by Isaac Hooke
“I can.”
As he waited for the liaison officer to connect, he thought of the strange sensation he had felt when linked with Eugene. When their minds had joined, he had the oddest feeling that the child was related to him somehow. Perhaps even was his own.
On several occasions he had donated sperm to Blackford Fertility Inc, largest purveyor of fertility treatments in the galaxy. It was possible Bridgette had contracted them for her pregnancy and obtained his spermatozoa. Though all donors were anonymous, they were classified by job titles and specific genetic traits. There weren’t too many starship captains of his nationality who were six foot five with dark eyes, hair, and a naturally athletic physique. It wouldn’t have been too difficult for Bridgette to request his sperm in an indirect fashion, by checking off his job title and the desired traits she wanted for the father during her application.
Then again he was probably imagining it. When you linked with another mind, you were bound to develop a strong affinity for it, a sense of connection that evoked feelings of relation by blood. It wasn’t surprising he experienced fatherly emotions toward Eugene.
And the boy was a telepath, after all: with his psi abilities, he might have planted the idea within Jonathan himself. Eugene had linked with Jonathan during a time of extreme danger, when his real father wasn’t present, and it was possible the boy had attempted to convert Jonathan to that role as part of some unconscious safety mechanism.
Yes, Jonathan was not the father. Besides, Robert and Bridgette had conceived naturally.
Hadn’t they?
Whatever the case, he decided he would never ask. If she wanted to tell him, she would. In the meantime he would remain blissfully ignorant, just as he was unaware of all the other biological children he might have had, thanks to the clinic.
“Captain,” Barrick’s voice came on the line.
“Barrick,” Jonathan said. He had asked for Wethersfield, but the telepath served just as well. “Valor has some explaining to do.”
“Valor is no longer in command,” Barrick replied. “He has been relieved by his second, Otter.”
Jonathan considered the revelation for a moment. “They want to appease us, do they? So that we don’t destroy them for their treachery? Disobeying a direct order is a cause for court-martial. Tell Otter he is to hold Valor in the brig, where he will await charges for sedition.”
“They have arrested him,” Barrick said. “And plan to try him in their own court. Otter assures me that justice will be swift.”
Jonathan frowned. He stared at the entry hatch to the cramped lifepod, and wondered if the “arrest” was just another deception by Valor. Even Barrick had no idea who Valor was among the aliens: they all looked alike. Valor could have ordered the arrest of some random alien officer from the Raptor’s bridge, and neither Barrick nor Wethersfield would have known the difference.
But Jonathan wasn’t about to cause a diplomatic incident over it. Not when he still very badly needed the Raakarr.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll forgive the Zarafe for the time being, and won’t hold them accountable for the actions of one rogue captain. But tell Otter he must tread very carefully in the coming days.”
“I’ll let him know,” Barrick said.
“In the meantime, I want the Raptor to continually attempt communications with the Elder,” Jonathan said. “It’s possible the Elder comm systems are down, and potentially under repair. So keep trying. And let me know the moment you receive a response.”
“Affirmative,” Barrick said.
Jonathan disconnected and sat in silence for several moments.
Numerous notifications in the lower right of his display told him that members of the crew had been attempting to call him: mostly bridge officers and department heads. None of the calls were marked as urgent, as far as he could tell. He would speak with them in due time. Meanwhile, he was still trying to comprehend the loss of the Callaway.
He stared into the empty space in front of the portal.
I can’t believe she’s really gone.
Jonathan thought of something that had completely slipped his mind during the evacuation.
Via his aReal, he pulled up the crew list, focused on the entry for Lieutenant Connie Myers, and called her.
“Jonathan,” she said.
“Glad to see you escaped safely,” Jonathan said. “But I don’t suppose you managed to bring our patient along?”
“The humanoid survived,” Connie said. “When the call to abandon ship came, I instructed one of the robots to stuff him into a psi-shielded spacesuit. Unfortunately, the humanoid escaped before the robot could finish.”
