Warpath

by Randolph Lalonde

  He didn’t have expectations or designs for the half hour they were stealing, but having time to be with her was something he needed, though he didn’t know it until she was there. The sound of her breathing, of her body against his, her parted lips and the play they enjoyed between was more than enough. Jake would not have been able to guess how long they spent together against his storage locker, but when it ended he knew it was longer than he would have guessed, and not long enough.

  He drew back a little, offering an opportunity for the long moment to end, but she followed him, and they continued. A short time later she began to withdraw, and he squeezed her to him a little, she squealed and giggled lightly against his lips. A parting kiss later, and they were extracting themselves from each other. She brushed her red curls out of her blushing face and straightened her vacsuit, even though it had already adjusted itself. “I swear that’s not why I wanted to drag you off to your quarters,” she said through a smile. “Not this time, anyhow.”

  “Sure, sure,” he said.

  “No regrets, though,” she said. “I brought you something.” Ayan picked up the hard case that was delivered to his quarters and opened it to reveal a collapsed adaptable bed frame. “I plundered the Triton’s storage for all the spare beds they had. There are two crates with seventy-five of these in each one of them. I didn’t mark them, so no one knows what’s inside. I put a low-priority order in for more too.”

  “A hundred fifty of these?” Jake asked, taking the slender frame, collapsed to no more than a thin pair of poles a meter long, in his hands. “We’ll start giving these to senior officers and work our way down.”

  “I thought you’d say that,” Ayan replied.

  “And the Chiefs, I have to make sure they get them.”

  “I was wondering, since this is one that can expand into a queen size, if you wanted to pull this wall out?” Ayan asked sheepishly, pointing to the wall with his small table against it.

  He stared at the wall blankly for a moment. That would get rid of his tiny hygiene alcove along with its vibro-shower, a slender cupboard beside it, and it would open his quarters up to the next, a space that was identical to his. The conversion would take only a few hours, but he would be occupying two of the best rooms in the ship beside the bridge.

  “If you think it’s too soon, you can just use the bed here as a wide single,” Ayan said. “I just thought we could share resources this way, but if you need your privacy, I’ll understand.”

  He looked to Ayan, who was staring at him expectantly and realized that she had been assigned the quarters next door. “Yes, I mean, we’d both feel like we had more space, and the fixtures that they take out with the wall could be used somewhere else,” he said, sticking to the practical side of things. “We’re not breaking the fraternization regulation either, we’re from different departments.”

  “How romantic,” Ayan said, her enthusiasm wilting.

  “I’m just thinking about how the rest of the crew would take it, I have to follow the same regulations.” He took her hands, she turned her head away from him. “I just didn’t expect us to share quarters so soon,” he said. Jake could see her fighting a grin and losing. “I’m excited to see that we are though,” he said, lowering his voice. She was drawing the awkward moment out to watch him squirm, so he set himself to turn that around. “We’re going to have to have to improve the sound proofing and anchor the bed frame to the deck really well though. Oh, and we’ll need to install localized gravity controls, maybe a few reinforced strap loops in the ceiling-”

  Ayan laughed and blushed, boggling at him. “What were you watching while you were stuck in recovery?”

  “I’m kidding,” Jake said, “serves you right for putting me on the spot. Of course I’ll share quarters. You just surprised me.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, blushing nonetheless. “I don’t want to rush things either, but I feel like we lost time, and it was my fault.”

  “Don’t think about that,” Jake said. “You’re here, we can take time together when we can, and on the other side of that door there are much bigger problems. A ship like this, a cause like ours will eat every scrap of energy we have and stay hungry for more. Sharing quarters might be the only way we can steal time, even if it’s only a few minutes before we pass out.”

  “I’ll take that,” Ayan said. “And we’ll still take it slow, get to know each other again.”

  “That’s what I want,” Jake said. “But it’s going to be a couple days at least before maintenance can put our rooms together. I’ll put everything on this wall on the list of available components for the build they’re working on near the hangars, but those alert quarters for our other fighter squadrons won’t get worked on for a bit.”

  “That’s all right, we’ll set up your bed for now, I’ll do mine later,” Ayan said, picking up the slender bed frame and pulling the rods apart. Jake took one end and held it out over the cheap mattress that was there. The thin, membrane mattress expanded as Ayan drew her rod to the head of the bed and anchored it against the bulkhead. Jake anchored his end inside the sleeping alcove and let Ayan stretch the rod width-wise, to match the modest sized mattress beneath. “I’ll signal maintenance to remove this mattress,” Jake said, poking the old one that seemed to fight him the night before. “I’m going to sleep so much better tonight, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Ayan said. “Pass me the blanket.”

  Jake pulled a dense sheet from inside the case. He thought the soft crimson material was the lining of the container, forgetting that the Triton’s quarters also made use of variable material bed covers. His memories aboard that ship were surprisingly faint, but his recollections of the amenities aboard that ship were just sharp enough to remind him of what he could expect. Fully adjustable beds, blankets, pillows that could be pulled apart to make several cushions or one big one of any shape were faint, but still fond. Having that technology aboard his ship would help morale immensely, not to mention that it was all self-cleaning, heating, and the blanket doubled as a survival bubble in emergencies. “I’m going to forget where I am when I lay down tonight.”

