Confluence 2: Remanence

by Jennifer Foehner Wells

  A quick search revealed the Crastinatra to be in the same state as the Quisapetta, drifting in the far reaches of a white-dwarf star system. If there had ever been civilization there, it was long gone now.

  This smaller ship was also booby-trapped, and its kuboderan Do’Goa had been killed in the same manner as Kai’Negli. Do’Goa was much younger, only a few decades old. The Crastinatra had been a trading vessel, moving between Sectilius and her colonies.

  They took all the data they could at a distance. Then they blew up the Crastinatra too.

  Another jump. Another ship. The Allucinaria—the Dreamer—a diplomatic vessel that had been returning to Sectilius after a mission to the planet Terac, where the Unified Sentient Races held ambassadorial assemblies. They found the Allucinaria in the void between star systems, also destroyed. Another kuboderan dead, this one called Ei’Nadj.

  They tagged the Allucinaria with a warning beacon in Mensententia rather than waste another missile. The outlook was not looking good and they had limited munitions. Jane called for a short break for a rest before they prepared to move on.

  She found herself wandering the ship in a restless, pensive mood. Alan had decided to do some work for a few hours on Tech Deck. Brai was in an introverted state of mind and wasn’t good company. Jane didn’t feel as though she was either, so she avoided the other crewmembers in favor of a long walk to clear her head.

  But after a while the endless quiet of the empty corridors started to get to her. She paused at a bubble-shaped viewport and gazed out into the deep black sprinkled with so many stars. Were there any live kuboderans out there to find? Had someone killed them all for a reason, or was it all senseless? She decided what she really needed was to see something life affirming, so she suited up in power armor to visit the Greenspace Deck.

  When the door to the space opened, Jane was stunned. Within the immediate area of the entrance, a semblance of order had been restored. Someone had been hard at work, trimming, cutting, carving out walkways. It was still very lush, but not so overgrown. It smelled as lovely and green as she remembered. Just the sight of green growing things eased her mind a bit.

  She heard some rustling and decided to investigate, to see who had done all this work. As she got close, she heard the sound of power armor locking into place over someone’s torso, immediately followed by the faint high-pitched whine of someone arming concussive palm blasters. She ordered her helmet up for safety, thinking there must be nepatrox nearby.

  She came around a stout gray trunk covered with lavender moss and saw another suit of battle armor, palms out, pointed at her. The hands dropped and the helmet retracted. Jane ordered hers back too. It was Ryliuk. His expression was blank but wary.

  She realized this was where she had found him the time before. He had cleared out the space around his peculiar shrub. There were clippings and limbs piled up neatly nearby, waiting to be carted off. He had carved out a little sanctuary here, complete with a small log to sit on. It almost looked like a shrine.

  His armor split open across his torso and he slipped his arms out of it, leaving himself bare-chested without a trace of self-consciousness. Jane had to remind herself that this kind of nakedness did not mean the same thing to him that it did to a human male. She’d seen plenty of man-chest display when she was on campus. At least he was covered from the waist down. “I thought you were a nepatrox,” he said. “I set up a motion-detecting perimeter so that I’d have time to ready myself, just in case.” He pointed at a device mounted to a tree trunk, some distance away.

  “Has there been any more trouble with nepatrox?” she asked.

  “Just one. It seemed to be old and infirm, likely the reason it didn’t chase us that day. None since then. Precautions do seem prudent, however, until we’re certain. That will take time.”

  She nodded. She’d find it difficult to completely relax her guard here unless months went by without seeing one. “Did you do all of this, Ryliuk?”

  “This?” he gestured to the small hideout. “Yes. But not all that. That’s Pledor’s work, mostly. Though all of us come down here when we can, to assist.”

  She knew Pledor had been coming here, because Brai had mentioned it to her and because he’d been leaving lots of fresh food in the crew mess hall. But she never would have guessed at all that had been done. “All of us?”

  “The sectilians and atellans.”

