Now, watching Luci play with the doll, Treena wondered what it was like to be a mother; to feel that love and connection to another living thing. Up until this moment, she didn’t think there was much she was missing out on.
“I think I’ll call her Treena,” Luci said, the cloth doll drooping in her grip, and Treena’s heart ached for the girl’s loss. Contrary to what Baldwin thought, she was sure that Admiral Benitor would deny his petition to move Seda and Luci to somewhere more hospitable.
“Why name her after me?” Treena sat on the floor across from Luci, crossing her legs.
“Because she’s got yellow hair like you,” Luci said, calling her hair yellow rather than blonde.
“Her hair is longer,” Treena said.
“I know, but this Treena grew it. She brushed her hair every night, like Mommy told her to do.” Luci paused, and Treena could see the girl’s reaction at speaking about her mother. Her lower lip began to tremble, and Treena held her arms out.
“Come here, little one.” Treena felt the girl wrap her tiny arms around Treena’s artificial body. Even with the sensors built into the frame, there was no substitute for the real thing. She’d never hug the girl in real life. She couldn’t. Another reason she’d avoid children, or a relationship, again. Not that she could bring herself to attempt a personal connection with the loss of Felix sitting so heavily inside her.
“What will it be like on Erin?” Luci asked, wiping away fat tears from her cheek.
“Earon. It’s called Earon.” Treena reminded her of the proper pronunciation. “It’ll be safe, Luci. Your house is warm, and you can see trees and hear the bird songs every morning when you wake up.”
“What’s a bird?” Luci asked, her eyes wide as saucers.
Treena found herself laughing at the innocent query. “Luci, did you ever live on a planet?”
“Only when Daddy had to meet someone. We were always on a spaceship.”
“Well, a bird is a wonderful animal with wings, and they fly and sing beautiful tunes.” When Luci just stared blankly at her, she passed the girl’s doll over to her and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll see soon enough.”
“Okay.” Luci stifled a yawn, and Treena glanced at the clock along Baldwin’s wall, seeing it was well past her bedtime.
“How about you get ready for sleep,” Treena suggested.
“Treena…”
“Yes, honey?”
“Can you brush my hair? I don’t want it frizzy.”
Treena nodded and watched Luci dart across the room, grabbing a brush from the countertop in the bathroom. She thought about the captain ordering a brush to his quarters, and assumed he’d had a few questioning glances from the staff as they delivered the child’s doll alongside it.
A few minutes later, Treena sat beside Luci on the makeshift bed, calmly stroking the brush through her thick blonde hair. Treena found herself humming a song her mother used to sing and stopped herself. She was getting too close.
Treena dropped the brush and moved from the bed. This was their enemy’s child. Seda and Lark Keen were terrible people, and their allies would kill to retrieve this girl. What was she doing delivering the time bomb into her mother’s arms?
“Treena, what’s wrong?” The girl’s lip trembled again.
Treena backed into the wall, feeling the need to escape the confines of Baldwin’s suite. “Nothing,” she lied. “I realized I’m late for my shift. You finish brushing your hair and go to sleep, all right?”
“All right.”
Treena pressed the door open and heard the tiny voice telling her goodnight as she entered the hall.
She’d have to tell Baldwin she wasn’t able to do this any longer. Babysitting wasn’t part of her job description, and she’d tell the man that.
Treena paused in the hallway, knowing the girl didn’t deserve her cold shoulder. With a heavy heart, she opened Baldwin’s door again and poked her head inside. Luci was actually brushing her hair, her doll tucked under her arm.
“Goodnight, Luci. I’m sorry for rushing out. Have a wonderful sleep.” Treena watched as the girl’s face morphed into a smile.
Treena left her then and decided to head to the bridge an hour before her shift began.
____________
Thomas Baldwin watched as they snapped out of hyperlight, entering Earon’s vicinity. The world was four hundred thousand kilometers away, but halfway there, they’d find the space station that had housed the three old cruise ships trailing behind Constantine. Persi, Remie, and Andron had been modified, and Tom had suggested to the Prime that the vessels were still battle-worthy.
After some deliberation, the admirals had determined they needed to be returned to Earon Station, where they belonged. Anything modified by the Assembly couldn’t be trusted, not without a full diagnostic and weeks, if not months, of work on them. Tom was given the impression that the war with the Statu wouldn’t wait that long.
“Captain, we’re setting course for Earon Station,” Ven said. Lieutenant Darl was beside him today, and Tom was pleased with Zare’s replacement at the helm. He was smart and quick to action, which were both good qualities in his opinion.
“On the viewer,” Tom said, and Treena stepped onto the bridge, casting a weary glance at him before settling into her commander’s chair beside his. “Everything good?” he asked, suddenly worried something had happened to his little guest.
She only nodded, staring toward the image of the station. It was far more than the simple name suggested. The main component was made into a half-sphere: a flat panel with thrusters beneath it, covered by a sizable metallic dome. From here, it all seemed insignificant before the expanse of space beyond, but the station was nearly as large as a city on Earon.
