I told him my best guess, and I changed in the bathroom, leaving my belongings folded and piled inside a cubby.
“You asked what you could do for me.” I glanced at a computer screen on a desk. “Do you know if Suma finished the Crystal Map integration with the new details we brought from the Maev vessel?”
“That’s quite the exciting project. I was involved.” He rushed over to the desk and grabbed a second chair, motioning for me to sit. His fingers flew over the touchpad, and an image flashed onto the screen. It was the Crystal Map in its entirety. Thousands of pinpricks of light, showing so many unexplored worlds we could travel to through the Shandra portals, even from this very ship.
It was mind-boggling to consider the possibilities.
“So we have this one, then…” His fingers moved again, and the first map slid to one half of the large screen, making way for the Maev map. He added a command, and the left map overlapped the right, shrinking and transitioning until they matched. It flashed three times, and there it was.
“This is it? The real time map?” I asked. He moved out of the way, offering the controls to me, and I zoomed in, seeing a planet two light years from our current position with a symbol hovering above it. We could travel there through the portal if we wanted. It was off-putting to know one was so close, but miraculous at the same time.
“We already checked the Rutelium world.” Desota used the controls to show me. There was no symbol nearby. We’d have to travel there by starship after all, which we needed to do anyway to set up the beginnings of the mine for the Alliance of Worlds. I had been hoping on securing a head start to search for clues to help the globe-world. Scary-eels. Jules’ word for them stuck in my mind, and I blinked to wash it away.
“What about this symbol…” I went to the cubby, pulling the piece of paper from my robe pocket. Inside, the drawing from my daughter sat on the center of the page, and Desota stared at it for a moment before accessing the symbol lists. There were so many of them, approximately fifty per section on the screen, and he scrolled through each quickly until we finally found it.
“There it is!” I said, pointing at the list. “Can we find where that is?”
Desota nodded and selected the symbol, dragging it to a map icon. The screen’s image went blurry while it searched, and moments later, we had our answer. I focused at the image of the map, and saw the symbol in mid-space, no planet nearby.
“This can’t be right,” Desota said, typing more information into the system. He tapped something else, and I noticed he was calling Suma’s room.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The symbol. It’s following the Horizon. There has to be a mistake,” he told me. Suma’s face appeared on the screen, and it appeared we’d interrupted her sleep.
“Desota… Dean?” she asked.
“Can you meet us in Engineering? We have something strange going on with your program,” Desota said.
“Be right there,” Suma answered. I watched as the symbol moved slowly through the map image, simultaneously with our own ship.
Eighteen
“There’s no error,” Suma said. “We’ve checked this program every way we can. What do you think, Clare?”
The Chief Engineer tapped her chin with a finger. “I’d say there’s nothing wrong with it, but I’m not sure how this can be. Unless…”
I leaned forward. “Unless what?”
“Unless the portal stone we brought on the ship has two entry points. Two symbols for it. It could be possible, theoretically,” Clare said.
Suma leaned sideways in her chair and yawned. “How so?”
“Maybe the original creators had to repair the stone, and they used pieces of crystal from another site.” Clare suggested.
“Would that work?” I asked.
“Theoretically, it would, as long as they linked the two of them so anyone attempting to use either symbol would end up traveling to the same place. It has to be the only way,” Clare said.
We’d been there for hours, and I still hadn’t slept. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it right now. Maybe keep working on it, to see if anything changes, but I’ll take that explanation as a possibility.” I left out the fact that my daughter kept drawing the symbol, talking about wanting to help the people there. Did she want to help our ship? Was something going to happen to the Horizon?
“Thanks for your time, everyone. Nice to meet you, Desota.” I shook the man’s hand, and he beamed at me, still excited to be spending time with Dean Parker. I would have assumed that after hours beside me, the luster would have worn off, especially after he noticed how little I knew about anything we’d discussed tonight.
My trip to the room was quick, the halls slightly busier as the shifts changed. Jules and Mary were at the kitchen table when I entered, and instead of heading to bed, I sat with them to talk.
“What’s cooking, good-looking?” I asked, smelling bacon.
“Papa, we’re making your favorite,” Jules told me with a smile.
“Where were you?” Mary was clearly worried, but she hadn’t tried to call me.
“Engineering.”
“What for?”
I glanced at Jules and kept my voice quiet. “The symbol. It’s emanating from our ship. Clare thinks our portal must have two pieces of crystal in it, or something. It’s strange.”
“You did remember that Terrance and Leslie are coming in an hour, right?” Mary asked.
I’d completely forgotten. I mopped a hand over my face and glanced at the coffee pot. “I guess a nap is out of the question, then.”
Mary rolled her eyes and rose to bring me a cup of steaming coffee.
“Think they’ll mind a bit of a tour? I still haven’t seen all of the ship,” I told my wife.
“Remember, they were present while it was being built. They probably know it better than we do. Also, Jules will be in class, and we’re going to leave Maggie at Natalia’s to play with Carey and Charlie,” Mary advised, and I smiled, thinking about Carey. It had been so nice to have him nearby again, and I’d been walking all three of them around the ship a couple of times a week. They all loved the courtyard, and Carey always plopped down near the fountain, enjoying the calming sounds of flowing water.
