Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments

by Randolph Lalonde

  “Hood here, we had a bad power connection under one of our seats, got it fixed and we were almost at full charge, about to take the last jump. Mind if I ask what brings you and everyone else on the Triton out here, Captain?”

  “Not right now. Fall into formation and prepare to take the last jump with us. We’ve got plenty Uriels with enough reserve power to take you along for the ride, that is all.”

  “She sounds pissed,” Hatter commented over a private channel with Hood.

  “From the looks of it, I’d say she has too much to deal with to worry about the slowest pilots in the fleet.”

  “Oh, who are they?”

  “Hatter…” Hood started with a chuckle. “Aw, you’ll figure it out on your own eventually.”

  He didn’t bother thinking on it, concentrating on piloting his Uriel fighter into the position indicated on his navigational panel. Then it struck him. “Oh, right,” he chuckled sheepishly.

  Chapter 13

  The Wait

  Pain. Whenever Jacob Valance tried to duplicate the physical sensation that preceded the act of healing Ayan after she'd been shot several times in the back on Pandem, the only result was rending pain. That morning it was his fingers. After emerging from the vibroshower and pulling his vacsuit on up to his waist he took the opportunity to try to force that projecting, healing sensation again in the tips of his fingers.

  They twitched involuntarily, it was only slight, but a definite sign that what was going on wasn't all in his head. Then there was a tingle, the same type that came whenever he connected to a computer system, followed by an agonizing tearing that felt like his fingertips were being torn apart from the inside. Jake could only make the conclusion that he was doing something wrong, missing a step, it couldn't be that painful to access a function of his own body. What kind of designer would create life giving technology that caused so much pain?

  He shook his hand, giving up for the day and stepped out of the small private bathroom. He and Ayan had been up talking most of the night.

  Since the First Light they had taken very different paths, there were so many stories to share, and every time he offered one her big blue eyes focused on him. Most of them were from his days on the Samson, where he played the stoic captain and everyone else just tried to make the best of life on the old ship as they made their way across entire sectors.

  Most of the stories starred Stephanie, Frost, Ashley, Agameg Price and Ramirez. He hadn't realized how many of their adventures were humorous in retrospect, but he was grateful for each one. Making Ayan laugh was addictive; he would burn the image of her dimpled smile into his brain if it were possible. It made the sadder stories more difficult to tell, and he generally refrained from bringing the darker times up, but when Ayan asked what happened to Ramirez, a boarding crew member who had been responsible for as many humorous predicaments as glory moments, he owed her the sobering answer.

  While they were taking the Triton he had led a group of armed crewmembers to fight off boarders in the Enreega system. They fought them toe-to-toe in the main hangar and lost. Ramirez was almost dead, and could have medicated himself into emergency stasis, but decompressed the entire hangar just as several boarding shuttles touched down and unloaded fresh squads of enemy soldiers.

  They were pulled out into space, and Ramirez went along with them. His vacsuit had been so badly damaged that it wouldn't reseal, and he died of exposure. Ayan's sympathy was plain, she'd lost people during her service with the military as well, some of whom had gone during their service on the First Light.

  She had stories to tell as well, though hers were more peaceful. Some came from her late Freeground Fleet Academy days, others featured people she'd worked with after serving aboard the First Light, colleagues Laura and she were in Special Projects with. Ayan called her time there 'Lab Life' because, according to her, it was impossible to have an open conversation with anyone who didn't work in the lab, and the place had a subculture all its own.

  Most of their work was classified the instant they entered it into a data receptacle, even the abandoned invisible straw idea that Laura and her worked on as a pet project from time to time.

  "Why didn't it work?" Jake couldn't help asking.

  "Making a straw out of energy fields isn't easy," she explained. "Sometimes it would pinch, it took us forever to get past the floating problem, other times it would miss the mark completely and poke you in the eye or find its way up your nose. Once it shocked Percy, one of our lab assistants, so hard he didn't trust us for months. It was something we’d play with when we hit a wall on something more important. We never got the straw working right, but we always came away from it fresh. I can’t tell you how many good ideas we had while we were puzzling it out."

  She also told him about the high point of her friendship with Laura, the events leading up to and eventual wedding between Laura and Jason. Watching two of her best friends get married, knowing that they'd keep each other happy for the rest of their lives. It was like watching a dream come true, even though it wasn’t her wedding. It was one of the last things she remembered before waking up in her apartment in the Freedom Tower.

  Just like Jacob's journey over the past few years, Ayan's experiences since the First Light were overshadowed by difficulties. She was plagued by Manos Disease, a genetic affliction that had progressed too far in her to be cured. She hated being taken care of, never wanted to call attention to herself, especially when everyone else was having a good time. That's one of the reasons why the wedding was so memorable, she was having one of her last good days and her losing battle with Manos Disease didn't make itself known.

  The missing years were difficult for Ayan to accept. Jacob saw it for the first time since she'd arrived on the Triton. Her predecessor had left hours and hours of recordings behind, all addressed to a future version of herself; one that wouldn’t be afflicted. No one had told the Ayan who had wasted away that Doctor Anderson had begun work on imprinting her memories onto a genetically restored version of her, but she knew a high resolution scan of her body and mind had been taken. She knew she would live again, and it quietly gave her hope that she'd live on in one form or another.

