by Andrew Gates
I will never understand why you humans try to speak with animals, Yuri said.
“It’s not for their benefit. It just gives us someone to talk to.”
Isn’t that why you have me?
“It is,” Ellen confirmed as she went to the pantry for cat food. “But sometimes it’s fun to imagine that animals can understand us.”
Well, animals can respond to certain auditory commands. It’s not entirely false.
“Noted.”
By the way, her heart rate is picking up and her eyes keep motioning to the door. I don’t think she’s hungry. I think she just wants to go outside.
“Can’t you ever let me figure this out on my own?”
I must be useful somehow. Otherwise you’ll just replace me with the cat.
Ellen laughed at the comment as she poured the cat food into Destiny’s bowl. Sure enough, she merely sniffed it and looked up at Ellen again.
Told you. She’s not hungry.
“Alright, alright, you win.”
Ellen grabbed her plate of eggs and a fork and walked to the back door. She slid the glass open. Destiny darted out immediately, taking in the bright sunshine and cool air.
The retiree caught a glimpse of herself in the door’s reflection as the glass moved before her face. Her once short marine-approved brown hair now dangled down to her shoulders. She’d put on a bit of weight since those days too, though it wasn’t much. Her figure was still slenderer than most who elected to forgo routine weight augmentation surgeries. She had never felt the need for such procedures, but these days, she couldn’t even afford it if she wanted to.
“Don’t go too far, Destiny!” Ellen called out as the cat sniffed some nearby bushes.
Ellen stepped outside and sat down in her favorite wooden rocking chair. The vast fields sprawled before her in the glistening sunlight.
Her home resided in a secluded part of the planet, an area called Horron Fields. She hardly ever saw another person around these parts, but if she wanted to, she could reach capital city of Neu Taargus in an hour. It was the perfect balance: isolated, yet close to the action.
This place had been her home for nearly 90 years now. Ellen went into retirement not long after the Nautilus reached Mateo. Vexa Corp had paid her a considerable sum for her brief time flying escort for the colony ship, as had the SDF before them. But still, after 90 years, most of that money had been depleted.
In that near-century, Ellen had lived quite a life. She met a man, another former SDF Marine named Harold, and in typical colonist fashion, they had two children together before ultimately splitting apart. Ellen had never been one for relationships anyway. It was ultimately her decision to go through with the divorce, though Harold did not seem to object.
Her kids were all grown up now. Her son, Blake, was now a farmer living nearby in Horron Fields. Her daughter, Orion, now worked for Vexa Corp as an analyst. She was proud of the adults they'd become. Just thinking about them brought a smile to her face.
Ellen and Yuri spent a bulk of the last 90 years apart, but reunited once Blake and Orion were old enough to live on their own. It was not uncommon for AIs and humans to separate and go back to sharing the same head after years. Time apart allowed their neural nets to reset and reduced the risk of their two minds merging into one. Yuri, though not technically human, was the only man Ellen could see herself spending the rest of her life with.
The retiree sighed as she cut into the eggs. At times she missed the exciting life, but whenever she debated joining Mateo's fledgling military – something they frequently badgered her to do – she recalled all the times she had nearly lost her life. In the end, rejoining was not worth the risk.
She lifted the fork and ate her first bite. The savory eggs were cooked perfectly, just the way she liked them.
“Mmm,” she said aloud as she chewed.
Are you trying to taunt me? Yuri asked. You know I don’t have taste buds.
You exist in my brain. Can’t you access my senses?
In a way, yes, but it doesn’t really work like that. I have no way to perceive taste.
Your loss.
After her breakfast, Ellen set the plate aside and closed her eyes, taking in the natural world. She had always been a stickler for nature, for purity.
In an age when physical enhancements were the norm, Ellen chose what was now considered “the bare minimum” for her body. That meant a few things. Firstly, ATG access, of course, was practically a requirement. Her eyes had also been altered, updated with enhanced optics, a variety of lenses and, of course, retinal screens. There were few who lived without such alterations. Yuri was perhaps her biggest enhancement, though internal AIs were commonplace across the galaxy. Because she had been a pilot, her bones and organ walls had been reinforced by a web of metal, a requirement for pilots making high g burns. Nanobots existed inside her as well, making constant repairs on her body or performing other tasks. The nano, along with regular rejuv treatments, kept her as young as they could for as long as they could, but they weren’t perfect. Though the average human lifespan had now extended to hundreds of years, humans were still mortals after all and she was no exception.
Walking through the streets of Neu Taargus, Ellen would encounter humans with far greater enhancements. Some humans had extra limbs, two heads, or even wheels as feet. Some of them did not look the slightest bit human at all. Aside from Ellen's basic alterations, her body was as pure as they came. She was, by no means, a “vanilla human”, though she held a great deal of respect for those that chose such a life. She could not recall the last time she had seen someone in the city without some sort of visible physical mod.
I’m detecting a presence, Yuri said, prompting Ellen to open her eyes.
“What do you mean?”
I mean someone is driving this way.
“It’s a big area. It’s not uncommon for someone to-”
No, I mean, look at your front yard. Someone is driving up to the house.
