Starborn Odyssey (The Starborn Odyssey Trilogy Book 1)

by Haines Sigurdsson

  “Yeah, that was on the News Net earlier today; they also said they were going to try to cut into the hull with a remote laser. They don’t want anyone really there when they do it; it’s that uncertain,” said Janet. “Frankly, I think they should leave it alone, at least for now.”

  “I’m inclined to agree, but on the other hand, if there’s a chance that it will give us faster than light travel, perhaps we might find out what’s going on with the Earth. As a matter of fact, it would allow people to come and visit.” I conjectured.

  “Do we really want that; for them to come and try to take control?” Asked Janet. “After all of our years of travel to get here, just to have everybody else take a short cut and reap all the benefits; I realize that sounds petty but the feeling is genuine.”

  “I admit that it’s a massive philosophical question and I’m sure those feelings won’t be isolated to just a few.” I conceded. “I actually hadn’t thought about it from that angle, but you have a valid point. We’d probably be flooded with immigrants that would come just because it was easy, and they could go right back if they didn’t like it.”

  “That’s what I’d be afraid of,” said Janet. “That it would bring a totally different type of person here. I think that was one of the things that attracted our ancestors to travel here to begin with. A world of people who had dedicated years to their goal of a new world; a new society.”

  Nettie came back out dressed in a very feminine outfit that fit in all the right places and I heartily approved. “You look spectacular,” I said, somewhat surprised at the change. “I’m so use to you in uniform that I forgot there were other clothes to wear.”

  “So I usually don’t look so good?” She asked teasingly.

  “You always look fantastic,” I said with a grin. “You just look even better in your own styles.”

  “Nice save,” said Ollie. Everyone had a laugh at my expense, me included.

  “We’re heading back over to his place,” Nettie told her Mother. “We haven’t seen anyone else yet.”

  “They won’t be surprised that you’re setting a date,” she said with a chuckle. “They’d be more surprised if you said you weren’t.” We headed out amid the laughter, knowing full well that she was probably right.

  We took our time on the walk back; we’d really had no time to give to each other in a long time. It seemed that there was something important going on ever since we got together as a couple. Just walking along the new grassy avenue, arms around each other was a totally new experience. We were home for the first time in twelve generations; that is, we were the first to experience this freedom in all that time. I felt luckier than anyone really had a right to feel, and I loved it.

  Eventually we would have paved streets and sidewalks, but for now I was glad they hadn’t had time to do that yet. When it rained, it was going to get muddy and then we’d all be glad to have it paved. We walked to the end of the buildings to look at the farm land that was already being developed; there were some plants already popping above the soil looking for the sun.

  “I wouldn’t mind being a farmer,” I said. “At least we’d never starve.”

  “Somehow I can’t see you as a farmer.” Nettie responded. “You’re too much of an explorer to settle in quite that fashion.”

  “But someday the exploration will be all done; then what?” I asked. “I’ll have to do something else.”

  “Yes; you’ll teach all the kids about electricity, etc.,” She chided. “That’s what you planned to do anyway.”

  “That’s true, but working outdoors looks good just now,” I said.

  We turned and headed for home. Zeus had just risen above the horizon, mottled green and blue, and taking over, temporarily, the sky. “That’s an incredible view; you’d never see that on Earth,” said Nettie. Needless to say, I agreed. “I would still like to know about those forests under the water that we saw with the little sub. Roger thinks they’re a significant find,” she added.

  “Sooner or later someone will get around to it again, but for now I guess there’ll be too much to do as it is,” I said. “But someday . . . “ I stopped, as her comment sunk in. “Wait, when were you talking to Roger about that?” I queried.

  “I told you he’s been in for counseling since his father’s death,” she answered. “He’s had a really hard time adjusting.”

  I gave Nettie a hard look but she just smiled, looking a little puzzled, as if she really didn’t see why I was concerned. I shrugged off my momentary jealousy. “Let’s go home,” I suggested, putting my arm around her again.

