Elysium Shining

by Terri Kraemer

  “I’m fine now,” Dasos said.

  “Having siblings is the worst thing ever, and I love you.”

  This was definitely not a conversation he was prepared to have. Siblings? What in the cold, infinite beyond, did he miss in the time that he was out? He remembered his mom talking about Zoi’ne joining the family, but hearing this girl refer to the two of them in this way was surreal.

  The doctor cleared her throat. “I’d also prefer if your family didn’t try killing one another,” she said.

  “Oh crap,” Zoey said, pulling away from Dasos. “Sorry about that. You’re still healing. I should be more careful, I guess.”

  “Yes, Mr. Thalassas, you’ll be here a while like I said. Mending your body was thankfully nowhere as difficult as some of our more recent cases.”

  “Like me.”

  “I wasn’t going to mention it, but yes, Ms. Wilde.”

  The old surname made Zoi’ne flinch. Dasos was still impressed that she accepted her current gender as easily as she did, even though her experience with it was so far limited. A part of Dasos worried that Zoi’ne was moving too fast toward her new life, or that everything was going to come crashing down for her in an instant if she wasn’t careful.

  Doctor Saludalta said, “I understand we’ll be touching down on a trade and rest station tomorrow, and will be there for a while. Mr. Thalassas, I believe we will be able to release you during the second day, in case you have any notions of wandering around that often seedy place.”

  “Which station is it?” Das asked.

  “Natt Grans. I tell you this so you are less likely to get yourself in any trouble that requires my aid. This goes for both of you.”

  Well that was certainly interesting. Dasos wasn’t expecting to see or hear of that place during the return trip. Natt Grans had an odd reputation. As a whole it followed the laws agreed upon by Elysium IX and Ginserei, and it functioned well as a supplier and garage when ships needed it this far out. There were varied accounts, some more exaggerated than others, regarding how dirty the place was, or how much crime existed there. There also existed rumors that the Hulda’fi went to Natt Grans from time to time without doing any harm to the area, but no arrests were ever made.

  Some of Dasos’s classmates talked about going there during their weeks off to have some fun. He never could tell whether or not any of them were serious.

  After the head laeknar took her leave, Das looked down at the book on his bed, which had now closed without Zoey’s hand in the way of the pages. It wasn’t a terribly advanced book, but it wasn’t as low in reading level as anyone could get.

  “How’s the book?” he asked.

  Zoey said, “It’s fine, though I’m at a loss whenever it mentions some animal or plant that I don’t know. At least I’ve got a hang of most of the letters now.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Two days, why?”

  “That seems quick in picking up our ‘letters,’ as you call them. I’m confused? Impressed? I’m not sure yet.”

  “It helped a little that some of the letters are similar to the ones I’m used to. Dad helped a couple times while we sat here waiting for you to recover and wake up. He’s been very patient and supportive with me. D-did I say something wrong?”

  A tear rolled down Dasos’s cheek. He could hardly believe everything that had happened in the past week. Now he had a sister again. How did that make him feel? Dasos wished he knew exactly.

  “You’re OK,” he said. “I’m glad you’re learning so fast.”

  “So am I. I’m glad you’re awake now too. Now I can finally do things I missed out on when I was younger, like tease you about your haircut or whatever it is that siblings are supposed to do. I don’t even know.”

  “What’s wrong with my hair?” He rubbed his head, matching the length of his hair with the second knuckles of his fingers.

  * * *

  Bon’sinne picked at Zoey’s hair, examining it. “We should buy you some better conditioner,” the older woman said. “We can do that at the store when we find you some clothes of your own.”

  “You don’t have to go through all the trouble,” Zoey said.

  “Yes I do. Hopefully one of the stores of Natt Grans has what you’ll need. If you have any questions about how or why to pick out certain things, I’m expecting you to let me know.”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  The intercom system aboard the Marslou came on and made a chiming sound that reminded Zoey of a single xylophone key. The captain spoke to everyone.

  “Friends, comrades, colleagues,” he said, “I would like your attention. First of all, it is my distinct satisfaction to let you all know that our commander and his team will be waiting for us in Natt Grans. I’ve received the signal from them not one hour ago.”

  Cheers from the crew echoed through the extent of the ship that Zoey could hear. The difficult thing about the noise was trying to tell if everyone was happy to receive good news for once in recent days, or if this commander of theirs was popular among the ship’s crew.

  Captain Druvvin said, “I have informed him, as well as those in charge of the station, that we are in need of repairs, supplies, and the rites of interment for so many men and women, most of whom served with us. As such, I invite you all to come as we say goodbye to them.

  “Furthermore, I will press upon you all that while we will be on leave from the ship during the next couple days you will represent this crew and the Hoshi-Lacartan Alliance. I must ask that you continue to wear your uniform outside of this ship.”

  This time, the captain’s announcement left much of the crew within earshot groaning.

