“What kind of weapon?”
“A biological weapon.”
“Did it harm them?” she asked.
“No. It temporarily subdued them.”
“Which allowed you to get away.”
“Yes,” Eshel said. “The weapon worked even more effectively than I had envisioned.”
“How did you design it? Did you use the same casing as the one we made for Tom?”
“It is better that you don’t know how the weapon works.” Catherine scowled a little as she looked away again. “You are offended.”
“Not that you won’t tell me. That you lied, about the attack.”
“It was a necessary deception, Catherine. Using such a weapon is illegal. It is also… it is my technology and I am not prepared to share it at this time. When I developed it, I didn’t yet know I could trust you.”
She nodded in understanding. “They’ll anticipate that maneuver next time.”
“I have other options,” he replied.
Catherine, appearing satisfied with Eshel’s responses, said no more.
Eshel went on. “The first secret is my developing weapons to defend myself. The second… is the reason I left Korvalis. I was carefully watched on Korvalis because I am the son of my father.” He paused for a moment. “My father, who you know as Othniel, was not Shereb by birth. He gained inclusion to our clan through joining with my mother. My father, along with others, openly opposed many of the kunsheld’s policies, especially those pertaining to going offworld and interacting with outsiders. Despite his remarkable scientific achievements and proper behavior while offworld, Elisan revoked one of my father’s requests to leave Korvalis and attend a scientific summit on Suna. When my father made his next request, Elisan rejected that one as well, as he did any future requests. Soon after, funding for my father’s research began to diminish.
“One evening, my father, along with several other scientists, was invited to dine with the malkaris and her family at Fallal Hall. We had dined with them before, although such invitations had become very infrequent.” Eshel looked down. “Later that night, my father was found dead in the gardens at Fallal Hall, killed by a bioweapon.” Eshel remained still for several moments. “Despite my father’s significant achievements, the kunsheld, the kunsheld’s aides, and the malkaris’s family did not attend the sher memeshar… the rite of death. Only Elan attended. Elan had learned from my father, had respected him.”
Eshel briefly scanned the area around them before continuing. “My father’s murder was the fourth in a series of similar murders. The dead… they each offered opposing opinions to Elisan’s policies, and each had become Shereb through joining with a Shereb mate. I began a detailed investigation of my father’s murder in secret. Only my mother knew. Weeks into my investigation, a messenger, an Osecal merchant who sold us some of our research equipment, visited me at my lab and told me of an opportunity to leave Korvalis. They would leave in three days.”
Catherine nodded. “So you had to abandon the investigation to take the opportunity to escape.”
“It was what my father would have wanted.” He paused again. “The loss of a family member is… difficult. You know this. But murder… on Korvalis it is extremely rare. It is not our way.”
Eshel noticed that the bumps had resurfaced on Catherine’s skin, so he walked to her and warmed her. “Finally,” Eshel said after releasing her, “the last secret. You know I am sanctioned from sharing my scientific knowledge. However, my father is dead, other scientists are dead, and if something happens to me, knowledge will vanish. Such knowledge is irreplaceable and cannot be lost. To do so would dishonor my father, my mother, and my people.” He stared at her. “You are the proper candidate to receive some of this knowledge. I will not provide you with answers; but I will, and believe it my duty to, offer you tools with which to find the answers yourself.”
Catherine’s face lit up. However, the look of pleasure on her face faded, to be replaced by a more troubled expression.
“What bothers you?” he asked her.
“I have a secret too, and I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
Eshel’s eyebrows went up. “You want to divulge a secret to me?”
“Is that allowed?”
“Yes.”
Catherine hesitated for several moments. “I’ve been studying your epigenome,” she finally said. She told him about the files she’d discovered, about the work she’d done.
Eshel showed no reaction. “Commander Steele does not know?”
“I don’t think so. He hasn’t said anything, which he would have because he’d assume I’d lied to him. But I’m surprised he didn’t have someone scan my network, and—”
“Did you remove the files from your network and the VirNet?”
Catherine, taken aback by Eshel’s uncharacteristic interruption, said, “Of course.”
“Where are they stored?”
“On one of my portables.”
“Is it well-hidden?”
“Yes.” She looked a little ashamed. “Are you angry?”
“No. Continue studying them, without getting caught. Commander Steele must never see those files, Catherine.”
She nodded. “I know.”
Eshel paused, his expression softening. “Have you examined the files carefully?”
She smiled a little. “I have.”
“What have you discovered?”
“Lots of alteration to the methylation patterns. And some of the proteins have been altered.”
“And what conclusions have you come to?”
“Well… that I couldn’t come to any useful conclusions without viewing a new sample of your epigenome.”
“Why do you need a new sample?”
Catherine was reminded of her dissertation defense, where her committee asked her questions not because they didn’t know the answers, but to ensure she knew them. “I need to compare the two samples.”
“Why compare them?”
Catherine wrapped her arms around herself, as if chilled again. “Well… to see which of the changes were engineered and which were a result of having taken the drug to initiate the stasis…”
Eshel’s expression changed. It was, perhaps, the most pleased he’d ever looked. His intense gaze remained on Catherine, and then he finally spoke. “Perhaps it is fortunate that I am forbidden to work as a geneticist.”