  Ayan, the one sitting across form Jake for most of the night before, was always conscious that she was living a special life, that in a way she was someone else's second chance and she vowed to make every day count, to touch other people's lives in memorable ways. Listening to and viewing her predecessor’s recordings were at the same time uplifting and saddening. It was her, that woman who thought the same, hoped the same and dreamed the same, only she knew she wouldn’t be saved, that she would die prematurely.

  She didn't listen to the recordings as often as she liked, only for a while every few days. Ayan supposed it was as much that it was an emotional drain for her as it was that once she had listened to everything her predecessor had to say, there would be nothing more, ever. It would be like she was truly gone, that in her own unique way she would be alone.

  It was Ayan's time to cry in his arms, as he did only hours before then when he let the pain that came with losing a daughter break loose, she was mourning the loss of self. It was then that Jacob realized that he was one of the few people in the universe who could understand what she was going through. Knowing you were a copy, even a cherished copy, was its own complex burden.

  When it was over "she felt silly," and they continued taking turns telling stories.

  Late into the night they went on and on, avoiding the question that plagued everyone inside and outside the Clever Dream; where is Triton? They would take some time to catch up, two of their main thrusters were ruined, but no one knew exactly how long it would take them to arrive. The popular estimate was ten hours, which gave them enough time to make themselves at home, and time for Jake to begin to get to know the woman Ayan had become. She was so different, so strong, and so beautiful.

  He looked around the smaller First Officer's quarters briefly. A double bed, small table, three
chairs, cupboards, modest closet and a small bathroom made for generous quarters. There were two other quarters that were the same save the closet right beside his, soldiers who had won a lottery held on Crewcast had spent the night in them.

  Stephanie was surprised when she discovered he wasn't sharing the Captain's quarters with Ayan. What surprised her even more was that Ayan was given the Captain's quarters, the look of confusion she gave him was cut short by a shrug as she made her way to one of the three small bunk rooms. She didn’t give him time to explain that Ayan and he had just spent hours talking, reconnecting. It was a good thing; he didn’t know what he would say to Stephanie.

  They worked closely together for a long time on the Samson, gotten to know each other well without saying much at all. He wasn’t attracted to her until they took the Triton, and even then, it was sudden, nearly inexplicable. Not long after his friendship with Stephanie became physical, Ayan reappeared, fading any chance Stephanie and he had of going further. He didn’t regret getting closer to Stephanie, especially since it was a brief encounter, out of sight on the then empty Samson cargo bay, but he still couldn’t look Frost in the eye. He only hoped that if Stephanie ever told him, she would warn him first.

  It wasn’t long before such thoughts were far out of his mind. He was so tired by the time he made it to the first mate’s bed that he was asleep almost immediately. Lewis didn't wake him up on time. He didn't wake anyone up on time. Instead of sounding the alarm at the ten hour mark he waited fourteen.

  Jake, Ayan and several other crewmembers slept in. It was welcome, but the question became more urgent; where was Triton? Lewis had enlisted the help of Minh, who had boarded during the evening, in scanning the area for any sign, so there was no point in joining them on the small bridge before he had to.

  Jake was just about to access the navigational database when the door opened to admit Ayan, who came in bearing two tall spill proof mugs. She was dressed as simply as he was, only in the thin, snugly fit vacsuit under layer to her environment armour, only hers was white and closed, whereas Jake's vacsuit was black and he hadn't bothered to pull it up past the waist. Something that she couldn’t help but notice, judging from her wandering, widening blue eyes and dimpled smile.

  "Good chat last night," she said through her grin, her voice pitched higher than usual.

  Jake nodded and smelled the steam wafting from the top of an open cup. "Just don't spread the word that we were up all night talking."

  Ayan put their mugs down on the small dresser instead of handing it to Jake, regarding him with a confused expression.

  "Otherwise Frost and whoever else he can involve will start hiding panties and other frillies for me to discover where everyone can witness."

  Ayan's eyes went wide as she snickered. "I think I remember something like that from the Academy. Does that actually still happen?"

  "Happened when they found out Silver and Ashley cuddled in the bunk room for a few nights and he didn’t make a move. He didn't hear the end of it until there was clear evidence that things had gone further."

  "So you're wishing you'd stayed last night?" She raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down.

  It had been so long since Jacob had felt so on the spot without knowing what to say. She was smiling again, a crooked, playful grin, and he gave in to an urge that had hounded him the night before.

  In one step and a swoop of his arm he took her into an embrace. His lips were on hers and after a muffled squeal of surprise she returned his kiss.

  Ayan's arms snaked up across his shoulders and around his neck as she relaxed against him. He relished the feeling of her in his arms. Their warm kiss ceased to be urgent before long, instead it became a warm time at play.

  Ayan leaned into him, on her toes as he backed into the dresser

  Jake withdrew from her with wide eyed surprise.

  She heard the sound of liquid dripping and realized that he’d backed into the dresser and knocked over the mug she’d left open to cool. According to the expression on his face, she guessed it was still piping hot.

