Shadowrise (Shadows of the Void Space Opera Serial Book 4)

by J. J. Green

  Sayen closed her eyes once.

  “Great. Do you have any pain anywhere?”

  Sayen blinked twice.

  “Even better. Well...” A shadow crossed Sayen’s vision as the doctor moved past, blocking the sunlight. “All your vitals are looking great, honey. I don’t like to be too optimistic—there’s plenty that could go wrong even at this stage—but I think you’re gonna be fine. Mr. and Mrs. Lee, could you join me outside, please?”

  Her parents and the doctor left the room, but Sayen remembered one of her new enhancements. She strained her hearing hard, and through the closed door, she could clearly make out the conversation the doctor was having with her parents. Had the doctor under-estimated the quality of the hearing the cloning service had supplied, or did she intend for Sayen to hear what she said?

  “Mr. and Mrs. Lee, I know I already told you this, but I wanted to emphasize that it’s very, very early days with Sayen. She’s got her new body, but you have to remember that she’s spent quite a while trapped in her mind. It’ll take her some time to get used to controlling her movements. She’ll be like a little baby learning to walk. She’ll learn faster than a child because she’s done it before, but she will have to learn.”

  “I understand, Doctor,” said her mother. “We’re prepared to pay for the very best in therapy to get her back to normal.”

  “Yup,” added her father. “Whatever it takes.”

  “I know you are. You’ve both been very generous, and we all appreciate your kind donation to the hospital. But the real reason I wanted to speak to you was so I can be totally sure you understand she might not have all the mental capabilities she once had. Even without the death of brain tissue, there’s no guarantee we can recover everything from the old mind, and after Sayen’s accident...”

  “We do understand,” came her father’s deep voice.

  “We know, Doctor, we know. But it doesn’t matter. You brought our baby girl back, and we can never thank you enough...” Her mother began to weep again.

  “Just doing our jobs, Mr. and Mrs. Lee,” said the doctor, “but it’s a pleasure. A real pleasure. Now, why don’t you go spend some time with your daughter? Just an hour or so. Please continue to resist the urge to hold or touch her, however tempting I know that must be. Her body is very, very fresh. We were forced to push the envelope on getting her transferred into it, in consideration of the conditions she’d been stored in. If we’d waited any longer, well, let’s just say it might have been a very different Sayen you would be taking home.”

  “We’ll be careful,” said her mother. “Don’t you worry.” She blew her nose. “We won’t let anything bad happen to her ever again.”

  ***

  Three days later, Sayen could sit up, and she was eating, drinking, and speaking normally. She was still experiencing the sheer joy of being alive. She would spend hours looking out the window, studying every feature of the hospital’s lavish garden. Each flower, plant, insect, and bird delighted her. She felt like she’d never truly appreciated how beautiful the world was until she’d been nearly taken from it.

  The hospital was wonderful too. Everything was so clean. She couldn’t have wished for a neater or more dirt- and germ-free room.

  Her doctor had told her that the next day she could begin learning to walk, and that to pass the time, she was allowed to start having one or two visitors. She’d known exactly who she’d wanted to see and she’d made a couple of calls before pleading with her parents to take a break and have some time to themselves when her visitors arrived. Her real reason for asking them to leave her alone was so that they wouldn’t overhear upsetting details about what had happened aboard the Galathea.

  The next day, a face appeared at the small window in her door. Sayen grinned and waved Harrington into the room.

  “You get sick in style,” were the security officer’s first words as she came in.

  “Thanks for coming. I’m not sick. I’m here to get better.”

  Harrington perched on the edge of her bed, squashing the mattress.

  “Is Lingiari coming too?” she asked Sayen.

  “No, I can’t contact him.”

  “Must be busy with his parents.” The woman studied her. “You look...totally the same.”

  Sayen laughed. “What were you expecting?”

  “I don’t know. I thought you could choose what you wanted for your new body? Like, height, size, shape, hair, eye, and skin color. Everything.”

  “I suppose I could have, but I didn’t want to. I just asked for a clone. Are you saying there’s something wrong with how I look?” She laughed again. “Seriously, why change anything? I like the way I am. And so do my parents. They’ve gotten used to the old Sayen. If I looked any different, it would be weird.”

  “I guess so,” said Harrington. “But...are you sure you wouldn’t rather be a little taller?”

  The security officer maintained a deadpan expression long enough for Sayen to begin to look outraged, then both women burst into giggles.

  As their laughter subsided, Sayen said, “I’m not totally the same, you know.”

  “Really? What’s different?”

  “Well, for one thing...I, er...I know, I’ll show you. Let’s arm wrestle.”

  “Sure,” said Harrington, her eyebrows rising. She pushed her sleeve up to her elbow and rested it on the bed tray. Sayen did the same and grabbed the woman’s hand. In a matter of moments, Harrington’s forearm was flat against the tray.

  “Woah,” she said. “Let’s try again. Maybe you caught me by surprise.”

  Harrington lasted a few moments longer the second time, but her victory was just as decisive.

  “That’s amazing. Is it just your arms that are stronger, or are you like that all over?”

