Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  Tom ordered a drink, a glass of his favorite Vina, and settled in. They’d been gone from Nolix for almost a week, and he hadn’t made himself accessible to the captain yet. Not because he didn’t want to. Their schedules just hadn’t lined up until today.

  He continued to work on tracking Keen, but none of his informants had found anything. He’d been in contact with someone named Slane. Tom was waiting for the guy to update him, but so far, nothing had come through. Tom feared the worst. But with one sighting, he expected others would follow. He needed to be patient.

  “Hello, Admiral.” Kan Shu stepped into the room. His eyes were kind, reminding Tom of his mother. He’d worked beside her for a few years and wouldn’t forget the many lessons he’d received from the great Callalay woman.

  “Kan. Good to see you,” he told the commander. “Is the captain coming?”

  “She’ll be joining us shortly. A minor engineering hiccup to deal with,” Kan said. “She asked me to keep you company until then.”

  Since he’d read the report from Benitor, Tom had hoped to have some alone time with Kan to pick his brain. “How are things going?” he asked the commander.

  “Very well. Since we managed to help the Minon and Seeli, we’ve been staying pretty close to Nolix, with one border patrol near Greblok,” Kan told him.

  “Greblok. Did you visit their capital?” Thomas asked.

  “Sure. We met with the new Regent and had a tour. It’s really coming along. We also visited the remote Concord Academy.” Kan ordered a water, and Tom swirled his glass.

  “Did you meet a boy named Tarlen?” he asked.

  Kan shook his head. “No, but there was a man named Penter that said he knew you.”

  Brax and Penter had stayed in touch, and suddenly, Tom felt bad for not reaching out to Tarlen for the last while. The boy would be older, a year into his studies, and Tom silently wished him the best. “I like the Bacal people,” he said.

  “Without their ore, the Statu would be alive,” Kan said.

  There was a lot more to them than the Greblokian ore, but Tom didn’t say so. “Kan, I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Aruto. What was it like growing up there?” he asked.

  “I didn’t spend a lot of time on-planet, you know, because of my mother’s schedule, but what I do recall, it is with fondness. My father and I lived two hours from Yunil; our place had a lake, tall trees. It was nice,” he said.

  “Did you get bored, since you were an only child?” Yin Shu had been a very private person, as were most Callalay, but after a few years working with her, Tom had learned as much as anyone about the stoic woman. It had been difficult on her, being away from her husband and child so often.

  “You know what it’s like to have no siblings. We find ways to entertain ourselves. I took to my studies,” Kan said.

  “Which is how you’re the youngest Callalay commander ever, isn’t it?” Tom asked.

  “I suppose so.” Kan grinned at Tom. “My name doesn’t hurt.”

  “Another thing we have in common.” Tom sipped his drink and leaned over toward Kan, lowering his voice. “What can you tell me about the Ugna being on Aruto eighty years ago?”

  Kan remained silent for a second, as if trying to recollect ever hearing something like that. “I don’t know what you mean. The Ugna were nothing more than rumors and stories around the playground when I was a child.”

  That was what Tom had assumed. It had been the same for him. When he’d finally learned they were real, could read moods, and levitate things with their minds, Tom’s mind had been blown. “Same here. So you never heard about them visiting your planet?”

  “Should I have?” Kan asked, and Tom only raised his eyebrows in response.

  “What’d I miss?” Rene asked, entering behind the hostess.

  “We were just talking about what a smart and likeable boss you are,” Tom told her, receiving a genuine smile. Rene’s red hair had been braided at the center, falling long between her shoulder blades. She was in uniform, as was Kan, and Tom was glad he’d opted for the formality too.

  “Admiral, I’ve been able to decipher your lies from truths for a long time.” She took the seat to his left, her foot kicking him in the shin just enough to show it was on purpose. “Sorry, that was an accident.”

  “Sure it was. Tell me, Captain, how are things?” Tom asked. Being an admiral had changed things between him and the others, but he still felt like their peer rather than their superior.