“Escaped?” Jonathan said in disbelief. “I hope no one was hurt in the process?”
“No one at all,” Connie said. “He wasn’t free for long: the Centurion security detail waiting outside captured him and finished suiting him up. Then they bound the humanoid, carried him to a lifepod and saw him off. I’m tracking his pod as we speak.”
“All right, good,” Jonathan said.
That was one more Elder-related life saved. Then again, after all the damage the fleet had caused the Elder vessel, it was likely many more Neanderthals had died aboard, not to mention members of the Elder themselves. They probably weren’t going to care overmuch that the humans had spared one of their servants. But it was a nice gesture.
“Also, I ejected his super-suit into space with a tracking device,” Connie said.
“Well done, Lieutenant,” Jonathan said. “You’re worth your weight in gold.”
He tried Harv next.
“Captain,” the chief weapons officer said. “Well that was fun.”
“Indeed,” Jonathan transmitted. “The destruction of a ship is not something I ever want to go through again.”
“Don’t blame you,” Harv said. “It’s going to take a long time to get over this. A long time to recover.”
“It is,” Jonathan agreed.
“So to what do I owe this cordial call?” Harv said. “Unless you merely wanted to commiserate over our shared misfortune?”
“Were you able to save the Elder artifact?” Jonathan asked.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t in the lab at the time,” Harv said. “I contacted my engineers after we had all safely evacuated, and learned that no one had thought to recover it. I’m sorry, but we were all too busy saving our own skins, Captain.”
Jonathan sighed softly. “It’s probably for the best.”
A FEW HOURS later Jonathan found himself aboard the Salvador, which he had made the flagship. He left Captain Rail in charge of the ship itself, but continued in his role of flag officer. He felt more like an admiral or vice admiral now, given that he was no longer in direct command of any one ship but still had an entire fleet under him. Rail had graciously given up her personal office abutting the bridge to serve as his flag office, which was where he was now.
The latest report from the Elder ship was that all breaches had currently been sealed, and a new turret was taking shape near the far side of the craft as the nanobots reformed the hull there. It seemed that recreating their nanobot beam weapon had taken a priority. Hopefully, communications would also be given precedence. Because if that beam came online and the Elder began converting the members of the fleet into scavengers once more, Jonathan wouldn’t be very happy.
He had already hatched a plan to capture the remaining scavenger and the disintegration bombs it contained.
We may have to destroy them yet.
Jonathan was discussing the current state of affairs with Robert, whom he had brought aboard to act as his adviser, when he received a call from Rail.
“We’re detecting gamma rays from the wreckage of the Elder ship,” Rail said. “Directed toward the Raptor.”
Jonathan stood. “I’ll be right there.” He disconnected and glanced at Robert. “With me, Commander.”
The two of them joined Rail on the bridge and took the seats set aside for them at the Round Table. T
hat he was surrounded by mostly unfamiliar faces served only as a reminder that Jonathan had lost his own ship.
“Comm, get me Wethersfield,” Jonathan instructed the comm officer.
Once more Barrick was the one who tapped in. “Good day, Captain.”
Jonathan frowned. “I asked for Wethersfield. Never mind. Have the Raakarr translated the message yet?” He looped in Robert and Rail so that they could hear the answer as well.
“They’re working on it,” Barrick replied. “As usual, it’s difficult, owing to the strange mental symbology involved. If only languages never changed as the years passed, and families never fragmented into subfamilies. Even better, I wish everyone spoke the same universal language, alien and human alike.”
“It never hurts to dream,” Jonathan said.
“The gamma ray transmissions from the Elder vessel just ceased,” the ops officer announced. “Whatever they had to say, they’ve said it.”
Jonathan waited a few more moments. “Well Barrick?” he said. “Do we have their surrender?”
“Actually, no,” Barrick replied. “According to Otter, the Elder are asking for our surrender.”