  We arrived at home at the same time my Mother and Angie did.

  “I hear you’re getting married soon!” Greeted Angie. “We ran into Ollie on the way here, and he told us.”

  “So much for the surprise again,” I said jokingly.

  “Well the residential housing office had a line at the door when we came by, so you’d better get your application in as soon as possible; meanwhile you can both stay here if there’s a long delay. I know it won’t be what you’d prefer, but it might have to do,” offered my mother.

  “Thank you,” said Nettie with a little giggle. “At least we know we won’t be sleeping outdoors.”

  “There are still about two thousand people living on the ship, though some of them are staying aboard to run the machinery until the disposition of the ship is decided.” I told them. “I really don’t think we’ll have any problem at all.”

  “We’ll have time to work out all the details,” said my mother, smiling. “We’ll arrange things as soon as you set your exact date, day and time.”

  Capt. Pierce also let me know that after a short break, he had a mission for me to go on. Actually, two missions, but they could wait a few days. However, my interest was stimulated by the news from the group studying the saucer on Zeus. It seemed that their initial dating of the site where the ship was found was off by quite a lot. The radiation from the ship and the big difference in the amount of dust build up had thrown the dating process off by as much as twenty five hundred years, and that put it into the same time bracket as the catastrophe on the planet the Reeshians originally came from. The dust was the result of the number of impacts on the surface by debris caused by the collision of the rogue planet into planet number two, which also changed its orbit This lead directly to the destruction of planet number three, the home of the Reeshians. One had to wonder if there had been some connection between the arrival of the Saucerites and the destruction of the planet Reesh, intentional or otherwise.

  Our engineers were still trying to gain access to the interior of the ship; I personally wasn’t so sure we shouldn’t just tow it away and launch it toward the sun, though I kept that opinion to myself for the time being.

  A surprise engagement party was sprung on us and Captain Pierce was apparently in on it because he had ordered me to be in dress uniform for some sort of ceremony. It was plain to see that was why I’d been ordered to be in full dress uniform for the occasion, and was equally surprised to find out during the party I was awarded a promotion to full Commander, and would be in command of a full Troop of two hundred fifty men and women, and four ships, including the Homer and Virgil and two of the older shuttles. I was in total shock; I feared that they thought I was more than I was, and I hoped I wouldn’t let them down.

  So much for settling down on the farm; Nettie was terribly happy about it, saying: “I’m glad they recognize what they have in you; don’t look so glum,” she beamed, looking lovely.

  “I didn’t do anything that didn’t have to be done,” I told her, feeling suddenly embarrassed by the attention.

  “You took the initiative in every situation that came up and brought all of us back alive, when we were under attack. If you hadn’t handled things the way you did, we’d never have escaped from the dragons on Snaz. You pulled off some first class heroics there and nobody’s going to forget it, and they shouldn’t,” she lectured. “You’re just going to have to get used t
o it; as a matter of fact, so will I. I’m the envy of every woman on Olympus.”

  I looked around and saw my Mom looking at me with a look of pride that I hadn’t seen before, and I realized suddenly that she’d known this was all in the works, and hadn’t told me; she wanted me to be surprised.

  Angie came up to me and huffed, “Well, how will I compete with this, Big Brother? I’ll never be able to match this affair unless I discover the formula for light speed.” She crossed her arms and tried unsuccessfully to give me a baleful glare.

  “That’s probably just what you’ll do,” I teased. “Then I’ll be the one who’s wondering how to compete. Anyway, I’ll be glad to escape this affair and get back to peaceful anonymity.” I really meant it.

  “I don’t think you’ll get out of here any time soon,” she warned. “There are a lot of people looking for a speech or something, and I don’t think you’ll get out of that, either.” Unfortunately, she was right.

