"One lie spiralled," Agameg said, nodding. "It poisoned negotiations going forward. I have seen it happen before, and I believe she didn't think she had any other way to get the leadership to work with her in the time she had. I believe she'll act differently next time. As for the rest of the conclusions in your report, I agree with them all."
"The bigger the blunder, the clearer the lesson," Minh-Chu said with a nod. "She won't do that again, and now that I know all the details, I agree with the rest of your report. Now we get to save several thousand people and make a huge mess of a solar system right in the middle of Order territory while we make sure Alice is all right. We're doing the right thing from one end to the other here, Commodore."
"My opinion doesn't matter much," Alaka said passively. "I'm beneath you in the chain of command, but I've come to the same conclusions."
"All right, then let's start putting a plan together so we know what we're doing once we get there," Jake said. He didn't have to ask for anyone's opinion, but he knew he was surrounded by people who had seen war from different angles and been in a wide variety of sticky situations. Their advice could be valuable, ignoring it would be a mistake.
"I'll keep track of what you're doing here but can I…" Minh-Chu pointed at the door.
"You can go make sure the new fighters are put away right," Jake said, shaking his head.
"Humans love their toys most when they're new and shiny," Agameg nodded as Minh-Chu departed.
Sixteen
Lorander According to Quan
* * *
It came as a surprise to Ayan that Quan had not only been spending double-digit hours in one of the antechambers surrounding her command centre, consulting on all matters involving Lorander, but he'd been busy reading all the material he could relating to joining Haven Shore. She was one of the people who called on him often, looking for more details about his people, tips on how to get through to the diplomats they had aboard, and information about empathic abilities and more.
He was in the middle of writing a lengthy, heavily detailed indexed report on that topic in the exact format that Haven Shore required. Most officers didn't follow that template, they fed their collected data into the system, activated an auto-formatting program to put their report in order, checked it, filled in any leftover blanks then sent it off. Not Quan, no, he followed the procedure to the letter, and Ayan could see that once he was finished they'd have a comprehensive file that had everything he knew about empaths, telepaths and the Geist. Seeing him go off on a mission aboard the Merciless was more of a loss than she believed before checking his activities.
That's why she made sure she was in the hallway outside his quarters with Leon several minutes in advance of his departure time. Leon tapped on the door, activating the chime inside. A moment later Quan opened it dressed in an Axiologist's blue robe. The collar of a matching vacsuit showed above it, and the belt he wore to hold it all together only had one mark - a pole planted in a field represented by a line - it was a surprising sight to Ayan. He looked stunned as well. He hurriedly finished chewing a mouthful of whatever he was eating before he answered the door, boggling, then coughing briefly. "Defence Minister, I had no idea you were visiting. I would have told you to come earlier."
He looked weary, and Ayan smiled at him. "I wanted to walk you to the airlock. I didn't know you were an Axiologist."
"I agree with their philosophy of peace, and there's a call for anyone who feels that they'd like to join to wear their robes and mark their belt. I thought, since I can't join Haven Fleet, I could represent the next best idea. Peace and wisdom. Do you know much about the order?"
"I've known a member who spent time on Earth before the most recent war. It didn't work out well between us, but I believe we could have been friends for a long time if things were different. The robe suits you, so does the order, but why don't you think you can join Haven Shore?"
Quan watched Leon peek through the door with a little smile, and when Ayan's assistant picked up the telepath's bags, he objected lightly; "You don't have to do that, Leon, I can carry my own things."
"It's the least I could do while we see you off," Leon said, shouldering the simple pack.
Turning back to Ayan, Quan told her; " I can easily defeat your surface scanner during an interview about loyalties and tendencies. It's a security hole your people haven't been able to patch. Oh, and thank you for sharing about your old friend. That seemed very personal."
Suddenly self-conscious that he was probably picking up her old regret at how things ended with Liam Grady, she did her best to suppress her insecurity. Quan closed the door behind himself and the trio started down the hall. Its dark, polished deck, earthy brown coloured walls and moderate lighting were made to be soothing, but it felt altogether too quiet as she struggled to find the next thread of conversation. "The Admiral came to thank you for all the work you've been doing since you arrived aboard the War Forge," Leon said from behind them both.
"Right, you've been busier than most of our officers. I was sure you were trying to get into the Fleet," Ayan said, grateful that her assistant had a knack for bringing things back on point and moving conversations along.
"I sympathize with the cause of your people. The future you're looking to create is encouraging, I want to be a part of the effort," Quan said.
As she glanced at him, she saw the face of a young man who was clearly enthusiastic about the topic, more expressive than she'd seen him before. "Do you really want to become an Axiologist Pilgrim, Quan?"
"If you're asking me if I'd rather enlist with hopes of becoming an expert in my field for your fleet, then I would join Haven if that was possible," he replied.
"I bet we could set up a long probationary period where you would be watched instead of putting you through surface scans and interviews," Ayan said. "Freeground Fleet used to use probation periods, the policies are adaptable." The happiness that shone on Quan's face made her grin, and a thought donned on her; He left his people, and now he's looking to find his place in the galaxy, a new people to take him in. I must have been a lot like him when I met Jonas, when I was reborn and wanted to find him and my friends any way I could.