“Our surrender...” Jonathan said. “Do they truly believe we’re the ones operating from a position of submission?”
“Apparently so,” Barrick said.
Jonathan glanced at Robert.
“It could be merely a test,” the commander said.
“To see if we’ll swallow our pride?” Jonathan asked.
“Exactly so.”
“Barrick, tell them we will agree to surrender if they will agree to leave our galaxy and never return,” Jonathan said.
“I like how you twisted it around to make it seem like they’re the ones surrendering after all,” Rail commented.
“Thank you,” Jonathan told her.
Several minutes later Barrick tapped in.
“I have a response,” the telepath said.
“Well?” Jonathan said impatiently.
“The Elder have agreed,” Barrick replied.
Jonathan exhaled, feeling the tension of the last few weeks ebb from him. He glanced at Robert, who was shaking his head, clearly just as relieved.
“But be warned,” Barrick continued. “The Elder will require a full month to repair their ship, at least once they finish building their new nanobot beam.”
“They intend to create more scavengers from Vesta?” Jonathan asked.
“That would be my guess,” Barrick replied. “To aid with the repairs.”
“Then tell them we’ll have to leave an extensive security team to watch over them,” Jonathan said. “In fact, scratch that. Tell him our whole fleet is going to wait here until they’re gone.”
“I will,” Barrick said.
“We’ll have to assume a strategic formation,” Rail said from beside him.
Jonathan nodded absently. To Barrick he transmitted: “What about the scavengers that yet remain in the adjacent systems?”
“The Elder are recalling them,” Barrick said. “So that the Elder will have no presence in our galaxy whatsoever when they depart.”
“Good,” Jonathan said.
“And there’s more,” Barrick continued. “Otter has translated the rest of what the Elder sent earlier. Apparently, after learning our fleet had acquired the disintegration bombs, the Elder decided to test us.”
“Test us?”
“Yes,” Barrick said. “To see if we would destroy them entirely, just like we did with the Elk homeworld. Basically, it was their way of determining whether we truly intended to eliminate the Elk or not. It sounds like they’ve figured out it was their descendants, the Zarafe, who tricked us into doing the deed. I’m not sure what punishment they have in store for the Zarafe because of that. But now you can understand why Valor was so eager to destroy them.”
“I suppose so,” Jonathan said.
“It isn’t entirely clear if all of this was a test from the start,” Barrick continued. “Ever since the fleet destroyed the Elk homeworld. I actually believe that it was, given how they herded us all the way to Earth and drew out the destruction of our magnetosphere to coincide with our arrival. But anyway, apparently if you hadn’t sacrificed the Callaway, and had instead allowed the final two weapons to impact, then humanity would have been doomed. More Elder vessels would have come. A hundred more. But this mercy on our part, in addition to what Bridgette shared in her subsequent sessions with the captured humanoid, have convinced the Elder to leave us in peace.”
Bridgette? He made a mental note to ask her at some point precisely what she had shared with the humanoid, Marin.
He had to wonder, though, how Marin had communicated with the Elder in the first place, considering he was shielded the whole time he was aboard. Then Jonathan remembered what Connie had told him about the humanoid attempting to escape: while he was free, Marin must have linked with his super-suit to amplify his psi connection somehow, enabling him to send a quick message to the Elder. Even though they had cut the humanoid out of the suit and damaged the outfit in the process, obviously enough of the internal electronics remained intact to initiate contact.
That was Jonathan’s best guess, at least.
“Barrick, this doom we have avoided,” Jonathan said. “Is this the same doom you had predicted so long ago?”
“It is,” Barrick replied. “And the Phant almost saw to it that our doom came to pass. But you prevailed. I commend you, Captain.”
Jonathan pursed his lips. He hadn’t yet told Barrick that Zhidao had interfered. He supposed he didn’t have to.
“All right, thank you Barrick,” Jonathan said. “Captain out.” He stood. Glancing at Robert, he said: “I’ll be in my office.”