  When summoned to the front by Capt. Pierce (who hugged me and then presented me to the crowd to make a speech, I talked briefly about how honored I felt by the promotion and to have (perhaps even more importantly) earned the hand of the most wonderful girl on Astro II. Once I’d said enough about her virtues to make Nettie blush, I went on to talk about the honor we all had in being the first colony to be established that we knew of, and how “every one of us were heroes in our own ways, just by being here and doing what we were doing.” That seemed to please everyone and I took that opportunity to quit while I was ahead.

  Roger was there, and came up to shake my hand. “Nicely said,” he smiled. I thanked him and glanced around; Nettie was across the room talking to Ollie, Ira and Angie, not paying either of us any attention.

  “I’m going to get some cake,” Roger laughed, clapping me on the back and moving off. I grinned, realizing my suspicions were silly.

  After a few more hours of socializing with people we knew well, and some not so well, Nettie and I were able to escape the engagement party and walk outside under the stars, holding hands, talking about the future.

  We had a couple of days free of responsibility before things got back to normal life and the projects that were on the agenda.

  The Unexpected

  Nettie returned to her new job counseling and assisting colonists who were having trouble adjusting to their new lives, and I was finally called in to see Captain Pierce for briefing on my upcoming mission. First was to be a trip back to Snaz with Ian and Mogi, with a lot of new technology and associated equipment to start them on the path back to where their ancestors had been so long ago. They were excited about the prospect of setting up everything for their people to make life easier.

  We were still learning about their culture; their marriage and relationship habits, rituals and customs. Though generally monogamous, sex was not exclusively with their one partner if they chose to share with others. Nor were relationships always with the opposite gender though most often they were. That was strange to us because of how our society viewed it: we needed to propagate. Therefore it was just prudent to share yourself with the opposite sex; to us it just made sense. I would have thought their society would have bent to the same need, their colony never having grown beyond six thousand in three thousand years. It made me wonder about a lot of things we take for granted in our relationships.

  Ian said his people had endured several plagues that nearly wiped out their colony during the years, and that was why their population was so small now. The last plague was only about a hundred years ago. Doc Lee had set up a plan for teaching them about medicine and hygiene so, we hoped, they would never be reduced to just a handful again.

  Mogi told us that her feeling was they ought to move their colony to Olympus with us to take advantage of the better climate, and greater numbers if we joined together. It was being considered by our council as to whether to make that offer to those who chose to do it; time would tell.

  Blurg, on the other hand, was homesick. On top of that, he didn’t want the Reeshians to leave Snaz, though I told him it was unlikely that they would all choose to do it anyway, and I think that relieved him some. His people had a good rapport with the Reeshians and depended to some degree on trade with them. As part of our talks about the future of this system, he agreed to try to make contact with the warlike Vortlepeg in the equatorial region to get a peace accord of some sort established, so we wouldn’t have to fight them (or destroy them, I thought grimly) to save our allies—Reeshian and Fenninz— that remained on the planet.

  In view of the fact that we were going to be helping to rebuild one society on the planet, we were going to have to stop in and let Oz know about the humanoids already on his world to avoid problems in the future. There would always be associations between cultures on that world, once transportation across the globe was established; and that wasn’t far in the future.

  That evening I had to let Nettie know I would be leaving in just a few days. She wasn’t happy about it, but knew it was coming. For the next two days we spent as much time together as we could. When she was working, I was busy setting up all the equipment and organizing my people for the journey back to Snaz, which the Reeshians called Na Reesh, meaning New Reesh, after their previous home world.

  I was happy that I would once again have Mike Dermot for my Head Technician on this trip; I trusted his capabilities. Olga was given my second ship, the Virgil, on this trip, so it was one more person I really trusted. I was also able to get Dr. Lee Hebron for our head Medical Officer again, and Joseph Bradford as Pilot, who was always a great comfort to have; so I felt I had a team I could count on, and that’s important. Josh and Ira were assigned to Olga’s ship; I was glad they would be with her, because I knew she could depend on them—and they could rely on her. Olga also got Dr. Stuart Romney, who had rescued us when we were quarantined.