Over a hundred thousand people lived there at any given time, with half that many again visiting. Smaller disks spread out from the central section, each connected by what appeared to be tiny rods. Tom had walked through them, and they were actually immense thirty-foot-wide corridors.
From this vantage point, Tom could make out the far left warehousing region, where the three decommissioned vessels had been stored for the last few decades. They weren’t entirely sure how the Assembly had come to possess the classic ships, but Tom expected some answers when they were onboard the station.
“How long has it been?” he asked Treena.
She met his gaze. “Since I’ve seen Earon, or the station?”
“Both.”
“I spent some time during my recovery at home, so only a year ago for the planet, but years since I’ve visited the station. I’m kind of looking forward to it,” she told him.
“So am I. I haven’t stayed here in a decade or so,” he said. The last time had been a quick stop there only a few months after joining the crew under the command of Yin Shu.
There was another cruise ship parked at the outer edge of the station, and Tom squinted toward the zoomed image. “Ven, who is that?”
The Ugna used his mind to tap a few controls on his console, and turned to peer at Tom. “Captain, it’s not recognized in our software.”
Constantine appeared, walking up to stand near Tom.
“Con, do you know anything about this?” he asked.
The AI shook his head. “Ven, if you would zoom on her, please.”
The image of the cruise ship centered and filled the viewer. Tom froze. It was a mirror image of his own. “What have they done?”
“It appears as though the Concord has delivered the other flagship they’ve been promising,” Constantine said.
“Captain, do you understand the significance of this?” Treena asked.
He did. “That we’re going to war as soon as our business on Earon is completed.” He’d been hoping for longer. His crew had been through so much in a short period of time, and returning to war after a few short months wasn’t going to be great for morale.
Ven guided Constantine in, the trip taking a long twenty minutes. Tom wanted to reach o
ut to the station administrators to ask about the new craft, but he refrained. There would be time to see it when they arrived, and Tom could be patient about it.
“Captain, they’re requesting we bring the legacy ships to the warehouse first. Would you like me to relay the orders to the fleet?” Ven asked.
“Yes.”
Tom watched as Andron led the other two toward their final resting place, hopefully. He imagined the security out there would be far superior after word spread of Earon Station’s massive blunder. There were rumors that the Callalay had requested the decommissioned vessels be transported to their planet instead. So far the Prime hadn’t made a final decision, or if Xune had, Tom wasn’t privy to it.
Tom noted how Constantine’s AI projection’s gaze followed Andron’s path, as a version of his grandfather watched it head into the bay leading into the side of the warehouse. The building was massive, Andron looking like a speck against it as the ship moved through the field and into the immense hangar.
He wanted to ask Constantine how he was feeling about this, but once again thought otherwise.
They waited while the other two – Persi, then Remie – disappeared into the huge floating structure, and Tom turned his attention to the other end of Earon Station as Ven guided them ever so slowly toward their docking destination.
After a few minutes, Constantine came to a halt, and the lights dimmed momentarily as they attached to the station. Reeve would be held up in her boiler room ensuring everything went smoothly, and that there was nothing nefarious from Earon Station entering their system. Tom didn’t trust anyone fully any longer, and Reeve would do what she could to maintain their safety.
“Executive Lieutenant Ven and Commander Starling, with me. The rest of you stay on the bridge until your shifts are over, then feel free to explore the station. We’ll notify you prior to our departure,” Tom said, rising from his seat.
It was time to visit Earon Station. His gaze drifted to the viewer, where a mirror of Constantine could be seen docked a kilometer away.
____________
Reeve wanted nothing more than to rush off the ship and find some good food and drink, maybe some live music, but she stayed in her seat long after she’d dismissed Harry and the others. Captain Baldwin had asked her to stay vigilant and confirm the software wasn’t hacked or monitored in any way, and that was what she was going to do.
The sound of bootsteps echoed from the boiler room entrance, and she turned around, noticing her brother walking toward her.
“Hey, Reeve. I thought I’d see if you wanted to join me.” Brax went beside her, leaning over to see what she was doing.
“I’d love to, but…” The computer program beeped, and she checked the results. Everything looked copacetic, and she intertwined her fingers behind her head as she kicked back in her rolling chair.
“You seem smug about something.” Brax laughed as he turned to leave the room.
Reeve rose from the chair, her legs a little wobbly after sitting for the last three hours. The Star Drive was powered down, but the Bentom ball remained floating in the center of it, and she stopped to watch it.
“Do you ever wonder what it was like before all of this?” she asked.
Brax’s footsteps ceased. “Before what?”
“This.” She pointed to the Star Drive. “What was it like for our people hundreds, even thousands of years ago?”
“I guess it was fine. I mean, they wouldn’t have known any different, right?” Brax asked.
“Good point. I just wonder how we would have dealt with being early interstellar crew members,” she said, still watching the drive.
“I would have hated every minute of it.” Brax came to stand next to her. “And you would have thrived, like you always do.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You never give yourself enough credit, brother. I’ve seen you risk your life over the last few months and return unscathed every time.”
“I’d say unscathed isn’t the proper descriptor.”