Yuri displayed the house’s front camera footage on Ellen’s retinal screens. She studied the video as a small black vehicle pulled up to her home.
“Hmm… so we finally have a visitor,” Ellen said, standing up from the chair. She quickly searched for Destiny, who she found still rummaging through the bushes. “Come, Destiny!”
The cat ran up to her as Ellen opened the door and reentered her home. She closed the door behind Destiny and made her way to the sink. Quickly tossing the dishes inside, she walked to the front door just as the bell rang.
She pulled the door open to find her old copilot, Cutter, standing at the ready. Physically, he looked like he had not aged a day in the past 90 years. Ellen figured he must have recently gotten a rejuv treatment. But there was something about the way he held himself that made her think he had grown up a bit.
“Cutter!” she said, surprised to see him.
He smiled and removed a baseball cap from his head. He nodded.
“Good to see you,” he greeted. “Please, call me Dave.”
“Dave? You never went by Dave.”
“Cutter is my last name. David is my first name. I hear last names are going out of style these days.”
“I’ve heard that too,” Ellen admitted. She paused for a moment, wondering what to say next. She suddenly realized that she had not invited him in yet. “Uh… please, come inside!”
Cutter nodded again as Ellen stepped aside for him to enter. She closed the door behind him as he navigated her home.
“Nice place you have here!” he noted as he looked around. “It was hard to find you out here. I didn’t imagine you’d settle for the simple life.”
“It’s peaceful here. I’ve lived enough excitement for a lifetime.”
“Well you’ve certainly done a lot. I checked your bio. You found a husband, even had children.”
“I did. They’ve all gone their separate ways now. These days it’s just me and Yuri, avoiding what excitement we can.”
Dave tur
ned to face her. The expression on his face showed that he was surprised. It was as if he expected her to still be out there, putting herself in the line of fire.
“Don’t you miss it?” he asked.
“Sometimes,” she admitted, “but for now I think I prefer the peace and quiet.”
“Still, it must cost a lot to live on your own all this time, even if you are so far from the city."
“It certainly adds up.”
“Are you still able to live off your old savings?”
Ellen paused and gave him a stern glare. This was not a discussion she expected to have with a long lost former work colleague. It was time to change the subject.
“Why are you here, Cutt… I mean, Dave?”
“Sorry, where are my manners? I shouldn’t be so brash. Can I sit?”
He's grown. The old Cutter would never have recognized his own impertinence, Ellen said privately to Yuri.
“Sure.” She motioned to a nearby sofa and he calmly sat down.
Ellen pulled up a wooden chair and sat across from him, eager to hear what he had to say. She was surprised to realize how eager she was.
“Vexa Corp has been checking up on you. I know it’s been decades since you’ve been in a fighter, but you still fly rental ships from time to time for fun. The company knows your skills are just as honed as ever.”
Dave paused for a moment and took a deep breath, as if waiting for her to jump in. Instead, Ellen stared at him, wondering what this was all about. After a few more seconds, he finally gave in and continued.
“Look, Milsen, Vexa Corp wants you back. You’re good at what you do. There’s no denying it. They have a mission planned and they want the best. Now that you and Yuri are back together, the total package is hard to pass up.”
That was blunt.
“You’ve come to recruit me?”
“I have.”
“Well, I appreciate the offer and I’m glad you took the time to come all the way out here, but I’m retired now,” Ellen firmly replied.
“I understand, but hear me out. This is different. The mission will be fast and it pays considerably well. From this job alone, you’ll be able to finance this retirement of yours for 90 more years.”
“Hmm… that sure is considerable, almost unbelievably considerable.” Ellen shifted in her chair. She hoped her skepticism showed.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of FTLT by now.”
“FTLT, faster-than-light travel.” She nodded her head. “Yep, I’ve heard of it. They say it’s changing the course of history.” That was putting it mildly. She'd read all about it and practically knew the science inside and out by this point, though she had yet to witness it in person.
“Vexa Corp has access to FTLT tech now. If we do this mission, we’ll be out and back before your cat runs out of food.”
How did he see Destiny? She’s in the next room, Ellen asked Yuri in private.
He must have dispersed a nanotech cloud. He’s probably surveying your house.
“I have an AI now, by the way,” Dave added. “I figured I’d held out for long enough without one. Her name is Gloria.”
Pleased to meet you, Gloria said over the ATG.
Pleased to meet you too, Yuri replied.
“Gloria helps me in ways I never imagined. With her help, and a bit more training, I’ve become a better pilot. Trust me, you won’t have someone squirming on the floor, freaking out in the heat of battle.”
“So we would be copiloting with each other again?”
“That’s the idea.”
Damn, I thought we were done with him, Ellen privately remarked.
I’m accessing his flight data. He’s not lying. He’s improved quite a bit.
Still, I’m hesitant.
If he can convince an AI to live with him, he must not be as annoying as we remember.
Or worse, his AI is exactly like him.
“I know you’re talking to your own AI right now,” Dave noted, pointing to her. “I can tell by the way you stare off in the distance like that.”