  By the morning of the third day, all preparations were complete, and we were ready to lift off as soon as everybody was aboard. The good-byes were tearful; Nettie apologized for being so emotional; I thought it was sweet. I had to promise not to take chances, and come home alive. I was glad to get away in the end; life had been a little mundane and I hate good-byes!

  I was really not so sure that I liked the thought of getting married, it just didn’t feel as right as it should. Maybe it was my imagination but Nettie seemed a little apprehensive as well, despite her chipper preparations and planning for the wedding. Well, what will be will be, I thought. And meanwhile I had more than enough to be concerned with.

  Blurg, Ian and Mogi were the last to come aboard before liftoff, with many a farewell and even a few tears. Our peoples were definitely intertwined for all of the future of all three races; four if you counted the Fenninz; it had taken so little time for that to happen.

  Also heading for Snaz / New Reesh was the shuttle Andromeda, with twenty four colonists, planning to stay there to help the Reeshians learn our technology and to use the equipment we were sending there. The group was led by Max Burnum, Anthropologist, and his wife Shannon, along with Ted and June Kaneely and twenty others along with their children, making a total of thirty. Ted was fairly well recovered from the loss of his left arm in the battle with the Vortlepeg during our first mission to the continent we had named Hades. He had an artificial transplant and was becoming very proficient with it. I was glad to see him doing so well and also glad that our medicine was capable of dealing with things of that nature. The Andromeda had left two days ahead of us, being somewhat slower than the new ships, so it would arrive there approximately the same time we would. The planets were about a week apart now, and by the time we headed back they’d be farther yet, being in a retrograde.

  The group on the Andromeda was planning to stay on Snaz indefinitely, to establish a permanent colony there. I couldn’t help wishing we’d known how things were going to work out before the ordeal with Wade Turley; it had all been unnecessary, and a complete waste of human life. We would never have taken over occupied land th
e way Turley had intended; but if he had just been patient, he probably would have had his way after all.

  We lifted off with a roar and shot into the air at a speed that without our artificial gravity system would have flattened us like pancakes. We were passing the Astro II within the first five minutes of our trip, it being in an orbit only five to six thousand mile up above Olympus. I felt a slight homesick twinge as we passed her, she looked so lonely just hanging there, though I knew there were at least two hundred people still working and living there. I wondered with some anxiety, if anyone had taken over our former home? I’m sure that sounds a bit silly, but it was how I felt, if only briefly. Then we were leaving it all behind us and heading back into deeper space; and that did feel right to me. I think that was the first time I realized that I would never really leave space for good willingly; I was and am one of the Starborn.

  After five days of travel, we overtook the Andromeda and reduced our speed to travel together. Ian and Mogi were deeply engrossed in studying the use of the agricultural equipment and techniques they were going to be teaching their people to use. They were sure that at least half of their people were going to elect to stay on New Reesh, but would no longer be stranded there.

  For two more days we traveled, trying to fight boredom by doing jobs that didn’t need doing, and we even made several trips outside the ship for inspections just to pass time. It was always exciting to go out and risk the hazards of deep space, and sometimes we even visited the other ships journeying with us. We were a fleet for the first time on a journey as a group.

  Ian and Mogi were anxious to see their friends and families, having been gone more than two and a half months. They were looking forward to sharing their adventures and new found knowledge with them. They knew their world was about to change forever in a really big way.

  Blurg was anxious to make contact with the southern Vortlepeg to see if he could make peace with them. He was certain that they must have seen us as a threat to have attacked us in such numbers. Although they were by his standards barbaric, he suggested that they tended to be more rational than it appeared by the events that had taken place. He admitted, when pressed, however, that he’d never been that far south so he could be wrong. We all hoped he wasn’t.