  Then the captain chuckled. “My apologies. This does not include when you sleep or bathe. It is also not mandatory that you do when you are off duty, but carry on as though you wear it in spirit.”

  A few people gave an unenthusiastic “yay,” while the rest remained silent.

  “Thank you, everyone. Captain out.”

  The intercom was taken over shortly by the members of the crew currently manning the piloting stations. They used more terms in quick succession than Zoey could catch or understand, for the most part.

  “Setting trans-matrix to run in 30.”

  “Adjusting shields and applying compression in 20.”

  “Port side clear and ready to dock in 10.”

  “Contact in 5-4-3-2-1.”

  Plastic and metal popped somewhere. There was silence aside from the distant sound of fading vapor. Bon’sinne rubbed Zoey on the back as they waited for something from within the ship’s Hearth Hall.

  Captain Druvvin said, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the edge of the Hoshi-Lacartan Alliance.”

  His announcement was met with the loudest cheers Zoey heard since the pep rallies she was forced to attend in high school. This time, the cheers were noticeably full-hearted.

  “Let’s go,” Keft’aerak said while standing up.

  They walked from the large room toward one of the two docks that opened on the left side of the ship. Several members of the ship’s crew made it there before the family trio that was able to leave the ship today. Many waited still until Captain Druvvin arrived. Members of the crew saluted him, and he beckoned over to the family trio to follow him outside of the ship.

  Gravity bound from Zoey’s body as she entered the wide rectangular tube to the unknown. She could still walk, but something told her that running and jumping was out of the question for now. Her stomach also told her that it hated her for the moment, but at least it wasn’t retaliation for being inside of her. She followed the dock until it opened to a bridge illuminated by neon and similarly bright lights beyond it. Three men and a woman stood on the bridge, with one man being the sole figure who wasn’t in uniform.

  The uniformed individuals and the ship’s captain saluted one another.

  “Permission to come aboard and rejoin the crew, sir,” said the man in the middle. He was a remarkably handsome fellow, and Zoey c
ouldn’t believe she was actually thinking such a thing.

  Captain Druvvin said, “Granted, Commander Consilius; Lieutenants. You, sir, must be the man in charge of the docks here. I thank you for seeing us on our arrival.”

  The man he’d was spoken to shifted his long coat and nodded with a grunt. He said, “It’s not every day that we get to see the famous Marslou bless our docks with its presence. I too had to see this for myself; you mentioned the need for repairs?”

  “Quite so, I’m afraid. A few of our doors and walls need fixing, as do the flooring underneath our main Engine Room and the entirety of one of our Matter Transference chambers – the first one.”

  Thinking on it, Zoey had never once seen the transmats since coming aboard this ship, let alone the room in need for repairs. She might have seen the doors, but never what was behind them. Thinking about the room in need of repairs made her shiver.

  The dockmaster said, “Yes, that’s what your request said before you came in. It also listed the supplies you need. Am I to assume any order to the list?”

  “Yes, it’s listed in levels of priority. If I may remind you, we have thirty-nine people in low-level stasis in need of their rites before decomposition sets in. We will require this before any supplies you are able to sell us.”

  Thirty-nine people dead. Twelve of them were those rebels who attacked, but the Marslou’s crew was kind and had decided to honor them after death. Five more among the crew were either dead or else missing, as the working matter transference had apparently been used mere seconds before a virus infected the ship’s systems.

  The commander walked to the Thalassas trio while the other men continued to talk, and while more members of the crew walked past and into the station proper. He said, “It is a pleasure to see you, Captains. I was not expecting to see you here.”

  Bon’sinne said, “Business has a habit of taking us into unexpected places.”

  Commander Consilius turned his gaze toward Zoey’s eyes. They were soft and penetrating, and her senses deep down were saying to look away. She couldn’t, however. Her heart socked the inside of her chest in protest.

  “I wasn’t aware you had another daughter,” he said.

  “I, uhhh . . .” Zoey said. “It’s a long story. My name is Zoi’ne.” She neglected to use any surname. No surname seemed right, or even relevant right now.

  “Well, Zoi’ne, it is a pleasure.” The took her hand and kissed it before heading into the ship.

  Zoey felt as though her face was burning up. Had the man done that with her not one month ago, Dylan would have strongly consider decking him in that beautifully handsome face. She exhaled deeply and fanned herself with one hand.

  Her new mom lipped at her, “Stop it.”

  “That’s new,” Zoey said. “I say we should go now.”

  Keft’aerak, who smiled at her like something stupid had happened that he could have prevented, but failed to do so, said, “Yes, let’s go get you some new clothes.”

  [ 10]

  Sealing holes in a ship’s exterior mid-flight was a simple endeavor as long as the holes were not too big, as well as that the ship had the right tool available for the job. First a pole was inserted with a circular stopper built in. The tip then released a metallic dome to cover the other side of the hull. After that much was done someone needed to open the necessary ports in the stopper to inject a sticky paste, sealing the mechanism in place and preventing further air loss.