“Why is that?”
“I would want you to work with me, but you could not.”
“Why not?”
“I am very… rude, as you say, when I work. You do not like that, and I would not like angering you.”
Catherine grinned and, unable to contain herself, gave Eshel a big kiss on the lips.
Eshel, while surprised at first, smiled his small smile. “The rite is complete. We have revealed our secrets. Now, we seal it.” He looked at her closely. “Are you ready?”
Catherine’s grin subsided and she appeared serious again. She nodded.
Eshel reached out and put his hand behind her head and brought his cheek to hers. Then, he put his hand on her shoulder and gently pressed down. Catherine, confused, finally realized he wanted her to submerge herself in the sea. She sank down, leaning back and letting the cool water envelop her. Before she surfaced, she saw that Eshel had done the same.
They emerged from the tide pool, dressed themselves, and walked back to their hut in silence.
Later, Catherine read while Eshel slept. He was a quiet sleeper, his breathing slow and barely perceptible. However, later on, a noise awakened Catherine. She looked around her, realizing the noise had come from Eshel. He sat up, his breathing erratic.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It is nothing.”
Back at her quarters, Catherine unpacked her bag. A short while later, Eshel arrived. He carried a flat package.
“What’s that?”
“It is for you.”
She couldn’t help but smile, taking the package and removing
its linen wrapping. She gasped. It was a shell painting, an abstract design, mottled in color with vivid blues and greens. It was one of the pieces she’d admired in Viorov.
“Eshel,” she said in wonder, staring at it. “It’s beautiful. You remembered that I liked this one.”
He nodded. “Since you could not decide, I hope you don’t mind my choosing for you.”
“That makes it even more special. I love it.”
He motioned to her photo display. “It is the correct size for the empty space.”
She looked over at the bare spot she’d hoped to fill with something special from their long mission. Eshel helped her mount the painting; the mounting process took a while when done correctly, as the object had to be secure enough to handle any turbulence or other challenges of space travel. As Eshel had predicted, the piece fit perfectly.
When finished, Eshel reached into his pocket, retrieved two portable drives, and handed them to her. “This one,” he said, pointing with his long finger to the black one, “is one you must never look at unless something happens to me.”
“And the blue one?”
“The blue one has something you need.”
After Eshel left to go study, Catherine tucked the black portable away and examined the contents of the blue one. It contained only one multi-terabyte file, created just minutes before Eshel arrived at her quarters.
It was an image. It was a new copy of Eshel’s genetic material.
14
Eshel walked through the hallway, glancing out one of the windows. Once again, its view offered little more than the quiet darkness of space. They’d wrapped up their business with the Derovians and left the Katara system. With their revised itinerary, Cornelia journeyed through a region that was far from anywhere habitable and thus out of satellite range. Such conditions left the crew with little to do but work, eat, and sleep. At first, Eshel had difficulty with the confinement after months of freedom to roam and swim on Derovia. But he soon settled into his space routine.
And that day had brought interesting news: a double chirp on his contactor announced the exact dates of their upcoming mid-mission 30-day leave, which everyone called the “Thirty.”
Once at Catherine’s quarters, Eshel sat down at the table and took a drink from his canteen. He felt considerable anticipation at the prospect of seeing Earth, the place he’d been most curious about since his father told him about the other worlds. Eshel had only two wishes: to swim as much as possible, preferably in water that was cooler than Derovia’s, and to visit one of the “Big Three” genetics institutes.
Catherine joined him at the table. “Aren’t you worried about getting in trouble for visiting one of the Big Three? You know the brass will find out.”
“The rule is that I cannot talk about what I know. They didn’t say I could not learn what you know.”
“They may not agree with your reasoning, Esh,” Catherine warned.
“They do not have to. I studied your legal system. Without more specific sanctions, they have no valid argument.”
Catherine smiled at Eshel’s resourcefulness. “Earth will be different from what you’re used to, and different from Derovia.”
Eshel nodded. Despite his curiosity about Earth, he was intimidated to go to the most populous and advanced of the Alliance planets. The Sunai viewed themselves as more technologically advanced, but Eshel knew better. He didn’t fear the humans—he’d grown somewhat familiar with their ways—but he was hesitant to face the vast number of people, the noise, and the other assaults on his senses. The videos he’d seen were overwhelming enough. But Catherine would mitigate much of that. She would know what he needed.
“We’ll visit my hometown in Colorado,” she said. “You’ll like the mountains.”
He nodded. “I want to see the mountain flowers, like those in your images.
She shook her head. “Wrong time of year. We’ll be there in December, when the mountains are covered in snow.”
Snow. Another thing Eshel had never experienced. Korvalis only had snow in the uninhabited polar regions. Catherine voiced a series of commands to her computer, and a video appeared on her viewer and began to play. The video showed a human female, possibly an adolescent, descending a white slope on what Eshel had learned were skis. “That is skiing.”