  “Smooth sailing,” she replied, stopping when the server entered. She ordered a bottle to match Tom’s glass. “I was hoping you could finally tell me what in the Vastness we’re doing on this mission. Shu, one of our biggest and best ships, flying you and Fayle to Aruto? Something doesn’t add up. There are far more pressing matters, not to mention the countless exploration targets we’ve yet to hit. We should be going with Constantine to Earth.

  “Can you imagine? Finding our people’s origin planet?” she asked him.

  “If the rumors are true, Celevon—the Pilia home world—is technically our first planet, but humans as a race wouldn’t have existed until they developed and adapted to Earth,” Kan said, receiving a frown from his captain.

  “Ever the stickler for accuracy, this one. I bet you have to deal with that a lot, having Reeve Daak,” she said, and Tom noticed her catch the faux pas. “I’m sorry… I’m sure giving up Constantine was a difficult decision.”

  Tom didn’t really want to discuss it right then, and his expression must have said as much. Rene changed topics. “What do you think they’ll find?”

  Tom did have a few speculations. “My guess is as good as anyone’s. If we left Earth thousands of years ago as we predicted, it could be gone. Destroyed by nature, a supernova, an enemy. My best assumption? It’s empty.”

  She shook her head before taking a long drink from her stemmed glassware. “I doubt it. I think we’re going to meet more humans. And it’s going to change everything.”

  “For the better?”

  “That’s to be determined,” she replied.

  “What about you, Kan? What do you think about Earth?” Tom asked him, curious what the obviously intelligent commander thought.

  Their dinner arrived, and Kan poked at his food before answering. “I agree with the captain. It will be occupied. If it’s a Class Zero-Nine world, I expect lifeforms, but they may be slightly different than you are today. Leaving a world has long-lasting effects on a race. We’ve seen it throughout history. We already have Callalay families living on Nolix for seven generations, and they’re far different physiologically than the ones from Aruto.”

  Tom couldn’t argue with that. “Treena will do the right thing. I can’t wait to hear the briefing when they return.”

  “What about that Teller guy? Did you meet him?” Rene asked.

  Tom nodded, chewing into his sautéed Tekol neerion. It was cooked to perfection. “I did.”

  “And?” Rene asked, leaning a little closer. “I heard he’s a bit of an…”

  Tom glanced at Kan and cut her off. “He’s a little rusty. Has an assistant with him. I don’t think being a commander is going to be simple for the old-timer.”

  “An assistant? We can do that?” Rene asked with a laugh.

  “Apparently. But you might have to wait another forty years before the head office approves the request.” Tom filled his glass again, and Kan received a chime on his wrist band.

  “Captain, I’m needed on the bridge.”

  “Go ahead. Thanks for joining us, Commander,” she told him, and Tom stood while the young man rushed off to some emergency or another.

  When the door closed, Rene slid a little closer and set her hand on Tom’s arm. “Seriously, Tom. What in the Vastness are you doing here?”

  “I’m having dinner,” he said flatly.

  “Not this. I mean… you’re wearing a gray collar. You always hated the admirals. You saw what they did after t
he War. Admiral Keen, then recently, Hudson. Damn it, Baldwin. What could possibly drive you to make this decision?” she asked.

  “Maybe I wanted to make a difference from the inside,” he told her, gauging her reaction.

  “I don’t think so. You loved your posting too much. The big hero, Thomas Baldwin, vanquishes the Assembly, stops the Statu, brings the Ugna to their new home.” Rene clutched her glass as if she was scared to let go. “And after all that, you retire. It doesn’t add up.”

  “Rene, as you can see, I’m not retired. And if I hadn’t stepped down, would Treena have been promoted?” he asked.

  “Yes, of course. She was primed for another vessel.” Rene pushed her plate to the side and took another drink. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, Baldwin.”

  “That makes two of us,” he said, raising his glass. She tapped it with hers, and they laughed.

  “It’s her, isn’t it?” Rene asked, her tone low.

  “Aimie?”