"I would appreciate that; any probationary period would be acceptable. I'd even accept a telepathy suppressor if necessary."
"So the monk robes would go back into the closet?" Leon asked.
"Well, yes, I wouldn't be allowed to wear them over a uniform, but I would still study the Axiologist's way. I agree with so many of their beliefs, and their history is interesting. The stories of the Pilgrims would take a lifetime to review, and there are so many lessons. You're right though, Admiral; I don't think I'd want that life. It demands that the Pilgrim wanders, and exploration would be exciting, but most of them wander alone, and that doesn't suit me."
"You're a people person," Leon concluded, looking pleased.
"I think that's the right way to put it. Crewmates, friends, the social spirit that surrounds your people reminds me of home. There are differences, definitely, but the essence feels the same as the place I was raised in."
"Where was that?" Leon asked.
Ayan looked forward to the answer, it was a question that was only answered with a set of coordinates in Quan's file, but she wanted to know much more, especially since he was going to help Alice. She listened intently. "I'm from a village called Saodol, where my family has lived for many generations. I'd have to check my personal records to tell you how many, but we still did things by hand there. Advanced technology is used for water purification, planting crops, medical emergencies and a few other essential purposes. Most of our things are made by hand, we only watch digital entertainment on rest days, and we have a tightly knit community. That's why I found Haven Shore so incredible. Technology is embraced there, but people live in clusters that become like large families before long. The same is happening aboard the War Forge now that there are so many people here."
"I hope communities form here, but wh
o knows with so many people coming and going. It sounds like you miss home, though," Ayan said.
"Sometimes. I left on the worst of terms. I was the fifth child in my family, and the first in our community to exhibit telepathic abilities. I was unlucky. Some telepaths find their abilities as they creep up on them slowly and they learn to control them naturally, even hide them entirely. I woke up one morning and could hear the entire village in my mind. Truths that should have remained hidden between neighbours were suddenly clear knowledge to me, and I didn't have the maturity to keep those secrets to myself. Empaths are tolerated in Saodol," Quan said with a sigh. "Telepaths are viewed with suspicion and fear. I didn't know how to dampen my sensitivity either, so I was suffering before long. The Lorander Corporation was contacted, and I was sent away. This story is not the same as the one I told your Officers when they performed their initial interviews. I said I joined the Lorander Corporation to train as a telepath but that was a half truth. I was sent away, and my relationship with my family fell apart. My training wasn't easy either. The life of a telepath was strange to me for years, it still is sometimes, but now I can shut those senses out. That's what makes telepathy and empathy a gift for me; the ability to dull the senses when I want to experience the world the way everyone else does."
"So, you can never go home?" Ayan asked.
"I could, but most doors would be closed to me. One of my brothers would take me in, but a visit from me would complicate his life for months even if I only stayed for a few days. Part of that community's beauty is in its simplicity, but many of their minds are closed for that reason. That's why Haven is so remarkable. Life may not be as simple, but even with your surface scans, and occasional fit of paranoia, the society you're building would rather extend the offer of citizenship and be watchful instead of closing your doors, instead of giving into fear entirely."
"That's flattering," Ayan said. "I hope we can keep it that way."
They arrived at the airlock's inner door. "Wow, that was not a long walk," Leon said, eying the section of wall that slid to the side. There were several smaller, round closed hatches that led to short slides. At the end of those tubes, large enough for an oversized adult were escape pods that were full-fledged ships with room for seven passengers. Only two of the round hatches were visible beside the airlock, but Ayan knew the wall would slide aside in an emergency to reveal half a dozen more, enough to take care of everyone in that habitation section and more. The inner airlock door was a grand looking transparent double hatch. A Clever Class ship extended its boarding collar to the outer hatch and locked, creating a good seal. "Here's your bag," Leon said, giving Quan a brief hug after putting the strap over his shoulder.
Ayan took her turn, automatically following Leon's lead and giving him a brief embrace. "Good luck, I'll get someone to work on putting a new probation period policy in place for people with higher mental discipline."
"Thank you," Quan said, looking a little surprised at the extra attention. "I'll do my best to help Alice, but it may not be easy. I have to respect her wishes if she refuses assistance."
"I wanted to ask," Ayan started, thinking; Good glory, there are so many things I want to ask, it would take hours to cover everything. What can I ask right now that will help the most? Then it came to her; "The delegation we have in secure quarters, do you think they'll ever cooperate?"
Quan answered in a more serious tone. "They represent the Lorander Corporation's most xenophobic branch. Where I come from, Lorander is a protectorate organization, they watch over hundreds of worlds in my home galaxy, but the part responsible for preserving humanity, gathering people for colonization on worlds far from the Milky Way, don't believe that your people should mix with them. They blame much of the trouble they find themselves in on humanity, believe we should have never mixed, but genetic diversity made people like me possible. Telepathy, empathic abilities, higher intelligence all come from an inclusive evolution. If you want to see how closed minded they really are, try arguing that with them. If I were you, I'd leave them in a ship without any of your advanced technologies so they can start making their way to their own people. I'd do it right before you depart for your next secret location. If you want to contact people from the Lorander Protectorate, the more reasonable part their government, ask the British. They've had a representative in their capitol for decades."
