Eternity's End

by Jeffrey Carver

  "I would have to agree with Morgan," said Harriet. "And yet—"

  "What?" Morgan asked, in disbelief.

  "Well, if his only alternative is to surrender to that Spacing Authority cruiser out there..." Harriet lowered her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Academic, is there no other option? No way you could get Legroeder out of the Faber Eri system to go searching for information, short of going back to the pirates?"

  The Narseil rose and walked to the edge of his pool. He turned back. "No other way that I know of. No way to get him protected on one of our ships, without his participation in the mission. I'm sorry."

  Harriet sighed. "What do you think, Legroeder? We're talking about your life, here."

  Legroeder nodded without answering. He had no answer. For a few moments, the only sound was the chuckling of water in El'ken's pool. Finally Harriet spoke again. "I think this is a decision not to be made in haste. Academic, could we have some time to think, and talk, about it?"

  "Of course," said El'ken. "But not too much time. We can stall the Spacing Authority for a while. But once diplomatic pressure is brought to bear..." He raised his hands in something like a shrug. "Thank you for considering the proposal. I will await your choice." And with that, he stepped into the water and vanished beneath the surface.

  * * *

  Lunch was a somber affair. Legroeder had more or less made up his mind, without voicing it. He went through the pros and cons with his friends, perhaps hoping to be persuaded otherwise. But so far, nothing led him away from the inevitable choice.

  He was depressed by the conclusion he had come to, but he didn't see any other way. "Whatever happens," he said, "I'm not going to be able to do much to help Maris. Promise me that you'll do everything you can for her?"

  "You know we will," Harriet said. She peered at him, frowning. "You've decided to go, haven't you?"

  Legroeder saw Morgan's eyes widening, and he looked away, staring at nothing for a few moments. "I guess we should go tell El'ken."

  "Legroeder, you're not—" Morgan began, then caught herself as he smiled at her.

  "What else can I do?" he asked gently. He turned to Harriet. "I promise I'll try to find out about your grandson."

  Harriet nodded. She fiddled with her glasses, trying unsuccessfully to disguise her anxiety. "Legroeder, if I knew another way... even giving yourself up to the authorities..."

  "Forget it, Harriet. There is no other way. By the time we get the evidence we need on Faber Eridani, they will have brainwiped me six ways from Tuesday." He drew a breath and bared his teeth. "So... can we please smile, everyone?"

  * * *

  El'ken was unavailable that afternoon, but sent a message to Harriet, informing her that the Faber Eridani authorities had made an initial filing for Legroeder's and her own extradition with the Narseil government. Time was growing short. He would speak to them first thing the next morning.

  Legroeder retired to his room to think; to sleep, if he could. Instead he ended up pacing round and round in the tiny, stone-walled bedroom. Memories of the pirate outpost kept surfacing in his mind: the slamming of gates, shouts as new captives were brought in...

  The door hummed. He stopped pacing and tried to force that mental image out of his mind. "Who is it?"

  "Me. Morgan. May I come in?"

  He turned and swung open the stone-and-metal door. "I thought you'd gone to bed."

  "I thought so, too. But I have a message for you. Mother was going to bring it, but I offered to." She took a folded mylar paper out of her breast pocket and handed it to him. "It's from El'ken."

  Legroeder opened the paper.

  "Barrister Mahoney:

  I have been in contact with appropriate elements of the Narseil Navy. They are willing to accept Renwald Legroeder as a member of the special services undercover mission, provided he agrees to certain temporary, but essential, surgical alterations and augmentations. We are to transmit an answer by 0900 tomorrow. In the event Rigger Legroeder does not wish to accompany the team, the three of you may remain on this asteroid as our guests until such time as the extradition negotiations have run their course.

  With all due regards—El'ken."

  Legroeder looked up at Morgan. "You've read this?" She nodded, her eyes troubled. Legroeder looked at the note again, then closed his eyes. Surgical alterations and augmentations... Visions of Robert McGinnis and Jakus Bark danced before him. Had he avoided cyber-implants all these years, only to be trapped into accepting them now?