  “My muscles are enhanced with synthetic fibers,” Sayen said. “And that’s not all.” She paused dramatically.

  “Go on, tell me what else you’ve had done.”

  “Enhanced hearing and sight. And my skin can withstand freezing and boiling temperatures.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive. It sounds like you didn’t come too badly out of nearly dying.”

  “Huh, yeah, well, I’d rather that hadn’t happened, but I’m not complaining about the end result. Though I think my parents’ accountant might be. You know, Jas, I used to be so afraid of everything. I wouldn’t even set foot on an alien planet.”

  “I remember.”

  “Something’s changed in me. When I came so close to dying, I realized I’d never really lived. Do you know what I mean?”

  “I guess so.”

  “After I get my strength back, I’m not going to hide away anymore. I’m going to take risks. I’m going to live my life to the full, even if it means a little danger now and then.”

  “That’s great. I’m happy for you. Just...take things easy at first, okay?”

  “Of course I will. But what’s been happening? What are the results of the investigation? Have they arrested Haggardy yet?”

  “No, not yet. I told them everything that happened, and they said they’d let me know the verdict, but I haven’t heard anything so far, and there’s been nothing on the news. I wish they’d hurry up. I just want to move on, you know? It’s been longer than a week. I’m ready to sign up for another mission.”

  Chapter Five

  Jas couldn’t believe it. She was at home in her apartment, and she’d been standing when the message appeared on her interface, but her knees buckled and she sat on her bed as she read it.

  All individuals involved in the attempted capture by unknown aliens of the prospecting starship Galathea while it was orbit around K. 67092d are found to be innocent of any dereliction of duty or other criminal or civil culpability in the resultant loss of life. No legal wrongdoing on behalf of any Polestar employees involved, living or dead, has been found.

  How could it be true? She’d told them all of it, beginning to end, and her story would have been totally different from Haggardy’
s. The investigation committee must have known one of them had to be lying. How could they have found no one guilty? Didn’t they even suspect that something wasn’t right? People had died. Margret Statton and nineteen officers had lost their lives. Even Loba deserved some kind of justice for his death. Haggardy shouldn’t be able to get away with his cowardly and negligent behavior.

  After staring at the screen for several more moments, and resisting the urge to throw the interface across the room, Jas released a groan of frustration. She would never, never understand the workings of governments, or human beings in general.

  She got up and went to her window. Looking out across the spaceport, she went over the events of the last few days. It looked like the investigation into the events with the Shadows was over, and despite what she’d thought was a growing closeness with Lingiari after what had happened with the Shadows on Dawn, he didn’t seem that interested in her.

  She’d messaged him once or twice, but she hadn’t received a reply. She suspected that now that Sayen was better, the two of them would get together. The pilot had spent a lot of time with her while she was in stasis. She wished the couple well, but she couldn’t help but feel a little sad. The more she’d gotten to know the pilot, the more she’d liked him, even though he’d wavered over telling the truth about Haggardy. She understood how important his job was to him. Her career was important to her too.

  A shuttle was taking off. Her gaze followed its glowing path into the hazy blue sky. Somewhere up there, out of sight, a space vessel awaited its passengers. Maybe it was a prospector like the Galathea, or a transport to Mars, Europa, Titan, Callisto, or Ganymede, or maybe it was an alien vessel belonging to one of the Transgalactic Council allies.

  Jas’ heart yearned for the simplicity of space, far from the complex and bewildering machinations of humankind. It was time for her to return to the stars and her job working with the predictable, comprehensible defense units. She knew it was crazy, but she liked the fighting androids better than some people she knew. She’d even said goodbye to them before disembarking the Galathea. They hadn’t replied, but she’d felt like they were a little bit sorry to be parted from her too. It had probably been her imagination.

  Scouting for danger, protecting, and defending—these were concepts she could wrap her head around, even though they weren’t easy in practice. Still, she could understand them. Yes, it was time to get back to work.

  She reached for her interface and searched for current deep space security job openings, filtering the results for prospecting ships leaving within the next week. She didn’t anticipate too many problems finding another berth. Her qualifications and experience counted heavily in her favor. Most people in her line of work switched to another profession within their first few years, assuming they survived. And she wasn’t fussy about pay. Her bank account was already stacked with more creds than she would ever spend. A life in government institutions had left her uncomfortable with frivolity and luxury.

  Five positions popped up on the screen. One was a two-year mission to a far-distant, little-explored section of the galaxy. It was another Polestar job. They weren’t the best employers, but they weren’t the worst either. Jas applied. With luck, she would be off the planet the day after tomorrow.

  She composed a final mail to Lingiari, telling him she’d enjoyed working with him and wishing him well. Next, she wrote to Sayen and told her she hoped her recovery was going well, and that maybe they might meet on a starship somewhere if the navigator decided to return to work. From what she’d understood as the cost of Lee’s treatment, it looked like she didn’t have to worry about never working again.

  Getting up, Jas went to put on a light jacket. She wanted to head out for a final meal at a local noodle shop before she embarked on another mission. Her favorite restaurants were about the only thing she missed of Earth.