"What?" Leon burst before clearing his throat and composing himself.
"Decades," Ayan said, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, I would have told you but I thought you already knew," Quan said with a shrug.
"Don't worry," Ayan said. "It looks like all our allies hold things back, it doesn't surprise me. Thank you for everything, and for going to help my daughter, Quan."
"It's my pleasure," Quan replied. "Thank you for building," he rolled his eyes up and around as if to take the whole of the station in, "everything. I can't wait to join you."
Seventeen
Old Man Minh
* * *
What was the point of Jake giving me access to all of the Special Operations Unit's files? Minh-Chu wondered as he looked at the medical status of Alice Valent and her crew. He was in the Samurai Squad Room, sitting in the front row of the pilot seats which were exactly the same as the ones in the cockpits of Uriel fighters.
"A pony's back will only break once," he muttered as he looked at the assessment of the Clever Dream's crew. Most of their stress levels were in the red. Even people who should be able to handle the highest levels of strain, like Knud, Jessen and Woone, were at risk of breaking down. "It breaks once, then it can never bear a load again," he muttered to himself.
"Because they used to shoot them if that ever happened," Ashley said as she dropped into the seat beside him and tried to look at the holographic data he was projecting with his wrist unit. "Classified up high, huh?"
"You should be able to see this stuff," he replied. "You just have to tap your wrist on mine, it'll pick it up."
"What is it? Do I even want to see?"
"It's the Clever Dream crew. They're in big trouble," Minh-Chu said.
Ashley touched her hand to his, and he took it. The new proximity of her comm unit to his suit activated the security check, and the holographic display became visible. "Wow, that's a lot of red. Why's the stress so high? I mean, I know Alice went down for the count, but I thought her doc cleared her even though she's still asleep."
"Jessen had a bad reaction when she heard her Captain was an empath. My opinion? She's feeling guilty now that Alice won't wake up. Knud hates seeing crewmembers fight, and Jessen's his best friend going back a while. Woone…" he sighed. "From what I know of her now, I'd say she thinks everything Alice said in anger was right. Seeing people accuse her Captain of causing trouble when she was just there to help probably frustrates the hell out of her and the rest of the Nafalli. Then there's Ute and especially Iruuk. Those two look up to Alice, love her like a sister."
"What about him, Callum?" Ashley pointed. "His stress level is a little red too."
"Callum's hard to read, but I don't think he wants to take Alice's place, like Lamonthe said in the notes. I think he and Yawen are both standing by, making sure they can still do something if they're called on. I just hope all this calms down by the time we get there, and Alice is back on her feet."
"Quan will help, I met him, he's nice. Like a young Liam Grady before he went all crazy over Ayan."
"I hope so. I just don’t know why Jake put this on my plate. I'm down to nine pilots who can fly the new Uriels, and five more who are still super green. Their stress levels are all right, but without Hal and Noah around, that could change quick."
"They have a great leader on their side," Ashley said, kissing him on the cheek. She looked to the holographic display for a moment before offering. "Maybe Jake wants your opinion because he knows you can give him a different perspective? I mean, if I can access this, then he must be approaching a lot of people with it."
"Well, what d
o you think?"
"I think this crew will bounce back as soon as Alice decides to get back on her feet. Maybe even sooner. It looks like a good group, the right kind of oddballs and fur balls."
Minh-Chu chuckled. "Oh, I'm going to have to use that."
"Oh, no, don't! They might take it the wrong way," Ashley pleaded.
"Too late. It's the rule. Once your words are in the air, they're fair game."
"Fine, just keep the credit if it goes bad," Ashley said.
"So, what brought you down here?" Minh-Chu asked.
"Big discovery," Ashley said. "We picked up Hawking Radiation and confirmed that there's a big gravitational field in our dimensional space."
"A black hole in the dimension our quad drives are using?" Minh-Chu asked. It was the first recognizable natural phenomenon that they recognized since they started using the technology.
"Not quite, it's better than that. The black hole has pushed its way into two dimensions and Kadri says it's starting to show up in a third. We're going around, way around, but the data they're getting has everyone in sciences excited."
"I can see why," Minh-Chu said. "There have been a lot of theories about what happens to anything that makes it to the deep end of a black hole. I guess it'll slow us down, but it'll be worth it."
"It's actually going to speed us up. We can't avoid all the gravitational effects, so we're picking a wide course and going with the flow for a while. Once we're sure of the math, we'll know how much time it'll save us, then there will be an announcement."
Minh-Chu brought his pilot roster up and saw that seven of them were handling the simulation tests for the new fighters like seasoned professionals and nodded to himself. "I'm going to pull every pilot I can out of sims and send them to Kadri's sensor team. I want them to hear and see everything that comes out of those awesome science-brain types. You might need to catch them up on what they're seeing."
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 13 Page 14