  Morgan perched on the edge of his bed. "Is it the augmentation part that worries you?"

  "Good guess."

  She seemed to suppress a shudder. "I wish we could just send you the hell away from all of this. Someplace where no one's ever heard of you." Her eyes seemed to say she didn't really want him to do that. Was she feeling attached to him? Personally?

  "Yeah, well..." Legroeder managed a laugh. "I guess my mistake was picking Faber Eridani as a port of refuge in the first place."

  Morgan caught his hand and gave it a squeeze. He was startled; he liked the feeling.

  "Of course," he said awkwardly, "I wouldn't have met you and your mother then. But..."

  "Legroeder?"

  "Yeah?"

  She tightened her grip on his hand. "I..." Her eyes seemed to be welling up. "Oh hell."

  Legroeder cleared his throat, trying not to seem obtuse. He hadn't had much practice reading women in recent years. Or even paying attention to his own feelings. Here he was, alone in a bedroom with Morgan, whom he found quite attractive in an understated way. He liked Morgan; he liked her warmth, and the intelligence that shone through her eyes. As he thought about it, he realized it wouldn't take a lot for her to seduce him right here and now—in spite of everything that loomed over him. Was that what she wanted? Was it what he wanted? He wasn't likely to have too many more chances—with Morgan, or anyone else. He returned the pressure on her hand.

  "Since you're not jumping in to fill the awkward silence," Morgan said with a nervous laugh, "I guess I should."

  He drew a silent breath.

  Her voice fell to a near whisper. "I like you, I want to help you, I want you to come through this." She pushed her hair back with her free hand. "And I feel like a complete fool right now."

  Legroeder squeezed her hand harder. Yes? So do I...

  "But if... there's anything I can do..." Morgan met his gaze. "If you'd like me here with you tonight..."

  Legroeder smiled, or tried to, past the lump in his throat. He tried to speak, but could only think, Want you... do I... so rushed? I don't know; give me more time. I need more time! Will I ever have another chance?

  Morgan continued, looking away, "I don't even know if you and... Maris... or if the two of you..." She frowned. "I'm sorry—here I am, and we don't even know if she's still alive, or what's happened to her."

  "That's all right," Legroeder said softly. "You can't help about Maris—not right now. Anyway, she was a friend—is a friend. But we weren't—lovers." He tried to stop thinking about Maris. What she might be going through right now.

  Morgan's grip tightened again.

  "But I—" Legroeder's voice caught, and he suddenly found himself breathing harder. Did she want him to kiss her? He envisioned her in his arms, and a confused part of him suddenly yearned for that. Without quite consciously deciding, he leaned to kiss her. Her breath went out with a strained sigh, and her lips met his, tentatively, and then softened against him. She leaned into him, slipping her arm around his waist. For a moment, he focused only on the pressure of her lips, and her breath, and the warmth of her body pressing against him. He felt a powerful stirring of arousal; but it was confused, uncertain. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. He kissed her more urgently, felt her tongue flicking at his. Her hand started to move over him; he drew a sharp breath and touched her breast, reveling. And then hesitated. It didn't feel right; he didn't know why.

  Both their eyes blinked open, and their gazes met. Morgan
pulled back from him, head cocked. Her face reddened with embarrassment as she seemed to read his thoughts. "You don't... really want that, do you?"

  "No, I don't mean—it's just that—Morgan, I don't—you're very beautiful—"

  "Shh. Stop." She put a finger to his lips. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this. I should be helping you, not messing you up when you've got so much on your mind." She stood up, readjusting her blouse.

  He followed, his emotions churning. "Morgan, don't—"

  "No, look—"

  "Don't you apologize. I'm the one who—"

  "I wasn't exactly—

  "Yes, you were." Legroeder suddenly burst into laughter, and then she did, too. He hugged her tightly. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

  She nodded and pulled away toward the door. "Call me if you need... to talk... or whatever."

  "I will. Good night."

  The door clicked shut, and he stared at it in dumb bewilderment, before mentally kicking himself. Idiot...