She grinned. “That is me skiing. When I was twelve.”
Eshel looked more closely, realizing the child did look like Catherine.
She called out a few more commands and a series of images appeared on her viewer: steep peaks blanketed in white, a dwelling made of tree trunks, and Catherine in a forest.
“What is wrong with those trees?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Some of them lack foliage. Do they absorb energy through their branches?”
“No. They’re dormant. When it gets cold, they lose their foliage and regrow it when it warms up again in springtime.” She paused, her expression changing. “Esh… I want you to meet my father.”
“Of course.”
She smiled. “And I can arrange for a tour of the Peloni Institute. Given that we only have thirty days, I recommended we restrict our remaining travels to only one other continent besides North America. Since it will be wintertime, southern Europe might be good. The water will be nice and cool for you. Good wine, too.”
They talked more about the Thirty before it was time for Eshel to leave. Just as he rose from his seat, his contactor chirped.
“Tom?” Catherine asked.
“No. The XO.”
Eshel left and headed in the direction of Yamamoto’s office. And thirty minutes later, he returned.
“There is a problem,” Eshel said.
She put her reading pad down and sat up.
“If I am to obtain my commission, I must spend my Thirty at boot camp.”
At Tom’s quarters, Catherine filled her cup with beer, sat down at the table, and listened with detachment while the others discussed their Thirty plans. Tom hadn’t committed yet; he preferred to play things by ear, to see where opportunity and inspiration would take him. Snow would go to California to visit friends before meeting up with Tom. Zander and Middleton would visit family for the holidays before they went dog sledding in Alaska. Shanti would split her time between India and Indonesia. Catherine said nothing, hoping they’d get carried away and forget to ask her. She hadn’t realized how much she looked forward to her plans with Eshel, until they were taken away from her.
“And,” Tom said, grinning and taking a swig of beer, “guess who gets to spend his Thirty in West Virginia… at boot camp?”
Everyone looked up from their cards at Eshel, offering reactions of surprise and sympathy for him.
“How’d you work that out?” Snow asked Eshel. “We’re only off thirty days and boot camp is six weeks.”
“I am told I may miss the first five days,” Eshel said. “Boot camp will finish seven days after Cornelia leaves Earth, after which I will obtain a transport back to the ship.”
“Ferguson had to pull some strings to arrange that,” Tom said, tossing in his bet. “Marks said she even tried to get them to let you skip that last week, but they weren’t having it.”
Snow folded his cards. “Damned right. Be glad you’ll miss those five days, you lucky bastard.” He shook his head. “The most miserable six weeks of my life, man.”
“It’s not that bad,” Zander said, placing his bet. “The first week is the worst. Maybe they’ll go a little easier on you since you’re not human…”
“Just remember to use the proper addresses, Esh,” Tom said. “No matter what. And for Christ’s sake, don’t correct your commanding officers. Don’t even argue with them. I know that’ll be tough for you.”
The others, who all knew Eshel’s character by now, laughed at this. But Middleton, who sat with a scowl on his face, offered no laughter.
He slapped down his cards. “He gets five days less than the rest of us? Man, that’s such bullshit.”<
br />
“Ah, quit your whining, Middleton,” Tom said, rummaging through his chips to gather up another bet. “There’s nothing important during those first few days that he hasn’t already learned here.”
Middleton, who’d become increasingly immune to Tom’s rebukes, pressed on. “That’s not the point, man. They’re doing it because he’s Korvali. They give special favors to the alien enlistees. Did you know that?” He posed the question to Eshel, one of the rare times he spoke directly to him. “Did you know they treat aliens special?”
“I do not recall having received special treatment,” Eshel replied, unruffled.
“What do you call gettin’ five days shaved off your boot camp time?” Middleton said. “What do you call gettin’ transferred from Maintenance to Weapons after, what, a few weeks?”
Eshel stared at Middleton. “I call them things that will never replace my work as a scientist, or those I left on Korvalis.”
Middleton shrugged, fiddling with his chips, looking at no one. “If those things are so important to you, maybe you should go back to where you came from.”
“Mackey!” Shanti said.
Middleton continued playing with his chips, his scowl deepening. The room quieted.
“I believe it would be better if you returned to your homeworld,” Eshel replied.
Middleton pointed at his own chest. “This ship comes from my homeworld. I belong here.”
Eshel put down his cards. “This ship visits three other inhabited planets, each populated by an alien people. What is the purpose of your joining this organization, since it is clear that you dislike aliens?”
“What?” Middleton cried. “I never said I disliked aliens! It’s your goddamn people who hate outsiders, not us! I don’t dislike aliens at all, man. All I said is they get special favors, and that’s bullshit.”
People began shifting in their seats. Catherine and a few others glanced at Tom, wondering when he was going to put a stop to the argument.
Eshel continued to stare Middleton down. “You disliked me before I received this ‘special treatment.’ You called me ‘Mutant’ when you thought I couldn’t hear you. It is true that the Korvali do not trust outsiders. But we acknowledge that about ourselves. You are no different from us, but you pretend you are.”
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