  “Sure, the doctor. The one that works for the company that screwed over your good friend Starling,” Rene said. The pair had been close too, even more so after working together against the Vusuls.

  “That might have played a part in it,” Tom whispered.

  “What is it? You feeling old? Did you see your lonely life flash before your eyes?” she asked, and Tom sensed there was more than her usual sass behind the comment. He looked into her green eyes and remembered their one passionate night together, long ago. Was she still holding on to that?

  “Don’t you ever think about it? We started at the Academy, and bam, we blink, and it’s twenty-something years later. Did we not do enough in those years to earn some desk time?” he asked.

  She smiled despite the mood she was emanating. “Be honest. You hate it, don’t you?”

  “It’s only been a couple of months,” he said, not quite answering the question.

  “So you do hate it?”

  He glanced around, unable to contain a smile. Rene had that effect on him. “I hate it. Oh, I hate it so much. What was I thinking?” It felt so good to let it out, and Rene laughed loudly as the server came in. She tried to hold back, but Tom cracked a laugh, and they went to it again as the dishes were cleared. Tom was blinking away tears by the time they were alone.

  “That was good,” he said.

  “I haven’t had a laugh like that in a long time. Thomas Baldwin behind a desk on Nolix. I never thought I’d see the day. If you hate it so much, what are you going to do? Ask for Constantine back?”

  “I can’t do that. It’s Treena’s. I’ll figure it out. I always do,” he told her.

  Tom noted how close Rene’s chair was to his, her cheeks flushed from the drink and laughter. “You know, if you’d been seeking company in the arms of a woman, you could have looked me up.”

  Tom nearly choked on his Vina and met her gaze. “Are you suggesting we should have made some sort of arrangement?”

  “Something like that…”

  “We’re moving in together,” he blurted out for some reason, and Rene went rigid.

  “I see.” She set her glass down and rose, moving toward the exit. “Tom, it was a pleasure catching up. Please don’t take anything I said to heart. I was only kidding around.”

  Tom stood too. “Sure. And… I appreciate your company tonight. Maybe we can do it again soon.”

  She stopped at the door. “I’d like that.”

  Alarms sounded in the ceiling’s speakers, and Tom followed Rene as she jogged through the restaurant. “What’s going on?” he heard Rene ask through her communicator with the bridge.

  “We’re under attack.”

  Six

  Brandon stared through the tinted glass dome, seeing the sunlight casting its glow over the vegetation. All this work, and for what? Moisture dripped from the ceiling, landing on the garden, a constant cycle of their greenhouse. His boots and socks were set by the airlock, and he walked through the rows of plants in the garden, feeling the dirt between his toes.

  This might be the last time he’d ever come here, and it had been his favorite of the domes over the past decade. There had been repeated attempts to colonize Mars, but it had never worked out. By the time they’d understood enough of the technology to really make a go of it, the government had begun to change, shifting toward a single world order. At first, they’d all gone along with it. Brandon remembered gardening with his grandmother, and her recalling tales of that time.

  They thought it was good, a united planet, but soon it was evident that democracy was no longer.

  Brandon crouched by a tomato plant, brushing aside some of the leaves to see the basil plant underneath. He inhaled both, the scent titillating to his senses. One of the fruits was nearly ready to eat, and he plucked it off before finding another. Once he had enough for the giant sauce, he stopped. They were going to make a special meal tonight, maybe their last one before the incoming vessel arrived. Brandon was ready to give his life to keep this place and hoped that would be sufficient.

  He foraged some basil and spent some time at the rows of onions. Soon he had a basket full of supplies, and he sealed it up, returning to his EVA. The others would be waiting.

  Brandon took one last look into the greenhouse through the airlock hatch window and exited the dome, climbing into the rover. He moved toward the Island and slowed as he passed dome four. These had been created over two hundred years ago, about fifty years before the ultimate ban on colonization was issued.

  Before that, corporations had attempted to set up stations on Mars, and on Jupiter’s moons, using the bases for mining operations. Once the Visitors had arrived, everything changed.