  That was the first time Jane had heard the two groups referred to that way. Normally when someone referred to both groups they just used the all-encompassing “sectilians.” That Ryliuk hadn’t was interesting.

  “If the humans had known you were doing this, we would have helped as well,” Jane said.

  “I suppose this is true.”

  Jane bit back a sour retort. She wanted to say, “Of course it’s true. I just said it was,” but that wouldn’t help the strained relationship she had with Ryliuk. “Tell me about this plant,” she said instead.

  “It is called Plumex.” He held out a hand to the frizzy bush and it twined a sinuous branch around his arm.

  Jane stepped closer. “That’s the name of the species or the name you’ve given this specimen?”

  He caressed the bough and the entire shrub vibrated slightly, rhythmically, almost like it was purring. “The species. Plumex sinciput. They are native to the dark forests of the fifth continent of Sectilia.”

  “It seems to be very special.”

  His expression warmed. “There has been much debate about whether they are sentient, but I have no doubt. They have a rudimentary central nervous system. They have feelings, but no language. I can sense them, though not many can. When my mother discovered that I could, she said I would one day be a powerful mind master.”

  Jane didn’t doubt that. Now she wished she could remove her armor so she could touch it too, but like Ryliuk, she was naked underneath, and she wasn’t about to give Ryliuk a lesson in human mammary anatomy. She’d have to come back at a later time.

  “You said you had one as a child,” Jane probed, hoping to get him to tell her more about it.

  “I did. We encountered one on an excursion. When my mother saw that I had an affinity for the species, she obtained one to plant near our home. I nurtured it carefully as it grew. They thrive on contact, you see. Normally with their own kind—they live in understory groves in the wild, and their branches caress each other. Their combined mental state is like joyous music.”

  He continued to touch it. It was like a pet to him, she realized. He continued. “But when planted singly, like this, they aren’t happy unless they have a connection with an outsider. This one was unbearably lonely.”

  Jane nodded and stepped closer. She wondered why Ryliuk could understand that about the plant and the plant’s needs, but not about Brai. Her fingers itched to touch it. It looked very soft. Watching him fondle it was mesmerizing. She felt drawn to it.

  “We were two of a kind, my Plumex and myself. Both of us outsiders.”

  “Why was that, Ryliuk?” She sat down on the log he’d placed nearby. He was tethered to the plant and not dominating her personal space for a change, so she didn’t mind sitting reasonably close to him.

  He looked at the plant longingly and Jane wondered if he would have just climbed in if she hadn’t been sitting there. As it was, the shrub leaned toward him, tendrils reaching toward his waist, his shoulder, his neck, even wrapping around the shell of his ear, as though it were trying to pull him closer.

  “My mother was of atellan descent. My father, sectilian. This isn’t unusual. However, children tend to favor one body type over the other. My own genetics combined to create something different. I stood out as an outlier. I did not fit in with either group, though it is normal to socialize with all types. I was too…large, too strong, too different. I was left to occupy myself. And when my communication abilities manifested at a very early age, that only isolated me more. People didn’t trust me to abstain from observing their thoughts.”

  “
But your Plumex didn’t mind,” Jane said.

  He smiled. “No. It did not. It flourished under my care.”

  “It looks very soft.”

  “It is.” He took a branch and dangled it just under her nose. “The needles are so fine and so numerous they resemble feathers. See?”

  He touched it to her cheek. It felt kitten soft. She could see the appeal. “It’s lovely.”

  “Pledor says he will help me propagate it, so that it will have a companion.”

  “A wonderful idea.”

  Ryliuk grew quiet and was focused on the shrub, so she rose to go. She was encroaching on his private time. She’d accomplished what she’d set out to do. She felt more centered and at peace. As she started to walk away, she realized that the sectilian mind was so concrete that Ryliuk wouldn’t make a connection unless she showed it to him bluntly.

  She paused. “I’m glad you’re here for your Plumex, as I have been for Ei’Brai. They were both lost and lonely for far too long.”