  “I think that’s the point,” Ayan said. “Wait until you see my adult-sized swaddle blanket, a going away present from Lacey.”

  “I don’t think that would suit my image as the tough and combat ready Captain,” Jake said. “Maybe if I get quarters at Haven Shore some day-“ A beep on the intercom in his quarters interrupted Jake. “Go ahead,” he answered.

  “We have picked up a distress call through the wormhole,” Liara said. “It is from a Freeground Fleet ship, within actionable range.”

  “To combat stations, red alert,” Jake said, passing through the hatch and walking straight to his command seat. Minh-Chu was already on his way out. “Good hunting,” Jake said.

  “Thank you, this looks good, Jake,” Minh-Chu said on his way off the bridge.

  Ayan took a place at the engineering station. “I’ll make sure our new shields are ready to go and run them from here.”

  “What does the Admiral want to do?” Jake asked.

  “Our orders are to begin charging our emitters so we can open the next wormhole,” Liara said. “I have the Admiral on now.”

  “Put him through.”

  A hologram of Oz sitting on the edge of his command seat appeared in front of Jake. He’d never seen so much suppressed excitement. “Jake, it’s the Huntress, one of the new Sunspire class ships. It’s Captain Lawson, I know her from the last time I served with Freeground, and she was a Lieutenant then. We can be there in nine minutes if you can create a wormhole to their coordinates as soon as we emerge from this one. Do you think you can get the new shields running in time?”

  “Yes,” Ayan said. “I’d test them now, but that would destabilize the wormhole. They’ll work though.”

  “What are we up against, Admiral?” Jake asked.

  “Four destroyers and a battleship with advanced interdiction technology. The Hun
tress has managed to take out two of the destroyers so far, but won’t be able to hold out without support. We’re forwarding all the information we have to your tactical system.”

  “Will we get there in time?”

  “We’re going to try.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Jake said.

  Chapter 50

  A New Face

  “How do you feel, Alice?” asked a friendly voice she didn’t recognize. “I’m Ando Five, Doctor Anderson thought it would be more appropriate if I were here when you woke up, since I am a female model with medical training.”

  Alice opened her eyes and sat up. She was in the bedroom of her own appartment in Haven Shore. She was still in her dark vacsuit, but that was where the similarities ended. “I was afraid I’d get these from Ayan, they are going to be inconvenient,” she said, looking at her chest. “Wow, my voice is so different.”

  “You have physically progressed through the most difficult parts of puberty thanks to the transformation. To quote Doctor Anderson, ‘you dodged a bullet.’ By my estimation, you’ve flowered into a lovely young woman, if you don’t mind me using the expression, and are fairly well proportioned. You could have alterations done like any human, but they’re not recommended.”

  Alice took a better look at herself and couldn’t help but feel gleeful. The boyish body was gone, and she could remember what her first body was like clearly, a memory she had difficulty recalling before. What she had become was better than the grown woman she remembered the first time she transferred her consciousness into a human body. She felt like she was made of rounded corners and circles instead of lines and boxes, but in no way weaker than that first form. “This is so weird,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment. Her memories were much clearer, her mind felt free again, able to recall the people she’d known since she became a human being.

  “Are you all right?” the Ando asked.

  “Just doing a head check, things seem great,” she replied. Her mood darkened slightly at the memory of people she’d lost and left behind. It wasn’t a small number, and she’d have to find out if some of them made it through the trials of the past two years.

  “That brings me to the next point of your current status. Your brain is in the optimum state to develop new skills and adopt good habits that could last the rest of your life. The framework left it in excellent condition, and at an optimal stage.”

  “But, is the framework gone?” Alice asked, finding the sound of her own voice strange, still youthful, but the tone had a much more musical quality to it.

  “All but this tiny, inactive sliver of the framework was eliminated. I extracted it when the procedure was finished, then healed the wound with regeneration gel,” she said, holding up a small jar with a silver sliver inside. “Would you like it as a souvenir?”

  “The Governor can have that,” she said. “So, who am I related to now? Did it turn out the way he expected?”

  “Yes and no,” Ando Five said. “You are the daughter of Jacob Valent, and Ayan Anderson, but with a distinct leaning towards Ayan. Genetic traits from a normal combination of the two – as if they had you like any child – are all present, and there is no presence of influences from other lineages. A full body scan reveals that there are no defects, which is slightly unnatural, but in a good way. Your ideal image of yourself did change between the time your framework data was copied by Doctor Messana and when your transformation was initiated today. I’m afraid the difference in body shape and facial structures could be more surprising than he anticipated. Take a look.” The android projected a mirror image of Alice that was so different that it startled her.

  She had a mane of ringlets that ranged from deep red to bright, flaming hues. Her face was heart shaped, with big blue-green eyes, full cheeks and lips.

