disappeared as the bush came between them.

  She thought to herself, HE'S TOO CRAFTY TO EVER LET ME SEE HIM

  MOVING IN FOR THE KILL. NO, NOT FOR ANY kill. HE'S NOT LIKE

  THAT. HE'LL JUST ALWAYS BE MOVING IN. She sighed. She did a little pirouette. Then, looked around abashed, making sure no one had seen her. No one had. Her feelings were safe, for now.