  * * *

  They found the Narseil historian swimming back and forth in his pool, his neck-sail cutting through the surface of the water like a shark's fin. He lifted his head, spotting them, but did not stop until he had finished swimming his laps. When he stepped out of the pool and into the soft whoosh of the dryer, he was breathing hard, with a whuffing sort of sound.

  "My apologies," he said, joining them in the dry section of the cavern. "I am old. If I do not keep up my daily exercise, my mind and body will both fall into decay. Have you decided?"

  "I have," Legroeder said. "When do we leave?"

  El'ken bowed in acknowledgment. "I am pleased, and grateful. You will be an invaluable addition to the party. If you will excuse me for just one moment, I will begin making the arrangements." He turned toward his communications console, then paused. "Regarding Mrs. and Ms. Mahoney..."

  "What about them?" Legroeder asked, before either of the women could speak.

  "Well, since you will not be accompanying Rigger Legroeder, and you have problems in terms of getting back home..."

  "I was hoping you could help them with that."

  El'ken visibly suppressed his annoyance at the interruption. "I can offer hospitality here, as long as necessary. Perhaps once the mission has been completed, and security for it is no longer an issue, we will be able to assist you—"

  "No," said Legroeder.

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "If you keep them prisoner here, the deal's off."

  El'ken spread his long-fingered hands. "I assure you, they would not be prisoners. They will be very comfortable."

  "They have important work to do, back on Faber Eri. If you don't let them go, they're prisoners."

  "Legroeder, wait," said Harriet.

  "No—it's that or nothing." Legroeder rubbed his jaw. He hadn't realized until just now that this was part of his decision. "Look, Academic—if I'm going to entrust my life to your people, then you have to trust my people. Quid pro quo. Isn't that what they call it, Harriet?"

  Harriet opened her mouth, then closed it.

  "Yeah, that's what they call it. Look," he said. "Maybe you see this in just one dimension, which is your secret mission. Well, my friends won't peep a word about it. You can trust them. And I'm not only concerned about their freedom. They have work to do while I'm gone, and I'm hoping you can help them. I expect to return to find that I've been cleared of all charges back on Faber Eridani."

  Everyone else seemed at a loss for words, so Legroeder kept talking. "I notice your eyes narrowed just a bit at the word return."

  The Narseil winced slightly.

  "I thought so. Maybe you don't think I have all that much chance of returning. But you wouldn't be undertaking this mission if you thought it had no chance, right? And you will offer me the same prospects for safe return as your own people, won't you?"

  He was aware of Morgan stirring uneasily beside him, but he kept his gaze on El'ken's.

  Finally the Narseil said, "Your chances are exactly the same as any other member of the crew. I hope very much for your safe return."

  "Good. Then what can you do to help my friends on their way?"

  El'ken hesitated a long moment. "I suggest a cooling off period, at least until the Spacing Authority cruiser leaves. Then perhaps I can arrange for a diplomatic transport to take them back to Faber Eridani. Barrister Mahoney, can you perform your duties from within the Narseil Embassy in Elmira?"

  Harriet looked surprised. "Better than I could do them from here, or in prison, I suppose."

  El'ken bowed. "Then I will endeavor to arrange it. And I would very much appreciate it... if you would do all in your power to learn who was responsible for the death of a good man."

  "McGinnis? You have my promise."

  "Thank you. Before I make the call to my people, Rigger Legroeder—when can you be prepared to travel?"

  Legroeder shrugged. "I'm ready now."

  "Excellent. A transport will be standing by."

  "And its destination?"

  "That, I cannot tell you." The Narseil stretched out his hands. "I suggest you make your appropriate farewells in the next few minutes. You will not hear from him again until he returns. Go and make your preparations, and come back when you are ready."

  * * *

  Legroeder felt like a body being viewed at a wake. "Look—I'm not dead yet, okay?"

  Harriet nodded miserably, and Morgan was too busy leaking tears to say anything. Legroeder tossed his bag over to the door of their little dining room. "It's not as if I'm never going to see you again. So for chrissake, how about showing me a smile. Morgan, you were terrific in bed last night."