  “Red hair! So red! I look a lot like Ayan too, but younger. I definitely don’t look like her daughter, more like her kid sister, but not a kid, definitely not a kid.” She turned the hologram so she could look at herself side-on. “Okay, I’m not as big as I thought on top, I can deal with this. Everything matches, but I’ve never been cute like this,” she smiled and blushed at herself. “I’m cute and curvy, like really old poster girls before people got into the skeletal thin craze. It’s so weird. I don’t know if I like it.”

  “Judging by your reaction – smiling, blushing, and other signs of excitement - I think it’s likely you do like what you see,” the Ando said.

  “Okay,” Alice looked the image of herself up and down again, looking the image of the young woman there in the eye. The full smile on that person’s face was a mirror image of the one on her face, but it still seemed to beckon her on into a new phase of her life. A life led by an adult woman who had an infectious grin, and a face so much like Ayan’s, a woman she had come to admire. To look like her, but still unique, an adult, it was more than she could have asked for. “I’m a grown woman again,” she said aloud, keeping the rest of her thought to herself. And I’m pretty, she thought to herself. How could I think I deserved to be so pretty, even subconsciously?

  “By my estimation, which is medically sound, you are equivalently between seventeen and eighteen years of age. A scan of your body reveals that you are in perfect shape for a young woman your age, and at your stage of puberty.”

  “Would you stop saying the p-word?” Alice said, watching herself blush a deeper shade of red. She couldn’t help but giggle. The sound was so foreign, almost child like. “Why do I sound like this?”

  “Your vocal chords are on the small side for a female with your physical maturity thanks to a trick of genetics. You will probably always sound youthful unless you make an effort to lower your intonation, which is a skill they can teach you at the Fleet Academy.”

  “Wow, it’s strange, but I feel lighter somehow, like a weight has been taken off,” Alice said. “A really heavy one.”

  “That does not make sense, you are actually a few grams heavier, despite the difference in height. I suspect you gained some mass thanks to moving things along towards becoming a woman.”

  “Nice, found your way around saying the p-word,” Alice said.

  “Do you feel ready to stand?” Ando Five asked.

  Alice swung her legs down over the edge of her bed and got to her feet. She held Ando Five’s hand for stability, but once she took a few steps, she felt fine. “I’m shorter? Tell me I’m not shorter.”

  “You are three centimetres shorter, but I predict you will slowly gain seven more centimetres over the next three years.”

  “I grew sideways instead,” she said, patting her hip. She hopped and landed on her heels hard. “Okay, ow,” Alice said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Going to make sure my vacsuits keep those strapped in properly.”

  “Can I come in?” Doctor Anderson said from the opening door.

  “Oh yeah, you have explaining to do,” Alice said.

  He came through the door, and she gave him a running hug. “Just kidding, but seriously, this isn’t what was advertised.”

  “I was a little concerned that there would be differences,” he said, practically beaming at her. “I did a last minute scan of what your ideal mental image of yourself was, according to the framework, and this was close enough to what you saw in that copy to go ahead. I pressed on because your subconscious mental image was constantly changing. For all I knew, you could have ended up with the DNA of your best friend, combined with that of a teacher. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “No, I’m a little disappointed to be shorter though,” Alice said, letting the Doctor go and sitting down. “I really thought I’d get at least ten more centimetres. Maybe a few years too, skip the whole teenage chapter completely.”

  Doctor Anderson sat down across from her and took her hand. “We can use gene therapy to cause a long growth period to supplement what’s going on, but I don’t suggest that until you’re about twenty four. Your age is a gift though,” he said. “If I could go back and be a teenager again, wit
h the advantages and opportunities you have, I would do it in a heartbeat. The experiences I had when I was your age weren’t just formative, they were incredibly intense. Teenagers your age feel everything more keenly, learn faster, take in experiences differently, and even feel the effects of excitement more powerfully. Fill these years with as many meaningful memories and learning experiences as you can. Something in your subconscious mind wanted to be on this cusp between adolescent and adulthood, so I hope you run with it, because you’re not going to be this young and fresh to the universe forever.”

  “Okay, I’ll give that a try, but only if I can call you Gramps,” Alice said.

  “I’ll take that trade,” Doctor Anderson said. “Now, all the testing is finished, and you’re completely healthy. What do you want to do?”

  Chapter 51

  A Cause Like Ours

  The Triton and Revenge emerged from their wormhole with a dust cloud between them and the Huntress. The Triton led the way through, ploughing a path into the iron rich matter for the Revenge using antigravity shielding.

  “We have been detected, and are being ordered to surrender,” Liara announced. “We are to finish moving through the dust cloud, power down all but essential systems and prepare for boarding.”

  “What’s the Admiral doing?” Jake asked with a smirk.

  “He’s agreeing to their terms,” Liara replied. “Our official encoded orders from him still tell us to do the opposite.”

  “All right, signal the Order command ship that we intend to surrender as well, try to get as much information about their communications systems as you can while you’re at it, though,” Jake ordered.

  “Time to hack the battleship,” Liara said.

  Jake examined the main tactical display and shook his head. The Huntress was venting atmosphere from a large opening in her aft section. Two of their five main thrusters had been destroyed, and their launch was open to space from the aft section. Several small tug ships and boarding shuttles were moving in to dock with the kilometre long war ship. The Triton’s gunnery deck were marking them as their primary targets.