  He didn’t move, though his ears pulled back a degree.

  “Brai is not so unlike you, Ryliuk. He, too, feels caught between two worlds, not fully belonging to either. Is he kuboderan? Or is he of Sectilius? He was raised by your people to believe he was sectilian, but then he was left to die alone, abandoned. He does not even know where his home world is. And if he could find it, would he belong there either?”

  Ryliuk looked thoughtful, but didn’t reply.

  “We are all part of a new tribe now. We are the crew of the Speroancora. We need to nurture each other as a family would.”

  She turned and left the deck without waiting for a reply.

  50

  Jane emerged from the shower. She was warm and pink and felt refreshed. She carefully combed her hair, pulled it back into a ponytail, and began to dress.

  Alan lounged on the bed, watching her, mischief in his eyes.

  She ignored him.

  He kicked the sheet off and rose to stand behind her, planting kisses on her neck. “I like watching you dress, but I like undressing you more,” he murmured into her ear as his hands wrapped around her and pulled her into him.

  A thrill shot through her. She smiled. “We just did that.”

  “Mmmm. Yep. Let’s do it again. You know, the lack of a bra takes away a component of challenge, but all of these ties more than make up for it.” His fingers fiddled with the tie at the hem of the tunic.

  She covered his arms with her own, stilling his fingers. “You’re saying if I wore a flight suit, you’d be bored of me?”

  “Never. I’d just unzip you inch by glorious inch.”

  She sighed. “I’m due on the bridge in thirty minutes.”

  “I can work within those limitations.”

  She was at war with herself. If she turned in his arms now and kissed him, she wouldn’t be able to pull away. She had a ritual of walking the corridors of the ship before a jump. It helped to gather her thoughts. This one would be a longer jump. It could be harder than the ones before. “Tempting…”

  He groaned. “But…?”

  “Work. And I want to visit Ajaya for at least a few minutes.”

  He stopped trying to pick at the knots she was tying. “I was afraid you’d say that. How’s Ajaya doing?”

  “Healing, slowly. The pain meds keep her out most of the time.”

  “It sucks that she’s stuck in the tub o’ goo. But she’ll be back in no time. To lecture us, and save our asses, as often as possible.”

  She smiled.

  He planted another kiss on her cheek, this one more chaste. “Another jump today.”

  “Yes. I hope you’ll join us.” She turned her head slightly so that her cheek brushed his.

  He squeezed her a little tighter. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. How many dead squid are we going to find before you give up?”

  She frowned. She felt a pang of sadness. He didn’t mean to sound callous, she knew. He was just so pragmatic. “I don’t know. I hope there won’t be any more.”

  He nodded, rubbing his stubbled chin against her hair, and softened his tone. He must have realized he’d hit a soft spot. “We should consider shifting gears at some point. Maybe it’s time to pay the Justice League of Sentients a friendly visit, see if they know anything.”

  “That’s definitely on the table. I’d like to be thorough, gather as much information as possible, though, before abandoning this mission.”

  “That’s sensible. I’m all for collecting data. It’s not great for morale, though.” He released her with a lingering caress over her backside and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “I know. There’s nothing I can do about that.” She finished knotting the final tie and turned.

  “This jump is going to be different though. It’s the first time we’ll jump into an inhabited system.” Her stomach flipped. She was extremely excited about potentially meeting a new species of people. She had to get through the jump first, though, so she shoved that feeling down and put it off for later. Anything could happen between now and then.

  He raised his eyebrows. “That makes it more interesting, for sure. But don’t get your hopes up. That information is more than seventy years old and we don’t exactly know what the hell’s going on.”

  “I’m hoping the Pligans will be able to provide some answers.”

  “Me too. You going for a walk?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you need to be alone, or can I tag along and hold your hand?” He grinned like a schoolboy. Adorable.

  She smiled back and cocked her head to one side. “We could try it.”

  He leapt up and headed for the bath. “Two minute shower,” he called over his shoulder.