  This had been done by Captain Druvvin and one of the officers as they waited for the surviving engineers to solve the issue with the ship’s systems. Once everything, including the shield, was back online and under the crew’s control, the adhesive was allowed to dry. The Marslou and everyone onboard was fortunate that the Hulda’fi had left them alone once they’d fled with the case they sought.

  Now, days later, the seal was being removed in a safe space by a few trained men working on the repairs. The noise from the laser carving reached the medical bay where Dasos sat up with legs crossed, surrounded by five members of the crew that had come from different stations or divisions of the ship’s crew. Their faces were rife with panic and worry as the crew members all looked up and away from him when the noise had reached their ears. Dasos knew better than they did what was really coming.

  He smiled and folded his hands over the portable table provided to him that now hanged over his bed. The noise calmed after the lighting flickered a few times, akin to whenever the ship succeeded at using its Delta Warp. The noise wasn’t too loud when it had been going on; it was noticeable this distance from the Engine Room, but it wasn’t so distracting that it interrupted what he was doing. No, the suspense came from what he was about to tell them.

  “Lady and gentlemen, I need you all to roll your drives,” he said to the four men and one woman sitting around the edge of the bed.

  Dasos tapped on an icon on his personal computer—as thin and as tall or wide as anyone else’s pad that they often carried around—and the map sitting on the foot end of his bed sprang to life with holographic images of mythical beasts. The crew members sitting around him laughed nervously and pressed upon their own pads to emulate dice rolls.

  At least he was having a good time while he was here.

  * * *

  Out of the times that she’d been naked in the past six days, this was the first time that Zoey had felt squeamish or timid about it. She was in a stall that had alleged itself to be private, but she was in a public place as well. She had seen things on Earth, too, that didn’t help her in the slightest.

  Bon’sinne assured her before Zoey stepped inside that she would be fine, and that Keft’aerak was grabbing a few pieces of underwear to hand her momentarily.

  Lights beamed at her from the wall at various angles all of a sudden. Harmless lasers traced circles and lines around her naked form. Hips, waist, bust, and underbust; Zoey held still to the best of her ability that was disadvantaged by the surprise.

  The walls around her changed to resemble a white and beige interior of a house during the daytime, all of the walls and windows appearing further away from her than they actually were when Zoey tapped a knuckle upon one surface. One wall retained its mirror, but it seemed as though the object sat upon a fixed stand rather than against a wall. The adjacent door of the fitting room stall took on similar colors, but a section of it turned instead into a gray interface with letters, numbers, and outlined diagrams for Zoey to pick through.

  It was a good thing that she was learning about the alphabet used by this space-aged society she’d joined, but trying to combine that knowledge with words she didn’t even know was going to be rough. Worse yet, her experience with the names of clothing types, let alone women’s clothing, was certainly lacking given how she’d lived for the last seventeen years. Zoey doubted either of her two ex-girlfriends back on Earth could help her now.

  Her eyes welled up from being overwhelmed. Then came a knock on the door.

  “Zoi’ne,” her new father said, “I’ve brought you some briefs that I purchased already, and a bra for you to try on. Bonny recommended that you try on the same size that Il’lyse used to wear.”

  “Thank you,” Zoey said, her voice weakened. The thought that she was even the same height and size as Il’lyse barely even registered in her mind. If anything, the small offering from her dad touched the surface of all that she was feeling right now. It was a beam of sunlight, and there were too many clouds and dried brush blowing in the wind to bask in it.

  “Are you alright in there?”

  “Can you get Mom, please? I really don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “I’m right here, dear,” Bon’sinne said. “Why don’t you put on the underwear first, and then I’ll come in to help you?”

  Zoey opened the door by a crack to accept the bag full of briefs. She wasn’t sure was the bag was made out of, but it didn’t feel like plastic. Opening it was simple, and it contained eight pairs of briefs instead of the six that she was used to
as Dylan. They all had different colors and patterns as well.

  She grabbed one and put it on. The material was a vast improvement over the disposable pairs that the medical bay had given Zoey, because of how soft and properly fitting they felt.

  Next came her first-ever attempt at putting on a bra. Pretty much the only thing she could figure out on her own was on to get her arms through the straps and barely cover her small boobs. Trying to hook together the back seemed all too quickly like a task meant for rocket scientists of the highest caliber, and Zoey was ready to either walk around like this forever or never wear bras for as long as she lived.

  “I’m ready for your help now,” she said, opening the door so Bon’sinne could step inside.

  Bon’sinne closed the door and pressed a few selections on the interface. A warning came up: “You will be monitored via heat sensors to prevent inappropriate behavior. Please confirm to proceed.” She pressed another button on that warning to make it go away, and a soft chime followed.