We ate as a family, discussing mundane things. I asked Jules about the book she was reading, and I told her about mine. Eventually, Mary took Jules to school, and I showered and changed. By the time Mary finished, I was at the front door, ready to greet our old friends at the portal.
“They might beat us there,” Mary said as we strode through the corridors. The huge guards from Bazarn were watching the portal doors, and I nodded to them.
“Good morning, gentlemen.”
“Mr. Parker. Mrs. Parker,” one of them said. I was glad they were done with the hostility.
We stood there, waiting for Terrance and Leslie, and we didn’t have to wait long. The doors slid open, revealing the two hybrids. It was hard to believe we’d ventured to Long Island searching for them so many years ago, only to chase them halfway across the country, and it turned out they weren’t even the ones responsible for the deaths on campus. It had been Mae.
“Guys, you look great,” Mary said, and she was right. They appeared well-rested and healthy. My own eyes were bleary from a lack of sleep last night, but they were kind enough not to comment.
“I’m happy to finally use the portal. How awesome is this?” Terrance asked. “Being able to come visit you guys while you’re so far away. It’s amazing.”
“There hasn’t been any trouble?” I asked.
“From the V-shaped ships?” Leslie asked.
“That’s right. They’re called the Kold. We learned a little about them,” I told them.
Terrance’s eyes widened. “You did? What can you tell us?”
We walked away from the portal room, entering the elevator. I was going to take them to the top level first, show them around. “They’re mercenaries, or at least that’s what the
y’re known as. I don’t know where they live, but we’re told they’re expensive to hire.”
“Who’s hiring them?” Leslie asked as the elevator doors opened.
I glanced at Mary, and then to the hybrids. “Lom of Pleva,” I said quietly.
“Lom of Pleva!” Terrance shouted, his words echoing down the hallway.
I ran a finger to my lips. “We prefer not to shout his name around, in case there’s anyone working for him on board. You never know.”
Terrance leaned in, whispering, “I thought you… took care of him.”
“I did. Or at least I think I did,” I said.
“What makes you think it’s Lom?” Leslie asked.
“Garo Alnod was attacked. They knew exactly when to do it. They intercepted the details for the shield he donated to Haven, the one for the Academy. One of them was a Kold,” I told them.
“And you think it’s Lom?” Terrance asked.
“Garo thinks it’s Lom, or more specifically, Lom’s people. He had a vast organization. It’s not unrealistic to think they’d still have a lot of resources, access to his fortunes, potentially,” Mary said.
“Why do they want the Academy destroyed?” Terrance asked. “Well, I guess I can assume they aren’t fans of our Alliance of Worlds, or the fact that you’re involved with us, Dean.”
“And the Inlor are part of our group now, and that paints a larger target, given the value of their relationship. They’ve refrained from selling to non-members, and that’s been angering a lot of races out there,” Leslie added.
“Exactly.” I led them through the hall, and toward a huge open room in the far end of the top floor. “Here’s the gymnasium.” The space was huge, with five full-sized basketball courts. A group of ten was playing full-court. A few people were playing tennis on the far end, and more were running track around the entire area.
“This is top-notch,” Terrance said.
“How’s the Academy going?” I asked. It had been three or so months since we’d left, and the classes should have begun.
We kept walking, this time in the direction of the courtyard. “It’s going well. We really need some new instructors, though. I’m hoping Suma will consider coming to teach there when this adventure is over,” Leslie told us.
“She’s doing a wonderful job here, I’m told,” Mary said.
“We have a few other ideas too, but I’m not sure they’ll be interested,” Terrance added.
“You never know. Everyone getting along nicely?” I asked.
“There are three hundred students in total so far, and we expect to have twice that by next year. Considering the fact that we have over ten races of aliens under one roof, I’d say we’re doing very well.” Leslie laughed as we leaned over the railing to the courtyard far below.
“Do you think we could go for a cup of coffee?” Terrance asked.
“Of course,” Mary said, leading us to the elevators.
Five minutes later, we were sitting near the café, with four hot cups on the table. “Did you ever think you’d be on board a starship like this?” Terrance asked me.
I shook my head, smiling. “No. It still doesn’t feel real.”
“Do you guys miss home?” Leslie asked.
Mary stared at me. “I do. We were so used to being on Earth in Dean’s old farmhouse. But to be honest, I prefer being near friends and loved ones. Jules needs this.”
“How is the little one?” Leslie asked.
I let out a breath of stale air. “She’s great and trying at the same time. She’s so strong-willed, and with everything that’s going on, it’s been hard to keep her under wraps.”
They knew some of what she was capable of, but not all. I still didn’t know everything she was able to do, and suspected I never would.
“It must be tough. There’s not much safer of a place than here, I bet,” Terrance told me.
“We’re hoping so. She’s loving school. I’m already anticipating her enrolling in the Gatekeepers’ Academy one day,” I said.
“I agree with that. It’ll be great when you guys are there. Magnus too,” Leslie said.
“We’ll look forward to returning to Haven one day,” Mary said, and I nodded, meaning it.