  * * *

  The wild disorientation of the jump subsided. Jane’s eyesight came back into focus, leaving behind the dysphoria of the swirling tube they’d just dropped out of. They’d arrived in the Pligan system, deep in the Kirik Nebula. Here they hoped to find the science vessel Oblignatus and its Gubernaviti, Ei’Pio, alive.

  This system’s star was a red dwarf, one-fifth the size of Earth’s sun and far cooler, with only about seventy percent its brightness. As a result, its rocky core planets orbited at a closer distance than Mercury’s orbit in relation to the sun back home.

  Pliga, the only inhabited planet, was tidally locked with that star, meaning only one side ever faced its sun. One face of the planet was a sheet of ice in eternal night. The other was dotted with small continents and islands, but primarily a vast ocean, and bathed in sunlight without end.

  The people of Pliga were descended from arboreal amphibians. They lived at high altitudes in a cloud-forest climate and built their living spaces in and among the treetops, in amazing feats of architecture. To say that Jane was looking forward to making contact was a grand understatement. But first, the Oblignatus.

  Brai activated the sensors in a dispirited mood.

  “I’m picking up a standard identification beacon, Qua’dux,” Ryliuk stated.

  Brai broke in, now rumbling with excitement. “The Oblignatus is in high orbit around Pliga. It appears to be intact.”

  Jane blinked. “Plot a course that will take us within approximately three vastuumet.”

  His reply came back nearly instantly. “Course plotted.”

  The complex equations flowed through her easily now. “Execute.” She felt the familiar rumble of the engines, sensed the heat as they flared to life, and they glided through the small system toward Pliga.

  The mood on the bridge had changed. Everyone was alert. The mental chatter was lively with speculation.

  “Commander, you’ve found one alive?” Ajaya asked groggily from the sanalabrium.

  “It seems so,” Jane replied. She felt breathless.

  “We’re nearly in range for the Squid to make contact,” Alan murmured just loud enough for Jane to hear.

  “Let’s wait until we’re closer. Don’t strain,” Jane told Brai. “Let’s make a good
first impression.”

  The icy dark side of Pliga grew larger, blotting out the light of its sun in a partial eclipse. As they drew closer, the outline of a ship roughly the same size and shape as the Speroancora passed through the crescent of light to the other side. The Oblignatus.

  The standard protocol would be a formal hail. But this was far from a standard situation and Jane felt like it called for a personal touch.

  Brai vibrated with the need to communicate with Ei’Pio.

  “Send her a calm greeting,” Jane commanded.

  “Scaluuti, Ei’Pio. I am Ei’Brai,” he sent, nearly managing what she’d asked.

  She was there. Jane could sense her, through Brai. She was reaching out, wordlessly assessing. She sent timid tendrils of thought.

  “No!” Ei’Pio cried suddenly. Her mental voice grated with rage and despair.

  Jane jumped, startled.

  “This is not…this cannot be. How am I to…? This is wrong!” She sounded panicked, out of control, confused.

  Brai’s voice purred in a soothing tone she hadn’t heard from him in some time. “You aren’t alone anymore, Ei’Pio. All will be well.”

  “No. It won’t. It will never be well. You should go.” Now she sounded cold.

  Confused looks passed around the bridge.

  “We’re just tools. We pass from one hand to the next. It’s unending. There’s never choice in this matter. It’s all dire threats and conditions and pain. There is no hope.” Ei’Pio’s voice shook, rising and falling through entire ranges of emotion in each short statement.

  “There is hope,” Brai soothed. “I once felt as you do now. I’ve seen that it can be different.”

  “No. No-no-no-no-no-no. No!” Ei’Pio shrieked this last no, then fell silent.

  “Perhaps if I—” Ryliuk started to say.

  “No. This is not the time,” Jane told him.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Alan said.

  Jane joined Brai’s connection with Ei’Pio. “Scaluuti, Ei’Pio. I am Jane. Are you injured? We are here to offer assistance.”