When the hatch closed behind him he sat in his chair and pondered everything that had transpired.
That simple act of mercy had ensured the Elder would forever leave humanity in peace. He had passed their “test,” though it had involved traveling to the very brink of doom to do so, on both sides.
The Elder are a mighty strange alien race.
Jonathan called Bridgette, who had also been collected by the Salvador so that she could quarter with her husband. “How is Eugene holding up?”
“He’s well,” Bridgette said. “He managed to avoid any incidents during the whole re-boarding process. I’ve got him in a psi-shielded tent right now, but he’s getting so much better at controlling his abilities that I can foresee a time very soon when he won’t need to stay in a tent at all.”
“That’s very good news,” Jonathan said. “Tell me something. Barrick claims you spoke to the humanoid, and shared vignettes with him regarding humanity? I thought you weren’t able to get through the mind defenses?”
“Oh you’re absolutely right,” Bridgette said. “I wasn’t able to get through Marin’s psi defenses after that first time. But I still talked to him, even if he couldn’t answer me. I tried to convince him we were ordinarily a peaceful species. A worthy species, and that he should help save us. But I already told you all of this during my debriefings.”
Jonathan paused. “You know, now that I think about it, you’re right. You did tell me. I had forgotten, what with everything going on. I guess it didn’t seem very important at the time. I was looking for a way to destroy the Elder, and telling stories to one of their servants didn’t seem like a good way to do that. But your stories may have helped convince the Elder to spare us. You did a very great thing, Bridgette. I thank you.”
“I only did what any of us would do in such a situation,” Bridgette said. “There’s an old quote from Hegastus that applies, I think.”
“Let’s hear it,” Jonathan told her.
“When diplomacy fails, guilt-trip your enemy.”
thirty-five
The Elder finished the repairs to their nanobot beam and created more scavengers by firing upon Vesta. Those scavengers mined the asteroid and contributed the necessary raw materials for the rebuilding of the mothership.
Other scavengers arrived from adjacent systems, adding to their ranks.
A month passed, and by then the Elder had fully restored their ship, reabsorbing all of the scavengers into the hull in the process. It was with much trepidation that the fleet watched the Elder ship depart from the asteroid, and they all heaved a collective sigh of relief when it did so without attacking any of them.
The humanoid Marin was returned to the Elder, along with his super-suit. Then the great Möbius strip that was the Elder ship proceeded to the closest Slipstream, ostensibly altered the endpoint, and unceremoniously departed the galaxy. Presumably, they changed the endpoint back once emerging on the other side. The Builder that had already started reconstruction of Sol Gate 1 confirmed that the destination was Sirius some time later.
The fleet plotted a course for Earth. There would be much rebuilding in the months ahead, not just in Sol System, but throughout the colonies. The Sino-Koreans and Franco-Italians pledged financial aid. The Zarafe offered to lend a helping hand as well.
Speaking of the Zarafe, Barrick yet remained aboard the Raptor.
“I can probably arrange some sort of pardon for you,” Jonathan told him during one of their last remote conversations.
“No,” Barrick said. “I’ll never really be welcomed by human society. Because of how powerful I’ve become, I’ll always be an outcast. Shunned by normal people, feared by those in power, and studied by scientists.”
Hearing those words made Jonathan fear for Eugene’s fate. The child would have to hide his abilities, probably for the rest of his life.
“I leave you in good hands with Wethersfield,” Barrick continued. “The Artificial is nearly done detailing the Zarafe family of the Raakarr language, and is on track to having the final translation solution ready in three months time. I plan to join a Zarafe diplomatic party shortly thereafter.”
“A diplomatic party?” Jonathan asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Barrick replied. “Destined for an Elk colony. My new mission in life is to document the Raakarr. Specifically, the Elk. Their language, their culture. Mostly, I want to make amends for the part I had to play in the destruction of their homeworld.”