  Harriet's eyebrows went up. Morgan made a choking sound, and for a second he didn't know if she was going to laugh or sob. She smacked him on the shoulder—hard—then burst into tears. "Asshole," she muttered.

  Legroeder sighed. "Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor around here?" He knew he was just making it worse, but couldn't help it. "Look—I'm sorry—you were awful in bed last night. Terrible. In fact, you weren't even there. Harriet, she wasn't—ow!" Morgan had just hit him twice as hard. Now she was covering her face, making hiccuping sounds.

  He sighed again. "Morgan, I'm just trying to make you a little less funereal, okay?"

  "No, it's not okay," she said, voice muffled by her hands.

  "All right. But look—don't be so scared for me. Be happy that I have a chance I didn't have before." He moved awkwardly to put his arms around her. She grabbed him in a sudden, powerful bear hug. They embraced for a long time, before stepping apart. Morgan wiped at her eyes.

  "Good-bye, Legroeder," said Harriet, putting her arms around both of them. "Take good care, dear—and come back safely, so I can collect my thirty percent, okay?"

  Legroeder struggled to answer, as Morgan shook, hugging them both. "All right, you two," Morgan said hoarsely. "Can we please get moving, before I go to pieces again?"

  Legroeder picked up his bag, and they walked off together, back to El'ken's chamber.

  Chapter 12

  Narseil Mission Center

  Once more, Legroeder rode as a passenger, this time on a Narseil diplomatic transport three times the size of the corporate ship that had brought them to the asteroid. And this time, traveling through the Flux, he fairly twitched with frustration, wishing he could get up there on the Narseil bridge and see what rigging was like among these amphibious star travelers. Eventually he sent a message to the captain, asking for a visit to the bridge. He received a polite rebuff: forget it, while they were en route to the secret base.

  He chafed at having nothing to do but sit and wonder what the hell he was doing, and what would become of his friends. Where was Maris by now? And what would happen to Harriet for helping him? Was her grandson Bobby alive? Gah. He was going to be cooped up way too long to spend all his time fretting.

  Eventually, a crew member pointed him toward the ship's library, where he occupied himself delving into the Narseil
files on Impris. At first he read grudgingly, to kill time. Soon, though, he became fascinated reading about the ship from the alien perspective. Inspector Fandrang was mentioned only fleetingly. Considerably more space was given over to the propaganda campaign that was launched against the Narseil, blaming their navy for the loss of Impris. Various searches of the Narseil's meticulously kept naval archives, over the years, had turned up no record of any engagement with such a ship—or any ship even remotely close to Impris's course. It was clear from the sheer volume written on the subject that Impris remained a sore point with the Narseil.

  Legroeder browsed for writings by El'ken, and found quite a lot; he was a prolific and respected chronicler of Narseil history. There was nothing by him on the subject of Impris, though, except for a third-level footnote in one article—the Narseil loved footnotes—mentioning that Impris was to be a subject of future research. Legroeder closed the file, feeling unsettled at having recognized himself as a tool in the august historian's "future research."

  As the days wore on, he found himself reflecting on how far one could travel in a dangerous and possibly quixotic search for truth. He also found himself reflecting on the irony of his own worlds' failure in space exploration—no vision, no courage, no willingness to sacrifice and take risks—and how strange it felt knowing that he was, in some sense, in accord with those he so utterly despised. What if he were given a chance to participate in deep-space exploration, but only in the company of pirates, or the likes of Centrist Strength? Jesus. Would he do it?

  No... no... he wasn't that desperate to go. Not yet...

  * * *

  By day four, the feelings of isolation were starting to close in around him. He finally found some company in the crewman who had shown him the library, a young Narseil named Korken. Korken was interested in learning about humans. He had never been to a human world, but had studied the major Earth-standard language, Anglic, and talked when he could without the assistance of the implanted translator. "The closssest I ever got was the asssteroid where we gathered you," he said ruefully.