“You know what I mean. You’re a great chief of security, and you would have been even back then.”
It was obvious Brax wanted to leave Constantine. He kept trying to entice her from the boiler room. “Reeve, you do realize that most of those initial crews either died in space or ended up crippled from exposure to radiation and artificial gravity.”
“And yet, there’s something enchanting about being one of the first to traverse the universe, isn’t there?” Reeve finally took his hint, and exited the room.
“No, there’s not. Give me a flagship like this one any day, over the old welded-together clunkers we learned about in history on Nolix,” Brax said.
Reeve and her brother entered the elevator, and when it arrived on Deck Four, she noticed how quiet it was in the central corridor. “They’re all gone?”
Brax nodded. “If you’re not on shift, you’re on the station.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s see Earon Station,” Reeve said, getting an eyeroll from Brax.
“What do you think about the new cruise ship?” he asked.
“I’ve only seen it through the viewer. Have you heard who the captain is yet?” Reeve asked.
“We don’t even know the name. I guess Baldwin’s heading over there now,” Brax said.
“Why didn’t you join him?”
“He was requested to go alone with the commander.” Brax acted perturbed by this as they walked.
Reeve passed through the hangar, and she smiled at two of Brax’s officers, guarding the exit to the station.
“Stay vigilant,” Brax told them, nodding as the siblings walked through the exit, side by side.
“You as well, sir,” the armed woman on the right said.
The passage connecting Constantine to the station was dimly lit, but wide and tall enough to load and offload skids of supplies. As if on cue, Reeve moved to the side as a forklift beeped its horn, carrying goods onto their ship.
She glanced at Brax. “Don’t worry. We inspect each skid of cargo before we allow them in. If anyone is trying to sneak anything unusual on, we’ll catch it.”
“Sign of the times,” Reeve muttered.
“What’s that?”
“Sign of the times… I just mean it’s too bad we have to go to such extreme lengths to secure a shipment of produce, isn’t it?”
“It won’t always be like this. We’re on alert after the Statu, followed by the Assembly.” The corridor ended, opening into a hub. Here it was far brighter, the walls a light gray, smooth with welcoming screens along them.
A friendly human female appeared on the screen, and they stopped to listen to her message. She had dark hair pulled into a ponytail and the kind of face that made her feel like an old friend. “Welcome to Earon Station. For a directory, please use the touchpad. If you know the name of your destination, please say it, and I will create a path for you.”
Reeve raised an eyebrow and motioned for her brother to answer. She assumed he had a spot planned. Brax cleared his throat and spoke softly. “Gideon’s Grill.”
“Gideon’s Grill.” The woman vanished, and an intricate map appeared. The red line moved down the corridor, through the central dome, and three disks over. “This trip will take forty minutes to walk, or you can tap the screen on the lower right corner to request transport.”
“What do you say?” Brax asked.
Reeve grinned. “I could use the walk.”
Eight
Tom was excited to finally be here. The weeks leading up to it had been stressful, amplified by the fact that he’d been hiding Keen’s kid in his suite. They were only stationed for a couple days; then he’d be able to pass Luci on to Treena’s mother, granted that the woman was willing to harbor the fugitive’s child.
Treena had refused to ask her over the ship’s communicators, and Tom had to agree. That could be traced.
“I wonder why they’re being so secretive about this whole thing,” Treena said.
“I agree. Something feels off, but we’ll find out soon enough,” Tom replied.
They were down the corridor, taking the walk from Constantine to the new vessel, and he stopped at the entrance to the other ship. There were two guards inside, and their expressions were hard as Tom approached.
“Hello. I’m Captain Thomas Baldwin and this is Commander Treena Starling, requesting permission to come aboard,” Tom said, and he noticed a crack in the stoic man on the left’s face. He let a grin out and motioned for them to come through the entry.
“Captain Baldwin, so glad you made it here in one piece. I half expected you to be thrust into another intergalactic war on the way,” a voice said, and Tom squinted at the approaching woman. She wore a matching uniform to his, the collar red, indicating she was the captain of the vessel.
Treena laughed. “How in the Vastness did you end up captaining a ship, Rene?”
Tom’s jaw dropped. Rene Bouchard was standing twenty meters away from him. She continued walking until she was right in front of them. A Callalay man stood behind her, hands clasped behind his back. He was younger than Tom might have expected from a commander, but his deep-set eyes held an intelligence Tom instantly recognized.
“Treena Starling.” Rene hugged Tom’s commander, and they held it for a moment longer than he’d have expected. He had no idea they were such old friends.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Treena said as they broke the embrace.
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” Rene said with a laugh. “Kidding, of course. I was up for a promotion when one came around, and after all the mess your captain here caused after taking down the Prime, positions opened up.”
She pressed a finger into Tom’s chest, and he almost backed away. “You know none of that was my fault, right?” he asked.
“What are we talking about? The Statu and the Prime, or when you left my suite in the morning and never contacted me again?” Rene wore a big grin, and Tom glanced at Treena, who was watching their interaction with great interest.
Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series Page 66