  She danced away a step and looked around him, where she could see that the beverage had bathed his lower back and poured down the waist of his vacsuit. "I'm sorry! It wasn't on purpose!” she apologized urgently as she righted the empty cup. “It wasn't on purpose!" Ayan burst, running to the mini-bath and retrieving a towel.

  "Was it that bad?" Jake asked, turning so Ayan could pat the liquid off his back.

  "No, it was brilliant, you were brilliant. I forgot to close one of them and-"

  The door slid open. Minh and Stephanie's jaws dropped simultaneously as they looked at a half stripped, surprised and uncharacteristically out of sorts Captain Valance as he had his back patted down by a frantically apologetic Ayan.

  Stephanie shook her head slowly; "I don't want to know."

  "I do!" Minh grinned.

  "Well, no time for it. We have a signal from the Samson. They'll be here in a few minutes," Stephanie informed flatly as she grabbed Minh by the arm and hauled him back towards the bridge. "C'mon, you can question them later."

  "Why would the Samson be signalling? She's got three engines down and four open compartments," Ayan asked as she finished drying Jake's back. She couldn't help but notice that if she'd burned him, the skin had already healed. All the scars he had after Pandem were gone too.

  "It doesn't sound good," Jake agreed as he turned and took the towel. "The vacsuit will clean up the rest.”

  Ayan nodded, an embarrassed smile playing on her lips. “Sorry about that.”

  “Just as much my fault, I started it,” they stared at each other for a moment, frozen, before Ayan watched Jake tear himself free from the moment. “We should get to the common room. We'll be able to see the transmission from there." He tossed the thin towel onto the bed and pushed his arms into the sleeves of his vacsuit.

  Ayan stood up on her toes, took his face in her hands and kissed him. It was brief, but soft and intimate. "Feel free to start something whenever you like, luv," she winked.

  She snatched up her empty spill proof mug and left. Jake wasn't far behind, with his own mug in hand.

  * * *

  The Clever Dream common room was really an entertainment area with a three quarter circular sofa, a high resolution holographic projection system, counters with stools so the crew could eat in comfort and a reconfigurable gaming table for a variety of distractions. The Clever Dream was made for the comfort of her small crew, and it showed.

  Fin, Alaka, who was a little too large for everything aboard, Stephanie, Minh, and Victor were all in attendance with a few extra soldiers who had won the right to spend the night in the common room. Everyone was awake and most were ready for a new day. Ayan took a moment to refill her mug at one of the three materializers, and Jake couldn’t help but smile a little as he overheard her request; “Irish cream coffee, about five degrees cooler than last time please.”

  Jake could see the slave software for Minh's fighter running on his command and control unit. The vessel was flying in formation behind the Clever Dream, near the rear of the other manned fighters.

  "Any data riding the Samson's signal?" Jake asked as he sat down at the open end of the sofa.

  "Not much," Lewis, the Clever Dream's artificial intelligence started mournfully. "I can play you the message if you like."

  "Please," Jake replied.

  Laura's head and shoulders appeared in the centre of the room. The hologram was so clear it was as though she was actually there, only twice her normal size. Her hair had been quickly tied into a ponytail and she was speaking from the command seat. "This is a situation update intended for the crew of the Clever Dream. Highest priority. The Triton managed to get away from Ossimi Ring Station, and tried to enter a wormhole to get away but somehow an interdiction ship disrupted the field surrounding the compressed space while we were still inside. Oz tried to hide us inside a planetary dust cloud but could only buy us enough time to evacuate most of t
he unarmed crew. He and a skeleton crew provided cover while we got away, disabling three heavy battlecruisers. You’re getting this because his plan worked, and we managed to escape the planetary nebula. Jake, he's enacted the ghost ship strategy. He and Jason think they can pull it off. This message can't be more than ten minutes ahead of us. I suggest you use the time to find us a destination. We're going to need a place where people can get off these ships, we’re pretty packed in and some of them aren’t in the greatest shape. I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do to get the Triton clear. There were just too many ships after us."

  The transmission ended with a surge of interference.

  Silence fell over the cabin occupants. Most of them stared at the empty space where Laura had appeared a moment before while Minh and Ayan started working on their command and control units. “Display the last tactical scan of the Triton,” ordered Captain Valance quietly. The image of the Triton filled the centre of the room. The dust in the micro nebula was so thick it created a haze effect. The first thing that drew his attention was the through and through puncture on one of the stingray shaped ships wings. Her upper hull was covered in a criss cross pattern of beam damage, several deep cuts thinned entire sections to a critical point. Secondary areas had taken the most damage, and several compartments were open to space. Thee mid-gunnery deck had been brutalized. A third of it had been shut down and closed off for safety. Many turrets there had been super-heated, and rendered useless. The hull had been thinned so severely that it looked as though someone had taken a giant chisel to it.

  The underside of the ship wasn’t as badly damaged, but the surface had been burnished shiny by the grit of the nebula. Jake didn’t need to take a closer look, he knew what he was seeing. “They used beam weapons to thin the hull wherever they could. What’s after them?”