  Her interface pinged. Had Lingiari finally replied? She checked the screen. No. It was a mail from Polestar. Thinking the reply was suspiciously quick, she opened it. The position had been filled. Krat. She would have to apply for the shorter missions. They were all pretty much the same—one-year trips to planets that had been passed over in the first prospecting rush. Usually, this was because they were too high or low gravity, or had some other feature that made the potential profits from resource extraction marginal.

  Whatever. A longer assignment would have been better, but Jas didn’t really mind what kind of planets she worked on. She applied to all four positions, put on her jacket and went out.

  In the basement of a department store, she went to one of the many small restaurants that lined the walls. She took a seat and spoke her request into the ordering mic. As always, her height and coloring made her stand out. The rest of the patrons in the basic restaurant watched her for a few moments before returning to their meals. She didn’t have to wait long before a bowl of noodles appeared on a serving cart and trundled over to her.

  She’d barely begun eating before her interface pinged again, twice, in her pocket. She took it out and propped it up against the condiment containers on the table. She’d received two mails replying to her job applications. That was fast. She opened the messages and read that both positions were no longer open. Her stomach began to sink. Three jobs filled as soon as she applied for them? It was too much of a coincidence.

  With a sense of foreboding, she continued to eat. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a third mail arrived. The company was very sorry, but her application had been unsuccessful. Krat. Krat. Krat. She’d finished her meal, paid, and was leaving the restaurant when the fourth mail arrived. She almost didn’t bother opening it. The security officer position had been posted in error, the message said, and the company was not accepting applications.

  It had to be Haggardy’s doing. He hadn’t only got off scot-free, he’d called on all the contacts he’d built up over his long career and managed to get her blacklisted. Damn the misborn. He’d followed through on his threat to her and Lingiari. She stopped in her tracks. Lingiari. If Haggardy had punished her for refusing to cover up for him, had he punished the pilot too?

  Did Lingiari already know he’d been blacklisted, and did he blame her for pushing him to tell the truth? Was that why he hadn’t been answering her mails?

  Jas continued on her way back to her apartment. When she arrived, she threw herself on her bed. Her plans to get away from Earth were falling through, and it looked like a good friend now hated her. Could the day get any worse?

  As she lay thinking about what other spacework she could apply for and wondering how far Haggardy’s reach stretched, her interface pinged again. Lifting her arm from across her eyes, she peered at the screen. She blinked away the blurriness of her vision. Someone was calling her on a live vidmail.

  She sat up and squinted at the name. When she recognized it, she smiled. Finally, she had something to be happy about. She thumbed the icon to open the vid.

  “Jas,” exclaimed Makey as soon as he saw her.

  “Hi, what’s up, kid? How are you doing?”

  The young man looked much better than he had when Jas had last seen him. His face had filled out, and his skin was a healthy color.

  “I’m all right. I’m living in a holding center while they process my refugee application. Some of the people here say I shouldn’t have any problems because Dawn’s being invaded at the moment. Did you hear they’re sending in extra troops?”

  “Yeah, I did. I hope they win back the planet soon, Makey.”

  “So do I.” He paused and screwed up his face as if he found it difficult say his following words. “I’m worried about my da. I know he wasn’t good to me, but...”

  “I understand. He’s still your father. Try not to worry. I’m sure the army’s doing everything they can to protect Dawn’s inhabitants.”

  “And I miss Mam and Neeve. When they got taken by the Shadows...and I left so fast...what had happened to them didn’t really sink in. Now I’ve had time to think about it...” The
kid’s expression fell.

  “I’m sorry, Makey,” Jas said. “But, you know, I think they would have been happy to know that you got away, and that you’re going to have a chance at a new life.”

  Makey smiled sadly. “Yeah, maybe.”

  “So, what’s the plan when your application’s approved?” Jas asked.

  “I haven’t decided. There’s so much I don’t know, and so much I want to do. But I was...I was thinking about becoming a security officer like you. I want to fight the Shadows, Jas. I want to get them back for what they did to my family and my friends. It might help me feel better about leaving them on Dawn if I could work at protecting other people.”

  “Makey, you’ve got nothing to feel bad about—”

  “I know. I know. I understand what you and Carl said about me being just a kid and everything. But it doesn’t change how I feel. Jas, could you help me? I don’t know anyone here, and I need someone to help me apply for courses, or maybe apply to the military. I haven’t decided yet exactly what I want to do.”

  She arranged to go and see him at the refugee center. It would be good to see him again, and it would give her something to occupy her while she figured out what she was going to do with the rest of her life, too.

  Chapter Six

  Carl sat in the kitchen of his parents’ farmhouse. Though the weather was as hot as an oven outside, the room felt cold to him. It was twilight, but he hadn’t turned on the lights. He preferred the dark. It matched his feelings, and artificial illumination only seemed to drive home the fact that his parents weren’t there. From outside came a kookaburra’s laughter and the songs of cicadas, driving away the unwelcome silence.

  Carl’s eyes were sandy and sore, and his head throbbed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept properly since finding out that his parents had gone missing. After the initial shock and visits to the police, as well as anyone else who might provide a clue as to what had happened, his sleep had been invaded by dreams of his mum and dad.