“On to business,” I said, lowering my voice. “The Kold stole the details of the shield from Garo Alnod, so we need to be prepared. We might have something to fend them off, should they attack again.”
“Please continue,” Terrance said from the edge of his seat.
I told them about the Emitter we found on our mission to prove to Zoober that the Ghosts were legit.
“You guys sound like a real mercenary crew. Nice work,” Leslie said. “I wish I’d been part of that. Sounds like fun.”
“I wouldn’t call it fun, but it was an adventure. Anyway, this Emitter can incapacitate everything in range, and that’s a few thousand kilometers. Clare is working on a switch we could press to isolate only the Kold V-ships.” I took a sip of my coffee.
“Seriously? That would be perfect. How soon will she have it ready?” Terrance asked.
“I’m not sure. She’s been testing it on a wide assortment of energy patterns, but she thinks she’s close. We’ll stop by there in a while, if you like,” I said.
“Even if they have a way to bypass our Academy shield, we still have a fleet on standby to prevent them from ever reaching our surface,” Leslie said.
“I agree, but I don’t think these guys are that stupid. I suspect their first incursion was an assessment, and the second I stumbled in on was more of the same. They were testing the strength, and now they know they aren’t dealing with a primitive world with no defense. When they mount an offense, and I do believe it will happen, it won’t be a dozen ships in solidarity, it will be a war,” I disclosed quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.
“You’re likely right, Dean. I hope it’s not any time soon. We’re still working on cohabitating with all the races. We’re having a little trouble with putting everyone on the same page out there. Having a hierarchy between Keppe, Bhlat, Padlog, and the others is like walking on eggshells. You have to be very careful or you’ll end up cut.” Terrance drained the rest of his cup and slid it to the center of the table.
His analogy was accurate for so many things we’d had to deal with, and I wondered how tough the looming battle for Haven was going to become.
____________
“Forty – love,” Slate said, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead with an arm.
“Why did I agree to this?” I asked. He served and I rallied it over, sending it to his backhand. He hit the fuzzy yellow ball into the net and muttered a curse.
“Because you love to lose to your good buddy Slate, that’s why.” Slate served again; this time, it hit the edge of my racket, flying behind me. He stood there smiling at me like he’d won the Wimbledon.
The gym was empty except for us, and I was enjoying the time with Slate. He’d been so busy lately, and when he wasn’t working long shifts on the bridge, he was spending a lot of time with Loweck. They’d quickly become serious.
“Things are good?” I asked him, meeting him at the net. We each grabbed our water bottles and drank deeply.
“Great. You?”
“Perfect,” I said. We were only four months away from reaching the Rutelium world, and it couldn’t come soon enough. The first few months of traveling on a starship seemed nice. You settled into a calm routine of breakfast, family time, Jules going to class, Mary heading to work for the ship’s administrative office, and that left me a few hours a day to just be. I ran in the gym, read books, and studied the Crystal Maps and the reports by the Gatekeepers.
The worlds they’d been exploring ranged from dead rocks with no atmosphere to worlds teeming with thriving life, both intelligent and wildlife-dense, to habitable planets with no signs of anything living there larger than a mouse. It was fascinating, and I’d spent nearly two hours a day for the last month scanning over these deta
ils. There were a couple I planned on going to for a quick reconnaissance, since they were deemed safe by the Gatekeepers.
Mary didn’t like the idea, but I was bored, and she understood that. She was almost ready to stop pushing papers and join me, but Magnus had told her he couldn’t survive without her people skills, plus she was only three months away from giving birth to our second baby.
“What do you think of Loweck?” Slate asked me as he bounced the ball between his racket and the hard gym floor.
“She’s great, Slate. Without her, we’d still be stuck in that prison, you know?”
“I know. She doesn’t let me forget it either. But… then I remind her she’d still be stuck there too, and we laugh. She’s not going to … be like the last one, is she?” he asked, his voice low.
“Denise was a hybrid created by Lom to screw us over. Loweck isn’t like that, Slate. She loves you. I can see it,” I told him.
“She told me she does.”
“That she loves you?” This was news to me, and I was thrilled for my friend.
“Yeah. She said it, and I didn’t say it back…” Slate was still bouncing the ball, and he stared at it as it moved.
“Why not?” I pressed.
“I don’t know. Probably because I’m a big dummy. She’s perfect for me, Dean. I know she’s a cyborg, but she has a heart. You know what I mean.”
“How did she take it?” I asked.
“She didn’t seem to mind. She told me she was just happy being with me, and that if I needed time, she was willing to wait it out,” Slate said.
“And… do you love her?” I asked.
He moved his racket, and the ball settled to the floor after a few hops. “I do. I really do.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Go tell her instead of telling me!” I laughed, and he stared at me.
“Seriously? Right now?” he asked, seeming to consider his sweating body.
“Right now!” I ordered.
He was about to leave when the alarms sounded. Red lights flashed along the exits of the gymnasium, and my heart raced. This was the first alarm since we’d been on board, and it was a new experience for me.
New Horizon (The Survivors Book Nine) Page 15