  Brandon continued on, stopping near the dome where almost all of their colonists were gathered. A few were still preparing for tomorrow’s assault, including Jun and Carl, along with Devon. He grabbed the pack with food and entered the airlock. The moment he was through, his helmet came off, and he heard the shouting.

  He dropped the bag, heading in the direction of the noise, and found two groups inside, facing off against one another.

  “What the hell is going on?” he asked, and that was when he saw the gun in Sylvester’s hand. He waved it around, pointing the barrel toward Brandon.

  “You wanna know what I think? I think we’re screwed. I’m taking the freighter, and you’re gonna let us leave. All of these fine folks want to depart this colony,” Sylvester said.

  Brandon raised his hands. “Look, there’s nowhere to go. You’ll die.”

  “We’re going to cut a deal. Basher isn’t a monster,” Paula said, her eyes wild.

  There were about fifteen of them siding with the armed man, and Brandon hated to see the division.

  “Paula, you of all people… you were torn from your family, sent to the mines. You really think that Basher will cut you any kind of deal?” Brandon asked, storming into the middle of the room to stand between the two opposing groups. He didn’t stop there. “And you, Sylvester. Your own kid was killed by one of his militia. You want to trust the Visitors?”

  The man smacked his lips, gaze darting across the room, but his gun stayed aimed at the others.

  “We need to stick together. Work as a team and nab this ship. This will make the difference,” Brandon said.

  Sylvester was an older man, thin but wiry, and his neck tendons stuck out as he lowered the weapon. “Dammit, boss. I didn’t… We’re afraid. None of us wants to die.”

  Brandon took the gun from him, passing it to Kristen behind him. “I don’t either, but the only way this works is if we take their ship. It was sent before the robot came with his ultimatum, so it may be a clean-up crew meant to escort us to Earth.”

  Paula nodded, draping a long arm over Sylvester’s shoulder.

  “I was about to start dinner. Does anyone object to that?” Brandon asked, and the tension eased as one of the younger kitchen workers grabbed his pack, carrying it through the mess to the swinging doors.

  This was
going to be their last meal on Mars, and Brandon intended to enjoy his fellow colonists’ company. Time was running out.

  ____________

  “How long have you worked for our mutual friend?” Lark Keen asked Prophet in the cramped room on her modified freight hauler.

  Her face was aglow with the light of her clear tablet, and she lowered the device, staring at him as if he’d interrupted something important. They’d been sitting silently for an hour or so, and Lark was exceedingly bored.

  “Much like the Assembly, they’ve been operating from the shadows. Unlike the Assembly, they’re still out there, and gaining power with each passing day.” The jab was intended to sting, but Lark found he no longer cared about his failures with the Assembly. That was yesterday’s news, and he was fighting for a way to improve his family’s standing.

  Sure, he could have continued on at the Concord’s mercy and been with his family, a prisoner for life. Then what? What would have happened when Luci grew up? Or if they had another child while in custody? That wasn’t freedom. Luci needed a future.

  “It amazes me how they’ve managed to accomplish so much in such little time,” Lark said, flipping a pillow in his hands.

  Prophet laughed, a low, raspy sound. “Little time. They’ve been working on this for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. Cultivating their race, making allies with powerful people. They’ve done it all properly. Above ground, if you will.”

  “When do we arrive?” he asked.

  “We’ll be there in a few days,” she told him.

  He hated being in the dark like this. “Then what?”

  “Then we hop into our Nek drive shuttle and head to the final destination,” she said. “Oh, if you haven’t seen it, your uniform is in the closet.” She pointed past him at the wall.

  Lark rose, dropping the pillow to the bunk, and crossed the room, opening the sliding door. The uniform was familiar, the crest of the First Ship on the breast. He ran a hand over it. He’d never worn one, not for real. All those dreams of working side by side with his best friend in the universe, Thomas Baldwin, had gone to the Vastness when Lark had betrayed the Concord.