“Yuri was accessing your flight data. He says you’ve improved,” Ellen replied, not lying. “I’ll admit, the data does corroborate your story.”
David Cutter is now one of the top pilots in Vexa Corp. He is being considered to replace Commander Ignacio upon his upcoming retirement, Gloria explained, trying to be reassuring.
“Ignacio is still running the show?”
“He is,” Dave answered with a nod of his head. “Honestly, things haven’t changed much since you’ve been hiding out here in the wilderness… except me, of course.”
And FTLT, Gloria added.
“Yes, right, and FTLT.”
Ellen sighed and brushed some hair from her face. She turned to look out the window for a few moments before turning back to face her guest.
“I… I don’t know,” she said, letting out a deep exhale.
“It’s one job. It’s fast and it pays well. There’s nothing to lose.”
“Well… do I at least get to know where we’d be going?”
“I’m sure you can understand the secrecy. Vexa Corp doesn't want the rest of the system knowing their destination. I have to trust you won't tell. Is this room secure?"
"Yes, it's secure and yes, you can trust me."
"GJ 1277,” Dave answered, leaning forward in his chair. He instinctively kept his voice down.
Ellen quickly searched information about the system. Data appeared on her retinal screens. GJ 1277 was a red dwarf star, meaning the surrounding planets were tidally locked. It seemed the inner worlds were all bare rock, not yet terraformed.
There’s nothing there, Yuri remarked.
“Nothing there yet,” Dave replied. A grin formed on his face as he leaned forward in his seat. “Vexa Corp wants to terraform.”
“Vexa Corp is terraforming now?”
“Now that they have FTLT, yes. The corporation wants to have control over this region of the Orion Arm. Terraforming this far out is simply a profit-driven decision.”
“I get that, but Vexa Corp has never terraformed before.”
“They think they can copy what the HWST did. President Gorez is confident they can pull it off.”
“Are you?”
“Who cares?” Dave asked as he threw his hands into the air. “They want fighters to escort their worldbuilder to the system. Then we return home. Whether it works or not, we’ll see a hefty paycheck.”
As much as it pained her, Ellen had to admit, he had a good point there.
“Hmm…” she said aloud.
What do you think of this? she asked Yuri in private.
His pupils are normal. His heartrate is normal. Unless he’s gotten good at bluffing, everything he’s telling you is true, or at least, he believes it is.
Do you trust him?
I didn’t expect much from the old him, but that was 90 years ago. David Cutter is a new man now. I’ve learned that you humans can change quickly enough.
So you do trust him?
I neither do nor do not trust him. I am simply saying he is not lying. Trust is a human emotion. I work on facts.
“What does Yuri think of this?” Dave asked, interrupting her private chat. “He’s been quiet. Surely he must have an opinion.”
“He says what you’re saying is true,” she answered honestly.
“And what do you think?”
“I admit, I have my reservations.”
“Namely?”
“Well, for one, I don’t want to get shot at again.”
“There’s always a risk of that. You know this. But for a hardened soldier like you, that shouldn’t be a problem.” He shifted in his chair again. “I did some more research on you after we were paired together. You were part of the counterterrorist team in the Jupiter Shipyard Ring back when the Indomitable was still in the Sol system. Then you were in that whole war back on Mars. That was some pretty deep shit.”
Ellen wished he had not brought up the Indomit
able. That was the one mission it seemed she could never forget. She wondered if he knew this and was trying to tweak her, or if it really was just coincidence.
“Missions like that are the reason I’d rather stay in a house like this,” Ellen explained.
“I bring it up to make a point, Milsen. You’re strong. You can handle any challenge that comes your way.”
“I agree. I’d just rather not handle it at all.”
I’m starting to think you might be approaching this the wrong way, Yuri said to her in private.
What? You can’t possibly be agreeing with this guy.
I’ll admit, he is beginning to sway me.
How?
You need the money. You know you do. I’m guessing he’s trying to search for ways to make you realize it too, but he can’t find any. That’s why he’s searching through your house with his nanobots.
Your point?
My point is, if you need the money, why turn this offer down? The job is fast and pays well. Plus, frankly, the odds of encountering any bad guys are slim. The system is uninhabited.
The odds are still there though.
Well now you’re just being unrealistic. You sound like the old Cutter.
"I can see you're chatting with Yuri again," Dave noted. “Is he trying to convince you to take my offer?”
Ellen simply stared back at the man, not responding.
“I take it from your silence, that’s a yes.”
“Do I have your assurance that this job will be quick and easy?”
“You do,” Dave replied, nodding. "If it would help, I can show you the mission plan written by Commander Ignacio."
Ellen sighed. She could not believe she was about to say this.
“Alright then,” she said, standing up from the wooden chair. “Alright. I’m in.”
Interlude
Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 01.15.4370
Location: Horron Fields, Near Neu Taargus, Mateo, Thrace System, Vexa Corp Controlled Space
Dave sat down into the driver’s seat as the car door automatically closed shut. He let out a deep sigh of relief and stared at the vast field outside the window.
Ellen Milsen is not like I anticipated, Gloria said, breaking the momentary silence. I expected someone more… eager.